-I’m doing my annual Christmas show viewing of the season. Frosty is strange. Hocus Pocus is the underrated hero of that story. The naming of Frosty is weird. They throw out Harold and Bruce first. Then some kid flashes the peace sign and says Christopher Columbus. The other kids must know that he is problematic even then because they shoot that down right away. Then the little kid says Oatmeal and they turn on him and say Oatmeal? Like he had suggested Lucifer as the name. His suggestion is just as valid as anyone else's.
-Today we look at the 1982 Christmas Night show from the AWA.
-Christmas 1982 was a cold one. My dad still talks about trying to get us to my grandparent’s house on Christmas Eve and there being ice on the inside windshield.
-AWA Christmas Night Show took place 12/25/82 from the St. Paul Civic Center in St. Paul, Minnesota.
-Presented in the most complete form possible due to technical difficulties.
-Baron Von Raschke VS. Jacques Goulet: Joined in Progress. Goulet with his boot to the throat of a fallen Von Raschke. Curt Hennig is the referee and he is trying to separate the two as they are tangled up in the ropes. Goulet picks Von Raschke up only to knock him back down. Goulet rakes his face with his boot. Goulet with a face lock. The crowd comes to life trying to motivate Von Raschke. Von Raschke fighting to get to his feet. They trade shots and Von Raschke falls back down. Goulet drops an elbow. That gets a two count. Goulet with a chin lock. Von Raschke not giving in and fighting to get out of the hold. Hennig checking the arm. It falls twice, but not the third time. Hennig checks and catches Goulet with the choke hold, so he has him break it. Goulet slaps Von Raschke who is trying to get back to his feet. Goulet then spits on Von Raschke. Goulet grabs Von Raschke by his ears. Von Raschke with a kick and a big right hand to Goulet. He runs Goulet into the corner turnbuckle. Goulet with a corner whip, but misses the charge in. Von Raschke goes in. Goulet hits him with a boot to the stomach. Goulet gets Von Raschke down and stomps him in the groin. Goulet stomps Von Raschke again while he is down on his knees. He drives him into a corner with a bear hug. He hits him a few times and goes back to the bear hug. Von Raschke with a series of forearms to try and break the hold. Von Raschke with an Irish whip. He misses a back elbow and Goulet hits him with a dropkick. Goulet applies his scorpion headlock submission to Von Raschke, who is fighting it. Von Raschke starts to go out and the fans are trying to make some noise to get behind him. Goulet has him down and gets a two count. Goulet can’t make Von Raschke submit. Von Raschke is starting to come back. Goulet gets another two count. Hennig checks the arm, but it doesn’t fall three times. Von Raschke makes it back to his feet. Von Raschke puts the claw on Goulet. Goulet goes backwards after having his hold broken. Goulet goes up and over the ropes and Von Raschke still has the claw on him. Hennig makes Von Raschke break the hold. He does and drives Goulet into the corner turnbuckle. Von Raschke with a forearm and slingshots Goulet back into the ring. Von Raschke with an Irish whip, misses a clothesline, and Goulet hits a dropkick. Goulet goes for a scoop slam, but Von Raschke gets him in an inside cradle and gets the pin.
