 THE WCM PAGE OF LISTS
The following page is meant to
be a fun, informative and easily accessible collection of World Class
trivia. If you have any additions or suggestions, by all means, drop us a line. |
THE WORLD CLASS SOUNDTRACK Now
expanded and relocated to the WCM FAQ! |
IN AND OUT LIKE A TEXAS TORNADO
Wrestlers Who Appeared Very Briefly in WCCW |
Andre the Giant (early 1980s) | Kevin Sullivan (1986) | Butch Reed (1984) | Magnum T.A. (1984) | Chavo Guerrero Sr. (1983) | Marcel Pringle (1987) | Hercules Hernandez (1985) | Mighty Zulu (1986) | The Iron Sheik (1987) | Ricky Steamboat (1986) | Jim Neidhart (1984) | Robert Gibson (1988) | Johnny Rich (1983) | Rock 'n' Roll Express (1984-85) | Jos LeDuc (1986) | Ronnie Garvin (1988) | Junkyard Dog (1983-84) | Vic Steamboat (1987) |
AND NOW A WORD FROM...
Longtime
D/FW Area TV Sponsors of Big Time and World Class Wrestling | Kissinger Discount Auto Supply
Long-defunct chain which sponsored Channel 11's Saturday Night Wrestling until the early 1980s. The late announcer Dan Coates did the primitive early commercials at ringside while standing next to a large Kissinger sign (which was eventually destroyed in a wild 1973 brawl between Lord Robert Duncum and Brute Bernard), as the camera panned to show the items on sale, lined up on a table. Later spots were pre-recorded and voiced by a KTVT staff announcer, ending with a countrified jingle: "It's a real money saver/When you do the labor/Try Kissinger Auto Supply." | Lynn Smith Auto Sales (now Lynn Smith Chevrolet)
"Don't
you go to that little room until I finish tellin' you about Lynn Smith Auto
Sales...why, they've got more cars there than you can throw a cowchip across. And ol' Lynn...he's a pussycat!" | | |
Munden's Furniture
Owner Steve Munden pitched his Fort Worth store's weekly
specials, always concluding with the tagline, "By the way, are you a
Munden's customer? You ought to be!" |
Pizza Inn Kevin, Kerry and Mike Von Erich appeared in a famous series of spots for the pizza chain in 1985, flirting with young ladies and singing the company's jingle: "For pizza out, it's Pizza Inn!" | |
Rodney D. Young
Insurance
Kansas City-based company ("Think Young! Rodney
D. Young") whose spots have long been known for absurd, cornball gags;
among those airing on WCCW/USWA telecasts were "The Young Amigos" (send-up
of the film Three Amigos) and a series of prehistoric skits entitled
"When the World Was Young". |
Westway Ford Westway's then-owner Joe Tigue appeared in the Irving dealership's commercials as "Joe Greed", wearing glittering suits and Elton John-sized shades bearing huge dollar signs. (Tigue later financed and sponsored the GWF during the Grey Pierson era, advertising "free Sportatorium wrestling tickets at Westway!"). Jim "Dingo
Warrior" Hellwig appeared alongside Joe in innumerable spots for the company
starting in 1987 -- in fact, so many skits were taped in advance for these
commercials that new ones continued to air years later with Hellwig being
referred to on screen as "Dingo," long after he had become a WWF headliner
as the Ultimate Warrior! |
HOORAY FOR HOLLYWOOD
WCCW Alumni in Comedic/Dramatic Movie Roles (not including wrestling documentaries) |
Highlander (1986) First film in the series about immortal swordsman Connor MacLeod (Christopher Lambert). The opening sequence includes footage of an AWA six-man tag match pitting the Fabulous Freebirds against Greg Gagne, Jim Brunzell and the Tonga Kid. |
Problem Child (1990) Filmed entirely in the Dallas area, this John Ritter comedy featured Kerry Von Erich in a small role as a prison inmate. |
Stay Tuned (1992) Another John Ritter vehicle, in which the former Three's Company star portrays a couch potato who finds himself and his wife (Pam Dawber) in cable TV hell after signing away his soul for "the ultimate satellite system". George Gray (One Man Gang) plays "Mr. Gorgon". |
G. Whilliker! (1993) Kevin Von Erich plays himself in this straight-to-video family comedy about three rowdy brothers who scheme to get rid of their sister's pro wrestler boyfriend (not Kevin). |
Life with Mikey (1993) Michael J. Fox stars as an ex-child actor who runs a talent agency. Jerry Lawler and Jeff Jarrett appear, respectively, as wrestlers "The Lobotomizer" and "Evil Eye". |
Mr. Nanny (1993) Jim "Kamala" Harris, among other WWE stars of the time, appeared in this infamous Hulk Hogan bomb. |
3 Ninjas Kick Back (1994) Poorly-received sequel to the 1992 kid flick 3 Ninjas featured Killer Khan as "Ishikawa". |
Major Payne (1995) Bam Bam Bigelow appears as a biker in Damon Wayans' hit comedy about a JROTC commander. |
Joe's Apartment (1996) Bizarre, love-it-or-hate-it MTV-produced comedy about a man (Jerry O'Connell) who moves into a low-rent apartment populated by thousands of singing and dancing...cockroaches. Features Bam Bam Bigelow in another brief role. |
