rainmakerrtv

Well written house show, love the intense matches. Enjoy the continuing Owen Hart storyline and how the action helps set up future matches.

I am really looking forward to seeing how the Dick Slater angle turns out.

Back in the brief period I was able to actually watch Internationale as it happened, King Tonga was my favorite, so I am loving the push he is getting here.

Angry Savage is the best Savage. Love the way this is shaping up.

AWA show at Boylan High School, Rockford, IL, February 23rd Ron Simmons & Brian Pillman vs. The Youngbloods Pillman hit a diving crossbody on Wellington to score the pinfall Masa Saito vs. Mando Guerrero Saito forced Mando to give up to the Scorpion Leglock Jeff Gaylord & Darryl Peterson vs. The Killer Bees Gaylord caught Brunzell with a leaping clothesline for the victory Black Irish vs. The Onyx Express Finlay pinned Brickhouse after a belly to belly piledriver Kevin Sullivan, Mike Rotundo & Doug Furnas vs. Sgt. Slaughter & Rocky Mountain Thunder White crushed Sullivan with a power slam to get the win for his team Larry Zbyszko vs. Danny Spivey Spivey nailed Larry 3 seconds in with the Spivey Bomber and got the one two three. Larry complained that the ref had made a fast count, as you would pretty much expect him to. AWA Southern Title Match : Pat Tanaka © vs. Leo Burke Burke put up a tough challenge, but Tanaka was eventually able to knock him out with the rolling wheel kick to retain the title AWA Southern Tag Team Title Match : Chavo & Hector Guerrero © vs. Paul Diamond & Al Perez In a controversial decision, Perez hit the German Suplex on Hector at the same time that Chavo hit the German Suplex on Diamond, but the ref made the count for the champions and declared them the winners Texas Bullrope Match : Ken Patera vs. Dusty Rhodes In an incredibly bloody match, Dusty was ultimately able to hit all four turnbuckles and got the win. In spite of their cuts and exhaustion, both men continued to slug it out after the final bell. AWA World Tag Team Title Match : Buddy Rose & Doug Somers © vs. British Steel Regal was able to knock out Somers with the Iron Fist punch, but it was right at the 30 minute mark and the decision was a time limit draw AWA American Title Match : Nick Bockwinkel © vs. Jerry Blackwell Bock was able to dodge out of the way of an avalanche in the corner and follow up with a cradle to get the one two three.

Wild finish to a great TV show. Dumb question, who is the Crusher on your roster? Is it Reggie Lisowski? I ask because I am pretty sure he is still showing in the free agent listings.

AWA show from the International Amphitheatre , Chicago, February 22nd Ron Simmons, Jeff Gaylord & Darryl Peterson vs. Greg Gagne & Rocky Mountain Thunder Simmons pinned Scorpio after a spine buster slam Larry Zbyszko vs. Sgt. Slaughter Yet another cheating attempt by Zbyszko led to him walking into a Slaughter Cannon to give the win to Sarge. Larry threw his traditional hissy fit after the match The Sheepherders vs. The Killer Bees The Sheeps pinned Brunzell after a double stomach breaker Buzz Sawyer vs. Nord The Barbarian A wild match that finally ended in victory for Nord after a running knee drop Ken Patera vs. Dusty Rhodes A very intense battle where Patera attempted a shoulder breaker, but Dusty blocked it, then sent him into the corner turnbuckle, then caught him coming out with a schoolboy rollup for the fast pinfall Masa Saito vs. Chris Adams After multiple near falls, Saito was ultimately able to put Adams away with a Saito Suplex AWA Southern Tag Title Match : Chavo & Hector Guerrero © vs. Black Irish This match went long and Hector was finally able to put a stop to their challenge by catching Finlay in the Guerrero Clutch AWA American Title Match : Nick Bockwinkel © vs. Dan Spivey A ferocious battle where Dan Spivey had the title within his grap when he had Bock set up for the Spivey Bomber, but Larry Zbyszko tripped him from the outside, sending him face first to the mat. The ref caught that and called for the DQ, giving the win to Spivey but not the title. This pleased neither Spivey, nor the fans, nor Bockwinkel, who argued with Larry Z all the way back to the locker room.

