AWA Results: Podcast and Discussion

[Graham Crackers]

This is more of a general 80s set question: I understand why lucha is a 100 match set due to lack of footage. I don't know a ton about Portland, Puerto Rico, and the other upcoming territories but from what people have said it makes sense that some of those would be smaller sets. I've loved watching the sprawling 150 match 80s sets so I'm wondering what other big sets like that are in store. Crockett has to be a big set, right? I'd imagine WWF will be a big set too. Anything else?

[Exposer]

The WWF set will be big for sure. It might be 150 like the AWA. Crocket could be bigger. It's probably going to be 175, maybe even 200. Portland is going to be 100 I believe. We're trying 75 for Puero Rico, at least 50. Yeah, Puerto Rico and Portland will be smaller. Puerto Rico is awesome but there are footage issues. We have a lot of Portland it seems but when Buddy left the quality in the ring crashed.

[Grimmas]

How did Bockwinkel vs. Larry fall to 32? I had it number 2 and it blew my mind.

[Cross Face Chicken Wing]

How did Bockwinkel vs. Larry fall to 32? I had it number 2 and it blew my mind.

No kidding. I had that one No. 5.

[Matt D]

The WWF set will be big for sure. It might be 150 like the AWA. Crocket could be bigger. It's probably going to be 175, maybe even 200. Portland is going to be 100 I believe. We're trying 75 for Puero Rico, at least 50. Yeah, Puerto Rico and Portland will be smaller. Puerto Rico is awesome but there are footage issues. We have a lot of Portland it seems but when Buddy left the quality in the ring crashed.

I'd say 90% of the Buddy stuff I've seen in Portland in 80, at least, has been universally better than my bottom half of the AWA set (and I still liked a lot of that stuff). I'm not sure how many matches it ultimately turns out to be before he leaves (I think I've seen 18 or so for the year though some of the Piper stuff is really good too) and I also don't know how much stuff exists from Buddy coming back after AWA and how that holds up though.

[Childs]

I feel like I must be the overall closest to the pin champion for the 80s sets.

[Dylan Waco]

PR will be the smallest remaining set. I'd like to get to 75 personally, but I'm not sure that is going to happen. We make these decisions as a group, but I am fairly confident we can do a 100 for Portland. In terms of other sets besides what was mentioned "Other Territories" is still looming and there is an outside shot of a Canada specific set

 

Person1

* Was there a Ted DiBiase of this set? (Someone who did a lot of high-quality work but also had a ton of matches where they phoned it in?)

 

On the set I don't think so, but I'm not sure I agree with this characterization of Dibiase.

 

* Do we have to re-evaluate Greg Gagne’s reputation as a poor wrestler?

 

Basically agree with Will here, though I probably like him a bit more as a singles guy than Will does.

 

* Was DeBeers better than his matches on this set would have you believe (i.e. competent, could be carried, occasionally good) or worse?

 

I can't think of any examples on the set where DeBeers was carried. I think he's awesome. He probably two of the three matches I most regret leaving off the set, though I really don't regret it that much and they wouldn't have done well. He was the best squash wrestler in the promotion. In Portland we will see some great Big Ed, though even there some of his best stuff was before 1980.

 

* Now that you’ve seen Brody sell like a champ for Blackwell, can the healing begin and the Brody hate stop?

 

No. I don't think Brody was particularly good in those matches. He's got at least one performance in PR that is better.

 

Person2

* Heel in peril sections: was this something distinctly AWA and why did it originate? Did it affect the viewing of the podcast members one way or another?

 

HIP I thought was exaggerated on the set because you never had anything like the WWF did where you had heel teams getting there comebacks so late in a match that it made it look like babyfaces were surviving a curfew. There were definitely HIP type matches here, but I think they were more subdued. I also think they benefited some from the double heat sections that were staples of the AWA, so the HIP stuff isn't what I think of when I think of AWA tag quirks. No clue why it came about

 

* How losing the boards changed the voting results for this set, not so much in terms of the amount of ballots but if we're seeing less "hive mind" voting?

 

I think we kind of touched on this on the podcast in a roundabout way. I think we might have gotten as many as ten more ballots if the board hadn't crashed and almost for sure would have gotten around five more. I don't know that I would use the term "hive mind," but I do think it is common for people to reevuluate things in response to criticisms people make among other things. I don't think that was really changed at all. I do think the general lack of consensus for this set was pretty obvious and I do think that might have been exacerbated by the board being down, but that's just guessing and I don't think it effected the top portion of the ballot much at all. In the end there were only two matches that really had shots at number one

 

* Rose, Somers & Sherri: just how awesome this trio was, how they came to be put together, where they rank all-time among heel tag teams, whether or not they could have made any halfway decent blowjob tag into superstars during their run together. Can we get a Doug Somers set from Will??

 

Tons to answer here, but I think they are one of the best units ever and the greatest short lived tag team ever.

 

* Is Verne Gagne a shithead?

 

He's a wrestling promoter. They are synonyms

[jdw]

Always kind of sad that this one didn't make the cut:

 

06/22/80 AWA: Jumbo Tsuruta dq Nick Bockwinkel (20:05) in Minneapolis

 

Really fun match, long been my favorite Nick vs Jumbo match.

[NintendoLogic]

I rewatched Bock/Wahoo, and I still don't like it. In particular, I'm baffled by all the people talking about how intense it was. I thought it was incredibly sluggish. At least, it was when Wahoo was on offense, which was like 90% of the match. He looked like the world's shittiest Tenryu. I've seen Bock in Memphis, so I know he's perfectly capable of having a quality brawl. This wasn't one of them. In fact, as far as world title matches featuring an Indian who throws chops go, I didn't even think it was better than Cena/Khali.

[goodhelmet]

Thank god you didn't have a ballot then bevause you arent watching the same match as the rest of us.

 

As for Matt D's comment, you are taking Kris too literally. He is using the same hyperbole guys like myself, DEAN, Phil and others have used to describe matches that have everything they like about wrestling contained within the match. It didn't connect with you the same way. Cool. With guys I enjoy watching wrestling with, it did, and I am cool with that.

[goodhelmet]

Thank god you didn't have a ballot then bevause you arent watching the same match as the rest of us.

 

As for Matt D's comment, you are taking Kris too literally. He is using the same hyperbole guys like myself, DEAN, Phil and others have used to describe matches that have everything they like about wrestling contained within the match. It didn't connect with you the same way. Cool. With guys I enjoy watching wrestling with, it did, and I am cool with that.

[fishbaugh]

Great job on the podcast -- too bad Khawk couldn't make it as that would have been a nice addition.

 

This was the first 80s set I actually completed a ballot for, and I have to agree with Dylan that it was the first one I watched where my opinion of everyone went up (I choose to ignore Mr. Electricity's existence). Larry Z had a few matches from WCW I enjoyed, but if you told me before this set that I'd rank 5 Larry Z matches in the top half of the ballot I probably wouldn't have bothered watching! But I have to say that more than the High Flyers, the find of this set to me was Blackwell. I remember watching the 2/3 falls match of him in St. Louis vs. Reed and thinking that he looked great, but never bothered to track anything else down and kind of figured it was an outlier. Dude had 10 matches in the top half of my ballot, 6 of which were in my top 25 (Larry Z eat your heart out!). Bock had more matches in my top half, but I expected him to have a great showing as prior to watching he was kind of the AWA guy and I typically enjoy his stuff. Blackwell was kind of a revelation, and someone I would buy an epic comp of.