Man on the Moon (1999) Eccentric comic Andy Kaufman's (Jim Carrey) famous Memphis feud with Jerry Lawler is re-created in the hit biopic, with "The King" playing himself. |
Universal Soldier: The Return (1999) Chris Adams had an uncredited bit part in this entry in the Jean-Claude Van Damme series, which also co-starred WCW star Bill Goldberg. |
Big Money Hustla$ (2000) Yo, juggalos! The Insane Clown Posse's straight-to-video gangsta rap/blaxploitation parody features former Devastation Inc. member Mick Foley in the role of -- are you ready? -- "Cactus Sac"! | |
Ready to Rumble (2000) Goofy wrestling comedy filmed during the dying days of World Championship Wrestling featured World Class alumni Bam Bam Bigelow and Sid Vicious, among many other WCW stars of the period. In a notorious promotional stunt for the film, star David Arquette won the WCW World Heavyweight title in April 2000. |
The Longest Yard (2005) Adam Sandler and Chris Rock starred in this remake of the 1974 Burt Reynolds comedy. Among other pro wrestlers cast in prominent roles, Steve Austin portrays a prison guard. |
BEFORE THEY WERE STARS
Early D/FW Appearances of Future Wrestling Icons | Al "Rock" Rogowski
This St. Paul native appeared briefly in Big Time Wrestling during June of 1968, while still a rookie. Fans of the old Georgia and Mid-Atlantic NWA territories remember him fondly as the tough-as-nails veteran of the Minnesota Wrecking Crew and the Four Horsemen: Ole Anderson. | Jack Brisco
The future NWA World Heavyweight champ worked undercard matches in D/FW during the summer and fall of 1967. | Sabu Singh
Having wrestlers play stereotypical characters from an ethnic group other than their own has been common practice in pro wrestling through the years. Such was the case with Singh, who wrestled in the Dallas/Fort Worth area in the early 1970s. Supposedly hailing from Bombay, Singh was actually played by Jose Gonzales, a native of Puerto Rico who would later become internationally famous as the masked Invader I -- and internationally infamous as the alleged murderer of Bruiser Brody. | Ric Flair
The young Nature Boy first appeared very briefly in Dallas, losing a midcard bout to Dale Lewis in a one-shot appearance at the Sportatorium in October of 1973. When he was next seen in North Texas almost exactly eight years later, Slick Ric was defending the NWA World Heavyweight title. | Roddy Piper
"Hot Rod", who was billed as Ronnie Piper during his early 1975 stint as an undercard worker in D/FW, tells (in his book In the Pit with Piper) of how he dated the Dallas Fire Marshal's daughter so that the promotion would be permitted to squeeze more fans into the Sportatorium than the law allowed! He would soon leave for Mike LeBell's WWA in Los Angeles, where he first became a headliner. | Paul Perschmann
Used as enhancement talent in Big Time Wrestling during the early stages of his career, Perschmann is remembered by Texas wrestling fans as the debut opponent for Kevin Von Erich in August 1976, and as one of David Von Erich's earliest opponents in June 1977. He would eventually go on to international stardom as Playboy Buddy Rose. | Sugar Bear Harris
Mississippi-born James Harris, who made a handful of appearances in Big Time Wrestling during 1979-80, went to Memphis a short time later, where he was given an altogether different gimmick by Jerry "The King" Lawler. It was a role Harris would continue to play for the remainder of his career, including his appearances in World Class: the "Ugandan Giant", Kamala. | Tully Blanchard
First appearing in the D/FW area as a referee in 1975, the future Horseman began wrestling in prelim bouts the following year. Interestingly, on a few occasions in 1976-78, Tully wrestled Gino Hernandez, with whom he would later form the original Dynamic Duo in Southwest Championship Wrestling. | Jake Roberts
Long before his brief WCCW stint in 1984 and subsequent rise to WWF fame, Jake made a few prelim appearances in Big Time Wrestling early in 1978, putting over Tully Blanchard, Killer Karl Krupp and other stars of the period. | Dale Valentine
Dale Hey, working babyface in 1978 as the "brother" of the legendary Johnny Valentine (who appeared in Dale's corner while confined to a wheelchair as a result of the 1975 plane crash that ended his career), returned four years later as a member of WCCW's premier heel team: Fabulous Freebird Buddy Roberts. | Iceman King Parsons
Quick, now: when did Iceman first appear in Dallas/Fort Worth? 1983, right? Wrong. Try 1980. Ice teamed with Rick Oliver and Skip "Sweet Brown Sugar" Young on separate cards in Dallas and Fort Worth during late March of that year, losing on both evenings to J.J. Dillon's team of Mr. Hito and Mr. Sakurada. | (B.) Brian Blair
