[1986-10-12-WWC] Carlos Colon vs Stan Hansen

[Loss]

This was an awesome, compact brawl. It felt like an abridged version of MS-1 vs Sangre Chicana as far as the match layout, with Hansen overwhelming Colon right away and immediately establishing the violent nature of the match, only for Colon to get a comeback before Hansen caught him with a loaded lariat. I also really liked how Hansen kept the violence in check because it helped the structure. In the beginning, he accidentally (??) slugged the ref when the match was at its most heated, then surrendered to his authority and begged him not to disqualify later in the match. I know Hansen more at this point, so he stood out more than Colon, but I am excited about continuing this series. ****

[Cap]

I also had it 4. This is one of my favorite feuds/series of matches ever. Every match is a blast to watch. This one was such a wonderful set up for the feud. It laid the base for the urgency and hatred they would bring later on.

 

I came into this not knowing much Colon and being pretty familiar with Hansen and came away with a higher opinion of both men.

[El Boricua]

Some background context for anyone who wants to watch this (some of it taken from my Colon vs. Hansen run through in the Puerto Rico wrestling thread):

 

This match is taking place a few weeks after Carlos Colon won the universal title tournament at Aniversario 86. The title had been vacant for a few months after Colon had been blinded by Abdullah the Butcher with ammonia. Chicky Starr, who was Abdullah's manager at that time, took a lot of glee in gloating about what had happened and Carlos had gone after both Abdullah and Chicky in the lead up to the tournament. With Carlos Colon's victory (going through Boris Zhukov, Abdullah and Terry Funk), it only led to Chicky setting out again to see Carlos lose the title and be put out of wrestling. Carlos' first defense of his recently won Universal title was one week before this match against Dory Funk Jr. It was during this time that Chicky dropped the news that he was bringing in Stan Hansen to take the title from Carlos.

 

Stan Hansen was no stranger to Puerto Rico. He had shown up in 1984 and proceeded to team up with Bruiser Brody. They went on a rampage of destruction, taking out a few wrestlers including Carlos Colon. Faced with such a destructive duo, Carlos did the only thing he could do and that was look for a partner up to the task of handling Brody and Hansen. That led to the first ever team up of hated rivals Carlos Colon and Abdullah the Butcher to tak on the destructive force of nature team of Hansen and Brody. The teams as a three match series that ended in a supercage match. It6 had been two years, but the fans remembered the havoc Stan Hansen had caused. And now, he as coming back, brought in by Chicky.

 

This match takes place at the Coliseo Roberto Clemente and your commentator is Hugo Savinovich. Hugo mentions on commentary that Hansen has come back more deranged than ever and that Carlos has to be careful. This is a man that did not lose the AWA title, instead he turned in the belt to the AWA president. Hansen nails ref Tomas Marin "El Martillo" and Hugo starts saying that it looks like Hansen is out for revenge. Remember that Hansen was one of the men that put Carlos in the hospital a couple of years ago. What we are seeing is not a match, Hansen appears to be trying to end Carlos. This is a brutal attack we are seeing by Hansen. Hansen finally gets in the ring not letting up and we have no ref, we are not sure if the match has officially started. Now a second ref, Ricky Vargas, shows up and the match is a go with Carlos already in bad shape. The ref is trying to establish order and is letting the match go on. Hugo continues narrating the events of the match. Hugo mentions that you have to beware of that elbow pad, Hansen is known to sometimes load it up with objects. Colon makes his comeback and Hugo starts putting over Carlos' bravery and fortitude. When Colon bites Hansen, Hugo starts exclaiming "Blood in the ring, blood on the champ, blood on the challenger!" The reverse mule kick is referred to as Carlos' secret weapon which has got him out of some jams before. Now Colon inadvertently knocks out the second ref with an errant elbow. Out comes "El Rockero" Al Perez (who had turned heel a bit before this and joined up with Chicky Starr) and hides from the ref's view. Perez proceeds to hand an object to Hansen, who uses it to load up his elbow pad. Hansen wallops Carlos with the loaded elbow as the ref comes to. Hansen gets the three count and wins the Universal title. At least it appears that way.

[Steenalized]

I'm an absolute sucker for Stan Hansen jumping the bell to start the beat down. Like his thrashing Terry Funk (I think in 83?), I don't even know how this is a match. Hansen comes out in such a blaze that not only can the ref not stop him, he has to dispose of the ref to really get going. Colon is fire here when he gets a chance to shoot back at the big man, usually looking desperate to get a breath in edgewise. There are things I can nitpick, like both guys veering too close to cartoonish in selling, but those are tiny gripes. The loaded lariat ending and Colon dropping like a bag of bricks finishes off an excellent brawl. ****