World Class 1983 | BetheBooker (2024)

CURRENT CHAMPIONS

WCCW World Heavyweight Champion: Ric Flair (since December 28th 1983; last defence on May 28th 1984)

WCCW World Tag Team Champions: The Midnight Express(since December 28th 1983; last defence on May 28th 1984)

WCWW World Six Men Tag Team Champions: The Fabulous Freebirds(since February 28th 1984; last defence on May 28th 1984)

-Winner Chooses Stipulation:Kevin von Erich vs. Terry Gordy

- WCCW World Tag Titles: The Midnight Express (c) vs. The Rock & Roll Express vs. The Fantastics

With how highly Jim Cornette thinks of Bobby Heenan, it'd be a treat to see them as active managers in the same company but for now your commentary team is pretty goated.

Seriously Ross and Cornette were pretty great together.

CURRENT CHAMPIONS

WCCW World Heavyweight Champion: Ric Flair (since December 28th 1983)

WCCW World Tag Team Champions: The Midnight Express (since December 28th 1983)

WCWW World Six Men Tag Team Champions: The Fabulous Freebirds (since February 28th 1984)

WCCW Texas Heavyweight Champion: Ted DiBiase (since April 18th 1984)

June 12th - 18th 1984

- There was a bit of backstage drama this week, as Dick Murdoch and Robert Gibson had an argument. Both Kevin and Kerry von Erich sided with Murdoch. The argument was civil and I only found out about it later, there was no disciplinary action to be taken. Even though we are on a roll and the environment is really nice, I won't underestimate this potential issue

- As it's a slow week, let's have a look at all the frictions I have backstage. As explained above, now Gibson has heat with Condrey, Kevin and Kerry. The most disliked worker is by far Bobby Fulton, as both Rock & Roll, Kevin von Erich and Arman Hussein don't like him. Also, Hussein doesn't get along with Tommy Rich. These seems like a lot, but I have plenty of positive relationship and that is why this is not a big factor for now

- AWA has hired Magic Dragon on a PPA deal. I didn't sign Dragon exclusively to save money on him, as my goal is to use him in CState and on TV as an enhancement talent. I can't blame him for getting more work elsewhere, I will always be his priority employer because I'm bigger than every other promotion at this time

- News from the wrestling world: WWF finally did Hulk Hogan vs Bob Backlund and it was the match of the year so far, with a 95 rating; both Riki Choshu and Tatsumi Fujinami have turned face in New Japan; young Arn Anderson is getting some buzz

WCCW All-Star Wrestling 18.06.1984

Dallas, TX

Attendance: 20826

TV rating: 1.01

Show quality: 81

TERRY GORDY vs BUDDY ROBERTS

The former best friends attack each other before the bell rings and we get a slobber knocker! The fight continues outside the ring and the Freebirds try to interfere, but referees push them away and end the match because of a double DQ! (80) (10:11)

Postmatch, while the Birds are restrained through the crowd, Dutch Mantell attacks Roberts! The two finally fight after weeks of tension and Mantell is getting the best thanks to the surprise effect, but more security holds them apart! (80)

MAGIC DRAGON & CHECKMATE (w/ Arman Hussein) vs BRIAN ADIAS & MIKE JOHNSON

After a chaotic start of the show, we settle down with a more traditional match. Announcers mention that Great Kabuki hasn't been seen since losing his hair. Adias gets the hot tag and pins Dragon with a russian legsweep! (58) (5:31)

On stage Bill Mercer interviews the Freebirds, who are absolutely upset about Fritz von Erich's decisions: they had to fight last week, tonight against a lunatic like Roberts, they will defend their titles next week and also fight the von Erichs in singles at Star Wars! The Birds are really agitated and argue with Fritz, so they decide to go home and leave! Fritz threatens them, saying that they must defend the titles next week or they will be vacated! (83)

TOMMY RICH vs BILL IRWIN (w/ Terry Taylor)

