AWA ALL-STAR WRESTLING

[spaldoni]

Oh Yea! Savage means business as he now has a very dangerous alliance with the returning Bad News Allen! This is bad news for the AWA. 

Marty gets a good showcase and is put over by Wrestling 2 heading into the Young Lions tournament. 

The ESPN Supershow is heating up as Lawler WILL defend against Hulk Hogan! Will Hulkamania run wild again? Also the Sheiks have a tough defense ahead as they face the Road Warriors! 

Now that Dynamite is with Commonwealth, it's going to be hard getting that title off him. Commonwealth/Harts is going to be a wild one. 

Looking forward to seeing what's in store for Ciclon Negro as he arrives in All-Star. 

With the great build, the next ESPN show will be a MUST SEE!!!! 

 

[GeneJackson95]

Bad News and Randy Savage certainly make for a dangerous tag team....but it would seem quite volatile as well....it will be interesting to see if they can stay on point....Not to mention if the Odd Couple of Bret and Stomper can co-exist as well....

Lawler can't be happy with the announcement from Verne he has to defend against Hogan....but the King always has a trick or two up his sleeve.

Heel Bulldogs as part of the Commonwealth is not good news for potential challengers to Kid's title, it will be interesting to see where then turn up in Dynamite Kid's travels defending the title

Warriors against the Sheiks is going to be a WAR!!

[Captain Redneck]

Really like seeing the Bulldogs as heels. Think they could go a long way and possibly win the AWA World tag belts someday.

[Blehschmidt]

Looking forward to the Young Lions tournament. Lots of good talent available for it, and whoever gets that victory should have a real bright future ahead of them.

Looking forward to the Hogan/Lawler rematch, but I just can't shake the feeling that all the prayers and vitamins in the world won't be able to combat The King's willingness to do whatever it takes to retain the gold.

On the other hand, something tells me that Blackwell and Patera may be lucky to walk out of the ESPN show period, let alone walk out with the titles. 

Savage and Bad News is an awesome, volatile pair. The chaos they could potentially cause is going to be amazing to watch, and I am looking forward to it!

and on a personal note, I love the pairing of Garvin and Gilbert. Two guys who I always liked, but never pictured together, and now that I do, freaking awesome!

[kevinmcfl]

The Rosemont Horizon:  Chicago:  March 7, 1984

 

1.       Marty Jannetty defeats Jim Kent with the axe kick to the head

 

2.      Mr. Wrestling II & Keiji Mutoh vs Jimmy Garvin & Eddie Gilbert with Precious ends with the heels taking the victory as Precious clocked Wrestling II with the loaded purse.  Mutoh continued to amaze with his arsenal. 

 

3.       Wahoo McDaniel & Jules Strongbow defeat Ali Bey & Ciclon Negro after Wahoo went on the War Path and tomahawk chopped Bey into never never land.

 

4.  Crusher defeats Ali Bey by beating him from pillar to post.  

 

5.      6 Man Tag Match:  Commonwealth Connection (Leduc, Dynamite Kid & Davey Boy Smith) vs The Hart Family (Bruce, Keith and Jim Neidhart):  A lot of talent in the ring for this one with a nice combination of power and technical skill.  In the end, the Harts came out on top as Neidhart caught Leduc in the scoop powerslam. 

 

6.       Rick Rude vs Rick Martel:  With Heenan getting involved a little too often, Curt Hennig came down to protect his teammate.  Heenan still tried to get up on the apron and interfere but was distracted by Hennig.  Heenan rushed as he went to kick Martel below the belt as Rude held him but Martel escaped at the last second and Heenan hit his own man.  Martel took advantage of the distraction and caught Rude in the Boston Crab for the win!

 

7.       Bret Hart & Mongolian Stomper vs Randy Savage & Bad News Brown:  The last time Brown and Stomper were in the same ring, it ended in an actual riot in the stands.  Tonight, the match itself was basically fought in the stands as the action spilled out into the seats.  Somehow, Savage was able to catch Stomper with the top rope elbow drop crashing all the way down to the floor.  Stomper was never able to make it back into the ring and the heels sent the crowd home upset as they got the win. 

[GeneJackson95]

I love the pairing of Gilbert and Garvin...so much potential as a heel team. 

I like the dynamic of the Wrestling 2/Mutoh pairing

Great match between Rude/Martel

Big win for Savage/Brown!

Great card from top to bottom

[Captain Redneck]

It's a shame seeing Wahoo waste away by teaming with Frank Hill/Jules Strongbow. Even though Wahoo in 1984 was starting to get a bit long in the tooth, I feel that he still could be a strong mid-card face. Other then that, I love what's going on here.

