Post by fifthhorseman on Mar 19, 2024 0:28:52 GMT -5
AWA ALL-STAR WRESTLING
EPISODE 76
EPISODE 76
Short “Saturday Night's Main Event”-styled promos from the Four Horsemen, Bron Steiner, Barry Windham, Jim Cornette and Konosuke Takeshita, Lou Thesz, and Buddy Matthews. Pyro from Las Vegas, Nevada – calling the action, Joey Styles and Don West.
West said that the night's main event would feature three of the Four Horsemen – Tully Blanchard, MJF, and the Intercontinental champion, Batista – against Bron Steiner and two partners of his choice. “But we were told right before going to air that Bron doesn't have any partners yet!”
VERNE GAGNE vs. AJ STYLES:
vs.
vs.
The AWA mainstay was the aggressor, perhaps surprisingly so, as he sought to get revenge on Styles for exposing his “nephews” as frauds. Gagne took it to the mat and stretched the “Phenomenal One” out with a variety of amateur moves, but Styles constantly fought from underneath and used his speed to fluster Gagne. However, they were too evenly-matched on this night, going to a 15-minute draw.
COMMERCIAL
Darby Allin was backstage in a dark corner, where he cut a promo reminding the fanbase that he first appeared in the AWA almost exactly two years ago. “And in that time, I still haven't shown you all what I'm capable of. It's time to get your attention.”
The camera panned to Steiner, who walked past him and found someone else about 50 feet away. He asked the man if he would fight beside him against the Horsemen... and Samoa Joe replied, “I would have walked out there tonight whether you asked me or not. Batista, it's time to get reacquainted. And that goes for the rest of them.”
DOOM vs. the MIRACLE VIOLENCE CONNECTION:
vs.
This was an old-fashioned hossfest. At a total combined weight of over 1,100 pounds, the referee just tried to stay out of the way. The All-Japan legends outlasted their foes after about ten minutes, with “Dr. Death” pinning Reed after an Oklahoma Stampede.
COMMERCIAL
Eric Bischoff interviewed Mark and Jay Briscoe on the stage. The brothers cut a short but intense promo; they weren't done with the Monarchy by a long shot, and they wanted to be the first team to win both the AWA World Tag-Team titles (which they held in the second half of 2023) and the Intercontinental tag straps.
KONOSUKE TAKESHITA (w/Jim Cornette) vs. BARRY WINDHAM:
vs.
vs.
West told the audience that prior to the match, President Tunney warned all concerned that any interference from the Midnight Express or anyone else would result in lengthy suspensions for those wrestlers. This was an intense, one-on-one battle that never let up, and as they neared the 15-minute time limit, a frustrated Cornette took a swing at his former client with the tennis racket. However, Windham caught it and yanked it out of the manager's hands; after a second of contemplation, the big Texan angrily hit Takeshita with it, earning the DQ loss. He nailed “the Alpha” two more times before the newcomer fled the ring with Cornette.
COMMERCIAL
Bischoff was backstage with Don Leo Jonathan, who thanked the interviewer for giving him the time to speak his mind. “It's been a long time since I wore the AWA World Heavyweight championship. In that time, not only has Ric Flair come in and won that title, but the UWA Universal championship is here in the AWA, too. Whether it's Flair, Rick Rude, or any of the other world-class athletes that joined the AWA since I broke my leg, I'm ready to fight any one of them until I get a shot at one of those belts.”
Steiner was still roaming the corridors until he stopped in front of a specific locker room door. He knocked and when it opened, the second-generation star said, “Here's your chance to get your hands on MJF. He's been ducking and hiding from you for weeks. He can't hide tonight.”
Nick Bockwinkel nodded and clapped Steiner on the shoulder. “Glad to see you're finally thinking for yourself. Count me in.”
NON-TITLE MATCH
AMERICA'S MOST WANTED (w/Gail Kim) vs. STARS AND STRIPES:
vs.
AMERICA'S MOST WANTED (w/Gail Kim) vs. STARS AND STRIPES:
vs.
The champions made relatively quick work of the AWA newcomers when they nailed Bagwell with the Death Sentence in just under eight minutes. When the match ended, Storm and Harris asked for the microphone, and bragged about running Demolition out of the territory. “The Cowboy” asked, “Who's next? When I look around the locker rooms, I don't see anybody ready for-”
He suddenly stopped speaking when the Miracle Violence Connection walked onto the stage. Terry Gordy took a microphone from Joey Styles and shouted, “We've proved ourselves all over the world, boys! You don't think me and Doc are ready? Why don't you get in the ring with us, and we'll show you how damn ready we are!”
COMMERCIAL
Lee Marshall stood in the ring and introduced Christian Cage. The former World champ wore a neck brace, and he acknowledged the audience's cheers with a simple wave. He said, “I guess you can see now that I've been working with a pretty messed up neck for the last few months. I wanted to be a fighting champion, but eventually, every man, every champion loses. But have no fear. I've been rehabbing and getting stronger, and I'll be back before you know it. I promise you, all of my fans here and watching on TV, that the 'Instant Classic' will regain the AWA World Heavyweight championship. And before I leave, for the benefit of those of you with flash photography, here's a five-second pose.” He saluted the fans and left, but as he walked up the ramp, the cheers were not as loud.
AWA WORLD MID-HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
BUDDY MATTHEWS vs. LOU THESZ (c):
vs.
BUDDY MATTHEWS vs. LOU THESZ (c):
vs.
This was the match that Matthews wanted since returning to the AWA, and Thesz was more than ready to oblige. The Australian was much stronger than Thesz, and smartly used a striking offense rather than trying to outwrestle the NWA great. Thesz eventually captured his foe's left arm and took him to the mat, and finally forced him to submit to an STF.
COMMERCIAL
A Terry Funk vignette aired, in which the ornery cowboy declared – again – that Arn Anderson wasn't in his league. “You got nothing to be ashamed of, Arn! Some guys get to a certain level, a pretty high level, and they can make a good living outta professional wrestling - maybe even win a few titles along the way. And then there's guys like me, and my brother Dory, and my dad. We're just better, that's all!”
BATISTA, TULLY BLANCHARD, and MJF (w/Freddie Blassie) vs. NICK BOCKWINKEL, SAMOA JOE, and BRON STEINER:
vs.
Before the main event began, the AWA World Heavyweight champion, Ric Flair, made a grand entrance and joined Styles and West on commentary. He cheered on the rest of the Four Horsemen as they walked to the ring, seemingly more confident than ever.
Steiner was eager to face all three of them, and he led off against Blanchard. As the match progressed, Bockwinkel wanted to get a piece of MJF, but the former IC champ constantly avoided him, much to the AWA icon's chagrin. When Samoa Joe and Batista got to mix it up, the two goliaths fired off several haymakers before falling between the ropes. They brawled all the way to the back, leaving their teammates to continue the match without them.
After several evenly-contested minutes, Joe and Batista wound up back on the stage. Flair got up from his chair and chop-blocked the Samoan, and with Blanchard keeping the ref's attention, the “Nature Boy” put Joe in the figure-four leglock beside the announce table while Batista ran down to make the tag. “The Animal” entered the now-3-on-2 match and quickly hit Bockwinkel with the Batista Bomb for the three-count.
Flair released his hold on Joe, hit him with a steel folding chair, and then ran down to ringside to aid his colleagues. It was four on two, and only then did Friedman get into it with Bockwinkel. Batista and Blanchard stomped away at Steiner, while Flair helped MJF. Several officials ran out to make them stop, and as trainers checked on Joe on the stage, the show ended with the Horsemen holding four fingers to the sky in the ring.