Stan Hansen

John Stanley "Stan" Hansen II (August 29, 1949) is an American former professional wrestler. Hansen is renowned for his stiff wrestling style, which he attributes to his poor eyesight. He is also known for his gimmick as a loud, violent cowboy who wanted to fight everybody, which he further emphasized by appearing in interviews with a cowboy hat, leather vest and bullrope while often chewing on tobacco. Considered to be among the most successful and popular gaijins in professional wrestling history in Japan. On March 21, 2016, WWE announced that Hanson will be inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame class of 2016.
== Professional wrestling career ==
=== Early career (1973–1976) ===
After playing college football as a part of the West Texas State Buffaloes, Hansen made his professional wrestling debut in 1973. Initially taking up wrestling as a part-time job while trying out for the Detroit Wheels, Hansen began wrestling full-time when the team folded. In 1975, Hansen first teamed with future partner Frank Goodish, who later adopted the ring name Bruiser Brody, while competing in Leroy McGuirk's Tri-State territory.
=== World Wide Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling Federation (1976, 1980-1981) ===
In 1976, Hansen made his debut for the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) and only two months after he began competing for the company, he began feuding with the WWF Heavyweight Champion Bruno Sammartino over the title. During a title match, Hansen broke Sammartino's neck while they were wrestling and it was from this incident that both Hansen and promoters claimed that Sammartino's injury came about from the enormous power of his Lariat. However, a botched Powerslam is what actually caused Sammartino's injury. After Sammartino recovered, Hansen faced him for the WWWF Heavyweight Championship once again, but was unsuccessful. He left the promotion soon after. He returned in 1980, rekindling his feud with Sammartino and facing Pedro Morales and Andre the Giant on several occasions. He also developed a heated feud with then-WWF Champion Bob Backlund which culminated in a steel cage match at Madison Square Garden.
=== American Wrestling Association (1985–1986) ===
Hansen competed in the American Wrestling Association (AWA) from 1985 to 1986. He won the AWA World Heavyweight Championship on December 29, 1985, from Rick Martel. On June 29, 1986, he no-showed a title defense against the number one contender Nick Bockwinkel due to disagreements with management, forcing the AWA to default the title to Bockwinkel. Rumors suggest that Hansen was actually in the building that evening and had been informed by AWA promoter Verne Gagne of the pending loss to Bockwinkel. Hansen allegedly called All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) president 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. At the time, Hansen was already in a feud with Verne's son Greg, in which Hansen was determined to hog-tie Greg and "make him squeal like a pig." Eventually, Hansen was too much for Gagne, and on an episode of All-Star Wrestling, Hansen hog-tied Greg and proceeded to make him squeal in front of his fans, friends, and family. 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. 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. 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.
=== New Japan Pro Wrestling (1980–1981, 1990) ===
Hansen first came to New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) in May 1980 doing one off shows where usually teamed and fought Bob Backlund. From November 21 to December 13, 1980, Hansen did a tour for New Japan Pro Wrestling, where he competed in the first MSG league (later renamed the G1 Tag League). He teamed with Hulk Hogan, but they failed to win. He returned that April to wrestle Antonio Inoki in an unsuccessful match. He returned for several more one off shows until leaving the promotion in early 1981.
Hansen returned at NJPW's Super Fight in Tokyo Dome event in 1990, where he had an infamous interpromotional match against Vader. The match for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship saw Big Van Vader (representing New Japan, while Hansen represented All Japan) get struck in the eye during the entrances by Hansen's Bullrope. Both men were known to use a stiff style of wrestling, resulting in a nasty exchange where each man threw legitimate punches. The match ended in a draw, and Hansen never returned to New Japan.
=== All Japan Pro Wrestling (1981–1990) ===
In 1981, Hansen abruptly left NJPW to join All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW). While in AJPW, Hansen became the only man to pin Antonio Inoki and Giant Baba in championship singles matches. He continued wrestling from 1982 to 1999 in World'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., and Big Van Vader. Hansen also engaged in a renowned brawl with André the Giant in Japan.
