Stan Hansen

Stan Hansen
Hansen, c. 1985
Birth nameJohn Stanley Hansen II[1]
Born (1949-08-29) August 29, 1949 (age 75)[1]
Knox City, Texas,
U.S.[2]
Alma materWest Texas State University
Spouse(s)Yumi Hansen
Children4
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Stan "The Lariat" Hansen[3][2]
Billed height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)[3][2][4]
Billed weight321 lb (146 kg; 22.9 st)[3][4][5]
Billed fromBorger, Texas[3]
Trained byDory Funk[2]
Dory Funk Jr.[2]
Terry Funk[2]
DebutJanuary 1, 1973[2]
RetiredJanuary 28, 2001[6][7][8]

John Stanley "Stan" Hansen II[1] (born August 29, 1949),[1] best known as Stan "The Lariat" Hansen, is an American retired professional wrestler.

Hansen is known for his stiff wrestling style, which he attributed to his poor eyesight,[4][9] and for his gimmick as a loud, violent cowboy who wanted to fight everybody,[6][7] which he further emphasized by appearing in interviews with a cowboy hat, leather vest and bullrope while often chewing on tobacco.[8][10] Considered one of the most successful and popular gaijin in Japanese professional wrestling history, he became more well-known and revered in Japan than in his native United States.[6][7] In Japan's AJPW promotion, he held seven different championships.[6][7] Overall he is a ten-time world champion.

Outside of wrestling Hansen played a small role in the movie No Holds Barred in 1989 and in 2011 he released his co-written biography, The Last Outlaw.

  1. ^ a b c d "Texas Births, 1926-1995". FamilyTreeLegends. Archived from the original on May 26, 2013. Retrieved April 28, 2012.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "Cagematch profile".
  3. ^ a b c d Cite error: The named reference WWEbio was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b c "Puroresu Central profile".
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Encyclopedia was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ a b c d Cite error: The named reference Retirement was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ a b c d "SLAM! Wrestling Editorial: Stan Hansen's fight will continue".
  8. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference HonorsInoki was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ "A verbose Stan Hansen highlight of Hall of Fame induction".
  10. ^ "Mat Matters: Still intimidated by The Lariat".