Tonight, we return to the world famous Sportatorium in Dallas for another episode of WCCW TV. David Von Erich will be in singles action and the new All Asia Heavyweight Champion The Great Kabuki is challenged by the electric Al Madril. Our main event features H&H Limited’s King Kong Bundy and their new associate Wild Bill Irwin teaming back up for tag team action!
WCCW TV
Date: 09/04/1982
From: Dallas, Texas
MATCHES
1. Roberto Renesto vs. David Von Erich
2. Pete Montrose vs. Bugsy McGraw
3. The Great Kabuki vs. Al Madril
4. Wild Bill Irwin & King Kong Bundy vs. Brian Adidas & Sal Olivares
BREAKDOWN & REVIEW
- Bill Mercer along with Jay Saldi welcomed us to the world famous Sportatorium in Dallas for another exciting edition of World Class Championship Wrestling. They mention King Kong Bundy and his new H&H Limited partner, Wild Bill Mercer, joining up again for some tag team action. Great Kabuki is mentioned as the newly crowned All Asia Heavyweight Champion. According to Jay Saldi, he went over to Tokyo and wrestled in the Sumo Palace in front of 22,000 people and defeated Jumbu ‘Sanuka’ to win said championship. Thinking Jay meant Tsuruta there, but who knows. It’s still bizarre to me that World Class basically made up all these ‘All Asia’ titles apart from REAL All Asia titles that were contested for in All Japan Pro Wrestling. Tricky, tricky.
- Roberto Renesto vs. David Von Erich: Our first match of the evening was set for one fall, ten minute time limit. I was really pumped for David’s first singles match back. The match started with Dave slipping some holds and outsmarting Renesto. In a quick bout, David put Renesto out with a Sleeper Hold! I could tell Dave had learned a lot as a heel in Florida. He really adds in more personality into his matches. Solid squash her for Von Erich, not using the Iron Claw!? Unheardof!
- After the match, Bill Mercer caught David Von Erich at ringside for an interview. David said there was no place like Texas and it was good to be home! Bill let him know that he set to face King Kong Bundy next week and David said he was glad, as that who his bull rope and bell were for. He will take care of Bundy next week and exact a little revenge for the elbow injury he suffered at the hands of Bundy that he was working through. David seemed a little all over the place with this interview. Maybe trying to play too much to the crowd? I’m not sure…
- Pete Montrose vs. Bugsy McGraw: This match was set for one fall to a finish with ten minute time limit. Bugsy had an umbrella and I assumed this would lead to the end of the match somehow later on. Bugsy antics ate up the first chunk of this match. Spinds, shucking, and dancing was what this one consisted of. A standing airplane dive awarded Bugsy McGraw a victory. Not much action involved here to review, as I think Bugsy is mostly a kid’s act now. I am not a fan even more so than before.
- After the match, Bugsy McGraw got on the house microphone and called out The Great Kabuki for a fight to ‘give the fans a fight for their hard-earned money’. Kabuki didn’t appear as we went into commercial break. Coming back, Al Madril and The Great Kabuki entered for their match as Bugsy continued to taunt Kabuki in the ring. Finally, Bugsy was cleared from the ring so the next match could commence.
- The Great Kabuki vs. Al Madril: This next was also set for one fall with a fifteen minute time limit. It has been a few weeks since Gary Hart was on TV, he was here to manage his man Kabuki. It was reported by Bill Mercer that Hart had a new man coming into H&H Limited, someone named Checkmate. We will have to see what that’s all about. Al got started in this one with some direct punches to the head of The Great Kabuki. Madril stayed in control for a few minutes, laying in strikes. A standing side kick and a chop off the top rope stopped Al Madril’s momentum, allowing Kabuki to lock in his nerve hold on his downed opponent. Another kick to the chest sent Al nearly to the floor. Kabuki followed this up with vise grips under Al’s arms. Al rallied back with the roar of the crowd behind him, gaining a near fall. Kabuki took back over and both men fought to the time limit. The match ended in a draw, the second one for Al Madril in the matter of a few weeks. Another solid outing for both men here, as it was nice to see Madril take Kabuki to the limit. Al Madril consistently delivers and in my mind, always deserves a nice spotlight feature. We leave this one expecting a rematch and with neither man being weakened with a loss!
- A video package was provided called ‘The Many Faces of Great Kabuki’. A package highlighted some of his most devastating maneuvers in slow motion backed by traditional asian music. Shots of his entrance masks, face paint, and green mist were also shown. I love when World Class breaks away from the action to give us something different, whether it be video presentations, segments, or exclusive interviews. It really adds to the overall depth of the shows.
- Wild Bill Irwin & King Kong Bundy vs. Brian Adidas & Sal Olivares: The final event of the evening was set for one fall, ten minutes to a finish. Olivares started things off with Wild Bill, obviously being the faster and more agile of the two. Wild Bill wasted no time laying his stuff in in the corner before Bundy tagged in and picked right up on the offense. Olivares was able to roll to the corner to tag in Adidas who slowed Bundy’s momentum with chops and an armlock. Adidas threw a big dropkick that set Bundy back on his heels. The finish came when Olivares tagged in and Bundy got him up in a shoulder press and Irwin came off the top with an axe handle to nail his suspended opponent. Wild Bill then picked up the easy three count fall. The team of King Kong Bundy and Wild Bill Irwin is a winning combo, I think they complement each other’s styles well. Definitely a mismatch of opponents here, even the commentary team made mention of it. Nonetheless, a good victory for the heel team in this one.
- After the match, Bill Mercer caught up with King Kong Bundy and Arman Hussein at ringside. King Kong said he wasn’t worried about a scrawny little whip like David Von Erich. Arman said the Von Erichs were like a bunch of drowned men, they just keep popping up. The two laughed as they headed to the back. I liked that line from Arman!
- Jay Saldi stepped into frame and helped Bill give a brief recap of the show. They mentioned looking forward to Bundy taking on David next week and reminded us of the deep history between Bundy and the Von Erich family.
FINAL THOUGHTS
An overall solid edition of WCCW TV this week. We got a really solid match out of Al Madril and The Great Kabuki, David finally having his first singles match back in Texas, and the dominating team of King Kong Bundy and Wild Bill Irwin picking up a win in the main event. This is what 1982 World Class programming is all about. I’m ready to see David really step back into the fold on these shows, it will be interesting to see what he’s able to do with Bundy next week…
See you all then!