Captain Kremmen Posted September 2, 2023 Author Share Posted September 2, 2023 (edited) FIRST NEW ERA PROGRAM!!! AWA WRESTLING ON ESPN - SHOWBOAT SPORTS PAVILION - LAS VEGAS, NV - APRIL 1990 (# - Aired on a previous AWA program.) (Bill Watts came out to the ring before the show and the fans popped big-time for him. News was out about the new ownership. Watts gave a rousing speech about the new look AWA and said fans can expect some big changes in the near future, Watts told the fans the new AWA was gonna be built on solid wrestling action and not become a glorified cartoon like the WWF or corporate entity slavishly tied to the whims of a bunch of suits who know nothing about pro wrestling like the NWA/WCW now was.) (1st Taping) Show Intro OPEN AWA promoter Jim Crockett appeared on the screen in a suit and tie with mic in hand in front of the AWA logo. Jim: Hello. I'm Jim Crockett, the new promoter of the American Wrestling Association. On March 5th of this year, new owners, known under the collective name of Triumph Media Sports, assumed control of the AWA. New owners Deborah Harry of the rock band Blondie and Hollywood director John Waters took the reigns of the promotion. Before I go any further, let me just say thank you to Verne Gagne for his over four decades of service to the great sport of professional wrestling and his tireless work into making the AWA one of the top promotions in wrestling. Verne leaves behind a truly great legacy and the new ownership is going to work very hard to keep the AWA a sports-oriented promotion and not become 'sports entertainment'. We have three new people in charge of the day-to-day wrestling operations. I'm the promoter. And Bill Watts and Jerry Jarrett, both outstanding wrestlers and promoters in their own right, round out the new brain trust that will be working hard to deliver you the hard-hitting wrestling action you fans expect at arenas in the U.S. and Canada and on TV every week. It's an exciting time to be a wrestling fan right now. There are lots of exciting things going on in the sport. So, it is with great pleasure that Triumph Media Sports welcomes you to this new era for the American Wrestling Association. Thank you. END VIDEO In-Studio: Larry Nelson welcomed viewers to the first edition of the AWA on ESPN under the ownership of Triumph Media Sports. Nelson told fans to expect big things to come from the new look AWA moving forward. Nelson then ran down the program. A major announcement concerning an upcoming AWA event! TV MAIN EVENT: Cactus Jack vs. Wahoo McDaniel A look back at the reuniting of Wahoo and Muraco on All-Star Wrestling Col. DeBeers vs. Brad Rheingans 'Cowboy' Bob Orton vs. Tommy Jammer Tom Zenk vs. Billy Joe Travis (from the USWA) And more! Nelson then sent it to the ring in Vegas for a big opening match! Don Muraco vs. Tommy Rich Muraco came down the face aisle to a strong crowd reaction. Rich (w/o Jack) came down the heel aisle to strong boos. Muraco took control early and held serve for a few minutes before a thumb to the eye allowed Rich to fight his way back into the match. Rich then held the advantage and tried to put Muraco away on a couple of occasions, including once with the aid of illegal tactics, but failed to do so. Match turned into a see-saw battle and saw both men put the wood to each other. Announcers made no mention of the upcoming Rich-Cactus vs. Blackwell-Announcer Marshall match(es). End of the match saw Muraco on the offensive. Muraco whipped Rich into the ropes and looked to catch Rich coming off with a backdrop but Rich caught Muraco with a kick to the chest, Muraco shot up and stumbled back. Rich moved in and caught Muraco with punches, whipped Muraco into the ropes and caught Muraco coming off with a kick to the gut followed by an exploder suplex. Muraco down. Rich ran and hit the ropes and came off with a running elbow smash to the chest. Rich of the cover. 1...2...thr... Muraco kicked out. Rich grabbed Muraco as Muraco was getting up and went to whip Muraco into the ropes but Muraco reversed and caught Rich coming off with in a fireman's carry that turned into a Samoan drop. Crowd popped. Muraco gestured it was time for his inverted piledriver finisher. Muaco snapped Rich up and blasted Rich with his inverted piledriver finisher. Muraco covered Rich. 1...2...3! Ref called for the bell as the fans popped like a tire on a road full of police spike strips. Muraco up and the ref raised his hand in victory. WINNER: Muraco - Pinfall - 6:47 In-Studio: Nelson said that the new AWA was off and running with that hot match between Muraco and Rich. Pic aired of Bob Orton with the caption: NEXT... BATTLING BOB!!! Commercials 'Cowboy' Bob Orton vs. Tommy Jammer Jammer came down the face aisle to a modest ovation. Orton came down the heel aisle to a decent amount of boos. Jammer gave Orton a battle and almost put Orton away early but Orton escaped defeat and would take control of the match and finish Jammer off with his superplex finisher for the 1...2...3. WINNER: Orton - Pinfall - 3:18 In-Studio: Nelson talked about Orton looking good since his return to the AWA a few weeks ago. Told fans to expect to hear more from Orton in the weeks ahead. Pic aired of the AWA logo with the caption: NEXT... REUNION!!! Commercials/AWA Tour Update in-Studio: Larry Nelson intro'd footage from the end of last week's Cactus Jack-Don Muraco match from ASW. VIDEO: # End of the match saw Cactus on the offensive. Jack had worked over Muraco and whipped Muraco into the corner. Jack charged in and Muraco charged out of the corner and flattened Jack with a running clothesline. Crowd popped. Jack slowly made it to his feet and Muraco caught Jack in the fireman's carry position and blasted Jack with a Samoan Drop. Jack in bad shape as the fans popped like Mr. Cryosote. Muraco got up and gestured it was time for his inverted piledriver finisher. As Muraco grabbed Jack, Tommy Rich, in street clothes, charged down the heel aisle to boos and hit the ring and attacked Muraco from behind. Ref called for the bell. Rich pounded away on Muraco as Jack recovered and joined in the attack. The two hammered away on Muraco, whipped Muraco into the ropes and caught Muraco coming off with a double clothesline. Muraco crashed to the mat. Crowd popped as Wahoo, now fully recovered from Tully chair attack at the tournament in February, charged down the face aisle, hit the ring and started battering Rich and Cactus with punches. Wahoo then peppered Rich with knife-edge chops to the chest. Jack recovered and jumped Wahoo and they now had the advantage. Muraco recovered and jumped into the fray and the four started brawling. Ref again called for the bell to no avail. Jack and Rich got the upper hand and pounded on Muraco and Wahoo and went to whip Muraco and Wahoo into each other but Muraco and Wahoo reversed and sent Jack and Rich slamming into each other as the fans popped. Jack and Rich on stagger street USA. Wahoo blasted Rich with a huge chest chop and Rich slammed to the mat, rolled out of the ring and crashed to the floor. Muraco pummeled Jack with punches and Jack fell against the ropes. Muraco charged in and pulverized Jack with a running clothesline that sent Jack over the top rope and crashing to the floor to more cheers. Muraco and Wahoo looked around from the ring and then left and dropped to the floor and Larry Nelson was waiting for them at ringside mic in hand. Nelson: Don Muraco! Wahoo McDaniel saved you from what could have been a terrible beating at the hands of Cactus Jack and Tommy Rich! Muraco: Larry! The Chief's always got my back and I've got his! Nelson: Wahoo... Wahoo: Don, I think you know the question I'm about to ask you. We haven't tagged together for a while. We were on a real good run. Do you wanna get back together and finish what we started in the tag team division? Muraco wiped the sweat off his face. Muraco: Chief, I've never had a better tag team partner than you. We were on quite a roll before we decided to go our separate ways as singles. To answer your question: Yes! Let's reunite and finish the job as a tag team! The pair briefly hugged and looked out at the cheering crowd. Nelson: You heard it here first! Wahoo and Muraco are back together as a tag team! END VIDEO In-Studio: Nelson said it was great to see Wahoo and Muraco back as a team. Said fans should expect them to make a lot of noise in the tag team division. Split-screen pic aired of Tom Zenk and Billy Joe Travis with the caption: NEXT... MN VS. TN!!! Tom Zenk vs. Billy Joe Travis (from USWA) Travis came down the heel aisle to modest boos. Once in the ring, Travis took the mic from Larry Nelson. Travis: What you're about to witness is a battle between Tennessee and Minnesota! And Minnesota's gonna lose! Because just like Nevada, Minnesota is a state for losers! Many in the crowd booed Travis. Zenk came to the ring down the face aisle to a fair crowd response. Match started out as a back-and-forth affair before Zenk gained the advantage. Zenk held serve briefly before Travis gained the upper hand with a headbutt to the groin. Travis worked over Zenk and Travis bodyslammed Zenk and then Travis mounted the middle buckle facing the crowd and came off with a slingshot splash on Zenk that connected. Travis for the cover and hooked the leg. 1...2... Zenk kicked out. Fair amount of cheers. Both men to their feet and Travis booted Zenk and whipped Zenk into the buckles. Travis charged in on Zenk and Zenk fired out of the corner and pulverized Travis with a running clothesline. Travis down and out. Zenk snapped up Travis and nailed Travis with a sidebreaker across the knee. Zenk climbed out on the apron and mounted the top buckle as a stunned Travis got to his feet, turned and Zenk came off with a missle dropkick. Travis crashed to the mat. Zenk for the cover and hooked the leg. 1...2...3! Ref called for the bell as it was a decent crowd response for the Zenk victory. Zenk up and the ref raised his hand in victory. WINNER: Zenk - Pinfall - 5:02 In-Studio: Nelson discussed Zenk's win over Travis on the first program of AWA wrestling presented by Triumph Media Sports. Said that the big announcement was coming up next. Commercials In-Studio: Larry Nelson said it was time for the big announcement about an upcoming AWA event! EVENT: WrestleRock '90 WHERE: Sioux Falls Arena - Sioux Falls, SD WHEN: Sunday, May 20 TIME: 1:00pm CST DATE TICKETS GO ON SALE: Saturday, April 21, at 10am CST. You can get your seats by calling the Sioux Falls Arena box office at (605) 555-8287 or by contacting Ticket Master. Nelson said they'll announce the matches and the feature rock act for the show in the coming weeks. Nelson went on to heavily hype the event and said it was the first major show of the Triumph Media Sports era. Nelson told fans to get their seats early and that for fans traveling from out of town there were plenty of fine accommodations in the Sioux Falls area. Split-screen pic aired of Col. DeBeers and Brad Rheingans with the caption: NEXT... MERCENARY VS. OLYMPIAN! Commercials Col. DeBeers vs. Brad Rheingans Rheingans came down the face aisle to a decent ovation. DeBeers came down the heel aisle to the ring to a wall of boos but also had his fans. The two engaged in some technical wrestling early on. During the match, Valerie came down the heel aisle to ringside and took notes. She was strongly booed. Rheingans was distracted by her at one point in the match which allowed DeBeers to gain an advantage. Blears: It may shock some people to know that Col. DeBeers has an amateur background in the sport. The match then turned into a see-saw affair with both men scoring near falls. End of the match saw DeBeers on the offensive. DeBeers whipped Rheingans into the ropes and caught Rheingans coming off with a knee to the gut that dropped Rheingans. DeBeers backed up as Rheingans got to his feet. DeBeers charged in and nailed Rheingans with a running punch to the head. Rheingans crashed to the mat. DeBeers hit Rheingans with a knee drop to the head and went for the cover. 1...2... Rheingans kicked out. Crowd cheered. DeBeers up as Rheingans sat up and DeBeers stomped Rheingans in the back. DeBeers snapped Rheingans up and whipped Rheingans into the ropes and caught Rheingans coming off with a back elbow to the chest. Rheingans stunned. DeBeers grabbed Rheingans and went for a bodyslam but Rheingans caught DeBeers in a small package for the pin. 1...2...thr... DeBeers kicked out. Crowd groaned. Both men up and Rheingans fired away on DeBeers with gut shots. Rheingans whipped DeBeers into the ropes and caught DeBeers coming off with a headbutt to the chest followed by a bodyslam. Rheingans mounted the middle buckle and came off with a knee drop to the chest but DeBeers rolled out of the way and Rheingans slammed knee-first into the mat. Ref counting. Both men made it to their feet and DeBeers caught Rheingans with a kick to the gut, grabbed Rheingans, hoisted him up and nailed Rheingans with his face-first piledriver finisher. 1...2...3! Ref called for the bell as Valerie disappeared to the back. DeBeers up and the ref raised his hand in victory. WINNER: DeBeers - Pinfall - 6:20 Split-screen pic aired of Wahoo and Cactus Jack with the caption: NEXT... CHIEF VS. CACTUS!!! Commercials TV MAIN EVENT: Wahoo McDaniel vs. Cactus Jack Cactus (w/o Rich) came to the ring down the heel aisle to pretty strong boos but also had his fans. Wahoo came down the face aisle to a strong ovation. Ref called or the bell. The two men came out of their corners and circled one another when Jack raised his left hand in the air. Wahoo clasped hands with Jack. Jack then raised his other hand in the air and, as Wahoo went to lock hands, Jack kicked Wahoo in the gut and doubled over Wahoo, Jack pounded away on Wahoo and then slammed Wahoo's head into the top buckle. Wahoo spun around in the corner and Jack started biting Wahoo's forehead. Jack broke the illegal move at the ref's count of 4 and then repeated it with another break at 4. Jack then whipped Wahoo into the opposite buckles and charged in but Wahoo moved and Jack slammed front-first into the buckles. Jack slowly peeled himself off the buckles and turned and Wahoo blistered Jack with a series of stinging open-hand chest chops as the crowd cheered. Wahoo then bodyslammed Jack and delivered a chop to Jack's chest. Wahoo for the cover. 1... Jack kicked out. Both men up and Jack leaned out through the top and middle rope and the ref forced Wahoo to stand back. Jack slowly made his way back into the ring. Wahoo moved in on Jack and Jack caught Wahoo with a knife-edge chop to the chest and Wahoo responded by unleashing a blistering barrage of knife-edge chops on Jack, the last one sent Jack crashing to the mat and rolling out of the ring and crashing to the floor as the fans popped. Ref ordered Wahoo back and began the 10-count. Jack got to his feet next to the apron and climbed up on the apron. Jack made his way back into the ring and charged at Wahoo and Wahoo caught Jack with another chop and went to whip Jack into the buckles but Jack reversed and Wahoo crashed into them. Jack caught Wahoo with a series of punches that drove Wahoo to his ass in the corner. Jack backed up and charged in and nailed Wahoo with a running knee strike to the face. Jack pulled Wahoo out of the corner and covered Wahoo. 1...2... Wahoo kicked out. Jack up and stomped on Wahoo and then grabbed Wahoo and threw Wahoo through the top and middle rope down to the floor. Jack ignored the ref and left the ring. Jack bodyslammed Wahoo on the concrete. Ref counting. Jack climbed up on the apron and got a running start and nailed Wahoo with a running elbow smash off the apron to the chest. Jack up and rolled in and out of the ring to break the ref's 10-count. Wahoo in a bad way. Jack snapped Wahoo up and drove Wahoo back-first into the ring apron. Ref counting. Jack repeated the move. Jack then went to hip toss Wahoo on the floor but Wahoo blocked the try and nailed Jack with a hip toss on the floor of his own. Crowd popped. Wahoo quickly rolled in and out of the ring to break the count. Wahoo moved in and blasted Jack with a head shot and then paid Jack back by driving Jack twice back-first into the ring apron. Wahoo threw Jack back into the ring and followed Jack in. Wahoo grabbed Jack and started to pull Jack up when Jack caught Wahoo with a trio of gut shots. Jack up and fired away on Wahoo with punches and then choked Wahoo out on the top rope and and broke the illegal move at the ref's count of 4. Wahoo leaned over the top rope and Jack yanked on the top rope and snapped Wahoo back into the ring. Wahoo down and grabbed at his throat. Wahoo to a knee and Jack booted Wahoo in the aide of the head. Jack backed up as a shaky Wahoo made it to his feet. Wahoo up and Jack charged in and blasted Wahoo with a running swinging neckbreaker. Jack for the cover. 