AWA results for March 1986

[LowBlowPodcast]

Ann Arbor gets a special night of action headlined by Dan FN Spivey continuing to roll all over everyone. I do have to ask... does this Spivey have a mullet or is it the WM 2 Hogan esq Spivey? I always thought the mullet was the best look for him. The other big piece of the card is Piper and Orton who are set to turn the AWA on its side.

[rainmakerrtv]

He's still in the Spiveymania gimmick, so he still rocking the Hogan look. We'll see how that evolves.

[GeneJackson95]

Great card! You're doing a great job building Spivey into the big star he should have been IRL!

[gordi]

Show after show, top to bottom, you keep coming up with compelling matches. Your work in training up the young guys on your roster is really paying off.

[rainmakerrtv]

AWA All-Star Wrestling on ESPN / TSN, March 14^th

 

Roddy Piper & Bob Orton vs. Darnell Hamilton & Caleb Reynolds

 

Piper and Orton made a shocking appearance last week on All-Star Wrestling, attacking Jake Roberts. This would be their All-Star in ring debut, with Buzz Sawyer circling the ring and howling. There was a grim intensity on Orton’s face as he easily dominated his opponents, while Piper seemed to find everything he did that hurt Hamilton and Reynolds incredibly funny. After Orton took out Hamilton with the Superplex, all three of them joined Ken Resnick at ringside. Piper swiftly put his arm around Resnick’s shoulders and mussed his hair, which clearly made him uncomfortable.

 

Piper : Heeeeyyyy, Ken Doll! Tell me what’s on your mind!

 

Resnick : *ahem* Roddy Piper, last week, you and Bob Orton were responsible for a heinous attack on Jake Roberts. What’s going on?

 

Piper : What’s going on, Kenny? Well, let me enlighten you. Snakeskin comes into the AWA and assembles his little band of misfit toys and says, oooh, I’m big and scary! I’m the Agent Of Chaos ! Well, buddy, you just got a taste of what chaos really feels like! Don’t taste too good, eh? He says he’s the Wild Card of the AWA? Well, Jakie, looks like I just changed the game! And guess what? *gestures over his shoulder at Bob Orton* I’ve got an Ace up my sleeve!

 

Piper gets cut off by the members of the Snakepit charging in and attacking him, Orton and Sawyer. The two sides brawled until a squad of AWA security came out and separated them.

 

Brian Pillman vs. Tom Zenk

 

Zenk returned to the AWA last week with his partner Phil Lafon as one half of the Can-Am Express, but has also been wrestling in several singles matches of late. This time out, he was facing young Brian Pillman, who has been getting a great response from the fans in spite of being accompanied by the perpetually sour-faced Kevin Sullivan. The result was a fast paced match with a lot of high flying that looked like it go Pillman’s way when he attempted a slingshot clothesline, but Zenk ducked it at the last second and Pillman went crashing to the mat. When Pillman staggered back to his feet, Zenk nailed him with a Superkick and got the three count. Pillman was looking to shake hands after the match, but Zenk left the ring immediately after, leaving Pillman with Sullivan who smacked him in the back of the head and chastised him all the way back to the locker room.

 

Shane Douglas & Bill Dundee vs. Peter Baggenstos & Joaquin Souberbielle

 

The influx of new talent into the AWA keeps rolling with the interesting duo of Douglas , a young graduate of Dominic Denucci’s school, and Dundee, the well regarded Australian veteran. Douglas got a lot of attention from the female fans as he smoothly dominated his opponents, while Dundee got a lot of cheers for his entertaining antics. Dundee caught Souberbielle in a running cross body press while Douglas assisted with a schoolboy trip to finish the match. We will see how they find their place in the busy AWA ranks.

 

British Steel vs. The British Bullies

 

The Bullies have been trying to live up to their name with their younger opponents, but this has just seemed to bring out the fire in Regal and Smiley. When their array of uppercuts and suplexes failed to keep British Steel down, they shifted to hard hitting punches and blows. Regal and Smiley just kept coming back, so Taylor and Jones went straight to the gutter by punching out the ref, then bringing a chair into the ring. It looked like they were set to do some serious damage but the members of Black Irish charged to the ring and ran them off. A grateful Regal reached out his hand in thanks to Finlay … and was answered with a right cross to the face! Finlay and Cameron continued to attack British Steel until the AWA officials forced them to leave. What side are Black Irish on?

 

Al Perez vs. Doug Somers

 

Following up from last week, once again members of Playboy After Dark and the Razor Boys squaring off in a singles match with their partners in their corner. The match opened up with a lock up, which Perez immediately turned into a waistlock and swiftly followed up with a German Suplex. One … two … THREE! Perez had taken out the World Tag Champ in blindingly quick time! Playboy After Dark protested but there was no denying what happened, and the Razor Boys and the fans were jubilant.

