It’s a hot night in Dallas when Kevin Von Erich takes on the Great Kabuki in a Lumberjack match tonight! Wild Bill Irwin face Carlos Zapata in singles action, Ken Mantell takes on H&H Limited’s King Kong Bundy in the main event, plus more!
WCCW TV
Date: 05/22/1982
From: Dallas, Texas
MATCHES
1. Wild Bill Irwin vs. Carlos Zapata
2. The Spoiler vs. Rick Harris
3. The Great Kabuki vs. Kevin Von Erich
4. Mike Bond vs. Bugsy McGraw
5. Ken Mantell vs. King Kong Bundy
BREAKDOWN & REVIEW
- Marc Lowrance welcomed us to the Sportatorium, and ran down the card as usual, before throwing to commercial.
- Wild Bill Irwin vs. Carlos Zapata: This opening contest was set for one fall, ten minutes for a limit. The Texas Heavyweight Champion cracked his whip a few times before peeling his jacket off and getting to work with Zapata here. Wrist locks were exchanged to start things off. I wish Wild Bill was in better shape, instead of having to tuck his gut into his trunks. It’s something I haven’t really noticed until now. A big bicycle kick put Zapata down for a nearfall. After taking some punishment from Zapata, Wild Bill was able to keep Carlos Zapata down following a running knee drop from one side of the ring to the other. Wild Bill Irwin hasn’t been as impressive as of late and I’m still unsure if we are supposed to like him now, or not (which seems to be the case for the live crowd as well). Nothing special to see here for this match.
- The Spoiler vs. Rick Harris: This one was scheduled for one fall with a ten-minute time limit, as well. Still don’t get how The Spoiler is over as a face when he is a masked guy billed from Singapore. The Spoiler got worked over by Harris with some strikes focused on the upper body. A top wristlock kept The Spoiler on his toes, but was broken quickly. The masked man grinded a knee into the throat of Harris. Some more stiff strikes from Rick Harris. These guys were throwing some blows! A lot of moves were exchanged in and out of the corners. Harris used his body for leverage as he choked The Spoiler over the top rope. A knee off the second rope helped earn The Spoiler a victory. I don’t really get The Spoiler’s gimmick, but he’s a brawler there’s no doubt about that. A decent match for these two here, I wouldn’t mind seeing Rick Harris again in a return bout.
- Next, Marc Lowrance prepped to speak with Bugsy McGraw. Bugsy brought up the Superbowl of Wrestling event, and that there will be bodyslam battle royal featuring Andre the Giant. He plans to slam the Giant, because he doesn’t fear the Giant. Some more gibberish was spewed before we cut away to commercial. Interesting… It seems we have officially heard some hype for the Dallas Stadium show coming up on June 4th. Looking forward to seeing that here soon!
- The Great Kabuki vs. Kevin Von Erich: This was a lumberjack match, one fall to a finish, with a forty-five minute time limit! The Great Kabuki was accompanied by H&H Limited. Not all members of the heel stable were allowed to stay, announced by the referee. Kevin was cautious at first, but was able to break through initial defenses to get started on Kabuki. The crowd jumped from their seats for Kevin as Kabuki gain to turn the tables. With the help of the crowd, Kevin latched on an Iron Claw to Kabuki’s midsection. This was short-lived as Kabuki was able to wiggle away. Von Erich hit a cross body from the top to continue his lead. A sleeper doubled Great Kabuki over, Kevin wrenching even tighter as the two fell in a heap. Another Claw was applied, this time to the head as intended, but Kabuki was able to get to the ropes. Gary Hart got a Claw for his troubled when he jumped onto the apron. Bundy snuck some strikes in on Kevin Von Erich from ringside, allowing Kabuki to get his savate kick in for a three-count. Despite the useless stipulation and blatant interference, this was still what you wanted from a Von Erich-versus-Kabuki match. They always deliver because the crowd is so hot for the fued and the people involved are stars. Same goes for this one here, even it if went a little shorter than I would’ve liked.
- Marc Lowrance hurried to ringside to get an interview with Kevin following the match. Before any words exchanged, King Kong Bundy reappeared and put the boots to a battered Kevin Von Erich. He body slammed him on the concrete and continued stomping. With him down, Bundy exclaimed to Lowrance that that was the easiest thousand dollars he ever made. Gary Hart promised him a thousand dollars every time a Von Erich ended up on the ground and that was one right there. We cut to commercial quickly while attendants helped Kevin on the floor. Hopefully, Bundy can use this momentum going forward, because he hasn’t had much as of late due to taking a back seat to most of his stablemates.
- Mike Bond vs. Bugsy McGraw: This one was set for one fall, ten minutes to the finish. Mike Bond started this one off by getting the better of Bugsy with a couple of armdrag takedowns. A spinning back elbow caught Bugsy right on the button for a two-count. Bugsy pulled Mike Bond out of a pinning predicament following a leg drop. Instead, he went to the top a landing his falling body splash off the top to get the win here. A decent squash for Bugsy, Mike Bond is always impressive for an enhancement guy.
- Marc Lowrance welcomed Arman Hussein King Kong Bundy in for interview. Before passing the mic over, Lowrance promoted the Superbowl of wrestling coming up, Wrestling Star Wars, that will be the Fritz Von Erich retirement show where he is set to take on Bundy one-on-one. Arman Hussein snatched the mic and made it clear that there was big money involved in this match. Bundy will be paid well for his services against Fritz and Andre the Giant, too! Bundy then chimed in and admitted that he plans to make it the biggest night of his career when he puts Fritz down for good. It’s all about the money and he is ready for bonus! Marc asked how he could say that when it was Fritz who got Bundy into the business. Hussein snapped and yelled at Lowrance to never say that again. Bundy promised he was given no favors under Fritz and at Star Wars he will do the same. Even more big show promotion! This is awesome and I think this promo did a good job of hyping the main event of Star Wars in a few weeks.
- Ken Mantell vs. King Kong Bundy: This match was a ten minute time limit, one-fall to a finish. Arman Hussein accompanied his man and corrected the introductions on the house mic. Mantell used his quickness against Bundy to set the pace of the match early on, dipping and ducking around the bigger man. A standing side headlock kept Mantell in one spot long enough for Bundy to do some damage. All of a sudden, Kevin Von Erich came down to the ring with a chair and nailed Bundy with it in the ring. Hussein got nailed for his trouble, as well. The crowd went crazy as the bell rang and the heels collected themselves at ringside. Ken Mantell and Kevin Von Erich taunted Bundy and Hussein to get them back into the ring, but that was not to be. They tucked their tails and headed to the back as Kevin and Ken continued to get the fans fired up. This was a nice surprise finish for this match, adding fuel to the fire between Bundy and Von Erich. No complaints from me at all.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Tonight felt like a jam-packed show. We learned a lot about the upcoming Wrestling Star Wars show where we can expect a bunch of talent to be featured on in Dallas Stadium. Bundy is starting to pick steam back up, perhaps due to the failing Magic Dragon experiment? Nonetheless, I think Bundy shined here more than he has in months, which was nice. We got a Kabuki/Von Erich clash, some wild brawling, and even some run-ins! The pace his picked up in Dallas and I can’t wait for next week.
See you all then!