kevinmcfl

got it

Nice first Omni card. I am really looking forward to that National Heavyweight Championship Match

All-Star releases Norvell Austin and adds Don Bass

Hahahah... that was AWESOME! Piper got the last ring and cacled that he was the King of LA. Was surprised that Hansen came out to team with Anthony but they would be a nasty duo especially if Anthony does most of the heavy lifting and Hansen just comes in to clean it up at the end. Hansen is one of the all-time best and can do it all! I agree with you of the underrated skill of Ron Star and he should get a some thought on being the next Light Heavyweight Champion. Great tag team showcase here and loved how you described the Adams Superkick. That is exactly how I remembered it.... It always seemed to come from nowhere and it was lights out! Adonis and Ventura bring the big name to the division but I wonder who will eventually end up with the belts! NICE SHOW!

The fans in the Freeman Coliseum sure got their monies worth. A lot of matches ended just they way the fans wanted from Atlas to Zumhofe to the big 6 man tag match which by the way I loved. You always seem to get these big tag matches to hype up a few feuds at a time. The times you had the heels win, it was always in great heel fashion. From Stasiak and Hart getting involved to Harley Race coming down to ringside, there was always a legit reason the babyface lost. This always you to build heat on for the heels and love for the babyfaces. Great show... something must give between Funk, Bock and Race. These are three huge names all running in the same circle! Can't wait for the next show.

Matter what gimmick the Long Riders used they were great! They rest of the tag team division better be at their best or they are going to be in trouble.

TNT doesn't miss a beat after the ESPN show. Atlas is a star at this time and if he can get by Hickerson, big things could be in store for him. I love the attention the TV title is getting. I remember many TV champs just gave us a semi-good match for TV in the 80's but you are giving it some star power and serious attention. The tag team division is stacked and can't wait to see all of its twist and turns... first up... the Nightmares and the Guerreros. Jimmy Hart might just be the enough to swing the balance of this feud but we will have to wait and see. Exotic Adrian vs Jaggers, Putski vs Ratymus and Funk vs Race.... Your version of tv shows totally crushes what it was in the 1980's and yet there is some much left for the house shows to draw the crowds. Great job!

Looking forward to it also. With Rain at the helm... I can never figure out what is next and that is why AWA Pacific is awesome.