 

Larry Zbyszko & Nick Bockwinkel vs. The Youngbloods

 

Larry and Bock were coming out for their rematch with the Youngbloods and it looked like they were just barely able to keep from lighting into each other, only kept in check by Masa Saito walking between them . Larry insisted on starting the match and, through much of it, refused to tag Nick in. In a clear attempt to show up his partner, Zbyszko kept trying to sneak in some underhanded tactics over his young opponents, but in his zeal he kept getting caught out by the ref and shut down. Wellington and Blackman took advantage of this with rapid tags as well as double team and combination moves. They nailed him with a double clothesline and Blackman started lacing into him with martial arts kicks, but while the ref was escorting Wellington back to his corner, Blackman got torpedoed from behind by a vicious clip to his leg by Bockwinkel. Larry stood in confusion , then felt a hard slap to his shoulder that was his partner tagging himself in. Bockwinkel then proceeded to teach a masterclass in ring villainy, dissecting Blackman’s leg with brutal takedowns and submission moves, then working in every cheap shot imaginable when the ref’s eye was elsewhere. He would let Blackman seem like he would almost be able to tag out, then lure Wellington into the ring and brutalize Blackman while the ref forced his partner to leave the ring. After a massive kneebreaker, he wrapped Blackman in the Figure Four Leglock, and even after Steve gave up, kept the hold on afterwards, only releasing it right at the end of the ref’s count. Even the match was over, it didn’t end his viciousness, as when Blackman had finally struggle to his feet, Bock let loose with a nasty back kick to his damaged leg (all out of sight of the ref, of course) that sent him crashing back to the mat, and simply shrugged when the ref demanded to know what happened. Bock then turned to Zbyszko and gave him a hard stare. Larry, for once, had nothing to say, just staring at him in open mouthed shock, much like most of the audience. Bock suddenly raised his hand, as though he was going to give him a backhand slap, and Larry flinched , but the blow did not come. Instead, Nick smirked and turned on his heel to leave the ring, while Larry followed meekly behind. Bringing up the rear was Masa Saito, and the last shot of the show was of his face, which , for the first time since his return to the AWA, bore an expression other than his usual stoicism : a broad, malevolent, evil looking grin …

[gordi]

Piper, Orton, and Sawyer vs The Snake Pit

 

British Steel, British Bullies, and Black Irish

 

Larry Z, Bock, and Saito...

 

Those are some compelling combinations. Great booking here. Can't wait to see what happens next.

[dawho5]

Gordi hit my main ones here, but I'll expand on the last. Bock finally turning heel and intimidating Larry Z was absolutely incredible. Perez destroying Somers and Pillman vs. Zenk were really good too.

[SirEdger]

Such a fan of Ace & Hot Rod together. I hope they're gonna become the focus very soon because you got tons of potential with this.

[spaldoni]

Loving Piper and Orton in the AWA! Also, Buzz fits in so well with a heel Piper. Z-Man/Pillman was a fun match full of action. I wonder how long Pillman will take Sullivan's abuse? Perez, I'm sure just got his team a tag title shot. What a display by Bock, I mean that was something. That even made Larry Z speechless. I could just picture that last image of Saito. That was really great writing. With these 3 men on the same page, watch out AWA!

[GeneJackson95]

Count me in as loving the Piper/Orton/Sawyer trio...so many things you can do with them against the Snake Pit.

 

The interaction with Bockwinkel and Zybyszko has been so well done and Saito is great as the middle man!

[rainmakerrtv]

AWA show from the Cow Palace, San Francisco , March 14^th (as shown on ESPN / TSN Super Cards)

 

Bill Dundee & Shane Douglas vs. The British Bullies

 

Douglas pinned Jones with a cradle suplex

 

Leo Burke vs. Jeff Gaylord

 

Gaylord blocked the Sleeper and countered with a power slam for the win

 

The Can-Am Express vs. Brian Pillman & Doug Furnas

 

Zenk caught Furnas with a running cross body press, but Furnas countered with a rollover to get the three count

 

Darryl Peterson vs. Mando Guerrero

 

Both men got a lot of boos, but actually put on a solidly technical match that ended when Peterson hit a waistlock suplex then made Mando give up to the Wakigatame

 

Sgt. Slaughter vs. Jerry Blackwell

 

Slaughter won by countout when he knocked Blackwell out of the ring with a Slaughter Cannon

 

AWA Southern Tag Team Title match : Chavo & Hector Guerrero © vs. The Youngbloods

 

Hector countered a bicycle kick attempt by Blackman with the Guerrero Clutch to defend their belts

 

Dusty Rhodes vs. Ken Patera

 

The match went to a double DQ with both men brawling in the ring. After the match, it was announced that, owing to family matters, Dusty Rhodes would be returning to Texas. His final match in the AWA would be next week in Milwaukee, a Bunkhouse Barbed-Wire Texas Death Match against Ken Patera .

