On tonight’s edition of World Class television, Gary Hart’s newest talent, The Checkmate, debuts in the main event across from fan-favorite, Brian Adidas! Opening the show is the HUGE six-man tag team bout pitting David, Kevin, & Kerry Von Erich against H&H Limited’s King Kong Bundy, Arman Hussein, & Wild Bill Irwin! Also featured is Bugsy McGraw, “Captain” Frank Dusek, and more!
WCCW TV*
Date: 10/02/1982
From: Dallas, Texas
MATCHES
1. Kerry, Kevin, & David Von Erich vs. Arman Hussein, King Kong Bundy, & Wild Bill Irwin
2. Bugsy McGraw vs. “Captain” Frank Dusek
3. The Great Kabuki & Magic Dragon vs. Al Madril & The Samoan
4. The Checkmate vs. Brian Adidas
*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 03/04/2024.
BREAKDOWN & REVIEW
- Bill Mercer and Jay Saldi welcomed us to the arena, again at the commentary booth instead of ringside. They mention some things on the coming card, including snippets of a replay from the “Nature Boy” Ric Flair and “Modern Day Warrior” Kerry Von Erich NWA World’s Heavyweight Championship match!
- Back from commercial, Jay Saldi joined David & Kerry Von Erich at ringside for a pre-match interview. According to Jay, the Von Erich’s have never lost a six-man tag team match. David just said he didn’t have much to say but, they’re ready. Kevin got to ringside and told the folks at home it was party time. Ooof, probably could have just cut that stumbling and bumbling around. I could tell the boys were just put on camera to get a little extra TV time tonight, they didn’t have much to say.
- Kerry, Kevin, & David Von Erich vs. Arman Hussein, King Kong Bundy, & Wild Bill Irwin: This six-man, tag team contest was set for one fall to a finish, with a time limit of fifteen minutes. David and Wild Bill started things off after some confusion on who was starting for each team. Kevin tagged in seconds later and immediately started going after Wild Bill’s arm. Kerry was in next as a house of fire against Wild Bill. Bundy was finally tagged in and worked Kerry over in the heel corner, allowing Arman Hussein to get in some illegal offense. Bundy and Arman took turns working over David once he tagged in and the match pacing slowed to a crawl. Kevin was tagged in and helped clear house, landing a running dropkick on Wild Bill that sent him to the floor outside. We lost tag format a few times toward the end of this one, until all three brothers had some sort of hold on the members of H&H Limited and the match was called as a time limit draw. An okay match here, Arman Hussein really was a waste of a member for the heels. Taking on the Von Erichs, you’d think H&H would’ve used a guy like The Great Kabuki in his place, instead of having a manager in there.
- Bugsy McGraw vs. “Captain” Frank Dusek: The second match of the evening was to be contested as a one-fall, ten minute bout. Bugsy was dressed like a Rugby player, apparently? Not sure, but that’s what Bill and Jay said. More was discussed about Dizzy Hogan, Hulk Hogan’s brother, coming to World Class soon. Odd. In the ring, match started at a snail’s pace. Plenty of silliness from Bugsy. Two criss-cross rope running spots here. Bugsy then bailed to ringside to take two different drinks from people in the front row. With one hidden, he attempted to throw the other drink in Dusek’s face. Dusek ducked the first cup but took the second, hidden drink in the face. As he stumbled around, Bugsy used Dusek’s momentum to throw him over the top rope to the floor. The match was called as a disqualification for doing so, awarding the match to Dusek. Ugh… Not a stellar week of action thus far.
- After the match, Bugsy McGraw adamantly shook the referee’s hand as a job well done, despite him trying to leave the shake several times. Attempting a sneak attack, “Captain” Frank Dusek came into frame with a running strike, but Bugsy was able to side-step it, and again caused Dusek to go out over the top rope to the floor. More comedy here. What I did find funny was that Bugsy had to yell at the referee to keep shaking his hand long enough for Dusek to get in there for the attack spot.
- Back from commercial, we were right in the middle of the finishing sequence for the first fall of the Ric Flair against Kerry Von Erich match for the NWA World’s Heavyweight Championship at the last Wrestling Star Wars event. A voiceover was given, explaining the two-out-of-three falls stipulation, and recapped each fall individually.
