Announcers: Joe Pedicino & Bill Dundee
Ring Announcer/Interviewer: Larry Nelson
(# Aired on a previous AWA program.)
(2nd Taping)
Show Intro
In-studio: Nelson welcomed viewers and ran down the program
TV MAIN EVENT - PRO WRESTLING HERITAGE CHAMPIONSHIP: The Trooper (PWHC) vs. Jonnie Stewart
MAJOR NEWS: Bill Watts has something to say to AWA WC Col. DeBeers
A look back at the recent assault on the Top Guns by Manny Fernandez and newly arrived Mexican legend Perro Aguayo plus comments from the pair
An interview with Don Muraco after Muraco's vicious assault on Wahoo McDaniel after Wahoo's Indian strap match with AWA WC Col. DeBeers at Winter Warfare
A look back at last week's tag team title change on AWA SLAM! plus comments from the new champions
The Destruction Crew sees action
'Big' Reggie Bennett wrestles
AND MORE!
Nelson sent it to the ring in Las Vegas.
'Cowboy' Bob Orton won a squash match over Scott McGhee via pinfall with his superplex finihser
Orton was pretty strongly booed coming to the ring down the heel aisle.
Pic aired of Perro Aguyao with the caption: NEXT... MEXICAN MENACE!!!
Commercials
In-studio:Nelson intro'd footage from the end of the recent match between Manny Fernandez and Derrick Dukes of the Top Guns on AWA SLAM!.
VIDEO:
# After the match: Manny turned and stomped away on Dukes, snapped Dukes up and whipped Dukes into the ropes and dropped Dukes with a backfist to the face. Dukes again crashed to the mat.
Very little crowd response because the people did not know who the man, in street clothes, was who charged down the face aisle and hit the ring. Manny backed off of Dukes.
Pedicino: Wait a minute! That's Mexican legend Perro Aguyao! What's he doing here?!
Dundee: Must be free green card night at the Showboat!
Pedicino: Would you... Please!
Manny and Perro locked eyes.
Fair crowd pop as Ricky Rice, the other half of the Top Guns, came rushing down the face aisle and hit the ring to check on his downed partner. Ricky knelt down next to Dukes. Manny and Aguyao talking to each other in the ring like a fight was about to break out between them.
Then suddenly...
The pair jumped Ricky Rice and pounded the hell out of him. Dukes managed to get up and tried to save his partner but Manny and Perro beat him up, too. Manny whipped Rice into the ropes and caught Rice coming off with a back fist to the face. Rice crashed to the mat as Perro continued the assault on Dukes. Manny then bodyslammed Dukes and Perro went over and mounted the middle buckle and came off with a double foot stomped to Dukes' gut. Dukes rolled over on his side holding his gut. Manny grabbed the pummled Rice and bodyslammed him in the opposite corner and Perro mounted the middle buckle and came off with a double foot stomp to the gut of Rice. Rice and Dukes laid out in the ring as Manny and Perro shook hands and Manny raised Perro's hand in defiant victory to pretty strong boos from the crowd.
END VIDEO
In-studio: Nelson briefly discussed Aguayo as a major star in his native Mexico and was a master at brawling.
Nelson then intro'd comments from Aguyao and Fernandez.
Aguyao and Manny were standing in front of the AWA logo with mics in hand and they were in street clothes.
Manny: Did you gringos see what happened to the Top Guns?! Did you?! This man here next to me is a giant among men in this sport! He is a legend and a deity in Mexico! He is Perro Aguyao!
And together, you can call us the Latin Exchange! We're here to do some serious damage! And you had better believe those tag team titles are on our radar, jack!
Perro: You people need to listen to this man! He knows what he is speaking about! When Manny gave me the call asking me to come to the U.S. to fight with him, I could not say no! The fans south of the border know this is a dream team!
And you people in America are about to see why we're a dream team! The Top Guns are just the start on our hit list! We're here to dismantle the AWA tag team division and re-build it in our image!
The Latin Exchange has arrived on your shores! And there's gonna be no stopping us!
Manny: VIVA LA RAZA!
END VIDEO
Pic aired of new tag champs holding up the titles with the caption: NEXT... NEW CHAMPS!!!
Commercials/AWA Tour Update
In-studio: Nelson intro'd footage from the end of last week's AWA World Tag Team Title match between champs Billy Jack Haynes and Scott Norton and challengers Rip Oliver and the Grappler. PLUS! Post-match comments from Oliver and the Grappler.
