Grimmas books WCCW in 1983

[Grimmas]

Week 4 of March 1983:

March was a huge month for the WCCW and it ends really great with the final week. Next month, ppv!

 

Starting this week I changed The Hour show into a 90 minute show and re-titled it "Big Time Wrestling". The Hour title didn't fit anymore and I wanted to use some of the history of the company. Plus it's a cool name. That being said, the 90 minute format lead to a great episode of television.

 

 

This show accomplished a lot. Martel finished off his feud with The Spoiler (who only has 1 month left and will not be resigned). Freebirds looked great with more Von Erich stuff, killing time until David returns but keeping things hot for the ppv. We also kept the Rock'n'Rolls and Randy Savage feud alive. By the way Cornette is amazing as a colour commentator!

 

Now the big stuff comes with the Tito/Steamboat against Devestation Inc. First they defeated Bundy & Gang in a tag. Bundy ate the fall and was fired after the show. Then we have this epic version of Piper's Pit:

 

 

With all of this said and done, we have Piper and Zbyszko joining up with Skandor's crew. This means there is now a mega feud with Ricky Steamboat & Tito Santana (with Martel to join soon) against Kamala, Piper, Zybszko and Gang with Skandor Akbar in their corner. A great rating for the kick off angle and I have high hopes for this stuff. Especially the Larry and Roddy team!

 

Coming off this show I was pretty high and then I got this news:

 

 

Can life this World Class world get any better?

 

 

Oh HELL YEAH!!!

[Grimmas]

I knew David Von Erich would be out for a while, but I didn't check into it. 11 more months he will be gone!!! I will be ending the Von Erichs-Freebirds feud at the right time then and we can move on to other items.

[shoe]

It seems like your promotion is growing at a much better pace than Jerry Von what's his name. Would you say that's the case Steven?

[Grimmas]

It seems like your promotion is growing at a much better pace than Jerry Von what's his name. Would you say that's the case Steven?

One could say that.

 

Maybe if I signed Don Muraco and built around him and pushed Bret Hart to the top I could be more like that Earth-Z WWF?

[Mad Dog]

I wanted to throw you another tip. I can't tell by your recaps but running angles that use guy's menace are highly effective. If you can have an angle where guys with a high menace rating can stand around being menacing you can get them over really well.

[Jesse Ewiak]

Yeah, also, don't be afraid to create your own temporary angles. The angles that come with the game are frankly, kind of limiting. So, if in RL, you'd basically have a big guy stand there and look mean, a star who can't talk just stand there, and a manager who is spittin' fire, create an interview angle where people are rated on, for example, entertainment, overness, and menace, instead of just overness or entertainment which are what are marked standard.

[Grimmas]

My angles aren't going good, so yeah you guys are right. I will make my own, thanks!

[Grimmas]

Week 1 of April 1983 (partial)

 

I wanted to give an update and hype for the ppv, before I give away that, so here we are.

 

First up is this week's Big Time Wrestling show:

 

As you can see everything is there to hype up the pay-per-view. We have promos, tag matches etc... all leading up to this sunday. Outside of the matches and a wonderfull Piper's Pit with Larry Zbyszko as a guest (cementing their friendship), we had this angle:

 

 

Martel as attacked by Zbysko and Piper, thus throwing him into the Strike Force vs Devestation Inc. feud!

 

In one risky piece of business we have offered Valentine the written exclusive contract. We will hear back before the ppv, so is he staying or leaving? Will he keep both titles and go on to unify them or will he drop them to Wahoo on the way out? Tune into the ppv top find out.

 

As for Extreme Measures, live from Reunion Arena. Jim Ross, Marc Lowrance and Bill Mercer will be calling the action which includes these match ups:

 

The Fabulous Freebirds (Hayes & Gordy) vs Kerry & Kevin Von Erich (Cage)

The final match of their feud in a bloody cage match? It's going to be awesome.

 

Wahoo McDaniel vs Greg Valentine © for the NWA Texas & American Heavyweight Titles in a Strap Match

They have had an aweosme feud leading up to this and Wahoo gets to use the Indian Strap here, will The Hammer pay or will he walk out retaining his titles?

 

Roddy Piper, Larry Zbyszko & Kamala vs Ricky Steamboat, Tito Santana & Rick Martel
This feud is just blooming and is the first trios match. Should be a fun time, especially with all three babyfaces wanting revenge.

