Rick Martel came to the AWA by
way of the WWF, where he was primarily known as a tag-team specialist. His early matches
in the AWA were also tag bouts.
An early interview with Martel
and the High Flyers, Greg Gagne and Jim Brunzell, regarding a challenge by Sheik Kaissie
and his army.
Rick Martel & The High Flyers
vs. Sheiks Blackwell, Patera, and Kaissie, from St. Paul, MN (JIP)
Rick Martel and Tito Santana vs.
Greg Gagne and Jim Brunzell (AWA World Tag Team Champions)—July 1982, St. Paul, MN.
The last 5 minutes of a GREAT tag bout is shown. When you see the pace, remember they are
about 25 minutes into the bout at this point.
Rick Martel and Tito Santana vs.
Greg Gagne and Jim Brunzell (AWA World Tag team Champions)—August 1982, rematch, St.
Paul, MN. This one’s even better than the first match! One of my all-time favourite
bouts, everything a tag bout should be.
After their unsuccessful run at
the tag titles, Martel began to get more singles matches and established himself as a
contender to the AWA World title quickly.
Rick Martel vs. Billy Robinson,
Winnipeg, Manitoba. (JIP)
Rick Martel vs. Sheik Adnan
Al-Kaissie, Winnipeg, Manitoba (JIP)
Rick Martel vs. Blackjack Lanza,
Winnipeg, Manitoba (JIP)
Finally, Martel had established
himself as a serious singles competitor. He began to receive matches for the AWA World
title in late 1982.
8) Rick Martel vs. Nick Bockwinkel (AWA World Champion), Thanksgiving, November 1982, St.
Paul, MN. End Clip. The fans are on the edge of their seats as Martel pushes the Champion
to his limits.
Rick Martel vs. Nick Bockwinkel
(AWA World Champion), March 13th, 1983, St. Paul, MN. Raw Footage with no commentary.
Really good match!
After not winning the World
title, Martel began to re-establish himself in the tag team scene of the AWA.
Rick Martel, Greg Gagne and Jim
Brunzell vs. Blackjack Lanza, Jesse Ventura and Ken Patera (April 20th, 1983, St. Paul,
MN). Super Sunday sees Rick in a hot tag bout with some of the AWA’s biggest names.
A rare interview with Rick Martel
and Steve O from an AWA Iowa TV taping, regarding challenging Ken Patera and Jerry
Blackwell in an upcoming bout.
Rick Martel and Steve O vs. Ken
Patera and Jerry Blackwell (AWA World tag Champions), TV match, 1983. Martel and O win the
first fall but TV time runs out before they can claim the second fall.
Rick Martel and Mad Dog Vachon
vs. Ken Patera and Jerry Blackwell (AWA World tag Champions), St. Paul, MN, 1983, JIP.
Martel and Vachon made for an interesting combination, to say the least. Non-title bout.
Despite his further successes as
a tag wrestler, Rick went back into the singles scene in the AWA. For some time he was
losing a lot of bouts against Mr. Saito, Brad Rheingans and others and appeared to be
being jobbed out. But this changed in the latter portion of 1983:
Rick Martel vs. “Dr.
D.” David Schultz, St. Paul, MN, 1983, JIP. Interesting pairing. The Fans taunt
Schultz with Hulk Hogan chants and Martel takes advantage of the distraction to dominate
the end of the bout.
Rick Martel vs. Dino Bravo
(Canadian International Champion), Quebec, Canada. Introductions and some early action is
shown, no finish. Commentary is in French. This was a HUGE bout in Quebec. Edouard
Carpentier was brought in to referee, Verne Gagne made the trip up and stood in
Martel’s corner, and the crowd is really hot for both guys. I wish I had the whole
match. Rare clip.
Martel, at this point, was almost
back to being the top challenger for the AWA World title again.
RICK MARTEL Volume 2:
Late 1983-Mid 1984
“Winning, and Defending, the
AWA World Title”
1983 drew to a close, Rick Martel
had clearly established himself as a player in the AWA title picture once again..
Rick Martel vs. Jim Brunzell, St.
