1980s Texas Set Discs 9-10

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)

1980s Texas Set Ballot Discs 7-8

I wasn't necessarily planning on recapping the last 4 discs of the set 2 at a time, but when I finished the 30+ matches on discs 7-8 I knew that I needed to sit down and sort them out. There's a lot of good wrestling on these discs, but not much great wrestling, and after the death of Gino Hernandez you can feel it's the beginning of the end for WCCW. Which is odd in that it feels like Gino's death, and not one of the Von Erich's, was the final straw. It may just be how I'm interpreting things through watching this set, but within months they brought in Lance Von Erich and rehashed the Von Erichs/Freebirds feud, two moves that reeked of desperation.

It seems that every section of discs I review here has one stand out manager, and this time around it's Percy Pringle III. While I wouldn't put Percy's work on the level of Sunshine's or Gary Hart's, he does a tremendous job here handling Rude as he comes into the territory and quickly becomes the World Champ. The change from recognizing the NWA title to WCCW's American Championship becoming a "World" belt could have been an abrupt one, but Pringle and Rude play it so smooth that you really never question it (I can't say the same for say, Al Perez later on). Pringle's character, like Sunshine and Hart's, is different than your typical heel manager. There's a great promo here where he talks about learning about discrimination (with a capital D) as a child. He's flamboyant, a bit homoerotic, self righteous and most of all sinister, but you can also tell he loves what he's doing and is truly behind his man Rude.

As for the wrestlers themselves, this is a tough time to rank for WCCW. The Von Erichs/Dynamic Duo feud comes to a conclusion with a series of great matches, but as I start to work through disc 9 and peek ahead to 10 it looks like it may have been the last great feud of the company. Kerry has some matches after where he looks particularly out of it even by his standards. Adams goes through a transitional period to return babyface after Gino's death and has to work with an eye patch, which he does an impressive job of. Before that he also has a nice feud with the surprisingly babyface Great Kabuki which provides a number of really solid matches. One Man Gang has some strong showings as well as Iceman King Parsons, and the two of them put together one of my most memorable matches of the set with the Taped Fist bout.

The matches on these 2 discs in general are very good. It was an easy watch and I could only say I actually disliked the last 2 matches on my rankings below. Hell even match I've got #28 here, Chris Adams, Kevin & Lance Von Erich vs. One Man Gang, The Great Kabuki & Rick Rude (5/26/86) was a lot of fun. But the thing is very few of these matches have a shot at cracking say my top 15. There are a lot of "top third" matches, but not many "top tier" matches. Still the set continues to please and I'm looking forward to checking in with my thoughts on the last 2 discs soon.

1. Gino Hernandez & Chris Adams vs. Kerry & Kevin Von Erich (Texas Tornado Cage Match) (11/28/85)
2. Iceman King Parsons vs. One Man Gang (Taped Fist Match) (10/6/85)
3. Rick Rude vs. Iceman King Parsons (2/3 Falls) (11/4/85)
4. Gino Hernandez & Chris Adams vs. Kerry & Kevin Von Erich (Hair vs. Hair Match) (10/6/85)
5. Chris Adams vs. Kevin Von Erich (7/13/85)
6. Gino Hernandez & Chris Adams vs. Kerry Von Erich & Kabuki (6/14/85)
7. Chris Adams vs. Kevin Von Erich (No DQ) (9/2/85)
8. Chris Adams vs. The Great Kabuki (7/4/85)
9. Gino Hernandez & Chris Adams vs. Kerry & Kevin Von Erich (7/4/85)
10. Chris Adams vs. The Great Kabuki (7/8/85)
11. Michael Hayes & Buddy Roberts vs. Lance Von Erich & Brickhouse Brown (3/21/86)
12. Kerry Von Erich vs. One Man Gang (11/15/85)
13. Gino Hernandez & Chris Adams vs. Kerry & Kevin Von Erich (12/25/85)
14. Kevin Von Erich vs. Ric Flair (5/5/85)
15. Gino Hernandez & Chris Adams vs. Kerry & Kevin Von Erich (Texas Tornado Match) (7/26/85)
16. John Tatum vs. Scott Casey (9/16/85)
17. Iceman King Parsons vs. John Tatum (2/17/86)
18. Chris Adams vs. Gino Hernandez (Hair vs. Hair) (1/27/86)
19. Michael Hayes, Terry Gordy & Kabuki vs. Bruiser Brody, Kevin & Lance Von Erich (4/7/86)
20. Chris Adams vs. The Great Kabuki (6/28/85)
21. Chris Adams, Kevin & Lance Von Erich vs. Blackjack Mulligan, The Great Kabuki & Rick Rude (6/13/86)
22. Kerry Von Erich & Bruiser Brody vs. Michael Hayes & Terry Gordy (4/4/86)
23. John Tatum vs. Scott Casey (9/2/85)
24. Rick Rude vs. Kerry Von Erich (12/13/85)
25. Michael Hayes & Buddy Roberts vs. Kerry & Kevin Von Erich (2/21/86)
26. Little Mr. T vs. Little Tokyo (3/21/86)
27. Chris Adams vs. John Tatum (5/16/86)
28. Chris Adams, Kevin & Lance Von Erich vs. One Man Gang, The Great Kabuki & Rick Rude (5/26/86)
29. Rip Oliver vs. The Great Kabuki (2/3 Falls) (6/24/85)
30. Steve Regal & Jack Victory vs. The Fantastics (2/3 Falls) (3/3/86)
31. Rick Rude vs. Kerry Von Erich (3/7/86)

