What Might Have Been: Stan Hansen

[It's...Baylariat!]

I'm going to...once again...attempt to stir the pot on another series called "What Might Have Been". Basically, this will be about wrestlers or personalities that could have been a lot bigger than they actually were. There will be quite a few wrestlers on this list, but I'm going to start with someone who is near and dear to my heart as a pro wrestling fan...Stan "the Lariat" Hansen.

Stan Hansen spent nearly ALL his productive wrestling career in Japan. He had cups of coffee in the WWF and WCW and was even the AWA World Heavyweight Champion for a stint, but many old school fans know Hansen as a man who dominated Japan and was one of the greatest non-Japanese wrestlers to ever step foot on Japanese soil.

HOWEVER, in my eyes, he could have been equally successful in America. What might have been for Stan Hansen was either a feud with Hulk Hogan during the PEAK of Hulkamania, or winning the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Title from Ric Flair during his peak. These things were real possibilities that never materialized for numerous, unproven reasons. The only legit claim was that Stan Hansen was actually good friends with Hogan and in time, could have had a feud with Hogan for the WWE Title in the late 80's. The thing that kept Hansen from going to the WWF was his loyalty to Giant Baba. Baba didn't want Hansen gone for a long time as Hansen was a HUGE draw for All Japan Pro Wrestling. So Hansen balked on the idea. Another rumored idea was back in 1985-1986, Hansen was in contact with Jim Crockett to wrestle for his promotion for a while and possibly win the NWA Title from Flair and defend and possibly drop the belt to Flair in Japan. This didn't really hold any water mainly due to Hansen being obligated with dates in Japan and Giant Baba and Verne Gagne striking a deal to cross promote, which nipped the NWA scenario in the bud.

But overall, I think if Hansen would have went either path in America, he could have been a pretty big name and had an even cooler status as a legend in wrestling. PWI ranked Hansen 16th in the PWI 500 best wrestlers of all time, and that's with just his stints in Japan. Imagine if Hansen and Flair feuded for the NWA title, or Hansen faced Hogan at Wrestlemania.

What might have been.

 

[It's...Baylariat!]

won't lie. i agree w/ you 100%. but i must say i do remember hansen facing lex luger in a texas bullrope match in NWA in the late 80's. hansen was a great heel from what i remember all those years ago.

What the WCW did to Hansen then was just a case of the higher ups not having an idea on what to do with their talent. Hansen was 'borrowed' from AJPW during the cross promotion with WCW. This seen Ric Flair, Vader, The Steiner Brothers, and Stan Hansen clash in Japan and in WCW. Hansen being given the WCW US Title shows how the smarter people who were booking thought of Hansen. It's just a shame he didn't go to the NWA/WCW earlier where he could have had a feud with someone like Flair or Dusty Rhodes. Hansen is the consummate heel, too. Nasty, mean, big, and bullied people. All the criteria met to be a good heel back in the 80's. And that bullrope match was a joke. Could have been done better in my opinion...not having Luger in the match would have been a good start.

 

[doddsfamily]

Are you kidding me? What might have been of Stan Hansen? There wasn't a more impacting wrestler in the 70s when Hansen broke Bruno's neck. There's no way a Flair Hansen Feud would have worked. Or a Hogan Hansen Fued. Hansen was perfect for Japan. Being rated 16th of all time ain't no joke. But then again, the inmates are running the assylum. I wonder if the original Tiger Mask made it in to your list of all time greats? As long as marks like you control the wrestling business, it will never return in our life time.

 

[It's...Baylariat!]

Are you kidding me?

I never kid around. So no.

What might have been of Stan Hansen? There wasn't a more impacting wrestler in the 70s when Hansen broke Bruno's neck.

I really don't understand what you said here, but Hansen broke Bruno's neck with a botched bodyslam. Of course, for story purposes and folklore, it's going to be believed that his Lariat did it. It wasn't. He was sandbagged by Bruno and botched the body slam by tossing him on his head. And in the 70's, Hansen was just starting to find his niche. He didn't hit popularity until the 80's.

There's no way a Flair Hansen Feud would have worked.

Explain why. Because I have a thread in this section that explains a way it could have happened. Hansen was rough and tough and also a Texan, and with him teaming with Dusty Rhodes and Dick Murdoch? Could have been a great run for Hansen if things would have worked out.

Or a Hogan Hansen Fued.

There's a video on youtube that shows the chemistry between Hogan and Hansen. Look it up. They wrestled in Japan and this match was called 'Special Dream Match'. Terms like that in Japan aren't thrown around often.

