KHAWKS AWA
LEGENDS: JERRY BLACKWELL – 8 DISKS
VOLUME 1 (Disks
1-4): THE EARLY YEARS (1980-82)
Jerry Blackwell
wrestled in many promotions in the 1970's, notably the Mid Atlantic and WWWF
areas. It wasn't until 1980 when he arrived in the AWA that he made a
true impact as a "giant" of
pro wrestling.
1) Jerry
Blackwell introduction by Verne and Greg Gagne (2:21, VG)
included more of it. (6:15, F/VG-)
Blackwell's few title matches as a heel. 2:46, VG, low
sound.
chances to slam Blackwell in order to collect
$1,000. (4:02, VG-)
challenge. This time it's a regular match, but whoever
slams the other gets $5,000. Bravo is defending the
Canadian title.
(21:16, VG+)
Disk 2 (XP dvd,
Running time 56:29)
1) Mean Gene
Okerlund interviews Jerry Blackwell about his eating habits. (3:22, VG+)
2) Jerry
Blackwell vs. King Kong Mosca (Minneapolis, clips, 1980). John Studd,
Blackwell's tag partner,
is at ringside near the end. (6:55, VG-/VG)
putting up $5,000 if Andre can slam him.
(4:05, VG)
has to pin both men in the allotted time
limit to get the win. Rheingans almost breaks Blackwell's neck
with a
TREMENDOUS belly-to-back suplex. (7:33, VG)
go Blackwell's way and he attacks Rheingans
and injures him. (ASW TV, 1981, clipped) 5:15, F/VG-
him even more hated than he already was, and
his matches with the smaller Rheingans were good for both
of them.
attacks Rheingans again. This time Hulk Hogan makes
the save and slams Blackwell twice.
F/VG)
watchable.
Disk 3 (1 XP
dvd, Running time 58:13)
regular match. Jesse Ventura interferes and
he and Blackwell beat on Hogan. This is a pretty rare clip as
Johnny V
is still managing Hogan at the time.
So he picks a partner. Andre the Giant.
(interview)
Quality is VG-/VG)
13:43, VG/VG+
Kaissie at this point, but it was a beat down
of Gagne that set up the next match.. (6:42, VG-/VG)
(Minneapolis, 1981, Clipped). Sound is low but
it goes to a Double DQ. (8:40, VG/VG+)
there's only TWO guys eliminated. Battleroyals were
very different back then. Blackwell makes it to the
end. (7:00, EX-)
Disk 4 (1 XP
dvd, Running time approx. 54:00)
One of Jerry
Blackwell's longest running AWA feuds was against three of the AWA's elder
statesmen: Mad Dog Vachon, and The Crusher. Blackwell had injured Vachon
and put him out of
the AWA for a lengthy period. When he returned, he
brought back an old friend to help extract his
revenge-Baron Von Raschke.
Billed as Mad Dog's first match back in the AWA since
Blackwell put him out of action. (24:00, VG-
/VG)
Crusher and Blackwell had begun feuding over Jerry
using the nickname "Crusher". (6:28, VG)
The top rope breaks during the bout, and each team
uses the broken turnbuckle to their advantage. (8:20,
EX-)
and tries to injure Crusher again.
knuckles" style. (Total time of clips 5, 6 and
7: 7:00. EX-)
can use the "Crusher" nickname. Blackwell
brings some help to ringside-Sheik Adnan Al-Kaissie. 5:40,
VG+/EX-) This
bout marked the beginning of Blackwell becoming Kaissie's tag partner and
teammate.
identified as Blackwell's new partner. (1:15, EX-)
shows when they ran classic match segments
on their weekly TV.
VOLUME 2 (Disk
5): BLACKWELL AND SHEIK ADNAN AL-KAISSIE (1982-83)
Disk 5 (1 SP
DVD, Running time approx. 1 hour 56 minutes)
Jerry
Blackwell's AWA tenure stalled briefly upon the departure of tag partner Big
John Studd.
His services were quickly scooped up by Sheik Adnan
Al-Kaissie. Kaissie, as a singles grappler, had
failed in his quest to
unseat Nick Bockwinkel for the AWA World title. With Blackwell adopting a
Sheik outfit, the pair sought revenge against common enemies and planned
an assault at the AWA
World tag team titles. Rarely has a team garnered
so much hatred in an AWA ring.
appearances of Sheik Adnan Al-Kaissie in Blackwell's
corner. (3:00, EX-)
All four men had feuded with each other
individually. All four in a match together made for a real war.
(8:38,
VG)
Gagne. (7:00, VG-/VG)
1982). Rheingans has Blackwell's number, which
prompts him and Kaissie to go crazy on the faces until
several wrestlers
run in for the save. Greg Gagne is one of them, and Blackwell Powerslams and
splashes
him on the concrete floor. The Sheiks are interviewed after the
match. (11:06, G/VG-, snowy picture).