All good

AWA ALL-STAR WRESTLING: January 25, 1984: WGN TV From coast to coast, continent to continent and border to border, we welcome you to AWA All-Star Wrestling coming to you from the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City, Utah. I am Rod Trongard and joining me today with some special interviews will be Gene Okerlund. Well fans, what a historic night we had this past week as AWA Wrestling was showcased on prime-time TV on ESPN. Fans who were in the Mid-South Coliseum will long remember this event and let’s get right to the video tape to let you know why. VTR of Jerry Lawler defeating Hulk Hogan for the AWA World Title. Rod Trongard: That’s right folks. We have a new World Champion and it is none other than Jerry “The King” Lawler and he is with our own Gene Okerlund. Gene Okerlund: Ladies and Gentleman, let me bring in the new AWA champion… Jerry Lawler. Jerry Lawler: That is King Jerry Lawler and I proved it last week in Memphis. Gene Okerlund: All that proved was that you have a lot of friends in Memphis and one happened to be the referee who seemed to mis Hulk Hogan’s leg on the ropes. Jerry Lawler: Now I don’t like what you are saying. We all just saw the video tape and I got the three count. I came here to Salt Lake City today to offer Hulk Hogan his rematch but he is so afraid, he never even showed up. Gene Okerlund: Now wait a minute… you knew Hulk was going to Japan and even though he lost his title, he is still man enough to honor all his commitments. I think it would be wise of you not to be here when the Hulkster returns from Japan. Jerry Lawler: Excuses, Excuses. I was here to wrestle today but I guess it will have to wait. Gene Okerlund: Well trust you me, your wait will be very short as you will be facing the winner of today’s main event… Rick Martel vs Jim “the Anvil” Neidhart in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, this Thursday night in the Mecca. COMMERCIAL Match: Bret Hart defeats Larry Cheatum with the Northern Lights Cloverleaf Rod Trongard spends most of the time during this squash match hyping up the North American tournament finals between Hart and Jimmy Garvin. After the match, Bret spends a minute with Gene Okerlund where he is grateful for the chance at becoming the first AWA North American Champion. He explains that the North American title was a major title in his father’s promotion, Stampede Wrestling and that it would be a great honor to be the first champion since the merger. This is where the chaos started as Jimmy Garvin and Precious interrupted the interview. They tried to rattle Bret but that seemed to backfire on them. As Bret stepped to Garvin, Bret threw a fake punch which Garvin really sold as real. His huge flinch made Bret laugh as he knew he was in the head of Garvin. The interesting thing here is that Precious was right in front of her man and she never flinched. MATCH: Mongolian Stomper defeats Jim Kent with the Sleeper In a strange twist, Stomper is getting cheers from the crowd. He has not been around since the riot in Calgary over a month ago as Bad News Allen attacked both him and his son, Jeff Gouldie. The crowd remembers that Bad News said he hoped Jeff died which obviously crossed the line. As a result, the crowd is now behind Stomper. In the post-match interview, the Mongolian Stomper is focused on one thing …. REVENGE. Gene Okerlund reminds him that Bad News Allen is currently serving a 90 day suspension to which Stomper says he is a patient man and Bad News Allen better think twice about returning after his suspension is over. COMMERCIAL Before our next match, Rick Martel is with Gene Okerlund who first informs the audience that Rick Martel is going to have to go it alone for awhile as his tag team partner, Curt Hennig, has injured his leg and will be out of action for a while. Okerlund reminds us that the Sheiks and Abdullah attacked Hennig and injured the leg on last week’s tv show and that Curt was so badly injured he was not even to able to join Rick on the ESPN Supercard as they went for the AWA tag titles. Okerlund hypes up Martel who had to go it alone and still almost won the tag title. Martel is humble and says he can’t wait for Curt to come back so they win the title that he believes belongs to them. Okerlund then hypes up tonight’s main event in which Martel will face Jim Neidhart with the winner to get a World Title shot this week in Milwaukee. MATCH: Greg Gagne & Brad Rheingans vs Porkchop Cash & Norvell Austin A lot of question marks in this match. Can Gagne and Rheingans continue to grow as they step up in competition and can Cash and Austin patch up their differences that were apparent in last week’s loss to Jules Strongbow and Sonny Two Rivers. The match has a few momentum turns but in the end, Cash and Austin botch a double team move and Gagne escapes to make the tag and Rheingans comes in like a house afire and hits a belly to belly suplex on Cash for the win. After the match, Austin comes in to check on his partner who shoves him away. Austin tries again but this time, Porkchop clobbers him with a big right hand and then continues to attack until we break for commercial. MATCH: Bruce Hart vs Hiro Saito ends in a time-limit draw Two of the top Light Heavyweights in the AWA with both hopping that a win here will propel then to a title shot. Unfortunately, we are left with unsettled business here as we get an action packed 10-minute draw. The match ends just as it started, with a handsake between the two. COMMERCIAL Match: Rick Rude with Bobby Heenan vs Tommy Rogers This is the first official match for Rude to be managed by Heenan and the difference is notable. Rude seems to be more aggressive and he is willing to take more risks. Rod Trongard says this is because he knows that Heenan has his back and that becomes obvious when Rogers gains the momentum but he is quickly tripped up by Heenan. This match was basically 2-1 and was too much for Rogers as Rude hit a