Tonight, David Von Erich’s NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship is on the line when he goes one-on-one with “Gorgeous” Jimmy Garvin in our main event for the evening! Plus, who will walk out the winner when the newest fan favorite Iceman King Parsons takes on Buddy Roberts of The Fabulous Freebirds? All that and much more!
WCCW TV
Date: 03/19/1983
From: Dallas, Texas
MATCHES
1. Wild Bill Irwin vs. The Texan
2. Iceman King Parsons vs. Buddy Roberts
3. King Kong Bundy vs. Mike Bond
4. David Von Erich vs. “Gorgeous” Jimmy Garvin
BREAKDOWN & REVIEW
- A pumped up Bill Mercer welcomed us to the show tonight. Firstly, he covered the NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship match between champion David Von Erich and “Gorgeous” Jimmy Garvin. Mentioned a few other highlights of the night and threw to commercial.
- Wild Bill Irwin vs. The Texan: The opening contest was set for one fall with a ten minute time limit. This marks the first appearance of The Texan, a guy in a black mask with a gold shape of Texas, black pants, and a pair of cheap cowboy boots. These two started things off slowly, with Wild Bill demanding a checking of The Texan’s gloved hand. Wild Bill took over with some strikes until The Texan planted a kitchen sink into Irwin’s gut on a rebound. An atomic drop sent Wild Bill flying into a corner in pain, but he was able to fire up and lands some good punches onto the masked face of The Texan. A big clothesline put Irwin down for a near fall and then some punches almost put him away, but he was able to get his foot on the bottom rope. A big bicycle kick was hit on The Texan, but he fired back with his own knee lift that sent Wild Bill out to the floor. As we went into the last thirty seconds in the match, The Texan kicked out of a sunset flip and was able to roll up Wild Bill Irwin for a three-count with only six seconds left in the bout!
- Okay, so a few things to unpack here. Firstly, I thought The Texan looked like shit, he’s skinny, with buggywhip arms. He worked pretty decent though, with some of his sells looking a little more silly than they needed to. Funnily enough, after some brief searching online, apparently the consensus is that The Texan was actually a young Jake “The Snake” Roberts in between promotions at the time… I would’ve never guessed that! Nonetheless, not much to write home about here for this one, it was solid, but nothing spectacular, star and a half.
- Prior to the next bout, Michael Hayes got on the house mic, but he was really hard to hear. He was essentially saying he usually planned on sticking around ringside for this match, but he knew his brother didn’t need him tonight. This guy should be no problem! Iceman King Parsons then grabbed the microphone away from Hayes, thanked him for his kind words, and gave him a nice slap to take with him on his way out!
- They are inserting Parsons into the upper echelon pretty quick, it seems. I’m here for it, I like him so far!
- Iceman King Parsons vs. Buddy Roberts: The next match for the evening was set for one fall to a finish, fifteen minutes for a limit. With Hayes still trying to recover in the corner, Parsons went right after Buddy Roberts with punches. The Iceman sent him off the ropes, but Buddy reversed it, and instead it was Iceman that went to the ropes and came back with his flying hip attack! Thus, the match was over in a matter of a few seconds, Parsons getting a big victory over a Freebird here! After the bell, Hayes attempted to grab Parsons, but was too slow as The Iceman made his way up the aisle. Roberts, Hayes, and then Gordy all threw a fit in the ring as the whole crowd chanted, “Go home, Freebirds!”
- This match was literally four seconds long, but it made a big impression! Full star from me. This was a statement, in my opinion, from World Class, saying that King Parsons is going to be someone to watch moving forward. He got the better out of two-thirds of The Freebirds tonight and walked away unscathed! I have a feeling besides the Von Erichs, Parsons is going to be one of the territory’s leading babyfaces moving forward. It will be interesting to see if he is able to live up to such a position, as it will definitely be a big test.
- After the match, Bill Mercer attempted to calm Michael Hayes down enough at ringside to get a few words from him. Hayes was beside himself. He said that nobody gets away with doing that to a Freebird. He damned to get Parsons back out here. Terry Gordy then said that nobody is going to do that to The Freebirds and get away with it. Buddy was irate and only to utter that something like that has never happened to him in his lift. Just then, King Parsons was seen coming back down to the ring and marching up the ring steps, followed by all three Von Erich boys. The Freebirds bailed and the crowd was going nuts as Parsons begged The Freebirds to get back in the ring.
- Okay, if the win wasn’t enough, The Von Erichs literally just co-signed King Parsons by backing him up here. I think we’re getting starting to get a nicely rounded upper card here in World Class in 1983.
- Back from commercial, we were joining Bill Mercer back on David Von Erich’s ranch for tonight’s featurette. Bill said it was only appropriate that the NWA Texas Heavyweight Champion be from Texas, live on a Texas ranch, with Texas horses. He mentioned how one of his horses just recently had a baby and he was proud. The challenge of Jimmy Garvin was then address and David agreed that Garvin may be a fantastic athlete, he may be very proud of everything he does, but it doesn’t make him a champion. David mentioned that before he left, he was the Texas Heavyweight champion for three years. He may have his hands full with Garvin, but he’s looking forward to it. Dave says he’s been around the world four times and though his focus is on Jim Garvin, the NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair has to know that one day he’s going to have to face David Von Erich. Dave says he plans to bring as much Texas pride as he can muster when it comes to that, but didn’t want to speak too much about Ric Flair because he flat out doesn’t like the man. He reiterated that he was looking forward to giving Garvin his shot on television.