 

145 Wahoo McDaniel vs. Manny Fernandez (7/6/88)

No way was I the highest voter on this match (#56), but after seeing it pop up on the bottom of so many lists, I went back and re-watched it to see if I was drunk or something on the first 2 viewings. Nope -- I just really thought it was a fun match and do not understand why people are so down on it!

[khawk20]

Blackwell was kind of a revelation, and someone I would buy an epic comp of.

I can help you out with this if you're ever inclined to watch an epic Blackwell comp. I did a Blackwell in the AWA 1980-85 set some time ago.

 

Not making the podcast was just bad luck, unfortunately.

[Matt D]

It was a shame you didn't make it but that doesn't mean I don't want to hear your thoughts at length, Kevin. You always seemed to give historical info and what not but not a ton of how you felt about all of this, save for glad that people were getting exposed to it. For instance, do you have the same connection to Rockers vs Rose/Somers that you do for the earlier stuff or do you feel it's somehow less "AWA-ish" and it really dominating the top half of the ballot is unfortunate, etc or do you maybe have a tighter connection to the Vegas years because of more vivid memories so you're glad about it? That sort of thing.

[Dylan Waco]

Blackwell was kind of a revelation, and someone I would buy an epic comp of.

I can help you out with this if you're ever inclined to watch an epic Blackwell comp. I did a Blackwell in the AWA 1980-85 set some time ago.

 

Not making the podcast was just bad luck, unfortunately.

 

I would add here that if you are a fan of the Blackwell stuff that made the set, it would be a great idea to let Khawk help you out

[khawk20]

It was a shame you didn't make it but that doesn't mean I don't want to hear your thoughts at length, Kevin. You always seemed to give historical info and what not but not a ton of how you felt about all of this, save for glad that people were getting exposed to it. For instance, do you have the same connection to Rockers vs Rose/Somers that you do for the earlier stuff or do you feel it's somehow less "AWA-ish" and it really dominating the top half of the ballot is unfortunate, etc or do you maybe have a tighter connection to the Vegas years because of more vivid memories so you're glad about it? That sort of thing.

I had the same investment and enjoyment in the Rose/Somers stuff that I did with the High Flyers vs. East/West Connection in 1981, maybe more because it really was something to hang onto in the time frame it happened in, with the talent loss becoming more of an issue. That feud felt very AWA-ish to me, and I applauded it and did my best to convince my wrestling friends to invest time in watching it.

 

It isn't unfortunate that so much of that feud finished as high as it did, it deserved it, and it also validates AWA wrestling from a time when everyone basically shit all over the AWA in general.

 

My AWA memories are consistent from the late 70's through to the end in that it was the AWA and I immersed myself in it, no matter how high or low it got. My tightest connection would be from the earlier part of the 80's, partly because it was the only wrestling I could see weekly along with Montreal (at some points). The more there was to watch, the thinner your investment would get (in a natural way) simply because there were other things to pay attention to. The AWA was always the primary point of interest for me, regardless of how much wrestling I was watching...and I had a C-Band satellite, so there was TONS of wrestling to choose from every day. Good times...

 

My connection with most of the matches on this set runs pretty deep, probably deeper than most, and that makes me remember the matches differently as I lived through all the backstories and builds of the matches. Some angles resonated better than others, and it led to a greater anticipation and enjoyment of the matches born from them, even if the matches weren't that good. Best example I can think of right now is the Brody-Blackwell Lights out match from 10/20/84. Not a match highly regarded on the set, but it was such an incredible moment for an AWA fan to see Blackwell hug Greg Gagne at the end of it that the mark it left on my (and others) fandom makes it an absolute must-see match. I think you can only get those sort of connections if you watched it unfold live, which is good and bad...bad for ranking a match in this sort of format, if that makes sense.

 

....and FWIW Regal losing the title to Buck was actually a decently big moment when it happened. I shit you not.

[Boon]

There was a History Lesson thread on DVDVR board for the AWA set that Khawk did, could we get it posted here?

[khawk20]

Not sure if it survived the board change. I may have it on one of my PC's, though.

[rainmakerrtv]

Here is the history lesson for AWA, pardon the size :

 

1980

 

Lord Alfred Hayes vs. Bobby Heenan (1/13/80)

Hayes was the Manager of Super Destroyer Mark II for a few years in the AWA, notably feuding with Billy Robinson. A few weeks after SD II lost a TV match against the unheralded-in-the-AWA Dino Bravo (and being forced to unmask due to the loss), he came to the ring for a squash and took the mic and fired Hayes. He then introduced his new manager…Bobby Heenan. This set the Hayes-Heenan feud in motion, which included this singles match and several tag matches.

 

 

Greg Gagne vs. Super Destroyer Mark II (5/1/80)

The Gagnes had a continuing feud with the Heenan family and this was an extension of that feud, with SD II being managed by Bobby Heenan at the time.

 

 

Verne Gagne vs. Nick Bockwinkel (7/18/80)

After two years of chasing Verne, Bockwinkel finally won the title in November of 1975 due to interference by Bobby Duncum and some questionable refereeing from Paul Perschmann (aka Playboy Buddy Rose). Heenan and Bockwinkel had avoided Gagne as much as possible (there is a notable title match between the two from 2/10/79 in Chicago that is available on one of the Japan Classics discs) until this Chicago match, held outdoors at Comiskey Park.

 

 

Greg Gagne & Super Destroyer Mark II vs. Nick Bockwinkel & Bobby Heenan (10/3/80)

SD II and the Heenan family had a falling out at some point after April of 1980, and SD II turned to teaming with Greg Gagne and others in a quest for revenge. Note the date of the match here, as this was one of SD II’s last AWA appearances as he had begun in the WWF at this point and engaged in a series of title matches with Bob Backlund at MSG beginning that same month.

 

1981

 

Big John Studd & Jerry Blackwell vs. High Flyers (2/20/81)

Studd and Blackwell were established as monster heels and had just crippled Mad Dog Vachon the previous month. This match was a quasi “#1 contenders match” as the winner would go on to face Ventura and Adonis for the titles at a future date.

 

 

East-West Connection vs. High Flyers (3/1/81)

Ventura and Adonis are the Tag Team Champions here, and had been feuding with the High Flyers for some time, both in singles and in tag matches. The Flyers had been and continued to be the primary challengers to the Connection for the title.

 

 

East-West Connection vs. High Flyers (Cage Match) (3/22/81)

This is a non-title cage match (as all cage matches in the AWA at the time were). Often the champions would talk of having the option of pushing the challengers in these matches to the back of the line for getting title shots if the challengers lost, which was the case here as best as I can recall from the interviews of the time.

 

 

Nick Bockwinkel vs. Pat O'Connor (3/22/81)

Bockwinkel was given several different challengers during his period as a contender to the title. O’Connor coming in to wrestle Nick was unique as he was not an AWA regular.

 

 

Nick Bockwinkel vs. Jim Brunzell (6/11/81)

This non-title match came just after Nick was awarded the title in the wake of Verne Gagne’s retirement. The idea was that Brunzell and Bock had signed for the match before Bock had regained the belt, and it was kept as non-title for that reason.

 

 

Adrian Adonis vs. Jim Brunzell (7/28/81)

The High Flyers and the East-West Connection had many singles matches during their lengthy feud, and this was one of the few that made video.

 

 

Crusher Blackwell vs. Billy Robinson (12/3/81)

Both Blackwell and Robinson were working on positioning themselves for a possible title match with Bockwinkel (Blackwell, even though a heel, was one of the most vocal in his criticism of Bockwinkel getting the title back and often demanded a title shot against Bockwinkel during his interview time.) Robinson was a perennial challenger to both Bockwinkel and Verne during his time in the AWA.

 

 

Nick Bockwinkel vs. Billy Robinson (12/25/81)

This was Bockwinkel’s first major title defense in the Twin Cities after his feud with Sheik Adnan Al-Kaissie had dominated the cards in that area in the late summer and fall. Robinson, as noted, was a perennial challenger to Bockwinkel and was an ideal opponent for the big Christmas Night Twin Cities show.

 

1982

 

Hulk Hogan, Buck Zumhofe & Baron Von Raschke vs. Bobby Heenan, Ken Patera & Bobby Duncum (2/28/82)

In Mid-December of 1981, a TV tag match between Ken Patera & Bobby Duncum and Buck Zumhofe and Tito Santana ended in chaos with Heenan destroying Buck's Boom-Box Radio and the faces battered and bloodied. Hulk Hogan made the save and as a result it began Hogan's rivalry with The Heenan Family. The aftermath of this match saw Hogan square off with Duncum in January 1982, followed by this 6-man revenge match on the next card. The 6-man match added the Heenan-Zumhofe rivalry to the mix, which had been off-and-on for a couple of years at this point.

 

 

Nick Bockwinkel vs. Hulk Hogan (4/18/82)

This was the first significant match of their year-plus long rivalry, and a natural progression of the Hogan vs. Heenan Family rivalry that began at the end of 1981.

 

 

Jerry Blackwell & Sheik Adnan Al-Kaissie vs. High Flyers (Cage Match) (4/18/82)

Kaissie had taken Blackwell on as a protégé/partner in late December 1981-early January of 1982. They were not yet established as a tag team of any significance when the High Flyers-East/West Connection rivalry was cut off with the suspensions of Ventura and Adonis. Wally Karbo went to the High Flyers on a TV interview segment and said, in the wake of those suspensions, he had no opponent for them on the upcoming card. He asked Gagne and Brunzell if they would wrestle a non-title match against Blackwell and Kaissie, which they reluctantly agreed to do.

Kaissie and Blackwell won that non-title match and, as such, earned a title shot on the next show, a fact which upset Gagne and Brunzell greatly, since doing Karbo a favour ultimately resulted in them getting stuck in a feud with a team they felt had not truly earned a title shot. Their title match ended in controversy and this non-title cage match was ordered.

 

 

Tito Santana & Rick Martel vs. High Flyers (8/29/82)

In June of 1982, Santana and Martel won a number #1 Contenders match against Ken Patera and Bobby Duncum to earn a title shot against Gagne and Brunzell. Their first title match, on 7/18/82, was a half-hour scientific affair that ended in a Countout win for the Champions. Brunzell and Martel engaged in a very competitive singles match on the 8/8/82 card, and a rematch of the original tag match was signed for the 8/29 card.

The tag division in the AWA was really hot at this point with The High Flyers defending against Santana/Martel, Ray Stevens and Pat Patterson engaged in a series of “#1 contender” matches against Blackwell and Adnan, and Ken Patera and Bobby Duncum (aka “The Black 'n' Blue Express”) biding their time waiting for a title shot of their own while feuding with Otto Wanz and Baron Von Raschke.

 

 

Adrian Adonis vs. Hulk Hogan (10/17/82)

Hogan had finished his first go-round against Nick Bockwinkel (he had Title matches in April and June, with a handicap match vs. Bock and Heenan thrown in on the May card), while Adonis had returned to the AWA in September, battling the likes of Larry Hennig and Baron Von Raschke.

 

1983

Ken Patera & Jesse Ventura vs. Hulk Hogan & Mad Dog Vachon (1/16/83)

A recently unearthed match that aired on WWE Classics on Demand. Patera and Ventura had combined to injure Hogan's arm in an arm-wrestling contest several months before, and after engaging both men in singles bouts over several months (including a DDQ vs. Ventura on 12/25/82), Hogan managed to get both in the ring at the same time with the Mad Dog at his side.

 

Ken Patera, Jesse Ventura & Bobby Heenan vs. Hulk Hogan & High Flyers (3/13/83)

After a Ventura-Hogan rematch on the February 1983 St. Paul card, Hogan took on the High Flyers as partners in another attempt at revenge on Patera and Ventura. Heenan was managing Patera and advising Ventura at this point, and was also looking to try and injure Hogan to prevent him from getting more chances at Nick Bockwinkel's AWA title.

 

 

Crusher Blackwell & Sheik Adnan Kaissey vs. Baron Von Raschke & Mad Dog Vachon (Taped Fist Match) (3/13/83)

Vachon, injured and “out of wrestling” after a vicious attack by Blackwell and John Studd in January of 1981, had been teaming with various partners in his quest for revenge. Raschke was the original hired gun Vachon brought in to wrestle for him after he got injured. Both Blackwell and Kaissie claimed injured/broken arms and were wrestling with casts on, so Vachon and Raschke decide to do the same for this match.

 

 

Nick Bockwinkel vs. Rick Martel (3/13/83)

Martel had become Bockwinkel's main challenger right after Bockwinkel regained the title from Otto Wanz in October, with previous title matches occurring in the Twin Cities on Thanksgiving of 1982 and January of 1983. Bockwinkel, though not thrilled to be defending against Martel, was doing everything he could to avoid a rematch against Hulk Hogan.

 

 

Nick Bockwinkel vs. Hulk Hogan (4/24/83)

Bockwinkel could not avoid a title match with Hogan any longer, and this match became the centerpiece of the AWA's Super Sunday show, an event that drew a sellout in both the St. Paul Civic Center and on closed circuit television in the adjoining Roy Wilkins Auditorium. Most estimates say that between the two venues there were 28,000 fans watching this card live. Hogan had last had a title match in the Twin Cities against Bockwinkel in June of 1982.

 

 

Crusher Blackwell & Sheik Adnan Kaissey vs. Verne Gagne & Mad Dog Vachon (4/24/83)

Vachon had decided that the only person that could successfully help him put Kaissie and Blackwell out of wrestling forever was his old partner and co-holder of the AWA tag titles, Verne Gagne. Verne had been retired since May of 1981, and Vachon spent several weeks trying to convince Verne to come out of retirement for this bout. Verne finally agreed to return in the aftermath of the previous month. This bout was billed as the co-feature of the Super Sunday card.

 

 

Crusher Blackwell vs. Mad Dog Vachon (Algerian Death Match) (5/22/83)

This match was the culmination of Mad Dog's two year war against Blackwell (though the two had surprisingly few singles bouts against each other over the length of their feud). In this style of Death match, pinfalls and submissions do not count, and after each pin or sub there is a 30-second rest period. If the downed wrestler cannot answer the bell after a ten-count at the conclusion of the rest period, he loses.

Of note is the St. Paul Civic Center was booked this month and the AWA had to move out to the Met Center in Bloomington for this one card, an arena they would not use again until January of 1987.

 

 

Nick Bockwinkel vs. Brad Rheingans (7/3/83)

This matchup occurred with little fanfare and was the starting point for several Bockwinkel-Rheingans title matches around the AWA territory stretching into the fall.

 

 

Crusher Blackwell & Ken Patera vs. Dino Bravo & Steve O (8/28/83)

This is one of the first title defenses for Blackwell and Patera and also sees the return of Dino Bravo to the Twin Cities. Bravo had previously feuded with Blackwell in 1980 shortly after both had debuted in the area, and according to Clawmaster's AWA TV results Bravo had beaten Blackwell on TV the week before this match.