AWA show from the Mecca, Milwaukee, February 21st (as shown on ESPN / TSN Super Cards) 2/3 Falls Match : The British Bullies vs. British Steel 1st fall : Marty Jones pinned Norman Smiley after a belly to belly piledriver 2nd fall : The Bullies had a long sequence as they worked over Smiley, but he was able to come back and catch Jones in the Norman Conquest and made him give up the second fall 3rd fall : The clock was ticking down to the time limit , but Regal was just able to knock out Taylor with the Iron Fist Punch to take the decisive fall Triple Dog Collar Chain Match : The Snakepit vs. Buzz Sawyer & The Sheepherders An incredibly bloody, chaotic brawl that ended when Sawyer hit a chain assisted bulldog on Cactus Jack to take the win Nick Bockwinkel & Larry Zybyszko vs. The Youngbloods Once again, Blackman was able to blindside Larry with a bicycle kick, but neither man noticed that Bock had tagged himself in, and Nick then hit a belly to back suplex for the pinfall. After the match, Larry was upset that Bock hadn’t come in for the save sooner. No pleasing some people. Brian Pillman vs. Greg Gagne The AWA’s other resident fussbudget, Kevin Sullivan, was in Pillman’s corner. An exciting bout that ended when Pillman caught Gagne in a schoolboy rollup, but Gagne reversed it to get the pinfall. Both men shook hands after the match, which made Sullivan even more unhappy (although frankly, pretty much everything does) AWA Southern Title Match : Pat Tanaka © vs. Al Perez It was announced going into this match that, as Al Perez had signed for a Southern Title match prior to Pat Tanaka winning the belt from Mando Guerrero, he would get a shot at the title tonight, only challenging Tanaka instead of Guerrero. As Sunshine managed both men , she stood in a neutral corner for the match and watched with a concerned look on her face. Both men shook hands before the match but gave each other a steely gaze, clearly not about to let friendship stand in the way of their desire to win. The match started out technical but grew more intense as it went along. Perez, determined to take back the title that he had dominated for so long, tried to wear him down with limbwork to try to get either the Indian Leglock or the Oriental Armlock, but Tanaka was always able to find a way out. In turn , Tanaka was able to score a number of knock downs with martial arts kicks and high flying moves, and Perez was just able to make sure he was close to the ropes to avoid a pinfall. As the match wound down, both men kicked it into overdrive to strike the killing blow, with Tanaka struggling mightily to block the German Suplex and the Ally Copter, and Perez just barely able to dodge out of the way of the rolling wheel kick. Perez looked like he would finally hit the German Suplex to take back the title, but Tanaka blocked it and countered with a legsweep into his own leglock. He tried to make Perez submit, but the Latin Heartthrob gritted his teeth and refused to give up, and the bell signaled the time limit draw. Both men helped each other up then embraced, raising each other’s hands as the crowd cheered. AWA World Tag Title match : Buddy Rose & Doug Somers © vs. Black Irish The pairing of David “Fit” Finlay and “Lethal” Larry Cameron is an extremely new entry in the AWA tag team roster, and Playboy After Dark didn’t seem to be taking them very seriously. Big mistake, as the double tough Irishman and the powerful former linebacker came at them with an intense ferocity that caught both them and the audience off guard. Rose and Somers were running scared for most of the match, and even when they had the advantage, it wasn’t for long as Black Irish came raging back at them. They ended up resorting to the cheap tactic of popping the referee, leading to a loss by DQ but retaining their titles. Black Irish may not have taken the belts, but they had served notice that they had truly arrived in the AWA, and Playboy After Dark and the Guerreros could only take them lightly at their peril. Loser Leaves Town AWA World Title Match : Paul Orndorff © vs. Ricky Steamboat This is it. The Big One. This one has been building up for months. The former friends turned hated enemies would square off and by the end, one would be AWA World Champion and the other would be gone from the AWA. Steamboat came out first, taking time to slap palms with his many fans but his face clearly focused on the task ahead of him. Orndorff , on the other hand, came out to a chorus of boos, but wasn’t going to let any of that distract him from defending his title. When the bell rang, he charged right at Steamboat, but the challenger was waiting for him and took him down with an armdrag. From there on, the opening stretch was all Steamboat as he really took it to the champion. The momentum swung back in favour of Orndorff when he caught Steamboat attempting a running cross body block and countered with a power slam. He then proceeded to show why he has been such a dominant World champion, punishing Steamboat with elbow smashes and power moves. As the match wore on, it became a real nail biter, with both sides looking like they could take it at any moment. It looked like Orndorff would finally put an end to the challenge when he got Steamboat in position for a Piledriver, but Steamboat put in a mighty effort to block it, then countered it with a back body drop. Orndorff then followed through with a sunset flip for a two count, which Steamboat in turn reversed for a two count. When both men got back to their feet, Orndorff came at Steamboat with a lariat, but Steamboat blocked it, countered with a go behind then hit a belly to back suplex. One … two … THREE !!! Ricky Steamboat is the new AWA World Champion! The crowd exploded into cheers and many other AWA wrestlers rushed to the ring to celebrate with him, all while Orndorff quietly made his exit from the AWA.

