[1981-09-23-NJPW-Bloody Fight Series] Andre the Giant vs Stan Hansen

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[MikeCampbell]

I'll be a monkey's bare-assed Uncle! This is awesome. There are probably only three or four actual wrestling moves, but the stiffness and intensity that Andre and Stan use more than make up for it. Everything takes a back seat to beating the piss out of each other. Andre takes a few nice bumps from Stan, and even the Giant can't withstand the Western Lariat! Then Andre pulls out his own elbow pad and makes Hansen eat the European Lariat!

[Danish Dynamite]

Recently rewatched this... Fucking loved it :-) :-) :-) ... Might be the fever I've been hit by that's talking (or the generous amounts of rum I'm using as a cure...), but this is climbing nicely up my list of favorite all time matches :-)

[2PhoneShawty]

Man this is the match to show people who say Andre was always a bad wrestler. This match is great, and despite neither of these guys being speedy guys, feels very fast paced. Hansen also shows his intensity very well in this match, with every thing he does in this match. When I originally watched this match, I was less open to old school wrestling, but I absolutely loved it, and that hasn't changed at all.

[Danish Dynamite]

Totally agree :-) Two total legends being legendary!

[C.S.]

In the Match Review Trades Thread, Wahoos Leg assigned me Andre the Giant vs. Stan Hansen from AJPW on September 23rd, 1981.

 

His take on the match: "pro wrestling as a kaiju monster movie."

 

That is about as perfect a description as there could ever be.

 

Arnold Skaaland is at ringside for Andre as his manager. The crowd is white hot from the get-go!

 

This is far from the dominant Andre the Giant performance I thought I'd see. Even though there's obviously a size difference between Andre and Hansen, they are equals throughout the match - they go tit-for-tat all the way. It begins with them clubbing the shit out of each other!

 

What struck me the most was the fantastic selling and agility of both men. I was expecting more of a lumbering monster match, but that's definitely not the case here.

 

BTW, if you think Hulk Hogan was the first wrestler to bodyslam Andre, think again! Stan Hansen does it with ease here. In fact, whenever he has the advantage, he tosses Andre around like a ragdoll. And Andre does the same to Stan as well.

 

During the middle of the match, it's seemingly stopped momentarily and officials jump in. Since I don't understand Japanese, I'm not sure what that was all about.

 

After a spell, the match continues.

 

The finish seems sudden. Outside the ring, Andre seemingly reaches under the apron (proving that's not a new spot) and pulls out an elbow pad. Am I to assume the elbow pad is loaded? Who knows. Back inside the ring, Andre uses his loaded (?) elbow to clothesline the referee for no reason that I can see. But what the heck, Andre and Skaaland are obviously the heels here, so why not? The match is thrown out. Andre and Hansen brawl wildly as officials storm in.

 

Awesome stuff!

 

Today's "great workers" could learn a lot from a match like this about how to really work.

 

Note: I didn't read any other responses in this thread ahead of time because I didn't want to be inadvertently influenced by anyone else's opinions.

[superkix]

One hell of a hoss battle -- you could fry up a couple of eggs on the atmosphere alone. Andre’s monster presence resonates throughout the arena, to the point where Andre's yelling at the fans to shut up. Hansen proves that with enough grit, sweat, and ball-bustin’, you can bleed the dragon if you keep jabbing it with the sharp end of the stick. Hansen really sells the enormity of fighting a giant but Andre’s offense comes off so crushing, from the way he wrings Stan’s arm over his shoulder to his mighty clubs and chops to Stan’s chest, sometimes accompanied by that deep-barreled laughter. Hansen’s missed elbow drops provide some of the best moments of the match, especially coming after the big bodyslam. After the restart (with a little intimation from Andre), Hansen turns up the bruising and starts pounding on Andre, tying him up in the ropes and and lariating him out of the ring! On the outside, Andre tries to load up the elbow pad and the ref’s all over him trying to get it off. Out of frustration, Andre swats him with a lariat and the match is thrown out but the fun don’t stop there as the two keep fighting, lion cubs get clobbered, and a pissed Hansen chucks a chair into the ring.

[Edwin]

Not really much else can be added to this that hasn't been already said -- big man battle with both guys just clobbering each other with some massive shots. Really dug Andre getting lariated to the floor and then coming back in the ring with his own elbow pad to even things up with Hansen. The finish in this makes sense as the guys are just too big and too out of control for the ref. to handle. Really great match.

[Superstar Sleeze]

Stan Hansen vs Andre The Giant - NJPW 9/23/81

Godzilla vs King Kong! Bill Watts' Wet Dream! I really hope someone showed this to Bill Watts because he would fucking love this hoss battle.

Pedal to the metal, couple big ugliest throwing haymakers and each other around. They beat the shit out of each other. The selling is pitch perfect. You don't want Ricky Morton here. You want a strong register and then the FIGHT response to win back out. 

The opening minutes are so crucial to set the tone. Hansen charging. Andre HITTING A BIG BOOT AS HE IS CLIMBING OVER THE TOP ROPE!!! Insane! Hansen just keeps coming! It is a WAR! Andre wraps him up in a bear hug. Great struggle. Hansen CLUBS him in the head with a wicked Western Lariat. Andre's sell is magnificent and I loved his response of immediately want to break Hansen's left arm because that's what hurt him. I loved Andre's sell of the headbutt to the Left Elbow. It made it feel like Hansen's left elbow has magical powers. Great holds by Andre on the left arm and great struggle by Hansen. Loved the multiple tries for a bodyslam and when he got it, it felt huge. I loved that he immediately went for a chinlock. He was getting ass whipped now with this opening he needed to control and catch his breath. 

Its been about 5 maybe even 6 or 7 years since I last watched this. I totally forgot about the false double countout and restart. I even thought I was watching the wrong match for a second. Then it restarted and I was like yep we are good. The rope tangle spot was awesome and fiery. THEN GOD ALMIGHTY! That WESTERN LARIAT! Holy shit! Andre sold that like a million bucks and Hansen looked like a bull. Andre grabs his own elbow pad. I forgot this! Mark Out City! CLOBBERS THE REF! I love gratuitous ref violence. I don't know if it is a No Contest or Hansen by DQ but I don't care this was fucking Pro Wrestling at its apex. 

Best match ever with a non-clean finish though it won't be my number one match. I see this between 25-50 in my next Greatest Match Ever ranking. I loved the selling (register and immediate desire to fight), psychology (keep moving forward, oh you whacked me in the head with your left arm let me snap that off), the brawling and the struggle. *****

[tcg91]

I have never loved this as many people seem to do, but this was great and a unique spectacle. Of course, the crowd helped quite a lot here and Andre made Hansen look like a million bucks, a real monster that can hang with him. Godzilla vs Kong fits so well as a comparison. I liked Andre working on Hansen's arm from the very start, getting the Texan to violently fight from underneath. Good move, because the fans got into it and loved the bodyslam and lariat spots from Hansen, as again Andre sold them like a star. I don't mind non-finishes, especially in the 80s, but I hate when matches restart and still that doesn't lead to a finish. However, anything they did was so hot that it wasn't much of a problem here
****1/4