Backlund and Martel wrestled at least once in 85 on a PWUSA show. It placed for PWI match of the year but I don't believe there is footage of it

Edit: they wrestled at the St. Paul Civic Center on 2/22/85 and in Wash, DC on 4/18/85. The 2/22 match was the one that placed for MOY and I think that was just a regular AWA show. Backlund appeared on AWA TV a few times leading up to the match

ps the Pro Wrestling USA syndicated tv show was mostly AWA stuff, plus, in the early days, some Crockett and Memphis interviews and matches. It pretty much became an all-AWA program even before the final split, as I caught it in St Louis, before they did the first Super Clash show, in Chicago, at Comiskey Park. They taped their early shows, in Memphis and at the Meadowlands, and showed some matches from them; but, the bulk of the footage I have seen was the AWA and by the time I saw the tv regularly, it was all AWA, with the opening Pro Wrestling USA titles.

Here is a Backlund interview, with a semi-shoot promo, about Vince wanting him to work heel.....



Sadly, that style of interview didn't excite crowds. You could do that in the 60s and 70s, with the right mix of interviews, to suggest both legit wrestlers and wild characters.

Here is a Crockett match, with Backlund against Outlaw Ron Bass, who was the Mid-Atlantic Champion, at the time (Crockett's #2 title, behind the US title)....



This is the early Pro Wrestling USA show, with Gordon Solie doing play-by-play. It's Crockett matches, but Gordon mentions the amalgamation of the NWA and AWA.



"Brett Hart" is Barry Horowitz. He wrestled under that name, as Jack Hart (in Florida) and Barry Horowitz, in the WWF. Sam Houston is Mike Smith, brother of Aurelian Smith Jr, aka Jake "The Snake" Roberts. He got a minor push by Crockett, holding the Mid-Atlantic title, after Crockett had the TBS show, plus he was married to Baby Doll.

Here's the AWA side, from 1984, with the Road Warriors, interviewed by Ken Reznick.



By 1985, it was no different than the AWA's All-Star Wrestling tv show. I haven't seen enough information to determine if they used mostly Crockett footage for their markets and AWA footage for theirs, a mix or what. Crockett extended up to Washington DC and their joint shows were in the Meadowlands and they each did shows using that name (presumably in markets that carried the branded tv show).

When I first heard about it, in PWI, it sounded exciting; but, by the time I saw it, it had mostly fallen apart. PWI helped promote the shows, since they didn't get much access to the WWF and some of the videos they put out had footage from Pro Wrestling USA. Greg Gagne said (and others have substantiated) that Crockett tried wooing away AWA talent and succeeded with the Road Warriors. Mr Electricity Steve Regal worked there, a bit, and held the World Jr Hwt title, in '86. Jimmy Garvin also left the AWA for Crockett. Gagne claimed that at the Super Clash card, Crockett was busy trying to sign guys up. That right there just shows you why Vince won (aside from presentation), since the other promoters couldn't trust each other to work together, despite the talent they had. Memphis saw the writing on the wall early on and I think Watts either rejected it outright, for that reason, or after their first meeting.

I recently finished watching Invasion ’92, another WWF/Coliseum video.

For some reason, “Commander” Sean Mooney and a couple of other guys are dressed in Star Trek uniforms and apparently on the bridge of the USS Coliseum. Later we get Lord Alfred Hayes doing his best Scotty impersonation. I’m not sure why Mooney is only a Commander instead of a Captain, but anyway…


First match is Hulk Hogan vs. Typhoon, w. Jimmy Hart.

Ugh. Because this is Hogan against a bigger wrestler, we HAVE to have a long bearhug spot. Hogan gets the big boot, followed by the leg drop, for the win in about 6 minutes. Not a very good match, I have to say.


We get a Flair/Perfect promo, followed by some footage at the end of Royal Rumble ’92, showing how terrible it was that Sid Justice and Ric Flair didn’t just let Hogan win the Rumble so that all could be right with the world again.


Next match is Bret Hart vs. Ric Flair, w. Mr. Perfect. Hart is the Intercontinental Champ here and this match is for the belt, as it takes place before the Royal Rumble ’92. Flair has his “real” World Championship belt at this point.

