Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada vs. Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy

[9.0] "It really is just sort of a glorified beating by Hansen and Gordy, complete with some of the best pin and submission breakups that you will ever see. The wild heat of the Budokan crowd only adds to the intensity, but the mean physicality of the gaijin team might make this even without them. Hell of a selljob from Kawada on the knee too."

[9.0] "[4. 50*] Incredible intensity and story, Kawada is awesome in this and Hansen/Gordy are just dominant."

[7.0] ""The nasty Gaijin fuckers do a good job isolating Tenryu, and the crowd is white-hot for everything Kawada does, but this is not a 10/10 match in my eyes. Maybe in 1988, but I've seen 10 better matches on TV this month." I totally agree with this guy."

[7.0] "A classic Japanese fight where Japanese faces try to defeat evil gaijins. The pace of the match is rather slow, but the strikes and submissions look realistic. One of the fundamental and most important fights of its era."

[9.0] "Holy cow! What a magnificent pair of hard-nosed brutes Stan and Terry make. That rugged style of theirs and the cheer physicality they bring to the table is on full display right there, and it's fair to say that Tenryu and Kawada prove up to the task, valiantly fighting back as those gutsy babyfaces full of fire. Needless to say, it's stiff, and it's simply lovely. It's not always pretty, but the intensity and the physicality more than makes up for it, and Stan and Terry winning is hella satisfying. ****1/2"

[10.0] "1st match on my list of doing a linear watch-through of the all japan boom of the late 80s to late 90s. This match is actually very american in structure but with the physicality of puro. Hansen and Gordy are incredible here. But the star has to be a young kawada who tried everything in his power to save his mentor tenryu but the american cowboys were too much and his inexperience caught up to him."

[10.0] "The blueprint for 90s AJPW being written in real time. Hansen and Gordy together are terrifying, just two massive wrecking balls smashing through everything. The pacing is unbelievable too, there's basically no downtime at all. Every minute has offense, movement or tension. The crowd absolutely losing their minds during the closing stretch pushed it into another level. Incredible tag match."

[9.0] "This match is awesome, the intensity is out the wazoo and they just beat the shit out of each other. Kawada gets massive support from the crowd as the underdog, but he's taken out of it by Hansen and Gordy about halfway through the match as they work his leg. Tenryu alone can't overpower the two brutes and eventually Hansen seals it with a lariat. The crowd was awesome for this match and added a lot, I think. I can't find any real flaws in this, but it's missing that special something that would make it a 10 for me."

[10.0] "WOW I think I just found a new favorite match. Incredibly well structured and presented. Constant movement between both teams and done in such a seamless way. Where there is a slip up here and there, they are balls to the fucking wall. Super-duper heavy STRIKES, great bumps and slams, Kawada and Tenryu getting the shit kicked out of them, Kawada/Tenryu fighting back with all the babyface fire they got. A match filled with great little moments and an awesome finish, in its own way. Kawada's leopard print pants were adorable"

[10.0] "[*****] One of the best prelude matches to the famous King's Road, this is the epitome of tag team action. Both teams have insanely good chemistry, and therefore they mesh really well together. All 4 men seemingly have roles, Hansen & Tenryu the smart, calculated veterans while Gordy & Kawada are the impulsive, brash youngsters who may make some mistakes from time to time. All 4 men play their role to perfection. Kawada's knee is worked on the outside for about 10 minutes, leaving Tenryu (who has amazing stamina) all alone for the rest of the match. Hansen take's Tenryu's head off with a western lariat for the win."

[7.0] "I'm sorry that I'm just not a huge Tenryu guy. Most of this match has him as the legal man and I just can't get excited for him as much as others seem to. Stan Hansen is still awesome and is seemingly on a mission to knock every man in AJPW's head clean from their shoulders."

