411's AWA on ESPN Classic Report 05.09.08

Posted by Randy Harrison on 05.10.2008

A decent Greg Gagne match? I'm just as shocked as you are, believe me. And the main event is even a "little" entertaining. It's a "short" review to end the week of AWA action. Just one "wee" click and you'll have all the old-school wrestling you can handle!


411's AWA On ESPN Classic Report




AWA Championship Wrestling

As has been the case the past few episodes, Larry Nelson starts us off in the studios with a repeat of the ending of the Lawler/Hennig main event from the previous episode, which if you missed it can be read right here. He runs down the rest of the card for this week and then we head off to a commercial three minutes into the show.


Match One:
The Nasty Boys vs. Kevin Collins and Greg Robertson

Oh, you Nasty Boys. Rod Trongard is at ringside with Donna to call the action and things start out hot and heavy with the Nasty Boys rushing the jobbers and beating them a little before sending them through the ropes to the floor. Knobbs and Collins start things off for real and Collins shows his strength, shoving Knobbs out of a lockup. Knobbs with some forearms and an Irish whip into the ropes, followed by a big clothesline and some choking before he tags in Sags. Sags goes to the throat with a couple of punches when the referee isn't looking and gets a BIG bodyslam, tagging in Knobbs for some shoulderblocks in the corner. Irish whip into the ropes and Collins gets a sunset flip for a two count, but that's all he gets because Knobbs tags Sags back in and he chokes the piss out of Collins on the ropes. Sags tries to throw Collins out to the floor but he gets stuck in the ropes and he just tags in Knobbs instead for another BIG slam. Knobbs misses an elbowdrop but nothing comes of it as Knobbs is able to tag Sags in for a HARD clothesline off the ropes that gets a long two-count. Another Irish whip in and Collins catches Sags telegraphing a backdrop and kicks him in the face. Robertson gets the HOT TAG and tries an Irish whip but he misses the charge in on Knobbs and Knobbs hits a running powerslam, tagging Sags in for a HEAVY legdrop that gets the three-count. Robertson is up and out of the ring almost as quickly as the Nasties are, which I'm sure got him a ton of shit behind the curtain for not selling the legdrop.

Winners: The Nasty Boys (pinfall, Sags legdrop)

Match Analysis: Perfectly acceptable wrestling to start out the show. The Nasties got all their spots in, looked good doing it, and got the win. Knobbs and Sags had lots of potential here, but they were still fairly green so their offense was a little basic, which would be the only knock on this that I could see. Everything else was alright and it's a decent start to the show.

The AWA Notebook runs us through the top five tag-team rankings at the moment with The Midnight Rockers on top as the champs, followed by the Rock n' Roll Express, Adonis and Orton, Badd Company, The Nasty Boys and Wahoo and Rich. I want to see Rockers/Badd Company sooner rather than later.


After a short commerical break, Larry Nelson's at the AWA studios and here comes former UFC announcer Jeff Blatnick. At this point in time, Blatnick was in training for the Olympics and he talks about his opponents he could be facing, which leads to Brad Rheingans, coach of the 1984 Olympic team coming in and talking to Nelson about Blatnick and how he could end up repeating as a gold medalist. I guess Verne was trying to woo Blatnick into the ring after his amateur career was done, but to my knowledge he never came close.


Match Two: AWA International Television Championship
Steve O vs. Greg Gagne (c)

Rod Trongard counts this one as a potential classic and Verne Gagne, who has joined the commentary booth, agrees. They hit a couple lockups and O gets a standing armbar out of one which Gagne rolls out of, getting a single-leg takedown into a hamstring pull. Gagne with a go-behind into a hammerlock and O reverses that into a go-behind of his own into a schoolboy for a quick two-count. Gagne scores an armdrag takeover into an armbar and O shoots him into the ropes, with a rope-running spot from them before O gets a drop toehold, rolling too far over Gagne and losing the hold. Back to their feet and O ends up with a full nelson on Gagne in the middle of the ring, with Gagne reversing it into one of his own and O reversing that back. Gagne ducks out of it into a hammerlock on the mat, holding O down until he explodes up and gets to the ropes for the break. Gagne takes O over with a side headlock but O rolls with it and almost gets a three-count on Gagne. Gagne rolls back over and holds on to the side headlock until O shoots him off the ropes, which leads to Gagne getting a shoulderblock and then O screwing up a hip toss spot. They improv as best they can and O gets a single-leg takedown with Gagne kicking him off and Gagne getting a slam with O kicking him off. BABYFACE STANDOFF!!

Gagne gets another hard slam on O and dropkicks him hard, sending him out of the ring through the ropes to the floor. O finally makes his way back into the ring and gets put in a side headlock before he shoots Gagne in for another shoulderblock but Gagne gets the best of it. Gagne continues to run the ropes and O hits him with a HARD shot that puts Gagne to the mat. O with a turnbuckle smash and he whips Gagne in for a reverse kick to the gut. Stomachbreaker by O for a long two-count and O hits the abdominal stretch with two minutes left in the match. I'd be shocked if this was another draw, just shocked. Gagne gets a VERY slow hip toss to get out of the abdominal stretch, and shoulderblocks O down to the mat, but eats a knee to the gut when he tries another. O misses a running elbowdrop and they're back to their feet. Side headlock from O leads to them hitting the ropes and smashing heads in the middle of the ring. O gets to his feet and they trade atomic drops with Gagne getting a one-count off of his. Gagne Irish whips O into the ropes and they do a reversal sequence with Gagne getting a roll-up for the three-count with seconds to spare.

Winner: Greg Gagne (pinfall, roll-up)

Match Analysis: I should have known it wasn't going to be a draw because they weren't announcing the time limit loud enough for everyone to hear. Gagne gets the pinfall with one second left and this was a good, old-school scientific affair. A little bland now, but for the time, when there used to be babyface vs. babyface matches like this on most house show cards, this was a good little match. Only one botch and lots of chain wrestling and reversals, so no complaints from me again, which is a good thing so far. I can't believe it, I actually liked a Greg Gagne match. Will wonders never cease?


Match Three: AWA Tag Team Championship
Destroyer Samoan and Samoan Joe vs. The Midnight Rockers (c)

The Rockers get a very good pop from the crowd as soon as their music hits, which is no surprise at all. As for their opponents, my dreams have been answered and the two big Samoans have decided to combine their powers of suck so that they only end up stinking up one match. They're in with the Rockers though, so if anyone can get something decent out of the Samoans, it'd be them. Jannetty and Destroyer start out with Jannetty getting a quick go-behind into an early two-count. Destroyer pushes Jannetty into the corner out of a lockup and chops away at him before Jannetty reverses into some chops of his own, whippping Destroyer into the corner and following with a clothesline for a two-count. Destroyer goes low and lands a hard shot to the little Rockers and Jannetty ends up in trouble for a moment before tagging in Michaels for a double-team move. Drop toehold from Jannetty and an elbowdrop from Michaels leads to a snap mare and a fistdrop off the top rope. Destroyer tags in Joe and Joe ends up in a standing armbar, reversing it and elbowing away at the arm before headbutting Michaels' shoulder. Irish whip in and Joe gets a shot before landing more of the headbutts. Generic offense from Joe for a moment before Michaels takes things back over and tags in Jannetty, with a double-Irish whip into a BIG Jannetty dropkick. Another tag to Michaels and they hit a double-front suplex that gets the 1-2-3!!

Winners: The Midnight Rockers (pinfall, double-front suplex)

Match Analysis: Too short to get any type of flow going, and The Rockers didn't use a lot of high-flying, so for me this one was a little boring. At least it was quick and boring and kept a decent pace though, rather than being boring because of a ten-minute chinlock. Bring back Rose and Somers or put The Rockers in with Badd Company. Please.