top rope knee drop followed by the piledriver for the win. At the interview area, Okerlund asks about this new union. Bobby Heenan: Let me ask you a question…. Let me ask all the humanoids out there in tv land a question. If you were going to start a wrestling family and you took everything into consideration would you like an over the hill wrestler like Da Crusher! I think not. Would you want someone running around the ring with their gut flapping in the wind like Jules Strongbow. I think not. Would you like someone who only got a job because of who their daddy was like Greg Gagne or the Hart brothers. I think not. Would you want someone who runs away to Japan when they lose like Hulk Hogan? I think not. Now look at Rick Rude. The perfect age. The perfect body. The perfect wrestler. The perfect mindset. He is someone who will make me a lot of money and I will make him a champion. He is the newest member of my family but trust me, the Heenan family will grow to such a powerful organization, that I will soon control all of the AWA. MATCH: The Road Warriors with Ellering destroy Tom Stone & Verlon Biggs with the Doomsday Device on Biggs A quick interview where Ellering starts to call out the Sheiks and how the Road Warriors need a title shot. For those in the know, this proves that Hennig is truly hurt and Verne is in scramble mode to find a new angle for the AWA World Tag Titles as Martel and Hennig are out of the mix for a while. COMMERCIAL Match: Superstar Graham defeats Bobby Fulton with the Bear Hug. Superstar comes out as arrogant as ever here as he is sure he is going to plow over the much smaller Fulton but he was very wrong. Fulton shows what speed can do and keeps the much older Graham off balance. In the end though, the veteran hooks his arms around the ropes on an Irish Whip as Fulton goes for the drop kick and lands on the back of his head. Superstar turns this into the Bear Hug for the submission win. Superstar then tries to make a point by refusing to break the hold even as the ref threatened to reverse the decision. The crowd is fuming until Da Crusher hits the ring and we end up with an old fashion brawl until Superstar decides to head for the hills. The Commonwealth (Jos Leduc & Jonathan Boyd) defeat Steve Regal & Keith Hart The Commonwealth comes out with a lot of Anti-American taunts and they draw the ire of the fans. Regal and Hart try their best but are just too small to deal with all the raw power of Leduc and Boyd and Leduc comes away with the victory after numerous backbreakers on Regal. Rod Trongard continues to push the current All-Star tag team division. COMMERCIAL Before our main event, we get word that Norvell Austin has challenged his former tag team partner, Porkchop Cash and the challenge has been accepted and the two will meet this week in Milwaukee. Also added to that card will be Da Crusher vs Superstar Graham. Match: Rick Martel vs Jim Neidhart A truly monster clash for TV as Verne continues to want to prove that the entire AWA is the premier wrestling organization across the country. This match has it all as the two literally wear each other out. From power moves to a brawl that went inside and outside of the ring, both men knew this was their shot at getting a match with Jerry Lawler for the title and they held nothing back. Neidhart hit the powerslam but was too close to the ropes and Martel got his foot up. Martel was able to make the come back and connected three big moves … the dropkick followed by the airplane spin followed by the Bridging German Suplex for the win as Rod Trongard reminds us to get your tickets for the major event in the Mecca on January 31st as Rick Martel goes for the AWA World Title. The Mecca: Milwaukee, Wisconsin: January 31, 1984 Mongolian Stomper defeats The Assassin with the Sleeper as he continues to be built as a fan favorite. Superstar Graham and Da Crusher brawl to a 15 time limit draw Eddie Gilbert defeats Keith Hart in another AWA Lightheavyweight clash that could have gone either way. In the end, Gilbert used just enough dirty tactics to prevail as he hit the Hot Shot following a possible low blow. The Commonwealth (Jos Leduc & Jonathan Boyd) defeated Tommy Rogers & Bobby Fulton in a contrast of styles. Rogers and Fulton really look like they have some chemistry and controlled most of the match against the bigger men but in the end, Boyd distracted the ref and which allowed Leduc to pull a foreign object out of his trunks and whack Fulton over the head for the pin. Norvell Austin vs Porkchop Cash: Norvell Austin was able to prevail here after an intense brawl but as soon as the 3 count was finished, Austin was attacked by a masked mask. Cash and the newcomer really gave it to Austin who was in a bad way when the attack was over. Cash and the masked man embraced and left together. AWA NORTH AMERICAN TITLE TOURNAMENT FINAL: Bret Hart vs Jimmy Garvin: Two very skilled wrestlers with egos to match. The crowd is solidly behind Hart but it looked bad for him as Precious was a handful and it was like Hart was wrestling in a Handicap Match. As Brett began to gain momentum, Precious once again jumped up on the apron as was going to hit Bret with the loaded purse but Hart reversed the Irish Whip and Precious clobbered her own man. Hart locked in the Northern Lights Cloverleaf which might not have been unnecessary as Jimmy Garvin was already out. AWA WORLD TITLE MATCH: Jerry Lawler vs Rick Martel: A great match here as Lawler is trying to prove that he can be both a heel in All-Star Wrestling and a babyface in TNT. In the end, Martel is wrestling from the top when Lawler does the ultimate heel move and throw the fireball into the face of Martel. The ref immediately calls for the bell as Martel is writhing in pain on the floor. The King needs security to escort him back to the locker room as the crowd is almost about to riot. People in the Mecca will never forget the night that they learned to hate Jerry Lawler.

