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AWA 1985 and beyond

Larry Mondello	Posted on 10/29/08 at 22:52:46 The year is 1985. Verne Gagne has had a massive stroke and is no longer in any condition to lead the AWA. As a result, the AWA falls into the hands of his son, Greg. At the recommendation of his father, Greg calls in Kevin Sullivan from Florida to help him book. Sullivan takes the job but finds himself at odds with Greg Gagne as soon as he comes in. Greg Gagne decides to make himself AWA World Champion which stirs up a hornets nest in the locker room. Sullivan convinces Gagne that the AWA will have to start anew without Verne, and that they should offer releases to anyone who no longer wants to work for the company. Gagne agrees but wants Rick Martel to drop the title to him before he leaves. The AWA roster is left mainly with loyalists to Verne and a few up and comers including Nick Bockwinkel, Jerry Blackwell, Colonel DeBeers, Shawn Michaels, Marty Jannetty, Baron Von Raschke, Larry Zbyszko, and Brad Rheingans. Kevin Sullivan brings in Wahoo McDaniel as a road agent. McDaniel scours the region for talented wrestlers looking for a break. Sullivan works on booking the undercard while Gagne books the title and main event picture. The result is a hodge podge of quality wrestling and absurdity. As Sullivan handles the undercard well, McDaniel is able to draw able but underappreciated workers to gain some credibility in the AWA. However, they are unable to draw marquee names to the AWA due to Greg Gagne's main event booking. The television show is AWA Championship Wrestling which airs on ESPN on Saturday nights. The AWA's A-show, All-Star Wrestling is cancelled, bringing all of the creative departments efforts to Championship Wrestling with hopes that sagging popularity can be cured before it is too late. Note: I will try to run this promotion as realistically as possible. However I'm not a qualified AWA historian, so there may be details that do not hold up to reality. Please forgive those inconsistencies.
Larry Mondello	Posted on 10/29/08 at 22:54:48 Sep 1985 Week 1 Greg Gagne held a meeting with AWA workers and announced Verne's failing health as well as his own takeover of the AWA. Greg explained his plans to have Rick Martel drop the AWA title to himself on the Championship Wrestling taping. The news brought an unprecedented level of disharmony into the locker room. Gagne brought in Kevin Sullivan from Florida to book the midcard while Greg focused on the upper card. Sullivan proposed that they offer releases with no questions asked to any AWA worker who was not content to continue working for the company. Gagne resisted, but eventually conceded. Rick Martel was the first to leave and opened the door wide for anyone else having doubts. He left the title on Gagne's desk and said that he'd never return while Greg had the book. Kevin Sullivan suggested that Gagne putting the strap on himself might have not been the best plan. Gagne would hear none of it. In the next few days Scott Hall, Curt Hennig, Nord the Barbarian, Bruiser Brody, Leon White, and Adnan Al-Kaisee parted ways with the company. Other promoters benefited from the exodus, as Jim Crockett Promotions picked up Scott Hall. Curt Hennig and Rick Martel headed to the WWF. Fritz Von Erich called to wish Verne well, but it was apparent that the relationship between the AWA and WCCW was more estranged than ever. Gagne decided to have a battle royal to decide the World Champion for the Championship Wrestling taping. He put Kevin Sullivan in charge of writing the rest of the show. Sullivan went to work and called in Wahoo McDaniel to do some low level talent scouting. McDaniel answered the call and went to work for the AWA. AWA Championship Wrestling on ESPN / Des Moines, Iowa The program opened with Rod Trongard and Lord James Blears at their respective announce positions announcing that tonight would be a very special episode of AWA Championship Wrestling. Greg Gagne came down to the ring with the AWA World title and said that it had been a timultuous week in the AWA, beginning with Rick Martel leaving the company suddenly and without warning. Gagne said that Martel was stripped of the AWA belt earlier in the week. He then told the story of how Verne Gagne had the stroke, and that tonight on Championship Wrestling there would be a 10-man battle royal to crown a new AWA World champion. Greg dedicated the match to his father Verne, who was at home watching Championship Wrestling on television. Larry Zbyszko pinned Jim Powers after the Shoulderbreaker in 7:30. Powers proved to be more than a pushover, but the superior experience of Zbyszko carried him through. Many wondered why Larry was not scheduled to be in the big battle royal later, given that he was a top contender for the title. *** 1/2 The Midnight Rockers dominated Chris Curtis and Rick Renslow, resulting in Shawn Michaels pinning Renslow with a flying elbow drop in just 35 seconds. It was a very strong victory for the tag team duo who was looking to make a big splash in the AWA. * Buck "Rock N Roll" Zumhoff pinned the Italian Stallion after the Rock N Roll Dropkick at 5:17. It was the Italian Stallion's debut. The Stallion made a pretty good showing but lacked the punch to put Zumhoff away for the match. The crowd was noticeably restless during the matchup and many left their seats. * 1/4 Greg Gagne won the 10-man battle royal to become AWA World Heavyweight Champion. Buddy Rose was the last elimination at 46:25. Gagne also eliminated Mike Enos, Colonel DeBeers, Wayne Bloom, and Baron Von Raschke during the match. Other participants included Wahoo McDaniel, Brad Rheingans, Nick Bockwinkel, and Jerry Blackwell. * 1/4 Larry Nelson entered the ring to congratulate Greg Gagne. He was soon joined by Jerry Blackwell, Wahoo McDaniel, Brad Rheingans, Shawn Michaels, Marty Jannetty, and Buck Zumhoff. Nelson asked Gagne to describe his feelings. Gagne said that he had his father on his mind through the whole match and the desire to make him proud got him through. He then raised the title high. Card: 1/4
Snabbit888	Posted on 10/29/08 at 23:32:05 I really like this start, and I like the kind of "backstage story" you're doing as well. Adds a flavor of realism. Greg Gagne as World champion sucks, but with the backstage story, it makes it far easier to stomach and makes this an interesting read. Please keep this up.
