[1983-04-14-AJPW] Terry Funk vs Stan Hansen

[DR Ackermann]

Talk about it here.

[DR Ackermann]

This is possibly my favorite match. Terry Funk's performance in this match is insane, brawling, selling and improvising like a psychotic genius. Hansen is no slouch either and his give-and-take style is perfect for Funk to play off of. I don't know if brawling gets any better than this. The non-finish makes perfect sense, but I would kill to have another 5 minutes and a proper finish in this. Terry's done with wrestling for awhile by August, but he may have been at his peak in 83.

[Microstatistics]

Superb match with Terry Funk giving one of the best performances in wrestling history. Brillant selling, doing little things to put Hansen over as a monster (for example nearly falling backwards after slamming Hansen to emphasize how difficult it was) and generally making himself look like the most sympathetic babyface ever. Hansen's intensity is great too but him no selling Funk's work on his knee everytime he went on the offensive is one thing that has always bothered me about this match. Still a must-see classic.

[Microstatistics]

On rewatch, I thought Hansen's refusal to sell the knee was really really frustrating. I am usually not too stern when it comes to ignored limb selling but it seriously impacted the match here because it made Terry's comeback attempts pretty much worthless. Terry grabbed the spinning toe hold a bunch of times after doing some initial work on the leg but whenever Hansen escaped he would immediately start throwing kicks and dropping knees with that leg with no discomfort. Occasionally grabbing at your leg while you are in the hold does not really count as selling. As a result this was pretty much a squash instead of a veteran underdog vs monster match which is such a shame because the relentlessness and mean streak displayed were so great and Terry's performance was pure genius, so this misses out on all time classic territory. **** 1/4

[Superstar Sleeze]

Stan Hansen vs Terry Funk - AJPW 4/14/83

 

Insane violent spectacle! Funk's selling of this brutal beatdown is transcendent. You first realize that Funk is deeply lacerated, not from looking at his face, but rather from his blood pooling on Hansen's stomach. Then when he was being back into the ring by the crazed sadist, he looked like a bloody dog tangled in streamers beaten to a pulp. The look on his face as he was being hung, with the rope in his mouth, bleeding profusely was unsettling and horrifying. Dory, who apparently is the world's toughest nerd, is able to save his baby brother. As he was being tended to by his brother, he was a sickly bloody mess. It was gruesome and maybe the nastiest wrestling has ever looked.

 

Funk tried to stay away from Hansen early avoiding being corner with speed and his jab. Hansen slapped him and when Funk went for a bodyslam it was all over. Hansen threw him down and began to unload. Bullying him at every turn and just using his elbows, knees and fists as weapons. I loved Funk just wailing away on Hansen knee out of desperation or throwing a dropkick outside. The struggle over the spinning toehold is one of the most poignant moments in wrestling. You just hope against hope that Funk can cause enough to pain make Hansen submit. Hansen like a ferocious, wounded animal keeps kicking him off and punching him hard in the face until he is bleeding. It was titanic. At every stage, Funk would dive for the leg and attempt to submit him knowing full well he was going to be blasted in the head and his cut be further opened up. I think Hansen not selling the leg is a curious choice. It adds to his monster dynamic that he can't be harmed and that Terry Funk will eventually be a tragic hero left for dead by the ultimate bully. Hansen drops Funk on his balls on the top rope and thus commences the gruesome scene above.

 

It is hard to say this is even a match. It feels like something so much more. I would say at the very least one of the top 5 most violent matches in a way that is really unsettling from the sense you really feel for Terry Funk. It is definitely something everybody should watch at some point. ****3/4

[JKWebb]

Terry delivers a performance of a lifetime here - truly great. I thought his selling/performance was amazing and timeless the first time I saw this... but every time I watch I appreciate it more and more.

[superkix]

