CLASSIC AWA 3/28/08 TV REPORT
- 03/28/2008 (8:53:30 pm)
- Georgiann Makropoulos
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March 28th airing of Verne Gagne’s AWA Championship Wrestling is a March 4th 1986 episode. All matches are from the Showboat Sports Pavilion in Las Vegas Nevada. This is actually a repeat of the first AWA episode that ESPN Classic aired. This is a re-do review, with more comprehensive coverage.
Buddhakhan versus Shawn Michaels (spelled Sean Michaels on screen) in the first match. During his match introduction, Larry Nelson announced that Michaels was Central States Rookie of the Year for 1985. Michaels caught Buddhakhan with an arm drag, then kept over him in a freestyle wrestling stance. Michaels would hoist the heavier Buddha up in a German suplex with a belly drop release. Budda would work strikes into a hammerlock down to the mat, trying for a pin with a pull of the trunks. Micahels would head scissors his way out. Budda’s work on Shawn’s left arm would be thwarted by a drop toe hold. Shawn armlocks, forearm smashes and legs drops on Budda’s right arm.
When Buddad breaks out and charges, Shawn leaps frogs over him and catches Budda with a dropkick. Shawn would pepper Budda with forearms, then punch away at a corner bound Budda as Michaels stood on the second rope. Shawn would climb up to the top ropes and do a back flip to the canvas. A charging Budda was flipped to, but by Shawn’s back body drop. A crisp super kick would floor Budda, with Shawn rushing to the apron then to the top rope. Shawn came down with a Superfly type top rope splash for referee Robert Warren’s three count win in just under seven minutes of action.
"Pretty Boy" Doug Somers versus ½ AWA tag champion "Big" Scott Hall in the second match. Hall’s tag champion partner, Curt Hennig was in his corner. Somer’s tag partner "Playboy" Buddy Rose and manager Sherri Martel were not present for this match. Hall would work Somers into the corner from a collar and elbow tie up. Somers would gain a wristlock but then get power down by Hall. Somers makes a false claim to ref Warren of hair pulling. Somer would tie up with Hall, and get slammed to the mat with an arm drag. Somers applied a cross face half nelson into an arm bar. Hall picked up Somers and sat him on the top ropes for a break of the hold.
Commentator Ken Resnick said that in Hall has an unusual hobby of wrestling alligators at Florida carnivals. Somers is knocked down twice by Hall’s charge, then scooped up for a big body slam. Somers gets Hall to the mat with a variation of the headlock, then delivers two knee drops. Hall would reverse Somers’ Irish whip to the corner, and launches Somers with a high back body drop. Somers exits the ring and favors his back. Hall rallies the crowd into a clapping cheer. Upon his return, Somers is in the corner and pleads for Hall to give him some space. Somers would exit the ring, but Hall would hip toss Somers from the apron back into the ring. Hall gives a big body slam, then an elbow drop.
After absorbing this, Somers’ brought forearm strikes to the stomach, short punches from a headlock, and a back suplex. Somers continued with stomps, eyes rakes, turnbuckle smashes, and a snap mare into a chinlock. Hall would club Somers down, slam a knee into a corner bound Somers, then flip over Somers with a hip toss. A ropes whipped Somers gets nailed with a Big Scott elbow, then another big slam, but Somers would escape before a big leg drop. From the corner, Somers kicked an incoming Hall, tried to Irish whip him into the ropes, but Hall reversed and drove Somers into the canvas with a powerslam. Robert Warren made the three count after a match that saw over seven minutes of action.
In the post match interview, Hall told Nelson that Somers is a capable veteran, not to be underestimated. Nelson brought up last weeks bout that saw Hennig face AWA champ Stan "The Lariat" Hansen. Hennig said that Hansen can wrestle but is very aggressive and will do whatever it takes to win. Hennig mentioned that when he was caught in the ropes, Hall came to his rescue. Hennig and Hall clamped hands, then Hennig said that he and Scott are looking for a title shot, saying Hansen is human and does make mistakes.
Next up is the segment In This Corner with Larry Zbyszko at AWA studio. Larry Nelson said that this edition would feature newcomer Marty Jannetty. Zbyszko said he gives credit where it is due, by saying Jannetty is a good wrestler with aerial ability, but said the experience and vicious streak was yet to be seen. Zbyszko qued the video that showcased Jannetty performs body slams, back body drops, flying arm drags, dropkicks, flying body presses and his teamwork with Curt Hennig.
Marty Jannetty joined Nelson and Zbyszko after the video. Nelson wanted to know where Jannetty came up with his unique high flying moves, and Jannetty explained that today’s wrestlers have evolves to be on average around the 300 lb mark, so he was looking to come up with new moves to counter the weight difference. Zbyszko said that it was not easy to make out what was being said from Jannetty’s mumbling.
