AWA results for March 1986

[dawho5]

Pillman on the winning team against Sullivan had to feel good. That Pit tag would have been a Hell of a brawl. New tag champs! Good for Perez and Diamond. And you cap it off with a great main, Milwaukee got their money's worth.

[rainmakerrtv]

AWA show from the International Amphitheater, Chicago, April 19^th

 

The Youngbloods vs. Jeff Gaylord & Darryl Peterson

 

The Varsity Club pinned Wellington after the Execution

 

Doug Furnas vs. Marty Jones

 

Furnas won with the running Canadian Backbreaker into the corner

 

Buzz Sawyer vs. Mike Rotundo

 

Sawyer was going for a bulldog, but Rotundo blocked it and countered with the Varsity Rush to get the win

 

Rocky Mountain Thunder vs. Chavo & Hector Guerrero

 

Hector caught Scorpio in the Guerrero Clutch for the victory

 

The Great Kabuki vs. Jerry Blackwell

 

Blackwell had Kabuki in the corner for an avalanche, but Kabuki blasted him in the face with the green mist, then followed up with a thrust kick to the jaw to score the pinfall

 

Tom Zenk vs. Dave Taylor

 

Zenk pinned Taylor after a flying cross body press

 

AWA Southern Tag Team Title Match : Black Irish © vs. British Steel

 

Regal had Finlay trapped in the Regal Stretch, but Cameron nailed the ref with a clothesline, leading to a DQ win for British Steel. Black Irish retained the belts

 

AWA Southern Title Match : Pat Tanaka © vs. Phil Lafon

 

Tanaka pinned Lafon after hitting the Rolling Wheel Kick

 

AWA American Title Match : Dan Spivey © vs. Chris Adams

 

In what is getting to be a trend with Adams, both men went to a 30 minute time limit draw

[dawho5]

Guerreros getting back on track in a tag team match is good to see. I had almost forgotten about the Blackwell/Kabuki feud. Three big title matches and something big is coming for Adams in the near future.

[rainmakerrtv]

Guerreros getting back on track in a tag team match is good to see. I had almost forgotten about the Blackwell/Kabuki feud. Three big title matches and something big is coming for Adams in the near future.

 

This history of Chris Adams Time Limit Draw title matches :

 

Feb. 15^th American Title vs. Nick Bockwinkel

March 15^th World Title vs. Ricky Steamboat

March 28^th NWA World Title vs. Rick Martel

April 6^th Southern Title vs. Pat Tanaka

April 19^th American Title vs. Dan Spivey

 

This *is* going somewhere.

[spaldoni]

I agree, great to see the Guerreros getting back on track. Man, Blackwell gets the mist! That might put him down for a bit but I have a feeling he'll be back with revenge on his mind. The remaining Varsity Club members are looking strong. Zenk continues his singles win streak. Speaking of winning, Tanaka is really on a roll. Another classic draw with Adams. Black Irish is one brutal team.

[rainmakerrtv]

AWA show at Boylan High School, Rockford, IL, April 20^th

 

Bob Orton vs. Doug Furnas

 

Furnas was going for a Canadian Backbreaker, but Orton countered with a slide down his back followed by a trunks assisted sunset flip for the pinfall

 

Masa Saito & Larry Zbyszko vs. Rocky Mountain Thunder

 

Saito and Larry won by DQ when White bowled over the ref trying to break up Saito’s Jailhouse Lock on Scorpio

 

Bill Dundee, Shane Douglas & Brian Pillman vs. Mike Rotundo, Jeff Gaylord & Darryl Peterson

 

Throughout the match, Rotundo was extremely reluctant to get in the ring with Pillman. This led to some arguing with his partners, which in turn led to Gaylord being sufficiently distracted to fall victim to a rollup by Dundee. After the match, Rotundo and his partners continued arguing back to the locker room

 

Steve Blackman vs. Leo Burke

 

Blackman caught Burke with a roundhouse kick to the jaw to get the win

 

Greg Gagne vs. Ken Patera

 

Patera made Gagne give up to the Swinging Full Nelson

 

Chris Adams vs. Steven Regal

 

A technical matchup where Steven was going for the Regal-Plex, but Adams blocked it and countered with a belly to back suplex and got the one two three. Strangely, even though Adams had harsh things in the past to say about Regal, he offered his hand to his opponent after the match. Regal couldn’t believe what he was seeing, but reluctantly shook his hand.

