Can you tell me when some wrestlers other than the Von Erichs debuted in Dallas-Fort Worth?
Sure. Although the available results for Big Time/World Class Wrestling are far from complete, here are a few debut dates we've been able to nail down, or at least get very close:
Chris Adams: 4/15/83, Dallas (beat Roberto Renesto and The Mongol in separate matches)
Skandor Akbar: 11/15/66, Dallas (beat Darrell Cochran)
Steve Austin: 9/30/89, Dallas (pro wrestling debut as Steve Williams; beat Frogman LeBlanc)
Bruiser Brody: 4/29/74, Fort Worth (pro wrestling debut as Frank Goodish; lost to Bob Roop)
Eric Embry: 3/9/87, Fort Worth (beat Skip Young)
The Great Kabuki: 1/11/81, Dallas (beat Don Diamond)
Gary Hart: 11/1/66, Dallas (beat Ox Baker)
Michael Hayes: 10/11/82, Fort Worth (beat Frank Dusek)
Gino Hernandez: 8/18/75, Fort Worth (lost to El Gran Markus)
Jose Lothario: 1/27/69, Fort Worth (beat Swede Karlson)
Bronko Lubich:
4/4/61, Dallas (as manager of Angelo Poffo; first wrestled 5/16/61, lost
to Dory Dixon via DQ)
Ken Mantell: 4/6/70, Dallas (as Ken Lusk;
lost to Juan Sebastian)
Iceman King Parsons: 3/30/80, Fort Worth (teamed with Rick Oliver, lost to Mr. Hito & Mr. Sakurada)
Buddy Roberts: 3/20/78, Fort Worth (as Dale Valentine; beat Pat O'Connor)
The Spoiler (Don Jardine): 8/7/67, Fort Worth (beat Chris Hardy)
Did the Freebirds ever wrestle the Von Erichs elsewhere prior to their feud in World Class?
 Kevin did wrestle Terry Gordy in the old Georgia territory during September of 1981. This took place after the famous breakup of the Freebirds, in which Gordy and Buddy Roberts turned on Michael Hayes. Roberts soon left the area, while Gordy began teaming with Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka (the pair went on to capture the National Tag Team titles from Ted DiBiase and Steve O shortly afterward). Hayes, now a babyface, formed a short-lived partnership with Kevin, and the two teams faced each other in a match won by Gordy and Snuka at the Omni in Atlanta on September 12. Kevin left the territory to return to WCCW at the end of September, with the kayfabe explanation on Georgia TV that he had suffered an injury at the hands of Gordy and Snuka.
Hayes and Gordy would eventually reconcile in March of 1982, not long after Gordy saved Hayes from a brutal beating at the hands of Jos LeDuc and the Sheepherders in Dothan, AL. A few weeks later, Kevin Sullivan, Hayes' scheduled partner for a televised match on WTBS against Buzz Sawyer and Super Destroyer (Scott Irwin), no-showed; when Sawyer and Irwin demanded Hayes find a substitute, Hayes thrilled the fans in the studio by bringing out Gordy, and the reunited 'Birds proceeded to clear the ring. They would, of course, move on to World Class later in the year.
Why did the Freebirds leave
WWE so quickly after their departure from WCCW?
There are two stories regarding this, both of which can be found in
the same
thread at Wrestling Classics. The 'Birds actually began
working TV squash matches for WWE in early August of 1984, about a
month before leaving WCCW, with Cyndi Lauper's boyfriend/manager Dave
Wolff (and on one occasion, Lauper herself) in their corner.
However, as Graham Cawthon's
History of WWE site shows, they were gone from the fed by the end
of September. The story that has been widely reported is
that Vince McMahon was mainly interested in signing Michael Hayes:Michael Hayes actually had a $250,000 deal with Elektra Records, but walked away from it when he left the WWF, something he has since admitted to regretting. Really the WWF wanted Michael Hayes out of the trio due to his look, charisma, speaking ability, and its desire to cash in on the Rock n Wrestling Connection by making a wrestler into a rock star. The record deal was arranged by Cyndi Lauper's manager Dave Wolff.
Gordy and Roberts were afterthoughts, knew it, and weren't happy about it. They actually left the promotion ahead of Hayes who stayed on a bit longer. ...but
then there is also this story, which is apocryphal but, given the
'Birds' reputation as round-the-clock party animals, entirely
plausible:...Buddy was so drunk during a 6 man he fell asleep in the corner standing up on the ring apron. Vinnie called the boys into the office to yell at them, and after about ten minutes of yelling, he noticed that not only was Buddy was asleep, Terry was too.
