AWA 1983. Change is Coming

By DA White

Is ignorance bliss? How ignorant was the AWA in 1983 about the coming New York hurricane? By the very end of 1983 Vince McMahon Jr had made his plans clear; to take his brand national. No longer would he honor the NWA boundaries. These were boundaries that the AWA also respected. Even though Verne had made a split from the NWA, the AWA worked in a very cooperative manner with the NWA's territories. How aware was Verne Gagne of McMahon's full intentions? Did he take the threat seriously? While we can't know for sure, 1983 was certainly a year of sellouts....before the storm.

1983 saw the further rise of Hulk Hogan and Jesse Ventura. These two put butts in seats. AWA cards were filled out by other superstars as well. Wrestlers like Nick Bockwinkel, Mr. Saito, Bobby Heenan, Jerry Lawler, Wahoo McDaniel, Ray Stevens, Ken Patera, Jerry Blackwell and even Andre the Giant delighted the fans. Sellouts were commonplace in older, established markets and the AWA was building new markets such as Phoenix and the Bay Area.

But as business boomed, this plan was hatched in New York. During 1983 Vince McMahon targeted the top stars of all the regional promotions. For the AWA this meant that Hulk Hogan, Jesse Ventura and Bobby Heenan would soon be gone. Before long David Shults and Jim Brunzell would also leave for the Big Apple.

Beyond signing AWA talent, McMahon also began upgrading his media exposure. He made some of his shows look more big-time (some remained quite old-fashioned) and he inked deals with NBC and MTV. Soon enough WWF merchandise, including an album, trading cards and action figures, would be everywhere. 

The AWA loved 1983 so much that they wanted 1984 to look like another version of 1983. But in 1984 Verne Gagne saw at least some of the changes and dangers that lie ahead. He joined other promoters to fight McMahon by forming Pro Wrestling USA. In a sense, 1983 was really the end of the pure territory era.

In this book you will read about the top stars as well as some of the other talented wrestlers who helped make the AWA "The Major League of Professional Wrestling" in 1983. You will also get to read about each one of the AWA's events/cards during this calendar year. Finding these was a labor of love. There are listings online but they often contradict each other. I investigated each event to find at least a couple of confirmations. In some cases, newspapers listed the matches as regular sporting events. In other cases, small articles were written to entice people to come to the matches. To the best of my knowledge, THIS was the AWA in 1983. You will also get the most comprehensive list of videos, DVD's, books and shoot interviews anywhere. If it has anything to do with the AWA in 1983, it's listed here! You will be linked to hundreds of hours of AWA action and entertainment. 

The AWA was one of my great childhood passions. I would watch Saturdays and Sundays. It was the same show, but I loved watching it twice. Once the internet became a big-time player in the nostalgia world, my love for AWA action reached a new peak. While I began enjoying WCCW and other territories, the AWA will always be my favorite. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: DA White
• Release date: Jan 7, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224401703

Book preview

Introduction:

Is ignorance bliss? How ignorant was the AWA in 1983 about the coming New York hurricane? By the very end of 1983 Vince McMahon Jr had made his plans clear; to take his brand national. No longer would he honor the NWA boundaries. These were boundaries that the AWA also respected. Even though Verne had made a split from the NWA, the AWA worked in a very cooperative manner with the NWA’s territories. How aware was Verne Gagne of McMahon’s full intentions? Did he take the threat seriously? While we can't know for sure, 1983 was certainly a year of sellouts....before the storm.

1983 saw the further rise of Hulk Hogan and Jesse Ventura. These two put butts in seats. AWA cards were filled out by other superstars as well. Wrestlers like Nick Bockwinkel, Mr. Saito, Bobby Heenan, Jerry Lawler, Wahoo McDaniel, Ray Stevens, Ken Patera, Jerry Blackwell and even Andre the Giant delighted the fans. Sellouts were commonplace in older, established markets and the AWA was building new markets such as Phoenix and the Bay Area.

But as business boomed, this plan was hatched in New York. During 1983 Vince McMahon targeted the top stars of all the regional promotions. For the AWA this meant that Hulk Hogan, Jesse Ventura and Bobby Heenan would soon be gone. Before long David Shults and Jim Brunzell would also leave for the Big Apple.

Beyond signing AWA talent, McMahon also began upgrading his media exposure. He made some of his shows look more big-time (some remained quite old-fashioned) and he inked deals with NBC and MTV. Soon enough WWF merchandise, including an album, trading cards and action figures, would be everywhere. 

The AWA loved 1983 so much that they wanted 1984 to look like another version of 1983. But in 1984 Verne Gagne saw at least some of the changes and dangers that lie ahead. He joined other promoters to fight McMahon by forming Pro Wrestling USA. In a sense, 1983 was really the end of the pure territory era.

In this book you will read about the top stars as well as some of the other talented wrestlers who helped make the AWA The Major League of Professional Wrestling in 1983. You will also get to read about each one of the AWA's events/cards during this calendar year. Finding these was a labor of love. There are listings online but they often contradict each other. I investigated each event to find at least a couple of confirmations. In some cases, newspapers listed the matches as regular sporting events. In other cases, small articles were written to entice people to come to the matches. To the best of my knowledge, THIS was the AWA in 1983. You will also get the most comprehensive list of videos, DVD's, books and shoot interviews anywhere. If it has anything to do with the AWA in 1983, it's listed here! You will be linked to hundreds of hours of AWA action and entertainment. 

