CLASSIC AWA 5/24/08 TV REPORT
- 05/26/2008 (9:20:21 pm)
- Georgiann Makropoulos
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May 24th aired a 1988 episode of Verne Gagne’s AWA All-Star Wrestling from the Showboat Sports Pavilion in Las Vegas Nevada.
Krusher Krugnoff vs Baron Von Raschke
Krugnoff launches kicks and forearm clubs at Baron, but is taken down when Baron reverses the hip toss. Baron clubbs, torn at Krugnoff’s face, turnbuckle smashes, and snap mared to drive the knee into Krugnoff. After a chin lock and then whipping Krugnoff to a hip toss, Baron goose stepped with his hand signaling The Claw. Baron clamped on the hold, pressing Krugnoff to the mat for referee Marty Miller’s 1..2..3, thus ending the match in under four minutes.
Alongside Teijo Khan, was Soldat Ustinov who gave comments that he and Teijo would destroy the new AWA champion Jerry "The King" Lawler. Ustinov said Teijo was the greatest man he knew and soon Lawler would know it too.
Along side the Diamond Doll and the AWA tag team champions Badd Company (Paul Diamond & Sensai Pat Tanaka), Diamond Dallas Page said that he is the chairman of the board who calls the shots, not AWA president Stanley Blackburn. Page added that Badd Company will run Rock N’ Roll Express will be "dropped like a bad habit" and run out of the AWA, just like Badd Company had the Midnight Rockers (Marty Jannetty & Shawn Michaels) do.
Greg Robertson versus Soldat Ustinov (accompanied by Teijo Khan)
Ustinov attacked before the bell, after a knee in the corner and elbow smash, Robertson tries to fight back but is choked down to the mat. Robertson is back body dropped then body slammed. Ustinov throws Robertson to the floor and distracted referee Gary DeRousha as Teijo Khan body slams Roberston on the concrete floor.
Robertson returns to receive a big knife edge on the ropes, then a double chop. Ustinov snap mares then scrapes Robertson’s face with the boots. After a chin lock, Robertson is corner whipped and dropped with a clothesline. Referee DeRousha counts the 3, closing the match after three minutes. Robertson receives a stabbing stomach chop from Teijo, and an elbow smash by Ustinov before they leave the ring.
AWA ladies’ champion Madusa Miceli gaves comments about being the best looking woman in wrestling, and wanted the house wives have their husbands go to the tv to see what a real woman looks like. Madusa said that she will be defending her title soon against Heidi Lee Morgan and also starring in a movie.
Dennis Stamp versus AWA champion Jerry "The King" Lawler
Lawler has a bandage over his right eye from his championship win over Hennig. Stamp whips Lawler to the corner, and a second whip to the corner has Lawler rush out of the corner to drop Stamp with a Clothesline. Stamp would use a hair pulls to keep Lawler in a headlock, everytime Lawler tried to push off. Stamp lands kicks, the whips Lawler into a forearm shot to the mid-section. Lawler bounded off the ropes with a kick and a right punch. Lawler snap mared Stamp for multiple head punches to the mat prone Stamp.
Former AWA champion Curt Hennig then appears at ringside, with towel over shoulder and watches the match. Hennig goes over to the commentators table, and said into Lee Marshall’s microphone, that he has his eye on Lawler.
Hennig then spoke of the use of the steel post in a championship match, and AWA president Stanley Blackburn’s non-presence at the match. Lawler yelled "shut up!" as he maintained the headlock on Stamp. Stamp tried to push off the move, and Lawler used the hair pull as Stamp did earlier in the match to hold the headlock.
Stamp punched Lawler through the ropes, to the ring apron, then kicked him to the floor near Hennig. Lawler and Hennig did a bit of a stare down, before Lawler got back in the ring to beat the referee Marty Miller’s count. Stamp whipped Lawler into the corner for a big chop and punches.
Lawler turned Stamp around in the corner to land multiple stomach punches, then snap mared Stamp to the mat. Lawler climbed to the second rope in the corner, then blasted Stamp with a flying fist drop. Referee Miller counted the pin, ending the match after five minutes.
Greg Gagne then presented in the Mat Classic segment, a spring 1982 match from St. Paul Minnesota that saw Rick Martel & Tito Santana (pre-Strike Force) versus AWA tag team champions High Flyers (Jim Brunzell & Greg Gagne). This match was joined in progress. Gagne chopped away at Martel to make the tag to Brunzell, who backed Martel into the corner with a European uppercut, then hip tossed Martel out of the corner for a high dropkick.
Brunzell delivered a suplex, and a tagged Santana was quickly attacked by Brunzell. Santana came off the ropes too fast for Brunzell, who inadvertently gave a shoulder jam to the mid-section when attempting back body drop. Brunzell applied a front face lock, as a tagged Martel backed him into Gagne’s corner.