 

Roddy Piper & Bob Orton vs. Nord The Barbarian & Cactus Jack

 

Piper hit a low blow on Cactus, followed up by a lariat by Orton for the win

 

AWA World Title Match : Ricky Steamboat © vs. Masa Saito

 

Saito came out with Nick Bockwinkel and Larry Zbyszko . Bock simply stood in his corner and intently watched the match, with a look of deep concentration on his face. Larry looked like he might get involved in the match at a number of occasions, but a quick look from Bock swiftly shut that down. This would prove to be one of Steamboat’s sternest tests in his still new title reign. The Japanese veteran Saito has a well deserved reputation as one of the toughest men in the AWA, and wrenched Steamboat’s limbs with a variety of arm and leg locks to try to set him up for the Scorpion or the Prison Lock. He also had a variety of brutal suplexes in his arsenal that he used to try to break down the champ. Steamboat kept rallying and battling back against Saito, but Saito would not stay down for long. It looked like it might be over when he had the champ set up for his patented Saito Suplex, but Steamboat dug in and blocked it, countering with his own belly to back suplex. He then went up top and came off with a flying cross body press to finally get the hard fought one two three. After the match, Bockwinkel entered the ring and shook Steamboat’s hand … then suddenly slapped him across the face with a vicious backhand! Steamboat stared at him in shock … then went after Bockwinkel with chops and punches. The two went at it for a short while before the AWA officials rushed the ring and separated them. It looks like Nick Bockwinkel has thrown down the gauntlet to the World Champion.

[SirEdger]

Oooooooh, solid main event you got there!!!

[dawho5]

I'd go more than solid. Slaughter/Blackwell, the tag titles, Piper/Orton vs. Nord/Cactus AND a nice technical match between Mando and Daryl Peterson. Really good card for San Fran/Supercards.

[rainmakerrtv]

AWA show from the Portland Memorial Coliseum, Portland, February 15^th

 

Shane Douglas & Bill Dundee vs. Brian Pillman & Doug Furnas

 

Douglas caught Pillman coming off the ropes with a cross body press for the win

 

Ken Patera & Jerry Blackwell vs. The Youngbloods

 

Patera pinned Wellington after a shoulder breaker

 

Dave Taylor vs. The Great Kabuki

 

Kabuki won with a piledriver

 

Tom Zenk vs. Leo Burke

 

Zenk went for a Sleeper Hold, Burke reversed it with his own Sleeper, which Zenk in turn countered into a whip into the ropes followed by a precision dropkick to the jaw that got the pinfall

 

Roddy Piper & The Sheepherders vs. Jake Roberts, Nord The Barbarian & Cactus Jack

 

A crazy, out of control brawl that finally ended when Piper pinned Cactus with a belly to back suplex

 

AWA Southern Title Match : Pat Tanaka © vs. Marty Jones

 

Tanaka hit a spinning, flying forearm off the ropes to defend his title

 

AWA American Title Match : Dan Spivey © vs. Greg Gagne

 

The champion won with a Spivey Bomber

 

AWA World Tag Title Match : Buddy Rose & Doug Somers © vs. Rocky Mountain Thunder

 

Scorpio was going for a top rope splash on Rose, but Somers knocked him off the top turnbuckle with a loaded elbow smash to the head to get the tainted win for the champs

 

AWA World Title Match : Ricky Steamboat © vs. Chris Adams

 

Last month, Adams got a lot of support, in spite of his villain status, after going the distance with the then American champ Nick Bockwinkel. This time out , he was up against the World champ, and once again, managed to go to the 30 minute time limit in an intense match that had the fans on their feet throughout it. The two kept at it after the final bell rang but, once they were separated and able to calm down, they did shake hands in respect.

[SirEdger]

I smell a rematch between Steamboat and Adams!!!!

[spaldoni]

Couple great cards here. It seems Tom Zenk is having better luck in singles matches. A Bunkhouse Barb Wire Texas Death Match!!!!! Wow! What a way to end that great feud! Peterson gets a big win over Mando. Spivey continues his dominance. Piper teaming with the Sheepherders! That's insane! Rose and Sommers hold on to their belts. Just when you think their reign will come to an end, they manage to walk away with the titles. Steamboat is looking good as champ with a couple hard fought matches against 2 different styles in Saito and Adams. YES! looks like Steamboat and Bock is coming. So much happening in the AWA right now and it's all awesome.