1...2...thr... Wahoo kicked out. Fans cheered. Jack up and Wahoo slowly getting up and Jack caught Wahoo with a punch and went to whip Wahoo into the ropes but Wahoo reversed and caught Jack coming off with his big chop to the chest finisher. Jack crashed down near the ropes and rolled out on the apron. Fans into it. Ref ordered Wahoo back and started the 10-count. Jack cautiously made it to his feet on the apron. Wahoo got tired of waiting and moved in on Jack and Jack went to punch Wahoo but Wahoo blocked the punch try and nailed Jack with a punch of his own that staggered Jack. Jack on the apron holding onto the top rope. Wahoo grabbed the top rope and catapaulted Jack back into the ring and Jack slammed to the mat. Fans eating it up. Jack up and was popped with a series of open hand chest chops followed by a big tomahawk chop to the top of Jack's head. Jack crashed to the mat. Tommy Rich charged down the heel aisle and jumped up on the apron. Ref went over and ordered Rich off the apron. Wahoo saw Rich and went over and grabbed Rich and a struggle ensued. Jack up and charged up behind Wahoo and nailed Wahoo with a running high knee to the back. Wahoos slammed into Rich. Wahoo lost his grip on Rich and Rich crashed to the floor after the collision with Wahoo. Jack rolled Wahoo up for the cover. 1... Jack grabbed a handful of tights. ...2...thr... Wahoo kicked out. Fans roared. The two men up and Jack caught Wahoo with a punch and Wahoo fired back with a chop. The two engaged in an punch/knife-edge chop exchange. Wahoo gained the upper hand and whipped Jack into the ropes and caught Jack coming off with his big chop finisher. Jack crashed to the mat by the ropes. Wahoo for the cover facing the ropes. 1...2... Rich had recovered and raked Wahoo's eyes. Wahoo rolled off of Jack holding his eyes. Ref looked over at Rich and Rich threw his hands up like he did nothing wrong. Fans pissed. These two were getting good heel heat. Wahoo got up facing away from Jack as Jack got to his feet. Jack shoved Wahoo hard, front-first into the buckles. Wahoo turned walked into a punch followed by a discus clothesline from Jack. Wahoo down. Jack then snapped Wahoo up and nailed Wahoo with his double underhook DDT finisher. Jack for the cover. 1...2...3! Ref called for the bell as the fans booed loudly. Jack up and the ref raised his hand in victory. Rich climbed in the ring and immediately started stomping away on the defeated Wahoo. Muraco charged down the face aisle to a big pop from the crowd and Jack and Rich bailed to the safety of the floor. Muraco glaring out at the devious, dangerous pair from the ring as the ref checked on Wahoo. Muraco turned to check on his friend/tag team partner as the program ended. WINNER: Jack - Pinfall - 9:46 END PROGRAM NEXT STORYLINE POST: First new era AWA All-Star Wrestling taping. Edited September 2, 2023 by piperrulz 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theheel Posted September 2, 2023 Share Posted September 2, 2023 Wildfire Tommy Rich didn’t exactly start building any momentum towards what was talked about behind the scenes. DeBeers and Jack post key wins…..hmmmm 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Kremmen Posted September 3, 2023 Author Share Posted September 3, 2023 20 hours ago, Theheel said: Wildfire Tommy Rich didn’t exactly start building any momentum towards what was talked about behind the scenes. DeBeers and Jack post key wins…..hmmmm Maybe Rich lost to Muraco so if he wins the strap he has a built-in first opponent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theheel Posted September 3, 2023 Share Posted September 3, 2023 1 hour ago, piperrulz said: Maybe Rich lost to Muraco so if he wins the strap he has a built-in first opponent. Could be but we will have to see what Cowboy has in store for Wildfire to get into the mix Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Kremmen Posted September 6, 2023 Author Share Posted September 6, 2023 (edited) AWA ALL-STAR WRESTLING - ZORN ARENA - EAU CLAIRE, WI - APRIL 1990 Announcers: Lee Marshall & Lord James Blears Ring-Announcer/Interviewer: Larry Nelson (# - Aired on another AWA program.) (Bill Watts came out to the ring before the show and the fans popped big-time for him. News was out about the new ownership. Watts gave a rousing speech about the new look AWA and said fans can expect some big changes in the near future, Watts told the fans the new AWA was gonna be built on solid wrestling action and not become a glorified cartoon like the WWF or corporate entity slavishly tied to whims of a bunch of know-nothing corporate suits like the NWA/WCW now was.) (1st Taping) Show Intro OPEN AWA promoter Jim Crockett appeared on the screen in a suit and tie with mic in hand infront of the AWA logo. Jim: Hello. I'm Jim Crockett, the new promoter of the American Wrestling Association. On March 5th of this year, new owners, known under the collective name of Triumph Media Sports, assumed control of the AWA. New owners Deborah Harry of the rock band Blondie and Hollywood director John Waters took the reigns of the promotion. Before I go any further, let me just say thank you to Verne Gagne for his over four decades of service to the great sport of professional wrestling and his tireless work into making the AWA into one of the top promotions in wrestling. Verne leaves behind a truly great legacy and the new ownership is going to work very hard to keep the AWA a sports-oriented promotion and not become 'sports entertainment'. We have three new people in charge of the day-to-day wrestling operations. I'm the promoter. And Bill Watts and Jerry Jarrett, both outstanding wrestlers and promoters in their own right, round out the new brain trust that will be working hard to deliver you the hard-hitting wrestling action you fans expect at arenas in the U.S. and Canada and on TV every week. It's an exciting time to be a wrestling fan right now. There are lots of exciting things going on in the sport. So, it is with great pleasure that Triumph Media Sports welcomes you to this new era for the American Wrestling Association. Thank you. END VIDEO In-Studio: Larry Nelson welcomed viewers to the first edition of All-Star Wrestling under the ownership of Triumph Media Sports. Nelson told fans to expect big things to come from the new look AWA moving forward. Nelson then ran down the program. TV MAIN EVENT - NON-TITLE: Greg Valentine (PWHC) vs. The Trooper A major announcement about a major AWA show coming up in May! NON-TITLE: Mike Enos (WTTC) vs. Hector Guerrero Badd Company (w/ DDP) vs. Greg Gagne & Jake Milliman Jerry Blackwell vs. Akio Sato And more!!! Nelson sent it to the ring in Eau Claire. Candi Divine vs. Rockin' Robin (LPWA) Divine came down the heel aisle to a fair amount of boos. Robin got a good reaction coming down the face aisle because fans remembered her from her WWF run. Robin was now with the Ladies' Pro Wrestling Association. Good action between two good, athletic wrestlers. Early on, Robin worked over an arm bar on Divine that included Robin working over Divine's left arm with a series of knee drives into it. Divine fought her way back into the match and gained the advantage and then the match turned into a see-saw affair. End of the match saw Divine on the offensive. She went to whip Robin into the ropes but Robin reversed and caught Divine coming off with a flying clothesline. Divine crashed to the mat. Robin for the cover. 1...2...thr... Divine kicked out. Crowd groaned. Robin snapped Divine up and went to whip Divine into the ropes but Divine reversed but Robin came off and hit Divine with a bulldog. Robin for the cover. 1...2... Divine kicked out. More groans. Robin snapped Divine up and went to hit Divine with a suplex but Divine blocked the move and nailed Robin with a couple of rib shots and then hit Robin with a suplex followed by an elbow smash to the chest. Divine for the pin. 1...2... Robin kicked out. Crowd cheered. Both women up and Robin stunned Divine with some forearm strikes to the chest and bodyslammed Divine. Robin went out on the apron and came off with a diving splash off the top rope but Divine got her knees up and Robin crashed into them. Both women down. Ref counting. Both women made it to their feet and Divine caught Robin with a strike, pulled Robin's legs out from under her and Robin crashed to the mat. Divine turned Robin over into the Boston Crab. Robin was in the hold for a few seconds before submitting. Ref called for the bell. Crowd booed as the ref raised Divine's in victory to strong boos from the crowd. WINNER: Divine - Submission - 7:13 In-Studio: Nelson said it was obvious that the new look AWA was gonna be focused on in-ring action. Pic aired of Jerry Blackwell and Akio Sato with the caption: NEXT... STONE MOUNTAIN FURY!!! Commercials Akio Sato vs. Jerry Blackwell Sato came down the heel aisle to modest boos. Blackwell got a good ovation coming down the face aisle. Sato attacked Jerry before the bell rang. Sato worked over Jerry with strikes and held serve early before Blackwell fought back. Blackwell was starting to dominate when Sato caught Jerry with an eye poke. Sato started laying into the big man with more strikes and then went out on the apron, mounted the top rope in the corner and came off with a flying crossbody but Jerry caught Sato in mid-air and bodyslammed Sato. Sato made it to his feet and Jerry grabbed Sato and whipped Sato into the corner and demolished Sato with an avalanche. Sato staggered out of the corner and crashed on his back in the ring. Jerry hit the ropes and came off with his diving splash finisher for the 1...2...3! Fans cheered as the ref called for the bell. Jerry up and the ref raised his hand in victory. WINNER: Blackwell - Pinfall - 3:31 In-Studio: Nelson said he thinks a re-match between Blackwell and Kokina will be coming soon. Hyped the big announcement coming up later in the program. Split-screen pic aired of Badd Co. and Greg Gagne & Jake Milliman with the caption: NEXT: 2% VS. BADD COMPANY!!! Commercials/Market-specific promos for house show cities/Generic promos for non-house show cities Jake Milliman & Greg Gagne vs. Badd Co. (w/ DDP) Badd Co. and DDP came down the heel aisle to the ring to strong boos. Once in the ring, they briefly played to the crowd to more boos. DDP had his trusty cane with him. Jake Milliman & Greg Gagne came down the face aisle to the ring to solid crowd support. Once in the ring, Milliman shredded his '2% Forever' t-shirt and threw it into the crowd. Announcers remarked that DDP still had not given Ricky Rice back the briefcase containing the $50 grand Rice won in the Christmas night Battle Royal and his $500 a day fines were piling up until he gave Rice the money. Match was a back-and-forth battle with both teams getting in their share of offense. Badd Co. took a couple of shortcuts along the way to gain the upper hand. At the end of the match, Greg Gagne and Paul Diamond were the legal men in the ring. After a bit of back-and-forth, Diamond caught Gagne with some punches, whipped Greg into the ropes and looked to catch Greg coming off with backdrop but Greg caught Diamond with a sunset flip for the pin. 1...2... Diamond kicked out. Both men up and Diamond caught Greg with a kick to the gut. Diamond popped Greg with a double underhook suplex. Diamond stomped Greg in the back. Diamoond snapped Greg up and nailed Greg with a sidewalk slam. Diamond for the cover. 1...2... Jake hit the ring and stomped Diamond in the back to break up the pin try. Tanaka hit the ring and hit Jake with a forearm to the side of the head. Jake stumbled back. Ref trying to get Jake and Tanaka out of the ring as Tanaka moved in on Jake to continue the assault. Diamond picked up Greg and bodyslammed him. DDP, with his trusty cane in hand, jumped up on the apron. Ref went over and ordered DDP off the apron and DDP started having words with the ref. Diamond started choking the downed Greg behind the ref's back. Jake and Tanaka started brawling in the ring and Jake got the upper hand and knocked Tanaka down to the mat and Tanaka rolld out of the ring and crashed to he floor and Jake followed. Diamond up and looked over and saw the ref/DDP situation. DDP saw Diamond and suddenly dropped back to the floor. As Diamond was turned facing away from Greg, Greg got to his feet and came up behind Diamond and caught Diamond in the sleeper. Crowd cheered. Tanaka tried to climb back into the ring but Jake yanked him back down to the floor. Ref distracted by Tanaka and Jake. Ref turned and saw Diamond in the sleeper. DDP snuck over and clubbed Jake with the cane and Jake went down on the floor. DDP jumped back up on the apron and the ref went over and ordered DDP back off the apron and DDP argued with the ref. With the ref distracted, Tanaka climbed in the ring and clubbed Greg with a forearm to the back. Greg lost his grip on the sleeper. Diamond, weakened by the sleeper, dropped to a knee as Tanaka hit Greg with a jumping DDT. Tanaka quickly bailed form the ring to the floor and DDP did likewise. Diamond covered Greg. Ref turned and saw the pin and counted. 