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AWA All-Star Wrestling on ESPN / TSN for November 8th The Killer Bees vs. The Onyx Express After the big debut of the Bees in Bloomington, the Express were clearly focused on making them pay for that victory. A fast paced and crazy bout with both teams swiftly moving in and out of the ring, it finally ended when the Bees once again hit the Bee Stinger on Koko for the win. That certainly didn’t end the action, however, with both teams continuing slugging it out with each other well after the final bell. Cpl. Scott Hall vs. Dan Spivey Spivey came out to the ring with Kevin Sullivan and Mike Rotundo in tow, but Hall clearly had no patience for either the Varsity Club or Spivey’s usual flexing and posing routine. He immediately started off by throwing down with Spivey and the two exchanged big punches and power moves. The match then took a strange turn when Pvt. Mick Foley, who hadn’t been seen for some weeks, made his way out and wandered around ringside. This was a different Foley from the last time he had been seen, with his hair grown shaggy, his face unshaven, and his eyes glassy as he stumbled around outside the ring. After a few minutes of this, Sullivan and Rotunda saw fit to attack him. Hall immediately charged out of the ring to come to his comrade’s rescue, while Spivey stayed in the ring, laughing while Hall got counted out. The moment the final bell rang, the Varsity Club split from the ring, leaving Hall to help Foley back to the locker room, clearly concerned about his well being. Jerry Blackwell & Killer Khan vs. Sgt. Slaughter & King Kong Bundy Another match with the Cobra Corps facing poor odds, with the Syndicate having both Sheikh Adnan Al-Kaissie and Tojo Yamamoto at ringside. Sarge seemed somewhat distracted, both by the antics of the Syndicate and concern over Foley, which led to “Special Forces” Bundy carrying the bulk of the match. This would cost the Corps, as Kaissie provided enough of a distraction to both Sarge and the ref that it left an opening for Tojo to hit Bundy with the kendo stick. This staggered him enough for Blackwell to power slam him then hit him with a running splash. This was not enough for Blackwell, who tagged in Killer Khan, who came in with a huge knee drop off the top rope to Bundy’s sternum. Just as it had the past week with Brad Armstrong, this had a devastating effect on Bundy, who wound up being taken out on a stretcher. Can anyone stop Killer Khan’s rampage of destruction? The British Bulldogs & Steven Regal vs. Buddy Rose, Doug Somers & Leo Burke Playboy After Dark have been cranking up the heat on the Bulldogs in their pursuit of the World Tag Titles, and were relentless in this six man match. Burke had an extended exchange with Regal which highlighted the new found respect between the two, but for the most part they focused their attentions on Davey Boy and Dynamite, and when the ref tried to get things under control, Somers slugged him, leading to a DQ. The Playboy’s crew still hit a nasty spike piledriver on Dynamite before they finally left the ring. AWA Southern Title match : Al Perez © vs. Bob Roop Perez was quite clearly furious coming out to this match, angry with the Syndicate for having taken his stable mate Brad Armstrong out of action last week, and was looking to take it out on Roop. Roop is a big tough veteran with no shortage of technical skills, but Perez would not be denied as his dismantled Roop with a series of brutal suplexes before cinching in the Oriental Armlock to get the win. Perez kept the Armlock on tight long after Roop had given up, and the ref had to threaten him with reversing the decision to get him to release it. You have to feel sorry for the next person who challenges Perez for his belt.

Oh, believe me, I wasn't offended. I just took the chance to go on at length about my rookie division because I really like talking about my rookie division I am really anxious to see how the Fresh Faces draft shakes down, because I have something really fun planned for whoever I get out of it.

