Tonight, we head back to Reunion Arena for a reply of three HUGE matches. A featured six-man tag with an international flavor, David Von Erich finally gets his hands on “Gorgeous” Jimmy Garvin in a NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship bout, and both men’s hair is on the line when “Freebird” Buddy Roberts meets “Iceman” King Parsons in tonight’s main event!
WCCW TV*
Date: 06/25/1983
From: Dallas, Texas
MATCHES
1. Chavo Guerrero, José Lothario, & “Gentleman” Chris Adams vs. Wild Bill Irwin, Fishman, & The Mongol (Taped replay)
2. David Von Erich vs. “Gorgeous” Jimmy Garvin (Taped replay)
3. Buddy Roberts vs. “Iceman” King Parsons (Taped replay)
*BROADCAST NOTE
This playback copy has been presented in the most complete form possible, due to original production technical difficulties. Reported by the WWE as of 01/03/2026.
BREAKDOWN & REVIEW
- Bill Mercer welcomed us to downtown Dallas, Texas, from Reunion Arena for International Wrestling Star Wars! He covered our double main event presented tonight, David Von Erich versus Jimmy Garvin and King Parsons taking on Buddy Roberts.
- Chavo Guerrero, José Lothario, & “Gentleman” Chris Adams vs. Wild Bill Irwin, Fishman, & The Mongol: Our opening match, a six-man tag team match set for one fall with thirty minute time limit. Man, it feels like forever since we’ve seen Wild Bill… and hey, apparently, Chris Adams will be replacing Al Madril tonight? No real explanation there. Chavo and Fishman started us off here, classic stalemate. Chavo began getting on a roll, with a pair of dropkicks and flying headscissors. The Mongol and Chris Adams were in against each other next. Strikes flew, as did a nice Super Kick out of nowhere! Fishman was tagged back in to work over Adams with some strikes, but ate his own Super Kick for the trouble. Next, it was Wild Bill taking on José Lothario. A bunch of wild strikes were thrown in and out of the corner between the two. Following this, The Mongol and Chris Adams were able to get hands on each other again, Mongol being back body dropped most notably. Wild Bill stuck Chavo with a huge backbreaker and running knee drop for a near fall, only to be worked over by Lothario once Chavo tagged out. Then, Chavo blind tagged back in while Lothario had The Mongol on his heels and was able to score a three count following a flying crossbody off the top rope!
- A good outing for these guys here tonight! These guys all worked well together, each getting a chance to shine with some offense before the finish came. It didn’t drag or have much down time at all, so the action kept a good pace all the way throughout. Plus, a nice finish here with the blind tag into the crossbody off the top. Lothario and Guerrero would make a good, established tag team for World Class (if they wanted to use them more). Not to mention, Fishman might be a nice pickup as a bumper for Devastation, Inc. Two and a half stars.
- Prior to our next match, Marc Lowrance was standing by with Buddy Roberts and Michael Hayes in their locker room for an interview. Buddy explained that Parsons has tried to make a name on the backs of The Freebirds, but he has been warned many times to keep his nose out of Freebird business and he hasn’t. The cream they have for the shave tonight isn’t pharmaceutical, it is homemade and when the cream goes on, hair comes off! Lowrance then showed a replay of first “Iceman” getting a lock of his hair cut, then Buddy, much to the protest of Michael Hayes. As The Freebirds started to get fired up, Buddy said that “Iceman” may think he is Mr. T, but after their match tonight, he is going to be known as Mr. B… for BALD! Michael Hayes got the last word in saying that for ending up bald, King Parsons will have nobody to blame but himself.
- I think this is the first interview I’ve seen that Buddy really shined in. Usually, he comes off like the background character of The Freebirds, but this went well for him here, especially because Hayes laid back and let Buddy do his own talking for once!
- David Von Erich vs. “Gorgeous” Jimmy Garvin: This next bout was set for one fall to a finish for the NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship with a forty-five minute time limit. Hearing the themes here is so odd, but it does add a lot to the presentation. Thank goodness for people preserving such footage. I was expecting a lot out of this one, as Dave and Garvin have been feuding all year up to this point. Garvin ate a dropkick early, but rallied back with a bodyslam and quick set of pin attempts as we started off hot. Some chain wrestling was exchanged, with David ending up in a hammerlock. While still in the hammerlock, Dave was able to bridge up twice to avoid his shoulders being pinned to the mat, which I felt was impressive. With a swing of momentum, Dave worked over Garvin’s knee with a step-through toehold followed by a seated kneebar. Back to their feet, the two exchanged blows. Dave hit a running high knee but Garvin was able to get to the ropes, breaking the pin attempt. Garvin began to beg off as David fired up, but was given a kneelift for his trouble. Dave then locked on the Iron Claw and again Garvin was able to get a rope break. A hot shot over the top rope got Garvin a near fall, but a second pin was attempted and Garvin shockingly got the three count! Lo and behold, Sunshine had held Dave’s feet down under the bottom rope unbeknownst to the referee for a screwed victory!
