Post by fifthhorseman on Apr 29, 2023 15:34:17 GMT -5
AWA ALL-STAR WRESTLING
EPISODE 45
EPISODE 45
Pyro from Sacramento, California, 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, Joey Styles and Don West.
Lee Marshall introduced the new AWA Southern Heavyweight champion, Diamond Dallas Page, to a hero's ovation. He entered the squared circle and told the crowd that he would be their champion - “the People's Champion” - and he thanked Rocky Maivia for helping him get his title shot against MJF. “I'm gonna defend this title with honor and courage, for all of you, starting tonight against Austin Theory – and if poor old Max wants to try his luck again, he is gonna feel! The! Bang!”
DDP left the ring, and Styles and West ran through the night's six-match card.
AWA STAMPEDE MID-HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
The DYNAMITE KID (c) vs. LOU THESZ:
vs.
West reminded the audience that Graham added an extra ten minutes to the customary 20-minute television time limit for AWA matches. The two competitors shook hands to start off, and as you'd expect, it was a fierce, back-and-forth battle. Thesz was a skilled shooter, and knew a surprising amount of tricks for his age. The British champ was no slouch on the mat either, and his pound-for-pound power was nearly unmatched in the entire UWA. As the minutes ticked, the pace barely slowed, but the challenger grounded Dynamite on the mat and attempted several submission moves. The Kid eventually powered out, and positioned Thesz on the top rope for a superplex. He lifted Thesz straight up... and then the bell rang.
Dynamite kept Thesz in mid-air for several seconds, and the crowd – and the announcers – wondered what he was going to do. Finally, the Englishman put him back down in the corner with a smirk, and the referee handed him the Mid-Heavyweight title. But Thesz let him know that he still didn't beat him, and he roughly slapped the Kid on the back with a faux congratulations. They both eventually left the ring, but the issue still wasn't definitively decided.
COMMERCIAL
Footage shot early in the day was shown on the big screen. The cameraman was too far away to pick up the conversation... but considering the four men involved, MJF and his manager “Classy” Freddie Blassie, and Austin Theory with his manager Jimmy Hart, it was definitely suspicious.
A pre-recorded interview with Jerry Lawler aired. He wasn't going to come to a third-rate city whose NBA city dared to call themselves Kings, but he would make an official challenge to Nick Bockwinkel for next week's episode of AWA All-Star Wrestling.
RIC FLAIR (w/Freddie Blassie) vs. JOHN KRONUS (w/Perry Saturn):
vs.
vs.
The crowd eagerly anticipated the “Nature Boy's” first singles match in the AWA in a long time , but he drew an opponent that presented a stiff test. The Eliminator was freakishly quick for his size, but Flair worked on his right knee, slowing the bigger man down. The NWA legend was relentless, and it took him about eight minutes to make Kronus submit to the figure-four leglock.
COMMERCIAL
A VTR was shown on the monitors. It was shot the week before, after All-Star Wrestling went off the air, and Eric Bischoff was backstage with a sore and angry Bron Steiner. He was furious at Doom, and challenged Ron Simmons to a match, “Anytime, anywhere! You're mine!”
Eric Bischoff stood on the stage and introduced Arn Anderson to a raucous welcome. As usual, “the Enforcer” was all business, and he admitted that he was disappointed in his War Games performance. “I didn't tap out, I didn't give up, but when it's all said and done, I'm the reason my team lost. So for me, the only way that I can get that win back is to take down the Pinnacle. Max, Wardlow – you're just gonna be collateral damage. Ric, I don't know if we'll ever be friends again, but until that time, you're on my list, too. But it starts with Tully Blanchard. Tully, I've been carrying you for years. Now-”
As if on cue, the giant monitors burst to life with Blanchard commandeering a cameraman in the Pinnacle's locker room. “Now nothing! Listen here, Anderson! Face the facts! On your own, you're nothing! You were never Horsemen material, you were the least dangerous member of the Dangerous Alliance, and you weren't good enough to carry the Pinnacle's bags! You don't want us raining down violence on you again, do you?”
