It’s impossible to properly look back on the American Wrestling Association with the 6 TV episodes and 4 supershows featured right now on the WWE Network. This is a company that had a ton of success in the Midwest throughout the 70s and early 80s, but was pretty much raided by the WWF by the mid-80s and was never really the same, eventually closing up shop in 1991.
The WWE Network recently put up four of their supershows, which I covered in Quick Thoughts. They’re all pretty much terrible, with the later ones being embarrassingly bad, though there are a few good matches. SuperClash III is territory-killing stuff, and most of these shows are so long that the perverse entertainment gained from them being so bad turns into a depression earned from them being so boring.
The TV shows featured on the WWE Network right now are up because they feature a young, fresh-faced, B.C. Shawn (then spelled Sean) Michaels, and everything he does is quality stuff and stands out from the mediocrity of everything else. He was already a sound wrestler in his AWA debut, where he faces this guy named Buddhakhan who is such a perfect old fat grumpy 1980s nobody. And you get to see a lot of Michaels’ early tag run with Marty Jannetty, when they were known as the Midnight Rockers, which has a bunch of amazing tag matches (reviewed below).
Due to the focus being on Shawn Michaels, you don’t see much that AWA was really known for – early Hulk Hogan, Jesse Ventura, Bobby Heenan, Curt Hennig, Rick Martel, etc., as well as prime Nick Bockwinkel. What the current run that is up does show is a company on its’ last legs, which may not be very good but ends up being kind of interesting to watch.
There isn’t really a consistent presence on these shows outside of Michaels, so you get one or two appearances from some notable talent. The 1/25/87 show has the last few minutes of a Curt Hennig/Nick Bockwinkel match for the AWA World Title. There is a criminal lack of Bockwinkel on the WWE Network, so this will have to do, even if it’s clipped. Both guys bleed a ton and Bockwinkel is just amazing trading holds and bumping for young Curtis.
Larry Zbyszko is a hilarious presence on these shows. On 3/4/86 he’s part of an interview with Marty Jannetty and talks shit to Jannetty’s face for speaking softly and acting like a damn millenial. His other appearance on the TV is managing a guy named Super Ninja. Because. Great boxing match at WrestleRock ’86 too.
There’s a little bit of Curt Hennig teaming with a young and mustachioed Scott Hall, and they have a fun match or two as a team on the supershows, and a few appearances on the TV. Hennig is fun, less bloated but also less expressive than his WWF run, while a mustachioed Scott Hall as Curt’s young boy is tremendous. Hall has a really solid match with Doug Somers on the 3/4/86 show.
“Pretty Boy” Doug Somers and “Playboy” Buddy Rose are decent bleached-blonde heels and reliably fun douchebags in their few appearances here. While you see some of the build, the WWE Network does not include any of the famous Somers/Rose vs. Midnight Rockers matches.
Larry Nelson, who hosts most of the shows, is a god damn freak. You can actually watch this man and track the downfall of the AWA, as he starts as a jovial professional commentator and by the end of the shows on the Network, he’s drunk on St. Patrick’s Day with stickers all over his face.
For fans of IWA Mid-South, a young svelte Bull Pain gets squashed by Jimmy Snuka.
There are a bunch of cameoss here… Madusa, Sherri Martel, Jimmy Snuka, Boris Zhukov, Wahoo McDaniel, Greg Gagne (son of Verne), Baron von Raschke and a glistening and ripped Nailz (as “The Magnificent” Kevin Kelly) among them. Bob Orton & Adrian Adonis, The Midnight Express (Condrey & Randy Rose edition) managed by Paul E. Dangerously, Badd Company and the Nasty Boys also show up as opponents for the Rockers.
Verne Gagne is on most of the supershows, but doesn’t really show up on the TV. As a man in the confinements of professional wrestling and a guy my grandpa would have respected, Verne Gagne is great. Otherwise, I don’t know if it works.
Sheik Adnan Al-Kassie is also all over these shows as the stereotypical foreign manager/wrestler – he’d go on to become General Adnan and manage Sgt. Slaughter int he WWF, then be featured as a playable character in both WWE 2K15 and WWE 2K16 for some crazy fuckin’ reason.
There’s also a Ricky Morton vs. Dennis Stamp match – not any good, but I thought it was worth mentioning.
And Soldat Ustinov sucks.
You can find detailed matchlists and recommendations on the GWF page. Below are some quick reviews of a few highlighted matches. I also highly recommend checking out Stan Hansen vs. Nick Bockwinkel from WrestleRock ’86, Nick Bockwinkel vs. Curt Hennig and “Crippler” Ray Stevens & The Midnight Rockers vs. Doug Somers, Kevin Kelly & Buddy Wolfe from SuperClash II, and Jerry Lawler vs. Kerry Von Erich from SuperClash III. I discuss all those in the Quick Thoughts section.
AWA World Tag Team Title: The Original Midnight Express (Loverboy Dennis Condrey & Ravishing Randy Rose) w/ Paul E. Dangerously [c] vs. The Midnight Rockers (Championship Wrestling 1/24/88) – The Rockers would head to the WWF in the middle of 1998 and have some great matches, but maaaan was their early ’88 strong. Most great tag matches really only have a few formulas … there’s Southern tag style, AJPW tag style, and probably a few others I’m missing, but not that many more. So you leave it up to the performances and little tricks the talent adds in to make the formula work. All 3 of the matches here use the Southern tag style to its fullest, and at this point I feel like the Rockers really are unsung tag specialists in the realm of the hardcore fan.
Lots of stalling by the Midnights early on, along with a great cute spot where the Rockers double team the Midnights, who try the same thing and get outsmarted. Then Shawn starts taking heat, as he is to do, and it’s great. Shawn sells huge with a lot of subtle touches to make it look like he’s a poor struggling fella, and Condrey and Rose are great at working an apron, especially Condrey who is just hysterical here. Shawn brings out the forearm smash dive for the hot tag, which the half-full crowd goes crazy for. Finish is a little awkward, but other than that this is a ton of fun.
AWA World Tag Team Title: The Midnight Rockers [c] vs. “Adorable” Adrian Adonis & “Ace” Bob Orton (Superstars 2/28/88) – A Rockers tag with Ace Bob Orton and fatass Adonis bumping and staggering all over for them? Well god damn. Shawn’s selling is even more impressive here, and it’s not a shocker he was on his way to stardom a few years later… guy was talented but the crowd was also way into him. Lots of nice teases to the comeback leading to the big one. Brutal neckbreaker by Bob later in the match too.
AWA World Tag Team Title: The Midnight Rockers [c] vs. The Nasty Boys (Brian Knobbs & Jerry Sags) (Superstars 3/13/88) – The Nasty Boys get a lot of well-deserved shit but this match is awesome. They get like 5 compelling minutes out of shoulder tackle spots early on. This is more a lot of great sequences and the Rockers outsmarting the Nasties than a Shawn heat segment, though that’s there too. It’s all tremendous.