 

Hulk Hogan vs. Mr. Saito (8/28/83)

Watch the Hogan-Saito Bonus on this disc before you watch this match and it will explain everything.

 

Nick Bockwinkel vs. Wahoo McDaniel (8/28/83)

McDaniel had been attacked by the Heenan Family during a TV match back in early May, and had teamed with Rick Martel to beat Bockwinkel and Blackjack Lanza on the 5/22 Bloomington card. That McDaniel victory led to a series of Bockwinkel-McDaniel matchups throughout the summer.

 

 

Crusher Blackwell & Ken Patera vs. High Flyers (11/24/83)

This is the first rematch for the Flyers since losing the Tag Titles to the Sheiks on June 26th. The Sheiks had avoided giving Gagne and Brunzell an immediate rematch, but their hands were forced when the Flyers teamed with Rick Martel to beat the Sheiks in a September 6-man tag that stipulated a rematch would happen if the Sheiks lost. Brunzell teamed with Mad Dog Vachon in a wild non-title affair the month previous. Ray Stevens was assigned as a special referee.

 

Nick Bockwinkel vs. Mad Dog Vachon (11/24/83)

Vachon had won the annual October Battleroyal in St. Paul and earned a title shot against Bockwinkel on the annual Thanksgiving Show.

 

BONUS: Hulk Hogan + Mr. Saito (8/83)

Watch this before you watch the Hogan-Saito bout on this disc.

 

 

Nick Bockwinkel vs. Rick Martel (12/8/83)

Martel had won the annual 20-man Winnipeg Battleroyal in October, and was rewarded with a title shot on the December card for his efforts.

 

1984

 

Crusher Blackwell vs. Da Crusher (No DQ) (2/26/84)

An “Anything Goes” between a pair of wrestlers battling over the “Crusher” moniker. Blackwell had tried to claim the nickname since his debut back in 1980, and had been feuding off-and-on with Crusher for four years because of it.

 

 

Crusher Blackwell & Ken Patera vs. Blackjack Mulligan & Jerry Lawler (3/4/84)

Blackwell and Patera defend the tag titles against the makeshift team of Mulligan and Lawler in Chicago. Lawler stepped in for Blackjack Lanza, who received an AWA title match against Jumbo Tsuruta on the same card. Tsuruta, Baba, and Tenryu came to the U.S. on a three-week tour to most of the main AWA cities.

 

 

Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Billy Robinson (3/11/84)

Another of Jumbo's AWA title defenses on their three-week tour of the AWA, this time against long-time foe Robinson in Green Bay, Wisconsin. This is quite possibly the only time the pair ever met in a U.S. ring.

 

 

Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Jim Brunzell (3/15/84)

Jumbo defends the title in Salt Lake City against Brunzell as the Japanese contingent continues to tour the AWA. This card also included a Baba/Tenryu match vs. Terry Gordy and Buddy Roberts, notable since it would be another year before the Freebirds would enter the AWA on a full-time basis.

 

 

Da Crusher & Greg Gagne vs. Crusher Blackwell & Sheik Adnan Kaissey (Cage Match) (3/25/84)

In the aftermath of Kaissie not showing up for a singles match with Gagne on the 1/15 St. Paul show, and the chaos of the Blackwell-Crusher Anything Goes match on the 2/26 St. Paul show, Sheik and Blackwell were paired against Gagne and Crusher in this cage match. Both teams had long histories of feuding with their opponents in both singles and tag action, and a cage bout between these parties was a natural.

 

 

Crusher Blackwell & Ken Patera vs. Steve O & Buck Zumhofe (2/3 Falls) (4/15/84)

Prior to this match, the Blackjacks came into the ring to formally challenge the Sheiks for the tag titles. The Blackjacks vs. The Sheiks seemed like a logical program for the belts at the time, but it unfortunately never really got started save for a few house show matchups here and there.

 

 

Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Rick Martel (5/13/84)

Martel had won a “#1contenders match” against Nick Bockwinkel on the 4/15/84 St. Paul card, and this was his shot at the title. Martel, though a familiar face to AWA fans, had been gone for several months from the main AWA cities outside of Winnipeg. Tsuruta had returned to the U.S. in the last week of April for another round of title bouts in American AWA cities, defending mostly against Bockwinkel, with a few random title matches sprinkled in against Billy Robinson, Blackjack Mulligan, and Greg Gagne.

 

 

Nick Bockwinkel vs. Curt Hennig (6/14/84)

Hennig had only been back in the AWA for a few months and Bockwinkel was by far his most difficult test since coming back, but a win over Bockwinkel might put him in contention for a title shot. The previous month's show in Winnipeg had seen Bockwinkel team with Billy Robinson against Hennig and Blackjack Lanza.

 

 

Nick Bockwinkel vs. Rick Martel (8/16/84)

Rick Martel defends the AWA title in Winnipeg for the first time since winning the title. At the time, it was unclear to the average fan if Martel was going to be a champion that stuck or if he was a one-hit wonder that was destined to lose the title as quickly as he had won it. Martel facing the challenge of the man who had held the title almost continuously since 1975 heightened the tension in the arena greatly.

 

 

Rick Martel vs. Brad Rheingans (9/9/84)

This was Martel's second title defense in the Twin Cities (he took a DQ win over Bockwinkel on the July card). Rheingans received this title match after defeating Larry Zbyszko on the 8/12/84 St. Paul card, even though he had not done anything particularly noteworthy aside from that win in several months. Verne Gagne was the Special Referee.

 

 

Nick Bockwinkel, Mr. Saito, & Bobby Heenan vs. Blackjack Lanza & The Fabulous Ones (9/9/84)

The Heenan Family had engaged the Fabs in a feud few months previous to this 6-man tag in St. Paul (see “Bobby Heenan's Family + The Fabulous Ones (8/84)” in the Extras section for the particulars). Lanza was a natural choice to partner with the Fabs due to his year-long feud with his former manager. Bockwinkel and Saito had formed a tag team after Saito joined the Heenan family a few months previous.

Noteworthy: Bobby Heenan had given his notice to Verne Gagne that he was leaving the AWA for the WWF a month prior to this match. Heenan had been such a valuable player for Verne in his ten+ years in the AWA that Verne gave him a series of matches around most of the AWA as sort of a farewell tour (at least as much of a farewell tour as one could do in the kayfabe era).

 

 

Nick Bockwinkel vs. Rick Martel (9/20/84)

This is the rematch of their 8/16 title match in Winnipeg.

 

 

Nick Bockwinkel & Mr. Saito vs. The Fabulous Ones (9/30/84)

Bockwinkel and Saito continue their feud against The Fabulous Ones, with the winner in line for a title shot against the newly crowned champs The Road Warriors.

 

 

Crusher Blackwell vs. Bruiser Brody (9/30/84)

Crusher Blackwell vs. Bruiser Brody (No DQ) (10/21/84)

After losing the AWA tag titles to Baron Von Raschke and Crusher on 5/6/84 in Green Bay, Ken Patera had departed the area and the Sheik looked to rebuild his Army. To this end, he added Bruiser Brody and Abdullah the Butcher to his group. While Brody wreaked his own brand of havoc, Blackwell and Abdullah were teamed together for some matches including a bloody bout with the Blackjacks on 5/13/84 in St. Paul. After this particular bout, Blackwell and Kaissie argued over a collision Blackwell had with Abdullah during the match. Blackwell left the ring angrily, although he and Abdullah teamed once again for a victory over Lanza and Baron Von Raschke on the 6/10/84 St. Paul card. For the rest of the story, watch “Jerry Blackwell + Bruiser Brody Recap (6/84)” in the Extras section before you watch these two matches.

