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Post by CW .org .info .net on Feb 7, 2023 14:07:52 GMT -6
88
AWA Championship Wrestling
The usual two schmucks run the show down and it looks like it should be interesting. Soldat Ustinov, The Top Guns, Baron Von Raschke, and Brandy Mae against Madusa in the main event is what we have on tap today and it's time to get to the ring for our first match-up.
Match One: Greg Robertson vs. Soldat Ustinov w/Teijo Kahn
They're in the Showboat in Las Vegas again and the entire crowd is dark except for the first three or four rows, which tells me that there's probably no one there to see this taping and the sad decline that leads to the end of the promotion has truly begun. Teijo or Ti Jioe as the graphic calls him, is on the outside looking crazy. Really, the AWA shows have the worst graphics and spelling errors out of any wrestling show I've ever seen, even including two-bit local promotions. Ustinov tries to shake Robertson's hand and when he finally suckers him into it, he smacks Robertson upside the head like an angry Russian pimp. Ustinov throws him to the mat off of a couple of lockups and then pushes Robertson into the corner, landing a hard forearm shot to the chest. Robertson actually gets a shot back of his own which kind of stuns Ustinov a little bit. Side headlock by Ustinov into a couple of shoulderblocks and when he tries for a third, Robertson actually gets a hip toss. Short-lived advantage for him though as Ustinov goes to the eyes and then chokes him across the middle rope. Irish whip into the ropes and a BIG boot to the face from Ustinov gets a two-count , before Ustinov starts dropping elbows to the top of Robertson's head. Robertson tries a comeback but Ustinov goes to the eyes to break it up, hitting a delayed vertical suplex for another pin attempt. Ustinov picks Robertson up at two and then starts cranking away at Robertson's head. Robertson tries another mini-comeback and gets an Irish whip into the corner but Ustinov reverses it and CLUBBERS him with a clothesline out of the corner for the three-count.
Winner: Soldat Ustinov (pinfall, clothesline)
Match Analysis: It's almost like they were trying to make Ustinov into a 1985 version of Nikita Koloff, but Ustinov is no Nikita and Teijo is no Ivan, so it comes off as a bit of a lame attempt. No real heat for the match outside of a USA chant near the end of it, but at least both guys had their work boots on so the match was decent. The AWA should have still fired that graphics guy though.
Larry Nelson's with Verne Gagne, trying to get information on a big announcement that Verne will be making next week. Verne says it's going to be a blockbuster within all of wrestling, but then tells Larry he'll have to wait. Verne talks about some horse riders in the Colorado mountains and gives shout-outs to some of the eighty-year old men that go on the ride. Verne seems crushed that he can't go in 1988. Don't worry Verne, another couple years and you'll have all the time in the world to ride horses.
We're back from the break with Larry Nelson talking about the AWA house show circuit before we hear from Brandy Mae in the interview area. Lee Mullet says that Brandy's been training hard for her shot at the belt, and she says that she has been and that she's ready for the opportunity. She says that Madusa may be very tricky, but she's ready for it and that whenever she's in the ring, she's fighting for all the country folks. Madusa gets her rebuttal, saying that there is a country bumpkin trying to take her belt. She says that she's going to show Brandy Mae what it's all about and that she's ALWAYS going to be the AWA Women's Champion.
Match Two: Hunter Thompson and Dennis Stamp vs. The Top Guns
Don't ask me how they got him out of hiding and into the ring, but I'm a big fan of Fear and Loathing, so I'm happy. Seriously, that arena is so dark that at certain points the camera nearly loses Rice and Paul as they make their way around ringside for their ass-kissing handshakes. The heels attack as the Guns get into the ring and the Guns fire back with some stereo hip tosses and fistdrops and Thompson and Stamp bail to the outside. Stamp and Rice get set to start this match properly with Rice getting a top wristlock into a straight armbar and Rice drops a leg onto the arm before tagging in Paul. They whip Stamp into the ropes and hit a double-reverse elbow that gets a two-count. Paul tries another Irish whip but Stamp blocks it and Paul just takes him over with an armbar and legdrops his arm before tagging Rice back in. Rice hits a leapfrog over Paul onto Stamp's outstretched arm and goes back to the armbar but Stamp catches him with a shot and takes over with another shot to the throat, choking Rice across the top rope. He rams Rice's head into Thompson's knee and makes the tag as Thompson comes in and hammers away at Rice before grabbing a side headlock. Rice shoots him off and shoulderblocks Thompson down, allowing him to make a tag to Paul. Paul nearly gets a flash pinfall off of a roll-up and there's a tag to Rice with a big powerslam and he tags Paul, who comes off the top rope with a really awkward-looking shoulderblock. Did I say the shoulderblock looked bad? Well the double-team finisher looks hideous, with Rice jumping for the dropkick, realizing he's not going to get it and just kind of whacking Thompson with his forearm for the three-count. Yuck.
Winners: The Top Guns (pinfall, Rice forearm shot)
Match Analysis: Ugh. The Guns had a ton of energy, but they weren't very polished in the ring, at a time when Verne needed all the hands that he could get in the ring. They did alright in this one and looked good until the botch at the end, which was just kind of bleah. They're still a hundred times better to watch than Cousin Luke, but it seems a lot like too much, too soon for these kids.
After the commercials, The Top Guns get a bumper promo with Rice saying that they don't scare easy and that Teijo and Soldat are a stepping stone for them and Paul says that they have the fans on their side while the two loser foreigners don't.
Match Three: Randy Greenway vs. Pat Tanaka w/Diamond Dallas Page and Tonya, The Diamond Skank
DDP snatches the mic from Larry Nelson and cuts a meandering promo about Badd Company and being asked about all of his diamonds and his tag team and his Diamond Dolls. The music hits and here comes a new Diamond Doll, who looks a little less like the butterface that the last one was. She's leading Tanaka down to the ring and seeing Tanaka in two straight singles matches makes me think that Paul Diamond is probably hurt. They hit a lockup and Greenway pushes Tanaka into the ropes for a clean break before Greenway takes him over with a good armdrag takeover. Another lockup and Greenway gets a standing arm-wringer that sends Tanaka scurrying to the ropes for the break. Greenway gets a top wristlock and ends up getting taken over by a hairpull from Tanaka, which leads to a Tanaka armbar. Tanaka rams Greenway into the top buckle and Irish whips him into the corner but it gets reversed and Greenway gets another armdrag takeover into an armbar out of the corner. Tanaka gets to his feet and whips Greenway into the ropes, missing a clothesline and bumping himself off the middle rope, making the new guy look like a million bucks. That ends pretty quickly though when Tanaka drops him with a hard shot and chops the piss out of him before hitting a headbutt. Tanaka gets an Irish whip into the ropes and Greenway reverses it, but Tanaka reverses the reversal as Greenway tries for a back-bodydrop and DDT's him down for the 1-2-3!
Winner: Pat Tanaka (pinfall, DDT)
Match Analysis: Tanaka did his usual work, bumping his ass off and making the other guy look good, which leads me to wonder if Greenway was just a jobber that they wanted to run fairly even with Tanaka because he had some talent, or if he was a guy that they maybe had hopes for in terms of keeping him with the company and turning him into something.
More rundowns of the house show circuit by Larry Nelson leads to Lee Mullet talking at ringside with AWA World Heavyweight Champion, Jerry Lawler. Lee asks who Lawler sees as top challengers and Lawler names off guys like Curt Hennig, Greg Gagne, and Kerry Von Erich, who all think that they're champions. Lawler says that the belt means that HE is the real World's Heavyweight Champion and all the rest are just contenders.
Match Three: Kevin Collins vs. Baron Von Raschke
Baron's gotten rid of the weird mustache and looks like the Baron we all know and love now. Quick armdrag from Baron, well as quick as it can be with him being so old. He gets a fireman's carry into an armbar and we cut to see Magnificent Mimi in the front row, with Lee saying that she's the number-one challenger to Madusa's women's title in his mind. Way to cut the legs out from your main event, jackass. Collins pushes Von Raschke into the ropes and gets a clean break before Baron gets a go-behind into a takedown for a one count. Someone must have yelled at Lee on the headset because now he talks about how there are a bunch of other great women's contenders and mentions Brandy Mae at the top of the list. Collins and Baron hit a lockup with Collins getting a forearm on the ropes and then Irish whipping Von Raschke into the ropes. Baron kicks Collins in the face and then nearly falls over dropping a forearm. He snap mares Collins over and cranks on Collins' head. Baron gets a knee to the gut off of an Irish whip and grabs a front facelock, forcing Collins into the corner for the break. Knee to the gut from Collins now and he picks Baron up for a big bodyslam into a two-count and Baron comes right back with a couple of forearms and a hip toss. BARON'S GOOSE-STEPPING AND HERE COMES THE CLAWHOLD~! Collins is down and it's all over after a three-count!!
Winner: Baron Von Raschke (pinfall, clawhold)
Match Analysis: I've said it before and I'll say it again. Baron had no business being in the ring, though he would be wrestling right up until the end of the promotion. Sad, sad, sad. The good part is that at least he didn't fall over at all in this match, though he came close a couple of times.
Larry Nelson is back to pimp the huge announcement and a bunch more of the house show matches before throwing it to Soldat Ustinov, with Teijo Kahn. Soldat cuts a terrible promo, saying that Baron is going to be destroyed for the millionth time before challenging Badd Company and saying that they'll be the future AWA Tag Team Champions. Honestly, just terrible stuff. Why they didn't give these guys a mouthpiece and make them silent and violent is beyond me. Commercial break, Big K, these guys have to listen to me and I'll make them stars, I tell it like it is, yada, yada, yada. From what I can tell, he talks about Gagne, Lawler, Snuka and Larry Nelson and Lee Marshall.
Back from the break, we get to hear from former AWA champ, Curt Hennig and he says that Jerry Lawler is running and hiding from the greatest wrestler in the world. He says that he's going to do all the promoters in Michigan and Wisconsin a favor by showing up to wrestle there against Greg Gagne or Wahoo McDaniel, saying that he's determined and unpredictable. He says that you can throw any type of garbage in front of him and he'll sweep it under the rug where it belongs.
Match Four: AWA Women's World Championship Brandy Mae vs. Madusa Miceli (c)
Miceli has Curt Hennig with her and he grabs the microphone, saying that he's tired of the way that the AWA has been treating them both before saying that he's there to make sure that justice is served and no foul play takes place. He badmouths Larry Nelson off-mic and Larry just throws his hands up and leaves. Brandy Mae heads to the back, and I'm sure you all know who she's coming back with. Oh CHRIST, it's Big Mountain Fudgecake. Well, that was a swerve for me cause I was expecting Cousin Luke for sure. Miceli and Brandy Mae badmouth each other and because Fudgecake has no manager's license, he's going to have to leave. Hennig has one so he's good to stay. Mountain threatens Hennig, but Hennig just brushes him off and sends him on his way. Awesome.
Brandy Mae finally gets into the ring and Miceli is rocking a Jackie Joyner-Kersee look today, in a zebra-print. Rod Trongard almost seems like he's going to start fwapping at ringside. Madusa shoves Brandy Mae and they circle each other and blab at each other before Madusa throws her down off of a lockup. Side headlock from Miceli and Brandy Mae shoots her into the ropes, but Madusa reverses it into a hip toss. Miceli takes a powder by leaning outside the ropes and then comes back in with a big slam on Brandy Mae. Brandy Mae gets a trip takedown off of a lockup and then they hit the same side headlock/hip toss sequence, but with Brandy Mae working the offense. Brandy Mae gets an armdrag takedown into an armbar but Madusa is able to headscissor her way into a reversal. Madusa lays a couple of boots in on Brandy Mae but she comes back with another couple of armdrags before working the armbar again on Madusa.
This is all pretty sloppy work so far, by the way, and Madusa goes to the eyes before trying to hit her own version of a Perfect-plex, but she fucks that one up pretty badly. They don't seem to know what to do now and the match kind of pauses before Brandy Mae trips Madusa to the mat. Brandy Mae gets a hard bodyslam into a long two-count, but Madusa takes over with some forearms before hitting an AIRPLANE SPIN INTO A SAMOAN DROP!! EYERAKE WITH THE BOOT!! Now THIS is what I want to see!! Madusa works over Brandy Mae with some kicks to the gut but Brandy Mae fires back with a couple of kidney shots before whipping Madusa in for a clothesline. Another Irish whip into a big back-bodydrop and Brandy Mae gets a slam for another pinfall attempt, but she's too close to Hennig and he shoves her off before the referee can get to three. Madusa gets a roll-up while Brandy Mae is arguing with the referee and they roll too far, putting Brandy Mae on her stomach. Madusa spanks her and nearly gets a handful of cooch before just mounting Brandy Mae and pinning her for the three-count.
Winner: Madusa Miceli, (pinfall, botched roll-up)
Match Analysis: This was BAD. I mean, botches all over the place, really fake looking offense from both women and an awful finish. I actually had some hopes for it, but nope, this was just rough from start to finish.
After the match, BMF comes back out and gets in the referee's face about the Hennig interference before he turns his back and HENNIG ATTACKS HIM!! BIG BABYFACE POP FROM ME!! Hennig tries a shoulderblock on BMF and can't take him down, but drops him with a big clothesline before Hennig heads to the back with Madusa. The best way this show could have ended. Oh wait, Larry Nelson's up in the ring with BMF and Brandy Mae. Brandy Mae shrills her way through a promo, saying that it proves how low they'll go to keep the belt. BMF says that he'll take Hennig anytime, anywhere and he's going to get it and he's going to pay!! We get a replay of the finish with Lee Mullet and Rod Trongard at the announce table. Trongard's jacket is spectacular, looking like he ripped the fabric for it off of the comforter in his hotel room at the Showboat.
Final Thoughts
This show was really light on the wrestling, what wrestling there was was terrible, and there was no Mat Classic. BOOOOOOO-URNS. This is an easy thumbs-down for me because honestly, the best part of it was after the finish of the main event when Hennig waffled BMF. Thirty seconds of decent compared to forty-three and a half minutes of crap means that I'm wishing I had that hour of my life back. Let's get to the comments before I get any more bitter.
Fun With Comments
From Guest: "You know I feel like an idiot because I never recognized Khan as The Barbarian's partner in the all time film classic "Body Slam".
That being said Tanaka-Guerrero was enough for me to give it a thumbs up. Sometimes a match just does it for me to save a show and it did."
To me, Grunt: The Wrestling Movie, will always be way better than Body Slam, though they're both pretty awesome. I need to find those on DVD somewhere because I haven't seen those movies in years. Tanaka/Guerrero was good, but like I say, the stalling at the beginning kind of killed it for me at a time when they needed to go all-out, all-action to save the show.
From Joe K. : "Luke ties his shoes and waves to the crowd like a Special Olympian...
Now we know where Nick Dinsmore got his inspiration to perfect the Eugene character."
Or Luke was Eugene's daddy..which would make him Eric Bischoff's brother if I remember the Bischoff family bloodline correctly in terms of the storylines and that would explain a LOT of what went wrong with WCW near the end of the NWO era.
From Jake: "Some guy in the crowd yells "BORING" and I couldn't fucking agree more. Sad thing is that the word is five letters long so it's probably baffling Luke
BORING Has 6 Letters Not 5... And I am From Tenn..."
I know it has six letters, I was mocking Luke because he would have been so slow, he'd think it was only five letters, but I guess it didn't translate as well to paper. Eh, I'll live with being thought of as stupid.
From Brian: "Well, well, well...It appears that Cousin Luke is a "kissin' cuzzin'" (Heh) Who do you think would win in a match between him and Rocky Mountain Thunder? Could you stay awake all the way through a Thunder/Luke match? I think it would be entertaining...instead of a spot fest, they'd have a botch fest!!! Woo Hoo!!! (Honestly, it would be SO bad, we'd all be laughing.) Great recap of that match by the way. You had me snickering. Funny stuff.
Top Guns, AKA: Team Mullet, AKA: NoMoJo, AKA: Gagne/Brunzell WannaBees...okay, I'll stop.
Seriously, it's kind of depressing to see the AWA like this. I grew up near Minneapolis and was an AWA fan since the early 70's as a young child. The AWA circa late 80's, is like seeing Muhammed Ali now as compared to in his athletic prime.
It just makes you kind of sad."
The world would collapse under the amount of suck that would rain down if there was ever a BMF/Cousin Luke match. I like the names of the teams too, and yes, it was really sad to see what the AWA turned into. The Muhammed Ali comparison is a good one, since at this point the AWA was shaking and twitching its way towards a rest home after being on top of the world.
From OB1Jabroni: "Being from the south , I always had to either watch AWA on ESPN or read about it in the PWI, Inside Wrestling, The Wrestler, etc.. Man I wish for those days now. I usually agree with your recap Randy, but this was a poor show. Maybe it is from hearing all the parents of the kids who are going to fail my class blame me for their grades, or just I don't give a fuck and waiting for the summer to begin. At any rate, let's hope for a better show 2nite. It could be worse, I could be a hockey fan I guess"
I used to love the once a week I'd get to go to the drugstore and buy a new wrestling magazine when I was younger. Those magazines were so cool to read, with all the stories from territories that I would never be able to see in Canada. Looking back on it, the show was a lot closer to a dud than on first inspection, but I stick by thumbs in the middle, merely because I know that it's going to get way, WAY worse. Consider it my version of grading on a curve.
From Adam: "I hope they start showing GWF reruns soon, because this sucks. I don't know if they show some of the CWA on the AWA shows since Lawler doesn't want to leave Memphis too often; maybe that will make the shows better.
I don't care if I see the dying days of the AWA. I would say the top 15 guys in the AWA from 1970-91, excluding Verne and Greg, were: Nick Bockwinkel, Billy Robinson, Larry Zybszko, The Crusher, Sgt. Slaughter, Baron Von Raschke, Wahoo McDaniel, Rick Martel, Ray Stevens, Jerry Lawler, Mad Dog Vachon, Larry Hennig, Jerry Blackwell, Ken Patera, & Curt Hennig. These guys were seemed to be loyal to Verne and he seemed to take care of them. How many of these guys are we going to see between now and when the promotion closes, that can still carry a match.
About eight years ago, I was at the Nitro grill that WCW used to have here in Las Vegas waiting for Bret Hart to sign autographs. I was talking to a guy in line who said that Cousin Luke was his dad. I feel sorry for that guy every time I see Cousin Luke in the ring. What was his mother thinking!"
As much as you don't care to see the dying days of the AWA, I'm a total masochist and I want to see the epic rise of Jake "The Milkman" Milliman. To answer your question about who we're going to see between now and when the promotion closes, I think we get Larry, Slaughter, and Ken Patera. That's about it.
From greggagnesucks: "I dont know if this was mentioned before but ... Is it just me or did they just give Daryl Nickles a Russian gimmick(Krusher Kruger) and still keep him as a jobber? That didn't make sense.Were they trying to make him part of Soldat's team but realized he didn't have what it takes? Pretty weird even for Gagne standards."
Nickle and Krugnoff were two different guys and I do think that what was happening was that Krugnoff was supposed to end up being another big Russian heel, but he had shit-all to offer in terms of talent on any level.
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Post by CW .org .info .net on Feb 7, 2023 14:09:06 GMT -6
AWA Championship Wrestling After a hiatus for a repeat episode, we're back!! Not just any repeat though. Oh no, no, no. They ran the episode that was on Thursday night AGAIN on Friday night. The same show two nights in a row. It bottles the mind. Anyhow, Larry Nelson runs down the show and after telling us we're seeing the same old crap, he drops the bombshell. Curt Hennig is going to challenge for the AWA World Heavyweight Championship against Jerry Lawler in a rematch from the Memphis bout where Lawler dethroned Hennig. Hell to the YES!! Finally, this job pays off, if only for one night!! Match One: Jay Strongbow Jr. vs. Mike Somani A Hennig/Lawler bout AND Somani's glorious comb-over? Someone pinch me because I must be dreaming. Strongbow does a little war dance and forces Somani to lean outside the ropes a couple of times to break up all the hot action. They finally hit a lockup and Strongbow gets a couple of armdrag takeovers and a hip toss that send Somani scurrying for the ropes again. Somani goes to the gut and then drags Strongbow's eyes across the top rope. Strongbow gets slammed into the top turnbuckle and does what looks to be like another war dance, but his tongue is hanging out like he's having a seizure. He chops Somani across the chest to put him down and then gets a short kneelift into a full-sized kneelift and then he picks Somani up for a big vertical suplex into a PILEDRIVER!! Count to a hundred and twenty-seven referee, because it's ALLL OVER!! Winner: Jay Strongbow Jr. (pinfall, piledriver) Match Analysis: Move over Billy Bold Eagle, because we have a NEW Worst Indian Wrestler of all time!! This is history-making stuff here people. I mean he didn't botch anything, but him seizuring his way around the ring with that "war dance" shows that he's barely an Indian and his moves in the ring show that he's barely a wrestler. Bleah, they're lucky they have Hennig/Lawler coming up. Strongbow gets the microphone and says that he and Wahoo are goign to team up and run roughshod over the AWA. The strange thing about it though is that if you close your eyes, he sounds a LOT like Road Warrior Hawk. BUMPER PROMO~! Badd Company talk about what it's like to be the AWA World Tag Team Champions. It's all women, money, parties, etc etc. This actually ends up being the same bumper promo I've talked about before. Not a good start to the show so far. Match Two: Greg Robertson and Dennis Stamp vs. Los Guerreros (Mando and Chavo) Chavo and Stamp start out the action and there's a long lockup leading to Chavo taking Stamp down with a top wristlock into an armbar. Stamp reverses to a headscissors, but Chavo does a headstand into a twist to get out of it and they stand-off in the middle of the ring. We cut from the action to see Mimi watching in the front row and Mando has tagged in, controlling Stamp with an arm-wringer before Stamp can make a tag to Robertson. Mando gets a bodylock into a trip takedown for a two-count and with both men back on their feet, Mando gets shot into the ropes for a leapfrog into a headscissors (kinda), then a BIG dropkick that puts Robertson onto his ass. Snap mare over and Mando gives him a little neck cranker with his feet before tagging in Chavo, who hits a big belly to back suplex. Robertson gets up with a little fire and pound on Chavo for a minute with some forearms before Chavo chops him away and monkey flips him. Tag to Mando and Chavo picks Robertson up in the Anvil position on a Hart Attack move. Mando with a springboard off the ropes to try for a clothesli..OH GOD, HE NEARLY CRIPPLED HIMSELF! Chavo tries to improvise and just crouches onto Robertson for the pin and Mando looks disappointed that he couldn't hit the move. Dude, just be happy you can still walk, seriously. Winners: Los Guerreros (pinfall, botched springboard clothesline) Match Analysis: Fun match up until the near-crippling and sadly, that tends to leave a bit of a bad taste. The usual innovative stuff from Mando and Chavo and it was really just there for them to show off their flying moves. Scary botch at the end though. That could have gone all kinds of bad, but luckily Mando was able to protect himself a little bit. Larry Nelson's got Verne Gagne with him and it may FINALLY be big announcement time. Wait, it isn't. Verne says that he wanted to do it, but Stanley Blackburn called and said that there was one little detail left unchecked and that he wouldn't let Verne make the announcement. Verne plays it up as very important and says that once they make the announcement the fans will understand why it took so long and so much hard work. He threatens Stanley Blackburn with a bodyslam if he can't make the announcement soon. Way to pull the bait and switch again, AND throw Stanley Blackburn under the bus to boot. That Verne was one hell of a boss. Match Three: Scott Hudson vs. Teijo Kahn w/Soldat Ustinov "Tijioe" makes his way to the ring with his partner in crime. Kahn's got his swank-looking, red, silk ring jacket on tonight. All he needs is the pipe and he'd be like Hugh Hefner's frightening, crazy cousin. Next time your woman forces you to watch The Girls Next Door, just imagine what it would be like with Teijo living there. It'll make it WAY more bearable. Lockup in the ring and Kahn just throws him to the mat and screams. Lee continues to beat the "Ugly and Uglier" joke for Kahn and Ustinov into the ground, saying it about five times already. I'm not saying it's a dead horse, I'm just saying that it's fucking annoying. Hudson gets a fireman's carry takeover, forcing Kahn to head to the ropes to get his thoughts together. Kahn goes to the gut and then chops Hudson to the mat before Irish whipping him into the ropes. Kahn tries the clothesline but misses, catching Hudson on the comearound with a shoulderblock. Kahn just chokes him a little then picks him up, only to headbutt him back down. Kahn gets a big backbreaker and then goes back to the choking, leading to Soldat Ustinov climbing up on the apron to distract the referee. Kahn takes advantage and chokes Hudson across the bottom rope before taking HIS turn to distact the referee and allow Ustinov to get some cheap shots in from the outside. I'm sure that Hudson is wishing that he brought his tag partner Mark Madden with him to the ring for this one. Kahn picks Hudson up and clotheslines him across the top rope before dropping a forearm that gets a two-count before Kahn picks him up. Kahn gets the nerve hold on the shoulder/neck of Hudson and then picks Hudson up for an Irish whip into a HUGE chop. Kahn tries the cover but Hudson stupidly kicks out, allowing Kahn to pick him up for another Irish whip into a WICKED powerslam. Kahn gets a two-count and picks Hudson's shoulder up again, but he pays for it this time, eating canvas on a diving headbutt. Hudson goes to the gut a couple of times and chops at kahn before trying an Irish whip of his own. He ducks for a back bodydrop but ends up taking a NASTY chop to the throat for the 1-2-3. Kahn just lays on Hudson and chokes him a little more before he gets up to celebrate the big win Winner: Teijo Kahn (pinfall, throat chop) Match Analysis: It was a Kahn match so it wasn't exactly going to set the world on fire technically, but this wasn't terrible. Not great, just not terrible, which actually makes it the best match of the show so far. Madusa cuts a bumper promo...yada, yada, yada, I look hot but my promos are awful, blah, blah. Long story short, she controls the matches and has the power because she's the women's champ. Awful talker that always looks like she's reading off of cue cards. They should just have her stand around and look gorgeous. After the break, Big K is here and since I haven't heard from him in a few days, I'll check it out. He talks about Madusa and says that she's got one of the best phsyique's in female wrestling. He blabbers on about the rest of the women in the AWA and takes a back-handed swipe at Billy Robinson before saying that she's putting up $50,000 to challenge Jerry Lawler. K has lost his mind because according to him, she'll beat Lawler and he won't be the King ever again. He says that he's "telling it like it is" about ten times, which reminds me of something Meltzer said one time about how if you're using a catchphrase and it's not over, it's just an annoying phrase. Match Four: Big Mountain Fudgecake w/Hobo Bindle vs. Hunter Thompson Fudge grabs Thompson and sets him up on the top turnbuckle, patting him on the head, which pisses Thompson off to no end. Mountain throws Thompson to the mat off of a lockup and Thompson claims a hairpull to the referee. Greco-Roman knucklelock time and Fudge hits a sloppy monkey flip before getting a standing arm-wringer into a trip takedown. BMF grabs an arm stretch and rubs his bare foot into Thompson's face before hitting an axe kick to the face. Thompson's back to his feet and hits a couple of shots before Irish whipping Cake in for a reverse elbow. BMF takes over and Irish whips Thompson into the corner for a BIG running knee to the chest. Thompson grabs a side headlock but gets shot into the ropes for a big back bodydrop. Fudgie gets a big splash off of the ropes and gets the 1-2-3. Winner: Big Mountain Fudgecake (pinfall, big splash) Match Analysis: Ugh. Whoever decided that BMF's look should be wrestling barefoot in capri pants and a mullet should be shot. He's slowly but surely getting a little less worse, but for them to say that he's a potential challenger for Jerry Lawler's title is A) laughable and B) shows just how talent-bare the AWA was at this point. They're REALLY lucky that they have Hennig/Lawler at the end of this because this show has been pretty bad so far. Match Five: AWA World Heavyweight Championship Curt Hennig w/Madusa Miceli vs. Jerry Lawler (c) Over twenty minutes left in the show, which gives me hope that this could be a really good match. Believe me, this show needs it. Hennig is staring a hole through Lawler, just straight up ANGER. They do a little staredown and HERE WE GO!! Hennig shoves Lawler off right before the bell and they circle around each other a little before htiting a lockup. Lawler gets a BIG bodyslam right off the bat and Hennig moves to the corner to break things up. Hennig gets a hip toss off of another lockup but misses the follow-up elbowdrop and they break to stare each other down again. Lockup with Lawler pushing Hennig into the corner and JUST missing a wild right hand. Hennig does the same thing and he misses as well and they're starting the match with a great bit of "we're even" wrestling. Hennig gets a side headlock and is shot into the ropes but hangs onto them to avoid another big Lawler right hand. Lawler chases down Hennig and tries to cut him off but Hennig just hops out of the ring to try to calm things down, jawing at the crowd a little before getting back into the ring. Lockup and Hennig pushes Lawler into the corner, catching him with three BIG rights before turning his back. When he turns around Lawler WAFFLES him with a right hand that somersaults Curt and sends him rolling to the floor. Back in the ring, Hennig gets a go-behind but eats a big elbow and another right hand that sends him to the mat. Hennig is claiming a chipped tooth to the referee before complaining about the right hand that was a closed fist before we go to a commercial break. Back from the break, Lawler is keeping an eye on Madusa on the outside before they lock horns into a Hennig side headlock. Right hand from Hennig puts Lawler on his ass and while Hennig tries to reason with the referee, Madusa takes advantage and starts choking Lawler from the outside. Lawler back to his feet and it's a side headlock into a criss-cross sequence with Lawler dropping to the outside to chase Madusa around ringside a little bit before she ends up in the ring hiding behind Hennig. Lawler gets back into the ring and Hennig tries to goad him into a Greco-Roman knucklelock. Hennig gets the advantage with two hands on one, dropping Lawler to his knees and cranking on the arm before getting a couple of big right hands against the ropes. Irish whip from Hennig and he ducks for a backdrop but Lawler gets a sunset flip for a two-count before Hennig just starts laying in right hands, sending Lawler through the ropes to the floor. Madusa comes over to try a sneak-attack but Lawler comes up with a fist and she runs shreiking back to the corner. Lawler up on the apron and Hennig gets a couple of right hands in, knocking Lawler backwards off the apron onto the concrete floor. Hennig's out after him and RAMS LAWLER INTO THE RINGPOST!!! Lawler tries to crawl back into the ring but Hennig stops him on the apron, suplexing him back in for a looooong two-count. Hennig drops some knees into the gut of Lawler and moves to an abdominal stretch in the middle of the ring! Lawler powers out of it into a hip toss but Hennig is back on the attack, getting a shoe from Madusa and WAFFLING Lawler in the face with it while the referee is distracted. 1...2..LAWLER KICKS OUT!! Right hands from Hennig and another long two-count before Hennig picks him up for a PILEDRIVER!!! 1...2...FOOT ON THE ROPES!! Hennig's taking over with right hands and Madusa gets up on the apron to distract the referee just as Lawler gets a roll-up. He holds Hennig for at least a five-count, but there's no referee and by the time he turns around, Hennig's back in charge and dropping knees. NECKBREAKER from Hennig!! Another long two-count as Lawler gets a shoulder up just in the nick of time. Hennig goes outside to the top rope but Lawler gets a big right hand to crotch Hennig on the top turnbuckle. Both men get right hands to the chin and both guys are down. 1...2....3...4....5....6 Both men to their feet and Hennig eats a BIG atomic drop from Lawler. DOWN COMES THE STRAP!!! LEFT HANDS FROM LAWLER AND A HUGE RIGHT!! HENNIG SOMERSAULT SELL!! Lawler gets a big slam in the corner and heads up to the second rope and MISSES THE FISTDROP!! Hennig sneaks up on Lawler and sinks in THE SLEEPER!!! He's really cranking away on it and for the first time in weeks the crowd is INTO IT, screaming and stomping their feet to try to keep Lawler in the match. Lawler to his feet and Hennig gets dumped over the top rope!! Hennig wins by disqualification but doesn't get the AWA World Heavyweight Championship. Jerry Lawler on his knees in the ring, getting the belt from the referee and the crowd goes nuts. Winner: Curt Hennig (disqualification, over the top rope rule) Match Analysis: They had to do some sort of screwy finish since I'm sure Hennig didn't want to be jobbed out completely on his way out the door. For all I know, he might not have even told Verne that he was going and this could have just been a screwy finish to set up another money match between these two down the line. Vince had a way of making the AWA guys not finish their dates according to the AWA DVD that the WWE put out, so it wouldn't surprise me if Hennig just up and left one day. Good match though, with a ton of heat on it all the way through. Two professionals doing their thing and making the most of what they had to work with, which was quite a bit. Hennig sold like a champ and Lawler did well in selling his beating to make the comeback mean something. Good match all the way around here and no disappointment from me. Lee Mullet is ringside and Hennig is PISSED that the match didn't continue. Marshall talks about how Hennig's had his shot and Hennig says that everyone saw that he had Lawler beat but Lawler took the easy way out. Hennig calls Lawler a piece of garbage and talks about how he might have to start pulling at eyes to get what he wants. He foreshadows his imminent departure by saying that "maybe I'll get suspended, maybe I won't" and then nearly goes after Lawler again as Lawler raises the belt on his way back to the locker room. Larry Nelson's got Verne Gagne and says that it's the last match for Curt Hennig in the AWA as he's been suspended. Gagne says that Hennig has missed many of his agreements to wrestle in certain cities and that Stanley Blackburn had no choice but to suspend him. They try to give Big Mountain Fudgecake a rub, saying that if Hennig hadn't been suspended that he probably would have run Hennig out of the AWA himself. That nearly makes me throw up, so I'm glad that the show is over at least. Final Thoughts First half of the show, dreadful. Second half of the show, awesome. Of course, the second half of the show was dominated by Hennig/Lawler, so that was to be expected. Thumbs in the middle for me because this was the ultimate definition of a one-match show. Nothing even remotely interesting outside of the main event, so if you made it all the way through to that, you deserved to be rewarded with that good match. To the comments!! Fun With Comments From epic50: "So does this signal the end of Curt in the AWA and the birth of Mr. Perfect?" Well, it's the end of Curt in the AWA, but he didn't become Mr. Perfect until a couple of months into his WWF run, so we're still a little ways off from that. If memory serves, he debuted in late-summer, early-fall of the same year. From James: "Reread the review, from what you see (or DON'T see), why would Randy actually be happy about today's show?" There was LOTS to not be happy about with that show. From DDP: "No Big K?" No actually, that was one of the bright spots. From Guest#8055: "Another crap-o-riffic show, I think I hit the FWD button on the DVR more than the Play button." That pretty much hits the nail on the head, but sadly since I'm recapping the show, I don't have the same luxury. From Adam: "Curt Hennig supspended. That's just fucking brilliant. The only speck of talent they had. Was Verne trying to kill his business to collect insurance or unemployment?" Actually, it was Verne's kayfabe way of trying to cover up that Curt had left for greener pastures so that he could protect his business. From Scrotum Pole: "I wonder if anyone actually put a used Curt Hennig wad of gum on ebay. Tramp stamp comment: "Well, so much for getting to watch good wrestling on this show." Bullseye!" If they had, I probably would have bought it, since I'm a total Hennig mark. From Guest. : "I thought Henning had his title shot against Lawler, plus Greg Gagne finally getting one clean over him to come forward. I imagine Hennig would balk at putting RMT over. Another average effort which reinforced why Verne needed the deal with Superclash. Sarge and Snuka should be back soon, as well as hopefully Col. DeBeers joining the Diamond Exchange (they referenced a couple days ago DDP from the Diamond Mines in South Africa), plus Larry Zbyszko returning in early 89. It'll slowly start to decline, but there should be spikes. On the Plus side, if I remember, Baron Von Raschke stays until the end, so more of him in the ring 15 years past his prime." You know, I never thought of that but for once, Verne did something that made sense continuity-wise with having Col. DeBeers join up with the Diamond Exchange. Very good point. By the way, I'm thrilled that we get to see more geriatric Baron Von Raschke matches. Just thrilled. From Same Guest: "Hennig Suspended. I don't know if I have the courage to continue on in my nostalgia trip without a guarantee of Badd Company in action now. Man...I guess you can really take into perspective how bad things really got when the Jake Milliman push starts coming." Yep, things are primed to get pretty rough in the next little bit, but I will soldier on for my loyal fans, no matter how bad it gets. From TJ: "Hey Randy, just a heads up, but on Saturday the 5th of July you have a 6 hour AWA marathon on ESPN Classic from 1pm - 7pm estern. Looks like mostly reruns from 86, but I don't know. Furthermore, the AWA is scheduled on ESPN Classic through July 31st, so you might want to go back to that bathtub and cry. " No better way to spend Fourth of July weekend than with some AWA action. I'll be catching them to see if there are any new shows and if there are, I'll do some bonus recaps on them along with the regular shows. As for the bathtub crying, I've got something prescribed from my doctor, so these AWA shows should be a LOT more bearable. From Guest#3993: "So I'm just wondering if Strongbow Jr. is from the Red Hook section of the Cherokee reservation. Oh and listening to the names of those tag teams, "Top Guns" and "Terminators". Somebody should have told Verne if he's going to get team names from his local video rental shop he should have stuck to the New Arrivals section." He needed ideas anywhere he could get them at this point I'd imagine, so I don't blame him for trying to rip off Hollywood at every turn. From Electrichotdog: "I was reading how Rocky Mt. Thunder once defeated an opponent with a snapmare as the finisher... man I miss the 80s. Oh, and in 7 seasons in the NFL he had only 2 sacks." I'd believe both of those statements. Firstly, a snap mare is one of the only moves he probably knew how to do without nearly killing someone, so I'd buy it as a finish. In regards to his NFL career, he doesn't seem terribly athletically gifted so my guess is that he was on the second-string and got those sacks in scrub time at the end of some blowout games. Finally, from awafan: "Wow, just wow. No mat classic, Curt Hennig gone, and no Big K.!!! But thank God we got us some Big Mountain Fudgecake. Plus, I'm confused, about 2 weeks ago they showed Ricky Rice with Derrick (or is it Darryl) Dukes now he's back with Jon Paul. And with Hennig gone does this mean we'll finally get the DeBeers-Snuka fued?" I believe that DeBeers/Snuka part two is coming soon, as they had already feuded once before in both men's first go-round with the AWA. And two weeks back they showed Rice with Derrick Dukes because I believe those shows were from later on in 1988, after Paul had left the team. I'm all messed up on my Top Guns timeframe, so I can't say for sure who was where when, other than that Ricky Rice was in the team from the beginning to the end.
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Post by CW .org .info .net on Feb 7, 2023 14:10:18 GMT -6
AWA Championship Wrestling
Hearing the tagline at the beginning of this show now makes me snicker, especially the "greatest stars in professional wrestling, bringing you the best in mat action" part. There's a false advertising lawsuit waiting to happen. Larry Nelson runs down the show and we've got the Top Guns here, along with Wahoo and Strongbow Jr. in tag team action. Main event tag action features Mando and Chavo Guerrero taking on Badd Company for the AWA Tag Team Championship, which might be pretty good actually.
Match One: Scott Hudson and Vernon Deaton vs. The Top Guns
Trongard tries to put over the Guns as a threat to Badd Company's title reign, drawing more titters from me. Lee Marshall points out that both Guns must have put some work in in the dressing room since they're already covered in sweat. I didn't know Pat Patterson was working for the AWA in '88. Paul and Hudson start things out with Paul getting a couple of armdrag takedowns before Hudson wants a little break. Quick roll-up for Paul gets a two-count and he grabs a headlock to tag in Rice, who cranks on the same side headlock. Hudson shoots Rice off into the rops and Rice hits a shoulderblock into the backflip hip toss made famous by Shawn Michaels, who does it WAY better in all honesty. Rice looks to try some sort of kneedrop or something but Hudson just gets to his feet and Rice is left to take him over with an awkward looking headlock. Tag to Paul and they get a double arm-wringer into a double reverse elbow. Top wristlock from Paul as Trongard calls Hudson "Hurricane Denton", which is an odd combination of both names. I didn't know that JR was working for the AWA in '88. Hudson manages to get a tag to his partner while in the top wristlock and Paul goes for another arm-wringer into a takedown and a legdrop onto the arm. Tag to Ricky Rice and they hit a double-hip toss before Rice goes to a standing armbar, stepping over before tagging Paul back in for more arm-wringing excitement. Tag to Hudson and he begs off for a moment as Paul gets the crowd riled up. Lockup into the ropes and a forearm lands for Paul as he tags in Rice, who Irish whips Hudson into a BIG flying clothesline. Rice picks Hudson up for a POWERSLAM, tagging Paul in the process, and Paul comes off the top rope with the ugliest elbowdrop off the top rope this side of Gino Hernandez. That's it, that's all, 1-2-3!!
Winners: The Top Guns (pinfall, top rope elbowdrop)
Match Analysis: Actually, one of the better Top Guns matches I've seen so far. I'm not upset by this one at all. Sure there was a little sloppiness, but dare I say that these two are *GASP* getting a little smidge better. Believe me, I'm as shocked as you are at my generosity.
Larry Nelson runs down the one match we've already seen and hypes the main event again before we head back to the locker rom with Badd Company. Paul Diamond cuts a horrible promo, calling his own manager Dallas Diamond Page. You'd think in a post-produced show, stuff like that wouldn't get through, but then again people are bitching at TNA for the same thing week in and week out. They hype that DDP is bringing Col. DeBeers back to the AWA and then we get one of the "Special Look" videos for the good Colenol. Usual run of the mill video showing DeBeers from his first run with the company back in '86. Two minutes worth of him abusing jobbers left and right, which is fine by me. Seemed like there was more to it, but it got cut for time.
Match Two: Greg Robertson and Mike Somani w/His Fantastic Combover vs. Wahoo McDaniel and Jay Strongbow Jr.
This should be a treat. By treat, of course, I mean disaster. Wahoo and Strongbow Jr. must be a little disappointed to see that someone has apparently already beaten them to the punch and scalped Somani. Wahoo and Somani start things out and Wahoo sends Somani flying across the ring with a shove before taking him down with a side headlock takeover. Somani's bald head gets a close-up, nearly burning out the camera lens, and he actually makes the ropes to break the hold. Somani with a couple of shots and an Irish whip into a reverse elbow but Wahoo kind of absorbs it. Somani gets some shoulderblocks in the corner, but Wahoo's had enough of that shit and chops the hell out of Somani before Irish whipping him into the corner. Wahoo picks him up for a big backbreaker and tags in Strongbow, who works a standing armbar. Somani pushes him into the ropes and hits a couple of forerarm shots but Strongbow just takes them and hits a hard chop right between the eyes before grabbing a side headlock. Somani tags in Robertson after shoving Strongbow into his corner and Robertson goes to work with the right hands. Strongbow gets a pair of chops between the eyes and whips him across into the corner for Wahoo to chop him some more. Wahoo chops THE FUCK out of Robertson in the corner and then just walks away, moving to a lockup that forces Robertson into the corner. Wahoo gets another couple of chops and the referee steps in to admonish him a little bit, which understandably gets Wahoo a little angry. Robertson punches at Wahoo against the ropes, which makes him even angrier. Wahoo just goes to the eyes and Irish whips Robertson in for another skin-peeling chop to the chest. Tag to Strongbow Jr. and he gets an Irish whip into an EVEN LOUDER chop and that gets him the pinfall on Robertson!
Winners: Wahoo McDaniel and Jay Strongbow Jr. (pinfall, tomahawk chop to the chest)
Match Analysis: Let's just move on. I don't really have anything that I want to add, so let's just get to the next thing. Jay Strongbow, my ass.
Bumper promo from The Top Guns and they talk about how Col. DeBeers is back in the AWA before saying that they aren't afraid of DeBeers, Badd Company, DDP or anyone. Paul says that they're coming after them, no matter where they are and that...they're coming after them. Lord, these two were a horrible promo team.
Press conference time with Bill Apter and he's got Soldat Ustinov and Teijo Kahn with him. Soldat's reading a magazine about Jerry Law-der and Bill Apter tries to explain proper pronunciation to Ustinov. Ustinov just no-sells it and throws the magazine away, saying that Law-der is nothing. Ustinov issues a challenge to Law-der that he'll beat him any time, any place. Ustinov sounds like he's HIGH or something, speaking like he's Latka Gravas. Fitting considering he's challenging Lawler, but still it gets a little annoying. Apter asks about Teijo Kahn being at ringside and maybe interfering and Ustinov does a double-take before saying "I don't think so..." which just about kills me. Apter tries to explain the pronunciation again as the segment fades out. Larry Nelson gives a verbal BJ for Apter being on the show then throws it to Greg Gagne and the Mat Classic!!! YES!!