 

AWA Southern Tag Team Title Match : Black Irish © vs. The British Bullies

 

A furious match that went to a 20 minute time limit draw

 

Buzz Sawyer vs. Nord The Barbarian

 

Nord won with a running double knee drop

 

The Great Kabuki vs. Jerry Blackwell

 

Sheikh Kaissie interfered in the match, leading to Blackwell pinning Kabuki after a power slam and splash

 

AWA Six-Man Tag Team Title Match : The Guerrero Brothers © vs. Ron Garvin & The Can-Am Express

 

Mando pinned Lafon with the German Suplex

 

Cactus Jack vs. Roddy Piper

 

Cactus was going for the Russian Legsweep, but Piper grabbed onto the ropes to block it , then continued to use the ropes for leverage to pin Cactus

 

AWA World Tag Team Title Match : The Razor Boys © vs. Buddy Rose & Doug Somers

 

The champs defended their belts with the Straight Razor on Somers

[SirEdger]

I bet the 6-Men Tag title match stole the show!

[spaldoni]

Yea, that 6 man tag title bout was awesome! The Guerreros have magic when it comes to 6 man tags. Ut oh, more dissention in the Varsity club. Blackwell gets some payback on Kabuki. Black Irish and British Bullies sure gave the fans their money's worth. Could Adams be heading for a full on face turn? LOL, liked Piper's finish on Jack, typical heel Piper. Razor Boys get their first successful title defense against the former champs, solidifying them as the real deal.

[kevinmcfl]

I think I need to learn from you. So many clean finishes instead of all my DQ's and run-ins. I just feel that when I have a clean finish, the angle is over even though you keep proving that it isn't. Great show as always.

[gordi]

That's a hue show for a high school gym! I'm imagining the crowd making a huge noise by stomping on the bleachers in excitement.

 

Did Doug Furnas get a little extra at the pay window for pulling double duty?

[SirEdger]

I think I need to learn from you. So many clean finishes instead of all my DQ's and run-ins. I just feel that when I have a clean finish, the angle is over even though you keep proving that it isn't. Great show as always.

 

You're booking completely different of me, as I very rarely use DQs in my matches. And I think this is when promo segments and specific angles are useful to further your programs. Maybe it's just a matter of having a different mindset but taking a little bit of everyone to add to your booking can be somewhat helpful sometimes. Nonetheless, your shows are really good. Heck, everyone is doing awesome.

[dawho5]

I think bullshit finishes have a place. Modern WWE could use a lot less win trading. As long as they fit the character and the feud it works.

 

6-man was indeed awesome. But Black Irish vs. the Bullies would have stolen the show for me. Piper and Cactus would have been really good too. Blackman vs. Burke would have been a different kind of good, a little more comedy. I will agree that it's a huge show for a gym.

[rainmakerrtv]

That's a hue show for a high school gym! I'm imagining the crowd making a huge noise by stomping on the bleachers in excitement.

 

Did Doug Furnas get a little extra at the pay window for pulling double duty?

 

My Sunday shows tend to have as many rookies as I can manage to get in matches , as part of paying their dues. This does have some more high level matches than usual for a small market show, but I think the people of Rockford deserve a treat, if only for giving us Cheap Trick.

 

As near as I can tell, Furnas only had the one match. The AWA version of the Can-Am Express is Phil Lafon and Tom Zenk.

[rainmakerrtv]

 

I think I need to learn from you. So many clean finishes instead of all my DQ's and run-ins. I just feel that when I have a clean finish, the angle is over even though you keep proving that it isn't. Great show as always.

