World Class Championship Wrestling
Date: January 16, 1988
Location: Sportatorium, Dallas, Texas
Commentator: Marc Lowrance

I haven’t done one of these in a bit so we’ll see what they’ve got. This is from the weaker period for the company as a lot of wrestlers have either died or gone elsewhere. That doesn’t leave much to go around here but the fans will likely still be into everything going on. Let’s get to it.

The opening theme is the same but the video is different and doesn’t feel nearly as important.

Lowrance talks about how last week’s show ended in a frenzy and then runs down this week’s show.

The Hood vs. Matt Borne

Borne’s Texas Heavyweight Title isn’t on the line. Hood (a muscular guy under a mask, better known as Jeff Gaylord) bails into the ropes a few times to start and we get an argument over hair pulling. We pause for the Hood to pose as Lowrance runs down various upcoming cards. Hook hits a slam and poses some more as Lowrance explains a rather complicated match involving elimination rules, a cage and handcuffs. They slowly slug it out with Borne backing him up against the ropes as Lowrance tells you where to write for souvenirs.

We pause again for Hood to try and get the crowd to quiet down. A clothesline drops Borne and Hood stops to pose AGAIN. Another knockdown means more poses as Rick Rude would think Hood is overdoing it. Borne finally comes back with a clothesline and a belly to belly lets Borne hammer away with left hands. A spinning toehold is broken up as Hood kicks him into the corner, setting up a shoulderbreaker for two. The arm is sent into the corner for two more but Hood misses a middle rope elbow. An atomic drop sets up a top rope seated senton to give Borne the pin at 8:21.

Rating: C-. The Hood was in great shape but the “do a move and then pose” got tiresome after a bit. The same thing was true of Lowrance talking about anything but the match, as he might as well have been reading from a checklist. Borne was a decent hand in the ring, but this went about twice as long as it needed to and that was a hard sit.

Here are the Freebirds, Iceman Parsons and the Angel of Death for a chat. Believe it or not, they want to beat up the Von Erichs and they started with Fritz on Christmas night. Parsons even gets in a shot at Kerry over his motorcycle crash.

Last week, Kevin Von Erich talked about the beatings he had taken. Then the four villains ran in to beat down Kevin and Chris Adams.

We look at Eric Embry recently beating Shaun Simpson in a cage match in Reunion Arena to win the Light Heavyweight Title. Simpson was dominating until Embry rolled through a high crossbody and grabbed the trunks for the pin. Clips from this match were shown for weeks.

Eric Embry vs. Jeff Raitz

Embry’s Light Heavyweight Title isn’t on the line. Hold on though as here is Simpson to request that he get this match instead. Sure why not.

Eric Embry vs. Shaun Simpson

Non-title and Simpson starts fast with a backdrop. Back in and Embry gets in a quick shot to the ribs for a breather and we hit the chinlock. Simpson fights up and grabs a rollup for two, followed by the armbar. That’s broken up and Embry slams him down, setting up a falling headbutt for two. The slingshot suplex gives Embry two but another headbutt misses. A top rope sunset flip gives Simpson two more before he rolls through a high crossbody and pins Embry at 4:53.

Rating: C+. Well there’s your setup for a title rematch as this seems like it’s a pretty hot feud. Or as hot as something is going to be in 1988 World Class. The fans were into Simpson’s comeback and it’s a simple story that will get a reaction. Embry comes off as quite the cowardly heel who is in over his head so let Simpson chase him for a bit.

We look at the end of a Chris Adams vs. Al Perez match in Fort Worth. The referee got bumped so there was no count off Adams’ superkick. That and a Gary Hart (Perez’s evil manager) let Perez kick out as we have another referee. Then they both crash out to the floor and it’s a double countout to retain Perez’s….unspecified title.

We get an explanation of the ten man Thunderdome cage matches. It’s going to be an elimination match and after someone is pinned or submits, they are handcuffed to the cage. When all five members of one team are cuffed, the captain of the winning team gets to unlock his partners for five minutes of anything they want to the still handcuffed losers. That sounds rather violent.

