The Freebirds/Von Erich feud gets a shot in the arm. 2/3 falls with a big hot crowd at the county fairgrounds. I’ve heard a lot of people are high on this one.

It should be noted that before this match, at the 6/17/83 Reunion Arena show, Ice Man King Parsons had a hair match with Buddy Roberts and ended up smearing the “Freebird Hair removal” cream all over Roberts head at the end. The Freebirds come out to “Georgia on My Mind” to lots of boos. Roberts has on boxing protective head gear to cover up, though it doesn’t appear they even made him shave his head.

Two great things before the match begins: Mark Lawrence on commentary and the Freebird/Von Erichs having a subtle ring wear fashion battle. The match starts out slower than their recent battles; I’d characterize it as more traditional tag structure, especially the way they give early match ups the highlight personalities. Kerry and Hayes, the leaders, go first. That gives way to David and Gordy, the enforcers, with Gordy bumping around, than Kevin gets tagged in, and Roberts needs the other two to gain the advantage. The Freebirds get the heat on Kevin, showing some personality, as we hit the five minute mark.

The Freebirds get nasty, so Kerry and David jump in. They get in shots, but Hayes smartly grounds Kevin once the ref separates everyone. Great timing as the fans were fired up from the faces coming in, so the crowd response was there, and it was safe to bring it down for thirty seconds. When Kevin powers out, he gives the hot tag to David, who clears out Hayes and Roberts, delivers his big knee, then gets nailed with a big crossbody off the top from Gordy. 1-2-3, Gordy pins David. The Von Erichs are down one fall.

The seconds falls starts with a motivated David frustrating the hell out of the Freebirds. The ‘birds played there characters so well, they are definitely the real reason the Von Erichs were so over. Hayes’s bumping and selling has periodically bothered me the whole set, but here it’s not to bad. The Freebirds eat a Von Erich triple dropkick, but manage to tag in and out to keep David trapped. Hot tag to Kerry, and he really shines clearing the ring as all the Freebirds bump like crazy for him. Roberts thumbs Kerry’s eyes, so now he’s the third member of the three man brothers to play FIP (Face in peril). Gordy does the most interesting and intense damage with the quick tags in and out. Roberts, who looks suspect in singles matches, is fine here because of the quick tags.

I’ll take this time to give my only flaws of the Freebirds after watching almost ten of their matches (and a ton of their Mid South stuff): Hayes bumping/selling—or more to the point his dancing selling while standing—is suspect at times. Roberts offense, especially punches, can look bad at times. Gordy is a monster who over bumps, in my opinion, for a man of his size at times. Because they usually have matches as a unit, and they usually have capable opponents, these (perceived) weaknesses are usually hidden or nullified. In short, they are mostly awesome.

Gordy’s cheering at ringside when he thinks Hayes has Kerry pinned to end the match is priceless, as is his reaction to the kick out. Kerry’s FIP stuff is the most dramatic, which is good for this point in the match, as the Freebirds desperately try to stop him from getting to his corner—especially the undersized Roberts.
Kerry breaks free a moment later when Kevin takes care of Hayes/Gordy interference, and Kerry/David double-chop Roberts for the pin at 7:13 of the second fall. We’ve seen roughly 15 minutes of wrestling and each team has a fall as we go into the final.

Interesting turn of events as the Von Erichs continue to beat up the Freebirds following the second fall: Senior Ref David Manning is mad at both teams for constant interference. He says this is for the six man world belts, but he’ll DQ the next team that doesn’t tag in a guy legally. He asks ref Bronco Lubich to come out so there can be two officials to follow the action. Manning is a little self-important at times for a WCCW official. Hayes, of course, hates this. Old Bronco gets to shove the Freebirds to the delight of arena fans.

Kerry beats the piss out of Roberts, so Gordy comes in and works over Kerry something fierce. The crowd is on fire. This doesn’t feel like my favorite match on the set, but it feels very important. I think I’ve seen better work at times in shorter bursts from everyone involved, but here it’s laid out over three falls and given some time. I feel like I’m resisting something that might be classic, perhaps looking for holes because I’m not fully sucked in (I was with both Flair/Kerry matches, Kevin/Flair, Gordy/Kerry, and some of the tag matches in this feud.)

This match is so hot that they get huge heat for Kerry selling a bear hug from Hayes. Gordy picks up the bearhug once Hayes is tossed to the corner. The fans are waiting on the hot tag. They give you a hope spot, and Gordy carries Kerry back to Freebird country. Roberts loses the bearhug for the team, but Hayes tags in and cuts him off. Lawrence comments that this is the fourth Freebird against the same Von Erich, which is true, as they’ve “batted around” as they say in baseball. Finally, Kevin gets the hot tag, can’t get the Iron Claw on Hates face, so he does the claw to the abdomen (which I hate, but it’s a taste thing. The fans love it.) We’re five minutes into the the third fall. Gordy cheats on the apron, ten tags in. He’s a monster in this one. Pile driver tease leads to a Kevin comeback, but he smashes into David Manning in believable fashion going under a Hayes leapfrog. Hayes kicks him out to the floor while Kevin is confused. The match breaks down as everyone is in the ring, and Mark Lawrence comments he hopes there’s no disqualification. The fight rages in the ring, but Kevin—on the outside—trips up Hayes running the ropes, then climbs to the top rope and delivers his signature twisting crossbody for the pinfall in roughly twenty-two minutes. I guess they needed that second ref after all.

I said my piece about this above. I’m guessing there will be a big moment to rank this number one or close, and it is a great match (I liked it even more by the end), I just don’t think this is the best match on the set. Maybe it is and I’m thinking of flashes of greatness from matches with worse finishes and shorter stages. I think it’s fair to praise this as the quintessential Von Erich/Freebird match, and I can’t go lower than four stars, but a part of me thinks some of the singles title matches with angle finishes were better in the body of the match. I might have to watch this again at the end of the process. 4 stars and 8.2/10.

EDIT: This has since been moved ahead of the Flair/Kerry matches, this being nearly perfect and the defining feud of World Class week in and week out for years.

The big rematch from Reunion Arena. Three times the Texas Title has been held up after three Garvin/David matches. Will we finally get a winner on a big show?

David clearly likes being a rock star to the fanbase, but to me he’s kind of a dork jock. Still, he’s far more likable to that fanbase than Garvin (who I get a kick out of). These two have a very active opening thirty seconds. Garvin is trying to get this over as soon as possible, but David has counters. Pin attempts come from both parties. Garvin grounds David with the hammerlock, trying to gain a pin, and David shows off a nice head bridge out of the pin. This is slower and looser than some of the other stuff from the same time period, so my mind is wandering a little. The crowd isn’t as hot for it either, though there’s nothing actively bad about it. Something about this match isn’t quite fluid.

Garvin gets control after David stalls out, and—as Von Erich’s are apt to do—comes back with punches. David hits the running high knee (his big move) and goes for the pin (which I like psychologically). Garvin is in the ropes, so we get an Iron Claw tease (in the ropes again). Garvin gains control and this sags as a sleeper is applied. They had me for a minute, but the sleeper just didn’t feel right to me. David tries to power out, and Garvin pulls him down by the hair. I love that. David comes back with some heavy offense and a sleeper of his own at the ten minute mark. Garvin reaches the ropes.

Garvin hits an elbow smash that David kicks out of at one. I’ve seen all the Von Erichs do this on the set (kick out at one) and I’m on the fence as to whether I find it appropriate or not. It goes quickly and somewhat anti-climactically from there. David tries a crossbody off the rope and gets sent throat-first on the ropes. Garvin pins, David kicking out. Feels like the middle of the match. Garvin tries again and David puts his foot on the ropes. Sunshine pushes them off. Garvin wins. No one was expecting the finish there. That didn’t elicit an emotion from me. Crap finish.

But wait!

Marc Lowrence announces the NWA officials saw the interference. They told ref Bronco Lubich. They’ve decided the title is held up a fourth time. Garvin flips out in ring. I’m waiting for the restart, but it doesn’t come. A complete disappointment for me. 2 ¾ stars and 5.4/10.

Bill Mercer on commentary mentions that this was supposed to be a rematch with Flair, but Flair lost the belt to Race shortly before. I’m a little disappointed myself, being such a big fan of the 4/1/83 Flair/Kevin match. Harley is the seven time World Champion at this point, he gets booed, and they are keeping the over top rope is legal in this match. That’s a holdover from the Flair/Kevin match where it had happened a few times. Not sure why that stip is part of this match, but it’s also mentioned that if Race loses by DQ he loses the belt too.

