October 1983 is here as World Class Championship Wrestling continues to steam roll their way through the year! On this episode, bitter rivals Terry Gordy and Kerry Von Erich meet in singles action once again for our main event. Plus, David Von Erich and “Gentleman” Chris Adams tag up to take on two hulking members of Devastation Incorporated. “Iceman” King Parsons, Buddy Roberts, and more will also in action!
WCCW TV
Date: 10/08/1983
From: Dallas, Texas
MATCHES
1. Buddy Roberts vs. Johnny Mantell
2. Bill Rathke vs. “Iceman” King Parsons
3. David Von Erich & “Gentleman” Chris Adams vs. The Mongol & Boris Zhukov
4. Terry Gordy vs. Kerry Von Erich
BREAKDOWN & REVIEW
- Bill Mercer welcomed us to The Sportatorium tonight, where he was standing in the ring. He covered the main event and announced our opening contest before throwing to commercial.
- Buddy Roberts vs. Johnny Mantell: This match was set for one fall to a finish, fifteen minutes for a limit. Buddy was wearing a sort of dreadlock wig…? No headgear! Then the bell rang and suddenly, Roberts pulled the wig off and revealed his bald head for the first time! I actually didn’t think it looked that bad. So quick chain wrestling ensued until Buddy bailed to the floor following a break of the headscissors he was in. Roberts was then launched through the second rope almost down onto the ring steps! Back in the ring, Mantell was all over Roberts with some mat-based holds. Bill Mercer was putting over Terry Gordy’s Oriental Spike on commentary while the holds continued. Back on their feet, Mantell hit a nice running shoulder block but fell victim to a big back body drop. Roberts found himself in a front facelock at this point, as five minutes remaining was announced. We stayed in head and arm holds for the next couple of minutes straight, until Buddy dropped Mantell with a knee breaker. An inside toe hold came next, with Mantell struggling to escape while Buddy held his trunks behind the ref’s back. Roberts came off the second rope with a headbutt to the gut for a near fall. Mantell then reversed a piledriver attempt as we went into the one minute warning. Roberts missed a second headbutt off the second rope and Mantell was all over him with a running clothesline. A suplex, running kitchen sink, and an abdominal stretch into a pin was all Mantell was able to get in before the time limit expired. The crowd booed the finish as both men yelled at each other going into commercial.
- I thought this was a nicely fought match on the part of both men. I still don’t like Mantell, but the more I watch of Buddy Roberts, the more I can appreciate his ability to help make a guy look good. I wasn’t too surprised with the time limit draw here, as booking-wise, it wouldn’t have made sense for either guy to eat a pin. I also don’t mind Buddy Roberts’ new look! Despite all the rest holds, I’m still giving this one a star and a half, as it kept my interest for the most part.
- Bill Rathke vs. “Iceman” King Parsons: Our next match was again set for one fall, this one getting a fifteen minute time limit. Parsons was jumped by Rathke before the bell here, getting thrown from one corner of the ring to the other. Parsons struggled to get his jacket off as Rathke was all over him. Finally, the jacket was off and the bell rang for the official start. Parsons was then whipped through the second rope to the floor not once, but twice. The “Iceman” tried to shake off the attack, hitting a headbutt to the gut once back in the ring. He threw some fancy punches than put Rathke down for the first time since this one got going. Some more strike combos and his running Butt-Butt hip attack finish then put Rathke away quickly here!
- You know, I didn’t hate that! I like that Rathke got the jump on Parsons to start us off, then mistakenly leaving the door open just enough for Parsons to make a quick comeback and win the match. I still think World Class has a lot of faith in King Parsons… and I think I still do, too. For an enhancement match in Parsons’ favor, I think this one worked well for both guys. Full star from me.
- David Von Erich & “Gentleman” Chris Adams vs. The Mongol & Boris Zhukov: Our tag team contest of the evening was set for one fall, thirty minute time limit. After some tense stand-offs between all four men, it seemed Adams was set to kick things off with The Mongol for this one. Some cross traffic into a crossbody came out well for Adams, who was on the move from the very start. Boris was in next to get hip tossed around and tied up long enough for David to tag in. Dave landed a rolling headscissors and then it was Adams in again to work with Dave is a nice double-team. More quick tags in the babyface corner kept Boris pretty neutralized. Adams and Dave kept arm control, until Dave was back in and hit his signature running high knee. Dave signalled for the Claw as the Russian rolled to the ring and The Mongol took over for his partner. The Mongol was hip tossed out of the corner and nearly ended up with the Iron Claw being applied, but he bailed to the floor to recollect himself alongside Boris and Skandor Akbar. The heels ended up on the same page long enough to wear Von Erich down with some heavy strikes. Turnabout seemed to be fair play as now it was the heels tagging in and out while keeping Dave neutralized. Boris slapped on a bear hug in the center of the ring, putting Dave in some serious trouble now! The Mongol was in next, knocking Adams off the apron to continue the punishment on Dave. Finally, Chris Adams got the hot tag and it was first Zhukov to get bounced around. A huge Super Kick got him right on the button and then all four men were in! Dave applied the Iron Claw on The Mongol as Akbar jumped up to the apron. Then, it was the Iron Claw for Skandor Akbar! The heels were officially disqualified and the match was awarded to Adams and Von Erich as the heels limped off to the back.
- I was not expecting Skandor Akbar to get some comeuppance in this one! I thought David and Chris Adams worked really well together, I liked this pairing a lot. I think these teams worked well against one another and the match stayed in movement from the beginning. This was a solid little match here, but another non-finish kind of sucked. Star and a half again here from me.
- Backstage near the shower area, Bill Mercer was standing by with a disheveled Skandor Akbar. Mercer asked if Akbar had had enough of the Von Erichs yet? Akbar said not by a long shot, it was now time for Kamala! Kamala was going to take care of all the Von Erichs, Fritz included if he dares! It was war according to Akbar, and with his money and influence, he was also going to try to get the Iron Claw banned with the National Wrestling Alliance! A guy then yelled at them both from in the shower, asking them to do this someplace else, so the interview concluded.
- Ummm, that was a weird ending? That said, Akbar seems to be insinuating that he’s only going to be cranking up the heat on the Von Erichs! As if they didn’t have enough trouble…
- Terry Gordy vs. Kerry Von Erich: That led us right into our final match of the evening, set for one fall, with a sixty minute time limit. A lock up started us off, but a dirty break was issued by Gordy. The two immediately started throwing haymakers at each other and this one was off to the races. Gordy smashed Kerry’s head into the turnbuckle a few times, but Kerry rallied back with punches of his own. Something told me at this point, this one wasn’t going to probably last long. Kerry then came off the top rope with an elbow to standing Gordy. A standing knee drop was up next. Gordy wasn’t really slowed down though, as he next dropped Kerry over the top rope throat first. The big man then blatantly choked Kerry in the corner. All of sudden, Kerry was thrown to the floor and slammed on the outside by Gordy! Kerry made it back in at the count of seven by the official and went right back on the attack. Gordy was then thrown to the floor and slammed for good measure, a taste of his own medicine from Von Erich. Back in the ring, a back elbow and a running clothesline stalled Kerry’s momentum briefly. Kerry fired up, but ate a fist that sent him backwards up and over the top rope! The match resumed as Gordy didn’t purposefully send him up and over, but it had to be part of Gordy’s master plan, as he met Kerry on the apron with his deadly Oriental Spike! Gordy paced around the ring as Kerry writhed in pain on the mat. The crowd exploded when David Von Erich came to Kerry’s rescue! Dave got right up into the ring and applied his Iron Claw on the big man from Georgia! The match was thrown out, in favor of Terry Gordy, but Dave was able to save his brother from any further damage at the hands of Gordy.
- Another non-finish!? Jeez, that’s the theme of the night tonight, I suppose. That aside, this one did have that big-fight-feel. Anytime these guys meet, the match is explosive. Tonight was no different and what was expected to be delivered, was delivered. I wish the finish was a little more creative, though. I was pretty tired of the disqualifications at this point. The action on the outside kind of surprised me, too. The official was definitely being more than lenient with these guys here. Two stars for the drama and story, no points awarded for the finish… if David isn’t careful, his brothers are going to start getting made at him for costing them matches all the time!
- At ringside, Bill Mercer closed us at. He put over the deadliness of both the Oriental Spike and the Iron Claw! He mentioned that next week, David Von Erich will again have a chance to get his hands on “Gorgeous” Jimmy Garvin. Plus, we will meet Sunshine’s new valet!
FINAL THOUGHTS
All things considered, this week was a pretty middle-of-the-road episode of World Class television. Not much happened that was must-see. Action was okay, but the finishes tonight were horrendous. I could tell by the end of the show, the wind was kind of out of the crowd’s sails for these non-finishes. That said, next week, it seems we will see another chapter written in the Jimmy Garvin and David Von Erich story. Plus, the mysterious valet’s valet will be revealed. So, we do have a few different things to look forward to next time!
See you all then!