AWA TV 1-28-88 Ole/Slater vs Islanders!
Jan 25, 2017 19:24:04 GMT
Post by Chitohausen on Jan 25, 2017 19:24:04 GMT
Airdate: Saturday, January 28, 1988
Broadcast nationwide on Superstation WGN
Taped on January 23, 1988 at the Winnipeg Arena in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
“From coast to coast, continent to continent, and border to border, this is the AWA, the Major Leagues of Professional Wrestling!”
Opening Clip: Last Week on Championship Wrestling:
As the match is going on, Capt. Lou Albano makes his way out to ringside to watch for a few minutes, then the Captain joins Rod Trongard and Magnum TA, telling them that his Islanders are here for one reason, the World Tag Team titles, and he’s out here to scout the current champions.
After the match is over, Slater and Anderson stop by the announce table on their way to the back. Captain Lou says the champions may have beaten Matt Borne and Buzz Sawyer, although they needed a crooked referee to do that, but he says they’ve never faced anyone like his Islanders. He says Haku and Tama grew up together, and have been friends since they were children, they know what the other is thinking at all times! Plus, on top of being top-flight wrestlers, they have both trained extensively in various martial arts, and as a result, they’ve mastered moves that Slater and Anderson have never even SEEN before!
As Slater and Ole argue with Albano, Haku and Tama sneak up behind Slater and Ole, and they attack the champions! A wild brawl ensues before several officials are able to get the two teams separated as we go to a commercial break.
END CLIP
Rod Trongard opens the show, and welcomes his co-host, Magnum TA.
They talk about the attack on the World Tag Team champions last week by the Islanders and Capt. Lou Albano. In tonight’s main event, the Islanders will square off with Dick Slater and Ole Anderson in a non-title match!
SGT. SLAUGHTER VS. THE CUBAN ASSASSIN. Slaughter gets the win by submission after locking on the Cobra Clutch.
After the match, Larry Nelson talks with Sgt. Slaughter. Slaughter issues a challenge to Matt Borne to face him, one on one, at SuperClash II on Pay-Per-View. Slaughter says that on February 25, he will get some payback for what Borne and Buzz Sawyer did to him a few weeks back.
Local promos air for upcoming shows in Denver, Las Vegas, Phoenix and Los Angeles.
Trongard and Magnum talk about the Rick Rude vs Steve Williams match that took place on TV last week.
VTR: Rick vs Williams Last Week on Championship Wrestling, JIP:
Williams takes the fight to Rude to start, with the Ravishing One bailing out of the ring to avoid Doc. He goes over to the cage to talk with Pringle, but Williams follows him, and grabs Rude, slamming his head against the side of the cage!
Rude is dazed, and Williams drags him back towards the ring. As Williams tosses Rude back into the ring, he’s jumped from behind by Butch Reed and Matt Borne! This brings Terry Taylor and Sgt. Slaughter out, and a huge brawl errupts! The referee calls for the bell, throwing the match out, but the six men continue to brawl as the show comes to an end!
END VTR
Rod and Magnum are joined by “Dr. Death” Steve Williams. Williams talks about the rivalry with Rick Rude over the AWA World title. He says that every time he gets close to beating Rude for the title, the champion does something to save the title. Williams says that he knows he can beat Rude, if he could get a match where Rude couldn’t run away, and nobody can interfere.
Williams then says that he wants one more match with Rude . . . inside a steel cage!
At this point, AWA World champion “Ravishing” Rick Rude and Percival Pringle III come out. Rude gets in Williams’ face, and says that he’s not going to be giving Doc any more title matches, he’s already given him more chances than Doc deserves, and so far, Williams has failed miserably each and every time!
Magnum wonders if Rude is scared to step inside a cage with Doc, to which Rude says that his refusal to be locked in a cage like an animal is more out of concern for the women of America! He asks if Magnum or Trongard could imagine what would happen if Doc were to mash Rude’s face into the cage, and mess up his looks? He says that every woman in this country would fall into a deep depression, the only thing that keeps them going is knowing that every Saturday night at 6pm, they can turn on WGN and see Rick Rude’s gorgeous face!
Williams just stands back and listens to Rude’s ranting, and then smiles, and says that he’ll sweeten the pot . . . if Rude will give him one last shot at the title, inside the cage, if Williams fails to win the title . . . he will RETIRE FROM WRESTLING! He’ll be out of Rude’s hair forever!
