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AWA All-Star Wrestling for June 14th “Pretty Boy” Doug Somers vs. Al Perez Seemingly out of nowhere, Al Perez has made a bit of a comeback and gotten some wins over members of Playboy After Dark. Somers was clearly determined to end the streak here, as he relentlessly went after Perez with punches and elbow smashes. At one point , Somers had Perez trapped in the corner and came in with a big elbow smash, only for Perez to duck out of the way at the last second and send Somers to crash elbow first into the turnbuckle. Perez then hit a German Suplex on Somers and hit the one two three. After the match, Perez pointed to his waist, indicating he had his eyes on the AWA Southern Title, currently held by “Playboy” Buddy Rose, but he might have to wait in line to get at him. Memphis Vice vs. The Moondogs This would be the first proper AWA match for the Moondogs, after interfering in the match between Memphis Vice and Buck Robley’s Army last week in Bloomington. It would be difficult to call this properly a match, as it was nothing but a knock down, drag out brawl with the members of Memphis Vice doing their best to hang in with their bigger, meaner opponents. The ref eventually gave up any attempt to maintain control and declared the match a no-contest, but both sides kept slugging it out long after the closing bell, with Buzz Sawyer and Dave Schultz joining in on the festivities towards the end. The British Bulldogs vs. The PYT Express Another team having their first match on All-Star Wrestling was the exciting new pairing from England, Davey Boy Smith and Dynamite Kid. They really got the fans revved up as they dominated the Express with ease, tossing them around the ring in a thrilling diplay of double team and power moves. Davey Boy hit the running power slam on Koko to set him up for a flying headbutt by Dynamite to get the win. Looks like the Varsity Club had best keep an eye out for this new threat to their World Title. Rick Rude vs. Paul Diamond Rude is currently gunning for Paul Orndorff’s World Title, and looked to be sending a message in this match with one half of Badd Company. There seemed to be an added edge of viciousness to his attacks on Diamond, mixed in with grandstanding poses and hip swivels at Sunshine, who was clearly unimpressed with Rude as she cheered on her man. It looked like this might cost Rude the match as Diamond caught him in a roll up as he was posing, but Rude kicked out and immediately hit a nasty Rude Awakening to get the pin. This was not enough, though, as he hit a second one out of spite, and might have gone for a third had not Sunshine and Pat Tanaka rushed to the ring to protect the badly hurt Diamond. No DQ match : Sgt. Slaughter, Cpl. Scott Hall & Wahoo McDaniel vs. The Zambuie Express & Kendo Nagasaki The Sinister Syndicate seemed full of confidence as the no DQ stipulation looked like it would play right into their hands, but Sarge gave the impression that he had an ace up his sleeve as his team came out to the ring, and he asked for the ringside microphone. He then said he was proud to introduce the latest recruit into the Cobra Corps … Private Mick Foley! The crowd cheered as the cammoflage clad Foley came out the ring waving an American flag, his shaggy locks shorn into a high and tight haircut. The Syndicate didn’t seem to take Pvt. Foley seriously as he cheered his new mentor on from ringside. Perhaps they should have, as after a lengthy brawl, Shiekh Kaissie was about to throw the kendo stick in to Nagasaki, only to be tackled to the ground by Foley. Nagasaki then found himself on the business end of the Corporal Punshment by Scott Hall to give the victory to the Cobra Corps. The members of the winning team hoisted Foley on their shoulders after their match, and Mick seemed overjoyed that he had finally found a place he belonged.

AWA Show from Cobo Hall, Detroit, June 8th Mike Shaw vs. Jerry Bryant Shaw pinned Bryant with a power slam Leo Burke vs. Al Perez Burke went for a sleeper hold, but Perez countered with a German Suplex for the victory Badd Company vs. Kevin Sullivan & Dan Spivey Badd Company combined a schoolboy trip by Tanaka with a flying back body press by Diamond on Spivey to get a shocking pinfall Nick Bockwinkel vs. Jack Victory Bockwinkel hit a piledriver on Victory to get the win Sgt. Slaughter & Cpl. Scott Hall vs. Zambuie Express Sheikh Adnan Kaissie tripped Hall from the outside to set him up for an elbow smash to the back of the head by Muhammad to give the victory to the Zambuie Express Wahoo McDaniel vs. Bob Roop After a lengthy and intense fight, Wahoo caught Roop with a running overhead chop to finally score the pinfall AWA American Title match : Lex Luger © vs. Curt Hennig Both men went to a 20 minute time limit draw

