WCCW Star Wars: Superbowl of Wrestling 06/04/1982

In front of over 6,000 fans in Texas Stadium, the legendary Fritz Von Erich faces one last mammoth challenge in King Kong Bundy, falls count anywhere! The awesome André the Giant makes a visit to World Class to take on all comers in a bodyslam challenge battle royale, will anybody be able to slam the big man? Plus, Kerry Von Erich takes on Harley Race, Great Kabuki & Magic Dragon in tag action against Kevin & David Von Erich, and so much more!

WCCW Star Wars

Date: 06/04/1982
From: Irving, Texas

MATCHES

1. “Captain” Frank Dusek vs. The Spoiler

Match clipped, no rating available.

2. Ken Mantell vs. Wild Bill Irwin

3. Irma Gonzales vs. Lola Gonzales

4. André the Giant vs. Bugsy McGraw

Match clipped, no rating available.

5. El Solitario vs. Rene Guajardo

6. King Kong Bundy vs. Fritz Von Erich

7. Kerry Von Erich vs. Harley Race

8. David Von Erich & Kevin Von Erich vs. The Great Kabuki & Magic Dragon

9. José Lothario vs. Al Madril vs. Wild Bill Irwin vs. André the Giant vs. Ken Mantell vs. Bugsy McGraw vs. The Spoiler vs. T John Thibodeaux