Larry Mondello	Posted on 10/30/08 at 03:21:49 Thank you kindly. Gagne does indeed suck, but I've run fantasy sim feds in the past... and this time I thought it might be interesting to run one where things weren't ideal. I got the idea from watching Sullivan's shoot interview he did for Kayfabe Commentaries about his last stint as WCW booker. Should be an interesting ride! September 1985 Week 2 One of the top stories of the week was Kevin Sullivan's efforts to contact the Road Warriors, who were the current holders of the AWA Tag belts, but had not made an attempt to call in since the news of Greg's ascension to head booker. Finally contact was made with Road Warrior Animal who said that he was not interested in working for the AWA at the time. Sullivan released Animal and Hawk from their agreements on the condition that they would bring the title belts back to Minneapolis, and that they did. Given that Gagne and Blackwell were the hottest team in the AWA second to the Road Warriors, Gagne felt that the tag belts should go around their waists. Sullivan disagreed that they were pushing things just by putting the World title on Greg's waist, and that the tag belts needed to be kept separate. They went over the candidates... Midnight Rockers, Rose & Summers, Destruction Crew, as well as Gagne & Blackwell. It was agreed that they would have an unprecedented 4-team 4-corners match for the tag belts on Championship Wrestling. Sullivan mentioned trying to acquire a big name talent in the industry to make a single appearance so that they could promote an entire show around him. He hoped to produce a television special that would air in new markets and get some attention for the AWA. Greg Gagne held Verne's point of view that greater exposure should not come at the cost of a traditional wrestling product, but was never the less interested in Sullivan's proposal. AWA Championship Wrestling on ESPN / Kansas City, Missouri / Attendance: 1,439 Rod Trongard and Lord James Blears opened the broadcast. Trongard said that there would be a very special main event tonight which would crown new AWA Tag Team champions. He explained that the Road Warriors could no longer keep up with the demanding pace and competition of the AWA. Nick Bockwinkel defeated Scott Casey by countout at 15:55. The newcomer really gave Bockwinkel a run for his money, but a well timed clothesline knocked Casey out of the ring where he took a nasty fall and was unable to return to the ring in time. 3/4 * Bockwinkel took the microphone and cut a promo on the situation in the AWA, with Verne Gagne turning over the AWA to his son Greg. Bockwinkel said that it was a disgrace for Gagne to strip Rick Martel of the AWA title and hurt the entire promotion just to feed his selfish need for validation in the sport of wrestling. Bockwinkel said that Greg Gagne couldn't carry his towel, and as a World champion he only brought embarrassment to the AWA. Championship Wrestling cut to commercials, effectively ending the Bockwinkel shoot. Rod Trongard apologized for the remarks of Bockwinkel after a return from the break. Buck "Rock N Roll" Zumhoff pinned "The #1 Alaskan" Rick Renslow in 10:19 after a Rock N Roll Dropkick. The crowd grew very restless through the middle of the match but made some noise in support of Zumhoff toward the end. - 3/4 Colonel DeBeers pinned Brad Rheingans in 8:19 after a Face-First Piledriver. DeBeers also had the surprising support of Baron Von Raschke who tossed DeBeers the ring bell to use against his opponent. Everyone was left wondering why Von Raschke helped DeBeers win the match. * The four corners match for the AWA World Tag titles went to a no-contest. Participants included Buddy Rose & Doug Somers, the Midnight Rockers, the Destruction Crew, and the team of Greg Gagne & Jerry Blackwell. Wayne Bloom eliminated the Midnight Rockers when he pinned Marty Jannetty at 10:31. The match continued until the Warlord and Barbarian hit the ring with Paul Jones! They annihilated the fatigued match participants and cleared the ring to jeers from the crowd! * 1/2 Paul Jones took a microphone and announced that he was the reason the Road Warriors tucked tail and ran from the AWA! Because he was bringing his Powers of Pain, the most dangerous team in all of wrestling to the AWA! Paul Jones took the AWA Tag titles and handed them to his men as Gagne, Blackwell, Rose, Somers, and the Destruction Crew protested. Card: * 1/4
Larry Mondello	Posted on 10/30/08 at 04:50:23 Sep 1985 Week 3 There was an explosion in the AWA front office on Monday morning when Greg Gagne confronted Kevin Sullivan about overriding his booking decision on the last edition of Championship Wrestling. Apparently Gagne had booked against Sullivan's advice for himself and Jerry Blackwell to walk out with the AWA Tag titles. Wahoo called Sullivan earlier in the week to tell him that the Powers of Pain were available, and Sullivan enticed them to fly in and make a surprise appearance on the show. A surprise not only to the fans, but to Greg Gagne and other workers as well. Although Sullivan got heat with Gagne, the rest of the locker room seemed to approve of the decision to override Gagne's making himself and Blackwell the Tag champs. But despite Sullivan's support, Gagne warned him that his stint as booker in the AWA was hanging by a thread and that all future booking decisions would go through him first. Nick Bockwinkel received a call from Kevin Sullivan on behalf of Greg Gagne. Gagne's sentiments were that after Bockwinkel's shoot on Championship Wrestling that it would be unnecessary for him to fly in to Minneapolis for the taping. Sullivan recommended that Bockwinkel take it in stride while he tried to work something out with Gagne that would allow him to return to active competition. Bockwinkel agreed, but was clearly unsure if he wanted to work another date for the AWA. Ratings continued to plummet. Week 1's episode of Championship Wrestling which saw Greg Gagne capturing the World title only did a 0.8, and Week 2 dropped to a 0.6. Many speculated that it was Gagne's title win as a sure sign that the AWA had officially turned the corner or "jumped the shark". A meeting was held in the middle of the week in Minneapolis where Sullivan mentioned his conversations with ABC, the parent company of ESPN. ABC Sports showed interest in airing a prime time AWA wrestling special after the success of the WWF's Saturday Night's Main Event on NBC. Sullivan and Gagne went to the drawing board to ready a proposal for ABC, and also to bring a big name aboard that would draw public interest in show. AWA Championship Wrestling on ESPN / Topeka, KS / 2,000 attendance - Paul Jones led the Powers of Pain to the ring, who were carrying the AWA World Heavyweight titles. Jones said that it didn't matter what any referee or official said, the Powers of Pain were the AWA World champions. Greg Gagne came out and said that they had not legally acquired the titles. They didn't beat anyone for them and weren't officially under contract with the AWA, and thus they were not the champions. Paul Jones said if that were the case, he challenged any tag team in the AWA to come down to the ring and take the titles away! 1. Powers of Pain vs. Rick Renslow/Chris Curtis. The Warlord and Barbarian dominated their opponents. Barbarian finished Curtis off with the Armbar Submission at 4:14. (-1/2) - In a pretaped promo, Baron Von Raschke and Colonel DeBeers answered the fans question as to why Raschke interfered in DeBeers match last week against Buck Zumhoff. Raschke said he's sick of Americana and all the scum it represented. As far as Raschke was concerned, Buck Zumhoff was the perfect example of American inferiority. Colonel DeBeers said that great minds like his and Raschke's thought alike, and some minds (like Zumhoff's) didn't think at all. 2. Colonel DeBeers vs. Scott Casey. Colonel DeBeers did not show up, and thus he was replaced by his new ally, Baron Von Raschke. Scott Casey fought his neo-Nazi