AWA show from the Met Centre , Bloomington, June 7th (as shown on ESPN/TSN Super Cards) Memphis Vice vs. Buzz Sawyer & Dave Schultz The match was declared a no contest when two men charged out to the ring and attacked Memphis Vice … then attacked Sawyer and Schultz. It was Spot and Rex, the Moondogs! The rowdy pair had not been seen in the AWA before, and they were certainly making an impact in their first appearance. Sawyer and Schultz ducked out of the ring and left Memphis Vice to take a brutal beating at the hands of the Moondogs until security was able to clear the ring. Ivan Putski vs. Kendo Nagasaki Nagasaki pinned Putski after a thrust kick to the jaw. Nick Bockwinkel & Greg Gagne vs. Buddy Rose & Ed Wiskowski Bockwinkel got the win for his team after an inside cradle on Wiskowski The British Bulldogs vs. The PYT Express Davey Boy Smith powerslammed Koko to set him up for a flying headbutt by Dynamite Kid to get the victory One Man Gang vs. Ricky Steamboat Early in the match, Gang had taken the turnbuckle padding off one of the corners. Later on, Steamboat had Gang locked in a sleeper, and Gang tried to drive Steamboat back into that corner, only for Steamboat to release the sleeper at the last moment and Gang went back first into the exposed turnbuckle. Steamboat then swiftly went up top and hit the Flying Cross Body Press for the win. AWA World Tag Title match : The Varsity Club © vs. Takashi Ishikawa & Masahiro Chono In a match that went right up to the time limit, Steiner hit a belly to belly suplex on Chono at the last moment to successfully defend their belts. AWA World Title Match : Paul Orndorff © vs. Rick Rude Rude grabbed a fistful of trunks to get Orndorff in a small package , but Orndorff grabbed a fistful of Rude’s trunks to reverse it and score the pinfall.

The Foley story is about to have the payoff. This is how I was planning to have the Bulldogs make their TV debut, but when I realized that they would be available for the June 1st show, I had them make an early appearance as a treat for the Calgary house show fans.

