WCCW TV
Date: April 30, 1983
Location: Dallas Sportatorium, Dallas, Texas
Commentator: Bill Mercer

I might as well look at some more of this place, as I have something from almost every year throughout the 80s save for 1983 so let’s check off a box. WCCW is a promotion with a great reputation from around this time and there is a good chance that they are going to be able to keep that going here. I have no idea what to expect from this show and that can be a lot of fun. Let us know in the comments below.

Opening sequence.

Bill Mercer welcomes us to the show and previews the main event. That main event will feature Texas Champion David Von Erich and Iceman Parsons, who join us to talk about how they’re ready for the Freebirds. They’re ready to go, though Parsons says he’s ready to boogie.

Chris Adams vs. The Mongol

Mongol (who looks like King Kong Bundy after a good diet and growing a strange beard) has Skandor Akbar with him. Mongol knocks him into the corner to start but Adams slugs his way to freedom. Adams gets knocked down to set up a chinlock, which is broken up without much effort.

A slam gives Mongol two but Adams is back up with….an unidentified shot to the stomach area. Adams drops him with a superkick (Mercer: “He must have learned that one from the Orient) and gets two off a rather difficult powerslam. Another superkick (which didn’t get overly close to the jaw) sets up another superkick in the corner but Mongol throws him over the top for the DQ at 3:59.

Rating: C. This was starting to pick up when they went to the DQ, which is likely to set up a rematch. Mongol feels like someone who could be a nice monster for someone to slay later on. I’m not sure if that is going to be Adams, but he looked good enough slugging away here. Nice opener, but it was only going to get so far in around four minutes.

Post match the brawl is on until referees break it up.

Chavo Guerrero (Senior, who looks a bit like Ricky Steamboat) talks about what it’s like on his ranch. He is now an American citizen but grew up in Mexico City. We hear about the Guerrero wrestling family and how glad Chavo is to make it to Dallas. Texas is his home and he knows the talent is here. Chavo throws in some Spanish and then jumps in the ring for his match. This was Chavo’s getting to know you segment, but it was kind of rambling.

We get a preview of the rest of the show in Spanish for a strange way to go.

Jimmy Garvin vs. Chavo Guerrero

I’m assuming this is Chavo’s debut and Garvin has Precious with him. It takes a good while to have Precious get Garvin ready to go, as tends to be Garvin’s custom. Chavo starts fast with some dropkicks and the upset Garvin is on the floor (Garvin: “HOW’S MY HAIR???”). Back in and Chavo takes him down with a headscissors, leaving Precious rather nervous.

Garvin slaps the mat, a good ten years before the tap out became a thing in wrestling. The headscissors is broken up and Garvin cranks on the legs, which is broken up for a standoff. Garvin doesn’t like standing off though and goes outside to yell about how Chavo escaped. Back in and Chavo takes him down into another headscissors before twisting his boots around Garvin’s head (and his HAIR).

Garvin gets up and tries to hammer away, only to have Chavo backflip over him out of the corner. Chavo pulls him into a surfboard as Garvin has no idea what to do here. Garvin gets outside again and comes back in for some right hands from Chavo. The Gory Stretch is loaded up as time expires at around 8:52 (called 10:00).

Rating: C+. Total star making performance here from Chavo, who was showing some insane stuff for the early 80s. Chavo was flipping around and making Garvin look lost as he couldn’t figure Guerrero out and it made for an entertaining match. The more I see of Garvin the more entertaining he is and that was certainly the case again here.

Post match Garvin thinks there is someone messing with him but now he has film on Chavo.

Kimala vs. Tom Renesto/Bill Rathke

Kimala is of course Kamala with Kim Chee, while the other two have Armand Hussein with them. The two of them jump Kimala to start and get chopped the head for their efforts. The double teaming doesn’t work either as Renesto gets chest clawed down and Rathke gets hit in the throat. Kimala sends them into each other, setting up some splashes to finish Rathke at 2:20. He has to pin both though so it’s some splashes to Renesto to finish for good at 2:53. Total destruction in a good way.

Post match Skandor Akbar brags about the power of Kimala.

David Von Erich/Iceman Parsons vs. Freebirds

Michael Hayes/Buddy Roberts for the Freebirds here and Jimmy Garvin/Precious are at ringside. Roberts and Parsons get things going with Roberts taking him down but having the spinning toehold broken up. Parsons monkey flips him down and scores with some dropkicks, meaning it’s time to dance. The fans want Hayes but have to settle for Parsons grabbing a headscissors.

