AWA TV 11-17-88 Williams vs Tenryu!

[Chitohausen]

AWA “PRO WRESTLING USA”

Airdate: Friday, November 17, 1988

Broadcast nationwide on Superstation WGN


Taped November 15, 1988 at the Aragon Ballroom 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.

Trongard welcomes us to the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago for another edition of Pro Wrestling USA!

Tonight, World Tag champs Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart will be in action! Big Van Vader faces the son of a legend in David Sammartino! It’s the battle of the behemoths as Kamala meets Jerry “Crusher” Blackwell! We’ll see another Young Lions Cup match, as Wild Pegasus takes on Fuji Yamada!

And, the feature bout, former World’s champion Steve Williams faces one of the top stars from Japan, and a member of the Yamazaki Corporation, Genichiro Tenryu! Williams pinned Tenryu to get the win in a tag team match two weeks ago on this program, and Tenryu will be looking to avenge that loss tonight!


AWA WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP:
BRET HART & JIM NEIDHART (champs) (w/ Jimmy Hart) VS. JAKE MILLIMAN & BILLY TWO EAGLES. The champions are at the top of their game at this point, and they make short work of Milliman and Two Eagles, finishing Two Eagles off with the Hart Attack double-team, with Bret then pinning him for the win.


BIG VAN VADER VS. DAVID SAMMARTINO. Vader is simply a monster, and he takes Sammartino apart in about 2 minutes, pinning him after a vicious Powerbomb.


After watching Vader destroy David Sammartino, Trongard and Page talk about Vader’s recent return to the AWA, where he showed up in Stan Hansen’s corner at Super Sunday, and helped Hansen in his quest to become the first Triple Crown champion.

VTR: Williams vs Hansen, 10/8/88, JIP:
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!!!
END VTR

Dallas Page tries to pass Vader’s interference off as self-defence, saying that what the video didn’t show was Williams cheapshotting Vader. Trongard says these fans know the truth, they know that Vader attacked Williams, unprovoked, and an argument could be made that Hansen wouldn’t be the Triple Crown champion if it wasn’t for Vader assaulting Williams outside the ring!

Trongard then says that, besides rematches between Williams and Hansen for the Triple Crown, promoters all across the country have been working to sign tag team matches with Hansen and Vader against Williams and his protégé Gary Albright!

Page says that those matches are sure to be a fight, not a wrestling match, but a fight!


We then go to pre-recorded comments from Triple Crown champion STAN HANSEN. He talks about his title defence against Williams on Thanksgiving night in Chicago, and promises that the result will be the same as it’s been every other time he’s stepped into the ring with Williams . . . when the dust settles, Stan Hansen will be standing tall!


Then, we hear from STEVE WILLIAMS. Williams says that, at Super Sunday on October 8, he let the fans down, he fought with everything he had, but it wasn’t enough. He says that he’s been training even harder since that loss, and while he respects these fans too much to stand here and guarantee victory on Thanksgiving night, the one thing he can promise is that when he steps into that ring with Stan Hansen, he’s going to give it 110% and he’s going to leave it all in the ring!



“THE UGANDAN WARRIOR” KAMALA (w/ Jimmy Hart & Kimchee) VS. JERRY “CRUSHER” BLACKWELL. We’ve got a battle of the behemoths here, and Page says that hopefully they’ve reinforced the ring for this one! The two big men go tooth and nail here, but eventually Kamala wears Blackwell down, and shocks the fans in attendance by hoisting the 475 pounder up and slamming him to the mat! Kamala then delivers a splash for the pinfall victory.


YOUNG LIONS CUP:
WILD PEGASUS VS. FUJI YAMADA. Pegasus gets the win after a wild match, delivering a diving headbutt from the top rope for the pinfall. This gives Pegasus 4 points in the tournament.


Trongard and Page run down the recent events involving the Americas champ Sgt. Slaughter and Jimmy Hart's Hart Foundation.

