AWA Championship Wrestling – November 18th, 1989

AWA Championship Wrestling – November 18th, 1989*

(*Date included is from any given source where AWA content is available. Accurate dates for their TV, especially in the last couple of years, feels impossible to track down)

OK, you’re probably wondering why I would waste my time with a product that I’m sure will be very difficult to find legitimate enjoyment from. I can answer that with several simple reasons. #1: I’m a glutton for punishment. The worse the wrestling is, the more I want to see how bad it could get. #2: The Team Challenge Series Era. The wrestling might be garbage, but the TCS is even MORE garbage! It’s like when local sanitation goes on strike, so garbage piles up on the road side. #3: A total lack of information readily available makes it such a mystery.

Just a heads up… I do not have a complete catalog of AWA TV. After this episode, we miss out on roughly 6-weeks worth of TV, but then we make up for that with a deep collection of TV from January-August 1990. If I come across sources with more TV (either for free download or even purchase), I will definitely look into that, but I’m limited by what is available on public streaming services (and no, I won’t use torrents. Haven’t used them in years). With that out of the way, let’s jump into the action of the American Wrestling Association…

Eric Bischoff welcomes us to today’s broadcast, featuring a AWA Championship defense from Larry Zbyszko against young up-and-comer Derrick Dukes, as well as a match between the Destruction Crew and the duo of Greg Gagne and Paul Diamond to crown Tag Team Champions. We’re also going to get a special Pro Wrestling Illustrated Press Conference and TEAM CHALLENGE SERIES UPDATE.

Ads for Energizer, BigFoot Strikes Again (a VHS selling for $19.95, with FREE set of 50 monster truck trading cards!), Black and Decker home appliances from TrueValue Hardware, and… Energizer again. Jeez. I feel like we’re going to see a pattern here.

Lee Marshall and Nick Bockwinkel are sitting at ringside and calling the action, unless otherwise noted. HOLY CRAP, that is a dark, mostly empty arena.

Jimmy Magnum vs. The Russian Brute (w/ “THE NOTORIOUS” Ox Baker):

Mr. Magnum is introduced from Honolulu, HI. Yeah, sure, whatever. Was Magnum P.I. still a thing in 1989? I’ve only seen the Russian Brute a handful of times, and he worked a few TV tapings for the WWF as George Pretrovsky. He’s got an unremarkable look, one that makes you look at Boris Zhukov in a better light. We’ve got an Ox Baker appearance, which means I have permission to post the classic Price is Right clip… but I won’t. We’re not here for a good time, we’re here to suffer through the dying days of the AWA!

Bill Apter joins commentary. He talks about Ox Baker teaching the Brute the Heart Punch and Baker ALLEGEDLY killed two wrestlers with that move! Lockup and the Brute with a double-choke lift and drop. Magnum avoids a slow-motion over-hand strike and grabs a wrist-lock. Whip to the corner and the Brute brings up the boot. Oh my God, what the hell was that?! Brute picked Magnum up like he was delivering a back body-drop, but just carried him, back-peddling and falling into the ropes! The Heart Punch finishes soon after at 1:29. Eric Bischoff wanders to ringside to get an interview from Baker and The Brute. “Has that fist been checked at all?” A bunch of geeks LITERALLY carry Magnum out of the ring. They couldn’t afford a stretcher?! Ox takes shots at the WWF, saying Brute isn’t painting his face, playing with snakes, or playing the guitar. Yeah, the AWA HAS NO ROOM TO CRAP ON ANYONE ELSE AT THIS POINT.

Ads for Chapman’s Las Vegas Dodge dealer, David Allen: Personal Injury Lawyer (I typed LAWLER at first), and Atlanta Journal 500 (Sunday at 12:30 PM ON ESPN!).

The Trooper vs. Nacho Berrera:
I don’t know if I’ve seen Nacho work elsewhere, and a quick search shows most of his known work is for the AWA, with his earliest matches dating as far back as 1973?! Even their job guys are relics. He’s introduced at 259 pounds, or roughly the same size as Jimmy Magnum. If he’s under 300, then I’m 6’5”. The Trooper is a very green Del Wilkes, who went on to have some success in the 90’s as “The Patriot”, working in Japan, WCW, and WWF (with varying levels of success, depending on the stop). He’s a State trooper who writes tickets for the baddies and hands out tiny badges to the kids, like he made a quick stop at the local party store and only had enough cash for whatever was in the discount section.

Nacho attacks from behind. Whip across the ring and the Trooper charges out with a clothesline. Apparently, the Trooper is Anti-Drugs. He plants Berrera with a slam and we get a butt-ugly back body-drop bump from Nacho. Trooper grabs the carotid arteries and pins Berrera at 0:55. Post-match, The Trooper fills out a ticket and sticks it onto his opponent’s forehead. “Liberty and Justice For All – The Trooper.” Bischoff at ringside for another post-match interview. Trooper wants the kids to know they’re going to clean up wrestling and society together, then pins a badge on Bischoff to wrap up.

