The Name on the Marquee: AWA Superclash (09.28.1985)

-WWEClassics.com’s September offering…

-So the WWF had just put on the supercard to end all supercards, Wrestlemania the First, and suddenly, the pressure was on everybody still in the game to whip up the biggest shows they were capable of to keep up. Verne Gagne decided to do an AWA supercard, and for good measure, he turned to Jim Crockett to make it an AWA/NWA cross-promotional show. And how did it go? Well, to put it briefly, David Crockett did a lap around the locker room offering contracts to all the AWA talent. So it took all of one show to burn that bridge for good.

-It’s September 28, 1985.

-We’re in Comiskey Park, 21,000 in attendance. Seating capacity 44,000.

-Your host is Larry Nelson.

-Verne Gagne welcomes the fans to the arena and thanks them for showing their support.

-Brad Rhengins & Steve Regal cut near-identical promos.

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE: “Mr. Electricity” STEVE REGAL (Champion) vs. BRAD RHENGINS
-This is not the Steve Regal you’re thinking of, which I think is a required note for any internet review of any match that “Mr. Electricity” ever wrestled. Brad Rhengins was at the 1980 Olympics, which, in Verne Gagne’s universe, was enough grounds to push him for the next decade right up until the windows of the AWA were finally boarded up.

-Regal misses a right hand, but ties Rhengins into a hammerlock. Rhengins reverses and Regal goes to the ropes. Side headlock by Rhengins. He takes Regal to the mat with it, and Regal tries to roll over a few times for two-counts. Regal gets to his feet and slugs Rhengins. Shoulderblock by Regal, but Rhengins monkeyflips him and starts going to work on the arm. Regal punches free, but misses a charge. Back to the arm goes Rhengins while Nelson notes that the absence of a beard on Regal’s face is making a tremendous difference in this match. You know, I was just thinking that.

-Rhengins misses a dropkick and Regal capitalizes, ramming him from turnbuckle to turnbuckle. Regal goes to the eyes and takes Rhengins down with a forearm. Headlock by Regal. Rhengins gets to his feet, but a handful of hair brings him back down to earth. “Borrrrrring” chant by the crowd is interpreted by Larry Nelson as “Haiiiiiiir!” trying to alert the referee to the cheating.

-It reaches a point where even Nelson is complaining about how long the hold’s been going on, and Regal finally releases and slams Rhengins. Elbow gets two. Slam by Regal, and another elbow misses. Rhengins gets aggressive with punching and kicking. Rhengins nearly has a three-count, but Gorgeous Jimmy Garvin shows up and creates a diversion long enough for Regal to roll up Rhengins for a three-count to retain. 1 for 1. Weak finish, long headlock, but beyond that, a surprisingly good mat-based battle. You could tell that shaving the beard really did a lot for Regal’s workrate at this stage in his career. Rhengins kicks some ass post-match for a moral victory.

-Larry Nelson shames Regal for his hollow victory. Regal correctly points that Garvin technically didn’t do anything and he didn’t even really cheat to get the pinfall.

-Sherri Martel has chased Candy Devine all over America, and tonight it’s finally her night to capture the belt.

-Candy…uh…Candy agrees, except for the part about losing the belt.

-We cut to the infield, where Brad Rhengins wails on Steve Regal and slams him on the grass just to really get his point across.

WOMEN’S TITLE: CANDY DEVINE (Champion) vs. SHERRI MARTEL
-Sherri stalls, refusing to let the referee pat her down before the match. Armdrag by Candy. Another one followed by a top wristlock. Sherri turns it into an armbar. Sherri goes to the eyes and rams Candy into the turnbuckle. Sherri attacks Candy’s head from every direction, and the referee doesn’t give a shit about that, but then she pulls Candy’s hair and the referee is all over her for that. Ah, wrestling.

-Candy dropkicks Sherri over the top rope, which Nelson thinks is the finish because that’s a DQ in the AWA, but the match keeps going, and Candy slingshots Sherri across the ring again and again before locking Sherri into a Boston crab. Sherri powers out of it and they trade two-counts. Legdrop by Sherri, and a cradle for two. Sherri throws Candy out to the pitcher’s mound, then throws knees every time she goes back in.

-Candy finally decides to just go along with that and yanks Sherri out to the ground. She rams her leg into the post and slams her. Back in, Candy locks in an armbar (and a painful-looking one, too). Sherri gets out and throws punches. Running kneelift by Sherri and she puts the boots to Candy. Punch to the face and Larry angrily insists that we get reasonable about this! I agree wholeheartedly.

