As the rivalry between The Von Erich Family and Gary Hart continues, Kevin Von Erich takes to the ring to battle Texas Heavyweight Champion Wild Bill Irwin in singles action. Plus, Arman Hussein meets Richard Blood in the main event, Al Madril takes on Carlos Zapata, and more!
WCCW TV
Date: 04/17/1982
From: Dallas, Texas
MATCHES
1. Sal Olivares vs. Blackie Gordman
2. Carlos Zapata vs. Al Madril
3. Kevin Von Erich vs. Wild Bill Irwin
4. Arman Hussein vs. Richard Blood
BREAKDOWN & REVIEW
- Marc Lowrance stood ringside and welcomed us to the world-famous Sportatorium in Dallas for tonight’s action-packed show. He mentioned a tape to be shown a little later that would highlight the heated rivalry between Fritz Von Erich and the Great Kabuki!
- Sal Olivares vs. Blackie Gordman: These two kept things pretty even throughout the bout, with neither man really getting a strong advantage over the other. Blackie Gordman trapped his opponent in a grapevined cradle hold to gain the submission victory. Mix neither man being very over with the crowd to create a boring atmosphere and no real action, and you get a dud from me!
- Marc Lowrance stood by with professional referee David Manning in a pre-show interview to speak to him about the differences between collegiate and professional wrestling. He spoke of how in professional wrestling, each man his own little scheme to try and distract referees, making it much harder to officiate. According to the NWA, a referee can only call what they see not what they expect. Manning talked more about officiating very efficiently, basically cutting a better promo than nearly every guy we’ve heard on the mic before!
- Carlos Zapata vs. Al Madril: These two Dallas staples were set to lock horns in a ten minute singles match. Madril kept an armbar locked in for several minutes before succumbing to a single-leg takedown. Madril had control of most of this match and is easily one of the most popular guys in the territory. A couple of outsmarting led to Zapata stumbling through the second ropes to the floor, the crowd fully frenzied. Back in the ring, Zapata put the boots to Madril and the crowd was getting louder than I’d ever heard them. Madril came off the top rope with a crossbody for the three count within the last minute or two of the time limit. This was a textbook match with the crowd eating every bit of the action up! Two stars from me, which is saying something for 1982!
- Kevin Von Erich vs. Wild Bill Irwin: This was to be a singles match with a fifteen minute time limit. To start the match, Kevin hit an awesome Power Ranger-esque legsweep! Back-and-forth exchanges made up the meat and potatoes of this match, with most of the fire coming from Von Erich. Irwin took over with some dirty offense as five minutes remained. A first Iron Claw was escaped via rope break and a second, midsection variant went unsuccessful for Von Erich. The finish came when Kevin Von Erich hit a float over sunset flip from the top rope for the three count. Without any real sluggishness and both men being motivated by a hot crowd, this one gets a star and a half from me!
- At ringside, Marc Lowrance caught up with Kevin Von Erich following his win over Wild Bill Irwin, the reigning Texas Heavyweight Champion. He credited his father for teaching him that sunset flip that got him the victory and called this win just another stepping stone toward gaining the championship, which he promised to get. A confident Kevin Von Erich is a cool Von Erich.
- Marc Lowrance prefaced the tape from Fort Worth, Texas that depicted an altercation involving the Great Kabuki using his Poison Mist to blind Fritz Von Erich. According to Lowrance, nearly twenty-five percent of the vision in Fritz’s left eye was lost. As the tape kicked in, the closing moments of a David Von Erich / Great Kabuki match played. David was trapped in the corner being choked by Kabuki. Fritz hit the ring and rescued David, applying the Iron Claw. David worked over Gary Hart who managed to jump into the ring as officials rushed down. Fritz pushed everybody away as he kept the Claw. It took several wrestlers including Bundy himself to peel Fritz away from Kabuki.
- Marc Lowrance stood by with Fritz Von Erich and his son Kevin Von Erich in another a pre-show interview to speak about the family always sticking together. Fritz talked about the Von Erich regiment and was willing to bet that each of his active sons in wrestling will one day be seperate world heavyweight champions. He promised Gary Hart will be run out of wrestling as the family looks to settle their vendetta. Kevin added by saying that he was proud of all his father had taught him, he’s coming along fast, and has no love in his heart for anybody who hates his dad! A pretty weak promo from Kevin and Fritz here, as both stumbled over their words a few times and didn’t come off very convincing.
- A question and accompanying black and white photo read: Who is this famous Wrestler of the 50’s? Back from commercial, a short video package showed off the groundbreaking antics of George Wagner, better known as Gorgeous George. A short clip of a best of three falls match of his from the fifties was shown.
- Arman Hussein vs. Richard Blood: The main event tonight was set for a ten-minute time limit. Hussein called for Blood to exit the ring and did his pre-match ceremony ‘Camel Walk”. Blood got the better of Hussein in the opening moments of the contest, causing him to go sailing to the floor on two different occasions. Blood continued to get the better of Hussein much to the delight of the crowd. Seemingly out of nowhere, Arman Hussein landed a running senton onto Blood for a three count. After barely any offense, Hussein was awarded the match from the official and only a dud rating from me!
- Marc Lowrance closed out the show from ringside and thanked viewers for tuning in.
FINAL THOUGHTS
WOW! The crowd was as full and as excited as I think they’ve ever been on World Class television. Their excitement level stayed consistently strong from the second match up through the end of the show! We saw some solid action on this week’s episode, with a rare two-star-worthy match popping up between Madril and Zapata. Kevin Von Erich and Wild Bill Irwin also had a great match to round things out nicely. This week has left me excitedly looking forward to next week!
See you all then!