Roberts can’t get up to drag him into the corner as Parsons keeps him in trouble. A rake to the eyes finally allows Hayes to get in for a slam and fist drop. That doesn’t last long as Von Erich comes in to take Hayes into the corner. The Freebirds need a breather on the floor, while Precious films things for some reason. Back in and Hayes gets in a cheap shot on Parsons to take over, leaving Parsons’ arm tied in the rope.

That lasts all of two seconds before it’s back to Hayes for a backbreaker. Parsons gets right back up and brings in Von Erich as everything breaks down. Von Erich is sent outside in a crash, where he teases smacking Sunshine. The distraction lets Garvin hit him with the camera as Parsons is sent outside. Garvin tosses Von Erich back inside where Hayes get the pin at 9:30.

Rating: C+. The action wasn’t exactly great but you could feel the energy here as the Von Erichs and Freebirds were the top stars in the promotion. The crowd HATED the Freebirds and it got worse as the match went on. Garvin as a Freebird associate makes sense, though that might be more him going after Von Erich and the Texas Title. Good main event though and the most energized part of the show by far.

A very quick preview for next week wraps us up.

Overall Rating: C+. World Class is a show that takes a lot of getting used to as they don’t really have much in the way of big stories. You would have feuds, but it was rare to see something specific about why these people are fighting this week. It’s more along the lines of “well, they were fighting last week so they’re still fighting this week.” until a big angle or moment takes place. That’s not a bad thing, but it’s different than what you would see later. The energy was certainly there though and you could see how unique this place was for its era.

 

 

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Hidden Gems #7
Date: 1981, 1992

So the Network is going coconuts for the Christmas season with TWELVE (even though they’re starting this on the day after the regular Hidden Gems drop, meaning it should be THIRTEEN) STRAIGHT DAYS of of Hidden Gems, with new stuff being added every day through Christmas. Therefore, I’ll be putting these up in four three day blocks. Some of these are going to be much longer than others but the fun part is going to be seeing what surprises we’re in for. Let’s get to it.

Star Wars 1981
Date: December 25, 1981
Location: Reunion Arena, Dallas, Texas
Commentator: Bill Mercer

So this is most of a full show, with a Big Time Wrestling event (very soon to be World Class Championship Wrestling) under the Star Wars banner. Star Wars was a series of big shows that the promotion ran on certain important nights (often holidays) so expect a big night. The entire thing isn’t here but I’ll fill in the gaps where I can. Let’s get to it.

It’s a double ring show, which could make for an interesting night.

Ring announcer Marc Lowrance introduces the show and explains the two rings.

The first two matches aren’t present. First up was El Negro Assassin vs. Richard Blood (not Ricky Steamboat) in a fifteen minute draw and Tiny Tom defeating Little Tokyo in about ten minutes.

Texas Brass Knuckles Title: Jose Lothario vs. Ernie Ladd

Ladd, a monster with some of the greatest promos ever, is defending. The title is more a toughman title than anything else, as hardcore wrestling hadn’t exactly been invented yet. Lothario on the other hand is best known for training Shawn Michaels. Ladd backs up a few times in the first minute before taking Lothario into the corner. That just earns him a shot to the ribs and it’s time to stall some more.

Some right hands finally put Lothario in trouble and it’s off to a bearhug, which is rather awkward given Ladd’s foot or so height advantage. With that broken up, it turns into a boxing match and Lothario being a former boxer means Ladd is in trouble in a hurry. Ladd uses the distraction to load up a foreign object, which goes into Lothario’s neck. A right hand knocks Lothario to the floor but he comes back in with a top rope right hand to the head….for the pin and the title at 6:14.

Rating: D. Well that happened. The punching stuff made sense and both of them looked fine on their own, but it was still a dull match with neither of them having the time to do much. The ending, with a big right hand from the top, made sense for the gimmick of the match but it wasn’t much to see until we got to the finish.

There was another unaired match here with Blue Demon and Al Madril beating Arman Hussein and Carlos Zapata. I believe that’s the last missing match on the card.

UWA Light Heavyweight Title: El Solitario vs. Tim Brooks

Solitario is defending and this is a title from the Universal Wrestling Association in Mexico. Brooks on the other hand, apparently loves to have dog collar matches. That’s quite the random factoid. There’s also no way that he’s a light heavyweight. Solitario spins out of a leglock to start and we have an early standoff. Brooks hits a shoulder but charges into a hiptoss as Solitario sends him into the other ring.

