CLASSIC AWA 4/9/08 TV REPORT
- 04/09/2008 (5:58:59 pm)
- Georgiann Makropoulos
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April 9th airs a 1986 episode of Verne Gagne’s AWA from Showboat Sports Pavilion in Las Vegas Nevada. Unlike most episodes, this one only specified the year.
Jesse Hernandez versus Larry Zbyszko
Some fan yells out "check his green card", as sometimes wrestler sometimes referee Hernandez was in the ring awaiting his opponent’s entrance. Commentator Rod Trongard mentioned his colleague Lord James Blears accomplisments as being a former World champion and British Empire wrestling champion. Zbyszko walked to the ring followed by his ninja Mr. Go, and I assume this was Go’s 1st ring appearance since debuting on Zbyszko’s In This Corner on ESPN Classic the night before.
Zbyszko tries to shake up Hernandez by looking to go for a leg shoot. The fan chant "Larry Sucks!", an irritated Zbyszko yells at the audience but doesn’t stall much as he lulls Hernandez from a knuckle lock to a fireman’s carry take over. Hernandez is then taken back down with a leg sweep, as Trongard states he will refer to Go’s weapon as a bamboo spear until informed otherwise. The camera shows on trouble shooting referee Scott LeDux sitting at ringside.
Zbyszko backs Hernandez to the ropes with a collar and elbow tie, releases to deliver a spin heel kicks Hernandez. Off the ropes for extra momentum, Zbyszko lands a knee. Zbyszko then hammers a forearm smash down, suplexes Hernandez and covers for the pin. Zbyszko then pulls up Hernandez before referee Gary DeRousha’s three. Zbyszko raises to rake Hernandez’ face with a boot, then a stomp. Zbyszko sits on the middle rope and raises the top rope, inviting to LeDux to enter. Zbyszko takes down Hernandez with a swinging neckbreaker, goes for the pin but again pulls up Hernandez for the count of three.
Zbyszko clamps a chin lock on. Fans chant "Go, Scott, Go!" Hernandez punches to the gut, releasing the hold, but is taken down by a Zbyszko punch. A top turnbuckle smash, and Zbyszko calls out to LeDux "Come on Superman!". Zbyszko performs his finisher, a piledriver on Hernandez but does not cover him for the pin. Instead Zbsyzko sits on the middle ropes pulling up the top rope to invite LeDux into the ring again. This time Ledux stands and approaches a little forward.
Hernandez then recovers, strikes on Zbyszko, then delivers punches while having Zbyszko in the headlock. The corwd cheers as does Ledux, who smiles and claps while cheering on Hernandez. From the corner Zbyszko would boot down Hernandez, then drill him with a second piledriver, and completing his pin cover after over six minutes of match time.
Zbyszko yells out to Ledux again "Come on Tarzan!", LeDux walks up the steps to the apron to point in warning. Zbyszko goes to the apron, where a bamboo spear welding Mr. Go holds up Zbyszko’s hand in victory. On the slow motion replay of the piledriver, Blears says "don’t ever try this move if you ever want to do this to your husband, don’t do it."
AWA returned from commercial with Larry Nelson’s post match interview in the ring. Zbyszko said that he can understand the fans’ anomosity towards him since he is rich they’re poor and that unlike them, he has busted his butt to be the greatest there is. Zbyszko addressed the fans chanting LeDux, and said that they are chanting for a liar and a chicken who just sat there instead of accepting his match invite. Zbyszko said LeDux can’t go as the crowd wanted, because LeDux never really was an anything besides a bartender.
Mike Richards (Not from Seinfeld) versus AWA champion Stan "The Lariat" Hansen
This match was coming from an arena other than the Showboat, though they didn’t mention it in the match, it looked like it could have been from a St. Cloud Minnesota show. Commentating Greg gagne commented that Hansen brought a horseshoe to the ring instead of his usual cowbell and bull rope. Hansen raises the hook and horns devil sign and his boo call.
Hansen backs Richards to the ropes. Richards gains a headlock but is clubbed, snap mared over and knee dropped into a choke with the knee. A Hansen chin lock, stomp and suplex would follow as Gagne mentions Hansen’s successful title defenses in Japan against Jumbo Tsuruta and Genichiro Tenryu. Another knee choke, then Richards comes off the ropes to be back elbowed down by the champ. From a whip to the corner, Hansen charges, Richards moves away and Hansen takes himself over the top rope to the floor.