[kevinmcfl]

44 minutes ago, Captain Redneck said:

It's a shame seeing Wahoo waste away by teaming with Frank Hill/Jules Strongbow. Even though Wahoo in 1984 was starting to get a bit long in the tooth, I feel that he still could be a strong mid-card face. Other then that, I love what's going on here.

I agree with you.  Trying to figure out a better angle for him.  If anyone has any ideas, feel free to PM me.

[spaldoni]

Action at the Rosemont! 

I like the slow build of Jannetty as he gears up for the Young Lions tournament. 

Wrestling 2 and Mutoh come up short against Hot Stuff and Garvin, thanks to Precious. However, Mutoh looks good.

Wahoo and Jules get a good win. I like that Wahoo finished the match strong. 

I'm sure the fans at the Rosemont loved the Crusher match. 

Fun 6 man tag as the Harts defeat Commonwealth. The Harts needed this win. 

Rude looks pretty good against Martel along with Heenan's constant interference. Hennig helps even up the odds and Martel takes it. If they decide to go their separate ways, I think Martel could become a serious world title contender. Hennig could also start being built as a mid card title contender. 

Wild main event! The crowd went home unhappy but this was the right call. Savage and Bad News need to keep their momentum right now and the loss doesn't hurt Bret. 

 

[kevinmcfl]

AWA ALL-STAR WRESTLING:  March 10, 1984:  WGN TV:  Winnipeg Arena

From coast to coast, continent to continent and border to border, we welcome you to AWA All-Star Wrestling coming to you from the Winnipeg Arena.  I am Rod Trongard and joining me will be Gene Okerlund. 

STORYLINE #1:  AWA NORTH AMERICAN TITLE

We get video tape highlights from the Rosemont Horizon and the wild finish were Savage and Bad News Allen defeated Stomper and Bret Hart.    

Match:  Randy Savage destroys Bart Batten with the end coming with Top Rope Elbow Drop

Savage continues his “savage” attack on Barton until the crowd explodes as Bret Hart hits the ring.  It seems like this is exactly what Savage wanted and he doesn’t back down an inch.  This brawl continues until Rod Trongard takes us to commercial break to try and calm the situation down. 

When we come back, Bret Hart is with Gene Okerlund and he is asking Verne Gagne to come on out. 

Bret Hart:  Verne… I understand you make the matches but enough is enough.  Each week Randy Savage comes out here and hurts someone and he says that he will keep doing it until he gets a North American Title shot.  It is time for someone to put him in his place and that person he is me!  Give Savage the title shot and I will put an end to all this nonsense.

 

Verne Gagne:  I am not usually one to give into someone’s demands but if you want Savage in the ring, that is fine by me and the way he has been acting, I hope you teach him some respect.  It is now official…. It will be Bret Hart vs Randy Savage on March 28^th at the Saddledome on the ESPN Prime Time show.

Hart thanks Verne and is really pumped up that this match will take place in Calgary in front of his hometown fans! 

STORYLINE #2:  THE YOUNG LIONS TOURNAMENT

Verne Gagne comes out and announces that the Young Lions Round Robin Tournament will officially begin in Calgary on March 23 and the first match will be between Eddie Gilbert and Keiji Mutoh.  Verne also announces that the other competitors in the competition will be Davey Boy Smith, Marty Jannetty, Ricky Vaughn, Bart Batten and Kendall Windham. 

As Rod Trongard is amazed at the talent in this competition, the crowd begins to boo as a large man waving a Russian flag comes to the podium and he is followed by a true physical monster who is wearing a Russian singlet.

Trongard is shocked and wonders what Nikolai Volkoff is doing here and who the monster is with him.  Volkoff demands that the AWA lives up to its opening where he quotes Trongard and his “From coast to coast, continent to continent and border to border saying and demands a spot for his nephew, Nikita Koloff in the Young Lions Tournament.

Verne Gagne:  This an open tournament and as long as you can prove he is 25 or younger and we get to see him in the ring today and he can prove he knows his way around the squared circle, he is in. 

Trongard shakes his head in a nervous manner as he feels that this Russian just might be the real dea!

 

MATCH:  Nikita Koloff with Uncle Nikolai vs Tom Stone

This match might have lasted 15 seconds as Nikita came out with a forearm to the back followed by an Irish Whip….. 

WHAM… the first of many Russian Sickles has landed and Stone is out!

 

Trongard is in awe and wonders if we have just seen the winner of the Young Lions Tournament!

STORYLINE #3:  AWA WORLD TITLE

Jerry Lawler is at the interview desk and he is having a good old laugh at Verne Gagne forcing him to meet Hulk Hogan for the AWA title on March 23 in Calgary

Jerry Lawler:  Oh Vern… you old coot.  You think you have the King right where you want him.  Well don’t forget a King has an entire kingdom at his beck and call and I would be surprised if Hulk Hogan even makes it to the Saddledome in Calgary.

Okerland reminds Lawler that first he has to get by Curt Hennig in the St. Paul Civic Center. Lawler just smirks like that is not even a contest.

 

Later in the show, Hogan is with Okerland hyping up the title match with an in- ring interview when out of nowhere comes none other than 6’4, 315 pound Ox Baker.  He clobbers Hogan from behind with a few big taped fist haymakers that has the Hulkster in trouble.  Baker whips Hogan into the ropes and nails him with a massive Heart Punch while Trongard is screaming  on the mic that Baker needs to be stopped as he has actualy killed a man in the ring with that move.  Hogan is down and in a bad way when Rick Martel and Curt Hennig hit the ring and chase Baker away.  It takes a long time for Hogan to get to his feet but he is in some trouble.  Okerland is still there and somehow Hogan musters the words that he wants Ox Baker in the ring this week in the St. Paul Civic Center.

Trongard takes us to break wondering if this is one of Lawler’s henchmen that he was talking about. 

 

STORYLINE #4:  AWA WORLD TAG TEAMT TITLE

MATCH:   The Road Warriors with Paul Ellering destroy Buck Zumhofe & Brad Bartenwith the Doomsday Device

 

MATCH:  The Sheiks (Blackwell & Patera) with Adnan Al Kassie crush Tom Zenk & Steve O with the Full Nelson by Patera on Steve O

Both matches were dominated by the winners as we see to the two top teams on a collision course for the AWA Tag titles in the Saddledome on March 23.  This week in St. Paul we will get s little preview as the Road Warriors and Ellering will face the Patera, Blackwell and Sheik Adnan in the St. Paul Civic Center. 

 

STORYLINE #5:  The Harts vs The Commonwealth Connection

MATCH:  Davey Boy Smith & Dynamite Kid with Jos Leduc defeat Tony Torres & Okie Smith when Kid connected with a Diving Headbutt on Okie.

At the interview with Okerlund, the Commonwealth Connection are real smug as Dynamite Kid showcases his AWA Light Heavyweight title and Davey Boy Smith is sure he will be crowned the 2019 Young Lions of the Year but as Jos Leduc points out, those two things are secondary to running the Harts out of the AWA and in their gauntlet match in Calgary, there will be nothing better then whopping the Harts in their own hometown!

 

STORYLINE #6:  The Mongolian Stomper vs Bad News Allen

Match:  Bad News Allen defeats Jules Strongbow with 3 massive headbutts followed by a piledriver

At the post match interview Allen is all fired up about finally getting back into the ring after his suspension and he is yelling about how good it felt last week to finally get his hands on the Mongolian Stomper in the Rosemont Horizon!

 

WHAM!  Stomper attacks from behind and we are brawling over the interview area.  Jobbers come out to break it up but they are getting tossed around like rag dolls.  These two appear to have true hatred for each other.

Verne Gagne comes out mid-brawl and takes the microphone and just his aura of power comes things down.

 

Verne Gagne:  Enough is enough!  You two have already ruined one wrestling promotion with your nonsense.  Now in the last two weeks alone security guards and police officers have been called in break you two apart.  In fact, you two have both spent a few nights in jail because of it.  That’s not how we do it here in the AWA. I will allow your match on March 23^rd in the Calgary Saddledome to go off as planned with a few stipulations.

1.       If either of the two of you lay a hand on the other before the match, you will be suspended from the AWA for life 

2.       To ensure the safety of the fans in the Saddledome, your match will be a Steel Cage Match. 

3.      To make sure that this is the end of the nonsense between the two of you, the loser will be out of AWA All-Star Wrestling 

Stomper and Bad News Allen simply look at Verne and neither seems upset.  They both get what they want and that is the other inside of the ring in two weeks.  Rod Trongard is hyping up this Loser Leaves Town Steel Cage Match throughout the show. 

OTHER MATCHES                                                                                                                                                                 

MATCH:  The Turk defeats Ty Beaver with the Camel Clutch

MATCH:  Bruce Hart defeats Buck Zumhoefe with a backslide in a fast paced Light Heavyweight Battle.

MATCH:  Greg Gagne & Brad Rheingans defeated Marty Jannetty & Ricky Vaughn in a clean match where Gagne caught Vaughn with the Missile Drop Kick. Both youngsters looked good but the experience of Gagne and Rheingans caught up with them

 

The St. Paul Civic Center:  Chicago:  March 14, 1984

Nikita Koloff vs Buck Zumhofe

Bad News Allen vs Jules Strongbow

AWA Light Heavyweight Title Match:  Dynamite Kid vs Bruce Hart

Jos Leduc vs Jim Neidhart

Road Warriors & Ellering vs The Sheiks & Adnan Al Kassie

Hulk Hogan vs Ok Baker

AWA World Title Match:  Jerry Lawler vs Curt Hennig

[SirEdger]

I love the format that you've booked your TV, segmented by storylines. Makes it easy to read and to catch up if you're a bit behind (like me, given that I just jumped back in lol). That card in St. Paul looks stacked. I'm actually looking more forward to the Light Heavyweight title match than the main event and in that case, it's gonna deliver as well!

