Post by fifthhorseman on Jan 10, 2024 0:18:55 GMT -5
AWA ALL-STAR WRESTLING
EPISODE 69
EPISODE 69
Short “Saturday Night's Main Event”-styled promos from America's Most Wanted, PRX, AJ Styles, Bryan Danielson, Danny Hodge, and Verne Gagne. Pyro from St. Paul, Minnesota – calling the action, Joey Styles and Don West.
UWA Universal champion Rick Rude was escorted by security to a suite to watch the night's action. Throughout the show, he was spotted talking to various AWA managers, all of whom were trying to recruit him as a client.
PAT O'CONNOR MEMORIAL CUP QUARTER-FINAL MATCH
VERNE GAGNE vs. DANNY HODGE:
vs.
VERNE GAGNE vs. DANNY HODGE:
vs.
During their entrances, a picture-in-picture promo was shown; it was Buddy Matthews, who was confident that he would defeat whoever won this contest.
Punches thrown: zero. The two amateur greats wrestled like it was an Olympic match, except there were no round breaks to give them even a momentary rest. At the five-minute mark, they were both covered in sweat; at ten minutes, they were exhausted. Gagne was frustrated, and took advantage of a rope break to poke Hodge in the eyes. The AWA icon threw Hodge over his hip with a head-and-shoulder toss, but the Oklahoman kept the momentum going, and used his legendary grip to cinch in a pin that folded Gagne's knees into his own chest. Hodge was onto the semi-finals.
COMMERCIAL
Eric Bischoff introduced the Grand Wizard onto the stage, where he was joined by Mike Awesome, Damian Priest, and the East-West Connection. He said that Priest and Awesome were two of the most dominant singles wrestlers in the AWA, and now he had one of the best tag-teams in the world as well. “The East-West Connection are former AWA World Tag-Team champs, and mark my words, they will be again. But first, I have something to say to Terry Gordy! You interfered in our business last week! For that you must pay. I dare you to get in the ring with one of my men next week!”
SEAN O'HAIRE (w/Dominik Mysterio) vs. SAMOA JOE:
vs.
vs.
Both men were nearly as agile as they were strong, and they were plenty strong. Mysterio was a pest at ringside, but he couldn't prevent Joe from defeating O'Haire; after the “Devil's Advocate missed a Seanton bomb, the Samoan put him to sleep with the Coquina Clutch. The crown cheered even louder when he nailed Mysterio after the match with a Muscle Buster.
COMMERCIAL
Demolition cut a short but intense promo from backstage. They would be watching the AWA World Tag-Team title match very closely – because whoever won would eventually have to face them.
AWA WORLD TAG-TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
AMERICA'S MOST WANTED (w/Gail Kim) vs. PRX:
vs.
AMERICA'S MOST WANTED (w/Gail Kim) vs. PRX:
vs.
West was especially happy to call the action in this one, as it featured TNA alumni whose paths had never crossed until tonight. Both teams demonstrated elite teamwork, and PRX showed why they held the Impact tag titles four times, but Storm and Harris pulled out every trick they knew to ultimately win the battle. After AMW hit Ortiz with the Death Sentence, Kim grabbed Santana's ankle from the outside, which prevented him from breaking up the pin.
COMMERCIAL
Lee Marshall introduced Arn Anderson, and “the Enforcer” received a generous round of applause as he entered the ring. He put over Batista as a formidable Intercontinental champion, but he was proud of the battles he had with “the Animal” in late 2023. “I've always been a great team player. And I don't want to toot my horn, but toot toot – I'm pretty good all by my lonesome, too. I'm hungrier than ever, and not because I'm starving myself to get into the mid-heavyweight division. Double A hasn't held a singles title in a while - it's time to change that.”
AMAZING RED vs. TERRY FUNK:
vs.
vs.
The wild-eyed Texan seemed to be insulted by his perceived level of his competition, and he shoved Red away when the high-flyer went for a pre-match handshake. Red frustrated Funk early on with his speed, but the former NWA champ eventually caught and grounded him, and quickly submitted him with a spinning toe hold. He kept it on long after the bell as well, only letting go when the referee threatened to reverse the decision.
COMMERCIAL
A video vignette featuring Brad Armstrong was shown. He said that although he was a newcomer to the AWA, and his first match didn't go as planned, he was far from done in the mid-heavyweight division. “It's time to put up or shut up, and the only way to do that is against the best competition in the world. I'm tired of being the 'most underrated' wrestler in all the polls – and winning the AWA World Mid-Heavyweight belt in 2024 would certainly change that.”
RIC FLAIR, MJF, and BRON STEINER (w/Freddie Blassie) vs. BOB BACKLUND and the MACHINE:
vs.
vs.
This match was reminiscent of older Horsemen six-man tag matches in the studio, but the competition was much stiffer here. Flair and Backlund were determined to one-up each other whenever they shared the ring, and their mat work did not disappoint. The match went about right minutes – after Steiner softened up Storm with a spear, the “Nature Boy” finished him off with the figure-four leglock.
When the faces left, Marshall interviewed them in the ring. Friedman said that since he defeated Nick Bockwinkel at Autumn Bomb, the “old man” hadn't been seen since. Flair was next, and he still wanted to talk about Shawn Michaels... in fact, he wanted to talk to Shawn Michaels next week. “HBK! You say you want to fight, but whenever I'm around, you're not! So how about this – next week, you and me will have a conversation, face-to-face, in the middle of this ring. If you have the guts, I'll see you then!”
COMMERCIAL
Bischoff was backstage with Ted DiBiase, Steve Williams, and the newest member of the AWA roster, Terry Gordy. “Bamm Bamm” shouted that he was more than willing to get in the ring with any member of the Wizard's stable, but he wanted to make sure that he had someone watching his back. “So how about this – we'll take on your new team, Ventura and Adonis... me and Doc, two on two, so I can keep my eyes on all of ya!”
PAT O'CONNOR MEMORIAL CUP QUARTER-FINAL MATCH
BRYAN DANIELSON vs. AJ STYLES:
vs.
BRYAN DANIELSON vs. AJ STYLES:
vs.
Another cut-in promo, this time from the AWA World Heavyweight champion Christian Cage. He said that he would be watching the match backstage, and no matter what, the “Instant Classic” knew that he'd have his hands full with the winner.
Danny Hodge came back out to do commentary. As expected, this was an early candidate for AWA match of the year. They did everything they could to each other, and given the 15-minute time limit, they did it all at breakneck speed. Both men realized early on that they wouldn't have enough time to earn a submission - the “American Dragon” with the LeBell Lock, and Styles with the Calf Crusher – so it was a very strike-heavy battle.
With less than 45 seconds to go, Styles went for the Phenomenal Forearm, but Danielson rolled underneath it, bounced off the ropes, and nailed his opponent with a vicious running knee strike just as Styles was turning around. To the amazement of everybody, Styles kicked out at 2.5; Danielson was furious, and he immediately hit him with a second one. There was no kicking out this time, and Bryan was the final man to earn a spot into the semi-finals. The show ended with a new tournament graphic: