World Class Championship Wrestling: The Trump Era

St. Templar · June 27, 2020

Chance Encounters

Life is full of chance encounters. Most of them lead to nothing. Others, however, have revolutionary results.

Donald Trump was, at the time, a well-moneyed real estate developer in New York. His business interests had reached great wealth and political power, particularly in the Empire State, but they hadn’t quite reached the heights they eventually would.

Fritz Von Erich was the owner of World Class Championship Wrestling, a Dallas-based promotion and NWA affiliate that showed great potential, but there were no guarantees. Fritz had long been a championship wrestler himself, having held the NWA American and Texas Heavyweight Championships on over two dozen occasions. He had once held a version of the AWA World Heavyweight Championship, but the NWA’s greatest prize had eluded even his nimble political grace. His sons, however, would be another matter. While Kevin would be able to dominate Texas, it was his second (technically, third; Fritz’s first son died as a child) who had been pegged for super-stardom. Blessed with a great physique and powerful charisma, David Von Erich was what most wrestling promoters pictured when they thought the term “world champion”. With standouts like Harley Race and up-and-comers like Ric Flair already around, everyone in the NWA just knew that the day would come when David Von Erich wore the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. And the next in line after David was Kerry. And nobody really knew how high Kerry could rise. But, that was for the future.

For now, planes were stranded on the ground by the freak storm, keeping Donald Trump, steaming, cursing under his breath as he stalked down the concourse. He pulled into a bar, hoping a beer would cool the flames in his chest and mind.

The two big men were the kind that drew attention when they walked through the airport. And it took Trump a full moment to realize that the third one, the smallest of the three, was there, but he definitely, good looking and broad shouldered, lean and tempered strength of his own, certainly looked to be able to handle himself. The other two had to be relatives, a brother and a father, but they were thick, powerful, heavy in chest and shoulder. And…they looked somehow familiar.

Trump racked his brain as he made his way to the bar, but it wasn’t until the oldest of the three men at that central table spoke, a big bass rumble, that he remembered who that man was.

Trump had always had a thing for the pageantry and humor of professional wrestling. He had even formed a tentative friendship with the guy who was up-and-coming, the heir apparent to Vince McMahon’s World Wide Wrestling Federation in New York City, a slick North Carolinian named Vinnie McMahon, who had inherited a keen business mind from his father but little of the elder McMahon’s grace, poise, or political ability.

But, away from New York, there were a few men who could command a room with both physical presence and sheer force of personality, and Fritz Von Erich was one of those men.

The two had bumped into each other and made small talk at some convention in one of Trump’s buildings in New York. It had been an unofficial meeting of the top brass of the National Wrestling Alliance. And Trump had liked the big Texan immensely. He saw that their glasses were running low, so he called over the sultry black waitress and had their drinks refilled. When Fritz turned to find Trump raising his own glass to them, he chuckled and grinned before waving over the New York businessman.

Nobody’s really sure the conversation that followed, but the bar tab was doubtlessly high. That meeting sparked further conversations and phone calls and meetings. By December of 1979, Trump and Von Erich (Jack Adkisson was his real name) had forged a friendship and a business relationship. And nobody could have seen, as Donald Trump took over a part of the ownership of Dallas’ World Class (the “Texas territory”, as it was commonly called in NWA circles, or simply “Dallas”). Nobody knew how that would shake out as the world of wrestling became transformed forever.

Jaysin · June 27, 2020

I was excited when you started with World Class and immediately lost interest when Trump is brought in.

That's coming from a guy who had a Trump runs NWA diary years ago.

outb0undflight · June 27, 2020

As a big fan of World Class, the very concept of this diary is just....gross.

St. Templar · June 27, 2020

Thanks for the input, fellas.

Way to make someone feel welcome...

By the way, on Saturdays and Sundays at my grandparents' place in east Texas, we watched World Class on KTVT and KWTX, then we watched Georgia on WTBS (on the old cable box). This is just a thought I had. If nobody's interested in the actual wrestling results, I'll just go someplace where this is wanted. No skin off my nose.

St.T

Sco xY2Jx · June 27, 2020

Don't be put off, St. T. Just because two people aren't keen on it doesn't mean others won't be. They just won't read it, is all.

We're all playing fantasy bookers here on the forums and indulging in wild, made-up scenarios. Not everyone's dynasty will be to everyone's taste. Don't get me wrong. I hate Trump. But I really like WCCW so I'll give it a shot. It's all supposed to be a bit of fun and entertainment in the end.

LordofGustav · June 27, 2020

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Sco xY2Jx" data-cite="Sco xY2Jx" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="50998" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Don't be put off, St. T. Just because two people aren't keen on it doesn't mean others won't be. They just won't read it, is all. We're all playing fantasy bookers here on the forums and indulging in wild, made-up scenarios. Not everyone's dynasty will be to everyone's taste. Don't get me wrong. I hate Trump. But I really like WCCW so I'll give it a shot. It's all supposed to be a bit of fun and entertainment in the end.</div></blockquote> Yep. I do hate Trump as well. But if you're willing to give a shot to this idea, go ahead, nobody will forbid you to go ahead. Myself i was planning a long time ago do a Don King leading WCW in 1991 diary. (Yes, i hate Don King too, because of the things he has done to several boxers). I don't know if either read it or not, but it's your diary, you should go ahead.

sportsfanmas · June 27, 2020

Go with it! I'll read. People will either choose to read or not, you can't control what they do, and going elsewhere with it may or may not work either.

