The AWA 1986: Great Talent/Smaller Crowds - E-book - ePub

In many ways, 1986 was the most important year in the decline of the AWA. For some reason, people are fascinated with the downfall of the American Wrestling Association. And truth-be-told, I plead guilty to being a part of this group. I began watching the AWA in the early 1980's and kept watching it through the bitter end in 1991. While every year during the 1980's tells a different, enlightening story, 1986 may represent the biggest twelve-month-shift in the Association's proud history.1980-1983 were "business as usual" for the AWA.
They can even be considered better-than-usual due to the arrival of Hulk Hogan. The way Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo ran the AWA went unchanged from the 1970's into the 1980's. The one notable exception was the video library. The AWA began keeping more of their footage instead of taping over it. The reels were very expensive, so taping over previous shows made sense, but the AWA was learning about the future value of keeping their old shows.
The wrestling world in general did not change that much either. Promotors were generally honoring one another's territory claims with only occasional "turf wars" like in Detroit and Los Angeles. But the same promotors who energetically started the NWA in 1948 were heading toward retirement and were not looking to make major waves or new investments in their product. In 1983 Vince McMahon took over a key program/time slot on WTBS.
Vince's product flopped as fans wanted their more traditional NWA-style wrestling. But McMahon sold the slot to Crockett and the money from this sale was crucial in Vince building his war chest. Late 1983 was also when Vince McMahon convinced Hulk Hogan to abandon his plans with the AWA and immediately jump ship to the WWF. 1984 signaled the start of a totally new era in wrestling. The war between the territory promoters and Vince was on.
During 1984 and 1985 the territory promotors saw their top talent taken by Vince McMahon. No longer were the owners of the territories discussing wrestlers' end-dates and start-dates. The WWF was hiring talent and they were, in most cases, leaving immediately. This left the AWA and NWA territories with broken story lines and diminished overall booking plans. It also left many territories without the key performers they were planning to showcase.
McMahon also took over key television time slots on the usual local stations. Instead of tuning in and finding the local promotion, fans would often find the new WWF product instead. This ebook serves as an eye-opening introduction to the AWA and a great supplement for longtime AWA fans. It is not an "encyclopedia" and does not have an insider's view of the association. I am a passionate fan of the AWA and have poured through tons of information in order to provide this material in an easy-to-follow format.
For many readers, the end-part of this book will be the real crown jewel. I have included links to books, shoot videos and youtube clips that you are sure to love. Searching for these items is very time consuming, but now you have a place to go to get your AWA-fix. Fans of other wrestling territories will also notice a ton of interesting items. Wrestlers always crossed territories so there are a lot of shoot interviews, books and matches from Dallas, New York, Memphis, Japan, Florida, etc.