On this edition of World Class Championship Wrestling, King Kong Bundy takes to the ring to go one-on-one with The Spoiler in the main event. Plus, American Heavyweight Champion Kerry Von Erich in action, Wild Bill Irwin faces off against Richard Blood, and more!
WCCW TV
Date: 04/24/1982
From: Dallas, Texas
MATCHES
1. Arman Hussein vs. Sal Olivares
2. Bugsy McGraw vs. Raul Castro
3. Wild Bill Irwin vs. Richard Blood
4. Kerry Von Erich vs. Blackie Gordman
5. King Kong Bundy vs. The Spoiler
BREAKDOWN & REVIEW
- Marc Lowrance welcomed us to the show with a sense of urgency as the first match was set to go. Arman Hussein met Marc at ringside and promised some violence and spoke a little assumed Sudanese on their behalf. Nothing much to unpack here.
- Arman Hussein vs. Sal Olivares: This opening match was set for one fall with a ten minute time limit. Hussein grabbed the house mic to correct his introductions. Olivares has perhaps the hairiest torso in wrestling history, which I noticed immediately. Hussein asked for the ring to be cleared for his Camel Walk ceremony, the usual stalling tactic on his part. The two traded holds for several minutes, Hussein using every dirty trick in the book. Olivares was bumping for Hussein pretty well, doing basically all the work. The finish came with a quick, casual knee drop. With a perfect opponent making him look dominant, I suppose this was a solid squash under Hussein’s belt. A half of a star from me, as it was still pretty run-of-the-mill.
- Bugsy McGraw vs. Raul Castro: This next match was to be held under a ten minute time limit, with one fall to the finish. McGraw is slowly becoming one of my favorites to watch on World Class, just because he’s completely absurd. Castro stayed a step ahead of his opponent, coming off too quick for his larger opponent. Once McGraw had a hold of him though, it was bad news for Castro! The wiley Bugsy McGraw eventually made his way to the the top rope and landed a splash onto his downed opponent for a three count. This was another solid squash for a heel. Bugsy came off as a fairly serious singles threat, so the mission was accomplished. Another full star!
- Marc Lowrance was standing by with the new World Class Tag Champions, Al Madril and Kerry Von Erich, for a pre-show interview! Madril said that it had been a long road to get there, but they are ready to defend those titles anywhere and anytime. Kerry said Al was a man to depend on. He has helped in the ring, helped to calm him down when he gets ahead of himself, and they plan to hold these belts for a long, long time. Marc asked about the rock music they like to play on the way to the ring and Kerry spoke of it emphatically to close the interview. In my opinion, Kerry seemed to be heavily under the influence of something, because he spoke in a very slurred and slowed manner. Jesus, his eyes were barely open! Other than that, I think the team of Al Madril and Kerry Von Erich is a perfect combo and look forward to seeing them tag up in bouts to come!
- Wild Bill Irwin vs. Richard Blood: This match was also scheduled for one fall with a ten minute time limit. Though being another guilty pleasure, I looked forward to what the Texas Heavyweight Champion, Wild Bill Irwin, was going to deliver here. Much to my surprise, he was worked over for a bit in a supine side headlock. The fans were in a frenzy for Richard Blood and I guess it caught me off guard, as he typically isn’t too heavily featured, so I figured it’s just because Bill Irwin is one of the most over heels in the territory. That was confirmed when a “Chauncey” chant broke out even louder. The action stayed basic as a stalemate for the most part. After a solid flurry from Blood, Irwin shut him down quick and hit a solid knee drop for a three count. This was a more competitive match than the two heel squashes previously and the crowd was hot for it! The finish was pretty lame, and felt rushed, though. So, I’m going to stick with another one-star rating for that reason alone.
- At ringside, Wild Bill Irwin gave some quick words to a waiting Marc Lowrance. Wild Bill Irwin put over his Atomic Knee Drop, nobody being able to defeat him, and how he is STILL the Texas Heavyweight Champion! Wild Bill continues to deliver, in my opinion.
- Kerry Von Erich vs. Blackie Gordman: These two paced in the ring as they were set for a singles match with a fifteen minute time limit. The crowd was hot for Von Erich, per usual, as he firstly outsmarted Gordman. The crowd chanted loudly for The Claw as Gordman backed away from a fired up Kerry Von Erich. The Iron Claw was applied to the midsection forcing Gordman to retreat for the ropes. The crowd exploded when Von Erich was able to get the pin in a sunset flip. This was another solid bout for Kerry on television. Nothing quite like his bouts with Kabuki, of course. I’ll stick with the trusty old one-star.
- We quickly cut to Marc Lowrance with Wild Bill Irwin for a pre-show interview. Wild Bill reiterated that he was the Texas Heavyweight Champion for a reason. He talked about people having a problem with his manager, Captain Frank Dusek, always being at ringside. He promises that he didn’t steal the belt, that he won it fair, and will face anybody for it anytime with or without his manager! He stormed off without Marc being able to ask him anything else. Simple and quick, not much to discuss here.
- King Kong Bundy and Arman Hussein stepped into frame with Lowrance. Arman spoke to all promoters with money, as that all he and Kong were interested in. Bundy said that money meant everything to him. Money in his pocket, money in the bank. I thought these two complemented each other very well!
- King Kong Bundy vs. The Spoiler: The crowd was worked up by Bundy as the announcer reminded us of the thirty minute time limit and one fall rulings. The Spoiler jumped Bundy and really worked him over with strikes. Hussein was ringside for Bundy, making commands from the floor. Bundy kept his attention on The Spoiler’s mask, pulling at it and trying to untie it. Finally, Bundy was able to rip the mask and before The Spoiler was unmasked, the referee called for the bell on a disqualification. The situation came unhinged as the two slugged it out before another official rushed down to the ring to break things up. I didn’t find Bundy all that effective here, and with a finish like that for your main event, I don’t think the fans did either. Only a half a star for this one, as I was disappointed with the promise of a longer, more brutal match with Bundy and then it not delivering on that. Thirty minute time limit?! I think they barely went five!
- The Spoiler was met by Marc Lowrance at ringside, and the masked wrestler called Bundy a big, fat slob! His mask costs five thousand dollars and he will be looking for a rematch, because it’ll take a much bigger, stronger man than that to take his mask! The fat slob thing popped me!
- Marc Lowrance closed out for the night from ringside, but we were given no information about next week’s card. Kind of a bummer there.
FINAL THOUGHTS
WOW! A ton of stuff to unpack here with tonight’s show. It was bell to bell, interview to interview… Really just jammed packed with no breathing room. Things almost felt rushed or cut off early and it was even hard for me to keep up! The action was solid, but having so many heel squashes back-to-back, one after the other like they did tonight kind of killed some of the heat for me. Al Madril is a major star and continued to shine in and out of the ring, Hussein and Bundy as a promoted package works well (though we didn’t see Gary Hart tonight), and Wild Bill continues to have solid little matches as one of most hated men in the company! I look forward to see what next week brings, whatever that may be!
See you all then!