Total Extreme Wrestling: WCCW 1983

[Senator]

Super dynasty. I grew up right in the middle of all this, went to many shows at the Sportatorium or in Fort Worth. It was a big part of my youth. Following this is fun. The WCCW is a big "what if" I always wondered about.

Johnny Mantel - Nicknamed the Pride of Montague County. We laughed at that more than anything. Who was his competition for being the pride, some goats?

[molson]

Originally Posted by Swaggs

Any chance you can bring Dick the Bruiser on board in a personality role?

Did you "inherit" any of the WWA wrestlers? If so, anyone interesting?

I tried to sign Dick the Bruiser, but he conflicts with Fritz' "block" for this year - no wrestlers with Resilience ratings less than C-. Dick still considers himself a wrestler, and his rating didn't make the grade, so it didn't work out.

And I wasn't allowed to inherit any of the WWA wrestlers - those contracts went away and they're just all unemployed now. So I guess the only guaranteed benefits to buying out a promotion are the prestige boost and the titles. I suppose in some cases, it gets rid of an actual competitor, and may free up guys to work for you (if I was able to buy out IWA, I'd be able to sign Randy Savage and Lanny Poffo - both are currently too loyal to their father to leave.)

WWA didn't have much talent left at this point anyway - they have this odd group of 40+ guys that stuck around WWA forever. Their main guys were Dick the Bruiser, Steve Regal, Chris Markoff, Rick Mcgraw, Paul Christy, Tom Jones, and an ancient Bobo Brazil (who has since retired).

[molson]

Originally Posted by Senator

I grew up right in the middle of all this, went to many shows at the Sportatorium or in Fort Worth.

I definitely envy that - those old-school Sporatorium shows looked like so much fun on TV.

I didn't discover WCCW until the ESPN re-runs years later. It was great stuff, even though the shows were 3-4 years old.

[molson]

WORLD CLASS CHAMPIONSHIP WRESTLING (TV Taping)
Tuesday, Week 1, August 1983
Dallas, TX: 5,000 SOLD OUT

-Pre-Show Dark Match
Ken Mantel defeats Super Kendo in 7:46 by pinfall (C-)

-Pre-Show Dark Match
Frank Dusek drew with Brian Adias in 6:47 following a Double Countout. (D)

-Video highlights are shown of last week's TV title match, where Scott Casey manages to take brass knuckles away from Garvin, and then used them to knock out Garvin while the referee was unconscious. (C+)

-WCCW Television Title Match
Scott Casey defeats King Kong Bundy in 4:36 by pinfall to make his first defense of the TV title (C+).

-After the match, Whipper Billy Watson came down to the ring. He said part of him was hoping Bundy would win the title, so that he wouldn't have to do this. Watson said he has reviewed the video of last week's TV title match, and referee David Manning has brought the brass knuckles in question to his attention. Watson says that as long as he's running things, no WCCW titles will change hands in this manner - therefore, Scott Casey is stripped of the TV title. (C)

-Bobby Eaton & Koko B. Ware defeated the Villanos in 7:50 when Eaton pinned Villano V. (C+). Eaton looked strong.

-Backstage, cameras catch Gary Hart speaking with Iceman Parsons. The announcers speculate - is Parsons the "new talent" that Hart has been recruiting? (B).

-WCCW American Heavyweight Championship Match
Terry Gordy defeats Mike Von Erich in 6:45 by pinfall to make his 7th defense of his title. (C). Mike was visibly tiring towards the end of the match. Gordy looked strong. (C). After the match, Mercer interviews Gordy about David Von Erich's challenge last night in Chicago to a title v. title match. Gordy says there's plenty of challengers for his title, and there's no reason David should get to jump to the front of the line. (D+)

-Backstage, cameras again catch Gary Hart, this time talking with Chris Adams. (B)

-Bill Mercer conducts a telephone interview with Fritz Von Erich about his rehabilitation progress from the injury suffered at the hands of Destruction, Inc. (C).

-The Freebirds cut a promo hyping their stable as being "stronger than ever". They say that no Von Erich can beat any Freebird in a fair fight. Gordy proved it earlier against Mike, and Buddy will prove it against Kerry tonight (B-)

-Kerry Von Erich drew with Buddy Roberts in 10:39 following a Double DQ. The referee lost control of the match after interference from the rest of the Von Erichs and Freebirds. (B-)

-Billy Watson came out and told fans that David and Gordy have proven themselves to be the top two competitors in WCCW, and both have overcome all challenges. As a result, the two will face off at the end of a month in a title v. title match. Further, Watson states, due to rampant interference and lack of clear victors in recent Von Erich v. Freebirds matches, the Gordy v. David match will take place inside a steel cage, at WCCW's first annual "Cage Clash" event. (C+) David Von Erich seems happy with the news - he grabs a mic and tells Gordy to enjoy his last few weeks as American Heavyweight champion (B)

Overall Show Rating: C+

-This was a solid show that moved several storylines along. Texas popularity still drops from 68.2% to 68.1% Midwest popularity increases from 49.5% to 49.9%.

-The biggest storyline in the company right now is the march towards the Gordy v. David unification cage match. That match has a good shot at breaking the A- match rating barrier.

-The storyline with the 2nd best heat in the company is, surprisingly, the Mexican jobbers trying to get a win. This is odd, because the fans seem tired of Super Kendo and The Villanos - to the point where I might have to freshen up the bottom of the roster with some new heels. For whatever reason though, their alliance with Gory Guerrero is clicking.

-Another very strong tag team match for Koko and Eaton. I've matched the Villanos up with almost everyone - and this was their best-rated match (better than their many matches against Iceman/Adams, Manny/Adias, even Kevin/Mike). That's partially due to the fans being into the "Mexican Struggle" angle, but credit also has to be given to Koko and Eaton, who have exceeded expectations thus far.

-Scott Casey's 12th match for me is his best rated - against King Kong Bundy of all people. Of course, 8 of those other matches have been against Jimmy Garvin, who he has poor chemistry with. Fortunately, that angle is a blow-off cage match away from ending. If Casey can get C+ with Bundy, he can reach B- with any of the Freebirds, or Adrian Adonis.

-I dedicated 5 minutes to a Fritz Von Erich injury update, and the segment only got a "C". This was after a random Fritz segment did a B+ last week.

-Instead, the highest-rated random segments of the week were Gary Hart talking to Chris Adams and Iceman backstage. Hart is surely up to no good. For the record, Adams and Iceman have now wrestled 7 matches as a tag team - they've beaten the Villanos 5 times, beat Kabuki/Dragon, and lost to Roberts/Gordy.

-Whipper Billy Watson is sure into stripping people of their titles. This may be the beginning of a subtle heel turn, so that when Fritz is ready to take control again, he can kick Watson's ass out.

[molson]

NEWS

-I've been getting a lot of road agent notes about certain workers needing their gimmicks to be "freshened up". The problem is, most gimmick changes require someone to be off TV for a month or longer, and all of my guys are currently involved in storylines. And the risk of any gimmick change is that it won't work. However, there's a few I'm able to tweak more slightly: Mike Von Erich goes from a "Home Town Hero" to a "Second Generation Gimmick" - so I guess he'll really be into the Von Erich name. Kevin goes from "Home Town Hero" to "People's Champion". Skandor Akbar goes from "Rich Shiek" to "Devious". Most of my current worker gimmicks have good ratings with the exception of Adrian Adonis, who nobody is buying as a "Ironic Playboy". I guess nobody gets the irony.

-I'm rejected by an un-employed Dino Bravo. He thinks he can make more money elsewhere. Ricky Steamboat also turns me down, saying he's already working for more companies than he can handle (even though one of them is our rival, SWC).

-GCW's Ole Anderson gets struck with repetitive concussion syndrome. He's out for at least a year.

-Maple Leaf Wrestling, who brought together a pretty awesome roster, finally gets a TV deal on local Toronto station. They currently employ a bunch of my guys, including Jimmy Garvin, Adrian Adonis, and Koko B. Ware.

-Meanwhile, in the WWF, Bob Backlund lost a tag team match with Hulk Hogan against Andre the Giant and Michael Hayes, and Bob Backlund then somehow turned heel.

-I make a negotiation request with one of the national syndication carriers, but they still say I'm not big enough. Once I get to cult, I'll have to figure out some way to extend my reach - either with national syndication or running a second show for the East Coast.

-Fritz won't let me talk to recently-unemployed Killer Khan because of his low resilience rating. I seem to remember him having some kind of run in the real WCCW, and he could have been a replacement for Gordy has a brawling, main event heel.

-I sign "Mr. Electricity" Steve Regal for 9 months at $1,200/show. I also bring in WWA's Spike Huber, who brings even less to the table, at $900/show. Regal and Huber were WWA's last tag team champions, and Regal was the last WWA Heavyweight Champion. Those contracts are a little steep for both of them, but they'll only be in for a short time for some type of WWA angle. Maybe I'll run a WCCW/WWA show in the Great Lakes just to prepare that area for eventual continued expansion.

-All-Japan becomes the 7th promotion in the world to rise to "Cult Status". That should give it an advantage over New Japan, who is still at "Regional".

-Central States Wrestling signs a national syndication deal - their show will be shown across the US (This is the same syndication carrier that just rejected me). Of course, their big star is Manny Fernandez - this will give Manny some national exposure, which could help us, but may eventually cause CSW to become a bigger priority for Manny than we are. There are currently five American wrestling promotions with some kind of national syndication deal: WWF, Georgia, AWA, GLOW, and now Central States- that's a pretty huge score for them.

