As the summer of 1983 continues to quickly slip away, the heat is still very much on between Bruiser Brody and Devastation Incorporated. In tonight’s main event, Brody takes on Boris Zhukov in singles action and in Zhukov wins, he becomes a permanent member of Skandor Akbar’s stable! Also in action, “Gentleman” Chris Adams, the new WCCW American Heavyweight Champion “Gorgeous” Jimmy Garvin, the “Modern Day Warrior” Kerry Von Erich, and much more!
WCCW TV
Date: 08/27/1983
From: Dallas, Texas
MATCHES
1. José Lothario vs. “Gentleman” Chris Adams
2. Mike Reed vs. “Gorgeous” Jimmy Garvin
3. Kerry Von Erich vs. Buddy Roberts
4. Boris Zhukov vs. Bruiser Brody
BREAKDOWN & REVIEW
- Bill Mercer welcomed us to the most famous wrestling venue in the world, The Sportatorium. He ran down the card quickly and threw to commercial.
- José Lothario vs. “Gentleman” Chris Adams: Our opening contest was set for one fall, ten minutes for a limit. Both men met in the center for a handshake before kicking things off here. Clean breaks and chain wrestling made up the beginning of this one. Bill Mercer mentioned that Adams was dying to get his hands on “Gorgeous” Jimmy Garvin. Both men rolled around in headlocks for several minutes here, not too much action to speak of. A quick flurry of action saw Adams hit a nice running crossbody on Lothario. Both men then traded wrist control until Adams ended up in a seated headscissors submission. A nice tiltawhirl backbreaker landed, putting Adams down for a two count. Both men collided in a double-down, after neither had been able to build too much momentum against one another. Adams looked for a rollup, but Lothario was able to kick out. Another huge backbreaker wasn’t able to keep Adams down. It was obvious to me we were working into a time limit draw. A step through toehold was kept on for a few seconds until Adams was able to kick Lothario away. The bell sounded as Adams was bridging out of a pin. Another handshake was exchanged.
- Firstly, I think these guys had a hard time communicating. As I could hear them calling spots to each other and at some points one of them saying, “I didn’t hear you” or “huh”? That aside, I don’t think this one was all that exciting. We got a lot of mat-based, rolling around here, with the flurry of offense only coming during the last two minutes or so of the match. Star and a half here.
- Next, Bill Mercer was sitting with Kevin Von Erich at the commentary table. Bill Mercer said he was sad to say that he was currently sitting with the FORMER WCCW American Heavyweight Champion and Kevin agreed and said he was disappointed with the whole thing and called it disgusting. Bill threw it a video of the match between Garvin and Kevin. Kevin appeared to be in control, with Garvin continuing to slip out of the ring under the bottom rope. An Iron Claw was applied, with the referee unable to break the hold after a count. Sunshine jumped to the apron and threatened to hit Kevin will her purse. Ultimately, Kevin would be sprayed in the face with Sunshine’s perfume, allowing Garvin to roll him up for a three count to win the championship! Back to the interview, Kevin said he had Garvin beat completely. He hopes the NWA will do the right thing and get Garvin back in the ring with him for the title, but doubts it’ll anytime soon as those things tend to take awhile.
- I thought Kevin played the solemn, upset role very well here. You can tell he’s just deflated and totally sick of Garvin’s antics against he and his brothers. Putting a strap back on Garvin is a good call, in my opinion… it just gives all the fans another reason to boo him.
- Mike Reed vs. “Gorgeous” Jimmy Garvin: Our next bout was set for one fall with a fifteen minute time limit. These guys traded a few arm wrenches to start us off before Garvin got off and running on Reed. Reed was whipped into the corner, but he tried to fight Garvin off with some elbows. It wouldn’t last, as Garvin laid in some boots and punches, followed by Reed being dropped throat-first over the top rope. Garvin pulled Reed out of a pin following a running backbreaker. Garvin dropped Reed with a second win, this time, pinning him to win the bout. After the match, Kevin Von Erich ran down to the ring and back Garvin into a corner. Kevin hit Garvin with a back bodydrop as Garvin ran toward him. The champion bailed from the ring, leaving Kevin in the ring to pose with the title he recently lost. Garvin threw a fit but wasn’t willing to go in the ring with Kevin to go and get his championship.
- The fans absolutely hate Jimmy Garvin and Sunshine, making them come off as total stars in the promotion. I can tell that at this point, Garvin has really hit his stride with his character work and relationship with the Dallas crowd. This was a bonafide squash match here, with Garvin not giving up too much offense to Reed. Star from me.
- Kerry Von Erich vs. Buddy Roberts: This match was set for one fall to a finish, thirty minutes for a time limit. Kerry looked pumped up and ready here to take on Buddy. The crowd chanted “Baldy, Baldy” at Roberts, who was still wearing the loaded headgear. Immediately, Kerry was all over Buddy, sending him bailing to the floor to stall Kerry’s momentum. Back in the ring, Kerry bested Buddy with a headscissors hold. Back on their feet, Kerry hit a nice running crossbody for a two count. Then, he went after the headgear but Roberts held Kerry off. The crowd chanted, “We want the wig!” at Buddy several times here, before Roberts dropped off the top rope with a loaded headbutt on Kerry’s neck. Buddy then worked over Kerry’s neck with a hold. Kerry rallied, hit a scoopslam, and dropped a nice reverse elbow off the top for a near fall. Kerry then planted Roberts with a huge suplex and ended up getting him with a rollup for a three count. After the bell, Michael Hayes ran down to the ring to get the jump on Kerry. Hayes whipped Kerry with his belt, but Kerry was able to get the belt from them, sending both heels hightailing it toward the back.
- Seeing Kerry is always a treat, as the crowd just loves him so much. I’m not sure he and Roberts had great in-ring chemistry here, as wrestling and spots were kept at a minimum. If anything, this was just more of Buddy Roberts finding a way to keep away from Kerry, hit him from behind, and use all the dirty tricks and stalling tactics he could. Still, this one wasn’t horrible, just missable. Star from me.
- Boris Zhukov vs. Bruiser Brody: Our main event was set for thirty minutes, one fall to a finish. Akbar has stated that if his hired assassin could beat Brody here, he was officially in Devastation Inc. Brody had the Russian backing off quickly, landing deep kicks in the stomach. A test of strength was offered, with Zhukov using kicks to get the better of Brody. Brody fired up with his own strikes and then put him down with a one-handed bodyslam. A standing side headlock wore Brody down a little more, as Zhukov was getting more of a competitive match here than I thought he would. Brody then hit his awesome running big boot, sending Zhukov halfway across the ring. Zhukov resorted to biting Brody to try and kill his momentum. More choking over the top rope and heel tools were then applied to Brody. Suddenly, Brody dropped to ringside, grabbed a chair, and wrapped it around Zhukov’s arm and shoulder. Back in the ring, Brody hit a running dropkick, tied up the Russian in the ropes, and nailed him with another running big boot. Lastly, Brody hit another one-armed slam, and dropped his big King Kong Knee Drop on Zhukov to get the three count. After the bell, Akbar jumped to the apron, but was quickly chased away by Brody.
- I was really surprised to see how much offense Zhukov was able to get in on Brody here. Obviously, I knew there was no way he was going to win, but it was still a nice surprise to get a match of substance here. Brody comes off as larger than life, a truly unstoppable force of nature. His offense seems so devastating and the crowd eats every bit of it up. Star and a half here, solid win for Bruiser Brody tonight.
- Bill Mercer was standing at ringside to close us out this week. He recapped some of tonight’s happenings. He mentioned it being a night of revenge and said that next week may be no different, as in the main event, Kerry Von Erich and “Iceman” King Parsons will be meeting Michael Hayes and Buddy Roberts in tag team action!
FINAL THOUGHTS
Other than perhaps seeing Bruiser Brody in action, I’d say this was a pretty skippable week of television for World Class. That said, we did get more angle development between Garvin and Kevin in regards to the WCCW American Heavyweight Championship, so that was a plus. As far as the action in the ring this week, again none of it was anything to write home about. As the summer quickly comes to a close, it seems early autumn here in 1983 maybe cooling off in more ways than one for the Dallas-based promotion… here’s to hoping next week proves me wrong!
See you all then!