Each Freebird brought something different to the table. Michael Hayes was the flamboyant, braggadocios leader. He had an ego the size of Mount Everest and a mouth to match. With his dancing and prancing in the ring and his long, flowing blond hair Hayes attracted the ladies with his dangerous attitude and angered the men all in the same swoop. Terry Gordy was the team’s go to player. He had a bully’s attitude and the size, strength, and toughness to back it up. Terry’s punches were as stiff as they came. He could stun an opponent both with his power and his deceptive speed.  When Terry Gordy got mad, a frequent occurrence, his skill seemed to grow exponentially. The third member of the team was the underrated and much unappreciated Buddy Roberts. Buddy, the senior man in age and experience, did the dirty work. Buddy jobbed and bumped to make the Freebirds’ opponents look good while protecting Hayes and Gordy. Make no mistake though, Buddy could wrestle and probably had the more conventional style of the three for the era. Buddy’s personality was that of a sneaky rat, constantly using weasel like tactics to gain an unfair advantage. Individually they were already special. United as a trio, Michael Hayes, Terry Gordy, and Buddy Roberts made the Fabulous Freebirds seem like professional wrestling’s equivalent to a riot. Their natural friendship and team spirit shined through. Their allegiance to their home state of Georgia and drink hard and party hard attitude was the perfect counter to the Texas pride and wholesome demeanor of their number one foes, the Von Erichs. 

The Battle Begins

The clashes in personality and lifestyle combined with the fallout from the Christmas show at Reunion Arena made any combination of Freebirds vs. Von Erichs an immediate money making feud. The most obvious match up pitted the Birds against Kerry, Kevin, and David for the Six Man Tag Team Title. There was also an obvious opportunity to match the various team members in singles competition. Although Kerry vs. Hayes seemed the most likely singles confrontation between members of the Von Erichs and Freebirds; instead World Class pursued a Kevin vs. Gordy feud for the American Title. They built this up well. Kevin as the big brother of the Von Erichs wanted to avenge his younger brother Kerry. He himself targeted Terry Gordy the biggest of The Freebirds. Gordy was at his angry best while challenging Kevin. They met on January 21, 1983 at The Sportatorium in Dallas. After a bit of Freebird chicanery Terry Gordy won the American Title. This victory put the American Title, American Tag Team Title, and Six-Man Title in the hands of the Freebirds. To say The Freebirds were out of control after collecting all these titles was a mild understatement to say the least. The Von Erichs responded by upping their challenges to all the titles. The more The Freebirds perpetrated heel actions, the more the fans rallied behind The Von Erichs to put a stop to it all. It became the perfect good vs. evil confrontation. For the promotion it became a license to print money. Pay dirt came on March 4, 1983 when Kevin regained the American Title at the Sportatorium, but the feud raged on. The ultimate prize, the Six Man Title remained out of reach.

Who’s The Man? 

When we last left King Kong Bundy, he had broken away from H and H Ltd to become a free agent. Bundy wanted to sign with whomever he pleased. Soon Bundy was warning announcer Bill Mercer, the fans, and indeed the other wrestlers of World Class that he had a new manager. Bundy referred to him simply as The Man. But who was this mysterious person? It turned out to be General Skandor Akbar. Akbar’s Devastation Incorporated had run roughshod over Mid-South Wrestling in the past. Now World Class was within his grasp. Akbar brought his typical rouges gallery to the table. Not only did Akbar control the mammoth Bundy, The Mongol was under Akbar’s control. The Mongol was veteran wrestler Gene Lewis who had used many gimmicks during his career. Besides Bundy, Akbar had another new recruit from H and H Ltd.  

The Great Kabuki crossed over to Devastation. This move sounded the death knell for H and H. Gary Hart had been increasingly absent from World Class by late 1982. This signaled his complete departure. The honorable Arman Hussein remained and thirsted for revenge. Checkmate had some matches against the Devastation contingent, but was on his way out of the promotion. Arman Hussein needed a new weapon. Enter N’Tollah Yatsu. Yatsu would be better known in later years as Yoshiaki Yatsu a mainstay of All Japan Pro Wrestling. At this time Yatsu was in the U.S. gaining experience. He used a samurai gimmick and was billed by Hussein as the man who had the skill and the killer instinct to stop the disloyal Great Kabuki. As time passed, Bundy and Kabuki departed World Class. Bundy headed for Mid-South and was referred cryptically to having lost a loser leaves town match. Kabuki’s departure was laid squarely at the feet of N’Tollah Yatsu. However Akbar remained undaunted. The Mongol continued to wreak havoc in World Class rings and the General had another soldier who was the most uncontrollable force the Texas wrestling scene had faced in many years. His name was Kamala The Ugandan Giant. 

