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AWA show from the Saddledome, Calgary, April 26th Too Cold Scorpio vs. Leo Burke Just back from a show in Japan, Scorpio dazzled the crowd when he executed a spectacular Top Rope Somersault Legdrop to beat Burke Phil Lafon vs. Buddy Rose The Playboy won with the Inside Out Backbreaker Jake Roberts vs. Buzz Sawyer Roberts executed the DDT for the victory Tom Zenk vs. Doug Somers Somers was going for the loaded elbow pad shot but ended up eating a Superkick to give the win to Zenk Dan Spivey & Mike Rotundo vs. Roddy Piper & Bob Orton Rotundo hit the Varsity Rush on Orton and went for the cover, but Piper broke up the pin. When the ref tried to send Piper back to his corner, Piper hit the Piledriver on the ref. This led to a DQ win for the Varsity Club team AWA Southern Title Match : Pat Tanaka © vs. Brian Pillman Tanaka was coming off a bruising six man tag match in Winnipeg in which he had been put through the wringer. Pillman, in turn, was just returning from a very intense elimination match. In spite of the wear and tear they were both bringing into the match, both men put on a technical gem of a match, with lots of fast exchanges and high flying. The end came when Tanaka ducked under a clothesline from Pillman, then came back off the ropes with a turning leaping forearm smash to successfully defend his title. The fans gave both men a standing ovation after the match. AWA Southern Tag Team Title Match : Black Irish © vs. The Youngbloods The Youngbloods are also returning from Japan , where they had scored some very impressive victories over tough competition. Blackwell and Wellington really gave the champs a run for their money, in what many in the crowd said was their best match in the AWA. Blackwell even caught Finlay with the flash Bicycle Kick, but in falling back the Irishman was able to tag out to Cameron, who flattened Blackwell with a massive leaping clothesline to score the victory. The fans still gave a round of applause to the Youngbloods afterwards AWA Canadian Title 2/3 Falls Match : Ron Garvin © vs. Chris Adams 1st Fall : Garvin caught Adams in a sunset flip out of the corner for the pinfall 2nd Fall : Adams pinned Garvin with a belly to back suplex 3rd Fall : Both men went to a 45 minute time limit draw . Adams looked like he was about to lose his marbles after yet another time limit draw.

AWA show from the Winnipeg Arena, Winnipeg , April 25th (as shown on ESPN / TSN Super Cards) Cactus Jack vs. Hector Guerrero Cactus blocked a double underhook suplex attempt and hit the Russian Legsweep for the victory Leo Burke vs. Leon White White won with a power slam Bill Dundee& Shane Douglas vs. Larry Zbyszko & Masa Saito Douglas put in a courageous effort but wound up going down to an over the shoulder neckbreaker by Larry Nord The Barbarian, The Great Kabuki & Pat Tanaka vs. Jerry Blackwell, Ken Patera & Sheikh Adnan Al-Kaissie There was a lengthy Face In Peril sequence where the Syndicate worked over Tanaka, but the Southern Champ was able to tag out to Kabuki, who pinned Kaissie after the thrust kick to the jaw Jake Roberts vs. Bob Orton Roberts hit the DDT for the victory AWA World Tag Team Title Match : The Razor Boys © vs. The British Bullies Diamond scored the pinfall with a flying back body press on Jones Co-Promotional Match with Lutte Internationale : Rick Martel, The Killer Bees & Doug Furnas vs. Kevin Sullivan, Mike Rotundo & Death Sentence Death Sentence turned out to be Darryl Peterson & Jeff Gaylord, now dubbed Maxx Payne and “The Black Knight” Jeff Gaylord. This was a very intense match, with many instances of Rotundo arguing with his partners. After a miscommunication between Rotundo and Sullivan, Furnas combined with NWA World Champion Martel to hit a Rocket Launcher on Sullivan to score the victory for their team. Rotundo kept arguing with his partners all the way back to the locker room. AWA Canadian Title Match : Ron Garvin © vs. Chris Adams Another lengthy match for Adams where Garvin kept ducking the Superkick and firing back with brutal punches. As the match wound down, Adams kept trying to make Garvin give up to submission holds and put him away with suplexes, but the bell ended up ringing to signal another 30 minute time limit draw. Garvin ended up raising Adams arm in respect, but Adams was clearly at his wits end, trying to figure out what it will take to get the gold. AWA World Title Match : Ricky Steamboat © vs. Nick Bockwinkel Bockwinkel kept working over Steamboat’s legs to try and put him away with the Figure Four Leglock, but Steamboat ultimately countered with an inside cradle to get the one two three. After the match, Nick was looking at Steamboat and miming pointing at an imaginary wristwatch, telling the champ that his time was running out.

Great job of setting the scene for the Top Guns vs. Shining Wizards match. Facekickers kicking faces! Gotta love the Youngbloods pulling off the victory. Even at this early stage, Owen vs. Yamada had to be awesome. That elimination match had to be epic. Sting press slamming Hashimoto was super impressive. Fackickers as the most stoic champions ever.

AWA All-Star Wrestling on ESPN / TSN for April 25th Fit Finlay vs. Phil Lafon Ever since the return of the Can-Am Express to the AWA, Phil Lafon has struggled to make headway in the wake of the singles success of his partner, Tom Zenk. While Zenk has pulled off some impressive singles wins of late, Lafon has found himself on the wrong side of some losses in both individual and tag team matches. Determined to turn his luck around and possibly position for a title shot, Lafon would be taking on one half of the Southern Tag Team champs. Finlay certainly wasn’t making it easy for Lafon, tearing into him with his trademark Irish fury. Lafon countered with his own technical expertise and came back with several takedowns and aerial moves. It seemed like he just might pull it off with a flying back body press, but Finlay caught him and, in an impressive display of power, power slammed him into the corner turnbuckle. Finlay then followed up with a leaping double footstomp that put Lafon away. A tough break for the young Canadian. Ken Patera vs. Nord The Barbarian A couple of weeks ago, Nord had scored a surprising win over the former AWA World champion. Patera was clearly determined to even the score as he went all out against the towering member of the Snakepit. Nord gave as good as he got, and the two waged another war of brawling and power moves. Nord was determined to prove that his first win was no fluke and had Patera set up for a running leg drop, but Jerry Blackwell took this as his cue to charge the ring and attack Nord, leading to the DQ. The two men continued to attack Nord until Kabuki came in swinging his nunchaku, clearing the Sheikh’s men from the ring. Chavo Guerrero vs. Shane Douglas Shane Douglas had his mentor , Bill Dundee, in his corner, while Chavo was backed up by his two brothers, Mando and Hector. In spite of the imminent threat of interference, this wound up being a purely technical matchup, with Chavo’s experience and ring savvy countering the youth and vigor of Douglas. Douglas kept trying to finish off Chavo with the belly to belly suplex, but Chavo kept blocking it, and was ultimately able to turn it around into a German Suplex to get the one two three. Although Douglas had suffered a loss, Dundee was encouraging afterwards, tell him that he would get him next time. “Cowboy” Bob Orton vs. Cactus Jack Of late, it seems like the youngest member of the Snakepit has become the focus of their feud with Piper’s Pit , with Piper swearing vengeance on the wild man from Truth Or Consequences. This time out, he was sending out his Ace, who pounded Cactus with big lefts and rights before unleashing some jarring suplexes and back breakers. Cactus, showing his trademark resilliance, kept bouncing back and rallied before knocking Orton out of the ring with a clothesline. Piper picked up Orton to send him back into the ring, but Cactus came off the apron with a flip plancha that crashed into both of them. Cactus was able to dodge back into the ring and get the win by countout. Piper was livid at the result and screaming that Cactus would regret what he did. Interview : Ken Resnick stands in the ring. Resnick : My next guests have gone through a lot of upheaval of late. Ladies and Gentlemen, Kevin Sullivan and the Varsity Club Rush! The crowd boos as Sullivan comes out, looking like he is about to rupture a blood vessel. The remaining members of the Varisty Club Rush (Darryl Peterson, Jeff Gaylord & Doug Furnas) followed close behind him. Sullivan grabs the microphone from Ken Resnick . Sullivan : Get out of here, Resnick! This is Varsity Club business and has nothing to do with you! (A clearly intimidated Resnick scuttles out of the ring. Sullivan starts pacing back and forth as his men stand at attention behind him.) I am *very* disappointed. Very disappointed indeed! I started the Varsity Club Rush to help groom the next generation of Club members. I thought I had found some of the best athletes in the country. And what happens? First, Leon White is such a wimp that he won’t finish someone off, just because he used to be a friend of his. Then, Brian Pillman spends too much of his time kissing up to the fans that he won’t learn what I teach him and he fails to win the Southern title. Finally, Ron Simmons not only doesn’t listen to my orders, but he dares to lay hands on me! I made sure he’s not going to be seen in the AWA again. And that brings me down to you three. So I am going to declare an end to the Varsity Club Rush. No more! Two of you are in, one of you is out. (Sullivan keeps pacing back and forth in front of his men, staring them up and down. He then finally stops in front of Furnas, jabbing his finger into his chest.) Sullivan : You! You failed to get the job done against the Guerreros. You’re cut! Get him, boys! (Gaylord and Peterson gleefully pounce on Furnas and start putting the boots to him. They land some hard shots on the startled Furnas before Phil Lafon, Bill Dundee, Shane Douglas, Sgt. Slaughter and Leon White charge out to the ring and pull him out. Sullivan cackled maniacally as he led Gaylord and Peterson back to the locker room) Sgt. Slaughter & Leon White vs. Buddy Rose & Doug Somers Playboy After Dark were coming off losing the World Tag Team titles to the Razor Boys and were determined to show they were still in contention to get the belts back. White’s partner, Too Cold Scorpio, was in Japan so he brought out his leader in the Cobra Corps, Sgt. Slaughter. Rose and Somers proceeded to pick on the huge White, digging into their deep bag of dirty tricks and keeping him trapped in their corner as they worked him over. They wound up taking it too far, pushing White until he snapped. White started throwing the two of them around the ring with huge slams and clotheslines, bellowing like a gored bull. He looked determined to finish them off, but was huffing and puffing so much that Sarge ordered him to tag out. Slaughter then started to dismantle Rose and Somers before nailing the Playboy with the Slaughter Cannon to get the pin. Once he had recovered, Rose got on the mic and challenged to a singles match next week on All-Star Wrestling, with no members of the Cobra Corps or Playboy After Dark at ringside. Sgt. Slaughter accepted the challenge before the fade to the closing credits.

