American Wrestling Association results

[kevinmcfl]

Wow, what a main event. The AWA falls to the Ishingun. Is the beginning of a takeover?

[rainmakerrtv]

AWA show at the Oakland Arena, Oakland, November 13^th

 

The Wild Italians vs. The Minnesota Heartbreakers

 

The Wild Italians won when Denucci got the Airplane Spin on Tom Stanton

 

Lord Humongous vs. Vinnie Valentino

 

Humongous won with the modified Cobra Clutch

 

Moose Cholak & Samu vs. Col. Buck Robley & Maj. Cal Manson

 

While Samu and Robley brawled outside the ring, Cholak beat Manson with the running splash.

 

Greg Gagne & The Sake and Old Milwaukee Connection vs. Super Destroyer, Paul Orndorff & Jimmy Garvin

 

Super D, Orndorff and Garvin won when Orndorff got the piledriver on Tanaka

 

AWA American Title match : Iceman Parsons © vs. Mike George

 

Parsons won with the jumping clothesline

 

Hulk Hogan, The Road Warriors & Mr. Olympia vs. Riki Choshu, Animal Hamaguchi , Kuniyaki Kobayashi & Osamu Teranishi

 

In a return match from two nights before, the AWA seemed much more ready for the onslaught of the Ishingun. The New Japan team still came out guns a-blazing but the AWA favorites fired back from the get go and gave as good as they got. Highlights of the match included Road Warrior Animal hitting Animal Hamaguchi in a brutal lightning-quick power slam and Choshu copying on of Hogan’s signature spots and nailing him with a lariat on the ring apron and sending him hard to the floor. It looked like recent history was about to repeat, as Choshu wound up the lariat and got set to dispatch Olympia, but the masked man ducked down at the last moment and Choshu went charging past. By this time, Hogan had recovered enough on the outside to pull down the top rope, and Choshu in turn came crashing to the outside. As Choshu and Hogan brawled at ringside, Olympia hit a precision flying dropkick on Teranishi and got the victory for the AWA team. The crowd roared its approval as the Road Warriors raised Olympia on their shoulders in celebration.

[kevinmcfl]

Well that is better. AWA back on their feet and have overcome the Ishingun!

 

Just love Iceman Parsons. Glad to see he is having a great deal of success in the AWA.

 

Sorry but I missed it before. Love the Hogan/Dibiase match. Hogan has been a great traveling champ with matches against Dibiase and Lawler. That is what the 1980's was all about. Great Job!

 

Gagne may need some more help in his wars with the likes of Orndorff, Garvin and the Super Destroyer. CWA is always willing to lend a hand if you need anybody. I love the inter-promotional feel this game has.

[rainmakerrtv]

AWA All-Star Wrestling for November 18^th

 

Interview Segment:

 

The show opens with Mean Gene announcing that the following segment was recorded after the recent AWA show in San Francisco. The shot cuts to a solemn Hulk Hogan in the locker room. He is wearing slacks , a black t-shirt and dark glasses, and the right side of his face is lividly bruised. Hogan spoke in low tones as he said that, after the end of the show and his team’s victory over the New Japan show, he had been putting his gear in the trunk of his car when he was attacked from behind in the parking lot by all four members of the Japanese team , who kicked him and slammed his head multiple times into the side of his car before the were run off by security. Security wanted him to go to the hospital for medical attention, but he insisted on coming back to the locker room to speak his piece on camera. In all of the times he had gone to Japan to wrestle, he had never experienced this sort of dirty tactics and was not going to let it go unanswered. He was going to leave for Japan for a tour and would not be back until December, but he wanted to fans to rest assured that he would get revenge on Choshu and his crew, for the honor of the AWA and their great fans.

 

“Wildman” Jack Armstrong vs. Boris Zukhov

 

This was a full fledged slug fest between the Russian Menace and the unconventional newcomer to the AWA. Zukhov kept trying to beat Armstrong down with clobbering fists and forearms, but the Wildman kept fighting back with his own big blows. It seemed like Zukhov would finally put him way with his Hammer & Sickle finisher when he whipped Armstrong hard into the turnbuckle, but when he came in with the lariat, Armstrong ducked out of the way and came back with his own running clothesline to get the pin.

 

Eddie Mansfield vs. Vinnie Valentino

 

Mansfield was all business taking on one half of the Latin Lovers. Rumor has it that Mansfield had been threatened with a hefty fine if the Minnesota Heartbreakers interfered in his matches one more time, which would account for the fact that he came to the ring alone. Valentino sought to capitalize on this, dazzling the crowd and befuddling Mansfield with his high speed offense. However, Mansfield proved that he was still dangerous when he capitalized on the ref being out of position after a Valentino leapfrog to hit a nasty low blow, followed by a powerslam to get the dirty victory.

 

Ken Patera vs. Dominic Denucci

 

Although Patera has a justly deserved reputation as one of the most ruthless competitors, he is also a canny and well versed wrestlers, as he showed in this mostly technical bout with Denucci. The two exchanged holds and moves in a match that got the crowd on its feet, and when Denucci went in for a fireman’s carry, they cheered, thinking it might be to set up the Airplane Spin. Patera countered out of it, however, and instead locked in his own Full Nelson, forcing Denucci to give up.

 

The Road Warriors & Moose Cholak vs. The Brotherhood Of Poland & Jimmy Garvin

 

The Warriors and the Brotherhood had been mixing it up at house shows for the past few weeks, and bringing in their closest allies made for an even crazier match. Both teams knocked each other all over the ring, and the Brotherhood looked to steal the match away when Wiskowski took advantage of the chaos by hitting Cholak with a set of brass knucks then setting him up for a face first piledriver. Hawk had spotted this, though, and intercepted this with a top rope clotheline before covering the Polish Prince. The Brotherhood protested that Hawk was not the legal man, but the decision stood.

