tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89721518591104387862024-03-13T13:18:53.014-05:00World Class MemoriesWhere the glory days come alive again!World Class Memorieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18069842548953859683noreply@blogger.comBlogger218125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972151859110438786.post-29362254012058176092019-08-01T15:38:00.005-05:002019-08-01T15:42:09.043-05:00RIP: 8-Time NWA World Heavyweight Champion Harley Race<center>
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/ZlALrfcXpGI?controls=0" width="560"></iframe><br /><b><a href="https://www.f4wonline.com/other-wrestling/harley-race-passes-away-76-years-old-289206" target="_blank">April 11, 1943 - August 1, 2019.</a></b></center>
World Class Memorieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18069842548953859683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972151859110438786.post-40115100524808409902019-05-09T17:38:00.001-05:002019-05-09T17:42:32.057-05:00Three More Pre-WCCW Hidden Gems Clips Added to WWE Network!For whatever reason, there was no advance word of what was coming this week...but the clips were uploaded a short time ago, and we're talking some SERIOUS rarities this time around, folks!<br />
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First up is what appears to be most of the <a href="http://network.wwe.com/video/v2524920783" target="_blank">2/28/77 Texas Death Match</a> pitting <b>Fritz Von Erich</b> against <b>The Original Sheik</b> in Fort Worth! Naturally, since The Sheik was a member of <b>Gary Hart'</b>s stable, there's plenty of attempted interference by the "Playboy" -- which is countered by several babyfaces on Fritz's behalf, including a 17-year-old <b>Kerry Von Erich</b>!<br />
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Next is a complete episode of <i><a href="http://network.wwe.com/video/v2524920983" target="_blank">Texas Championship Wrestling</a></i>, a series which was taped at the Sportatorium for syndication in the Texas Panhandle. Closing this show (which was recorded on October 28, 1980) is an eight-man elimination tag match with <b>Fritz</b>, <b>Kevin</b> and <b>David Von Erich</b> and <b>Bruiser Brody</b> taking on Gary Hart's stable, consisting of <b>Stan Stasiak</b>, <b>Gino Hernandez</b>, <b>Gary Young</b> and <b>Pak Song</b>. No finish is shown as TV time runs out a few minutes into the bout. Sadly, this appears to have been the last North Texas appearance of Song, whose health was failing due to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marfan_syndrome" target="_blank">Marfan syndrome</a>.<br />
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Finally, we have <a href="http://network.wwe.com/video/v2524920883" target="_blank"><b>Bruiser Brody</b> vs. <b>The Great Kabuki</b></a> in a 6/7/81 "Texas Death cage match" at Reunion Arena (actually, it's the standard first-man-to-exit-the-cage-wins type; for some reason, cage bouts were sometimes erroneously hyped as Texas Death Matches in those days). In an additional stipluation, a win for Brody earns Fritz Von Erich five minutes in the cage with Gary Hart!<br />
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As always, we recommend <a href="https://www.wwenetworknews.com/" target="_blank">WWE Network News</a> for the latest info on WCCW and any other new footage being added to the service. Enjoy!World Class Memorieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18069842548953859683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972151859110438786.post-15093912506953003092018-12-14T15:55:00.002-06:002018-12-14T16:05:39.022-06:00WWE Network Adds Another WCCW Hidden Gem!As part of its "Twelve Days of Hidden Gems" pre-Christmas rollout, WWE Network has now added the rarely-seen <a href="http://network.wwe.com/video/v2521025383" target="_blank">1981 Christmas Star Wars Show</a>! The 70-minute video includes:<br />
<ul>
<li>Ernie Ladd vs Jose Lothario for the Texas Brass Knuckles title</li>
<li>El Solitario vs Killer Brooks for the World Light-Heavyweight championship</li>
<li>Fritz Von Erich vs The Great Kabuki in a Texas Death Match</li>
<li>Kevin, David & Kerry Von Erich vs Frank Dusek, Wild Bill Irwin & Ten Gu in a two-ring tag match (previously available on DVD as part of WWE's <i>Most Powerful Families in Wrestling</i> set)</li>
<li>A two-ring battle royal (announced as a 16-man event, although there are only 14 actual participants!)</li>
</ul>
Three preliminary matches are missing from the show (and may not have been taped): El Negro Assassin vs Richard Blood; Al Madril & Blue Demon vs Arman Hussein & Carlos Zapata; and Little Tokyo vs Tiny Tom. (BTW, just to warn everyone who wants to avoid spoilers, we've updated this card's listing in our Results section.) As with the <a href="http://network.wwe.com/video/v2410944483" target="_blank">first-ever Reunion Arena Star Wars card</a>, don't expect the same production values as the later syndicated series; like that show, this one is also shot with only one camera.<br />
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As always, we'll provide further updates if and when more World Class content is added to the Network; you can also get the latest info at <a href="https://www.wwenetworknews.com/" target="_blank">WWE Network News</a>.World Class Memorieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18069842548953859683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972151859110438786.post-49799223957019947722018-11-07T02:48:00.000-06:002018-12-14T22:20:19.072-06:00RIP: Jose Lothario<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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WCM sends sincere condolences and best wishes to all who knew and loved <b>Jose Lothario</b>, who passed away on Tuesday at the age of 83.<br />
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Jose (real name Guadalupe Robledo) is probably best known to today's fans as the trainer and mentor of Shawn Michaels, who started his career in Mid-South and made a brief stop in WCCW in early 1985. Lothario and Michaels later established a wrestling school and independent promotion, the San Antonio-based Texas Wrestling Alliance, where future superstars Bryan Danielson (Daniel Bryan) and Brian Kendrick got their start.<br />
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Lothario, after launching his own career in Mexico, moved to Texas where he spent the majority of his career from the late '50s to the mid-'80s, including many years of competition in Texas where, at one time or another, he held every major singles title and co-held the Texas and American Tag Team titles with several partners including Mil Mascaras and Al Madril. His most famous feud undoubtedly was with the young Gino Hernandez in Paul Boesch's Houston Wrestling promotion, in which Jose ultimately emerged victorious in a hair vs hair bout (resulting in the first instance of Gino wearing a mask to hide his shaved scalp).<br />
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After retiring in 1986, Jose was in Michaels' corner for his famous one hour-plus Iron Man match at WWE's Wrestlemania XII (1996), where Shawn defeated Bret Hart in overtime to win the World Heavyweight championship for the first time.<br />
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We salute one of the true all-time legends of Texas wrestling, Jose Lothario. May he rest in peace.<b><br /></b>World Class Memorieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18069842548953859683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972151859110438786.post-21785403053525603522018-05-22T01:20:00.000-05:002018-05-22T12:19:03.127-05:00Early David Von Erich Match Coming to WWE Network<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QGYHMsRWpfE/WwO1ltWaNaI/AAAAAAAABlE/vCr1xjPTi_gDO_FapNJoOlfQqsMTLgAkQCLcBGAs/s1600/davidve.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="289" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QGYHMsRWpfE/WwO1ltWaNaI/AAAAAAAABlE/vCr1xjPTi_gDO_FapNJoOlfQqsMTLgAkQCLcBGAs/s320/davidve.jpg" width="264" /></a></div>
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A heads-up for WCCW fans subscribing to WWE Network :the Hidden Gems collection will now include <a href="http://www.wwenetworknews.com/2018/05/21/huge-update-on-wwe-hidden-gems-whats-coming-on-thursday-and-more/" target="_blank">new footage every week</a>,
according to WWE Network News. Among the material to be available this
Thursday, May 24th: a best-of-three-falls non-title match from August
15, 1977, pitting then-19-year-old David Von Erich (who had only been
wrestling professionally for about two months at that point) against the
NWA's World Heavyweight champ at the time, Harley Race!<br />
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Please
note that this is NOT the famous David/Fritz vs Race gauntlet match
from St. Louis TV...we checked that calendar date in the WCM Results
section, and it tuirns out that the match being added is from Fort
Worth, and thus would have been taped by KTVT (we don't know if the
bout, or any part of it, aired on <i>Saturday Night Wrestling</i>).
Interesting to say the least, as the master videotapes of the Channel
11 show are known to have usually been erased and reused due to their
high cost!<br />
<br />
Be sure to check <a href="http://www.wwenetworknews.com/" target="_blank">WWE Network News</a> every week for info on further North Texas wrestling classics to be uploaded to the service!World Class Memorieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18069842548953859683noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972151859110438786.post-69939840218148104012017-12-28T08:05:00.000-06:002018-01-01T11:43:12.923-06:00More from Rob Moore: 1990 Spot Shows<div style="text-align: center;">
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Once again WCM presents playlists of two spot shows from <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVpo4_EmCnCxgWHSmyZp49w" target="_blank">Rob Moore</a></b>'s YouTube channel! Rob served as ring announcer for both shows, which took place in 1990 at the Greenville, TX (Rob's hometown) Middle School Gym. The above playlist consists of three matches from a June 21, 1990 USWA card, and opens with <b>Matt Borne</b> taking on <b>Chico Torres</b>. When Torres demands another five minutes, Borne refuses unless Torres puts his own money on the line...which leads to Chico coming up with the cash in a most unusual and unexpected manner! In the first of two main events, <b>Gorgeous Gary Young</b> hits the ring next to face <b>Kevin Von Erich</b> -- who gets five minutes in the ring with Young's manager <b>Skandor Akbar</b> if he wins! The evening's second and final main event pits <b>Gentleman Chris Adams</b> against his former protege, the highly promising rookie <b>Stunning Steve Austin</b>...and as you might expect, we're off to catfight city as their respective valets, <b>Toni Adams</b> and <b>Jeanie Clark</b>, prove to be as impossible as ever to keep separated!<br />
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Playlist #2 includes a pair of matches from a November 22, 1990 card billed as Wendy's Thanksgiving Star Wars (promoted, we believe, by Chris Adams, who appears here but was no longer working for Kevin's revived WCCW by then). <b>Percy Pringle</b> goes up against <b>Tugboat Taylor</b> (who had appeared in World Class a couple of years earlier as the masked Doctor Who) in the first clip, followed by a bout between <b>Steve Simpson</b> and <b>Steve Austin</b>. <i>(<b>UPDATE 1/1/2018:</b> Rob has now posted the <b>Toni Adams</b>-<b>Jeanie Clark</b> match from this card, and we have added it to the playlist.) </i>Sadly, back at the Sportatorium, the WCCW promotion would close its doors for good just one night later.</div>
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World Class Memorieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18069842548953859683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972151859110438786.post-2732707970640399152017-12-07T14:21:00.000-06:002017-12-26T15:04:58.774-06:00For Your Viewing Pleasure: Two WCCW Spot Shows from 1984!<div style="text-align: center;">
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<b><i>[Updated 12/26/2017]</i></b> Thanks to longtime Texas wrestling commentator <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVpo4_EmCnCxgWHSmyZp49w" target="_blank">Rob Moore</a></b> for posting these rare videos from the heyday of WCCW, which we've assembled into a pair of YouTube playlists! Both shows are from Greenville, TX; the above playlist is a <b><i>complete</i></b> benefit card (with matches in the correct running order) from the Greenville Intermediate School Gym on January 12, 1984. Kicking things off, after a short clip of <b>Marc Lowrance</b>'s <i>Championship Sports</i> promo for the card, is a bout pitting <b>Iceman King Parsons</b> against Devastation Inc.'s <b>Super D #2. </b><i>[Our apologies for originally including the wrong video of this bout, which had some technical issues; we've now replaced it with a glitch-free version.] </i>Next up is Devastation's <b>Missing Link</b> taking on <b>Johnny Mantell</b>. <b>Kevin Von Erich</b> hits the ring in the main event (though not the final match of the night) to wrestle Fabulous Freebird <b>Buddy Roberts</b>. Closing the show is yet another in the heated series of battles between <b>Gentleman Chris Adams</b> and <b>Gorgeous Jimmy Garvin</b>. (Also notable is the fact that this was ring announcer Moore's pro wrestling debut!)<br />
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The playlist below consists of three of the four (?) matches from the November 15, 1984 show at the Greenville High School Gym. <b>Fantastic Bobby Fulton</b> clashes with <b>Jake "The Snake" Roberts</b> in the opener. The second bout is of particular interest, with the newly heel-turned <b>Chris Adams</b> (managed, of course, by <b>Gary Hart</b>) going up against <b>Mike Von Erich</b>. The main event here is a fairly short but wild encounter between <b>Kerry Von Erich</b> and <b>The Missing Link</b>. If you remember the excitement surrounding WCCW in its 1983-85 boom period (or if you're too young to remember it, but curious), these videos will bring it all back. Hope you enjoy 'em!<br />
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World Class Memorieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18069842548953859683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972151859110438786.post-60647932958390511222017-10-26T17:33:00.001-05:002017-10-26T17:34:46.808-05:00WWE Network Heading into Home Stretch with Syndicated WCCW Eps<br />
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Don't forget that for continued updates on WCCW upload status, you can click either <a href="http://www.wwenetworknews.com/tag/world-class-championship-wrestling/" target="_blank">here</a> or <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/WWE_Network_Bot" target="_blank">here</a>. At this writing, most of 1988's episodes are up, which means we've now reached the Jerry Jarrett era (that's roughly the last two years of WCCW TV, including the USWA Dallas shows).. <a href="http://www.wwenetworknews.com/" target="_blank">WWE Network News</a> has also begun including a listing of what's still missing in their posts; so far, there's been no indication of whether or not WWE Network will be posting any of those episodes at a later date.<br />
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As always, please keep in mind that from all reports, the master tapes were subjected to serious temperature and humidity extremes over the years (they were stored in a barn in north Texas, to be exact). This can result in deterioration of magnetic tape, including videotape, although an amazing number of eps have survived with relatively little or no damage.World Class Memorieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18069842548953859683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972151859110438786.post-51107757235932734602017-08-15T14:34:00.000-05:002017-08-15T14:36:47.183-05:00WCM Sends Best Wishes to the Nature Boy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rlauyXCwSjk/WZNJtatHC2I/AAAAAAAABY8/9czUB3xUDQEfRi4Pb87N5fF2VgOyz_1xgCLcBGAs/s1600/flairredrobe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="391" data-original-width="603" height="259" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rlauyXCwSjk/WZNJtatHC2I/AAAAAAAABY8/9czUB3xUDQEfRi4Pb87N5fF2VgOyz_1xgCLcBGAs/s400/flairredrobe.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">As many readers are probably already aware, <b>Ric Flair</b> is, at this writing, <a href="http://www.f4wonline.com/wwe-news/ric-flair-still-critical-condition-following-colon-surgery-241026" target="_blank">hospitalized</a> in critical condition following surgery for a reported intestinal blockage. Other health issues are said to have resulted including kidney failure, for which Flair is on dialysis.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Ric's daughter, WWE superstar <b>Charlotte Flair</b>, has posted a message to fans on Instagram: <span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><i>"Hi guys, On behalf of my family and I, we want to THANK everyone for the prayers, texts, calls and support. Our Dad is a FIGHTER and your continued thoughts and prayers MEAN THE WORLD to us. We will update everyone when we have more information."</i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">World Class Memories sends all our best to Ric for a speedy and full recovery, and to his entire family.</div>World Class Memorieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18069842548953859683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972151859110438786.post-74909799698720198802015-10-24T14:18:00.002-05:002015-10-24T14:33:34.609-05:00RIP: Doris Adkisson<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="text-align: left;"><br /><a href="https://www.facebook.com/doris.adkisson" target="_blank">November 18, 1932 - October 23, 2015.</a></span></div>
