AWA TV 3-4-88 Reed vs Slater and some big changes!
Mar 9, 2017 15:42:06 GMT
Post by Chitohausen on Mar 9, 2017 15:42:06 GMT
AWA “PRO WRESTLING USA”
Airdate: Saturday, March 4, 1988
Broadcast nationwide on Superstation WGN
Taped on March 3, 1988 at the Winnipeg Arena in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
“From coast to coast, border to border, and continent to continent, this is the AWA, the major leagues of professional wrestling!”
Opening Clip: Borne vs Slaughter, 2/25/88, SuperClash II:
Slaughter hasn’t forgotten the attack on him by Borne and Buzz Sawyer when he officiated the match where Borne and Sawyer lost the World Tag titles. Slaughter has been asking for a one on one match with Borne ever since, and finally gets it here on Pay-Per-View! Borne gains an early advantage, but the Sarge soon turns the tables, and it’s all Slaughter from there on out! Slaughter eventually connects with the Slaughter Cannon for the 1, 2, 3!
END CLIP
Rod Trongard opens the show, and welcomes his co-host, Magnum TA. Trongard says that “Championship Wrestling” has undergone an upgrade, as well as a name change, and will now be known as “Pro Wrestling USA”! The main event of this first episode with the new name is a big one, as we’ll see a rematch from SuperClash, with Butch Reed defending the TV title against Dick Slater!
Trongard mentions that they’ve gone back to the two-man announce team of himself and Magnum TA, as Paul E. Dangerously, who holds a manager’s licence, took a job as a full-time manager out on the west coast. Magnum saying he can’t say he’s sorry to see Dangerously go! Trongard says Paul E. was certainly a controversial individual, no doubt about that, but feels that he’ll do well as a manager.
Trongard then says there was another big change that took place recently here in the AWA, Stanley Blackburn stepped down as AWA President, and the man who took over is someone that wrestling fans all across the country know well, first as a wrestler who main evented everywhere he went, including right here in the AWA, and later as a commentator and President of Mid-South Sports . . . the legendary cowboy, Bill Watts!
We go to a video of Bill Watts, alongside promoter Wally Karbo. Watts says that his goal has always been to see this great sport continue to grow and to thrive. As the new President of the AWA, Watts says he’s going to take the promotion to new heights!
Trongard says that last Saturday night, SuperClash II took place at the famed Kiel Auditorium in St. Louis. The big main event that everyone was waiting for saw Rick Rude defend the AWA World heavyweight title against a man who, like the new AWA President, played football for the Oklahoma Sooners, Steve “Dr. Death” Williams!
VTR: Rude vs Williams, SuperClash II, JIP:
. . . Rude uses a thumb to the eye to turn the tables again, and starts digging at the cut on Williams’ eyebrow. Before long, Williams is wearing the crimson mask, and Rude has the match well in hand. Rude delivers a kneelift that puts Williams on the mat, then goes to the top rope . . . but keeps climbing, right up to the top of the cage! Rude steadies himself as Williams gets to his feet and leaps off for a double axehandle . . . but Williams catches him with a shot to the gut, and Rude flips in the air, before landing flat on his back on the mat! Williams covers him, but Rude kicks out at 2!
Williams stays on the offensive, and gets several more nearfalls, but can’t put Rude away. Williams goes back to working on the back of the champion, and then hoists Rude up . . . and hits the Oklahoma Stampede! Williams covers the champion, and the referee starts the count . . .
ONE
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TWO
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Rude gets drapes his leg over the bottom rope, and the referee sees it at the last second! Rude had the presence of mind to put his leg on the rope, saving the World title!
Williams grabs Rude, and cinches him up for a suplex, but Rude is able to block it, then somehow finds the strength to reverse it, taking Williams to the mat. Rude lays some vicious kicks into the head of the challenger, then starts digging the toe of his boot into the cut over Doc’s eye. Rude targets the neck of the challenger, repeatedly driving his elbow into the back of Williams’ neck, knocking Doc to the mat. Rude picks him up . . . and delivers the Rude Awakening!! Rude covers Williams, and the ref starts counting . . .
ONE
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TWO
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THR . . . NO, WILLIAMS GETS A SHOULDER UP!!!
Williams has just kicked out after the Rude Awakening! On commentary, Trongard and Magnum are shocked!
Williams is woozy, and his face is covered in blood, but he somehow fights his way back to his feet. Rude grabs him, and cinches him up for another Rude Awakening . . . but Williams breaks free! Williams plants a boot into Rude’s midsection . . .
DOCTOR BOMB!!!!
Williams delivers the Doctor Bomb, a move we rarely see him use. Rude is flat on his back on the mat, Percy Pringle is going ballistic at ringside, seeing the World title slipping away!
