Customer Reviews

The Triumph and Tragedy of World Class Championship Wrestling

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have now watched this piece at least 6 times since I bought it this past Friday and let me say it is worth the money. While it isn't perfect, I am just glad to see some of this old footage as it brings back memories of me watching World Class on ESPN during the mid to late 80's. Yes, ESPN used to air them and AWA at one time.

Anyway, back to the product, it was great to see Gary Hart, Skandor Akbar and "Wild" Bill Irwin again and to hear their stories. Its also great to see Kevin Von Eric still around to give us his stories about his dad and brothers. Time has been kind to them but not so kind of the former Fabulous Freebirds, especially Buddy Roberts and "Gorgeous" Jimmy Garvin! Michael Hayes still looks pretty good and I like hearing his views on World Class as well. I also liked seeing guys that often are forgotten like the late Missing Link, Kamala, The Great Kabuki (kayfabe "father" of former IWGP and NWA Champion The Great Muta), "Iceman" King Parsons, "The Mercenary of Mayhem" Bruiser Brody, Abdulah The Butcher and Gino Hernandez.

If I have any problems with this release, I would've liked to have heard from "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. True, he didn't wrestle for World Class (it had changed to USWA by the time he started) but he was trained by "Gentleman" Chris Adams so I would've liked to have heard from him about Chris. I mean, we heard from Mick Foley, HHH and Shawn Michaels so why not Austin? Oh well, you can't have everything.

The ending of the promotion wasn't as sad as all the deaths like Gino Hernandez and the Von Eric brothers. David's was particularly sad because it has been said he was next in line to be NWA World Champion in 1984. Mike and Chris' deaths, while sad, weren't totally surprising because (based on what's said on the documentary) there were signs. Kerry's death was almost as shocking as David's in the respect that no one saw that one coming at all! Still, they were tragic no matter how you slice it.

This release from WWE wasn't perfect by any means but it still gets 5 stars from me because any acknowledgement of wrestling outside of WWE is always a good sign.

Overall, this release gives you a good idea of who World Class was and what they contributed to what we call "sports entertainment." I will also be purchasing "Heroes of World Class" very soon as it has also received high praise. Between the two, you'll almost have a definitive look at this Texas promotion which had great wrestling, colorful personalities and fans whose loyalty and passion for these wrestlers rivaled (in my opinion) those fans who cheered the original ECW during the mid to late 90's! Definitely deserves a place on any wrestling fans wall or someone who likes good documentaries.

From 1982-1985, WCCW had the "It" factor; a syndicated-TV show - with state-of-the-art production - which aired main-event-quality matches, major shows which captivated national audiences and a Rock-n-Wrestling connection that did not make the talent into cartoon characters.

Though, for some of the talent, it became a party to the abyss. And, when it all began to fall apart, there were oftentimes very tragic consequences.

This two-disc set does a good job in capturing the growth of WCCW from a regional business into a powerhouse and its slide into irrelevance while it tried to hang on in the late 1980s as the independent WCWA and - from 1988-1990 - during the last gasp in the fatal merger with AWA and CWA.

While the documentary on disc one fails to mention the 1986 oil crisis which depressed the territory and the major talent wars with the upstart, UWF, the candid commentary by the legendary Gary Hart makes for compelling viewing. And no matter how many times the tragedy surrounding the Von Erichs is told, it remains a sad journey of the perils when business - at all costs - takes precedence over family.

The second disc - though Gino Hernandez is not in any of the bouts - features a good overview of the superior matches during the glory years; including the historic steel cage match of Kerry Von Erich versus Ric Flair and a steel cage match featuring two legends who invented hardcore, Bruiser Brody and Abdullah the Butcher.

This is a must purchase for fans who fondly remember WCCW or those who want a better historical understanding of the great heights and dramatic demise of a company which had so much, but for many of the wrestlers, it was too much, too soon.

I must say that the New WWE dvd release the Von Erichs is well done but how could they justify giving 2 dvd,s to this dynasty when they gave 3 to some one so insignificant as Ray Mysterio Jr.,Its just not fair there should have been 3 or even maybe 4 dvd,s attached to this set.Unfortunately Vince McMahon now owns the rights to all the WCCW Tape Library that Kevin sold to him this year.If McMahon was smart he would put out a box set with every World Class Wrestling Show there was especially since Blue Ray discs can hold 8 times what a regular dvd can hold.I must say growing up with World Class in syndication here in South Jersey it was very emotional for me to watch the final moments of the dvd where they showed the Sportatorium and the music that went with it was erie.It brought a lump in my throat.If anyone knows what the music was called at the end of the dvd would you let me know.thanks
Scott Denny

