AWA in St. Paul 12-25-88 Tag Team Tournament!
Dec 26, 2017 1:23:51 GMT
Post by Chitohausen on Dec 26, 2017 1:23:51 GMT
AMERICAN WRESTLING ASSOCIATION
MONDAY, DECEMBER 25, 1988
CIVIC CENTER IN ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA
TAG TEAM TOURNAMENT; FIRST-ROUND MATCH:
STEVE “DR. DEATH” WILLIAMS & GARY ALBRIGHT beat JUMBO TSURUTA & GENICHIRO TENRYU (w/ Mr. Matsuda). We haven’t seen much of Tenryu and Tsuruta on TV lately, as they’ve been competing in Japan, but they’re back in the US for this tournament. The match goes back and forth, but eventually Doc and Albright gain the advantage. As Albright and Tsuruta brawl outside the ring, Williams wears Tenryu down, then plants him with the Oklahoma Stampede for the 1, 2, 3. Williams and Albright advance to the next round!
TAG TEAM TOURNAMENT; FIRST-ROUND MATCH:
“MR. WONDERFUL” PAUL ORNDORFF & BOB ORTON JR (w/ Jimmy Hart) beat THE BRITISH BULLDOGS: DAVEY BOY SMITH & DYNAMITE KID. The former World Tag Team champions take the early advantage, as they look to use this tournament to move back into contention for the titles. Orndorff and Orton seem thrown off by the mix of power from Davey Boy, and speed from Dynamite. Eventually Hart’s men turn the tables, and they cut Dynamite off from his partner, isolating him in their half of the ring. Dynamite plays the “face in peril” for the next several minutes, as Orndorff and Orton work him over. The heels take every opportunity that presents itself to double team Dynamite, inflicting even more damage. Dynamite finally fights his way back to his side of the ring and tags Davey Boy . . . but Orton had distracted the referee, and he didn’t see the tag! Davey Boy is livid as the ref forces him back out of the ring, and Orton and Orndorff take full advantage, double teaming Dynamite some more! Finally, DK is able to tag Davey Boy, and this time the referee sees it! Davey Boy comes in and cleans house, but as he works over Orton, Jimmy Hart tosses an object to Paul Orndorff, who’s standing on the apron. As Orton and Davey Boy find themselves in the heel corner, Orndorff, with the object in his hand, smacks Davey Boy in the head, out of the referee’s view. Smith’s knees buckle, but Orton maneuvers him into the corner, sets him up on the turnbuckle and, more for show at this point, delivers the Superplex, and pins Davey Boy to advance in the tournament!
TAG TEAM TOURNAMENT; FIRST-ROUND MATCH:
THE SAMOAN SWAT TEAM: SAMU & FATU (w/ Diamond Dallas Page) fought THE FANTASTICS: BOBBY FULTON & TOMMY ROGERS to a DOUBLE COUNT-OUT. The Fantastics are usually seen as a scientific team, but here, they showed that they don’t mind throwing the rulebook out the window and just brawling with their opponents. The SST have the advantage when brawling, and they soon take things to the arena floor. Neither team can get back into the ring before the referee reaches the count of 10, and the match is declared a double count-out! As a result, both teams are eliminated from the tournament!
After the match, the SST continue to batter the Fantastics, with Samu grabbing a chair, and pummeling Rogers with it! Fatu then uses the timekeeper’s bell to bloody Fulton as well. By the time the SST and Page leave the ringside area, both Fantastics are a bloody mess, and having trouble standing under their own power. Another referee, Gary DeRusha, comes out, and he and Randy Anderson help Fulton and Rogers to the back.
TAG TEAM TOURNAMENT; FIRST-ROUND MATCH:
THE KILLER BEES: JIM BRUNZELL & BRIAN BLAIR defeat THE YOUNG STALLIONS: PAUL ROMA & JIM POWERS. The Killer Bees get the win in this clean, scientific match, when Brunzell pins Powers after the Bee Stinger double-team move. After the match, the two teams shake hands.
TAG TEAM TOURNAMENT; FIRST-ROUND MATCH:
BIG VAN VADER & BAM BAM BIGELOW defeat MIKE ROTUNDA & BRAD RHEINGANS. Rotunda and Rheingans are game here, and put up a valiant effort, but Vader and Bigelow’s size and ruthless aggression are just too much for Rotunda and Rheingans. At around the 8-minute mark, Vader drives Rheingans into the mat with a Powerbomb for the 1, 2, 3.
