AWA in Chicago 1-1-89 Big 6-man main event!
Jan 5, 2018 0:00:59 GMT
Post by Chitohausen on Jan 5, 2018 0:00:59 GMT
THE AMERICAN WRESTLING ASSOCIATION
MONDAY, JANUARY 1, 1989
UIC PAVILION IN CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
OWEN HART beats DAVID FINLAY. A clean, scientific match for most of the match, though tempers do flare late in the bout, as Finlay becomes frustrated with his inability to put Owen away, and hits Owen with a haymaker! Hart responds in kind, before catching Finlay with a Northern Lights Suplex, with a bridge into a pinfall. Afterwards, Owen extends a hand, Finlay hesitates, but cooler heads prevail, and he eventually shakes Owen’s hand and raises his arm.
JUMBO TSURUTA & GENICHIRO TENRYU (w/ Mr. Matsuda) beat THE YOUNG STALLIONS: PAUL ROMA & JIM POWERS. Tsuruta and Tenryu overpower the youngsters, with Tsuruta hitting Roma with a spinning neckbreaker, then pinning him.
SHANE DOUGLAS beat “COWBOY” BOB ORTON JR (w/ Jimmy Hart). The former World Television champ seems to underestimate the youngster early on, but Douglas shows him the errors of his ways by controlling the early going, and nearly putting Orton away on more than one occasion. Orton soon takes control of the match, and it looks like the experience of Orton is just too much for Douglas to overcome. However, when Orton sets Douglas up on the top rope for the Superplex, Douglas shifts his weight, just as Orton goes to execute the move, and it’s enough to cause Douglas to land on top of Orton when they hit the mat! Orton has the wind knocked out of him, and Douglas hooks the leg and gets the 1, 2, 3!
Douglas pulls off the HUGE upset win! Orton and Hart are livid! Jimmy Hart complains to the ref that Douglas had ahold of Orton’s trunks, and Orton goes after Douglas, but the youngster wisely bails out of the ring and celebrates with the fans around ringside as he makes his way to the back.
“ALL-AMERICAN” RON SIMMONS beats TOSHIAKI KAWADA (w/ Mr. Matsuda). We last saw Simmons in the AWA at the beginning of 1988, when he was just starting to make a name for himself, including a short run as AWA TV champion, before moving around to a few other areas. Now he’s back in the AWA, and looking to pick up where he left off. Kawada, another youngster, is trying to work his way up as well, and these two go tooth and nail for about 10 minutes. Simmons eventually picks up the win with a vicious Spinebuster for the pinfall.
After the match, Simmons asks Larry Nelson for the house mic, and cuts a short promo, saying he’s so happy to be back in the AWA, and he hopes the fans will continue to cheer him on as he climbs the ladder.
RICK MARTEL beats BRAD RHEINGANS. Like Simmons in the previous match, Rick Martel is making his return to the AWA. Martel won the AWA World title from Jumbo Tsuruta back in 1982, and held the title for about two years, the longest title reign of the 80s. Since losing the World title to Superstar Billy Graham on Christmas night 1984, Martel has been wrestling in several territories around the country, as well as Mexico, Japan, and his hometown of Montreal, Canada.
Martel and Rheingans shake hands as a show of mutual respect before the bell. Once the match starts, both men throw everything they’ve got at each other, but keep it clean and scientific. Things take a turn late in the match, though. As Rheingans has the upper hand, Martel is on the mat, and as Rheingans goes to pull him up, Martel hits a low blow, then rolls Rheingans up, with a handful of trunks, for the win!
THE SAMOAN SWAT TEAM: SAMU & FATU (w/ Diamond Dallas Page) defeat THE FANTASTICS: TOMMY ROGERS & BOBBY FULTON. The Samoans pounce on their opponents before the bell sounds, but the Fantastics quickly turn the tables, sending Samu and Fatu out of the ring after a flurry of rights and lefts, and a pair of double dropkicks! Once things settle down, the action goes back and forth, with the SST eventually gaining an advantage when they isolate Fulton in their corner. They take turns pummeling Fulton, and take every opportunity for a cheap shot or some double-teaming. Rogers can only stand in his corner and watch his partner take a vicious beating, but Fulton eventually fights his way to his corner and makes the hot tag to Rogers!
Rogers clears the ring of both Samoans, but when they come back in, both Samu and Fatu attack him! Fulton has recovered enough to come in and help his partner, and the four men brawl in the ring. As Samu brawls along the ropes with Fulton, Diamond Dallas Page pulls Fulton through the ropes and to the floor. This gives Samu a chance to join Fatu and double-team Rogers. They drop him to the mat with a pair of headbutts, then Samu and Fatu each head to the top rope, and hit a double diving headbutt! Fatu covers Rogers for the 1, 2, 3, while Samu stops Fulton from breaking up the count.
AWA World TV champion TERRY TAYLOR beats “MR. WONDERFUL” PAUL ORNDORFF (w/ Jimmy Hart) by Disqualification. Taylor and Orndorff tear into each other as soon as the bell sounds. Taylor is looking for payback after Orndorff tried to cripple him a few weeks back, after repeatedly piledriving him! As Taylor gains the upper hand, Orndorff tries to stall, repeatedly heading out of the ring to talk things over with Hart at ringside. After a couple of times of doing this, Orndorff climbs up onto the apron, preparing to enter the ring, but Taylor decides to help him back in, grabbing him and suplexing Orndorff over the ropes and into the ring!
Taylor controls the next few minutes, but a low blow from Orndorff turns the tables. Orndorff then methodically wears Taylor down, focusing on his neck, looking to soften him up for the Piledriver. Taylor keeps fighting back but every time he starts to gain any momentum, Orndorff stops him with some sort of underhanded tactic, like a low blow or rake of the eyes. Every time Taylor is down and out, Orndorff takes a moment to pose and taunt the fans, before putting the boots to Taylor.
Late in the match, Orndorff has the upper hand, but when he goes for the Piledriver, Taylor backdrops him instead. Taylor gets his second wind, and tears into Orndorff with reckless abandon. Taylor has the match well in hand, but when he heads to the top rope, Jimmy Hart gets involved, shoving Taylor off the top, and sending him crashing to the mat. The referee sees this, and immediately DQ’s Orndorff!
After the bell, Orndorff tries to inflict further damage to Taylor, but the TV champ recovers, and sends Orndorff out of the ring with a standing dropkick.
SGT. SLAUGHTER & STEVE “DR. DEATH” WILLIAMS & GARY ALBRIGHT (w/ Dick the Bruiser) defeat KAMALA & BRET HART & JIM NEIDHART (w/ Jimmy Hart & Kimchee). The fans are treated to a wild main event here! Early on, Jimmy Hart gets involved, tripping Williams as he ran the ropes, which causes Dick the Bruiser to confront him, grabbing a chair, and demanding that Hart take a seat and stay put!
With Hart kept in check by the Bruiser, Slaughter, Doc and Albright take the fight to Kamala and the World Tag champs! After a wild brawl, Slaughter hits Neidhart with the Slaughter Cannon and pins him while the other wrestlers all brawl around them.
Working on it now.