After the creative meeting, I had to get to work.
The AWA had talent. That much was clear.
Now I had to book television.
Before I wrote down a match, I checked the titles.
Nick Bockwinkel was the AWA World Heavyweight Champion, and I had no reason to change that. Nick was our best talker, our best ring general, and the safest man to put on top.
Taking the belt off him right away would have been foolish.
The tag team champions were Mad Dog Vachon and Verne Gagne.
That gave us two respected names holding the belts. It also showed me where the tag division had to go.
Mad Dog and Verne could still draw. They still meant something to the fans, but they were not the future of the division.
That made Jesse Ventura and Adrian Adonis important.
Jesse had heat. Adrian had talent.
Together, they looked like the right young team to push against the old guard.
Then I checked the schedule.
AWA All-Star Wrestling was our weekly TV show. It ran two hours, taped on Tuesday, and aired on Sunday.
That show mattered.
We also had house shows every Thursday and Sunday, plus monthly supercards. The first supercard was already coming up in January, so the first TV show had to start building toward it.
I checked the announcers next.
Rodger Kent and Marty O’Neill gave us a strong booth. Both men knew wrestling, and their chemistry was fine. Also, I've decided to add Gene Okerlund to this announcing team for the first night to see what he is capable of.
Then I looked at the money.
The AWA had somewhere around $2,500,000 in budget. The wage bill was under control, and the sponsorship estimate looked good.
We were not broke.
That meant I could think about signing young talent later. Curt Hennig, Barry Windham, and Butch Reed were already on my list.
I liked all three.
Hennig felt like an AWA natural. Windham was only 19, and Reed had power that could be useful.
But I did not sign anyone yet.
I wanted to book the first show with the roster already in the room.
I had to book the show, how the fans were expecting it to be booked. They wanted serious wrestling, clear faces and heels, and stories that made sense.
No comedy junk.
No wild stunt show.
This had to feel like wrestling.
So I created two new stories.
The first was AWA World Title: Bockwinkel vs Bravo.
Nick was the champion. Dino Bravo was the strong babyface challenger.
That was simple, and simple is not a bad thing in wrestling.
The second was Ventura vs Greg Gagne.
That one was easy.
Ventura could say Greg only had his spot because his last name was Gagne. Greg could fight to prove he belonged there.
We also kept the existing story with Bobby Heenan, Lord Alfred Hayes, Neil Guay, and Super Mark Destroyer II.
That story already had heat, and Heenan was too good to leave sitting around.
Then I booked the first show.
I went with 120 minutes. The product needed a lot of wrestling, so I used plenty of matches and kept the interviews focused.
AWA All-Star Wrestling - Tuesday, Week 1, January 1980
We opened with Bockwinkel and Heenan, with Dino Bravo involved.
Bockwinkel talks about being the AWA World Heavyweight Champion. He says nobody in the company is smart enough or skilled enough to take the title from him.
Dino Bravo comes out and says he wants the shot.
Purpose:
- Advance AWA World Title: Bockwinkel vs Bravo
- Establish Bockwinkel as champion
- Establish Bravo as challenger
Segment rating - 10/10
That told me plenty right away. Nick and Bobby could carry the top of the show, and the world title story had started strong.
Then Adrian Adonis beat Buck Zumhofe.
Purpose:
- Start building Adonis
- Give him momentum
- Keep him moving toward the upper card
Match rating - 4.6/10
Adrian was not the problem. He looked good.
Buck was off his game, and that hurt the match badly.
And I came up with a decision that next time, Adrian needs a stronger opponent.
After that, Jesse Ventura insulted Greg Gagne.
Ventura says Greg only has a spot in this company because his last name is Gagne.
Greg comes out and stands up to him.
Purpose:
Advance Ventura vs Greg Gagne storyline
Use Ventura’s strong microphone skill to help build the story
Let Greg look brave without overdoing it
Segment rating - 9.2/10
It was really good. Jesse had heat, Greg had momentum, and the fans cared. That feud was working from the start.
Then Greg beat Randy Morse.
Purpose:
Keep Greg hot and strong
Give Randy Morse ring time
Support the Ventura/Greg feud
Match rating - 6.2/10
Greg had a strong performance. That helped him and the whole feud with Ventura. Randy was not ready to carry a match much yet, but he got quality ring time which is important for his growth, and Greg looked good.
Next, Jerry Blackwell beat Kenny Jay.
