[1990-03-06-AJPW-Excite Series] Steve Williams & Terry Gordy vs Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

Last few minutes. Lots of heat, and probably worth checking out in full sometime. Doc and Gordy are destroying Tenryu's leg and Tenryu is desperate trying to fight them off. I wish we had included the whole thing. What is here makes it look like the best All Japan match of the year thus far. Hansen causes a DQ when he comes in with a chair to get Doc off of Tenryu's knee. But then he ends up turning on Tenryu, tying him to the ring ropes by his leg and having to be pulled off of him. JUMBO ends up coming to Tenryu's aid. Tenryu wants none of his help and starts fighting him off too. I like the angle. We've had a DQ and a countout so far in 1990 All Japan. I guess Misawa ushered in a new era in more ways than one.

[Childs]

Not a criticism at all, because it's not a classic match by any means, but I was curious why you guys only took the finish of this one.

[Loss]

No reason other than looking for space.

[PeteF3]

Wait, was this a DQ or did Tenryu tap? I figured that was why Hansen turned on him.

 

Good stuff while it lasted, with a pretty epic tease of whether or not Tenryu could make the hot tag. The fact that sometimes the hot tag just didn't happen in All-Japan adds to the suspense of it. We get the makings afterward of a three-way feud, probably with respective factions, when Jumbo saves Tenryu from a Hansen attack, which doesn't curry much appreciation from Tenryu.

[FLIK]

Just watched the full version of this. I'd have called it one of the best matches of the year just based off the first 15 mins or which is primarilly just a big surly slugfest, the great angle at the end just pushes it over the top. Brilliant stuff Tenryu accidently nailing Hansen twice, getting his leg destroyed forever making you beg for the hot tag then Tenryu quiting just before he was about to be saved causing Hansen to snap.

 

Only thing that would have made this better would have been if Tenryu's buddies like Kawada & Fuyuki had shown a little more concern. When Hansen starts going off on Tenryu they just kinda look on like it was no big deal "oh thear goes Stan again, sigh, guess we better pull him off". Also wish MVC would have gotten to celebrate a bit more after winning the tag titles instead of being pushed to the background the second the match was over.

[soup23]

Yeah the full version of this could be a strong contender for the errata set because from a big match standpoint this was head and shoulders above what we have seen from AJPW so far. Tenryu desperate struggle to fend off the attack of his leg and then his freakout on JUMBO who just saved him was pretty amazing.

[goodhelmet]

I think this was a case of me forgetting which match had Doc and Gordy winning the tag straps so I included both matches as JIP since the tag change was considered lackluster. At the very least, the hot action here made you guys seek out the full match.

[Kevin Ridge]

I wonder does AJPW provide Joe with the referee shirt and he immediately goes out shopping to find the exact matching colored pants. Anyways Tenryu is taking a beating by Williams and Gordy. The finish looks to be Tenryu submitting to what looks like a figure four. Williams struggled to put it on. Surprising finish though. Hansen beats on Tenryu for losing.

[Cox]

Man, does Doc botch that Figure Four something fierce. Between him and Luger, it really looks like Ric Flair is the only guy in wrestling these days who knows how to properly use the move.

 

Hansen turning on Tenryu once again proves my theory...never trust white people. Hot post-match angle.

[Zenjo]

I watched the full version. Definately one to put on an errata set.

 

Hard hitting, high workrate heavyweight action with four bruisers battling it out. Some high impact collisions going down. About 10m in the MVC started targetting Tenryu's knee and did quick damage to get a shock submission victory. Didn't have a stretch. Stan was angry with his partner for losing the belts so starts beating him up! Then Jumbo enters for 3 way main eventer fighting in a wild postmatch.

[garretta]

Yeah, the full match belongs on another set off of what we see here. It's a shock to me to see the hot tag not made, because we almost always get it in American matches. It's just a big a surprise to see Tenryu quit literally the second that he was about to be saved, which explains Hansen's turn perfectly. Nice touch having Jumbo make the final save on Tenryu, and there's none of this instant reconciliation stuff, as Tenryu promptly attacks him.

 

If I rated clipped matches, this would be my top All-Japan match so far this year, but I don't. It's definitely the foreign angle of the year so far, though.

[BigBadMick]

Not much to add to all that - Really fun big bruiser tag!

[drew wardlaw]

I watched the full version, and what is very cool is that the leg work on Tenryu comes pretty late in the match, basically right as the clip on the yearbook comes in. Not doing the hot tag is so brilliant, I really wish that were utilized more. The spectacle of these 4 bull moose destroy each other is so awesome. Great match. Maybe top 3 so far this year.

[dawho5]

Great stuff here with Tenryu continuing to be jobbed out. Poor bastard gave his notice way too early.

[ShittyLittleBoots]

Four big bad beefy motherfuckers doing things you would expect. The first half is awesome with that, but what I love the most is the Tenryu FIP section. The accidental hit by Tenryu to Hansen, causing him to fall off the apron, it cost them two everything. After that, the MVC boys are like sharks smelling blood seeing a target in lonely-Tenryu's knee, and oh boy do they go to town on it. Everything afterwards is them just working that knee & I love it. You wait & wait for Tenryu to make that hot tag to a pissed-off Hansen who is waiting for it, but it never comes. The fate of this match was sealed with that one critical moment, and it's a story that I loved watching unfold. ****

[Calvin]

Career-defining rubs for Doc and Gordy as they're elevated to main event acts after this win; the memorable post-match angle is the cherry on top as Hansen turns on Tenryu, Tsuruta makes the save, but gets clobbered by Tenryu in return, and it turns into an American Western-style three-man standoff between three of the top talents in All Japan. As for the match itself, you get the sense afterwards that these types of bruising, physical matches are essentially precursors to the type of meaty-men-slapping-man meat (thanks, Big E) matches we see from modern heavyweights that Reddit creams their pants over. The match swerves in the last ten minutes as it deftly transitions from slugfest to a precision attack on Tenryu's legs by MVC. Hansen is as restless on the sidelines waiting for a hot tag that never comes. Risky move, but the payoff is brilliantly executed.

****1/2