[rainmakerrtv]

I had the Sheeps available to me and they had history in Portland with Piper, so I figured I'd take advantage of that.

[spaldoni]

Yea, That was awesome! Perfect timing to as Piper is getting into his crazy heel role here.

[LowBlowPodcast]

I like the touch of the locations with your talent. It is something to make note of with certain guys and you're doing it the right way here. Piper is destined for some big things here in the AWA and certainly won't get lost in the shuffle.

[kevinmcfl]

I enjoyed your recent set of shows. I know you don't do too many interviews but with Piper, it makes us all do it and you did a great job.

 

A minor point but I thought your jobber names were great!

 

I am glad to see Saito getting some major time.

[gordi]

Steamboat is looking great as a fighting champ... and now he has a rematch with Adams and a showdown with Bock on the horizon.

 

And on the undercard we get matches like Can-Ams vs Pillman & Furnas, Sarge vs Blackwell and Dusty vs Patera.

 

I keep saying it but this version of the AWA is SO MUCH better that what we got in the mid-80s.

[rainmakerrtv]

I enjoyed your recent set of shows. I know you don't do too many interviews but with Piper, it makes us all do it and you did a great job.

 

A minor point but I thought your jobber names were great!

 

I am glad to see Saito getting some major time.

 

I like interviews but I find them exhausting to write. Piper is such a character that I knew he had to have his say. I don't know how it came out to other people, but I had his voice going in my head and imagined how the words I wrote would sound with him saying them.

 

My jobber names have always had an ongoing theme

 

I love Saito and am glad the Bockwinkel storyline is going into the next phase so he has more of a role.

[rainmakerrtv]

AWA show from McArthur Court, Eugene, March 16^th

 

The Sheepherders vs. Rocky Mountain Thunder

 

The Sheepherders pinned Scorpio after a double stomach breaker

 

Steven Regal vs. Marty Jones

 

Regal won with the Regal-Plex

 

Darryl Peterson & Jeff Gaylord vs. The Youngbloods

 

The Varsity Club defeated Wellington with the Execution (second rope elbow drop / back breaker combination)

 

Chris Adams vs. Greg Gagne

 

Adams won with the Superkick

 

The Great Kabuki vs. Jerry Blackwell

 

A Double DQ match with both men getting busted open

 

Paul Diamond vs. Leo Burke

 

Diamond hit a flying back body press for the pinfall

 

AWA Southern Tag Team Title Match : Chavo & Hector Guerrero © vs. Shane Douglas & Bill Dundee

 

Chavo pinned Douglas after a top rope somersault senton

 

Brian Pillman vs. Mando Guerrero

 

Pillman busted out a move that the fans dubbed Air Pillman (springboard clothesline) to defeat Mando

 

AWA Southern Title Match : Pat Tanaka © vs. Dave Taylor

 

A very tough defense for Tanaka where he was able to stagger Taylor with a Crane Kick and follow it up with a roll up to just barely get the one two three

 

AWA World Tag Team Title Match : Buddy Rose & Doug Somers © vs. The Can-Am Express

 

There was a double pin situation with Zenk pinning Somers after a dropkick to the face and Rose pinning Lafon after the Inside Out Backbreaker, but the ref gave the count to Playboy After Dark and the champs retained the titles

 

Jake Roberts vs. Roddy Piper

 

While the ref was distracted by brawling between members of the Snakepit and Piper’s Pit, Jake had Roddy set up for the DDT, but Bob Orton snuck into the ring, flattened Jake with a lariat, and placed Piper on top of Jake. The ref turned around and gave the three count to Piper

 

AWA American Title Match : Dan Spivey © vs. Al Perez

 

A very intense match where Perez sought to neutralize with Spivey Bomber with a series of armlocks. It looked like he might even get him to submit to a short arm scissors, but , in an impressive display of strength), Spivey was able to hoist him up and deliver a mighty slam to force him to give up the hold. Spiver was able to ultimately deliver a Big Boot to the face, followed by the Big Leg Drop to successfully defend his title. The fans applauded both men after the match.

[SirEdger]

Man, Brian Pillman is racking some huge wins lately. Given the momentum Mando Guerrero had recently, that's so important for Pillman right now.

[spaldoni]

Yea, Pillman is really coming on strong. Hard to beat Piper with Ace around. Rose and Sommers walk away with the titles again. Man I'm liking their reign. Tanaka is defending his title against a lot of worthy challengers. He's also putting himself in line for a world title shot. Like Peterson and Gaylord's finisher. Spivey gets another huge win. SpiveyMania is running wild!