YOUNG LIONS CUP, 3rd PLACE MATCH:
FUJI YAMADA beats WILD PEGASUS. Yamada shows us why he’s considered a future superstar in this sport, as he takes everything that Pegasus throws at him, and in the end, connects with an awe-inspiring Shooting Star Press for the pinfall victory.
TAG TEAM TOURNAMENT; SEMI-FINAL MATCH:
STEVE “DR. DEATH” WILLIAMS & GARY ALBRIGHT beat PAUL ORNDORFF & BOB ORTON JR (w/ Jimmy Hart). Orndorff and Orton stole a victory over the British Bulldogs earlier, but their luck runs out here against the devastating duo of Williams and Albright. After nearly 15 minutes of back-and-forth action, Albright gets the win for his team, dropping Orton right on the back of his head with a German suplex, then bridges for the pinfall victory.
TAG TEAM TOURNAMENT; SEMI-FINAL MATCH:
BIG VAN VADER & BAM BAM BIGELOW beat THE KILLER BEES: JIM BRUNZELL & BRIAN BLAIR. The Bees give Vader and Bigelow more of a challenge than Rheingans and Rotunda did in the first round, but the end result is the same, as Vader delivers a vicious Powerbomb on Blair, then covers him for the 1, 2, 3.
Vader and Bigelow advance to the finals to meet Steve Williams and Gary Albright!
YOUNG LIONS CUP FINAL:
OWEN HART beats TIGER MASK (w/ Mr. Matsuda). These two have proven themselves to be two of the top young wrestlers in the sport today, and they give the fans a classic match here! As we pass the 20-minute mark, Tiger Mask has the match well in hand, but when he goes to set Owen up for a Tiger Suplex, Owen slips out of his grasp, moves around behind Tiger Mask, and drops him with a release German suplex. As Tiger Mask gets to his feet, Owen connects with a standing dropkick, then pulls Tiger Mask up and hits a Northern Lights Suplex into a bridge for the 1, 2, 3!
Owen Hart has won the Young Lions Cup tournament!
Triple Crown champion STAN HANSEN beats SGT. SLAUGHTER. After nearly 20 minutes of wild, hard-hitting action, Hansen and Slaughter take the fight to the floor. On the outside, Hansen gets the upper hand, and drives Slaughter head-first into the ringpost! This opens up a nasty gash on Slaughter’s forehead, but that doesn’t stop him! As the match moves back into the ring, Slaughter keeps fighting, but eventually the referee decides that he’s bleeding too heavily, and stops the match! Stan Hansen is awarded the match, when the referee declares that Slaughter is bleeding to badly to continue.
TAG TEAM TOURNAMENT FINALS:
STEVE “DR. DEATH” WILLIAMS & GARY ALBRIGHT defeat BIG VAN VADER & BAM BAM BIGELOW. These two teams are no strangers to each other. Bigelow has come to the AWA a few times before, teaming with Vader and Stan Hansen against Doc, Albright and another out of town star, Terry Gordy. Both of these teams have been dominant in their earlier matches, and now they collide in the finals, with the $20,000 and a shot at the World Tag titles hanging in the balance! In the early going, neither team really has a clear advantage, every time one team seems to have things going their way, the other turns the tables.
As the match progresses, Vader and Bigelow eventually take control of the match, and they isolate the rookie Albright in their corner. They pummel Albright, taking turns working him over, but Albright keeps fighting back, he just won’t stay down. Albright turns the tables, as he explodes out of the corner, knocking Bigelow to the mat with a shoulder tackle, then he picks Bigelow up and wows the fans by getting the big man up, and dropping him on the back of his head with a German Suplex! Albright makes the tag, and Williams comes in like a house of fire, dropping Vader and Bigelow with clotheslines! Vader rolls out of the ring, and Doc takes the fight to Bigelow, battering him with rights and lefts, before slamming him to the mat. Williams stomps away at Bigelow, then pulls him to his feet, whips him into the ropes, then Doc bounces off the ropes himself, and catches Bigelow with a diving shoulder block.
Vader comes in, but Albright comes back in as well, and cuts Vader off. They brawl on one side of the ring, while Williams continues to pummel Bigelow . . . then heads to the top rope, and dives off, hitting Bigelow with a top-rope diving clothesline!
Williams covers Bigelow, and gets the 1, 2, 3!!!!
Williams and Albright have won the tournament, the $20,000, and the shot at the World Tag Team titles in the new year!
Working on it now.