Post by fifthhorseman on Aug 19, 2023 21:55:14 GMT -5
AWA WRESTLEROCK
NIGHT ONE
NIGHT ONE
Live from Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, the event started with a 90-minute concert featuring Prince and AC/DC!
A highlight package hyped the show, featuring the participants of all of the matches on the night's card. Pyro and lasers, Joey Styles and Don West at the commentary table, and here we go!
AWA INTERCONTINENTAL HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
BATISTA vs. DIAMOND DALLAS PAGE (c):
vs.
BATISTA vs. DIAMOND DALLAS PAGE (c):
vs.
DDP constantly fought from underneath against the much more powerful challenger. Batista kept things at a slow, methodical pace, keeping Page on the mat as much as possible while not giving the audience the chance to inspire the “People's Champion”. But no matter what Batista threw at Page, he couldn't pin DDP, and eventually, the champion battled back. The two went toe-to-toe until DDP tried to hit “the Animal” with a Diamond Cutter, but Batista shoved him into the referee, knocking him on his backside. The powerhouse used the momentary distraction to poke DDP in the eye, and then he set Page up for the Batista Bomb. However, as he lifted Page up, Page inadvertently kicked the recovered referee in the face; the official went down again as DDP rolled out of the Bomb, landed behind Batista, and hit him with the Cutter.
The crowd exploded, DDP made the cover... but there was no one to count it. However, a new man did appear in the ring. The Rock slid in from under the ring, hammered Page from behind, hit him with a Rock Bottom, and bolted through the crowd. Everyone else was down, and it was a slow race to see who recovered first. Batista threw himself over Page... and three long seconds later, there was a new Intercontinental champ. As he got to his feet to accept the belt, the camera caught the Rock at the top of the stairs, gloating about the outcome.
A recap package aired for the next match, serving to show the strength of the AWA tag-team division.
ELIMINATION RULES – IF EITHER PARTNER IS ELIMINATED, THE TEAM IS ELIMINATED
AMERICA'S MOST WANTED, the MIDNIGHT EXPRESS (w/Jim Cornette), and the MONARCHY (WILL OSPREAY and NIGEL McGUINNESS)
vs.
BADD COMPANY, PAUL LONDON and BRIAN KENDRICK, and the MACHINE:
vs.
AMERICA'S MOST WANTED, the MIDNIGHT EXPRESS (w/Jim Cornette), and the MONARCHY (WILL OSPREAY and NIGEL McGUINNESS)
vs.
BADD COMPANY, PAUL LONDON and BRIAN KENDRICK, and the MACHINE:
vs.
With two men in the ring, and ten men on the apron, it was certainly a busy match. The Storms, Lance and James, faced off to begin the bout, and Styles was at his chaotic best calling the action in this nearly 25-minute car crash of a match.
London and Kendrick were the first team eliminated, courtesy of a Midnight Express rocket launcher on Kendrick at the six-minute mark.
The Monarchy were next to go, but it took a double-superkick from Lance Storm and Pat Tanaka, followed immediately by a bridging German suplex by Diamond, to pin Ospreay.
The Machine – so named because of their technical expertise (and to riff on the WWF's Machines) – were eliminated next, when AMW hit the Death Sentence on Lynn. However, after the pin, Cornette started screaming at Storm and Harris for allegedly “stealing” a move from the Express's playbook. This caused tension on that side of the ring for the rest of the match.
This helped Badd Company not only survive the numbers disadvantage for the next several minutes, but by frustrating the already angry side across from them, they were able to tie things back up when Tanaka trapped Lane in a small package to get the pin.
Badd Company's adrenaline was surging, and they took it to America's Most Wanted, all four men brawling in the middle of the ring. But they couldn't capitalize on that momentum, and after AMW threw Diamond over the top rope, they nailed Tanaka with a double flying lariat to win the match as the sole surviving team.
Eric Bischoff was backstage with the new AWA Intercontinental Heavyweight champion. Batista seemed oblivious to the Rock's interference, or he was just that arrogant, as he proclaimed that he was the biggest, baddest, and best I-C champion of all-time.
A recap package aired to set up the next match.
MIKE AWESOME (w/the Grand Wizard) vs. "SUPERSTAR" BILLY GRAHAM:
vs.
vs.