"We're not ones to say We told you so, but ... WE TOLD YOU SO!" Thanks for an incredible moment.

Wow! Huge shock with the title change . Love Satanico, but wondering what this spells for the Freebirds.

Yeah, I think the key is to book in a way that plays to the strengths of : a) your wrestlers, your territory (at least, your vision of your territory), and c) your writing style. Other bookers can get their stories across through their interviews or TV commentary, but I find those exhausting to write , so I have to focus more on my finishes because sometimes that is all I have. Everybody having a different approach is part of what I love about this project, and wrestling in general.

Sadly, my one chance to see Cheap Trick was cut short by a hurricane that caused the stage to topple over. True story.

You're booking completely different of me, as I very rarely use DQs in my matches. And I think this is when promo segments and specific angles are useful to further your programs. Maybe it's just a matter of having a different mindset but taking a little bit of everyone to add to your booking can be somewhat helpful sometimes. Nonetheless, your shows are really good. Heck, everyone is doing awesome. I agree that screwy finishes have an important place and you are doing a great job of booking in a way that works with your own particular territory. I just take a very close look at my individual cards and try to make sure there aren't too much of the same type of finish on the same show. This last one had a bunch of changes in both finishes and match order to try to avoid it. Sometimes I worry that I am burning through some of my angles and feuds to quickly (Chris Adams vs. Kabuki was a particularly glaring example) or that I am itching too much to move onto the next thing. I have worked hard to figure out methods to help draw them out. A straightforward method is using tag or multi-man matches. The junior members of the team can take the fall, All-Japan style, but even they can be kept strong by getting wins back in individual matches. Having most of my rosters in duos or factions has it's drawbacks, but it can be a big help in long term booking. Bockwinkel's alliance with Saito and Larry Z has been a godsend to the feud with Steamboat, since he can keep sending them out to take on the champion, while still keeping his hand in and putting off having a definitive conclusion to the feud. Similarly, Piper can keep sending out Orton and Sawyer to take losses for him while getting off scott free. I also try to escalate match results to gradually build up to the big matches. I had Kabuki and Blackwell swap countouts, then swap pinfalls but with outside factors, to postpone having the big blowoff finish. I probably have more time limit draws than is truly realistic, but I keep it down to no more than one per card, and keep it to people I figure can realistically do it and pull off making an entertaining match from it. The biggest key for me is to play to the strength of the indivudal wrestlers. I can't say I've watched a comprehensive sampling of the work of everyone on my roster, some of them I've only vaguely known about. But I learn what I can about each of them, their history and move set, to come up with somewhat realistic and interesting finishes. I noticed some time ago that Jake Roberts has lost a lot of his matches. But he was always considered a threat because he was cunning, vicious, ruthless, sneaky , and has that deadly finisher. Similiarly, Ronnie Garvin can take a loss, but still be a contender because he is a tough old SOB. Piper, on the other hand, had a lot of his allure from being a Karma Houdini, always being able to slip through the fingers of his rivals, and I have done my best to preserve that. This percolates down to the mid and lower cards. The British Bullies are hard as ten bears and can tear you apart, but can still credibly take a loss to the Youngbloods, because the rookie team have shown that they can sneak in a flash pin or submission if their opponents leave the window open. The Guerreros have been eating some losses in singles and tag matches, but put them all together at the same time and they are nearly impossible to beat. Hope some of this helps.