-Ken Patera VS. Steve Olsonoski: Joined in progress. Olsonoski has Patera down with an arm lock. Patera gets out and hits a couple of knee lifts to Olsonoski. Patera throws Olsonoski out. He goes out after him and throws him back in. Patera goes up top and thinks about going off, but doesn’t. He kicks Olsonoski. Olsonoski reverses a corner whip and Patera driven to the mat. Olsonoski drops a fist on Patera. Olsonoski throws Patera to the outside. Olsonoski goes out after him. He slams Patera’s arm against the corner post. Olsonoski rolls in to break the count, then goes back outside again and slams Patera’s head into the ring apron area. Patera kneeling in the corner and begging off. Patera with a couple of fists to Olsonoski to knock him down. Patera with a knee to the back of Olsonoski. He drops an elbow on Olsonoski. That gets a one count. Patera gets a bear hug on Olsonoski. Olsonoski is fighting it. He hits forearms to Patera’s back to try to get out of the hold. Referee Jim Mitchell is checking to see if Olsonoski wants to submit. Olsonoski trying to break the hold by punching Patera. Mitchell checking the arm, but it doesn’t go down three times. Olsonoski growing weaker as he is trying everything to break the hold. Olsonoski with a double clap to the ears to break the hold. Olsonoski falls down afterwards and Patera hits him with a stomp. Back and forth with a series of shots. Olsonoski hits some boots to the midsection. He runs Patera into the corner turnbuckle. They both end up on the apron before coming back in. Olsonoski dragging Patera back out. Olsonoski drives Patera’s head into the ring apron. Olsonoski with an atomic drop to Patera on the outside. They are fighting on the outside of the ring and Patera runs Olsonoski’s head into the ring apron. Patera gets Olsonoski back in the ring and then hits him with a suplex. Both men down. Double count going. A Steve O chant goes out. Patera goes for another suplex, but Olsonoski slips behind him and puts a sleeper on Patera. Patera drives Olsonoski back into a turnbuckle to break the hold. Patera with a boot to the stomach. Patera with an Irish whip. Olsonoski comes back with a sunset flip. He gets a two count. Olsonoski with a shot to the midsection. Then a kick to the midsection. Olsonoski with a scoop slam to Patera. He drops an elbow on Patera. He gets a two count on Patera. Patera begging off. Olsonoski with a right hand to Patera. Olsonoski with a backbreaker. Gets a two count but it was an extremely slow count. Olsonoski with a neck breaker. Olsonoski with an elbow smash from the second rope. Gets another two count. Olsonoski goes for another neck breaker, but Patera holds on to the ropes. Patera drops an elbow. Patera then pins Olsonoski with his feet on the ropes. Olsonoski disputes the finish and is trying to tell the referee what happened. Patera throws a chair in the ring, but Olsonoski grabs it before Patera can.
-Rick Martel VS. Bobby Heenan: Joined in progress as Martel is working over Heenan’s leg. Heenan gets to the ropes. Martel stomps his leg. Martel stomping the back of the knee of Heenan. Heenan rakes the eyes to get Martel off of him. Martel swinging wildly trying to hit Heenan. Heenan attacks the face again. Heenan with a rear headlock. Curt Hennig is the referee again. Martel with a takeover on Heenan to break the hold. Heenan kicks Martel in the gut. Then an elbow to Martel. Heenan with a corner whip, but Martel moves on the charge in. Martel goes back to working on the leg. Martel gets Heenan tied up in the corner and hits him in the groin or inside thigh a couple of times. Martel finally breaks on the four count. Heenan hits Martel with an illegal object. Heenan with knees to Martel’s back. Heenan with an Irish whip and a double shot to Martel. Gets a two count. Heenan with another Irish whip, but Martel ducks the double shot and comes back with a crossbody. He gets a close two count. Martel with some right hands to Heenan. Heenan gets tied up in the ropes. Martel with a shoulder block to Heenan while he is tied up in the ropes. Heenan ducks when Martel tries it again and Martel spills to the outside of the ring. Heenan goes out to the apron and stomps on Martel as he tries to get away. He then runs Martel head first into the apron. He then does it again when Martel tries to get back in the ring. He then stomps Martel’s fingers trying to do anything to prevent Martel from getting back in. Martel tries to come in another way, but Heenan again slams his head down. Martel finally gets back on the apron and Heenan attempts to run his head into the turnbuckle, but Martel blocks it and runs Heenan into the turnbuckle instead. Heenan begs off, but Martel unloads on him. Martel with a corner whip and a backdrop to Heenan. Martel with a dropkick, then another one. Martel with an atomic drop. He then dropkicks Heenan shoulder first into the corner post. Martel then pins Heenan. The crowd loves it.
-For some reason, the last two matches featured are from the 1981 Christmas Card.
