AWA Super Sunday '88 10-8-88 3 title changes!!!
Oct 12, 2017 19:20:22 GMT
Post by Chitohausen on Oct 12, 2017 19:20:22 GMT
THE AMERICAN WRESTLING ASSOCIATION
“SUPER SUNDAY ‘88”
BROADCAST VIA CLOSED CIRCUIT TO VENUES ALL AROUND THE MIDWEST
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 8, 1988
CIVIC CENTER IN ST. PAUL, MN
ROD TRONGARD and “DIAMOND” DALLAS PAGE are ringside to call the action.
JOHNNY SMITH & OWEN HART beat FUJI YAMADA & DAVE FINLAY. We start things off with a friendly, scientific match between four young Jr. Heavyweights. On commentary, Trongard mentions that these four men will take part in an upcoming round robin tournament, the Young Lions Cup, and they’ll have more info on that in the coming weeks on television. Smith and Hart get the win when Owen pins Yamada with a bridging Northern Lights suplex. The four men shake hands afterwards.
THE CAN-AM EXPRESS: TOM ZENK & PHIL LAFLEUR battle THE PLAYBOYS: TOM PRITCHARD & JIMMY DEL RAY (w/ Dallas Page) to a 20-minute time limit DRAW. Page leaves the commentary position to accompany his team to the ring. Page makes his presence felt throughout the match, interfering several times. In the end, neither team can get the win before the 20 minute time limit expires and the match is declared a draw.
ELIMINATION MATCH:
THE HOLY DEMON ARMY: JUMBO TSURUTA & TOSHIAKI KAWADA & GENICHIRO TENRYU (w/ Mr. Fuji) defeat BOB BACKLUND & BRAD RHEINGANS & MIKE ROTUNDA. The two teams trade the advantage several times early on, with the first elimination coming at around the 8-minute mark, when Tenryu pins Rheingans following an enzuigiri. That gives the Holy Demon Army a 3-on-2 advantage. Then, a few minutes later, Bob Backlund hits a diving bodypress on Tenryu that sends both men over the top rope and to the floor. They continue the fight outside the ring, neither man gets back into the ring before the ref reaches 10, and both are counted out. That leaves Mike Rotunda alone against Kawada and Tsuruta. Rotunda puts up a valiant effort, and is able to eliminate Kawada, pinning him after an Airplane Spin, but Tsuruta pins Rotunda soon after, delivering a vicious swinging neckbreaker for the pinfall.
TERRY TAYLOR defeats AWA World TV champion BOB ORTON JR (w/ Jimmy Hart) to win the title. After a hard-hitting, back and forth match, Taylor gets the win when he catches Orton with the flying forearm smash off the ropes for the pinfall victory.
THE BRITISH BULLDOGS: DAVEY BOY SMITH & DYNAMITE KID defeat AWA World Tag Team champions BRET HART & JIM NEIDHART (w/ Jimmy Hart) via Disqualification. Bret and Neidhart won the titles just over a week ago on television, and make their first defence of the titles here against the former champs. The action is fast and furious, and in the end, the Bulldogs get the win by DQ. At around the 14-minute mark, the Bulldogs have the match well in hand, and look to be on their way to victory, as Davey Boy drops Bret with a big powerslam. As Davey covers Bret, Neidhart, in a last-ditch effort to save the titles, takes Jimmy Hart’s megaphone and smashes Davey in the back of the head with it. The referee sees this, and calls the match.
On commentary, Trongard is disgusted that the champions would rely on an intentional DQ to keep the titles, but Page says that the ends justify the means, as long as they keep the belts, it doesn’t matter how they do it!
SGT. SLAUGHTER defeats AWA Americas champion “MR. WONDERFUL” PAUL ORNDORFF (w/ Jimmy Hart) to win the title. This rivalry has been raging for some time, and we’ve seen Orndorff and Jimmy Hart try to refuse to give Slaughter any more title matches, but Orndorff never did get a clean victory over the Sarge, so the AWA signed one more match between the two. Despite the way that most of the AWA fans feel about Orndorff, there’s no denying that he’s one of the top wrestlers in the world, and is the better technical wrestler of the two. That doesn’t seem to matter, though, as Sarge takes the fight right to Orndorff, relying on power moves and brawling.
We get an action-packed 18 minutes from these two, before Slaughter hits Orndorff with the Slaughter Cannon, then locks on the Cobra Clutch right in the middle of the ring! Orndorff fights valiantly to break the hold, but he’s not close enough to the ropes, and he can’t break free. Finally the lights go out, and Sgt. Slaughter has finally become the AWA Americas champion!
As the main event gets ready to start, and the PWF and UN champion, Stan Hansen, makes his way to the ring there’s some commotion!
Page: “Well, well, look who’s back . . .”
STAN HANSEN IS BEING ACCOMPANIED TO THE RING BY BIG VAN VADER!!!
Trongard says that we haven’t seen Vader in the AWA in several months, but it looks like he’s back now, and he’s in the corner of Stan Hansen for this unification match!
Page says that these two have teamed together on their last few tours of Japan, and some are saying they’re even more devastating than the Hansen and Brody team was!
TITLE UNIFICATION MATCH; NO COUNT-OUTs OR DQs:
PWF World & United National champion STAN HANSEN (w/ Big Van Vader) defeats AWA World heavyweight champion STEVE “DR. DEATH” WILLIAMS to unify the titles. Williams seems a little put off by Vader’s presence at ringside early, and this gives Hansen a chance to take the early advantage, but Williams soon battles back. Hansen is used to simply overpowering his opponents, but Doc is one guy that has no problem going toe to toe with Hansen!
They battle tooth and nail for more than 30 minutes. Several times, they take the fight to the outside, and both men wind up busted open after being introduced to the steel ringpost at different times during the match.
Late in the match, Williams has the upper hand, but as he pulls Hansen to his feet, Stan drives a knee into Doc’s gut, then tosses him through the ropes and to the floor. While Hansen distracts the referee, Vader pulls Williams up to his feet . . . and then delivers a monstrous clothesline! Vader then tosses Williams back into the ring.
Williams is dazed, and is slow getting back to his feet, but Hansen waits, biding his time, and as Williams gets up, Hansen charges at him, and delivers the LARIAT!!!
Williams already suffered the huge clothesline from Vader on the outside, and now the Lariat puts him flat on his back on the mat. Hansen covers him, the referee gets into position and starts his count . . .
ONE!
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TWO!!
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THREE!!!
Stan Hansen has pinned Steve Williams! Stan Hansen unifies the three belts, and is the very first TRIPLE CROWN CHAMPION!!!
Working on it now.