Anderson simply looked up and did the throat-slashing sign at the monitor, and walked off.
BATISTA and MONEY INC. vs. MARK and JAY BRISCOE and DON LEO JONATHAN:
vs.
vs.
It was a six-man tag, so obviously it got out of control early and often. DiBiase and Rotunda were frustrated by the Briscoes' counter-wrestling, and resorted to cheap shots to gain advantages. Mark and Jay were equally surprised by Money Inc's brawling ability; despite their technical reputations, both men were 250-pounders. And when it came to the giants, they delivered exactly what you would expect. It devolved into chaos, and after DLJ and Batista brawled up the ramp and through the curtain, DiBiase snuck up on Mark with a simple schoolboy pin (and a handful of tights) to steal the pin.
COMMERCIAL
NON-TITLE MATCH
JERRY LYNN vs. BARRY WINDHAM (c, w/Jim Cornette and Big Bubba Rogers):
vs.
vs.
This was Lynn's reward for his big win a week earlier, and Styles said that another win here would get him a rematch with the belt on the line. When the bell rang, the two wrestlers put on a grappling clinic, trading holds and counters at a quick pace. From the get-go, Cornette instructed Rogers to stand between the ring and the ramp as a lookout.
Eventually, “the Widowmaker's” superior size and strength was too much for Lynn to overcome, and Windham pinned his foe after a vicious lariat. But as the referee raised his hand, Christian Cage ran through the crowd and attacked the champion from behind. He grabbed Cornette's tennis racket and cracked Windham across the back and shoulders, launching him from the ring. Rogers ran in, and Cage bailed out the other side; the angry Canadian snapped the racket in two and left back through the audience. The heels were furious, and Cage shouted back at them, as the show went to
COMMERCIAL
Backstage, Bischoff caught up to Cage. He declared that he was far from down with Windham. “What I did tonight pales in comparison to how you bloodied me up – and to what I planned for you later! You're not getting the guy that does the five-second pose – you've got a pissed-off former World Heavyweight champion breathing your neck!”
BAD INFLUENCE vs. 2point0:
vs.
vs.
Daniels and Kazarian were determined to make an impression on Commissioner Graham and the rest of the boys in the locker room – and they did. 2.0 tried to jump them before the bell rang, but they were met by a pair of superkicks and it was all downhill for them from there. The match lasted just over two minutes, and Daniels finished Parker off with the BME.
A Mike Awesome vignette aired, highlighting his spectacular combination of power and agility. The 300-pounder proclaimed that he was the best “big man” in professional wrestling, and he was ready to prove it to everyone in the AWA.
COMMERCIAL
Before the main event, West was even more excited as usual, as he got to present two more matches for AWA Spring Slam. A graphic flashed behind him as he announced that there would be a fatal four-way tag-team match between the Motor City Machines, the Midnight Express, Bad Influence, and a team to be named later. The second graphic drew a huge roar from the California crowd: AWA World Heavyweight champion Barry Windham would be defending his title against Christian Cage.
AWA SOUTHERN HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
DIAMOND DALLAS PAGE (c) vs. AUSTIN THEORY (w/Jimmy Hart):
vs.
Main event intros from Lee Marshall, and both men looked very confident. DDP started strong, and he used his experience to frustrate the young wrestling prodigy. But the “Mouth of the South” had even more experience, and used it to mentor Theory back into a winning position, and he eventually hoisted the “People's Champion” up for A-Town Down... but Page slipped out the back and hit the challenger with a Diamond Cutter! Match over, DDP declared the winner.
But that wasn't all. Hart signaled to the back, and Doom ran down to attack Page. But they were immediately chased down by Steiner, who evened the odds until Theory recovered, and it turned into a three-on-two beatdown... until Rocky Maivia stormed a ring with a chair in hand. Maivia cleared the ring, and the show ended with the angry heels on the outside, Steiner daring them to get back in, and Maivia raising DDP's hand in the air.