WCCW #27 Page #2

Titles 

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.  

Feuds 

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.  

Kelly Kiniski defeated Tommy Montana 

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 defeated Scott Casey 

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. 

The Fantastics defeated John Tatum and Dave Peterson 

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. 

Brian Adias defeated Jack Victory to retain the Texas Title 

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.

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