AWA Championship Wrestling on ESPN Classic 9.07.09

AWA Championship Wrestling on ESPN Classic

After a few weeks of only being told that it’s 1986 and being left to my own devices to figure out when, the date is provided once again. May 29, 1986. We’re coming form the Showboat in Las Vegas, NV.

Current Champions:
AWA World Champion: Stan Hansen
AWA World Tag Team Champions: Buddy Rose and Doug Somers*
AWA America’s Champion: Sgt Slaughter
AWA Light Heavyweight Champion: Buck Zumhofe
AWA Ladies Champion: Candi Devine

* Rose and Somers won the titles on 5/17, but the match won’t air until “next week” so Hennig and Hall are still referred to as champions.

BORIS ZUKHOV/SHEIK ADNAN AL KAISEE vs. HARRY HENDERSON/HD HAAS
Long squash by the Sheik and Boris, they attack at the bell, well Boris does, Sheik just whips Henderson with a rag. They take turns working over Haas, but Haas doesn’t seem to know what he’s doing. They whip him into the ropes and gear up for a double lariat, and Haas tumbles to the floor. Sheik picks him up for a backbreaker and Haas can’t follow along and Sheik just dumps him. Henderson tags in, and it’s the same one sided beating, but at least Henderson can actually take the beating, Boris hits a bit lariat (almost Russian Sickle-like) and finishes with a headbutt.

Larry Nelson with Boris and the Sheik. Larry tells them they’ve got the Midnight Rockers next week, and Sheik replies with “The Midnight Rockers? Who ever did they beat?” Sheik isn’t worried about them, but he’s mad that all the promoters conspired and suspended his man King Kong Brody. Sheik knows why they did it, because they don’t want the Sheik and his army to become champions.

Larry and Nelson and Greg Gagne from the studio, they inform us that today’s special feature will be Colonel DeBeers against Jake Milliman, and remind us that Scott Hall and DeBeers had an altercation previously. Next week’s special feature will be Hennig and Hall defending the titles against Rose and Somers.

COLONEL DeBEERS vs. JAKE MILLIMAN
This is the same sort of match that DeBeers had with Mike Richards on the last show, a deliberately slow pace, with DeBeers guzzling him and hogging the offense, and purposely not pinning Milliman. DeBeers finally hits the front piledriver for the win, after far too long. But the action isn’t in the match. DeBeers continues his assault and it brings out Scott Hall who starts unloading on DeBeers (with the Col. bumping like a pinball for him). Hall checks on Milliman and DeBeers blind sides him with his cane, throws him to the floor and gives him the piledriver.

That’s not all, Hennig and a few other guys rush to check on him, and Hall is completely dead to the world. DeBeers gets on the microphone and says that’s what happens when you put your nose in a South African’s business. Scott Hall is supposed to be an American Hero (I’ll refrain from the usual drunk joke this one time, because this angle rules so much), and if Hall were any sort of hero, then he’d get off his back. Hennig hears enough and runs off DeBeers and then yells for a stretcher or a doctor.
Here’s the last couple of the match, followed by the good stuff.

MIKE ROTUNDA/JIMMY SNUKA/STEVE PARDY vs. LARRY ZYBYSZKO/BUDDY ROSE/DOUG SOMERS
I’m not positive about the name of Mike and Snuka’s partner, Blears and Tronguard weren’t much for enunciating and his name was never on the chryon. Buddy and Steve start out, with Buddy showing off with the pushups, and then doing a cartwheel to avoid Steve shooting in to take him down. Buddy whips him into the ropes, but Steve holds the ropes and then shakes his ass and pisses off Buddy, so he tags out. Doug and Steve work a headlock on the mat for a bit, and then Doug winds up in the wrong corner and all three babyfaces take some shots at him. Doug tags in Larry and we got to commercial.

The commercial break must have been Larry’s stalling, because we come back to see Larry and Mike wrestling for a little bit, with Mike winning out, tag to Snuka and Larry wants no part of him, so he tags Buddy. Larry tells Rod and Blears that he’s not afraid of Snuka, he doesn’t trust Scott LeDoux. Buddy tries to ram Snuka into the turnbuckle and it doesn’t work, he tries to punch him and that doesn’t work, like Samoans, Snuka has a hard head. Snuka chops Buddy and bounces him in the corner. All six brawl for a bit, and Pardy winds up the face in peril, Doug distracts the ref while Buddy and Larry double team him, and Buddy snaps his neck over the ropes. Great spot where Doug tags Buddy, and then runs to the corner and blocks Pardy from tagging. Hot tag to Rotunda and Buddy gets tied up in the ropes, and the babyfaces throw Doug into him. The heels regain control and Larry chokes Pardy, he won’t break so LeDoux throws Larry off of him. Larry charges at LeDoux and he throws Larry over the top and calls for the DQ. Well, over the top is a DQ, but Larry didn’t do it, and Larry didn’t touch LeDoux, LeDoux threw Larry, so I don’t know why he called it.

Larry Nelson with Larry Zybyszko, Larry is as happy you’d expect him to be. The babyfaces were cheating, and poking Doug in the eye and LeDoux let them get away with it. He says that he can’t make LeDoux any uglier, but he can make him wiser. That’s the last time LeDoux will cost him a match, he wants LeDoux anytime anyplace. It’s not his fault that LeDoux never made it, but LeDoux is taking it out on him. Larry Nelson cuts him off and we’re out of time.