[10.0] "Great, and well remembered as one of the first big performances of one of the best 4 of AJPW, a young Toshiaki Kawada and a great match that was more brutality and good timing with a burning crowd. 10/10 [*****]"

[10.0] "This match is basically two, big burly cowboys from America invading Nippon Budokan and only Tenryu and Kawada can save Japan from becoming the 51st U.S. state. There's such masterful storytelling here, with Genichiro catching Gordy off guard with some stiff moves of his own ... meaning, naturally, that Hansen has to get the tag and waffle his ass for mom, apple pie and baseball. Which makes Kawada the undersized sacrificial lamb, who makes the place come UNGLUED anytime he sneaks some offense in. This is pretty much the blueprint for all of those all-time classic AJPW tag team bouts we got in the '90s and it doesn't feel like a match from the late '80s at all. The final ten minutes turn into what is essentially a two on one handicapped match and watching Genichiro try his damnedest to defy the odds is pretty much everything that makes pro wrestling excellent. Needless to stay, this thing is a cornerstone for what we consider "modern" wrestling and one of the best tag team matches you'll find out of any decade."

[10.0] "Man, what a match. All 4 men play out their roles perfectly in this. Gordy and Hansen practically look like bullies in the early going as they shut down any attempt at Kawada's offense, who insistently gets himself in the fray to show that he isn't going to be pushed around by the two. Tenryu plays the elder of his team, and he plays it to perfection. Every time he steps into the ring, the tides change completely in their team's favor. He's the wild card they have, and he orchestrates Kawada to show him how they can win. That's when Gordy and Tenryu start targeting Kawada's leg, neutralizing his kicks and taking him out of the action for most of the match's remaining time. His leg looks like it was ran through a wood chipper. His tights and his boot are completely torn, and it helped that Kawada sold the pain like death. Tenryu basically gets double teamed for the rest of the match, but a late second wind has the crowd wondering if he might just pull it off for his team. But after hitting Hansen with the Powerbomb, Gordy breaks up his pin and hits one of his own, which leads to Hansen hitting Tenryu with the Western Lariat to put him down for good as Kawada desperately tries to get into the ring. Gordy and Hansen come out of this looking like genuine monsters."

[10.0] "Such a hybrid of early King's Road style mixed with Southern Tag Team Rassin'. Hansen and Gordy are perfect here, Tenryu is the perfect display of what fighting spirit actually is in this match and Kawada is the perfect super over babyface getting sympathy from the audience after Gordy and Hansen mess his knee up. This is the definition of perfect tag team wrestling. *****"

[7.0] "Yeah this is a good match for sure. But 5 stars from Meltzer seems a little much. Cool to see young Kawada kickin about here. Hansen gave a HUGE lariat at the end to win the titles and the tournament. Tenryu gave a really good performance here as well."

[7.0] "Simple and well executed story. Hansen and Gordy bully less experienced Kawada and completely take him out of the match and then double team Tenryu relentlessly and overwhelm the odds. Damn good match."

[7.0] "The nasty Gaijin fuckers do a good job isolating Tenryu, and the crowd is white-hot for everything Kawada does, but this is not a 10/10 match in my eyes. Maybe in 1988, but I've seen 10 better matches on TV this month."

[10.0] "(5*) Oh wow oh wow this is one of the best tag team matches ever, what makes this so good is the fact that Kawada was the rookie, and he was trying to prove to his mentor Tenryu that he was in the same lever as him. Speaking of Tenryu he possibly had one of the best performances in a tag team match i have ever seen, Hansen and Gordy were great to. Love the stiffness, maybe the best AJPW tag team match thats not the 90s"

[9.0] "Tenryu the Star, the Hero of AJPW and a young young Kawada. Against them, the greatest Gaijin tagteam ever. Hansen and Gordy. Big men that hit hard and brawl for days. Kawadas drive is easily taken over by the Gaijin. Boss softens and lower ranked partner only gets the shine then. GREAT! Hansen takes Kawada out and makes him a nonthreat. Amazing Psychology! Kawada showing incredible Spirit and all he gets is more beating."

