rainmakerrtv

AWA Show from the Winnipeg Arena, Winnipeg, July 26th (As shown on ESPN / TSN Super Cards) The Moondogs vs. Zambuie Express The Moondogs won with a double elbow smash to the head on Elijah Akeem Loser Leaves Town Match : Ivan Putski vs. Ed Wiskowski In a battle between former members of the Brotherhood Of Poland, Wiskowski executed the face first piledriver to send Putski out of the AWA AWA Southern Tag Title match : Badd Company © vs. Leo Burke & Doug Somers Badd Company hit a double super kick on Somers to get the win King Kong Bundy vs. ?? It seems that the Sinister Syndicate just can’t stop hiring mercenaries to try to destroy the Cobra Corps, bringing in a mystery opponent to get revenge on “Special Forces” Bundy which turns out to be Big John Studd . This was a titanic struggle between two giants that ended with both of them slugging it out at ringside until the ref called for a double count out. AWA Canadian Title match : Rick Martel © vs. Buddy Rose In an epic battle that went back and forth, Martel was ultimately able to counter an attempt at the Inside Out Backbreaker with a cross body press to finally get the pin on Rose. The Final Battle : Nick Bockwinkel vs. Harley Race In another classic match where Bockwinkel spent much effort working over the legs of Race, Nick countered a piledriver attempt with a single leg takedown and followed it up with a figure four leglock that forced Race to submit, giving Bockwinkel the Ultimate Victory. AWA World Title Match : Paul Orndorff © vs. Don Muraco Both men went to a 30 minute time limit draw to close out a long night at the Winnipeg Arena

AWA All-Star Wrestling on ESPN / TSN for July 26th Memphis Vice vs. Clarence Black & Chip Gaither Memphis Vice had been on a bit of a roll of late with several successive victories over the PYT Express before they were renamed the Onyx Express. They continued this as they easily dominated Black and Gaither, two young gladiators just making their start in the business. After a very one sided match, Bryant and Winston hit a double backdrop into a faceplant on Gaither to put an end to things. But it turned out to not be the end, as Tony Atlas and the Onyx Express charged to the ring and attacked the members of Memphis Vice. Atlas trapped Winston in the Full Nelson and forced him to watch as Koko and Brickhouse executed the spike brainbuster on Bryant before the AWA officials finally intervened. AWA American Title match : Lex Luger © vs. Wahoo McDaniel Lately, Luger’s efforts had been focused on trying to win the World title from Paul Orndorff, but now he was having to defend his own belt against the tough veteran Wahoo McDaniel. McDaniel really took it to Luger, blasting him with blistering chops and not seeming impressed by the power and muscle of the young champion. Luger was on the defensive for much of the match, frequently back pedaling and trying to muscle his way out of compromising situations, only for Wahoo to keep coming after him. It took interference by Sheikh Adnan Al-Kaissie to turn the tide, grabbing Wahoo from the outside and tripping him when he tried to hit the running overhand chop. Luger swiftly capitalized, hitting a nasty running knee to the head before pulling the tights to get a dirty pinfall. Luger was only just able to make it out of this match with his championship intact. AWA Six-Man Tag Team Title match : Mike Shaw, Buzz Sawyer & Dave Schultz © vs. Al Perez & Badd Company For all that this match was for the Six-Man Tag Titles, much of the focus was on Southern champ Al Perez as both Sawyer and Schultz went after him, looking to prove their individual claims for a shot at his belt. Perez went toe to toe with both men, just as determined not to bow down but still taking quite a few shots from them. Badd Company tried to take advantage of this by sneaking in several double teams on Mike Shaw. Ultimately , however, the big “Tank” would prevail, catching Tanaka coming off the top rope with a crushing power slam to put an end of the match. Sawyer and Schultz kept coming after Perez well past the final bell. Nick Bockwinkel & Curt Hennig vs. Buddy Rose & Harley Race Rose and Race have seemed determined to strip all of Bockwinkel’s allies from him, especially in light of the upcoming match in Winnipeg between Bockwinkel and Race being dubbed “The Final Battle”. To that end, they focused much of their attention on Hennig through this match, keeping him in their end of the ring and attacking him mercilessly. They did an expert job of drawing Bockwinkel into the ring, only for the ref to shoo him out while they double teamed Hennig. He was able to rally even knock Rose out of the ring with the Ax Lariat, only to get caught in a belly to belly suplex from Race that ended the match. A convincing win, but it will be one on one for Race when he faces Bockwinkel in Winnipeg. King Kong Bundy vs. Kendo Nagasaki “Special Forces” Bundy has had the Sinister Syndicate gunning for him ever since he showed his true allegiance to the Cobra Corps, but he certainly has shown no indication that he has felt intimidated. Kendo Nagasaki was certainly intent on making him pay, pummeling Bundy with vicious martial arts kicks and chops, but Bundy just kept rolling on after him. It looked like he was going to spray Bundy with the green mist, but Bundy crashed into him then hit a running splash to get the pinfall. A solid victory for Bundy, but it is unlikely that it’s going to stop the Syndicate from coming after him. The British Bulldogs & Rick Martel vs. The Varsity Club (Mike Rotundo, Rick Steiner & Dan Spivey) The Varsity Club had both Missy Hyatt and Kevin Sullivan at ringside with them as they took on both the World Tag Team and Canadian champs and both liberally attempted to interfere in the match. As dominant as both the Bulldogs and Martel have been of late, the powerfully built lettermen of the Varsity Club gave as good as they got, frequently coming one suplex or power slam away from taking the match. While Steiner was fighting with Martel inside the ring, Sullivan was looking to turn the tide of the battle with the Golden Spike, but was intercepted by Dynamite Kid. Missy, however, recovered the Spike and got on the ring apron, trying to use it on Martel when he was whipped into the ropes. Martel reversed Steiner at the last second, though, and Steiner crashed into Missy, sending her tumbling to the floor. Taking advantage of the confusion, Martel rolled up Steiner to get the one two three. While Missy shrieked at ringside after the match, Sullivan was clearly upset with her costing them the match, and it took the rest of the Varsity Club to get both parties calmed down.

