AWA TV 1-12-89 New TV champion crowned!
Jan 24, 2018 0:09:15 GMT
Post by Chitohausen on Jan 24, 2018 0:09:15 GMT
AWA “PRO WRESTLING USA”
Airdate: Friday, January 12, 1989
Broadcast nationwide on Superstation WGN
Taped January 10, 1989 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, the former Olympian Brad Rheingans will be in action! Tiger Mask and Toshiaki Kawada will be in tag team action! Former AWA World champion Rick Martel will be here! We’ll see Dallas Page’s team, the Samoan SWAT Team in action!
Plus, not one, but TWO big main event matches! The first will see Sgt. Slaughter team up with Phil Lafleur to take on Paul Orndorff and Kamala! And, Terry Taylor puts the AWA TV title on the line against one-half of the AWA Tag champs, Bret Hart!
BRAD RHEINGANS VS. MIKE GEORGE. Rheingans puts on a clinic here, methodically wearing George down, before putting George away with a Butterfly Suplex.
MAGNUM TA is standing by with AWA Americas champion Sgt. Slaughter and Phil Lafleur. Magnum says that they’ll face Paul Orndorff and Kamala in a tag team match tonight. Magnum then talks about the Hart Foundation injuring Lafleur’s partner in the Can-Am Express, Tom Zenk.
VTR: Bret/Neidhart vs Lafleur/Zenk, 11/24/88, JIP:
As the match progresses, the champions gain the upper hand, and after a brief brawl with all four men in the ring, they toss Lafleur to the floor, and double-team Zenk. Bret Hart works over Zenk’s leg, then locks him in the Figure-4 Leglock.
Neidhart then hoists himself up on the middle turnbuckle . . . AND JUMPS OFF, RIGHT ONTO ZENK’S KNEE!!!!!
On commentary, Trongard says they could hear a snap all the way at the broadcast table, and he thinks Zenk could be seriously hurt.
The ref checks on Zenk, and after a moment, he waves to the timekeeper to ring the bell. Larry Nelson informs us that the referee has decided to end the match, awarding it to the Hart Foundation, and the ref then motions for medical personnel.
The champions don’t seem too concerned about Zenk, as Bret shoves the referee aside, and Neidhart repeatedly stomps the Z-Man in the knee! Phil Lafleur has climbed back into the ring, with a chair in hand, and he clears the champions from the ring.
Moments later, the medical team loads Zenk onto a stretcher, as he clutches his knee. Lafleur is at his teammate’s side as they wheel Zenk from the ring and to the back.
END VTR
Lafleur says he hasn’t forgotten about that, and after he and Slaughter deal with two other members of the Hart Foundation tonight, he’s going to make sure Bret and Neidhart pay for what they did to Tom Zenk!
Slaughter says that there is no place in this sport for people trying to intentionally injure and cripple their opponents. He says that there have been times earlier in his career where he may have done things that he’s not proud of in order to win a match, but he’s never gone out there and intentionally tried to hurt someone.
Slaughter says that he’s had all he’s going to take of Paul Orndorff! Orndorff has made wild accusations about his military career, Orndorff has tried to injure him, and his friends, and worst of all, Orndorff has made disparaging remarks about these great fans! He says that tonight is the night that he and Lafleur shut Orndorff up, once and for all!
When we go back to Trongard and Page at the announce desk, they’ve been joined by Jimmy Hart and his Hart Foundation: Paul Orndorff, Bob Orton Jr, Kamala, Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart.
Jimmy Hart responds to Slaughter’s comments, saying his men are fine, upstanding citizens, and they’ve never ONCE intentionally tried to hurt anyone! He says that wrestling is a rough sport, and if people get hurt, obviously they weren’t tough enough to be a professional wrestler in the first place!
Orndorff responds to Sarge’s comments about him, saying that first of all, he wasn’t making “wild accusations” about anything, he provided real, irrefutable proof that Slaughter was never a Marine, that he washed out during basic training, but nobody paid any attention! As far as him saying things about the fans, it’s not his fault these fans are idiots that cheer for a liar and a fraud like Slaughter!
Bret Hart then talks about his TV title match later tonight. He says that he’s pinned Terry Taylor twice now, and tonight, the third time’s a charm, and he’ll leave Chicago tonight as the new World TV champion!
TIGER MASK & TOSHIAKI KAWADA (w/ Mr. Matsuda) VS. NICK DECARLO & MARC “ROLLERBALL” ROCCO. As the match begins, Trongard and Page talk on commentary about Tiger Mask assaulting Owen Hart last week, and smashing the Young Lions Cup trophy after it was presented to Owen. This match is competitive right up until the end, where we see Kawada nail DeCarlo with a vicious kick to the back of the head, and the stunned DeCarlo staggers right into Tiger Mask, who delivers the Tiger Driver for the pinfall victory.
RICK MARTEL VS. JAKE MILLIMAN. Martel, the former AWA World champion, wrestles a very aggressive style here, and doesn’t seem to mind using tactics like raking the eyes to gain the upper hand. This surprises Trongard, who says that Martel was always a very professional young man when he was in the AWA a few years ago, and never took any shortcuts. Martel gets the win after locking Milliman in the Boston Crab for the submission.
