[1991-04-18-AJPW-Championship Carnival] Stan Hansen & Dan Spivey vs Steve Williams & Terry Gordy

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Childs]

Definitely the best match between these teams and a hell of a lot more focused than their 1990 stuff. You don't usually think of Hansen as a face-in-peril guy, but he did a tremendous job in that role, eating a massive beating as he bled profusely. I also loved the way they staged the ending stretch, with the ref missing Hansen's tag and Doc desperately trying to finish off Spivey as Gordy kept knocking Stan out of the ring. They even pulled back to a long shot, so the TV fewer could properly take it in. Then we suddenly teleported to WWF or WCW as a second ref appeared to tell the first ref about the missed tag. And how cool was it when Hansen, finally clear to enter, bee-lined to Doc and took him out with the lariat? This felt way different than the other big AJPW tags of the era but was better for it. The 4/18 show has to go down as one of the best we've seen on any yearbook.

[Loss]

This was just a fantastic match. I think all the elements were there for it to be really good, as everyone involved is game. But Hansen's performance singlehandedly moves this over top. He's had better matches, but he is as good as he has ever been in this match, working as an underdog and bleeding for the majority of the match, selling a big beating from Doc and Gordy and rallying a comeback that gets the crowd behind him. The finish is not an upset, but it feels like one because of what Hansen had to overcome. A great, great performance from an amazing wrestler.

[shoe]

Hansen really was great in his selling here. He really made the match .

[PeteF3]

The closing stretch was a bit more of a mess than I recall, but this is definitely a match that sticks with you just because the feel is so different from a typical AJPW match of the era, with a long FIP segment on Hansen of all people and the stuff revolving around the missed tag.

[Kevin Ridge]

We jump ahead in match after intros. Solo effort a long time by Hansen who gets beat on by both Williams and Gordy. Good job there. Some good suspense when Williams had the octopus hold on and whether Spivey would submit. Gordy is battling like crazy with Hansen to try get him out of the ring when Williams/Spivey are in there a low. Makes for a good side match. Some referee confusion with who is legal man. Apparently it was Hansen all along. I never saw the tag. But makes for a rewarding finish when we find out Hansen is legal and he immediately hits the lariat.

[soup23]

This show has to be up there with the all time greats. 3 four star matches by my book and a funk Krofratt vs. Kobashi battle. This match was fantastic and much like the Taue match from the 94 Carnival, I think a good match to point to if you want to champion Hansen as GOAT status. He is the most established and credible guy in the match but yet makes himself into a sympathetic babyface taking a beating and hitting a nice gusher to add to the drama. Finish was one of my favorite restart type finishes as Hansen had the best, "oh shit im legal? Lariotooo" expression throughout the sequence. fantastic stuff and a rocking night in Budokan Hall.

[Zenjo]

What a card! Whatever order you want to rank them in I don't think AJ had a show with a superior 3rd best match to 4/18/91.

 

JIP 5m which was probably irrelevant. Started off as a US style tag with Hansen FIP. The big Texan was bleeding and getting kicked in the head a lot which really got the fans behind him. It's pretty awesome that he was able to play this role so well when he's nearly always been on the other side. After the tag it became more puro style with an unusual type of stretch. Williams was in the ring and kept trying to finish off weak link Spivey. Gordy kept knocking Stan out of the ring but he always fought back to make the save. Then finally after 2nd ref screwiness he made it back in to hit the lariat. Got better the longer it went.

[Superstar Sleeze]

Holy shit! Did anyone see Doc absolutely level that fan in the intros? I don't think he pulled that punch.