Power on power. They traded shoulder-tackles and clotheslines before settling into a Greco-Roman knuckle-lock that lasted nearly a minute. They expended a lot of energy quickly, and they fought at a ferocious pace. After Awesome missed a flying clothesline from the top rope, the former WWWF champ immediately hit Awesome with a knee-drop from the second rope to snag the quick pin; the ECW legend kicked out right after the ref hit the mat for the three-count. The two strongmen continued to fight all the way to the back.
A split-screen shot was shown, with AWA World Mid-Heavyweight champion Lou Thesz on one side and the Dynamite Kid on the other, getting ready for their main event match.
A pre-taped promo from the UWA Universal Tag-Team champions aired next. Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler expected nothing less than a war, but they were Top Guys for a reason.
DEMOLITION vs. DOOM (w/Jimmy Hart):
vs.
vs.
The referee let them fight, and fight they did. They kept it in the ring with simple smash-mouth offense, and despite their size, they were well-conditioned to go past the ten-minute mark with ease. Smash made the hot tag to Ax, and the veteran cleared house. Hart tried to turn the tide by throwing his megaphone to Simmons while the ref's back was turned, but Ax intercepted it and nailed the former All-American between the eyes, stealing the win.
After the match, the “Mouth of the South” frantically apologized, but Doom didn't want to hear it. They angrily walked out on their manager, who simply stayed in the ring until they were long gone.
Bischoff headed for Mark and Jay Briscoe's locker room but he was intercepted by Diamond Dallas Page. “Where the hell is the Rock? Does he think that was cute? Not only did he cost me the Intercontinental title, but now I'm outta the UWA Universal championship match again Jericho tomorrow night, too! This was the worst night of my damn life, and he's gonna pay for it!”
IF HE LOSES, HE MUST UNMASK
RIC FLAIR (w/Freddie Blassie) vs. the MIDNIGHT RIDER:
vs.
At long last, the two men met in the middle of the ring, face to face. The two men looked to be about the same height and weight, but the full bodysuit the Rider wore disguised his physique. The masked man was quicker, and avoided the “Nature Boy's” chops in the corner earlier on, frustrating the NWA legend. But he couldn't dodge him forever, and Flair took over with every dirty trick in his arsenal. Blassie also interjected himself into matters throughout the match, keeping the Rider on his toes. The man in black battled back, and launched Flair over the ropes, and then followed to the floor with a flying bodypress. The two rolled inside the ring to beat the count... and then a few seconds later, the bell rang anyways. The 20-minute time limit had elapsed.
Flair and Blassie were furious, and attacked the Rider from behind, but he escaped and limped over to the timekeeper's table. He took a microphone and said, “Flair, you weren't good enough to take my mask tonight. But you know what? Seeing how this is the Ric Flair I want to face, to beat, I'll do you and everyone watching a favor. I'm gonna take it off.”
Everyone in the building was on their feet as he continued. “I haven't been a Midnight Rider very long. In fact, I've been a Midnight Rocker a lot longer. But I've had a lot of names in my time. The Showstopper, Mr. Wrestlemania, and some people call me the Heartbreak Kid...”
He pulled the mask off.
...”Shawn Michaels.”
The crowd exploded. “I have to know if I can beat 'the Man' himself, Ric Flair, when he's at his absolute peak. No more mind games. So do you have what it takes to face me when I'm at my best?'
Blassie pulled Flair out of the ring before he could respond. The two villains left, and Michaels threw the mask into the crowd before leaving as well.
A video package aired that chronicled each team's parallel runs to the AWA and UWA championship gold.
UWA UNIVERSAL TAG-TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
JAY and MARK BRISCOE vs. FTR (c):
vs.
JAY and MARK BRISCOE vs. FTR (c):
vs.
The two teams had an intense staredown as the ref gave them their instructions. The duos had immense respect for one another, but when the bell rang, they fought like they were lifelong enemies. They went almost 30 minutes, and the action was as even and exciting as you'd expect. The final three minutes were frantic, with multiple two-counts, but when Mark was hit with the Shatter Machine it was finally over. After the match, Jay and Mark slowly handed the UWA belts over to Harwood and Wheeler, and they shook hands to a standing ovation.