VIDEO:
#Grap then blasted Haynes with a violent backbreaker across the knee. Grap for the cover. 1...2... Norton hit the ring and stomped Grap in the back of the head to break up the pin try. Rip had recovered enough and hit the ring to attack Norton and the two started fighting in the ring. Ref tried to break up the warring pair. Grap to his feet and made his way over by the ropes and was facing the crowd. Grap reached into his tights and then reached up and started messing with the forehead part of his mask. Ref still trying to get Rip and Norton separated.
Pedicino: I think Grappler may have just put something in his mask!
Haynes up and came up behind Grap and spun Grap around and Grap nailed Haynes with a violent, foreign object-loaded headbutt. Haynes crashed to the mat and was stunned. Haynes laying on his side. Ref finally got Rip and Norton separated. Both men going back to their corners. Grap rolled Haynes over and covered him. Ref saw it and dropped down. 1... Norton hit the ring again and so did Rip. ...2... Rip caught Norton with a chop block at the knees and Norton toppled over and went down. ...3! Ref called for the bell as the crowd booed.
Nelson climbed up on the apron with the tag titles and the ref went over and said something to Nelson and took the belts. Grap up and Rip over and the two hugged in celebration.
Ref raised Grap's hand in victory and handed Rip and Grap the belts. The pair briefly celebrated in the ring as a hurting Norton crawled over and checked on his partner.
Pic flipped and Grap and Oliver, still in their ring attire were celebrating in the dressing room. Grap had a mic.
Grap held his belt up in front of the camera.
Grap: You see this! The Grappler and Rip Oliver are the new AWA Tag Team champions! Haynes and Norton are no more! We took the proverbial axe to them and cut them down to size and took these titles the Pacific Northwest way!
Two Northwest guys are your champions and you'd better accept that fact!
Rip took the mic.
Rip: Grappler, I've got to disagree with you on something.
Grap: What's that?
Rip: We didn't take and axe to Haynes and Norton. We took a chainsaw to them!
The pair laughed.
Rip: The Old Man in Portland is gonna be so happy when he gets the good news! Two true Pacific Northwest boys are the AWA Tag Team Champions! We don't disavow out great Northwest heritage by selling out to the fans of the AWA!
This is the biggest victory to date for the Pacific Northwest here in the AWA! And it feels...
Bobby Jaggers, in street clothes, walked into the picture.
Jaggers: Guys! I just came in to congratulate you on a job well done! Since I'm from the Pacific Northwest, too, it's great to see authentic Pacific Northwesterners win the biggest tag team titles in the sport today! Congrats!
The trio shook hands and Jaggers walked off.
Grap: Now there goes another real deal Pacific Northwesterner!
These titles are now in our hands! We went in that ring and ripped them from the grasp of Haynes and Norton!
And boys! Try as you might, you're not getting these back!
Rip and Grap laughed.
END VIDEO
Pic aired of the Destruction Crew with the caption: NEXT... DESTRUCTIOn!!!
Commercials
Destruction Crew (Wayne Bloom & Mike Enos) won a squash match over George Wells & Jose Louis Rivera via pinfall with their Wrecking Ball (Doomsday Device) finisher
Destruction Crew was strongly booed coming to the ring down the heel aisle.
Split-screen pic of AWA owner Bill Watts and AWA WC Col. DeBeers with the caption: NEXT... WATTS VS. DEBEERS!!!
Commercials
In-studio: Nelson intro'd the Watts-DeBeers meeting.
VIDEO:
Interviewer Bonnie Blackstone was standing with owner Bill Watts and AWA WC Col. DeBeers in front of the AWA logo. Bonnie had a mic.
DeBeers was in his camo gear and beret and had the World Title around his waist,
Bonnie: I am here with Bill Watts, one of the owners of the AWA, and AWA World Champion Col. DeBeers.
Bill, we hear you have something you want to say to the Colonel.
Watts: I do, Bonnie.
Col. DeBeers, the people think it's disgraceful that you are the AWA World Champion. Not because of your wrestling ability, which is very good. But rather because of your vile political outlook.
DeBeers: Whatever I believe in, Bill, doesn't matter. I'm your World Champion and the standard bearer for the AWA. Frankly, I don't care what you or anybody else believes about my politics. I won this belt. I'm the champion and that's all there is to it.