What was the story behind the murder of Bruiser Brody?
Thanks to Emerson Murray's excellent biography of Brody, we now know that World Wrestling Council co-owner/booker Jose Gonzales' horrific act was, from all appearances, the result of a twelve-year grudge that, for unknown reasons, ultimately came to a head in a Bayamon, Puerto Rico locker room. Gonzales' anger toward Brody, according to Tony Atlas, stemmed from a match that took place when both men worked for the World Wide Wrestling Federation (now WWE). In this bout at Long Island's Nassau Coliseum (Graham Cawthon's
History of WWE site lists the date as July 24, 1976), Atlas says Brody gave then-midcard worker Gonzales a furious and relentless beating, allowing him no offense whatsoever, and "almost tore his lip off." Atlas and S.D. "Special Delivery" Jones, upon finding a battered, bloody and enraged Gonzales yelling out his open car window and driving in circles around the Coliseum parking lot later that night, urged him to get medical attention.
In the book, Atlas chillingly recalls Gonzales' words as he was being driven to the hospital: "One day, I'm going to kill that son of a bitch."
Exactly what led Gonzales to finally carry out that vow in Bayamon remains a mystery; although there had been some disputes between the two regarding finishes, Brody had worked with him in Puerto Rico on numerous occasions in the 1980s without any serious incident. But, although the killing was in no way justified by what took place a dozen years before, or by any disagreement he may have had with Brody in later years, Atlas' recollection does go a long way toward explaining Jose Gonzales' frame of mind on the tragic evening of July 16, 1988.
Is it true that the Angel of
Death was the last opponent, or last scheduled opponent, for Kevin and
Kerry Von Erich and Bruiser Brody?
Kerry: yes. Kevin and Bruiser: definitely not.
The eerily ironic fact that Kerry was scheduled to take on Dave "Angel
of Death" Sheldon the night after he ended his own life has become the
basis for another of those WCCW urban legends that seem to grow and
mutate as they're retold over the years. It's easy to see how the
story about Kevin got started: he was Sheldon's opponent at
the very last World Class card at the Sportatorium on November 23, 1990.
But this wasn't Kevin's last-ever match; he continued to wrestle
sporadically for several more years, finally calling it a career after
working a few matches for Jim Crockett's ill-fated NWA Dallas group in
1994-95.
We have no earthly idea how Brody got included in this story, but in
fact, Sheldon had already left World Class for the NWA before Bruiser
was slain in Puerto Rico. Had Brody lived to return to Dallas, as
this YouTube clip proves, his first scheduled opponent would have
been Kamala.
Why do you guys insist on spelling
Bronco Lubich's name with a "k"?
Because we like to get these things right. :) The Bronko/Bronco
confusion persisted throughout the beloved WCCW referee's career,
with the "alternate" spelling being used so frequently that Lubich is
said to have simply shrugged his shoulders and decided to live with
it; to this day, some of his fellow wrestlers believe the "c" spelling
to be correct. (Incidentally, when he first appeared in Texas as
a manager/wrestler in the early '60s, promoters spelled his last name
"Lubitsch", like the legendary
film director Ernst Lubitsch of Ninotchka fame.) But his
birth name, as noted in his Dallas Morning News obituary, was
Bronko (yes, with a "k") Sandor Lupsity, so that is the spelling we
use. As Wrestling
Classics board moderator Crimson Mask I has stated more than once,
Bronko was a Yugoslavian -- not a horse!
Did Gino Hernandez really date Farrah Fawcett?
We don't know for sure. Former NWA World Champion Jack Brisco
and WWE commentator Jim Ross have been quoted as saying he did (the former
star of Charlie's Angels and the made-for-TV movie The
Burning Bed is reportedly a wrestling fan and is said to
have purchased a couple of Brisco Brothers Body Shop T-shirts in
recent years), but Ms. Fawcett herself has never confirmed or denied
this story. If there was a relationship between the two, our
best guess is that it would have taken place around 1979-80, after
Farrah and husband Lee Majors separated. (Incidentally, Mr.
Majors also has a pro wrestling connection, and it has nothing to do
with having played a character named Steve Austin: he is known to have
been a chauffeur for NWA promoter Jim Barnett in the 1950s.)