[Blehschmidt]

Savage/Bret is going to be a war! Looking forward to seeing how that one plays out.

Very glad we made that deal for Ox Baker, because a run against the Hulkster! That's awesome! and a lot more than I had for him. Great stuff!

and man, I am looking forward to the rise of "The Russian Nightmare." If Nikita enters that Young Lions tournament, please, put all my money on him.

[spaldoni]

Oh man things are at a boiling point as we get closer to the next ESPN supershow! 

The match between Hart and Savage is made! Who will walk out with the title? Or I should say, who will simply walk out??? 

Young Lions tournament gets a wildcard as Nikita is now involved! Lol like Uncle Nikolai.

Lawler seems to be confident heading into his match with Hogan and makes some subtle warnings. 

Hogan gets attacked by Ox Baker! When I was a kid, Ox Baker scared me lol. After watching this I would of been terrified for Hogan. Can Hogan survive Baker to get to Lawler? Maybe Hogan can call Snake Plissken for back up LOL. 

Road Warriors and Sheiks get good squashes as they head towards their explosive collision. I'm looking forward to that heavy hitting power match! 

Dynamite and Davey Boy are getting really good buzz in the AWA.

YES! Stomper and Brown in a loser leaves town cage match! It's the only solution for this feud. 

You're doing an awesome job building towards the ESPN supershow. 

 

[Captain Redneck]

Nikita should be the future of this promotion. Hopefully, he will go through everyone like a hot knife through butter.

[GeneJackson95]

Things are really heating up......so much going on leading into the big ESPN show!

Savage vs. Bret is going to be amazing, too close to call!

Ox Baker makes for a perfect opponent for Hogan....looking forward to that one.

Can't me in as excited to see Nikita as part of the young lions tournament, he's going to be a game changer for where I thought things were heading there.

Stomper/Brown will be a war and perhaps a passing of the torch as Brown is in a lot of ways a younger version of the Stomper stylistically at least.

[kevinmcfl]

 

AWA ALL-STAR WRESTLING:  March 17, 1984:  WGN TV:  Salt Palace

From coast to coast, continent to continent and border to border, we welcome you to AWA All-Star Wrestling coming to you from the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City, Utah.  I am Rod Trongard and we are just 7 days away from the ESPN Supershow in the Saddledome in Calgary which could change All-Star Wrestling as we know it with three big title matches.  Tonight, we will set the tone for one of the biggest card in AWA history.  Let’s get to the ring.

STORYLINE #1:  AWA NORTH AMERICAN TITLE

Non-Title Match:  Bret Hart defeats Ciclon Negro with the Northern Lights Cloverleaf

While Ciclon used a few questionable moves to take the momentum for a moment or two, Hart was in complete control.  The interesting thing here was that Randy Savage and Bobby Heenan came out to opposite sides of the ring during the match.  While it un-nerved Bret a bit, he was able to keep his focus and gain the victory.  After the match, Savage and Heenan disappeared but there act here made Trongard again wonder if Savage had joined Heenan’s family as Bobby did say he had a new member who was going to turn Vern Gagne and Stu Hart’s world upside down. 

 

STORYLINE #2:  THE YOUNG LIONS TOURNAMENT

While we get a reminder that Eddie Gilbert and Keiji Mutoh will start the tournament on the ESPN show, we do see some action between other’s involved in the tournament.

Match:  Kendall Windham defeats Ricky Vaugh with the Bull Dog

Match:  Nicolai Volkoff & Nikita Koloff defeat Bart Batten & Marty Jannetty as Nikita hits Batten with the Russian Sickle.

Trongard does his best to convince himself that Nikita is not the clear favorite to win this tournament, but he is not doing a great job.

Match:  Eddie Gilbert with Precious & Jimmy Garvin defeats Bubba Douglas with the Hot Shot.  Precious seemed really excited after the match and gave Gilbert a big kiss.  Jimmy Garvin seemed to look rather quizzically at this.

 

STORYLINE #3:  AWA WORLD TITLE

We see a quick VTR of Hogan surviving against Ox Baker last week in the St. Paul Civic Center as Baker caught him with another vicious heart punch but somehow Hogan survived and rallied to hit the Ax Hammer followed by the leg drop!

