WCCW THANKSGIVING STAR WARS 28.11.1983
FORT WORTH, TX
ATTENDANCE: 49385
TV RATING: 0.20
SHOW: 80
TOMMY RICH & MR. X vs. MIDNIGHT EXPRESS
The announcers quickly point out that Rich and X have never tagged before and that their relationship is not the best, also Jose Lothario is on commentary and says that something is wrong with X. The babyfaces have a good match, even though MNX has an experience edge and work on X for a long time. X and Rich have a miscommunication and Eaton pins X after the rocket launcher! (9:53) (52)
In the parking lot Bill Mercer approaches The Freebirds and Devastation Inc. to get their strategy before the Gauntlet Cage Match, but they threaten him and tell him to leave! (73)
BRIAN ADIAS vs. BILL IRWIN
Adias and Irwin have faced off multiple time this year, with different results along the way. Irwin seems jealous of the popularity of the local boy and attacks him before the bell, keeping a really aggressive attitude for the whole match. Adias has a good support from the crowd, which helps him in his comeback. Irwin is good at shutting down his opponent, but Adias hits the legsweep and wins! (6:42) (63)
On stage Bill Mercer interviews Ted DiBiase, who considers defending his title against Terry Taylor like a night off. Bobby Heenan makes a joke on Sherri and the duo laughs before leaving (75)
TITO SANTANA vs. JIMMY GARVIN (w/ Sunshine)
Garvin warns Sunshine to be in his corner and not to look at Santana. Sunshine agrees, but fails to hit Santana when she has a chance and this infuriates Garvin. Santana again seems to have Garvin’s number with a good series of counters and the match is really uncertain. Santana hits a tope and also falls on Sunshine, so he checks on her and this is a fatal mistake, as Garvin rolls Santana up and uses the ropes as leverage to steal the win! (12:36) (65)
Postmatch Garvin celebrates and orders Sunshine to get up and raise his hand, which Sunshine does even though she’s in pain! Santana seems irritated by all this (63)
WCCW AMERICAN TAG TEAM TITLES
GREAT KABUKI & MAGIC DRAGON (c) (w/ Arman Hussein) vs. ROCK & ROLL EXPRESS
The Rock & Roll are excited about finally getting a title shot and start the match really quickly, so the champions are taken off guard and forced to slow things down to prevent a quick loss. Morton gets isolated for most of the match by the heels and Hussein also takes a few cheap shots, then hell breaks loose when Gibson gets the hot tag. Checkmate also tries to run in, but he’s stopped and the Rock & Roll hit a stereo dropkick on Dragon! 1… 2… 3! We have new champions! (11:18) (72)
On stage Bill Mercer interviews Kevin von Erich, Terry Funk, Dory Funk Jr. and Stan Hansen. Kevin says that he’s grateful his partners are stepping up in his brothers’ absences, while Terry states that Freebirds and Devastation Inc. are a common threat and so they will deal with them accordingly! (76)
TEXAS DEATH MATCH
DAVID VON ERICH vs. TERRY GORDY
Both men arrive to the ring with a chair, as Gordy injured David with it and David got revenge with it at the last Star Wars. The match gets bloody after just a few minutes and they hold nothing back. Gordy is so strong, but David has a good comeback also thanks to the crowd’s support. The chairs are used towards the end and they constantly battle each other trying to get the advantage, but at one point they respectively hit each other on the head with a chair! The referee starts counting… and Gordy gets up at 9, David tries it as well but Gordy kicks him… and Gordy wins! (14:33) (84)
Postmatch both men are on the floor, so agents and security members arrive to support them (82)
NWA TEXAS HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE
TED DIBIASE (c) (w/ Bobby Heenan) vs. TERRY TAYLOR (w/ Sherri)
Taylor is super aggressive here, as DiBiase got really personal with him and Sherri, the announcers note that Taylor never seemed so angry even when facing Jimmy Garvin for months. Sherri gets involved and jumps on Heenan, beating him up and so the referee sends both away from ringside. The match gets chaotic and the referee distraction hurts Taylor, who had an edge, as DiBiase hits him with the loaded glove! The referee sees that and disqualifies DiBiase! (10:05) (71)
Postmatch DiBiase wants to hit Taylor again, but Taylor dodges the punch and punches DiBiase himself. Taylor wants to hit a piledriver, but DiBiase manages to escape and runs away! (71)
REWARD vs. PENALTY
STEEL CAGE GAUNTLET MATCH
KEVIN VON ERICH, STAN HANSEN, TERRY FUNK & DORY FUNK JR. vs. MICHAEL HAYES, BUDDY ROBERTS, KING KONG BUNDY & DICK MURDOCH (w/ Skandor Akbar)
The announcers say that a new competitor will enter the ring every 3 minutes and that the heels won the coin toss to get the advantage, you can win by pinfall or submission only once all the competitors are in. Kevin and Hayes start the match and they brawl furiously all around the ring. Murdoch comes in next and helps Hayes getting the best out of Kevin, who gets thrown against the cage a few times and is already bleeding. Dory is next and he helps Kevin against the heels. Roberts comes in and joins Hansen in beating Kevin up, while Dory seems to get the best out of Murdoch thanks to his experience. Hansen is the sixth man in and cleans the ring, saving Kevin and causing both Murdoch and Hayes to bleed. Bundy is next and he quickly targets Hansen thanks to Murdoch, stopping his momentum and hurting him with a splash in the middle of the ring. Terry is the last man in and he saves his brother from Hayes, then having a slugfest with Bundy. All men are in and brawling all over the place. Kevin comes back with a serious of knee drops and a dive from the top rope that targets all of his opponents. Terry capitalizes it with a piledriver on Murdoch and gets the win! Funk has a wish, while Murdoch must be shaven bald! (20:35) (80)
Postmatch Akbar takes Murdoch away, while Gary Hart still ensures that he will be shaven on TV next week or he will be fired. Funk thanks his brother, Hansen and Kevin for helping him in this war and is ready to make his wish: next month, at Star Wars Christmas Day, he wants to defend the WCCW American Heavyweight Title against the man that has dodged him for the whole year… he wants Ric Flair!!! (85)
Show notes
- 49385 is my best attendance ever! Just a few tickets went unsold and we got close to a sellout of 50000 fans!
- I think the show went well, even though I had better Star Wars card this year. David and Gordy have been praised, while Roberts has been encouraged as he was the weak link of the main event
- The main event was universally liked, even though the agents reported that it went a bit too long. I think a 3 minutes interval between an entry and the next one is an acceptable time, but it also depends on the competitors
- I can finally do Funk vs. Flair, it is quite difficult to book a feud where only one of the participants is on the show
- Not much to note on David vs. Gordy, as predicted it was so good that it had to be followed by something different like a DQ finish to let the crowd breathe
- The match for the tag titles was easily the surprise of the night, the action was really good and the fans were really into it. It was time for the Rock & Roll to get the belts, but again I can't stress how good Kabuki and Dragon have been as champions in the last few months
- Santana vs. Garvin was a bit underwhelming, they had enough time to deliver and never really shined. Their previous bout was way better, I'm wondering if the fans are into the feud, cause they surely can do better
- The opener was a bit disappointing considering the value of the workers. Again, Rich didn't shine even though this time he tried at least