Al Perez vs. Solomon Grundy

Perez’s World Title isn’t on the line here and Grundy is a 400lb hillbilly. Before the match, here is Terry Gordy to ask Gary Hart when he’s going to smarten Perez up. Gordy has been going around the world beating up people in Japan (using a not so nice name for Japanese people) so he can get a title shot. Gordy leaves but here is Chris Adams to interrupt too. He’s beaten Perez three or four times so he should get a title shot.

The beating that Gordy gave to Fritz Von Erich made him sick so Gordy comes back in for the brawl. Buddy Roberts comes in as well so Grundy crushes him as Adams superkicks Gordy. Perez jumps Adams from behind and Gordy is on Adams with his Oriental Spike. Kevin Von Erich runs in for the save and Angel of Death and Iceman Parsons come in to help get the villains away. That was the kind of wild brawl that helps make you interested in the Thunderdome stuff so well done.

Post break and we actually get Perez vs. Grundy, which is joined in progress with Perez snapmaring him into a chinlock. A pull of the hair/overalls cuts off Grundy’s comeback attempt and we stay slow. Back up and Grundy reverses a whip into the corner but charges into a raised boot. Perez drops a knee and we’re right back to the chinlock. Grundy fights up but Perez hammers away in the corner. Grundy slams him out of the corner and Lowrance thinks it’s FAR more impressive than it really is. A missed charge in the corner staggers Grundy though and Perez hits a running forearm for the pin at 3:48 shown.

Rating: C-. Grundy is a good example of “well what are you supposed to do with him”. He’s a giant who can do some very basic stuff but at some point you run out of options. Grundy did all of the standard big man spots but it didn’t make for much of a match. Perez doesn’t exactly feel like a World Champion, though he had a good look and was more than ok enough in the ring.

Fantastics vs. Cowboy Tony/Vince Apollo

Rogers and Tony start things off with the former easily waistlocking Tony to the mat. Apollo comes in and rakes the eyes so Tony can…immediately be dragged into the corner. It’s off to Fulton for a top rope wristdrag as everything breaks down. A double dropkick puts Tony down and Apollo is thrown onto him to make it worse. Back in and Tony manages to send Fulton into the corner to take over for a change. That lasts all of three seconds before everything breaks down again. The villains are rammed into each other and a Hart Attack high crossbody finishes Apollo at 3:03.

Rating: C. I can always go for the Fantastics as they can work well with anyone, even a pair of jobbers like these two. They didn’t waste time and the Fantastics never felt like they were in any danger, which they shouldn’t be in this situation. For a match that was little more than a way to fill in a few minutes at the end of the show, it went well enough.

Post match Jack Victory and John Tatum (the Tag Team Champions) run in to beat down the Fantastics as the credits roll.

Overall Rating: C. This feels like a situation where the TV isn’t great but the live events feel hot. They had a big angle with the Fritz attack but you’re only going to get so much out of that on a show like this. The wrestling here was not very good for the most part, though you can tell the angles are at least important. The territory was not in a good place at this point, but you can still see some sparks of life out there.

 

 

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WCCW TV
Date: February 6, 1988
Location: Dallas Sportatorium, Dallas, Texas
Commentator: Marc Lowrence

It’s more WCCW as it’s the one year listed on the Network that I haven’t covered. As usual I have very little idea of what is going on here but I’d assume that the Von Erichs will be involved. I was three days old when this show aired, meaning it was on a Saturday, thereby ending my trivia about this show. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

We open with a clip from Christmas 1987 as Shaun Simpson faces Eric Embry in a cage for the World Lightweight Title. The bloody Embry rolls through a high crossbody and pulls the trunks to win the title.

Then about a month later, Simpson faced and pinned Embry in a rematch, though the title didn’t appear to be on the line.

Then they fought again and Embry accidentally bumped the referee so there was no count when Simpson got a cover. Another wrestler came in to count the fall, which I can’t imagine counted. Thankfully another referee came in to say not so fast and gave the title back to Embry because the other referee understands how wrestling works. Even commentary was almost calling Simpson ridiculous for that one.

Now we look at John Tatum/Jack Victory vs. the Fantastics from some undated show. Some cheating gave Tatum the pin as we’re told this is from the same Christmas night show from before. Then another referee comes out to reverse the decision and give it to the Fantastics. The villains came back and got cleared out again.