Ads for Super-Duper Football Follies (free with a paid subscription to Sports Illustrated!) and Encyclopedia Britannica (complete with kid wearing glasses, because nerds wear glasses, and only nerds want to learn in their free time!)

Lee Marshall with a TEAM CHALLENGE SERIES UPDATE! AWA President Joe Blanchard would govern the AWA with a steel hand! The vicious attack from Kokina and Sheik Adnan Al-Kahassie on Greg Gagne has forced President Blanchard in making this BREAKING NEWS ANNOUNCEMENT: All Team Challenge Series Matches will be held in a “secured facility”, effective immediately. There are special 5-minute time limit matches where points can be earned, with the Destruction Crew taking advantage and earning Larry’s Legends 3 points. Tommy Jammer took on a returning Doug Somers, filling in for Jonnie Stewart as a Wild Card on Sarge’s Snipers, and got 1 point when Somers was Disqualified for ramming Jammer into the post. Bad Company EXPLODES as Pat Tanaka and the Magnificent Mimi defeated Paul Diamond and Candi Devine in Mixed Tag Action. Finally, Col. DeBeers defeated Rick Schroder, and in a post-match interview, is notified he will compete in the Great American Turkey Hunt. “WHAT THE HELL IS A TURKEY HUNT?” *RECORD SCRATCH*

Col. DeBeers’ reaction might as well be the reaction to anyone who was watching AWA at the time. What in the hell was the Great American Turkey Hunt? Well, it was a match where the winner would be the first person to climb a pole and retrieve a RAW TURKEY, because it’s Thanksgiving! Vern Gagne is known for being old-school and out of touch with modern wrestling, so WHO IN THE HELL TALKED HIM INTO BOOKING A MATCH WHERE TWO GUYS ARE MEANT TO FIGHT OVER A RAW BIRD?!?! When people think the Death of the AWA, they automatically assume the pink room was the end, and the Great American Turkey Hunt was the final blow before the company faded to black, but NOPE. This company limped along, taping TV for another 9 months! And most of those tapings in front of legitimate crowds! Well, small crowds in a mostly empty building, but at least it was a real arena and not a big pink room from the seventh circle of hell.

Ads for Energizer AGAIN, Budweiser, Top Rank Boxing (Collins vs Rosales, Tuesday at 9pm on ESPN!) and a repeat Energizer ad from an earlier break. If you turned the Energizer ads into a drinking game, you’d already be wasted.

Next up is the Pro Wrestling Illustrated Press Conference with Bill Apter. Oh, it’s just a lame interview segment! I was expecting a legitimate worked press conference where they shot an angle to sell tickets for a hot feud… but then I remembered it’s late ‘89 and we’ve got the f*cking TEAM CHALLENGE SERIES as the big draw. Apter’s guest is Nick Bockwinkel, “4-Time AWA Champion”. Why is that in quotations, like it’s an illegitimate claim? I wonder how much Gagne was paid to have that giant PWI logo on the wall. Bockwinkel squashes the rumors of him putting the tights on to challenge Zbyszko for the AWA Title. He’s here to do color commentary and just wants to be around to enjoy things. He puts over “The Illustrious” Jonnie Stewart despite his young age and is less favorable to Derrick Dukes.

Call the AWA Promotions Center at (612) 545-9376! Lee Marshall says the AWA is touring the country. If you’re serious about quality wrestling, you want the AWA, the major leagues of professional wrestling!

Ads for Chan-Nel-Lock tools, Budweiser (that’s our second for Bud) with Rolling Stones music accompanying the commercial, and Doug Flutie and Victor Kiam promoting a lot of losing and Remington Micro Screen razors… oh they had a decent 1988 season? Well, they stunk in 1989, after this ad was filmed!

Eric Bischoff brings us up to date on the Tag Team Championship situation. The titles were stripped from Brad Rheingans and Ken Patera following an attack at the hands of the Destruction Crew, leaving them incapable of making a defense. AWA President Joe Blanchard (yes, father of Tully) announced a tournament to crown new champions, which brings us to highlights of the Semi-Finals where Paul Diamond and Greg Gagne defeated Jonnie Stewart and Mike George (a doughy-looking jobber), and the Destruction Crew snuck by Baron von Rashke and Sgt. Slaughter when Rashke was Disqualified for using one of the Destruction Crew’s sledgehammers.

Ads for Falconi’s Tropicana Honda dealership and HBO Cinemax.

AWA World Heavyweight Championship Match:
Larry Zbyszko (c ) vs. Derrick “Starfire” Dukes:
This would be like Ric Flair defending the NWA Championship on TV against Brad Armstrong or Tim Horner. Zbyszko comes out first. The ring announcer is interrupted and Derrick Dukes has apparently left the building, so Zbyszko wins the match by forfeit. Lee Marshall buries Dukes for walking out of the building right when he was going to get his title shot. Marshall and Bockwinkel talk about an incident with Stan Hansen, and yeah, those names are about on the same level. Bischoff catches up with Zbyszko for comments. Zbyszko calls this a generation of wimps that have no killer instinct. Then he name drops Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair, because that’s what winning promotions do. I wish I had an answer for this creative decision, but no one was covering the AWA’s weekly TV at the time, and details about ANYTHING to do with this era are scarce at best. I’m just going to assume Dukes was unhappy about something when he last worked a date, and this was their way to teach him a lesson (for all 13 people who were watching AWA TV).

