Post by fifthhorseman on Dec 30, 2022 0:59:34 GMT -5
AWA ALL-STAR WRESTLING
EPISODE 35
EPISODE 35
Pyro from Minneapolis, 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. Announcing the action for this almost commercial-free telecast, Joey Styles and Don West.
AWA STAMPEDE MID-HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
The DYNAMITE KID (c) vs. WILL OSPREAY:
vs.
The DYNAMITE KID (c) vs. WILL OSPREAY:
vs.
The champion extended his hand to Ospreay before the bell rang, but it was smacked away. That set the tone for the match, and the two men fought a very snug match with hard strikes and dazzling aerial manuevers. With about 45 seconds left in the 20-minute contest, Ospreay went airborne but missed a corkscrew shooting star press. The Kid picked him up, hoisted him on his shoulder, and leaped off the middle rope with a tombstone piledriver, making the pin at 19:56. After the match, Dynamite shook the downed challenger's hand, though he didn't realize it was happening.
COMMERCIAL
Commissioner Eddie Graham sat in his office, and said that the upcoming Tag Rumble would go down in history, and if the Midnight Express retained their titles, then they truly deserved to be called AWA World Tag-Team champions. He proceeded to announce two Pat O'Connor Memorial Cup matches for next week's show, both of which were three-way dances. “One match will feature three of our youngest, brightest stars – Ricky Starks, Wardlow, and Rex Steiner – while the second match will feature three of our veterans – Diamond Dallas Page, Jerry Lynn, and Matt Cardona.”
Next up, a VTR sent in by the First Family. Jimmy Hart, Jerry Lawler, Austin Theory, and Andy Kaufman – especially Kaufman - were not thrilled about facing Nick Bockwinkel and Mad Dog Vachon in tag team action next week. They unanimously agreed that it was unfair, unjust, and unsportsmanlike to expect the self-proclaimed “World's Inter-Gender Wrestling Champion” to get in the ring with a pair of old animals like Vachon and Bockwinkel.
Another scene shift. The Midnight Express loosened up in their locker room, and Cornette cut a scathing promo, implying that the UWA and the AWA were against him. “But it ain't gonna matter, because 'Loverboy Dennis' Condrey, 'Beautiful Bobby' Eaton, and 'Sweet Stan' Lane are the best team of all-time, and in a little while, they're gonna show you all why!”
COMMERCIAL
A video package aired to hype the next bout, featuring most of the teams in the AWA. Ring announcer Lee Marshall declared that the Tag Rumble match was about to begin, and the rules were as follows:
- Two teams begin the match. Every three minutes, another team will enter the ring until the 15th and final team enters the ring.
- The last man or team left in the ring will be declared the AWA World Tag-Team champions.
- If one member of the team in eliminated, the other man is NOT automatically eliminated from the match.
- The only way to be eliminated from the match is to be thrown over the top rope and both feet must touch the floor. Once eliminated, the wrestler must go to the back.
- Managers are allowed to stay at ringside until both members of the team are out.
- The current champions, the Midnght Express, would enter the match at #8.
Marshall: “Entering the ring first... Jay and Mark, the Briscoe Brothers!”
The crowd was on their side, and the ROH icons were prepared to go wire-to-wire to claim the titles.
“And their opponents...”
Tully Blanchard and Manny Fernandez, the newly dubbed West Texas Outlaws, strode out next with their manager, Freddie Blassie. But before they got in the squared circle, Arn Anderson ran out with a chair and chased them around the ring until AWA officials and security could surround him and get him to the back. Once “Double A” was gone, the match finally, officially started.
15-TEAM TAG RUMBLE
AWA WORLD TAG-TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
AWA WORLD TAG-TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
Suffice to say, they beat each other up for the full three minutes, but none of them went over the top rope. (Don't expect a blow-by-blow accounting of this match; you've all seen Royal Rumbles. I'll just hit the highlights.)
The third team out was Bo and Duke Rotunda, escorted by Mike DiBiase. The third-generation grapplers charged right in with youthful vigor, but Bo was tossed out in about two minutes.
Team four was the rugged duo of Larry Hennig and Harley Race, and they were eager to wear those belts again. They made fast work of the bigger Rotunda, much to “Iron Mike's” disgust and dismay, and before the interval was up, Fernandez got rid of Mark Briscoe as well.
Team five was MNM, who added speed to the brawl. They hit a number of double-team moves on most of their foes, but couldn't eliminate anybody.
(Roll call: Jay Briscoe, Blanchard, Fernandez, Hennig, Race, Nitro, Mercury.)
Team six was the Pitbulls. Noble and Kash paired off well with Mercury and Nitro, but they focused so much on each other they ignored the dangers around them. Before the three minutes were up, both Kash and Nitro were launched over the top rope.
Team seven was the ad hoc team of Lance Storm and Christian Cage – at least by AWA standards. They were, after all, former WWE World tag champs, so Graham gave them a spot in the Tag Rumble. The battle continued, with Storm eliminating Hennig with a superkick; Blanchard was the intended target, but he avoided it just in the nick of time.