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World Class Memorieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18069842548953859683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972151859110438786.post-230945796553510392015-08-30T16:46:00.002-05:002015-08-30T16:46:36.672-05:00Wrestling "Not Fake"<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>WRESTLING "NOT FAKE"</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">By James Dunlap</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">From the <i>Dallas Morning News</i>, circa March 1975</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">(via J. Michael Kenyon's <a href="http://www.wrestlingclassics.com/wawli/index.htm" target="_blank">WAWLI Papers</a>)</span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">The sign in front of the vast, corrugated metal structure at Cadiz and Industrial bore the ominous inscription "TEXAS DEATH MATCH," appropriately spelled out in blood-red letters.<br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Inside, all eyes were riveted on a spotlighted American flag while a tinny recording of the national anthem played. As it ended, a great cheer went up, launching another Tuesday night of wrestling at the Sportatorium.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">For most people, wrestling is just something that appears momentarily on the screen as they absently flip through the television channels on a slow Saturday night.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">But for the folks of all ages and colors who pay $2 to $4.50 to pack the Sportatorium’s wooden bleachers each week, it’s a basic social institution that rivals going to church.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Wrestling provides its hard-core fans with fast-moving entertainment and a bizarre, colorful collection of stars. And on a different, more complex level, it achieves a violence, somewhere between fantasy and reality, that relieves pent-up anger and frustration in its viewers.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"Everybody gets their kicks somehow," explained truck driver Morris Oliver.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"It’s not fake," said his brother, Tommy. "It’s acting, just like in the movies." Tommy, who is big enough to be a wrestler himself, winked and added, "Besides, I’ve been coming since 1950, and there’s no sense stopping now."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Under the bleachers between matches, the smell of popcorn, cotton candy, tacos and French fries mingles with body odor as people jockey for position at the concession stands. Sweat pours off the besieged men behind the counter as they serve thousands of cold beers.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Like groupies hovering near a rock star, kids jam around the dressing room door to touch their favorite wrestler as he strides by.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Beside that door, 72-year-old Walter McDaniel has been shining shoes every Tuesday night since 1938. "Sometimes it’s full up and sometimes it’s not, but the crowd’s not any different," McDaniel said.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Loyally denying there is anything fake about it, McDaniel explained the Sportatorium’s attraction with "fans like the wrestling matches, and that’s all it is."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">In the arena, another clutter of kids, with heads thrust under the ring’s lowest rope, vibrate with excitement as they clutch their programs and hope for their hero’s autograph.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">To warm up the crowd for the main event, gladiators like Kim Duk, Big Jos LeDuc, the Great Dane, and Alberto Madril brutally embrace in short matches of concentrated combat that seemingly would leave ordinary mortals maimed for life.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Between events, 28-year-old R.C. Williams said he comes for the excitement. "I just like to sit here and drink beer and holler."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Williams, who works on a loading dock, and his friend, Richard Rogers, come every Tuesday and bet a beer on every match.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"I remember when we used to be kids sitting up in general admission sneaking beers," he recalled. Pointing to a vendor walking up the aisle, Williams said, "See that old buzzard there, he used to sell it to us."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Although Williams and Rogers kept their hollering on a relatively calm level, some of the other people got caught up in the drama from time to time and yelled themselves hoarse. Occasionally, beer-fueled fights break out among the more emotional members of the audience.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"Don’t get no blood until the main event," Williams said, "and then everybody is so drunk they don’t know what it is."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Considering the level of violence in the ring, blood is relatively scarce. But sometimes, a swung fist or chair draws a red liquid of questionable origin. The fans don’t seem to care whether it flows from veins or gelatin capsules.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"Everybody is waiting for blood in this one," confided a young man with long blond hair as Fritz Von Erich and Black Jack Lanza, the opponents in the "TEXAS DEATH MATCH," made their appearance.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">In a death match, the program explained, "No falls count, there are no disqualifications, no time limit, almost anything is legal and it continues until one man can’t defend himself."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Judging from the cheers and applause, Fritz, a hulking form in red briefs, was clearly favored by the crowd.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Looking like the evil gunslinger in a thousand "B" westerns, Black Jack, dressed in black hat, vest, boots, briefs and a leather guard on his right hand, was greeted by almost universal booing and hissing.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">As if to justify the people’s choice, he grabbed Fritz from behind as he politely scrawled autographs for his admiring, young fans. Nobody asked Black Jack for his autograph.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">From the first bell, everybody knew it was going to be a deadly duel with the infamous "claw" hold as the chosen weapon.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Besides the claw, they kicked, punched, gouged, strangled, pulled hair and bounced off the ropes onto each other, and the folks in the bleachers went wild.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Jumping to their feet, with screams that reached a deafening pitch, the audience completely disregarded the mundane issue of whether what they were watching was real or not.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"Go, Fritz, go!" they chanted as Fritz won the first fall and laid Black Jack out on the mat like a dead fish.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Apparently, the trainer who massaged Black Jack’s ravaged brow during the rest period did some good, because Fritz took some heavy punishment and lost the second fall.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">The battle between the almost larger than life grapplers went back and forth for a while, and then Gran Marcus, a masked wrestler, came down and talked to Black Jack.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">From the shouts, it was evident that the crowd was convinced that Gran Marcus had slipped Black Jack something that he put in his claw hand.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"It’s in his glove," they pleaded. "Check his glove!" But their cry failed to impress the referee, and Fritz went down for the count.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Gloom hung heavy in the air. The hero was on the mat, defeated. The villain, with his sinister, leather-covered fist held aloft, strutted around the ring.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Black Jack withdrew and disappeared into the bowels of the Sportatorium, and Fritz was still down.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Slowly, he rose and limped up the aisle. A cheer echoed in the arena, and the hands of the faithful stretched out and gave him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder as he passed.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">They knew he’d be back. And next Tuesday night, so would they.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>World Class Memorieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18069842548953859683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972151859110438786.post-18033877815549041482015-08-30T16:40:00.001-05:002015-08-30T16:40:08.168-05:00No Holds Barred<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>NO HOLDS BARRED</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">By Mike Shropshire</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">From <i>D Magazine</i>, March 1981</span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">You wake up a couple of hours before dawn, feeling drained and strung out from the savage dream which seemed as if it wouldn't end.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">The melancholy old building, eerie and half-lit like an abandoned subway station . . . the deformed multitudes, shouting and gesturing in some kind of grotesque agony . . . the bell clanging . . . the disturbing sensation of not being able to find your way out of there . . . that screaming Jap . . .</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Right away, you decide not to retell this one to Dr. Weinglass, your shrink. The Freudian implications are simply too rich. Next time, lay off the guacamole.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">The disturbing aspect of your latest subconscious docu-drama is that it's simply too lifelike. That dictatorial voice droning on about, "One fall, 60-minute time limit for the Heavyweight Brass Knuckles Championship of Texas."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Maybe it had something to do with the tiff you and the little woman had in the kitchen the other night over the so-called lipstick she thought she found on the paper napkin on the floorboard.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">You grope around the shelves in the medicine chest for something which might coax your stomach out of the fast lane when you're blind-sided by a divine revelation. A faraway voice, the same one that warns you not to answer the phone because it might be the MasterCard guy, suddenly whispers, "That was no dream, you damn fool. It really happened."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Yeah, yeah. It all comes back now. The wrestling matches. You actually went. God, what an experience.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">The phenomenon of professional wrestling, like American politics, maintains a genealogy which eventually traces its way to the circus.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">It goes back at least a century, when the key attraction of a one-night-stand tent show touring the sticks was an act where the muscle-bound bad boy would issue a challenge to the rubes.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">A "plant" in the audience would materialize and the combat which followed provided tantalizing entertainment for the hillbillies. The entire show was based on P.T. Barnum's hypothesis that the yokels of the world will believe anything if it's packaged just right, a premise which Lyndon B. Johnson exploited to optimum benefit.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">The carnival routine, thanks to the miracle of television, has been refined into the spectacle currently available to viewers in the Dallas/Fort Worth market every Saturday night at 10 p.m. on Channel 11.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Is it fixed?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">The people who print the big-time metropolitan dailies apparently think so, since their commentary on the wrestling matches is compressed into a one-paragraph agate type summary which appears once a week.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Professional wrestler Fritz Von Erich considers that situation and says, "They call it fake. I've never known of a sportswriter yet who put on a pair of tights and climbed into a ring to find out. I've been in this business a lot of years and I know of no instance where the winner of the match wasn't the best man in the ring."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Von Erich, who is perhaps the finest athlete produced in Dallas - although it's unlikely he'll ever be inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame - has every right to make such a statement.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">There is no substantive evidence to indicate the outcome of professional wrestling matches is predetermined. If you believe that the wrestling matches are a scam then you must also consider the notion that the Dallas Cowboys' "miracle" comeback against Atlanta was planned in one of the executive suites of the National Football League and intricately rehearsed on a secret practice field.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"The sports pages don't pay any attention to us all, since there are so many other topics to tear down these days," Von Erich said. "I'm just as glad."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Whatever the media may have to say about his profession should be of little consequence to Von Erich, who has become a millionaire through wrestling and owns an impressive estate on Lake Dallas which is not unlike Southfork.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Von Erich bears a startling resemblance to an athlete named Jack Adkisson who played football at SMU and set the discus record there in 1950. They are, in fact, the same person.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"My mother's maiden name is Von Erich and my grandfather's name was Fritz," he explains. "When I got into wrestling, it occurred to me that Fritz Von Erich beat the heck out of Jack Adkisson when you put it on a marquee.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"Back in those days, I couldn't do a damn thing without getting hurt. People think of Fritz Von Erich, the great wrestler. They'd be amazed to find out I lost my first 12 professional matches.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"I finally won against an Australian guy named Jack Pinchoff. He was an old guy, over the hill, but really knew the business. I beat him in Austin. I wrestled him again the next night in Corpus Christi and he broke my shoulder."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Von Erich now pretty much presides over the pro wrestling scene in Dallas, and three of his sons, David, Kevin, and Kerry, are the leading attractions in the incredible productions which happen ever Sunday night at the Sportatorium.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">For the uninitiated, an evening at Sportatorium wrestling will prove spectacularly entertaining and, at times, viscerally disconcerting.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"I?ve been coming here about once a week for 26 years," a man at the Sportatorium beer stand explained. "At first, I came to watch the wrestlers. Now I come to watch the fans."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">The Sportatorium, situated down on picturesque South Industrial Boulevard, is the result of the genius of the late Ed McLemore. The building, which consists mostly of corregated metal, was custom-designed for wrestling productions and country/western music shows. Total capacity is probably less than 5,000.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">When McLemore broke away from the Houston-controlled wrestling circuit in the early Fifties and began importing his own talent (such as 400-pound Farmer Brown), someone torched the Sportatorium. A truce was accomplished and the arena was rebuilt.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">The fans arrived early on wrestling night at the Sportatorium and cluster around the parking lot, taking snapshots of their favorites and getting autographs.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Most of the wrestling fans are apparently not from the higher echelons of the social ladder in Big D. In fact, many of them display the Thorazine eyes which can typically be found in the day room at the Rusk State Hospital.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">By 7:30, when the first of the preliminary matches begin, the Sportatorium is packed. The early matches consist of candidates for the big money who haven't established their reputations. "A guy starting out in the business can look forward to making maybe 25 grand a year for the first couple of years," Von Erich says.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"But since you have to pay your expenses on the road, you only break even at that level - if that. But if a guy has the determination to stick it out and has fan appeal, he ought to start getting some semifinal matches by his third year and then he might be on his way.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"Harley Race, the world champion, grosses a half-million easily and probably doesn't work but 30 or 35 matches a year."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"To get into the top money in wrestling," said an "insider" in the business, "is kind of like getting into the Mafia. Once you're in, you're in. But it's hell getting in."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">A wrestler called The Monk appeared in one of the earlier matches at the Sportatorium. He is clearly not yet "in."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">The Monk is actually Steve Miller, who was a heavyweight Golden Gloves champion in the early Seventies in Fort Worth.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">His career is remembered there because Miller would often burst into tears while knocking his boxing opponent into New Jerusalem.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Now he enters the wrestling ring with a shaven head, full beard, and clerical robe that appears to have come from the closet of Ming the Merciless. Apparently, The Monk still maintains his affectation of crying in the ring.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"Hey, Grapehead!" shouted one of the ringside fans. "You gonna cry for us tonight?"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"You shut the hell up," The Monk responded.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"Frankly, I wasn't so good as a boxer, but I was notoriously odd," said Miller.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"I was a little weird, very emotional. I'd get everybody excited and got 'em laughing for a long time. I have clippings in my scrapbook with headlines like 'Crybaby Miller Wins Again.' There was this story in the sports pages after I beat Larry Montgomery for the championship where his coach said, 'I saw those tears and knew we were in trouble.'</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"After I'd won an important bout in the state tournament, I was shopping in Arlington and a kid came up and asked me for my autograph. That had never happened to me before and I'd never felt so proud. I signed the piece of paper and the kid said, 'Aren't you Red Bastien, the wrestler?' And I said, 'No, I'm Steve Miller, the heavyweight boxing champion of Fort Worth.'</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"The kid just walked off, and I saw him wad up the paper with my autograph on it and throw it away. That's when I started thinking about a wrestling career."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Miller decided to shave his head after one of his first appearances in pro wrestling. His opponent jerked out a fistful of Miller's already thinning hair. It didn't grow back.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"I don't win many matches because I'm not that experienced. But I have something about me which will help, and that's my big old ugly face. I have a face that would scare off a mongrel dog. That amounts to charisma and if you have it, you're gonna make a lot of money in this business.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"I hope to be there in a couple of years. I've got a lot to learn, but I'm mean enough. I worked as a bouncer in the toughest bar in Alaska."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Miller lives in a mobile home in West Dallas. "I live in a scuzzy part of town, but I'm into it," Miller says. "Most of the wrestlers' favorite joint is Cafe Dallas. But I never felt at ease around people who think they're sophisticated and put on airs. I just like to go to low-rent dives and pat the Mexicans on the back."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">The Monk lost his match to the "Baby Face," which is wrestling parlance for the good guy. The baby face in this case was some old cat of about 50.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">The bad guys are known as "Heels," and all the talk is that you've got to be a Heel to make it in Dallas because the Baby Face market is currently monopolized by the three Von Erich boys.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Most of the leading Heels are managed by wrestler Gary Hart, who appears at matches wearing a business suit and fashionable hood, the kind popularly sported by medieval head choppers.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">That costume probably generates dirty looks when Hart visits a 7-Eleven store or the bank. Wrestling fans like to bash out the headlights of his car and scratch the paint.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Hart gives the impression of being a Heel's Heel. "Most of the people who dislike Gary really don't know him," said a wrestling insider. "You have to get to know him before you can really dislike him."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">The second match featured a performance by a miniature muscle god with the happy stage name, "Chief Billy White Cloud," a promising Baby Face. White Cloud actually comes from Monterrey, but the American Indian traditionally maintains a high appreciation index at the wrestling matches.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">In fact, the most popular wrestler ever, perhaps, was Wahoo McDaniel, who, in real life, reputedly once won a substantial wager by chugalugging a quart of motor oil and running 40 miles without stopping.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"Well, I can believe the part about the motor oil," said one of Wahoo's contemporaries. The University of Oklahoma kept this man on its classroom rolls for four years in return for his exploits on the field of honor.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Militants for the American Indian cause might be a little put off by Billy White Cloud's spectacular feathered costume and his tendency to do rain dances and whoop "wa-wa-wa-wa-wa" just before he kicks his opponent in the neck.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">White Cloud might counter that wrestling matches aren't supposed to serve as a forum for politico-ethnic reform and point out that he can earn more money in a week with his Chief White Cloud parody than he could make in a lifetime sitting around Arizona roadsides selling Kachina dolls.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Jose Lothario, who's been around forever, came into the ring next and made short work of Raul Castro, a masked wrestler.