-David rejects the offer from HCW - this is why I push him so much.

-Our TV show gets a rating of 0.60. We've had the same rating 3 of the last 4 weeks.

[molson]

THE STARS OF WORLD CLASS ON TOUR
Monday, Week 2, August 1983
Minneapolis, MN. 1,000. SOLD OUT

-Pre-Show Dark Match
-WWA Heavyweight Title Match
Steve Regal defeats Brian Adias to win the the (technically) vacant WWA Heavyweight Championship (C-). After the match, Bill Mercer interviews Steve Regal. Regal states that the rumors are true - WCCW has bought out the legendary WWA. He says that he is the last of the illustrious lineage of WWA Champions, which includes Harley Race, Dick the Bruiser, Ernie Ladd, and Bruiser Brody. It's a lineage, says Regal, that completely overshadows anything WCCW has to offer. (D)

-Pre-Show Dark Match
Ken Mantel defeats Villano IV in 6:39 by pinfall. Villano IV was off his game (C-)

-Chris Adams defeated Super Kendo in 7:58 by submission. (C-) Before the match, Gory Guerrero hyped the "potential" of his client. (D). After the match, Bill Mercer interviewed Chris Adams about his recent contacts with Gary Hart. Adams says that business is business, but he's still the same Chris Adams. (D-)

-Whipper Billy Watson announces that he has booked one final match between Scott Casey and Jim Garvin to take place in 2 weeks, winner take all, for the vacant TV title. He says this is final TV title shot for either man for at least one year. If the match ends in a draw, Watson says, the title will remain vacant, and the new TV champion will be decided via tournament. Neither Garvin nor Casey would participate in such a tournament. (D+)

-WCCW American Tag Team Championship Match
Kevin & Mike Von Erich defeated Checkmate & Frank Dusek in 8:01 when Mike made Checkmate submit to make their 9th defense of the tag team titles. (C-) Kevin looked good. Before the match, Kevin and Mike hyped the match, and put over their title reign as the longest current reign in WCCW. (C)

-Adrian Adonis defeated Iceman Parsons in 8:55 by pinfall. (C+) Before the match, Skandor Akbar and Adrian Adonis hyped the match with Iceman Parsons. Adonis says his title match loss to David was a fluke, and he is still the next WCCW Texas Heavyweight Champion. (D+) After the match, the Sheepherders hit the ring, and Destruction Inc. continued the attack on Parsons. Parsons' tag team partner Chris Adams makes the save with a steel chair, driving off Destruction, Inc. who were still satisfied about what they've done (D-)

-Sunshine shoots T-shirts into the crowd via T-shirt gun (C-)

-David Von Erich hypes his match tonight with Terry Gordy. He says that tonight, unlike at Cage Clash at the end of the month, it's not about titles. Tonight, it's about proving who is the better man (C). Terry Gordy cuts a similar promo with Michael Hayes by his side (with Hayes doing most of the talking) (C+)

-David Von Erich drew with Terry Gordy when the 30:00 time limit expired. (B). The match featured interference from both Michael Hayes and Kevin Von Erich. After the match, David and Gordy continued fighting, but the brawl was broken up by referees and road agents. (C)

OVERALL SHOW RATING: C+

THOUGHTS

-OK show with a strong main event. Midwest popularity increases from 49.9% to 50.3%. (Leaving us 2.6% away from cult status)

-Gordy v. David gave the Minnesota fans a little preview of the Cage Clash main event, but more importantly, it gave me a sense of how these guys will do in the ring with each other. Fortunately, there were no chemistry issues. I fully expect a B+ effort in Texas, with an outside chance of breaking the A- barrier. These guys can go 30 minutes in their sleep.

-That was pretty good debut on the pre-show for Steve Regal. I officially started a "WWA invasion" storyline. This "invasion" will be very low key, it will stay on the bottom of the card, and involve Regal and Huber making title defenses until those belts get unified with ours. But Regal might have a chance of sticking around, he's a pretty good wrestler.

-Adonis gets a win over Parsons partially to "rehabilitate" him after his two clean losses to David. They had a pretty good match. I don't think I want to throw him in the Freebirds to replace Gordy, he'll instead stay as the leader of Destruction Inc.

[BYU 14]

Always love a good DOTT dynasty and this is first class, just finished catching up on it.

I also watched the WCCW shows every Saturday Morning. In addition to being one of the stiffer working promotions at the time, they always had big time Matches on TV as well....once again great stuff Molson.

[SnDvls]

molson - what kind of record keeping/outside notes do you keep on your fed?
do you do strick storylines that are preprogream in TEW or more of an unchained one so you can book on the fly?

[molson]

WORLD CLASS CHAMPIONSHIP WRESTLING (TV Taping)
Tuesday, Week 2, August 1983
Dallas, TX: 5,000 SOLD OUT

-Pre-Show Dark Match
-WWA Tag Team Championship Match
Spike Huber & Steve Regal defeat The Mantel Brothers to win the (technically) vacant WWA Tag Team Championship (C-). After the match, Harry Frehley interviews Huber & Regal, who say that they've come to WCCW to defend the lineage of the WWA Championship Titles, and prove their superiority over WCCW. (D-)

-Chris Adams defeats Waldo Von Erich in 5:57 by submission (C-). After the match Adams says he has an announcement to make. He says he realizes this decision will be controversial, but he wants to introduce his new manager - Gary Hart. (C+). Adams says he realizes fans will have mixed feelings about his decision, but he asks them to give Hart a chance. Iceman Parsons comes to the ring to argue with Adams about his choice of new manager. (D+). Adams says that he and Iceman's current manager, Sunshine, will continue to work with Iceman & Adams, but that Adams just felt he needed something extra to get to the next level.

-Backstage, the cameras catch Manny Fernandez frantically looking for his tag team partner, Brian Adias. The two have a tag team match scheduled with Magic Dragon & The Great Kabuki tonight. (D+). Meanwhile, Magic Dragon & The Great Kabuki, along with their manager, Gary Hart, hype tonight's tag team match with Marc Lowrence serving as interviewer. (D)

-Bobby Eaton & Koko B. Ware defeated the Sheepherders in 8:05 by DQ when the Sheepherders introduce weapons into the match. (C+).

-Manny Fernandez cuts a promo, saying he has no idea where Brian Adias is, but that Mike Von Erich has stepped up to take Adias' place tonight in the scheduled tag team match with Kabuki & Dragon (C-)

-Manny Fernandez & Mike Von Erich defeated The Great Kabuki & Magic Dragon in 8:21 by DQ after Kabuki sprayed green mist into Mike's eyes. (C+) . Mike was visibly tiring toward the end of the match, Dragon was clearly limited by his injury. After the match, Kabuki & Dragon continued the attack. (C-). Brian Adias makes the save, occupying Dragon & Kabuki long enough for Manny to regroup and clear them from the ring. (D+). After the match, a visibly angry Manny Fernandez confronts Adias about his absence, Adias is offering some type of excuse (D+)

-The announcers hype the announcement made by Billy Watson last night - Jimmy Garvin and Scott Casey will face off one more time, winner take all, in a TV title match next week. It will be the last TV title shot for both men for the next year, and if the match ends in a draw, both men will be out of the TV title picture for that year. A video is then played highlighting Casey's workout regiment (C+) Casey then cuts a promo, where he says he knows this is his last chance, so he's going to give it his all (C+).

-Kevin Von Erich defeated Buddy Jack Roberts in 12:56 by submission (B). Before the match, Kevin cut a hype promo (B-). Also before the match, Roberts cut a hype promo (C)

OVERALL SHOW RATING: B-

-A very solid effort - we've run 40 total shows to this point, and this is only the 5th to reach a B- overall rating. And that's with a relatively cheap show, where we didn't use Gordy, Hayes, David, Kerry, or Adonis. Midwest popularity increases from 50.3% to 50.7%. Texas popularity remains 68.1%.

-Spike Huber is definitely the weak link to the "WWA invasion" - the WWA tag team titles will be absorbed by WCCW fairly quickly. I'd love to run a WWA farewell show in Indianapolis, but without Dick the Bruiser, it just doesn't seem right.

-This Chris Adams/Gary Hart angle may sound familiar to old-school WCCW fans, this is exactly how he turned on Kevin. Here, Iceman is playing the Kevin role.

-The Koko/Eaton v. Sheepherders match was a pretty big test for both teams, since they've both mostly been wrestling jobbers until now. At a C+, I'm satisfied with the effort, considering this was the Sheepherders highest rated match with WCCW.

-Kevin and Buddy have kicked off their own little rivalry to complement David v. Gordy. Their match, as expected, was very solid.

[molson]

Originally Posted by SnDvls

molson - what kind of record keeping/outside notes do you keep on your fed?
do you do strick storylines that are preprogream in TEW or more of an unchained one so you can book on the fly?

The only outside notes I'm keeping is regional popularity - every month, I'm recording my workers' popularity in the midwest and Texas, to see who's getting over, and who's not (The game tracks national month-by-month popularity, but not by region). Otherwise, everything else is either recorded in this dynasty, or in the game itself.

I'm running 8 storylines, and 2 are unchained. For the most part, I want to stick with the DOTT storylines, just so I have a sense of structure. But I'm booking on the fly for the "Mexican jobber" storyline, and the "WWA invasion". Neither of those storyline are important enough to tie up anyone else, so I'm just running unchained storylines with the principle workers.