Wow... I am hooked. Forget the great matches ... and they were awesome for a tv show... The 4 Families... the Four Kings.... Such a creative angle that has Port;and on fire and then Piper comes out... sort of... and then disappears. PIper just might be the man to wage war on all 4 families or maybe he just tales out the head in Playboy Buddy Rose. Can't wait for the next show.

ROOKIES/ADDITIONS TO US/CANADIAN PROMOTIONS/THOSE OUT OF RETIREMENT: INCLUDES WRESTLERS WITH 10+ MATCHES IN US/CANADA Pat Tanaka Paul Diamond Paul Roma Teddy Long Ted Arcidi Jack Victory Charlie Scaggs Brian Knobbs Vader Madusa Sting Lex Luger Big Boss Man Bam Bam Bigelow Chris Benoit Norman Smiley Ultimate Warrior Rikishi Sherry Martel Missy Hyatt Bota the Witch Doctor Scott Doring Tyree Pride Steve Gatorwolf JR Hogg Gerald "Fit" Finley Brady Boone Rocky Iaukea The Snowman Mad Dog Goto Savio Vega Bruno Sammartino Silo Sam Mike Dupree Tim Patterson Goldie Rogers Dave Gold Tom MaGee Curtis Iaukea (Manager)

UPDATED ALL-STAR TRADING BLOCK Mongolian Stomper, Norvell Austin, Superstar Graham, Hulk Hogan

Looking forward to see what you do on the 2019 project. Hope you can keep up with everything. I am enjoying your shows here.