I've been neglecting poor Norman, he has been pretty much Regal's partner and not much else. Figured it was time to redress that.

It sets up something for which I have long term plans, is also a pay back for Sarge doing the job to Spivey.

When I decided that I was going to team them up, I couldn't resist the joke.

AWA All-Star Wrestling on ESPN / TSN , February 21st Rocky Mountain Thunder vs. John Cody & Cliff Robinson There was a fair amount of buzz in the audience before the match as to who Rocky Mountain Thunder would be, but the fans exploded in cheers when it turned out to be a new tag team of Leon White and Too Cold Scorpio. White has really got the fans behind him since he is no longer tied in with Kevin Sullivan and the Varsity Club, while Scorpio’s exciting style has made him a stand out among the AWA rookies. The two old friends worked together like they had been teaming their whole lives, blending White’s power with Scorpio’s high flying as they easily dominated their opponents before White propelled Scorpio in a Rocket Launcher onto Cody for the win. The tag division in the AWA just keeps on getting better. Nord the Barbarian vs. Buzz Sawyer Hoo boy. Buzz Sawyer is clearly holding a grudge against the Snakepit after his match with Cactus Jack last week. Normally, one man facing down three would garner some sort of sympathy from people, but Sawyer has been so obnoxious, people were readily siding with Jake Roberts and his men. Sawyer and Nord went at it fist and fire for several minutes before Sawyer went after Nord with his chain , leading the ref to call for the DQ. He kept on attacking with the chain until Roberts and Cactus charged out and ran him out of the ring. Sawyer dared them to come after him as he swung the chain, but the Snakepit clearly didn’t see the point in that and the stalemate continued until the AWA officials sent them back to the locker room. Kevin Sullivan, Brian Pillman & Ron Simmons vs. Greg Gagne & The Youngbloods This wound up being a clash of differing coaching styles, as it looks like Gagne has taken Wellington and Blackman under his wing and give them the benefit of his guidance. The Youngbloods took well to his leadership, smoothly tagging in and out and working out some double team and combination moves. Sullivan, on the other hand , seemed to believe it was all down to shouting, bellowing orders at both of his men throughout the match. Simmons seemed to pay no mind to it and get on with his match, but Pillman wound up getting the worst of it. It seemed like nothing the former Cincinnatti Bengal could do would satisfy Sullivan, who criticized and nitpicked his every move, even though Pillman showed great technical promise in all of his exchanges with the Youngbloods. Pillman was in the midst of an offensive flurry but it was cut short when he went for a running cross body on Wellington, which wound up being caught and countered with a belly to belly piledriver for the one two three. Wellington helped his opponent up but Sullivan would have none of it, berating the still groggy Pillman while smacking him upside the head. Simmons gave an extremely disapproving look before interposing himself between the two, wrapping his huge arm around Pillman’s shoulder as he helped his partner to the back. Sullivan fell silent but was clearly saving his ire for another time. Marty Jones vs. Norman Smiley Both men’s partners were in their corners for this match, but the ref informed them that he would tolerate no interference from either of them. That being said, this wound up being a purely scientific match, with a lot of counter wrestling and matwork. It was something of a coming out party for Smiley, who has tended to dwell in his partner’s shadow, but clearly had Jones on the defensive for much of the match. Jones, “The Lancashire Lion”, could always work his way out of any predicament, but it seemed like Smiley was steadily starting to catch up with him. It looked like he might finally get him trapped in the Norman Conquest, but Jones was able to block it and counter with a go-behind followed by a straightjacket suplex for the win. A solid victory but the youngsters are clearly closing in on the heels of the veterans. Sgt. Slaughter vs. Doug Somers Sarge was recently coming off a recent match against the World Tag champs, but was now facing Somers in a solo outing. Somers was not alone, however, as “Playboy” Buddy Rose was supporting his partner from ringside by doing everything he could to distract Slaughter. The tandem actually managed to keep the big drill sergeant off balance for much of the match, but Sarge eventually had enough of their shenanigans and sent Rose crashing off the ringside apron with a big boot. Somers looked to take advantage of this distraction by slipping something into his elbow pad and blindsiding Sarge, but Slaughter whipped around and nailed him with the Slaughter Cannon, getting the three count. Sarge was triumphant, but Rose and Somers were swearing vengeance in the ring. AWA Southern Title Match : Mando Guerrero © vs. Pat Tanaka Mando had already defeated Paul Diamond in a Southern Title defense a couple of weeks ago, and now would be defending against the other half of Badd Company on the way to a rematch with Al Perez in Milwaukee. However, there was a significant difference this time out, as the newly returned Sunshine was at ringside to give guidance to her man, along with The Great Kabuki who was watching over Sunshine like a hawk. Her comeback seems to have invigorated her boys, as Tanaka was all over Mando for much of the match, keeping the champ in full scale retreat with fast paced martial arts and flying moves. Mando would take back control of the match and start to grind him down, but Tanaka would keep coming back at him. He finally looked like he would put an end to the challenge when he tried to lock Tanaka in the Gory Special, but Tanaka blocked and countered it with a sunset flip for a two count. Mando reversed it to get another two count, and then picked Tanaka up and whipped him into the ropes for a clothesline. Tanaka ducked at the last possible second, then came back off the ropes with a rolling wheel kick that landed hard on the top of Mando’s head, seemingly knocking him cold. Tanaka went for the cover. One … Two … THREE? Pat Tanaka just won the AWA Southern Title! The crowd exploded as Sunshine and Kabuki rushed in to the ring to celebrate with Tanaka . (Well, Sunshine celebrated, while Kabuki watched her back.) Paul Diamond and Al Perez soon joined in on the celebration, although Perez seemed a bit subdued. He had to be wondering what that meant for his title shot in Milwaukee.

Glad to see you back. Flair on the Sports Shop is everything it should be. Owen Hart continues to be one of my favorite stories.

Jimmy Jack Funk *is* Roughhouse Fargo! I love it ! So glad Jesse went to a good home, I hated to let him go.

Such a classic style Mid Atlantic main event.

Rock solid TV with a wild main event ... love the possibilities of Hayes vs. Blanchard.

