AWA WrestleRock '88 on PPV 6-17-88 the Great War!
Jun 21, 2017 0:42:21 GMT
Post by Chitohausen on Jun 21, 2017 0:42:21 GMT
THE AMERICAN WRESTLING ASSOCIATION PRESENTS:
WRESTLEROCK ‘88
SATURDAY, JUNE 17, 1988
AIRING LIVE ON PAY-PER-VIEW
FROM WRIGLEY FIELD IN CHICAGO, IL
Larry Nelson welcomes everyone in attendance and everyone watching at home on Pay-Per-View to WRESTLEROCK!!! Nelson says we’re under the lights here at Wrigley Field, it’s a perfect evening for wrestling, and that’s exactly what we’ll get from the American Wrestling Association! Our wrestlers aren’t bodybuilders, they aren’t movie stars, they’re athletes!
Nelson then sends us to our commentary team for the evening, Rod Trongard and “Diamond” Dallas Page!
Trongard runs down the matches that we’ll see here tonight, and takes a moment to talk about the main event, dubbed “the Great War”! World champion Steve Williams will team up with the Superpowers, Sgt. Slaughter and Nikita Koloff, to face off with Skandor Akbar’s Army of Abdullah the Butcher, the One Man Gang and Mr. Saito!
Page says Akbar’s Army is unstoppable and tonight, we’ll see the end of Dr. Death and the Superpowers!
A highlight video then airs, focusing on the issues between Slaughter, Williams and Koloff and Akbar’s team.
Page points out that Steve Williams has yet to get a clean win over Abdullah the Butcher, and he thinks that the madman from the Sudan has Doc’s number!
Trongard then asks Page about his search for a wrestler to manage here in the AWA. Page says that he’s signed not one, but two wrestlers, and next weekend on Pro Wrestling USA, he’ll reveal their identities to the world!
We then go up to the ring for the opening bout, one that Trongard says is bound to have the fans on the edge of their seats, as four of the most exciting young prospects in the sport compete in a tag team match.
THE BLUE BLAZER & DAVID FINLAY defeat JOHNNY SMITH & PEGASUS KID. The two teams shake hands before the bell. We’re treated to an exciting, fast-paced match which lasts about 15 minutes before the masked Blazer gets the win for his team by pinning Smith with a moonsault press. Trongard puts all four men over as future superstars.
BOB BACKLUND battles “COWBOY” BOB ORTON JR to a 20-minute time limit DRAW. Backlund and Orton put on a wrestling clinic, but neither can put the other away before the time limit expires and the match is declared a draw.
THE HART FOUNDATION: BRET HART & JIM NEIDHART (w/ Jimmy Hart) defeat THE KANSAS JAYHAWKS: BOBBY JAGGERS & DUTCH MANTELL. The Hart Foundation makes short work of their opponents here, with Bret pinning Dutch Mantell after the Hart Attack.
Trongard and Page talk about the three title matches that will take place tonight. The first one is up next, as “Hollywood” John Tatum defends the AWA TV title against former USWA World champion Wahoo McDaniel!
We see footage of a brawl that took place between Tatum and Wahoo a few weeks ago on TV. Tatum made some rather offensive comments about Wahoo, and Native Americans in general, and Wahoo took exception, attacking Tatum. Tatum eats several knife-edged chops from Wahoo, that left red welts on his chest, before running to the locker room.
WAHOO MCDANIEL beats AWA World Television champion “HOLLYWOOD” JOHN TATUM (w/ Sherri Martel) to win the title. Tatum spends the first few minutes trying to avoid Wahoo, sticking his head between the ropes every time the Chief tries to lock up, or jumping out of the ring completely. Wahoo loses his patience, and goes out to the floor after Tatum, where he’s confronted by Sherri Martel. With Wahoo’s attention on Martel, Tatum takes the opportunity to jump the big Chief from behind, driving a knee into Wahoo’s back that sends McDaniel into the ringpost. Wahoo is stunned, and Tatum spends a few minutes working him over. However, Tatum turns his attention to the fans here at Wrigley Field, taunting them, and that gives Wahoo a chance to recover. When Tatum turns his attention back to Wahoo, he’s met with a series of chops, the impact of which can be heard even in the nosebleed section of Wrigley Field. Wahoo then runs the ropes, and connects with a big overhead chop to the stunned champion, and that’s all she wrote! Tatum crumbles to the mat, and Wahoo covers him for the 1, 2, 3!