- I liked that some seeds were planted for a David / Flair showdown in the future. It seems like a natural match for Flair to end up having down the road, but has Kerry’s focus shifted? Or maybe since his loss in December, he has been shifted down in the contender rankings? I’m not really sure that has been properly discussed or explained on television… especially because Kerry was screwed (again) at Christmas Star Wars. Regardless, this was a nice piece of business for Dave, only further heightening the interest in his main event with Jimmy Garvin tonight.
- King Kong Bundy vs. Mike Bond: This match was set for one fall, ten minute time limit. Been awhile since we’ve seen Mike Bond, I remember him being decent, but I trust Bundy will probably make quick work of him here. A big lockup started us off here, Bundy coming out of it with wrist control, but was backed into a corner forcing a break. Bundy laid in a hammerlock and used Bond’s hair for leverage once he began working his way back to his feet. A knee doubled Bond over and Bundy followed up with a huge bodyslam. Bundy was eating Bond alive here, choking him over the top rope and picking up a near fall. Some desperate punches came from Bond, but a back elbow from Bundy nailed him. A running knee off the ropes to a laid out Mike Bond kept him down easily for a three.
- This was obviously a squash here for Bundy, but Bond did a great job of making Bundy’s offense look almost unstoppable. Big props to Mike Bond tonight for bumping the way he did, as it definitely looked and sounded like he took some good lumps in there against Bundy tonight. Again, our upper card is really deep with talent. I just hope World Class doesn’t become too top-heavy.
- After the bout, Bill Mercer caught King Kong Bundy at ringside for a post-match interview. The challenge has been accepted, Kabuki is on his way back, and Arman Hussein’s organization is going to be out of business. Yatsu and Arman Hussein have to go, and he is going to take care of Yatsu next week to prove that Devastation Incorporated is the number one organization in professional wrestling!
- So, we get Bundy versus Yatsu announced next week, with a possible Yatsu / Kabuki blow off coming sooner rather than later. I can’t wait for Kabuki’s return to the territory, as I have a soft spot for him. It will kind of suck to see him without Gary Hart by his side, but I still trust in Kabuki’s abilities to work and entertain.
- David Von Erich vs. “Gorgeous” Jimmy Garvin: This match was set for one fall, a sixty minute time limit applied, and the bout was for the NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship. Garvin was sprayed down and his entrance gear was removed by Sunshine before the bell. An armdrag caught David off guard and Garvin strutted around proud. David fired up and got three armdrags out of Garvin, sending him bailing to the floor to be wiped down by Sunshine at ringside. Back in the ring, some good chain wrestling ensued, with back-and-forth action happening until Garvin bailed out of the ring again for a wipedown. Garvin declined a test of strength and got a standing side headlock slapped on him for his trouble. Garvin begged off in the corner and asked for a minute. A cheap shot put Dave on his back, allowing Garvin to lock on a reverse chinlock. The crowd rallied behind Dave as he fought his way to his feet, but was shut down quick by Garvin, ending back up in a chinlock. Back up, David was able to briefly lock on an Iron Claw, but Garvin went to the eyes of David to break it. Garvin ducked a running knee, which sent David over the top rope hard to the floor and the referee began his count. Dave was able to make it back in at seventeen, but fell victim to a nasty brainbuster! Jimmy Garvin then PINNED David Von Erich to win the NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship! After the bout, Garvin celebrated as David writhed in pain and was attended to by the referee.
- Talk about a big debut match! I did not expect Jimmy Garvin to win the championship tonight, or for him to use a brainbuster to do it! I can now firmly say I am a “Gorgeous” Jimmy Garvin fan… I had a sneaking suspicion that I was going to like him, just from his charisma in segments, but after this showing, I know I like his in-ring stuff, too. Garvin talked trash to David every chance he got. In passing, in holds, any time. He seems to be a solid worker and someone who can easily rile up a crowd. I can’t wait to see more from the new NWA Texas Heavyweight Champion! This is my favorite match of 1983 World Class thus far.
- Back from commercial, “Gorgeous” Jimmy Garvin and Sunshine joined Bill Mercer in the commentary booth for an interview as the new NWA Texas Heavyweight Champion. Bill congratulated him and Garvin said that this just goes to show that he studied the films, just like he said he would. Bill then questioned Jimmy about his finisher looking like the illegal brainbuster to which Garvin clarified that that was not a brainbuster, but a ‘Bombs Away’, his very own innovated move. A replay of the finish was played and Garvin simply said this was a man’s sport and he was THE man now that he was the Texas Heavyweight Champion. He suggested to all the fans watching at home, that if they ever get the chance to see “Gorgeous” Jimmy Garvin in person, they should take the opportunity to witness one of the greatest professional wrestlers in the whole wide world today in action. Garvin asked for Sunshine to shine up his belt as they exited the booth.
- Garvin is highly entertaining and I’d say his stuff holds up well in 2025. I feel like a lot of people have stolen mannerisms and tricks from Garvin over the years. He as champion should breathe some fresh, new life into the championship division of World Class, for sure.
- Bill Mercer closed us out by confirming that next week, we will see King Kong Bundy of Devastation Incorporated in action against Arman Hussein’s The Great Yatsu!
FINAL THOUGHTS
Tonight’s awesome main event helped the rest of the show considerably. Our interviews and featurette weren’t super must-see this week, but some of the developments inside the Sportatorium were pretty big tonight. King Parsons was officially jetted to the top of the babyface bench, probably needing to mix it up with The Freebirds again sometime soon. We got Bundy finally meeting Yatsu in a single match next week, something weeks in the making. Plus, Kabuki is set to return, Kamala is on his way, and talents continue to flood the Dallas territory. It is unbelievable to see where we are will talent compared to last year’s offering. The roster quality is night-and-day and it is becoming easier and easier to see why 1983 became one of (if not THE) biggest years in World Class Championship Wrestling history. I can’t wait for more… let alone next week!
See you all then!