Match Three: Mat Classic Billy Robinson vs. Nick Bockwinkel
We're in St. Louis and this is for the AWA World Heavyweight Championship, joined in progres with Bockwinke; working over Robinson with an armbar. Robinson gets back to his feet and reverses Bockwinkel into a reverse surfboard, possibly looking to take him over with a double-underhook suplex. Bockwinkel shoves Robinson into the ropes and forces a break but he doesn't break clean and sends Robinson out to the floor. Bockwinkel takes a swipe at Robinson through the ropes and Billy finally gets back into the ring, threatening Bockwinkel with a big right hand. HUGE European uppercut from Robinson into a neckbreaker and Robinson drops a knee for a LONG two-count. Robinson drops his whole body down onto Bockwinkel's head, snapping it forward before dropping onto Bockwinkel for another two-count, with Nick getting his foot on the bottom rope. Robinson picks Bockwinkel up for a NASTY looking backbreaker that gets another two-count. Robinson just starts firing away at Bockwinkel and Bockwinkel ducks one of the punches, sending Robinson over the top rope to the apron. BOCKWINKEL SLEEPER~! He drags Robinson over the ropes, but Robinson kicks off of them, landing on top of Bockwinkel and getting the three-count, in a Hart-Austin finish. Robinson's got his arms raised and the place is going nuts but the referee DROPS his arms and raises the hand of Bockwinkel!!! BOCKWINKEL GOT HIS SHOULDER UP!! Robinson attacks after the bell, but the rest of the post-match melee gets cut.
Winner: Nick Bockwinkel (pinfall, double-pin)
Match Analysis: Fun to see Billy Robinson in the ring, though this was getting towards the end for him and he was a little past his peak. Bockwinkel could bring the best out of anyone though, and this clip is no exception. Two great, old-school technicians doing their thing and that makes me rather happy, as does the return of the Mat Classic segment in general! Hoooraayyyy Mat Classic!
Curious K is back with us this week and he talks about how he noticed that Col. DeBeers suspension was up and that he's the one that set up DDP and DeBeers for a meeting. He goes into the Madusa Miceli/Magnificent Mimi business and then he gets up and starts badmouthing Verne Gagne again. YOU CAN'T HOLD DOWN THE PEOPLE, VERNE!! I'M GOING TO TELL IT LIKE IT IS BECAUSE I TELL IT LIKE IT IS!!! BIG K, BITCHES! RESPECK!! Ok, that's not what really happened, but it sounds a lot more entertaining. He did put the shit talk on Verne a little though, which is kind of funny.
Match Four: Dennis Stamp vs. Soldat Ustinov w/Teijo Kahn
The camera pans the front row before the match begins and one guy goes to the trouble to hide his face. I don't blame you pal, I'd be ashamed to be there too. Stamp gets a side headlock right off the bat but Ustinov turns that into an atomic drop in a hurry. Ustinov chokes on Stamp across the middle rope and whips him into the ropes but Stamp comes off with a flying bodypress that gets two. Ustinov wants to slow things down, but Stamp is on fire, kicking Ustinov in the gut before whipping him in for a BIG right hand that sends Ustinov to the floor. Stamp's working it like a fiery babyface, even threatening Teijo Kahn on the outside. Ustinov makes his way up the stairs and back into the ring and Stamp goes to a top wristlock that Ustinov powers out of with a handful of hair. Stamp with a side headlock and Ustinov pushes him into the corner and lays the boots to him, Irish whipping him into the corner and getting a big hip toss out for a two count. Nerve pinch from Ustinov and Stamp gets to his feet with some shots to the gut before grabbing the side headlock again and Ustinov shoots him into the ropes for the RUSSIAN LARIATOOOO!!! 1-2-3!! Oh well, Stamp gave it a good run.
Winner: Soldat Ustinov (pinfall, Russian lariat)
Match Analysis: HILIAROUS to watch Stamp working as a face as he seemed so forced in it. I mean he didn't have much choice because anyone going against a Russian in 1988 was the de facto face, but still, it was funny to see how uncomfortable he looked at it. Pretty good match but it wasn't anything to go on a best of Dennis Stamp or best of Soldat Ustinov compliation tape or anything like that. Decent at best and they got the crowd into it a bit, which was cool by me since most of the time they seemed deader than doornails.
It's time for Larry Nelson and Verne Gagne's bait and switch show. Al DeRusha comes out because Nelson can't find Gagne and DeRusha says that Verne was going to come out and make the big announcement and that this is the biggest announcement ever in the history of wrestling. Three months of negotiations, etc. etc., call from Stanley Blackburn, blah, blah, one more wrinkle. Yeah, you knew it was coming too. Larry Nelson gets all indignant and talks about his responsibilities to the wrestling fans in a tone he would NEVER use with Verne, which is kind of funny. DeRusha says that himself and Verne Gagne would like to make the announcement and that it's going to be worth waiting for. Nelson's annoyed look is priceless.
Match Five: AWA World Tag Team Championship Mando and Chavo Guerrero vs. Badd Company (c) w/Diamond Dallas Page
Page has a bedazzled skinny tie and a ponytail-ish mullet deal that makes him look like the keyboard player at the wedding I went to a couple of months ago. He needs to break out into some Delta Dawn or something just to make the look complete. He goes on about the Taco Twins and then CRANKUPDAMUSIC!!! Here comes BADD COMPANY!! The Diamond Doll is decent-looking at best, but her hair is a little too Marge Simpson for my tastes. When you count her hair and her stripper heels, she's the tallest one in that corner.
Diamond and Chavo get the match started proper and Chavo grabs a side headlock into a hammerlock and hip tosses Diamond over, leading to Diamond doing a little complaining to the referee. Chavo defends himself to the referee and then gets a drop-toehold into a leglock and Diamond is crying away as Chavo tags in Mando. Mando continues cranking away at the leg and he drops back with the hold. Mando ties up an arm as well and then has to break when Diamond reaches the bottom rope. Tag to Chavo and he works an ankle before grabing a surfboard move across both knees, stretching Diamond until Diamond gets out of it and rolls over Chavo to the saftey of his own corner. Chavo gets a single-leg on Diamond and then tags in Mando who hits a flying splash onto the leg before going to the leglock again. Diamond kicks Mando in the head with his other foot to free himself and gets a shoulderblock off of an Irish whip, but instead of making the tag, Diamond runs the ropes again and gets taken down by another single-leg
Mando drops a leg onto Diamond's leg then drags him over to tag in Chavo, who hits a figure-four variation before standing into another variaiton. Diamond gets out of it by pulling on Chavo's hair and flipping him over and AGAIN he doesn't make the tag, shoulderblocking Chavo down and doing it again before getting taken down with a drop toehold. Chavo grabs the Mexican surfboard on Diamond, really cranking away at it before Diamond can break free and get to his feet. Diamond pushes Chavo back into his corner and Tanaka finally makes the tag, working over Chavo with some punches before whipping him into the ropes for a hard reverse elbow into a chinlock. Chavo gets loose from the chinlock and armdrags Tanaka over before WAFFLING him with a big European uppercut. Irish whip into the ropes and Chavo gets a gut-wrench suplex for a two-count before tagging in Mando for a backslide submission, into the pin attempt for another two. Another big forearm from Mando and it's ABDOMINAL STRETCH TIME!! He rolls with it into another pinning attempt for two and gets a standing dropkick into a rolling senton for another two-count.
Mando whips Tanaka into the corner but gets reversed, doing his headstand into a sunset flip for two before Tanaka gets a side headlock and they run the ropes into a double-knockout spot. Both men get to their feet and Tanaka makes the tag to Diamond, who takes over with some boots before ramming Mando into the top turnbuckle and again into the other corner and again into the..BLOCKED BY MANDO!! He rams Diamond a few times and gets a roll-up for two before tagging in Chavo. Chavo hits a big backbreaker and takes a two-count off of that before he tags in Mando. Diamond cuts him off with punches and kicks and manages to tag in Tanaka who gets some big right hands before Diamond distracts the referee and Tanaka throws Mando over the top rope. Mando skins the cat and grabs Tanaka by the head, flipping Tanaka over the top rope just as the referee turns around. You know what that means.
Winners: Badd Company (disqualification, over the top rope rule)
Match Analysis: A really good match until the screwy finish. Again, I get why they did it beacuse they weren't going to put the belts on the Guerreros, but really they were the only credible challengers so they had to try to keep them strong, but still it just leaves a bad taste. I've said it before and I'll say it again, but Badd Company could go both ways, either as ass-kickers or as chicken-shit heels and they knew exactly when each was needed and could call on it at a moment's notice. Great work from them and great work from Chavo and Mando as well.
After the match, Diamond and DDP are in the ring getting their hands raised and Chavo punches Diamond out to the floor while Mando hits DDP with a dropkick. Mando dives through the ropes onto Tanaka and Chavo comes over the top onto Diamond on the floor before they both pick DDP up and drop him onto both members of Badd Company. They turn their attention to the Diamond Doll and seem set to give her a good spanking when DDP interrupts and lays out Mando with a belt shot. Mando's got a chair, Chavo's got a chair and Badd Company are brandishing their belts. Mando and Chavo are outside with Larry Nelson and he talks about the finish of the match and Mando says that everyone knows that over the top rope is a disqualification and that he's always wary of a team like Badd Company when they have it four on two. He tells DDP to get a pair of trunks because Hector is coming and they can settle it like men. Chavo says that it doesn't matter whether they get him inside or outside of the ring and that every dog has his day and that they'll get Badd Company in the ring in a no-DQ match. That's it for the interview and that's it for the show.
Final Thoughts
Surprisingly a show with no Hennig, no Lawler and no Madusa gets a thumbs up from me. The main event was a lot of fun and the action from the underneath matches was pretty fun as well. The Mat Classic returned and brought some Billy Robinson stiffness, and there was nothing outright terrible like there has been in the past shows. I'm not sure if this is just a situation where I'm used to seeing so much crap that an average show becomes good, but this felt like a pretty good show to me. Thumbs up and it's time to hit the comments!!
Fun With Comments
From Guest: "Even though it was totally a one match show, that one was enough for me to give it the thumbs up. You have to believe Hennig really wanted to make a statement before he left for the WWF to really mke a case for himself as a potential top guy there.
Good to know AWA programming is still on the block for at least through July. We do still have Badd Company, the return of Larry Z, and maybe we'll get lucky and all of a sudden they'll start replaying stuff from 86-87 like when they fast forwarded to the failed AWA/CWA/WCCW merger and aired the Superclash III and lead up stuff.
I still hold out that we'll get lucky and they'll air the best match I've ever had the pleasure of seeing. Bockwinkel-Hennig from New Year's Eve 1986."
It was really close to making it a thumbs up, but the rest of the show was just SO bad, that I couldn't do it. I'm really hoping we get to see Bockwinkel/Hennig from '86 because I haven't seen that one for about ten years and it would be fun to get a new perspective on it while giving it the recap treatment.
From DT: "I love watching these classic episodes. But they pick 1988, the worst year for awa. Plus they air botched matches like the Guerreros and shaky interviews. If they went back a few years we'd be able to see the road warriors, scott hall and other main eventers. Still it's good to relive some of these moments. After seeing the lame spots i still watch every night."
Yeah, they're in the rough patch now. Before these 1988 shows, they were doing stuff from '86 and '87 which is at least a little better but not by a ton. My best wish would be for them to go back to the stuff they were showing from the Tropicana and from the Showboat in the mid-80's, like 1984 and '85. If they can manage that I'd be giddy. And of course we're going to watch it even though it's terrible. When it comes to things like that wrestling fans are like dogs, loyal to the end even if we get swatted in the face with a newspaper once in a while.
From LatinoMeat: "Now I regret not keeping it on ESPN Classic last night. I tuned in during the Scott Hudson match, and then promptly tuned out. Poor judgement on my part."
From Frozen: "Because I know Crappy Mountain Thunder is your favorite, I figured I'd give you an update on his whereabouts:
Greg Boyd Whether through his work in schools or through the National Football League, Greg Boyd has been a visible figure in the city of Denver. He has built an impressive network of community, business and government leaders by his business success and his tireless efforts with charitable organizations. Greg was drafted out of San Diego State University by the New England Patriots in 1976 that began a successful career as a defensive lineman in the NFL. Upon his retirement from football in 1985 from the Denver Broncos, Greg spent time in other sectors of the sports/entertainment industry cutting a record and wrestling professionally. In 1993 Greg traded in his wrestling boots for wingtips and began a successful business career including executive positions, consulting and public relations business that he continues today. He is actively involved with his children, with the community by utilizing his extensive network of high-profile athletes and entertainers for charitable functions, and continues to be involved in the NFL through his work on the Board of Directors with the Denver Broncos Alumni Association and as the Executive Director of Uniform Inspections, Denver."
I am frankly shocked that those at The Financial Network didn't publicize his ring name because it just screams class and high-finance. Thanks for the information and I laughed at the part about trading in his wrestling boots for wingtips since he wrestled barefoot. I'm betting he left that little tidbit out.
From Rob: "I went back and watched the Road Warriors DVD, and I had no idea that Verne was running shows at the Showboat way back in '84. I always thought it was a last ditch effort to save the company in the late 80's.
ESPN Classic should just say the hell with it and start showing shows from 85 or so. With Hennig gone now, this is just getting really bad. I mean, when you have no choice but to air a match where Mondo Guerrero nearly kills himself botching a finisher, times are rough.
The main thing that sticks out to me is that there's no one with any believable offense, other than Badd Company. The top guys like Greg, Wahoo, Baron, and RMT all have moves that look like they couldn't hurt an old lady, much less another grown man.
At this point, I'm looking forward to the Team Challenge Series. Shoot me now."
Shame on you, no one should EVER look forward to the Team Challenge Series!
From Bryan: "I might be able to clear up some of the Top Guns confusion. Originally it was Dukes and Rice when they were in the PWA circa 86-87. The PWA was basically a feeder system for the AWA in the late 80's. Rice started up before Dukes in the AWA and I believe they teamed together at first, and then Jon Paul was brought in to replace Dukes. From what I have read on other boards, Dukes was teaming with DJ Peterson and they were to face Badd Company at Superclash 3, but Rice came back and they reformed the original Top Guns for that match. Then they were together until the spring of 89 when Rice went to Stampede and Dukes started his singles feud with DeBeers. All three members of the Top Guns eventually would go on to work as jobbers for the WWF throughout the 90's."
Thanks for the Top Guns refresher course. The only thing I can add is that Rice and Dukes didn't start teaming in the AWA until after Jon Paul had already left as is my understanding of the situation.
From Scrotum Pole: "Hennig was classic wrestling. He could sell a chimney in Africa.
Tramp Stamp Comment: "I'm sure that Hudson is wishing that he brought his tag partner Mark Madden with him to the ring for this one." BULLSEYE!"
One of the all-time best to be sure, and very worthy of his Hall of Fame induction. Rest assured, I will own that DVD when it comes out.
From Guest#3868: "You have to think it's still pretty insulting. I mean even in the late 80's they're still having Italian guys play the part of fake Indians. Wonder what Wahoo thought of that. (Especially since Jay Jr is an even faker Indian than normal)
Oh that move Fudgecake screwed up looked more like that judo throw called a Tomoe Nage. Not that it matters but I doubt it's considered that difficult of a move."
Stuff like that happened in wrestling all the time, even with our beloved Badd Company when they slapped a mask on Paul Diamond and tried to claim him as Asian. I think that there are a lot more blatant ones out there as well, but that's one of the ones I remember most. To the second part of the comment, how in the HELL did he learn Judo in his Rocky Mountain Unabomber shack? Well, I guess he didn't learn it well since he screwed up the move, but you get my point.
From KayFaber: "Oh, you're right about Strongbow Jr. What is the deal with an Indian War Dance leading to......no payoff? That's like the Cherokee version of "Hulking up.""
That made me laugh actually when I saw it because I immediately thought of if Hulk did his Hulk-Up and then just pinned a guy with one punch in the face. It all seemed really anti-climactic to me.
Finally, from Arnold_OldSchool: "So we have exactly 3 programs going on now. Top Gunns vs Bad C and Baron vs Ustinov/Kahn and Manny?Wahoo ...the PPV is roughly 4-5 months away..... AND Baron is on his last TV Taping as WWF signed him in August to mess w/ Verne... Amazing"
I know, imagine how I feel knowing that those are the top programs in the company I'm reporting on nightly.
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Post by CW .org .info .net on Feb 7, 2023 14:11:42 GMT -6
AWA Championship Wrestling
After an unscheduled one-day hiatus, the AWA on ESPN Classic report returns! HUZZAH! And stay tuned because I have a MAJOR announcement!! There seems to be lots of that going around lately. My apologies for missing Wednesday night's show, and I'm even more crushed that I missed seeing a Jerry Lewis interview. Yes, Jerry's Kids made it into the AWA. I wouldn't be surprised if Cousin Luke had been sitting at his feet, drooling and talking to his own hand. Anyhow, this show starts out as usual with Larry Nelson running down the action in front of the Jostens backdrop. We're going to get to see Greg Gagne, Manny "The Raging Prick" Fernandez, The Top Guns, and in the main event, Madusa Miceli will take on Susan Sexton for the AWA Women's World Championship. Joy. Nelson throws it to Lee Mullet who's ringside with DDP!
Lee says that DDP has proven that he's the greatest wrestling manager in the world today, which leads to Page introducing, or I guess re-introducing Col. DeBeers to the AWA. DeBeers says that DDP had a lot to do with getting his suspension from the AWA lifted. DeBeers says that he's there for three reasons and the first is to recapture the AWA World Heavyweight Championship (though I never remember him holding it a first time, but eh, I'm just glad someone entertaining is back), GET OUT OF THE SHOT, YOU JACKASS DIRECTOR!! DeBeers says that he's heard rumors that Jimmy Snuka is coming back and that number two will be to get rid of Jimmy Snuka, if he decides to come back. He likens Snuka to a wounded soldier whose heart isn't in it anymore and then says that we can wait to find out what the third reason is. Two minutes on camera and he's already proven to be more entertaining than about 98% of the roster.
Match One: The Top Guns vs. Wayne Bloom and Bryan Costello
Lee Mullet and Verne Gagne are on the ringside commentary, which should have me begging for a Jerry Lews run-in by the third match. HEY, we have a Wayne Bloom sighting!! Destruction Crew on its way, baby!! The Guns have spiffy little fighter pilot knock-offs for ring jackets now, actually beginning to cash in on the popularity of the movie, two years after it came out. Bloom and Paul start things off and Bloom sends Paul flying across the ring off of a lockup and then does it again. Bloom pushes Paul into the corner and Irish whips him across but misses the follow-up charge, allowing Paul to get a couple of nice hip tosses in before he tags to Rice. Rice off the second rope with a smash onto Bloom's arm and he takes over with an armbar as Bloom shoots him into the ropes to break it. Shoulderblock from Rice and an armdrag takeover puts Bloom right back onto his ass. Bloom gets a hard knee to the gut to break the hold and tags in his partner Costello, who immediately gets taken over with an armdrag and a hip toss into an armbar.Tag to Paul and he comes off the second rope onto the arm before working a standing arm-wringer into some chain wrestling, which he screws up by missing the snap mare at the end. Tag to Rice and they hit a double-reverse elbow off of an Irish whip and that actually gets them the 1-2-3!!
Winners: The Top Guns (pinfall, double-reverse elbow)
Match Analysis: Fun to see Wayne Bloom getting his start in the AWA in this one. Now all we need is referee Mike Enos to get the Destruction Crew fully in effect. The Guns again showed some improvement but still, they were greener than green. Nothing offensive though so it wasn't so bad.
Match Two: Houdini vs. Manny Fernandez
This should be the most violence anyone has ever seen someone perpetrate against a magician. Houdini doesn't look too ready to get things going, and understandably so. Fernandez pushes Houdini into the ropes and hits a headbutt to the chest off of a break before getting a drop toehold into a pin attempt for a two-count. Houdini gets an arm-wringer off of a lockup but Fernandez chops him to the mat, picking him up for a headbutt and another HUGE chop. Fernandez just starts clawing away at the face while Houdini is caught in the ropes and Fernandez whips Houdini in for a reverse elbow and gets a stepover armbar, forcing Houdini to grab the ropes to break the hold. Houdini tries a couple of weak-ass shots to the gut but Fernandez Irish whips him in for a DROPKICK!! Manny gives the signal and it's FLYING BURRITO TIME~! Fernandez gets the pinfall, but at this point it's just academic really.
Winner: Manny Fernandez (pinfall, flying burrito)
Match Analysis: Fernandez, ass-kicking, flying burrito, he wants his check. The same thing we see from him every week.
We get to see Larry Nelson talking to Barry ZeVan and they talk about his Celebrity Corner segment. ZeVan talks about being on talk shows and being a child actor and they try to make him seem like a bigger celebrity than he really is. Nelson tries to push him and see who's going to be on Celebrity Corner. ZeVan plugs guys like Jerry Lewis and Michael Caine and Larry Nelson seems to be a total star-fucker, wanting to get an autograph from Michael Caine and begging ZeVan for it. "I'll shine your shoes". Christ Larry, show a shred of dignity. You're a man for god's sakes. Not much of one, but still, you're a man, act like it.
Match Three: AWA International Television Championship Mike Smith vs. Greg Gagne (c)
I had almost forgotten about this title being defended since I haven't seen Greg Gagne in quite some time in singles action. Gagne ducks a lockup attempt from Smith and another, prompting Smith to make a frustrated yell. He finally gets the lockup and shoves Gagne into the corner a couple of times, talking some shit to him afterwards. Side headlock from Smith and Gagne shoots him off to the ropes but eats a shoulderblock. They run the ropes and Gagne gets a drop toehold into a double-leglock. Smith crawls over and makes the ropes to break the hold, limping to his feet and pushing Gagne against the ropes to throw a couple of hard forearms to the chest. Smith rams Gagne into the top turnbuckle and then Irish whips Gagne into the ropes for possibly the softest bearhug I've ever seen. It's like a man-hug in there, I swear. Gagne pops Smith's eardrums with his forearms and breaks the hold, kicking Smith in the gut and chopping him as he makes his comeback. Gagne with an Irish whip and he drops down for a back bodydrop but gets a NASTY boot in the face!! KICK HIM AGAIN, MIKE!! KICK HIM AGA...ahem. Smith tries for an elbowdrop but Gagne rolls out of the way and they both stagger to their feet with Smith getting a double axehandle into an Irish whip. Gagne ducks under and gets a flying bodypress for two, but follows that up with THREE dropkicks to get the pinfall!! THREE? He could have KILLED HIM!! Oh, the humanity.
Winner: Greg Gagne (pinfall, triple dropkicks)
Match Analysis: A pretty good Greg Gagne match actually, though Smith was fairly terrible. That bear hug may have been one of the more offensive things that I've seen in these AWA shows so far. Not that it nearly killed Gagne or anything like a Big Mountain Fudgecake move, but it was offensive that Gagne felt like he had to sell it. Bleah. That just soured the whole match for me.
Madusa cuts a bumper promo saying that Mimi's a broad and that she's going to be making her television debut next week. She talks down Mimi, brings up Wendi Richter, talks some shit on her and that's it. At least it didn't look like she was blatantly reading this one.
After the break, Larry Nelson talks about Barry ZeVan and oh man, I get to see the Jerry Lewis interview again!! HELL YES!!! Jerry Lewis talks about his MDA telethons and the progress that's been made in the research and that there's light at the end of the tunnel. He says that there's no prediction on when there could be a cure and that you have to be careful not to be premature. Lewis busts out into some of his schtick and then mocks Barry's midget status. Well, that was underwhelming. I really wanted to see Lewis turn heel on those kids and start blasting them for being ungrateful for all the work he puts in on them. Now THAT would have been entertaining television and worth a segment on the show.
Match Four: Todd Becker vs. Col. DeBeers w/Diamond Dallas Page
Becker has a mullet and a molester 'stache, which I'm sure was all the rage in his trailer park back in '88. DDP tells Larry Nelson to take a coffee break, which based on Larry's career ended must have been an Irish coffee. DDP runs his mouth and introduces Col. DeBeers. Nice touch that he introduces him in kilograms though, so Page wasn't completely useless. DeBeers is at about a five or six on the Hasselhoff scale of gut-sucking by the way. We get a lockup and DeBeers gets a hard left hand in the corner, Irish whipping Becker from pillar to post a couple of times before dropping him with a right hand and stomping on Becker's face. Turnbuckle smash from DeBeers and a kneelift to the gut leads to an Irish whip into the ropes for a HARD knee to the gut. Snap mare from DeBeers and he picks Becker up by the mullett and THROWS HIM!! That was awesome. DeBeers continues to work over Becker with kicks and stomps, trying to ram Becker into the top turnbuckle again but Becker blocks it, ramming DeBeers in twice and following it up with an Irish whip into the opposite corner. Shoulderblock puts DeBeers down and he gets a shot to the gut, Irish whipping Becker into the ropes. Becker catches the kick to the gut and DeBeers busts out an enziguri!! PURO DeBEERS!! DeBeers picks up Becker and gets the pancake piledriver for the three-count!!
Winner: Col. DeBeers (pinfall, pancake piledriver)
Match Analysis: I'm glad to see DeBeers back because he's definitely entertaining, which is a lot more than can be said for the rest of the AWA. This was your usual, cookie-cutter DeBeers squash match, but since I haven't seen it in a while, it felt fresh again, so it's all good. A little odd that they give him DDP as a mouthpiece when he's a guy that has NEVER had a problem cutting a promo, but I guess this was the closest they were ever going to get to having a heel stable.
Larry Nelson talks about the irony of Col. DeBeers suspension being lifted and that Verne Gagne has been suspended by the AWA. Wow. He throws it to a Top Guns promo and this could be the most laughable promo I've seen yet. Rice talks about living high on dreams not drugs, and I bust out laughing. I kind of hear the rest of it, but I'm laughing too hard. Something about how they want the Tag Team Championships and Badd Company. Paul jabbers away and Rice closes off talking about his dream again. Good god, that was horrible. At least it was laughably horrible.
Match Five: Mat Classic The Crusher vs. Jerry Blackwell w/Sheik Adnan El-Kaissie
OH GOD!! Greg Gagne's got a stool over his head and a cigar hanging out of his mouth while he does his Crusher impression. TREMENDOUS!! This match is no-DQ and we're joined in progress with both men outside and Blackwell ramming Crusher's head into the ringpost twice. Blackwell splashes Crusher against the ringpost and then backs up for another bigger one, but Crusher gets out of the way this time. Right hands from The Crusher and he rams Blackwell into the ringpost now!! THEY'RE FIGHTING IN THE AISLE!! SHEIK ATTACKS CRUSHER!!! Crusher is laying under the bottom rope and Blackwell just sort of rolls on top of him to get the three-count. After the match, Crusher's not happy with that decision and starts hammering away on Blackwell again. Sheik tries to get involved and DOWN GOES SHEIK!! The referee is getting manhandled a little by Crusher now and Crusher chases Blackwell all the way down the aisle, and THEY'RE FIGHTING IN THE AISLE AGAIN!! There is a TON of security helping Blackwell get to the back
Winner: Jerry Blackwell (pinfall, Sheik-ference)
Match Analysis: WAY too short to count for anything since I think we may have actually seen the entire match. Fun brawl though, which was kind of fun to watch and the crowd was just eating it up with a spoon. I still can't get over how much security they had in that arena though. There were like twenty guys making sure Blackwell made it back to the dressing room safely, which just shows how different a time it was in wrestling.
Gagne does more Crusher impressions to close out the segment. Easily the most entertaining I've ever seen Greg Gagne be in my life.
Match Six: AWA Women's World Championship Susan Sexton vs. Madusa Miceli (c)
This is your main event folks, and Madusa's looking good like she always is. Hopefully she wrestles better than she did against Brandy Mae. Magnificent Mimi makes her way into the ring and gets the microphone as Larry Nelson scrambles up to the apron for an interview. Mimi says that she's here to challenge the champ and that she's going to take on the winner of the match. She calls Madusa a wet noodle and then calls her Macaroni Miceli to boot. Madusa snatches the microphone and almost gets popped in the face. Madusa says that Mimi is a disgrace to her profession and that once she learns to wrestle, maybe then she can get a title shot against the "Magnificent Madusa". Larry Nelson tries to grab the mic and Madusa just tells him she's not done yet. He kind of rolls his eyes and saunters off to sit in the corner like a scolded child as Madusa wonders whether Mimi could even handle a match with Madusa. Mimi screams and plays to the crowd while Madusa again implies that Mimi is banging her way through the Championship Committee. Larry Nelson grabs the mic and shocks me by not immediately claiming to be on the committee just so he can get a quick tugger from Mimi.
The match finally gets started now and the ladies get a lockup with Sexton pushing Madusa into the corner and giving a clean break. Madusa pushes Sexton into the ropes and gives her a HARD forearm instead of a clean break and Madusa starts jawing with the crowd. Sexton gets a sloppy armdrag into an armbar and she turns it into a top wristlock on the mat, which Madusa reverses into a hammerlock. Snap mare from Sexton into a reverse chinlock and she starts cranking away on it, covering up her spot-calling with some smiles for the crowd. Madusa makes the ropes and breaks the hold but gets taken down again with a drop toehold into a double-leglock. Madusa SCREAMS in agony as Sexton cranks on the pressure and Madusa crawls over to the ropes to get herself back to her feet. She says that NOW Sexton's gotten her MAD!!! CATFIGHT AT THE 60% OFF RACK!!! CATFIGHT AT THE 60% OFF RACK!!!
Sexton gets the top wristlock on again and Madusa gets free of it with a pull of the hair, putting Sexton down to the mat. Hammerlock from Sexton now and she takes Madusa down to the mat again, dropping knees onto the shoulder as she continues to crank on the hammerlock. Madusa tries to get to her feet but gets kneed down, though she manages to get back to her feet after some punches to the gut. She chokes Sexton across the second rope and tries an arm-wringer but it gets reversed into a Sexton armbar which puts Madusa down to a knee. Madusa makes the ropes and gets another clean break. Madusa fights for and gets a standing armbar, using the ropes for leverage before hitting hard forearm shots to the shoulder. Madusa gets an Irish whip into a big back bodydrop and then stands on Sexton's hair. OUCH!!
Standing arm-wringer from Sexton now and she lands some forearms on Madusa's shoulder, Irish whipping her into the ropes for a HARD kick to the babymaker. Snap mare from Sexton and she slingshots Madusa across the ring!! STANDING MONKEY FLIP!! Madusa's staggering like a drunk and there's ANOTHER STANDING MONKEY FLIP!! Sexton goes to the well one too many times and Madusa trips her down in the corner, putting her feet up on the ropes to cradle Sexton for the three-count!!!
Winner: Madusa Miceli (pinfall, cradle with feet on the ropes)
Match Analysis: About as good as it could have been for a women's match. That's not to say that women's wrestling is bad, just that in this instance, the wrestling wasn't very good. It was short and had lots of shenanigans surrounding it so that helped a little, but it felt like the beginning of a longer match with an ending just tacked on in the last twenty seconds. Like everything else on the show, it wasn't outwardly bad, but it wasn't very good either.
Larry Nelson runs down the show and then pimps next week's show before signing off for another week!
Final Thoughts
Thumbs in the middle leaning down. The show was alright, but a lot of it was just kind of there. Nothing overly good, nothing terribly exciting, just an hour's worth of middle of the road wrestling and terrible promo work, outside of DeBeers. That's about all I've got for this show so let's get to the comm....oh right, the MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT!! Well see, here's the thing. AWA President Stanley Blackburn called me from beyond the grave and told me that there are a couple of details that need to be ironed out so the announcement will have to wait until tomorrow. I'll put him in a Harrison Sleeper if he doesn't let me make it tomorrow though, so stay tuned for it then!! To the comments!!
Fun With Comments
From Buck I: "Book Dennis Stamp for "Night of the Champions". Just give dude time to get his trampoline work in. I heart Dennis Stamp,"
I think everyone does to a certain extent. Something about seeing him be as sad as he was on Beyond The Mat kind of made him endearing.
From LatinoMeat: "Thanks for the match posting! Awesome... also, I love your enthusiasm for each match, be it a horrible match, or a great one."
Not a problem, glad to help out, and I guess I'm enthusiastic because if I wasn't this show would probably be slowly killing me.
From Justinthebull: "Does anyone know the name of the song played during the Col. DeBeers music video on Tuesday night's broadcast?"
I'm going to open it up to the readers because I have no clue.
From Chad: "I think the only reason I watch this show is for Larry Nelson's reactions.
By the way, is Nelson the guy that got a DUI and he couldnt come to work...so Bischoff got his spot?"
Indeed, Nelson was caught I believe three times for DUI, the last one leading to his removal from his interviewer position and Bischoff's initial apperances on television.
From John Doe: "Ricky Rice actualy stayed in the AWA in late 1989 until the promotion stopped running shows in late 1990. He wrestled under a mask and was known as "The Unknownn Soldier". He improved by then and was a decent worker"
I didn't know that about Rice, so thank you for the info. I'm not surprised that Rice turned into a decent worker because he already had glimpses of it showing through in his early AWA work. It just took him a little longer for it to come out because he was saddled with shitty partners if you ask me.
From SuperMario3: "I really enjoy your reviews of these shows. They are the perfect way to reflect on what I stayed up too late to watch.
Anyway... Based on last nights Apter segment, I think that if Ustinov wasn't meant to be a vile soviet menace character he could have been a rather effective comedy heel such as Santino Marella is right now."
I made the Santino connection myself while watching that segment and you're right, Ustinov would have been great at it, but sadly Verne would NEVER have known how to book a comedy heel, so it would have never happened in a million years. Fun to think about what could have been though.
Here's a couple about one of my favorite segments in AWA history. First from Steve: "Just watching that interview with Nelson & DeRusha made me think about the time when both Nelson & DeRusha had an interview at the AWA white wall set. And then all of a sudden, here comes this guy who broke through the wall set who looks a lot like the WWE's Snitsky with a bald head and an ugly look on his face. It also looked like he had a bionic arm on his right hand as well. Anyways, after he appeared, Larry Nelson went on one of his tirades, saying "WHAT IN THE WORLD IS THE MATTER WITH YOU? YOU BROKE THE WALL!" Tremendous.
I got a question, do you know exactly who broke the wall during the interview?"
Follow-up from Frozen: "This is directed to Steve: I think you are thinking of the Master Blaster."
And follow-up to the follow-up from adam: "He wasn't the Master Blaster. Just simply "The Basher" "
Actually, the guy that you're all referring to was known as The Blaster. His real name was Gary Lindgren and he was a guy that Verne trained and slapped with the gimmick to try to capitalize on the popularity of "Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome" or whatever that movie was called. What is it with Verne and trying to steal things from movies anyhow?
From Joe K. : "A Best of Soldat Ustinov or Best of Dennis Stamp comp? Does such a thing exist? In Hell, perhaps?"
In fact, I think that both tapes are in your welcome basket when you check into your room in Hell, along with nude photos of Rue McClanahan and a complimentary bathrobe, among other goodies.
From Guest. : "Some fun stuff tonight, and I'm anticipating the Colonel's return, as while he was getting older, he could still work a decent match.
Watching the Guerrero/Badd Company match, I thought of three separate things. 1: Chavo looks just so much older than Mando and Hector, even though he was only 39 at this time (Mando was 37, Hector 34). Still, real nice ring veteranship.
2: These were two completly different Guerrero/Badd Company matches, the first being a kindof ping-pong showing with both teams bouncing all around and over the ring, while this was a much slower more methodical pace, probably cause of Chavo, which worked out well. Nice to see the versatility.
3: I was half-expecting DeBeers to make his return to save the Diamond Exchange out there, and then go on a rant on how Mexicans are lazy and take people's jobs and ought to be deported back to Mexico..... actually that might get face heat today. Anyways, I'm hoping that there are some six-mans coming up, with all three Guerreros vs. Badd Company, and either DDP floundering as a wrestler, or DeBeers to provide the power for the team."
As I said in today's report, the Colenol was the most interesting thing on the AWA shows at this point, which is both good because he's back, but bad because there is no way that he was going to do enough to draw people in to save the company. Another couple of solid entertaining characters at the top might have done it, but I think a lot of people were seeing the writing on the wall and using Verne to jump to one of the other big promotions, or just avoiding the AWA altogether like the plague.
From greggagnesucks: "GREG BOYD: "he spent time cutting a record" I HAVE TO HEAR Fudgecake's record.Does anyone own this musical masterpiece.PLEASE post it on here!!!!! "
Trust me, I have people on it. If it exists, I will find it....I hope.
From guest: "The promos are aweful! Badd co. make fools out of themselves! Snuka is AWA's only hope at this point. The Guerreros do not impress me, Eddy was that family's Flagship."
Actually, Snuka was far from the only hope the AWA had as he was flaky at best and past his prime at worst. Badd Company did get exposed a little when Diamond cut promos but that's why they had DDP as a mouthpiece and then Mr. Fuji when they got to the WWF.
From OB1Jabroni: "I have seen the phrase "epic fail" used a lot in the boards, but never here; 1: the ratings never change that much, and 2: who cares??? I say we start an "Epic Fail or Pass" instead of the thumbs up or down ratings. Might get more hits for my fav. writer on the site, although we agree on wrestling, we still do not agree the mullet is still KING."
Thanks for the suggestion and thank you for the support. I'm glad to be someone's favorite writer and that's kind of cool to think about. As for the epic fail stuff, I try to stay away from it for the most part since there's been a violent backlash as of late. That and everyone uses it so I figure what more can I add to it? I'll leave it to be used by the professionals. If there's any other ideas besides the standard thumbs up and thumbs down though, I'd be happy to hear them!
Finally, from KayFaber: "Yeah, quality time went to putting over some former child actor who's about Mickey Rooney's height, who went on to interview Jerry Lewis about his telethon. But then, you saw the EXACT SAME THING in tonight's episode.
Verne also interviewed the Olympians."
I did get to see the Jerry Lewis interview and like I said, it was disappointing because I could have really gotten into it if Jerry had cut a promo on Verne or something, but instead he just talked about his telethon. Blah, blah, blah.
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Post by CW .org .info .net on Feb 7, 2023 14:13:03 GMT -6
AWA Championship Wrestling
Back to close out the week of AWA shows and Larry Nelson welcomes us to the broadcast, running down what we're going to be seeing on the show tonight. We're going to see Magnificent Mimi in action, Barry ZeVan interviewing Don Rickles in the Celebrity Corner and Jerry Lawler defending his AWA World Heavyweight Championship against Teijo Kahn. Nelson also tells us that in two short weeks, Stanley Blackburn is going to be making the AWA's HUGE announcement! Let's not forget however, that there is a huge announcement of my own that is going to be made TODAY before the end of this report!! From Larry's rundown, we cut to the ring for the opening match of the night.
Match One: Houdini vs. Soldat Ustinov w/Teijo Kahn
It's Lee Marshall and Verne Gagne on commentary again, which causes an involuntary shudder from me. Ustinov pushes Houdini into the ropes off of a lockup and hits a couple of forearms before Irish whipping him into the ropes. Houdini ducks an attempted clothesline but takes a BIG shoulderblock from the Russian, which draws a big growl from Ustinov. He chokes Houdini against the ropes and rams him into the turnbuckle headfirst before whipping him into the ropes for a big back bodydr..HOUDINI REVERSES!! Sunset flip gets a LOOOONG two-count but Ustinov gets free of it and then stomps away before hitting a BIG bodyslam into a boot to the back of the head. The referee counts two and then taps Ustinov on the back, seemingly in an act of charity to let Ustinov get his finisher in because Houdini looked like he forgot to kick out there. Instead of taking the act of charity, Ustinov shows RUSSIAN PRIDE~! and throws Houdini over the top rope. The referee has no choice but to call for the bell and disqualify Ustinov.
Winner: Houdini (disqualification, over the top rope rule)
Match Analysis: What in the blue hell was THAT? Honestly, I don't even think that Ustinov knew the match was still going and he thought that that was his post-match beatdown or something. There wasn't a kickout on the two-count, it was just the referee stopping short and not finishing it off. Weird ending to a squash match and you'd think that with the botch they'd not show it, but I guess it gets Ustinov over as pissed off and crazy so it works on some small level. Just not my cup of tea I guess.
From there, we get to see Soldat Ustinov and Teijo Kahn cut a promo in front of the shower stall backdrop. Ustinov talks about how Teijo Kahn is going to be the new AWA Champion because Americans are undisciplined and that none of them know what hard work is. Soldat Ustinov says that his Russian military mind has been training since he was seven, while Kahn was toughening up on the mean streets of Singapore. He again promises that Kahn will be the new AWA champ and we head to a commercial break.
Match Two: Wayne Bloom vs. Wahoo McDaniel
Wahoo and his new headdress make their way to the ring and the match starts with a long lockup as Bloom pushes Wahoo into the corner and actually breaks clean. Wahoo pushes Bloom into the corner now and Bloom shoves him away before they lockup again. Wahoo grabs a side headlock into a hammerlock and Bloom steps into the ropes to break the hold. Single-leg takedown by McDaniel and he grabs a standing toehold, getting a two-count as he continues to crank on the hold. Bloom grabs the bottom rope to break the hold and they get another lockup with Bloom pushing Wahoo into the corner and landing a forearm. Two BIG chops from Wahoo and he gets a HARD Irish whip into the corner, following it up with a headlock takeover. Bloom pulls the hair to break the headlock and Wahoo gets up scalpin' mad. He pushes Bloom into the corner and hits a hard chop but as the referee holds onto Wahoo's hand, Bloom capitalizes and attacks with some right hands into an Irish whip. Wahoo ducks a big clothesline and WAFFLES Bloom with a hard chop, sending him flying and allowing McDaniel to get the 1-2-3!!
Winner: Wahoo McDaniel (pinfall, tomahawk chop)
Match Analysis: The usual Wahoo match with a ton of chops and no bumping. Bloom got a little bit of stuff in though, which means that even then Verne must have seen something in him. Nothing great but nothing offensive either so it's a big bowl of meh.
Larry Nelson throws it to a bumper promo with Manny Fernandez after running down the history of the Fernandez/Wahoo feud. Fernandez calls himself the best wrestler to come to the AWA and says that he's looked for the biggest challenges he can find. He runs down Wahoo and gets borderline racist before saying that it's going to be The Raging Bull standing tall. He challenges "Queen" Lawler and says that he's the number one contender before threatening to pluck Wahoo's feathers.
Barry ZeVan and Celebrity Corner is up now with Don Rickles and Don seems "thrilled" to be there. They talk about Don's brand of humor and he says that it's a different style and that he's one of a kind. He feels very fortunate and blessed to be on top for so long and that his unique and original style has kept him near the best in his profession. He talks about how he started the style with his personality and just cranked the dial up a little on how he acted naturally. They bring Verne Gagne in and they talk about how long they've known each other, with Don saying that he knew Verne back when he pinned himself to the mat. Barry brings up how bald they all are and Don gets a little...pissed that he got zinged himself. It's all in good fun and it's a good enough segment and a lot of fun, but really, what does it have to do with getting the wrestling over. Zero. Poor Verne, he tried to catch up but the train had already left the station when it came to mixing celebrities and wrestling.
Match Three: Lori Lynn vs. The Magnificent Mimi
Lynn tries to rush forward into a lockup but Mimi just sidesteps it and gets out of the way. They finally hit a lockup and Lynn shoves Mimi off into the ropes. Another lockup and another shove into the ropes from Lynn and Lynn decids it's time for a test of strength. One handed test and Lynn throws Mimi across the ring, holding onto the arm and dragging Mimi across the mat with it. Mimi rolls through it, reverses it, climbs over Lynn and gets a snap mare to put Lynn onto her ass. Lynn shoves Mimi to the mat off of another lockup and Mimi shoves Lynn THROUGH THE ROPES TO THE FLOOR! Lynn makes her way back up to the apron and offers a handshake but it's just a ruse to sucker Mimi in for Lynn to rip her arm over the top rope. She grabs Mimi's arm again and drops an elbow onto it on the apron before getting back in the ring for some STOMPING! Lynn stands on Mimi's hand to stomp at the arm again and follows Mimi into the corner for a big forearm shot before ramming her into the top turnbuckle. More arm work from Lynn leads to a standing armbar and Mimi shoots her off the ropes into a hip toss but Lynn holds onto the arm. Mimi tries a headscissors but just gets thrown off and it's right back to the armbar before Mimi flips over Lynn and gets a top wristlock into a trip takedown. Mimi gets a full nelson and they trade reversals until Mimi gets a snap mare but Lynn goes right back to the full nelson and they continue to trade reversals before Mimi gets a monkey flip into a pair of armdrags. Mimi charges at Lynn but she keeps leaning outside the ropes to avoid the contact. Lynn offers up a handshake but rakes the eyes and Mimi comes back with a series of chops following it up with a shoulderblock off the ropes and Mimi tries a flying bodypress that misses into another that lands, despite being botched, and Mimi gets the pinfall for the victory!