[Swaggs]

I'm still enjoying this one, as well.

Any plans for further buyouts?

[DeToxRox]

Keep it up Molson, absolutely love it.

Can you give us an update every month on the WWF if it's not too hard? Nothing too indepth, just who the top guys are and such.

[molson]

NEWS

-Fritz Von Erich arrived late for the second time. I'm going to look the other way.

-Our TV show rating shoots up to a 0.70. That's are new all-time high rating, coming after a multi-week ratings slump.

[molson]

Originally Posted by DeToxRox

Keep it up Molson, absolutely love it.

Can you give us an update every month on the WWF if it's not too hard? Nothing too indepth, just who the top guys are and such.

I think the WWF booking has been pretty awesome so far. Hulk Hogan came in as a heel, as part of a ridiculous heel tag team with Andre the Giant. Hogan has since turned face, and has challenged world champion Ray Stevens for the title (without success just yet). Stevens defeated Bob Backlund for the title. Bob teamed with a newly-turned face Hogan a couple of times, then turned heel.

So, the main event heels in WWF are currently Andre the Giant, Don Muraco, Ray Stevens, and Sgt. Slaughter. The main event faces are Hulk Hogan, Roddy Piper, and the Junkyard Dog, I've notice two very awesome new tag teams as well - Bruno Sammartino & Larry Zbyszko, and Michael Hayes & Jesse Ventura. Zbyszko also defeated Don Muraco for the Intercontinental Title. Jimmy Snuka seemed primed for a huge push, but he died of an overdose.

I'll definitely be keeping a close eye on the WWF - I grew up near Boston, so they were my wrestling influence in the 80s.

[DeToxRox]

Awesome.

Side note: I am watching the Heroes of World Class right now and it's such an amazing documentary and definetly sheads light on how much loss that company truly suffered.

[molson]

Originally Posted by Swaggs

I'm still enjoying this one, as well.

Any plans for further buyouts?

My understanding is that almost all of the promotions will eventually collapse and be subject to buy-out (just like real life). Whoever survives will be the beneficiary of all that talent, and then the last remaining promotions essentially fight to the death.

ICW, Angelo Poffo's promotion out of Tennessee seems to be the next to go. Only then can Randy Savage's career truly take off (hopefully with WCCW).

[molson]

Originally Posted by DeToxRox

Awesome.

Side note: I am watching the Heroes of World Class right now and it's such an amazing documentary and definetly sheads light on how much loss that company truly suffered.

i absolutely love that documentary, it's pretty much what inspired this dynasty - the most incredible thing about it is how horrific WCCW comes off even when painted in the best of lights (David's drug overdose is essentially denied, Kevin is basically portrayed as straight edge, etc.).

[DeToxRox]

Originally Posted by molson

i absolutely love that documentary, it's pretty much what inspired this dynasty - the most incredible thing about it is how horrific WCCW comes off even when painted in the best of lights (David's drug overdose is essentially denied, Kevin is basically portrayed as straight edge, etc.).

Agreed. That is just a fascinating story, how the Von Erichs could be so volatile and beloved. And the tragedy they went through, just astounding.

[PilotMan]

I have to admit that I am hitting this dynasty multiple times per day just to see what happens next. Keep the good stuff coming.

[Hammer]

I was surprised David didn't beat Gordy, as he is leaving the federation. That always seemed to be the wrestling way.

[Swaggs]

Not sure if you (or anyone know the answer to this), but do federation owners, like Fritz or Angel Poffo ever die in the game or do new owners come in and replace them ever? What happens if they do?

[waynegomez]

This is one of my favorite dynasties on the board. As someone who grew up in Texas during the World Class era and even attended a few shows, this dynasty truly has special meaning for me. I find myself checking the board numerous times a day just to see if this thread has been updated. Wonderful job and thank you.

[molson]

Originally Posted by Hammer

I was surprised David didn't beat Gordy, as he is leaving the federation. That always seemed to be the wrestling way.

He's around until the end of the month, and he's booked for the title v. title cage match with David at our end of month show. I want to keep his momentum up until then, which will improve the rating of that last match.

I could have kept them completely apart until that last match, but I wanted to see what kind of chemistry they had before I give them 45-50 minutes, so I put them together in a non-tv time limit draw.

[molson]

Originally Posted by Swaggs

Not sure if you (or anyone know the answer to this), but do federation owners, like Fritz or Angel Poffo ever die in the game or do new owners come in and replace them ever? What happens if they do?

Yes, owners (like everyone in the game), can die. If that happens, someone else takes over the company. I read one dynasty where Vince Mcmahon died, and Jerry Jarrett took over the WWF. And of course, Jerry brings his own booking and business philosphy to his new company.

[Toddzilla]

I apologize if this is a threadjack, but do any of the mods have TNA included?

[SnDvls]

Originally Posted by Toddzilla

I apologize if this is a threadjack, but do any of the mods have TNA included?

yes there is a current day mod bobinc.net has a lot of them

[DeToxRox]

Originally Posted by Toddzilla

I apologize if this is a threadjack, but do any of the mods have TNA included?

There is updated real current time ones. www.bobinc.net. The most current one is far too expansive tho as it has like 40 promotions. Takes a lot of load time. Ask GeneralMike about it tho as he uses it for his own personal TNA game.

[General Mike]

Originally Posted by Toddzilla

I apologize if this is a threadjack, but do any of the mods have TNA included?

I use TZone as a modern mod, but as Danny mentioned, it takes forever to load between days because of the ammount of feds/workers to process. The OneRingCircus is another current day mod that is available.

[molson]

-My browser crashed after I written this up the first time, so I don't have all of the segment ratings or the match times. Stupid Firefox.

THE STARS OF WORLD CLASS ON TOUR
Monday, Week 3, August 1983
Rochester, MN. 1,000. SOLD OUT

-Pre-Show Dark Match
-WWA Tag Team Championship Match
Steve Regal & Spike Huber defeat Johnny Mantel & Barry Orton when Regal pinned Orton. Regal & Huber make their 1st defense of their titles. (D)

-Pre-Show Dark Match
Frank Dusek drew with Brian Adias by Double DQ after the referee lost control of the match. Adias showed his violent side, striking Dusek in the head with a steel chair. (D-)

-Bobby Eaton, Koko B. Ware, & Ken Mantel defeated The Villanos & Super Kendo when Eaton pinned Kendo. (C-). After the match, Bill Mercer interviewed the winning team, who stated that since the six-man tag titles are still vacant, and The Von Erichs and The Freebirds can't seem to have a conclusive finish to a match, Billy Watson should start looking towards other teams as contenders, namely, themselves.

-Bill Mercer interviewed Spike Huber and Steve Regal. They stated that it is an absolute disgrace that last proud champions of the legendary WWA title lineage are forced to defend their titles on a WCCW pre-show. They claim that WCCW and Billy Watson are clearly afraid that they'll overshadow the WCCW talent. They demand better competition, and state that their ultimate goal is to unify the WWA and WCCW championships, and then retire the WCCW belts into obscurity.

-Adrian Adonis defeated Mike Von Erich by pinfall. (C+). Before the match, Mercer interviewed Mike, who stated that he knew Adonis was tough, but that he was willing to take on anyone to move up the WCCW ladder. After the match, Akbar cut a promo putting over his client, Adonis. He said that Mike clearly wasn't even in Adonis' league.

-Chris Adams defeated Jimmy Garvin by pinfall. (C-) This was Adams' first match with Hart as his new manager. After the match, Hart grabbed a mic and said that he didn't expect to the WCCW fans to suddenly start liking him, but he asked them to continue to respect Adams. He's taking Adams as a client only because he believes he can take him to the top. He said he'll lead Adams into battle against anyone that will help prove that belongs at the top - including the Freebirds and Destruction, Inc.

-Whipper Billy Watson came out to announce two matches for next Saturday's WCCW Cage Clash. Along with the David/Gordy title v. title main event, Watson said, two other matches will take place inside of a steel cage. First, Manny Fernandez will take on The Great Kabuki in a rematch of their brutal June Star Wars cage match. Second, Kevin and Mike Von Erich will defend their tag team titles against Michael Hayes & Buddy Roberts. Watson said he felt the cage was necessary in that match to prevent the constant outside interference in Freebird v. Von Erich matches.

-Kevin Von Erich defeats Buddy Roberts by countout when Roberts lost track of the referee's count and threw Kevin back into the ring from the outside as the ref counted 10. (B-) Before the match, Kevin gave a hype promo, saying that he beat Buddy on TV each of the last two weeks, and that he'd do it again tonight. After the match, an extremely frustrated Roberts attacked Kevin from behind, and threw him out of the ring.

-David & Kerry Von Erich come out to hype their upcoming tag team match with Terry Gordy & Michael Hayes. Hayes and Gordy than cut a similar promo.

-Terry Gordy & Michael Hayes defeat David & Kerry Von Erich when Gordy pinned David following a double-team behind the referee's back. (C+) After the match, the 4 men continue to brawl, and Terry Gordy sets up David for a concrete-floor piledriver (the same move that put Kerry out of action a few months ago). Kerry made the save, and the brawl continues. It is clear that Kerry & David's differences from a few months ago are behind them. When the 4 men are finally separated, Gordy grabs a mic and yells at David, saying he's now pinned David, and David has NEVER pinned him. He guarantees victory as Cage Clash.

