The SmarK Rant for WCCW Thanksgiving Star Wars – 11.28.85

The SmarK Rant for WCCW Thanksgiving Star Wars 85 – 11.28.85

Originally written 11.28.25

Well this one popped up on the Vault today and I can’t resist some classic Von Erichs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vw5KBulNTzo

Taped from Dallas, TX, drawing 13,423. I think this is just two episodes of the TV show stitched together, but whatever.

Your host is Bill Mercer

The Grappler & The Missing Link v. David Peterson & Johnny Mantell

David is better known later on as DJ Peterson in the AWA. Missing Link is managed (reluctantly) by Percy Pringle III, who is having trouble maintaining open communication with his man. Johnny and Grappler do some grappling and fight over the wristlock, but Mantell slides out of the ring on a criss-cross and further raises Percy’s blood pressure. “HE’S USING A FIST! THAT’S A VIOLATION OF THE RULES!” You tell him, Percy. Watching a hyperactive and anxious Pringle after years of seeing him as laid back Paul Bearer is hilarious. Over to DJ, and Grappler wants a test of strength, so DJ gets a sunset flip for two. Mantell comes in with a headlock and Grappler rolls him over for two, so Pringle clarifies that HE’S NOT PULLING THE TIGHTS, even though no one asked. Just getting ahead of it, I guess. Grappler works Mantell over in the corner, and Percy instructs Link to put out his head so that Grappler can use it as a weapon. But of course Mantell reverses and sends Grappler into Link’s head instead, and the whole heel team dynamic is just completely off now. So Grappler tells the Link to get in the ring and do something. So Grappler gives DJ a few shots to get Link started in there, and Link proceeds to beating on DJ with his head. This appears to make him very happy, so who I am to judge him? Link keeps beating DJ down and then Grappler comes in and takes over with a backdrop, but DJ gets a bodypress for two. Link goes back to beating on DJ, but he misses a headbutt and it’s hot tag Mantell. It’s BREAKING LOOSE IN TULSA and Mantell gives Grappler a skull cracker and gets a sleeper to follow. He tries a monkey flip in the corner, and Grappler grabs the top rope to block and finishes with a lariat at 12:34. This was a pretty tremendously entertaining tag match for what it was. ***

Lance Von Erich v. Killer Tim Brooks

Temu Kevin stupidly goes for a handshake and gets attacked by Brooks for his troubles. But he comes back with a dropkick and back elbow for two. Lance gets some kind of fucked up sleeper that would be totally ineffective in real life, and puts Brooks to sleep at 2:00. Look, Lance was terrible and an incredibly cynical ploy by Fritz to exploit his own family, granted. But I think if he had been any good whatsoever, there was potential for a story where “Lance” turned heel on his family as a renegade Von Erich who was trying to steal the family fortune with the help of “father” Waldo Von Erich after suckering them into thinking he was part of the family. Obviously that’s a story that’s been done a million times in “real” media, but I don’t know of any notable instances in wrestling where that storyline has been tried before. Anyway this was terrible. DUD

American Heavyweight title: Ravishing Rick Rude v. Iceman King Parsons

The American title was yet another variation on the NWA National title belt. It’s also the belt that became the World Class World title when they broke away from the NWA a couple of months after this. Rude is of course managed by Percy Pringle at this point, still hopped up on Red Bull apparently. Rude and Iceman have a posedown to start and Rude is so offended that he charges and lands on the floor. Back in, Rude beats on him with knees and misses another charge, allowing Parsons to go to work on the arm. They criss-cross and Iceman does the spot where he just walks away and leaves Rude to run the ropes, and then hits an atomic drop for our first Rude Atomic Drop Sell of the match. HE’S TRYING TO INJURE HIS SPINE AND PULLED HIS TIGHTS! According to Pringle. Rude works a chinlock and Iceman escapes from that while Pringle freaks out on the front row and accuses them all of being a bunch of liars. Rude with an atomic drop and that’s A LITTLE DOSE OF YOUR OWN MEDICINE, ICE-BOY! Man I’m enjoying Pringle way more than I realized I did. Rude beats on Iceman with forearms and drops a knee on him for two. Rude with a rear chinlock, but Parsons sends him out of the ring to break, bumping him into Pringle in a well timed spot. Back in the ring, Rude goes to an abdominal stretch and holds the tights. Pringle: DON’T LET THE REF CATCH YOU, RICK! Good advice. Rude switches to a bearhug and now Pringle is confident that Iceman is in trouble and won’t be able to solve it. Iceman does indeed escape and fights back, but he misses a bodypress and Rude pins him at 11:04 to retain the title. Good match, and Pringle was completely unhinged here and nearly carried the match by himself. ***

Afterwards, Iceman goes after Pringle to shut him up, but Rude attacks and drops Iceman with the DDT on the concrete.