I really have no dislike of Groovy Greg, just have struggled to find a program where he would go over. I just keep thinking with Detroit that, after years of screwjob finishes with the Sheikh killing the town, it is best to avoid a screwjob in the main event. I try to be very careful with my rookies. I like to think of my version of the AWA being a wrestling version of the Justice Society, with the veterans helping train and develop the rookies that will be the next great generation of wrestlers. I do try to give them some wins but at the same time, keep it realistic. Steiner is raw but is a big huge stud athlete that has the sort of legit jock background that you can imagine getting a fairly early push (especially from Verne). I've kept him mostly in tag matches for his victories. Regal is a special and tricky place. He is extremely young at this point, and I had seen other promoters struggle with using him (sometimes trying to play him as 90s Lord Steven) and thought I could use him just the way he is at this time , as a up and coming youngster. For the most part , his victories have been against people at around the same level of experience as him ( such as the members of Badd Company), or veterans who are not at the top of the card (such as Burke and Wiskowski) who won't lose much positioning with a loss to him. I've tried to balance that out by a) giving him the Iron Fist Punch finisher (an early version of the Power Of The Punch) that means that if he is able to sneak it in, he just might feasibly pull off an upset, and he has been in the AWA (my version) long enough to develop his own following. I figure the World Title shot would be a reasonable reward for winning the 5 match series, with Orndorff letting the popular youngster get just enough shine to keep him over before ultimately finishing him off.

Detroit main events are tricky, I try to always make sure there is a clean finish.

AWA show from Cobo Hall, Detroit, November 2nd Dan Spivey vs. Norman Smiley Spivey won with the Big Leg Drop Hector & Mando Guerrero vs. Mike Shaw & Buzz Sawyer Hector got the pin after hitting a slingshot cross body press on Shaw Koko Ware vs. Pat Tanaka Tanaka hit a rolling wheel kick to get the win King Kong Bundy vs. “Crusher” Jerry Blackwell Bundy missed a running splash, then Blackwell hit his own splash to score the victory AWA Southern Title match : Al Perez © vs. Jesse Barr Perez caught Barr in a German Suplex to successfully defend his title AWA World Tag Title match : The British Bulldogs © vs. Buddy Rose & Doug Somers Both teams were counted out while brawling outside the ring Paul Orndorff & Lex Luger vs. Curt Hennig & Nick Bockwinkel Luger was attempting the Human Torture Rack, but Bockwinkel blocked it then pinned him with a roll up

AWA show from the Met Center, Bloomington, on November 1st (As shown on ESPN / TSN Super Cards) Chavo Guerrero vs. Dave Schultz Chavo hit a flying somersault senton to get the win Leo Burke vs. Norman Smiley Burke put Smiley out with a sleeper hold Sgt. Slaughter & Cpl. Scott Hall vs. Kevin Sullivan & Dan Spivey Hall pinned Sullivan after the Corporal Punishment Chain Match : The Great Kabuki vs. Kendo Nagasaki An incredibly bloody match ending with Kabuki wrapping the chain around his leg and hitting a series of kicks to Kendo’s face before pinning him Tony Atlas & Onyx Express vs. Greg Gagne & ?? Gagne announced his partners as the Killer Bees. The Bees ended up executing the Bee Stinger (double flying hip attack) on Koko to get the win for their team AWA Southern Tag Title match : Badd Company © vs. Mike Rotunda & Rick Steiner Steiner ran face first into a thrust kick from Tanaka which spelled the end of their title challenge AWA World Title match : Paul Orndorff © vs. Curt Hennig Both men went to a 1 hour time limit draw