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Certain wrestlers are encouraged to wear masks simply because they have ordinary facial characteristics. Wrestlers find that they're more professionally marketable if they look like movie stars or, preferably, are incredibly ugly.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Lothario has a sagging midsection, but moved around the ring like the Russian dancer Baryshnikov while working over Castro. At the conclusion of the match, Lothario attempted to rip off Castro's mask, but the vanquished performer escaped and slinked back to the dressing room while the fans, many of whom could qualify for the World Museum of Chromosomal Disorders, hooted and jeered.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">The referee, who bears a striking resemblance to Grandpa on <i>The Munsters</i>, raised Lothario's arm in victory.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"Lothario's gotta be in his mid-40s, probably," says Fritz Von Erich. "He's typical of a lot of guys. He's so skillful at what he does, he might be around another 10 years. That's what I like about wrestling. Get to be this age in most other sports and, man, it's over with."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Next came the main event, a three-person tag-team match. Two of the Von Erich boys, David and Kerry, along with Bruiser Brody, marched down the aisles of the Sportatorium with an air of patrician elan. Now the audience was wailing.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">The Von Erich boys, in their mid- and early 20s, have the physical structure of Grecian deities.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"They're gifted athletes," Fritz says, oozing with pride. "They all made all-state in football at Lake Dallas High, and Kerry, the youngest one, set an age group world record at the University of Houston in the discus."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">The adoring crowd pressed around the ringside to have the photographs of the Von Erichs, available in the lobby for $2.25, personally autographed.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">David, the oldest, has experienced his share of adversity. He lost his child in a crib-death tragedy and is now divorced.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"David's got a pretty good head on his shoulders. The other two, well, they have some growing up to do still and sort of enjoy a good party, if you know what I mean," said the wrestling "insider."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">But they're all cashing in, and there are two more, supposedly, about to enter the profession.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">After several minutes, the villains materialized behind a police escort which would have done credit to the late Shah.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">The cops come in handy. Gino Hernandez, formerly "under the care of Gary Hart" and therefore, a Heel, infuriated the Sportatorium crowd recently by ripping up some Von Erich photos belonging to kids seeking autographs. The ability to spur the crowd into a frenzy of hate is known in the trade as "giving heat," and Gino is good at it.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">So good that, when he was later pitched over the top rope and into the crowd, someone approached him with a five-inch knife. (Fans who get out of hand in this fashion find they'll be dealt with harshly.)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">The villains on this occasion were Tim Brooks, who's been known to work on his opponents with a dog chain; Gary Hart, wearing what looked like a Spiderman costume with "CHICAGO" stitched on the side of his tights; and a sensational Oriental import named Kabuki.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Kabuki's face was painted white and he carried a sword.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">This trio would clearly be out of place at the Mother's Day buffet at Brook Hollow.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Brooks, who appears to have lived much of his life in a foxhole, although he's actually from Waxahachie, spit at the crowd and cast an occasional French salute.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Kabuki, the assassin, approached David Von Erich and waved the sword underneath his chin. Von Erich looked like he didn't know quite what to think. A week earlier, Kabuki had strangled an opponent with a coat hanger in Fort Worth.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Hart coaxed the sword away from Kabuki.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"Get that SOB out of there!" shrieked a middle-aged black woman seated at ringside. "He's crazy!"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">When the match began, Kabuki became a malevolent bundle of homicidal fury, seemingly jacked up on that same drug they used to feed Kamikaze pilots that transformed them into live-for-today no-accounts.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">The Von Erich boys and the Bruiser put up a fierce effort and at one point, Tim Brooks staggered back into the corner with his face coated in blood.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"Make no mistake," said our wrestling informant. "The blood is real. Sometime during the match, while Kabuki was in the ring, Hart slipped Brooks a razor blade and then he just knicked his forehead and started bleeding like hell."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">This procedure is known as "juicing" or a "blade job."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Harley Race, the current world champion, is renowned as the best "juicer" in the business, reputedly able to spread a few tiny drops over his face and arms so that it appears he just stumbled out of a train wreck.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">On this occasion, the night belonged to Kabuki, who raised his right hand in clawlike fashion, then made the howling sound of a dive bomber heading into Pearl Harbor as he clutched one of the Von Erich boys around the abdominal region.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">The audience was horrified. It was not a pleasant exhibition for Von Erich fans, along with anyone else who cherished truth, justice and the American Way.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"I don't know how Hart got that guy into the United States," says Fritz Von Erich. "The SOB is dangerous.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"He's a legend back in the Far East. I've had guys tell me they remembered him from when they served in Vietnam.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"I'd never seen a picture of him when he didn't have that horrible face painted white. He must have some scars he's trying to hide. But Kabuki's really in demand now and he'll draw a lot of money. It doesn't make a damn about his reputation, though. Somebody's going to beat him, and soon. I'd still like to know how Hart slipped him past the immigration authorities."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Some say it was not that difficult. They say, in fact, that Hart imported Kabuki from Kansas City, where he happened to be known as Takachika and was working the prelims, without benefit of the painted face.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">The mystery of Kabuki's origin simply enhances his value and he clearly has the potential to become one of the arch-villains in the lengthy process of fiends who've performed in the Sportatorium..</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">He may even join company with the likes of Duke Keomuka, Bull Curry and The Spoiler.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"I remember Bull, all right," says TV announcer Bill Mercer, who's been doing wrestling in Dallas off and on since 1953.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"He kicked me in the face one time. That's the only time I ever really had any bad trouble with a wrestler. It didn't hurt much and left a little scrape over my eye.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"But he was a real Neanderthal."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">The Spoiler, who was occasionally mistaken for the personification of Satan and was acrobatic enough to be able to tightrope walk his way around the ring on the top rope, once got on TV and explained how much he "hated the Sportatorium fans' guts."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">When asked how he felt about the fans who watched on TV, he said, "I hate them even worse because I don't get any of their money."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Another classic was the late Moon Dog Mayne, who delighted in disgusting wrestling crowds everywhere by entering the ring and eating raw eggs, dog food, and, on one occasion, a dead fish.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"Gene Kiniski is a tough guy who really stands out in my mind," says Von Erich.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"Lou Thesz was probably the most skillful I ever wrestled, but Kiniski probably had to be the toughest. He'd knock your damn head off.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"He never did that to me, but he's capable of it."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">The Von Erich boys put up a brave effort to beat Kabuki and his two low-rent companions, Hart and Brooks.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">David Von Erich delivered tough forearm chops to Kabuki's thoraxial region with a massive "splat" and the audience roared.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">A couple seated on the third row was hard to figure. The woman, kind of twentyish, seemed moderately hip. Her male companion, about 40, appeared to have gone around the bend intellectually some years earlier. He watched the matches intently through expressionless eyes glazed over from some long-ago trauma.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Finally, he was overcome by the sheer spectacle of it all and jumped from the chair to scream, "Tear his eyes out!"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"Oh, Sonny," gasped the fellow's lady friend, who grabbed his sleeve and yanked him back down in his chair. Sonny wasn't heard from for the rest of the evening.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Eventually, Kabuki dragged one of the Von Erichs into a corner and, along with his partners, triple-teamed their victim until the match ended.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">The crowd, stunned, filed out. But the big majority obviously intended to return the following week to see justice, in some form, take its course.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">The wrestlers, who are professionals after all, had done their job. There was nothing fake about the entertainment values at Sportatorium, and another evening of family fun had, all too soon, come to an end.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<br />World Class Memorieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18069842548953859683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972151859110438786.post-52771389936532520322015-08-30T16:31:00.000-05:002015-08-30T16:31:38.937-05:00The Cost of Villainy<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>SKANDOR AKBAR: THE COST OF VILLAINY</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">By Dave Tarrant</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> From the <i>Dallas Morning News</i>, September 3, 2000 </span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">He wore a bulletproof vest because of threats on his life. He was ambushed by mobs throwing sticks and rocks. His tires were slashed, his windshield shattered, and he was in more car chases than Mel Gibson in<i> Lethal Weapon. </i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">And that's just what happened outside the ring. Skandor Akbar, as the wrestling magazines of the 1970s and 1980s often proclaimed, was "The Man You Loved to Hate." </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">And the more you hated him, the more he loved it. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"Wrestling is good and evil," he was fond of saying, "and I'm the evil part." </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Long before today's cartoonish villains, he was one of wrestling's arch bad guys. During the gas shortages of the 1970s, he was a self-proclaimed oil-wealthy sheik, who taunted fans weary of long lines at service stations. Amid the Gulf War, he swaggered around ringside in a khaki uniform like a certain Iraqi dictator. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Being such a great bad guy forced him to erect a shield over his private life. He did so not only to protect himself and his family, but also to maintain his mystique with fans. And that practice became habitual over the years.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">He's still slow to open up and let people know the other guy - not the wrestler, but the man outside of the ring. The man who has lived in the same suburban Dallas neighborhood for 31 years but knows almost nobody on his block. The man whose wife once told him that he'd been engulfed by his wrestling persona. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"I kept my private life apart," he says, matter-of-factly. "I was like two people." </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Wrestling, Skandor says, comes down to this: There are dragons and dragon slayers. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Skandor was a dragon, the archetypal villain, who must be vanquished by the dragon slayer so order can be restored to the world. Later in his career, as a manager, it was his job to find dragons to feed the dragon slayers. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"That's how I explain my world to people: dragons and dragon slayers." </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Wrestling is different now from when he started nearly 40 years ago. It's not about good vs. evil anymore. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"See, today it's hard to determine who's bad and who's good. And so you have what I call purgatory fans - they're in between. They cheer for everybody." </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">In his day, bad guys didn't have fans. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"I never had any. Not that I know of. I'd rather it be that way. And it was risky in those days. People bashing your car windows, cutting your tires. That'll never happen today. It's changed now." </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">It wasn't only wrestling fans who hated him. Members of the Arab community, including some of his relatives, didn't much care for his caricature either, he says. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">He paid them scant attention. He generated heat -- the concentrated wrath of fans -- that is the red meat of wrestling. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">With hyperventilating exuberance, Skandor's manager once boasted to Ring, a wrestling magazine, that "Skandor Akbar is a man from the same mold as I am! He'll bite, stomp, kick, chew or even spit at his mother if it will help him come up with a victory." </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Now 65, he still looks like he could throw someone into the second row. At 5-foot-9, he has the compact, powerful build of an NFL fullback. He pumps iron every morning in his garage, and he's "pretty close," he says, to the 56-inch chest, 19 1/2-inch biceps and 27-inch thighs that he used to hurl hapless opponents around the ring. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">He keeps his thick black mane the same color it was back then, too, as well as his goatee. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">He's been married three times but lives alone now. He books wrestling events with an outfit out of East Texas called Superstars of Wrestling. He works the small towns where wrestling's big name acts will never appear except on television. He runs a wrestling school at Doug's Gym in Dallas and manages youngsters with big dreams as well as grizzled old-timers like Greg Valentine and The One Man Gang. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">He still plays the character he invented 35 years ago, strutting outside the ring taunting fans, never mixing with them, always maintaining what he calls his "mystique." </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"That's what I learned a long time ago. You don't mingle with the fans," he says. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"So many of the young wrestlers in this business will get out and mingle with people after the show and put their arms around them. And those people will go home and say, 'Aw, he's a good ol' boy.' </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"But they've never said that about Akbar. I guarantee it. You can ask around Dallas. They never knew anything about me." </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">His real name is Jimmy Saied Wehba. He was born Sept. 29, 1934, in Wichita Falls, Texas. He grew up in nearby Vernon, although at various times throughout his career, he would say he moved here from Lebanon, Syria or Saudi Arabia. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">His father, Saied Wehba, did emmigrate from Lebanon and settled near relatives in the Texas Panhandle, where he worked as a grocer. His mother, Mary Eidd, also of Arab ancestry, was born in Texas. Jimmy was the youngest of three kids, and his two older sisters doted on him. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">At 12, he started lifting weights, spurred by his cousin Doug Eidd, now the proprietor of Doug's Gym. Mr. Eidd was in the Army and en route to Korea when he stopped by his cousin's house and gave him a few weightlifting lessons. Eventually Jimmy could bench-press 500 pounds. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Two of his uncles were also professional wrestlers. One called himself the "Sheik." Young Jimmy went to some matches and found his calling. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">This was the late 1950s and early 1960s, the golden era of wrestling. He started out with one of the great legends of that era, Lou Thesz, who knew Jimmy's uncles. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">In those days, the country was divided into wrestling territories. The way for a young man to get experience was to go from one territory to the next. This was before Jimmy wrestled under the name of Skandor Akbar. But he was often cast as a villain, or "heel," in wrestling parlance, he says. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"You were typecast a lot in those days. Naturally I was a heel because I was this big, dark-complected guy. Sometimes I wrestled as a clean guy. But the villain was my thing. I tried to be a good guy, but people just didn't like it," he says, chuckling. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">In 1966, Fritz Von Erich, the patriarch of the Von Erich wrestling clan in Dallas, suggested he change his name to something that sounded more Arabic. "Then I became Skandor Akbar, which means Alexander the Great." </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">He was now the "hated Akbar," whose adversary was often Danny Hodge, an Olympic silver medalist and popular "good guy" in the Oklahoma circuit. Later, he "went to war" against the Von Erichs, when the clan was the main draw in Dallas. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">The only time he recalls being a fan favorite came during a brief period in 1967. "I went in and saved Danny Hodge from a beating with the Assassins. They had him upside down on the turnbuckle, double-kicking him, the whole works. I don't know what came over me, but I saved Danny. I became the fan favorite for a few months." </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">The business was a grind, six days a week, a different city everyday. Almost every town had its crowd favorite or "baby face." Skandor often car pooled with the other heels on the circuit, driving one of the dozen Pontiac Bonnevilles he's owned. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"During these trips you could go over different moves you could do. That's how you sharpened up." </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">To achieve longevity he had to create a personality. That meant engaging in the loud-mouthed, in-your-face finger-pointing, face-contorting, gorilla theater that is an essential part of wrestling show interviews. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"I watched the best, and then I would get by myself and get in front of a mirror and scrunch up my face," he says. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"There are guys who've been in this business for years and years who have never learned to do the interviews. I could make a two-minute interview and never stumble. But I worked on it. It didn't come naturally." </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Another key to success was learning crowd psychology, which Skandor defines as "total control over the people." </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"Some guys have it, and some guys don't. You have to be alert and pay attention. You can bring the crowd up and bring them down and then bring them up again." </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">You never, ever give in to the crowd, he says. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"Maybe you have somebody in a hold and you hear people starting to chant, 'boring, boring,' like they do sometimes. I tell my man in the ring, 'You just clamp down harder on that hold. Don't let the crowd get to you. You dictate to them. Don't let them dictate to you.' " </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Skandor never let audiences become bored. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"I was always doing something dastardly. They didn't know when I was going to do it." </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">He would hurl fire at his opponents, choke them on the ropes and dispatch them with his signature "Camel Clutch," in which he'd grab an opponent's chin from behind and pull his head backward. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">He knew all the tricks of the trade. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"I could take a guy right now and bust him open. There's a way you do it. You come right down on a sloping angle and bust that eyebrow. But if you don't know how to do it, the poor guy's head'll swell up." </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"I did everything. I hid foreign objects, bolts and things like that. Usually I hit in the neck. Sometimes I'd hit in the head." </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">His opponents often reciprocated in kind. "They'd hit me with something too. But in those days we didn't mind that. We didn't mind blood coming down our faces. We made money." </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">He wrestled all over the world and especially in Asia and Australia. He was in Singapore, New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, Japan. "It was just beautiful." </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">In 1974 he won the National Wrestling Alliance's North American Heavyweight Title Belt. About 1977, he retired from full-time wrestling and began managing other heels. He added "General" to his name and took on colorful heels such as Kimala, the Ugandan Giant. By the end of the 1980s, after nearly 30 years in wrestling, Skandor's persona was set in concrete. In a 1987 story in <i>All Pro Wrestling</i>, Skandor was described as "one of the most hated and feared [wrestlers] in the sport." </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">He was quoted as saying: "I'm never worried about anything. My family is rich, and I am rich. And I can buy anything I want, so why should I be something I don't want to be, like one of those sissy good guys." </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Jimmy Wehba of Vernon had successfully created a monster. And as with Dr. Frankenstein, he had to live with it. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">He is showing a visitor around his Garland home, a two-story house, with red-brick siding, bought in 1969. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">He lives alone and his only companions are a cat and a dog, both rescued strays. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">He doesn't use the kitchen or dining room. He eats all his meals in restaurants and seldom goes upstairs. There are assorted family photos on an upright piano in one room, but no wrestling memorabilia is displayed. He keeps stacks of old wrestling magazines with stories about himself in the closet. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">He walks stiffly now and with a slight limp from old wrestling injuries. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"I've got a bad right knee, a degenerative area on my left side," he says, settling into his favorite stuffed chair in the living room, where he likes to watch "the tube" during the day. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">He was injured in Jackson, Miss., during a tag-team match that got out of hand. "They got a great big board, and they were whacking me and a guy named Rocket Monroe. Sometimes I still feel it across my arm here. It chipped my elbow." </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Another night, after he turned against his tag-team partner Danny Hodge, he got ambushed by some fans. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"These people sent me a note to come by this club. Out of curiosity, I went there. I walked in and these people started whacking me with cue sticks. They were just punks. I knew how to take care of myself. They got in a car and drove away. I didn't realize my head was bleeding profusely. See they hit me across here," he says pointing to a scar at his forehead. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"I got a lot of scars." </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">He got hit in the head with a rock while walking down the aisle in Boston Garden. In Russellville, Ark., fans threw rocks and sticks at him and a friend as they ran to his car. Other times, he found his car windows smashed or his tires slashed. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">And there was that time he had to wear a bulletproof vest. It was in 1985 in the Superdome in New Orleans. The week before in Jackson, Miss., Skandor was managing Kimala and had interfered with the match by throwing a fireball at Kimala's opponent, a guy named Hacksaw Jim Duggan. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">This well-publicized act prompted 30,000 fans to turn out for a rematch in the Superdome. When Skandor arrived in the locker room, he was met by New Orleans Police Department officers informing him that there had been 14 calls to the Superdome threatening his life. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"Either you wear this bulletproof vest tonight or you don't go on," he quotes an officer telling him. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">He wore the vest underneath his robe and nothing happened. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">But he always watched his back. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"I had to be careful where I ate," he says, adding that he did the same thing as a manager. "I never let anybody see Kimala. We'd pick up our food and eat in the hotel." </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">People tried to follow him home as he drove away from the Sportatorium in Dallas. "I'd have to lose them. I didn't want anybody to bother my house and my family. That's why I kept my personal life so quiet." </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">He has one son, Darryl, from his first marriage. He got his first divorce when Darryl was still an infant. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Darryl Wehba, 37, lives in Duncan, Okla., where he grew up. He is married and has an infant son of his own. Darryl recalls watching his father on television and occasionally live. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"When I was real young growing up, he wasn't around much. But I simply adored him. I was his biggest fan. He never missed a Christmas or a birthday. Sometimes he couldn't be there right on my birthday, but he'd come a little later." </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">When Darryl dreamed of wrestling, however, his father discouraged him. "He didn't want to see me get into it. He knows you can't hold down a family." </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">A construction worker, Darryl says he doesn't begrudge his father's absence. "He played his part so well. He was the ultimate bad guy. As far as everybody else knew, he was from the Middle East. He knew how to get people riled up. That's what they thrive on. That's what kept them people coming back." </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Skandor was married to his second wife, Doris, for 18 years before she died suddenly of kidney failure. He married his third wife, Peggy, in 1989, and "by mutual agreement," they were divorced last year, he says. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Peggy once told him that she thought he had trouble separating his public and private lives, he says. "I think she felt like this thing had engulfed me," he says. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"To an extent, yeah, I guess it did," he says. "I've really tried to amend things like that. When I was in my heyday, I'd always have that scowling look on my face." </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Like an actor associated with one part, or an old spouse who can't imagine life without the partner, he accepts his life. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"Probably me being in professional wrestling for so many years, my personal life was sacrificed. [Wrestling] was such a different kind of thing. It just kind of ruined my personal life so much." </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Over time, he says, "Akbar took over the Jimmy part. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"When people call me Jim or Jimmy it's a surprise to me. They call me 'Ak' or 'Akbar' or 'General.' " </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Probably the person he is closest to is his 10-year-old stepgranddaughter, Kaylie, who lives in Garland. She calls him "Doe," a variation on the Arabic word for grandfather. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Kaylie was born two months prematurely. "She was so small I could hold her in the palm of my hand," Skandor says. "I guess we bonded right then." </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">He likes to take Kaylie out once or twice a week for dinner. When he was sick recently with a cold, she made him colorful get-well cards, which are still taped to his refrigerator. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"He loves me and he protects me," she says of her grandfather one evening at Ryan's, their favorite restaurant in Garland. Later, at his house, she kids him while looking through some old wrestling magazines he has brought out of the closet. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">The magazines seem to stir the old embers. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"I'd do it all over," he says. "I'd relish it like a good meal. I'd gobble it all down. If they opened the Sportatorium today, I could walk down that aisle, and I would still have a lot of heat. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"I still love the business. One thing I'm so proud of, it's like an epitaph for me. I was always true. I was always straight down the line." </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Kaylie holds up a magazine. "What were you doing here?" she demands. "Biting his head?" </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">He gives her a sheepish smile and puts on his glasses to take a closer look. "Hmmm. That looks like Terry Taylor," he says to himself. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"Did you win?" Kaylie asks. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">He nods his head.</span>World Class Memorieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18069842548953859683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972151859110438786.post-37380324172956078152015-08-21T10:07:00.000-05:002015-08-23T12:59:27.718-05:00"I'll be watching"<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><b>Dallas-area media coverage of the devastating news of Mike Von Erich's suicide.</b></i></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">VON ERICH'S DISAPPEARANCE SPURS SEARCH</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Wrestler's abandoned car found at Lewisville Lake</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">By Nita Thurman</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">From the <i>Dallas Morning News</i>, April 16, 1987</span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">DENTON -- Denton County Sheriff's Department investigators mounted a water, air and ground search for Mike Von Erich Wednesday evening, after the missing wrestler's abandoned car was found near Pilot Knoll Point on Lewisville Lake.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Von Erich, 23, was reported missing Monday by Ralph O. Pulley, a Dallas attorney who represents the Von Erich family. He was last seen Saturday after being released on bond from the Denton County Jail, where he had been held overnight after being arrested in Argyle on charges of driving while intoxicated, use of a controlled substance and misdemeanor possession of under 2 ounces of marijuana.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">The wrestler's 1986 gray Mercury Marquis was found on a dirt side road near the park's entrance, about a quarter mile from the lake shore, Sheriff's Department Capt. Al Lewis said.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">A note was found in the car that read in part, "I am in a better place", Lewis said.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">However, he said, that was the only part that was visible and authorities did not want to pick up the note to read the rest of it until Thursday morning when a technical crew could be brought in to make sure that no other potential evidence was disturbed.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">He said two trained tracking dogs were brought in for several hours Wednesday night to assist in the search, after darkness halted a dragging operation on the lake and an aerial search by a Texas Department of Public Safety helicopter.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"With the onset of darkness, we are severely limited," Lewis said. "The dogs are our biggest hope."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">A jacket and a pair of wrestling boots found in the car were used to give the tracking dogs Von Erich's scent, he said. Nothing was found before the search was suspended at 10 p.m.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Two of the three trained dogs will be brought back in at 7:30 a.m. Thursday, said Lewis, who also plans to put searchers up on horseback to penetrate dense brush around the lake shore.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Lewis said a resident who lives near the park called the Sheriff's Department at about 5:15 p.m. to report that the gray Mercury had been parked on the dirt road for several days.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"As soon as we ran the license number, we knew what we had," Lewis said. "He apparently drove up, parked, locked the doors and left."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Attorney Jerry Loftin of Fort Worth, who has represented Mike Von Erich in previous court cases, said Wednesday that he and the wrestler's family are "worried to death" about Von Erich's safety.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"It's just not like him not to be heard from," Loftin said. "He always communicates with his family. We are scared to death that something has happened to him."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Fritz Von Erich, the patriarch of the popular wrestling family that includes Mike's brothers Kerry and Kevin, spoke as scheduled Wednesday night at an evangelistic crusade in Denton.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Although he did not mention his missing son, an announcer at the crusade asked for prayers for the Von Erich family during its latest crisis.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Mike Von Erich was critically ill in September 1986 <i>[sic]</i> with toxic shock syndrome, a rare bacterial infection that apparently entered his body through a surgical incision. He had undergone surgery in August 1986 [sic] to repair a damaged shoulder.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">He is one of five sons of Fritz Von Erich and his wife, Doris. One son, Jack, was accidentally electrocuted in 1959 at the age of 6. And David Von Erich, 25, died in February 1984 of acute enteritis in a Tokyo hotel room while on a wrestling tour.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Kerry Von Erich was seriously injured last summer when his motorcycle crashed into the rear of an Argyle police squad car. Several pins and rods were placed in his fractured ankle.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">In the latest incident in Argyle, a patrolman stopped Mike Von Erich's car on U.S. Highway 377 because it was weaving, said a spokesman for the Argyle Police Department. Von Erich was not speeding and was "very cooperative" with the arresting officer, the spokesman said.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">The results of a blood alcohol test and analysis of the pills found in the car have not been returned from the Department of Public Safety lab, he said.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Loftin said that Von Erich, whose real name is Michael Brett<i> [sic]</i> Adkisson, called him Saturday afternoon, shortly after he was released from the county jail at 3:20 p.m. and had reached his home in Roanoke.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"He was concerned (about his arrest). He said he was appreciative of everything I've done," Loftin said. "He was very nice and courteous -- he's always courteous -- but he did not seem unduly upset. It was a normal reaction." </span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">BODY OF VON ERICH IS FOUND</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Suicide suspected in wrestler's death</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">By Nita Thurman</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">From the <i>Dallas Morning News</i>, April 17, 1987</span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">DENTON -- The body of wrestler Mike Von Erich was found Thursday morning, lying in a navy blue sleeping bag in a densely wooded area near a Lewisville Lake park.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Officers said the cause of death had not been determined but that all evidence indicated suicide.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Von Erich's body probably had been at the remote site since Sunday, one day after he was released from the Denton County Jail and the day before he was reported missing, said Justice of the Peace Hubert H. Cunningham.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"He was lying there very peaceful, like you would go out for an overnight, to get away from it all," Cunningham said.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">A small red canvas bag on the ground at Von Erich's right side contained his driver's license, billfold, $48 in cash, an asthma inhaler and other personal possessions, Cunningham said.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">The Dallas County medical examiner's office found no wounds. Results of chemical tests will not be available until Tuesday.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Von Erich, 23, son of famed wrestler Fritz Von Erich, was reported missing after the family was unable to find him. He apparently disappeared Saturday shortly after he was released from the Denton County Jail, where he had been held overnight on charges of driving while intoxicated, possession of a controlled substance and misdemeanor possession of less that 2 ounces of marijuana. His attorney, Jerry Loftin, said the pills found in his car were a prescription medicine.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Fritz Von Erich could not be reached for comment, but in a statement issued Thursday afternoon the family said Mike Von Erich had been in pain and poor health continually since a bout with toxic shock syndrome in 1985.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"Mike loved his fans, family and, above all, his Lord. He was in constant pain, but wanted so much for everyone to be proud of him," the statement said. "Please let our tragic loss be a positive message to kids and families everywhere this Easter. Sunday, everyone join hands and be grateful that your family is together. Love one another."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Von Erich was hospitalized in critical condition in September 1985 with toxic shock syndrome, a rare bacterial infection that apparently entered his body when he had surgery to repair a damaged shoulder. He was not able to resume his wrestling career until 1986, and in February the 6-foot-2 wrestler said he was still trying to get back to his full fighting weight.