AWA All-Star Wrestling on ESPN/TSN for June 7th Doug Somers vs. Greg Gagne Somers was joined at ringside by “Playboy” Buddy Rose , his chief in Playboy After Dark, while Gagne was accompanied by Nick Bockwinkel , which made for an odd pairing. Regardless, Bockwinkel cheered on the son of his greatest rival, who weathered out a furious assault from Somers to use his considerable technical prowess to gain control of the match. At this point, Rose looked like he would attempt to interfere in the match, but suddenly found Bockwinkel standing in front of him, staring him down. Rose froze in his tracks, and Somers was sufficiently distracted by this that he failed to spot Gagne lining him up for a precision dropkick to the face which got him the win. Rose was clearly furious after the match. AWA World Tag Team Title match : The Varsity Club © vs. British Steel The young British team were not only out for the title belts but seeking revenge against Rotundo, who had turned his back on them in joining the Varsity Club. Regal and Smiley put up a gallant effort but ultimately found themselves overwhelmed by the size and power of Rotundo and Steiner, and when Rotundo pinned Smiley after the Syracuse Drop, that seemed to be the end of that. But clearly the Varsity Club had not gotten enough sadistic pleasure yet, as all four members (including Dan Spivey and Kevin Sullivan) continued to beat down Regal, determined to make him regret daring to challenge them. Da Crusher and Badd Company rushed out to the ring to try to make the save, but were greeted with the Golden Spike or a chair shot that ended their rescue attempt. But suddenly, two muscular men in Union Jack capes charged out and started cleaning house. It was the British Bulldogs, Davey Boy Smith and Dynamite Kid! The crowd had heard whispers that they had showed up at the recent Calgary show, but this was there first appearance on AWA TV, and they made the most of it , tossing the members of the Varsity Club out of the ring with shocking ease. Sullivan’s men beat a hasty retreat to the locker room as the Bulldogs helped their British countrymen to their feet. Ed Wiskowski vs. Nick Bockwinkel Another match in Bockwinkel’s feud with Playboy After Dark, with the powerful Polish Prince trying to do as much damage as he could to the former champ. Buddy Rose had clearly run out of patience, as the match didn’t go two minutes before Rose dashed into the ring and attacked Bockwinkel from behind , leading to an automatic DQ. The Playboy and the Prince both continued to beat on Nick until Curt Hennig and Greg Gagne ran out, leading to them fleeing to the locker room. These cowardly tactics don’t seem to be having much effect on Bockwinkel, who stood laughing in the ring, daring them to come back out. Ricky Steamboat vs. Bob Roop Steamboat has lately interposed himself between the Sinister Syndicate and their attacks on the World Champ, Paul Orndorff. This time out, he was facing the hit man of the Syndicate, Bob Roop, who relentlessly went after Steamboat’s arm to set him up for the shoulder breaker. No matter what Steamboat did to counter this, Roop kept on tearing away at the arm. It looked like he would finally get Steamboat in position for the shoulder breaker, but Steamboat slid out of it, and countered with a belly to back suplex that just barely got the three count. Steamboat came out the victory, but clearly had taken a lot of damage in doing so. Sgt. Slaughter, Cpl. Scott Hall & Wahoo McDaniel vs. ??? The Cobra Corps were scheduled to take on the Sinister Syndicate, but with the news that they had run Botswana Beast and Lord Humongous out of the AWA, they came out with no clue as to which members they would actually face. The answer came when Sheikh Adnan Kaissie came out to the ring followed by Elijah Akeem, Kareem Muhammad, Kendo Nagasaki … and Mick Foley? The shaggy newcomer, in his never ending quest to join some group, trailed along behind them, wearing a burnoose. While Nagasaki and the Zambuie Express seemed confused and annoyed by his presence, Shiekh Kaissie welcomed him, putting an arm around Foley and encouraging him to watch the match with him. The match was as crazy as one could imagine, with intense brawling that only officially came to an end when Nagasaki thrust kicked the ref in the jaw for the DQ. Kaissie then told Foley to rush into the ring, but Foley soon found himself getting the green mist to the eyes, courtesy of Nagasaki. Kaissie’s seeming friendliness was revealed as a ruse to make an example of Foley, as he directed Nagasaki and the Zambuie Express to savagely attack. It took a lot of effort on the part of Sarge and his partners to finally get the battered Foley clear of the Syndicate, and the Cobra Corps gingerly assisted the dazed rookie to get medical attention.

I'm a fan of both guys and enjoy how you have used them. I had Gama before but you are getting more out of him than I did.

Going to use my new open spot to pluck Kendo Nagasaki. That is Sakurada and not Pete Thornley, right?

AWA show from the Saddledome, Calgary, June 1st Steven Regal vs. Mick Foley Regal won with an Oklahoma Roll Takashi Ishikawa & Masahiro Chono vs. Badd Company Ishikawa pinned Diamond after a lariat Mike Shaw vs. Da Crusher Shaw hit a running splash to get the victory The PYT Express vs. The Fabulous Ones As noted, the PYTs were supposed to be taking on the Fabs, but Keirn and Lane’s exit from the AWA as of the previous show meant that this match was up in the air. Both the PYTs and the fans were anxious to find out who would be the opponents, but the fans were overjoyed (certainly more so than the PYTs) when the announcer introduced …… Davey Boy Smith and Dynamite Kid, the British Bulldogs! The crowd exploded as the Bulldogs stormed the ring and made short work of the PYTs, with Dave Boy powerslamming Brickhouse followed by Dynamite hitting a top rope headbutt for the victory. Ricky Steamboat vs. Rick Rude Steamboat hit the top rope flying cross body press, but Rude grabbed the tights and reversed it with a rollover for the pinfall AWA Southern Title 2/3 Falls Match : Buddy Rose © vs. Curt Hennig Rose won the first pinfall with the Inside Out Backbreaker. Hennig got the second with a cradle suplex. The two continued fighting in the third fall until the 45 minute time limit, leading to a draw result. Rose retained his title.

