411’s AWA on ESPN Classic Report 06.30.08

411’s AWA On ESPN Classic Report

AWA Championship Wrestling

Well, it seems as if there WAS an AWA episode on Friday, but damned if anyone, including myself, knows where to find it. I’ll assume that it wasn’t the most spectacular of episodes and move on to tonight’s show, and if anyone know otherwise don’t tell me. I’d hate to think I missed something good.

Larry Nelson welcomes us to the program, looking about three fingers deep into his fifth of scotch, and he runs down the show, including Greg Gagne and the ORIGINAL Midnight Express with Paul E. Dangerously. He also informs us that the main event is Larry Zbyszko vs. Nick Bockwinkel! Thank you sir, may I have another!! He runs down the situation between Zbyszko and Bockwinkel from SuperClash II and then throws it to our opening bout!

Match One:
Rick Gantner vs. Greg Gagne

We’ve got Rod Trongard on commentary with Nick Bockwinkel and the bell rings to get this one underway. Gagne chases down Gantner before he hides behind referee, Scott LeDoux. Gagne chases again and Gantner takes a powder to the floor. Gagne must have been hitting the pool at the Showboat because he’s almost as orange as his tie-dyed trunks today. Not quite Hogan-level orange, but it’s getting there. Gantner gets back into the ring and they finally hit a lockup with Gantner moving into a side headlock. Gagne shoots him in off the ropes and eats a shoulderblock before leapfrogging over Gantner and taking him over with a reverse monkey flip. Gagne ges an armdrag into a hammerlock, barring the other arm. Gantner helpfully sells by shrieking “HE’S HURTING MY ARM!!” like an eight-year old getting picked on at recess. Gagne turns it from some reverse surfboard type move into an armbar but Gantner gets his leg on the ropes to break. Side headlock from Gagne into a standing hammerlock and Gagne’s calling some spots before Gantner makes the ropes. Gantner gets a kick to the gut and then picks Gagne up for a sidewalk slam, grabbing him by the hair and working him over in the corner. Gagne chops down Gantner and backs him into the corner as LeDoux warns Gagne about the closed fists. Gantner goes to the eyes off of a lockup and then gets a falling slam in on Gagne before trying a slingshot splash over the ropes that gets nothing but KNEES!! The crowd goes mild and Gagne Irish whips Gantner in for a back bodydrop into a PAIR OF DROPKICKS!! 1-2-3, it’s all over but the crying. The replay shows that Gagne threw the second dropkick before Gantner had completely turned around so he ate it pretty good right in the mush. Poor jobber. Poor little jobber.

Winner: Greg Gagne (pinfall, dropkick)

Match Analysis: The usual from Gagne as he does a little bumping and mat wrestling before getting in a couple of high-flying moves into the dropkicks to finish. It’s the same match he’s had with hundreds of jobbers before. That doesn’t mean it’s any good, it just means that it all looks really familiar.

Match Two:
Sonny Rogers and Jake Milliman vs. The ORIGINAL Midnight Express (Dennis Condrey and Randy Rose) w/ Paul E. Dangerously

Al DeRusha threatens to quit when Paul E. takes over the microphone to introduce “the greatest tag team in the history of professional wrestling”. Dangerously’s pink tie and suspenders prompt some front-row goofs to give him a hard time. YES!!! Midnight Express entrance music, how I have missed thee. Randy Rose looks to be a young 80 or so and has a tongue that would make Gene Simmons jealous. Rose and Rogers start the match out, with Rose offering up a handshake and Rogers kind of hemming and hawing. Dangerously gets in Bockwinkel’s face and uses his headset mic to say that the rule around Paul E. is that you speak when you’re spoken to..the rest is kind of unintelligible, but some lady in the front row seems REALLY pissed at Paul E. Rose hits a legdrop on Rogers as we get back to the action and he rams him into Condrey’s knee as Condrey tags in and whips Rogers in for a reverse elbow. Condrey gets a big slam and drops a forearm on Rogers before tagging Rose back in. Irish whip from Condrey and Rose gets a BIG clothesline, picking Rogers up for a slam before missing a kneedrop. Rogers tags in Milliman but he gets mugged by Rose almost instantly. Dangerously yells at them to “SET AN EXAMPLE” from the outside and the tag goes to Condrey with some punches before he whips Milliman in for a clothesline. Condrey throws Milliman outside to the floor and Condrey picks Milliman up for a big bodyslam as Dangerously comes by the broadcast booth again to talk some shit on Bockwinkel and his tag teaming with Ray Stevens back in the day. Condrey chokes Milliman across the ropes as Bockwinkel gets a great line in about how he’s a generous man and since Dangerously has a big mouth and two feet, he might just help Dangerously shove them in. Rose snaps Milliman’s neck across the top rope as Condrey distracts the referee and Condrey comes back with a fingernail rake across Milliman’s back. Condrey with the snap mare and a couple of stomps as he works the joints of Milliman over. He mocks Milliman’s back pain and then tags in Randy Rose. They slam Milliman into the corner and Rose gets another big bodyslam, going up to the second rope for a fistdrop that Milliman sells with four or five bumps, god bless him. Rose helps Milliman up and tags in Condrey, who works Milliman over with some right hands. Milliman tries to make a comeback but Condrey cuts him off and takes him over with a NASTY snap suplex. Condrey steps on Milliman to make the tag and in comes Rose for a big legdrop. Irish whip into a back bodydrop and Rose clotheslines Milliman before making the tag to Condrey. Condrey steps on Milliman again before picking him up and scrubbing his face into the canvas. He better be careful doing that or he’s going to set Jake’s beard on fire. Tag to Rose and Condrey gets a big bodyslam before slingshotting Rose over the top rope into a “splash” that looks more like a headbutt. They get the three-count and then lays a couple of stomps in on Milliman.

Winners: The ORIGINAL Midnight Express (pinfall, slingshot headbutt)

Match Analysis: Yeah, just because something is “Original” doesn’t mean it’s the best. The most entertaining part of this one for me was Paul E. spazzing around ringside like an ADD kid, yelling at anyone that came within earshot. The match was ok but it was a lot of repetitive moves from Rose and Condrey, which leads me to believe that this one went on a little too long.

After the break, Larry Nelson brings in Curt Hennig and he talks about the main event and how Larry Zbyszko is the reason Curt Hennig won the title. Hennig says that anyone who saw the tape, knows that Zbyszko only gave him advice and that he used that advice to knock Bockwinkel out cold to get the 1-2-3. Nelson brings up the roll of dimes and Hennig gets pissed, saying that he doesn’t need anything from anyone and that when he started out in the wrestling business he worked his way up from the bottom. He says that he’s a man’s man and a champion’s champion and that just because he’s swept some of the garbage away from the AWA, people are coming down on him. He says that he’s done nothing wrong and that he does things the right way. He calls himself the greatest wrestler in the world and says the he loves what he does and does what he loves, professional wrestling. Hennig already had the smug heel role down to perfection.

Match Three:
Dennis Stamp and Tom Stone vs. JT Southern and DJ Peterson

We get a Mike Tenay sighting in the front row and he looks to be having a good time with Southern and Peterson making their way to the ring. Both faces have their tights in zebra-print and with the Brutus Beefcake “I had three hand grenades in my tights” look. Peterson and Stamp start things out with a lockup and Peterson gives him a clean break off the ropes. Stamp gets a top wristlock out of another lockup and Peterson tries to reverse it, tripping Stamp down and moving to an armbar after a legdrop on the arm. Stamp gets a knee to the gut and a side headlock, tagging in Stone. Stone continues with the side headlock but Peterson gets a blind tag to Southern before shooting Stone into the ropes. Southern threatens Stone with a right hand and he begs off..right into a dropkick from behind by Peterson into a bodyslam by Southern. Peterson dropkicks Stamp down and Southern dropkicks Stone before armdragging him over into an armbar. Southern really cranks on the armbar until Stone goes to the eyes to get a tag to Stamp. Stamp charges into an armdrag takeover and stays in an armbar for a second before Southern gets a hammerlock. Drop-toehold from Southern into a leglock and he gets a tag just as Stamp tries to break the hold by raking the eyes. Peterson lock in a hammerlock, tagging Southern right back in for an armbar. Irish whip from Southen and he hits a reverse elbow, following it up with an elbowdrop off of the ropes. Side headlock from Southern and Stamp pushes his way into his own corner and gets the tag to Stone. Stone locks in a side headlock of his own and turns it into a takeover but Southern counters it to a headscissors immediately. He transitions to an armbar and tags in Peterson, who comes off the top with a double-axehandle onto the arm. Arm-wringer by Peterson into a takeover and Peterson gets a one-count before grabbing an armbar. Stone grabs the tights and pulls Peterson HARD into the middle turnbuckle allowing him to make a tag to Stamp, who takes over with some right hands. Peterson fires back with punches of his own and he tags in Southern before Irish whipping Stamp into the ropes. Southern hits the top rope and Peterson holds Stamp in a bearhug position, with Southern getting a flying clothesline off the top. Think top rope Hart Attack. Anyhow, it’s MORE than enough to get the pinfall and the victory for Southern and Peterson.