Going to zip through the next few shows to try to get caught up. AWA All-Star Wrestling on ESPN / TSN for November 1st Greg Gagne vs. Tony Atlas Atlas came out accompanied by Koko Ware and Brickhouse Brown. When the ref told them that he had to send them back to the locker room, Atlas, with an audible smirk, informed him that his lawyers had overturned the ban of them appearing at ringside, since Paul Orndorff had violated the terms of it by bringing Kevin Sullivan to the ring with him for their match in Milwaukee. When the ref discovered this to be true, he found himself helpless to remove them from ringside. Gagne put up a game effort, keeping Atlas on his toes throughout the match, but when Koko distracted the ref, Brickhouse hit a missile dropkick on Gagne that set him up for a running splash by Atlas to get the pin. After the match, Gagne got on the ring and challenged Onyx Express to a six man match with him and partners of his choosing. Cpl. Scott Hall vs. Rick Steiner A showdown of big , powerful wrestlers that ended with Hall hitting the Corporal Punishment to score the victory. Post-match, Hall and Dan Spivey bumped chests at ringside. Killer Khan vs. Brad Armstrong Try though he might, Armstrong ultimately found himself overwhelmed by Khan, who forced him to give up to the Oriental Thumb Choke. This was not enough for Khan, however, who then went up to the top rope and landed a devastating flying knee drop to Armstrong’s sternum. Sunshine was clearly distraught as Armstrong was taken from the ring on a stretcher. Davey Boy Smith vs. Doug Somers Another wild match between the members of the British Bulldogs and Playboy After Dark. Buddy Rose was trying to interfere in the match, but was cut off by Dynamite Kid. With this distraction, Davey Boy was able to power slam Somers for the win. AWA World Title match : Paul Orndorff © vs. Steven Regal After winning his series with Leo Burke, Regal was awarded a match with the World champ. The Young Gentleman gave an especially good accounting of himself in a match that swung back and forth, but Orndorff was ultimately able to hit the Piledriver which spelled the end of the match. This was not the end of the action, however, as Orndorff, clearly annoyed with how much fight Regal gave him, put the boots to him post-match. Norman Smiley and the British Bulldogs rushed out to protect Regal, but found themselves interecepted by Kevin Sullivan and the Varsity Club. Orndorff looked set to give another Piledriver, but Curt Hennig was able to break through and put a stop to that. Orndorff and the Varsity Club turned tail and fled from the ring.

Would Pat Tanaka be alright?

Just a reminder that Jerry Lawler and the Rock & Roll Express will be in this draft as well.

Running behind because my life has been chaos but still in the game and will work hard to get caught up.

One more manager for the 1986 draft : The Doctor Of Style, Slick.

Some friends of mine got the offer to attend, but it sounds like they are leaning towards our traditional Wrestling Watching night.

If nothing else, if he ever has a tournament, we know who is going out in the first round.

Given discussion on the Free Agent roster, if Chris Youngblood isn't on a current roster, he should go in to the 1986 Fresh Face draft.

Hmmm, wikipedia has Chris Youngblood debuting in 1985, Cagematch has a couple of isolated matches in 1984 but then nothing until late 1986.

So the AWA has a special event planned for the November 15th and 16th shows in Denver and Salt Lake City, respectively. Those cities will host the first ever AWA Tag Team Invitational Tournament, a 2 night single-elimination tournament featuring tag teams fromt he AWA and all over North America. They will be broadcast on ESPN and TSN on special editions of Super Cards The initial pairings have now been announced, and here they are. Jacques & Armand Rougeau (courtesy of Lutte Internationale) vs. Buddy Rose & Doug Somers The British Bulldogs vs. Mike Rotundo & Rick Steiner The Freebirds (courtesy of WCCW) vs. British Steel The Onyx Express vs. The Killer Bees Badd Company vs. Buzz Sawyer & Dave Schultz The Midnight Express (courtesy of UWF) vs. Cpl. Scott Hall & Pvt. Mick Foley The Road Warriors (courtesy of UWF) vs. Chavo & Hector Guerrero Lord Humongous & Botswana Beast (courtesy of Lutte Internationale) vs. Killer Khan & Jerry Blackwell

Here is the line up for the AWA Invitational Tag Team Tournament for November 15th and 16th . The British Bulldogs The Killer Bees British Steel Cpl. Scott Hall & Pvt. Mick Foley Chavo & Hector Guerrero Badd Company Mike Rotundo & Rick Steiner The Onyx Express Buzz Sawyer & Dave Schultz Killer Khan & "Crusher" Jerry Blackwell Buddy Rose & Doug Somers The Freebirds Road Warriors Midnight Express Jacques & Armand Rougeau Lord Humongous & Botswana Beast