-AWA World Heavyweight Championship Match. Nick Bockwinkel VS. Billy Robinson: Joined in progress. Robinson with a side headlock. Bockwinkel pushes off. Robinson with a shoulder block. Robinson goes back to the side headlock. He gets Bockwinkel back down on the ground. Robinson has the hold in snug, but Bockwinkel won’t give up. Bobby Heenan now at ringside to second Bockwinkel and a weasel chant goes out. Robinson bridges up when Bockwinkel tries to get out of the hold to drive him back down again. Bockwinkel gets out and Robinson hits him with a forearm and a side headlock takeover. Heenan gets up on the apron claiming Robinson grabbed hair and the referee shoves him off. Bockwinkel pushes off and then slams Robinson. Robinson kicks out and hits a series of European uppercuts. Robinson goes back to the side headlock takeover. Bockwinkel slowly gets out of the hold and applies a front face lock to Robinson on the mat. Robinson lifts his legs up and claps Bockwinkel on both ears to break the hold in an awesome move. Robinson then attacks Bockwinkel on the back. He gets a one count. Robinson with a headlock, but Bockwinkel gets his foot on the ropes. Bockwinkel rolls outside to regroup with Heenan. Back in, test of strength. A good back and forth with moves and counters. Robinson with a hamstring pull on Bockwinkel. Goes back to the headlock. Bockwinkel gets back to the ropes to break the hold. They circle each other. They lock up and Bockwinkel with a side headlock. Robinson with a leg move to reverse the hold. Side headlock takedown to Bockwinkel and Robinson is awesome. Robinson gets a one count. Robinson cranks the hold. Robinson gets several one counts, but Bockwinkel keeps getting his shoulder up on the hold. Robinson finally starts to get two counts while applying the hold. Bockwinkel struggles to get back to his feet while Robinson still has the hold on. Bockwinkel makes it back to his feet and reverses into a hammerlock. Robinson reaches down and gets Bockinkel’s leg to force him back down on the mat. Robinson is really impressing me. He gets up. Bockwinkel goes to hit him and Robinson cartwheels by him. Bockwinkel gets him with a body drop the second time. Robinson with a hip toss, but hurts his arm in the process. Robinson by the ropes. Bockwinkel trying to work over the shoulder while the referee is trying to get him away. This happens a couple of times. Robinson finally rolls to the outside. Bockwinkel comes over and hits Robinson with some forearms through the ropes. Robinson struggles to get back in the ring and Bockwinkel attacks him as soon as he gets to the ropes. Robinson goes around the ring and gets in another way. Bockwinkel on the attack. Robinson with a right hand to Bockwinkel, but Robinson’s shoulder is injured. He falls to the ground holding it. Bockwinkel kicking the shoulder. Bockwinkel puts a hammer lock on the injured arm. Robinson makes it to his feet. Bockwinkel adjusts and gets an arm bar on. Robinson down to one knee. Robinson comes back and tries to break the hold. Robinson tries a Beal throw, but Bockwinkel holds on to reapply the hold. A Billy chant goes out as he tries to get out of the hold. Robinson reverses into a chicken wing like maneuver. Bockwinkel gets to the ropes. Bockwinkel knocks Robinson to the outside. Robinson gets back in the ring and hits Bockwinkel with a European uppercut and a neck breaker. He then drops a knee on Bockwinkel. He goes to pin Bockwinkel, who gets his foot on the ropes. Robinson with a backbreaker. Bockwinkel kicks out at two. Back and forth. Robinson goes for an enziguri, but misses and goes out over to the apron. Bockwinkel applies a sleeper. Robinson gets his legs up and pushes back on the top rope. He and Bockwinkel fall back in the ring and it appears as if Robinson has Bockwinkel’s shoulders down as the referee counts to three. The crowd goes crazy. Heenan comes in irate. The referee all of a sudden comes over and raises Bockwinkel’s hand and he is announced as the winner. It is very confusing. Heenan and Bockwinkel get out of the ring suddenly. The ring announcer says both men’s shoulders were down, but at the last second, Bockwinkel raised his shoulder. The crowd is not happy with the result. They are about to become even unhappier. As we go to...
