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AWA All-Star Wrestling for the weekend of August 5th The show opens up with Mean Gene excitedly announcing that , later on in the show, he would be speaking with none other than the AWA World Champion, Hulk Hogan. Ken Patera vs. Great Malumba Conspicuously, Patera came to the ring with a chain wrapped around his shoulders, like his stablemate Boris Zukhov. The chain didn’t really come into play, though, as he beat Malumba 5 ways to Sunday and got him to give up to the Swinging Full Nelson. Moose Cholak vs. Bill Rathke This was Cholak’s first appearance in the AWA since a brief run in the Southwest. He impressed the AWA crowd, both with the huge moose antler headpiece that he wore to the ring and with his swift dismantling of Rathke, polishing him off with the Big Splash. Interview with the Road Warriors Mean Gene mentions the finish of the recent AWA world tag title tournament and how the Road Warriors seemed to have the victory well in hand until Buck Robley and the rest of his army interfered. Animal replies that the Wild Bills knew they could never beat them in a fair fight and had to throw a whole army at them, but the Road Warriors would be ready next time and the Army would pay for what they had done, especially that big goof, Lord Humongous. Mean Gene then brought up their recent interview where they seemed to run down Da Crusher and the other AWA veterans and the rumors that, as a result, the rest of the AWA locker room were turning their backs and refusing to help the Warriors against the Army. Hawk reiterated that they stood by what they had said, that they didn’t need any help or any friends, and that they would destroy the Army by themselves if they had to. The Minnesota Heartbreakers (Jeff Sword and Tom Stanton) vs. Jimmy Garvin & Ed Wiskowski “Minnesota’s Handsomest Men” ™ were immediately taken with the several attractive women in bikinis that accompanied “Gorgeous” Jimmy and “The Polish Prince” to the ring and immediately tried to chat them up. For their part, the women wanted nothing to do with them and the Heartbreakers’ actions only served to annoy Garvin and Wiskowski, who then proceeded to beat the stew out of Sword and Stanton, ultimately ending the match with brutal Spike Piledrivers on each of them. Eric Embry vs. Buck Zumhofe Embry was making his first appearance on AWA TV, backed up by Col. Buck Robley and Maj. Cal Manson. Robley whispered something in his ear before the match that caused Embry’s face to split into a broad, evil grin. Whatever it was he said, it was bad news for Zumhofe, who would up inheriting a world of hurt from Embry. Embry seemed to be looking for the most painful moves in his repertoire and executed them methodically on Zumhofe, long after he probably should have put him away and ended the match. He finally put Zumhofe out of his misery with a sick looking over the shoulder neckbreaker, followed by a jumping piledriver. “The Flamoyant One” has quite clearly arrived in the AWA. The Wild Bills (“Wild” Bill Irwin & Billy Jack) & Lord Humongous vs. The Latin Lovers (Vinnie Valentino & Javier Cruz) & Samu The always popular Lovers and Samu put in a game effort against the World Tag Champions and their hockey masked partner, but for today were just outmatched by the size and power of the Army, with Humongous putting out Cruz with the modified Cobra Clutch. The moment the match ended, the Road Warriors charged the ring to try to get some revenge on Humongous and the Wild Bills, which provoked immediate retaliation by Robley, Manson and Embry to join the side of their Army cohorts. Notably, once the Road Warriors came into the ring, Valentino and Samu carried Cruz from the ring and left for the locker room, leaving the Warriors on their own to fight it out with the entire army until AWA officials forced them to clear the ring. It looks like the Warriors are truly on their own against the entire army. Da Crusher & Ivan Putski vs. Boris Zukhov & Prof. Toru Tanaka “Polish Power” Ivan Putski was making his return to the AWA rings and got a great response from the crowds, hoisting a keg of the beer to the ring to match his partner. Tanaka and Zukhov could not seem to get co-ordinated against the dual Polish Powerhouses, who teamed together like they had been partners their whole lives. When the ref was distracted, Zukhov tried to hit Putski with his chain, but Putski ducked and Zukhov hit Tanaka instead. Putski then hit the Polish Hammer on Zukhov for the victory. When he recovered, Tanaka was clearly not happy with Zukhov or Sheikh Kaissie but ultimately left the ring with them. Inteview with Hulk Hogan Mean Gene warmly greeted the AWA World Champion, who was still wearing bandages on his ribs from the attack by One Man Gang, and asked him how close he was to being fully recovered from that ambush. Hogan admitted that he still wasn’t at 100% but was still more than capable of defending his belt. Mean Gene then asked him if he was worried that his injuries would be too much of a disadvantage in defending his belt against the likes of Gang and Patera, given their dirty tactics and vicious allies. Hogan affirmed that he was not afraid of any of the Sheikh’s men, individually or as a group, and if his body wasn’t at full strength, his heart was more than enough to see him through. One Man Gang vs. Mr. Olympia Olympia was keen to get revenge on Gang for his attack at the big Milwaukee show, both for himself and his good friend Hulk Hogan, and was a ball of fire against the much bigger man. The match raged back and forth , with Gang using his massive size to try and wear down Olympia and the masked man pulling himself out of the fire and rallying back. Olympia took a big risk to try to and finish off the big man by climbing the top turnbuckle to hit a big move, but when the ref wasn’t looking , Sheikh Kaissey shoved Olympia off, sending him crashing to the mat. Whatever Gang intended to do to capitalize on this, we will never know, as Hulk Hogan immediately rushed to the ring and attacked him, defending his good friend. Patera, Kaissey and Zukhov charged the ring shortly after to join in the fight, but by then Olympia had recovered and grabbed Gang’s steel chain, swinging it wildly and clearing the villains from the ring. Although he had lost the match by DQ due to Hogan’s attacking Gang, he and Hogan stood tall in the ring as the show ended, showing that the war between them and the Sheikh’s men was far from over