There's such a wide variety of dynasties on here that there is literally something for everybody. I was a huge fan of WCCW, so I'm looking to see how it plays out.

The last thing we need is for this to turn into a political conversation. Trump isn't my favorite person in the world, but I don't hate him either.

christmas_ape · June 27, 2020

I'd 100% go for it, it would be a shame if those comments taint your view of what I'd say in general is a very friendly and supportive community. Why someone would pick to knock a diary (especially a first time one) with basically nothing to go off is baffling to me, and like I say hopefully not representative of the board as a whole.

Granted, I'm not American, perhaps for people there anything Trump related is just too politically charged to be entertainment, I don't know.. but regardless just don't read then would be my advice.

Hollywood · June 27, 2020

A WCCW diary should be fun to follow. There is a plothole with the background, however, as Trump (I don't like the guy but nevertheless) doesn't drink.

St. Templar · June 28, 2020

For the record, and I very much appreciate the words and the encouragement, I had already decided to say "f the haters" and go forward. If people want to check it out, that's great. If folks want to leave feedback, that's wonderful. If they just want to pass it by, so be it. If you want to come in, read it (or not) and crap all over someone else's creative expression...I just have to wonder how boring your life is that you got time for that. But, it is what it is.

As for the political slant, obviously Mr. Trump is a modern global political figure, but he is one that came from the business, entertainment, and, yes, professional wrestling (more or less) worlds. My personal feelings are that I don't hate anybody because I disagree with their politics and personal lifestyle choices. I just had this thought the other night when I was doing some creative writing brainstorming, and it sparked the idea of doing a save, which led to the idea of doing a diary (something I've always wanted to try, but I've never felt the drive to do until now...and if anything, people hating on it without even an actual post or idea of what roles people will play in the save/story just makes me want to do it more). And, no, I'm not apolitical; in fact, I teach political science. And the only political opinion I will ever share online (or really in any public forum) is that I despise the divisiveness that American politics has become. And, yes, I blame both sides because they've either actively promoted divisiveness or stood by while others in their particular party have done so. So...a pox on both their houses, to quote my old buddy Bill Shakespeare.

And, to the plothole, I know he has taken the position in the last decade that he doesn't drink, but I do seem to remember pictures and media of him drinking in the 1980's. If not, imagine it's a glass of water he's drinking. Isn't that our superpower: the ability to see one thing and imagine it's something that better fits our story? <img alt="" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/biggrin.png.929299b4c121f473b0026f3d6e74d189.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />

So, the next post will be my first show of the save. I set up my pre-game with "buying" Southwest Championship Wrestling in San Antonio (Joe Blanchard) and Gulf Athletic Club in Houston (Paul Boesch). Both Joe and Paul are working for me now, as is Tully, along with a host of standards that fans of Texas wrestling in the '70's and '80's will recognize, so I have the (now) NWA Southwest Heavyweight Champion Tully Blanchard, and the (now) NWA SOuthwest Tag Team Championship, which is vacant going into the show. Obviously, I also buffered my financial resources with that Trump money.

With all of that said, and to make a long story short (TOO LATE!), I do hope you enjoy!

St.T

St. Templar · June 28, 2020

The schedule I've set up is simple: Tuesdays are Big Time Wrestling (TV show), with tour shows ("house shows") on Friday, Saturday, and second Sundays. The fourth Sunday is a non-tour event. Also, I've set it up where I take the months of April, August, and December off (I've always liked the idea of wrestling have some "off-season" time for healing up and letting the creative types recharge the mental and creative batteries, so I tend to build those into my sims in general.

The titleholders (pre-show #1) are:

NWA American Heavyweight Champion (primary): Bruiser Brody

NWA Texas Heavyweight Champion (floating): Mark Lewin

NWA Southwest Heavyweight Champion (floating): Tully Blanchard

NWA Television (Texas) Champion (secondary): Jose Lothario

NWA Brass Knuckles (Texas) Champion (floating): Dusty Rhodes

NWA Texas Junior Heavyweight Champion (floating; a revived title): Vacant

NWA American Tag Team Champions (secondary): El Halcon and Jose Lothario

NWA Texas Tag Team Champions (secondary): Vacant

NWA Southwest Tag Team Champions (tertiary): Vacant

NWA World Heavyweight Champion: Harley Race

NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champion: Dominic DeNucci (it was vacant the first day of the save, but DeNucci won it in WWF on Monday, Week 1 January)

NWA World Women's Champion: The Fabulous Moolah

And, the link to the first episode:

<a href="https://imgur.com/a/1LH32VB" rel="external nofollow">https://imgur.com/a/1LH32VB</a>

St.T

BHK1978 · June 28, 2020

To just dismiss this because President Trump is a character in it, is insane. To feel the need to voice said hatred of the topic is ridiculous. There are plenty of diaries on this board where I hate the concept and I would never think to come into any of them and be like, "Well I hate this, I thought you should know and I am never going to read it."