Meanwhile, Bill Mercer wants to know from Rude if it was entirely necessary to attempt murder on Iceman in that last match? Rude argues that it was, and then Pringle has another bug eyed freak out. Mercer: “You didn’t use your Rude Awakening in the ring, you used it on the concrete floor!” Rude: “So what, it worked even better out there.” Can’t argue that point.

Battle of the Giants: The One Man Gang v. Kamala

They immediately slug it out in the corner and Kamala wins that battle and chokes Gang out on the ropes. Back to the fisticuffs and the ref is bumped already, as they fight to the floor and scuffle out there. Back in the ring, Kamala continues pounding on him, but Gang makes a babyface comeback and gets all fired up, resulting in the ref getting bumped again and that’s the DQ at 3:27. It is what it is. DUD

Texas Heavyweight title: Brian Adias v. Jack Victory

Victory gets some cheapshots on Adias, but Brian hiptosses him and Jack retreats to the corner. Adias with a dropkick and he works a headlock as they point out Mike Von Erich’s doctor at ringside. Doctor or “doctor”? Victory escapes and puts the boots to Adias to take over, and chokes him out on the ropes before hitting him with a knee to the back. More choking and he tries a spinning toehold, but Adias fights out of that and makes a comeback. They collide for a double down, but Adias makes a comeback and gets his own spinning toehold. Victory makes the ropes and catches Brian with his head down, and a slam gets two. Adias powerslams him, however, and finishes with a flying bodypress to retain at 7:18. **1/2

Cage match: John Tatum v. Scott Casey

I kind of love how they position the rules here as a Texas Death match, where there’s no pinfalls and the match continues until “one man is physically incapable of preventing his opponent from leaving the cage”. That sounds way more badass than “escape the cage to win”. May I just say, HOLY SHIT 1985 MISSY HYATT. John Tatum was batting way above his average in 1985, lemme tell ya. Tatum slams Casey and puts the boots to him to start, but Casey fights back and tries for the door right away. Tatum clobbers him and runs him into the cage to prevent that. But then he tries for the door and Casey smashes him into the cage a few times to stop him, and follows with a piledriver. Tatum gets a knee to the gut and tries to leave again, but Casey cuts him off and slams him as Bill accuses Missy of not actually caring about Tatum and only being interested in his money when he wins. Well there’s a shoot comment if there ever was one. Tatum goes to a chinlock, and Missy (who is in the cage on the apron for some reason) helps by holding Tatum’s feet. So Sunshine goes after her and Missy chases her back to the apron. They fight for the door and slug it out with no luck. Tatum goes to a sleeper as the crowd is molten, but Casey sends him into the corner to escape. He goes for the bulldog, but forgets to spin his arm first and that allows Tatum to send him into the corner to block. Tatum climbs to the top and Casey brings him down, but then he goes up to the top and Missy crotches him, allowing Tatum to escape at 9:40. And then the ladies continue their brawl until Great Kabuki hits the ring and goes after Casey, hitting him with KARATE in the throat and then destroying him after getting rid of Sunshine. The crowd was just losing their mind for this whole thing. I was sports entertained by the whole thing and it was a lot of fun. ***

American tag team title, cage match: Chris Adams & Gino Hernandez v. Kerry & Kevin Von Erich

Unlike the other cage match, this is pinfall rules and no DQ. The American tag team titles were held up and this is to decide the champions, with Brian Adias and Terry Gordy as special troubleshooting referees. Everyone brawls to start as the Dynamic Duo are wearing masks to screw with the babyfaces. Gino runs Kevin into the cage and puts the boots to him, but the Von Erichs try for the masks and Terry Gordy pulls them off to prevent that. David Manning yells at Gordy that it’s legal to take the masks off, but Gordy is a stubborn guy. So Kevin ties up Gino in the ropes and goes for the mask again, but Gordy prevents it again. Adams with a crucifix on Kerry for two, but Kerry gets an abdominal stretch and goes for the mask again, and this time Gordy attacks fellow referee Brian Adias and then breaks THAT up. So Gordy has finally had enough of this match and he walks out of the match, leaving David Manning to come in and referee the match himself. Gino suplexes Kerry and goes up with his elbow, which misses, and the Von Erichs hit him with a double dropkick and then finally unmask Chris Adams. But Gino loads up his mask with something, headbutts Kerry, and Adams pins Kerry to win the tag team titles at 7:00. But then Lance Von Erich returns and holds the door shut so that the Von Erichs can unmask Gino and get some heat back on him. This was complete chaos from start to finish with incredible heat but nothing to the match. **

Man I really, really enjoyed this show. 84-85 was a great period for this promotion, just before the family completely imploded once and for all. And the production values were amazing for 1985, considering how WWF Championship Wrestling still looked like they were shooting in a high school gym until halfway through 1986. Hopefully they put up that Christmas Star Wars show next month.