-Sunset flip by Candy gets two. Clothesline from Sherri turns things back her way. Suplex by Sherri, and she heads to the top rope and connects with a splash for three, taking the belt clean as a sheet. 2 for 2. Not a classic, but as far as women’s wrestling in 1985 goes, they just totally blew Moolah, Richter, and their hair-pulling out of the water.

ASIAN SIX-MAN TAG TEAM TITLE: GIANT BABA, JUMBO TSURUTA, & GREAT TENRYU (Champions) vs. HARLEY RACE & LONG RIDERS
-Wow, the Asian Six-Man Title. That’s so prestigious that they don’t even have belts for it! Baba holds the distinction of being the only member of his team whose name isn’t mispronounced at some point. Tenuroo and Toosutra aren’t as lucky. On the opposite corner, we have a team that probably exists only because somebody thought it would be funny to team up a biker-gimmick tag team with a guy named Harley Race. Another point to make here: I can’t tell which team is supposed to be face and which is supposed to be heel. Crowd pops like crazy for Harley & the Riders, but the Japanese folk work the match like faces.

-Tenryu starts with “Scott Hogg” Irwin. Dropkick by Tenryu and he tags Race immediately. Tenryu armdrags him immediately and follows with a slam. Jumbo tags in and so does Wild Bill Irwin. Irwin puts the boots to Jumbo and takes him down for two. Side headlock by Wild Bill. Jumbo fights it, so Harley tags in and just gets his ass kicked from here to there by the Japanese contingent. Russian legsweep by Baba gets two when Scott Hogg makes the save. Headbutts by Harley and suddenly Baba is trapped in the wrong corner and it’s three-on-one. Baba gets pissed off and boots Wild Bill into oblivion. Tenryu tags in and throws chops. Boot by Wild Bill, and Scott Hogg tags in to add a high knee and a knee drop for two.

-Scott makes the mistake of tagging Harley Race back in and he gets his ass kicked by all things Japanese again. Enziguiri gets two. An assist from the apron by the Irwins allows Harley to take advantage with a shoulderbreaker for two. Piledriver gets another two. Elbow for another two. Long Riders go to work on Tenryu. Knee by Wild Bill gets two. Scott Hogg keeps the pounding going until Tenryu gets a lucky kick. Hot tag…at least I think it’s supposed to be the hot tag…and Jumbo destroys the Long Riders singlehandedly. Baba Irish whips Wild Bill over the top rope. Larry Nelson insists that should be a disqualification, but then thinks better of it, reasoning that he probably only went over the top rope because he jumped up when he hit the turnbuckles. Yes, he actually says this.

-Back in the ring, the champions keep working over Wild Bill. Bill makes a comeback by targeting the head and dropping the elbow. Donnybrook suddenly erupts and in the midst of it, Baba gives Wild Bill a huge boot to the chest and pins him to retain the titles. 3 for 3. They kept it moving in there and I had some fun.

MIDGET CHAMPIONSHIP: LITTLE TOKYO (Champion) vs. LITTLE MR. T
-Little Mister T looks exactly like you’d expect him to look, if the name got your attention. Tokyo gets a cheap shot early and tries to retreat, but T slingshots him back in. They do a little mat wrestling and T gets the advantage with a hammerlock. Tokyo gets free and slams T. He follows with a top wristlock. T throws a forearm that sends Tokyo to the mat. Arm wringer by Tokyo and they trade holds again. Tokyo throws punches, oblivious to T’s overwhelming blackness, and T gets fired up and rams Tokyo into the turnbuckle and headbutts him down for two.

-Tokyo gets the upper hand and goes for a flying clothesline, but T hooks his arm and yanks him down to turn it into an armbar. He does it correctly, but he’s so damn proud of himself, I guess, that he does the spot again just to show off. Tokyo kicks him down. Suplex by Tokyo and they trade blows from there. Headlock by T, but Tokyo gets free and stomps T down. Backdrop gets two.

-T “sees a bird” and Tokyo looks up to get a glimpse, so T cheapshots him. Tokyo tries to do the same thing, but when he “sees the bird,” T just preemptively punches him down. God help me, I found this sequence kind of funny. They go to a test of strength and T stomps on Tokyo’s toes. Tokyo just gets mad and throws punches. T headbutts Tokyo and “butt-butts” him. He misses a dropkick and Tokyo takes advantage with a backdrop. Chops to the throat are enough for Tokyo to get three over T. Pity he. 4 for 4. I’ll be damned; pretty solid, fast-paced stuff from these guys.

