World Class Championship Wrestling 18/12/1982

Killer Tim Brooks vs Brian Adidas

Good little match here, always fun to see Brooks fighting dirty against an opponent. Loved Brooks variation of a hiptoss here, as he chucks Adidas across the ring by his head. There’s a fun look of apprehension on the face of Adidas on a rope break, but Brooks breaks cleanly…before moments later raking the eyes with his finger then along the top rope. Adidas doesn’t offer much, but he makes Brooks’ offence look good. The end sees Adidas charge into a corner, but Brooks takes him down with a double-leg and pin him holding the ropes, a decision later reversed by a second referee.

Checkmate & Magic Dragon vs Al Madril & Bugsy McGraw

This was a reasonable match with an eyerolling ending. The majority of the match sees Checkmate and Dragon in control of Madril, with Checkmate keeping Madril’s arm under his control, pulling him back to the mat by the hair if it looks like Madril is recovering. Love the kicks and chops Dragon throws in the corner, looked really nasty. The heels really cut the ring in half, Madril nowhere near tagging out, until Checkmate grabs the arm again and Madril is able to whip him into a corner at speed. This lets him tag in McGraw and, as limited as he is as a wrestler, McGraw does at least have the energy you need for a good hot tag. Then the ending. McGraw and Dragon, the two legal men, are in the ring, and McGraw gets a really shitty looking sunset flip. The ref doesn’t start counting. Then Madril hits a top rope sunset flip on Checkmate as he enters, at which point the ref does double count, counting both heels down. Just nonsensical, he could have counted three on Dragon before Madril had even left the top rope.

David von Erich vs The Great Kabuki

This is for Kabuki’s All-Asian title. Loved David’s aggression at the bell, wanting revenge for the injury Kabuki caused to Kerry, and he gets an early 2 count right away. The bulk of this match is worked as a battle of the Kabuki nerve hold vs the Von Erich Claw, with both men fighting to apply their move. Loved David’s smarts, as he tries for a while to claw Kabuki on the head then, realising this left the rest of Kabuki vulnerable, suddenly switching and locking in a stomach claw instead. Kabuki does get to lock in a nerve hold on the shoulders of Von Erich, who manages to break free and get another Claw to the head. Loved David’s running knee to the head, looked like a knockout blow. We get a ref bump, and Kabuki’s manager Armand Hussein holds David for a misting. With hilarious inevitability, David ducks and Hussein gets the mist. Beautifully timed too, as the replay shows. This leads to a DQ win for David, which also seemingly gives him the title. Odd. Match was surprisingly fun for two men trying to apply the same moves over and over.

World Class Championship Wrestling 11/12/1982

The Spoiler vs Jose Lothario

Short match, but pretty hard hitting throughout. Neither guy has a problem laying in some tough looking blows, with Lothario in particular hitting some nice body shots. Both guys do a little bit of limb work, with Spoiler working the left arm of Lothario, ramming a hammerlock into the corner. For his part, Lothario stretches out the knee, as well as dropping some big elbows onto it. A double countout for fighting on the apron provides an underwhelming end to a decent bout.

The Great Kabuki, Checkmate & Magic Dragon vs Brian Adidas, Bugsy McGraw & Al Madril

All action six-man tag, worked quickly enough that the flaws of the weaker participants were covered up. The face team control Magic Dragon early on, with Adidas looking particularly good, but he soon becomes face in peril. Loved how vicious Checkmate was on tagging in, with nasty driven knees to the thighs of Adidas, and even stomping on his hands as he rested on the mat. Just not giving him time to get comfortable. Madril essentially cheats by coming in as the heels control Adidas, though the brief melee doesn’t lead to a face comeback. I liked Checkmate holding Adidas by the legs for a pin attempt and, when Adidas lifts a shoulder, Checkmate uses that momentum to turn him over for a deathlock. There’s a nice hot tag to Madril, who looks really fired up, but a flying knee to the face of Adidas by Kabuki is enough for the heel win.

Kevin von Erich vs King Kong Bundy

Bundy looks a lot leaner here than the “walking condominium” he’d be in later years, though he still substantially outweighs von Erich. Kevin looks convincing on offence against the bigger man, mainly due to the convincing aggression he puts behind his blows, and he crashes into a Bundy knee with the same full force to give Bundy the control. Love how high Bundy lifts von Erich in the air to apply a bearhug, looked really good. Kevin is really good at fighting from underneath, always trying to sneak in a punch or two, always fighting, before a Bundy blow puts him down again. The end sees Kevin avoid an avalanche, but the ref gets bumped allowing Bundy to through von Erich over the top without being disqualified, and a suplex gives him the win. Good match.

World Class Championship Wrestling 04/12/1982

The Spoiler vs Roberto Renesto

Curious beast this, as it’s essentially a squash, but one that manages to outstay it’s welcome. The Spoiler seems to be working an “iron midsection” gimmick based on the commentary and his no-sell of any offence to his stomach. Spoiler has a nice leaping necksnap over the top rope and I liked his clubbing blows to the head with Renesto leant against the turnbuckles, but then Spoiler keeps picking him up on pinfalls. This would be fine if it didn’t lead to Renesto making a pointless comeback. Renesto misses a top rope knee and Spoiler hits a top rope elbow to the head to win. Ended up being needlessly overlong.