They head back to the original with Brooks sending him into the corner and dropping a knee for two but a sunset flip gives Solitario the same. A dropkick puts Brooks on the apron and a posting sends him to the floor. Solitario hits a dive and Brooks is busted open, which at least came off a good spot. Back in again and another crossbody retains Solitario’s title at 5:21.

Rating: C-. Solitario’s dives looked good and were WAY ahead of their time but Brooks was any heel here, which meant he was a pretty lame challenger. At least they kept it short here and let Solitario be the star, which was the right idea given what was going on in there. Just not much to see here, aside from Solitario being insane for an American audience.

Fritz Von Erich vs. Great Kabuki

Kabuki has top heel manager Gary Hart with him. This is a Texas Death Match, which basically means Last Man Standing. Fritz is rather popular as ringside fills up with fans wanting autographs, which Fritz of course grants. The ring announcer explains that after every fall, there will be a thirty second rest period before a ten count begins. Fritz goes straight for the Claw but Kabuki does the smart thing by grabbing the wrist. The stomach version works a bit better until Kabuki makes a rope for a break. In a Death Match?

Back up and Fritz slugs away but another Claw attempt is blocked. So you’re saying he uses a Claw a lot? Kabuki chops him down in the corner but then Fritz does the same thing. They head into the other ring where another Claw attempt is countered with a kick to the head. This time Kabuki grabs Fritz underneath the arm for a nerve hold as this is getting awful in a hurry.

They fight to the floor and then over a chair with Fritz getting the better of it. Fritz punches him back inside and more bad looking right hands don’t do much damage. The Claw goes on for a three count and it takes him awhile to let go. Two referees have to pull Fritz off and he puts it on again.

That’s considered part of the rest period so Fritz beats up Hart to kill some time. Kabuki beats the count and it’s time to go after the cut on his head. That means more Claw (egads man learn a new move) as Hart takes off a turnbuckle pad. Kabuki is back up as Fritz beats Hart up and sends Fritz face first into the exposed buckle. A lot of choking keeps Fritz down until he punches his way to freedom (and that’s AMERICAN freedom mind you).

Both guys are down long enough that the rest period begins, followed by the ten count and neither can make it to their feet. We don’t have draws in Texas though and the winner is the first person on his feet in the ring. Fritz almost gets up first so Hart pulls him down and pours something on Kabuki’s face to wake him up, which is enough for the win at 18:11. That’s the first Texas Death Match that Fritz has ever lost.

Rating: F. I know he’s a legend in Texas and owns the promotion and all that jazz but this was HORRIBLE with Fritz looking about 90 years old and doing nothing but punching and the Claw. This might have been a nice treat for the fans live and meant something to them, but watching it back is an absolute chore as it’s just sitting there watching Fritz put his hand on Kabuki’s head for long stretches over and over. Terrible stuff here, no matter how big a WCCW fan you might be.

Kevin Von Erich comes in to clear the villains out.

Kevin Von Erich/David Von Erich/Kerry Von Erich vs. Frank Dusek/Bill Irwin/Ten Gu

Ten Gu is better known as Kendo Nagasaki in Stampede Wrestling. This is a six man tag with both rings being used, meaning it’s basically a singles match in both rings and one person able to tag into either ring at either time. That’s kind of clever. Before we can get going though, the Von Erichs are mobbed for autographs again. Mike is with them here with his brothers and that’s always kind of sad to see. Kerry and Irwin start in one ring and the rules are already starting to get confusing as the other four just stand there.

We settle down to David working on Gu’s arm and the camera still only focusing on one ring at a time. Kevin works on a headlock on Dusek before headscissoring Irwin down at the same time. There is WAY too much going on here at once with the tagging and it’s not flowing well at all. We go back to Kerry putting Gu in a sleeper until Dusek makes a save. That means a chinlock for a bit with Dusek fighting up and almost hitting Irwin in the other ring.

They FINALLY go to a wide shot that the match was begging for and we get to see just how slow everyone is keeping things. David gets a sleeper on Gu until Kerry hits a running dive over the ropes to take Gu down. A double ax handle gets two on David but he’s right back with a suplex for the same on Dusek. Kerry snapmares Irwin down and drops a middle rope knee for two of his own. Dusek gets in his own suplex on Kerry but misses a top rope splash and hurts his knee. Irwin misses his own running knee on Kevin, who pops up with the Claw on Gu. A middle rope ax handle hits Gu by mistake and Kevin pins him at 10:58.