Paul, MN, 1983, JIP with French Commentary. Solid scientific encounter with something of a
surprise ending. (16:40, G+/VG-)
Rick Martel vs. Nick Bockwinkel
(AWA World Champion), Winnipeg, September 29th, 1983. Martel once again takes up the title
chase. Really good match that the crowd is really into. (18:00, VG+)
Martel stayed in the title
picture but then a complication arose. Jumbo Tsuruta defeated Nick Bockwinkel for the
title in Japan on February 22, 1984. Though the AWA was better than most at allowing
scientific challengers, Martel knew it could be sometime before he got his chance again. A
30-second clip of Jumbo winning the title is shown here.
Finally, Martel was given an
opportunity to earn a match with the champion:
Rick Martel vs. Nick Bockwinkel,
St. Paul, MN, April 15th, 1984, #1 Contenders match. JIP. I think the entire building was
shocked by the result! (7:05, VG/VG+)
Rick Martel vs. Jumbo Tsuruta
(AWA World Champion), May 13th, 1984, St. Paul, MN, JIP. Martel wins the AWA title in a
solid match. (15:00, EX-)
Rick Martel is interviewed in the
locker room following his AWA title win. Bockwinkel and Heenan show up to issue a
challenge. (2:30, VG)
Thus, the title reign of Rick
Martel was underway.
Rick Martel interview (dubbed
over in Japanese, but if you listen you can hear he’s basically just introducing
himself to the fans.)
Rick Martel (AWA World Champion)
vs. “The Spoiler”. I heard this Spoiler was Frank Morrell. Definitely not Don
Jardine! (4:00, VG+)
Rick Martel (AWA World Champion)
vs. Eddie Gilbert. Eddie is still pretty young, but it’s a good short bout (6:00,
VG+)
Rick Martel (AWA World Champion)
vs. Jumbo Tsuruta, July 31, 1984, Japan. Jumbo’s rematch, on his home turf. Good
bout, and the crowd is really into it. (22:00, G+/VG-)
Interview: Nick Bockwinkel, Bobby
Heenan and Mr. Saito, talking about an upcoming challenge to the World title by Nick.
(3:00, VG+)
Rick Martel (AWA World Champion)
vs. Nick Bockwinkel, Winnipeg. I think this is from 1985, but I’ve put it here to
represent Bock’s rematches after Rick got the title. Good bout (20:00, VG+)
Rick Martel (AWA World Champion)
vs. Jerry “the King” Lawler, (Nashville, TN, 1984, JIP). Martel plays the subtle
heel role. (7:00, VG)
Volume 3: Rick vs. The
“International” contingent
A Nick Bockwinkel interview
regarding an upcoming title shot vs. Martel.
Rick Martel (AWA World Champion)
vs. Nick Bockwinkel (JIP, Winnipeg): The crowd is really into this one as Rick and Nick
have maybe their best bout against each other.
Upon turning back the challenge
of Nick Bockwinkel (though he would see him again later in his reign), Rick was next
allowed to display his versatility as a wrestler, taking on challengers with a variety of
gimmicks and styles throughout the AWA.
Interviews with Mr. Saito and
Nick Bockwinkel on Saito being named the newest number one contender for the AWA title.
Pre-match interviews from both
Martel and Saito
Rick Martel (AWA World Champion)
vs. Mr. Saito (Winnipeg). Some feel this was the best title defence of Martel’s reign
as champion. I don’t agree but it is a GREAT match nonetheless.
Rick Martel and Jacques Rougeau
vs. King Tonga and Richard Charland (Montreal, Quebec, 1985, end clip). Tonga (aka Haku,
Meng) and Martel feuded in Montreal as well as the regular AWA. This was one of a series
of tag bouts that set up some of their title matches.
Rick Martel (AWA World Champion)
vs. King Tonga (New Jersey)—This is a good match. The Masked Superstar makes an
appearance at the beginning of the match in Tonga’s corner.
An interview with Martel and
Jacques Rougeau from Montreal. Martel comments on the upcoming challenge of Sheik Ali.
An interview with Eddie “the
Brain” Creatchman and Sheik Ali about Martel and the World title.
Rick Martel (AWA World Champion)
vs. Sheik Ali (Quebec, end clip)—wish I would have had more of this one on tape
because the last few moments are quite good.
