The beloved David Von Erich takes on his bitter rival, WCCW American Heavyweight Champion, “Gorgeous” Jimmy Garvin in the main event this week. Plus, the feared Kamala makes his presence felt, The Freebirds meet Johnny Mantell and “Gentleman” Chris Adams in tag team action, and much more!
WCCW TV
Date: 10/15/1983
From: Dallas, Texas
MATCHES
1. Buddy Roberts vs. Kerry Von Erich (Taped replay)
2. Kamala vs. Art Crews
3. Johnny Mantell & “Gentleman” Chris Adams vs. Buddy Roberts & Michael Hayes
4. David Von Erich vs. “Gorgeous” Jimmy Garvin
BREAKDOWN & REVIEW
- Bill Mercer welcomed us to another exciting edition of World Class Championship Wrestling. He ran down a few items of featured on the card tonight and quickly introduced tonight’s replay match as being highly requested by fans who have written in recently.
- Buddy Roberts vs. Kerry Von Erich: This match was originally set for one fall to a finish, thirty minutes for a time limit, airing back on the 08/27/83 episode of WCCW TV. 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.
- Back from commercial, Bill Mercer said that during an interview poolside with “Gorgeous” Jimmy Garvin recently, he was nearly afforded a chance to meet Sunshine’s valet. We then threw to tonight’s featurette, to see a women at the feet of Sunshine while her and Garvin sat on a bench to talk with Bill Mercer. Garvin started off by saying that the reason he felt the need to hire a valet for Sunshine was to give Sunshine a much-deserved break. Instead of all the spotlight being on him, he decided for once it was time to let Sunshine get some of the pampering. On top of that, everybody is always fussing over Jimmy Garvin, and poor Sunshine is always being so harassed by the Von Erichs, that not only did he get her a valet, he got her a diamond ring over in Tokyo during his last trip. He is the WCCW American Heavyweight Champion and as such, he allowed Bill Mercer one question for Sunshine, that being, what could a valet really do for her? Sunshine said that she was going to wash the Lincoln, make arrangements for a trip to San Francisco, take her blouses to the drycleaners, go to the health food store… and then Garvin cut her off, saying they weren’t slave drivers! It sounds like a lot but everything will be fine! They’re just busy people. Mercer then tried to ask about the relationship between Garvin and Sunshine to which Jimmy got flustered and said he didn’t have time for silly questions. Sunshine calmed him down the two exchanged a few kisses.
- This was the most physical we’ve ever seen Jimmy and Sunshine be. She had her hands all over him, kissing him, and giving him the doe eyes the whole interview. Not sure if they’re going to play up some sort of jealousy angle between Sunshine and this new valet, or what. Either way, it just adds to the television time and overall stock of Jimmy Garvin, which I’m all for!
- Kamala vs. Art Crews: Our true opening contest was set for one fall, ten minutes for a limit. This one got underway before opening announcements could even be made! Kamala was throwing Crews around while Mercer said that Skandor Akbar had put out a challenge on behalf of Kamala, $10,000 to any man who could slam Kamala. Kamala hit his running splash and Crews was finished in a hurry. Kamala then climbed to the top rope after the bell, but Akbar and Friday talked him into getting down. The one was over before it started.
- Giving this one anything other than a half a star feels like it would be too much. There was about three whole moves done before our splash and pin here. Nothing new to talk about with this one, other than the challenge Mercer put over on commentary. I would’ve liked to have heard that from Akbar himself in maybe a post-match interview, but whatever.
- Johnny Mantell & “Gentleman” Chris Adams vs. Buddy Roberts & Michael Hayes: Our next was also set for one fall, this one with a twenty minute time limit. Buddy has his wig still and the crowd took him to task for it. Hayes removed the wig for him and this one was set to go as Roberts and Adams kicked things off. A hip toss and dropkick put Adams down for a near fall. Roberts’ offense wouldn’t last as he found himself out on the floor pretty quickly. Mantell was in next to work the arm over with a nice wrench. Quick tags kept Roberts isolated. A kitchen sink caught Mantell and dropped him long enough for Buddy to tag in Hayes. Hayes dropped a nice elbow on Mantell and was all over him with an illegal choke. On commentary, Bill Mercer said that the ‘girl wrestlers’ would be on their way to World Class soon! Back in the ring, Buddy had been tagged back in and he was taking Chris Adams to task with some strikes to Adams while he was draped over the apon. The Freebirds kept on Adams with frequent tags, mostly working the arm of Adams with holds and strikes. A spinning neckbreaker from Buddy Roberts put Adams down for a near fall. The Junkyard Dog would also be coming to Dallas, according to Mercer on commentary! Then Johnny Mantell got his hot tag and sent Hayes flying around for a bit before being cut off by Hayes and Roberts. Hayes hit a nice back elbow and it was all Freebirds at this point. Hayes landed a neckbreaker of his own for another near fall. Adams was in again and sent Buddy up and over with back body drop. All four men were in and fighting, with The Freebirds landing a double clothesline on Adams. Hayes and Mantell threw fists while Adams was able to land a Super Kick on Buddy Roberts to get a surprise three count! Mantell held Hayes so he was unable to break up the pin. After the bell, Buddy complained about a use of the tights as the babyfaces headed for the back.
- This tag match didn’t particularly blow me away, as I felt it was a little too one-sided. Adams and Mantell have been booked pretty strongly the last couple of months, so I feel like they should’ve been given more of a fight during the bout. I was genuinely surprised to see them get a win over The Freebirds, though! Wasn’t expecting all that! That said, this was an okay match, but it just felt like it was going at half-speed… a big win for the good guys here, though. Star and a half from me.
- Prior to our main event, “Gentleman” Chris Adams appeared and grabbed a house mic to address “Gorgeous” Jimmy Garvin. He made a formal challenge to Garvin for the WCCW American Heavyweight Championship. Adams said nobody calls him a coward and he was here to call Garvin’s bluff and to call Garvin a coward right to his face! Jimmy Garvin kept brushing Adams off, calling him a joke into the camera on the apron. Adams got no response as Jimmy strutted around the ring.
- David Von Erich vs. “Gorgeous” Jimmy Garvin: Our main event was one fall to a finish, twenty minutes for a limit. I was excited for this one, this is my feud of the year right here! The bell rang and Dave ran after Garvin. Garvin begged off and re-shifted his focus before the two actually locked up. Garvin again begged off into the corner and riled up the crowd. Two arm drags, two body slams, and some mocking set Garvin bailing to the floor quickly for a breather! Back in the ring, Dave made Garvin pay with a wrench of the arm. The crowd chanted for the Iron Claw while Garvin was back in control briefly. Arm drags and submissions were exchanged back-and-forth. Dave signalled for the Claw, forcing Jimmy to retreat to the corner. He suckered Dave in and took back control with knees, picking up a two count on Dave. Suddenly, Skandor Akbar creeped to ringside and signalled to Kamala to come down to the ring. Kamala got up into the ring while Dave was locked in a sleeper. Kamala side-stepped Garvin and took to attacking Dave. The bell rang and it was Kamala going after Dave. Dave would rally back and find an Iron Claw for him, which made the crowd explode! Dave kept a Claw on Kamala until Kamala was able to roll out to the floor. Akbar and Friday kept Kamala restrained at ringside as Dave taunted them all from inside the ring. Kamala went to get back up on the apron, but shockingly backed down and shook his head before dropping back to the floor to exit!
- So, Kamala is afraid of something after all! It seems he does not like the Iron Claw! To have Kamala physically back down from Dave, though? I didn’t like that. I think it humanizes him a little too much. Nonetheless, Dave and Garvin had an okay match here, before the blatant disqualification through interference. Garvin is just a polished, complete package, I can’t believe the WWF didn’t come knocking for him at this time… anyway, two stars here from me.
- After our last commercial break, Bill Mercer was at ringside to wrap up the show. He mentioned that next week, the NWA World’s Heavyweight Champion, Harley Race, would be challenged by “Iceman” King Parsons!
- WHOA! Huge chance for Parsons to shine next week, brushing shoulders with the champion of the world. That should be interesting!
FINAL THOUGHTS
Tonight’s action was pretty abysmal… that said, “Gorgeous” Jimmy Garvin was on fire tonight. He really came off as a complete, total star between the featurette and his match with Dave in the main event of the evening. I definitely have some interest in Dave and Kamala and think a feud between the two will work well. Dave’s the perfect guy to slay that beast. I also like the interesting, different pick of “Iceman” to take on Race next week, instead of the easy choice in a Von Erich. If given the right amount of time, that should make for a solid match. So, here’s to next week!
See you all then!