Rating: D-. I’m going to blame this one more on the production and the layout as this needed to either stay wide the whole time or drop the tagging stuff to make it a regular brawl. There was too much going on with too many people involved and it caught up with them in a hurry. I couldn’t tell what was going on and there was no story to the whole thing. I’m not sure why the Von Erichs were fighting these three in the first place, and there’s just nothing good to say about it. Oh yeah Fritz wasn’t wrestling so it was slightly less bad than the previous match.

Battle Royal

David Von Erich, Bill Irwin, Kerry Von Erich, Big Daddy Bundy, Al Madrill, Armand Hussein, Blue Demon, Carlos Zapata, El Negro Assassin, Frank Dusek, Jose Lothario, Richard Blood, Ten Gu, Tim Brooks

Double ring battle royal (throw the people from one ring into the other, then out like a regular battle royal, the last two people involved have a two man battle royal for the win) for $10,000. The match is listed as having sixteen people, the records I can find say fourteen, and I see twelve. Thankfully we get a listing and it turns out that I can’t count or see everyone in a ring. It’s a big brawl to start and EGADS Bundy looks weird in jeans and with a full head of hair. The camera continues to focus on half of the ring instead of going wide, which would seem to be the solution to this whole thing.

Bundy keeps beating on everyone as we’re still waiting on the first elimination. David gets launched into the second ring and Brooks follows him as we look at this ring instead of the two next to each other. Madrill and Demon come to the second ring as well, followed by a bunch of others as things go nuts in a hurry. Bundy wins the first ring, followed by Hussein and Demon both being eliminated. Two other guys leave at the same time but they’re not important enough to mention.

Dusek is out and we’re down to eight left in the second ring as I try to figure out the other two eliminations. Madrill and Assassin go out, followed by Kerry and Ten Gu, leaving us with Lothario, Irwin, Blood and Zapata, meaning the other two unmentioned eliminations were David Von Erich and Tim Brooks. Now why couldn’t those names just be mentioned? Anyway Blood and Zapata go out and Lothario follows, leaving us with the heel vs. heel battle of Bundy vs. Irwin.

Bundy gets lured into the other ring and the fight is on, with both referees staying in the ring with them. Some forearms have Irwin in trouble until he avoids an elbow drop from Bundy. Wait is Bundy a face here? What kind of idiot would make Bundy a face? Commentary seems to confirm this as Irwin pokes him in the eye. I mean, it makes more sense for this match but makes far less sense otherwise. Irwin gets him to the apron but gets pulled out to give Bundy the win at 12:12.

Rating: D. The same production issues hurt this one as you couldn’t see a lot of what was going on when the action was still going on in both rings. Other than that, it was a bad battle royal with everyone running around and a bunch of people going from one quick fight to another. It’s not the worst, but it wasn’t very good. Bundy winning makes sense, especially since he’s a good guy around here, because reasons.

And now from another part of the country on the same night. The following few matches are from the 1981 AWA Christmas night show in St. Paul, Minnesota. The whole video is just over half an hour long so I can’t call it the full show, but you never know what you’re going to get on these things.

AWA House Show
Date: December 25, 1981
Location: St. Paul Civic Center, St. Paul, Minnesota
Commentator: Rodger Kent

This isn’t my favorite time and/or promotion in the world but they could do big shows fairly well. As mentioned this isn’t the full show but hopefully we get the best of the what they had to offer that night. The big match is a non-title match, which is non-title for no adequately explained reason. Why would you want to waste a major match on something like Christmas? Let’s get to it.

Rene Goulet vs. Kenny Jay

Goulet was an agent with the WWF forever but wasn’t much in the ring. Joined in progress with Jay (never heard of him) working on a wristlock as the unnamed announcer talks about Japanese photographers in attendance. Goulet takes him down into a chinlock as the announcer talks about Goulet’s airfare in 1981 costing over $58,000.

A headscissors keeps Jay down until he reverses into a leglock to send Goulet bailing to the ropes. The hold goes right back on with Jay taking him down to keep Goulet in trouble. Goulet finally makes it over to the rope as we’re told there are five minutes left. Back up and some elbows get Goulet out of trouble before a middle rope knee finishes Jay at 6:14 shown (announced as 11:14).

