AWA Championship Wrestling on ESPN Classic 06.30.09
Posted by Mike Campbell on 06.30.2009
Ashish asked me what I wanted for my teaser line, but before I could tell him, Csnoka jumped in and said "Hold on a second, Mike, I'll handle this one."
AWA Championship Wrestling on ESPN Classic
Doc Brown has the Delorean ready, the flux capacitor is fluxing, and we're jumping up to 1990. That means three things: no more Larry Nelson, the megapush of The Destruction Crew, and the Team Challenge Series~! I don't know where we're coming from, but it doesn't look like the Showboat.
BRAD RHEINGANS vs. WT JONES
I'm surprised that Brad was still around this late into the AWA's lifespan. I wonder if he wrestled after the AWA folded? This is a fun exhibition of Rheingans' skills. There isn't much to be expected from Jones, he looks like your average musclehead, so Brad basically wrestles for two. It's fun to watch Brad outsmart him and catch him on the mat in a compromising position. He doesn't punish him on the mat though, he just takes him down to show Jones that he can, despite how much bigger Jones is. Brad's not a small guy either, Bischoff compares him to Larry Csnoka (!!!) in that he's big but with a low center of gravity. Jones tries to get rough and throw punches and Brads shows him he can do that too. Jones tries to use his power and Brad shows how strong he is. Despite his amateur credentials, the only holds that Brad bothers with are a side headlock and a front headlock that he rolls over and bridges up, it looks like an inverted Dragon sleeper. Jones finally seems to get something going, but he drops his head too early and Brad cradles him for the win. Fun match, I'm starting to dig Brad Rheingans.
COLONEL DeBEERS vs. MIKE BRAHAM
DeBeers' music is Welcome To the Jungle by Guns 'N' Fucking Roses, how can anyone boo him? Braham puts up a valiant effort. I'm kidding. DeBeers attacks at the bell with fists and boots and Braham never has a prayer. He gets in two punches to the gut and DeBeers just sucks them up, hits him in the gut and plants him with the reverse piledriver.
Eric Bischoff is standing by with the AWA World Tag Team Champions, Destruction Crew. If you haven't seen any of their promos, here's the basic outline:
- Bischoff asks Mike Enos a question
- Enos gets in a few words
- Wayne Bloom jumps in and says "Hold on a second Mike, I'll handle this one"
- Blooms cuts the promo
- Bischoff rebuts, again asking the question to Enos
- Enos gets in a few more words
- Bloom tells Enos he'll handle this one
- Bloom finishes the promo
Today's topic is Mike Enos' injured shoulder, and Bloom assures us that Enos is tough and he'll be just fine. Bischoff rebuts with the Iron man battle royal and the threat of the Lumberjacks. Bloom says that it's a conspiracy by the AWA to get rid of them, but it won't work because Flapjack Norton doesn't know if his partner is Yukon John Nord or his girlfriend, Aunt Jemima!
SGT SLAUGHTER vs. JOHN PISTULKA
Pistulka gets pimped as being a cocky rookie, but from the looks of it, he was trained by Larry Zybyzsko, because most of what he does it stall and try to not have to lock up with Sarge. We actually don't see them start wrestling, because the camera is focused on Ox Baker on the floor. Pistulka goes to the eyes and hits a back elbow to take down Sarge. He gets cocky and climbs up to the top rope, but Sarge clams him off. Slaughter cannon, Cobra Clutch, goodnight.
Ox Baker asks to be Sarge's manager and promises to make him AWA Champion. Sarge wants to think about it, does so, and turns him down. You know, Slaughter never did win the AWA Title, maybe he should have taken on Ox.
Clips of last week on ESPN, DJ Peterson challenged Larry Zybyzsko for the AWA World Title. Peterson gets a near fall with a gutwrench suplex and then the ref goes down, missing a small package where Peterson had him pinned for about a ten count. Peterson slugs at Larry in the corner and then Larry cradles him with feet on the ropes for the win.
DJ PETERSON vs. GEORGE ANDERSON
This is obviously a squash for DJ, but it's not just a run of the mill one like the Slaughter or DeBeers matches, it's got a purpose. It shows that Peterson is still gunning for Zybyzsko, he spends the whole match yelling for him. But he doesn't just thrash Anderson and end it. Anderson gets the better of him twice, first with an arm drag and then again with a hip toss, which shows that maybe the frustration from the loss is causing him to lose focus. Peterson doesn't get caught thrice though, when he takes over, Anderson doesn't have a prayer, Peterson clubs him in the back and then whips out the Ghetto Blaster! Peterson with a slam, suplex, shoulderbreaker, diving lariat, and a grounded Scorpion Deathlock ends it. It's short but it's very effective, it both shows Peterson's determination and shows that he just might have the skills to win the title, and that makes it worthwhile.
