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Stan Hansen

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Stan Hansen
Hansen,c.1985
Birth nameJohn Stanley Hansen II[1]
Born(1949-08-29)August 29, 1949(age 74)[1]
Knox City, Texas,
U.S.[2]
Alma materWest Texas State University
Spouse(s)Yumi Hansen
Children4
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Stan "The Lariat" Hansen[3][2]
Billed height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)[3][2][4]
Billed weight321 lb (146 kg; 22.9 st)[3][4][5]
Billed fromBorger, Texas[3]
Trained byDory Funk[2]
Dory Funk Jr.[2]
Terry Funk[2]
DebutJanuary 1, 1973[2]
RetiredJanuary 28, 2001[6][7][8]

John Stanley "Stan" Hansen II[1](born August 29, 1949),[1]best known asStan "TheLariat"Hansen,is an American retiredprofessional wrestler.

Hansen is known for hisstiffwrestling style, which he attributed to his pooreyesight,[4][9]and for hisgimmickas a loud, violentcowboywho wanted to fight everybody,[6][7]which he further emphasized by appearing in interviews with acowboy hat,leather vest andbullropewhile oftenchewing on tobacco.[8][10]Considered one of the most successful and populargaijininJapanese professional wrestlinghistory, he became more well-known and revered inJapanthan in his nativeUnited States.[6][7]In Japan'sAJPWpromotion,he held seven different championships.[6][7]Overall he is a ten-timeworld champion.

Outside of wrestling Hansen played a small role in the movieNo Holds Barredin 1989 and in 2011 he released his co-written biography,The Last Outlaw.

Football career

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Hansen playedcollege footballfor theWest Texas State Buffaloes.[3][10]

Professional wrestling career

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Early career (1973–1980)

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Hansen made his professional wrestling debut in 1973, grappling part-time while trying to make it as anAmerican footballplayer. The following year, he tried out for theDetroit Wheelsthe short-livedWorld Football League,but did not make the team, and so began wrestling full-time.[11][12]In 1975, Hansen first teamed with future partnerFrank Goodish,who later adopted the ring name Bruiser Brody, while competing inLeroy McGuirk's Tri-State territory.[13]

World Wide/World Wrestling Federation (1976, 1980–1981)

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In 1976, Hansen made his debut for theWorld Wide Wrestling Federation(WWWF) and only two months after he began competing for the company, he beganfeudingwith theWWF Heavyweight ChampionBruno Sammartinoover the title.[3]During a title match, Hansen broke Sammartino's neck while they were wrestling[5]and it was from this incident that both Hansen and promoters claimed that Sammartino's injury came about from the enormous power of hislariat.[3][8][11]However, abotchedpowerslamis what actually caused Sammartino's injury.[4][11]

Hansen (left) wrestlingBob Backlundin asteel cage match,1981

After Sammartino recovered, Hansen faced him for the WWWF Heavyweight Championship once again, atShowdown at Shea,but was unsuccessful. He left the promotion soon after.[3]He returned in 1980, rekindling his feud with Sammartino and facingPedro MoralesandAndre the Gianton several occasions. He also developed a heated feud with the then-WWF ChampionBob Backlundwhich culminated in a steel cage match atMadison Square Garden.[14]

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (1977–1981, 1990)

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Hansen first came toNew Japan Pro-Wrestling(NJPW) in January 1977 through the booking of Vince McMahon Sr. With his "reputation" as the man who broke Bruno Sammartino's neck, Hansen quickly became a top heel, facingAntonio Inokiand other top New Japan stars like Seiji Sakaguchi and Tatsumi Fujinami. In addition, while touring Japan regularly, he faced top American wrestlers including Andre the Giant, Dusty Rhodes, Bob Backlund, and Hulk Hogan. Hansen established himself as a dominant force in Japan by competing in New Japan's MSG (Madison Square Garden) tournament between 1978 and 1981. Hansen would win the NWF World Title from Antonio Inoki on February 8, 1980, one of the only two wrestlers to dethrone Inoki during his seven-year reign. From November 21 to December 13, 1980, Hansen did a tour for NJPW, where he competed in the first MSG Tag League tournament (later renamed the G1 Tag League). He teamed withHulk Hogan,but they failed to win. He returned that April to wrestleAntonio Inokiin an unsuccessful match. However, he defeated Inoki via countout in a MSG League match on May 20, 1981, after hitting a lariat on Inoki, knocking him off the apron. He returned for several more one-off shows until leaving the promotion in December 1981.[15]

