Genichiro Tenryu vs. Stan Hansen

[6.0] "Tenryu's crimson mask was probably the best thing about this match. It was too one sided for my liking though and the count out finish was kinda underwhelming. But still a decent Hansen showcase, as he was quite brutal in this contest."

[7.0] "Hansen immediately attacking Tenryu. I read it as anger and aggression for the lost title. Gives this an immediate air of danger. Very much a brawling style one is used to from Hansen. Trying to show he is the stronger of the 2 going for fast pin attempts very early. He sees the victory as a fluke. The entire time you wait for Tenryu to get back into the fight. It looks like there is no hope, until the crowd gets into his kicks, he mounts a massive comeback. Hansen regains a momentum by countering and just overpowering. Hansen lands a massive lariat, sending Tenryu packing and laying in a pile of his own blood."

[10.0] "Anytime I have the pleasure of watching "The Lariat" Stan Hansen, one of the very greatest of all time, I always know it's going to be an amazing time. Once again he does not let me down as he battles one of the top stars in Japan and someone he is very familiar with, the great Tenryu. The heat immediately skyrockets on this one as Hansen charges out of the ring as Tenryu is still walking past the fans and starts battering the living hell out of him. Tenryu is blasted down by the attack, he insists on going to the ring but by the time he gets there he's already a bloody mess, his seconds trying desperately to bandage him up before he walks directly into the meatgrinder that is Hansen. What follows is 15 minutes of pure carnage, Hansen battering away at the injured Tenryu and him bravely holding and fighting back with every ounce of grit and determination in him. The match is bloody and messy, in the best possible way. Tenryu's selling is as great as Hansen's offense, a perfect match, the way he struggles to mount his comebacks, the pain and exhaustion he shows. In the end it seems like he almost has regained his fight when a major clash sends Tenryu tumbling way out onto the floor, leaving smears of blood on the floor as he tumbles away from the ring. He's unable to get back to the ring in time and Hansen picks up the victory, though perhaps not as dominantly as he hoped. Even so, a tremendous match."

[7.0] "This match starts off red hot with Hansen jumping Tenryu early and beating the brakes off him in the early goings before a bloodied Tenryu begins to fight back. As I'm watching these Tenryu matches, I'm finding his vigorous expressions/performance absolutely captivating even if I'm not super invested into the match itself. Hansen also plays it up as a heel and consistently foreshadows the lariat as he dominates. Solid match but a little disappointing."

[7.0] "Hansen lost the PWF title to Tenryu in March and failed to regain it in a DQ result. He is out for blood this time and gets it, hitting Tenryu with a belt as he comes down to the ring. He is then utterly relentless for most of the match, beating up Tenryu in every way possible. Tenryu gets a good comeback section, starting with breaking up a Western Lariat attempt with a knee. The problem is that he's too worn down, and can't wear Hansen out quickly enough, and as he climbs the turnbuckles, Hansen hits him off outside with a Western Lariat. Tenryu staggers across half of the Nagano Citizen Gymnasium before collapsing in a heap, and is counted out. Highly entertaining, tells a clear story, not quite hitting the next level. 3.5/5"

[8.0] "When the names Stan Hansen and Genichiro Tenryu come up, you shouldn't expect a bad match. I felt the same way and received a work of art from their match. My rating is 4.25, but I swear it felt like a 4.75-star match to me. There are no negatives; the entire match was logically structured from start to finish. From beginning to end, Hansen's brutal strikes landed on Tenryu's bloody and battered head, which was amazing and explains why most of the momentum was in Hansen's favor rather than Tenryu's. I preferred Stan Hansen's performance (perhaps because he had more momentum than Tenryu), so I don't have much criticism, and Tenryu will always have a place in my heart."

[9.0] "This doesn't always have the heat that you'd expect, but it's a gripping watch regardless. Hansen takes even more of this than usual, building on his jumpstart and steadily battering the bloodied champion. Tenryu's selling is terrific, staying alive without slowing Hansen's onslaught. Once the tide turns though, things really come to life, sporting a desperation and urgency befitting Tenryu's crimson mask. Suddenly rocked by a salvo of body shots, Hansen ramps up the nastiness, equally distancing himself with that familiar wounded animal selling. The finish is memorable also, leaving a suitably frightening visual in the process. ****1/4"

[5.0] "This is a decent match, some good brawling but I think its overrated. It's not quite got the fire I'd expect from Tenryu and its just kind of average. Count out is also disappointing. Hansen looks pretty good here but yeah Tenryu really left me feeling cold."