 

 

Nick Bockwinkel & Mr. Saito vs. Curt & Larry Hennig (11/8/84)

Bockwinkel and Saito were struggling to hold their place in the very-crowded tag team rankings after losing to The Fabulous Ones the month previous. The pair took on Curt Hennig and a returning Larry Hennig, who had been mostly inactive for quite a while, but had seemed ready for a comeback in a feud against Harley Race when Race abruptly left the area. In addition, Larry had a long-time feud with the Heenan Family (it dated back to his face turn in August of 1974) that made any bout between him and a Heenan charge a matchup that needed very little build.

 

 

Crusher Blackwell & King Kong Bundy vs. The Road Warriors (11/22/84)

Blackwell and Bundy had won a Tag Team Battleroyal on the 10/21/84 St. Paul card, and they were rewarded with a title match on Thanksgiving night against The Road Warriors. The LOD had won the tag titles in late-August (see “Baron Von Raschke & The Crusher vs. The Road Warriors (Finish Only) (8/25/84)” in the Extras section) and had mostly been defending the belts against The Fabulous Ones, Baron and Crusher, and Tony Atlas & Jim Brunzell.

 

1985

 

Nick Bockwinkel vs. Curt Hennig (2/7/85)

Hennig and Bockwinkel wrestled each other in a variety of tag bouts in 1985 (Bock with Saito and Ray Stevens, Hennig with his Father Larry and Greg Gagne), and the pair would occasionally get the odd singles match thrown in to mix it up.

 

Crusher Blackwell vs. Masked Superstar (3/7/85)

If Blackwell beats Superstar, he gets five minutes in the ring with Sheik Kaissie.

 

Nick Bockwinkel & Mr. Saito vs. High Flyers (3/7/85)

Another quasi-#1 contenders match with the winners getting a shot at The Road Warriors on the next Winnipeg show. The Flyers had received a tag title match on the February show, and actually had a Winnipeg feud that lasted several months which included two six-man tags (with Blackwell and Ellering filling out each team), one of which happened in a cage.

 

Rick Martel vs. Jimmy Garvin (3/7/85)

These two had been feuding since back in late 1984 throughout the territory in two and three match sets. Precious was at ringside with Garvin throughout his AWA tenure.

 

The Road Warriors vs. High Flyers (3/28/85)

The High Flyers receive another title shot against the Road Warriors in Winnipeg.

 

Mr. Saito vs. Curt Hennig (3/28/85)

Hennig had wrestled Saito’s tag partner Nick Bockwinkel on the previous show in Winnipeg. Bockwinkel received a title match vs. Rick Martel on this same card.

 

Nick Bockwinkel vs. Rick Martel (3/28/85)

Bockwinkel was a very good default challenger to Martel when he was “between programs”, so to speak. Nick was relentless in all of his interview segments since losing the title in February 1984 about getting a rematch for the title, which didn’t take his challenges out of the realm of possibility for the fans. As such, when a somewhat random title match came up like this Winnipeg battle, the fans would not dismiss it. Bockwinkel was always considered a threat to retake the title from Martel.

 

Bob Backlund & Brad Rheingans vs. Butch Reed & Larry Zbyszko (4/21/85)

Bobby Duncum & Billy Robinson vs. Jim Brunzell & Tonga Kid (4/21/85)

Two matches from Star Cage ’85, a tag team spectacular that was held at the St. Paul Civic Center. I don’t recall any particular background to either of these matches.

 

Nick Bockwinkel & Mr. Saito vs. Verne & Greg Gagne (4/21/85)

The semi-main event of Star Cage ’85. Verne’s latest comeback was precipitated by an attack on Greg by Bockwinkel and Saito after the Nick-Greg singles match in St. Paul in March (they had also wrestled on the February St. Paul card). If memory serves, the 2-on-1 attack in March saw Verne clear the ring of Bock and Saito, setting the comeback in motion for April’s show.

 

King Tonga, Masked Superstar, & Sheik Adnan Kaissey vs. Crusher Blackwell & Sgt. Slaughter (Cage Match) (4/21/85)

The Main Event of Star Cage ’85 in St. Paul. Blackwell and Slaughter had a real AWA “dream team” feel to them in the times they teamed up in 1985. In March, Slaughter and Blackwell had wrestled Tonga, Superstar, and Mr. Saito to a no-contest in a handicap match. This bout added the element of the cage to try and determine a clear winner.

 

Mr. Saito vs. Rick Martel (4/24/85)

Saito stepped in to replace The Masked Superstar in this title match from Winnipeg (a real personal piss-off as I would have loved seeing a Martel-Superstar match or two).

 

Nick Bockwinkel & Ray Stevens vs. Larry & Curt Hennig (4/24/85)

Stevens returns as Bock’s tag partner vs. The Hennigs. Bockwinkel’s regular partner, Mr. Saito, received a title match against Rick Martel that night which may have prompted Stevens to step in.

 

Michael Hayes & Buddy Roberts vs. High Flyers (5/23/85)

Sort of a Dream Match between the dominant AWA face team from the last 8 years and a team that were huge almost everywhere else they had been up to this point.

 

Michael Hayes & Buddy Roberts vs. Da Crusher & Baron Von Raschke (6/13/85)

The Freebirds take on the former Tag Team Champions and perennial leaders of the “Most Popular” lists in the AWA.

 

Nick Bockwinkel & Ray Stevens vs. Greg Gagne & Curt Hennig (6/13/85)

Hennig and Gagne have teamed up before on occasion but this pairing would become more regular with the departure of Jim Brunzell to the WWF.

 

Little Tokyo & Lord Littlebrook vs. Cowboy Lang & Little Coco (7/18/85)

Midgets!

 

Nick Bockwinkel vs. Rick Martel (7/19/85)

Bockwinkel challenges Martel for the title at a Pro Wrestling USA show at the Meadowlands in New Jersey. I’ve heard that, while there may have been challengers that were a better fit for a title match in the New York area, Verne gave the match to Bockwinkel so he could put a “New York” Main Event on his resume.

 

Terry Gordy vs. Rick Martel (August 1985)

The plan was for Gordy to become a serious challenger for Martel’s title, but he was very unreliable as he missed a lot of dates throughout his AWA tenure. They ended up only having a handful of bouts instead of an extended program. This is the only one that made video, a match from Pro Wrestling USA.

 

Crusher Blackwell, Larry Hennig & Tom Zenk vs. The Fabulous Freebirds (8/22/85)

The Birds face a very oddly put together combination in this six-man tag match from Winnipeg. Hennig had previously tried his luck in 6-man action against the Freebirds in Winnipeg with Crusher and Raschke as his partners.

 

Crusher Blackwell vs. Kamala (Bodyslam Challenge) (9/28/85)

From Super Clash I at Comiskey Park in Chicago.

 

Sgt. Slaughter vs. Boris Zuhkov (9/28/85)Slaughter on arguably his biggest stage during his AWA tenure, defending America against the evil Russian Zurkov.

 

BONUS: Rick Martel vs. Buddy Roberts (Clip) / Rick Martel Interview (June 1985)

Roberts had won a coin toss with Hayes to see who would fill in for King Tonga in this title match.