IWA HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE: MIL MASCARAS (Champion) vs. BUDDY ROBERTS
-Joined in progress and not in the same spot where it was in the actual show for some reason. Test of strength, and Mascaras just lays down and headscissors Buddy down to the mat. Full nelson by Buddy, and Mascaras just lays down again and kicks Buddy away. Mascaras applies his own full nelson. Buddy tries the same counter, but Mascaras just grabs his leg, rolls him over, and ties him into the full nelson again. Buddy gets to the ropes and Mascaras helpfully drops him on his back to release the hold. Fun sequence.

-Armdrag by Mascaras. Buddy gets to his feet, only to get tangled up into an abdominal stretch. Buddy gets free and tries a kick, but Mascaras sweeps his leg. Buddy finally just says screw it and gouges the eyes. He takes Mascaras to the corner and uses the tag rope to choke away at Mascaras. Elbow from the second rope and a low blow by Buddy for a two-count.

-Neckbreaker by Buddy gets a one-count. He rakes Mascaras’eyes across “the steel rope” and Mascaras just gets pissed and throws a flurry of punches. Buddy tries an Irish whip, but misses the charge and hangs himself sideways in the turnbuckles. Flying forearm by Mascaras. He charges at Buddy and gets a faceful of boot. He bounces right back and backdrops Buddy. Bodypress follows to get three. Short but really entertaining stuff. 5 for 5.

-Kerry dedicates this match not just to the people of the United States, but to his brother also. He’s pelted with yellow roses during his promo, and security has to fight off the swarm of fans rushing toward him as he walks toward the ring. Holy shit, that’s overness. Kerry then grabs the ring announcer’s microphone and cuts a nauseating bonus promo about how the church elders helped everybody get on their knees to pray for Mike, and the doctors came out right after the prayer and announced that Mike’s fever was going down.

WCCW TEXAS CHAMPIONSHIP: “Modern Day Warrior” KERRY VON ERICH (Champion) vs. GORGEOUS JIMMY GARVIN (with Precious)
-Precious gets right in Kerry’s face and screams at him, then shoves him, which makes Precious look like “a baby rooster” according to Larry.

-Lock-ups go nowhere, and Kerry taunts Jimmy with a strut. Side headlock by Garvin, followed by a shoulderblock. Kerry replies with a pair of dropkicks that send Garvin out of the ring. Precious tries a diversion, but it doesn’t work and Kerry hits the discus punch for two. Garvin makes a comeback and throws punches. Snapmare by Garvin, but an elbow misses. Kerry snapmares him, and from there punches are exchanged. Abdominal stretch by Kerry. Garvin gets free and snapmares Kerry into a headlock. He boots Kerry out to the floor, where Precious screams at him while Kerry does a great job getting the point across that he really, REALLY wants to be a gentleman here and is resisting temptation.

-Garvin blocks Kerry from getting back in, then drags him back in and throws him over the top rope. Kerry launches himself back in with a sunset flip for two. Series of discus punches by Kerry, and Garvin retreats to the corner. I think it’s weird that Kerry had a unique signature move, but it wasn’t his finisher. Just saying.

-Garvin tries going to the top rope, but Kerry slugs him and Garvin crotches himself on the top rope and tumbles onto the mat, and Kerry rolls him up for two. I could go either way, but the card’s been great so far and the crowd response to Kerry was pretty damned amazing, so that made the match feel better than it actually was, if that makes a lick of sense. 6 for 6. Close-up of a female fan absolutely in tears as she throws a yellow rose in the ring…MAN.

GREG GAGNE, BIG SCOTT HALL, & COOL CURT HENNIG vs. NICK BOCKWINKEL, RAY “The Crippler” STEVENS, & LARRY ZYBYSKO
-Everything about the faces screams “dork” (particularly Greg in his camouflage half-shirt) while the heels just cut an awesome condescending promo about how they have to teach a lesson to their opponents, and fortunately, it won’t take that long. Your guest ring announcer is Jack Brickhouse, the voice of Chicago wrestling for nine years.