OVERALL SHOW RATING: C+

THOUGHTS

-This was a pretty solid show top to bottom, with no big disappointments. Midwest popularity increases from 50.7% to 51.1%.

-I'm obviously not willing to job Gordy out in his final month with us - I want him booked as strongly as possible for his title v. title match with David. That's probably the biggest match so far in my tenure. And of course, there's always the chance that Gordy comes back somewhere down the line. The tag match tonight marks the first time David has been pinned in 4 months (only Garvin and Gordy have accomplished the feat since the dynasty started)

-Every match is a tryout at this point for the WWA guys, though it's tough to evaluate them against Johnny Mantel and Barry Orton. However, there's not many other people I'm willing to put them over against.

-Good match for Mike & Adrian, this was Mike's best 1-on-1 match against anyone other Terry Gordy. Mike's really getting an opportunity that most 19-year old wrestlers don't get. However that means, of course, that there's more pressure on him to show improvement sooner.

-Garvin/Adams was somewhat disappointing, I was hoping that might be a sleeper match on this card. Adams is getting his big chance with this angle, I better see stats improvement at the 6-month mark when I take a closer look at everyone.

-This developing Kevin/Buddy feud isn't going to make anyone forget David/Gordy at the moment, but those guys are putting on some very solid matches. Buddy was always considered the "3rd Freebird", but he's been very consistent. I have to try to get him some more wins though, to keep him credible - his record for me is 8-16-8 (and looking back, he hasn't won a single's match for me in 3 months)

NEWS

-I saw that Bruiser Brody might be leaving All-Japan, so I request negotiations. He rejects me yet again, and has decided to stay with All-Japan, along with the 2 other companies he works for.

-Buddy Roberts is exhausted again. Between us and the AWA, he's already wrestled 8 matches this month (in less than 2 1/2 weeks). I'll try to rest him for the TV taping tomorrow.

[molson]

WORLD CLASS CHAMPIONSHIP WRESTLING (TV Taping)
Tuesday, Week 3, August 1983
Fort Worth, TX: 5,000 SOLD OUT

-Pre-Show Dark Match
-WWA Heavyweight Title Match
Steve Regal defeats Mike Von Erich in 7:25 by pinfall to make his 1st defense of the WWA title. (C). Mike was visibly tiring towards the end.

-Pre-Show Dark Match
Bobby Eaton defeated Checkmate in 8:41 by pinfall (D-). The two showed poor chemisry

-A music video is shown to the start the show, hyping Scott Casey's strict training regiment in preparation of his last shot at the TV title tonight. (C+) Scott Casey then cut a brief promo, and stated that after tonight, there's no regrets. No matter what happens, he'll give the match against Garvin his all. (C+). The announcers then put over the significance of this match - particularly the key stipulation - this is each man's last shot at the TV title for at least 1 year. If the matches ends in a draw, both men will be out of the title picture for that long (C)

-Adrian Adonis defeated Koko B. Ware in 7:28 by pinfall (B-).

-The cameras show a surprising sight - Fritz Von Erich is backstage. This is first apperance at a WCCW event since the attack by Destruction, Inc six weeks ago. (B)

-A video package highlights the events last week between Manny Fernandez, Brian Adias, The Great Kabuki, and Magic Dragon - particularly Adias' no-showing the tag team match, and then his subsequent rescue of Manny and Mike Von Erich from the attack by The Great Kabuki & Magic Dragon (D+). The announcers mention Billy Watsons' announcement last night - Manny will face Kabuki in a steel cage match at WCCW Cage Clash next week. Gary Hart then comes out with Kabuki & Dragon, mocking Manny's inability to control his young protege. Hart says that Manny's mind is occupied with trying to help young talent, while Kabuki only cares about one thing - hurting Manny badly next Saturday night. (D+)

-Jim Garvin confidently hyped his upcoming TV title match with Scott Casey (B-)

-Ken Mantel defeated Buddy Jack Roberts in 6:33 following interference by Kevin Von Erich. (C). The announcers mentioned Kevin's three straight victories over Buddy over the last few weeks, and Buddy's attack on Kevin last night. Once again, the announcers say, Kevin is one step ahead of Roberts

-Bill Mercer interviews Fritz Von Erich in the ring. Fritz admits that as much as he hates to say it, Destruction, Inc. is just too much for him to handle at this point in his career. However, he tells Mercer that the fans haven't seen the last of Fritz yet. He's been working hard to get back the ring, and he feels like he has one last run left in him. (B-)

-WCCW Television Championship Match
Jim Garvin defeated Scott Casey in 7:30 by pinfall to win the vacant WCCW TV title. (C-) Before the match, Jim Garvin gave once last confident promo (B-).

-Super Destroyer hyped his main event match tonight with David Von Erich. He said the last time he came through WCCW, he got mixed up in Skandor Akbar's business, and that lack of focus cost him the Texas Heavyweight Title. He says this time, he's going at it alone - he's a better wrestler than David, and he'll prove it tonight. He says that Billy Watson has promised him that once he wins the title tonight, the title v. title match at Cage Clash will be a triple threat match: David v. Gordy v. Super Destroyer for both titles. (B).

-WCCW Texas Heavyweight Championship Match
David Von Erich defeats The Super Destroyer in 11:45 by DQ after Terry Gordy ran into the ring and attacked David. (B-). David makes his 4th defense of the title. Super Destroyer looked extremely irritated with Gordy's actions. Terry and David continued to brawl at ringside until they were separated (B-)

OVERALL SHOW RATING: B-

THOUGHTS

-I really liked this show. Obviously, a B- rating is very solid for me at this point, but even more than that, top to bottom, I liked how this show turned out, and how it seemed to flow. Midwest popularity increases from 51.1% to 51.5%. Texas popularity increases dips slightly from 68.1% to 68.0%.

-I need to consider bringing in the Super Destroyer full-time. I've read that there may be an outstanding bug where someone you acquire via loan won't sign a longer contract with you later because he "just left" your company. I'm not sure if that's been fixed in the latest patch. As solid as Destroyer's match with David was, his interview segment may have been even more impressive - it rated a "B" - I can't remember too many B-rated interviews. Tonight, he got a little pissed at Gordy - those two may go at it at the house show next week.

-Speaking of good interview segments - Jimmy Garvin delivered two that were rated B-. I like him better than Casey right now, that's why he has the belt. Casey will get a shot against some other guys in the company, but unless he shows me a lot, he's heading WAY down the roster.

-Poor Buddy - I make a note to give him more victories and to give him a breather, then on the very next show he ends up losing to Ken Mantel. Roberts' fatigue surely hurt the match rating there.

-No one carried about the Manny/Kabuki stuff. I still think their cage match will be great though.

-Wow - I certainly wasn't expecting a B- out of Adrian and Koko. Excellent job by both guys. Koko has been impressive thus far.

[molson]

NEWS

-Magic Dragon is back at 100%

-Our tv rating for the week is 0.74 - this is an all time ratings high for us.

-All-Japan has offered Terry Gordy a contract - apparently that'll be the next stop of his career. Fortunately, we have a working agreement with them, so we'll be able to bring Gordy in from time to time via talent trade, should he accept their offer.

-Taking a quick look at the world champions in the wrestling universe, Ric Flair is still NWA World Champion - he's 1 month away from a 2-year reign. Nick Bockwinkle is still the AWA World Champion - he needs two more months in with the belt to reach a 1-year reign.

[DaddyTorgo]

if it was me i'd tweak it so the von erich boys all had lifetime written contracts

[DeToxRox]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

if it was me i'd tweak it so the von erich boys all had lifetime written contracts

So three year contracts?

Had to.

[molson]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

if it was me i'd tweak it so the von erich boys all had lifetime written contracts

I had assumed they would all be on lifetime contracts before I started the game - it's definitely kind of strange to negotiate with Kevin on a contract extension, etc.

And the biggest risk with playing as WCCW is that in the next game year, Fritz will institute the "can't sign anyone with a drug problem" block. Then you lose all the Von Erichs when their contracts come up. (Which obivously wouldn't happen if they were on lifetime deals).

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by DeToxRox

So three year contracts?

Had to.

lol

seriously.

I think it'd make sense though...i mean from what I know they were fairly close as a family and I can't imagine any of them ever leaving, unless the promotion went under.


and as far as the 6-man tag titles...how about giving them to the villanos and having them fued with koko+his partner+a third jobber? lucha-tag-titles or whatever...

[molson]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

and as far as the 6-man tag titles...how about giving them to the villanos and having them fued with koko+his partner+a third jobber? lucha-tag-titles or whatever...

I'm definitely leaning towards making them lower card titles (hence the koko/eaton/mantel promo where they asked for a shot). Those titles are currently set as "main event" titles - technically it's WCCW's 2nd most prestigious championship. But I don't see any reason to not "demote" the belts when those lower card matches will be cheaper, and will give young guys more ring time.

I'll probably have one more show up tonight, and then I'm away for Memorial Day weekend.

[Senator]

Originally Posted by DeToxRox

Agreed. That is just a fascinating story, how the Von Erichs could be so volatile and beloved. And the tragedy they went through, just astounding.

In 83 and 84 around here they were bigger than the Dallas Cowboys. It was red hot.