My Sunday shows tend to have as many rookies as I can manage to get in matches , as part of paying their dues. This does have some more high level matches than usual for a small market show, but I think the people of Rockford deserve a treat, if only for giving us Cheap Trick. As near as I can tell, Furnas only had the one match. The AWA version of the Can-Am Express is Phil Lafon and Tom Zenk.

AWA show at Boylan High School, Rockford, IL, April 20th Bob Orton vs. Doug Furnas Furnas was going for a Canadian Backbreaker, but Orton countered with a slide down his back followed by a trunks assisted sunset flip for the pinfall Masa Saito & Larry Zbyszko vs. Rocky Mountain Thunder Saito and Larry won by DQ when White bowled over the ref trying to break up Saito’s Jailhouse Lock on Scorpio Bill Dundee, Shane Douglas & Brian Pillman vs. Mike Rotundo, Jeff Gaylord & Darryl Peterson Throughout the match, Rotundo was extremely reluctant to get in the ring with Pillman. This led to some arguing with his partners, which in turn led to Gaylord being sufficiently distracted to fall victim to a rollup by Dundee. After the match, Rotundo and his partners continued arguing back to the locker room Steve Blackman vs. Leo Burke Blackman caught Burke with a roundhouse kick to the jaw to get the win Greg Gagne vs. Ken Patera Patera made Gagne give up to the Swinging Full Nelson Chris Adams vs. Steven Regal A technical matchup where Steven was going for the Regal-Plex, but Adams blocked it and countered with a belly to back suplex and got the one two three. Strangely, even though Adams had harsh things in the past to say about Regal, he offered his hand to his opponent after the match. Regal couldn’t believe what he was seeing, but reluctantly shook his hand. AWA Southern Tag Team Title Match : Black Irish © vs. The British Bullies A furious match that went to a 20 minute time limit draw Buzz Sawyer vs. Nord The Barbarian Nord won with a running double knee drop The Great Kabuki vs. Jerry Blackwell Sheikh Kaissie interfered in the match, leading to Blackwell pinning Kabuki after a power slam and splash AWA Six-Man Tag Team Title Match : The Guerrero Brothers © vs. Ron Garvin & The Can-Am Express Mando pinned Lafon with the German Suplex Cactus Jack vs. Roddy Piper Cactus was going for the Russian Legsweep, but Piper grabbed onto the ropes to block it , then continued to use the ropes for leverage to pin Cactus AWA World Tag Team Title Match : The Razor Boys © vs. Buddy Rose & Doug Somers The champs defended their belts with the Straight Razor on Somers

Alberto Cerro Leon was , in fact, the representative of the "exotic" Indonesian art of Pencak silat

This history of Chris Adams Time Limit Draw title matches : Feb. 15th American Title vs. Nick Bockwinkel March 15th World Title vs. Ricky Steamboat March 28th NWA World Title vs. Rick Martel April 6th Southern Title vs. Pat Tanaka April 19th American Title vs. Dan Spivey This *is* going somewhere.

AWA show from the International Amphitheater, Chicago, April 19th The Youngbloods vs. Jeff Gaylord & Darryl Peterson The Varsity Club pinned Wellington after the Execution Doug Furnas vs. Marty Jones Furnas won with the running Canadian Backbreaker into the corner Buzz Sawyer vs. Mike Rotundo Sawyer was going for a bulldog, but Rotundo blocked it and countered with the Varsity Rush to get the win Rocky Mountain Thunder vs. Chavo & Hector Guerrero Hector caught Scorpio in the Guerrero Clutch for the victory The Great Kabuki vs. Jerry Blackwell Blackwell had Kabuki in the corner for an avalanche, but Kabuki blasted him in the face with the green mist, then followed up with a thrust kick to the jaw to score the pinfall Tom Zenk vs. Dave Taylor Zenk pinned Taylor after a flying cross body press AWA Southern Tag Team Title Match : Black Irish © vs. British Steel Regal had Finlay trapped in the Regal Stretch, but Cameron nailed the ref with a clothesline, leading to a DQ win for British Steel. Black Irish retained the belts AWA Southern Title Match : Pat Tanaka © vs. Phil Lafon Tanaka pinned Lafon after hitting the Rolling Wheel Kick AWA American Title Match : Dan Spivey © vs. Chris Adams In what is getting to be a trend with Adams, both men went to a 30 minute time limit draw