Chris Adams is on commentary and is extremely angry, he gets asked about him against Rich being signed for Star Wars, but just slams the headset down and leaves! Rich threatens him and also pins Irwin with a situout suplex! (61) (7:05)

On stage Bill Mercer interviews The Funks, addressing their strong words from last week on the Four Horsem*n and Devastation Inc. The Funks confirm what they said, they wish good luck to Barry Windham, but they are solely focused on defeating their opponents. Ted DiBiase approaches the Funks and slaps Dory Jr, who takes his shirt off. DiBiase backs off and runs away, while the Funks chase him! (82)

WCCW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE

RIC FLAIR (c) (w/ Bobby Heenan) vs BARRY WINDHAM

Flair is really cautious, as he wrestled Windham before and knows how dangerous he can be. Flair uses all of his tricks to tame the challenger, but Windham has a lot of heart and also comes back to the ring at 9 to avoid a count-out loss. Windham has a good comeback, but Flair kicks him in the leg and uses a small package to retain, holding Heenan's hands for leverage! (81) (12:02)

Postmatch Flair celebrates, while Stan Hansen gets on the aisle. Hansen says that Flair, just like the other Horsem*n, talks a good game but then always needs tricks to survive! Well, he won't next week because Bruiser Brody is coming back and they will wrestle Flair and DiBiase! Flair is not happy! (83)

TOMMY ROGERS (w/ Bobby Fulton) vs MAGNUM TA (w/ Sherri)

Magnum overpowers Rogers with his rough style, also the announcers note that Rogers excels in tag wrestling and might not have the pace to compete here. MNX jump Fulton at ringside, before Rock & Roll make the save. In the ring, Mangum hits the belly to belly on Rogers to win! (66) (6:46)

Postmatch Bill Mercer interviews Rock & Roll Express, who are upset about Midnight Express always trying to get shortcuts to defend the titles. But also, they are here for Tito Santana, because last week Magnum TA threw him against the barricade and injured his shoulder. Santana is resting today, but he's back next week and they will challenge the Freebirds for the Six Men Tag Titles! (74)

KERRY VON ERICH & KEVIN VON ERICH (w/ David von Erich) vs DEVASTATION INC (w/ Skandor Akbar)

David is at ringside to control Akbar, while Cornette confirms that the Freebirds are miles away and won't be back tonight. The heels overpower the babyfaces, but the brothers have a lot of chemistry and use all their flying skills to surprise their opponents. Kevin uses a top rope dropkick on Murdoch and pins him! (80) (13:22)

Postmatch Bundy and Murdoch are disappointed and discuss on the stage, but The Funks arrive and a brawl start! The Horsem*n also make their way down the stage, but Stan Hansen and von Erichs get close to the fight and the heels back down! (87)

Show notes

- This show went quite well too. As in the previous episode, the crowd doesn't mind a couple of squashes and lowcard matches, as long as they have a couple of good ones and all the stars are also involved in segments. This forces me to book at a quicker pace at times, to hear from someone we are not waiting 2/3 weeks, but it needs to be done quicker to fill the space on the show

- It's interesting, maybe for future reference, that all the main event players popped a great number in the final segment despite not all being in a storyline with each others

- Flair vs. Windham was great again, but I noticed that Windham's popularity didn't go up that much. It might be more useful to him to win undercard matches rather than losing to the champion, maybe

- Adams is doing well with his new egomaniac gimmick and added some value to Rich vs. Irwin

- I just noticed that I had a DQ in the TV opener for 2 weeks in a row now, that is quite uncharacteristic but the crowd didn't have any issue with it apparently. Gordy and Roberts have nice chemistry as opponents

WCCW June Star Wars 28.06.1984

- Ric Flair, Ted DiBiase, King Kong Bundy & Dick Murdoch vs. Stan Hansen, The Funks & Bruiser Brody

- Winner Chooses Stipulation: David von Erich vs. Michael Hayes

- Winner Chooses Stipulation: Kerry von Erich vs. Jimmy Garvin

- Winner Chooses Stipulation: Kevin von Erich vs. Terry Gordy

- WCCW World Tag Titles: The Midnight Express (c) vs. The Rock & Roll Express vs. The Fantastics

- Chris Adams vs. Tommy Rich

Nah, you did Windham dirty by not even making his title challenge a main event ahah

Interesting line-up for June Star Wars. You will make the main event a WarGames Match, or something similar, as it was Dusty the one creating WarGames. I'm sure! I also like the clashes between the Von Erichs and Fabulous Freebirds and the first-ever 3-way tag match! Where's Gino? We need Gino winning a contract in a match!