Rating: D. What we saw wasn’t exactly thrilling stuff as it was a lot of leg work and not much else. Goulet never was the most interesting guy in the world and Jay seemed like just a guy for the most part. In other words, for once I’m rather glad about this being clipped instead of having to sit through the full thing.

Curt Hennig vs. Evan Johnson

This is very early in Hennig’s career and we’re joined in progress again with Hennig taking him down with a headscissors. The announcer talks about Johnson being an Olympic wrestler and only missing the 1980 games due to the boycott. Johnson fights up into a wristlock and Hennig can’t slam his way to freedom. The arm work continues as we’re told that Scrap Iron Gadaski is the referee. That name might not mean much to you, but he was Ric Flair’s first ever opponent. Hennig comes back with an armdrag of his own and then grabs a leglock to change things up a bit.

Johnson reverses into something like a crucifix but can’t get the other shoulder down. The fans aren’t pleased so Hennig gets up as we’re told there are three minutes left. Things get a lot more physical in a hurry as they fight up against the ropes without actually hitting each other. Johnson snaps off a belly to belly for two and they trade rollups as we’re down to a minute to go. Hennig hits an ax handle for two and Johnson grabs a backslide for two (with a great shocked look from Hennig) of his own as the fifteen minute time limit expires at 10:12 shown.

Rating: C-. This was a lot better than the previous match as they were trying to get a fall until the end with both guys working rather hard. They didn’t flip the switch until later in the match and that’s acceptable as the stuff after they started trying was a lot better. Hennig wasn’t quite his great self yet but you can see the potential there.

Jerry Blackwell/Sheik Adnan Al-Kassie vs. High Flyers

The High Flyers’ (Jim Brunzell/Greg Gagne) Tag Team Titles aren’t on the line. Joined in progress again with Greg taking the huge Blackwell down by the arm. Brunzell comes in without a tag to knock Adnan off the apron and gets in a shot at Blackwell as a bonus. Now he comes in off a tag and cranks on the arm before it’s off to Adnan. That means more arm cranking, including Brunzell coming off the middle rope with a knee. The fans are all over Blackwell as Brunzell stays on the arm.

To mix things up a bit, Gagne comes back in to work on the arm some more. Blackwell finally gets the tag for a headbutt, only to miss a splash. Some corner splashes work a bit better so Brunzell goes after the Sheik, allowing Blackwell to throw Gagne over the top. Blackwell is dumb enough to keep going after Brunzell to break up the count and Gagne gets back inside. Sheik comes in without a tag so Brunzell does the same, allowing Gagne to be pulled back into the corner.

We get the always classic tag that the referee misses and the fans are right back into things off the near explosion. The bearhug goes on instead with Gagne not exactly looking like he’s in pain, but rather being confused that he’s here. He finally slips out and crawls over for the tag to Brunzell for the house cleaning dropkicks. It’s already back to Gagne for a top rope knee to Sheik’s knee. Brunzell (or The Brunzy apparently) comes back in for a Figure Four but Blackwell crushes him with a splash. With Gagne being thrown out, Sheik gets the pin on Brunzell at 12:18.

Rating: D+. The AWA isn’t my favorite promotion and this wasn’t the most thrilling thing in the world. It’s not clear why this was a non-title match as it was a pretty clean pin for Blackwell and the Sheik, but that might imply that something changes around here and we wouldn’t want that. The match was formula based stuff and that works well enough, though the very long arm work part didn’t get them very far.

And now for something very different, we go to Tampa, Florida for a Christmas message from Randy Savage to a bunch of students. New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner set this up and talks about how it’s giving something back to the community. After a quick statement from Steinbrenner about how important it is to take care of at risk children and how Christmas is the most important time of the year.

We go inside the auditorium where Savage is played to the stage by a live orchestra. Savage talks about how a lot of people care about the kids here and how it’s no secret that things can be better. His big message is to believe in yourself and you can accomplish any goal you want. Be all that you can be and your best friend is yourself because you’ll never give up on yourself.

You want to be a leader and not a follower who makes bad decisions. Say no to drugs and stay in school. An education is incredible and something you should take advantage of. There will be challenges in life and things can go badly, but keep getting up and never quit. The person who gets back up again is the person that Savage respects because they’re the kind of person who is going to battle and win at all costs.

It’s nice to be important but it’s important to be nice. Savage even takes off his glasses to wrap things up, saying Merry Christmas and saying he’ll shake hands with everyone here. Savage packed in every cliché you could ask for here but for the sake of something like this, it’s perfectly fine. It also helps when you have Savage’s charisma and can make anything sound good.