The AWA was one of my great childhood passions. I would watch Saturdays and Sundays. It was the same show, but I loved watching it twice. Once the internet became a big-time player in the nostalgia world, my love for AWA action reached a new peak. While I began enjoying WCCW and other territories, the AWA will always be my favorite. 

January

1/2/83 – Minneapolis TV

Rick Martel defeated Nacho Berrera

Ken Patera & Bobby Duncum defeated Curt Hennig & Buddy Lane

Baron Von Raschke defeated Torpedo Guzman

Nick Bockwinkel defeated Julio Rodriguez

Greg Gagne defeated Puppy Dog Peloquin

Even though AWA television tapings had blah matches and relied on the Mean Gene interviews, this was a very good, almost-exciting set of matches. While Patera and Duncum defeated Hennig and Lane, the enthusiastic young guys (who were also veterans) always put up a good fight. While Greg Gagne wasn’t the best in squash matches, Peloquin always brought the fire and that’s exactly when Gagne was at his best.

Bockwinkel always had nice, competitive TV matches, sometimes too competitive. This became a real issue in 1983 because he was running head-on into the rivalry with Hulk Hogan. Hogan was crushing guys 2-on-1 and Bock was having close matches with guys like Rodriguez. Rick Martel was not his best against job guys either. Martel, like Bockwinkel, went back-and-forth with the opposition. Martel had a wonderful championship match with Jumbo Tsuruta and later he had a great AWA rivalry with Michael Hayes. Martel became a terrific wrestler once he slowed down and used his athleticism more and his knowledge of arm-bars and amateur moves less often.

1/6/83 – Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Jerry Blackwell & Sheik Adnan defeated Mad Dog Vachon & Jim Brunzell

Hulk Hogan defeated Ken Patera via DQ

Wahoo McDaniel defeated Sgt. Jacques Goulet

Rick Martel defeated Bobby Duncum

Buck Zumhofe defeated Bobby Heenan

Baron Von Raschke defeated Tom Lintz

Over 8,000 fans came to the arena for this one and they must have been thrilled with what they saw. This card had everything! The Baron beat the big and menacing Tom Lintz. Lintz was trained by Verne Gagne and would go on to become Ali Singh later on in his career. The rest of these matches were also terrific. We’ll focus on the Martel vs Duncum match for now. Rick Martel was from the Eastern French part of Canada but the fans in Winnipeg liked him a lot anyways. Martel didn’t always get the warm reception that you’d expect for a good-looking, athletic baby-face in blue-collar cities like Saint Paul and Milwaukee. Martel was better when he was angry and going up against those dastardly rule-breaking heels like Bobby Duncum. Big Bobby Duncum was a very useful, talented wrestler. Duncum was about 6’4" and 300-pounds. The big raw-boned Texan had long, unkempt blonde hair and was a member of the Bobby Heenan Family. Duncum sold very well. He was especially useful against the wide variety of baby faces in the AWA. Hulk Hogan was especially important to the AWA and Duncum was a good foe for Hogan. He looked formidable and was willing to do jobs. Duncum was also able to work with guys like Martel, Greg Gagne, Brunzell as well as veterans like Vachon, Crusher and Baron. With his identifiable look, Duncum was easy to root against and he was clearly a big-time talent. The special referee for this night, Joe Florino was better known as the wrestler Buffalo Bill Cody.

1/8/83 – Rockford, IL @ the Boylan High School

Mad Dog Vachon & Baron Von Raschke defeated Jerry Blackwell & Sgt. Jacques Goulet

Ken Patera defeated Hulk Hogan via DQ

Wahoo McDaniel defeated Sgt Jacques Goulet

Rick Martel defeated Tom Lintz

Lets continue our look at Tom Lintz. Lintz, who did a job for Rick Martel in this one, was about 6’4 and 280-pounds. While he was big (even going by the name Big Tom Lintz) he wasn’t big enough to be a giant-type of wrestler. His in-ring movement was okay, but not nearly as good as a guy like Bobby Duncum. Lintz wrestled in Tennessee and Alabama in a winning role, but never broke out in the larger territories. When he became Ali Kahn" in 1985 he was a part of the Sheik’s Army. Fans remembered Lintz so the AWA acknowledged who he was, but they said that he moved to the Middle East and was brainwashed. Sgt. Jacques Goulet was a Canadian legend, but he came to the AWA to really cash in. Wrestlers were doing very well in the AWA at this time so guys like Goulet made great money.

1/9/83 – Minneapolis TV

Jerry Blackwell defeated Tony Leone

Wahoo McDaniel defeated Herman Schafer

Nick Bockwinkel defeated Buddy Lane

Buck Zumhofe defeated Sonny Rogers

Steve Olsonoski defeated Puppy Dog Peloquin

Tony Leone was very slim at this point, but he could arm-drag and provide some other offense. Blackwell was a terrific talent whether as a member of Sheik’s Army or as a baby-face. At this time, he was one of the AWA’s most hated wrestlers. He would go against Hogan and Andre on a regular basis. By 1983 Jerry Blackwell wasn’t throwing as many drop kicks and using his athleticism as much, but he was still a top-tier wrestler. The AWA used television tapings to showcase their talent in the ring and on the mic. The result of these matches wasn’t in doubt.

1/9/83 – Green Bay, WI

AWA Tag Team Champions Greg Gagne & Jim