July 18^th aired a 1987 episode of Verne Gagne`s AWA All-Star Wrestling from the Showboat Sports Pavilion in White Water, Wisconsin. 

Crazy Horse versus "Dirty" Dick Slater

Slater was accompanied to the ring by AWA world champion Curt Hennig to face Native American wrestler Crazy Horse (not the Elite XC fighter). The timekeeper seemed to have been napping, as they didn¢t ring the starting the bell until after referee Marty Miller`s third signal. Crazy Horse backed away from Slater`s handshake, but was backed into the ropes and corner for Slater`s punches. Crazy Horse is corner whipped for a charging back elbow.

After being thrown to the floor, Slater gains a front face lock into a rolling neckbreaker. Hennig goes to the commentators` table to mock Wahoo McDaniel, by sarcastically questioning if that is who Slater is facing at the moment. Crazy Horse is dropped with a short arm clothesline, then Slater drills with an elbow drop close to the throat. Slater goes to cover, but takes himself off the pin at 1. Slater cranks in a Boston Crab, Crazy Horse submits, giving Slater the victory in under three minutes.  

At AWA studio, world champion Curt Hennig was interviewed by Larry Nelson. Hennig wore a suit and sunglasses as he held the championship. Hennig said he was still standing proud as champion, and spoke of the top contenders. Hennig credited D.J. Peterson for having great wrestling ability, but it would be a long time before he achieved championship status.

Hennig said that although Chief Wahoo McDaniel`s pro football background brought a lot of impressive credentials to wrestling, he was outsmarted by Hennig, the new boss. Hennig wrapped up by saying "I am the greatest in sports wrestling, bar none today. Say what you want, like me or not..I’m here to stay for a long long time!"  

Back at AWA studio, Larry Nelson was joined by Paul E. Dangerously. Paul got annoyed when Nelson said that Paul was lucky for the spotlight. "Adorable" Adrian Adonis came in, telling Paul to take it easy, saying that Paul is high strung. Adonis mentioned that tickets prices would go up when he wrestled at Redwood Falls, Abordine and Fargo. Adonis said these were towns that had nothing there, except people who get off on Adonis` very vicious nature.

Adonis told Nelson that Tommy "Wildfire" Rich was cooled off before he got started, having washed his hands of Rich. Adonis joked about going to the Seattle Zoo to disinfect his hands after dealing with Rich. Then he spokes of rubbing shoulders comedian Sam Kinison, Joey Gaynor, Sylvester Stallone and Cyndi Lauper. Adonis said that like Liberace, Rock Hudson was with him in spirit. An amused Adonis warned "Dakotas..here I come" 

In the Mat Classic segment, Larry Nelson presented a cage match from November 1975 between Nick Bockwinkel & Ray "Crippler" Stevens (accompanied by Bobby "The Brain" Heenan) against AWA tag team champions The Crusher & Dick The Bruiser.

The Bruiser brought Heenan into the cage by his hair. Bockwinkel and Stevens protected Heenan in the corner, until Bruiser and Bockwinkel went at it. The match wasn’t recorded straight through, so one moment you will see Bruiser striking Bockwinkel, next Bruiser will have Stevens on the mat in a stomach claw.

Bruiser slams Bockwinkel`s head to the cage, followed by Crushers slamming Stevens to the turnbuckle. Bruiser whips Bockwinkel for a back body drop to a stomach claw, before Stevens punches him off. Bruiser rammed Bockwinkel and Stevens` heads together, then took punched from Heenan, who was trying to climb out.

Bockwinkel slammed Crusher`s head to the turnbuckle in one corner, then Bruiser slammed Stevens` head to the turnbuckle in the opposite corner. Stevens and Bockwinkel strucks at a bloodied Crusher until Bruiser came to knock Stevens away. Bockwinkel strikes at Crusher, then backs away, pleading for mercy.

Bruiser has Stevens down in a stomach claw, then Bockwinkel is thrown into the cage by Crusher. The camera angle is too low to fully capture the action. After throwing Bockwinkel into the cage wall again, Crusher covers for the 3. A cornered Stevens trades punches with Bruiser. Heenan is standing on the top rope in the corner, and Bruiser and Crushers yanks Heenan by the legs to crotch him on the ropes.

