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.