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All good on my front.

AWA show at Boylan High School, Rockford, IL , August 24th The Can-Am Express vs. The Youngbloods Wellington caught Lafon in an attempted running cross body and reversed it into a belly to belly piledriver for the win Jake Roberts & Cactus Jack vs. Bob Orton & Sabu Roberts pinned Sabu after a DDT Buddy Rose vs. Cpl. Scott Hall Hall won with a spinning side slam The British Bullies vs. Chavo & Hector Guerrero Hector caught Jones in the Guerrero Clutch for the one two three Bill Dundee vs. Fit Finlay Dundee blocked a piledriver and was able to hit a sunset flip to score a very hard fought victory Chris Adams vs. Harley Race Race dodged the Superkick, then hit a low blow followed by a belly to belly suplex to get the win Too Cold Scorpio vs. Leo Burke A tight match that ended up into dueling rollups with Burke ending up on top Badd Company vs. The Sheepherders An out of control brawl that ended up in a double DQ AWA Southern Title Match : Tom Zenk © vs. Mando Guerrero Zenk prevailed in his first title defense by pinning the former champ after a top rope missile dropkick AWA Six Man Tag Team Title Match : Nick Bockwinkel, Larry Zbyszko & Masa Saito © vs. Brian Pillman, Shane Douglas & Mark Starr Saito hit a number of Saito Suplexes on Douglas before making him give up to the Jailhouse Lock AWA World Title Match : Ricky Steamboat © vs. Col. Debeers A bruising move where Debeers really took it to the champ but ultimately, Steamboat came through in the end with a top rope flying cross body press

This is current, up to the minute roster for the AWA, not factoring in upcoming trades : Ricky Steamboat Steve Blackman Biff Wellington Greg Gagne Sgt. Slaughter Brian Pillman Phil Lafon Paul Diamond Pat Tanaka Steven Regal Norman Smiley Al Perez Cactus Jack Great Kabuki Ronnie Garvin Leon White Too Cold Scorpio Doug Furnas Bill Dundee Shane Douglas Scott Hall Dan Spivey Chris Adams Mark Starr Sunshine Kevin Sullivan Roddy Piper Bob Orton Dave Taylor Jeff Gaylord Marty Jones Harley Race Larry Zbyszko Buddy Rose Col. Debeers Leo Burke Jerry Blackwell Ken Patera Maxx Paine Mando Guerrero Chavo Guerrero Hector Guerrero Mr. Saito David “Fit” Finlay Larry Cameron Nick Bockwinkel Tom Zenk Jake Roberts Nord The Barbarian Sheikh Adnan Kaissey

AWA Show from the International Amphitheater, Chicago, August 23rd Leo Burke vs. Mark Starr Burke put Starr out with the Sleeper Hold The Youngbloods vs. The Can-Am Express Blackman caught Lafon with the bicycle kick, but didn't notice that Lafon had made the blind tag to Furnas, who blindsided Blackman with a dropkick to the back of the head, followed by a running splash to get the pinfall The Great Kabuki vs. Kevin Sullivan Kabuki won with the Thrust Kick to the jaw Brian Pillman & Shane Douglas vs. Death Sentence Interference by Kevin Sullivan led to Death Sentence pinning Douglas after the Execution Chris Adams vs. Dave Taylor Adams won with a belly to back suplex Jake Roberts vs. Bill Dundee A back and forth match that ended when Roberts hit the DDT for the victory AWA Southern Tag Team Title : British Steel © vs. Black Irish Smiley countered a running power slam attempt by Cameron with a slide down and a sunset flip to defend their belts AWA American Title Match : Bob Orton © vs. Al Perez An intense, technical bout that ended with Orton blocking the German Suplex and hitting a back breaker, followed by a Superplex to get the final pinfall

Cactus vs. Sabu is not meant so much as a showcase but the youngest guys in the Snakepit and Piper's Pit feuding with each other but yeah, it was probably too high on the card. The crazy ending was more for foreshadowing for something further down the line. There was a Gaea heel stable in the 90s/00s called Superstar Unit and the name stuck in my mind, so I appropriated it for Dundee's team. I try to give the rookies some victories when I can but am very careful about how and with whom. Tonight was a paying dues match. I just love the idea of Piper and Orton as a team, with Orton as the bodyguard both in and out of the ring. Piper is the mouthy guy who knows how to be sneaky, but when his mouth takes things too far, the Ace is there to drop the hammer.

