CLASSIC AWA 4/3 TV REPORT
- 04/03/2008 (7:37:04 pm)
- Georgiann Makropoulos
…..
April 3rd airing of Verne Gagne’s AWA. This episode only mentioned the date from 1986, with all but one of the matches taking place at the Showboat Sports Pavilion in Las Vegas Nevada.
Reverend Willie Pappas versus Colonel DeBeers
Larry Nelson told Greg Gagne that he didn’t like DeBeers’ style, that it reminded him of wrestling legend Hans Schmidt. From a collar and elbow tie up, DeBeers performed a hiplock take over on Pappas. DeBeers would turn a top wristlock into an arm drag from a knuckle lock. DeBeers would punish Pappas with elbows, knees, a body slam, rope propelled kicks and stomps. DeBeers would then use Pappas head as battering ram into the turnbuckle.
DeBeers would contain Pappas with the front face lock, then go on to turn a vertical suplex into a one armed body slam. DeBeers continued toying with Pappas by pinning him, but raising him up before the three. This was first done after a butterfly suplex, then after an elbow drop. More punishment, as an elbow in the corner would be followed by a piledriver. DeBeers covered but lifted Pappas up at 2. Gagne was disgusted, as was Nelson who yelled "Enough Already!".
DeBeers would repeat the false pin covers after a fist drop, then after two of his front face piledriver finisher. DeBeers pulled this one more time with the knee drop, but then finally closed this match in under seven minutes with one more front face pile driver. DeBeers then stepped on Pappas head as referee Scott Ledux was tending to him.
"Baby Bull" Leon White & Jesse Hernandez versus "Playboy" Buddy Rose & "Pretty Boy" Doug Somers
Though Rose and Somers’ manager Sherri Martel was not presented, they didn’t forget their theme song Dress Me Up by Madonna. Rose did his usual bit of disputing Nelson’s announcement of Rose at 271 lbs, by stating he was 217lbs. Rose avoided White on the ring apron. Referee Robert Warren has White back off. White tags in Hernandez to hurry Rose back in the ring to start the match.
Rose taunts White, then headlocks Hernandez into a hammerlock. Hernandez arm dragged Rose to the mat. Rose applied an arm twist and judo chopped Hernandez down. White stomps the apron and gets the crowd to rally for his partner. Hernandez yanked Rose’s arm over his shoulder, tagged in White who makes Rose and Somers flee quickly from the ring. Rose charges off the ropes and gets knocked down as he collides with White. Somers then bounces off the ropes with the same results when he runs into White. Rose and Somers then goes to double charge White, but find it to also be unsuccessful, as they now have to pick themselves off the mat.
Rose applies a top wristlock on White, and White easily powers Rose to the mat. Somers and Rose double team on White, go for double top wristlocks, and White easily powers both men to the mat. White whips Rose to the corner, with a quick follow up corner splash. A jumping White headbutt would find Rose tied up in the ropes. One mighty forearm by White ails Rose but remedies him free and to the floor.
White is lulled into the corner, where Rose chokes as Somers kicks away. Ref Warren doesn’t see thos as he tries to get Hernandez back to his corner. White hammers Rose down. Rose unsuccessfully tries to slam White, and gets pressed up and power slammed by White.
Somers boots White off the pin cover. A tagged Hernandez comes in to headlock Somers, and gets backed to the ropes for shoulder jams to the stomach. A combination short chop of Somers and knee of Rose would meet Hernandez. Rose would choke Hernandez, as Somers strikes away at him. As the ref tries to get White back to his corner, Rose throws a mocking ounch over Warren’s shoulder near White. Rose then runs from the ring when White chases him. Meanwhile in the ring, Hernandez is caught and brought down by Somers’ vertical suplex and pin in just under eight minutes of action.
Somers stomps and elbows Hernandez. White returns to the ring to club Somers in the corner. Rose grabs White from behind for Somers to attack. Somers comes off the ropes, White breaks from Rose and Somers strikes Rose. White then grabs Somers and Irish whips him into Rose. Somers and Rose keep pleading while walking backwards away from an approaching White.
Rose told Nelson in the post match interview, that he didn’t come here to play football and White should go back with the LA Rams. Rose said he felt like that quarterback who had his leg broken, Joe Theisman. Rose asked "where are Mike Rotundo and Barry Windham, where are The Midnight Rockers?" Somers chimed in with a sickly rough voice. It was barely understandable, but he mentioned that he messed up Rotundo’s face in their recent match and that he and Rose are the uncrowned champions.
When asked about the whereabouts of Sherri, Rose said that she was making arrangements for Rose and Somers to have front row seats at any show at Caesars Palace. Rose and Somers where crowing about challengers, Nelson tried to wrap up the interview and had Rose’s hand put over his mouth.
After the commerical, Larry Nelson was at AWA studio, introducing a new segment called the Feature Match. The bout was Shawn Michaels versus "Pretty Boy" Doug Sommers from St. Cloud Minnesota.
Shawn’s Midnight Rocker tag partner Marty Jannetty was at ringside. Somers had
"Playboy" Buddy Rose and Sherri Martel in his corner. Michaels clamps on a side headlock. Somers pushes Shawn into the ropes, and they engage in a criss crossing of the ropes. This came to an end when Shawn caught Somers off the ropes with a body slam. While Somers was held up, Shawn signalled to the crowd. After kicking out of a pin, Somers gets brought down with an arm drag.
Somers escapes an arm bar to unleash knife edge chops on Michaels in the corner. Somers’ Irish whip was reversed, and the force of Michaels’ whip causes Somers to sail over the top ropes. When Somers made it back to the ring apron, Michaels yanked the ropes to flip Somers into the ring. Michaels cranked an arm wringer on Somers, and inflicted European uppercut shots as further arm work.