Winners: JT Southern and DJ Peterson (pinfall, top rope Hart Attack)

Match Analysis: I guess they were two bigger, well-built guys that had long hair so they had that going for them. They weren’t terrible in the ring, they just seemed like they hadn’t had much time to gel as a team. Considering this was one of their first matches together according to Trongard, it makes sense but it still looked awkward. By the by, JT Southern is an UGLY man. There are no two ways around it and all the long hair and zebra-print in the world won’t hide that. Ah well. At least there’s a solid main event coming to get me over the first-half of the show.

Match Four:
Larry Zbyszko vs. Nick Bockwinkel

I’ve been looking forward to seeing this one for a while, so I’m rather excited. The crowd gives Bockwinkel a good-sized pop and HE ATTACKS ZBYSZKO FROM BEHIND DURING THE INTRODUCTIONS!! OUT OF THE RING GOES THE REFEREE!! RIGHT HANDS FROM BOCKWINKEL AND HE STANDS ON ZBYSZKO’S HEAD!!! Irish whip from Bockwinkel into a hard knee to the gut and a right hand lands into a front-facelock takeover but there’s no referee to count the pin. Bockwinkel rams Zbyszko into the top turnbuckle and here comes Scott LeDoux to take over for the referee that was down on the floor. Bockwinkel stands on Zbyszko’s throat and snap mares him over into a boot-rake across the eyes. HUGE right hand from Bockwinkel puts Zbyszko through the ropes and al the way out to the floor where he takes a moment for a breathe…NO HE DOESN’T!! BOCKWINKEL WITH RIGHT HANDS AND HE RAMS ZBYSZKO’S HEAD INTO THE RING STEPS!! Zbyszko pulls off the apron skirt trying to get back to his feet and Bockwinkel’s back outside to CHOKE HIM WITH IT!! HELL YES, NICK!! He rams Zbyszko into the apron and then makes his way back into the ring.

Bockwinkel catches Zbyszko as he gets onto the apron and snaps his neck across the top rope, sending Zbyszko back to the floor. Zbyszko again gets up to the apron, but Bockwinkel works on the arm across the top rope before using the tag rope to choke out Zbyszko! This is all in plain view of the referee by the way, and Bockwinkel gets away with it because he’s Nick Fucking Bockwinkel, thank you very much. Zbyszko whimpers like a baby and Bockwinkel stomps him in the gut, sending him back down to the floor to stagger around. Zbyszko tries to make his way up the steps but Bockwinkel meets him on the apron, CHOKING HIM ACROSS THE TURNBUCKLE STRUT!! Right hands and some stomps on the apron before Bockwinkel stands on Zbsyzko’s throat again. He gets back into the ring and kicks Zbyszko back down to the floor and he’s SMILING while he does all of this. TREMENDOUS~! Zbyszko SCREAMS at LeDoux to make Bockwinkel let him back into the ring and then yells at Greg Gagne at the commentator’s table.

In the ring, Bockwinkel tells LeDoux to busy himself with something else and then gets to work, untying the top turnbuckle out of one of the corners. Right hands from Bockwinkel as Zbyszko gets back into the ring and he RAMS ZBYSZKO INTO THE EXPOSED BUCKLE!! AGAIN INTO THE COLD STEEL BUCKLE!! Bockwinkel picks him up by the hair for a big bodyslam and then clamps on a figure-four leglock!! Zbyszko scrambles to make it to the ropes but Bockwinkel holds on right until five before letting go. Bockwinkel fires up and kicks Zbyszko’s leg out from under his leg before working it into a half-Indian deathlock. Zbyszko goes to the eyes to break the hold and that was really his only option, as well as his first offensive move of the match, more than five minutes in. Spinning back kick to the body by Zbyszko and he gets a snap mare into a kneedrop and then rakes his bootsoles across Bockwinkel’s eyes.