1980s Texas Set Ballot Discs 4-6

The next 3 discs of the Texas set took a bit longer to get through than the first 3. That's not to say the quality of the wrestling was significantly worse on these matches, it just felt like the feuds and storylines were a bit less engaging through these years than the beginning of the project. While the Garvin/Adams cage match is just about a lock for my top 5, their feud on a whole wore out its welcome. By the end of disc 6 The Dynamic Duo VS the Von Erichs feud is red hot, but it felt a bit slow developing. Still, the top 20 or so matches I've got ranked below were all great or bordering on it, and the set is still very engaging.

If Sunshine was the valet who blew me away on the first 3 discs, then the manager who turned me into a huge fan on the next 3 discs was Gary Hart. I had really only seen Gary during his stint managing the Great Muta previously, and never got a good sense of what he was about during that era. Here I completely understand his character, and much like Sunshine it's so different and compelling compared to what we usually see from this kind of manager. Gary isn't evil for the sake of evil, he doesn't yell and shout and make promises he can't keep. Gary is logical, cold, calculating, and a man of his word. You can tell that the crowd respects him as much as they hate him, which is no small feat for a heel manager.

Otherwise the top guys generally still look good to great, Flair continues to deliver when he comes through, and we get a trio of awesome tags from the Midnights and the Fantastics. The less said about Mike Von Erich the better, but he was carried to at least a couple good matches. Killer Khan continues his series of great matches from around the world throughout the 80s with a classic Texas DeathMatch against Terry Gordy. And personally my favorite matches on these projects are the ones you never see coming and totally win you over. On the NJPW set one of the best examples was Riki Choshu & Masa Saito VS George Takano & Super Strong Machine from 3/16/89, and although it's a very different match I couldn't help but think of it when I watched Iceman King Parsons & Brian Adias VS Super Destroyers from (1/30/84). Parsons has been good but not a favorite thus far, and I had little to no knowledge of Adias or the Super Destroyers coming in. But man did I love everything about that one.

Here's the first draft of my rankings of just the matches from discs 4-6. I'm putting my ballot together a bit differently this time around, with a few separate mini rankings that I'll then shuffle together like a deck of cards at the end. I think this will help me rank things from different years a bit better than I was able to towards the end of the NJPW project.