Brunzell. (2:00, VG)
slightly JIP). Good bout, strange ending. (12:21,
VG+)
1982, JIP). Basically the same finish as above but a
good match nonetheless. (6:45, VG-/VG)
steel cage bout, St. Paul 1982. Clipped Raw
footage shot from a ringside camera. Violent match that sees
the Sheiks
lock Brunzell out of the cage after the match and beat down Gagne. Brunzell
and Verne Gagne
make the save. (11:05, VG)
Blackwell. (1:30, VG)
takes out both the Sheiks with various objects and a
chair after the bout. (3:15, F/VG-, lots of snow on the
picture).
footage from an alternate camera angle). Blackwell and
Kaissie injure not only Vachon and Raschke, but
also Verne Gagne, who
tried to make the save. The Heat for this bout is off the charts as fans are
insane
with rage. (14:00, VG-/VG, good picture that jumps a bit in
spots).
retirement to face the Sheiks at Super Sunday. Verne
ultimately accepts. (2:51, EX-)
Paul). Vachon looks for revenge, Verne wants to hurt
Kaissie. He does. (10:00, EX-)
Bobby Heenan for the services of Ken Patera,
which Heenan ultimately accepts. (AWA TV, 1983). 7:00, EX-
team champions.
some rougher picture but those segments are
pretty short.
Disk 6 (1 SP
DVD, Running time approx. 1 hour 56 minutes)
After the
Sheik's arm was broken at the hands of Verne Gagne and Mad Dog Vachon, he
decided
that Jerry Blackwell needed a new tag team partner to try and
win the AWA tag team titles. That
partner
was to be Ken Patera.
1) Sheik Kaissie
buys the contract of Ken Patera from Bobby Heenan. (AWA TV, late April
1983). 6:20,
EX-
2) Ken Patera
and Jerry Blackwell vs. Spike Huber and Butch Reed (St. Louis, end clip).
The Sheiks get
their feet wet as a team on St. Louis TV. (3:46, EX-)
3) Greg Gagne &
Jim Brunzell (AWA World Tag Champs) vs. Ken Patera & Jerry Blackwell (St.
Paul,
May 26th 1983, JIP). The Sheiks capture the tag team titles with
the help of the Sheik on what was
probably their very first crack at the
titles. (10:41, VG/VG+)
4) Ken Patera &
Jerry Blackwell (AWA World Tag Champs) vs. Greg Gagne & Jim Brunzell (St.
Paul,
June 1983). Ray Stevens is assigned as the special referee.
(22:54, VG-/VG)
After this bout
the Sheiks decided that the High Flyers weren't getting any more title
matches.
5) Ken Patera &
Jerry Blackwell (AWA World Tag Champs) vs. Steve O & Rick Martel (AWA TV,
2/3
falls, Summer 1983). 13:00, VG-/VG
Summer 1983). Mad Dog Vachon was supposed to be Bravo's
partner but was late arriving. He's around
after the bout, though. Good
match. (19:20, VG/VG+)
Paul, 1983, JIP). This is a non-title match. (7:54,
VG-/VG)
(St. Paul, 1983, JIP). Rare 80's Twin-Cities appearance
for Bruiser. (5:30, VG+, note there is some unrelated footage here for about
2 minutes. My bad.)
match" was ordered.
9) The infamous
Mad Dog Vachon "coffin building" promo for the Death match. (2:40, EX-)
when your opponent can't get up by the count of "ten".
Kaissie and Patera are at ringside. (14:25,
VG/VG+)
determined that if the High Flyers could win a
6-man tag bout against the Sheiks they would get a title
match. The High
Flyers chose Rick Martel to join them.
JIP). If the High Flyers win, they finally
get a title rematch. (9:49, VG)
Jerry Blackwell
and Ken Patera had held the title since May 26th, 1983 when they defeated
the
High Flyers in St. Paul. They had managed to avoid giving the Flyers
another rematch until it was
decided that if Gagne and Brunzell could
win a 6-man tag bout (with Rick Martel as their tag
partner) they would
get another chance. They won that bout, which is where part 2 picks up..)
Bay, WI, 3/11/84). Japanese Commentary. 17:10, VG)
Blackwell and Patera also ventured outside of
regular AWA areas to
defend their belts:
December 1983, clips). Includes promos for the match
by both the Sheiks and Morton & Gibson. (total
time of clips + promos:
6:02, VG-/VG)
January 1984, clips). Includes promos for the
match by both Lawler and The Sheiks. (total time of clips +
promos: 5:09, VG-/VG)
(Chicago, 3/4/84). Japanese commentary. Mulligan
picks up Lawler as a partner since Blackjack Lanza
had a title shot vs.