In addition to championship matches, Hansen also competed in other high-profile matches. At the NJPW Super Fight in Tokyo Dome show on February 2, 1990, Hansen competed in another notable match as he represented AJPW against NJPW representative Big Van Vader. This particular match became renowned for its stiffness, as Hansen and Vader repeatedly exchanged blows until Hansen unintentionally poked Vader's right eye with his thumb, which caused the eye to pop out of its socket. After removing his mask, pushing the eye back into its socket and holding it in place with his eyelid, Vader continued wrestling Hansen until the match was rendered a no contest. As a result of the injury, Vader required a metal plate to be surgically placed under his eye. On April 13, 1990, the World Wrestling Federation and AJPW held a supershow called Wrestling Summit at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, in which Hansen lost to Hulk Hogan in the main event. Hansen won his first Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship by defeating Terry Gordy on June 8, 1990, and wrestled a rematch in NJPW against Vader on June 12.
=== World Championship Wrestling (1990-91) ===
In late 1990, Hansen began appearing in World Championship Wrestling (WCW), feuding with Lex Luger over the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship. On October 27 at Halloween Havoc, Hansen defeated Luger to win the title, ending Luger's record-setting reign at 523 days. On December 16 at Starrcade, Hansen re-lost the title to Luger in a bullrope 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 the WrestleWar pay-per-view in February 1991. On April 18, Hansen and Spivey won the AJPW World Tag Team Championship from Terry 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 of vignettes. His last WCW match occurred on June 23 in Atlanta. As a result of his departure, The Desperados' angle was dropped and the trio was quickly dissolved.
=== Return to AJPW (1991–2001) ===
Upon his return to AJPW, Hansen began a major feud with Mitsuharu Misawa, during which time they traded the Triple Crown Championship between one another. 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 as Takao Omori and Yoshihiro Takayama.
In 2000, Misawa and all but two natives defected from the promotion and formed Pro Wrestling Noah (Noah), although Hansen chose to remain loyal to AJPW instead of joining the talent exodus. Despite remaining with AJPW, Hansen's ongoing lumbago at 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 vacant Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship. Hansen lost the semi-final match to old partner Genichiro 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 Williams and Wolf Hawkfield lost to Johnny Smith, Yoshiaki Fujiwara and Masanobu Fuchi.
Hansen announced his retirement on January 28, 2001.
=== Post-retirement ===
Soon after retiring, Hansen successfully underwent surgery on his back and knees, the latter of which were both replaced. After recovering, he became the commissioner of AJPW's Pacific Wrestling Federation championship governing body, which saw him appear during Triple Crown and World Tag Team Championship matches to issue proclamations of the matches. In July 2007, Hansen voluntarily resigned from the position, with Hiroshi Hase replacing him.
== Personal life ==
In 1989, Hansen had a small role in the World Wrestling Federation-produced movie No Holds Barred, which starred Hulk Hogan.
Hansen has four children. He has an eldest son, John Stanley Hanson III and daughter, Elizabeth Paige Hanson, from his first marriage. he had two more children in his second marriage, Shaver (born December 19, 1987), played baseball at Baylor University before being drafted by the Seattle Mariners as the second pick in the sixth round of the 2009 Major League Baseball Draft. His younger son, Samuel (born February 21, 1991), is also a baseball player and played for the University of Texas at Arlington.
