Tonight, we return to the State Fair Coliseum for a second week in a row and plenty more exciting World Class action! In the main event, Terry Gordy faces David Von Erich in a Handcuff Match, The Mongol debuts, and we are treated with a closer look at Kamala… maybe too close!
WCCW TV*
Date: 04/16/1983
From: Dallas, Texas (@ State Fair Coliseum)
MATCHES
1. The Mongol vs. Mike Bond
2. José Lothario vs. King Kong Bundy
3. Terry Gordy vs. David Von Erich
*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 08/16/2025.
BREAKDOWN & REVIEW
- Bill Mercer welcomed us to the show alongside David Von Erich. Dave recapped what happened between Ric Flair and Kevin Von Erich last week. David said the Von Erichs didn’t come out on top last week, but one of these days they will against Ric Flair! He was wearing a wrap on his wrist for the handcuff match tonight and he will be ready for Gordy tonight!
- The Mongol vs. Mike Bond: Our opening contest was set for one fall with a twenty minute time limit. The Mongol looks like a TEMU version of King Kong Bundy, which was funny because Bundy was ringside for him here (apparently he will be a part of Devastation Inc.). Mongol started with a big scoop slam and some strikes across the neck and back of Mike Bond. Bond was bounced from the turnbuckle and grounded with a chinlock for a moment before being choked over the top rope. The crowd didn’t give a damn about this match one bit. Bill Mercer again mentioned Chavo Guerrero and Chris Adams coming to Dallas next week. Back in the ring, Bond attempted to recover but had no luck as he was scoop slammed down again. Bond hung around in a nerve hold for a few moments only to catch a few elbows to the chin for his troubles. This one felt like it was going forever at this point. Bond then found himself in a tree of woe for a couple of stomps. In one of the ugliest and most awkward standing back stretcher submissions I have ever seen, Mike Bond submitted and the match finally came to a close.
- If the Mongol was supposed to look devastating here, I think they failed. If it took him more than two minutes to beat Mike Bond, what are we doing here!? His strikes were probably the best thing about him, but I would still take the real King Kong Bundy over this TEMU version. This one went about five minutes too long, dud from me.
- After the match, King Kong Bundy provided some post-match comments at ringside. He said The Boss was besides himself with anger after Yatsu beat Kabuki in the Kendo Stick match. Now that the Mongol has arrived, it could be him, it could be Kamala, but whoever it was, they were going to take out Arman Hussein and The Great Yatsu, it would only be a matter of time.
- I sure hope it ends up being Kamala, I’m not the biggest fan of The Mongol at this point…
- Next, we joined Bill Mercer for a review of what happened between Kevin Von Erich and Ric Flair last week, explaining the call that ended the match. We then cut to Mercer interviewing Ric Flair after his match with Kevin last week. Flair claimed that he DID NOT throw Kevin over the top rope and he and Mercer reviewed the footage together. Flair called this a conspiracy to embarrass Ric Flair. Nobody believes Kevin beat Flair and he has not heard the last of Ric Flair! Next, Bronko Lubich and David Manning stepped into frame to give their opinion as Flair stormed off. Bronko physically seen Ric Flair fly out to the floor over the top rope. Rules are rules and he can’t help what happened. David Manning said the same. Ric Flair stepped back into the ring and said that it didn’t matter what David Manning said, he was an unauthorized official and what Bronko says goes. According to David Manning, Kevin Von Erich should’ve been awarded the World’s Heavyweight Championship.
- There was a lot thrown around between these guys here. Basically, we were getting a bandaid put on us for another screwy World Championship finish in World Class. I can slowly start to see why WCCW eventually did break away from the NWA… how many times can they come up with an excuse for a major loss? Flair always tends to make it work, but it is already getting a little stale at this point. Kerry can’t beat him, Kevin can’t beat him. Will Dave fall short too eventually?
- José Lothario vs. King Kong Bundy: Our next match was set for one fall, ten minutes for a limit. Bundy was hesitant to start things off with Lothario as the two started and shoved off. Bundy was letting the crowd get to him a lot here, turning his back to Lothario to yell at fans at ringside. Lothario got Bundy in a top wristlock. Shortly, Lothario found himself in a standing side headlock as Bundy continued to yell at the crowd and they chanted, “Bundy is a pig! Bundy is a pig!” A lot of stalling and walking around here, with no real momentum swings to speak of. On commentary, Bill Mercer mentioned that Kamala would be on hand next week! Back to the action, Lothario had Bundy in a toe hold. We stayed in this hold for a bit, Bundy’s shoulders staying down for a two count. I had a feeling we were working toward a time limit draw here. Bundy dropped a knee on Lothario for a one count. Bundy worked in some big punches and then the two got into trading strikes. Lothario really started to take over with punches in the corner as the bell rang to signal a time limit draw.
- In my opinion, Bundy should’ve won this one, as he is much more deeply involved than the visiting José Lothario. Nonetheless, this one wasn’t horrible once we actually got going. The beginning was rough, but we kind of got somewhere in the end. Not a huge fan of the finish, but I get José Lothario being the name guy not wanting to pin him clean, I still think Bundy could’ve used it, though. One star.