AWA show from the Mecca, Milwaukee, April 18th (as shown on ESPN / TSN Super Cards) Hector Guerrero vs. Bill Dundee Hector was attempting a double underhook suplex, but Dundee blocked it and countered with an inside cradle for the win Brian Pillman & The Can-Am Express vs. Kevin Sullivan, Darryl Peterson & Jeff Gaylord Sullivan went down to a Superkick from Zenk Fit Finlay vs. Greg Gagne Finlay executed a brutal leaping double footstomp in the corner to score the victory The Great Kabuki & Nord The Barbarian vs. Ken Patera & Jerry Blackwell A brawl that went to a double DQ finish Masa Saito vs. Shane Douglas Douglas put up a valiant struggle before ultimately giving up to the Prison Lock Roddy Piper & Bob Orton vs. Jake Roberts & Cactus Jack Another crazy match ending with Jake hitting the DDT on Orton AWA World Tag Team Title Match : Buddy Rose & Doug Somers © vs. The Razor Boys The Razor Boys brought everything they could to try to finally wrest the titles from Playboy After Dark. Perez had Rose set up for the German Suplex when Somers came in with the loaded elbow pad. However, Somers was intercepted by Diamond with a leaping clothesline, and Perez hit the German Suplex for the one two three. The Razor Boys are the new World Tag Team Champions. AWA World Title Match : Ricky Steamboat © vs. Larry Zbyszko Larry Z put up a long and intense challenge to Steamboat’s World Title before finally going down to the Flying Cross Body Press