1...2...3! Ref called for the bell as the crowd booed. A hurting Jake recovering on the floor. Greg in pain in the ring as the ref raised Diamond's hand in victory. Diamond left the ring and joined up with Tanaka and DDP at ringside. The trio briefly celebrated at ringside to more boos before heading back up the heel aisle. Jake had recovered enough to get back in the ring and check on his partner. WINNER: Badd Co. - Pinfall - 7:26 Pic aired of the AWA logo with the caption: NEXT... MORE GREAT AWA ACTION!!! Commercials Mike Enos vs. Hector Guerrero The Destruction Crew (WTTC - Enos & Wayne Bloom) made their way down the heel aisle to strong boos but also had their fans. Hector Guerrero came down the face aisle to the ring with brother Mando to a decent crowd response. Hector came out on fire to start the match. Valerie made her way down the heel aisle to strong boos. She had her notebook and pen in hand and started taking notes. Wayne Bloom looked over and smiled at Val and she responded with a sexy smile and gentle wave. After Guerrero nearly scored the upset victory, Enos took control of the match and finally finished Guerrero off with spinning crucifix slam to score the 1...2...3! Ref raised Enos' hand in victory. Valerie left the ringside area and headed back up the heel aisle. Bloom jumped in the ring to congratulate his partner and Mando climbed in to check on his brother when Wayne stunned Mando with a running clothesline to add insult to injury. Mando crashed to the mat. Ref reprimanded Bloom as he handed the champs their belts. Champs dropped to the floor and held their belts in the air with one hand each as they made their way back up the heel aisle to mainly boos. WINNER: Enos - Pinfall - 2:53 Pic aired of the AWA logo with the caption: NEXT... MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT!!! In-Studio: Larry Nelson said it was time for the big announcement about an upcoming AWA event! EVENT: WrestleRock '90 WHERE: Sioux Falls Arena - Sioux Falls, SD WHEN: Sunday, May 20 TIME: 1:00pm CST DATE TICKETS GO ON SALE: Saturday, April 21, at 10am CST. You can get your seats by calling the Sioux falls Arena box office at (605) 555-8287 or by contacting Ticket Master. Nelson said they'll announce the matches and the feature rock act for the show in the coming weeks. Nelson went on to heavily hype the event and said it was the first major show of the Triumph Media Sports era. Nelson told fans to get their seats early and that for fans traveling from out of town there were plenty of fine accommodations in the Sioux Falls area. Split-screen pic of PWHC Valentine and The Trooper with the caption: NEXT... CHAMP VS. THE LAW!!! Commercials/Market-specific promos for house show cities/Generic promos for non-house show cities TV MAIN EVENT - NON-TITLE: Greg Valentine (PWHC) vs. The Trooper Ring announcer Larry Nelson said the match was set for one-fall with a TV time-limit. Trooper came to the ring down the face aisle to a strong ovation from the fans. He handed out souvenir speeding tickets to fans on the way to the ring. Trooper climbed in the ring and saluted the crowd. Valentine was wearing his robe and had the title around his waist underneath as he came down the heel aisle to strong boos but also had his supporters. Once in the ring, Valentine opened his robe and displayed the belt to mainly boos. Ref called for the bell. Announcers wondered if the masked man was gonna show up during the match. The two men came out of their corners and circled one another and engaged in a collar-and-elbow tie-up. The two struggled to gain the advantage and Trooper drove Valentine into the corner and the ref ordered a break. Break was clean. The two men engaged in another collar-and-elbow tie-up and Valentine gained the upper hand and caught Trooper in a hammerlock from behind. Valentine cinched up on the hold but the Trooper was able to catch Valentine in the side of the head with an elbow strike and Trooper reversed and now had Valentine in a hammerlock. Trooper rode Valentine to the ground in the hold. Trooper kept the hold locked on and drove a series of knees into Valentine's left arm. Valentine and Trooper up and Valentine bailed to the floor as the crowd cheered, Valentine shook out the effects of the hammerlock and knee drives into the arm. Ref ordered Trooper back and ref started the 10-count. Valentine climbed back up on the ring apron. Trooper moved in and Valentine leaned through the top and middle rope and caught Trooper with a series of shoulder blocks to the gut. Trooper stumbled back holding his gut. Valentine climbed back into the ring and nailed Trooper with a deliberate series of bionic elbows to the top of Trooper's head. Valentine whipped Trooper into the corner and moved in and caught Trooper with a series of knees to the gut. Valentine pulled Trooper out of the corner and nailed Trooper with a suplex followed by an elbow smash to the chest and went for the cover. 1... Trooper kicked out. Both men to their knees and Valentine caught Trooper in a front facelock, The two now laying on their front-sides on the mat as Valentine worked over the front facelock, Ref checking to see if Valentine was choking Trooper. Trooper then started to struggle and kick his legs wildly while locked in the hold. Ref again checked to see if Valentine was choking the Trooper but could find no evidence of it. Crowd booed as Valerie once again made her way down the heel aisle and started taking notes. Valentine kept the hold locked on as both men slowly made it to their feet. Once again, Trooper reacted as if being choked in the hold but the ref caught nothing. Valentine maintained the hold and the two maneuvered around and Trooper drove Valentine back-first into the buckles. Valentine lost his grip on the hold. Trooper nailed Valentine with a series of shoulderblocks to the gut. Trooper whipped Valentine into the opposite buckles. Trooper charged in and nailed Valentine with a running clothesline. Valentine stumbled out of the corner and crashed on his face in the ring. Trooper turned Valentine over and went for the pin. 1...2... Valentine kicked out. Crowd buzzing. Both men up and Trooper caught Valentine with a head shot and whipped Valentine into the ropes but Valentine grabbed the top rope. Trooper moved in but Valentine caught Trooper with a punch that dropped Trooper. Valentine for the cover. 1... Valentine placed his feet on the middle rope for leverage. ...2...thr... Ref looked up and saw Valentine's feet on the ropes and patted Valentine on the back. Valentine got up thinking he'd won the match but the ref informed Valentine he hadn't. Trooper getting up and Valentine nailed Trooper with a series of elbow smashes to the back of the neck. Valentine picked up Trooper and bodyslammed Trooper, ran and hit the ropes and came off with a flying elbow smash but Trooper rolled out of the way and Valentine crashed to the mat. Crowd cheered. Valerie scribbling notes at ringside. Both men down. Ref counting. Both men to their feet and Valentine went to kick Trooper but Trooper grabbed Valentine by the leg. Valentine tried to beg off and took a futile swipe at Trooper. Trooper spun Valentine all the way around and leveled Valentine with a clothesline. Trooper for the pin. 1...2... Valentine kicked out. Trooper snapped up Valentine and slammed Valentine's head into the top buckle. Valentine spun around in the corner and Trooper hit Valentine with some elbows to the chest. Trooper whipped Valentine into the opposite buckles and charged in but Valentine moved and Trooper slammed front-first into the buckles. Trooper quickly peeled himself off the buckles and walked away holding his chest. Valentine came up behind Trooper and nailed Trooper with a chop block to the back of the knee. Trooper crumpled to the mat. Valerie in overdrive with her scribbling. Valentine up, grabbed Trooper's left leg and yanked on it a few times to inflict more damage to the Trooper's left knee area. Valentine then locked Trooper in the figure 4 leglock (sponsored by Tim Horton's). Fans urging on Trooper not to submit. Trooper inching towards the ropes locked in the hold. Trooper not giving up as the PWH Champ had the hold firmly locked in. Trooper was able to find the strength to scoot close enough to the rope and get his hands on the bottom rope to force a break. Valentine let go of the hold. Trooper down and grabbing his left knee area. Trooper sat up next to the ropes. Valentine up and stomped Trooper in the chest and then grabbed the top rope and started choking Trooper out with his knee. Ref counting the 5 count. Valentine broke the illegal move at the ref's count of 4. Valentine shot a glance over at Valerie and pointed at her. Valerie intently watching the match. Valentine snapped Trooper up by the ropes, leaned him back against the ropes and nailed Trooper with a series of forearms smashes to the chest. Valentine then went to whip Trooper into the ropes but Trooper reversed and caught Valentine coming off with a flying shoulder tackle. Crowd roared as Valentine crashed to the mat. Trooper to a knee, still feeling the effects of the figure 4 (sponsored by Tim Horton's). Ref counting. Trooper and Valentine both up and Valentine stunned Trooper with a chest chop. The hurting Trooper was getting angry. Valentine hit Trooper with another chop and Trooper stiffened up. Valentine went to his Trooper with a punch but Trooper blocked the punch try and fired away on Valentine with punches. Valentine staggered. Crowd into it. Trooper whipped Valentine into the ropes and bent down and caught Valentine's legs. Valentine hanging upside down on Trooper's back. Trooper held Valentine there and then blasted Valentine with a double leg slam. Trooper went down and briefly grabbed his knee and then covered Valentine. 1...2...thr... Valentine kicked out. Crowd groaned. Blears: The damage done by the figure 4 prevented Trooper from covering Valentine faster. Trooper snapped up Valentine, whipped Valentine into the ropes and caught Valentine coming off with a high backdrop. Valentine crashed to the mat. Crowd feeling Trooper. Trooper grabbed Valentine and went to whip Valentine into the ropes but Valentine reversed and caught Trooper coming off with a back elbow to the chest. Trooper crashed to the mat. Valentine moved in and stomped Trooper's knee area and then went to wrap Trooper up into the figure 4 (sponsored by Tim Horton's) but as he was applying the hold Trooper kicked Valentine off and Valentine crashed to the mat down by the ropes. Trooper up and hobbled over as Valentine was getting up and Trooper caught Valentine in a small package for the pin. 1... Valentine reversed the hold. 1... Valentine grabbed the middle rope but the ref did not see it. ...2...3! Ref called for the bell as most in the arena booed but their were also some cheers for Valentine. Valerie disappeared from ringside. Valentine up and the ref handed Valentine his title and raised Valentine's hand in victory. Valentine left the ring and The Trooper tried to argue with the ref about Valentine grabbing the rope but to no avail as the program ended. WINNER: Valentine - Pinfall - 11:14 END PROGRAM (NEXT STORYLINE POSTS: Behind the scenes.) Edited September 6, 2023 by piperrulz 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Kremmen Posted September 7, 2023 Author Share Posted September 7, 2023 (edited) WRESTLEROCK SEATING CHART SUNDAY - MAY 20 - BELL TIME: 12:30pm CST (ESPN portion of the show starts at 1pm CST.) SEATING AND PRICES: RINGSIDE (First 3 Rows): $50.00 RINGSIDE (Rows 4-7): $40.00 REMAINING FLOOR SEATS: $32.00 W SECTION SEATS (Below sections P, O and N): $27.00 W SECTION SEATS (Below sections R & M): $22.00 U SECTION SEATS (Below sections C, D & E): $27.00 U SECTION SEATS (Below sections B & F): $22.00 SECTIONS P, O & N (First 15 Rows): $18.00 SECTIONS P, O & N (Row 16 & up): $15.00 SECTIONS C, D & E (First 15 Rows): $18.00 SECTIONS C, D & E (Row 16 & up): $15.00 SECTIONS B, F, M & R (All Seats): $12.00 SECTIONS G & S (General Admission): $8.00 SECTIONS A & L: N/A FOR TICKETS: Contact TicketMaster or call the Sioux Falls Arena Box Office at (605) 555-8287 or visit in person. Box Office is open 10-5pm Mon-Sat. Edited September 8, 2023 by piperrulz 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Kremmen Posted September 8, 2023 Author Share Posted September 8, 2023 (edited) APRIL 1990 AWA HQ - ST. LOUIS PARK, MN Bill Watts went to Jim Crockett's office and took a seat. Jim: What's the news. Bill: Have you heard from Verne at all? I've heard from him just a couple of times since the deal went through. Jim: We've been in occasional contact. He's coming soon to clear out his office. I can finally move into it and you can move in here. Bill: Looking forward to it. That office I've got is the size of a broom closet. How's Verne doing? Jim: Sounds pretty good on the phone. He says he's doing good. I'm sure he misses the day-to-day operations, though. Bill: We need to have a couple of send-off shows for Verne in the summer. I was thinking one here and one in Chicago. I think it will boost ticket sales so the fans can say goodbye to him. Jim: That's a good idea. Bill: I just got off the phone with Jim Ross in Atlanta. Jim: And... Bill: He says Herd's agreeable to a talent trade and we could get the World Champion for the two Gagne shows. Jim: Let me look here. When are we gonna try and book the Gagne shows? Bill: Told Ross we're aiming for July. Jim: When's the Bash this year? Bill: Ross said July 7th. And, as things go right now, Flair's dropping the title to Sting. He balked at sending the Flair-Sting re-match for the strap because the NWA might come here and to Chicago with that on top over the summer. He wondered if we would put up one of our guys against the champ. Jim: Let's see. Sarge is gonna be gone by then. Zbyszko's gone. If it's Sting, I'm thinking that Jarrett might lend us Lawler so we'd have a Sting-Lawler match-up. If it's Flair, hmmm... If we sign Windham, a Flair-Windham match-up might be good. They had great matches with each other a few years ago. Bill: If we can't get Lawler, maybe we could get another guy off the NWA roster. Right now, I'm just not seeing a guy on our roster who could move tickets against Sting. Hey! Muta and Sting work well together. That would be a good match-up. Jim: It would be. See what you can do if they won't send us Sting and Flair. Have you heard from Sarge? Is he agreeable to losing a loser leaves the AWA match at WrestleRock. Bill: That's still up in the air. We'll have to keep working on Bob*. I think Vince would like him to jump ship right now and leave us holding the bag. Jim: Vince was very agreeable to Larry finishing up here. But, taking Bob before he dropped the strap would hurt us. Bill: Might try and call Vince myself and see what I can do. Jim: Sure that's a good idea? Bill: Worth a shot in my opinion. Apparently, when he gets a wild hair up his ass he can be a petty bastard. We might have to give Bob a guaranteed deal for the WrestleRock match. Jim: What are you looking at for him to do the honors before leaving? Bill: I was thinking in the $2-3,000 dollar range. It really depends on how well tickets move. What's our most expensive seat gonna be for WrestleRock? Jim: We're looking at $40-50 bucks for the first few rows at ringside. Gotta remember that we're gonna have a rock act coming in as well. Have you drawn up a card for the show yet? Bill: Well, the winner at the St. Paul house show is gonna be a transitional champion. For WrestleRock, the matches I've been thinking of so far are an AWA World Title match where the belt changes hands; the loser leaves the AWA match; Greg Valentine, Badd Company and The Destruction Crew vs. The Trooper, the Top Guns, Ken Patera and Brad Rheingans; Mimi vs. Richter in a powerbomb vs. powerbomb match; and Kokina vs. Muraco or Wahoo in an open challenge match. Dark matches will be Greg Gagne vs. Bob Orton and Jonnie Stewart vs. Jake Milliman. Jim: What about something like a Kokina vs. Blackwell Slam match? Only the fans in the arena in Anaheim and those who buy the Pro Wrestling Heritage Tournament tape will ever see their first macth-up. Bill: I think that match would be better served on the houses. Plus, we've already got two stipulation matches lined up. I'm also toying with the idea of replacing Stanley Blackburn as figurehead president of the AWA with someone new. We should introduce the new president at WrestleRock. Jim: I like it. You got anybody lined up for the role? Bill: I've got a short-list of five guys right now: Bockwinkel, Von Raschke, The Crusher, Dutch Savage and Hart. Jim: Jimmy Hart? Bill: No. Gary Hart. He'd be a heel prez. The one name that concerns me is The Crusher. His persona is one that he would have to get physically involved on occasion. And since he's the master of the no-sell I don't think that would be my top pick. Jim: You don't want him bolo punching the World Champ and laying him out? Bill (Laughing): No. Not a good idea. Jim: What's up with the Bob Costas matter? Bill: I've got a call into his agent. Still waiting for him to call back. Also, left a message for Joe Pedicino to call me in case Costas falls through. There are a couple of other announcing issues I've been thinking of. First, I talked about putting Bischoff in the lead announcer role on All-Star Wrestling. I think Bischoff is better in a ring announcer-interviewer role. The guy I'm looking at right now to take over the lead announce position on All-Star would be Jack Reynolds. Jim: There's a name I haven't heard in a long time. Used to call the WWF back in the mid-'80s. Bill: He's a real good announcer. I just think, like Pedicino, he'd be an excellent addition. Brings experience to the position. We'd still go with your brother David in the color role on All-Star. And I think we need a heel color commentator on our ESPN show. Jim: You got anyone in mind? Bill: Right now, I do not. You? Jim: Not off-hand. No. Bill: We'll find somebody. I'd like to unveil Pedicino and his color commentator at WrestleRock if the Costas thing goes nowhere. Larry Nelson would remain the ring announcer and in-ring interviewer for the cable show. We'd move Lee Marshall to backstage interviews on both shows, at least at first. Jim: What about Lord Blears? Bill: He can announce the matches on ESPN from his home in Hawaii. He's gonna have to be let go, unfortunately. Jim: It sucks. But this can be a cruel business. Bill: I like James. very knowledgeable guy. But he's dated and we need fresh blood at the announce table to get the AWA out of the Gagne era. Jim: Was wondering. How did Blackwell, Rich, Marshall and Jack take it when you told them their match was not gonna be on TV? Bill: They did not like it. We're bummed about not being on TV. But, they felt better when I told them the match would take place at houses in Chicago, Milwaukee and St.Paul and be a dark match in Vegas, which means they'll make more money working four matches rather than one for TV.. Thinking in the 8-10 minute range with Rich jobbing to Marshall each night. The AWA revolution rolls on... (NEXT STORYLINE POSTS: Behind the scenes.) Edited September 8, 2023 by piperrulz 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Kremmen Posted September 11, 2023 Author Share Posted September 11, 2023 (edited) APRIL 1990 AWA HQ - ST. LOUIS PARK, MN Bill Watts was sitting in Jim Crockett's office for another meeting. Jim: I talked last night with John (Waters) and Deborah (Harry). They're gonna start negotiations with ESPN in a couple of weeks about a new TV deal. ESPN has been chomping at the bit, apparently, to make a new deal with us since the sale officially went through. Watts: That's great. With them on board, we should get a good deal with a set time-slot. Jim: Was also told there are more stations around the country interested in picking up our syndicated show. Bill: People in TV are taking notice. They must believe that the future looks promising for the AWA. We're gonna have to sit down with Al (DeRusha) and Mike (Shields) and discuss changes in TV production. We need new show intros that look more up-to-date. Anything on changing the look of the shows in the arenas for TVs? Jim: Nothing was said about that. But I'm sure it's coming. Anything on Bob Costas yet? Bill: Nope. Haven't heard a peep. Beginning to think he isn't interested. Haven't heard back from Pedicino, either. Jim: What if neither of them wants the job? Bill: It's back to the drawing board. We'll figure something out. Also gonna call Jarrett and see if he knows of a good heel who could be the color commentator for the cable show. By the way, who's the guy under the hood that keeps messing with The Trooper. Have you been informed of it? Jim: Greg (Gagne) told me it's Bobby Jaggers. Bill: Well, when the time comes for the masked man to be unmasked, how many fans are even gonna know who he is unless they remember him as one-half of the Kansas Jayhawks with Dutch (Mantell) when he worked for you a few years back. I think we need a new guy under the hood. Jim: Have anyone in mind? Bill: I was thinking Buddy Rose. AWA fans will know who he is. Jim: Interesting choice. They're both heavy... Bill: You mean fat? Crockett laughed. Jim: Yes. I mean fat. Bill: I don't think most fans will really notice the difference. Unless and until we can get Rose, let's just keep Jaggers in the role. If Rose says no then we'll keep Bobby. Jim: Both Rose and Jaggers are good workers for their size. Why don't we look to keep Jaggers on as a mid-card heel. Bill: Not a bad idea, Jim. Who knows? Maybe team him with Rose at some point. We can call them Roly Poly or Team 217*. The pair laughed. Jim: What's up on the Tully front? Bill: That completely slipped my mind! Negotiations between Tully and the NWA are at a stand-still right now. There's a chance we might be able to get him. Jim: I hope so. He'd be a fine addition to the roster. Bill: He's a main event heel talent. Jim: Given more thought as to who's winning big silver* at WrestleRock? Bill: Still thinking about it. Our roster is thin on the face side right now. That's why getting Windham would be big for us. But, I would not put the title on Barry at WrestleRock. It's gonna be someone on the current roster. Another guy I think we should seriously look at is Nikita Koloff. He'd also be a good addition to the face side of the ledger. Jim: We could be building a good roster without having to poach any WWF or NWA talent right now. Bill: It potentially looks very good. But, I still think we need a major name or two from the WWF or NWA. Fans would really sit up and take notice if we were able to pick off a guy like a Randy Savage or the Road Warriors or someone of that stature. Jim: What's up with the DeBeers situation? Bill: There are plans on the table for DeBeers right now. I know we're gonna get pressured from Deb and John to either drop Ed* outright or change his gimmick. I don't want to do it. But, they are the majority owners. Also, gotta call Jim Ross to see about setting up a World Title clash with the NWA World Champion and a top name since we're not getting Sting-Flair either way. Jim: What month are the Cactus-Rich vs. Lee Marshall-Jerry Blackwell matches being slated for? Bill: As things stand right now, it's gonna be at the houses next month in Chicago, Milwaukee, here in St. Paul and a dark match in Vegas. The promos are done for those cities. But under no circumstances will the match ever be brought up again on TV. Jim: What are you looking at regarding the women? Bill: We have some good wrestlers as a foundation to build on. I think right now using LPWA* talent is something that needs to become a regular occurrence. Mimi can only battle Wendi Richter and Candi Divine for so long. Jim: John floated an idea past me and I want to know what you think of it. He was thinking of trying to do the Vegas tapings, one time, at the Thomas & Mack Center. Watts got a surprised look on his face. Bill: Not anytime soon! I mean, these guys have trouble drawing over 2,000 sometimes. Thomas & Mack is a big-ass arena! Jim: It's where UNLV plays basketball. Well, if they want to attach an AWA wrestling show to a UNLV basketball game then I'm all for it. Otherwise, we need to wait and see. Jim: They are one of the best college hoops programs in the country. And arguably the best team out west. Bill: How big is the arena? Jim: John said it seats 18,000. Watts snorted. Bill: No way in the world we try that in the immediate future. And even if we do, we're gonna have to darken the upper sections because we know we're not selling close to 18,000 tickets. Even if we did a show there and had success, say we drew 8,000 people, it's something you could only do once in a while. The crowds flat out would not stay that high. The Showboat needs to remain our home arena until further notice. Did they talk to you about where they're gonna move the offices? Jim: Seems like four cities are in play: Los Angeles, Phoenix, Vegas and Tampa. Bill: It just seems like we need to stay out west. Even though it's April, I'm still freezing my ass off up here. Jim: They think a re-location deal could be done in the next few months. Bill: A better locale would help to lure talent. Jim: i think Vegas is the logical choice because we do our ESPN TVs here. Bill: The re-location is all up to them. Jim: You know, I'm surprised Verne hasn't made any recommendations yet. Bill: We'll see what he's thinking at some point, I'm sure. I believe his consulting deal is for three years. Whether we use any of those ideas remains to be seen. Let's try and line up a conference call with Jarrett and see if he knows a good heel announcer candidate. Jim: Wanna do it tomorrow? Bill: Sounds good. I've got some work to do. Talk with you later, Jim. Jim: See you around, Bill. The beat goes on for the new era of the AWA. STAY TUNED... * Team 217. Buddy Rose, who was heavy, always used to get on the mic and say he weighed a 'slim, trim 217 pounds.' * Big silver. In this diary, I brought back the classic silver AWA World Title. * Ed, aka Ed Wiskosi, aka, Col. DeBeers STAN HANSEN WITH BIG SILVER (NEXT STORYLINE POSTS: Behind the scenes.) Edited September 11, 2023 by piperrulz 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sonny912 Posted September 11, 2023 Share Posted September 11, 2023 Didn't stan Hansen break big silver by running over it with a truck? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old School Fan Posted September 12, 2023 Share Posted September 12, 2023 25 minutes ago, sonny912 said: Didn't stan Hansen break big silver by running over it with a truck? He sure did - and not only that, he mailed it back to Verne in that condition. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sonny912 Posted September 12, 2023 Share Posted September 12, 2023 1 hour ago, Old School Fan said: He sure did - and not only that, he mailed it back to Verne in that condition. ouch, how much you think it cost to fix it? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Kremmen Posted September 12, 2023 Author Share Posted September 12, 2023 (edited) 22 hours ago, Old School Fan said: He sure did - and not only that, he mailed it back to Verne in that condition. Hansen's all class! I blame Verne for this. Should have just let Hansen take the belt to Japan for the tour. They could have kept updates on him and how he was taking out all challengers over there. When he returned a few months later, he may have been over even more in the eyes of the fans. Would have made him dropping the title huge. It would also have been different than what the NWA and WWF were doing as their World Champs were always around and the AWA champ would've looked like a globe-hopping title defender. But I'm just tlaking out of my arse. 20 hours ago, sonny912 said: ouch, how much you think it cost to fix it? Never fixed it. Just replaced it with a new belt. Since Hansen left the building that night in Denver with big silver, they had to use the women's belt as a makeshift title until a new belt was made. Just brought back big silver bc it was my fave World Title belt in the 1980's. Edited September 12, 2023 by piperrulz 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Kremmen Posted September 13, 2023 Author Share Posted September 13, 2023 (edited) APRIL 1990 AWA HQ - ST. LOUIS PARK, MN CONFERENCE CALL W/ JERRY JARRETT Crockett and Watts were seated in Crockett's office on a conference call with Jerry Jarrett. After the initial pleasantries were exchanged... Jerry: Anything I can do for you gentlemen? Bill: Jerry, we're gonna be switching up announcing teams for the two shows. We are looking for a heel color commentator for the show on ESPN. Jerry: Will he be working with Lee Marshall? Bill: No. I know this is an extreme long-shot, but I've got a call in to talk to mainstream sports announcer Bob Costas. Jerry: Good luck with that one. I can't see him agreeing to do it for any amount of money. He's got to protect his mainstream sports jobs in football, baseball and basketball. Maybe if this was the WWF he might consider it. But where the AWA is right now I'd start looking at someone else. I don't believe it has a chance of happening. I think Bob would worry about the stigma. Are you looking at anyone else to be the lead announcer for the cable show? Bill: Also have a call in to Joe Pedicino. But so far no luck hearing back from him. Jerry: Joe would be a much more realistic pick-up. Plus, you wouldn't have to pay him anywhere near what you'd have to pay a guy like Costas. Joe's also got great knowledge as it concerns the business and is a good communicator. Keep trying to contact him. Costas, at best, is just a fan. What about the syndicated show? Bill: Jim's brother David would be the color commentator, That's a done deal. Eric Bischoff would be the ring announcer and in-ring interviewer. I've got to call Jack Reynolds and see if he'd be interested in the lead announcing spot. Jerry: Well, Jack's a proven wrestling announcer and a good one at that. If you're asking me, I think, if you can sign them, Pedicino and Reynolds are the way to go. What would be the rest of the announce team for the cable show? Bill: As it stands right now, it would be Pedicino or Costas and Larry Nelson would remain the in-ring interviewer and ring announcer. Jerry: No color commentator? Jim: That's why we called you. We've been wracking our brains trying to figure out who we can hire for the role. We want him to be a heel. But nobody has really sprung to mind yet. Jerry: Let's see. Hmmm... Any chance you could steal Ventura away from the WWF? Jim: We're not even thinking along those lines. Vince will fight to keep that guy with tooth and claw. Jerry: Man. This is a tough one. Silence filled the conference call and then it hit like lightning. Jerry: I've got it! Bill! Bill: Bill who? Jerry: Bill Dundee! Jim: That's it! He's our heel color commentator if we can get him! Bill: Great call, Jerry! He'd be perfect! Guy's a great talker and has a real edge to him! Would be a perfect fit for the ESPN show! Jerry: He can make the people hate him very quickly. Let me handle this. I'll call him as soon as this conference call ends and see what I can do. Jim: That would be great. He would definitely bring something to the table. Bill: Well, that problem is almost solved. Now, we've got to get on with trying to sign our two lead announcers. Jerry: What will happen to Marshall and Blears? Bill: Plan right now is for Marshall to be the backstage interviewer for both shows. Unfortunately, we've got no future plans for Blears. He's pretty good in his role because of his knowledge. But, he's not the colorful personality we need in this day and age to fill that role. Jerry: Also, like to see the agreement being fulfilled bringing in some USWA guys for AWA shows. That helps greatly with exposure. Also heard Wrestle Rock is a go on ESPN. Do you have a card lined up yet? Bill: I'll fax the card I have in mind to you. Jerry: Waylon Jennings is not gonna be the music act again? Jim: No. Eric Bischoff is talking with the manager of a female metal band called Vixen. This Bischoff kid is a magician at getting deals done. Verne told us he was the reason Super Clash happened last October. He booked the arena in Milwaukee and got ESPN to sign off on airing it. It's gonna be a 2-1/2 hour window for Wrestle Rock. The rock act, whoever it is, will perform in the middle of the show because we're worried most of the fans might leave if the concert happens after the wrestling. Right now, the rock portion of the show is penciled in for 25-minutes. Jerry: Thank god Harry and Waters are the majority owners. Those are some deep pockets we can tap. The show sounds like it should be a good one. Why did you pick Sioux Falls for the show? Bill: The Lawler-Sarge match there drew almost 6,000 fans last year. Jerry: That explains it in a nutshell. Bill: We're hoping for as big, if not a bigger, crowd for WrestleRock. Jim: You got any other ideas for booking the AWA right now? Jerry: Seems like you guys are doing a pretty good job. Just keep it going. I think a turnaround is in our future if things keep going the way they are. Bill: Let's hope so. The three talked about Sarge defecting to the WWF and then engaged in some casual conversation, shared a few laughs and talked for about another half-hour before the call ended. The new look AWA was starting to take shape... STAY TUNED... (NEXT STORYLINE POSTS: More behind the scenes.) Edited September 13, 2023 by piperrulz 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Kremmen Posted September 14, 2023 Author Share Posted September 14, 2023 WHILE YOU WAIT... Terry Funk vs. Mark Lewin - Detroit Big-Time Wrestling - 1976 or '77: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Kremmen Posted September 15, 2023 Author Share Posted September 15, 2023 (edited) APRIL 1990 AWA HQ - ST. LOUIS PARK, MN It was a Sunday and the AWA hq was empty. Former AWA owner Verne Gagne, along with son Greg and a couple of others, let themselves into the building. It was moving day. The four went into Verne's office and Verne gave the men packing instructions. Greg and the two other men, along with Verne, started to dismantle Verne's office. The pictures on the wall and Verne's desk. The books on bookshelves. Papers. Anything that was Verne's was being moved out. It took the men a few hours, but they finally finished the job. The office, except for the desk Verne was leaving behind and some chairs and shelving were all that was left in the office. Verne paid the two helpers $500 dollars each for their