A measure of revenge is on the mind of David Von Erich, as he tags with “Iceman” King Parsons to challenge Michael Hayes & Buddy Roberts of the Fabulous Freebirds in our main event tonight! Also, “Gorgeous” Jimmy Garvin has his hands full with the lighting-quick Chavo Guerrero in a singles match, the “Ugandan Giant” Kamala will be in action again this week, and much more!
WCCW TV
Date: 04/30/1983
From: Dallas, Texas
MATCHES
1. Chris Adams vs. The Mongol
2. “Gorgeous” Jimmy Garvin vs. Chavo Guerrero
3. Kamala vs. Tom Renesto, Jr. & Bill Rathke
4. David Von Erich & “Iceman” King Parsons vs. Michael Hayes & Buddy Roberts
BREAKDOWN & REVIEW
- Bill Mercer welcomed us to downtown Dallas, Texas tonight and ran down a few of the matches. David Von Erich and “Iceman” King Parsons then joined Bill for a quick chat. Dave held up his NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship high saying how proud he was to beat Jimmy Garvin for the title. He is looking forward to teaming up with “Iceman”, their styles are very different and they are going to come out on top. Parsons called it an honor to team with a Von Erich and tonight they are going to BOOGIE!
- It kind of sucked that Dave got all the mic time here, while Parsons was barely passed the microphone, you could tell they were in a rush to get to commercial as Bill was hurrying them along. We’ll have to see how these two guys work as a team. I think Kerry might have been a better match with “Iceman”, but we’ll see!
- Chris Adams vs. The Mongol: Our opening contest was set for one fall with a ten minute time limit. Last weeks, Chris Adams said he’s been chasing The Mongol down, so we’ll see what he does with him here. I didn’t have much faith in this match, strictly due to what I assumed we were going to get with The Mongol. Mongol drove Adams into the corner with some forearms, but Adams didn’t back down. fighting him strike-for-strike in the middle of the ring. A side headlock cooled Adams’ momentum for a moment, but the resilient Adams began to trade strikes with the bigger man again. A slam kept Adams down for a one count. Two Super Kicks dropped The Mongol, followed by a body slam for a near fall. Adams hit a third Super Kick and Mongol no-sold it, forcing Admas to get him into the corner and hit a FORTH Super Kick. The Mongol then threw Adams up and over the top rope to cause a blatant disqualification. After the bell, Adams hit a flying missile dropkick and the two eventually had to be pulled apart by several officials.
- They did a good job here of conveying that this was a feud very much in the middle of its unfolding, as this one was basically a brawl from start to finish. Chris Adams is a very good, fight-from-underneath babyface, so he worked well with the larger heel here. I still think The Mongol is nothing special, basically a TEMU King Kong Bundy… smaller and less skilled. Nonetheless, I wouldn’t call this one a dud, as I was semi-entertained. I didn’t like how many Super Kicks Adams was forced to throw here, just wishing his finish would’ve been protected a little bit more. Star and a half from me.
- After commercial, Bill Mercer caught up with Chavo Guerrero at ringside for a pre-match interview. He explained some of his upbringing in Mexico City and how his father and brothers are professional wrestlers. He has been world junior champion three different times, he has roots in Texas and in El Paso, and his major goal is to become World’s Heavyweight Champion. He’s immediate goal is to succeed in Texas, where he is current calling home, and then shared some words in Spanish. A graphic in Spanish was presented following the interview.
- This did feel like a little bit of a grab for the spanish-speaking audience, but that’s okay because if anybody can get over as a Mexican-American, it is a Guerrero! I think Chavo gave a nice interview here, even if a lot of it was small-talk. He comes off as a younger, hungrier, José Lothario type of good guy from south of the border. His stuff in the ring is good from what we’ve seen, so I’m okay with a lot more of Chavo Guerrero on our television every week!
- “Gorgeous” Jimmy Garvin vs. Chavo Guerrero: This next bout was set for one fall with a ten minute time limit. Sunshine got Garvin ready as usual, with the crowd absolutely hating it! Surprisingly, Garvin agreed to a handshake to start this match off. Chavo would be an awesome partner for Al Madril! Two badass Mexican-Americans kicking ass! In the ring, Guerrero was kicking Garvin’s ass with a series of dropkicks and a flying headscissors that send Garvin out to the floor to regroup in frustration. Back in the ring, another headscissors took Garvin down into a grapevine hold. Garvin would slip his way out onto the floor to stall. Once Garvin was in, he again found himself in a hold. Chavo was then whipped into a corner, but climbed it and went up and over, tricking Garvin to run after him and get back body dropped. Then, a modified surfboard stretch really wore Jimmy Garvin out, much to the delight of the crowd! A should block sent Garvin out to the floor AGAIN, with thirty seconds left in the bout. A couple of solid punches put Garvin down for a two count, but the bell would ring for a time limit draw. Sunshine jumped into the ring and got in Chavo’s face, while Garvin tried to compose himself.
- That was a great match and I think these guys meshed well together. Chavo is a good hand in the ring and someone that I think World Class will be able to count on to deliver a good match (much like their recent pick up in Chris Adams). Chavo, along with Adams, Parsons, Garvin, and others really seem to be the new crop of mid-level talent World Class was so desperately needing. Seemingly gone are the days of guys like Bugsy McGraw, The Checkmate, The Spoiler, etc. Two stars from me and the only reason it wasn’t higher, was due to all the stalling on the outside from Garvin.