And this is the reason I kept asking you to do a new project. You nailed it! From the opening to the midcard to the main events... great job. Ratymus is one of those guys who seems like he should have been a bigger star in real life and you have him causing some serious havoc here. Will Putski and McGraw be able to handle him? We will just have to wait and see. Nice job getting the Wildfire-Tully feud off to an even start. I could see this gong either when in the end. Decimation is too big boys but Robinson and Jumbo had to come out with the win. Robinson is an all time great and Jumbo is here to show off for Japan and they is no way he would agree to do the job on the first ESPN super show. I remember the first time I saw Bob Sweetan on tv. He went in and saved Eric Embry from a beating from Tully Blanchard and he just seemed like one bad ass. Well I give Koko and Sweet Brown Sugar a whole lot of credit standing up to not only Sweetan but Dave Schultz. And then comes the Battle Royal with the winner getting a title shot. There were like 8 names there that I would love to see go for the title and Bruiser is one of them. That is going to be awesome. Jimmy Hart and the Nightmares just seems like a perfect combo. Between the Guerreros and the Fab Ones, Hart better save some of his dirty tricks for the future as this is one stacked division. Bockwinkle vs Wahoo would be a classic and I love the way Bock grabs the ropes to add leverage to get the win. He might have been as good as Flair at breaking the rules. Martel gave it his all but the Sheiks are just too much. Hennig must really be hurt to give up the ESPN spotlight. What will Allstar Wrestling do with Martel going forward? Who will battle the Sheiks? I guess we will have to tune in next week! And then the crazy title change! Lawler really does own Memphis and that includes the ref. Lawler must be sending thank you letters to Jerry Jarrett for making the deal with Verne to join the AWA. What is next for Hogan... He just signed that new multi-year deal so he is not heading to the WWF.

Fun TV tournament here. I can just picture Iron Mike acting all confident during the introductions and then slapping the ring ropes in frustration as he lost in 28 seconds. Looking forward to the finals. Bugsy is one guy who doesn't always get a lot of love in these type of games but he is very underrated. He was a good babyface and a good heel and his quirky gimmick makes him a fun read. Mean Mike Miller was big time in the Portland area and with a little build, he could be big in Georgia. Can't wait for the finals as I could see this going either way.

