Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy vs. Dory Funk Jr. & Terry Funk

[9.0] "Just a really stellar match. Dory's kind enough to stooge and get clobbered for a good bit of the match and keep you on your toes until finally Terry comes out and has you fully on your feet out of your chair. Stan and Gordy really look like monsters out there only barely defeated within an inch of winning themselves. Also, like always, Terry Funk wears the crimson mask like no other. Really stellar match and deserves the adoration it seems to get from folks cause it's a damn good match."

[8.0] "Awesome stiff match. Hansen is a killer and the Funks look great as always. Not my favorite Gordy outing but completely serviceable. Awesome finish."

[7.0] "Good lord, the Funks were over in Japan! This atmosphere was electric at times. That initial pop the Funks received as soon as their theme came on was unreal, and the visual of the crowd standing up to cheer was marvelous. Hansen & Terry's hostility to commence the bout as the crowd erupted was unbelievable! They both worked an extended control segment on Dory cutting the ring off for two thirds of the match, and those cut off were damn good, with Dory getting a few hope spots as the crowd would just erupt chanting his name throughout. Both Funks worked in peril, but Terry's performance had more dimension to it, with him having more of a gutsy showing, even sporting the crimson mask, making him come across as more courageous, and the ending scene to take it home once again just erupted the crowd. I did notice how Hansen had much more machismo in his performance when offense was dished out at him, while Gordy would have that drunk heel selling, making him more susceptible to sustaining damage. Awesome match. ***3/4"

[9.0] "[4.25*] Fantastic match. Classic old-school faces vs heels Tag Team Match where the villains dominated big portion of the match until the big comeback by the Funks. Terry all bloodied playing the underdog is also phenomenal, but his brother was great here too. The key here was the extraordinary selling throughout the match, showing a lot of emotion. Crowd was super too and the finish received a gigantic pop with Terry having the big win on his first retirement match. This was very, very special. It didn't focus on big nearfalls or moves, but in drama, storytelling and psychology. The real deal."

[10.0] "Years before I was born, wrestling was already awesome. What a wild match! Hansen and Gordy is an unbelievably fearsome team and they rush the Funk brothers while streamers are still settling through the air, causing a veritable tornado of violence as all four guys get tangled up with each other and start to batter the living hell out of each other. This is bloody, gritty, and basically a damn war as Hansen and Gordy did everything possible to tear the Funks apart. But the Funks are triple tough and they can't go down easy. Terry, who is rightfully considered an all time GOAT candidate, fights particularly well as the underdog babyface against the monsters and the crowd loves him. Strange to think he intended to retire after this match at the age of 39, considering he would return to the ring before the end of '84 and wrestle hundreds more matches, many of them classics as well. Anyway, this totally ruled."

[8.0] "I really loved the build up to the hot tags for both Funk brothers. Gordy and Hansen were tearing them apart and it seemed like each tag was an escape. The already electric crowd for the occasion became unglued for the finish. Great stuff."

[9.0] "The match starts off with Dory Funk mostly eating shit from Hansen and Gordy, which is a good enough start, but my goodness did this go up another notch when Terry Funk got in the ring. Terry pulls off an incredible hot tag when he comes up with an explosive comeback that has a ton of fire to it to pull off the comeback at first before getting shut down. Funk gets his ass kicked by the two big guys and he even bleeds rather quickly from wicked strikes, but he still showed valiant efforts of attempting a comeback despite being cut off constantly. Terry on one leg was able to eventually finally get his brother Dory back in the ring, as he made a great comeback to get them back in it. The crowd popped hugely when Terry pinned Gordy.****3/4"

[8.0] "Great match with the beloved Funks taking on the task of toppling Hansen and Gordy. Terry shined as the babyface here."

[10.0] "This is an excellent retirement match. The story of the match is all in Terry's selling and facials. He looks defiant in the early going as he hammers away at Hansen's face, and anguished as his leg gets taken away from him and blood pours down his face. He makes you feel so much sympathy. He looks absolutely heroic in the finish of the match as he flies through the air, overcoming all adversity. If this really was the end of Funk's career, it would have been an incredible way to go out, but thankfully there was so much left to come. Forever."

[10.0] "If you value MOVEZZ and that stuff in wrestling (and there's nothing wrong with it if you do, that's perfectly valid) you may not find this to be as great as some do. If you value emotion, passion, storytelling, legendary moments and the pomp and circumstance of wrestling, I am struggling to think of a safer 5* match than this one. Terry Funk's (first) retirement, in front of a Japanese crowd that loves him. This is as good as it gets. It is not ruined by the fact that Terry came back and wrested for 17 more decades. 5* by a country mile and easily, safely one of the very best, tippy top, S-tier, greatest wrestling matches of all time."

[10.0] "Terry Funk's supposed retirement match. Hot crowd, the Funks are really over here. Brawl filled with intensity on both sides. 5 star for me *****"

[7.0] "A fitting end to a wonderful career... or is it? This match was the first retirement match of many in Terry Funk's long career. The match itself is a pretty good brawl. Terry Funk gets brutalized by Stan Hansen and Terry Gordy pretty early into the match, only with the help of Dory Jr. is Terry able to get one over his foes in All Japan. The match itself was fine, and the memed "forever" promo is a fun one to see in real time. I would rank this higher if this was actually Terry's end, but it obviously wasn't. 7/10"

[9.0] "False retirements are actually pretty cool. This whole business is fake, work me however you want. There is real tangible emotion here from the start & Hansen being one of the most classic heels in the business, utilizes it perfectly. If you think that Terry Funk isn't one of the best of all time, I recommend checking out the post match promo."