AWA show from the Mecca, Milwaukee, August 22nd (as shown on ESPN / TSN Super Cards) Mando & Hector Guerrero vs. Larry Zbyszko & Masa Saito Larry was going for an over the shoulder neckbreaker on Hector, but Hector blocked it and reversed into a backslide to get the one two three Bill Dundee, Shane Douglas, Brian Pillman & Mark Starr vs. Ken Patera, Jerry Blackwell & the British Bullies Superstar Unit put in an heroic effort but when Douglas was going for a running cross body press, Blackwell caught him in a power slam to put an end to their challenge Chavo Guerrero vs. Nick Bockwinkel Chavo had Bock set up for a German Suplex, but Bock blocked it and reversed it into a roll up with a fistful of trunks to get the tainted win Cactus Jack vs. Sabu In an incredibly crazy match, Sabu won by DQ when Cactus executed a piledriver on the ref Sgt. Slaughter, Cpl. Scott Hall & Too Cold Scorpio vs. Buddy Rose, Col. Debeers & Harley Race Hall capped off an intense battle with a truly impressive display of strength when he hit the Corporal Punishment on Buddy Rose and scored the victory for the Cobra Corps AWA Southern Title Match : Pat Tanaka © vs. Tom Zenk The match got off to a rocky start when the Sheepherders attacked Tanaka before the match and hurt his neck. Tanaka fought valiantly but, when the Sheepherders showed up again later in the match to distract him, Zenk nailed him with a Superkick in the back of the head to win the match and the title. A sad end to Tanaka's epic Southern title reign AWA World Tag Team Title Match : Roddy Piper & Bob Orton © vs. Ron Garvin & Chris Adams Garvin caught Piper with a top rope sunset flip, but Orton nailed him with a lariat and reversed to pinfall to give the victory to the champs AWA World Title Match : Rick Steamboat © vs. TNT A blistering hot rematch that ended when Steamboat dodged a thrust kick and hit a belly to back suplex on the Puerto Rican superstar to come out on top

Chicky Starr and Jos Leduc always makes for crazy, fun times.

AWA All-Star Wrestling on ESPN / TSN for August 22nd Brian Pillman, Shane Douglas & Mark Starr vs. Des Quilty, Evan Jones & Peter Feighehen After a break for coverage of the International Sportsball Championship, the AWA returns to ESPN / TSN with a fast paced six man match. Recently Bill Dundee has taken some of the younger wrestlers under his wing in a group that has been dubbed Superstar Unit, and this time out he was at ringside as his young charges took on a trio of Dundee's fellow Australians. Pillman got the most cheers with his boundless enthusiasm and charisma, and Douglas pulled off some impressive suplexes and dropkicks, but it was Starr who got the victory with a lightning quick running cross body on Quilty that got the pinfall. These talented up-and-comers clearly are learning a lot under the guidance of the veteran Dundee. Harley Race vs. Too Cold Scorpio The legendary Harley Race has proven to be a tough new addition to Playboy After Dark, and Buddy Rose was looking pleased as punch to have the multi time NWA world champion fighting under his banner. He was using Race as his personal attack dog to go after the junior member of the Cobra Corps, and Race showed all the cunning and ring savvy that made his such a dangerous force in pro wrestling. To his credit, Scorpio did his best to hang in there with Race, making the most of his speed and energy to try to get the advantage over his opponent. Race was never flustered, patiently waiting for his spot to bring Scorpio down and get the ball back in his court. Scorpio attempted a late rally with a series of dropkicks that knocked Race down, but Race ended up colliding with the ref, and when Scorpio went up top, Rose took advantage of the distraction by sneaking up behind and shoving Scorpio hard off the turnbuckle to the mat. Race then pounced on Scorpio and trapped him in an Indian Deathlock that forced the young Colorado native to give up. Race kept the hold on Scorpio long after the bell, clearly looking to injure him, until Sgt. Slaughter and Cpl. Scott Hall charged into the ring, running off Race and Rose and helping their comrade from the ring. Doug Furnas vs. Biff Wellington The rivalry between the Youngbloods and the Can-Am Express has been getting white hot of late. On the last episode of All-Star Wrestling, Steve Blackman prevailed over Phil Lafon, and Wellington seemed to be carrying on his team's momentum with a series of quick suplexes on the Tennessee Volunteer. But something switched on in Furnas and he switched into a whole new gear, using his considerable strength to block several suplex attempts before levelling Wellington with a series of brutal power moves. He then hoisted Wellington over his shoulder and drove him hard into the turnbuckle with a running Canadian backbreaker before getting the one two three. It looks like this rivalry has a ways to go before reaching a conclusion. Greg Gagne vs. Nord the Barbarian Normally, Greg Gagne would have his work cut out for him in taking on the huge Barbarian. But now, with the new bloodthirsty attitude in Nord encouraged by Jake Roberts, the AWA mainstay didn't really stand a chance. Nord unleashed an hellacious assault on Gagne, bouncing him all over the ring like a ragdoll before coming off the top rope with a kneedrop that spelled the end of the match. The Snakepit are getting more and more terrifying with each week that goes by. The Sheepherders, Roddy Piper & Bob Orton vs. The Sunshine Boys (The Great Kabuki, Pat Tanaka & The Razor Boys) Ever since Piper's Pit and the Sheepherders conspired to take the World Tag Team titles from the Razor Boys, Sunshine and her men have been determined to get their vengeance. Meanwhile, Roddy Piper and his associates have been equally determined to take the Sunshine Boys out permanently. What followed was a crazy brawl that only ended when the Sheepherders clobbered Pat Tanaka with a chair, then hit the referee for good measure. The two deranged Kiwis then went to town on Tanaka with the chair, which seemed to catch even Roddy Piper off guard. He ordered them out of the ring, which they only did when Kabuki came after them swinging his nunchaku. Tanaka was clearly in bad shape as his partners helped him out of the ring.

