On this episode of The Hands of Z, Shawn and Keith dig into two very different but equally fascinating matches from the fall of 1989.

First up: it’s a slugfest as “Rugged” Ron Garvin takes on “The Hammer” Greg Valentine on September 30, 1989. In the thick of their heated feud, these two masters of brutality go to war in a contest full of stiff strikes, grudge-fueled intensity, and old-school storytelling. 

Then, we flip the channel and jump over to the AWA, where on November 18, 1989, the ever-entertaining Larry Zbyszko defends the AWA World Title against Nikita Koloff. Did this bout live up to the billing—or is it more of a case study in AWA’s late-stage weirdness?