That won't be a War Games match, but it's a good idea

I ran a Gauntlet Cage last November, which is pretty much the same match with another name lol

CURRENT CHAMPIONS

WCCW World Heavyweight Champion: Ric Flair (since December 28th 1983)

WCCW World Tag Team Champions: The Midnight Express (since December 28th 1983)

WCWW World Six Men Tag Team Champions: The Fabulous Freebirds (since February 28th 1984)

WCCW Texas Heavyweight Champion: Ted DiBiase (since April 18th 1984)

June 19th - 25th 1984

- Nothing happened this week and that is the best thing possible, especially when a big show is around the corner

- Terry Funk has praised Magnum TA and I think they they would work really well together in the future...

- Since it's a quiet week, let's focus for a minute on CState. Last month, I raised their production values and hired more extra-ring staff. The product has improved and now they are back on TV for a weekly show, then also running a live event every Saturday. Their shows now usually host 800/100 fans. It's not going bad, but CState is currently costing me $120k this month. On top of that, the Dojo costs me $15k a month, plus the $200k to open it from scratch. In a nutshell, this year I might end up investing almost $2 millions on this... is it worth it? Maybe, we'll see and hopefully they will improve as a cost centre. I like not having to rely on anyone else for my up and coming stars though. There are 3 kind of athletes in Cstate: the guys I signed and will eventually bring to the main roster (Rockers, Bret Hart, British Bulldogs); guys I use from time to time on TV (Bruiser Brody, Hector Guerrero, Magic Dragon) and the guys that are simply signed to CState itself

- News from the wrestling world: Dave Schultz signed an exclusive deal with the WWF; Jumbo Tsuruta won the NWA International Heavyweight Title from Giant Baba; Doug Somers won the AWA World Title against Mike Graham

WCCW All-Star Wrestling 25.06.1984

Dallas, TX

Attendance: 20747

TV rating: 1.05

Show quality: 88

THE VON ERICHS vs THE BRITISH BULLDOGS & BILLY ROBINSON

The von Erichs are all together for the first time in 4 months, facing the young British team and the veteran Robinson, who gives instructions to his partners. The brothers dominate the match, especially when Robinson is not in. David and Kerry still seem to have some tension, but Kevin decides to get the hot tag and pins Smith after a dropkick! (68) (6:56)

Postmatch Bill Mercer interviews the von Erichs and asks about Star Wars's matches. Kevin is optimistic and says that they all need to win and set stipulations that will prevent the Freebirds from cheating in the title match, as they always do. David is happy to be back and says that it's nice to finally win a match with his brothers. Kerry is quite silent, but says he's just concentrating on what's next! (82)

MAGNUM TA (w/ Sherri) vs AL MADRIL

Magnum TA keeps a great composure and acts like a veteran due to his confidence, even though Madril knows a few tricks and uses them to keep the opponent on the ground for a bit. Eventually, Magnum has a great comeback and pins Madril after the belly to belly suplex! (65) (5:16)

Taped interview of Barry Windham, who last week commented on his loss against Ric Flair from the locker room. Bill Mercer congratulates him for doing his best and Windham says that it might not be time to be the World Champion yet, but he's got a lot to give and he can't wait to come back to World Class! (70)

CHRIS ADAMS & TOM PRICHARD vs TULLY BLANCHARD & TOMMY RICH

JR says that Blanchard and Rich are a strange unit, they are on the same side despite not having a great relationship, but they both can't stand Adams and so that is enough for now. Adams provokes Rich before Star Wars, but then leaves the ring and Prichard, by himself, is pinned by Rich with a lariat! (65) (7:04)