BREAKDOWN & REVIEW

• Bill Mercer and Jay Saldi welcomed us to the show tonight. This is the first time I’ve seen either while covering World Class. Both men were dressed in tuxedos at ringside. Saldi seemed the ‘less experienced’ of the two, as he stumbled to get every other word out.
• “Captain” Frank Dusek vs. The Spoiler: No review for this one available. It seems this match has been clipped from the taping here. I wasn’t able to find it anywhere online, either. It is reported that The Spoiler won this match. N/A
• Ken Mantell vs. Wild Bill Irwin: This match was set to go as a one-fall with a fifteen minute time limit. A few arm drags sent Wild Bill bailing to the floor to regroup early on. Mantell continued being one step ahead in offense for most of the early portion of the match. An arm lock kept Wild Bill Irwin down for a bit. A surprise bicycle kick nailed Ken Mantell for some a much needed momentum swing in his favor. A kitchen sink was dished out, too. A tilt-a-whirl backbreaker almost cost Mantell the match, Irwin gaining a near-fall. The momentum swung again as Ken Mantell worked over the Texas Heavyweight Champion’s legs over, leading to Mantell locking on a spinning toe hold. Irwin kicked Mantell off, driving his head into a corner turnbuckle, and rolled him up for a three count! This a was good match between theses guys and getting more time than they would normally on TV really helped flesh this one out. Both men shined nicely, good heel work by Irwin, too!
• Irma Gonzales vs. Lola Gonzales: This match was for the Ladies Championship of Mexico, set for one fall, with a forty-five minute time limit. Bill Mercer made sure to let us know that there was no relation between these two women, and part of me had been wondering that. Irma offered a handshake that was blown off by the champion. The lockup to start this one was absolutely laughable. After that, submissions were the bulk of the action here, a camel clutch dishing out the most punishment on behalf of Lola. She used plenty of hair here, gaining audible winces from the crowd. A head scissors sent Irma out to the turf to recover. Plenty of heel work from Lola, but Irma threw her with a few arm drags for her troubles. The match heated up and the crowd was starting to really get into this one. On the turf, Lola accidently hit the post with her hand instead of a ducking Irma. Back in the ring, a stiff back elbow put Irma down and then pin attempts were traded back and forth. Lola finished off the attempts of the challenger after reversing a hurricanrana with a powerbomb pin for the three! This match started out rough but go going after a few moments, featuring some cool moves we don’t usually get to see! I ended up being pretty impressed with the ladies effort here as a special attraction match. Simply put; This one didn’t feel like a ladies match from 1982.
• André the Giant vs. Bugsy McGraw: No review for this one available. It seems this match has been clipped from the taping here. I wasn’t able to find it anywhere online, either. It was reported that this match André the Giant won this match via disqualification. N/A
• El Solitario vs. Rene Guajardo: This match was for the NWA Light Heavyweight Championship. A handshake started this one off, followed by some lucha-style submissions and reversals. Some solid greco-roman style stuff showed off both men’s amateur skills, followed by a second handshake. At this point, it seemed as if nobody knew what to do next… there was a few points where they stood around and stalled with some time on the mat. The crowd was getting restless with this one, until we got an explosive suicide dive from El Solitario onto Guajardo out on the turf. A hurricanrana pinning combo awarded El Solitario the match, retaining his championship! These guys just didn’t seem to work well together. When it seems like guys don’t know how to call a match, you’re in trouble. Not sure who was to blame, but either way, pretty lame for a light heavyweight bout.
• King Kong Bundy vs. Fritz Von Erich: This match was for the WCCW American Heavyweight Championship, one fall to a finish, with no time limit. Also, falls count anywhere! Bundy was defending the championship tonight against Fritz. Bundy jumped Fritz while he was taking his shirt off, backing him into a corner and raining strikes down. Fritz attached the Iron Claw for a brief moment, but was put to an end by Bundy. Bundy stayed on the offensive, putting boots and knees into Fritz. The bigger man was thrown through the second ropes out onto the turf where he took a breather. Von Erich followed him out and threw Bundy into one of the ring posts. Back in the ring, the Iron Claw was applied to Bundy, only broken due to Bundy sliding out of the ring under the bottom rope. Fritz again followed King Kong Bundy out and ended up finding a chair to use at ringside. After hitting a few chair shots on Bundy, the two ended up on the endzone paint of the stadium where Fritz Von Erich was able to pin King Kong Bundy right on the COWBOYS logo and win the WCCW American Heavyweight Championship! After the match, Fritz’s boys came down to ringside to congratulate their dad. This ended a lot quicker than I expected. Realistically, Fritz was barely on the defensive here and picked up a victory over Bundy pretty easily, which was disappointing. It was fine for what it was, and having the match finish in the endzone was cool.
• After match, Fritz Von Erich gave an interview with Bill Mercer. He said Bundy was just as dumb as he was stubborn, due to not submitting to the Iron Claw. He had to use a chair to put him down. He ended the interview by promising his boy each be world champions some day. Again, pushing his sons more than himself in an interview, hopefully Fritz is right!
• Kerry Von Erich vs. Harley Race: This match was a number one contender match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. set for one fall with a sixty minute limit. I was pumped for this one! Some basic shoulder blocks started us off, ending with a dropkick right on the button for a near-fall for Kerry. Kerry maintained control with a side headlock. A Claw was locked on but Race broke the hold by throwing Kerry though the second rope. Harley had a powerbomb reversed on the outside, being backdropped onto the turf. Back in the ring briefly, Harley worked Kerry Von Erich over with a tight headlock, using his hair for leverage on break attempts. Action again spilled outside and Harley rammed Kerry’s head into some scaffolding a few times to bust him open. Von Erich then met the post and faced a suplex at ringside. Harley would get a receipt, being thrown into a ring post himself on the outside and being busted open. Finally, action returned to the ring and momentum was back and forth, both men bleeding and attempting pinfalls. At this point, a should block sent both men to the mat for a five-count before returning to their feet. Race came off the top rope with a crossbody, but Kerry rolled through and ended up on top of Harley for a three-count! This was the best World Class match of 1982 until this point. GREAT showing for Kerry Von Erich with a serious star like Race. This match felt big and it is great to hear Kerry being granted a shot at Ric Flair in August as a result of his win here.
• David Von Erich & Kevin Von Erich vs. The Great Kabuki & Magic Dragon: This match was for the WCCW All Asia Tag Team Championship, a title held by currently held by the Von Erichs. Kevin and the Great Kabuki started things off hot and heavy, trading a few strikes before Magic Dragon was tagged in. David was tagged next to meet him and delivered a big knee lift. Kevin was back in quick and applied an Iron Claw to the abdomen of Magic Dragon that made him yell out in pain. Kabuki was then tagged in and applied his feared nerve hold on Kevin. Eventually, David would come in to try and stop Kabuki’s momentum, but he would be victim of the nerve hold as well. David was worn down by both heels for a solid few minutes. Kevin got the hot tag and cleared house, hitting Kabuki with a running cross body and latching on an Iron Claw. The ref was bumped out of the ring at this point and David threw Dragon over the top rope (which would regularly be a disqualification). Once the ref recovered, Magic Dragon got pinned with a suplex but the decision was overturned! Great Kabuki and Magic Dragon win on a disqualification. The crowd was all about this match to no surprise. Action was crisp from all parties, Magic Dragon even carried his weight here! A back and forth battle with a smart finish.
• José Lothario vs. Al Madril vs. Wild Bill Irwin vs. André the Giant vs. Ken Mantell vs. Bugsy McGraw vs. The Spoiler vs. T John Thibodeaux: This body slam challenge battle royal wasted no time getting underway, as André the Giant started things off with Bugsy McGraw before the introductions could even be finished. Quickly, The Spoiler was slammed by André and eliminated. Thibodeaux and Bugsy bailed out to the turf and traded strikes while the action continued in the ring. Lothario was slammed by André and eliminated. Bugsy McGraw and Wild Bill Irwin worked together to slam the huge T John Thibodeaux, removing him from the match. For a moment, André got tied up in the ropes while Al Madril took Bugsy McGraw to task. Ultimately, Al was slammed by Bugsy and eliminated. Wild Bill would fall victim to the Giant and and it would come down to André and Bugsy McGraw. A few failed slam attempts sent Bugsy out. to the turf to get words of encouragement from Arman Hussein. André the Giant eventually slammed Bugsy with ease to win the match, much to the dismay of Hussein, who was also slammed for his complaining! Nothing too special here. It was cool to see André visit the territory, but he was the obvious winner of this $10,000 body slam challenge battle royal.
• Bill Mercer and Jay Saldi closed us out, mentioned Fritz becoming a 10-time WCCW American Heavyweight Champion, Kerry going on to face Flair for a title opportunity in the future, and so much more history unfolding tonight!

FINAL THOUGHTS

This was a pretty awesome card for Fritz Von Erich’s retirement event! Seeing big starts pop in for such an event was a real treat, especially getting such quality from Harley Race and name value from André the Giant. This show flew by and ended up being a really good showcase of all World Class has to offer at this moment in its timeline. If this show was any indicator, the next couple of summer months should be red hot!

See you all then!