Mitsuharu Misawa vs Stan Hansen
Champion Carnival 1992 Finals
taped 04/17/1992, aired 05/03/1992
Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium, Nagoya, Japan
(reviewed 04/14/2024) Less than six weeks after their last match these two face off again. For all the talk over the years of Giant Baba’s respect for his audience, he sure does book these tours like fans have the memory of a goldfish. Likewise forgetting about what worked so well last time, these guys elect to have another armwork match! Hooray!!! The most frustrating thing about it is that I like Hansen’s selling a lot; gingerly tiptoeing through Irish whip reversals and gasping a pained “wait wait wait wait” whenever Misawa cranks on a hold, he is the spitting image of a middle aged dad who fucked up his shoulder trying to carry a tube TV down to the basement by himself. It’s charming and relatable, which by its very definition makes it effective selling. You likely can’t relate to some asshole bugging out his eyes and screaming through some submission because, outside of you readers who have given birth, you almost certainly haven’t felt anything that was actually that painful. Those wide-eyed hysterics might be more dramatic in some vague, theoretical way but it doesn’t land like the relatively subdued reaction we’ve all had to stepping on some LEGOs or smashing a finger in a drawer. Wrestling doesn’t have to be relatable to be good but I think the drama of an injured limb does require some material grounding.
Like we saw last time this matchup is at its best when these two are just waling on each other. Unfortunately in this case that striking merely strings together spells of less-interesting armwork, though I do love seeing these guys boot each other in the face to force their way into or out of these holds. There’s certainly more struggle here than in their first impromptu match back in 1990. That said the transition into the finishing stretch is rough, in part because Misawa’s finishers aren’t related to this armwork he’s been doing this whole time. It’s often weird watching a guy go “alright time to switch gears” after 15 minutes of what seems like an effective strategy, simply because he feels the need to use his big moves instead, and it’s especially bad coming from a guy with such a dry personality. In that way I quite like the rollups and cradles Misawa uncorks toward the end; on top of being refreshingly uncommon parts of his arsenal they feel more connected to the match he’s been wrestling than something like his facelock does, stacking a guy up on his bum shoulder for a quick three count. In general Hansen does a much better job of making that armwork feel meaningful in the end, insofar as he’s the one selling the shit. He tries using his non-dominant right arm for his lariat but it’s not nearly so effective, so when Misawa blocks a second attempt with the right, Hansen guts his way through a Western Lariat with the injured left to win the tournament. Better luck next time, Misawa.
Brock Hates Wrestling 