McMahon Sr. With his "reputation" as the man who broke Bruno Sammartino's neck, Hansen quickly became a top heel, facing Antonio Inoki and other top New Japan stars like Seiji Sakaguchi and Tatsumi Fujinami. In addition, while touring Japan regularly, he faced top American wrestlers including Andre the Giant, Dusty Rhodes, Bob Backlund, and Hulk Hogan. Hansen established himself as a dominant force in Japan by competing in New Japan's MSG (Madison Square Garden) tournament between 1978 and 1981. Hansen would win the NWF World Title from Antonio Inoki on February 8, 1980, one of the only two wrestlers to dethrone Inoki during his seven-year reign. From November 21 to December 13, 1980, Hansen did a tour for NJPW, where he competed in the first MSG Tag League tournament (later renamed the G1 Tag League). He teamed with Hulk Hogan, but they failed to win. He returned that April to wrestle Antonio Inoki in an unsuccessful match. However, he defeated Inoki via countout in a MSG League match on May 20, 1981, after hitting a lariat on Inoki, knocking him off the apron. He returned for several more one-off shows until leaving the promotion in December 1981. Hansen returned at NJPW's Super Fight In Tokyo Dome event in 1990, where he had an infamous inter-promotional match against Vader. The match for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship saw Big Van Vader (representing New Japan, while Hansen represented All Japan) get struck in the nose during the entrances by Hansen's Bullrope, breaking it. Both men were known to use a stiff style of wrestling, resulting in a nasty exchange where each man threw legitimate punches, during which Hansen unintentionally poked Vader's left eye with his thumb during their brawl, causing the eye to pop out of its socket. After removing his mask, Vader pushed the eye back into its socket and held it in place with his eyelid. The match ended in a draw. Hansen returned in June for a few more matches, teaming twice with Riki Choshu and once with The Pegasus Kid. All Japan Pro Wrestling (1981–1990) In 1981, Hansen abruptly left NJPW to join All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW). While in AJPW, Hansen became the only man to pin Antonio Inoki and Giant Baba in championship singles matches. He continued wrestling from 1982 to 1999 in World's Strongest Tag Determination League. He wrestled primarily in tag matches, where he formed