CLASSIC AWA 4/18/08 TV REPORT
- 04/18/2008 (10:48:09 pm)
- Georgiann Makropoulos
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April 18th aired a classic episode of Verne Gagne’s AWA All-Star Wrestling from the Showboat Sports Pavilion in Las Vegas Nevada. Like many episodes before, this one only specified the year as 1986.
Don Fargo & El Siberiano versus The Midnight Rockers (Marty Jannetty & Shawn Michaels)
Sirberiano falsely accused Jannetty of a hair pull, and then Jannetty grabbed the hair to make Sirberiano honest. Jannetty worked on Sirberiano’s left arm to headlock, then Michaels would continue the headlock. Fargo tried to sneak and then when he tagged in, misses a wild swing while Michaels was on the ropes. Michaels back suplexed out of Fargo headlock, and then dropped Fargo with a super kick, after Michaels escaped the corner by winning chop exchange.
Jannetty clubbed Siberiano into the corner, after he kicked Michaels off the pin cover. Commentating Lord James Blears said that if he and co-commentator Rod Trongard didn’t know better, they would think Michael and Jannetty are brothers, by the way they wrestle and look out for each other. Just then Jannetty blocked Fargo’s corner punch attempted on Michaels, and blasted Fargo back into another corner.
Jannetty slapped away Siberiano’s hand shake, and Siberiano landed a headbutt, a chop, then held Jannetty’s arms back for a Fargo punch. Michaels rushed in to knock Fargo down on the ring apron. After Michaels’s slammed El Siberiano to the corner, Fargo fled from a brawl with Jannetty. Michaels’ whipped Siberiano into a Jannetty dropkick, before exiting the ring. Siberiano’s returns would find him getting hammered and Irish whipped by Jannetty into a top ropes cross body splash by Michaels. Referee Robert Warren got down and hit the mat 3 times for a Midnight Rockers victory, in this a little past five minutes match.
In the post match interview, announcer Larry Nelson said that the Showboat will need to raise the roof if the Rockers fly any higher. Nelson brought up the Rockers’ trouble with new tag champions "Playboy" Buddy Rose and "Pretty Boy" Doug Somers to Jannetty, who said that his wins over tops teams with Michaels put them right up their in line for a title shot. Jannetty felt the best way to get even was to win the titles from them.
In talking about their match next week against Sheik Adnan El Kassey’s Army of Boris Zhukov and Nord the Barbarian, Michaels said that Nord’s giant size is to be considered "but stomping your foot and barking won’t get you the win" over the Rockers. The camera showed showed many young women smiling as they watched The Rockers, and one nervously trying to get a good shot with her camera.
Jesse Hernandez versus Nord The Barbarian
Manager Sheik Adnan was not present, but Nord was accompanied by his tag partner, Boris Zhukov. Nord attacked Jesse just before the bell, and announcer Nelson cleared out of the ring to finish the announcement on the floor. Jesse was punished in the corner with chops, forearm smashes before being head rammed into another corner. After Jesse came off the ropes to be dropped by a big Nord boot, Nord threw Jesse from the ring and rammed his back to the steel post in a body slam position.
Nord laid on the mat and howled as Jesse was on the floor. Nord brought Jesse in for a back suplex, then planted a flying middle rope elbow drop, before ending the match with an off ropes leg drop. Referee Larry Losawski counted the 3, in this three minute match. Blears said that commentators would be out of job if their were more men like Nord making short matches. Nord stomped on Jesse before throwing him from the ring.
Back at AWA studio, Larry Nelson talked about Curt Hennig becoming more aggressive and vicious in the ring. Nelson wanted the audience to see if they "would notice a change in the great Curt Hennig" This due to having put up with the underhanded tactics of Colonel DeBeers, who was repsonsible for injuring Scott Hall and costing them the tag titles to Rose and Somers. The venue for this Hennig match was not explained.
Ken Glover versus Curt Hennig
Hennig took Glover down with an arm bar while pulling the face. Hennig would escape Glover’s waist lock, to charge down Glover, then deliver a hard and swift high dropkick to Glover. Hennig flipped over Glover from an arm drag and lock combination. Glover was in the ropes to break the hold, and brawled Hennig into the corner, body slammed him but Hennig forward mule kicked Glover to the mat.Hennig chopped Glover in the corner, whipped him to the opposite corner, and knocked Glover to the mat with a charging Ax clothesline.
Nelson thought Hennig was going for another Ax, but it turned out to be a back body drop as Glover repelled off the ropes. Hennig landed a vicious dropkick that forced Glover quickly to the mat. A commentating Greg Gagne flet that second dropkick did in Glover. Hennig body slammed Glover, stomped him, then mounted the middle rope in the corner. Hennig then drilled Glover to the canvas with a mid ropes missile dropkick, followed by referee Scott LeDoux’s 3 count in this three minute match.
Nelson didn’t know what to say to Hennig about losing the tag titles with Scott Hall. Hennig was a still a little stunned too, and told new champs Rose and Somers that they are long way from being done with Hennig and Hall. Hennig said that Hall took stitches in his back, and was out of action for two week from DeBeer’s attack on the floor. "Hall is back and after you. I would not like to be in your shoes, Col. DeBeers!" Hennig followed his father Larry "The Ax"’s motto, in taking the loss as another step up the ladder in experience. Hennig said "I will be back!"
Scott LeDoux versus Larry Zbyszko in a tape fist match main event
Back at the showboat, their was some confusion on the match stipulations, and Nelson cleared this up by saying it would not contested under European rules. Zbyszko got on the mic and said that there would be "no being saved by the bell, LeDoux!" After much stalling in and from the ring, Zbyszko would lull LeDoux with a spinning heel kick. While LeDoux was on the mat Zbyszko applied a three quarter nelson before LeDoux escaped on the ropes. LeDoux would surprise Zbyszko with wrestling ability and caught him with a high hip toss. LeDoux would stagged Zbyszko to the corner with his boxing technique, but Zbyszko would also stun LeDoux in the corner with jabs.
Zbyszko was frustrated with LeDoux reverting back to boxing, and after some stalling pushed referee Gary DeRousha into LeDoux’s right cross. LeDoux tried to revive DeRousha, and pleaded his apology. When the ref regained consciousness, he signaled for the bell, but disqualified Zbyszko.
Blears and Trongard didn’t understand the result until the slow motion replay showed Zbyszko pull DeRousha into the punch. Nelson interviewed an angry Zbyszko, who said he would not accept this. He asked Nelson who won the match, and when Nelson said LeDoux, Zbyszko shouted at him "Bullshit!", and the audio was dumped out for that. Zbyszko said that he was tired of AWA’s biased officiating, and challenged LeDoux to a match where there is no referee.
Catch the legends of AWA Monday to Friday at 1am est on ESPN Classic.
David
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