 

Interview Segment :

 

Mean Gene stood in the ring with Super Destroyer and Paul Orndorff. Gene asked, what exactly was Orndorff’s problem with Greg Gagne? Orndorff explained that, when he was in Georgia, Gagne had betrayed his partner and disgraced his name, teaming with the Super Destroyer and attacking him several times. Then, before Orndorff could get a chance to make him pay some dues, Gagne ran back home with his tail between his legs, abandoning Super Destroyer and robbing Orndorff of his chance at revenge. Well , Orndorff had come to show him for what he is to the AWA fans. Mean Gene protested that Gagne had already come clean about his actions in Georgia and was working hard to regain the trust of the fans. Orndorff said he didn’t care what Gagne claimed and the fans were saps if they believed him. Gagne was nothing but a gutless daddy’s boy whose daddy wasn’t around to protect him anymore, and he and the Super Destroyer were going to get their payback, no matter what it took.

 

Samu vs. Lord Humongous

 

Samu was looking for revenge himself on the entire Buck Robley’s army and tonight was taking on the big masked man, Lord Humongous. He really wanted to get his hands on Buck Robley, though, and Robley knew it, berating and antagonizing “Samoan Dynamite” while he battled it out with Humongous. Finally, Samu could take no more and dove out of the ring, crashing into Robley. Samu and the Colonel exchanged roundhouse rights and lefts as the ref had no choice but to count Samu out of the ring.

[rainmakerrtv]

AWA show at the Mecca, Milwaukee, November 18^th

 

“Wildman” Jack Armstrong vs. Boris Zukhov

 

Armstrong won with the running clothesline.

 

Mr. Olympia vs. Eddie Mansfield

 

Both men brawled outside the ring to a double count out.

 

Samu vs. Col. Buck Robley

 

At long last, Samu had finally gotten his hands on the commander of the Army and went wild on the Colonel. Robley fought back hard against “Samoan Dynamite”, but Samu was determined not to be denied as he set Robley up and went to the top turnbuckle to hit the Dynamite Splash. Out of nowhere, a masked man dressed all in green camouflage came from underneath the ring, leapt to the ring apron and shoved him off the top rope, sending him crashing to the mat. As the masked man put the boots to the felled Samoan , Robley grabbed the ringside mic and started screaming into it, “APOCALYPSE! APOCALYPSE! APOCALYPSE!” The two continued their assault on Samu until the AWA officials cleared them from the ring.

 

AWA World Tag Titles Match : The Road Warriors © vs. The Wild Bills

 

The Wild Bills tried to steal the belts back by getting a double clothesline on Hawk assisted by the bullrope, but Hawk ducked under and came back with his own double clothesline to retain the belts.

 

AWA American Title Match : Iceman Parsons © vs. Ken Patera

 

In a lengthy and intense match, Patera seemed about to put it away with a piledriver, only for Parsons to counter it by flipping over his back and landing on his feet. When Patera turned around, Parsons greeted him with a boot to the midsection and set up a piledriver of his own. He never got the chance to hit it, though, as Mike George charged into the ring and ambushed him from behind, leading to the ref calling for the DQ.

 

Greg Gagne & Da Crusher vs. Paul Orndorff & Jimmy Garvin

 

Garvin tried to get a roll up on Crusher out of the ropes, but Crusher grabbed the top rope and sat down hard on his chest. Precious swiftly jumped up on the ring apron and distracted the ref, and when the ref went over to tell her to get down, Orndorff clobbered Crusher in the head with a ringside chair, leaving Garvin to cover the unconscious Crusher for the three count.

[dexstar]

I like the angle for Hulk's trip to Japan. Picturing the more somber version of Hogan (versus the ultra ego promo style of the late 80s early 90s) and I think it'd come across really well.

 

Cool to see Iceman Parsons hanging around the upper level somewhere other than Texas.

 

The Samu-Robley feud is the type of program that really helps a promotion in the time frame we are working where you can't have Hogan fighting Ishigun on TV every week or something, and you've done good with it.

[kevinmcfl]

Great use of your roster. Long seeing your top 2 teams in action again as the main event with Hogan gone.

 

Also love the idea of Parson hanging on as champ at least as long as he is involved with the Patera/Mike George feud.

[LowBlowPodcast]

Cliff notes version of the AWA is never a bad thing. Some good results with some fun match ups. With Hogan away, the heels will play and without a doubt they are getting some strength built up in the AWA at this point. It will be an interesting environment when the Hulkster does return and how and who he will be greeted with, especially with the possibilities from the draft coming up!

[rainmakerrtv]

Hulkster is in for some tough challenges even before the draft settles.

[rainmakerrtv]

AWA All-Star Wrestling for Nov. 25^th

 

Apocalypse vs. Tony Russo

 

The mysterious masked newcomer came to the ring accompanied by the Colonel, Buck Robley, and seemed almost zombie-like as he slowly made his way to the ring. The moment the bell rang and Robley gave the order, though, Apocalypse tore straight into Russo, knocking him all over the ring with big tackles and throws before locking in a painful looking Camel Clutch that forced Russo to give up the match. If this is Robley’s next line of defense against Samu, then Samoan Dynamite certainly has his work cut out for him.

