Garth Reviews AWA

We have completed our mission of going back and covering all the episodes available to us from October-December 1989 (for the most part), and to be honest, I was expecting a little bit more “LOL AWA”, but other than the Pink Room of Death, it was mostly ho-hum material. Plenty of production and editing issues, but the matches were mostly fine and we didn’t get too many wacky Team Challenge Series stipulations.

We’re back with more AWA as we finish up 1989 (unless SOMEONE finds and uploads that damn episode with the Great American Turkey Hunt). I’m hoping for something a little wild and out there, as the last time we checked in on the promotion, it was a mostly dull experience; just a handful of squashes and a by-the-numbers tag team main event. We did get the storyline dismissal of Johnny Valiant, though it was done in a very sloppy post-production manner, with Wayne Bloom yelling at him off camera that he was finished, which gave us this great comment that I needed to share, I found it amusing as a legitimate possibility…

Lee Marshall and Ralph Strangis are hanging out at ringside, which means they will be calling all the action in post-production. Eric Bischoff is also doing his usual routine of hanging out in front of the world’s worst green screen. In the next hour, we’re going to see Jonnie Stewart, the AWA Champion Larry Zbyszko, and the Tag Team Championship will be defended when the Destruction Crew takes on the challenge of BRUTE FORCE.

Last time we took a trip down memory lane with the AWA (the December 18th episode of Championship Wrestling), I was shocked to see there wasn’t much to do with the Team Challenge Series, but we did get Larry Zbyszko defending the AWA Championship against Nikita Koloff, and we witnessed one of the last matches of Crusher Blackwell as he teamed with the Fantastics (Bobby and Jackie Fulton) to take on the Wrecking Crew and Johnny Valiant.

Now, if you caught the dates of the last show covered and the one right here, we’re about to dive into, yes, AWA really did have programming daily on ESPN, somehow cobbling together episodes despite taping roughly 2-2.5 hours’ worth of content at their monthly shows.

It’s been a while since we’ve looked at some dying days of AWA. When we last checked in on the AWA Team Challenge Series, we had an All-Star Six-Man Tag inside the PINK ROOM OF DOOM as Tommy Jammer, Scott Norton, and The Trooper defeated AWA World and Tag Team Champions Larry Zbyszko and the Destruction Crew. Also making appearances were Nikita Koloff, Crusher Blackwell, and “The Illustrious” Jonnie Stewart.

Welcome back to more AWA Team Challenge Series action! Last time out, we covered the November 11th, 1989 episode of All-Star Wrestling, which featured all matches taped from THE PINK ROOM OF DOOM, and a TCS Main Event of Pat Tanaka and Magnificent Mimi defeating Paul Diamond and Candi Divine. We were also promised the Great American Turkey Hunt pitting Col. DeBeers against a yet-to-be-named member (Jake Milliman) of Larry’s Legends (unfortunately, the episode with the complete match is not available, so we won’t get to enjoy breaking that one down in full detail).

We’re jumping around a bit too much with these Team Challenge Series episodes, but when more content is unleashed on the world, you make the adjustments necessary. Last time I covered the AWA Team Challenge Series, we went back to the beginning, with the draft lottery setting the teams captained by Larry Zbyszko, Baron von Rashke and Sgt. Slaughter, and at least half the names drawn were either on the way out or never made an appearance for the company going forward. We’ve also covered the November 18th episode of All-Star Wrestling, which featured the angle that would write Greg Gagne off as an in-ring competitor (at least full-time, but he never wrestled again for TV, so…)

Welcome back to the American Wrestling Association! If you keep up with my irregular schedule of retro content, I’ve covered several weeks’ worth of AWA with emphasis on their infamous Team Challenge Series. AWA footage isn’t the most desirable footage, so I understand why it’s a little more difficult to find specific episodes, but we’re rewinding the clock for a special occasion… This episode of AWA All-Star Wrestling is how we kick off the Team Challenge Series, complete with teams being drawn!

Time for more AWA Team Challenge Series! Last week on AWA Championship Wrestling, Yukon John Nord picked up the victory for Baron’s Blitzers when he slammed Larry’s Legend representation, Sheik Adnan Al-Kassie, who was a last-second substitution for Kokina Maximus, who was hyped all show before the reveal that he was having “transportation” problems. Looks like Kokina spent the last quarter of 1989 working New Japan dates, so these bastards knew well in advance they were pulling their old tricks of false advertisements and bait-and-switch nonsense.

It’s been a while since we tackled some Team Challenge Series era AWA, and I’ve already suffered enough with 3 months worth of ROH TV, so time to change up my method of torture. When we last looked at the AWA, we closed out 1989 with an episode of All-Star Wrestling, featuring a Main Event of Baron von Rashke vs Wayne “The Train” Bloom in an Amateur Rules Greco-Roman Wrestling Match (and yes, it had a bull-finish). You might find it hard to believe, but the scoring system was confusing and inconsistent, too.

AWA All-Star Wrestling – December 30th, 1989

(Date included is from any given source where AWA content is available. To say reliable information isn’t readily available would be an understatement)

Well, we’re back with our second look at the AWA, having survived the November 18th episode of Championship Wrestling. Just think, 1 down and… 40 more episodes to go?!?! If I didn’t inflict this torture on myself, I’d ask what holy being did I upset to deserve such a fate. As someone unfamiliar with the AWA, I’m unsure of the broadcast differences between Championship Wrestling and All-Star Wrestling. I’m guessing All-Star was a syndicated show (though its reach nationally and what markets would carry it is not something I can find) and Championship Wrestling was the ESPN show that got moved around a lot. It’s a 70/30 split leaning in favor of All-Star episodes that are readily available, but since they taped so little TV, it’s all pretty much the same stuff, just packaged slightly differently.

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…