This is coming from someone who is no fan of the President but I also do not have Trump Derangement Syndrome where I feel the need to shout orange man bad at the mere mention of his name.

If somebody made a diary where AOC bought ROH I would not feel the need to enter into their diary and be like, "Nah man AOC is nuts, so I don't want to read a diary with her in it." I would just roll my eyes and not read the diary.

People always talk about how this is an "inclusive" community, I guess that is not the case.

Good luck with this St. Templar I will be following along.

St. Templar · June 28, 2020

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="BHK1978" data-cite="BHK1978" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="50998" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>To just dismiss this because President Trump is a character in it, is insane. To feel the need to voice said hatred of the topic is ridiculous. There are plenty of diaries on this board where I hate the concept and I would never think to come into any of them and be like, "Well I hate this, I thought you should know and I am never going to read it." This is coming from someone who is no fan of the President but I also do not have Trump Derangement Syndrome where I feel the need to shout orange man bad at the mere mention of his name. If somebody made a diary where AOC bought ROH I would not feel the need to enter into their diary and be like, "Nah man AOC is nuts, so I don't want to read a diary with her in it." I would just roll my eyes and not read the diary. </div></blockquote> Well said. And I agree completely. And I will say that most of my interactions on this board have been completely positive, including the overwhelming number of comments on this thread. And, now...let me give you the rundown on the first episode (only so much you can get from checking out the results screen: The show opens with Bill Mercer and Boris Malenko (a new arrival on commentary) addressing the television audience and welcoming them to the first episode of Big Time Wrestling. It's January Week 2 Tuesday, and the show will be aired on Thursday. A new young reporter from Oklahoma by the name of Jim Ross is backstage to interview the Fabulous Freebirds. Michael "P.S." Hayes cuts a nice promo on their opponents tonight, NWA Texas Heavyweight Champion Mark Lewin and The Spoiler, who they will be facing for the vacant NWA Southwest Tag Team Championship. The opening match is Hector Guerrero vs. Mr. Hito in the first round of the tournament to crown the new NWA Texas Junior Heavyweight Champion (the revived title). Hector goes over clean to advance into the second round of the tournament. Next up, the Fabulous Freebirds' Michael Hayes and Terry Gordy (with Buddy "Jack" Roberts at ringside) face Lewin and Spoiler. Gordy beats Spoiler by pinfall. And the Fabulous Freebirds are the new NWA Southwest Tag Team Champions. The NWA Television Championship (Texas Version) is on the line next as champion Jose Lothario faces the young, debuting Jake Roberts. Roberts wins by rollup with a handful of tights. And Jake Roberts, in his first WCCW match, is the new NWA Television Champion (at least in Texas). Now, we see Craig DeGeorge backstage with the four members of the Von Erich clan. And, while Kevin, David, and Kerry look on, Fritz talks to Craig about their main event tag match tonight, which will see David and Kerry face NWA American Heavyweight Champion Bruiser Brody and "The Waxahachie Wild Man" Killer Tim Brooks, both of whom are under the tutelage of the legendary Skandor Akbar. And Fritz closes by saying that, if his boys beat the American Champion tonight, you have to imagine that means there could be some gold in the Von Erichs' future. When we're back from break, Mercer and Malenko remind the crowd about that tag team main event before introducing the next match. We see former NWA World Women's Champion Evelyn Stevens (she of the two-day reign), and she's set to take on the World Women's Champion The Fabulous Moolah, who has a terrible case of "lose-face and looks mildly disgusted". The match isn't very good, even though Evelyn's putting in a lot more effort than Moolah, and the crowd are on their hands between the poor performance, the real lack of effort on Moolah's part, and the fact that they're not used to seeing a lot of women's wrestling in the Sportatorium, but that doesn't change the fact that Moolah gets pinned for three (although she kicks out right after that three). But, it still means that Evelyn Stevens is the new NWA World Women's Champion. And that brings us to the main event. The American Heavyweight Champion Brody and the Killer to face the two younger (at least among active wrestlers) of the Von Erich brothers. The crowd is into the match, backing the Von Erichs to the hilt, but Brody looks terribly strong, getting in a ton of offense as David and Kerry struggle to sell enough to really make his offense look as destructive as it could. But, after a long brawl, it's David using the Iron Claw to put the Killer on his back for a three-count. And, the crowd rejoices as the Von Erich heroes have conquered the dastardly Brody and Brooks, and left Skandor Akbar in his feelings. Come out and see the men (and women) of World Class Championship Wrestling when they come to a town near you! Friday night, the crew will be at the Cowtown Coliseum in Ft. Worth, and Saturday, we'll be in Abilene, at the Taylor County Expo Center. A late piece of news as a special Oklahoma show has been added for this Sunday, where the boys will be in Tulsa at the Expo Square Pavilion for a one-night only event as World Class Championship Wrestling takes over Tulsa! St.T

