Posted August 28, 200817 yr comment_5434261 Michael Hayes vs Jose Lothario This didn't work for me. I would be interested in seeing what Roberts could do with Super Sock. Lothario at this point should be used in tags. Hayes pinballed for him though. Plus, I liked the story that was being told. int: Freebirds int: King Kong Bundy. He announces the formation of Devastion Inc with its leader coming soon It's amazing how much pressence Bundy has for 20 or 21 here. int: Bill Mercer w/ the Freebirds at Mr Hamburgers This was fun, and a possible extra. int: Kevin Von Erich A solid revenge promo. 2. Kevin Von Erich vs Terry Gordy This is a solid match. The wrestlers get it on with some solid matwork. The wrestlers worked a nice headlock spot on the ground. It looks like it's about to break out in a brawl, but Kevin starts working the headlock on the floor. The hot shot that Gordy delivers was nasty. I liked the finish which I thought added heat to the feud. I'm not going to give this a nomination, it lacked heat to me and I know the wrestlers have much better match in them. Some of Bam Bam's bumps were monsterous. int: Iceman Parsons int: Jimmy Garvin w/ Sunshine int: Arman Hussain 3. Iceman Parsons vs Arman Hussain A great squash that got Ice off to a great start in Texas. 4. Jimmy Garvin vs Al Madril Garvin refuses to allow the television to tape his match. This is kinda cool and makes Garvin seem more special. - Skandar Akbar press conference This is good and is an extra possibility. The new heels and faces are fresh and getting built up well. 5. Kevin, Kerry, + David Von Erich vs Freebirds - lumberjack match I don't think it's possible for these 6 to have a bad match with 6 man tag action. This is just a blast. Just all out action. The Birds are just awesome at murdering Kevin. Kerry taking the hot tag was awesome. He eventually gets cut off and gets put FIP. That bump that Kerry takes through the ropes to the outside is nuts. David takes the next hot tag, and isn't as great as how Kerry did it earlier. The finish was solid, but I was suprised who took the fall. Overall, just a great match that is a slam dunk nomination. int: Kevin, Kerry, + David Von Erich int: Skandar Akbar int: Bill Mercer w/ Jimmy Garvin in his pool Garvin comes across as a superstar with tons of charisma. 6. David Von Erich vs Buddy Roberts Roberts bumps are just huge. David seems a bit awkward here. The amount of headlock spots it seemed the wrestlers going 13+ not 7 minutes. - Iceman Parsons video This was cool ( no pun intended) and has to go on as an extra. Full of 80's cheese. 7. Kerry Von Erich vs Michael Hayes Hayes is pinballing around early for Kerry. Some great stooge spots. I thought Kerry working the arm looked good. Kerry missed a knee drop and Hayes just goes to town on it. It just abruptly ended with a flash pin. I liked this a lot, but it needed more time to develope. Just to short for a nomination, but damn the work was good. 8. Kevin + David Von Erich vs Terry Gordy + Buddy Roberts Kevin's dropkick to Robert's head was big time. David follows up with a big knee to Robert's head. The top rope splash from Kevin was breathtaking. This just breaks down. The Von Erich's just killed the Birds here. A solid nom. int: Kevin, Kerry, + David Von Erich 9. Iceman Parsons vs Buddy Roberts Big time Parsons win in 4 seconds that makes him a player in Texas. Super angle that should make it as an extra. int: Freebirds This all ties into the previous angle. - Bill Mercer w/ David Von Erich on the ranch
September 18, 200817 yr comment_5434681 Michael Hayes vs. Jose Lothario (1/21/83) The fans cover the ring before the match for autographs of Super Sock and Hayes gets mega heel heat coming in the ring. Hayes is great here selling for everything Lothario does. Lothario wasn’t that bad here and was fine in his work but the match wasn’t anything special. The other Birds would come out to run Lothario off thus ending the match in a draw. Birds then demanded revenge after the match. Mercer interviews King Kong Bundy in a studio next who talks about the formation of Devastation Inc. and that the boss would be coming soon. Another extra for the Bundy files. BTW, Bundy was 25 here shoe, they kayfabed him to be 5 years younger. Mercer then joins the Birds at Mr. Hamburger’s for lunch as they are in their official van listening to 1999 by Prince. The Birds eat their lunch as Mercer interviews them and of course they get pissed off. Definite extra. Mercer then interviews Kevin about his upcoming match with Gordy and revenge on the Birds and this is a good promo. American Heavyweight Title: Kevin Von Erich © vs. Terry “Bamm Bamm” Gordy (1/21/83) David is at ringside in Kevin’s corner here to start the match and I liked the story of this match as the two “big brothers” of the feud are facing each other to see who is the best and it’s for the #1 title in the promotion to boot along with a shot at Flair the next taping. This was a well worked match early on with both men trading the advantage