Winner: The Magnificent Mimi (pinfall, flying bodypress)
Match Analysis: A really good women's match, which is something that you couldn't say a lot in that time period without referring to the Jumping Bomb Angels. These are the two women that they should have built the division around and honestly, these two should have been fighting for the championship. A really solid match that actually got some time and told an in-ring story, as opposed to a storyline one.
Larry Nelson's back in the interview shower, talking about Stanley Blackburn's big announcement and as he's running down the Mimi match, Madusa comes SHREIKING into the camera and starts jamming her finger into Nelson's chest while claiming that she's the best wrestler in the world. His groan when she's done poking her finger at him is both disturbing and completely in character for the man. Madusa talks about how Mimi is irritating her and then COMPLETELY fucks up her threat saying that she's going to break off her legs and then use them like knitting needl..like needles and that she's going to stick them into her head like a pin cushion. Huh?
Match Four: Mat Classic Blackjack Mulligan vs. Nick Bockwinkel (c) w/Bobby Heenan
We join the match in progress with Mulligan trying to slam Bockwinkel but Heenan on the outside trips him up, a la Warrior/Rude at WM 5, but Bockwinkel can't get a pin attempt in off of the move. Mulligan chases Heenan away from the apron and then drags him up onto the apron, hip tossing him onto Bockwinkel. Mulligan has Heenan in the corner and fends off an attack from Bockwinkel, trying to Irish whip Heenan into Bockwinkel. Bockwinkel drops down and Heenan ends up flipping onto the top turnbuckle!! Mulligan WHIPS BOCKWINKEL INTO HEENAN AND FLINGS BOCKWINKEL OVER THE TOP ROPE!! Mulligan's got Heenan on the outside as the bell is ringing wildly and Mulligan DROPS HIM WITH A RIGHT HAND!! MULLIGAN'S GOT BOCKWINKEL!! He runs him across the apron and rams him into the bolt where the turnbuckle meets the post!! He chucks the referee to the outside and snap mares Bockwinkel in, Irish whipping him into the ropes for a BIG clothesline!! Heenan gets himself crawled back into the ring just in time for Mulligan to get an IRISH WHIP AND HEENAN GOES OVER THE TOP TO THE FLOOR!!! Bockwinkel slinks off under the bottom rope and takes Heenan with him to the back.
Winner: Nick Bockwinkel (disqualification, over the top rope rule)
Match Analysis: Always fun to watch Bockwinkel and Heenan at work and this one was extra cool because it had the added element of Mulligan being a former associate of both men. Shame that we're only getting endings of these matches, but I guess it's better than nothing. Still a fun little segment of brawling at the end that the crowd in Houston was eating up with a spoon. Glad to see the Mat Classic segments are becoming frequent again.
Larry Nelson says that we're two weeks out from Stanley Blackburn's AWA major announcement that will shake the wrestling world and that he has no idea what it is. Well, I've got them trumped since MY major announcement comes at the end of this column!! Nelson sends us to an interview with Col. DeBeers, which is the same interview he did the other night with his "three reasons" that ended up only being two. From there, we hear from Greg Gagne, talking about how he was on the edge of his seat, waiting to hear what number three was from DeBeers. Gagne shoots down DeBeers' claims of a title shot and then says that he has some news for DeBeers because Jimmy Snuka is going to be back. He says that Snuka has promised that once his Japanese engagments and bookings are done, he wants to come back to the AWA to kick DeBeers' ass all over again. Gagne says that if the third thing was to come after him and his International Television Championship that he welcomes the challenge.
Match Five: AWA World Heavyweight Championship Teijo Kahn w/Soldat Ustinov vs. Jerry Lawler (c)
Ustinov tries to rally people behind Kahn and his Russian flag, but the folks aren't buying it. We get a shot of the AWA World Heavyweight Championship belt, which for my money is one of the nicest looking belts in wrestling history. Simple yet still befitting a champion. Lee Mullet compares Teijo Kahn to The Great Kabuki. Well, they were both fairly terrible workers so I guess it's an apt comparision. Kahn backs away from a couple of lockups and barks at Lawler before leaning out of the ropes to get away from the pressure. Kahn barks at the crowd now and ends up running to the outside and to Soldat Ustinov after Lawler threatens him with a right hand. Lawler fakes a kick that sends Kahn scurrying backwards again before he grabs a side headlock, which Kahn breaks free of with a pull of the hair. Another side headlock and another hairpull to break free of it and that's the extent of the action for the first three minutes of the match. This is the same style Lawler used to work as a heel, but it was better then because Lawler was actually entertaining.
Side headlock from Lawler and Kahn tries to shoot him off the ropes but Lawler holds onto the hair to keep the headlock cinched in. Lawler gets a BIG handful of hair while the referee's back is turned and does it again with a huge cheshire cat grin on his face. Kahn grabs Lawler's hair and gets caught, which prompts Lawler to get himself two handfuls of Kahn's ponytail, yanking it until the referee pulls him off. Kahn slides out to the floor and motions that his hair has been pulled, trying to get some sympathy from the referee, going all the way up to a nine-count before he gets back into the ring. Kahn leans outside the ropes again to get away from Lawler before they hit a lockup with Kahn pushing him into the corner. Chops from Kahn and an Irish whip into the opposite corner and Kahn misses a shoulderblock, ramming the turnbuckle before hitting the floor again for another break.
Kahn gets back into the ring and pushes Lawler into the corner off of another lockup but gets reversed and Lawler whips Kahn across to the opposite corner. Lawler charges in and misses Kahn, but stops short of the buckle, delivering a HUGE right hand as soon as Kahn turns back around from telling the crowd how smart he is. Kahn slides back out to the floor and gets more advice from Ustinov and more scorn from the crowd. Kahn gets back in at an eight-count and Kahn tries to get the Greco-Roman Knucklelock going but ends up eating a left and a few solid right hands for his troubles. Kahn rakes the eyes and throws Lawler through the ropes to the floor where Ustinov takes over, ramming the flagpole right into Lawler's ribs.
Lawler crawls back in and takes a double-thrust chop to the throat before Kahn starts putting the boots to him. Kahn gets at two-count as Lawler just gets his foot on the ropes to break up the pin. Some choking from Kahn and he distracts the referee again to allow Ustinov to work Lawler over again on the outside. Kahn chokes Lawler across the bottom rope and gets a big jumping headbutt before Irish whipping Lawler in for a big clothesline that gets two. Reverse chinlock from Kahn and after a minute or so Lawler gets to his feet, elbowing Kahn in the gut until the hold is broken and DOWN COMES THE STRAP!! RIGHT HANDS TO KAHN AND HE GOES FLYING!! BIG BODYSLAM FROM THE KING!! HE MISSES THE SECOND-ROPE FISTDROP!! HEART PUNCH FROM KAHN!!!! Kahn with the pinfall attempt with his legs across Lawler's shoulders and he gets two before Lawler REVERSES IT INTO A SUNSET FLIP FOR THE THREE-COUNT!!
Winner: Jerry Lawler (pinfall, sunset flip)
Match Analysis: This was WAY better than it had any right to be. Lawler was great at working the stall-job when he was a heel and he played off of it well enough as a face to make Teijo Kahn look like a credible worker. I was going into this expecting total ass, and while it wasn't a Gotch/Hackenschmidt masterpiece, it was an entertaining match, which was a pleasant surprise.
After the match, Ustinov and Kahn are celebrating in the ring as Ustinov turned his back and didn't see Kahn getting pinned. The referee explains the situation as Lawler is out on the floor celebrating with the belt. Ustinov throws a HUGE temper tantrum in the middle of the ring and then Kahn joins him in it. The show ends with Ustinov raising Kahn's hand before we see the replay of the finish and Lawler getting the three-count.
Final Thoughts
This was actually...a really decent show. I was going in thinking it wasn't going to be much based on the line-up but the women's match delievered, the main event was entertaining and none of the underneath stuff was outright terrible. Color me pleasantly surprised as I dole out a thumbs up for this one. Now, let's get down to business with the BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!! My HUGE AWA on ESPN Classic Report announcement is that....wait, just a moment...I'm being told that I do NOT have the authority to make the announcement but that Stanley Blackburn's ghost will be here WITH ME on Tuesday to make the announcement LIVE (well, as live as Stanley can be), at the end of the AWA report on Monday's show. Trust me, this is going to be bigger than big!! HISTORY-MAKING!! Just after the weekend. Comments, HO!!!
Fun With Comments
From Steve: "I'll do a short review for Wednesday's show, to save you the trouble:
First up, the Top Guns took on Tony Leone & Brian Costello. Actually, it was a good match for an established team Vs. jobbers showdown. The jobbers got in some offense, and the crowd rallied behind the Guns. Finish came when Rice hit a dropkick on Leone after Leone leaped over Paul.
Next up, Chavo & Mando Vs. Vernon Deaton & Mike Somani. Again, a good jobber Vs. established team showdown, but the jobbers got a little less offense on the Guerreros. We had another BOTCHED finish, as Chavo hit a moonsault off the top rope, but only his hand took down Deaton, and not his body.
Next up, "The King" Jerry Lawler Vs. Chris Curtis. We got to see PURO Lawler again, as he hit an Enzugiri on Curtis. It was a basic squash, with Lawler getting the pin and the win with the Fist Drop.
Match #4 was Paul Diamond taking on Kevin Collins. Collins got in some offense, but in the end, Diamond got the win with a Gourdbuster.
The main event was "TiJioe" Kahn Vs. Baron Von Raschke. This would be the last match that Rod Trongard (RIP) would call in his AWA career. I'd also like to mention that Larry Nelson looked a bit bewildered during his intro to the match, as either: A. He was surprised at the 10 minute time limit of the match, or B. He just didn't care for the match. Anyways, BVR won the match by DQ after Ustinov attacked Raschke, but Jay Strongbow Jr. would come in and save Raschke from Ugly & Uglier.
Also on the show, Verne Gagne interviewed the Koslowskis, the Barry ZeVan segment was shown along with the Jerry Lewis interview, and Badd Company (Paul & Pat) cut two promos on the show, one in which Pat spoke Japanese to Snuka (I don't think Snuka speaks Japanese), and another one warning all the tag teams in the AWA that they will go down for the three count.
Yeah, so that's the show, and I give it a thumbs in the middle. 2 good jobber team Vs. established team matches, 2 squashes, and a bad main event makes it in the middle for me.
In just a couple of shows, the AWA's going to Memphis to do shows there with the stars of the CWA and WCCW, so be on the lookout for that.
Oh, and I didn't hear the "MAJOR ANNOUCEMENT" on Wednesday's show, in case you were wondering."
Very cool and good work on the mini-review. I always appreciate it that I'm the old-school ECW of TV reports with a very loyal fanbase that's willing to help out and interact when I need them to and this is no exception. Thanks again for the work, Steve.
From mr.nice guy: "A territory ran by verne gagne = EPIC FAIL!"
GAHHH!!! I swore it would never be in my column!! Oh well, at least it's in the comments where I have no control. Anyhow, Verne actually wasn't always a failure. He ran the hottest territory going for a good few years but just didn't manage to change when times changed. Verne could have been first onto network TV a full two years before the WWF got the Saturday Night's Main Event slot on NBC, but when they didn't have the foresight to keep Hulk Hogan, they slowly started to lose it all.
From adam: "No Mat Classic Wednesday? I didn't get to see the show either. I thought Greg Gagne was pretty funny with his Crusher impersonation. I'm waiting for the Mat Classic that starts as the referee is counting 2, then 3. Can these get any shorter?"
Actually I have it on good authority that soon the Mat Classic will just be the announcement of the winner of the match and said winner walking back to the dressing room. Good times. I know that I can't wait to see Dick The Bruiser's Mat Classic. His ring walk was AWESOME!!
From Arnold_OldSchool: "I can never watch these old AWA matches the same way after reading "Ring of Hell" and finding out Wahoo was the head drug supplier for the AWA"
I have yet to read that one as there are a lot of wrestling books that I need to catch up on, but I'll let you know if I feel the same way after I get to check it out. To me, I've never really been big on melding the man outside the ring with the character inside it. I guess that's why I was able to watch Benoit matches a couple of weeks after the tragedy. Not cold or callous, just able to separate them enough that one won't sully the other.
From awafan: "What is going on here??? No Big Mounain Fudgecake, no Dennis Stamp, and most importantly, no Big K!!!! And what happened to Cousin Luke??? I miss his Flair like work in the ring more David than Ric. Did Trangard pass away between tapings or was he replaced because he was slowly losing his mind?? You broke the wall!! Classic Larry Nelson. Right up there with OH Criminey."
Trongard got replaced when he took off for some of Uncle Vince's green. I always thought he was fairly underrated as a PBP guy and did some good work for the WWF on the house shows. I still remember seeing him on one of the old MSG Classic shows (reviews coming on those since I'm apparently a bit of the authority on old-school TV wrestling), and marking out because he was in the big time and doing a decent job at it. They actually showed one recently from 1988 with Rodger Kent doing the PBP from the Garden and it was...odd...to say the least.
From Scrotum Pole: "What the fuck? I thought this was the one place I could come and voice an opinion and not have it censored like its Germany or Russia. Yet the guy who said EPIC FAIL is allowed space! I still enjoy your columns."
I don't get to approve comments, so I'm not sure what it was you were trying to say. Sorry that you got bumped but if you wanted to e-mail it to me, I'd be interested to hear what it was you had to comment on. Consider my interest sufficiently piqued.
From pmullin: "In response to awafan, Trongard was actually another AWA migration to Vince. Rod was usually a member of the C-broadcast team usually eminating from shows at MSG and the LA Sports Arena along with Superstar Billy Graham and Lord Alfred Hayes on color. That trio was actually one of my favorite broadcast teams.
DeBeers was fantastic on the microphone. You have to wonder why Vince would never take a chance on him. I guess they felt his character was too controversial in his then family-friendly program. I'm just surprised he didn't do it solely to take away something Verne had that actually worked."
I think you hit the nail on the head that he was far too controversial for the big-time at that time. DeBeers was already getting a TON of heat in the AWA where no one noticed. Could you imagine him rolling into MSG and calling Tony Atlas or SD Jones or, God forbid, Mr. T a "half-breed", like he did with Snuka back in '86? They'd have killed him. It's a shame because the character was over-rover and he could have drawn huge money with Hogan at the top, the same what that Slaughter later did as the Iraqi sympathizer.
Finally from Guest: "At least this was in the AWA with the Top Gunns, Vince wouldn't have even known there was a Top Gun movie out. I doubt he would've even known of the classic scenes in the movie, like this one:
And yes, I did post about the top guns just so I could link the Volleyball scene in Top Guns.
Anyways, good to see DeBeers back. This was actually slightly different from the usual DeBeers squash. There was no mustache twirl of disrespect, no repeated lifting of his opponents when they were beating, just a straight out ass kicking with some Puro thrown in there. And to think I thought the Enziguiri was cool when Owen did it, and now I see DeBeers and Lawler pulling it off in 1988.
On a sad note, we kinda witnessed one of the signs the AWA was dying. I swear, Verne Gagne ran over Vince's puppy when he was younger. The AWA suffered so much more than other territories in Vince's raids. I mean, really, Rod Trongard? I said this to myself about guys like Brad Rheigans (even if it was in 87) and Baron Von Raschke (again in 87), but Rod Trongard? At this point, it was clear that Verne could never succeed, because the only people he could push were either people with a beef with Vince (ie: Zbyszko), people too old to be of use to Vince (Wahoo, Baron, even DeBeers who was in his mid 40s here), or people who were green and sucked (Ustinav, Khan, the Top Guns). While the loss of Hennig, the Superclash debacle, and the TCS were all pretty bad, the loss of Trongard was still one of the many nails in the AWA's coffin."
My life is richer for seeing the volleyball scene...again. Actually, Vince probably would have known there was a Top Gun movie, would have known that the gimmick wouldn't work and then not done it. Say what you will about the man, but Vince knew where the muh-NAY was and if he thought there was money to be had with a Top Gun-style character, he would have done it. Again, I understand Trongard because I always thought he was a little underrated. Sure, he was no Gordon Solie, but he was a lot better than guys like Rodger Kent and Lord Alfred Hays and on pure announcing, probably better than Vince McMahon too. "WHATAMANEUVER!!!" "ONE, TWO, THR..DID HE GET HIM? I THOUGHT HE HAD HIM!!" Announcer Vince sucked it hard and sucked it long.
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Post by CW .org .info .net on Feb 7, 2023 14:14:44 GMT -6
AWA Championship Wrestling
Larry Nelson welcomes us to the program and says that next week they'll be coming from Nashville and that the announcement that they have been pimping for months will be coming next week, as will a main event of Manny Fernandez vs. Wahoo McDaniel. I'm going to scoop the AWA and make my announcement right at the end of this column! Take THAT, corpse of Stanley Blackburn!!
Match One: AWA World Tag Team Championships Mike Enos and Houdini vs. Badd Company (c) w/Diamond Dallas Page
Page talks about how everyone wants a shot at the greatness of the AWA Tag Champions before calling the Top Guns the "Pop" Guns. He calls them nobodies and says that they've never beaten anyone ever. CRANKUPDAMUSIC!!! Here comes Badd Company to the ring and they're B-A-Double D, BADD!! Paul Diamond does a little talking to referee Gary, DeRusha and the match starts out with Enos and Tanaka as we get a close-up of the tag team championship belts. Tanaka pushes Enos against the ropes and we actually get a clean break before Enos grabs a side headlock. Tanaka shoots him off into the ropes with a handufl of hair and gets shoulderblocked down before Enos reverses a hip toss into one of his own. He hits a couple of armdrags into an armbar but Tanaka goes to the eyes to break up the hold, slamming Enos and tagging in to Diamond. Diamond charges but gets caught in another armdrag, leading to Houdini tagging in. Diamond takes over and rams Houdini face-first into the turnbuckle. Front suplex from Diamond and they get their Diamond Drop for the 1-2-3!!
Winners: Badd Company (pinfall, Diamond Drop)
Match Analysis: Squasherino!! As usual, Badd Company are entertaining no matter how long they're in the ring for. Could have been a bit better, but at least they got to hit one of their awesome finishes.
Larry Nelson again pushes the big announcement, saying that no one knows what it is and that he knows nothing, besides that it got Verne Gagne suspended. He brings in the Top Guns and they're real excited to be there. He asks them about the announcement and they have no idea but they hope that it's going to be for a title shot. Paul talks in airplane terms like afterburners and the like as Rice again states that they want to be tag team champions. The paint drying in my hallway thought that this promo was a little boring and I'd agree. Bland from Rice and uncomfortable from Paul leads to BORING!!
Oh joy, Donna's back to talk about the Fan of the Week!! It's some amateur wrestler who talks some shit on Soldat Ustinov and he says that all the American wrestlers are going to win the gold medals in Seoul. He asks Soldat about the Russian team and here's Soldat with his response. Soldat says that the he's picked up the leading amateur wrestling magazine and that the Russians have dominated wrestling for more than 25 years. He mocks the Kosolosolooski brothers and that if they've been training in Russia like they said they have been, that the Russians will have taped their matches and will know all their moves. He calls the fan of the week stupid in a "pot calling the kettle black" moment if I've ever seen one, and then finishes things up.
Match Two: AWA World Heavyweight Championship Mike Smith vs. Jerry Lawler (c)
Lawler chases after Smith a little and Smith doesn't seem sure of how to handle it, choosing to just lean outside the ropes. They get a lockup in the corner and Smith gives Lawler a clean break, laughing about it, which really doesn't make much sense to me. Lawler gets a side headlock and Smith just throws him off to the mat before he does some flexing. Side headlock again from Lawler and he's shot into the ropes where they collide with a shoulderblock and neither man moves. Smith offers a test of strength then kicks Lawler in the gut and Lawler gets a big dropkick that sends Smith rolling out of the ring to the floor. Dare I say it, but Smith just might be cheating in this match. I'm as shocked as you are. They finally get the Greco-Roman Knucklelock but Smith breaks it immediately with a knee to the gut and he picks Lawler up for a HUGE bodyslam. He tries an elbowdrop but Lawler rolls out of the way and hits some piston right hands while sitting on Smith's head. Standing dropkick by Lawler, which is impressive because he got all the way up to the chin of Smith, who is a good five or six inches taller than the King. Lee Mullet makes me laugh by saying he's never seen Lawler throw a dropkick before, despite Lawler hitting one not a minute earlier in the match. Bring back Rod! Bring back Rod! Bring back Rod!! Lawler rams Smith into the top turnbuckle and Irish whips him into the ropes for a reverse elbow before Lawler gets the big slam into the second-rope fistdrop. One cover and one three-count and this match is all over.
Winner: Jerry Lawler (pinfall, second-rope fistdrop)
Match Analysis: Lawler didn't even get to take the strap down so that should tell you how competitive this match was. Oh well, the dropkick was pretty impressive though so this match wasn't completely worthless. Sad that outside of Kerry Von Erich and those matches, the majority of Lawler's title defenses were jobber matches.
Larry Nelson's with Manny Fernandez in the interview area and Manny calls him Mr. Microphone before mocking Wahoo, Greg Gagne and calling Jerry Lawler a Burger King. He calls himself the greatest and says that there's nothing that can stop him when he steps into the ring. He even tries to coin a catchphrase by saying that "once you get on the back of the Bull, you're in for a long, hard ride." Sad to see him steal a catchphrase from what appears to be the tag line to a gay porn movie, but I guess we know what Manny had been up to in Vegas the night before the taping.
Match Three: Mat Classic Jimmy Snuka vs. Larry Zbyszko
This isn't really here for the match though, and you'll see why in a minute. This is 1986 and we're still at the Showboat, joining the match in progress with Snuka climbing the ropes as Zbyszko is out flat on his back in the middle of the ring. Here comes Col. DeBeers up the steps and he SHOVES SNUKA OFF THE TOP ROPE!! He heads to the floor and gives Snuka THE PANCAKE PILEDRIVER ON THE FLOOR!!! Someone in the crowd is ready to come across the barricade with a CHAIN at DeBeers. Here comes the babyface brigade and they clear the ringside area as DeBeers just calmly walks to the back.
Winner: Jimmy Snuka (disqualification, Colenol-ference)
Match Analysis: This was mainly here so they could show that DeBeers/Snuka angle to try to set their feud up again for once Snuka returns. Even in the after piece, Gagne's talking about how DeBeers has had his suspension lifted and that Snuka will be back as well and he tells us to watch for that match-up in hushed, serious tones.
We're only HALF A REPORT away from the HUGE announcement folks!!! Can you feel the buzz? I promise you this will be worth it.
Match Four: Bryan Costello vs. Col. DeBeers w/Diamond Dallas Page
Page makes the annoying intro of Col. DeBeers, though he again makes note to announce DeBeers' weight in kilos which is cool. Little to no reaction for DeBeers which shows just how small the crowd is and how little they're interested in the product.DeBeers appears to be at about a 7 on the Hasselhoff scale, so he must have hit a buffet or two in Vegas since he's come back to the AWA. DeBeers gets a drop toehold right into a side headlock takeover, before picking Costello up for a short-clothesline. Knee to the gut from DeBeers and he pushes Costello into the corner for a flurry of punches. He runs Costello all the way across the ring to ram him into the top turnbuckle and then just stomps at the top of his head. Costello gets a couple of right hands in but DeBeers just kicks him in the gut and grabs a headlock, ramming Costello into the buckle again with the headlock. HUGE slam from DeBeers and he gets the Vader Splash off of the second rope for a two-count, picking Costello up before three. Costello takes offense and fires some right hands, ramming DeBeers into the canvas and AGAIN!! More right hands from Costello and he tries an Irish whip into the corner but it gets reversed and DeBeers is back in control. DeBeers up to the second rope and he puts his knee right into the middle of Costello's back, riding him down to the canvas with a curb-stomp type motion that lays Costello out. DeBeers covers and gets another two-count, picking him up before the referee can get to three DeBeers gets the pancake piledriver, the pin attempt and 1-2-3, it's all over, with DeBeers looking into the ringside camera and badmouthing America.
Winner: Col. DeBeers (pinfall, pancake pilderiver)
Match Analysis: The usual DeBeers match again. The most entertaining parts for me were his post-match soundbyte and him stepping on Costello's throat after the match. DDP is funny afterwards too, doing the same thing and getting another couple of cheap shots in while the referee isn't looking. Decent enough but it was just kind of there.
Larry Nelson gets the treat of interviewing Soldat Ustinov and Teijo Kahn, asking where Sheik Adnan El-Kaissie has been and if he's still their manager or not. Soldat tells him he asks too many questions and that it's highly secret where the Sheik is. He says that he's overseeing the Iran/Iraq peace meetings and Nelson seems to find the claim a little dubious. He tries to get a word from Teijo Kahn but gets nothing and Ustinov screams at him, saying that Soldat or the Sheik will tell him what to say.
After another commercial break, Larry Nelson reminds the fans that the AWA is going to be in Denver on October 14th and then he shows us the incident between Fernandez and Wahoo when Fernandez tore up Wahoo's headdress and RAPED HIM OF HIS DIGNITY. That leads to comments from Wahoo McDaniel, who says that he's not coming over-confident and he's not coming for revenge. He talks about all the letters he's received from the Indian fans begging him not to let Manny get away with it. He threatens to put Fernandez out of wrestling and promises that he won't let those fans or the millions watching this show down. Call me crazy, but I highly doubt the millions number.
Match Five: Manny Fernandez vs. Wahoo McDaniel
Fernandez bails just as Wahoo gets into the ring and the referee gets the count in on him, forcing him back into the ring. They hit a lockup and Fernandez pushes Wahoo into the corner, unloading with a huge chop before Wahoo fires back with one of his own. Irish whip into the corner from Wahoo and he gets a NASTY chop out of the corner that sends Fernandez to the floor. Big "Wahoo" chant from the crowd and Fernandez slowly makes his way back into the ring, faking a kick before they hit another lockup. Fernandez gets a headbutt and a right hand, Irish whipping Wahoo into the ropes but Wahoo ducks the clothesline attempt, chopping Fernandez right out of the ring again. Fernandez's chest is already red from the chops and there's only been about five or six of them. Fernandez is abck int the ring again, getting a standing arm-wringer on Wahoo, pulling the hair to take him down to the mat. Stepover armbar from Fernandez and McDaniel fights his way to his feet but gets yanked down by the hair again, working over the arm with some knees before going back to that stepover armbar. Wahoo gets his foot across the bottom rope and causes a break in the hold but Fernandez holds onto it and hits a chop. Wahoo fires back with a HUGE chop of his own and holds onto an armbar of his own.
Fernandez gets to his feet and pushes Wahoo into the corner, hitting a couple of headbutts before Irish whipping him across and charging. Wahoo moves to come out of the corner and they botch the spot with the two men ramming headfirst into each other. Fernandez is stunned across the top rope for a moment but recovers enough to start choking Wahoo with his boot. He picks Wahoo up and snap mares him over but misses the elbow drop and Wahoo goes right back to the armbar. Fernandez struggles back to his feet and hits a chop before trying an Irish whip into a back bodydrop. Wahoo sees it coming though and kicks Fernandez right in the chest before sinking that armbar in again. Fernandez fights to his feet again and Irish whips Wahoo into the ropes, dropping down and letting Wahoo run over him before hitting a HUGE reverse elbow to the face. Manny drops a short knee to the face and just starts choking away, biting at Wahoo's head before hitting a thrust uppercut to the throat. Irish whip into the ropes and Manny gets a big clothesline that puts Wahoo down for a long two-count.
Reverse chinlock from Fernandez now and he's turning it into a sleeper with Wahoo starting to go down. Fernandez lets go of the hold and just slaps Wahoo in the face and they trade chopes as they both get back to their feet. Wahoo into the ropes and he shoulderblocks Fernandez down, running the ropes again but eating another reverse elbow as he comes in. Fernandez picks Wahoo up and rolls him over, goign to the second rope for THE BIG KNEEDROP!! Fernandez backs off and gets another short kneedrop and Wahoo's cut open. Headbutts from Fernandez and a big chop in the corner with Wahoo firing back with chops of his own. He chops Fernandez OVER THE TOP ROPE!! Fernandez and Wahoo are on the floor and Fernandez has Wahoo by the hair, trying to ram him into the ringpost and WAHOO REVERSES!! HE RAMS MANNY INTO THE RINGPOST!! Fernandez is bleeding now and the referee's thrown the match out completely. The bell is ringing and they continue to brawl on the outside and back into the ring and more referee's are coming down. Wahoo gets a HUGE chop off the ropes and Fernandez has had enough of that and just rolls out of the ring and struts to the back.
Winner: None (double-disqualification)
Match Analysis: A pretty good main event, and they really started to amp up the intensity at the end of the bout. To me though, the blood feud aspect should have been played up from the beginning. I'm guessing that that was probably what Wahoo was talking about before the match when he said he wasn't going to be out for revenge. Of course, this would lead to more matches between these two and the infamous Wahoo promo where he threatens Fernandez with the gun in his trunk. Good but not great. Ah well, I'm sure that my announcement will make up for the somewhat lackluster night of wrestling.
In the aisle, Fernandez tries to get a chair and here comes Jay Strongbow Jr. to help out Wahoo. He gets into the ring and gives Wahoo a big hug. Lee Mullet talks about how they saw a great match and yet nothing was settled so the feud will go on!! That's it for today's show, now stay tuned for the HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT!!
Final Thoughts
A somewhat boring show from beginning to end. The matches were bland, the promos were even blander and there was nothing that really stood out and made this show worthwhile which means it's a thumbs-down from me. Now, let's get to the REAL news..the MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT!! I've fought and clawed and scratched and...I'm going to tell you right after I get to the comments. It's a "flow of the column" kind of thing, but trust me, your faith will be rewarded hugely!!
Fun With Comments
A lot of comments on Lori Lynn from the last report! First from The Wrestling Monk: "Lori Lynn was an actress named Lori Weathers. She played Colonel Ninotchka on GLOW."
From Electrichotdog: "Yeah I recognized lori lynn also, shes wearing the same outfit but its not the russian read and I believe black she had goin on."
From Guest#5163: "The woman Mag. Mimi wrestled (Lori Lynn)was that so called Russian woman heel from the terrible G.L.O.W. promotion."
Whatever you want to call her, she was the best worker in the match and the best worker on that particular show. I actually remember her now from Ninotchka and she was probably there because they would start their working relationship with all the smaller promoters, including former G.L.O.W. honcho Dave McClane.
From Guest. : "One of my first shows on 86 AWA was watching in the main event Nick Bockwinkle as the champ vs. Boris Zukhov. I am a huge Bockwinkle mark, so I watched the match, and saw how Nick made Boris, a perennial tag-team jobber as far as I knew him, look like a million bucks, and made me for a sec think Boris, in spite of being just completely outclassed by Nick, was going to beat him. I saw a lot of that here, where Lalwer took another wrestler way out of his league in Khan and made him out to be a million bucks. It wasn't the Hennig bump around like a pinball to get a guy over style, but they had their own way of making bad guys look great.
Only other thing I came out of the show thinking was that Lori Lynn did one hell of a carry job on Mimi. To me, Mimi looked real green, with some fancy moves, being led through the match by Lynn, which is why were were so many "break points" in the match where they went back to circling to lock-up. Looking into the future, Mimi wasn't in the Superclash battle royal, and Lynn was, so Verne might've had the same thoughts as myself. Still very attractive though, Mimi."
Mimi seemed like a bit of a diva to deal with so Verne probably dropped her for a combination of backstage reasons (too much money) and her somewhat poor ring work. Lawler's match was great because honestly, he could have done the same thing with anyone. The style completely covers up his opponent's short-comings while making anyone seem entertaining. It's more about Lawler's charisma carrying both men rather than both men working together, and there are only a select few that can do that on a regular basis.
From Non Guest: "Just wanted 2 say you're doin a great job. I never got 2 see the AWA in Michigan(Thanks to Vince) so it trips me out to see how bad it got. It's literally like watching someone decay right in front of your eyes.
Oh and Lori Lynn would AND could get it. Fo sho."
Yeah, sad to see the way things ended but still interesting in a historical sense. Thanks for the support and I'm glad you enjoy the column!
From Guest#7192: "I'm at the point where I pretty much don't care about the announcement. Just one thing, I hope it's not StupidClash 3. I mean hell, that kind of announcement would only get 2 buh's from Teijo and he's easily impressed"
I agree that they milked the announcement bit WAY too long, something that I have learned from, which is why I will deliver my announcement at the end of these comments! And honestly, with the timeframe, I don't think it can be anything but SuperClash III. Sigh.
From TJ: "I wonder why Trongard didn't last long in WWF. A pity he never got to work with Ventura or Heenan. Whats funny is in March 1989, he was replaced by the voice of soon to be WCW, Tony Schiavone."
I don't know but it's a real shame because I loved Trongard's work on the house shows I saw him on with the WWF.
From The Kid: "It sucks we won't be hearing Rod Trongard screw up jobbers names anymore. I'm curious to know if he kept his "Coast to Coast; Continent to Continent " bit going in the WWF. I swear he missed have used five different variations of it on one episode a couple of weeks back. "From Sing-Sing to Singapore, from Middle Earth to the Middle East." God, you got to love that globe-trotting old coot."
I believe he used to use the Coast to Coast, Border to Border line on occasion in the WWF, but I think that he was probably told by Vince to tone things like that down, which would have essentially left him as a shell of his former self.
From G-Walla: "I haven't watched in ages, but I hate I missed Lawler and Kahn...
And Wayne Bloom! Or am I thinking of Matt Bloom. Oh, yeah. Nevermind.
And did they ever make that announcement."
Good to see you again, G! The announcement is coming on tomorrow's episode, by MY big announcement is mere moments away!! SMELL THE EXCITEMENT!!
From Adam: "By my estimation, this show is the beginning of September. Hennig is already in the WWF at this point. They already showed some shows from November, so I'm hoping 2-3 more weeks and we won't have to revisit the AWA 1988 again."
That's my hope as well. That since they've already shown the SuperClash stuff, we'll skip right past it. I don't think I could stomach all of that crap again.
From OB1Jabroni: "Good re-cap as always, looks as if u have some new fans here, the more the merrier I say. The Lawer match was passible, but lacking in building a feud or a championship run. But if it is all we have, it is still better than the 08 crap Vinny is stuffing down our mouths, it is the weekend I am getting drunk, until then......."
Thanks OB1, and I appreciate that there's a good mix of new fans and old favorites through here now. As I said in this report, it's sad to think that the majority of Lawler's matches with the title were squashes. I agree that it's more fun to watch this show than most of the stuff on TV now, but who knows, Raw seemed to turn a little corner last night just by finally trying something different so there may be hope yet.
From Scrotum Pole: "No prob Harrison. My comment was in response to the Epic Fail comment and I told whoever posted it that it was staler than Bea Arthur's vagina. Your column is still the best on 411 right up there with Dunn.
Tramp stamp comment:"Lee Mullet compares Teijo Kahn to The Great Kabuki. Well, they were both fairly terrible workers so I guess it's an apt comparision." Bullseye!"
I consider even being mentioned in the same sentence as Dunn high praise, so thank you for that. In regards to your comment, it's funny and I pretty much agree with it because I've seen Epic Fail in about every single column's comments for the past month solid. Hopefully it'll be all over soon.
Finally, from KayFaber: " "Poor Verne, he tried to catch up but the train had already left the station when it came to mixing celebrities and wrestling."
I couldn't agree more -- that was something no one in the remaining promotions ever got. Vince knew how to hype the Rock-and-Wrestling connection to connect with his demographic and other celebrities to attract attention beyond wrestling: Cyndi Lauper, Alice Cooper, Mr. T, Joe Frazier, William "The Refrigerator" Perry, Barbara Walters, etc.
Verne got Barry f-in' Zevan and Don Rickles. To be fair, nothing was as bad as the NWA (or WCW) attempt to cash in at the same time: for a few weeks, they zoomed over to Butch Patrick -- the guy who played Eddie Munster -- sitting in the audience dressed like a vampire. Vince owned them all on that."
That's the one thing that was always said about Verne and still to this day is said. By the time he got around to doing what everyone else was, it was FAR too late and he was scraping the bottom of the barrel for music, entertainment and celebrities and everything else. I don't remember the Eddie Munster bit, but yeah, that seems like the coup de gras of shitty celebrity involvement.
The comments are through and now it's ANNOUNCEMENT TIME!! Here, in it's entirety is a match review of HENNIG/BOCKWINKEL FROM NEW YEAR'S EVE '86!!! A great deal of thanks go to friend of the column, Patrick Mullin for hooking me up with the link and for taking the time to upload the match for me. I owe you more than a shout-out for this and if you're ever in my neck of the woods, drinks are on me for the whole night! Each paragraph covers five minutes of action in the match and without any further delay, let's get to this all-time classic!!
BONUS MATCH! AWA World Heavyweight Championship: Curt Hennig vs. Nick Bockwinkel (c)
It's December 31, 1986 and Rod Trongard and Lord James Blears are the commentators for this classic contest.
We pick up the feed right as Larry Nelson's making his way out of the ring and Nick Bockwinkel is handing the belt over to Gary DeRusha. Both men get checked out in the middle of the ring and they do a staredown as DeRusha runs down the rules and they shake hands before Bockwinkel DROPKICKS HENNIG FROM BEHIND!! Ten seconds in and Bockinwkel's already made me smile! He pick Hennig up for a HARD bodyslam and gets a quick two-count before Hennig rolls out to the floor to regroup. Hennig makes his way back into the ring and they hit an angry lockup with Bockwinkel pushing Hennig into the ropes, actually giving him a clean break. Another lockup and Bockwinkel surprises me by again giving a clean break as Hennig makes the ropes. Quick go-behind by Bockwinkel and Hennig breaks it into one of his own, with Bockwinkel taking Hennig over and Hennig getting a headscissors in before they do a stand-off in the middle of the ring. Hennig pushes Bockwinkel into the ropes off of a lockup and gives a clean break as both guys seem to want this to stay technical. Bockwinkel gets a quick roll-up off of a lockup for another two-count and is one move ahead of Hennig early on. Hennig tries an armbar but Bockwinkel forces him into the ropes to break the move and they do it again with Hennig trying a go-behind and Bockwinkel making the ropes. Bockwinkel gets a side headlock into a takeover and cranks up on it, forcing Hennig to his back a few times, getting a couple of one-counts before Hennig makes his way back to his feet. Forearm to the ribs by Hennig and he shoots Bockwinkel off into the ropes but eats a shoulderblock and gets taken right back over with the side headlock by Bockwinkel again.
Hennig tries to force Bockwinkel back into a headscissors but Bockwinkel fights out of it and keeps the pressure on until Hennig gets to his feet again. Hennig shoots Bockwinkel into the ropes again, takes another couple of hard shoulderblocks and gets taken over AGAIN with the side headlock. Hennig reverses Bockwinkel over for a two-count before trying again to break it with a forearm across Bockwinkel's face. They roll through and Bockwinkel holds on until they roll into the ropes and the referee forces the break. There's a lockup and a go-behind into a side headlock by Bockwinkel but Hennig is able to reverse it immediately into a headscissors, cranking and circling his legs around Bockwinkel's head as Lord James Blears talks about the list of guys that Bockwinkel has competed against. It's really impressive when you hear them all rattled off like that. Guys like The Funks, Harley Race, Rick Martel, Ric Flair, Billy Robinson, Wilbur Snyder, Gene Kiniski, Verne Gagne, Buddy Rogers, Curtis Iaukea, etc. and as Blears is reading the list Bockwinkel front flips out of the headscissors back into the side headlock, Hennig gets the headscissors again and they both snap back to their feet for another stand-off. Side headlock takeover from Bockwinkel and he holds his head lower this time to avoid getting reversed into the headscissors in a great little psychology move. Hennig gets to his feet and shoots Bockwinkel off, eating a shoulderblock and they mess up a hip toss spot but Hennig gets it the second time around with Bockwinkel kicking him away and grabbing him for a bodyslam. Hennig kicks Bockwinkel away and gets a BIG bodyslam of his own into a couple of armdrag takeovers, moving that into an armbar.
We come back from a commercial break without having missed any action and Hennig still has the armbar cranked on Bockwinkel as Bockwinkel tries to sit up to alleviate the pressure of the hold. He slowly makes his way to his feet as Hennig continues to hold onto the armbar and Bockwinkel gets a handful of hair to shoot Hennig into the ropes. Hennig runs the ropes over the prone Bockwinkel, then stops and gets another big armdrag, taking Bockwinkel back down to the mat. Rod Trongard runs through the list of titles Bockwinkel has won and it's just as impressive as the list of men he's faced off against, including a shout-out to Winnipeg as he mentions the Bockwinkel/Stevens title win at Winnipeg Arena over The Crusher and Billy Robinson in October of 1974. They talk about Bockwinkel's start in wrestling at age sixteen as Hennig hits a legdrop on the arm before moving right back to the armbar. Bockwinkel gets a trip and moves up Hennig's back for a side headlock but Hennig reverses that into a hammerlock with Bockwinkel biting his own hand in pain. Hennig drops down with his legs wrapped into the hammerlock before returning it back to the regular version of it, hooking Bockwinkel's other arm to force him onto his back for a two-count. Bockwinkel BRIDGES to break the count and rolls back over to his stomach to keep from being pinned. Bockwinkel makes it back to his feet and pushes Hennig back into the ropes to break the hold.
Reverse elbows to the body from Bockwinkel off of the "clean" break and he Irish whips Hennig into the opposite corner. He charges in but Hennig moves and BOCKWINKEL HITS THE POST!! Shoulder-first into the post and Bockwinkel's in trouble as Hennig goes back to the armbar, dropping a knee onto that shoulder joint. He goes back to the armbar as Bockwinkel gets to his feet and Bockwinkel goes to the hair again, shooting Hennig into the ropes for a knee to the stomach. A couple of hard bodyslams for Bockwinkel and Hennig gets the kick-away again into another DEEP armdrag takeover into the armbar. Hennig sits back with it and pulls on it hard, forcing screams from Bockwinkel as he smacks the mat in pain with his hand. Hennig forces Bockwinkel back down to the mat and moves to a short-arm scissors in the middle of the ring. Bockwinkel does a great sell of it, smacking his own hand and bending it back and forth to keep the blood flowing to the fingers. Bockwinkel rolls backwards and flips Hennig onto his back for a two-count before Hennig flips it right back to get a two-count on Bockwinkel with the hold. Bockwinkel reverses it again for another two-count and Hennig flips it back for a one-count before Bockwinkel starts the great selling again. Bockwinkel fights and powers Hennig's legs apart, forcing them open and reversing the armscissors into a toehold at the twenty minute mark.
Bockwinkel continues to take a strategic breather while working over Hennig's leg with the toehold and he slowly turns it over into a reverse double toehold, using his arms to yank back on Hennig's leg and increase the torque even further. The audio drops out for a few seconds as Bockwinkel tries to hook an arm as well but there's nothing there and Hennig actually grabs Bockwinkel's head, using the headlock to break free before moving to a front-facelock and then to an armbar as both men make it to their feet. Bockwinkel pushes Hennig into the ropes and hits some forearm shots to the gut before snap maring Hennig over into a front-facelock of his own. Hennig makes it to his feet and grabs the arm of Bockwinkel again, dropping the knee down onto it once more before dropping into the short-arm scissors. Again, Bockwinkel slaps the mat in pain and tries to work his way out of it as Hennig rolls Bockwinkel around on the mat with it to increase the pressure. Bockwinkel catches him on one of the rolls and grabs a handful of tights to get a two-count before he slips out to the floor between the middle and bottom rope. Bockwinkel takes advantage of the time outside, using the ringpost to stretch his arm and get the circulation going again before stepping back up into the ring.
Bockwinkel does a little talking to Hennig as they work to get into a lockup with Hennig grabbing the side headlock again. Bockwinkel shoots Hennig off into the ropes and gets taken down with a shoulderblock but catches Hennig with a drop toehold off the ropes, right back into the double toehold. Bockwinkel cranks on it, transitioning to a single leglock, wrenching back as Hennig screams out in pain. Bockwinkel grabs the foot and starts grinding and circling the ankle while still putting the pressure on the hold. Hennig grabs Bockwinkel by the hair to try to break it but the referee makes him let go as Bockwinkel ups the pressure even further. Another handful of hair and another crank from Bockwinkel when the referee makes him let to. Hennig grabs an armbar while in the toehold, hammering with forearms to the shoulder until Bockwinkel lets go of the hold. Hennig stomps on the shoulder as he gets to his feet and drops a knee to Bockwinkel's shoulder but it's the bad knee and HE SELLS IT! Tremendous work from Hennig and Bockwinkel takes advantage of the miscue turning Hennig over into an INDIAN DEATHLOCK!! Bockwinkel still shaking the hand and trying to get feeling into it while delivering forearms to Hennig every time he tries to sit up to alleviate the pressure. Bockwinkel gets a couple of two-counts from the submission move as Larry Nelson announces thirty minutes of elapsed time in this main event.