Thanks for all of the feedback, guys. For me, tag teams are a big part of the fun of fantasy booking, finding cool pairings that never happened IRL. In an old TNM fed, I had a tag team called Black Irish, which was Fit Finlay and Bad News Allen, which I figured would be one of the most badass pairings of all time. When I realized that Finlay and Cameron would be available, I couldn't resist, so I moved some people around and made some cuts and brought them in as my hot new tag team. I figured the pairing would make sense, in storyline, for the reasons laid out in my dirt sheet articles, with the more experienced second generation guy sharing his guidance and wisdom with the big strong new guy. The Buzz vs. Snakepit feud is hopefully the seed for some really big things coming up. When I dissolved Buck Robley's Army, I wasn't sure what to do with him. Then I realized that matching him up with the crazy mofos in Jake's crew just made sense. If somebody is going to teach Cactus to brawl, why not the man who inspired Arn Anderson to say "I've been in barfights that weren't as bad." This is about to blow up in a big way. I kind of fell backwards into using Spivey. Back when I had Hulk Hogan on my roster, I had a thought of bringing in Spivey for a sort of All About Eve scheming understudy angle, but I never had both of them at the same time. When he became available, I brought him in as a natural fit for the Varsity Club and he was usually the guy eating the falls in tag matches. Looking for something to distinguish him, I figured what the hell, dusted off and modified my old idea, and gave him the Spiveymania gimmick. This proved to be so much fun to write, I started giving him bigger matches and moving him up the ranks. I figured it was a case of a guy being given a goofball gimmick, but making it work to the point he legitimately gets over. For me, Spivey, like Cameron, was a great Might Have Been, a guy with potential who started late and didn't get the breaks he needed. He got to be legitimately very good working in Japan, but by then his body started breaking down and he only had a few years left. In my reality, instead of languishing in Central States or the lower levels of the WWF tag ranks, he's getting the benefit of my training program and offering him for as many Japan shots as possible. This way, I can rewrite history and help him reach his full potential a few years earlier so it could still benefit him. Bock, Larry Z and Saito are such a natural dynamic, they pretty much write themselves. I have some really big plans for them coming up. Buddy Rose is the lynchpin for my west coast swing, not just being a legend in Portland but one of the last stars of Roy Shires' San Francisco promotion. Every time the AWA comes west, I put him front and centre and make the most of the incredible possibilities of the Rose/Somers team.

One last shake up hit the AWA roster with the surprising departure of Jesse Barr. It seemed like Barr was settling into his role as part of the AWA training staff, but the losses on the road to the rookie crew were a bit much for Barr to take, so he left suddenly for World Class. His place in the training faculty has been filled by David "Fit" Finlay, who was brought in on recommendation of Marty Jones. Finlay, a second generation Irish superstar, brings with him a wealth of experience for his relatively young age, both in Europe and Japan. He has been paired, with Larry Cameron, a new prospect in whom the AWA has big hopes. With the success of the Varsity Club Rush angle, it is thought that Cameron, an Eddie Sharkey trainee with a pro football background, could be capable of getting over like Spivey and Luger before him. The plan is to pair him with Finlay to give him guidance on the road, while putting him against the likes of the Guerreros and the Playboy Club, to help hone his skills in the ring. Time will tell if this investment pays off.

AWA show from McArthur Court, Eugene, February 16th Mike Rotundo, Doug Furnas, Brian Pillman, Darryl Peterson & Jeff Gaylord vs. Greg Gagne, The Killer Bees & Badd Company In an exciting opening bout, Peterson was ultimately able to get the win for the Varsity Club when he forced Blair to give up to the wakigatame The Snakepit vs. Buzz Sawyer & The Onyx Express Jake Roberts hit the DDT on Buzz to score the pinfall Sgt. Slaughter vs. Dan Spivey In a major upset, Spivey ducked under the Slaughter Cannon and hit the Spivey Bomber for a big win Chris Adams & The British Bullies vs. Too Cold Scorpio & British Steel In another long technical bout, Dave Taylor was finally able to catch Scorpio with the British Suplex for the one two three. The Great Kabuki vs. Larry Zbyszko Masa Saito was at ringside. Kabuki caught Larry flat footed with a thrust kick to the jaw for the win. Larry wasn’t happy about this, Saito didn’t seem to care. AWA Southern Tag Title Match : Chavo & Hector Guerrero © vs. Black Irish Chavo hit a top rope flying somersault senton on Finlay to defend their belts AWA Southern Title Match : Mando Guerrero © vs. Al Perez Both men went to a 20 minute time limit draw Ricky Steamboat vs. Ken Patera Steamboat won with a top rope flying cross body press AWA World Tag Title Match : Buddy Rose & Doug Somers © vs. The Youngbloods Somers hit Blackman with the loaded elbow smash for the win

