Stella Mae French vs. Nicola Roberts (11/24/84)

 

Horrible although Gino looked great in his tux.

 

Iceman King Parsons vs. “The Crippler” Rip Oliver (12/14/84)

 

Oliver has finally left from Oregon to venture out into other territories and would become Jim Cornette’s bodyguard here. Both men looked good here as Rip was really good at bumping and selling for Iceman. We get a clip in the action so I don’t know how much we miss but it looks like we missed an Oliver control section. Oliver would use a couple of backbreakers on Iceman before he would sneak in an inside cradle to win. Oliver wants to shake Iceman’s hand after the match but he beats the hell out of him using the shoulderbreaker. Fun match.

 

Next we get a great fake banquet with Kevin & Mike Von Erich receiving their PWI awards. This is very hokey and extra material.

 

Kerry & Kevin Von Erich vs. The Dynamic Duo (“Gentleman” Chris Adams & “Handsome Halfbreed” Gino Hernandez) (12/14/84)

 

We Will Rock You by Queen brings out the Duo and this is the first TV match between these two teams. Kevin & Adams get into a wild brawl to start the match before Adams drops to the floor to get away from him. Gino would try a leapfrog on Kerry but he would bend down with Gino landing balls first on Kerry’s head which he sold tremendously. The Duo looked great working over Kerry before he would finally get the tag to Kevin who went right for Adams but he would tuck tail and drop to the floor where Kevin would soon join him for another brawl. Kevin would soon get caught in the Duo’s corner though where the numbers game caught up to him until Kerry chased Adams around the ring. The match breaks down as Kerry hits a discus punch sending Adams over the top rope but Kevin was still the legal man and was getting pounded on by the Duo. The action would continue to be fast and furious as Bronko Lubich couldn’t keep up and called the match a DDQ. Kerry slams Gino’s head into the backdoor and throws him outside leaving Adams in to get his ass kicked. This was fucking awesome and definitely moves forward.

 

Billy Jack vs. Tony Falk (12/14/84)

 

Billy makes his debut and this is a squash.

 

Terry “Bamm Bamm” Gordy vs. The Missing Link (12/14/84)

 

Link attacks Gordy at the bell but Gordy fights back for a while until Link starts choking him. Link would then use his headbutts on Gordy but Gordy would make a comeback before going after Akbar who would duck and dodge away from him until Link could attack him. Akbar then walked in the ring for the DQ as the pounding of Gordy continued. Gordy would then make his own comeback sending Link to the floor. Fun brawl.

 

Losers Leave Town Texas Tornado Elimination Match: Chick Donovan & The Fabulous Freebirds (Terry “Bamm Bamm” Gordy & Buddy Roberts) vs. The Missing Link, Mr. X, & Skandor Akbar (12/25/84)

 

The rules are if you get eliminated you must leave town. Everyone is in the ring fighting at the same time and Gordy is awesome here just beating on whoever gets in his way. Chick Donovan gets eliminated first by pinfall of Akbar and he is on way back to Georgia. Mr. X then gets pinned and he is gone then Link throws Buddy Roberts over the top rope and he is headed for Florida. Gordy then has to fight off Link & Akbar as the crowd goes nuts. Link would hit Akbar by accident to send him over the top rope and full-time to Mid-South then Gordy would throw Link over the top rope sending him to Florida. Fun but quite disjointed.

 

NWA World Heavyweight Title: “Nature Boy” Ric Flair © vs. “Modern Day Warrior” Kerry Von Erich (12/25/84)

 

Another solid match in their series with both men looking awesome especially Kerry who was at his best against Flair. Kerry even broke out a flying headscissors out of Kevin’s playbook that looked really good. The action was damn good here leading to Kerry hitting a suplex on Flair for an apparent win but Flair had his foot under the bottom rope so Flair would answer back with a pin attempt after a shoulderblock using the ropes to his favor but David Manning would catch him. Kerry would make his comeback eventually locking in the iron claw that Flair would get out of. Flair would get pissed and chunked Kerry over the top rope for the DQ to retain his title. Shitty finish to a tremendous match but the finish would tie into future angles so it made sense. Nick Roberts (Nicola’s dad) comes out and wants to consult with Manning after the match. Mark Lowrance would then interview them with Roberts announcing an immediate rematch in Texas with Flair losing his title if he gets DQed. Easy nomination.

 

Billy Jack Haynes & Mike Von Erich vs. “Handsome Halfbreed” Gino Hernandez & Jake “The Snake” Roberts (12/25/84)

 

Billy now has Haynes in his name thanks to a legal threat by Tom Laughlin who played Billy Jack in the movies. Mike was pretty bad here and it was pretty sad to see him get all the glory here while your newest big face in Billy Jack got his ass kicked by the heels early and just stood there as Mike got the win with the claw on Jake.

 

“The Crippler” Rip Oliver vs. Iceman King Parsons (12/25/84)

 

Iceman wants his revenge here and this match is a lot like their first match but longer and with more Rip offense. Both men work their ass off here looking really good and Oliver gets the big win using the shoulderbreaker as Iceman is heading for Mid-South. I’m going to give this a low-end nomination because the work was really good here.

 

American Tag Titles: The Fantastics (Bobby Fulton & Tommy Rogers) © vs. The Midnight Express (“Loverboy” Dennis Condrey & “Beautiful” Bobby Eaton) (12/25/84)

 

MX makes their debut here and the Fants throw out candy canes before the match. I am so sick of hearing about how great Mike Von Erich is on commentary on this block of TV, it’s making my ears bleed. Back to the match, it was the normal formula with the Fants dominating early on with the MX playing great straight men for the Fants schtick and the fans hate the MX’s guts on sight. World Class hasn’t had this type of tag-team style in there as they’ve never had the southern tag-team psychology in full effect as you could tell on how the psychology was in their other tag matches. Rogers played FIP here and was awesome of course as the MX just demolished him and there was a great looking pin attempt used by Condrey here as he locked in a headlock on the mat then cradled the leg and laid back for a nearfall. To tell you how different this was compared to other matches, the Rogers FIP section here was nearly double any other individual FIP section I’ve seen so far. Cornette is also something World Class has never seen before and I love how the MX is supposedly from New York here considering their accents. Rogers had a great move to start his comeback as he countered a double clothesline attempt into a sunset flip taking both men down which was awesome before rolling over to tag Fulton that made the crowd go nuts. Fulton comes in cleaning house until Rogers joins him and the 4-way brawl is on but Rogers would soon get sent to the floor where he would trip up Condrey allowing Fulton to hit a cross body block on Eaton to retain their titles. The crowd goes apeshit as the heels protest in the ring and this is a easy nomination.

1. Stella Mae French vs Nicola Roberts - Reunion Arena

 

Pass.

 

2. Rip Oliver vs Iceman Parsons - Oliver's debut

 

I always thought Oliver had a neat look to him. This seems like a basic Mid-Atlantic style good snug bout. It had Parson's work the arm and build spots around it. Oliver's selling of the arm was top notch. Their is a clip of about 5 minutes here. This was fun, but I would liked to have seen what was on the clip seeing it was Oliver on offense.

 

- awards ceremony as Bill Apter awards Mike + Kevin Von Erich PWI awards

 

This was fun in a cheesy way. But I still feel like I need to take a shower to get the bullshit off. This is an extra.

 

int: Iceman Parsons

 

3. Kerry + Kevin Von Erich vs Chris Adams + Gino Hernandez

 

This was just a fun action packed brawl. It was a tad slow when Kerry was caught in the sleeper by Adams. After he tagged out it picked up and became an amazing brawl. . The beatdown that Adams took at the end was awesome. This moves forward as a nomination. The Kevin/Adams interactions were great. All 4 wrestlers had their moments though.

 

 

 

4. Billy Jack vs Tony Falk

 

Squash

 

Terry “Bamm Bamm” Gordy vs. The Missing Link (12/14/84)

 

This is a brawl nothing more, nothing less.

 

5. Terry Gordy, Buddy Roberts, + Chic Donovan vs Missing Link, Mr X, + Skandar Akbar - elimination loser(s) leave town match; Reunion Arena

 

This was full of action. This is a Battle Royal with teams. I liked this a ton. The heat down the stretch was awesome.I'm going to give this a nomination. This was a total blast. Some fun brawling with Gordy holding everything together and being the centerpiece of the bout. Plus, I thought the stips were cool.

 

int: Kerry Von Erich

 

6. Ric Flair vs Kerry Von Erich - Reunion Arena

 

Another good bout between the 2.Their are so many good to great bouts between the 2. I dug Kerry's flying head scissors. The drama with the claw was awesome. Kerry is a super athlete and plays to Flair's strengths. This goes forward.

 

7. Mike Von Erich + Billy Jack vs Jake Roberts + Gino Hernandez - Reunion Arena

 

The roles were all wrong on the face side. Jake was throwing some stiff looking clotheslines. It's a shame to see Jake job to Mike's claw, and to blade for it.

 

8. Kerry Von Erich vs Rip Oliver JIP

 

 

9. Iceman Parsons vs Rip Oliver - Reunion Arena

I thought this was good. Parson's cranking the headlock was good stuff. It was just good tight work. I thought Oliver was great at being a shit bag working over Parson's. All of Parson's offense looked good. In fact both wrestlers looked good. I liked how Parson's hurt his shoulder on the bump into the corner. I would have prefered to see Oliver work it over some and then go for his finish; instead of just going to his finish. Overall, this was good stuff, but falls short of a nomination.

 

10. Fantastics vs Midnight Express - Reunion Arena

 

Another kick ass match between the 2 teams. Some of the exchanges between Rogers and Eaton were breathtaking. I loved how the MX just focused on working over Roger's neck. Bret Hart talks about the Foundation and the Bulldogs setting a tag team standard for the WWF. Well the MX and The Fantastics set the pace for the territory here. The finish was great as well. This is a no brainer nomination.

Stella Mae French vs. Nicola Roberts (11/24/84)

 

That haircut wasn't doing Stella Mae any favors. I mean, it's not like she's a looker here or anything, but you actually notice her face for a change, and her expressions are pretty good. This match, by contrast, was not.

 

Terry “Bamm Bamm” Gordy vs. The Missing Link (12/14/84)

 

Good little match.