Wahoo McDaniel is the new AWA World Television champion!
Larry Nelson climbs into the ring to talk with the new champion. Wahoo says that he came to Wrigley Field tonight looking to teach Tatum a lesson, and that’s exactly what he did! He says that he’s still got a lot of fight left in him, and he’s going to be a champion that the AWA fans can be proud of!
AWA Americas champion “MR. WONDERFUL” PAUL ORNDORFF (w/ Jimmy Hart) beats “SUPERFLY” JIMMY SNUKA. We’ve already seen a title change tonight, and the fans were hoping for another one here, as the always popular Superfly takes on Mr. Wonderful for the Americas title. These two go tooth and nail for the entire match. Orndorff enjoys an early advantage, but Snuka eventually manages to turn the tables, and has Orndorff reeling after a series of headbutts. Snuka then leaps into air and delivers a brutal jumping headbutt that puts Orndorff flat on his back on the mat! Snuka goes to the top rope and the fans all know what’s coming next. Snuka leaps off the top with his Superfly Splash . . . but Orndorff rolls out of the way at the last second! Snuka crashes to the mat, and Orndorff picks the Superfly up, and drops him on his head with the piledriver! Orndorff covers Snuka and gets the 1, 2, 3 to successfully retain the Americas title.
THE BRITISH BULLDOGS: DAVEY BOY SMITH & DYNAMITE KID defeat AWA World Tag Team champions STAN HANSEN & KING KONG BRODY to win the titles. Hansen and Brody dominate the early going, using their size and power to their advantage. The Bulldogs hold their own, and show a lot of fight, causing Hansen and Brody to become frustrated by their inability to put their smaller opponents away. Late in the match, the Bulldogs get a break, Hansen holds Davey Boy while Brody charges at him and goes for a big boot to the face. However, Davey Boy slips out of Hansen’s grasp, and moves out of the way . . . and BRODY KICKS HANSEN INSTEAD!!!!
Hansen is slow to get back to his feet, and shakes off the cobwebs . . . then tears into King Kong Brody!!! Hansen, screaming at his partner, throws right and lefts that leave Brody stunned. The Bulldogs regroup while this is going on, and then hit Hansen with a double dropkick that sends him through the ropes and to the floor. Brody, the legal man, is still stunned, and the Bulldogs give him a double dropkick as well! With Brody on the mat, Dynamite Kid heads to the top rope . . . and delivers the diving headbutt!!!
Davey Boy is the legal man, and he covers Brody for the 1, 2, 3!!
THE BRITISH BULLDOGS HAVE PULLED OFF A HUGE UPSET, AND ARE THE NEW WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS!!!
Hansen charges back into the ring, and he and Brody continue their brawl! As the new champions take the belts and leave the ring, Hansen and Brody brawl in the ring, before Hansen knocks Brody through the ropes and to the grass. Hansen goes out after him, and they continue to brawl on the field, all around ringside. Hansen goes to whip Brody into the ringpost, but Brody reverses it, sending Hansen crashing into the steel post instead. Hansen is dazed, but he continues to fight, as the two men eventually make their way out into the seats that have been set up on the field! Fans scatter as the two wildmen pummel each other. Hansen grabs a chair, and repeatedly bashes Brody over the head with it!
Moments later, they make their way backstage and out of sight.
Trongard and Page talk about what we just witnessed, as new World Tag Team champions were crowned, and it seems that the team of Hansen and Brody is no more! Page says that those fans were lucky they got out of the way, it looked like Hansen and Brody didn’t care who they hit!
