411's AWA on ESPN Classic Report 05.08.08

Posted by Randy Harrison on 05.09.2008

Jerry Lawler and Curt Hennig battle it out for the AWA Championship in our main event and Bob Orton joins us to hand out another ass-beating..


411's AWA On ESPN Classic Report




AWA Championship Wrestling

Larry Nelson's in the AWA studios and conspicuously absent is his kissing ass on the Fan of The Week, which is a shame cause I loved hearing about eighty year old women who "loves them their Matlock and their professional rassling matches". He DOES take us back to "last week's" show when The Midnight Rockers and The Nasty Boys had a match for the AWA Tag Team Championships, showing us the finish of the match where all four men were brawling and Marty Jannetty got a pin on Knobbs with a flying crossbody. The problem being that Sags was apparently the legal man and now it sounds like they're going to try to lobby for a rematch down the road. Nelson tells us about the rest of the show, talking about a main event between Curt Hennig and Jerry Lawler for the AWA World Heavyweight Championship before he throws us to a man named Wahoo.

Match One:
Wahoo McDaniel vs. Samoan Joe

It's Rod Trongard and Lee Marshall at ringside for the call of all the action as Wahoo and Joe hit a lockup, with Wahoo giving him a clean break off the ropes. Another lockup into the ropes but Wahoo isn't as clean this time, chopping Joe across the chest. Yet another lockup into the corner and Joe returns the favor on the chop before Wahoo reverses and chops him a couple times before Irish whipping him into the corner and chopping him on the way out. Wahoo's pissed and Joe is out to the floor on his ass. Joe's back in and they lockup into the corner again with Wahoo landing more chops. Joe starts firing back with headbutts and he Irish whips Wahoo into the ropes, knocking him down with a reverse elbow. Wahoo Irish whips Joe into the ropes and hits the BIG CHOP and he drops an elbow on him for the three-count out of nowhere.

Winner: Wahoo McDaniel (pinfall, elbowdrop)

Match Analysis: Short match, lots of chops, pinfall out of nowhere. Again, Wahoo was older and limited and they did the best that they could to protect him. It meant that the matches suffered a little but he was still popular so I can't blame them for wanting him out there in the ring. Not a great match, but it was short so that's a good thing.

The AWA Notebook is back with their top five most popular wrestlers in the AWA and it runs with The Midnight Rockers at the top, followed by Gagne, Von Raschke, McDaniel and the Rock n' Roll Express. Um, that's seven isn't it?


Match Two:
The Hurricane Kid and Billy Anderson vs. Badd Company

BADDDDDD COMPANY!!! I want one of those powder blue, zebra-print tuxedo jackets. Not for anything special, just to wear around town to the grocery store or something. Hurricane Kid gets a headlock to start things out but Diamond just powers out and stomps away at him, Irish whipping him in for a shot to the gut before tagging in Tanaka. Tanaka hits a chop before digging at the eyes and Irish whipping him into the ropes. Kid ends up screwing up the spot and Tanaka has to send him out through the ropes to the floor. Diamond works him over a little on the outside before Tanaka hip tosses him over the ropes and into the ring. Tanaka gets some chops and shots in before taking a reverse chinlock on Kid. Tag to Diamond and he gets a HARD shot to the kidneys before Irish whipping Kid into the ropes and clotheslining him, which Kid takes like shit. Diamond rams Kid into the turnbuckle and gets a couple right hands before tagging in Tanaka, but Kid takes over with some headbutts to stun Tanaka before whipping him into the ropes. Tanaka is too smart and holds on as Kid crashes to the canvas off of a missed dropkick. Kid finally gets the tag and Anderson Irish whips Tanaka into the ropes, looking for a back bodydrop, but Tanaka CARTWHEELS AROUND HIM before lowering the boom with a crescent kick to the chin. Tag to Diamond and he's setting up for their double-team finisher!! SLINGSHOT INTO THE DDT!! The referee counts Tanaka's pin first, but Tanaka was just rolling out of the ring and Diamond puts a foot on his chest for the three-count. On the replay, Lee Marshall calls the move "almost like a DDT". That's because it IS A DDT!!! At least he's not as shrill as Donna Gagne.