Nah, just referring to the general history of wrestling ... given the supposed trouble between the original Precious and Pattie Garvin, I wonder if Pattie chose Sunshine as a safe woman to keep an eye on Jimmy on the road until she could do it herself.

Great, another family feud angle (what exact relation is cousin's wife? Cousin-in-law?)

Again, I ask , where is Precious? I keep reading that she first showed up in September-October.

Dutch and Bullet Bob in a 21 minute non stop brawl sounds like a slice of heaven.

He learned that move from Little Ed Pemberton.

Missing from the AWA : Cal Manson Bill Cody Bill Rathke Mike Vachon

The lineups for more upcoming AWA house shows have been announced. AWA at Boylan High School, Rockford, IL , August 13th The Minnesota Heartbreakers (Sword, Stanton & Brewer) vs. The Latin Lovers & Iceman Parsons Ivan Putski vs. Sheikh Adnan Kaissie Ed Wiskowski vs. Moose Cholak Eric Embry vs. Samu Mr. Olympia & Da Crusher vs. Boris Zukhov & Prof. Toru Tanaka AWA at The Mecca, Milwaukee Moose Cholak vs. Buck Zumhofe The Latin Lovers vs. The Minnesota Heartbreakers (Sword & Brewer) Eric Embry vs. Samu AWA Light Heavyweight Title Match : Jimmy Garvin © vs. Iceman Parsons The Wild Bills & Lord Humongous vs. The Road Warriors & ? Big 8 Man Tag Match : Hulk Hogan, Mr. Olympia, Da Crusher & Ivan Putski vs. Ken Patera, One Man Gang, Boris Zukhov & Prof. Toru Tanaka with special guest referee, TV's Eddie Mekka

Upcoming shows, will do my best to get these out a lot quicker. AWA All-Star Wrestling , August 6th Ken Patera vs. Great Malumba Moose Cholak vs. Bill Rathke The Minnesota Heartbreakers (Jeff Sword & Tom Stanton) vs. Jimmy Garvin & Ed Wiskowski "Flamboyant" Eric Embry vs. Buck Zumhofe The Wild Bills ("Wild" Bill Irwin & Billy Jack) & Lord Humongous vs. The Latin Lovers (Vinnie Valentino & Javier Cruz) & Samu Da Crusher & Ivan Putski vs. Boris Zukhov & Prof. Toru Tanaka One Man Gang vs. Mr. Olympia Plus interview with the Road Warriors & Hulk Hogan AWA at the Met Center, Bloomington, MN, August 6th Moose Cholak vs. Great Malumba Lord Humongous vs. Buck Zumhofe The Latin Lovers vs. Eric Embry & Buck Robley Da Crusher, Ivan Putski & Samu vs. Sheikh Adnan Kaissie, Boris Zukhov & Prof. Toru Tanaka AWA Light Heavyweight Title Match : Jimmy Garvin © vs. Iceman Parsons AWA World Tag Team Title rematch : The Wild Bills © vs. The Road Warriors Hulk Hogan & Mr. Olympia vs. Ken Patera & One Man Gang

Oh believe me, I am not done with Zumhofe next. Martel stands up for all that is true and Canadian.