Bruiser throws Heenan into the cage wall, then a bloodied Bockwinkel is thrown into the wall by Crusher. Both Bruiser and Crusher flip Stevens` back into the wall. Crusher covers Stevens for the 3. Nelson said that the match may of had a stipulation where both men needed to be defeated in order to win. 

Rich Winter versus "Mr. Magnificent" Kevein Kelly

Kelly is accompanied by his tag team partner Nick Kinski and their manager Madusa Miceli, who was wearing red leather short shorts. Kelly shoves Winter down in the croner, then goes to one knee to flex and kiss his arm.

Winter is unable to body slam Kelly on two attempts, and Kelly responds by pressing Winter overhead and tossing him to the mat with a gorilla press slam. Winter is snap mared to a head twist, then Kelly hammers on Winter`s chest. Kelly gets up, but is pulled down by the trunks to a chinlock with a knee pressing in his back.

Kelly smashes Winter`s head into the turnbuckle, whips him for a clothesline, then forces him to the mat with a snap suplex. Kelly covers, gains referee Marty Miller`s 3 count, and wins the match in under four minutes. Madusa pats Kelly on the back as he flexes, then stands on the middle rope to call out the crowd, then does a double arm flex.

Greg Gagne joined Larry Nelson at AWA studio to talk about his first tour of Europe. Gagne said that there was a lot of sports coverage and people of Switzerland, France and Germany talking about the AWA. Gagne spoke of having an emotional match for a sell-out crowd in Paris France. Gagne mentioned that his family is from a small town near Limoges, called Lajaue. Gagne said the crowd was chanting the Gagne name, which he said means victory in French.

Gagne then said that he was after AWA world champion Curt Hennig, and that Gagne would bring his steel toed hunting boots and weight lifting belt for the street fight battle royals, taking place in the Dakotas. Gagne wrapped up that he will "be ready for anything and anybody who wants to throw at me. I’m gonna win that big money" 

Original Midnight Express versus AWA world tag team champions Jerry "The King" Lawler & "Superstar" Bill Dundee

Express` Dangerously took the microphone to say that it was about time that his team got this match for the title. Condrey`s celebratory strut for ducking Dundee`s clothesline is immediately cut short by a tagged Lawler`s clothesline. Lawler breaks up a criss cross in the ropes to chase Dangerously on the outside.

Back in the ring, Condrey nails Lawler twice in the corner with right fists. Lawler then comes out of the corner with a knockdown right fist to Rose. Condrey is kicked in a double team, then a tagged Dundee strikes Condrey down in the corner. Condrey begs Dundee to back off, then lulls him into a knee to the stomach. Dundee almost gets Condrey to collide with Rose, when Dundee ducks down from Condrey`s off the ropes charge.

Dundree wristlocks Condrey, but his whip to the corner is reversed. Lawler jumps on top of the turnbuckle in the corner to cushion Dundee`s whip into it. Rose repeats what Lawler did when Dundee goes to whip Condrey to the corner, but Dundee whips Condrey back to the original unprotected corner. Lawler then lays down in the corner and mule kicks Rose to the mat. Both Express go to Dangerously on the floor.

Both partners are tagged, as Rose eye rakes Lawler, and lays him on the top rope in the corner. Rose lays down like Lawler to mule kick him, but Lawler goes right to the ring apron and laughs at Rose. Back in the ring, a tagged Dundee locks up Rose`s right arm to prevent a strike on Lawler, and after landed fist, flips Rose with a back body drop. Dundee covers and gets a 2 count from referee Gary DeRousha.

Lawler punches down Rose, who accidently walks to the wrong corner for a tag. After Dundee cranks on a headlock, Dangerously jumps onto the apron to distract the referee for Condrey`s entrance. Condrey charges and gets back body dropped by Dundee, while Dundee still maintains the headlock on Rose. Dundee whips Rose to the corner for Lawler`s knockdown right fist, and gets a 2 on a pin cover.

