Rare, Pre-Whimsy Era Footage

On Sunday April 20, 1986 yours truly Malibu Sands, along with about 25,000 of my fellow Caucasian trash upper Midwesterner's descended upon the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome for an afternoon of professional wrestling excitement at WrestleRock, put on by the Twin Cities based American Wrestling Association.

The card featured about 15 matches. Top bouts included The Road Warriors seeking retribution against Michael Hayes and Jimmy Garvin inside the confines of a steel cage. Also inside the cage, Jimmy "Superfly" Snkua and insomnia curing Greg Gagne facing the legendary Bruiser Brody and Nord the Barbarian (better known as The Berzerker later in his less than illustrious career). And for the AWA Title, Nick Bockwinkel squaring off against the champion, Stan Hansen. Also on the card were the likes of Harley Race, Rick Martel, Larry Zbysko, Barry Windham, The Fabulous Ones, The Midnight Rockers, Scott Hall & Curt Henning, The Long Riders Scott & Bill Irwin (more famously known as The Super Destroyers), Sgt. Slaughter, Kamala, and Rip City's own "Playboy" Buddy Rose.

Of course, the AWA brain trust could think of no better way to promote arguably its biggest card of all time than by having its in-ring talent record/plagiarize a third rate rendition of the Chicago Bears "Super Bowl Shuffle." And in hindsight, neither can I. From a prepubescent and clean cut Shawn Michaels, to the contrasting flowing schlong cut being sported by Larry Zbysko, to the tuned up hip and/or hop stylings of backstage interviewer "Killer" Ken Resnick, to a most overenthusiastic and irritating vocal arrangement by one Greg Gagne, to seemingly sober, family appropriate appearances by perpetual fuck-ups Marty Jannetty, Scott Hall, and Curt Henning, this clip has got an array of future top stars in the business making songs like Hillbilly Jim's "Don't Go Messin' With A Country Boy" or "The Hulkster's in the House" by Hulk Hogan and the Wrestling Boot Band seem utterly pedestrian and banal by comparison.

Enjoy this extremely rare, extremely campy footage.