AWA show from the Saddledome, Calgary, October 26th Bob Roop & Tojo Yamamoto vs. Hector & Chavo Guerrero Hector executed a double underhook suplex on Tojo for the win Jesse Barr vs. Pvt. Mick Foley Foley started the match by wandering around the ring, seeming confused. Barr pinned him after a bulldog headlock Dan Spivey & Mike Rotundo vs. British Steel Spivey hit the Big Leg Drop on Smiley for the victory Mike Shaw vs. Cpl. Scott Hall Hall got the win with a side slam Falls Count Anywhere Match : The Great Kabuki vs. Kendo Nagasaki Kabuki piledrove Nagasaki on the concrete for the win AWA World Tag Title Match : The British Bulldogs © vs. Buddy Rose & Doug Somers A bloody, out of control fight that ultimately went to a double DQ when both sides would not quit brawling AWA Southern Title match : Al Perez © vs. Dave Schultz Perez made Schultz give up to the Oriental Armbar

Kabuki actually had a run as a babyface in Texas, managed by .... Sunshine. It was actually around this time (well, a few months before).

AWA show from the Winnipeg Arena, Winnipeg, for October 25th (as shown on ESPN / TSN Super Cards) Mando Guerrero vs. Rick Steiner Mando made Steiner submit to a Gory Special Sgt. Slaughter & King Kong Bundy vs. Killer Khan & Jerry Blackwell Blackwell pinned Bundy after a running splash Buzz Sawyer vs. Brad Armstrong Sawyer pinned Armstrong after hitting a bulldog headlock Tony Atlas vs. Greg Gagne Both men were counted out while brawling outside the ring AWA Canadian Title Match : Rick Martel © vs. Don Muraco Martel hit a slingshot splash to defend his title AWA Southern Tag Team Title match : Badd Company ©vs. The Onyx Express Tanaka caught Koko in a rolling wheel kick to get the victory AWA World Title Match : Paul Orndorff © vs. Curt Hennig Hennig won by DQ when he was struck by Kevin Sullivan. Orndorff retained the World Title.