This was an unusual occurrence for a jobber to have this type of offense on a wrestler, especially the caliber of Hansen. Richards would follow up by yanking Hansen’s arm against the top rope, then kicking the rope. Richards made sure not to repeat Hansen’s charge mistake, after whipping him to the corner. After an arm bar to arm strikes, Richards would repeat yanking the arm over the top ropes. Hansen lands a knee life, lands a forearm shot to a top turnbuckle smash. When brought to another corner for another turnbuckle smash, Richards steps on the middle turnbuckle to block, punches at Hansen and goes back to the arm bar.
There is a strike exchange in the corner, which Hansen wins with a knee and a kick, then Richards is shoved from the ring. Hansen exited the ring and body slammed Richards on the concrete floor. When Richards is back in the ring, Hansen signals his Lariat clothesline finisher and knife edge chops Richards three times against the ropes. Richards is Irish whipped to the ropes, and floored to the mat with Hansen’s Lariat and pinned after five minutes of match. Hansen raises the hook and horns devil sign with the boo call.
Hansen tells Nelson in the post match interview, that people in the arena keep trying to steal his gear, just like the wrestlers in the AWA keep trying to sell his championship belt. Hansen mentions Shek Adnan El Kassey paying a lot of money for King Kong Brody. Hansen welcomes challenges from "112 pounds of Greg Gagne" and the Midnight Rockers, who he refers to as "prancing little stud, cocky young punks with pimples all over them". Hansen that he would resort to using the cowbell, horseshoe, lariat on any challenge to keep the belt.
Back at the Showboat, Scott LeDux joined Larry Nelson in the ring for an interview. LeDux said that he will maintain law and order in the AWA. Nelson brought up Zbyszko, and LeDux said he has been badgered by him. LeDux said that Zbyszko thinks everyone in the world is picking on him, but he is not, he only wants to enforce the rules. "If Zbyszko follows the rules, there won’t be a problem". LeDux went on to say nothing has been settled between them, but anytime Zbyszko wants to straighten him out, LeDux will oblige, but he won’t interrupt another match when Zbsyzko could just sign a contract to meet him in an official match.
Chris Curtis versus Colonel DeBeers
Back at the other arena, DeBeers strikes, Irish whips and knees Curtis off the ropes. DeBeers stomps as Curtis lays on the bottom rope. A body slam, then stomps, one done to mat laying Curtis’ stomach while DeBeers held the legs up. Curtis fights abck with strikes, but DeBeers forarms him down, then comes off the ropes with a stomp. After an elbow drop, forearm off ropes, DeBeers pin cover but lifts up Curtis before the pin (sounds familiar).
After a knee and back suplex, DeBeers repeats the cover and pull up. DeBeers would do this a third time after an off the ropes with a boot, double foot face rake, headlock, Irish whip into an elbow, stomp and fist drop. DeBeers would drop his body weight over the shoulders of a seated Curtis and picks him up after a fourth pin attempt. It seems like DeBeers and Zbyszko may not only like to toy with their opponents, but they may be going for a false pin cover record, as DeBeers does this again after a stomp.
One more false cover, after a foot from the top ropes, and DeBeers finally finishes Curtis with his forward drive piledriver, for referee Larry Lasowski’s three count after over four match minutes. The night isn’t yet over for Curtis, as DeBeers steps on his head before walking away. A black fan saluted DeBeers, and DeBeers exchanged words with him that were not picked up on the audio.
Nelson interviewed DeBeers in the ring, and said that DeBeers was fined $1000 for piledriving Scott Hall on the floor, and then DeBeers would go on to repeat that move. DeBeers said "history repeats itself" and explained that when attacked from behind that one should resort to anything to stay alive, as DeBeers went on to say he has done this time and time again. DeBeers said that in the end he ends up standing, his opponents are laid out on the floor, and "all’s fair in love and war."
DeBeers said that he wanted to discuss something more important in Nick Bockwinkel, who he felt was displaying buffalo syndrome. This meaning that like the Native Americans waiting the buffalo’s return in grand hopes, Bockwinkel was awaiting the return of the AWA title. DeBeers said that he stood in the way of that accomplishment, and that DeBeers is "the greatest one man army in the world today."
Midnight Rockers versus Boris Zhukov & Sheik Adnan El Kassey at the Showboat.
The Rockers rushed to ringside to their Living After Midnight theme song, and referee Gary DeRousha had a difficult time keeping The Rockers at bay for the bell rang. Jannetty reverses Zhukov’s arm twists. Zhukov ropes whips Jannetty, drops down, tries for hip toss but Jannetty reverses to hip toss Zhukov. Jannetty then scoops up Zhukov in a body slam, Adnan sneaks in and out of the ring. Commentator Rod Trongard mentions the ring shaking after the body slam, as a Zhukov quake.