Bockwinkel continues to wear Hennig out with the Indian deathlock until Hennig gets a handful of hair and a right hand, stunning Bockwinkel enough to roll him over to the ropes for the break. Bockwinkel gets three HARD knees to the ribs of Hennig and pushes him off the apron to the floor with the bottom of his boots. Hennig limps his way back into the ring and Bockwinkel pushes him into the corner, catching Hennig with a short forearm before Irish whipping Hennig across the ring. One Bret Bump later by Hennig and it's BOCKWINKEL SLEEPER TIME!! He switches to the opposite hands to grip and Hennig pulls himself and Bockwinkel out through the ropes but they end up taking referee Gary DeRusha with them outside!! Hennig rams Bockwinkel's head on the ring apron and gives him a hard kick to the ribs, following it up with a chop to the chest. He drags Bockwinkel back into the ring and Irish whips him into the ropes for a HUGE chop that sends Bockwinkel flying. He makes the cover and here comes DeRusha crawling into the ring. ONE, TWO, NO!! Bockwinkel BARELY gets his shoulder up and Hennig gets the kick to the ribs again before snapping Bockwinkel's arm over the top rope. Hennig on the floor and he WRAPS Bockwinkel's arm around the ringpost!! Hammerlock from Hennig but Bockwinkel holds onto the ropes to make him break the hold. Hennig Irish whips Bockwinkel into the ropes and ducks for a back bodydrop but Bockwinkel kicks him square in the face.
Bockwinkel tries to set Hennig up for a figure-four leglock but Hennig rolls and flips him over. They run the same sequence again before Bockwinkel hits Hennig in the gut with a hard right hand and drops him with one to the face that gets a long two-count. Bockwinkel Irish whips Hennig into the ropes and tries for a clothesline but Hennig ducks it into a FLYING BODYPRES!! ONE, TWO, NO!!! Bockwinkel kicks out!! Hennig's back to the armbar and works it until Bockwinkel rolls near the ropes and throws Hennig out through the middle and bottom ropes to the floor. He rams Hennig's head into the apron a couple of times and follows that up by ramming his head into THE RING STEPS!! Hennig looks glassy-eyed on the floor and takes a couple of boots from Bockwinkel who is standing up on the apron. Bockwinkel puts the bad-mouth on him a little and Hennig goes to the midesection from the floor, landing some right hands to the gut before tripping Bockwinkel down and WRAPPING HIS LEG AROUND THE RINGPOST!! HENNIG DOES IT AGAIN!! He makes his way back into the ring at the count of seven and gets a hamstring pull on Bockwinkel, limping back over to him and locking in a stepover toehold. Hennig turns it into a straight toehold now and stretches Bockwinkel's legs to work them over. Bockwinkel grabs one of Hennig's legs and trips him, getting to the ropes for a break. Bockwinkel chokes Hennig across the top rope and slingshots him back into the middle of the ring, picking him up for a HUGE bodysl...HENNIG REVERSES AND ENDS UP ON TOP!! ONE, TWO, NO!!! Bockwinkel just kicked out at the last possible second.
Hennig tries another cover and gets another long two-count before grabbing a side headlock. Bockwinkel shoots him into the ropes and turns Hennig inside out with a kneelift to the stomach. Bockwinkel sets Hennig up in the middle of the ring and hits the PILEDRIVER!! ONE, TWO, NO!!! HENNIG GETS A FOOT ON THE ROPES!! Bockwinkel staggers to his feet and drops all of his weight down onto Hennig's leg before getting a sitting version of the toehold on near the ropes. Hennig shakes his head no, hammering his hands onto the mat as Bockwinkel pushes his foot on the bottom rope for extra leverage. Hennig gets a pair of right hands and a headbutt to break the hold and PUNTS Bockwinkel in the gut three or four times before just dropping all of his weight onto Bockwinkel's lower back. Hennig locks in a modified camel clutch and Bockwinkel reaches out to grab the bottom rope, forcing Hennig to release the hold. Hennig works over Bockwinkel's hamstrings again and drops a leg into the midsection of Bockwinkel!! Bockwinkel fires back with right hands to the gut and gets a hard uppercut to the throat as he makes his way to his feet, putting Hennig on his back. Another uppercut and Hennig's back down on the mat allowing Bockwinkel to go for a cover but he only gets a one-count. Hennig to his feet with a HUGE kneelift that sends Bockwinkel staggering into the ropes but Bockwinkel comes off of them with a forearm that puts Hennig down. They both get to their feet and Hennig gets a double-leg into a BOSTON CRAB! Hennig sits down on the back of Bockwinkel and really puts the pressure on with the submission hold as Bockwinkel powers up with his arms but he can't break the hold.
Bockwinkel does it again and turns Hennig over, getting a two-count before Hennig tries to sunset flip him but Bockwinkel is in the ropes so there's no count. Front facelock from Bockwinkel and Hennig shoves him into the corner before ramming him with some shoulderblocks to the stomach. NASTY chop from Hennig and he pulls Bockwinkel out of the corner, grabbing him and rolling him into a small package for a long, LONG two-count. Hennig sets Bockwinkel up and gets his own PILEDRIVER!!! ONE, TWO, NO!!!! Bockwinkel's foot is on the bottom rope!! DOUBLE RIGHT HANDS!! BOTH MEN ARE DOWN!! They crawl to their feet and Hennig gets a side headlock but Bockwinkel turns it right into a belly to back suplex. He crawls over and drapes an arm over Hennig. ONE, TWO, NO!!!! Hennig gets his foot on the ropes!!! Bockwinkel thinks he's won and Hennig gets a ROLL-UP OFF THE ROPES!! ONE, TWO, NOOOO!!! Bockwinkel just shoves him off before the three count. Hennig drops FOUR elbows in a row and covers for another LONG two-count before hitting a knee right into the middle of Bockwinkel's back. He stomps Bockwinkel in the face and pushes him into the corner for the Irish whip into the opposite corner. Right hand from Hennig and a SNAPPING chop that he follows with a BEAUTIFUL standing dropkick that Bockwinkel sells with a near-somersault. Hennig drags him to the middle of the ring and covers but only gets two before Bockwinkel fires a shot to the gut and a chop to the throat that gets HIM a two-count.
Irish whip from Bockwinkel and he locks in the Abdominal stretch but Hennig is able to push him into the ropes. Irish whip from Bockwinkel again and he follows Hennig across with a knee to the gut. Bockwinkel with the knee to the gut again and gets a long two-count before Hennig drops down and gets a double-leg takedown, working a stepover toehold until Bockwinkel kicks him off. Hennig goes through the ropes and hits his shoulder on the ringpost!! He falls out of the ring and lands face-first on the concrete floor!! Hennig is face down on the floor and leaving little puddles of blood on the concrete as he makes his way to his feet with the help of the apron. Bockwinkel leans out through the ropes and RAMS Hennig's head into the apron before smacking his left wrist loudly, mocking Hennig and the lack of time left in the bout. He leans back outside and gets some right hands that put Hennig back down to the floor. Bockwinkel continues to keep Hennig out of the ring, slamming him into the apron one more time before HAMMERING away with right hands. He grabs Hennig by the hair and drags him back into the ring, ramming Hennig OVER the turnbuckle into the ringpost!! Hennig is gushing blood from that cut as Bockwinkel just pops him right in the forehead with some hard punches, getting a two-count off of them. Bockwinkel continues with the punches, putting Hennig back down to the mat for another pin attempt. ONE, TWO, NOOO!! Hennig's back up, he fires away with a right hand and Irish whips Bockwinkel into the ropes and HITS THE AXE!!! Another Irish whip and he HITS THE AXE AGAIN!!! BOCKWINKEL'S BLEEDING!!
Right hands from Hennig and they push each other into the corner with Hennig hammering away with all the strength he can muster. Irish whip from Hennig and IT'S ANOTHER AXE!! Bockwinkel's down on his face and Hennig rolls him over for a pin attempt but Bockwinkel has his arm draped on the bottom rope. Mounted punches from Hennig and both men get to their feet with Hennig landing a couple of shots and a savate kick that staggers Bockwinkel and puts him across the second rope. Hennig drops all of his weight down onto Bockwinkel's back, clotheslining him against the second rope as Gary DeRusha checks Hennig's cut. He rules that the match can go on and Hennig gets an Irish whip into the corner for the FOURTH AXE!! Bockwinkel flops down face-first and Hennig gets a pin attempt but is so weary he forgets to turn Bockwinkel over. DeRusha is so weary he actually counts to one before realizing Bockwinkel is on his stomach. Hennig is POURING blood and he's ramming Bockwinkel's head into the turnbuckle over FIFTEEN TIMES!! Right hand from Hennig and he just rakes his bootlaces across Bockwinkel's face. Delayed vertical suplex by Hennig and he finally manages to roll over onto Bockwinkel after a few seconds. ONE, TWO, NOOOOO!! Hard forearm uppercut from Hennig and a knee lif that he follows with a kick to the face before he drops an elbow on Bockwinkel and covers. ONE, TWO, NOOOOOOO!!! Kick-out from Bockwinkel!!! Hennig gets up and grabs Bockwinkel's legs to lock in the FIGURE-FOUR LEGLOCK!!! Hennig is a bloody mess, Bockwinkel is a bloody mess and there's one minute left!! Hennig shakes his head as he's cranking the pressure and a spot of blood ends up hitting the camera lens on one of the ringside cameras making for a cool visual at the end of this epic contest. Rod Trongard makes a call as this happens that lives on even today and never fails to elicit a chill. "We're in the final minute, we are in the final minute! I will never forget it, as long as I live, however this ends. With less than sixty seconds remaining, these two men have given everything that there IS to give. Not only that they have to give, but there IS to give to the sport of professional wrestling." Wow. Hennig continues to crank on the figure-four and there's thirty seconds left!! Bockwinkel grabs onto referee Gary DeRusha's arm to try to keep from submitting. Larry Nelson counts it down with the crowd and the bell rings!! Gary DeRusha RAISES HENNIG'S HAND!! THE CROWD ERUPTS...but he goes right over to Bockwinkel and raises his hand as well. It's a sixty-minute, time limit draw!!
Rod Trongard is completely spent and Blears gives us a little rundown of his thoughts on the match. Greg Gagne makes his way into the ring and shakes Hennig's hand before going over to Bockwinkel and doing the same. Hennig drops to a knee and talks to the ringside camera, saying that he KNOWS that he has Bockwinkel's number. After a commercial, Larry Nelson is in the ring with Curt Hennig now.
Larry Nelson: Possibly one of the greatest wrestling matches anyone has ever seen anywhere. Curt Hennig, I know you're cut, I know you're tired. You did one HELL of a job battling the champion of the world.
Curt Hennig: Larry, I'm..I..I'm not..I don't have a lot to say here. I think it's all been said. I'm ready to keep going, man. There's no way on Earth! I came into this match prepared to the max. I take my hat off to Nick Bockwinkel. I thought I could outlast him. I still believe I can outlast him and I know now, brother, I have got your number Nick Bockwinkel. After ten minutes, twenty minutes. You went the limit, sixty minutes and I know deep down in my heart and I think the whole world knows now Nick, that you're MINE.
Larry Nelson: Curt Hennig. I know, I know you're unstable. Gary DeRusha, time limit draw, the champion...
Gary DeRusha: The official decision, it was a sixty-minute time limit. The time ran out. Nick Bockwinkel, still heavyweight champion.
Larry Nelson: Greg?
Greg Gagne: I just want to say one thing. I watched this match from start to finish and this young man here. I have to give both men credit, both Nick Bockwinkel and this man. One of the greatest matches I've ever seen and it has to go down in the classics with Lou Thesz and Buddy Rogers, Lou Thesz/Verne Gagne, Nick Bockwinkel/Verne Gagne matches. This was definitely a classic, classic match and uh Curt, congratulations. You fought one heck of a match partner.
Larry Nelson: Curt, we're gonna go let you clean up after a tremendous wrestling match, giving the champion all he had!!
Match Analysis: What can be said really? This match is a classic and one of the greatest matches in the history of the AWA. I haven't seen it in a little over a decade and it's still just as great as I remember it being. This was the first real glimpse into the greatness that was inside Curt Hennig and this was almost something that could be viewed as a symbolic passing of the torch in a way. Bockwinkel was the standard-bearer for the AWA for so many years and for Hennig to go neck-and-neck with him the entire sixty minutes was a testament to what he could do in the ring and Bockwinkel made him look spectacular. Add to this the fact that Bockwinkel was FIFTY-TWO YEARS OLD and this match is all the more amazing. I never do match ratings or anything but if I did, this would easily be the full magilla. A great match and an absolutely wonderful trip back in time for me. Simply incredible.
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Post by CW .org .info .net on Feb 7, 2023 14:16:15 GMT -6
AWA Championship Wrestling Larry Nelson and Lee Mullet are at the control desk of their SNAZZY new studio. I wonder if the announcement is that Verne's finally put some money into the show. NO!! We've skipped completely past the announcement, moving instead to the literal go-home show for SuperClash III, as this show airs the night before the show. Both guys talk about how they're all excited and they continue to pimp that it's a clash of organizations while desperately trying to get people to show up or buy it on PPV. They talk about the rest of the card before they take us back to highlights of Badd Company's attack on Wendi Richter, which led to the six-person tag match that was made for SuperClash between Badd Company and Madusa and the Top Guns with Wendi Richter as their partner. Lee Mullet talks about the lingerie, streetfight, battle royale, ten skanks with a pole match that POWW is adding onto SuperClash before throwing it to Larry Nelson. Larry's with The Top Guns and Wendi Richter in the SuperClash interview area and three of the worst talkers in the business get promo time. Wendi's not afraid and that there's no room for Badd Company or Madusa in wrestling. Good lord, she's awful shrieky. Jon Paul challenges them to try it again while Ricky Rice calls them SAD Company, saying that the Top Guns and Wendi Richter are on FIRE!! The more I look at Lee Marshall, he looks like a Billy Ray Cyrus/Mean Gene Okerlund love child. Match One: AWA World Tag Team Championships Nature's Best vs. Badd Company (c) w/Diamond Dallas Page We're at the Nashville set of tapings since that was pretty much the last big taping of shows they did in 1988 before the SuperClash show. Again, I have no idea who Nature's Best is, so I'm just going to call one Nature and the other Best. It should work. Kind of. Sadly, DDP has already CRANKEDUPDAMUSIC!!!, which is one of the best parts of his introductions. Tanaka starts out with nature, pushing him into the corner and chopping the hell out of him before trying an Irish whip into the corner. Nature reverses it and gets a shit-ton of armdrags before tagging in Best, who leapfrogs over Nature onto Tanaka's arm. Best starts working an arm-wringer but Tanaka just yanks the hair to break free and tags in Paul Diamond. Best works the arm-wringer on him and Diamond fires off a HUGE right hand before snap maring Best over and raking away at his face. Irish whip into the ropes and Diamond gets a BIG clothesline, tagging Tanaka in for some chops and a jumping headbutt. Tanaka tags Diamond and they get the Hart Attack for two, with Diamond picking Best up before the three-count. Neck crank from Diamond and he puts the boots to him before tagging in Tanaka. They steal a modified version of Demolition's finisher and Tanaka covers him for a two-count, pulling him up before three again. Tag to Diamond and they hit a double-clothesline before Diamond works over Best with more punches and stomps. Tanaka distracts the referee to allow Diamond to push Best over into a shot from DDP. Best reverses an Irish whip and gets a sunset flip that scores him a two-count, but he's punished severely as Diamond tags in Tanaka and Tanaka UNLOADS with a huge chop before tagging Diamond back in. Big bodyslam from Diamond and he misses the elbowdrop that follows, allowing Best to tag in Nature. Pair of bodyslams from Nature and he WHIFFS on a dropkick, letting Diamond take over some forearms before tagging Tanaka. Tanaka grabs Nature in a waistlock and Diamond hits him with a superkick, sending him up and over for a Tanaka GERMAN SUPLEX!! TANAKA BRIDGES AND IT'S ALL OVER!! Winners: Badd Company (pinfall, superkick into a German suplex) Match Analysis: A fun showcase for all of Badd Company's skills, though they did a lot more theiving of moves than I remember them doing. They won't get to do any of those moves once they finally get rid of the albatross on their career that was the AWA though. The WWF doesn't like guys stealing other teams' finishers as transition moves, I'm just saying. Back from the break, Larry Nelson's with Kerry Von Erich, talking about his discus career and his football career and Von Erich says that their family is all about winning. He says that there's a problem now in that there are two champions but only one belt. He says that when you go for the gold, you have to give it 100% and he's giving 100% with his training right now. That's it? Huh, I guess. After another break, it's back to the SuperClash control center and they introduce Bill Apter for another Press Conference segment with HORRIBLE audio. A high-pitched squeal makes it nearly unlistenable. Apter asks him about the G.I. Joe show and Slaughter says that it's been the number-one rated cartoon show for the past three years and since he's joined Hasbro toys, it's been a number-one seller. Slaughter talks about how he's been trying to track down Col. DeBeers this entre time and that his outlook on the common man and the American people is a disgrace. He says that he's happy he's finally going to get his hands on him in the Boot Camp match at SuperClash. Apter says "Iron Sheik" and Slaughter just kind of grunts and then says "USA, #1! Yo, JOE!" Nelson and Mullet talk about the publicity Slaughter's been getting lately and how in a six-man tag match in Nashville, every opportunity that Col. DeBeers had to face Slaughter, he ran. After the match, Col. DeBeers attacks the SHIT out of Slaughter with his cane. Larry Nelson goes back to it and says that you could see an attack like that coming and that now there's going to be a war in Chicago to settle things. Seriously, Lee Mullet might have been the product of a three-way because he's got Mike Tenay's "pensive stare" down cold. Half an hour and only four minutes of wrestling. When did I sign up to cover Monday Night Raw? After another commercial break, the talking heads go on about SuperClashes past and then they throw it to the Mat Classic. Match Two: Mat Classic Jimmy Garvin w/Precious vs. Kerry Von Erich This is for the Texas championship and it looks like we're getting the whole match. HUGE "Kerry" chant from the crowd of 25,000 at Comiskey Park and Precious gets right in Von Erich's face before the match can actually get underway. Jimmy's perm would make Rick James jealous and he struts before the match gets started. They get a lockup with Von Erich shoving Garvin off into the corner. Another lockup, another shove but this time Von Erich does a little strut of his own to mock Garvin. Larry Nelson cackles away at that one. Side headlock from Garvin and Von Erich shoots him into the ropes, eating a shoulderblock but getting two HUGE dropkicks in after some rope-running and Garvin is out to the floor. Garvin tries a sneak attack after he gets back into the ring but Von Erich catches him with an atomic drop and the DISCUS PUNCH!! Von Erich with the cover and he only gets two as Garvin drops his foot across the bottom rope. Garvin takes over with a cheap shot to the throat, snap maring Von Erich over but missing an elbowdrop. Von Erich off the ropes and he misses a kneedrop, limping into the corner as they stand and trade right hands back and forth. Irish whip from Von Erich and he gets an abdominal stretch in on Garvin and Garvin goes to the eyes to break it, snap maring Von Erich again into a reverse chinlock. Another big "Kerry" chant and Garvin's got it turned into a modified sleeper. Von Erich gets an armdrag to get out of it and shoulderblocks Garvin down but ends up taking a knee to the midsection off of the ropes. Von Erich rolls out to the grass and gets the badmouth from Precious but he manages to keep his cool and walks away. Von Erich tries to get back tino the ring but Garvin knees him back down to the floor. Precious distracts the referee and Garvin throws Von Erich over the top rope to the grass again. Von Erich gets a shoulderblock on the apron and he slingshots over into a sunset flip for a long two-count. They trade shots and Von Erich gets the discus punch AGAIN, and ANOTHER!! Garvin's down in the corner begging of but Von Erich will have none of it, threatening him with the IRON CLAW!! Garvin struggles against it and fights it off before getting whipped into the corner. Von Erich misses the charge and "runs into the ringpost", though he gets caught up in the ropes and doesn't actually make it to the post. Garvin's up and on the outside, climbing to the top rope but Von Erich catches him with a discus punch!! GARVIN CROTCHES HIMSELF ON THE TOP ROPE!! 1-2-3!! Von Erich WINS!!! After the match, Precious gets into Von Erich's grill and Garvin tries a sneak attack but eats THE IRON CLAW for his troubles. Garvin hightails it out to the grass and fixes his hair as the crowd goes wild. Winner: Kerry Von Erich (pinfall, Garvin crotched on the top rope) Match Analysis: A decent match, which easily puts it as the best of the show I'd imagine. Of course, the problem still remains that the best match of the go-home show for the AWA pay-per-view in 1988 is a match from 1985, Nelson and Mullet talk about the main event of SuperClash III and put over again that there's no time limit and that there MUST be a winner. They tell us that when we come back, we're going to get to see the Texas Tag Team Champions, The Samoan Swat Team. Funny moment as the Medical Hair Restoration commerical that shows in between has Chavito in it, though he doesn't get a chance to talk. Jimmy Hart does though, as they show him before and after. I guess like James Andrews is the doctor for the wrestlers, these guys are the hair restoration center of the boys. Good times. Match Three: Shawn Baxter and Billy Travis vs. The Samoan Swat Team w/Buddy Jack Roberts The SST come out to "Don't Worry, Be Happy", which is possibly the weirdest entrance music you could imagine for a gigantic heel team from Samoa. Baxter's hair turns him from 5'8" to about 6'4" just from the teasing alone. I had heard about there being an ozone problem in the Southern United States around 1988, and I guess we have the reason why in the ring tonight. Samu and Travis start things out with Travis getting a side headlock and he gets shot off the ropes, avoiding all of Samu's offense. He gets a flying bodypress off the ropes for a two-count and then armdrags Samu over. Irish whip from Samu gets reversed by Travis, into another reversal and Samu clotheslines the SHIT out of Travis, sending him into a 360. Tag to Fatu and he hits a snap-suplex before Irish whipping Travis in for a huge clothesline. Travis tries to get the tag but Fatu cuts him off, tagging Samu in for a double-headbutt. Samu with a HUGE chop on Travis and he Irish whips him into the opposite corner, following with a charge. Samu ends up eating a pair of kicks to the face and Travis comes off the second rope with a CLOTHESLINE!! LUKEWARM TAG TO BAXTER!! ARM-WRINGER FROM BAXTER and Samu goes right to the eyes before hitting a sidewalk slam. Tag to Fatu and they hit a double superkick before Fatu kicks Baxter in the gut. Irish whip in and Baxter takes a HUGE powerslam for a two-count before Fatu picks him up. Tag to Samu and he Irish whips Baxter in for a whirly-bird slam, ramming Baxter's face into the mat. Samu gets Baxter up onto the top rope and hits a huge belly to back suplex off the second rope before tagging in Fatu. Fatu off the top with a SUPERFLY SPLASH!!! That's it, scrape Baxter off the mat, it's done, done, double-done. Winners: The Samoan Swat Team (pinfall, Fatu Splash) Match Analysis: A squash, but an entertaining squash for sure. The SST were crazy as a big-man tag team and they had a ton of great moves. It seems as if this entire show is just here to make the guys on the SuperClash show look strong by steamrolling their opponents. Not very entertaining. Michael Hayes cuts a really LOUD promo, yelling about how he was at the first SuperClash and that he and Steve Cox are coming after the SST and he reminds Buddy Roberts about how when he was born, the nurse said that he was bad to the bone. Yep, cause you know how bad-ass babies that are ten minutes old look. I'd hate to come up against one in a dark alley, that's for sure. Cox says that they'll make grown men cry and young women scream. They'll get the job done and Hayes tells everyone to come to the party on the 13th!! Larry Nelson welcomes us back and says that he's going to explain the POWW battle royale, saying that they can get eliminated by either going over the top rope, or by being stripped down to their lingerie. Nelson jokes about checking his contract because he always has to interview the men while Lee Mullet is with some of the lovely ladies right now. It's not about the contract Larry, it's the restraining order. Mullet's with the women and with Dave McClane and they talk about the main event for SuperClash III yet again. He says that no one's going to want to miss the POWW action with $10,000 dollars to the winner and the women start a slapfight, I'm guessing because one made fun of the other one's thunder-thighs or her haircut or something. Match Four: AWA World Heavyweight Championship Terry Adonis vs. Jerry Lawler (c) Lawler gets mobbed on his way to the ring and there's four minutes left in this show, so this match should be quick. Lockup and Lawler pushes Adonis into the corner, giving him a clean break but Adonis gets in a cheapshot forearm. Lawler threatens him with a right hand and Adonis leans out through the ropes to avoid a beating. Another lockup and he pushes Adonis into the corner again, landing some good right hands before he catches Adonis with a combination that puts him on his ass. Big clothesline from Lawler and he follows it up with a delayed vertical suplex. Lawler's on his way out to the top rope and he drops off the top with a big right hand, followed with a standing fistdrop and Lawler gets the three-count. I told you it'd be quick. Winner: Jerry Lawler (pinfall, fistdrop) Match Analysis: WAY too short to mean anything at all. Just there to put Lawler over heading into the end of the show before the PPV. Meh. Larry Nelson pimps the main event again and talks about the Ronnie Garvin/Greg Gagne match for the AWA International Televison Championship. Verne Gagne comes out for an announcement that the AWA Tag Team Championship and the AWA Women's Championship will be on the line in the six-person tag match. If the Top Guns pin Badd Company, they're the tag champs and if Wendi Richter pins Madusa, she's the women's champ. He pleads for us to order the show one more time and we're out! Final Thoughts Horrible. That's all I got. Just horrible. The only halfway-decent parts were the Badd Company match and the Von Erich/Garvin match from '85. The rest was just WAY too much talking and pointlessness. Thumbs ALL THE WAY DOWN for this one. Big time. It almost makes me hope they get to 1989 soon so I can start being entertained in perverse way by how bad things get. Comments time, please. Fun With Comments From PMullin1987: "Glad you enjoyed it Randy. My favorite part of Hennig-Bockwinkel? Not one punch was thrown until over 30 minutes into the match. Still IMO the best match I've ever seen. As for the ESPN show, even though you knew Wahoo's limitations at the time, at least the guy could still get an angle over in an interview. I'll admit I wasn't thrilled about the prospects of Wahoo vs. Manny, but Wahoo's prematch interview was as good as he ever cut and it gave the match a litle added incentive for me to sit through it. As it turns out, it was a pretty fun match with a real good psychology. You had Fernandez the bully starting off fighting, then when Wahoo was matching him blow for blow Fernandez backed off and tried to wrestle, and Wahoo still managed to turn it back into an alley fight. Good stuff, which is rare from Verne & co at this time." That Hennig/Bockwinkel match was gold and believe me, I noticed that it wasn't just a kicky-punchy main event like we've been forced into watching in the past few years. A very nice breath of fresh air. I see where you're going with the Wahoo/Manny match and I can get that, but like I said, there didn't see to be much hatred from Wahoo early on, despite the dignity raping. That kind of soured me on it a little, but thanks for the fresh perspective. From v gagne: "nick bockwinkel as champ = EPIC FAIL!" You shut your dirty whore mouth right now! Seriously, no one shalt EVER take thy name Bockwinkel in vain. Requests for the Bockwinkel/Hennig match, first from Deux: "Upload that shit to Youtube, man. Don't hate. " Then from Guest. : "You suck by the way for not linking us to the Bockwinkle/Hennig match on whatever its on. Even a torrent download to it would be nice. Its one of those matches I'd been wanting to see forever. Anyways, decent show tonight, nothing really stands out though. Looking at the future shows, you see guys like Cactus Jack and the RPMs and such on those shows, so we're heading into the Alliance to End Hulkamania era leading up to Superclash. At the very least, it should freshen up some of the shows, as even Badd Company's getting a little stale, and we really can't be relying on Greg Gagne and Wahoo and DeBeers to carry the main events." New info from Ryan: "It's funny, you review the 1 Hour match now because it was just updated to WWE 24/7 today so many people will be seeing it soon." Very cool, and another one of the reasons I wish Dish would start carrying WWE 24/7. As for the youtube upload, if I could handle something like that I would, but I'm a chimp when it comes to things like that. I'll do you guys a solid though so here's Bockwinkel vs. Hennig for everyone's enjoyment! From RJ: "I didnt notice that the AWA was on Classic until about a month ago. What have they went through so far is what Im curious about. Do we have to roll into that DeBeers vs Dukes angle where the loser had to get painted the other person's color? Isn't Adonis on his way into the AWA soon for a brief time? I believe the AWA had two different shows running at this time with the Showboat matches and then another show with matches taped in Minnesota although maybe that is a little ahead of schedule. Regardless I believe we see the terrible Gange-Shiek feud coming and even Ken Patera comes back I believe." Actually, things should start picking up in terms of the bad action if the AWA is done with 1988 and moving on to 1989. Yes, Shiek/Gagne is coming up, and Ken Patera does indeed make a comeback to the AWA after getting the boot from New York. There were always two AWA shows running, and sometimes three, with Championship Wrestling being on EPSN and being primarily taped at the Showboat, All-Star Wrestling being the syndicated program that the AWA was built off of, taped at a variety of AWA stronghold locations, with Minnesota being one of them. There was a third show, AWA Major League Wrestling, which was the one that I used to watch all the time as it was put together and syndicated across Canada out of Winnipeg, which was always one of the stronger cities in the AWA circuit. From Frozen: "Did it strike anybody as odd that just after Ricky Rice said he didn't know what the big announcement was, he ran down a list of the other tag teams the Top Guns will have to compete against: The Samoan Swat Team, The Rock n' Roll RPMs, and Michael Hayes and Steve Cox? If he didn't know about the interpromotional deal, how did he know to mention all the aforementioned non-AWA tag teams?" I caught that and it definitely made me laugh. NO IDEA, but we're gonna start wrasslin against teams from other territories. No one ever accused the Top Guns of being the sharpest spoons in the drawer. From OB1 Jabroni: "Henning/Bockwinkel was a clinic, it was the measuring stick for all AWA matches. The main event was a let down, Manny does one of the worst blade jobs I can remember seeing, just sloppy. As for the comment Frozen made, I didn't even pick up on that, I usually hit FWD on the DVR when Rice is on the stick" If I could DVR and FF through every Top Gun promo, my life would be much richer. As for the Hennig/Bockwinkel match, I agree that it was the measuring stick and would go further to say that along with Flair/Windham from NWA Main Event and the Flair/Steamboat trilogy right at the end of the decade, it's one of the finest matches of the entire 1980's. From Adam: "I think I might have been at the show from the mat classic. I went to the showboat a lot to see the AWA between 83-86. GLOW was taped in Las Vegas as well; I think at the old Grand Central shopping center. As for Eddie Munster at the NWA tapings, I remember Jim Cornette saying when he heard that Butch Patrick was there he thought Tony Shavone shaved off his mustache. As for RJ's comment Adonis is already dead where we are at in the time line. We have to get past SuperClash and the Zbyszko title reign before the AWA runs out of straws to grasp at." Very cool that you were able to check out the AWA tapings when they were there. Rather telling that the AWA had the Showboat and GLOW had a shopping center. You've got to love Jim Cornette, the man is always good for a soundbyte. From Scrotum Pole: "Geat recap of Hennig/Bockwinkel. I was seriously on the edge of my keyboard for the ending. On your BIG ANNOUNCEMENT: I thought it was you and your "partner" just got legally married in California. Just joshing. DeBeers appears to be at about a 7 on the Hasselhoff scale, so he must have hit a buffet or two in Vegas since he's come back to the AWA. Bullseye!" LOL @ the domestic partnership. I do live in California, but in what will no doubt be a crushing blow to my HUGE gay following, I am 100% hetero. Moving on, I'm glad that you liked the review. I was hoping it wouldn't be too long a read for folks but I wanted to make sure to be detailed since a lot of people haven't seen it in such a long time. From Seahawker: "Wow, a guy with the username Scrotum Pole dishing out a gay joke, I love it, the irony of it all just made my evening, even though it was a good natured rib, it was still PRICELESS" Yeah, that struck me as pretty funny too. Gotta love the Scrote though, the man livens things up in the comments page. Finally, from Guest#6819: "could someone clear up the Manny/InvaderIII incident for me. Was it legit for the death of Brody or just a work? Off topic I know, just curious is all" Everything you need to know about the incident, including video of it is right here. To me though, it looks like a total work, since Invader was moving into position to take the knees, the first one that caused Invader to puke up blood barely landed, and everyone was just acting like it was angle. If he had been seriously intending to injure him, I think that it would have gone way worse than that, and probably been a lot more serious, but that's just me.
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Post by CW .org .info .net on Feb 7, 2023 14:17:49 GMT -6
AWA Championship Wrestling
Straight to the ring and ring announcer Michael St. John for the opening bout from Nashville
Match One: Terry Adonis and The Beast vs. The Top Guns
The Guns are blatantly ripping off the Rock and Roll teams, not even trying to be coy about it like they were when they first started out. Paul and Beast start out and Paul grabs a side headlock before he gets shot into the ropes. Shoulderblock by Paul and he stares down Beast, taking him over with an armdrag and then dropping a leg onto the arm. Tag to Rice and he comes off the second rope with a shot to the shortribs. Side headlock from Rice and he gets shot into the ropes, hitting a shoulderblock and then the Shawn Michaels spot with the backflip into the hip toss. I guess you've already stolen their look, what's a move or two, right? Tag to Paul and Beast gets a tag to Adonis and they lockup with Paul getting a HUGE hip toss out of the corner. Dude needed peanuts, I swear. Side headlock from Paul into a takeover and Adonis reverses it to a headscissors but they do the stand-off spot before Paul gets a quick roll-up for a one-count. Rice is in and they repeat the side headlock/headscissors spot that was just done with Paul. Rice gets the side headlock and tags in Paul for a shot to Adonis' ribs and he gets a big powerslam before tagging Rice right back in. Rice gets his patented dropkick and gets the three-count!! They get up on the ropes and play to the honeys in the front row as we get a replay of the dropkick.
Winners: The Top Guns (pinfall, Rice dropkick)
Match Analysis: Seriously, this was like the Groundhog Day of matches, with the Guns repeating the same spots numerous occasions, just in different order or with a different opponent to work with. They needed to be carried to get to a decent match and this jobber team certainly wasn't capable of it. Shitty opening, so let's hope it picks up soon.
I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that the ring in Nashville may be one of the worst I've ever seen. The turnbuckles are duct taped around the actual buckle, with a red pad pulled over the middle of it so that the tape is clearly visible on either side. They look like balls of tinfoil with a piece of Big Red pulled across them. Honestly, they fixed the rest of the ring, why not just buy some new ropes to go with it. Lousy skinflints.
Match Two: AWA International Television Championship Scott Steiner vs. Ronnie Garvin (c)
Pardon my french, but Steiner's got on possibly the faggiest ring jacket I've ever seen. I think he stole it from the closet of one of the Nashville rats to be quite honest with you. Think silver lame windbreaker with the sleeves cut off. Yeah, I told you so. Garvin struts to the ring with an AWA Tag Team Championship belt over his shoulder since they didn't have a belt for the TV title yet, or Gagne didn't want to give it to him, or something. Unfortunately, they don't digitize it, so rather than looking cool like when Flair did it, it's just sad. Lockup and Steiner gets a quick slam in on Garvin that slows the pace to a crawl. Another lockup and Steiner gives him a clean break which leads to a Garvin shove. They have a shoving match and Garvin puts Steiner down with a right hand and puts him through the torture of the GARVIN STOMP! Steiner rolls to the apron and eats some right hands before Garvin tries to ram him into the post. Steiner blocks it and runs Garvin into the turnbuckle, going up top for a FLYING BODYPRESS....but he misses it. Garvin motions for the Hands of Stone and he drops Steiner with it, putting him out cold and sitting on Steiner's chest for the 1-2-3!!
Winner: Ronnie Garvin (pinfall, Hands of Stone)
Match Analysis: Seriously, what was the point? A minute and fifty-two seconds? Sigh. Their entrances lasted longer than the actual match did, which is NEVER a good thing. I don't know why they decided to do this one, since Steiner actually had a look and some talent and jobbing him out in under two minutes effectively kills him. I guess these guys know more about running a wrestling company than I do.
We're back to the Showboat and Larry Nelson's in the ring to get our next match underway!!
Match Three: Kevin Collins vs. Baron Von Raschke
Baron's gotten rid of the weird mustache and looks like the Baron we all know and love now. Quick armdrag from Baron, well as quick as it can be with him being so old. He gets a fireman's carry into an armbar and we cut to see Magnificent Mimi in the front row, with Lee saying that she's the number-one challenger to Madusa's women's title in his mind. Well if Lee Mullet says it, than it MUST be a fact. Collins pushes Von Raschke into the ropes and gets a clean break before Baron gets a go-behind into a takedown for a one count. Someone must have yelled at Lee on the headset because now he talks about how there are a bunch of other great women's contenders and mentions Brandy Mae at the top of the list. Collins and Baron hit a lockup with Collins getting a forearm on the ropes and then Irish whipping Von Raschke into the ropes. Baron kicks Collins in the face and then nearly falls over dropping a forearm. He snap mares Collins over and cranks on Collins' head. Baron gets a knee to the gut off of an Irish whip and grabs a front facelock, forcing Collins into the corner for the break. Knee to the gut from Collins now and he picks Baron up for a big bodyslam into a two-count and Baron comes right back with a couple of forearms and a hip toss. BARON'S GOOSE-STEPPING AND HERE COMES THE CLAWHOLD~! Collins is down and it's all over after a three-count!!
Winner: Baron Von Raschke (pinfall, clawhold)
Match Analysis: I've said it before and I'll say it again. Baron had no business being in the ring, though he would be wrestling right up until the end of the promotion. Sad, sad, sad. The good part is that at least he didn't fall over at all in this match, though he came close a couple of times.
Right back to Nashville for another match after the commercial break.
Match Four: WCCW Heavyweight Championship Gary Young w/Downtown Bruno vs. Kerry Von Erich (c)
Bruno stands on the apron and talks some shit to Von Erich and he eats a discus punch for his troubles. Gary Young attacks with some right hands and Von Erich tries to fight back with some of his own. Irish whip from Young and an UGLY fucking clothesline gets a two-count, more out of shame than injury. Young works over Von Erich in the corner but Von Erich fights his way out, getting a discus punch that sends Young into a somersault. Kick to the gut from Young and he rams Von Erich into the Big Red turnbuckle. Von Erich turns it around, trying for an Irish whip but Young reverses that into another reversal from Von Erich. Young jumps to the second rope and tries a flying bodypress but Von Erich goes with it and rolls through to get the pinfall.
Winner: Kerry Von Erich (pinfall, roll-through on a flying bodypress)
Match Analysis: Wow, they must be trying to have a Guiness Book of Records-worthy ten-match show. Seriously, nothing has lasted longer than four minutes, which leaves it all feeling completely meaningless. I'd give it some opinion, but how can you form an opinion with two minute long matches?
Larry Nelson welcomes us back to the program and he's in the SuperClash interview area to introduced the Mat Classic. It's a match involving Greg Gagne and it's of a controversial nature. It's the match where Garvin won the AWA International Television Championship from Gagne in Nashville.
Match Five: AWA International Television Championship Ronnie Garvin vs. Greg Gagne (c)
We join the match in progress with Gagne getting a hamsting pull on Garvin, leading him to crawl into the corner for a breather. Garvin tries to get up but holds his knee, limping around the ring and holding onto the ropes. Lockup and Garvin pushes Gagne into the corner, trying some cheapshots but Gagne blocks them, firing a punch of his own and eventually getting a standing arm-wringer into the Indian deathlock. Garvin tries to get out of it with a choke but the referee continues to break it until finally it works and Garvin is free. Side headlock from Garvin and Gagne shoots him into the ropes, eating a shoulderblock before ducking down for a back bodydrop. Garvin leapfrogs over and collapses under the weight of the move. While the referee is dealing with keeping Gagne back, Garvin goes into his tights and pulls something out, WAFFLING Gagne with it and getting the pin for the championship!!
Winner: Ronnie Garvin (pinfall, Hands of Foreign Object)
Match Analysis: Two bland guys going at each other in a match that had pretty much no heat until Garvin went into his trunks. There was only ten seconds left in the match at that point though, so I'd say this one was pretty much heatless. Perfectly acceptable wrestling, just a little on the boring side.
Match Six: Wendi Richter and Magnificent Mimi vs. Sylvia and Madusa Miceli
Miceli puts the badmouth on Richter and Madusa charges forward, missing it and ending up getting rolled up off the ropes for a two-count by Richter. Sitout atomic drop from Richter and she uses a bodyscissors to try to get a pin, getting another two-count before rolling Madusa over to the other side and trying it again. Richter continues to work the bodyscissors and drops Madusa onto her ass a few more times. Madusa struggles to her feet and picks Richter up for a short powerbomb into her corner. Richter tags Mimi in and they go right to a Greco-Roman knucklelock and Madusa throws her down to the mat, grabbing an armbar before Mimi gets her backflip/snapmare spot into an armdrag takedown. Mimi works the armbar and cranks down on it, turning it into a hammerlock. Knee to the ass puts Madusa down she just grabs a clawful of face and shoves Mimi into the heel corner. Sylvia finally makes a contribution, holding on to Mimi so Madusa can beat the piss out of her. Snap mare on Mimi and Madusa stands on her hair before bullying the referee and chest-bumping him out of the way. Probably filled the old man's fantasies for a month ramming her boobs into him like that. Madusa chokes Mimi in the corner and lands some forearms before all four women end up in the ring. The heels try the double-Irish whip but the face ladies do the dosie-doh and get a pair of dropkicks on Sylvia and Madusa. The referee escorts Mimi out of the ring and Madusa grabs a side headlock on Richter, running her across the ring and ramming her into Sylvia's boot. Right hands and a snap mare from Madusa and she takes over on RIchter with a beautiful snap-suplex before choing away at Richter's throat. She stands on Richter's head and gets some forearms before Richter makes her comeback with shots to the gut. She sends Madusa into the corner and sets her up with either leg on the second rope and gets a HARD shoulderblock to the gut as Mimi holds Madusa by the throat. Richter picks her up and hangs her from the Tree of Woe, stomping away while Madusa holds the crotch of her ring tights in place to prevent a wardrobe malfunction. Sylvia tries to come in and save Madusa but ends up eating a forearm from Richter. Madusa shoves Mimi off the apron and comes over to attack Richter from behind, hammering with some forearms before choking Richter on the top rope, slingshotting her off back into the middle of the ring. Front facelock from Madusa and she turns it into a belly to back suplex with a beautiful bridge that gets a two-count. Madusa gets a belly to belly suplex and Richter tries to go for a pinfall off of it but the bell rings. I guess we've got a time limit draw coming.
Winners: None (time limit draw)
Match Analysis: This one got some time at least, but if it wasn't for Madusa, it wouldn't have been worth watching. She single-handedly made it good, selling like a champ and hitting crisp offensive moves the entire time. Mimi flipped around a little, Richter worked, and Sylvia stood on the apron like a half-a-tard, but Madusa made the match. It wasn't enough to move me, but it's easily the best match of the night so far.
Match SEVEN!!: Robert Fuller, Jimmy Golden and Tommy Rich w/Downtown Bruno and Miss Sylvia vs. Bill Dundee, Jeff Jarrett and Jimmy Valiant
Good lord, what a mix we've got in the ring for a main event. At least Valiant didn't kiss any babies on his way to the ring. It looks like we've got Jarrett and Golden getting ready to start things out and they lockup with Lee Mullet BURYING Tommy Rich on commentary, comparing him to a Ball Park frank. I wonder what he did to deserve that. Side headlock from Jarrett and Golden shoots him into the ropes but goes down off of a shoulderblock. Jarrett grabs a front facelock and takes Golden down with it but Golden makes it back to his feet and hits a back bodydrop for a two-count. Jarrett kicks out and gets to his feet, getting a double-underhook for a two-count of his own before all three heels end up eating dropkicks that put them out to the floor. Jarrett grabs an armbar off of a lockup and tags in Bill Dundee for a double-reverse elbow. He grabs Golden in a side headlock but Golden just punches him in the gut to break it and grabs one of his own.
Dundee shoots him in and backs out of a back bodydrop as Golden tries to kick him, sending Golden flying. Left hand from Dundee gets a quick one-count and he makes the tag to Fuller. Lockup into the corner and Fuller peppers Dundee with right hands and sets him up for an Irish whip into the corner that Dundee reverses, following it with a hard left to the gut. Fuller staggers his way out and tags in Tommy Rich to take his shot. Dundee gets a standing arm-wringer and when Rich manages to reverse it Dundee jabs him with a left hand . Lockup into the corner and Dundee punches Rich in the stomach and takes him over with a side headlock. Rich shoots him off and Dundee hits a shoulderblock before running the ropes and reversing a Rich hip toss into one of his own, slamming Rich HARD and taking him over with an armdrag. Dundee ends up dragged over into heel corner by his hair but he rushes out and slips over to his corner to tag in Valiant.