AWA All-Star Wrestling on ESPN / TSN for April 18th Brian Pillman vs. Paul Wachter Last week, Pillman was unceremoniously booted from the Varsity Club, but to look at him, he seems well rid of the presence of Kevin Sullivan. Since then, he had an incredibly impressive appearance in Japan and now seems to be all fire and enthusiasm as he took on Wachter. He bounced the rookie all over the ring with a series of dropkicks and aerial moves before finishing him off with Air Pillman, with the crowd solidly behind him all the way. It looks like the sky is the limit for young Pillman, now that he is free of the “help” of the “Games Master”. The British Bullies vs. The Youngbloods Someone else who has returned from Japan are Biff Wellington and Steve Blackman, The Youngbloods, who score a hard fought victory over Yoji Anjo and Osamu Kido. If they were hoping to keep up their momentum, they certainly had their work cut out for them, facing one of the toughest teams in the AWA. This was a mostly a technical battle , but an intense one, with Taylor and Jones seeming to throw in a bit extra with every suplex or submission hold. Jones looked like he was trying to put down Blackman for good with a takeover suplex, but Blackman dug in and blocked it, followed by a single arm takedown into a cross arm breaker. Taylor came in to try to break it up, but was intercepted by Wellington, who managed to hold him off until Blackman forced Jones to give up. The Younbloods may be one of the newest teams in the AWA, but the other teams would disregard them at their peril. AWA Six-Man Tag Team Title Match : The Guerrero Brothers © vs. Doug Furnas, Darryl Peterson & Jeff Gaylord The Varsity Club Rush members were out on their own this time, with no one accompanying them to the ring, but worked well as a unit throughout the match. Peterson and Gaylord in particular managed a series of swift tags and double teams that showed them working with one mind. The champions, however, were no slouches themselves with regards to combination moves, and the momentum swing back and forth throughout the match. The match eventually broke down to all six men in the ring at one time, with Gaylord and Peterson hitting the Execution on Mando in one end of the ring, while Chavo hit the flying somersault senton on Furnas in the other. It was this second move that the ref caught, and he made the count in favor of the champions. Sgt. Slaughter vs. Doug Somers Playboy After Dark have managed to keep their World Tag Team Titles in a series of tough defenses against Rocky Mountain Thunder, but this time out Somers would be facing Thunder’s Cobra Corps commander, Sgt. Slaughter. Somers had his partner Buddy Rose in his corner for the match, and the Playboy got progressively more agitated and frantic throughout the match. Somers frequently found himself overwhelmed by the powerful DI, and eventually went to his familiar dirty trick of loading up his elbow pad. Before he could use it, though , Sarge caught him in a boot to the midsection before sending him to the mat with the Slaughter Cannon. He wasn’t interested in pinning him, however, instead picking up Somers in the Cobra Clutch. Somers had nothing left in the tank and the ref called the match, while Sarge just let Somers drop to the mat. Rose was clearly livid as he led his partner away from the ring, as his partner was clearly in very rough shape. Chris Adams vs. Bill Dundee Adams has been having a series of epic time limit draw matches for various singles titles, but has declared that he will not rest until he has singles gold around his waist. No title was on the line in this match, but Adams was clearly looking to prove himself against the Australian veteran. So determined was Adams to establish his credentials that he ordered his manager, Sheikh Adnan Al-Kaissie, to return to the locker room so that he had no “distractions” for his match. This clearly didn’t please the Sheikh but he acquiesced, leaving Adams on his own to demonstrate his skill. And demonstrate he did, dazzling the crowd as he and Dundee displayed expert matwork and counter-wrestling until Dundee attempted to put him away with a piledriver , only to get caught in a small package that gave the win to the match. Both men shook hands after the match as the crowd cheered in approval. The Can-Am Express vs. Kevin Sullivan & Ron Simmons If any team could be said to not be on the same page, it would be Sullivan and Simmons. Sullivan was extremely upset with Simmons as he had just gotten word that the former Florida State Seminole has teamed with former Varsity Club Rush candidate Leon White for a match in Japan. Simmons, for his part, had been greatly angered by the news that, while he was in Japan, Sullivan had cut his good friend Brian Pillman from the Varsity Club Rush. This made for an explosive situation, with both men seemingly more focused on arguing with each other than fighting the Can-Ams. This made for a recepie for disaster, a disaster that looked like it would be averted when Simmons caught Lafon in the Seminole Slam. But it was Sullivan who was the legal man in the ring, and who ate a Zenk Superkick for the one two three. After the match, Sullivan lit into Simmons, berating him for not breaking up the pin. Simmons finally had enough of Sullivan’s mouth and gave him a mighty backhand slap, sending him flying across the ring. As Simmons stalked up the aisle to the locker room, Sullivan struggle to his feet and demanded the ringside microphone. Sullivan : Simmons! I knew you were going to be trouble from the moment I scouted you, but I thought I could make something of you. So I took special precautions … when I brought you into the AWA, I made sure I was in charge of your contract, and held onto it. If you don’t come back here and apologize to me, you’re not just out of the Varsity Club … you’re out of the AWA! The crowd was stunned as Simmons stopped in his tracks. After a long pause, he turned around and walked back to the ring. Stepping inside, he stared at Sullivan for a long while, then finally, reluctantly, offered his hand as a conciliatory gesture. Scowling, Sullivan shook his hand … then Simmons swiftly pulled him in and powerslammed him! He then stood Sullivan up, and came off the ropes with a jarring flying shoulder tackle! Simmons followed up by whipping Sullivan into the ropes and crushed him with a spinebuster slam! Jeff Gaylord and Darryl Peterson charged out to attack him, but stopped dead in their tracks as Simmons stood in the ring while making a “come on” gesture with his hands, daring them to try something. They didn’t dare, just staring at him with their mouths open , not moving a muscle even when he walked past them on his way to the door. As the crowd cheered his name, Simmons turned around and raised his fist in defiance before exiting through the door. Ron Simmons may be gone from the AWA, but he is going out a legend.

Is Bam Bam still looking for a challenger? Sgt. Slaughter is itching for a rematch.

Awesome show! Obviously loving my AWA guys getting time to shine. Wizards over Animals is quite the shock. Absolutely love the main even.

Glad that Scott Hall ended up in a good home Hall and Dusty is an awesome pairing.