 

“Wildman” Jack Armstrong vs. Mike George

 

Armstrong has just recently beaten George’s stable mate , Boris Zukhov, but George was determined not to let him get 2 victories in a row. He used his size and technical skills to try to break down the Wildman, but Armstrong kept wriggling out at the last moment and firing back with big punches and forearms. Finally, Sheikh Kaissie, George’s manager, decided to take matters into his own hands and leaped up on the ring apron and George whipped Armstrong into him. Armstrong managed to reverse at the last moment, however, and it was George who collided with Kaissie. Armstrong once again got a roll up and was able to quickly pin Mike George.

 

Vinnie Valentino vs. Rick Patterson

 

Valentino seemed to be emboldened by the news that the AWA would be taking stern measures if Eddie Mansfield and the members of the Minnesota Heartbreakers kept interfering in each others matches. He opened up a lot of fast paced and high impact moves on Patterson, and at one point it looked like he had gotten too cocky in this match when his attempt at a running crossbody press was reversed by Patterson into a power slam. Patterson then roughed up Valentino for a while before throwing him out of the ring. Valentino caught himself on the top tope and then went up to the top turnbuckle and came off with a high flying move. Patterson had scouted this and ducked down, but this turned out to be part of Valentino’s strategy as he got a flying sunset flip that gave him the victory.

 

Greg Gagne vs. Maj. Cal Manson

 

Gagne was gearing up for a showdown with Paul Orndorff and the Super Destroyer and looked set to take out his frustrations on the second in command of Robley’s Army. Manson never really got a shot in as Gagne blasted him with suplexes and dropkicks before cinching in the Gagne Leglock for the victory.

 

Paul Orndorff vs. Prof. Toru Tanaka

 

Orndorff also looked to be making a show of force before taking on Greg Gagne, but Tanaka was determined not to be looked past. This battle raged back and forth and Tanaka looked like just might squeak out a win by hitting the thrust kick, but Orndorff caught it and countered with a lariat. One piledriver later and Orndorff had the win.

 

Road Warrior Animal vs. Ed Wiskowski

 

These two big bruisers both had their partners at ringside , anticipating some upcoming matchups between the two teams. The match was as wild as one could imagine, with a lot of big swinging haymakers and clotheslines and not a lot of technical wrestling. When Wiskowski his a low blow outside the ref’s field of vision, it looked like he would get an upset win as he set up Animal for the face first piledriver. Animal showed his raw strength, though , as he powered out of it with a back drop and sat down hard on Wiskowski’s chest. He didn’t get as far as a one count because Putski rushed into the ring and hit him with a forearm. The ref called for the DQ as Hawk jumped into the ring as well and both teams brawled into the credits.

[rainmakerrtv]

AWA show at the Winnipeg Arena, Winnipeg, Nov. 25th

 

The Wild Bills vs. The Wild Italians

 

The Wild Bills won after a double lariat on Russo.

 

Samu vs. Apocalypse

 

Both men went to a double countout when they were both brawling on the floor.

 

Ken Patera & Mike George vs. Iceman Parsons & "Wildman" Jack Armstrong

 

Patera and George won when Patera hit a shoulder breaker on Armstrong.

 

Paul Orndorff vs. Da Crusher

 

Orndorff won with a piledriver.

 

AWA World Tag Titles Match : The Road Warriors © vs. The Brotherhood Of Poland

 

The Road Warriors won when Hawk hit a flying clothesline at Putski.

 

Greg Gagne vs. The Super Destroyer

 

Gagne won when Super D went for a super plex and Gagne countered with cross body. After the match, both Super D and Paul Orndorff attacked Gagne.

[LowBlowPodcast]

I dare say that I am very excited to see what the AWA looks like after the draft. With the guys that you drafted and the guys that you currently have, I could see some amazing feuds coming out of this. I think one guy in particular I'm very interested in seeing is Tito Santana. I think that 1983-84 was probably his prime as a wrestler so to see him come in at this point and what he could do I think it will be great. I would love to see him up against Orndorff or Jimmy Garvin who may also have his hands full as his brother Ron is also coming in. Put all of this together with Hogan's eminent return in mid-december and the AWA is going to be a powerhouse to really jump ahead in early 1984

[rainmakerrtv]

I hate to admit this, but until you mentioned it, I completely failed to take in that Jimmy Jam was going to have to deal with his brother/uncle/step-father coming in. I was just focused on drafting one of my favorite wrestlers. I'm such a great booker, I don't even realize it!

 

This show is a bit of a place holder show, after Hogan heads to Japan but before some of the talent exchange shows. Things will definitely be kicking into high gear towards the end of December.

[GeneJackson95]

Love the variety of the AWA shows here...literally something for everyone on these cards. As mentioned by others I love the use of Iceman Parsons as well as Mr. Olympia. I'm huge fan of Olympia and I feel like he was under utilized in real life and I hope to see to continue to be a big player here in the AWA, if he ever wears out his welcome here he's always welcome in the Carolinas!

[rainmakerrtv]

AWA All-Star Wrestling for December 2^nd

 

Eddie Mansfield vs. Javier Cruz

 

Eddie Mansfield didn’t seem happy not being allowed to have the Minnesota Heartbreakers at his back for this match, but he seemed determined to take his frustration out on Javier Cruz. The popular Latin Lover fought hard to keep up with the Continental Lover, but Mansfield seemed to have an extra edge of viciousness to his moves. Any attempts at high flying moves were immediately shut down by Mansfield, and ultimately a powerslam on Cruz signaled the end of the match.

 

Apocalypse & Maj. Cal Manson vs. Samu & Moose Cholak

 

Any semblance of control in the match went out the window in the first minute, when Samu and the masked Apocalypse brawled their way out of the ring to ringside and didn’t return to the ring for the rest of the match. The left the big Moose in the ring to dominate Manson, and he swiftly dispatched the second in command of the Army with a running splash.

