NWA Big Time Wrestling (BTW; Later known as World Class Championship Wrestling), based out of Dallas, Texas held their first major professional wrestling super shows under the name Wrestling Star Wars in 1981, an event series that would run until 1989, with at least three of these being held in 1981. Promoter Fritz Von Erich held two "Wrestling Star Wars" events, one in June and one in October as well as a special "Christmas Star Wars" on December 25 of that year.
Big Time Wrestling Star Wars | |||
---|---|---|---|
Promotion | NWA Big Time Wrestling | ||
Date | June 4, 1981 [1] [2] [3] | ||
City | Dallas, Texas [1] [2] | ||
Venue | Reunion Arena [1] [2] | ||
Event chronology | |||
| |||
Wrestling Star Wars chronology | |||
|
Wrestling Star Wars (June 1981) was a professional wrestling supercard show that was held on June 4, 1981. The show was produced and scripted by the Dallas, Texas based Big Time Wrestling (BTW) professional wrestling promotion and held in their home area, the Dallas, Texas. Several matches from the show were taped for BTW's television shows and broadcast in the weeks following the show. It is believed that the June 4, 1981 version of "Wrestling Star Wars" was the first overall show in the "Wrestling Star Wars" event chronology. The show was held at the Reunion Arena.
Due to sparse records from 1981 the full show has not been found documented, only three matches on the show have been verified. Kerry Von Erich defeated Ernie Ladd to win the NWA American Heavyweight Championship on the show. As of May 2019, all known matches are available as Hidden Gems on the WWE Network. [4]
No. | Results [1] [2] | Stipulations | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Kerry Von Erich defeated Ernie Ladd (c) | Singles match for the NWA American Heavyweight Championship [3] | ||||
2 | Bruiser Brody defeated The Great Kabuki | "Texas Death" Steel cage match [5] | ||||
3 | Fritz Von Erich defeated Gary Hart | Steel cage match [5] | ||||
|
Big Time Wrestling Star Wars | |||
---|---|---|---|
Promotion | NWA Big Time Wrestling | ||
Date | October 25, 1981 [6] [7] | ||
City | Dallas, Texas [6] [7] | ||
Venue | Reunion Arena [6] [7] | ||
Wrestling Star Wars chronology | |||
|
Wrestling Star Wars (October 1981) was a professional wrestling supercard show that was held on October 25, 1981. The show was produced and scripted by the Dallas, Texas based Big Time Wrestling (BTW) professional wrestling promotion and held in their home area, the Dallas, Texas. Several matches from the show were taped for BTW's television shows and broadcast in the weeks following the show. Records are not clear on if this show was the second or third overall show in the "Wrestling Star Wars" event chronology. The show was held at the Reunion Arena.
Big Time Wrestling promoter Fritz Von Erich's son Kevin Von Erich was supposed to team up with Kerry Von Erich on the show, but had to be replaced at the last moment by Terry Orndorff. Kerry Von Erich and Orndorff would go on to defeat the team of the Great Kabuki and Chan Chung to win the NWA American Tag Team Championship.
No. | Results [6] [7] | Stipulations | Times | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Frank Dusek defeated Jesse Leon | Singles match | 04:47 | |||
2 | Terry Orndorff defeated Richard Blood | Singles match | 12:47 | |||
3 | Chan Chung defeated Big Daddy Bundy by disqualification | Singles match | 05:21 | |||
4 | Junkyard Dog defeated Armand Hussein | Singles match | 10:35 | |||
5 | Ernie Ladd (c) defeated Jose Lothario | Singles match for the NWA Texas Brass Knuckles Championship | 09:22 | |||
6 | David Von Erich defeated Killer Tim Brooks | Bunkhouse match | 04:10 | |||
7 | Kerry Von Erich and Terry Orndorff defeated the Great Kabuki and Chan Chung (c) | Tag team match the NWA American Tag Team Championship [8] | 20:08 | |||
8 | Al Madril (c) defeated Bill Irwin via DQ | Singles match for the NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship | 15:42 | |||
|
Christmas Star Wars | |||
---|---|---|---|
Promotion | NWA Big Time Wrestling | ||
Date | December 25, 1981 [9] [10] | ||
City | Dallas, Texas [9] [10] | ||
Venue | Reunion Arena [9] [10] | ||
Wrestling Star Wars chronology | |||
|
Christmas Star Wars (1981) was a professional wrestling supercard show that was held on December 25, 1981 The show was produced and scripted by the Dallas, Texas based Big Time Wrestling (BTW) professional wrestling promotion and held in their home area, the Dallas, Texas. Several matches from the show were taped for BTW's television shows and broadcast in the weeks following the show. The show was the third or fourth overall show in the "Wrestling Star Wars" event chronology. The show was held at the Reunion Arena. The show was the first show to be billed as "Christmas Star Wars", starting an annual tradition that would last until 1987.
