The 25 Days of Von Erichs – Day Twenty-Three

With 3 days until Iron Claw is released, I present to you genuine moments in World Class Championship Wrestling history in chronological order.

Today, we look at May 25, 1985 from the Sportatorium:

Brian Adias defeated Thor.

NWA American champion “Gentleman” Chris Adams beat Mike Reed.

We return to Texas Stadium for this classic:

Match 3 for the NWA World title: “Nature Boy” Ric Flair (champion) versus Kevin Von Erich

Highlights:

• This match took place in ring #2.
• When Kevin hooked an O’Connor roll, he got 2.
• According to Lowrance, should Flair get disqualified, a title change would happen.
• Flair attempted a vertical suplex, but Kevin escaped and hooked a sleeper.
• As Flair made the ropes, Kevin backdropped him.
• The Irving faithful chanted “we want the claw,” and a flurry by Kevin led to a Flair flop.
• After Kevin mounted the top turnbuckle, he leaped but ate a shot to the midsection.
• Referee Rick Hazzard got bumped, so Flair tossed Kevin over the top rope. SNEAKY!
• While Kevin only landed on the apron, he mounted the top turnbuckle and launched a cross body block for 2.
• Flair delivered an inverted atomic drop and followed with a knee drop for 2.
• When he suplexed Kevin, Flair got another 2.
• He hooked an abdominal stretch but got caught grabbing the trunks.
• As Kevin applied his own abdominal stretch, Flair escaped with a hip toss.
• Flair missed an elbow drop, so Kevin mounted the second turnbuckle and unloaded an elbow smash.
• After Kevin nailed him, Flair soared over the top rope between the rings.
• He tossed Kevin down to the stadium floor and guillotined him with the top rope.
• While Flair missed a knee drop, Kevin gave him a cross corner whip that resulted in a Flair flip.
• With Flair in ring #1, Kevin mounted the top turnbuckle and hit another cross body block for 2.
• Kevin attempted an Iron claw, but Flair countered with a belly-to-back suplex.
• When Flair secured a sleeper, Kevin used momentum to send Flair face-first into the top turnbuckle.
• Kevin blocked a vertical suplex and dealt Flair one of his own for 2.
• As a series of lefts and chops caused a second Flair flop, Kevin attempted another Iron claw.
• Flair blocked it again, but Kevin gave him a second cross corner whip that resulted in another Flair flip.
• After Flair tossed him down to the stadium floor, Kevin re-entered the ring via sunset flip for 2.
• Flair slammed him, mounted the top turnbuckle, but jumped down when Kevin charged him.
• While Flair fled to ring #2, he mounted the top turnbuckle.
• Kevin caught and slammed him down to the mat much to the delight of the Irving faithful.
• When Kevin bridged into a backslide, he only got 2 thanks to Flair’s foot on the second rope.
• Kevin successfully applied an Iron claw, but Flair used momentum to send both wrestlers over the top rope down to the stadium floor.
• As Kevin and Flair battled on the stadium floor, Hazzard counted them both out at 20:38.
• BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Rating: ****

Summary: Unlike Kerry last year, Kevin couldn’t secure a World title victory yet gave Flair a great match. The backslide that enabled Kerry to win the title last year had the Irving faithful on the edge of its seat when Kevin hooked one this year.

After the match, a BUSTED OPEN Flair returns to the ring, but Kevin reapplies the Iron claw. Irritated, Kevin tosses Hazzard over the top rope and applies a third Iron claw. David Manning arrives to remove Kevin but gets shoved down. To the joy of the female contingent, Kerry and Mike sprint to the ring to settle down their brother. Kevin refuses to release the hold while yelling “it ain’t right.” Ultimately, Fritz enters the ring and convinces Kevin to break the hold.

Fritz grabs the microphone to inform us that although Kevin didn’t achieve the top of the mountain, Fritz’s still proud of him. As Fritz vows that “there will be another day,” Flair remains OUT COLD down on the mat.

Stay tuned for more WCCW goodness tomorrow!