CLASSIC AWA 4/4 TV REPORT
- 04/07/2008 (7:25:53 pm)
- Georgiann Makropoulos
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April 4th aired a 1986 episode of Verne Gagne’s AWA from The Showboat Sports Pavilion in Las Vegas Nevada.
Earthquake Ferris vs "Baby Bull" Leon White (Vader)
This may have been the first match White had against someone of similar height and weight, both men around 6'5 and over 350lbs. White backed Ferris into the corner, chopped away with no effect. Both men charged into each other off the ropes, with neither man budging. If this was a game of rock, paper, scissors then both men would have flashed the scissors sign, as White and Ferris chose the clothesline. The result was more than mere budging, but now both men were on the mat. Ferris would push off a headlock, and when Ferris dropped down, White performed a cartwheel.
White then drilled Ferris is the lower torso with a dropkick. Ferris would exit the ring, then return to eye rake and place mid section knees on a ropes bound White. Ferris Irish whipped White into the ropes, ducked down and got caught in a sunset flip. Ferris couldn’t get his left shoulder blade off the mat before referee Robert Warren’s three count. This match was over three minutes.
Buddha Khan versus Sgt. Slaughter
At first, Buddha was wrestling a clean match with the Sarge. Buddha went from a waist lock to wrist lock. Once Sarge arm dragged out, Buddha changed his strategy, as he backed Sarge to the ropes and laid on a heavy forearm. Buddha was then backed in the ropes and met a big forearm by the Sarge. When Buddha had Slaughter on the ropes again, he hit a forearm to the back, and Sarge would respond with a forearm to Buddha on the ropes. Sarge would then take over by whipping Buddha to the ropes, and dropping him with a back elbow.
Sarge would club Buddha from one corner to the next, then added some rope burn to Buddha’s head. Buddha tried to wave down the crowds’ chants of "USA".
Slaughter whipped Buddha into the corner, and planted a left knee to the stomach. A commentating Greg Gagne mentioned Buddha being out of shape, due to Buddha being winded so easily during the course of the match. Buddha was whipped into the ropes and dropped with a Slaughter Cannon (clothesline). Sarge raised his arms as he approached a rising Buddha. The Cobra Clutch was the synch in, bringing Buddha back down to the mat. Referee Scott LeDux checked Buddha, then signalled for the bell, closing the match after four minutes.
Larry Nelson congratulated Sarge on a good tough match. Sarge said that he had his sights set on either Nord the Barbarian or Bruiser Brody. Sarge had fought off both men the week before. Nelson brought up Sarge’s work with G.I. Joe and Sarge said that when he gets in the ring that it’s not about cartoons or action figures, it’s about wrestling. Sarge was also looking for a match with AWA champion Stan Hansen, who Sarge claimed to have beaten on two occasions. Sarge said he would meet him anywhere, and would love it be in the Showboat with a "Yo Joe".
Next up was a segment of Larry Zbyszko’s In This Corner from AWA studio. Zbyszko and Nelson were joined by that week’s guest ½ AWA tag champion Curt Henning. Hennig was featured in a magazine about duck hunting called Ducks Unlimited. Zbyszko felt it was amusing that these big tough men spend thousands of dollars to outsmart a duck. There was special a music video montage of AWA tag champs Scott Hall and Curt Hennig. It showed matches where they were getting the best of the Long Riders (Scott & Bill Irwin), the Alaskian, a guy who looked like The Ultimate Warrior (pre war paint) and a guy who looked like a homeless punk rocker (which may be redundant).
After the video, Hennig joined Zbyszko and Nelson. Hennig said that hunting and fishing is something that has been in his family. Zbyszko said he wasn’t impressed with outsmarting ducks, the training dogs and Hennig said that Zbyszko wasn’t going to outsmart him. Zbyszko asked Hennig to enlighten the tv audience to why he has to have someone with him to succeed, Hennig didn’t understand, and said that the magazine came to him.