At the interview area with Okerlund, Hogan is fuming that Lawler sent Ox Baker after him and Okerlund is in agreement and warns Hulk to be careful as he reminds Hulkster that Lawler said that he has a lot of friends who can keep Hogan from even making it to the Saddledome!

 

WHAM… It’s Ox Baker again but this time he has help and it is none other than Bob Sweetan! 

This beating is even worse than last week as Hogan is hit with another Heart Punch by Baker and that is followed up by a piledriver by Bob Sweetan.

Baker and Sweetan leave smiling as Okerlund is screaming for someone to get a doctor.  Hogan is stretchered out as we see the camera catching some of the fans with actual tears in their eyes at the horrific scene.  Okerlund is heard screaming that enough is enough and Lawler needs to be a real man and meet Hogan in the ring and to stop sending his goons after Hogan.

By the end of the show, we get word that Hogan has vowed to be in the Saddledome next week for his title match against Lawler but Rod Trongard isn’t sure if that is possible.

 

STORYLINE #4:  AWA WORLD TAG TEAMT TITLE

Both the Road Warriors and Patera and Blackwell win squash matches and give big screaming interviews about what they are going to do to each other next Saturday in Calgary.  All Trongard can predict about this one is that it is going to be a War!

STORYLINE #5:  The Harts vs The Commonwealth Connection

This one seems to be getting real personal.  In recent weeks, we have seen Leduc, Dynamite Kid and Davey Boy Smith call Stu Hart a sell out for giving up on Stampede Wrestling and join the AWA.  They have also made no bones about their believe that the Hart boys and Jim Neidhart don’t stand a chance in their match on ESPN against the Commonwealth. 

It is obvious from tonight that the Hart’s have taken serious offense to those comments as we get a frantic Trongard rushing with some camera man to the parking lot where we see a brawl between the two teams.  This goes on for some time and all 6 men take some damage before a nearly two dozen jobbers and AWA officials come out to come it down. 

 

STORYLINE #6:  The Mongolian Stomper vs Bad News Allen

Nothing but a few interviews to hype up the Loser Leave Town-Steel Cage Match set for the ESPN show between these two dangerous men.

OTHER MATCHES                                                                                                                                                                 

MATCH:  Sweet Brown Sugar defeats Larry Cheatem with a Missile Dropkick as he made a successful All-Star debut.

MATCH:  Rick Rude with Bobby Heenan defeats Jules Strongbow with the piledriver.  After the match, Heenan says his man deserves a title shot and after Rude beats Rick Martel in Calgary, he better get one.  When asked by Gene Oakerlund if Randy Savage had joined his family Heenan said that all of the Humanoids would just have to wait and find out.

MATCH:  Greg Gagne & Brad Rheingans defeated Verlon Biggs & Jim Jameson with Rheingans hit the belly to back suplex

[spaldoni]

Oh man the countdown is on for the next supershow! 

Bret wins his match but Savage and Heenan play mind games. 

Young Lions get a good showcase tonight and despite what Trongard says, I think Nikita has got to be considered the favorite. Hmmmmmm, Precious gives Gilbert a kiss and Garvin rightfully seemed surprised. This cant be good. 

Highlight of the show is Hogan being attacked by Ox and Sweetan! What a way for Sweetan to debut! Will Hogan make it to the supershow??? Lawler must be a happy man right now. 

Cant wait for the Road Warriors/Sheiks collision! Same with the Harts and Commonwealth especially after that parking lot brawl! 

All that and we're also getting the big loser leaves town cage match between Bad News and Stomper. What a heated feud that's been. 

So much good stuff going on here. 

Incredible build up! The supershow should pack the house! 

 

[SirEdger]

Some fantastic buildup for the supercard at the Saddledome. Your roster is full of larger-than-life characters and you know that this always factor in when it comes to drawing power. Pretty stoked for the Young Lions tournament  as well. While Nikita is a legit favorite, my money is on Eddie Gilbert!

[Blehschmidt]

It may be getting overlooked amidst the other things going down, but Rick Rude is mowing down the competition, and Martel might be in trouble!

Count me as another interested to see where the jealousy of Jimmy Garvin takes this thing with Gilbert. That has the makings of a war.

 

[GeneJackson95]

So hyped to see this next supershow!

Lawler is throwing everything he can at Hogan with Baker/Sweetan...Lawler is smart to put these road blocks between Hogan and his title.

The Harts vs. The Commonwealth has the potential to be the top fued in the AWA

 

[Captain Redneck]

Gilbert/Garvin could be this version of Gilbert/Tatum. Nikita is the future here and I'm curious on who could be his main opposition 6 months from now. Maybe a babyface Savage or Rick Rude?