PSYCHO/KILLER vs. MIKE BRAHAM/STEVE BIRD
I hope Braham got double paid for working twice. Bird is a pretty big guy, so he holds his own with the Hangmen for a bit, and then tags in Braham to get killed. Watching the Hangmen work over Braham is like watching a cat play with a mouse before killing it, there are three or four spots that could have easily finished him. The shoulder breaker, the double neckbreaker, and the big DDT, but they let him live and finally end it with a Demolition Decapitation variant.
TEAM CHALLENGE SERIES: IRON MAN BATTLE ROYAL
This is more or less like a team version of a Royal Rumble. There are five men from each of the three teams, three men from each team start and every thirty seconds a new one enters until all 15 are in the ring. This certainly isn't booked as intricately as a Royal Rumble, so it's pretty run of the mill. There's no real struggle to eliminate anyone, Mike Enos eliminates Nikita Koloff with as much ease as Psycho had chucking Zumhofe out two seconds into the match. Almost all of Larry's Legends wind up entering and they work together to eliminate the various members of the Snipers and Blitzers, until The Trooper shows up and won't stay down, and then Flapjack Norton shows up and the two Blitzers eliminate all the Legends and get the win. In my days of having a Mark/Smark ratio of 70/30, when I was fifteen or so, I thought Scott Norton was the toughest guy in wrestling. He'd go out on Nitro or Thunder and beat guys down in seconds, I always wondered why he wasn't the World Champion. Now, seeing him as a smiling and happy lumberjack, my image of him is changed forever.
Around the end of the AWA they weren't playing Vegas anymore: they were back filming in high school auditoriums or small arenas by this time, usually in Minnesota or Wisconsin. Nelson was gone, and what you usually saw was a young Eric Bischoff.
If you pay attention, the only workers who were doing tapings with Verne Gagne were longtime loyalists: Sgt. Slaughter came back for a second 80s/90s stint because the Sarge spent many years early in his career with the AWA before becoming the 'the Sarge' (mostly under a mask). Zbyszko, as it is well-known, married a Gagne daughter...so there was some loyalty there. Col. DeBeers' character developed in the 80s, one of the rare instances where a Gagne-developed character actually succeeded and took on some major heat. The character lives on today - getting the same heat.
Rheingans ran Verne's wrestling school throughout the 80s. Being a former Olympic wrestler (and Greco-Roman Olympic asst. coach) he taught the basics to many a wrestler who came through the AWA from the early 80s onward. No, he had no character, but if you wanted to see a 'scientific' wrestler who used a lot of amateur holds - more of a 'pure' style - that was Brad. Likable guy...but no more than a curtain jerker at house shows. Always was good for getting someone over if need be.
Before the Team Challenge Series could even end, Vince swooped in and would pluck ANYONE who had some talent or marketability, so Sarge would be gone again, so would the Destruction Crew, Scott Norton would wind up in the NWA, as would Zbyszko, and by the time you were done, Jake "The Milkman" Milliman would be winning the Turkey Shoot.
That's how bad it got. But Verne, in his own world, still thought he could put out product, and put butts in seats. Unfortunately, the last year he actually did put SOME butts in the seats was about 1988. You knew the end was coming...
Posted By: Eric (Guest) on June 30, 2009 at 09:17 AM
For what it's worth, Milliman won the Turkey on a Pole Match before they ran out of stars, it wasn't due to a lack of wrestlers, it was just bad booking. Sgt. Slaughter was on that show, he actually did Color Commentary on that very match. So really they ran into some problems before Vince gobbled up their workers.
Posted By: Blanky (Guest) on June 30, 2009 at 12:13 PM
"Unfortunately, the last year he actually did put SOME butts in the seats was about 1988"
Actually Eric, the last year the AWA drew money was 84 with the Jerry Blackwell faceturn, Verne Gagne teaming with his longtime enemy Mad Dog Vachon and the arrival of the Road Warriors. After 84 and the WWF and NWA becoming more national with better storylines and wrestling, the AWA even with the show on ESPN never recovered.
Verne was so set in his ways that he never learned until it was too late.
Posted By: J (Guest) on June 30, 2009 at 10:24 PM
Mike , 1n 1989 and 90 the AWA was filmed at the Mayo civic center in Rochester Minnesota.
Posted By: The fresh (Guest) on July 07, 2009 at 01:57 PM
