Glass Hand Dissolving: Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen

vs Kenta Kobashi & Jumbo Tsuruta (AJPW 7/15/1989)

This is violence right off the rip, and man, Tenryu and Jumbo what a pairing. Kobashi really isn't up to this sort of thing here in 1989; he's game, but he can't match what Jumbo, Tenryu, and Hansen bring in terms of presence and violence, plus he's only got one kneepad. Hansen and Tenryu bully Kobashi early, to the point that Kobashi pretty much runs towards Jumbo to tag out. When Jumbo gets in there, he really takes it to Tenryu, enough that he thinks Kobashi stands a chance. Kobashi tries, but he just isn't on the level. Tenryu is so dismissive of him, and Hansen doesn't give a shit and just jumps in the ring to beat on Kobashi for fun. Kenta escapes again, and Jumbo comes back in. Tsuruta grabs Hansen's arm and takes the tone down a notch. He gives Kobashi another shot, and Kobashi continues the arm work. Hansen eventually fights out and tags Tenryu back in. Kobashi fires up, nailing Tenryu with a barrage of slaps, which don't phase Tenryu so much as annoy him, but they create an opening for a big dropkick.  On the apron, Jumbo celebrates Kobashi's first meaningful offense. Kobashi hits a few more dropkicks, and goes for the cover. Tenryu comes back in and starts to grind down Kobashi with a front face lock. Feeling like he's got him softened up, Tenryu tags out. Kobashi has a little bit of luck early, but Tenryu turns the tables and is back to just beating up Kobashi. Tenryu tags Hansen in, and Kobashi pretty much runs away to tag out. Jumbo comes in and hits a big knee, then grabs an abdominal stretch; Hansen fights out, but into the opposing corner. Kobashi tags in, and he takes it to Hansen with chops, but Hansen turns the tables quickly. Hansen drags Kobashi over to his corner so Jumbo can tag in. They fight it out for a bit before Hansen tags out. Tenryu and Jumbo go at it for a bit, Hansen pops into the ring to get in the mix, which draws out Kobashi. In the melee, Jumbo rolls to the outside while Tenryu and Kobashi go at it. Jumbo sneaks in the ring and hits a blindsided knee to the back of Tenryu's head. Jumbo goes for the powerbomb, but before he can get Tenryu up, Hansen hits a lariat to the side of Jumbo's head. Jumbo staggers to his corner and tags in Kobashi. Kobashi goes to the top rope and hits a dropkick and follows up with a fisherman's suplex. Tenryu pops up, back brain kick transitions into a powerbomb, and Tenryu and Hansen win. I'm not a giant fan of the All Japan tag where one guy is essentially inept; you can sort of buy it here with the stature of the other team, but I just think it makes tagging in and out sort of counterintuitive when you know one guy is out of his depth. With that said, this was a good tag match, with some of the greatest wrestlers ever. 

vs The British Bulldogs (AJPW 11/17/1989)

This is a match that could go one of two ways, in my mind. Tenryu and Hansen could go out there and big league the Bulldogs, not give them much, and move on. The other option, and the less likely one in my mind, but the one we get, is Tenryu and Hansen selling for the Bulldogs like equals. What's surprising about this match is that Tenryu, mostly, and Hansen, in spots, spend so much time selling. The Bulldogs get the advantage right off the rip. They slam Tenryu onto some tables on the outside, and then Dynamite uses his speed to keep Hansen off balance. When Tenryu climbs back in the ring, Dynamite and then Davey are all over him, each applying submissions that Hansen has to come in and break up. Tenryu and Hansen take turns in the ring, and neither can pry the advantage away from the Bulldogs for very long. On one of the tags, Hansen and Tenryu double team Davey, which gives them a brief advantage, but Tenryu misses a top rope back elbow, and the Bulldogs are back on offense. Tenryu tags Hansen in, and now Hansen comes in with purpose; he clears house, follows the Bulldogs to the outside, and is throwing around chairs and other sundry items. When he gets back in the ring, Dynamite is there and ready, and holds his own with Hansen, but Stan hits a lariat essentially out of nowhere and gets the win. I liked this because it was a match that Tenryu and Hansen didn't need to have, and I think maybe they were too giving, but for a team that can be so prone to eating other teams alive, it was a nice changeup to see them allow the Bulldgos to carry this match. 