[kevinmcfl]

AWA ALL-STAR WRESTLING:  March 23, 1984:  ESPN:  THE SADDLEDOME:  Calgary

From coast to coast, continent to continent and border to border, we welcome you to AWA All-Star Wrestling coming to you from the Saddledome in Calgary.  I am Rod Trongard and joining me will be Gene Okerlund.  Tonight is our second ESPN Prime Time Show and what an event we have for you!  Let’s get right to the ring

SWEET BROWN SUGAR & KOKO WARE VS THE TURK & CICLON NEGRO

A nice prelim match here as Sugar and Koko win with the Double Top Rope Dropkick on the Turk. 

 

 

BOB SWEETAN VS JULES STRONGBOW

The crowd is still fuming over Sweetan attack on Hulk Hogan last week.  As for the match, Strongbow does a nice job of holding his own but in the end, Sweetan takes control and eventually catch Strongbow with a piledriver for the win!  Ox Baker comes out and the duo enjoys the victory together.

As they exit, Trongard wonders what the alliance between  Baker and Sweetan is all about and that Hogan better be on his toes tonight as they all just might be in cahoots with Jerry “the King” Lawler. 

   

 

THE YOUNG LIONS TOURNAMENT:  EDDIE GILBERT with Precious VS KEIJI MUTOH

The beginning of the much anticipated Young Lions tournament pits two of the favorites here.  The question is whether Mutoh has enough experience to hang with Gilbert.  During the match, we see Mutoh overwhelm Gilbert with a serious martial arts repertoire but each time Gilbert was able to over come the attack by breaking the rules.  With Mutoh poised to come off the top rope for a Moonsault, Precious was able to come up from behind and shove him to the mat.  This gave Gilbert the time he needed to recover and hit Mutoh with the Hot Shot for the victory.  Precious came into the ring and started to laugh and belittle Mutoh when suddenly Mutoh began to spin in a mystical way.  When he stopped he was facing Precious and he spewed some sort of green mist all over her face.  Precious went down and was rolling around as the crowd was once again in awe of Mutoh. Jimmy Garvin rushed out to help Precious and seemed angry with Gilbert for putting here in harms way.

Gilbert leads the Young Lions Tournament with 2 Points!

 

COMMONWEALTH CONNECTION (Leduc, Dynamite Kid & Davey Boy Smth)

VS  

KEITH HART, BRUCE HART, JIM NEIDHART

The Commonwealth Connection have set their sights on ridding the AWA of the Harts and tonight is there chance to at least get that process started.  In typical tag match fashion, we see the babyfaces take control in the early part as Bruce and Keith are able to use their mat skills to keep the heels of balance.  Some questionable tactics by the newly turned heel, Dynamite Kid, and we get Bruce playing the face in peril.  After he takes a beating, he makes an escape and tags in the monster that is the Anvil and he cleans house.  Eventually we get all six in the ring and the ref knows he has lost control and calls for the bell and declares this one a Double DQ.  This does little to stop the wild brawl and Rod Trongard reminds us that this feud is still left unsettled. 

 

NICOLAI VOLKOFF & NIKITA KOLOFF VS GREG GAGNE & BRAD RHEINGANS

Good vs Evil here.  The Russians come out with the flag and asks the Canadian audience to stand for the Russian National Anthem.  This does nothing but bring us close to the riot scene that we saw last time there was a major card her in Calgary.  As for the match, we get little of what the crowd was wishing for as the Russians proved to strong.  Rheingans did his best to match power moves and Gagne tried to allow his wrestling skill to keep the Russians off balance but it proved to be to no avail.  Eventually we see the young Nikita nearly rip Gagne’s head off with the Russian Sickle for the win.

 

RICK RUDE with BOBBY HEENAN VS RICK MARTEL

This match has it all.  Heenan and Rude antagonizing the fans on their way to the ring which just makes it easier for Martel to get some love when he comes out.  The match starts with some chain wrestling where Martel comes out on top after each series.  This frustrates Rude who hammers the ropes in anger.  We see Heenan get involved a few times which allows Rude to gain the momentum.  The crowd explodes as Curt Hennig comes out and goes right after Heenan.  Heenan somehow escapes the attack but at least for now, Heenan won’t interfere as Hennig stays in Martel’s corner for support.  After Martel regains control, Rude shoves Rick into the ref who is now down. Martel goes to check on the ref but Rude grabs him from behind!   Heenan seems willing to risk life and limb here as he grabs a chair and enters the ring.  Hennig sees this and goes to cut him off at the pass!

 

WHAM!

Hennig rips the chair from the hands of Heenan and clobbers….. RICK MARTEL!

Heenan is jumping up and down as Rude covers Martel just as the ref starts to get to his feet. 

1…2…3.

 

The crowd is incensed as Hennen, Hennig and Rude leave together with Rick Martel in the ring holding his head!