Did not see that one coming.

Great write up for the Fantastics match. Loved the Rumble and the way multiple stories were put across. Obviously loved the Ron Simmons vs. Ashura Hara, really put across the heat of the Football vs. Rugby showdown.

AWA show from the Portland Memorial Coliseum, Portland, February 15th Black Irish vs. The Onyx Express Finlay pinned Brickhouse with a belly to belly piledriver Brian Pillman vs. Too Cold Scorpio Scorpio won with a flying top rope splash The British Bullies vs. The Youngbloods A long technical match that ended when Taylor hit the British Suplex on Wellington for the pinfall Ken Patera vs. Norman Smiley Patera got the victory after a shoulder breaker Buzz Sawyer vs. Jake “The Snake” Roberts Jake executed the DDT to get the win AWA World Tag Title Match : Buddy Rose & Doug Somers © vs. Sgt. Slaughter & Dusty Rhodes Rose lured Sarge into going for the Slaughter Cannon, only to dive out of the way at the last second and Sarge ended up nailing the ref. When the ref recovered, he gave the champions the win by DQ AWA American Title Match : Nick Bockwinkel © vs. Chris Adams Adams actually had some fan support during this match, likely stemming from his past history in the Portland area. With both Larry Zbyszko and Sheikh Adnan Al Kaissie absent from ringside, this turned out to be a purely scientific bout. After an mat working exchange, Bockwinkel showed his mastery of counter wrestling as he worked his way out of several submission attempts and repeatedly dodged the Superkick. Adams, for his part, was savvy enough to change tactics, catching the champ in several jarring suplexes and, little by little, managed to wear him down. It looked like he was about to finally hit the Superkick, but Bock dodged it and nailed a single leg takedown, then wrapped him up in the Figure Four Leglock. That seemed to be it for Adams, but the Englishman refused to give up, and the bell rang to signal a 30 minute time limit draw without him having quit. Bock was clearly impressed with the challenge that Adams had given him, and helped him to his feet after the match. The two begrudgingly shook hands, then went their separate ways.