opponent with a lot of spirit that the unprepared Von Raschke was not ready for. In spite of all this, the Claw was still a dangerous weapon. And after weaking Casey with that hold, Raschke pinned Casey at 11:14. (3/4) - Rod Trongard and Lord James Blears discussed last week's four-way tag team match and showed footage of the interference from the Powers of Pain. Each team would square off again tonight, and a short pre-recorded promo was shown of each team. 3. Four Corners: Gagne/Blackwell vs. Destruction Crew vs. Midnight Rockers vs. Rose/Somers. Jerry Blackwell was noticeably uninvolved in the match as if he might have not been feeling well. The Destruction Crew and Midnight Rockers made a strong showing, but the performance of the night went to Buddy Rose and Doug Somers. It was Rose who pinned Shawn Michaels to take home the win for his team at 10:08. (1/4) - Larry Zbyszko said in a pre-taped promo that he had already captured all the gold and many times over experienced the goosebumps of victory of insurmountable odds. He claimed that now he was only still in the business to prove again and again that he was the Living Legend in the sport of wrestling. He sent out an open challenge to anyone who would oppose him as the enduring icon of the AWA. 4. Larry Zbyszko vs. Wahoo McDaniel. Zbyszko got in the ring oozing confidence. He taunted Wahoo and did his best to humiliate the aging Native American star. Wahoo finally got tired of Zbyszko's stunts and went after him! The results were not pretty as Wahoo beat Zbyszko from pillar to post and finally forced him to submit to his Indian Deathlock at 4:26. (1/4) - Rod Trongard and James Blears speculated on how humiliated Zbyszko must be after having built himself up so high, only to be so badly beaten by a man in semi-retirement. Wahoo McDaniel left Zbyszko in the ring with his embarrassment. Card Rating: **
Rick Garrard	Posted on 11/04/08 at 01:20:08 Larry should get revenge on Wahoo... after all he did marry Verne's daugther. :)
Larry Mondello	Posted on 11/05/08 at 03:23:01 Haven't had internet since last Thursday so I'm a little behind on posting my results. Thanks for the feedback! 1985.09 Week 4 The first thing on the agenda for Greg Gagne on Monday morning was the situation involving the World Tag Team titles. Gagne didn't like the idea of the Warlord and Barbarian holding the belts, feeling that their ring abilities were not up to par. Sullivan countered that the Warlord and Barbarian were just what the AWA needed to give the belts legitimacy that they lost when abandoned by the Road Warriors. His thinking was the team that took the belts off the Powers of Pain would have instant legitimacy as champions. With the release of Rocky IV coming up that November, Greg Gagne called Hulk Hogan to get Sylvester Stallone's contact information. Gagne spoke to Stallone about a cross-promotion deal between himself and the AWA to air on ABC just prior to the release of Rocky IV. Stallone loved the idea and loved it even more that Gagne wanted him to work a match with one of the wrestlers. Gagne promoted the idea to ABC and an AWA television special was scheduled for the third Friday evening in November. It was tentatively titled "AWA Friday Night Live". Greg Gagne said he would agree to bringing Nick Bockwinkel back if he would be willing to put Gagne over in a title match on the ABC special. Sullivan expressed his doubt that Bockwinkel would be willing to make a return only to lose a big match, and suggested making Bockwinkel a guarantee that would make the deal more appealing. Wahoo McDaniel brought in the Cuban Assassin and Del Wilkes as per the request of Kevin Sullivan, who had plans for them both in the near future on AWA television. The general feeling in the locker room was that the last edition of AWA Championship Wrestling went over much smoothly and seemed like a much stronger show than weeks past. Credit was mostly given to Sullivan, as opposed to Gagne who insisted on booking the four corners match for the second straight week. The television rating for Week 3 was only a 0.6, the same as the previous week. But the feeling was that if Sullivan continued to keep Gagne on a leash that the quality could go up. Morale reached the highest it had been since Greg Gagne took over when the AWA special on ABC was announced to the rest of the workers. Excitement was in the air when it became known that Sylvester Stallone would be working the show. Several workers including Jerry Blackwell and Buddy Rose showed their willingness to work with Stallone, but Gagne seemed to have something else in mind. Colonel DeBeers received a stern warning from Kevin Sullivan about no-showing the last Championship Wrestling taping. DeBeers made an excuse and said that Sullivan was blowing the matter way out of proportion, but Sullivan warned that a further incident would result in penalties. AWA Championship Wrestling on ESPN / St. Paul, MN / 3,428 att - Rod Trongard and Lord James Blears welcomed viewers to another episode of Championship Wrestling as Paul Jones once again led the Powers of Pain down to the ring. Jones said that thus far the opposition in the AWA had been feeble, and that the Warlord and Barbarian were the types of champions that would take on all comers. At that, the winners of the 4-corners match last week, Buddy Rose and Doug Somers, were introduced to challenge the Powers of Pain for the belts. 1. Powers of Pain vs. Buddy Rose/Doug Somers. The team of Rose and Somers came out to make good on their chance to capture the tag titles. It was clear though that they were unprepared for the power that they were up against. Despite a good showing, it was Buddy Rose who went down for the count after a hard powerslam from the Barbarian at 9:58. (-3/4) 2. Buck "Rock 'N Roll" Zumhoff vs. Rick Gantner. Rick Gantner had very little offense in this match, and Zumhoff had no problem putting him away. He finished Gantner off with the Rock 'N Roll Dropkick at 4:39. (-*** 3/4) - Zumhoff was attacked after the match by Colonel DeBeers and Baron Von Raschke. Then a third man with a long black beard ran to ringside. Trongard and Blears thought he came to the rescue, but then he joined in on the beating on Zumhoff. His identity was then recognized as that of the Cuban Assassin! DeBeers introduced the new ally and said that this was what they thought of Americans, the weakest race of all! 3. Jerry "Crusher" Blackwell vs. Chris Curtis. Curtis was overwhelmed by the superior size and power of Blackwell the moment that the bell rang. Blackwell finished him with the Splash Mountain at only 1:11. (-1/2) - A pre-recorded promo was shown of the Midnight Rockers talking about the competition in the AWA, and warning the Powers of Pain that they would be coming after their belts in the near future! 4. Rheingans/Casey vs. The Destruction Crew. The new team of Brad Rheingans and Scott Casey put on a valiant effort, but the experience of the Destruction Crew won out when Mike Enos forced Casey to tap out to the Double Hammerlock Submission at 13:53. (* 1/4) - Larry Nelson pointed out the presence of a very special AWA fan, Sylvester Stallone! The star of Rocky and Rambo waved to the fans in attendance from the front row. Nelson talked to him for a minute about Stallone's upcoming release, Rocky IV. The interview was interrupted by Larry Zbyszko who took the microphone and mocked Stallone, asking why anyone would want to watch some ridiculous boxing movie where the hero is a midget when they could be watching Larry Z on AWA wrestling. Stallone got upset, but Nelson calmed him down and apologized as officials got Zbyszko into the ring. 5. Larry Zbyszko vs. Wahoo McDaniel. The crowd really came alive to support Wahoo McDaniel, one of the most beloved wrestlers in the AWA. Zbyszko had a lot of trouble putting McDaniel away, as the native American superstar kept on drawing on the fans for renewed strength. Finally Zbyszko hurt Wahoo enough to knock him out of the ring where he was counted out, and Zbyszko was awarded the victory at 8:11. (3/4 *) - Zbyszko decided that just hurting Wahoo wasn't enough, so he went out of the ring and got a steel chair. He began to stalk the injured Wahoo as Trongard and Blears yelled about how it would mean certain fines if Zbyszko went over the edge. Larry raised the chair, but then Sylvester Stallone slipped over the guardrail and stood over Wahoo, warning Zbyszko away as officials poured into the area to keep Zbyszko at bay. Card rating: DUD