 

Ken Patera vs. “Wildman” Jack Armstrong

 

Armstrong had been on a hot streak against Sheikh Kaissie’s men of late, and hoped to extend it with this match. He certainly had his work cut out for him against the formidable strongman Patera, especially when Boris Zukhov joined Patera at ringside to provide distraction. It was still all Patera could do to contain the out of control offense of the Wildman. When Armstrong looked to be winding up for the big Running Clothesline, it seemed like he might just be able to pull off the upset. But Zukhov made his presence felt by snagging Armstrong’s leg as he came off the ropes, tripping him and sending him crashing face first into the mat , where Patera capitalized with a brutal elbow drop to the back of Armstrong’s head. One shoulder breaker later and he had put an end, for now, to the challenge of the Wildman.

 

Road Warrior Hawk vs. “Wild” Bill Irwin

 

Both the Road Warriors and the Wild Bills were gearing up for their big tag title rematch, and both men had their tag partners in their corner for this singles match. As could be expected, this was an intense match with Irwin looking to inflict as much punishment before the big title match and Hawk determined to pay back every shot with two more. Hawk was setting up Irwin to finish him off with a big flying clothesline, but as he was about to come off the ropes, Billy Jack Haynes yanked down the top rope and Hawk tumbled to the outside. As the ref called for the DQ on Irwin, the two teams brawled into the commercial break.

 

Mr. Olympia vs. Tom Stanton

 

Olympia seemed to have noted the aggression early in the show by Eddie Mansfield and had, in turn, cranked up the violence of his own attack. He never gave Stanton a chance to breath, hitting him with an array of lightning quick power moves before putting him in the Powerlock (figure four leg lock) for the win.

 

Greg Gagne & Da Crusher vs. Paul Orndorff & Super Destroyer

 

In his ongoing war with Mr. Wonderful and the Super Destroyer, Gagne has to go to various different places for help. This time , he teamed with his old friend Da Crusher. Gagne and the scrappy veteran really took it to the villainous pair, slugging it out with both of them. But just when it seemed like they would finally get the win, with Crusher setting up Super D for a big power slam, Orndorff, taking advantage of the ref escorting Gagne out of the ring, viciously clipped Crusher from behind, sending Super Destroyer crashing down on top of Crusher and stealing the win.

[rainmakerrtv]

AWA show at the Met Center, Bloomington, December 2nd

 

The Latin Lovers vs. The Minnesota Heartbreakers

 

The Latin Lovers won with the Love Missile on Rocky Brewer.

 

The Rock 'n' Roll Express vs. The Brotherhood Of Poland

 

The RnRs come in making a guest appearance from the Memphis territory bringing a lot of excitement and an impressive resume, including a victory over none other than the AWA tag champion Road Warriors. They showed they are definitely worthy of the hype as they dazzled the crowds and stymied the bigger team with their rapid fire, double team moves, getting a shocking victory with a double dropkick on Putski.

 

Mr. Olympia & Tony Atlas vs. Eddie Mansfield & Rick Patterson

 

Mr. Olympia brought in a second “Mr. Olympia”, none other than Tony Atlas, to continue his campaign against Mansfield and the Minnesota Heartbreakers and got the victory when Atlas hit the running splash on Patterson

 

Wahoo McDaniel & Samu vs. Lord Humongous & Apocalypse

 

Samu teamed with Mid-South’s legendary Wahoo McDaniel against the two masked men of Col. Robley’s Army and the match went to a double count out with both teams brawling outside the ring

 

Iceman Parsons & Jerry Lawler vs. Ken Patera & Mike George

 

The Memphis legend made a return appearance to the AWA teaming with the American champ and got the win when he hit the flying fistdrop on Mike George

 

Greg Gagne & The Fantastics vs. Paul Orndorff, Super Destroyer & Jimmy Garvin

 

Gagne was teaming with the popular Mid South tandem of The Fantastics in his efforts to defeat Orndorff and crew and Rodgers and Fulton did not disappoint, going fist and fire with Orndorff, Super D and Garvin. Orndorff ultimately went to the gutter, tripping Gagne from the outside as her tried to suplex Super Destroyer from the ring apron into the ring and held down Greg’s leg to get the dirty victory for his team.

 

AWA World Tag Titles Match : The Road Warriors © vs. The Wild Bills

 

Yet another epic match between these two teams. It looked like the match could end at several points, including when Billy Jack just barely kicked out from a Hawk top rope clothesline, and when Irwin and Haynes side suplex/second rope elbow drop on Hawk got a 2.99999 count that was just barely broken up by Animal. Ultimately, Irwin had Animal set up on the top rope for a superplex, but Animal resisted and fought back with big forearm shots until he knocked Irwin to the mat. He and Hawk then hit a double top rope flying shoulder tackle that finally put an end to the match.

[rainmakerrtv]

AWA All-Star Wrestling , December 9^th

 

Lord Humongous vs. Tony Russo

 

Lord Humongous has been keeping a relatively low profile since his title matches against Hulk Hogan. Today, he gave a reminder as to why he got a title shot in the first place. He brutally dismantled the Wild Italian, hitting a devastating series of power moves before putting him away with the modified Cobra Clutch.

 

The Wild Bills vs. The Latin Lovers

 

The Wild Bills are gearing up for a match with another fast paced team in the Fantastics and gave an indication of their approach with a furious assault on the well liked Latin Lovers. Valentino and Cruz did their best to hang with the former tag champs but when the Bills hit a brutal double lariat on Cruz, that was all she wrote.

