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WORLD CLASS WRESTLING (LIVE TV SHOW)
Wednesday, Week 1, April 1985 Dallas, TX (Small Venue) Expected Attendance: 4,675; Ticket Prices: default Actual Attendance: 5,000 (SOLD OUT) -Pre-Show Dark Match El Halcon defeats Dusty Wolfe in 4:09 by pinfall. (C). After the match, Bill Mercer interviewed Halcon about his win. (C) -Pre-Show Dark Match Luke Williams (w/Skandor Akbar) defeats Mark Youngblood in 7:51 by pinfall. (C+). Williams looked good. After the match, Akbar cut a promo hyping his Williams, and his stable. He also promised that Kamala and Nikita Koloff would return soon. (C+) -David Von Erich & Antonio Inoki cut a promo to open the show, hyping their main event match against Kevin Sullivan & Dick Murdoch. (B). Murdoch & Sullivan also cut a promo hyping the match, again promising revenge for the injuries Inoki inflicted on the World Champion, Bob Backlund. (B) -Curt Hennig (w/Terry Funk) defeated Billy Robinson in 11:42 by pinfall. (C+). The two showed poor chemistry. After the match, Robinson shook hands with Hennig in a sign of mutual respect. (C+) -Bill Mercer's 2-minute "Update" segment recaps the result of the Last Man Standing Event, and the house show 2 nights ago in Dallas. He also hinted at rumors that Skandor Akbar and WCCW Commissioner Jose Lothario are close to some kind of arrangement that will allow Kamala to return to the ring, after his indefinite suspension. (D+) -Backstage, Jose Lothario says he has two announcements. First, the WCCW Championship Committee has determined the new #1 Contenders for the World Tag Team Championship, and the World Heavyweight Championship. First, Lothario announces at the King of Texas Wrestling Show at the end of the month, The Sheepherders will defend the World Tag Team Titles against...The Villanos. (C+). Lothario says that the Championship committee has been impressed with The Villanos victories of late over The Road Warriors, Eaton/Ware, and Kabuki/Bundy, among others. Then, Lothario announces that in light of the inference during the World Title Match at Last Man Standing between Bob Backlund and Antonio Inoki, the Committee has determined that Antonio Inoki is the #1 Contender for the World Title, and he will face World Champion Bob Backlund in a Steel Cage match at the King of Texas Wrestling event for the title, in order to eliminate the possibility of interference. (B-) -Then, Skandor Akbar and WCCW TV Champion Butch Miller enter the screen, and Akbar draws from the rolling drum of volunteer challengers to Miller's title - Akbar draws the name of Kerry Von Erich. (C+) -Charlie Cook comes to the ring for his match. He grabs a mic, insults Leon White again, and challenges him to a match on next week's show. (D+) -Terry Funk defeats Charlie Cook in 6:33 by pinfall. (B-). -A video recaps the recent eccentric antics of Gary Hart, King Kong Bundy, and The Great Kabuki (B-) -Tiger Mask & Arturo Mendoza defeat King Kong Bundy & The Great Kabuki in 7:40 when Mendoza pinned Kabuki. (B-). The announcers noted the evolving relationships between the four competitors - Tiger Mask & Arturo Mendoza had been involved in a lengthy, bitter feud for almost a year, but they have recently buried the hatchet to oppose Gary Hart. Tiger Mask is a former tag team partner of Kabuki, who he faced at Last Man Standing in a losing effort (thanks to outside interference). Tiger Mask seemed off his game. -Piper's Pit, w/guests, The Federation. Dick Murdoch, Kevin Sullivan, Vince McMahon, and World Champion Bob Backlund join Piper and his bodyguard, Grappler #2 in a heel love-fest. (C) Highlights include: -Comments that Ray Stevens is still absent, as he's off on a scouting assignment. -Bob Backlund saying that while he was injured in the "savage" attack by Antonio Inoki at Last Man Standing, he'll be ready to face him in the steel cage at the King of Texas Wrestling Show, where he'll get his revenge. -Dick Murdoch says that this is the most money he's ever made in wrestling, and that he's proud to be in professional wrestling's most elite organization - The Federation. Murdoch says that Bob Backlund has offered he and Kevin Sullivan World Title matches whenever they want them, but they have declined, saying they're focusing on being a cohesive unit, and acquiring more gold. -Murdoch & Sullivan mocked the decision to name The Villanos the #1 Contenders to the World Title. They both claim they'll just continue kicking ass until the Championship Committee has no choice but to award them a title shot. -Murdoch, as usual, also unleashes a vicious verbal attack on Curt Hennig. -Both Murdoch and Sullivan plan on being involved in the 1985 King of Texas Wrestling tournament, and state that David has "zero chance" of a 3-peat. -Kerry Von Erich cuts a promo hyping his upcoming TV Title shot against Sheepherder Butch Miller. Von Erich says that Kevin has suffered some setbacks in his attempted comeback from injury and that honestly, he doesn't know when, or if, Kevin will wrestle again. Kerry says he hopes to exact a little revenge on the Sheepherders tonight, by winning Butch Miller's TV Title. (C+) -WCCW Television Championship Match Butch Miller (w/Skandor Akbar) defeats Kerry Von Erich after blatant interference from Akbar. (C). Miller makes his 6th defense of this title. -Dick Murdoch & Kevin Sullivan (w/Vince McMahon) defeat David Von Erich & Antonio Inoki in 18:03 after by DQ after Inoki lost his temper and struck Sullivan with a steel chair. (B). After the match, David voiced his displeasure with Inoki for costing them the match. The argument grew heated, before Inoki stormed out. (C). David Von Erich cut a promo to end the show, admitting that he was upset with Inoki for losing his temper and costing them the match. (B-) Overall Show Rating: B- THOUGHTS -OK show. Or really, a slightly below average one, I definitely want to be getting Bs, and B+s in Texas. -The Inoki/David argument obviously teases the possibility that Inoki defeats Backlund for the title, then faces David at Parade of Champions. Just another wrinkle in the main event scene. -Murdoch/Sullivan definitely have a point about getting a tag team title shot after that win. Instead though, The Villanos are the #1 Contenders for the time being. -The Kerry/Miller match was pretty bad. Kerry just doesn't have it. -Tiger Mask/Mendoza are a pretty intriguing team, too bad Tiger Mask will probably be out of here in a few weeks after his contract expires. -It's kind of funny how Charlie Cook still thinks he's "somebody", challenging Leon White to a match, only to get defeated handily by Terry Funk. That's one of those little random things I try to do in booking shows - in pro wrestling, whenever someone makes some kind of challenge, or has some storyline going, you no they're going to win, every single time, in matches outside that storyline. With Cook, he's trying to have a feud with White, but gets his ass kicked by everyone else. Cook though, certainly did have a good showing in his match with Funk. That B- is his highest rating ever for us, his previous high is only "C". -The Piper's Pit rating was disappointing, especially since it ran 10 minutes, that definitely didn't help our overall rating. Vince probably brought it down. -Billy Robinson will spend some more time wrestling faces in scientific face v. face matches. Just a chance to help improve the young guys. |
NEWS
-Kerry was late to the last show. He's suspended for a week. -Dick Murdoch is again exhausted after the last show. -The TV show delivered a record 4.97 TV rating. That shatters last week's all time high of 4.57. -Andre The Giant has rejected negotiations, saying we're "not big enough" for him. His popularity is apparently still high enough where he refuses to wrestle for anything less than a national promotion (of which there are none in the world, currently) -I manage to re-sign referee David Manning for $825/show. So I'm able to release those other two referees I brought in. -WWC in Puerto Rico have signed their first PPV deal. That will definitely make them more relevant. -I manage to re-sign Kamala for another 3 months at $2,175/show, a modest raise from his old $1,900/deal. He also gets 10% of any merchandise revenue I generate for him. Kamala has a basics rating of C+, so apparently, Fritz's block does not apply to workers I already have under contract. |
THE STARS OF WORLD CLASS ON TOUR
Monday, Week 2, March 1985 Johnson City, TN (Southeast - Tiny Venue) Expected Attendance: 1,499 Ticket prices: $4 over Default Actual Attendance: 1,000 (SOLD OUT) -Pre-Show Dark Segment Fritz Von Erich and WCCW Commissioner Jose Lothario come to the ring to hype the show and welcome the fans. They recap some of the ongoing storylines and upcoming events in WCCW. Specifically, they hype the King of Texas Wrestling tournament to be held at the end of the month. Lothario points out that one month ago, in this very arena, he announced what was at stake in the Last Man Standing event, and the fans in attendance were treated to the first qualifying matches for that event. Tonight, says Lothario will be no different, as the first 3 qualifying matches will be held later on tonight. Then, Lothario breaks down the rules, and what's at stake in this year's tournament: 1985 King of Texas Wrestling Tournament -12 Participants. 4 Receive First Round Byes. -4 First Round Matches in the "Lightning Round". These matches will have only a 5 minute time limit. If the time limit expires, or the match otherwise ends in a draw, a panel of three ringside judges will determine who advances to the final 8. -4 Quarter-Final Matches with 10-minute time limits. Once again, three ringside judges will determine who advances, in the case of a draw of any kind. -2 Semi-Final Matches with a 30-minute time limit. (Judges at ringside again) -The final match will have no time limit (and no judges). -David Von Erich, the two-time winner of this event, has already earned a first round bye, by virtue of his winning the 1985 Last Man Standing Event. -The final 11 spots will be determined via qualifying matches over the next several weeks. The final 3 all-important byes will be determined during the last TV show before the event. Also at that event, the participants will be randomly slotted into the tournament. The Winner of the 1985 King of Texas Wrestling Event Will Receive: -$10,000 Cash -A brand-new, 1985 Honda Civic -The Prestigious King of Texas Wrestling Trophy. -A Contract For a Championship Match - (Can Be Used To Challenge For Any Championship, Single or Tag-Team (with any partner), With at least 7 Days Notice, and No Expiration Date). (D) -Pre-Show Dark Segment -Bill Mercer interviews Barry Orton about his upcoming match with Mike Von Erich. (D-) -Pre-Show Dark Match -Mike Von Erich defeats Barry Orton in 8:06 by submission. (C-) Mike was visibly tiring towards the end of the match. After the match, Bill Mercer interviewed Mike about his upcoming Cruiserweight Title Match, to take place on the TV show this week, against his frequent rival, Villano V. (D). Mike puts over Villano V as a friend and a rival, but says that this will be Villano V's last shot at his title. -Pre-Show Dark Segment. King Kong Bundy comes out with Gary Hart. Hart hypes Bundy's upcoming King of Texas Wrestling Qualifying Match with Tiger Mask. Hart, showing slightly more sanity than in recent weeks, insults Tiger Mask for his alliance with "traitor" Arturo Mendoza. (C) -As the show starts, Jerry Lawler comes to the ring and interrupts Bundy and Hart. Lawler claims that Hart and Bundy jumped their spot in the schedule tonight, and he's not going to stand by and let them take away his chance to talk to his home-state Tennessee fans. Hart and Bundy are annoyed, but leave the ring. Lawler hypes tonight's main event, a King of Texas Wrestling Tournament match with Bobby Eaton. Lawler notes that last month, he defeated Eaton in the main event of a show here, in order to qualfying for the Last Man Standing event. He expects a similar result tonight. Lawler also mocks Bobby Eaton's in-ring slump since he lost the World Title. (B) -1985 King of Texas Wrestling Qualifying Match King Kong Bundy (w/Gary Hart) defeats Tiger Mask in 8:04 by pinfall to advance to the tournament. (B+). After the match, Bundy, in his preacher ring gear, cut a "sermon" while standing over the fallen Tiger Mask. (C-) -Billy Robinson & El Halcon come to the ring to hype their upcoming match with the WCCW World Tag Team Champions, The Sheepherders. Robinson & El Halcon say that this will be a tough match, but if they can pull off a win, they feel that puts them in line for a title shot. (C) -Skandor Akbar comes to the ring with the WCCW World Tag Team Champion Sheepherders. He hypes his team as the most awesome in all of professional wrestling. (C-). Akbar also says that he can confirm the rumors - Kamala's suspension has been lifted, and he will return at the TV show this week. Akbar says that he has looked all over the world for a man that can him help control the monster Kamala. He's finally found him, and it's a man almost as wild as Kamala himself. (C) -Non-Title Match The Sheepherders (w/Skandor Akbar) defeat Billy Robinson & El Halcon in 7:57 when Miller pinned El Halcon. (C+) -1985 King of Texas Wrestling Qualifying Match -Charlie Cook defeated Mark Youngblood in 7:51 by pinfall. (D+). After the match, Bill Mercer interviewed Cook about his match with Leon White on the TV Show this week. Cook says that finally, he'll have a chance to show the world that he's the best pro wrestler to come out of the NFL, and he'll expose White for the fraud that he is. (D-) -Dick Murdoch & Kevin Sullivan come to the ring with Ray Stevens. They hype their upcoming match with the Villanos. They claim the match will prove what a joke it was that the Villanos were named #1 Contenders to the world tag team titles, and not them. (C) -The Villanos defeated Dick Murdoch & Kevin Sullivan (w/Ray Stevens) in 8:50 when Murdoch was counted out after a high-risk move to the floor by the Villanos. (C+). After the match, The Sheepherders stormed the ring and attacked the Villanos - their challengers for the World Tag Team Titles at the King of Texas Wrestling Event. (C-) -Bobby Eaton comes to the ring and hypes the main event, a King of Texas Wrestling Qualifying Match against Jerry Lawler. (B+) -1985 King of Texas Wrestling Qualifying Match Bobby Eaton defeats Jerry Lawler in 24:58 by pinfall after using Lawler's tights for leverage. (A+). After the match, an enraged Lawler attacks Eaton and throws him from the ring, to the crowd's approval. Eaton escapes to the locker room as the show ends. (A) -Overall Show Rating: B+ THOUGHTS -A huge show for the southeast, where our popularity is rapidly growing, but is still well short of our big two regions. -Fantastic main event that matches their performance last month. This one was somewhat surprising considering Eaton's loss of momentum recently from all the jobs he's done. Overall, this was Eaton's 3rd A+ match (2 with Lawler, the other where Curt Hennig defeated him for the World Title) -The Villanos get a big upset, in quirky fashion, against Murdoch/Sullivan. They've beaten everybody (though not always cleanly), and will have momentum going into the title match with The Sheepherders. This is sort of an underdog/fluky tag team push. The match was solid at C+, I expect them to have a better match with the more established team of The Sheepherders. -Cook really is pretty awful. Though I feel like in something like the King of Texas Wrestling Tournament, it's good to have a little variety in the lineup. That allows for some creative booking, and it brings down the cost a little for the entire event. -The Sheepherders' C+ with Robinson/El Halcon was impressive - I don't think a B or B+ with the Villanos is out of the question. -Akbar hypes the return of Kamala - who will be on double-secret/last chance probation status with his new "handler", who will also debut at the TV show. -Bundy/Tiger Mask sounds like a fun match to me, and Bundy gets a rare victory with his new gimmick. With Tiger Mask's contract up, he's been getting some losses lately. |
NEWS
-With that loss to Bobby Eaton, Jerry Lawler's loan contract with us has expired. I'm sure I'll bring him back someday for another run. -I let The Great Kabuki enter the final week of his contract without requesting negotiations - that means he'll be gone at the end of that week. He'll be with us for the TV show this week, and maybe next week's house show. Just a cost-cutting move, really, as I try to get my payroll low enough to where Fritz will let me offer more money to superstars. Kabuki was making $1,650/show, and is one of the few guys that was with us since the start of this dynasty (the others are the Von Erichs, King Kong Bundy, Iceman Parsons, and non-wrestlers Gary Hart, Skandor Akbar, David Manning, and Jose Lothario). Terry Gordy and Bill Mercer were here at the start too, but they both had long absences in the meantime. I'll always periodically look to bring in real-life WCCW guys. |
WORLD CLASS WRESTLING (LIVE TV SHOW)
Wednesday, Week 2, April 1985 Dallas, TX (Small Venue) Expected Attendance: 4,579; Ticket Prices: $1 less than default Actual Attendance: 4,726 -Pre-Show Dark Match Luke Williams (w/Skandor Akbar) defeats El Halcon in 7:36 by pinfall. (C+) After the match, Akbar cut a promo hyping his client. (C) -Pre-Show Dark Match -King of Texas Wrestling Tournament Qualifying Match Doug Somers defeats Dusty Wolfe in 5:48 by submission. (D+) -As the show starts, the team of David Von Erich, Antonio Inoki, Curt Hennig, and Terry Funk hype their main event, 8-man elimination tag match against Federation members Dick Murdoch & Kevin Sullivan, and their new "associates", Roddy Piper and Grappler #1. David and Inoki claim that while they had some disagreements during last week's main event tag team match, they're back on the same page. Curt Hennig says he'll be looking for Dick Murdoch, and Funk hypes his rivalry with Kevin Sullivan. (D-) -Backstage, WCCW Commissioner Jose Lothario says he has several announcements. First, tonight's match between Charlie Cook and Leon White, at the request of both men, will be a no-DQ, falls count anywhere match. In order to maintain some semblance of control, Lothario has requested that Fritz Von Erich serve as special guest referee. (D+) -Then, from a segment taped earlier tonight, Lance Russell interviews Lothario about the status of Kamala, who was indefinitely suspended several weeks ago. Lothario says that after negotiations with Skandor Akbar, he has agreed to reinstate Kamala, with several conditions. First, Kamala will have a new "handler", who much accompany Kamala at all times. Second, Kamala will be on a zero-tolerance policy - if he comes off the top rope, or is disqualified in a match, he will immediately be banned from WCCW. (C) -Then, a very happy Skandor Akbar enters the scene with TV Champion Butch Miller, who is prepared to draw his random challenger for the night. He draws The Great Kabuki. Akbar smiles, saying it's always a pleasure to out-manage Gary Hart, and these days, after Hart's mental breakdown, it's easier than ever. (C) -A music video hypes the destructive path of Kamala, and features highlights of his attacks on Owen Hart, Al Perez, and Iceman Parsons, attacks which put all three men out of action. (B-) -Kamala (w/Ox Baker & Skandor Akbar) defeats Mark Youngblood by submission in 3:24. (C). Kamala debuts a new submission nerve-grip hold. Baker debuts as Kamala's new "handler", and he seems to have more control over Kamala than Akbar did alone. After the match, Kamala wildly celebrates in the ring. (C+). Soon however, he is interrupted by a returning Iceman Parsons, who comes out of the audience and surprises Kamala with an attack. Parsons sends Kamala flying through the ropes to the floor. (C+). Parsons then challenges Kamala to a match at the King of Texas Wrestling show. (C+). Baker and Akbar accept on behalf of Kamala. (B-) -Lance Russell interviews Villano V about his "final chance" at the Cruiserweight Title tonight, in a match against Mike Von Erich. Villano V says that he's been focusing on he and his brother's tag team title shot against The Sheepherders at the King of Texas Wrestling show, and he'd love to add to their momentum with a win tonight. In just a few weeks, says Villano V, he could very well be a double champion. (C) -Bill Mercer has his 1-minute "update" segment, quickly catching the fans up on recent events in WCCW, specifically the results of the recent house show and qualifying matches for the King of Texas Wrestling tournament. (C-) -As Mike Von Erich comes to the ring for his Cruiserweight title defense, Lance Russell gets a few final comments from him. (C). Russell also gets final comments from the challenger, Villano V. (C+) -WCCW Cruiserweight Championship Match Mike Von Erich defeats Villano V in 6:41 by submission to make his 3rd defense of the Cruiserweight Title. (D+) Mike was visibly tiring towards the end of the match. The two showed poor chemistry. Mike celebrated in the ring after the match. (C+) -No-DQ/Falls Count Anywhere Match Leon White defeated Charlie Cook in 1:37 by pinfall in a dominating victory. (D+). The two showed poor chemistry. The match suffered from a lack of selling. -Bill Mercer spots Terry Gordy at ringside, and conducts a brief interview with him. Gordy says that there's though he's no longer allowed to wrestle in WCCW, there's no rule about him attending the show as a fan, and that's all he did tonight, buy a ticket. (B-). -WCCW Television Championship Match Butch Miller (w/Skandor Akbar) defeats The Great Kabuki (w/Gary Hart) in 9:11 by DQ. Miller makes his 7th defense of the TV title. (B-). Kabuki and Hart were as erratic as ever, and it negatively impacted Kabuki's performance in the ring. The Great Kabuki looked good. -8-Man Tag Team Match -Elimination Rules Dick Murdoch, Kevin Sullivan, Roddy Piper, & Grappler #1 (w/Ray Stevens, Vince McMahon, and Grappler #2) defeat David Von Erich, Antonio Inoki, Curt Hennig and Terry Funk in 31:34. (B) The order of elimination was as follows: 1. David Von Erich made Grappler #1 submit (4-3) 2. Terry Funk & Kevin Sullivan were counted out brawling outside the ring (3-3) 3. Dick Murdoch pinned Curt Hennig after interference from Vince McMahon (3-2) 4. Antonio Inoki was disqualified for striking Murdoch with a chair (a weapon that Ray Stevens had introduced into the match). (3-1). Again, David and Inoki got into a heated argument over Inoki's lost temper, which led to a 3-1 disadvantage for David. This time, the two came to blows, to the delight of the heels. They were eventually separated, and an angry David returned to the match 5. David Von Erich pinned Roddy Piper (2-1) 6. Dick Murdoch pinned David Von Erich (after David had been worn down from 3-1 and then 2-1 odds). (Murdoch and Sullivan win the match) Overall Show Rating: B- THOUGHTS -This was a below-average show for us, but I needed to work a bunch of storyline elements in that had been sitting out there, so it served a purpose. -The mini-feud between David and Inoki continues - with David guaranteed a World Title shot at Parade of Champions, he would face Inoki in the main event there if Inoki can defeat Backlund in the steel cage in a few weeks. Backlund is still "out" selling the concussion that Inoki gave him after their last match. -The main event obviously saved us, but the solid heel/heel Kabuki/Biller match also helped a great deal. That's probably Kabuki's last match with WCCW for the time being. Gary Hart will be left with King Kong Bundy in his faltering stable. Something will have to give with him eventually, he can't stay a comedy joke forever. -White absolutely dominated Charlie Cook. The match was crappy but short. White is still undefeated in 1-on-1 matches in WCCW, and he's never been pinned or made to submit. -Mike/Villano V got a lot of attention tonight, as I had to fill out the final storyline elements in that feud. It's over now. Eventually, I'll put together a real Cruiserweight division, and promote that belt out of it's current lower-card status, but for now, it gives all those guys something to do. Mike has now held that belt for 4 1/2 months. -Kamala is back - he'll get Parsons again at the King of Texas Wrestling Show. Now that he can't come off the top rope, he's debuted a submission move (which I imagine as just some kind of nerve grip). |
NEWS
-The TV Show delivers another all-time high rating of 5.15, besting last week's high of 4.97. We're in great position to jump to a better time slot and/or network when TV negotiations start in a few weeks. -Dick Murdoch is exhausted after the last show. He's definitely a workhorse, and I've been relying on him a little too much. His workload might decrease a little though, as he just left Georgia Championship Wrestling after his contract expired. He leaves the Georgia National TV Title vacant. -Roddy Piper complains about his push. He has 28 days left on his contract. -The Great Kabuki is officially gone, and unemployed. He's the first of a slow roster purge we'll be taking part in over the next few weeks and month. Kabuki never managed a championship during since this dynasty started. He finishes with a WCCW dynasty W/L record of 38-41-12. His best match was an A+ rated effort against Tiger Mask at last month's Last Man Standing Event. He started the dynasty as a part of Gary Hart's Hart Limited Stable, teaming with Magic Dragon. He also feuded with Manny Fernandez and Bruiser Brody. Eventually, he turned on Hart and formed a team with Tiger Mask. Finally, he was seduced by a post-mental breakdown Hart to rejoin him, which started a short feud with former partner Tiger Mask. He wrestled 7 matches after rejoining Gary Hart, and only won one of them. -"Gentleman" Ken Timbs shockingly won the NWA United States Championship from Dory Funk Jr, who had held the title about 3 months. -Buddy Rose has decided he's too big for his current promotion, SWCW. I request negotiations (being quite sure that Rose won't be barred by Fritz' no-steroids block). Rose has some tremendous matches with WCCW during prior loan trade agreements. |
THE STARS OF WORLD CLASS ON TOUR
Monday, Week 3, April 1985 Dallas, TX (Texas - Very Small Venue) Expected Attendance: 2,290 Ticket prices: $2 over Default Actual Attendance: 2,000 (SOLD OUT) -Pre-Show Dark Segment Bill Mercer interviews Mr. Pogo about his upcoming King of Texas Wrestling Tournament Qualifying Match against Billy Robinson. (C+) -Pre-Show Dark Match -King of Texas Wrestling Qualfying Match Billy Robinson defeats Mr. Pogo in 13:41 by pinfall. (B). The match suffered from a lack of selling. -Pre-Show Dark Segment. Bill Mercer interviewed Billy Robinson about his win and his chances in the tournament. Robinson says he's been taken lightly a few times in WCCW, and with the right draw, he could make some serious noise in the tournament. (C-) -As the show starts, Lance Russell interviews Arturo Mendoza about his upcoming King of Texas Qualifying Match with Koko B. Ware. Mendoza also talked about how proud of he was of his brothers, The Villanos, for earning a World Tag Team Title Match at next week's King of Texas Wrestling Event. (C+) -King of Texas Wrestling Qualifying Match Arturo Mendoza defeats Koko B. Ware in 12:11 by pinfall. (A+) -Lance Russell interviewed the team of Al Perez & Owen Hart, who are making their first appearance back in WCCW since they were injured by Kamala. Tonight, they join forces to face Kamala in a handicap match. (D) -Before the next match starts, Kamala hits the ring and attacks Perez and Hart before the bell rings. Kamala's new handler tries to control him, knowing that a DQ will lead to a permanent banning for Kamala. (C) -2-on-1 Handicap Match Kamala (w/Ox Baker) defeats Al Perez & Owen Hart in 2:28 when Kamala pinned Perez. (D+). Kamala was off his game. After the match, Ox Baker cut a promo hyping Kamala, and his match at next week's King of Texas Wrestling event against Iceman Parsons. Baker claims that Parsons' attack on Kamala on the TV show last week was the biggest mistake of Parsons' life. Baker promises that Kamala will "finish the job" this time. (C+) -Doug Somers & Steve Olsonoski defeat The Grapplers in 7:59 when Olsonoski pinned Grappler #2. (C). Grappler #1 was off his game. The Grapplers looked good. After the match, Lance Russell interviewed Somers & Olsonoski about their upset win. (C) Olsonoski & Somers hype that they're still undefeated as a team, and this was their biggest win yet. They say the only way they'll keep climbing the ladder is to keep facing the best competition, so they're challenging the former World Tag Team Champions, Bobby Eaton & Koko B. Ware to a match. -Antonio Inoki comes to the ring and is interviewed by Lance Russell. Russell says that much controversy has surrounded Inoki after his attack on Bob Backlund last month, and then his issues with David Von Erich over the last few weeks. Inoki says that he has agreed to face David 1-on-1 at the TV show this week. Inoki says that after that, he hopes that the personal issues with David will be behind them. But says Inoki, he expects that match to be a preview of the main event of Parade of Champions, an event which Inoki expects to enter as the World Champion. Inoki takes several subtle digs at David, and notes that he doesn't understand why his match tonight with Kevin Sullivan isn't the main event, and why they're taking a back seat to David v. Roddy Piper. (C+) Inoki also hypes his cage match next week against Bob Backlund for the World Title. Lance Russell notes that Bob Backlund hasn't yet been medically cleared to wrestle, and he may not be able to defend his title that night. Inoki says that if Backlund can't wrestle, the WCCW Championship Committee should award him the title on the spot, as the #1 Contender. He also says that if the match happens, he's excited to get Backlund in an environment where there can be no interference (B-) -Kevin Sullivan (w/Vince McMahon) defeats Antonio Inoki in 18:04 by countout after interference from Ray Stevens and a returning Bob Backlund outside the ring. (A). The match suffered from a lack of selling. After the match, Bob Backlund cut an angry promo in the ring, as his fellow stablemen Stevens, McMahon, and Sullivan continued to attack Inoki. Backlund swears he'll defend the title next week, regardless of whether he's medically cleared. (B+). After several more minutes of rambling promo/beatdown of Inoki, David Von Erich hits the ring with a chair and clears the ring of the entire Federation stable. He then quickly leaves, without checking on Inoki. (C) -David Von Erich defeats Roddy Piper (w/Grappler #2) in 20:52 by submission. (B+). Overall Show Rating: B THOUGHTS -Any time a show has an A+ match, and an A match, a B overall rating is a little disappointing. This was a rare show for me in that the main event was only the 3rd best match on the card. -David/Piper at B+ was a tad disappointing, though looking back, those two have wrestled a couple of times and have never had a better match than that. Obviously this one wasn't backed by a storyline or anything, it was just a chance to keep David's momentum going. -Inoki/Sullivan was better, at an A rating. I kind of liked the story of that match - Inoki appears to be turning heel, but still hates the Federation. Backlund shows up and costs Inoki the match, and then the Federation beats the crap of Inoki. David gets to be the superface and make the save for Inoki, the guy who keeps costing him matches and subtly insulting him. It will be interesting to see what the two of them can do on the TV show next week. -Somers/Olsonoski beating the Grapplers is a pretty huge upset, it was just to help jumpstart their program with Eaton/Ware. That feud will either make or break the Somers/Olosonoski team. It's definitely a big step down for Eaton/Ware, but once that feud is over, I see them moving back up the card eventually, either as a team or individually. -Kamala squashes Perez/Hart - I can't wait to see what Kamala does against good wrestlers. He did wrestle a B rated 1-on-1 match with Al Perez last month, so that's a good sign. -The match of the night was the first match of the main show - Mendoza/Ware. Mendoza is awesome and he's been a little underutilized since he turned face. He'll get some kind of major program at least after Parade of Champions next month. That was Mendoza's first ever A+ match. It was #3 for Ware (the previous two were against David) -Billy Robinson and Mr. Pogo also had a solid match on the pre-show. I see Robinson as the older guy that can't win the big match anymore, but gets damn close a lot. |
NEWS
-The King of Texas Wrestling Show stacks up like this so far: -WCCW World Heavyweight Championship Match -Steel Cage Match (Classic Rules: Pinfall or Submission Only) Bob Backlund v. Antonio Inoki -WCCW World Tag Team Championship Match The Sheepherders v. The Villanos -Kamala v. Iceman Parsons -12-Man King of Texas Wrestling Tournament. At stake: -$10,000 Cash -A brand-new, 1985 Honda Civic -The Prestigious King of Texas Wrestling Trophy. -A Contract For a Championship Match - (Can Be Used To Challenge For Any Championship, Single or Tag-Team (with any partner), With at least 7 Days Notice, and No Expiration Date). -7 of the 12 participants have been determined: Bobby Eaton Charlie Cook King Kong Bundy Doug Somers David Von Erich Arturo Mendoza Billy Robinson -Roddy Piper is exhausted after the last show. I'll probably try to use him (and his inflated contract) somewhat sparingly in the last month before that contract expires. -In pretty big news, Kevin Von Erich is FINALLY back to 100%. It's been months since he injured his shoulder. This opens up all sorts of storyline possibilities with the TV and Tag Team Championships. -Buzz Sawyer has signed with Calgary Stampede - I just mention this because Stampede has done pretty well in this dynasty to hold on to their talent and bring in some big names. Current guys on the roster include: Bob Backlund, Bret Hart, Bad News Allen, Dynamite Kid, Tiger Mask, Bobby Eaton, and Ricky Steamboat. There's some pretty awesome match possibilities there. Of course, a lot of those guys are probably used only sparingly because of costs and other commitments. Though I have noticed that Bob Backlund and Bret Hart have met in a couple of main events up there (with Backlund playing the heel). |
Has Al Snow debuted into the universe yet?
