#26: Kenta Kobashi vs. Stan Hansen, AJPW Summer Action Series (7/29/1993).
The theme this week is some old school All Japan from the heyday of the 1990s!
First up, a match that should be a slugfest between Kenta Kobashi and Stan Hansen - the latter being the most successful foreigner in Japanese wrestling history.
Hansen stomps the streamers and Kobashi kicks his face in to start things out. On the outside, Kobashi slaps Hansen repeatedly and then hits a DDT. Kobashi then hits a tope to the outside onto Hansen. Hansen tries to fight back with big slaps, and Kobashi responds by chopping the hell out of him.
Kobashi sends Hansen into the ring post. Back in the ring, Kobashi kicks the hell out of Hansen's back. Kobashi locks a neck crank in. He digs pretty deep into the nose. Hansen goes for a back suplex, but Kobashi holds onto the crank grip. Back on the outside, Kobashi stomps on Hansen's face. Big suplex from Kobashi in the ring gets a 2 count.
Kobashi connects with a leg drop to Hansen's head on the ropes twice. He misses a baseball slide. A boot and a chop later, and he brings Hansen back into the ring. Kobashi cranks the side headlock again like he's Ricky Steamboat! Kobashi connects with boots in the corner to Hansen. Hansen comes back with a boot of his own.
Hansen then hits a dive off the apron to Kobashi. He powerbombs him on the concrete floor like it's nothing, and Kobashi's head just barely misses the steel barricade. Both men exchange hard chops and slaps. Kobashi then boots Hansen down. Hansen avoids a shotgun dropkick from the top rope, and gets a nearfall off of it. Hansen connects with a diving splash, and it gets a nearfall.
A diving knee to Hansen in the corner follows. Kobashi hits some Kobashi style chops to Hansen in the corner. More slaps from both men. Headbutts from Hansen and a huge lariat from Kobashi. Sleeper hold from Kobashi, and a big knee to the back of Hansen's head. Kobashi goes for what looks like a Sliced Bread, and Hansen counters into a back suplex.
Kobashi counters a charging Hansen with a drop toe hold, along with three leg drops - the latter of which came off the ropes. He hits a fourth from the top turnbuckle, and Hansen still kicks out! Kobashi hits a powerslam, a leg drop, and a moonsault from the top, and Hansen again kicks out! What a tough SOB! Hansen connects with...an enziguri? After several nearfalls, Kobashi hits the lariat...and guess what? Hansen kicks out.
Hansen blocks a moonsault from Kobashi. He throat chops Kobashi from the apron, and lariats him to the mat. He makes the cover, and that's enough for the 3. That definitely surprised me, as I believed Kobashi was definitely winning. That was a big meaty match between two meaty men. Hansen comes out of this looking tougher than over cooked steak. Kobashi looked awesome standing toe to toe against the legendary Hansen.