int: Arman Hussain w/ King Kong Bundy + Bugsy McGraw

int: Fritz Von Erich

 

1. Kerry Von Erich vs King Kong Bundy

 

I loved how KVE went under Bundy's leg and followed up with a dropkick. This was solid just not a nomination for me. I thought both wrestlers were good here. I would have liked to have seen more of KVE working over Bundy's leg. What he did was neat. Bundy working the big man style was well done.

 

int: Arman Hussain w/ King Kong Bundy

 

2. 8 man Body Slam match - Texas Stadium, 6-4-82

This is a body slam battle royal. This might be an extra for the utter stupid idea. We have Andre in there. Andre looked awesome here.

 

3. Kabuki vs Al Madril

This is a taped fist match. Madril threw some good punches here mixed up with some shit punches. Overall, just not a good match.

 

Highlights of Fritz vs. Kiniski.

 

4. Kevin Von Erich vs Arman Hussain

 

Here goes Kevin taking some kid out of the crowd and takes it to the ring with him. This kinda sucked. I dug Kevin's ankle pick though. Kevin is great as usual at being agressive and stiff.

 

5. Fritz Von Erich vs King Kong Bundy - Texas Stadium, 6-4-82

 

The commentators did a good job getting the significance of this match over. I always dig the story of the teacher vs. the student who turned on his mentor. The wrestlers work tight with one another. On one hand you have Bundy who is younger,larger,quicker; while Fritz is the grizzled vet who has a bag of tricks, and the claw. For most of the match the wrestlers work spots around the claw mixed in with some snug work with one another. I liked how Bundy survived the claw and it took 2 chair shots to the head to finish him off. I thought that Fritz should have sold more, and Bundy should have beat Fritz's ass more. To me this came across more personal than the Abby/Brody stuff. This comes across as a nomination for me.

 

6. Kevin + David Von Erich vs Kabuki + Magic Dragon - Texas Stadium, 6-4-82

 

Just the finish is shown.

 

7. Kerry + Kevin vs Kabuki + Magic Dragon - penalty box match

 

That kick in the corner that Kevin takes from Kabuki was just brutal. I thought Kevin's sell of the nerve holds was well done, and I dig his wristlock into a dropkick spot. I thought the gimmick was used well, particullarly when it lead to Kevin going to the box after the hot tag so Kerry ended up getting beat on again. It was neat when Kevin would lose his temper and end up in the cage and Kerry would get beat on. I was all set to give it a nomination, but that finish blew. The match went on too long for that finish.

 

8. Iron Sheik vs Matt Borne - Cotton Bowl

 

I've seen both wrestlers have good matches. This just wasn't one of them. That was a wicked chair shot Borne took from Sheik on the floor.

 

int: King Kong Bundy

 

He is now hairless.

 

9. Kerry + Kevin Von Erich vs King Kong Bundy + Bill Irwin

 

A fun filled tag, but not a nomination.

 

10. Kabuki vs Brian Adias

 

Adias is referred to as Adidas at this point in his career. Adias was just a vanilla worker.

 

- Bugsy McGraw comes out in gorrila suit

 

This was just weird.

 

int: Gary Hart. Bugsy throws a pie in hart's face

This starts with some H&H/Fritz buildup for the big Texas Stadium match with Fritz/Bundy.

 

“The Modern Day Warrior” Kerry Von Erich vs. King Kong Bundy (5/30/82)

 

Kerry comes out to Call Me by Blondie which is pretty funny and his intro for this match was the same one used in the closing credits for the World Class TV show starting a year later. Bundy wasn’t as large here so he was more mobile plus he had hair which is always funny to me. Kerry threw some good punches here and the action was good but it had a crappy double countout finish and just didn’t distinguish itself as a nomination to me.

 

8 Man Russian Roulette Bodyslam Battle Royal (6/6/82)

 

This is from Texas Stadium featuring such luminaries as Andre the Giant, Wild Bill Irwin, Jose Lothario, Al Madril, Bugsy McGraw, The Spoiler, T-John Thibbdeaux. This was an interesting concept and Andre did look good here. It was funny listening to Jay Saldi on commentary talk about Harley Race slamming Andre in the past.

 

Taped Fist Match: Al Madril vs. The Great Kabuki (5/30/82)

 

This match had some good heat but it wasn’t that hot in the ring although Madril threw some nice shots here. Kabuki does his normal schtick here and while effective it wasn’t necessarily good. There was a ref bump then Hart would help Kabuki get the win to massive heat. There was a post-match brawl with Madril getting choked out until the faces made the save.

 

Kevin Von Erich vs. Armand Hussein (6/13/82)

 

Kevin was good here but Hussein was old and horrible. Bundy would come out but would have Hussein dropkicked into him for the loss. There was also an ugly post match brawl afterwards.