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Villano III, IV & V FTW! With how far they have come you are missing a chance to get them back together and put the six man straps on 'em! :)
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WORLD CLASS WRESTLING (LIVE TV SHOW)
Wednesday, Week 3, April 1985 Lincoln, NE (Small Venue) Expected Attendance: 4,675; Ticket Prices: default Actual Attendance: 4,684 -Pre-Show Dark Match Mark Youngblood defeats Dusty Wolfe in 5:49 by pinfall (D+). -Pre-Show Dark Match -King of the Ring Qualifying Match Grappler #1 (w/Grappler #2) defeats Steve Olsonoski in 10:01 by pinfall after Grappler #2 interfered (The Grapplers pulled the "masked switch" where Grappler #2 enters the match as a fresh man). (C+) -David Von Erich cuts a promo hyping his main event match with Antonio Inoki. (B-). Inoki cuts a promo hyping the match also. (B). Both hope to settle the issues they've had in recent weeks. -Bobby Eaton & Koko B. Ware defeat Al Perez & Owen Hart in 2:35 when Eaton pinned Hart. (C). Eaton looked great, Koko looked good. After the match, Eaton and Ware addressed the challenge issued by the team of Steve Olsonoski & Doug Somers at the live event in Dallas earlier in the week. Eaton and Ware mock Olsonoski & Somers as not being in their league, and claim that they'll prove their superiority in two weeks on the TV show. (C+). -Backstage, Jose Lothario stands with the rolling drum of challengers for the TV Title. TV Champion Butch Miller enters the picture with his manager, Skandor Akbar, and draws a name - former TV Champion Iceman Parsons. (C) -Lance Russell interviews Billy Robinson about his upcoming match with Kamala. Robinson puts over Kamala as a monster, and says that he'll try to turn this contest into a wrestling match. (C) As Robinson is in the ring preparing for the match, Kamala attacks him before the bell rings. (C+) -Kamala (w/Ox Baker) defeats Billy Robinson in 5:43 by submission. (B-) Once again, Ox Baker seems to have more control over Kamala than Skandor Akbar did. After the match, Ox Baker hypes Kamala's match with Iceman Parsons next week at the King of Texas Wrestling Show. (B-) -Bill Mercer runs his 1 minute "update" segment, reporting on the recent events and results in WCCW. He especially hypes next week's TV show, the King of Texas Wrestling Tournament draw show, where the 1st round matchups and 1st round byes will be determined. (D+) -Lance Russell notes that despite Leon White's domination of Charlie Cook last week, Cook as apparently asked for another match with White. A video recaps the one-sided "feud" between the two. (D+) Leon White then comes to the ring for the next match. He says that if Cook wants more, he'd be glad to give it to him. (D) -King of Texas Wrestling Qualfying Match Leon White defeats Grappler #2 (w/Grappler #1) in 9:25 by pinfall in a competitive match. (B). White overcame the interference of Grappler #1. White was off his game. The two showed great chemistry. The match suffered from a lack of selling. -WCCW Television Championship Match Butch Miller (w/Skandor Akbar) drew with Iceman Parsons in 10:00 when the time limit expired. (B-). Miller makes his 8th defense of the TV title. Parsons largely dominated the match. After the match, Parsons cut a promo hyping his match at the King of Texas Wrestling Show with Kamala. Parsons vows he'll get revenge for the injuries Kamala inflicted upon him several weeks ago. The key, said Parsons, will be surprise - as he showed last week. (B-) -A video hypes the issues between Antonio Inoki and David Von Erich in recent weeks - specifically, Inoki losing his temper in several tag team matches, costing David DQ defeats. (B-) -Before the match starts, Bob Backlund and Ray Stevens come down the aisle to serve as guest commentators for the match. During the match, Backlund hypes his steel cage title defense against Inoki at the King of Texas Wrestling show next week. Lance Russell points out that Backlund still hasn't received medical clearance, but Backlund promises to defend the title regardless. After he gets through Inoki, Backlund claims, he'll also defeat David in the main event of Parade of Champions. (B) -David Von Erich drew with Antonio Inoki in 30:00 when the time limit expired. (A). The match suffered from a lack of selling. Bob Backlund and Ray Stevens interfered throughout the match, trying to stir up trouble between the two participants. At one point, Backlund attacked Inoki outside the ring, but David refused to pin Inoki when he was thrown back in, refusing to take a "cheap" victory. When the time limit expired, David was standing tall in the ring, and Inoki was weakened on the outside. Then, David challenged Backlund to come in the ring. Despite the discouraging of Ray Stevens, Bob Backlund eventually entered the ring, where he was quickly attacked from behind by Inoki. Inoki & David them attacked Backlund 2-on-1 as the show ends. (B-) Overall Show Rating: B THOUGHTS -This was my first TV show in forever outside of Texas - the midwest has caught up to the Texas area in terms of popularity, so I'll probably mix things up a little in the weeks to come. It will keep the Texas fans from getting too sick of me, and it will let some of our guys gain more national popularity more quickly. -Inoki was kind of re-established as a face tonight (though he still attacked Bob Backlund from behind). But he's the clear face heading into his back with Backlund, with David awaiting the winner at Parade of Champions. An A rating is definitely solid - we probably would have gotten a A+ if not for the "lack of selling" penalty. -Iceman Parsons is very solid - he's one of the few guys outside of the midcard on my roster that can deliver B- rated interviews. He gets another shot at Kamala next week. -Grappler #2/Leon White have a pretty decent litte rivalry going - tonight was the 5th time they've wrestled. They also teamed up (via random pairing) in a losing effort during the Last Man Standing event. White has won all 5 matches, which have reached as high as an "A" rating. They couldn't quite get up there tonight with White's "off night". -Billy Robinson impressively carried Kamala to a B- match. Solid effort for both guys. -It was a rare win for Mark Youngblood on the pre-show - he's now 3-32-2 (two of those victories have come against Dusty Wolfe, who is 0-39-2. He somehow managed to draw with Leon White in White's debut match (I think the idea was that White was "raw" or something at that point.) |
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Yup, Al was actually in the original universe for the dynasty, as a 19-year old. He's now 21 and has wrestled for Atlantic Grand-Prix wrestling in Canada his entire career. He's still a heel jobber right now, wrestling as Allen Sarven. |
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I've been having a lot of fun with The Villanos' insane (and lucky) winning streak leading up to a tag team title shot. And Mendoza's awesome any time he does anything. They'll definitely work together at some point soon. Though I also want to push Mendoza in some kind of individual storyline that doesn't involve Kabuki/Tiger Mask/King Kong Bundy/Gary Hart. Those guys have been feuding in various face/heel incarnations for most of the dynasty. |
NEWS
-For the 6th consecutive week, the TV show delivers an all-time high rating (5.30). -I have made two loan trades with WWC and Puerto Rico to bring in Freebirds Michael Hayes and Buddy Roberts for 3 appearances each. I send off Kerry Von Erich and Leon White, two guys who could really benefit from the opportunity to get roughed up down there by the likes of Carlos Colon and The Invaders. I still have Terry Gordy under contract for another 53 days also. I don't intend to bring them back as active wrestlers, but I have a couple of ideas for them to make some sporadic appearances. It's been about 8 months since they lost the "loser leaves WCCW" match. -Speaking of WWC, Bill Irwin, who has had a great run in this dynasty, won their main event title, the Universal Heavyweight Championship, from Carlos Colon. -Kevin Von Erich showed up late for the last show. Obviously, he hasn't been used in months since his injury, so I'll take advantage of the opportunity to send a message to the locker room and suspend him for a week. -Jake Roberts won the vacant Georgia National TV Championship for the second time, defeating Bob Armstrong. The belt was made vacant when Dick Murdoch left the company. -I negotiate with Buddy Rose, but his asking price of $2,475/show is too high for me at this point, as I'm trying to cut down a little and save up money. Fritz was capping my offer at just south of that anyway. -I'm happy to re-sign Skandor Akbar at $1,400/show, only a slight raise from his current $1,325/show deal. The negotiation screen showed him only requesting $700/show - it appears nobody will ever take a paycut, which is one of the reasons one needs to keep their roster fresh. At some point, I'll probably have to cut Akbar loose for 6 months, then bring him back at lower pay. |
THE STARS OF WORLD CLASS ON TOUR
Monday, Week 4, March 1985 Billerica, MA (New England - Tiny Venue) Expected Attendance: 1,387 Ticket prices: $4 over Default Actual Attendance: 1,000 (SOLD OUT) -Pre-Show Dark Match King Kong Bundy (w/Gary Hart) defeats Al Perez in 3:43 by pinfall. (C). After the match, Hart, as crazy as ever, cuts a promo hyping Bundy and his chances in the upcoming King of Texas Wrestling tournament. (D+) -Pre-Show Dark Match Steve Olsonoski & Doug Somers defeat Barry Orton & Dusty Wolfe in 9:14 when Olsonoski made Wolfe submit. (D-). Olsonoski looked good. After the match Olsonoski & Somers hyped their match with Bobby Eaton & Koko B. Ware on the TV show in two weeks. (D). -WCCW Commissioner Jose Lothario and Fritz Von Erich come to the ring to welcome the fans, and hype the show and the King of Texas Wrestling Tournament later this week. (D-) -WCCW King of Texas Wrestling Qualfying Match Curt Hennig (w/Terry Funk) defeats Perry Jackson in 8:22 by pinfall. (C+). Hennig looked good. Curt Hennig cut a promo after the match. (B+). -After a minute or two, Dick Murdoch came out to the ring for his match, with Hennig still cutting a promo. Murdoch appeared to be motioning for Funk and Hennig to leave the ring - he thought they were taking too long. An argument ensued between the three, before Hennig and Funk decided to leave peacefully (B-). -WCCW King of Texas Wrestling Qualfying Match Dick Murdoch (w/Ray Stevens) defeats Kerry Von Erich in 17:50 with the help of interference from Stevens and Kevin Sullivan. (B). The two showed good chemistry. Murdoch looked good. After the match, Murdoch cut a promo hyping his win, and the tournament. (B-) -Skandor Akbar and Ox Baker come to the ring with their Destruction Inc., clients, Kamala, and the WCCW World Tag Team Champion Sheepherders. Akbar cuts a promo hyping the trio, and their debut tonight as a six-man tag team. Akbar claims that while in the past, Kamala might have been simply too wild for a tag team, he is now, with the help of new handler Ox Baker, a more disciplined, more focused monster, as dangerous as ever. Akbar hypes Kamala's match at the King of Texas Wrestling Show against Iceman Parsons, and The Sheeperders' World Tag Title defense against The Villanos. (D+). -Their opposition, the Villanos & Arturo Mendoza come to the ringside area and also cut a promo hyping the match, as well as the Villanos title shot later this week, and Mendoza's participation in the King of Texas Wrestling tournament. (D+) Before the match starts, Kamala attacks the Villanos, quickly igniting a 3-on-3 brawl. (D+) -The Villanos & Arturo Mendoza defeat The Sheepherders & Kamala in 8:20 when Mendoza pinned Williams. (w/Skandor Akbar & Ox Baker) (C). Once again, Ox Baker was able to establish a reasonable amount of control over the wild Kamala. -WCCW King of Texas Wrestling Qualifying Match Kevin Sullivan (w/Ray Stevens) defeats Terry Funk 23:20 with the help of some interference from Dick Murdoch (returning the favor from earlier tonight). (B+). After the match, Kevin Sullivan & Dick Murdoch continued the attack on Funk. (C+). Soon, however, Curt Hennig & Kerry Von Erich made the save. (C+). Funk & Hennig cut another promo to close the show, with Kerry standing by their side. Funk said that while he won't be in the King of Texas Wrestling tournament, he'll do his best to help lead Hennig to a win there, just like he led Hennig to the World Title. (B). Overall Show Rating: B- THOUGHTS: -Great show for the northeast region. There was a clear rating distinction between guys that have some overness in New England (Murdoch, Sullivan, Funk), and guys that don't (The Sheepherders, Villanos, Mendoza). So I used enough of the the known New England guys to get a good rating, and gave some live exposure to the guys who need to build their overness here. That's the goal of course, to have a roster of nationally known wrestlers. -There's some major names being left out of this year's King of Texas Wrestling tournament - Terry Funk & Kerry Von Erich will be on the outside after tonight (and Roddy Piper didn't even get the chance to qualify), while lesser names like Charlie Cook and Billy Robinson are in. That will help keep the costs of the tournament down, and will also help balance things out - every match won't be a main-event level contest where someone has to do a job. Some guys, through luck of the draw, might get further then you'd think they would. -Sullivan and Funk renewed their rivalry with their standard strong match. Maybe Hennig's getting annoyed with Funk seemingly taking credit for Hennig's success. On the other hand, it's kind of annoying how every mentor/protege relationship in wrestling always ends badly, and with Funk's contract up soon, maybe these guys break the mold and separate on good terms. -The Six-Man Tag was pretty bad just because the fans weren't into these guys. Hennig/Jackson would actually have been a better choice to put there before the main event. -It was good to see Kerry in a good match, even though that shouldn't be tough to do with Dick Murdoch. Kerry missing out on this tournament has to be his low point with us during this dynasty. Looking back, Kerry hasn't won a 1-on-1 match since the first week of January - almost 4 months ago. I need to give him a little more love. -I don't really explain the unfairness as to why Terry Funk has to face Kevin Sullivan to qualify for the tournament, and Hennig only has to deal with Perry Jackson. We'll just assume these are random draws. The C+ was a very good effort from those two - that's Jackson's highest rated match since losing a 3-on-1 handicap match against Bob Backlund back in January. It's his highest rated 1-on-1 match since losing to Hennig last September. |
NEWS
-Tiger Mask is apparently "playing politics" and pissing everyone off in Calgary Stampede. I'm glad he hasn't pulled that nonsense off down here. It's probably because we have too many locker room leaders. -Bob Backlund had a radio interview where he said that the more he's pushed, the more nervous he gets. I'm not sure what that means - he performs poorly after a roster promotion? He's never been anything but main event for WCCW. |
I wondered into this thread early in the week. One of the best Dynasties I have ever read. I registered just to comment on it. I don't even watch Wrestling anymore, but these names bring back memories. The Four Horseman need to take over WCCW, Wooooooooo!
One question, I couldn't believe how over Eaton & koko were. especially Koko, why such a short push for him? That was one of your most over guys in the whole thing, weird as it was. |
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Thanks for reading! Ya, I brought in Koko & Eaton as a lower-midcard tag team and they just took off, first in their tag team feud with The Sheepherders and then as inidividual workers. I don't think either are really main event level relative to my current roster, and Eaton really benefited from just a storyline I wanted to run that involved him holding the World Title for a while. Eaton will definitely have more opportunities in high profile stuff, though right now the company kind of revolves around the Backlund/Murdoch/Sullivan stable. Playing this game has definitely made me appreciate how easy it is for wrestlers to be lost in the shuffle of a promotion, there's only much ring and TV time to distribute. I always perceived Koko as a notch below Eaton, though he's had his share of great matches too. |
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I feel ya, Koko certainly never was very good in the real world. Maybe it was just reading it all in a couple of days. But if you ever go back, when he first turned heel, I don't think he had a segment or a match under a B. And most were B+ and up. It was freaking me out. I wouldn't spend much time with him either. Just couldn't believe how money he was. I wasn't really questioning moving him out of ME type story lines. but he turned into a jobber. I think he could have drawn big ratings in a midcard storyline. Keep in mind, I've never played the game, I have no idea what I'm talking about. |
WORLD CLASS WRESTLING (LIVE TV SHOW)
Wednesday, Week 4, April 1985 Fort Worth, TX (Small Venue) Expected Attendance: 4,579; Ticket Prices: default Actual Attendance: 5,000 (SOLD OUT) -Pre-Show Dark Match Kerry Von Erich defeats Barry Orton in 6:34 by pinfall. (C+) After the match, Bill Mercer interviewed Kerry about his win. (C). Kerry says that he's very disappointed that he didn't qualify for this week's King of Texas Wrestling tournament, but he'll be in Dallas that night, pulling for David to win for the 3rd year in a row. -Pre-Show Dark Match Steve Olsonoski defeats Mr. Pogo in 6:51 by pinfall. (C+) -As the show starts, the announcers hype what promises to be a historic show. First, with the news that World Champion Bob Backlund has officially been medically cleared to wrestle, he'll take part in the main event tonight, in a tag team match against his challenger for the World Title at this week's King of Texas Wrestling Event, Antonio Inoki. Both men must find a tag team partner who isn't already competing tonight - the announcers point out that that rules out Backlund's usual cronies - Dick Murdoch & Kevin Sullivan. (B+) -Then, the announcers recap the events of this week's live event in Massachusetts, where the final spots in the 12-man King of Texas Wrestling tournament were filled. They note that David Von Erich, by virtue of his winning the 1985 Last Man Standing Event, has already earned a 1st Round Bye. The 3 other first round byes are on the line tonight, in three random pairing matches composed of the other 11 competitors: 2 4-way matches, and a triple threat match. All the matches will be contested under elimination rules (a wrestler is eliminated from the match if he is pinned, submits, is DQ'd, or counted out). All matches will feature every participant in the ring at the same time. The announcers note that first round byes are particularly critical in this format, where the first round match have only a 5-minute time limit, with any draws to be settled by ringside judges. Thus, without a first round bye, you're leaving a lot to luck. After tonight's matches, the full tournament drawings will be held, and then announced later on tonight. With that, the announcers hype and preview the three matches set for tonight: -Match #1 (Triple Threat Match). Arturo Mendoza v. Grappler #1 v. King Kong Bundy. The announcers immediately hype the long-time issues between Mendoza and Bundy. They wonder if Grappler #1 can someohow take advantage of that bad blood and steal the win. (C+) -Match #2 (4-Way Match). Charlie Cook v. Curt Hennig v. Dick Murdoch v. Billy Robinson. The announcers hype the bitter rivalry between Hennig and Murdoch. They also wonder what kind of condition Charlie Cook can possibly be in, after the beating he suffered recently at the hands of Leon White. (C+) -Match #3 (4-Way Match). Leon White v. Bobby Eaton v. Doug Somers v. Kevin Sullivan. The announcers hype the fact that White has never been pinned, but he's never been in the ring against this kind of competition. Eaton is a former World Champion looking to break back up the roster. Sullivan might be the toughest wrestler in the sport today (C+) -WCCW King of Texas Wrestling Tournament: Position Match #1 -Triple Threat Match, Elimination Rules, All 3 Men in Ring at Same Time -Winner Receives First Round Bye Grappler #1 (w/Grappler #2) defeat King Kong Bundy (w/Gary Hart) and Arturo Mendoza in 7:38 (B). King Kong Bundy was eliminated first, by DQ, after botched interference from Gary Hart. Grappler #1 then pinned Mendoza, after interference from Grappler #2. After the match, Lance Russell interviewed Grappler #1 about his win, and his chances in the tournament. (C+) Bundy (with his preacher gimmick) & Hart (as Elvis) were once again a sad freak show, to the point where the announcers were taking pity on them. -Backstage, WCCW TV Champion Butch Miller and his manager Skandor Akbar stand with WCCW Commissioner Jose Lothario and the rolling drum of challengers for the TV Title. Miller draws a name - Arturo Mendoza. (B-). Akbar mocks Mendoza for entering the draw when he already had a match scheduled tonight. Akbar then stated that Miller will give Mendoza's brothers, the Villanos, a preview of what The Sheepherders will do to them at the King of Texas Wrestling Event. -WCCW King of Texas Wrestling Tournament: Position Match #2 -Four Corners Match, Elimination Rules, All 4 Men in Ring at Same Time -Winner Receives First Round Bye Billy Robinson defeats Dick Murdoch (w/Ray Stevens), Curt Hennig, and Charlie Cook in 9:53. (B) A brawl between rivals Murdoch and Hennig got quickly out of hand, and the two spilled outside the ring area, where they were both counted out. The two brawled back to the locker room. Back in the ring, Robinson pinned Cook to earn the win. After the match, Lance Russell interviewed Robinson about his upset win. Robinson says that at 45-years old, he still feels like he's got a lot in the tank, and this first-round bye is a huge advantage for him. (C-) -The announcers note that they're getting word from the back that Murdoch and Hennig are still brawling backstage. A camera picks up some of the action. Murdoch appears to lure Hennig to the general vicinity of Kevin Sullivan's locker room. Once there, Sullivan emerges, and the two stomp down Hennig, leaving him laying. (B+) -WCCW King of Texas Wrestling Tournament: Position Match #3 -Four Corners Match, Elimination Rules, All 4 Men in Ring at Same Time -Winner Receives First Round Bye Leon White defeats Bobby Eaton, Doug Somers, and Kevin Sullivan (w/Ray Stevens) in 8:06. (A). This was a dominating performance by White who pinned Somers, Eaton, and then destroyed Sullivan, sending him from the ring, and drawing a countout, to the delight of the fans. After the match, Lance Russell interviewed Leon White, who says that it doesn't matter who his competition is, he'll steamroll through the tournament just like he did tonight's match. (C+) -Backstage, Skandor Akbar cuts a promo with his client, Butch Miller, hyping Miller's TV Title defense against Mendoza, and The Sheepherders' tag team title defense against The Villanos this Saturday night at the King of Texas Wrestling Event. (C+) -WCCW Television Championship Match Arturo Mendoza defeats Butch Miller (w/Skandor Akbar) in 6:06 by pinfall to win the TV Championship. (A+). The match was a wild, overbooked brawl, featuring early interference from Luke Williams and Akbar. The Villanos came down to ringside to even the odds. After a referee bump, and a 3-on-3 brawl, the Villanos managed to get the best of heels, leaving Mendoza pinning Miller as the referee came to. After the match, Mendoza emotionally celebrated in the ring with his two brothers. (B). Lance Russell interviewed Mendoza, who said this was the greatest night of his career. Mendoza also said that he'll be in the corner of his brothers this Saturday night as they challenge The Sheepherders for the World Tag Team Titles. (B) -The announcers say that backstage, the full tournament draw for the 1985 King of Texas Wrestling Tournament has been completed, and that they're ready to announce the results. The announcers hype and preview the matches as they announce them. The bracket looks as follows: (B-) David Von Erich (First Round Bye) Curt Hennig v. King Kong Bundy --- Billy Robinson (First Round Bye) Dick Murdoch v. Charlie Cook --- Grappler #1 (First Round Bye) Arturo Mendoza v. Bobby Eaton ---- Leon White (First Round Bye) Kevin Sullivan v. Doug Somers -WCCW World Champion Bob Backlund comes to the ring with his manager, Ray Stevens. Bob Backlund reveals and introduces the partner he chose for tonight's main event: Roddy Piper. (A) -Antonio Inoki, this Saturday's challenger to the World Title comes to the ring, and introduces his chosen partner - David Von Erich (the man he had a mini-rivalry with over the last few weeks). (B) Bob Backlund looks annoyed. -Antonio Inoki & David Von Erich defeat Roddy Piper (w/Grappler #2) and Bob Backlund (w/Ray Stevens) in 16:39 when Inoki pinned Backlund. (B+). Backlund looked good. After the match, David and Inoki shook hands as a sign of respect, but the way they stared at each other revealed that some tension remained. (B-) Overall Show Rating: B+ THOUGHTS: -Once again, I feel like I JUST MISSED my first A- show. The main event, I guess, ruined it by only getting to a B+. But prior to that, we had an A match, and a A+ match. Someday I'll pull that off (I'll have to to get to national status) -I always like these kind of shows, where a story is told throughout the card, in matches. Where most of the matches add up and contribute to some theme. -And even the main event, with 4 guys who aren't a part of regular tag teams, was incredibly solid at B+. Inoki and David have buried the hatchet, for now at least. This might end up being the final WCCW appearance for Roddy Piper. -Mendoza winning the TV title was a lot of fun, since of course, he's the guy I've pushed up the card from WAY down. A+ was so far beyond anything I could have expected out of those two. In storyline terms, it was just the perfect lead-in to Saturday's Sheepherders/Villanos World Tag Title Match. It was Mendoza's 2nd A+ match in as many weeks - he accomplished the feat last week with Koko B. Ware. It's the first ever A+ match for Miller, individual or tag team. He had previously gotten as high as A in two tag team matches with Eaton and Ware last April. Miller had held the TV Title, under the wacky WCCW rules that require a defense against a random challenger every week, since mid-February - so it was a 2 1/2 month reign. Which I think is kind of long with these kind of defense commitments. -The Brackets for this Saturday's tournament are set. The best of the 3 "position" matches was White/Somers/Eaton/Sullivan which managed an A. White's is on a huge roll and is building momentum. He could be in line for a heel turn before long. -Robinson/Murdoch/Hennig/Cook was also solid. I don't think Robinson can make a match good on his own at this point, but he can wrestle strong matches against good competition. He'll await the winner of the Murdoch/Cook match for his quarter-final match this Saturday. Murdoch had some time after that match to outsmart Hennig and give him a 2-on-1 beatdown backstage. That rivalry will continue to heat up. -Before he won the TV title, Mendoza couldn't quite get past Grappler #1, who is really kind of anonymously good. Gary Hart/Bundy are in a bad way. Hart's stable never developed for him after his return. But he still has Bundy in the tournament. -I gave Kerry a much needed 1-on-1 win on the pre-show. I do have some things in mind for him, so he won't exactly be spending the rest of his career in dark matches. |
NEWS
-For the first time in a while, we don't pull off a new all-time high TV rating, but the 5.24 the show delivers is still very strong, the second highest all time for this show. -In major news, Georgia Championship Wrestling somehow became the first National Promotion. I had enjoyed a prestige lead over them, but they apparently had more broad national appeal, and they got there first. That means their prestige shoots up, and they are now the first promotion with the ability to sign exclusive written contracts. For the first time in a LONG time in this dynasty, I know have to worry about my talent being booked elsewhere in a given night, or even plucked away entirely. They've already requested negotiations with Leon White. Which could mean the big man will be out of WCCW soon. Currently, none of my workers work for Georgia. But they're now looking to expand their roster. And they'll be the only promotion illegible to sign the guys who think they're too big for anything lower (Hulk Hogan, Andre The Giant, Harley Race) And of course, "Georgia Championship Wrestling" is no name for a national promotion. So I've gone into the editor, and from now on, they're ACW, "American Championship Wrestling". My own slow march to national status continues - I hope to get there sometime in 1986. -Buzz Sawyer won the AWA World Title for the 2nd time, defeating Manny Fernandez. I've been hoping to bring Sawyer back for another talent trade/load run, I had a couple of ideas for him at Parade of Champions. AWA won't trade him, but I might be able to get him through one of his other employers. -On the same AWA show, Koko B. Ware defeated Nacho Berrera to win the AWA Light Heavyweight Title. -The dirt sheets are reporting rumors that Tiger Mask is indeed playing politics (whatever that means) in the WCCW locker room. His contract is up the day after the King of Texas Wrestling Show, which apparently will come as a relief to everyone. -A new friendship has emerged backstage - between Kevin Sullivan and Mark Youngblood. I think that's the first time I've seen a defined friendship emerge in WCCW. |