Michaels would leap frog over Somers after being Irish whipped. Somers would catch Michaels with an elbow pop to the mid section. Somers would ram Michaels into the turnbuckles with judo chops, but Michaels fired back with forearms. Somers then got launced with a back body drop, and flipped again by Michaels’ flying head scissors.
Somers struck back with an inverted atomic drop, then a short punch while having Shawn in a headlock. Michaels would kick out of the pin attempt, after being back suplexed. Somers would administer a rear chinlock, then Sherri distracts referee Robert Warren away as Somers strangles Michaels. Somers body slams, knee drops, and gets a two count.
Shawn would take a forearm shot and fire back with a furious right and left fists. Somers would get rocked down by a Michaels’ dropkick. Then after a gut punch and back body drop, Shawn sprung from the corner with a fist drop. After kicking out at two, Somers left the ring to huddle with Rose and Martel. Jannetty converses with Michaels, as Somers returns and calls for a time out just as Shawn approaches.
Somers would lull Michaels in with a kick, followed by elbows. Shawn would reverse a corner whip by Somers, leap to the middle ropes in the corner, and hammers away at Somers. Shawn would climb to the top, execute a back flip, then catch Somers coming out with a back body drop. Shawn would drop Somers with a super kick, then spring off the ropes for a cross body press.
Rose entered the ring and pulled Shawn off the pin cover. The referee signalled for the bell, after seven minutes, ruling a disqualification on Somers for Roses’ interference. Marty ran and fought Rose in the corner, as Somers and Michaels went at it. Rose and Somers tried to whip the Rockers into each other, but the Rockers spun each other around and dropkicked Rose and Somers to the mat. The Rockers would both Irish whip their foes to the ropes, back body dropping Rose and Somers down at the same time.
Michaels thanked interview Ken Resnick for complimenting the Rockers’ ability, referring to it as an "aerial circus". Michaels talked of Rose and Somers constantly sticking their nose in their business with their "hussy" manager. Shawn dared Rose and Somers to sign for a match. Shawn said that Rose and Somers would make history at WrestleRock for being pinned the quickest.
Jannetty mentioned that everytime things got hot in the ring, Rose and Somers would take off. He added that he would never hit a woman, but questioned Sherri being a woman. When Resnick brought up Rose’ weight, Jannetty felt that the 217 was more like kilos than pounds, and Rose should go on an herbal or grapefruit diet. The crowd laughs as Shawn mimicks Rose. Shawn puff out his cheeks and arches back as if he had a big belly. Resnick laughs and shakes hands with The Rockers.
Nord The Barbarian versus America’s Champion Sgt. Slaughter in the main event.
Before the match, Nelson interviewed Sheik Adnan El Kassey with Nord the Barbarian. Sheik Adnan said that he and his army are going to teach Slaughter a lesson. Nord throws his body to the mat backwards, then gets back up. Adnan said that he has the money and will have his men attack on his command. Nord said that Adnan has instructed him to beat up Slaughter. Right then, Sarge’s G.I. Joe theme songs plays. Sarge walks around ringside, handing out mini American flags to the fans.
Adnan restrains Nord in the corner. Sarge opens his camouflage jacket to show Adnan the USA on his singlet top. The audience then chants "USA". Nord looks to tie up with Sarge, but lulls Sarge in with boots and clubbing forearms into the corner. Exchanging strikes, Sarge hammers his way out of the corner, and taking Nord down. The crowd chants "USA", as Nord is on the floor being instructed by Adnan. Nord lulls in Sarge again with kicks, and the two exchnage punches until Sarge takes down Nord with a dropkick.
After tying up, receiving an eye gouge, gut punch and forearm shot to the back, Sarge attempts to Irish whip Nord to the corner. Nord reverses it with much power, as Sarge bounces off the turnbuckles to his stomach. Nord stomps on Sarge’s hand, then lands forearms on a downed Sarge and head stomps. Nord would pick up Sarge, dropping him on his knee with a back breaker. Sarge got whipped into the ropes and dropped a big Nord boot. Nord gains a near fall, then serves more punishment with stomps, clubs and punches.
A diving power slam would earn an even closer three count in the near fall, as Sarge barely gets his left shoulder off the canvas. A back body dropped gains two count for Nord, followed by more stomps and clubs to Sarge. Nord goes to whip Sarge into the ropes, Sarge reverses and catches Nord with a forearm smash. Sarge then continues to hammer away as Nord is on the ropes. Sarge jolts Nord over the top ropes with a clothesline. AWA rules states that intentionally taking your opponent over the top rope is a disqualification.
Referee Robert Warren didn’t feel Sarge intended for Nord to go over the ropes, so the match continued. As Nord gets on the ring apron, Sarge applied the Cobra Clutch on him. King Kong Brody storms the ring and gives a double ax handle to Sarge’s back. The ref signals for the match to stop, after eight minutes, disqualifying Nord for Brody’s interference.
Brody and Sarge trade punches. Sarge clotheslines Brody, then wraps him up with a Cobra Clutch. Nord grabs Brody’s right leg and him out of the hold and from the ring.
Nelson said that was the first time he had seen anyone go power on power with Nord. Sarge said that he declares war on Sheik Adnan and his army. Sarge felt that he had Nord beat, and claimed that no one has escaped his Cobra Clutch before. Sarge said that he left Nord and Bordy lying on the mat, embarrassed, with Sheik Adnan running away. Sarge requested a re-match with Nord and a match with Brody, not caring if it was a singles or tag match. Sarge said "I’m here to stay, the U.S. is number 1..Yo Joe!"
Catch the legends of AWA Monday through Friday at 1am est on ESPN Classic
David
Tags:
