World Class Championship Wrestling 27/12/1982

Michael Hayes, Terry Gordy & David von Erich vs Mike Sharpe, Ben Sharpe & Tom Steele

David is out here to replace Buddy Roberts, who can’t get to the arena due to inclement weather, and this is for the six man tag belts. Fun stuff to start, Gordy in particular looks like a beast ploughing through the opponents, with a huge powerslam and suplex on Ben Sharpe. Iron Mike does a load of fun stooging about, cowering off, begging Hayes for a handshake then attacking the moment his back is turned. A lot of the match is based on the heel getting heat on Michael Hayes, and Hayes sells his beatdown really well. There’s a lovely bearhug locked in on Hayes by Iron Mike, Sharpe grabs him really low down which means that Hayes is held up really high in the air. Looks really impressive and as Hayes weakens, he flops as dead weight, not a bit of him touching the ground. He escapes, but this is followed by a sleeper by Steele, and Hayes looks to be done. He tags out to Gordy, who almost immediately flies into a ringpost on a corner charge. We get a melee, and in all that David hits a big knee on Mike for the win. Really good stuff.

$10,000 Battle Royal

The rules of this match state that this is a battle royal with pin, submission and over-the-top rules, until we get to the final three entrants, at which point they become eligible to climb a pole and retrieve a check for $10,000 to win. Some fun bits to this match, David von Erich is the first man eliminated, which is a bit of a shocker. Loved four men dog-piling Bundy to try and pin him, Bundy kicking out, but getting dropkicked out by Bugsy McGraw as he celebrates. McGraw’s elimination sees him get whipped to the ropes and basically throw himself out, looked pretty odd. We get down to an unlikely final three of Ken Mantell, Mike Sharpe and Brian Adidas, and they all rush for the pole, frantically scrapping. Sharpe throws Adidas to the floor, eliminating him, but this allows Mantell to climb the pole without hindrance and claim the money. Always enjoy a battle royal, this was fun.

WCCW Star Wars 1981

As a sucker for WCCW, and more specifically the von Erichs, this show appearing as a Hidden Gem on the WWE Network was a real treat. 

Mil Mascaras vs Killer Tim Brooks

This kicks off with a bang, Mascaras hitting a flying chop to send Brooks to the floor. They work a nice battle over a test of strength, with Brooks heeling it up, sending Mil to the mat by pulling the mask and working a top wristlock. Brooks has little moments where he acts like a face, shaking hands when both men get back to their feet, but then digging in with cheap shots and little short punches to the head. Mil gets a neat headscissors from a test of strength that looks great. Brooks takes a big bump, flying over the top into the ring post on a corner charge, before Mascaras gets the win with a top rope crossbody. Good stuff

Fritz von Erich vs the Great Kabuki

I’m a sucker for Fritz matches, probably the biggest gap between “shitty human being” and “wrestler I really like watching”. There’s a nice contrast between the two, as they both play it cautiously to start. Kabuki is all weird gestures and oddness, whereas Fritz is just a fighter, plain and simple. Both give the vibe that one good shot will give them control, and that makes their caution more effective. Fritz misses a big punch, and Kabuki takes advantage with kicks and stomps. Kabuki bites Fritz on the mat, but this lets Fritz take his own opening and apply a stomach claw. There’s also a lovely spot where Kabuki applies a nerve claw with both hands under Fritz’s left arm, but this leaves the right hand free to apply a claw with nothing to defend against it. They really make this work with very little offence, with everything feeling important. Gary Hart gets involved from ringside, grabbing von Erich’s leg (and drawing a fan from ringside to attack Hart) and this in turn draws out David von Erich to attack Kabuki. A dropkick and a backdrop, and Fritz gets the win. Fritz needing his son to win the match for him feels a bit off, and Kabuki losing to a backdrop doesn’t help, but this was nicely worked.

Kerry von Erich vs Harley Race

This is for Race’s NWA title, and Race really puts Kerry over here. It’s mentioned that Kerry beat Race in a non-title match with a sleeper, and it makes it a big deal when he reverses an early vertical suplex into a sleeper. Race looks to be out before Race takes advantage of the ref positioning to hit a low blow and break the hold. Race really sells the effects of the move, looking dazed and hitting a diving headbutt in part because it only involves falling. KvE is all fire and energy, and Race is only able to get his control spots due to his savvy. He breaks pinfalls by knowing he’s near the ropes and getting his foot in place, and he avoids Kerry’s elbow drops to give himself more time. However, Kerry is so energised that he’s able to rebound, thwarting Race from being in control too long. We get the two fighting outside, with von Erich locking on the claw. A ref bump gives Kerry a visual pin to keep him looking strong, before they head back outside. Race slams Kerry on a table, but misses a diving headbutt from the apron (a bump that has to suck, but it’s the opposite side to the hard camera, so it’s missed by the TV audience) and we get a double countout, Race grabbing Kerry’s leg to stop him getting back in.