Backbreaker from Zbyszko gets a long two-count and he moves to choke Bockwinkel across the bottom rope, dropping some knees on Bockwinkel’s back before choking him again. Front facelock from Zbyszko now and he forces Bockwinkel into the corner, taking him over with a handful of tights for a two-count. Zbyszko gets a reverse chinlock that Bockwinkel breaks with a handful of hair, but Zbyszko stays on it, going to the eyes and RAKING at them with both hands. Right hand to the gut and a big slam from Zbyszko gets a two-count before Zbyszko gets an abdominal stretch but both men are in the ropes. Irish whip from Zbyszko now but Bockwinkel holds onto the rope, forcing Zbyszko to miss a dropkick. Kick to the gut from Bockwinkel and a BIG right hand puts Zbyszko down, with Bockwinkel covering for two before Zbyszko grabs the bottom rope. Bockwinkel stands on Zbyszko’s fingers as they’re wrapped around the rope and then picks him up for a bodyslam that gets another long two-count.

Side headlock from Bockwinkel and Zbyszko shoots him into the ropes and they KNOCK HEADS AT HIGH SPEED!! Both men are down and staggered but Zbyszko makes his way to his feet first, picking Bockwinkel up for A PILEDRIVER!! 1…2…NOOOO, Bockwinkel gets a foot on the ropes!! Zbsyzko drops his entire body weight onto Bockwinkel’s knee as his foot is draped across the ropes and follows up with some choking. Zbyszko with some right hands to the body as Bockwinkel gets to his feet and he Irish whips Bockwinkel into the corner HARD. Another Irish whip attempt gets reversed by Bockwinkel and Zbyszko goes crashing into the corner, stumbling out into the ORIENTAL SLEEPER~! Zbyszko falls forward into the ropes to save himself but ends up locked into an abdominal stretch in the middle of the ring! Zbyszko grabs Scott LeDoux and pulls him into the hold, taking all three men down. Bockwinkel GOES INTO THE TRUNKS FOR A ROLL OF DIMES!! HE WAFFLES ZBYSZKO!! 1…..2……3!!!! IT’S ALL OVER!!!

After the match, Bockwinkel opens up the roll of dimes and drops them on Zbyszko as referee Scott LeDoux asks where they came from. Bockwinkel readily admits to waffling Zbyszko with them about a dozen times and then points at them PROUDLY! Scott LeDoux comes over to the announce table and talks to Rod Trongard. LeDoux says that Bockwinkel admitted to hitting Zbyszko with the dimes, but because he didn’t see the punch, he can’t make the call and Bockwinkel is still the winner!! FANTASTIC!! Bockwinkel stands on the apron and applauds the crowd before making his way to the back as Zbsyzko is finally coming to in the ring, covered in dimes.

Winner: Nick Bockwinkel (pinfall, roll of dimes)

Match Analysis: Honestly, I can’t think of a better way for Bockwinkel to have made his exit from professional wrestling. This match had EVERYTHING. I loved that Bockwinkel got to cheat to win AND get away with it, still putting over his intelligence for wrestling, right up to the very end. Zbyszko sold it all like a champ and Bockwinkel was still in tremendous shape so this was fast-paced all the way. In my opinion, Nick Bockwinkel will always be underrated when it comes to the talk of the great champions of the world, merely because he never had a run in Charlotte or New York.

Larry Nelson’s in the ring with Larry Zbyszko and he staggers to his feet. Zbyszko grabs the microphone and says “You and everybody else, go straight to hell!” Nelson tries to get him back and then Zbyszko says that not only is Bockwinkel a lying cheater, but that everything he’s said about Scott LeDoux is true too. Zbyszko goes wild, accosting Nelson and ripping the microphone out of his hands, screaming about the dimes and the welt on his jaw. Nelson picks up the microphone and says that LeDoux can’t call what he can’t see and Zbyszko says that LeDoux might be stupid but he’s not blind and he had to see it. Zbyszko threatens lawsuits for everyone and then throws the microphone at Larry Nelson before heading to the back.