Yeah, I found that out later ... had no access to the internet in my teens in the 1980s

I remember watching late 80s French Canadian WWF TV and wondering why they kept calling Andre "Le Geant, Jean Ferre".

I was figuring Steamboat vs. Zenk would be a mix of Zenk wrestling over his head and carrying on with the strong momentum he had built up, with Steamboat doing everything he could to make him look good while still maintaining his own credibility as champion. If Steamboat was given the order from the road agent to go the distance with Zenk and build him up, this would be the result.

AWA show from the Kingdome, Seattle, July 13th Cactus Jack vs. Mark Starr Cactus won with a Russian Legsweep Chavo & Hector Guerrero vs. Masa Saito & Larry Zbyszko Larry was going for an over the shoulder neckbreaker on Chavo, but Chavo countered with a backslide that got the pinfall Chris Adams vs. Sheikh Adnan Al-Kaissie Adams finished him off with a Superkick The British Bullies vs. Brian Pillman & Shane Douglas Pillman pinned Jones with a top rope flying sunset flip AWA Canadian Title Match : Ron Garvin© vs. Leo Burke Both men went to a double countout while brawling outside the ring AWA World Tag Team Title Match : Roddy Piper & Bob Orton © vs. Black Irish Piper blocked a powerslam attempt by Cameron and countered with a rollup assisted by a fistful of tights to defend their titles Buddy Rose, Harley Race & Col. Debeers vs. Sgt. Slaughter, Cpl. Scott Hall & Too Cold Scorpio Slaughter and Hall took down Debeers with a massive double lariat to get the win AWA World Title Match : Ricky Steamboat © vs. Tom Zenk In what many onlookers called Zenk's best AWA match, he and the World Champion went to a 30 minute time limit draw. While Kevin Sullivan intervened on a number of occasions to try to tip the balance in his man's favour, Zenk hung with Steamboat throughout the match and impressed the crowd with his resilience and cunning.

AWA show from the Cow Palace, San Francisco, July 12th (as shown on ESPN / TSN Super Cards) The Youngbloods vs. The Can-Am Express Furnas pinned Jones after a power slam Hector Guerrero vs. Larry Zbyszko Hector caught Larry in the Guerrero Clutch for the one two three Jake Roberts vs. Shane Douglas Jake won with the DDT The Sheepherders vs. The Razor Boys A crazy brawl that ended when the Sheepherders hit a double stomach breaker on Diamond AWA American Title Match : Bob Orton © vs. The Great Kabuki Orton defended his title with a lariat Sgt. Slaughter & Too Cold Scorpio v. Buddy Rose & ?? Rose's partner turned out to be … former NWA World Champion Harley Race! The match never really got off the ground as very soon into it, Rose ordered Col. Debeers and Leo Burke to attack the Cobra Corps, leading to a no contest. Playboy After Dark continued to beat down the Cobra Corps until somebody charged out of the audience and into the ring and started tossing Rose and his men around, sending them scattering back to the locker room. It was Cpl. Scott Hall, making his return to the AWA! Hall embraced Sarge and Scorpio as they celebrated his fortuitously timed return to the Cobra Corps. AWA Southern Tag Team Title Match : British Steel © vs. Black Irish Regal pinned Finlay after a Regal Plex AWA World Title Match : Ricky Steamboat © vs. TNT The latest challenger Roddy Piper has brought in to take on Ricky Steamboat for the World Title turned out to by Puerto Rican firebrand TNT. TNT gave Steamboat a ferocious fight but the Champ looked like he might just prevail when he went up to the top rope for a flying cross body press, only to be knocked off by Roddy Piper, leading to the DQ. Both men attacked Steamboat until he was able to grab a chair from ringside and fend them off.