on the mat but the emotions would get riled up when Gordy chunked Kevin to the floor who then proceeded to give out a yell before going back in the ring and throwing Gordy into the corner where he did the Flair bump to the floor. Gordy would soon counter with two hot shots on the top rope that really got Kevin in the throat and sent him to the floor. Kevin would get a small comeback though once back in the ring getting a nearfall on a cross body block but Gordy would take him back to the mat. Hayes & Roberts would soon come down to the ring to cheer Gordy on but it wouldn’t stop Kevin from making a comeback and getting the claw on Gordy but the Birds would distract the referee so Kevin would throw Gordy into Roberts. Kevin would then try to slam Gordy but Hayes would sneak in and tripped him so Gordy would fall on Kevin to get the win. The crowd is pissed as the Birds celebrate and this is great stuff. I think this is a solid nomination. Next we get the debut promos for Iceman King Parsons & “Gorgeous” Jimmy Garvin along with Sunshine and this is definite extra material. Garvin says that he doesn’t want his matches to be televised and this is a great angle. (2/18/83) Iceman King Parsons vs. Armand Hussein (2/18/83) Parsons gets a quick win in his debut. “Gorgeous” Jimmy Garvin vs. Al Madril (2/18/83) Garvin demands that the cameras be turned off for his match. Then we get the Devastation Inc. press conference with the revelation of Skandor Akbar as the boss and this is a definite extra. Lumberjack Match: David, Kerry, & Kevin Von Erich vs. The Fabulous Freebirds (Terry “Bamm Bamm” Gordy, Michael Hayes, & Buddy Roberts) (2/18/83) The heat for this is molten hot as the Birds come out waving the stars & bars of the Georgia flag and the Von Erichs come out to LaGrange by ZZ Top which was a great entrance that they only used when they all teamed up. Sportatorium is packed full to the rafters in a trend that would continue for quite a while. This is the first six-man TV match between these two and it is just a fantastic match with everyone being great in their own right with a shitload of heat to fuel their fire. The finishing sequence was fucking great and this is a slam dunk nomination. Akbar then cuts a promo about the current state of Devastation Inc. Mercer then interviews Garvin & Sunshine by the pool and this is extra material. David Von Erich vs. Buddy Roberts (2/18/83) Everyone coems down to the ring so Bronko Lubich forces them out of the are to keep this one-on-one. Garvin & Sunshine stay at ringside though filming the match and this is the beginning of the Garvin/David feud. The bump Roberts took into the corner which was ribs first looked like it hurt. The match ended up being a DQ when the Birds would attack David before his brothers would make the save. The crowd was eating this up. Next we get the fucking great Iceman Parsons video to MOTHERFUCKING SAGA!!!!!! We are on the loose baby. Definite extra material. “Modern Day Warrior” Kerry Von Erich vs. Michael Hayes (3/4/83) Kevin & Gordy may have been the big brothers but these were the stars of their respective families so this match meant a little more. Good back and forth action to start until Kerry missed a diving kneedrop which let Hayes work over the left knee relentessly and that was the knee that was injured 6 months previously. Kerry would make a comeback though and got a flash schoolboy to get the win but the Birds would attack him after the match until David & Kevin made the save. This was too short for a nomination but this should be an extra for the feud. The Fabulous Freebirds (Terry “Bamm Bamm” Gordy & Buddy Roberts) vs. David & Kevin Von Erich (3/4/83) David Manning orders this match to start right after the previous one. Von Erichs are just ass kickers here avenging the beatdown of brother Kerry and the Birds bump all over the place for them but they would get some offense in although not much. Kevin hit a fucking sweet 180 degree diving body press of the top rope on Roberts but went for Gordy instead of getting the pin and this led to a 4-way brawl. Gordy would get tied up in the ropes allowing Kevin to put the claw on him. Bronko Lubich tried to pull him off but Kevin threw him down a couple of times prompting him to call for a DQ and it would take Bronko & David to pull him off of Gordy. Kevin was a fucking maniac here just not wanting to to quit killing Gordy as David would pound on Roberts. I loved this even with the DQ finish and I’m throwing this on the block. Iceman King Parsons vs. Buddy Roberts (3/4/83) Hayes is at ringside with Roberts and insults Iceman before the match so he slaps him in the face then starts in on Roberts giving him the BUTT BUTT for the win in 4 seconds. The Birds then demand Iceman come back after the match and he does but with the Von Erichs in tow so the Birds run off. Definite extra that would kickstart the Iceman/Roberts feud. Mercer then returns to David Von Erich’s ranch for a personality profile and this is extra material.