St. Templar · June 28, 2020

My first tour show.

https://imgur.com/5tgYQV3

Highlights are JYD (with Bearcat Wright) going clean over "Iceman" King Parsons (managed by Ernie Ladd). In a trios match, Kevin and Kerry Von Erich teamed with Scott Casey to face NWA Texas Heavyweight Champion Mark Lewin and the pair of Black Gordman and Great Goliath; in that match, Kerry pinned Lewin. And, in the main event, Dusty Rhodes, David Von Erich, and Larry Hennig (the venerable Axe himself) beat NWA World Heavyweight Champion Harley Race and the Blackjacks when Dusty pinned Lanza.

My tour commentary team is Mr. Bill Mercer, the golden voice of World Class from the Sportatorium, and a young Oklahoman named Jim Ross.

St.T

St. Templar · June 29, 2020

My second tour show:

https://imgur.com/a/Hvorgwa

Some highlights:

Dory Funk, Jr., won the NWA Southwest Heavyweight Championship from Tully Blanchard in the main event

Bearcat Wright and Jukyard Dog teamed up to beat "Iceman" King Parsons and "Sugar Bear" Jim Harris (Iceman and Sugar Bear are in a stable with Butch Reed with Ernie Ladd as their manager; I'm building to a match between JYD and Ladd)

Mil Mascaras beat Tom Jones in the NWA Texas Junior Heavyweight Championship Tournament

Chavo and Mando Guerrrero beat Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart

And my "special" show from Oklahoma City with Leroy McGuirk joining Jim Ross and Bill Mercer on commentary:

https://imgur.com/R6xExsk

Some highlights:

The main event saw Kevin Von Erich beat Dick Murdoch for the NWA Oklahoma Heavyweight Championship

We saw Dusty Rhodes beat Terry Funk and Stan Hansen to unify the Texas and Tri-State Brass Knuckles titles into the NWA American Brass Knuckles Championship (Funk has just signed an exclusive deal with AJPW, so this is the last easy chance I'll have to use him for a while...at least without a talent trade)

We saw Killer Tim Brooks beat a young Jake Roberts to unify the Texas and Western States TV titles into the NWA American Television Championship

And, we saw Ax Attack (Curt Hennig and his dad Larry "The Axe") beat the Sheepherders for the NWA Oklahoma Tag Team Championship

St.T

BHK1978 · June 29, 2020

What I love about these types of diaries is how familiar and yet unfamiliar I am with some of the people. For instance, I saw Tom Jones and I automatically thought of the singer. I have no idea who Tom Jones the wrestler is.

I know who JYD (One of my favorite wrestlers when I was a little kid) and Ice Man are but I have never heard of Bearcat or Jim Harris. Growing up I was more exposed to the WWF so that is the main reason and I did not get into other promotions until around 1988 or 89.

St. Templar · June 30, 2020

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="BHK1978" data-cite="BHK1978" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="50998" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>What I love about these types of diaries is how familiar and yet unfamiliar I am with some of the people. For instance, I saw Tom Jones and I automatically thought of the singer. I have no idea who Tom Jones the wrestler is. I know who JYD (One of my favorite wrestlers when I was a little kid) and Ice Man are but I have never heard of Bearcat or Jim Harris. Growing up I was more exposed to the WWF so that is the main reason and I did not get into other promotions until around 1988 or 89.</div></blockquote> That's the cool thing about the territory era! People who were big stars in your memory may be guys that the average wrestling fan in Texas or Alabama or Oregon never even heard of. I love it! And...you haven't heard of Sugar Bear or Bearcat?!? lol It's something I chuckled about when I read Stephen King's It. The guys living in the 1950's in New England call Ben (who's been living in Houston) "Haystacks". I figured somewhere "off-screen" somebody had to explain to him who Haystacks Calhoun was. lol And, back to some updates, a whole weekend of shows from Waco, Austin, and Houston. <a href="https://imgur.com/a/122UcBK" rel="external nofollow">https://imgur.com/a/122UcBK</a> <a href="https://imgur.com/a/5fKofIF" rel="external nofollow">https://imgur.com/a/5fKofIF</a> <a href="https://imgur.com/a/AhmxRYh" rel="external nofollow">https://imgur.com/a/AhmxRYh</a> Some highlights: Gran Markus beat Dory Funk, Jr., for the NWA Southwest Heavyweight Championship (this pissed Dory off, but he just signed an exclusive deal with New Japan, so he can cry in his yen; funny thing was that I decided to do this after I found out Dory was leaving, and Markus had told me he was willing to put Jake Roberts over; the day after, Markus signed an exclusive deal with EMLL, so I'll be losing him, too...but he'll put over Roberts for the Southwest Championship before he goes /spoiler) Andre and Dusty went over Harley and Dick Murdoch (interesting seeing Dusty and Dick on opposite sides; figure I'll do a heel turn with Dusty to team with Dick and get the Texas Outlaws back going at some point) The Von Erichs went over the Blackjacks and Stan Hansen (thinking about putting the three of them together in a stable with Cowboy Lang, a younger guy who's "Unimportant"...see if I can't get him over) Other notes: Evelyn Stevens (the NWA World Women's Champion) is now listed as "Recognizable" (pardon my American-ized spelling), and I'm toying with the idea of teaming Wahoo McDaniel with Billy Two Eagles to see how they work out. I figure older, established star with a young up-and-comer with a similar gimmick might do well. St.T

St. Templar · July 1, 2020

https://imgur.com/a/9BeO9yJ

Third episode, season one of Big Time Wrestling from the Sportatorium in Dallas, Texas, in front of a capacity crowd of 4,500.