WCCW: Last Man Standing: PPV/Closed Circuit
Saturday, Week 4, April 1985 Dallas, TX (Midsouth - Medium Venue) Expected Attendance: 11,448 Ticket prices: $1 more than default Actual Attendance: 9,480 -Pre-Show Dark Match Grappler #2 defeats Tiger Mask in 13:57 by pinfall. (B-). After the match, Bill Mercer interviewed Grappler #2 about his win. (C-) -Pre-Show Dark Match Fritz Von Erich and Jose Lothario cut a promo in the ring to hype the show. (D+) -As the show starts, WCCW World Champion Bob Backlund cuts a backstage promo hyping his steel cage world title defense tonight against Antonio Inoki. Backlund promises revenge for the injuries Inoki inflicted upon him last month. (B) Inoki also cuts a promo hyping the match (B+) -A lengthy video hypes the 1985 King of Texas Wrestling Tournament. It highlights results from the previous two years of the event (both won by David Von Erich). It recaps the results of the qualifying matches for this year's tourmnament, and shows the full bracket. It also breaks down the rules, and what's at stake (C+): 1985 King of Texas Wrestling Tournament -12 Participants. 4 Receive First Round Byes. -4 First Round Matches in the "Lightning Round". These matches will have only a 5 minute time limit. If the time limit expires, or the match otherwise ends in a draw, a panel of three ringside judges will determine who advances to the final 8. -4 Quarter-Final Matches with 10-minute time limits. Once again, three ringside judges will determine who advances, in the case of a draw of any kind. -2 Semi-Final Matches with a 30-minute time limit. (Judges at ringside again) -The final match will have no time limit (and no judges). The Winner of the 1985 King of Texas Wrestling Event Will Receive: -$10,000 Cash -A brand-new, 1985 Honda Civic -The Prestigious King of Texas Wrestling Trophy. -A Contract For a Championship Match - (Can Be Used To Challenge For Any Championship, Single or Tag-Team (with any partner), With at least 7 Days Notice, and No Expiration Date). The bracket looks like this: David Von Erich (First Round Bye) Curt Hennig v. King Kong Bundy --- Billy Robinson (First Round Bye) Dick Murdoch v. Charlie Cook --- Grappler #1 (First Round Bye) Arturo Mendoza v. Bobby Eaton ---- Leon White (First Round Bye) Kevin Sullivan v. Doug Somers -Gary Hart comes out to the ring with his client, King Kong Bundy, for the first match. Hart (in his Elvis costume), starts performing a song on his guitar in the center of the ring. (C). Soon however, he is interrupted by a returning Kevin Von Erich, who is making his first WCCW appearance in several months. Kevin is holding the old WCCW American Heavyweight Championship belt. Kevin says that he wanted to come out tonight to talk to the fans, but he didn't want to interrupt anything worthwhile, and he figured the fans wouldn't mind if he cut Gary Hart's song short. First, Kevin says, his rehab is done, he's ahead of schedule, and he's going to be back in the ring next week. (C+). 2nd, says Kevin, he has something to say to King Kong Bundy. Kevin says he's holding the old WCCW American Heavyweight Championship belt, a belt that he's held 5 times. He says that 2 1/2 years ago, he won this very belt from King Kong Bundy. Kevin puts over the kind of competitor Bundy was at the time - he was one of the best in WCCW. He was feared by the the other wrestlers. But now, Kevin says, Bundy has turned into a joke. The preacher costume, the association with the mentally unstable Gary Hart - Kevin stares down Bundy and tells him that until he turns things around, he'll never get anywhere close to championship gold again. Kevin holds up the belt for Bundy to see. Bundy seems very upset - Kevin's words have clearly gotten to him. (C+) -WCCW King of Texas Wrestling Tournament: 1st Round Match Curt Hennig defeats King Kong Bundy (w/Gary Hart) in 3:08 by DQ, after interference from Hart. (B) Hennig dominates as Bundy is obviously distracted throughout the match. A desperate Hart tries to turn the tide with interference, but is caught by the referee. After the match, Hart tries to explain his actions to Bundy, who begins to argue with him. The argument reaches a breaking point, and Bundy attacks Hart, and squashes him in the corner, to the approval of the fans. Bundy leaves Hart laying as he leaves the ring. (C) -Backstage, Lance Russell interviewed Dick Murdoch about the tournament, and his upcoming first round match with Charlie Cook. He says in this first round, with the short time limit, it's important to leave nothing to chance, and he plans on taking out Cook quickly. (B) -WCCW King of Texas Wrestling Tournament: 1st Round Match Dick Murdoch (w/Ray Stevens) defeats Charlie Cook in 0:46 by pinfall in a dominating victory. (C). Murdoch looked good. -Backstage, Kevin Sullivan cut a promo hyping his upcoming 1st Round match with Doug Somers. Sullivan says that he was impressed by the way his stablemate Murdoch dismantled Cook in the previous match. Sullivan says his strategy is similar - leave nothing to chance (or the judges). (B+) -WCCW King of Texas Wrestling Tournament: 1st Round Match Kevin Sullivan (w/Ray Stevens) defeats Doug Somers in 2:24 by pinfall. (C). The two showed poor chemistry. -Backstage, Bill Mercer interviews the new WCCW TV Champion Arturo Mendoza about his 1st round match against Bobby Eaton, as well has his brothers' (The Villanos) challenge later tonight for the World Tag Team Titles. (C+). Back at the ringside area, Lance Russell interviews former World Champion Eaton about the match. (B+). Eaton says when he wins the tournament, he'll challenge for the World Title after next month's Parade of Champions. -WCCW King of Texas Wrestling Tournament: 1st Round Match Arturo Mendoza & Bobby Eaton drew in 5:00 when the time expired. (B+) The ringside judges, WCCW Commissioner Jose Lothario, and road agents Jackie Fargo and Ricky Romero confer. Lothario announces a unanimous decision - Mendoza will advance in the tournament. (C+). Eaton is enraged - he runs out and argues with Lothario. (C). He could be heard yelling that the two Hispanic judges were biased for Mendoza. -A video recaps the feud between Iceman Parsons and Kamala. It highlights the attack that put Parsons out of action for a time, as well as Parsons' return and surprise attack on Kamala a few weeks ago. (B-) Backstage, Parsons cuts a promo hyping the match, saying he's not afraid of the Ugandan Giant. (C+) -Kamala, The Ugandan Giant (w/Ox Baker) defeats Iceman Parsons in 6:17 by pinfall. (B) After the match, Kamala wildly celebrates in the ring. (B-) -WCCW King of Texas Wrestling Tournament: Quarterfinal Match David Von Erich drew with Curt Hennig in 10:00 when the time limit expired. (B-). Jose Lothario announced the judge's split decision - David Von Erich will advance. -WCCW King of Texas Wrestling Tournament: Quarterfinal Match Dick Murdoch (w/Ray Stevens) defeats Billy Robinson in 6:35 by pinfall. (B) -WCCW King of Texas Wrestling Tournament: Quarterfinal match Kevin Sullivan (w/Ray Stevens) defeats Leon White in 7:45 by DQ. (B-). This was a wild, overbooked brawl that involved White dominating early, and the Stevens getting involved. Sullivan introduced a chair into the match, but White got caught using it, drawing the DQ. -WCCW King of Texas Wresting Tournament: Quarterfinal Match Arturo Mendoza defeats Grappler #1 (w/Grappler #2) in 7:37 by pinfall. (B-) The two showed poor chemistry. -A video hypes The Sheepherders v. Villanos match for the World Tag Team Championship. (C+) -WCCW World Tag Team Championship The Sheepherders (w/Skandor Akbar) defeat The Villanos (w/Arturo Mendoza) to make their second defense of the tag team titles when Miller pinned Villano V in 6:04. (B) The match featured interference by Akbar, and then by Mendoza to help even the odds. Miller looked good. After the match, The Sheepherders and Skandor Akbar beat down The Villanos & Arturo Mendoza in the ring, until Kevin & Mike Von Erich made the save (returning the favor for the Villanos rescue of Fritz Von Erich several weeks ago). (C+). The Sheepherders and Akbar angrily stare at the Von Erichs as they leave the ringside area. -Backstage, Bill Mercer interviews David Von Erich about his upcoming semi-final match with Dick Murdoch. (C+) -WCCW King of Texas Wrestling Tournament: Semi-Final match David Von Erich defeats Dick Murdoch (w/Ray Stevens) in 13:48 after botched interference from Stevens. (B+) -WCCW King of Texas Wrestling Tournament: Semi-Final match Kevin Sullivan (w/Ray Stevens) defeats Arturo Mendoza in 9:55 by pinfall. (B). Mendoza was obviously weakened by his earlier involvement in the Sheepherders/Villanos match. -WCCW World Heavyweight Championship Match -Steel Cage: Classic Rules (Pinfall or Submission Only) Bob Backlund (w/Ray Stevens) defeats Antonio Inoki in 12:54 by submission to make his 2nd defense of the World Title. (C+) The two showed poor chemistry. -Backstage, Bill Mercer interviews Kevin Sullivan, the only man standing between David Von Erich and a King of Texas Wrestling tournament 3-peat. (B-) -WCCW King of Texas Wrestling Tournament: Championship Match David Von Erich defeats Kevin Sullivan (w/Ray Stevens) in 9:41 by submission. (B+) After the match, David celebrates his 3rd consecutive King of Texas Wrestling Tournament win. (C+) Overall Show Rating: B- THOUGHTS: To come.... |
NEWS
-Roddy Piper complains about his push. He'll have a lot more time to complain in two weeks when his contract his up and I don't re-sign him. -Our 4-semi-finalists in the tournament - David Von Erich, Arturo Mendoza, Kevin Sullivan, and Dick Murdoch are all understandably exhausted after the last show. We'll try to give them all a bit of a break this week. -Tiger Mask is officially done with WCCW, as his contract expired after his dark show match loss to Grappler #2. I figure 6-12 months down the road, he'll be willing to work for a lot less, and I'd probably be willing to bring him back at that point. I didn't realize he had been with us since back in November 1983. His overall W/L/D record was 33-25-9. He wrestled A+ matches with The Great Kabuki and Bob Backlund. -It appears that Southwest Championship Wrestling - who I've occasionally screwed with by signing away their champions, will go out business by the end of May. It also appears that All-Star Wrestling (UK) will fold as well. That would be the end of wrestling in the UK. Finally - Mid-South is also in serious trouble. Later on this year, I'll have to take a look at the surviving promotions and decide if I'm going to add any....Obviously to some degree, the mass exodus of promotions is supposed to happen with this particular mod. But I'm really curious to see if the surviving promotions and really grow and thrive as a result. I would be interested in a buy-out attempt of any of the three failing promotions - but Fritz has me on that mandatory goal not to drop below a certain amount of money. -Mr. Fuji announced that he will retire at the end of the month. -Shawn Michaels has suffered a drug overdose and came within "a whisker of death". He's only 19. -TV Shows are starting to accept proposals for the summer season. I will be all over that, looking to cash in on my exploding TV ratings. -The PPV did a 1.32 buyrate, my highest ever. Each of our four PPVs have had higher buyrates than the last. |
I am curious to see if you start losing guys to GCW. They'll be making a lot of money I assume at National level so I can see some defections. Any in particular you're concerned about?
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Were you surprised by some of the match ratings in the PPV? They seemed to come in lower than I would expect for some of your more hyped contestants. Particularly a C+ for Backlund/Inoki but none of the matches recording anything higher than a B+ rating seemed unusual for where you are these days in Texas shows.
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They've already requested negotiations with Leon White - I think he's a gonner. That's part of the reason he didn't win a match at the tournament. Their interest in him shows me that their interest is kind of unpredictable, as White doesn't have any particular overness in the southeast. Once I see them sign a few people, then maybe I'll have an idea of what they're after (I guess their product type would effect that, though I won't cheat and look at it in the editor). Their roster is pretty well balanced right now - their main eventers are Buzz Sawyer, Steve Keirn, Greg Valentine, Jake Roberts, and Manny Fernandez. They also have Stan Hansen, The Road Warriors, Jim Duggan, The Iron Shiek, Ole Anderson, The One Man Gang, Tony Atlas, Ron Garvin, Tito Santana. Really, I think anyone could go, other than Von Erichs. It's time to put new emphasis on pushing them. |
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There was definitely something off with that show. I did experiment by using 3 "all out" matches, instead of my normal 2. I thought I might get away with it because I had so many matches, but I think it might have screwed up the flow of the show. Ya, Backlund/Inoki was shockingly bad after they had an A rated match last month. I think it was hurt by it's spot before the main event. They didn't get the "all out" road agent note. Their storyline didn't have a lot of heat, I think I hurt that rating by developing things too slowly. I also wonder if the steel cage stip somehow hurt them....So it could be any number of things - definitely part of the fun of this game. Overall though, I think the the show format was just too quirky....I had to cram 14 matches into 3 hours. I'm happy to get the B-, definitely strong enough to keep us growing. Anything B- or above on the PPV/TV shows is a small step forward. |
What road notes do you usually use?
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I use the "go all out" note twice every show. I almost always use it for the main event, and then some other match that I think has potential. I usually use the "work the crowd" note twice a show two - usually for matches that probably won't have great ratings, but have guys that are decently over. I've read various philsophies about these notes and match order at the TEW board but I don't think there was ever a consensus. Clearly, the main event is the most important thing. And I think you want to build up towards it. But I've never figured out everything, like - does the fact that you want to build momentum as the show goes mean you should have a crappy opener? |
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As far as I understand it, the consensus is definitely no on that one. I believe the rule of thumb is either somewhere around the third or fourth best match of the show in the opener (depending on the length of the show of course) to start the crowd at a reasonably high level. Best match goes last, second best match usually goes next to last I think. In between the beginning & the end you want a sort of up/down effect with higher peaks on the second beat as you build, but never too big a drop (like you'd get from putting your worst match after your second best match) So the typical pattern I'd run for say a seven match card would be 1) 4th best with work the crowd or all out (depending on how hot I think they could be) 2) Non-wrestling segment (angle, promo, whatever) 3) 6th best with work the crowd 4) 7th best no note 5) Non-wrestling segment 6) 4th best with work the crowd 7) 5th best with no note 8) Non-wrestling segment 9) 3rd best with work the crowd 10) 2nd best with no note 11) Non-wrestling segment (hopefully the strongest one) 12) 1st best with all out |
WCCW: Last Man Standing THOUGHTS
As I stated above in post #927, there was definitely something off about this show. I attribute that mostly to the chaotic format - trying to fit all that in 3 hours. Next year, I'll run the show at 3 1/2 hours. Nothing broke out above B+. That was certainly disappointing, since there was a number of matches that had that kind of potential. Still though, the show was plenty good enough to increase my popularity everywhere outside of Texas and the midwest. That's pretty much where I've been in a while in this dynasty - trying to get achieve broad national popularity, then I'll begin the expensive final push to national status. Until then, B- is plenty good to keep moving forward (though Bs and B+s will make it happen faster). -David gets the King of Texas Wrestling trophy for the third year in a row. He did it with 2 B+s and a B-, against opponents that he would generally do better against. He got through Backlund's fellow federation-members Murdoch and Sullivan, and now he gets Bob Backlund at Parade of Champions. He'll have to announce his intention for his earned "title shot", since he's already locked in to that title match at Parade of Champions. -Backlund retains with a lackluster peformance....Backlund/David is the same main event we ran at Parade of Champions last year, but they're the two top guys and the outcome will really shape the promotion going forward. I haven't decided on a winner. I had originally intended Backlund to win and have a long reign as champion. But with Georgia Championship Wrestling going national, I'd rather not have them pluck away my World Champion, so I'm considering giving David the win and an extended reign of his own (David being too loyal to go anywhere else) -Arturo Mendoza had a good run, winning twice and reaching the semi-finals, as his push continues. I believe he could reach an A- or better level match with either Bobby Eaton or Grappler #1, if given more time. -The only match that surprised me in a positive way was The Sheepherders/Villanos match at a rating of B. That's much higher than my typical tag team match. It's the best tag match rating for the Villanos since they faced Eaton/Ware last July. -Leon White's 1-on-1 undefeated streak ends at the hands of Kevin Sullivan, but he's still never been pinned. White is negotiating with American Championship Wrestling and could sign an exclusive deal with them any day. He'll get his push back after a week or so passes if he's still here. -Kamala gets the better of Iceman Parsons once again, and I'm somewhat impressed with the B rating. That gives me hope that Kamala can deliver A- or better against main eventers. -King Kong Bundy sees the light after being run down verbally by Kevin Von Erich, and he turns face by attacking Gary Hart. Bundy's face ratings aren't as high as his heel ratings, but my booking team has been telling me he's gotten stale. I have a storyline in mind for him, and Gary Hart, who has now truly hit rock bottom. He's gone crazy, and he has zero clients left. -Tiger Mask does the job for Grappler #2 on his way out.....I hope to use Tiger Mask again someday, with a cheaper contract. |
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Good info, thanks. That's generally how I've booked shows, though I haven't consciously gone for the "higher peaks on the second beat" rhythm. I'll give that a shot. The only thing I've done inherently differently (just based on my own observations of wrestling shows), is that I hate to put the 2nd best match 2nd to last. It just feels like that match should be a match or two further down, with a comedy/sports entertainment type match 2nd to last. This stubbornness might be what's keeping me from breaking through to an A- or better show, though. |
WCCW - END OF APRIL 1985 - MONTHLY REVIEW
POPULARITY -Texas/Midsouth: 69.0% (up from 68.1% last month) -Midwest: 67.0% (up from 66.2% last month) -Southeast: 61.6% (up from 59.6% last month) -New England: 58.4% (up from 56.6% last month) -Southwest: 57.8% (up from 55.7% last month) -North West: 57.3% (up from 55.7% last month) -Great Lakes: 57.1% (up from 55.5% last month) -Mid Atlantic: 57.1% (up from 55.5% last month) -Tri-State: 57.1% (up from 55.5% last month) -Puerto Rico: 40.9% (up from 40.3% last month) -It's nice to see actual increases in Texas and the midwest - I had been flat in those areas for so long. It's be great if I could push Texas up another 2.0% and get to B- there - that would mean a whole lot more money. All of the other ranges are closing in on C popularity (59.1%). FINANCES Income (Last month in parenthesis): PPV Revenue: 529,504 (484,560) Ticket Sales: 613,504 (625,041) Sponsors: 133,499 (137,858) Merchandise: 16,480 (17,520) Expenses: Worker Costs: 366,225 (353,675) Show Costs: 135,000 (135,000) Marketing: 25,000 (25,000) Merchandise: 25,233 (25,247) Production: 103,500 (103,500) Misc: 490,403 (465,474) Total Profit: $152,626 ($156,813) Cash in Bank: $1,472,413 ($1,319,787) -With the new PPV revenue, we're had a pretty happy place financially. We can bounce around a little with PPV revenue and worker costs and still be in the same ballpark every month with about a $150k profit. I'm pretty content to build that pile of money in the bank, in preparation for our expensive mad dash to national status somewhere down the road. -The big thing going on this month, of course, is negotiations for a new TV network/time slot. The game handles that a little funny - at my current cult status, no network will talk to me since they feel I can only support 1 TV show. So I actually have to cancel my current show and take the chance at getting another one. I'll be conservative and do that after week 3 - that will wipe out the 4th TV show of the month, but give me extra time to land a new TV deal before next match. I'll run a major Texas house show in place of the TV show that 4th week. -With the more comfortable financial situation, I'm going to make a change to our show schedule. All four weekly "WCCW Stars on Tour" shows will take place in venues outside of Texas and the midwest. That will more quickly increase our popularity in those areas, at the expense of money-loser shows. I'll cut down on the worker expenses somewhat on those shows, which will help mitigate that loss. Custom Merchandise Settings: (All set to sell every type of merchandise, unless noted) Very Low Level (T-Shirts, Misc., and Posters Only): -David Von Erich -Kerry Von Erich -Kevin Von Erich Very Low Level (T-Shirts Only) -Iceman Parsons -Bob Backlund -Bobby Eaton -Roddy Piper -Curt Hennig -Antonio Inoki -Terry Funk -Arturo Mendoza -Same levels as last month, except that Arturo Mendoza replaces the departed Tiger Mask, and we also add Leon White to the lowest level. |
WCCW CHAMPIONS - END OF APRIL 1985
-World Heavyweight Champion - 100.0% Prestige (Same As Last Month) Main Event Title Bob Backlund (2 title defenses, 6-week reign). -Television Champion - 70.0% Prestige (Same As Last Month) Midcard Title Arturo Mendoza - (newly crowned) -World Tag Team Champions - 70.0% Prestige (same as last month) Midcard Title The Sheepherders - (2 title defense, 2-month reign) -Six-Man Tag Team Champions - 71.6% Prestige (same as last month) Main Event Title Bob Backlund, Dick Murdoch, & Kevin Sullivan (2 title defenses, 2 1/2 month reign) -Cruiserweight Championship - 38.0% Prestige (Same as last month) Low Level Title Mike Von Erich - 3 title defenses, 5-month reign -I'm inclined to eventually retire the Cruiserweight and Six-Man Titles, and replace them with a re-instated Texas Heavyweight Championship, which would be a mid-level title. I think it could co-exist with the TV Title. The TV title has it's quirky rules (10 minute time limits and random challengers), where the Texas Heavyweight Championship would be a more traditional title that would be defended against worthy contenders in longer matches. -On the other hand, I could eventually develop the Cruiserweight Title into a more legitimate championship - bringing in capable cruiserweights from Mexico and Japan. -Personally, I don't think a promotion can have too many championships, as long as all of them serve a specific defined purpose. -The Federation stable as been sitting on the six-man-tag titles for more than 30 days. My kayfabe explanation for that is that only the World Title and World Tag Team Titles are subject to the oversight of the WCCW Championship Committee. The TV Title has it's own weird rules, and the Cruiserweight and Six-Man Tag Titles are kind of out there, doing their own thing, at the whim of whoever the current champion is. |
WCCW STORYLINES - END OF APRIL 1985
Storylines with participants and date of origin, in order of current heat: 1. Kamala's Rampage: Kamala/Parsons (March) 2. Hart Limited Drama: Gary Hart/Mendoza/Bundy/Villano IV (January) 3. Backlund/Inoki (March) 4. Leon White's Rise: White/Cook/Kolof (March) 5. Hennig v. Murdoch Part II: Hennig/Murdoch/Funk/Sullivan/Grappler #1 (January) 6: Tag Team Title Storyline: Sheepherders v. Kerry/Kevin (April, recently evolved to include The Sheepherders, and to eliminate Tiger Mask/Kabuki, Mendoza/Bundy) 7. Tag Feud: Olsonoski/Somers v. Eaton/Ware (April) Set to Debut: -The Freebirds Return Lower midcarders and higher without a current or pending storyline: -David Von Erich -Roddy Piper -Mr. Pogo -Grappler #2 -Mike Von Erich -Mark Youngblood -El Halcon -Villano V -The Mike/Villano V storyline officially ended last month, leaving both without storylines. -The Kamala storyline is now the hottest thing in the company. That's largely due to mismanagement and some injury issues. Inoki/Backlund developed too slowly, and Kerry/Kevin v. The Sheepherders was derailed by Kevin's injury. -Backlund/Inoki will continue, probably on the house show circuit. There's no easy way to evolve that storyline to include David, and I can't end it without a prestige penalty. -I currently have all 3 Freebirds under contract (3 of them just for 3-appearance loan contracts), and the angle I have for them might have to wait until after The Parade of Champions, which probably won't make them happy. WRESTLER CONFLICTS -The following wrestlers are unavailable on these days in October, as they consider these companies priorities over WCCW: NONE -Now that the former Georgia Championship Wrestling is the most prestigious promotion in the world, any joint workers would work for them in a day where there's a conflict. Fortunately, we don't share any workers, so this isn't an issue yet. EXCLUSIVE WORKERS -These are the on-screen workers who happen to work for no one else but me. I'll try to give them a heavier workload, as they're the least likely to have fatigue issues. These guys are also relatively safer when it comes to talent cuts (this list does not include wrestlers who who are exclusively contracted to us, but as of the beginning of the month, have outstanding loan commitments with other promotions). -Al Perez -Antonio Inoki -Barry Orton -Bill Mercer -Billy Robinson -Charlie Cook -David Manning -The Sheepherders -David Von Erich -Doug Somers -Dusty Wolfe -El Halcon -Fritz Von Erich -The Grapplers -Jackie Fargo -Iceman Parsons -Jose Lothario -Kamala -Kerry Von Erich -Kevin Sullivan -Kevin Von Erich -Mark Youngblood -Mike Von Erich -Mr. Pogo -Nikita Koloff -Owen Hart -Perry Jackson -Ricky Romero -Steve Olsonoski -Terry Funk -Terry Gordy -Villano IV -Villano V -Vince McMahon WRESTLER COMPLAINTS -Antonio Inoki is very unhappy about how often he has been jobbed -Buddy Roberts is unhappy about how often he's been unused on shows -Iceman Parsons in very unhappy about how often he's been unused on shows -Kevin Von Erich is extremely unhappy about how often he's been unused on shows -Michael Hayes is unhappy about how often he's been unsused on shows -Nikita Koloff is furious about how often he's been unused on shows. -Roddy Piper is unhappy about how many losses he's taken -Terry Gordy is very unhappy about how often he's been unused on shows. -Vince McMahon is extremely unhappy about how often he's been unused on shows. -It's a slightly unhappier locker room than we had last month. The Freebirds are annoyed that they're not being used, but pretty much unavoidable with the limited number of appearances I have them for. Inoki doesn't like jobbing - I knew that going in when I signed him. He'll probably settle at a level outside the world title scene where he wins a bunch of pointless matches as some kind of "international attraction". Now that Kevin Von Erich is back at 100%, he'll be happy again soon, as I'll rely on him as the workhorse he is. I haven't used Nikita Koloff in months, but he's set to get involved in Leon White's storyline (if White stays around). WRESTLER DISAGREEMENTS ABOUT PUSHES -These are guys that have let me know they think they should be pushed better (including those listed above, whose complaints have risen to the level of affecting morale). (loan agreement workers designated by *). This doesn't include start-of-month changes. -Barry Orton thinks he should be a lower midcarder -Bobby Eaton thinks he should be a main eventer -Dusty Wolfe thinks he should be an Enhancement Talent -El Halcon thinks he should be a midcarder -Kevin Sullivan thinks he should be a main eventer -Koko B. Ware thinks he should be an upper midcarder -Michael Hayes thinks he should be a main eventer -Owen Hart thinks he should be an opener -Perry Jackson thinks he should be a lower midcarder -Roddy Piper thinks he should be a main eventer -Villano V thinks he should be a midcarder |
Current Momentum Ratings (End of April, 1985), with last month is parenthesis.