1. Jimmy Garvin vs. Chris Adams (Cage Match) (1/30/84)
2. Terry Gordy vs. Killer Khan (Texas Death Match; Special Guest Referee, Kerry Von Erich) (11/22/84)
3. Iceman King Parsons & Brian Adias vs. Super Destroyers (2/3 Falls) (1/30/84)
4. Terry Gordy vs. Kerry Von Erich (World Title Match) (5/7/84)
5. The Fantastics vs. Midnight Express (12/25/84)
6. The Fantastics vs. Midnight Express (1/11/85)
7. Gino Hernandez & Chris Adams vs. Kerry & Kevin Von Erich (Lumberjack Match) (2/22/85)
8. Kerry Von Erich vs. Michael Hayes (Loser Leaves Town Cage Match) (11/24/83)
9. Ric Flair vs. Chris Adams (2/3/84)
10. Michael Hayes & Jimmy Garvin vs. Mike Von Erich & Chris Adams (Penalty Box Match) (4/16/84)
11. Kevin Von Erich vs. Chris Adams (10/27/84)
12. Chris Adams vs. Kerry Von Erich (2/8/85)
13. Gino Hernandez & Chris Adams vs. Kerry & Kevin Von Erich (Texas Tornado Match) (3/22/85)
14. Ric Flair vs. Kerry Von Erich (5/11/84)
15. The Fantastics vs. Midnight Express (3/8/85)
16. The Fabulous Freebirds vs. The Von Erichs (Badstreet Match) (7/4/84)
17. Gino Hernandez, Chris Adams & Jake the Snake vs. Bobby Fulton, Mike & Kerry Von Erich (10/27/84)
18. The Freebirds vs. The Von Erichs (Six-man Elimination) (11/21/83)
19. Jimmy Garvin & Terry Gordy vs. Kerry Von Erich & Chris Adams (2/3 Falls) (11/28/83)
20. The Fabulous Freebirds vs. The Von Erichs (Bunkhouse Elimination Cage Match) (9/3/84)
21. Ric Flair vs. Kerry Von Erich (5/6/84)
22. Chris Adams & Stella Mae French vs. Jimmy Garvin & Precious (Losers Leaves Town Cage Match) (7/4/84)
23. Iceman King Parsons & Skip Young vs. Pretty Young Things (8/17/84)
24. Terry Gordy & Killer Khan vs. Chris Adams & Iceman King Parsons (5/18/84)
25. Iceman King Parsons vs. Chris Adams (10/8/84)
26. Gino Hernandez, Chris Adams & Jake the Snake vs. The Von Erichs (12/31/84)
27. Chris Adams vs. Jake The Snake (9/3/84)
28. Jimmy Garvin vs. Chris Adams (4/2/84)
29. Chris Adams vs. Kerry Von Erich (1/11/85)
30. Terry Gordy & Killer Khan vs. Kevin Von Erich & Chris Adams (7/6/84)
31. Kerry Von Erich vs. Terry Gordy (Lumberjack Match) (8/17/84)
32. Terry Gordy vs. Chris Adams (2/3 Falls) (11/12/83)
33. Jimmy Garvin vs. Chris Adams (4/15/84)
34. Iceman King Parsons vs. Buddy Roberts (12/12/83)
35. Gino Hernandez vs. Kevin Von Erich (8/17/84)
36. Ric Flair vs. Terry Gordy (1/11/85)
37. Iceman King Parsons & Chris Adams vs. Jimmy Garvin & Missing Link (3/2/84)
38. Dynamic Duo, Kamala, Rip Oliver, One Man Gang & Dr. Death vs. The Fabulous Freebirds & The Von Erichs (3/5 Falls) (5/5/85)
39. Gino Hernandez vs. Kerry Von Erich (7/20/84)
40. Iceman King Parsons vs. Gino Hernandez (7/6/84)
41. The Fabulous Freebirds vs. Kevin, Mike & Fritz Von Erich (Badstreet Match) (5/6/84)
42. Kamala, The Missing Link & Super Destroyer #2 vs. The Fabulous Freebirds (3/30/84)
43. Michael Hayes, Buddy Roberts, Jimmy Garvin & Killer Khan vs. Kevin Von Erich, Junkyard Dog, Chris Adams & Jules Strongbow (5/28/84)
44. Michael Hayes & Buddy Roberts vs. Mike Von Erich & Chris Adams (7/20/84)
45. Michael Hayes & Terry Gordy vs. Kamala & Missing Link (3/16/84)

1980s Texas Set Ballot Discs 1-3

I haven't been doing much around here lately so I thought this would be a good chance to put up some content. I've been working on a draft of a review for the DGUSA DVD Mercury Rising for a month, which I may post eventually, but it's boring to write because it boils down to this- don't buy the DVD, it's not very good. In the meantime I'm thoroughly enjoying the Texas set in the ongoing Best of the 80s DVDVR projects, so I figured it'd make more sense to write about something that I'm finding engaging.

This is my third set I've participated in, the first being Mid South and second was New Japan. Before these sets I watched a bit of 80s wrestling (aside from the stuff growing up), a Steamboat/Youngblood VS Slaughter/Kernodle cage match here, an All Japan Real World Tag League with the Funks there. But these projects have really given me the foundation to understand and appreciate wrestling from the decade I was born. When I first got the Mid South set I had my reservations about whether or not I'd actually be able to finish and get a ballot in on time. I was surprised at how quickly I tore through the set. Any reservations I had about lowering my expectations for a slower/looser style were completely unfounded. Brawling has always been my favorite style of wrestling and Mid South was really built around great brawling supplemented by strong athletic work in the ring. On top of that Bill Watts may have become my favorite booker all time over the course of the set. New Japan, despite being full of great wrestling, was a bit more of a chore towards the end for me. But WCCW has a somewhat similar feel to the Watts stuff both in terms of booking and the style in the ring, so I'm keeping a good pace with this set so far with no need to take significant breaks.

Kerry Von Erich was always one of the 80s wrestlers who I naturally enjoyed the most. I bought a Best of Kerry comp back when I still barely watched any 80s wrestling, and enjoyed every match on it. So the Texas set was really a no brainer for me. And it's been a blast so far. I knew I liked the Von Erichs coming in, but I've been especially impressed through the first three discs with "Gorgeous" Jimmy Garvin and Sunshine. Garvin I had only seen later in his career and thought very little of coming in. Sunshine I had honestly never even heard of as Precious was the valet I always associated with him. Well Sunshine has quickly sky rocketed on my list of all time great valets and managers, and Garvin has had a bunch of matches that are locks to stay high on my ballot. Their chemistry is amazing and Sunshine has an ability to tell the entire story of match with her facial expressions that most wrestlers never even come close to. I think those two, along with Kerry, have been at the very top of the set through the first 3 discs.