Bill Mercer and Boris Maleno on commentary, here are the highlights of the show.

Hector Guerrero pinned Bret Hart to get a spot in the match for the inaugural NWA Texas Junior Heavyweight Championship at World Class Clash of the Titans.

David Von Erich submitted Ross Hart

The other two Guerrero Brothers (Chavo and Mando) beat the Minnesota Wrecking Crew, meaning that the Guerreros are in the match for the vacant NWA Texas Tag Team Championship at Clash of the Titans

Wahoo McDaniel and his tribemate Billy Two Eagles have a confrontation angle against NWA American Television Champion Killer Brooks and Sandor Abar, then their match ends with McDaniel going over (with help from Two Eagles) to become the new American Television Champion

Susan Green and Wendi Richter teamed up to beat NWA World Women's Champion Evelyn Stevens and Monster Ripper when Green pinned Stevens

And, in the main event, Kerry Von Erich pinned "The Big Cat" Ernie Ladd for the right to face Mark Lewin at Clash of the Titans for the NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship

St.T

St. Templar · July 1, 2020

And a Friday and Saturday house shows on the Road to Clash (of the Champions) 1980

Friday night in San Antonio at the Junction and Saturday night at Memorial Coliseum in Corpus Christi.

https://imgur.com/a/X49ydAc

https://imgur.com/a/vPu6o5n

Some highlights:

In a Friday night title rematch, Dory Funk, Jr., beat NWA Southwest Heavyweight Champion Gran Markus by countout...but the title doesn't change hands on that finish.

On Saturday night, Junkyard Dog beat Tully.

Dusty defeated Buddy "Jack" Roberts to retain the NWA American Brass Knuckles Championship

NWA World Heavyweight Champion Harley Race teamed up with NWA Texas Heavyweight Champion Mark Lewin and The Spoiler to defeat Bill Watts and Ax Attack (Curt Hennig and Larry the Axe)

NWA American Heavyweight Champion Bruiser Brody and Killer Brooks defeated NWA American Television Champion Wahoo McDaniel and his young charge Billy Two Eagles

St.T

St. Templar · July 2, 2020

And my last episode of Big Time Wrestling before Clash of the Titans 1980.

https://imgur.com/a/pSawqIk

Again, Bill Mercer and Boris Malenko open the show at commentary, welcoming the fans to the Sportatorium, where a capacity crowd of 4,500 have packed in for the show. They hype that this Sunday, at Reunion Arena, we'll have World Class' Clash of the Titans, and the Championship Committee has gotten with the promoters to make sure that it'll be a great night of Texas wrestling!

(This first match was cut off because of the number of segments was too great to show everything.) We open tonight's action with a match to determine who will face Hector Guerrero to crown the first NWA Texas Junior Heavyweight Championship. And it's Kazuo Sakurada pinning the legendary Mil Mascaras, so this Sunday, it will be Hector Guerrero vs. Kazuo Sakurada for the NWA Texas Junior Heavyweight Championship!

We hear from Bearcat Wright, whose charge Akio Sato had a match earlier and whose other client Junkyard Dog will be in action later. This is followed by words from the NWA American Television Champion Wahoo McDaniel.

Back in the ring, we have Lord Alfred Hayes to introduce his new client Ted DiBiase. The young DiBiase is making his debut tonight here in Dallas, but he's already known for his exploits in Louisiana and elsewhere. And he's a definite star in the making. He proves it by beating the veteran Les Thornton with a Cobra Clutch, forcing the Englishman to tap out.

Words from Stan Hansen are next, followed by Paul Boesch representing World Class' Championship Committee and hyping Sunday's show, while reminding fans in Tyler and Texarkana that they can see the wrestlers of World Class Championship Wrestling in their hometowns this Friday and Saturday, respectively, ahead of this Sunday's star-studded affair. Next up is "Dirty" Dick Murdoch, who has some interesting things to say about the NWA American Brass Knuckles Champion Dusty Rhodes ahead of his match this Sunday against Killer Brooks.

The Blackjacks are in the ring next to face the Sheepherders with a chance to face Chavo and Mando Guerrero this Sunday for the vacant NWA Texas Tag Team Championship. Mulligan pins Butch to win the match and solidify a top spot on Sunday's card.

Terry "Bam Bam" Gordy and the rest of the Freebirds, NWA Southwest Tag Team Champions that they are, hype Sunday's show and bring up that they'll be defending the Southwest Tag Team titles this Friday in Tyler.

And, next up, we get a heated confrontation between Chavo Guerrero and "Gorgeous" Gino Hernandez, and that's just the precursor to their match, which the Gorgeous One wins by pinfall.

Junkyard Dog (with Bearcat Wright) is confronted by J.J. Dillon and Mr. Hito next, which is a set-up for their match. JYD wins with a Thump, but it's obvious that Dillon and Hito have 0 chemistry as client and manager, so that will likely be the end of that experiment.

We see Dory Funk, Jr., next, talking about facing NWA Western States Heavyweight Champion "Superstar" Billy Graham for his title. He says, as the rumors have persisted, that he'll soon be off to Japan, but he'll be with the NWA there in Japan...and he'll be happy to take it there, so anybody who wants the title can come across the Pacific to get it.

That brings up Graham and Funk, where "Superstar" wins by submission in a short match to retain the NWA Western States Heavyweight Championship.

And our main event, after NWA American Heavyweight Champion Bruiser Brody and his challenger for this Sunday, the heroic David Von Erich, face off, jawing at each other and making threats. And that leads to the main event: Brody teaming with NWA Texas Heavyweight Champion Mark Lewin (with Brody's manager Skandor Akbar and ally Killer Brooks and Lewin's long-time partner The Spoiler at ringside) against David and Kerry Von Erich (with papa Fritz and brother Kevin also at ringside). The match is a hard-hitting affair that ends when Brody pins Kerry after a running big boot.

And that's the end of the wrestling but not the fighting. Brody stands tall, but he starts to kick at Kerry, who's trying to get up as Brody stands over him. That brings David, Fritz, and Kevin to Kerry's aid even as Spoiler and Brooks join Brody and Lewin. The Von Erichs fight the heels bravely as Mr. Mercer hypes that this will not end well for anybody, but be sure to be back Sunday night when World Class' Clash of the Titans comes to you from right here in Dallas!

St.T

St. Templar · July 2, 2020

Two "house shows" leading into my first supercard (for the whippersnappers reading this, that's what they used to call pay-per-views before pay-per-view was really a thing).

https://imgur.com/a/PiDl3RJ

https://imgur.com/a/CEmX7G0

For the record, the first show is from Tyler, Texas, which is where I grew up, and the second is in Texarkana, Arkansas, and I lived for several years in Texarkana, Texas. These are not cogent to the diary. But, I wanted to express.

Some highlights:

From Tyler on Friday:

Evelyn Stevens defended the NWA World Women's Championship against Ann Casey

The Minnesota Wrecking Crew defeated a young British Bulldogs to get their hands on the NWA Western States Tag Team Championship (GCW got rid of Ole as booker, so I was able to sign them both exclusively...thought a title run would be nice)

Ted DiBiase (dude is a flat-out hoss...just like in reality) and Jake Roberts beat Wahoo McDaniel and Billy Two Eagles

Fritz and Kevin teamed up to take the NWA Southwest Tag titles off of the Freebirds

From Texarkana on Saturday:

Jose Lothario defeated Dominic DeNucci to capture the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship (DeNucci is with WWF, who just left the NWA after Vinnie Mac took over fro his father; it pissed DeNucci off but I didn't want the NWA to strip him and have a title vacancy)

Jake Roberts beat Gran Markus to win the NWA Southwest Heavyweight Championship (Markus is a more experienced guy and he told me he'd be happy to put over Jake, so I engineered it to have some story and mean something before he leaves for an exclusive deal with UWA)

Ted DiBiase and "Superstar" Billy Graham defeated Dusty Rhodes and David Von Erich when DiBiase submitted Dusty with the Cobra Clutch

Next post will be after I run my Clash of the Titans supercard. I've got some good stuff planned for it. Some highlights of the match card:

Hector Guerrero vs. Kazuo Sakurada for the revived NWA Texas Junior Heavyweight Championship

Dusty Rhodes defending the NWA American Brass Knuckles Championship against Killer Brooks

The Blackjacks facing Chavo and Mando Guerrero for the vacant NWA Texas Tag Team Championship

Mark Lewin defending the NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship against Kerry Von Erich

Bruiser Brody defending the NWA American Heavyweight Championship against David Von Erich

I'm looking forward to seeing how that works out.

St.T

St. Templar · July 3, 2020

And, here is World Class Clash of the Titans 1980 from the Tarrant County Convention Center in Fort Worth, Texas! (note that I hyped in a previous show that this event would be from Reunion Arena, but I'd forgotten that Reunion didn't open until April of 1980, so...)

https://imgur.com/a/ydXrVAg

We're in the Tarrant County Convention Center and, as the crowd comes in to take their seats, the action gets into the ring with Jim Ross, Leroy McGuirk, and Paul Boesch on commentary (the pre-show is being taped to be used for highlights for the tour highlights shows and for Thursday's episode of Big Time Wrestling).