B+ David Von Erich (B-) B Bob Backlund (B) B- Curt Hennig (C+) Luke Williams (C+) Butch Miller (C+) Terry Gordy (B-) Kamala (C-) Bobby Eaton (C-) C+ Dick Murdoch (C+) Leon White (C+) El Halcon (C+) Nikita Kolof (C+) Kerry Von Erich (C+) Villano V (C+) Iceman Parsons (C+) Antonio Inoki (C+) Roddy Piper (C+) Villano IV (C) Terry Funk (C+) Grappler #2 (C) Kevin Sullivan (B) C Kevin Von Erich (C) Doug Somers (C) Mike Von Erich (D+) Arturo Mendoza (C) Billy Robinson (B-) Steve Olsonoski (C-) King Kong Bundy (C-) Grappler #1 (C+) Koko B. Ware (C) (C-) Mr. Pogo (C) (D+) Al Perez (D+) Charlie Cook (D+) D None D- Done E+ Perry Jackson (D-) Mark Youngblood (E) Dusty Wolfe (E+) E Barry Orton (E) E- None E None F+ None F None F- Owen Hart (F-) Rising in April: David Von Erich, The Sheepherders, Curt Hennig, Kamala, Bobby Eaton, Villano IV, Grappler #2, Mike Von Erich, Steve Olsonoski, King Kong Bundy, Mark Youngblood Falling in March: Kevin Sullivan, Billy Robinson, Grappler #1, Mr. Pogo, Perry Jackson -Poor Owen Hart. I'd like to keep him around long enough for him to be picked up by Stampede. Otherwise though, a positive month for momentum as a whole. It's nice to see David back on top. |
Question on Merchandise. What is your reason for selling less types of merch for your more popular wrestlers (Backlund, Von Erich's, etc) Is it because you are trying to build lower wrestlers by selling more variety?
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ROSTER, END OF APRIL, 1985
*Workers on loan contracts MAIN EVENTERS Bob Backlund David Von Erich Terry Funk Curt Hennig Dick Murdoch Antonio Inoki -Same group as last month outside of the guys that were on loan contracts (Lawler, Valentine). Funk will depart in the next few weeks as I allow his contract to expire. UPPER MIDCARDERS Luke Williams Butch Miller Roddy Piper Kevin Von Erich Kevin Sullivan Michael Hayes* Buddy Roberts* Kamala Arturo Mendoza -Bobby Eaton and Grappler #1 drop out of this group from last month, Arturo Mendoza moves up into it. It's time for Mendoza's push, he's the guy in this dynasty who I've built up from virtually nothing so I have a little soft spot for him. I'm not soured on Eaton, he's just about to start a feud with with lower guys though, so there's really no reason for him to be "ranked" this high. Same with Grappler #1 - I think he's a great talent, but there's no reason for him to be this high in the card at this point. MIDCARDERS Villano V Kerry Von Erich Koko B. Ware Iceman Parsons The Grapplers Bobby Eaton Steve Olsonoski Nikita Koloff Mike Von Erich King Kong Bundy Mr. Pogo Terry Gordy El Halcon Leon White -Tiger Mask and The Great Kabuki have left WCCW so they're out of this group. Bobby Eaton and Grappler #1 drop down to the midcard. Villano V and El Halcon move up. LOWER MIDCARDERS Doug Somers Villano IV Mark Youngblood Charlie Cook -Villano V and El Halcon move up and out of this group OPENERS Al Perez Perry Jackson Barry Orton Owen Hart -Owen Hart moves up into this group ENHANCEMENT TALENT Dusty Wolfe -Wolfe requested to be an "occasional wrestler" last month, now he wants to be an Enhancement Talent again. I make him happy (to the benefit of Owen Hart) OCCASIONAL WRESTLERS Billy Robinson OTHERS Skandor Akbar Gary Hart Lance Russell Bill Mercer David Manning Jose Lothario Fritz Von Erich Ray Stevens Ricky Romero Jackie Fargo Ox Baker Vince McMahon CONTRACTS UP IN NEXT 60 DAYS -Roddy Piper (13 Days) -Terry Funk (22 Days) -Mr. Pogo (29 Days) -Iceman Parsons (31 Days) -Gary Hart (31 Days) -Perry Jackson (32 Days) -Barry Orton (32 Days) -King Kong Bundy (33 Days) -Kerry Von Erich (33 Days) -Steve Olsonoski (34 Days) -Mark Youngblood (34 Days) -Terry Gordy (42 Days) -Dusty Wolfe (53 Days) -Lance Russell (55 Days) -Owen Hart (56 Days) -Doug Somers (56 Days) -Nikita Koloff (57 Days) -I'm going to let the expensive contracts of Roddy Piper and Terry Funk expire. Hopefully that, (along with the similar decision to let Tiger Mask go), will loosen up Frtiz' purse to allow me to pursue the likes of Hulk Hogan. We're going to scale down our roster to see if that encourages Fritz to let me offer more to big names. |
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I don't really understand merchandise yet, expect that I'm losing money on it (except for a couple of freak months) Everyone's merchandise sales are rated as "awful" in the custom merchandise screen - I imagine they won't go any higher than that until I reach national status. So in the meantime, it seems like it makes sense to keep everything low. |
THE STARS OF WORLD CLASS ON TOUR
Monday, Week 1, May 1985 Seattle, WA (Northwest - Very Small Venue) Expected Attendance: 1,224 Ticket prices: $2 over Default Actual Attendance: 1,162 -Pre-Show Dark Match King Kong Bundy defeats Barry Orton in 6:38 by pinfall. (C+). Bundy debuts his new "mountain giant" gimmick after his face turn at the last show. It's similar to his original WCCW gimmick - blue jeans and a rope belt. After the match, Bill Mercer interviewed Bundy about his win, and his firing of Gary Hart last week. Bundy says he wants to thank Kevin Von Erich for helping him "see the light" - Bundy hopes that he can earn back the respect of the fans. -Pre-Show Dark Segment. Bill Mercer conducts interviews with some of the participants of tonight's show. First, he talks to Billy Robinson about his match tonight with Mr. Pogo. (D+). Then, he talks to Charlie Cook, who has inexplicably agreed to get in the ring with Leon White once again. (E-) -Pre-Show Dark Match Fritz comes to the ring and cuts a promo hyping tonight's WCCW debut show in Seattle. He also hypes the upcoming Parade of Champions event at the end of the month, which we now know will feature a main event of WCCW World Heavyweight Champion Bob Backlund defending his title against the 1985 King of Texas Wrestling Tournament Winner, David Von Erich (D-) -El Halcon defeats Perry Jackson in 6:40 by pinfall. (C-) -The three-time King of Texas Wrestling tournament winner David Von Erich comes to the ring and cuts a lengthy promo, hyping his latest tournament win. He notes that he also won the 1985 Last Man Standing tournament, and now, there's only one accomplishment left - the World Heavyweight Championship, which he'll challenge for at Parade of Champions. David points out that he had already earned that title shot before his King of Texas Wrestling Tournament win. David says that he's conferred with WCCW Commissioner Jose Lothario, and has confirmed that his newly earned title shot is transferable to anyone, for any title. So, says David, he wants to give his brothers, Kevin & Kerry a shot at the World Tag Team Titles at Parade of Champions. David notes that Kevin returns to the ring tonight, for his first match since he and Kerry lost the tag titles to the Sheepherders several months ago. David admits that he's reluctant to just hand such an opportunity over to anyone. Further, Kerry and Kevin want to earn their shot like any other team, claims David. Therefore, David says he will transfer the title shot that he earned at the King of Texas Wrestling tournament to the winner of tonight's tag team match between Kevin/Kerry and The Grapplers. (C-) -Owen Hart defeated Dusty Wolfe in 5:46 by pinfall. (D-) -Leon White came to the ring, and Bill Mercer interviewed him about his upcoming match against a man he has dominated - Charlie Cook. White says that he thought the issues with Cook were settled, but if he wants another beating, he'll give it to him. (E-) -Leon White defeats Charlie Cook in 4:39 by pinfall. (C-) The two showed poor chemistry. After the match, while White was celebrating in the ring, Cook sneaked back in and struck White with a steel chair. (E-). White however, was barely impacted at all. Cook fled the ring in terror, with White in hot pursuit, back to the locker room. (E-) -World Tag Team Title Shot To The Winners. Kevin & Kerry Von Erich defeat The Grapplers in 10:48 when Kevin made Grappler #2 submit. (C+) After the match, Kevin & Kerry cut a promo hyping the win, and their earned title shot against The Sheepherders at Parade of Champions. Kevin thanks the fans for their support in his comeback to the ring after being out for several months with an injury (C+) -Billy Robinson defeats Mr. Pogo in 13:20 by pinfall. (C+). The match suffered from a lack of selling. After the match, Robinson celebrated in the ring. -Skandor Akbar comes to the ring with his client, Nikita Koloff, making his first WCCW appearance in several months. Akbar hypes the main event match between Koloff and David Von Erich. Akbar claims Koloff has been training in the Siberian wilderness and is more vicious than ever. Akbar also hypes his Destruction Inc., stable as a whole, which now includes the World Tag Team Champion Sheepherders, the undefeated Kamala, and Koloff. (C-) -David Von Erich defeats Nikita Koloff (w/Skandor Akbar) in 12:56 by DQ after Akbar interfered. (C). Koloff was tiring towards the end of the match. Overall Show Rating: C THOUGHTS: -That's the worst-rated show I've had in a while. That's not surprising, since the northwest is probably our weakest American region, and I really brought a B-team, outside of the Von Erichs. The show actually dipped my popularity here very slightly - that shows me that my national popularity is broad enough now that I have to run shows C+ or better in these emerging regions. That definitely shows how far I've come. -It's a good thing that I didn't bring many expensive workers, because I ran a building one size higher than I intended. -It's difficult to put much stock in any of these match ratings - but I was happy to see Robinson (one of my more popular wrestlers in the northwest) pull a C+, and Kevin/Kerry reach that same rating in Kevin's return match. I'm hoping a healthy Kevin can lead to a B- or B with the Sheepherders. -David earned two title shots the last two months, so he transfers one here to his brothers. I had considered going a couple of different ways with the Parade of Champions, but since I still have this Von Erichs/Sheepherders official storyline going, I decided to run with it until the end, even though the storyline rating is in the toilet because no steps have developed in months. -I picture King Kong Bundy's new face gimmick as some kind of slow-witted country giant deal. I don't think he'll take of as a face, his ratings just aren't good enough. His limited stamina doesn't warrant a higher place on the card. |
NEWS
-David Von Erich is exhausted after the last show. He's definitely had a heavy workload lately -Fresh off their promotion to national status, American Championship Wrestling (formerly the Georgia promotion) has made some major talent acquisitions. Most importantly, Hulk Hogan has signed on. Hogan hasn't wrestled since the WWF went out of business last November. I'm assuming that's an exclusive written contract, so that ends the hope of the Hulkamania running wild in WCCW any time soon. Ric Flair, who hasn't wrestled since last July, is also in the fold. -ACW also signs Gino Hernandez, Gorilla Monsoon, Butch Reed, The Grand Wizard, and Gene Oakerland. -Finally, as I expected, ACW has signed away Leon White....He's given his notice, and will be under contract with us for another 7 days. So it's safe to say his unpinned streak is going to end in a hurry. -I have most of the lineup for Parade of Champions in my head, but I'm still trying to put together a couple of pieces. I'd like to use Antonio Inoki in some kind of "international main event" type match with someone from outside WCCW. Mil Mascaras would be my first choice, though he's rejected me in the past. I'd also like Mike Von Erich to defend his Cruiserweight Championship against a foreign Cruiserweight - I've just completed a talent trade to ship Iceman Parsons to UPW (the new Japanese promotion) for Mitsuharu Misawa. -The TV networks are scheduling, and this is always a tricky time of the year...No network will negotiate with me if I already have a TV show (since I'm only Cult size). So to get a better time slot, I have to cancel my show first, which leaves a limited window to get a new deal by the end of the month, or go 3 months without TV. I haven't decided yet whether I'll cancel my show after week 3, which would be more conservative, or after week 4. |
ACW is going to be a real threat with Hogan, do you have the resources to compete with over the long haul as it appears you two are going to the WWF / WCW of your world.
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They're the clear number #1 in the universe now, but as long as I can keep increasing my popularity and can get to national eventually, there's no reason I can't compete. But that ride up just got a whole lot more complicated. AWA and Mid-Atlantic are also doing well, I expect both of them to reach national status eventually. So it's really a "big 4" at the moment. Or at least a "big 1", with 3 others just behind. |
I can't say enough how cool the development of this universe has been. Your dynasty has the true feel that a good dynasty needs. I only wish I could get the same things out of my own games. I tried a similar styled dynasty on my own a while back, but even at 50 wpm typing it felt like I wasn't getting anywhere. Kudos to you for making it this long and keeping us all entertained.
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WORLD CLASS WRESTLING (LIVE TV SHOW)
Wednesday, Week 1, May 1985 Dallas, TX (Small Venue) Expected Attendance: 4,579; Ticket Prices: default Actual Attendance: 5,000 (SOLD OUT) -Pre-Show Dark Match Grappler #2 (w/Grappler #1) defeats Al Perez in 4:50 by pinfall. (C) After the match, Bill Mercer interviewed Grappler #2 about his win. (C-) -Pre-Show Dark Match -Non Title Match Mike Von Erich defeats Barry Orton in 6:50 by submission. (C) Mike was tiring towards the end of the match. After the match, Mike cut a promo hyping his win. He also stated now that David will be challenging for the World Title at Parade of Champions, and Kerry & Kevin will be challenging for the World Tag Team Titles, he wants to put his Cruiserweight Title on the line, so that all the Von Erichs will be involved in championship matches. Mike says he's looking all over the world for the right challenger. (C) -As the show starts, Ray Stevens cuts a promo with his federation stable (Bob Backlund, Dick Murdoch, Kevin Sullivan, Vince McMahon) by his side. He puts over Backlund's retention of the World Title last week at the King of Texas Wrestling Show, and hypes the Federation's defense of the Six-Man-Tag team championship in the main event tonight, against David Von Erich, Curt Hennig, and Terry Funk. (C) -Lance Russell interviews Bobby Eaton & Koko B. Ware about their upcoming match against the new team that has called them out in recent weeks - Steve Olsonoski & Doug Somers. Eaton & Ware mock the team for being out of their league - they claim they'll make Olsonoski & Somers regret their foolish challenge. (C+) -Doug Somers & Steve Olsonoski defeat Bobby Eaton & Koko B. Ware in 7:37 by fluke pinfall when Olsonoski pinned Ware. (C+). Eaton and Ware looked good. Immediately after the match, Ware & Eaton attacked Olsonoski & Somers, who were ecstatic and distracted after their win. The heels left Olsonoski & Somers laying in the ring. (C+) -Bill Mercer ran his 2-minute "update" segment, which recapped the results of the King of Texas Wrestling Event, and the recent house show in Seattle. He also announced card thus far for WCCW's biggest event of the year, Parade of Champions, to be held at the end of the month: -WCCW World Championship Match Bob Backlund v. David Von Erich -WCCW World Tag Team Championship Match The Sheepherders v. Kerry & Kevin Von Erich -WCCW Cruiserweight Championship Match Mike Von Erich v. Challenger To Be determined. Antonio Inoki v. Opponent To Be Determined -Stipulation to Be Determined Dick Murdoch v. Curt Hennig -The Grapplers v. The Villanos. Mercer promised more match announcements over the next few weeks. (D+) -Backstage, WCCW Commissioner Jose Lothario is with the newly crowned WCCW TV Champion, Arturo Mendoza. Both stand near this week's rolling drum of volunteer challengers for the TV Title this week. Mendoza draws the first challenger to his title - Grappler #1. (B-) -A video recaps the Gary Hart/King Kong Bundy incident from the King of Texas Wrestling show, when Bundy attacked Hart after encouragement from Kevin Von Erich. (C) -King Kong Bundy defeats Perry Jackson in 4:57 by pinfall. (C+) -Kamala comes to the ring for the next match, with his handler Ox Baker, and surprisingly, Gary Hart - who is sans the Elvis costume he was wearing the last several months. Hart still seems mentally unstable, but is somewhat more coherent then in recent weeks. Hart says he's made the gamble of his life - he's mortgaged his house, sold every real estate holding he had left, maxed out his credit lines, all to raise money and risk his entire future on one purchase - Kamala's contract (and Ox Baker's), from Skandor Akbar. Hart conceds that Kamala's "last chance probation" (under which he'll be indefinitely suspended for any match DQ or interference) makes this an incredibly risky purchase, but Hart says he's desperate. He's at the lowest point of his life, he had no clients left, and is staking everything on Kamala (and his handler Ox Baker) to succeed and bring in money through winning big matches, and ultimately, championships. Hart says he is literally down to the clothes on his back, and needs a big Kamala win tonight just to get enough money to get through the month. Therefore, he has arranged a match for right now between Kamala, and that "overhyped, flash-in-the-pan, Leon 'the Bull' White". (C+) -Leon White comes to the ring to a huge ovation, where he is immediately attacked, before the match starts, by Kamala (highlighting the risky nature of Hart's "investment".) (B-) -Kamala, The Ugandan Giant (w/Ox Baker & Gary Hart) defeat Leon White in 9:34 by pinfall in a violent match. (B+). The two showed good chemistry. The match suffered from a lack of selling. -WCCW Television Championship Match Arturo Mendoza drew with Grappler #1 (w/Grappler #2) in 10:00 when the time limit expired to make his 1st defense of the TV title. (C+). The two showed poor chemistry. -Skandor Akbar comes out to the ring with his clients, the WCCW World Tag Team Champion Sheepherders. Akbar cuts a promo confirming the news that he has sold the contract of Kamala to Gary Hart. Akbar calls Kamala a "high risk" and a "liability". Akbar says Gary Hart is an idiot - Kamala will snap soon and be suspended, Hart will be left with nothing, and Akbar will happily keep the profits from the sale. Akbar says that with the "desperate" amount of money Hart paid for Kamala's contract, he will soon be able to upgrade and expand his Destruction, Inc. stable. (C+) -Non-Title Match The Sheepherders (w/Skandor Akbar) defeat Billy Robinson & El Halcon in 7:51 when Williams pinned Halcon. (C+). After the match, Akbar and The Sheepherders cut a promo mocking the Von Erichs for having a tag title shot handed to them by David. This time, claim the Sheepherders, they plan on putting both Von Erichs out of action for longer then few months Kevin was away after their last match. (C+) -David Von Erich, Terry Funk, and Curt Hennig cut a promo hyping their challenge for the six-man-tag team titles in tonight's main event. The men put over the talents and accomplishments of one other: David's amazing run which has include winning both the Last Man Standing and King of Texas Wrestling tournament championships, David and Hennig's classic quarter-final matchup at the King of Texas Tournament, Funk's success in turning Hennig into a meaner, more intense wrestler, etc. They all hype their individual issues with members of the Federation stable - particularly, Hennig hypes his match with Dick Murdoch at Parade of Champions. (B) -WCCW Six-Man Tag Team Championship Match Dick Murdoch, Bob Backlund, & Kevin Sullivan (w/Ray Stevens & Vince McMahon) drew with Curt Hennig, David Von Erich, & Terry Funk in 13:47 following a Double DQ after the referee lost control of the match. The Federation makes their 3rd defense of their titles. (C+). Funk & Backlund looked good. -Overall Show Rating: C+ THOUGHTS -I need to save those six-man-tag main events for house shows - they don't rate well enough to main event a national TV show. C+ is good enough to help us out in our weaker regions, but it won't help us make any progress in Texas or the Midwest. -The Sheepherders matched the C+ they delivered with Robinson & El Halcon at a house show several weeks ago - that's a very solid tag match rating when a non-established team is involved. The Sheepherders storyline with the Von Erichs is finally back on. -Gary Hart takes a step back towards sanity as he has hit rock bottom, and now is trying to build up his stable with a major gamble - I think that's kind of a fun storyline. Hart is staking everything on the wild, unpredictable Kamala who will be banished from WCCW the next time he's DQ'd. It's almost a sympathetic angle, really. Kamala had his best WCCW match yet, a B+ with Leon White. Obviously, that's bittersweet, since White is on his way out soon. I may get one more match (sure to be a job) out of his at the house show next week. -Mendoza delivering only a C+ with Grappler #1 is disappointing, though I had forgotten that those two had poor chemistry. Part of the reason Mendoza has the TV title is that I expect him to be able to pull B- or better matches with a variety of competition every week. -Eaton & Ware carried Olsonoski & Somers to the latter team's best ever tag team match rating, as the babyface underdogs get the flukey upset win. Koko was NOT happy about being asked to job here....but this is just a slump for he and Ware, and an attempt to elevate some other guys into the midcard, they'll be back in the upper midcard (at least), eventually. |
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Thanks, I really appreciate it, this thing has really taken on a life of it's own, it's keeping me going with it. |
NEWS
-After looking over Mitsuharu Misawa's current ratings, I decide I'm not sold on him as Mike's challenger at Parade of Champions. I need to bring a couple of guys in, to see how they do. I work the phones with Portland Wrestling again, and trade El Halcon to them for three appearances to the British Cruiserweight, Les Thorton (who has formed a pretty dominant tag team in the AWA with the Iron Shiek). I also request negotiations with Hector Guerrero, who had a 3-month run with us back in 1983. Since I realize I'm now only 1 nationality away from an "international cruiserweight tournament" (which would be consistent with Jose Lothario's campaign promises to make WCCW more "international"), I decide to look for an American Cruiserweight as well. My first target is former WCCW Cruiserweight Champion Buddy Landell, but he wants no part of my company, because I fired him (this is why it's better to let contracts expire). Then I target Brian Adias - who would also be a pretty awesome addition to the Gary Hart storyline (since Gary Hart treated him like crap and fired him as a client last year - he would be an ideal member of Hart's new "desperate/make-shift" stable. Unfortunately, I can't negotiate with him because his "Basics" stat is below B-, so Fritz blocks that. Finally, I find old friend Ricky Morton in WWC, and trade Curt Hennig for the privilege of using Morton for three appearances. I didn't have to offer someone as good as Hennig, but he'll benefit from the experience of being brutalized in Puerto Rico. -Terry Gordy arrived late for the last show. I suspend him 1 week to send a message. I'm not sure when exactly I will use the Freebirds again. -Bob Backlund & Arturo Mendoza are exhausted after the last show. I really need to run a low-key house show next week and rest some guys. There's only so much I can do with Backlund though, who also wrestles regularly with Calgary Stampede and IWA (Montreal). -The TV show delivered a 4.97 rating - the first time in 4 weeks we've dipped below 5.0. I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of ratings we can generate with a new timeslot/network next month. -With ACW now dominating the wrestling landscape, I attempt to make peace with some of the rival promotions, so that we all may have greater options in talent trades, and not steal talent from one other. Nobody wants to listen. So as it stands, I only have "working agreements" with the following: -Pacific Northwest -WWC (Puerto Rico) -Mid-South -St. Louis Wrestling Club -Atlantic Grand-Prix Wrestling (Canada) -All-Star Wrestling (UK) -Calagary Stampede -CWA (Europe) -Maple Leaf Wrestling -Universal Pro Wrestling (Japan) -Stan Hansen has surprisingly left ACW just as its taking off - maybe they had to free up some cash to pay Flair and Hogan. That leaves Stan unemployed - I immediately request negotiations, as I have several times in the past with Stan. -At their most recent show, WWC used two of the guys we're loaning to them - Kerry Von Erich lost to Rip Rodgers, and Curt Hennig lost to Carlos Colon. -ACW ran their first show as a national promotion, here is the results: -Thunderbolt Patterson defeats Road Warrior Animal -Brad Rheingans defeats Road Warrior Hawk -Hulk Hogan & Ole Anderson defeat the One Man Gan & Butch Reed -Ricky Morton & Tito Santana drew with Mr. Wrestling II & Dutch Mantell -Bob Armstrong defeated Jim Duggan -The Iron Shiek defeated Ric Flair -Stan Hansen defeats Manny Fernandez. -By the way, the main event champion (the "national heavyweight champion" of ACW, and thus the top guy in wrestling, is Greg Valentine. I can't imagine he'll hold that title long. -Fritz caps my offer to Mil Mascaras at a level that won't bring him in.....So my search for a Parade of Champions opponent for Antonio Inoki continues...After a couple of false leads I decide to request negotiations with IWA in Montreal to develop a working agreement solely to attempt to acquire Nick Bockwinkle via talent trade. |
THE STARS OF WORLD CLASS ON TOUR
Monday, Week 2, May 1985 Anaheim, CA (Southwest - Tiny Venue) Expected Attendance: 1,224 Ticket prices: $2 over Default Actual Attendance: 1,000 (SOLD OUT) -Pre-Show Dark Match Mitsuharu Misawa defeated Dusty Wolfe in 6:27 by pinfall. (D+) After the match, Misawa celebrated his WCCW debut and win. (F-) -Pre-Show Dark Match -Charlie Cook defeats Mark Youngblood in 6:50 by submission. (D). After the match, Bill Mercer tried to interview Cook about his win, but all Cook wanted to talk about was Leon White's defeat at the hands of Kamala on TV last week. Cook taunted White, and said that he'll be stick around the arena tonight to watch Kamala to destroy White again, in their rematch. (D-) -As the show starts, Antonio Inoki comes out to the ring and cuts a lengthy promo. He concedes that he came up short in is match for the World Title against Bob Backlund at the Last Man Standing show. He says he's looking to move back up the ladder again, and earn another title shot. To do that, says Inoki, he has signed to wrestle at Parade of Champions against an opponent to be determined. Inoki says he has made an "open international challenge" and hopes to compete against an international superstar on wrestling's biggest stage - Parade of Champions. Inoki also hypes his main event on tonight's show, with Roddy Piper, a man he has never faced 1-on-1. (B-) -The tag team of Billy Robinson and El Halcon talked to Bill Mercer about their upcoming match with the Grapplers. (D+) -Billy Robinson & El Halcon defeat The Grapplers in 8:28 by DQ. (C) -Bill Mercer interviewed Al Perez & Owen Hart about their upcoming tag team match against Bobby Eaton & Koko B. Ware. Perez & Hart say this match will be a huge challenge for them, but the think that Eaton and Ware may be a little distracted by their recent loss to Steve Olsonoksi & Doug Somers, so they may be ripe for an upset tonight. (E+) -Bobby Eaton & Koko B. Ware defeated Al Perez & Owen Hart in 6:49 when Ware pinned Perez. (C). Perez was exhausted by the end of the match. Eaton and Ware looked good. -Roddy Piper came out to the set of Piper's Pit, where he first hypes his main event match with Antonio Inoki. (B+) -Piper's Pit -w/guests Bobby Eaton & Koko B. Ware Piper interviewed Eaton & Ware (B-) who challenged Steve Olsonoski and Doug Somers to a rematch at Parade of Champions. (D+) Eaton & Ware say their upset loss to Olsonoski & Somers last week was meaningless, and they'll bury the upstarts on the biggest stage of WCCW. Piper offers generous compliments to both Ware & Eaton. -Kamala, The Ugandan Giant (w/Gary Hart & Ox Baker) defeats Leon White in 9:31 by submission. (B). The two showed good chemistry. The match suffered from a lack of selling. After the match, Gary Hart hyped his client, and said that with every win, Hart comes closer and closer to financial solvency. The next step, says Hart, would be a big-money payday at Parade of Champions. Hart says he can accomplish that, and settle some business with an old client, by challenging King Kong Bundy to face Kamala that night. (D) -Antonio Inoki defeats Roddy Piper (w/Grappler #2) in 30:40 by pinfall despite interference from Piper's bodyguard, Grappler #2. (A+). The match suffered from a lack of selling. After the match, Inoki celebrated for several minutes around ringside. (B+) Overall Show Rating (B) THOUGHTS -Very solid show for the Southwest, one of our weaker and less-visited region. -I only have Piper for a few more days, and had planned to just let his contract expire, but I decided to throw him into a main event. The cost of his appearance was probably overkill for this region, but I thought that Inoki needed a big win after losing a bunch lately, and I really don't have many guys that are over in the southwest, except for our few guys that are known nationally, like Piper. But that main event tonight, and the Piper's Pit segment, will be Piper's final WCCW appearance on his current contract. He's had a wild, controversial, and successful run, and I hope to bring him back down the road at a lower cost. -This was also the final WCCW show for Leon White, who will wrestle exclusively for ACW starting this week. So he got to job to Kamala for a second straight show. Kamala is on a roll - he's still undefeated on his current WCCW run. -Mitsuharu Misawa, who will be taking part in the Cruiserweight Contender tournament over the next two weeks on TV, debuts and gets a win on the pre-show. He's nowhere near ready to be any kind of factor, so he'll disappear quickly after the tournament. -Billy Robinson & El Halcon over The Grapplers was kind of upset, but I'm trying to very slowly develop a tag team division. At Cult level, where you pay per appearance, regular tag teams don't make a whole lot of sense. But I'd like to have some established teams in the pipeline in case I ever get to national status. |
NEWS
-Stan Hansen rejected my negotiation request, saying we're not big enough for him. Since he just left the only promotion bigger than WCCW (American Championship Wrestling), he'll be sitting out on the sidelines for a while. So I'm still in search of a Parade or Champions opponent for Antonio Inoki. -The dirt sheets are hyping Charlie Cook as a future star, which is bizare to me, because I certainly haven't seen that.....But I'll keep the ex-NFLer around in a lower midcard role to see if he can improve -Hector Guerrero wants $2,300/show to sign, and I'm just not going to do that. I'm letting the contracts of Piper, Terry Funk, and others expire in the hopes that Fritz lets me spend more money on huge stars like Harley Race. So it while I had tentatively planned for Hector Guerrero to win the Cruiserweight Contender Tournament, and the Cruiserweight Title at Parade of Champions, I'm just not going to pay him as much as I pay Bob Backlund. So we still only have three Cruiserweights for the tournament - Misawa, Les Thorton, and Ricky Morton. Mike Von Erich may retain his title after all. -For a potential lower-cost replacement for Guerrero, I request negotiations with Mexican Enrique Vera, who is quite a step down. He hasn't wrestled since the UWA went under in January of this year. -ACW brings in Paul Orndorff to their already impressive roster. -I try to request negotiations with The Dynamite Kid, who appears to be in his last days with Calgary Stampede, but Fritz blocks the request because the Dynamite Kid is a "known steroids user". |
I'm hoping there is a massive heel turn for Bundy once he builds up his popularity, turn on kevin, massive heat, yadda yadda yadda.