AWA show from the Winnipeg Arena, Winnipeg, May 31st (as shown on ESPN/TSN Super Cards) Buzz Sawyer & Dave Schultz vs. Memphis Vice Sawyer and Schultz pinned Winston after a double bulldog Al Perez vs. Norman Smiley Smiley tried to put the Norman Conquest on Perez, but Perez blocked it and turned it around into a German Suplex for the win Nick Bockwinkel & Curt Hennig vs. Buddy Rose & Doug Somers After an intense match, Hennig ducked under a clothesline by Rose and then hit the Ax Lariat on Rose to send him into a belly to back suplex by Bockwinkel who got the pin on the Southern champ. No DQ Match : Sgt. Slaughter & Wahoo McDaniel vs. Botswana Beast & Lord Humongous Beast and Humongous were accompanied to the ring by Sheik Adnan Kaissie while Sarge and Wahoo were accompanied by Cpl. Scott Hall. It looked like there was still a lot of static between Sarge and Wahoo, as Wahoo kept in his corner throughout the match and did not lift one finger to try to tag in or help Sarge in anyway. The Syndicate took advantage of this, working over Sarge while his partner did nothing to help him. Cpl. Hall kept pleading with Wahoo throughout the match, but the big Chief would not budge. This started to turn around late in the match when Humongous and Beast threw all decorum out of the match and started relentlessly double teaming Sarge, with Humongous bloodying him with hockey mask assisted headbutts while Beast held him down. This seemed to get Wahoo madder and madder, but he reached the breaking point when Sheikh Kaissie got in on the fun and started slapping the big drill sergeant while he was down. This clearly hit the chief’s berserk button , as he roared and charged into the ring, going to town with massive chops on Beast’s head that left him bloodied and bruised. Humongous tried to break it up, but he was felled by a mighty kick from Wahoo, who then started stretching the masked man’s legs seven ways to Sunday before applying an Indian Leglock that forced Humongous to give up. When he finally let Humongous go, he helped Sarge to his feet and, after an anxious pause, embraced his partner, all ill feeling having been worked out. Cpl Hall raised both of their arms in victory to celebrate the win. AWA World Tag Team Title Loser-Leaves-Town match : The Varsity Club © vs. The Fabulous Ones Keirn was setting Rotundo up for a piledriver, but Rotundo powered out with a Fireman’s carry into a Samoan Drop for the win. The Fabulous Ones are now gone from the AWA AWA Canadian Title match : Rick Martel © vs. Leo Burke In an extremely tough match, Burke managed to get Martel in the Sleeper, but Martel kept driving him back first into the corner until Burke released it. Martel then wrapped Burke up with a double leg cradle to get the pinfall. AWA World Title match : Paul Orndorff © vs. Lex Luger Orndorff stunned Luger with a knee shot to the side of the head when they were brawling outside the ring, then made it back into the ring in time to win by countout.

AWA All-Star Wrestling on EXPN/TSN for May 31st Sgt. Slaughter & Wahoo McDaniel vs. The PYT Express Sarge and Wahoo would be teaming up again this week, but it seemed that relations between the two veterans continued to be more than a little bit strained. The moment the bell rang, Wahoo charged into the ring and started whaling on Koko Ware. He blistered Koko with chops and kicks, also taking down Brickhouse with a vicious kick when he tried to enter the ring, all without ever letting Sarge get so much as a look in on the match. After getting the pinfall on Koko with a huge overhand chop, he left the ring, all without saying a word to his partner. Hopefully, these two one time friends can patch up their differences soon. Nick Bockwinkel, Curt Hennig & Rick Martel vs. Buddy Rose, Doug Somers & Leo Burke For this match with Playboy After Dark, Nick Bockwinkel brought in the Canadian champ Rick Martel to join him and Curt Hennig. This led to an exciting and fast paced match, with Playboy After Dark digging into their bag of dirty tricks every time the momentum went out of their hands and Burke focusing much of his aggression on Martel. In the end, Hennig and Bockwinkel were able to gain the upper hand long enough to slingshot Martel from the ring apron onto Somers to get the victory in this hard fought match. AWA World Tag Title match : The Varsity Club © vs. The Can-Am Express Zenk and LaFon have impressed a lot of people since returning from their tour of Japan, and they looked to be making the most of their title shot as they took the champs to the limit and got several near falls throughout the match . Ultimately, a mistimed cross body press by Zenk was caught by Steiner and turned into a crushing power slam that put an end to the Express’ title shot. The Varsity Club had best not get too cocky, as the announcement came out after the match that the upcoming title match between the Club and the Fabulous Ones would be a Loser Leaves Town match. AWA American Title match : Lex Luger © vs. Ivan Putski For the first time, Luger would be defending his title against someone whose power and physique rivaled his own in the popular Polish Powerhouse. Luger tried to intimidate Putski by flexing his biceps, but Putski did some poses of his own, and it was no surprise whose display gained the crowd’s favor more. This clearly annoyed Lex, and when Putski challenged him to lock knuckles in a test of strength, Lex refused. When Putski turned again to pose to the crowd, Lex swiftly ambushed from behind and rained down fists on his head. Luger tried to maintain his advantage throughout the match, but Putski just kept coming back at him, raring to go. Putski looked like he had Luger lined up for the Polish Hammer, but Sheikh Kaissie pulled down the ropes and sent him tumbling to the outside. Luger lost by DQ but kept his title, and he grabbed his belt and scrambled out of the ring with a petulant look on his face. AWA World Title Match : Paul Orndorff © vs. One Man Gang The Sinister Syndicate have been waging a campaign against the World champ consisting of pounding on him with all of their biggest members until he finally breaks, giving one of them the title. Well, he hasn’t broken so far, but it certainly wasn’t for lack of trying by the big 747. Gang attacked the champ with all of his big power moves, seeming to do some real damage against Mr. Wonderful, before setting him up for the front layout suplex. Orndorff still had enough left in the tank to counter with a big knee to the midsection that took the wind out of Gang’s sails. He then wrapped up OMG in a small package that just barely kept him down for the three count. How much longer can Orndorff’s luck prevail against the Syndicate? Only time will tell.