days work. Greg was also paid a good sum. Mover #1: Bet you're gonna miss this place, Mr. Gagne. Verne: I am. I'm really going to miss it. Gonna miss coming in here everyday. Work gives you a sense of purpose. A sense of accomplishment. Greg: You've accomplished a lot in four decades, dad. Be proud of what you've done for this business. Verne: I'm sure one day I'll sit back and do just that, son. Like the old saying goes: all good things must come to an end. I just wish things could have continued a little longer. But, sometimes change is necessary. This was the time to move on. It's hard to let go and walk into the sunset. Greg: I know it is. But, you and mom are set for your golden years now. You have money to fight the imminent domain case against your property. You're free to do what you want. Verne: Mary* and I have already done a little traveling. We're gonna go to Hawaii for a couple of weeks. Mover 2: That sounds like fun. Can I go with you? Everyone laughed softly. Verne: You can go to Hawaii. Just not with us. More light laughter. Verne: I'm gonna miss the comraderie I've built up with the boys over the years. We had our tough times. But, overall it was a good ride. And I know the promotion is in good hands. You have three great wrestling minds and two influential money people running the show now. They'll carry on the AWA wrestling legacy. I'm sure of it. Greg: That's right, dad. And you're still a consultant for the promotion. And you know you'll be free to drop by anytime and say hi to everybody. Verne: I know. I know. I'll think up some ideas and pass them along in the hear future. Whether they use any of them is up to the new owners. Mover 1: I'm sure they'll use some of your ideas, sir. I grew up on AWA wrestling. You put on a great show for a number of years. Verne: Thank you. Well, we better get that stuff moved home and into storage. Greg: I'm taking the guys out for pizza. You coming? Verne: No, thank you. I'm gonna stay here for a bit. You guys go on and enjoy your meal. Greg: OK. I'll talk to you later, dad. Verne: You better. You're my son. More light laughter. Greg: Let's go, gents. The two movers shook Verne's hand and thanked him for the money and the memories. The three left for lunch. Verne was all alone... He walked around in the building and memories came flooding back to him. He walked into the TV studio where the grunt-n-groan set do their promos on promo day. He stayed in the studio for several minutes and just soaked it all in, Verne eventually made it back to his office. The office was empty. Everything of Verne's was gone now. As he stood in the office, tears welled up in Verne's eyes. It was over now. His time had passed as one of the most impiortant figures in wrestling in the 20th century. Now, there was nothing left but the memories. And what memories they were. Verne left a note on the desk for Crockett, Watts and Jarrett. Verne slowly made his way out of the office, turned off the lights and closed the door behind him. He walked to the front door, took one last look around the building and turned and slowly walked out and locked the door behind him. Verne didn't look back as he slowly walked to his car. He got in his vehicle, sat there for a moment and then a rush of emotion hit him. His cries were no longer silent as he placed his head on the steering wheel. Now, his cries were loud sobs. After a few minutes, Verne Gagne pulled himself together, started the car and slowly drove out of the parking lot. This really made it 100% official. The AWA was now truly under new ownership. STAY TUNED... (NEXT STORYLINE POSTS: More behind the scenes.) Edited September 15, 2023 by piperrulz 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Kremmen Posted September 17, 2023 Author Share Posted September 17, 2023 APRIL 1990 AWA HQ - ST. LOUIS PARK, MN It was another promo day at headquarters. The wrestlers taped their market-specific promos for house shows and their generic promos for non-house show cities. After the promo marathon was over, Watts approached Sarge (Bob Remus) and asked him to come to Crockett's office. Crockett was slowly moving things into Verne's old lair. Sarge, Watts and Crockett all took a seat at Crockett's new desk. Bill: Things have been pretty quiet, Bob. We need to know. Will you stay through WrestleRock? Sarge: I talked to Vince. He said after I dropped the strap, I should just head for the WWF. Bill: Did you tell him our plan? Sarge: Yes. And he was not thrilled with it. But, we reached an agreement. I'm leaving after dropping the belt to start preparing for my arrival in the WWF. But, he gave me the go-ahead to do the WrestleRock show and promos for the match. He said that the promos I cut for the WWF won't start airing until June. Bill: It's gonna be a loser leaves the AWA match. It will be one of the two biggest matches on the show. Sarge: Who will I be facing? Bill: One of two people: Cactus Jack or Col. DeBeers. Sarge nodded. Sarge: Still haven't made up your mind about the title switch? Bill: Not yet. Won't be known until the night of the show here in St. Paul. Sarge: OK. If I can say something. Jim: Go ahead. Sarge: I took Vince's offer because it's a sure thing compared to all the changes going on here. Jim: You know there's no such thing as a 'sure thing' in this business. Their business is down some, too. Sarge: It just feels like the stronger offer right now. I've loved my time here. I wish things could have turned out differently. Verne had the faith to make me the World Champion. Crowds did go up quite a bit, especially working with Lawler battling over the belt. Jim: You certainly played a major role in reviving fan interest in the AWA. But we've got to move up to the next level if we want to truly be a major player again. We looked at you as a major player in our plans moving forward. Sarge: I let you guys down that way. I'm sorry. Bill: What's done is done, Bob. We have to move on and so do you. Putting the title on a transitional champion is what we've got to do right now. That's our main focus. Jim: The AWA will continue. It's just disappointing a major piece of the puzzle will no longer be here. You will be missed. Sarge: You know how the business works. You've always got to look out for yourself. It's very cut-throat in that way. Bill: You got that right. That's all for now, Bob. Talk with you later. Sarge and Watts stood up while Crockett remained seated. Sarge shook hands with both men and left the office. Jim: I really wonder what would have happened had we not gotten that picture? Bill: Vince allowed Zbyszko to finish out his dates. I think Bob would have just left, possibly with big silver*, without telling us and showed up on their programming. I'll say this. The wrestling war appeared over when you sold to Turner. But it's back on now. And we've got to fight to keep our wrestlers. Jim: Vince needs to be hurt by us taking a few of his guys. Bill: Agreed. But, with things up in the air right now regarding the office move and already having some set plans through WrestleRock, getting new guys needs to be placed on the back-burner. Jim: I think we can still sign Barry and possibly Tully if his negotiations with the NWA fall through. Bill: Those would be excellent pick ups. We also need to get the announcer situation settled. Still haven't heard anything about Costas' interest ot a word from Pedicino. However, Jack Reynolds did return my call and left a message so that looks promising. And I'm confident that Jarrett can land Dundee for us as a heel commentator. Jim: Don't wait too long for Costas to give an answer. I'm not holding my breath on him. Bill: It doesn't look good to land him. Maybe if Deb and John talked to him that could change things. Jim: Worth a shot. But a Pedicino-Dundee announce team could be dynamite. Watts nodded and then the two talked about some other things. The new era AWA was rolling on. STAY TUNED... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Kremmen Posted September 18, 2023 Author Share Posted September 18, 2023 CURRENT AWA ROSTER (Updated for April 1990) (New addition to the roster) OWNERS - TRIUMPH MEDIA SPORTS Deborah Harry John Waters Jim Crockett Bill Watts Jerry Jarrett PRESIDENT Stanley Blackburn FACES Sgt. Slaughter (AWA WC) Ken Patera Brad Rheingans Tom Zenk Greg Gagne Jake Milliman Top Guns (Ricky Rice & Derrick Dukes) Sam Houston Wahoo McDaniel Don Muraco The Guerrero Bros. Jerry Blackwell Wendi Richter Tommy Jammer Trooper Del Wilkes HEELS Kokina Maximus Col. DeBeers The Destruction Crew (Wayne Bloom & Mike Enos - AWA WTTC) Badd Company (Paul Diamond & Pat Tanaka) Manny Fernandez Greg Valentine Tommy Rich Cactus Jack Magnificent Mimi (AWA Women's WC) 'Cowboy' Bob Orton Heidi Lee Morgan Candi Divine (Tweener) Lelani Kai Jonnie Stewart Akio Sato MANAGERS (F = Face/H = Heel) Dallas Page (Badd Company) (H) Sheik Adnan El-Kaissey (Kokina Maximus) (H) Dick Murdoch (Sam Houston) (F) Valerie (Magnificent Mimi) (H) ANNOUNCERS Lee Marshall (Match Announcer) Lord James Blears (Match Announcer) Larry Nelson (Ring Announcer/In-Ring Interviewer/Alcoholic) TELEVISION AWA Championship Wrestling (ESPN) AWA All-Star Wrestling (Syndicated) 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sonny912 Posted September 19, 2023 Share Posted September 19, 2023 2 hours ago, piperrulz said: CURRENT AWA ROSTER (Updated for April 1990) (New addition to the roster) OWNERS - TRIUMPH MEDIA SPORTS Deborah Harry John Waters Jim Crockett Bill Watts Jerry Jarrett PRESIDENT Stanley Blackburn FACES Sgt. Slaughter (AWA WC) Ken Patera Brad Rheingans Tom Zenk Greg Gagne Jake Milliman Top Guns (Ricky Rice & Derrick Dukes) Sam Houston Wahoo McDaniel Don Muraco The Guerrero Bros. Jerry Blackwell Wendi Richter Tommy Jammer Trooper Del Wilkes HEELS Kokina Maximus Col. DeBeers The Destruction Crew (Wayne Bloom & Mike Enos - AWA WTTC) Badd Company (Paul Diamond & Pat Tanaka) Manny Fernandez Greg Valentine Tommy Rich Cactus Jack Magnificent Mimi (AWA Women's WC) 'Cowboy' Bob Orton Heidi Lee Morgan Candi Divine (Tweener) Lelani Kai Jonnie Stewart Akio Sato MANAGERS (F = Face/H = Heel) Dallas Page (Badd Company) (H) Sheik Adnan El-Kaissey (Kokina Maximus) (H) Dick Murdoch (Sam Houston) (F) Valerie (Magnificent Mimi) (H) ANNOUNCERS Lee Marshall (Match Announcer) Lord James Blears (Match Announcer) Larry Nelson (Ring Announcer/In-Ring Interviewer/Alcoholic) TELEVISION AWA Championship Wrestling (ESPN) AWA All-Star Wrestling (Syndicated) Kinda small roster size. Gonna need a few more big names to compete with mcmahon and Turner, especially with your figurehead or ace Sarge going north soon. I'd recommend guys like Billy Jack haynes, bob Orton's brother Barry, the killer bee's Jim brunzell(a former awa alumni who teamed with Greg Gagneas the high flyers) and Brian blair, Dan Spivey, sid Vicious, mean Mark callous(he doesn't become Undertaker till October so he'll be a steal), Mike rotunda, Scott hall, Ivan koloff, Paul orndorff and Dr. Death steve Williams. Signing any of these could give the new awa the chance it needs to succeed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Kremmen Posted September 19, 2023 Author Share Posted September 19, 2023 APRIL 1990 AWA HQ - ST. LOUIS PARK, MN It had been a whirlwind last few days at AWA hq. Jim Crockett had to go back to Charlotte, North Carolina, to tend to some personal business. Bill Watts had been busy burning up the phone lines talking to people about possibly coming to work for the Association. He'd also been in contact with Harry and Waters. And, the matter of Bill Dundee as heel color commentator on the ESPN show, well, that was about to be answered. Bill was also hard at work putting together the WrestleRock show for ESPN. Jim Crockett had returned and Bill Watts came to his office to catch Jim up on the happenings of the last few days. Jim: Did things fall apart while I was away? Bill: Almost. We held it together somehow. Thought about calling in Nick Gulas* to save the day. Crockett laughed. Jim: What's the news? Bill: I'll give the bad news first. Heard back from Bob Costas' agent and he said he talked to Bob about an offer from us and Bob flat out squashed the idea. So, Bob's off the table. Jim: It would be better to have an actual wrestling person in that role on ESPN, anyway. Bill: Now, the good news. Joe Pedicino returned my call and left a message, so the lines of communication are open there. In his message, he did ask if there might be a role for his wife Bonnie in the company. Jim: Is there a role for her? Bill: I think possibly as an interviewer in some capacity. But, we shall see. Jerry Jarrett has been in contact with Bill Dundee and Dundee is interested in coming to work for us in the heel commentator role for the ESPN show. And I talked with Jack Reynolds yesterday. I told him I'd fly out to his home in Ohio to see if we might be able to do a deal. Jim: Sounds like the announcing crew is coming together. Bill: I sure hope so. We need an upgrade at that position for both shows. Jim: What about on the wrestler front? Bill: Talked with Windham. I think he's a done deal if we want to pull the trigger on him. Jim: Let's do it. What about Tully? Bill: Haven't been in contact with the NWA office. Still in limbo. Jim: Any news on the musical act for WrestleRock yet? Bill: Bischoff is still working on it. We need to see what these acts want money-wise. Ticket prices are gonna go way up for this show because of the rock act. Fans will be in for sticker shock. Jim: Well, ringside was $45 bucks for the tournament in February and they drew over a $100,000 dollar house for it. Bill: Just gonna have to see how well tickets move once they're put on sale. It's gonna be a rush job rolling out the angles for this show. I did tell Bischoff to announce the 10-man tag match on the first update for the show plus the revealing of the new AWA president. Jim: Who's in the 10-man again? Bill: The Trooper, Rheingans and Patera and the Top Guns vs. Greg Valentine, the Destruction Crew and Badd Company. Still debating whether or not to make it an elimination match. Jim: Well, the line-up you have looks pretty good. Throw in a good rock act and I think people will buy the tickets. They'll understand that because this is a special show, $15 dollars is not getting you a ringside seat. Bill: This is our first real test regarding a big show here in the AWA. Can't wait to see the results. Jim: They drew well for SuperClash in Milwaukee last year. So, two big shows* over four months that had to be considered a success by AWA standards. Bill: Well, Sioux Falls is not Milwaukee or Anaheim. The city itself is not a draw. Jim: Let's just keep grinding. Crossing my fingers this will be another successful big show. Bill: I gotta couple of calls to make. Jim: See you later. Bill: Yep. Watts left the office. Crockett went back to talking with people on the phone about promotional work for WrestleRock. ***************************************************************************** Later that day. It was almost quitting time at the offices... Jim Crockett was busy at his desk when a knock came on his office door. Jim: Come in. The door opened. It was Eric Bischoff. Jim: Come in, Eric. Have a seat. What's the scoop? Eric: Well, I've whittled it to two bands to be the possible music act for WrestleRock. Jim: Tell me. Eric: They are Vixen, the female metal band who's pretty hot right now. And the other is John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band. Jim: I know virtually nothing about either of them. Have they discussed their price? Eric: Yes. Vixen wants $30,000 to appear and John Cafferty wants $20,000. Jim: That's simple. Go with John Cafferty. I'm trusting your judgement on this, Eric. Eric: Can I say something? Jim: Sure. Eric: Vixen's more expensive... but they're also more now. Cafferty was big a few years ago but, while still a good act, he's not a hot/now act. Let me call Vixen's manager back and see if we can negotiate; meet somewhere in the middle. Jim: It'll still cost more than Cafferty either way? Eric: Yes, but Vixen is better for raising the company profile. They'll draw more media attention to the