November 6, 200916 yr comment_5445682 Michael Hayes vs Jose Lothario This is the third time I've seen these two match up. First time was actively bad, second time was good but not great, third time I am going to put it on the block even with two guys against it. I am normally not a Super Sock fan, but this is the best I have ever seen him look. It helps that Hayes is in there heeling it up and selling really well, but I think Lothario held up his end of the bargain really well. Hayes bounced around for him a lot, but that was really just in the last minute of the match. Bulk of the match is worked on the mat, and while Lothario isn't quite a maestro, I did enjoy him working as an aging luchador and thought he looked good taking apart Hayes' leg. Hayes was awesome selling it, too. Great facial expressions and kept working dead-legged on offense. The whole story of Jose having to unbandage his injured hand to get Michael to stop complaining is interesting. It doesn't play out quite the way you expect it to, in that Hayes never goes after the hand except for one awesome moment where he bites it to escape an STF. Instead, it means Lothario refrains from brawling until the very end of the match. When he does, he looks really good throwing shots, hitting Hayes with one hand when he thinks he's going to use the other, and the whole bit before the Freebirds run in where he is bouncing Hayes off of the ropes with his punches. Awesome match that probably won't go forward, but it should. int: King Kong Bundy Another extra as the plot continues to unfold WRT the formation of Devastation, Inc. "The boss has a lot of money in the oil and gas business". Dun-dun-DUNNNN!!!! int: Kevin Von Erich It worked, but not too impressive. Kevin Von Erich vs Terry Gordy I have seen these two work each other a million times now, and it is almost always great. This was one of their better bouts and should move forward. int: Iceman Parsons int: Jimmy Garvin w/ Sunshine Three of my favorite figures in World Class make their first on-screen appearances, which seems like reason enough to include this as an extra. int: Arman Hussain Iceman Parsons vs Arman Hussain Hussein is one of the most underrated micworkers of all time. "All possums come from graveyards!" He is also a really fun shtick-heavy heel in the ring, and I wouldn't mind seeing some stuff from his prime. This was a great squash to kick off Iceman's awesome run with the company, and all of this should go on as an extra. Jimmy Garvin vs Al Madril Garvin makes his in-ring debut, but we don't get to see it because he refuses to be filmed, and he doesn't have a television contract. Great angle that should be an extra. Lest we forget, when Garvin dumped Sunshine and she hooked up with Chris Adams, she made a big deal out of the fact that she had all the film of Garvin's matches so Adams could study them, so this is the beginning of an interesting motif that would show up throughout Garvin's World Class run. Skandar Akbar press conference World Class rolls on with more of the greatest New Talent Initiative ever as Akbar makes on debut as the leader of Devastation Inc. and announces the impending arrival of Kamala. This is a much more serious Akbar promo than we would usually see, and he does come across as a sinister force to be reckoned with. Extra. Kevin, Kerry, + David Von Erich vs Freebirds - lumberjack match The first match between these teams, which is really something to think about. I have seen about a million Von Erichs/Freebirds matches now, and this is another great one. Definitely goes forward. int: Skandar Akbar Features a pair of neat videos with The Great Kabuki and Kamala. Possible extra int: Bill Mercer w/ Jimmy Garvin in his pool God, I love this guy. Definite extra. David Von Erich vs Buddy Roberts This was a bit on the short side, but I actually liked it a lot. David was pretty blah at this point, but Roberts was in top form and Garvin was fun at ringside starting up his feud with David, and think it brought a bit more fire out of him than we usually see. The headlock was worked really well, enjoyed all of Roberts' attempts to escape it. The finish feels sudden, but still thought this was great. I'm tempted to nominate it, but I think I'll hold off on this one. Iceman Parsons video Seven shades of epic. An easy extra. Kerry Von Erich vs Michael Hayes Agreed that this is too short for inclusion as a match but should go on as an extra. Kevin + David Von Erich vs Terry Gordy + Buddy Roberts This was good, but a bit too David-centric for my tastes, and I am not feeling it as a nomination. I did love Kevin's freak out at the end. I wouldn't mind seeing everything from the 180 splash forward go on as an extra. int: Kevin, Kerry, + David Von Erich This too. Iceman Parsons vs Buddy Roberts int: Freebirds And these. Watching this disc makes you realize what utter feebs WWE Creative are. Nobody in the world is booking shit this good anymore. Bill Mercer w/ David Von Erich on the ranch They talk up the upcoming Texas Title defense against Jimmy Garvin. Possible extra.