- At ringside, Bill Mercer interviewed Gary Hart with Magic Dragon and The Great Kabuki prior to their tag team match scheduled up next. Mercer questioned them about the rumored five-thousand dollar bounty that Flair had supposedly placed on Kerry Von Erich’s head. Hart clarified that ‘Rickie’ Flair did not need the help of Gary Hart to be the World Champion and that there was no truth to such a rumor. You can’t buy Gary Hart and talking to Bill Mercer about such things is like talking to a tree. The three men then headed off toward the ring steps. There needs to be more bounties in professional wrestling. There needs to be more Gary Hart in professional Wrestling.
- The Great Kabuki & Magic Dragon vs. Al Madril & The Samoan: The next bout was scheduled for one fall with a ten minute time limit. Kabuki sprayed his pre-match mist on his hands, this time with the blowback getting in Gary Hart’s eyes much to the enjoyment of the crowd! The Samoan started things off with Kabuki, working in some jumping headbutts and strikes. Kabuki took control quickly with kicks and chops and tagged Magic Dragon in to work over the arm of The Samoan. Madril got the hot tag and went to work on both heels, nailing them both with a running crossbody. The finish came when Dragon locked in his rolling leglock sleeper on The Samoan and forced a submission. The more these two guys tag together, the better. Dragon needs Kabuki, and works best in tags. Plus, it keeps Kabuki from suffering any singles losses.
- We were beginning an interview with Bill Mercer and The Checkmate at ringside when we came back from commercial. He said he was from the Isle of Man and has really liked it here in Texas so far. Suddenly, still wiping his eyes, Gary Hart entered and attempted to stop Bill Mercer from interviewing ‘one of his guys’. He told Bill he wasn’t allowed to talk to any of his men without him, because he said so and that’s all that matters. The Checkmate said if ‘The Governor’ doesn’t want him to talk, he won’t. On their way to the ring, Gary cockily said back to BIll, “See, I’m in charge, brotha’!”
- The Checkmate vs. Brian Adidas: This main event was set for one fall, fifteen minutes to a finish. According to Jay Saldi, The Checkmate is the current European Champion. He worked quickly and strongly against Adidas. We got a flurry of tricky pin attempts by Checkmate, all executed pretty well. Heavy knees and headbutts kept Adidas on his heels, with Checkmate definitely getting the better of him for his debut. More talents were spoken about on commentary as coming soon, including Fishman, “Freebird” Michael Hayes, and Dizzy Hogan (again). After some headbutts to the midsection, Checkmate attempted a powerbomb pin, but Adidas slipped through it and just landed in the pin without leaving the mat. Very weird looking, but Checkmate picked up the win. I really liked Checkmate’s strong, stiff striking in this one. I was actually pleasantly surprised with the quality of wrestler this guy was. Adidas gave him a solid debut match, all things considered. Adidas seems to improve week after week, still working out some obvious kinks along the way.
- At ringside, Bill Mercer and Jay Saldi recapped some of the stuff we saw tonight. Next week, King Kong Bundy meets Al Madril, The Checkmate takes on The Samoan, and the NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship is on the line when David Von Erich faces former champion, Wild Bill Irwin.
- Wild Bill Irwin then stepped into frame with Bill Mercer and Jay Saldi for an interview to close out the show. Bill asked him about having the chance to win the championship back. Wild Bill said that every time he steps in the ring with David Von Erich, the two go toe-to-toe. He credits David Von Erich as the fighter out of the three brothers. He says David got lucky that he was able to beat him for the very prestigious Texas Heavyweight Championship. He made the title what it is and he plans on getting it back! A nice little interview for Wild Bill here. I do think he and David work pretty well together.
FINAL THOUGHTS
This week was a dud for in-ring stuff, for the most part. I did like The Checkmate way more than I thought I was going to, so that was a nice surprise. We had a pretty stacked card announced for next week that sounds pretty good on paper. Plus, we got more mention of several new stars heading for WCCW soon. It is only a matter of time before The Freebirds run amuk in Texas!
See you all then!