BUT! World Class Memories is pleased to inform its readers that
it has solid, irrefutable, incontrovertible evidence that Gino and
Farrah ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY, BEYOND A SHADOW OF A DOUBT...had
at least one photograph taken together. This appeared on The
Life and Times of Paul Boesch, a posthumous tribute to the late
promoter which aired on Houston TV, and it's a rather fuzzy screen
grab from YouTube; but for all who doubt that the Handsome Halfbreed
once stood within inches -- WITHIN INCHES, mind you -- of the lovely
Ms. Fawcett, here's your proof!
Why did Sunshine disappear from WCCW for several months in 1984?
As with many other rumors regarding former WCCW stars, there are multiple stories from individuals who purport to have the inside scoop on Valerie "Sunshine" French's absence from May to October of that year. One of them, published by Wrestling Observer editor Dave Meltzer, is that she suffered a nervous breakdown. Another story, posted by several people on various message boards (including at least one who claims to have heard it directly from Jimmy Garvin), is that she entered drug and/or alcohol rehab.
Frankly, we don't know if either of these stories is true, and will not engage in speculation. We will only say that if Ms. French did go through a personal ordeal of any kind during that period, then she clearly came out of it none the worse for wear and is living quite happily today with her husband and daughter (and that word does come directly from Jimmy Garvin)...and that's all that really matters, isn't it?
I know about many of the WCCW stars who are no longer with us, but can
you fill me in on [insert name of deceased worker here]?
● Mike Awesome: Was wrestling mainly in Memphis in 1990, but according to
available results, did work one match at the Sportatorium against Jerry
Lawler on April 6 of that year. Went on to become a star in Japan and
the original ECW.
● Giant Baba and Jumbo Tsuruta: These two All Japan Pro Wrestling legends
appeared at WCCW's big Reunion Arena card on June 17, 1983.
● Nancy Benoit: Made one appearance in World Class at the September 1,
1986 Labor Day Spectacular in Fort Worth as "Angel", valet for Mark Lewin and her then-husband Kevin Sullivan in a World Tag Team title
tournament. (Fallen Angel, the name she used in Florida during the same
period as a member of Sullivan's "Satanic"
Army of Darkness stable, was
apparently too direct a reference to Old Scratch for WCCW, whose TV was
still syndicated to Christian Broadcasting Network affiliates at the
time.)
● Gene Goodson: Commentator for the late-1981 WCCW pilot and for a few
more pre-Continental Productions episodes until early '82. Died in
September 1989.
● Jon Harris: Billed as 7'7" tall (an
exaggeration, but not by much), Harris appeared in WCCW as "Little John"
in the corner of the Fantastics for their 1985 Texas Stadium bout with
the Midnight Express (included as a bonus match on WWE's Triumph and
Tragedy of WCCW). Harris had a bit part in the film Pee-Wee's
Big Adventure (which also included an appearance by Big Time
Wrestling veteran Professor Toru Tanaka) the same year, and also
appeared as Silo Sam in the AWA and Trapper John in WWE (no, he did not
have a partner named Hawkeye Pierce). Known to be deceased, but
the exact date of death is in question.
● Lord Alfred Hayes: Worked one match at the Sportatorium against Chris
Adams on June 3, 1983. The bout, a judo match, was fought in rounds with
gloves, never aired on TV, and had no real buildup other than Adams
referring to Hayes as a "very nasty and dirty man" in a KTVT interview.
Previously worked in the D/FW area in 1976-77 as a member of Gary Hart's
stable, feuding with Fritz Von Erich, Moondog Mayne and others. Became an interviewer/commentator for WWF
in the mid '80s.
● Harvey Martin: The former Dallas Cowboys
defensive end appeared numerous times as a guest color commentator
alongside Marc Lowrance, and took part in an angle or two as well.
He also worked as a wrestler in the battle royal at WWE's WrestleMania
2, which also featured NFL greats Bill Fralic, Russ Francis, Jimbo
Covert, Ernie Holmes, William "Refrigerator" Perry and, as a guest
referee, Martin's former teammate Ed "Too Tall" Jones. Martin died
of pancreatic cancer on December 24, 2001.
● Wahoo McDaniel: Best remembered in Dallas-Fort Worth for his late
'60s-early '70s stint, Wahoo appeared at SuperClash III in Chicago, and
also at a Sportatorium card in late December 1988 (no results for this
card have yet been found).
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