CLASSIC AWA 4/4/08 TV REPORT
- 04/04/2008 (6:15:20 pm)
- Georgiann Makropoulos
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April 4th airs a July 22nd 1986 episode of Vernen Gagne’s AWA from the Showboat Sports Pavilion in Las Vegas
Curt Hennig versus Don Fargo
Fargo threatens with his fists and stops when Hennig threatens back with his fists. Fargo backs off, yells at the crowd, then hair pull from a top wristlock to a headlock take over. Curt’s father Larry "The Ax" Hennig, a special commentator this evening, said that his experience of Fargo, was that of tough man. A turnbuckle smash in one corner, forearm smash in another, back elbow, chest slaps in corner and a choke by Fargo. Fargo elbows after a front face lock, knee lifts and chest slaps. Hennig fires back with a chest slap, then grabs Fargo’s beard and knocks Fargo down with a punch.
Fargo flees the ring, yells at the crowd, returns to tie up with Hennig in the corner. Fargo misses with a fist and gets haymaker right fist from Hennig, that makes Fargo reel on the ropes to the mat. Hennig would then take Fargo’s left leg and rolls foward while maintaining the hold, to hyper extend Fargo’s hamstring. Hennig then holds Fargo’s leg and plants a leg drop between Fargo’s legs. Fargo rolls out of ring, returns to tie up with Hennig. A hair pull would help Fargo apply the sleeper hold.
After a few minutes, Hennig raises, and is ropes whipped into a back elbow. Fargo would whips Hennig to the ropes, again but this time missed with a double fisted sledge hammer. Hennig sprung off the ropes and dropped Fargo with The Ax (running forearm finisher his dad used as a finisher). Hennig instantly gets to the middle ropes in the corner, and plants Fargo into the mat with a missile dropkick. Hennig drops an elbow then covers Fargo for Earthquake Ferris’ 3 count.
On the slow motion replay of the finisher, Lord James Blears asked Larry if he ever used a dropkick off the ropes, and Larry said that he hard enough time doing them on a regular surface. When Larry wrestled, he was around a solid and fit 350lbs. Larry said that he felt
his son used The Ax move specially for him being there.
In a post match in ring interview, Larry Nelson congratulated Curt on a tremdous victory . Hennig thanked Nelson and the people for their support. Curt went on to say it was a big day also because his little sister got married, and his father was in town. Curt’s father Larry, entered the ring and said he was proud of his son. Larry The Ax told Curt that he is getting closer to greatness, and his family was behind him. They shook hands before Curt’s dad exited.
Curt said that like the Olympic decathlon winner, like the all around cowboy of the rodeo, he possessed strength, speed, intelligence and intestinal fortitude needed to be pro wrestling’s equivalent. He added that there was more, as he was about to come out of his shell and let loose in the AWA.
Tim Patterson versus Boris Zhukov
Zhukov charges Patterson into the corner with stomps, then throw the ropes to the floor. Zhukov goes to the floor, slamming Patterson’s head on the ring steps. Patterson tries to return to the ring, but only gets to the ring apron, where Zhukov clubs him over the top rope. Patterson tries to recover outside. He walks around, but gets hammered again on the ropes, this time on the chest. with a Zhukov forearm. Zhukov then reaches over the ropes to slam Patterson fromthe apron to the ring. Zhukov hammerlocked Patterson’s left arm, held the move while picking him up for a slam, then deposits Patterson to the mat. Zhukov would continue to work over Patterson’s left arm, shoulder and ribs with headbutts, stomps and more hammerlock slams.
While in an armbar, chin grip, Patterson struck at Zhukov’s mid section, then twisted Zhukov arm to a corner whip. Zhukov stopped Patterson’s charge by bringing a boot up. Zhukov then went on to punish Patterson with a headbutt to the shoulder, jerking arm bar, then a forearm from an armbar, chin lock combination. Zhukov hammer locked Patterson, then jammed Patterson’s shoulder into the turnbuckle. Patterson then had a Boris boots pressing his throat into the mat near the corner. Zhukov hammerlock body slammed Patterson.
After working on the left arm some more, Patterson was caught with a clothesline, then planted with a body slam. Zhukov then leaped from corner with flying forearms off the middle rope, and a pin after the five minute point. This move looked to be a diving knee drop, but Patterson was too far away. Lord Blears commented on Earthquake Ferris’ fast count, as being a way to show mercy in ending the match quickly for Patterson.
Back at AWA studio, Larry Nelson interviewed Sheik Adnan El Kassey, Boris Zhukov, Nord the Barbarian and his newest member, the Afghani Ali Khan. Nord says "We’re the guys that lay awake at night thinking of ways to mess people up. Everybody knows we’re the guys that make trains take dirt roads and "Everybody knows they will take a ride on the stretcher when they get in the ring with the Sheik’s Army." Nord said that "no one lays a hand, not one finger on our manager!" Zhukov said he "had Nick Bockwinkel defeated, and that " Bockwinkel had to attack from behind in order to win." Zhukov added "maybe I’ll put you Nick Bockwinkel on this stretcher and you’ll never wrestle again!" Nord folded up the stretcher and lanced it towards Nelson, making him yell as he fled away
Jerry "Crusher" Blackwell versus AWA champion Stan "The Lariat" Hansen in a championship match.
Oddly enough this next match wasn’t called the main event. Introduced by Larry Nelson, this was a historic AWA championship bout, it took place about a month before, and was the last AWA title defense of Stan "The Lariat" Hansen. The setting was Oakland California on June 28th 1986 and the opponent was the nearly 500 lb mountain from Stone Mountain, Georgia, Jerry "Crusher" Blackwell. The challenger is coming into this match with an injured ankle, a result of a recent automobile accident. After the announcements, Hansen scares Nelson out of the ring, then goes right after Blackwell with heavy blows.