[10.0] "What a blast. Perfect character work and a great escalating story. Kawada has been overpromoted to replace Hara, and of course he's not ranked anywhere near his opponents. Hansen and Gordy are #1 and #2 (maybe #3) gaijin, Kawada is perhaps #9 native (! ). Has anyone told Kawada and Tenryu this? No, they have not. They've made it to the tournament final off a three-way tie with the Olympians and Abdullah & Tiger (oh no). The story here is that Hansen and Tenryu are roughly equivalent - Tenryu has advanced in ranking even since his rollup pin of Hansen to unify two of the three future Triple Crown titles. Gordy and Kawada are more of a likeness. There is thus parity and a fairly predictable story until Kawada gets hurt by Hansen, and the match seems to mostly go one way after that. However, Tenryu's sheer grit and Kawada's courageous limping interferences keep matters in doubt - remember that Tenryu beat Hansen on a flash pin once before. The character work is so deep here - even the contrast of Kawada throwing himself in the way to break up attacks or pins, compared to Gordy deliberately walking over to knock Tenryu off Hansen, is nicely done. Everyone is put over by this match. Classic. 5/5"

[10.0] "This feels like the tipping point between the best of AJPW's '80s style and the formulas that would define their '90s gold run. Like the best of the company's work, it's an exercise in simplicity, with the gaijin heeling it up and putting a savage beatdown on young pup Kawada, whose fighting spirit nonetheless refuses to give in until he is mangled beyond all repair, while Tenryu's beautiful violence evens the odds but ultimately gets worn down by Hansen and Gordy's relentlessness. There are so many great touches here: the early, BRUTAL chop exchange between Tenryu and Gordy that lets you know how mean this match is going to be; the constant working over of Kawada's legs to the point that even his trunks tear. I also love how, for the most part, ringside shenanigans are kept to a minimum at least for the active man. When Hansen send Tenryu to the floor he immediately jumps out to throw him back in because he wants to be damn sure that when he knocks someone down they can go for the pin. All Japan would elevate their tag work to god-tier status over the next decade by bringing in more and more emotion, but these four guys say so much just operating on a deep hunger to win."

[8.0] "[4.0*] Phenomenal Tag Team Wrestling Match with a special performance from the big heels. This match was fucking great, the heels built a shit ton of heat during the control segments and at each hot tag the crowd exploded. I love when rules are respected and every tag means something. The selling was incredible too and helped to create this awesome atmosphere for the underdogs."

[10.0] "Totally different structure to modern tags based entirely on southern hot tags. Hansen and Tenryu hit each other so hard and the crowd is in an absolute frenzy all match. The second half is all tension as Tenryu fights to survive but he is outmatched, but even mow decades later you are hoping against hope that Kawada can somehow even the odds He can't. This is amazing. *****"

[9.0] "If you like lariats, this is the match for you. It's a 20 minute spring that feels like a marathon because of the wrestlers selling their exhaustion at the end of a grueling tag team tournament. Extremely compelling."

[10.0] "This is one of those classic matches where you watch it and go, "yeah, I can see why that's a classic". What more can be said?"

[8.0] "You know what wrestling needs more of? Cowboy hats and jaguar-print tights. Good lord I can't imagine Terry Gordy running into me - even with a wrestling mat to help me break the fall. All the movement in this match has real momentum behind it. Few things help with immersion as well as raw physics. I flinched a lot while watching this one. I can't believe I let McMahon convince me that tag wrestling was lame for so many years. Kawada makes an excellent underdog - I was getting up and cheering him when he managed to suplex Gordy. As Montecillo says in his review, this is pure 'fighting spirit' and a "prefect precursor to the King's Road style". I think the only thing I was a little put off by is that Kawada doesn't get pinned. Having Tenryu take the fall seemed odd to me."