 

You're booking completely different of me, as I very rarely use DQs in my matches. And I think this is when promo segments and specific angles are useful to further your programs. Maybe it's just a matter of having a different mindset but taking a little bit of everyone to add to your booking can be somewhat helpful sometimes. Nonetheless, your shows are really good. Heck, everyone is doing awesome.

 

 

I agree that screwy finishes have an important place and you are doing a great job of booking in a way that works with your own particular territory. I just take a very close look at my individual cards and try to make sure there aren't too much of the same type of finish on the same show. This last one had a bunch of changes in both finishes and match order to try to avoid it. Sometimes I worry that I am burning through some of my angles and feuds to quickly (Chris Adams vs. Kabuki was a particularly glaring example) or that I am itching too much to move onto the next thing. I have worked hard to figure out methods to help draw them out. A straightforward method is using tag or multi-man matches. The junior members of the team can take the fall, All-Japan style, but even they can be kept strong by getting wins back in individual matches. Having most of my rosters in duos or factions has it's drawbacks, but it can be a big help in long term booking. Bockwinkel's alliance with Saito and Larry Z has been a godsend to the feud with Steamboat, since he can keep sending them out to take on the champion, while still keeping his hand in and putting off having a definitive conclusion to the feud. Similarly, Piper can keep sending out Orton and Sawyer to take losses for him while getting off scott free.

 

I also try to escalate match results to gradually build up to the big matches. I had Kabuki and Blackwell swap countouts, then swap pinfalls but with outside factors, to postpone having the big blowoff finish. I probably have more time limit draws than is truly realistic, but I keep it down to no more than one per card, and keep it to people I figure can realistically do it and pull off making an entertaining match from it.

 

The biggest key for me is to play to the strength of the indivudal wrestlers. I can't say I've watched a comprehensive sampling of the work of everyone on my roster, some of them I've only vaguely known about. But I learn what I can about each of them, their history and move set, to come up with somewhat realistic and interesting finishes. I noticed some time ago that Jake Roberts has lost a lot of his matches. But he was always considered a threat because he was cunning, vicious, ruthless, sneaky , and has that deadly finisher. Similiarly, Ronnie Garvin can take a loss, but still be a contender because he is a tough old SOB. Piper, on the other hand, had a lot of his allure from being a Karma Houdini, always being able to slip through the fingers of his rivals, and I have done my best to preserve that. This percolates down to the mid and lower cards. The British Bullies are hard as ten bears and can tear you apart, but can still credibly take a loss to the Youngbloods, because the rookie team have shown that they can sneak in a flash pin or submission if their opponents leave the window open. The Guerreros have been eating some losses in singles and tag matches, but put them all together at the same time and they are nearly impossible to beat.

 

Hope some of this helps.

[gordi]

 

That's a hue show for a high school gym! I'm imagining the crowd making a huge noise by stomping on the bleachers in excitement.

 

Did Doug Furnas get a little extra at the pay window for pulling double duty?

 

My Sunday shows tend to have as many rookies as I can manage to get in matches , as part of paying their dues. This does have some more high level matches than usual for a small market show, but I think the people of Rockford deserve a treat, if only for giving us Cheap Trick.

 

As near as I can tell, Furnas only had the one match. The AWA version of the Can-Am Express is Phil Lafon and Tom Zenk.

 

 

 

Oh yeah that's right. My mistake with Furnas, it totally slipped my mind that your Can-Ams are a different line-up.

 

Two of the top ten or twenty live shows I have been to in my life were Cheap Trick concerts. The best one was a local radio station's 50th (or 25th or whatever) anniversary where Cheap Trick were the special guest performers and only myself and a handful of friends - we had won free tickets - were up front and into the show. It was almost like we got a private concert: they played requests for us, and we all went home with our pockets stuffed with Rick Nielsen guitar picks. They seemed pleased that we wanted to hear songs like "He's a Whore" "Southern Girls" and "Elo Kiddies"

[rainmakerrtv]

Sadly, my one chance to see Cheap Trick was cut short by a hurricane that caused the stage to topple over. True story.