VTR: Slaughter/Taylor vs Orndorff/Orton, 11/3/88, JIP:
After more than 20 minutes of hard-hitting, back and forth action, Slaughter and Taylor get the win when Taylor pins Orton after hitting him with the diving forearm smash off the ropes.

After the bout, Orton and Orndorff attack Slaughter and Taylor. Orton throws Taylor through the ropes, then runs him into the guardrail, knocking him down. At that point, Jimmy Hart starts motioning to the back . . . and we see a masked man leading the Ugandan Warrior KAMALA to the ring! Kamala enters the ring, and joins Paul Orndorff in double-teaming Sgt. Slaughter!

As Orton continues to pummel Taylor outside the ring, opening up a nasty cut on his forehead, Orndorff drops Slaughter with a Piledriver inside the ring! With Slaughter flat on his back on the mat, Kamala goes to the top rope . . . and delivers a splash!

At that point, the ring is swarmed by wrestlers and AWA officials, and they manage to get Jimmy Hart, Orton, Orndorff and Kamala to leave the ring, before checking on Taylor and Slaughter.
END VTR:

VTR: Slaughter vs Black Bart, last week on TV, JIP:
Late in the match, Slaughter gains the upper hand . . . but out comes Paul Orndorff!

Orndorff taunts Slaughter, which gives Black Bart a chance to take over. He pummels Slaughter, but Sarge again battles back. He wears Bart down, and eventually hits the Slaughter Cannon! As Sarge is about to apply the Cobra Clutch, Orndorff picks up the Americas title belt, and climbs up onto the apron. Slaughter comes over and argues with Orndorff . . . and Paul blasts Slaughter right in the face with the title belt! This is right in front of the referee, who immediately calls for the bell, and awards the match to Slaughter by DQ.

Orndorff jumps into the ring, and puts the boots to Slaughter, then drops the belt onto the mat, and starts to set Slaughter up for a Piledriver right onto the belt! Fortunately for the Sarge, a group of wrestlers and officials hit the ring in time to stop Orndorff.
END VTR

VTR: Orndorff vs Johnny Smith, last week on TV, JIP:
Orndorff covers Smith, but at the last second, he pulls Smith up by his hair! Orndorff says that he’s not finished with the youngster yet, and on commentary, DDP says that Smith tried to make a fool of Orndorff, and now he’s going to pay for that, just like Sgt. Slaughter did!

Orndorff delivers a second Piledriver, but again, he pulls Smith up, and signals for one more!

Trongard says that speaking of Slaughter . . . here comes the Sarge! Slaughter hits the ring and immediately jumps on Orndorff, pummeling him! The referee calls for the bell, awarding the match to Orndorff by DQ!

Johnny Smith is helped from the ring as Slaughter and Orndorff trade punches in the middle of the ring.
END VTR


STEVE “DR. DEATH” WILLIAMS VS. GENICHIRO TENRYU (w/ Mr. Matsuda). Williams comes to the ring to Springsteen’s “Born in the USA”, and receives a warm welcome from the fans in attendance here at the Aragon Ballroom. Tenryu is a rugged veteran, who is known as one of the biggest stars in Japan. He gives the former AWA champion all he can handle in this match, and several times Tenryu comes within a half a second of winning the match.

One such instance, sees Tenryu connect with a vicious Lariat, the same move that Stan Hansen used to beat Williams for the Triple Crown title, but Williams digs down deep and manages to get a shoulder up just as the referee’s hand is about to hit the mat for a third time! Williams mounts a comeback moments later, and after getting several nearfalls of his own, Williams finally puts Tenryu down for the count after delivering the devastating Doctor Bomb!


Trongard and Page talk about the war we just witnessed between two of the biggest stars in the sport, then they wrap things up and hype next week’s show.


Credits Roll


© 1988, AMERICAN WRESTLING ASSOCIATION