[molson]

THE STARS OF WORLD CLASS ON TOUR
Monday, Week 4, August 1983
Cedar Rapids, IA. 1,000. SOLD OUT

-Pre-Show Dark Match
-WWA Heavyweight Championship Match
Steve Regal defeated Ken Mantel in 7:55 by pinfall to make his 2nd defense of the WWA title. Spike Huber interferred during the match on Regal's behalf. (C+)

-Pre-Show Dark Match
Mike Von Erich defeated Super Kendo in 5:33 by submission. (D). The two showed poor chemistry. After the match, Harry Frehley interviewed Mike Von Erich. (D+)

-Adrian Adonis defeated Bobby Eaton in 11:48 by pinfall. (C). After the match, Adonis gave a brief self-hype promo (C)

-Manny Fernandez comes out and hypes tonight's hardcore tag team match between himself/Adias & The Great Kabuki/Magic Dragon. He blames Kabuki & Dragon for Adias' erratic behavior as of late, but doesn't elaborate. He also hypes his Saturday night WCCW Cage Clash Match with Kabuki (D)

-Whipper Billy Watson comes out and states that in addition to the 3 cage matches that have already been announced for WCCW Cage Clash, the event will also feature the first round of a new six-man tag team tournament to award the vacant titles. He says that since all recent Freebird/Von Erich six-man tag matches have ended without a winner, and that since those matches have become dangerously violent, the tournament will include no Freebirds or Von Erichs. Watson goes on to state that the teams invited to take part have not been finalized, but that some interesting combinations of WCCW wrestlers have come forward to show interest. (C-)

-Buddy Jack Robers defeated Koko B. Ware in 11:46 by pinfall (B-). After the match, Buddy grabs a mic and berates Kevin Von Erich. He says it isn't enough that Kevin has cheated to beat him in 3 different matches recently, but last week, he has to interfere in Robert's match, causing him to lose to Ken Mantel. He challenges Kevin to come out to the ring, and settle this issue like a man. Kevin comes to the ring, ready to fight. Suddenly however, he is surrounded by all 3 Freebirds - it was a trap. The three beat down Kevin and throw him from the ring. (C-)

-After the match, the Freebirds stay in the ring, and cut a promo. They discuss the illustrious history of the Freebirds, who have been going strong for 4 years now. This Saturday, they claim, will be their greatest night. There will be Von Erich blood all over the steel cage, when Buddy and Hayes win the tag titles from Mike & Kevin, and when Terry Gordy then defeats David Von Erich to unify the Texas Heavyweight and American Heavyweight Championships. (C)

-Jim Garvin, the new TV champion, and Precious come to the ring, where Garvin has set up a championship celebration ceremony. He says as happy as he is about winning the title for a second time, the real winners are the WCCW fans, who will be able to observe his excellence on TV every week as he defends his title. (C-)

-Hardcore Tag Team Match
Manny Fernandez & Brian Adias defeated The Great Kabuki & Magic Dragon when Fernandez made Magic Dragon submit. (C-). Manny looked good. After the match, the other member of Hart Limited, King Kong Bundy, comes to the ring and a 3-2 attack ensues. (D)

-Fritz Von Erich comes to the ring and states he's getting close to 100%. He says that when he comes back, it won't be about revenge, and it won't be about settling old feuds. He's coming back for one reason - to make one last run at winning WCCW gold. (C)

-The Super Destroyer came out to the ring to hype his match tonight with Terry Gordy. He says he asked for the match after Gordy interfered in his match with David last week, costing him the Texas Heavyweight Title. He says that everyone in the arena knew that The Super Destroyer had the match with David won, and was just seconds away from winning the belt. Finally, he states that Billy Watson has offered the same stipulation as he did for last week's match - if Super Destroyer can beat Gordy for the American Heavyweight Title tonight, the Cage Clash main event will be a triple threat match, title v. title, between David, The Super Destroyer, and Terry Gordy (C+)

-WCCW American Heavyweight Championship Match
Terry Gordy defeated The Super Destroyer in 13:37 by pinfall to make his 8th defense of his title. (D+). The two showed poor chemistry. After the match, Terry Gordy hypes his Cage Clash Match with David, saying that he's on a roll, and can't be beaten. (C+)

Overall Show Rating: C-

THOUGHTS

-This has to be a first - the main event was the lowest rated show on the card. The WCCW "product type" has a strong face/heel divide, so the fans aren't really into these kind of matches. It was more of an experiment than anything else. Midwest popularity actually decreases slightly, from 51.5% to 51.4%.

-Another good match for Steve Regal on the pre-show - it's his highest rated match yet for me, a C+ with Ken Mantel. So he's probably already at the point where he could deliver B or B- main event matches with any of the Von Erichs. This WWA angle may have some legs after all. Speaking of Regal, his workload so far in this dynasty is pretty remarkable. Between WWA, AWA, and now WCCW, I haven't seen anyone who has wrestled as many matches as him - his record currently stands at 53-11. The one cool thing about having guys that also work for big companies elsewhere is that you get double the exposure for your workers - and Regal is getting a lot of exposure in the midwest with AWA.

-Koko impresses again - a B- with Buddy Roberts. Koko is WAY ahead of where I though he'd be. And he can play face or heel equally well. He could be a main eventer within months.

-The Freebirds essentially delivered their "Farewell promo" tonight, though only insiders would know that. The decision will be whether to keep them together (with Jimmy Garvin joining the group), or break them apart. Neither Hayes nor Roberts have particularly good ratings for playing a face.

[molson]

WORLD CLASS CHAMPIONSHIP WRESTLING (TV Taping)
Tuesday, Week 4, August 1983
San Antonio, TX: 5,000 SOLD OUT

-Buddy Roberts and Steve Regal are booked elsewhere tonight. Once again, I completely forgot about our minimal monthly conflicts and have advertised a Kevin/Mike v. Hayes/Roberts match.

-This will be another tricky show to book, since we're taping before Cage Clash, but airing after it. Of course, Cage Clash which will have the huge David v.Gordy and Kevin/Mike v. Hayes/Roberts matches, and corresponding huge angle regarding the future of the Freebirds. I'm booking as close to "kayfabe" as possible, so everyone will act as if Cage Clash hasn't happened yet. When the show airs, presumably we're either upfront about the show being taped, or the announcers are dubbed-in post-clash.

-Pre-Show Dark Match
The Great Kabuki defeats Scott Casey in 8:37 by pinfall (C+).

-Pre-Show Dark Match
Brian Adias defeated Magic Dragon in 4:54 by pinfall (C-). After the match, Harry Frehley interviewed Brian Adais. (E+)

-A music video is showed showing the recent reign of Terror of the Destruction Inc - starting with Adrian Adonis' attack on Fritz Von Erich, and highlighting their other various attacks over the last few months. (C-)

-Adrian Adonis defeated Iceman Parsons in 6:45 by pinfall (C+).

-The Super Destroyer comes to the ring. He says tonight is the last night of his most recent short-term WCCW contract, and that he'll be returning to the Central States promotion in Missouri. He says he looks forward to coming back in the near future. He then states that while his relationship with the WCCW fans hasn't always been great, he's learned to appreciate them during this run, and puts them over as the best fans in wrestling. He said that all he needed was to rid himself of Skandor Akbar. (C+). The fans don't seem to be buying this "face turn".

-Gary Hart comes to the ring. He calls The Super Destroyer an idiot, and reveals that he himself had offered his services to Super Destroyer after Akbar was fired, only to be turned down. Hart said then says that the WCCW fans only care about the Von Erichs and no one else, and anyone else who tries to pander to them or get their support is just stupid. The Super Destroyer and Gary Hart then engage in a further heated argument, and Super Destroyer shoves Hart into the turnbuckle (C+). Suddenly, Chris Adams appears and Superkicks the Super Destroyer, before checking on weather Gary Hart is OK. (C)

-Chris Adams defeats Frank Dusek in 5:38 by submission. (C). Adams still has the crowd behind him despite the presence of Hart.

-After the match, Gary Hart returns to the ring and hypes Chris Adams as the next big thing in wrestling. He says that Adams and Iceman Parsons have been an OK team, with some success, and that may continue short-term. But Hart points out that Parsons lost his match tonight, whereas Adams decisively won his match. (C+). Before the show cuts to commercial break, Bill Mercer hypes the complicated Hart/Iceman/Adams relationship. (C)

-Fritz Von Erich comes to the ring. He says that after several months of recovering from his injury, he's ready to get back in the ring. He then points out that before his injury, he had won his last 7 matches, which he feels entitles him to a TV title match with Jimmy Garvin. (B). Whipper Billy Watson comes to the ring and says that while Fritz' in-ring record prior to the injury was impressive, he won't grant him a TV title match right off the bat. He will however, set up a #1 contender match for the TV title, to take place on World Class Wrestling TV in two weeks. He says that Fritz will take on the winner of a 15-man battle royal to take place next week, to determine the #1 contender for the TV title (B-)

-Terry Gordy defeated The Super Destroyer in 10:28 by pinfall. (C-). The two showed poor chemistry.

-Michael Hayes & Jimmy Garvin come out to the ring. Hayes says that Buddy Roberts is currently in Hollywood auditioning for a movie role, so he's enlisting the help of his good friend, and the "4th Freebird", Jimmy Garvin, to take the tag teams titles from Mike & Kevin Tonight. (C+)

-WCCW American Tag Team Title Match
Kevin & Mike Von Erich drew with Michael Hayes & Jim Garvin in 11:49 following a Double DQ. Kevin & Mike make their 10th defense of the titles. (C-).