AWA NORTH AMERICAN TITLE:  BRET HART VS RANDY SAVAGE

Possibly the match of the year here as both men completely sell out.  We see Hart lock in the Northern lights cloverleaf but Savage somehow crawled to the ropes to force the break and we see Savage crash all the way the floor to catch Hart with an elbow drop. 

As both men are completely spent, the crowd explodes in anger as Bobby Heenan once again makes his way to the ring.  The fans are still fuming about what happened earlier when Curt Hennig joined Hennan’s family.  Now, they see him come out during this title match which proves all the speculations about Savage joining “The Family” to be true.  It is obvious that Bret Hart is a little unnerved by this and Savage regains the momentum!  After each blow by Savage, the camera picks up a smiling Bobby Heenan.  After a few minutes of a brutal attack, Savage once again climbs the ropes and is going for the Top Rope Elbow Drop!  Heenan is all smiles as he knows he is about to be the manager of the AWA North American Title!

 

WHAM!

Rod Trongard:  Oh My God!  What has just happened.  Bobby Heenan has just shoved Randy Savage off the top rope and he landed on his head.  Bret Hart rolls over on top of the Macho Man

 

1… 2… 3.  Bret Hart is still the AWA North American Champion.  Oh my God… That Weasel Heenan has shocked us twice tonight!

 

AWA  WORLD TAG TEAMT TITLE:

THE SHEIKS (BLACKWELL & PATERA) w/ADNAN AL KASSIE VS THE ROAD WARRIORS W/PAUL ELLERING

Who the babyfaces are here is clear from the second Ellering leads his face-painted biker team to the ring and the crowd goes wild. 

As for the match, we have a war!  Big move after big moves!  Crusher Blackwell with a Big Splash.  Patera with a Swinging full nelson.  Hawk with a diving clothesline and Animal with a powerslam.  The problem was that each time we had a near fall, their teammate was there to make the save.  The interesting part here was that Ellering and Sheik Adnan made little impact on the match as they seemed to keep each other at bey.

In the end, we are going bonzo-gonzo with all 4 men in the ring.  Hawk whips Crusher into the ring and comes off with another diving clothesline.  This time Blackwell is reeling from the blow and staggers through the ropes out onto the floor.  This allows the Road Warriors a quick double team on Patera.  A couple of big forearms by Hawk and Animal have them in control.  Animal scoops Patera up onto his shoulders as Hawk climbs to the top rope!

 

WHAM….  Doomsday Device…..

1… 2… 3.

 

Rod Trongard:  And we have new AWA World Tag Team Champions!

 

 

LOSER LEAVE TOWN STEEL CAGE MATCH:

THE MONGOLIAN STOMPER VS BAD NEWS ALLEN

 

The fans have been starring at the steel cage suspended from the ceiling since they walked in and now they are about to see it lowered to the ring to see if it can hold two wrestlers whose hatred for each others has reached epic proportions.  Starting with the riot right here in Calgary a few months ago and ending tonight inside a steel cage, this feud has been white hot ever since Allen tried to kill Stomper’s son.  This one may have just broken kayfabe as it seems too real. 

Even after this one ended, those in the know are unsure if this was real or fake as the two wrestled as stiff as anyone has ever seen.  The blood was flowing early as the two used the steel mesh to rip open the flesh of their of the opponent at each and every turn.  While this one lasted less than 10 minutes, it was something that nobody in the Saddledome will ever forget.  While Georgia has the Battle for Atlanta… this will be forever known as the Battle for Calgary.

In the end, we see Bad News revert to his old judo days and actually choke out Stomper in the center of the ring as he gains the victory.  As Allen walks back to the locker room, he is pelted with debris while Stomper gets a nice ovation after the referee wakes him from his sleep.  Stomper will be missed here in Canada.

AWA WORLD TITLE MATCH:  JERRY “THE KING” LAWLER VS HULK HOGAN

Hogan comes out to a huge ovation while the pomp and circumstance of the King with his crown and robe bring some serious heat.  Just before the match is set to get under way, Ox Baker and Bob Sweetan come to ringside.

Trongard is fuming that Lawler’s henchmen have no right to be out here. In a bit of a shocker, Lawler grabs the mic…

Jerry Lawler:  Listen up you three… I have no idea what you are doing here.  I had nothing to do with your attack on Hogan in recent weeks and I sure as BLEEP don’t need you out here now to beat this former champ across from me so make like an egg and beat it!

 

Rod Trongard and the fans are not sure if they should trust Lawler or not but Robley and his men leave which is good for Heenan.  Trongard just wonders if they will be gone for good.

As for the match, it is very similar to the last one when King won the title from Lawler back in Memphis on January 23. 