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Von Erich, whose real name was Michael Brett<i> [sic]</i> Adkisson, left a note tucked in the armrest of his car, which was found Wednesday evening. Cunningham said the note read: "Mom -- you have always been wonderful. I am in a better place. Dave (2). I will be watching."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Von Erich's brother David died in 1984 of acute enteritis, an intestinal inflammation, in Tokyo while on a wrestling tour.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Cunningham said a note was also found in Von Erich's apartment in Roanoke, with directions on "who he wanted to leave things to," but the judge said he did not know the exact contents of the note.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">On Wednesday evening, sheriff's deputies began a search after Von Erich's gray 1986 Mercury Marquis was found parked and locked in a small, paved parking area near Pilot Knoll Park.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">The search was resumed early Thursday morning by officers on horseback, Texas Department of Public Safety officers and Grand Prairie and Bedford officers with dogs.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Von Erich's mother, Doris Adkisson, arrived at the search area at 9:00 a.m. to wait.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Within 20 minutes, she was notified that Grand Prairie officer David Cavins and his trained German shepherd, Shay, had found her son's body. Mrs. Adkisson left to tell her family. She later returned with her other sons, Kerry, Kevin and Chris, to stand watch until the body was recovered shortly before noon.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Deputies kept the family at a distance from the news media, but Kevin Von Erich remonstrated with photographers to give his mother privacy.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"We're going to be fine," he said. "Our family has had some tough times. It's my mother we're worried about now. She's soft. She's a lady, and it's hard for her."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">He told reporters that "the story goes deeper than you realize now." He did not elaborate but walked away.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Cavins said he was following a cattle trail east of the parking area when his dog "made a strong indication toward the west." He found the body in "very rough, very thick trees and underbrush" about 15 feet off the trail and about 600 yards from where Von Erich's car had been abandoned.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">During his wrestling career, Mike Von Erich was a member of the world six-man tag team champions, the American heavyweight champion and the Mid-East champion [sic].</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Readers of Pro Wrestling Illustrated voted him Rookie of the Year in 1984 and Most Inspirational Athlete in 1985.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at First Baptist Church of Dallas, Ervay and San Jacinto streets. The Rev. W.A. Criswell and the Rev. Gary Holder will officiate.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Burial will be at Grove Hill Cemetery in East Dallas. The body may be viewed from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday at Dalton & Son Funeral Home in Lewisville, 1550 N. Stemmons Freeway.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Staff writer Curtis Rist contributed to this report. </i></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">GRIEVING FANS, CO-WORKERS PAY TRIBUTE TO WRESTLER</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">By Curtis Rist</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">From the <i>Dallas Morning News</i>, April 17, 1987</span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">As news of Mike Von Erich's death spread Thursday, some of the usually raucous pro wrestling fans turned tender.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">At the Sportatorium, the Dallas arena where the Von Erich family has wrestled over the years, fans were tearful as they bought what tickets were left for Friday's match involving his brother, Kevin Von Erich.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">By early afternoon, delivery vans had dropped off the first of what are expected to be hundreds of flower arrangements in memory of the young athlete.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Inside the white-shingled building, the World Class Championship Wrestling staff worked feverishly to answer five telephones that rang without stop. As many as 400 calls an hour were taken from grieving fans.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"We've had calls from Japan, from the Middle East and from all over the country," said Ralph Pulley Jr., who is a referee for some of the wrestling matches.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"But that doesn't bother us at all," he said during a brief break from telephone duty. "Wrestling fans are like family."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">One "family" member is Jill Sanford, a Dallas clerical worker who drove straight to the Sportatorium to buy four $10.50 ringside tickets for Friday's match when she heard about Von Erich's death.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"I don't know if Kevin will wrestle, but I just have to be there, as a tribute to Mike," said Ms. Sanford, as tears rolled from her eyes. "I'll be there all right, but I just can't talk about this."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Staff workers at the Sportatorium were visibly shaken Thursday by the death.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"I've worked with the family for 33 years and we're all just devastated by this," said one woman who answered the phone but would not give her name. "We just don't have any time to have any feelings right now."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">A woman behind the Plexiglas ticket window at the front of the building began to reminisce about Von Erich, but stopped when her sobs interrupted her.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"I'm sorry, I just can't talk anymore," she said, as she put a piece of wood up to block the window.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Friends said the adulation of fans may have created too much pressure for Von Erich, particularly after his quick rise on the pro wrestling scene and his slow recovery from toxic shock syndrome in 1986.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">At 210 pounds, Von Erich was smaller than most of the other hulks he challenged in the ring. Some wrestling observers said he relied on his athletic prowess and strategy to win matches. After his professional debut on Thanksgiving Day 1983, he wrestled for nearly a year without defeat, often competing as many as five or six nights a week.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"He wasn't someone who just beat the stuffings out of you and threw you over the ropes," said Stan Hovatter Jr., editor of All Pro Wrestling magazine based in Dallas and a former Von Erich family spokesman. "His approach to the sport was almost scientific."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">But Von Erich suffered from chronic shoulder pain, and his 1986 illness may have disrupted his momentum in the sport.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Von Erich slipped in his performances, Hovatter said, but fans demanded he fulfill his potential.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"He was under a lot of pressure to rise to that level and he just wasn't able to make it," Hovatter said. "Pro wrestlers, like all professional athletes, are people first and athletes second. I don't think anyone really understood that about Mike Von Erich."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">At the Terrell High School football stadium, where a World Class Wrestling match was held Thursday evening, one somber announcement acknowledged the tragedy.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">At 8 p.m., when the event was scheduled to begin, Terrell school board member Bill Griffin picked up the microphone and announced: "Due to the unfortunate circumstances in the Von Erich family, there are a couple of changes in tonight's matches."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Lance Von Erich, billed as a Von Erich cousin and the top draw on the Terrell wrestling card, was not there.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">At the Terrell event, fellow wrestlers, faithful fans and longtime referee Bronko Lubich all had good things to say about Mike and the Von Erich family.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"I've refereed a bunch of their matches," Lubich said. "I knew him (Mike) before he was a wrestler, when he was a young kid. Of course he was born into a wrestlling family, and they were good teachers."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"It's an unnerving kind of deal," said Steve Doll, a 24-year-old Denton wrestler. "Mike and I are about the same age so it really hits home. What's sad is that he was such a competitor and he fought the illness (toxic shock syndrome) -- and then to see this happen is such a shock."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Longtime wrestling fan and Von Erich follower Thomas Evans, a homebuilder from Terrell, said that "at least a moment of silence" should have been observed before the matches began Thursday evening.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"I think it would only be appropriate, in all due respect," he said. "That family has done a lot for wrestling. Regardless of what that kid was charged with, he's been a beautiful person and the whole family has been through agony."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Staff writer James Ragland contributed to this report. </i></span><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">WRESTLER'S FAMILY FACED OTHER TRAGEDIES</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">By David Jackson</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">From the <i>Dallas Morning News</i>, April 17, 1987</span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">It was in the 1950s that Jack Adkisson created the legend of Fritz Von Erich, a latter-day Nazi who proudly wore an Iron Cross and goose-stepped into wrestling rings across America.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">It was in the 1960s that Fritz Von Erich became a good guy and set the stage for the legend of the Von Erich family, a father and four sons who climbed to the top of the wrestling world, but suffered one personal tragedy after another.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">The latest tragedy occurred Thursday, when authorities found the body of Mike Von Erich in a wooded area near Lake Lewisville. Though an autopsy is pending, officials said all evidence points to suicide.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">The death of Mike Von Erich leaves only one Von Erich as an active wrestler.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">The family's first tragedy was in 1959, when 6-year-old Jack Jr. was accidentally electrocuted. Three years ago, David Von Erich, whom many experts rated as the best wrestler of the bunch, died of an intestinal inflammation while touring Japan. Last year, Kerry Von Erich nearly lost a foot in a motorcycle accident and has not yet returned to the ring.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Now Mike.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"For a giant of a man in so many ways to have that much tragedy in one lifetime is just unbelievable," said Gordon Solie, a veteran wrestling broadcaster based in Florida. "How much hell can one man take?"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Friends said the family's strong religious faith has seen them through previous crises and will carry them through again.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"They have great religious faith," said Bill Mercer, who has broadcast the family's wrestling exploits for years. "They are the most together group of people you'll ever find."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"Their convictions and their relationship with the Lord are a real source of strength," said family attorney Ralph Pulley.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Solie and other observers said the Von Erichs are a main reason that the popularity of professional wrestling has increased dramatically in recent years.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Although the fame of the old Fritz Von Erich was built on foreign evil, the fame of Fritz Von Erich and his sons was based on good old Americanism.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"They were the All-American boys. They were the heroes. They were the boys next door," Mercer said. "I think they were the most exciting thing to happen to wrestling in the last 10 years."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Mercer said he met Fritz Von Erich when he was an evil Nazi in the late 1950s, before the conversion that Mercer said was in deference to Von Erich's family.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"He had his family here, and the boys were growing and he felt like he needed to give them a better image," Mercer said.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">By the early 1980s, sons David, Kerry and Kevin formed the centerpiece of an organization called World Class Championship Wrestling. The trio had legions of fans that included a striking number of teen-age girls.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"They had kind of a teen-idol appeal to the young girls," said Craig Peters, associate editor of the New York-based magazine Pro Wrestling Illustrated. "To the rest of the fans, they were really good athletes."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Mike joined the team on Thanksgiving night 1983 and was named Rookie of the Year by Pro Wrestling Illustrated.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"I think he felt like he had a lot to live up to," said friend Wanda Lee Nichols. "His family meant so much to him."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Friends said Mike's problems began two years ago when he nearly died of toxic shock syndrome, an infection he suffered after undergoing a shoulder operation. Friends said Mike was not the same when he returned to the ring 11 months later. Earlier this year, he was acquitted of charges that he assaulted a doctor. Saturday, he was arrested and charged with drunken driving and drug possession.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"How badly did that illness affect him?" Mercer said. "We don't know and we never will." </span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">"IT STILL IS A SHOCK TO ME"</span></b></div>
<div style="font-size: small; text-align: center;">
<b>Sportatorium crowd remembers wrestler</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">By Michael Sawicki</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">From the <i>Dallas Times Herald</i>, April 18, 1987</span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">There's plenty of emotion during professional wrestling matches at Dallas' Sportatorium, but seldom is it of the type displayed for a few minutes there Friday night.<br /><br />The arena went silent as the bell was tolled 10 times in tribute to Mike Von Erich, a member of the celebrated wrestling family who died in a secluded Denton County park of a tranquilizer overdose.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Hundreds of fans gave a standing ovation to Von Erich's brother Kevin, who was escorted by bodyguards down an aisle and into the ring. A few fans wept.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">From the center of the mat, Kevin Von Erich took a microphone from a television announcer and told the fans he would not wrestle Friday night as scheduled.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"I have other commitments," he said. "You know me. You know my family. We hang together. In a time like this I have to be with them."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Kevin Von Erich said he and his family appreciated the fans' support and their prayers.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"Keep on doing what you're doing because it has been tough," he said.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Then he left, and the first of 10 scheduled matches started.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Sportatorium ushers said Friday's crowd of about 300 was a bit larger than usual. Tom Pulley, director of marketing for World Class Wrestling, said people wondering whether the matches would be held had been calling the arena all day.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">At the souvenir stand, Mike Von Erich T-shirts were selling for $5. Black and white photos cost $2, color photos $4.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"We decided to go ahead and sell Mike's stuff," Pulley said. "We don't want to appear to be taking advantage of people, but we don't want to deny the fans."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Before the matches, fans discussed the 23-year-old wrestler's death. The manner of death has not been determined, but officials believe Mike Von Erich committed suicide.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"I've been a fan of the Von Erichs for 10 years. They've been my idols," said Debi Perkins of Dallas. "It still is a shock to me that this has happened. Mike means so much to the young kids."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Jami Fell, 14, of Krum, said, "I'm not coming here for a while because it will hurt too much. MIke meant so much to me."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Joyce Wiley, 25, of Dallas, stood at the wrestlers' entrance among a crowd waiting to see Kevin Von Erich.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">"There will be an empty spot in the Sportatorium, I'm sure," Wiley said. "It'll be a strange feeling with Mike gone. I think I'll get goose bumps."</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">VON ERICH'S FRIENDS BLAME FAME, ILLNESS</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Broadcaster says wrestler changed after hospital stay</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">By David Jackson and Sam Blair</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">From the <i>Dallas Morning News</i>, April 18, 1987</span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Mike Von Erich was born of a legendary father and reached adulthood behind three famous brothers, but friends said it was the combination of a near fatal illness and the pressure of celebrity that got to him.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">A difficult recovery from toxic shock syndrome may well have led to what officials suspect was Mike's suicide, said the friends. The body of the 23-year-old wrestler, a victim of a drug overdose, was discovered Thursday near Lewisville Lake.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"I think there were two people," said veteran wrestling broadcaster Bill Mercer. "I think there was the Mike Von Erich before the illness and the Mike Von Erich after the illness."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Von Erich's physical problems began with a shoulder injury suffered in the ring and intensified after an operation in August 1985, when he contracted toxic shock syndrome. His temperature climbed to 107 degrees and he lost nearly 60 pounds. Doctors feared he would die.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Remarkably, he survived. But then his emotional problems began.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">He had scrapes with the law and problems with alcohol and drugs. His marriage crumbled. He had constant pain and was plagued by lapses of memory. And last Saturday, he felt the disgrace of being booked into the Denton County Jail, charged with driving while intoxicated and possession of drugs. When he was released, he was a hero who apparently felt he had failed his family, friends and fans.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"Everyone saw Mike as another great champion in the Von Erich mold," said Stan Hovatter Jr., a writer for All Pro Wrestling and a longtime associate of the family. "But after his shoulder injury and the toxic shock syndrome, he lost all his momentum."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Mercer and others described the first Mike Von Erich as a warm and kind-hearted man who was good to his fans, especially small children. They described the second one as also a good person, but one who would have trouble dealing with frustrations in and out of the ring.