Overall Rating: D+

THOUGHTS

-Ouch. Obviously, the combination of not delivering on the advertised Buddy/Hayes v. Mike/Kevin match, and the weak main event doomed our rating. Texas popularity takes a pretty steep drop from 68.0% to 67.2%. Midwest popularity decreases from 51.4% to 51.3%. This is the 2nd straight show our midwest popularity has decreased, which will slightly delay our rise to cult status.

-Super Destroyer's odd face turn was just to help out the Gordy v. Destroyer match, which was the last of Destroyer's current run. Since the match got a C+, compared to the D+ last night, is probably worked. It also gave as a chance to continue the slow burn on Adams' (possible) heel turn. Adams is still technically a face, and he's still wrestling heels, but tonight he got to superkick a guy who was basically a tweener.

-This was the first show we referenced the Garvin/Hayes friendship, which was in place to some extent before this dynasty started. (In the mod, they're also "best friends", and have a tag team history). I'm not 100% sure how the whole Freebirds mess will sort out, but Garvin may be a potential player.

-Speaking of the Freebirds, I just looked back at Gordy's history since the dynasty started - he has wrestled 33 matches for me, and he's only been pinned once - by David in the King of Texas Wrestling Finals. We'll bring him back the second we can. Gordy is signed for another 10 days - so he'll be around through Cage Clash, as well as the following week's shows. So the outcome of the Gordy/David match is still in doubt at this point. There's a number of ways we could go in terms of explaining his absence, what to do with the titles, etc.

-The storyline started with Fritz will be his very last in a wrestling ring.

-That was a pretty good dark show match between Kabuki/Casey, though for the time being, only one of them will be pushed, and it's not the goofy Texan.

[molson]

NEWS

-WCCW makes a pretty huge splash in the new talent department, as we sign Bob Backlund to a PPA deal for $2,000/show. I had tried to sign him a few months ago, but Fritz capped out the offer at level that didn't work for Bob. Our financial success since then, as well as Backlund losing the WWF title probably budged us both a bit, to the point where we could get a deal done. This makes him our highest-paid PPA guy. The biggest upside of the signing is that Backlund comes in as our #1 most over guy in the midwest. He's also one of only a handful of guys in the current wrestling universe with an A+ rating for "wrestling basics" - this means he should be able to teach our younger guys a ton. He currently also works for the WWF and Maple Leaf Wrestling - we'll be his middle priority company between those two. Unlike say, Buddy Roberts, the extra work load shouldn't effect Bob a bit, since he has an A+ Resilience rating. I have absolutely no idea what to do with him at this point - but since this is 1983 and not 1995, his rating for playing a babyface is much higher than his heel rating. So with Gordy leaving and Backlund coming in, we may be a heel or two short. (Though it's extremely tempting to take our chances and run a Backlund v. David Von Erich storyline)

-Brian Adias arrived late to the last show. He's been fined.

-Terry Gordy has signed with All-Japan, who he'll wrestle exclusively with as soon as he's done with us. We also dodge a huge bullet here, as this signing doesn't create any conflicts with Cage Clash, or Gordy's last week with us. (If there had been a conflict, we'd be screwed, since they're now his priority).

-There's a new AWA champion, as Baron Von Raschke has defeated Nick Bockwinkle. So we haven't exactly had a "changing of the guard" yet in the pro wrestling world. The new AWA champ is 43 years old, and the WWF still has 47-year old Ray Stevens on top. The NWA champion (a title that is exclusive to Mid-Atlantic in the mod), is still 34-year old Ric Flair. The other "big 4" champion in North America is GCW's National Heavyweight Champion, 33-year old Stan Hanson. By comparison, our top guy, David, is only 25.

-The final Cage Clash Card is in place:

Title v. Title (WCCW Texas Heavyweight and American Heavyweight title both on the line)
Steel Cage Match
Terry Gordy v. David Von ERich

WCCW American Heavyweight Tag Team Title Match
Steel Cage Match
Kevin & Mike Von Erich v. Buddy Roberts & Michael Hayes

Steel Cage Rematch
The Great Kabuki v. Manny Fernandez

Also - two first-round matches in the 4-team six-man tag team championship tournament. Matchups won't be announced until night of event, but tournament will include no Von Erichs or Freebirds.

[BYU 14]

You think you could draw running Backlund VS Von Erich with both being faces?

[molson]

Originally Posted by BYU 14

You think you could draw running Backlund VS Von Erich with both being faces?

WCCW's product type has a strong face/heel divide, and Backlund can't play a heel well, so there would be a penalty either way. I'm not sure which would be bigger though, so a face v. face deal could be an option.

[Tellistto]

Enjoying this, molson. I grew up in Fort Worth, and went to many of the local shows there, along with watching this stuff on TV. As Senator said, this stuff was red hot back then. I'll be following along, enjoying the read and alternatives to what happened in RL.

Tell

[molson]

WCCW: CAGE CLASH
Saturday, Week 4, August 1983
Dallas, TX: 5,000 SOLD OUT

-I had meant to set this event to 2 hours, from its default of 90 minutes, but forgot to do so before the show began. So the matches will be shorter than I had hoped

-Pre-Show Dark Match
Scott Casey drew with Frank Dusek in 10:00 when the time limit expired (C-)

-Pre-Show Dark Match
-WWA Tag Team Championship Match
Spike Huber & Steve Regal defeat Barry Orton & Johnny Mantel in 5:43 when Regal pinned Orton. Huber & Regal make their 2nd defense of the tag team titles (D)

-Six Man Tag Championship First Round Tournament Match
Adrian Adonis & The Sheepherders defeat Iceman Parsons, Chris Adams, and Brian Adias in 4:55 when Adonis made Parsons submit. Both Gary Hart and Sunshine were in the corner of the faces. (C-). Adonis stood out as being good. After the match, Parsons is surrounded by Hart, Adias, and Adams in the ring. Hart suddenly orders both his client, Adams and Adias to attack Parsons. Adias makes the first move towards Parsons (and even picks up a chair), but Adams flat out refuses, and leaves the ring. Adias then leaves the ring as well. Hart looks disappointed, but leaves with Adams. (C-)

-Six-Man Tag Championship First Round Tournament Match
Bobby Eaton, Koko B. Ware, and Ken Mantel defeated The Villanos & Super Kendo in 4:42 when Koko pinned Villano IV. (C). After the map, Adonis and Sheepherders hit the ring to attack their future opponents in the tournament finals. The faces however, hold their own and stand up to Destruction, Inc., and the two teams brawl to the back. (D)

-Michael Hayes and Buddy Roberts hype their upcoming steel cage tag team title match with Kevin & Mike. Hayes says he'll consider the night a failure unless all Freebirds are wearing gold by the end of the show. (C)

-WCCW American Tag Team Title Match
-Steel Cage Classic Rules (Pinfall or Submission only)
Michael Hayes & Buddy Roberts defeat Kevin & Mike Von Erich in 8:55 when Hayes pinned Mike to win the WCCW American Tag Team Championship. Mike looked off his game. (C-)

-Manny Fernandez hypes his upcoming cage match with the Great Kabuki. Fernandez says he thought he had settled this issue when he beat Kabuki in a cage match back at June Star Wars, but if Kabuki wants more, Manny's glad to oblige. (C).

-Steel Cage Match: Pinfall or Submission Only
The Great Kabuki defeats Manny Fernandez in 8:32 when Kabuki pinned Manny. In the first few minutes of the match, Kabuki blinded Manny with his green mist. Manny fought bravely the rest of the match, and managed to lock on a submission move or two, but Kabuki eventually wore him down for the win. (B-) After the match, Gary Hart hyped Kabuki, noting that even though Chris Adams couldn't show a killer instinct earlier in the night, that wasn't a problem for Kabuki. (C+)

-Terry Gordy hypes his upcoming title v. title match with David. He states that he's glad the two are in the cage, because tonight, it's not about the Von Erichs, it's not about the Freebirds, it's about seeing who is the best in WCCW. Gordy doesn't want his inevitable victory tainted in the slightest way. (B). David then hyped the match as well. (B-)

-WCCW Title v. Title Match (American & Texas Heavyweight Championships)
-Steel Cage Match - pinfall or submission only.
David Von Erich defeats Terry Gordy in 20:38 by pinfall to win the American Heavyweight Title, and make his 5th defense of the Texas Heavyweight Title. (B+) During the match, when the referee had been knocked unconscious, Michael Hayes tried to interfere by throwing a steel cage into the ring at a time when Gordy had the advantage. Gordy looked angry, refused to use the chair, and threw it back outside the cage toward Hayes, who looked pissed.

-After the match, Hayes pulls an exhausted Gordy from the cage and starts yelling at him. Gordy quickly has enough and shoves Hayes to the ground before walking off. (B-)

-Meanwhile, in the ring, David is celebrating with his 2 title belts, as well as his brothers, Fritz, Ken Mantel, Sunshine, and Brian Adias. (C-)

OVERALL SHOW RATING: B-

THOUGHTS:

-Our big main event can't quite break the A- barrier, but it is still a very solid match, and positions Hayes as the new leader of the Freebirds. Everything will be sorted out in the next two shows. Texas Popularity dips slightly from 67.2% to 67.1%.

-I'm liking the Hart/Adams/Parsons/Adias angle, even though it isn't drawing huge ratings. Adias has shown to be slightly more evil than Adams to this point, though both are still faces.