The first minute is the best thing I’ve ever seen from Race, as they go headlock to the ropes, Race ducks a leapfrog, eats a perfect dropkick, and realistically feeds into Kevin’s twisting cross body from the top rope. Race staggers to the floor and Kevin soaks up the cheers. So well timed. They also take the heel-suplex-into-the-Von-Erich-drop-behind -for- a-sleeper spot. I loved it in the Flair matches, and it works here.
Race’s rough and tumble style works well with a Von Erich, especially Kevin, not only for Race’s size (he’s bigger than Kevin), but because Kevin is rough himself, and his athleticism allows for a great stylistic match up. Race is slower, and him going over the top doesn’t look as fluid as it should, but that’s my only complaint in the first few minutes.

Race is bumping and selling for Kevin well, and Kevin comes off looking great when he’s in control. Kevin gets several near falls on Race, which they hammer home on commentary. Basically he’s shocking Race, and Race will have to withstand the quick onslaught and slow the pace down to win. It does get sloppy because of Kevin, combined with Race not being as athletic and not being as cooperative as a modern match might be (he struggles more, doesn’t allow himself to easily go with things because the spots weren’t worked out ahead of time. Race isn’t in this territory full time.) Kevin clamps on the Iron Claw at the five minute mark, and Race sends him to the outside.

Kevin twice so far has insisted on jumping up onto a standing Race with a body scissors, trying for I guess some sort of shoulder lock, and both times it’s ended looking like a mess. It’s bringing down the quality of the match for me, though I’m sure another person could argue that them falling to a heap on the ground adds realism. Race is the glue of this match for sure. He sends Kevin outside to stop the Von Erich’s momentum, then Harley falls to his knees at the ropes selling the damage he’s taken. That little detail enhances the match story for me. Kevin comes back in selling the left shoulder heavily. Great job by Kevin to to use that arm, and when he moves it he grasps it. Harley goes to work on the bum wing, giving Kevin short effective comebacks, but stays on the shoulder. At the ten minute mark Race destroys Kevin with a well executed shoulder breaker to the knee.

The way Race roughs up the shoulder, and the way Kevin sells it, leads to the ref Manning to stop the match and check on the shoulder. Kevin continues, getting hope spots, including Race finally helping him with the body scissors spot. Race’s second double axe-handle from the ropes is met with the Iron Claw, which oddly enough Race sells like a sleeper. He “Tullys” Kevin through the ropes to the floor. David is out to check on his brother, and David is so dumb he keeps grabbing the injured shoulder, so Kevin finally sells it as such. Race drops tough knees on the shoulder when Kevin rolls back in, and then while kicking Kevin through the ropes he catches David. Hothead David screws up his brother’s title shot by climbing into the ring, tossing the ref, and going after Race. David nails the high knee and gets to punching Race from the mount. Several refs have to pull him off. It’s a DQ win for Race, and I guess I’ll agree that Kevin wasn’t going to win anyway given the shoulder.

David cuts a promo on Race while Race lays in the ring, the visual bordering on heelish, as David says Race couldn’t beat a one-armed Kevin, and it’s David’s shot at the title next. He doesn’t care if it’s Race or Flair, if he can’t win, he’ll quit wrestling. Obviously this was the beginning of the mythical David Von Erich title quest that was cut short by his death half a year later.

The match itself had good work, they it came loose on several occasions. The story was there, and I’m coming around on the finish and angle at the end as a storytelling device. Still, viewed as a match (like I try to do), the ending sure didn’t satisfy. I came away from this (coupled with the Kerry/Race match on the extras from summer ’82) a much bigger Race fan than I was. 3 ¼ stars and 6.6/10.

I’ve been waiting for this singles match up all set. This is no DQ, with Kevin seconding Kerry, and Hayes seconding Gordy (his tag team championship partner, as they are set to defend against Kerry and Bruiser Brody at a big show coming up.)

There is a mention of a Brass Knuckles Championship, and Gordy is wearing the belt. Regardless, this is all used to forward the Von Erich/Freebird feud. Right away I’m struck with how tight the punches and whips to the ropes are. It’s got that “real for wrestling” feel to it. They go toe-to-toe, but and forth, Kerry having the slight edge as a babyface usually does in these tales. Kerry goes to work on the knee of Gordy. He’s chopping the big man down, and I’m a huge fan of an athletic guy verses a big man who can move (Flair vs Vader, Danielson vs Morishima, HBK vs Undertaker). Gordy tosses Kerry over the top rope (no DQ). Kerry, the hero, picks himself up, chases Hayes away, and goes right back at Gordy with punches. Gordy’s got a cut on his forhead, and Kerry grounds him to work on the knee again. This is developing so well stylistically. Gordy comes back with big punches that send Kerry to the ground, selling. Crowd gets behind Kerry and he flattens Gordy with a discuss punch. If only the back bumps were a bit more modern this would fit in so nicely in 2010, nearly thirty years later. It’s that good of a knockdown, drag out.

