WCCW TV
January 29, 1983
Dallas, TX
Sportatorium
(taped on 1/21/83)

The NWA & WCCW champions were as follows:
NWA World Heavyweight Champion: Ric Flair (9/17/1981)
NWA World Six-Man Tag Team Champions: The Fabulous Freebirds (12/25/1982)
NWA American Heavyweight Champion: Terry Gordy (1/21/1983)
NWA American Tag Team Champions: The Fabulous Freebirds (11/26/1982)
NWA Texas Heavyweight Champion: David Von Erich (9/19/1982)

Your host is Bill Mercer.

Arman Hussein introduces us to Tola Yatsu doing a samurai gimmick. AJPW fans know his best as Yoshiaki Yatsu who won many tag titles with the greats like Riki Choshu and Jumbo Tsuruta. Hussein calls him the “Oriental Assassin” and the greatest wrestler to come out of the Orient. Now that the Great Kabuki has left Hussein to join King Kong Bundy in Devastation Inc., Hussein now needs a man from Japan to defeat Kabuki.

• Tola Yatsu (w/Arman Hussein) vs. The Samoan
  

Yatsu’s tights resemble Masa Saito’s tights with “Japan” embroidered on the side of his legs. Total squash here as Yatsu wins with a COBRA CLUTCH in 2:48. Afterwards, Yatsu enjoys some extracurricular activities.

Bill Mercer asks David Von Erich about the Freebirds. Since David won the NWA world six-man tag titles for the Freebirds, he feels he and his brothers should get a shot at them and take the championship for themselves after what the Freebirds have done to the Von Erich family since then. Now as for Devastation Inc. and “The Man”, well David Von Erich feels like he can handle them, too. He’s QUITE confident, isn’t he? Next week, David faces Checkmate.

• Michael Hayes vs. Jose Lothario
  

Lothario has his right hand taped due to an injury, says Mercer. Hayes refuses to wrestle Lothario with a taped fist. After a bunch of hemming and hawing around, Lothario takes the tape off his hand. Lothario controls to start with headlocks and such. He gets Hayes down on the mat to twist on his leg, but Hayes bites and low blows his way out of that. Hayes misses a knee drop conflicting further damage, and Lothario grabs a knee bar. Again, Hayes takes the low road to escape by clawing Lothario’s eyes. Hayes controls with a headlock, but Lothario finds a way out with a shinbreaker. Lothario returns back to twisting and pounding on the knee, but can’t maintain the advantage for very long. Hayes goes back to the eyes and delivers the knee drop he missed earlier. Suplex gets two. Jimmy Valiant elbow drop scores another nearfall. Lothario fires back with his signature punches. With Hayes super dazed, Buddy Roberts and Terry Gordy come out to help out their brother for the DQ. (15:11) Longer than I thought it would be considering I don’t feel Lothario is really a main event guy at this point who should be hanging with Hayes (who is someone supposed to be on par with the Von Erichs) for this amount of time. **

Afterwards, Terry Gordy tells Bill Mercer that they want a match with the Von Erichs. Hayes is IRATE after that match with Lothario.

When we come back, Bill Mercer meets with King Kong Bundy to talk about Devastation Inc. Bundy talks about how great he is to have separated himself from H & H Limited to start Devastation Inc. He calls it *the group* of the 1980s. Who is “The Man”? His identity is on a need to know basis, and right now we don’t need to know. Mercer gets Bundy to call “The Man” and asks him questions VIA MICROPHONE~! Apparently “The Man” is heavy in the oil and gas industry, which is where he gets his money to fund Devastation Inc. When asked who else he will bring into wrestling, Bundy says that “The Man” just returned from Africa with a great find that we will soon see. Hmm. When Mercer wants to talk to “The Man”, Bundy hangs up the phone. He clearly doesn’t have anything to say to Mercer right now. So there ya go.

This is how I imagine every mother and father to look in the 1980s.

• Devastation Inc. vs. Bugsy McGraw & Al Madril
  

In case you haven’t been following the recaps, Devastation Inc right now consists of King Kong Bundy and the Great Kabuki. During the prematch shenanigans, Bugsy spits water on his hands to mock Kabuki. Bugsy and Madril have their fun with Kabuki to start. Madril gets backed into the corner though and dominated by Bundy. Madril fires back on Bundy, allowing he and Bugsy to play ping pong with him. Over on the heel side, Kabuki claws Madril’s face to turn the tide. Kabuki and Bundy work over Madril until he avoids a knee drop from Bundy. Tag to McGraw, he works in his whole Three Stooges routine on Kabuki. Bundy beats him up, but McGraw fights his way up to his feet and punches Bundy down! In comes Madril, Bundy kicks him out to ringside. Tag to Kabuki, he telegraphs a backdrop and gets nailed. Madril reaches Bugsy for a tag and punches away on Kabuki. He misses a flying headbutt and takes a thrust kick. Bundy tags in and then SPLASHES Bugsy for the win. (9:35) This was actually a pretty fun back and forth matchup. **½

Once again, Bill Mercer meets with the Freebirds. Well, just Roberts and Gordy. Buddy feels the NWA American Heavyweight title will look good in the Freebirds trophy case. Gordy believes once he has that title, he will be one step closer to the NWA world title. If he gets his chance at the title, he’s not going to be stupid like Kerry Von Erich is. EXACTLY.

NEXT WEEK: Terry Gordy challenges Kevin Von Erich for the NWA American Heavyweight Championship! Plus, David Von Erich meets Checkmate!