AWA show from the International Amphitheater , Chicago, July 20th Pvt. Mick Foley vs. Sheikh Adnan Al-Kaissie Foley pinned Kaissie after a running senton The Zambuie Express vs. The Moondogs The Moondogs won after a double elbow smash on Kareem Muhammad Wahoo McDaniel vs. Bob Roop Wahoo got the victory with a running overhand chop The Onyx Express vs. Memphis Vice Koko pinned Jerry Bryant after a spike brain buster Greg Gagne vs. Buddy Rose Rose caught Gagne with the Inside Out Backbreaker to get the win AWA Southern Tag Title match : Badd Company © vs. Kevin Sullivan & Dan Spivey Tanaka pinned Spivey after a Thrust Kick to the jaw AWA Southern Title match : Al Perez © vs. Leo Burke Perez trapped Burke with the German Suplex to successfully defend his title Paul Orndorff, Ricky Steamboat & Sgt. Slaughter vs. Don Muraco, Lex Luger & Kendo Nagasaki Sarge flattened Kendo with the Slaughter Cannon to get the victory for his team. Post-Match, Muraco and Luger tried to hit a spike piledriver on Orndorff, but Steamboat and Sarge managed to save him just in time.

And Mil Mascaras. I am in favor of the current system, but might suggest possibly putting Lawler and the RnR into the draft. The other guys are pure Freelance, though.

Now breathing slightly easier for this year's draft

AWA is entertaining offers for Bob Roop and Missy Hyatt.

AWA show from the Mecca, Milwaukee, July 19th (as shown on ESPN / TSN Super Cards) Steven Regal vs. Dan Spivey Regal pinned Spivey after hitting the Regal Roll Mike Shaw vs. Wahoo McDaniel Shaw caught Wahoo with a power slam to get the win Da Crusher vs. Jack Victory Crusher knocked Victory out with a running Bolo punch Curt Hennig & Nick Bockwinkel vs. Buddy Rose & Doug Somers Hennig pinned Somers with a cradle suplex Sgt. Slaughter & “Special Forces” King Kong Bundy vs. Kendo Nagasaki & Bob Roop Bundy pinned Roop after catching him in the corner with the Avalanche AWA American Title match : Lex Luger © vs. Paul Diamond Diamond put up quite a fight but Luger was ultimately able to make him give up to the Human Torture Rack AWA World Tag Title match : The British Bulldogs © vs. The Zambuie Express Dynamite pinned Elijah Akeem after hitting a top rope flying headbutt AWA World Title match : Paul Orndorff © vs. Harley Race Race was going for a piledriver, but Orndorff countered with a small package to get the win

AWA All-Star Wrestling on ESPN / TSN for July 19th Tony Atlas vs. Peter Harkey We had seen Atlas in the past couple of weeks taking a hand in the acts of what is now the Onyx Express, but this would be the first time seeing him on his own in the AWA ring. Both Koko Ware and Brickhouse Brown were at ringside, observing as Atlas basically took apart Peter Harkey. The young rookie never stood a chance as Atlas blasted him with power moves and slams, finally locking him in a Full Nelson until he screamed out his surrender. Atlas tossed Harkey aside like a rag doll and seemed like he wanted to get in a few more shots before thinking better of it. The Express might have been a fading presence before, but with Atlas now guiding them, this trio has become truly dangerous. Kevin Sullivan vs. Steven Regal The Varsity Club have tried to bully the “Young Gentleman” pretty much since their inception, but the popular Englishman has managed to stay one step of ahead of Sullivan’s men. “The Big Man” has clearly decided to take matters into his own hands as he tried to intimidate and beat down Regal. Regal, on the other hand, was not in the mood to be pushed around, sticking and moving while dodging out of the way of Sullivans shots and peppering him with kicks and punches. Sullivan kept trying to get Regal at a disadvantage , and Regal kept maneuvering out of danger. Sullivan finally had Regal trapped in the corner and came in with the Devil Stomp, only Regal to dodge out of the way at the last second. Regal then wrapped Sullivan in a double leg roll up to get a quick one two three. He didn’t have long to celebrate his victory as Sullivan swiftly clobbered him in the back of the head with the Golden Spike, and looked like he might do some serious damage but was run off by Norman Smiley rushing to the ring. Harley Race vs. Curt Hennig Once again, Harley Race had Buddy Rose in his corner as he took on one of Nick Bockwinkel’s allies. Hennig showed he was certainly not cowed by Race’s reputation, coming out at Race with as much fury as the former NWA brought to him. This was an intense match that raged back and forth, with both men looking like they just might take the win at several points. It was right at the point that Hennig seemed about to finally take the match with the Ax Lariat when Rose decided to strike. He reached in and snagged Hennig’s leg when he was coming off the ropes, causing the second generation superstar to faceplant to the mat. Hennig tried to recover, but was met with a nasty falling headbutt from Race that knocked him for a loop. Race then wrapped up Hennig for the pinfall. Not a pretty win, but Race clearly doesn’t care how he gets the victory. AWA Southern Tag Title match : Badd Company © vs. Leo Burke & Doug Somers In a rematch from the Canada Day Spectacular, Sunshine’s men were on fire , keeping the former champs off balance with their fast paced offense. The two veterans from Playboy After Dark tried to put Tanaka and Diamond under their thumbs, but Badd Company were just not having it, swiftly tagging in and out and coming at them from all directions. Tanaka thrust kicked Somers into a belly to back suplex by Diamond to maintain their grip on the AWA Southern Tag Title belts. Clearly there are big things ahead for this exciting young AWA team. Don Muraco vs. Pvt. Mick Foley Muraco came to the ring accompanied by Sheikh Adnan Al-Kaissie , removing all doubt (if there was any) that he is the latest weapon in the Sinister Syndicate’s war to take the World Title back from Paul Orndorff. Squaring off against the young recruit of the Cobra Corps, The Magnificent One steamrolled over Foley with his incredible power and size, tossing him all over the ring before finally putting an end to the match with the belly to belly piledriver. If Orndorff wasn’t concerned at this fresh challenge before, he surely is now. Rick Steiner vs. Dynamite Kid The former Tag champs in the Varsity Club are still gunning to get back the belts, and the “Wild Dog” of the Club was trying to do as much damage as he could to one half of the Bulldogs with his jarring suplexes and slams. Dynamite was no slouch in the technical skills department himself, showing the veracity of his name with his own explosive offense rocking Steiner. This broke down into a battle of the suplexes, with both men being unable to keep the other down for long. They were both battling it out on the top turnbuckle to try to put the other out with a superplex when the bell rang, signaling a 15 minute time limit draw. The two continued to exchange punches after the end of the match, but the answer to who would be the true suplex master would have to wait for another day.

