AWA Team Challenge Series Pilot

I've seen a lot of the TCS due to the ESPN Classics airings, and they were god-awful. This is the pilot that apparently was never aired - and two seconds in, it's clear why. The ref is completely gobsmacked by what he's seeing and that's right after wacky '80s cheerleaders sing about the AWA. Then we get clips of foxy boxing, because of course!

Verne appears on a dock with a tackle box and his dog. Ringside Ralph Strangis and Greg Gagne appear dressed as 1992 in track suits IN THE SATELLITE BASE! We'll get some foxy boxing and HOT NEW ROCK AND ROLL. Oh my Jesus. Tommy Jammer is here to impress the ladies, and look a bit off mentally in the process. BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE, his intro is him walking down a green screen hallway to sides of fans!

Greg says that he wasn't just an indoor track star, but ALSO an outdoor track star. He faces Tom Burton in an empty arena and we have SLOW MOTION FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER IN WRESTLING. We get slow motion on a body slam - and you can see Tommy post himself on Burton and then take a flat back bump in meticulous detail. The piped in crowd noise for a match with no crowd is something else. Jammer slams him and hits hte SURFER SPLASH!

Old folks clap at a restaurant. Baron the once-evil Nazi and GI Joe Sgt Slaughter are side by side chatting while talking about their charges. Paul Diamond listens to Baron, but DeBeers doesn't listen to Slaughter. Greg Gagne talks about the Destruction Crew  They proceed to destroy a building via green screen! Mean Mike has the look of a man that needs to take a very large shit. Wayne insults fat slobs while Mike Enos's gut hangs out. Johnny Valiant brings them out and brags about them to the non-audience.

Mike Enos was also in track, whlie Bloom was a record-holding deadlifter. Jerry Lynn and Ricky Rice face them. In 2018, hearing Greg say that the ref won't allow them to swing a sledgehammer is hilarious. Fans in the restaurant boo whlie Rice eats a big shoulderblock and bumps well fo rit. Lynn comes in and works over Mike. Big double sledge on the arm leads to Enos making a hilarious face. Bloom gets his arm worked over  and more fans in '80s hair boo. We get more '80s crowd shots as Mike rams him into the buckle. Mike hits a powerslam and slow-mo shows Enos' knees hitting before Rice. Enos hits a big flying lariat off the top via the doomsday device for the win.

Johnny V talks about their finish but get drowned out by the crowd booing and Gagne. Sgt Slaughter talks about the TCS and DeBeers representing his team. DeBeers says he's never lost a war while tribal music plays over his blue screen of the South African flag. Wow is this unreal. Ralph talks about the randomizer making DeBeers and Slaughter allies.

The Beverly Hills Knockouts are the foxy boxers and the blonde hits the brunette before the bell and we get some Kevin Dunn-esque endless cuts for the action. Holy Jesus is this cornball, but amusingly so. We get some ass shots of the blonde after some goofy close-ups of the brunette throwing punches. The blonde throws a snap suplex and some more ass shots - including a full thong shot a few times which was definitely unusual for the time.

Corner shoulder charges, as you do in a boxing match. The brunette hits her over her head to knock her down. Mustang Sally hits a backbreaker in a thong. Boy is this ever a prototype of the WWF's terrible late '90s women's matches. The brunette hits a punch and gets up first, sorta. Ralph talks about this being the cutting edge. Holy shit. Greg talks about the king of the hill match being basically a one on one battle royal. Paul Diamond cuts a promo in front of a planet before more wacky intros.

They have a glacially-paced match even by DeBeers standards and we get wacky slow mo on a turnbuckle shot and then the final throw of DeBeers over the top to the floor. Sarge comes out to face the Terminator. They talk about satellite base giving them a better mic for in-ring action so like WCCW five years before, guys can't just call spots loudly. Long headlocks and long tie-ups kill time. Slaughter cannon and the cobra clutch win. Sarge sweats a lot for a guy who does very little in the ring.