Antonio Inoki vs. Stan Hansen, 03.04.1980
Match #4 of the Thank you Antonio Inoki project.
NJPW Big Fight Series 1980 - Tag 28
NWF Heavyweight Title Match
Kuramae Kokugikan, Tokyo, Japan.
Truth be told, I’m not a huge fan of this pairing.
Let me be clear: Antonio Inoki and Stan Hansen are two all-time greats in the world of professional wrestling. One could even make an argument that they are the two greatest when just looking at Japan. Peaks, longevity, accomplishments, marketability, legacies, these are two wrestlers that stand out in all these aspects when compared to many of their peers. As such, there’s generally a set of expectations I have going in to watch two high-quality wrestlers, during some of their best years given ample chances to work with each other. If you’ve been a wrestling fan for long enough, you know what I’m talking about, and you also probably know where this is going.
For a variety of reasons, two great wrestlers put together doesn’t always result in great matches. Too many factors are at work for it to be so simple. Even if there was a way to ignore poor booking decisions, production issues, hostile crowds or any other excuse, sometimes the fault rests solely on the performers. Stylistically, they just don’t mesh well and click the way that you’d hope. This is often the sentiment I end up coming back to when watching singles matches between Inoki and Hansen.
By the time 1980 rolls around, they’re quite familiar with each other in terms of what they each bring to their matches. Hansen has grown into a “force of nature” in the ring; a freight train rushing forward with a kind of brutish offense that sweeps opponents of virtually all shapes and sizes into his kind of fight. The earliest signs of who would become revered across the country as the Cowboy. As for Inoki, those years of experience against someone like Hansen makes him better aware and prepared for the next time they face off. Their previous match on February 8th already played around with this idea: Inoki having to try different holds and strategies in the hope of keeping this monster at bay. However, none of it could hold Hansen back, only delay the inevitable as his signature Lariat on the apron gives him the countout win. What could’ve been something interesting and distinct at the time played out more of the same, with those new flourishes in Inoki’s gameplan never amounting to something greater.
In a lot of ways, this rematch is an improvement.
You still have some nagging issues that comes with practically all their matches. Certain things teased early on by Inoki are never addressed going forward. The points where both go to the mat lack the urgency that Hansen has as a natural brawler. Sometimes it can look like they’re just stalling in holds, still figuring out in their heads how to move to the next sequence. It’s really jarring when you see Hansen in that sort of situation, when his bread and butter comes from when action feels frantic and improvised, as if it were a real fight.
The difference between this match, as opposed to most of their previous ones come in how it builds upon their clash of styles while rewarding both of them throughout. Hansen is able to take advantage in the kind of straightforward, meat-and-potatoes way that you’d expect. Hard punches and blows when in contact, breaking out of holds with brute force, easily countering Inoki when repeating what he had already tried and failed to do before. This also really aids the pacing and direction from getting too bogged down in these early periods. After a handful of attempts to grapple onto the Cowboy, Inoki catches him with a swift enziguri to knock Hansen loopy, following up with a barrage of strikes that send him out of the ring. The tables have turned: now Hansen is the one who needs room to breathe, being put in a predicament where he has a react, instead of always forcing that responsibility onto his opponents.
Things are still very physical, as even headlocks by Hansen are spirited and well-worked. Inoki still goes after the arm, and while the selling isn’t what it could be, it weakens the Lariat enough that the move isn’t so devastating like before. This leads to Hansen being, to my knowledge, the first person ever to hit an apron suplex. Shockingly, the crowd does not go apeshit when they see this. Inoki’s able to fight his way back before the count and, calling back to their last match, dodges the Lariat on the apron before rushing to hit a diving knee from the top rope to the outside. It can’t keep Hansen out, but a quick suplex over to ropes grant him just enough time to snag the victory.
Verdict: Great. Not an essential match for wrestling fans, but if this pairing sounds at all appealing to you, this is easily the best of the bunch. Great payoffs to their history over the years that were always eye-catching and looked earned. Not to mention the innovation to come out of that last minute.