company. Jim: You've got a good head on your shoulders, Eric. I see you going places in this business one day. Eric: Thank you, sir. Jim: Go ahead and call their manager back and see if you can negotiate the price down a bit and I'll talk with John and Deb about the matter. Eric: I'm on it. Bischoff left the office with a great deal of confidence as Crockett picked up the phone and tried to contact John and Deb*. STAY TUNED... * John and Deb - John Waters and Deborah Harry - Majority owners of Triumph Media Sports which owns the AWA. * Nick Gulas - Old Tennessee promoter. * Super Clash 4 in Milwaukee (10/89) and the PWHC Tournament in Anaheim (2/90) 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Kremmen Posted September 21, 2023 Author Share Posted September 21, 2023 APRIL 1990 AWA HQ - ST. LOUIS PARK, MN Bill Watts had returned from his meeting in Ohio with wrestling announer Jack Reynolds about becoming the new lead announcer for the All-Star Wrestling syndicated show. Watts arrived in the early afternoon at the AWA offices from his trip and walked immediately to Crockett's office and knocked. Jim: Come in. Watts walked in waving the contract around in the air. Bill: We got him. Jim: Jack's agreed to come in? Bill: Yes. It's a two-year deal for $75,000 per year. Announcers aren't cheap today. Our new AWA lawyer, Freddie Prinze, looked over the contract and said it was looking good! My guess is we're gonna have to give Pedicino a six-figure per year deal to come in. Jim: It will still be a lot cheaper than having Bob Costas come in. Bill finally sat down. Bill: Gonna call Joe tomorrow. Hope that we can get the deal done soon with Dundee to be the heel commentator on the ESPN show with Joe. If we can get it done soon, we'll unveil them as our new number one announce team at WrestleRock. Jim: Well, I talked with Barry Windham. We just have to hammer out the details and he'll work for us. Bill: The WWF does not offer guaranteed contracts. But the NWA does. I'm concerned we might have to come up with guaranteed deals to get or keep wrestlers. Jim: It is looking like the wave of the future. We'll have to talk with John and Deb* about this. Bill: I think that unless they become a free agent, we need to just sign who we can sign and not worry about trying to pick someone off from the WWF or NWA right now. Jim: I guess Tully's still in limbo. But if the deal falls through in the NWA I believe we can sign him. Bill: As things stand at the moment, signing Tully, Barry and Nikita would be good business. They're all name wrestlers who the fans would recognize. Jim: And they would be pushed as top guys immediately. I could definitely see a Nikita/DeBeers feud almost right out of the box if Nikita would come in. Bill: I also talked with Jim Ross by phone when in Ohio. He thinks a Sting-Muta title match for the two Verne Gagne shows in St. Paul and Chicago could be made. It's looking like Sting's definitely going over Flair at the Bash unless something happens to change the plans. Jim: I was thinking, right now we're going to do two pay-per-views a year starting next year. Those will be Super Clash and WrestleRock, Let's have Bischoff try and go ahead and book the arenas for us well in advance. We need to choose cities for those shows. We still need to book an arena for the Super Clash pay-per-view later this year. Bill: I think we should go back to Milwaukee. Super Clash drew over 6,000 there last year. Jim: Not a bad idea. Let's get Eric on this year's Super Clash arena booking ASAP. Bill: You know, since we're working with Jarrett now, it would not be a bad idea to see if we could bring Lawler back for that show. He and Sarge drove the ticket sales for last year's show. I mean, without them on top battling or the AWA strap that show would have been lucky to draw 2,000 or 3,000 fans. How's the music act hunt going for WrestleRock? Jim: Bischoff's working on it. He said Vixen wants $30 grand to appear and he's trying to negotiate the price down a little. Bill: Does he have any other act on the line? Jim: Think I mentioned this to you before. Someone called John Cafferty and the Brown Beaver Band. They want $20,000. Bill: Why not go with them since they're cheaper? Jim: Eric said they're not hot right now but Vixen is. If he can get the price down he thinks Vixen would be the better choice for the show. He said they would bring more of a 'now' value, as he called it. They could bring in some serious pub and move some tickets if we land them. Just have to reach an agreement on the price. Bill: Never thought of that. But the kid is right. You know, he seems like a really sharp guy. Seems a little on the cocky side, but I like that in him. Might make a great TV heel one day. Jim: I agree that he's a sharp one. Really thinks things out and is very telegenic. Speaks well, too. Bill: Well, everything is moving in a positive direction right now. We're only gonna have a month to move tickets so it's gonna be a rush job to garner interest for the marks. We need to give them a reason to buy seats. Jim: I'm gonna call Deb about Vixen. Haven't talked to her about it yet. I wanna see what she thinks about them. Could go a long way to making a decision on the music act. Bill: I got some work to do. Talk with you later. Jim: See you. Bill got up and dropped the Reynolds contract on the desk and walked out. Crockett picked it up and looked at it for a moment. Signs were pointing up for the AWA... * Deborah Harry and John Waters. Majority owners of Triumph Media Sports. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Kremmen Posted September 26, 2023 Author Share Posted September 26, 2023 APRIL 1990 AWA HQ - ST. LOUIS PARK, MN Eric Bischoff had requested a meeting with Bill Watts and Jim Crockett. The three men were in Watts' office. Jim: What is it you wanted to speak about, Eric? Eric: I talked with Vixen's manager earlier in the day. Bill: What did they say? Eric: I was able to negotiate their price down to $25,000 dollars. Bill: Let's get 'em signed, sealed and delivered. Jim: I talked to John and Deb yesterday. They were willing to bring them in even if they wouldn't lower their price. Eric: So, we got them at a little bit of a bargain. Bill: Good job, Eric. Now we have our music act signed for WrestleRock. Jim: Keep up the good work, Eric. You are a valuable asset to the company. Eric beamed. Eric: Thank you, sir. Bill: I just thought you were a salesman and sometime announcer. You're good at juggling lots of different things at one time. No way you're going to Vince or Herd. Eric: I hope to be with the company for a while. Bill: Keep it up and you will be. Jim: Is that everything, Eric? Eric: It is. I've still got some sales calls to make. Bill: Alright. Talk to you later. Eric confidently left the office. Bill: I think with some work, that kid would be a good TV personality and I'm not just talking as an announcer. He could be a manager or something down the road. Jim: I like him. He is driven. John and Deb meet soon with ESPN about a new TV deal. Let's keep our fingers crossed. Bill: Them being the majority owners is indeed a big plus for us. Also, Pedicino left me another message and told me to call him later today. I thinking we should have our announce teams set up in time for WrestleRock. Jim: One of us needs to put in a call to Nikita. You heard anything on Tully? Bill: Not lately. Gotta call Jim Ross and see how those negotiations are going. If he's not signed by them then we have to pounce quickly in case Vince tries to pick him off. Jim: WrestleRock is shaping up to really be something special. Bill: It could be the show announcing to the wrestling world the AWA is on its way to being big-time once again. I just wish John and Deb would hurry up and make a decision about where we're gonna move the headquarters. Jim: That would be nice. Bill: Going back to the announcers, it would be great if we could get Pedicino and Dundee signed in time to announce their arrival and have their initial broadcast be WrestleRock. Be great if we could have both new announce teams up and running by early summer. Jim: Agreed. Hey! Have you talked to Verne lately? Bill: No. I think he's just spending time with the family right now and traveling. Jim: Heard he was really broken up after clearing out his office. Bill: He gave his life to this business. It's hard to get it out of your system. There's a certain rush to it. Jim: Really quick before I let you go. What do you think of next year's WrestleRock taking place in San Francisco? Bill: Umm... I would have to think long and hard about that. Super Clash 2 drew less than 3,000 at the Cow Palace. They also didn't draw well last year for Lawler vs. Sarge. It should still be on the table. But we need to monitor things and maybe run a few more houses there first to test the waters. Jim: I think we should see if Blondie will perform at the show next year in a larger arena. Bill: She would help move tickets in 'Frisco, I believe. Jim: Do you think Vixen will move tickets once announced? Bill: I think they'll be worth 500-1,000 extra tickets sold for the event. Blondie would sell more tickets if they were the rock act. Jim: Well, I'm gonna call Jarrett about the Dundee situation. Hopefully have that resolved in the next few days. Bill: If Dundee says no, I don't know who we'll get. Jim: Positive thoughts, Bill. Positive thoughts. The new AWA was looking... aggressive! END PROGRAM 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Kremmen Posted October 2, 2023 Author Share Posted October 2, 2023 (edited) AWA WRESTLING ON ESPN - SHOWBOAT SPORTS PAVILION - LAS VEGAS, NV - APRIL 1990 (# - Aired on a previous AWA program.) (2nd Taping) Show Intro Larry Nelson welcomed viewers and ran down the program: TV MAIN EVENT: Wayne Bloom (WTTC) vs. Derrick Dukes Ken Patera vs. Manny Fernandez Don Muraco & Wahoo McDaniel vs. Badd Company (w/ DDP) Candi Divine vs. Lelani Kai More on WrestleRock '90 An interview with Sheik Adnan El-Kaissey & Kokina Maximus And more!!! Nelson sent it to the ring in Las Vegas. Sam Houston (w/ Coach Murdoch) vs. 'Hollywood' John Tatum (USWA) Tatum came down the heel aisle to a modest amount of boos. Most fans didn't seem to know who he was. Houston and Murdoch came down the face aisle to a strong ovation. Houston briefly acknowledged the crowd. Tatum came out on fire early with a punch barrage on Sam but Sam quickly fought his way back into the brief affair. Tatum had a couple of pin tries but could not get the magic three count. End of the match saw Houston on the offensive. Sam went to hit Tatum with a dropkick but Tatum moved and Sam crashed to the mat. Tatum worked over Sam with a series of stiff stomps and then whipped Sam into the ropes and caught Sam coming off with a high backdrop. Sam slammed into the mat. Tatum mounted the middle rope in the corner. Sam up and Tatum came off with a punch to the head that connected. Sam crashed to the mat. Tatum for the cover. 1...2...thr... Sam kicked out,. Fans cheered. Tatum snapped Sam up and caught Sam with a punch and then went to whip Sam into the ropes but Sam reversed and caught Tatum coming off with a dropkick. Tatum crashed to the mat to the delight of the crowd. Tatum up and Sam ran and hit the ropes and caught Tatum with a flying clothesline that dropped Tatum. Sam for the cover. 1...2... Tatum kicked out. Both men up and Tatum caught Sam with a kick to the gut and went to whip Sam into the corner but Sam reversed and sent Tatum crashing into the buckles. Sam moved in and fired away on Tatum with a barrage of punches, caught Tatum in a side headlock and nailed Tatum with a running bulldog out of the corner. Sam for the pin. 1...2...3! ref callded for the bell as the fans popped. Sam up and the ref raised Sam's hand in victory as Dick Murdoch climbed in the ring and congratulated his man. WINNER: Houston - Pinfall - 4:18 In-Studio: Nelson said Houston has rebounded nicely since his loss to Stan Hansen in an AWA World Title match. Said Coach Murdoch has been a godsend for Sam. Pic aired of the AWA logo with the caption: NEXT... THE LADIES!!! Commercials Candi Divine vs. Lelani Kai Kai came down the heel aisle to a fair amount of boos. Divine came down the face aisle (she's a 'tweener') to a mixed crowd reaction. Fast-paced from the start as the ladies went back and forth. End of the match saw Divine go to whip Kai into the ropes but Kai reversed and caught Divine coming off with a big boot to the face. Divine crashed to the mat and Kai went for the cover. 1...2... Divine got her foot on the bottom rope. Ref tapped Kai on the back and Kai got up thinking she had won the match but the ref informed her she didn't. Divine to her feet behind Kai and charged up and popped Kai with a forearm smash to the back. Kai spun around and Divine hit Kai with forearms to the chest, whipped Kai into the ropes and caught Kai coming off with a dropkick that sent Kai to the mat. Divine moved in and grabbed Kai's legs and, after a brief struggle, turned Kai over into her Boston Crab finisher. Kai fought to get to the ropes but the pain was too much and she submitted in short order. Ref called for the bell to a fair mixed crowd reax. Divine pulled a Valentine and kept Kai locked in the hold for several painful seconds after the match before releasing the hold. Ref raised Divine's hand in victory. WINNER: Divine - Submission - 3:33 In-Studio: Nelson said Divine is one to keep an eye on and beat a tough customer in Kai. Split-screen pic aired of Patera and Fernandez with the caption: NEXT... PATERA VS. BULL!!! Commercials/AWA Tour Update (Coming soon to a high school near you!) Ken Patera vs. Manny Fernandez Patera came to the ring down the face aisle to strong cheers. Fernandez came to the ring down the heel aisle to strong boos but also had his fans. Manny took the ring mic from Larry Nelson. Manny: Patera! You may think you're a tough, hard gringo! But the Mestizo people were made tough because they were hardened by life! VIVA LA RAZA! Strong boos but also some cheers for Manny. Match started out with a brief feeling out process before kicking into high gear. Match was a see-saw affair with a couple of near falls. End of the match saw the back-and-forth continue. Patera whipped Manny into the ropes and looked to catch Manny coming off with a clothesline but Manny ducked the move and came back with a clothesline of his own that sent Patera crashing to the mat. Manny wiped sweat off his chest and flicked it on Patera and then did a mock bodybuilder pose. Manny snapped Patera up and whipped Patera into the buckles. Patera crashed into them. Manny moved in with a series of gut kicks followed by choking Patera out with his boot. Manny broke the illegal move at the ref's count of 4. Manny pulled Patera out of the corner, whipped Ken into the ropes and caught Ken coming off with a backhand to the face. Patera crashed to the mat. Manny for the cover. 