 

The Japanese fans sure as hell love them some Stan Hansen. I mean how can you not. What can't he do? Well, if you thought he couldn't play Ricky Morton, guess again. Even, with all the respected posters above me telling me he could. I thought it was still an incredulous statement that you have to see. Blessed are those who believe without seeing, but doubly blessed are those who have seen because you can revel in the glory that is Stan Hansen. Gordy & Doc were just pricks in this match constantly interfering and that is how we see Hansen get busted open right from the get-go. Whta I love about Hansen's FIP performance is how he is slowly sapped of energy. In the beginning, he is struggling more fiercely and then by the time Gordy is biting his cut you see he has all but withered away until a last second reverse elbow. It was really high-end work. Doc & Gordy were tenacious on that cut never deviating from it. While Spivey is hitting all his big spots, Hansen is still selling on the apron. Then we get the second round of Hansen's great performance where the ref misses the tag due to trying to escort Gordy from the ring and Doc clocks him. The home stretch is so dramatic as Doc is trying to finish off Spivey with everything he has and Gordy keeps running interference on the Human Heat Seeking Missile known as Stan Hansen. The Japanese fans are actively booing Doc & Gordy and they pop progressively bigger for ever Hansen break-up. I LOVED Gordy's tackles to the outside and the wide shot so we could see how much mayhem was going on. They built to a fantastic finish that all paid off with the second ref deeming Hansen legal and Hansen taking Doc's head off with a LARIATOOOOOO~!

 

Hansen played two different roles to perfection in this match as Ricky Morton in the beginning and a wild man running rampant who finally gets his revenge from the first half with a monster lariat. Gordy & Doc keep it off the mat and are excellent pricks with their interference, working the cut, Gordy tackling Hansen at every turn and Doc trying to polish off Spivey. My favorite part may have been all the Japanese fans doing "Hook 'Em Horns" with Stan Hansen. When Americans get that over in Japan it is just cool. Nothing beats 4 big, bad Americans kicking ass and getting over in Japan.

[garretta]

This is the kind of match I expected these four men to have. Not only does Stan play Ricky Morton better than anyone had a right to expect, but the whole bout from the missed tag on is one giant beefy four-way brawl. You had two matches in one for most of it, as former partners Hansen and Gordy battled on the outside while Doc tried to finish Spivey on the inside. He'd just about done it when the other ref came down and told Joe about the tag, and one flash lariat later, it was over.

 

I'm not sure if this is the greatest tag match I've ever seen, but it's definitely the most creative finish to a tag match I've ever seen. I'd like to have seen JCP try it with Rock 'n' Roll and the Midnights just to see what smaller, more athletic teams could do with it, but I'll take what I can get. I'd love to see a rubber match between these two teams at some point, because they really work well together.

 

I loved seeing the Japanese fans doing the Hook 'em Horns with Stan. It's easy to see how he became a national icon in Japan.

 

I know I saw Doc swing twice during the intros. Did he hit two separate fans or did he hit one guy twice? Either way, I wonder if Baba ever got sued because of it.

[JKWebb]

Oh man, that punch from Doc! It looked like to me that second punch knocked someone out. That was crazy! It looked like some of the security, or possibly other fans, were going to help the gentleman that was laid out. I really loved this, and as others have said, it was really Stan Hansen that made the match special to me. I think it might be my favorite match on the card, and I agree we got three great matches, and one really fun match.

[dawho5]

Doc destroying a couple of fans at ringside pre-match was oddly fitting for what this match became. MVC mauling Hansen was absolutely glorious, and MORE for Hansen's FIP performance than what Doc or Gordy were doing. Also, I LOVE when Hansen is in the ring for MVCs control. Normally they start laying around in holds and being stupendously boring. But Hansen will not have it and fights back if there is even a whiff of "lets rest for a bit" going on. Spivey carries his portion of the match off surprisingly well while Hansen recovers and sells on the apron. Once Stan is back in he's pretty much unstoppable. Gordy can tackle him to the outside all he wants, but there is no way Hansen is going to stay out of the ring long at all. Think of that "wounded animal = more dangerous" thing and then apply it to a bloody, pissed off Stan Hansen. No wonder Gordy was just trying to contain instead of actually do a whole lot of damage. Hansen's lariat is a thing of (relative) beauty and a perfect way to end the match. I am a HUGE Stan Hansen mark. I love his matches with Vader and the 2/28/93 Kawada match. I love his Kobashi matches. I love the 94 CC matches. But this match is his best performance ever in a single match. No question at all if you ask me.