We are back to fresh, exciting action for this week’s episode of World Class television! In the main event, WCCW Brass Knuckles Champion, Terry “Bam Bam” Gordy, takes on “The Modern Day Warrior” Kerry Von Erich in a dangerous lumberjack match! Plus, Mr. Ebony returns to The Sportatorium in singles action, “Gentleman” Chris Adams is in action, and much more!
WCCW TV*
Date: 07/09/1983
From: Dallas, Texas
MATCHES
1. Johnny Mantell vs. “Gentleman” Chris Adams
2. Rip Rogers vs. Chavo Guerrero
3. Mr. Ebony vs. Mike Bond
4. Kerry Von Erich vs. Terry Gordy
*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 01/16/2026.
BREAKDOWN & REVIEW
- Bill Mercer was waiting for us in the commentary booth to discuss some of tonight’s bouts and welcome us to downtown Dallas, Texas.
- Johnny Mantell vs. “Gentleman” Chris Adams: First up, this match was set for one fall with a ten minute time limit. Adams got a nice reaction here during the announcements. I was expecting this one to a be a sleeper, as these guys’ styles should mesh well with each other. Some stalemates with clean breaks started us out here, each man trading holds for holds and escaping. Finally, Adams took control of Mantell’s arm and went right to work on it. Plenty of audio issues here as Adams continued his arm work and the crowd began to get restless. Adams suddenly found himself in a top wristlock as the five minute mark rolled by. A nice bodyslam put Adams on his back for only a second, before going right back after Mantell’s left arm… I think this is literally all Adams has done in this one. We got a quick flurry of moves, leading into a missed dropkick for Adams and a near fall for Mantell. Audio warping was really bad thus far. A two-minute warning was given when Mantell landed a backbreaker for a count of one. A double clothesline dropped both men, with Adams getting to his feet first. He planted Mantell with a big scoop slam followed by a leg drop for a near fall. Both men then rolled around in small packages back and forth, eventually falling out to the floor as the time limit expired. They shared a handshake at ringside before going their separate ways.
- Hmm. As much as I want to rank this lower, I can’t. This match dragged ass more than it should have, with almost nothing happening during the first several minutes. This was the least we’ve seen out of Adams since his debut with World Class. That said, they started winning me back during the tail end of this one. The last three minutes is what I expected this whole match to be between these two, but it wasn’t… only a star and a half to see here.
- Back from commercial, Bill Mercer was sitting with David Von Erich in the commentary booth for a pre-taped interview. He asked him about International Star Wars and the events that transpired. Dave said he didn’t want to see his brother hurt, which is why he was at ringside for Kevin. A replay of what happened during the NWA World’s Heavyweight Championship match between Kevin and champion, Harley Race. Race obviously kicks Dave at ringside and seeing this with Bill, Dave explained that that was the sole reason he got involved. Following that cheapshot, Dave hit Harley with a high knee in the ring and caused a disqualification. He was sorry that it happened the way it did, and if Harley will meet with Dave in the ring, he will beat him for that gold belt and Harley knows it! We then ran tape of David’s match with Jimmy Garvin for the NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship. A replay of Sunshine holding Dave’s leg down for the pin was then shown from Star Wars. Dave then said it was high time he got his hands on Sunshine and Jimmy Garvin once and for all and that’s exactly what he’s going to do. Bill then said that the NWA was planning a rematch between David and Garvin, with a stipulation of the loser being forced to be the winner’s valet. Dave says that someone needs to teach Garvin the lesson of some good, honest, hard work and that’s what he intends to do when he beats him for the NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship. He’s going to have Garvin pushing a push mower over his 270-acre horse farm and Sunshine will be washing his laundry and cooking his meals and he can’t wait!
- Man, this was pretty long-winded here. Good for Dave, though. He set the table for both a potential match against Harley Race in the future, as well as a rematch between him and “Gorgeous” Jimmy Garvin. This feud has done a lot of the heavy-lifting on weekly television this year.
- Rip Rogers vs. Chavo Guerrero: This next bout was set for one fall, fifteen minutes to a limit. Chavo is over pretty big, with Rip getting big boos. A handshake started us off and these guys started circling quick. Rip was quickly out-worked and rolled up for a one count. A stepover toe hold was applied by Guerrero and he looked to be cranking it pretty good before Rip got to the ropes. Chavo continued to work over that same knee, applying a prison lock that had Rip in a bad way. Rip tried to slap his way out, but was met with a forearm for his trouble. The crowd absolutely loves Chavo Guerrero. Rip avoided elbow and fired up with a back elbow for a near fall. Rip’s momentum would be slowed, as Chavo landed some punches in the corner, backflipped off Rip’s shoulders, and hit a nice spinning wheel kick that kept Rip down for three!
- This was a much better bout than I was expecting. I know Rip Rogers is known elsewhere in the country, but this was the first time we were seeing him in World Class. These guys had a nice little match here and the right guy picked up a good win here. The sequence going into the clean finish was also fun to watch… Chavo is just fun to watch, in general. Two stars here!