 

Ric Flair vs. Magnum TA (9/28/85)

Flair defends the NWA title in Chicago at Super Clash I against top challenger Magnum T.A. Flair had come into Chicago the month before to defend the NWA title against Billy Robinson on an AWA card.

 

Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Rick Martel (9/29/85)

This match was booked the night after Super Clash I in St. Paul with little fanfare. Martel had wrestled Stan Hansen to a wild Double-DQ the night before, while Jumbo had been part of a 6-man tag match with Tenryu and Baba against The Long Riders and Harley Race on the same card. Also noteworthy is that this was the same card that Jim Garvin and Steve Regal captured the AWA Tag titles from the Road Warriors.

 

Jimmy Garvin & Steve Regal vs. Scott Hall & Curt Hennig (11/14/85)

A non-title match between Champions Garvin and Regal and Hennig and his new partner, “Big” Scott Hall.

 

Rick Martel vs. Boris Zuhkov (Cage Match) (11/14/85)

This is the only time that I can recall the AWA title being put up for grabs in the Steel Cage. Prior to this, cage matches were always non-title. I don’t know if this was a one-off or if cage matches for the title became more normal moving forward, although I can say that there were several Rockers vs. Rose and Somers cage matches that were all deemed “non-title” as per the old rule. Former NHL Hockey Enforcer and Winnipeg Jets General Manager John Ferguson is the special referee.

 

Steve Regal vs. Buck Zumhofe (11/28/85)

A Thanksgiving Night showdown for the Light Heavyweight title. Regal and Zumhofe are in contention for the two wrestlers that faced each other the most times in AWA rings in singles matches in the 80’s. Regal, at this point, also held half of the AWA Tag Titles with Jim Garvin, and as such was accompanied to the ring by garvin’s valet, Precious.

 

1986

 

Nick Bockwinkel vs. Ric Flair (1/17/86)

This match was on the last AWA card at the Winnipeg arena (the WWF had come in and taken over the arena and the local TV, which was a shame because the AWA shows had been drawing excellent numbers at this point). Flair defended the NWA title here, but it was not a title vs title match as has been reported elsewhere (Bockwinkel did not have the AWA title, Stan Hansen did).

 

Stan Hansen vs. Curt Hennig (2/1/86)

Hennig, one half of the tag team champions with Scott Hall, gets a title match at a TV taping in Oshkosh, WI. Hansen had won the title on 12/29/85 from Rick Martel in New Jersey. Hennig and Scott Hall had captured the AWA tag titles from Steve Regal and Jimmy Garvin in Alberquerque, NM a few weeks previous.

 

Stan Hansen vs. Sgt. Slaughter (2/9/86)

A rematch from Hansen’s first St. Paul title defense (Hansen was disqualified in that bout). This match is a no-dq match.

 

Col. DeBeers vs. Buck Zumhofe (2/23/86)

Rare handheld match from the Rosemont Horizon in Chicago and one of the first matches for Col. DeBeers in the AWA.

 

Nick Bockwinkel vs. Larry Zbyszko (2/23/86)

A No-DQ match from Chicago. The two had become bitter rivals in late 1985 after Bockwinkel had tried to stop Larry from continuing an attack on Greg Gagne and a referee with nunchakus during a match between Greg and Larry in Atlantic City. Zbyszko had ended up knocking out Bockwinkel with the weapon, which began/accelerated the face turn of Nick Bockwinkel in AWA rings. Bockwinkel and Zbyszko had previously been tag team partners.

 

Stan Hansen vs. Sgt. Slaughter (2/23/86)

From the same Rosemont Handheld show, new Champion Hansen collides with the wildly popular Slaughter.

 

Stan Hansen vs. Sgt. Slaughter (Bunkhouse Match) (3/9/86)

The third match in their trilogy from St. Paul.

 

Stan Hansen vs. Leon White (3/13/86)

The future Vader gets a crack at the AWA title at this TV taping in Las Vegas. White became quite popular with the fans very quickly, but it was still surprising at the time to see him get a match for the AWA title when he was so new to the business.

 

Nick Bockwinkel vs. Col. DeBeers (4/17/86)

DeBeers, still a relative newcomer to AWA rings, gets his first real test in this TV match against #1 contender Bockwinkel.

 

Buddy Rose, Doug Somers, & Larry Zbyszko vs. Steve Pardee, Mike Rotundo, Jimmy Snuka (4/17/86)

Rose and Somers had been teaming occasionally (both had been in the AWA for a couple of months at this point). Snuka, Rotondo, and Pardee were all newcomers to the area.

 

Mike Rotundo & Barry Windham vs. The Fabulous Ones (4/20/86)

A dream tag team match from the Wrestlerock ’86 card at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. Rotondo and Windham were known to fans all around the U.S. by virtue of their WWF Tag team title reign, and the Fabulous Ones were extremely popular during their 1984 tenure in AWA rings.

 

Buddy Rose & Doug Somers vs. Midnight Rockers (4/20/86)

From Wrestlerock ’86. These two teams would quickly become the top two teams in the AWA and have a feud that would dominate the tag team division in the area for the rest of the year. At this point, both teams were relatively new pairings.

 

Rick Martel vs. Harley Race (4/20/86)

Martel had largely been inactive in the AWA since his title loss to Stan Hansen and Race had not been in an AWA ring since the fall of 1984. This match was also on the Wrestlerock ’86 card.

 

Stan Hansen vs. Nick Bockwinkel (4/20/86)

Bockwinkel receives a title shot against Hansen at Wrestlerock ’86. Prior to this, Bockwinkel had worked at getting himself a title match through direct confrontation with Hansen at a few TV tapings. In the Twin Cities, Hansen was coming off a series of title matches against Sgt. Slaughter.

 

Buddy Rose & Doug Somers vs. Jesse Hernandez & Leon White (5/1/86)

From a TV Taping.

 

Mike Rotundo & Curt Hennig vs. Mr. Go & Larry Zbyszko (5/1/86)

Though Hennig was still part of the AWA Tag Team Champions with Scott Hall, he joins Rotondo in a team here against Zbyszko and Go. Mr. Go was at times the real Mr. Go from Japan, and at times played by Steve O (I can’t remember which is the case here). Originally Barry Windham was going to continue in the AWA and reprise his team with Rotondo, so Hennig could very well have been a sub for Windham here as Barry never did enter the AWA on a full or part-time basis outside of his Wrestlerock appearance.

 

Mike Rotundo vs. Doug Somers (5/1/86)

From a T.V. taping.

 

Buddy Rose & Doug Somers vs. Scott Hall & Curt Hennig (5/17/86)

Hall and Hennig defend the AWA Tag Team Titles against the still-relatively-new team of Rose and Somers at a T.V. Taping in Hammond, Indiana.

 

Col. DeBeers, Buddy Rose & Doug Somers vs. Nick Bockwinkel, Steve Pardee & Brad Rheingans (5/31/86)

A six-man tag team event with a pretty random cast on the face side of things. DeBeers had a more-than-loose association with Rose and Somers at this point.

 

Stan Hansen vs. Curt Hennig (5/31/86)

Hennig is a late substitute for Jerry Blackwell, who came to the ring injured before this match and informed the crowd he would not be wrestling Hansen that night.

 

Stan Hansen vs. Crusher Blackwell (6/28/86)

Blackwell gets his title shot at “Battle By The Bay” an AWA card broadcast live on ESPN from Oakland, CA.

