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The story
On August 29, All Japan Pro-Wrestling held its “Hot Fight! Summer Action Wars 2026” event at Ota City General Gymnasium and announced that Stan Hansen has become the new chairman of the title-sanctioning body PWF. He succeeds former chairman Dory Funk Jr., who passed away suddenly, marking Hansen’s return to the PWF chairmanship after 19 years. On 5ch’s Geinou/Sports News+ board, veteran fans weighed in on everything from the 77-year-old “Unsinkable Battleship’s” current lifestyle to the real substance behind the PWF organization itself, along with lesser-known stories of him paying his dues back in his Texas days.
■ In honor of Japan’s many great wrestlers
The legendary “Unsinkable Battleship” has returned to the top of the title-sanctioning body that symbolizes the history and authority of the King’s Road style of wrestling.
On August 29, All Japan Pro-Wrestling held “Hot Fight! Summer Action Wars 2026” at EBARA WAVE Arena Ota (Ota City General Gymnasium) in Tokyo.
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here
What people said
I just assumed he'd died already…
Pro wrestling's full of guys who died young
Hansen and [Abdullah] the Butcher actually come up a lot as the rare ones still alive lol
Hogan died
Wait, Hiroshi Hase used to hold this job?
He never had any connection to the title
Isn't that true of Dory too
I always picture Dory as the International Heavyweight guy
They had Kim Il (Ōki Kintarō) vacate the International Heavyweight title he held
and it became the PWF-sanctioned International Heavyweight title
Dory and Brody both held it as champions after that
(that's a lie though)
I remember reading somewhere that a wrestling fan visited Hawaii looking for the PWF office and it caused some confusion
Was that in the Peter Maivia book or something?
It did exist
It used to be based out of Lord Blears's office or dojo in Hawaii
Probably because Baba loved Hawaii and wanted to write the expenses off
I wonder if they actually ran matches in Hawaii lol
Baba had a ton of political clout back then, so anything went
He even became NWA World Heavyweight Champion, which really got under Inoki's skin too
Even his ordinary tackles landed like a finishing move lol
That's Hogan
I got sent flying by his tag partner Dan Spivey
Guess you couldn't get away with that kind of thing these days
Hansen of the clouds
Huh, so it really did exist in Hawaii at one point
I think the story was that a fan asked, "I'm heading to Hawaii soon, can you tell me where the PWF office is?" and they were stuck for an answer since it's actually based at All Japan
Meanwhile everyone knew Hulk Hogan
Back in the territory days, when Hansen was in Texas he was just a young up-and-comer under the Funks
He went on to work WWWF (later WWF → WWE), and at Madison Square Garden he injured WWWF Heavyweight Champion Bruno Sammartino
Sammartino later returned and they feuded
Hansen made his name in New York as a heel
They're all in heaven
No other wrestler has retired this peacefully.
He was well paid to begin with, and clearly saved it properly.
He also quit before his body was completely wrecked, so after surgery he's doing fine and living well.
Must be a smart guy
Would you really call someone whose body is wrecked "living the easy life," though
I'd say that description fits guys like Mil Mascaras — still running his business full-tilt at 84 with no injuries or aftereffects and still interacting with fans — or George Gordienko, who won the lottery and became a successful artist, or Freddie Blassie, who was still getting huge ovations on stage right up until he died at 85
I thought it was just a one-generation thing between Baba and Lord Blears
Hase seems to be leaning more toward New Japan these days
In the 1980s, Hawaiian pro wrestling
was run by Peter Maivia (and after his death, by his widow Lia Maivia)
So there really were matches out there!
Ricky Steamboat was from Hawaii too, wasn't he
Even if there is, it's probably only around 30,000 yen a month
That's part of what makes him lovable too
They aired his American matches on a show called "World Pro Wrestling"
Seeing him booked as some weak, small-time thug over there, first-grade me suddenly understood how the whole business worked
In Japan he was the strongest character on All Japan, so honestly I wish I'd never seen that…
Hansen was actually pretty smooth on the mic
https://youtu.be/myowNV6Z7_8&t=138
This is from when he was feuding with WWF Heavyweight Champion Bob Backlund
The interviewer is Vince Jr. (Vince McMahon Jr.)
Background and Talking Points
PWF (Pacific Wrestling Federation) is a sanctioning body Baba founded after launching All Japan Pro-Wrestling, and its championship lineage has followed a complicated path over the years. In the thread, posters traded trivia confirming PWF’s actual existence — including the fact that it once had a real office in Hawaii — establishing that it’s an organization with genuine historical roots rather than just an empty title. Where opinions split was over how much substance there really was to the tenure of Hiroshi Hase (a former candidate for Governor of Ishikawa Prefecture), who reportedly held the chairman post until 19 years ago, and over the reality of Hansen’s post-retirement life. Against the view that he’s “living the easy life as one of the winners,” a counter-argument emerged that surgery costs ate into his earnings and that these days his Japanese wife works while he handles the housework — exposing a gap between perception and reality. One point readers commonly get wrong is assuming PWF operates as an actively functioning organization at all times, when in practice it’s usually treated symbolically, trotted out mainly for title-sanctioning ceremonies.
※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Geinou/Sports News+) thread “[Pro Wrestling] Stan Hansen: “I’ve happily decided to take on the role of PWF Chairman” — Returns after 19 years, succeeding the late former chairman Dory.”
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