On this edition of World Class Championship Wrestling, The Great Kabuki makes his presence felt when American Heavyweight Champion Kerry Von Erich goes one-on-one with Arman Hussein in the main event. Plus, King Kong Bundy in action, José Lothario takes on Bugsy McGraw, and much more!
WCCW TV*
Date: 03/20/1982
From: Dallas, Texas
MATCHES
1. Bugsy McGraw vs. José Lothario
2. Wild Bill Irwin vs. Richard Blood
3. King Kong Bundy vs. Jesse Relampago Leon
4. Kerry Von Erich vs. Arman Hussein
5. Kerry Von Erich vs. The Great Kabuki (Taped Replay)
*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 06/11/2020. All Rights Reserved.
BREAKDOWN & REVIEW
- Marc Lowrance again stood in for Gene Goodson this week and was accompanied by Al Madril to welcome us to the show. Lowrance ran down the card. Al called Kerry Von Erich one of the greatest to ever do it and he’s looking forward to seeing his match tonight.
- Bugsy McGraw vs. José Lothario: These two were ready to open our card, set for a singles match with a fifteen minute time limit. Joe Renelli was our ring announcer for this one, the house mic was actually transmitting through television audio! A brawl ensued as soon as the bell rang as rights and lefts spilled both men to the outside. McGraw brough Lothario right up through the crowd and nearly threw him to the outside of the arena. A chair came into play as Lothario was still getting it taken to him. After a brief hold or two in the ring, we were back out on the floor with Lothario now using a chair on McGraw! Lothario was pushed into the ringpost as our official begged McGraw to get back into the ring. Finally back in the ring, McGraw resorted to using an object from his tights to nail Lothario and pick up a cheap three count. Solid brawl unlike any other opening match on WCCW TV that we’ve seen yet! I’ll give it a solid star and a half!
- Wild Bill Irwin vs. Richard Blood: These two were set for the next singles match of the night, scheduled for a ten minute time limit. Irwin is still the reigning Texas Heavyweight champion, this being a non-title match as Captain Frank Dusek took the belt to the floor for Irwin. Blood stayed a step ahead of Wild Bill for the first couple of passes. Irwin regained control over Blood with some basic holds and a full nelson lock. Action went back and forth for a few moments, with a good amount of traded pins back and forth. Blood got in on a good flurry but was stopped in his tracks after a big shoulder breaker and a forearm off the second rope for the three count. The pace stayed with this one, as competition never really fell off. Full star for me, as there was no Dusek interference and I stayed pretty interested due to my Wild Bill weak spot.
- Marc Lowrance was standing by with Bugsy McGraw for an interview. Bugsy said he was sick of being mister nice guy. He has violence in his heart and he’s tired of it all. At this point, he doesn’t care if his wife or godzilla is across the ring from him, someone is getting punched in the mouth. McGraw left us with him wanting what he deserved and he was no longer going to play nice to get it. McGraw tried his hardest to parlay this tirade into a point here. This was a hilarious interview and it seemed Marc nearly busted out in laughter. A lot of yelling, rambling, and swinging of the arms here.
- King Kong Bundy vs. Jesse Relampago Leon: This was scheduled for a ten-minute singles match. Before the match here, Leon was being advised by Lothario. Lothario jumped on the house mic quick and said he’d have no problem challenging Bugsy McGraw to a Brass Knuckles Street Fight anytime, anyplace. Cool! The bell rang and Bundy began throwing Relampago Leon around the ring. Bundy finally got knocked off his feet after a missile dropkick off the top. Things didn’t last for the smaller man, though, as Bundy landed a body splash and a quick three count. Bundy obviously works better as a heel, nothing short of a squash here. It gets half of a star.
- Kerry Von Erich vs. Arman Hussein: These two were set to lock horns in a fifteen minute singles match. Hussein demanded Von Erich leave the ring so he could perform his ceremonial walk around the ring. He of course did. The bell rang and Hussein jumped Kerry and started putting the boots to him. Kerry wasn’t able to get on a good roll for a few moments, rallying back with some solid strikes and a nice dropkick. Kerry locked in a Claw on Hussein who looked as if that was going to be it. The Great Kabuki jumped into the ring and broke up the submission, causing a disqualification. Al Madril left the commentary table to help Kerry and the faces were left standing tall with the heels regrouping on the outside. Gary Hart appeared at ringside and got his man back in the ring for the heels to get a chance to get the better of Madril and Von Erich. Madril sent Hart into the corner and drilled him with a punch for a huge pop from the crowd. Hart held Kabuki back and got him to the back. Some good post-match action, but not much of a match other than that. Half a star here.
- Kerry Von Erich vs. The Great Kabuki: This was a highlights tape from a previous match from a Texas live event. Marc Lowrance was doing live commentary over the top for the viewing audience. The action was all over ringside, even Gary Hart and Fritz Von Erich going at it! Back in the ring, Kerry took over with an Iron Claw on the forehead of Great Kabuki. Kabuki attempted to counter by coming off the top rope but Kerry held on and continued to apply the hold. King Kong Bundy appeared at ringside and was attacked by Fritz. Bundy and Hart worked over Fritz, forcing Kerry to help his father and take his attention off the match. Kabuki capitalized and was able to steal a pin over Kerry Von Erich. All hell broke loose as everybody jumped into the ring and began brawling. Kevin Von Erich came down to the ring to help his brother and father out, taking out Bundy and chasing the heels away. Not much shown here, so not much to rate for me…
- Marc Lowrance closed us out and promised a great show for us next week as the credits followed.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Tonight’s episode started off surprisingly hot with a brawling battle between Lothario and McGraw. I look forward to an official Brass Knuckles brawl for those two in the near future. The episode dipped from there, without much angle progression. Kerry and Kabuki continue to be the main feud being promoted, so I am patiently waiting for that blow off. Also, quick shoutout to Al Madril who did a really solid job on commentary this week. He enhanced guys and projected himself as informative and concise, unlike most guest wrestler commentators featured, who tend to fumble around their words when giving the opportunity to speak on unfolding matters.
Can’t wait to do it all again next week!
See you all then!