World Class Championship Wrestling
November 1985

We’re back!
 

I apologize for the absence of this column in recent months. Real life developments (all good ones) took away from the time necessary to complete these pieces. Now that things have settled down, we can get back to reviewing the history of World Class Championship Wrestling on a regular basis. When we left off, Kevin and Kerry Von Erich had defeated Chris Adams and Gino Hernandez in a momentous hair vs. hair match at the Cotton Bowl on October 5, 1985. In the aftermath of that show World Class started gearing up for the Thanksgiving Wrestling Star Wars show at Reunion Arena in Dallas. Let’s take a look at what was going on in the build up to that show.
 

Talent Roster
 

World Class ran with a short crew during the late fall of 1985. Many familiar names of the past year were heading out of the area and while new faces were coming in, not all had yet arrived. Needless to say Kerry, Kevin, and Lance Von Erich were the main babyfaces. The next most popular personality in World Class might have been Sunshine who continued to manage Scott Casey. Also on the babyface side of the coin were old favorites Iceman Parsons and Brian Adias. Iceman was still quite popular and the fans liked Adias. However Iceman was a bit past his peak popularity and the fans never really took to Adias as the top non Von Erich as had been hoped for by the promotion. Bruiser Brody was in and out of the area, making occasional appearances in between his many commitments elsewhere. Dave Peterson wrestled as a babyface on the lower part of the card. Old standby Johnny Mantell was back after an absence although not with any sort of push. 

Chris Adams and Gino Hernandez, The Dynamic Duo, carried on as the main heels. Ravishing Rick Rude was in the midst of a big heel push and already held the American Title. Accompanying Rude to ringside was his manager, Percival Pringle III. Pringle combined arrogant overconfidence with lies, interference in matches, wild insults, and a tendency to pout when things didn’t go his way. Percy quickly became a much hated figure in World Class. Besides Rude, Pringle also guided new arrival The Grappler and, back in Texas for the first time in nearly a year, The Missing Link. Hollywood John Tatum and his valet Missy Hyatt continued to make waves. One Man Gang and Jack Victory were still on hand although their former manager Gary Hart and former stable mate Mark Lewin had left the area. Kelly Kiniski had also left the area while Kabuki was on a sabbatical in Japan.  

Titles
 

The championships in World Class remained fairly stable during the late fall of 1985. Kerry and Kevin Von Erich and Brian Adias held the Six Man Title. The Dynamic Duo teamed up with Rick Rude to mount a challenge. However at this stage that title did not get much emphasis, although it would return to prominence before the year ended. Speaking of Rude, he defeated Iceman Parsons to win the American Title on November 4, 1985 in Fort Worth. Iceman Parsons could at least take consolation in holding the TV Title. He defeated Hollywood John Tatum on October 21, 1985 in Fort Worth for that crown. Unlike his American Title reign, Iceman’s TV Title reign was acknowledged on at least the Championship Sports program from Fort Worth. Besides his share of the Six Man Title, Adias was also Texas Champion, holding the title since beating Gino Hernandez back on September 27, 1985. The American Tag Team Title was vacant after being held up during a match pitting champions Kerry and Kevin Von Erich against challengers Chris Adams and Gino Hernandez. The title would be decided at Reunion Arena in Dallas on Thanksgiving night. 
 

Feuds 

The Von Erichs vs. The Dynamic Duo still headlined World Class cards post Cotton Bowl. To a great extent the feud had now run its course, but some issues remained unsettled. Principally the American Tag Team Title sat vacant. The two teams looked towards a Reunion Arena cage match to settle that championship. Kerry and Kevin also had a bone to pick with Chris and Gino over the masks that the Gentleman and the Handsome Halfbreed wore to cover their baldheads. What was the point of shaving Chris and Gino bald only to be denied the pleasure of enjoying their subsequent embarrassment?  More...