- Man, that finish really took the wind out of my sails. What a disappointing end to what was otherwise shaping up to be a great match. There was plenty of back-and-forth control, though a few extended holds kind of killed a lot of the pacing. I do feel I was let down here. With this perhaps being World Class’ hottest singles feud, I guess I expected a lot more out of this match, but Garvin comes away as the champion. The right call, in my opinion, as Dave is much better on the chase. Two and a half stars from me, but man, it really could’ve been so much more!
- A quick cut brought us back to the ring, where Jimmy Garvin was required to reappear. Marc Lowrance announced that apparently, many of the NWA officials in attendance tonight saw what really happened in the finish of Garvin’s match. After meeting in the back, they’ve decided that once again, the NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship will be vacant. Garvin lost it and argued with Bronko Lubich and Marc Lowrance.
- Boooooo. Just let Garvin be the heel and keep the belt!
- Buddy Roberts vs. “Iceman” King Parsons: This next match was going to be contested under hair-versus-hair rules, with loser losing his hair as well. One fall, thirty minutes for a limit. “Iceman” coming out to “We Are Family” by Sister Sledge was sweet to see and hear in the version of the playback. King Parsons is over huge. Buddy jumped Parsons before the bell, using Parsons’ own jacket to choke him in the corner. Buddy followed it up with a big bodyslam and standing elbow for a one count. A running crossbody almost kept Buddy down for a three count! On commentary, Bill Mercer mentioned that a week before tonight’s card, Ric Flair lost the NWA World’s Heavyweight Championship to Harley Race, hence why Kevin would be facing him here tonight. Nice to finally get that clarification… In the ring, Parsons continued his assault, with a bodyslam, some headbutts, and a chop that locked Buddy up into the ropes. Punches were traded once both men were back to their feet, with Parsons again getting the better of Buddy in this exchange. Roberts missed three standing elbow drops in a row, but stayed on Parsons. A roll up out of the corner on Roberts was reversed, with Roberts then using the tights of Parsons to get a pin of his own! Once David Manning found out, he took the cream away from Buddy allowing Parsons to recover and hit his running Butt Butt hip attack! The cream was then smeared all over Buddy’s head, much to the delight of the crowd! Hayes ran down furious, tore his shirt off, and began throwing hands with Parsons. Hayes almost got himself creamed, but was able to bail out before King Parsons got ahold of him.
- So, I’m supposing that the official call was a no contest between the two, as despite Manning counting the three, it was overturned due to the use of the tights? Not much clarity we are left with here, but nonetheless, the crowd got what they paid their money to see with this one. In hindsight, Buddy Roberts was perfect for this role with King Parsons, as the older vet was able to make Parsons look even that much better. It was a quick match that kept the crowd on the edge of their seats to see who was going to end up bald. The stipulation did A LOT of heavy lifting for this one, no doubt. I’ll give it a star and a half for the drama and atmosphere it created, but the match wasn’t anything special by any means. The story really came through for them here.
- Back from commercial, Bill Mercer closed us out from the Sportatorium commentary booth. He recapped tonight’s half of International Star Wars and promised the second half coming along next week. Kevin Von Erich will meet Harley Race for the NWA World’s Heavyweight Championship (as Race had beaten Flair for the title recently), plus Kerry Von Erich will tag up with Bruiser Brody to take on Michael Hayes and Terry Gordy of The Freebirds!
FINAL THOUGHTS
Well, in a reversal of fortune, turns out I was more pleased with the action presented in the six-man tag team match than I was with either of our double main events tonight! I look forward to the David Von Erich / Jimmy Garvin story continuing and was glad “Iceman” King Parsons came away from his match with Buddy Roberts without having to lose his hair. That said, there is still plenty of unfinished business there, too. Beyond that, I look forward to getting to some more exciting action from Reunion Arena next week.
See you all then!