Winners: Badd Company (pinfall, slingshot DDT)

Match Analysis: Always awesome to see Badd Company in action and they did a good job in looking bad. That's bad as in bad-ass, because they were really on. They didn't get much from Hurricane Kid who botched a couple spots, but they looked like an unbeatable team, which is what they were going for in terms of building them to a title shot. Some team needs to steal that finisher because I bet it could still get over today.


Larry Nelson's back in the AWA studios and he takes us back to last week when the AWA hit the Senior's Circuit when Sheik Adnan El-Kaissie took on Baron Von Raschke and Sheik tried to cripple the Baron's claw hand. Baron's here to talk about it, wearing a rather dapper-looking turtleneck sweater. Those cold Minnesota winters are a bitch. I think my dad actually had a sweater that looked exactly like that. Baron says that the claw hand is fine and that the doctor's said it was bruised and contused but it's back to where it should be. THE CLAW IS BACK AND IT HAS DIRECTION!!! He says that Sheik deliberately smashed a foreign object into the claw time after time, trying to break the bone. The bruises are gone, but the pain is still in his heart and his mind!! Sadly, Baron gets cut off before his catchphrase, so I'll have to do it for him. THE CLAW LIVES SHEIK....AND THAT'S ALL THE PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW!!!


Match Three: AWA International Television Championship
Destroyer Samoan vs. Greg Gagne (c)

Destroyer attacks Gagne out of the gate, going to the eyes and ramming Gagne into the top turnbuckles a couple of times before Gagne takes over and does it right back. Arm-wringer and Destroyer goes down, into an armbar before Destroyer goes to the eyes and bites at Gagne's forehead. Gagne gets whipped into the ropes and eats a big chop before Destroyer hits a diving headbutt for a two-count. Destroyer chops Gagne through the ropes and then jumps off the apron with a double axehandle. He rams Gagne's head into the apron and then picks him up and slams him back first into the ringpost. Destroyer heads up to the top rope and Gagne catches him for the BIG bodyslam off the top. Stomps from Gagne and he whips Destroyer into the ropes for the dropkick and THERE'S ANOTHER!!! GAGNE SLEEPER!!!! IT'S ALL OVER!!

Winner: Greg Gagne (submission, Gagne sleeper)

Match Analysis: Short and short. It was good enough, but Gagne was pretty cookie-cutter by this point so it was him hitting all of his spots around whatever the story of the match was. I'm not a Gagne fan so I don't get it, but at least it was short.

The AWA Notebook is back with the individual rankings and there's AWA Champ, Curt Hennig on top, followed by Gagne, Adrian Adonis, Wahoo, Jerry Lawler and Baron Von Raschke to round out the top five challengers. Quite an eclectic list, that's for sure. After that match, Lee Marshall's at ringside with the AWA Champion, Curt Hennig. Hennig says that after the beating Gagne took from that jobber, if he'd been in the ring with Gagne, he'd have torn him apart. He says that all the competition has come to AWA and that they're all here for the AWA Championship and Hennig says that there are two things that won't change in 1988. The fact that he's the AWA Champ, as well as the fact that he's got all the talent in the world inside of him. Gagne comes out to possibly rebut that statement and he comes out saying that Hennig's been shooting his mouth off about being the greatest athlete in wrestling before challenging him for the title. He says that Hennig knows in his heart that Gagne could beat him every day of the week and Gagne says that until Hennig beats him, he'll never recognize Hennig as the champion, BROTHER!! Hennig tells him to step up and try it and Gagne fires back, saying that if he gets the shot, he won't just try it, he'll do it!!