This was a very good match with some great psychology. Both guys are outside the ring and Perfect pulls Bret back out as he’s trying to reenter the win, while Flair does beat the count. So, Flair wins via countout (in just under 20 minutes), but of course that means he doesn’t get the Intercontinental belt.


Next match is Ric Flair vs. Shawn Michaels.

Shawn gets a surprising amount of offense, considering that he’s still with the Rockers at this point. Shawn dives out of the ring after Flair (who is on the floor) but Flair moves out of the way and Michaels crashes into the metal barricade, apparently knocking himself out. It looks like a countout victory is in store for Flair, but wait! Here comes Marty Jannetty to “help” Shawn. He does so by rolling the still apparently unconscious Michaels into the ring, so that Flair can get the pinfall win in a little over 10 minutes. Do you suppose this is why Shawn threw him threw the window?

Anyway, I’m probably in the minority, but I actually preferred this over the Hart-Flair match, though they were both great. A bit of an odd ending to this one, but it was fast paced.


Next match is for the Tag Team Titles: Legion of Doom (champs) vs. the Beverly Brothers, w. the Genius.

This is for the championship. I guess I didn’t realize that the Beverly Brothers had a title shot, or I forgot it. I have to admit to having a soft spot for the Beverlys, though they never amounted to much in the WWF.

The Legion of Doom win this with the Doomsday device. This match was nothing special, but it was decent. Pretty much what you’d expect from the Legion of Doom.


Next is a Manager Cam, with Sensational Sherri. We see a match with Ted DiBiase (her guy) vs. Tito Santana. On paper, DiBiase-Santana sounds like a really good match, but the camera is focused more in Sherri’s shenanigans rather than the match itself, plus hearing her say “teddy bear” every 3 seconds gets annoying really fast. I like Sherri, but I don’t think she was the best choice for this manager cam deal.


The Nasty boys go to a video store and beat up the manger for not having any Nasty Boys tapes. I didn’t know there were any Nasty Boys tapes. Anyway, I thought it was a cute segment. If you didn’t like it, at least it was short.


Next is Big Bossman v. Hercules (w/Slick)

Bossman sweating before match starts. That’s not a good sign. Bossman wins with his sidewalk slam out of nowhere after about seven and a half minutes. This was a typical power match. Not much to it, really.


Next is Virgil v. “Million Dollar Man” Ted Dibase (w/Sensational Sherri) for the Million $ Belt.

Randy Savage is the guest referee. The referees discuss his ability to be impartial here (he’s a face at this point).

After a fast start by Virgil, DiBiase takes control. The end makes absolutely no sense. Virgil is laying down on the mat, and for some reason DiBiase decides to argue with, then attack, Savage, rather then go after Virgil. He then throws Savage out of the ring. He finally goes over and slaps the Million Dollar Dream on Virgil (but of course there’s now no ref to award him the victory) then Savage comes back in and goes to the top rope and drops the elbow on DiBiase (rather than DQ DiBisae like he should have) then Virgil just rolls on top of DiBiase for the pin and the win and the belt. Sigh.

I think that Virgil did improve a lot as a wrestler, but we’re not at that point yet, unfortunately. I feel like, if he’d had the wrestling skills he acquired later right off the bat after his face turn, he could have been a solid midcard guy. The crowds at first seemed to want to root for him. Oh well. What could have been.


Our final match is Jake “The Snake” Roberts and The Undertaker (w/Paul Bearer) v. “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan and “Macho Man” Randy Savage

Savage at this point had a feud going with both Roberts and the Undertaker (especially Roberts) as they had spoiled his wedding reception with Elizabeth. Duggan is basically just thrown in here as a random guy. Even though I can’t stand Duggan, I have to admit that he’s better than usual here. That is to say, a lot less annoying than usual. He sort of plays it straight for this intense feud.

The match itself is mediocre with another dumb and inconclusive ending, as Savage takes a steel chair and attackes the heels to hand them a DQ victory, though the announcers claim that the faces accomplished their goal, whatever that might have been. He heels leave to the back with their arms raised in victory, though.