Rick Martel (AWA World Champion)
vs. Riki Chosu (Japan)—This is a weird bout because Martel is thoroughly dominated by
Chosu. The fans are really into it. The ending is weird, some sort of draw is declared but
I don’t know why. Solid bout.
Rick Martel (AWA World Champion)
vs. Kamala (St. Paul)—Martel against probably the biggest challenger of his title
reign. Larry Zbyszko is in Kamala’s corner at the start of the bout.
A Rick Martel interview from TSN
regarding wrestling around the world, defending the title and who he thinks the top
challengers are.
Rick Martel (AWA World Champion)
vs. Boris Zurkov (Winnipeg)—This, believe it or not, was a good feud that I think
only ever played Winnipeg. Martel was attacked the month previous by Boris, setting up the
first match. There would be more:
Rick Martel (AWA World Champion)
vs. Boris Zurkov (Rematch, Winnipeg)—Mad Dog Vachon comes out in Martel’s
corner.
Rick Martel (AWA World Champion)
vs. Boris Zurkov (CAGE MATCH, Winnipeg)—the culmination of their feud sees
ex-Montreal Canadiens Enforcer John Ferguson act as a special referee. He is. To say the
least, inept. Rick and Boris work hard enough to make this a good, bloody ending to a neat
series of bouts. Only in Winnipeg!
AWA LEGENDS: RICK MARTEL
Volume 4: Rarities
This tape features some
incredible footage of some of Rick Martel’s best and most talked about matches during
his tenure in the AWA. Most of this footage has never been readily available before now.
Very rare stuff here!
Nick Bockwinkel (AWA Champion)
vs. Rick Martel (January 1983, St. Paul Civic Center, JIP). This was the second match of a
three match series that these two had before Bockwinkel’s Super Sunday matchup vs.
Hulk Hogan. (13:00)
Rick Martel vs. Nick Bockwinkel
(Number one Contenders match, April 15, 1984, St. Paul, JIP) RAW FOOTAGE shot with a
ringside camera. Martel wins the match to set up a title shot against Champion Jumbo
Tsuruta. (4:45)
Jumbo Tsuruta (AWA Champion) vs.
Rick Martel (May 13, 1984, St. Paul, JIP) RAW FOOTAGE shot with a ringside camera. Martel
wins the AWA title and celebrates in the ring with Verne and Greg Gagne, Curt Hennig, and
others. (10:00)
Rick Martel (AWA Champion) vs.
Brad Rheingans (September 9, 1984, St. Paul, clipped). RAW FOOTAGE shot from an alternate
camera angle. A much talked about matchup of two scientific stars with Verne Gagne
refereeing. This match is a lot better than the crowd gives it credit for. Ultra Rare!
(17:00)
Rick Martel (AWA Champion) vs.
Billy Robinson (November 22, 1984, St. Paul, clipped). RAW FOOTAGE shot from an alternate
camera angle. This is a really good match! The crowd gets into it, which is surprising
because Billy really wasn’t considered a viable challenger by most fans at the time.
Ultra Rare! (16:10)
Rick Martel (AWA Champion) vs.
“Gorgeous” Jimmy Garvin (January 1985, St. Paul, clipped). RAW FOOTAGE shot from
an alternate camera angle. The second of three St. Paul matches. Garvin was great, the
fans really hate him! Rare! (8:50)
Rick Martel (AWA Champion) vs.
Freebird Buddy Roberts (Chicago, May 1985, end clip). From the Rosemont Horizon. Roberts
is a sub for King Tonga. This match marked the start of the Martel vs. Freebirds feud as
the ‘birds beat down Rick after the match. Unique because there isn’t a lot
available from Chicago in terms of Arena clips in the 80’s.
Maybe the most passionate Rick
Martel interview I’ve ever seen, immediately after the above match in the dressing
room. Rick vows revenge on the Freebirds and actually gets so upset he starts calling them
out in French! Excellent stuff! (combined time of 7 and 8: 7:25)
Rick Martel (AWA Champion) vs.