I'll be honest in that I didn't have the chance to see World Class until I got WWE 24/7 a year ago as it wasn't available to me growing up but this is WWE's 4th attempt at telling the story behind another wrestling promotion. This can either go the way of the "Rise & Fall Of ECW" where they go a great job in telling the buildup & downfall of the company along with the legacy it left behind that's still used in wrestling today or the way of the AWA or WCW on the Monday Night Wars DVD where they quickly gloss over the positive influence of the company before spending a majority of time picking apart the negatives of the company from a heavily biased WWE point of view just to put over it's superiority. Well, I saw this as the ECW route in which WWE did justice to a wrestling company that even I knew changed the way wrestling was presented that still effects us today.

The documentry kicks off by talking about the early days of Texas wrestling with comments from Texas legends such as Dusty Rhodes & Dory Funk Jr. The beginning of Fritz Von Erich, his reputation, and how he moved into becoming a promoter & wrestler is talked about. The documentry moves on in how the Von Erich boys (David, Kerry, Kevin) came into wrestling along, Fritz retiring as a wrestler leading to a big show at a football stadium in Texas, the backlash towards the kids being pushed in the promotion, and just how over the Von Erich's were over in Texas. How the TV show expanded into sydication across america & international countries was talked about including how the boys wanted to travel but Fritz didn't want to break the traditional "territorial" rules. All the new elements the promotion brought to wrestling such as personality profiles & features were glossed upon with a funny story about what happened at a water park. The legacy of the Sportatorium was brought up next before moving onto how the Freebirds came into World Class & what elements they brought to the show in & outside the ring was talked about before moving onto how the big rivarly between them & the Von Erichs got started in the cage match with Kerry & Ric Flair. The story behind Gary Hart leaving that night & Ken Mantel taking over the booking along with the influx of young stars coming into the company such as Wild Bill Irwin, Iceman Parsons, Jimmy Garvin with Sunshine & eventually his wife Precious, Chris Adams, Kamala, The Missing Link, and Brusier Brody is heavily discussed. How the Freebirds feuds with the Von Erich's rivarly brought in bigger crowds along with the importance of each member of the group is discussed before moving onto all the events leading up to David's death in Japan along with the aftermath which lead to WCCW's biggest crowd. The memoral show is discussed with highlights of Fritz coming out of retirement against the Freebirds along with Kerry winning the NWA Champion before revealing why Kerry didn't have a long reign as champion. Gary Hart's return along with his influence in the Chris Adams heel turn & feud with Kevin was brought up including the "stiff" working styles both men had with each other. The story behind Mike Von Erich's toxic shock syndrome was talked about before going into the negative effect that "Lance Von Erich" had on the company (I guess he was the Paul Roma of the group). The story of Gino Hernandez in how over he was as a heel and various storylines he was in was talked about before moving on to his death via cocane & how much it effected Gary Hart up to that time (he's passed away since this DVD was released). World Class withdrawing from the NWA & making their own champions was brought up in a negative light with comments from Gary Hart & Kevin in how that was a bad decision despite having wrestlers like Rick Rude & Chris Adams as champion. The story behind Kerry's motorcycle accident & losing his foot is talked about next before talking about the influence of drugs into the company. The events leading up to the suicide of Mike Von Erich is next and such a sad story told by Gary Hart before moving on to the heart attack angle they did with Fritz Von Erich. The SuperClash III PPV with the unification match between AWA Champion Jerry Lawler & WCCW Champion Kerry Von Erich is talked about next with how various parts of match was booked due to certain events before moving on to how WCCW was turned into the USWA. Kerry moving on to the WWF as the Texas Tornado & winning the Intercontinental Championship was highlighted before Kevin went into why he wanted to leave the business & the suicides of both Chris & Kerry Von Erich with footage from the "Current Affair" television show regarding Kerry's death close out the documentry.

This DVD comes with 12 bonus matches featuring a 2 out of 3 Falls match with Duke Keomuka vs. Ricky Starr, Fritz' retirement match against King Kong Bundy, the steel cage match between NWA Champion Ric Flair & Kerry Von Erich that started the feud with the Freebirds, Fritz coming out of retirement with Mike & Kevin against the Freebirds, Chris Adams & Sunshine vs. Jimmy Garvin & Precious, Great Kabuki vs. Kamala, Fantastics vs. Midnight Express, Bruiser Brody & The Missing Link vs. One Man Gang & Rick Rude, Bruiser Brody vs. Abdullah the Butcher in a steel cage match, and a Hair match between Iceman Parsons vs. Buddy Roberts. Kevin Von Erich does alternative commentary with Todd Grisham on two matches with him vs. Chris Adams and with Kevin & Iceman vs. Freebirds.