-Hennig & Bockwinkel start, and the match immediately comes to a grinding halt due to something happening in the crowd and the wrestlers actually pausing to take a look at it. Hiptosses by Hennig get things going again. Larry Z tags in and a shoving match knocks Larry onto the apron. Back in, he runs right into an armdrag. Side headlock (or “hammerlock,” apparently) by Hennig, followed by an armdrag. Hennig hangs on and the faces go to work on Larry’s arms. Hall tags in and works the arm. For those who have never seen Scott Hall circa 1985, you can’t look at him and draw a line between him and the guy who kickstarted the nWo 11 years later. He looks like an entirely different person.

-Gagne works the arm until Stevens breaks the hold. Undaunted, Gagne monkeyflips Larry and follows with flying headscissors. Back to work on the arm, and Hennig comes back in to do his part. Back suplex by Larry. Bockwinkel drives a knee into Hennig’s abdomen. Hennig gets triple-teamed in enemy territory until Scott Hall breaks it up. Stevens tosses Hennig to the floor, where Larry takes a few free shots on him. Bockwinkel does likewise.

-Back inside, Larry clamps on an abdominal stretch. Hennig makes a tag that the referee misses, and while Gagne argues with the ref, Hennig gets triple-teamed again. Hennig manages to kick Larry away, but Bockwinkel runs over and snaps Hennig’s neck over the top rope. Bockwinkel tags in proper and keeps punishing Hennig. Hennig gets a bodypress out of nowhere for two, but keeps going instead of tagging, and that’s a mistake because they collide head-on and now both men are out of it.

-Larry tags in first, but in comes Greg Gagne, who manhandles all three opponents, and suddenly, it’s a free-for-all; three clashes all going at once, almost as though it were some sort of super clash. Bockwinkel and Stevens are rammed into each other, and then Hall powerslams Larry and gets a three-count to take the bout. 7 for 7. Curt Hennig played the Ricky Morton role absolutely perfectly.

TAG TEAM TITLE: ROAD WARRIORS (Champions, with Paul Ellering) vs. FABULOUS FREEBIRDS
-This was Michael Hayes’ idea, and he recalls on the “Spectaular Legacy of the AWA” DVD set that it was like pulling teeth to get Verne to agree to this, because Verne’s logic was you couldn’t book a feud between two heel teams. Michael had to slap Verne over the head and point out that Warriors got face pops everywhere they went, and they were billed as being from Chicago, where this match is taking place, and Verne still didn’t really have his heart into doing this.

-The audio quality of “Badstreet USA” playing in the stadium has to be heard to be believed. It sounds like Verne held a tape recorder up against a radio playing the song. On an AM station. On the outskirts of town. With the batteries dying.

-Hayes & Gordy attack the Warriors as they enter, but the Warriors are ready for them and clear the ring right away. Once the match starts proper, Hawk clotheslines Gordy down and kneelifts him. Hayes tags in and throws a few punches, and gets elbowed down. Hawk chases him into the corner and boots him, then sends him into the turnbuckle. Hawk grinds and gouges Hayes’ eyes, then tags in Animal.

-Gordy tags back in and hammers Animal. Animal reverses a whip and hammers Gordy down. Slam by Animal, and Buddy gives up and tags Hayes back in. Hawk steps back in and gets caught in a side headlock. He sends Hayes into the ropes and Hayes shoulderblocks him. He tries a sunset flip and Hawk just Hawkblocks it and punches him again and again. Hayes tries to make a tag and Gordy just stares at him nervously.

-Gordy finally agrees to tag in, and it goes well for him because Hawk misses a charge and hits the post shoulder-first. Hawk gets double-teamed and Hayes tags in proper and targets Hawk’s head, which Hawk totally no-sells. Oops, he IS wearing black facepaint. Freebirds trade off on him with clubbing blows. Gordy piledrives Hawk and keeps pounding on him. It turns into a two-on-one assault again and suddenly Hawk gets his second wind and fights off both of them.

-Hawk keeps getting fluke moves here and there but can never quite make it to his corner. He collides with Gordy and they’re both down and out. Animal makes the tag and mauls Gordy until the brawl erupts and everybody spills in there. Buddy Roberts tries to get involved, but Ellering yanks him off the apron and it turns into a brawl out there too.

-Animal fights off the Freebirds by himself while Hawk excuses himself to beat the crap out of Buddy. In the mass confusion, Hayes comes off the second rope with a double axehandle on Animal, and Gordy rolls over and pins him to get the three-count and take the gold. But then here comes Verne Gagne to save the day. He asks the stadium staff to put a replay of the finish on the big screen in the stadium, and he declares the decision reversed. Oh, great, it’s a Verne Finish. Still a good match. 8 for 8.