While the cage is being set up for the final match, the fans watching on PPV see a video package of some of the events leading up to the Great War! We see footage of the previous Williams vs Abdullah matches, as well as Nikita Koloff making his first appearance in the AWA, coming to Sgt. Slaughter’s aid as he was being pummeled by the members of Akbar’s Army.
After the video ends, Larry Nelson is standing ringside, and goes over what the Great War entails . . . two rings, surrounded by a cage, two referees, and when a wrestler is pinned or made to submit, he will be handcuffed to the cage, until all three members of one team have been cuffed to the cage!
THE GREAT WAR!
STEVE “DR. DEATH” WILLIAMS & SGT. SLAUGHTER & NIKITA KOLOFF defeat AKBAR’S ARMY: ABDULLAH THE BUTCHER & THE ONE MAN GANG & MR. SAITO (w/ General Skandor Akbar). Williams, Slaughter and Nikita come out wearing cammo fatigues, and being led to the ring by a small USMC marching band, playing the Marines’ Hymn.
Once all six men, and the two referees, are in the cage, the door is shut, and the bell sounds to start the match! As soon as the bell sounds, the two sides tear into each other, it’s complete mayhem, as wrestlers fight all over both rings! There are no disqualifications in this one, and it doesn’t take long for Abby to produce his trusty fork, and repeatedly drive it into the forehead of Steve Williams! While that’s going on, Slaughter is pounding away on Mr. Saito, and Nikita Koloff is trading punches with the OMG in the other ring.
Mr. Saito is the first one to be eliminated, as Slaughter connects with the Slaughter Cannon and pins him. Saito is then cuffed to the cage, and Steve Williams and his team now have a 3-on-2 advantage! Slaughter and Nikita gang up on the One Man Gang, while Williams continues to brawl with Abby.
A few minutes later, as Slaughter goes to help Williams with Abdullah, Skandor Akbar hands something through the cage to the One Man Gang. Nikita has Gang down in the corner, and his using his boot to choke the Gang, and doesn’t see Akbar hand the object through the cage. When Nikita goes to pull Gang up to his feet, Gang, with the object in his hand, blasts Nikita with a big right hand! Nikita is out, he drops to the mat, and the Gang quickly pins him!
As Nikita is revived and cuffed to the cage, the One Man Gang goes over to help Abdullah. Steve Williams, bleeding heavily from Abby’s attack with the fork, is down and out, allowing Abby and the Gang to double-team Slaughter. They work him over, and Gang pulls out the object that he used on Nikita . . . but Slaughter gets a second wind, and tears into the Gang with a flurry of rights and lefts, and the Gang drops the object! Slaughter picks it up, and drops the Gang with a big haymaker! Slaughter covers the Gang, and before Abdullah can break up the cover, Steve Williams dives at him, taking Abby’s legs out from under him. The referee moves into position, and counts Slaughter pinfall on the Gang!
On commentary, Dallas Page complains about Slaughter using a foreign object, with Trongard replying that Gang used it on Nikita, and turnabout is fair play!
Now with OMG cuffed to the cage, Williams and Slaughter have a 2-on-1 advantage against Abdullah! Abby doesn’t back down, he tries to take them both on, but eventually Slaughter and Williams wear him down, and Williams connects with a diving shoulderblock from the top rope, followed by the Slaughter Cannon, and Williams then covers Abdullah for the 1, 2, 3!
Steve Williams and Sgt. Slaughter have survived the Great War and walk away victorious! Nikita Koloff is uncuffed, and the three men celebrate before leaving the cage. Once they’ve left, Akbar’s men are uncuffed.
Trongard and Page wrap things up as the Pay-Per-View broadcast comes to an end. Trongard talks about the two title changes we saw tonight, as well as the Great War, and reminds everyone watching to tune into Pro Wrestling USA next Friday night on WGN for the fallout from WrestleRock!
Credits Roll
© 1988, AMERICAN WRESTLING ASSOCIATION
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