Hillbilly Pete vs Little Cocoa

Midget match, and not a particularly interesting one. They play this for laughs, including Cocoa kicking the ref in the backside and playing dead to get Hillbilly in trouble. Cocoa wins with a 2^nd rope crossbody to end the pain.

Al Madril vs The Great Kabuki

Nice visual to start, as Kabuki mists his fists to kick off the bout. I like the little touches to make a man in not especially good condition look like a killer. Madril looks good early, peppering Kabuki with punches and even grabbing him by the face to nail a big shot. Kabuki holds a nerve hold for a long time, but hits a nice enzuigiri after Madril catches his foot. Madril hits a crossbody to the floor, looked great because he just chucked himself at Kabuki. Back in, Madril misses a kneedrop and Kabuki pounces to hit the legbreaker. Madril rolls out and can’t recover in time to prevent Kabuki getting the countout win. This was decent stuff.

Kerry von Erich & Brian Adidas vs Checkmate & Magic Dragon

Fun tag bout to main event the show. Liked the opening matwork between Kerry and Checkmate, nicely worked stuff. Adidas becomes the face-in-peril, and I enjoyed the heels working him over, including a nice thrust kick in the corner by Magic Dragon. Checkmate is really good throughout, his movement is excellent. Kerry looks good as the hot tag, though an attempt to slingshot Dragon into Adidas doesn’t look great. Checkmate hits some nice knees to the chest and face before it all breaks down into a melee. Adidas gets two from a powerslam, but a double suplex and a Checkmate kneedrop on Adidas gets the win. Good tag match.

WCCW 13/11/1982

The Fabulous Freebirds vs Frank Dusek & Killer Tim Brooks

Pretty decent match, liked how well these two teams matched up. There’s some little touches that indicate a bit of hate, like Brooks biting Hayes’ hand early on, which goes with the vicious brawling that occurs every time the two are in the ring together. The Freebirds are the more fluid team, loved some of their early quick tags and teamwork. Gordy is briefly isolated, but makes the tag after a big back suplex on Dusek, and the Freebirds win as Gordy holds Dusek in a fireman’s carry, leaving him prone to a Hayes elbow to the head.

The Great Kabuki vs The Samoan & Sal Olivares

Very similar to the Kabuki squash on the last episode, as he blitzes both opponents with thrust kicks. Like before, the Samoan is left alone when his partner falls to the Kabuki legbreaker, and he gets a brief run  before he falls through the ropes and takes the legbreaker for the submission.

Kerry von Erich vs The Destroyer II

Nice little Kerry showcase. They work a brief mat stint, before Kerry ups the pace. Pair of nice kneedrops give von Erich control and he finishes with the discus punch.

Bugsy McGraw vs Checkmate

There were bits of this I liked but the ending was very frustrating. McGraw strikes me as someone I wont like as much when he’s not facing Checkmate, but he works well in this type of match, as he sells the frustration of not being able to deal with the mat smarts of his opponent. Checkmate will roll into a ball, annoying McGraw and luring him in so that he can grab an arm or a leg. Checkmate can also look vicious, hitting some nice headbutts, and McGraw does get to drop a nice elbow when he finally unravels the knot of Checkmate. Unfortunately, the ending makes Checkmate look foolish, as he lures McGraw to the apron, but seemingly has no plan as he gets put in a bearhug for the double count out. Weak end, but I enjoyed the meat of this.

World Class Championship Wrestling 11/11/1982

Bugsy McGraw & Al Madril vs Checkmate & Bill Irwin

The early stages of this, with McGraw working a pointless and not-very-good mat section with Irwin, weren’t great, though I did like McGraw actually tripping up his opponent on a drop down. Madril becomes face-in-peril, and Checkmate works the arm. Lovely little bit where Checkmate uses his wristlock on Madril to kick the ribs, knowing Madril can’t block it. Heels control Madril nicely, quickly tagging in and out when Al gets any kind of hope spot. They throw Madril to the floor, but this is a mistake as it gives him plenty of time to recover. After a brief flurry by a hot-tagged McGraw, Madril locked in a figure-four on Irwin, but Checkmate stomps on his throat to earn the pin. This is quickly overturned by another ref, and we get a brawl to finish. Fun stuff.

Destroyer II vs David von Erich

Very short match, with David controlling on the mat after some fun misdirection on a drop down. Von Erich hits a big leaping knee to the face, drops a series of knees and hits a proto-Vader Bomb to win.

