AWA Team Challenge Series (October 23, 1989)

Original Airdate: October 23, 1989

Your Hosts are Ralph Strangis and freshly retired Greg Gagne from the studio. Greg is embracing retired life with a heck of a jogging suit

Verne Gagne opens the show from his boat dock, lamenting the fact that he’s already long retired, and thus can’t complete on this state of the art new show

Tommy Jammer v Tom Burton: All the matches are filmed in an empty arena, but unlike during the COVID pandemic, they don’t actually acknowledge that it’s empty - instead trying to green screen in a crowd to make it look like it isn’t. And even then, only for the entrances, with the actual ring shrouded in pitch darkness to try and hide the lack of fans. It looks really, really bad. Oh, and then they do random cutaway to ‘fans’ ‘reacting’ to the action, which looks like it was taken from a standup comedy show somewhere. The promotion had been around since, what, the 60s? They didn’t have any b-roll of fan reacting? Burton gets a few things in early on, and a bodyslam prompts what the announcers put over as cutting edge technology: an instant replay! With slow motion! Oh man, it’s good I had a sandwich today, I’m not sure my body could handle all this tech on an empty stomach. Jammer fights him off and makes a comeback, delivering a splash for the pin at 1:44. DUD

Sgt. Slaughter and Baron Von Raschke talk out of the sides of their mouths

The Destruction Crew knock down the Curtis Hotel via green screen. That was actually a cooler effect than the stupid slow motion replay they were putting over as the most exciting thing in history. And, to be clear, it wasn’t a cool effect in the least

The Destruction Crew v Jerry Lynn and Ricky Rice: The Crew are the AWA World Tag Team champions, but this is non-title, and they don’t even carry the belts out with them, nor are they announced as the champions. The announcers note that Lynn is a former gymnast, as if that’s some sort of selling point. It kind of would be in 2022, I guess. Lynn manages to get some action by working Mike Enos’s arm, and Rice tags in to hit him with a monkeyflip. Armdrag follows, to Mike rakes the eyes, and passes to Wayne Bloom. Rice armdrags him over a couple of times, and he passes back to Jerry for a 2nd rope axehandle to the arm. Lynn works a wristlock, so Bloom tries a corner splash, but Jerry dodges. Lynn goes back to the wristlock, but the Crew fight him off, and double team. Enos with an Oklahoma stampede, and a powerslam for two, followed by an electric chair/flying clothesline combo at 4:38. This wasn’t terrible. Afterwards, Eric Bischoff (who looks somehow older here than he did in 1997) comes in to get an interview, since apparently we need two Destruction Crew promos to really take us into the future of wrestling. ½*

Sgt. Slaughter notes that Col. DeBeers doesn’t like to lose. That’s interesting. Wait, let me make a note. And he’d better not lose tonight, because he’ll embarrass Sarge

Boxing Match: Blonde Bomber v Slaughterhouse Sean: This is some sort of collaboration with the Beverly Hills Knockouts, which I honestly don’t know a thing about.

ROUND ONE: Sean attacks before the bell, and unloads, as the camera cuts around like mad. They even steal the Scorsese trick from Raging Bull, getting the camera inside the ring, and having them throw punches right at it. You know, for realism. The round ends after fifty seconds, with Sean dominating.

ROUND TWO: This match is apparently sanctioned by the Beverly Hills Knockouts Committee. There’s a committee! It must be legit! Sean gets a knockdown, so Bomber throws off her gloves, and grabs her for a snapmare. She works a chinlock, and a snap suplex follows. The ring is so tiny I’m surprised that actually worked. Bomber puts the gloves back on and goes back to work, as the announcers note that this is a ‘combination of boxing and wrestling never before seen!’ Yeah, there’s a reason for that. Sean gets another knockdown at the end of the round.

ROUND THREE: Bomber’s manager Mustang Sally chokes Sean with a towel, and comes in to hit her with a backbreaker, as the announcers start openly laughing at this farce. Both Bomber and Sean knock each other down, so now it’s a foot race to see who can get up first, and Sean does so at 4:09 total. This was an embarrassment. -½*

The show’s almost over, and finally our hosts take the time to explain what the Team Challenge Series concept even is. So, apparently there are three teams (not tag teams, but like stables), one led by AWA World Champion Larry Zbyszko, one by Baron Von Raschke, and one by Sgt. Slaughter. Each week matches will take place between the teams, and points will be awarded after each match. The point system is not actually explained here, but just go with it. And, at the end of the year, the team with the most points wins. This thing makes the scoring for the Triwizard Tournament sound logical

Paul Diamond is very excited about facing Cedric Diggory

Team Challenge Series King of the Hill Match: Col. DeBeers v Paul Diamond: This is battle royal rules, and apparently the Series now has stakes: the winning team will get a million bucks. Even in kayfabe, would anybody buy that this promotion has a million dollars? Diamond with a bunch of headscissor takedowns, but a corner splash misses, and Paul nearly goes over the top. DeBeers hammers him a bit, so Paul forces a criss cross, and catches him with a dropkick. DeBeers fights back with a side suplex to set up a flying headbutt drop, and he dumps Diamond over the top, but Paul manages to hang on. DeBeers with a vertical suplex, but another flying headbutt drop misses, and Paul comes back with a kneelift. Paul goes for the elimination, but can’t get him over the top. That allows DeBeers a bulldog, and he snaps Paul’s throat across the bottom rope with a catapult. He tries dumping him, but Diamond holds on again, so DeBeers puts the boots to him. Piledriver, but Diamond counters with a backdrop, and DeBeers goes over the top at 5:50. This was a solid little match. * ½ 

Sgt. Slaughter v Terminator: No idea if this is part of the Series, and the announcers never bother to clarify. Heck, they haven’t even bothered to tell us the names of the guys on each team, so first things first. Sarge works a mat-based headlock, as the announcers lose their minds over how close the camera is getting to the action. It’s literally just a normal shot from ringside, not even particularly zoomed in, and they’re acting like this some sort of 3D virtual reality deal. Sarge with a bodypress for two, so Terminator tries a bodyslam, but Sarge topples him for two. Pretty rare seeing a babyface use ‘big fat heel’ spots. Sarge with a bodyslam of his own, so Terminator stalls in the ropes, successfully disabling Sarge’s momentum. Terminator manages to pound him to turn things around, as the lights randomly come up for a moment, exposing the fact that we’re in a completely empty building. Terminator tries a cross corner whip, but Sarge reverses, and backdrops him on the rebound. He makes a comeback, and a 2nd rope clothesline leads to the cobra clutch at 6:38. Afterwards, Bischoff comes back out, noting that the match went longer than some of Slaughter’s previous matches, and he wonders if Sarge is in good enough shape to work these long, six minute broadways. When your main eventers need on air wellness checks, it’s time to pack it in. ½*

BUExperience: This was one of the worst things ever, and lives in infamy for good reason. Is it any wonder that this never made it past the pilot stage? You should definitely give it a look strictly out of morbid curiosity, though.