Ads for Energizer (another repeat commercial), Hoover vacuums from True Value hardware stores (only $59.99!), Dodge NIT Semifinals Wednesday Night at 7pm on ESPN, and ANOTHER REPEAT ENERGIZER COMMERCIAL.I guess Energizer is like AWA, it keeps going and going…

AWA Tag Team Championship Tournament Finals:
Greg Gagne & Paul Diamond vs. The Destruction Crew (w/ Johnny Valiant):
We’ve got the babyfaces coming out to Europe’s “Final Countdown” and the Destruction Crew using Queen’s “We Will Rock You.” This video was available on YouTube, and how it didn’t get flagged for Final Countdown is a minor miracle. Maybe it’s the terrible sound system in the building this show was taped in. WWF fans might be more familiar with Diamond’s runs as the masked Kato of the Orient Express 2.0 and Max Moon 2.0. The Destruction Crew are “Mean” Mike Enos and Wayne “The Train” Bloom, about a year or so into their professional careers. Not to do the “you might remember” trick again, but they would stick with AWA until the bitter end and show up in the WWF in the Summer of 1991 as Beau and Blake, the Beverly Brothers.

Diamond and Enos start. Diamond with the classic international, capped off with a modified sunset flip for two. Whip to the ropes and Diamond counters a hip toss with a back-slide for two. Double reversal into the corner. Enos can’t capitalize and Diamond hits a cross body press for two. Gagne in with a running knee lift, then some shots at Bloom on the apron. That seemed unnecessary. Bloom tags in and gets caught with a pair of arm drags, followed by a slam for two. Gagne and Diamond take turns working the arm. I don’t hate Gagne like a lot of old timer fans do, but that man just ran the ropes like a guy who was still training. Diamond misses a dive into the corner, straddling the buckle in the process. Diamond cuts Enos off and hits an off-balanced suplex. So much for that heat segment. Gagne with a flying knee across the arm that seems to have missed by a considerable distance.

Gagne gets trapped in the corner of the Destruction Crew, and maybe this will give them more than 20-seconds on offense. Bloom with a back-breaker for two. Valiant gets in on the fun, and I honestly forgot he was at ringside. Whip to the ropes and Gagne surprises Bloom with a dropkick. Diamond with the tag, taking Bloom and Enos over with back body-drops. DOUBLE NOGGIN KNOCKER. Whip and Diamond with a dropkick, but Enos saves. Double dropkick from the Diamond-Gagne Connection. Gagne slaps on a sleeper, and again Enos makes the save. Suddenly, Sheik Adnan Al-Kahassie shows up and starts brawling with Gagne! This brings out Kokina, hitting Gagne’s leg with a splash. THE REFEREE JUST LETS THIS HAPPEN as Diamond fights 1-on-2 in this all-important Tag Title Match! Diamond tries to save Gagne, but he’s rocked with a headbutt. Back inside, Diamond continues to be Hulk Hogan, no-selling the effects of the headbutt and still in control of the action, but the secret stuff wears off, and a weapon shot to the back of the head knocks Diamond out and the Crew win the Tag Team Titles at 12:14 in the most overbooked bullsh*t finish. We get a post-match promo, I don’t care, I don’t know if I can suffer through much more AWA, and I’ve watched ONE episode. This was a perfectly fine, competently worked old school rasslin’ match, and then the last minute or so was like a Vince Russo wet dream…. Oh, and the finish was given away in the Team Challenge Series Update! This is also one of, if not the last match for Greg Gagne on AWA TV. LEAVE THE MEMORIES ALONE.

Final Thoughts: … I don’t know what needs to be said here. I could generously say this was a difficult hour of professional wrestling to get through. I can’t blame the company (too much) for their oddly balanced roster. You’re knocking on death’s door, so you’re limited to old hanger-on/friends and rookies who aren’t going to get a look from the bigger companies unless they are truly special talents. However, I can blame some truly terrible booking. The show just falls apart with the advertised “double main event”, where we not only get false advertisement (SHOCKED. SHOCKED I SAY) but the burial of a babyface on his way out, and then that spectacular sh*t show for the Tag Team Titles, with an incompetent referee and babyfaces just eating up the heels from start to finish. Did I mention that Team Challenge Series Update where you booked a match in a pink room where the point is to retrieve a raw turkey from the top of a pole?

The next episode I have of AWA TV is listed as the December 30th, 1989 episode of Championship Wrestling. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter hinted that AWA wasn’t going to get much coverage on ESPN in December, and the fact so many people assumed the Pink Room stuff and the Raw Turkey was the last episode makes more sense if that rumor was true. You check TV every day, don’t see the show, and just assume it’s no longer going to be on, so you find something else to watch and forget all about it.