The Midnight Express were next, represented by Eaton and Condrey. Cornette gave them a big hug, Lane gave them high-fives, and they left the belts at the broadcast table. The action continued, and as Tully gloated at Hennig, Anderson appeared out of nowhere. “The Enforcer” jumped the ringside rail and threatened his former partner – distracting him long enough for Jay Briscoe to chuck him overboard.
The Express entered the ring, and as Anderson teased Blanchard further, drawing him to the other side, Fernandez vaulted over the top rope and attacked Anderson. The Outlaws stomped him down for several seconds, and as the “Raging Bull” realized what he did, he gave Anderson a final kick before officials forced them to the back. Anderson eventually got up, bloodied but satisfied with what he accomplished.
Team nine kicked off the “second half” of the match – and Jacob Fatu and Bronson Reed were monsters. Each man was bigger than any of the rest of the competition, so they became targets. But it also meant that they were able to get their hands on their foes, and the Samoans cleared three men out: Noble, Mercury, and Storm.
Team ten was a team used to wearing AWA gold, the Blond Bombers. The Grand Wizard snarled words of encouragement to his men, and they wasted no time going after Race. Elsewhere in the ring, the Express were hell-bent on keeping their belts, and did their best to keep Fatu and Reed at bay. It was a chaotic three minutes that saw Condrey and Eaton eventually toss the exhausted Briscoe out of the ring.
(Roll call: Race, Cage, Eaton, Condrey, Fatu, Reed, Stevens, Patterson.)
Team 11 was the returning 2.0, back from their Asian tour and looking better than ever. Menard and Parker went after the Bombers, and held their own, almost dumping Stevens over the top. Cage also got involved, but he wound up going over the top rope with Menard. On the other side of the ring, Race ducked under a charging Reed and threw him out as well.
Team 12 was the debuting and aptly-named Eliminators. The ECW legends dove into the ring and after clearing some space, hit Condrey with Total Elimination; a few seconds later, he was gone. Cornette was literally leaping up and down at ringside, and screamed at Eaton to protect himself at all costs. He survived the interval, but another man went to Saturn and Kronus – the massive Fatu, who was eliminated as well.
Team 13 was Money Inc., and Styles wondered if they bought such a fortuitous spot. The elder DiBiase escorted them down and stayed to cheer them down, drawing the ire of the Wizard and Cornette. Meanwhile in the ring, bodies were flying all over the place and unfortunately for Parker, his body flew over the top rope, courtesy of the Bombers.
Team 14 was the Motor City Machine Guns. Sabin and Shelley sprinted down the ramp, and Don West noted that their injury concerns looked to be a thing of the past. They went right after Rotunda and DiBiase, and in just three short minutes, Shelley, Rotunda, Kronus, and Stevens were all dispatched from the match.
(Roll call: Race, Eaton, Patterson, Saturn, DiBiase, Sabin.)
The last two men to emerge from the curtain were Chad Gable and Verne Gagne... but the Olympian was wearing a track suit, not his singlet. Both men paused dramatically at the top of the ramp, and a few seconds later, another man walked out, and this man was wearing a wrestling singlet.
It was “Dr. Death”, Steve Williams.
The trio traded fist-bumps, and then Williams and Gagne walked to the ring, enjoying the mayhem taking place in front of them. They were the freshest pair of wrestlers, and the only remaining unit, but the other six men were also each determined to win the AWA World titles for their respective teams. The match lasted another eight minutes, as one by one, the tired competitors were eliminated; Patterson first, then Sabin.... then Eaton, insuring that there were going to be new champions.
Five men left. Gagne and Race went at each other, and DiBiase and Williams formed a momentary alliance to take on Saturn. The former ECW tag champ battled valiantly, and the crowd erupted when he slipped out of the “Million Dollar Man's” grip just in time to avoid a charging Williams, who wound up launching DiBiase over the top rope. On the other side, Race – who entered the match with Hennig in the third slot – was nearly spent, but he mustered up enough energy to reverse a suplex and send Gagne to the floor.
The crowd's applause was short-lived, as Williams overpowered the weary Saturn and press-slammed him from the ring to the floor as well. Race dropped to a knee, exhausted, but stood back up to face the only other man left. He locked up with the Oklahoman, and slowly, improbably, drove him back into a corner. He nailed Williams with heavy forearm smashes, and bent down to pick up his foe's legs. But Williams surprised Race, and lifted him up on his shoulder. He turned around, rammed the former NWA champ head-first into the turnbuckle, and then shook him loose to the outside. Race bounced off the apron, to the floor...and the match was finally over.
Gagne and Gable reemerged from the curtain, grabbed the tag belts from the broadcast table, ran into the ring, and handed them both to the victorious All-American. They picked him up on their shoulders, and the show ended with the trio of amateur greats celebrating the win.