WCCW- June 25, 1983
by erick von erich
Nothing but the usual hype from Michael Hayes and Kevin Von Erich in the WWE 24/7 studio. Errr, make that the "WWE Classics On Demand" studio. That name is not only tougher to brand and type, but it makes me worried that we might be subjected to crap like "WWE Movies On Demand" or "WWE Divas On Demand". Scary thoughts. Anyways, Hayes and Kevin talk about the big "Star Wars" card and how this was their first-ever sell-out at Reunion Arena in downtown Dallas. Kevin mentions how people were scalping tickets for $250...but then Hayes interjects a nugget of stupidity and says: "that's when 250 was a BIG price for a ticket!". Umm.. 250 is STILL a big price for a ticket.
The official show opens with a NEW intro! A helicopter view of downtown Dallas is shown as the familiar drums play. Bill Mercer welcomes us to ringside for "International Wrestling Star Wars", or as folks in Texas called it: "itter-rash-al 'rasslin' star wor". Mercer talks about tonight's double main event, but with so much going on in World Class Championship Wrestling, let's get down to ringside for...
Match 1: Chavo Guerrero, "Gentleman" Chris Adams & Jose Lothario vs. The Mongol, "Wild" Bill Irwin &
Fish Man (w/Skandar Akbar)
Mongol is introduced as being "from Parts Unknown". Umm, wouldn't he be from Mongolia?!
But I guess you can kayfabe/No-Prize it and say that where exactly in Mongolia he was from was, in fact, "unknown".
This is the return of Irwin, after an absence of a few months. Fish Man is a luchador making the trip
North for this bout. Important to note that both are not a part of Devastation, Inc. Match begins
as Chavo and Fish Man criss-cross (JUMP! JUMP!) the ring, traidng takedowns.
Chavo hits two drop-kicks and a flying head scissors, until both guys tag off to Adams and the Mongol, respectively.
Adams and Mongol brawl, as Mongol no-sells a charging shoulderblock. Adams hits the ropes,
ducks under Mongol's clothesline and hits him with a super-kick. Advantage doesn't last long
as all three heels gang up on the Gentleman. Fish Man returns, as Adams
leapfrogs his charge, monkey-flips him and hits another super-kick. Lothario and Irwin enter for a few minutes
of brawling. Fish Man slams Lothario, but gets caught on the top turnbuckle and tossed.
Mongol and Adams renew their Penultimate Clubbering Challenge, until
Adams manages a backdrop and a European uppercut. Chavo comes in for a flying spin-kick. Mongol
takes over with a kneelift, slams Chavo in the corner and delivers a backbreaker. Irwin comes in to
do the same, drops a knee and gets a 2 count. Lothario comes in and chops Irwin, until
Irwin takes over with the Eye-Boink. Irwin atomic drops Lothario, then Mongol tries
the same move. As Lothario is lifted up, he reaches back and makes a blind tag to Chavo. Mongol
drops Lothario, but turns around and walks right into a top-rope flying
body-press from Chavo. Surprise move scroes the 3 count for Chavo and the good guys. The camera man
was knocked off the apron right as the pinfall occurred.
A Very Special Interview with Michael Hayes and Buddy Roberts
Pre-recorded backstage segment with Marc Lowrance. The Freebirds narrate a replay of
cutting "Iceman" King Parsons's hair, but protest when the second clip
includes Iceman snipping a few locks of Roberts's hair. Roberts pumps up the
secret Freebird Hair Cream and how it'll make anybody bald.
Match 2: Texas Heavyweight Championship:
David Von Erich vs. "Gorgeous" Jimmy Garvin (w/Sunshine)
The title is currently vacant for the third time between these two. Starts out pretty intense as
both guys really cinch in their holds. DVE gets a beal and two drop-kicks for the early advantage.
Garvin slams him for 2, tries again and gets small packaged. DVE leap-frogs and rolls-up
Garvin off the ropes for another 2. Garvin counters with a head-scissors and takes it to the mat by
working a hammerlock into anotehr pinning combo. DVE bridges up and eventaully turns it into a slam.