Then about a week later, the Fantastics beat an unnamed team but Victory and Tatum ran in to beat them down.

Tatum and Victory don’t care that their Texas Tag Team Titles are held up because they won them in the first place and are still the Wild West Tag Team Champions. We see a video from the Fantastics promising vengeance, sending Tatum into a rant about how they won the titles fair and square. They’ll win the titles the first chance they get.

Al Perez vs. Matt Borne

It’s our first match, over a third of the way into the show. Wild Bill Irwin joins commentary and Gary Hart is here with Perez as they grapple around to start. The feeling out process continues with Borne not being able to get very far with Perez. A rollup gives Borne two and Hardy isn’t pleased so far. Perez shoves him into the corner for a change but the ans stay behind Borne. The test of strength goes on but neither of them can get very far again. Perez cranks on a hammerlock but Borne seems to go low to escape. That only gets two though and they trade rollups until Perez gets a backslide for the pin at 5:31.

Rating: C. The face/heel stuff was a little strange here as Perez wasn’t quite the crowd favorite but won in the end anyway. I’ve always liked Perez and it’s nice to see him getting a win. Unless Hart was a good guy at this point (which is hard to fathom), this was kind of backwards and commentary isn’t exactly explaining things all that well.

We look back at the end of last week’s show with the Von Erichs beating up Buddy Roberts, the Angel of Death and Iceman Parsons, the latter of whom is handcuffed in the corner (ala Fritz Von Erich on Christmas night, with commentary actually explaining something for once). The villains eventually ran off.

Angel of Death/Buddy Roberts/Iceman Parsons vs. Chris Adams/Kerry Von Erich/Kevin Von Erich

This is a Penalty Box match, meaning if you get caught cheating, you go to the penalty box (a small cage) for one minute. Get caught again and you’re sent in for two minutes. Kerry (he’s popular) and Buddy start things off with the former cranking on a wristlock. The discus punch sends Roberts outside fast and we pause a bit for some planning. Angel comes in and knocks Kerry into the corner so it’s off to Adams for a headlock.

Kevin comes in for the (barefoot) dropkick as commentary says there is no way Roberts can hang with any of these guys on his own. Roberts gets caught with a cheap shot and gets sent to the box and it’s off to Parsons to stomp on Kerry. The discus punch gets Kerry out of trouble but Parsons grabs a sleeper. Roberts comes back in as the fans won’t stop chanting for Kerry.

Another sleeper has Roberts in trouble for a change and Kerry drops a nasty looking middle rope knee. Roberts cheats again so Kevin gets in a shot from the apron, earning himself a trip to the box. Parsons comes in and quickly bails straight to the floor from the threat of the Claw. The Angel tries to go after Kerry without a tag and it’s off to the box for him as well. Parsons knocks Kerry to the floor (Marc: “Right in the asteroid.”) and Kevin goes over to check on him as Angel is out.

Kerry walks around the ring for some reason before catching Parsons’ leg and snapping it across the rope. The Figure Four goes on the bad leg but everything breaks down. Kevin chairs Roberts and Parsons as Angel and Kerry slug it out. Angel is knocked down and walks away as Adams is in the box and Roberts comes in.

We take a break and come back with Kerry gorilla pressing Roberts and Adams getting out of the box (making me think nothing changed in the break). Adams comes in with a top rope ax handle as things have slowed way down. The referee says that’s cheating and sends Adams into the box (with Kevin, who apparently went in off screen). Kerry Claws Roberts but here is the Angel again. Not that it matters as Kerry small packages Roberts for 14:38 (commentary didn’t notice).

Rating: B-. The penalty stuff was a WCCW mainstay but it got a bit confusing at times, as there were penalties that just seemed to pop up with no announcement. Either that or the penalties didn’t do much, as nothing would change while someone was in the box. The action was good and it felt like they were mad at each other though so I’ve seen far worse ideas. Better match than the rest of the show, as the Von Erichs vs. the Freebirds (or bird here) is always worth a look.

Post match Angel uses some handcuffs to lock Adams and Kevin inside…for all of ten seconds before they get out and save Kerry from the beatdown.