Purpose:
Build Blackwell as a monster heel
Use Kenny Jay as a veteran who can lose and help build Blackwell's character
Give the heel side of the roster more strength, because I thought that faces were much stronger at that time
Match rating - 4.2/10
Blackwell was off his game, and Kenny did not give us much. But I still thought after the match that Blackwell can help us, but for now he needs short matches and easy wins.
Then we ran a segment to advance the Heenan story.
Heenan brags that he is taking control of the AWA again.
Super Mark Destroyer II stands with him. Lord Alfred Hayes answers back with Neil Guay that they will stop him.
Purpose:
Advance storyline
Use the storyline that already has high heat
Keep Heenan important
Segment rating - 9.9/10
Heenan was tremendous. When Bobby is used right, he makes everyone around him feel more important.
After that, Super Mark Destroyer II beat Ron Ritchie.
Purpose:
Keep Super Mark Destroyer II strong
Support the Heenan/Lord Alfred storyline
Use one of our better workers on the show
Match rating - 4.2/10
Road agent gave me a clear note. Ron Ritchie was exposed by the length of the match. He was tired very early in the match.
That helps me going forward.
Ron can still be used, but his matches need to be shorter.
Then Ventura and Adonis challenged the old guard - Mad Dog and Verne Gagne.
Ventura and Adonis come out to the ring together.
Ventura insults Verne Gagne and Mad Dog Vachon. Greg Gagne comes out to defend his father’s name. This keeps the Greg/Ventura story alive while also teasing the tag title direction.
Purpose:
Advance Ventura vs Greg Gagne storyline
Start building Ventura & Adonis together and toward the tag championships
Segment rating - 7.8/10
It was good, but I learned something there too. Greg was trying to keep up with Jesse, which I liked. Still, with Jesse, I need to give him sharper lines, because it still felt that Jesse is more organic and better on the mic.
Next, Mad Dog Vachon and Verne Gagne beat Rick Hunter and Neil Guay.
Purpose:
Show the tag champions as strong champions
Keep Verne and Mad Dog active
Give the crowd a clear babyface champions win
Build them strong toward Ventura and Adonis challenging them to a match
Match rating - 6.5/10
Verne looked good. Mad Dog looked good early, but he started to tire near the end.
That confirmed what the office had already warned me about.
Mad Dog still matters. I just have to use him the right way.
Shorter matches. Tags. Brawls. Big moments.
Not long matches every week.
Then Dino Bravo had a short interview.
Purpose:
Advance Bockwinkel vs Bravo storyline
Keep Bravo serious and make him look like a credible contender
Give him a clean babyface moment to connect with a crowd
Segment rating - 6.6/10
Segment note was not good. Dino was poor when he had to improvise, which was my plan to test him.
But that does not in any way ends his and Bockwinkel feud.
It just tells me how to use Dino better and smarter.
Keep him serious. Keep him brief. Script him when he talks, and let him do most of his work in the ring.
The main event was Nick Bockwinkel vs The Crusher.
Nick won after Bobby Heenan interfered.
Purpose:
Satisfy the fans need for a story telling match
Give the show a strong main event
Keep Bockwinkel strong
Protect The Crusher in a loss as an older main event attraction
Match rating - 8/10
That was a strong TV main event.
Nick had a great performance, even though he was not fully on his game. The Crusher was tiring by the end of the match, so I have to watch his match lengths too.
We closed with Bockwinkel celebrating while Bravo watched.
After the main event, Bockwinkel and Heenan celebrate like they proved something.
Bravo comes out and watches this from the aisle. The point is simple: Bravo knows Bockwinkel can be beaten, but Bockwinkel still has the belt.
Purpose:
End the show on the world title story
Advance Bockwinkel vs Bravo storyline
Build toward the January supercard PPV
Segment rating - 9.9/10
The champion survived. The challenger saw it happen, and Heenan made the whole thing hotter.
That gave the fans a reason to come back.
The final show rating - 7.6/10
That is a good first night.
And by looking at first numbers, the show also raised our average viewership in three regions, which matters more than any speech in the office.
Here is what I learned from this first show.
- Bockwinkel and Heenan are the top act.
- Ventura and Greg Gagne have a real feud.
- Adrian Adonis needs better opponents.
- Dino Bravo should be scripted.
- Ron Ritchie needs shorter matches.
- Mad Dog and The Crusher still have value, but I need to watch their match length.
- Super Mark Destroyer II works best when Heenan is involved.
- Gene Okerlund may not be the right man for the desk.
The first show helped us.
Now I have to build the January supercard PPV, keep the stories hot, and start thinking about the future of the roster.
One good TV show is not enough.
The next one has to move us forward even more.