After stints in Florida, Kansas City and Oklahoma, Blair arrived in D/FW in October 1980 and later became co-holder of the American Tag Team titles along with Al Madril. He is, of course, best remembered as a competitor in the World Wrestling Federation, where he teamed with Jim Brunzell as the Killer Bees. | Shawn Michaels
The future (Midnight) Rocker and holder of multiple WWE belts made a handful of WCCW appearances in 1985 during his rookie year, putting over such talent as Billy Jack Haynes and One Man Gang. | Texas Red/The Punisher/The Master of Pain
Mark Calaway made his pro wrestling debut in June 1987 as the masked Texas Red, then went on to play two more hooded heel characters in World Class during 1988-89. Though his stay in Texas wasn't particularly memorable (despite a brief Texas Heavyweight title reign as The Punisher), Calaway would soon resurface in WWE as one of its most popular stars ever: The Undertaker. | Cactus Jack Manson
Come on now, do we really have to tell you about Mick Foley? He wasn't yet a hardcore icon at this stage of his career, but Cactus nonetheless made a strong impression on Sportatorium crowds during 1988-89 as a member of Devastation Inc. before going on to worldwide stardom in WCW, ECW and WWE. | Steve Austin
Another star whose story is so well-known that there's almost no need to mention him here, "Stunning" Steve -- the most talented student to graduate from Chris Adams' wrestling school -- worked in both WCCW/USWA and Gary Hart's Mesquite-based Texas Championship Wrestling prior to his runs in WCW, ECW and finally WWE, where his "Stone Cold" persona made him the most wildly popular wrestler of the modern era. Gimme a "hell yeah!"
|
MEMORABLE WCCW QUOTES
| “This isn’t about Texas versus Georgia. This is about decency versus filth!” -- Kevin Von Erich berating the Fabulous Freebirds
| "If I had a swing set like that, I'd never leave my backyard!" -- Announcer Marc Lowrance on Hollywood John Tatum's valet, Tessa
| “This won’t take long, baby.” -- Jimmy Garvin to valet Sunshine prior to defending his Texas Heavyweight title
“I’ve had enough. That was too close. I am not doing this again.” -- Jimmy Garvin to Sunshine after the very same title defense
| “I have several horses that need a bath real bad. They may smell bad, but they smell better than you!” -- David Von Erich to “Gorgeous” Jimmy Garvin as Garvin prepares to serve as David's “valet for a day”
| “Kamala said…well, I do not know what Kamala said.” -- Announcer Bill Mercer, after Kamala's retreat from David Von Erich
| “I am your champion!” -- Gino Hernandez
| “... and you, Black Bird, cuckoo bird, whatever you call yourself, I know you as Iceman.” -- Michael Hayes to Iceman King Parsons
| “Mr. Von Erich? The world champion, Mr. Al Perez, wanted me to remind you that you are no longer the world champion.”- Al Perez’s “secretary” calling former WCCW World Champion Kevin Von Erich to remind him of the obvious
| “Like Mama always say, ‘It be’s that way sometimes’. Have mercy, y'all!” -- Iceman King Parsons
| “Would the lady who left her eleven children at Texas Stadium please pick them up...they're beating the Cowboys 14-0." -- Jerry "The King" Lawler
| “Hey Akbar, it could be at McDonald's, when you're walking out the door with your milkshake and your bag of burgers!" -- Eric Embry’s warning of violence to Skandor Akbar
| "Could be...might be...and it is!" -- Marc Lowrance counting along with the referee as a WCCW babyface scores a pinfall
| "When you're calling on the Missing Link to help break up a fight, you know things have gotten out of hand." -- Bill Mercer, during the huge pull-apart brawl between Terry Gordy and Killer Khan
| “Santa Claus has just decked Mike Von Erich! However, I believe that that is not Santa Claus -- that's Michael Hayes!” -- Bill Mercer at Christmas Star Wars 1983
| "Ladies and gentlemen...I have informed Bronko Lubich of what just happened. He has informed me that he is the official referee in this match...[crowd boos loudly]...and his final decision is that the Von Erichs are the winners of the match [crowd roars]!!" -- Referee David Manning teasing a Dusty Finish after the "Santa Claus" incident
| "I don't know whether to laugh, cry or get an AIDS test." -- Marc Lowrance's less-than-politically-correct response to a peck on the cheek from Terrence "The Beauty" Garvin
| "Hey, Akbar! Know what? 'Wrestling's Odd Couple' is kickin' y'all's ass!" -- Michael Hayes, referring to an Inside Wrestling cover story on his newly-formed alliance with Kerry Von Erich
| Kevin and Mike Von Erich's "mystery partner" at Texas Stadium is revealed:
MICHAEL HAYES: Me and my brothers have done some thinkin', and we've eliminated it down to three people who it could be: Bruiser Brody, who Kamala ran outta here, and everybody knows we beat Kamala up -- Brian Adias, family flunkie -- or that nephew of yours, Lance Von Erich. Now, right now, face to face, you tell me which one of them it's gonna be.