After the match, Larry Nelson talks with Martel in the ring. Nelson questions Rick about some of the tactics he used in the match. Martel says that one thing he’s learned during his time in this sport is that you do whatever you need to give yourself an advantage, and that’s what he did. Nelson says that an attitude like that certainly won’t endear him to these fans, who would rather see someone win using their skill and abilities, not shortcuts.
Martel says he couldn’t care less what these fans would rather see. He asks Nelson if he remembers what happened back in 1984, after he lost the AWA title? He says that his “fans” forgot all about him. The minute he no longer had the AWA title, they forgot he even existed! He says that these fans never cared about him, and he doesn’t care about them!
MAGNUM TA is standing by with Triple Crown champion Stan Hansen. Magnum says that the first match for SuperClash III on April 7 has been announced, and it will see Hansen defend the title against Steve “Dr. Death” Williams! Hansen says he’s beaten up on Williams so many times, it’s not even fun anymore! Hansen says he wants some new competition, but after what he’s done to Williams in their past matches, he doubts there’s anyone in the locker room that’s stupid enough to actually WANT to get into the ring with him!
Hansen says if the AWA wants him to kick the hell out of Williams one more time, than so be it, but then he wants some new challengers!
SGT. SLAUGHTER & PHIL LAFLEUR VS. “MR. WONDERFUL” PAUL ORNDORFF & KAMALA (w/ Jimmy Hart & Kimchee). Slaughter and Lafleur tear into Orndorff and Kamala as soon as the match starts, and they dominate the early going, until Orndorff rakes Lafleur’s eyes, and the heels then keep Lafleur in their corner, working him over. After taking a vicious beating, Lafleur gets his knees up when Kamala attempts a splash, and is able to crawl to his corner and make the hot tag to Slaughter.
Sarge rushes into the ring and nails Kamala with a flurry of punches that sends the Ugandan warrior through the ropes and to the floor. Orndorff comes in and tries to attack Sarge from behind, but Slaughter catches him and they start brawling!
Suddenly, the rest of the Hart Foundation hit the ring! They attack Sarge, causing referee Gary DeRusha to call for the bell, awarding the match by DQ to Slaughter and Lafleur. Orndorff throws Slaughter out of the ring, where Kamala is waiting and he attacks Sarge. Orndorff and Orton jump out of the ring and, along with Kamala, they gang up on Slaughter!
Meanwhile, inside the ring, Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart double-team Lafleur, who’s still in rough shape after the beating he took during the match. Bret locks Lafleur in the Figure-4 leglock, and as Neidhart heads to the top rope, Trongard says they’re going to do the same thing to Lafleur that they did to his tag team partner Tom Zenk! Neidhart jumps off the top rope, right onto the knee of Lafleur while he’s locked in the Figure-4!
At this point a group of babyfaces, led by Terry Taylor, Steve Williams and Gary Albright. They clear the Hart Foundation from the ring, but the damage has been done.
Medical personnel arrive on the scene, and a few minutes later, Phil Lafleur is loaded onto a stretcher as he clutches his knee, and is wheeled to the back.
THE SAMOAN SWAT TEAM: SAMU & FATU VS. TONY PARISI & DAVID SAMMARTINO. Young David Sammartino teams up here with Tony Parisi, a tough veteran, and his father Bruno’s best friend. The Italian team give it their all, but in the end, the Samoans get the win when Samu hits a top-rope headbutt onto Sammartino for the 1, 2, 3.
AWA WORLD TELEVISION CHAMPIONSHIP:
TERRY TAYLOR (champ) VS. BRET HART (w/ Jimmy Hart). On his way to the ring, Bret makes fun of what happened to Phil Lafleur earlier, hobbling around and clutching his knee, then laughing. Taylor and Bret are both gifted technical wrestlers, and they put on a clinic here, trading holds and counterholds. Bret shows here that he can wrestle a clean match, and doesn’t need to resort to breaking the rules. As the match progresses, Bret takes control, and targets the leg of the champion, working on Taylor’s knee. Taylor eventually battles back, but when he attempts a suplex, his knee gives out, and Bret lands on top of him for a VERY close nearfall!
Bret goes right back to the knee, and attempts the Figure-4 leglock, but Taylor is close enough to grab the ropes. Bret pulls Taylor up, hits a picture-perfect snap suplex, and then with Taylor flat on the back in the middle of the ring, Bret locks on the Figure-4! Taylor fights the pain, and tries to roll over, but it’s no use, Bret cinches the hold in even more, and Taylor submits!!! Bret has beat the TV champion, cleanly, right in the middle of the ring!
WE’VE GOT A NEW WORLD TELEVISION CHAMPION!!!!
Trongard and Page wrap things up, and Trongard hypes next week’s show.
Credits Roll
© 1989, AMERICAN WRESTLING ASSOCIATION
Working on it now.