Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Aug 12, 2015 0:22:53 GMT -6
www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2015/0811/599334/today-in-wrestling-history-811-rick-rude-returns-as-shawn/
* 25 years ago in 1990, the AWA ran the final TV taping of its 30 year history at the Mayo Civic Center in Rochester, Minnesota. Starting around 1987, the AWA had largely ceased to be a full-time wrestling promotion, instead existing almost solely to produce TV for ESPN and some syndicated stations on top of running VERY occasional house shows (think TNA in 2016). They moved their TV tapings to Minnesota in 1989, picking a building that was relatively decent for hiding small crowds. There were two matches/angles of note at the taping:
D.J. Peterson (also known as Dave Peterson) and The Trooper (Del "The Patriot" Wilkes) defeated The Destruction Crew (Mike Enos and Wayne "The Train" Bloom) to win the AWA World Tag Team Championship, leaving them as the final title holders. Trooper and The Destruction Crew were the last real young prospects the AWA had, and were valuable enough that WCW brought in Enos and Bloom under masks earlier in the year as Minnesota Wrecking Crew II to feud with the Steiner Brothers when Ole and Arn Anderson were injured a few months earlier. They had a solid match, it was a nice moment, and most fans never heard from the AWA again.
The AWA was still running smaller shows from time to time, and they kept the syndicated show on in a handful of markets (their home market in the Twin Cities, of course, but also New York for a while) as a vehicle for older matches. In the Twin Cities, it was used to promote the local shows, which ran well into 1991. In the above video, you can see how The Destruction Crew were magically the champions again while the show was used to shoot an angle for a high school fundraiser the AWA booked.
Also on the final TV taping, they blew off the Team Challenge Series after a year. In the TCS, everyone in the promotion was divided into three teams: Larry Zbyszko captaining Larry's Legends, Baron Von Raschke captaining Baron's Blitzers, and Sgt. Slaughter captaining Sarge's Snipers. Slaughter left right before the end, so his team became Col. DeBeers leading DeBeers' Diamond Cutters. Somehow, Different matches (sometimes weird ones like the above Great American Turkey Hunt with a frozen turkey on a pole in an empty pink room) would have different point values with the winning team (or captain?) getting $100,000. It somehow ended with winner takes all battle royal, which long-time jobber Jake "The Milkman" Millman won for Larry's Legends, who immediately abandoned him.
Not the most dignified end for this promotion.
* 25 years ago in 1990, the AWA ran the final TV taping of its 30 year history at the Mayo Civic Center in Rochester, Minnesota. Starting around 1987, the AWA had largely ceased to be a full-time wrestling promotion, instead existing almost solely to produce TV for ESPN and some syndicated stations on top of running VERY occasional house shows (think TNA in 2016). They moved their TV tapings to Minnesota in 1989, picking a building that was relatively decent for hiding small crowds. There were two matches/angles of note at the taping:
D.J. Peterson (also known as Dave Peterson) and The Trooper (Del "The Patriot" Wilkes) defeated The Destruction Crew (Mike Enos and Wayne "The Train" Bloom) to win the AWA World Tag Team Championship, leaving them as the final title holders. Trooper and The Destruction Crew were the last real young prospects the AWA had, and were valuable enough that WCW brought in Enos and Bloom under masks earlier in the year as Minnesota Wrecking Crew II to feud with the Steiner Brothers when Ole and Arn Anderson were injured a few months earlier. They had a solid match, it was a nice moment, and most fans never heard from the AWA again.
The AWA was still running smaller shows from time to time, and they kept the syndicated show on in a handful of markets (their home market in the Twin Cities, of course, but also New York for a while) as a vehicle for older matches. In the Twin Cities, it was used to promote the local shows, which ran well into 1991. In the above video, you can see how The Destruction Crew were magically the champions again while the show was used to shoot an angle for a high school fundraiser the AWA booked.
Also on the final TV taping, they blew off the Team Challenge Series after a year. In the TCS, everyone in the promotion was divided into three teams: Larry Zbyszko captaining Larry's Legends, Baron Von Raschke captaining Baron's Blitzers, and Sgt. Slaughter captaining Sarge's Snipers. Slaughter left right before the end, so his team became Col. DeBeers leading DeBeers' Diamond Cutters. Somehow, Different matches (sometimes weird ones like the above Great American Turkey Hunt with a frozen turkey on a pole in an empty pink room) would have different point values with the winning team (or captain?) getting $100,000. It somehow ended with winner takes all battle royal, which long-time jobber Jake "The Milkman" Millman won for Larry's Legends, who immediately abandoned him.
Not the most dignified end for this promotion.