AWA show at the Portland Memorial Coliseum, Portland, July 13th The Moondogs vs. Memphis Vice The Moondogs won after a double elbow smash on Jerry Bryant Cpl. Scott Hall vs. Kendo Nagasaki Hall won by DQ after Kendo sprayed him with the green mist to the face Tony Atlas vs. Norman Smiley Atlas made Smiley submit to a Full Nelson Mike Shaw vs. Da Crusher Shaw caught Crusher in a power slam for the victory AWA Southern Tag Title match : Badd Company © vs. Buzz Sawyer & Dave Schultz Diamond hit Schultz with a flying back body press to successfully defend their belts Curt Hennig vs. Buddy Rose In a long , intense and frequently out-of-control match, Rose used a cheap shot and a fistful of trunks to pin Hennig AWA Southern Title match : Al Perez © vs. Ed Wiskowski Perez countered a face first piledriver attempt with a slingshot into the turnbuckle followed by a roll up for the win.

AWA show from the Cow Palace, San Francisco, July 12th (As seen on ESPN/TSN Super Cards) Pvt. Mick Foley vs. Dan Spivey Spivey won with a running legdrop Onyx Express vs. British Steel Brickhouse pinned Smiley after a missile dropkick King Kong Bundy vs. Bob Roop Bundy won with an Avalanche Sgt. Slaughter vs. Kendo Nagasaki Sarge hit the Slaughter Cannon to get the victory AWA World Tag Title match : The British Bulldogs © vs. The Varsity Club Davey Boy pinned Steiner after a power slam Nick Bockwinkel vs. Harley Race (with Buddy Rose in Race’s corner) Bockwinkel won by countout after a collision between Race and Rose on the outside Paul Orndorff & Ricky Steamboat vs. Don Muraco & Lex Luger Orndorff was wearing a neck collar and not much of a factor in the match. Muraco pinned Steamboat after a belly to belly piledriver

