Buddy Roberts Interview w/ clip of Santa Hayes & Michael Hayes Phone Interview (5:37)

 

Probably belongs as an extra.

 

Kerry Von Erich vs. Missing Link (10:01)

 

Oh man. This match was so cool. Missing Link jumps off the top rope and headbutts Kerry before he's even out of his ring jacket, and Kerry sells it like death as Kevin comes out and they debate with David Manning whether or not the match should even take place now. Of course, Kerry's the God damn Modern Day Warrior, so he goes ahead with it anyway. The Link might not have a single move in his arsenal that isn't a headbutt, but he definitely makes each one count, and Kerry really looks like a survivor every time he comes back. Kerry gives as good as he gets, too. I'm still trying to figure out how he got a rep as a poor worker other than "roid body + promoter's son = BAD WORKRATE". Easy nomination.

 

Kevin Von Erich vs. Jimmy Garvin

 

This is probably my favorite match-up on these discs so far, but this is definitely the least of their encounters. Everything they do looks great, but it's mostly one-sided with Kevin in control, and then Adams and Sunshine come to ringside to distract Garvin, even though Kevin has things well in hand.

 

Andre the Giant & Iceman King Parsons vs. Super Destroyers (18:05)

 

I'm a sucker for Andre matches, and this was definitely a fun one. Lots of great comedy between him and the Destroyers. Also has Parsons beating on fools. Probably not actually nomination worthy, but I actually considered it briefly.

 

Kimala vs. Junkyard Dog

 

I like both of these guys, but this was a whole lot of nothing.

 

Super Desroyers & Missing Link vs. Parsons, Adams, & Kerry

 

I am really starting to dig Devastation Inc. as the best possible Dungeon of Doom ever. All sorts of weirdos congregating in one stable, but instead of shitty monsters like Ed Leslie, Loch Ness, and Kamala and his career low-point, it had awesome monsters like the Super Destroyers, The Missing Link, and Kamala at his peak. Anyway, this match is a lot of fun. Parsons is the star of the face team, as he is still out for revenge and still lighting dudes up with his strikes as usual. In particular, he's got one jumping clothesline that he throws against a Super D...jiminy! He also has one cool spot where he seems to be going for a Butt Butt on one of the Super Ds and he gets caught, but he just shifts his weight and turns it into a headlock takedown instead. The Devastation Inc. guys are all talented bruisers, but I think their best stuff in this match comes from their comedy stooging. Missing Link, who tends to be the most...well...devastating of these three, is a particularly good stooge in this match, taking all sorts of wacky-looking bumps through the ropes to the outside, staggering around ringside, throwing things around, only to get back in the ring and knocked down again. All sorts of fun here. Easy nomination.

 

Kimala vs. Kerry Von Erich (10:00)

 

I don't know. I was kinda disappointed by this. Some cool stuff here, like Kamala trying work over a body part (for about five seconds, anyway), but overall, really preferred their '83 Christmas Star Wars bout, which had all the cool stuff from this match and then some. I might have to nominate that.

 

Iceman King Parsons vs. Super Destroyer 2

 

I think Super Destroyer #1 might have been the worker of the team. It's kinda hard to tell, I suppose.

 

Kerry & David Von Erich Sit-down Interview (6:00)

 

They explain things that would've been more interesting if they had been shown instead.

 

David Von Erich vs. Terry Gordy (7:45)

 

They brawl for a little while, and then everyone runs in. Nothing special.

 

Chris Adams vs. Ric Flair (20:54)

 

Hot damn, this was great. It's like they took all the best stuff about your average Flair touring NWA Title defense and condensed it into 15 minutes of great action, plus they give him an awesome side backbreaker that I've never seen him do before, had him kick at Sunshine like a total dick, and gave him a clean win, just to spice things up. Plus, you have Chris Adams, who makes an awesome foil for Flair by actually trying to be a gentleman while Flair just occasionally pays lip service to being one. His hesitation over shaking Flair's hand after he hit on Sunshine at the start of the match was great, and he had a couple of similar bits throughout the match before he got tired of Flair's bullshit before he started pasting him with forearms and the Superkick. And Sunshine is one of the best valets ever. Sort of the anti-Miss Elizabeth, in that Liz was great largely because of her ability to play weak damsel in distress who had the inner strength to stay true to her values, Sunshine was great because of her ability to play feisty gal who didn't know her own (lack of) strength, driven by the way she had passively allowed her values to be corrupted in the past by Jim Garvin. And well, Garvin was basically Flair without the credibility, so there's that dimension to this match, too. All told, this is probably one of the three best matches I've seen on these sets so far. Slam dunk nomination.

Kerry Von Erich vs. Missing Link

 

I liked this bout. I had no expectations going in. This must be early in Links run because he is sans the green paint. I thought this was the most agressive I've seen the Link work. It helped a lot with KVE selling of the beating. Overall I liked this but it feels short as a nom.

 

Kevin Von Erich vs. Jimmy Garvin

 

This was another solid bout between the 2. Most of the others blew this one away. This was still good but no reason to go forward.

 

Super Desroyers & Missing Link vs. Parsons, Adams, & Kerry

 

The Dungeon of Doom comparison is great. I thought this had a lot of great action. Adams work as FIP was good. The heels were good and beating him down. Parsons stuff was fun. Good bout and a low end nom.