The only negatives I have here is that eventhough as I said that I didn't watch WCCW until around a year ago, I know that more could have been said about King Kong Bundy & Destivation Inc. since even I heard about them when I was young but yet they didn't get anything past a quick one liner throughout this documentry & they would have gotten some words from Steve Austin since he's said it time & time again that he grew up watching WCCW & would drive down every Friday night to see the Von Erich/Freebird feud so his memories as a fan would have been great to hear. In the end, this DVD reminded me exactly of Jake Roberts' in that when they bring up fun & memorable angles then it's a fun documentry to watch & get a couple of laughts off the stories being told but when they talk about the dark times, it's one that's either really distrubing or really sad to watch. After watching this, you can see why WWE decided to push this documentry back for months after the Benoit incident last July & Triple H described the sad deaths throughout this promotion best..."A public service announcement saying DON'T DO DRUGS!" This isn't just a documenty I recommend as a wrestling fan but one I would recommend for parents to show their children as well who are wrestling fans when teaching them the dangers of heavy drug use & the effects negative effects of suicide.

I bought Heroes of World Class about a month ago to prepare myself for this latest documentary "WWE" style. The WWE is a great disc and is of course a top notch product. However I kind of preferred the Heroes of World Class DVD because they covered way more content and included alot of old clips. If you're a fan of WCCW then I suggest you pick up both as each have their own qualities that make them the ultimate World Class Anthology. Buy Heroes for the documentary and buy Triumph for the matches.

In the early 1980's, World Class Championship Wrestling was on par with (and in many instances better) than the WWF, NWA, and AWA. The Von Erich brothers were the major stars of the promotion and catapulted it to worldwide popularity. This DVD gives a fairly balanced portrayal of WCCW and features some classic matches that provide a good overview of what the company was all about. The eighties was a decade of excess, and never was it more evident than in the world of professional wrestling. Guys lived wild lives, abusing drugs and alcohol, without thinking about what the consequences of their actions would be. That was the downfall of WCCW, along with the failure of a promoter to forsake his old school ways and have a vision for the future.

This DVD brings back many great memories for an old school wrestling fan like me, who was able to experience all the great promotions that existed in the eighties. It relives some of the great rivalries, has some great matches, and is filled with great extras such as the "Badstreet USA" music video that I thought that I would never see again. However, it does not provide the viewer with some important facts, and it does not include some major matches. I highly recommend Brian Harrison's superb "Heroes of World Class" DVD as a complement to this one to truly realize the full scope of this great promotion.

On the negative side, this WWE production does not mention most of the vital innovations that WCCW brought to wrestling, such as multiple camera angles, the handheld cameras, and microphones to make the wrestlers and matches larger than life. It also only gives brief mention that WCCW was the first company to use entrance music. It does not cover the death of Bruiser Brody, probably because the man who was responsible for it still probably works for the promotion that Carlito's father, Carlos Colon, owns. Many important wrestlers that came through the promotion also aren't mentioned or just barely mentioned (Devastation Inc., etc.) Although the Freebirds were a big part of WCCW's success, this DVD gives them too much credit because Michael Hayes is a major player in the hierarchy of the WWE. The VON ERICHS WERE THE HEART AND SOUL OF WORLD CLASS, and the company lived and eventually died with them.

The matches were great, especially the Kerry/Flair match from Star Wars '82, but there are many very important matches missing, which include:

David vs. Harley Race
David vs. Flair
David vs. Terry Gordy
Kevin vs. Flair
Kerry vs. Flair for the NWA Championship from the 1984 David Von Erich Memorial
Kerry and Kevin vs. Chris Adams and Gino Hernandez in a Hair Match
...and many more.

Hopefully, if the demand exists, the WWE will release more DVDs featuring these and many more classic WCCW matches.

Overall, this is a great DVD that gives a fair view of WCCW and provides a strong anti-drug message in WWE's own unique way. The Von Erichs were superstars before wrestlers were superstars. True, they were grown men that made their own decisions and suffered the consequences. However, their blood lies in the hands of their own father, Jack Adkisson (Fritz Von Erich). Had he been a better father, all of his sons might still be alive. Had he been a smarter promoter, he would have forgone his old school mentality and let the promotion explode to what it could have become. To those of you younger fans out there that are only familiar with the WWE, WCCW was just as big, more popular, and seen by many more people than all of the other promotions. Watch this DVD and the "Heroes of World Class" DVD to truly know what a bad guy Fritz was and how one man can destroy many lives through bad decisions and not enough love for his own family.