Michael Hayes (Chicago, June 1985, end clip). Hayes wins due to some interference and
leaves the ring as the new AWA champion. From the Rosemont Horizon.
A post-match dressing Room
interview with Michael Hayes, Terry Gordy and Buddy Roberts. Hayes gives a thank you
speech as the new AWA Champion. The celebration continues until promoter Dennis Hildergart
comes in and says Stanley Blackburn had overturned the decision due to the other
Freebirds’ interference. (combined time of clips 9 and 10: 7:00)
A 20-second clip of Martel vs.
Hayes from St. Paul that was shown on the local Minneapolis news. Alternate camera
coverage.
Rick Martel (AWA Champion) vs.
Michael Hayes (St. Paul, summer 1985, JIP). Multi-Camera angles. This is the rematch of
Hayes’s non-title win. Gordy and Roberts are in Hayes’ corner, and Da Crusher is
in the corner of Martel. Another wild finish. (10:00)
Ring Entrances of Rick Martel
with “Bertha” Von Raschke and Jimmy Garvin with Precious. This was the third and
final bout between the two in St. Paul. RAW FOOTAGE from an alternate camera angle.
Rick Martel (AWA Champion) w/
Bertha Von Raschke vs. Jimmy Garvin w/ Precious (End clip of the above match from a local
Minneapolis news station. Finish of the match only shown). I had only ever seen the
“Bertha” Von Raschke stuff from Winnipeg before I came across this clip.
(combined time of clips 13 and 14: 2:10)
Rick Martel (AWA Champion) vs.
Jumbo Tsuruta (September 29, 1985, St. Paul. Missing first 2 minutes only). This might
just be the best match of Martel’s title reign. GREAT action from start to finish.
The crowd is noticeably small which is a shame because more people should have seen this
bout. Trivia note—this is from the same card as the Road Warriors title loss to Jim
Garvin and Steve Regal. (17:00)
Stan Hansen (AWA Champion) vs.
Rick Martel (Quebec City, Canada, May 1986, JIP.) Non-title match with French commentary.
This was one of very few rematches that Martel got against Hansen. (Note-VQ is a bit iffy
here compared to the rest of the tape, but it’s a very rare clip so I included it).
(4:00)
Rick Martel vs. Nick Bockwinkel
(1978-85)
Between 1975 and 1984, Nick
Bockwinkel dominated the AWA Heavyweight title. During the course of his first title reign
(1975-80) he traveled throughout the world, defending the title against a wide array of
challengers. One of those Challengers was a young Rick Martel, who first challenged
Bockwinkel for the title in Hawaii in the late 70’s.
Early in the 1980’s Martel found himself in the AWA, and soon he and Bockwinkel
renewed their rivalry. The pair ended up facing each other throughout the United States
and Canada regularly for the next 3 years. Ultimately, they would end up becoming the
championship faces of the AWA for more than half of the 80’s.
What follows are the available matches they had that were preserved to video.
Disc 1
Intro
1) Blaisdell Arena, Hawaii, May 21, 1978: The last match in a multi-match series sees
Bockwinkel’s Manager Bobby Heenan placed in a cage at ringside to prevent him from
interfering. 15:30, VG/VG+
2) Civic Center, St. Paul, MN, November 25, 1982: The annual AWA Thanksgiving show sees
Martel begin his quest for the title in the AWA’s main venue. End Clip. 1:30, VG/VG+
3) Civic Center, St. Paul, MN, January 16th, 1983: The rematch. JIP at about the 5:00
mark. 13:00, VG
4) Civic Center, St. Paul, MN, March 13th, 1983: The series completes in a slightly
controversial but ultimately clean fashion. This is Raw Footage with no commentary.
Slightly clipped. 12:40, VG/VG+
5) Nick Bockwinkel & Blackjack Lanza vs. Rick Martel & Wahoo McDaniel (Met Center,
Bloomington, MN, May 22nd, 1983). This bout was designed to propel McDaniel into the top
challenger role in the aftermath of the challenges of Martel and Hulk Hogan. JIP, 6:40,
VG.