Interestingly, Adonis and Murdoch's attitudes post-match completely reflect what Barry Windham said about what it was like to work with them.

I was going to have Luger vs. Steamboat be a 30 minute draw, but figured that would be pushing it. I've always had a bit of a soft spot for Al Perez, I keep trying to find spaces to use him. Rose vs. Hennig, in my territory like in reality, just seems like a natural fit.

AWA show at the International Amphitheater , Chicago, May 25th Al Perez vs. Mick Foley Perez forced Foley to submit to a short arm scissors AWA Six-Man Tag Title Match : Mike Shaw, Buzz Sawyer & Dave Schultz vs. Da Crusher & British Steel Sawyer pinned Smiley after a running bulldog headlock Cpl. Scott Hall vs. Bob Roop Hall caught Roop with a side clam to get the victory AWA Southern Title match : Buddy Rose © vs. Curt Hennig After a hard fought match, Rose was able to block a cradle suplex attempt and reverse it into an Inside Out Back Breaker to successfully defend his title AWA World Tag Title match : The Varsity Club © vs. Badd Company Diamond hit a flying back body press on Rotundo, but Rotundo rolled through it and grabbed a fistful of tights to get the pin Nick Bockwinkel vs. Ed Wiskowski Bockwinkel pinned Wiskowski after a piledriver AWA American Title match : Lex Luger © vs. Ricky Steamboat Both men went to a 20 minute time limit draw

AWA show at the Mecca, Milwaukee , May 24th (As shown on ESPN/TSN Super Cards) Ivan Putski vs. Mike Shaw Shaw won with an Avalanche in the corner Steven Regal vs. Al Perez In an intense technical match, Perez had Regal set up for the German Suplex, but Regal escapes with a single leg take down then trapped Perez with the Regal Stretch to force him to submit. After the match, Regal offered a hand shake and, surprisingly, Perez accepted. Sgt. Slaughter vs. Wahoo McDaniel In a match leading in from the conflict from their match teaming up on All-Star Wrestling, both men went to a no contest as they would not stop brawling with each other. Once again, Cpl. Scott Hall wound up having to interpose himself between the two of them. Buddy Rose, Doug Somers & Leo Burke vs. Nick Bockwinkel, Curt Hennig & Greg Gagne Bockwinkel and Hennig took down Burke with a double lariat to get the win AWA World Tag Title Match : The Varsity Club © vs. The Fabulous Ones Kevin Sullivan threw the Golden Spike in to Mike Rotundo, who hit Keirn in the back of the head with the blunt end of it to get the pinfall Kevin Sullivan vs. Da Crusher Sullivan summoned in Steiner and Rotundo to interfere on his behalf, but they were intercepted by the Fabulous Ones. While Sullivan was distracted by their brawling, Crusher blindsided him with a Running Bolo Punch to get the one two three AWA World Title Match : Paul Orndorff © vs. Rick Rude Rick Rude was very close to getting the Rude Awakening on Orndorff, but Orndorff was able to counter it with a small package to successfully defend his belt. After the match, Rude ambushed Orndorff and was able to hit the Rude Awakening before Rick Steamboat came out to run him off.