Larry Mondello	Posted on 11/09/08 at 00:15:35 October 1985 Week 1 Championship Wrestling the past week scored another 0.6 in the ratings. The general consensus was that it was a poor showing from a wrestling standpoint, but many were positive after the first appearance of Sylvester Stallone. The formation of the anti-American faction consisting of Baron Von Raschke, Colonel DeBeers, and the Cuban Assassin was also a popular move. There was some disappointment in the ranks that Larry Zbyszko was chosen to work a program with Stallone, but it was agreed by Gagne and Sullivan that Zbyszko could be depended on to deliver the goods in a storyline that would no doubt garner nation-wide attention. Greg Gagne brought up the idea of a tag team match similar to the first WrestleMania's, and that it would be himself and Stallone against Zbyszko and Bockwinkel. Sullivan objected to the idea and felt that the rivalry would be much stronger left to Stallone and Larry Z. There was talk of establising an AWA Television title that would be defended weekly under a 10 minute time limit. Sullivan proposed the idea. Gagne liked it as well. Different possibilities for the first champion were discussed including Buck Zumhoff, Brad Rheingans, Buddy Rose, and Colonel DeBeers. Verne Gagne was showing signs of improvement, being able to walk and move around on a limited basis. Verne was said to have been a voice in the 'nay' column for the Sly Stallone angle, but it was clear to Greg and to Kevin Sullivan that the AWA would be going nowhere fast without some life shot into it. Wahoo McDaniel contacted Jimmy Snuka about working for the AWA, but Snuka was not interested in coming in at the time. ABC seemed high on the segment between Zbyszko and Stallone, and scheduled the AWA special for 8 PM on the first Friday in November. The program was to be called Friday Night SuperFight. AWA Championship Wrestling on ESPN / 2,776 in Deluth, MN - Championship Wrestling opened with a promo from AWA World Champion, Greg Gagne. Gagne apologized for the behavior of Larry Zbyszko in antagonizing Sylvester Stallone at a recent broadcast. Gagne said that Stallone bought a ticket and deserved the same courtesy as any other member of the audience. He announced that Zbyzsko had been suspended by the AWA from active competition for the space of one month, and issued an apology to Sylvester Stallone and the AWA fans. - Rod Trongard and Lord James Blears hyped the main event, a 6-man tag team match featuring Baron Von Raschke, Colonel DeBeers, and the Cuban Assassin against Buck Zumhoff, Wahoo McDaniel, and a mystery partner. 1. Greg Gagne vs. Rick Renslow. A glorified sparring session for the World Champion. Renslow got off his fair share of offense, but the champion took it in stride. Gagne erupted back and put Renslow to sleep with the Gagne Sleeper at 7:54. (-1/2) - In a pre-recorded promo, Nick Bockwinkel reflected on his interview a month prior where he called Greg Gagne a disgrace to the AWA. Bockwinkel said that he might have gotten ahead of himself on that interview, because in the past he's always been a man who proved himself through his actions, not his words. Bockwinkel said he wouldn't call Gagne a disgrace again until after he proved it in the ring. 2. Nick Bockwinkel vs. Brad Rheingans. Brad Rheingans was really on a roll, and the crowd was right behind him. The veteran out of Appleton, Minnesota kept Bockwinkel off balance the entire match, but the former AWA champion had more than a few tricks up his sleeve. Rheingans was unprepared for them, and Bockwinkel took the fall at 7:02 after a gutwrench suplex. Bockwinkel signalled that he would soon be wearing Greg Gagne's title around his waist. () - In a pre-recorded promo, Paul Jones was standing by with the Powers of Pain. Jones said that his team had plowed through every team that they set in their path. He said it made no difference if it was Gagne and Blackwell, the Midnight Rockers, or the Destruction Crew, the results would be the same. 3. The Midnight Rockers vs. Jim Powers/Italian Stallion. A very fast paced match with several near falls. Jim Powers and the Italian Stallion showed promise as a team, but Michaels and Jannetty had more polish as a tag team. Despite the near victories of Powers and the Italian Stallion, it was Powers who went down after the Double Missile Dropkick and a pinfall at 9:44. () - Paul Jones stepped out and sent his Powers of Pain to the ring to confront the Midnight Rockers. They entered the ring to beat down the smaller men, but Michaels and Jannetty surprised them with double dropkicks that knocked the behemoths out of the ring and brought the crowd to a standing ovation! Powers and the Italian Stallion stood with the Midnight Rockers to keep the Powers of Pain at bay. 4. Jerry Blackwell vs. Doug Somers. Blackwell really dominated the early part of the match until Somers was quite disoriented and had to be concerned for his own safety. Somers finally got a choke hold on Blackwell and refused to let it go. Referee Scott LeDux called the match and awarded it to Jerry Blackwell by DQ at 2:07. (-1/2) - Rod Trongard and James Blears talked about the incident last week where Buck Zumhoff was beaten down by Raschke, DeBeers, and the Cuban Assassin. They showed a replay of the disparaging marks that those three men made about Americans. This week on Championship Wrestling, Buck Zumhoff gathered two great Americans to face off against the anti-Americans. 5. Zumhoff/Wahoo/Mystery Partner vs. Raschke/DeBeers/Assassin. The mystery partner was the Patriot, who came out waving Old Glory! The Patriot really made an impression as he cleaned house of the anti-American faction. He hit the Patriot Missile on Colonel DeBeers and pinned him at 2:08, ending the match almost as soon as it started! (3/4) - Buck Zumhoff and Wahoo McDaniel celebrated with Old Glory as they received threats from Raschke's Reich. Chants of USA were deafening, forcing the anti-Americans to cover their ears. Card Rating:
Larry Mondello	Posted on 11/09/08 at 07:38:47 October 1985 Week 2 Ratings continued to decline on Championship Wrestling as the past week's show featuring the 6-man tag team match received a 0.5, the lowest rating in the show's history. Despite the critical praise that Kevin Sullivan's booking had received in the locker room and from dedicated AWA fans, Greg Gagne felt that Sullivan was only taking them deeper into the hole. Gagne's reign as World champion was a center of controversy in creative meetings where Sullivan alleged that Gagne was not the man that the AWA needed at the time to carry its most prestigious title. ESPN was said to be keeping its eye on the AWA more with its declining popularity and considering either moving it to a different time slot or perhaps even cancelling it all together. Sullivan warned that the product had to be shaken up sooner rather than later in order to avoid ESPN pulling the plug. Gagne ignored Sullivan's critiques of his holding the World title and decided to concentrate on the Stallone/Zbyszko angle instead. Gagne had come to terms with Nick Bockwinkel on his return. The plan was that Bockwinkel's shoot interview would be turned into a storyline that would result in Bockwinkel putting Gagne over at ABC's Friday Night SuperFight. Bockwinkel had reservations about the plan, but agreed under the stipulation that he would eventually receive another reign with the AWA World Heavyweight title. There were talks about an 8-man tournament to crown the first ever AWA