World Class Championship Wrestling TV 06/05/1982

Following Fritz’s historic retirement show in Texas Stadium just one night ago, tonight, the action in Dallas keeps on rolling. Kevin Von Erich takes on King Kong Bundy in the main event. Also, the legendary José Lothario returns to the Sportatorium to take on “Captain” Frank Dusek, and much more!

WCCW TV*

Date: 06/05/1982
From: Dallas, Texas

MATCHES

1. Tom “Boogaloo” Shaft vs. Wild Bill Irwin

2. The Great Kabuki & Magic Dragon vs. Ken Mantell & Kim Duk

3. “Captain” Frank Dusek vs. José Lothario

4. Kevin Von Erich vs. King Kong Bundy

*BROADCAST NOTE

This playback copy has been presented in the most complete form possible, due to original production technical difficulties. Reported on Peacock as of 03/10/2023.

BREAKDOWN & REVIEW

• Marc Lowrance welcomed us to the world famous sportatorium. He ran down a list of talent who we could expect to see tonight, including the man joining him next.
• Kim Duk stopped by ringside with Marc, he made sure to make clear that he was here to help The Spoiler take care of Magic Dragon and Great Kabuki. He is sick of them using sticks, illegal choke holds, and other Chinese ways of fighting. He will use all the same against them while he is here! Kim Duk’s English was very, very broken, but he got his point across. We’ll see what happens later.
• Tom “Boogaloo” Shaft vs. Wild Bill Irwin: This match was set for one fall to a finish, with a ten minute time limit. Irwin took control early, working over the arm and back of his opponent. Shaft battled back with some strikes in the corner. Irwin reversed a headbutt, scoop-slammed Tom Shaft, and came off the second rope with a splash for the victory. Nothing special here, we’ve definitely seen better from Irwin as of late.
• The Great Kabuki & Magic Dragon vs. Ken Mantell & Kim Duk: This next tag match was set for one fall, thirty minute time limit. Gary Hart was ringside for his men here, of course. Ken Mantell and Kabuki studied each other for a few moments before clashing, Kabuki getting the better of Mantell. Kim Duk was in quick and he was able to avoid some savate kick attempts. A quick flurry ended in a stalemate between the two. Dragon tagged in and went right after Duk with strikes, cranking up the pace of the match considerably. Mantell tagged in but fell victim to similar offense from Magic Dragon, including a few attempts at his rolling grapevine chokehold. Kim Duk got tagged back in and traded chops and punches with Kabuki and really fired up the crowd. The finish came with Duk locking Kabuki in the Dragon’s controversial choke, all four men ended up in the ring causing a complete match breakdown. Kendo sticks were swung, even seeing a run-in from The Spoiler to help the face team run the heels off. This ended up being a much more solid match than I had anticipated! There was some good, tense action throughout and I thought the heel team worked exceptionally well. Kim Duk brought some hard-hitting offense and didn’t back down from the heels a bit.
• Marc Lowrance welcomed José Lothario, the Mexican Brass Knuckles Champion, with him for a quick word. Lothario said he was defending his championship all over the place and knows there’s a bunch of strong competitors in Texas he looks forward to facing. Wild Bill Irwin then stormed the interview Lothario exited. Wild Bill demanded to know why Lothario doesn’t ever defend his Brass Knuckles Championship. Irwin continued his case, saying that he puts up the Texas Heavyweight Championship all the time. Marc Lowrance had no answers for him. Irwin said he is out here alone, he is no longer with “Captain Crunch”, he is a chicken at heart and that is why he dropped him from his side! I am glad Irwin is no longer associated with Dusek, because I do think he is a lead weight. I think it says a lot when your appearances on the big Texas Stadium show get cut, too…
• “Captain” Frank Dusek vs. José Lothario: This singles match was set for one fall, ten minutes to a finish. The audio issues were prevalent here, as noted at the start of the program by Peacock’s streaming network. José laid in some strikes early that caught Dusek off-guard, sending him reeling to the corner to regroup. Dusek bailed out to the floor, freeing him from a hammerlock he was having some trouble with. This was turning into almost exclusively a mat-based match, with submissions being slapped on by José left and right. A head scissors kept Dusek down awhile, with the action pretty much dead at this point. The finish of the match ended up as a double countout after the two had spilled out under the bottom rope tangled up. Both men pulled the other off the apron to continue the fight on the floor as the bell rang and officials broke them up. This was a waste of a José Lothario appearance, in my opinion. Dusek just isn’t good and I think World Class should really move away from booking him, loose program with Irwin be damned.
• Kevin Von Erich vs. King Kong Bundy: The main event was set for one fall, thirty minute time limit announced. Kevin was shot off into the ropes and ran into a brick wall with Bundy twice, drop kicking him on the third attempt. An Iron Claw quickly found Bundy’s head while he was in the corner, but it was only able to lack on momentarily before he broke it. A test of strength was up next. The audio and tape again became distorted with a banner being provided by Peacock. Action spilled to the floor as a scoop slam sent Kevin to the hardwood hard. Kevin fought back in the ring, as he laid in more strikes and another big dropkick. Kevin ducked out of the way of a splash in the corner and followed that up with a turning crossbody off the top onto Bundy for a three count. This was a good showing for both men, proving the brute strength of King Kong Bundy and the athleticism of Kevin.
• Marc Lowrance joined Kevin at ringside who said that he just beat the unbeatable and that pretty soon, he’d be wearing his belt (American Heavyweight Championship won from Fritz)! Short, sweet, and to the point… Usual Kevin here.
• Marc Lowrance thanked us for tuning into another exciting episode of World Class Championship Wrestling. No news on next week’s action given.

FINAL THOUGHTS

This was a week of decent action, not the greatest, not the worst. Somewhere in the middle. Kabuki and Dragon versus Mantell and Duk was a total surprise in quality, which was refreshing. Kevin and Bundy did a good job of delivering a TV main event. Wild Bill continues to get good screen time, I hope for more for him. I look forward to the summer really heating up in Texas moving forward!

See you all then!