Independent Wrestling (Hennig)
August 25, 2001
Refuge Bar
Orrock, MN 

The Refuge is a biker bar north of Big Lake. The show took place on a baseball diamond called Brandon Field and used the Terry Fox ring. Maybe 500 people were there.

1.) Primetime (face) pinned Blood (heel). PT got a "USA" chant going. He did a "people's elbow" bit that concluded with a head butt into the crotch. Later he hit a springboard moonsault. PT did a good maneuver that started as a top rope corner sunset flip and finished as a powerbomb. PT won with a flapjack/facebuster/Xfactor.

2.) Lacey (face) pinned Autumn Hayze (heel). The ring was very dirty. Situated on the dirt infield, there was dust everywhere. Hayze, alone among the wrestlers, wiped her feet on the ring apron before stepping through the ropes. Nick Bockwinkel used to always wipe his feet before entering the ring. Lacey won after a sortofhuracanlita and a flying head scissors.

3.) Matt Burns (face) won by DQ over Nailz (heel). Nailz controlled from the start with slow offense. Burns came back with punches, and Nailz responded with an eye rake. He threw Burns out of the ring, and choked him with the plastic security chain. Later, he hit Burns with a plastic chair and referee Jay Soltis called for the DQ. Real short. Not real good.

Intermission. Nick Bockwinkel, Jim Brunzell, Kenny Jay, and Maurice "Mad Dog" Vachon walked to beside the ring. The Crusher was advertised but did not appear. Vachon, who wore shorts and made no attempt to conceal his prosthetic leg, was aided in walking by Brunzell. The Mad Dog received a standing ovation, addressed the crowd saying that he first started wrestling on TV in Minnesota in 1963, and had been wrestling by that time for twenty years. He mentioned wrestling in the 1948 Olympics and estimated that amateur and pro, he had had thirteen thousand matches in his lifetime. He discussed various car accidents, including a broken pelvis suffered in Texas, and generally put over Minnesota as a good place to wrestle. Bockwinkel told a kayfabe story about Kenny Jay almost beating him one time on TV. Then Larry Hennig and Buddy Wolfe were introduced from the crowd. Both Wolfe and Jay fought Muhammad Ali in 1975.

4.) Beautiful Bobby pinned Little Kato. They did their usual bit. Bobby won with a swinging neckbreaker.

5.) Mitch Paradise and Magnus Maximus (faces) defeated Wild Bill Irwin and The Hater (w/The High Rollers, heels). Mitch and Maxi were over with the crowd. This match had a little story to it. Three times the Rollers tripped up the faces as they rebounded off the ropes. The fourth time Maxi reversed the move and the Hater went into the ropes, was tripped up by a High Roller, and pinned by Maxi.

6.) Curt Hennig (w/ Larry "The Axe" Hennig, faces) pinned Dan Jesser (heel). Mystery opponent? Dan Jesser? At the start the pair traded hip tosses and arm drags. Jesser hit a sunset flip. Hennig did a flying mare, snap mare combo. Hennig won with the Perfect plex. Short, uneventful match.

--doc d'X