Zbyszko threw away the magazine away and said he was talking about wrestling, and why he hasn’t accomplished anything without his father and Hall. What Zbyszko called fact, Hennig called an opinion, by stating that he has proven himself for many years in the states and overseas.
Zbyszko then threw Hennig a baseball cap, saying that he knows spud heads like them. Hennig put it on, smiled and said he appreciated that. Zbyszko asked Hennig what is going to do in the ring against him, and against AWA champ Stan Hansen. Zbyszko said Hennig, Hall and Nick Bockwinkel has shots against Hansen but Zbyszko doesn’t.
Zbyszko said that the magazine showed Verne Gagne and Larry Hennig together on a hunting trip, and that these men, along with Nick Bockwinkel have also conspired to keep Zbyszko from getting a title shot. When Zbyszko started yelling about Curt needing his daddy to succeed, Hennig got up, threw the hat at Zbyszko and left. Zbyszko threw it back and kept on his tirade.
Colonel DeBeers versus Wahoo McDaniel from Wrestle Rock 86 on April 20th 1986 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis Minnesota. This match was introduced by Larry Nelson at AWA studio.
DeBeers backs Wahoo to the corner, does an about face and twirls his handlebar mustache as he walks away. DeBeers then twists Wahoo’s arm, and wrenched it with a sinister smile. Wahoo breaks the hold with a tomahawk chop to DeBeers’ chest. DeBeers then lands a knee on Wahoo in the corner, but when DeBeers resorts to fist in the corner, Wahoo punches his way out. Wahoo finesses DeBeers to the mat from a Greco Roman knuckle lock to a wrist twist. DeBeers gets Wahoo down with a drop toe hold, but then loses him when he shoots for a headlock. Wahoo synches in the hammer lock, and when both men get to their feet, DeBeers synches back and turns it into a arm hold on Wahoo.
Col. DeBeers moves wrestler turned referee Steve Osinowsk aside to wail away at Wahoo in the corner. Wahoo fires back, ultimately back DeBeers off with a big over head chop. DeBeers then grabs the ropes as he is tosses by Wahoo, and lands on the ring apron. Wahoo would stomp DeBeers to the floor, bring him back in with a body slam and elbow drop. DeBeers escaped the pin, brings Wahoo’s head down to give him a leg scissors strike. After a stomp and double foot face rake, DeBeers throws Wahoo to the floor.
DeBeers attacked Wahoo on the apron, Wahoo puts his foot on the steel post to block the turnbuckle smash, and chops fist throwing DeBeers back. Wahoo then does a sneak headlock with knee kick and knife edge chops DeBeers down. Wahoo then does a war dance with a handfull of DeBeer’s hair and knocks the Colonel down with a big right fist. Wahoo then throws DeBeers through the ropes to the floor, when DeBeers returns to the ring, Wahoo throws DeBeers over the top rope.
The referee signals for the bell, because AWA has an over the top rope disqualification rule, this brought the match to in end past the five minute mark. Wahoo goes to th floor, DeBeers tries to cooly walk away twirling his mustache, but gets spun around and chopped. DeBeers returns with forearms. Both men exchange until DeBeers is finally brought down with a mighty chop. Wahoo then runs DeBeers’s shoulder inthe post, and gives a little kick to the ribs. Both men would trade shots again, until Wahoo ended it with another big tomahawk.
DeBeers decorated in military jacket and beret with South African flag on it, joined Nelson back at AWA studio. DeBeers referred to Wahoo as a "plains savage" who disobeys the rules in wrestling and society. DeBeers said that he would do what the cowboys, cavalry and the erst world could not do, by taming the plains savage and teach him the proper ways of an educated society. Nelson quoted Wahoo by saying he would meet DeBeers "anywhere, anytime". DeBeers says that all Wahoo has to do is show up, and Debeers said he doubted that Wahoo knows what a chronometer is.