- After the match, “Gorgeous” Jimmy Garvin was stopped for an interview. He huffed out of breath that this is the kind of stuff he has to deal with in World Class! He thinks someone is trying to throw a ringer around him here in Texas, because he doesn’t know what happened. According to Garvin, he had Chavo Guerrero’s number tonight!
- Perhaps, a side story for Garvin and Guerrero here? I wouldn’t mind it, as long as it doesn’t take away from the main feud of Garvin and David Von Erich… that’s been the story of the year for 1983 (aside from the Von Erich / Freebird stuff).
- Kamala vs. Tom Renesto, Jr. & Bill Rathke: The next match of the evening was schedule as a handicap match, one fall to a finish, with twenty minutes for a limit. Arman Hussein was ringside for the pair, while Friday and Skandor Akbar attempted to control Kamala who was trying to charge out of the corner. Kamala is an awesome site and his presentation is so good. The two men got the jump on Kamala once the bell rang, but their fight wouldn’t last as Kamala took quick control. Strikes, chokes, throat thrusts, and wild chops had Kamala’s two opponents bumping all over the mat. Most strikes didn’t register against Kamala, as they just seemed to annoy him more than anything. Renesto went out under the bottom rope while Kamala hit his running body splashes on Rathke’s back for a three count. Renesto got two for his troubles, too as the bell rang. The crowd provided no reaction, as they were very much expecting the finish.
- Kamala as a gimmick and character is top tier. I’m going to sound like a broken record, but he almost has that special attraction type feel to him. His in-ring stuff isn’t great by any means, but I don’t think it is supposed to be? He’s a Ugandan Giant from the bush, not a technical wizard. I dig it, star from me here. This was a fun show of Kamala’s strength against two enhancement guys.
- After the match, Bill Mercer met with Skandor Akbar and The Mongol at ringside to speak about Kamala. Akbar said that he was every bit the superhuman he said he was going to be inside the ring. Kamala could be four men at once if he wanted to. He questioned where The Great Yatsu was? Where was the Von Erichs when it came to challenging Kamala? They’re hiding scared… The Mongol was right here as his personal bodygaurd and along with Kamala, they are the most important force in Dallas!
- An interesting point is made here, as it does seem like the Von Erichs haven’t been as heavily featured as of late. Of course, Kevin just fought Ric Flair, but we haven’t seen much of him or Kerry the last handful of weeks. Dave has been holding the fort down for the Von Erichs. Regardless, I don’t care much about Yatsu’s disappearance, but where is Kabuki? Magic Dragon? Al Madril? Wild Bill Irwin? So many heavily featured acts from 1982 just haven’t been around for 1983. Pretty surprising, as a lot of those guys got plenty of television time last year.
- David Von Erich & “Iceman” King Parsons vs. Michael Hayes & Buddy Roberts: Our main event of the evening was set for one fall, forty-five minutes for a limit. “Gorgeous” Jimmy Garvin and Sunshine sauntered down to ringside, letting David Von Erich know he was a marked man. Sunshine got her camera rolling as King Parsons and Buddy Roberts began the bout. “Iceman” kept just ahead of Roberts with some escapes and quick offense. A monkey flip and a set of dropkicks sent Roberts out to the floor, giving Parsons a chance to dance for the crowd as Roberts regrouped outside. The crowd then chanted for Hayes to get in the ring to get his ass kicked, which I thought was pretty funny! It was a positive-sounding chant, just for the wrong reasons. A fight nearly broke out on the outside between Hayes and Von Erich as Buddy continued to struggle with Parsons in the ring. You could just tell this one was going to get out of control at some point soon, no way we’re getting a full match. Hayes tagged in and slammed “Iceman” in the center and then dropped a fist down on his forehead. Dave got the big tag in to take it to Michael next, trading strikes with him. Garvin continued to taunt David once he was back on the apron, with Roberts and Parsons having provided most of the in-ring action up to this point in the match. Dave got a hot tag in and applied an Iron Claw on Hayes. Suddenly, all four men were in the ring, with both heels being run into one another. In the midst of the four-man shuffle, Dave was nailed with Garvin’s camera on the outside! Hayes caught on to this, pulled him back in the ring, and got a cheap pinfall on him in all the chaos.
- I do wish that finish was executed a little smoother and the pin came a little quicker and easier for Michael Hayes if that’s what we were going for. With Dave being on the outside and needing to be dragged back in, it definitely seemed like Von Erich could’ve recovered a little to avoid being pinned. I didn’t love this match, as I don’t think Dave and “Iceman” had much chemistry as a team. Star and a half for me, nothing special here.
- Bill Mercer closed our show out and also announced that, next week, Kerry Von Erich would be teaming up with “Iceman” King Parsons and Chavo Guerrero to take on The Fabulous Freebirds of Michael Hayes, Terry Gordy, and Buddy Roberts in a six-man tag team match. He mentioned that a penalty box will be in play for that one, along with much more on that card to be announced.
- Hmmm. Gimmicky sounding. Another weird paring for a Von Erich with more non-Von Erichs to take on the Freebirds… they are really trying to keep that highly-anticipated six-man in the bank!
FINAL THOUGHTS
A pretty middle-of-the-road episode of World Class television this week. No new chapters really unfolded here, just more continuation stuff bleeding over from the past few. Still no mention of any Star Wars cards yet this year, I’m assuming our first one will be in June like last year (Superbowl of Wrestling / Fritz Von Erich’s retirement show). With that said, I have high hopes for guys like Chris Adams, Kamala, and Chavo Guerrero to name a few. I still think David Von Erich and Jimmy Garvin are in the middle of the most interesting feud in World Class for 1983. Until our big, six-man tag team main event match next week…
See you all then!