AWA World Title Match: Jimmy Garvin def.  Rick Martel (c) by DQ in 16:03. Garvin started the match aggressively, and I loved that Martel got increasingly violent throughout the match until he blatantly broke the rules near the end because Garvin tried getting away with more and more bullshit. I’ve always felt Garvin was underrated; the tiny details like his stomps, kicks, elbows, and knees consistently looked good, and he knew how to work to get heat. Garvin cheated behind the ref’s back, including sending Martel over the top rope to the concrete. Precious wasn’t often used as a heater in this, but it worked when she was. Garvin may have worked chinlocks a little too frequently because it seemed to sap the crowd rather than bring them down, but the Winnipeg faithful went wild for the Canadian babyface when he finally made his comeback. Martel mixed in a beautiful Ricky Morton-style Frankensteiner on Garvin. It’s peak babyface, Rick Martel, so you know he’s the symbolic house of fire, only in front of his fellow Canuks. Martel saw red and lost his shit, eventually throwing Garvin over the top as a receipt, only his toss was right in front of the ref for the somewhat lame DQ finish in 16:01. The match itself was very strong, and both men looked good in front of a strong Winnipeg crowd that only enhanced the battle. ***1/2