Hansen returned at NJPW's Super Fight In Tokyo Dome event in 1990, where he had an infamous inter-promotional match against Vader. The match for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship sawBig Van Vader(representing New Japan, while Hansen represented All Japan) get struck in the nose during the entrances by Hansen's Bullrope, breaking it. Both men were known to use a stiff style of wrestling, resulting in a nasty exchange where each man threw legitimate punches, during which Hansen unintentionally poked Vader's left eye with his thumb during their brawl, causing the eye to pop out of its socket. After removing his mask, Vader pushed the eye back into its socket and held it in place with his eyelid. The match ended in a draw.[16]Hansen returned in June for a few more matches, teaming twice withRiki Choshuand once withThe Pegasus Kid.[17]

All Japan Pro Wrestling (1981–1990)

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In 1981, Hansen abruptly left NJPW to joinAll Japan Pro Wrestling(AJPW). While in AJPW, Hansen became the only man to pin Antonio Inoki andGiant Babain championship singles matches. He continued wrestling from 1982 to 1999 inWorld's Strongest Tag Determination League.He wrestled primarily in tag matches, where he formed many teams with the likes of Bruiser Brody,Terry Gordy,Ted DiBiase,Genichiro Tenryu,Dan Spivey,Bobby Duncum Jr.,andBig Van Vader.Hansen also engaged in a renowned brawl withAndré the Giantin Japan.

On April 13, 1990, theWorld Wrestling Federationand AJPW held asupershowcalled Wrestling Summit at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, in which Hansen lost toHulk Hoganin the main event.[18]Hansen won his firstTriple Crown Heavyweight Championshipby defeating Terry Gordy on June 8, 1990, and wrestled a rematch in NJPW against Vader on June 12.[19]

American Wrestling Association (1985–1986)

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Hansen competed in theAmerican Wrestling Association(AWA) from 1985 to 1986. He won theWorld Heavyweight Championshipon December 29, 1985, fromRick Martel.[3]On June 29, 1986, he no-showed a title defense against the number one contenderNick Bockwinkeldue to disagreements with management, forcing the AWA to default the title to Bockwinkel.[4]Rumors suggest that Hansen was actually in the building that evening and had been informed by AWA promoterVerne Gagneof the pending loss to Bockwinkel. Hansen allegedly calledAll Japan Pro Wrestlingpresident Giant Baba to ask if losing the championship was acceptable, but Baba had already lined up challengers for Hansen and did not permit Hansen to drop the championship. In the end, Hansen refused to drop the title to Bockwinkel and was stripped of the championship; Bockwinkel was given one of the tag team belts, which was then billed as the AWA World Heavyweight Championship due to Hansen still possessing the true title belt. Hansen immediately returned to Japan and defended the AWA World Heavyweight Championship, despite being stripped of it.[3][11]The AWA threatened legal action if Hansen continued to carry the belt and refer to himself as the organization's champion, so Hansen responded by running over the belt with his truck and mailing it back with the mud tracks still on it.[3][4][11]This chain of events was reviewed in an interview with Hansen at an NWA Legends convention, in which he expressed regret over the way he handled the situation and ultimately complimented Gagne.[11]

World Championship Wrestling (1990–1991)