Gagne reverse whipped Martel to the corner, Martel grabbes the ropes to backwards leap frog over a charging Gagne, then roll him up for a 2 count. A tagged Santana knocked Gagne down twice with dropkicks, then got a 2 count with a flying cross body and an inside cradle. Gagne rolled the cradle to have Santana’s shoulders down for a two count.
A tagged Brunzell was drop kicked down, but ducked away from an off the ropes flying cross body press. Santana flew over the top rope, and the count of 10, the referee scored the match by count out win to the tag champion High Flyers. Gagne said that was honestly one of the toughest matches he had as ½ of the tag team champions.
Curt Hennig gave comments about losing the AWA title to Jerry Lawler as a "championship ripoff", explaining that Lawler having a choice of referee, the Memphis audience and AWA president Stanley Blackburn suspiciously not at ringside like he was for all of Hennig’s other title defenses. Hennig told Greg Gagne and Wahoo McDaniel, that they are to step aside because Hennig is the most deserving of match with Lawler.
The last few minutes of the May 9th 1988 Memphis match where Lawler won the AWA title aired. Lawler was in a sleeper hold with Hennig on his back, until Lawler rushed to the corner to ram Hennig to turnbuckles for a release. Special referee Jackie Fargo kept pushing off Hennig’s attack on Lawler, as Fargo checked the cut off Lawler’s eye. Lawler punched down Hennig, then pinned Hennig after slingshoting him into the corner. Bill Dundee, Tom Zenk, Billy Joe Travis, Jeff Jarrett and Scott Steiner went to the ring to hold up the new AWA champion Lawler in celebration.
In Big K’s segment, his said that aslong as Diamond Dallas Page listens to K, Page’s team Badd Company will stay AWA tag champions. K spoke of the soon to arrive from Japan, "Raging Bull" Manny Fernandez who K called a "reckoning force" with unsettled business with Wahoo McDaniel but in AWA to take Greg Gagne’s TV title.
Verne Gagne interviewed twin Olympic wrestling hopefuls from Minnesota, Dennis and Dwayne Koslowski. Dwayne spoke of winning the championship in the heavyweight class in Pensacola Florida in the Olympic trials, and hopes to make the US Olympic team. Dennis won in his weight class, where in the final his opponent could not continue due a shoulder injury from a body slam. Dennis would go on to the Olympics, winning the Bronze medal in 1988 Seoul games, and then a silver medal in the 1992 Barcelona games.
Ricky Rice versus Teijo Khan (accompanied by Soldat Ustinov) in the main event
Rice moves away from a chop in the corner, and Teijo’s hand comes down on the top turnbuckle pad. Rice arm drags down Teijo, then works over the left arm with locks and a leg drops. Teijo batters Rice, then whips him to the corner. Rice hops to the second ropes and then twists himself into a flying cross body on Teijo. An off ropes collision takes down Rice, then Rice leap frogs over another Teijo charge, to take him down with a high dropkick.
Rice worked on Teijo left arm again with locks and an arm stretcher. Teijo striked Rice in the corner, but Rice reverses Teijo’s corner whip. When Rice charges to the corner, he is knocked back with a high Teijo boot. Teijo head butts Rice, then throws him through the ropes to the floor. Ustinov picks up Rice, while referee Gary DeRousha was distracted by Teijo for Soldat ramming Rice’s back into the steel post, but saw Ustinov slam Rice back into the ring.
Teijo would gain a 2 counts after folding up Rice in a side back breaker, then a flying clothesline after Rice elbowed out of Teijo’s nerve hold to the shoulder. From a chin lock, Teijo drives Rice to the mat with a power slam, but Rice moves after Teijo telegraphs the elbow drop. Teijo eye rakes a stop to Rice’s stomach punch flurry. Rice is whipped to the ropes, leap frogs and waits. Teijo turns around to be knocked down by chin buster of a dropkick.
Teijo is flipping by a back body drop, but referee DeRousha is shove down when Teijo pushes off Rice’s bulldog attempt. On the ring apron, Soldat holds Rice on the ropes for Teijo’s kick attack. Rice is then hammered by Soldat and Teijo, and as they go for a double body slam, Derrick "Starfire" Dukes rushing to Rice’s aide.
Soldat boots Dukes back into the corner, but Ustinov is taken to the floor after Dukes moves away from the corner charge. Rice and Dukes double dropkick Teijo over the top rope, then double body slam the returning Ustinov. DeRousha recovers to signal the bell, ruling the match a no contest, and closing the match after eleven minutes.
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David
www.myspace.com/unrulyghouly
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