Overall Rating: C. I’m not sure what to make of this show as so much of it was spent on those recaps of things that happened weeks ago. I can’t say it was bad as I got where things were going, but do you really want to just air old stuff for the first 20 minutes or so of an hour long show? The main event was good, but this felt like a recap show for a long time and that’s a weird way to go on any given week.

 

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Mid-South House Show
Date: November 11, 1985
Location: Municipal Auditorium, New Orleans, Louisiana

This is part of a house show, which is certainly a lot more than you can get most of the time. Mid-South has an awesome reputation for some fired up crowds and while this is past their peak as a promotion, they still have quite a few stars and a rabid fan base so this could be good. I’m not sure what to expect here and the lack of commentary could make things confusing. Let’s get to it.

Bruise Brothers vs. El Corsario/Steve Williams

The Brothers are Mad Dog Boyd/Pork Chop Cash and Corsario is a 21 year old Savio Vega in a mask. It’s a brawl to start with the Brothers starting very fast and knocking Williams outside. Corsario is sent into the corner and a splash finishes him off at 49 seconds. Well that woke the fans up.

Lord Humongous vs. Jake Roberts

Humongous is a masked man (and not played by Sid Vicious this time) with Oliver Humperdink (Jake’s big annoyance at the moment) in his corner. Humongous shoves him into the corner to start and Jake isn’t sure what to do here. Jake hammers away but gets slammed down, only to avoid an elbow. The threat of mask removal sends Humongous bailing out to the floor and then they do the same thing again.

Back in again and Jake hammers away but a reversed whip lets Humongous hit a hard clothesline. Posing ensues and Jake gets caught in a bearhug to keep him in trouble. With that broken up, Humongous goes after Jake’s back with some knee drops and headbutts before cranking on both arms at once.

We hit the bearhug again but Humongous lets it go and misses a legdrop. Jake’s atomic drop gives us a double knockdown and a VERY big crowd reaction), followed by a hard running clothesline to drop Humongous. Humperdink breaks up the count though and the chase is on, allowing Humongous to grab a cobra clutch to knock Jake out at 10:50.

Rating: C. This felt like another step in a long story between Jake and Humperdink and that is going to work well enough. Humongous felt like a mercenary and he did well enough in the role, as he felt like a combination of a slasher movie monster and a decent power wrestler. Also, the ending was a good win for Humperdink over Jake, as there is something about seeing someone get choked out.

Post match Jake is out so Humperdink drops an elbow on him and counts his own three.

Tag Team Titles: Eddie Gilbert/Nightmare vs. Al Perez/Wendell Cooley

Gilbert and the Nightmare (Moondog Rex/the original Demolition Smash) are challenging and have Oliver Humperdink in their corner. Perez and Nightmare start off to limited avail so it’s time to stare at each other for a bit. Perez’s top wristlock doesn’t work either so the staredown is on again. This time they’re a little hesitant about a test of strength so it’s off to Gilbert to shoulder Perez down. A dropkick sets up an armbar on Gilbert though and Perez adds in some knees to the shoulder.

Cooley comes in for an armbar, an armdrag and another armbar (make your own Chris Jericho joke) before handing it back to Perez to stay on the arm. Perez and Cooley draw Nightmare in and change without a tag, much to the fans’ delight. It works so well that they do it again, followed by Cooley dropping a leg on the arm. An armdrag lets Perez come back in for a kneedrop onto the arm and the cranking continues. To mix it up a bit, Perez and Cooley crank on both arms at the same time.

Gilbert finally gets up and brings in Nightmare, who misses an elbow and gets sunset flipped for two. It’s already back to Gilbert, who misses a charge into the post to make the arm even worse. That means another armbar and then some hiptosses to both Gilbert and Nightmare. The villains finally get it together as Nightmare grabs Gilbert to avoid a dropkick, meaning it’s time to beat on Cooley. Gilbert’s arm is fine enough for some elbows and a stomach claw.

Nightmare grabs a reverse chinlock and it’s right back to Gilbert for a middle rope ax handle. Another chinlock, this time with a knee in the back, keeps Cooley in trouble and a clothesline cuts him down again. Gilberto chokes on the rope and Nightmare hits a belly to back suplex for two. Back up and the classic double collision evens things out all over again, proving that Cooley’s head is far harder than Nightmare’s.

