The final two discs of the Texas Set felt completely different from the rest. While the dying days of WCCW and its transformation into the USWA had its moments, I'd be lying if I said I didn't greatly prefer the prime years of the promotion. Eric Embry certainly put together a miracle year in '89 and Percy Pringle showed great range transitioning from a preening heel manager to Embry's babyface cheerleader. But not only are there very few matches here that are top contenders on my ballot (really only the top 2 listed below), after about the halfway point of these 34 matches we are most likely looking at bottom third fodder.But as for a project on a whole, this set was an absolute blast and I'm looking forward to revisiting some of the matches to shuffle together my four mini rankings into one final ballot. This wasn't a set that featured a ton of variety in terms of the talent and in-ring style. There were some interesting cameos and changes of pace of course, but WCCW showcased a very similar core roster for the better part of the decade, and that made things look a little daunting when glancing over the matchlist coming in. But now that I'm wrapping it up I have to say that there are few rosters in pro wrestling history that were so consistently entertaining and just plain good. There were some all-time great performances and moments, but that wasn't really what Texas was about. It was a territory built around values, around family, and around fast paced violent action. And they found new and interesting ways to deliver this package year after year.
As always, hats off to the crew that assembled this set, and to everyone who has worked on the DVDVR Best of the 80s sets. This is going to be a fun one to see the final results for, because for many of these matches. it's anyone's guess what will end up where.
1. Abdullah the Butcher vs. Bruiser Brody (8/4/86)
2. Terry Gordy & Buddy Roberts vs. Kerry & Kevin Von Erich (Badstreet Match) (2/12/88)
3. Eric Embry vs. Gary Young (Thunderdome Cage Match) (6/9/89)
4. Kerry & Kevin Von Erich vs. Samoan Swat Team (8/12/88)
5. Eric Embry & Mil Mascaras vs. Buddy Roberts & Super Zodiac (Baseball Bat On A Pole) (5/5/89)
6. Al Perez vs. Kerry Von Erich (3/6/88)
7. Abdullah the Butcher vs. Kevin Von Erich (7/25/86)
8. Jerry Lawler vs. Kerry Von Erich (Cage Match) (11/25/88)
9. Chris Adams vs. Buzz Sawyer (6/16/86)
10. Black Bart vs. Scott Casey (Texas Bullrope Match) (12/1/86)
11. Michael Hayes vs. Buddy Roberts (5/13/88)
12. Chris Adams vs. Cactus Jack (7/14/89)
13. Eric Embry vs. PY Chu-Hi (Cage Match) (8/4/89)
14. Terry Gordy vs. Botswana Beast (9/23/88)
15. Eric Embry vs. Jerry Lawler (9/8/89)
16. Chris Adams vs. Dutch Mantell (6/16/89)
17. Terry Gordy & Shaun Simpson vs. John Tatum & Jack Victory (5/13/88)
18. Chris Adams, Steve Simpson & Kevin Von Erich vs. Terry Gordy, Iceman Parsons & Buddy Roberts (Cage Match) (12/25/87)
19. Jerry Lawler vs. Kerry Von Erich (Title vs. Title) (12/15/89)
20. Eric Embry & Chris Adams vs. Gary Young & Billy Joe Travis (12/1/89)
21. Jerry Lawler vs. Kerry Von Erich (9/23/88)
22. Chris Adams & Brian Adias vs. Buzz Sawyer & Matt Borne (7/11/86)
23. Matt Borne vs. Terry Taylor (2/26/88)
24. Kamala & Botswana Beast vs. Samoan Swat Team (12/18/88)
25. Al Perez vs. Michael Hayes (2/26/88)
26. Jimmy Jack Funk, John Tatum & Jack Victory vs. Terry Gordy, Shaun & Steve Simpson (Texas Tornado Match) (8/26/88)
27. Iceman King Parsons vs. Kerry Von Erich (No DQ Last Man Standing Match) (5/13/88)
28. Eric Embry & Brickhouse Brown vs. Iceman Parsons & Gary Young (1/6/89)
29. Michael Hayes & Jeff Jarrett vs. Samoan Swat Team (11/25/88)
30. Eric Embry vs. Gary Young (Loser Leaves Town Match) (2/10/89)
31. Chris Adams vs. Gary Young (7/21/89)
32. Gary Young vs. Bill Dundee (Texas Death Match) (6/23/89)
33. Eric Embry & Chris Adams vs. PY Chu-Hi & Gary Young (8/11/89)
34. Eric Embry & Bill Dundee vs. Gary Young & Billy Joe Travis (11/3/89)