 

Alexis Smirnoff, Buddy Rose & Doug Somers vs. Midnight Rockers & Curt Hennig (6/28/86)

Smirnoff joins forces with Rose and Somers to take top tag title contenders Michaels and Jannetty and Hennig on the Battle By the Bay card from Oakland.

 

Col. DeBeers, Larry Zbyszko & Doug Somers vs. Greg Gagne, Curt Hennig, & Jimmy Snuka (7/26/86)

An underlying component of this 6-man tag match is the racism of Col. DeBeers, who wants nothing to do with wrestling Jimmy Snuka. DeBeers up until this time had refused to wrestle several jobbers of colour on TV.

 

Sherri Martel vs. Debbie the Killer Tomato (7/26/86)

Sherri Martel wrestles possibly the best named female wrestler of the 80’s. Though she did wrestle fairly regularly, Sherri was noted more as the valet/manager of Rose and Somers during her AWA tenure in 1986 and accompanied the pair to ringside for all of their matches.

 

Buddy Rose & Doug Somers vs. Midnight Rockers (8/30/86)

Known as “The Bloodbath”, it is likely the most famous of the matches between the two teams and went a long way in shedding the “R ‘n R Express ripoff” image that had followed them in their early days as a tag team. From Las Vegas.

 

Nick Bockwinkel vs. Boris Zuhkov (8/30/86)

Bockwinkel defends the title against Zurkov in Las Vegas.

 

Buddy Rose & Doug Somers vs. Greg Gagne & Jimmy Snuka (9/20/86)

One of Rose and Somers’ few title defenses not involving the Midnight Rockers. Gagne and Snuka had teamed on occasion since their pairing at Wrestlerock ’86 against Bruiser Brody and Nord the Barbarian. From Las Vegas.

 

Buddy Rose vs. Marty Jannetty (10/18/86)

The tag team feud breaks off for a night and becomes a singles match.

 

Nick Bockwinkel vs. Curt Hennig (11/21/86)

Possibly their most famous and talked about match. This aired on New year's Eve 1986 for the first time, even though the match was taped more than a month previous.

 

Buddy Rose, Doug Somers & Sherri Martel vs. Midnight Rockers & Despina Montegues (11/27/86)

A mixed 6-person tag team affair from Thanksgiving Night in St. Paul. Montegues had received some title matches against Martel for the Women's title leading up to this, and was saved by the Rockers in a women's title bout in Vegas previous to this.

 

Col. Debeers vs. Jerry Blackwell (Ladder Match) (11/27/86)

I’m not exactly sure about what led to this Ladder Match in St. Paul on Thanksgiving night, but here it is…

 

Nick Bockwinkel vs. Larry Zbyszko (11/27/86)

Bockwinkel defends against arch-rival Zbyszko on the big Thanksgiving Night card in St. Paul.

 

Nick Bockwinkel vs. Curt Hennig (12/25/86)

From “The Brawl in St. Paul”. Bockwinkel defends the AWA title. Billy Robinson is the special referee on the AWA’s Christmas Night spectacular.

 

Buddy Rose & Doug Somers vs. Midnight Rockers (Cage Match) (12/25/86)

The feud continues with this non-title cage match from “The Brawl in St. Paul”.

 

1987

Buddy Rose & Doug Somers vs. Midnight Rockers (Cage Match) (1/17/87)

This cage match, from Las Vegas, was never aired in the United States and first appeared later on a dvd called “Blood on the Sand”. This bout was the culmination of their Vegas series of matches, which included at least one reversed title change.

 

Buddy Rose & Doug Somers vs. Midnight Rockers (1/27/87)

Billed as the Rockers’ “Final Title Shot ever”, this match was held at the Met Center in Bloomington, MN, a traditionally lousy venue for the AWA on the rare occasions they had run cards out there. Interesting side note: By this time, announcer Larry Nelson had become involved in the storyline as a super-fan type in the Rockers corner, and was coming to matches in a zebra-striped Rockers shirt, which he would wear while at ringside. Really, really odd-looking.

 

 

Leon White vs. Boris Zuhkov (2/21/87)

“Bull Power” (the future Vader as a white-mat trucker-type babyface) takes on the perennially evil, accent-less Russian Boris Zurkov. White was extremely popular with AWA fans despite still being pretty new to the business.

 

Col. Debeers vs. Jimmy Snuka (Glove On A Pole Match) (2/21/87)

Snuka had been feuding with DeBeers seemingly since both arrived in the AWA in early 1986, and their verbal jousting turned into full-on violence after a Debeers attack which saw Snuka pushed from the top rope and face-first piledriven during a Vegas match between Snuka and Larry Zbyszko. After going around the horn to inconclusive finishes, a series of “Diamond Miner’s Glove” matches were sanctioned in the hopes of putting their feud to rest. This version is from Las Vegas.

 

Nick Bockwinkel & Ray Stevens vs. Super Ninja & Larry Zbyszko (2/21/87)

Bockwinkel and Stevens, long cited by many as the greatest tag team in AWA history, go into their bag of tricks one more time against Bockwinkel’s arch-enemy Zbyszko and his Japanese protégé in this Las Vegas bout.

 

Nick Bockwinkel vs. Curt Hennig (3/7/87)

The long-awaited Las Vegas rematch from their 60-minute draw in late 1986. Hennig had become more and more desperate to win the AWA title in the months following the 60-minute draw (becoming increasingly more aggressive as his frustration grew), and Bockwinkel had become more and more determined to hang onto the title in the face of his younger, faster challenger.

 

Nick Bockwinkel vs. Curt Hennig (5/2/87)

From Super Clash II in San Francisco. Larry Zbyszko is at ringside and had challenged the winner of that contest to meet for the title.

Side note: Some have questioned why Verne went so out-of-market (San Fran) for his big card of the year, and panned the move when it only drew 2800 (which looked like a lot less given the light-coloured seats in the building standing out so much more) for the show. The reason was Verne was drawing terribly in Minneapolis at the time and wanted a different venue than (reliable) Vegas to make the card seem “special”. San Fran had drawn a surprising 10,000 or so for an AWA show featuring a battleroyal a few months previous, and Verne took a chance that he could do it again with a heavily-hyped “Supershow”.

 

Larry Zbyszko vs. Ray Stevens (5/30/87)

Stevens had been competing sporadically in the AWA for some time, most recently in a six-man tag at Super Clash II. Here, he matches up with long-time partner Nick Bockwinkel’s arch enemy in a revenge clash in the wake of the Super Clash II controversy.

 

Greg Gagne vs. Curt Hennig (5/30/87)

Gagne and Hennig had been fairly regular tag team partners for some time leading up to a late-April Easter Sunday Tag Team Tournament at the Minneapolis Auditorium. Some miscommunication in their match vs. Boris Zurkov and Soldat Ustinov in the tourney finals ended with Hennig punching out Gagne, leading to their team losing the match. After arguing after the bout, Hennig attacked Gagne once again and the infamous Gagne-Hennig feud was reborn. Here, Gagne gets both a crack at revenge and his first title shot since Jumbo Tsuruta held the belt in 1984.

It’s noteworthy that the Gagne-Hennig feud had actually almost been started in almost an identical scenario between Greg and Curt several months previous to the April Hennig turn. The pair, competing in a tag team match, had an argument which saw Hennig hit Gagne and the team lose the match because of it. Gagne and Hennig came on AWA TV a week after the incident and made up, calling the fight water under the bridge. The working theory is that the events of April 1987 were originally supposed to happen earlier, and Verne changed his mind and delayed it a few months to coincide with the Hennig turn at Super Clash II. The first incident was still broadcast on AWA TV and worked as some not-obvious foreshadowing given that some room was given between the incidents and apologies were made.