David & Kerry von Erich vs Hercules Ayala & Ali Mustafa

This is for the heels’ NWA tag titles. This was really great, the von Erich boys looked terrific and the heels played their roles excellently. Mustafa in particular is a sneaky dickbag, breaking pinfalls, getting cheapshots and stomping Kevin behind the ref’s back. Kevin is explosive, hitting a sudden slam and a big elbow right from the bell. Nice von Erich double team, with David elevating Kevin into a splash on Ayala. Even as face-in-peril, Kevin is all motion, trying to scurry to his corner and forcing Mustafa to stay on his toes to block the tag. The faces do get a lot of tags in this match, but find it hard to maintain control as the heels keep cutting them off. We get a few melees, with all four men brawling. Nice spot with Mustafa hitting a slingshot into a big Ayala forearm, and it gets paid off with the finish, as he sets up a slingshot on David, who battles and hold him bent in place to allow a top rope sunset flip from Kevin for the victory. Great match, huge post match celebrations make this feel like a big deal.

Battle Royal

Big names here include Bruiser Brody, Jose Lothario, Ayala, Mustafa, Tim Brooks and a bunch of filler. I’m a sucker for a battle royal, but they’re a pain to recap. Mustafa and Ayala don’t spend as much time teaming up as you’d expect them to do. With pinfalls and submissions allowed, we get a few dogpile pinfalls, which is always a neat spot. We get down to Mustafa and Brooks against Brody, which makes the winner pretty obvious. Ali holds Brody in place, but he ducks and Brooks sends both himself and Mustafa to the floor to give Brody the win. Sub ten minute match, pointless but painless.

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 27/11/1982

Kerry von Erich vs Frank Dusek

Fun short bout, with both guys working the other’s leg. Kerry is just coming back from a knee injury, so it makes sense from Dusek, and it feels like Kerry is just doing it to inflict his agony on other people. Loved his high leap on elbow drops to the leg. Discus punch gets the win.

Bugsy McGraw vs Bill Irwin

When he’s not coupled with Checkmate, McGraw is a far less interesting wrestler to watch. They do some initial comedy before things kind of heat up. Neither is a particularly interesting offensive wrestler, with Irwin having surprisingly light kicks. They end up fighting on the apron and the match ends with a double countout. Not much fun.

Al Madril vs Killer Tim Brooks

This was pretty fun. Madril seems pretty vanilla, if competent, but facing someone like Brooks gives him a bit more to work with. Loved Brooks’ little tricks, at one point he escapes a headscissors by getting to the ropes, but he then keeps hold of Madril’s ankle to give him an opening to attack from the defensive. Nice kneebreaker, before Brooks sends Madril to the floor and wont let him back in. This seems to fire up Madril, as he angrily gets involved in a punch exchange that he ends up winning. The time limit goes for a draw, a disappointing ending to a decent match.

David von Erich vs the Great Kabuki

This is a revenge match, as Kabuki had taken Kerry out of action with his kneebreaker, so David is nicely fired up here. Loved the contrast of his elegant looking flying headscissors that he takes down into a furious punch exchange. Von Erich gets a stomach claw, but gets caught with a nice thrust kick. Loved the part where David feigned grogginess, then took advantage to lock on another stomach claw. There’s an incredible visual, with Kabuki’s pain wracked face, green mist pouring from his mouth, looking like acid was melting his insides. This is pretty good fun, so it’s a shame that Magic Dragon comes in to draw the DQ. This was neat while it lasted.

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 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.

Best of the Von Erichs Vol 1

Since starting this blog three-and-a-half years ago, there have been a few things in wrestling I've developed a big love for. Along with current BritWres and puro, I've discovered a love of the Von Erich family, which led to me buying this DVD for $3 from the ever-reliable IVP videos.