Back in the studio, Larry Nelson runs down the day’s action and he looks like he’s finished off that fifth in the meantime, even slurring a word or two . He also loves to talk with his hands, I’ve noticed. Very distracting to see Nelson’s limp-wristed hand flapping around as he talks. He brings up Fan of the Week, talking to random people in the studio and telling us that if we send in our cards and letters to Bill or Donna or Steve or Roger or Corey or whoever’s around at the time, we could be the big winner! Then brings up Ninja Star Wars as the prize for being named Fan of the Week before sending us on our way, imploring us to come back next week for more wrestling goodness!

Final Thoughts

This was the absolute epitome of a one-match show, but it was ONE HELL OF A MATCH!! Due to the historic nature, as well as how great the match actually was as a stand-alone match, it MORE than makes up for the shitty first half of the show and makes this one a thumbs-up for me. Thank you for a great career, Mr. Bockwinkel. You deserve more praise than you’re given. Before I get teary-eyed, lets get to the comments.

Fun With Comments

We’ve got a TON of comments left from the weekend and from the missing show on Friday, so let’s get to them!!

From Guest. :
“Maybe a good thing the 87 shows were skipped. Anyways, bad all around, although the Gagne/Hennig match was ok. At least Greg knew how to be a fired up pissed off babyface, making the match an ok one, without even needing Hennig to carry much of it.

Looking at Stevens, he obviously still knew how to work, but he was well past his prime, and really couldn’t bump like he could in the old days. Larry did what he could to get a decent match out of him, and it wasn’t horrible. I’m wondering why Larry wasn’t a part of any of the ’88 shows and then won the battle royal after Lawler was stripped. Did he leave the AWA and return, or was he strictly on house show duties? Anyways, best moment of the night was Larry Nelson talking about Ninja Star Wars at the end, which if you’ve read Bischoff’s book, was an idea he took part in. So the first proto-Bischoff mention is made. “

And the answer to the Zbsyzko question, from Bryan:
“To answer the first poster, Zbyzsko was in the NWA during 1988 (and later part of 1987) holding the short lived Western States Heritage title and then forming a tag team with Al Perez. I assume that he was given the win in the battle royal because he was a son in law of Verne and one of the few that would likely not jump ship.

Art Washington from the first match is best known as being part of a classic Ted Dibiase angle where Washington was hired by Dibiase to wrestle Chris Curtis. Dibiase deemed Curtis not worthy of his time and Curtis ended up destroying Washington in about a minute. “

From PMullin1987:
“Just a really tough show to get into, despite Curt and Larry being on their game. Its really sad to watch a guy who at one time was arguably the best in the world in Ray Stevens so far past his physical peak, and says a lot about the talent pool in the 1987 AWA.

I dug the Hennig-Gagne match though it was totally for angle advancement, and its one of the few times where Hennig didn’t have to basically wrestle himself.

Greg could have a good match, he just needed someone to bring the heat. Hennig could have a great match, he just needed someone who could hold up their end of the wrestling. These two wound up having really good matches that got killed by Verne’s horrid booking of finishes.

On a bright note, if they stick with this chronology for a little while, we’ll get to see the Bockwinkel vs. Zbyszko TV match which was all kinds of fun, and I don’t want to spoil the finish for anyone so that’s all I’ll say.”

Thank you for not spoiling the finish for all of the faithful readers! I’ve seen the finish, but this was the first time I got to see the entire match, so I was rather happy. I agree about it being a tough show to get into and I don’t think it was very good. Gagne and Hennig could have good matches, but Gagne really needed someone with him to help him get to a decent match.

From Crimefighter:
“A few notes on where are they now for the record. Mitch Snow passed away in 2001 from suicide. Art Washington eventually was paid $5000 by Ted Dibiase to wrestle in his place against another jobber…but Washington got squashed by Chris Curtis…bahahahaha…so Ted took his money back. DJ Peterson died in 1993 as a result of a motorcycle accident. Kevin Kelly of course became Nailz. “

Thanks for the info! I thought that Washington looked familiar but I couldn’t place from where. Thanks for the answer to that one for me!

From the fresh:
“Dj Peterson had a run with JT Southern, where they were pushed to the moon in late 1987. he then dissappeared to the central states for awhile, resurfacing in the AWA in the summer of 1990 to capture the Tag belts with the Trooper. “

Yeah, I’m guessing we’re just starting the Southern/Peterson push. Bleah.