AWA All-Star Wrestling On ESPN / TSN for July 12th Tom Zenk vs. Paul Diamond Zenk has let it be known that he has designs on the Southern Title, currently held by Diamond's compatriot Pat Tanaka. Diamond was clearly intent on not being looked past as he put in a mighty effort to shut down Zenk. It looked like he would pull it off when he hit the flying back bodypress, but Zenk reversed it with a rollover and grabbed a fistful of tights to cinch the pinfall. Dirty pool, but it just goes to show that Zenk will stop at nothing in his pursuit of the gold. Death Sentence & Kevin Sullivan vs. The Sheepherders & Mark Starr After blaming their loss at the Independence Day Spectacular on Mark Starr, it seemed strange that the Sheepherders would be tagging with their young flagbearer in their match against the Neighborhood Of Evil. Their plans became clear as the match wore on, as Butch and Luke showed no interest in tagging in or even helping young Starr in any way. As Gaylord, Payne and Sullivan battered Starr from pillar to post, the Sheepherders stood on the ring apron, either yawning or jawing with the crowd. When Starr was finally able to make it to his own corner, both members of the Sheepherders jumped to the floor and marched back to the locker room, leaving their partner to his fate. One Execution later, and that was the end of the match. But not the end of the punishment, as the Neighborhood of Evil continued to tear into Starr, then set him up for a Spike Piledriver. This was interrupted by Brian Pillman, Bill Dundee and Shane Douglas, who ran off the members of the Neighborhood and saved Starr from potential serious injury. Masa Saito vs. Chavo Guerrero After Saito took the Six Man Titles from the Guerreros with his partners, Nick Bockwinkel and Larry Zbyszko, the three brothers have been determined to show that they are worthy of a rematch. The result was this incredibly intense match where both men stretched each other six ways to Sunday and Chavo was able to block a Saito Suplex and reverse it into a rollup to score the one two three. Chavo might have just put himself and his brothers back into contention. Steve Blackman vs. Phil Lafon The Youngbloods and the Can-Am Express are two rising young teams that have been thrilling the crowds with some exciting matches recently. Blackman and Lafon kept up that pace in a tight singles match where Blackman dodged a thrust kick and came back with a flash bicycle kick and pulled out the victory. Lafon was clearly unhappy with the result but still shook hands with Blackman after the match. Sgt. Slaughter vs. Buddy Rose Ever since the mysterious disappeance of Leon White, Sarge has been on a roaring rampage of revenge, blaming both Piper's Pit and Playboy After Dark for the loss of his Cobra Corps colleague. Thus far, Sarge has destroyed both Buzz Sawyer and Doug Somers, and looked set to make the Playboy his next victim. He whipped Rose from pillar to post until the Playboy, in a flagrant display of cowardice, bailed out of the ring , deliberately getting counted out. To rub salt in the wound, Rose got on the ringside mic and goaded Sarge, saying that if he really wanted to get his hands on him, he and Scorpio would face Rose and a partner of his choosing in a tag match in San Francisco, a challenge that Sarge angrily accepted.

I suppose it is a bit of a moot point. As I tend to say, there is more than enough imaginary audience for all of us. It's just a courtesy I am asking so that I can maintain the presence I had built up in the Pacific Northwest before Miz joined the project, while trying on my own part to respect his territory. Houston was a large city with multiple venues (Astrodome, Sam Houston, Summit , etc.) that could conceivably have multiple events on the same day. Not so likely with Eugene, Oregon. What would happen if I posted an event taking place in one city on the same day another promoter posted one in the same city? Nothing, really. I'm just trying to avoid Miz and myself stepping on each others' toes.

Just a heads up, my second week of the month is my West Coast swing, which goes as follows : Friday : San Francisco Saturday : Seattle (it used to be Portland, but I moved when the Portland territory opened up) Sunday : Eugene I am good with Portland running shows in Seattle and Eugene, just asking that they don't do it on Saturday and Sunday.

The one I used in my Portland shows is the Portland Memorial Coliseum.

Besides, who is Vader? It's Leon White that Sarge is looking for.

