AWA TV 12-22-88 Lafleur vs Neidhart!
Dec 25, 2017 1:39:33 GMT
Post by Chitohausen on Dec 25, 2017 1:39:33 GMT
AWA “PRO WRESTLING USA”
Airdate: Friday, December 22, 1988
Broadcast nationwide on Superstation WGN
Taped December 20, 1988 at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago, Illinois
“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, Big Van Vader will be in action! Page’s new team, the Samoan SWAT Team will be in action! Paul Orndorff and the Fantastics will be in action! We’ll see a tag team match involving the four wrestlers who will take part in the finals and 3rd place of the Young Lions Cup on Christmas night, as Owen Hart teams up with Fuji Yamada to face the duo of Wild Pegasus and Tiger Mask!
In the main event, Phil Lafleur is out for revenge after Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart injured his tag team partner, Tom Zenk, a few weeks back on TV. Tonight, Lafleur will take on Jim Neidhart, one on one!
BIG VAN VADER VS. DAVE PETERSON. Peterson gets next to no offence in at all, as Vader just destroys him, finishing the match with a vicious Powerbomb for the pinfall.
MAGNUM TA is standing by with AWA Americas champion Sgt. Slaughter and AWA World TV champion Terry Taylor. Magnum talks about an incident that took place three weeks ago, where Taylor suffered repeated piledrivers at the hand of Paul Orndorff, and was taken from the ring on a stretcher. Magnum says that we weren’t sure how severe Terry’s injuries were, but we got our answer last week.
VTR: Slaughter/Williams/Albright vs Orndorff/Orton/Kamala, JIP:
Albright seems to have turned things around when he catches Bob Orton with a release German Suplex and launches him clear across the ring, but Orndorff charges into the ring and stops Albright from getting to his corner! Kamala then comes in and pummels Albright.
Late in the match, Slaughter is in for his team, but he gets thrown to the floor. Orton is the legal man inside the ring, and he distracts the ref while Orndorff and Kamala put the boots to Slaughter on the floor!
Suddenly, Terry Taylor rushes out! Taylor jumps on Orndorff and starts throwing rights and lefts with reckless abandon!
Orndorff tries to get away, but Taylor is like a man possessed, after Orndorff tried to end his career two weeks ago, and Taylor throws Orndorff back into the ring, then follows him in! Randy Anderson has no choice but to disqualify Slaughter’s team because of Taylor’s interference, and gives the match to Orndorff, Orton and Kamala by DQ.
END VTR
Taylor says that Paula Orndorff calls himself “Mr. Wonderful”, but he’s nothing more than a thug. Orndorff knows he can’t beat men like Slaughter or himself fair and square, so he tries to cripple people instead. Taylor says that he’s back, he’s 100%, and he can’t wait to get his hands on Orndorff!
Slaughter talks about Jimmy Hart and his Hart Foundation. He says that these pukes are the lowest of the low, they would rather go out and hurt people than win matches. The only reason Bret and Neidhart still have those World Tag titles is because they take out their top challengers, like the Can-Am Express, instead of beating them in the ring. Sarge says that Orndorff and Kamala have taken their best shot at him and Taylor, but they’re still standing! He says that he and Taylor will not rest until they’ve rid the AWA of those pukes!
Magnum says that Christmas night, Sarge faces Triple Crown champion Stan Hansen for the belt.
Slaughter says this is the opportunity of a lifetime, and he intends to make the most of it! Sarge hopes the fans in the Twin Cities area will come out to the Civic Center on Monday night to support him!
SHANE DOUGLAS VS. FRANKIE LAINE. Douglas gets the win over the rugged veteran, catching Laine with the Belly to Belly Suplex for the pinfall.
Trongard and Page are joined at the announce desk by Steve “Dr. Death” Williams, Gary Albright and the World’s Most Dangerous Wrestler, Dick the Bruiser! Trongard says that Bruiser returned to AWA television last week, and found himself right in the thick of things!
VTR: Last Week on Pro Wrestling USA:
Trongard welcomes the Bruiser to the show, shaking his hand. He says that it’s been far too long since the AWA fans have seen the Bruiser.