DVE works a single-leg takedown into a step-over toehold as he targets the wheels. DVE gets his running
knee-smash, but Garvin is right by the ropes. DVE goes for the CLAW, but the close proximity to the ropes
causes referee Bronko Lubich to call the break. Garvin gets a cheapshot and works a reverse chinlock
as "Go David, Go" breaks out. Kneelift from DVE gets 2, followed up by a sleeper. Garvin is shoved into
the corner, then comes right back with a flying forearm, kneedrop and a stun-gun (rope-slam)
for 2. It looks like Sunshine blew a spot... so Garvin covers again and this time
Sunshine grabs DVE's leg and holds him down for the 3 count. Garvin celebrates with his
title belt all the way back to the dressing room.
After a break, we're back in the ring as Bronko Lubich has been talking to a gaggle of "NWA Referees in the Back". They reviewed Sunshine's shenanigans and, as a result, the title is STILL vacant and will be held up for the FOURTH time between Garvin and Von Erich. Garvin slaps the mat and whines as the decision is announced. I always despise these types of finishes, because the rule of "referee instant replay" comes and goes at the descretion of the booker's storyline.
Match 3: Hair Match:
"Iceman" King Parsons vs. Buddy Roberts
Of course, the stipulation is that the loser will lose his hair. Iceman is introduced and boogies,
but Roberts attacks and chokes him with his own jacket. Whip to the ropes and Iceman responds
with a sunset flip for 2. Roberts with a slam and legdrop for 2. He tries to slam Ice again, but
collapses, surrenduring a quick 1 count. Iceman hits the ropes again and comes back with a
flying bodypress. Roberts bails for a bit, but is flipped back in over the top rope. Ice slams him for 2,
then slugs away as Roberts does the Andre the Giant Special (arms trapped in ropes). More boogeying from
Ice! Roberts is wheelbarrowed out of the corner, then bth guys chop away. Ice goes into a boxing shimmy, then
hooks an abdominal stretch. Roberts powers out with a hip-toss, but misses three flying elbow-drops.
He goes for a bulldog, but Ice uses the momentum to run him into the turnbuckle. Ice rolls him
up out of the corner, but Roberts counters, reverses the roll-up and hooks a BIG handful of tights
to steal the win.
Roberts then delivers a swinging neckbreaker to subdue Ice, as he brings in the magic Freebird Hair Cream! Referee David Manning argues with Roberts (umm.. WHY? This was a Special Stipulation of match??), which allows Ice to catch a breather and deliver his flying Butt-Butt. Roberts is down, so Iceman gets the Cream and rubs it all over his head. Boogie time! Michael Hayes runs down for a save attempt, but bails when he realizes Iceman has the Cream. Roberts rolls out, his head doused in Cream, as Hayes escorts him to the back. The crowd was pumped for all the matches, but they seemed to go ape-shit at the ending of this one.
Why'd You Tape This??
Great how the weekly shows were used to show FULL matches from the recent super card. Doing some research over
at World Class Memories, I see that the rest of the card
included:
Genichiro Tenryu beat Johnny Mantell
Vicki Carranza beat Lola Gonzales to win Mexican Womens' title
Jumbo Tsuruta drew Ted DiBiase
Giant Baba beat King Kong Bundy
Kamala beat Mike Bond, Arman Hussein & Tola Yatsu (Loser Leaves Texas handicap match)
Combine that with these three matches and the two from next week and you've got a pretty solid card. Bundy came back as a special attraction just for this show, as you can see quite a few wrestlers weren't World Class regulars (namely DiBiase, Tenryu, Baba and Tsurata). In that regard, the card had a true "International" feel. Even Africa was represented (kayfabe) with Hussein's final World Class match.
To zero in on this show: if you're a rasslin' fan, you'll like it. If you're a World Class fan, then you NEED to see it. Great big-time atmosphere with a hot crowd and the matches themselves entertained (well, as long as you mark-out and ignore the plot-holes; like why Roberts's win wasn't officially reversed when Garvin's was).
Boom-da-da-da-boom, da-da-da-boom, da-da-da-boom