- Mr. Ebony vs. Mike Bond: Our next match was set for one fall to a finish with a twenty minute time limit. Mixed reaction for Mike Bond, but definitely a negative response for Mr. Ebony. Ebony shoved Bond away twice, with ease, on two lock-up attempts. Ebony hit a few quick poses and dropped Bond with a big scoop slam. More punches, forearms, and clubbing blows rattled Bond in and around the corner. It almost looked as if Ebony was getting too stiff with Bond, so Bond kind of fired up and hit some of his own shoot-looking strikes. Things didn’t break down beyond that, though, and the finish came following that spinning full nelson finish of Ebony’s.
- This was a squash for Mr. Ebony here, but not a particularly effective one. We’ve definitely seen better for and from other monsters… I just get the feeling Mr. Ebony isn’t going to be around in World Class very long. He doesn’t seem to have much to offer in this current role.
- After the match, Bill Mercer caught up with Mr. Ebony, Skandor Akbar, and The Mongol at ringside for a quick interview. Bill asked Akbar about Bruiser Brody and how he handled Kamala at Star Wars. Akbar said that in any arena in this country, they’d give ‘big mouth’ Brody what he has coming to him. Men are running scared of Kamala and he is hungry for new challengers. Akbar also put over Mr. Ebony after his easy win here tonight.
- So, it definitely seems as though they are working toward a Kamala / Brody confrontation at some point. I think this is a mistake, as obviously Brody isn’t going to lose in the States and having Kamala lose to Brody will kill his steam bigtime. Kamala needs to stick to squashing guys, or beating lower level guys for the time being. I think it is still too early to have such a featured match for him, as once you beat a guy like that, much of the bloom falls away from the rose (in my opinion)… I guess we’ll see!
- Kerry Von Erich vs. Terry Gordy: Our main event tonight was set for one fall, sixty minutes for a limit, and was to be contested under lumberjack rules. Lumberjacks included “Iceman” King Parsons, Chavo Guerrero, “Gorgeous” Jimmy Garvin, The Mongol, Bruiser Brody, “Gentleman” Chris Adams, Mr. Ebony, and Rip Rogers. A quick armdrag caught Kerry off-guard to start us off. A standing side headlock was broken by Kerry with the help of the crowd and Kerry stuck Gordy with two big bodyslams. Gordy bailed out to the floor but was pushed right back in by several of the guys on the outside. Gordy slapped on a wristlock that kept Kerry under control for a few minutes. Kerry rallied and got Gordy with a running crossbody for a near fall. On commentary, Bill Mercer announced that next week’s main event would be Kevin Von Erich taking on NWA Texas Heavyweight Champion, “Gorgeous” Jimmy Garvin! Back in the ring, Kerry was dropped throat-first over the top rope once and twice. Gordy threw Kerry to the outside, only for Jimmy Garvin to throw him right back in to Gordy. The two then traded punches, until Gordy stuck Kerry with a huge stalling suplex. A deep bearhug had Kerry gasping for breath as he tried to battle his way out. The hold was broken, but only briefly, as Gordy latched right back on. After hanging in there, an Iron Claw was used, but again Gordy dumped Kerry to the floor. On the apron, the two battled, until Gordy ran into a corner post. Both heels and faces got their shots in on these guys before they made it back into the ring. A backbreaker got Gordy a near fall. Out of nowhere beneath the bottom rope, Bruiser Brody grabbed at Terry Gordy’s legs while he had Kerry in a fallaway slam position, tripped Gordy up, and thus Kerry was able to roll through the fumble and pin Gody for a stolen pinfall. Following this, the crowd absolutely exploded and shortly after the bell, everybody was in the ring trading blows. The good guys cleared house, with Brody getting the last punches in on Gordy that sent him to the outside.
- This was going well, but damn it, why the blatant interference finish!? Kerry Von Erich can’t win clean on the super shows, or on regular TV when it counts, apparently! Ughh. That finish was definitely lame, but the slugfest leading up to that was fun to watch. Lumberjack matches usually keep stalling and silliness to a minimum, so that worked well for a stipulation here. I was surprised to see FRIGGING Bruiser Brody casually at ringside tonight! Also, where were the rest of The Fabulous Freebirds? Odd not to have them as lumberjacks here. All things considered, I’ll give this one two and a half stars.
- After our main event, Bill Mercer met “Gorgeous” Jimmy Garvin and Sunshine down at ringside for a quick interview. Bill asked Garvin’s thoughts on having Kevin Von Erich as an opponent in the main event next week. Garvin said big deal, Dave wouldn’t even wrestle him next week, so he has Kevin inside… and Kevin wouldn’t even put up the WCCW American Heavyweight Championship!
- I love that Garvin blew off his match with Kevin and kept the focus on his feud with Dave. I can’t wait to see what ends up happening in that eventual rematch. Hopefully, they’re given proper time next time!
- “Gorgeous” Jimmy Garvin continued to call all the Von Erichs nothing but chickens as he posed and Bill Mercer quickly wrapped up the show.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Despite a bunch of audio issues in this playback copy, we were still treated to plenty of in-ring action, with no real featurettes to speak of. It was wild to see Bruiser Brody on regularly-scheduled World Class television, hopefully we are treated to a few more appearances before he inevitably heads back to Japan. Also, we got a big, champion-versus-champion match announced for next week. Though we got a mixed bag of action this week, the Garvin / David feud helped carry us through, and we got a surprisingly good match out of Rip Rogers and Chavo Guerrero. I can’t wait to see what else is in store for us next week!
See you all then!