A tagged Lawler is hit by Rose`s back heel kick and right fist. Dundee then lands a punch on Rose, as Dundee was heading back to his corner. Rose spins around when Lawler ducks a right, and gets atomic dropped down. Lawler then launches himself off the middle ropes with a flying fist drop. Lawler tries shaking the pain from his hand, as Rose slides under the bottom rope to the floor. Paul and his Alliance call for a time-out as Rose holds his face in pain.

Rose returns to get eye rakes and body slammed. Lawler steps over Rose to distract referee DeRousha with Condrey, while Dundee flies off the top rope with a knee drive on a downed Rose. Though Dundee was not the legal man, DeRousha counts the pin to 2. Then Lawler covers Rose for 2, both men cover again and gets 2's. Condrey comes in to stomp Dundee off another pin attempt at 2, but Dundee moves, causing Condrey to accidently hit Rose. Dundee then covers Rose again and gets another 2.

Rose sweeps Dundee`s leg, then pushes off Dundee`s headlock. Dundee springs off the ropes, and both men fall from the collision. A tagged Lawler gets on his knees to hammer down on the laid out Rose. After being turnbuckle smashed, a cornered Rose kicks back at Lawler. Rose gets smashes with left and right punches. Lawler didn’t notice Dundee had put his foot on the rope for Lawler to smash Rose, so he whips Rose to the opposite corner.

Lawler charges Rose in the corner, but crashes into Rose`s knee. Rose then holds Lawler for a tagged Condrey stomach punch. Condrey then uppercuts Lawler over the tope rope, that was risking disqualification. Condrey then distracts Dundee with the referee, as Rose body slams Lawler on the concrete floor. Back in the ring, Lawler`s back is worked over by Condrey with stomps and chinlocks.

Lawler elbows Condrey down, runs to tag Dundee, but Condrey throws Lawler into the corner from a bear hug. Condrey forearm clubs Lawler`s back, and a tagged Rose continues this type attack. Lawler rolls to his stomach after a Rose body slam, then gets hit in the back by Rose`s middle rope backwards splash from the corner. Rose gets a 2 on his pin cover.

A tagged Condrey strikes Lawler`s back with a stomp, elbow drive and an abdominal stretch. Rose pulled on Condrey`s arm to assist with pressure on the hold, and Dundee enters the ring to protest. As referee DeRousha tries getting Dundee back to his corner, Rose opts to not go through with an illegal top rope move, letting Condrey just go for another sit down chinlock on Lawler. Condrey goes to body slam, but Lawler rolls up Condrey for 2 in an inside cradle.

A tagged Rose delivers a running powerslam on Lawler and gets a 2 count, until Dundee comes in and pulls Rose off by the leg. A tagged Condrey Irish whipped Lawler into a sleeperhold. Lawler just missed tagging Dundee when he hit the ropes, but Dundee came in anyway to punch Condrey off.

Rose`s face is near Lawler¢s, as he taunts Lawler in Condrey`s chinlock. Dundee then chases Dangerously around the ring, as The Express try to whip him for a double clothesline. Lawler ducks their move, and takes both Condrey and Rose down with his own double clothesline.

A tagged Dundee punches down Condrey and Rose, then knocks down Condrey with a dropkick. Lawler drops Rose in the corner, then chases after Dangerously. Dundee ducks Condrey`s right, and rolls him up from the ropes for a pin. Rose takes Dangerously`s cordless phone and breaks it over Dundee`s head. Lawler punches Dangerously to the floor, then Condrey covers for the 3 count on Dundee. The Original Midnight Express are the new AWA world tag team champions, in this over twelve minutes match.

"Mr. Magnificent" Kevin Kelly, Nick Kiniski and "Dirty" Dick Slater go to the ring to celebrate the Express`s win. In speaking with announcer Mick Karch in the ring, Dangerously said that he told everyone that 1987 would be the year of living Dangerously, and that the Original Midnight Express`s destiny cannot be denied.

Dangerous said "You’re looking at the men who are going to dominate the AWA. We call the shots, we¢re gonna say who we fight, we’re gonna dictate everything. As far as I¢m concerned, we own this stinkin` place, you’re looking at the greatest tag team in the world.."Ravishing" Randy and "Loverboy" Dennis!"

Catch the legends of AWA Monday to Friday at 12am est on ESPN Classic.

David   http://www.myspace.com/unrulyghouly