== Filmography ==
* No Holds Barred (1989) as "Neanderthal"
== Books ==
* The Last Outlaw (2012)
== In wrestling ==
* Finishing moves
**Lariat
* Signature moves
** Belly-to-back suplex
** Brazos Valley Backbreaker (Boston crab)
** DDT
** Elbow drop
** Texas piledriver
** Powerbomb
** Running knee drop
** Running shoulder block
** Scoop slam
** Snap suplex
* Managers
** Freddie Blassie
* Nicknames
** "Cowboy"
** "The Lariat"
** "The Man"
** "The Bad Man From Borger, Texas"
** "Fuchinkan" (Japanese for "The Unsinkable Battleship")
* Wrestlers trained
** Satoshi Kojima
*Entrance music
**"Sunrise" by Spectrum
==Championships and accomplishments==
*All Japan Pro Wrestling
:*AJPW Triple Crown Championship (4 times)
:*AJPW Unified World Tag Team Championship (8 times) with Gary Albright (1), Dan Spivey (1), Terry Gordy (2), Genichiro Tenryu (3) and Ted DiBiase (1)
:*NWA United National Championship (1 time)
:*NWA International Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
:*PWF Heavyweight Championship (4 times)
:*PWF World Tag Team Championship (3 times) with Ted DiBiase (1), Bruiser Brody (1) and Austin Idol (1)
:*NWA International Tag Team Championship (1 time) with Ron Bass
*American Wrestling Association
:*AWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
:*AWA International Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
*Georgia Championship Wrestling
:*NWA Georgia Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
:*NWA Georgia Television Championship (1 time)
:*NWA Georgia Tag Team Championship (2 times) with Tommy Rich (2)
*NWA Tri-State
:*NWA Tri-State North American Championship (1 time)
*National Wrestling Alliance
:*NWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) with Ole Anderson
:*NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
*New Japan Pro Wrestling
:*NWF World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
*Pro Wrestling Illustrated
:*PWI ranked him # 16 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI Years in 2003.
:*PWI ranked him # 7 with Bruiser Brody, # 24 with Ted DiBiase, # 34 with Terry Gordy and # 66 with Ole Anderson of the 100 best tag teams of the PWI Years.
:*PWI Most Hated Wrestler Award (1976)
:*PWI Match of the Year (1976; versus Bruno Sammartino)
*World Class Championship Wrestling
:*WCWA Texas Tag Team Championship (1 time) with Killer Tim Brooks
*Wrestling Observer Newsletter
:*He is a member of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (inducted in 1996)
:*1982 Tag Team of the Year (with Ole Anderson)
:*1985 Best Brawler
:*1990 Best Brawler
*World Wrestling Federation
**WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2016)
==Trivia==
*Hansen appeared in the 1989 movie No Holds Barred that starred Hulk Hogan. At the time there had been a rumor that Hansen would join the WWF, but as that would imply having to vacate the PWF and United National titles (and interrupt the Triple Crown unification process) and permanently burning bridges with AJPW promoter Giant Baba, nothing came out of it.
*Hansen formed a tag team with Riki Chōshū called "The Lariat Combo" due to them both using a lariat clothesline as a finisher.
*Hansen has a nephew who wrestles named Silas Young.
*Hansen is one of the most famous users of the lariat in Japan. The lariat is a very respected finisher in Japanese Puroresu, largely due to Hansen.
*Hansen first teamed with Bruiser Brody (then wrestling under his real name, Frank Goodish) in 1975 in Leroy McGuirk's Tri-State territory.
*Japanese wrestling commentators would often yell "LARIATO!" when Stan Hansen performed his finisher. They often do the same for other wrestlers who perform the Lariat.
*His legendary in-ring stiffness met its greatest victim in Big Van Vader in All-Japan Pro Wrestling. Hansen punched Vader in the head, which caused his eye, unsevered, to pop out of his head. Vader pushed his eye back in the socket and continued the match.
==See also==
*Legends with JBL: Stan Hansen
==External links==
* Stan Hansen Profile on CAGEMATCH
* Stan Hansen Profile on Online World of Wrestling
* WWE.com Profile
Category:American wrestlers
Category:All Japan Pro Wrestling alumni
Category:American Wrestling Association alumni
Category:Continental Wrestling Association alumni
Category:Georgia Championship Wrestling alumni
Category:Jim Crockett Promotions alumni
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Category:Universal Wrestling Federation (Bill Watts) alumni
Category:World Championship Wrestling alumni
Category:World Class Championship Wrestling alumni
Category:World Wrestling Entertainment alumni
Category:1949 births
Category:1973 debuts
Category:NWA International Heavyweight Champions
Category:2001 retirements
Category:AWA World Heavyweight Champions
Category:Texas wrestlers
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Category:AJPW Triple Crown Champions
Category:WWE Hall of Fame inductees
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Category:NWA World Tag Team Champions
Category:Frank Gotch Award Winners