With two weeks to go until World Class Championship Wrestling’s annual Christmas Star Wars event, what will the NWA World’s Heavyweight Champion, “Nature Boy” Ric Flair, have to say to Fritz Von Erich during an exclusive face-off? Also, we will see an explosive six-man tag team match, pitting some of the best WCCW has to offer against ranking members of H&H Limited. Plus, a newly contract-free King Kong Bundy squares off with Kevin Von Erich in the main event and much, much more!
WCCW TV
Date: 12/11/1982
From: Dallas, Texas
MATCHES
1. The Spoiler vs. José Lothario
2. The Great Kabuki, Magic Dragon, & The Checkmate vs. Bugsy McGraw, Al Madril, & Brian Adidas
3. King Kong Bundy vs. Kevin Von Erich
BREAKDOWN & REVIEW
- Bill Mercer welcomed us to the Sportatorium, no Jay Saldi in sight. He let us know that Fritz Von Erich and Ric Flair would be having a verbal faceoff via satellite a little later, on top of going over some of the featured matches of the night. He then threw to a pre-taped promo featuring King Kong Bundy.
- King Kong Bundy was then standing by to share a few words on his opponent tonight. He said Kevin Von Erich running around with the American Heavyweight Championship is a joke. He called Kevin a scrawny little punk and said that he would be bringing that title back to its rightful owner soon!
- Funny promo here from Bundy, also short and sweet. His work on the microphone has definitely improved compared to earlier this year.
- We returned to Bill Mercer who finished out covering the card and threw to commercial.
- The Spoiler vs. José Lothario: This opening contest was set for one fall to a finish, ten minutes for a time limit. We got a recap of The Spoiler’s match last week prior to the bell here. That might be the first time they’ve done that on WCCW TV? We started things off with a lock up and push-off into the corner, followed by a wrist lock that let Lothario into the ropes. A nice uppercut followed by a standing side headlock put Lothario slightly ahead before Spoiler unleashed some big strikes. Lothario’s bald spot is really starting to come through here… Spoiler resorted to using some closed fists to Lothario’s stomach and abused the official’s count in the corner. He came off the second rope with a clubbing blow to the back of Lothario’s head and then headed to the apron to choke his opponent over the top rope. Both men ended up on the apron long enough for David Manning to count both men out, ending the match in a double disqualification.
- Luckily, this one was kept to a minimum, but six minutes still felt like forever. There was a lot of walking and talking here, not much action. The Spoiler is able to work and did a few things, but I’m not sure EITHER man had their working boots on tonight. Dud.
- Back from commercial, Bill Mercer was standing by with David Manning and Bronko Lubich and Bill explained that there would be a special referee with one of them in the cage with Kerry Von Erich and “Nature Boy” Ric Flair in the upcoming NWA World’s Heavyweight Championship. Manning then explained how a prior appointed referee had failed to keep order in a prior bout between Flair and Von Erich, so a conference occurred. The four potential names for the next special referee, as narrowed down by the NWA, were Duke Keomuka, “Wild” Bull Curry, Ken Mantell, and “Freebird” Michael Hayes. It was left for a vote and it was Michael Hayes was picked as the special referee. Bronko then confirmed that between he and Manning, they would appointed that same night. He reminded the people that he is the only referee in the world who has officiated two World Championship title changes! Both men said that without being partial to either man, their bets were on Kerry Von Erich!
- This got a good couple of minutes here and I thought both men featured actually gave a decent performance in explaining some of their feelings on the upcoming match, what the NWA’s position was, and how the big match is starting to shape out now being just two weeks out. Props to both Bronko and David here, the hype worked decently well and we now know Michael Hayes will be in there to help keep “Nature Boy” in line!
- Coming up next was the six-man tag team match, but first, a few words from Gary Hart and H&H Limited. Gary Hart was standing ringside with The Great Kabuki, Magic Dragon, & The Checkmate. Gary Hart called these the greatest three men in wrestling today. King Kong Bundy rushed into frame with Wild Bill Irwin and The Spoiler and said that they were baddest three men in pro wrestling today and they want the $50,000 prize and the brand-new Mercedes Benz as the top team! Hart said whether their team wins or his three men win, he can’t lose!
- I’m a little confused on this whole situation… I’m assuming that there will either be some sort of tournament, or bracket, or match series to crown a six-man championship? Cash prize and a car? We’re definitely missing some context here…
- Al Madril was then standing by with his teammates Brian Adidas and Bugsy McGraw. Al Madril called six-man matches similar to being in a battle royal! Tag matches are going to be the number one thing going in World Class and they’re going to close it out at the top. Adidas agreed and said that they have put together the best team going and Bugsy said the power was in their mind, in their body, and in their soul. They have formed an alliance and absolutely anything could happen!
- Even though it is kind of a set of strange bedfellows, I like this group. Each guy brings something different to the table and I think it could work well in their favor. This new six-man tag division could end up working really well AND help guys get on television more consistently.
- The Great Kabuki, Magic Dragon, & The Checkmate vs. Bugsy McGraw, Al Madril, & Brian Adidas: This six-man tag team match was set for one fall with a twenty-minute time limit. Gary Hart was not at ringside, which was weird because he was in the pre-match promo, instead Arman Hussein was the corner man here. The Great Kabuki started things off with Brain Adidas. Kabuki worked over an arm to set the pace for the heels early on. The two came to a stalemate a few times before Magic Dragon tagged in to work Adidas over. Madril got a blind tag in and lit up Dragon with punches and a back bodydrop for a two-count. Bugsy was in next to continue the punishment on Dragon. Tags continued, bringing in Adidas to land a nice dropkick and stiff shoulder block on Dragon. The Checkmate finally made his way in and threw several knees into the back of Brian Adidas. Tag format was broken and all men ended up clashing in the ring briefly. Al Madril and Great Kabuki ended up throwing wild punches at each other was the crowd was erupting with excitement. Next it was Bugsy and Dragon to throw punches in the center of the ring. The referee was barely able to keep this thing together! Magic Dragon mixed it up with Brian Adidas and got a near fall after a somersault savate kick landed. Dragon then whipped Adidas toward the heel corner allowing Kabuki to come off the top with a kick that put Adidas down for Dragon to pick up a stolen three-count!