The Freebirds and Kevin Von Erich have been just about on the same level, with the main event scene in general looking very strong. I have some issues with Kevin's selling in some matches, then in others such as against Race he'll put on an absolute clinic. So he's been a bit hard to pin down. Some people have considered him for one of the greatest in the world around this era, others I've heard similar complaints from regarding his selling. But he's always fun to watch. He might have my favorite flying cross body block of all time, and his offense is unique and exciting. All three Freebirds have been great and it'd be hard for me to definitely say one has been better than another thus far. Otherwise David Von Erich, "Iceman" King Parsons and Chris Adams have had some good showings and some mediocre ones, but have generally been good. And as far as the touring talent, Flair has not surprisingly been pretty great and Race has been good as well.

Here's my ballot through these first three discs, which I hope to update after then next three discs, and then once or twice more through the last four. Some of these matches are in line for a rewatch and of course this is all subject to revision as I go. Also keep in mind that other than a small handful of matches at the bottom, I actively enjoyed all of these and would gladly sit down to them again.

1. The Fabulous Freebirds vs. The Von Erichs (7/4/83)
2. Ric Flair vs. Kerry Von Erich (Cage Match) (12/25/82)
3. Jimmy Garvin & Terry Gordy vs. David & Kevin Von Erich (2/3 Falls) (8/15/83)
4. Harley Race vs. Kevin Von Erich (6/17/83)
5. Terry Gordy & Michael Hayes vs. Kerry & Kevin Von Erich (Country Whipping Match) (11/4/83)
6. Jimmy Garvin vs. Kevin Von Erich (7/25/83)
7. The Fabulous Freebirds & Jimmy Garvin vs. The Von Erichs & Iceman King Parsons (Elimination Match) (5/27/83)
8. Jimmy Garvin vs. Kevin Von Erich (7/18/83)
9. Kevin Von Erich vs. King Kong Bundy (5/30/82)
10. Ric Flair vs. Kerry Von Erich (2/3 falls) (8/15/82)
11. Iceman King Parsons vs. Harley Race (10/7/83)
12. Jimmy Garvin vs. David Von Erich (6/17/83)
13. Chris Adams, Iceman King Parsons & David Von Erich vs. Michael Hayes, Kamala & The Mongol (10/3/83)
14. Jimmy Garvin & Michael Hayes vs. Kerry Von Erich & Chris Adams (10/31/83)
15. Terry Gordy vs. Kerry Von Erich (No DQ) (6/10/83)
16. The Fabulous Freebirds vs. The Von Erichs (Lumberjack Match) (2/18/83)
17. Jimmy Garvin vs. David Von Erich (5/27/83)
18. Buddy Roberts vs. David Von Erich (3/18/83)
19. Terry Gordy vs. Kevin Von Erich (1/10/83)
20. Ric Flair vs. Kevin Von Erich (4/1/83)
21. The Fabulous Freebirds vs. The Von Erichs (8/12/83)
22. Terry Gordy vs. Chris Adams (7/15/83)
23. Jimmy Garvin vs. Chris Adams (8/26/83)
24. Iceman King Parsons vs. Buddy Roberts (2/3 Falls) (8/8/83)
25. Chavo Guerrero, Iceman King Parsons & Kerry Von Erich vs. The Fabulous Freebirds (Penalty Box Match) (4/29/83)
26. Jimmy Garvin vs. Chris Adams (10/24/83)
27. Iceman King Parsons, Kevin & David Von Erich vs. The Fabulous Freebirds (5/13/83)
28. Checkmate & Magic Dragon vs. Al Madril & Bugsy McGraw (10/26/82)
29. Michael Hayes vs. Kerry Von Erich (Country Whipping Match) (9/5/83)
30. Checkmate & Magic Dragon vs. Jose Lothario & Al Madril (10/12/82)
31. Ric Flair vs. David Von Erich (10/11/82)
32. Terry Gordy vs. David Von Erich (2/3 Falls) (9/5/83)
33. Ric Flair vs. Terry Gordy (2/4/83)
34. Kevin Von Erich vs. Terry Gordy (10/21/83)
35. The Fabulous Freebirds vs. The Von Erichs (9/5/83)
36. David Von Erich, Michael Hayes & Terry Gordy vs. The Sharpe Brothers & Tom Steele (12/25/82)
37. Michael Hayes vs. Kerry Von Erich (2/7/83)
38. Jimmy Garvin vs. Johnny Mantel (10/31/83)
39. Jimmy Garvin vs. Chris Adams (9/12/83)
40. Buddy Roberts & Terry Gordy vs. Kerry Von Erich & Johnny Mantel (10/17/83)