BUNDY SHOULD FOREVER BE A HEEL! :) Great Dynasty, its taken on a life of its own. |
WORLD CLASS WRESTLING (LIVE TV SHOW)
Wednesday, Week 2, May 1985 Dallas, TX (Small Venue) Expected Attendance: 4,579; Ticket Prices: default Actual Attendance: 4,634 -Pre-Show Dark Match Kerry Von Erich defeats Perry Jackson in 6:47 by pinfall. (B-) -Pre-Show Dark Match Doug Somers & Steve Olsonoski defeat Charlie Cook & Dusty Wolfe in 6:44 by pinfall when Somers pinned Wolfe. (C-) After the match, Somers and Olsonoski cut a promo accepting the challenge laid out by Bobby Eaton & Koko B. Ware for a match at Parade of Champions. Somers and Olsonoski say it was gutsy for Eaton & Ware to challenge a team they've already lost to, to a match at the biggest show of the year. (C+) -As the show starts, a highlight video recaps last week's main even World Six-Man Tag Title match between Backlund/Sullivan/Murdoch and David/Funk/Hennig that ended in a double DQ. (B) -Lance Russell announces that tonight, due to the controversial finish of last week's main event match, the teams will meet again tonight for the World Six-Man Tag Team Titles. Russell says that in order to ensure a decisive winner, the match will be contested under elimination (aka Survivor Series)r ules. Russell also states that to ensure that the match is given maximum time, it will be the first match on tonight's show. Finally, Russell announces that tonight's match has importance beyond even the World Six-Man Tag Title, as the winning team will earn the right to decide the stipulations in the Backlund/David and Murdoch/Hennig matches at Parade of Champions. (B-) -Backstage, WCCW TV Champion Arturo Mendoza stands with Commissioner Jose Lothario and the rolling drum of volunteer challengers for the TV Title. Before Mendoza can draw a name, says Lothario, he has an announcement to make about the TV title. The TV title, says Lothario, is already the most grueling championship in all of wrestling, with mandatory weekly title defenses. However, the title is about to get even more grueling. Lothario says that starting at Parade of Champions, the TV Title will be defended at each and every monthly PPV/Closed Circuit event. And for those events, instead of a random challenger, the champion will face a contender named by the WCCW Championship Committee. The Championship Committee has determined that at Parade of Champions, the challenger for the TV title will be determined by the outcome of tonight's huge six-man tag match. If Terry Funk's team wins, he gets the title shot, and if Kevin Sullivan's team wins, he gets the title shot. Lothario emphasizes that there's no guarantee that Mendoza will still be TV Champion come Parade of Champions, and that whoever holds the gold at that time will defend against one of those men. Mendoza then draws his challenger for tonight - Mr. Pogo. (B-) -WCCW World Six-Man Tag Team Championship Match -Winners Decide Stipulations For Parade of Champions Matches -Elimination Rules -#1 Contender For TV Title Determined (Between Funk & Sullivan). Bob Backlund, Dick Murdoch, & Kevin Sullivan (w/Ray Stevens) defeat David Von Erich, Curt Hennig, & Terry Funk in 29:53 to make their 4th defense of the six-man tag titles. (B). Funk & Backlund looked good. The order of elimination was as follows: -Kevin Sullivan pinned Terry Funk (3-2, advantage heels) When Funk got back towards the locker room area, he was attacked from behind by Sullivan and Murdoch, while Backlund and Hennig were the legal men in the ring. (C+). Hennig fell for the trap and rushed to his mentor's aid, which led to: -Curt Hennig was counted out (3-1, advantage heels) Sullivan, Murdoch, and Backlund worked on David's left arm for the rest of the match. -David Von Erich pinned Kevin Sullivan (2-1, advantage heels) -David Von Erich made Dick Murdoch submit (1-1, even) -Bob Backlund made a weakened David Von Erich submit to win the match -After the bell rang, Bob Backlund refused to release his submission hold on David's arm, until Curt Hennig ran to the ring to make the save. Murdoch and Sullivan also returned, and Hennig quickly dispatched them to the outside. The heels regrouped near the announce table, where Ray Stevens cut a promo hyping his stable's win. He notes that as the result of the win, Kevin Sullivan will now receive a TV Title shot at Parade of Champions. Also, Stevens says he now gets to choose the stipulations for the Backlund/David and Murdoch/Stevens matches at Parade of Champions. Stevens says that while Hennig is an excellent wrestlers, he's still not tough enough to hang with the big boys. So, says Stevens, Hennig's match with Murdoch will be a Bunkhouse Brawl - come as you are (no ring gear), no countouts, no DQ, weapons are legal, pinfalls count anywhere. Finally, says Stevens, since David Von Erich has proved tonight that he's a quitter, his match for the Backlund's World Title at Parade of Champions will be a submission match. (C) -Bill Mercer ran his 2-minute "update" segment, which recapped the goings-on in WCCW. Specifically, he announced several new matches for Parade of Champions. First King Kong Bundy has accepted a challenge laid out by his former manager Gary Hart to face the Ugandan Giant Kamala. Also, Bobby Eaton & Koko B. Ware will try to avenge their upset loss against Steve Olsonoski & Doug Somers. Kevin Sullivan will face the TV Champion, whoever that may be. Antonio Inoki is still searching for an "international superstar" to face. (D+) -Lance Russell interviews WCCW Cruiserweight Champion Mike Von Erich about the upcoming "Intentional Cruiserweight Open", which is a triple threat match between 3 Cruiserweights to determine Mike's challenger at Parade of Champions. Mike discusses each competitor - from Japan, Mitsuharu Misawa; from the UK, Les Thorton; and from the USA, Ricky Morton. Mike notes that Morton is his former tag team partner (the two held the WWA Tag Team Championship 2 years ago). (C+) -Mike Von Erich is introduced as a guest ring announcer for the International Cruiserweight Open match. He comes to the announce table and joins Fritz Von Erich and Lance Russell. (C) -International Cruiserweight Open -Triple Threat Match (One Fall To A Finish) -Winner faces Mike Von Erich for Cruiserweight Title at Parade of Champions. Les Thorton defeats Mitsuharu Misawa and Ricky Morton in 6:48 when he pinned Misawa. Thorton dismantled the opposition in a dominating victory. (B). After the match, Thorton cut a promo hyping his match with Mike at Parade of Champions. (C+) -WCCW Television Championship Match Arturo Mendoza defeats Mr. Pogo in 6:56 by pinfall to make his 2nd defense of the TV Title. (B) -A video hypes Gary Hart & Ox Baker's "workout regiment" for Kamala, which largely involves Ox Baker striking Kamala with fists and chairs to little effect. (C+) -A video hypes the feud between Kevin/Kerry Von Erich & The Sheepherders, which dates back to the latter defeating the former for the World Tag Team Titles several months ago. Kevin came into the match injured after an attack by the Road Warriors, and the Sheepherders finished the job, putting Kevin out of action for several months. Since then, the champs have often mocked Kevin and his injury on TV. (B-) -Backstage, Kevin & Kerry cut a promo hyping their tag team title shot against The Sheepherders at Parade of Champions, and also Kevin's 1-on-1 match tonight against the man who ended his amazing TV Title run - Sheepherder Butch Miller. Kerry says he will be in Kevin's corner tonight, to mitigate any interference from Skandor Akbar. (C+) -Kevin Von Erich (w/Kerry Von Erich) defeats Butch Miler (w/Skandor Akbar) by submission in 8:43. (B-) Akbar tried to interfere during the match, but Kerry limited his impact. The two showed poor chemistry. Overall Show Rating: B- THOUGHTS: -A lot of good stuff here, but nothing great to push us any higher than B-. -The six-man went on first because of the low rating of that matchup last week. Of course, here, they pull off a "B". There was a lot at stake in that match, and now the deck is stacked in the Federation's favor for Parade of Champions. This might have been the final WCCW match in Terry Funk's current run. -Kevin needed a win here to start building up his momentum after his injury absence. I have high hopes for the tag team title match at Parade of Champions. -A "B" rating for Mendoza/Pogo is solid - that's exactly the kind of reliability I want in a TV Champion. It'll be Mendoza v. Sullivan at Parade of Champions if Mendoza can hold onto the belt that long. -The TV Champion will now defend the title at every PPV/Closed Circuit event against a challenger selected by the Championship Committee. I still love the random weekly challenger setup, and that won't change, but I wanted a belt for midcarders to be able to aspire to, instead of just hoping that their names gets randomly drawn each week. I had considered bringing back the Texas Heavyweight Title for that purpose (and retiring the Cruiserweight Title), but now the TV Title can be the best of both worlds. -I was very pleasantly surprised with the Cruiserweight Open Match. I had original planned on running a 4-man tournament, but after negotiations with Hector Guerrero didn't work out, I decided to just have a single, triple-threat match. I think Les Thorton was the key to the match, he's doing really well in this universe (multiple time AWA tag champion with the Iron Shiek), and I think he'd be a good fit with us. It's too bad I only have him for two more appearances on a loan contract. It's no slam dunk that Mike retains, I might have Thorton win and then disappear, taking the Cruiserweight belt with him. Thorton is slotted as an uppermidcard heel with a "British Bulldog" gimmick. |
Quote:
Ya, there's a strong chance that Bundy's face run doesn't go anywhere and he goes crawling back to Gary Hart. |
Bundy is working on a stand up routine in the North West. I can only imagine how good it will be.
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NEWS
-Georgia Championship Wrestling going national created the potential for some serious challenges for us, and now, those challenges have doubled. The AWA has risen to national status, allowing them to sign wrestlers to exclusive contracts. We're now the clear #3 in the wrestling landscape, which is not a happy place to be. -AWA has thrown their weight around immediately, and the results are shocking - they have offered contracts to Dick Murdoch, Curt Hennig, Bob Backlund, and Ox Baker. All could be gone soon. To say that losing those guys on the eve of Parade of Champions would change the direction of WCCW is an understatement. -The rise of Georgia and the AWA makes us incredibly vulnerable - everyone on the roster (except for the Von Erichs) could go at any time. Of course, that also makes this game a whole lot more fun. Our own race to national status is obviously more urgent than ever, but it's still not likely to happen before 1986. I can hold out hope though, that a better TV deal, which I'm in a good position to get, might accelerate our climb. -Georga and the AWA won't just impact us in terms of poaching workers, it will also make it harder to sign big stars - those promotions at national status will increase the popularity of their employees, and those workers, even if fired by one of the "big two", will be less willing to work for a "small" Cult sized promotion like WCCW. -From now on, we need to target guys who are released by either the AWA or Geogria - as at least I know that those guys won't resign with their former company for six months. That cuts the risk of losing them by half, I guess. -Roddy Piper is late for the last show. His contract is days away from expiring, so I just fine him. I'm tempted to fire him to make a point, but I don't want to risk a bad relationship with him in case I want to use him down the road. So it's somewhat fitting, then, that Piper shows up late to his last show. I would consider negotiating with him again, after the shocking AWA offers, but now it's just too late in the contract for that to work - Piper is moving on. -Ox Baker was also late. That's a first offense for him, so he gets a warning. -The TV show delivers a 5.07 rating. That's a jump from last week's 4.97, as we're back above the 5.0 mark. I'm leaning toward canceling our TV deal after the next show, giving me a week and a half to find a better time slot. That leaves us without TV the week of Parade of Champions, but I'll run some kind of supershow Parade of Champions preview live event in Dallas that week. -Sika won the Mid-South TV Title from Stan Lane. -My latest attempt to find an outside opponent for Antonio Inoki at Parade of Champions has failed, as Nick Bockwinkle feels we're "too small". I've gone to plan B and have made a decision on what to do with Inonki at Parade of Champions. That will be revealed at the next TV Show -Ricky Morton complains about his push. He has two appearances left on his loan contract so I'm not worried about it. -Buddy Roberts (who I brought in on a loan contract a while ago) is getting antsy about not being used. I have a couple of variations of Freebird angles in mind, but for creative reasons, they keep getting pushed back. -Greg Valentine & Ric Flair won the ACW tag team championship from Steve Kerin & Manny Fernandez. Keirn and Fernandez had held the belts for almost 7 months. -I had requested negotiations with Enrique Vera as a cheap replacement for Hector Guerrero, but now that I ran the triple threat match, Vera's services won't be required, so I cancel negotiations. -The Junkyard Dog, who had been sitting on the sidelines since January, has signed with ACW. -So the Parade of Champions Card is basically complete, though it may be ravaged by ACW and/or the AWA over the next few weeks: -WCCW World Heavyweight Championship Match -Submission Match Bob Backlund v. David Von Erich -WCCW World Tag Team Championship Match The Sheepherders v. Kevin & Kerry Von Erich -WCCW Television Championship Match TV Champion (TBD) v. Kevin Sullivan -WCCW Cruiserweight Championship Match Mike Von Erich v. Les Thorton -Bunkhouse Brawl Curt Hennig v. Dick Murdoch -Kamala, The Ugandan Giant v. King Kong Bundy -The Grapplers v. The Villanos -Bobby Eaton & Koko B. Ware v. Steve Olsonoski & Doug Somers -Antonio Inoki v. Opponent TBD -20-Man Battle Royal |
THE STARS OF WORLD CLASS ON TOUR
Monday, Week 3, May 1985 Dallas, TX (Mid-South/Texas - Very Small Venue) Expected Attendance: 2,175 Ticket prices: Default Actual Attendance: 2,000 (SOLD OUT) -Pre-Show Dark Match Dusty Wolfe drew with Mitsuharu Misawa in 5:41 by double count-out. (C) -Pre-Show Dark Match Grappler #2 (w/Grappler #1) defeats Owen Hart in 7:45 by pinfall. (D+). The two showed poor chemistry. After the match the Grapplers cut a promo hyping their Parade of Champions tag match with their fellow masked tag team, The Villanos. (C) -Ray Stevens and his Federation stable (Backlund, Murdoch, Sullivan, & McMahon) came to the ring and cut a promo hyping their Parade of Champions matches (Backlund v. David, Hennig v. Murdoch, and Sullivan v. The TV Champion). The also hyped their matches on tonight's card - Murdoch/Sullivan v. Olsonoski/Somers, and Bob Backlund in a non-title match v. Terry Funk. Stevens mocks Funk for his early exit from the elimination six-man tag match on TV last week, and especially the way Funk was beat up and humiliated on his way back to the dressing room. (C-). The insults continue for a few more minutes until an enraged-looking Terry Funk comes out of the locker room area with a fire extinguisher. Without a word, Funk sprays all of the heels with the fire extinguisher, disorienting them long enough to be able to attack the whole group, 1-on-5, with a steel chair, sending them flying from the ring and back to the locker room. (C+). Funk cuts a promo and says that with David Von Erich & Curt Hennig not in the arena tonight, the Federation probably thought they'd have an easy night. But Funk says he has revenge on his mind after the post-match attack on him last week, and the Federation better watch their backs. (B) -Before the next match starts, Kamala, The Ugandan Giant attacks his opponent, Villano V. (B-) -Kamala (w/Ox Baker & Gary Hart) defeat Villano V in 7:29 by submission (B-). After the match, Gary Hart cut a promo hyping how every win brings him more money, and brings him and closer to WCCW dominance - Hart took a huge financial risk on Kamala and it is paying off. Hart says that Parade of Champions, will be his biggest payday yet, when Kamala squashes King Kong Bundy (C) -Non-Title Match The Sheepherders (w/Skandor Akbar) defeat Billy Robinson & Mark Youngblood in 6:35 when Miller pinned Youngblood. (C+) After the match, Akbar hypes his team's tag team title defense at Parade of Champions against Kerry & Kevin Von Erich -Kevin Von Erich defeats Grappler #1 (w/Grappler #2) in 11:34 by submission. (B) -Doug Somers & Steve Olsonoski defeat Dick Murdoch & Kevin Sullivan (w/Ray Stevens) when Olsonoski pinned Sullivan after interference from Terry Funk. (C). Sullivan looked good. -Non-Title Match Terry Funk defeats Bob Backlund (w/Ray Stevens) by pinfall in 23:53 despite interference from the entire Federation stable. (B). The two showed poor chemistry. After the match, Funk drove off the entire Federation again, with a steel chair and and the ring bell. Outside the ring, Bob Backlund threw a tantrum, over his loss, and the general embarrassment Funk caused his stable on tonight's show. (B+). Funk grabbed a mic and cut a promo addressing Backlund, who was standing with Ray Stevens in the entrance-way towards the locker room. Funk said that Backlund looked embarrassed, but if the champ wanted another shot at wrestling him, he could defend the World Title against him on the TV show this week. Stevens shot down the suggestion immediately. Funk then upped the ante - he said that if Backlund puts the World Title on the line against him this week on the TV show, Funk will leave WCCW if he loses. After consultation, Stevens and Backlund agree (B+) Overall Show Rating: C+ THOUGHTS: -Dissapointing show rating, though this was a show that served a purpose - which does tend to lower our rating (where there's a couple of things I feel like I have to do) -If there was an internet in 1985, they'd be buzzing about the Backlund/Funk World Title match this Wednesday on TV. Funk's contract is known to be up in the next 10 days, and Backlund is negotiating with the AWA. I have a couple of different scenarios in place, depending on what happens.... It's too bad though, that Backlund/Funk have such bad chemistry. That was definitely a disappointing match -Terry Funk just went nuts tonight, making the entire Federation look foolish. This will all come to a head in the next week or so, with the future direction of WCCW at stake. -Big win for Olsonoski/Somers, albeit by tainted means. That'll give them some momentum going into their Parade of Champions match against Eaton/Ware. Once we get to national status, I'll utilize tag teams much more (since at national, you're playing people a monthly rate, so tag team matches don't cost double, like they do at lower than national status). So I'm trying to develop a team here or there in the meantime, just to see what can develop. Tonight was a big opportunity for Olsonoski/Somers, and they didn't really deliver from a match quality standpoint -Robinson/Youngblood managed a better match rating against The Sheepherders. Robinson continues his "teaming with younger wrestlers" gimmick. He and Youngblood have the best chemistry of any of the Robinson tag teams. -Kevin's win over Grappler #1 was Kevin's highest-rated match in 1985 (though he missed about 2 months via injury, and was pretty banged up even before that). Grappler #1 is very solid. -Kamala and Villano V had a nice match to start the show - I don't expect much from Kamala/Bundy at Parade of Champions, but after that, I look forward to seeing how he does against top talent. |
NEWS
-Our fears have been realized, as Curt Hennig & Dick Murdoch have given their 7-day notice - they're off to the AWA. Interestingly - no word about Bob Backlund yet, even though he was negotiating at the same time. Michael Hayes has also signed with the AWA - I'm not sure if that will impact his 3-appearance loan contract he current has with us. I don't believe it will. -Murdoch and Hennig will obviously be missed - I'll have more reflections once they're gone for good. Their bunkhouse brawl match at Parade of Champions is out the window. -The AWA also signs Adrian Adonis, Sgt. Slaughter, & Lou Albano -The draw with Dusty Wolfe ends the loan contract of Mitsuharu Misawa. He finishes 1-1-1 here (fulfilling my house rule that loaned workers can't have losing records) -Ricky Morton & Buddy Roberts complain about their push -Terry Gordy arrived late - this is the second time in a week or two, but I may need him with all the craziness going around, so he just gets a fine. -I request negotiations, again, with Buddy Rose. Rose had an incredible 3-match run with us last spring (3-straight "A" rated matches), and I've been trying to get him ever since. Fritz, however, caps me at $2,378/show, about $100/less than what it will take. Fritz is really cramping my style. I don't know what I can do to make him loosen the wallet - I suppose, having more money in the bank, and letting go of some contracts (Piper has recently departed, and the AWA is signing away some of our talent). -One again, the dirt sheets hype Charlie Cook as a future star. |
WORLD CLASS WRESTLING (LIVE TV SHOW)
Wednesday, Week 3, May 1985 Lincoln, NE (Midwest - Small Venue) Expected Attendance: 4,350; Ticket Prices: $1 less than default Actual Attendance: 4,452 -This will be the final show of our current TV deal, which means this is the last TV show before Parade of Champions. We will run a "bonus" house show in Dallas next Tuesday night, which will follow a Monday show somewhere else. -I hadn't been in the habit of checking these things, but since the AWA is running a show tonight, all of the guys that I have that work for them are unavailable: Bobby Eaton, Koko B. Ware. Les Thorton, Michael Hayes, Buddy Roberts, & Ricky Morton. This means that when Eaton & Ware's pay-per-appearance contracts are up with AWA, they may very well sign exclusive contracts, which would result in them leaving WCCW. -Pre-Show Dark Match -Non-Title Match Mike Von Erich defeats Dusty Wolfe in 6:43 by submission. (C-) Mike was tiring towards the end of the match. After the match, Bill Mercer interviewed Mike about his win, and his Cruiserweight Title Defense at Parade of Champions against the tough Englishman Les Thorton. (C+) -Pre-Show Dark Match Owen Hart & Al Perez drew with Charlie Cook & Perry Jackson in 6:49 following a double DQ. (E+) Perez was exhausted at the end of the match -As the show starts, a highlight video shows the events of this Monday night in Nebraska, when Terry Funk embarrassed the Federation stable, defeated Bob Backlund, and agreed to put his WCCW Career on the line tonight against Backlund, who puts up the World Title. (C) -WCCW TV Champion Arturo Mendoza is backstage with WCCW Commissioner Jose Lothario and the rolling drum of volunteer challengers for the TV Title. Lothario reminds Mendoza that this is the final TV Title match before Parade of Champions, so the winner will defend against Kevin Sullivan at that event. Mendoza draws a name - Kerry Von Erich. (C) -David Von Erich defeats Mr. Pogo in 10:45 by pinfall. (C). After the match, David cut a promo about his reactions to the events of Monday night, and tonight's World Title match. David says that whatever happens, he's still in the main event of Parade of Champions with a shot at the World Title - if the champion that night ends up being Terry Funk, he'll be ready. (B-) -Bill Mercer runs his 2-minute "Update" segment which hypes the entire Parade of Champion card - he also notes the addition of a 20-man over the top rope Battle Royal to that night's event. He also tells fans to check their local listings to see where WCCW TV will air after Parade of Champions (D) -Kevin & Kerry Von Erich cut a pre-taped, backstage promo about their World Tag Team Title Shot against The Sheepherders at Parade of Champions. (C+) -Before the next match, Kamala once again attacks his opponent, Villano IV, before the bell. (C+) -Kamala (w/Ox Baker & Gary Hart) defeat Villano IV in 4:52 by pinfall. (B-). After the match, a hype video recaps the dominating win streak of Kamala. (B-). -Gary Hart cut a promo hyping Kamala's match at Parade of Champions against King Kong Bundy. (D+) -Lance Russell interviews Antonio Inoki in the ring - Inoki says he still hasn't officially signed with an opponent for Parade of Champions, but that he expects to do so in the next few days. (B) Inoki is interrupted, however, by the Soviet National Anthem blaring through the arena. Skandor Akbar comes to the ring with Nikita Koloff, who is making his first TV appearance in several months. Akbar challenges Inoki to a match with Koloff at Parade of Champions. (C+) After some back-and-forth (including some Akbar/Koloff insults towards Japan), Inoki eventually agrees. (B-) -Kevin Sullivan (w/Ray Stevens) defeats Curt Hennig in 17:55 by pinfall. (B+). The two showed poor chemistry. After the match, Sullivan cut a promo hyping his TV Title Shot at Parade of Champions, and says he doesn't care who wins the next match - Arturo Mendoza or Kerry Von Erich - he's walking out of Parade of Champions with the belt no matter what. (C+) -Backstage, Bill Mercer interviews Kerry Von Erich about his upcoming TV Title shot with Arturo Mendoza. Mercer points out that if Kerry can win the TV Title tonight, then he'll have to wrestle twice at Parade of Champions - once to defend the TV Title against Sullivan, and once teaming with Kevin for their Tag Team Title shot with The Sheepherders. Kerry says he'll pull double duty if he has to. (C-) -WCCW Television Championship Match Arturo Mendoza drew with Kerry Von Erich in 10:00 when the time limit expired to make his 3rd defense of the TV Title. (B-). Mendoza looked good. After the match, the two men shook hands in a sign of respect. (C-) -David Von Erich comes out to the announce table area to serve as guest commentator for the Terry Funk/Bob Backlund World Title Match. David is set to face the winner for the gold at Parade of Champions next week. (C+). Both Terry Funk (B) and Bob Backlund (B) cut backstage interviews hyping the match. -WCCW World Heavyweight Championship Match -Funk Must Leave WCCW If He Loses Terry Funk defeated Bob Backlund by DQ in 9:11 after the entire Federation stable interfered, after it appeared that Funk had the match, and the title, won. (C) Backlund retains the title. The two showed poor chemistry. The Federation beat down Funk 5-on-1, but David Von Erich quickly joined the fray. David & Funk held their own, and then a fresh Kerry Von Erich ran down to the ring to give the faces the advantage. The Federation began to leave the ringside room area, with Backlund clutching the World Title belt. (C+) However, just before the show ends, WCCW Commissioner Jose Lothario makes an appearance, and heads down the announce table. He criticized the actions of The Federation, and announced that while he typically likes to stay out of day-to-day matchmaking, he is ordering Bob Backlund to defend the World Title against Terry Funk once again next Monday night in Kansas City. This time, says Lothario, since The Federation can't seem to stop interfering (despite heavy fines issued every time they do), that match will be held inside a steel cage). (C+) Overall Show Rating: C+ THOUGHTS: -All of the ratings were probably a little lower in Nebraska than they would have been in Texas. But our slightly-lower midwest popularity will be more forgiving to a C+ overall rating, in that it won't negatively impact us as much. -The main event really tanked us this time. And we're running the same matchup again next week! I had hoped to resolve things tonight, but I bought myself a little more time to see what happens with the contracts of Backlund & Funk. Exciting times. -Hennig does the job for Sullivan. Once Murdoch, Hennig, and possibly Backlund are gone, Sullivan will likely find himself in a main event role. B+ with Hennig is just a tad disappointing - I'd like to see Sullivan reach A- or higher with that kind of talent. -My unsuccessful search for an "international superstar" for Antonio Inoki at Parade of Champions ended right on our own roster with the TV return of Nikita Koloff. That could be a fun little rivalry, if the two have decent chemistry. -Kamala again impresses with a Villano. Kamala's another guy probably looking at a main event run after the AWA defections. |
NEWS
-Going into Monday night's house show in Kansas City, Bob Backlund has still not left us for the AWA. I haven't received an official message either way, since the notice I received that they were negotiating. I don't know if that means I'm in the clear, but now that we're within the 7 day notice period before Parade of Champions, I do know that Backlund will be available that night, no matter what. So it appears the main event is intact. -I officially cancel the contract for our TV show. Once the paperwork clears in a few days, I can start negotiating for a new network and/or time slot. -Our final TV show on the current deal delivered a 5.01 rating, slightly down from last week's 5.07. Hopefully, starting in June with a new TV situation, we'll be able to greatly surpass that. -Ox Baker shows up late for the last show, and when he finally does show up, he gives me his 1-week notice - he's headed to the AWA. I'll have to explain his disappearance, especially how it was part of Kamala's probation that he be with Baker at all times. I decide to fire Baker for being late, just to send a message (we've had a lot of late workers lately). Baker is PISSED OFF, and he probably won't work for me ever again. -I request negotiations with a number of workers whose contracts are up in the next few weeks - Mr. Pogo, Gary Hart, and Iceman Parsons. Parsons refuses to talk to me - he's furious about how many shows he's missed. I'll use him on every show between now and when his contract is up - hopefully that will be enough to encourage him to come talk to me. -Harley Race has joined the AWA's already loaded roster. I'll definitely be trying to reach national status with the scraps of the wrestling industry, as AWA and ACW are snatching up everybody who's anybody. -Ed Leslie is being hyped by the dirt sheets as a future star. -Backstage, Luke Williams and Mark Youngblood have developed a friendship. Youngblood had started a friendship with Kevin Sullivan in the past. He must be a fun drunk or something. -I try to re-sign Terry Funk, but Fritz caps me out at a level too low.....Fritz also stops me signing a guy that I hoped to bring in as something of a big-name savior for the Parade of Champions show, Bruiser Brody. That one's particularly annoying because Brody has a "strong friendship" with Fritz. Fritz has been a huge roadblock recently, but he's definitely helping the status of his kids by preventing me from signing all these main eventers. Funk's last show with us will be Monday night in Kansas City, when he faces Bob Backlund for the World Title. -Kevin Sullivan, Ricky Morton, and Buddy Roberts complain about their pushes. It's almost as if Sullivan can see the writing on the wall with the defections and is angling for his spot. -ACW's Jake Roberts has suffered an injury, he'll be out 3 months. At the moment, AWA is very slightly more prestigious than ACW, but they're the clear Big Two. |
Seems like Fritz is going to make it very hard to compete with the big 2 with his tight purse strings, which is a shame because you should be right there with them.