-The Kabuki v. Manny cage match wasn't as good as their last cage match (B- v. B), and that might because of my time length screw up, and the fact that they only went 8 or 9 minutes. Still, I think I've been under-utilizing Kabuki somewhat. This will be the start of a new push for him. It's a big opportunity with Gordy heading out.

-Mike and Kevin ended up holding on to the tag team titles for a little over 4 months, making 10 title defenses. The best match of their reign was a C+ against Buddy and Gordy back in May. Otherwise, they've been mostly around C-. Hopefully the run helped out Mike's long-term development.

-As of now, the plan is not to unify the American and Texas Heavyweight Titles, but have David defend both for the near future, out of respect to lineage of each title. At the beginning of the next month, I'm going to try to clarify the whole WCCW title situation (the restrictions and prestige of each belt, and who gets title shots when and why).

[molson]

NEWS

-TV rating for the latest show is 0.64. That's off from the last couple of weeks, but still a strong number.

-Kamala once again rejects negotiations for us. He's one of the real-life WCCW guys I check in with from time to time.

-WWF Champion Ray Stevens will be retiring soon - it will be interesting to see who gets the belt. I'm guessing Andre the Giant, since the old school owners seem so reluctant to put the top belt on the younger guys (Hogan, Piper, JYD)

-The new TV schedules are out, and WWA (Puerto Rico) has lost it's slot. Joint Promotions in the UK is having serious financial difficulties. While that might not seem like a big deal, they're one of the "Big 7" world promotions who has reached Cult Status. If they eventually go under, there may be an influx of British talent in the US, as well as an opportunity for eventual international expansion for WCCW.

-Our own TV show is entering it's last season under our current contract, which is set to end 3 months. I'm not to worried about re-signing with them, but if we can get to Cult status in 56 days, when networks start accepting negotiation requests, we might be able to either get on a new station with a broader reach, or get a second tv station to cover our show in a different region.

[molson]

WCCW MONTH IN REVIEW: AUGUST, 1983

POPULARITY

-Popularity in Texas 67.1% (Down from 69.2% last month)
-Popularity in Midwest 51.3% (Up from 48.9% last month)
-Popularity goal to get to or maintain Cult Status (53.1%) A 2.4% jump in the midwest this month, which is about halfway between our jumps of the previous two months. That leaves us only 1.8% from achieving cult status. We should reach that this month, probably earlier than later now that Bob Backlund is onboard. Texas popularity drops another 2.1%, which is our largest monthly drop in Texas. This is still not a huge concern, and is expected since we're pushing the midwest so heavily.

FINANCES

Income (Last month in parenthesis):

Ticket Sales: 439,780 (394,000)
Sponsors: 15,938 (15,523)
Merchandise: 4,290 (5,280)

Expenses:

Worker Costs: 201,325 (222,475)
Show Costs: 86,500 (79,500)
Marketing: 500 (500)
Merchandise: 3,768 (4,510)
Production: 35,800 (35,800)
Misc: 131,000 (1,000)

Total Profit: $1,115 (71,018)
Cash in Bank: $1,076,108 (1,074,993)

-Obviously, the biggest expense this month was in the "Misc." category, where we spent $130,000 to buy out WWA. Even with that, we still turned a slight profit.
-I make one slight upgrade in our financial model - increasing the quality of our merchandise from "Standard" to "Above Average". Just another small step forward that our bottom line seems well-equipped to handle at this point.
-Worker costs went down, which was part of a conscious effort to run longer matches, use fewer guys per show, and give our main eventers the occasional night off.
-We're in a great position financially - turning a profit and having plenty of money in the bank for future buy-outs.

[molson]

WCCW CHAMPIONS - END OF August, 1983

-Texas Heavyweight Champion - 90.9% Prestige (up from 89.3% last month)
Main Event Title
David Von Erich - 5 title defenses, 3-month reign

-American Heavyweight Champion - 71.0% Prestige (up from 70.0% last month)
Main Event Title
David Von Erich - 0 title defenses, 2-day regin

-Television Champion - 60.6% Prestige (up from 60.2% last month)
Midcard Title
Jimmy Garvin - 0 title defenses, 2-week reign

-American Tag Team Champions - 70.0% Prestige (same as last month)
Midcard Title
Buddy Roberts & Michael Hayes - 0 title defenses, 2-day reign

-Six-Man Tag Team Champions - 69.5% Prestige (Down from 70.0% last month)
Midcard Title
Vacant

-I made a few changes in the structure of the titles over the last few weeks. The American Heavyweight Title has been promoted to a "main event title". WCCW now has two main event titles, currently unified, but subject to being broken up again. Whenever they're broken up, there will be a tendency towards re-unification. The Texas Heavyweight Title will continue to be defended only in Texas, whereas the American Heavyweight Title can be defended anywhere. Perhaps the American title could be renamed the "Midwest" Title, and then when they're unified, they're referred to as the "American Heavyweight Title".
-The Six-Man Tag title has been demoted to "midcard title", so it can be feuded amongst the younger, cheaper guys who can use the exposure. The finals of the six-man tournament, featuring Koko/Eaton/Mantel v. Adonis/Sheepherders will be held in the next couple of weeks.
-The TV title still kind of bothers me, as does any title that seems to have a built-in assumed "lower prestige" where top guys don't go after it. I'd rather have lower titles have some type of restriction that has that effect in a more specific and defined way (the game allows restrictions via weight, age, etc.). We'll keep it around for now, as we just started a Fritz/Garvin program, but I'll try to come up with something better after that.
-I'm also considering some type of structured means by which title challengers are determined - maybe a monthly top 5 challengers list or something, combined with champions being able to defend against lower guys if they so choose (to boost up title defenses and momentum).

[molson]

ROSTER: END OF AUGUST, 1983

-Other than Backlund, no huge changes in the roster this month. The end of next months will mark 6 months into the dynasty, at which time I take a closer look at the skill progress of some of the younger guys. So this may be the last chance for the lower guys of the roster to prove themselves.

MAIN EVENTERS

Bob Backlund
Adrian Adonis
David Von Erich
Manny Fernandez
Michael Hayes
Terry Gordy

-Gordy will be out next week. Backlund is the addition from last month. Kerry Von Erich has been bumped down. It's probably not permanent, but haven't been using him like a main eventer, so he's down a notch for now. I have made a decision on Bob Backlund - he'll come in as a heel, and feud with the Von Erichs. It's a bit risky, but with Gordy out, we really need a top heel. Hayes is fine, but he can't really work main-event caliber matches. Otherwise, we just have Adonis on the heel side. So Backlund will come in as an arrogant "mat technician", coming to Dallas to put the Von Erichs in their place. His gimmick is "wrestling machine", which he's terrifically suited for.

UPPER MIDCARDERS

Kevin Von Erich
Kerry Von Erich
Butch Miller
Luke Williams
The Great Kabuki
Jim Garvin
Buddy Jack Roberts

-Kerry is the addition here, otherwise, it's the same group as last month. My road agent actually thinks Kabuki should be a main eventer. I won't go that far with him yet, but it's time for a single's push. The Sheepherders have been disappointing thus far, they may just be better suited for a product type with a little more violence. I also don't have a whole lot of great matchups for them (they do best with "brawlers"). Buddy and Kevin are in the middle of their feud. Kevin & Kerry are essentially in a competition for the #2 Von Erich. Kerry's overall stats are a little better, but Kevin is more over in the midwest.

MIDCARDERS

Iceman Parsons
Chris Adams
King Kong Bundy
Bobby Eaton
Scott Casey
Steve Regal
Koko B. Ware
Spike Huber

-Ken Mantel and Brian Adias have been demoted from this group since last month, while Koko B. Ware and Bobby Eaton have moved up. Steve Regal and Spike Huber have also debuted since last month. Adams has certainly got a big opportunity with me so far, first by decisively winning his feud with Bundy, and then by getting the Gart Hart angle. It appears his popularity has increased slightly in both the midwest and Texas. Koko and Ware have been very good so far. Regal has earned the chance to stick around, though he and Huber will continue to defend the WWA titles on the pre-show for now. Iceman has very much been booked weakly thus far in this dynasty, he keeps losing and getting beatup. Casey and Bundy have been largely forgotten.

LOWER MIDCARDERS

Magic Dragon
Mike Von Erich
Brian Adias
Ken Mantel
Frank Dusek

-Mantel and Adias are demoted in favor of Ware and Eaton. That's not due to dissapointment with either guy - Adias has increased his popularity by a full letter grade in Texas, and even more than that in the midwest. He'll be a solid midcarder by the end of the year at least. Mantel might get swapped back up for Casey if he has a good month

OPENERS

Villano IV
Villano V
Super Kendo
Barry Orton

-Orton moves up to join the Mexicans, on the advice of my road agent. I still don't see any kind of future for him. Villano V has seen the greatest popularity increase of the Mexicans, and is clearly the best of the group. I don't know how much sense it makes to keep Gory Guerrero on for $1,875 just to manage these guys, but I am going to start to run shows in Mexico before to long, so I'd like to keep along. Once I get to Cult, I also might be able to get a bigger Mexican star for him to manage, like Mil Mascaras or Chavo Guerrero.

