06/05/1990 AJPW 

Stan Hansen def. Steve Williams in 16:52

Since we just reviewed some AJPW, I figured I’d continue with two scary badasses, and what a fun fucking fight this turned out to be. It looked more like two wild bulls mauling each other than a wrestling match early, which is perfectly fine by me. There was a constant movement and action to the bout, even if *gasp* they weren’t doing moves and hitting spots. Hansen bled and was not only getting a solid thumping, but Doc was berating him while doing so in the most roid ragey way possible. They did a spot where Doc was about to post Hansen on the floor battering-ram-style, but Hansen slipped out and just barely posted Doc. I’ve seen that spot many times, but I’m not sure I’ve ever seen it look better than it did in this match. They built the drama and paid it off. Hansen set up for the lariat earlier in the match and missed it as well, but when Doc was in the middle of the Oklahoma stampede, Hansen slipped out and finally hit a massive lariat for the win. The story here was simple but perfect for the participants, and the crowd loved it. The buildup to Hansen finally hitting his finisher to barely survive was also well-built and well-crafted. **** 

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