6) Arena, Winnipeg, Manitoba December 8th, 1983: Martel gained this title shot after
winning the October Winnipeg Battleroyal. Slightly JIP. 16:33, VG/VG+
7) Nick Bockwinkel comments on recommending Martel as someone to consider as the future
AWA Champion. :45, EX-
8) Civic Center, St. Paul, MN, April 15th, 1984: This was a special #1 contenders match
with the winner getting a shot at Champion Jumbo Tsuruta on the next Civic Center card.
JIP at the 5 minute mark. This was one of the few times that these two faced each other
with no title on the line. 7:15, VG+
9) A clip of Martel winning the title from Jumbo Tsuruta on May 13, 1984 in St. Paul. A
post match interview with Martel follows in the dressing room which is interrupted by Nick
Bockwinkel and Bobby Heenan. 3:30, VG/VG+
10) Two Nick Bockwinkel interviews regarding his first meeting with Rick Martel as a
challenger to the AWA title. 4:00, VG (slight tracking fault).
11) Arena, Winnipeg, Manitoba, August 16th, 1984: Martel defends the title. The finish is
subtle in it’s execution but smartly done. JIP, 5:00, VG+
12) Nick Bockwinkel is interviewed about getting a rematch. 1:48, VG+
13) Arena, Winnipeg, Manitoba, September 20th, 1984: Mr. Saito accompanies Bockwinkel to
the ring in the absence of the “suspended” Bobby Heenan. 28:00, VG
Disc 2
Intro
1) Two Nick Bockwinkel interviews regarding an upcoming match for the title vs. Rick
Martel. 3:36, VG
2) Arena, Winnipeg, Manitoba, March 28th, 1985: Controversial finish. 20:15, VG
3) Another excellent Bockwinkel interview re: the result of the above match.
4) Early March 1985: A very interesting angle out of Memphis. Nick Bockwinkel is announced
as having apparently regained the title from Martel in Canada, although the belt is held
up pending a review. As a result, Bockwinkel would be coming in to defend the AWA title
against Jerry Lawler. Bockwinkel is interviewed by Ken Resnick regarding Lawler’s
challenge and the alleged title change. 2:45, VG-/VG (track faults)
**Note: I have read that this was done because trying to sell a Martel-Lawler title match
in Memphis had been difficult. Bockwinkel was a proven draw in Memphis, so to boost the
attendance at the Memphis show the “held up Title” angle was introduced. How
well it worked, I do not know.
5) Colissee, Quebec City, Quebec, June 1985: Nick Bockwinkel & King Tonga vs. Rick
Martel & Dino Bravo. No finish is shown but the announcer does give the result. Bravo
and Tonga were also feuding at this point. 12:50, VG
6) Meadowlands Arena, New Jersey, July 19, 1985: Taped for Japanese television, slightly
clipped. 11:20, VG
7) Northeastern Arena, Boston, MA, August 22nd, 1985: A short match due to TV time
constraints. This was part of the MDA “Wrestle for a Cure” fundraiser card.
Bockwinkel is interviewed before the bout. 12:00, VG/VG+
The two wrestled a few more times before Martel dropped the strap and effectively left the
AWA. To my knowledge they never wrestled after 1985 in a singles match.
Opinion: Bockwinkel chasing Martel in 1985 did not seem to have the same appeal as the
bouts where Martel was the challenger, or even the bouts that were more immediate
rematches to Martel getting the title from Jumbo Tsuruta. The matches were still good, but
Martel had proven he could beat Bockwinkel many times and Bock wasn’t seen as the man
to relieve Martel of the title the longer Rick’s reign went. They had two consecutive
bouts in New Jersey where one would have been enough at that point. A challenger that
Martel could have convincingly beaten in ten minutes would have been a better choice for
the Boston bout given the TV time constraints.
BONUS BOUTS:
a) Nick Bockwinkel (AWA World Champion) vs. Rick Martel (St. Paul, March 13, 1983). This
is the complete bout and it is the TV version. Bockwinkel and Eric Bischoff have comments
before, during and after the match that are interesting. 18:28, VG- (It’s a bit
fuzzy).
Nick Bockwinkel vs. Rick Martel (Raw Footage, April 15th, 1984, St. Paul, #1 contenders
match). Shot with a ringside camera. JIP, 4:35, EX-.