[9.0] "Fantastic, fantastic match. One that helps set the tone for the great All Japan era to come. This is what they mean when they talk about storytelling in wrestling. You have the gaijin team of Hansen and Gordy, two hard hitting slobberknockers who are nasty and take no prisoners vs the homegrown duo of Tenryu and Kawada, full of spirit and physicality themselves. Hansen and Tenryu are the established stars here, they're experienced and are true top level professionals. They each have one relatively lesser experienced guy with them, in particular Kawada riding along with Tenryu. What this means is that both men are incredibly reluctant to ever leave their partner alone with the other. You see this from the outset when Hansen attempts to double team Kawada as much as possible. Whenever Tenryu gets in, Hansen knows he's gotta get in there as soon as possible. They work to this as well, with Gordy or Kawada's only real attempts at sustained offense on the other being when Tenryu and Hansen are in. They're also a clear difference in the *way* they work. Kawada especially is just all energy and gusto, he wants to make an impression alongside the big star. Him and Gordy work faster, it's bursts of offense. Hansen and Tenryu are composed, more want to break the opponent down. The match shifts when Hansen targets Kawada's knee and boy does he, a real nastiness. The subsequent heat on Tenryu as great, as is the relatively brief shine. That's my only qualm, a few hope spots for him and Kawada would really elevate this. But it's still a tremendous match, a fitting cap to the '88 Tag League. ****1/2"

[10.0] "December 16th, 1988 - This is the final match in the 1988 Real World Tag League. '88 was the first year that the World Tag Championship was vacated before the tournament, the winners here win the League and the championship. Once again Hansen and Tenryu will go to war, they will take their youngest apprentices with them. Toshiaki Kawada, who replaces Ashura Hara who was fired a month ago, was a rising star, but a very under-the-radar talent in the Revolution stable, so putting on a main show at Budokan Hall is a big deal for the young man. This is a phenomenal match, perfectly crafted and executed, showcasing so many neat little touches and nuances which will be hallmarks of the King's Road matches in the 90's. The clear ranking system, with the seconds (Kawada and Gordy) able to fight each other but only able to step up to one of the 'big names' when fed by their senior partner. Tenryu looked every bit the ace in waiting here. With his destruction of Jumbo in October fresh in everyone's memory, he was as credible as he has ever been trading bombs with Hansen. Indeed, it was only when the gaijin duo had eliminated his partner altogether and they were able to overwhelm him two men to one, was he really threatened. Kawada gave one of the all-time great sell-jobs here and was flawless in the way he executed his role. He gave us just enough fire to be a believable threat to Gordy and Hansen, without overstepping his status. The charisma and physical theatricality of the way he sold his knee was something to behold. I loved everything about this. The pace was insane for an 80's match, the compact twenty minute run-time was all they needed to tell a perfect story. Each man intimately understood what was required of him and delivered impeccably. *****"

[10.0] "In my top 10 of all time and for good reason. The storytelling here is simple but perfect. Hansen and Gordy, two gaijin heels against Tenryu (an established name, a main eventer, a Hall of famer in his own right) and his protege Toshiaki Kawada. The heels brutalise Kawada due to his inexperience and throughout the entire match you think they'll be a save. but no this is just straight up destruction on behalf of the foreign heels and I think it's perfect."

[7.0] "Good match with great storytelling and structure. Basically starts off as a pretty solid classic tag match, everyone gets to shine and battle each other. However, the matches then turns into an all out interference war, with each teams coming in to prevent the other from getting a pin. Eventually Hansen and Gordy create a plan to focus on Tenryu, with one person beating him down in the ring and the other to prevent Tenryu from pinning the other. It's a pretty good match with its flaws obviously pertaining to its age, but its still pretty solid for its time. The major problem for me is that Kawada should have been more involved in the second half of the match and I would have rated this higher if he were involved in the finish somehow."