AWA All-Star Wrestling for October 25th Dan Spivey vs. Kel Gleason Typical Spivey ego fest, starting with him offering a handshake to the young Gleason, then suckering him with a groin kick followed by a lariat. Cue Big Boot, Big Leg Drop, massive grandstanding, etc. etc. etc. As Spivey and Sullivan left the ring, Ken Resnick greeted them for a quick interview. Resnick : Dan Spivey, last week, you and Kevin Sullivan kept attacking Pvt. Mick Foley, even after you had won the match. What gives? Spivey : Well, you know, Big Ken, Foley is just a stepping stone. So I stepped on him, several times. I did what I did to Foley to make a statement, that the Incredible Danster is what is happening in the AWA! (Suddenly, Cpl. Scott Hall appears at ringside and confronts Spivey.) Hall : Listen up, Spivey! You didn’t need to do that to Private Mick. You already pinned him , but you and your little monkey just had to kick a man when he was down, and now he’s all messed up in the head. Well, you’re going to find out that when you take on one of the Corps, the rest of us will come at you, guns blazing! Spivey : You’re the one who should watch your step, Scotty! You’re going to find out what it is like to cross the best thing going in wrestling, namely me! And what are you going to do when Spiveymania runs wild on … (Spivey gets cut off by a solid right fist to the face from Hall. The two continued brawling until the AWA officials had to separate the two.) Kendo Nagasaki, Killer Khan & Tojo Yamamoto vs. Great Kabuki, Al Perez & Brad Armstrong Kabuki and Nagasaki went at it fist and fire, as could be predicted, but surprisingly that was not the main story of this match. Armstrong was in the ring with Khan and managed to keep him frustrated and off balance with a series of dropkicks. Khan got progressively more irate until he grabbed Armstrong, whipped him hard into the corner and started going crazy on him with chops and kicks. Khan kept tearing into Armstrong and would not stop, even when the ref tried to intercede, getting a headbutt for his troubles. The led to a DQ decision, and Kabuki and Perez were finally able to get Armstrong out of the ring, but clearly Khan has Armstrong in his sights and isn’t likely to let up for long. Buddy Rose vs. Dynamite Kid Playboy After Dark have been a persistent thorn in the side of the World Tag Team champs, and it certainly looked like Dynamite Kid was fixing to make Rose pay for all of the trouble they have caused them. Kid went after the Playboy like, well, an attack dog, relentlessly pummeling him with punches and clubbing forearms. Rose was usually able to weasel his way out of it, but that just kept Dynamite charging after him with renewed intensity. Dynamite whipped Rose hard into the corner and came in for a clothesline, but Rose ducked out of the way just in time and when Dynamite ricocheted out of the corner, Rose trapped him in a roll up. He grabbed onto the tights and had his feet high on the ropes for leverage, but the ref obliviously counted the one two three. Dynamite and the fans were livid at this result, but Rose just cackled and pointed at his head, self satisfied that he had put one over on the Kid. Interview : Ken Resnick stands in the ring Resnick : Folks, my next guest has a lot to answer for after the results of last week. Ladies and gentlemen, the AWA World Heavyweight Champion, Paul Orndorff! The crowd jeered loudly as Orndorff, accompanied by Kevin Sullivan and Fallen Angel, walked out to the ring. Orndorff, for his part, shouted at the crowd to shut up, then covered his ears when they just booed louder. Resnick : Paul Orndorff, in last week’s match with the Onyx Express, you brutally attacked your partner and best friend, Ricky Steamboat! What on earth were you thinking? Orndorff : You shut your face, Resnick! Steamboat was no friend to me! I didn’t want anything to do with the Onyx Express. I am World Champion, I have to focus on defending my belt. But Steamboat just had to drag me into his problems and I get stuck in tag matches and having to defend against Atlas. And when the Onyx Express decides to gang up on me, where is Steamboat? Nowhere! Some friend he is. Resnick : Paul Orndorff, Ricky Steamboat had already been badly hurt by the Onyx Express! He was in no condition to help you. Orndorff : Always with the excuses. Well I’m not pulling his fat out of the fire any more. From now on, the only one I’m looking out for is Mr. Wonderful , and that is me! I’m the champion and that is all that is important to me. This man knows the score and he is the only one I trust to watch my back. Kevin Sullivan : That’s right, Mister Resnick! I watched the Varsity Club challenge this man, and I could see that there was a fire inside of him. And that people like Steamboat were just out to diminish his flame. I’m going to fan that fire into a blazing inferno that will incinerate all of the AWA! Curt Hennig & Rick Martel vs. Lex Luger & Don Muraco The Syndicate tried to out muscle Hennig and Martel with a lot of big slams and power moves , but it didn’t take long for the two popular favorites to regroup and take back the momentum with a lot of quick tags and double team moves. Muraco and Luger just couldn’t keep their opponents down for long, and Muraco tried to break their stride by tossing Martel out of the ring, not noticing that Martel had snagged the top rope. When he turned around to spot Martel , Martel came over the ropes with a slingshot press while Hennig caught him with a schoolboy trip. Martel kept Muraco’s shoulders down for the one two three. Cage Match : Leo Burke vs. Steven Regal With the best of 5 series even at 2 apiece, this match was for all the marbles, and would take place within the confines of the steel cage. Burke for his part seemed determined to finally show his technical superiority over his young British opponent, with a lot of takedowns and weardown holds to try and break Regal for good. Regal, however, shocked the crowd by getting out of each predicament by sneaking in cheap shots, low blows and other dirty tricks. In spite of this strange behaviour by the “Young Gentleman” , Burke kept trying to outwrestle Regal, but with each short cut escape that Regal took, Burke got more frustrated and more angry. He eventually got fed up and just started attacking him with lefts and rights and ramming him into the cage. He even busted Regal open while trying to beat him down, finally getting him set up for the sleeper. Regal was able to block it and started firing back with his own punches. Burke tried to respond with his own blows, but Regal dodged them with ease, and his plan was revealed. By getting him mad, Regal had been able to goad Burke into expending all his energy , and now there was nothing left in the tank. A failed clothesline attempt by Burke sent him head first into the cage, and Regal was able to easily take him down and lock him in the Regal Stretch. Burke was trapped and helpless in the middle of the ring , and gave up the match. Regal held his hands up to the cheers of the fans, having proved himself the ultimate victor of the series.

