Billy Robinson is reffing this in a track suit! The opening of this is one of the great "feeling out" sequences I've ever seen, as they are stretching, galloping around, jockeying for position, et. Then there is this moment where they both sort of release off of a collar and elbow break in a nasty fashion and go straight into a rope running spot that ends with a Hennig powerslam and Bock going to the floor. As soon as they get back into the ring they tie up again and Bock slaps Hennig and just struts around like the biggest douchebag you've ever seen. Really simple, but effective, and a good way to set up the dynamic of the match. Bock controls with an overhead wristlock, but after a minute or so Curt reverses it and digs in a hammerlock. Curt slaps Bock, locks in a pinning combo and then they do a really fun spot where Hennig comes in and Bock reaches back for a punch to the gut but Hennig backs off. they stand back up an dwe get a FOREARM BATTLE. This is fucking awesome as Curt gets tagged, flies over the top and comes right back in insanely pissed and throws some huge ones of his own. Bock retreats to the floor and when Hennig tries to pursue him he pulls him down and posts his leg a few times. Awesome spot back in the ring as Bock wildly leaps and just smashes all of his weight onto Hennig's leg and ties him up in an Indian Deathlock variation, then starts forearming Curtin the face every time he leans forward. Hennig tries everything to escape and settles on a series of headbutts as the crowd chants "Curt." Curt gets back to his feet and Bock kicks his legs leading to Hennig doing his infamous flying backward head bump. Curt coms back and Bock ends up flying out to the floor. Bock gets himself in trouble now as Hennig drags him down to the mat and posts his arm which is something I really don't recall seeing an awful lot. He tries to go to work on the arm but Bock takes over with an eye rake. Man Hennig is SOOO much better as a big bumping face than he is as a big bumping heel, as he is just flying along bumping his ass off for every little thing Bock is doing, which leads to a really good nearfall. Bock goes for what looked like a neckbreaker, but Curt comes underneath it and takes down Bock by his arm and starts going back to work on it. Curt starts punting him, stands on his throat and then punches the shit out of him with Bock taking a Flairesque, dazed and confused bump for a nearfall. Bock comes back and locks on the sleeper. Curt gets to the ropes and ends up locking on his own sleeper. Bock ends up going sternum first into the turnbuckle, and Curt starts working on his midsection with a big legdrop and a series of knee drops to the guts. Hennig goes for a piledriver, but Bock gingerly takes him down and they end up doing a double punch spot that ends with both men going down and Bock crawling on top for a nearfalls. Bock for a slam but falls over and Curt gets a nearfall. hennig takes a wild bump through the middle ropes and then Bock just starts slamming Curt's head onto everything around the ringside area with Hennig selling his ass off. Bock fucking winds up like Roger Clemmons and forearms the shit out of Hennig for a nearfall. Hennig with a GREAT sunset flip for a nearfall. Amazingly Hennig is still selling the leg even though Bock hasn't worked on it in ten minutes. Hennig with a beautiful dropkick for a nearfall. Hennig winds up and hits the "Axe" for a nearfall that was sort of fucked up by a Robinson slow count. Sure enough Billy takes a ref bump a couple of seconds later and isn't there to count the fall for Curt. Bock goes for a piledriver, but Curt back body drops Nick over the top ONTO Robinson. Curt hits a flying dropkick but Robinson comes back in and taps him on the back and DQ's Curt for the over the top bump Bock took. Hennig is on his knees talking to the camera "for all the hard work is that the justice I get? That's bullshit refereeing that's what that is!" The opening of this is really great and destroys their more famous match from the Showboat, though the finishing run isn't nearly as good and there are moments in here that were a bit to "your turn, my turnish." Still this was a great match.

AWA World Heavyweight Title - SR: Billy Robinson: Nick Bockwinkel © vs. Curt Hennig (12/25/86)

 

Bock is relentless working over Curt's left leg early in the match as he wants to weaken it for the figure-four but Curt would get intervals of offense here so there wasn't any clear advantage by either man. Curt countered the leg work by working over Bock's left arm smashing it into the ringpost among other things and that's when he would take over here showing the intensity that would lead to his heel turn soon. Both men kept trading the offensive advantage as the fans were becoming split in their affection as both men traded nearfalls. This is where the match became a battle of two guys that were putting all they had out there to put the other one away and it had an epic feel to it. Sure enough we would get a ref bump as Bock hit Billy who tumbled to the floor and it was right after that that Hennig would backdrop Bock over the top rope to the floor as he tried a piledriver with Bock landing on Billy. Hennig would go up top hitting a dropkick but Robinson would pat Hennig on the back with everyone thinking that was the count but Billy was telling him that it was a DQ instead. Hennig calls bullshit and the fans agree but this was still a great match. Easy nomination.

Same thing, give me the best VQ version

See my comments in the Rockers vs Rose/Somers cage match thread. Same thing.