Buddy Roberts being the only member of the World Class Six-Man champs still in the territory says that the titles would be defended just outside Texas. Hayes then talks via telephone about the situation. Extra material.

 

The Missing Link vs. “Modern Day Warrior” Kerry Von Erich (1/6/84)

 

Link jumped Kerry at the bell along with Akbar until Kevin would show up to protect Kerry. Kevin would pump Kerry up on the floor who was bleeding and he came in the ring just kicking the shit out of the Link. Kerry would keep throwing shots even with Link firing in headbutts then dropkicked Link right to the floor. Link would come back in the ring where the brawling would continue with Kerry trying to stand tall against Link but the headbutts would sting him and would ultimately send him to the floor. Kevin then motivated Kerry again and he came back in the ring just beating Link’s ass hitting the discus punch while Kevin & Akbar joined the action in the ring prompting David Manning to call for a DDQ. This was very fun stuff and extra material but not a nomination.

 

Kevin Von Erich vs. "Gorgeous" Jimmy Garvin (1/6/84)

 

These two haven't feuded for months so it's good to revisit. The fans want Sunshine of course and she would oblige later. Garvin is great here stooging around strutting doing all his schtick with Kevin fucking around with him backing him into the corner for the 10 punches of doom but jumping down holding his fist in his face warning him of his fate. Garvin's selling of Kevin's grounded headscissors was great as he was spazzing out on the canvas. Kevin then breaks out a sweet bodyscissors armlock before nuking Garvin with a diving body press for a nearfall. Garvin tries working over Kevin but to no avail as Kevin just continues to dominate him as Adams & Sunshine show up to distract Garvin who gets rolled up by Kevin for the win. This was basically a Kevin squash match as Garvin had zero offense but it was still fun.

 

Andre the Giant & Iceman King Parsons vs. The Super Destroyers (Wild Bill & Scott Irwin) (1/6/84)

 

Iceman brings out the big gun here to take on his hated rivals the Super D's. We get some good comedy here with Andre and Iceman using his great offense on the D's who are pretty good here as the foes but this isn't a nomination to me although like SLL I actually considered it for a minute.

 

Junkyard Dog vs. Kamala (10/21/83)

 

JYD is in from Mid-South to feud with Devastation Inc. and Kamala specifically. The fans were really into this but it wasn’t a really good match. JYD was tripped by Skandor Akbar as he was trying to come after Kamala leading to JYD pulling Akbar in the ring ending the match in a no contest.

 

“Gentleman” Chris Adams, Iceman King Parsons, & “Modern Day Warrior” Kerry Von Erich vs. The Missing Link & The Super Destroyers (Wild Bill & Scott Irwin) (1/20/84)

 

Kerry gets mobbed on his way to the ring by the horny females. The faces looked good early using their speed advantage to keep the more powerful heels on the mat along with making some quick tags keeping the fresh man in the ring. Iceman threw some great punches and Adams would hit maybe the weakest looking Superkick ever sending Link to the floor. Adams would get caught in the heel corner but after a botched headbutt by the Link off the top rope onto D #1, Adams would get the tag to Iceman. Iceman would take it to the heels hitting the Butt Butt on D #1 sending him to the floor but as he tried to suplex him back in the ring, Akbar tripped up Iceman but he tucked and rolled over for the pinfall. Both teams brawled with each other after the match. Fun match but basically a squash as in a match that went almost 10 minutes, the heels were on offense for about 2 at the most. Not a nomination.

 

“Modern Day Warrior” Kerry Von Erich vs. Kamala (1/20/84)

 

This had a lot of heat and Kerry showed a lot of fire here fighting off Kamala but the match as a whole was just fine nothing special.

 

Iceman King Parsons vs. Super Destroyer #2 (Wild Bill Irwin) (2/3/84)

 

Another match that was fine but nothing special.

 

Next we get the explanation of why the Von Erich's lost their six-man tag titles on 1/30/84 and this of course is a definite extra.

 

David Von Erich vs. Buddy Roberts (2/3/84)

 

This is the last TV match for David and this was more of an angle than a match with Gordy taking Roberts’ place but it is a slam dunk extra. IIRC this was aired after David died with a disclaimer on the original showing.

 

NWA World Heavyweight Title: “Nature Boy” Ric Flair © vs. “Gentleman” Chris Adams (2/3/84)

 

Flair is awesome here before the action starts with his actions towards Sunshine and shaking Adams’ hand out of sportsmanship. There is some fantastic wrestling going on here with both men just trading everything between each other showing great mental prowess as one would counter the other trying to frustrate each other. Flair would chunk Adams to the floor to begin his offensive barrage but Adams would fight his way back fairly quickly getting nearfalls before going to a sleeper that Flair would counter into a side backbreaker. Adams would again fight back and we would have some great back-and-forth action with a great spot as Flair goes for the figure-four but Adams rises up and hits an enzuigiri with Flair doing the Flair flop. Adams would finally hit the Superkick for a nearfall as Flair would put his foot on the ropes and Adams would try again with a reverse splash off the middle rope but Flair tucked under and rolled to get the win. Tremendous match and a slam dunk nomination.