AWA All-Star Wrestling on ESPN/TSN for July 12th The Onyx Express vs. Dirk Been & Joel Klug Been and Klug are two up and comers looking to make their way in wrestling biz. The Onyx Express turned out to be the former PYT Express, with Brickhouse and Koko replacing their colorful gear with black jackets and tights and being led to the ring by a scowling Tony Atlas. Atlas bellowed orders from ringside as the Onyx Express dismantled their young opponents with a ruthless efficiency before Koko took out Been with an especially nasty brain buster. That wasn’t enough for Atlas, who ordered Brickhouse to hit the swinging neckbreaker on Been after the match. Even then, Atlas then came in the ring and hit a running splash on the felled Been before locking him in a Full Nelson until the ref ordered him to release it. It looks like Atlas is determined to make the newly dubbed Onyx Express a force to be reckoned with in the AWA. Interview : Ken Resnick stands in the ring Resnick : Folks, my next guests pulled off a major surprise at the Independence Day Spectacular in Minneapolis. Ladies and gentlemen … Sgt. Slaughter and the Cobra Corps! (Sgt. Slaughter, Cpl. Scott Hall, Pvt. Mick Foley and King Kong Bundy head out to the ring as the crowd cheered them on.) Resnick : Sgt. Slaughter, it looked like the Sinister Syndicate had you at a disadvantage when they brought in King Kong Bundy at the Independence Day Spectacular, but then Bundy turned on the Syndicate in the middle of the match! Was this your plan all along? Sarge : Strategy, Resnick, pure strategy. I knew that the dirty Sheikh was going to try to pull something on the 4th of July. So I pulled my own covert ops. I sent in “Special Forces” Bundy to infiltrate the enemy camp. And when it came time to make our move, he pulled the Syndicate into our trap. They thought they had a sure thing, but this man is Cobra Corps through and through! Resnick : King Kong Bundy, word has it that Sheikh Andan Al-Kaissie is livid with you. He’s claiming that he paid good money to bring you into the AWA and that he is taking this breach of contract personally. Bundy : Oh, he paid me big money, Resnick. And here I am, in the AWA. I never said squat about working with him. If he decides to shell out cash to bring in the guy who is going to destroy him, that just shows what an idiot he is. Like the Sarge said, I stand with the Cobra Corps, and we have got the Syndicate’s number! AWA Southern Title Match : Al Perez © vs. Jack Victory Al Perez has been on a hot streak lately, not only winning the AWA Southern Title but retaining the title over two tough challengers in Ricky Steamboat and Buddy Rose. This time out, he was defending against the big “bodyguard” of Col. Buck Robley’s Army. Both Robley and Buzz Sawyer were at ringside, keeping a close eye on the action as Perez was able to dodge the rookie Victory’s attempted power moves and take him down to focus on working his arm before forcing him to submit to a short arm scissors. Neither Robley nor Sawyer got directly involved in the match, but Perez might want to be a bit concerned at having drawn their attention. Harley Race vs. Greg Gagne After having appeared with a vengeance at the Independence Day Spectacular against Nick Bockwinkel, Harley Race showed up for this match with Buddy Rose by his side and clearly looking to make a statement. Gagne tried his best to get some sort of control in this match, but it was like trying to hold back a freight train, as Race blasted him with punches and head butts while Rose chortled at ringside. After a jarring series of suplexes, Race hit a belly to belly suplex that put Gagne down for good. Rose seemed well pleased with himself at this new weapon in his war against Nick Bockwinkel. AWA World Tag Team Title match : The British Bulldogs © vs. Leo Burke & Doug Somers The British Bulldogs have been on an absolute tear since their arrival in the AWA, swiftly making an impact and winning the World Titles. For their part, the former Southern Tag champs, Burke and Somers, gave the Bulldogs quite a fight for most the match, refusing to go down to their high impact moves. Then the Bulldogs seemed to kick into a higher gear, flattening both members of Playboy After Dark and tossing them around the ring before Davey Boy press slammed Dynamite onto Somers to put an end to the match. Looks like it would take a lot to get the title belts off the Bulldogs. Don Muraco vs. Ricky Steamboat Muraco had been missing in action from the AWA for the past 2 months as he toured Japan, but he certainly knew how to make an auspicious return, attacking and badly hurting World Champ Paul Orndorff at the Indepdence Day Spectacular. He looked to further prove himself by taking on Orndorff’s friend, Ricky Steamboat. Muraco almost overwhelmed Steamboat with his incredible power and size, but Steamboat kept hanging in there and refused to go down. Steamboat even looked like he was starting to rally when he ascended to the top rope for a flying karate chop, but found himself attacked from behind by Lex Luger. Luger sent him plummeting to the mat , and while the ref called for the DQ, Luger and Muraco proceeded to beat down Steamboat. With Orndorff still out hurt, it looked like Steamboat was on his own and might get badly injured when they were about to set him up for a spike piledriver, but the Cobra Corps arrived just in time to put a halt to that and Muraco and Luger headed back to the locker room, satisfied with the damage they had done.

Having previously employed both Wildman Jack Armstrong and and Mike "Apocalypse" Boyette, I am psyched to see the debut of Mack Bunker. And any promotion with a time lord/agent wrestling for them is aces in my book. Keep it up!

After that glorious period where I was actually up to date, I then went on vacation ... I will do my best to get caught back up over the next week or so.

Word out of the AWA locker room is that both Harley Race and Zambuie Express aren't long for the promotion. Word has it that the combined egos of Race and Nick Bockwinkel are too big to be in the ring together and the promoters are siding with Bockwinkel. Meanwhile, there are reports that Zambuie Express tried to take some liberties in their Independence Day match and Wahoo and Crusher shut that down right quick. This could bring a premature end to what seemed to be a promising start for the Zambuies.

Had a huge smile on my face throughout reading this. Keep up the good work.

