Post by fifthhorseman on Oct 29, 2022 22:53:39 GMT -5
AWA ALL-STAR WRESTLING
EPISODE 31
EPISODE 31
Pyro from St. Paul, Minnesota, then a 60-second sizzle reel of classic AWA action interspersed with close-ups of and highlights from members of the current AWA roster.
After some stills from AWA Autumn Bomb were shown on the monitors, the new World Heavyweight champion, Barry Windham; the AWA tag champs, the Midnight Express; and their manager, Jim Cornette. After the Express vowed that they would get another shot at the UWA Universal tag titles, Cornette and Windham bragged about their win and promised a long championship reign. This brought out the former champ, Don Leo Jonathan, who accused Windham of loading his glove with “chloroform or ether – I don't know what it was – but that's what knocked me out, not that so-called iron claw you used! I couldn't breathe, and before I knew it, the match was over!”
The heel camp strenuously denied the accusation, and despite being outnumbered five-to-one, the “Mormon Giant” slowly began walking closer to Camp Cornette. But before he closed the distance, yet another person walked out, and the massive, suit-wearing man got in between Jonathan and Cornette, who crowed about his intervention. “I've had enough of you big goofs trying to lay your hands on me or my men! Let me introduce my bodyguard, Big Bubba Rogers... and if you're feeling froggy, well, why don't you try him on for size tonight?”
“Is that a challenge?” Jonathan replied. “You're on. But why wait?” However, AWA officials were on the scene to break it up before they did indeed throw down on the stage, and though it took a while, everyone eventually went backstage. Styles and West went through the rest of the night's card, and it was finally time to get things started.
COLIN DELANEY vs. LOGAN PAUL (w/Matt Cardona):
vs.
vs.
The red carper literally rolled out for MNM, Cardona, and Paul. As MNM stood on the stage and cheered, Paul and Cardona went to the ring. It was a orchestrated squash match for the social media superstar, and Delaney barely registered any offense against him. The bout lasted less than five minutes, and Paul used the frog splash to finish Delaney off.
COMMERCIAL
The new AWA Commissioner was interviewed on the stage by Lee Marshall, and he noted that the referee's decision was final on the Jonathan/Windham match at Autumn Bomb, but Jonathan was certainly deserving of a rematch at a later date. Also, he introduced his four latest signees for the Stampede Mid-Heavyweight division – Christopher Daniels, Jerry Lynn, Tajiri, and Art Barr. Finally, Graham told the crowd that the “Young Lions” stable - Lou Thesz, Flex Kavana, Leviathan, and 2.0 - was going on a foreign tour to hone their skills.
AWA STAMPEDE MID-HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
The DYNAMITE KID (c) vs. CHAD GABLE and/or ALEX SHELLEY:
vs. vs.
The DYNAMITE KID (c) vs. CHAD GABLE and/or ALEX SHELLEY:
vs. vs.
Styles explained the unique rules for this one: Gable was getting his championship rematch, and Shelley was out for revenge... so Commissioner Graham decided to put everyone together in one match! If either man scored a pin or submission in less than five minutes, he would get to take on the Dynamite Kid for the title... but if the time period elapsed, it would be a triple-threat. West added that "the Kid isn't particularly thrilled with the format of this match - but on the other hand, he doesn't mind fighting one, two, or ten men, either!"
The challengers started at a furious pace with holds and reversals and counters to those reversals. They had five minutes to keep it from becoming a triple-threat, and Shelley had extra incentive; his partner Sabin's leg injury would keep him out of action for a few more weeks, thanks to Gable. However, the time elapsed with neither man scoring a pin.
Dynamite wasted no time getting to the ring. The crowd cheered him on as he threw Gable around the ring, and when he went after Shelley, the audience was split about 60-40. Styles put the new champion over as a man who would fight anybody, and that was the truth. The three men kept up the nonstop pace, and they went about 20 minutes in total before the Kid suplexed Gable out of the ring, followed up by a top-rope headbutt on the Machine Gun to win.
COMMERCIAL
A video showed Steve Williams as he stormed through a set of arena doors; it was shot the week earlier, just minutes after his Autumn Bomb match “with” Rex Steiner. When asked if he was a part of the Family Business, “Dr. Death” bellowed that he was not. “Me and Teddy were good pals back in the day, but he's got his own thing going and I got mine. And my thing is being the meanest, toughest, baddest man in the AWA! Was I happy to take his money? Damn right. But here's the thing. I want all the money, all the respect, and all the gold there is here. I'm a wrestler and a businessman. Whoever can help me get what I want, great – but if you can't help, you better stay the hell out of my way!”
NO DISQUALIFICATION MATCH
The BLOND BOMBERS (w/the Grand Wizard) vs. MARK and JAY BRISCOE:
vs.
The BLOND BOMBERS (w/the Grand Wizard) vs. MARK and JAY BRISCOE:
vs.
