AWA TV 10-20-88 Slaughter vs Orndorff!
Oct 26, 2017 21:12:03 GMT
Post by Chitohausen on Oct 26, 2017 21:12:03 GMT
AWA “PRO WRESTLING USA”
Airdate: Friday, October 20, 1988
Broadcast nationwide on Superstation WGN
Taped October 18, 1988 at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago, IL
“From coast to coast, border to border, and continent to continent, this is the AWA, the major leagues of professional wrestling!”
Rod Trongard opens the show, and welcomes his co-host Diamond Dallas Page!
Tonight, new Americas champion Sgt. Slaughter faces the man he took the title from, Paul Orndorff! The British Bulldogs will be joined by Davey Boy’s brother, Johnny Smith, for a 6-man tag team match against World Tag Team champions Bret Hart & Jim Neidhart, and the masked Wild Pegasus!
Plus, the Playboys will be in tag team action, and we’ll see Steve Williams new protégé, Gary Albright, in action! Albright was an NCAA champion at the University of Nebraska, as well as a World’s champion in Greco-Roman and Freestyle wrestling! Now he’s graduated to the pros, and we’ll see him in action tonight!
Plus, Nick Bockwinkel will talk about the Young Lions Cup, a round robin tournament, set to begin next week, featuring 6 of the top young stars in the sport: Owen Hart, Fuji Yamada, Johnny Smith, Wild Pegasus, Tiger Mask and Dave Finlay!
GARY ALBRIGHT (w/ Steve Williams) VS. JOEL DEATON. Albright demolishes his opponent, putting Deaton away in about 90 seconds after driving him down on the back of his head with a vicious German suplex, into a bridge for the pinfall.
Deaton needs help leaving the ring as Trongard puts over Albright’s performance, and says he’s someone we’ll want to keep an eye on.
THE PLAYBOYS: TOM PRITCHARD & JIMMY DEL RAY VS. BUCK ZUMHOFF & JAKE MILLIMAN. Dallas Page again stays at the commentary desk, saying that his team can handle themselves just fine, and don’t need him to always be at ringside with them. Throughout the match, Page puts his team over, to the point where he’s comparing them to teams like the Briscos, Funks and Bockwinkel and Stevens! Trongard admits they are an impressive team, though he thinks it’s way too soon to be making comparisons like that!
The Playboys get the win after they hit Zumhoff with a double Flapjack, and Del Ray covers him for the pinfall.
Magnum TA is standing by with AWA President Nick Bockwinkel. Bockwinkel is holding a large trophy, and says that it’s the cup that will be awarded to the winner of the upcoming Young Lions Cup tournament! He talks a little about each of the six wrestlers that will be involved: Owen Hart, Wild Pegasus, Johnny Smith, Tiger Mask, Fuji Yamada and Dave Finlay.
Bockwinkel says that it will be a round robin tournament, so each participant will face the other participants. They will be awarded 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, and no points for a loss. The two men with the highest point total will square off in the tournament final on Christmas night at the St. Paul Civic Center, and the winner of that match will win this trophy.
Bock says the tournament will start right here next week on Pro Wrestling USA with two matches, Owen Hart against Wild Pegasus and Tiger Mask against Dave Finlay!
BRET HART & JIM NEIDHART & WILD PEGASUS (w/ Jimmy Hart) VS. DAVEY BOY SMITH & DYNAMITE KID & JOHNNY SMITH. There’s a short feeling-out process to start, but then these two teams kick it into high gear and don’t slow down for the rest of the match! Early on, we see Pegasus and Dynamite square off, which is an interesting situation, as judging by the masked man’s style, Dynamite was obviously a big influence on him. We’re treated to a little bit of everything here, as Davey Boy and Neidhart brawl when they’re in the ring together, Johnny and Bret give us mainly clean, scientific wrestling, and Dynamite and Pegasus fly around the ring!
In the end, the Bulldogs and Johnny Smith get the win when Johnny pins Pegasus after hoisting him up, then running across the ring and delivering a shoulderbreaker.
