On this edition of World Class Championship Wrestling, Kevin & Kerry Von Erich take on H&H Limited’s crown jewels, The Great Kabuki & Magic Dragon, for the All Asia Tag Championship! Also, the debut of The Superfly, Al Madril in action, and more!
WCCW TV*
Date: 07/10/1982
From: Dallas, Texas
MATCHES
1. “Captain” Frank Dusek vs. Al Madril
2. Raul Castro vs. The Superfly
3. The Great Kabuki & Magic Dragon vs. Kevin & Kerry Von Erich
*BROADCAST NOTE
This playback copy has been presented in the most complete form possible, due to original production technical difficulties, reported by Peacock as of 09/22/2023. All Rights Reserved.
BREAKDOWN & REVIEW
- Bill Mercer and Jay Saldi welcomed us to the Sportatorium. The gave a special highlight of the match for the All Asia Tag Team Championship. They mentioned how David Von Erich got carried away in Texas Stadium and caused a disqualification. Hence, why Kerry is filling in for him here. I’m glad they acknowledged the swap, I was wondering why it was Kerry instead of David here.
- “Captain” Frank Dusek vs. Al Madril: This opening bout was set for one fall with a ten minute time limit. It is announced that Madril will be facing Wild Bill Irwin for the Texas Heavyweight Championship next week! Madril stayed ahead of Dusek early on, sending Dusek complaining to the referee a few times. Dusek was all over the ref here, revenge for last week’s disqualification. He was caught off guard and dropkicked from behind, sending him over the top rope. This caused the finish and after the match Dusek again bellied up to the referee. He got on the house mic as David Manning left the ring and called him a stooge. Weird that they took some shine off Al Madril in favor of a referee angle, especially as Madril is one of the promotion’s top babyfaces. Nothing much happened here, bummer of a night for Madril.
- Raul Castro vs. The Superfly: The Superfly was in the ring being taunted by Bugsy McGraw, who had recently removed himself from H&H Limited.This exhibition had a ten minute time limit, one fall to a finish. Bugsy stayed at ringside and interacted with fans at ringside. The Superfly threw Castro around a little bit, Castro selling like he was being killed. A chant for Bugsy broke out as Castro still provided no offense against the onslaught. Superfly pulled Castro out of a pin to continue the punishment. A second-rope splash from the corner finished this one off. After the match, Bugsy McGraw begged to get a crack at slamming The Superfly. Fine showing for the debuting Superfly here, though he’s just another big guy. I really feel Bugsy turning on H&H is coming off forced, but the crowd seemed to buy it tonight and that’s all that matters. I look forward to seeing where this goes for Bugsy.
- Back from commercial, Bill Mercer introduced us to an interview with Superfly at the airport earlier this afternoon. Bill Mercer and a few reports met Gary Hart who was getting off a commuter plane. Hart said that Superfly would be introduced on his own time. He was not prepared to speak about the Bugsy McGraw situation. Hart refused Mercer access to see Superfly. I really wish this was presented BEFORE we saw Superfly on TV. It may have helped with the hype of his debut. Seemed kind of like an afterthought here in the middle of the show.
- Bill Mercer was then at a different location west of Dallas along the highway with Bugsy McGraw who was getting ready to show him his workout routine. He was at a waterpark. He said his secret was the power of AGUA. Neptune wields the power of water, AGUA. Water is expression and water is power and most of all it is fun! Bugsy then proceeded to drag Mercer down a waterslide! The camera followed them as they went all the way down. This was absolutely ridiculous and just an excuse to film at this waterpark, obviously. Bugsy delivered an over-the-top promo as usual, so it kind of worked with his character. Interesting choice, to say the least. I guess if nothing else, it helps add to his ‘good guy’ points.
- The Great Kabuki & Magic Dragon vs. Kevin & Kerry Von Erich: This next match was going to include the penalty box cages at ringside. Bill Mercer was ringside with the referee to explain how it was going to work. If a wrestler breaks a rule, they have to spend two minutes in the box. If either manager appears at ringside, they will have to go into the box for the remainder of the match. Kerry and Dragon started things off, holds being applied almost immediately by the Dragon. Some quick tags in and out saw the Von Erichs well ahead of H&H Limited. After a few minutes, the heels began to gain momentum over Kevin, using holds and kicks to keep him away from tagging Kerry. Kevin was locked into the box for completing a tag and still fighting with Magic Dragon in the ring. Dragon went to the box for running in to help Kabuki who was locked in a sleeper. As soon as Kevin came out, he was put right back in for attacking an opponent in the ring without being tagged in again! Kerry was thrown from pillar to post, the crowd rallying behind him. Kevin was in next and took it to Kabuki and the Dragon. At this point, Kerry had taken much of the damage, even crawling to the corner to find Kevin locked in the box again! Once out, again Kevin stormed the ring and this time caused a disqualification. Not as good a match that we saw between David & Kerry vs. Dragon and Kabuki, but still a solid, action-packed match here. The penalty box gimmicks were a little underwhelming, as Kevin was really the only one who kept ending up in one. Still, a nice spin on a similar match recently for the same titles!
- Bill Mercer and Jay Saldi recapped the night. They again promoted Madril vs. Irwin for the Texas Heavyweight Championship.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Wow! For the first time in what feels like a month’s worth of TV, we haven’t had a replay of a match from Texas Stadium. Only three matches on tonight’s card, giving the main event plenty of time to unfold. I do think it went a little long, but all things considered, it was a good one! I look forward to Madril taking on Irwin next week, as I think they are a feud pairing made in heaven!
See you all then!