[gordi]

Sadly, my one chance to see Cheap Trick was cut short by a hurricane that caused the stage to topple over. True story.

Good Lord! At least you got a story to tell out of it.

 

And, w/r/t kevin's concerns: I totally prefer that everyone book in their own style. That is a huge strength of this project, in my eyes. That being said, I also like to take a Jeet Kune Do approach in my booking, by which I mean I will happily steal bits and pieces from what everyone else and doing, and keep the stuff that seems to work

[rainmakerrtv]

Yeah, I think the key is to book in a way that plays to the strengths of : a) your wrestlers, your territory (at least, your vision of your territory), and c) your writing style. Other bookers can get their stories across through their interviews or TV commentary, but I find those exhausting to write , so I have to focus more on my finishes because sometimes that is all I have. Everybody having a different approach is part of what I love about this project, and wrestling in general.

[dawho5]

I would agree. You gotta do what works for you. In Kevin's case he's running around the Memphis/Mid-South area and there are a ton of wonky finishes involving big names in Memphis. Also, it's the 80s. When big names hooked it up in the 80s you very rarely got a finish worth writing home about. I think we forget that due to the nature of modern wrestling.

[GeneJackson95]

Amazing series of shows. No one is better right now at developing young talent, so much great stuff going on right now that other promoters will be able to build on down the line. I really like seeing Pillman on his own now and plenty of great matches to be had against his former Varsity Club partners.

 

Orton vs. Furnas really stands out to me as a match that would really help Furnas (who was green as hell at this time) really learn and develope. The pairings in your matches seem really well thought out and strategic. Kudos for making this AWA worlds apart from the real life version.

[spaldoni]

I agree, Rain has a true gift when it comes to developing young talent. If this was the AWA IRL, they would of been a major player in wrestling. I think it's amazing that Rain can keep all the storylines moving without doing a lot of interviews. The way he works this all into the match descriptions is truly talented.

 

Growing up watching the NWA on the Superstation in the 80s, their format was a lot of squash matches and promos. It was a real treat when they showed footage from a house show, involving top stars going at it. It's hard for me to venture out of this format because it's ingrained in my memory LOL. So to make up for the lack of competitive matches on TV, I try and do a couple weekend house shows with top matches. I totally get where Kevin is coming from on the screwy finishes (that was just the way it was during the 80s in several territories) but something I've learned from a lot of you guys is feuds can defiantly keep their heat with clean finishes.

[rainmakerrtv]

AWA All-Star Wrestling on ESPN / TSN for April 25^th

 

Fit Finlay vs. Phil Lafon

 

Ever since the return of the Can-Am Express to the AWA, Phil Lafon has struggled to make headway in the wake of the singles success of his partner, Tom Zenk. While Zenk has pulled off some impressive singles wins of late, Lafon has found himself on the wrong side of some losses in both individual and tag team matches. Determined to turn his luck around and possibly position for a title shot, Lafon would be taking on one half of the Southern Tag Team champs. Finlay certainly wasn’t making it easy for Lafon, tearing into him with his trademark Irish fury. Lafon countered with his own technical expertise and came back with several takedowns and aerial moves. It seemed like he just might pull it off with a flying back body press, but Finlay caught him and, in an impressive display of power, power slammed him into the corner turnbuckle. Finlay then followed up with a leaping double footstomp that put Lafon away. A tough break for the young Canadian.

 

Ken Patera vs. Nord The Barbarian

 

A couple of weeks ago, Nord had scored a surprising win over the former AWA World champion. Patera was clearly determined to even the score as he went all out against the towering member of the Snakepit. Nord gave as good as he got, and the two waged another war of brawling and power moves. Nord was determined to prove that his first win was no fluke and had Patera set up for a running leg drop, but Jerry Blackwell took this as his cue to charge the ring and attack Nord, leading to the DQ. The two men continued to attack Nord until Kabuki came in swinging his nunchaku, clearing the Sheikh’s men from the ring.