Williams is exhausted, and he just falls on top of Rude to cover him. The referee starts counting . . .
ONE
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TWO
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THREE!!!!!!!
END VTR
At that point, Rod and Magnum are joined by the new AWA World heavyweight champion Steve Williams! The commentators congratulate Williams on the win. Doc says that it was probably the toughest match of his career so far, but with all these great fans behind him, he dug down deep and walked away from the match victorious!
Magnum says that wrestlers are lining up to challenge Williams, and Doc says that he wouldn’t want it any other way. He says that he’s going to be a fighting champion and will defend this belt against the very best in the world.
GREG GAGNE VS. MASAHIRO CHONO. Chono shows that he’s got plenty of natural talent, as he hangs with the veteran Gagne here, matching him hold for hold early on. As the match progresses, Greg takes over, and eventually locks on the Gagne Sleeper for the win.
Localized promos air for the upcoming shows this week: tonight in St. Paul, Sunday in Chicago, Monday in Detroit and Friday night in Pittsburgh.
Trongard says that a deal was reached earlier this week, a deal that will bring to the AWA two of the most dominant men to ever compete inside a wrestling ring . . . “King Kong” Brody and Stan “the Lariat” Hansen!
Trongard says that some fans may remember Stan Hansen as the man that broke Bruno Sammartino’s neck with his devastating Lariat during a match at Madison Square Garden! He says that Hansen and Brody have a reputation as the two most feared wrestlers to ever wrestle in Japan and now they’re on their way to the AWA! We’ll see them in tag team action next week!
BIG VAN VADER (w/General Skandor Akbar) VS. BRAD RHEINGANS. Rheingans is a former Olympic wrestler, and he uses his amateur skills to keep Vader off-balance early, but Vader soon turns the tables, and uses poor Rheingans as a punching bag! Vader gets the win after driving Rheingans into the mat with the Powerbomb, then pins him by putting one foot on Rheingans chest.
After the match, Larry Nelson talks with General Skandor Akbar and his entire Devastation Inc crew: Big Van Vader, One Man Gang and Mr. Saito. Akbar says his men were victorious at SuperClash, just like he predicted they would be, and now the goal is total domination! Akbar says that he is declaring WAR on everyone in the AWA! He says that when the dust settles, he and Devastation Inc will be standing tall, with all the gold!
Localized promos air for the upcoming shows this week: tonight in St. Paul, Sunday in Chicago, Monday in Detroit and Friday night in Pittsburgh.
THE FANTASTICS: TOMMY ROGERS & BOBBY FULTON VS. THE MASKED TERRORISTS. The Fantastics are lightning-quick and they use that to their advantage, keeping their masked opponents off their game. The Fantastics keep one of the Terrorists in their corner, and eventually get the win when they connect with the Rocket Launcher, and Rogers pins one of the Terrorists.
Trongard and Magnum are joined by Scott Hall. Trongard says that Hall is considered by many to be one of the future superstars in this sport, with his combination of size, power, athleticism and natural wrestling ability.
Hall, a humble young man, says that he’s not sure about all that, but he just wants to come out here and entertain the fans and hopes that they’ll support him. Magnum says that Hall reminds him a lot of himself at the beginning of his career, and thinks Hall has a bright future in this sport.
Hall thanks Magnum, saying that he followed Magnum’s career and he was one of the reasons that Hall wanted to be a professional wrestler. Hall then shakes hands with both men and leaves the announce area.
Trongard says that we saw footage at the top of the program, of Sgt. Slaughter defeating Matt Borne at SuperClash II. Rod says we have a special look at the Sarge, a REAL American hero.
We see a highlight video of Slaughter, set to the US Marine Corps Hymn. We see footage of Slaughter battling a variety of opponents, and the video ends with footage of Slaughter hitting Borne with the Slaughter Cannon at SuperClash.
Localized promos air for the upcoming shows this week: tonight in St. Paul, Sunday in Chicago, Monday in Detroit and Friday night in Pittsburgh.
AWA WORLD TELEVISION CHAMPIONSHIP:
“HACKSAW” BUTCH REED (Champ) (w/ Percival Pringle III) VS. DICK SLATER. After a wild, hard-hitting affair, Reed gets the win when, as Slater sets Reed up for the Russian Legsweep, Reed hits Slater in the face with an object that he had pulled out of his trunks. Slater is out cold, and falls to the mat, pulling Reed with him. The champion drapes an arm over Slater and gets the 1, 2, 3.
Trongard and Magnum wrap up the show, with Trongard hyping next week’s show, which will see the Fantastics face the Islanders in a non-title match.
Credits Roll
© 1988, AMERICAN WRESTLING ASSOCIATION
Working on it now.