Overall Rating: D. This is quite the mixture and it’s really not very good. To be fair though these were designed to be a bunch of one off watches rather than marathoning them like I’ve been doing, which isn’t helping things. The wrestling wasn’t all that great, though a lot of that is more due to the time frame not being one of my favorites. Savage’s message was rather nice and it’s always cool to see wrestlers doing something for a charity. We’ve got a long way to go though and that’s….going to be interesting, at least I hope.

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WCCW Television
Date: December 28, 1982
Location: Reunion Arena, Dallas, Texas
Attendance: 18,000
Commentator: Bill Mercer

We open with a recap of the first Kerry vs. Ric match in Reunion Arena in 2/3 falls. They split the first two falls but Kerry got disqualified in the third fall. However, since there was so much controversy with three different referees involved, it was decided that something had to be done in the rematch.

Ric, with a deeper voice than usual, says the Von Erichs are in a do or die situation. Always remember: Diamonds are forever, and so is Ric Flair.

NWA World Title: Ric Flair vs. Kerry Von Erich

Von Erich reverses a suplex into the sleeper (sleep hold here) but Ric counters with a belly to back. Kerry will have none of this being in trouble thing and hammers away before trying an early Claw. Ric goes after the hand to get a breather and Hayes yells at him for no apparent reason. Back up and Ric sends him into the corner before getting in another argument with Hayes. Michael is really just being a jerk here with no justification.

Ric tries to climb out and almost loses his trunks. Hayes goes after the regular referee for breaking it up and tells the guys to go at it. The Claw goes on and Flair is in big trouble but gets his foot on the rope with Hayes actually calling for a break. Again, these people have a weird definition of NO DISQUALIFICATION.

The Von Erichs run out and swear vengeance on the Freebirds to a BIG reaction. Oh yeah you knew it was going to be big. They help Kerry out of the ring and nearly bang their heads on the bar at the top of the head.

A lot of replays take us out.

Overall Rating: A-. This was about one thing and they accomplished that goal. I find it even more interesting that people seem to forget how the match ended as most people remember the cage door slamming and the match ending as a result. That goes to show you how important the angle is compared to the match as you really could swap almost anyone in for Flair and have the same match. I could have gone for a quicker ending as the last few minutes kind of drag things down but this was everything it needed to be and gave the fans and company the biggest Christmas gift imaginable.

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David Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions
Date: May 6, 1984
Location: Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas
Attendance: 32,123
Commentator: Marc Lawrence

So back in 1984, David Von Erich was allegedly the next in line to become NWA World Champion. Then he died. He had gone on a tour of Japan and complained of a stomach ache and he never woke up that night. According to the official results it was a heart attack but a lot of wrestlers say it was a drug overdose and Bruiser Brody allegedly flushed the drugs down a toilet. Anyway, this is a big memorial show for him and his brother Kerry has a world title shot against Flair. Gee, I wonder what’s going to happen. Let’s get to it.

I think this is a hacked up home video version, so things are going to be all over the place and probably clipped a lot.

Also I’ve gotten two different attendance totals and this is the smaller one, but the look of the show would imply it’s more correct than the one I saw that said over 50,000.

Chick Donovan vs. Butch Reed

Reed is a total monster here. Donovan is a surfer character and is built as well. They exchange shoves and Donovan takes him down. It’s so strange to think that this is almost a year before Wrestlemania as things look like they could be from the late 90s. I think we’re clipped a bit as Donovan grabs the leg but I’m not sure. They fight over a top wristlock and Reed takes over. Donovan gets thrown to the floor and the camera jumps around a lot. I think it’s more odd camera work than clipping. Donovan looks to Hulk Up on the floor and comes back in but gets his head kicked off. A gorilla press drop and a shoulder block end this.

Rating: D+. Not much here but I’m really impressed by the production values here. Maybe it’s that I’m so used to everything from the 80s being dark until the very end, but this is a really bright and good looking show. Reed would go on to the NWA and then the WWF later in the 80s and then become half of Doom. Donovan became an announcer I think.

Great Kabuki vs. Kamala

Kabuki is a guy that was far more famous in territories and Japan than in America. His biggest contribution: he introduced Asian Mist to pro wrestling. Kamala I’m sure you’re all familiar with. This is Gart Hart vs. Skandor Akbar in the managing aspect, who are both guys you should know as they’re awesome. Hart (not related to Stu) towers over Kabuki. Kabuki does a nunchuck demonstration before the match.