Jannetty leg sweeps out of Zhukov’s hammer lock, and forward flips off Zhukov’s monkey flip attempt by landing on his feet. Jannetty leap frogged over Boris then a tagged Michaels, and Zhukov was caught with a Midnight Rockers’ double dropkick.
Zhukov goes to the ring, where Sheik Adnan grabs a chair, but Jannetty quickly gets a chair also to counter. Back in the ring, Michaels escapes Zhukov’s headlock and calls out Sheik Adnan. Fans chant "Sheik’s a freak!". When Trongard asked Blears to compare his team with Gene Kiniski to the Rockers, Blears said his team was good, but The Rockers are an intelligent tag combination that knows what their partner is thinking.
Michaels pushes off headlock to the ropes, drops down twice and flips Sheik Adnan to the mat with an arm drag. While in Michaels’ arm twist, Adnan mistakenly tags Jannetty, and Jannetty pokes Adnan in the eyes.
Michaels flips Sheik Adnan to the mat, and yanks his arm in a seated double leg arm stretcher. Adnan stands and grabs top rope to stay vertical, but Jannetty takes Adnan’s hand off and the Sheik tumbles over. Sheik Adnan shrieks "No!" at Michaels’ arm twist, and the audiences mockingly repeats him.
A tagged Jannetty takes over on the arm bar, then stretches Adnan’s arm out on the mat, and Micahels propels off the ropes to land on it with a knee drop. Sheik shrieks "No!" again, and the crowd repeats this.
Adnan eye rakes for an escape, a tagged Zhukov yanks Jannetty’s left arm on top rope, then converts a hammer lock to a body slam on the arm. Another arm bar would lead to an Adnan assist of a leaping stomp from the bottom rope. After pulling Jannetty back with a trunks pull, Zhukov lands a headbutt to the shoulder, then whips Jannetty’s shoulder into the corner turnbuckle.
Jannetty would then look to take a rough shoulder hit into the steel post when whipped into the opposite corner. Jannetty is thrown into Adnan’s boot, Zhukov holds Jannetty’s arm for an Adnan double ax handle. DeRousha is pre-occupied by keeping Michaels from interjecting, as Adnan hammers Jannetty’s shoulder and extends the arm for a Zhukov middle rope double ax handle.
Zhukov applied the arm bar with his knee placed on Jannetty’s head. Trongard describes Jannetty as very courageous and very durable. Jannetty tags Michaels, but the referee misses it as he is distracted by Adnan. Adnan and Boris pound on Jannetty in the corner. Zhukov whips Jannetty to the ropes, ducks down to soon for a back body drop attempt and gets punted. Michaels is tagged, punches away at Boris, whips him into the ropes and takes him down with a dropkick. Then another Irosh whip from Michaels would flip Zhukov over with a back body drop.
While Zhukov is in the corner, Michaels leaps to the middle ropes and delivers a series of punches on him. Michaels climbs to the top ropes and back flips off. When Zhukov comes out of the corner, Michaels flips him over again with a back body drop. Jannetty enters as Adnan does, now Michaels battels Adnan in one corner, as Jannetty battles Zhukov in the other. Adnan and Zhukov was Irish whipped into each other and both drop to the mat.
Michaels dropkicks Adnan out of the ring, and Jannetty dropkicks Zhukov down.
From an Irish whip, Jannetty back body drops Zhukov, then a top rope Michaels leaps off with a Superfly like dive on Zhukov and the 1..2..3. Fans cheers loudly as this thirteen minute match closes, and Trongard comments that the "fans go wild".
Nelson interviews Adnan and Zhukov in the ring. Adnan repeats his "No!" that gets the crowd going again in repeating him. Adnan went on to say that there is conspiracy, and no justice in American society. Adnan said he would pay as much money as it took to get a re-match. Zhukov said that no body beats the Russians.
Nelson said that he was just beaten, but Zhukov responded with "No way, my shouldr was up!". Zhukov stated that a Russian has to be taken out on a stretcher to be beaten, and that there was not an American who can do this. Adnan issued a challenge to the Midnight Rockers to face Adnan’s Army of Boris Zhukov and Nord The Barbarian.
Catch the legends of AWA Monday to Friday at 1 am est on ESPN Classic.
AWA will not be airing on April 10th, to make way for a golf marathon (Yawn) but will return on the 11th (Yay).
David
AWA won't be on tonight, as ESPN Classic is having a golf marathon, but AWA will return tomorrow.
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