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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Power Pro Wrestling
Date: February 7, 1987
Location: Cowtown Coliseum, Fort Worth, Texas
Commentators: Jim Ross, Michael Hayes

Someone wanted me to look at some Universal Wrestling Federation shows so here we go. This is the evolved form of Mid-South, though things are not exactly looking great by this point. I’m not sure how well this is going to go, but it is a promotion I haven’t looked at very much before. Let’s get to it.

Bill Watts (boss) is in his office to announce a one night tournament for the vacant Tag Team Titles. We hear four of the eight teams but don’t see any brackets. Not that it matters as the tournament is taking place at an event later tonight.

JR and Hayes run down the card and Hayes is excited about winning the Tag Team Titles.

Mike Reed vs. Angel of Death

Angel (very bald and with Sunshine in his corner) was a candidate for the Black Scorpion in WCW a few years later. A slam puts Reed down and a splash gives Angel two. Reed gets tossed around and there’s a running clothesline to drop him again. A suplex sets up a Samoan drop to finish Reed at 2:02. Rather effective squash.

Chavo Guerrero and Missing Link are ready to win the Tag Team Titles.

We look at the end of last week’s Badstreet Match (street fight) with the Freebirds beating up Steve Williams and Ted DiBiase. Devastation Inc. came in to help the Freebirds until a bunch of wrestlers came out to chase them off.

Hayes rants about how the Freebirds always keep things even.

Eli and Wild Bill Irwin are ready for Ted DiBiase and Steve Williams in the tournament. A young Bruce Prichard is the interviewer here.

Buddy Roberts thinks someone beat the Missing Link over the head with an ugly stick. Sunshine tells Dark Journey to stay out of the way tonight.

Ted DiBiase is ready to take out One Man Gang to become UWF Champion, just like he beat him before. It is so bizarre to hear DiBiase as a face.

Super Ninja vs. Bobby Walker

Both of them are debuting, that isn’t Hard Work Bobby Walker of (very minor) WCW fame and Bruce Prichard takes Hayes’ place on commentary. Ninja headlocks him down and then kicks him in the face, followed by a toss to the floor. Back in and Ninja stomps away with a gutwrench suplex taking Walker down again. A superkick finishes Walker at 4:24.

Rating: D+. Pretty dull squash here as Ninja wasn’t doing anything more than the bare basics. Walker was as lame of a jobber as you could get, so I can’t say I’m overly surprised. Ninja wrestled in the AWA as Mr. Go. I remember seeing him challenge the Midnight Rockers for the Tag Team Titles with a partner named…..the Super Ninja. That’s 80s wrestling for you.

Ninja drops Walker again post match, which has JR talking about his “sadistic Oriental side.”

Ted DiBiase and Steve Williams are ready to win the Tag Team Titles because they’ve been champions before.

Jeff Gaylord vs. Ted DiBiase

Gaylord is a good sized guy who was one of the Knights at Survivor Series 1993. This is face vs. face so they go technical to start with a fight over a top wristlock. DiBiase’s armbar sends Gaylord to the rope so he grabs a headlock takeover instead. Back up and another headlock takeover has Gaylord down as we hear about how he has no chance here. It works so well that DiBiase does it for a third time, which works yet again.

They get up for a third time and seem to mistime something, as DiBiase swings a wild elbow to knock him down. Gaylord pops back up and DiBiase misses a similar elbow and gets slammed for two this time. A backslide doesn’t work for DiBiase so he grabs a small package for the pin at 5:07 instead.

Rating: C-. I can see why the WWF went after DiBiase so hard as he looked great, could talk and had the technical skills. The problem is that he doesn’t seem to have much of a character, so throwing in one of the best ideas ever helped quite a bit. Gaylord was big for a technical guy and did fine, but there is a limit to how far you can go against someone as smooth as DiBiase.

Respect is shown post match.

Missing Link vs. Buddy Jack Roberts

Roberts has the rest of the Freebird Family, meaning Michael Hayes, Angel of Death, Terry Gordy and Sunshine. Link just has Dark Journey so this isn’t quite the balanced fight. And never mind as the Family jump him before the bell and the big beatdown is on. Ted DiBiase, Chavo Guerrero (Link’s partner in the tournament) and Steve Williams make the save. Link was busted open in the process.

Post break, we get a shortened version of the “fifteen minutes of action” during the break, with Guerrero/DiBiase/Williams saying they are sick and tired of the Freebirds. The challenge is on but matchmaker Grizzly Smith comes out to say no. DiBiase and company aren’t leaving though so Smith goes to the back to figure something out. We’re clipped to the Freebird Family slowly coming out and Sunshine trying to place peacekeeper. Granted that involves calling Chavo a chihuahua so it might not be so effective. DiBiase promises to keep the numbers even and that’s about it.

Eli vs. Chavo Guerrero

Eli has Wild Bill Irwin with him and was a territory guy in the 80s with a little time in Japan. Chavo hammers away so fast to start that I almost miss DiBiase there too. Granted DiBiase and Irwin getting into the ring to brawl at the same time makes it a little more obvious. Chavo and Eli fight to the floor as DiBiase grabs the whip to clear the ring. Another referee comes out and disqualifies Eli, though the bell never actually rang.

The Freebird Family talks about having the best odds to win the Tag Team Titles, mainly because they have two teams included. Hayes: “If it comes down to us, which it probably will, you take one belt and we’ll take one.”

Dark Journey says Chavo Guerrero and Missing Link are ready for Sting and Rick Steiner. Chavo starts in English and switches to Spanish while promising to win the belts.

JR and Bruce Prichard give their tournament picks (one of the Freebird teams/DiBiase and Williams). The matches begin on TV next week.

We get a music video of general highlights to wrap up the show.

Overall Rating: C. I can see why the show is so well received, though at the same time you can see that things have fallen a very long way by this point. The energy wasn’t there, even though a lot of the talent was. The company would be sold to Jim Crockett in about two months so it isn’t like there was much left to see from these guys. This wasn’t bad, but the company has done better stuff before. In case you were wondering: Terry Taylor and Chris Adams, who weren’t even on the show, won the titles.

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