AWA All-Star Wrestling on ESPN/TSN for May 24th Nick Bockwinkel vs. Doug Somers After spending the past couple of weeks showing up at ringside, this match marked Nick Bockwinkel’s return inside the AWA ring. He is already proving to be a thorn in the side of Playboy After Dark, who have sent “Pretty Boy” Doug Somers to cut him off at the pass. “Playboy” Buddy Rose was at ringside and gave direction to show no mercy to the former AWA World champ. Somers waged an all out assault on Bockwinkel , showing extra viciousness in his punches and elbow smashes, but Bockwinkel showed his trademark cool, letting Somers wear himself out and using his technical expertise to ward off or dodge most of the attacks. When the “Pretty Boy” was well and truly exhausted, Nick took the opportunity to strike, taking him down to the mat and putting his legs through a painful series of stretches before finally applying the Figure Four. As Somers struggled to escape, Bockwinkel grinned and looked pointedly at Rose, as if daring him to come in. No rescue was forthcoming and Somers had to surrender the match. Rose looked like he was about to go off on Bockwinkel, but a steely stare from Nick was enough to put him off, and Rose was left to plot for his next attempt to take him out. The PYT Express vs. Memphis Vice This would be the PYTs’ second match in as many weeks with the newcomers from Memphis and they were very keen to avenge their earlier loss. They brutally attacked Jerry Bryant before the bell and proceeded to trap him in their corner of the ring, pounding on him and foiling every attempt to tag out. It seemed like a successful strategy for most of the match, but then they got cocky and whipped him into the ropes for a double clothesline, only for him to duck under and make the hot tag to Lou Winston, who flattened them with his own double clothesline. While Bryant held onto Brickhouse by the legs, Winston got the one two three on Koko. Both members of the PYTs continued to argue long after the match. Takashi Ishikawa & Masahiro Chono vs. The Fabulous Ones The visiting Japanese team had an exciting match up with the current top contenders for the World Tag Titles, the Fabulous Ones, that included a chain wrestling exchange between Ishikawa and Keirn, as well as a battle of kicks between Lane and Chono. It came down to Chono trying to polish off Lane with a front kick, only for Lane to block it and then reverse it into a belly to back suplex that got the pinfall. Both teams bowed to each other and shook hands after the match. Sgt. Slaughter, Cpl. Scott Hall & Wahoo McDaniel vs. One Man Gang, Botswana Beast & Lord Humongous This match in Slaughter’s campaign against the Sinister Syndicate was as crazy as you can imagine, but got even crazier when Humongous ducked under a Slaughter Cannon and Sarge accidentally hit Wahoo instead. Gang swiftly hit a running splash on Wahoo while his partners held back Sarge and got the pinfall for his team. After the match, Wahoo was furious with Sarge and would not listen to his attempts to apologize and the two seemed about to come to blows when Cpl. Scott Hall got between them and intereceded. Lex Luger & Rick Rude vs. Paul Orndorff & Ricky Steamboat Two of the biggest guns in the Syndicate went after the World champ and the popular Hawaiian , showing a lot of aggression with plenty of nasty double team moves on both of their opponents. That looked like it would get them another victory as Lex was about to hoist Steamboat up in the Human Torture Rack, but Orndorff took advantage of the ref ushering Rude out of the ring to clip Luger’s leg from behind. As Luger fell, Steamboat landed on top of him and the ref, turning around to see him covering Lex, counted the pinfall. It seems that Orndorff is taking a “fight fire with fire” approach to his battles with the Syndicate, but given the tactics of Sheikh Kaissie and his men, one can hardly blame him.

AWA sends Botswana Beast and Lord Humongous (Jeff Van Kamp) to NWA Lutte Internationale for the Zambuie Express (Kareem Muhamad and Elijah Akeem).

Gah, error on that one that I had to correct. Yes, it would have been a great match, but I didn't want Wahoo wrestling twice in one night (wouldn't be fair, going into a title match having wrestled already.)