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Certainly adds a interesting twist to the smooth train that had been running down the tracks.
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Still following along. Great job molson. Really interested to see how you'll manage the roster and push the product nationally while the two big companies try to poach your talent.
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Ditto. Should be interesting to see the new approach to talent relations/acquisition...
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THE STARS OF WORLD CLASS ON TOUR
Monday, Week 4, May 1985 Kansas City, MO (Midwest - Very Small Venue) Expected Attendance: 2,175 Ticket prices: Default Actual Attendance: 2,000 (SOLD OUT) -Pre-Show Dark Match Billy Robinson & El Halcon defeat Barry Orton & Perry Jackson in 7:40 when Robinson pinned Jackson. (C). Robinson looked good. After the match, Bill Mercer interviewed the winners. (C) -Pre-Show Dark Match Ricky Morton defeats Dusty Wolfe in 6:16 by pinfall. (B+) The two showed great chemistry. -Fritz Von Erich & WCCW Commissioner Jose Lothario come to the ring and hype the show, and this week's Parade of Champions Event. (D) -Ray Stevens came to the ring with WCCW World Heavyweight Champion Bob Backlund. Stevens hyped Backlund's steel cage word title defense tonight against Terry Funk, as ordered by Lothario after the events of last week's TV show. Stevens complains about Backlund having to wrestle in such a match the same week as Parade of Champions, but on the bright side, Terry Funk will still leave WCCW once he loses, per the offer he made to get the original title shot last week. Stevens also claims that after Parade of Champions, his Federation stable will be expanding - Stevens says he already has several wrestlers lined up. Backlund looks annoyed at this news from Stevens. (B-) -Skandor Akbar comes to the ring with the WCCW World Tag Team Champion Sheepherders. He cuts a promo hyping their World Tag Team Title defense against Kevin & Kerry Von Erich at Parade of Champions. Akbar says that he's been waiting for months for this opportunity to dominate the Von Erichs in the ring again. (C-) -Non-Title Match The Sheepherders (w/Skandor Akbar) defeat Mark Youngblood & Al Perez in 5:55 when Miller pinned Youngblood after a dominating performance by the champions (C-) The Sheepherders looked good. -King Kong Bundy defeated Charlie Cook in 6:45 by pinfall in a dominating victory (C) After the match, Bill Mercer interviewed Bundy about his match at Parade of Champions with Kamala, the client of Bundy's former manager Gary Hart. Bundy says that while he has a score to settle with Hart, he's going to have to focus 100% of his attention on Kamala, or he's going to be in trouble. (C) -Kerry & Kevin Von Erich defeat The Grapplers in 12:46 when Kerry made Grappler #2 submit. (C+). Grappler #1 looked good. Immediately after the match, Skandor Akbar and The Sheepherders hit the ring and attach the Von Erichs. The Von Erichs are able to hold their own down 3-on-2 for a time, but the heels eventually take advantage of their numbers and leave the Von Erichs lying in the middle of the ring. Road agents come out to assure that the attack doesn't go further. (C-) -Iceman Parsons defeats Mr. Pogo in 7:52 by pinfall. (B) The two showed great chemistry, but the match suffered from a lack of selling. After the match, Parsons cuts a promo. He says he doesn't have a match lined up for Parade of Champions yet, but he'll definitely be there in some capacity. (C+) -WCCW World Heavyweight Championship Match -Steel Cage (Classic Rules, Pinfall or Submission Only) -Funk Must Leave WCCW If He Loses Bob Backlund (w/Ray Stevens) defeats Terry Funk by pinfall in 18:36 to make his 3rd defense of the World Title. (B+). The two showed poor chemistry. After the match, once Backlund and Stevens had left, Funk cuts a promo to say goodbye to the WCCW fans. Funk says he's developed something of an unfortunate annual tradition of being forced to leave WCCW after losses, citing his "loser leaves WCCW" match against Bruiser Brody last year. Again, Funk says that nothing is forever, and the match contract only requires him to be gone 12 months. Funk says he's determined to wrestle in a WCCW ring again someday. (B-) Overall Show Rating: B- THOUGHTS: -This show looked pretty bad for a while, but then we were saved by the last two matches. -The main event was remarkably better than the Funk/Backlund match on the TV show last week. Since I knew that they had poor chemistry, I gave the road agents the instruction to script out the match ahead of time, perhaps that helped. The steel cage environment probably helped Funk and his good brawler ratings. Probably though, the biggest difference is that this match wasn't marred by constant interference (I think Vince McMahon, in particular, kills the ratings of any segment or match he's involved in - he'll be shown the door soon). -There were a lot of moving parts and changing plans that surrounded this Funk/Backlund mini-feud on the eve of Parade of Champions. If I was able to re-sign Funk, and if Backlund did indeed give his notice to leave the company for the AWA, then Funk would have won the title here, and then turned heel in retaining the belt against David Von Erich at Parade of Champions. He would have gone on to have a title run as the violent, crazy, Texas cowboy heel. If both Funk & Backlund were leaving, then Funk would have won the title here, only to be attached by the Federation stable, who would injure him and cause him to vacate the World Title. Backlund, Murdoch, Stevens, and McMahon would have all been "indefinitely suspended" for their actions, to explain their departure from WCCW. Parade of Champions would then have a 5- or 6- way main event for the vacant world title. David probably would have won that, but I also considered other possibilities - like David being eliminated from the match early, and then Arturo Mendoza overcoming the odds and getting the gold. I also thought about The Freebirds somehow getting involved, with the belt ending up on Terry Gordy or Michael Hayes. What actually turned out was the scenario I didn't expect. I was unable to sign Funk, but Backlund is apparently staying (at least through Parade of Champions). So the outcome here was obvious. -I gave Parsons a big win - hopefully it's not too late to get back on his good side. I'd hate to lose one of the last guys from my original roster in this game. -Kerry/Kevin v. Grapplers was a little disappointing. Since both teams are so well established, I was hoping for a B- or better rating, which is why I gave them the "all out" road agent note. -Bob Backlund showed a little annoyance at Ray Stevens news that he's expanding the Federation stable roster. Apparently this decision was made without Backlund's consent. There's a lot of directions to go after Parade of Champions with our revamped roster, and I want to make sure I have planted the seeds for anything. -The most amazing, ridiculous match of the night was Ricky Morton v. Dusty Wolfe - B+!. Easily the best match ever for both guys - and Ricky Morton has been in the ring with the likes of Bob Backlund and Adrian Adonis during his last WCCW run. He has 1 more appearance on his loan contract this time around. |
Thanks for the comments - this game definitely got a lot more challenging.
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NEWS
-Bob Backlund is exhausted after the last show. I'll have to give him the night off when we run our "Parade of Champions Preview" show this week. -Terry Funk is officially gone from WCCW, once again. -I re-sign Mr. Pogo for 3 more months at $1,300/show, a modest raise from his old $1,200/show deal. Pogo hasn't been in anything resembling a storyline, and hasn't had much in ring success (a W/L/D record of 2-16-3), but he's a solid enough midcard heel who breaks out a number of B- and B rated matches. -I also re-sign Gary Hart for 9 months at $1,075/show, up from his last deal of $900/show. With the Federation stable soon to implode, Akbar's Destruction Inc, and Gary Hart's Hart Limited stable are about to come to the forefront once again. -I request negotiations with a TON of guys - just to see if there's any deals out there, and if there's any big-name surprises that might be available for Parade of Champions. Basically, I went through the worker filter and sorted for completely unemployed guys with a minimum level of popularity in Texas. Fritz vetoed a couple of the negotiation requests because of blocks (I wasn't allowed to talk to "known steroid users" Superstar Billy Graham, Ivan Putski, The Missing Link, Ken Patera. Fritz also won't let me talk to some guys whose "Basics" stat is too low, including Steve Williams, Brian Adias, and Mark Lewin. -I am able to request negotiations with the following: The Masked Superstar, Terry Taylor, Rocky Johnson, Pedro Morales, Jerry Brisco, Tony Garea, Mr. Saito, Killer Tim Brooks, Baron Von Raschke, The Invaders, The Moondogs, Frank Dusek, Big John Studd, Buzz Tyler, and Don Bass. So that's not the most elite list of wrestling names ever, and they won't replace Hennig, Murdoch, and possibly Backlund, but there's some potential. I'm looking to bring in maybe 2-3 guys - a new member or two for Destruction Inc and/or Hart Limited, and maybe an upper-midcard face that I could push right off the bat. |
I have had good success with both the Baron and Mr Satio. Especially in the midwest where they are both popular. Both are good technical wrestlers, and the Baron can deliver a good promo. His age is his only real detractor.
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Studd would make a great addition for Hart, I also agree with Saito.
Speaking of Saito, he came after at a match back in Salt Lake one time when I was like 20. I was way too drunk and acting stupid and threw ice on him as he was leaving the ring. He literally tried coming over the rail and security grabbed him, he was pissed. I also set a record for sprinting up stairs that probably still stands. :) |
WCCW: Parade of Champions Preview
Tuesday, Week 4, May 1985 Dallas, TX (Midsouth/Texas - Small Venue) Expected Attendance: 4,350 Ticket prices: Default Actual Attendance: 4,019 -Pre-Show Dark Match Bobby Eaton defeats Doug Somers in 9:40 by pinfall. (C+) After the match, Eaton hyped he and Koko B. Ware's tag match at Parade of Champions against Somers & Olsonoski. Eaton promises to avenge his team's upset lost several weeks ago. (C+) -Pre-Show Dark Match Iceman Parsons defeats Dusty Wolfe in 3:34 by pinfall. (C-) -As the show starts, WCCW Commissioner Lothario comes to the ring. He hypes the Parade of Champions Show later this week, as well as tonight's Parade of Champions Preview show. He also announces, somberly, that both Curt Hennig and Dick Murdoch have elected to leave WCCW, and thus will not be taking part in the bunkhouse brawl match at Parade of Champions. However, says Lothario - that bunkhouse brawl match between Hennig & Murdoch will take place tonight! (C-) -Non-Title Match Mike Von Erich drew with Ricky Morton in 5:04 in a no-contest after Les Thorton interfered and attacked both men. (B). Thorton continued the attack after the bell rang, dismantling both Morton and Von Erich with suplexes and submission moves. (B-). After the match, Lance Russell interviewed Thorton, who hyped his Cruiserweight Title match with Mike Von Erich at Parade of Champions. Thorton says he just proved he can beat two Cruiserweights at once - Mike alone will be no problem. (B-) -The Villanos and their brother Arturo Mendoza come to the ring and hype their six-man tag match against The Grapplers & Kevin Sullivan. They also hype their Parade of Champions matches - where the Villanos will face The Grapplers and Mendoza will defend the TV title against Kevin Sullivan. (C+) -The Villanos & Arturo Mendoza defeat Kevin Sullivan (w/Ray Stevens) & The Grapplers in 9:46 when Kevin Sullivan was DQ'd. (B). Mendoza looked good. Sullivan, frustrated with his teammates, attacked Grappler #2 on his way out of the ringside area. (B-). Sullivan was then interviewed by Lance Russell. Sullivan said he got annoyed with The Villanos and The Grapplers "mucking things up" tonight, and he's looking forward to getting Arturo Mendoza all alone at Parade of Champions, so he can take his TV Title. (B-) -2-on-1 Handicap Match Kamala (w/Gary Hart) defeats Al Perez & Owen Hart in 2:31 when Kamala pinned Perez. (C-) After the match, Gary Hart cut a promo hyping Kamala's match at Parade of Champions with his former client, King Kong Bundy. Hart says that due to his leadership, and Kamala's "professional behavior", Kamala is now off the restrictive probation terms that Commissioner Lothario had imposed. Therefore, says Hart, Ox Baker's services were no longer required, and he has been relieved of his duties. Hart says it's one less man to get a cut of the money generation machine that is Kamala. (B-) Hart seems more lucid then recent weeks, and has now completely ditched the old Elvis costume. -2-on-1 Handicap Match King Kong Bundy defeated Barry Orton & Perry Jackson in 2:15 when Bundy pinned Orton. (C). Bundy looked good. After the match, and after consulting with the timekeeper, Bundy cut a promo noting that he defeated his two opponents faster than Kamala defeated his. (B). Bundy says that his decision to fire Gary Hart will be justified this Saturday night at Parade of Champions, when he defeats Kamala. -Les Thorton drew with Billy Robinson in 15:00 when the time limit expired (B+). The two showed poor chemistry. After the match, Robinson offered a handshake to fellow Englishman Thorton, but Thorton refused and left the ring. (C+) -Antonio Inoki, and Kevin & Kerry Von Erich come to the ring and hype Inoki's Parade of Champions match against Nikita Koloff, and the Von Erichs' challenge to the World Tag Team Champion Sheepherders. They also hype their six-man tag team match tonight against their Parade of Champions opponents. (B) -The Sheepherders & Nikita Koloff (w/Skandor Akbar) defeat Antonio Inoki, Kevin Von Erich, & Kerry Von Erich in 11:42 when Miller pinned Kevin after interference from Skandor Akbar, and referee confusion when all six men got involved. (B+) Koloff was tiring towards the end of the match. After the match, Akbar cut a promo hyping his Destruction Inc. stable, and their matches at Parade of Champions. -Lance Russell interviews Curt Hennig about his imminent departure from WCCW, and his bunkhouse brawl match against Dick Murdoch tonight. Hennig says he's leaving WCCW for family reasons, and will be able to spend most of his time in his home state of Minnesota. Hennig says that he understands the boos and disappointment of the fans, but that it's been an honor to compete in front of them, and to be their World Champion for a time. (C). Russell then interviews Murdoch, who hypes the match tonight and he says that he can't wait to get out of the hell-hole that is Dallas, and WCCW. Before then, however, Murdoch says he's going to settle a score with the "punk" Hennig. (C) -Bunkhouse Brawl -Come As You Are (Street Clothes) -No DQ, No Countouts, Pinfalls Count Anywhere. Dick Murdoch defeats Curt Hennig in 27:42 by pinfall in a weapons-filled brawl (B). After the match, fellow Federation stable members Bob Backlund, Kevin Sullivan, & Ray Stevens come to the ring. Murdoch expects to be congratulated, but the his stablemates stare him down, and then attack him. Sullivan slams Murdoch through a table, and then Backlund applies his chicken-wing submission hold. The remnants of the Federation stable leave Murdoch lying in the ring. (B-) Overall Showa Rating: B- THOUGHTS: -I'm happy to get the B- after what was basically a gimmick show. -The fans did get the Hennig/Murdoch blow-off match, a few days before Parade of Champions. Murdoch gets the win, but is then unceremoniously disposed of by the remaining members of The Federation stable, who weren't happy with his decision to leave. -I was hoping that maybe Murdoch or Hennig would be injured in that match, so that the AWA might get damaged goods (that match type had a "high" injury risk rating), however, both men appear to have gotten through it OK. -Everything else was pretty solid, I was surprised to see the two six-man tag matches deliver such solid ratings. Inoki and Sullivan weren't happy to be on the losing end of their matches, but they were both protected pretty well. Sullivan got to beat up his own partner on the way out, and Inoki didn't suffer the pinfall for his team. -Les Thorton & Billy Robinson had a great match considering their lack of chemistry. If they had neutral chemistry, they probably would have managed an A-, and if they had great chemistry, it might have been an A+. Les Thorton is very impressive, both in his matches and his angles (its too bad he's in the AWA, and thus probably un-signable after this loan contract is up). -Bundy & Kamala's handicap matches were the low-point of the night match-quality wise, but I think that was decent way to hype their Parade of Champions match. -Mike Von Erich & Ricky Morton, former tag team partners, had a strong match while it lasted. That's the end of Ricky Morton's loan contract. I'll probably look to bring him back at some point. |
NEWS
-Dick Murdoch & Curt Hennig are officially gone from WCCW and on their way to the AWA. -They are joined in AWA by Buddy Rose and Sgt. Slaughter. ACW gets Sika. -Bobby Eaton is exhausted after the last show. That's largely due to his workload in other promotions. |
WORLD CLASS WRESTLING (LIVE TV SHOW)
Wednesday, Week 4, May 1985 Macon City, Georgia (Southeast - Very Small Venue) Expected Attendance: 3,447; Ticket Prices: ($5 over Default) Actual Attendance: 2,000 (SOLD OUT) When I advanced to this day I was surprised to see I still had a TV show to run - I thought I had canceled this TV show last week. I guess that's not official yet for whatever reason. So I'm going to run our first ever TV show in the southeast region, as a further preview of this week's Parade of Champions event. We'll assume it was some last minute deal between WCCW and the network. -Pre-Show Dark Match Barry Orton defeats Owen Hart in 7:01 by pinfall. (D+) -Pre-Show Dark Match Doug Somers defeats Dusty Wolfe in 5:42 by submission. (D-). Wolfe was really off his game. After the match, Bill Mercer interviewed Somers about his win, and his Parade of Champions match where he will team with Steve Olsonoski to face Bobby Eaton & Koko B. Ware. (D-) -King Kong Bundy defeated Charlie Cook in 10:12 by pinfall. (C+). Bundy looked good. After the match, Bundy cut a promo hyping his Parade of Champions match against Kamala. He also warbs former manager Gary Hart not to interfere in the match (C+) A hype video recaps the Bundy/Hart relationship and the events that led up to the Bundy/Kamala match this week. (C) -Backstage, WCCW TV Champion Arturo Mendoza stands with Commissioner Jose Lothario and a rolling drum of volunteer challengers for the TV Title. Lothario points out that last week was scheduled to be the last TV Title defense until Parade of Champions. As a result, Mendoza is not required to defend his title this week, since the TV show arrangements with the network were made so last minute. Mendoza, however, insisted on defending the title. He draws a name out of the drum - Steve Olsonoski. (C+) -El Halcon defeats Perry Jackson in 10:40 by submission. (C+) -Bill Mercer runs his 2-minute "update" segment that previews the card for Parade of Champions, and recaps the events of the last week - including the departure from WCCW of Dick Murdoch, Curt Hennig, & Terry Funk. (E+) -A video highlights and recaps the lengthy feud between The Sheepherders & The Von Erichs, in anticipation of the their World Tag Team Title Match at Parade of Champion. (C+) -A video hypes the Parade of Champions tag team match between The Villanos & The Grapplers. The announcers predict that the winner of that tag match will be in line for a World Tag Title Shot. (D+) -Bill Mercer interviews Steve Olsonoski about his upcoming TV Title shot against Arturo Mendoza. Olsonoski notes that if he can win the title from Mendoza tonight, he'll have to defend it against Kevin Sullivan at Parade of Champions, in addition to his own tag match with partner Doug Somers against Bobby Eaton & Koko B. Ware. Olsonoski concedes that it was thus risky to volunteer for this match tonight, but he can't turn down such an opportunity. (D+) -WCCW Television Championship Match Arturo Mendoza defeats Steve Olsonoski in 7:58 by pinfall to make his 4th defense of the title. (C) Mendoza looked good. After the match, a video hypes the TV Title match at Parade of Champions between Mendoza and Kevin Sullivan. (B). -A video hypes the match at Parade of Champions between Antonio Inoki & Nikita Koloff. (B-) -Billy Robinson defeats Mr. Pogo in 11:47 by pinfall. (B). The match suffered from a lack of selling. -A lengthy video hypes and recaps the Bob Backlund/David Von Erich feud, and features highlights of their many matches in the past. (C+) -Iceman Parsons cuts a promo hyping his upcoming main event, non-title match against WCCW World Champion Bob Backlund. Parsons said he heard Backlund referring to the match as a tune-up match, and says that he's ready to pull an upset if Backlund takes him lightly. Parsons notes that he has defeated Backlund in the past. (C+) -Non-Title Match Bob Backlund (w/Ray Stevens) defeats Iceman Parsons in 9:51 by submission. (B+). After the match, Backlund cut a promo hyping his World Title defense against David Von Erich at Parade of Champions. Backlund says that the "submission match" rules are to his advantage, and he'll make David cry uncle and submit, just like Parsons just did. (B) Overall Show Rating: B- THOUGHTS: -Strong show, especially considering we were in the southeast. I tried to avoid using many of our guys who have matches at Parade of Champions, and instead really used this as another preview show, with hype videos. -The main event was good, I figured that since Backlund was the one big star that got the Parade of Champions Preview show off, he could wrestle here in the main event. He had a good match with Parsons -Robinson defeated Mr. Pogo in the battle of the midcard-level-guys-who-wrestle-good-matches-but-are-never-involved-in-storylines. With the defections of this month, maybe that should change. -Arturo Mendoza wrestled his worst 1-on-1 match since February. I had somewhat higher hopes for that match, even though I knew I'd be up against the face v. face penalty. |
NEWS
-After all the defections, the fears that I was going to lose 1/2 of our Parade of Champions main event with Bob Backlund, and then the relief that he stayed around, this is pretty amazing - Bob Backlund was injured in his match with Iceman Parsons and will be out for about a month. He is thus out of Parade of Champions and I have NO IDEA what I'm going to do.....The original plan was for David to defeat Backlund for the title. Kevin Sullivan & Ray Stevens would have attempted to interfere on Backlund's behalf throughtout the match, but Backlund would stop them, apparently because he wanted a fair match. After Backlund lost, he would handed the belt to David, and left. Then, after Sullivan and Stevens attacked David, Backlund would turn back towards the ring, and make the save for David, turning face. That is now all out the window. It's definitely been a challenging month. -There was a little backlash from the fans in Macon City about the high ticket prices. It was one of those deals where the projected attendance was kind of between what would easily sell out a Very Small venue, but wasn't enough to come close to selling out a Small Venue. I went with Very Small and jacked up the prices, but in the future, I guess I'll go the other way. -Dusty Wolfe is exhausted after the last show. He should feel lucky he gets as much work as I give him. -The TV show delivered a 4.54 rating. That's our lowest rating in 10 weeks, but it isn't surprising, since I didn't advertise any matches for this show, as it was kind of a surprise. -Stan Lane and Mr. Wrestling II won the vacant Mid-South tag team titles, defeating Jim Duggan & Magnum TA. The belts had become vacant after Dick Murdoch left the company - he had held the gold with Duggan. -The AWA also crowned new tag champions - Michael Hayes & Buddy Roberts - they defeated Bobby Eaton & Koko B. Ware for the vacant belts. The belts became vacant when the Iron Sheik left the company - he had held the gold with Les Thorton. I would have tried to sign Sheik, but he still also works for ACW. -The deadline to negotiate with Iceman Parsons has passed - he wanted nothing to do with me after he wasn't used to much over the last months. So he'll be gone shortly after Parade of Champions. He had been with WCCW for the entire dynasty. Hopefully this is just a 6 month hiatus and I can bring up back. -Ronnie Garvin won ACW's vacant TV Title for the 2nd time - it had gone vacant after Jake Roberts was injured. -I am allowing the contracts of Barry Orton and Perry Jackson to expire, as the shakeup continues. -We have negotiations with a bunch of wrestlers. I bring in Big John Studd for 9 months at a very cheap $1,050/show. Studd is known across the US, though not all that well. His best skill attributes are Toughness, Power, Basics, Safety, Looks, and Menace. He'll definitely make some kind of appearance at Parade of Champions. -I also bring back Frank Dusek for $475/show. That price is definitely right. Dusek doesn't bring much to the table, but I like the continuity of bringing back old WCCW guys. Dusek hasn't worked for anyone since last September, when we let his contract expire. -I bring in the Masked Superstar for 3 months and $1,775/show. That might not be an exciting signing, but I think he'll bring a lot to the table. He has C+ overness in most of the country, and between B- and B+ ratings in 16 different skill categories. Just a very solid all around guy who can probably have good matches with anyone, and great matches with our main eventers (whoever they turn out to be after Parade of Champions). -I sign Killer Tim Brooks for 3 months and $850 show. He's a real-life WCCW mainstay, and probably a decent lower midcard heel relative to our current roster. -I sign Dory Funk Jr. for $1,850/show and a 10% cut of his merchandise. I'm pretty fired up about that signing. Funk is very well known in Texas and the Southeast. He's probably the most talented guy out there I have access too, considering our size and Fritz's cheapness. Funk has A+ ratings in Basics, and Respect, and A ratings in Safety and Stamina. He's a legit, main event guy, and will definitely be involved in however we crown a new World Champion at the Parade of Champions show. -I sign Don Bass at $1,075/show. He'll basically be a more talented version of Barry Orton or Perry Jackson. -I sign Mr. Saito at 18 months and $1,475/show. That seems like a good value for him. -Dusty Rhodes rejected negotiations with us, citing loyalty to Mid-Atlantic. -So, to sum up: Murdoch, Hennig, Terry Funk, Barry Orton, Perry Jackson, and Iceman Parsons are out. Big John Studd, The Masked Superstar, Dory Funk Jr, Frank Dusek, Mr. Saito, Don Bass, and Tim Brooks are in. I still have negotiations pending with Baron Von Raschke and Jerry Lawler. |
Wow. That Backlund injury is brutal. That is what I love about TEW, even though I really don't like it at the time; stuff like that.