1...2... Ken kicked out. Crowd cheered. Manny caught Ken with a head shot, pulled Ken to his feet and whipped Ken into the corner. Manny moved in on Ken but Ken exploded out of the corner and flattened Manny with a running clothesline. Crowd really popped. Ken maneuvered around behind Manny. Manny up facing away from Ken and Ken moved in and caught Manny in his swinging full nelson. Manny wasn't in the hold for long before submitting. Ref called for the bell as the crowd cheered. Ken released the hold and Manny crashed to the mat. Ref raised Ken's hand in victory. As Ken left the ring, Valerie made her way down the heel aisle with an envelope in hand. Valerie was booed. Valerie caught up to Ken as Ken was about to head up the face aisle and handed Ken the envelope, smiled at Ken and walked off. Patera looked at the envelope and disappeared to the back. Announcers wondered what was in the envelope. WINNER: Patera - Submission - 6:01 In-Studio: Nelson said fans were wondering what was in the envelope that Valerie handed him. Said they'll look to have an answer soon from Patera. Pic of Sheik Adnan El-Kaissey and Kokina with the caption: NEXT... SHEIK SPEAK!!! Commercials In-ring: Larry Nelson. Nelson: Would you welcome my guests at this time... they are Sheik Adnan El-Kaissey and Kokina Maximus. Loud rumbling noise followed by an explosion filled the arena and Kokina and Kaissey made their way down the heel aisle to strong boos. The pair stepped into the ring and walked around soaking in the negative crowd reax. Nelson: Sheik, we hear you have something you wanted to say. Sheik: I do, Larry Nelson. Crowd booed. Sheik: You infidels need to shut up and show some respect to Kokina! More boos. Sheik stalked around as Kokina glared at the crowd. Sheik: We are out here to offer a challenge! Kokina has crushed the no-names and put 'Crusher' Blackwell in his place! Kokina wants more of a test! So, any wrestler whose on the AWA roster, the first one of you who has the guts to challenge Kokina will get a match with him! Nelson: So, this is an open challenge? Sheik: Exactly! But, no-names are not welcome to challenge Kokina! It has to be a name wrestler! Nelson: It could be anybody as long they've got a proven track record in this sport? Sheik: Yes! So, who is man enough to come out here and accept the challenge to face Kokina in a match?! No one came out right away. Sheik: Is everyone scared of Kokina?! Where's your backbone?! If you think you can give him a fight, then get down to this ring right now! Come on! We do not have all day! Kokina is getting restless! Still no one came out. Sheik: This shows you what a bunch of chickens they... Decent response as Tom Zenk made his way down the face aisle to the ring. Nelson: Tom Zenk is here! Looks like you've got your challenger! Zenk: We've all seen how dangerous Kokina can be! We know the destruction he can do! But, the entire AWA is aligned against this serious threat! With that said: Kokina Maximus, I accept your challenge for a match! Decent amount of cheers. Nelson: You're gonna have to move heaven and earth to beat this man. Zenk: I know exactly what I'm signing up for, Larry! I'm not going into this with blinders on! The odds are stacked against me! But, we in the AWA have to start taking a stand against Kokina right now! Crowd cheered. Sheik: I give you credit for being brave, Tom Zenk! Not smart, but brave! Zenk: See you in our match, Kokina! Nelson: Tom Zenk has accepted the challenge and will face Kokina in a match in the near future! Crowd cheered. Pic aired of Muraco & Wahoo with the caption: NEXT... TAG TEAM WAR!!! Commercials Wahoo & Muraco vs. Badd Co. (w/ DDP) Badd Co. with Dallas Page made their way down the heel aisle to the song Bad Company to a wall of boos. The trio climbed in the ring and briefly played to the crowd. Wahoo & Muraco made their way down the face aisle to a wall of cheers and climbed into the ring, Announcers discussed the daily fines piling up for DDP until he gives Rickey Rice the $50K back that he stole from him. Match started out with Muraco taking it to Paul Diamond early on and driving Diamond from the ring as the fans popped. Diamond made his way back in the ring and Muraco waged an offensive war on him a little more before Diamond reversed a Muraco whip into the ropes and caught Muraco coming off with a scoop slam. The hurting Diamond managed to tag in Tanaka and Tanaka hit the ring and laid into Muraco. At one point, Tanaka caught Muraco with a spinning back heel kick to the side of the head that dropped Muraco and Tanaka went for the pin but Muraco kicked out at 2. Tanaka continued his assault until Muraco fired back with punches and caught Tanaka with a gorilla press slam. Crowd piopped. A hurting Muraco tagged in Wahoo and the fans ate it up. Wahoo laid into Tanaka with knife-edge chops. Wahoo whipped Tanaka into the ropes and caught Tanaka coming off with a high backdrop. Tanaka crashed to the mat. Tanaka up and Wahoo slammed Tanaka's head into the top buckle. Tanaka spun around in the corner and was greeted by more chops. Wahoo pulled Tanaka out of the corner and bodyslammed Tanaka and went for an elbow smash but Tanaka rolled out fo the way and Wahoo crashed to the mat. Tanaka up and lunged over and tagged in Diamond. The match turned into a back-and-forth affair from there with some near falls. End of the match saw Wahoo on the offensive against Diamond. Wahoo hit Diamond with some chest chops and whipped Diamond into the ropes and looked to catch Diamond coming off with a backdrop but Diamond stunned Wahoo with a kick to the chest, Wahoo stumbled back. Diamond moved in and [popped Wahoo with punches and then nailed Wahoo with an inverted suplex slam (gourdbuster). Diamond turned Wahoo over for the pin. 1...2... Wahoo kicked out. Crowd cheered. Diamond snatched Wahoo up and threw Wahoo out between the the top and middle rope down to the floor. Wahoo down on the floor. Ref arguing with Diamond to stand back. On the floor, Wahoo got to his hands and knees and DDP snuck over and went to strike Wahoo with his cane but Muraco dropped to the floor, ran up behind DDP and snatched the cane out of DDP's hands. DDP backed off as Muraco stalked him with the cane. DDP took off and started running around the ring. Muraco gave chase and Tanaka jumped off the apron and clubbed Muraco in the back. Muraco lost his grip on the cane and went down. Ref still distracted with Diamond. DDP retrieved his fashion statement/weapon. Wahoo up and rolled back into the ring and Diamond continued his assault on Wahoo. Tanaka up on the apron and Diamond tagged in Tanaka, who stuck his knee in through the top and middle rope and Diamond slammed Wahoo's head into it. Muraco recovered enough to make it back on the apron in his corner. Tanaka worked over Wahoo, whipped Wahoo into the roeps and caught Wahoo coming off with a savate kick. Wahoo crashed to the mat. Tanaka for the cover. 1...2...thr... Muraco hit the ring and stomped Tanaka in the back to break up the pin try. Diamond hit the ring and jumped on Muraco and pounded away on him. Ref trying to get Muraco and Diamond out of the ring. Diamond went to whip Muraco into the ropes but Muraco reversed and caught Diamond coming off in a fireman's carry and pulverized Diamond with a Samoan drop. Crowd went into orbit. Muraco snatched up Diamond and threw him out of the ring. Ref got Muraco back to his corner. Tanaka went to whip Wahoo into the ropes but Wahoo reversed and caught Tanaka coming off with his big chop finisher. Tanaka crashed to the mat by the ropes. Crowd delirious. Wahoo lunged over and tagged in Muraco. Crowd loud. DDP jumped up on the ring apron and Muraco went over and headbutted DDP and DDP crashed to the apron and then the floor. Crowd going berzerk. Tanaka up and Muraco laid into Tanaka with punches, whipped Tanaka into the ropes and caught Tanaka coming off with a powerslam. Muraco signaled it was time for his finisher. Crowd urging on Muraco. Muraco hoisted Tanaka up and blasted him with his inverted pilderiver finisher. Muraco covered Tanaka. 1...2...3! Ref called for the bell as the fans exploded. Muraco up and Wahoo now in the ring and the ref raised both of their hands in victory as Badd Co. was laid out in the ring and on the floor. WINNER: Wahoo & Muraco - Pinfall - 11:29 Pic aired of the WrestleRock logo with the caption: NEXT... WRESTLEROCK NEWS!!! Commercials WRESTLEROCK NEWS: Larry Nelson, in-studio, ran down the latest on WrestleRock. EVENT: WrestleRock '90 WHERE: Sioux Falls Arena - Sioux Falls, SD WHEN: Sunday, May 20 TIME: 1:00pm CST DATE TICKETS GO ON SALE: Saturday, April 21, at 10am CST. You can get your seats by calling the Sioux falls Arena box office at (605) 555-8287, visit their box office or by contacting Ticket Master. Nelson said they'll announce the matches and the feature rock act for the show in the coming weeks. Nelson went on to heavily hype the event and said it was the first major show of the Triumph Media Sports era. Nelson told fans to get their seats early and that for fans traveling from out of town there were plenty of fine accommodations in the Sioux Falls area. Nelson said they'd have their first WrestleRock Update next week and there will be some big news coming on that update! Pic aired of the AWA logo with the caption: NEXT... THE MAIN EVENT!!! Commercials TV MAIN EVENT: Wayne Bloom (w/ Mike Enos - WTTC) vs. Derrick Dukes (w/ Ricky Rice) Danger Zone filled the arena and Dukes and Rice made their way down the face aisle to the ring to a good ovation from the crowd. The pair climbed in the ring and acknowledged the fans. Wayne Bloom and partner Mike Enos made their way down the heel aisle to mostly boos but also some cheers. Each man was wearing his tag title. The pair climbed in the ring and strutted around with their belts on. Bloom handed his belt off to the ref and the ref handed it to Larry Nelson. Rice and Enos both went to the floor. Announcers pointed out that the Guns earned a tag title shot against the Destruction Crew with a win over Badd Co. a couple of weeks ago. Ref called for the bell. The men circled one another and engaged in an overhead wristlock test of strength. At first, Bloom gained the upper hand and started to drive Dukes down to the mat, but Dukes powered up and the men struggled for the advantage. Dukes then gained the advantage. While Bloom put up a struggle, Dukes eventually drove him down to the mat. Dukes released the hold and Bloom angrily got to his feet, kicked the bottom rope and then lunged over at Dukes, but Dukes blocked the punch try and fired away on Bloom with punches of his own. Dukes whipped Bloom into the ropes and caught Bloom coming off with a dropkick. Bloom crashed to the mat and quickly rolled out of the ring and dropped to the floor as Enos came over to console the frustrated Bloom as the fans cheered. Bloom climbed back into the ring and went after Rice again and Rice dodged Bloom and caught Bloom in a side headlock. After a brief struggle, Bloom countered with a belly-to-back suplex to free himself from the hold. Both men up and Bloom caught Dukes with a head shot, whipped Dukes into the ropes and caught Dukes coming off in a bearhug. Crowd half-assed urging on Dukes. Dukes struggling in the hold. Dukes was finally able to clap his arms against the sides of Bloom's head to free himself from the hold. Bloom caught Dukes with a knee to the gut and then nailed Dukes with a suplex. Bloom for the cover. 1...2... Dukes kicked out. Both men up and Bloom and Dukes engaged in a collar-and-elbow tie-up and Bloom quickly turned it into a side headlock. Dukes shoved Bloom off into the ropes and Bloom came off and Dukes caught Bloom with a hip toss. Bloom up and Dukes hit Bloom with a dropkick. Bloom down. Bloom back to his feet and Dukes nailed Bloom with an enzuigiri. Bloom down and Dukes for the cover. 1...2... Bloom kicked out. Some in the crowd groaned. Others didn't care as the beer was kicking in. Dukes started to snap Bloom up when Bloom poked Dukes in the eye. Bloom up and pounded Dukes in the back. Bloom whipped Dukes into the ropes and caught Dukes coming off with a flying clothesline. Dukes down. Bloom for the cover. 1...2...thr... Dukes kicked out. Bloom snapped Dukes up and whipped Dukes into the ropes and looked to clothesline Dukes coming off but Dukes ducked the move and came back with a flying bodypress on Bloom for the pin. Bloom kicked out before any count could be made. Bloom up and walked right into an inverted atomic drop from Dukes. Bloom crashed to the mat. Enos quickly removed his belt and climbed up on the apron behind Dukes. Rice charged over on the floor, yanked Enos off the apron and Enos's head slammed into the apron as the fans popped. Dukes backed up as Bloom painfully made it to his feet. Dukes nailed Bloom with a running clothesline. Bloom crashed to the mat. Dukes for the cover and hooked the leg. 1...2...3! Ref called for the bell as fans cheered. Marshall: Is this the ending fans can expect when the Destruction Crew defend the titles against the Top Guns?! WINNER: Dukes - Pinfall - 4:37 END PROGRAM THE AWA!!! A NEW ERA! A NEW ATTITUDE! The Raiders lost again! 😠 Edited October 2, 2023 by piperrulz 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sonny912 Posted October 2, 2023 Share Posted October 2, 2023 1 hour ago, piperrulz said: AWA WRESTLING ON ESPN - SHOWBOAT SPORTS PAVILION - LAS VEGAS, NV - APRIL 1990 (# - Aired on a previous AWA program.) (2nd Taping) Show Intro Larry Nelson welcomed viewers and ran down the program: TV MAIN EVENT: Wayne Bloom (WTTC) vs. Derrick Dukes Ken Patera vs. Manny Fernandez Don Muraco & Wahoo McDaniel vs. Badd Company (w/ DDP) Candi Divine vs. Lelani Kai More on WrestleRock '90 An interview with Sheik Adnan El-Kaissey & Kokina Maximus And more!!! Nelson sent it to the ring in Las Vegas. Sam Houston (w/ Coach Murdoch) vs. 'Hollywood' John Tatum (USWA) Tatum came down the heel aisle to a modest amount of boos. Most fans didn't seem to know who he was. Houston and Murdoch came down the face aisle to a strong ovation. Houston briefly acknowledged the crowd. Tatum came out on fire early with a punch barrage on Sam but Sam quickly fought his way back into the brief affair. Tatum had a couple of pin tries but could not get the magic three count. End of the match saw Houston on the offensive. Sam went to hit Tatum with a dropkick but Tatum moved and Sam crashed to the mat. Tatum worked over Sam with a series of stiff stomps and then whipped Sam into the ropes and caught Sam coming off with a high backdrop. Sam slammed into the mat. Tatum mounted the middle rope in the corner. Sam up and Tatum came off with a punch to the head that connected. Sam crashed to the mat. Tatum for the cover. 1...2...thr... Sam kicked out,. Fans cheered. Tatum snapped Sam up and caught Sam with a punch and then went to whip Sam into the ropes but Sam reversed and caught Tatum coming off with a dropkick. Tatum crashed to the mat to the delight of the crowd. Tatum up and Sam ran and hit the ropes and caught Tatum with a flying clothesline that dropped Tatum. Sam for the cover. 1...2... Tatum kicked out. Both men up and Tatum caught Sam with a kick to the gut and went to whip Sam into the corner but Sam reversed and sent Tatum crashing into the buckles. Sam moved in and fired away on Tatum with a barrage of punches, caught Tatum in a side headlock and nailed Tatum with a running bulldog out of the corner. Sam for the pin. 1...2...3! ref callded for the bell as the fans popped. Sam up and the ref raised Sam's hand in victory as Dick Murdoch climbed in the ring and congratulated his man. WINNER: Houston - Pinfall - 4:18 In-Studio: Nelson said Houston has rebounded nicely since his loss to Stan Hansen in an AWA World Title match. Said Coach Murdoch has been a godsend for Sam. Pic aired of the AWA logo with the caption: NEXT... THE LADIES!!! Commercials Candi Divine vs. Lelani Kai Kai came down the heel aisle to a fair amount of boos. Divine came down the face aisle (she's a 'tweener') to a mixed crowd reaction. Fast-paced from the start as the ladies went back and forth. End of the match saw Divine go to whip Kai into the ropes but Kai reversed and caught Divine coming off with a big boot to the face. Divine crashed to the mat and Kai went for the cover. 