Three’s a Crowd 

Sunshine had done such a great job as Jimmy Garvin’s valet that he decided to reward her with an assistant. The assistant was initially known as Sunshine II, but quickly was renamed Precious. There was trouble in paradise from the get go. Precious did everything she could do to upstage Sunshine and assert herself with Garvin. Sunshine clearly didn’t care for this interloper moving in on her tough. To make matters worse Garvin seemed to take a liking to Precious. The annoyed look on Sunshine’s face said it all. At any rate, Sunshine had never been shy about interfering in Jimmy’s matches. Now Precious began to interfere as well except her interference kept leading to losses for the Gorgeous One, much to his dismay. Despite obvious evidence to the contrary, Jimmy Garvin blamed Sunshine for his losses. It was all leading to tears and the breaking point came on Halloween Monday, October 31, 1983 at the Will Rogers Memorial Auditorium in Fort Worth. Jimmy was defending the TV Title against the underrated Johnny Mantell. Precious’ latest attempt to interfere backfired once again. This time her error cost Jimmy Garvin the TV Title. Amazingly he blamed Sunshine for the loss. It was the final straw. Garvin dumped Sunshine and departed with Precious who was now his sole valet. Sunshine had been left out in the cold.  Alas Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Sunshine hit the road for revenge and soon would have a major ally. 

Who Was That Masked Man? Part 3 

As if he didn’t have enough to worry about with his embattled love life, Jimmy Garvin still had his American Title to defend. When he first hit the territory Gorgeous Jimmy Garvin refused to wrestle on TV, feeling that the fans should have to pay to see him. Garvin eventually relented and began wrestle regularly on TV. Wanting to enhance his reputation as the best American Champ ever, Garvin took things another step further. He vowed to defend the title every week on TV. So far so good, except for one slight problem. Garvin refused to defend the title against any of the top stars that might actually have a chance to beat him. Instead Garvin defended the American Title against preliminary wrestlers who may have tried hard, but who were really no threat to win the title. One week Garvin defended the title against the Masked Avenger. At first the Masked Avenger seemed like a run of the mill prelim wrestler, certainly no one for Garvin to worry about. Then things took an odd turn. The Masked Avenger began making some progress and suddenly had taken over the bout, battling Garvin from pillar to post. 1 – 2 – shoulder up, so many times Garvin was nearly pinned. Who was this guy, fans no doubt wondered. Suddenly the Masked Avenger nailed Garvin with a super kick! Now everyone, including Jimmy Garvin knew what was happening. Masked Avenger was on a tear and only a cheap disqualification helped Garvin retain the title. After the bout as the lovely Precious consoled him, Garvin ended his weekly title defenses, moaning “I’m not doing this anymore. This is too hard.” Meanwhile Chris Adams unmasked to tumultuous applause. This was really the bout that put Chris Adams on the road from solid midcard stalwart to main event star. The Gentleman had arrived and he quickly picked up an ally. 

Sunshine had been extremely unhappy to say the least in the aftermath of her treatment at the hands of Gorgeous Jimmy Garvin and Precious. Sunshine quickly offered her services to Chris Adams. Chris had already pushed Garvin to the limit on his own. Now Sunshine was providing him with information and insight about all things Jimmy Garvin, especially his weaknesses. Sunshine could also neutralize Precious and her ever-present can of aerosol spray. Chris Adams and Jimmy Garvin were on a collision course with Reunion Arena as the meeting point. Meanwhile Sunshine and Precious had a feud unto themselves that also caught the fans’ imagination. 

Go Home Freebirds! 

The Von Erichs vs. Freebirds war continued to rage with the battles for the Six-Man Title serving as the centerpiece. World Class had an undeniable formula for success. Take any or all members of either side pit them against one another and a match that the fans would love would be instantly created. As the fall raged on the individual feud between Michael Hayes and Kerry Von Erich gained even more steam. The two men were set to face off at Reunion Arena on Thanksgiving in a loser leaves town match. The Freebirds had committed numerous despicable acts. Hayes never failed to crow about this chicanery. Now Kerry prepared to make him pay. 

The Race for the Title 

Harley Race returned to World Class Championship Wrestling in the fall of 1983 to defend the NWA World Title. Before arriving in Texas Harley Race made an important announcement via videotape. In his gravelly voice Race snarled that this time there’d be no title shots for the Von Erichs this time around. Fans perceived this as Race ducking worthy challengers. They were not wrong. David Von Erich had chalked up win after win since regaining the Texas Title and now the path to NWA World Title gold was blocked. Race’s refusal to wrestle the Von Erichs benefited Iceman Parsons immensely. Iceman earned a well-deserved NWA World Title shot at the Sportatorium. Iceman had been on a roll all year long and this shot was without doubt the biggest match of his career. With David Von Erich in his corner to provide moral support, Iceman had the bout of his life. Race clearly took his foe lightly and nearly paid for it with his belt. When the referee was attending to a fallen Iceman, Race began jawing with David. David rose to the apron and in a moment of rage David clubbed the NWA World Champ. The dazed Race turned around right into a butt-butt from Iceman and after a count of three it appeared that Iceman had earned NWA World Title gold. Alas another referee came from the back and reversed the decision due to David’s interference. Race left Dallas with the title, but only by the skin of his teeth. Far from wanting to avoid David Von Erich, Race now wanted David in the ring to avenge his near title loss. A detour in wrestling fortunes prevented that meeting, but David would still get an NWA World Title match in short order. 

The Next Von Erich Checks In

In the fall of 1983 World Class announced that Mike Von Erich, the son of Fritz and younger brother of Kevin, David, and Kerry, would soon make his professional wrestling debut. Mike was introduced to the crowd before some of his brothers’ matches and was mentioned on TV by Bill Mercer and Marc Lowrance as debuting soon. Marc Lowrance interviewed Mike shortly before Mike’s debut. Joining them in the Fort Worth ring was Kerry. Kerry wished his brother the best and exclaimed the pride that he and the entire family felt as Mike prepared to embark on his career. Kerry then presented Mike with a brand new ring jacket. All was well until an uninvited guest crashed the party. Michael Hayes had had all of this familial love and bonding that he could stand. Hayes snatched the microphone and bitterly moaned about how sick he was of “cute little Kerry and cute little Mike” not to mention the rest of the Von Erichs and all their fans. Before anyone knew what happened, Hayes had floored both Von Erichs and had ripped Mike’s ring jacket to shreds. Kerry was furious and the entire incident fueled the fire as Kerry and Hayes headed for a Thanksgiving collision at Reunion Arena.

For a moment, let’s take an aside regarding Mike Von Erich. Mike was clearly not as athletic as his brothers nor was he as physically imposing. The promotion tried to compensate for appearances by building up Mike’s amateur wrestling and high school athletic achievements as superior to all of the brothers. These feats were in fact fictitious and it has been a matter of complaint in some circles, Honestly though, when we get down to brass tacks, does it really matter? Pro Wrestling is a work. The heights, weights, hometowns, hair color, and backgrounds of most wrestlers are worked to a degree. If it doesn’t matter that Kamala was really Jim Harris from Mississippi rather than a tribal warrior from Uganda, then why should it matter if Mike’s athletic background was built up for the purposes of his character? I will concede that Mike probably debuted before he was really ready and needed to be brought along much more slowly than he was. 

No Honor Among Thieves 

For most of 1983 The Fabulous Freebirds and Devastation Incorporated had not only coexisted but had been strong allies. That relationship came to a crashing end over a simple misunderstanding in a tag team bout. In Fort Worth at Will Rogers Coliseum Michael Hayes, Kamala, and The Mongol faced off against David Von Erich, Iceman Parsons, and Chris Adams. This should have been a straightforward match, but there was one slight problem. Kamala had never wrestled in a tag team match before. Kamala, the Ugandan Savage, had not a clue of the rules of a tag team bout. Michael Hayes started the bout and when he went to tag Kamala, the Ugandan Giant tagged him right back thinking they were exchanging some sort of greeting. The more Hayes tried to tag him, the less Kamala understood the concept. The fans laughed. Marc Lowrance left. Heck even David, Iceman, and Chris laughed at the whole scenario. Hayes had to wrestle the entire bout himself and wound up on the losing end of things. Afterwards he unleashed a bitter tirade against Devastation Incorporated. Bad move. Hayes took a beating from Kamala, The Mongol, Akbar, and Friday for his troubles. The Freebirds – Devastation alliance was at an end and a war was around the corner. 

Thanksgiving Wrestling Star Wars, Thursday November 24, 1983, Reunion Arena, Dallas, TX

This was arguably the high point for the promotion as Reunion Arena was filled to the gills with one of the hottest wrestling crowds ever assembled. These people were going crazy all night long and with good reason because this was a truly exciting night of wrestling.  

Johnny Mantell, Jose Lothario, and Mike Reed defeated Boris Zurkhoff, Black Gordman, and Tonga John 

This was the opener and was a basic match to get the show rolling. Johnny Mantell still reigned as TV Champ. Lothario was in the midst of feuding with Black Gordman, a veteran of the Los Angeles wrestling scene. Mike Reed was a veteran prelim wrestler who had recently upset Michael Hayes in the biggest win of his career. Tonga John gained fame in later years as The Barbarian. Boris Zurkhoff of course later changed his last name to Zukhoff.  

The Missing Link defeated Buddy Roberts 

This was The Missing Link’s World Class wrestling debut and he came in with a bang by beating Buddy Roberts. Link had been managed by General Skandor Akbar in Mid-South and would be a part of Devastation Incorporated in World Class rings as well. However on this night he came to ringside alone. Perhaps the promotion didn’t want Roberts getting cheered on a night when The Freebirds were cast as the top heels. The fans would never have cheered one of Akbar’s men. 

Kevin Von Erich defeated Terry Gordy 

These two had been battling out all year and had plenty of great bouts. For the promotion it was just a matter of putting these two together to once again guarantee a match with action and heat. Gordy was all action and Kevin was no slouch either. 

David Von Erich defeated Kamala by disqualification to retain the Texas Title 

Kamala did not utilize clean, scientific wrestling holds. He liked to brawl. Luckily, or is that unluckily, for him his opponent was David Von Erich. The lanky, but tough as nails David was just as likely to brawl so the fight was on. They tore the house down and David eventually locked Kamala into the Iron Claw. Just as a submission seemed imminent, Akbar and Friday hit the ring. Coming to David’s aid was Kerry who wound up body slamming Kamala. Akbar had promised $10,000 to anyone who slammed the Ugandan Giant, but refused to pay Kerry because he had not slammed Kamala in the midst of a sanctioned match. Kerry would soon have his day.  

Mike Von Erich defeated General Skandor Akbar 

This was Mike’s debut match. Let’s be plain, Mike was not ready for the limelight at this stage. All things considered, Akbar was the perfect opponent. Although he was now a manager, Akbar had been a talented wrestler in his day and could guide Mike through the match. For what it was, this was a solid enough bout. The latest Von Erich had arrived. 

The Super Destroyers battled Iceman Parsons and Junkyard Dog to a double disqualification to retain the American Tag Team Title 

Iceman had a run in with The Super Ds and needed a partner. He called on the Junkyard Dog. JYD was without any doubt one of the biggest stars in pro wrestling at the time and his presence not only gave the card more prestige, but it cemented Iceman as a major player as well. During the course of the bout Iceman suffered a head injury and had to be helped to the back. His absence left JYD at the mercy of the Super Ds, but Reunion Arena exploded in joy when Iceman, his head bandaged, returned to make the save. A double disqualification kept the belts with Akbar’s team, but the war had just begun. 

Chris Adams defeated Jimmy Garvin to win the American Title 

This bout had the kind of heat that burns entire arenas to the ground. People wanted to see Chris Adams beat Jimmy Garvin, but that paled compared to how much they wanted to see Sunshine give Precious what she had coming. Every time the ladies got near each other Reunion Arena exploded. When they finally traded blows the noise and excitement went even higher. In the ring Adams and Garvin had a heck of a bout and when all was said and done Chris Adams was the new American Champion. All year Adams seemed like someone who could break to the next level, this bout represented the point where he finally stepped up to become a superstar. 

Kerry Von Erich defeated Michael Hayes in a loser leaves town, steel cage match 

The chant had sounded throughout arenas in Texas for more than a year. “Go Home Freebirds! Go Home Freebirds!!” On this night fans finally got see their fondest wish come true. Kerry and Hayes returned to the scene of the crime where eleven months earlier Hayes and his Freebird brothers had cost Kerry the NWA World Title. This was as wild and bloody as any cage match. As expected the fans were going nuts even before the bell rang. At one point Buddy Roberts attempted to climb into the cage only to be thwarted by Fritz Von Erich. In the end Kerry defeated Hayes to send him packing from World Class Championship Wrestling. Michael Hayes was gone from World Class Championship Wrestling…for the moment. 

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