- Back from commercial, we we getting a special look at Kamala for our featurette this evening. Bill Mercer met Skandor Akbar, Mr. Kumar, The Mongol, and a guy in a safari suit named Friday (Kamala’s caretaker) in the middle of a forest on Akbar’s property. Akbar claimed that this was the terrain Kamala was most familiar with, so that’s why they were here and not at his mansion on the hill. No sudden flashbulbs for Kamala, or Akbar said he could be uncontrollable. Akbar called Yatsu a dog and the Von Erichs a bunch of young punks that Kamala will be taking care of. Kamala came in and looked huge. Mercer asked if Kamala would speak in his native tongue and without warning, Kamala shoved Mercer down and the cameraman fell, too! We left the segment in chaos as the last shot was of Kamala’s feet.
- Am I really about to become a Kamala fan right now!? He looked awesome once in frame and can I just say that I have the ULTIMATE soft spot for the Friday / Kimchee gimmick. I love the look and it comes off just as silly as it does frightening. If I was an eight-year-old kid watching this at home, I would’ve been wicked scared of seeing Kamala! I really look forward to seeing him in action, as the build up and presentation has been well done thus far.
- Terry Gordy vs. David Von Erich: This bout was set for one fall, no time limit, and the two men would be handcuffed together in what we were calling a Handcuff Match. Michael Hayes was ringside for Hayes in this one, as the two men were getting ready to be handcuffed by the official, David Manning. Manning announced on the house mic that as soon as he was finished handcuffing these guys together, Hayes was to head to the back! The crowd popped for that huge as a, “Go home, Freebirds!” chant broke out. The crowd had to be told to stop throwing garbage in the ring, so things could get started! Not sure why this one was taking so long to get started, as Gordy at one point got so fired up at ringside, he invited a fan to come on the other side of the rope… the idiot did and got shoved about three rows backward by Gordy, which signalled the police to step over and take care of the guy! Gordy was basically refusing to be handcuffed to David, as he bailed out and stalled some more. The match FINALLY began and the two threw fists like crazy before David swung Gordy around by the handcuff. Gordy attempted to roll under the bottom rope but was unable to and David was able to continue some punishment. An eye rake stopped David’s momentum, allowing for some choking in the corner with the chain. Gordy bit at Dave’s head, busting him open. Gordy then got on David’s back while he was down and used the chain to choke him. Dave got back into the fight by using his handcuff to pummel Gordy a bit. Dave was able to block a piledriver, by scooting under Gordy’s legs and flipping Gordy up and over for a quick flash pinfall! After the match, Michael Hayes ran down to ringside to put the boots to David Von Erich as more trash began flying. As Dave was being double-teamed, “Iceman” King Parsons rushed to the ring for the save. He traded punches with both Freebirds before they bailed to ringside.
- All the stalling in the beginning really confused me, I’m just not sure why they waited so long to start. The crowd did feel like they were on the verge of getting a little too out of control, though. Maybe they were waiting to let them cool down? Not sure, but we never see trash being thrown into the ring! I can only think that the fans at the fairgrounds were a slightly different crowd! Either way, this was one of the more violent bouts we’ve seen on World Class television, as both guys ended up brutalized by the handcuffs. I think Gordy and Dave work well together and have a similarly wild, brawling style. I wish we would’ve gotten a little more match time out of this one and maybe a more exciting finish, too. Two stars from me.
- Back from commercial, Bill Mercer was standing by with Michael Hayes and Terry Gordy inside the commentary booth. Terry Gordy said it was a brutal match be he likes those kind of matches because they’re nasty and he’s a nasty individual. He doesn’t mind getting in there and hurting somebody. He has heard all about the go home chants and there is no other place he’d rather be but in Georgia right now, but he has business to take care of and some money to make in Texas. Mercer tried to wrap Gordy up but Gordy grabbed the microphone away and said the he wasn’t done yet and wasn’t done with the Von Erichs, as he promised an awful whooping coming their way!
- This was an awesome promo from Terry Gordy here! He really shined as a rough and tough wrestler in tonight’s main event AND on the microphone to close the show. Hayes, being known as the talker, not having to speak spoke volumes for Gordy here. This might be the first time I felt a real standalone, individual spark for Terry Gordy. He came off like a dangerous, unpredictable, badass here.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Well, it is not secret that this week was the “B Side” of the State Fair Coliseum live show, as last week’s action was slightly better and it got the Flair/Kevin World Championship match. I enjoyed the highentend violence of the Handcuff Match this week, though, and found a new appreciation for Terry Gordy. Also, Kamala is being built into a huge threat for World Class Championship Wrestling and I can’t wait to see how he is used. I hope he doesn’t get stuck too tightly under Devastation Incorporated umbrella, as I’d like him to shine as a singles threat on his own, too. As Bill Mercer mentioned, he will be on hand next week, along with Chris Adams, and Chavo Guerrero!
See you all then!