World Teleivision champion. The tournament would feature Buck Zumhoff, Colonel DeBeers, Buddy Rose, Brad Rheingans, Doug Somers, Jim Powers, the Patriot, and the Italian Stallion. Sullivan felt that Jerry Blackwell should have been in the tournament, but Gagne wanted the Television title to be held only by pure wrestlers. The first round of the tournament was to be held in the weeks leading up to Friday Night SuperFight, and the semi-finals and finals to conclude then on the ABC special. Sylvester Stallone called and said he would be available to attend the Championship Wrestling tapings that week to hype up his appearance on ABC's Friday Night SuperFight. Gagne and Sullivan went to work on the next step in the Stallone storyline. Greg Gagne called Pat Patterson, who had just entered semi-retirement from the ring. Patterson had gone to work for the WWF with a handshake agreement. Gagne offered Patterson a role in the AWA, fully expecting to give him Sullivan's chair on the booking committee. Patterson said that he was content working in New York, but would be in touch if he changed his mind. AWA Championship Wrestling on ESPN / 1,512 in Green Bay, WI - Rod Trongard and Lord James Blears opened the show, pointing out that Sylvester Stallone was once again in attendance with his wife Brigitte Nielsen, both of which would be starring in the up and coming release of Rocky IV. Trongard said that later in the program AWA fans would be treated to a special never seen before preview of Rocky IV. 1. The Powers of Pain vs. Jim Powers/Italian Stallion. A pre-recorded promo of the Midnight Rockers challenging the Powers of Pain was played during the opening match. Powers and the Stallion performed admirably considering who they were in there against. The Stallion ended the match for his team early at 4:35 by shoving the referee after what he considered to be a slow count. The Powers of Pain weren't satisfied with the DQ victory and proceeded to dismantle the Italian Stallion and Jim Powers. (3/4) - Larry Nelson came out and announced that the AWA would be holding a tournament to crown the first ever AWA World Television champion. The TV champion would be defending his belt on a weekly basis on Championship Wrestling, and all TV title matches would have a time limit of 10 minutes. 2. Colonel DeBeers vs. Brad Rheingans. It was a first round match in the AWA World Television title tournament. It seemed as if it was going to be a difficult night for referees. Marty Miller got in between Rheingans and DeBeers when DeBeers was rushing toward him. Rheingans threw Miller to the side for his own safety, but he went all the way outside the ring and took a nasty fall. Not fully understanding the situation, Miller disqualified Rheingans at 1:42 and awarded it to DeBeers. (1/4) - The never before seen preview of Rocky IV began to play, but before it got past the title screen, the voice of Larry Zbyszko could be heard yelling to stop the footage. Zbyszko said that last time he looked, the AWA was about wrestling - not movies about Italian midgets pretending to be boxers. Zbyszko said that if Stallone really wanted to prove what a tough guy he was and do a decent promo for Rocky IV, he'd get out of his seat and face him in the ring! The crowd began to chant "Rocky! Rocky!" as Stallone stood up, but AWA officials came out to step between Stallone and Zbyszko. 3. The Destruction Crew vs. Buck Zumhoff/Wahoo McDaniel. Raschke's Reich cut a pre-recorded promo on Zumhoff and his American scum friends. In this match it was referee Gary DeRusha who went down, but he was able to stay in the match with no DQ's. The match was dead even until the end when Enos hooked on his deadly Double Hammerlock Submission which caused Wahoo to tap out. at 9:22. (1/2) - A pro-American promo of the Patriot was shown where the Patriot strolled past many of the USA's most important national monuments. The Patriot asked how anyone could not love the US of A, and said that there was a motto that Americans had for scum like Baron Von Raschke and his Reich. It was called America - love it or leave it! The Patriot said that they had that choice to make right now, and that if they didn't make it - the Patriot would make it for them! 4. The Patriot vs. Chris Curtis. The match was supposed to be The Patriot against Rick Gantner, but Gantner no-showed. The Cuban Assassin made his presence felt during the match, taking Old Glory and ripping it up to distract the Patriot. The match hardly got started before it was over. It was a night of disqualifications galore as referee Gary DeRusha DQ'd Chris Curtis at 3:30 for not releasing a choke hold that he had on the Patriot. The Patriot didn't seem to carry, as he was only interested in getting his hands on the Cuban Assassin who fled to the back. (1/4) - Larry Nelson conducted an interview with Greg Gagne, the AWA World Heavyweight champion. Gagne talked about Nick Bockwinkel's remarks about him through the last several weeks. He said the thing that Bockwinkel never could understand was that anyone could do anything if they had the heart and the desire to make it come true. Gagne said he was a living example of that, and that the health of his father was what sent him over the edge and made him the best that he could be. He said he didn't care what Bockwinkel or any of his critics thought - anyone who didn't like it could meet him in the ring and take it up with him man to man, just like Verne taught him. 5. Nick Bockwinkel vs. Jerry Blackwell. Blackwell dominated much of the match with his superior size and speed, but Bockwinkel was a survivor. He survived the Splash Mountain and pulled Blackwell through a match that got longer and longer while Blackwell got more and more tired. Finally it was Blackwell who submitted to a wristlock from Bockwinkel at 18:58. (3/4) - Bockwinkel taunted Greg Gagne and claimed that the title would once again be around his waist. Card Rating: *
Snabbit888	Posted on 11/09/08 at 22:22:19 Ha ha... man, I hate Greg Gagne so much just from reading his backstage stuff here. He seems so impractical and unlikeable. The Sly Stallone stuff is an interesting twist though, and I'm interested to see how it climaxes.
The TNM Members Champ	Posted on 11/10/08 at 00:07:06 Are you using TEW in tandem with TNM7?
Larry Mondello	Posted on 11/10/08 at 03:42:39 No, not using TEW at all for this... although that's an interesting idea. I enjoy TEW but it really limits my creative juices and I usually get bored with it within the first two months of game time. Writing the storylines is where the fun is at to me, not managing the more technical aspects or even in seeing the matches play out. Greg Gagne is just what I'd expect - inheriting the organization from his daddy without a clue as to how to run it, so of course he puts the belt on himself without thinking of how it will be received by the public or his own peers. Verne is worried about giving power to someone who doesn't share his vision (or lack thereof) for the product. Sullivan is fighting an uphill battle and somewhat succeeding in spite of the Gagnes. I have big plans for the future that will change the face of wrestling in the 80's as we knew it. An alternate history if you will that I think will be a lot of fun to explore and write about. Here's to hoping that the creative juices keep on flowing. Thanks for reading and commenting.
The TNM Members Champ	Posted on 11/10/08 at 03:54:00 I was wondering since TEW uses the same nomenclature for dates in the game. Instead of specific dates, they just say the year and week number. I don't use TEW much but I do like dealing with contracts and possibly signing away key names from other promotions. And yes, this is a very interesting scenario with the style clash between Gagne and Sullivan.
Larry Mondello	Posted on 11/10/08 at 05:49:21 Yeah I actually stole the date system from TEW. It saves me the trouble of looking up real dates. I also prefer to write a summary of all that happens in one week of game time.
