10 More Superstars Who Had Better Careers Outside WWE

6. Stan Hansen

To old school WWF fans, Stan Hansen is known as the large Texan who nearly ended Bruno Sammartino€™s wrestling career. To other fans, he is a legendary performer in Japan. Either way, Stan Hansen was one extremely stiff wrestler. Due to what he claimed to be poor eyesight, Hansen often hit his opponents as hard as he could, and never pulled any punches. Hansen competed in the WWF in the mid-1970s, and was responsible for one of the most infamous botches of that time period. During a match against legendary Superstar Bruno Sammartino, Hansen botched a Powerslam, causing Sammartino to land on his head, breaking his neck. Sammartino would return from said injury and gain a measure of revenge against Hansen. After Sammartino€™s grudge match, Hansen left the WWF and went to work in Japan, where he became a legendary performer. The Japanese wrestling press capitalized on Sammartino€™s injury and claimed that it was Hansen€™s finisher, the Western Lariat, which had caused the Living Legend€™s injury. This helped establish Hansen as a dangerous and formidable opponent for Japanese wrestlers. It was in All Japan Pro Wrestling where Stan Hansen€™s career truly reached its zenith. He won the coveted Triple Crown Championship four times, the Champion€™s Carnival (a tournament similar to WWE€™s King of the Ring) twice in a row, All Japan€™s World Tag Team Championships 8 times, and numerous World Championships throughout the fledging NWA. In fact, it is often said that Stan Hansen is the single greatest gaijin (foreign) wrestler in Japanese wrestling history. He has gone on to wrestle against All Japan€™s greatest stars, including Mitsuharu Misawa, Bruiser Brody, Kenta Kobashi, and AJPW founder Giant Baba himself. Moreover, he would go on to have a classic rivalry with Vader, who would go on to adopt many of Hansen€™s signature wrestling traits, including his stiff style (more on him later). Ultimately, Hansen€™s career in the WWE was short-lived, but he made the best of things by going to Japan and becoming a legendary performer in the hearts of wrestling fans around the world.