Fritz Von Erich vs Giant Baba
Ladies and gentlemen, it's 1966, it's 2/3 falls and it's in glorious black and white. Fritz attacks early, including a vicious punt to Baba's upper chest, and the bell hasn't even sounded. Fritz batters Baba, and goes for the claw early, but Baba moves and starts working over Fritz with some good looking blows of his own. A big chop gives Baba the first fall early, but Fritz grabs him in the claw from the mat as he tries to climb off. As this is between falls, Fritz feels no need to release the hold, leaving a barely standing Baba prone at the start of the next fall. Fritz goes for the claw right away, but Baba fights with all his might to keep it off. I love the way Fritz will interject with a boot to take Baba's focus off the claw before attempting to reapply it. Baba gets rammed into the ringpost, and is left bleeding and beaten on the floor as Fritz goes back on the attack. The result of this is that the crowd goes mad everytime Fritz misses a blow or Baba gets on offence. Baba comes back to life and starts stalking Fritz around the ring, but Von Erich cheap shots and regains control. Back inside, Fritz gets the claw in the centre of the ring to win the second fall.

We cut to the third fall to see Fritz throwing someone outside the ring, but Baba takes over on him and throws him over the top rope, causing Fritz to retreat into the crowd. God, I love this match so far. Fritz is awesome at cowering off when Baba is on offence. They brawl on the floor, and Baba gives a chair to the claw hand to neutralise that threat. Von Erich retruns the favour by leathering Baba in the head with the chair, at which point the referee gives the fall to Baba by DQ. That doesn't seem to make sense, seeing as how Baba used the chair first, but that appears to be the decision. Great match.

Fritz Von Erich vs Jumbo Tsuruta
Fast forward 9 years to 1975, and Fritz still hates Baba. We know this as he gets into a brawl with him at ringside, and spends most of the prematch yelling at him. Indeed, this actually works against him right away. You know that terrible spot you get almost weekly on Raw, where a wrestler will allow himself to be distracted by a rival, leading to him being rolled-up for the loss? We essentially get that end to the first fall, only better as rather than roll Fritz up, Jumbo just decides to beat him up for two minutes and pin him, which gives the fall to Jumbo's power rather than the element of surprise.

This, of course, riles up Fritz before the second fall, and he focuses his attack....on Baba at ringside again. Eventually, he decides to focus on his opponent. Fritz is wise enough to know he can get a great reaction by just threatening the claw, so goes for it early and often, eventually locking in a stomach claw before Jumbo makes the ropes. Fritz repeatedly wears Jumbo down with the claw in the ropes, which means that, when he gets it mid-ring, Jumbo is unable to escape it, and this evens up the falls.

Jumbo is now split open from this assault, so Fritz zones in on the cut like a shark. Jumbo is weakened with bloodloss, so starts getting escorted back to the locker-room, but he ain't going out like that, breaking free and going back into the ring. Of course, he's still no match for a fit Fritz, and he ends up getting battered again before a load of trainees and Baba himself come to his rescue. Not a great match, but great wrestling that really sets up the Fritz/Baba match nicely...

Fritz Von Erich vs Giant Baba
...and here is is from one week later. They've even brought in two refs, one Japanese and one American for this, which appears to be last man standing. Typically, Fritz assaults Baba before the bell. They trade blows outside the ring, before a bloodied Fritz claws Baba and pulls him into the ring. I love the image of Fritz, blood pouring down his face, clutching Baba by the face. A few solid chops by Baba eventually frees him. Baba stomps the claw hand and then rams it into the ringpost, and suddenly Fritz has to beg off from the assault of Baba. Fritz just about survives being counted to the mat, and applies a stomach claw to Baba. The count stops on 9 when Fritz is just about sat up, which really feels like it should be a loss to me. Fritz re-claws him, but Baba slips to ringside to escape it. Baba survives being rammed into a table, and a missed Fritz blow allows him to go back on the offensive, chopping away at Von Erich. Fritz gets chopped from the apron to the floor, and these ten counts are getting closer and closer. Fritz gets sent to the floor one last time and that's it, as he fails to beat the count. Being a gracious loser, he sneaks in one final stomach claw before leaving. Really fun match, they built up the tension mastefully with the falls.