AWA ALL-STAR WRESTLING: January 22, 1984: WGN TV The introduction starts with some video highlights from Denver and a North American Tournament title match Jimmy Garvin with Precious defeats Crusher in a match that Jimmy Garvin showed he could do it all. He went from the heel using the delay tactics to the one who would use every dirty trick in the book. In the end Precious aided her man with the loaded purse and Garvin moves on. From coast to coast, continent to continent and border to border, we welcome you to AWA All-Star Wrestling coming to you from the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City, Utah. I am Rod Trongard and joining me today with some special interviews will be Gene Okerlund. Well folks, as you just saw, Jimmy Garvin is moving on in the North American tournament where he will face Tom Zenk with the winner going to the finals. That it not all from Denver as we had the first ever AWA 4 Corner Match with the winner getting the AWA World Light Heavyweight title. VTR: 4 Corner AWA Light Heavyweight Title Match: Buck Zumhofe vs Tommy Rogers vs Eddie Gilbert vs Dynamite Kid: The video shows Dynamite Kid winning the title in a wild event as would be expected in a 4 corner match. When the video is over, Gene Okerlund is joined by the new AWA Lt. Hw. Champion, Dynamite Kid. Kid is really humble and grateful to the fans for their support but he is very intense and claims that he will be a fighting champion. This is where we find out that later on, it will be Hiro Saito vs Eddie Gilbert with the winner to face Dynamite this week in the Rosemont Horizon. COMMERCIAL Match: The Road Warriors/ Paul Ellering totally destroy Tom Stone & Joe Allen in under 3 minutes A couple of interesting things are happening with the Road Warriors recently. First, they are not looking for it, but they are starting to become a crowd favorite. Their brutal, no nonsense attitude fits the region and they don’t seem to care who they wrestle as long as they get to hurt someone. Secondly, they are on such a roll of late, the AWA is starting to take notice. In fact, they will be taking on the Sheiks this week in the Rosemont Horizon for the AWA World tag titles. As you would expect, they are not the least bit intimidated by the Sheiks and when their post-match interview is over, the fans are ecstatic that the Sheiks and their hated manager, Sheik Adnan Al Kassie might finally lose their belts. MATCH: Rick Rude defeats Verlon Biggs with the Sleeper Last week, we saw Bobby Heenan watching Rude’s match against Tom Stone and tonight after Rude beats Biggs, Heenan comes to ringside and chats with Rude. The two leave together which has Rod Trongard wondering what is going on. COMMERCIAL MATCH: Jimmy Garvin with Precious defeats Mike Allen with the Brainbuster. Garvin does his usually strutting around the ring and toys with the jobber until Allen catches him in a roll up and almost gets a surprise win. This refocuses Garvin who is now all business and gets the easy win. Trongard hypes up the North American Title tournament and the Jimmy Garvin-Tom Zenk match set for this week in St. Paul. A quick post match interview with Okerlund shows a very confindent Precious and Garvin as they know they are better than the young Tom Zenk. Okerlund reminds Garvin that anything could happen as we almost saw Mike Allen pull the upset a minute ago. MATCH: Greg Gagne & Brad Rheingans vs The Assassin (Roger Smith) & The Turk (Ali Bey) A truly good vs evil match here. The fan favorites came out first to a nice ovation but the heat the heels got was even louder. The Turk has really gotten the ire of the fans with his Anti-American nonsense of late and the Assassin in not much better. The babyfaces seemed to be one step ahead of the heels for most of the match here and get the win when Gagne locked in the Sleeper on The Assassin. Rheingans took an American flag and waved it around after the match and the fans loved it. Rod Trongard wonders if Gagne has finally found that tag team partner he has been looking for since Jumping Jim Brunzell left. COMMERCIAL MATCH: Davey Boy Smith vs Jim “the Anvil” Neidhart Fans of All-Star Wrestling are in for a treat with these two newcomers to All-Star Wrestling. These are too powerful men and Trongard hypes that up big time. He can’t say enough about the body of Davey Boy Smith and then he tells us that Neidhart was the actually winner of the Anvil Throwing Contest at last year’s Calgary Stampede where he threw an actual anvil 11 feet 2 inches. Combine the power in the ring with their dislike for each other, this was a war. In fact,they beat each other from pillar to post for the entire 10 minute time limit and then had to be separated by the jobbers in the back. Later in the night, we found out that these two powerhouses would continue their fight this week in the Rosemont Horizon. MATCH: Sonny Two Rivers & Jules Strongbow vs Norvell Austin & Porkchop Cash Sonny Two Rivers and Jules Strongbow quickly get some love from the fans as they come out and high five the fans on the way to the ring. They are wearing some pretty cool traditional Native American clothing which Austin and Cash mock. Austin and Cash are real confident but are quickly put in their place when everything they try is thwarted. Austin and Cash resort to some questionable tactics but again, the Native American team seems ready for anything. In the end, Sonny Two Rivers catches Austin with a massive lariat for the victory. Instead of even trying to save his partner from defeat, Porkchop Cash simply walked away. At the post-match interview, Jules Strongbow does 99% of the talking and really seems excited to be here and excited to partner with Two Rivers. The reason for this is that Sonny Two Rivers is actually Junji Hirata from Japan and has very limited English. The crowd doesn’t seem to pick up on it and the gimmick has worked in Stampede for over a year now so Verne has decided to just roll with it. COMMERCIAL This segment starts with another video tape from Memphis where the King, Jerry Lawler is confident that he will win the AWA World Title from Hulk Hogan tomorrow night in Memphis and he, as usually, throws in a few one liners meant to demean the champ. Hogan and Okerlund counter with one of their promos about how Hulkamania can’t be stopped no matter what city Hogan is in. MATCH: AWA #1 CONTENDERS MATCH FOR THE LIGHT HEAVEYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP Eddie Gilbert vs Hiro Saito Trongard reminds us that the winner will face Dynamite Kid for the title this week in St. Paul. As for the match, both men have a lot of skill but they also know how to make a match look good. The bumping and selling is awesome and we have a lot of momentum changes with both men looking like they were going to come out on top. Saito had Gilbert down and went for the Diving Senton finish but Gilbert was playing possum and lifted up his knees and caught Saito in the gut. Gilbert was up first and finished his opponent off with the Hot Shot. Trongard hyped up the Gilbert-Dynamite match up and in a quick post-match interview with Okerlund, Gene reminded fans to get their tickets for this week at the Rosemont Horizon as Gilbert was confident of his title victory. COMMERCIAL Match: Rick Martel & Curt Hennig vs The Sheepherders This is one tough tune-up for Martel and Hennig as they will be facing the AWA Tag Team Champs, the Sheiks, in the ESPN Spectacular tomorrow night in Memphis. In fact, the cut a quick promo with Gene Okerlund prior to their match where they seemed very confident they would win the titles despit their lack of success in recent tries where Shiek Adnan Al Kassie kept finding a way to stop them from defeating his men. They questioned the cast on the Sheiks arm and wonder if he was really hurt in his recent trip to the Middle East! As for this match, it is typical Sheepherders as they attack before the bell and the war is in from beginning to end. Somehow, the fan favorites are able to get the momentum and it looks like Hennig is about to set up Butch Miller for the Craddle Suplex when we start to hear some murmurs from the crowd. As Miller is hoisted up, Abdullan the Butcher hits the ring and takes out Hennig’s knee. Hennig is writhing in pain and the Skeik Jerry Blackwell and Skeik Ken Patera are not far behind. The Sheepherders also join in the fun and it is basically 6-2. Martel is being mobbed but the camera still seems to be focused on Hennig who might really be injured. Trongard wonders if Martel and Hennig will even make it to Memphis tomorrow night as the screen fades to black. ROSEMONT HORIZON: Rosemont, Illinois: January 26th, 1984 (Highlights) AWA NORTH AMERICAN TITLE TOURNAMENT MATCH: Brett Hart defeats Jos Leduc in a long and physical match as he was finally able to lock in the Northern Lights Cloverleaf. AWA Light Heavyweight Title Match: Dynamite Kid vs Eddie Gilbert ended in a 30 minute draw. While Verne Gagne and Stu Hart wanted the Light Heavyweight division to be about skill, this match turned nasty and it is obvious we have not seen the last of these two. ST. PAUL CIVIC CENTER: January 26, 1984 (Highlights) Davey Boy Smith vs Jim Neidhart: These two powerhouses really dislike each other as we end in a DDQ with a brawl all over the arena. AWA North American Title Tournament Title Match: Jimmy Garvin defeats Tom Zenk with the BrainBuster. Garvin was all business here and may have learned his lesson from his near defeat to Mike Allen. He used every dirty trick known to man and worked well with Precious and together they defeated the young Tom Zenk. Zenk is going to be great but had trouble dealing with Garvin and Precious at the same time. The heels really brought the heat on themselves here as they took every shortcut they could.