For the show promoter Fritz Von Erich had brought in El Solitario from the Universal Wrestling Association (UWA) in Mexico to defend the UWA World Junior Light Heavyweight Championship as part of the show. Fritz himself wrestled one of his last high-profile matches of his career as he took on and lost to the Great Kabuki in a "Texas death" match where there were no disqualifications. The main event was a 14-man battle royal featuring wrestlers that had already competed once that night.
No. | Results [9] [10] | Stipulations | Times | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | El Negro Assassino vs. Richard Blood ended in a time-limit draw | Singles match | 15:00 | |||
2 | Tiny Tom defeated Little Tokyo | Singles match | 09:56 | |||
3 | Jose Lothario defeated Ernie Ladd (c) | Singles match for the NWA Texas Brass Knuckles Championship [11] | 06:33 | |||
4 | Blue Demon and Al Madril defeated Arman Hussein and Carlos Zapata | Tag team match | 13:52 | |||
5 | El Solitario (c) defeated Killer Tim Brooks | Singles match for the UWA World Junior Light Heavyweight Championship [12] | 05:32 | |||
6 | The Great Kabuki defeated Fritz Von Erich | "Texas death" match | 14:32 | |||
7 | Kerry, Kevin, and David Von Erich defeated Frank Dusek, Bill Irwin, and Ten Gu | Six-man tag team match | 11:30 | |||
8 | Big Daddy Bundy defeated Al Madril, Armand Hussein, Bill Irwin, Blue Demon, Carlos Zapata, David Von Erich, Frank Dusek, José Lothario, Kerry Von Erich, Killer Tim Brooks, El Negro Assassino, Richard Blood and Ten Gu | Two-ring battle royal | — | |||
|
Frank Donald Goodish was an American professional wrestler who earned his greatest fame under the ring name Bruiser Brody. He also worked as King Kong Brody, The Masked Marauder, and Red River Jack. Over the years Brody became synonymous with the hardcore wrestling brawling style that often saw one or more of the participants bleeding by the time the match was over. In his prime he worked as a "special attraction" wrestler in North America, making select appearances for various promotions such as World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW), World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF), Central States Wrestling (CSW), Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF), and the American Wrestling Association (AWA) among others. He worked regularly in Japan for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW).
Christopher Alan Pallies was an American professional wrestler, actor and stand-up comedian, better known by his wrestling gimmick and ring name, King Kong Bundy. Under this gimmick, he portrayed a pugnacious, trash-talking villain character.
David Alan Adkisson was an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name David Von Erich. A member of the Von Erich Family, Von Erich is best known for his appearances with World Class Championship Wrestling, the Dallas, Texas-based professional wrestling promotion owned by his father, Fritz Von Erich.
Kerry Gene Adkisson, better known by his ring name Kerry Von Erich, was an American professional wrestler. He was part of the Von Erich family of professional wrestlers. He is best known for his time with his father's promotion World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW), where he spent eleven years of his career, and his time in World Wrestling Federation (WWF), under the ring name The Texas Tornado. Adkisson held forty championships in various promotions during his career. Among other accolades, he was a one-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion, four-time WCWA World Heavyweight Champion, making him an overall five-time world champion and one-time WWF Intercontinental Champion.
Kevin Ross Adkisson is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Kevin Von Erich. A member of the Von Erich family, Von Erich is best known for his appearances with his father's World Class Championship Wrestling promotion. He is a one-time world champion, having held the WCWA World Heavyweight Championship.
Michael Brett Adkisson was an American professional wrestler under the ring name Mike Von Erich. His four brothers, David, Kerry, Kevin and Chris, also wrestled. He was the son of longtime Texas wrestler and wrestling promoter Fritz Von Erich and a member of the Von Erich family.
Robert Deroy Windham, better known by his ring name Blackjack Mulligan, was an American professional wrestler and American football player. He was the father of wrestlers Barry and Kendall Windham, father-in-law of Mike Rotunda, and the maternal grandfather of Bo Dallas and Bray Wyatt.
Jack Barton Adkisson Sr., better known by his ring name Fritz Von Erich, was an American professional wrestler, wrestling promoter, and the patriarch of the Von Erich family. He was a 3-time world champion and a record 20-time NWA United States Champion. He was also the owner of the World Class Championship Wrestling territory.
