World Class Championship Wrestling - December 15, 1984
by Erick Von Erich
This is a special "best of 1984" episode, with our host Bill Mercer. Also known as the dreaded "clip show"! Hey, in the days before the Internets, and even tape trading, it was usually a blast to look back at some of the "greatest (?) hits". I seem to recall that, even as late as 1992, wrestling companies would have "Year in Review" shows. But with so much happening...err, that has happened... in World Class Championship Wrestling, let's get down to ringside for...
Kevin Von Erich vs. "Gentleman" Chris Adams (w/Gary Hart)
Wha?! This was just last week! Yet I see two reasons for this. First, last week's show match was so wild that it's worth a revisit; some folks might have missed it, and they deserve a chance to see it. Second, Kevin and Adams have put on "instant classics" with their two official matchups (this one and their match at the Cotton Bowl on the November 10 episode). One thing I missed in last week's match, though: Gary Hart appeared to have a tube sock full of quarters, as he tried to attack Kevin.
The Fantastics vs. Kelly Kiniski & El Gran Diablo
From the November 3rd episode. Mercer mentions that this is the Fantastics' debut and compares it to how Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley and "today, Michael Jackson" appeared and took the world by storm. Yet, if it's their "debut", they might be exposing the business, as they had the American Tag Team Championship belts for the match.
Stella Mae French (w/Sunshine) vs. "Andrea the Lady Giant" Nickla Roberts (w/Gino Hernandez)
Hey, some exclusive, new, content! Mercer tells us that this is from the "Turkey Day Spectacular" on Thanksgiving Evening at Reunion Arena in Fort Worth. We saw most of the Turkey Day/Star Wars shows on these episodes, so this is kind of a missing match. It's important, because it was hyped pretty well and follows up on their confrontation on the November 17th episode. Both Gino and Sunshine are in tuxedos, although Sunshine's is more like a saucy "magician's assistant" costume; complete with a cute bowtie choker. Nickla is wearing a "Rod Stewart, Tour '84" shirt and has a bag of hair that she....wait for it... CLIPPED from Stella Mae. See?! Toldj'a this was a CLIP show! Hey-oh! The haircut actually did Stella Mae a favor, as she looks about 10 years younger. As you'd expect, the match is most puncky/kicky with outside shenanigans. Nickla does a gentle slam, and then does a battering-ram/bulldog to take Stella Mae into the turnbuckles. Gino reaches in to trip Stella Mae, and soon Mike Von Erich comes to ringside to help out. Nickla takes a swipe at Sunshine, who then sprays her in the eyes. Nickla stumbles back and gets rolled up and pinned by Stella Mae. Crowd was super into this.Mercer plugs next week's main event: Terry Gordy vs. The Missing Link. We see a slow-mo clip of how The Link interferred at the end of Gordy's recent Texas Death match against Killer Khan.
NWA World Heavyweight Championship: Ric Flair © vs. Kerry Von Erich
While our other clips have been recent stuff, this really was THE highlight of 1984 for not just World Class, but wrestling as a whole. It was voted the match of the year by Pro Wrestling Illustrated and there's not much dispute about that. They've shown clips and re-broadcast of this match, since then, so it's worth tooting their horn yet again. The full thing was shown on the May 19 episode, and it's worth a re-read. Oh yeah, the result is still the same.
Why'd You Watch This?
I thought of skipping over this show, because it's mostly clips and I'm incredibly slow with chugging out these reviews. Aside form Kerry/Flair, these probably weren't the "best" matches of WCCW in 1984. I'd add Andre/Iceman vs. Super Destroyers, Kevin vs. Adams from the Cotton Bowl and a few others I'm forgetting. However, even if it's "live" or in retrospect, sometimes it is perfectly acceptable to take a break and look back at what happened and/or to refresh us all on the status quo of pro wrestling. In that regard, this episode works. It especially worked for 1984.
Boom-da-da-da-boom, da-da-da-boom, da-da-da-boom
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