History Trivia / AmericanWrestlingAssociation

** The original pilot for the infamous Team Challenge Series looked quite different. Instead of an empty, silent room, BRoll footage of a bar filled with cheering patrons by the studio was filmed to make it appear that people were watching the pilot via a satellite uplink. On top of the wrestling, the initial pilot also featured "Foxy Boxing", worked boxing matches between exotic dancers from a club called Solid Gold. The pilot was shopped to various networks in an attempt to rebrand the AWA as a competition more akin to ''Series/AmericanGladiators'', but found no interested parties, with the modified version of the concept aired on the AWA's existing television.

** [[Wrestling/TheHeadshrinkers The Samoan Swat Team]] (Samu and [[Wrestling/{{Rikishi}} Fatu (Rikishi)]]) used Bobby [=McFerrin=]'s "Don't Worry Be Happy"

** The original pilot for the infamous Team Challenge Series looked quite different. Instead of an empty, silent room, B-roll footage of a bar filled with cheering patrons by the studio was filmed to make it appear that people were watching the pilot via a satellite uplink. On top of the wrestling, the initial pilot also featured "Foxy Boxing", worked boxing matches between exotic dancers from a club called Solid Gold. The pilot was shopped to various networks in an attempt to rebrand the AWA as a competition more akin to ''Series/AmericanGladiators'', but found no interested parties, with the modified version of the concept aired on the AWA's existing television.

** Wrestling/HulkHogan used Music/{{Survivor}}'s "Eye of the Tiger"

** [[ForeignWrestlingHeel Col. [=DeBeers=]]] used Music/GunsNRoses' "Welcome to the Jungle"[[note]]Which made no sense as his [[TheGimmick gimmick]] was of a [[UsefulNotes/SouthAfrica militant South African racist]].[[/note]]

** The Midnight Rockers (Wrestling/ShawnMichaels and Marty Jannetty) used Music/JudasPriest's "Living After Midnight"

** Badd Company (Pat Tanaka and Paul Diamond) used Music/BadCompany's "Bad Company"

** [[Wrestling/TheHeadshrinkers The Samoan Swat Team (Samu and Fatu [Rikishi])]] used Bobby [=McFerrin=]'s "Don't Worry Be Happy"
** [[ForeignWrestlingHeel Col. [=DeBeers=]]] used Music/GunsNRoses' "Welcome to the Jungle"[[note]]which made no sense as his [[TheGimmick gimmick]] was of a [[UsefulNotes/SouthAfrica militant South African racist]].[[/note]]

** [[WildSamoan The Samoan Swat Team (Samu and Fatu [Rikishi])]] used Bobby [=McFerrin=]'s "Don't Worry Be Happy"

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Wrestling/HulkHogan appeared to have won the [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/awa/awa-h.html AWA World Heavyweight Championship]] twice in 1983 only to be stripped of the title after each match... the second time nearly causing the fans to riot. Hogan would soon leave the company and go on to become the face of the industry while making the WWF synonymous with pro wrestling in the mainstream. For fairly obvious reasons, this is also considered to be the point where the AWA started to go downhill.

* HeyItsThatGuy: Wrestling/DiamondDallasPage as the manager of the Diamond Exchange before he received training and wrestled for Wrestling/{{WCW}}.
** [[Wrestling/PaulHeyman Paul E. Dangerously (Paul Heyman)]] as manager of [[Wrestling/TheMidnightExpress the Original Midnight Express]] tends to evoke this reaction.
** Wrestling/EricBischoff as an interviewer and color commentator.
** With the Carolinas often referred to in the wrestling world as "[[Wrestling/RicFlair Flair Country]]," it's not surprising that more people aren't aware that Slick Ric got his start in the AWA.
** Wrestling/HulkHogan first got national TV exposure here.
** So did the Midnight Rockers (Wrestling/ShawnMichaels and Marty Jannetty).

* YouLookFamiliar: Averted with "Big" Wrestling/ScottHall who sported an afro, PornStache and extremely muscular physique during his AWA run but looked much different by the time he showed up in the WWF as Razor Ramon.

** [[Wrestling/PaulHeyman Paul E. Dangerously (Paul Heyman)]] as manager of the Original Midnight Express tends to evoke this reaction.

** So did the Midnight Rockers (Wrestling/ShawnMichaels and Marty Jannetty).

** HulkHogan got his start in the AWA as well - think of his run there as a heel-tinged version of Hulkamania!
** ShawnMichaels got his start here as well, along with Marty Janetty.

** With the Carolinas often referred to in the wrestling world as "[[Wrestling/RicFlair Flair Country]]," it's not surprising that more people aren't aware that Slick Ric got his start in the AWA.

* HeyItsThatGuy: Diamond Dallas Page as the manager of the Diamond Exchange before he received training and wrestled for WCW.
** Paul E. Dangerously/Paul Heyman as manager of the Original Midnight Express tends to evoke this reaction.
** Eric Bischoff as an interviewer and color commentator.
** With the Carolina's often referred to in the wrestling world as "[[RicFlair Flair Country]]," it's not surprising that more people aren't aware that Slick Ric got his start in the AWA.