The SmarK 24/7 Rant for World Class Championship Wrestling – May 7 1983
– Your host is Bill Mercer.
Kamala v. Tora Yatsu
Kind of a weird heel v. heel matchup here, although Yatsu is just there to do the job anyway. Yatsu attacks and regrets that decision very quickly, as Kamala beats the crap out of him with chops. He gets distracted by Armand Hussein’s whistle, because he’s a mindless savage and all, and stops to go after it, which gives Yatsu a chance to recover. Back in the ring, Kamala finally gets the whistle away from Hussein and then splashes him for good measure, which draws a double DQ at 2:38. Yatsu goes after him with a kendo stick to rescue his manager, but Kamala no-sells everything and destroys both guys, plus the referee. You could totally see them setting Kamala up for the Von Erichs. DUD
Meanwhile, Skandor Akbar cuts a promo from his palatial estate, vowing that Kamala will destroy everyone in the area and accusing the Von Erichs of being COWARDS. Drug addicts, maybe, but cowards? Perish the thought. He holds up a draining hourglass to signify that time is running out for the Von Erichs. You just don’t get promos like that anymore.
The Mongol v. Mike Reed
Mongol overpowers Reed and elbows him down, then hangs him in the Tree of Woe and pounds away. He chokes Reed out on the ropes and uses the clubbing forearms, no-selling whatever minimal offense Reed can get in. A weak clothesline puts Reed down and a spinning neckbreaker gets two, as Mongol picks him up. Backbreaker gets two as he’s not done playing yet. Running powerslam finishes for real at 3:23. The replay shows that Mongol basically put him gently down on the mat after nearly tripping on his own feet. Dull squash. 1/4*
David Manning demonstrates the effectiveness of the penalty box (a steel cage at ringside), where people spend time in the main event if they break any rules. I wonder why no one has stolen that idea again? What an easy way to put heat on the heels or set up a feud; as you can lose the tag titles by getting put in the box while your partner gets pinned, leaving you helpless to assist.
Penalty Box match: The Fabulous Freebirds v. Kerry Von Erich, Iceman Parsons & Chavo Guerrero
I don’t believe this is for the six-man titles. First “penalty” is worth a minute in the cage, second one is worth two minutes. Hayes hiptosses Chavo to start and gets caught with a flying forearm and a pair of dropkicks as a result, and the Freebirds bail and talk it over. Kerry comes in and Hayes runs away again, leaving Buddy to deal with it. Kerry goes after the arm and Hayes wants no part of a tag. You kind of have to feel sympathy for Buddy and the way that the other Freebirds just treated him like dirt all the time. Buddy catches Kerry with a knee and now Gordy decides to come in, but he loses a slugfest and Kerry whips him from corner to corner several times and then goes to a headlock. Over to Chavo to continue that headlock, but Gordy overpowers him, but Chavo gets up momentum and shoulderblocks him right back. Now that’s a nice little bit of business there, showing that Chavo understands how to use his speed. Back to Buddy, so Iceman comes in and sends Roberts running before getting a slam for two. Things break down a bit and Gordy attacks Kerry, which results in a trip to the penalty box. Buddy and Michael double-team Kerry, so Hayes goes to the box as well, leaving the faces 3-on-1 against Roberts. I don’t like Buddy’s chances here. Kerry dropkicks him into an elbow from Parsons that gets two. Dropkick of his own gets two. Gordy’s minute expires so Buddy tags him back in again, although he immediately misses a charge and takes a crazy bump over the top. Back in, he comes back with an atomic drop on Iceman, and Buddy gets a backdrop for two. Over to Hayes, who rubs Parsons’ face into the mat, but when Gordy comes in it’s a hot tag to Chavo. He takes Terry down with a flying headscissors into a dropkick, and goes to a surfboard. Kerry gets frustrated and ends up in the cage as a result, allowing the Freebirds to work their magic on Chavo in the corner. Buddy gets caught and caged, while Hayes drops an elbow on Chavo for two. Iceman breaks it up and gets sent to the cage, but Kerry’s sentence is over. Gordy with a backdrop suplex on Chavo for two. Chavo rolls away and makes the tag to Kerry, and he rams Hayes & Gordy together, but puts his head down and gets caught. Roberts comes in and elbows him down for two. So now everyone is out of the box and Kerry is YOUR face in peril. Iceman gets pissed and charges in, and he’s back to the penalty box for two minutes. Gordy, meanwhile, seemingly invents the death valley driver and gets two. Buddy hammers away and prevents a tag, and Kerry gets pounded by the Freebirds, but finally catches Buddy with a boot and makes the hot tag to Chavo. Kerry comes in for the brawl and gets sent into the box, as does Hayes. Buddy drops a knee on Iceman for two, but gets rolled up for the pin at 21:24. I take it back — the gimmick made the match kind of hard to follow. Good work from all involved, though. ***