Valiant throws the referee out of the way before dancing his way over to Sylvia and thrusting his wrinkly, disgusting, old-man sack at her, and then at Golden. He blocks some Golden punches and lands one of his own, getting shot into the ropes and running past Golden to stomp on Downtown Bruno's hand while it's sitting on the apron. Valiant slides out of the ring and pops Bruno with a right hand before forcing himself on Sylvia with a big kiss. Nothing says white-hot babyface quite like attempted sexual assault. The heels are pissed and all chase Valiant around, leading to a six-way stand-off in the ring. Sylvia is PISSED, I assume because she just had some old man jam his tongue so far down her throat she could taste what kind of pudding they served for lunch at the home.
Valiant gets the crowd riled up and then rakes Rich's eyes, noggin-knockering him against both of his partners before ramming Rich's head into Dundee's boot. Tag to Jarrett and he lands three BIG right hands that put Rich down on his ass and he covers for a two-count. Jarrett grabs a side-headlock but while the referee is distracted with something else, Rich gets a low blow in on the little Jarretts. The heels illegally switch and Golden works over Jarrett in the corner before hip tossing him out. Golden tries for a vertical suplex but it gets blocked and Jarrett takes him over with a suplex of his own, forcing Golden to make a tag to Fuller. Jarrett crawls through Fuller's legs and makes the COLD TAG TO VALIANT!! Valiant with right hans on all three heels and all six men are in the ring now.
Dundee slams Fuller before locking in the figure-four leglock, Jarrett whips Golden in for a sleeperhold and Valiant and Rich just brawl in one of the corners. Downtown Bruno tries to make his way into the action but some guy that's in the face corner jumps in and levels Bruno. Sylvia whacks the new guy with the "kendo stick" bending it in half before trying to hit Dundee while Fuller holds him in place. I'll let you guess how well that works, though that stick looks like it would hurt about as much as a rolled-up magazine. Fuller sells it like he just got Hannibaled and Sylvia's getting ready for dinner as Jarrett grabs the stick from Sylvia and goes after Golden with it. Here comes Gary Young and he starts attacking every face in sight!! The heel team just beats down everyone and HERE'S CACTUS JACK!!! Brickhouse Brown comes in and the face team starts taking over, clearing the ring.
Winners: Jeff Jarrett, Bill Dundee and Jimmy Valiant (disqualification, Sylvia-ference)
Match Analysis: A pretty fun way to finish off the show and you could tell that you were in Nashville because the main event brawl was a staple of that territory for as long as I can remember. A lot better than I thought it would have been, given the six guys involved so that's a good thing. That and they got some time too, which was rare for this episode apparently.
Final Thoughts
The first half of this show was DEATH. The second half picked up a little bit and was alright, but the first half was just terrible. Thumbs in the middle for me on this show because the last two matches were actually decent and I don't want to punish those two matches for the shit that I had to sit through in the first forty minutes. And seriously, SEVEN MATCHES? This is a wrestling show, not fucking Costco. Off to the comments!!
Fun With Comments
From Teijo Kahn: "What day of the week was Super Clash on? I'm confusted by them saying it was "tomorrow night," when another show from two months ago said it was "tonight." I do realize they had daily TV on ESPN, but I thought it was reruns and not first-run."
I'm pretty sure that SuperClash was on a Saturday night so I'm guessing that they had their regular show on Friday and then maybe a special show to pimp the pay-per-view on the Saturday afternoon or something. That'd be my best guess.
From OB1 Jabroni: "the manny/invader thing was a work. You are right on that account. Invader would have rolled out of the way, and not taken the blows if actually hurt. Anyhow, I enjoyed the Garvin/Von Erich match, shitty ending but fun to watch. The show did suck a big fat one 2nite, no other way around it, here's hoping for better one tomorrow"
Actually, the ending made sense for Garvin/Von Erich, at least a little bit because they'd want to save their super-clean, awesome finishes for their own shows in their own territory rather than waste them on a SuperClash show that probably wouldn't add anything to their business. I've always thought Manny/Invader was a work and the best part is getting to hear Hugo Savinovich commentating in English. And nope, it didn't get any better so I'll have to ask you to hope harder next time.
From The 2nd Mouse: "How about that Fatu? Guess that was quite a few cheeseburgers ago, before he blimped into the Rikishi Fatu we know and love (?)
The Kerry Von Erich they showed in the Mat Classic was not the same man who wrestled Jerry Lawler at Super Clash III. The 1985 Von Erich had two feet and only a recreational drug use problem. By the time he wrestled Lawler he was so severely messed up they resorted to a schmozz ending at the PPV match. Von Erich was more "over" but no way could he have held the undisputed title. As I recall it was a "stoppage due to excessive bleeding" while he had the claw on Lawler and Lawler was awarded the title even though he was either pinned or submitted. They probably showed this match because they knew there was no way people would want to see Von Erich as he now was."
Yeah, Von Erich in '88 was already circling the drain sadly and though he'd pull some stuff together for his WWF run, the descent was already well underway. As for Fatu, even when he started in the WWF as a Headshrinker he was still a fairly decent size and could move and be fairly agile. It was when he got re-packaged as Rikishi that his ass started to get out of control, literally.
From Steve: "I don't know what's funnier: The Samoan Swat Team coming out to "Don't Worry, Be Happy" or "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff coming out to "U Can't Touch This".
I think looking at the lineup for the future shows on ESPN Media Zone, after this week & the beginning of next week, ESPN Classic will start airing AWA episodes from 1987, even though some of the dates list it as 1988 or 1989. I know that next Wednesday & Thursday, we will see Curt Hennig defending the AWA Heavyweight Title against Wahoo McDaniel & Greg Gagne, respectively."
I'll be more than happy to get back to the days of 1987. Either go forward to the trainwreck of '89 or go back to the semi-trainwreck of '87, but if they keep staying in '88 for an extended period I may just end up going on an insane killing spree. Yes, it's really that bad. Maybe I'm just into BDSM and enjoy torturing myself with the show and didn't know it until now.
From Scrotum Pole: "The more I look at Lee Marshall, he looks like a Billy Ray Cyrus/Mean Gene Okerlund love child.
I was thinking more in the lines of Tony Orlando/Scott Steiner(early 90's). And on Slaughter, I'm probably showing my age here, but at the time his action figure came out I believe you had to save proof of purchases from other figures and send them to the company to get it by mail. So maybe it was the #1 mail -in offer. At least that was what I remember.
Tramp stamp comment:. Jimmy's perm would make Rick James jealous and he struts before the match gets started. "Just let your Soul Grow, ooo baby just let it grow, SOOOUUULLL GRRRROOOWW!(movie reference) BULLSEYE!"
From Scrotum Pole: "I meant Soul Glo, my bad."
Again, from Scrotum Pole: "My Joke Now=Epic Crickets I deserve it."
Actually, I believe you're right as I had quite the G.I. Joe collection when I was younger and I remember that I lucked into finding Sarge at a garage sale for a quarter which made me a happy little squirt. By the way, let's make sure we give a big round of applause to a huge fan of the column, Mistah Randy..WAT-SUHN!!!
From Rob: "I thought the show was far more entertaining than the normal shows from the Showboat. I could watch SST squash matches all day. They were killers in the ring, and those synchronized chops and kicks were a thing of beauty. And the beatings they handed out just looked so real. Of course, they went from serious ass kickers in World Class & the NWA to a typically cartoonish team in the WWF.
Superclash was a good idea in theory, but when the companies are already dying, it's hard to depend on one event to revive them."
To me, the problem was that there wasn't one strong brand that could carry the other two on its shoulders. All three of them were nearing their death rattles and in trying to prop themselves up would end up dragging their other two partners down with them. Not a great way to try to conduct business, as seen by the rather ugly ending.
From Joe K. : "Not only did the SST have the weirdest entrance music for a heel team but maybe the weirdest shift in music as well. Remember, they went from this to the Halloween theme when they were in the NWA a few months later in 1989."
The SST music was always a really weird deal for me. I remember their NWA one too and it just struck me as odd. Maybe because they were savages they didn't even recognize it as music so they boys in the back could just put on whatever. Imagine them coming out to Fine Young Cannibals or WHAM! or something and let the giggling commence.
From Guest. : "You know, it's amazing that you have probably the 3 biggest wrestling promotions not named WWF or NWA/WCW at the moment (I think Mid-South was already down-hill), and the show leading into Superclash is worse than most of the AWA shows by theirselves in 88, featuring a bunch of either too green rookies or over the hill vets.
I think, in part, this show sucked just to push Superclash. You had Badd Company squash the green Natures Best, pun intended, then their attack on Wendi Richter, with her being saved by the Top Rockers (or are they they Midnight Gunns)? Either way, Verne just gave up on pushing them on their own merit and hoped to pass them off as the Rockers V. 2.0. They push Slaughter/DeBeers with classic Colonel actions, they push the SST killing bitches and Michael Hayes' promo which had to contain at least some kind of drugs, and the dueling build ups of Kerry Von Erich (using the only AWA stock footage they had of him not from the last couple weeks), and Lawler.... fighting a jobber. The whole build to Superclash indirectly made this a horrible show, as otherwise they'd had probably stuck to their formula with at least a good main event at the top."
The build to SuperClash certainly helped to kill the program but having to run against Starcade and Survivor Series sure as hell didn't help either. The whole idea seemed doomed from the start in Chicago, but if they had held it down in Nashville or somewhere, I bet they could have drawn a lot more for the house. The show would have still sucked ass, but at least they might have had the chance to make some money off of it.
From Guest#0135: "Talk about a terrible team name. I mean when I heard the name "Nature's Best" I figured they were either talking about a brand of orange juice or laxative. (After watching them definitely laxative.)
Oh, anybody find it strangle prophetic they talk about a lingerie match and the next thing they show is a Lawler match? (Think it was an "in" joke?)"
That's a very real possibility, but at that point I believe Lawler's taste for younger female flesh wasn't as well-known as it is today. I could be wrong, but I don't think that started coming out until near the beginning of his WWF run.
From PMullin1987: "As thankful as I am that we're going to forgo the nightmare that was the post-Superclash 3 AWA and go back to a fun time in 87, watching Badd Company always piques my interest of getting to see a couple of the Tanaka vs. Diamond matches when they split. Hell just more Pat Tanaka singles matches would be a treat. He was a tiny badass. As good a wrestler as he was, I think he missed his calling by not being one of the token Asian bad guys in 80's action films. He'd have been awesome to see fighting it out with Van Damme, Segal, Norris, etc etc."
Pat Tanaka in a movie with Chuck Norrise or Steven Segal would have earned the slot as "Greatest Movie EVER" from me.
Finally, from Guest. : "Finally got around to watching Bockwinkle/Hennig tonight, definitely a classic match, probably a top 5 match of the 80s, definitely a top 10 match, and it really showed just how great of a worker Bockwinkle was. Really, in American wrestling, the only two men who compare to him in being able to do what they did at that age would be Funk, Flair, and Tenryu if you want to count Japan where they have a more laxed schedule. Hell, I'd say Bockwinkle after 50 was better than both Funk and Flair when they were over 50, and is on Tenryu's level, though Tenryu is still going strong currently.
Anyways, the most interesting thing about the match wasn't the match itself, but rather some of the post match stuff. One, you had Larry Nelson being more out of breath just counting the time than Hennig was having gone 60 minutes, a small hilarity. Then, there was Greg Gagne being at ringside for the end of the match, and involved in the post-match promo with words that I'd say stung Curt, even if completly unintentional, and this got me to thinking: What if Greg were the one who turned on Curt?
Here, you had Curt, the golden boy, just went 60 minutes with the Champ. He was due for a long feud and was being groomed for the belt. Greg, while always solid, would've been nothing more than a jobber if he wasn't Verne's son. Even with the build to Hennig's heel turn (which stemmed all the way back to 86 and the Hall breakup), what if Greg began to get jealous of Curt. What if Greg was upset that after his 15 years with the company, his lack of title shots, and Curt just manages to get everyone behind him as he chases Bockwinkle. I'm wondering if Greg's jealousy might've been enough to give him an edge, and turn him from a bland worker into someone with the Charisma to draw people into a feud with Hennig.
Also, in thanks for this match, I shall try to find a way to upload both Dancing Larry and Dancing Baron gifs, so that you may combat the menace that is Csonka and Dancing Brock, Finlay, and Daniels. I'm not sure if the Sick Burn Midget is yours or not in this battle, but he could counter the berries."
Yes, the Sick Burn midget is MINE, ALL MINE!! And I would love Dancing Larry and Dancing Baron gifs, so thank you. As for your Gagne heel turn, that would have probably been interesting but once people saw 210 pound Greg Gagne trying to be a badass, the wheels would have fallen off. He would have had to have someone big with him to provide some muscle a la Shawn Michaels with Diesel for it to have worked. I don't think Verne would have ever pulled the trigger though because he was big on keeping the Gagne name in high virtue. Very interesting fantasy booking idea though and one that would have been a good angle to watch play out.
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Post by CW .org .info .net on Feb 7, 2023 14:19:00 GMT -6
AWA Championship Wrestling Right to the ring and again, we're in Nashville so I guess we've got some cleaning up left to do on the 1988 shows. Match One: AWA World Tag Team Championships Nature's Best vs. Badd Company (c) w/Diamond Dallas Page Yeah, this is the same match from two nights ago, so excuse the copy and paste. Again, I have no idea who Nature's Best is, so I'm just going to call one Nature and the other Best. It should work. Kind of. Sadly, DDP has already CRANKEDUPDAMUSIC!!!, which is one of the best parts of his introductions. Tanaka starts out with Nature, pushing him into the corner and chopping the hell out of him before trying an Irish whip into the corner. Nature reverses it and gets a shit-ton of armdrags before tagging in Best, who leapfrogs over Nature onto Tanaka's arm. Best starts working an arm-wringer but Tanaka just yanks the hair to break free and tags in Paul Diamond. Best works the arm-wringer on him and Diamond fires off a HUGE right hand before snap maring Best over and raking away at his face. Irish whip into the ropes and Diamond gets a BIG clothesline, tagging Tanaka in for some chops and a jumping headbutt. Tanaka tags Diamond and they get the Hart Attack for two, with Diamond picking Best up before the three-count. Neck crank from Diamond and he puts the boots to him before tagging in Tanaka. They steal a modified version of Demolition's finisher and Tanaka covers him for a two-count, pulling him up before three again. Tag to Diamond and they hit a double-clothesline before Diamond works over Best with more punches and stomps. Tanaka distracts the referee to allow Diamond to push Best over into a shot from DDP. Best reverses an Irish whip and gets a sunset flip that scores him a two-count, but he's punished severely as Diamond tags in Tanaka and Tanaka UNLOADS with a huge chop before tagging Diamond back in. Big bodyslam from Diamond and he misses the elbowdrop that follows, allowing Best to tag in Nature. Pair of bodyslams from Nature and he WHIFFS on a dropkick, letting Diamond take over some forearms before tagging Tanaka. Tanaka grabs Nature in a waistlock and Diamond hits him with a superkick, sending him up and over for a Tanaka GERMAN SUPLEX!! TANAKA BRIDGES AND IT'S ALL OVER!! Winners: Badd Company (pinfall, superkick into a German suplex) Match Analysis: A fun showcase for all of Badd Company's skills, though they did a lot more theiving of moves than I remember them doing. They won't get to do any of those moves once they finally get rid of the albatross on their career that was the AWA though. The WWF doesn't like guys stealing other teams' finishers as transition moves, I'm just saying. Match Two: Terry Adonis and The Hangman vs. The Rock and Roll Express Just to get the point across The Hangman waggles a noose in front of everyone. He's still wearing those unfortunate jeans that have been cut to look like he's wearing chaps when he isn't. Which essentially means his jeans have been turned into a thong and a pair of leg-warmers. Robert Gibson and the Hangman start out and Gibson gets a side headlock on, gets shot into the ropes and puts Hangman down with a shoulderblock. Irish whip into a reverse elbow from Gibson and he gets right back to the side headlock, tagging in Ricky Morton. Morton with a big kick in the gut and an Irish whip that leads to a big shot in the gut and a DDT from Morton. Morton taunts Adonis a little and then rams Hangman into the turnbuckle, tagging in Gibson. Gibson gets a side headlock and gets pushed into the corner by the Hangman and the heel team matks the tag. Adonis with a couple of shots to the gut but Gibson just rams Adonis' head into Hangman's and Adonis takes a crazy diving faceplant bump. Gibson comes off the second rope with a double-axehandle before tagging in Morton for a big dropkick and an atomic drop. Tag to Gibson and they "hit" a big double-dropkick on Adonis for the 1-2-3!! Morton missed that kick with both feet by the way. Watching the replay, Gibson only hit him with one of his boots. That's 25% folks. The R n' R's must have hit the good stash in the back that night. Winners: The Rock and Roll Express (pinfall, double-dropkick) Match Analysis: Short and meaningless, with no real action from or anything. Just there to get the R n' R's onto the show to try to pop a few more viewers. I'm still disturbed by the Hangman's pants though. Match Three: WCCW Texas Heavyweight Championship Michael Hayes vs. "Iceman" King Parsons (c) Crowd goes absolutely nuts as soon as the Freebird music hits and Hayes does a little boogie on the second rope before stomping on the mat to get the crowd clapping behind him. Parsons wags his finger in Hayes' face and talks a little shit before trying to sneak in a right hand and Hayes slaps Parsons like the bitch owes him money. Irish whip from Hayes and he gets a big flying clothesline that sends Parsons scurrying out to the floor for a breather. Lockup and Hayes gets a side headlock with Parsons shoting him off. Hayes ducks a couple of shots and puts Parsons down with a shoulderblock before strutting and moonwalking, sending Parsons back to the floor. Another lockup and Hayes pushes Parsons into the corner, trying a right hand but Parsons blocks it and gets a headbutt. Stomps and some choking from Parsons as he works Hayes' throat across the bottom rope. Irish whip from Parsons and he misses the first clothesline but gets the second for a two-count before cranking on the reverse chinlock. Elbow to the midsection from Hayes breaks the hold and he runs off the ropes for a sunset flip but Parsons blocks it with a BIG right hand to the face. Irish whip into the corner by Parsons and he MISSES THE CHARGE, ramming his shoulder into the turnbuckle. Hayes gets some right hands and Irish whips Parsons into the ropes for a BIG back bodydrop before stomping away in the corner. Parsons asks for time and Lee Mullet seems incredulous and yet unsure of the rules, all at the same time like a brilliantly simple, retarded man. Hayes tries an Irish whip into the ropes and gets reversed, ducking under a Parsons reverse elbow and ducking way under a flying clothesline sending Parsons face-first to the mat. Hayes is outside and goes up to the top rope for the FLYING BODYPRESS!! 1-2-HERE COMES THE SST AND BUDDY JACK ROBERTS!! Samu drops an elbow on Hayes and Hayes takes a TRIPLE-HEADBUTT from the SST and Parsons. Kerry Von Erich and Steve "Do it, To it" Cox hit the ring and send the heels scrambling to the back but the damage has been done. Winner: Michael Hayes (disqualification, SST-ference) Match Analysis: Pretty good little match actually. Perfectly acceptable wrestling from both men and it fit the storyline to have the SST come in, under the influence of former Freebird Roberts, to attack Hayes. Always fun to see Hayes in the ring and this was no exception. Match Four: Terry Garvin vs. Steve Cox This should be a real treat. Lockup and Garvin pushes Cox into the corner, trying a right hand but it gets blocked and Cox gets one of his own. Garvin talks some smack and Cox gets a go-behind right into a HUGE GERMAN SUPLEX!! Holy fuck, that was pretty intense. I'd give it a 6.5 on the Angle scale, though the score gets 1.5 bonus points because I'm pretty sure no one expected that from Steve Cox, pulling it up to an 8. I sure as hell didn't see that one coming. I can tell by the look on Garvin's face that he didn't either. HUGE bodyslam from Cox and he tries to drop an elbow but Garvin rolls out of the way, working over Cox with some stomps and forearms before trying to pie-face Cox in the corner. Cox goes wild with some punches and Irish whips Garvin into the ropes for a BIG powerslam that gets a two-count. Another Irish whip and Cox gets a big clothesline, following it up with a jumping Russian legsweep that gets him the three-count!! Winner: Steve Cox (pinfall, Russian legsweep) Match Analysis: Quick squash to put Cox over, which it probably could have with his athleticism. That was a crazy German suplex and although he was green, Cox had a ton of potential. Of course like most of the guys that the AWA had, he was athletic and big and strong, but couldn't talk his way out of a wet paper bag. Match Five: Soldat Ustinov w/Teijo Kahn vs. Sgt. Slaughter Apparently, according to Verne Gagne, this was supposed to be a tag-team match and Sgt. Slaughter's partner, Jimmy Snuka, was hurt in Japan. Slaughter leaves ringside and the heels think that they've won via the two most glorious words in the English language, default. Slaughter comes back to ringside with Keith Eric, a jobber from Memphis. He seems unsure of things and we're set for the REAL match. The REAL Match Five: Teijo Kahn and Soldat Ustinov vs. Sgt. Slaughter and Keith Eric Slaughter is set to start things out with Teijo Kahn and a big "USA" chant gets the heel team distracted. Verne Gagne talks about how Slaughter was so amped up to face the Russians that he'd be willing to take them on, virtually by himself. Wow, I bet Eric loved hearing that when he watched the show a few weeks later. Kahn and Slaughter hit a lockup and Slaughter knees him in the gut, Irish whipping him for a BIG reverse elbow. Slaughter gets an arm-wringer and tags in Eric, who starts working an armbar. Tag back to Slaughter and he hits a hard elbow to the shoulder before a tag right back in to Eric. Eric keeps working the armbar but Kahn goes to the eyes and tags in Ustinov. Hammering forearm from Ustinov and he follows it up with an Irish whip and a HUGE clothesline that gets a two-count. Big vertical suplex from Ustinov and he gets another long two-count, pulling Eric up before the three. Teijo Kahn gets the tag and comes in with a bodyslam and a forearm smash off of the ropes. Kahn taunts the crowd and then tags in Ustinov who comes in with a big kick tot he gut and a snap mare before dropping a HARD legdrop for another two-count and another pick-up from Ustinov. Tag to Kahn and they get a big double-boot to the face and Kahn starts working with the chops before raking Eric's eyes across the top rope. Tag to Ustinov and a big forearm to the back leads to Ustinov getting a POWERSLAM! Another pinfall attempt and Ustinov picks him up again at two before ramming him into Kahn's boot. Big headbutt from Kahn and he gets an Irish whip into another BIG POWERSLAM that gets another two-count but this time KAHN picks him up before three. Slaughter stews on the apron and Kahn gets a FLYING CLOTHESLINE for a two-count and Kahn picks him up again. Kahn gets another Irish whip but misses a clothesline and both men go down off of a double-clothesline. Kahn gets the tag to Ustinov and Ustinov knees Eric in the back, RIGHT INTO THE HOT TAG TO SLAUGHTER!! Slaughter with right hands and a BIG BACK BODYDROP!! Right hand to Kahn and an Irish whip for Ustinov into the SLAUGHTER CANNON! COBRA CLUTCH TIME!! He's got it locked in and HERE COMES COL. DEBEERS!! Slaughter drops the clutch and chases Col. DeBeers away from ringside after DeBeers lays a piledriver on Keith Eric on the floor. I wonder if he wore gloves before he picked up the black guy. Slaughter doesn't make it back to the ring before the referee's count gets to ten and this one's all over!! Winners: Teijo Kahn and Soldat Ustinov (count-out) Match Analysis: A really good formula match that got a TON of heat with Eric getting his ass kicked for nearly the entire match. I say it's a formula match because you knew as soon as Eric showed up that Ustinov and Kahn would be kicking the shit out of him for most of the match. He sold it all well and did a great job in picking up a ton of heat before the tag to Slaughter. Slaughter starts working on Kahn and Ustinov with right hands after the match and he sends both guys out to the floor. Slaughter tries to tell the referee what happened with Col. DeBeers but it's to no avail. Lee Mullet's in the ring and I don't know who he's in there to talk to as Ustinov and Kahn leave the ring and make their way to the back. That was...odd. Wait, Slaughter's on the outside with Keith Eric, asking for a stretcher and Lee Mullet is out there for comments. Slaughter says that he doesn't care what it takes, he threatens AWA President Stanley Blackburn with the Cobra Clutch before he talks about how DeBeers already hurt Jimmy Snuka and now he's hurt Keith Eric. He says he's going to put a stop to DeBeers SHIT and HERE COMES DEBEERS AGAIN WITH A STRETCHER!! He throws it at Slaughter!! HELL YES!! Slaughter gets into the ring and challenges DeBeers. DeBeers gets up onto the apron for the tease but then backs away. Slaughter drops to his back and offers to let DeBeers have the advantage but he won't take it and heads to the back. Slaughter says that he wants a Boot Camp match and that it's the match that is the worst match of any match. He says that he'll explain what a Boot Camp match is if DeBeers has the guts. Slaughter does the Pledge of Allegiance and then threatens DeBeers again before we cut to commerical. Match Six: Wahoo McDaniel vs. Manny Fernandez McDaniel's bald spot is nearly blinding by this point. They fake each other a little before getting a lockup and shoving each other away. Fernandez pushes Wahoo into the corner and gives a clean-ish break, shoving Fernandez away. Another lockup and Fernandez gets a headbutt and a right hand before trying an Irish whip into the opposite corner. Wahoo reverses it and gets a big back bodydrop out of the corner, catching Fernandez with a huge chop that sends Manny out to the floor to think things over. Fernandez gets an arm-wringer off of a lockup but Wahoo just chops his way out of it. Top wristlock from Fernandez now and Wahoo breaks out of it with a hairpull that the referee didn't see. Standing arm-wringer from Wahoo and he chops Fernandez down to the mat, working an armbar and chopping Fernandez right back down to the mat when he gets up. Fernandez gets to his feet and kicks at the legs of Wahoo, working over the left knee in the corner before getting a BIG headbutt. Single-leg takedown from Fernandez and he drops an elbow onto Wahoo's leg before wrapping him up with a leglock. Fernandez cranks away and Wahoo gets a couple of chops to break the hold but Fernandez drops a TON of knees onto the leg before going back to the leglock. Wahoo uses his legs to push Fernandez onto his back and drops a leg across the face, breaking the hold but once both men are back to their feet, Fernandez gets a mule kick in. Big chop from Fernandez and he Irish whips Wahoo into the ropes for a reverse elbow. Kneedrop from Fernandez lands and he starts choking Wahoo across the bottom rope. Irish whip into the corner and Fernandez hits another big reverse elbow. Irish whip into the ropes and Fernandez gets a FLYING reverse elbow, pinning Wahoo for a two-count but picking him up before the three. Fernandez with a headbutt but Wahoo fires back with a right hand and they trade chops until Wahoo wins the battle, sending Fernandez to the floor. Wahoo follows him out and they brawl on the floor with Wahoo ramming Fernandez into the ringpost. Back into the ring and Wahoo gets an Irish whip into his BIG chop for a long two-count. They're both back out to the floor and throwing hands all the way down the aisle and Fernandez bails, walking off to the back of the arena. Winner: None (double-countout) Match Analysis: Almost the same match that Fernandez and Wahoo put on in their earlier match. That's not to say that it was bad, just that it had a deja vu feel to it for the entire time. Again, the blood feud aspect of this one wasn't really there until the end when they started brawling on the outside and all the way to the back. It didn't hurt the match as much as it seemed to last time, but it was still weird to see how they set up the match. It was what it was, which is two older guys doing a lot of punching and kicking with a couple of highspots thrown in the mix. We end the show with Larry Nelson and Lee Marshall in the AWA control center, pimping the house show experience and trying desperately to pump up the attendance no doubt. Final Thoughts They're still suffering from the TNA syndrome by having way too many matches on the show so that it all just seems like a blur. Six matches and not one of them really got a lot of time except for the tag match with Slaughter, and that was only so that they could get the heat on the jobber beating. Nothing that blew me out of the water, but there was nothing terrible so I'll go thumbs in the middle for this one. Let's get to the comments! Fun With Comments From Frozen: "I just found it a little funny that Verne thought that Jamie Dundee, who accompanied his dad's team to the ring, was a fan at the end of the match. Why would he think that a fan was standing in the bayface corner during the match and trading punches with the heels afterward? Somebody needed to smarten Verne up to the pro wrestling business." You're right, that was Jamie Dundee. I didn't catch that the first time around but did when I went back to look at it again. Unfortunately for him, Verne was kind of clueless by this point and I'm sure he probably had no idea that Dundee even had a son, let alone that he came to the ring with him. From greg: "hahaha It's hilarious watching each promotions contributions to the show. WCCW gave us Kerry Von Erich, an epic 6 man tag team match featuring 6 top names, Ronnie Garvin who despite his lack of charisma, was over decntly. AWA contributed a Rockers knock off, a women's tag match where only 1 woman could wrestle, mr Excitement Greg Gagne, and a wrestler who should have retired 10 years ago. Aside from the ESPN Tv Time I can't see why WCCW would tarnish its product by teaming with them." Actually, all the promotions were in pretty dire situations at this point, though I agree that the AWA brought the least to the table. If they hadn't had the cable deal with ESPN I highly doubt that they would have been invited to the party. From Teijo Kahn: "Greg- the six man was CWA talent, and I think Garvin was strictly AWA. I still see your point, though." Garvin was AWA but he was already on his way to the WWF if I'm not mistaken so it was just a cup of coffee situation. As for greg's point, I addressed that before. From Guest. : "Ended up stumbling on this: www.kayfabememories.com/Regions/awa/awa.htmFor those interested in the AWA, or really any of the territories, it's a tremendous source of information and just overall wrestling knowledge. It does contain some bias and factual inaccuracies, like Bisch creating the TCS, but it does provide a lot of insight, in particular as to the history and why the working together of the AWA, CWA, and WCWA/WCCW did and didn't work. Short version is that with the talent exchange Jerry Jarrett's CWA saw a huge jump in ticket sales, but the AWA didn't, and WCCW ended up being bought out, as they were pretty much dependent at this point on the Superclash money to survive. Anyways, a tale of two shows tonight, as the attempts to get over the CWA and WCCW talents to AWA fans led to TNA syndrome, trying to pack too much into a timeframe and having the whole product suffer for it. For the life of me, i don't know why they replayed that months old Baron/Collins match on this show, while they showed a "Mat Classic" which was younger then said match. The main was a fun brawl, and I got a kick out of Valient pelvic thrusting his way through his opposition to steal a kiss on the outside. It was just so campy, so hokey, that I laughed for a minute straight. That little minute stretch made me happy to be a wrestling fan. And if people ever wonder why wrestling sucks, its cause us fans buy into crap like that." GREAT find on that website. I love stuff like that since I was always a big fan of the territories. I think that Valiant relied on campy and hokey for his entire career and probably still does to this day. A little charisma goes a long way and he had it so he was able to mask his SEVERE physical shortcomings. From PMullin1987: "I honestly have no idea why they'd try to cram in so many matches and make them all meaningless in the progress. I know that its the AWA in 1988, but still the only reason I can guess were the respective egos of Verne, Jarrett, and Fritz. Oh well. I'm probably one of the few out there who could watch Ronnie Garvin work for hours on end. For some reason I've always enjoyed his work, probably because he came off as a legit tough guy and he just seemed cool because of that vibe." I don't know why they did that with fourteen matches, but I guess like you thought, they all wanted to make sure that their guys got some TV time. For whatever reason, Garvin never clicked with me. I can't explain it but I just never really got into him. From RJ: "Did Scott Steiner take Lazor Tron's outfit top and wear it as a warm-up jacket? Is Ron Garvin not actor Jon Voigt? Poor Garvin, a year ago he was NWA champ, a year later he he's messing around with Greg Gange, and pretty soon he's going to be a WWF ref screwing The Hammer. Baron Van Raschke was actually my ex-girlfriend's religion teacher up in northern Minnesota in the mid to late 90s." Very cool story about the Baron. I don't know if I would have even been able to concentrate. I would have just stared at the claw hand all day long. I don't think I've seen someone fall that fast in terms of dropping down the card like Garvin did, which speaks to his lack of charisma which would get exposed as he got into the bigger promotions. Solid worker, couldn't draw flies with his tights stuffed full of garbage. From Trashy: "For those asking, Superclash III was (for whatever dumb reason) held on a tuesday night. Even into the early 90's it seems a lot of PPVs weren't always on weekends. I want to say Starrcades '92 and '95 were also both on tuesdays." That's not surprising really. The AWA would have probably booked it on a Tuesday just to get a cheaper rate than by trying to book the arena over the weekend. From Scrotum Pole: "Double Tramp stamp comment: Valiant throws the referee out of the way before dancing his way over to Sylvia and thrusting his wrinkly, disgusting, old-man sack at her, and then at Golden. Sylvia is PISSED, I assume because she just had some old man jam his tongue so far down her throat she could taste what kind of pudding they served for lunch at the home. And on the "noggin-knockering" line I so got that my hernia is still hurting!!!HAHAHA Valient=Grey Bush" Valiant was the ultimate Grey Bush at this point. Again, he probably still is since he's still going on the Indy circuit. Finally, from KayFaber: "Lee Marshall's lashing into Tommy Rich raised my eyebrows as much as yours. Wow, way to get over your fellow promoters' stars, Mullet-boy! Yeah, Madusa's frantically trying to keep her various orifices from view was distracting from the action -- another reason I was glad for it. P. Mullen, I agree that Ronnie Garvin had a great tough-man vibe -- I'm one of the few who thought he deserved a ride with the NWA title (instead of, say, Dusty's last run during the Great American Bash)." Call me out for harping on a point, but I just never bought into Garvin as a draw. He was a solid hand but he just never did it for me. I do agree that it was pretty silly to hear Mullet ripping into Rich like he did, which leads me to believe that maybe Rich was leaving the company and they still wanted to use the footage so they buried him maybe? I can't really find an explanation for it besides that. As for Madusa, she shouldn't have been trying so hard to cover up her mommy bits. It would have made the show a FOUR THUMBS UP show for me. Call me a pervert but I'd have rode Madusa like a show pony back in '88 when she was hot.
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Post by CW .org .info .net on Feb 7, 2023 14:20:40 GMT -6
AWA Championship Wrestling
Larry Nelson and Lee Mullet welcome us to the show from the fancy new SuperClash control center and they hype the action before sending us to the ring for the opening bout.
Match One: Alan Reynolds vs. Col. DeBeers w/Diamond Dallas Page
Page does some threatening, stating that anyone that gets in the ring with DeBeers is leaving on a stretcher and he starts screaming at Sgt. Slaughter. Two of the Diamond Dolls come down to the ring with a "stretcher" but it really just looks more like one of those aluminum-framed lounge chairs you'd see next to a pool. Or a cot. DeBeers jumps Reynolds with some shots and whips him into the ropes for a big knee to the gut. DeBeers picks him up for a big slam and stomps on Reynolds before picking him up and punching him right in the face. Snap mare and another stomp from DeBeers and he rakes the boot across the face before trying a boot to the gut off of an Irish whip. Reynolds catches it but eats an enziguri to the back of the head and DeBeers just throws Reynolds into the corner by the hair. DeBeers to the top rope and he does his curbstomp kneedrop, driving Reynolds face into the mat. DeBeers picks him up at the two-count and then gets the pancake piledriver for the real finish. DeBeers covers him with a foot to the chest and Mullet gets all indignant, asking why DeBeers couldn't have covered him like a professional. Of course, he's an expert you know. When I think professionalism, Lee Marshall is the first name that pops into my head. They load Reynolds up onto the cot for a nice nap and take him to the back because it's got to be hard to sleep under those harsh ring lights.
Winner: Col. DeBeers (pinfall, pancake piledriver)
Match Analysis: I still think that the stretcher gimmick could get over today if someone used it since it hasn't been used in a long time. DeBeers had his usual squash and it was about the same match we've seen from him about a hundred times.
Match Two: Ray Odyssey and Shawn Baxter vs. The Samoan Swat Team w/Buddy Roberts
I still can't get past this music for the SST. I mean, are the opponents not supposed to worry and be happy that they're getting their asses kicked? Are the SST not worrying about the damage they do to them and being happy that they're laying beatings? Just confusing. Even Lee Mullet thinks it doesn't make sense, and when Lee doesn't get something it's REALLY stupid. Baxter and Samu start things out with Samu trying for a forearm but Baxter ducking away. They get a lockup and Samu starts hammering away, whipping Baxter into the ropes and missing a clothesline. Baxter tries for a flying bodypress but gets caught and promptly deposited on the mat with a great deal of force. Baxter scurries over to the corner to make the tag and possibly re-apply a thick dousing of Aqua Net to his hair after that slam. Odyssey's getting in the ring and he's ALL FIRED U...oh, Samu just kicked him in the face. Big chop from Samu puts Odyssey down and he throws a dropkick that lands before dropping him with a HARD gut-wrench suplex. Tag to Fatu and they both work Odyssey over in the corner with right hands before Fatu pulls him out for a SNAP-SUPLEX!! Irish whip from Fatu into a big clothesline and Odyssey tries a couple of shots to the gut but Fatu hits a headbutt to put a stop to that shit. Fatu runs Odyssey over and rams him into Samu's head and they tag, getting a double-headbutt before Samu chops him down. Irish whip and Samu gets a front kick with another Irish whip into a botch on his spinning hair slam deal. DDT from Samu and he forearms away at Odyssey before making a tag and hitting a double-clothesline. Fatu with a SNAP BELLY-TO-BACK SUPLEX that only gets a two-count before going to the nerve pinch. Odyssey tries some elbows but Fatu cuts him off with a big headbutt and a chop before he hits the tag and both SST's get a double-thrust kick to the face. Samu deposits Odyssey on the top rope and gets a second-rope belly to back suplex before Fatu gets the tag and comes off the top rope with a HUGE splash for the 1-2-3!! They attack Baxter and throw him and Odyssey out of the ring before they do their celebrating.
Winners: The Samoan Swat Team (pinfall, Fatu splash)
Match Analysis: Fun to watch the SST just kind of maul a couple of jobbers, though for whatever reason, Baxter had a TON of support whenever he got introduced. I don't know why they didn't try to maybe do something with him because it sounded like the crowd was with him, but with his look, maybe it was for the best. As for the SST, they could have been huge if Vince had gotten ahold of them before the NWA did. By the time they hit the WWF they were a lot bigger and not the same team, but wrestling the style they did here in '88 against the Harts and Strike Force would have been big money.
Match Three: AWA World Heavyweight Championship Terry Adonis vs. Jerry Lawler (c)
Another repeat match, thank God for copy and paste.Lawler gets mobbed on his way to the ring and there's four minutes left in this show, so this match should be quick. Lockup and Lawler pushes Adonis into the corner, giving him a clean break but Adonis gets in a cheapshot forearm. Lawler threatens him with a right hand and Adonis leans out through the ropes to avoid a beating. Another lockup and he pushes Adonis into the corner again, landing some good right hands before he catches Adonis with a combination that puts him on his ass. Big clothesline from Lawler and he follows it up with a delayed vertical suplex. Lawler's on his way out to the top rope and he drops off the top with a big right hand, followed with a standing fistdrop and Lawler gets the three-count. I told you it'd be quick.
Winner: Jerry Lawler (pinfall, fistdrop)
Match Analysis: WAY too short to mean anything at all. Just there to put Lawler over heading into the end of the show before the PPV. Meh. I really hate repeat matches.
Match Four: The Stud Stable (Robert Fuller and Jimmy Golden) w/Downtown Bruno and Sylvia vs. Brickhouse Brown and Bill Dundee
Sylvia's got the kendo stick on the outside and it looks like Brown and Golden starting it out, switching go-behinds before Golden takes over with a couple of elbows. Brown whips Golden into the corner and gets a back bodydrop out of it before taking Golden down with a dropkick. In comes Fuller and he eats a dropkick as well, rolling to the outside while Brown gets down and funky. Dundee throws a few stomps in on Golden on the apron for good measure. Well that's just not sporting at all. Golden and Fuller try to call timeout on the floor and then duck their heads under the bottom rope to break the count. Golden comes in and drops to his knees immediately, offering a handshake and an olive branch. Brown talks some smack but stops paying attention and Golden gets him in the gut and drags him over to the corner. Brown fights back and there's a funny moment where Dundee gets set to come in but Brown is making his own save so Dundee just kind of raises his hands as if to say "Oh, you're good, nevermind then." and backs off. Brown fights off Fuller and Dundee grabs Golden and they hit double-atomic drops, sending The Stud Stable into each other. All four men in the ring, two each in opposite corners and the faces are working over the heels until Brown Irish whips Fuller across the ring, forcing him right into Golden.
All four men start mixing it up on the floor a little bit and then things settle down with Brown and Golden in the ring. Brown Irish whips Golden into the corner and makes the tag with Dundee getting a kick in the ribs before taking Golden down with an arm-wringer. Verne Gagne tries to covnince us that Crocodile Dundee was created similar to Bill Dundee, 5'8" Australian wrestler in cowboy boots and long-ish, pink-ish tights. Yeah, that's exactly what they had in mind when they wrote that movie. Golden takes over with a side headlock, gets shot into the ropes and after a bit of comedy rope-running, there's a MALFUNCTION AT THE JUNCTION and Golden runs into Fuller. Fuller goes to the outside and Dundee gets a two-count on Golden in the ring before Golden tries to slow things down. Golden kicks Dundee in the gut and gets an arm-wringer in before Fuller starts cranking it over the top rope behind the referee's back. Golden keeps working over the arm and hands off to Fuller to do it again. Dundee reverses it the third time though and Fuller works over Golden's arm by mistake!! Dundee does a little strut and then leans out through the ropes to wave at Fuller. Fuller is PISSED and tries to get after him but the referee breaks it up. Golden begs off of Dundee and then goes to the eyes, throwing Dundee out to the floor where Bruno lays some stomps in and Sylvia kendo sticks him!!
Brown comes over to try to break up the mugging and does so before Golden grabs Dundeee and gets him back into the ring. Irish whip into the corner by Golden but Dundee hops onto the second-rope for a flying bodypress that gets two. Fuller tries to break up the pin but ends up dropping an elbow on Golden and there's a tag to BRICKHOUSE! RIGHT HANDS FOR FULLER AND GOLDEN!! Dundee knocks Golden out of the ring to the floor and Brown hammers away on Fuller in the middle of the ring. DUNDEE HAS BRUNO!! He roughs him up a little then throws him into Golden before attacking Golden with right hands. Inside the ring, Fuller tries to Irish whip Brown in but Brown ducks a clothesline and gets a flying bodypress but there's no referee!! Sylvia's in and SHE'S CANING BROWN!! Sylvia goes all "Roots" on Brown with the cane for another few lashes and The Stud Stable tries a double-Irish whip to ram the faces together but they dosie-doh and there's just a huge brawl in the ring. HERE COMES CACTUS JACK!!! HERE COMES JEFF JARRETT!! HERE COMES GARY YOUNG!! HERE COMES JIMMY VALIANT!! IT'S A WILD BRAWL!! The faces end up standing tall in the ring and dancing around, getting the crowd all riled up.
Winners: Bill Dundee and Brickhouse Brown (disqualification, Sylvia-ference)
Match Analysis: A pretty fun match though The Stud Stable was a little too comedic for my liking. I get that you have to show ass a little bit, but there's a point where it goes from being comedy to making the heels look stupid and if you do that, no one will believe them when they're trying to put the heat on the faces. Of course, since it was deep in the heart of Memphis territory, there was a wild brawl to end it off, like there seemed to be at the end of every big main event-level match there. Good work from everyone involved and a solid match.
Lee Mullet's on the house mic with Bill Dundee and he's not happy. Dundee says that they're going to fight fire with fire and OH GOD VALIANT'S KISSING AN OLD MAN IN THE FRONT ROW!!! EEEEEEEEW!!! What the fuck is wrong with Jimmy Valiant? Dundee says that..I don't even know what he's saying anymore. I think I need shock therapy.