Gordy, the Dragon (in tribute to Akbar’s Dragon/Dragon slayer from “Hereos of World Class”), won’t be slain. He keeps coming back and stalking the smaller Von Erich. Gordy has a great big knee drop that he used to gain a near fall. They make sure to show a cowboy hat wearing Hayes cheer on Gordy, the crowd all the while chanting “Go Kerry Go.” Gordy driving his knee into Kerry in the corner is visceral as hell. Kerry comes back with a beautiful drop kick, hulks up (disregards selling, which is a taste thing, but I don’t like it here), and slaps on the Iron Claw. Hayes waits for Kevin to go up on the apron like he has, then while the ref is distracted (isn’t it no DQ? Maybe I’ve watched too much original ECW in my day) he climbs in and hits Kerry. Kevin gives chase to Hayes, the ref on the outside trying to stop them. Kerry grabs Hayes, and Gordy destroys him with a high knee.

Now I’m annoyed. The match is clipped for commercials here, and when we come back Gordy gets the pin. As small as it is it interrupted my flow watching it, but worse for the match no one was expecting the finish and it had no heat. Gordy gets the clean pin, which I like because of how the story went down, but the ending was flat for me. I see myself liking this a little more than most would. It had a raw feel to it and Kerry was very good (sans the forgivable no-sell), while Gordy was amazing. I’m buying the Gordy hype now more than ever, and he’s even better here than in some of his great Mid South work. This is slightly above the penalty box match for me. 3 ¼ stars and 6.9/10.

In the intro to the Von Erichs for this match announcer Bill Mercer delivers his classic line that was immortalized in the World Class documentary, Heroes of World Class: “And now let’s turn our attention to that sound of up-beat young America.” Need I say more about the awesome era of World Class I am now covering?

I like elimination matches, and this has a strong faction feud to give the stip more weight and purpose. Big brawl at the onset, and it seems like there aren’t any rules to this match. Everyone in the ring at once, Gordy attempts a pile driver on Parsons and Kevin cross bodies him. All the faces pile on Gordy for the three count. The audience explodes at this. Everything is over in this one. Very violent, realistic brawl. The Von Erichs really take it to the Freebirds, but Garvin and the Birds stiff them. Iceman gets dogpiled on, and he’s eliminated. This has the feel of a high-end original ECW brawl, if it stayed in the ring. David Von Erich is sent over the top rope and he’s eliminated. Mercer then explains you can get eliminated over the top, being pinned, or submitting. Garvin taunts his rival David after sending him over the top, and then Kevin kicks Garvin over. So he’s eliminated, and Garvin and David brawl on the outside.

So we’ve got Kerry/Kevin vs Roberts/ Hayes, and Buddy chokes the heck out of Kerry. Kerry comes back with a sleeper. This is really great stuff for this style of match. Kevin gets a nearfall on Roberts, and you get the feeling this could end at any time. They are keeping up a hell of a good pace with stiff work.

Not a lot more to describe, as they brawl around for a while, and there is some logic and skill to it, but it’s generally not technical stuff. A lot of elbows, knees, punches, and kicks. Several Von Erich Iron Claw attempts are made. Kevin goes over the top and holds on, flipping himself back in to hysterical screams of women. Each team uses sleepers effectively to give themselves a break while keeping the fans involved. I must admit I am getting a little bored of the brawl. I need a little more structure to my matches. There is more excitement from me as things start to slow down, and moves seemed time from one part of the ring (Buddy vs Kevin) to the other (Kerry vs Hayes). This thing goes back and forth so many times you don’t know who is going to win, legit. The faces look great, but the heels aren’t backing down. In fact, Kerry misses a a dropkick and Hayes comes off the ropes with an axe handle, then pin. Kerry is eliminated, and the Freebirds gang up on Kevin. Interesting booking. I like it.

