Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen

[Grimmas]

Discuss here.

[Goodear]

Stan Hansen & Genichiro Tenryu vs Abdullah the Butcher & Tiger Jeet Singh

 

Singh is notoriously awful but I've seen enough Stan taking on actually good wrestlers that I wanted to give this a shot to see how he and Tenryu did with a lesser talent. I also figured it would be unlikely that Stan would be able to guzzle Abdullah and I wanted to see how Hansen would react.

 

Honestly its not a bad outing as Tiger is not the worst thing I have ever seen and is not out of place in this context. He's there to brawl and stuff and he actually works cuts once they are open so that puts him one up on Brian Cage. If anyone is really the fish out of water here it is Tenryu who reacts to the brawl by selling a bunch and coming back in flurries when Stan hands him an advantage. He seems to take the worst of the ECW style roam around the arena but as he comes back bleeding from assorted punishment. I personally find the most effective use of blood to be when I know directly where it came from as opposed to in this match where Abby is just bleeding at one point. The backdrop suplex spot with Abdullah, while visually appealing, felt out of place here as it came from The Butcher putting on a headlock and not having a fork in his hand which made it seem like an artificial set up. The Meat Cleaver elbow is always a treat and the finish was fine although Genyru's lariat isn't half as good as Stan's.

 

Looking at the Tenyru & Hansen team individually, Genryu really came off as the sidekick in this setting as Hansen seemed to be carrying the team and making saves. This can work if the sidekick is sympathetic or the mentor emotes in some way, but I don't think that was the case here as Stan hardly seems to notice Tenryu is there half the time. This feels like two individuals in a match together to me rather than a tag team.

 

Notes in Spoiler

 

Stan goes right at Tiger on the outside. Singh has a sword for fencing? Stan posts him.

Back in the ring, chair to the face and choking but Stan brawls back, tag to Tenryu double shoulder block

Punch right to the balls, choking or a nerve hold?

Abby in for throat thrusts but knocks Gen into Stan for the tag

Colllar and elbow, shoulder block... Stan yells and brawls, gets staggered and tags Tenryu, Abby takes over on him right away and takes him to the outside. Stan comes around for the save but Tiger knocks him back.

Stan grabs a chair and knocks him back and we are all in the crowd now. Very ECW style walking brawl

Stan chairs Abby a bunch but its not drawing a reaction, Stan puts Gen back in the ring, Gen acts like he's dead and is bleeding from the forehead

Tiger works the cut suck it Cage

Tenryu is able to stagger out and get Stan back in and he kicks Abby a bunch, Abby is bleeding. Hansen punches the cut

Tags Tenry which seems unwise, Abby takes a headlock so he can get suplexed. backbrain kick staggers, Abby catches a second one and tags Tiger

Tiger doesn't look as bad as his rep

Tiger beats on Tenyru but Stan runs in. Abby shoulder and meat cleaver for 2 (Stan saves)

Tiger back in choke takedown but one punch from Tiger knocks him out of the ring

Slam from Tiger, middle rope but Stan saves so Gen can hit clothelsine and backbrain kick, Tenryu runs into the choke takedown

Heels throw Stan thrown out of the ring

Abdullah accidentally strikes Tiger in the throat and Tenryu hits a lariat for the 3

 

 

[Timbo Slice]

The Baba/Rusher match is an all-timer, but I don't think they have nearly enough to make a list like this.

[elliott]

The matches that made the 80s set:

Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen vs Jumbo Tsuruta & Kenta Kobashi 7/15/89 #16

Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen vs Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu 10/20/89 #81

Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen vs Terry Gordy & Bill Irwin 11/19/89 #70

Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen vs Giant Baba & Rusher Kimura 11/29/89 #7

Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen vs Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu 12/6/89 #4

 

Looking at Lord Helmet's Hansen Comp, there's also

Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen vs Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu 7/11/89

Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen vs Jumbo Tsuruta & Great Kabuki 9/30/89

 

What else exists?

 

The Baba/Rusher and 89 tag league final are two of my favorite matches of all time, Hansen & Tenryu individually are two of my all time favorites, but yeah, there's no way they could rank.