You tried to get the title off of me in that Indian strap match with Wahoo McDaniel. But, as everyone saw, including you and all the AWA owners, I'm the man who handed Wahoo his first defeat in an Indian strap match. I take great pleasure in knowing how much it frustrates the big shots who run the AWA.
Watts: DeBeers. I am here to tell you that next week, right here on SLAM! wrestling, you will be defending the AWA World Title.
DeBeers chuckled.
DeBeers: That's great. Another victim for me in my Manifest Destiny Tour.
Watts: And the man you will be defending the title against next week is... Nikita Koloff!
DeBeers demeanor changed.
DeBeers: What?! You can't do... How dare you! Nikita is not a worthy contender! I thought you were having me defend the title against someone like Tommy Jammer or Jake Milliman! This is an outrage!
Watts: Be as outraged as you want, Colonel! It happens next week right here on the program! Make sure you have the belt with you! Good night, Col. DeBeers!
Watts walked out of the interview area.
Bonnie: Colonel?
DeBeers: The AWA Championship Committee is conspiring to take the belt off me by any means necessary!
Well, you just listen to me! The committee just made a huge mistake! Nikita Koloff is not winning this title next week!
DeBeers stormed out of the interview area.
END VIDEO
In-studio: Nelson talked about the stunning announcement from owner Watts. Hyped the World Title match next week: DeBeers (WC) vs. Nikita right here on SLAM!
Pic aired of Reggine Bennett with the caption: NEXT... BIG REG!!!
Commercials
Reggie Bennett won a quick squash match over the masked Lady Assassin via submission with her split-leg rear chinlock finisher
Reg got a strong ovation coming down the face aisle.
WrestleRock '91 - Live on PPV - Sunday, April 28 - Cow Palace - San Francisco, CA - With musical guests: SF hometown faves Huey Lewis and the News - Tickets go on sale this Saturday, March 9 @ 10am PT.
Video aired of Muraco strangling Wahoo with the Indian strap with the caption: NEXT... ATTEMPTED MURDER???
Commercials
In-studio: Nelson intro'd footage from Winter Warfare after Wahoo had lost an AWA World Title Indian strap match.
# After the match: Wahoo in the ring alone. He took off the strap from his wrist and tossed it down. The strap was now laying in the ring. Wahoo went over by the ropes facing directly away from the entrance aisle. Wahoo leaned forward against the ropes with his forearms sitting on the top rope. Wahoo had his head down. Crowd suddenly screamed as Don Muraco hurriedly made his way down the aisle, hit the ring, came up behind Wahoo and clubbed Wahoo in the back with a forearm smash. Muraco hammered away on Wahoo. Wahoo stunned and facing away from Muraco. Muraco grabbed the strap off the mat and came up behind Wahoo and started strangling Wahoo with it. Wahoo gasping for air. Muraco tightened up on the strangling party and Wahoo dropped to his knees. Wahoo fighting to get the strap off his neck. Wahoo weakened in the assault and was now down on the mat and on the verge of passing out. He was moving very little. Fans beside themselves. Crowd then popped as some wrestlers from the face locker room charged down the aisle and hit the ring. Muraco bailed to the safety of the floor before any of them could touch him. Wahoo down on the mat with the strap still tied around his neck and barely conscious. Shot of the downed Wahoo being checked on by the wrestlers.
In-studio: Nelson then intro'd an interview with Don Muraco.
Bonnie Blackstone was standing in the AWA interview area with mic in hand and in front of the AWA logo.
Bonnie: My guest at this time is Don Muraco.
Muraco walked into the interview area. He was in street clothes.
Bonnie: Don...
Muraco: That's Mr. Muraco to you, toots.
Bonnie: Mr. Muraco, when you attacked Wahoo McDaniel with the Indian strap after his match with Co. DeBeers at Winter Warfare, just what was it you were trying to accomplish. Because it looked like what you were possibly trying to do was attempted murder.
Muraco: Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn what you think.
I was tired of Wahoo screwing around with me on getting back together as a tag team. He kept putting me off with one excuse after another.
Bonnie: He made it clear to you that he would look to reunite as a tag team with you when he had time on his schedule, Mr. Muraco. He was the World Champion, afterall.
Muraco: Once he lost the World Title to Col. DeBeers in December he should have fulfilled his obligation to get back as a tag team. Instead, he just kept putting things off and making lame excuses.
What you saw at Winter Warfare was me making things official. There will be no getting back together as a team. I was ignored long enough. I was actually more patient than I should have been with Wahoo.