The Freebirds beat him down and both pin him at once. Kevin kicks out. Then they throw him over the top rope. He holds on and comes back in. They choke him and he flips them both over the top while holding on, upside down, until the Freebirds hit the floor and Kevin flips back into the ring. Great finish, especially for the time period. Really strong appropriate brawl, given the feud, that spotlighted certain rivalries (Buddy vs Parsons, Hayes vs Kerry, David vs Garvin). I can’t say it was my favorite match on the set, but I do think it’s one of the better ones I’ve seen. I like the more traditional stuff, but this stip worked and essentially the match did too. 3 ¾ and 7.5/10.

It’s the debut on the World Class Diaries of Gorgeous Jimmy, another famed Von Erich foil. He should be good, and we have a whole backstory to follow leading up to the match.

First we get an on-location promo with Jimmy Garvin in a pool. Sunshine, his valet, plays with his hair while Jimmy tells us why he’s come to World Class. He wants to take out the Von Erich, who he’s heard far to much about. He could do without the Freebirds too. They’re classless, and Jimmy is here to bring class to Texas. It is also revealed in that initial promo that Jimmy doesn’t want his matches taped for TV. That carries over to a match at the Sportatorium where he demands the ref make the TV cameras leave. Bill Mercer explains why they have to stop shooting, and they do. Next we get Gorgeous Jimmy at a salon, his hair and fingers fussed over (Sunshine is doing his nails). Jimmy as rescinded the ban on the TV cameras. Garvin is the Texas champion, and he’s ready for David Von Erich.

David comes out to a rock star reception. Words really don’t do justice to how hot things were in this territory in 1983. The Texas title has been held up, so the winner gets the belt. Both guys come out aggressive, with David (of course) getting the better of Garvin. Mercer on commentary pushes that the Von Erichs ARE Texas. Both guys draw from the crowd. Garvin yells at people, and David looks for acceptance and cheerleading. The work early is fine, nothing spectacular, with David working Garvin’s knee. Garvin gets control and the crowd is all “Go David Go.” Garvin drops some sweet looking knees to the head before David makes his comeback at the five minute mark.

The attacking by David and the punishment and selling of Garvin draws me into this one. They keep the action moving without any huge moves. David begins going for pins, but Garvin won’t stay down for the three. David destroys Garvin while he’s tied up in the ropes, sends him with a whip to the ropes, and nails his big high knee. There’s a pin attempt, but Sunshine puts Garvin’s foot on the ropes to break the count. David stalks Sunshine, she rolls into the ring, and lazy old ref Bronco Lubich calls for the bell, disqualifying both men in cheap fashion. The case just wasn’t made for the double DQ in my eyes. David gets the Iron Claw on post match, but Garvin sends him over the top rope. The Texas title is still held up.

Overall, a very good match up and a tease of how good this feud could be. I thought it ended prematurely (by design), and it wasn’t completely unique, but it was more than serviceable. I look forward to more from these two. 3 stars and 6/10.

Another six-man match, no penalty box, Freebirds and Von Erichs (with the Ice Man). The rivalry continues. I’m a little more excited for Kevin than David, and a little is putting it mildly.

Announcer Bill Mercer mentions the history of David winning the six man titles with the Freebirds, vacating his third to Buddy Roberts, and the Freebirds turn later in the evening on Christmas night. Five months later the war rages on. You can feel the hate between Parsons and Buddy Roberts early, and it spreads to the others. The Freebirds stall for a long time, letting the crowd get worked up while they conspire to sneak attacks. Slow start, but these are main event personalities that can pull this off (like Flair). I love that Hayes can’t handle David, so he tags in big bad Gordy. I enjoy the tough Kevin/Gordy brawling even if Kevin is a tad over the top at times. I also like that David went right for the pin on Roberts after hitting him with a running high knee (one of his big moves). Hayes is dancing and gleeful to get in with David while he’s hurt.

The match is clipped slightly as when we come back Gordy is working with David. David gets the Iron Claw on Gordy and Hayes, then gets bumped to the outside. The Freebirds work over David with some great quick tags and dirty tactics. Gordy holds David for thirty full seconds in front of his partners and won’t let him tag. Great stuff. The cutting off the ring stuff is priceless and vicious. The moves of the Freebird aren’t always visually interesting, but the tactics are. Hot tag to Parsons but it all breaks down like it’s Mid South (read my Mid South Diaries. Hot tag means it all breaks down and goes to the finish, and every match had big back body drops.) In the brawl Buddy Roberts gets up on the apron and decks Parsons, Gordy covering for the clean pin. The Freebirds retain the WCCW Six Man Titles.