 

Da Crusher vs. Bill Rathke

 

AWA legend Da Crusher clearly had the crowd on his side as he took on journeyman “Big” Bill Rathke, and spent much of his time playing good-naturedly to the fans before knocking Rathke out with a running Bolo punch.

 

Paul Orndorff vs. Stan Stasiak

 

“Mr. Wonderful” has been on quite the tear as of late while he heads towards the ultimate show down with AWA stalwart Greg Gagne, and this time out was facing former World champ Stan Stasiak. Stasiak put up some of the stiffest opposition Orndorff has faced yet, resisting Orndorff’s attempts to injure his arm and take the Heart Punch out of the equation, all the while firing back with big haymakers. He tried to get Orndorff in position for the Heart Punch with a lariat, but Orndorff ducked and hit his own lariat. One piledriver later and “Mr. Wonderful” had gotten another win.

 

Iceman Parsons & “Wildman” Jack Armstrong vs. Boris Zukhov & Mike George

 

The American champ Parsons and his good friend “The Wildman” have been having their share of troubles with Sheikh Kaissie’s men, with Parsons targeted by Ken Patera for his title and Armstrong feuding with Boris Zukhov. The threat of Patera interfering hung over this match, but for the time being, the Olympic strongman seemed to be waiting for his ideal shot, and Parsons got the win for his team when he hit a top rope Rumper Stumper on Zukhov.

 

Eddie Mansfield vs. Mr. Olympia

 

These few have been feuding for quite some time, and for once it seemed like there would be a level playing field with the threat of sanctions in case the Minnesota Heartbreakers interfered. This seemed to play in Olympia’s favor, as he took all of his long time frustration out on Mansfield, dominating him with slams and dropkicks. It looked like he would finally get a decisive victory over the Continental Lover when he got Mansfield in the Sleeper hold … but sure enough, the Minnesota Heartbreakers came running in from the back to attack Olympia, leading to the DQ. The Latin Lovers came out swinging chairs to run them off, and the AWA officials were seen in intense discussion as to what measures would be taken on Mansfield and the Heartbreakers.

[rainmakerrtv]

AWA show at the Cow Palace, San Francisco, December 9th

 

Samu vs. Apocalypse

 

After an intense bout , Samu was about to put Apocalypse away with the Dynamite Drop, Col. Buck Robley broke it up with a lariat to the back of the head, leading to a DQ

 

The Wild Bills vs. The Fantastics

 

The Wild Bills were clearly looking to bully the Fantastics like they had the Latin Lovers. The Fantastics had faced some tough competition in Mid South and weren’t about to be intimidated by the Bills. After a spectacular back and forth match, while the ref was escorting Billy Jack out of the ring, Bobby Fulton tried to take Irwin down with a sunset flip, but Irwin, cowbell in hand, blocked it by grabbing Fulton by the hair and was about to bring the cowbell down hard on his head. However, Tommy Rodgers came to the rescue with a spectacular dropkick on Irwin, and Fulton was able to roll through with the sunset flip. The ref got back just in time to count the pin and, despite the protests of Col. Buck Robley, the Fantastics got the win.

 

Mr. Olympia, Tony Atlas & The Latin Lovers vs. Eddie Mansfield & The Minnesota Heartbreakers

 

Once again, Mansfield did his best to avoid getting in the ring and left the Heartbreakers to get knocked across the mat by the opposition. Tony Atlas forced Tom Stanton to give up to a big bear hug, but Mansfield will soon have to pay the piper for his recent actions against Mr. Olympia .

 

Wahoo McDaniel vs. Lord Humongous

 

Both men were a bloody mess by the end of this match. Wahoo managed to get the hockey mask off Humongous and laid down some massive chops on his exposed head, but Humongous was not a one trick pony and used his massive power to hit some devastating slams on McDaniel. Humongous sought to polish him off with a lariat, but Wahoo ducked at the last moment and came back off the opposite rope with a Tomahawk chop to get the win. McDaniel got the victory , but both men looked like they had gone through the wringer.

 

Greg Gagne & ? Vs. Paul Orndorff, Super Destroyer & Jimmy Garvin

 

Orndorff and his partners were clearly confident as they came out to the ring, and were even more confident when Greg Gagne came out by himself. Their cocky smiles turned into frowns, however, when Gagne signaled to the back and brought out …. Jim Brunzell and Phil LaFon ! Brunzell had a long association with Gagne as part of the High Flyers and brought with him the Canadian sensation, Phil LaFon, with whom he had teamed in Quebec. This exciting new triad stymied the villains with their fast paced moves and technical wrestling, never losing their cool when their opponents tried to bring the match down into the dirt with cheap tactics. After an exciting match, a gasp went up from the crowd when LaFon hit the huge Super Destroyer with a cobra clutch suplex, and when Orndorff and Garvin tried to come in to break up the pin, they were met by precision dropkicks from Brunzell and Gagne. With this victory, it looked like Gagne had finally found the right allies to take on Orndorff’s crew, but time will tell how this pans out for them.

 

Iceman Parsons, Jerry Lawler & "Wildman" Jack Armstrong vs. Ken Patera, Mike George & Boris Zukhov

 

Parsons and Armstrong once again worked with Parsons’ friend , the King Of Memphis Jerry Lawler, to square off with Sheikh Kaissie’s men. The end came when Armstrong looked to finish off George with a bear hug, but Zukhov took advantage of the ref being distracted and hit a chain assisted clothesline to Armstrong’s back. He placed George on top of Armstrong and the Sheikh’s soldiers got the tainted win.

