World Class Championship Wrestling TV 01/02/1982
On this edition of World Class Championship Wrestling, Kerry and Kevin Von Erich take on the duo of Arman Hussein and Tim Brooks in a tag team match main event. Plus, The Great Kabuki in action, Big Daddy Bundy goes one-on-one with The Monk, and much more!
WCCW TV*
Date: 01/02/1982
From: Dallas, Texas
Matches
1. Tom “Boogaloo” Shaft vs. Carlos Zapata
2. The Monk vs. Big Daddy Bundy
3. The Great Kabuki vs. Jesse Relampago Leon
4. “Killer” Tim Brooks & Arman Hussein vs. Kerry & Kevin Von Erich
*BROADCAST NOTE
This playback copy has been presented in the most complete form possible, due to original production technical difficulties, reported by the WWE Network as of 04/16/2020. All Rights Reserved.
BREAKDOWN & REVIEW
- Gene Goodson welcomes us into the program. He is accompanied tonight by guest commentator, José Lothario. While running down the card, Gene compares Big Daddy Bundy to André the Giant in strength and also makes note that Kabuki will be making his local television debut here tonight.
- Tom Shaft versus Carlos Zapata: Shaft and Zapata squared off in a singles match with a ten minute time limit. Zapata attacked Shaft from behind to start the match, getting an early advantage. Shaft fought back, forcing Zapata to bail to the floor and take a breather. Shaft played to the crowd while holding a long standing side headlock. We saw some really sloppy offense from Shaft before he locked on another side headlock. It was apparent that Carlos Zapata was the more polished wrestler here. Tom Shaft picked up the win with a running hip attack off an irish whip. This one gets half a star for a pretty lackluster showcase match for Tom “Boogaloo” Shaft.
- The Monk versus Big Daddy Bundy: Bundy and Monk squared off in a singles match with a ten minute time limit. Bundy was the solid fan favorite here tonight. Bundy in decent shape with a head of hair is pretty weird to see. Early on, Monk tried working Bundy over with a hammer lock with no luck. After being manhandled several times, Monk bailed to the floor. Monk got some good strikes in the corner on Bundy, but Bundy would rally back with a strong bearhug into a stiff spinebuster for a three count! A decently impressive showcase for Big Daddy Bundy here, closing things out with that impactful finish earns a star from me!
- We went back to Gene, who was now standing by with Tom “Boogaloo” Shaft. Shaft said that World Class was as high you could go in wrestling and promised to be in San Antonio for WCCW coming up soon. He doesn’t care about who or what he faces at that time, but kept calling out Kabuki. Shaft also discussed his strong man accomplishments a bit, totally prompted by Gene. That closed the interview. Shaft and Kabuki could be a trainwreck and I’m definitely here for it.
- Gene was standing by next with Kerry & Kevin Von Erich, Kevin being introduced as being freshly back from a trip to Atlanta. He said the competition was good up there, but a little slow. He discussed his visit a bit more before Kerry stumbled in a bit. Kerry confirmed that he and Kevin were in the best shapes of their lives and that, though the titles weren’t on the line tonight, he’d be willing to bet they will be in the near future. Kevin closed out the interview with some words for Kabuki, who he said had been giving his dad some trouble with the mist lately. Kevin said he couldn’t wait to get his shot at him on behalf of the Von Erichs! Kevin really carried the team here with Kerry being hot garbage in this interview, which bums me out being a Kerry Von Erich mark…
- The Great Kabuki versus Jesse Relampago Leon: Kanuki and Leon squared off in a singles match with a ten minute time limit. Kabuki started things off with taunting Leon with nunchucks. Kabuki worked over the neck and throat of Leon to keep in control. Kabuki’s hands were soaked with green mist, it almost looked as if he was wearing great surgical gloves. He it an awesome savate kick to the throat only to follow it up with a silly side squeezing submission hold. More joint manipulation kept Leon locked down, with only shortly-lived bursts of offense to his credit. Kabuki closed out the match with a second rope throat thrust to Leon. After the match several wrestlers, including Kerry Von Erich, came down to breakup the post-match beatdown. Kerry and Kabuki shared a heated staredown until Gary Hart kept his man away on the outside. The Great Kabuki seems to be becoming a top heel and came across well in that role during this match. For delivering its intended purpose and foreshadowing a match with Kerry/Kabuki down the road, this match earns a star and a half!
- Tim Brooks & Armand Hussein versus Kerry & Kevin Von Erich: Brooks and Armand squared off against Kerry and Kevin Von Erich in a tag team match with a twenty minute time limit. This one would see two officials in the ring. The champs were definitely heels here. Armand walked through “a religious pre-match ceremony” before things started off with he and Kerry. The heels worked Kerry over for most of the early part of the match, with Kerry only getting in some brief work on “Killer” Tim Brooks. An unseen tag kept Kevin out of the ring, until Kerry was dumped over the top rope by his hair. Kevin went into a frenzy and sent Hussein into the post on the outside. Kevin finally got the hot tag, hit a couple of dropkicks on the champs and captured a near fall on Hussein. Kevin nearly applied the claw, but Brooks came in to break it up. All four men ended up in the ring and I thought it was comical that not even two refs could keep things in check! Kevin was thrown to the floor and Kerry was worked over big-time with several double-team moves. Kevin recovered and was able to score the three count after going to the top and hitting a nice looking surprise sunset flip into a pin. The two teams continued the battle after the bell until officials were able to raise the hands of the Von Erichs. For a pretty run-of-the-mill, Von Erich brawling-type tag team match, I’ll give this one a star and a half.
- Gene thanks us for tuning in and for José for joining him on commentary. He assures us that José will be returning next week to be in the ring! Also, next week Kerry Von Erich will take on The Great Kabuki. Be sure to tune in next time for some exciting wrestling action!
Final Thoughts
This year-starting episode of WCCW TV left a bit to be desired match-wise, but watching with rose-colored glasses, I can’t say that I didn’t enjoy watching! I’ve always had a soft spot for the style and talent that came out of World Class Championship Wrestling, but have never watched something from this far back at the beginning, With watching 1982 from 2020, I decided to mentally keep this style and presentation in a vacuum. I look forward to Kabuki and Kerry Von Erich going one-on-one next week and could see some good steam starting to build behind a guy like Big Daddy Bundy.
See you all then!
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Austin Skinner View All
I'm a twenty-seven year old lover of the professional wrestling of yesteryear, writer extraordinaire, and bigtime James Bond film/novel enthusiast... Welcome to the party, my dear.