Boris Zhukov versus Brad Rheingans in the main event
Rheingans brings the fight right away, by jamming his left shoulder into a corner bound Zhukov. Zhukov would get whipped to the opposite corner, gets a gut punched, then more shoulder jams to his mid section in the corner. Zhukov would get hip tossed from the corner, then taken down again with a dropkick. Zhukov would twist Rheingans’ left arm, come down with an elbow, then lands kicks as Rheingans arm was draped over the middle rope. Zhukov would pull Rheingans’ arm against the rope, and go back to kicking at the left shoulder. Zhukov arm twisted Rheingans and delivered two size 10 ½ headbutt onto Rheingan’s left ribs, before shoving him out of the ring.
Zhukov would follow him out and body slam Rheingans on the concret floor. Back in the ring, Zhukov would turn buckle smash Rheingans in one corner, whip him into the other corner, where Rheingans would get hammered on the chest with forearms. When Zhukov whipped Rheingans back to the original corner, Rheingans side stepped and a charging Zhukov hit his left shoulder into the post. Zhukov would fall to the floor, his manager Sheik Adnan El Kassey assisted Zhukov back to the ring as the crowd chanted "Sheik’s a freak!".
Rheingans greeted Zhukov by punching him to the mat. Zhukov would kick out of the pin, get whipped to the ropes, and hold on so that Rheingans would hit mat from a missed dropkick. Rheingans was recovering from an injury to his left knee, Zhukov knew this and slammed Rheingans’ left left against the ring apron. Zhukov would hammer away at the left, then re-enter the ring to apply a step over toe hold, and even resorted to biting the leg.
Zhukov then stepped on Rheingans’ ankle as he kicked away at the leg. Zhukov then tries to apply a figure four leg lock, but Rheingans prevents Boris from completing the hold. Zhukov would stomp at the leg again, Rheingans got up and walked as Boris kicked at his leg. Brad repelled off the ropes to land a forearm to Zhukov’s chest. Rheingans would get body slammed, take more leg stomps and be positioned by Boris who climbed to the top ropes. Zhukov leaped with a knee drop, but Rheingans moved, causing Zhukov to crash his knees into the canvas. Rheingans would punch Zhukov down, then deliver right and left to Zhukov in the corner.
An Irish whip to the opposite corner would have Zhukov flipped by a Rheingans’ back body drop. Zhukov then had his left leg worked over by a forward roll hamstring pull, elbow drop, a seated drop on Zhukov’s thigh. Rheingans then scooped up Zhukov and placed him upside in the corner, with his legs ties up on the top turnbuckle connector. Rheingans then delivered knees to the sternum and head butts to Zhukov’s left knee pad. Referee Scott LeDux signaled for the bell for a time limit draw.
Commentators Nelson and Gagne thought it was a disqualification because Rheingans ignored the referee’s count. Rheingans pulled down the knee pad and bite at Zhukov’s knee. LeDux backed off Rheingans, and Zhukov got him out of the corner and to the floor. Rheingans walked towards Sheik Adnan and Zhukov who grabbed a chair, and they walked backwards away.
Nelson interviews Rheingans at ringside, and Rheingans said that every time faces someone in Sheik Adnan’s Army, it’s at least a two on one situation. Rheingans wanted a sanctioned match where Sheik Adnan was barred from the ring. Rheingans said that he would send Zhukov back to Russia, and he knows where to stick that flag.
The match was under 10 minutes, as it was for remaining tv, but there was time for Larry Nelson and Greg Gagne talking about up coming shows at ringside. Gagne said that next week’s featured match would be Japan’s 7' 4 Giant Baba against Bulldog Brown from Wrestle Rock 86. Greg felt that Rheingans’ request would be honored, and talked about Sheik’s Army gunning for AWA Tag Champs Hall & Hennig, and everyone wanting a shot at Hansen’s world title. Nelson said that Greg formed a tremendous team with Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka and Greg hoped they would be teaming again.
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David
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