WCCW #27 Page #2
As we are only covering a
single month in this column, the short time period caused the titles to remain
stable. The American Tag Team Title remained held up after the match between the
Von Erichs and Dynamic Duo. Brian Adias held the Texas Title throughout the
month. Adias also shared the Six Man Title with Kerry and Kevin Von Erich.
Iceman Parson's essentially unacknowledged American Title stint went along
quietly. Iceman also captured gold in the one title change of the month. Iceman
King Parson won the Fort Worth based TV Championship from Hollywood John Tatum
on October 21, 1985.
The primary feud pitted
Kerry and Kevin Von Erich against Chris Adams and Gino Hernandez. Even the Hair
vs. Hair match couldn't end this war. The two teams kept right on battling.
Bruiser Brody made Gary Hart's men his main targets during his infrequent visits
to World Class. Rick Rude settled into a feud with old standby Iceman King
Parsons, just as Rip Oliver had upon his debut back in late 1984. Meanwhile
Scott Casey and Sunshine entered a bitter war with John Tatum and Missy Hyatt.
Missy and Sunshine had some bitter catfights and the fans instantly got into the
feud. Without any doubt Missy was Sunshine's best foe since Precious back in
late 1983 and 1984.
The
Cotton Bowl Extravaganza, Sunday October 6, 1985, The Cotton Bowl, Dallas, Texas
Apart
from the wrestling action, this card hosted a debut and a return. Debuting was
Lance Von Erich. Lance and Fritz did an interview with Bill Mercer, explaining
Lance's background and relation to the family. The fans took to Lance
immediately and both Fritz and Mercer put him over strongly. Returning was Mike
Von Erich. Mike had made a remarkable recovery from his bout with Toxic Shock
Syndrome. At more than one point he appeared to be near death. On this day Mike
made his first appearance at a wrestling show since falling ill. The large crowd
gave him a rousing standing ovation. However an uncomfortable undercurrent ran
beneath the surface for some observers.
The
Von Erich family has taken some warranted heat for exploiting their various
tragedies through the years. This particular event seems like ground zero for
that issue. Although seeming cynical to some in retrospect, the David Von Erich
Memorial Parade Of Champions cards felt at the time (and for many still feel)
like a fitting way to honor and remember a great wrestler who died too soon.
However the promotion repeatedly calling Mike "The Living Miracle" as
if it was a catchphrase and parading him around the field in a convertible while
playing the theme from "Rocky" seemed a bit uncomfortable to some and
exploitative to others. Introducing Mike to the crowd was one thing and no one
could object to that. The pomp and circumstance of the occasion is what put some
folks off, especially when viewed in the grand scheme of things rather than as a
stand-alone occurrence.
This
prelim bout featured Tommy Montana who, while hardly a future star even at the
time, received a small push as an up and coming rookie type. This match also saw
Kelly Kiniski step into a World Class ring for the final time. Kelly was heading
for Mid-South. He went out a winner. Seconding Kelly for the day was his father
Gene Kiniski a former NWA World Champion and major rival of Fritz Von Erich
during the 1960s.
Killer
Tim Brooks earned the win returned to World Class after a brief absence. This
result still surprises me. Casey was getting a big push while it seemed that
Brooks didn't fit into World Class' immediate plans. Odd or not, Brooks left the
ring as the winner.
Bobby
Rogers and Tommy Fulton wrestled for Mid-South at this time, but returned to
World Class for the day to compete in this match. Needless to say they received
a warm welcome from the fans. John Tatum was really looking the part of a top
heel with Missy Hyatt on his arm. Dave Peterson seemed out of place as his
partner. Peterson had always worked babyface, but somehow ended up on the heel
side of the fence for this match. Afterwards things returned to normal with
Peterson and Tatum immediately splitting up over Tatum and Missy being mad over
the loss and Peterson not tolerating this abuse. Missy's bad attitude brought an
angry Sunshine to the ring and a near catfight ensued. Rick Hazzard had to use
every ounce of strength to keep Sunshine from tearing Missy limb from limb.
These two had feuded for
months. The idea was to make Adias a big star in 1985 like Iceman and Adams had
been in 1983 and 1984. It just didn't work. Meanwhile Victory was paired with
Gary Hart as his manager in order to gain credibility. This had mixed results.
Victory found himself trapped in a spinning toe hold. Gary Hart implored him not
to give up and to his credit, Victory did not. He finally blacked out from the
pain and was pinned for the win with ease by Adias.
Iceman
Parsons defeated One Man Gang by count out in round 3 of a 10 round Taped Fist
match
Kerry Von Erich seconded
Iceman for this bout. Gary Hart accompanied One Man Gang to ringside as always.
The rules called for the men to box with taped fists rather than wrestle and
instead of pinning a man for a 3 count, the wrestlers had to KO their opponent
for a 10 count. The big question here was whether speed and agility or power and
mass would prevail. OMG was by far the largest wrestler in World Class. What
Iceman lacked in size he made up for in quickness and he packed a powerful punch
as well. Gang eventually gained the advantage, clubbing Iceman with his meat
hook fists, not to mention illegal tactics while Gary Hart distracted the
referee. Eventually Iceman used a lucky punch to stun OMG and then started
wearing down the mammoth heel with stick and move techniques. Unable to stop
Iceman with his fists alone, One Man Gang took a roll of quarters from Gary
Hart, but when he attempted to punch Iceman with them, he missed and dropped the
coins. With Referee Bronko Lubich distracted by Kerry Von Erich's Iron Claw hold
on Gary Hart, Iceman took the coins and slugged Gang with a left hook. One Man
Gang fell through the ropes to the floor like a sack of potatoes. Lubich
returned to count him out and raise Iceman's hand as the victor.
The
Great Kabuki defeated Mark Lewin by disqualification
Kabuki
got the win here after a typical disqualification of The Maniac due to
interference from Gary Hart. The real story of this match occurred in the
aftermath. Gary Hart and Mark Lewin were doing a number on Kabuki and Sunshine
was in jeopardy. Scott Casey then ran in to save the day. Sunshine gave Casey a
congratulatory kiss, only for Kabuki to strike them down in a jealous rage.
Kabuki's heel turn planted the seeds for a feud with Casey and Sunshine, but it
never left the launching pad after this promising start.
Kerry
and Kevin Von Erich defeated Chris Adams and Gino Hernandez in a Hair vs. Hair
match
For
three months World Class Championship Wrestling had built to this moment. The
two top teams in the promotion would finally battle it out with pride and glory
going to the victors and to the losers the ultimate shame, public baldness. The
rest of the card was secondary. The 25,000 fans in attendance came to see this
match alone. Before the bout began, ring announcer Marc Lowrance made several
important announcements. He explained that the various wrestlers surrounding the
ring were not lumberjacks. Their presence strictly entailed preventing the
losers from escaping ringside without their haircuts. Nearly all of the heels
and babyfaces were present. Among them were the cousin Lance Von Erich, who had
been introduced for the first time earlier in the show, as well as youngest
brother Chris Von Erich. The promotion had made a big point all year of showing
that The Dynamic Duo had no allies and considered themselves above even the
other heels. Gary Hart drove this point home during the introductions by telling
TV announcer Bill Mercer that he was rooting for the Von Erichs. Another matter
concerned the referee. Chris and Gino had earned the right to choose the match
official by virtue of their July 4th victory that also set up this
hair match. Their choice was Alfred Neely who had played the role of heel ref in
World Class before. For unexplained reasons Neely did not appear. Thus at the
last moment World Class named David Manning referee in his place. Adams and
Hernandez were furious. They loudly protested and even demanded that Rick
Hazzard referee the match instead. Manning insisted that his officiating would
be clean and fair. With all of this decided, the time to wrestle had arrived at
last.
The
early part of the match was a feeling out process and then became a back and
forth wrestling match with both sides getting in plenty of offense and keeping
the pace fast. The match eventually developed into Chris and Gino pounding on
Kevin while Kerry anxiously awaited a tag on the apron. The Dynamic Duo really
showed their arrogance. When Kerry got the hot tag the fans went from hot to
searing. Kerry struck with a quick show of offense only to find himself on the
end of a Dynamic Duo onslaught. Both teams exchanged near falls with Kerry
kicking out of Chris' Superkick and Kerry only able to get a two count on Adams
after a Discus Punch. Chris and Gino seemed to gain a full advantage after The
Gentleman distracted Manning and The Handsome Half Breed hit Kerry with a chair.
Still Kerry managed some flurries and even a razor close two count on Adams.
Finally a mid ring collision of Kerry and Gino evened the odds. Gino managed to
tag in Adams, but finally Kerry made it to the refreshed Kevin. Kevin entered
the ring like a house of fire and seemed to have matters in hand until a missed
knee drop on Adams put the ball back in The Dynamic Duo's court. Kevin managed a
blind tag to Kerry who clamped the Iron Claw onto Adams. Gino quickly broke
things up only for Kevin to enter the fray. A four way brawl ensued. In the
process Adams tossed Kevin from the ring. Things now looked bleak for the Von
Erichs, especially when Adams hit an unsuspecting Kerry with a Superkick.
Looking to seal the deal, Gino held Kerry while Adams blinded The Modern Day
Warrior with powder. Amidst the chaos Kevin reentered the ring with a flying
bodypress and near fall on Adams, only to find himself double teamed as the
blinded Kerry crawled to the ropes. At the ropes Kerry was met by Lance Von
Erich who flushed his cousin's eyes with water and used his shirt to wash away
the powder. Just as Kerry recovered, Gino attempted to hit Kevin with more
powder. Kevin was just able to slip from the grip of Chris Adams and The
Gentleman took the powder instead. As Kevin tackled a stunned Gino, Kerry rolled
up the blinded Adams to get the pin and the win. The Von Erichs had triumphed!
The 25,000 plus fans went nuts. Now all that was left was the hair cutting.
Chris
went first. It took practically every wrestler to hold him down as Chris kicked
and flailed and shouted abuse. Before the clippers were unveiled, the various
wrestlers from whom The Dynamic Duo had claimed hair took a snippet of Chris'
hair with scissors. Iceman, Adias, Casey, and even DJs from radio station Q102
cut souvenir locks of hair. Finally Kerry and Kevin took the electric clippers
and shaved Adams bald as he vowed revenge in a most ungentlemanly manner. When
his haircut was complete Adams covered his bald head with a towel, decked
referee Rick Hazzard and stormed from the ring in a rage. Now it was Gino's
turn. Lance had been holding him at ringside with Tommy Montana and Rangi, but
as Gino was passed into the ring, he broke loose and made a break for it. When
it appeared that Gino was near daylight, he was tackled to the ground by young
Chris Von Erich, stunning Gino long enough for Kerry and Kevin to toss him in
the ring. Kevin and Kerry made quick work of Gino's hair and humiliated him
further by letting their youngest brother shave some off. The dejected and bald
Gino then grabbed a sweater from a ringside fan, covered his head with it, and
sulked to the back. The Dynamic Duo had gone from "Bad To The Bone" to
"Bald To The Bone". Kerry and Kevin then soaked up the cheers from an
adoring crowd that had been hot to the point of nearly out of control throughout
the haircutting. It was a great day for World Class and a height that sadly was
never reached again.
NEXT MONTH:
This
was a peak moment for World Class to be sure, but good times were still ahead.
Next time we'll look at November of 1985 and the road to the Thanksgiving Star
Wars show at Reunion Arena.