 

Chavo Guerrero vs. Shane Douglas

 

Shane Douglas had his mentor , Bill Dundee, in his corner, while Chavo was backed up by his two brothers, Mando and Hector. In spite of the imminent threat of interference, this wound up being a purely technical matchup, with Chavo’s experience and ring savvy countering the youth and vigor of Douglas. Douglas kept trying to finish off Chavo with the belly to belly suplex, but Chavo kept blocking it, and was ultimately able to turn it around into a German Suplex to get the one two three. Although Douglas had suffered a loss, Dundee was encouraging afterwards, tell him that he would get him next time.

 

“Cowboy” Bob Orton vs. Cactus Jack

 

Of late, it seems like the youngest member of the Snakepit has become the focus of their feud with Piper’s Pit , with Piper swearing vengeance on the wild man from Truth Or Consequences. This time out, he was sending out his Ace, who pounded Cactus with big lefts and rights before unleashing some jarring suplexes and back breakers. Cactus, showing his trademark resilliance, kept bouncing back and rallied before knocking Orton out of the ring with a clothesline. Piper picked up Orton to send him back into the ring, but Cactus came off the apron with a flip plancha that crashed into both of them. Cactus was able to dodge back into the ring and get the win by countout. Piper was livid at the result and screaming that Cactus would regret what he did.

 

Interview : Ken Resnick stands in the ring.

 

Resnick : My next guests have gone through a lot of upheaval of late. Ladies and Gentlemen, Kevin Sullivan and the Varsity Club Rush!

 

The crowd boos as Sullivan comes out, looking like he is about to rupture a blood vessel. The remaining members of the Varisty Club Rush (Darryl Peterson, Jeff Gaylord & Doug Furnas) followed close behind him. Sullivan grabs the microphone from Ken Resnick .

 

Sullivan : Get out of here, Resnick! This is Varsity Club business and has nothing to do with you! (A clearly intimidated Resnick scuttles out of the ring. Sullivan starts pacing back and forth as his men stand at attention behind him.) I am *very* disappointed. Very disappointed indeed! I started the Varsity Club Rush to help groom the next generation of Club members. I thought I had found some of the best athletes in the country. And what happens? First, Leon White is such a wimp that he won’t finish someone off, just because he used to be a friend of his. Then, Brian Pillman spends too much of his time kissing up to the fans that he won’t learn what I teach him and he fails to win the Southern title. Finally, Ron Simmons not only doesn’t listen to my orders, but he dares to lay hands on me! I made sure he’s not going to be seen in the AWA again. And that brings me down to you three. So I am going to declare an end to the Varsity Club Rush. No more! Two of you are in, one of you is out.

 

(Sullivan keeps pacing back and forth in front of his men, staring them up and down. He then finally stops in front of Furnas, jabbing his finger into his chest.)

 

Sullivan : You! You failed to get the job done against the Guerreros. You’re cut! Get him, boys!

 

(Gaylord and Peterson gleefully pounce on Furnas and start putting the boots to him. They land some hard shots on the startled Furnas before Phil Lafon, Bill Dundee, Shane Douglas, Sgt. Slaughter and Leon White charge out to the ring and pull him out. Sullivan cackled maniacally as he led Gaylord and Peterson back to the locker room)

 

Sgt. Slaughter & Leon White vs. Buddy Rose & Doug Somers

 

Playboy After Dark were coming off losing the World Tag Team titles to the Razor Boys and were determined to show they were still in contention to get the belts back. White’s partner, Too Cold Scorpio, was in Japan so he brought out his leader in the Cobra Corps, Sgt. Slaughter. Rose and Somers proceeded to pick on the huge White, digging into their deep bag of dirty tricks and keeping him trapped in their corner as they worked him over. They wound up taking it too far, pushing White until he snapped. White started throwing the two of them around the ring with huge slams and clotheslines, bellowing like a gored bull. He looked determined to finish them off, but was huffing and puffing so much that Sarge ordered him to tag out. Slaughter then started to dismantle Rose and Somers before nailing the Playboy with the Slaughter Cannon to get the pin. Once he had recovered, Rose got on the mic and challenged to a singles match next week on All-Star Wrestling, with no members of the Cobra Corps or Playboy After Dark at ringside. Sgt. Slaughter accepted the challenge before the fade to the closing credits.