The Great Kabuki & Magic Dragon vs the Fabulous Freebirds

Decent tag action, with the Freebirds controlling early with lots of quick tags. Dragon is portrayed the weak member of his team, as Gordy has far more difficulty with Kabuki than he does with Dragon, before Hayes blitzes Dragon with strikes. The Freebirds tag continuity allows them to string together 3-4 moves on each tag to give them control. The heels do get some brief heat on Gordy, but Dragon backflips out of the corner into a Gordy dropkick and a big elbow gives the Freebirds the win.

Kerry von Erich vs Killer Tim Brooks

Really quick sprint, but this was the match of the show. Brooks attacks before the match, and Kerry has to put on a headscissors to keep Brooks subdued long enough to enable him to take off his robe. Brooks locks on a big choke after ducking the discus punch, really liked the commentary highlighting that the punch forces you to briefly turn your back on your opponent, which helped explain it. Kerry gets knees on a slingshot splash, but Brooks instantly hits knees on a splash of his own, and a sunset flip wins it for Kerry.

World Class Championship Wrestling 01/11/1982

The Great Kabuki vs The Samoan & Raul Castro

This is a handicap elimination match. The Samoan at least takes the fight to Kabuki, whilst Castro is basically useless, hesitant to attack from any angle. Kabuki looks good here, nice precise strikes and I loved the backwards roll into a body scissors. Kabuki forces a submission from Castro with two leg scissor knee drops. The Samoan actually fares better without his useless partner, but misses a top rope headbutt and Kabuki drops two more knee drops for the submission.

The Fabulous Freebirds vs Gran Markus II & the Destroyer

Before we’re anywhere the match starting, we get an awesome brawl as Bill Irwin and King Kong Bundy attack the Freebirds. The whole locker rooms seems to empty and the ring is filled with guys brawling. Eventually, order is restored and the match can start. It’s pretty one sided, as the Freebirds control their masked opponents. Hayes is face-in-peril for approximately 30 seconds before he hits a back suplex on the Destroyer and tags out to Gordy. Spike piledriver on Gran Markus gets the win. Fun squash, but the brawl beforehand was excellent.

Al Madril & Bugsy McGraw vs Checkmate & Magic Dragon

The opening sections, with McGraw facing Checkmate, is pretty entertaining. Checkmate constantly goes to the mat, curled in a ball, which seems to baffle McGraw who paws at his like a confused wild animal. Checkmate’s constant reverting to the ball state seems to be frustrating both McGraw and the crowd. There’s a fun spot where McGraw dives into the corner to save Madril on an Irish whip attempt, but when Magic Dragon tries to do the same, Madril changes direction and whips Checkmate into the opposite corner. The heels work over Madril to make him face-in-peril, and though he tags out to McGraw, he ends up getting tagged in pretty quickly. It looks at first like it was too quick, as Dragon beats him down, but Madril nails a crossbody to pick up the win. This was a really fun match, the two teams played off each other nicely.

Kevin von Erich vs Wild Bill Irwin

Feels a bit one-sided, considering how well Irwin was presented earlier, but I enjoyed this. Von Erich is all motion, constantly on guard. Loved his quick little leg sweep when he catches Irwin off guard. Kevin’s running forearms into the corner look terrific, really goes in full pelt. Irwin counters a headscissors attempt by dropping Von Erich neck-first on the top rope. Irwin sells his ribs as hurting even when in control, which gives Kevin openings for hope spots, and the hesitation allows Kevin to lock in an abdominal stretch. Irwin takes out the ref whilst in the hold to give KVE the win by DQ, but despite a cheap ending, this was a fun little sprint.

World Class Championship Wrestling 15/10/1982

David von Erich vs Frank Dusek

Decent enough short match. Dusek seems to be a guy with good and bad to him: the kneeling headbutts he hit looked good, but his attempt at a clothesline swung miles over David’s head. Nothing of real note happened here before the weak ending, where Dusek shoves the ref, receives a slap for his efforts and gets rolled up for the von Erich win.

Jose Lothario & Al Madril vs Checkmate & Magic Dragon

This was really good. The highlights were the Lothario/Checkmate battles, but all four guys contributed to the match. Lothario and Checkmate match up really well on the mat, and Checkmate looks really impressive landing on his feet from a backbody drop. Love the way he lures his opponents into a false sense of security by curling into a ball and then grabbing a body part. The “Japanese” Magic Dragon looked very caucasian, but him hitting a snap superkick and trying a flipping second rope senton was nuts for 1982. As the time limit looms, you start to realise what the result will be, but there’s still time for a nutty Checkmate bump, diving through the ropes to the floor, before the inevitable draw. This was all good.

Gran Markus II vs The Samoan

“The Samoan” is the future Samu. These guys don’t mesh well, with an attempt at a slam by Markus looking ugly before they go to a long headlock section. Markus hits a big clothesline, a slam and a senton to win a poor match.

Michael Hayes vs Roberto Renesto

Fun squash, with Hayes hitting a great leaping second rope punch. Hayes shows so much character and fire here, with the crowd reacting appropriately. He hits a bulldog and a piledriver for the easy win. Afterwards, the lumpy Renesto tries to ineffectually jump Hayes from behind, but he’s soon sent packing.