The Briscoes came out first, but only so they could get the high ground. When Patterson and Stevens got to the ring, Mark and Jay hit them with dual tope suicidas and the match was on. It was chaos, plain and simple, and the four men battled in and out of the ring for close to 15 minutes. As violent as the Briscoes were, the no-DQ stipulation favored the Bombers, who also had their unscrupulous manager with them; the Wizard distracted Jay just long enough for Stevens to shove him off the top rope to the floor, and then in full view of the referee, Stevens loaded his right kneepad and dropped down on Mark with his “Bombs Away”kneedrop while Patterson held him in a figure-four leglock. It was vicious, but it earned the AWA legends the win.
COMMERCIAL
A vignette featuring Nick Bockwinkel training in a gym aired for the crowd. He ran, he lifted weights, and he told everybody that he was going to be back soon to take care of unfinished business with Jerry Lawler – and then he tore off his neck brace.
Money Inc. - Ted DiBiase and Mike Rotunda – were on their way to a suite to watch the evening's action when they turned to face the cameraman following them. The former WWF tag champs were enjoying a night off, and one that they thought they deserved after their tainted win over Rex Steiner and his alleged partner, Steve Williams. But before they could say anything else, they were interrupted by Harley Race and Larry Hennig, who declared that no amount of cash could break up their team – and they didn't like people that tried to buy their way to the top. A short staredown later, the scene shifted to
CHRISTIAN CAGE vs. “IRON” MIKE DiBIASE:
vs.
vs.
The “Instant Classic” was on a roll, but the patriarch of Family Business was no easy opponent. They went back-and-forth for about ten minutes until Bo and Duke Rotunda emerged from the curtain. The brothers never even made it to the ramp, though; Rex Steiner came out with a steel chair and smashed each of them across the back. DiBiase leaned on the ropes and shouted at Steiner, giving Cage the opening he needed to roll his foe up for the win. After getting his hand raised, the former TNA World champ jogged up the ramp to thank the second-generation star.
COMMERCIAL
Backstage, Don West was with Jimmy Hart, Andy Kaufman, and Jerry Lawler. The three men were excited to be back together after so long, and happy to acknowledge their deep respect and friendship for each other. “The King” shouted, “So Bockwinkel thinks a few laps on a running track and some deadlifts are gonna make him as good as new? I don't think so. Why don't you just head on back to Beverly Hills and relax before I break your neck for good?”
TULLY BLANCHARD and ARN ANDERSON (w/Freddie Blassie) vs. the PITBULLS:
vs.
vs.
The Pinnacle of tag-team wrestling wasted little time, jumping Noble and Kash at the bell. Blanchard and Anderson were still angry about their loss to FTR, and they took it out on the young Pitbulls, and it only took a few minutes for them to win via a Blanchard slingshot suplex.
After the match, MJF and Wardlow walked to the ring, and the AWA Southern champ addressed the crowd. He pointed at his black eye and said, “You should see the other guy. Not only does he look a lot worse than I do, but he's also not wearing this,” and MJF pointed to his waist.
He continued. “That's right, you're looking at the longest-reigning champion in the AWA, and that's gotta count for something... right, UWA Board of Directors? But I digress. Autumn Bomb was a glorious night... at least, it was for me. But my boys Tully and Arn weren't so fortunate. It not only took two teams to take them down, but the 'Universal Poor' Nick Aldis had to stick his nose where it didn't belong. I'll deal with him later. In the meantime, the Pinnacle is only going to be better than ever before.”
The five men flashed the familiar hand gesture to the crowd, but as “Double A” and Friedman stood shoulder to shoulder, MJF shook his head, and he slowly made a thumbs down.
Blanchard hit his partner with a low blow from behind, and the entire arena gasped. Wardlow hoisted Anderson up and with MJF directing the plan, brought him crashing down with a vicious powerbomb. AS he laid on the mat, MJF stood over him and shouted, “You're the weak link! We should own all the gold in the AWA, but you're the reason we don't. And here's your severance!”
One more powerbomb later, the heels left, and AWA officials ran down to check on Anderson as the show went to
COMMERCIAL
Cameras were in the parking garage, where Anderson was on a stretcher, and lifted into an ambulance.
Styles and West were still in shock over what had just happened in the ring. Before going to the main event, Styles announced that next week, the Midnight Express would be competing in six-man action for the first time in the AWA, and MJF would be defending his AWA Southern championship against a former WWF, WCW, and ECW champion.
DON LEO JONATHAN vs. BIG BUBBA ROGERS (w/Jim Cornette):
vs.
Jonathan was rarely the smaller man in a match, but Cornette's young, massive bodyguard was at least 25 pounds heavier than the former AWA World champion. It wasn't a pretty match, lots of punching and kicking and slobberknockery. They were like two charging rhinos, and each had something to prove: DLJ, that he deserved another shot at the title he unfairly lost, and Rogers wanted to show the AWA that he wasn't to be messed with.
This wasn't a 60-minute marathon. They only went about eight minutes, and the “Mormon Giant” slowly started to take control. But as soon as he slammed Rogers to the mat – the first time Rogers was taken completely off his feet – Cornette grabbed his protege's arm and instructed him to get out of the ring. The two men angrily walked off, and Jonathan won via countout.