AWA Show from the Cow Palace, San Francisco, February 14th (as shown on ESPN / TSN Super Cards ) Cactus Jack vs. Leo Burke Cactus won with a flying clothesline Steven Regal vs. Darryl Peterson In what proved to be an intense, matwork and technically based match, Darryl was able to catch Regal in a belly to belly suplex to score the pinfall Ken Patera vs. Sgt. Slaughter Sheikh Adnan Al Kaissie interfered in the match, leading to Patera catching Sarge with a shoulder breaker , followed by a second rope kneedrop for the tainted victory Jerry Blackwell vs. Dusty Rhodes The Sheikh tried to interfere in this match, but was intercepted by Sgt. Slaughter. During this confusion, Dusty took down Blackwell with a clothesline and hit the Bionic Elbow Drop for the win Terry Gordy (courtesy of Lutte Internationale and WCCW) vs. Leon White White was sporting bandages over his bruised ribs from the beatdown by his former Varsity Club compatriots on All-Star Wrestling. In spite of this, it turned out to be a real coming out party for White, who put up a hell of a fight for the NWA National Heavyweight champion. Every time the Freebird looked like had put down White for good, the Colorado Buffalo would fight his way back. The crowd started to think he might just pull off the upset, but it was not to be when Gordy put in a mighty effort and managed to execute the Freebird Piledriver on the huge White and get the one two three. White still managed to gain the respect of both the fans and Gordy, who helped him up after the match and shook his hand. 2/3 Falls AWA World Tag Team Title Match : Buddy Rose & Doug Somers vs. Raymond & Armand Rougeau 1st Fall : Raymond caught Somers coming off the ropes with a savate kick for the pinfall 2nd Fall : Rose executed the Inside Out Backbreaker on Armand to even the score 3rd Fall : The match was declared a draw when it went to the 45 minute time limit with both teams at one fall apiece Ricky Steamboat, Nick Bockwinkel & Jake Roberts vs. Paul Orndorff, Kevin Sullivan & Mike Rotundo Steamboat got the pin on Rotundo when he countered a Varsity Rush attempt with a crucifix. After the match, it was announced that Steamboat would get his shot at Paul Orndorff’s World Title at the February 21st show in Milwaukee, and that Kevin Sullivan and the Varsity Club would be banned from ringside under penalty of suspension, but that in order to get this concession from Orndorff, the match would also be under the stipulation that the loser would leave the AWA

