WCCW #23 Page #2
The Fantastics continued
their war with The Midnight Express. Rip Oliver began a feud with Mike Von
Erich, but also frequently faced the likes of Scott Casey or Brian Adias. With
everyone in the promotion occupied more or less, it made every bout seem
important in the grand scheme of things.
In March Chris Adams faced
off with Kevin Von Erich in Fort Worth in an I Quit match. The idea was to end
this bloody feud once and for all. However far from bringing closure, the bout
opened up new veins of hatred and rivalry. As the bout wound down, Kevin locked
Chris in the Iron Claw. With Chris incapacitated and bleeding, Gary Hart threw
in the towel and ended the match. This should have been the end of the story,
however instead the tale produced an unexpected twist. The following week Chris
Adams angrily confronted his manager, furious that Hart had surrendered for him,
insisting that he would never quit on his own. Hart, irritated but calm,
explained that he had ended the bout because he didn’t want Chris going in
injured for an upcoming NWA World Title match with Ric Flair. Adams would have
none of it. In a moment of rage he fired Gary Hart who vowed vengeance.
Vengeance came in said match
with Flair. Adams was gaining control when Gary Hart’s main man One Man Gang
hit the ring to end the match. Adams had the win, but it was a hollow victory as
the NWA World Title remained with Flair due to the disqualification rule. In
Chris Adams’ corner for that bout with Flair was Gino Hernandez, a fact that
Gary Hart was quick to notice. In one of my all time favorite Gary Hart
interviews, Hart moved from calm and collective to table pounding fury as he
explained to Bill Mercer that Chris Adams was a “scheming ingrate” who had
“used and abused” Hart to further his own career. Hart bitterly added that
Gino Hernandez was “no good scum who would amount to nothing” and had led a
willing Adams astray. Hart vowed that when all was said and done, he would have
the last laugh.
As
for Adams and Hernandez, they were happy to laugh right away. Adams and
Hernandez had wrestled as a team many times since late 1984, most often against
Kerry and Kevin Von Erich. Now they were a fulltime team and their talent was
only exceeded by their massive egos. But hey, they had plenty of reason to be
cocky. Gino Hernandez had been Texas Champion since the previous summer. Chris
was settling in as American Champion. As a team they were undefeated. They had
the belts, the clothes, the corvettes, the women, the style, George
Thorogood’s “Bad To The Bone” as a theme song and motto, and Chris and
Gino most definitely had the ego. They were the Dynamic Duo and in their opinion
World Class Championship Wrestling belonged to them and everyone else was just
riding in their wake.
The
Second Annual David Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions, Sunday May 5, 1985,
Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas
For
World Class Championship Wrestling the coming of spring meant the annual Parade
of Champions outdoors at Texas Stadium, honoring the late David Von Erich. Close
to 30,000 fans turned out to see the promotion’s major feuds climax, to see
some major out of town stars (Ric Flair, The Freebirds, Devastation Inc.), and
to see a heavily hyped 12 man tag team event. Let’s take a look at the action
and results of this spectacular card.
Johnny
Mantell, normally a babyface, worked as a subtle heel against Dallas native Skip
Young in this bout.
Scott
Casey and Brian Adias defeated Kelly and Nick Kiniski
Recent
arrival Scott Casey and recent returnee Brian Adias teamed up over the Kiniski
brothers. Kelly was of course a World Class mainstay while Nick came in for the
day from his regular gig in San Antonio.
Terry
Gordy defeated Kamala by disqualification
Gordy
and Kamala were not World Class regulars at this time. The Freebirds were moving
from Florida to the AWA. Kamala and General Skandor Akbar’s Devastation
Incorporated were based in Mid-South. However with such a big card and both
behemoths in for the show, it made sense to make a match. Gordy had the
overwhelming support of the fans on the basis of Devastation’s anti-American
views and The Freebirds’ peace with the Von Erichs.
Mike had spent the better
part of 1985 on the sidelines with injuries, but returned to action in the build
up to this card. To create a match for Mike, they ran an angle with he and Rip
getting into a brawl in Fort Worth. In the process Rip broke Mike’s hand by
slamming it in the locker room door. Mike gained revenge in this bout, a match
highlighted by Jim Cornette hilariously bickering with ringside fans.
Kabuki was supposed to team
with Hercules Hernandez, but Hercules did not show up for the event and quit the
promotion for reasons that have never been explained. Instead Scott Casey pulled
double duty and took his place. Casey and Kabuki had Sunshine in their corner,
but not even her encouragement could prevent a win by the Dynamic Duo.
Kerry
and One Man Gang had feuded for months, Kerry’s power vs. OMG’s massive
bulk. Let’s not forget Gary Hart’s mouth. Hart had been prone to taking
verbal shots at the Von Erichs and Fritz had had enough. That led to this bout
and also led to one of pro wrestling’s all time great stipulations. During the
bout Fritz and Hart would be handcuffed together to prevent one another from
interfering. If One Man Gang won, then Hart and OMG would get five minutes alone
in the ring with Fritz. If Kerry won, then Gary Hart’s head would be shaved
and he would have to remain bald for life! Kerry got the win with the Iron Claw.