AWA show from McArthur Court, Eugene, April 13th Mike Rotundo & Doug Furnas vs. The British Bullies The Varsity Club took down Jones with a double dropkick to get the victory Larry Cameron vs. Mando Guerrero Cameron won with a power slam The Razor Boys vs. Chavo & Hector Guerrero The Razor Boys executed the Straight Razor on Hector to score the win Fit Finlay vs. Norman Smiley Finlay made Smiley give up to the Indian Deathlock Ron Garvin & The Can-Am Express vs. Kevin Sullivan, Jeff Gaylord & Darryl Peterson Zenk pinned Sullivan after hitting a superkick Bob Orton vs. Chris Adams Orton was going for a superplex, but Adams countered with a cross body in mid air and got the pin Sgt. Slaughter vs. Bam Bam Bigelow Sarge won by DQ when Bigelow avalanched the ref AWA Southern Title Match : Pat Tanaka © vs. Steven Regal A duel of Tanaka trying to knock out Regal with the Rolling Wheel Kick and Regal, in turn , looking to knock out Tanaka with the Iron Fist Punch went to a 20 minute time limit draw Falls Count Anywhere Match : Roddy Piper vs. Cactus Jack An insane brawl that ended when Piper hit the Piledriver on Cactus on the concrete to get the victory AWA World Tag Team Title Match : Buddy Rose & Doug Somers © vs. Shane Douglas & Bill Dundee Douglas was trying to execute a belly to belly suplex on Rose when Somers clobbered him in the back of the head with the loaded elbow pad to score a tainted win for his team AWA American Title Match : Dan Spivey © vs. Buzz Sawyer Sawyer put up a ferocious fight but ultimately went down to the Spivey Bomber

AWA show from the Portland Memorial Coliseum, Portland, February 12th Doug Furnas vs. Tom Zenk Furnas was going for the running Canadian backbreaker into the corner, but Zenk countered by sliding down his back and sending him chest first into the corner, then caught him coming out with a schoolboy rollup assisted by a fistful of trunks to get the pinfall Jeff Gaylord & Darryl Peterson vs. Mando & Hector Guerrero The Varsity Club won with the Execution on Mando Sgt. Slaughter vs. Leo Burke Sarge made Burke give up to the Cobra Clutch The Sheepherders vs. Shane Douglas & Bill Dundee The Sheepherders hit a double stomach breaker on Douglas for the win Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Phil Lafon Bigelow got the victory with the Nuclear Splash Steven Regal vs. Dave Taylor A long technical match that ended up coming to a very sudden end when Regal knocked out Taylor with the Iron Fist Punch Greg Gagne vs. Chris Adams Gagne was trying to lock in the Gagne Sleeper when Adams blocked it and hit a belly to back suplex for the one two three AWA Southern Title Match : Pat Tanaka © vs. Norman Smiley Another technical match that ended by knockout with Tanaka hitting the crane kick to the jaw on Smiley to defend his belt AWA World Tag Team Title Match : Buddy Rose & Doug Somers © vs. Rocky Mountain Thunder While Rose distracted White into chasing him around the ring, Somers hit a brain buster on Scorpio to score the victory. AWA American Title Match : Dan Spivey © vs. Roddy Piper Plenty of mayhem, as could be expected from a Roddy Piper match. Spivey won by DQ when he was attacked by Bob Orton. Mike Rotundo came in to even the sides and both factions brawled long after the bell.

AWA show from the Cow Palace, San Francisco, April 11th (as shown on ESPN / TSN Super Cards) Bill Dundee vs. Chavo Guerrero Dundee caught Chavo with a running cross body press, but Chavo countered it with a rollover and fistful of trunks for the pinfall The Great Kabuki & The Razor Boys vs Jerry Blackwell, Ken Patera & Sheikh Adnan Al-Kaissie Kabuki pinned Kaissie after a thrust kick to the jaw Brian Pillman vs. Hector Guerrero Pillman won with the Air Pillman Dan Spivey & Mike Rotundo vs. Bob Orton & Buzz Sawyer Spivey beat Sawyer with the Spivey Bomber Shane Douglas vs. Chris Adams Douglas gave Adams quite the fight but ended up going down to the Superkick AWA Southern Tag Team Title Match : Black Irish © vs. The Can-Am Express Black Irish took out Lafon with the Spike Piledriver to defend their titles AWA World Title Match : Ricky Steamboat © vs. Nick Bockwinkel A masterpiece of technical wrestling that went to a 30 minute draw

This is where the Varsity Club Rush angle is coming to a boil.