 

AWA World Tag Titles Match : The Road Warriors © vs. The Rock 'n' Roll Express

 

There was a lot of anticipation going into this match, both with the Express’ recent victory over the Brotherhood Of Poland and with the news that the Express had scored a victory over the Warriors in the Memphis territory. This match delivered on every level, with the Warriors devastating power evenly matched with the Express’ high flying expertise. The Express did hit their double dropkick finisher on Hawk, but were unable to capitalize as, when they got up, Animal levelled them with a double clothesline from behind. At one point, Animal got ready to put them away by hoisting Ricky Morton up on his shoulders for the Doomsday Device, but Hawk was unable to administer the top rope clothesline as Robert Gibson had grabbed onto his leg and would not let go, and Morton was able to counter with a victory roll. He got a two count before Hawk had kicked himself free of Gibson and broke it up with an elbow smash. As the match wound down, the Express were able to hit the drop toehold/elbowdrop combo that got them their earlier win, but Animal was able to kick out just in the nick of time. The two teams were still battling it out as the bell rang, signaling a 30 minute time limit draw, but were able to calm down enough afterwards to shake hands as a show of good sportsmanship.

[Boon]

The Road Warriors shaking hands? Let them rip the pretty boys heads off...

[rainmakerrtv]

It was more of an exhausted hand slap ... it's 83 Road Warriors and they just went 30 minutes, cut them some slack.

[Boon]

Very true, fair play to the Express for getting it out of them...

[rainmakerrtv]

AWA All-Star Wrestling for the weekend of December 16th

 

Tito Santana vs. Maj. Cal Manson

 

This was the first appearance in the AWA for the popular Mexican firebrand. Manson, the Second In Command of the army , had his “Commanding Officer”, Col. Buck Robley, in his corner. Robley grew more frantic at ringside as Santana easily dominated Manson, showing the fans why he had established himself as one of the top wrestlers in the world. After Santana had hit the Mexican Hammer (flying forearm) and gotten the pin, Robley charged the ring and attacked Santana. Santana fought back and soon dropkicked Robley out of the ring. By this point, Manson had recovered and grabbed a chair from ringside and looked to attack Santana, but Santana reflexively dropkicked him and hit the chair, sending the chair hard into Manson’s own head. This knocked Manson out cold and he had to be helped from ringside.

 

Lord Humongous vs. Dominic Denucci

 

Lord Humongous had been dominating most of his opposition since his recent return, and looked like he was trying to make an example of Denucci. He badly battered Denucci with slams and power moves before sending him into the ropes, catching him in a sideslam then driving Denucci’s back down hard into Humongous’ own knee to polish him off.

 

Interview Segment : Mean Gene is in the ring.

 

Gene : Folks, my next guest has been having a lot of trouble lately with Eddie Mansfield and the Minnesota Heartbreakers. Here to give his comments on that situation is Mr. Olympia!

 

Olympia comes out to the cheers of the fans.

 

Gene : Mr. Olympia, Mansfield and the Heartbreakers had been given warning that sanctions would be taken if any of them were to continue interfering in your matches, and after their attack on you last week, the AWA officials were looking to issue fines and possible suspensions for them. However, I’ve gotten word that you intervened and requested that no measures be taken against them. What gives?

 

Olympia : Let me tell you, Mean Gene, there’s a lot more to that story. Yes, I did request that they neither fine nor suspend Mansfield and his crew, and they granted me that request. But that is because I wanted something else to be done with them. What’s going to happen is a special match at the Milwaukee show. I’m going to take on all of the Minnesota Heartbreakers *and* Mansfield, one at a time. If I beat one of them, that guy is out of the AWA. If any of them beat me, I’m gone. That is the only way I get those idiots out of my, err, mask, once and for all.

 

Gene : All four of them in one night, Mr. Olympia? Good grief! Don’t you think you’ve bitten off a bit more than you can chew?

 

Olympia : Gene, I am so sick of them messing in my business, I will do whatever it takes to put a stop to this. That is why I have put a special condition in the contract : if any one of them interferes at all during the course of the match, they will *all* be banned from the AWA at once. I am confident that I can outlast all of them, and in Milwaukee, one war or another, this comes to an end.

 

Ken Patera vs. Vinnie Valentino

 

Although Valentino has had wrestled in singles matches before, there was no trace of his partner in the Latin Lovers, Javier Cruz, at all in the building tonight. This seemed to throw off Valentino, who had a hard time getting his offense out of first gear with the powerful Patera, and an attempt to get the win with a running crossbody was caught and turned into a shoulder breaker that got the win for the former Olympian.

 

Ron Garvin vs. Ed Wiskowski

 

The Man with the Hands Of Stone was also making his debut in the AWA, taking on one half of the Brotherhood of Poland, and he came out accompanied by none other than Da Crusher. Wiskowski brought his partner, Ivan Putski, out with him and to say that the presence of the two former friends was a distraction would be understatement. As the big “Polish Prince” did battle in the ring with the cagey veteran, Crusher and Pustki jawed with each other until they finally came to blows. Wiskowski looked to take advantage of the ref being distracted by this by reaching into his trunks and pulling out a set of brass knucks. Before he could use this unfair advantage, however, Garvin caught him right on the point of the jaw with a massive, lightning quick punch that put his light out. Garvin got the pinfall on Wiskowski as the Prince’s partner and his manager, Precious, looked on in slack jawed astonishment at how much the Hands Of Stone deserved his nickname.

 

Interview Segment : Mean Gene is once again in the ring.

 

Gene : Folks, my next guest is just returning from a very successful tour of Japan and is clearly looking forward to being back here in the good ole USA. Ladies and gentlemen, the AWA World Champion … Hulk Hogan!