1...2... Divine got her foot on the bottom rope. Ref tapped Kai on the back and Kai got up thinking she had won the match but the ref informed her she didn't. Divine to her feet behind Kai and charged up and popped Kai with a forearm smash to the back. Kai spun around and Divine hit Kai with forearms to the chest, whipped Kai into the ropes and caught Kai coming off with a dropkick that sent Kai to the mat. Divine moved in and grabbed Kai's legs and, after a brief struggle, turned Kai over into her Boston Crab finisher. Kai fought to get to the ropes but the pain was too much and she submitted in short order. Ref called for the bell to a fair mixed crowd reax. Divine pulled a Valentine and kept Kai locked in the hold for several painful seconds after the match before releasing the hold. Ref raised Divine's hand in victory. WINNER: Divine - Submission - 3:33 In-Studio: Nelson said Divine is one to keep an eye on and beat a tough customer in Kai. Split-screen pic aired of Patera and Fernandez with the caption: NEXT... PATERA VS. BULL!!! Commercials/AWA Tour Update (Coming soon to a high school near you!) Ken Patera vs. Manny Fernandez Patera came to the ring down the face aisle to strong cheers. Fernandez came to the ring down the heel aisle to strong boos but also had his fans. Manny took the ring mic from Larry Nelson. Manny: Patera! You may think you're a tough, hard gringo! But the Mestizo people were made tough because they were hardened by life! VIVA LA RAZA! Strong boos but also some cheers for Manny. Match started out with a brief feeling out process before kicking into high gear. Match was a see-saw affair with a couple of near falls. End of the match saw the back-and-forth continue. Patera whipped Manny into the ropes and looked to catch Manny coming off with a clothesline but Manny ducked the move and came back with a clothesline of his own that sent Patera crashing to the mat. Manny wiped sweat off his chest and flicked it on Patera and then did a mock bodybuilder pose. Manny snapped Patera up and whipped Patera into the buckles. Patera crashed into them. Manny moved in with a series of gut kicks followed by choking Patera out with his boot. Manny broke the illegal move at the ref's count of 4. Manny pulled Patera out of the corner, whipped Ken into the ropes and caught Ken coming off with a backhand to the face. Patera crashed to the mat. Manny for the cover. 1...2... Ken kicked out. Crowd cheered. Manny caught Ken with a head shot, pulled Ken to his feet and whipped Ken into the corner. Manny moved in on Ken but Ken exploded out of the corner and flattened Manny with a running clothesline. Crowd really popped. Ken maneuvered around behind Manny. Manny up facing away from Ken and Ken moved in and caught Manny in his swinging full nelson. Manny wasn't in the hold for long before submitting. Ref called for the bell as the crowd cheered. Ken released the hold and Manny crashed to the mat. Ref raised Ken's hand in victory. As Ken left the ring, Valerie made her way down the heel aisle with an envelope in hand. Valerie was booed. Valerie caught up to Ken as Ken was about to head up the face aisle and handed Ken the envelope, smiled at Ken and walked off. Patera looked at the envelope and disappeared to the back. Announcers wondered what was in the envelope. WINNER: Patera - Submission - 6:01 In-Studio: Nelson said fans were wondering what was in the envelope that Valerie handed him. Said they'll look to have an answer soon from Patera. Pic of Sheik Adnan El-Kaissey and Kokina with the caption: NEXT... SHEIK SPEAK!!! Commercials In-ring: Larry Nelson. Nelson: Would you welcome my guests at this time... they are Sheik Adnan El-Kaissey and Kokina Maximus. Loud rumbling noise followed by an explosion filled the arena and Kokina and Kaissey made their way down the heel aisle to strong boos. The pair stepped into the ring and walked around soaking in the negative crowd reax. Nelson: Sheik, we hear you have something you wanted to say. Sheik: I do, Larry Nelson. Crowd booed. Sheik: You infidels need to shut up and show some respect to Kokina! More boos. Sheik stalked around as Kokina glared at the crowd. Sheik: We are out here to offer a challenge! Kokina has crushed the no-names and put 'Crusher' Blackwell in his place! Kokina wants more of a test! So, any wrestler whose on the AWA roster, the first one of you who has the guts to challenge Kokina will get a match with him! Nelson: So, this is an open challenge? Sheik: Exactly! But, no-names are not welcome to challenge Kokina! It has to be a name wrestler! Nelson: It could be anybody as long they've got a proven track record in this sport? Sheik: Yes! So, who is man enough to come out here and accept the challenge to face Kokina in a match?! No one came out right away. Sheik: Is everyone scared of Kokina?! Where's your backbone?! If you think you can give him a fight, then get down to this ring right now! Come on! We do not have all day! Kokina is getting restless! Still no one came out. Sheik: This shows you what a bunch of chickens they... Decent response as Tom Zenk made his way down the face aisle to the ring. Nelson: Tom Zenk is here! Looks like you've got your challenger! Zenk: We've all seen how dangerous Kokina can be! We know the destruction he can do! But, the entire AWA is aligned against this serious threat! With that said: Kokina Maximus, I accept your challenge for a match! Decent amount of cheers. Nelson: You're gonna have to move heaven and earth to beat this man. Zenk: I know exactly what I'm signing up for, Larry! I'm not going into this with blinders on! The odds are stacked against me! But, we in the AWA have to start taking a stand against Kokina right now! Crowd cheered. Sheik: I give you credit for being brave, Tom Zenk! Not smart, but brave! Zenk: See you in our match, Kokina! Nelson: Tom Zenk has accepted the challenge and will face Kokina in a match in the near future! Crowd cheered. Pic aired of Muraco & Wahoo with the caption: NEXT... TAG TEAM WAR!!! Commercials Wahoo & Muraco vs. Badd Co. (w/ DDP) Badd Co. with Dallas Page made their way down the heel aisle to the song Bad Company to a wall of boos. The trio climbed in the ring and briefly played to the crowd. Wahoo & Muraco made their way down the face aisle to a wall of cheers and climbed into the ring, Announcers discussed the daily fines piling up for DDP until he gives Rickey Rice the $50K back that he stole from him. Match started out with Muraco taking it to Paul Diamond early on and driving Diamond from the ring as the fans popped. Diamond made his way back in the ring and Muraco waged an offensive war on him a little more before Diamond reversed a Muraco whip into the ropes and caught Muraco coming off with a scoop slam. The hurting Diamond managed to tag in Tanaka and Tanaka hit the ring and laid into Muraco. At one point, Tanaka caught Muraco with a spinning back heel kick to the side of the head that dropped Muraco and Tanaka went for the pin but Muraco kicked out at 2. Tanaka continued his assault until Muraco fired back with punches and caught Tanaka with a gorilla press slam. Crowd piopped. A hurting Muraco tagged in Wahoo and the fans ate it up. Wahoo laid into Tanaka with knife-edge chops. Wahoo whipped Tanaka into the ropes and caught Tanaka coming off with a high backdrop. Tanaka crashed to the mat. Tanaka up and Wahoo slammed Tanaka's head into the top buckle. Tanaka spun around in the corner and was greeted by more chops. Wahoo pulled Tanaka out of the corner and bodyslammed Tanaka and went for an elbow smash but Tanaka rolled out fo the way and Wahoo crashed to the mat. Tanaka up and lunged over and tagged in Diamond. The match turned into a back-and-forth affair from there with some near falls. End of the match saw Wahoo on the offensive against Diamond. Wahoo hit Diamond with some chest chops and whipped Diamond into the ropes and looked to catch Diamond coming off with a backdrop but Diamond stunned Wahoo with a kick to the chest, Wahoo stumbled back. Diamond moved in and [popped Wahoo with punches and then nailed Wahoo with an inverted suplex slam (gourdbuster). Diamond turned Wahoo over for the pin. 1...2... Wahoo kicked out. Crowd cheered. Diamond snatched Wahoo up and threw Wahoo out between the the top and middle rope down to the floor. Wahoo down on the floor. Ref arguing with Diamond to stand back. On the floor, Wahoo got to his hands and knees and DDP snuck over and went to strike Wahoo with his cane but Muraco dropped to the floor, ran up behind DDP and snatched the cane out of DDP's hands. DDP backed off as Muraco stalked him with the cane. DDP took off and started running around the ring. Muraco gave chase and Tanaka jumped off the apron and clubbed Muraco in the back. Muraco lost his grip on the cane and went down. Ref still distracted with Diamond. DDP retrieved his fashion statement/weapon. Wahoo up and rolled back into the ring and Diamond continued his assault on Wahoo. Tanaka up on the apron and Diamond tagged in Tanaka, who stuck his knee in through the top and middle rope and Diamond slammed Wahoo's head into it. Muraco recovered enough to make it back on the apron in his corner. Tanaka worked over Wahoo, whipped Wahoo into the roeps and caught Wahoo coming off with a savate kick. Wahoo crashed to the mat. Tanaka for the cover. 1...2...thr... Muraco hit the ring and stomped Tanaka in the back to break up the pin try. Diamond hit the ring and jumped on Muraco and pounded away on him. Ref trying to get Muraco and Diamond out of the ring. Diamond went to whip Muraco into the ropes but Muraco reversed and caught Diamond coming off in a fireman's carry and pulverized Diamond with a Samoan drop. Crowd went into orbit. Muraco snatched up Diamond and threw him out of the ring. Ref got Muraco back to his corner. Tanaka went to whip Wahoo into the ropes but Wahoo reversed and caught Tanaka coming off with his big chop finisher. Tanaka crashed to the mat by the ropes. Crowd delirious. Wahoo lunged over and tagged in Muraco. Crowd loud. DDP jumped up on the ring apron and Muraco went over and headbutted DDP and DDP crashed to the apron and then the floor. Crowd going berzerk. Tanaka up and Muraco laid into Tanaka with punches, whipped Tanaka into the ropes and caught Tanaka coming off with a powerslam. Muraco signaled it was time for his finisher. Crowd urging on Muraco. Muraco hoisted Tanaka up and blasted him with his inverted pilderiver finisher. Muraco covered Tanaka. 1...2...3! Ref called for the bell as the fans exploded. Muraco up and Wahoo now in the ring and the ref raised both of their hands in victory as Badd Co. was laid out in the ring and on the floor. WINNER: Wahoo & Muraco - Pinfall - 11:29 Pic aired of the WrestleRock logo with the caption: NEXT... WRESTLEROCK NEWS!!! Commercials WRESTLEROCK NEWS: Larry Nelson, in-studio, ran down the latest on WrestleRock. EVENT: WrestleRock '90 WHERE: Sioux Falls Arena - Sioux Falls, SD WHEN: Sunday, May 20 TIME: 1:00pm CST DATE TICKETS GO ON SALE: Saturday, April 21, at 10am CST. You can get your seats by calling the Sioux falls Arena box office at (605) 555-8287, visit their box office or by contacting Ticket Master. Nelson said they'll announce the matches and the feature rock act for the show in the coming weeks. Nelson went on to heavily hype the event and said it was the first major show of the Triumph Media Sports era. Nelson told fans to get their seats early and that for fans traveling from out of town there were plenty of fine accommodations in the Sioux Falls area. Nelson said they'd have their first WrestleRock Update next week and there will be some big news coming on that update! Pic aired of the AWA logo with the caption: NEXT... THE MAIN EVENT!!! Commercials TV MAIN EVENT: Wayne Bloom (w/ Mike Enos - WTTC) vs. Derrick Dukes (w/ Ricky Rice) Danger Zone filled the arena and Dukes and Rice made their way down the face aisle to the ring to a good ovation from the crowd. The pair climbed in the ring and acknowledged the fans. Wayne Bloom and partner Mike Enos made their way down the heel aisle to mostly boos but also some cheers. Each man was wearing his tag title. The pair climbed in the ring and strutted around with their belts on. Bloom handed his belt off to the ref and the ref handed it to Larry Nelson. Rice and Enos both went to the floor. Announcers pointed out that the Guns earned a tag title shot against the Destruction Crew with a win over Badd Co. a couple of weeks ago. Ref called for the bell. The men circled one another and engaged in an overhead wristlock test of strength. At first, Bloom gained the upper hand and started to drive Dukes down to the mat, but Dukes powered up and the men struggled for the advantage. Dukes then gained the advantage. While Bloom put up a struggle, Dukes eventually drove him down to the mat. Dukes released the hold and Bloom angrily got to his feet, kicked the bottom rope and then lunged over at Dukes, but Dukes blocked the punch try and fired away on Bloom with punches of his own. Dukes whipped Bloom into the ropes and caught Bloom coming off with a dropkick. Bloom crashed to the mat and quickly rolled out of the ring and dropped to the floor as Enos came over to console the frustrated Bloom as the fans cheered. Bloom climbed back into the ring and went after Rice again and Rice dodged Bloom and caught Bloom in a side headlock. After a brief struggle, Bloom countered with a belly-to-back suplex to free himself from the hold. Both men up and Bloom caught Dukes with a head shot, whipped Dukes into the ropes and caught Dukes coming off in a bearhug. Crowd half-assed urging on Dukes. Dukes struggling in the hold. Dukes was finally able to clap his arms against the sides of Bloom's head to free himself from the hold. Bloom caught Dukes with a knee to the gut and then nailed Dukes with a suplex. Bloom for the cover. 1...2... Dukes kicked out. Both men up and Bloom and Dukes engaged in a collar-and-elbow tie-up and Bloom quickly turned it into a side headlock. Dukes shoved Bloom off into the ropes and Bloom came off and Dukes caught Bloom with a hip toss. Bloom up and Dukes hit Bloom with a dropkick. Bloom down. Bloom back to his feet and Dukes nailed Bloom with an enzuigiri. Bloom down and Dukes for the cover. 1...2... Bloom kicked out. Some in the crowd groaned. Others didn't care as the beer was kicking in. Dukes started to snap Bloom up when Bloom poked Dukes in the eye. Bloom up and pounded Dukes in the back. Bloom whipped Dukes into the ropes and caught Dukes coming off with a flying clothesline. Dukes down. Bloom for the cover. 1...2...thr... Dukes kicked out. Bloom snapped Dukes up and whipped Dukes into the ropes and looked to clothesline Dukes coming off but Dukes ducked the move and came back with a flying bodypress on Bloom for the pin. Bloom kicked out before any count could be made. Bloom up and walked right into an inverted atomic drop from Dukes. Bloom crashed to the mat. Enos quickly removed his belt and climbed up on the apron behind Dukes. Rice charged over on the floor, yanked Enos off the apron and Enos's head slammed into the apron as the fans popped. Dukes backed up as Bloom painfully made it to his feet. Dukes nailed Bloom with a running clothesline. Bloom crashed to the mat. Dukes for the cover and hooked the leg. 1...2...3! Ref called for the bell as fans cheered. Marshall: Is this the ending fans can expect when the Destruction Crew defend the titles against the Top Guns?! WINNER: Dukes - Pinfall - 4:37 END PROGRAM THE AWA!!! A NEW ERA! A NEW ATTITUDE! The Raiders lost again! 😠 Que the angry latinos! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old School Fan Posted October 3, 2023 Share Posted October 3, 2023 On 10/1/2023 at 5:42 PM, piperrulz said: Show Intro Larry Nelson welcomed viewers and ran down the program: TV MAIN EVENT: Wayne Bloom (WTTC) vs. Derrick Dukes Ken Patera vs. Manny Fernandez Don Muraco & Wahoo McDaniel vs. Badd Company (w/ DDP) Candi Divine vs. Lelani Kai More on WrestleRock '90 An interview with Sheik Adnan El-Kaissey & Kokina Maximus And more!!! Yeah, that's something I noticed about the AWA TV shows since the new ownership took over - no more appearances by jobbers based on real-life celebrities or movie/TV show characters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Kremmen Posted October 5, 2023 Author Share Posted October 5, 2023 On 10/1/2023 at 6:47 PM, sonny912 said: Que the angry latinos! Back in the '80s, during promos, Fernandez called Tasumi Fujinami a 'zipperhead' on more than one occasion. He also racially mocked Wahoo as well leading to their strap match at SC3. I had to figure out something to do with Manny and that's the direction I chose. On 10/3/2023 at 2:29 PM, Old School Fan said: Yeah, that's something I noticed about the AWA TV shows since the new ownership took over - no more appearances by jobbers based on real-life celebrities or movie/TV show characters. Wanted to hit the ground running with name vs. name matches on the shows. Eric Bischoff before Eric Bischoff! Those jobber names will be coming back on a limited basis as some squashes will return. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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