It's an Apter mag ... by the time Sarge reads it, it is too late.

The war between Death Sentence and The Sheepherders could have no other battleground.

AWA Independence Day Spectacular from the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, July 4th (as shown on ESPN / TSN Super Cards Special ) Buddy Rose vs. Too Cold Scorpio Rose caught Scorpio in the corner in a roll up with a fistful of trunks and both feet on the ropes to get the dirty pinfall Jake Roberts, Nord The Barbarian & Cactus Jack vs. Bill Dundee, Shane Powers & Greg Gagne Roberts finished off Gagne with the DDT Barbed Wire No DQ Match : Death Sentence vs. The Sheepherders The Sheepherders came out with a young man identified as their flagbearer, Mark Starr. Death Sentence came out with Kevin Sullivan. What followed was an incredibly violent, bloody brawl with both teams going all out against each other. Eventually , Luke Williams demanded that Starr hand him the New Zealand flag to use as a weapon, but Starr stared at him in blank incomprehension. Ultimately, Williams just grabbed the flagpole out of his hands, but by this time Gaylord had gotten the Golden Spike from Sullivan and hit Williams in the head with it, thus scoring the pinfall. After the match, it looked like Williams was going to attack Starr, but Butch Miller whispered something in his ear, and the two Sheepherders grinned evilly as they handed the flag back to Starr and ordered him to follow them back. AWA Southern Title Match : Pat Tanaka © vs. Tom Zenk After fending off several top Japanese contenders over the past month, Tanaka was facing off against one of his most devious contenders in Zenk. Zenk tried to work in every dirty trick in the book , but Tanaka was always able to pull himself out of trouble. It looked like Zenk might just pull it off when he caught Tanaka in the Sleeper Hold, but Tanaka worked his way out of it and soon after the bell rang signaling a 20 minute time limit draw. After the match, Zenk tried to ambush Tanaka with a Superkick, but Tanaka dodged it and fired back with his own spin kick that sent Zenk scrambling. I don't think we have seen the last of this challenge. Chris Adams & Ron Garvin vs. The British Bullies Adams was able to get his revenge on the British Bullies, nailing Jones with the Superkick while Garving knocked out Taylor with the Hands Of Stone Punch. AWA World Tag Team Title Match : Roddy Piper & Bob Orton © vs. The Razor Boys Diamond and Perez worked hard to try to get their titles back from Pipers Pit, with lots of quick tags and plenty of double team and combination moves. Diamond came incredibly close to pulling it off when he caught Piper with a rollup, but while the ref was escorting Perez from the ring, Orton came off the ropes and nailed Diamond with a huge lariat, and Piper was the one to score the pinfall. Once again, Piper's Pit were able to pull off the sneaky win. Boot Camp Match : Sgt. Slaughter vs. Col. Debeers Slaughter has been on a rampage ever since the disappearance of Cobra Corps member Leon White, taking it out on those he sees as responsible. Debeers was certainly not going to roll over, and the two looked like they might just break the ring and everything around hit. The tide turned for good when Slaughter was able to bust open a cut on Debeers' forehead . Sarge then took off one of his own combat boots and started to blast Debeers over and over in the head with that boot. He then locked in the Cobra Clutch, but Debeers was pretty much unconscious by then anyway, so the end was pretty much academic. It looks like Sarge isn't going to start until he gets some answers. AWA World Title Match : Ricky Steamboat © vs. Bam Bam Bigelow Coming off a bruising title defense against Jerry Blackwell at the Great American Bash, Steamboat was pretty banged up going into this match. Bigelow, with Roddy Piper in tow, took advantage of that and tried to bully the champion all over the ring. Steamboat managed to stay one step ahead of Bam Bam for much of the match, but Bigelow was able to catch him in a series of slams and throws that drove the champ down to the canvas. It seemed like we were in for a new champion when Bigelow ascended to the top rope for the Nuclear Splash, but Steamboat rolled out of the way at the last second, and Bigelow crashed hard onto the mat. Steamboat was able to make it up top and come off with the flying cross body press to get the one two three, giving Bigelow his first loss in the AWA. The champ had held onto his belt, but at what cost?

Also effective November 1st, the AWA sends Too Cold Scorpio to the WWF in exchange for Tonga Kid.

I have a few trades to catch up on posting, these were all more or less effective at the beginning of the month. The AWA sent Buzz Sawyer to Mid Atlantic for Harley Race The AWA sent Mike Rotundo to UWF for Scott Hall.

Where is Chris Champion these days?

So glad Dougie went to a good home.