They stall forever before the match and Kabuki spits Mist. Now they stall even more. We’re at about a minute so far with no contact. Kamala finally gets things going by chopping away. Kabuki kicks a lot as is his custom. The fans have no idea who to cheer for it seems. A test of strength doesn’t happen as Kamala grabs a bearhug instead.

Now it’s a choke which Kamala shifts to a pectoral hold. In other words, he’s grabbing the chest. The managers are about to fight again. Kabuki fights up…and then Kamala pulls him right back down again. A superkick puts Kamala down and Kabuki chokes some too. END THIS ALREADY!!! They chop each other a lot and Kabuki kicks him down as the managers start fighting. They both come in and it’s a double DQ.

Rating: F. I need a drink after sitting through that match. This was HORRIBLE and the ending sucked really hard. Neither guy moved faster than a turtle with a broken leg’s pace and the ending made it even worse. Just a horrible match and I have no idea who thought this was going to be a good idea.

Junkyard Dog vs. Missing Link

Dog was a HUGE star at this point. Missing Link is a crazy man. Link charges straight at him so Dog punches him a lot. A chair is brought in so Dog whacks him over the head with it and that’s all well and good I guess. Akbar is Link’s manager too. Link tries ramming Dog’s head into the buckle and that just fails. Now Link rams his own head into the buckle. They both get on all fours and ram heads which goes to Dog as well. Akbar tries to cheat and it allows Link to hit a middle rope headbutt for the pin? Akbar had the foot for the pin but another referee comes out and says what happened so Dog wins by DQ.

Rating: D-. It’s only really not a failure because Link had a cool look and I liked the insane character he had. The Dog was WAY over and it worked very well to have him here. Not a good match at all though as their styles completely clashed and the ending was even worse with neither guy looking good at all. It was pretty much a squash until the end.

American Tag Titles: Super Destroyers vs. Rock N Roll Soul

The Destroyers are guys in masks and are the champions. Rock N Roll Soul are King Parsons and Buck Zumhofe. This is the top tag title in the company. Akbar manages the champions here AGAIN. The fans are way behind the champions here. Buck and we’ll say #1 start with a crisscross. Off to Parsons and #2 and Parsons works on the arm. A dropkick puts the Destroyer down and Parsons does the JYD all fours headbutt.

Off to the other Destroyer who can’t hurt Parson’s head, just like JYD. Couldn’t they at least have another match in between there so it’s not so obvious? Off to Buck who climbs the ropes with a headlock takeover. Sunset flip gets two. We hit the five minute mark as Buck still has that headlock on. The heels make a blind tag and the other comes in with a dropkick for two.

A kneedrop gets two for I think #1. Those are their names: Super Destroyer #1 and Super Destroyer #2. They would eventually be revealed to be Bill and Scott Irwin. Parsons gets the tag and everything breaks down. Soul gets stereo sunset flips for two. Parsons gets double teamed but he hits his flying hip attack (Goldust used to use it) for the pin and the titles.

Rating: D+. This is before 1986 so the tag team formula wasn’t established yet at all. This was pretty much just so they could say something major happened here…which is pretty pointless given the main event but whatever. This was more of a regional thing than a match for the masses if that makes sense.

Six Man Tag Titles: Freebirds vs. Von Erichs

Kevin, Mike and Fritz here. The Birds are the champions and the titles are represented by a big trophy instead of belts. Mike is one of the saddest stories you’ll ever hear: He wasn’t a good wrestler in the first place and then he was injured. The injury resulted in toxic shock syndrome, which resulted in brain damage. His dad, Fritz, made him get back in the ring anyway. He committed suicide later in the 80s.

This is anything goes. Fritz is in a dress shirt and jeans. Everything breaks down quickly and chairs are thrown in. The referee says anything goes but you have to tag. Ok then. Kevin is bleeding from the big brawl. Ok so it’s officially Buddy Roberts vs. Kevin to start. Kevin beats him down and it’s a brawl in less than 10 seconds with everyone coming in. Off to Mike who goes straight for the leg.

Mike is a very small man. Hayes comes in and stomps away as the fans HATE him. A middle rope splash misses and here’s old man Fritz. Everything breaks down again and Fritz whips Hayes’ back with a belt. Kevin vs. the monster known as Terry Gordy. Gordy starts his boxing and the fans are erupting more and more every second now. If the Von Erichs win, Kerry gets Fritz’s title since Fritz is retired. I’m glad they cleared that up.