AWA All-Star Wrestling on ESPN / TSN for April 11th Larry Zbyszko & Masa Saito vs. Bill Dundee & Shane Douglas Larry Z has suffered some rather embarrassing setbacks of late, but recently seems to be getting back on course by teaming with the Silent Assassin, Masa Saito. Saito’s stern and stoic nature has been acting to keep Larry’s more high strung and loud mouthed tendencies in check, and did them well in this match with the popular veteran Dundee and the fresh-faced rookie Douglas. Dundee and Douglas put up a valiant effort, but when Saito and Larry caught Douglas in their corner and started working over his leg, he just couldn’t make it out to his partner before he finally gave in to a figure four by Larry. It looks like Zbyszko is inching his way back to respectability, but only time will tell how long this lasts. Nord The Barbarian vs. Ken Patera A match of titans, with Nord and Patera blasting each other with big moves and slams. These two threatened to break the ring with their power offense as the momentum of the match swung back and forth. Patera caught Nord in a powerslam in the corner and looked set to put him away with a second turnbuckle kneedrop, but Nord rolled out of the way at the last second. Nord then came back with his own running knee drop and got the one two three, scoring his highest profile victory yet in what many consider to be an upset. Darryl Peterson & Jeff Gaylord vs. Mando & Hector Guerrero Peterson and Gaylord were accompanied by Kevin Sullivan, and appear to be the brutal teacher’s pets of the Varsity Club Rush. Sullivan nodded in approval at every nasty tactic they pulled off against the Guerreros, who fought back with their own series of double teams and short cuts. It looked like it might be all over for the Varsity Club when Mando was setting up Gaylord for the Gori Special, but Peterson charged in and attacked, not Mando, but the ref to prevent the submission. The two sides continued brawling until Sullivan ordered his men from the ring. While the Club lost by DQ, Sullivan congratulated them as though they had won, clearly pleased by their refusal to respect the AWA officials or the rules. Bob Orton vs. Jake Roberts The war between the Snakepit and Piper’s Pit rolls on, with Orton being backed by Roddy Piper while the Snake had Cactus Jack in his corner. The ref certainly had his hands full, trying to keep control over the action both inside the ring and outside of it. Orton brought his considerable expertise to the fore as he dominated much of the match, but the incredible guile of the Snake kept pulling him out of danger. Roddy Piper climbed onto the ringside apron to try to tip the scales in favor of his man, but he found himself tackled to the floor by Cactus Jack. In the ensuing confusion, Orton turned around and walked straight into the DDT by Roberts for the pinfall. After the match, Piper was staring balefully and pointing, not at Roberts, but Cactus, swearing that he would take care of him. Ron Garvin & British Steel vs. Chris Adams & The British Bullies Chris Adams has impressed a lot of people of late, even though he has been working on the wrong side of the fence, with a series of matches where he has gone the distance with a number of singles champions. Adams, though, has indicated his frustration with those matches, and is clearly determined to prove that he is worthy of championship gold. For this match, he brought in his partners in the British Bullies to challenge the Canadian Champion and British Steel. Adams was clearly targeting Garvin, challenging him any time he stepped into the ring and sending his partners out of the ring when the tried to come in for double teams, insisting he would take out Adams on his own. Garvin clearly relished the opportunity to throw down with Adams, and the duel of stiff chops and crushing judo throws had the audience at the edge of their seats. Garvin whipped Adams into the ropes to finish him off with the Hands Of Stone Punch, but Adams ducked at the last second and came back with a Superkick, scoring a shocking pinfall. Adams was jubilant and, after the match, got on the match and challenged Garvin for the Canadian Title in Winnipeg, with Garvin nodding his head to accept the challenge. AWA Southern Title Match : Pat Tanaka © vs. Brian Pillman Pillman has proved himself as one of the standouts of the Varsity Club Rush, having a spectacular series of both singles matches and tag victories, teaming with his good friend Ron Simmons. Simmons was absent from the proceedings, having left early for a Japanese show for which Pillman would soon be leaving, but Pillman was supported (if you could call it that) by the “Games Master” Kevin Sullivan, along with fellow Varsity Club Rush recruits Peterson and Gaylord. The champion was accompanied by his manager, Sunshine, along with her bodyguard, the Great Kabuki. Both sides avoided direct involvement in the match, letting it be solely contested by the champion and challenger in an exciting showdown of Tanaka’s martial arts expertise against Pillman’s cutting edge high flying. The crowd was deeply involved in this hotly contested bout, which seemed like it could end at any second. It looked like Pillman would take his first AWA gold when he had Tanaka lined up for the Air Pillman, but he ended up leaping straight into a spinning roundhouse kick to the jaw. Tanaka fell on him for the cover and was able to get the three count. When Pillman made it back to his feet, Sullivan berated him for the loss, slapping the back of his head. Pillman, having put up with Sullivan’s abuse for months and having just given his all in a very tough match, finally had enough, slapping his face. Sullivan was livid and directed Peterson and Gaylord to attack Pillman, and the two gleefully battered him and set him up for the Execution. Tanaka and Kabuki, swinging his nunchaku, charged in and broke it up, saving Pillman from serious damage. As they helped up Pillman, Sullivan got on the house mic and said that Pillman never had what it takes, and he was now officially cut from the Varsity Club Rush.

And BOOM! goes the dynamite!