From Guest:
“The idea of showcasing all three leagues might have worked if they rotated locations for each broadcast.The Old School wrestlings formula is ,When a wrestler got stale or quit drawing he would move on to another town.In the WWE they get recycled by changing shows or gimmicks. Some wrestlers never go away. “

They really should have gone from Memphis to Dallas to Minneapolis with the tapings and tried a little harder to get all three promotions over in all three cities, but with all of them on harder financial times, they probably had to go with where the houses were the best and Memphis always had great houses.

From Scrotum Pole:
“They have the table and the chairs set up in the middle of the ring and I’d wager they’ll go flying before the end of this thing.
Seriously, have some standards Steve. I know you’re a jobber but I’m sure that there would at least be some chick in the crowd that would thrill-fuck an E-list celebrity like yourself.

HAHAHA!Bullseye! Right when I read Arm Wrestling Match I thought “shit flying everywhere.”

I may be off a month or year but was this when Sly did “Over the Top.” A truly chessy movie from the 80’s that had “and I don’t care what you say I’m not gay, not that there is anything wrong with that,” a great Kenny Loggins song “Meet me Halfway” and a role for the Funker.

Jeez I should have just pasted the whole match because “thrill-fuck” has now be included in my vocab right between fucktard and mangloid.

As for my poster name Scrotum Pole. I know some think its gay but cut my mom some slack. I’m Native/American and she has a bad lisp. “

Glad you liked the report and sorry to hear about the name thing. At least you’re making the best of it.

From elguapo1974:
” FYI… Mitch Snow’s finisher was called the “Jam Slam.” It was a combination Beale Throw/Power Slam. It is one of the most idiotic moves ever conceived. Knowing that Vern actually allowed smegma like that to show on TV just shows how miraculous it was that he stayed in business as long as he did.”

It was a lame move, but it wasn’t that bad. I mean Magnum TA got over to the point where he was nearly world champion with a belly-to-belly suplex. It just had a stupid name and annoyed me because Snow was already lame from the entire match.

From Crimefighter:
“elguapo1974 – I dunno about that being the most idiotic move ever conceived. He double hooks him for a hiptoss and lands on top. I doubt it fits the class of worst wrestling move of the year award winners. “

I agree. I think I was just soured because of how shitty Snow had been in the ring up to that point and how BORING the match was.

From Guest#7802:
“My question for you is” How and why did Zybyscho end up leaving the AWA?”

And the answer from Norm:
“On the “Where was Zbyszko?” question…

Zbyszko left the AWA for a stint in Crockett’s NWA promotion, which had just absorbed Bill Watts’ UWF. One thing that Crockett kept was Watts’ “Western States Heritage” title, which was originally awarded to Barry Windham. Zbyszko arrived on the scene and won that title from Windham (who was a babyface at the time) and became the midcard champion.

Windham eventually went on to the upper card as a member of the Four Horsemen.

Incidentally, when Zbyszko notified Verne he was leaving, Verne asked him to work the AWA’s standard “suspension” angle, which worked nicely. Al DeRusha came on the air and read a letter purportedly written by Stanley Blackburn that announced Zbyszko’s suspension, and Zbyszko went beserk. Absolutely hilarious.

The AWA was smart about how it handled defecting talent — just suspend them.

Anyway, Zbyszko had his run in Crockett’s promotion, but didn’t go very far because the Four Horsemen dominated the scene. Verne needed a champion when Lawler stabbed him in the back, so he called Zbyszko, who by then was tired of Crockett’s show.

The funny thing is, in one show before the battle royal that Zbyszko won to become champion, Verne came on at the intro and announced that Zbyszko was back. He said incredulously, “Larry Zbyszko is back. Where has he been? In some other league?!”

Uh, Verne, you suspended him, remember? “

From Steve:
“Randy, I hate to tell you, but the schedule screwed up again, and we’ve got another episode of the AWA on ESPN Classic for late Friday / early Saturday. To put it this way, there is an AWA show tonight. In fact, I’m watching it right now as I type. I’ll assume that you’ll catch it on Youtube over the weekend. “

D’OHHHHHH!!!

From Randy Harrison:
“I had no idea since I was doing a report on a Strikeforce MMA event. If anyone can post links for the episode segments or a rundown of the show so I can try to find them, I’ll have a report up as soon as possible. Sorry for the mix-up everyone.. “

And we’re all still waiting for that report, asshole.

