AfterLife Wrestling Federation — December Shows (Blue)

ALWF Blue: The Craziest Night
Hosts: Lance Russell and Lord Alfred Hayes

A video montage set to “Stone Cold Crazy” shows how things are getting out of hand on the blue brand, with Roddy Piper and The Sheik spilling blood in no-contests while Sam Muchnick had a hand in cheating JYD out of a title match with Buddy Rogers. It led to Muchnick being fired as brand GM and replaced by Stu Hart, who promised to handcuff himself to Muchnick to prevent interference.

The Sandow Corporation (George Hackenschmidt, Toots Mondt, and Ed Lewis w/Billy Sandow) vs. Lou Thesz and Pareja Atomica (El Santo and Gory Guerrero w/Lou Albano)

The luchas keep the Sandow team off-guard with dropkicks and hiptosses, causing everyone to bail for a conference. Santo dives onto everyone, and Thesz throws Mondt in to get double-teamed by the Pareja. Moonsault try by Gory, only Lewis catches him and gets a shoulderbreaker. Hackenschmidt chops away on Gory, who escapes a slam try and cradles Hackenschmidt before bringing in Thesz. Thesz Press to Mondt, but Lewis with a neckbreaker and Mondt gets two off of it. Mondt with a clothesline and neck snap, and Hackenschmidt comes in with a diving chop for two. Lewis with a swinging neckbreaker try, but Thesz pushes out and gets a dropkick. In comes Santo with ranas to all three men, and it’s a triple Thesz Press for two counts. Sandow sneaks brass knuckes to Lewis in the chaos as Gory gets Mondt in the Camel Clutch, and one smack to the head gives Mondt the win at 13:04. ***1/2

Analysis: Nonstop fighting from bell to bell. The pioneers held their own by tagging in and out repeatedly and keeping Thesz off balance, while Santo and Gory kicked it up a notch on their own. The finish is fine, as the Corporation needs to be kept strong given that Big Daddy will likely crush Robinson down the line.

Gary Hart is shown firing up his charges.

ALWF Ladies’ Championship: Chyna vs. Luna Vachon

Chyna is defending and Vivian Vachon is at ringside. Chyna shoves Luna around to start, getting a quick press slam before Luna rolls out. Chyna tries to ram heads together but gets double-teamed. Luna gets two back in as Fabulous Moolah heads to ringside. Luna adds knees to the back and a snapmare, getting a dropkick to the back for two. Running kneesmash takes Chyna back down and Luna runs the ropes, but Moolah trips her. Luna and Vivian argue with Moolah, which allows Chyna to come back with a drop sleeper for the pin to retain at 4:14. * Post-match, Moolah gets on the microphone and declares that Luna’s challenge was pointless because only she can be champion, so she wants the next shot. Luna dives out to attack Moolah, drawing a huge reaction, as Vivian joins in and Moolah is sent to the back. Chyna and Luna shake hands afterwards.

Analysis: The match was nothing but a set-up for the Vachons face turn. I’m not sure Vivian should stick — there’s a place in Devastation Inc with her brother if she wants it — but Luna was getting cheers and the turn works. Chyna as the champ isn’t a problem, as it’ll take someone special to get the gold off of her.

Herb Abrams interviews David and Kerry Von Erich. The Von Erichs say that tagging as brothers means they have a bond no blood can break. David promises they’ll be champions for a very long time, and Kerry says this is just the beginning of a Von Erich dynasty as they’ve turned away all challengers and will do so here.

ALWF Elysian Tag Titles: David and Kerry Von Erich vs. Freddie Blassie and Maurice Vachon (w/Gary Hart)

David and Kerry are defending. Kerry starts with Vachon and slugs away, adding a big clothesline and back body drop. Blassie is caught with a back elbow, and David enters as the Devastation Inc members get whipped together. David with a dropkick and headlock takedown on Vachon, but Hart distracts the ref and Blassie bites David. Kerry chases Blassie on the outside, so Vachon gets a chokehold and throws David over the ropes. On the outside, David runs into the stairs, but back in, Vachon’s diving kneedrop misses. Kerry in and he gets a diving tackle on Vachon, then catches Blassie in the Iron Claw. Vachon gets an object from Hart and stabs Kerry in the back with it, and Blassie bites Kerry to draw blood and take over. Kneelifts follow, and Vachon comes in with an elbowdrop for two. Vachon punches away at the cut before bringing Blassie back in for a neckbreaker. He bites Kerry some more before adding a series of knee smashes in the corner and a bulldog. Vachon in for a spike piledriver try, but Kerry gets his legs around Blassie’s neck to block. He leg-scissors Blassie out of the ring to escape the piledriver and scores a flying forearm. Hot tag David, who fires away on both guys and gets a split dropkick as they try to sandwich him. Flying press onto both guys gets two. Kerry clotheslines Vachon out and follows, but he gets dropped on the steps and clobbered with a chair. Back in, Blassie with the stomach claw on David, who gets the face claw on Blassie, but Vachon makes the difference with a neckbreaker. Piledriver by Vachon gets the pin and the titles at 14:44. ***1/2