Slow pace to start as they lock up a few times and Hogan just throws Lawler back against the turnbuckles every time. Lawler eventually gets Hogan in a headlock but Hogan back suplexes out of it. Lawler swings Hogan to the ropes but Hogan puts him down with a shoulder block. Lawler gets up and Hogan grabs him then hoists him above his head! Hogan then throws Lawler across the ring and flexes. Lawler rolls against the turnbuckles with a shocked look and needs to regroup. 

Hogan gets Lawler in a headlock but Lawler lifts Hogan up and Atomic Drops him. Hogan bounces to the turnbuckles. Lawler hops up on the middle ropes and the fans cheer as Lawler hammers away on Hogan. Lawler hops down. Hogan staggers forward and Lawler picks him up and body slams him down as the crowd goes crazy! Lawler hops up on the middle ropes and comes down with a knee drop 1..2..Hogan kicks out! 

Lawler is a bit frustrated. He swings Hogan to the ropes and misses a clothesline, Hogan swings back and sends Lawler flying with a double axe handle to the head! Lawler ends up outside on the apron. Lawler finally starts to rise and grabs the ropes to help himself up. Hogan walks over and vertical suplexes Lawler back in the ring. 

Hogan fires up and shakes his fists. He picks up Lawler and punches away, then swings him to the ropes and hits a big boot to the head. Hogan swings off the ropes and hits a jumping leg drop 1..2..Wait! The Ref sees Lawler's foot on the rope. Hogan thinks he won but the Ref tells him what happened. Hogan is frustrated. Hogan goes towards Lawler and out of desperation, Lawler pulls his trunks and Hogan goes through the ropes to the outside. 

Lawler regroups. Hogan gets on the apron. Lawler punches him, grabs him, takes a deep breath and vertical suplexes him back in the ring! The fans cheer as Lawler hops up on the middle ropes and crashes down with a fist drop! The fans go wild as Lawler grabs Hogan, hoists him up and hits the PILEDRIVER! The Ref counts 1..2.. Hogan gets his foot on the rope and unlike Memphis, this time the ref sees it.  The crowd goes wild and we see the Hulkster’s adrenaline start to pump.  What ever Lawler does, it has no effect on Hogan.  It is like an elephant being attacked by a gnat.  

Rod Trongard:  Oh no, here comes Bob Sweetan and Ox Baker....  Wait a minute.... from behind... Randy Savage clobbers Sweetan and Baker with a double clothesline to the back of their heads!  Savage may have just saved Hogan's chance at the World Title!

WHAM!  Huge Right hand by Hogan

WHAM!  Irish Whip by Hogan followed by a Big Boot to the face of Lawler

WHAM!  Leg Drop by Hogan

1… 2… 3.!

The fans blow the roof off the Saddledome!  Hogan can’t believe it! The Ref gets the world title, hands it to Hogan and raises his arm in victory. 

 

The show ends with Hogan holding up the AWA World Title to a raging sell out Calgary crowd! 

[GeneJackson95]

WOW! Quite the show here for ESPN!!

It was a big night for Heenan as Hennig shocks everyone by joining with Bobby and then helping Bret Hart retain over Savage, which no one seen coming, can't wait to see the aftershock from both of these actions!

Bad News furthers his reputation as a bad ass by running the Stomper out of Calgary!

Two HUGE title changes with the Warriors winning the World Tag Team titles and the Hulkster taking the AWA World Championship.....this show continues to set the bar high for future AWA ESPN specials.....great show!!

[SirEdger]

While everyone is likely to think that tonight was Hulk Hogan's night as the new AWA World Heavyweight Champion, I'd like to think this is rather Bobby Heenan's. And in all honesty, I think that Heenan costing Savage the North American title is a bigger highlight than Curt Hennig turning on Rick Martel. Simply because we don't know yet how involved Bret Hart is in this decision. Maybe Bret will not stand for this and grant Savage a rematch....and maybe not. That's the beauty of it. Very well done, my friend!

[Blehschmidt]

Fantastic show from top to bottom!

I think Eddie Gilbert had better watch himself or he may be feeling a Gorgeous Brainbuster sooner than later. You don't mess with Precious.

I'd pay good money to see Nikita rips Greg Gagne's head off with a Sickle any day of the week! and how dare those Canadians not rise and respect the singing of the Russian National Anthem!

The Hennig heel turn was well done my man. Those people would have never seen it coming. Rude and Hennig together with Bobby Heenan! That's a Minnesota Wrecking Crew!!

Now, Bobby costing Savage a title. Bad idea Brain. That's an unhinged wild man, and now he is coming for you!!

Road Warriors are gonna be hard to beat as Champs

Bad News/Stomper sounds fucking awesome. Look forward to seeing Bad News come for that Beer Bellied Sharecropper Hogan next!!

As for Hogan, great main event, but The Hulkster has a whole list of people gunning for him, can he keep the title?

Great show dude!