Match Five: Badd Company (Pat Tanaka and Paul Diamond), The Rock and Roll RPM's (Mike Davis and Tommy Lane) and Cactus Jack w/Diamond Dallas Page and Downtown Bruno vs. The Rock n' Roll Express (Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson), The Top Guns (Ricky Rice and Jon Paul), and Jeff Jarrett
DDP does the introductions in a hideous pink, zebra-print tuxedo jacket with a bullwhip. Good lord, what a look. This should end up being a horrible match to try to recap because there's going to be a TON of shit going down. Looks like it could be fun though. Ricky Rice and Cactus Jack start things out and there's a lockup into a shove-off. Jack complains to the referee about something and then they lockup again with Rice reversing an arm-wringer into an armbar. Jack gets the hair and pushes Rice into the corner, working him over with some right hands before Rice reverses with three rights of his own. Irish whip by Rice and Jack reverses, "missing" the charge into the corner but still getting most of Rice when he forgets to move out of the way. Rice gets an armdrag takeover into an armbar and Rice tags in Jon Paul, who continues to work on the arm, dropping a leg onto it before tagging in Ricky Morton. Morton punches Jack in the face and hip tosses him over before tagging Gibson in.
Gibson gets a BIG dropkick off of an Irish whip and tags in Jarrett for a double-back bodydrop that gets a two-count. Jarrett with a deep armdrag takeover into an armbar but Jack breaks it up and bodyslams Jarrett before tagging in Tommy Lane. Lane whips Jarrett into the ropes and drops down, but Jarrett runs over him, right into the heel corner to take them all out with right hands!! Lane staggers into the wrong corner and eats another couple of punches from various face team guys before he finally tags in his partner, Mike Davis. Davis and Jarrett lockup and there's a tag to Jon Paul, who takes over on Davis with a standing armbar. Davis goes to the eyes to break it and tags in Pat Tanaka but Paul recovers and armdrags Tanaka over into an armbar. Tag to Morton and he pops Tanaka in the face before Tanaka pushes him into the corner and gets some right hands of his own. Irish whip from Morton but Tanaka reverses it, sending Morton into the corner. Tanaka charges but takes a HUGE clothesline from Morton, giving it the 360 sell.
Morton tags in Gibson and he gets caught trying to kick Tanaka in the gut but recovers his balance for an enziguri that only gets a one-count before Paul Diamond kicks Gibson in the head from the outside. Gibson tags in Jarrett and he gets a big right hand on Tanaka before putting him into a side headlock. Tanaka reverses to one of his own, getting shot into the ropes where he hits a couple of shoulderblocks that put Jarrett down. Tanaka's still running the ropes and Jarrett leapfrogs him before putting him down with a big right hand. Tanaka tags in Paul Diamond and Diamond knees Jarrett in the gut, RAMMING him into the turnbuckle. Diamond tries it again but Jarrett blocks it and gets a ten-count of turnbuckle smashes, sending Diamond into the face corner to eat a punch from each of the four guys on the apron. Jarrett with the tag to Gibson and Jarrett hits a big dropkick on his way out before Gibson scores with a DDT. He tries for a cover but it gets broken up before a one-count by one of the RPM's.
Tag to Morton and he picks Diamond up for a vertical suplex that gets two before Diamond kicks out. Tag to Paul and he hits a hard right hand into Diamond's ribs before grabbing a side headlock. Diamond forces him into the heel corner and tags in Tanaka but Paul leapfrogs Diamond as he's running the ropes, sending Diamond crashing into Tanaka. Paul and Tanaka lock up and as Paul runs the ropes, Cactus Jack knees him in the back from the apron, putting him down. Tag to Mike Davis and he forearms Paul down, whipping him into the ropes for a HUGE back bodydrop. Tag to Lane and he gets a sidewalk slam on Paul, stomping away before he tags in Cactus Jack. Jack with some right hands and he Irish whips Paul in for a big reverse elbow for two before Jarrett makes the save. Tag to Diamond and he whips Paul into the ropes but Paul reverses into a sunset flip!! Tanaka has the referee distracted and by the time he turns around to make the count, he can only get a one-count.
Tag to Mike Davis and he stomps on Paul before tagging in Lane. Snap mare from Lane followed by a BIG legdrop and he tags in Tanaka for a THRUST KICK!! Cover and a two-count but Paul kicks out. Right hands from Tanaka and Paul's firing back. Paul gets the best of it and puts Tanaka down. HOT TAG TO GIBSON!! RIGHT HANDS TO DIAMOND!! IRISH WHIP SENDS TANAKA INTO DIAMOND!! Gibson Irish whips Tanaka into the ropes and tries a dropkick but Tanaka hangs on and down goes Gibson. Tanaka with an Irish whip into a flying forearm. He tries for a pin but HERE COMES ALL TEN MEN!! They brawl in the ring for a moment before everyone bails and brawls except the two legal men. Gibson whips Tanaka into the ropes and Morton trips up Tanaka from the outside, allowing Gibson to get the three-count!!The face team bails before the heels know what the hell happened and the show cuts off with them celebrating at ringside about ten seconds after the final bell.
Winners: The Rock n' Roll Express, The Top Guns and Jeff Jarrett (pinfall, Morton-ference)
Match Analysis: Actually a really good ten-man match and a hot main event that the crowd was really into. Sometimes ten-man's can end up being a little boring because no one gets any time to do anything fun and while there were a ton of changes and tags, there was still exciting stuff going on the whole time which made it good. Again, since it's Memphis there's a wild brawl and shenanigans at the end, but in this match it made sense because of all the guys being out there and there only being one poor little ref. Good main event to end the show that got a lot of talent some exposure.
Final Thoughts
All in all, this was a pretty good show from the second half on. The tag match and the ten-man main were really entertaining and nothing from the first half of the show was outwardly terrible. Predictable yes (and in the case of Lawler/Adonis and out and out repeat), but bad no, so in the end the show gets a thumbs-up from me. If all of these guys could have ended up under the AWA banner after that SuperClash show, Verne would have had a ton of young talent to work with that could have turned things around. Guess he should have thought of that before stiffing everyone else on pay-offs.
Fun With Comments
From OB1Jabroni: "Valiant runs a "wrestling school" just a few hours from my house. Every Sunday noon to 4, you can train at his camp. A rundown little shithole of a place, but I did buy his book which is a good little read while I visited the place one afternoon."
Haven't read it, but I think I might sometime. I've been getting far too behind on my wrestling book consumption as I still have the Hart and Jericho books to get to as well, so I'll add it to my list for a look-see. Just please tell me you got out of there without Valiant trying to kiss you.
From Scrotum Pole: ""The R n' R's must have hit the good stash in the back that night."
Actually I heard they were pissed off because Manny Fernandez sold them some mexican dirt weed.
"I'm still disturbed by the Hangman's pants though."
Do not look into the denim, Randy. Stay away from the denim, Carol Ann.
On the RNR Express, I grew up in Tulsa in the mid 80's and the Fantastics did ever thing RNR did and actually more spot on. They even had, at my time the first ever barb wired cage match where they teamed with Terry Taylor" AKA Red Rooster" against the Sheepherders and Jack Victory and it was the SHIT! It even featured Fulton, I think it was him diving off the top of the "wooden/barb wire cage and deliver his elbow drop. Instant Classic God I love Blood Feuds."
I've always been a huge fan of the old-school Southern blood feuds and to me one of, if not the best one ever was the Buzz Sawyer/Tommy Rich fued in Georgia in '82/'83 I believe. I can vividly remember reading those brawls in the wrestling magazines a couple of years after and how it just captivated me. I would be a happy happy man if someone were ever to stumble across an old tape in a closet at some television studio that had that match on it. That's the first feud I can ever remember and I would love seeing that match someday.
From Ballz: "Who is the larger heavyweight -- Greg Gagne, Colin Finerty, or Downtown Bruno ? And did Madusa ever wrestle Sheri Martel for any women's title?"
Gagne, but not by a hell of a lot. I do not believe that Madusa and Sheri Martel were in the same promotion and active at the same time for a match between them to ever take place. If anyone knows out there, feel free to let me know.
From Guest. : "You know, someone needs to make a clear hierarchy on the hardest substances in the wrestling universe. What I have on the list:
1: Masato Tanaka's head 2: Diamonds 3: A Samoan's head 4: Andre the Giant's Head 5: A pre-90s black wrestler's head
Judging by this, a triple headbutt from 2 Samoans and a black guy should've caused Michael Hayes brain to explode, then implode, then explode again and create a mini black hole. And yes, I did go to the Scott Steiner school of mathematics to make these calculations.
Anyways, still amazing that the best talent of 3 promotions consistently produces shows like this, barely better, and sometimes worse than the AWA shows. Anyways, DeBeers was awesome as usual, and someone needs to rip off the stretcher deal nowadays, but otherwise a relative throw-away show, which is a shame."
The Sheik and his loaded boot should be on that list too. As for the throw-away shows, if we're heading to 1989, get ready for a lot of them to be coming because they'll be fast and furious then.
From Jasper: "I mark for Col. DeBeers"
I think everyone does on some level. It was a great character and got a ton of heat, no matter who he was in with.
Finally, from Brimstone34: "Tonight on AWA Wrestling someone's Grandpa vs someone you've never heard of six or seven times. It sure is depressing to see how fast it all slipped away from Verne."
Yeah, that's about what it felt like sometimes, though like I said, Verne had a ton of great talent when they did the branding but for whatever reason he stiffed them and then lost it all. Ah well, it'll always be fun to think about what could have been.
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Post by CW .org .info .net on Feb 7, 2023 14:22:02 GMT -6
AWA Championship Wrestling
We start out with Lee and Larry doing their usual sell-job, which I think is even the same one they ran for a show last week before throwing it to the ring.
Diamond Dallas Page is in the ring, introducing Badd Company to the people. He runs down Memphis a little before bringing out his team. It's not a bad entrance actually as they have a couple of skanks with them in bikinis and DDP gets a chance to CRANKUPDAMUSIC!! I think they cranked it too much though because he's YELLING to get his introduction in. Someone needs to work on sound levels.
Match One: AWA Tag Team Championship Match The Rock and Roll RPM's vs. Badd Company (c)
I had actually forgotten that this was champions vs. champions since the RPM's were the Southern Tag Team Champions at this point. The RPM's start out quick, sending Diamond to the floor before hitting a HUGE double-backdrop on Tanaka. Lane slams Tanaka's head into the turnbuckle before he takes a big clothesline. Double-pancake from the RPM's and they're on fire in the early going. Davis is in the ring now with a right hand and he tags Lane back in who hits a big side slam before tagging Davis back in. davis whips Tanaka in for another HIGH back-bodydrop and the tag goes to Lane who gets a huge slam and a legdrop before tagging in Davis. Davis tags in Lane and he pushes Tanaka into the corner, Irish whipping him across and Tanaka tries the second-rope cross bodyblock but Lane ducks it and Tanaka hits the deck. Tag to Davis and he hits a knee to the midsection before tagging Lane in for a big vertical suplex. Lane hits the ropes but Diamond gets a boot to the back before getting the hot tag and going to town on Lane with right hands. Diamond slams Lane's head into the top turnbuckle and then hits the second rope for some mounted punches. Front suplex from Diamond and he sends Lane over the top rope while the referee is distracted, allowing Tanaka to do a little work on the floor. Davis comes over to stop that and Diamond picks up Lane for a big slam in the ring before tagging in Tanaka. Tanaka with an Irish whip into a big cross-bodyblock and he tags Diamond back in who hits some right hands on Lane before goading Davis into the ring. As the ref is distracted Badd Company hits the World's Greatest Tag Team spot where Tanaka leapfrogs over Diamond, landing on Lane who is strung out on the top rope. Tanaka goes for a pin and gets a long two-count before Badd Company hits a double-backdrop on Lane and Diamond gets another two-count. Diamond Irish whips Lane into the corner but misses the charge and crotches himself on the middle turnbuckle. Lane gets the tag to Davis and he works over Diamond and Tanaka before the RPM's hit a backdrop into a power bomb double-team move. Lane goes for the pin but Tanaka just punches him in the back of the head. Lane clotheslines Tanaka down and the RPM's maintain the advantage with Davis locking an abdominal stretch in on Diamond but Tanaka hits a crescent kick to the chin and Diamond gets the hook of the leg for the three-count and the crowd goes wild! I guess it's hard to get them to boo for them when they were faces in Memphis previously.
Winners: Badd Company (pinfall, Tanaka crescent kick)
Match Analysis: A weird match in that Badd Company was supposed to be the heel team but they ended up getting cheered because they used to be faces in Memphis and the RPM's just sucked everywhere they went. Not that they were bad wrestlers, just that they were such a bad rip-off of all the other rock and roll teams that they were doomed to fail. A decent enough tag match, but again it needed about five more minutes to even come close to being good. Funny again to see Lee Marshall refuse to call either of the RPM's by name because he doesn't know which is which though.
Badd Company works over the RPM's after the bell and it's a brawl between all four men and the RPM's get a double-clothesline to put Badd Company out to the floor. They leave with the hot bikini chicks and the RPM's get to stand in the ring with Downtown Bruno. I'll let you guess who comes out the winner there.
Match Two: The Rock n' Roll Express and Sgt.Slaughter vs. Soldat Ustinov, Teijo Kahn and Col. DeBeers w/Diamond Dallas Page
Page is really annoying here as when the faces are making their way to the ring he keeps yelling into the house mic "We've got something for you SARGE", over and over. Ugh. Anyhow, after a commercial break, we get to the match and all six guys are looking threatening. Well, except for Col. DeBeers, he takes a powder almost immediately to let Slaughter start things out with Kahn. Slaughter pushes Kahn into the ropes off of a lockup and tries to go after DeBeers but he scampers away. Sarge gets some atomic drops in on Kahn and the face team catches him in their corner with punches from everyone before Slaughter tags in Ricky Morton. Irish whip and a BIG dropkick from Morton leads to a tag to Robert Gibson. Side headlock and Teijo drags him into his corner, tagging in Col. DeBeers, but Gibson rolls away and tags in Slaughter, prompting more running from DeBeers. DeBeers gets back in the ring and tags in Soldat Ustinov leading to a Ustinov side headlock. Sarge shoots him into the ropes and they both hit a shoulderblock with no one budging. Back to the side headlock but Slaughter is able to make a tag to Ricky Morton before shooting Ustinov off into the ropes. Morton gets a big right hand to the gut before trying a bodyslam but there's no chance of that. Ustinov gets a HUGE slam of his own and tags in DeBeers who takes over on Morton with a couple of shoulderblocks before he gets armdragged over.
Tag to Slaughter and DeBeers runs again, tagging Ustinov from the apron before getting away again. The referee won't allow it and makes DeBeers get in the ring to tag and so he tags off to Kahn. Sarge gets Kahn down with a double-leg and slingshots him right into the R n' R's in the corner and they both hit right hands to the face before Slaughter tags in Gibson. The R n' R's do their double-hamstring pull, rolling through to punch Ustinov and DeBeers off the apron before Morton starts working over the leg, tagging in Gibson, who springs over the top rope to drop a knee onto Kahn's leg. Tag to Slaughter and he walks Kahn over to the corner, trying to use his hand to tag in DeBeers but again, the good Col. takes a walk. Kahn tags in Ustinov as we see DeBeers on the floor, with Lee Mullet asking if he just went to get a hot dog. No Lee, if he had gone to get a hot dog I'm sure you would have seen him at the cart since I'm guessing you've been there three or four times yourself already tonight.
Ustinov and Slaughter lock up and Ustinov pushes him into the corner, taking over with forearms and punches, Irish whipping Slaughter across for the patented stomach-bump on the buckles. Ustinov takes Slaughter down with a back-bodydrop and NOW here comes DeBeers!! He lays some stomps and right hands in but Slaughter gets to his feet and DeBeers RUNS to the floor. He slips back into the ring to tag in Kahn and Kahn gets a shot to the throat to take over before ramming Slaughter into the turnbuckle. Tag to Ustinov and he starts kicking away at Slaughter in the corner, trying for an Irish whip but Slaughter reverses. He hits a couple of forearms and tries an Irish whip of his own but Ustinov reverses, missing the charge and slamming into the turnbuckle, allowing Slaughter to make the tag to Morton. Right hands from Morton and down goes Soldat!! Tag to Kahn and Morton and Gibson get a HUGE double-back-bodydrop into a double-vertical suplex. Kahn tags to DeBeers and Gibson tags in Slaughter and this time DeBeers AIN'T FUCKIN AROUND!! HE GETS INTO THE RING AND...promptly gets back out and runs up the aisle to the dressing room. Slaughter lays an elbow in on Ustinov, putting him to the floor and the R n' R's sneak up on Kahn, double-dropkicking him in the back, sending him right into the SLAUGHTER CANNON for the 1-2-3!!
Winners: Sgt Slaughter and the Rock n' Roll Express (pinfall, Slaughter Cannon)
Match Analysis: A really fun six-man and a match that got a lot of time as well. It was mainly there for moving ahead in the Slaughter/DeBeers storyline but it was still a quality effort from all six guys. DeBeers was very entertaining as the chickenshit heel and even Kahn and Ustinov didn't look too terrible, mainly because they didn't have to spend a ton of time trying to get heat on the faces. The crowd was already hot for DeBeers so it just let the other two work and they did a good job. Very solid, very entertaining.
Match Three: Tommy Rich vs. Jimmy Valiant
If Lee busts out his "Main event anywhere in the country" chestnut, I might heave. Rich talks some shit to the front row and as Valiant makes his way to the ring some doo-wop song comes on and HE KISSES A BLACK WOMAN IN THE FRONT ROW!! She looks shocked and a little put-out by the whole thing. God, what did that woman do to deserve that? He kisses a kid and then completely no-sells some ugly woman that was grabbing at him for a kiss. Most...uncomfortable...entrance...EVAR!! Valiant finally makes his way into the ri..REVERSE ELBOW from Rich!! BEAT HIM TOMMY, BEAT THAT NEAR-RAPIST!! Ahem. Kneelift and some stomps from Rich now and Valiant's leg is shaking away like he forgot his Parkinson's meds. Rich chokes the hell out of Valiant and gets a big clothesline to put him down. Rich mocks Valiant's fans and then goes back to working him over with a choke. Lee Mullet rags on Rich's weight again (He really doesn't look that bad here), and then follows it up with "But I'm not ragging on the guy". Jackass. Rich shoves off the referee and hits a kneedrop on Valiant, who hasn't even gotten to take off his t-shirt yet, which is another reason I'm thankful that Rich attacked before the bell. Rich seems to be enjoying himself, choking Valiant again and TOMMY GOES BAT-SHIT ON THE REFEREE!! RIGHT HANDS AND STOMPS TO THE REF!! Valiant is up and boogie-woogie-ing behind Rich and WAFFLES him with right hands. Valiant takes the ref down with a shot of his own and Irish whips Rich in for a reverse elbow. Here come some jobbers to try to pull these two gladiators apart. They keep brawling and Valiant whips Rich in for a back-bodydrop. Kind of funny to watch them trying to work spots in during a pull-apart brawl and the guys that are trying to pull them apart just kind of standing there. Lee Mullet talks about how Valiant wants Tommy Rich and judging by how many women AND MEN he kisses against their will, there's probably a lot of things that Valiant wants. If I was Rich, I'd be very afraid. Valiant rams Tommy into the ringpost and they both continue to brawl into and out of the ring again. Rich must have Grandpa issues with the way he's trying to beat on Valiant like that. Rich forgets where he is for a moment, playing babyface to the crowd and getting Valiant back into the ring before bailing like the heel that he is.
Winner: None (double-disqualification, referee beatdown)
Match Analysis: Ugh. Just....ugh.
Match Four: WCCW Tag Team Championships The Samoan Swat Team w/Buddy Roberts vs. Michael Hayes and Steve Cox (c)
Hayes stomps and gets the crowd clapping away, starting with Samu and Samu attacks with right hands before Hayes fires back with his own. Hayes throws Samu to the floor and Fatu comes charging in, heading to the floor right after Samu. They regroup on the outside with Buddy Roberts for a second and samu gets back in, kicking Hayes int he gut and taking over with some right hands. irish wihp intot he corner and Samu follows it up with a headbuut and a thrust chop to the throat. Irish whip into the corner and Hayes reverses it, clotheslining Samu in the corner. Fatu charges but Hayes gets out of the way and Fatu SPLASHES SAMU!! Hayes and Cox clear the ring of the SST again and Hayes starts to moonwalk across the ring. Ray Stevens no-sells it and seems a little put-off by the moonwalking. Right hand from Hayes and he tries another but it gets blocked by Samu who puts Hayes down with a HUGE headbutt. A big chop and a legdrop follows for Samu and he makes a tag leading to a double-chop from the SST.
Irish whip in from Fatu and he gets a big foot into Hayes' face for a two-count. Neck crank from Fatu into a choke and then back to the neck crank before he picks Hayes up for a headbutt. Fatu distracts the referee and Samu starts choking from the outside before they make the exchange and hit a double-headbutt. Samu with a right hand and Hayes fires back with one of his own, ducking under a haymaker swing from Samu and getting the LUKEWARM TAG to Cox! Cox with right hands on Samu and mule kicks on Fatu and Hayes is in the ring, getting shown to the apron by the referee. Cox tries a roll-up on Samu but he ducks under and Fatu on the outside WAFFLES HIM WITH ONE OF THE TAG BELTS!! Samu with the cover and Cox BARELY kicks out before the three-count. Tag to Fatu and they hit some double-right hands before Fatu chokes in the corner. Snap mare into a neck crank from Fatu as Hayes tries to get the crowd behind Cox. Cox fights back to his feet and hits some elbows to Fatu, ducking under a clothesline but taking a HUGE powerslam from Fatu.
That only gets two though and the heel team continues to do some punching and kicking in the corner as Hayes gets distracted with chasing after Buddy Roberts a little on the outside. Samu with a fingernail rake down Cox's front and he hits some chops before Fatu chokes him across the top rope. Vertical suplex from Samu into a diving headbutt and he gets a long two-count before Hayes breaks up the pin. Forearm from Samu and he tags in Fatu for a double-superkick!! Fatu with a big stomp into a nerve pinch again and he holds it in as Hayes continues to cheerlead from the apron. Cox gets some elbows and turns off the ropes but gets tripped up by Samu on the outside, leading to another tag and another double-headbutt. Samu with an Irish whip and he gets his hair-pulling, face-slamming whirlygig before setting Cox up for the top rope belly to back. Cox holds onto the ropes and Samu goes down HARD before getting the tag to Fatu. HOT TAG TO HAYES!! He cleans house with right hands on Fatu and Irish whips him in for a big back bodydrop. Irish whip for Samu into a flying clothesline!! Noggin-knocker on the Samoans but they NO-SELL AND DOUBLE-HEADBUTT HAYES DOWN!!
Double-Irish whip in from the Samoans and Hayes drops both of them with a double-DDT! Cox is back on his feet and dropkicks Samu to the floor. Cox dives over onto Samu and starts peppering him with right hands while Fatu and Hayes fight near the ropes inside the ring. Hayes gets his leg caught between the bottom and middle ropes and it's twisted in there, as Fatu gets the pin. I think. The camera didn't even show the count but the referee is calling for the bell. Maybe he's thrown it out as a double-DQ. Hayes looks angry and THE SAMOANS HAVE THE BELTS!! WE HAVE NEW CHAMPIONS!!
Winners: The Samoan Swat Team (pinfall, Hayes trapped in the ropes)
Match Analysis: I went into this thinking that it was a "one of these things just doesn't belong" situation regarding Cox, but I was pleasantly surprised. Another decent match that gets a lot of time and tells a bit of a story. Fun to see a title change on free TV and the way that the match ended set up the controversy that led to the re-match at SuperClash III. Fun match and it's always a good time to get to see the SST work before they both got a little bigger and less mobile.
Match Five: AWA Women's Championship Wendi Richter w/The Top Guns vs. Madusa Miceli (c) w/Badd Company
Madusa attacks before Richter can even get all the way into the ring, hip tossing her over by her hair and sending Richter out to the floor. Madusa's rather proud of herself, doing a little dance up on the second turnbuckle but Richter sneaks in and yanks her off the buckle by her hair. Madusa rolls to the outside and throws her ring jacket at Tanaka before tripping Richter up from the outside and dragging her back out to the floor. Madusa does another little dance and pushes the referee before Richter charges at her. Madusa ducks away from it and turns her back, leading to Richter getting a roll-up off the ropes for two. Richter hits three or four snap mares with a handful of hair and gets another two-count. She rams Madusa's face into the canvas for another two-count before moving to a side headlock. Madusa tries to reverse it by pulling the hair, actually getting into a headscissors out of it. Richter fights out of the headscissors and Madusa chokes her against the ropes before Richter reverses and gets a couple of HARD shoulderblocks in. Madusa does a faceplant in the middle of the ring and gets picked up for a hard forearm by Richter. Big bodyslam and a splash for Richter and she gets another long two-count out of it. Right hand from Madusa and she takes over with a choke, leading to them scrapping on the mat. Richter mounts Madusa and starts working some right hands before Irish whipping Madusa in for a back bodydrop. Richter suckers her in and when Madusa tries for the kick to the face, Richter moves out of the way sending Madusa flying. Richter tries a splash off the ropes but Madusa gets the knees up to block it and follows it up with a big slam for two. BIG kneelift from Madusa and she just drops Richter onto her back off of the ropes. Richter to the gut and she hits a HARD forearm to the chest, Irish whipping Madusa into the ropes and following it up with a big boot. POWERBOMB FROM RICHTER!! 1-2...NOOOOO!! BADD COMPANY BREAKS UP THE COUNT!! HERE COME THE TOP GUNS!! They do a little brawling but it's mainly Badd Company getting Madusa out of town before she gets hurt worse.
Winner: Wendi Richter (disqualification, Badd Company interference)
Match Analysis: These two actually cut a pretty brisk pace and it was a fun match to watch while it lasted. You knew that with the two tag-teams on the outside that they would play into the finish, but it was still a good match that showed how well both ladies could work at the time. I'd have gone with the title change or the six-man tag as the main event, but this was still a really good match.
Final Thoughts
Outside of the Rich/Valiant debacle, which was more fun in a perverse way than any real fun, this was a REALLY good show. I'll say it again, Verne COMPLETELY fucked the pooch by screwing the other companies on their pay-offs for SuperClash. The AWA had nothing but when combined with WCCW and the CWA, there was a roster that could put some very good matches together. All of the matches that were good got a good chunk of time and there was solid wrestling all the way through. I might just be craving a decent show and could be overrating this one, but this show gets the big thumbs-up from me! To the comments!!
Fun With Comments
From Guest#9194: "I've got to agree with you on that "stretcher". I mean it looked like some $50 cot that they got at an Army surplus store and to make things worse, they almost dumped the guy on the concrete at one point. (Of course it's hard to be afraid when you hear "His opponents go out on a comfy cot.)
Oh, if I remember correctly the SST were in the NWA under Paul E Dangerously before they went to the WWF.
Say speaking of upcoming episodes do you think they'll have that ref that would constantly attack the wrestlers? (I kind of remembered something about coming off the top rope but AWA was even wackier about that than WCW under Bill Watts.)"
I'll touch on the stretcher later, but for now I'll go with the last two. Yes, the SST were in the NWA with Paul E., I believe a few months after SuperClash III actually since I remember them being there in '89. In regards to the referee attacking the wrestlers, I don't recall that angle, but we'll see what happens when the shows go on. I'm not saying it didn't happen though because with how shitty the booking got at the end, I wouldn't be surprised if it did.
From Guest#6613: "One other thing I just remembered. Couldn't they have asked one of the wrestlers what country Kendo originated in? (I mean "Korean Kendo"?)"
That would have required thought. Did you forget you were watching the AWA?
From Adam: "The AWA program just seems like a regional promotion now instead of a national one. The AWA talent really sucked. At least CWA and World Class had some guys that were over in their territories. World Class had The Von Erichs, Iceman & Hayes. CWA had Lawler, Dundee, Jarrett, Rich, & Brickhouse Brown, The AWA had no one. Wahoo & Gagne? Pulleez!"
Yep, the AWA needed the talent influx from the other promotions and shot themselves in the foot by pissing them off. That's what leads us up to Jake Milliman, Larry Zbyszko and Tom Zenk as "main eventers".
From Arnold_OldSchool: "I think Sherri and Madusa worked a Nitro match"
From Guest#2137: "Madusa and Sherri Martel did in fact work a Nitro match, and it can be found on youtube. It was in like '95 I think and ended up not being very good."
From the fresh: "madusa wrestled Sherri Martel at Superclash 2 in 1987"
From PMullin1987: "Kind of a throw away here till the 10 man tag saved the show for me.
I've never cared for Bill Dundee. Despite being the best worker of the Memphis big three with Lawler and Austin Idol I just never liked the guy's character or his work.
I never thought Dundee was able to do what Lawler and Idol did, and thats get people invested in his matches. He did it in Memphis but, and I'm not trying to knock the Memphis fans here(yes I am, heel turn!) they were conditioned to marking for really simple and basic stuff, and I think just about anyone could have gotten over there.
Lawler got over in the AWA and the WWF/E, Idol was big time over in Georgia, where was Dundee over outside of Memphis? Big fish in a small pond. Probably the only time anyone will ever refer to Bill Dundee using the word big and not following it with prick."
Don't hold back on those feelings Patrick! I agree about Dundee, that he was a regional talent that could never really make it on any national level, which made it hard for him to get over when he hit the AWA on ESPN. He had a couple of short runs but nothing worthy of mention really.
From awafan: "Yes "Superstar" Bill Dundee, goes from being top 3 in Mid-South/CWA to Sir William wacky butler for Steven Regeal in WCW. I had to laugh the other night when ESPN listed Terry Adonis as 1 of the featured stars on the show. Sad watching a once great promotion turning into Verne's Night at the Indy's."
Verne's Night at the Indy's could have been a better movie than "The Wrestler" or whatever that horrible movie Verne made was called.
From TJack: ""The Stretcher" - LOL. If this were not "sports entertainment", that poor guy would have been crippled or dead for sure, with the way those idiots yanked him onto that crappy Dollar Store cot in one swift, clumsy move. (By the way, didn't the good Colonel serve his yummy South African flapjack to the same guy on another episode? Why then was the move so much more devasting this time? Lol... don't answer. Just enjoy the lunacy.)
Did anybody catch Verne Gagne trying to introduce Bill Dundee? ("That's Crocodile... er, uh.... Wild Bill Dundee...") Lol. Well, Verne, it's nice to know that you're well informed about one of the most "over" guys in the Nashville scene. (By the way, I never understood Dundee's appeal either! Hideous face. So-so worker. A body somewhat like Super Porky at times and a Supercuts hairstyle reminiscent of El Dandy. In my opinion, the only time I ever enjoyed Dundee was when he served as Regal's butler "AskJeeves" in WCW.)
Have a good one!"
Yeah, I noticed that they weren't exactly concerned with getting him out of there safe and sound, but then again it was a different time and I doubt that even if he had been REALLY hurt, that they would have done a ton differently. Maybe a little more immobilzation on his neck, but for the most part there wasn't the things that you see today in terms of back boards and everything else, at least as I remember it. Anyhow, that stretcher was the saddest damn thing I've seen yet on any of these shows and that's saying something.
From freebirdfantasia: "I understand the reason why people can't get into Bill Dundee.He's a sawed off little shaggy bad Elvis impersonater. However, I suggest finding some of his epic matches with the King where he proves what a tough little son of a gun he really is.I also have to say that Dundee and Danny Davis doing a 15 minute draw of nothing but sheer old school chain wrestling is still one of my favorite live matches I have ever seen."
Yes, Dundee was a very solid worker and when he was on in the late-70's/early-80's, it was fun to watch him go. By the time the AWA deal came around in '88 though, he couldn't quite go like that anymore and he didn't have a character to help him out so he floundered.
From Scrotum Pole: "Two of the Diamond Dolls come down to the ring with a "stretcher" but it really just looks more like one of those aluminum-framed lounge chairs you'd see next to a pool.
How funny would it have been if Magnum TA was in it. If you aren't sure what I'm talking about Magnum had one of the most disgusting centerfolds EVER in a pro wrestling magazine in the mid 80's. It was just him laying on a lawn chair in a red bikini speedo that would put David Beckham's bulge to shame. My sixth grade teacher actually let us tape that on the front of her desk. Dumb Bitch.
I've always been a huge fan of the old-school Southern blood feuds and to me one of, if not the best one ever was the Buzz Sawyer/Tommy Rich fued in Georgia in '82/'83 I believe.
I didn't get to see that one but I did get to see the end match to the Buzz Sawyer/Steve Williams blood feud. And it was sweet! It was a no DQ style bunkhouse brawl where Williams wore his Sooner jersey and helmut to the ring and after the match walked to the back with a f'n crater in the side of his head that you could have fist fucked him in. BLOODY!!"
I'm not sure I needed that last visual, or the first one for that matter, but moving on, Buzz Sawyer seemed to be a great guy to get into blood feuds with and it's a shame he couldn't have parlayed that into more success nationally. Rich/Sawyer was THE biggest feud in the country because of the national clearance that Georgia Championship Wrestling got on TBS and oddly, both men's careers never seemed to recover from that feud.
From Guest. : "That's what I was talking about in the previous columns when I said the use of talent. Everyone here had a well defined role, and was allowed to shine and be introduced to whoever was watching. These are the kind of shows that needed to be produced.
Anyways, off the beaten path, but I read up on Kerry Von Erich, and I remembered that it became somewhat public knowledge that he lost his foot cause it was pulled off in the ring. Well, it was apparently everyone's favorite racist, Col. DeBeers who did it on an AWA taping. I'm wondering if that ever made the final cut, and I'm hoping I can see that moment if they can stop showing repeats."
For whatever reason, we're seeing a couple of shows in a row now where there is decent booking and solid angle progression, which is SHOCKING for the AWA in 1988. I don't know if there was ever a time where Kerry's prosthetic foot came off in the course of a match, but if it did, I highly doubt it would have ever made it to air because that was one of the few closely guarded secrets in wrestling that stayed closely guarded. I remember hearing rumors that it happened and Col. DeBeers was the culprit, but if it did happen I wouldn't expect to see it.
From Ballz: "Can someone please tell Verne Gagne that the Sarge's move is the Cobra Clutch , not the Cobra Twist. WTF is a Cobra Twist? Sounds like a bad back alley porno. And thanks for reminding me of the Superclash II match between Sheri and Madusa. I will have to find that on BoobTube."
The Cobra Twist was probably a very popular dance move back in the 40's when Verne was hip. He was probably just getting it confused. No need to look for the SuperClash II match, it's a few comments above! You're welcome.
Finally from Fepic Ail!: " "They even had, at my time the first ever barb wired cage match where they teamed with Terry Taylor" AKA Red Rooster" against the Sheepherders and Jack Victory and it was the SHIT! "
"It was a no DQ style bunkhouse brawl where Williams wore his Sooner jersey and helmut to the ring and after the match walked to the back with a f'n crater in the side of his head"
Are either of these available on DVD or Youtube?"
As far as I know neither match is available on Youtube, and if there's DVD footage of it, they would be available at Universal Wrestling Archives, the only place that is legit and sells old Mid-South footage. I'm saving up to buy the complete library on DVD since Mid-South is really the only promotion that I've never been able to catch up on. Hope that helps!
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Post by CW .org .info .net on Feb 7, 2023 14:23:42 GMT -6
AWA Championship Wrestling
We're free of 1988!! I think. Or at least the shitty, end of 1988 stuff. Larry Nelson welcomes us to the show from the AWA studios with those hideous carpeted steps full of trophies behind him. He runs down the show, including seeming EXTRA excited to see the Midnight Rockers before throwing it to the ring for our opening bout!
Match One: AWA International Television Championship Dennis Stamp vs. Greg Gagne (c)
This one has the funny aftertaste of a bout that I've already seen, but I can't find it in my archives so I guess I'm doing it again. Gagne misses a lockup on Stamp but gets it the second time, pushing Stamp into the corner and giving him a clean break. Stamp and Gagne trade go-behinds in the middle of the ring and look a little dizzy before Stamp gets Gagne down with a single-leg. Kick-away from Gagne and they stare down in the middle of the ring. OOOOOOH INTENSITY!! Stamp takes Gagne down with a fireman's carry but Gagne reverses that into a headscissors pretty quickly, even getting a one-count off of it. Stamp finally kicks free and gets to his feet and we get ANOTHER staredown. Oh, just kiss and get it over with already. Stamp grabs himself a top wristlock and Gagne tries to armdrag his way out of it but Stamp holds onto the hold until Gagne can reverse it to a hammerlock of sorts. Gagne pushed into the ropes and Stamp gives him a cheap shot on the break. Good times. Stamp RAMS Gagne's head into the top turnbuckle and Irish whips Gagne to the opposite corner for a Bret Bump. Stamp gets a two-count off of that and grabs a side headlock, going to the throat with a shot before ramming Gagne into the top buckle again. Gagne bounces off the ropes with a right hand and a chop, bouncing Stamp's head off of the top turnbuckle with FORCE before Irish whipping him across. Back bodydrop out of the corner for Gagne and here comes the dropki..HE WHIFFS ON IT!! Gagne sells it like a miss and Stamp sells it like it hit for about two seconds before coming over and dropping a knee on Gagne for a two-count. Irish whip in and Gagne ducks under a clothesline, coming off the ropes with a flying bodypress for the 1-2-3!!
Winner: Greg Gagne (pinfall, flying bodypress)
Match Analysis: Which guy was the champ again? I get that you want the jobbers to get a little offense in now and again, but this was giving the guy WAY too much and it made the guy who was supposed to be the hot new champion look a little silly. Boo to Gagne for whiffing on the one move that was actually credible for him to pull off as well. A decent back and forth match, but not the kind of match that Gagne should have had after his big title win.
After the commerical, Bill Apter is with AWA World Heavyweight Champion Curt Hennig for an AWA Press Conference. Apter asks about the Gagnes calling his reign "the most despicable AWA title reign" and Hennig dismisses it, saying that anything the Gagne's say wouldn't be the truth anyhow. He says that they're liars, cheaters, and stealers and that what they think of him doesn't matter. He calls himself the greatest champion the AWA has ever had or ever will have as Apter begins grilling him on outside interference, most notably, Larry Zbyszko and the roll of quarters that he handed to Hennig to help him win the title in the first place. Hennig seems indignant and says that no one saw anything on all the tapes and that there was no roll of quarters before he takes credit for retiring Nick Bockwinkel. In regards to his family helping him out, Curt defends himself again, saying that the Gagnes are masters of family interference and that his dad merely came down to ringside to tell the referee that Gagne had him in the "Gagne Chokehold". Tremendous stuff right there. Apter asks why Hennig and Gagne couldn't succeed as a tag-team and Hennig says that Gagne couldn't hold up his end of the bargain. Hennig starts talking about how Gagne doesn't have the size, the strength, the speed and that all he has is experience. That was borderline shoot interview territory right there. Hennig says that he has experience now too and that Gagne could never cut it as his partner. Hennig also adds that he has a full head of hair and they can't handle that. Oh wow, I think it's coming...I believe...yes, yes, here it comes!!!
SICK BURN!!
Apter asks one last question, saying that the fans don't like or don't trust Curt Hennig anymore and Hennig says that he can't understand that because he's still the nicest man in wrestling, but HE'LL BREAK YOUR LEG WITH A BAT TO WIN!! Um, that doesn't sound very nice at all really. Hennig says he never takes a day off and travels around the world defending the belt and that whether you like it or not, he's going to be the champ for a long, long time. Another great interview segment from Hennig in a title reign full of them.
Match Two: David Price vs. Adrian Adonis w/Bob Orton and Paul E. Dangerously
Paul E throws a little badmouth on the referee before the match even gets started and things finally get underway. They hit a lockup and Adonis goes to the gut with a hard shot before chopping Price against the ropes. Irish whip into the ropes and Adonis gets a hard reverse elbow that puts Price down to the mat. He picks him up and drops him with another reverse elbow before he throws Price to the floor right to Bob Orton. Orton throws him back into the ring and Adonis hits him with a hard forearm shot in the face before dropping a knee onto Price's knee. Price is screaming in agony and Adonis taunts him to get up before taking him down to that mat with a BIG running clothesline!! POWERSLAM from Adonis and he mocks the crowd a little before bouncing off the ropes with a HUGE SPLASH for the three-count.
Winner: Adrian Adonis (pinfall, splash off of the ropes)
Match Analysis: Squash to get Adonis on TV and keep him in the eye of the fans. Fun to see an EXTREMELY young Paul E. Dangerously with him. So much hair. Anywho, this was basically a mauling and it's still amazing to see Adonis and how he could move at 400 + pounds.
Match Three: Houdini vs. Soldat Ustinov w/Teijo Kahn
It's Lee Marshall and Verne Gagne on commentary again, which causes an involuntary shudder from me. Ustinov pushes Houdini into the ropes off of a lockup and hits a couple of forearms before Irish whipping him into the ropes. Houdini ducks an attempted clothesline but takes a BIG shoulderblock from the Russian, which draws a big growl from Ustinov. He chokes Houdini against the ropes and rams him into the turnbuckle headfirst before whipping him into the ropes for a big back bodydr..HOUDINI REVERSES!! Sunset flip gets a LOOOONG two-count but Ustinov gets free of it and then stomps away before hitting a BIG bodyslam into a boot to the back of the head. The referee counts two and then taps Ustinov on the back, seemingly in an act of charity to let Ustinov get his finisher in because Houdini looked like he forgot to kick out there. Instead of taking the act of charity, Ustinov shows RUSSIAN PRIDE~! and throws Houdini over the top rope. The referee has no choice but to call for the bell and disqualify Ustinov.
Winner: Houdini (disqualification, over the top rope rule)
Match Analysis: What in the blue hell was THAT? Honestly, I don't even think that Ustinov knew the match was still going and he thought that that was his post-match beatdown or something. There wasn't a kickout on the two-count, it was just the referee stopping short and not finishing it off. Weird ending to a squash match and you'd think that with the botch they'd not show it, but I guess it gets Ustinov over as pissed off and crazy so it works on some small level. Just not my cup of tea I guess.
Larry Nelson is with Teijo and Soldat Ustinov in front of the shower stall backdrop. Ustinov talks about how Teijo Kahn is going to be the new AWA Champion because Americans are undisciplined and that none of them know what hard work is. Soldat Ustinov says that his Russian military mind has been training since he was seven, while Kahn was toughening up on the mean streets of Singapore. Yeah, I've heard NOTHING but bad things about Singapore, Minnesota. He again promises that Kahn will be the new AWA champ and we head to a commercial break.
Match Four: Pete Sanchez and Tom Stone vs. The Midnight Rockers
Good pop for the Rockers as always, and Sanchez and Michaels are set to start things out. Sanchez tells the crowd to shut up and then locks up with Michaels, shoving him off a couple of times and posing down for the people. They hit a third lockup and when Sanchez tries the push-off again, Michaels moves back and Sanchez falls flat on his face. As Nelson Muntz says, "Ha HAH!". Sanchez complains about a hairpull to try to cover his ass and then just tags in Stone to deal with Michaels. Stone pushes Michaels into the corner and Sanchez holds him against the ropes as Stone comes across with a charging right hand. Michaels DUCKS IT! STONE WAFFLES SANCHEZ!! Irish whip into the Rocker corner and Jannety comes running down the apron with a clothesline! Tag to Jannetty and they hit a double-clothesline on Stone before Jannetty drops down for a one-count. Snap mare into a fistdrop by Jannetty and Stone fires back with a shot to the gut, grabbing a front-facelock and grounding Jannetty. Stone pushes Jannetty into their corner and Sanchez chokes on Jannetty with the tag rope as the referee is distracted by Michaels on the other side. Tag to Sanchez now and he chokes Jannetty across the top rope before slingshotting him back into the ring for a BIG bodyslam and a kneedrop. Reverse chinlock from Sanchez now as Michaels tries to fire the crowd up from the apron. Jannetty gets to his feet and gets free of the hold, running off of the ropes but Sanchez cuts him off with a knee to the gut, ramming Jannetty's head into Stone's knee. Tag to Stone and he chokes away at Jannetty until the referee pulls him away. Sanchez and Stone both work over Jannetty as Michaels tries to intervene again and gets shooed away by the referee. Sanchez is in now with a snap mare into another reverse chinlock and Jannetty gets to his feet again, punching Sanchez in the gut but Sanchez goes to the eyes and gets a BIG bodyslam. Sanchez misses the follow-up elbowdrop and Jannetty makes the tag over to Michaels and he takes over on Sanchez and Stone, knocking both of them down with kicks and chops. Sanchez cuts it off by going to the eyes and hitting a snap mare. Sanchez goes up top but gets caught by Michaels and slammed off the top rope. Another big bodyslam for Michaels and he tags in Jannetty and they get a DOUBLE-ELBOWDROP OFF THE TOP ROPE!! IT'S ALL OVER!!
Winners: The Midnight Rockers (pinfall, double-elbowdrop off the top rope)
Match Analysis: Extended squash which let the Rockers get in some bumping, which was always their strong suit, and they even managed to get a little bit of heat on the match before the end. Stone and Sanchez were both veterans so their work looked good and it made for a fairly decent little match.
