On this edition of World Class Championship Wrestling, Bugsy McGraw puts the WCCW American Heavyweight Championship on the line in a match against Al Madril. Plus, Big Daddy Bundy faces a handicap match main event, Gene Goodson interviews Kevin and Kerry Von Erich, and much more!
WCCW TV
Date: 02/06/1982
From: Dallas, Texas
MATCHES
1. Wild Bill Irwin vs. Richard Blood
2. Carlos Zapata vs. José Lothario
3. Bugsy McGraw vs. Al Madril
4. Kerry Von Erich vs. Larry Higgins
5. Big Daddy Bundy vs. El Negro Assassin & Tony Torres
BREAKDOWN & REVIEW
- Gene Goodson was joined by Armand Hussein on commentary. Armand spoke a bit about the American Heavyweight title defense coming up later, stating that McGraw could hold his own and defend his crown but the challenger was a worthy one. He gave the champ the edge, though. Gene finished running down the card and we got into our first match.
- Wild Bill Irwin Vs. Richard Blood: Irwin and Blood were set to square off in a singles match with a ten minute time limit. Blood got a solid reaction when he levelled his former manager, Captain Frank Dusek, as the bell rang. Irwin jumped him and took over quick. Gene reminds us that next week, The Great Kabuki will take on Spoiler #1, a former client of Gary Hart! Irwin continued to take take the fight to Blood, with him getting very little offense in. Dusek, who was still standing ringside, distracted Blood for Bill Irwin to nail him with a running knee to the back. Irwin followed it up with a falling splash from the second rope for a three count over Richard Blood. Irwin gets a good showing here. A solid, full-star squash for him.
- Kevin Von Erich was standing by with Gene Goodson and it seemed he didn’t really know what to say. He said that the Von Erich’s number one goal is to win, Kevin closed it out with talking about doing some cliff diving with Kerry. Gene transitioned over to Kerry Von Erich, standing to Gene’s right. Kerry spoke about being excited to be coming to a town near you, the viewer. He talked about some other hobbies of his, including poetry, horseback riding, fishing, and skydiving. Gene put them over big as we went into commercial. Boy, these Von Erich boys were not made for the microphone. They always just seem so caught off guard with being interviewed, as if they had no idea what was going on or what to talk about.
- Carlos Zapata versus José Lothario: Zapata and Lothario were set for their singles match, scheduled for ten minutes. Hussein and Gene put Lothario over, which I found surprising for a heel to be doing. Zapata and Lothario continued to try and outdo one another in the ring. Gene Goodson again spoke about Kabuki during this one. Nothing really went on in the ring for most of this one. José Lothario landed a few good punches, Zapata dropped from one of them, and Lothario picked up the three count. For nothing really happening and the random standard-turned-knockout punch finish, I considered this one a dud.
- Al Madril vs. Bugsy McGraw for the American Heavyweight Championship: Madril and McGraw were ready to go for their singles match with a thirty minute time limit. Madril was noted as being the current Texas Heavyweight Champion taking on the American Heavyweight Champion here for the title. Things stayed pretty even as we go underway, several arm locks was seen. Madril stayed ahead with a quicker pace and smarts. Madril got the crowd behind him as they circled around the ring and went into a few basic holds and breaks. We got a lot of stalling here, at one point we were seeing a makeshift boxing match…? Bugsy jumped to the floor to break up some of the closed fists. The action spilled to the floor with McGraw bouncing Madril’s head off the ring steps. Madril got his comeback in the ring with crowds pretty into it, finishing up his rally with a near fall. Madril’s figure four leglock was slapped on and McGraw was able to make it to the ropes. Madril kept the hold on through a five-count by the referee. McGraw kept the title here by disqualification. After the match, Al Madril challenged the champ to a no disqualification match next time they meet! Not horrible, not great. I’ll give it star and a half because it did have a big-match feel and the crowd was pretty into it.
- Larry Higgins vs. Kerry Von Erich: Kerry and Higgins were set for a singles match, looking at a fifteen minute time limit. Higgins went to jump Kerry prior to the bell, but Kerry was ready for him with a dropkick. Kerry locked in a stomach claw quick, picked him up with one hand, and slammed him down with it. He got a three count without even taking his ring jacket off. Higgins was pissed, of course. For a squash, this made look Kerry look like a blue chip killer under a minute. Half a star for this one here.
- Big Daddy Bundy vs. El Negro Assassin and Tony Torres: This was set to be a handicap match with tag format scheduled for a ten minute time limit. Bundy got a good reaction. He and Assassin started things off, Bundy dropped him with several shoulder blocks. Torres came in to get dropped with a couple two, before the two heels bailed to the floor to come up with a new strategy. Torres tagged in and didn’t accomplish much against Bundy, so Assassin came in to work a double back elbow in on Bundy. They attempted it again, but Big Daddy Bundy forced them to collide into one another and closed it out with a big standing body splash on Tony Torres. Bundy was selling for a few things he probably shouldn’t have here, which took away from this squash. Half a star for this handicap match here.
- Gene Goodson and Armand Hussein was here to close out the show, Armand put the title match over big and Gene again plugged Kabuki versus The Spoiler for next week!
FINAL THOUGHTS
Another one in the books here for WCCW, despite there being missing weeks of television between this one and the last reviewed episode. From what I know, there will be several occasions in 1982 and 1983 where episodes of weekly television have been totally lost. The speculation is that in a cost-cutting effort to save WCCW some production money, they would reuse the same tape for episodes that were recorded in Fort Worth, Texas. Instead of individual tapes being produced for each episode (the way it was for Dallas tapings), they would just tape over old episodes for the Fort Worth television, thus losing the previously recorded material.
For this one, we didn’t see much in the special category at all. I’m starting to have a soft spot for Bill Irwin and Carlos Zapata… Gotta’ love those old-school heels! To be honest, the matches were pretty lackluster this week and we heard about next week way more than we were allowed to enjoy this episode as it unfolded! I look forward to seeing Kabuki again next week, though. His exclusion was definitely felt.
See you all then!