20 Best Wrestling Tag Team Matches Ever
18. Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada Vs. Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy (AJPW - December 16th, 1988)
WWE Hall of Famers Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy were always a tremendous amount of fun together. Their size, volatility, and hard-brawling styles meshed perfectly and though Gordy is better known for his partnerships with Steve Williams and the Fabulous Freebirds, his matches with Hansen were always a hoot.
In December 1988, they teamed-up against the grumpy old man of puroresu, Genichiro Tenryu, and Toshiaki Kawada - a man capable of caving an opponent’s chest in with a single kick. Tenryu and his protege played babyface, withstanding a lengthy onslaught from the gaijin duo before working their way back into it, only for Tenryu to become isolated towards the end.
The young Kawada was brutalised by the heels, and taken completely out of the match after a while. This left Tenryu fighting for his life, and though he hit an incredible Powerbomb on Hansen, his opponents were too much. Hansen eventually put Tenryu away with his patented Western Lariat, but it was an incredible effort from the AJPW linchpin, whose spirited comebacks whipped the white-hot crowd into a rabid frenzy.