In conclusion, if you are even a little interested in wrestling, buy both this and the "Heroes of World Class" DVD. You will get a brief glance of a significant organization that was wildly popular and revolutionized a business so much so that, nowadays, is a multi-billion dollar industry with millions of fans all over the world. Plus, you'll see great athletes perform, and you'll get a lesson that transcends all walks of life-drugs kill.

I thought WWE would do a better job with this, especially since the promotion is dead and no longer a threat! If you were a big fan of World Class, you're probably going to be dissapointed. If you were a casual wrestling fan, this will suit you just fine.

First of all, production. During much of the time the background music nearly drowns out the dialogue which makes watching this very irritating even if you are a big World Class fan. This little quirk gives the entire product an "indie" feel that flies in the face of the supposedly "superior" production values of the current WWE. If somebody would have listened to this one time prior to production, they would have noticed it and made the proper board adjustments!

Second beef was with the choice of matches included. This promotion had some of the most exciting wrestling matches of it's time and very few are included on this set. WWE has the entire WCCW library at its disposal and it was unfortunate that this is the best they could come up with. Clearly this compilation was put together by somebody who didn't love the promotion. If they did, the matches would have been better. (And the above mentioned issue would have been addressed prior to release.)

The Von Erichs and Freebirds are discussed in detail and even if you thought you knew everything about both, you will come away with new information. The deaths of all the brothers are narrated in uncomfortable detail often by Kevin, who comes across as remarkably composed for somebody who has dealt with all that he has. Despite his positive demeaner you can't help but see the pain in his eyes as he talks about the past and what could have been.

Michael Hayes is featured prominately, and his off the cuff comments about his involvement with the promotion that made him a major figure in pro wrestling were refreshingly candid. ("my agent called me and said you have GOT to see what's going on in Texas,") Jimmy Garvin and Buddy Rodgers add significant commentary as well although Garvin's role in the company (among many others) could have been highlighted more.

The promotion was more than just those two groups and while Ice Man King Parsons, Gino Hernandez, and "Gentleman" Chris Adams get mentioned, the rest of the supporting cast get very little credit. A critical factor in what made this promotion succeed and something that current promotions no longer do, is that World Class had three groups of wrestlers as opposed to the usual two.....in a nutshell, good guys, (Von Erichs) bad guys (Freebirds) and freaks (Devestation Inc.) Getting the Texas fans to cheer for Michael Hayes as he wrestled The Missing Link (for example) was an accomplishment that doesn't get the credit it deserves, and made the Freebird / Von Erich matches all the more juicier.

Several other wrestlers get a small mention in the story but none are adequately explored. Another oversite was the acknowledgment and expanation of the constant turnover of NWA talent into and out of the promotion, which kept things fresh for many years. The decision to break from the NWA was rightfully highlighted as one of the major reasons for the decline of the company. Even Lance Von Erich gets a mention here, the "proverbial Red Rooster" of World Class, his insertion into the talent roster was a desperate attempt to recapture the magic of an earlier time while the promotion was in its last days.

The disc also includes a very candid discussion of the impact that drug and alcohol use had on the talent during the 80's. Several major wrestlers had substance abuse issues and often with disasterous results (Gino Hernandez). Salaries and the lack of sufficient profit sharing were also discussed as one of the reasons for wrestler discontent and the promotions eventual decline, especially in the mid 1980's when the World Class was at it's peak. Unfortunately the issue was never unpacked to the point where you felt like you knew where the truth was.

The trip to Israel, while mentioned, should have been highlighted more. (Kevin Von Erich says the same in his reflections on this disc set) World Class also performed two outdoor shows in the Boston area during its peak, a geographic anomoly that is unfortunately ignored. Ice Man King Parsons was highlighted at the time as the first African American World Champion, a juicy topic that is not mentioned at all in the video and totally ignored by todays wrestling historians.

In short, a good compilation that could have been / should have been so much better. World Class was ahead of its time in terms of promotion, the use of music and attractive performers. (All points made by Michael Hayes and Triple H????? in the video) While the video set mentions that fact, it fails to adequately capture it visually. Still for most wrestling fans, this will be a pleasant walk down memory lane.

I was pleasantly suprised to find WWE putting out a video for the classic Texas pro-wrestling organization, World Class Championship Wrestling. As a man who grew up with the stories and legends portrayed in the video, I was hoping for something comparable or better than the other documentary, "Heroes of World Class".

