Loss Posted January 31, 2014 Report Share Posted January 31, 2014 Talk about it here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superstar Sleeze Posted April 17, 2016 Report Share Posted April 17, 2016 WWF World Heavyweight Champion Bob Backlund vs Stan Hansen - NJPW 9/30/80 Stan Hansen with a sunset flip in this match! These two just never had the classic they should have had together. I remember liking this a lot more before than this go around. The beginning of the match is all about will Hansen ever successfully execute an elbow drop on Backlund who is always moving. He goes for the Lariat early, but misses and Backlund almost cold cocks him on the ropes to show he will brawl. Backlund uses technical acumen and speed tat first until Hansen runs backwards into him with an elbow and finally looks poised to take control. Backlund uses his strength to sit him down on the top rope and slaps him. Usually, I say this is a bad idea, but Bob Muthafucking Backlund and he can do what he wants when he wants. It breaks down into a great brawl trading eyerakes and slugging it out. Then a Hansen armbar happens, which is pretty boring. If they just brawled this could have been an all-timer. I loved the Backlund high knee then piledriver combo. They knock heads and they do a series of cover kickout with the other man covering now, which is a favorite Backlund spot. Hansen shotos him in and crowd gasps thinking Lariat, but it is a High Knee. They brawl on the outside with Hansen Lariating the post, OW! The brawl continues and the ref throws the match out as a double countout. Backlund hits Hansen with a chair and chases him off to make sure everyone knows he is the Man! Very good match, besides the armbar every entertaining just never gets to that next level. ***1/2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted December 2, 2017 Report Share Posted December 2, 2017 I liked this a lot. These two are uniquely matched against each other as both like to take a bunch of the match if you don't stop them. Sometimes (like when Mil and Brody interact) that goes poorly. With these two, it worked and felt like a real struggle. At points they really went at it too. The Backlund high knee, piledriver, and headbutt were some of the best things I've EVER seen out of him. I absolutely loved that Hansen got a revenge high knee later on. (I saw this clipped, btw, and what I saw started with the armbar which made for a slighter match but a better one. That's a weird argument for editing I guess?). Every missed Hansen lariat was just massive and I liked some of the outside stuff towards the end plenty. It's worth a watch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SAMS Posted July 20, 2023 Report Share Posted July 20, 2023 1980-09-30 NJPW - Fan Appreciation Super Fight Bob Backlund (c) vs. Stan Hansen WWF Heavyweight Title Match Nippon Budokan, Tokyo, Japan Card ★★ Immovable object vs unstoppable force, but in the worst way. The early arm work by both men didn’t go anywhere, meaning the first half was essentially just filler, and I just had the impression that they constantly reached points where they had no idea where to go next. Both men were used to overwhelming their opponents and willing them into submission. For Hansen this would be an eye rake or something, Backlund usually just retaliated enough times until his opponent stops attacking and allows him to take back control. Here it kind of felt like a child with two toys, smashing them into each other again and again without rhyme or reason. However, Hansen blinked first, taking a high knee, and we had our first point of real vulnerability. I’ll admit the finishing stretch redeemed this somewhat. Bob followed up with one of his beautiful piledrivers (all the more impressive hitting it on a guy Hansen’s size) and we finished up with a mad flurry on the outside, including a couple wild Lariat whiffs from Hansen, one of which clocked the ringpost. I believe the official decision was DQ on Hansen for throwing Backlund over the railings. I’m not sure I’ve seen that finish before and wasn’t aware that this was a rule in New Japan. Is this their equivalent of the NWA over-the-top-rope rule? Anyway, I hope that these two work out the kinks for Hansen’s upcoming run in WWF. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tcg91 Posted May 10 Report Share Posted May 10 A WWF Title defence in New Japan against their top heel, you know that this won't have a finish... but it didn't stop them from having a good match. It didn't feel like a showcase, as they presented a natural flow, with a very solid start. The slugfest was just teased, before cooler heads prevailed, and that is a shame because that could have easily been the best part of the match. Things got quite lazy instead and they didn't follow up on the initial matwork. The finishing stretch was good enough to partially redeem this, but the non-finish wasn't even that original. Slightly better than the Backlund vs Dusty match from a few months before ***1/4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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