Bruiser says he’s happy to be back in the AWA, and to see all these fans again.
Trongard says that the Bruiser will be on hand at some upcoming AWA events around the state of Indiana, particularly a show coming up on December 21 at the Fairgrounds Coliseum in Indianapolis, where he’ll be the special troubleshooting referee for a match between Sgt. Slaughter and Terry Taylor against Paul Orndorff and Kamala.
Bruiser starts to respond, when Triple Crown champion Stan Hansen and Big Van Vader make their way out!
Hansen tells Bruiser to get lost, that it’s their interview time now, and nobody wants to listen to the Bruiser. He says that, back when Bruiser was wrestling, Dick had a habit of disappearing any time Hansen arrived in a territory that he was in, and suggests that Bruiser do the same thing now, before he gets hurt.
Bruiser goes toe to toe with Hansen, and says that Hansen’s just a loudmouth bum, and back when he was wrestling, he could’ve whupped Hansen with one hand tied behind his back!
Hansen blows a gasket, and starts throwing punches, but the Bruiser won’t back down and gets in some shots of his own, until Vader attacks him from behind.
Vader and Hansen pummel Dick the Bruiser, with Trongard trying in vain to get some order restored.
Vader pulls Bruiser up, and whips him towards Hansen, who hits a devastating Lariat!
Steve Williams and Gary Albright arrive on the scene, chairs in hand, and chase Hansen and Vader off.
END VTR
Bruiser says we saw last week just how tough those bums are, it took two of them to beat up a retired wrestler! He says that Doc and Albright here have some tag matches coming up against those bums, and Bruiser’s going to be in their corner! He says that if Hansen or Vader try anything, he’s going to show them why he’s called the World’s Most Dangerous Wrestler!
THE SAMOAN SWAT TEAM: SAMU & FATU VS. JAKE MILLIMAN & NICK DECARLO. Page gloats on commentary as his new team, the SST, destroy their opponents. Page says the SST are shoe-ins to win the tournament on Christmas night, not one of those other teams even stands a chance against them! In the ring, Samu and Fatu gleefully take their opponents apart. After beating DeCarlo to a pulp, they toss him into the corner, where he tags Milliman. The Milkman doesn’t fare any better, and after taking a vicious beating for two or three minutes, the SST finally decide that they’ve done enough damage. Samu slams Milliman in the middle of the ring, then the SST head to opposite corners. They leap off the turnbuckles, and both get impressive airtime, before delivering the double diving headbutt on Milliman. That’s all she wrote for the Milkman, and Samu covers him, by placing a foot on his chest, for the 1, 2, 3!
Trongard and Page are then joined by Jimmy Hart, “Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff, Bob Orton Jr, AWA World Tag Team champs Bret Hart & Jim Neidhart and Kamala, along with his handler, the masked Kimchee.
Jimmy says that Slaughter and Taylor want to call him and his men names, and question their integrity, yet THEY are the ones lying to these fans! He says that both of them claim that the Hart Foundation go around intentionally injuring people to avoid facing them in the ring. However, NOTHING could be further from the truth! Professional wrestling is the roughest, most dangerous sport there is, they simply go out there and wrestle, and if their opponents get hurt, well then maybe they shouldn’t have been in the ring in the first place!
The fact is, jerks like Tom Zenk just aren’t tough enough to make it in this sport, and that’s hardly something that you can blame on him or his men!
Paul Orndorff says that Sgt Slaughter acts like he’s so great, yet, how many times has he put the belt on the line against Mr. Wonderful after he STOLE the Americas title from him? NONE! He says that Slaughter is running his mouth, trying to hide the fact that, underneath all his bravado, he’s a YELLOW-BELLIED COWARD!!! Orndorff says that he provided the proof months ago that Slaughter washed out of basic training, and was never actually a Marine, and yet he keeps coming out here, claiming that he was! He says that not only is Slaughter a coward, he’s a liar as well! He’s done nothing but bring shame to the US Marine Corps!