Analysis: Given the near six-month reign of the Von Erichs, this was a perfect time to switch the belts. Hart needs gold in his top stable more than Sandow does, and a pair of monster singles acts should, once in a while, hold the gold. It’ll be interesting to see who gets it from here, as there are very few face teams that are established, and none look like “next in line” types. This could be a good title reign.

Fritz Von Erich appears to thank the crowd for supporting wrestling at all levels and says he’s going to miss having the winner of this next match, but they’ll have earned their promotion.

John Studd vs. Bad News Brown

Winner joins the roster. Brown attacks during the weapons check on Studd, pounding away in the corner and getting a DDT. Brown goes to the nerve hold to wear Studd down, but Studd powers out and gets a snapmare and slugs away. Brown kicks low to turn the tide, but a slam fails and Studd gets two. Brown takes the top mount before Studd can get up and pounds away, then gets an ipponzei and chops at the traps. Running knee strike gets two for Brown. Brown picks Studd up and delivers knees to the gut, but Studd reverses a whip and lariats him inside out for two. Chokeslam and F-5 get the pin and the promotion at 7:29. **1/2

Analysis: Moving Studd up a level and establishing him as a face helps some of the imbalance at the highest level. Bad News isn’t the kind of act that has a long shelf life at the top, but he’s a good heel to get a grudge match and elevate faces as he did with Peter Maivia earlier this year. This was the right call of the two.

ALWF Television Title Match: Verne Gagne vs. Eddie Gilbert

Gagne is defending. Gagne takes it to the mat to start, working a headlock as Gilbert tries to pry himself loose only to get caught back in it. Gagne does the takedown and works another headlock on the ground, getting a quick two-count. Gilbert reverses to a headscissors, only for Gagne to slide out and get separation. Gilbert charges in with a clothesline, but a whip is reversed and Gagne gets a drop toehold and kneebar. Eddie kicks his way out and gets a front facelock, only for Verne to work the arm to escape. Gilbert rolls outside in frustration, then returns and fakes a lockup to land a short jab before boxing Gagne into a corner. He comes out with a clothesline and waits before chop blocking Gagne. Shinbreaker follows, then Gilbert tries a figure-four only to get cradled for two. Gilbert recovers quickly with another kick to the back of the knee before dropping his elbow on the knee and getting a leg grapevine. Gagne kicks his way out of it with his free leg before adding headlock takedowns and a hiptoss for the comeback. Missile dropkick try is caught by Gilbert, who gets the figure-four. Gagne manages to reverse it to get to the ropes. Gilbert tries to chop block Gagne again, but Gagne leaps over and catches Gilbert coming back with a rolling cradle for two. Gagne Sleeper is on, but Gilbert barely makes the ropes. Gagne tries it again, but Gilbert gets a jawbreaker and Hot Shot… and the time limit expires at 15 minutes. ** Gagne offers a handshake afterwards. Gilbert reluctantly complies before walking off, disgusted.

Analysis: Can’t say I’m surprised by Gilbert’s feelings; those two do not mix well together. Gagne hasn’t adapted his offense to the evolution of wrestling, and I think having him as TV champ is a mistake. There’s tons of talent he can drop the title to, and if the rumored US Regional split is true, he’d be a great choice to run the Midwest region while the ALWF gets more modern talent.

ALWF Heavyweight Title: Buddy Rogers vs. Junkyard Dog

Not a good sign for Dog’s main event chances that he’s midcarding it. Rogers’ manager Sam Muchnick is handcuffed to Stu Hart at ringside. Rogers stalls to start, but JYD finally catches him in the corner and pounds away, including 10 in the corner to a huge pop. Rogers gets slammed and tries to crawl out, allowing JYD to hit the doggy headbutts on him. JYD whips him pillar to post and gets a back body drop, but the Thump is cut off when Rogers clings to the ropes and escapes before tripping up JYD. Rogers works the leg with kicks and hyperextends the leg. He wraps the leg around the ropes and drops his weight on it as Muchnick tries to add some shots only to be pulled away by Stu. The ref is distracted by their argument, allowing Rogers to go low and get a dragon screw on JYD. Figure-four soon follows, but JYD kicks out of it and goes for a torture rack. JYD’s leg gives out (with help from Muchnick) and Rogers falls on top for two. Rogers with an atomic drop and he goes back to the leg. He ties the leg up in the Tree of Woe and goes for a kneesmash, but JYD catches the leg, pulls himself up, and trips Rogers. Double axhandle off the top follows from JYD for two. Thump connects, but Muchnick grabs the ref to pull him out. Stu has had enough and clocks Muchnick, allowing Rogers to go into his tights and produce a foreign object. The referee tries to calm down ringside, so Rogers winds up and clocks JYD with the object… only the referee sees it and calls the DQ at 12:18. **1/4