Trongard and Page talk about Stan Hansen defeating Steve Williams to unify the AWA title, PWF title and United National title into the brand-new Triple Crown!
We see a clip of the final few minutes of that unification match at Super Sunday on October 8, then we see footage of Hansen defending the title in All-Japan Pro Wrestling, facing the likes of Giant Baba and Holy Demon Army member Jumbo Tsuruta!
We then to go pre-recorded comments from Hansen, backstage at a venue in Japan. Hansen says he went into the St. Paul Civic Center on October 8 and did exactly what he said he would, he kicked the stuffing out of Steve Williams and walked away with the three most important titles in wrestling! Hansen says he’ll be a fighting champion, he’ll face anyone, it doesn’t matter if it’s Williams, Slaughter, Paul Orndorff, Jumbo Tsuruta, he’ll take ‘em all on, and when the dust settles he’ll still be standing tall as the Triple Crown champion!
Rod Trongard announces that the AWA will return to the St. Paul Civic Center on Christmas night, December 25, for another big night of pro wrestling! Scheduled so far will be Stan Hansen defending the Triple Crown against the Americas champion, whoever it may be at that time! As we heard earlier, the finals of the Young Lions Cup tournament will take place that night! And, ten of the top teams in wrestling will compete in a one-night tournament for $20,000 and a shot at the World Tag Team titles! Nick Bockwinkel has said that each team will put $2,000 to enter the tournament, and the winning team takes all! The teams that will take part will be announced in the coming weeks right here on Pro Wrestling USA.
AWA AMERICAS CHAMPIONSHIP:
SGT. SLAUGHTER (Champ) VS. “MR. WONDERFUL” PAUL ORNDORFF (w/ Jimmy Hart). These two battle tooth and nail for the entire match, both showing why they are considered two of the top wrestlers in the sport. Late in the match, Slaughter has the upper hand, but Jimmy Hart has a trick up his sleeve. Hart distracts referee Randy Anderson while Bob Orton Jr makes his way down to the ring. Orton hands what looks to be an object wrapped in tape to Orndorff. As Slaughter goes to grab ahold of Orndorff, Mr. Wonderful slugs Slaughter in the head! Whatever the object is, it produced the desired result, as Slaughter crumbles to the mat.
Anderson turns back to the match just a second too late to see this. Orndorff, with the object still in his hand, but concealed from view, covers Slaughter. Anderson counts . . .
ONE
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TWO
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THREE!!
Paul Orndorff gets the three count and regains the AWA Americas title!
Hold the phone, here comes Terry Taylor! Taylor jumps into the ring and gets Randy Anderson’s attention. He points to Orndorff, saying he hit Slaughter with a foreign object and to check Orndorff’s hands.
The ref comes over to Orndorff, and says he wants to see his hands. Orndorff and Hart refuse, but Anderson threatens to reverse the decision. Hart throws a fit as Orndorff, with one hand behind his back, holds the other out, palm up. There’s nothing in it, but Anderson wants to see the other hand! Orndorff has both hands behind his back for a second, then holds out the other, palm up, and again there’s nothing. Anderson isn’t falling for this, though, and he wants to see both hands together!
This doesn’t sit well with Orndorff, and he yells at Anderson, saying he won fair and square, but Anderson tells him to show him both hands, or he’ll reverse the decision.
Orndorff still refuses, but Terry Taylor grabs him, and hits Orndorff with a right hand. Orndorff, stunned, drops the object, and the referee immediately informs ring announcer Larry Nelson that he has reversed the decision, and disqualified Orndorff for using the foreign object!
Orndorff, Jimmy Hart and Bob Orton are all livid as Randy Anderson grabs the Americas title belt back from Orndorff and hands it to Slaughter, who’s just now getting back to his feet.
Orndorff and Orton knock Slaughter to the mat, then jump on Taylor and pummel him as the show comes to an end!
Trongard and Page wrap things up, and Trongard hypes next week’s show, which will feature the first matches of the Young Lions Cup, and fall-out from this week’s main event!
Credits Roll
© 1988, AMERICAN WRESTLING ASSOCIATION
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