 

Greg Gagne vs. Larry Zbyszko (July 1987)

Gagne and Zbyszko meet in St. Paul on the undercard of the last Bockwinkel-Hennig title match in the AWA (Curt and Larry spike-piledrove Bockwinkel at the conclusion of their same-night title match, and Bockwinkel never again wrestled in the AWA). I *think* the actual date on this match is 8/1/87.

 

Nick Bockwinkel vs. Larry Zbyszko (7/11/87)

Bockwinkel, unable to secure an immediate rematch against Hennig, opted for a revenge match against his long-time enemy in the hopes of evening the score after Zbyszko allegedly cost him the AWA title at Super Clash II.

 

Curt Hennig vs. DJ Petersen (8/29/87)

Petersen takes a break from challenging the Russians for the AWA Tag Titles (with Wahoo McDaniel) to take a crack at the AWA Champion. Hennig was given a variety of new challengers in the wake of Nick Bockwinkel’s departure, one of which was the rapidly-rising Petersen, who had been primarily a mid-carder in other territories until his arrival in the AWA.

 

Wahoo McDaniel vs. Boris Zuhkov (Russian Chain Match) (8/29/87)

Zurkov and Soldat Unstinov were the AWA Tag team champions, having won the titles from the Midnight Rockers in Lake Tahoe, NV several months previously. McDaniel was teaming with D.J. Petersen and the pair were the number one contenders for the title. This chain match was built around the feud the teams had developed in their previous two title encounters in Las Vegas.

 

Wahoo McDaniel vs. Curt Hennig (9/12/87)

AWA Champion Hennig takes on wily veteran McDaniel in what was McDaniel’s first AWA title match since 1983. Hennig continues to wrestle a wide variety of challengers in title matches.

 

Curt Hennig vs. Mitch Snow (10/30/87)

Hennig, now flaunting a loose association with Dick Slater, takes on “Jammin’” Mitch Snow in Whitewater, WI. Snow, unheralded before his AWA debut, had developed into a fan favourite pretty quickly and boasted a hiptoss-belly-to-belly suplex combination known as “The Slam Jam” as his finisher.

 

Bill Dundee & Jerry Lawler vs. Original Midnight Express (10/30/87)

Dundee and Lawler captured the AWA tag titles from Soldat Ustinov and Doug Somers (replacing the departed-to-the-WWF Boris Zurkov) in Memphis in the first week of October and had managed to flip the titles to Dr. D and Hector Guerrero once in that month. Here, Paul E. Dangerously’s recently reformed Original Midnight Express (Randy Rose and Dennis Condrey) get their first crack at winning the tag titles. This match also took place in Whitewater, WI, and was part of a TV taping infamous for being full of production gaffes, horrible lighting and a lot of botched wrestling (so much so that a lot of the taped-for-TV matches on this show never made it to air at all). This may also have been the card that J.T. Southern threw a dropkick during a battleroyal, which caused Verne Gagne to flip out so badly that he fired Southern on the spot. (dropkicks + battleroyals = ultimate exposing of the business in Verne’s eyes).

 

Wahoo McDaniel vs. Curt Hennig (Indian Strap Match) (11/28/87)

Wahoo’s specialty match comes to Las Vegas as a stipulation in this feud for the AWA title.

 

Midnight Rockers vs. Kevin Kelly & Nick Kiniski (12/27/87)

The Kelly-Kiniski tag team was well thought of by Verne and it was hoped that they would eventually become regular, top-level foils for the returning Rockers.

 

Wahoo McDaniel vs. Curt Hennig (12/27/87)

The McDaniel-Hennig feud continues.

 

Original Midnight Express vs. Midnight Rockers (12/27/87)

Fresh off of a 30-minute Christmas Night draw in Minneapolis, the returning Rockers battle the Express in Vegas for the titles

[khawk20]

I forgot I ran out of juice when I hit 1988. If anyone has any questions about 88 & 89 please ask and I'll do my best to answer.

[Kevin Ridge]

Another good listen. Seemed like everyone was mostly happy with how the voting went. Ended up having 11 of the top 20 picks in my ballot. Decided to go through the results to see which matches I rated higher (or at least tied with) than everyone else.

 

Match Listing (Overall Finish/My Finish)

 

Ken Patera, Jesse Ventura & Bobby Heenan vs. Hulk Hogan & High Flyers (3/13/83) (17th/1st)

East-West Connection vs. High Flyers (3/1/81) (50th/5th)

Paul Diamond vs. Pat Tanaka (11/18/89) (87th/31st)

Sgt. Slaughter vs. Boris Zuhkov (9/28/85) (88th/19th)

Greg Gagne vs. Super Destroyer Mark II (5/1/80) (89th/22nd)

Bobby Duncum & Billy Robinson vs. Jim Brunzell & Tonga Kid (4/21/85) (100th/23rd)

Badd Company vs. Midnight Rockers (2/19/88) (102nd/15th)

Mando Guerrero vs. Pat Tanaka (6/12/88) (105th/17th)

Lord Alfred Hayes vs. Bobby Heenan (1/13/80) (110th/7th)

 

Heenan, High Flyers and Pat Tanaka appear to be difference makers for me.

[Smack2k]

Two things:

 

1. GET KHAWK's BLACKWELL COMP - Its THAT fuckin good...period end of story

 

2. In your opinion K, do you think in 1989 if the TCS wasnt done and they stayed with feuds and title feuds...would 89 have been better? Not sayig it would save the promotion, but could be better?

 

3. Do you think the Texas Hangmen werent used enough as real top line tag team with teh belts?

[khawk20]

Two things:

 

1. GET KHAWK's BLACKWELL COMP - Its THAT fuckin good...period end of story

 

2. In your opinion K, do you think in 1989 if the TCS wasnt done and they stayed with feuds and title feuds...would 89 have been better? Not sayig it would save the promotion, but could be better?

 

3. Do you think the Texas Hangmen werent used enough as real top line tag team with teh belts?

 

1) Thanks for the plug. It needs an update since I did it but a lot of my older comps do at this point. Someday that'll happen.

 

2) I don't think 89 would have been any better without the TCS. The gimmick matches, as silly as some of them were, helped distract from the limited talent pool. Add in a Larry Z title match or a tag title bout to a program concentrating on the TCS, and it was better than the usual TV squash fare that would have prevailed. Plus if you seriously tried to keep track of the teams and scoring of the TCS it kept you focused on the show, since it was very difficult to follow at times.

 

3) I think the Texas Hangmen were used just fine. The Destruction Crew was the best AWA tag team they had in that stretch, and the Hangmen were a comfortable second on the heel side of the tag teams. Had the AWA carried forward another year or two, they would have eventually won the tag titles and had a run on top. It was a natural progression for them up the card, IMO, that was cut off with the end of the AWA.

 

The whole 89-90 era of AWA wrestling was so hard for a long time fan to watch (those of us that stuck around, at least). Operating out of a singular arena that had maybe 200-300 in it on a good day (mostly a lot less), old time AWA stars getting older and/ or retiring, new guys being thrust into more prominent roles they weren't ready for, the convoluted nature of the TCS...Not as painful a ride as El-P's run through WCW, but it wasn't good. I wasn't sad when they ran out of first-run TV programming and went to an all-classic match format for several months in 1990, even though I knew that reagular AWA TV was not coming back.

[BohsJohnny]

Really enjoyed the podcast will probably get the set in the new year.