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WCCW 03-01-86

Taped from Dallas, TX

Airdate: March 1, 1986 (taped 02/21)

Attendance: unknown

Hosted by Bill Mercer

What’s the BIG NEWS? Can the Fantastics defeat Grappler and Tatum? Get the latest here!

Opening montage.

Match 1: Bruiser Brody versus the “Heartthrob of Texas New Jersey” Jack Victory

Highlights:

Rating: **

Summary: The Dallas faithful loved Brody as he wiped the mat with Victory.

PRESS CONFERENCE: Booker Ken Mantell announces that the American champion, “Ravishing” Rick Rude, has been anointed the World champion. In addition, new rules have been created. Champions will NOT have the benefit of maintaining their title through getting disqualified. He decrees that in the case of a time-limit draw, if the referee and official timekeeper see that the challenger has accomplished enough, the belt may change hands. In effect, the World Class Wrestling Association (WCWA) has left the National Wrestling Alliance to stand on its own.

HOT TAKE: This is incredible news. But why did it happen? In 1985, Jim Crockett, Jr., NWA President, bought the 6:05pm Saturday timeslot from Vince McMahon to host Jim Crockett Promotions. From there, his promotion blossomed causing him to rethink where NWA World champion “Nature Boy” Ric Flair should be most of the time. In fact, he kept Flair within the promotion to promote the territory nationally rather than regionally. Flair’s last appearance with World Class was against Lance Von Erich on October 28, 1985.

By limiting Flair’s schedule and becoming the singular focus of the NWA, many promotions felt left out. World Class was one of them and decided to form its own organization and secede from the NWA. Other promotions would soon follow e.g., MidSouth. To differentiate itself from other promotions, WCWA also made the aforementioned rule changes.

We’ll see how it goes in the coming weeks.

Match 2 (non-title): WCWA World champion “Ravishing” Rick Rude (w/ Percy Pringle) versus Jerry Allen

Highlights:

Rating: **

Summary: Rude introduced some new moves into his repertoire, sold for the purposes of making his opponent look good, and showcased that he is a wrestling champion.

Prior to the main event, Mercer interviews the Fantastics followed by Tatum, Missy, and the Grappler. Tatum’s promise of ‘not to lose” will be in effect.

Match 3: The Fantastics versus the Grappler & “Hollywood” John Tatum (w/ Missy Hyatt)

Highlights:

Rating: ***

Summary: Along with the Von Erichs, the Fantastics generate a ton of heat from the Dallas faithful, and their matches never disappoint. Grappler and Tatum tried to keep pace with them, but some Grappler chicanery didn’t go unnoticed causing their defeat.

Following the match, Grappler and Tatum hold Fulton, and Missy jumps into the ring and slaps Fulton three times. Nefarious!

Conclusion: While the Fantastics’ match is a lot of fun, the focus of the episode centers on WCWA’s exit from the NWA. Rude shows quite a bit of talent in his first match as World champion, and Brody makes short work of Victory. I’m curious to see how the nuances will affect the product as 1986 moves forward.

Next week, Kerry and Kevin battle Freebirds Hayes and Roberts.

TV Rating: NONE

Stay tuned for WCCW 03-08-86!

Comments? Suggestions? Send them to me at rsg@rockstargary.com and follow me on Twitter (@rockstargary202).

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