Larry Mondello	Posted on 11/11/08 at 08:22:41 October 1985 Week 3 AWA heads were very pleased with how the confrontation between Zbyszko and Stallone turned out. Gagne at last came to agree with Sullivan that casting Stallone and Zbyszko in a solo feud was the right thing, and that more would only water the storyline down. Stallone seemed interested in working as many dates as possible up to the Friday Night SuperFight on ABC special. Sullivan warned that Stallone was a great attraction but needed to be used in moderation so as not to give too much away before the date of the ABC special. Ratings for Week 2 of October's Championship Wrestling remained a dismal 0.5. However, the quarter hour involving the Stallone and Zbyszko segment peaked to a 0.8. It was the first half of the show that fared so poorly. Gagne called a creative meeting to discuss what would bring viewers back to Championship Wrestling. Sullivan's view was that the Stallone storyline would only keep viewers tuned in to AWA if the booking and wrestling were up to par. Greg Gagne was pleased with Nick Bockwinkel's performance and confident that their match would prove worthy of the ABC special. Sullivan advised that Bockwinkel was incredibly jumpy and would need reassurances that Gagne did intend to come through on his end of the deal some time in '86, if not at the end of '85. Gagne said he was a man of his word, but had no intention to pass the belt around like a hot potato. Sullivan said that it would be a mistake to keep Bockwinkel waiting for too long. AWA Championship Wrestling on ESPN / 1,756 in Des Moines, IA - Rod Trongard and Lord James Blears opened up the show hyping a huge main event featuring Greg Gagne and Jerry Blackwell taking on the Destruction Crew! Also would be the debut of a new attraction to the AWA, the House of Cards with "Gamesmaster" Kevin Sullivan! 1. The Patriot vs. "Playboy" Buddy Rose. 1st round match in the AWA Television title tournament. Buddy Rose came in with an arrogant smirk of confidence that the Patriot wiped off his face in short order, putting the Playboy down with his Patriot Missile and getting the pin at 1:59 to advance to the next round of the Television title tournament. (DUD) - Earlier in the week Larry Nelson conducted a sit-down interview at the house of Larry Zbyszko. Zbyszko said that suspending him made no sense since he was just doing what any self-respecting wrestler would do to preserve the AWA and the sport of wrestling. Zbyszko said he had no respect for Stallone and that he was a phoney. He said if Stallone wanted to prove him wrong, he'd meet him in the ring. 2. The Midnight Rockers vs. Von Raschke/Cuban Assassin. The team of Raschke's Reich really cut the ring in half and dominated Michaels and Jannetty for much of the match, but they didn't account for the heart of the young men who fought back valiantly. Jannetty knocked the Cuban Assassin out with a Superkick and got the pin at 9:52. (**1/2) - House of Cards, the AWA's first official talk show segment, debuted with host "Gamesmaster" Kevin Sullivan. Sullivan introduced his inaugural guest, and it was none other than former World Champion, Nick Bockwinkel! Bockwinkel once again called out Greg Gagne, said it was a complete embarrassment for him to be wearing the title, and claimed that he would take it off of him the first opportunity he got. 3. Jim Powers vs. Rick Renslow. Both men fought hard, but the crowd was not appreciative of their efforts. A chant of 'boring' broke out despite the fact that Jim Powers was able to get some fans on his side. It was Powers who put "The #1 Alaskan" away at 8:42 after the Powerslam. (-1/2) - A promo for AWA's Friday Night SuperFight on ABC aired. It was to debut in the first week of November. Sylvester Stallone was advertised as being part of the card to promote Rocky IV. 4. Brad Rheingans vs. "Pretty Boy" Doug Somers. Brad Rheingans seemed very discontent with his record of late, and took it out on Doug Somers. Somers realized that he was in over his head and walked out of the match rather than get beaten any longer. The referee counted out Somers and awarded the match to a dissatisfied Brad Rheingans at 3:05. (1/2) - A pre-recorded interview was aired of Paul Jones with his Powers of Pain. Jones once again reiterated his challenge to the entire AWA and went through the list of the teams that his Warlord and Barbarian had already gone through. He warned that there was no team in the AWA that could take the tag straps off his men including the Midnight Rockers, the Destruction Crew, or anyone else. 5. Gagne/Blackwell vs. Destruction Crew. Nick Bockwinkel joined Rod Trongard and James Blears for commentary. Blackwell and Gagne seemed to have their opponents beat several times, but Bloom and Enos proved why they were considered one of the greatest tag teams in wrestling. The end came when Mike Enos had the AWA World Champ, Greg Gagne, in the Double Hammerlock submission. Gagne resisted submission, but Nick Bockwinkel snuck over to Blackwell's corner and threw in Gagne's towel so that it looked like Blackwell tossed it in. Marty Miller stopped he match and awarded it to the Destruction Crew. There was a huge controversy over whether Blackwell had thrown in the towel or not, but Gagne knew the truth. (3/4) - Gagne went after Bockwinkel went at it with fisticuffs as the Destruction Crew celebrated their victory. At that point they had to be considered the #1 contenders to the AWA Tag titles held by the Powers of Pain. And Nick Bockwinkel had to be considered the leading candidate to face Greg Gagne at Friday Night SuperFight for the AWA World title. Card Rating: *1/4
The TNM Members Champ	Posted on 11/11/08 at 17:25:33 If you're not using TEW, how are you determining ratings? I love these kind of scenarios where you're taking a situation and booking from there. I think I want to do that for the NWA Jim Crockett Promotions, but I'm not sure what scenario to do.
Larry Mondello	Posted on 11/11/08 at 19:37:50 I'm calculating ratings myself, so there's really no precise method. The ratings are all just part of the storyline for me. My problem with these situations is I always get into it and then I get the burning urge to start over at an earlier point in time. Right now I'm fighting off the need to go back to 1980.
piperfan18	Posted on 11/12/08 at 05:38:39 just want to say that this is some good stuff. AWA never interested me until you made this fed
The TNM Members Champ	Posted on 11/12/08 at 14:57:50 This circuit reminds me of when wrestling was everywhere in the 1980s, even on ESPN. I was lucky to grow up as a kid in the 80's. Even the AWA at its worst is better than the WWE at times.