Holy shit, this match…if you can even call it that. It was the Texas Chainsaw Massacre without the chainsaws. Hansen is a relentless killer, beating the pulp out of Terry with his nasty knees, hard chops, and clobbering punches. The way he repeatedly bashes Terry’s face into the corner turnbuckle or those kneedrops where he just sits on Funk’s head. Terry put on the performance of a lifetime putting Hansen over as a monster. Even when he gets in little bits of offense, like that bodyslam, he sells the immensity of Hansen. He works in this almost despairing way, chopping at Hansen’s knee, trying to get him on the ground so he can work the leg and set up the spinning toehold. But with each attempt, Hansen boots his way out of it, at one point busting Terry open with clubbing shot. Once Terry’s bleeding like a stuck pig, the match transitions into a gritty horror film, with Hansen looming blood-spattered over Terry. There’s a final glimmer of hope as Funk tries once more for the spinning toehold but Hansen proves to be too much to contain and atomic drops Funk onto the ropes. The finish…or lack thereof is scary. Hansen follows Terry out of the ring with the turnbuckle cord in hand and drags Terry back to the ring with the cord round his throat, only to continue beating the shit out of him. The Japanese fans are freaking out as their beloved Amarillo son appears near death the way he’s strung up by the turnbuckle cord. Hansen doesn’t let up, despite the referee throwing out the match, until Dory Funk Jr. makes the save looking like an Enterprise Rental Car manager. A fantastically brutal beat down and one of Terry’s career-high performances.

[Makai Club #1]

I think we found a winner for the best match that ended in a DQ. This was nothing short than a mauling by Hansen. It really seems more like a segment than an actual match. Started out normal enough, then Funk got busted open and Hansen smells it like a shark and begun unleashing a barrage of stiff punches and nasty knee drops. The match really highlighted the strengths of both men. Funk sold his butt off for Hansen by bumping all over the place like only he could, making Hansen look like a beast in the match. Excellent babyface performance by Funk only matched by Hansen being the aggressor, a role which Hansen excells in. I loved the hope spots Funk had in the match too. Funk going for the knee and desperately trying to end the match with the spinning toe hold whilst dripping with blood, giving us an awesome visual in the process. Crowd was going mental from the entrances to the finish. The aftermath with Dory Jr coming out to save his brother was really good, and of course, Funk still crawling around the ring, selling the damage Hansen inflicted on him perfectly. It all connected really well to make it what it was. Great match. ****3/4

[cactus]

This was a total war, with Hansen beating twelve shades of shit out of Terry Funk. Funk sells his beating well and is able to bring Hansen down with his famous spinning toe hold. Hansen keeps fighting back and eventually the referee is taken out. Hansen then HANGS Terry over the ropes before Dory Funk Jr., dressed like a right Dad, comes running down to the ring to save his younger brother. A brutal match filled with gritty visuals. Hansen's body getting covered by Terry's blood as he's locked in the toe hold was one that stood out. Sometimes a non-finish can be just as satisfying as a clean one.

★★★★½

[Mr JMML]

AJPW 1983 04 14 Stan Hansen vs Terry Funk

This what comes to mind when someone says great brawling, the intensity here is rarely seen, Stan Hansen is one of the greatest brawlers in professional wrestling, Terry Funk is one of the greatest sellers so we are here for a treat, gaijins hitting each other very hard is one of All Japan’s greatest acts and that’s what happened here, fantastic brawling all around and almost no downtime whatsoever, Hansen was just savage, Terry Funk had an amazing selling performance that I don’t think can be replicated, the fear in his eyes is priceless, Hansen looked like the scariest wrestler in the world, his offense is as stiff as it gets, the roughness in this match can be felt, it’s a great representation of what 80’s AJPW was about, Terry had no chance of winning but he endured through the pain and agony until Dory came in to save him, to be honest the bell alone wasn’t going to stop Stan’s rage and blood thirst, Terry was beaten up badly, he never even hit Hansen throughout what we have of the match, it was cut for tv but I think it’s fair to assume that he didn’t hit Hansen during that commercial break, Terry’s selling masterpiece is legendary, I think this match is one of the greatest brawls I’ve ever seen, it’s got everything I love in wrestling done to perfection, I highly recommend this match to everyone interested in this era of the company, AJPW in the 1980’s it’s so underrated by the greater wrestling community, the main reason for that is the popularity of their 1990’s run that pretty much overshadowed it, no pillar could have replicated what these two did here, this match is that special, Terry Funk had an innate ability to make every brawl memorable and this one is no exception.

[tcg91]

Famous great match, one that still holds up today. All time great Funk performance, he fought Hansen with all of his strength and his selling was incredible, enhanced by the smart use of the blood. High quality brawl between the two, it made sense to see Funk working on his opponent's leg to take him down, only to face the desperate blows from Hansen, who wanted to avoid a mat confrontation on purpose. The intense fight led to a non-finish after a good segment through the crowd, but the end was still very suggestive because Hansen tried to kill Terry until Dory Jr. desperately saved his brother. Add a finish to this (and a bit more of leg selling on Hansen's part) and this is a contender to best match ever
****