NWA SIX-MAN TITLE: KRUSHER KRUSCHEV, IVAN KOLOFF, & NIKITA KOLOFF (Champions) vs. CRUSHER, DICK THE BRUISER, & BARON VON RASCHKE
-The Non-Soviets charge and beat on the Russians immediately. Crusher gets trapped in the wrong corner and triple-teamed. Ivan Koloff is already bleeding, amazingly. Crusher comes back and puts the hurt on Krusher. Baron tags in and gets trapped in the wrong corner, but he fights all of them off. In comes Nikita. He shoves Baron into the corner, then applies a side headlock. Baron sends him into the ropes and lifts his hand for the lethal claw hold, and Nikita gets out of the way and bolts to his corner to avoid it.

-Ivan tags in and shoulderblocks the Baron, but Baron fights right back and tags in Dick the Bruiser. Koloff gets pinballed in the face corner and Bruiser sends him into the turnbuckles. Koloff goes to the eyes to try and mount some offense, but Bruiser just gets pissed and stares at him. Ivan rethinks things and we get a test of strength. He tries some boots to the gut and suddenly Nelson has to cover while the camera gets a nice extended shot of Bruiser describing the next spot to Ivan.

-Krusher Kruschev tags back in and gets pounded by the Crusher and the Baron. Snapmare and a knee to the back by Baron. Headlock by Baron. Krusher gets free and puts the Baron in a shoulderbreaker. Ivan heads back in and crotches himself on the middle rope immediately. Crusher tags in and unloads his full arsenal in about 30 seconds. Bruiser comes back in and works over the forehead of Ivan. Baron tags back in and drops the leg.

-Baron does the Nazi goosestep and the crowd pops huge for it, which cracks me up. He gets the claw clamped on and that leads to a brawl. We cut away to Bruiser & Dick the Bruiser brawling outside the ring. Back inside, Ivan pins the now-unconscious Baron to retain the belts. Yeah, see, it’s so important to protect the business that you shouldn’t tell your camera crew & director about the finish. 9 for 9. Fucked-up finish can’t ruin a fun match for me.

AMERICA’S TITLE: SGT. SLAUGHTER (Champion) vs. BORIS ZHUKOV
-Boris attacks before the bell, but Sarge hangs onto his boot and then gouges his eyes. Slaughter grinds his eyes across the top rope and then punches away to keep up the heel-like onslaught. Fisticuffs until Slaughter whips Zhukov into the post and then shoves him out to the ground. Slaughter follows him out and works him over with elbows.

-Back inside, Slaughter grabs an American flag from a fan at ringside and they do a cute spot where Slaughter uses it like a bullfighter’s cape to taunt Zhukov. Zhukov falls for it and rams into a boot. Zhukov gets pissed and Irish whips Slaughter, and with no barricade to stop him like in an arena, Slaughter does his trademark sell of an Irish whip and gets more air on his way to the ground then Superman on his best day.

-Turnabout is fair play and Zhukov goes to work on the eyes of Slaughter. He follows with choking and drops Slaughter’s neck on the top rope. Zhukov follows with some audible clubbing blows to the chest and a neckbreaker for two. Zhukov puts the boots to Slaughter. Zhukov takes the fight outside and rams him into the commentary table (“That’s me!” Larry Nelson yells when he realizes he’s on camera).

-Back inside, Slaughter slams Zhukov off the top rope, then throws punches. Dropkick by the Sarge. Irish whip and a backdrop by Slaughter. He goes for the Cobra clutch and charges at Zhukov, but Zhukov yanks the referee over and uses him as a human shield. Zhukov loads his elbow pad with something and KOs the Sarge, and Slaughter does a mighty blade job from that. He rams Slaughter into the steel post and the referee calls for the bell. Slaughter retains for the DQ. The hits keep coming. 10 for 10. These guys had good chemistry together and it was a really high energy brawl.

$10,000 BODYSLAM MATCH: JERRY BLACKWELL vs. KAMALA (with Sheik Adnan El-Kaissie)
-Chops and punches are exchanged. Kamala gets the first clear advantage with a thrust kick and a headbutt. Chokehold by Kamala and more chops. More chops, more choking. Blackwell fights back with punches, and a clothesline drops Kamala. Splash follows. Blackwell goes for the slam, but Kamala makes it to the ropes. He tries his own slam and Blackwell backs himself into the corner to stop it.