-Hulk Hogan and Tito Santana VS. Bobby Duncum and Ken Patera with Bobby Heenan: Joined in progress. Hogan gets Duncum down and drops a leg on his arm. Santana tagged in. Hogan holds Duncum’s arm so Santana can kick him. Santana with a wrist lock. Duncum with a scoop slam. He misses the elbow drop when Santana moves. Santana with an arm drag. Hogan tagged back in. He kicks Duncum and applies an arm bar. Duncum makes it back to his feet and to the ropes to break the hold. Duncum with an Irish whip, he misses the clothesline. Hogan with an elbow smash to Duncum. Hogan with another leg drop to Duncum’s arm. Hogan goes back to the arm bar. The referee is tied up with Patera, so Hogan and Santana take the opportunity to switch places, confusing the referee. The referee makes Hogan get back in. Hogan with a big forearm. He reapplies the arm bar. Duncum gets to the ropes. Patera tagged in. The crowd comes to life waiting for the match. Lots of stalling going on. They lock up. Hogan pushes Patera back to the turnbuckle. Patera charges Hogan, who drops down, and Patera runs directly into a punch from Santana. He turns around and Hogan punches him. He bounces between the two getting punched as the crowd cheers. Patera finally falls face first on the mat. Hogan with an eye poke and the crowd is roaring its approval. He runs Patera into the boot of Santana. Santana tagged in. Patera misses a wild swing and Santana hits an atomic drop. Santana then punches Duncum on the apron. Patera comes back with punches to the stomach and jaw. Patera with a knee to Santana knocking him down. Patera grabs Santana by the trunks and hits him with a knee to the back. A Tito chant goes out. Patera with a big slam to Santana. Patera then goads Hogan into coming in, allowing Duncum to attack Santana. Duncum then tagged in. Double inverted stomach buster. Hogan tries to break it up. Duncum choking Santana while the referee is getting Hogan out. Santana trying to come back with punches to Duncum’s stomach. Patera grabs him to deliver a forearm blow. The referee is counting. Santana tries to tag Hogan in, but gets cut off by Duncum. A punch to the throat knocks Santana to the mat. Duncum drops some knees on Santana’s back. Duncum runs Santana into Patera’s boot in the corner. Patera tagged in. Hogan comes in and goes after Duncum. The referee gets Hogan out as Patera has Santana in a front face lock. Patera with a suplex on Santana. He gets a two count. Patera kicks Hogan’s hand out of the way so he can’t tag. Patera with a bear hug. Santana with a clap to the head to get out of the hold. Duncum tagged in. Duncum with an Irish whip and a back elbow. Hogan breaks up the tag. Hogan goes after Patera on the outside while Duncum and Santana battle inside the ring. Hogan goes after Patera with a chair, so Patera retreats. The referee stops Duncum from choking Santana in the ropes. Duncum with a backbreaker. Patera tagged in. Santana coming back with some right hands to Patera. Hogan tagged in. He slams both Patera and Duncum, who has gotten into the ring. Big boot to Duncum. Patera gets scoop slammed. Hogan drops an elbow on Patera. Then another one. He runs Patera into Santana’s knee. Santana tagged in. Santana goes for a dropkick, but Patera holds on to the ropes. Santana lands on his feet and hits Patera with a second dropkick. Patera reverses a corner whip. Patera misses the charge in. Santana drops an elbow on Patera’s knee. Hogan tagged in. He drops the leg on Patera’s knee. Santana tagged back in. Santana with a step over toe hold and pinning predicament. Heenan gets up on the apron. Hogan goes over and grabs him, which brings the referee over and allows Duncum to come in and attack Santana. Duncum Irish whips and clotheslines Santana. Hogan brings Heenan in and runs him into Duncum. Hogan then throws Patera out of the ring. The bell rings. Hogan throws Heenan down. Hogan with an Irish whip and a running elbow smash to Duncum. The referee disqualified Hogan for throwing Patera over the top rope. Hogan then throws Heenan out. He throws Duncum out. Patera tries to come in, but drops to the floor when Hogan goes after him. The crowd cheering Hogan as the heels leave. Hogan checks on Santana as they sign off from St. Paul.
-Final Thoughts: A decent way to spend an hour if you’re into classic wrestling.