Jumbo Tsuruta on the same card. (20:08, VG)
3/15/84). Japanese commentary. Crusher subs for
Brunzell, who had a title match that night against
Jumbo Tsuruta.
(14:41, VG) Crusher and Gagne demanded that they get a bout with the Sheik,
and they
get one:
Footage slightly clipped). Ken Patera is at
ringside and attacks Crusher after the bout. Blackjack Mulligan
comes to
Crusher and Gagne's aid. (14:36, EX-) Blackwell decided to get some revenge
of his own on
Crusher.
end clip). Blackwell costs Crusher and Baron the
match with the help of brass knuckles. (2:05, VG-/VG)
Out of the
preceding bout, Baron and Crusher began to get matches for the tag team
title against the
Sheiks:
Ken Patera and Jerry Blackwell in Green Bay on May 6th,
1984. No clip of the match has ever been
shown but Baron and Crusher
celebrating in the dressing room after the title win is. (1:05, VG) Patera
was
out of the AWA almost immediately after losing the tag titles.
Blackwell had some unfinished business
with Blackjack Mulligan.
was such a no-contest that many wondered
if Blackwell was leaving the territory. Even Sheik Kaissie at
ringside
didn't help. (7:05, VG/VG+) Blackwell's AWA career now officially seemed to
be in limbo.
Events in the AWA over the next few months, however, would
give Blackwell an entirely new set of
enemies to concentrate on and keep
him as a prominent figure in AWA rings for years to come.
in by Terry Funk to destroy Lawler, and
Blackwell indeed looks devastating. (9:05, EX-)
fashioned brawl. 11:19, VG-/VG
should have been on the Blackwell/Kaissie disc.
The story here is that after Blackwell injured Greg
Gagne on TV,
Brunzell needed a partner for a match against the Sheiks. Mad Dog
volunteered to be
Brunzell's partner since he was still looking to get
revenge on Blackwell. The Dog has his day. (7:30,
VG/VG+)
Blackwell vs.
Bruiser Brody.
Disk 8 - JERRY
BLACKWELL VS. BRUISER BRODY (1984-86)
Jerry Blackwell
was the most hated man in the AWA for several years. His alliance with Sheik
Adnan Al-Kaissie had wreaked havoc throughout the territory. The Sheik
expanded his stable of
wrestlers in early 1984 to include Abdullah the
Butcher and Bruiser Brody. These additions
resulted in a remarkable
turnaround in the relationship between Blackwell and the fans. This DVD
chronicles how it happened.
promptly attacks Brunzell and his partner, Greg
Gagne, injuring Gagne's knee and putting him out of
action for several
months. (2:30, VG)
Blackwell ends up arguing with Sheik
Kaissie after the bout. (1:22, VG)
Sheik Kaissie and Blackwell get into it again
after the bout and Blackwell walks out n disgust. (7:00, EX-)
Brody, which prompts Kaissie and Company to lay
a serious, unending beating on him. (11:43, EX-)
Jerry Blackwell was now
a fan favourite.
much unconscious. (1:30, EX-)
Brody. (3:15, VG)
save, and he's in over his head. (9:33,
VG+/EX-)
Kong Bundy tries to make the save. He doesn't
fare very well either. (12:30, VG)
encounter. Greg Gagne comes in and helps Blackwell
score a very strange decision. Gagne and
Blackwell, once bitter enemies,
shake hands after the match. (13:00, EX-)
saves Greg Gagne from a two-on-one attack by
Kaissie and his newest protégé, The Masked Superstar.
(2:21, VG+)
underway and turns into a huge two-part brawl that
ends up involving Greg Gagne. Blackwell and Greg
Gagne are interviewed
in-ring afterwards by Larry Nelson. (10:26, VG)
January 1985). Blackwell attacks the ref after
the decision goes against his team. 1:38, VG+
Kaissie is strapped to a debuting Sgt.
Slaughter to prevent interference. (8:00, VG+)
4/20/86, Minneapolis Metrodome, end clip)--Basically, this
was supposed to be Blackwell and Gagne
settling up their feud with Brody
once and for all. Blackwell was either (a) legit too sick to wrestle, or (B)
Vince McMahon stooged on Blackwell being unable to pass a physical so he
had to be lifted from the
match. Jimmy Snuka was brought in as his
replacement. This should have been the big blowoff match to
end this
long-running feud but unfortunately it didn't happen. (5:00, EX-) Though the
feud ended in an
inconclusive manner, it did serve as the catalyst for
many other battles between Blackwell and The
Sheik's Army, and cemented
Jerry as one of the top AWA fan favourites for many years to come.
Running time:
Approx. 100 minutes
Video Quality:
Ranges from VG to EX-.
Note: All listings and quality ratings are that of the originator of the set, KHawk.
Note: This site is for informational purposes only. This is where I keep the listings of the tapes in my collection. None of the videos listed on this site are for sale or trade.