[7.0] "Not sure if I can call it the best retirement match ever considering he didn't retire, not even close, but hey it's still a fun brawl and probably the most fitting retirement match to ever take place. Not many retirement matches can say they perfectly encapsulated what a wrestler was all about as they said goodbye but this match was pure Terry Funk. It ends in the most 80s way possible."

[10.0] "Terry Funks retirement brings me 12 minutes of pro wrestling heaven. Gordy and especially Hansen are at their bullying best here, attacking from the off including when Terry is still covered in streamers. Both Hansen and Terry are get entangled in streamers which makes a great visual. The crowd are molten hot and go crazy throughout. Terrys speech at the end is of course famous and it comes across amazing as he is floods of tears covered in his own blood. ****3/4"

[10.0] "This is Terry's 'retirement' match and this has one of the loudest crowds I have ever heard. You know you have a hot crowd when they are going apeshit for Dory Funk Jr. of all people! The match starts off with Dory being worked over by the heels. They mostly keep him immobilized with an armbar and strikes. Dory gets the crowd pops big whenever he gets in a lucky jab. Terry was sublime in this, egging his brother on and pacing up and down the apron when he's not tagged in and throwing some great punches and doing a marvelous selljob of his leg when he is the legal man. Everything looks snug and not one move looks phony. This is yet another hellish brawl that we need more of in today's wrestling. Above all the great strikes and well-done tag team wrestling, the emotion is off the charts. The crowd is fully invested in EVERYTHING that is going on. This is my pick for the best match of the '80s."

[9.0] "From the second the Funks music hit, I knew this was going to be special. The molten hot Japanese crowd falling over themselves during their entrance, a pre-match ceremony dedicated to Terry, steamers showing over both teams during the announcements. This is easily one of the best handled retirement matches by AJPW, with Hansen being the perfect opponent for the Funks. Everything felt like a real battle with him involved, this being no different as he attacks Terry before the streamers could be cleared from the ring and their ensuing brawl reaches into the crowd. Dory Jr. plays the face in peril for the first half of the match once everyone's back in order. It's fine, but this is Terry's special night and he's the Funk everyone wants to see get their hands on the heels. He makes a hot tag and absolutely levels the big men with a series of punches before finally knocking him on his ass. Though Terry also has his turn getting worked over, still showing some great fire until his attempts at a Spinning Toe Hold are thwarted by Hansen. Barely able to put weight on either leg and covered in a mask of his own blood, he eventually makes a tag to Dory who, bland as he may be, puts on a great comeback. The match breaks down again, Hansen and Dory fight to the floor, leaving both Terry's as the two legal men in the ring. A missed splash from Gordy is met with a diving Sunset Flip that gives Terry Funk the victory in his first of many retirement matches. Had he ended his career then and there, he would have still been regarded as a legend. Everything he's done since then are simply more feathers added to his cap. There are plenty of other tag matches I appreciate more for the athleticism or psychology on display. They just don't warm my heart like this does. ****1/2"

[10.0] "This is Terry F's first retirement match, and it's a doozy; it's maybe even the best "retirement" match I've ever seen. The Terry/Hansen pairing is the backbone of this, as you might expect, and it's definitely one of the best gaijin vs gaijin pairings that AJPW ever had. The Funks are such fantastic babyfaces, and they play that to the hilt, with Dory doing one of his best FIP performances. Gordy works perfectly as Hansen's partner in crime. The crowd is excellent. Terry F pins Terry G with a sunset flip off the top rope to win his retirement match. And the postmatch promo, despite the memetic infamy of the "FOR-EVER" chant, is genuinely moving. If Terry really had ended it all here, his legacy would have been secure. ****1/2; this is a classic, and a personal favorite for sure."

[9.0] "I knew about the "Forever! " for a while now thanks to Botchamania, but never the actual match. It's a pretty great brawl, Hansen is going all out on Terry who got some pretty nice colors to end (cough) his career. And there's not much more to say, it's a pretty damn good match, Dory's on point, Terry's crazy and Hansen and Gordy are great as usual. The final promo's pretty emotional when you get the full picture too."

[7.0] "Terry Funk's first retirement match. Stan is gunning for Terry before the bell rings or the streamers are cleared from the ring. Once Dory gets in the match Stan and Gordy cut the ring off and beat down on Dory. Terry gets the hot tag and isn't selling a thing from Hansen. Terry bleeds like crazy and they target his leg as he hobbles trying to keep his chances alive. Funk ends up getting Gordy on a 3 count. The crowd was electric. ***1/2"

[9.0] "Tremendous match. Seen the promo a bunch of times but never the match but thank god I did. Amazing. One of the best retirement matches of all time, even if it didn't last. Violent brawl early one, a great FIP section with Dory being ganged up on by Hansen and Gordy. Great performance by Terry on the apron and when he comes in. HOT crowd. Excellent match. ****1/2"