- So, super chaotic here for this six-man tag match. I’m not sure they are all going to work that way, but man it was kind of hard to follow who was legal and who wasn’t. I’m not sure if this was the best use of these guys, as Al Madril nor The Great Kabuki got much time in the ring at all. Nonetheless, not terrible and despite the cheap win, the chaos kept this one interesting. A solid two stars from me!
- We returned to commentary where Bill Mercer gave us an intro for the upcoming faceoff between Fritz Von Erich and the NWA World’s Heavyweight Champion, “Nature Boy” Ric Flair. Fritz and Flair were kept in different studios, with Mercer moderating the interview. Ric Flair said that everybody was jumping to conclusions in regards to this rumored bounty paid to Gary Hart. He is the World Heavyweight Champion and NOBODY is going to accuse him of being anything less. It didn’t happen. Fritz said Flair made no sense at all, the proof they have would hold up in any court in the United States. He called Flair the symbol carrier of the NWA and his son should’ve been that guy already. Flair demanded the camera back and said that if he did pay a bounty, he had good reason, because how dare Fritz call his son, Kerry Von Erich, the uncrowned World Champion?! Fritz then fired up and called Flair a moron and said that if he was anywhere near him right now, he’d have him around the throat. Flair went berserk and said that being forced into a cage by Fritz, by Kerry, and by the NWA is going to end up with somebody getting hurt and it isn’t going to be him! Fritz told Flair to leave his tongue in the dressing room because it isn’t going to matter in the cage. Flair doesn’t mind bleeding, sweating, or paying the price to be the champion. The Von Erichs wanted the match and they’re going to have to pay the price for it!
- This was absolutely awesome! Hands-down the best verbal confrontation we’ve seen on World Class television. Flair was at a ten and Fritz was just about there, too. As much as I enjoyed this virtual verbal sparring match, I couldn’t help but to be reminded how it wasn’t Fritz going in the cage with Flair, it was Kerry! Kerry was nowhere to be found and on one hand, he’s lucky because he would’ve been ripped to shreds by Flair here. On the other hand, it definitely reminded me how weak Kerry would’ve come across against Flair on the microphone, hence why Fritz stood in for him here. A double-edged sword, no doubt. Regardless, awesome piece of business between these two guys here!
- After commercial, Kevin Von Erich was standing by with a microphone at ringside for a quick interview. He said that Bundy may think he is a joke being the American Heavyweight Champion, but Kevin doesn’t think that’s very funny. Bundy can talk big because he has a big mouth that matches his big belly.He will see him in the ring right now!
- Nice little promo here, Kevin taking Bundy serious helped sell this main event on top of an already packed episode tonight.
- King Kong Bundy vs. Kevin Von Erich: Our main event was set for one fall with a fifteen-minute time limit. This was a non-title bout here, but the heat was still there for this one. Kevin caught Bundy with a fast dropkick to put him on his toes. Bundy then used Kevin’s hair to break a wrist lock. A solid knee and elbow found spots on the big man, leading him into the corner for some more knees. Kevin was getting in a ton of offense here, which I found surprising in a smaller-versus-bigger type match. An Iron Claw met Bundy’s forehead in the corner to but was broken due to Bundy being in the ropes. Another Iron Claw broke a chinlock and kept Bundy down until he reached the ropes with a leg. Bundy bailed to the floor to buy some time while it looked like Kevin nursed a busted nose in the ring. He freely bled as Bundy came back in to slap on a bearhug. A standing body splash caught Kevin in a near fall and Bundy continued the punishment with a side headlock for a few moments. Kevin dodged a splash in the corner and hit one of his own instead! The official was then knocked to the floor and Kevin was thrown out over the top rope behind him. Back in the ring, a suplex from the apron to the ring got Bundy a three-count over the champion!
- A good little match here for our main event! It was physical, worked well, and Bundy was kept looking like a monster without losing any steam against the champion. Kevin’s physicality with his opponents always lends so much to his match, even getting a bloody nose for his trouble in this one. Between the crowd being hot and the show matching their energy, I gave this one two and a half stars, despite the messy finish.
- Back from commercial, Bill Mercer covered the results of the matches tonight. He mentioned that next week, a battle for the All-Asian Heavyweight Championship between David Von Erich and The Great Kabuki will main event, plus much more!
FINAL THOUGHTS
I’m pretty confident that this may have been the best combination of segments, interviews, and matches we’ve seen yet from regular weekly television from World Class. There was ‘big night’ feel to this episode with so much happening. The arrival of the six-man tag team division opens up a lot of options for new and exciting match-ups to arise, so that’ll be something to keep on eye on moving forward. Ric Flair and Fritz Von Erich stole the show with their heated exchange, something you must seek out if you haven’t seen it before! Lastly, what a sleeper of a match for the main event. I was expecting middle-of-the-road, but both King Kong Bundy and Kevin Von Erich helped put a nice bow on this packed episode! The hype for Christmas Star Wars is real and I look forward to the rest of the calendar shows and what they’ll deliver to close out 1982. Big match between Dave and Kabuki announced for next week, too! We are being spoiled a week before Christmas!
See you all then!