[10.0] "This match is not beautiful. This match is not artistic. This match is not explosive or a display of remarkable execution. This match is a freaking crime scene. It more resembles a poor sap on the street being beaten senseless by a mugger. Tenryu's blood just continues to fill more and more of his face as the match goes on. When it goes to the floor, it just gets unsettling, a feeling that one should not be watching this. Hansen just punches or kicks at his bloodied face, Tenryu wobbles around as if he's punch drunk, at one point Hansen throws a beer can in his face after Tenryu had the temerity to fight back with him. But this match is as much a story of Tenryu as it is Hansen's beatdown. His selling is remarkable, he looks completely destroyed, he staggers around, it takes *everything* in him to mount offense. He takes some utterly INSANE bumps, one from the apron over the barricade after finally getting a bit of respite. As diminished as he is, he's still a great and wise fighter, trying to break Hansen down to the body. Late in the match, he throws EVERYTHING he has into enziguiri after enziguiri...before he makes a critical mistake. He tries to go up top. In a normal match, it may not be a fatal blow. But he'd tried to do it earlier and it didn't work, and this is not Tenryu in a normal match. This is a diminished, bloodied, and empty Tenryu. Hansen lariats him off the top rope, careening to the floor. Tenryu's blood splatters everywhere. He has run his race. He has nothing left. A perfect finish to one of the great fights you'll ever see. *****"

[9.0] "July 27th, 1988 - The third matchs between Tenryu and Hansen in 1988. Stan dominated the first encounter from start to finish, but lost when the resourceful Tenryu pulled out a small package win from nowhere. The second encounter was more even and hard-fought, before The Lariat's notorious temper boiled over, finding himself so enraged by Tenryu's stubborn resistance that he used a weapon, shoved over the ref and got himself disqualified. Hansen surely believes he has the beating of the double champion, if he can just put a complete performance together. Tenryu, though, will take heart from his own performance in the Tokyo encounter, where he was able to survive Stan's attacks and inflict serious injuries on the American gaijin too. This takes place ten days after Bruiser Brody, was murdered in Puerto Rico. My favourite of the three Hansen/Tenryu bouts in '88, combining the best bits of those first two matches into a short, bloody, violent and dramatic little match which feels remarkably timeless. Tenryu's performance as the bloody underdog champion fighting off the foreign invader was superb. After the victory, an emotional Hansen, still selling ribs, reaches to the sky and roars Bruiser Brody's name in an incredibly poignant post-match scene. ****1/2"

[5.0] "Although the blood is cool, the intensity of the match doesn't reflect its inclusion. The brawling for the most part is pretty weak, with Hansen's offence being rather dull, and Tenyru's comback being underwhelming (although he still has that natural babyface charm). The finish is horrible."

[7.0] "This starts out so good, and Tenryu's selling is unreal. He bleeds amazingly and continuing on from their previous match it truly feels like a hopeless situation for Tenryu. The only problem I have is that the comeback is super unconvincing. Like I don't believe that there was any particular moment in the match where the tide should have turned, it just felt like Tenryu suddenly started to win. It's not a super fiery and gutsy comeback in the vein of someone like John Cena, as Tenryu is selling his injuries every step of the comeback, which means his offense looks weak and sluggish. Amazing selling, but the weakness of the comeback makes it even more unconvincing. An absolutely incredible performance from Tenryu but it could have translated into the match a little better."

[9.0] "Stan Hansen looks like an absolute force of nature here. The way the fans run away from him as he repeatedly attacks Tenryu before the match even begins is a sight to behold. I thought Tenryu took a beating last time, but Hansen won't even give him a moment to breathe here. The vast majority of this match is Hansen making Tenryu's life miserable while Tenryu bleeds buckets. I love the moment where Hansen counters Tenryu's comeback attempt then just charges in to him twice like a wild boar before Tenryu can even get to his feet. Their March 27th match is currently favoured on here and is the more competitive match, but if you asked me to pick a favourite personally I'd go with this one."

[10.0] "An amazingly brutal grapplefest from Stan Hansen and Genichiro Tenryu. These two have amazing in-ring chemistry with each other. That shot of Tenryu's bloodied face is one of the best images in wrestling history, a truly iconic moment that helped both Hansen and Tenryu's legend.."

[6.0] "Hansen massacres Tenryu and the crowd goes mild. From there, the action gets as sluggish as the audience and while the finish is well executed it's abrupt & underwhelming ***"

[10.0] "As the sweet sounds of Tenryu's funky beats of his entrance music play, Hansen rushes him with bull rope in hand and bust him open! Match didn't even start and was already awesome and scary at the same time. Hansen is at his best bully self, dominating a stunned Tenryu from the start. Tenryu is colored up. Stiff sharp elbows to the cut forehead makes Tenryu color more. Hansen with the king kong knee drop ala Bruiser Brody who had just passed 10 days earlier. Tenryu with the nice comeback. Hansen's elbow to Tenryu on top rope has Tenryu flying over ring fence and bloodying the floor with every roll he does. Hansen wins with PWF/NWA United championship via count out and it all made sense because he beat and bullied Tenryu most of the match. Hanen's tribute to Bruiser at the end was awesome!"