 

Falls Count Anywhere Retirement Match for the American Heavyweight Title: King Kong Bundy © vs. Fritz Von Erich (6/6/82)

 

This match was huge in the state of Texas and had big implications because Fritz was trying to avenge his family’s honor for Bundy turning on them. Fritz comes out to the theme from Superman which was funny to me. The story here was Fritz was trying to get the claw anytime and anywhere he could to stop Bundy from basically destroying him since he was younger and stronger. Both men just pounded each other here and the story on commentary here was that Bundy didn’t have Hart or Hussein at ringside to advise him so he had to think for himself, which was a weak point. Since this was falls count anywhere they went from the ring to the turf of Texas Stadium, which was a cool sight to see the action on the field. Fritz would finally lock the claw on Bundy and really had it wrenched in but Bundy would fight through it eventually breaking free. Fritz would use a steel chair on Bundy a couple of times before pinning Bundy to win the title in his last match. This was nothing but a fight and I think it deserves to move forward simply because of the historical significance alone.

 

Then we get the finish of the David/Kevin Von Erich vs. Kabuki/Magic Dragon match from Texas Stadium from 6/6/82.

 

Penalty Box Match for the All-Asian Tag Titles: The Great Kabuki & Magic Dragon (Haru Sonoda) © vs. Kerry & Kevin Von Erich (7/4/82)

 

I’m surprised the penalty box concept didn’t get used more often over the past few years because it is a different style of gimmick match and could be fun if used right. Kerry took a beating here as the FIP leading to Kevin trying to help him but getting thrown in the box for interfering. Kevin was great here fighting like a madman using the claw when he could with Kerry also throwing some great punches but the heels wouldn’t back down and kept fighting back using their martial arts. Kevin just kept jumping the heels when he could and getting himself put in the box until he could finally take no more and decided to leave the cage before he was supposed to and got his team DQed. The finish was screwy but it fit in perfect for the story of this match as Kevin was doing whatever he could to keep Kerry from being killed. The action here was really solid and I’ll throw this on the block.

 

Iron Sheik vs. Matt Borne (10/17/87)

 

This is from the Cotton Bowl and it was just okay nothing special although Borne dressed up as Commando was something. Both men would hit each other with chairs on the floor leading to a double countout finish.

 

Kerry & Kevin Von Erich vs. Wild Bill Irwin & King Kong Bundy (8/1/82)

 

Bundy is now bald and looks like himself and it’s odd seeing the Sportatorium look so empty but the boom would be coming soon. The match was fine but again nothing special.

 

The Great Kabuki vs. Brian Adias (8/8/82)

 

Basically a squash until Bugsy comes out in his gorilla suit to send Kabuki scurrying out of the ring and then he throws a pie in Gary Hart’s face. Extra material.

Kerry Von Erich vs King Kong Bundy

 

This was a great bout. Kerry is not really playing the underdog here, but he kind of reminds me of current Christian, a guy who is obviously overmatched but goes toe-to-toe with his opponent because he is gutsy as all hell. He looked really good trading shots with Bundy. Bundy was great at this point, and hits everything with a lot of force. His kneedrops were amazing, with that much weight behind them, they look like they could've crushed Kerry's head. I am in the minority here, but I think this is an easy nomination.

 

8 man Body Slam match - Texas Stadium, 6-4-82

 

This was...different.

 

Kabuki vs Al Madril

 

My first thought is "who is the genius that decides to put The Great Kabuki in a taped fist match?", but then my second thought is "who is the genius that decides to put The Great Kabuki in a taped fist match where he doesn't even bother to tape his fists?"

 

Kevin Von Erich vs Arman Hussain

 

I actually liked this. Kevin will get a good match out of just about anybody, and I Hussein was pretty fun in a Family Gundan-ish sort of way. This is not a nomination, mind you, but better than I expected.

 

Kerry + Kevin vs Kabuki + Magic Dragon - penalty box match

 

I agree with Kris that the finish of the match fits the story they were telling, but having a DQ in a penalty box match really kills the gimmick. Still, body of the match was excellent. Kevin is one of the best I've ever seen at working the apron, and he is similarly great working the penalty box. This is also the least shitty I've ever seen Magic Dragon look. I say this is a solid nomination.

 

Iron Sheik vs Matt Borne - Cotton Bowl

 

I thought this was a lot of fun. Loved all the shtick and thought there was some really good brawling. It falls short of a nomination, though.

 

Kerry + Kevin Von Erich vs King Kong Bundy + Bill Irwin

 

It's the first match for Bundy after losing his hair, and he is out for revenge. This was a really kick-ass classic formula tag match. Both Von Erichs get to play face-in-peril, and they are both great at it. Kevin has some sweet-looking dropkicks. The heels really lay in a beating to hold up their end of the bargain. Irwin is particularly dynamic here, his jumping big boot is always devastating, but he also hits a nice backbreaker and top-rope elbowdrop, too. I thought this was a really strong bout, and it should go ahead.

 

Kabuki vs Brian Adias

 

Ugh.

 

Bugsy McGraw comes out in gorrila suit

int: Gary Hart.

 

This stuff is extra material.