Independence Day Spectacular from the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, July 4th Ivan Putski vs. Ed Wiskowski Once again, the holiday Spectacular starts off with a slugfest between two big power wrestlers, in this case the former members of the Brotherhood Of Poland. Putski really hammered on the Polish Prince, clearly still holding a grudge for his betrayal. Putski kept pounding on Wiskowski, coming back with huge blows no matter what the Prince threw at him, but when he came at him with the Polish Hammer, he was cut off with a big boot to the midsection. Wiskowski then went to town on Putski with massive elbow smashes and kicks before executing the Face First Piledriver to get the win. The Zambuie Express vs. Wahoo McDaniel & Da Crusher Wahoo’s alliance with the Cobra Corps has put him in the crosshairs of the Zambuie Express, and tonight he brought in Da Crusher to be his partner against Muhammed and Akeem. These two veterans were not about to cave in to the Sheikh’s men and, for all that the Zambuie’s went full bore, Wahoo and Crusher gave as good as they got. It looked like they might just pull off the upset when Wahoo went to the ropes to hit the running Overhand Chop on Akeem, but Sheikh Al-Kaissie reached in and snagged his ankle, staggering him. Akeem quickly took advantage , hitting a brutal elbow smash to the back of Wahoo’s head and getting the pinfall. Dirty pool on the part of the Sinister Syndicate, and likely they haven’t seen the last of Wahoo. Greg Gagne vs. Jimmy Garvin (courtesy of USWA) It had been a year since the last time Jimmy Garvin wrestled in the AWA, but the last he was here he was on the same side as Greg Gagne. With that in mind, Gagne readlily offered Garvin a friendly handshake before the match, but he was in for a rude surprise. Garvin made it known that he was not happy about him and Precious being “dragged back” to the AWA for even one night, and slapped aside Gagne’s hand. The USWA champion clearly has picked up some bad habits in his time away, as he responded to all Gagne’s attempts at technical wrestling with cheap shots and dirty tactics. When the ref finally had enough and got in Garvin’s face, Gorgeous Jimmy responded by giving a DDT to the ref. Another ref dashed to the ring and called for the DQ, but by then Jimmy had gathered up Precious and headed to the back, as annoyed with the fans as they clearly were with him. The PYT Express vs. Memphis Vice The PYT Express have been on a treacherous slide lately in the AWA, and it all seemed to start with their loss to Memphis Vice. No matter what Koko and Brickhouse tried, Winston and Bryant always found a way to come out on top. They were clearly determined to make sure that ended here, as they threw every double team move they could think at Memphis Vice, getting progressively more desperate as the match went on. This wound up costing them, as Brickhouse tried to whip Winston into Koko’s boot on the ring apron, only for Winston to reverse it and send Brickhouse colliding into Koko, making Ware fall into the ringside barricade. Winston then rolled up Brickhouse to get the pinfall. After the match, Brickhouse and Koko finally had it out, shouting at and shoving each other. They were about to come to blows when someone rushed into the ring and separated them. It was Tony Atlas! The muscular superstar grabbed both of them by the scruff of the neck and started bellowing at them. He then dragged both of them out of the ring and back to the locker room, berating them all the way. Nick Bockwinkel vs. a mystery opponent There was much anticipation going into this match, with both Nick Bockwinkel and the fans wanting to know just who Buddy Rose had brought in to face him. Nick had already said he was ready for any big bruiser the Playboy had selected to face him, but Rose seemed very smug, as though he had an ace up his sleeve. He was out and out cocky as he got on the mic and announced that Bockwinkel’s opponent would be … former NWA champion Harley Race! Bockwinkel certainly wasn’t anticipating this but was game as Race stormed the ring and started peppering him with headbutts . Bock fired back with lefts and rights, and when Race started wrenching in several arm wringers, Nick was able to escape before too much damage had been done. Race eventually got Bockwinkel down in the corner and hit some nasty knee strikes that did some real damage. Once again, Bockwinkel was able to work his way out of it but was clearly left groggy. Bockwinkel kept on trying to weather the furious assault of Race until they both spilled out of the ring. They kept exchanging punches until the ref counted them both out and even after that. Bockewinkel has clearly not seen the last of Race. No DQ : Buzz Sawyer & Dave Schultz vs. The Moondogs Pretty much every match that the Moondogs have had since arriving in the AWA has ended in chaos. With the announcement before the match that it would be contested with a No DQ stipulation at least helped ensure that there would be a definite finish to this match. Nevertheless, there was certainly plenty of chaos, with both sides throwing everything but the kitchen sink at each other. Chairs , tables, even Buzz Sawyer’s chain ended up coming into play, with all four men a bloody mess late into the match. It looked like it would go into the hands of the Moondogs when Spot had Sawyer dead to rights and was about to nail him in the head with the ring bell. He had failed to notice that Col. Buck Robley had loaded up his arm brace and snuck up behind him. Robley jacked Spot in the back of the head with his arm brace, sending him down to the mat. Robley pointed at both his men, who executed a double bulldog on the Moondog, Sawyer getting the pin that finally put an end to a wild match. Ricky Steamboat vs. Bob Roop Steamboat has had many battles with various members of the Sinister Syndicate, but it has been the enforcer of the Syndicate, Bob Roop, who has given him the most persistant challenge. Roop spent the match working over Steamboat’s back , trying to soften him to execute the shoulder breaker. Steamboat kept coming back, his chops and kicks slowly chipping away at Roop. Roop looked like he might just be able to hit the shoulder breaker, but Steamboat was able to escape it by sliding down his back. Steamboat got Roop in a waistlock and executed a rollup, just barely able to keep his shoulders to the mat for the one two three. AWA Southern Title match : Al Perez © vs. Buddy Rose Buddy Rose came out waving a piece of paper, saying he had brought an injunction barring Nick Bockwinkel and Curt Hennig from appearing at ringside for this match. The ref swiftly added that, as a condition of this injunction, the other members of Playboy After Dark were also banned from appearing. Regardless, Rose was very determined to ensure that Perez’s Southern Title reign was a short one, working in all sorts of sneak attacks and cheap shots while bailing out of the ring any time it looked like Perez would be going for the German Suplex. Perez, realizing how Rose was wary of his main weapon, shifted gears and took a different tack, switching over to working over Rose’s right arm. Perez hit several wrenching arm take downs and kept Rose in a painful short arm scissors until Rose was finally able to make it to the ropes. Perez then got Rose up in a waistlock, looking to execute the German Suplex, but Rose broke it off with a back kick to the leg. Rose then went for the Inside Out Backbreaker, but too much damage had been done to his arm, and Perez was able to counter it with a single arm takedown. Perez then locked Rose in an arm breaker submission in the middle of the ring, and the Playboy had no choice but to submit. If anyone before had thought Perez’s title reign was a fluke, there was no doubt as to his legitimacy now. Sgt. Slaughter, Cpl. Scott Hall & Pvt. Mick Foley vs. Kendo Nagasaki & ?? & ?? After their victory over the Cobra Corps in Calgary, all eyes were on this match to see who else the Sinister Syndicate would bring in to try to destroy Sgt. Slaughter and his men. First out with Kaissie and Nagasaki was, of course, Great Kabuki, but it was the next man out that got the biggest reaction …. King Kong Bundy! The huge “Walking Condominum” strode out behind the Sheikh’s men, coldly focusing his eyes on Sgt. Slaughter. Throughout the match, Slaughter and Hall tried their best to protect Foley , who had taken an hellacious beating in the Calgary match, but with the pounding they were taking from the Syndicate , eventually they had no choice but to tag the still hurt Private into the match. Kendo and Kabuki both began picking Foley apart, with brutal kicks and punishing blows, before bringing in Bundy to finish him off. Bundy picked up Foley for a power slam … then immediately put him down again, clutching his back as though it had been strained. Kendo then got in Bundy’s face, demanding to know what was going on … and Bundy swiftly grabbed Kendo and power slammed him! He then quickly hit a running splash on Kendo and placed Foley on top of him, letting Foley get the one two three. While the Sheikh had a fit at ringside, Bundy slowly turned towards Sgt. Slaughter and then saluted him. Sarge saluted him back and the crowd exploded in cheers, still confused but clearly delighted with the outcome. AWA World Title Match : Paul Orndorff © vs. Lex Luger Orndorff had fought off a lot of challenges from the Syndicate for his world title, but while Orndorff had the edge of experience in this match up, he was facing someone who was much younger and even a bit stronger than him. This was apparent when Luger was able to bowl over Orndorff in a few tests of strengths, something the powerfully built Mr. Wonderful was definitely not used to. Luger kept up his attack with some clubbing elbows to the back of the champs head, keeping him staggered and off balance. Luger got cocky and posed to the jeering crowd, which was a very bad idea as Orndorff was able to gather his wits and come back with a clip to the back of Luger’s leg. Orndorff kept up is assault on Luger’s leg, hoping to take the Human Torture Rack out of the equation. Eventually, Luger was able to get the advantage back with a scoop powerslam and got ready to put Orndorff up in the Torture Rack. He tried once, twice, but the damage to his leg was too great and wasn’t able to follow through, when Orndorff broke up the attempt for good with a jackhammering elbow smash to Luger’s face. He then got Luger’s shoulders to the mat with a single leg roll up, grabbing a fistful of trunks for leverage, and kept them down for the three count. Orndorff had held on to his title, if just barely … but then someone charged into the ring and attacked him. It was the Magnificent One, Don Muraco! He hadn’t been seen in the AWA for the past couple of months, but now he was battering Orndorff and, with Luger, hit the world champ with a crushing Spike Piledriver. Ricky Steamboat, Wahoo McDaniel and the Cobra Corps rushed out to run the Syndicate, but it was too late. Orndorff had clearly been hurt badly and, if Muraco was now with the Sinister Syndicate, his World Title was now in much more danger than before.