Analysis: So that’s why it was so early — this was an appetizer, I’m guessing. With Muchnick still interfering despite Stu’s best efforts, I would imagine the next move is to ban him from ringside and possibly ramp it up from there. If they’re testing JYD for a main event spot, though, it isn’t working.

After the match, Abrams interviews Stu Hart who declares that at the next big event (the Ashes Rumble), JYD and Rogers will meet in a street fight.

Chris Benoit vs. Mitsuharu Misawa

A minute or so of chain wrestling starts, then both men go into overdrive. It all starts when Benoit low bridges Misawa out and adds a tope suicida to him. Then back in, Benoit elbows Misawa before adding a snap suplex and transitioning to a swinging neckbreaker. Benoit with a Macho Man hotshot, but when he goes to the top rope to follow, Misawa joins him up top with a superplex. Power drive elbow follows. Misawa gets a shotgun dropkick and Benoit bails, but Misawa’s elbow suicida try is caught into the Crossface on the floor! Benoit breaks the count before going to the top and dropkicking Misawa on the floor, then back in, the rolling Germans gets two. Benoit tries a Rainmaker on Misawa, who ducks and reverses to a cobra clutch slam. Piledriver follows for two. Misawa’s rolling elbow is caught, though, and Benoit goes to the Crossface. Misawa barely makes the ropes, so Benoit adds a brainbuster and slaps it back on. This time, Misawa stands up with Benoit hanging on, and it’s reversed to the Emerald Frosion (Sheamus’ Celtic Cross slam) for the double-KO. Misawa up first, and he and Benoit get in a chop battle that echoes throughout the arena. Misawa wins it and backs Benoit into the corner with his chops, adding one more that doubles him over. Misawa comes up from behind with a tiger suplex for two. He goes up top, but Benoit follows and delivers a top-rope brainbuster before rolling Misawa over for the Crossface try again. This time Misawa rolls on top and stacks him for two before Benoit breaks and delivers a release German suplex. He goes up top, and the diving headbutt gets two. Powerbomb gets two. Misawa escapes another Crossface try by rolling out of the ring, and Misawa’s neck is in very bad shape as Benoit dives onto him with a sleeper con giro! Misawa backs Benoit into the post to break and throws him in, and Misawa gets a series of forearm smashes and a pop-up DDT for two. Tiger Driver try, but Benoit jack-knifes a cover for two. Misawa with a discus lariat and he… goes up? Now Misawa tries the swandive headbutt, but Benoit rolls away, and Benoit then picks Misawa up. A powerbomb gets blocked, so Benoit pounds on the back of Misawa and adds a DDT. This time, Benoit hooks the arms, and the TIGER DRIVER ’91 gets the pin at 22:01, with Benoit mimicking slicing open Misawa’s stomach seppuku-style. ***** Misawa is taken out on a stretcher after the match as Benoit is interviewed by Abrams. He makes it clear if anyone wants to deny the best wrestler ever, they will meet the same fate, then enters himself into the Rumble.

Analysis: Amazing match. The story of Benoit working Misawa’s neck and getting more and more vicious as he did was beautiful. The crowd was divided when the match began, but Benoit reminded everyone he was the heel and delivered on being a full-blown heartless villain. Misawa getting time off around the Rumble is fine, and I imagine they’ll blow this off at the big Easter event.

Video recap of Big Daddy vs. Billy Robinson. The two were a tag team for a while, but when they challenged the Von Erichs, Robinson walked out and joined the Sandow Corporation.

Big Daddy vs. Billy Robinson

Daddy rushes Robinson at the bell, clobbering him with shots to the back and slamming him left and right. Sandow climbs on the apron to distract the ref, so Daddy rams Robinson and Sandow’s heads together. Avalanches in the corner follow, then a World’s Strongest Slam and big splash to end this quickly at 3:41. *1/2 After the match, Big Daddy says it’s time to celebrate and invites the kids to a special rec center across the street for milk and cookies.