Genichiro Tenryu & Jumbo Tsuruta vs David & Kevin Von Erich
We now switch to the younger Von Erich's. The siblings are much nicer than their dad, going for pre-match handshakes and HOLY FUCK Kevin is wearing boots. I'm thrown. The Von Erichs are a bit more firey than their opponents here, who seem more stoic on offense. David clubs Jumbo behind the refs back to establish a bit of heelishness. Kevin goes for the claw, which Tenryu manages to hold off, but this leaves him open for a stomach claw, which he breaks with some stiff chops. it breaks down into a brawl with all four fighting on the outside, but luckily a brawl is something all four are good at. I like the way that, after kicking out of a Tenryu pinfall, David takes advantage of an open torso to apply a claw on the already weakened stomach. The Von Erichs continue to go for the claw, punishing both Tsuruta and Tenryu with ones to the head and the stomach. Of the two Von Erichs, it is the smaller Kevin who is on the defensive more than David, and there are a few moments where David has to save him. This leads to the finish, where Kevin accidentally dropkicks David out of the ring, and Tsuruta takes advantage, dropkicking Kevin to pick up the win. Decent back-and-forth contest, and I liked the subtle "Kevin needs David to help him survive" storyline.

Fritz Von Erich vs Jumbo Tsuruta
This is another 2/3 falls match. Jumbo is 4 year more experienced than the last time these two met, though he still gets worked over in the opening stages here, with Fritz grounding him and trying for the claw. Jumbo does get a moment to shine, nailing a dropkick, but Fritz avoids a second a locks in the claw to the head for a quick pinfall. The second fall starts with Tsuruta still feeling the effects of the claw, so Fritz goes right for the kill again. Jumbo takes a huge bump as Fritz hurls him over the top rope by the head. One thing you notice is how good Fritz is at basing whole matches around one move, cranking up the tension for the application of the claw. He even applies it to one of Jumbo's seconds when forced by the ropes to release Tsuruta. The ensuing chaos leads to Fritz being DQ'd to gift the fall to Jumbo. However, Tsuruta is down and bleeding in the ring, giving Fritz control in the opening to the fall. He drags Jumbo off the ropes and into the centre to nail one final claw, but hits the mat instead. This break allows Jumbo to hit a dropkick and a big splash to win the third fall and the match. Really fun encounter, with Fritz being his own worst enemy to gift the win to Jumbo.

Kerry Von Erich vs Genichiro Tenryu
This is for the NWA Missouri title held by Kerry. Tenryu controls to start, grinding Kerry down on the mat. Tenryu shows his smarts by going to the ropes when Kerry gets his first bit of offence with a dropkick, then grounding him again with a headscissors. As Kerry is working face here, rather than heel like Fritz, he uses the claw as a "sudden hit" move, nailing Tenryu with it from a leapfrog for a big reaction and Tenryu scrabbling to the ropes. Tenryu really starts dominating, hitting a crossbody for two before levelling Kerry with an enzuigiri. He then starts to work over the wrist of KVE, ramming it into the ringpost twice, before repeatedly stamping it in the ring to remove the claw from Von Erich's arsenal. This doesn't stop Kerry locking it on several times though, which is a bit annoying psychology wise. He clamps it on Tenryu outside the ring, before diving back in to beat the count and win. This was gearing up to be great before Von Erich stopped selling the wrist injury, and we got a sudden shitty ending. Big disappointment.

The Triumph & Tragedy of World Class Championship Wrestling

This is the selection of matches that accompanies my favourite WWE-produced documentary. I'd never really seen an Texas wrestling before buying this last December (barring the Best of Kerry video I reviewed earlier this year, which I'd watched once back in 2001). However, I really found myself loving it, and especially the awesome brawling of the Von Erich boys.

Duke Keomuka vs Ricky Starr
This is from Texas Rasslin’ in the 60’s (at a guess), and is two out of three falls. It’s heavily matbased, and is certainly an acquired taste, but I sorta dug it. Really liked Starr’s escapes from Keomuka’s holds and it’s no surprise to learn he had a popular run in England. He seems like he’d have fitted in perfectly. Keomuka gets the first fall with a Japanese Sleeper, and the commentary, though dry, really does good work at explaining what is happening and why the ref is checking Starr’s arm. Starr gets the second fall after nailing Keomuka with five dropkicks. The third fall sees Starr finally target the bare feet of his opponent. But Keomuka goes back to the matwork, targeting Starr’s left arm. However, he misses a corner charge, allowing Starr to hit two flying mares for the win. Not for everyone, but a fun curiosity.