Canada Day Spectacular from the Saddledome in Calgary, July 1st Cpl. Scott Hall vs. Jack Victory The opening match for the Canada Day Spectacular pitted two big young rookies against each other, with the strong man of the Cobra Corps taking on the bodyguard for Col. Buck Robley’s army. As one might expect, this was a battle of big power moves and slugging punches, with Victory trying to set up the mighty Corporal for the Victory-Plex. Victory nearly had him ready for it but was cut short by a series of jackhammering elbows to the face by Hall. Hall then executed the Corporal Punishment (fallaway slam) and that was it for the match. Kevin Sullivan & Dan Spivey vs. British Steel Regal and Spivey were accompanied to the ring by Da Crusher, who has taken a paternal interest in the young, up and comers. Sullivan and Spivey both took the approach of trying to bully their much younger opponents, with Spivey using his considerable size advantage to batter the members of British Steel and then bringing in Sullivan to kick them when they were down. For their part, British Steel were able to regroup and came back, getting the advantage by tagging in and out and using their considerable technical skills. Regal was able to get ready for the Iron Fist Punch and whipped Spivey into the ropes, but Spivey caught him self in the ropes and cut off the momentum. He then came back with a huge clothesline, but Regal in turn ducked it and took Spivey to the mat with a single leg takedown. He then swiftly applied the Regal Stretch and, try though he might, Spivey was unable to escape. Regal forced him to give up in what had to be a major upset. "The Tank" Mike Shaw vs. Chavo Guerrero (courtesy of Lutte Internationale) The big Tank has quite a history in Calgary, so the fans knew what he could deliver against Chavo Guerrero, making a one night return to the AWA. The canny Latino veteran wisely used cat and mouse tactics against Shaw, sticking and moving before Shaw could get his hands on him. Several times, Shaw thought he had Guerrero dead to rights, only for Chavo to break free and keep up his hit and run attacks. He was able to knock Shaw out of the ring with a dropkick and then hit a running dive, but Shaw caught him, drove him back first into the ring post and power slam him onto the ground. He then hit a quick splash on Chavo before making it back into the ring to get the victory by countout. Nick Bockwinkel & Curt Hennig vs. Buddy Rose & Ed Wiskowski Bockwinkel has been feuding with Rose since his return to the AWA, and the Playboy’s loss of the Southern title last week certainly didn’t help. While Bockwinkel didn’t directly interfere in the match, Rose has blamed Nick’s “distraction” for his loss to Al Perez. He kept the Polish Prince in for a long time to try to punish Bock and Hennig, coming in when the advantage was solidly in their corner, but they couldn’t keep them down for long. Curt and Nick came roaring back with a vengeance, knocking down Wiskowski with a series of double team moves before Hennig put him down for good with the Ax Lariat. While Hennig got the pinfall, Nick stood by him, daring Rose to come in the ring, but the Playboy wouldn’t budge, and as he left the ring, Rose could be overhead muttering that Bockwinkel would be in for an unpleasant surprise at the next show. AWA Southern Title match : Al Perez © vs. Ricky Steamboat After Perez’s title win at last week’s All-Star Wrestling, this match was changed to a Southern Title match, and as a former Southern champ himself, Steamboat was a particularly tough first contender for Al’s newly won belt. To his credit, Perez went toe to toe with Steamboat , countering Steamboat’s high speed offense with his own razor sharp technical skills. The momentum swung back and forth throughout the match, with neither man holding the upper hand for long, and soon after Perez countered Steamboat’s cross body press with a rollover that got a 2 ¾ count, the bell rang, signaling a 20 minute time limit draw. After the match, Steamboat and Perez shook hands as a sign of respect, and Steamboat raised Perez’s arm to the cheers of the fans. AWA Southern Tag Title match : Leo Burke & Doug Somers © vs. Badd Company With all being chaos for Playboy After Dark right now, Burke and Somers have just barely been hanging to their Southern Tag belts, and certainly had their work cut out for them in facing the red hot Badd Company. Sunshine’s men went all out against the champs , with extremely fast paced offense keeping Burke and Somers off balance throughout the match. They were able to cheat their way back into the match with a few dirty moves, but when Burke tried to interfere when he was not the legal man, he was met with a Paul Diamond Superkick that pretty much put him out of the match. Somers was then dispatched with a Tanaka thrust kick/ Diamond back suplex combo the put the titles officially over to Badd Company. The crowd cheered as Diamond and Tanaka lifted Sunshine up onto their shoulders in victory. Sgt. Slaughter & Pvt. Mick Foley vs. Kendo Nagasaki & ? Sheikh Adnan Al-Kaissie has been saying how he had spent a lot of money to bring men who would help him eliminate the Cobra Corps, and it turns out he had purchased the services of one of the deadliest mercenaries available … the Great Kabuki! The crowd gasped when the face painted warrior came out to the ring, and he and Kendo proceeded to brutalize Mick Foley. Sgt. Slaughter kept trying to bowl his way into the match, but the Sheikh’s men kept Foley solidly in their corner, and when they hit him with a double thrust kick, that was it for the scrappy young rookie. They kept attacking Foley after the end of the match, only leaving when Slaughter rushed in to run them off. Kaissie was overheard laughing that this was nothing compared to what Slaughter would be facing in Minneapolis. AWA World Tag Title match : The Varsity Club © vs. The British Bulldogs The Varsity Club have kept a very tight grip on the World Tag titles since they won them, but the Bulldogs have come out of nowhere to become a substantial threat to their reign. In spite of the size and power that Rotundo and Steiner had on their side, they found themselves completely unready for Dynamite and Davey Boy’s relentless offense. Even though the Varsity Club were able to battle back, the Bulldogs made sure it wasn’t for long. This was the cue for Sullivan and Spivey to come out to turn the tide, only to find themselves intercepted by Da Crusher and British Steel. Steiner was able to get Dynamite set up for a belly to belly superplex, but Dynamite cut it off with a series of brutal headbutts to the face that sent Steiner crashing to the mat. Missy Hyatt shrieked at them from ringside, but this did nothing to stop Dynamite from coming off the top rope with a flying headbutt. Rotundo’s attempt to break up the pinfall was met with a powerslam by Davey Boy, and Dynamite was able to make the one two three. The crowd exploded in cheers and Crusher and British Steel congratulated the Bulldogs on their well earned title victory.