AWA All-Star Wrestling on ESPN / TSN for February 14th Black Irish vs. Shamar Thomas & Matt Bischoff The sound of “Emerald” by Thin Lizzy blared over the arena PA to herald the arrival of an intense new tag team : David “Fit” Finlay and “Lethal” Larry Cameron, collectively known as Black Irish. Finlay, also known as the Belfast Bruiser, was a tough Ulsterman in his late 20s who already had the look of a grizzled veteran and wrestled like it too, blasting Bischoff with hard clotheslines and footstomps. Cameron, a powerful former pro football player with an impressive physique, tossed Thomas around the ring before polishing him off with a running powerslam. The competition in the AWA tag ranks has heated up recently but adding this combination to it could possibly cause it to explode. Too Cold Scorpio vs. Leon White Scorpio had gotten an upset win by countout over White at the last TV show, but Sullivan was demanding that White go out and settle the score in a rematch. Sullivan had Jeff Gaylord and Darryl Peterson with him at ringside and egged on White during the match. While the Colorado Buffalo was clearly reluctant to take things too far against his old friend, he was clearly being more aggressive in this match, with several quick tackles and clotheslines to take Scorpio down. Scorpio kept rallying and coming back with dropkicks and high flying moves to keep White off balance, which led to Sullivan’s hectoring from ringside to become even louder and more abrasive. Seeking to put White down for the count, Scorpio came off the top rope with a flying cross body press, but White caught him in mid air and countered with a crushing power slam. He followed up with a running splash and got the one two three. But this was not enough for Sullivan, who got on the ringside mic and demanded that White punish Scorpio after the match. White was clearly distressed as he refused to do that to his friend. Sullivan was livid at this clear show of insubordination, and said on the mic, “Leon, I thought I could make something of you, but you clearly don’t have what it takes to be one of my men. You are *cut* from the Varsity Club!” With this, Peterson and Gaylord rushed into the ring and ambushed White from behind, clipping him and putting the boots to him until security finally cleared them from the ring. It looks like the first man has been eliminated from the Varsity Club Rush, and what a suprising choice it was. Masa Saito & Larry Zbyszko vs. The Youngbloods Moving on from one loudmouthed crabapple to another, Larry Z was his usual verbose self as he came to the ring, a distinct contrast to his grim and silent partner. He trash talked both of his opponents throughout the match, and was clearly out to prove that his tactics were superior as not only did he cut every corner and work in every cheap shot that he could, but he never came close to trying to tag in Saito as he worked over Wellington. This would prove to be a mistake as he gave Wellington an inverted atomic drop, but failed to notice that Wellington was able to tag out as he fell back. He then set up Wellington for a neckbreaker, only to eat a Blackman Bicycle Kick to the face and get pinned. As the Youngbloods celebrated their biggest win yet, Zbysko looked like he was going to berate Saito for not saving him, but clearly thought better of it when he saw the look his partner was giving him, and instead got in the face of the ref. Larry Z clearly can’t own up to his own mistakes. Mike Rotundo, Doug Furnas & Ron Simmons vs. Dave Samson, Garrett Adelstein & Brice Johnson After the craziness of the earlier Varsity Club outing, Rotundo seems to be the only sane man of the Club veterans, and had clearly been given instructions to