Bonnie: Why not just look for another tag team partner?
Muraco: Because me and Wahoo were rolling as a tag team and then he won the World Title and that became an obsession for him. He ignored us as a team. And I was not happy with it. I was more patient with Wahoo than I should have been.
I should have tried to put his lights out long before Winter Warfare...
Bonnie yanked the mic away.
Bonnie: That was Don Muraco.
END VIDEO
Pic aired of the Slam! logo with the caption: NEXT... TITLE FIGHT!!!
Commercials
TV MAIN EVENT - PRO WRESTLING HERITAGE CHAMPIONSHIP: The Trooper (PWHC) vs. Jonnie Stewart
(Since these AWA TV tapings would have taken place the day after Winter Warfare, the Trooper-Stewart match would have been advertised in the Vegas market as a standard wrestling match. The night of the tapings the arena crowd would have been informed of the title change (if they didn't see it the night before live on ESPN) at Winter Warfare. So the match would have been changed to a title match the night of the tapings.
Jonnie Stewart made his way down the heel aisle to pretty strong boos.
The Trooper (PWHC) made his way down the face aisle to a nice ovation.
Nelson did the ring intro's and the ref laid down the ground rules and patted each man down and sent them back to their corners.
Ref called for the bell.
The two men circled one another and Stewart swung at Trooper and Trooper dodged the punch try and popped Stewart with a head shot. Trooper whipped Stewart into the ropes and caught Stewart coming off with a high backdrop. Stewart crashed to the mat. Stewart getting up and Trooper whipped Stewart into the ropes and looked to catch Stewart coming off with another high backdrop but Stewart caught Trooper with a kick to the chest. Trooper shot up and staggered back. Stewart moved in and caught Trooper with a couple of left jabs to the jaw. Stewart whipped Trooper into the corner and charged in and nailed Trooper with a running back elbow to the chest. Stewart with a series of knees to the gut and then Stewart hip tossed Trooper out of the corner. Trooper sitting up and Stewart caught Trooper with a flying snap mare. Trooper on his back. Stewart dropped on top of Trooper and popped Trooper with head shots and went for the cover. 1... Trooper kicked out. Stewart up and stomped on Trooper. Stewart grabbed Trooper by the head and slammed Trooper's head into the mat three times. Stewart snapped up Trooper and bodyslammed Trooper. Stewart ran and hit the ropes and came off with a diving splash but Trooper got his knees up and Stewart crashed into them. Crowd cheered. Both men down. Both men to their knees and engaged in an punch exchange as they rose to their feet. Trooper got the upper hand and nailed Stewart with more punches. Trooper whipped Stewart into the ropes and caught Stewart coming off hanging upside down on his back. Trooper blasted Stewart with a double leg slam. Trooper for the cover. 1...2... Stewart kicked out. Trooper grabbed Stewart and whipped Stewart into the buckles. Trooper nailed Stewart with a series of rapid-fire shoulder blocks to the gut. Trooper whipped Stewart into the opposite buckles. Trooper charged in and went to nail Stewart with a running shoulder block to the gut when Stewart moved and Trooper crashed shoulder-first into the post. Stewart down and Trooper welded to the post. Ref counting. Stewart up and moved in and rolled Trooper up from behind for the pin. 1... Stewart grabbed a handful of tights. ...2...thr... Trooper kicked out. Fans cheered. Stewart kicked Trooper in the chest as Trooper was getting up. Stewart then caught Trooper with a couple of gut shots and went to piledrive Trooper but Trooper twice blocked the move and backdropped Stewart to the mat. Crowd cheered. Stewart up and Trooper moved in and caught Stewart with a punch and whipped Stewart into the ropes and looked to catch Stewart coming off with a clothesline but Stewart ducked the move and came back and clotheslined Trooper to the mat. Stewart snapped up Trooper and bodyslammed Trooper and gave him a quick stomp. Stewart went out on the apron and climbed to the top buckle and came off with his flying elbow smash finisher but Trooper rolled out of the way and Stewart crashed to the mat. Crowd popped. Both men down. Ref counting. Trooper to his feet at the count of four and assumed the position. Stewart up at 9. Stewart turned and Trooper charged over and blasted Stewart with his flying shoulder tackle finisher. Trooper for the cover. 1...2...3! Ref called for the bell as the crowd roared.
Ref handed Trooper the belt and raised his hand in victory as the program ended.
WINNER: Trooper - Pinfall - 5:38
END PROGRAM