From Scrotum Pole, again:
“Are those reports available on 411 also? If so Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet! “

They are actually now available exclusively at the home for all of my MMA content, Nokaut.com. Be sure to tell all of your friends to stop by and check it out! I heard the editor is some guy that does AWA reports too..

From Rob:
“All I could think about during Soldat Ustinov’s match was how much he looked like Seth Rogen from Superbad & The 40 Year Old Virgin. Whoever thought he’d look like a badass with that hair should be forced to watch a tape of Greg Gagne’s Best Dropkicks.

Speaking of which, and I meant to ask this question a while back – was there ever a wussier tag team finishing maneuver than the Rock N’ Roll Express’ double dropkick? I mean, even as a kid in the 80’s, I just couldn’t buy it as a move that would finish a man off.

Mitch Snow may have been the most unintentionally gay looking wrestler I’ve ever seen. Am I mistaken, or was he actually SKIPPING to the ring? What the hell was that finishing maneuver? “

We covered the finishing move before for Snow and yeah, it was pretty lame. I can’t tell if he was skipping on the way to the ring, but it wouldn’t surprise me to say the least. The double-dropkick being a finish would be good if both guys..actually hit the move. Usually the timing would be off by a second or so and one of them would either barely hit the guy or whiff completely, but I guess since they were the R n’ R’s and totally over, no one cared either way. As for Ustinov’s hair, it was completely distracting and yes, it looked very Seth Rogen-ish. Just lame on every level.

From David Burcham:
“I remember an angle involving Steve O from NWA Georgia Championship Wrestling. One of the heels (it may have even been Zbyszko, I’m not certain) revealed that the “O” stood for “Olsonoski.” It was an effort by the heel to embarass Steve O by revealing he was POLISH! I remember Gordon Solie and Steve O trying to sell the name reveal as if a fmaily member had died.

And people think that some of the catalysts for TODAY’S wrestling feuds are lame! “

I don’t know, if I was him, I’d be pissed that someone outed me for being Polish too, if only for all of the dumb Polish jokes he would have had to endure in the locker room. Plus, it’s fun to see how some of the feuds started way back when. They may seem lame now, but at the time they made some semblance of sense.

Finally, from Norm:
“Perhaps it would be worthwhile to discuss how wrestlers were paid back in the 1980s. I was a pro wrestler in the 80s, so I have some amount of experience in this regard. In today’s larger promotions (WWE and TNA), guys get signed to a contract and expect to get paid the amount that’s on the contract. In the 1980s (and earlier), wrestling typically didn’t work that way. They got a percentage of the *gate*.

This is especially true in the case of Lawler. Lawler was both a performer (wrestler) *and* a promoter. He and Verne got together and shook hands on the deal. Let’s “unify” our titles and I’ll air the whole thing on my national ESPN timeslot. While it’s true the AWA had very little talent at this juncture, Verne’s title was still recognized as one of the big three world titles at the time (WWF, NWA, and AWA). The CWA and WCCW did not merit world title status then. So Verne was the one bringing both prestige (world title) and exposure (ESPN timeslot) to the deal.

Lawler brought nothing but himself and his chintzy Memphis title.

So anyway, the deal is something like this — we unify the title, share talent, co-promote shows, etc. We do a big PPV event called SuperClash III. We split the earnings. Now I’m not sure what the agreed-to split was, but considering Verne had the most to lose, it was probably something like 50% for Verne, 25% for Fritz, and 25% for Lawler.

Thus, if a show loses money, Verne had to not only walk away with nothing, he had to dip into his own pocket to pay his creditors! And then Lawler bitches about not getting paid? Hello?!

That’s what I meant when I said 25% of zero equals zero.”

We’ll just have to agree to disagree I suppose. I see your point that you’re making and can go with it to an extent, but really Lawler had a lot of younger, fresh talent with him in Memphis. The guy that brought nothing to the table talent-wise was Verne. Verne was probably only involved in it because of the ESPN timeslot. If it hadn’t been for the national platform, he would have been left out in the cold and SuperClash probably could have gone on without him in Dallas or Memphis to a bigger crowd and probably been a better show.

That does it for comments and for the first earlier show on ESPN Classic! See you all back here tomorrow everyone!!