Man, big wrestlers had passed through the doors of the world famous Sportatorium through the years. However, few possessed the size and savagery of Kamala. At 6’5” tall and 360 lbs., Kamala could not be body slammed and in fact it was nearly impossible to take him off his feet. Kamala was rather docile when coming to the ring. However when his handler Friday and manager General Skandor Akbar gave the order, Kamala laid waste to his foes with relentlessness and no mercy. Kamala had some battles with Hussein and Yatsu, but was largely confined to squashing jobbers at this point, often in handicap matches. Kamala was enough of an attraction at this point due to his size and gimmick that the promotion could afford to build him up as unstoppable over a period of time. Seeds were planted for an eventual confrontation with Andre the Giant. Andre had made his annual stop in World Class just prior to Kamala’s arrival so that match up would have to wait. 

 A Sharp Dressed Man 

One of the fresh wrestlers who landed in World Class was Gorgeous Jimmy Garvin. Garvin had broken into professional wrestling managing Terry and Ronnie Garvin during the mid-1970s. Jimmy later became a wrestler in his own right and had success as a babyface in several territories. He really hit his stride in Florida during 1982 by adopting the foppish Gorgeous Jimmy Garvin gimmick and in he took World Class by storm in 1983. Garvin entered the ring to ZZ Top’s “Sharp Dressed Man”. His white tights, white boots, and black kneepads were always covered during his interest by sequined ring outfits and such accessories as feather boas or flashy scarves. Accompanying Garvin to ringside was his lovely valet Sunshine who disinfected the ring and ringside area with her sequined aerosol can. The start of Jimmy’s matches always had to wait while Sunshine carefully removed Jimmy’s elaborate outfits and primped his hair. Dallas-Fort Worth’s wrestling scene had long been the home of such tough, macho men as Fritz Von Erich, Johnny Valentine, Wahoo McDaniel, and Bruiser Brody. This was something else. The sissified image of Gorgeous Jimmy Garvin made him one of the most hated heels right from the get-go. If Jimmy Garvin’s image was galling enough for the fans, then his winning streak was even more so. Jimmy quickly moved in to contention for David Von Erich’s Texas Title. A feud was brewing that would soon nearly eclipse the raging Von Erichs vs. Freebirds feud. 

The Iceman Cometh

One more notable newcomer was Iceman King Parsons. Iceman had a great look with his soon to be trademarked braided hairstyle. He had an energetic style featuring drop kicks and quick punches as well as his Butt-Butt finishing maneuver and always a few soulful dance moves. Iceman was introduced in a fashion that immediately made him look like a star.  He was given wins on television immediately and put over as a contender in the commentary. Iceman was the subject of a terrific Up Close and Personal profile piece. During this time World Class brought further innovation to its refined TV product by airing segments with announcer Bill Mercer meeting with various wrestlers outside the Sportatorium in order to help develop the characters and personalities of the wrestlers. Segments with Mercer catching up to The Freebirds at a pool hall and at a drive in restaurant are still remembered. In Parsons’ case they met up at an icehouse. Parsons explained that his Iceman nickname came from his former job of carrying heavy ice blocks at an icehouse in his hometown of St. Louis. Parsons and Mercer conversed and discussed Iceman’s dreams and aspirations in professional wrestling. The segment highlighted Iceman’s tremendous microphone skills. Often it was more a matter of the delivery than the content, but Iceman had way of grabbing your attention when he spoke. The piece also featured “We Are Family” by Sister Sledge, Iceman’s theme song. This was a catchy tune that got over big with the audience and made Iceman that much more popular. Much in the manner of Junkyard Dog in Mid-South, Iceman King Parsons was a black wrestler who appealed to all ethnic and racial groups and broke down walls in the process. 

The Title Scene 

Here’s a look at the titleholders during the first quarter of 1983. As mentioned, the American Title traveled between Kevin Von Erich and Terry Gordy. David Von Erich was the Texas Heavyweight Champion for all of the early part of 1983 and this Title virtually had parity with the American Title during this time period. The Freebirds held the American Tag Team Title, although the championship was rarely defended or even mentioned during this time period. The top title in World Class at this time was without a doubt the Six Man Tag Team Title held by The Fabulous Freebirds. Their battles with the Von Erichs were legendary and deservedly so. Both teams were at their peak. Even Buddy Roberts as the senior member of the Freebirds was still in great shape and wrestling well. It was also a treat to see the different combinations in these matches, Kerry vs. Hayes, David vs. Hayes, David vs. Gordy and so forth.  

The NWA World Title chase that had dominated Kerry’s 1982 agenda came to a close. This was a fantastic move by World Class. Had Kerry received an immediate rematch with Flair, it would have been easy to say that The Freebirds shenanigans on Christmas Night had been inconsequential. Instead Kerry dropped out of contention for the time being. His shot had come and gone and now Kerry Von Erich was back in the pack. The cost of The Freebirds actions had been immense and irreversible. Kerry had perfect incentive to join with his brothers to hunt down revenge. 

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