Match Four:
Bob Orton vs. Kevin Collins

Joined in progress with Orton working some knees in the corner before grabbing a HARD front facelock, mauling Collins in the corner like he was Orton's prison bride. More knees to the face and he drags Collins into the middle of the ring to ram his head into the mat. Collins tries a shot to the gut but Orton cuts that shit off with more stomps and he cranks on that front facelock again. Did Collins say something bad about Orton's wife or something? Gut-wrench suplex from Orton and he rams Collins into the top turnbuckle before getting that front facelock again, grinding Collins' face into the canvas. Swinging neckbreaker from Orton and he picks Collins up and sets him up in the corner. SUPERPLEX!!!! 1-2-3!!!!

Winner: Bob Orton (pinfall, superplex)

Match Analysis: This looked REALLY uncomfortable for Collins as Orton was really working stiff. Not sure what the backstory behind that is if there is one, but Orton just beat the shit out of him for three minutes with a mixture of punches and kicks, with some basic wrestling holds sprinkled in. They were trying to make Orton into a legit challenger and tough guy and this match did both.

After the match, Orton throws in a piledriver behind the referee's back, mocking the crowd on his way out of the ring. Replay of the picture-perfect superplex lead to the AWA Notebook telling us the most hated AWA stars. Curt Hennig is number-one on that list with a bullet, followed by Adrian Adonis, Sheik Adnan El-Kaissie, Bob Orton and The Nasty Boys. I'd have Orton a little higher if it was my list since he just beat the holy hell out of someone, but who am I to disagree. Larry Nelson tells us to call our friends and neighbors so that we don't miss the main event, a match that could main event any arena in the world. Before that though, we get a Soldat Ustinov promo. Joy. Sheik Adnan El-Kaissie is not scared of Baron Von Raschke according to Ustinov and he's off getting fed wine and grapes and very good food. Sheik calls Von Raschke a coward and says that the Germans are just like Americans and that Russians are the best or something like that. Larry Nelson cuts him off before I end up giggling uncontrollably at Ustinov's terrible "accent".


Match Five: AWA World Heavyweight Championship
Jerry Lawler vs. Curt Hennig (c)

Hennig comes out first for some reason, minus his awesome robe he had during the Minot tapings. I guess Lawler didn't want to be upstaged. Trongard talks about the Lawler/Kaufman situation again as I notice that Lawler has an ad for chewing tobacco on the ass of his wrestling trunks. Always classy, King. They hit the lockup and Hennig pushes Lawler into the corner giving him a clean break before jawing at referee Scott LeDoux. Lawler pushes Hennig into the corner and Hennig shoves him onto his ass as Lawler's trying to give a clean break. Another lockup into the corner and Lawler threatens him with a right hand and Hennig takes a powder onto the apron, yelling at the front row. Fourth lockup into the corner and Hennig trips Lawler to take him down and then heads out to the floor. Hennig really grew into his heel persona and it's great to see him pre-Perfect like this. Hennig pushes Lawler into the corner and hits a big right hand on the break, forcing Lawler to chase after him until he rolls out to the floor with a smirk. Hennig again with a right hand in the corner but he doesn't get out of the ring quick enough this time and Lawler POPS him one. Hennig sprawls onto his ass and then ends up out on the floor again. Nearly five minutes in and I can count the punches and moves on one hand. Hennig must have taken a lot more from Zbyszko than a roll of quarters.