Larry Mondello	Posted on 11/13/08 at 02:11:11 Thanks for the compliments, fellas. Oct 1985 Week 4 A press conference was staged during the week prior to Championship Wrestling where Stallone talked about Rocky IV's release in the USA. The press conference was interrupted by Larry Zbyszko who challenged Stallone to see if he could do something with his muscles other than choreographed boxing. There was a shoving match where security had to get involved to separate the two. The spot received coverage on many of the mainstream news networks with the added update that Sylvester Stallone had plans to step into the ring with Larry Zbyszko at Friday Night SuperFight on ABC. The hype leading up to the big match was very good, and both Gagne and Sullivan were very pleased with it. Verne Gagne was the main detractor from the angle, feeling that they were attempting to use the same tactics as the competition to get ahead instead of relying on what brought the AWA to the dance in the first place, which was just good wrestling. Greg Gagne was set to defend the AWA title on the card against Nick Bockwinkel. The television title tournament would also conclude and a champion would be crowned. In addition, the Powers of Pain were scheduled to defend their belts against either the Midnight Rockers or Destruction Crew. With one week left to hype the big show, Gagne and Sullivan went into the creative meeting to put their minds together and try to make Friday Night SuperFight the best that it could be. The previous week's Championship Wrestling scored a 0.6 in the Niellsen ratings, up a tenth of a point from where it had fallen in previous weeks. While the number was nothing to become overjoyed about, it was hoped that the trend would continue. AWA Championship Wrestling on ESPN / 3,452 in Minneapolis, MN 1. Buck "Rock 'N Roll" Zumhoff vs. The Cuban Assassin. A first round match in the AWA World Television Title Tournament. Baron Van Raschke joined the Cuban Assassin at ringside. Just when it seemed that Zumhoff had hit his stride and was on the way to sure victory, Von Raschke interfered by hitting him in the back with a chair! The ref saw it and DQ'd the Cuban Assassin at 3:56. (-1/4) - Baron Von Raschke entered the ring to get a little post-match revenge on Buck Zumhoff, but the Patriot was close by and made a surprise entrance to ward off an attack from Von Raschke and the Cuban Assassin. It was a standoff between American ideals and anti-Americans on Championship Wrestling! 2. Jim Powers vs. The Italian Stallion. A first round match in the AWA World Television Title Tournament. The Italian Stallion really seemed to have his A-game on tonight, but it was one mistake that costed him the whole thing. The Stallion went for his Stallion Slam, but Jim Powers rolled through it and cradled the Stallion for the pinfall at 7:12 to advance to the semi-finals of the tournament. (1/2) - Rod Trongard and James Blears discussed the AWA Television title tournament, the first round now being decided. At Friday Night SuperFight on ABC, Colonel DeBeers would face off against the Patriot and Buck Zumhoff would take on Jim Powers to decide who would wrestle in the finals of the tournament. 3. Midnight Rockers vs. Destruction Crew. The winners would be the #1 contenders for the AWA World Tag titles. Paul Jones joined Trongard and Blears for commentary with his Powers of Pain standing guard behind him like two big pillars. Jones pointed out the weaknesses of both teams and how they would both be crushed by the Warlord and Barbarian. The match was intense and exciting just as would be expected by these two teams. The Midnight Rockers wound up prevailing after hitting Enos with their trademark Double Missile Dropkick and scored the fall at 7:35 to advance to face the Powers of Pain at Friday Night SuperFight on ABC. () - Kevin Sullivan stepped into the ring for the second week of his "House of Cards" talk show. Sullivan's guest this week was none other than Larry Zbyszko. Clips of Stallone's big press conference were shown with Zbyszko's interference. Zbyszko said that he was going to humiliate Stallone and guarantee that his movie was a box office flop when everyone saw what a phoney he was on Friday Night SuperFight. 4. "Playboy" Buddy Rose vs. "The #1 Alaskan" Rick Renslow. A short and unspectacular showing for both men as Buddy Rose made short work of Renslow, pinning him after a reverse neckbreaker at 3:52. (-1/2) - Larry Nelson interviewed Greg Gagne who was with his team backstage consisting of Jerry Blackwell and the Patriot. Gagne said that the AWA fans knew that he wasn't a quitter, and that the referee was the only one fooled by Bockwinkel throwing in the towel last week. Gagne said he was going to give Bockwinkel a taste of the revenge he'd receive at Friday Night SuperFight. 5. Gagne/Blackwell/Patriot vs. Bockwinkel/Zbyszko/DeBeers. A 6-man tag team match! Tempers were very difficult for referee Marty Miller to keep in check during this match. A surprise appearance by Sylvester Stallone didn't do much to help the situation. The crowd was really into this match which ended when Stallone pulled down the top rope, causing Larry Zbyszko to tumble to the outside. Stallone then gave Zbyszko a DDT on the concrete! Marty Miller saw nothing as he was distracted by Greg Gagne and Nick Bockwinkel going at it as the Patriot was jumped by Colonel DeBeers! It was pandemonium! The referee counted Zbyszko out of the ring, and the match went to Gagne's team at 12:30. (1/2) - Emotions and excitement were running on high on this edition of Championship Wrestling as Rod Trongard ran through the card for AWA's Friday Night Superfight on ABC this coming Friday night! The Television title tournament would conclude. In the semi-finals the Patriot would meet Colonel DeBeers and Jim Powers would try his luck against Buck Zumhoff! Also the Powers of Pain would defend the AWA Tag titles against the Midnight Rockers! AWA World Champion Greg Gagne would defend against Nick Bockwinkel! And last but not least, Sylvester Stallone would put on the tights to face Larry Zbyszko! All that plus the debut of the Rocky IV special preview at Friday Night Superfight on ABC! Card Rating: 3/4
Snabbit888	Posted on 11/13/08 at 03:18:05 The build to Stallone's wrestling debut has been very well done. The key to the success of this will be if he embarrasses himself thoroughly in the actual match. I'm interested to see how you work around the fact that Stallone is going to suck in the ring. :)
Larry Mondello	Posted on 11/14/08 at 07:47:04 Nov 1985 Week 1 There was celebration in the office and in the locker room as AWA Championship Wrestling for week 4 of October did a 0.8 rating, which was up from a 0.6 the previous week and from two months of lacklustre performances. Much credit was given to the Stallone/Zbyszko storyline, but Gagne and Sullivan made it known that the in-ring product had improved quite a bit in the last few weeks as well. The Midnight Rockers and Destruction Crew were given special kudos for having what most considered the match of the week. Still, not all was positive. Nick Bockwinkel paid a visit to Verne Gagne at his home in Robbinsdale and reportedly aired his grievances with Greg and the current direction of the AWA. Given that Bockwinkel is a worker that Verne always held in high esteem, it was a given that Verne was troubled by what Bockwinkel had to say. Word got back to HQ via Greg Gagne that Verne hoped to be involved again with booking in a short time. This immediately struck a blow with Kevin Sullivan who felt that Verne returning to the fold would be a direct threat to his role in the AWA. Given that Championship Wrestling would be taped prior to Friday Night SuperFight and aired after, special plans had to be made for the show. Gagne was dead set against using the same talent in the tapings that would have to work later that night at the live ABC event. It was agreed that some of the lower card talent would be featured on Championship Wrestling for that week with fallout from FNS to take place the following week. Friday Night SuperFight on ABC LIVE! / 5,637 in Minneapolis, MN - Sylvester Stallone stepped out of his limousine with actor Burt Young, who portrayed Paulie in all of the Rocky films. Young was dressed casually as if he might have come along to manage Stallone in his big match against Larry Zbyszko! - A chain of brief pre-recorded promos aired to hype up the matches coming up later. Promos were done by the Midnight Rockers, Paul Jones and the Powers of Pain, Buck