Hansen was perfect for Japan.

Yes he was. This is a correct statement. Hansen was sooo different in Japan, that he drew numbers, and ratings. People wanted to see the Japanese wrestlers shut up the loud Cowboy from Texas. He was amazing in Japan, but he could have been great in America, too

Being rated 16th of all time ain't no joke. But then again, the inmates are running the assylum.

Do what? I seriously don't know what you mean here. PWI isn't exactly Sports Illustrated, but they do know wrestling. And they recognized Hansen ahead of Austin, Luger, and other greats, because Hansen himself was great.

I wonder if the original Tiger Mask made it in to your list of all time greats?

You know who he is? Surprised. Yea, he's a dynamic wrestler. I've watched a bit of his stuff and he's a definite legend. What does that have to do with Stan Hansen?

As long as marks like you control the wrestling business, it will never return in our life time.

If ONLY I could control the wrestling business. I'm flattered that you think of me in such high regard. Do some more research before you post baseless opinions on a wrestler I hold in high regard. Thanks.

 

[tsull2121]

I dont think you could actually throw stan hansen in the "what could have been" category, because he.. much like bruiser brody" had a rep all OVER the country and all over the world as one of the toughest men to ever step in the ring.

the reason, i think, that hansen never got a shot at hogan or flair's world titles was because he would flat out make them look bad.

he could overpower hogan and easily overpower flair.. all it would take was one solid lariat and theyd be toast. the "fun" of it would have been watching either flair or hogan chasing hansen to get their respective title BACK from him.

i'm thinking the main impact here would have been at wrestlemania 3 if he ended up in vinnie land. would it have been hansen defending against andre... or hansen defending against hogan?

think about it.. for all intents and purposes, andre vs hogan CEMENTED hogan and pretty much was the peak of his career... but imagine, would hogan have been even BIGGER if he was going into wm3 as the challenger and ended up WINNING the title?

i dont think hansen would have went for that, since it woulda probably killed his rep in the states to be taken down on a big show like that.

thats another reason why neither he or brody ever spent too long in one region... better to hit quick then leave as opposed to staying around too long and wearing out your welcome, it owuld have killed BOTH wrestlers' credibility in the states to go down to either flair or hogan... in japan it wasnt a big deal since they had the OPPOSITE effect than they did in the states... they were more "hogan-like" in japan where they were the "big supersized heels thrown at the current champion" to test him etc.

 

[zone3og]

Stan Hanson was one of the greatest wrestlers of all time and he was so funny at times that you just couldnt hate him. Kind of like Terry Funk. I woild have loved to see him compete more in the U.S. NWA really dropped the ball on him back in 1990.

 

[DaGhost]

I can't claim to be an expert on Hansen, but I just don't know about him becoming a bigger name here in the states.

I just can't see him and Hogan becoming a great feud. Hogan's character needed dragons to slay. Kamala, King Kong Bundy, Earthquake, Tiny Lister, Andre were all larger than life characters. I just don't think Hogan's schtick really worked that well against characters like Stan Hansen. And McMahon would never allow Hansen to "overpower" his cash cow Hogan.

In NWA/WCW I think he really needed to be a strong heel. He didn't have the "look" that you had to have (unless you were Dusty) to be over as a face. Unfortunately the strong heel role was filled by Flair and the Horsemen. I just can't see him coexisting with Flair or teaming for any length of time with Dusty or Dick Murdoch. Him and Dirty Dick as a team could enjoy a great run, but beyond that I just don't see where NWA/WCW could find a top spot for him.

I think the best place in the U.S. for Hansen was the AWA. He was a top heel and was a dominant force. Unfortunately the downfall of AWA really didn't leave him with a suitable home.

Don't get me wrong though, I wish that it would have happened because he was great to watch/love/hate.

Da Ghost

 

[Tastycles]

While I don't doubt Hansen's abilities to have been a big deal, the thing you have to remember with him is that he was very stiff. This means that the more fragile top Us stars, and I'm looking at you Mr. Bollea, would have probably bitched about working with him. Not to mention that when the national schedules began, he'd have been a risk for causing injuries too.

Hansen could have been fine, but only in NWA as I don't think any heel had sufficient longevity in WWF at the time. Thanks again, Mr. Bollea. In NWA Hansen could have been a fairly big feal, and would likely have been one of the Horsemen, but he'd never have been top dog. Ultimately, I think the best thing for him was to be the journeyman he was, to be honest.