 

“Eye Of The Tiger” plays over the arena PA as the Hulkster , World Title belt wrapped around his waist, makes his way to the ring, taking time to give high fives to the clearly adoring fans.

 

Mean Gene : Hulkster, it’s been a while since we have gotten to see you in person but word got back to us of the great matches you have been having in Japan.

 

Hogan : Well, y’know, Mean Gene … after that dirty attack by Riki Choshu before I left, I was determined to show them why I was the AWA champ and not to be messed with . But I stood tall and came out of that tour still the champion of the world. The Japanese fans were amazing and very appreciative of the matches I had, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t glad to be back here in the AWA among my friends and fans.

 

Mean Gene : Hulk, it was a bit surprising to see that your first opponent after your return will be Mid South star Ted Dibiase, especially after the grueling match you two had just over a month ago in the Twin Cities. Any thoughts?

 

Hogan : Let me tell you, Mean Gene … if the Hulkster is anything, he is a fighting champion. Dibiase took he to the limit in one of the toughest matches of my life, and if he wants another shot, I say sign me up! I duck no challengers and won’t be satisfied until I prove that I am the undisputed champion of the world!

 

Samu vs. Apocalypse

 

These two had been waging war with each other over the past several weeks and it would reach a climax tonight. The masked man came out with his manager, Col. Buck Robley, with both men dressed in full camouflage colors and Robley wearing a military helmet. Samu and Apocalypse tore into each other, with the balance of power going back and forth and both men were bloody by the end of it. When Apocalypse caught a crossbody attempt by Samu and turned it into a back breaker, then applied the Camel Clutch, it looked like that was it for “Samoan Dynamite” . But Samu gritted his teeth and refused to give in, and managed to slowly make his way over to the ropes, causing the ref to break up the hold. While the ref was checking on Samu, Robley jumped on the ring apron and looked to throw his helmet in to Apocalypse, but Tito Santana came to ringside and chased off the Colonel. Apocalypse left the ring to recover the dropped helmet, but by the time he got back in, Samu had recovered and greeted him with a big thrust kick to the face. Wisely choosing to spare his damaged back and forego both the Dynamite Drop and the Dynamite Dive, he instead gave Apocalypse a sharp DDT on top of the helmet, finally getting the victory over the masked man.

[rainmakerrtv]

AWA show at the Mecca, Milwaukee, December 16^th

 

Loser Leaves Town Match : "Wildman" Jack Armstrong vs. "The Russian Menace" Boris Zukhov

 

 

 

These two had a lot of intense battles of late but this would be where it all ends, as the loser would be gone from the AWA. These two knocked each other all over the ring with big clubbing blows and it looked like it go either way. Zukhov had Armstrong set up for the kill with his Hammer & Sickle finisher when he whipped Armstrong into the turnbuckle and came in with the lariat, but Armstrong ducked at the last second and came back at him with his own running clothesline. However, Zukhov had scouted this move from getting caught by it in a previous match and countered it in turn with a big boot to the midsection before grabbing him in a Russian Bearhug. Zukhov wore Armstrong down and the Wildman seemed to be fading fast as the ref raised his arm and dropped it twice. At the very last moment, when it looked like Armstrong’s arm would drop for the third and final time, he kept his arm up and got an eye poke on Zukhov that caught him off guard and caused the startled Russian to drop him. Armstrong threw himself back against the rope and came back with a desperation clothesline that leveled Zukhov and led to the pinfall, sending the Russian Menace out of the AWA.

 

Tito Santana vs. Col. Buck Robley

 

 

 

Robley came out very upset at Santana injuring his Second In Command, Maj. Cal Manson, after a recent match, and came out gunning for revenge. He tried to bully the Mexican firebrand with punches and kicks and using his bulk to beat Santana down, but Tito hung in and came back with dropkicks and clotheslines. Robley wound up the lariat to try to take Santana out, but Santana got the Mexican Hammer in first to get the victory.

 

Gauntlet Loser Leaves Town Match Part 1 : Mr. Olympia vs. Rick Patterson

 

 

 

Patterson came out with Eddie Mansfield and the rest of the Minnesota Heartbreakers in tow, but the ref stepped in and demanded, as per the terms of the contract, that they leave ringside. In the confusion, Mr. Olympia took advantage of the distraction by climbing the top turnbuckle and, when Patterson finally turned to face him, Olympia came off with a flying dropkick and got the quick pin. Just like that, the Heartbreakers had lost their biggest man.

 

Part 2 Mr. Olympia vs. Rocky Brewer

 

Brewer, clearly thrown by just how easily his partner had been beaten, came in and tried to take down Olympia with clotheslines and slams. But when he tried to get a powerslam on Olympia, the masked man reversed it and hit a nasty leaping belly-to-belly piledriver that knocked Brewer out. Two down, two to go.

 

 

Part 3 Mr. Olympia vs. Tom Stanton

 

 

Stanton tried to take advantage of Olympia’s tiredness after wrestling 2 matches in a row by charging the ring, knocking him down and putting the boots to him. Eddie Mansfield could be seen at the back of the arena, frantically watching the match and hoping Stanton would take Olympia out before he had to face him. Stanton got in a number of very hard kicks on the felled Olympia and clearly did some damage, but his luck ultimately ran out when he went for a kick and Olympia caught his foot and took him down to the ground. He put Stanton in the Powerlock (figure four) and try though he might, the last of the Minnesota Heartbreakers, could not escape. He had to submit and the last of the Minnesota Heartbreakers was gone.