Bret Hart then talks about him and Neidhart facing the winner of the upcoming tag team tournament on Christmas night. Bret says that it really doesn’t matter to him or Neidhart who wins, because none of them have a chance of beating them for the belts. He says that they’re getting tired of beating up on all the lame teams around here, that’s why he’s setting his sights on the World TV title! He says that he pinned Terry Taylor in a tag match a few weeks back, and if Taylor has the guts to face him for the title, he’ll do it again!
“MR. WONDERFUL” PAUL ORNDORFF (w/ Jimmy Hart) VS. BUCK ZUMHOFF. Orndorff picks up the win after dropping Zumhoff on his head with the Piledriver.
OWEN HART & FUJI YAMADA VS. WILD PEGASUS & TIGER MASK (w/ Mr. Matsuda). On commentary, Trongard talks about how these four men will be a part of the Christmas night show in St. Paul, as Yamada and Pegasus meet in the 3rd place match of the Young Lions Cup, while Owen and Tiger Mask will meet in the finals of that tournament. This match has the fans on the edge of their seats, as these four fly all over the ring. In the end, neither team can put the other away, and the match is declared a DRAW after the time limit expires.
Trongard and Page talk about the tag team tournament coming up on Christmas night at the St. Paul Civic Center. Trongard runs down the 10 teams that will take part in the tournament:
Steve Williams & Gary Albright!
The Samoan SWAT Team, Samu & Fatu!
The Fantastics, Tommy Rogers & Bobby Fulton!
Paul Orndorff & Bob Orton Jr!
Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu!
The Young Stallions, Paul Roma & Jim Powers!
The Killer Bees, Jim Brunzell & Brian Blair!
Big Van Vader & Bam Bam Bigelow!
Brad Rheingans & Mike Rotunda!
The British Bulldogs, Davey Boy Smith & Dynamite Kid!
Trongard and Page are then joined by The Fantastics: Tommy Rogers & Bobby Fulton. Trongard says that they spent some time here in the AWA at the beginning of the year, and he’s sure the fans are happy to see them back, as they are one of the top teams in wrestling today.
Fulton says that they’re happy to be back, and they’re looking forward to this tournament, because it’s a chance to prove themselves against nine of the very best teams on the planet!
Rogers says that if they can win the tournament, that will guarantee them a shot at the World Tag titles in the new year, and that’s why they’re here, to win those belts. He hopes the fans will come out on Christmas night and support them.
THE FANTASTICS: BOBBY FULTON & TOMMY ROGERS VS. NICK & KELLY KINISKI. The Kiniski brothers are double tough, and they give the Fantastics all they can handle, but in the end, Fulton and Rogers get the win when they hit Nick with the Fantastic Flip and Rogers pins him.
JIM NEIDHART (w/ Jimmy Hart) VS. PHIL LAFLEUR. Lafleur is looking for some payback after what Neidhart and Bret Hart did to his tag team partner, Tom Zenk, earlier in the month. Lafleur tears into Neidhart to start, with Jim bailing out of the ring every chance he gets, to talk things over with Jimmy Hart at ringside. Finally Lafleur has had enough of Neidhart’s stalling, and he goes out after him, but it was a ploy, as Neidhart rolls back into the ring and when Lafleur follows, Neidhart puts the boots to him!
Neidhart’s advantage is short-lived, though, as Lafleur turns the tables, and tears into Neidhart with reckless abandon!
Suddenly, Bret Hart rushes down the aisle and jumps into the ring! He jumps Lafleur from behind, causing Randy Anderson to call for the bell, awarding the match to Lafleur by DQ.
Bret and Neidhart work over Lafleur, and as Bret locks him in the Figure-Four Leglock, it looks like they’re going to try to injure Lafleur the same way they injured Tom Zenk.
Sgt. Slaughter and Terry Taylor hit the ring to make the save! Before the champions can do any more damage to Lafleur, the Sarge and Taylor dive into the ring and start brawling with them!
Paul Orndorff, Bob Orton Jr and Kamala then hit the ring, but they’re followed almost immediately by a group of babyfaces, including Steve Williams and the Fantastics, and they clear Jimmy Hart and his men from the ring as the show comes to an end!
Trongard and Page quickly wrap things up, and hype the Christmas night show in St. Paul.
Credits Roll
© 1988, AMERICAN WRESTLING ASSOCIATION
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