Blackwell showed that he is certainly on the same page, as he returned with heavy shots of his own. So heavy that Hansen was knocked out of the ring, and when he returned his head was busted open (looking to be the results of blading). Hansen was unrelenting, as was Crusher Blackwell, who again knocked Hansen out of the ring. Still, this did not slow down Hansen’s offense much, until Blackwell applied the bear hug. This was the only wrestling hold the match had to offer, as this was an all out brawl.
At one point, referee Rick Fritz was too close to the action and found himself squashed in the corner. He was unable to get up and count the pin attempt by Blackwell who had just nailed Hansen with the big slash. As Crusher Blackwell’s attention was diverted, Hansen took that opportunity to remove his boot and used it to beat Blackwell over the head with, which opened up Blackwell. Now with both men gushing, Hansen continues to use the boot
on Blackwell.
Another referee Gary DeRousha courageously rushed in and tackled Hansen. This was also incredibly stupid, as Hansen flings DeRousha across the ring, and floors him with a punch for his troubles. Blackwell recovers the boot, and uses it to knock Hansen out of the ring. As he is restrained momentarily by an ailing DeRousha, officiating referee Fritz gets to his feet and signals for the bell, ending the match with a disqualification loss to Hansen at the nine minute mark.
After the commercial, a bloodied Hansen was interviewed by Larry Nelson in the ring. Hansen called out Nick Bockwinkel. He also called out Blackwell, mocking his injury and complaining that his opponent used the boot on him and wasn’t disqualified for it. Hansen was still looking hungry for a fight and said that he looked forward to kicking more ass across the country. Hansen would soon forfeit the AWA title, due to switching his commitments to All Japan Pro Wrestling.
Ali Khan versus Brad Rheingans
From a lock up, Rheingans side steps, making Ali falls on his chest. Ali leaves the ring, returns to back Rheingans into the ropes. Ali takes a swing, misses and then gets caught with Rheingans’ right fist. After exiting again, Ali reverts back to wrestling Rheingans. Brad maneuvers behind Ali in a waist lock, then quickly shoots for the legs, taking Ali down again on his front. Another escape from the ring by Ali, as he goes for instructions with Sheik Adnan, who adjusts his Keffiyeh (Arabian head dress) so that the camera can’t see their mouths move.
Ali returns to collar and elbow lock up, to a headlock, but is pushed off into the ropes. Ali knocks Rheingans down on two charges off the ropes, then takes Rheingans over with a headlock on the mat. Rheingans escapes and traps Ali in a head scissors. Ali reaches and grabs the bottom ropes for the hold break. Rheingans would crank the hammer lock and maintain it for a minute. Ali elbows to head for the release. Rheingans is kicked, caught in a headlock punch, clubbed in the back and brought back down with the headlock take over. Rheingans escapes when he raises to his feet and peppers Ali with forarms to the ribs.
Ali comes off the ropes and knocks down Rheingans. On his second charge, Rheingans would take Ali down with a drop toe hold. Rheingans forces Ali to the mat with a hammerlock, followed by knees drops to the captured left arm.
The audio is messed up, and commentator Rod Trongard sounds like he giving the play by play underwater. On to the ring apron, Rheingans works on the arm by yanking it over the top rope, as he drops to the floor. Ali tries to shake off the burn and does a dance of pain around the ring. Rheingans would flip Ali with an arm twist, then hold the arm for a leg drop on Ali’s leg shoulder. While arm barred, Ali backs Rheingans to the ropes, then unleashes an eye rake, face bite then a knee to the gut. A forearm smash would knock Rheingans into a rope tie up.
An onslaught of Ali’s knees, kicks and punches would Rheingans receive. A choke on the bottom rope occurred before Rheingans fell of the ring. Sheik Adnan was very close in proximity, and Rheingans took a wild swing that would scare off Sheik Adnan. Rheingans walks around the ring to recuperate, but gets kicked in the head by Ali who is on the apron. Ali then launches on Brad with fists on the floor.
Rheingans psyches him up, and re-enters on fire. Ali approaches Rheingans, who has made it to the ring apron. Rheingans grabs the middle rope, ducks down and ropes propels a shoulder jams Ali in the mid-section. Ali receives fits a chop and then a back body drop. Rehingans tries to whip Ali out of the corner, but Ali reverses Rheingans back to their original corner, causing Rheingans to accidently corner charge referee Gary DeRousha. Rheingans goes to tend to the fallen ref, and pretends to not notice Ali sneaking up on him. Ali misses with a right fist, and gets spun around into an atomic drop.
Rheingans mounts the middles ropes in the corner, and blasts Ali down with The Bullet (Rheingans’ flying shoulder tackle finisher). Referee DeRousha is still down and unable to count the pin. Both wrestlers too there, as Rheingans forearm clubs Ali against the ropes. DeRousha is starting to get to his feet, as Ali is Irish whipped to the ropes. Rehingans ducks his head down too soon for the back body drop, and gets the boom lowered on him with a fistful of foreigh object. DeRosuha sees this and quickly signals the bell to disqualify Ali.
Rheingans is covered for the pin, as Ali didn’t realize the match already ended. Ali got up, Adnan entered the ring, and both men proceeded to stomp and punch Rheingans in the corner. DeRousha tries to stop the fighting and gets shoved down by Adnan. Ali and Adnan double Irosh whip Rheingans so hard into the corner, that Rheingans flips upside down and sails over the top rope to the floor. Ali goes to ram Rheingans into the ring post outside the ring, as enforcer refereee Earthquake Ferris manhandles Sheik Adnan back in the corner.
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David
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