We come back to see Bill Apter holding another AWA Press Conference with "Loverboy" Dennis Condrey for an exclusive interview and Apter is really playing up that he got Condrey away from Paul E. for this interview. Apter gets half a question out and HERE COMES PAUL E. DANGEROUSLY!! Paul E. keeps telling Apter to ask a question and then cuts him off. Apter asks about Bobby Eaton and the AWA but Dangerously cuts it off, saying he's the best manager in the world and it's already proven because Condrey is one half of the AWA Tag Team Champions and Wrestlers of the Month. Apter asks Condrey about the phone but Paul E. butts in again, saying that they all have a lot of phone calls to make and that he's busy in the ring and that he's just making dates for Condrey and Rose. Apter asks him to sit down and he does, but not before delivering a doozy line. Paul E.: "I used to be a photographer too you know? Just like you. Until I decided to make some real money". Ouch, I think it's coming back again..that familiar feeling..because that was an incredibly..
SICK BURN!!
Apter asks about the phone and how he smashes it over the Midnight Express' opponents and Paul E. says that he does it just for the hell of it and that he gets a kick out of it. He says that Dennis and Randy are the kind of guys that will stick their thumb through your eye just for fun. Dangerously talks about how people complain about how they break the rules and all the wrestlers that they've hurt and Dangerously says "Yeah, we do cheat! What are you gonna do about it?" He says that they're the only things going in the AWA and that they could never be banned. Apter asks where Randy Rose is and Paul E. says that there was some business to take care of in Atlanta and that he's doing just fine. Apter asks about the dream match of Midnight Express vs. Midnight Express and Dangerously says he doesn't want to answer it while Condrey laughs it off. Dangerously shoves Apter on his way off the set. GREAT interview segment and Paul E. was just GOLD for the entire segment. One of the best talkers there has been in the business in terms of getting the product over, and pretty much the best color guy that the WWF/E had since Bobby Heenan.
Match Five: AWA World Heavyweight Championship Wahoo McDaniel vs. Curt Hennig (c)
Hennig takes his sweet, sweet time getting into the ring and he complains to the referee that he doesn't want to deal with any of Wahoo's chops. McDaniel pursues Hennig for a lockup but Hennig hits the apron and discusses a little more with the referee. It's going to be one of THESE kind of matches I see. Lockup and Wahoo shoves Hennig into the corner leading to a bit of a staredown between the two men. Another lockup and McDaniel does it again, threatening Hennig with a chop and Hennig drops down to the floor to take a bit of a breather. Hennig makes it back in at the count of seven and Wahoo grabs a side headlock, cranking on it and making Curt scream. Hennig shoots McDaniel off into the ropes, taking a hard shoulderblock and a BIG chop before heading back out to the relative safety of the concrete. Some guy in the crowd talks some smack and Hennig threatens a bitch-slap before trying to make his way back into the ring. They lockup again and Hennig gets a HARD chop in the corner before Wahoo Irish whips Hennig into the corner and catches him with a HUGE chop coming out that Hennig sells about eight feet up into the air, kicking his legs the whole time. God, it's so much fun watching him sell.
Hennig's back out the the floor again, holding his head and the referee's count is up to eight before Hennig makes his way back into the ring. Greco-Roman knucklelock time and Wahoo is in charge until Hennig gets a kick in the gut. Wahoo comes back with a couple of kicks and some chain wrestling on Hennig's arm before armdragging him over and locking in a straight armbar. Hennig bridges out of a one-count and gets his foot on the ropes, leading Wahoo to break the hold and then JUST miss an elbowdrop as Hennig rolls to the floor. The referee chastises Hennig for the constant breaks and demands a little action as Wahoo takes a swipe at him. Wahoo corners him but Hennig goes to the eyes before they trade shots to the body. Tomahawk chop to the face of Hennig and he dances around before Wahoo chops him in the corner and OVER THE TOP GOES HENNIG!! Just beautiful, only Hennig could take eight bumps off of one chop.
Hennig gets back into the ring, putting up his dukes, but eating a couple of chops before Hennig gets a single-leg takedown into a hamstring pull and he just starts wearing out that leg with stomps. Hennig crashes down onto the knee off of the ropes and drags Wahoo into the center of the ring for a stepover toehold, grabbing the ropes when the referee is busy. Two-count on Wahoo and after three or four attempts, the referee finally catches Hennig using the ropes and forces the break. Hennig shoots in for a single-leg again but McDaniel uses that seldom-seen takedown defense technique, the thumb to the eye. Of course, Hennig bumps it all the way through the ropes to the floor, but this time Wahoo follows him out!! Chop for Wahoo and Hennig goes to the eyes before he RAMS WAHOO INTO THE POST!! Wahoo looks hurt and Hennig just starts laying in the stomps and punches. Wahoo looks to be bleeding from the post shot and both guys are just brawling on the floor before Hennig fires Wahoo back into the ring.
Hennig stomps away at the head of Wahoo and mocks the crowd a little bit, snap maring Wahoo over into a reverse chinlock. The crowd starts stomping their feet and whooping to rally Wahoo and he's up to a knee and back to his feet but HENNIG YANKS THE HAIR!! Stomps and right hands from Hennig and he just hammers away before getting a good kneelift. Wahoo tries a chop but there's not a lot on it and Hennig is trying for the Perfect-plex!! Wahoo blocks it and gets a vertical suplex of his own and Hennig actually rolls over to cover Wahoo first for a two-count. Hard shoulderblock from Wahoo and both men are trying to get to their feet with Wahoo up first and getting a HARD tomahawk chop on Hennig's head and ANOTHER that puts Hennig onto his ass. BACKBREAKER FROM WAHOO. 1-2..NOOOO!!! HENNIG KICKS OUT!! Hennig rolls out to the floor and gets a headbutt from Wahoo as he makes his way up to the apron.
Wahoo suplexes Hennig back into the ring and covers!! 1-2...HENNIG GETS A FOOT ON THE ROPES!! Wahoo pushes Hennig into the corner for a hard chop and a snap mare, holding onto Hennig's hair and DOING THE WAR DANCE~! HUGE TOMAHAWK CHOP ON HENNIG!! SOMERSAULT SELL-JOB!! IRISH WHIP INTO ANOTHER HUGE CHOP TO THE CHEST!! HENNIG'S EIGHT FEET IN THE AIR AND DOWN!! 1-2....NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!! HENNIG KICKED OUT!! Hennig rolls to the floor and Wahoo follows him out, RAMMING HENNIG INTO THE POST!! Wahoo rolls back into the ring and the referee is counting on Curt but Wahoo just chops him again, square in the face. Hennig makes his way back into the ring, being helped in by the hair from Wahoo. Wahoo gets a chop and catapaults Hennig INTO THE POST AND OVER THE TOP TO THE FLOOR!!! HERE COMES WAHOO!!! They brawl on the floor with chops and punches and HENNIG EATS THE POST AGAIN!! Right hands from Hennig and he rolls back into the ring but Wahoo catches a leg and drags Hennig to the corner!! HE WRAPS HENNIG'S LEG AROUND THE POST!! They are both back out to the floor and fighting and both men try to get back in before the ten-count but they can't!! We have a double-countout but the fight is still on!! Irish whip and another NASTY chop from Wahoo sends Hennig flying!! Hennig finally crawls his way out of the ring and gets away from Wahoo.
Winner: None (double-countout)
Match Analysis: A LOT better than I ever could have expected it to be really. I was sure that it was going to be a long, boring match or a stinker but Wahoo and Hennig really turned it on and did a fantastic job in putting out a great main event match. Really fun match and a really hot ending with both guys just going for it in a real brawl at the end of things.
Larry Nelson runs down the show and throws us to the finish, telling us to be sure to come back next week for more AWA Championship Wrestling and we're out!!
Final Thoughts
Started out slow but finished REALLY hot, with the main event and the Paul E. interview segment being my personal favorites, and when you throw in the Midnight Rockers match and the Hennig interview segment from earlier in the show, this one actually gets a thumbs-up from me! I would have thought that from the match listing it would have been a little rough but I'm glad to say that it's two decent shows in a row for the AWA. Tremendous! Let's hit the comments, peeps!
Fun With Comments
From Guest. : "Was this taping a Supercard or something? Cause really, all those non-jobber matches just makes me think this had to be some sort of Supershow. I've got an odd feeling this is the show where they had Kerry/Lawler I, where nothing changed to set up Superclash III.
Anyways, looking at this, its easy to see why in the end Jerry Jarrett got the best end of the deal. While the regular AWA tapings in Vegas were dwindling, the arena in Memphis was packed, with a hot crowd throughout the night.
For those who were talking about Verne keeping the partnership up: Remember, the partnership was doing nothing for him. AWA house shows were still drawing flies, even with the merger, the Superclash show drew horrid buyrates (roughly 1/4 of what WWF and NWA were doing at that point), and I'd be willing to bet Verne was losing money in the deal. Obviously, when the Battle Royal to crown the new champ comes around, the talent depth of the AWA will be exposed, but it wasn't like Verne was turning down a golden goose when he shafted everyone on the PPV money.
I was going to mention the 87 matches that were mentioned in the website between Sheri and Medusa, but you already got those up there.
Anyways, show tonight was awesome, with the only negative part in my eyes being the end of the SST/Hayes & Cox match, where the cameras not only missed Cox's dive onto Samu? but the pin where Hayes' foot was on the ropes. That really came off bad to me. Even Jimmy Valiant wasn't that horrible, as his wrestling was kept to a minimum, and he kissed and punched random people. Now, for your amusement, some Jimmy Valiant music videos, accompanied by the vocal talents of Jimmy Valiant"
From David Burcham: "The non-appeal of Bill Dundee on a national scale is easy to explain.
In Memphis, Bill Dundee was the smallest guy on the show (even at a time when Ricky Morton and Eddie Gilbert were at their scrawniest). Dundee himself would hammer the fact that was 5'7" and 217 pounds in every promo he cut. He was "the Tough Little Aussie." Aside from Lawler, the booking during the '70's ususally had him paired against the latest monster tearing through the territory.
Dundee was basically "ECW Giant Killer" Spike Dudley in Memphis (with mike skills). He was the sypathetic baby facing (and defeating) all odds.
By the time he finally started getting major national attention in the mid/late 80's in Mid South, AWA and World Class... the underdog aura was gone and he was visiblly starting to age. Most fans just didn't buy him as a top-tier guy."
That actually sums it all up just about perfectly. in the 70's he played underdog to the hilt but as he got older it got less and less believable and his in-ring talents started to fade a little. REALLY hot run in Memphis though which was seemed to be make him a bunch of money, not sure why he had to resort to butlering but we'll get to that later.
From Frozen: "Regarding the incident with Kerry's fake foot coming off, it actually did happen. It occurred in Vegas, I believe at the Showboat. However, this was after the AWA stoppped doing TV tapings in Vegas, so it was a house show and no video exists."
Thanks for the info. I wasn't completely sure if it was one of those wrestling rumors or something that actually happened. It's just one of those things that will live in infamy and be talked about but never seen.
From Adam: "The Madusa/Martel match from espn is on WWE 24/7 this week along with some other championship matches from the AWA. Bockwinkel/Stevens vs. Crusher/Bruiser, Road Warrios vs. Garvin/Regal (Not Ron & William). Did anyone notice that Madusa had a patch or something in her crotch area. I guess the match the other night when she was holding her hand over that area is why this was put in place. Lots of good crotch shots on Sherri in that match on 24/7."
I've always been a Madusa man, but thank you for the heads-up on all the 24/7 greatness featuring the AWA.
From Doug: "We were desperate for a good show, but I think you were right on - this was a legit good show. All 3 tag belts on the line on the same show was worth it for me right there. And I liked Rich/Valiant for what it was - building blocks for a feud. Good show in my book. Hope we get a few more of these for awhile.
Was the AWA on ESPN back when the NWA/AWA talent sharing and touring was happening? I think it might have been 1985?"
I do believe that the AWA was on ESPN at that time, but I'm not sure if any of the AWA talent ever appeared on those shows or not. I didn't start getting the AWA on my sports network until '86 so I ended up missing those ones. If anyone has any info on whether there were NWA stars on those showsor not, feel free to let me know.
From Joe K. : "I believe everything (except for the 6 man and the women's match) was shown before on a previous episode. It was about a month or so ago so it still seemed fresh."
The Badd Company/RPM's match and the Valiant/Rich match were repeats but the rest of it was new as far as I know. I didn't realize the Valiant match was a re-do until after I had done it or I would have just copied and pasted like I did with the Badd Company match.
From PMullin1987: "What a hot fucking show! Even with the 86-87 shows this is probably among the 3 best they've aired so far.
We got 3 tag matches that all featured awesome work, one of the better women's matches we've seen ever, and they even found a way to have something with Jimmy Valiant only suck a little.
Honestly though the one question I had after this show...what the fuck did Tommy Rich ever do to Lee Marshall? All Lee can ever do when Tommy's involved in something is figure out lame ways to call him a fatass. I wonder if Tommy pulled one of his legendary backstage stunts on Lee and teabagged him or something."
I agree on the hot show, and I've been wondering myself if Rich did anything to piss Lee or the promotion off to get buried on commentary like that. It's a little distracting when Rich doesn't even look THAT much bigger than he did in some of other matches in the early to mid '80s. Again, anyone with info, feel free to drop a line.
From Random Guy: "The Cobra Twist is the Japanese name for the Abdominable Stretch."
Thank you for that information. Now did you know that that hold was the favored finishing move of the Abdominal Snowman?
From Norm: "Great comments!
I consider myself a bit of an AWA historian and I love the fact that the AWA is on ESPN Classic. I think it's especially great that Vince had thought he had bought up the video library, but woops! ESPN still owns broadcast rights.
Anyway, just a few words about SuperClash III and the legend about Verne not paying the other promoters their fair cut. Funny thing is, to this very day, Lawler still whines about not getting paid.
Fact: Verne deliberately exaggerated the gate to avoid embarrassment. Fact: SuperClash III *lost* money. Fact: Lawler and Von Erich clearly did not draw; thus, they weren't entitled to anything.
Hey Lawler, 25% of zero equals zero! Get over it!"
I'm sure it's probably a little of both, where Lawler is mad about not getting paid off and Verne legitimately didn't have the money to pay him off. Most of the wrestlers involved and guys in the business seem to think that Verne actually did pocket money off of the show though, so I'd be inclined to agree with Lawler over Verne in that instance. I do agree that having Memphis' top draw and Texas' top draw in a main event in Chicago was a pretty retarded idea though.
Finally, from teijo kahn: "From April 23-
Jimmy Valiant vs. Tommy Rich
Jimmy's kissing babies on the way to ringside and I don't know about you, but I wouldn't let my kids anywhere near Grandpa Mushrooms. I will say that he only looks seventy here so that's a plus for him. This looks to be taped at the Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis and was probably part of the CWA's weekly show. Rich stomps the hell out Valiant as he rolls into the ring and then chokes him a little before picking him up and clotheslining Valiant down, mocking him and pissing off the crowd. The announce team is Lee Marshall and Diamond Dallas Page and it might not be long before I've muted the television. I'm just saying. Rich chokes out Valiant on the mat and he shoves the referee out of the way to drop a fist into Valiant's face. More choking as Valiant twitches on the mat. SOMEONE GET GRANDPA HIS PILLS!!! RIGHT HANDS FROM VALIANT AND HE SENDS REFEREE NUMBER TWO OUT OF THE WAY!!! Here come wrestlers from the back and RICH IS HAMMERING AWAY!!! VALIANT FIRING BACK WITH RIGHT HANDS AND A BACK BODYDROP!! Rich bails out of the ring to a chorus of boos and they're still slugging away at each other on the outside. Valiant flails away while the faces try to drag him away like he's going to a crooked 'senior living community' and he slams Rich into the post to bust him open. Valiant has a chair in the ring and Rich punches the falsies out of his mouth while the babyfaces hold Valiant down. Rich is in the ring doing the fired-up babyface routine. Uh, Tommy? You're the heel remember? Valiant comes back into the ring and there goes Rich, bailing to the outside and heading off to the back. Marshall threatens that we'll see this issue settled at SuperClash III. To quote Tony Schiavone "that'll put asses in the seats". Badd Company vs. The Rock and Roll RPM's
The RPM's start out quick, sending Diamond to the floor before hitting a HUGE double-backdrop on Tanaka. Lane slams Tanaka's head into the turnbuckle before he takes a big clothesline. Double-pancake from the RPM's and they're on fire in the early going. Davis is in the ring now with a right hand and he tags Lane back in who hits a big side slam before tagging Davis back in. davis whips Tanaka in for another HIGH back-bodydrop and the tag goes to Lane who gets a huge slam and a legdrop before tagging in Davis. Davis tags in Lane and he pushes Tanaka into the corner, Irish whipping him across and Tanaka tries the second-rope cross bodyblock but Lane ducks it and Tanaka hits the deck. Tag to Davis and he hits a knee to the midsection before tagging Lane in for a big vertical suplex. Lane hits the ropes but Diamond gets a boot to the back before getting the hot tag and going to town on Lane with right hands. Diamond slams Lane's head into the top turnbuckle and"
Yep, repeat matches. Sorry about forgetting about the Valiant match being on the show as well. At least we got a new re-cap on the Valiant/Rich match! Seriously, it sucks when I remember vaguely that matches look familiar and then can't find them in the old reports, so thank you for finding it.
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Post by CW .org .info .net on Feb 7, 2023 14:24:43 GMT -6
87?
AWA Championship Wrestling
Right to the ring tonight, this is the way I like it. We've got Rod Trongard and Ray Stevens doing the commentary and we're back to 1987 which means that it might be a pretty good show tonight.
Match One: Mitch Snow vs. Art Washington
They shake hands before the match starts and Snow is introduced as being a debuting wrestler, so I would guess this is his first AWA appearance. He doesn't look the part of a wrestler making his way to the ring. They lockup and Snow gives a clean break out of the corner, smiling when he does it. What an asshole. Washington pushes Snow into the corner off another lockup and Snow backs himself up to the second rope and cocks a right hand but doesn't throw it, breaking clean and trying to shake hands with Washington again. Seriously, what an asshole. Washington gives him the thumbs-down and essentailly tell shim to stick it. Another lockup and Snow gets a side headlock, transitioning into a hammerlock and Washington reverses it before Snow reverses the reversal and turns it into a standing arm-wringer. SNAPPING chop to the chest puts Washington down and then Snow takes him over with a fireman's carry into an armbar. Washington sells it by yelling and grimacing a lot, and when Snow starts dropping knees onto the arm, you'd think he was ripping it off. Hammerlock from Snow now and he hooks the other arm, pulling Washington into a pinning predicament for a one-count. Snow rides him back into a hammerlock and the crowd is starting to get a little bored, chanting it on the odd occasion. Snow cranks on the armbar, turning it into an arm-wringer again and yeah, I agree this is starting to get boring. Irish whip from Washington and Snow drops down before catching Washington the second time across with a drop toehold back into the armbar. Snow really cranks on it, putting Washington down and dropping a leg down on the arm before Irish whipping Washington into ther corner and missing a charge. Washington with a slam and he covers for a long two-count. Right hand as Snow gets back to his feet and he Irish whips Washington in for a back bodydrop. Another Irish whip and Snow gets his "lateral drop" that looks a lot like a hip toss/belly to belly suplex for the 1-2-3.
Winner: Mitch Snow (pinfall, lateral drop)
Match Analysis: BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORINNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!! BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRINNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!
Larry Nelson welcomes us back to the AWA studios and he had intended the interview time to be spent with Sheik Adnan El-Kaissie and the AWA Tag Team Champions, Boris Zhukov and Soldat Ustinov. Apparently DJ Peterson and Wahoo McDaniel beat up the Sheik so he and his men are trying to get out of the country. Instead of the furreners, we get some promo time from Larry Zbyszko instead!
In comes Larry Zbyszko and there's a five-way feud going between Nick Bockwinkel, Ray Stevens, Greg Gagne, Curt Hennig and Larry Zbyszko, with Nelson thinking that Hennig and Zbyszko are in cahoots. Zbyszko says that people used to believe that the world was flat and that once people are enlightened they learn the truth. Zbyszko says that if he's in such cahoots, why is he going into the ring and challenging the winner of whoever Curt defends the AWA Championship against. Larry Nelson is convinced it's all a smokescreen, which Zbyszko cuts off by saying it's all a conspiracy against him. He says that he was promised by Stanley Blackburn that he would get a title shot and that he's being left out in the cold. He denies working with Hennig again and then breaks out his NUNCHUCKS! He says that if he has to eliminate all the other challengers with them he will.
Match Two: DJ Peterson w/Wahoo McDaniel vs. Mike Tolos
Two side headlocks start things out for Peterson but he gets reversed over onto his back into a couple of two-counts before getting back to his feet. Tolos shoots Peterson off into the ropes and Peterson gets a clothesline after a big leapfrog and Peterson goes into a reverse chinlock. Tolos gets Peterson into the ropes to break the hold and Peterson goes for an Irish whip into a dropkick but mis-times it HORRIBLY and misses by a mile, with Tolos still taking the bump. To his credit, Tolos gets to his feet immediately and takes over on Peterson with a hard bodyslam. Swinging neckbreaker from Tolos and he covers for a one-count before trying to hook in a sleeperhold. Peterson gets a snap mare to break it and then hammers away with some forearm shots on Tolos. Irish whip into a big reverse elbow from Peterson and he covers, getting a long two-count before picking Tolos up for another Irish whip. Powerslam off the ropes from Peterson and he gets up onto the second rope for his "TNT" shoulderblock, knocking Tolos over and out for the three-count!!
Winner: DJ Peterson (pinfall, TNT shoulderblock)
Match Analysis: Peterson had a look but he just didn't seem like a worker to me. I remember hearing about him over and over but I could never seem to catch an episode that he was on when they were originally airing. He had a bit of a Magnum TA look to him but there was no way that he could work like Magnum. I assume they stuck him with Wahoo to try to get him some experience and make him a better worker, but since I don't recall much of Peterson after '88 or '89, I'd guess it didn't work.
Match Three: Arm Wrestling Challenge Steve Olsonoski vs. Kevin Kelly w/Sherri Martel
They have the table and the chairs set up in the middle of the ring and I'd wager they'll go flying before the end of this thing. Steve O says that Kelly has money he's putting up for any wrestler that can beat him and that Vegas is a party town that's putting him in a party mood. He says he wants a piece of the $10,000 that Kelly is putting up and then invites the ring announcer to the party too. Seriously, have some standards Steve. I know you're a jobber but I'm sure that there would at least be some chick in the crowd that would thrill-fuck an E-list celebrity like yourself. Kelly makes his way to the ring supremely confident and the crowd starts a "Steve O" chant to try to make things a little more interesting. Long story short, Kelly flexes, Kelly talks shit, Kelly backs away from the table a few times and then they arm-wrestle. Steve O almost wins, Sherri distracts the referee and Kelly pulls it out at the last minute, flexing again before kissing his muscles. Steve O tries to challenge him again but Kelly backs away and talks a little more shit. Really, he has nothing to gain from taking the challenge so he's right to turn it down. Olsonoski threatens him with a chair and tries to get the crowd behind him again and that's the end of the segment.
Winner: Kevin Kelly
Match Analysis: The same deal as EVERY OTHER ARM-WRESTLING CHALLENGE EVER! Yuck. The only thing to defend this is that at this point the angle wasn't completely played out yet, though it was already getting close.
Match Four: Sonny Rogers vs. Soldat Ustinov w/Boris Zhukov and Sheik Adnan El-Kaissie
Sheik has bandages wrapped around his head, I assume from the beating at the hands of DJ Peterson, mentioned earlier by Rod Trongard. Ustinov has a full head of hair that makes him look less like a Russian destroyer and more like a Russian cab-driver, but that's just me. The jobber tries to get a "USA" chant going but it's not really taking like he wants it to. Rogers ducks a couple of lockups before Ustinov finally catches him, shoving him into the corner and yelling. Ustinov kicks Rogers in the gut, hammers him down with a forearm and then just picks him up with a gut-wrench and drops him back down onto the mat. Ustinov hammers him down again and hits a big legdrop off the ropes that gets a two-count before Ustinov picks Rogers up off the mat. Reverse chinlock applied by Ustinov now and he picks Rogers back up for a BIG slam and follows that up by throwing Rogers through the ropes to the concrete floor. Ustinov follows him out and SLAMS HIM ON THE FLOOR! Zhukov shoves him back into the ring from the outside and Rogers actually gets a couple of shots in before Ustinov rakes him in the eyes and rams him into the turnbuckle. Irish whip from Ustinov into a backdrop and a HARD forearm shot to the back leads to a modified camel clutch-type move. Ustinov slams Rogers' head into the mat and then picks him up for an Irish whip into the RUSSIAN BEARHUG!! He turns the bearhug into a reverse atomic drop and continues to pound away on Rogers, shoving him into the corner for some choking before FLINGING Rogers across the ring with a hip toss. Ustinov chokes Rogers across the second rope and then chokes him on the canvas before hitting more big forearms to the back. He picks Rogers up for the RUSSIAN BACKBREAKER!!! Ustinov is walking around the ring carrying Rogers like a sack of beets and Rogers has had enough! It's all over!!
Winner: Soldat Ustinov (submission, Russian Backbreaker)
Match Analysis: Extended squash, which seems to be the order of the day today. Not sure what I've done to be punished with all of these jobber matches but I suppose it's my punishment for getting two good shows in a row. Ustinov looks REALLY weird with hair and it was distracting for the entire match.
We come back to Larry Nelson in the AWA studios, talking about the whole situation between Curt Hennig and Nick Bockwinkel at SuperClash II and that with Larry Zybszko possibly handing Hennig a roll of dimes, Ray Stevens got involved and tried to explain that there was a roll of dimes in Hennig's hand but to no avail. This has all led up to the match that we're going to get to see now.
Match Five: Ray Stevens vs. Larry Zbyszko
Zbyszko cuts off the introduction and talks some shit to Stevens but Stevens gets fired up and chases after him, sending Zbyszko out to the floor. Stevens looks in just terrible shape by the way, which doesn't fill me with a ton of hope for this match. Over/under on the first lockup of the match is three minutes. Start your clocks. Zbyszko's back to the apron, with the referee counting and he finally makes his way back into the ring at the count of six. Zbyszko circles Stevens and backs away before getting the referee in between them. The crowd chants "Larry Sucks!" and they ACTUALLY LOCKUP!! Stevens goes to the eyes and throws Zbyszko through the ropes to the floor, following him out to ram Zbyszko's head into the apron. Zbyszko makes his way back into the ring but Stevens just wallops him with right hands, following that up by ramming Zbyszko's head into the turnbuckle. More right hands from Stevens and he gets reversed in the corner with Zbyszko getting a spinning back kick to the gut before choking Stevens on the second rope. Bodyslam from Stevens and he gets a two-count before trying to ram Stevens into the top buckle. Stevens turns the tide with some rights and lefts and chokes Zbyszko in the corner and goes to the eyes again. More choking from Stevens and Zbyszko gets a couple of punches to the gut before Irish whipping Stevens across. Stevens reverses the whip and sends Zbyszko into the corner, snap-maring him out and dropping a big elbow that gets him two on a pinfall attempt. Stevens gets a side headlock on and Zbyszko shoots him into the ropes where they smack heads. Both men go down and Stevens is up first, trying to lock Zbyszko into a PILEDRIVER!! Zbyszko's legs hit referee Gary DeRusha on the way up and DeRusha goes down. Stevens is over to check on the referee and Zbyszko has BRASS KNUCKS!! RIGHT HAND AND DOWN GOES STEVENS. THERE'S THE COVER AND THERE'S THE THREE!! ZBYSZKO WINS!! Post-match, Zbyszko puts the bad-mouth to Stevens and gloats about his victory.
Winner: Larry Zbyszko (pinfall, brass knucks shot)
Match Analysis: It does what it needs to by putting more heat on Zbyszko because he cheated to win and people hate that, but in the grand scheme of things Zbyszko beat an old man that barely had any business being in the ring. It was there, it just wasn't very good while it was.
Match Six: AWA World Heavyweight Championship Greg Gagne vs. Curt Hennig (c)
Larry Zbyszko grabs the microphone during the introductions, saying that he was supposed to have a number-one contender's slot and that if he doesn't get a title shot at the winner of the match, he's going to sue everyone. Zbyszko pulls himself a chair up to the timekeeper's table and talks shit to some poor old man and we're underway in the ring!! Rights and lefts from Gagne and he Irish whips Hennig into the ropes for a HUGE back bodydrop! Turnbuckle smash on Hennig and another Irish whip into the corner with another HUGE back bodydrop from Gagne and Hennig rolls out to the floor. Gagne's all fired up in the ring and Hennig is taking his sweet time getting back into the ring. He finally makes his way back in and tries for a right hand in the corner but misses and Gagne gets one of his own into another Irish whip but Gagne misses the charge in, ramming his shoulder into the buckle. Hennig stomps away before ramming Gagne into the buckle again and hitting some hard chops. A big right hand puts Gagne down and Hennig rakes his boot across Gagne's eyes for a two-count.
More turnbuckle smashes from Hennig and he tries for a big one running across the ring but Gagne reverses it. He can't take advantage though and Hennig gets some forearm smashes before Irish whipping Gagne into the opposite corner, sending him through the ropes, shoulder-first into the ring post. Arm-wringer from Hennig and he yanks it over the top rope before Gagne fires back with some right hands. They trade punches back and forth and Gagne gets an Irish whip, trying for a dropkick but Hennig holds onto the ropes, sending Gagne crashing to the mat. Two-count for Hennig off of that and he pushes Gagne into the corner for some chops and right hands and a big slam. Hennig up to the second rope to try a kneedrop but Gagne rolls out of the way and starts kicking Hennig's leg out from under his leg repeatedly. Trip takedown from Gagne into a stepover toehold and into an INDIAN DEATHLOCK!!
Hennig goes to the eyes to break it up and pops Gagne with a big right. Hennig rams Gagne into the turnbuckle again before scoring with another couple of right hands. Hennig bites away at Gagne's forehead and Gagne fires back with some shots, slingshotting Hennig up and OVER THE BUCKLE INTO THE POST!! HENNIG'S BUSTED WIDE OPEN!! RIGHT HANDS FROM GAGNE AND DOWN GOES HENNIG! Hennig gets rammed over the turnbuckle into the post again and he's in trouble. Right hand and down goes Hennig and here's an Irish whip into TWO DROPKICKS!! 1-2..NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!! Larry Zbyszko breaks up the pin before the count of three!! Gagne goes to the outside and drags Zbyszko in for some right hands in the corner but Hennig comes up from behind with a double axehandle. Zbyszko holds Gagne while Hennig works him over with punches and HERE COMES RAY STEVENS!! RIGHT HANDS TO ZBYSZKO AND HENNIG!!! ZBYSZKO PUSHED TO THE FLOOR! BIG RIGHT HAND AND HENNIG'S OVER THE TOP TO THE FLOOR!! The crowd is going bananas for this whole thing and it's an even bigger pop when Greg Gagne is announced as the winner of the match.
Winner: Greg Gagne (disqualification, Zbyszko-ference)
Match Analysis: Really seems like it was only there to further the whole feud deal rather than to have an actual match between Hennig and Gagne. It felt like the first ten minutes of a really good twenty or twenty-five minute match that got cut off before it really got going. Just didn't do it for me, though I may be biased by how horrible the first part of this show was.
Larry Nelson is in the studio now, convinced that there's a conspiracy between Zbyszko and Hennig and he goes on about the controversy that is involved in the entire five-way feud with Nelson calling it the hottest feud in professional wrestling. Nelson says he's going to keep a shrewd eye on the Hennig/Zbyszko situation and see what can be uncovered. Yeah, cause if anyone's going to crack it, it's going to be that genius Larry Nelson. He runs down the rest of the show and tells us all to come back next week for more AWA wrestling action!!
Final Thoughts
Horrible, horrible show. The main event was starting to get a little heat on it but then they did the big schmozz at the end and cut the legs out from under what could have been a decent match. It was the parade of the jobbers for the first forty minutes of the show though, which made it nearly unbearable to watch. This one gets the big old thumbs-down and I'm going to move to the comments before the disappointment ruins my entire day.
Fun With Comments
From PMullin1987: "I must say that this show among others is proof that Hennig not getting a WWF title run and being forced to retire during his physical prime are the two biggest crimes ever committed against professional wrestling. Even more so than the introduction of Erik Watts to WCW viewers. "
Agreed. 100% agreed. Hennig should have had a run with the big belt in the WWF as he was easily the most entertaining heel they had. However, much like when Jake Roberts got face pops for attacking Hogan before they turned him, Hennig was so good he'd have had the crowd on his side instead of Hogans. Lord knows that Hogan would never have let that happen, so I'd assume that is one of the main reasons that he didn't get the run he deserved, along with the injury.
From Greg: "Jimmy Valiant coming out to Boy from New York City is one of the funniest things I've seen in ages. Valiant in his later years looks like and even more geriatric Hulk Hogan "
Valiant was frightening on a variety of levels and comical on a variety of others. That's not saying that he was good on ANY of them, but at least he could be perversely entertaining from time to time.
From The DDG: "There were definitely some NWA stars on the ESPN show in '85 and early '86. I have an old VHS tape of stuff I taped off TV in the '80s and there's a pretty decent Flair/Slaughter match on there that ends with a Boris Zhukov run-in."
Now THOSE are the shows they need to start showing on the ESPN Classic shows instead of the dregs from '88 and beyond. Go back to the good stuff in the mid-80's when the AWA was the place to be.
From Scrotum Pole: "Wahoo looks to be bleeding from the post shot and both guys are just brawling on the floor before Hennig fires Wahoo back into the ring.
Wahoo got posted? And he bled? Wahoo's forehead has more gashes than a a 300 girl gangbang.
And I love early Paul E. He still needs the Michael Douglas/Wallsteet style "home portable" phone with the extra long antenna. Best prop for a manager since Cornettes racket. "
Danerously reminded me almost exactly of Cornette, just with a little more of an in-your-face attitude. Probably the two best managers not named Bobby Heenan as all of their wrestlers ALWAYS got over, due in large part to the efforts of Cornette and Dangerously.
From Guest. : "You know, looking through this show, it probably was put together in October/Novemeber 88. Why, I don't know, but with the Soldat match and subsequent promo, I don't doubt they had no show and threw some random stuff together. Still, you featured two of the best talkers in the 80s in Hennig and Paul E., plus no real bad matches outside Soldat/Houdini, a good show even if effectively a clip show featuring guys no longer with the promotion, as well as dead. "
Yeah, it seemed like a weird show that had a jumble of stuff from '87 and '88, but hey, it was a decent show so I'm not complaining!
From OB1 Jabroni: "Summer break is here and us teachers think of 3 words: Beach Golf Beer!!! Now then, I gotta agree with the S pole about Pauly, the phone was an iconic part of his look, fit the time perfectly. As far as the main event goes, I did not get my rocks off like you did. Wahoo is just to old to put on a match to make me interested, to much of the same ol shit, unless he brings out the strap, then I mark out. I thought the show was crap-o-riffic from top to bottom. Going to Myrtle Beach, report back next week PEACE"
Different strokes for different folks I suppose. To me, Hennig made the match by making someone even as old and broken-down as Wahoo look like he was a credible challenger, which took a lot of effort. Have fun on the vacation bud, see you next week.
Finally, from Norm: "On the SuperClash III money issue -- Verne has gone on record recently to say that SuperClash III *lost* major money. He's totally out of the business and is 82 years old now, so he has no reason to lie.
He did lie about (well, exaggerate) the gate of SuperClash III (which Larry Nelson confirms in his book) to avoid the embarrassment of the actual gate numbers, which gave rise to the other promoters (i.e., Lawler) believing they got screwed.
Lawler is just pissed off he worked in a "major" event and did not get paid, even though he did not draw. True enough, hosting the event in Chicago was probably a bad idea, but SuperClash I was held in Chicago and was very successful (I believe the gate was in excess of 20,000...but they had Flair and other NWA stars on the card). So Verne probably believed Chicago was a "safe" venue.
In hindsight, I think the whole unification angle was not a good idea. There was no way Verne, Lawler, and Fritz were going to be able to agree on who should hold the title, where it was to be defended, and how long. Each of those promotions was billing itself as a "major league" at the time and needed the prestige of its own "world title" to get over.
The AWA could have survived and even thrived had Verne done two things: 1) Train, train, train new, young talent and 2) Spruce up the TV production. Instead he relied on old guys well past their prime because he could trust them and taping interviews in front of a peel-and-stick linoleum wall. "
Yeah, the production of the show was stuck in the early-'80s for the duration of the run, right up until the end. Judging from the crowd reactions to the shows in Nashville, the unification could have worked, but really Verne shouldn't have been a major player in it since he had no talent. Make it the AWA, use the AWA's timeslot on ESPN, but focus mainly on the Texas and Tennessee stars and have Verne take a backseat when it comes to the booking and it could have worked. The problem for me looked like it came when the guy with the least amount of talent was making the most decisions, which led to it all falling apart. As for the SuperClash III deal and the pay-offs, I'm not disagreeing with you that Verne lost money, just that he still stiffed guys because being the guy in charge means you have to pay people and if you lose money, you end up paying out of your own pocket. Lawler had every right to be pissed about it because he worked the main event of a pay-per-view and didn't make a red dime. Sure, the pay-per-view was crap and didn't draw, but he did what he could and had a contract that wasn't honored. If I had been in his shoes, I'd have probably been pissed too.
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Post by CW .org .info .net on Feb 7, 2023 14:26:09 GMT -6
AWA Championship Wrestling
Well, it seems as if there WAS an AWA episode on Friday, but damned if anyone, including myself, knows where to find it. I'll assume that it wasn't the most spectacular of episodes and move on to tonight's show, and if anyone know otherwise don't tell me. I'd hate to think I missed something good.
Larry Nelson welcomes us to the program, looking about three fingers deep into his fifth of scotch, and he runs down the show, including Greg Gagne and the ORIGINAL Midnight Express with Paul E. Dangerously. He also informs us that the main event is Larry Zbyszko vs. Nick Bockwinkel! Thank you sir, may I have another!! He runs down the situation between Zbyszko and Bockwinkel from SuperClash II and then throws it to our opening bout!
Match One: Rick Gantner vs. Greg Gagne
We've got Rod Trongard on commentary with Nick Bockwinkel and the bell rings to get this one underway. Gagne chases down Gantner before he hides behind referee, Scott LeDoux. Gagne chases again and Gantner takes a powder to the floor. Gagne must have been hitting the pool at the Showboat because he's almost as orange as his tie-dyed trunks today. Not quite Hogan-level orange, but it's getting there. Gantner gets back into the ring and they finally hit a lockup with Gantner moving into a side headlock. Gagne shoots him in off the ropes and eats a shoulderblock before leapfrogging over Gantner and taking him over with a reverse monkey flip. Gagne ges an armdrag into a hammerlock, barring the other arm. Gantner helpfully sells by shrieking "HE'S HURTING MY ARM!!" like an eight-year old getting picked on at recess. Gagne turns it from some reverse surfboard type move into an armbar but Gantner gets his leg on the ropes to break. Side headlock from Gagne into a standing hammerlock and Gagne's calling some spots before Gantner makes the ropes. Gantner gets a kick to the gut and then picks Gagne up for a sidewalk slam, grabbing him by the hair and working him over in the corner. Gagne chops down Gantner and backs him into the corner as LeDoux warns Gagne about the closed fists. Gantner goes to the eyes off of a lockup and then gets a falling slam in on Gagne before trying a slingshot splash over the ropes that gets nothing but KNEES!! The crowd goes mild and Gagne Irish whips Gantner in for a back bodydrop into a PAIR OF DROPKICKS!! 1-2-3, it's all over but the crying. The replay shows that Gagne threw the second dropkick before Gantner had completely turned around so he ate it pretty good right in the mush. Poor jobber. Poor little jobber.
Winner: Greg Gagne (pinfall, dropkick)
Match Analysis: The usual from Gagne as he does a little bumping and mat wrestling before getting in a couple of high-flying moves into the dropkicks to finish. It's the same match he's had with hundreds of jobbers before. That doesn't mean it's any good, it just means that it all looks really familiar.
Match Two: Sonny Rogers and Jake Milliman vs. The ORIGINAL Midnight Express (Dennis Condrey and Randy Rose) w/ Paul E. Dangerously
Al DeRusha threatens to quit when Paul E. takes over the microphone to introduce "the greatest tag team in the history of professional wrestling". Dangerously's pink tie and suspenders prompt some front-row goofs to give him a hard time. YES!!! Midnight Express entrance music, how I have missed thee. Randy Rose looks to be a young 80 or so and has a tongue that would make Gene Simmons jealous. Rose and Rogers start the match out, with Rose offering up a handshake and Rogers kind of hemming and hawing. Dangerously gets in Bockwinkel's face and uses his headset mic to say that the rule around Paul E. is that you speak when you're spoken to..the rest is kind of unintelligible, but some lady in the front row seems REALLY pissed at Paul E. Rose hits a legdrop on Rogers as we get back to the action and he rams him into Condrey's knee as Condrey tags in and whips Rogers in for a reverse elbow. Condrey gets a big slam and drops a forearm on Rogers before tagging Rose back in. Irish whip from Condrey and Rose gets a BIG clothesline, picking Rogers up for a slam before missing a kneedrop. Rogers tags in Milliman but he gets mugged by Rose almost instantly. Dangerously yells at them to "SET AN EXAMPLE" from the outside and the tag goes to Condrey with some punches before he whips Milliman in for a clothesline. Condrey throws Milliman outside to the floor and Condrey picks Milliman up for a big bodyslam as Dangerously comes by the broadcast booth again to talk some shit on Bockwinkel and his tag teaming with Ray Stevens back in the day. Condrey chokes Milliman across the ropes as Bockwinkel gets a great line in about how he's a generous man and since Dangerously has a big mouth and two feet, he might just help Dangerously shove them in. Rose snaps Milliman's neck across the top rope as Condrey distracts the referee and Condrey comes back with a fingernail rake across Milliman's back. Condrey with the snap mare and a couple of stomps as he works the joints of Milliman over. He mocks Milliman's back pain and then tags in Randy Rose. They slam Milliman into the corner and Rose gets another big bodyslam, going up to the second rope for a fistdrop that Milliman sells with four or five bumps, god bless him. Rose helps Milliman up and tags in Condrey, who works Milliman over with some right hands. Milliman tries to make a comeback but Condrey cuts him off and takes him over with a NASTY snap suplex. Condrey steps on Milliman to make the tag and in comes Rose for a big legdrop. Irish whip into a back bodydrop and Rose clotheslines Milliman before making the tag to Condrey. Condrey steps on Milliman again before picking him up and scrubbing his face into the canvas. He better be careful doing that or he's going to set Jake's beard on fire. Tag to Rose and Condrey gets a big bodyslam before slingshotting Rose over the top rope into a "splash" that looks more like a headbutt. They get the three-count and then lays a couple of stomps in on Milliman.
Winners: The ORIGINAL Midnight Express (pinfall, slingshot headbutt)
Match Analysis: Yeah, just because something is "Original" doesn't mean it's the best. The most entertaining part of this one for me was Paul E. spazzing around ringside like an ADD kid, yelling at anyone that came within earshot. The match was ok but it was a lot of repetitive moves from Rose and Condrey, which leads me to believe that this one went on a little too long.
After the break, Larry Nelson brings in Curt Hennig and he talks about the main event and how Larry Zbyszko is the reason Curt Hennig won the title. Hennig says that anyone who saw the tape, knows that Zbyszko only gave him advice and that he used that advice to knock Bockwinkel out cold to get the 1-2-3. Nelson brings up the roll of dimes and Hennig gets pissed, saying that he doesn't need anything from anyone and that when he started out in the wrestling business he worked his way up from the bottom. He says that he's a man's man and a champion's champion and that just because he's swept some of the garbage away from the AWA, people are coming down on him. He says that he's done nothing wrong and that he does things the right way. He calls himself the greatest wrestler in the world and says the he loves what he does and does what he loves, professional wrestling. Hennig already had the smug heel role down to perfection.
