When I think of the word ‘hoss’, Stan Hansen pops into my
head. He’s a hoss in the truest sense of the word. One of my favorite Stan
Hansen matches is his chaotic brawl with Toshiaki Kawada. Since I watched the
Kikuchi/Fuchi match from the same show, I decided to revisit Hansen vs. Kawada.
There’s so much to love about tis match. Kawada selling Hansen’s haymakers like
death. The way Hansen kicks Kawada like he’s kicking at a piece of cow shit. I
love how Hansen throws his weight into offense, like that big back elbow out of
the corner or the awesome diving shoulderblock through the ropes. They take
turns controlling portions of the match and at one point, Hansen looks a little lost and then really looks lost (as in loss of consciousness) when Kawada's got him trapped in the Stretch Plum. Kawada murders him in the
corner with kicks. He chops at Hansen and Hansen just grabs him by the head and
slams him down with zero shits given. After Hansen’s
big ole release powerbomb, he signals for the lariat and the crowd is eating it
up. Kawada cuts him off but Hansen hits a one of the greatest lariats of all
time, the momentum of it carrying him clear out of the fucking ring! Both men are sluggish with exhaustion, with
these glazed over looks in their eyes, and Hansen almost collapses into that final
enzui-lariat with enough power to defeat Kawada. Such a Texas hoss match with great psychology, brutal shitkicking strikes, and a super hot crowd during the final minutes of the match (minus the crickets after the ref fucks up a count). One of the best brawls of all time...and I don't even really like brawls.
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