WCCW #28 Page #2

The Dynamic Duo angered the Von Erichs and the fans further by utilizing every cheap tactic available to masked heels including loading the masks with foreign objects and pulling the old switcheroo. Regardless, the feud was winding down as the desire to see Kerry and Kevin unmask Chris and Gino just didn’t match the previous desire to see them shave the Dynamic Duo bald. 

The other big feud engulfed Sunshine and Missy Hyatt. Scott Casey and Hollywood John Tatum were really secondary to the ladies in this war. Anytime the two valets crossed paths, trouble followed in short order. On one occasion Missy and Sunshine had a wild confrontation during an interview in Fort Worth that saw Tatum barely restrain his valet while Sunshine looked as if she might legitimately take out Hyatt. Sunshine had a female rival for the first time since Precious left the promotion in mid 1984. The lack of a female enemy for World Class’ top female star since then really helped this angle get over. Instead of seeming old hat as might have been the case had World Class brought in a new female foe for Sunshine at an earlier date, the wild catfights and insults from the valets in this feud seemed fresh and new to the fans. 

In other feuds, Brian Adias continued to match up with Jack Victory. Rick Rude mainly defended his American Title against Iceman King Parsons who interestingly was referred to as a former champion even though his title reign had gone unacknowledged. Rude’s title win and successful defenses against Iceman did well to boost his credibility as Iceman was a longtime World Class veteran with a good reputation among the fans as a contender. One Man Gang still clashed with Bruiser Brody during Brody’s intermittent trips to Texas. However none of these feuds received the emphasis of the first two we covered. 

Thanksgiving Wrestling Star Wars, Thursday November 28, 1985, Reunion Arena, Dallas, Texas
 

Once again World Class Championship Wrestling returned to Reunion Arena in Dallas for a major card. This event was referred to alternately as Star Wars and as The Turkey Day Spectacular. Either way, World Class used the card as a showcase for its top stars and feuds. Attendance failed to reach the sellout levels of the previous couple of years. Although World Class remained solid at the gate into mid 1986, the lack of a sellout for this event foreshadowed the future decline. At the time however, the promotion remained in good shape. Let’s go over the matches. 

The Missing Link and The Grappler defeated Dave Peterson and Johnny Mantell 

This bout opened the show. Most significantly this match marked the return of The Missing Link. Percy Pringle seconded Link and The Grappler for this bout and had guided them previously in Florida. Peterson and Mantell fought gamely, but fell to the heel team on this night. 

Brian Adias defeated Jack Victory to retain the Texas Title
 

Brian Adias and Jack Victory had dueled over the Texas Championship for months. To be honest, while World Class wanted to establish Victory as a midcard heel and worthy challenger, the fans never quite bought him as a legitimate threat, especially after Gary Hart departed. That’s no knock against Jack. It’s just that his title challenge did not get the proper build up. This resulted in Brian Adias not looking like as strong a champion as he could have and the Texas Title wound up being defended closer to the bottom of the card than the top.
 

One Man Gang and Kamala battled to a no contest

 

This battle of the giants saw Kamala return to World Class rings for the first time in months. As always, General Skandor Akbar guided the Ugandan Giant to ringside. The fans’ reaction to this bout was slightly muted. There was no true babyface in this bout. However One Man Gang gained slightly more support on the basis of not having Akbar by his side. The bout essentially consisted of the two men trading blows until eventually going to the floor. From there, OMG and Kamala battled down the aisle towards the locker room. The match was ruled a no contest.   

 

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Lance Von Erich defeated Killer Tim Brooks 

Lance made his Reunion Arena debut. This match mostly served as a showcase for the newest Von Erich on the block. Lance won with relative ease over Brooks who had largely been absent from World Class since the Cotton Bowl show. A quick win over a veteran who had been pushed over the summer made Lance look like a real up and comer. 

Iceman Parsons defeated Rick Rude by disqualification. Rude retained the American Heavyweight Title 

This was Rude’s highest profile title defense to date. Parsons the former champ put up a fiery effort and seemed to have Rude on the ropes at times. Eventually the Ravishing One delivered a Rude Awakening to Parsons on the floor to earn a disqualification. While later known as a reverse neck breaker, at this point the Rude Awakening was a DDT. Parsons left on a stretcher while Rude left with a belt. 

Hollywood John Tatum defeated Scott Casey in a steel cage match 

Typically steel cage matches are held in order to keep noncombatants out of the ring. Thus it puzzled then and puzzles to this day that Sunshine and Missy Hyatt were allowed to be inside the cage during the bout. Needless to say, it didn’t take long for the two valets to join the battle. John Tatum got the win. Then the real fireworks began. The Great Kabuki, absent since the Cotton Bowl show, entered the cage and gave Scott Casey a beating. On commentary Bill Mercer explained that Casey had beaten Kabuki so badly during a recent bout in Mississippi that Kabuki had left the country. No such match ever took place and in fact World Class didn’t even promote in that state. The storyline was a means to explain away Kabuki’s recent trip home to Japan. The idea was now that Kabuki and Casey would resume the feud that had ignited at the Cotton Bowl card. However Casey would soon be exiting World Class in order to move to Texas All Star Wrestling and the feud died before it really got off the ground. 

Chris Adams and Gino Hernandez defeated Kerry and Kevin Von Erich in a steel cage match to win the vacant American Tag Team Title 

Back before the Cotton Bowl show the American Tag Team Title was held up following a bout between The Von Erichs and The Dynamic Duo. Since then, the belts had sat vacant so World Class chose this showcase card as a venue to fill the title. To add to the stakes, the match would be held inside a steel cage. Upping the ante higher, there would be two special guest referees, Iceman Parsons and Terry Gordy who was back in World Class for the first time in many months. 

By the time the opening bell rang, Gordy had a new co referee. Iceman bowed out due to injuries suffered at the hands of Rick Rude and Brian Adias stepped in. This match was typical of the past battles between these two teams with a good amount of brawling and wrestling. The Von Erichs especially keyed in on the Duo’s masks, much to the chagrin of Terry Gordy, last a babyface in this promotion, but now playing the role of a heel. Every time Kerry or Kevin went for the masks, Gordy would intervene with Adias rushing to defend his friends. When tension between Terry and Brian turned to into an all out brawl, David Manning interceded and sent both special refs to the back, taking over the match himself.  

With Manning now in charge, the focus shifted back to the match itself. Chris and Gino used double teams and hot tags to isolate Kevin. When Kerry finally got the tag, Reunion Arena erupted. It broke down into a four way brawl and in the confusion Adams and Hernandez used a loaded mask and then switched off illegally to get the win and the American Tag Team Title. The Dynamic Duo briefly controlled the inevitable post match battle, but Lance Von Erich arrived at ringside to turn the tables in favor of his cousins. In the end, the Von Erichs gained a measure of revenge by unmasking the Dynamic Duo. However Adams and Hernandez, sporting newly grown in short hair, left as the new American Tag Team Champions.  

Wrap Up 

World Class Championship Wrestling stood at a crossroads heading into the final month of 1985. Some much and long needed new talent had arrived and more would soon enter the promotion. Meanwhile the feud that carried the promotion for much of the past year, Kerry and Kevin Von Erich vs. Chris Adams and Gino Hernandez, clearly needed to wind down in order to provide both teams and the fans with fresh matches. A solution to that issue was on its way. 

NEXT MONTH:

In our next edition we’ll look at the build up for World Class’ big Christmas Wrestling Star Wars show at Reunion Arena. Some big names from the past and some new names arrived in the promotion during that timeframe so we’ll have plenty to discuss. See you then.

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