Since I have lapped myself, this will be short and sweet. AWA All-Star Wrestling for the weekend of July 29th The show comes up with an announcement that the matches on the show were recorded before the recent show in Milwaukee. This is followed by clips of the Milwaukee show : various matches in the tournament, Mr. Olympia pinning Lanny Poffo, One Man Gang attacking Hulk Hogan during his match with Ken Patera, Da Crusher dropping the keg on top of Toru Tanaka and , finally, the brutal ambush of Col. Buck Robley’s army on The Road Warriors, ending with the Army marching from the ring with the World Tag Title belts. Mean Gene then announced that he recorded an interview with Col. Buck Robley’s Army (Col. Buck Robley, Maj. Cal Manson , Eric Embry, the Wild Bills and the mysterious masked man) after the show in the AWA studios. Mean Gene : Buck Robley, what you just did in Milwaukee was one of the most despicable acts I have ever witnessed. I know the Road Warriors injured your arm , but the attack you perpetrated on them … why, that was uncalled for! Robley : Shut your face, Okerlund! I told you to call me the Colonel! Road Runners, you thought I was just an old man. Well, when you kick an old dog, he bites back! Now you don’t look so cocky, you ain’t got no belts, and all you have are some bruises courtesy of my man here and the rest of the army! Mean Gene : Who is this man you brought in to attack the Road Warriors? Is this Je-? Robley : Don’t say that name! That man is no more! This is the man! This is the Ayatollah of Rock & Rollah! This is … Lord Humongous! Mean Gene : Eric Embry, what the devil are you doing here in the AWA? The last anyone had heard of you, you were on the west coast. Eric Embry (smirking) : Don’t you worry your little bald head about that, Gene. Let’s just say that the Colonel and I have come to an agreement, and I am proud to serve in his Army. And now that I have had a good look at the AWA … heh heh heh .. well, I’m fixin’ to have me a good ole time! Ed Wiskowski vs. Buck Zumhofe Wiskowski beat Zumhofe like he owed him money, hitting a vicious shoulder breaker before getting the win with the face first piledriver. Iceman Parsons vs. Bill Rathke Iceman strutted his stuff to the cheers of the fans and easily dominated Rathke before ending the match with the top rope Rumper Stumper. Ken Patera vs. Samu Samu threw everything he had against Patera, but the big power lifter waited him out and caught him coming off the ropes in a bear hug to force the popular Samoan to give up. Mr. Olympia vs. Bill Cody A quick paced bout between the masked man and the veteran that ended with Olympia locking in the Sleeper on Cody. Rick Martel vs. Sheikh Adnan Kaissie Martel clearly had the advantage over Kaissie until Boris Zukhov charged the ring with his chain, leading to a DQ victory for Martel. Da Crusher vs. Boris Zukhov The Sheikh tried to interfere in the match, but Martel came to ringside and pulled him off the ring apron. In the confusion, Crusher hit Zukhov with a Bolo Punch to get the pin. Cut to the AWA studios, for another interview after the Milwaukee show. First, Sheikh Adnan Kaissie, Ken Patera, Boris Zukhov and One Man Gang. Patera : I told you , Hogan. I TOLD YOU! There is one more, and here he is … the Big 747, the One Man Gang! We drew you into our trap, Hogan, and like the no talent muscle head you are, you fell for it, hook , line and sinker! It’s only a matter of time, Hogan, and we will pick that title belt off your broken and battered body! One Man Gang : How are those ribs, Hogan? We gave you every warning, and you still didn’t see it coming. You were too dumb to get out of the way, and you are still too dumb to quit while you can, so we are going to have to teach you another lesson. You watch your back, Hogan, because when we decide to take you out for good, even your little masked friend won’t be able to save you. Cut to a later interview. Hulk Hogan is alone in the room. His face and neck are badly bruised and his ribs are heavily taped. He speaks in a quiet tone, unlike his usual high energy self. Hogan : I let you down, folks. I knew they were dangerous, I knew they wouldn’t fight fair, but I thought I had them spotted. I was ready for Patera, ready for the Sheikh, ready for Zukhov … I should have been ready for the unknown. And they did their damage … I’m man enough to admit it. Black eye, bruised ribs … they knocked me down and they left their mark. But I am still standing, I’m still ready to fight, and I still have the title. And by God, I will not give them the satisfaction of giving in to them. Sheikh … Patera … One Man Gang … I don’t care what or who you throw at me. I will not be taken for a fool again and when I get you in my sights, I am going to run over you like a freight train! And what are you going to do then, Patera, when the AWA Champion runs wild on you? … (hmmm, like that, think I’ll use it again) … July 29th, Winnipeg Arena, Winnipeg Moose Cholak vs. "Buffalo" Bill Cody Moose Cholak made his debut in the AWA after a short stay in Southwestern and beat Bill Cody with a big splash. Eric Embry vs. "The Flying Samoan" Samu Embry made his AWA debut accompanied by Col. Buck Robley and beat Samu with a cradle suplex. Mr. Olympia vs. Prof. Toru Tanaka After an intense brawl, Olympia finally hit Tanaka with a flying dropkick to get the win Lord Humongous vs. "Rock & Roll" Buck Zumhofe After his appearance at the Milwaukee show, the masked Lord Humongous had his first match with Col. Buck Robley and Maj. Cal Manson in his corner and destroyed Zumhofe in 90 seconds, causing him to pass out in a modified Cobra Clutch. Da Crusher vs. Sheikh Adnan Kaissie Crusher easily disposed of the Sheikh with a Bolo Punch. Boris Zukhov tried to attack him after the match, but Crusher fended him off by swinging a chair. AWA World Tag Team Title Match : The Wild Bills ("Wild" Bill Irwin & Billy Jack) © vs. The Latin Lovers (Vinnie Valentino & Javier Cruz) The Latin Lovers put up a valiant effort but were just bullied down by the Bills, with Billy Jack beating Valentino with a Full Nelson. NWA Canadian Champion Rick Martel vs. Boris Zukhov (non-title) Kaissie tried to pass Zukhov the chain, but Crusher rushed to ringside and grabbed it from him. As Crusher and Kaissie slugged it out, Martel hit a slingshot splash on Zukhov for the hard fought victory. Cage Match : AWA Light Heavyweight Champion "Gorgeous" Jimmy Garvin vs. Iceman "King" Parsons (non-title) After a long, bloody brawl, Parsons caught Garvin in the top rope Rumper Stumper for the win. Afterwards, Parsons was demanding a title shot, but Garvin would not answer, rushing to the locker room with Ed Wiskowski in tow.