Lee Marshall's at ringside with the Rockers and they cut their usual promo, with Jannetty saying that they're finally being recognized as one of the top teams in the world. He runs down their challengers and puts all of them over, including the Rock n' Roll Express. Michaels says that no one took the Rockers serious during their first reign and Michaels talks about Badd Company and the RnR's, with Michaels saying that no one respects The RnR's more than the Rockers, but they're coming into their backyard and they're not going to take it lying down. The AWA Notebook follows the interview with the most popular wrestler list, and it's the same list as last episode so I won't bother repeating it.


Back from the break, Larry Nelson talks about Soldat Ustinov hitting Baron Von Raschke with a board, saying that we'll hear about Baron's condition later before talking about Badd Company and we go back to the previous episode again for highlights of their match and the finish of the bout. Nelson puts them over as an incredible tag-team and that anyone who has to step in with those two is in for a bad time. He says that next week's main event is going to be The Rockers vs. Badd Company!!! HELL YES!!


Match Four:
Bad Boy Brown and Killer Cruz vs. Cowboy Lang and The Karate Kid

I have to wait until Monday to see the Rockers and Badd Company, AND I have to sit through a midget main event? What did I do to piss off the karma gods? Lang and Cruz start out Cruz holds a side headlock but gets whipped into the ropes by Lang, leading to Cruz coming face-to-face with Karate Kid, freaking out and turning around into a headlock from Lang. Lang gets shot in and hops over Cruz, running to the other side and taking out Brown with a right hand. Lang tags in Kid and Kid gets a standing armbar, whipping Cruz into the corner and hitting a nice dropkick. He whips Cruz into the corner again and misses a charge, crotching himself on the middle buckle before Cruz takes over with a LITTLE SLAM! Cruz comes off the top rope with a bombs away butt-drop onto Kid, posing down and then picking him up for another LITTLE SLAM!! Cruz goes to the top again but misses the butt-drop the second time and Kid gets a full nelson locked on.

Brown tries to attack from behind but there's a little miscommunication and he ends up whacking Cruz. The face team makes a tag and Cruz gets the full nelson on Lang, calling for Brown to double-team. Lang ducks though so Cruz eats another shot from Brown and he's PISSED OFF!! He forearms Brown and then tags him in. Lang takes over wtih an Irish whip in but gets reversed off the second whip and Brown stomps away in the corner. Standing armbar and Lang whips Brown into the corner a couple of times before all four men end up in the ring. Double-Irish whip sends Brown into Cruz and then the faces hit the rowboat spot and DOWN GOES THE REFEREE!! MIDGET MADNESS!! Brown gets a top wristlock on Kid and takes him down with a handful of hair before switching to a standing armbar.

Another takedown with the hair but Kid is able to reverse out of it into an armdrag takedown. Irish whip into the ropes and a back kick to the face from Kid gets a two-count, sending Brown into his corner for a tag. Kid with a shoulderblock out of a headlock and Cruz gets a TINY PRESS SLAM!! He whips Kid in and gets a LOOOOOOWWWWW BACK BODYDROP!! Another Irish whip and Kid leapfrogs over Cruz, hiting a couple of flying headscissors and a shot to the gut for a two-count. They hit the spot with Cruz throwing Kid into the referee's arms and the referee throwing him back, telling him not to do it again. More two-counts ensue and the heel team complains about the referee's involvement. Back to the action, Cruz gets a POWERSLAM and a pin attempt for two but he gets kicked off into Gary DeRusha's arms and he just drops him on the mat. Ask and ye shall receive, little man. Kid shakes the referee's hand and Cruz is pissed again, as both teams make tags.

Brown with some boots to the gut and the heels distract the referee for some double-teaming on Lang before Brown rams him into the turnbuckle. Lang gets a turnbuckle smash of his own and they do the rope-runner spot with Lang stopping and Cruz continuing to run the ropes until his partner makes the unfortunate mistake of getting in the way. Hilarity ensues as they run into each other. Lang takes over on Brown with another LOOOOOWW BACK BODYDROP!! Tag to Karate Kid and he hits a dropkick but misses the second as Brown backs off. Brown with a full nelson and he's holding Kid for a cross-bodyblock from Cruz, but Kid ducks it and Cruz ends up pinning Brown, with Kid on top of Cruz and Lang standing on top of the whole pile. The referee counts three and it's ALL OVER!!

