AWA Championship Wrestling on ESPN Classic 8.02.09

AWA Championship Wrestling on ESPN Classic

We continue on into 1986, it’s now September 15th. We’re in Las Vegas at the Showboat.

Current Champions:
AWA World Heavyweight Champion: Nick Bockwinkel
AWA World Tag Team Champions: Buddy Rose and Doug Somers
AWA Ladies Champion: Sherri Martel
AWA Light Heavyweight Champion: Title Vacant

GREG GAGNE vs. KEVIN GLOVER
This is your typical Greg Gagne match, it’ not horrible but not awesome. Greg outwrestles Glover, and Glover doesn’t have anything to do other than take shortcuts or bitch to the ref that Greg is supposedly taking shortcuts. Glover goes too far after using an illegal closed fist and telling the ref that he used an open hand and it’s time for the Greg-Up! Greg slams him into the turnbuckles and tries to do a beale toss, but Glover doesn’t go along with the move. Greg with a jumping head scissors, ugly back body drop and two dropkicks for the win. Say what you will about him, but 1986 Greg Gagne was pretty darn over.

BUDDY ROSE/DOUG SOMERS vs. PABLO CRENSHAW/CLEMENT FIELDS
Verne obviously needed to get rid of the dyslexic guy who was doing the weigh ins for the wrestlers. Yet again, Buddy Rose is announced as weighing 271 instead of 217. Before we start, Crenshaw and Rose have a posedown, not like HHH/Steiner or Warrior/Rude, except for the fact that this was actually supposed to be funny. After their posing, Rose won’t lock up and tags Somers, Somers works him over for a couple minutes and tags in Rose, but Rose gets caught trying to attack from behind. Cute spot with Rose trying to roll up Crenshaw, but he avoids it and Rose falls on his ass. Fields tags in and Buddy rakes his back with his fingernails and Somers finishes quickly with the suplex.

Larry Nelson with the tag team champions. The fans are chanting for the Rockers, so Buddy wants Larry to remind them of what happened last time they wrestled each other (it was very bloody). Larry says the Rockers were watching from the back and still are. Buddy comes back with “why?” Buddy says they’re the tag champions and Sherri is the Ladies Champion, so they’re on top of the world and after the beating they gave the Rockers, they don’t deserve another match.

LARRY ZYBYSZKO vs. EDDIE SWEAT
After the usual stalling its’ the usual squash, Larry hits a couple forearms in the back and then snap mares him. Larry actually works in a front guillotine choke. Larry with two small packages that he lets Sweat out of and the piledriver finishes him for good.

Larry Nelson with Larry Zybyszko. It’s the usual topic, why can’t Zybyszko get a shot at Nick Bockwinkel and his destiny? Larry says he’s been talking to lawyers, but has to stop there to yell at the fans to shut up. Larry Nelson says that Bockwinkel’s contenders are determined by the Championship Committee~! and that Greg Gagne and Scott Hall are ahead of him in contention. Larry says that he’s going to start breaking kneecaps pretty soon.

CURT HENNIG vs. BILL TAB
This is sort of like the Gagne match, only replace Glover’s shortcuts for Tab’s power moves. Hennig outwrestles him at first, but Tab falls back to his strength advantage, and since he actually has offense, this is a better match. It also helps that Curt’s bumping and selling skills were already firmly in place in ‘86. Tab hits a huge bodyslam that Curt puts over like mad, and his bump from Tab’s running lariat was great. Curt gets a break when Tab drops his head too early and sticks and moves with punches and a flying lariat. Hennig finishes with a dropkick off the top rope. An on screen graphic tells us that Scott Hall has nicknamed Hennig “Curtis Mayhem” due to his new aggressive style.

NICK BOCKWINKEL © vs. BORIS ZUKHOV (AWA World Heavyweight Title)
I’ve said it before, but it’s worth repeating, I think Verne missed the boat by not putting the title onto Zukhov. He had plenty of heat, and his drawing power in people wanting to see him lose the title wouldn’t have been any worse than what past-his-prime Nick Bockwinkel was drawing in his final reign. This is actually quite the fun little match, they each get plenty of time to show their advantage and look like they’ll be able to win. Bockwinkel with his wrestling skills and experience, he oles Boris a few time to get under his skin and firmly controls the action with a side headlock. Boris tries for the hair and tries to reverse, but Bockwinkel is always one step ahead and Boris can’t do anything about it, other than take a powder to the floor. Boris gets his chance to win by outsmarting Nick when he goes to the floor a second time. Nick goes after him and Boris clips his knee, and, as has been the case in his squashes on these shows, he’s very fun with sharking on it. He uses the post, he drops onto it, and works several leglocks. It’s nothing fancy, but it gets the point across and Nick’s selling is great. Even after Nick goes back on offense for a quick spell is stays in mind, such as when Nick tries a bodyslam and it buckles underneath him. Boris forgoes the leg in favor of his hard head and starts headbutting the hell out of Bockwinkel, he does it at least ten times, and then starts trying a Full Nelson, Nick blocks or gets the ropes, but Boris finally gets the hold on, and Nick pushes off the turnbuckle and then both go down, the ref counts and Nick gets his shoulder up at the last second for the win. Hella fun match, and a great way to end the show for today.