In the midst of a STACKED night of action, Gary Hart promises NWA World’s Heavyweight Champion, “Nature Boy” Ric Flair a major favor when The Great Kabuki faces “The Modern Day Warrior” Kerry Von Erich in tonight’s opening bout. In the main event, King Kong Bundy looks to exact some revenge on behalf of H&H Limited when he meets the wild, fan-favorite Bugsy McGraw! Also in action, Kevin Von Erich, David Von Erich, and much more.
WCCW TV*
Date: 09/25/1982
From: Dallas, Texas
MATCHES
1. The Great Kabuki vs. Kerry Von Erich
2. Kevin Von Erich vs. Wild Bill Irwin
3. Magic Dragon vs. David Von Erich
4. Bugsy McGraw 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 02/24/2024.
BREAKDOWN & REVIEW
- Once again we were welcomed to the show from the commentary table by Bill Mercer and Jay Saldi. The put Kevin Von Erich over as the newest American Heavyweight Champion. More card coverage followed.
- Prior to the opening contest, Bill Mercer interviewed Gary Hart and The Great Kabuki who were at ringside. Hart promised ‘Rickie’ Flair to defeat Kerry Von Erich in record time, to stop folks from calling him the uncrowned world champion. He calls Flair a class act and closes the interview. Odd the way Hart kept calling him “Rickie”. Just a Gary Hart thing, I suppose.
- The Great Kabuki vs. Kerry Von Erich: The opening contest was scheduled for one fall to a finish with a fifteen minute time limit. The match started with a quick pace, Kabuki landing some lighting fast kicks to Kerry’s chest. To capitalize on the kicks, Kabuki climbs to the top rope for his chop but Kerry recovered and powerslammed him off the top! A shocking three count awarded Kerry the victory in under a minute! Gary Hart argued with David Manning following the announcement. Ummm. Was not expecting that… Taking out Kabuki in under a minute!? Kind of makes Hart and Kabuki look silly after promising a win to Ric Flair. Points for something different, I guess?
- Kevin Von Erich vs. Wild Bill Irwin: This next match was set for one fall with a fifteen minute time limit. After some circling, the quicker Kevin Von Erich was able to stay a step ahead of Irwin with some hold trading. Some nice work here by Kevin, finding an armbar to continue slowing down Wild Bill Irwin. The ground game continued with a deep body scissors hold being applied on the former Texas Heavyweight Champion. An Iron Claw was latched onto the midsection of Irwin, albeit briefly. Kevin fired up, landed some big punches, and dropped a standing knee for a near fall. More struggling ensued as the two men rolled around the mat, Wild Bill throwing punches and Kevin trying to apply the Claw. The time limit ended this one in a draw, neither man being able to come out on top during this encounter. This was a tightly contested match, with Kevin dishing most of the punishment and Wild Bill taking it and being able to dish it back. Kevin seems to be working a little more aggressive since winning his American Heavyweight Championship. Good stuff here for a TV match.
- Magic Dragon vs. David Von Erich: The following contest was set for one fall with a fifteen minute time limit. More coloring issues with the tape here. David Von Erich is the current Texas Heavyweight Champion as of about a week after defeated Wild Bill Irwin for the title. He began this match by firing away fists and knees at Magic Dragon. David then worked a toe hold on Dragon, keeping his opponent grounded. A nerve hold under the arm stopped David’s momentum while the crowd rallied hard behind him. A spinning back elbow then sent David out to the floor, he was in trouble here. Back in the ring, David suffered a pinfall but was able to get his leg on the bottom rope! The official cancelled his call for the bell and Arman Hussein got in the ring to protest for Magic Dragon. While distracted, Magic Dragon found himself locked in a sleeper hold to which he passed out in to end the match. David was announced the winner! After the match, Arman continued his argument with David Manning. Another solid bout here, with these guys working together pretty well. David still seems to be working slightly heelish, definitely a carry over of styles from his time in Florida as a bad guy.
- Back from commercial, Bill Mercer was standing by with David Von Erich for a pre-taped interview at ringside. David went over some of his history in the Dallas area, including his high school and college athletic career. He spoke about picking back up where he left off, once again becoming Texas Heavyweight Championship. He says he doesn’t mind bending the rules, as rules hinder a man. If an opponent wants to fight dirty instead of wrestle, he’s okay with it. he will fight fire with fire. Bill Mercer mentioned next week, David will tag up with his brothers Kevin and Kerry to take on King Kong Bundy, Magic Dragon, and Wild Bill Irwin! David seems completely comfortable talking on the mic. He is already miles ahead of his brothers, no question. Nice segment here, I’m looking forward to that six man match next week already!
- Bugsy McGraw vs. King Kong Bundy: The main event this evening was set for one fall, also with a fifteen minute time limit. These two did a lot of walking and talking in the beginning. The first significant hold was a bear hug that Bundy locked onto Bugsy. Big haymaker punches were traded back and forth until Arman Hussein locked Bugsy McGraws arms behind his back on the apron to allow Bundy to get more strikes in. The match was immediately thrown out by the official due to the blatant interference. Nothing special here. Very slow, not much action.
- After the match, Arman Hussein was sent over the top rope by Bugsy McGraw for his interruption. Wild Bill Irwin ran in to exact some of his own revenge on Bugsy McGraw, but he didn’t have much of an impact. Irwin was tossed over the top rope to the floor by Bugsy and the fight between Bugsy and Bundy ended with Bundy going over the top rope as well. The heels regrouped on the outside as Bugsy McGraw taunted them in the ring. I’m expecting Bugsy McGraw to get a shot at Wild Bill Irwin in the coming weeks after this.
- Bill Mercer and Jay Saldi stood at ringside to close out the show. They mentioned two out of the three Von Erich boys picking up victories tonight, with Kevin battling to a draw. Bill again mentioned the six-man tag team match for next week. He also expressed that next week, some highlights from Kerry Von Erich and Ric Flair’s World’s Heavyweight Championship match would be shown.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Tonight ended up being a one match card. Despite the draw, Kevin and Wild Bill definitely stole the show. I think with the television time allowed, they did what they could with the rest of the card. I would like to see some of these guys square off again on a bigger stage. BIG announcement for that tag team match next week, it marks the first time the three Von Erich boys have tagged together in a very long time and the very first time they’ve tagged together on World Class television.
See you all then!