Winners: Cowboy Lang and The Karate Kid (pinfall, heel miscommunication into a dogpile)

Match Analysis: Not a bad main event, and one of the better midget matches that I've seen in a while. Usually I can't stand the midget matches, but this one was actually really well done and all four of them got the chance to hit their spots and get some moments in the sun. A decent tag match on its own, but the fact that it was a midget tag that turned out this good is a special treat really. Good stuff to end the show and a very pleasant surprise.



Final Thoughts

A strong show to end the week off, with a decent babyface match-up between Gagne and Steve O and a very good, better than it should have been, midget tag main event. The Nasties match was decent and I'm more than happy to hear that I'm going to get to see Badd Company against the Rockers for the belts next week. A very good note to end off a bit of a rough week of AWA action and it gives me some hope for next week's shows. To the comments!!



Fun With Comments

From Samoa Joe:
"Samoan Joe??? what the hell???"

I know, I know. Just call your lawyer and everything should sort itself out before you have to hit the courtroom.


From Adam:
"Looking back, I think a longer Hennig-Lawler fued would have produced some great
matches. Hennig was really starting to show his true potential. Lawler would
have been able to be on a national stage. I think most people knew who Lawler
was, but outside of the CWA area, probably hadn't seen him wrestle much. A
year-long fued may have helped the promotion, but probably would have hurt what
their future careers became; especially Hennig."

A prolonged Hennig-Lawler feud would have been fantastic and probably would have done a lot to help out business. I think that both of them would have benefitted from it and I don't think it would have hurt either of their careers too much actually. At that point, long feuds were able to do well in promotions with two strong characters and both Lawler and Hennig had strong characters that could have handled it.


From Eddie Chicago:
"There was a definate glutton of somoan jobbers huh?

And god, henning was so good, its a real shame he got hurt- cuz I firmly
believe had curt stayed healthy, Vince would picked him not Bret to carry the
company into the new 'wrestler' era in 92-93.

Also I think orton would be over huge now with that stiff offense. Too bad that
kinda of awesome must skip a generation or something. And I don't hate Randy
orton but he's no Bob."

Hennig was really great, and it's a shame to think about what he could have done for Vince at the top of the card if he hadn't gotten hurt. I agree that Randy is no Bob, but he's starting to round out into a decent performer which is a big thing. Give him a few more years of seasoning and he just might get up to Bob's level if he gets his head on straight and doesn't get shit-canned.


From G-Walla:
"Holy night of the Samoans, Batman! Seriously.

I couldn't get into the Hennig Lawler match, on account of knowing it was going
to have a crap finish. That, and I can't stay awake after boring Samoan squash
matches.

Oh, and I took the liberty of milking your cow. Sure takes a while to get her
warmed up, but them, bam, all at once"

Fantastic reference there, sir. And I agree that it was a little hard to get into the Hennig/Lawler match based on the assumption that the screwjob ending was already coming, but they did well to suck me in with the entertaining Hennig heelery.


Finally from Arnold_OldSchool:
"Ustinov and the Baron actually stole the famous Bill Watts russian flag burial
angle... Only Baron got covered in the studio and the effect in the box office
wasn't there"

There are worse people to steal booking ideas from than Bill Watts, since Mid-South was cooking as one of the strongest television territories for a good long while. Sadly, nothing would have had an effect on the box office for the AWA in 1988 and further on. That horse was WELL out of the barn and they were pretty well out of money-drawing ideas.


With that, I'm out of here and done with another week of AWA on EPSN Classic shows. I'll see you all back here on Tuesday when I'll hopefully be checking out a Rockers/Badd Company main event. Have a great weekend, folks!!