AWA: All Star Wrestling
July 28, 1979
Minneapolis, MN
KMSP-9 TV Studio

The current AWA champs are as follows:
AWA World Heavyweight Champion: Nick Bockwinkel (11/8/75)
AWA World Tag Team Champions: Verne Gagne & Mad Dog Vachon (6/6/79)

This is just me clearing off my hard drive. I don’t have any more 1979 AWA All Star Wrestling shows in my collection as of this time, but you never know what might come in the future. This is the WWE 24/7 Classics on Demand edition.

Your host is Rodger Kent.

We go to the St. Paul Civic Center for a weight lifting contest between Paul Ellering and Jesse Ventura. If you have been following my Portland 1979 reviews, you’ll see that Ventura has now left the Portland area and landed in the AWA where he’ll pretty much stay until he joins the WWF in 1984. Ellering is absolutely JACKED here. He manages to deadlift 560 pounds before he poops out his colon. Jesse is very disappointed, but succeeds with the deadlift as well. Now they jack it up to 700 pounds. Ventura stalls a bit and demands complete silence from the crowd. Once Jesse does try to deadlift 700 pounds, he lifts the weight off the mat only he doesn’t get his shoulders locked to complete the lift. However, Ellering completes the lift and gets his eyes filled with weightlifting chalk. Absolutely furious, Jesse puts the boots to Ellering until some refs hold him back. Due to all the mess here, Ellering does a stretcher job. Ventura still manages to kick at Ellering while he’s still on the stretcher! OH THE HUMANITY! Before he starts a riot, Ventura is escorted out of the arena.

• Nick Bockwinkel vs. Buck Zumhofe
  

Naturally, this is a non-title match. In all my years of recapping, this is the first time I’ve done a recap for Buck. At the age of 44, Bockwinkel is in year four of his first of four AWA world title runs. Bockwinkel just looks so good here. Everything he does is so crisp and feels legit. He works a headlock and a headscissors that actually looks painful. Zumhofe finds a way out and pulls on Bockwinkel’s arm for a bit. Again, the psychology is there. Bockwinkel comes right back and takes him from corner to corner for turnbuckle smashes. Buck misses a dropkick because Bockwinkel is the man and stays on the neck with knee drops. Time to die though, Buck. There’s the PILEDRIVER and Zumhofe is all done. (5:58) Everything Bockwinkel did meant something and led to getting that piledriver for the pinfall. Being good is really just that simple.

• Greg Gagne vs. Super Destroyer Mark III (w/Lord Alfred Hayes & Super Destroyer Mark II)
  

Originally, Gagne was supposed to face Super Destroyer Mark II, but Hayes plays the switcheroo on him and surprises him with this guy. This is the debut of Super Destroyer Mark III. Hayes says he brought the masked man in from Grenoble in France, which is also where Andre is from. Under the mask, he’s the Hangman from the Los Angeles territory and WWE. As a French Canadian, he wrestles similar to Jos LeDuc. Mark III goes after the injured shoulder of Gagne to start (according to Kent) with hammerlocks and the like. Gagne breaks loose and applies an Indian Deathlock to work the leg. When Mark III reaches the ropes, he delivers a series of backbreakers and shoulderbreakers trying to put away Gagne. The GAGNE SLEEPER is applied though, but Mark III backs him into the corner. During Gagne’s big comeback, they start brawling over in the corner where the referee catches a punch to the face to draw the DQ. (7:03) How unfortunate. Gagne picks up the cheap win. Afterwards, Mark III attacks the ref and drops him on the top rope. HAHA AWESOME. Gagne runs off the heels while some other resident babyfaces come to check on the ref.

• Dick Reynolds vs. Super Destroyer Mark II (w/Lord Alfred Hayes)
  

Now Super Destroyer Mark II is the one we will all know as Sgt. Slaughter. Mark III is kicked out of the building by the promoter Wally Karbo. Mark II is already pissed off at the whole thing and roughhouses poor Reynolds. He gets in a few slams and whatnot, but this is all Mark II otherwise. The GUILLOTINE (or the Slaughter Cannon) gets him the win in 2:22.

• Jesse Ventura vs. Peter Lee
  

Because we need more Jesse today. Only three minutes left in the program – CAN JESSE GET IT DONE? Yeah he can. Before you know it, he’s got this ham and egger up in the BODY BREAKER for the win in just 1:12.

Final Thoughts: Besides the fun look at Nick Bockwinkel owning Buck Zumhofe, there’s not a lot here. You may be interested in seeing Paul Ellering before he just stood beside the Road Warriors. I don’t know! Anyways, not much here.

Until next time, so long for now.