Our opening pre-show match sees The Power's "Iceman" King Parsons and "Sugar Bear" Jim Harris defending the NWA American Tag Team Championship against Bearcat Wright and Junkyard Dog. Iceman and Sugar Bear are accompanied by Butch Reed and their leader "The Big Cat" Ernie Ladd, while Bearcat and JYD are accompanied by the newly-brought-in Akio Sato. The match is solid if not spectacular, with JYD getting the pin over Iceman. And that makes Bearcat Wright and Junkyard Dog the new NWA American Tag Team Champions.

Next up, we have Hector Guerrero (unaccompanied by Chavo or Mando, who are in the back getting ready for their match later) against Kazuo Sakurada for the revived NWA Texas Junior Heavyweight Championship. Hector goes over clean and easy to become tne new NWA Texas Junior Heavyweight Champion.

And, to close out our pre-show matches, we have a thirty-man battle royal featuring NWA Western States Heavyweight Champion "Superstar" Billy Graham, and Graham's title is on the line in the battle royal. And, right before we begin, Andre the Giant makes his way to the ring. The big man from the New York Territory (pointedly not mentioning WWF by name due to their recent abandoning of the NWA) is dominant, even though it's Michael Hayes that gets the most eliminations. And it's Hayes who Andre eliminates last to win the battle royal and the NWA Western States Tag Team Championship.

And that brings us to the main show. It's Bill Mercer, Boris Malenko, and Jim Ross, who remains behind to work the main show.

First up, we have the Blackjacks facing the Guerrero Brothers (Chavo and Mando, at least) for the vacant NWA Tag Team Championship. It's a hard-hitting affair, and the Blackjacks' roughneck style bests the Guerreros' speed as Mulligan pins Mando. And the Blackjacks are the new NWA Texas Tag Team Champions.

We cut to backstage, where Craig DeGeorge is with the Von Erichs (NWA Southwest Tag Team Champion Fritz, NWA Southwest Tag Team and NWA Oklahoma Heavyweight Champion Kevin, Kerry, and David). Fritz talks up Kerry's match for the NWA Texas Heavyweight title and David's for the NWA American Heavyweight title tonight.

Back in the ring, Dusty Rhodes is ready to defend the NWA American Brass Knuckles Championship against young star Ted DiBiase. And, oddly, it's Dusty who cheats (if we can say anybody cheats in a brass knuckles match) to get the pinfall and retain the title. The crowd is happy that Dusty won, but they're not sure if they're pleased with how he did it, and Good Young J.R. at the commentary table puts over his own shock at Dusty's tactics while Boris Malenko lauds the champion for his smarts.

Jim Ross leaves the announce table to get into the ring, where he's joined by Bobby Heenan and his clients (and the new NWA Texas Tag Team Champions) The Blackjacks. Heenan talks up Lanza and Mulligan before introducing his newest client. As Stan Hansen makes his way to the ring and plays to the crowd, Heenan says that there's not a tougher collection of fighters anywhere in wrestling.

The camera cuts to backstage, where we see all four members of the Power brawling with Bearcat Wright, Junkyard Dog, and Akio Sato. It's a brutal brawl backstage as workers anf officials struggle to pull the groups apart.

And we're back to the ring, where NWA Texas Heavyweight Champion Mark Lewin is set to defend against Kerry Von Erich. The Spoiler accompanies Lewin to the ring, while Fritz comes down with Kerry (Mr. Mercer speculates that Kevin must be in the back with David, helping him get ready for his own title match in the main event. In a solid match, Kerry hits Lewin with a big boot to get the pinfall. And Kerry Von Erich is the new NWA Texas Heavyweight Champion.

Craig DeGeorge is now there with Skandor Akbar, NWA American Heavyweight Champion Bruiser Brody, and Killer Brooks. Akbar says that Bruiser will end the night as the NWA American Heavyweight Champion.

Evelyn Stevens is up next, defending the NWA World Women's Championship against Susan Green. The match is slow-paced, letting the crowd come down a bit, and it's a simple piece that Evelyn Stevens pins Susan Green for the win. And Evelyn Stevens is still the NWA World Women's Champion.

And, it's time for the main event. NWA American Heavyweight Champion is down with Killer Brooks and Skandor Akbar. And David Von Erich is out with his father Fritz and his brothers Kerry and Kevin. It's a brutal match, with Bruiser bloody by the end of it, but it's Killer Brooks that hits David behind the referee's back, letting Bruiser take advantage and hit a running big boot for the win. And Bruiser Brody is still the NWA American Heavyweight Champion even though David looks supremely strong.

And four angry Von Erichs are in the ring, menacing a tired Brody, a hot Brooks, and a begging-off Akbar. Until, that is, NWA World Heavyweight Champion Harley Race gets down to the ring. Race attacks the Von Erichs, joined in with shortly by Brody, Brooks, and Akbar. The two groups are beating each other down as Mr. Mercer calls for help from backstage, but he gets in one last shot not to forget to catch Big Time Wrestling this Thusrday to see how this fight ends!