 

Part 4 Mr. Olympia vs. Eddie Mansfield

 

 

The moment the bell rang for the end of the previous match, Mansfield charged the ring, not waiting for Olympia to release the Powerlock on Stanton to give a big elbow drop to the popular masked man. He seized advantage of Olympia’s exhausted condition and ferociously attacked him. He took him down with several clotheslines and it seemed like Olympia’s miraculous run would end after Mansfield hit him with the powerslam. Olympia was able to kick out, though, and looked like he caught a second wind when he was able to shake off all of Mansfield’s punches. Mansfield started to panic when Olympia started throwing back punches of his own, followed by a big dropkick that sent him flying to ringside. Mansfield looked at the fired up Mr. Olympia in the ring, then fled to the back, never to be seen for the rest of the night.

 

Grudge Match : Da Crusher vs. Ivan Putski

 

 

 

This match had been building for a while, ever since Putski had betrayed his former friend and joined forces with Ed Wiskowski. Putski was joined at ringside by his partner in the Brotherhood Of Poland as well as his manager, Precious, and her main squeeze, “Gorgeous” Jimmy Garvin. Crusher, in turn, was joined by his new friend, “The Hands Of Stone” Ron Garvin. A lot of bad feelings came to the fore as both men slugged it out, inside and outside of the ring , in a ferocious brawl. At one point, both men hit huge punches on each other at the same time and crashed to the mat, seemingly having knocked each other out. Wiskowski and Jimmy Garvin tried to go in and attack Crusher, but the Gorgeous one’s brother was there to block their way. Precious then snuck into the ring, aerosol can in hand, looking to spray Crusher in the eyes as he recovered. But then, out of nowhere, a stocky , bearded man came from the crowd, leaped over the barricade and entered the ring, grabbing Precious over his shoulder and carrying her, kicking and screaming, out of the ring.

 

 

As Jimmy Garvin and Wiskowski chased them out of the arena, Crusher recovered enough to hit a running Bolo Punch on Putski to get the win.

 

Jerry Lawler (courtesy of CWA from Memphis) vs. Lord Humongous

 

 

 

Lord Humongous had been on a serious path of destruction lately, brutally wrecking his past several opponents. The King was not about to be intimidated by the much bigger masked man, jabbing and ducking his attacks and even taking him to the mat with a dropkick. However, reflexes took over and Lawler hit a running fistdrop on Humongous’ head … and his fist impacted hard on the big man’s hockey mask , clearly hurting his hand. Lawler struggle to get his offense going after that, losing his punching power with his damaged hand and clearly overpowered by the huge man. The King looked like he would be able to rally as he staggered Humongous with a pair of dropkicks, but when he went to the well for a third time, Humongous caught him with a side slam and drove his back down hard into his knee. Humongous got the one two three and the shocking victory over the Memphis icon.

 

AWA American title match : Iceman Parsons © vs. Ken Patera

 

 

 

Parsons had barely escaped with his American title around his waist in several recent matches with Patera. In another match between a faster, smaller man against a much larger, powerful opponent, the battle went back and forth with it seeming at different points that either man could take the victory. Parsons looked like he might once again get out of the match with his championship intact when he ascended the top rope to hit the Rumper Stumper, but Patera still had enough left in the tank to charge into the corner with a clothesline to send Iceman falling to the mat. Patera then hoisted Parsons over his shoulder, ram him into the corner turnbuckle , then hard down into the mat with a power slam. One … two … three? Ken Patera is the new AWA American champion!

 

AWA World Tag title Bunkhouse match : The Road Warriors © vs. The Wild Bills

 

 

 

 

The champions came to the ring wearing jeans, t-shirts and weightlifting belts, while the Wild Bills wore leather chaps over their jeans and came with bullropes and cowbells in tow. Needless to say, this was a chaotic brawl, with the Warriors throttling the Bills with their weightlifting belts and the Bills in turn choking the Warriors with their bullropes. All four men were busted open at various points in the match and were a bloody mess by the end of it. The Bills gradually wore down the champs and were trying to polish Hawk off by Haynes hitting a back suplex combined with a top rope clothesline by Irwin. Animal managed to come in to the rescue by clipping Haynes from behind before he could get Hawk up for the suplex, and Irwin went sailing overhead and down hard into the mat. Animal and Hawk hit a cowbell assisted double fist drop on the battered Haynes and successfully defended their belts.

 

Return AWA World Title match : Hulk Hogan © vs. Ted Dibiase (courtesy of Mid-South)

 

 

 

This would be Hogan’s first match back after returning from his tour of Japan, and he chose a tough contender in the form of top Mid South star Ted Dibiase. Dibiase had taken him to the time limit in a past match and was clearly out to prove that it was no fluke in his second shot at the title. This very intense match was made even more dramatic by the arrival part way through at ringside of the newly crowned American champion, Ken Patera, who proceeded to stare down Hogan. When Dibiase clotheslined Hogan out of the ring, Patera stood imposingly over the champ. Hogan didn’t even wait for Patera to make the first move as he leapt to his feet and started throwing punches at him. The two continued to throw down as the ref counted Hogan out of the ring and gave the win (but not the title) to Dibiase. Events took an even more drastic turn when Hogan was attacked from behind by … “Crusher” Jerry Blackwell?

 

 

Blackwell had not been seen in the area for some time but was making his return in the most dramatic way possible, he and Patera beating down Hogan until they were cleared off by security, Dibiase laughing in the ring all the while.

[kevinmcfl]

My favorite AWA Card yet. Each match was like a Main Event. Thanks for using Lawler. You have some wonderful feuds starting and your new roster looks great.

[rainmakerrtv]

Thanks for the kind words. I consider this particular set of shows the end of Chapter 1 of the AWA and the start of Chapter 2.