AWA show from the International Amphitheater, Chicago, October 19th British Steel vs. Leo Burke & Ed Wiskowski After Regal knocked him out with the Iron Fist Punch, Wiskowski was caught by Smiley in the Norman Conquest that gave the win to British Steel Rick Steiner vs. Brad Armstrong Steiner was about to hit a belly to back suplex on Armstrong, but Brad reversed it into a Russian Legsweep for the victory Mike Rotundo & Kevin Sullivan vs. Sgt. Slaughter & King Kong Bundy Sarge nailed Sullivan with the Slaughter Cannon then pinned him Kendo Stick Match : The Great Kabuki vs. Kendo Nagasaki In an incredibly bloody brawl, Kabuki finally piledrove Nagasaki onto the kendo stick to finally win the match AWA Southern Title match : Al Perez © vs. Jesse Barr Both men went to a 30 minute time limit draw AWA Southern Tag Title match : Badd Company © vs. The Onyx Express Tony Atlas was substituting for Koko, who was still hurt after the TV match. In spite of a mighty effort by Atlas and Brickhouse, Diamond was able to catch Brickhouse with a flying back body press to defend their belts. AWA American Title match : Lex Luger © vs. Nick Bockwinkel Bockwinkel was going to suplex Luger back into the ring, but Sheikh Adnan tripped him from the outside and held his leg down as Luger landed on top to get the tainted victory for the champion

AWA show from the Mecca , Milwaukee, October 18th (as shown on ESPN / TSN Super Cards) The Guerreros vs. Buzz Sawyer, Dave Schultz & Mike Shaw Mando pinned Schultz with a moonsault Buddy Rose & Doug Somers vs. The Moondogs Rose hit the Inside Out Backbreaker on Spot for the win Cpl. Scott Hall vs. Kevin Sullivan Hall won by DQ when Dan Spivey interfered Greg Gagne vs. Dan Spivey Spivey got the win with the Big Leg Drop Curt Hennig vs. Kendo Nagasaki Great Kabuki snuck in and hit Kendo with a throat thrust that set him up for a Cradle Suplex by Hennig for the win AWA World Tag Title match : The British Bulldogs © vs. Killer Khan & Jerry Blackwell After a bitter brawl, Davey Boy press slammed Dynamite onto Khan to defend their belts AWA World Title match : Paul Orndorff © vs. Tony Atlas (Onyx Express banned from ringside) After the events of the most recent TV show, the crowd booed loudly when Orndorff’s name was announced, but exploded in vitriol when he came to the ring accompanied by Kevin Sullivan and the Fallen Angel! The fans rained curses down on both men, but seemed to hate Atlas slightly less as the war waged back and forth . Orndorff was finally able to take out Atlas with the piledriver, and shouted back at the crowd to shut up as they voiced their displeasure with him.