keep the Rush prospects on a very tight leash. He gave clear directions to Furnas as the Tennesee Volunteer worked over Adelstein, working in some chain wrestling and submissions in with his impressive power offense. Then Furnas tagged in Simmons and the match took a completely different turn. Simmons didn’t wait for any guidance from Rotundo , just exploding out of the blocks on Adelstein with a series of fast, jarring shoulder tackles before planting him into the mat with a spinebuster slam to get the pin. Rotundo looked like he didn’t know what to make of Simmons, but calmly whispered something in his ear, and Simmons nodded as he listened. It still raises the question : if Sullivan wasn’t able to bend Leon White to his will, what is he going to do with Simmons? Cactus Jack vs. Buzz Sawyer Cactus had the rest of the Snakepit, Jake Roberts and Nord The Barbarian, in his corner for this match, giving him moral (?) support. Buzz Sawyer was alone but brought with him a heavy chain, which he swung in a wide circle over his head before the match. This served to neither impress nor intimidate Cactus, who went straight at Buzz with a whirlwind of lefts and rights. The two went at it fist and fire in a match with not a lot of finesse but a lot of action. Cactus showed the reckless intensity that has been on display in his most recent matches, especially his trip to Japan, but Buzz was no pushover and gave as good as he got. It looked like he was going to put away Cactus with a powerslam, but Cactus broke out of it with a wild elbow to the face, then coming off the ropes with a flying clothesline to get the upset win. He didn’t have much time to celebrate, because Buzz popped him in the back of the head with his chain wrapped around his fist. He then dared Jake Roberts to get his own taste of the chain, but Nord surprised him with a kneelift to the back that sent him into a Jake Roberts DDT. Nord and Snake both assisted Cactus away from the ring, but it’s unlikely Buzz will either forgive or forget this. Chris Adams vs. The Great Kabuki These two had been feuding ever since Adams’ unspeakable ambush of Sunshine at Super Clash, and neither man was going to take any chances, as Kabuki was backed up by Al Perez and Badd Company in his corner, while Adams was joined by Sheikh Adnan Al Kaissie and the British Bullies. For all the deep seated hatred between both sides, this was actually a riveting technical matchup for most of its duration, with Adams’ British technique warring with Kabuki’s Japanese stylings for supremacy . The pendulum of momentum went back and forth throughout the match, until the ref got caught between the two and knocked to the mat, which seemed to be the trigger for chaos to break out. Kaissie and the Bullies saw this as the cue to try to enter the ring, but were interecepted by Perez and Badd Company, and both sides tangled with each other. But the biggest shock came when someone appeared out of nowhere at ringside and ascended to the ring apron. It was Sunshine! Kabuki’s manager, wearing a black kimono, was making her fist appearance since being assaulted by Adams. Adams was not impressed, as he mocked Sunshine and got in her face. Bad mistake , as she reached into the sleeve of her kimono and pulled out a set of nunchaku, which she used to clobber Adams in the side of the head. This staggered him enough to leave him easy pickings for a thrust kick to the jaw from Kabuki, and the ref had recovered enough to count the pin for Kabuki. Perez and Badd Company dashed inside the ring and formed a cordon around Sunshine and Kabuki as they celebrated their victory. Looks like the return of Sunshine might just prove to be the spark her boys need.

I'm good with it.