Terry Funk vs. Stan Hansen - 1985, AJPW
Funk aged a lot in the year or so between the brutal '84 encounter and this one. He grew out a goatee, his hair is receding, and he's put on a bit of mass. Funk swats at Hansen with a towel before Hansen can even get to the ring. Hansen storms at Funk and chases him out of the ring. He whips Funk across the back with his bullrope and hunts him down around ringside until Funk slips away.
Hansen bodyslams Funk over the top rope within moments of the opening bell. Hansen beats on Funk outside of the ring for a minute before taking it back inside. Funk reverses an irish whip and tries to spear Hansen in the corner, but Hansen gets out of the way, letting Funk ram himself into the ring post.
Hansen piledrives Funk. He gets a two count on the ensuing pin. Hansen continues his beat down with chops, boots, and a body slap. Funk rolls out of the way of an elbow drop then uses his head like a battering ram as Hansen tries to get up. Funk backs Hansen up with a trio of jabs. He chops Hansen down with kicks to the back of the knee/thigh and starts to work over Hansen's leg.
Hansen pulls Funk down to the mat. He gets up and tries a knee drop, but Funk evades it. Hansen rolls on the mat, clutching his knee. Funk gets the spinning toe hold on Hansen, who tries to grab Funk's hair. He finally gets a hold of that and throws a hard right to Funk's brow. Hansen has to grab the bottom rope to break the hold and decides it's best to roll outside and buy some time.
Funk follows him out and continues the knee work. Another spinning toe hold ends with a massive Hansen boot slamming into Funk. Back in the ring, Hansen tugs on his elbow pad; the crowd immediately knows what to expect. Hansen misses with a big lariat that Funk has to duck all the way under to avoid. Funk jumps on Hansen from behind and slaps on a sleeper. Hansen gets Funk off his back by throwing himself forward at the ropes, dumping Funk outside again.
Hansen goes for another irish whip but Funk reverses and back body drops Hansen. Funk piledrives Hansen then goes for a pin. Two count again. Funk goes for a second piledriver. Hansen counters by lifting Funk up for a back body drop of his own, sending Funk out of the ring yet again. Hansen pursues Funk, cowbell and rope in hand. He wraps it around Funk's throat, choking him like their last match. Funk tries desperately to escape. Hansen yanks Funk across the ring, knocking over the ref. Hansen chokes Funk out with the rope, though this time it's not the brutal display that the '84 choking was.
Hansen notices the ref is down and waives for help. Ted DiBiase answers the call. Hansen yells at DiBiase to go up to the top rope. DiBiase follows orders and frog splashes Funk just as the ref comes to. The ref immediately calls an end to the match. DiBiase and Hansen play tug-of-war with the rope while it's wrapped around Funk's neck. The crowd goes wild. The announcer is screaming. Dory Funk Jr. comes out for the rescue again, still dressed like a damn retail store manager. Dory runs Hansen and DiBiase off with a leather boot as his weapon of choice. The next few minutes are a chaotic scene with Dory trying to get his brother to safety while Hansen and DiBiase whip chairs at them.
Match Rating: **** This third match never gets to the level of their '84 draw, but I don't think any match does, so that's a bit unfair. Funk and Hansen add another strong brawl to their joint CV. This one has a slower feel to it than the wild scrums from the previous few years, but it builds on those. Funk isn't foolishly throwing himself at Hansen and trying to get the spinning toe hold on no matter the cost. Hansen wises up and wouldn't let Funk gets the jump on him. Another match worth watching, though not an all-time great.
Match link below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjU78GtAQ60
P.S.: A video package after the match gives us some music almost directly ripped from Star Wars, and it is worth keeping the video on to see.
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