I think I am the only person who has been here non-stop since the start. I've really enjoyed working with you guys, it has been a lot of fun.

For some strange reason, I have always had a fascination for the Hollywood Blondes vs. Mark Starr & Frankie Lancaster, where both of the Blondes end up crippling themselves against the job guys.

With the results of the most recent AWA TV and Super Cards, the main event for the July 4th Independence Day Spectacular is now in place : AWA World Title Match : Paul Orndorff © vs. Lex Luger There is also one more match added to the already stacked card : AWA Southern Title rematch : Al Perez © vs. Buddy Rose

I thought that move might be a bit ahead of the time, but I figured since Superfly had already gone off the top of the cage, this wouldn't be too much of a leap (tee hee).

AWA show from the Winnipeg Arena, Winnipeg, June 28th (as shown on ESPN/TSN Super Cards) Zambuie Express vs. Memphis Vice The Zambuies won with a double elbow drop on Lou Winston Greg Gagne & Curt Hennig vs. Buddy Rose & Doug Somers Gagne made Somers submit to the Gagne Leglock for the win. Kendo Nagasaki vs. Wahoo McDaniel After catching Wahoo McDaniel with the Green Mist while the ref was incapacitated, Kendo caught him with a thrust kick to the head before pinning him. Elimination Match : The Varsity Club vs. The British Bulldogs & British Steel 1st Elimination : Spivey pinned Smiley after a running legdrop 2nd Elimination : Regal knocked out Spivey with the Iron Fist Punch 3rd Elimination : Sullivan pinned Regal after a sneak attack by Rotundo 4th Elimination : Davey Boy pinned Sullivan with a running power slam 5th Elimination : Dynamite pinned Steiner after a belly to belly piledriver 6th Elimination : Davey Boy press slammed Dynamite onto Rotundo for the final pinfall Winners : The British Bulldogs Loser Leaves Town Cage Match : One Man Gang vs. Ricky Steamboat A bloody match where Gang went all out in trying to crush Steamboat. The resilient Hawaiian kept coming back and would not be held back for long. The Big 747 tried to put him out for good with an Avalanche in the corner, but Steamboat ducked out of the way just in time and One Man Gang went staggering back. Steamboat swiftly ascended not just to the top turnbuckle but to the very top of the cage and came off with a flying cross body press. One … two … three. And with that, One Man Gang’s epic run in the AWA came to a close. AWA World Title No DQ Loser Leaves Town Cage Match : Paul Orndorff © vs. Rick Rude In an epic match with a lot of stipulations and a lot on the line, Rude savagely attacked Orndorff, waging an all out assault on his neck with blows and elbow smashes to try and soften him up for the Rude Awakening. As the battle raged back and forth, Rude was able to finally hit the Rude Awakening on Orndorff, but Orndorff was able to get his foot on the ropes to break up the pin. Sheikh Adnan Al-Kaissie decided to take matters into his own hands, and he tossed a folded steel chair over the top of the cage into the ring. Rude picked up the chair to use against the champ, but Orndorff was able to snatch it out of his hands and hit Rude with it. Orndorff clobbered Rude with the chair, then set him up for the piledriver and hit it on the chair. This was not enough for Orndorff, who executed one more piledriver on the chair and looked to be considering another before choosing to go for the pin and get the one two three. Mr. Wonderful was still the champ and the Ravishing One was out of the AWA.