All set

It didn't take you long for AWA Portland to become must see TV. You are giving the people with ESPN some great cards with real quality matches. From start to finish, the matches were really competitive which made it a fun read. And the King of Portland is Born! A perfect choice which will lead to angle after angle. Valiant and his new friend are going to be a lot of friend as are the California Connection.

All Star adds Sonny Two Rivers and releases Al Perez

All set

The people of San Antonio got a real treat with that card. Two things I noticed. First you do a great job of hyping up feuds by throwing two of them together in a tag match or a 6 man tag match. This keeps everything hot and whoever loses doesn't really give up to much. I also like how both Rich and Bockwinkle came up short. It makes you think their title reigns could be in some trouble. I need more Ratymus! I know nothing about him but this is the second game I have been involved in where Ratymus seems to cause chaos! Great show and now on to the big one on the 23rd.

AWA ALL-STAR WRESTLING January 15, 1984 Even before Rod Trongard comes on, the show starts with a video tape from last week in Edmonton as Bret Hart defeats Superstar Graham and moves on to the second round of the tournament to fill the vacant AWA North American title. From coast to coast, continent to continent and border to border, we welcome you to AWA All-Star Wrestling coming to you from the Pavillion in downtown Calgary on WGN. I am Rod Trongard and joining me today with some special interviews will be Gene Okerlund. Well fans, what a show we have for you tonight. As you just saw, Bret Hart has moved on the North American tournament and tonight we will have another first round match between Brad Rheingans and Jos Leduc. Also in action tonight will be Rick Rude, King Konga, Jimmy Garvin, the Road Warriors and before I give too much away, here is AWA President, Stanley Blackburn with a big announcement. Stanley Blackburn: Fans, make no mistake about it, the AWA Lightweight Division is deeper now than ever before and this is something Vern Gagne and Stu Hart were very excited about. Last week, Buck Zumhofe was here and there was a little controversy as to who the #1 contender is so tonight we are going to have 3 light heavyweight matches to determine the 3 top contenders for the title and then all 3 will face Buck Zumhofe for the title this Friday on the Denver Auditorium in the first ever AWA 4 Corner match. The rules are simple. You can tag anybody else in and whoever gains the victory by pinfall or submission will be the AWA Light Heavyweight Champion. As Rod Trongard hypes up both the North American title and the first ever 4 Corner match, we head to our first commercial break. COMMERCIAL WINNER TO THE 4 CORNER LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT TILTE MATCH: Dynamite Kid vs Hiro Saito Rod Trongard doesn’t need to sell anything here. These are two of the best in the world and their skill alone has the fans excited. Both are fan favorites but it seems the crowd is in favor of Dynamite. AWA Light Heavyweight Champion, Buck Zumhofe has joined the announce table for this one and he does his best to sell his excitement for the 4 Corner title match this week in Denver but you can tell he is not excited to have to face 3 men at once. As for the match it non-stop action with reverse after reverse. In the end, Dynamite was able to slip out of the grasp of Saito as he was setting up for the Senton Bomb. A Superplex by the Kid had everone in awe and he finished off Saito with the diving headbut. Both men walked out together to a huge ovation. MATCH: Rick Rude defeats Tom Stone with the Sleeper As Rude continues to impress here in the AWA despite his young age, he is drawing the attention of many. Tonight, the camera spotted Bobby Heenan looking out from behind the curtain at the young star. Rod Trongard wondered if Heenan was giving to be spending some of his money from the Sheik to increase the size of his “family.” COMMERCIAL Before our next match, we see the Road Warriors and their manager, Paul Ellering with Gene Okerlund. Paul Ellering: 1983 was a life-changing year for myself. Due to a severe knee injury, I became aware that my dream of being the World Champion was not going to be fulfilled but then I saw these two men, Animal and Hawk, and I knew together that we would be unstoppable. I have listened to people like Bobby Heenan and Sheik Adnan Al Kaissie say there are going to control wrestling as they have the money to make it happen. Well that may be true but what I am about to unveil to you is that it is not about money. Wrestlers who make it to the top must like to hurt people. We know that Road Warrior Animal and Hawk enjoy that! Well, take a look at the newest member to our gang and decide for yourselves if anyone can handle the DOOM we are about to bring to the sport! Oh… and by the way… Sheik Adnan Al Kaissee… where is our title shot. Hulk Hogan… where is our title shot. Match: King Konga (The Barbarian) with his new manager Paul Ellering defeats Verlon Biggs Konga, with a Top Rope Diving Clothesline, finished off Biggs in a match that lasted less than two minutes and was one power mover after the next. Konga was really impressive here and Trongard is wonders if Ellering’s new legion of tough guys can be stopped. He puts the rest of the AWA on notice as he rundowns their massive size and power with Konga at 6’2, 300 pounds, Animal at 6’2, 300 pounds and Hawk at 6’3, 270. WINNER TO THE 4 CORNER LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT TILTE MATCH: Greg Gagne vs Eddie Gilbert Something must give here. Gilbert is a star but Gagne is still the son of Verne. Gilbert basically called out Zumhofe last week and demanded a title shot. This might just be Verne’s way of saying that you must wait your turn. This match is a bit slower but no less technical than the first Lightweight match of the night. Using some heel tactics, Gilbert gets the top but Greg makes him comeback. Unfortunately, the comeback comes up short as Gilbert caught Greg rushing in with a Hot Shot for the pin. This is a very rare occasion to see Gagne fall on tv and while it was never mentioned by Rod Trongard, some of those in the know say that Verne knows Greg’s future is brighter in the tag division and he is just looking for someone to