Overall, the two Flair matches are worth checking out, and most of the rest is skippable, though if you’re a Legion of Doom fan then you can watch them beat the Beverly Brothers.

Flair understood the job of the heel to make the babyface look good and did it beautifully, especially if he liked the guys work.  He'd make it a point to put over young guys, like Barry Windham, or Mike Von Erich, or Ricky Morton, if he liked their work or respected the promoter.  He liked Shawn's work and made him look good.  In fact, one of the criticisms of Flair was that he often did too much to make the babyface look good and not enough to protect himself, as a heel.  I never quite bought that criticism, though I think it was a bit more true, in the whole Bischoff Era of WCW.  He probably should have protected himself better; but it seemed like he had built up a whole inferiority complex....or maybe it was just years of insecurity (buying drinks for the entire bar, throwing money around, etc) finally catching up to him.

Not a fan of the Beverly Brother gimmick, but like Enos and Bloom.  The Destruction Crew was a better name and a better fit, even if they were green, when they used it.

ps to the WCW episode; they use footage from Nitro backstage segments to illustrate Bischoff's dealings with the Turner execs and his bosses, most of which comes from the angle where he has lost the match to Flair and becomes his whipping boy.

I notice that Bischoff doesn't discuss the Gold Club Scandal, at all, though it is never brought up by producers. The Gold Club was a strip club, in Atlanta, that came under investigation for prostitution and racketeering, as dancers were set up with patrons, for sexual encounters, for money. Several celebrities were named as being involved in buying sexual favors, including Bischoff, who offered a dancer money to engage in a menage a trois with Bischoff and his wife. Several Atlanta professional athletes, from the Hawks and Falcons, were also named, plus other WCW wrestlers.

I just can’t take Meltzer seriously. He seems to be the only wrestling journalist/pundit who hasn’t yet discovered the existence of a microphone stand. Why you’d sit there holding a microphone for 1 or 2 hours, when everyone else uses a stand, is beyond me.

Dave looked really silly bickering with Alvarez last week (over Toni Storm’s heel status). He’s fast becoming a parody of himself.

Don't know the definitive reason; but, most of his dates are in his home area, then some in AWA cities.  The other dates are Pro Wrestling USA branded shows.  My guess is he wasn't interested than more than the one tour of the AWA cities.

They list 19 matches, from 17 events.  His first, in January is in Winnipeg, which would be an AWA show.  That's followed by two shows in the New York region (NYC and Westbury).  He does an AWA show, in St Paul, at the end of February, then Pro Wrestling USA tapings at the Meadowlands, a couple of days later, followed by two more nights in NYC.  He then does an AWA event in Chicago, then the DC match with Martel, then St Paul again.  Its two months before he is back, working Rockford and Milwaukee, then 10 days before working Salt Lake City, Denver and St Paul, in rapid succession.  He finishes with another Meadowlands taping, then it is a month before his last AWA match, in Boston.

My guess is he was willing to stick around home and help draw in those markets, for the Pro Wrestling USA venture, then a few dates for the AWA.  Somehow, I don't think money was the issue.  The AWA, traditionally, had a lighter schedule, but also didn't run many shows in the summer, though his biggest gap is from the third week of April until the end of June, while he was on a new Japan tour, that ran through May.  From what I have heard, he was pretty tight with his money and he earned a lot during his WWF rein.  I suspect he was willing to do a light schedule, to help out Verne and Pro Wrestling USA and that was it, or he saw the problems between Verne and Crockett and didn't see a future in it.

There are no listings for matches after his last AWA match, until 1988, with UWFI.  His Crockett matches are all in the Northeast/DC area (Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland)  I think he wanted to stick around home and just did that on string of AWA-only dates, as a favor for Verne.

Apparently, his book only covered up through WWF years and doesn't really go into the stuff between the two WWF runs.  One of the things that comes out in it was that he was functionally illiterate, into adulthood.  His wife did a lot of his written work, in college, plus athletics got him a lot of leeway.  That was part of why he was so big about pushing literacy and school in the Mr Backlund phase, with kids, before he would sign autographs.