[gordi]

I love how you booked that show.

 

Lafon looks pretty good in defeat, but Finlay was just the better man this time.

 

Patera is looking for revenge on Nord, and we maybe get the set-up to Patera & Blackwell vs Nord & Kabuki... which sounds very good to me.

 

Douglas also looks good n defeat and we get the contrast between Dundee's constructive mentoring here and Sullivan's bullying style later on.

 

Cactus gets a huge win but not in a way that makes the heels look weak, and it continues and intensifies the ongoing feud.

 

The whole Varsity Rush story sets up Gaylord and Peterson as more interesting heels than I ever thought they could be. Any time they face Leon White or Pillman or Furnas or Lafon you get a whole extra layer of story behind it now.

 

And finally you get to see Big Leon start to come into his own while simultaneously setting up a big Buddy Rose vs Sarge match for next time.

 

Beautifully done, all around,

[kevinmcfl]

Now that was fun!

 

I think many of us have had Sullivan on our roster but found him tough to write for. You have him in the perfect spot and he is an awesome read week in and week out.

 

Piper and the Snake Pit is also great to follow and I just love Blackwell with Patera.

[rainmakerrtv]

AWA show from the Winnipeg Arena, Winnipeg , April 25^th (as shown on ESPN / TSN Super Cards)

 

Cactus Jack vs. Hector Guerrero

 

Cactus blocked a double underhook suplex attempt and hit the Russian Legsweep for the victory

 

Leo Burke vs. Leon White

 

White won with a power slam

 

Bill Dundee& Shane Douglas vs. Larry Zbyszko & Masa Saito

 

Douglas put in a courageous effort but wound up going down to an over the shoulder neckbreaker by Larry

 

Nord The Barbarian, The Great Kabuki & Pat Tanaka vs. Jerry Blackwell, Ken Patera & Sheikh Adnan Al-Kaissie

 

There was a lengthy Face In Peril sequence where the Syndicate worked over Tanaka, but the Southern Champ was able to tag out to Kabuki, who pinned Kaissie after the thrust kick to the jaw

 

Jake Roberts vs. Bob Orton

 

Roberts hit the DDT for the victory

 

AWA World Tag Team Title Match : The Razor Boys © vs. The British Bullies

 

Diamond scored the pinfall with a flying back body press on Jones

 

 

Co-Promotional Match with Lutte Internationale : Rick Martel, The Killer Bees & Doug Furnas vs. Kevin Sullivan, Mike Rotundo & Death Sentence

 

Death Sentence turned out to be Darryl Peterson & Jeff Gaylord, now dubbed Maxx Payne and “The Black Knight” Jeff Gaylord. This was a very intense match, with many instances of Rotundo arguing with his partners. After a miscommunication between Rotundo and Sullivan, Furnas combined with NWA World Champion Martel to hit a Rocket Launcher on Sullivan to score the victory for their team. Rotundo kept arguing with his partners all the way back to the locker room.

 

AWA Canadian Title Match : Ron Garvin © vs. Chris Adams

 

Another lengthy match for Adams where Garvin kept ducking the Superkick and firing back with brutal punches. As the match wound down, Adams kept trying to make Garvin give up to submission holds and put him away with suplexes, but the bell ended up ringing to signal another 30 minute time limit draw. Garvin ended up raising Adams arm in respect, but Adams was clearly at his wits end, trying to figure out what it will take to get the gold.

 

AWA World Title Match : Ricky Steamboat © vs. Nick Bockwinkel

 

Bockwinkel kept working over Steamboat’s legs to try and put him away with the Figure Four Leglock, but Steamboat ultimately countered with an inside cradle to get the one two three. After the match, Nick was looking at Steamboat and miming pointing at an imaginary wristwatch, telling the champ that his time was running out.