Zbyszko commented on Jannetty’s clothes saying that he too goes for liberal, anti-establishment style, but it seems to be nothing more than to impress the kiddies and the young girls. Zbyszko agreed that good moves are needed, but it has to come with self respect, discipline and vicious streak. Zbyszko posed the question to Jannetty’s heart in kicking someone’s teeth in when the arm drag doesn’t work. Jannetty said that it’s the 80's and people can dress how want for whatever reason they want. Zbyszko said that again Jannetty was not easy to understand by the mumbling. As Nelson was going to commerical, Zbyszko made a comment that jannety dresses like a slut. Jannetty was wearing a sleeveless opened button shirt, Zebra headband and 80's sunglasses.
Back at AWA studio , Larry Nelson introduced a match a recent match on video of Sheik Adnan El Kassey’s King Kong (Bruiser) Brody vs. the mountain from Stone Mountain Georgia "Jerry "Crusher" Blackwell. Brody and Sheik Adnan clubs att Blackwell in the corner. Blackwell fires back on both of them with fists and headbutts. Adnan holds Blackwell as Brody comes off the ropes with a boot to Blackwell’s face. As Adnan holds, Bordy crashes a chair down on Blackwell’s back.
As Blackwell laid on the mat, Adnan held the leg, and Brody drove the chair into Blackwell’s gut. Scott LeDux, Buck Humholfe and Leon White (pre Vader) came down to protect Blackwell. Back a the studio, Nelson said what wasn’t shown on tv was Brody attacking Greg Gagne at the commentator’s table, announced that the match after commercial is the main event of Jerry "Crusher" Blackwell against Sheik Adnan El Kassey’s man Boris Zhukov.
Back at the Showboat for the main event. Zhukov and Sheik Adnan held out to display the Soviet flag. Blackwell came to the ring, chasing out Adnan and Boris. Blackwell took Nelson mic to say that Adnan was "the number one camel jockey", but the audio dumped out when camel was said. Boris covers his ears outside the ring, as the crowd chants "Russia sucks!". Blackwell grabs Boris in the ring and Adnan on the apron, to slam them into a double noggin knocker. Boris is whipped into the corner and smashed with a charging splash by Blackwell.
After being headbutted down, Zhukov exits the ring. The crowd now chants "Sheik’s a freak!". Zhukov returns to tie up with Blackwell, but after pushing off the headlock, gets knocked down as Blackwell comes off the ropes. Boris then meets a mid section kick, then a standing dropkick by the enarly five hundered pound Blackwell. A top rope choke and forearm smash by Blackwell is then met with an eye rake, forearm shots and head butts by Zhukov. Blackwell does not look phased by the continued head butts, and then takes Zhukov down with forearms blows.
Blackwell grabs Boris’ beard, and referee Scott LeDux forces Blackwell’s hand down, causing Boris pain from the beard yank. After three punches by Blackwell, Boris exits the ring. The return would find, a tie up into the corner, that lead to eye rakes, forearm clubs, knees, judo chops and biting from Zhukov. Boris would whip Blackwell to the opposite corner, and deliver a knee to the back, and a choke on the second rope. As LeDux backed Boris off, Sheik Adnan punched and eye raked Blackwell as he laid over the second rope. Zhukov came back to stomp Blackwell down to the bottom rope, with a boot choke.
Forearms, eye rakes, snap mare into a chin lock and elbow drop would earn a two count for Boris. As Blackwell was on his knees, Boris came off the ropes with a boot to the face. It actually connected, causing some swelling to Blackwell’s nose. Blackwell would get to his feet and knock Zhukov down with a series of right rights. Blackwell suplexed Boris down, and continued his assault with driving down forearms and fists for a two count. Blackwell would kick, chop down Boris, and then take him down again with a clothesline. Forearms from Blackwell were countered with an elbow smash, headbutt, punch, judo chop and dropkick by Zhukov.
Blackwell still stands after Zhukov’s chops. Blackwell elbows Boris in the corner, then charges after whipping Boris to the opposite corner. Adnan pushes Boris away, and Blackwell falls backwards to the mat after crashing into the turnbuckles. Zhukov climbs to the top ropes, leaps but misses. As Zhukov reaches for his hurt left knee, Blackwell springs from the ropes to drop his four hundred pound frame over Zhukov for the 1..2..3, after over ten minutes of AWA action.
At one point it looked as if Blackwell was going to get some revenge on Sheik Adnan in the ring, but Adnan found an opening to flee quickly from the ring. In the post match interview with Nelson, Blackwell said that he loves coming to Las Vagas, driving down the strip to all the pretty lights and hearing the people cheer him in the ring. Blackwell continued by saying "we have one thing in common, that flag, and aslong as it’s number one, no stinking Russian and Arab can come whoop us!"
The crowd cheers, and Blackwell brings up that Sheik Adnan was right when stating Blackwell needed help from the chair attacks and two one one by Adnan and Brody. Blackwell said that once he got his breath, he came back to help Greg Gagne "and we kicked the shit out yas!" Guess what word ESPN dumped out on. Blackwell said he "is like an old dog, the next day I’ll be biting at your damn heels!"
Catch the legends of AWA Mondays to Fridays at 1am est on ESPN Classic.
David
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