In my WCW dynasty I was banking on Sting vs Raven and then the day before Halloween Havoc Sting was put in jail for a year. I mean, seriously, that was the match I had planned to be a Main Event and it was a part of the culmination of an A* storyline, all gone to shit. You could always make a new title, have a 4 man tournament which David wins, then have Backlund come out as the real champion and have a Unification match at the next PPV? Just spitballing. Regardless I can't wait. |
either that, or backlund doesn't show up.. there's a one night tourney, and then Backlund comes back.. saying "I looked at the Foundation.. and I realized that I didn't deserve to wear the belt.. till I could win it fair and square"
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On the morning of the Parade of Champions show, we've finally put together a final card.
Bob Backlund has been stripped of the World Title, and there will be a 10-man tournament to determine a new champion. Since David Von Erich had previously earned a title shot at tonight's show, he gets the easiest path -first round and quarterfinal byes - he goes right into the semi-finals. The previously scheduled Antonio Inoki/Nikita Koloff, and Kevin Sullivan/Arturo Mendoza matches will still happen. All four competitors, since they are established WCCW stars with big credentials, will get first round byes. Thus, those matchups will take place in the quarterfinals. The winners of those two matches will join David in the semi-finals. The final spot in the semi-finals will be decided among the four men that have to wrestle in the first round. These are four wrestlers debuting or returning to WCCW tonight. Dory Funk Jr, The Masked Superstar, Mr. Saito, and Frank Dusek. So, the tournament, and the Parade of Champions card, will look like this: WCCW World Heavyweight Championship Tournament: First Round: Masked Superstar v. Frank Dusek Mr. Saito v. Dory Funk Jr. Quarterfinal Round: Arturo Mendoza v. Kevin Sullivan (match is also for the TV Title) Antonio Inoki v. Nikita Koloff Funk/Saito winner v. Superstar/Dusek winner Semifinal Round: David Von Erich v. Sullivan/Mendoza winner Inoki/Koloff winner v. Superstar/Saito/Funk/Dusek winner World Heavyweight Championship Match: TBD ---------------------- -WCCW World Tag Team Championship Match The Sheepherders v. Kevin & Kerry Von Erich -WCCW Cruiserweight Championship Match Mike Von Erich v. Les Thorton -Kamala v. King Kong Bundy -The Grapplers v. The Villanos -Doug Somers & Steve Olsonoski v. Bobby Eaton & Koko B. Ware -15 Man Battle Royal: Iceman Parsons Mr. Pogo Big John Studd El Halcon Killer Tim Brooks Charlie Cook Billy Robinson Mark Youngblood Don Bass Owen Hart Al Perez Barry Orton Perry Jackson Dusty Wolfe |
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I thought about doing that - saying that a champion can't be stripped of his title unless he doesn't defend it for 30 days - and this is the 30th day since Backlund defended it last, so he can't be stripped of it until midnight. So a new belt would have to be created to have any kind of championship might tonight. But I figured - this show is coming across as desperate enough already. |
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Ya, that's probably one of those most rational way to have Backlund come back in a month if I still decide he's going to turn face. Which I think he pretty much has too, as most of the guys I just signed can only work heel. |
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I was thinking backlund is doing a promo at the PPV, when Big John Studd comes out and lays waste to him, grabs the microphone and announces that he is in WCCW and nobody, not even the champion is safe. That's how realistic your uni is, makes you think of stuff. |
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One of the annoyances about TEW 07 is if a guy is "out" because of injury, you can't use him for anything - even interviews. |
yup. TEW 08 has two categories of injuries, ones that will allow him to appear on screen but not wrestle, and serious injuries that will not allow him to appear on screen
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That is huge feature, also helps when workers are working somewhere else that night. |
WCCW is on the verge of one of the most important shows in company history, and you leave us in suspense for 10 days? I can't take the suspense!
BTW, I apologize to everyone who saw this thread bumped and thought molson updated it. |
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Why you sonofabitch! |
LOL - this tends to happen to me before big shows. I get caught up in a CIV IV game and get distracted. But I'll get that show out soon!
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WCCW: Parade of Champions
Saturday, Week 4, May 1985 Dallas, TX (Midsouth - Medium Venue) Expected Attendance: 11,854 Ticket prices: default Actual Attendance: 9,454 -Pre-Show Dark Segment Fritz Von Erich and WCCW Commissioner Jose Lothario come to the ring and welcome the fans, hype the show, and fill everyone in on the recent card changes to Parade of Champions. Bob Backlund has been stripped of the World Title due to injury, and a 9-man tournament will be held tonight to crown a new champion. (D+) -Pre-Show Dark Segment A video hypes the recent events between WCCW Crusierweight Champion Mike Von Erich, and his challenger tonight, Englishman Les Thorton. The video tells the story of Thorton's domination over other cruiserweights during his brief WCCW run. (B-). Bill Mercer interviews Les Thorton, who says he doesn't expect the match to take a long time - he'll be the champion in just a few minutes. (B-) -Pre-Show Dark Match -WCCW Cruiserweight Championship Mike Von Erich defeats Les Thorton in 8:27 by pinfall after a fluke roll-up to make his 4th defense of his title. (C) Mike was tiring towards the end of the match. Thorton looked good. After the match, Bill Mercer interviewed Mike about his win - Mike says he doesn't think many people gave him a chance tonight, but he again proved that he's a worthy champion. Mike points out that it was one-year ago tonight that he became the 1st WCCW Cruiserweight Champion, and he intends on holding the belt for a long time to come. (B-) -As the show starts, the announcers drop the bombshell - Bob Backlund has been injured and stripped of the World Title. Since news of this event, Commissioner Lothario and the WCCW Championship Committee have been scrambling to put tonight's event together. They decided on a 9-man tournament to award the vacant title tonight. They cut to Bill Mercer, who is standing near an interview podium where a bracket shows the participants in the tournament. Mercer explains that there are three tiers to the tournament. The man with the strongest claim to the title, David Von Erich (who had previously earned a title shot tonight), will advance directly to the semi-finals. 4 current WCCW wrestlers, who already had matches signed for tonight, will still compete in those matches - but now, those matches will take place in the quarter-finals of this tournament (Inoki v. Koloff, and Mendoza v. Sullivan - still for the TV title). Finally, 4 outside wrestlers, who just signed with the WCCW within the last few days to participate in this tournament, will wrestle in the first round: Dory Funk Jr. v. Mr. Saito, and Frank Dusek v. The Masked Superstar. So, Mercer sums up, standing next to the bracket: (B-) WCCW World Heavyweight Championship Tournament: First Round: Masked Superstar v. Frank Dusek Mr. Saito v. Dory Funk Jr. Quarterfinal Round: Arturo Mendoza v. Kevin Sullivan (match is also for the TV Title) Antonio Inoki v. Nikita Koloff Funk/Saito winner v. Superstar/Dusek winner Semifinal Round: David Von Erich v. Sullivan/Mendoza winner Inoki/Koloff winner v. Superstar/Saito/Funk/Dusek winner World Heavyweight Championship Match: TBD -In a previously taped interview, Lance Russell interviews David Von Erich about the shocking events that led to this tournament. David says it's tough to switch gears - he's been focusing on Backlund for weeks, and now, he has no idea who he'll have to face tonight. David though, says he has the clear advantage in this tournament, and he promises to bring the gold back to the Von Erich family. (C) -Dory Funk Jr. cuts a promo hyping his great career, his debut tonight in WCCW, and his 1st round match with Mr. Saito. Funk puts over his brother Terry, who recently left World Class after losing to Bob Backlund. Funk says that after tonight's tournament, he hopes to settle some of his brother's old scores. (C+) -WCCW World Heavyweight Championship Tournament -1st Round Match Dory Funk Jr defeats Mr. Saito by countout 14:56. (B). The match suffered from a lack of selling. -Bill Mercer interviews Frank Dusek who makes his return to WCCW tonight in the the tournament. Dusek cuts a babyface promo, and says that it's great to be back - especially since he's no longer managed by Gary Hart. Dusek says he knows that he's the underdog in tonight's tournament, but notes that he's had some big runs in WCCW tournaments in the past. (C) Bill Mercer then interviewed Dusek's 1st-round opponent, The Masked Superstar, who put over his wrestling skills and his endurance. He claims he's better conditioned to win 4 matches in one night than anyone else. (C) -WCCW World Heavyweight Championship Tournament -1st Round Match The Masked Superstar defeats Frank Dusek in 0:55 by pinfall in a dominating victory. (B) -The Villanos defeat The Grapplers in 7:05 when Villano IV pinned Grappler #2. (C+) -A music video hypes the reign of TV Champion Arturo Mendoza. (B+) Bill Mercer interviews Kevin Sullivan about his upcoming Television Championship/Quarterfinal Tournament match with Mendoza. Sullivan says that everyone wants to talk about who's not here tonight - including Bob Backlund and Dick Murdoch. Sullivan says everyone should be talking about who is here - Kevin Sullivan, the next TV and World Champion. (B) -WCCW Television Championship Match -WCCW World Heavyweight Championship Tournament -Quarterfinal Match Arturo Mendoza defeats Kevin Sullivan (w/Ray Stevens) in 11:49 by DQ after botched interference from Stevens. (A+). Mendoza makes his 5th defense of the TV Title. After the match, Sullivan and Stevens are arguing in the ring. Sullivan is very angry, and shoves Stevens to the ground. He makes an arm motion signaling that he's done with Stevens' services as a manger, and walks away. (B-) -A video hypes the recent war of words been Antonio Inoki, who had been seeking an "international challenger", and Nikita Koloff, who accepted that challenge for tonight. (B) Inoki then cut a promo hyping the match. (B+). In the ring, Koloff's manager Skandor Akbar hyped the match as well. (B-) -WCCW World Heavyweight Championship Tournament -Quarterfinal Match Antonio Inoki defeats Nikita Koloff (w/Skandor Akbar) in 5:40 by pinfall. (A). The two showed pretty good chemistry. -Dory Funk Jr. comes to the ring for the next Quarterfinal Match - he looks confused as Gary Hart comes to the ring and joins him. Hart cuts a promo - he says that he put everything he had left into the contract for Kamala, and now, with Kamala's success, that deal has paid off. And just tonight says Hart, he's been negotiating with wrestlers backstage. Wrestlers who have everything it takes to be champions, except the leadership that he can provide. Hart then announces his newest client, as he continues to rebuild his stable - The Masked Superstar. (C+) -WCCW World Heavyweight Championship Tournament -Quarterfinal Match The Masked Superstar (w/Gary Hart) defeats Dory Funk Jr. in 13:46 by pinfall after interference from Hart. (B+) -The announcers note that we're now down to the final four in the world title tournament: David Von Erich, Arturo Mendoza, Antonio Inoki, and The Masked Superstar. -A video hypes and recaps the feud between the teams of Koko B. Ware/Bobby Eaton and Steve Olsonoski/Doug Somers. The feud started when the new team of Olsonoski & Somers defeated the former World Tag Team Champions Eaton & Ware. Eaton & Ware have since been determined to prove to the world that that defeat was a fluke. (B-) Just as Olsonoski & Somers come out to cut a promo to hype the match, they are attacked from behind from Eaton & Ware, who beat down Olsonoski & Somers around the ringside area for several minutes before the match begins. (C+) -Bobby Eaton & Koko B. Ware defeat Steve Olsonoski & Doug Somers in 2:36 when Eaton pinned Olsonoski. (B). Olsonoski & Somers got nothing going in the match after the pre-match attach. Eaton & Ware looked good. After the match, Eaton & Ware cut a promo at ringside mocking Olsonoski & Somers for their quick defeat. Eaton & Ware claimed that they were now back on top, and proclaimed themselves #1 Contenders for the World Tag Teams Titles, also individually as the top 2 Contenders for the World Heavyweight Championship. (B-) -A video hypes and recaps the lengthy storyline involving Gary Hart, King Kong Bundy, and now Kamala. The video recaps Gary Hart's mental breakdown, where he lost his entire stable except Bundy - who appeared to suffer a mental breakdown of his own. Eventually, mounting losses and an inspiring talk from Kevin Von Erich convinced Bundy to fire Hart and go out on his own. Hart, at rock bottom, sold his house and put all his money together to purchase the managerial contract of Kamala from Skandor Akbar, who considered Kamala a "high risk asset" due to his probation status. Kamala, under Hart's leadership, immediately went on a dominating winning streak, allowing Hart to recover financially, and now, to seek revenge on Bundy. (C+) In the ring, Hart cut a promo hyping the match. (C+) As King Kong Bundy stepped through the ropes, he is immediately attacked by Kamala (B-) -Kamala (w/Gary Hart) defeats King Kong Bundy in 3:49 by pinfall. (C) The two showed poor chemistry. -Bill Mercer interviews Arturo Mendoza about his upcoming tournament semi-final match with David Von Erich. Mendoza said he never believed he'd be in this position - two matches from a World Championship. Mendoza says he's looked up to David for years, and can't wait for the match. (B-) -WCCW World Heavyweight Championship Tournament -Semi-Final Match David Von Erich defeats Arturo Mendoza by pinfall in 6:41. (B+). Mendoza appears to be tired from his previous hard-fought match with Kevin Sullivan. The two showed poor chemistry. After the match, the two shake hands in a sign of respect. -WCCW World Heavyweight Championship Tournament -Semi-Final Match The Masked Superstar (w/Gary Hart) defeats Antonio Inoki in 18:09 by pinfall. (A+) The two showed great chemistry. The match suffered from a lack of selling. After the match, a delirious Gary Hart hypes The Masked Superstar's tournament final match against David Von Erich. (C+) -Commissioner Lothario comes to the ring to introduce the competitors in the upcoming 15-man battle royal, but Gary Hart is still in the ring. Hart explains that he's about to make yet another big splash. Hart introduces yet another new client, a man who is about to participate in the battle royal, the 6 foot 7, 364 lb. Big John Studd. (C) -A stunned Lothario introduces the remaining participants in the battle royal: Iceman Parsons, Barry Orton, Al Perez, Don Bass, Dusty Wolfe, Owen Hart, Mark Youngblood, Billy Robinson, Mr. Pogo, Killer Tim Brooks, Al Perez, Charlie Cook, and El Halcon. Lothario then notes that the 15th scheduled participant had some travel difficulties and is unable to be here tonight. Lothario says that fortunately, however, one man has promised him he'd serve an alternate for the battle royal if needed. Lothario introduces WCCW legend Fritz Von Erich, who leaves the announce table and enters the ring to compete in the match (C-) -Big John Studd wins the 15-man over the top rope battle royal. (B-). The order of elimination was as follows: 1. Owen Hart (eliminated by Big John Studd) 2. Perry Jackson (eliminated by Fritz Von Erich) 3. Barry Orton (eliminated by Fritz Von Erich) 4. Don Bass (eliminated by Billy Robinson & El Halcon) 5. Dusty Wolfe (eliminated by Big John Studd) 6. Mark Youngblood (eliminated by Charlie Cook) 7. Charlie Cook (eliminated by Al Perez) 8. Al Perez (eliminated by Killer Tim Brooks) 9. Iceman Parsons (eliminated by Killer Tim Brooks) 10. El Halcon (eliminated by Killer Tim Brooks) 11. Killer Tim Brooks (eliminated by Fritz Von Erich) 12. Mr. Pogo (eliminated by Fritz Von Erich & Billy Robinson) 13. Fritz Von Erich (eliminated by Big John Studd) 14. Billy Robinson (eliminated by Big John Studd) -After the match, Gary Hart celebrated in the ring with Big John Studd. (C-) -A video hypes and recaps the lengthy feud between the WCCW World Tag Team Champion Sheepherders and The Von Erichs. The Sheepherders defeated the Von Erichs for the gold several months ago when Kevin was injured. The Sheepherders then had been dominating the tag ranks for several months until Kevin returned. David Von Erich, who had earned a title shot for winning the King of Texas Wrestling Tournament for the 3rd straight year, and already had a guaranteed title shot tonight, decided to transfer his 2nd earned title shot to his brothers Kerry & Kevin to face the Sheepherders for the gold tonight. (C+) -WCCW World Tag Team Championship Match The Von Erichs defeat The Sheepherders (w/Skandor Akbar) in 10:16 by DQ. The Sheepherders retain the titles. (B-) The Von Erichs dominate the match until an incident at ringside where Kevin appeared to notice something unusual about a camerman. Kevin followed the cameraman around ringside until the camerman struck him with the camera. A melee ensued, and the Sheepherders took the opportunity to strike Kerry with a chair, drawing a DQ. The camerman got just outside of the ringside area to the runway and then removed his baseball hat, wig, and glasses, revealing himself as Michael Hayes. Hayes then fled down the runway, with Kevin & Kerry in hot pursuit. Cameras followed the trio all the way out to the parking lot area. Kevin & Kerry followed Hayes outside and then found themselves the victim of a trap - they were surrounded by Hayes, and fellow freebirds Terry Gordy and Buddy Roberts. The 5 brawled for several minutes outside the arena, with the Von Erichs holding their own until security personnel came to break up the fight. The Freebirds fled in a car. (B-) -..The stunned announcers tried to regroup to call the World Championship Match. They note that it didn't appear that Kerry & Kevin were seriously injured. -WCCW World Heavyweight Championship Tournament -Championship Match David Von Erich defeats The Masked Superstar (w/Gary Hart) to win the WCCW World Heavyweight Championship. (B+) David Celebrated in the ring. (B+) Overall Show Rating: B- THOUGHTS: -Not a great show rating, but tonight, the goal was setting the stage for the next chapter of WCCW, and think the show definitely pulled that off. There was also some big match ratings that surprised me. More detailed thoughts to come.... |
NEWS
-Arturo Mendoza, Buddy Roberts, Les Thorton, The Masked Superstar, and Dory Funk Jr. are all exhausted after the last show. -Thorton though, has completed his 3-appearance loan contract with us, and he's gone. He had a really solid run carrying lesser wrestlers. -Jerry Lawler has rejected negotiations with us, saying we're not big enough. This will be a huge problem for us until we reach national status. -Buddy Roberts is unhappy about his push. None of the Freebirds will be here for long. -Parade of Champions was the last stand for the Federation stable. With Kevin Sullivan firing Ray Stevens, I send Stevens on his way as well. I also fire Vince McMahon. -I sign Baron Von Raschke for 18 months at $1,725/show. Under normal circumstances, I probably wouldn't be very interested in the 45-year old Raschke, but in this environment, where big stars want to be in the "big two", and Raschke may have had some kind of falling out with Verne Gagne and the AWA, it makes sense to bring him in, as he must be towards the top of the limits of star power that we can reach right now. -It's another dark day in the wrestling industry, as Southwest Championship Wrestling, Mid-South Wrestling, and All-Star-Wrestling UK close down. The universe is down to 17 promotions - 2 National, 3 Cult, 9 Regional, and 3 Small. I'll have to check in to see who this might free up from WWC and Mid-South. -Arn Anderson defeated Rick Martel for the AWA TV Title for the 2nd time. -A number of wrestlers enter the universe, including Mick Foley, Sabu, and Jimmy Del Ray. Mr. Fuji officially retired. -WCCW's latest challenge will come in the ending of its TV deal. I just screwed the timing of that one up. I requested negotiations with a lot of networks, and canceled my own deal (none of the networks will talk to me as long as I still had a running show). I didn't cancel my own show soon enough, which made the other networks go away, and then once my show canceled - it was too late. So it appears I'll be without TV for 3 months. I do still have a "pending business" entry regarding negotiations with my old network, but I think that ship has sailed. So for the next 3 months, we're going to have an innovative business model. We'll criss-cross the United States, and offer the weekly shows to PPV/closed circuit locations. That will cut into our weekly buyrates, and limit our audience, but for 3 months, it's do-able. I'll just take the opportunity to move the dynasty along a little faster, run cheap and save money, and thin out the roster before we come back for our new season in September. |
Where is Abdullah now? Getting Colon and him (if in WWC) would make for a nice hard core feud.
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Quote:
I was a little premature with that - it was SWCW that closed, not WWC just yet. Though WWC is in the red, and has 3 months to get get solvent or they will go under as well. Abdullah retired at the end of last year. 24 years later, in real life, I see he's still getting in the ring once in a while. If and when WWC does go under, Colon is definitely the prize that would be freed up. Though I wonder if he'll just immediately sign with one of the big two, like Tully Blanchard just did. (Blanchard was loyal throughout the dynasty to his father's SWCW promotion, but the very day it went under, he signed with ACW.) |
Finally finished up a CIV IV game (first win ever on Prince), so I'm back to making very gradual progress here.
PARADE OF CHAMPIONS THOUGHTS -Like I said, not a great show ratings-wise, but there was a lot of promising things here, and the new direction of the company has been set. -David wasn't the most exciting pick to win the title, and I did consider other options, but he made the most sense. While the AWA/ACW raids are going on, I can be sure that David isn't going anywhere. A lot of this decision, like others in the dynasty, was story-motivated as much as it was game-motivated. As in, I want to do things that would make sense in this universe, jut not succeed in the game. I couldn't bring myself to put the title on another babyface, like Inoki or Mendoza. And on the heel side, nothing made sense. I had a brief thought about the Masked Superstar winning the gold on his debut night, but I really didn't know what to except from him. Sullivan just didn't seem like he had the right momentum at this point with the implosion of his Federation stable. David's the guy. -But I definitely have concerns. He doesn't seem to be capable of delivering consistent A+ matches like other guys on the roster might. This show had two A+ matches, and an A match, but none involved David. -The first big highlight of the night was the A+ Kevin Sullivan/Arturo Mendoza match. That was pretty surprising because it involved two guys that I've really built up over the last year. Mendoza is creeping closer and closer to the main event. With the recent defections, Sullivan is there now. -Inoki/Koloff also blew me away with an A. I think I might be underrating Inoki a bit. He gets a little whiny when I have him lose, but maybe he shouldn't. There's something odd about pushing Inoki as a main event babyface in Texas, especially since I've teased a heel turn with him the past. And he can't really play a heel. Koloff has only wrestled one other A rated match, with Buddy Rose last May. -Things definitely came together for Gary Hart. Kamala gets a big win over King Kong Bundy, he introduces new client Big John Studd, who wins the battle royal, and then his other new client, The Masked Superstar makes it all the way to the finals. The Masked Superstar isn't an exciting guy, and he's sort of forgotten by history (at least with that gimmick), but it was around this time that he was apparently set to win the WWF Championship from Bob Backlund. I think he's a great value, and he lived up to my expectations tonight - with matches rating B, B+, A+, and B+. I don't expect as much from Big John Studd, but maybe he can develop into something passable. A tag team with Kamala could also be fun. -I was pretty shocked to see Eaton/Ware v. Olsonoski/Somers pull a B rating. Wow. Olsonoski/Somers is like a late 80s AWA tag team or something, but they're gaining experience together and doing OK. I would develop more tag teams in such a manner, but it's pretty cost-restrictive on cult level when you have to pay per wrestler appearance. -The Freebird/Von Erich stuff was pretty fun, too bad it really can't go anywhere with none of the Freebirds under long term contract. But it's another chapter in the long-term feud. |
WCCW - END OF MAY 1985 - MONTHLY REVIEW
POPULARITY -Texas/Midsouth: 68.8% (down from 69.0% last month) -Midwest: 67.0% (same as last month) -Southeast: 62.4% (up from 61.6% last month) -New England: 59.2% (up from 58.4% last month) -Southwest: 58.6% (up from 57.8% last month) -North West: 58.6% (up from 57.3% last month) -Great Lakes: 58.1% (up from 57.1% last month) -Mid Atlantic: 58.1% (up from 57.1% last month) -Tri-State: 58.1% (up from 57.1% last month) -Puerto Rico: 41.8% (up from 40.9% last month) -With all the chaos of last month, not as much progress here. 71.1% is still the magic number to get to national status (I need that in 8 of these regions). Basically I need to get everywhere to around 69.0% where Texas is now, and then spend a ton of money and run crazy good shows for a few weeks to bust over that hump. FINANCES Income (Last month in parenthesis): PPV Revenue: 567,544 (529,504) Ticket Sales: 623,052 (613,504) Sponsors: 136,863 (133,499) Merchandise: 13,760 (16,480) Expenses: Worker Costs: 397,542 (366,225) Show Costs: 151,500 (135,000) Marketing: 25,000 (25,000) Merchandise: 25,194 (25,233) Production: 106,500 (103,500) Misc: 515,136 (490,403) Total Profit: $120,347 ($152,626) Cash in Bank: $1,592,760 ($1,472,413) -We have a pretty good cushion to get throw our summer recess from TV. We'll run 4 weekly shows in Texas, and the PPV there, and then 4 tour shows across the country. Custom Merchandise Settings: (All set to sell every type of merchandise, unless noted) Very Low Level (T-Shirts, Misc., and Posters Only): -David Von Erich -Kerry Von Erich -Kevin Von Erich Very Low Level (T-Shirts Only) -Iceman Parsons -Bob Backlund -Bobby Eaton -Antonio Inoki -Arturo Mendoza -Baron Von Raschke -Dory Funk Jr. -A bunch of talent defections here changes the available merchandise - Funk, White, Piper, Hennig are out, Raschke and Funk Jr. are in. Merchandise is still a money pit at the moment, as I wait for the random financial turnound that has occurred a couple of times in this dynasty. -Same levels as last month, except that Arturo Mendoza replaces the departed Tiger Mask, and we also add Leon White to the lowest level. |
WCCW CHAMPIONS - END OF MAY 1985
-World Heavyweight Champion - 100.0% Prestige (Same As Last Month) Main Event Title David Von Erich (Newly Crowned). -Television Champion - 70.0% Prestige (Same As Last Month) Midcard Title Arturo Mendoza - (5 Title Defenses, 1-month reign) -World Tag Team Champions - 70.0% Prestige (same as last month) Midcard Title The Sheepherders - (2 title defense, 3-month reign) -Six-Man Tag Team Champions - 71.9% Prestige (up from 71.6% last month) Main Event Title Vacant -Cruiserweight Championship - 38.9% Prestige (Up from 38.0% last month) Low Level Title Mike Von Erich - 4 title defenses, 6-month reign -With the implosion of the Federation stable, the six-man-tag titles are vacant. It would be a perfect time to make those belts inactive, but I have an idea for them, so they'll continue in some form. And after all, I had that whole 2-month tournament to crown the last champion. -Mike Von Erich has held the Cruiserweight Title for 6 months now, and he's actually held it 10 out of the 12 months of the belt's existence. |
WCCW STORYLINES - END OF MAY 1985
Storylines with participants and date of origin, in order of current heat: 1. Tag Team Title Storyline: Sheepherders v. Kerry/Kevin (April, recently evolved to include The Sheepherders, and to eliminate Tiger Mask/Kabuki, Mendoza/Bundy) 2. Hart Limited Drama: Gary Hart/Mendoza/Bundy/Villano IV (January) 3. Kamala's Rampage: Kamala/Parsons (March) 4. Tag Feud: Olsonoski/Somers v. Eaton/Ware (April) 5. The Freebirds Return (May) Set to Debut: -David v. Masked Superstar -Robinson/El Halcon v. Grapplers -Inoki/Sullivan Lower midcarders and higher without a current or pending storyline: -Mike Von Erich -Nikita Koloff -Killer Tim Brooks -Frank Dusek -Charlie Cook -Villano V -Mark Youngblood -Don Bass -A couple of big storylines end last month - Murdoch/Hennig, Inoki/Backlund, and White/Cook (which would have included Nikita Koloff had White not bailed for greener pastures) -We have a bunch of new storylines set to debut, with some of the participants staying secret for now. -This is definitely one area of the game I can improve on. Injuries, defections, and just screwing up and kept me from having hot storylines. I'll try to turn that around. WRESTLER CONFLICTS -The following wrestlers are unavailable on these days in June, as they consider these companies priorities over WCCW: -Bobby Eaton (Wed) -Buddy Roberts (Wed) -Koko B. Ware (Wed) -Michael Hayes (Wed) -For the first time in well over a year, I have some conflicts to thing about. All of the above also work for the AWA, who is now their priority company on Wed nights, when I'll run our weekly Texas show. EXCLUSIVE WORKERS -These are the on-screen workers who happen to work for no one else but me. I'll try to give them a heavier workload, as they're the least likely to have fatigue issues. These guys are also relatively safer when it comes to talent cuts (this list does not include wrestlers who who are exclusively contracted to us, but as of the beginning of the month, have outstanding loan commitments with other promotions). -Al Perez -Antonio Inoki -Baron Von Raschke -Barry Orton -Big John Studd -Bill Mercer -Billy Robinson -Charlie Cook -David Manning -The Sheepherders -David Von Erich -Don Bass -Doug Somers -Dusty Wolfe -El Halcon -Frank Dusek -Fritz Von Erich -The Grapplers -Jackie Fargo -Jose Lothario -Kamala -Kerry Von Erich -Kevin Sullivan -Kevin Von Erich -Killer Tim Brooks -Mark Youngblood -Mike Von Erich -Mr. Pogo -Mr. Saito -Nikita Koloff -Owen Hart -Perry Jackson -Ricky Romero -Skandor Akbar -Steve Olsonoski -Terry Gordy -The Masked Superstar -Villano IV -Villano V WRESTLER COMPLAINTS -Antonio Inoki is very unhappy about how often he has been jobbed -Buddy Roberts is very unhappy about how often he's been unused on shows -Michael Hayes is furious about how often he's been unsused on shows -Nikita Koloff is very unhappy about how often he's been unused on shows. -Terry Gordy is very unhappy about how often he's been unused on shows. -It's a happier locker room than last month. Gordy/Hayes/Roberts will be gone soon, and I will protect Inoki more. WRESTLER DISAGREEMENTS ABOUT PUSHES -These are guys that have let me know they think they should be pushed better (including those listed above, whose complaints have risen to the level of affecting morale). (loan agreement workers designated by *). This doesn't include start-of-month changes. -Big John Studd thinks he should be an upper midcarder -Buddy Roberts* thinks he should be a main eventer -Don Bass thinks he should be a midcarder -Dusty Wolfe thinks he should be an Occasional Wrestler -Kamala thinks he should be a main eventer -Kerry Von Erich thinks he should be an upper midcarder -Killer Tim Brooks thinks he should be a midcarder -Nikita Koloff thinks he should be an upper midcarder -The Masked Superstar thinks he should be a main eventer |
Current Momentum Ratings (End of April, 1985), with last month is parenthesis.