Kevin tries the Iron Claw but Gordy fights it off at the five minute mark. Hayes comes in and the fans are louder in this match than they’ve been in the whole show so far. Hayes takes off his boot to get in some shots and it’s off to Roberts. In one of the oddest moves you’ll ever seen, Roberts thrusts his hips forward so his belt buckle hits Kevin in the head. Fritz comes in and everything breaks down. Claw to Hayes and to Roberts at the same time. Hayes is busted bad. Various people are rammed into each other until Kevin comes off the top with a cross body to pin Roberts for the title.

Rating: C. This was the first decent match of the entire show. Granted a lot of that was probably due to the crowd finally being interested. This was without a doubt the feud that defines the promotion so you knew they were going to have something going on here. Not a bad match, but the rematch in July won Match of the Year from Meltzer, so check that out instead since it had Kerry so Fritz didn’t look so out of place.

Killer Khan comes in post match for the big beatdown. Kerry runs out for the save.

NWA World Title: Ric Flair vs. Kerry Von Erich

You can tell this is a long time ago as Flair is from Minneapolis still. Kerry comes out to some country song that started after the beginning of Tom Sawyer played. His robe says In Memory of David and has a yellow rose, which was David’s nickname. If Flair gets disqualified, Kerry is champion. Kerry overpowers him to start and they hit the mat at a standoff.

They go back to the mat and no one can get control again. Kerry takes over and hits a dropkick to put Flair into the corner. They fight over a top wristlock and Kerry takes over again. This is a long feeling out process to start. Kerry gets a press slam and Flair begs off, heading to the floor. Flair gets in some shots but Kerry is like not in Texas dude. Sunset flip gets two.

Kerry hooks a sleeper but Flair suplexes out of it to take over. The champ uses his regular stuff to control, including the knee drop. Kerry snaps off a dropkick which Flair doesn’t even go down from. Flair gets caught in an abdominal stretch but escapes quickly. Shoulder puts Kerry down but he grabs the Iron Claw. After escaping, Flair goes up top but is slammed down. Kerry escapes a pair of Figure Fours and grabs a backslide for the pin and the title.

Rating: D+. That’s it? I mean really, that’s it? This wasn’t even 12 minutes long. It came off more like a modern TV main event than anything else. Flair never had Kerry in anything resembling trouble, although Kerry never dominated either. To be fair though, you couldn’t have made this more obvious if you had painted a big sign saying “come see Kerry win the title”. His match with David had been built up already so this was thrown together at the last minute. The lack of hatred hurt it, but there’s only so much they could do here.

The locker room empties for the celebration. Flair says he’ll be back and Kerry says bring it. He would lose the title back to Flair in less than three weeks in Japan, and that’s ok I think as Kerry was never meant to be champion in the first place. Flair would hold it over two years after that.

Oddly enough, that’s not the last match.

Precious/Jimmy Garvin vs. Sunshine/Chris Adams

Basic feud here with Precious having Sunshine as an assistant until she treated her horribly once too often Sunshine snapped. This is the payoff for it. The guys start us off and Adams slams him down. Garvin can’t do much with him due to a lack of talent. After a brief chinlock we get a double clothesline to put both guys down. Superkick puts Garvin down and the girls come in.

They aren’t wrestlers so this is horrendous. Back to the guys and Adams takes over on a tired Garvin. Garvin hits what we would call Snake Eyes to take over. Adams is busted open but he manages to reverse a piledriver. The girls come in again and everything breaks down. Adams comes back in with a sunset flip for the pin as the girls fight to the floor.

Rating: F. Terrible all around, but to be fair the girls weren’t wrestlers. That being said, Garvin is but he couldn’t do anything of note. Adams wasn’t very famous as a wrestler but he brought the superkick into modern wrestling and trained Steve Austin, so he had to be worth something right?

Garvin and Precious run away to end the show.

Overall Rating: D. This was one of the worst shows I can remember in a long time. You had terrible matches other than about two and the rest was just missing. I get that it’s a different era, but would a clean fall have killed you in the first 30 minutes? Also the time is weird as only one match out of seven broke 10 minutes. The whole show is only a little over 70 minutes (granted that’s not counting entrances) so it came off as totally rushed. Not worth seeing, not even for the title change.

 

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