-More chopping by Kamala and a big splash gets one when the referee forgets the rules. Nerve hold by Kamala. More chops until Blackwell gets his second wind and hammers Kamala. Avalanche by Blackwell, and he slams Kamala to capture the cash. Post-match, Adnan attacks Blackwell with a sword, but since he uses it to hit Blackwell over the head instead of, oh, I don’t know, stabbing him with it, Blackwell survives.10 for 11. Well, it was an almost-perfect night. Baron Von Raschke shows up with a baseball bat to save the day.

AWA WORLD TITLE: RICK MARTEL (Champion) vs. STAN HANSEN
-Hansen attacks before the bell with his bullrope and tosses Martel out to the ground. From there, Hansen just completely clears out the crowd in the immediate area and uses every chair he can find. Martel gets fired up and uses a chair of his own. The brawl finally spills into the ring and they trade punches and elbows. Sunset flip by Martel gets two.

-They brawl around on the mat and head back out to the floor. Hansen throws a series of chairs at Martel. Martel gets his hands on it and pounds Hansen with it, and the referee totally gives up and declares it a double DQ. 10 for 12. You do this on TV to set up the stadium show. You don’t do this at the stadium show.

NWA WORLD TITLE: RIC FLAIR (Champion) vs. MAGNUM TA
-Basic mat wrestling to start and it’s a stalemate. Drop toehold by Flair; Magnum makes it a hammerlock. Flair gets to his feet and backs Magnum into the corner. Test of strength while the crowd stupidly chants “USA”. Magnum gets Flair back down to the mat and applies an armbar. Flair sends him into the ropes, but Magnum hiptosses him and dropkicks him. Press slam by Magnum.

-Flair fights back with chops and punching to take control. Backdrop by Magnum out of nowhere for two, and he goes back to work on the arm. He makes it a hammerlock until Flair gets free. He tosses Magnum TA through the ropes. Magnum lands on his feet, charges right back in, and throws punches at Flair. Dropkick misses and Flair takes a breather while Magnum writhes. Chops by Flair, then a snapmare and a knee across the forehead.

-Double underhook suplex by Flair gets two. Abdominal stretch by Flair. Magnum won’t give up, so Flair Irish whips him and chops him. Larry Nelson marvels about Magnum, “You wonder what’s keeping him up in the corner.” Wild guess, but I’d say the corner, Larry.

-Flair misses a kneedrop and Magnum capitalizes immediately with a figure four. Flair makes it to the ropes. Magnum tries to apply it again back in the middle of the ring, but Flair kicks him away and then headbutts his stomach. Suplex attempt by Flair, but his leg hurts too much and Magnum reverses it for two. Backslide by Magnum for two. Magnum pounds him in the corner, but Flair goes to the eyes and then tosses Magnum to the floor.

-Flair attacks him on the floor, ramming him in the post and chopping him down. Magnum comes back in with an attempted sunset flip, but Flair stops it with a punch and then goes to work on the arm. Referee eventually catches him using the ropes for leverage and forces the break. Flair applies an armbar, then chops Magnum away. Crucifix attempts lead to a series of two-counts for Flair.

-Magnum catches Flair in a sleeper, but Flair manages to get a foot on the rope with his very last ounce of strength. Slam by Magnum; he goes for a splash but Flair raises the knees. Flair works the leg a little bit and clamps on the figure four himself. Magnum gets free and cradles Flair for two. Magnum sends Flair over the top rope and they brawl on the ground for a bit. Flair goes into the post.

-Back inside, Flair’s bleeding and Magnum throws a couple dozen punches to work it over until Flair flops. Magnum backdrops Flair for two. Flair tries a pin, Magnum bridges and makes it a backslide for two. Belly-to-belly by Magnum, but oops, Flair’s boots take out the referee just long enough for Flair to get an extra few seconds of rest, so it only gets two. Sunset flips are exchanged until Flair gets a lucky three-count to retain. Whew. GREAT match. Magnum was completely capable of hanging with Flair and it would have been a great feud. 11 for 13.

End of the show and Game Show Utopia plug goes here.

The 411: Well, now that was a hell of a show. Nothing really to hate, fun matches all over the place, and only two examples in 13 matches of shitty booking. Absolutely a keeper and worth seeking out.
Final Score:  8.4   [ Very Good ]