[9.0] "Very good for this era. Unfortunately, Hansen & Gordy only interfere in the match when one of them has to wait in the corner. It totally ruined the match, they're just doing that. (4*1/2)"

[9.0] "Hansen and Gordy are great as the hulking brutes, who isolate the younger Kawada and work over his leg so that they can eventually focus on taking down Tenryu. The Revolution team battle on constantly but it isn't enough, which is a bit deflating in the moment, but on reflection enhances the match A couple of nice touches I particularly liked: when Hansen is pinning Tenryu for the three, Kawada is trying to get back into the ring but Gordy isn't holding him, as you'd expect, he can just barely move because of the beating he has taken. The chop battle, when Tenryu starts to no-sell Gordy's chops, Gordy also doesn't flinch when Tenryu starts in with his own and they just start pummeling each other"

[10.0] "[5.0*] This match is very good, Gordy and Stan Hansen are two big guys who demand respect physically but Kawada and Tenryu remained firm and courageous facing them in a real war. The moment I realized the match was a real deal was when Gordy and Tenryu got into an insane chop battle. The entire match was brutal, the noise of the chops and punches was insane, Kawada refusing to stop attacking Hansen was a moment that showed how brutal and violent this match was. Kawada always impresses me as I watch his matches, him suplexing guys much bigger than him was beautiful. Hansen and Gordy played dirty the entire match, entering the ring at all times, interfering and attacking Kawada and Tenryu in the most brutal ways possible. This was one of the best tag team matches I've ever watched and without a doubt the most brutal match with the most hard-hitting blows."

[7.0] "Good match with an excellent story throughout. Kawada as the underdog, Tenryu as the hero facing impossible odds, versus two bigger monsters. The in-ring work is generally very good (there's a little bit of sloppiness, like a couple of missed shots, but nothing that takes you out of the match, if anything it makes it feel more real, because slight miscommunications would happen between partners irl) and it leaves you wanting more when it's done. Kawada is taken out of the match after some knee work and sells it well, and the finish off the match is surprising, as you expect the heroes to overcome the odds, but, nope. Reality is cruel. Kawada and Tenryu have heart and fighting spirit in spades, but sometimes it's not enough against a bigger and stronger adversary with a better plan. It's genuinely a *very* good tag match but I'm not seeing how it's an all-time classic like its reputation suggests."

[10.0] "Often times in modern wrestling everybody is portrayed as being completely equal, and every match is a back and forth contest with both participants going 50/50 in terms of offence, no matter how different their positions on the roster might be. This match is a perfect example of why thaf is a negative, and evidence that you do not need to wrestle that way to put everybody in the match over. The story here is simple and accessible, but excellently told. Listen to how invested the crowd is in Kawada whenever he has his brief moments where he gets to fight back against Hansen. His selling is excellent, as is Tenryu's. The heels are brutal, and they do a terrific job not only taking Kawada out of the match, but keeping him out. I can see that there are some reviews that are critical of the fact that Kawada does not make a comeback at the end of the match, but to me this is where the magic lies. His 'comeback' is simply that his attempt to break up the final pinfall as he slides in to the ring just in time to watch Tenryu succumb to the ruthless double teaming of the gaijin. It leaves his character and the story room to grow, and is wonderfully understated compared to the melodrama of a lot of modern wrestling. It leave you wanting more without any sort of cop out ending, rather than feeling like you've already seen it all and have no reason to return. A true case study in character work and match structure."

[10.0] "The best match of 1988. Many view this match as a precursor to King's Road style. The heirachy of this match is very clear. Kawada struggles to keep up with the big gaijin but against Gordy he has a bit of an equal footing. Tenryu just straight up dominates Hansen and Gordy but Hansen puts up a bit more of a fight. But the real highight of this match is when Hansen kicks Kawada's leg while perfoming a bridging pin, Kawada is completely taken out of the match but leaving Tenryu in practically a handicap position. Tenryu's one man stand against the two moster heels is awesome as Hansen and Gordy keep throwing bombs until Tenryu is finally put away. Brilliantly structured match. Storytelling through physicality, definitely a sign of things to come for AJPW. *****"