vs The Nasty Boys (AJPW 12/4/1989)

This is another one that could go either way, in terms of how much offense the Nastys get. The Nastys don't get the kinds of offense the Bulldogs got, and they have to fight for every bit of offense they get, but Hansen in particular is pretty giving here. It's not like he's laid low by Knobbs and Saggs, but he does let them get the advantage from time to time before be battles back with big offense. Tenryu doesn't really factor much into this match at all, tagging in only for short intervals. After about eight minutes, Hansen hits the lariat, and the match is over. This was fine; it was short, it was competitive enough; sometimes that is all a match is going to be. 

vs Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu (AJPW 12/6/1989)

The first half of this match is Yatsu selling for Tenryu and Hansen. Jumbo pops up in spots to buy Yatsu some time, or when Tenryu and Hansen get overzealous, but the match is built around Jumbo getting the tag. When he gets in there with Tenryu, it is heated from the start. He drops Tenryu with a knee, and Hansen comes rushing in; Jumbo takes care of him too and goes back to pummeling Tenryu. Jumbo really pours it on, Tenryu bends but doesn't break. Jumbo grabs a waistlock, but before he can hit the German suplex, Hansen hits him in the back of the head with a lariat. Tenryu and Hansen take turns hitting big offense on Jumbo, but can't put him away. Things spill to the outside, and Yatsu, with his headgear taped to his head, is ready to get some revenge. He fires up with headbutts on Hansen and Tenryu. He busts Hansen open with a headbutt, and uses that as an impetus to really go after Hansen. He covers Hansen after a running Bulldog, with draws out Tenryu and a series of contemptuous kicks. Tenryu's presence draws Jumbo, who pummels Tenryu, and Hansen is back and fired up, clubbering Yatsu. The referee gets some sense of control back; Hansen and Yatsu are left in the ring.  Hansen is still pouring it on, but Yatsu finds an opening and tags out. Jumbo hits a top tope knee, but Tenryu breaks up the fall and mauls Jumbo. Yatsu, I guess, didn't actually make the tag, because he's still the legal man. Yatsu can't hit a running bulldog, so Hansen goes back on offense, with a dropkick of all things. He goes for a lariat but misses; things go nuts from there with all four guys hitting big moves in the ring. In the melee, Hansen hits a lariat and gets the win. This is pretty great; the opening half drags a bit, but man, all of these guys are operating on such a high level. 

vs The Miracle Violence Connection (AJPW 3/6/1990)

Man, this is just a rock fight, ebb and flow, no one gaining a real advantage, no one giving any ground, but heavy shots land, heavy shots have an impact, but someone's going to have to blink, but no one wants to be the one who caves first. Tenryu starts to make some headway on Gordy, starting with a top rope back elbow, but that quickly comes to an end when Tenryu accidentally kicks Hansen. Smelling blood in the water, Gordy and then Williams go after Tenryu's leg. Tenryu struggles to mount any offense with his leg damaged; he kicks Williams a few times with his good leg, and creates some distance, but can't get to his own corner fast enough. Williams comes bolling over to break up the tag and knocks Hansen off the apron. Hansen has had enough and gets a chair; while he's doing that, Williams hits a back suplex, Gordy comes over to make sure Hansen doesn't end the match with his chair, and Wiiams goes back to the leg. Gordy's efforts ultimately are futile, as Hansen fights off Gordy, enters the ring, nails Williams with the chair, and the match is thrown out. Hansen then turns on Tenryu, which leads to some great brawling and Jumbo getting involved. 

Verdict

There isn't a lot of this team, so there's always going to be a limit on teams like that, but unsuprisingly this team rules. There isn't double-team offense, and there aren't face-in-peril segments really; Hansen and Tenryu go out there and fight. They don't do that in a way that leaves their opponents with nothing to do but sell, but they don't leave any doubt that either one of them isn't one of the best wrestlers in the world. Wrestling like that has a certain ceiling, and having a short tenure doesn't help, but this is a great team.