Hennig gets back into the ring and goes behind Lawler, but Lawler hits a reverse elbow and another BIG right hand that puts Hennig down through the ropes and to the floor. Trongard notices the ad on the back of Lawler's trunks but he doesn't understand it and he just drops it. Hennig pushes Lawler into the corner off of a lockup and hits a FLURRY of punches before Lawler gets all fired up, hitting his own flurry that sends Hennig OVER THE TOP ROPE!! Hennig says "Piss on this" and takes a walk heading towards the locker room. Hennig rolls in at nine and then gets back outside the ring, as Trongard says that if Hennig got counted out he'd give the title up to Lawler. Hennig takes a knee and begs off, trying to get a handshake from Lawler, but the King is a little smarter than that. Hennig takes over with a kneelift and a chop, but Lawler reverses an Irish whip and clotheslines Hennig down. FISTDROP FROM THE SECOND ROPE!! 1-2....HENNIG KICKS OUT!! Lawler rams Hennig into the top buckle and fires off some jabs before Hennig kicks himself a field goal with Lawler's balls. Hennig stomps away at Lawler on the mat, picking him up for a HUGE right hand that sends Lawler flying over the top to the concrete floor.

Hennig follows him out and rams him into the apron before stomping away at him and rolling back into the ring. Lawler up on the apron but Hennig cuts him off with a right hand and a forearm to the chest. Another right hand from Hennig and another and Lawler finally goes backwards off the apron again to the floor. Hennig's on the top rope but thinks twice about it and jumps back down, just in time for Lawler to catch a leg and drag him to the outside. Right hands from Lawler and DOWN COMES THE STRAP!!! Hennig begs off and Lawler starts laying in the HARD right hands. Snap mare over and a standing fistdrop from Lawler, followed up with a flurry of short right hands that send Hennig stumbling and staggering through the ropes to the floor. Lawler motions that it's time to send Hennig into the ringpost but Hennig reverses it and sends Lawler in headfirst, prompting Scott LeDoux to ring the bell.

Winner: None (double countout)

Match Analysis: Just enough action to keep the crowd at home interested, but not enough that they'd feel like they'd already seen it once the match came to their town. Exactly what a main event like that should be. Lawler and Hennig were two true professionals and they were able to keep the crowd eating out of the palms of their hands while not doing anything too crazy, just by using great psychology. Not a technical classic by any means, but still entertaining.

After the match, the fight continues on the outside with Hennig missing a right hand and cracking the ringpost. Lawler takes advantage and slams that hand into the post again before he gets another right hand that sends Hennig off to the locker room.

Larry Nelson's in the studio with Wahoo McDaniel and he asks Wahoo about the match he's just seen. Wahoo says it was a great match and that both men are great athletes. McDaniel says that he thinks he could beat Hennig on any given day, bringing up when Hennig put thirteen stitches above his eye. McDaniel says that 1988 is going to be the year that there's an Indian champion and that he can't think of a better Indian than himself. With that, we're done for another episode of the AWA on ESPN!



Final Thoughts

Not a terrible show by any stretch of the imagination, but not a display of fantastic wrestling. Hennig was REALLY coming into his own as a heel and he controlled that entire main event match beautifully. That was really fun to see, especially with someone like Lawler who could play so well off of it. This show was fun to watch as well because of another Orton beatdown, since those NEVER get old. Must be something in the water in Las Vegas because they get back there and the shows immediately start to suck a lot less. To the comments, folks!



Fun With Comments

Before the comments, I'll address an e-mail I got after Tuesday's episode, regarding Larry Zbyszko and his marriage into the Gagne family. Donna Gagne is not the Gagne he married, instead it was Verne's other daughter, Kathy.


From Dick:
"I have the body of Adonis. Too bad it's Adrian Adonis.

I actually have the body of a god. Buddha."

I feel your pain brother, I feel your pain.


From Guest# 3530:
"I just about fell off the couch laughing when Ray Stevens was talking about how
Tom Zenk was a polite and quiet man who never caused any problems. Wonder how
Ole Anderson fells about those comments. Seeing Madusa in the flesh colored
suit made the kid in me want to beat off, but the adult in me knew the wifey
was down the hall."

I laughed at that part as well, and yeah, I bet Ole would have more than a couple of things to say about all of that.


From Tiger Mask 69:
"Yeah, if anyone gets the chance to listen to Tom Zenk's appearances on Wrestling
Observer Live from the late 90's/early '00's, take it. He is a very funny guy."