Match Three: Dennis Stamp and Tom Stone vs. JT Southern and DJ Peterson
We get a Mike Tenay sighting in the front row and he looks to be having a good time with Southern and Peterson making their way to the ring. Both faces have their tights in zebra-print and with the Brutus Beefcake "I had three hand grenades in my tights" look. Peterson and Stamp start things out with a lockup and Peterson gives him a clean break off the ropes. Stamp gets a top wristlock out of another lockup and Peterson tries to reverse it, tripping Stamp down and moving to an armbar after a legdrop on the arm. Stamp gets a knee to the gut and a side headlock, tagging in Stone. Stone continues with the side headlock but Peterson gets a blind tag to Southern before shooting Stone into the ropes. Southern threatens Stone with a right hand and he begs off..right into a dropkick from behind by Peterson into a bodyslam by Southern. Peterson dropkicks Stamp down and Southern dropkicks Stone before armdragging him over into an armbar. Southern really cranks on the armbar until Stone goes to the eyes to get a tag to Stamp. Stamp charges into an armdrag takeover and stays in an armbar for a second before Southern gets a hammerlock. Drop-toehold from Southern into a leglock and he gets a tag just as Stamp tries to break the hold by raking the eyes. Peterson lock in a hammerlock, tagging Southern right back in for an armbar. Irish whip from Southen and he hits a reverse elbow, following it up with an elbowdrop off of the ropes. Side headlock from Southern and Stamp pushes his way into his own corner and gets the tag to Stone. Stone locks in a side headlock of his own and turns it into a takeover but Southern counters it to a headscissors immediately. He transitions to an armbar and tags in Peterson, who comes off the top with a double-axehandle onto the arm. Arm-wringer by Peterson into a takeover and Peterson gets a one-count before grabbing an armbar. Stone grabs the tights and pulls Peterson HARD into the middle turnbuckle allowing him to make a tag to Stamp, who takes over with some right hands. Peterson fires back with punches of his own and he tags in Southern before Irish whipping Stamp into the ropes. Southern hits the top rope and Peterson holds Stamp in a bearhug position, with Southern getting a flying clothesline off the top. Think top rope Hart Attack. Anyhow, it's MORE than enough to get the pinfall and the victory for Southern and Peterson.
Winners: JT Southern and DJ Peterson (pinfall, top rope Hart Attack)
Match Analysis: I guess they were two bigger, well-built guys that had long hair so they had that going for them. They weren't terrible in the ring, they just seemed like they hadn't had much time to gel as a team. Considering this was one of their first matches together according to Trongard, it makes sense but it still looked awkward. By the by, JT Southern is an UGLY man. There are no two ways around it and all the long hair and zebra-print in the world won't hide that. Ah well. At least there's a solid main event coming to get me over the first-half of the show.
Match Four: Larry Zbyszko vs. Nick Bockwinkel
I've been looking forward to seeing this one for a while, so I'm rather excited. The crowd gives Bockwinkel a good-sized pop and HE ATTACKS ZBYSZKO FROM BEHIND DURING THE INTRODUCTIONS!! OUT OF THE RING GOES THE REFEREE!! RIGHT HANDS FROM BOCKWINKEL AND HE STANDS ON ZBYSZKO'S HEAD!!! Irish whip from Bockwinkel into a hard knee to the gut and a right hand lands into a front-facelock takeover but there's no referee to count the pin. Bockwinkel rams Zbyszko into the top turnbuckle and here comes Scott LeDoux to take over for the referee that was down on the floor. Bockwinkel stands on Zbyszko's throat and snap mares him over into a boot-rake across the eyes. HUGE right hand from Bockwinkel puts Zbyszko through the ropes and al the way out to the floor where he takes a moment for a breathe...NO HE DOESN'T!! BOCKWINKEL WITH RIGHT HANDS AND HE RAMS ZBYSZKO'S HEAD INTO THE RING STEPS!! Zbyszko pulls off the apron skirt trying to get back to his feet and Bockwinkel's back outside to CHOKE HIM WITH IT!! HELL YES, NICK!! He rams Zbyszko into the apron and then makes his way back into the ring.
Bockwinkel catches Zbyszko as he gets onto the apron and snaps his neck across the top rope, sending Zbyszko back to the floor. Zbyszko again gets up to the apron, but Bockwinkel works on the arm across the top rope before using the tag rope to choke out Zbyszko! This is all in plain view of the referee by the way, and Bockwinkel gets away with it because he's Nick Fucking Bockwinkel, thank you very much. Zbyszko whimpers like a baby and Bockwinkel stomps him in the gut, sending him back down to the floor to stagger around. Zbyszko tries to make his way up the steps but Bockwinkel meets him on the apron, CHOKING HIM ACROSS THE TURNBUCKLE STRUT!! Right hands and some stomps on the apron before Bockwinkel stands on Zbsyzko's throat again. He gets back into the ring and kicks Zbyszko back down to the floor and he's SMILING while he does all of this. TREMENDOUS~! Zbyszko SCREAMS at LeDoux to make Bockwinkel let him back into the ring and then yells at Greg Gagne at the commentator's table.
In the ring, Bockwinkel tells LeDoux to busy himself with something else and then gets to work, untying the top turnbuckle out of one of the corners. Right hands from Bockwinkel as Zbyszko gets back into the ring and he RAMS ZBYSZKO INTO THE EXPOSED BUCKLE!! AGAIN INTO THE COLD STEEL BUCKLE!! Bockwinkel picks him up by the hair for a big bodyslam and then clamps on a figure-four leglock!! Zbyszko scrambles to make it to the ropes but Bockwinkel holds on right until five before letting go. Bockwinkel fires up and kicks Zbyszko's leg out from under his leg before working it into a half-Indian deathlock. Zbyszko goes to the eyes to break the hold and that was really his only option, as well as his first offensive move of the match, more than five minutes in. Spinning back kick to the body by Zbyszko and he gets a snap mare into a kneedrop and then rakes his bootsoles across Bockwinkel's eyes.
Backbreaker from Zbyszko gets a long two-count and he moves to choke Bockwinkel across the bottom rope, dropping some knees on Bockwinkel's back before choking him again. Front facelock from Zbyszko now and he forces Bockwinkel into the corner, taking him over with a handful of tights for a two-count. Zbyszko gets a reverse chinlock that Bockwinkel breaks with a handful of hair, but Zbyszko stays on it, going to the eyes and RAKING at them with both hands. Right hand to the gut and a big slam from Zbyszko gets a two-count before Zbyszko gets an abdominal stretch but both men are in the ropes. Irish whip from Zbyszko now but Bockwinkel holds onto the rope, forcing Zbyszko to miss a dropkick. Kick to the gut from Bockwinkel and a BIG right hand puts Zbyszko down, with Bockwinkel covering for two before Zbyszko grabs the bottom rope. Bockwinkel stands on Zbyszko's fingers as they're wrapped around the rope and then picks him up for a bodyslam that gets another long two-count.
Side headlock from Bockwinkel and Zbyszko shoots him into the ropes and they KNOCK HEADS AT HIGH SPEED!! Both men are down and staggered but Zbyszko makes his way to his feet first, picking Bockwinkel up for A PILEDRIVER!! 1...2...NOOOO, Bockwinkel gets a foot on the ropes!! Zbsyzko drops his entire body weight onto Bockwinkel's knee as his foot is draped across the ropes and follows up with some choking. Zbyszko with some right hands to the body as Bockwinkel gets to his feet and he Irish whips Bockwinkel into the corner HARD. Another Irish whip attempt gets reversed by Bockwinkel and Zbyszko goes crashing into the corner, stumbling out into the ORIENTAL SLEEPER~! Zbyszko falls forward into the ropes to save himself but ends up locked into an abdominal stretch in the middle of the ring! Zbyszko grabs Scott LeDoux and pulls him into the hold, taking all three men down. Bockwinkel GOES INTO THE TRUNKS FOR A ROLL OF DIMES!! HE WAFFLES ZBYSZKO!! 1.....2......3!!!! IT'S ALL OVER!!!
After the match, Bockwinkel opens up the roll of dimes and drops them on Zbyszko as referee Scott LeDoux asks where they came from. Bockwinkel readily admits to waffling Zbyszko with them about a dozen times and then points at them PROUDLY! Scott LeDoux comes over to the announce table and talks to Rod Trongard. LeDoux says that Bockwinkel admitted to hitting Zbyszko with the dimes, but because he didn't see the punch, he can't make the call and Bockwinkel is still the winner!! FANTASTIC!! Bockwinkel stands on the apron and applauds the crowd before making his way to the back as Zbsyzko is finally coming to in the ring, covered in dimes.
Winner: Nick Bockwinkel (pinfall, roll of dimes)
Match Analysis: Honestly, I can't think of a better way for Bockwinkel to have made his exit from professional wrestling. This match had EVERYTHING. I loved that Bockwinkel got to cheat to win AND get away with it, still putting over his intelligence for wrestling, right up to the very end. Zbyszko sold it all like a champ and Bockwinkel was still in tremendous shape so this was fast-paced all the way. In my opinion, Nick Bockwinkel will always be underrated when it comes to the talk of the great champions of the world, merely because he never had a run in Charlotte or New York.
Larry Nelson's in the ring with Larry Zbyszko and he staggers to his feet. Zbyszko grabs the microphone and says "You and everybody else, go straight to hell!" Nelson tries to get him back and then Zbyszko says that not only is Bockwinkel a lying cheater, but that everything he's said about Scott LeDoux is true too. Zbyszko goes wild, accosting Nelson and ripping the microphone out of his hands, screaming about the dimes and the welt on his jaw. Nelson picks up the microphone and says that LeDoux can't call what he can't see and Zbyszko says that LeDoux might be stupid but he's not blind and he had to see it. Zbyszko threatens lawsuits for everyone and then throws the microphone at Larry Nelson before heading to the back.
Back in the studio, Larry Nelson runs down the day's action and he looks like he's finished off that fifth in the meantime, even slurring a word or two . He also loves to talk with his hands, I've noticed. Very distracting to see Nelson's limp-wristed hand flapping around as he talks. He brings up Fan of the Week, talking to random people in the studio and telling us that if we send in our cards and letters to Bill or Donna or Steve or Roger or Corey or whoever's around at the time, we could be the big winner! Then brings up Ninja Star Wars as the prize for being named Fan of the Week before sending us on our way, imploring us to come back next week for more wrestling goodness!
Final Thoughts
This was the absolute epitome of a one-match show, but it was ONE HELL OF A MATCH!! Due to the historic nature, as well as how great the match actually was as a stand-alone match, it MORE than makes up for the shitty first half of the show and makes this one a thumbs-up for me. Thank you for a great career, Mr. Bockwinkel. You deserve more praise than you're given. Before I get teary-eyed, lets get to the comments.
Fun With Comments
We've got a TON of comments left from the weekend and from the missing show on Friday, so let's get to them!!
From Guest. : "Maybe a good thing the 87 shows were skipped. Anyways, bad all around, although the Gagne/Hennig match was ok. At least Greg knew how to be a fired up pissed off babyface, making the match an ok one, without even needing Hennig to carry much of it.
Looking at Stevens, he obviously still knew how to work, but he was well past his prime, and really couldn't bump like he could in the old days. Larry did what he could to get a decent match out of him, and it wasn't horrible. I'm wondering why Larry wasn't a part of any of the '88 shows and then won the battle royal after Lawler was stripped. Did he leave the AWA and return, or was he strictly on house show duties? Anyways, best moment of the night was Larry Nelson talking about Ninja Star Wars at the end, which if you've read Bischoff's book, was an idea he took part in. So the first proto-Bischoff mention is made. "
And the answer to the Zbsyzko question, from Bryan: "To answer the first poster, Zbyzsko was in the NWA during 1988 (and later part of 1987) holding the short lived Western States Heritage title and then forming a tag team with Al Perez. I assume that he was given the win in the battle royal because he was a son in law of Verne and one of the few that would likely not jump ship.
Art Washington from the first match is best known as being part of a classic Ted Dibiase angle where Washington was hired by Dibiase to wrestle Chris Curtis. Dibiase deemed Curtis not worthy of his time and Curtis ended up destroying Washington in about a minute. "
From PMullin1987: "Just a really tough show to get into, despite Curt and Larry being on their game. Its really sad to watch a guy who at one time was arguably the best in the world in Ray Stevens so far past his physical peak, and says a lot about the talent pool in the 1987 AWA.
I dug the Hennig-Gagne match though it was totally for angle advancement, and its one of the few times where Hennig didn't have to basically wrestle himself.
Greg could have a good match, he just needed someone to bring the heat. Hennig could have a great match, he just needed someone who could hold up their end of the wrestling. These two wound up having really good matches that got killed by Verne's horrid booking of finishes.
On a bright note, if they stick with this chronology for a little while, we'll get to see the Bockwinkel vs. Zbyszko TV match which was all kinds of fun, and I don't want to spoil the finish for anyone so that's all I'll say."
Thank you for not spoiling the finish for all of the faithful readers! I've seen the finish, but this was the first time I got to see the entire match, so I was rather happy. I agree about it being a tough show to get into and I don't think it was very good. Gagne and Hennig could have good matches, but Gagne really needed someone with him to help him get to a decent match.
From Crimefighter: "A few notes on where are they now for the record. Mitch Snow passed away in 2001 from suicide. Art Washington eventually was paid $5000 by Ted Dibiase to wrestle in his place against another jobber...but Washington got squashed by Chris Curtis...bahahahaha...so Ted took his money back. DJ Peterson died in 1993 as a result of a motorcycle accident. Kevin Kelly of course became Nailz. "
Thanks for the info! I thought that Washington looked familiar but I couldn't place from where. Thanks for the answer to that one for me!
From the fresh: "Dj Peterson had a run with JT Southern, where they were pushed to the moon in late 1987. he then dissappeared to the central states for awhile, resurfacing in the AWA in the summer of 1990 to capture the Tag belts with the Trooper. "
Yeah, I'm guessing we're just starting the Southern/Peterson push. Bleah.
From Guest: "The idea of showcasing all three leagues might have worked if they rotated locations for each broadcast.The Old School wrestlings formula is ,When a wrestler got stale or quit drawing he would move on to another town.In the WWE they get recycled by changing shows or gimmicks. Some wrestlers never go away. "
They really should have gone from Memphis to Dallas to Minneapolis with the tapings and tried a little harder to get all three promotions over in all three cities, but with all of them on harder financial times, they probably had to go with where the houses were the best and Memphis always had great houses.
From Scrotum Pole: "They have the table and the chairs set up in the middle of the ring and I'd wager they'll go flying before the end of this thing. Seriously, have some standards Steve. I know you're a jobber but I'm sure that there would at least be some chick in the crowd that would thrill-fuck an E-list celebrity like yourself.
HAHAHA!Bullseye! Right when I read Arm Wrestling Match I thought "shit flying everywhere."
I may be off a month or year but was this when Sly did "Over the Top." A truly chessy movie from the 80's that had "and I don't care what you say I'm not gay, not that there is anything wrong with that," a great Kenny Loggins song "Meet me Halfway" and a role for the Funker.
Jeez I should have just pasted the whole match because "thrill-fuck" has now be included in my vocab right between fucktard and mangloid.
As for my poster name Scrotum Pole. I know some think its gay but cut my mom some slack. I'm Native/American and she has a bad lisp. "
Glad you liked the report and sorry to hear about the name thing. At least you're making the best of it.
From elguapo1974: " FYI... Mitch Snow's finisher was called the "Jam Slam." It was a combination Beale Throw/Power Slam. It is one of the most idiotic moves ever conceived. Knowing that Vern actually allowed smegma like that to show on TV just shows how miraculous it was that he stayed in business as long as he did."
It was a lame move, but it wasn't that bad. I mean Magnum TA got over to the point where he was nearly world champion with a belly-to-belly suplex. It just had a stupid name and annoyed me because Snow was already lame from the entire match.
From Crimefighter: "elguapo1974 - I dunno about that being the most idiotic move ever conceived. He double hooks him for a hiptoss and lands on top. I doubt it fits the class of worst wrestling move of the year award winners. "
I agree. I think I was just soured because of how shitty Snow had been in the ring up to that point and how BORING the match was.
From Guest#7802: "My question for you is" How and why did Zybyscho end up leaving the AWA?"
And the answer from Norm: "On the "Where was Zbyszko?" question...
Zbyszko left the AWA for a stint in Crockett's NWA promotion, which had just absorbed Bill Watts' UWF. One thing that Crockett kept was Watts' "Western States Heritage" title, which was originally awarded to Barry Windham. Zbyszko arrived on the scene and won that title from Windham (who was a babyface at the time) and became the midcard champion.
Windham eventually went on to the upper card as a member of the Four Horsemen.
Incidentally, when Zbyszko notified Verne he was leaving, Verne asked him to work the AWA's standard "suspension" angle, which worked nicely. Al DeRusha came on the air and read a letter purportedly written by Stanley Blackburn that announced Zbyszko's suspension, and Zbyszko went beserk. Absolutely hilarious.
The AWA was smart about how it handled defecting talent -- just suspend them.
Anyway, Zbyszko had his run in Crockett's promotion, but didn't go very far because the Four Horsemen dominated the scene. Verne needed a champion when Lawler stabbed him in the back, so he called Zbyszko, who by then was tired of Crockett's show.
The funny thing is, in one show before the battle royal that Zbyszko won to become champion, Verne came on at the intro and announced that Zbyszko was back. He said incredulously, "Larry Zbyszko is back. Where has he been? In some other league?!"
Uh, Verne, you suspended him, remember? "
From Steve: "Randy, I hate to tell you, but the schedule screwed up again, and we've got another episode of the AWA on ESPN Classic for late Friday / early Saturday. To put it this way, there is an AWA show tonight. In fact, I'm watching it right now as I type. I'll assume that you'll catch it on Youtube over the weekend. "
D'OHHHHHH!!!
From Randy Harrison: "I had no idea since I was doing a report on a Strikeforce MMA event. If anyone can post links for the episode segments or a rundown of the show so I can try to find them, I'll have a report up as soon as possible. Sorry for the mix-up everyone.. "
And we're all still waiting for that report, asshole.
From Scrotum Pole, again: "Are those reports available on 411 also? If so Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet! "
They are actually now available exclusively at the home for all of my MMA content, Nokaut.com. Be sure to tell all of your friends to stop by and check it out! I heard the editor is some guy that does AWA reports too..
From Rob: "All I could think about during Soldat Ustinov's match was how much he looked like Seth Rogen from Superbad & The 40 Year Old Virgin. Whoever thought he'd look like a badass with that hair should be forced to watch a tape of Greg Gagne's Best Dropkicks.
Speaking of which, and I meant to ask this question a while back - was there ever a wussier tag team finishing maneuver than the Rock N' Roll Express' double dropkick? I mean, even as a kid in the 80's, I just couldn't buy it as a move that would finish a man off.
Mitch Snow may have been the most unintentionally gay looking wrestler I've ever seen. Am I mistaken, or was he actually SKIPPING to the ring? What the hell was that finishing maneuver? "
We covered the finishing move before for Snow and yeah, it was pretty lame. I can't tell if he was skipping on the way to the ring, but it wouldn't surprise me to say the least. The double-dropkick being a finish would be good if both guys..actually hit the move. Usually the timing would be off by a second or so and one of them would either barely hit the guy or whiff completely, but I guess since they were the R n' R's and totally over, no one cared either way. As for Ustinov's hair, it was completely distracting and yes, it looked very Seth Rogen-ish. Just lame on every level.
From David Burcham: "I remember an angle involving Steve O from NWA Georgia Championship Wrestling. One of the heels (it may have even been Zbyszko, I'm not certain) revealed that the "O" stood for "Olsonoski." It was an effort by the heel to embarass Steve O by revealing he was POLISH! I remember Gordon Solie and Steve O trying to sell the name reveal as if a fmaily member had died.
And people think that some of the catalysts for TODAY'S wrestling feuds are lame! "
I don't know, if I was him, I'd be pissed that someone outed me for being Polish too, if only for all of the dumb Polish jokes he would have had to endure in the locker room. Plus, it's fun to see how some of the feuds started way back when. They may seem lame now, but at the time they made some semblance of sense.
Finally, from Norm: "Perhaps it would be worthwhile to discuss how wrestlers were paid back in the 1980s. I was a pro wrestler in the 80s, so I have some amount of experience in this regard. In today's larger promotions (WWE and TNA), guys get signed to a contract and expect to get paid the amount that's on the contract. In the 1980s (and earlier), wrestling typically didn't work that way. They got a percentage of the *gate*.
This is especially true in the case of Lawler. Lawler was both a performer (wrestler) *and* a promoter. He and Verne got together and shook hands on the deal. Let's "unify" our titles and I'll air the whole thing on my national ESPN timeslot. While it's true the AWA had very little talent at this juncture, Verne's title was still recognized as one of the big three world titles at the time (WWF, NWA, and AWA). The CWA and WCCW did not merit world title status then. So Verne was the one bringing both prestige (world title) and exposure (ESPN timeslot) to the deal.
Lawler brought nothing but himself and his chintzy Memphis title.
So anyway, the deal is something like this -- we unify the title, share talent, co-promote shows, etc. We do a big PPV event called SuperClash III. We split the earnings. Now I'm not sure what the agreed-to split was, but considering Verne had the most to lose, it was probably something like 50% for Verne, 25% for Fritz, and 25% for Lawler.
Thus, if a show loses money, Verne had to not only walk away with nothing, he had to dip into his own pocket to pay his creditors! And then Lawler bitches about not getting paid? Hello?!
That's what I meant when I said 25% of zero equals zero."
We'll just have to agree to disagree I suppose. I see your point that you're making and can go with it to an extent, but really Lawler had a lot of younger, fresh talent with him in Memphis. The guy that brought nothing to the table talent-wise was Verne. Verne was probably only involved in it because of the ESPN timeslot. If it hadn't been for the national platform, he would have been left out in the cold and SuperClash probably could have gone on without him in Dallas or Memphis to a bigger crowd and probably been a better show.
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Post by CW .org .info .net on Feb 7, 2023 14:27:27 GMT -6
AWA Championship Wrestling
No Larry Nelson intro tonight, just straight to action and GOOD GOD, that ring is really white. Almost retina-burning. It actually looks like the ring they used for SuperClash III now that I get a good look at it, for whatever it's worth.
Match One: Lance Allen vs. Mitch Snow
Allen is a musclebound job guy in long tights and Snow is..well, the boring babyface from the other night. This should be spell-binding. I don't know where this is taped, but it looks like probably Minnesota in a smaller hall or TV studio, since it's a small crowd and the lights are GLARINGLY bright. Allen pushes Snow to the mat off of a lockup and does the usual posedown spot, pointing at his muscles. Snow moves to a side headlock and gets thrown off by Allen. Snow motions for Allen to charge after him and then ducks away a couple of times, forcing him to miss charges before taking him over with a crappy hip toss. Allen stands there looking confused for a moment and Snow finally just armdrags him over, following it up with another one into an armbar. Allen gets to the ropes and that leads to Snow breaking the hold and the two of them locking up again. Allen was apparently a Wisconsin bodybuilding champion and shoves Snow into the corner again for more posing. Greco-Roman knucklelock time and Snow is immediately forced to his knees by Allen's tremendous power. Snow tries the babyface comeback and gets it, pushing Allen into the ropes before monkey flipping him over into some mounted punches. Another armdrag from Snow leads to an armbar to slow this frenetic pace. Snow drops a couple of knees into the arm and goes back to the armbar before getting shot off the ropes. Snow gets a cross-bodyblock off of it for two and then goes back to the armbar, prompting Allen to go to the eyes to break it up. Allen snaps Snow's neck across the top rope and makes his way back into the ring for a BIG slam. Elbowdrop from Allen and he gets a two-count before they trade punches in the corner. Irish whip from Allen sends Snow into the corner and Snow avoids a charge as Allen COMPLETELY EXPOSES THE BUSINESS with his shitty bump over the top rope while trying to throw a charging knee. That was horrible. Allen staggers back up to the apron and Snow slingshots him over the ropes and into the ring, hammering Allen down with some right hands before Irish whipping Allen in for a HIDEOUS DROPKICK!! 1-2...NOOOO!! If that had gotten three I might have turned the show off just out of principle alone. Snow tries an Irish whip and Allen reverses, missing a clothesline into the JAM SLAM~! for the three-count. Thank god that's over.
Winner: Mitch Snow (pinfall, Jam Slam)
Match Analysis: Really not the best way to start the show. Snow wasn't a very good worker and Allen was a HORRIBLE bumper. They talked about him being a veteran on commentary, but Allen looked like anything but a veteran. I really don't think I'll ever understand what they saw in Snow other than someone who was good-looking. No real reason for him to get a push, yet he did. I guess when you're clutching at straws, anything looks good.
Match Two: AWA Tag Team Championship Billy Bold Eagle and Chris Curtis vs. Soldat Ustinov and Boris Zhukov (c)
Zhukov has a chain and Ustinov has a HIDEOUS perm-looking hairstyle. I agree when someone called him Seth Rogen's older, less talented brother. Zhukov and Curtis start things out with Zhukov grabbing a standing arm-wringer and headbutting the shoulder before tagging in Ustinov. Ustinov gets a standing arm-wringer then tags Zhukov back in. More quick tags and abuse follow for Curtis, including a bodyslam and a HUGE legdrop from Ustinov. A tag to Ustinov and a double-Irish whip leads to a double-boot to the gut. Zhukov gets an Irish whip into the corner but misses the charge and goes shoulderfirst into the buckle. Curtis winds up and gets a big right hand before Irish whipping Zhukov in for a reverse elbow. Snap mare from Curtis and he gets a cover for two on Zhukov before tagging in BIlly Bold Eagle. Bold eagle continues on the arm-wringer and Curtis tags back in for some elbows. Front facelock from Curtis and he tags Bold Eagle back in. They trade arm-wringers with Bold Eagle coming out on top and tagging Curtis in again. Side headlock from Curtis and Zhukov shoots him into the ropes, taking a couple of shoulderblocks before putting Curtis down with a clothesline. Tag to Ustinov and he chokes Curtis against the top rope before dropping some forearms on Curtis, snap maring him over and picking him up for an Irish whip. Clothesline from Ustinov and he picks up Curtis to tag Zhukov back in. Double-Irish whip and a double-reverse elbow send Curtis down but Curtis goes to the eyes and tags in Bold Eagle. He gets a couple of good chops in on Zhukov before picking him up and ramming him into the top turnbuckle. Irish whip into the corner by Bold Eagle and he misses a charge in, ramming his shoulder into the ringpost. Zhukov tags in Ustinov and he takes Bold Eagle down with forearm shots to the arm and back. Irish whip and another big clothesline from Ustinov before he stands on the back of Bold Eagle. Tag to Zhukov and they slam Bold Eagle back first into the turnbuckle before cheating and choking away at Bold Eagle. Irish whip in from Zhukov and he gets a big back bodydrop, following it up with a belly to back suplex. Tag to Ustinov and he kicks at Bold Eagle before picking him up for the RUSSIAN BACKBREAKER! Bold Eagle screams uncle and it's all over!!! Ustinov holds onto the hold for a few extra seconds and then the Russians share a man-hug in the middle of the ring.
Winners: Soldat Ustinov and Boris Zhukov (submission, Russian Backbreaker)
Match Analysis: The usual squash from the Russians with lots of power moves and heel cheating. Like one of the matches yesterday, there was a lot of repeating spots which made me feel like the match ran a little long. Not the worst match I've seen, but certainly in line with what you would expect a squash with only one semi-decent worker to look like.
We're back from the break and some interviewer I don't know is with AWA Champ, Curt Hennig! Hennig comes in and thanks the loser for the nice introduction before saying that it's been great since he's won the championship. He says that everything that's going on is fantastic and that he's got Hollywood after him, including an offer from Hollywood Squares. Curt Hennig to block, indeed. He namedrops Vanna White and then asks for a break because he only has so much time. The interviewer asks about the controversy at the Cow Palace and Hennig doesn't want to hear it anymore. It's already done and settled and he says that Bockwinkel has been outwrestled and outsmarted and that he's on top. He also mentions that Greg Gagne will never get a shot at the belt as long as he's champion. Hennig runs down the list of challengers, including "Yay-hoo McDaniel" and he says that he feels like Larry Zbyszko is the number-one contender before promising to show them all why he's the Heavyweight Champion of the World! Yay-hoo McDaniel..TREMENDOUS!!
After another break, Larry Zbyszko's getting some mic time now and he talks about Oliver North and the controversy surrounding him and that he's a big hero now before comparing himself to Oliver North. He says that everyone has been after him for months about the roll of dimes and that no one saw it but Ray Stevens. He says that he was merely there to challenge the winner and that it made no difference to him who won. He says that history will prove for him the same thing it proved for "Uncle Ollie" and that there was no roll of dimes, Hennig beat Bockwinkel by himself and that 1987 is Zbyszko's year of destiny, the year he becomes a champion.
Match Three: Jim Evans vs. Adrian Adonis w/Paul E. Dangerously
Adonis has some EXTREMELY pink hair, while Paul E. looks like Two-Face or something with a hideous-looking grey suit on with black vertical stripes. Good grief, Adonis is huge here, probably pushing 400 pounds easy. Kind of sad actually. Anyhow, we get the match started and Adonis gets a rolling single-leg takedown on Evans and gloats over it before taking him down with a kneelift and a hard chop. He rams Evans into the top turnbuckle before raking his eyes across the top rope. Snap mare from Adonis and he drops a knee right across Evans' forehead before raking his nails across the eyes and back of Evans. Sit-out atomic drop from Adonis and he plays to the crowd again before locking on Goodnight Irene!! Dangerously is already bouncing up and down and running around the ring and the referee calls for the bell!! Evans is out cold!! Adonis keeps the sleeper on after the bell though, cranking it for a good thirty seconds extra while Paul E. and the referee try to drag him off. Verne Gagne's indignance on color commentary is pretty funny while Adonis keeps the sleeper locked in.
Winner: Adrian Adonis (submission, Goodnight Irene)
Match Analysis: More than likely here just to get Adonis introduced to the AWA crowd off of his stint in the WWF. Since it was 1987, he wasn't very far off from his WrestleMania III appearance with Piper, so he was still a big name and they had him squash the hell out of the jobber and show a little more of a mean streak to try to distance Adonis from the joke he had been at the end of his run in New York. Too short to mean anything, but at least I finally got to see a decent worker on the show.
Larry Nelson welcomes us back to the AWA on ESPN and here comes Paul E. Dangerously for some promo time. This should be tremendous. He calls Nelson "McMahon", but then clarifies that he's Ed McMahon to Dangerously's Johnny Carson. He talks about talk shows and "The Flower Shop" and how Adrian Adonis used to host it, how Jimmy Hart used to be his manager and that Hart couldn't handle the pressure of managing Adonis. He says that the "big money people" in New York called him up and told him that Adonis didn't want to be a cartoon character anymore. That he was sick of publicity and that he just wants to kick some ass. Dangerously tells us that he's the new manager of Adrian Adonis and that he'll take Adonis straight to the World Heavyweight Championship and if they want to face him two-on-one, he'll win the Tag Team Championship as well. He uses the Dangerous Alliance name, which could be one of the first times he's used it on the national stage, and says that if Adonis won the tag titles he could go up against The Original Midnight Express and it would be a great day because he'd get the winner's and the loser's purse. Dangerously says that he doesn't have to yell and scream because he knows he's that good and that the Dangerous Alliance are on their way to the top! If you don't like it, get out of town. The usual great work from Paul E., but the only quibble I have is that they probably should have shown it before the match with Adonis to make a little bit more sense.
Match Four: Steve Olsonoski and Jerry Blackwell vs. The ORIGINAL Midnight Express (Dennis Condrey and Randy Rose) w/Paul E. Dangerously
Paul E. gets the mic to do his usual introduction but drops it when Jerry Blackwell chases him around. Blackwell offers him the microphone then walks away with it, chasing Paul E. all the way to the floor. The awesome music kicks in and Paul E. grabs the microphone again from the poor ring announcer and he flails his arms in disgust as Paul E. calls the Express "Adorable Adrian's favorite tag team". This looks like our main event tonight, which I guess must be my punishment for getting such a great main event last night with Zbyszko/Bockwinkel. I believe the analogy would be like trading prime rib for dog food. Sigh. Verne Gagne tries to put over that the team that wins this match will be situating themselves as a number-one contender for the Russians and their AWA Tag Team Championships.
Rose and Blackwell start things out with Rose trying to slam Blackwell but Blackwell just stands there and holds his ground before slamming Rose down HARD. Rose heads over to talk to Condrey and then heads into a lockup with Blackwell, which leads to Blackwell being pushed into the heel corner. They try to double-team Blackwell but he makes his own save with right hands, forcing both guys out to the floor. They have a little motivational meeting with Paul E. on the floor and Rose makes his way back into the ring, eating a kick in the gut after he tries a lockup. Roes goes to the eyes and gets a couple of right hands before trying a couple of shoulderblocks off the ropes. Blackwell doesn't budge so Rose tries a cross-bodyblock and takes Blackwell down, but big Jerry just pushes him off, through the ropes and to the floor again. Paul E. is NOT pleased.
Blackwell tags in Steve O and he gets a side headlock on Rose before he gets shot into the ropes. Olsonoski comes across and pops Condrey in the corner a couple of times before turning his attention to Rose with right hands and forearms. Standing arm-wringer from Olsonoski and Rose breaks it with a kick to the gut, tagging in Condrey. Olsonoski gets an armdrag on Condrey into an Irish whip and he runs over Condrey and slides out to the floor, chasing Dangerously around and through the ring before Dangerously hides behind Rose on the floor. The crowd starts a big "Steve O" chant that the Express doesn't like and Olsonoski gets another armdrag takeover on Condrey, leading to a tag to Blackwell and he LEGDROPS CONDREY'S ARM!! Ouch. Tag to Olsonoski and an arm-wringer takes Condrey over to the mat with Steve O dropping some knees to the elbow before tagging Blackwell. Blackwell hits a BIG SPLASH on the arm and moves to a standing hammerlock. Rose comes in and gets a cheap shot to break the hold but Olsonoski comes in and gets a double-axehandle off the second rope,making a phantom switch with Blackwell.
Olsonoski gets a standing hammerlock but gets taken down with a handful of hair and Condrey tags in Rose. Rose charges into another armdrag and Olsonoski tags in Blackwell again, who holds Rose from behind to let Steve O come off the second rope with another double-axehandle! Headbutt from Blackwell puts Rose down and there's another headbutt that puts Rose through the ropes and out to the floor, ass over teakettle. Condrey sneaks into the ring and goes to the eyes before hitting a chop to the throat that puts Blackwell down. Rose slides back into the ring and gets a LOOONG two-count before he kneelifts Blackwell and tags in Condrey. Condrey goes to the throat again and tries to ram Blackwell's head into Rose's knee, but Blackwell turns it into HEADBUTTAPALOOZA!! Condrey gets sent to the floor and Rose ends up strung up in the ropes, Terry Funk-style, to eat three or four more headbutts and right hands before he falls back down to the floor.
Condrey's back into the ring and on his knees begging off, but Blackwell just grabs a handful of hair and tags in Steve O. Irish whip into a hip toss and Steve O gets a two-count before Condrey tries to offer an olive branch of peace with a handshake. Olsonoski shakes and then kicks Condrey in the gut and Condrey heads over to his corner to get some advice from Rose. Condrey calls Olsonoski into the middle of the ring for the Greco-Roman knucklelock and they're even before Condrey takes Olsonoski down and throws him to the floor. PHONE SHOT FROM DANGEROUSLY!! Rose comes off the apron and drops a double-axehandle onto Steve O's head and Blackwell tries to get the referee's attention, allowing the Express to heel it up on Olsonoski on the floor. Condrey tags in Rose and Irish whips Olsonoski in, setting him up for a big clothesline from Rose that gets a two-count. Front facelock into a vertical suplex now and Rose covers again for another two-count. Belly to back suplex hits for Rose and he covers to get another two-count.
Tag to Condrey and he takes Olsonoski down with a handful of hair before hitting a reverse chinlock. Olsonoski tries to get back to his feet and succeeds, getting some elbows in and taking Condrey down with a shoulderblock. Olsonoski tries again to get the shoulderblock, instead of making the tag, and pays for it by getting hit in the gut by Condrey. Tag to Rose and he goes back to the reverse chinlock on Steve O, dragging him away from Blackwell's corner. Olsonoski gets an Irish whip though, sending Rose into the corner and he follows it up with a monkey flip attempt but Rose turns it into a reverse atomic drop. Blackwell tries to get into the ring to help but ends up causing problems for Olsonoski as the Express make an illegal switch and Condrey comes off the second rope with a hard elbow to the head. Condrey gets a long two-count off of that one and tags in Rose before Irish whipping Steve O into the ropes. Rose tries a back bodydrop but Steve O kicks him in the chest and crawls over to make the HOT TAG TO BLACKWELL!!
Rose jumps around and freaks out like a kid trying to avoid their old man's belt but it's no use because Blackwell is firing off right hands on both of the Express, using his girth to smash Rose into the corner. Condrey comes in and starts to choke Blackwell across the top rope while Rose continues to work over Olsonoski with all four men in the ring. Olsonoski ends up rolling out to the floor and the Express double-team Blackwell before Rose gets some chops in. Tag to Condrey and they hit a DOUBLE-BACK BODYDROP ON BLACKWELL! Holy shit. That gets a two-count for Rose and Condrey slips in behind the referee's back and gets a reverse chinlock in on Blackwell. Condrey goes to the eyes and comes off the second rope but Blackwell gets a shot to the chin!! Condrey makes the tag to Rose but Blackwell gets over and tags in Steve O!! Right hands from Olsonoski and he rams Rose into the top turnbuckles before Irish whipping him into the corner. Right hand and a BIG bodyslam from Steve O and as he tries for a cover, Condrey kicks him in the head to break it, leading to Blackwell taking out Condrey and all four men brawling. Blackwell headbutts Condrey down and as the referee is getting him out of the ring, Steve O rolls up Rose for a pinfall!! NO REFEREE!! CONDREY CLOTHESLINES OLSONOSKI OVER!! ROSE IS ON TOP FOR THE THREE-COUNT!! The Express high-tail it out to the floor and celebrate their win with Paul E. on the outside.
Winners: The ORIGINAL Midnight Express (pinfall, Rose roll-up on Olsonoski)
Match Analysis: Well, they worked comedy for the first few minutes since that was about all they could do with Blackwell and it was entertaining enough. I don't think that there was ANY way that this should have gone twenty minutes, but it was better than some of the main events I've seen on this show before. Blackwell was WELL past his prime here and there wasn't any need for him to work that long a match, especially with a jobber as a partner. Ah well, at least the right team went over in the end.
Final Thoughts
Not a very good show wrestling-wise, but the three promos from Hennig, Zbyszko and Dangerously were fantastic. They were in no way enough to save the show because the matches were terrible, but they were still a lot of fun to check out. It really highlighted one of the problems with these AWA shows from 1987 though, in that they had so many strong heels and
Fun With Comments
From PMullin1987: "I watch the sendoffs for guys like Flair, and it saddens me to no end that this was all that a guy who was arguably the best of all time got in Bockwinkel.
However I enjoyed it immensely, and have to give Verne & co. credit that there was no better way to do it than as executed on the show.
It also showed the AWA had a long term memory in addition to the short-term. It was very strategic having Scott LeDoux as the referee, and when Bockwinkel flat out proudly told him he used the roll of dimes, LeDoux refused to disqualify him because he didn't see it, allowing Scott to get one up on perrenial rival Larry.
Everyone won here. Bockwinkel got sweet ironic revenge using the roll of dimes to pin Zybszko in the middle of the ring and go out on top while he could still go with the best in the world. LeDoux got to screw over the pain in his ass by blatantly disregarding Bockwinkel's confession because he didn't see it, and get the last laugh. Zybszko despite his loss still won, because he lost via illegal means, and because LeDoux was the referee continue on in his conspiracy theories.
I guess we're all a little dissapointed that the AWA roster didn't hoist Nick up and have an appreciative crowd cheer him to no end. But isn't that what a HOF induction is for anyway?
I don't think Mr. Bockwinkel would have cared if the cretinous humanoids did so after his match, as he hadn't his whole career. Nick never changed his character, as evidenced by the finish, but he just won the people over the course of his career to the point where he could've knocked old man Gagne silly with a roll of dimes and he'd have gotten at least as many cheers as boos.
This didn't get nearly enough coverage in 1987, and it still doesn't to this day, and I'm saddened by that. I don't care what anyone says, I don't think Ric Flair was even close to being in the same league as Nick Bockwinkel in any catergory what so ever.
If anyone has tapes or DVDs of Nick Bockwinkel doing what he did better than arguably anyone ever, be a good samaritan and share them with the world, because this is a man who far too few today have seen.
I salute Mr. Bockwinkel with an astute appreciation and admiration for his uncanny mastery of scientific grappling which he exhibited with exuberance and a particularly articulate nature. I salute the end of what has been in my humble opinion the greatest career in the history of professional wrestling. There will forever be only one Nick Bockwinkel, and in many ways thats a shame. "
I really couldn't have said it better myself, Patrick.
Now we get to some comments on Larry Nelson's book. First, from Norm: "To all the AWA faithful out there--if you haven't read Larry Nelson's book, I highly recommend it. Larry's recollection of some events and dates is a bit sketchy at points (which is understandable, considering how drunk and stoned he was back when the memories were made), but he shares a lot of the behind-the-curtain stuff that's a bit shocking.
Like how Road Warrior Hawk raped a teenaged girl and how Hulk Hogan was rumored to snort coke to get pumped up for his interviews. "
Next, from greggagnesucks: "What is the name of Nelson's book. Can I find it on Amazon? "
From sprite: "At first I thought I was watching the old ABC TGIF lineup, JT, DJ, flashbacks of Full House and Step by Step flooded the ol noddle. One of the posters metioned the book by Nelson, the majority of it is just overpriced firing paper, but some of the stories were fun to read. "
Finally on the topic, from Norm: "Larry Nelson's book is named "Stranglehold" and yes! It is available via Amazon!"
I haven't had the chance to read the book yet, but if I do, I'll be sure to let you all know how it was. I'm sure that Nelson has some stories to tell, but I'm not sure if he was as up to the day-to-day things since Verne loved to keep people kayfabed, even people that worked for him like Bischoff talked about on the AWA DVD. He probably has a lot of the backstage gossip, but that would probably be about it.
From Josh: "In the words of Harley Race, "I dont care what you think" Harrison
The Midnight Express theme music played on my TV and all is right with the world. "
Agreed. That music was outstanding and the entrance was always good, no matter which incarnation of the Express it was.
From Brett Williams: "Anyone know where I can find full results from all the Showboat TV Tapings?"
I'm opening this one up to the fans of the column, since I haven't the foggiest. I'm sure it might be out there somewhere on the internet, so we'll see what people can come up with.
From Guest#5305: "What do you mean "this week"? The Big K segments ended a few episodes ago! "
I have no idea what that means. I will say that I'm glad Big K is gone, hopefully forever.
From Kayfaber: "Wow, when did Verne fire Larry Nelson and hire Foster Brooks? The references to "Polish Joe" and the gang were f---ing brutal.
Until this show, I had forgotten how much the young Paul E. Dangerously looked like Michael Keaton.
By the by, I missed an entire week of AWA shows, and your reports kept me up to date. Thanks, Bro."
You're welcome and thanks for checking out the reports! I actually had thought of the Keaton thing as well, and he had the look down, just had to be a couple inches taller.
Again, from Kayfaber: "I had no idea this was Bock's final match. Maybe I missed the announcement -- or did Verne just let him walk off? Either way, yeah, he definitely deserved more. But I agree: the angle with Larry Z and LeDoux was well done, which you know too well was a rarity."
They pretty much just let him walk off. I think he had a couple of house show bouts after this, but this was his last real televised contest I do believe. It's an absolute shame that he didn't get a chance to get a proper send-off since if anyone deserved it, it was Bockwinkel. In true Bockwinkel fashion though, he didn't raise much of a stink or try to make it all about himself. He was a total professional and did things the right way. I honestly can't think of a better way for him to go out than he did though. It was quintessential Bockwinkel. I will agree that the angle with Zbyszko and LeDoux was fantastic and a good way to bring everything full-circle.
Finally, from Barack and Roll Express: "Dammit, I missed this one!! They will probably never repeat it.
I used to watch this back in the day and love/hated it, but now all the hate is gone. The "Original" Midnight Express did suck but Paul E. Dangerously was an awesome heel mouthpiece, very hateable. I didn't realize he and DDP came up through AWA with Shawn Michaels, Scott Hall and Curt Hennig.
Were there any WWF nationally syndicated wrestling shows at this time? I seem to remember Tuesday Night Titans (which was like a talk show) but I don't remember anything else except Saturday Night's Main Event which I believe was earlier than this. I thought Raw began in the 90's so what was before that?
I just finished watching tonight's episode and can't wait to read your review. I was a fan of Jerry Blackwell around this time and he could take some pretty big bumps for a guy his size. Sadly he was physically lagging by this time, but he took a big back body drop in the last match that was thunderous. "
I do believe that there was the All-Star Wrestling program and Tuesday Night Titans at this time that were syndicated nationally on USA Network and that there were the usual suspects like Maple Leaf Wrestling that went all across Canada. Outside of that, I think that's all there was in terms of the WWF shows besides the standard Saturday morning fare. If anyone else can think of any that I missed, feel free to let me know.
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