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"He seemed to react a little more emotionally to things than he did before," said family attorney Ralph Pulley. "His self-control wasn't what it was before."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Darlene Fidler, who lived next door to Von Erich and profiled him for the Grapevine Sun, said Mike was reluctant to discuss whether the illness affected him emotionally -- but brother Kerry told her it did.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"Kerry said he was never the same," Mrs. Fidler said. "He said he was very irritable, that he would lose his temper more often."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Friends said those frustrations may have manifested themselves in Von Erich's brushes with the law, although the incident in which he was charged with assaulting a doctor took place before he became ill. (He was later acquitted.) Since his illness, Von Erich had also paid a $900 settlement on charges that he kicked in a car door. Then came the charges on Saturday.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Attorney Jerry Loftin, who defended Von Erich on the assault charge and spoke to him three times after the Saturday arrest, said the physical demands of the illness were undoubtedly frustrating for a man whose body was his career.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"The only thing I am aware of is that the toxic shock syndrome was devastating physically," Loftin said. "The consequences of it affected him emotionally."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">The changes were not so much in his personality as in his manner, friends said. For example, Mercer said that during interviews Mike would slur words and have trouble staying on the same subject.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"You could see there was something wrong," Mercer said.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">In his earlier years, everything seemed right for Mike. He was an all-around athlete and honor student at Lake Dallas High School, where he won letters in football and basketball and was all-district in track.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"He was always a happy guy and never got down," classmate Steve Payne said. "But after the surgery, he apparently got down and never could get back up."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Like his brothers, Mike was introduced to wrestling at an early age in the backyard gym their father built for them. When he reached high school age, he launched an outstanding amateur career under the coaching of Richard Kemp. His father said Mike was the best amateur in the family and he was eager to bring his skills to the professional game.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"He loved his wrestling," Mrs. Fidler said. "He said it was his life. He loved his family, too. He was very proud to be a part of that family."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Mrs. Fidler's husband, Bob, noted that Mike's career carried a heavy physical price.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"He was always hurt coming back from those matches," Fidler said. "A lot of people didn't realize that."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Mike's early career was a marked success. Pro Wrestling Illustrated named him Rookie of the Year in 1984, and he became American heavyweight champion the next year -- before the illness. Later in 1985, the magazine's readers voted him "Most Inspirational Athlete" of the year.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Mike Von Erich's death is a crippling blow to what was evolving into a Von Erich wrestling dynasty. The patriarch was Fritz Von Erich, who, as Jack Adkisson, sought a career in professional football but turned to wrestling because of injuries. Fritz Von Erich -- who billed himself for years as a latter-day Nazi whose favorite hold was the dreaded Iron Claw -- terrorized the wrestling world for nearly a decade until becoming a good guy in the mid-1960s.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">That conversion helped set the stage for the appearance, a decade and a half later, of the fighting Von Erich sons, Kevin, David and Kerry. Mike joined them on Thanksgiving night in 1983.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Three months later, David Von Erich -- considered by many the best wrestler in the family -- died of an intestinal infection contracted while touring Japan. Last year, Kerry nearly lost a foot in a motorcycle accident. Kevin is the only Von Erich son left wrestling.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"You got a sense about these young guys," said Gordon Solie, a wrestling broadcaster based in Florida. "Who wouldn't want to have something like that? Tall, handsome, rugged, all-American type athletes. Then you begin to realize how frail all that is." </span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">VON ERICH'S CAREER STANDS AS SYMBOL</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">By Sam Blair</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">From the <i>Dallas Morning News</i>, April 18, 1987</span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Mike Von Erich's heartbreaking death illustrates the thin line that separates an American dream and an American tragedy.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Thousands of fans cheered him in the ring. He was the youngest of four sons of Fritz Von Erich, the patriarch of the professional wrestling boom, who made it big in the sport. Like brothers Kevin, David and Kerry, Mike had great public appeal. He was strong, handsome and rugged, but right.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Now, like David before him, he has died suddenly and shockingly.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Few lives, or deaths, inspire the great public display of emotion that has attended Mike Von Erich's. He was a product of the phenomenon of professional wrestling. He also was its victim.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">The Von Erichs are the classic example of how professional wrestling has captured an amazingly large audience.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">The Von Erichs long have filled a need for millions of people. There are the ones who come to the arenas, like the mourning faithful who came to the Sportatorium Friday night, and those who have watched their syndicated television shows across the United States, in the Middle East and Japan.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"It's a release for people," said Dr. Robert Weinberg, a sports psychologist at North Texas State University. "Most of us are trapped in mundane or ordinary lives. You get up at 6:30 each morning, get your kids off to school and you go to a job. You wear certain clothes and act a certain way. But when you get off, you go to watch wrestling and freak out. You feel like it's a great escape.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"The Von Erichs epitomize the All-America mentality -- the identity of what's good against what's evil. This is a fantasy world, but it can be very satisfying to a lot of people.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"It's like the Rocky movies. When you first heard the story line, you said, 'Who's going to pay to see this?' Well, there's something in American society which finds this very appealing. It's good over evil."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">The intense demands of the public and the sport leave a star unable to cope with bad times, he said.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"When you're on a pedestal and everyone looks up to you as an idol, an Adonis, and you suffer a public humiliation, it can hit you very hard," Weinberg said. "It's depressing. It's extra weight on someone who already feels the pressure of being a hero."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Mike Von Erich may have felt that weight was crushing him.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"He sent out all kinds of messages for help," said Dr. Sandra Steinbach, a psychologist at Baylor University Medical Center.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"It's deadly being a hero," she said. "Our heroes die because we won't let them seek help like everyday people do. Look at Marilyn Monroe. Look at Elvis Presley. They had terrible problems but never received the help they needed. Betty Ford did step out of it and got help (for alcoholism). Now look at all the wonderful things she has done with her life."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">For all their adulation and apparent devotion, most fans seemingly want to deal with their heroes strictly on favorable terms.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"Athletics and music are ways for people to express emotion they have difficulty expressing in everyday life," said Dr. Geoffrey Toffell, a sociologist at San Jose State University. "Millions of people are swept up in hero worship, and they enjoy it at their convenience. Actually, it's much nicer than knowing them. This way, you only take the part you want."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">The fans get the thrills. The heroes keep the problems.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Of the four wrestling brothers, only Kevin is left to carry on. Kerry has not fully recovered from a critical ankle injury suffered in a motorcycle accident last June and his professional future is clouded. But there always will be the memory of the Von Erichs' rare impact on a society hungry for heroes.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"It got to the point that David and Kevin, then Kerry and Mike, physically couldn't get to the ring for girls -- teenagers and older -- grabbing and kissing them," said Bill Mercer, the veteran broadcaster and ring announcer.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"They camped outside the Sportatorium so they could get inside as early as possible and get a seat on the aisle where the wrestlers entered the arena. They brought flowers, paintings, embroidered clothes, poems, songs. I saw girls weeping because they touched one of the Von Erichs. It became almost like a religious experience."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">That has to be exhilarating, but it also leaves a hero keenly aware of how much is expected of him. </span><br />
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World Class Memorieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18069842548953859683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972151859110438786.post-60414734189071301432015-08-02T13:22:00.000-05:002015-08-02T13:35:20.365-05:00AND NOW A WORD FROM...: Longtime D/FW Area TV Wrestling Sponsors<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nL2XrcPXPS8" width="420"></iframe><br />
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Kissinger Auto Supply:</b> This Fort Worth-area chain was a sponsor of Channel 11's <i>Saturday Night Wrestling</i> and <i>Championship Sports </i>for decades. The late commentator Dan Coates (<i>"Visit Kissinger's tonight...and early in the morning"</i>) did the primitive early commercials at ringside while standing next to a large Kissinger sign (which was eventually destroyed by Lord Robert Duncum and Brute Bernard in a wild 1973 brawl), as the camera panned to show the items on sale, lined up on a table. In the late '70s and '80s, the spots were pre-recorded and voiced by a KTVT staff announcer, ending with a countrified jingle: <i>"It's a real money saver/When you do the labor/Try Kissinger Auto Supply."</i><br />
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<b>Lynn Smith Auto Sales (now <a href="http://lynnsmithchevrolet.reachlocal.net/index.htm?bhcp=1" target="_blank">Lynn Smith Chevrolet</a>):</b> <i>"Don't you go to that little room until I finish tellin' you about Lynn Smith Auto Sales...why, they've got more cars there than you can throw a cowchip across. And ol' Lynn...he's a pussycat!"</i> The spots' immortal closing line: <i>"Now you can go to that little room!"</i><br />
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<b><a href="http://www.joedaiches.com/" target="_blank">Joe Daiches Credit Jewelers</a>:</b> This Fort Worth store was a sponsor of KTVT's wrestling telecasts for many years.<br />
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<b>Munden's Furniture:</b> This Fort Worth store's spots (sometimes voiced by owner Steve Munden) pitched its weekly specials, always concluding with the tagline, <i>"By the way, are you a Munden customer? You ought to be!"<br />
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<b><a href="http://www.pizzainn.com/" target="_blank">Pizza Inn</a>:</b> Kevin, Kerry and Mike Von Erich appeared in a famous series of spots for the pizza chain in 1985, flirting with young ladies and singing the company's jingle: <i>"For pizza out, it's Pizza Inn!"<br />
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<b>Rodney D. Young Insurance:</b> Kansas City-based company (<i>"Think Young! Rodney D. Young"</i>), now part of the <a href="https://www.rodneydyoung.com/" target="_blank">Loya Insurance Group</a>. RDY's 1980s commercials were infamous for their absurd, cornball gags; below are just a couple of the spots that aired on WCCW/USWA telecasts.<br />
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Westway Ford:</b> Westway's then-owner Joe Tigue appeared in the Irving dealership's commercials as "Joe Greed", wearing glittering suits and Elton John-sized shades bearing huge dollar signs. (Tigue later financed and sponsored the GWF during the Grey Pierson era, advertising <i>"free Sportatorium wrestling tickets at Westway!"</i>). Jim "Dingo Warrior" Hellwig appeared alongside Joe in innumerable spots for the company starting in 1987 -- in fact, so many skits were taped in advance for these commercials that new ones continued to air years later with Hellwig being referred to on screen as "Dingo," long after he had become a WWF headliner as the Ultimate Warrior!<br />
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<b>Jack Brisco:</b> The future NWA World Heavyweight champ worked undercard matches in D/FW during the summer and fall of 1967.<br />
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<b>Sabu Singh:</b> Having wrestlers play stereotypical characters from an ethnic group other than their own has been common practice in pro wrestling through the years. Such was the case with Singh, who wrestled in the Dallas/Fort Worth area in the summer and fall of 1971. Supposedly hailing from Bombay, Singh was actually played by Jose Gonzales, a native of Puerto Rico who would later become internationally famous as the masked Invader I -- and internationally infamous as the alleged murderer of Bruiser Brody.<br />
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<b>Ric Flair:</b> The young Nature Boy first appeared very briefly in Dallas, losing a midcard bout to Dale Lewis in a one-shot appearance at the Sportatorium in October of 1973. When he was next seen in North Texas almost exactly eight years later, Slick Ric was defending the NWA World Heavyweight title.<br />
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<b>Roddy Piper:</b> "Hot Rod", who was billed as "Ronnie" Piper during his early 1975 stint as an undercard worker in D/FW, told (in his book <i>In the Pit with Piper</i>) of how he dated the Dallas Fire Marshal's daughter so that the promotion would be permitted to squeeze more fans into the Sportatorium than the law allowed! He would soon leave for Mike LeBell's WWA in Los Angeles, where he first became a headliner.<br />
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<b>Paul Perschmann:</b> Used as enhancement talent in Big Time Wrestling during the early stages of his career, Perschmann is remembered by Texas wrestling fans as the debut opponent for Kevin Von Erich in August 1976, and as one of David Von Erich's earliest opponents in June 1977. He would eventually go on to international stardom as Playboy Buddy Rose.<br />
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<b>Sugar Bear Harris:</b> Mississippi-born James Harris, who made a handful of appearances in Big Time Wrestling during 1979-80, went to Memphis a short time later, where he was given an altogether different gimmick by Jerry "The King" Lawler. It was a role Harris would continue to play for the remainder of his career, including his appearances in World Class: the "Ugandan Giant", Kamala.<br />
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<b>Tully Blanchard:</b> First appearing in the D/FW area as a referee in 1975, the future Horseman began wrestling in prelim bouts the following year. Interestingly, on a few occasions in 1976-78, Tully wrestled Gino Hernandez, with whom he would later form the original Dynamic Duo in Southwest Championship Wrestling.<br />
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<b>Jake Roberts: </b>Long before his brief WCCW stint in 1984 and subsequent rise to WWF fame, Jake made a few prelim appearances in Big Time Wrestling early in 1978, putting over Tully Blanchard, Killer Karl Krupp and other stars of the period.<br />
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<b>Dale Valentine:</b> Dale Hey, working babyface in 1978 as the "brother" of the legendary Johnny Valentine (who appeared in Dale's corner while confined to a wheelchair as a result of the 1975 plane crash that ended his career), returned four years later as a member of WCCW's premier heel team: Fabulous Freebird Buddy Roberts.<br />
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<b>Iceman King Parsons: </b>Quick, now: when did Iceman first appear in Dallas/Fort Worth? 1983, right? Wrong. Try 1980. Ice teamed with Rick Oliver and Skip "Sweet Brown Sugar" Young on separate cards in Dallas and Fort Worth during late March of that year, losing on both evenings to J.J. Dillon's team of Mr. Hito and Mr. Sakurada.<br />
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<b>(B.) Brian Blair: </b>After stints in Florida, Kansas City and Oklahoma, Blair arrived in D/FW in October 1980 and later became co-holder of the American Tag Team titles along with Al Madril. He is, of course, best remembered as a competitor in the World Wrestling Federation, where he teamed with Jim Brunzell as the Killer Bees.<br />
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<b>Shawn Michaels: </b>The future (Midnight) Rocker and holder of multiple WWE belts appeared at a single WCCW TV taping in 1985 during his rookie year, losing quick squash matches to Billy Jack Haynes and One Man Gang.<br />
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<b>Texas Red/The Punisher/The Master of Pain:</b> Mark Calaway made his pro wrestling debut in June 1987 as the masked Texas Red, then went on to play two more hooded heel characters in World Class during 1988-89. Though his stay in Texas wasn't particularly memorable (despite a brief Texas Heavyweight title reign as The Punisher), Calaway would soon resurface in WWE as one of its most popular stars ever: The Undertaker.<br />
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<b>Cactus Jack Manson:</b> We don't really have to tell you about Mick Foley, do we? He wasn't yet a hardcore icon at this stage of his career, but Cactus nonetheless made a strong impression on Sportatorium crowds during 1988-89 as a member of Devastation Inc. before going on to worldwide stardom in WCW, ECW, and WWE.<br />
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<b>Steve Austin:</b> Another star whose story is so well-known that there's almost no need to mention him here, "Stunning" Steve -- the most talented student to graduate from Chris Adams' wrestling school -- worked in both WCCW/USWA and Gary Hart's Mesquite-based Texas Championship Wrestling prior to his runs in WCW, ECW and finally WWE, where his "Stone Cold" persona made him the most wildly popular wrestler of the Attitude Era. Gimme a "hell yeah!"World Class Memorieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18069842548953859683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972151859110438786.post-46271887861573542442015-08-02T11:22:00.000-05:002015-08-02T11:26:35.035-05:00MEMORABILIA: Saga of the Von Erich Warriors<span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: -webkit-center;">The complete sci-fi comic (originally published in March 1989) in which Fritz, Kevin and Kerry are "beamed up" to an alien planet to rescue its kidnapped emperor. Thanks to </span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://rascomix.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Whooooooo! Wrestling Comics, Baby!</a> (formerly<span style="text-align: -webkit-center;"> </span>The Encyclopaedia of Wrestling Comics</span><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: -webkit-center;">), where these scans first appeared.<br /></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: -webkit-center;"><br /></span>World Class Memorieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18069842548953859683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972151859110438786.post-47828673808315436862015-06-01T19:35:00.000-05:002015-10-24T14:18:47.528-05:00RIP: The Fantastics' Tommy RogersWCM sadly reports the passing of another major star of World Class Championship Wrestling: <b>Thomas Couch</b>, better known as <b>Tommy Rogers</b> of the Fantastics, who was found unresponsive in his Honolulu apartment early this morning by his roommate. Although EMTs were called to the scene, they were unable to revive Rogers.<br />