FRITZ VON ERICH: Mr. Hayes, you're wrong on all three counts.
HAYES: Wha...it's not one of them?
FRITZ: It is not one of them.
HAYES: Well, who is it? I wanna know who it is! I demand to know right now!
FRITZ: Oh, you demand to know right now?
HAYES: Yeah, right now! Right now, I wanna know!
FRITZ: It's gonna be...the next man to bust you between the eyes! [He does so.] Now, just in case there's any further doubt in your mind, I'll see you May the sixth...on Badstreet! |
YOU MIGHT BE A WORLD CLASS FAN IF...
From the Kayfabe Memories WCCW Message Board (with apologies to Jeff Foxworthy!)
| ...you ever camped outside the Sportatorium for $5 tickets | ...you're a big Rush fan, but whenever you call the rock station to request "Tom Sawyer", you ask them to play "that Kerry Von Erich song" | ...you were scared when Eli the Eliminator was about to piledrive Spike Huber on the floor, but then let out a HUGE sigh of relief when he grabbed his helmet to protect his head | ...you're aware that the Triple Dome of Terror is not an amusement park ride | ...you can remember Eric Embry falling off a scaffold | ...you remember where you were the night the lights went out in the Sportatorium | ...you remember that fan who would always wear that USA T-shirt to the TV tapings | ...your social life was lacking due to your love for WCCW Saturday night TV programming | ...you've ever gotten a back sprain from sitting the wrong way on the Sportatorium's wooden bench seats | ...you've ever dressed up as Killer Tim Brooks for Halloween | ...you thought the Batten Twins were due for a tag title shot -- even though they had twice as many losses as wins | ...you refer to Percy Pringle as the "Original Mouth of the South" | ...you actually saw some good in the Dingo Warrior's ability | ...you don't think today's wrestling is the same because they no longer use a tire rim as a ring bell | ...you thought Brian Adias would go to jail for using the Oriental Tool | ...you remember hearing Eric Embry talk about ending poor Peter Vandergralin's career | ...you thought Kurt Angle ripped off the idea of wearing headgear from Buddy Roberts | ...you know what happened when Kerry and Butch Reed were supposed to have an arm wrestling contest over scorpions | ...if you paid for Leon Spinks' autograph at the picture stand in the Sportatorium | ...if you still think Kerry was screwed out of the belt in Japan | ...if you remember the opening group on the night of the Michael Hayes concert at the Sportatorium | ...if you still have the prize you won when your wrestler won the Triple Dome of Terror match at Texas Stadium | ...if you always wondered what happened to Ted Arcidi the night he was going to have a weight liftling contest vs Tony Atlas | ...your 2 favorite color commentators were Frank Dusek and former Cowboy Harvey Martin | ...you remember former K104 DJ Bad Brad appearing as a guest commentator | ...you ever caught one of those little sombreros thrown to the crowd by Tony Torres | ...you ever saw a card at the Cotton Bowl during the State Fair of Texas | ...you ever got excited because you got to meet Frogman LeBlanc | ...you remember Mark Starr being called "Marco Starr" | ...you remember Marc Lowrance refer to Mil Mascaras as "Mils Mass-scare-us" | ...you remember George Weingeroff and Terry Daniels pulling upsets against Buddy Roberts | ...you went to Trader's Village every Sunday just to meet some wrestlers | ...you remember Bob Bradley holding a title |
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