Rude and Percy talk it over for a moment away from the microphones, then Rude smiles, and tells Williams that he’s on! At SuperClash, he will give Williams one final shot at the belt, but when Williams loses, he has to retire, and Rude and Percy are going to make sure that stipulation is put right into the contract for the match, so that Williams can’t try to weasel out of it after he loses!
Local promos air for upcoming shows in Denver, Las Vegas, Phoenix and Los Angeles.
AWA WORLD TELEVISION CHAMPIONSHIP:
“HACKSAW” BUTCH REED (champ) (w/ Percival Pringle III) VS. GREG GAGNE. We’ve got a contrast in styles here, with the powerhouse Reed and the smaller, quicker mat-wrestler Gagne. Magnum and Trongard talk about Greg’s father, the legendary Verne Gagne, and how Verne taught Greg, a natural athlete, everything he knows. Gagne takes control of the match when Reed charges at him, and Greg takes him down with an armdrag, then works over the champion’s arm and shoulder. Reed eventually fights his way back to his feet, and surprises the challenger with a picture-perfect standing dropkick! Trongard says that while Reed prefers power moves, he’s as agile as anyone, as we just witnessed with that dropkick. The match comes to an end when Reed connects with the diving shoulderblock from the top rope for the pinfall.
Trongard and Magnum talk about General Skandor Akbar’s group, Devastation Incorporated, made up of the monster from the Rockies Big Van Vader, Mr. Saito and Nord the Viking.
We see a highlight video of Devastation Inc, set to “War Machine” by KISS.
Local promos air for upcoming shows in Denver, Las Vegas, Phoenix and Los Angeles.
DEVASTATION INC: VADER & SAITO & NORD (w/ General Skandor Akbar) VS. DERRICK DUKES & RICKY RICE & STEVE DOLL. Dukes, Rice and Doll are a very talented trio, but they just can’t get anything going against the monster team of Vader, Saito and Nord the Viking! In the end, Vader hoists Dukes up in the air and drops him to the mat with a Powerbomb, then pins Dukes by placing one foot on his chest!
THE ROCK N’ ROLL EXPRESS: RICKY MORTON & ROBERT GIBSON VS. THE SUPER ASSASSINS. The two masked men give Ricky and Robert a tough match, but in the end, the Express get the win after a double dropkick on one of the Super Assassins.
Local promos air for upcoming shows in Denver, Las Vegas, Phoenix and Los Angeles.
Larry Nelson interviews a newcomer to the AWA, a man by the name of “Hollywood” John Tatum. Tatum tells Nelson that, back home in Hollywood, they call him the “toast of the coast”, and says that everywhere he goes, he has the most beautiful women, all the top actresses and super models, throwing themselves at him. He says that the biggest Hollywood directors practically BEG him to be in their movies, because that they know that with his name attached, the movie is guaranteed to be a box office hit!
Tatum says that he’s sure Larry’s wondering why he would leave all that behind, to come here to the midwest, the most boring place on earth, where there are no Hollywood directors or beautiful women. He says that the answer is simple . . . the AWA World heavyweight title! He says that the AWA title is the biggest, most sought-after prize in this sport, and whoever holds it is universally recognized as the greatest wrestler on earth. Tatum says he is already the greatest wrestler on earth, but when he’s the champion, no one will be able to deny his greatness.
NON-TITLE MATCH:
DICK SLATER & OLE ANDERSON VS. THE ISLANDERS: HAKU & TAMA (w/ Capt. Lou Albano). Slater and Anderson are looking for some payback after being attacked from behind by the Islanders last week. The match ends in a DQ win for the champions when, as Ole prepares to come off the second rope with a kneedrop, Tama throws a handful of powder in his eyes!
After the bell, with Ole blinded, the Islanders gang up on Dick Slater. He holds his own briefly, but Haku catches him with the savate kick, that puts Slater on the mat, and the Islanders proceed to pummel him, with Tama hitting not one, but two splashes off the top, before a group of wrestlers can break things up.
Trongard and Magnum wrap things up and hype next week’s show, where we’ll hear about the first several matches signed for SuperClash II, live on Pay-Per-View on February 25.
Credits Roll
© 1988, AMERICAN WRESTLING ASSOCIATION
Working on it now.