In a locker room Skandor Akbar and Bobby Heenan are talking and Heenan says that he has a deal. Bill Mercer comes in with a cameraman to interview them, but Heenan sees him and slams the door! (80)

WCCW SIX MEN TAG TEAM TITLES

THE FABULOUS FREEBIRDS (c) vs TITO SANTANA & THE ROCK & ROLL EXPRESS (w/ Sunshine)

The Freebirds are here, even though they are upset about having to defend the titles before such an important show, but JR says that Fritz booked his boys in a six men as well for this exact reason. It's a difficult match for the champions, Santana's arm is still not 100% but the crowd helps him with a lot of support. The East Coast Rednecks show up at ringside, Brian Adias does as well and the referee stop them... but he doesn't see that Hayes hits Gibson with a title belt! 1... 2... 3! The Birds retain! (80) (12:49)

Postmatch the Rednecks go away laughing, but Fritz stops them and tell them to get those grins off their faces because they just ruined a title match! Magnum wants Santana in a match, but Fritz says that it won't happen at Star Wars, because Santana is still not 100% and Magnum would have it easy. So, at the PPV, the Rednecks will face Santana, Adias... and a mystery man! Fritz leaves and Magnum is not happy (71)

BOBBY EATON (w/ Dennis Condrey and Bobby Heenan) vs BOBBY FULTON (w/ Tommy Rogers)

These two can't really stand each others after months of tension and, even though their styles are still quite athletic, they show more aggression than usual. Heenan gets ejected due to cheating, he doesn't want to go but Rock & Roll Express arrive to escort him away! In the meantime, Futlon rolls Eaton up and wins! (65) (7:47)

On stage Bill Mercer is with Fritz von Erich, who calls out Dutch Mantell. Dutch arrives and Fritz says that he's impressed by his win 2 weeks ago and that is why he got signed, but him and Buddy Roberts's tension is out of place. Mantell says that it's how he deals with business, but Fritz says that in World Class they deal with issues in the ring, so at Star Wars he will face Roberts one on one! (76)

RIC FLAIR & TED DIBIASE (w/ Bobby Heenan) vs STAN HANSEN & BRUISER BRODY

As usual, when Hansen and Brody team up it's a huge problem for their opponents and this is why the Horsem*n are really careful. DiBiase and Flair are on the same page and stall a lot, but then work on Hansen a lot to take advantage of the injured ribs, until Brody gets the hot tag. Hansen is jumped at ringside by Devastation Inc, so Brody is by himself and Flair pins him after punching him with the black glove! (93) (15:02)

Postmatch The Funks quickly make their way down the ring and Funk jumps on Bundy, while Dory attacks DiBiase! However, the heels back down and go away celebrating while the Funks help Brody and Hansen! The Funks are upset about the Horsem*n's action and vow revenge! (89)

Show notes

- Woohoo, I feel like this wasn't my best episode at all but it delivered! I got the highest TV rating ever thanks to Bravo and I never got a 88 quality rating, so that is nice to hear as well!

- Last but not least, the main event was amazing and this is when the second hour shows its perks, because they had a lot of time and used it wisely. This was the best match of the latest 18 months and a really pleasent surprise... Brody used to hold matches down a bit, but him and Hansen did wonders and their opponents too. Flair is so over and all that he touch turns into gold

- I was also happy with how the Freebirds match went. The story of Santana not being 100% is clearly a way to make sure him versus Magnum can wait before the rematch. Who's the mystery partner? I signed him recently and I was looking for a spot for him, it should be a good fit

- The British Bulldogs are still very unknown in the area, but they did well in their TV debut. I might bring Billy Robinson back for a match or two

- Rich was the "weak link" of a tag match that showcased the young and not fully polished Tom Prichard. Not good. Also, Fulton was off in his match against Eaton, despite winning. What the hell?