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Rogers, who was 54, had reportedly been involved in some altercations in recent years, which resulted in legal issues. Although this has not been confirmed, <i>Wrestling Observer</i> editor Dave Meltzer's <a href="http://www.f4wonline.com/more/more-top-stories/118-daily-updates/42831-qfantasticq-tommy-rogers-passes-away" target="_blank">report</a> strongly suggests that Rogers may in fact have taken his own life, stating that Tommy "was scheduled for a court date tomorrow over a fight with police officers and feared a long prison stay".<br />
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Rogers' former partner Bobby Fulton posted on Facebook today: <i>"I was wanting to wait until all of the family has been notified. My wrestling tag team partner Tommy Rogers passed away this morning in Hawaii. I am totally devastated by this loss. Words can't even describe it. Tommy blessed me with an opportunity to be a part of one of the great tag teams of professional wrestling. He was one of the best athletes in the profession. My prayers are for Sheila and the rest of the Couch family. Not only was he a partner he was like a brother we travelled many miles and many different places. I know in fact with his belief in Jesus which he shared with me many times recently and I know he has heaven as his home, because the Bible teaches us to be absent of the body is to be present with The Lord."</i><br />
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Kevin Von Erich, who moved with his family to Hawaii shortly after Rogers did, tweeted this afternoon: <i>"God Bless Tommy Rogers, passed away a few hours ago. Rest in peace my friend."</i> The two had reportedly visited each other a number of times since relocating to the islands; WCCW fans will also recall that it was Rogers who administered CPR after Kevin passed out in the ring during a May 1987 eight-man tag bout in Fort Worth.<br />
<br />
Our sincerest condolences go out to all of the family, friends and colleagues of Tommy Rogers. May he rest in peace.World Class Memorieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18069842548953859683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972151859110438786.post-84778536561008881282014-09-22T19:34:00.001-05:002015-10-24T14:19:08.160-05:00RIP: Michael MoodyWe want to express our sincere condolences to the family and friends of WCM contributor <b>Michael Moody</b>, who passed away in his sleep Sunday morning.<br />
<br />
Many of you probably saw Michael and brother Daniel at the most recent WWE Hall of Fame inductions on WrestleMania weekend, accepting on behalf of their late father <b>William Moody</b> (Percy Pringle/Paul Bearer). We added Michael to our "roster" a few months back after he reached out to us, offering to share memorabilia from Percy's collection; we couldn't have imagined we'd soon be saying a final goodbye to Michael as well.<br />
<br />
As if this loss wasn't devastating enough, Michael's wife Beth also lost her father to cancer the very same day. Again, we wish Beth, and all who knew and loved Michael, best wishes for strength and comfort at this tragic time.World Class Memorieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18069842548953859683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972151859110438786.post-58610351750236285902014-09-15T19:24:00.003-05:002015-10-24T14:19:31.914-05:00RIP: Jim "Clawmaster" ZordaniWCM sadly reports the untimely passing of pro wrestling historian <a href="https://www.facebook.com/james.zordani" target="_blank"><b>Jim Zordani</b></a>, who died in his sleep from natural causes over the weekend. <br />
<br />
It's no exaggeration to say Jim (who posted on various message boards as "Clawmaster") was one of the major reasons the Internet Wrestling Community knows as much as it does about the sport's history. At least 95 per cent of the data in our Results section, in fact, was provided by (or copied and pasted from) two men: author/researcher <a href="http://www.legacyofwrestling.com/" target="_blank">Tim Hornbaker</a>, and Jim. These gentlemen are the real deal, poring through rolls of microfilm
in public libraries to preserve as much info on wrestling's past as
possible. <br />
<br />
JIm Zordani was 50 years old. We send sincere condolences to all who knew and loved him...and a huge <b>THANK YOU</b> to the Clawmaster himself.World Class Memorieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18069842548953859683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972151859110438786.post-42342988136366618072014-07-29T14:42:00.000-05:002015-08-02T11:27:55.516-05:00MEMORABILIA: PRO WRESTLING ILLUSTRATED'S World Class Rankings<div align="center" style="background-color: #000033; color: white;">
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">PWI'S WCCW RANKINGS:<br />1983-90</span></b></center>
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<tr><td width="100%"><span style="font-size: x-small;">In September 1983, <i>Pro Wrestling Illustrated</i> -- then a 100% kayfabe magazine edited by Bill Apter -- began publishing monthly top ten rankings lists for the territories then in existence, including World Class and its eventual successor, USWA Dallas. Ratings for the D/FW area were discontinued late in 1990, shortly after Jerry Jarrett pulled the USWA out of the Metroplex.<br /><br />Although rankings for a worked sport were (and are) obviously meaningless and clearly more than a little arbitrary, these listings do provide a fun and nostalgic look at the impressive array of talent performing in Texas rings during WCCW's heyday. So, with special thanks to <b>Clint M.</b>and <b>Da Wrestling Site's <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20111117085658/http://www.dawrestlingsite.com/wrestling/wwe_24-7_reviews/world_class/">"Erick Von Erich"</a></b> for providing this info, we present a (nearly) complete month-by-month listing of the magazine's ratings for WCCW and USWA Dallas.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td valign="top" width="17%"><b><span style="font-size: large;">1983</span></b></td><td width="83%"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>SEPTEMBER: </b> (1) David Von Erich (2) Jimmy Garvin (3) Kerry Von Erich (4) Terry Gordy (5) Kevin Von Erich (6) Michael Hayes (7) The Great Yatsu (8) Iceman Parsons (9) Buddy Roberts (10) Jose Lothario</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">OCTOBER: </span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> (1) Kevin Von Erich (2) Jimmy Garvin (3) Kerry Von Erich (4) David Von Erich (5) Michael Hayes (6) Kamala (7) The Great Yatsu (8) Iceman Parsons (9) Terry Gordy (10) Buddy Roberts</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>NOVEMBER: </b> (1) Kevin Von Erich (2) Jimmy Garvin (3) Kerry Von Erich (4) David Von Erich (5) Michael Hayes (6) Kamala (7) Mil Mascaras (8) Iceman Parsons (9) Buddy Roberts (10) Terry Gordy</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>DECEMBER: </b> (1) Jimmy Garvin (2) Kevin Von Erich (3) David Von Erich (4) Kerry Von Erich (5) Michael Hayes (6) Kamala (7) Mil Mascaras (8) Iceman Parsons (9) Buddy Roberts (10) Terry Gordy<br /><br /> </span></div>
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<tr><td valign="top" width="17%"><b><span style="font-size: large;">1984</span></b></td><td width="83%"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>JANUARY:</b> (1) Jimmy Garvin (2) David Von Erich (3) Kevin Von Erich (4) Michael Hayes (5) Kerry Von Erich (6) Mil Mascaras (7) Kamala (8) Iceman Parsons (9) Buddy Roberts (10) Terry Gordy</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>FEBRUARY: </b> (1) Jimmy Garvin (2) David Von Erich (3) Kevin Von Erich (4) Michael Hayes (5) Kerry Von Erich (6) Kamala (7) Iceman Parsons (8) Buddy Roberts (9) Terry Gordy (10) Chris Adams</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>MARCH:</b> (1) Jimmy Garvin (2) David Von Erich (3) Kevin Von Erich (4) Michael Hayes (5) Kerry Von Erich (6) Iceman Parsons (7) Kamala (8) Chris Adams (9) Terry Gordy (10) Super Destroyer</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>APRIL:</b> (1) Chris Adams (2) David Von Erich (3) Kevin Von Erich (4) Jimmy Garvin (5) Kerry Von Erich (6) Iceman Parsons (7) Kamala (8) Super Destroyer I (9) Terry Gordy (10) Super Destroyer II</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>MAY: </b> (1) Chris Adams (2) David Von Erich (3) Kevin Von Erich (4) Jimmy Garvin (5) Kerry Von Erich (6) Iceman Parsons (7) Kamala (8) Super Destroyer I (9) Brian Adias (10) Super Destroyer II</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>JUNE (for period ended February 7, 1984):</b> (1) Chris Adams (2) David Von Erich (3) Kevin Von Erich (4) Jimmy Garvin (5) Kerry Von Erich (6) Iceman Parsons (7) Super Destroyer I (8) Kamala (9) Super Destroyer II (10) Mike Von Erich</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>JULY (for period ended March 9, 1984): </b> (1) Chris Adams (2) Jimmy Garvin (3) Kerry Von Erich (4) Kevin Von Erich (5) Iceman Parsons (6) Mike Von Erich (7) Hacksaw Butch Reed (8) Johnny Mantell (9) Kamala (10) Chick Donovan</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">AUGUST: Rankings Not Available</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>SEPTEMBER (for period ended May 3, 1984): </b> (1) Chris Adams (2) Jimmy Garvin (3) Kerry Von Erich (4) Kevin Von Erich (5) Iceman Parsons (6) Mike Von Erich (7) Missing Link (8) Hacksaw Butch Reed (9) Kamala (10) Johnny Mantell</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>OCTOBER (for period ended June 7, 1984): </b> (1) Gino Hernandez (2) Jimmy Garvin (3) Kerry Von Erich (4) Chris Adams (5) Terry Gordy (6) Kevin Von Erich (7) The Missing Link (8) Michael Hayes (9) Killer Khan (10) Hacksaw Butch Reed</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>NOVEMBER (for period ended July 5, 1984): </b> (1) Gino Hernandez (2) Jimmy Garvin (3) Kerry Von Erich (4) Chris Adams (5) Kevin Von Erich (6) Terry Gordy (7) The Missing Link (8) Mike Von Erich (9) Killer Khan (10) Hacksaw Butch Reed</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>DECEMBER (for period ended August 8, 1984):</b> (1) Mike Von Erich (2) Kerry Von Erich (3) Gino Hernandez (4) Kevin Von Erich (5) Killer Khan (6) Chris Adams (7) The Missing Link (8) Kelly Kiniski (9) Hacksaw Butch Reed (10) Jake Roberts </span></div>
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<tr><td valign="top" width="17%"><b><span style="font-size: large;">1985</span></b></td><td width="83%"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">JANUARY (for period ended September 6, 1984):</span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> (1) Gino Hernandez (2) Kerry Von Erich (3) Kevin Von Erich (4) Mike Von Erich (5) Killer Khan (6) Chris Adams (7) Jake Roberts (8) The Missing Link (9) Hacksaw Butch Reed (10) Kelly Kiniski</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">FEBRUARY (for period ended October 3, 1984):</span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> (1) Gino Hernandez (2) Kerry Von Erich (3) Kevin Von Erich (4) Mike Von Erich (5) Chris Adams (6) Killer Khan (7) Jake Roberts (8) Iceman Parsons (9) The Missing Link (10) Kelly Kiniski </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">MARCH (for period ended November 6, 1984): </span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> (1) Kerry Von Erich (2) Gino Hernandez (3) Chris Adams (4) Kevin Von Erich (5) Mike Von Erich (6) Killer Khan (7) The Missing Link (8) Jake Roberts (9) Iceman Parsons (10) Sweet Brown Sugar </span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">APRIL (for period ended December 6, 1984): </span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> (1) Kerry Von Erich (2) Gino Hernandez (3) Chris Adams (4) Kevin Von Erich (5) Mike Von Erich (6) Jake Roberts (7) Terry Gordy (8) Iceman Parsons (9) Killer Khan (10) The Missing Link </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">MAY (for period ended January 4, 1985):</span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> (1) Kerry Von Erich (2) Gino Hernandez (3) Chris Adams (4) Kevin Von Erich (5) Terry Gordy (6) Mike Von Erich (7) Billy Haynes (8) Rip Oliver (9) Iceman Parsons (10) Exotic Adrian Street </span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">JUNE (for period ended February 6, 1985): </span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> (1) Kerry Von Erich (2) Gino Hernandez (3) Chris Adams (4) Kevin Von Erich (5) Terry Gordy (6) One Man Gang (7) Mike Von Erich (8) Iceman Parsons (9) Kelly Kiniski (10) Rip Oliver </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">JULY (for period ended March 7, 1985):</span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> (1) Chris Adams (2) Gino Hernandez (3) Kerry Von Erich (4) One Man Gang (5) Kevin Von Erich (6) Mike Von Erich (7) Rip Oliver (8) Iceman Parsons (9) Kelly Kiniski (10) Johnny Mantell </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">AUGUST (for period ended April 4, 1985): </span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> (1) Chris Adams (2) Gino Hernandez (3) Kerry Von Erich (4) One Man Gang (5) Kevin Von Erich (6) Hercules Hernandez (7) Brian Adias (8) Mike Von Erich (9) Rip Oliver (10) Kelly Kiniski</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">SEPTEMBER (for period ended May 8, 1985): </span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> (1) Chris Adams (2) Gino Hernandez (3) Kevin Von Erich (4) Kerry Von Erich (5) One Man Gang (6) The Great Kabuki (7) Brian Adias (8) Mike Von Erich (9) Hercules Hernandez (10) Rip Oliver </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">OCTOBER (for period ended June 7, 1985):</span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> (1) Chris Adams (2) Gino Hernandez (3) Kerry Von Erich (4) Kevin Von Erich (5) One Man Gang (6) The Great Kabuki (7) Mike Von Erich (8) Brian Adias (9) Rip Oliver (10) Scott Casey </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">NOVEMBER (for period ended July 2, 1985): </span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> (1) Chris Adams (2) Gino Hernandez (3) Kerry Von Erich (4) Kevin Von Erich (5) One Man Gang (6) Killer Brooks (7) The Great Kabuki (8) Scott Casey (9) Mike Von Erich (10) Brian Adias </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">DECEMBER (for period ended August 6, 1985): </span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> (1) Iceman Parsons (2) Brian Adias (3) Kevin Von Erich (4) Chris Adams (5) Kerry Von Erich (6) Gino Hernandez (7) Killer Brooks (8) One Man Gang (9) The Great Kabuki (10) Mike Von Erich </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</td></tr>
<tr><td valign="top" width="17%"><b><span style="font-size: large;">1986</span></b></td><td width="83%"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">JANUARY (for period ended September 4, 1985):</span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> (1) Iceman Parsons (2) Gino Hernandez (3) Bruiser Brody (4) Kevin Von Erich (5) Chris Adams (6) Kerry Von Erich (7) Brian Adias (8) One Man Gang (9) The Great Kabuki (10) Killer Brooks</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">FEBRUARY (for period ended October 2, 1985):</span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> (1) Iceman Parsons (2) Brian Adias (3) Bruiser Brody (4) Gino Hernandez (5) Kevin Von Erich (6) Chris Adams (7) Kerry Von Erich (8) One Man Gang (9) The Great Kabuki (10) Killer Brooks </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">MARCH (for period ended November 6, 1985):</span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> (1) Rick Rude (2) Brian Adias (3) Bruiser Brody (4) Gino Hernandez (5) Iceman Parsons (6) Kevin Von Erich (7) Lance Von Erich (8) Chris Adams (9) Kerry Von Erich (10) The Great Kabuki </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">APRIL (for period ended December 5, 1985):</span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> (1) Rick Rude (2) Brian Adias (3) Kerry Von Erich (4) Gino Hernandez (5) Iceman Parsons (6) Kevin Von Erich (7) Chris Adams (8) Lance Von Erich (9) Scott Casey (10) The Missing Link </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">MAY (for period ended January 9, 1986): </span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> (1) Rick Rude (2) The Grappler (3) Brian Adias (4) Kerry Von Erich (5) Gino Hernandez (6) Kevin Von Erich (7) Chris Adams (8) Lance Von Erich (9) The Missing Link (10) Iceman Parsons </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">JUNE (for period ended February 5, 1986): </span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> (1) Rick Rude (2) The Grappler (3) Kerry Von Erich (4) Kevin Von Erich (5) Bruiser Brody (6) Lance Von Erich (7) The Missing Link (8) Brian Adias (9) Iceman Parsons (10) Buddy Roberts</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">JULY (for period ended March 7, 1986): </span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> (1) Rick Rude (2) The Grappler (3) Kerry Von Erich (4) Kevin Von Erich (5) Bruiser Brody (6) Lance Von Erich (7) The Missing Link (8) Brian Adias (9) Iceman Parsons (10) Steve Regal </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">AUGUST (for period ended April 2, 1986): </span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> (1) Rick Rude (2) Brian Adias (3) Kerry Von Erich (4) Bruiser Brody (5) Kevin Von Erich (6) Lance Von Erich (7) The Missing Link (8) Iceman Parsons (9) Brickhouse Brown (10) Kamala </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">SEPTEMBER (for period ended May 9, 1986):</span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> (1) Rick Rude (2) Brian Adias (3) Kerry Von Erich (4) Kevin Von Erich (5) Bruiser Brody (6) Lance Von Erich (7) Chris Adams (8) The Great Kabuki (9) The Missing Link (10) Iceman Parsons </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">OCTOBER (for period ended June 4, 1986):</span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> (1) Rick Rude (2) Brian Adias (3) Bruiser Brody (4) Kerry Von Erich (5) Steve Simpson (6) Kevin Von Erich (7) Chris Adams (8) Lance Von Erich (9) Blackjack Mulligan (10) Abdullah the Butcher </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">NOVEMBER (for period ended July 24, 1986): </span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> (1) Rick Rude (2) Brian Adias (3) Steve Simpson (4) Kevin Von Erich (5) Chris Adams (6) Lance Von Erich (7) Bruiser Brody (8) Abdullah the Butcher (9) Blackjack Mulligan (10) Killer Brooks</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">DECEMBER (for period ended August 6, 1986): </span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> (1) Chris Adams (2) Buzz Sawyer (3) Rick Rude (4) Lance Von Erich (5) Brian Adias (6) Kevin Von Erich (7) Abdullah the Butcher (8) Bruiser Brody (9) Steve Simpson (10) Killer Brooks</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr><td valign="top" width="17%"><b><span style="font-size: large;">1987</span></b></td><td width="83%"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">JANUARY (for period ended September 4, 1986): </span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> (1) Chris Adams (2) Buzz Sawyer (3) Lance Von Erich (4) Kevin Von Erich (5) Steve Simpson (6) Rick Rude (7) Abdullah the Butcher (8) Brian Adias (9) Killer Brooks (10) Bruiser Brody </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">FEBRUARY (for period ended October 8, 1986): </span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> (1) Black Bart (2) Buzz Sawyer (3) Kevin Von Erich (4) Lance Von Erich (5) Steve Simpson (6) Bruiser Brody (7) Abdullah the Butcher (8) Dingo Warrior (9) Crusher Yurkov (10) Brian Adias </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">MARCH (for period ended November 7, 1986): </span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> (1) Kevin Von Erich (2) Buzz Sawyer (3) Lance Von Erich (4) Crusher Yurkov (5) Bruiser Brody (6) Abdullah the Butcher (7) Dingo Warrior (8) Steve Simpson (9) Mike Von Erich (10) Brian Adias </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">APRIL (for period ended December 4, 1986):</span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> (1) Kevin Von Erich (2) Tony Atlas (3) Lance Von Erich (4) Brian Adias (5) Crusher Yurkov (6) Dingo Warrior (7) Black Bart (8) Mike Von Erich (9) Steve Simpson (10) Abdullah the Butcher</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">MAY (for period ended January 8, 1987): </span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> (1) Kevin Von Erich (2) Tony Atlas (3) Lance Von Erich (4) Black Bart (5) Brian Adias (6) Mike Von Erich (7) Dingo Warrior (8) Steve Simpson (9) Abdullah the Butcher (10) Master Gee </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">JUNE (for period ended February 5, 1987): World Class Champion: Kevin Von Erich </span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> (1) Dingo Warrior (2) Lance Von Erich (3) Tony Atlas (4) Bob Bradley (5) Brian Adias (6) Black Bart (7) Mike Von Erich (8) Steve Simpson (9) Abdullah the Butcher (10) Al Madril </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">JULY (for period ended March 5, 1987): World Class Champion: Kevin Von Erich</span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> (1) Dingo Warrior (2) Lance Von Erich (3) Tony Atlas (4) Brian Adias (5) Black Bart (6) Mike Von Erich (7) Red River Jack (8) Steve Simpson (9) Abdullah the Butcher (10) Bob Bradley </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">AUGUST (for period ended April 2, 1987): World Class Champion: Kevin Von Erich </span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> (1) Dingo Warrior (2) Nord the Barbarian (3) Brian Adias (4) Jeep Swenson (5) Red River Jack (6) Tony Atlas (7) Lance Von Erich (8) Mike Von Erich (9) Steve Simpson (10) Eli the Eliminator</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">SEPTEMBER (for period ended May 7, 1987): World Class Champion: Kevin Von Erich</span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> (1) Nord the Barbarian (2) Brian Adias (3) Jeep Swenson (4) Red River Jack (5) Steve Simpson (6) Eric Embry (7) Al Madril (8) Lance Von Erich (9) Black Bart (10) Eli the Eliminator </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">OCTOBER (for period ended June 3, 1987): World Class Champion: Kevin Von Erich </span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> (1) Brian Adias (2) Tony Atlas (3) Al Perez (4) Nord the Barbarian (5) Bruiser Brody (6) Al Madril (7) Ted Arcidi (8) Lance Von Erich (9) Steve Simpson (10) Matt Borne<br /><b><br />NOVEMBER (for period ended July 8, 1987): World Class Champion: Kevin Von Erich </b> (1) Al Perez (2) Brian Adias (3) Tony Atlas (4) Bruiser Brody (5) Al Madril (6) Ted Arcidi (7) Steve Simpson (8) Matt Borne (9) The Spoiler (10) Eric Embry </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">DECEMBER (for period ended August 6, 1987): World Class Champion: Kevin Von Erich </span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> (1) Al Perez (2) Brian Adias (3) Tony Atlas (4) Al Madril (5) Ted Arcidi (6) Steve Simpson (7) Bruiser Brody (8) Matt Borne (9) The Spoiler (10) Eric Embry </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr><td valign="top" width="17%"><b><span style="font-size: large;">1988</span></b></td><td width="83%"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">JANUARY (for period ended September 3, 1987): World Class Champion: Al Perez </span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> (1) Kevin Von Erich (2) Ted Arcidi (3) Brian Adias (4) Tony Atlas (5) Matt Borne (6) Steve Simpson (7) Eric Embry (8) Bruiser Brody (9) The Spoiler (10) Shaun Simpson </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">FEBRUARY (for period ended October 8, 1987): World Class Champion: Al Perez </span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> (1) Kevin Von Erich (2) Ted Arcidi (3) Brian Adias (4) Tony Atlas (5) Eric Embry (6) Matt Borne (7) The Iron Sheik (8) Shaun Simpson (9) Al Madril (10) Skip Young </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">MARCH (for period ended November 4, 1987): World Class Champion: Al Perez </span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> (1) Kevin Von Erich (2) Ted Arcidi (3) Brian Adias (4) Tony Atlas (5) Eric Embry (6) Matt Borne (7) The Iron Sheik (8) Shaun Simpson (9) Al Madril (10) Vic Steamboat </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">APRIL (for period ended December 4, 1987): World Class Champion: Al Perez </span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> (1) Kevin Von Erich (2) Matt Borne (3) Chris Adams (4) Kerry Von Erich (5) Shaun Simpson (6) Brian Adias (7) Tony Atlas (8) Eric Embry (9) The Iron Sheik (10) Mil Mascaras </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">MAY (for period ended January 7, 1988): World Class Champion: Al Perez </span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> (1) Kerry Von Erich (2) Matt Borne (3) Kevin Von Erich (4) Chris Adams (5) Eric Embry (6) Shaun Simpson (7) Brian Adias (8) Terry Gordy (9) Tony Atlas (10) The Iron Sheik </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">JUNE (for period ended February 8, 1988): World Class Champion: Al Perez</span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> (1) Chris Adams (2) Terry Gordy (3) Kerry Von Erich (4) Kevin Von Erich (5) Matt Borne (6) Eric Embry (7) Shaun Simpson (8) Brian Adias (9) Tony Atlas (10) Steve Simpson </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">JULY (for period ended March 4, 1988): World Class Champion: Al Perez </span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> (1) Michael Hayes (2) Kerry Von Erich (3) Chris Adams (4) Terry Gordy (5) Kevin Von Erich (6) Terry Taylor (7) Matt Borne (8) Eric Embry (9) Steve Simpson (10) Iceman Parsons </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">AUGUST (for period ended April 7, 1988): World Class Champion: Iceman Parsons </span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> (1) Kevin Von Erich (2) Terry Taylor (3) Kerry Von Erich (4) Michael Hayes (5) Terry Gordy (6) Chris Adams (7) Eric Embry (8) Black Bart (9) Buddy Roberts (10) Bill Irwin </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">SEPTEMBER (for period ended May 6, 1988): World Class Champion: Iceman Parsons</span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> (1) Terry Taylor (2) Chris Adams (3) Kerry Von Erich (4) Michael Hayes (5) Kevin Von Erich (6) Terry Gordy (7) Eric Embry (8) Black Bart (9) Buddy Roberts (10) Bill Irwin </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">OCTOBER (for period ended June 8, 1988): World Class Champion: Kerry Von Erich</span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> (1) Terry Taylor (2) Iceman Parsons (3) The Great Samu (4) Michael Hayes (5) Kevin Von Erich (6) Eric Embry (7) Terry Gordy (8) Kamala (9) Buddy Roberts (10) The Missing Link </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">NOVEMBER (for period ended July 8, 1988): World Class Champion: Kerry Von Erich</span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> (1) Kevin Von Erich (2) Iceman Parsons (3) The Great Samu (4) Eric Embry (5) Kamala (6) Buddy Roberts (7) Michael Hayes (8) Steve Casey (9) The Missing Link (10) Bill Irwin </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">DECEMBER (for period ended August 5, 1988): World Class Champion: Kerry Von Erich </span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> (1) Kevin Von Erich (2) Kamala (3) Iceman Parsons (4) Eric Embry (5) Steve Casey (6) Buddy Roberts (7) Michael Hayes (8) Terry Gordy (9) Black Bart (10) Bill Irwin</span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr><td valign="top" width="17%"><b><span style="font-size: large;">1989</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></td><td width="83%"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">JANUARY (for period ended September 8, 1988):</span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> <b>World Class Champion: Kerry Von Erich</b> (1) Iceman Parsons (2) Jerry Lawler (3) Kevin Von Erich (4) Kamala (5) Eric Embry (6) Steven Casey (7) Buddy Roberts (8) Michael Hayes (9) Terry Gordy (10) The Beast </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">FEBRUARY (for period ended October 7, 1988): </span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> <b>World Class Champion: Kerry Von Erich</b> (1) Iceman Parsons (2) Jerry Lawler (3) Kamala (4) Eric Embry (5) Buddy Roberts (6) Michael Hayes (7) Terry Gordy (8) Steven Casey (9) Kendall Windham (10) Steve Cox </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">MARCH (for period ended November 4, 1988): </span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> <b>World Class Champion: Jerry Lawler</b> (1) Iceman Parsons (2) Kerry Von Erich (3) Jeff Jarrett (4) Super Black Ninja (5) Eric Embry (6) Terry Gordy (7) Kevin Von Erich (8) Kendall Windham (9) Steve Cox (10) The Beast</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">APRIL (for period ended December 16, 1988):</span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> <b>World Class Champion: Jerry Lawler</b> (1) Iceman Parsons (2) Kerry Von Erich (3) Eric Embry (4) Jeff Jarrett (5) Super Black Ninja (6) Kevin Von Erich (7) Brickhouse Brown (8) Steve Cox (9) Michael Hayes (10) Kamala </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">MAY (for period ended January 13, 1989): </span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> <b>World Class Champion: Jerry Lawler</b> (1) Iceman Parsons (2) Kerry Von Erich (3) Dutch Mantel (4) Cactus Jack (5) Eric Embry (6) Jeff Jarrett (7) Kevin Von Erich (8) Super Black Ninja (9) Brickhouse Brown (10) Jimmy Jack Funk</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">JUNE (for period ended February 17, 1989):</span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> <b>World Class Champion: Jerry Lawler </b> (1) Brickhouse Brown (2) Kerry Von Erich (3) Eric Embry (4) Jeff Jarrett (5) Cactus Jack (6) Kevin Von Erich (7) Jimmy Jack Funk (8) Super Black Ninja (9) Gary Young (10) Dutch Mantel </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">JULY (for period ended March 15, 1989):</span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> <b>World Class Champion: Jerry Lawler </b> (1) Gary Young (2) Kerry Von Erich (3) Brickhouse Brown (4) Jeff Jarrett (5) Kevin Von Erich (6) Cactus Jack (7) Jimmy Jack Funk (8) The Beast (9) Chris Adams (10) Robert Fuller </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">AUGUST (for period ended April 14, 1989):</span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> <b>World Class Champion: Jerry Lawler </b> (1) Eric Embry (2) Kerry Von Erich (3) Gary Young (4) Brickhouse Brown (5) Jeff Jarrett (6) Jimmy Jack Funk (7) Cactus Jack (8) Iceman Parsons (9) Matt Borne (10) Botswana Beast </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">SEPTEMBER (for period ended May 12, 1989):</span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> <b>World Class Champion: Jerry Lawler </b> (1) Eric Embry (2) Matt Borne (3) Kerry Von Erich (4) Brickhouse Brown (5) Jeff Jarrett (6) Jimmy Jack Funk (7) The Zodiac (8) Iceman Parsons (9) Chris Adams (10) Mil Mascaras</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">OCTOBER (for period ended June 12, 1989): </span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> <b>World Class Champion: Jerry Lawler</b> (1) Eric Embry (2) Al Perez (3) Kerry Von Erich (4) Matt Borne (5) Jeff Jarrett (6) Brickhouse Brown (7) Cactus Jack (8) Jimmy Jack Funk (9) Iceman Parsons (10) Chris Adams </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">NOVEMBER (for period ended July 14, 1989): </span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> <b>World Class Champion: Jerry Lawler</b> (1) P.Y. Chu-Hi (2) Eric Embry (3) Mil Mascaras (4) Chris Adams (5) Kerry Von Erich (6) Al Perez (7) Jeff Jarrett (8) Corporal Braddock (9) Jimmy Jack Funk (10) Kevin Von Erich </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">DECEMBER (for period ended August 9, 1989):</span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> <b>USWA Champion: Jerry Lawler </b> (1) P.Y. Chu-Hi (2) Eric Embry (3) Mil Mascaras (4) Kerry Von Erich (5) Al Perez (6) Chris Adams (7) Jeff Jarrett (8) Sheik Braddock (9) Jimmy Jack Funk (10) Matt Borne</span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr><td valign="top" width="17%"><b><span style="font-size: large;">1990</span></b></td><td width="83%"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">JANUARY (for period ended September 15, 1989): USWA Champion: Jerry Lawler </span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> (1) Eric Embry (2) Kerry Von Erich (3) P.Y. Chu-Hi (4) Taras Bulba (5) Chris Adams (6) Al Perez (7) Jimmy Jack Funk (8) Jeff Jarrett (9) Sheik Braddock (10) Matt Borne </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">FEBRUARY (for period ended October 19, 1989): USWA Champion: Jerry Lawler </span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> (1) The Punisher (2) Kerry Von Erich (3) Taras Bulba (4) P.Y. Chu-Hi (5) Chris Adams (6) Jeff Jarrett (7) Billy Travis (8) Ron Starr (9) Jimmy Jack Funk (10) Sheik Braddock </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">MARCH (for period ended November 18, 1989): USWA Champion: Jerry Lawler</span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> (1) Kerry Von Erich (2) Terry Gordy (3) The Punisher (4) Jeff Jarrett (5) Billy Travis (6) Eric Embry (7) P.Y. Chu-Hi (8) Chris Adams (9) Taras Bulba (10) Kevin Von Erich </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">APRIL (for period ended December 15, 1989): USWA Champion: Jerry Lawler </span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> (1) Kerry Von Erich (2) Jeff Jarrett (3) Eric Embry (4) Chris Adams (5) Billy Travis (6) Dustin Rhodes (7) Kevin Von Erich (8) P.Y. Chu-Hi (9) Matt Borne (10) Gary Young</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">MAY: Rankings Not Available</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">JUNE (for period ended February 9, 1990): USWA Champion: Jerry Lawler </span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> (1) Kerry Von Erich (2) Bill Dundee (3) Junkyard Dog (4) King Cobra (5) Jeff Jarrett (6) Gary Young (7) Billy Travis (8) Dutch Mantel (9) Jimmy Valiant (10) Dustin Rhodes </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>J</b></span><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">ULY (for period ended March 9, 1990): </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">USWA</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"> Champion: VACANT </span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> (1) Kerry Von Erich (2) Bill Dundee (3) Jerry Lawler (4) Jimmy Valiant (5) Jeff Jarrett (6) Junkyard Dog (7) Billy Travis (8) King Cobra (9) Kevin Von Erich (10) Jimmy Jack Funk</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">AUGUST: USWA Champion: Jimmy Valiant </span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;">(1) Kerry Von Erich (2) Bill Dundee (3) Jerry Lawler (4) Jeff Jarrett (5) Billy Travis (6) Chris Champion (7) Jeff Gaylord (8) Mike Awesome (9) Kevin Von Erich (10) John Tatum<b> </b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">SEPTEMBER: </span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>USWA Champion: Jerry Lawler </b>(1) Kerry Von Erich (2) John Tatum (3) Jimmy Valiant (4) Bill Dundee (5) Jeff Jarrett (6) Matt Borne (7) Billy Travis (8) Mike Awesome (9) Jeff Gaylord (10) Chris Champion</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">OCTOBER (for period ended June 15, 1990): USWA Champion: Jerry Lawler </span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> (1) Kerry Von Erich (2) Bill Dundee (3) Matt Borne (4) The Snowman (5) Jeff Jarrett (6) John Tatum (7) Steve Austin (8) Billy Travis (9) Chris Adams (10) Kevin Von Erich<br /> </span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</center>
</div>
World Class Memorieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18069842548953859683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972151859110438786.post-7314440047322123022014-04-11T00:02:00.000-05:002017-08-02T15:40:11.190-05:00Passages...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-owCUd7sv9NY/U0d26_N6h9I/AAAAAAAABIk/cc4tCOOAgT0/s1600/dbwarrior.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="379" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-owCUd7sv9NY/U0d26_N6h9I/AAAAAAAABIk/cc4tCOOAgT0/s1600/dbwarrior.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
World Class Memorieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18069842548953859683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972151859110438786.post-11215335534567694032014-04-09T07:07:00.001-05:002015-10-24T14:19:50.089-05:00RIP: Ultimate Warrior<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8jmzmyJbFro/U0U4gTsvbQI/AAAAAAAABIU/_4Ze5uqnN_Q/s1600/ultimatewarrior.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="158" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8jmzmyJbFro/U0U4gTsvbQI/AAAAAAAABIU/_4Ze5uqnN_Q/s1600/ultimatewarrior.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
WCM is sad to report the stunning news that, only days after his induction into the WWE Hall of Fame and 24 hours after a triumphant appearance on RAW, Ultimate Warrior (who worked as Dingo Warrior in WCCW in the mid-1980s) passed away Tuesday evening at age 54. According to TMZ, Warrior collapsed while walking with his wife to his car outside an Arizona hotel; he was pronounced dead after being transported to a hospital.<br />
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We join the entire pro wrestling industry and fanbase in mourning the passing of Warrior, one of the sport's true legends. May he rest in peace.World Class Memorieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18069842548953859683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972151859110438786.post-51018588381068073542014-01-21T15:22:00.000-06:002015-10-24T14:20:03.995-05:00RIP: George Scott<img align="left" height="320" hspace="10" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JVfO1YlCC8A/Ut7hZMKvfRI/AAAAAAAABHg/NU_666SGX4s/s1600/gscott.jpg" width="184" />We're sad to report that former WCCW booker <b>George Scott</b> died yesterday of lung cancer at age 84.<br />
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As a wrestler, Scott is best remembered by older Texas fans as The Great Scott, the tag team partner of Tim "Mr. Wrestling" Woods in 1970-71. The pair defeated Dusty Rhodes and Dick Murdoch to win the American Tag titles on December 15, 1970, but lost the straps to Bronko Lubich and Chris Markoff only a month or so later.<br />
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Scott became the booker for Jim Crockett Promotions in 1973 after retiring due to an injury and is credited with turning the Carolinas into one of the country's hottest territories. He also booked WWE during the Hulkamania/Rock 'n' Wrestling era, joining the promotion just as it was beginning its push to go national in late 1983.<br />
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After losing his WWE job due to a dispute with Hulk Hogan, Scott booked for a number of other promotions (including WCCW), usually for only a short time. Unfortunately, Scott's stint with World Class was not successful; attendance had plummeted to the low hundreds by the time he arrived in August 1986, and he was not able to turn things around during his brief stay. He remained with WCCW only through the end of that year and was replaced as booker by Bruiser Brody.<br />
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WCM joins the entire pro wrestling industry in mourning the loss of George Scott, one of its crucial figures during the 1970s and '80s. May he rest in peace.World Class Memorieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18069842548953859683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972151859110438786.post-14618496266763123492013-10-21T14:21:00.004-05:002015-10-24T14:20:30.928-05:00RIP: Calvin Knapp<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-y3D8QJkdD7c/UmV8_r2_W5I/AAAAAAAABHI/oA0h-VVY0CA/s1600/cknapp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="313" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-y3D8QJkdD7c/UmV8_r2_W5I/AAAAAAAABHI/oA0h-VVY0CA/s320/cknapp.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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WCM was saddened to learn of the passing of former GWF wrestler "Hardbody" Calvin Knapp last night at age 43. The news was broken online this morning by Dave Meltzer's <a href="http://www.f4wonline.com/more/more-top-stories/118-daily-updates/33627-former-gwf-wrestler-calvin-knapp-passes-away" target="_blank"><i>Wrestling Observer/Figure Four Weekly</i></a>; according to James Beard (posting at <a href="http://wrestlingclassics.com/.ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=135937" target="_blank">Wrestling Classics</a>), Calvin died of a heart attack.<br />
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We join all of Calvin Knapp's family, friends and colleagues in mourning his death. May he rest in peace.World Class Memorieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18069842548953859683noreply@blogger.com1