Taped from Dallas, TX
Airdate: January 23, 1988 (taped 01/02)
Attendance: unknown
Hosted by Marc Lowrance
Will Kevin surrender in an I Quit match against Adias? How will the Simpson brothers fare? What’s going on with the Texas tag champs? There’s so much here. How will they pack it all in?
Opening montage.
Video airs featuring the Missing Link.
We revisit two weeks ago when Link and The Real Thing were set to hook up, but shenanigans ensued.
Following a commercial break, we revisit last week when both Terry Gordy and Chris Adams demanded title shots. Thanks to Perez, Gordy got the better of Adams before Kevin chased off the Freebirds.
General Skandor Akbar cuts a promo on Eric Embry and wants to retire him permanently. Where the fuck did this come from? I thought Embry was a heel teaching Shaun Simpson ring psychology.
At ringside, Marc Lowrance interviews World champion Al Perez with Gary Hart by his side. Hart concentrates his promo toward challengers Adams and Matt Borne. Afterward, Perez thanks Hart for his management.
Where’s the wrestling?
Promo airs for WRESTLING THUNDERDOME coming to an arena near you. Don ‘t miss it!
At ringside, Lowrance interviews Adams who cuts a promo on Perez.
Match 1 (I Quit): Kevin Von Erich versus Brian Adias
Highlights:
- Um…
- This match occurred on 01/02 at the Sporatorium and was joined in progress.
- When Kevin trapped him in a standing leg scissors, Adias refused to quit.
- Adias rebounded with a slam, yet the Dallas faithful chanted “go, Kevin, go.”
- As Adias secured a half nelson, Kevin also refused to surrender.
- Kevin slammed him before applying an Iron claw.
- After Kevin took Adias down to the mat, Buddy Roberts and “Iceman” King Parsons stormed the ring to ambush Kevin.
- The bell rang, and Kevin won by DQ at 2:32 shown.
Rating: NONE
Summary: On second thought, they booked themselves into a corner because had either one submitted, they would be labeled a quitter. Although it worked in the long run for Tully Blanchard, it wouldn’t have done the same for Adias. In my eyes, I couldn’t see Kevin quitting anything much less a match.
Following the match, the Freebird foursome annihilate Kevin until the babyface locker room empties.
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Video airs featuring “Hollywood” John Tatum and Jack Victory. Plain as day, most of the video comes from Wild West Wrestling footage.
Match 2 (six-man): Steve, Shaun, & Stuart Simpson versus Cowboy Tony, “Playboy” Vince Apollo, & the Hood
Highlights:
- Unlike Lance, Stuart is an actual family member–brother in this case–of both Steve and Shaun.
- Steve rolled up Hood and got 2.
- As tags were exchanged on both sides, Stuart reversed a cross corner whip and hip-tossed Apollo.
- He slammed Apollo and followed with a dropkick.
- When Shaun tagged in, he mounted the top turnbuckle and lowered the boom onto Apollo.
- Cowboy Tony tagged in, but Shaun reversed a cross corner whip and backdropped him.
- After he dropkicked Tony, Shaun tagged out.
- Steve mounted the top turnbuckle and lowered some boom onto Tony.
- While the heels misfired on a double team, Stuart tagged in.
- He mounted the top turnbuckle and unloaded even more boom onto Tony.
- Tagging in, Apollo missed a chop, so Stuart bowled him over for 2. Obviously, he got ZERO height on what was supposed to be a cross body block.
- Shaun tagged in but ate a knee lift from Apollo.
- Rejoining the match, Hood clotheslined Shaun.
- He slammed Shaun but missed an elbow drop.
- Once tags were exchanged on both sides again, a mid-ring collision occurred.
- Tony dealt Steve a lariat but only got 1.
- Connecting with a back elbow, Tony landed a fist drop.
- He missed an elbow drop and whiffed on a flying knee.
- To the delight of the Dallas faithful, Shaun tagged in and dropkicked Tony.
- Shaun gave Tony a cross corner whip and followed with a monkey flip.
- Atop the top turnbuckle, Steve launched a cross body block.
- 1-2-3.
- The Simpson brothers won at 8:45.
Rating: ***
Summary: Solid six-man match with the babyfaces going over with plenty of high-flying excitement.
Match 3 (non-title): WCWA Texas tag team champions “Hollywood” John Tatum & the “Heartthrob of New Jersey” Jack Victory versus the Missing Link & Solomon Grundy (w/ Sheena)
Highlights:
- At the bell, the heels double-teamed the behemoth Grundy until Link chased them away with a steel chair.
- Link tagged in and gnawed on Victory’s triceps.
- When Grundy tagged in, Link wasn’t finished feasting and began chomping on Victory’s rather large derriere.
- Link caused some more chaos prompting referee Rick Hazzard to escort him back to his corner.
- As that transpired, Tatum mounted the top turnbuckle and clobbered Grundy with a double axe handle.
- Tatum tagged in and baited Link into the ring.
- With Hazzard distracted, Victory mounted the top turnbuckle, and the heels double-teamed Grundy. SNEAKY!
- Tatum dealt Grundy a knee lift and tagged out.
- After Victory knocked him down with a lariat, he gave Grundy a cross corner whip.
- On the other hand, Grundy erupted with a clothesline during Victory’s follow-through.
- Hot tag Link.
- Head butts galore energized the Dallas faithful much to the dismay of the heels.
- While Link missed a diving head butt, Tatum tagged in, mounted the top turnbuckle, and uncorked a flying guillotine. Sounds better than it truly was.
- Grundy distracted Hazzard which led to more chicanery by the heels. How dastardly!
- Since the credits rolled, the match didn’t reach its conclusion.
Rating: **
Summary: This was a cross between an enhancement match for the champions and a strong tag encounter before the abrupt signoff.
Conclusion: As much as I want to complain about the first half of the episode being full of interviews and video features, I can’t because Dallas suffered a major snowstorm that canceled the January 8 taping eliminating matches that would have been telecast.
Conversely, all the time spent on those caused the main event to lack an ending.
Next week, Kerry battles Parsons!
TV Rating: NONE
Stay tuned for WCCW 01-30-88!
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