Dale Hey was a Canadian-American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Buddy Roberts. Primarily a tag team wrestler, Roberts is known for his appearances as one of The Hollywood Blonds in the 1970s and as one of The Fabulous Freebirds in the 1980s. He was inducted into the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2015 and the WWE Hall of Fame in 2016 as part of The Fabulous Freebirds.
Al Perez is a retired American professional wrestler. He held 16 titles during a 20-year career, including the WCWA World Heavyweight Championship.
King Bailey Parsons Jr. is a former professional wrestler better known by his ring name Iceman King Parsons.
The WCCW Parade of Champions was a series of professional wrestling supercards promoted by Fritz Von Erich's World Class Championship Wrestling first in 1961, in 1972 and then annually from 1984 through 1988. Von Erich used the "Parade of Champions" name in 1984 as a way to honor his recently deceased son, David and the subsequent Parade of Champions were all "Von Erich Memorial" Parades of Champions. At the inaugural Von Erich Memorial event, in front of the largest crowd ever to watch a pro wrestling event in the United States up to that point, Kerry Von Erich defeated Ric Flair for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, only to lose it back to Flair 18 days later in Yokohama, Japan. Over the next few years, Von Erich altered the names as tragedy repeatedly struck his family. The Parade of Champions was the most recognized event that World Class Championship Wrestling, later known as World Class Wrestling Association, promoted. There was a Parade of Champions super card held by Southern Sports in 1961 and another held by Big Time Wrestling in 1972. All Parade of Champions supercards were held at Texas Stadium in Irving, Texas. A wrestling organization out of Texas called NWA Southwest ran an event in late August, 2010, called Parade of Champions, which it claimed was the "Longest Running Wrestling Event In Texas History Dating Back To 1972," but there was no actual connection between the WCCW show event other than the name.
Donald Delbert Jardine was a Canadian professional wrestler best known for his masked gimmick as The Spoiler. Jardine was a major star in various wrestling promotions. He worked in the World Wrestling Federation, first in 1974 and again from 1984 to 1986. But Jardine saw his greatest successes in the National Wrestling Alliance affiliated territories of Championship Wrestling from Florida, Georgia Championship Wrestling and Big Time Wrestling, which would eventually become known as World Class Championship Wrestling, from the early 1960s through the mid 1980s.
The WCCW Cotton Bowl Extravaganza was an annual professional wrestling supercard promoted by Fritz Von Erich's World Class Championship Wrestling / World Class Wrestling Association. It was held in October every year from 1984 through 1988. All Cotton Bowl Extravaganza events were held at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas
The Fritz Von Erich Retirement Show was a major professional wrestling show held by World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW) at the Texas Stadium on June 4, 1982. As the name indicates the show marked Fritz Von Erich's retirement from in ring competition after 29 years of active competition. His retirement came shortly after his promotion "Big Time Wrestling" was renamed "World Class Championship Wrestling" as they were making an attempt to expand to a national promotion. In the main event Fritz Von Erich defeated King Kong Bundy to win the NWA American Heavyweight Championship. After the match Von Erich vacated the American Heavyweight Championship. The show featured a total of nine matches. On the show David and Kevin Von Erich lost the WCCW All-Asia Tag Team Championship, which is not to be mistaken for the All Asia Tag Team Championship.
World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW), based out of Dallas, Texas held a number of major professional wrestling super shows under the name Wrestling Star Wars between 1981 and 1989, with three of these being held in 1982. Promoter Fritz Von Erich held two "Wrestling Star Wars" events, one in March and one in August as well as a special "Christmas Star Wars" on December 25 of that year. The driving storyline behind both the second and third Star Wars show of 1982 was Von Erich's son Kerry Von Erich's quest to defeat Ric Flair for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, a quest that was ultimately unsuccessful due to the Fabulous Freebirds turning on the Von Erich family, starting the most well known storyline in WCCW as the Von Erichs and the Freebirds fought for years following the December Christmas Star Wars.
World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW), based out of Dallas, Texas held a number of major professional wrestling super shows under the name 'Wrestling Star Wars between 1981 and 1989, with three of these being held in 1983. Promoter Fritz Von Erich held five "Wrestling Star Wars" events, one in March, one in August as well as a special Star Wars show for Independence Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas.
World Class Wrestling Association (WCWA), based out of Dallas, Texas held a number of major professional wrestling super shows under the name Wrestling Star Wars between 1981 and 1989, with five of these being held in 1986.
World Class Wrestling Association (WCWA), based out of Dallas, Texas held a number of major professional wrestling super shows under the name Wrestling Star Wars between 1981 and 1989, with five of these being held in 1987.