take Jim Brunzell’s place who bolted for Vince and the WWF. It has also been rumored that Greg is going to be the booker for the Light Heavyweight Division and we all know that Verne doesn’t allow a booker to wrestle in his own division. Either way … a bit of a shocker here tonight. COMMERCIAL MATCH: Jimmy Garvin with Precious defeats Brian Dean with the Brainbuster Garvin joins Okerlund in the interview area where we find out that he will be facing the Crusher in a North American title tournament this week in Denver. Garvin and Precious are almost hysterical at how easy it is going to be to defeat the old man. Crusher comes out to the interview desk and Garvin’s mood doesn’t change. That is until Garvin gets a big closed fist from Crusher. As Garvin goes to the ground, Precious runs over to her man and the two scamper away. Crusher: Hahahahha… Not sure who is tougher… Garvin or that chick he is running around with. He might be right about one thing… I am a bit on the older side but I am sure I am still tough enough to beat that little punk! Gene Okerlund: And so am I. Fans… if you are anywhere near Denver on January 20th… get your tickets to the Auditorium… It is going to be a night of non-stop action. WINNER TO THE 4 CORNER LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT TILTE MATCH: Tommy Rogers vs Mr. Electricity Steve Regal Another AWA special here as we get speed, wrestling skill and a pretty straightforward match. The crowd was behind Rogers here and they got what they wanted when Rogers nailed a perfect drop kick and finished it off with the sunset flip. Rod Trongard hyped up the 4 corner AWA Lightweight title match that was now set for this week in Denver between Buck Zumhofe, Tommy Rogers, Eddie Gilbert and Dynamite Kid. COMMERCIAL Before our next match, we get another of those great Gene Okerlund-Hulk Hogan promos as they hype up the first big ESPN card in the Mid-South Coliseum on January 23rd where Hogan will defend his AWA title against Jerry “the King” Lawler. Match: The Sheepherders vs Bobby Fulton & Lanny Poffo A surprisingly good match here as Fulton and Poffo stood up to the Sheepherders and gave it as good as they got. Unfortunately, Butch dropped Poffo across the steel barrier on the outside of the ring and Poffo was unable to beat the 10 count and the Sheepherders got the win by count out. Those in the know realize that Poffo was the sacrificial lamb here as he is on his way out of All-Star wrestling. A quick interview by the Sheepherders where they were joined by Jos Leduc resulted in a lot of threats to the Hart family. Match: “The Turk” Ali Bey defeats Joe Stark with the Camel Clutch This match did two things. First, the Turk and his anti-American attitude angered the fans and second it also go the attention of the former Olympian Brad Rheingans who came out and chased the Turk away to the delight of the crowd. COMMERCIAL MAIN EVENT: AWA NORTH AMERICAN TITLE TOURNAMENT MATCH Jos Leduc vs Brad Rheingans To the surprise of nobody in the arena, Leduc tried to bully his opponent here but the former Olympian was having none of it. Rheingans looked to have the match one until a newcomer, Jonathan Boyd came out and distracted the ref. This allowed Luduc to reach into his trunks and pull something out and clobber Rheingans. After the 3 count the crowd screamed to ref to check Leduc for a weapon but with some slight of hand, Leduc tossed it to Boyd and the ref let the decision to stand and no Leduc will move on to face Bret Hart in the second round of the tournament. DENVER AUDITORIUM DENVER JANUARY 20th, 1984 1. Rick Rude defeats Phil Lafon by submission with the Full Nelson 2. King Konga destroys Tom Stone with the top rope clothesline 3. Brad Rheingans defeats The Turk (Ali Bey) with the belly to back suplex 4. Jim “the Anvil” Neidhart defeats the rookie Al Perez with the Scoop Powerslam. Perez looked good and would not be bullied but in the end, the Anvil was just too much. 5. The Road Warriors defeat Greg Gagne & Bobby Fulton as the Road Warriors hit the Doomsday Device on Fulton. 6. The Sheephers and Jos Leduc vs The Hart Brothers (Bruce, Keith and Bret) saw the first clean win in this feud as Bret caught Butch Miller in the Northern Lights Cloveleaf for the submission victory as the other 4 men were out on the floor brawling. Leduc came in just after the submission and clobbered Bret with a chair and the brawl continued 7. FOUR CORNER AWA LIGHTWEIGHT TITLE MATCH: Eddie Gilbert vs Dynamite Kid vs Tommy Rogers vs Buck Zumhofe As you would expect this is a wild one and hard to keep up with as there is momentum change after momentum change. The end was wild as could be expected as Eddie Gilbert hit a hotshot on Tommy Rogers but as the ref got to 2 ½ Buck Zumhofe game flying off the top rope to break up the pin. Rogers was rolling around and Dynamite Kid simply tagged himself in by slapping Rogers on the back. As Zumhofe was being forced out of the ring as he was not the legal man, Kid climbed to the rope and came off with his own diving headbutt and got the three count to become the new AWA Light Heavyweight Champion! 8. AWA NORTH AMERICAN TITLE TOURNAMENT MATCH: Jimmy Garvin with Precious defeats Crusher in a match that Jimmy Garvin showed he could do it all. He went from the heel using the delay tactics to the one who would use every dirty trick in the book. In the end Precious aided her man with the loaded purse and Garvin moves on. 9. AWA WORLD TAG TEAM TITLE: The Sheiks (Patera & Blackwell) vs Rick Martel & Curt Hennig This feud is white hot and Martel and Hennig have done everything but win the belts. The Sheiks have become experts at getting disqualified or counted out and tonight was no different as Martel had Patera locked in the Boston Crab but Sheik Adnan Al Kassie rushed in and put the boots to Martel causing the DQ. It is becoming obvious that Martel and Hennig are going to have to do something about the manager if they are going to win the belts.

Great show. This brings me back to my childhood. I grew up on Georgia and am so excited to have you in the game. Your roster is awesome and Gordie had some great matches to call. Koloff with henchman makes him real tough but so is Reed. This could go either way as all of the matches so far. That is what made your show such a good read.

Allstar will pick up Jules Strongbow with its open roster spot.