Fritz Von Erich vs King Kong Bundy
This is Fritz’s retirement match, but is still for Bundy’s American title. Bundy looks far less intimidating with hair, and Fritz is still a huge old fella, so this doesn’t look as one-sided as a champion-vs-retiring-vet match normally would look. The match is more of a fight than a wrestling match and, whilst you’d think that would favour Bundy, they tease the idea early that Fritz can get the claw on Bundy at any time he wants to. Fritz even locks a stomach claw on Bundy when escaping a pinfall. I also dug Fritz stamping on Bundy’s head from the apron after sending the big man outside. Bundy grabs a chair, but Fritz uses it and gets the win in his send-off bout. Good fun.

Ric Flair vs Kerry Von Erich
This is a steel cage match from Christmas Day for the NWA title. Michael Hayes is the special guest co-referee, with Terry Gordy guarding the door on the outside. Flair typically plays dirty early on, only for Hayes to physically interject himself. Kerry reverses a suplex into a sleeper in a nice little move, before beginning to brutalise Flair, ramming his head into the steel and causing him to bleed. Flair starts to focus on Von Erich’s right knee, which Bill Mercer tells us was injured in a previous match. Kerry fights back, but tries a knee drop like an idiot which misses. Flair locks in the figure four, which Kerry reverses then doesn’t sell. We then come to the beginning of the end, which is an awesome bit of in-match storytelling. Flair jumps off the top straight into a Von Erich Claw, but his foot grazes the bottom rope. Hayes calls for a rope break, but the other referee disagrees. Kerry keeps the claw locked in, and Hayes forcibly pulls him off, sowing the seeds for friction between them. Flair provokes Hayes so much that Hayes waffles him, but Kerry refuses to cover him and win the title unfairly. Hayes goes to leave, and Flair pushes Kerry into Hayes, sending Hayes to the floor. Enraged, Gordy slams the steel door onto Kerry’s head, igniting the Freebirds/Von Erich feud that Texas thrived on. Hayes counts a Flair cover on Kerry, which the other ref rejects because Kerry kicked out at 2. The match goes on without the Freebirds, with Kerry out on his feet. Kerry hits the discus punch to give the crowd one last pop, but he’s done. The ref checks him and calls the bell. Good match, but the angle at the end is fantastic.

Iceman King Parsons, David Von Erich & Kevin Von Erich vs the Fabulous Freebirds
The early doors give proof (as if proof were needed) that Kevin Von Erich is a terrific brawler. It also shows how great the Claw was as a hold, as the Von Erich’s could hit it at any time and the fans would buy it as a finish. Here, all Kevin has to do is threaten it and the Sportatorium pops. The Freebirds soon take control on David and a superbly worked heat section ensues. The crowds love of the Von Erich’s really helps here, but the timing on all the near tags is perfect. In one beautifully shot moment, we see David’s hand just centimetres away from tagging Kevin, only for the Freebirds to prevent it. There is also a great false tag, before David and Buddy clash heads which leads to the actual tag. Unsurprisingly, all Hell soon breaks loose, with all three guys in, and in the madness, Buddy catches Parsons with a cheapshot to the head, which gifts the Freebirds the victory.

The Fabulous Freebirds vs Fritz, Mike & Kevin Von Erich
This is from the first David Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions and sees Fritz come out of retirement for this Six Man Title match. The opening brawl is predictably intense, leading to the referee getting on the mic and stating this match will be fought on a 1-on-1 tag basis. This lasts for about a minute before people start getting in the ring again. Mike is correctly booked here as a fiery babyface, who lacks experience and gets caught out by the ‘Birds. That said, the Freebirds soon get a heat section on Kevin, who telegraphs a Claw attempt and gets blocked off by the ‘Birds. Fritz gets the hot tag and takes over on Roberts, which works as he’s the best Freebird for stooging and bumping for the aging Fritz. A melee ensues (shock!) and in the chaos, Kevin nails Buddy with a crossbody for three. Good match.

Iceman King Parsons vs Buddy Roberts
This is hair vs hair, with the Freebirds’ hair removal cream located at ringside. This isn’t a great match, and is pretty short, but there are some fun moments to keep it interesting, mainly Roberts stooging around for Parsons by getting tied up in the ropes, or missing three elbow drops in a row. Roberts gets the pin by rolling Parsons up and pulling so much tight that we need to censor Parsons’ arse. The ref starts to question Roberts, giving Parsons the break to attack and cover Buddy’s hair with the cream. A better angle than match.