Analysis: Robinson needed his comeuppance and he got it. Now Big Daddy is back in the saddle and I expect him to be one of the main challengers in the Rumble. As for leading the kids away, it’s the Afterlife; security is very strong. Plus, all the better so they don’t see the main event.

Speaking of, a long video package for that main event. At the August event, Piper challenged Lou Thesz for the title when Gary Hart led the Sheik out and destroyed both men. (Buddy Rogers cashed in on Thesz in the aftermath, but that’s neither here nor there.) Since then, Piper and Sheik had a double countout on the next show and brawled for a double DQ as part of the Elimination show. Piper then challenged Sheik to a cage match with weapons everywhere to settle it once and for all.

Cage of Death: The Sheik vs. Roddy Piper

Sheik has his white harem pants and Piper is wearing the white Hot Rod T-Shirt, so there will be blood. Piper locks the door behind him to keep Gary Hart out and charges Sheik, and it’s a slugfest. Piper throws Sheik into the cage repeatedly, but when Piper goes for the sleeper, Sheik grabs his trusty pencil and jabs at Piper’s hands to break, then goes to work on Piper’s forehead and we have blood about 3 minutes in. Sheik bites at the cut and digs his fingernails into it, then grabs a chair from the cage wall and smashes Piper with it. (Relax; there are no concussions in the afterlife.) Sheik works Piper over with the chair before choking Piper with it. He goes for the pencil, but Piper blocks it and kicks Sheik low before getting the chair and smashing it over and over on Sheik. Next up, Piper grabs the dog collars with a chain and whips Sheik with the chain. He hogties Sheik with the chain and punches him in the face over and over as both men are bleeding badly. Piper goes up top for a double axhandle with the chain, but Sheik catches him with a stomach claw and rips the chain out of his hands. He collars Piper and yanks him by the neck around the ring. He ties him to the bolt in the corner and gets the chair, smashing Piper over and over with it. When he unties Piper, he refuses a pin and looks for the steel spike on the cage. When Sheik brings it down, Piper throws the chair at Sheik’s head to take over. He un-collars himself and yanks the chain up between Sheik’s legs before pounding the cut on Sheik’s head repeatedly. Now Piper finds a baseball bat and goes to town on Sheik’s gut with it. More shots to the back and Sheik is on all fours, so Piper places the chair under him and tries a curbstomp. Sheik rolls away, and when Piper sells the leg on the bad landing, Sheik preps and throws a fireball at Piper. Sheik then undoes a bed of barbed wire and sets it on the mat, getting a DDT on Piper to send him into the barbed wire. Sheik sees a bottle on the top of the cage and climbs up to get it as Piper pulls himself to his feet. Sheik comes down and smashes Piper with the bottle before looking to slam him on the barbed wire, but Piper knees and elbows his way out and hiptosses Sheik into the barbed wire. Piper finds pliers on the cage and starts cutting some barbed wire loose, but Sheik smashes Piper with a chair to take control back. He pulls a rag out of his trunks and pours some of the bottle’s liquid contents onto it as the announcers declare it’s ether. Sheik smothers Piper with it and puts him into the bed of barbed wire before going up top. He takes the bat with him and dives to clock Piper in the head, but Piper gets his arms up and catches the bat! He pulls it away and escapes the barbed wire before giving Sheik a piledriver into the barbed wire. He then grabs the final weapon — a crowbar — and wraps some loose barbed wire around it, getting into a batter’s stance and smashing Sheik in the head with it, which FINALLY gets the pin at 27:12. ***3/4 After the match, Gary Hart enters and gets the chair, only for Piper to catch him and throw him onto Sheik before dumping the barbed wire onto both men and standing above it, the conquering hero.

Analysis: Good idea to keep the kids away from this one as the blood flowed very heavily. Piper dispatching of the Sheik has to put him on the shortlist for Rumble winners. As for Sheik, this looks like it’s time for his cooling-off period; he’s already gotten Regional bookings in Japan, the US, and Canada. Sheik’s better off as a traveling act that comes in, feuds with someone, and goes on. Hart having the tag champs means he’ll still have something to do.

Final Analysis: What a show. The opening six-man, the tag title match, Misawa/Benoit, and the main event all were incredible matches for different reasons, while the story advancement with Rogers/JYD and Moolah/Luna has us looking ahead to the Rumble already. This one will be very popular with tape traders for years to come, and it seems inevitable that Piper is headed to a future title reign.

The Next TV Show Developments: Stu confirmed the street fight at the Rumble, while John Studd, Roddy Piper, and the Von Erichs all delcared for the Rumble. Meanwhile, Chris Benoit beat Hawk Hegstrand to qualify, and we were told one Regional champion would make a surprise appearance during the Rumble match, but not told which one.