A camera caught Doom leaving the arena early – without Jimmy Hart.
Bischoff was in Flair's locker room, where he shouted that “if Shawn Michaels thinks he's a better wrestler, a better man, than Space Mountain himself, then he's delusional! He's playing checkers, I'm playing chess – does he actually think I was going full-out tonight? I was just testing him – and now that I know who you are, punk, you're mine!”
A video package aired to hype tomorrow night's action.
One last package to hype the main event.
60-MINUTE IRONMAN MATCH
AWA WORLD MID-HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
The DYNAMITE KID vs. LOU THESZ (c):
vs.
AWA WORLD MID-HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
The DYNAMITE KID vs. LOU THESZ (c):
vs.
The two competitors knew that after everything else that happened on the night, they had to show that they deserved this main event slot. Thesz and Dynamite were, by now, very familiar with each other, and they shook hands to start things off. The first 15 minutes were a clinic of technical wrestling, and the first pin was scored by the champion Thesz with a running bodypress/leg scissors combination about which Don West yelled, “I'm gonna start calling that the Thesz Press!”
30 seconds later, the match resumed, and the Kid quickened the pace. Thesz had little problem keeping up, but the Englishman's decided strength advantage began to show. He threw more punches and kicks, and whipped Thesz into the corners at will. The Kid followed one of those Irish whips with a vicious clothesline, backed up a few steps, and went for it again – but Thesz caught him and went for a reverse atomic drop. However, Dynamite pushed off Thesz, kicked him in the gut, and nailed him with a lightning-quick stump piledriver for the shocking pin. 25 minutes in, it was tied 1-1.
The Dynamite Kid went for the kill to start the third “round”. He targeted Thesz's shoulders and neck, and he had all the momentum. The crowd was stunned, as just a few minutes later, the Bulldog locked a sugar hold on Thesz. Despite the pain, Thesz refused to give up – but after over 30 seconds trapped in the hold, the referee checked Thesz's hand. He didn't respond, and the official gave the fall to Dynamite, putting him up 2-1.
As the 30-second rest period ticked by, Styles and West were incredulous; Thesz was undefeated since his arrival in the AWA, and in the span of about a half-hour, he had lost two falls. When the wrestlers re-engaged, the champion fought very defensively in an attempt to clear his head. Dynamite tried everything he could to push past those defenses for the next ten minutes, and after hitting a snap suplex, he went to the top rope for his patented headbutt. But Thesz had recovered, and was playing possum; as Dynamite flew, Thesz raised his knees, and the former champion had all of the air knocked out of him. The Missourian rolled him over for the pin, tying it up at 2-2.
Now it was Thesz's turn to shine. The shooter tried to tie his foe in knots, no doubt angry that he himself was laid out with the sugar hold earlier in the contest. He went after Dynamite's right leg, twisting and pulling on it to keep him on the mat and out of the air. Several minutes later, Thesz trapped him in a wicked one-legged Boston crab, practically bending the Englishman in two. He kept him in the center of the ring for a long, long time, and the Kid had no choice but to submit. 3-2 Thesz with about ten minutes to go.
Dynamite was angry; he knew he had to be the aggressor, but his right leg and lower back felt like they were on fire, and Thesz was one of the smartest men in the industry. Every time the Kid tried to tackle or overpower him, Thesz dodged or countered or otherwise kept his opponent at a distance. The minutes drained away, and somehow, the Kid broke through. He hit Thesz with two running powerslams, but neither kept the champ down. Marshall announced there was one minute remaining, and Dynamite hit Thesz with a third.
Again, slowly, the Englishman went to the top rope, again for a flying headbutt... but again, Thesz got his knees up. This time, Dynamite was busted open, losing the knee-to-skull battle, and he lay on the mat. For a moment, Thesz considered going for another pin, but he chose instead to lift Dynamite up and embrace him as the bell rang to end the match. When the Kid seemed to figure out what happened, it seemed – for a split-second – like he wanted to fight some more, but he raised Thesz's hand and rolled out of the ring where medical staff was waiting for him. The show ended with a series of fireworks and Thesz waving to the crowd, ready to face UWA Champion Chris Jericho tomorrow night.