A huge tag team match heads up tonight’s card, as the main event sees Kerry Von Erich team up with Brian Adidas to take on H&H Limited’s Magic Dragon and The Checkmate! Also featured, the return of The Spoiler to Dallas, a special attraction exhibition match, and another chapter in the Al Madril / Great Kabuki story unfolds! All that, plus much more kicks off the last month of 1982!
WCCW TV
Date: 12/04/1982
From: Dallas, Texas
MATCHES
1. The Spoiler vs. Roberto Renesto
2. Little Coco vs. Hillbilly Pete
3. The Great Kabuki vs. Al Madril
4. Brian Adidas & Kerry Von Erich vs. Magic Dragon & The Checkmate
BREAKDOWN & REVIEW
- Bill Mercer and Jay Saldi welcomed us to the Sportitorum and they ran down the card for the night. Bill quickly threw to a pre-taped interview with The Spoiler who returns to the territory tonight.
- Standing at ringside before the show, Bill Mercer welcomed The Spoiler back to Dallas and asked about an affiliation with Gary Hart. The Spoiler said that blood was thicker than water and whatever fans or wrestlers want to say about him, they can expect his same same style and performance.
- Odd that he glossed over the Gary Hart connection. I’m not sure H&H Limited needs ANOTHER guy in a white mask in their stable…
- The Spoiler vs. Roberto Renesto: The first match of the evening was set for one fall to a finish with a ten minute time limit. Spoiler didn’t wait for the bell and went right to work on Renesto. He hung him over top rope sending him to the mat quickly. Spoiler was using full referee breaks and some dirty tactics on Renesto who was barely getting any offense in for himself. Spoiler pulled Renesto out of a pin three times in a row. The whole crowd was completely stunned that Spoiler was working heel here, with a packed Sportatorium as quiet as I’ve ever seen it. Bill Mercer even mentioned the odd feeling amongst the crowd. Spoiler really just beat Renesto down with heavy strikes, choking, and using the ropes for leverage. A elbow drop to a standing Renesto with a follow-up standing elbow drop to a downed Renesto kept him down for a three count.
- This was one of the most confusing matches we’ve seen on WCCW television. The crowd didn’t know how to react to The Spoiler’s heel tactics, even still cheering him when he won. The action was awful and for a squash match, this one went way too long. Dud.
- Little Coco vs. Hillbilly Pete: This special attraction match was set for one fall to a finish, ten minutes. This was announced as our ‘midget match’ for the evening. Little Coco was definitely the crowd favorite here. Coco started things off with a nice flying hip attack to keep Pete on his toes. A standing side headlock was then applied by Pete and the hair was being pulled for leverage. Coco bumped well for Pete, but rallied back with some strikes to break up some of Pete’s momentum. A back body drop put Pete down followed by a scoop slam for a near fall. Some tights use in pin attempts were unsuccessful on the part of Hillbilly Pete. It ended up being a flying crossbody-style headbutt off the second rope that dropped Hillbilly Pete for a three count, giving Little Coco the victory tonight!
- These two worked extremely hard to keep the fans properly engaged in their work. I was really impressed with Little Coco and his in-ring quality. Solid match here, nice and quick, didn’t linger, and the right man went over!
- Back from commercial, at the commentary booth Bill Mercer spoke of how much the Von Erichs are ‘country boys’ through and through. He announced a special look at the boys during the current duck season, as they hunt alongside their father Fritz in the coming video package.
- Bill Mercer joined Kevin Von Erich in a duck blind, saying that they were eyeing Mallards today. Kevin said he would probably crack up if he didn’t have a place like Lake Dallas to come to. He and his brothers are all country boys. He doesn’t get off on disco dancing and city life, he’s all about the country life. The camera then cut to Kerry and Fritz in a separate blind where Fritz used his call allowing Bill and Kevin to take a few shots. We then faded into a point where several ducks had been collected by each man. Fritz asked how Bill liked the hunt and said he was welcome back any time.
- I’ll be honest, little segments like this are some of my favorite stuff to be able to watch back. These featurettes to so far when it comes to humanizing and really characterizing all the stars on World Class television. Not to mention, it’s no wonder Texas loved the Von Erich boys. They hunt with their dad, fight for what is right, and work hard. Texas is the Von Erichs and vise-versa!
- The Great Kabuki vs. Al Madril: Our semi-main event was one fall to a finish, set for a fifteen minute time limit. I was really looking forward to this one, as anytime these two clash, it’s been good stuff. Arman Hussein was ringside for Kabuki here, instead of Hart, which I found odd. Nonetheless, we got right to the action in the ring and Al Madril found himself on defense to start things off. A wrist lock held Madril up for a moment, but he was able to rally and nail an armdrag to keep arm control of Kabuki for a few moments. Madril is one of the only people that can stand toe-to-toe with Kabuki and have a fighting chance. Madril laid in some punches and Kabuki threw his own kick to drop Madril. A nerve hold on the back of Madril’s neck had him in a bad way as the crowd rallied behind him. A big enziguri shook Madril up enough to open himself up to another nerve hold around the neck area. Madril was able to return to his feet and fight his way out of the hold with some more fists and a running shoulder block that sent Kabuki to the floor. A crossbody from the top to the floor by Madril ended up being very successful! Madril missed a knee in the corner and got Kabuki’s banned knee breaker sending Madril rolling out to the floor for a count-out finish.