[10.0] "This is my wrestling heaven. Hansen attacks Tenryu on his ring walk and busts him open. I loved the little detail of them trying to bandage his head before the match starts. A few lonely streamers are thrown in as the bell rings, what follows is an extended beat down by Hansen at his violence unpredictable best. Every time the crowd think they are getting close they run for the hills. Hansen rains in fists, elbows and boots to Tenryus' head and he soon bleeding all over the place. There are a few hope spots but it's mainly just Hansen. Only prevented from going full five due to count out finish. Hansen screaming Brody three times as he looks emotionally wrecked at the end is a real one two to the heart. ****3/4"

[6.0] "Tenryu's bloodied face made for a great visual and story but the match itself never really hit the next gear - ***1/4"

[8.0] "Great tribute to the late Bruiser Brody. Hansen batters Tenryu during his entrance and leaves him bloodied on the floor. Once the match starts it becomes one of the most one-sided beatdowns you can find from this era of All Japan. Tenryu mounts a few comebacks early on, but Hansen is quick to squat those moments of hope before long. You can tell a proper comeback is stirring, but he still has to deal with the early damage done. It's a great showing for Tenryu as a babyface fighting from underneath while bleeding like crazy. The finish really puts this over as something people should go out of their way to see: Tenryu tries going high-risk by climbing up the top rope and pays for it dearly. Hansen lands a Lariat that sends him off the apron, over the guardrail and into fans for a countout win. ****"

[10.0] "This is a defense of Tenryu's PWF Heavyweight and NWA United National titles, and it's a match that I underrated on my first watch some seven months ago, when I understood this era of AJPW so much less. I feel like the best point of comparison is Hansen's April 1983 match against Terry Funk; like that, this is an extremely one-sided affair, almost to the point where one might consider it more angle than match. And yet, though he may fail, the babyface's performance turns this into something special. This doesn't have a spot as singular and brutal as the cable spot from the aforementioned Funk match, but it's a great display all the same, full of blood and drama. ****1/2"

[10.0] "A wrestling match is not only what happens from gong to gong, it is also a backstory along with an afterword. The match between Hansen and Tenryu for the PWF and UN Championships is the clearest example of this. Stan did everything to take advantage and pay tribute to his dead friend, and this behavioral trait was revealed throughout the match. It was the same Hansen, doing the same crazy things, but this time he really had a goal to achieve. Tenryu is as great as ever, and he sold Stan well as a destructive and unpredictable monster. It was mad, insane and wild. There were some rough edges, but in this case they looked very appropriate and good. The way Hansen achieved this victory is legendary. His three-time "Brody" after the win made me cry. An emotional and brilliant match. Sayonara, Brody (****3/4)."

[6.0] "A decent match with a lot of blood. The amount Tenryu bled didn't match the low intensity and lackluster action within the time these guys were going at it. Hansen was quite boring on offence, and that's what this match was pretty much all about, so I didn't get as much out of it as others clearly have."

[9.0] "A real well worked match. Hansen attacking Tenryu before he was half way done with his entrance, busting him well open. Teryu selling everything to perfection, stumbling around being disoriented while his fate awaits him in the ring. Hansen busts him open some more and kicks the ever loving shit out of Tenryu. Tenryu makes some great comebacks, showing loads of babyface passion (Tenryu doing hat is crazy btw) but it was only a short burst before Hansen killed him off. ****1/2"

[9.0] "Simply not a match you could recreate today. Hansen causing a near-stampede and Tenryu bleeding buckets before the bell even rings makes you feel like you're practically mainlining 80s wrestling awesomeness. They work a match with a totally different layout than their previous fights and create something unique and memorable, without any of the modern pretensions about what a 'great match' is. Don't forget the historical context either - Bruiser Brody had just died a little over a week ago. He and Hansen were not only good buddies but they were set to face each other on the biggest show of the year in a dream match. Hansen shouts his name after the match and the crowd chant for both Brody and Hansen. All Japan had lost their biggest draw in Brody and from this point on Hansen had to take on the mantle of top foreign wrestler in the company. He did spectacularly in that role."

[8.0] "Brutal battle, with Tenryu suffering a nasty cut before the match even starts. Tenryu is the star of the match, suffering huge damage but still giving the audience hope, that he is able to make a comeback. Some of the work is sloppy, but nonetheless a very good match."