Funny you should mention those, since I have a few of them on the hard drive. For all of you that want to check them out, I've uploaded them for download here, here, and here. Enjoy folks, because this is bridge-burning at its absolute finest.


From G-Walla:
"Sadly, I could barely pay attention during the main event after the rest of the
show. Curses. I didn't get my second wind until Bart vs. Australia on the
Cali Fox station afterwards.

Isn't this around the time when Adonis dies? Or was he in AWA at the time?
And was there ever a reason given as to why he got so big?

I hear you on Kingpin. One of my favorite movies of all time. It's also good
if you watch the censored version, if you can point out the edits. Sometimes,
we quote it instead of the real version. "I think I tore my self!""

Adonis died a few months after these Minot tapings, so these are getting close to his last matches, which is rather sad. On happier notes, I love Kingpin, can't wait to see it again on Sunday, and watching censored versions of movies can be just as funny sometimes. MOTHERLOVER!!!


From Guest# 2532:
"To the utter morons who were constantly slating this show ...please just
leave,
there's no room for your idiocy here.
We have two fantastic matches and two very good matches. We have The Nomad
losing, The midnight Rockers keeping their tag title belts - and yet still you
people
find
stuff to bitch about. That is what is wrong with the IWC; no matter what you
find the negatives to whine and complain about. This was clearly a great
show,
by any standard. The crap I read on these boards every day is exactly why
the AWA was so great, and why I watch it everynight like a mark.
Match too long, match too short, Tom Zenk won, the main event ending is too
obvious now! WAH WAH WAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!
Listen to yourselves! Csonka mentions "No Buys" "Berried"
etc. in proper contexts, you parrots simply regurgitate with no thought or
sense of what you're talking about. Frankly, many of you are making a great
case for the comments section being disabled, a good 90% of what is said is
worthless crap, spouted by morons with hidden agendas and puppets who hear all
the terms but fail to apply them properly.
Apter and Csonka have both rated this show quite highly...think I'll trust
their opinion over a bunch of retards who either have no love for wrestling,
or
are masochistic to the extreme in watching something they so clearly hate. To
all the junior Scott Keith's - You're Ruining the I.W.C. Hope you're happy."

I'm not sure if it's the folks in the comments or if it's me that you're complaining about, but I just call it like I see it. If the show was good, in my opinion, I say so. If it isn't I'm not going to sugar-coat it. The AWA was a shell of its former self by this point and the quality of the shows started to bear that out. I honestly don't see anything in the previous comments that would have pissed you off that much, but I guess it is what it is.


From Random Guy:
"Hey, I'm glad to help with moves."

Thanks again!


From Brimstone34:
""Adonis kicks his leg out from under his leg" If you wrote that on
purpose and not as a typo your cred just went through the roof. R.I.P Owen ."

That was indeed on purpose as that Owen promo is one of the funniest things that I've ever seen in wrestling. It's the first thing I think of anytime I see someone do that spot so I typed it out of instinct. I'm glad you got a laugh out of it.


Finally from KayFaber:
"Gawsh, Donna was worse than usual on that show, especially in the main event.
Did you notice how painfully obvious Trongard was in just bulldozing over her
to shut her the heck up? Then she insisted on finishing her "joke"
about Adrian Adonis eating at "posh (pause) New York (pause)
restaurants."

I never thought anyone would make me long for Larry Nelson on the mic.

She just replaced David Crockett as most-talentless-announcer-who-obvious
ly-got-this-job-through-nepotism."

Yeah, she was especially bad on this episode, and it would have been fun to see Rod Trongard's face as he kept trying to shut Donna up, while trying to toe the line because he knows that she's the boss' daughter. Thank you for reminding me of the horridness of Crockett's announcing, though I think he was still better than Donna.


That does it for today's AWA report, and I'm glad to be back. I'm off to check out the Cheap Seats putt-putt episode and I'll be back tomorrow to wrap up another week of classic wrestling action!!