ENHANCEMENT TALENT

Johnny Mantel

-Now all alone at the bottom of the roster, Johnny is still damn cheap at $100/show. Even at E+ popularity in the midwest and E- in Texas, he's still better known than anyone else I could get at that value (he's actually increased his midwest popularity a full letter grade since I took over)

OCCASIONAL WRESTLER

Checkmate

He hasn't won a match in 3 months, but he'll continue to teach the young guys. He'll also have the chance to face off with Bob Backlund here and there, since those 2 are the only two guys on the roster with the wrestling style of "technician" - they should be able to have some good matches.

OTHERS

Sunshine
Skandor Akbar
Gory Guerrero
Precious
Gary Hart
Bill Mercer
Harry Frehley
Marc Lowrance
Whipper Billy Watson
David Manning
Bronco Lubich
Waldo Von Erich
Fritz Von Erich

-Waldo has clearly been pushed to the background in Destruction Inc. - it'll be job city for him and maybe a few more matches with Fritz before he's gone. Sunshine is technically managing David Von Erich, Iceman Parsons, and Chris Adams, but she hasn't done much of note recently (though she'll play a part in the Adams/Hart angle). Gory might be better served as a road agent than a manger - he's one of the most respected names in wrestling. If I can't land a top Mexican talent for him to manage when I reach Cult Status, that's where he'll go.

WRESTLER CONFLICTS - SEPTEMBER 1983

I seem to forget these every month, but I'll try to keep them organized once again. Wrestlers who consider other companies their priority, and their potential unavailability dates:

-Bob Backlund (WWF; Sun, Thu, last Sat)
-Buddy Jack Roberts (AWA; Wed, Fri, first Sat)
-Gory Guerrero (CMLL; Last Friday)
-Magic Dragon (MACW; Wed, Fri, last Sat)
-Gary Hart (MACW; Wed, Fri, last Sat)
-Michael Hayes (WWF; Sun, Thu, last Sat)
-Steve Regal (AWA; Wed, Fri, first Sat)
-Terry Gordy (All-Japan; Fri, second Sat)
-The Great Kabuki (MACW)

The big problem here is we have a handful of guys working the night of our scheduled "Labor Day Star Wars" event at the end of September. That's a 2 1/2 hour "highly regarded" event - one of our "Big 5". So i've moved it up to the 3rd week of Saturday, which doesn't give us much time to build heat for that event's matches.

WRESTLER COMPLAINTS

-Barry Orton (Unhappy with how he has been pushed)
-The Great Kabuki (Unhappy with how he has been pushed)
-Waldo Von Erich (Unhappy with how many shows he's been un-used)

So we've managed to keep almost everyone happy. The only concern there is Kabuki, who's contract is up in 2 months. He'll get a chance right away.

[molson]

WCCW STORYLINES - END OF AUGUST, 1983

Storylines with participants, in order of current heat:

1. David v. Gordy; Title Unification (David, Gordy)
2. Fritz's last run (Fritz, Jimmy Garvin)
3. Destruction Inc., Reign of Terror (Adonis, Sheepherders)
4. Hart tries to turn Adams (Adams, Iceman, Hart, Sunshine, Mercer, Ken Mantel, Frank Dusek, Checkmate)
5. Gory mentors Mexicans (Gory Guerrero, Villanos, Super Kendo)
6. Kevin v. Buddy (Kevin, Roberts)
7. Manny/Adias team & their struggles (Manny, Adias, Kabuki, Dragon, Lowrance, Mike Von Erich).
8. WWA Invasion (Spike Huber, Steve Regal)

[molson]

THE STARS OF WORLD CLASS ON TOUR
Monday, Week 1, September 1983
St. Louis, MO. 1,000. SOLD OUT

-Pre-Show Dark Match
-WWA Tag Team Championship Match
Steve Regal & Spike Huber defeat Mike Von Erich & Ken Mantel in 8:54 when Regal pins Mike. Regal & Huber make their 3rd defense of the tag team titles. Mike looked off his game (D). After the match, Regal & Huber grab their belts, and then strike the losers with them, sending them from the ring (D). After the match, the WWA tag champ cut a promo - they're still pissed that the relegated to the pre-show, and state that if WCCW won't respect their titles, they'll make sure that the losers who they beat up with the belts do. (D)

-Pre-Show Dark Match
Magic Dragon defeated Johnny Mantel in 2:58 by pinfall in a dominating victory (C-). The two showed good chemistry.

-As the show begins, David Von Erich comes to the ring, surrounded by WCCW faces and officials, to celebrate his first apperance as unified Texas/American Heavyweight Champion. He briefly thanks the fans. Suddenly, a man with a hooded sweatshirt concealing his identity enters the ring. He faces David, and congratulates him on his win. He then tells him that while holding the Texas & American Heavyweight tiles is impressive, he's still not a WORLD champion. The man then removes his hood to reveal himself as Bob Backlund. Everyone in the ring appears shocked. He puts down David and WCCW, telling him that he'd never even make it "up north". David then goes on the offensive, punching Backlund, before the two are quickly separated. (B-)

-Fritz Von Erich defeats Villano IV in 4:39 by submission in his first match since his injury two months ago. (C-)

-Checkmate & Frank Dusek defeat Manny Fernandez & Brian Adias in 8:57 when Brian Adias is DQ'd after losing his temper and striking Dusek with a chair. (C). Manny looked good. After the match, Manny cuts a promo with Adias by his side. He says he knows some are concerned about Adias' recent violent streak, but says that such toughness is necessary in WCCW when you're doing battle with the likes of The Great Kabuki. Manny says he'll be able to keep Adias under control (C).

-Michael Hayes & Buddy Roberts come to the ring to celebrate their first apperance as new WCCW American Heavyweight Tag Team Champions. Hayes said that Cage Clash should have been the Freebirds' greatest night. However, while Hayes & Buddy delivered, Hayes says, Gordy couldn't get the job done. Gordy has a rematch with David tonight, continued Hayes, but he'll probably blow that chance too. Hayes recaps how he did everything he could do to help Gordy win (including throwing a chair into the cage), but that Gordy refused Hayes' help. Hayes says Gordy has lost his edge, and that the Freebirds need a new leader - namely, Hayes himself. Hayes invites Gordy to stick around with the Freebirds, as long as he "knows his role". (C). Hayes then says that due to Gordy's failure, the Freebirds need some new blood - and some new championship gold. He then introduces the newest member of the Freebirds, the WCCW Television Champion, Jimmy Garvin, who comes to the ring with Precious. The three men (still no sign of Gordy) hype their new alliance (C)

-Iceman Pasons defeated King Kong Bundy in 6:37 by pinfall. (D+). Bundy was tiring towards the end of the match. After the match, Bill Mercer comes to the ring to interview Parsons and Sunshine. Mercer points out that the manager in the opposite corner tonight, Gary Hart, has recently been in Parsons' own corner as Chris Adams' "advisor" when Parsons teams with Adams. Parsons says he can't read Adams' mind, but Adams has to do what he thinks is best for his career. He then states that at Cage Clash, when Hart ordered Adams to attack Parsons, and Adams refused, it said a lot about the character of both Hart and Adams. Still, said Parsons, he doesn't trust Hart's influence over Adams, and he'll be watching his back. (D)

-WCCW American Heavyweight Championship Match
David Von Erich defeats Terry Gordy in 33:50 by pinfall to make his 1st defense of his title. (C+). After the match, a beaten Gordy goes over to David and offers a handshake, which David accepts. (C). Suddenly, Michael Hayes storms to the ring to confront Gordy, as David looks on. Hayes says that he WAS willing to let Gordy back into "HIS" Freebirds, but shaking hands with a Von Erich is the last straw - he's out of the group. He then challenges him to a match at tomorrow's TV taping. Gordy accepts, and but increases the stakes - the winner will have undisputed control of the Freebirds, since the loser must leave WCCW for 6 months. Hayes agrees. The two men leave the ringside area, leaving David alone in the ring. (C+).

-Right when David is about to leave, he is suddenly attacked from behind by Bob Backlund, who slaps a chicken wing on David for a few moments before leaving. (C+)

Overall Show Rating: C+

-That show was absolutely loaded from a storyline standpoint, and it happened in front of only 1,000 Missouri fans and it wasn't on TV. This is another part of my "kafaybe" style of booking, where "stuff" is as likely to happen off TV as it is on TV. Wrestlers and announcers will presumably make reference to important events on the TV show (with highlights) as necessary. Midwest popularity increases from 51.3% to 51.7%.

-I'm pretty sure the opening segment with Backlund was my first ever segment in the midwest that reached B- popularity. Backlund should be a big draw for us up there, but he does have limited overness in Texas.

-David & Gordy were a little disappointing at C+ after the B+ at Cage Clash, though this match of course didn't have our home fanbase behind it. The "New" Freebirds are an overall step down from the originals, but Hayes deserves a shot at a more prominent role.

-This was the 4th Tag team match between Dusek/Checkmate & Adias/Manny, and this was their highest rated. Adias is definitely improving.

-Iceman/Bundy was Iceman's worst single's match since our very first show. Bundy's just lost in the ring right now. I'll stick with him, if only because he has a full year left on his contract.

NEWS

-We tweaked a handful of gimmicks in this show, at the advice of my road agent. All of my options were limited because I didn't want to take any of these guys of camera for any period of time: Spiker Huber is now a "Sidekick" (for Steve Regal), Steve Regal is now "That 70s guy" - I'm picturing a subtle disco character which kind of fits the nickname "Mr. Electricity"; King Kong Bundy is now a "Silent Bodyguard", and Jim Garvin is now a "Rock Star".