With the title change, I'm trying to get over the German Suplex as a sort of Diamond Cutter type finisher that can put away anyone out of nowhere. As far as the top of the card goes ... well, some big things will be kicking off at the Holiday Spectacular shows.

AWA All-Star Wrestling on ESPN/TSN for June 28th Badd Company vs. The PYT Express This was showdown between 2 teams heading in different trajectories. Sunshine’s men are going into the Holiday Spectaculars on the path to a big Southern Tag Title match with Playboy After Dark. Meanwhile, The PYTs have been on a drastic decline, looking to get some sort of momentum before facing Memphis Vice, the newcomers that have somehow had their number of late. The PYTs took a very aggressive tack against Badd Co., but Tanaka and Diamond just came roaring back with their trademark high energy style. After a fast paced match, Koko tried to put Diamond away with the brain buster, but Tanaka dashed in and interecepted it with a big leg sweep. When Koko was finally able to make it to his feet, he was met with a Paul Diamond Superkick that put an end to that match. Post match, Brickhouse was clearly displeased with Koko, and once again the two argued all of the way back to the locker room, seemingly just barely keeping from coming to blows. AWA World Tag Title match : The Varsity Club © vs. British Steel The champions seemed especially wary in this match , keeping an eye out throughout for any possible appearance of the British Bulldogs. While Davey Boy and Dynamite did not get involved, Rotundo and Steiner more than had their hands full with Steven Regal and Norman Smiley. The young Regal was especially impressive in the ring with Rotundo, having exciting chain wrestling exchanges with his former mentor and catching the Syracuse letterman in several submission holds that he was just barely able to escape. Smiley continued his team’s success for a while but wound up being caught flat footed by a leaping clothesline from Rotundo that turned the tide. Rotundo tagged out to Steiner and, after a crushing series of slams and suplexes, Steiner drove Smiley to the mat will a bulldog headlock that put an end to their title challenge. Steiner seemed to want to inflict more punishment on Smiley after the mat, but Rotundo held the “Wild Dog” back, possibly not wanting to draw the attention of the Bulldogs. Pvt. Mick Foley vs. Kendo Nagasaki The raw recruit of the Cobra Corps did his best to hang in with the Japanese veteran, but Nagasaki looked to be wanting to inflict a lot of punishment on the rookie going into the Holiday Spectaculars. Kendo relentlessly attacked Foley’s leg with kicks and submission holds, before finally taking him to the mat and putting him in a leglock that forced the young Private to submit. This was not enough for Kendo, who refused to release the screaming Foley from the leglock until threated with the result being reversed. Sheikh Kaissie has promised that he has spent big money to bring in men to take out the Cobra Corps at the Holiday Spectaculars, and with Foley going in hurt, things aren’t looking too good for Sgt. Slaughter’s men. AWA Canadian Title Match : Rick Martel © vs. Ed Wiskowski The popular Canadian champ showed all of his trademark finesse and charisma in his title defense against the Polish Prince. While Wiskowski tried to use his size and power to dominate Martel, Martel kept one step ahead of Wiskowski and caught him on a criss cross with a cross body press to get the pinfall and keep his tight grip on his title belt. AWA Southern Title match : Buddy Rose © vs. Al Perez Al Perez has surprised a lot of people by taking out the members of Playboy After Dark one by one to get a shot at the Southern Title, but Buddy Rose has returned from a short trip to Japan determined to put a stop to his challenge once and for all. Rose ruthlessly attacked Perez throughout the match, sneaking in low blows, eye rakes and other cheap shots to keep Perez off balance. The Latin Heartthrob, however, kept after Rose, using his considerable technical skills to get out of a lot of tight spots and put Rose on the defensive. Deep into the match, Nick Bockwinkel appeared at ringside and proceeded to give dirty looks to Rose, but this just made the Playboy even more mad as he attacked Perez. He pointed at Bockwinkel as he picked up Perez and had him set up for the inside out back breaker. Rose should have kept his focus on the match, as Perez was lightning quick in reversing the set up, caught Rose in a waistlock, then hit a devastating German Suplex. One … two … three!!! Perez has won the Southern Title! The Playboy was in shock but the crowd exploded as Perez rushed out of the ring, grabbed the title belt and held it above his head. Bockwinkel went over to Perez and shook his hand before returning to the locker room. AWA World Title match : Paul Orndorff © vs. One Man Gang This might have been for the World Title, but Gang really didn’t seem to have the championship on his mind. Much like several wrestlers on the show, his focus was more on doing as much damage as possible to Mr. Wonderful before the Loser Leaves Town match in Winnipeg with Gang’s stable mate, Rick Rude. The Big 747 used his incredible size to try to wear down the champ, but Orndorff came roaring back with some mighty running shoulder blocks to stagger Gang. This was the cue for Rick Rude to come tearing out and attack Orndorff, leading to a DQ. While Rude held Orndorff, Gang went out of the ring to grab his chain and use it to pummel the champ. He was swiftly intercepted by the arrival of Ricky Steamboat, who yanked the chain out of his hand and started swinging it wildly, sending Gang and Rude fleeing from the ring. Both feuds will finally come to a head at the upcoming show in the Winnipeg Arena.

Just a reminder that, starting in June, the Moondogs are in the AWA.