The hot tag brings in Perez to clean house as everything breaks down, with Cooley being knocked to the floor. Perez immediately goes to check on him as Cooley is holding his head and not getting up. For some reason Perez throws him back in and Gilbert is right there with the strutting. Perez comes in to break up a double suplex but Gilbert hits a hot shot to finish Cooley for the titles at 25:59.

Rating: B-. This got a lot of time and wound up working rather well as they went with the formula, which a Mid-South crowd is always going to eat up. Perez and Cooley worked well enough for a face team (the matching tights always help) and Humperdink seems to be enough of an evil force to make a middle of the road team into more of a threat. Good match here, and it doesn’t feel anywhere close to almost half an hour.

North American Title: Butch Reed vs. Dick Slater

Slater, with Dark Journey, is challenging for the promotion’s top title. We’re joined in progress with Slater hitting a belly to back suplex and cranking on the leg. Reed fights up and slugs away but can’t follow up because of the knee. More slugging away puts Slater down but he’s right back up with a sleeper. Reed gets close to the rope so Slater slams him down before he can make it (that’s rather clever). The Figure Goes onto Reed’s bad leg until he manages to turn it over, as you might have expected.

The referee gets bumped, though Slater puts on a spinning toehold anyway. That’s reversed into a small package for no count but here’s another referee to count Slater’s cover on Reed, even with his feet on the ropes. Hold on though as some unnamed wrestler comes up to say what happened and it seems we’re continuing. Reed gives chase and hammers away back inside before taking Slater outside for a whip into the barricade. The referee throws it out in there somewhere, with Reed retaining via DQ at about 9:30 shown.

Rating: C+. It was certainly energetic while it lasted and Reed is someone who impresses me more and more every time I see him on his own. Reed was a heck of a power guy and he was showing a lot of fire and charisma here. I know he is best remembered as a tag guy with Ron Simmons in Doom but this was working well.

Jim Duggan vs. Buzz Sawyer

No DQ and Duggan jumps him before the bell to start. Sawyer is knocked to the floor in a hurry but comes back in to quickly lose a slugout (Who brawls with Duggan?). This time he is knocked outside, where Duggan hammers away even more. Duggan sends him face first (and hard) into the barricade, then swears at Sawyer and does it again.

Sawyer is busted open (shocking) and Duggan hammers away in the corner. The time out request is denied and Duggan throws him over the top but Sawyer comes back in with a low blow. A ram into the barricade sends Duggan over and Sawyer sends him into the steel a second time. Duggan avoids having a table dropped on him but gets sent into the barricade for a third time in a row.

Back in and Duggan swears some more before blasting Sawyer with a clothesline. Sawyer hits his own clothesline though and they’re both down for a needed breather. Duggan returns the low blow and a three point shoulder puts Sawyer out on the floor….where he takes the countout at 11:48, because now we have countouts.

Rating: B. This was a red hot brawl and a great example of everything that Duggan could do in this place. Duggan is best known as being the goofy patriot and that worked out well, but he was AWESOME as the bar fighting brawler, which he got to showcase far better in Mid-South. Sawyer was kind of a horrible human but he could do this kind of thing very well. Heck of a match and I could have gone for a lot more.

Post match Sawyer charges back in to choke away but a piledriver is countered with a backdrop. The bell ringer loses his mind as the brawl continues, drawing out a bunch of other wrestlers to pull them apart. They’re finally separated but Sawyer smacks Duggan in the face to set it off again. The wrestlers get them apart and we see Sawyer having to be held in the back.

Cue Duggan and the brawl starts again backstage, with Duggan swearing rather loudly and Sawyer screaming at him but not being able to stand. This was a GREAT angle and I want to see these two tear each other apart. That’s where Mid-South shined and it was on full display here.

Overall Rating: B-. The main event helped a lot and while it would have been a good bit better with the rest of the show included, this was another fun show and makes me wonder how great Mid-South could have been had they not fallen apart due to circumstances outside of their control. This had a great mixture of styles and an awesome main event on top of everything else. Good stuff here and it makes me want to see a lot more from Mid-South, especially in their better days.

 

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