10 Times Wrestlers Refused To Accept Certain Finishes

When Stan Hansen joined the AWA in the mid-1980s, he’d already established himself as a force to be reckoned with across the Pacific in Japan. That meant he had a degree of leverage, and it was that leverage that eventually contributed to him walking out on the AWA having refused to drop their world title.

On 29 June 1986, Hansen was slated to face Nick Bockwinkel at a show in Denver, Colorado. There, promoter Verne Gagne told him he was going to lose the AWA title, but Hansen protested on the basis that he already had title bouts lined up for All Japan Pro Wrestling.

The stalemate led to Hansen refusing to do the match, walking out on the company and taking the championship with him, despite the AWA officially stripping him of the gold.

With Hansen still in possession of the title, the AWA was forced to bill one of its tag team belts as its world title, before the threat of legal action against Hansen eventually saw him mail the belt back to its owner—but not before running it over in a truck. Rumour has it that when the AWA received the belt, it was still marked with mud-tracks from Hansen’s antics.