The video was a fantastic and appropriate testimony of the powerful glory and tragic ending of World Class and its home team, the Von Erich family. I was a huge fan of Kerry back in the day, and only the passage of time has allowed me to see the character flaws of my childhood hero.

The video is professionally done and not as dark as "Heroes...", but just as sad. You can't tell the story of World Class without exploring the sad truths. With Vince holding the keys to the most massive professional wrestling video vault, this is the definitive WCCW documentary.

Any Texan who grew up with the tradition of the von Erich's owes it to themselves to purchase this video.

I never really understood how or why WCCW's syndicated show got on TV in my neck of the woods in the early 80's, since i lived in AWA country, and the standard AWA "All-Star Wrestling" show was already getting competed against by two WWF shows at the time -- but one day, there it was. The show quickly became my favorite, simply because WCCW shows employed the radical concept of SHOWING THE GOOD MATCHES ON TV. The AWA and WWF shows on broadcast TV at the time were an endless litany of star v. jobber matches -- to get the "good" stuff, you were supposed to come out to the bouts and buy a ticket. With WCCW, you got REAL matches, all the time, which was AMAZING. They also always had a pretty limited number of wrestlers working for the promotion at any given time -- it didn't seem like it was more than a dozen or so -- so it was easy to pick up on the various personalities and storylines. I really think it was the best wrestling TV show ever, or at least the best wrestling show that wasn't on cable. I guess that doesn't have much to do with the DVD set, so let's move on.

I thought the documentary portion was decent, though not as good as the Rise & Fall of the AWA documentary. It was more kay-fabey than that, but not horridly so like the Starrcade documentary was. Obviously, they had a good tale to tell -- but, like most fans, i'd have liked to have seen them dig a little deeper on various issues. Like, when they say Kerry Von Erich wasn't "reliable," what does this mean, exactly? It would be nice to get some insight as to the scope of the problem. Did he not show up for matches, at all? How many matches? What kind of matches? Or did he just show up messed up? Anyway, it's decent, but not deep. Kevin Von Erich's interviews seem sort of half-shoot/half-worked; i hate having to decode what is reality and what is kayfabe out of what he says. Still, a good story, generally told well.

It was great to see some of the old matches, but i want more. There really should have been an additional disc of matches. I understand why they included the Kamala v. Kabuki and Brody/Missing Link v. One Man Gang/Rick Rude matches -- to tie-in various later-to-be WWE personalities -- but these aren't particularly important matches in the history of the WCCW, and therefore they compose too great a percentage of the matches here. They'd be fine if there was another disc full of matches, but, as it stands, i'm sort of like "why THIS match?" all too often here. Put another way, Kamala appears in as many matches here as Kerry Von Erich -- one! Further, i'm not sure what factors conspired to keep the Kerry/Flair Texas Stadium bout off the DVD, but leaving that match off the DVD is like leaving the Ice Bowl off of a Green Bay Packers DVD. Not hearing Gino Herndandez saying "I AM YOUR CHAMPION!" once during this DVD set is also inexcusable.

In short, the documentary portion is good -- not truly great -- and there should have been double the amount of matches. Since there weren't, they should have made better use of the one disc's worth of matches they did include. Not fully satisfying, but by no means disappointing.

Yes, it's a very good dvd, and let's admit it, the WWE is doing a very good job with its documentaries.

However, "the triumph and tragedy of the Von Erich family" would have been a proper title for this release, as I think that the documentary is focusing too much on the Von Erichs (as well as on the Freebirds) and not enough on what was the WCCW actually, its position in the business, its rivalries with the other territories and promotions etc. On such aspects, the AWA documentary released by the WWE was better and was not only about the Gagne family, so I would have wanted to know more about the other big names in the WCCW like the Missing Link, Kamala etc.

The four hours of bonus are interesting, but, once again, the matches seem to have been randomly picked and, to my view, cannot be considered as a best of, as there are several terrible matches (Kabuki vs. Kamala for example).

Oh yes, this dvd also has the best demonstration of hypocrisy I've ever seen ;here, Jerry Lawler tells that his match vs. Kerry Von Erich at AWA/WCCW SuperClash III was one of the greatest of his carreer...on the AWA dvd, he tells that the very same match is probably the most terrible he has ever been involved in ! (and what's even more "incredible" is that when you watch both dvd's, you see that both interviews have been shot on the same day !).

I don't regret my money, but this dvd could have been a lot better, especially in comparison with other WWE documentaries like "Monday Night War" or "the Spectacular Legacy of the AWA" !