St. Templar · July 8, 2020

Sorry for the delay in the latest update. I've been able to play, but I haven't had the extra time to update the diary and let everybody know what's going on in World Class since Clash of the Titans. I've gotten the following two weeks done, and it helps to remember that Mid-South was in bad shape (and so is the economy), so I went ahead and snatched them up (I already had Watts himself on my roster since he was a champion in Tri-State at the beginning of 1980), and that gave me Paul Orndorff (and his brother Terry), Mike George, Bob Sweetan, "The Grappler" Len Deaton, Bull Ramos, Mike George, Iron Mike Sharpe, and Boyd Pierce, who plays the heel Southerner to Jim Ross' face Okie on my commentary team with Bill Mercer.

In other world of wrestling news here in early 1980, Vince McMahon (Vinnie, not Vince Sr.) took over WWF early, and has already broken with the NWA completely (I thought it was odd to see them listed in the database as a member of the NWA, since they had kind of an on-again, off-again relationship with NWA membership), Antonio Inoki and Jeff Jarrett pulled New Japan and the CWA out of the NWA, too.

Let me shoot some screenshots and upload them to Imgur, and I'll be back with a couple of weeks of update that conclude with our first show in New Orleans two weeks after Clash of the Titans.

St.T

St. Templar · July 8, 2020

The fifth episode of Big Time Wrestling of 1980::

In the pre-show, while the Sportatorium crowd, at its capacity, as usual, is getting settled in, we get a very nice match between "Superstar" Billy Graham and former NWA World Heavyweight Champion Jack Brisco. That's followed by a nice cool-down with Wendy Hackney teaming with Peggy Lee Leather to go over Jackie Sato and Maki Ueda.

Bill Mercer, the debuting Boyd Pierce, and Jim Ross welcome the fans to tonight's episode of World Class' Big Time Wrestling.

To open the show, JR leaves the broadcast position to interview the "Cowboy". Bill Watts brings out Iron Mike Sharpe, Apache Bull Ramos, and NWA (formerly MSW) North American Heavyweight and Louisiana Heavyweight Champion Mike George. Paul Orndorff comes out to counter Watts' promo, ending up by setting a challenge for George tonight in the main event for the NWA North American Heavyweight Championship (Texas Version).

(Gotta keep EMLL happy, even though they signed Gran Markus away from me) In the opening match, we see Jose Lothario defending the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship against Gran Markus (Gran Markus did a lot of work in Texas and started out under contract with me, but EMLL made him a huge money offer to take an exclusive deal in Mexico, so he's going). Gran Markus goes over clean for the victory and to become the new NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champion.

Fritz is out next with some other suits, NWA World Women's Champion Evelyn Stevens, and the newly-signed Mae Young. He announces the creation of the NWA American Women's Championship, and he says that, at Pride and Glory in four weeks, Mae Young will face the winner of a tournament to crown the inaugural NWA American Women's Champion.

The Brain Trust is out next (that's the Blackjacks and Stan Hansen, with Bobby Heenan) to face Pepper Gomez and Brazo de Oro and Brazo de Plato. The Brain Trusth gets the win when Hansen gets the duke.

Craig DeGeorge is on camera next, and Dick Murdoch is interviewed backstage with his new manager Skandor Akbar. Murdoch says that Dusty Rhodes needs to go ahead and join the dark side, as he cheated to retain the NWA American Brass Knuckles Championship at Clash of the Titans.

Next up, Murdoch has a match against Stan Stasiak. Murdoch wins the match with relative ease. Dusty comes out after the match, saying that Murdoch may want him to cross over and Dusty might have had to take a shortcut to get that win, but he's back where he should be now, and he'll never join Akbar's Devastation, Inc.

Ann Casey defeated Penny Mitchell in a first-round match to determine who will face Mae for the Women's Title at Pride and Glory.

And that brings us to the main event. Paul Orndorff goes over Mike George to win the NWA North American Heavyweight Championship (Texas Version). As the show closes, Mr. Mercer reminds the fans at home that World Class will be in Wichita Falls this Friday and in Odessa on Saturday.

St.T

St. Templar · July 8, 2020

House shows for the first week of February 1980. Friday night's in Wichita Falls' D.L. Ligon Coliseum, and Saturday in Odessa's Ector County Coliseum.

Friday: https://imgur.com/a/WcC0pCJ

Saturday: https://imgur.com/a/GEFQLSx

Some highlights:

Junkyard Dog defeating "Iceman" King Parsons, the "Sugar Bear" Jim Harris (they're stablemates, remember)

The Minnesota Wrecking Crew beating Kerry and Kevin Von Erich to unify the NWA Southwest Tag titles into the NWA Western States Tag titles

Harley Race with a successful NWA World Heavyweight title defense against Terry Funk

Dusty going to a double countout in a match with Dick Murdoch for the NWA American Brass Knuckles title (for the uninitiated, "brass knuckles" matches, which usually were treated like a hardcore match would be a generation later, were basically standard matches, but the wrestlers could use weapons, particularly brass knuckles, so it was very rare to see one end with a disqualification because of a wrestler using a foreign object, but a countout finish was quite possible)

St.T

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