Instead, Polish Power will be coming to the midwest, as the AWA welcomes Ivan Putski.

BTW Cross Face has authorized me to make the pick for the AWA.

At some point Maple Leaf Wrestling became basically Superstars in all but name. I remember watching another show that was on the station from Kingston that was pretty much Challenge, except the last match was an arena match, usually from Toronto. I watched for the Al Perez matches and Shane Douglas' war with Haku

True story : way back in the day, when I first started watching wrestling (between WrestleMania and WrestleMania 2), WWF Maple Leaf Wrestling had their own separate Canadian tapings where everyone was moved up a notch. We usually didn't get the top level guys, the mid-card and upper job guys were competitive and even got some wins. George Wells got a fair sized push (he was a former Saskatchewan Roughrider) and was, no fooling, my favorite wrestler for a bit. It damned near broke my heart when, on a visit to my grandparents in Newfoundland, I watched a US broadcast of Superstars and saw Wells being used as a jobber.

No way I would have figured George Wells would be the first to go. Not a dig on your pick, I was slightly hoping we would be able to grab him (but not too optimistic given our placement) but not the guy I would have figured to be grabbed first.

How much longer until we skip down to dawho?

Fabs should have known better than to mess with the Wild Bills.

Just a heads up, my shows will be a couple of days late this week. Just the way the week has worked out. They should be up by the weekend. Thanks for your patience.

The AWA World Tag Team champions : The Wild Bills ("Wild" Bill Irwin & Billy Jack)

Cool idea except for the abbreviation

Verne just hasn't had his medicine today.

See, how could I possibly leave the AWA and all of this awesomeness?

Here is the upcoming schedule for the AWA for the month of August, 1983 : Wednesday, August 3 : TV Taping, St. Paul Civic Center, St. Paul, MN Friday, August 6 : AWA All-Star Wrestling Friday, August 6 : Met Center, Bloomington, MN Friday, August 12 : AWA All-Star Wrestling Friday, August 12 : Boylan High School, Rockford, IL Wednesday, August 17 : TV Taping, St. Paul Civic Center, St. Paul, MN Friday, August 19 : AWA All-Star Wrestling Friday, August 19 : The Mecca, Milwaukee, WI Friday, August 26 : AWA All-Star Wrestling Friday, August 26 : Winnipeg Arena, Winnipeg, Manitoba Wednesday, August 31 : TV Taping, St. Paul Civic Center, St. Paul, MN

I am going to pull the trigger and take my name off the waiting list (which, at this point, means the list is empty). If for some reason CFCW decides to bow out (which I am certainly hoping he does not do, I am enjoying working with him), I would be interested in assuming full control of the AWA but for now, I am happy with my current situation and not interested in taking over another territory. I will let folks know if that changes.