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In late 1990, Hansen began appearing inWorld Championship Wrestling(WCW), feuding withLex Lugerover theNWA United States Heavyweight Championship.On October 27 atHalloween Havoc,Hansen defeated Luger to win the title, ending Luger's record-setting reign at 523 days.[3][20]On December 16 atStarrcade,Hansen lost the title back to Luger in abullrope match.During this period, Hansen continued working tours for All Japan, teaming with Dan Spivey to finish second in the World's Strongest Tag Determination League in November and December. Hansen wrestled another rematch with Vader at theWrestleWarpay-per-view in February 1991. On April 18, Hansen and Spivey won theAJPW World Tag Team ChampionshipfromTerry Gordy and Steve Williams,and teamed occasionally upon their return to WCW. In June, Hansen left WCW and returned full-time to All Japan after a disagreement over an idea to group him with The Desperados, a trio of bumbling cowboys looking for Hansen through a series ofvignettes.[11]His last WCW match occurred on June 23 in Atlanta.[21]As a result of his departure, The Desperados' angle was dropped and the trio was quickly dissolved.[11]

Eastern Championship Wrestling (1993)

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In August 1993 Hansen made hisEastern Championship Wrestling(ECW) debut in Philadelphia. His first match he defeatedECW TV ChampionJimmy Snukaby disqualification. Hansen's last ECW appearance was atECW UltraClash 1993where he teamed withTerry FunkdefeatingAbdullah the ButcherandKevin Sullivanby disqualification.

Return to AJPW (1991–2001)

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Upon his return to AJPW, Hansen began a major feud withMitsuharu Misawa,during which time they traded the Triple Crown Championship between one another.[3]Following Giant Baba's death, Misawa became the new booker and quickly began de-emphasizing Hansen and other foreign talent, in favor of new native recruits such asTakao OmoriandYoshihiro Takayama.

In 2000,Misawa and all but two natives defected from the promotionand formedPro Wrestling Noah(NOAH), although Hansen chose to remain loyal to AJPW instead of joining the talent exodus. Despite remaining with AJPW, Hansen's ongoinglumbagoat the time began to worsen, which ultimately lead him to wrestle his final singles match on October 21, 2000, as part of a tournament for the vacantTriple Crown Heavyweight Championship.[11]Hansen lost the semi-final match to old partnerGenichiro Tenryu,who went on to win the tournament and the title. His last match altogether was a six-man bout on the 28th, in which he,Steve WilliamsandWolf Hawkfieldlost toJohnny Smith,Yoshiaki FujiwaraandMasanobu Fuchi.

Hansen announced his retirement on January 28, 2001, during theGiant Baba Memorial Spectacularevent.[6][7][8][22]

Post-retirement

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Hansen in 2015

Soon after retiring, Hansen successfully underwentsurgeryon his back and knees, the latter of which were bothreplaced.[22]After recovering, he became thecommissionerof AJPW'sPacific Wrestling Federationchampionship governing body, which saw him appear during Triple Crown and World Tag Team Championship matches to issue proclamations of the matches.[11]In July 2007, Hansen voluntarily resigned from the position, withHiroshi Hasereplacing him.[11]

On April 2, 2016, Hansen was inducted into theWWE Hall of Fameby his rival and friendVader.

Personal life

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In 1989, Hansen had a small role in theWorld Wrestling Federation-produced movieNo Holds Barred,which starredHulk Hogan.[23]

Although he famously stated during his wrestling career that he has "9 kids",[24]Hansen has four children. He has an elder son John III, and daughter Elizabeth Hardee, from his first marriage.[10][22]He had two more children with his current wife Yumi: Shaver (born December 19, 1987), who played baseball atBaylor Universitybefore being drafted by theSeattle Marinersas the second pick in the sixth round of the2009 MLB Draft,[13][25]and Samuel (born February 21, 1991), who is also a baseball player and played for theUniversity of Texas at Arlington.[13][26]

Other media

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Filmography

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Books

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  • The Last Outlaw[27](August 8, 2011)

Championships and accomplishments

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Stan Hansen in the WWE Hall of Fame.

1Hansen won the championship after Ted Turner purchased Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling from Jim Crockett Jr. and renamed the promotion World Championship Wrestling. Hansen's reign was also prior to the championship being renamed the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship.

References

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