Good old school tag with the heels shining during the heat and the faces remaining over despite the clean loss. A lot of it was “run of the mill,” but in a good way. A little short to be great, but with the story and development of characters to be pretty good. I felt lie the Penalty box match (World Class Diaries # 16) had more action while having enough of a story to rank this below it, even if this one had a finish I liked more. 3 ¼ stars and 6.4/10.

I’ve missed Chavo since the Mid South Diaries. I saw Ice Man in the late 80s on ESPN. I liked him and Brickhouse Brown (which makes me think as a white guy I must group black guys together. Only explanation). I’ve always had a soft spot for Kerry (who I thankfully group together with other white guys named Von Erich). This looks like an interesting babyface team to duel with The Freebirds. The stip is going to make or break this one.

The Freebirds come out with matching Blue and white robes (and white tights) while Bill Mercer describes the stipulation. If you break the rules you go in these phone booth-sized cages (penalty boxes) for a minute. I’m not completely sold, but the booking could make this compelling. The fans chant, “Go home Freebirds.” They hated these guys, and that’s all they chant. It was a different world before ECW. Chavo looks good in against Hayes (if memory serves I was a bigger Hector fan), who stooges around for him. Kerry gets in and Hayes runs out of the ring. He won’t tag in while Buddy Roberts struggles against the powerful Von Erich. As good as Roberts looks in his moments, it is Gordy who puts on a clinic for the loose working Von Erich, then does the same for Chavo Guerrero. The Freebirds try to play the numbers game, but only end up bumping for the likes of Parsons. They make him look great.

Finally Kerry gets Hayes to tag in. You can guess who gets the better of that. Hayes cheats to get the advantage, which doesn’t get called, but Gordy gets sent to the cage for an infraction. Hayes gets sent a minute later, so Buddy gets the crap beat out of him until they get out. Gordy takes over once he’s out, and the Freebirds get the heat on Parsons. It’s very acceptable stuff, though Parsons is not Ricky Morton, or even Marty Jannetty.

Chavo gets the hot tag, and Gordy bumps for everything, even a flying head scissors. Gordy rules in this match. Whether he’s stringing together athletic-for-a-big-man offense, or he’s bumping and selling, he rules. During another heel control segment Kerry Von Erich and Buddy Roberts head to separate penalty boxes. It doesn’t feel like they’ve worked this into the match story enough where it could emotionally satisfy or impact the match narrative. If the heels weren’t caught, the faces were, and there was no one to make a hot tag to on Kerry’s team, that would be something. That hasn’t happened so far. Just as I write that Ice Man goes in, but Kerry comes out.

Chavo does his roll gimmick around the ring for the hot tag to Kerry, so it picks up again. Seeing Gordy versus Kerry makes me want to see a singles match between the two. Hayes is in there too, getting shots on an already weakened Kerry (I like that subplot.) Both teams are at full strength again, but Ice Man gets frustrated and gets sent back to the box. Hayes is drawing great heat on the apron while Gordy does some cool Death Valley Driver-like move to Kerry. This is flowing well now, not that it ever was bad, but I’m into it now.

Kerry sells for a while and play the numbers game I love to watch, three guys tagging frequently and cutting off the ring. It breaks down with Kerry trying to kill Hayes. Hayes gets put in the cage, but so do Chavo and Kerry. It’s Parsons selling for a few moments, and then Kerry is back out. This is my problem with the gimmick—the time intervals are too short. I thought they said we’d see five minute penalties for multiple infractions. By the time they are in they’re back out again. It’s maddening trying to follow, let alone type it all. Freebirds have been controlling for several minutes though, so that’s a solid point. Hayes tosses David Manning with the cage door upon being freed, but Parsons gets a flash pin on Gordy out of nowhere. I have actually liked several screwy finishes on this set more than that clean pin for the faces. Why the hell do they win again? This Von Erich win, like the 2/18/83 lumberjack match had me scratching my head. Maybe the heel Freebird wins just didn’t make the set. I cannot think of many matches from my 80s Diaries where the good guy win really hurt my feelings on the match like this one did. Thankfully the Freebirds destroyed the faces after the bell.

Compelling action packed twenty minute six man (I’m partial to those) with convoluted rules and some stretches of common sense gaps. Overall compelling, but only Kerry on the face team really got me. Gordy shined in ring, Hayes for all the other stuff, and Roberts was fine. 3 ½ stars and 6.8/10.