- Man, this was shaping up to be an awesome match, perhaps one of their best meetings! The big spot on the outside, the clean and snappy work in the ring, and Madril potentially having an edge over Kabuki finally was all pretty exciting. I’m giving this one two stars, but if we would’ve got maybe five more minutes and win for Madril here, this one would’ve been in the ‘match of the year’ conversation!
- Back from commercial, Jay Saldi spoke a bit about the friendship between Brian Adidas and Kerry Von Erich and how Kerry has been helping to train Brian. Bill Mercer then threw it to a pre-taped interview with the tag team from earlier in the day.
- Bill Mercer stood at ringside with “The Modern Day Warrior” Kerry Von Erich and his understudy, Brian Adidas. Bill first asked Brian about his long-standing friendship with Kerry and the Von Erich family. He said he couldn’t ask for a better partner than the uncrowned World Champion! They have done it all together. Kerry then excitedly grabbed the mic from Bill and told him that, as a matter of fact, they just got out of the gym together. They had a good workout and plan to include some of the moves they have been working on in the ring tonight.
- Kerry was very excited to talk here, I bet they did pull him in for an interview right out of a warm-up. I like Brian Adidas and think he has come a long way as a talent since the first time we saw him on television. I’m interested to see what these two put together tonight, but most definitely prefer them as singles competitors.
- Up next at the booth, Bill Mercer said he was also able to get in a word with H&H Limited’s Arman Hussein, The Checkmate, and Magic Dragon earlier today.
- At ringside, Bill Mercer was joined by H&H Limited (Hussein, Dragon, Checkmate) for a few words about their upcoming main event tag team match. Again, no Gary Hart to be found. Bill asked Arman about Bundy leaving H&H Limited and asked Arman if they are trying to put something together for a team without him. He said Bundy has decided to go out and be his own man. Despite this, H&H Limited will go on and continue to be successful with or without him. It pays to have friends in this world and if Bundy wants to be out on his own, so be it. H&H Limited is designed to host champions and that hasn’t changed.
- Arman Hussein just isn’t Gary Hart, that much is obvious. As much as he tried to convey strength despite King Kong Bundy’s departure from the group, I didn’t really buy it and it kind of seemed he didn’t either. I’m not sure if that’s what maybe they were going for, but regardless, this segment begged for Hart to be on the microphone.
- Brian Adidas & Kerry Von Erich vs. Magic Dragon & The Checkmate: Prior to the match, Kind Kong Bundy jumped onto the apron and had an announcement to make. As of this day, he is legally free from H&H Limited and has started his own corporation called Devastation Incorporated, who will appear next week against anybody in World Class wrestling. Otherwise, this tag team match was set for one fall, forty-five minutes to a finish. Kerry started things off with Checkmate and looked absolutely jacked. His traps alone looked bigger than ever. Some mat-based work started us off, with Kerry holding his own against Checkmate. Magic Dragon was in next and was almost pinned in a quick attempt by Kerry. Brian Adidas was in next and kept Dragon in an armlock into a wristlock for a bit. Checkmate was in to take to Adidas a bit. I still don’t understand why he wears the Tiger Mask mask, but whatever. Magic Dragon was tagged in and hit a nice backflip into a savate kick in the corner on Adidas. Kerry came in for a hot tag and hyped the crowd up with some dancing, showy punches. In the midst of some chaos, all four men ended up in the ring. While the referee attempted to get Kerry out, the heels double-bodyslammed Brian Adidas and he was pinned for a three-count.
- This one had a lot of good action and the crowd was hot for Kerry and Brian, but I don’t think this one came off as exciting as the last match. Kerry’s star power and momentum both are off the charts right now, so for me, it felt as if saddling him in a tag match was like putting a leash around a rocketship. I was pretty surprised for Magic Dragon and The Checkmate to come away with the victory here, too! This one gets a star and a half from me.
- At the commentary booth, Bill Mercer and Jay Saldi helped wrap up the show and a replay of King Kong Bundy’s announcement was played. They put over the Devastation Incorporated name and said they looked forward to what Bundy had in store for next week.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Wow. This week of World Class television left me exhausted. Things have really, really ramped up in WCCW. We got some really decent in-ring stuff this week, a lot of storyline progression, solid angle development, a good few interviews, and even a nice little Von Erich spotlight package outside the Sportatorium. This has been one of my favorite episodes thus far and I suggest you go back and check it out yourself. Maybe I’m a bit biased, but regardless, I found it worth the watch! I can’t wait to see what 1983 has in store for World Class, let alone next week…
See you all then!