[7.0] "This isnt a bad match, but I genuinely have no idea how its seen as this legendary tag team bout like it is. It was overly sloppy in a number of spots, including a full on swing and miss from Hansen on Tenryu. It also didnt help that Kawada was taken out of commission for part of the match. Overall, decent match, but definitely one of the most overrated contests Ive ever seen. ***1/4"

[6.0] "Based on LokiHipsterGod's review which stated: "I really enjoyed this match at first as it seemed to be a heated, stiff, wild brawl, but the more it went on, the more I lost interest. Kawada gets taken out early in the match and it essentially devolves into a one-sided handicap match with Hansen & Gordy beating down Tenryu for the rest of the duration. This didn't feel the least bit competitive as anytime Tenryu would start to make any sort of comeback, he would immediately be cut off. I kept expecting Kawada to make a dramatic comeback or something, but nope, he's a total nonentity." - This would me understand why I liked but did not love this match. Extended "heat" periods of heel dominance are major turn-offs for me. They reach a point of diminishing returns and inspire the urge to check your phone."

"This is quite simply one of the greatest tag matches of all time. Tenryu's mean demeanor is balanced by his brotherly love for Kawada and it works so well."

[10.0] "This is the best AJPW tag match of the 80s to me, they all fight with passion & it comes across as a violent fight without much blood."

[10.0] "This match was incredible. The matches leading up to the final were pretty darn good too! Hansen was at his meanest, toughest, SOB, self throughout the entire match. Seeing a young Kawada playing on sympathies for his knee was also a treat. Gordy, man he is so fluid in the ring, for a guy his size. He will always be a favorite of mine. Tenryu took that beating but man he is sooo good. The lariats and chops everyone throws are so fierce and blistering they make you wince every time they mail it. The crowd was eating it up too. I wonder what lucky fan caught Hansen's hat in the beginning. Just awesome tag team beatings and storytelling. This match is up there for me."

[10.0] "To put it plain and simply this match rules. It takes a lot of influence from the formula that the Funks perfected in the early 80s, but updates it to an at the time modern physical AJPW style. Stan Hansen and Terry Gordy have in this match what may be the greatest monster heel performance of all time, and Tenryu is believable enough to take it to both of them. The sympathetic face role played by Kawada is something that had been missing from AJPW since Terry Funk's first retirement and he plays the role to perfection."

[9.0] "first match of my AJPW/NOAH watch along, great introduction to the style. I loved the psychology around Kawadas knee and how they had ripped open his pants around the injured knee as a cool little visual touch. The faces come off as super exciting and full of fire but the brutalising gaijin faces absolutely obliterate them leading to a pretty devastating win."

[8.0] "Even though I think this is a really good tag team match, I was a bit disappointed by this match. Maybe I was expecting too much, but this match didn't have that "something" that other AJPW legendary tag team matches have. But I absolutely don't wanna say it's a bad match, it's still really good and with some of the nastiest chops I've ever heard"

[9.0] "Tenryu and Kawada play the perfect faces as Tenryu gets beat down in the ring, while Kawada gets his knee roughed up constantly as he tries desperately to save Tenryu at every turn. In the end Hansen and Gordy are too much, but the psychology and storytelling are terrific. ****3/4"

[10.0] "Four absolute dons beating the ever living crap out of each other. This is absolutely cracking from start to finish ****3/4"

"Great match, love how Gordy and Hansen destroy the baby faces. Awesome hope spots with Kawada and Tenryu."

[8.0] "I thought this was a good tag match but didn't get in to the next gear to tale the match to another level. You could see that young Kawada was going to be great."

[9.0] "Kawada is still a rookie in dodgy tights, but you can see here that his selling ability is still top-notch. He's outclassed by Hansen and Gordy, but his heart and quickness gave him some leverage against the bully gaijins. Kawada tries his hardest to save his partner from a beating reminded me of a rookie Kobashi trying to hang with Jumbo in the early '90s."