The Von Erichs then handcuffed OMG to the ring ropes and shaved off Gary
Hart’s hair and rendering him bald ever since.
One
year earlier at the First Parade of Champions in one of World Class Championship
Wrestling’s greatest moments, Kerry Von Erich had pinned Ric Flair to win the
NWA World Title. Flair regained the title soon afterwards, but nothing could
erase Kerry’s triumph. Now it was Kevin’s turn to face Flair for the NWA
World Title. Could lightning twice? Flair and Kevin had wrestled each other
enough times that everyone knew what to expect. Kevin would utilize his mix of
highflying skills, mat wrestling, and brawling to keep Flair off balance. Flair
would use his incredible scientific wrestling knowledge and, naturally, every
dirty trick in the book in order to gain the advantage.
For
a while the bout ebbed and flowed with each man trading the advantage and
getting more and more frustrated. Inevitably this wrestling match became a
brawl. Kevin and Flair wound up focusing so much on one another that they
ignored the referee and were both counted out. Nevertheless, the fight continued
back in the ring where Kevin locked in the Iron Claw. Flair bled as he writhed
in pain from the powerful hold. Kevin locked onto Flair’s skull with such
intensity and anger that even Fritz could barely pull him off. Whatever the
result, Kevin had proven himself the better man on the day. But, while he won
the battle, Flair won the war as he retained the NWA World Title.
The Fantastics defeated
The Midnight Express to win the held up American Tag Team Title
With all of Jim Cornette’s
shenanigans in past matches, World Class officials wanted to keep him in check
for this important match so that the held up American Tag Team Title could be
properly settled. Cornette could not be barred from ringside, but The Fantastics
were welcome to choose their own second to keep Jim in line. They chose Little
John. Cornette laughed. He figured Little John had to be a midget and thus a
pushover. Imagine Cornette’s horror when he saw that Little John (also known
as Big John Harris and Silo Sam) was 7’8” 400 lbs.! With Cornette and his
tennis racquet reduced to spectator status, The Fantastics defeated The Midnight
Express to claim the American Tag Team Title.
Kevin, Kerry, and Mike Von
Erich and The Fabulous Freebirds defeated Chris Adams, Gino Hernandez, Steve
Williams, Kamala, One Man Gang, and Rip Oliver 3 falls to 2 in a 12 Man Tag Team
match held in two rings
Ric Flair was supposed to
have wrestled as a member of the heel team, but withdrew due to injuries
suffered earlier in the card at the hand of Kevin Von Erich. Rip Oliver took
Flair’s place. Whether Rip Oliver was supposed to have wrestled in this match
all along with Flair’s appearance being a case of bait and switch or whether
Flair begged off for one reason or another is a point for debate to this day.
With
action simultaneously taking place in both rings, this match promised action
unlike anything that had been seen before. To be truthful it was probably better
in theory than in practice. One of the attractions was seeing The Von Erichs
interacting with their longtime enemies the Freebirds as well to see The Dynamic
Duo try get along with Devastation Incorporated and especially with Gary
Hart’s One Man Gang. Alas the Von Erichs and Birds largely wrestled in
separate rings and really didn’t mix. The Dynamic Duo jawed with Hart and OMG
before the match, but then mostly stayed in the Von Erich ring while OMG stayed
in the Freebird ring. Nevertheless there was some decent action. The heels raced
off to a 2 falls to none start with Gino Hernandez who scoring both pins.
However the babyfaces fought back with Kerry, Kevin, and Mike scoring a
spectacular triple dropkick on Rip Oliver. In the end Kevin Von Erich pinned
Steve Williams to end the match and then the real action started.
Sponsor
Guy Laney Lincoln promised a new 1985 Lincoln Continental the winner of the
match-ending fall. By virtue of pinning Dr. Death, Kevin Von Erich won the car.
Gary Hart, furious over losing his hair and now not winning the car, took the
house microphone and ordered One Man Gang to take his chain and destroy the car.
Complying with his manager’s orders, The Gang started moving towards the
vehicle that was parked in one of the end zones of Texas Stadium. Before he
could do any damage, Kerry, Kevin, and Mike attacked him and ran him off after a
brief, but intense, brawl. It seemed that the day had been saved. Referee David
Manning picked up the fallen chain and began casually walking towards the
dressing room when suddenly all hell broke loose.
Chris
Adams and Gino Hernandez sneaked up behind Manning and snatched the chain.
Before anyone could even attempt to stop them, the Dynamic Duo was at the car,
smashing the windshield and hood with the chain and adding a few kicks for good
measure. The Von Erichs, who had been close to the dressing room when Chris and
Gino struck, raced back to stop them. However it was too late and the Dynamic
Duo ran triumphantly to the dressing room, dodging boos and thrown debris along
the way. This was probably the biggest angle World Class would run all year long
and surely it was the biggest angle since Chris Adams’ heel turn back in
September of 1984. This incident would have huge ramifications for the remainder
of the year, as we will soon see.
Call them prelim guys. Call them undercard wrestlers. Call them enhancement workers. Call them carpenters. Just don’t call them jobbers! In our next segment we’ll take another break from our chronological look at World Class’ history in order to pay tribute to and reminisce about the unsung heroes at the bottom of the card.