A Mr. Saito (N/A) A- None B+ Dory Funk Jr. (N/A) B David Von Erich (B+) Bobby Eaton (B-) B- Terry Gordy (B-) El Halcon (C+) The Masked Superstar (N/A) Bob Backlund (B) Arturo Mendoza (C) Kevin Von Erich (C) Kerry Von Erich (C+) C+ King Kong Bundy (C) Mike Von Erich (C) Michael Hayes (N/A) Villano IV (C+) Grappler #1 (C) Kevin Sullivan (C+) Kamala (B-) Villano V (C+) Doug Somers (C) Luke Williams (B-) Steve Olsonoski (C) Big John Studd (N/A) Koko B. Ware (C) Don Bass (N/A) Antonio Inoki (C+) Billy Robinson (C) C Killer Tim Brooks (N/A) Butch Miller (B-) Nikita Koloff (C+) Mr. Pogo (C-) Buddy Roberts (N/A) Frank Dusek (N/A) Iceman Parsons (C+) Grappler #2 (C+) C- Charlie Cook (D+) D+ Al Perez (D+) D None D- Perry Jackson (E+) E+ Dusty Wolfe (E+) Mark Youngblood (E+) Barry Orton (E) E None E- None F+ None F Owen Hart (F-) ----------- Rising in May: Bobby Eaton, El Halcon, Kerry Von Erich, Kevin Von Erich, Arturo Mendoza, King Kong Bundy, Mike Von Erich, Grappler #1, Doug Somers, Steve Olonoski, Koko B. Ware, Billy Robinson, Mr. Pogo, Charlie Cook, Perry Jackson, Barry Orton, Owen Hart Falling in May: David Von Erich, Bob Backlund, Kamala, Luke Williams, Butch Miller, Nikita Koloff, Grappler #2, Iceman Parsons -A lot of positive momentum this month. That tends to happen when I job guys on the way out. Mr. Saito and Dory Funk Jr are off to a hot start after their solid match at Parade of Champions. |
ROSTER, END OF MAY, 1985
*Workers on loan contracts MAIN EVENTERS Bob Backlund David Von Erich Antonio Inoki The Masked Superstar Kevin Sullivan Dory Funk Jr Michael Hayes* -Since last month, Curt Hennig, Dick Murdoch, and Terry Funk have departed. Bob Backlund is out a while with injuries. The Masked Superstar and Dory Funk Jr. debut into this group, and Michael Hayes and Kevin Sullivan are promoted up. Hayes gets to move up because I'm going to use him in one more blow-off match to this stage of the Von Erich storyline. Sullivan beats out Mendoza for the other spot, for now. UPPER MIDCARDERS The Sheepherders Kevin Von Erich Buddy Roberts* Kamala Arturo Mendoza Bobby Eaton Koko B. Ware Mr. Saito Baron Von Raschke -Baron Von Raschke and Mr. Saito debut here - both could easily be main eventers, but I'll make them prove themselves. Bobby Eaton & Koko B. Ware move up again after a little stint further down the card. Roddy Piper departs from this group out of the company, and Kevin Sullivan and Michael Hayes are promoted up and out. MIDCARDERS Villano V Kerry Von Erich Iceman Parsons Arturo Mendoza The Grapplers Steve Olsonoski Nikita Koloff Mike Von Erich King Kong Bundy Mr. Pogo Terry Gordy El Halcon Billy Robinson -Since last month, Leon White leaves the company from this group, and Bobby Eaton and Koko B. Ware are promoted up and out. El Halcon and Billy Robinson get promotions and replace them. I had been designating Robinson as an "occasional wrestler", but I've been booking him as a midcarder. It's kind of weird to see Kerry and Terry Gordy down here, but my booking team is pretty down on Gordy, and I've never been a huge fan of Kerry's work. LOWER MIDCARDERS Doug Somers Villano IV Mark Youngblood Charlie Cook Frank Dusek Don Bass Killer Tim Brooks -Same group as last month with three debuts - Dusek and Brooks. Both are solid veterans on the downside of their careers. OPENERS Al Perez Perry Jackson Barry Orton Owen Hart Don Bass -Same group as last month, with the addition of veteran heel Don Bass. This is probably a tad low for Bass, but with Orton and Jackson leaving the company in a few days, I need an extra guy down here to meet the minimum levels for my promotion size. ENHANCEMENT TALENT Dusty Wolfe OTHERS Skandor Akbar Gary Hart Lance Russell Bill Mercer David Manning Jose Lothario Fritz Von Erich Ricky Romero Jackie Fargo -We trim a little of the fat here, as Ox Baker, Vince McMahon, and Ray Stevens are all gone. I could probably use another manager or two at some point. CONTRACTS UP IN NEXT 60 DAYS -Iceman Parsons (3 Days) -Perry Jackson (4 Days) -Barry Orton (4 Days) -King Kong Bundy (5 Days) -Kerry Von Erich (5 Days) -Steve Olsonoski (6 Days) -Mark Youngblood (6 Days) -Terry Gordy (14 Days) -Dusty Wolfe (25 Days) -Lance Russell (27 Days) -Owen Hart (28 Days) -Doug Somers (28 Days) -Nikita Koloff (29 Days) -Kamala (35 Days) -Ricky Romero (43 Days) -Villano IV (53 Days) -Villano V (53 Days -We definitely have a fewer big contracts on the books with the departure of Piper, Funk, Murdoch, and Hennig. I assume I'll be able to sign Mike, Kerry, Bundy, Youngblood, and Olsonoski. Parsons, Orton, and Jackson will be gone in a few days. They better bring their jobbing boots to the next show. |
THE STARS OF WORLD CLASS ON TOUR
Monday, Week 1, June 1985 Santa Barbara, CA (Southwest - Tiny Venue) Expected Attendance: 1,395 Ticket prices: $4 over Default Actual Attendance: 1,000 (SOLD OUT) -Pre-Show Dark Match Owen Hart defeats Perry Jackson in 5:54 by pinfall. (D+) -Pre-Show Dark Match Al Perez defeats Barry Orton in 7:50 by pinfall. (D-). Perez was exhausted by the end of the match. After the match, Bill Mercer interviewed Perez about his win. (E+) -Fritz Von Erich comes to the ring and recaps the results of the Parade of Champion show. He then introduces the new WCCW World Heavyweight Champion, David Von Erich, who comes to the ring. (D+) David cuts a lengthy promo where he hypes his title win, and runs off the names of some of the top contenders to his title. He says that the WCCW Championship Committee will name a #1 Contender soon, and that person will get a shot at the gold at June Star Wars. But, David says he plans on defending the title sooner than that. (C-) David Von Erich then talks about tonight's main event, where he'll face Bobby Eaton & Koko B. Ware in a tag team match. David says that he's honored to be teaming with a man he considers a mentor, and a man he has teamed with in Florida. David then introduces his tag team partner - Dory Funk Jr, who comes to the ring. (C). The two hype their main event match against Eaton & Ware. (C+) -Frank Dusek defeats Killer Tim Brooks in 8:00 by pinfall. (C-) After the match, Bill Mercer interviews Dusek about his win. (D-) -Billy Robinson & El Halcon drew with The Grapplers in 15:00 when the time limit expired. (B-). After the match, the 4 men continued to fight, with the Grapplers quickly gaining the upper hand. They performed their finishing move on the faces and leave them laying in the ring. (C) -The Masked Superstar (w/Gary Hart) defeats Iceman Parsons in 7:31 by pinfall. (C+). After the match, Gary Hart interviewed Hart and the Masked Superstar, who put over Superstar's performance at Parade of Champions, winning 3 matches in one night. Hart hyped that once again, he has the most dominant organization in professional wrestling with The Masked Superstar, Kamala, and Big John Studd. (C-) -Bobby Eaton & Koko B. Ware hyped their upcoming main event match with Funk & David Von Erich. (C+) -David Von Erich & Dory Funk Jr. defeated Bobby Eaton & Koko B. Ware in 25:10 when Funk pinned Eaton. (B-). Eaton looked good. After the match, Funk and David celebrated in the ring for several minutes. (C+) Overall Show Rating: C+ THOUGHTS: -On these house shows, I'm not bringing along the expensive Lance Russell, and that negatively impacts all show ratings. But C+ in the southwest is fine and keeps us moving forward. -I teamed David/Funk because they have experience working together as a team, from David's run in Florida. They'll definitely be an active alliance in the weeks and months to come. Tonight they get a standard, non-storyline match with Eaton/Ware, which was solid. -Grapplers v. Robinson/Halcon was just as good, and much cheaper. Robinson and El Halcon are both among our top 8 most popular wrestlers in the southwest, so that definitely helped. This was a start of a storyline involving these two teams. -With Orton and Jackson on the way out, Perez and Hart got to pick up rare wins on the pre-show. -Killer Tim Brooks wasn't happy about jobbing to Frank Dusek, even though both are lower midcarders. Brooks is a former Texas and American Heavyweight Champion in WCCW, but those glory days are behind him. As for Dusek, he gets his first win since last August, in his previous WCCW run. |
NEWS
-Bobby Eaton, The Masked Superstar, and Dory Funk Jr. are exhausted after the last show. -Terry Orndorff and Ludwig Borga are hyped as future stars in the dirt sheets -I re-sign Kerry Von Erich for 9 more moths at $2,000/show, up from his previous $1,900/show deal, and a $2,000 downside. That's way too high for him. After that 9 months is over, I'll probably have to let him go on a hiatus, since every worker tends to demand a raise when they re-sign, and I can't in good conscious go any higher than that. The problem is, Fritz now refuses to deal with known steroid users, of which Kerry is definitely one. That block still has 22 months left on it. So if I let Kerry go after 9 months, I won't be able to bring him back at least for another 13 months. -Mike Von Erich also re-signs for 9 months at $1,075/show, up from his previous deal of $850/show. I likewise can't see going to much further with him. -Mark Younblood is a little cheaper, at $750/show, up from his previous deal at around $550/show. He obviously doesn't bring much to the table, but it's nice to keep the roster as stable as possible. -Parade of Champions came in at a 1.41 buyrate, topping our previous high of 1.32. Each PPV has done better than the one before it. |
-So over the summer, when we're without TV, we'll be running a weekly "Summer Nights" show in the Dallas area. This will be THE weekly show. Fans will get the info on the results and news of WCCW, and the monthly PPVs will be hyped.
-I'll pretty much book it as a TV show, and assume that fans have ready access to everything that happens at these shows, and the weekly house shows (perhaps through a newspaper column, radio show, 1-800 number, whatever). -We'll send our main 3-man announce team (Lance Russell, Bill Mercer, and Fritz Von Erich) to these shows, just to ensure maximum ratings. -We'll keep the storylines moving along, but as a somewhat slower pace than usual. I don't want things to be too crazily different by the time we get back on TV in September. WCCW: Summer Nights Wednesday, Week 1, June 1985 Dallas, TX (Small Venue) Expected Attendance: 4,350 Ticket Prices: ?? (Forgot to set) Actual Attendance: 5,000 (SOLD OUT) -Pre-Show Dark Match Charlie Cook defeats Owen Hart in 7:57 by pinfall. (D-) -Pre-Show Dark Match Villano IV defeats Dusty Wolfe in 8:22 by pinfall. (C-). Wolfe seemed off his game. -As the show starts, Dory Funk Jr. comes out to the ring and cuts a lengthy promo. He hypes his main event match tonight against Kevin Sullivan. Funk recaps his brother Terry's issues with the former Federation stable, and particularly Kevin Sullivan. Funk says that while his brother Terry has been forced to leave WCCW, he plans on settling some of Terry's old scores, starting tonight. Funk also hypes the new WCCW World Heavyweight Champion, and Funk's protege, David Von Erich. (B-) -Lance Russell interviews WCCW Commissioner Jose Lothario. The two recap the results of Parade of Champions, and highlight WCCW's "summer season" schedule. They provide information on how WCCW fans can keep up with the goings-on in WCCW, and promise a big return to TV in September. Lothario hypes that he also has a couple of major announcements to make tonight, but he's saving those for the appropriate times. (C-) -Kevin & Kerry Von Erich defeat Perry Jackson & Barry Orton in 7:42 when Kerry pinned Orton. (C-). Kevin and Kerry looked good. After the match, Lance Russell interviewed The Von Erichs about their win, and especially, about the ambush attach by the Freebirds at Parade of Champions. The Von Erichs reveal that there has been a lot of back and forth between they and the Freebirds in recent months. The Freebirds have challenged The Von Erichs to a series of matches, and the Von Erichs have refused, choosing to honor the stipulation of last summer's Cage Clash event. The Freebirds were persistent, and week after week have tried to convince the Von Erichs to face them in a WCCW ring once again. The Von Erichs say they continued to ignore them. At Parade of Champions, however, The Freebirds took things to another level, and involved themselves in the the Von Erichs' World Tag Title match, costing them the belts, and trying to incapacitate them outside the arena. The Von Erichs say they've had it, and against their better judgment, they've decided to face the Freebirds once again. The Von Erichs say they've agreed to two matches that have been cleared by WCCW Commissioner Lothario. Next week, in Dallas, Kevin & David Von Erich will face Buddy Roberts & Terry Gordy in a tag team match. Then, at June Star Wars, Kerry Von Erich will face Freebird leader Michael Hayes 1-on-1. Kerry says that Michael Hayes doesn't deserve, EVER, to be in a WCCW ring again, so that match will take place in the parking lot behind the arena. (C) -As the interview is wrapping up, Commissioner Lothario enters the ring. He has he has been working around the clock to find out how exactly Michael Hayes was able to breach WCCW security and disguise himself as a WCCW cameraman at Parade of Champions. Lothario says that several leads all pointed to the assistance of one man - Skandor Akbar, the manager of the WCCW World Tag Team Champion Sheepherders. Lothario says the evidence, which he wouldn't reveal the nature of, was indisputable - Akbar was behind the security breach. Commissioner Lothario says at this time, he has no choice but to strip the Sheepherders of the World Tag Team Titles, and award them to the Von Erichs. As far as the WCCW record books are concerned, the Von Erichs won the tag titles at Parade of Champions. (C). The Von Erichs celebrate in the ring as the arena erupts. (C+). After a brief consultation, The Von Erichs tell Lothario that he's made the right decision, but they'd like to solidify their claim to the titles by defeating The Sheepherders in a match - they ask Lothario to make a title match between the two teams. Lothario agrees, the match will take place in Dallas in two weeks: Kerry & Kevin Von Erich v. The Sheepherders for the World Tag Team Titles. (C+) -Frank Dusek defeats Don Bass in 6:54 by pinfall. (C-). The two showed poor chemistry. After the match, Bill Mercer interviewed Frank Dusek about his win. (C-). Dusek further established himself as a babyface, playing to the crowd. -The Masked Superstar (w/Gary Hart) defeats Iceman Parsons in 9:31 by pinfall. (B-). After the match, Bill Mercer interviewed Hart about his client. Hart puts over The Superstar's performance at Parade of Champions, where he won 3 matches in one night. Hart notes that the WCCW Championship Committee will be naming a #1 Contender to David's World Title soon, and that they should look no further than the Masked Superstar. (C+) -Non-Title Match Arturo Mendoza defeats Killer Tim Brooks in 11:03 by pinfall. (B). After the match, Lance Russell interviewed Mendoza about his win. (B+). Russell also relayed news about Mendoza's TV Title. During the summer season, with WCCW taking a 3-month break from TV, the "random drawing" TV Title challenger format is being put on hiatus. The TV Championship will be defended only during the monthly PPV event, and against a challenger determined not randomly, but by the WCCW Championship Committee. That committee will determine Mendoza's challenger at June Star Wars by next week. -Kevin Sullivan drew with Dory Funk Jr. by double countout in 18:02 after the two men were brawling outside of the ring. (A). The two showed great chemistry, but the match suffered from a lack of selling. After the match, Sullivan got the upper hand and began beating down Funk, until Antonio Inoki made the save. (B) -Overall Show Rating: B THOUGHTS: -Very good show. I think I did I put the matches in the right order here to generate the best rating I could. -Great main event between Dory Funk Jr. and Kevin Sullivan - I imagine they brawled all over the arena. They're not heading towards a feud with each other, which is kind of too bad after the chemistry they showed. Inoki makes the seemingly random save here, but he's entering into a feud with Sullivan. -Arturo Mendoza really looked like a main event star tonight. First, he drags Killer Tim Brooks to a solid match. Then, a B+ interview. -This was last WCCW show, at least for a while, for Iceman Parsons, Perry Jackson, and Barry Orton. It's especially sad to see Parsons go, who has been here since the beginning. I hope to bring him back in 6 months, maybe at a lower cost. -Don Bass is kind of an old-school heel, with a vague cowboy gimmick. He won't win many matches. Either will Frank Dusek, but he's getting a little push to start out with, winning 2 consecutive matches. -The Von Erich stuff was a little wacky. It basically all happened because I set the Von Erichs to win by DQ at Parade of Champions, but the game gave them the titles anyway. Not sure what I keep screwing up there. I might have forgotten to check "cheap win" or something. But, I like how it turned out, ultimately. Akbar thought he could hold onto the titles for the Sheepherders by getting Michael Hayes a job as a cameraman - Hayes of course being motivated to screw over the Von Erichs. The plan works, but they're caught, and get stripped of the gold. A perfect move for a babyface authority figure. |
NEWS
-The Masked Superstar and Dory Funk Jr. are exhausted after the last show -Iceman Parsons is officially gone from WCCW. His highlight was probably a mini-feued challenging Bobby Eaton for the World Heavyweight Championship. He also scored a big upset over Bob Backlund on TV. I'll also remember him as being the third-man, unwilling to get involved in the Bruno/David Sammartino drama as he saw his six-man tag team implode. Going back to 1983, he had a big rivalry with Buddy Roberts over the TV Title. He also teamed with Chris Adams, who eventually turned on him -Barry Orton & Perry Jackson are also officially gone. I'll give them both another look in 6 months - I think that would be Orton's 3rd run with WCCW. -ACW National Heavyweight Champion Greg Valentine re-signed with ACW. That's probably the most prestigious belt in the world right now. -I am unable to come to terms with King Kong Bundy, who demanded a huge raise. His previous deal was $1,375/show, and I offered $1,800/show - it wasn't enough. I'm quite content to let him go with those kinds of demands. It's tough to see another "WCCW dynasty original" move on. Bundy has taken a couple of high-profile losses as of late, but he was in line for what I thought would be an interesting storyline. After a series of losses (including to Kamala) he was going to approach former tag team partner Arturo Mendoza, looking to re-form their old tag team. Mendoza would be reluctant, since he's focused on the TV, and perhaps World Title, and in addition - he hasn't forgiven Bundy for failing to immediately follow him out of Gary Hart's stable. Bundy would have gotten pissed off about the rejection, and re-joined Hart's stable, perhaps forming a tag team with Big John Studd. But now - he'll be gone in about a week. Bundy was with Gary Hart throughout the dynasty until pretty much the very end, when Kevin Von Erich convinced him to branch out on his own. Before that, he was involved in a pretty successful tag team with Arturo Mendoza - though they were unable to win the belts. Most of his time was spent in the epic Tiger Mask/Kabuki/Bundy/Mendoza storyline, with generated great matches whenever I needed them. -Steve Olsonoski is much more reasonable, re-signing for 9 more moths at $850/show, a raise from his old $775/show deal. His team with Doug Somers is really blossoming, so he's worth the investment. -With the departure of Bundy and Parsons, I'm down to only the Von Erichs, Gary Hart, Skandor Akbar, Jose Lothario, and David Manning as continuous employees since the beginning of this dynasty. Of course, a few, like Bill Mercer and Frank Dusek, were here at the beginning, left, and have since come back. -Jerry Lawler and Rick Martel won the vacant Portland Wrestling tag team championship. With the death of his Memphis promotion, Lawler seems to have adopted Portland as his new hometown - he's also that promotion's Heavyweight Champion. -Dory Funk Jr. has left his position as head booker of Mid-Atlantic - it will be interesting to see who they pick up. I can tell you that I'm not interested. I'll be running WCCW until whenever I give up on this dynasty. -I had requested negotiations with Englishman "Giant Haystacks" (later "Loch Ness" in WCW), and am surprised to see that he only wants $525/show. The death of all wrestling promotions in the UK have created desperate wrestlers and good deals. I bring him in. He has VERY limited overness in the US, but he's one of the few legitimate "giants" in wrestling. He has "A" rated looks, "B" in power, the basics, and toughness, and B- in charisma, brawling, and menace. No reason I can't build him up to something interesting. The only downside is that he only works well as a heel, and I'm pretty heel-heavy at this point. I also bring in a fellow Englishman, Johnny Saint, at a mere $950/show. Saint is very interesting - he's 44 years old, but something of a legend in the UK - "A" ratings in Chain Wrestling, Submissions, Stamina, and The Basics. Apparently, he's one of the great mat wrestlers of all time. He can only really play a babyface, so an alliance with Giant Haystacks may be tough to pull off. He's also a lightweight, and thus eligible for the WCCW Crusiderweight Championship. I also can't help myself and bring in Mark Rocco, also from the UK, at $975/show. Rocco is best at playing a heel, and like Johnny Saint, is simply one of the best wrestlers in the history of the UK. If I can increase their overness in Texas, I'll have a real steal on my hands. I guess the tentative plan is to align Rocco with Haystacks, and have Saint work as a face. Perhaps I should also bring back Lord Alfred Hayes to throw into the mix - I request negotiations. -The AWA has signed Jerry Lawler - so his new adopted hometown of Portland, Or may lose their favorite son. -The dirt sheets hype Dizzy Ed Hogan (aka Brutus Beefcake, Ed Boulder, Brother Bruti, The Butcher, The Man With No Name, The Man With No Face, The Booty Man, The Zodiak, The Disciple - did I miss any?) as a future star. |
THE STARS OF WORLD CLASS ON TOUR
Monday, Week 2, June 1985 Wichita, KS (Midwest - Very Small Venue) Expected Attendance: 2,175 Ticket prices: Default Actual Attendance: 2,000 (SOLD OUT) -Pre-Show Dark Match Killer Tim Brooks defeats Mark Youngblood in 7:53 by pinfall after grabbing the ropes for leverage. (C-) After the match, Brooks cut a promo, hyping his win. (D) -Pre-Show Dark Match El Halcon defeats Dusty Wolfe in 5:45 by submission. (C) -As the main show starts, WCCW Commissioner Lothario comes to the ring, welcomes the fans, and fills everyone in on recent developments in WCCW. He then introduces WCCW's most recent signing, who his making his first WCCW appearance tonight - Baron Von Raschke, who comes to the ring. (C). Raschke cuts a promo establishing himself as face, and hypes himself a grizzled old vet who has seen it all but has a lot left in the tank. (C+) -Baron Von Raschke defeats Grappler #1 (w/Grappler #2) in 11:58 by submission, despite interference from Grappler #2. (B). -Bill Mercer interviews Mark Rocco, who hypes his upcoming debut match against fellow Englishman Johnny Saint. Rocco hypes his wrestling skill and amateur background, and comes across as a cocky heel. (F+). Mercer also interviews Saint, who has a "no gimmick needed" type gimmick - he says he's just here to wrestle. (E-) -Johnny Saint drew with Mark Rocco in 10:00 when the time limit expired. (B-) The two men argued in the ring for a minute or two after the match ended. (F+) -Billy Robinson defeated Grappler #2 (w/Grappler #1) in 6:33 by submission. (B-). Early in the match, Grappler #1 interfered, which led to El Halcon emerging from the locker room area to assist his tag team partner, Robinson. After the match, Robinson cut a promo about his win, and how he and El Halcon would like to take on The Grapplers in a tag match. (C) -Lance Russell interviews Skandor Akbar and the recently-stripped WCCW tag team champion Sheepherders - who still carry the WCCW Tag Team Championship belts. Akbar dares Commissioner Lothario to come to the ring and take the belts away himself. After Lothario fails to appear, Akbar says there's nothing Lothario or anyone else can do about it - The Sheepherders have the belts, so they're still the champs. (C) -The Sheepherders (w/Skandor Akbar) defeat Owen Hart & Al Perez in 4:49 when Williams pinned Hart. (C). Williams looked good. After the match, The Sheepherders cut a promo, saying that if Kevin & Kerry want another shot at their titles, they can have one any time. (C) -WCCW World Heavyweight Champion David Von Erich comes to the ring with his mentor Dory Funk Jr. The two hype their main event tag team match against the new team of Mr. Saito & Mr. Pogo. They say they're not taking the tough Japanese duo lightly. David also mentions his tag team match with Kevin Von Erich against Buddy Roberts & Terry Gordy this week - saying that he's one member of the Von Erich family who has been campaigning to let the Freebirds wrestle in WCCW so he can kick their ass all over again. David also says that this week, he'll also decide his first challenger for his heavyweight championship (C) -David Von Erich & Dory Funk Jr. defeat Mr. Saito & Mr. Pogo in 21:58 by pinfall when David pinned Saito. (B). Funk looked good. After the stiff match, the four men brawled around ringside for several minutes, with Saito and Pogo generally getting the upper hand until the fight was broken up by road agents. (C) -Overall Show Rating: B- THOUGHTS: -Decent enough rating. The main even was really just a chance to give these two combinations a little experience as teams, as I expect to use them a lot in high profile situations in the future. Saito is a little higher in talent and overness than Pogo, but I think Pogo can hang with him. Pogo has an awful W/L record thus far in WCCW, but I still think this is a believably dangerous team, as Pogo usually jobs to top guys. Unfortunately Pogo/Saito have zero chemistry as a team. That won't keep me from going forward with a storyline I have in mind, it just means it won't be a long-lived team. -I otherwise filled out the card with a lot of our guys who have overness in the midwest. This also highlighted the aging of my roster - I have 7 active wrestlers over 40. -Billy Robinson was intended to just be an occasional attraction, but he's still pretty good. Tonight he helped plant the seeds for a Grapplers v. Halcon/Robinson feud. This is kind of a lower-level feud - the Villanos defeated The Grapplers at Parade of Champions, so I see them as higher up on the totem pole. -The debut of the UK wrestlers was interesting - these guys are completely unknown in the U.S. so their interviews bombed. But their match was very solid, much better than I expected. These guys will be a steal - I just need to keep them off the mic. -Baron Von Raschke makes his debut and has a solid match with Grappler #1. I don't have any specific storyline plans at the moment for the Baron, he'll just wrestle for a while. I definitely have the ingredients for a babyface "old age outlaws" type stable or tag team with some combination of The Baron, Dory Funk Jr, and Billy Robinson. |
Nice debut for Von Raschke, especially considering he is getting up there. I am interested to see what you end up doing with the Baron.
"Dat is all da people need to know!" |
POST 1000!!!!!!!
Sorry, I couldn't resist. Now celebrate by giving us some more! |
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