Chris Adams & Sunshine vs Jimmy Garvin & Precious
Mixed tag rules apply here. I really liked the storytelling in this match, with Sunshine desperate to get her hands on Precious, whilst Garvin does everything he can to stop that happening. This means Garvin has to try and keep control of Adams to prevent him tagging out, which he does until Adams blasts him with a superkick and makes the tag to Sunshine. Sunshine brings Precious in forcefully and is all over her, until Precious escapes and tags in a still-woozy Garvin. Garvin manages to take control on Adams again, but Adams again tags in Sunshine. This time, however, Garvin stays in the ring and trips her, allowing Precious to take advantage. The girls give no impression that they’re wrestlers here, but do give the impression they really hate each other in their fight. In the confusion, Adams hits a sunset flip on Garvin to win.

The Great Kabuki vs Kamala
A pair of oddities, but a pair who put on an absolute stinker of a match. A Kamala bearhug seems to go on forever, killing off the usually passionate WCCW crowd. Even Bill Mercer can’t think of anything to say. Kabuki escapes, but Kamala applies a neverending nervehold. Their respective managers, Gary Hart and Skandor Akbar, start to fight so the ref calls the match off. Abysmal.

The Fantastics vs the Midnight Express
This is for the vacant tag team titles. Apparently Jim Cornette interfered in a previous match, causing the vacation, so he’s stuck with a huge man called Little John at ringside to prevent him interfering. Also, the match is held in two rings side-by-side, which means the match starts as two 1-on-1 matches. Seems a little wasteful when you’ve got two consummate tag-teams out there. Luckily, all four men soon end up in the same ring, making this more of a tornado tag situation. Eaton takes some nasty looking bumps to the wooden floor early on. He gets payback by attacking both Fantastics with a chair to take control. This is done in plain view of the ref, so obviously there are no disqualifications. Eaton really makes good use of the two rings, drapping Bobby Fulton on the ropes between rings to kick him in the stomach. Eaton whips Tommy Rogers into the ref in the corner and Little John, neglecting his only task in the match, goes to investigate, allowing Cornette to belt Fulton in the head for a Condrey roll up, which gets a three count. Moments later, Rogers rolls up Eaton for his own three count, but the MX pin was counted first. However, discussion between the two refs causes them to DQ the Express (despite the chairshots earlier being absolutely fine), giving the Fantastics the titles. Massively overbooked, but pretty fun in places. I still think a simple tag match would have yielded a better match.

Bruiser Brody & the Missing Link vs One Man Gang & Rick Rude
I was really looking forward to this, but it was largely disappointing. It just never really seemed to settle into a good groove, and the face team in particular never seemed to hit their strides, though i loved the dropkick Brody hit on OMG. Link’s offence in this match consists entirely of headbutts, thrown by grabbing his own hair. After less than 10 minutes of uneven action, Rude throws Link over the top rope and gets disqualified. Lame.

Chris Adams vs Kevin Von Erich
Reviewing the Best of Kerry tape a few months back really made me appreciate how good Kevin was, so I went into this with high hopes. My hopes were met. The early part is nicely worked, with the Claw threatened early, but we soon end up on the floor where the brawling begins. Kevin takes control in this environment and soon Adams gets slammed onto the commentary table, before getting back into the ring, bleeding. Adams grounds Von Erich with a chinlock, blood dripping down his face, and they build up the hope spots for Kevin nicely, before he gets cut off by Adams again. Things soon break down again, and Adams manages to drag the restraining rope from ringside into the ring, but gets beaten by Kevin before he can use it, and instead Kevin uses it to choke Adams, which draws the DQ win for the Gentleman. Really enjoyable stuff.

Abdullah The Butcher vs Bruiser Brody
This is a steel cage match. We’re told they did a worldwide search for a guest referee to control these two, so end up with....Fritz Von Erich, which makes me believe this search wasn’t as extensive as they suggested. This takes a while to get going, as Abby’s offence is a little dull, but things soon heat up with Brody in control, with Bruiser repeatedly kicking Abby in the head. Some of the offense looks surprisingly tame, but we do get a nice, heated slugfest with both guys on their knees. The Butcher manages to get a fork from Gary Hart at ringside, but Fritz spots him using it to stab Bruiser and floors Abby with some punches, allowing Brody to get the pin. Quite fun, though the ending certainly gives the impression that Fritz is the toughest man in the match, as he gifts Brody the win simply by punching Abdullah out. The post match brawl between Fritz and Abby/Hart is pretty cool.