AWA All-Star Wrestling on ESPN / TSN for October 18th Dan Spivey vs. Pvt. Mick Foley Of late, Spivey has been grandstanding his way through his past several matches as he stampeded over an array of rookies. This time out, however , he was facing the young recruit of the Cobra Corps. It didn’t start out much differently from any of his other matches, with Spivey sauntering around the ring while flexing his muscles and ripping off his t-shirt, which now bore a logo that read Spiveymania. He then encouraged Foley to flex a pose as well, as he had done with some of his past opponents. Foley, however, was not in the mood for his nonsense and responded with a big hight cross that caught Spivey off guard. He kept it coming with lefts and rights that drove his much bigger opponent into the corner at it looked like Foley might just pull off an upset. But Spivey was able to compose himself and charged out of the corner with a lariat that drove Foley to the mat. He then started to unload his series of power moves that ground down Foley. Make no mistake, the popular Foley put up a hell of a fight, but in the end Spivey just overwhelmed him with his strength, hitting the Big Boot and Big Leg Drop combination to put an end to the match. Spivey then helped Foley up and started to applaud Foley, seemingly showing respect for the younger man … then proved he was just mocking him by hitting him with a massive clothesline. Kevin Sullivan got in on the act with a running double foot stomp before Spivey hit another Big Leg Drop, over the protests of the ref. The two bullies were finally run off by Cpl. Scott Hall charging out to the ring to rescue his comrade. Foley was clearly in a bad state as Hall helped him from the ring. Mando, Chavo & Hector Guerrero vs. John Palyok, Brady Finta & John Kenney Chavo Guerro had a brief run in the AWA a year or so ago, but now he was back and brought his two brothers with him, which got a warm response from the fans. The crowd loudly cheered on the brothers as they easily dominated the three rookies with their repertoire of suplexes, high flying maneuvers, and double- and triple-team moves before finally dispatching young Kenney with a somersault senton. Looks like the Guerreros are a new force to watch out for in the AWA. Nick Bockwinkel vs. Bob Roop Bockwinkel and Roop had squared off a number of times before, with it always being an exciting technical match up, but this time out, with Bock gunning for the American Title held by Roop’s stablemate Lex Luger, there seemed to be an edge of extra viciousness in Roops attack. Roop kept adding extra leverage to his wrenching of Bock’s arms and legs in various limb locks. Nick, for his part, kept his trademark poise and was able to withstand the attacks, focusing his own attention on wearing down Roop’s powerful legs. Several times he had Roop set up for the figure four, only for Roop to block or reverse it. The end came when Roop went for a running kneedrop on Bock, only for him to roll out of the way at the last second and swiftly apply the figure four. Roop struggled mightily, but was stranded in the middle of the ring and ultimately had no choice but to give up. After the match, Bockwinkel got on the mic and said that he was done with dealing with the Sinister Syndicate’s enforcers and would only be taking title matches with Lex Luger. Falls Count Anywhere Match : Leo Burke vs. Steven Regal This match is the 4th in the best of Five series between Burke and Regal, and with Burke up 2-1, the onus was on the “Young Gentleman” to win this match to stay alive in the series. The two men brawled all over the arena, with Burke determined to put a stop to Regal’s challenge once and for all, and Regal equally determined to never knuckle under to Burke. Burke seemed about to polish off Regal with a huge clothesline as he stood him up against a ringside barricade, but Regal countered with a drop toe hold that sent Burke face first into the barricade. Regal quickly locked Burke in the Regal Stretch while grinding his face into the barricade, and no matter what Burke did, he could not escape and finally had to give in. The series was now even at 2 wins apiece, and the deciding match would be next week, with both men stepping into a steel cage. Paul Orndorff & Ricky Steamboat vs. Onyx Express These four men have had several matches in various iterations, but they would finally meet in a straightforward tag match with Tony Atlas, the leader of the Express, banned from ringside. This would seemingly put the Express at a disadvantage, but Koko and Brickhouse have really come into their own as a team, and they continually kept Orndorff and Steamboat on their toes, with their deep bag of tricks and sneaking in and out of the ring. Orndorff in particular grew progressively more upset as the match wore on, with every time he started to assert dominance over one of the Express being interrupted by the other. He looked like he was finally going to take control when he clotheslined Brickhouse out of the ring, but while the ref was checking on Brickhouse, Koko snuck into the ring with a chair. Before he could do anything with it, however, Orndorff stopped him with a boot to the midsection, grabbed the chair and blasted Koko with it. The ref caught this and called for the DQ, but Orndorff paid this no mind, hitting Brickhouse with is as well before really going to town on Koko with the chair. It wasn’t enough for the Champ, who looked like he was going to put Koko out of wrestling for good as he set him up for a piledriver on the chair. This was too much for Steamboat , who intervened and pleaded with Orndorff not to do this. It seemed like Orndorff had calmed down, but then picked up the chair to do more damage to Koko. Steamboat grabbed it out of his hands and told him to cool down. Orndorff nodded, but when Steamboat’s back was turned … Orndorff hammered him from behind with a clothesline! The crowd gasped as Orndorrf hit Steamboat a couple of times with the chair before executing the Piledriver on him. Now he was about to piledrive Steamboat on the chair, but Sgt. Slaughter, Curt Hennig and Nick Bockwinkel charged out to the ring and prevented him from putting his partner out of action. What on earth has gotten into the World Champion?

The AWA sends Crusher, Lou Winston and Jerry Bryant to Free Agency and pick up Chavo, Hector & Mando Guerrero