Zumhoff & the Patriot, Raschke's Reich, Jim Powers, Nick Bockwinkel, and AWA World Champion Greg Gagne. - Rod Trongard and Lord James Blears welcomed viewers to ABC's live presentation of the AWA's Friday Night SuperFight. They talked about the tournament for the AWA World Television title that would conclude tonight on ABC! 1. Colonel DeBeers vs. The Patriot. AWA Television Title Tournament Semi-final. Trongard and Blears talked about the history between these two men and their factions as Baron Von Raschke led DeBeers to the ring. The Patriot was doing well, even hitting the Patriot Missile, but Von Raschke put DeBeers foot on the rope to prevent the fall. America took a blow as DeBeers bounced back and hit Patriot with the Face First Piledriver to get the tainted win and advance to the final at 8:22. (*1/2) 2. Buck "Rock 'N Roll" Zumhoff vs. Jim Powers. AWA Television Title Tournament Semi-final. A grueling contest that started with a demonstration of mutual respect between two honorable competitors. Powers controlled the tempo through most of the match with the crowd pumping up Zumhoff enough to battle back. Neither man could seem to put the other away. Referee Marty Miller got in the way so that Jim Powers accidentally knocked him out of the ring. Miller DQ'd powers and warded the match to Buck Zumhoff at 13:15. (3/4) - Pre-recorded promos with both teams aired. Paul Jones talked about how his Powers of Pain had gone unopposed since coming to the AWA to claim the titles. Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty seemed pumped up about the match and showed little concern for the raw size and power of their opponents. 3. Powers of Pain vs. Midnight Rockers. AWA World Tag Team title match. Two more officials went down in this match, being Marty Miller and Scott LeDux. Michaels and Jannetty demonstrated their skills as tag team specialists against the much stronger Warlord and Barbarian. But what cost the Midnight Rockers this match was their good nature. When Michaels turned to check on the KO'd Scott Ledux, the Warlord clobbered him from behind and got the pin to retain the titles at 10:19. (1/2) - A video recap was played of the history between Greg Gagne and Nick Bockwinkel. It started back in September when Bockwinkel called Gagne a disgrace to the AWA title. Bockwinkel then threw in the towel in a match involving Gagne, Jerry Blackwell, and the Destruction Crew, getting the match stopped under the illusion that Blackwell had thrown in the towel for Gagne. It was only a matter of time before the two would meet with the coveted AWA World title on the line. 4. Greg Gagne vs. Nick Bockwinkel. Steel cage match for the AWA World Heavyweight title. With both men bleeding after having their faces scraped against the cage, they fought until 18:10. At one point in the match Bockwinkel got his fingers hung in the links of the cage, causing an injury to his hand. Gagne took advantage and hooked him in a wristlock, applying pressure to the injured hand. Bockwinkel tapped out, giving Gagne the successful title defense. () - The history between the anti-American Raschke's Reich and the American idealists was shown chronicling the feud between Buck Zumhoff, Colonel DeBeers, Baron Von Raschke, the Patriot, and the Cuban Assassin. The feud would come to a head on FNS with the World Television title on the line! 5. Colonel DeBeers vs. Buck "Rock 'N Roll" Zumhoff. AWA Television Title Tournament final. Baron Von Raschke tried to interfere but Wahoo McDaniel came to the ring to ward him off! The crowd went crazy! Other than that, the crowd was completely dead to the point that they were chanting referee Scott LeDux's name. Colonel DeBeers won the title after a gutwrench suplex at 8:57. (-3/4) - There was a video recap of the preliminary events leading up to the main event, beginning with Zbyszko taunting him at a show in Minnesota. Zbyszko continued to taunt Stallone, calling him a fake and a phoney, and even interrupted a press conference called for Stallone to talk about the release of his next film, Rocky IV. Stallone finally got tired of Zbyszko's mouth and challenged him to a match in the ring. Zbyszko claims he intends to show the world that Stallone is a phoney, not even as good as the lowest man on the AWA roster. 6. Sylvester Stallone vs. Larry Zbyszko. Stallone didn't have much in the way of in-ring ability, but Zbyszko effectively did his job of putting his opponent over anyway. Zbyszko controlled the tempo of the match and was responsible for at least 80% of the offense. Stallone eventually erupted back with a series of Rocky-esque punches. Burt Young distracted Zbyszko which enabled Stallone to prime his K.O. punch and knock Zbyszko out for the pinfall at 12:33. The crowd exploded. (1/4). - Stallone celebrated the win with Burt Young as Zbyszko recovered from the terrible blow he'd suffered. Rod Trongard and James Blears thanked everyone for tuning in to Friday Night SuperFight and then cut to the much awaited exclusive preview of Rocky IV. Card Rating: 1/4 AWA Championship Wrestling on ESPN / 5,532 in Minneapolis, MN Note: Championship Wrestling was taped just prior to Friday Night SuperFight. Therefore, at the time of its taping Friday Night SuperFight had not yet taken place. 1. Rheingans/Casey vs. Raschke's Reich. Rheingans and Casey showed good teamwork, but Rheingans noticeably had more of an edge this time than he would normally. They were still outclassed on this occasion by Raschke and the Cuban Assassin. Raschke applied the CLAW HOLD to Scott Casey, forcing him to submit at 15:20. () - Raschke kept the CLAW HOLD applied after the match, but Brad Rheingans simply left in disgust, leaving the crowd and announcers to figure out exactly what Rheingans problem was and why he was leaving his partner Scott Casey to the wolves! 2. "Gamesmaster" Kevin Sullivan vs. "The #1 Alaskan" Rick Renslow. It was the in-ring debut of Kevin Sullivan, normally the host of the 'House of Cards' segment. You could hear a pin drop in the arena during this match. Sullivan put Renslow out following a DOUBLE STOMP at 14:17. (-1/2) - Backstage Larry Nelson caught up with Brad Rheingans to asked him what was going on with his partner Scott Casey. Rheingans said that he is a talented young superstar in the AWA and he's tired of being paired up with guys like Scott Casey who couldn't pull their own weight. Rheingans said that from now on he was a free agent and looking out for himself only. 3. Italian Stallion/Gantner vs. Rose/Somers. Rose and Somers really had a hard time with referee Gary DeRusha in this match who let the match continue after the first fall due to complaint of a fast count by Rick Gantner. They only prolonged their defeat as Buddy Rose still finished off Gantner after a Playboy Dropkick at 15:51. (-**1/4) - Rod Trongard and James Blears talked a little about Friday Night SuperFight and about how even though Championship Wrestling was airing a day after, it was actually taped before, and thus fans would have to tune in next week for the fallout of FNS. 4. Jerry "Crusher" Blackwell vs. Chris Curtis. Curtis got almost no offense in as Jerry Blackwell came out and utterly destroyed him from the opening bell. After a SPLASH MOUNTAIN, Blackwell pinned Curtis for the 3 count at 2:40. (1/2) - Rod Trongard thanked everyone for tuning in to Championship Wrestling and hyped up next week's main event, a big six man tag team match between Raschke's Reich and the U.S. Defense Force. That would be Baron Von Raschke, the Cuban Assassin, and Colonel DeBeers against the Patriot, Buck Zumhoff, and Wahoo McDaniel. Card Rating: -3/4*
piperfan18	Posted on 11/14/08 at 18:04:36 kinda sad when a *** is considered the best match. I guess Greg Gagne likes to hold onto that title. I wonder who he would deem worthy to drop the title to.
Rick Garrard	Posted on 11/15/08 at 02:36:00 the answer to whom he considers dropping the title to: two words: Verne Gagne LOL Actually I could see him dropping to The Trooper (Del Wilkes aka The Patriot) or DJ Peterson or maybe even Mean Mike Enos. But in this AWA... I would say... LarryLand is in need of some gold, ya Spud Head! :)
Larry Mondello	Posted on 11/25/08 at 18:58:21 Just for an update, I haven't given up on my AWA circuit. I have, however, taken it back to an earlier period in time - 1983 to be exact, as I wanted to develop it more from the final showdown between Nick Bockwinkel and Hulk Hogan. Results from that will be coming soon.

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AWA 1985 and beyond