 

The Poffos challenge The Rock'n'Roll Express for the NWA American Tag Titles
The final match in this feud to determine who is the best tag team in the WCCW.

 

Magnum TA vs The Great Kabuki
The secondary men involved in the Valentine-Wahoo feud get to duke it out on the undercard.

 

Blackjack Mulligan & Dutch Mantell vs The Midnight Express

An interesting tag match to fill out the undercard.

 

Barry WIndham defends the WCCW Television Title against Rip Rogers

After a time limit draw on TV, they settle it up here.

 

There you have it, the first WCCW PPV!! A lot of feuds will end and we will enter a new era going forward as the national expansion really picks up.

[Grimmas]

EXTREME MEASURES
Sunday Week 1 of April 1983

Live from the Reunion Arena in Dallas, TX

Shown across the country on closed circuit!

 

Jim Ross is calling the play by play with Bill Mercer and Marc Lowrance helping out in the booth.

 

First up is our dark match of Bruiser Brody vs Buddy Roberts.

 

A very solid match to get the crowd going. I know it's a weird place for these two, but they couldn't fit on the card.

 

Match #1: Barry Windham defends the WCCW Teleivision Title against the man he battled to a draw with on TV in Rip Rogers.

 

 

The opener sees Windham defend his TV Title again. He will keep being built up until he is too big for the midcard title and is pushed up the card.

 

Match #2: The Midnight Express w/ Jim Cornette vs Blackjack Mulligan and Dutch Mantell

 

 

Unfortunately we had to put Dutch and Blackjack over, because they hated every finish that wasn't that. However a solid undercard match, nothing to complain about.

 

Match #3: The Great Kabuki w/ Gary Hart vs Magnum TA

 

 

Magnum beats Kabuki with a flash pin. Solid match and the last piece of the secondary feud that included Valentine and Wahoo. Hopefully Magnum, Martel, Steamboat, Tito or Windham can be a future ace of the company.

 

Next up Greg Valentine promoted his match with Wahoo later on.

 

Match #4: The Rock'n'Roll Express defend the NWA American Tag Titles against The Poffos w/ Sunshine.

 

 

A step down from the rest of the show, but only slightly. I ran this match too many times, so my mistake. I didn't know that was a thing. Either way, the feud ends and the Express walk out on top.

 

Backstage Piper, Larry, Skandor and Kamala cut a promo on Steamboat, Santana and Martel.

 

Match #5: Ricky Steamboat, Tito Santana and Rick Martel vs Roddy Piper, Larry Zybszko & Kamala w/ Skandor Akbar.

 

 

Best match of the night so far and a promising start to this feud. Skandor interfered to give Kamala the win. This should be an epic feud going forward, so many awesome pieces.

 

Before the next match Wahoo is interviewed about the match with Valentine for the titles.

 

Match #6: NWA American & Texas Heavyweight Chapion Greg Valentine w/ Gary Hart vs Wahoo McDaniel in an Indian Strap match.

 

 

I over run this match too, so this was a HUGE disappointment. Damn. This could had been the best match in World Class history. Greg wins the feud and moves on to unifying the titles. By the way, he signed on full-time!!!

 

Main Event time! In a Steel Cage Kerry & Kevin Von Erich battle Michael Hayes & Terry Gordy!

 

 

So this is the best match in World Class history? Yeah! Although I over run this feud too, it didn't matter due to Hayes taking a killer bump! Awesome end to the show!

How did the show do, though?

 

 

A great show overall! Largest crowd too! A great way to start the ppv era!

 

What are the dirt sheets writing?

 

 

Praise for World Class! National expansion is on the way!

[Grimmas]

NOTE I have played through all of April, so there will be multiple updates today to bring us up to date. After that I will try to be more frequent and not save things up.

 

Week 2 of April 1983

 

Coming out of Extreme Measures the word is that the next pay-per-view will take place on the third Monday of June in Dallas. It looks like it will be headlined by Greg "The Hammer" Valentine and Kerry Von Erich unifying the NWA American, NWA Texan Titles that Valentine holds and the NWA Brass Knuckles Title that Kerry holds. The idea is that World Class is preparing for life without the NWA and combining these tree titles into one major WCCW title will set them apart.

 

The WCCW Television champion who is highly praised as a future main star of World Class is becoming one of the most popular wrestlers backstage. Before this week's TV Windham earned a lot of love:

 

 

With World Class having the 90 minute TV show now a few under card talent has been brought in to get over the current talent. This includes the signings of Ron Starr, