WCCW #20 Page #2
Christmas Wrestling Star
Wars, Monday December 25, 1984, Reunion Arena, Dallas Texas
Events
of December 1984 guided World Class towards the big Star Wars event at Reunion
Arena. The star power on this card was outstanding. Let’s look at how the
night unfolded.
Kelly Kiniski defeated
Buck Zumhofe
Kelly
Kiniski won the opener over the soon to be departing Zumhofe.
Rip Oliver defeated Iceman
Parsons
This
was the first high profile match in the promotion for Rip Oliver. He had gained
wide success in the Pacific Northwest and looked to provide World Class with
depth in the midcard. His win over the established Iceman Parsons gave him an
immediate dose of credibility with fans that were otherwise largely unfamiliar
with him.
Jose Lothario defeated El
Diablo Grande
Jose
Lothario was slowing down as he headed towards the final lap of his active
career. World Class continued to utilize him as special attraction to lure in
Mexican-American and Mexican immigrant fans.
Kerry Von Erich defeated
Ric Flair by disqualification; Flair retains the NWA World Title
This
was another great bout in this memorable series of matches. More importantly for
Kerry this was the highest profile rematch he had had with Flair since losing
the title in Japan back in May. Several times Kerry Von Erich nearly regained
the NWA World Title only to be foiled by Flair’s cheating. Flair’s nefarious
strategy of intentionally disqualifying himself to retain the title seemed to
succeed, but only momentarily. A call to the NWA Headquarters called for an
immediate rematch between Flair and Kerry for the championship, a bout we’ll
look at next time.
The Fantastics defeated
The Midnight Express to retain the American Tag Team Title
This
bout was the first high profile match between these teams in a World Class
arena. As one would expect, this bout was up the usual high standards that one
would expect from these duos. After The Fantastics won the bout, Jim Cornette
threw a temper tantrum that Bill Mercer said was like that of a “second
grader”. The great bout and the tantrum were a sign of great things to come
for World Class as 1985 dawned.
Kevin Von Erich defeated
Chris Adams in a lumberjack match
After
their violent match at Thanksgiving the heat continued to rise for Kevin Von
Erich and Chris Adams. On this night it would be a lumberjack match. As usual
Gary Hart made his presence known, as did Gino Hernandez. As the match
progressed, the inevitable brawl ensued amongst the lumberjacks. Amidst the
chaos Kevin won the battle, but not the war.
Terry Gordy, Buddy
Roberts, and Chic Donovan defeated General Skandor Akbar, The Missing Link, and
Mr. X in a loser leaves town elimination match with Gordy as the sole survivor
This
was a bout of hellos and goodbyes. This was an elimination match with
competitors being put out of the match via pinfall, submission or by going over
the top rope to the floor. Terry Gordy called upon longtime Freebird partner
Buddy Roberts to help fight off Akbar’s forces. Chic Donovan, who also had
major issues with Devastation Incorporated, rounded out the trio. On the
opposite team Killer Khan did not show up as scheduled. Instead a masked man
named Mr. X, whose identity remains a mystery to this day, teamed with Skandor
Akbar and The Missing Link.
Roberts
was quickly eliminated. Mr. X also lost out in a hurry. Chic Donovan was next to
go and was quite upset too as he had just returned to World Class from a long
injury layoff. It came down to Gordy vs. Link and Akbar, as well it should have.
Surely the General and Link thought they would prevail. If so, they thought
wrongly. As the General held Gordy for a Link head butt, the lone Freebird
stepped out of the way. Link crashed into the General and sent him from the ring
and World Class. Gordy then tossed The Missing Link to make it official. Gordy
stood tall as the sole survivor, having rid World Class of Devastation
Incorporated.
Mike Von Erich and Billy
Jack Haynes defeated Gino Hernandez and Jake Roberts
As
Chris Adams had forsaken the fans and Sunshine to align with Gary Hart, Sunshine
needed to find a new charge to guide through World Class rings. She found that
charge in the form of Billy Jack. Few wrestlers scaled the heights as a high as
Billy Jack during 1984. He was viewed as one of the major stars of the game. He
would later fall from grace, but for the moment all was well and he was a
formidable partner for Mike Von Erich. Mike had serious issues both with Gino
and Jake and ultimately took the win in historic fashion. Mike used the Iron
Claw, for what World Class billed as the first time ever, to put down Jake
Roberts for the victory.
NEXT MONTH:
1984 is in the books, but World Class keeps rolling. 1985 would prove to be another banner year for this promotion. We’ll start tackling all the events and action in our next edition.