I'm trying to be very careful with Lex. I had considered having a match with him against Scott Hall, but realized that would have been a terrible match in 1985. That's why I am trying to keep him in with experienced hands who could help him look good.

AWA show at the Salt Palace, Salt Lake City, May 18th Buzz Sawyer & Dave Schultz vs. Memphis Vice Schultz pinned Bryant after a running bulldog Al Perez vs. Curt Hennig Hennig caught Perez in a cradle suplex for the victory Cpl. Scott Hall vs. Koko Ware Hall hit the Corporal Punishment for the win AWA World Tag Titles match : The Varsity Club © vs. British Steel Steiner pinned Smiley with a belly to back suplex to succesfully defend their belts Sgt. Slaughter vs. One Man Gang Both men went to a double countout Ricky Steamboat vs. Lord Humongous Steamboat pinned Humongous after a top rope flying cross body press AWA American Title match : Lex Luger © vs. Wahoo McDaniel Lex dodged a running overhand chop then hit a running forearm smash to the face to retain the title

AWA show at the Denver Auditorium, Denver, May 17th (as shown on ESPN/TSN Super Cards) Buzz Sawyer vs. Wahoo McDaniel After an incredibly bloody bout, McDaniel was able to get the victory after hitting an overhand running chop Al Perez vs. Ivan Putski Perez caught Putski in a German Suplex to get the win Buddy Rose & Ed Wiskowki vs. Greg Gagne & Curt Hennig Gagne pinned Wiskowski after he and Hennig hit a double dropkick The Cobra Corps vs. Botswana Beast & Lord Humongous In an incredible show of strength, Cpl. Hall pinned Beast after a power slam Ricky Steamboat vs. One Man Gang Steamboat hit the flying cross body press on Gang to get the win AWA World Tag Team Title : The Varsity Club © vs. Badd Company Rotundo hit the Samoan Drop on Tanaka in a wild match to succesfully defend their belts AWA World Title Match : Paul Orndorff © vs. Rick Rude Both men went to a 30 minute time limit draw

AWA All-Star Wrestling on ESPN/TSN for May 17th Memphis Vice vs. The PYT Express This was the first AWA match for the up and coming team of Jerry Bryant and Lou Winston, and they would be facing Koko Ware and Brickhouse Brown, who have been having some trouble getting in gear of late. After the initial distraction of Mick Foley showing up at ringside in a leather jacket and attempting to breakdance (ended by the PYTs giving Foley a double dropkick and sending him to the back), Ware and Brown looked like the would try to make an example of Memphis Vice, breaking out every cheap shot and double team they could manage throughout the match. The newcomers kept hanging in there, coming back with their own double teams and showing incredible conditioning in shaking off a lot of big blows. Right when it looked like Koko would finally put away Bryant with the brain buster, Jerry countered with a small package that got the shocking win. Memphis Vice were jubilant while Brickhouse harangued Koko. Takashi Ishikawa & Masahiro Chono vs. The Can-Am Express The visiting Japanese team had a fast paced match with a team that has had some recent experience touring Japan. Both teams really got the crowd going with their quick, high impact moves, but Ishikawa was able to blindside Zenk after a leapfrog with a huge lariat that got them the victory. Both teams shook hands after the match. The Fabulous Ones & Badd Company vs. The Varsity Club An ongoing occurance in this match was the members of the Fabs and Badd Company trying to be the ones to get a pin over their rivals in the Varsity Club, as a way of cementing their claim for the top contenders spot to Steiner & Rotundo’s World Tag Titles. The four members of the Varsity Club tried to fan the flames of rivalry among their opponents, looking to take advantage of the confusion to get the win for themselves. Missy Hyatt, for her part, tried to bait Sunshine, the manager of Badd Company, into interfering to cost them the match. In the end, the two teams were able to work together long enough for Tanaka to thrust kick Steiner into a belly to back suplex by Keirn and led to the pinfall victory. Both teams still seemed wary of each other after the match. AWA Southern Title Match : Buddy Rose © vs. Greg Gagne While Rose has been extremely cocky since regaining the Southern title and turning his back on the fans, it seems a bit of steam has been taken out of his stride since the arrival of Nick Bockwinkel. Indeed, through out the match, the Playboy was quite distracted, constantly checking outside the ring to see if Bockwinkel had shown up. When the former World champ did ultimately make his way to ringside, Rose started to go berserk, frequently turning from the action to shout at Bockwinkel, who met this verbal abuse with a steady gaze. Gagne swiftly capitalized on this with a dropkick that sent Rose out of the ring to Bockwinkel’s feet. Bockwinkel just continued his staredown with Rose , and when the Playboy chose to continue jawing at Bockwinkel instead of returning to the ring, this led to a countout loss by the champ. The other members of Playboy After Dark rushed out to the ring, but once again Bockwinkel gave them nothing more than a hard stare, as though daring them to try to start something. None of them did, and the former World champ calmly walked back to the locker room. Paul Orndorff & The Cobra Corps vs. Rick Rude, Lex Luger & One Man Gang This was an all out war, with the members of the Sinister Syndicate trying to focus their attention on the much younger Cpl. Scott Hall, while Orndorff and Sgt. Slaughter tried to fight their way into the ring. At one point, it seemed as though Hall was able to recover and fight his way back, impressing the fans by getting the One Man Gang up for a huge power slam. Lex Luger, taking advantage of the ref being distracted, cut that short by brutally clipping Hall’s leg from behind, causing Gang to land hard on top of Hall. Gang got the pinfall, but we have definitely not seen the last of this rivalry.

AWA Show at Portland Memorial Coliseum, Portland, May 11th Dan Spivey vs. Mick Foley Spivey won after a big leg drop Takashi Ishikawa & Masahiro Chono vs. The PYT Express Chono got the win after hitting a front kick on Koko AWA Six Man Tag Titles Match : Mike Shaw, Buzz Sawyer & Dave Schultz © vs. Da Crusher & British Steel Sawyer defended the belts when he caught Smiley in a power slam Cpl. Scott Hall vs. Bob Roop Hall was victorious after levelling Roop with a massive lariat Rick Rude vs. Ricky Steamboat Rude pinned Steamboat after a Rude Awakening AWA Southern Tag Titles Match : Leo Burke & Doug Somers © vs. The Can-Am Express Burke forced Zenk to submit to the sleeper hold AWA Southern Title : Buddy Rose © vs. Curt Hennig Hennig was accompanied to the ring by Nick Bockwinkel. Both men went to a 30 minute time limit draw AWA World Title Match : Paul Orndorff © vs. One Man Gang After Gang missed a running splash, Orndorff came back with a running kneedrop to get the victory. After the match, Gang, Rude and Roop attacked Orndorff, but were run off by Hall and Steamboat

I would seriously pay money if somebody put out a Babe/Baby Face comp.

It was only a matter of time.

AWA show at the Cow Palace, San Francisco , May 10th (As shown on ESPN/TSN Super Cards) Takashi Ishikawa & Masahiro Chono vs. Badd Company Ishikawa got the win after he caught Tanaka coming off the ropes with a choke slam Cpl. Scott Hall vs. Al Perez Hall pinned Perez after Corporal Punishment The Can-Am Express vs The PYT Express The Can-Am Express got the victory after Zenk dropkicked Brickhouse into a belly to back suplex by LaFon Steven Regal vs. Kevin Sullivan Regal pinned Sullivan after hitting the Regal Roll on him AWA American Title Match : Lex Luger © vs. Greg Gagne Lex successfully defended the belt after he caught Gagne in a power slam Sgt. Slaughter vs. Bob Roop Sarge made Roop submit to the Cobra Clutch AWA World Tag Title Match : The Varsity Club © vs. The Fabulous Ones Both teams went to a 30 minute time limit draw AWA Southern Title Match : Buddy Rose © vs. Ivan Putski Rose got the win after executing the Inside Out backbreaker. Afterwards, while Rose and the other members of Playboy After Dark were gloating over their win, a commotion erupted in the crowd as someone in a suit calmly walked out to ringside. It was former AWA World Champion Nick Bockwinkel! He and Rose stared daggers at each other, then Bockwinkel pointed at Rose before leaving the ringside area. Paul Orndorff & Ricky Steamboat vs. Rick Rude & One Man Gang Steamboat hit the top rope flying cross body press on One Man Gang and was just barely able to keep his shoulders to the mat for the three count. Both teams kept on brawling long after the closing bell.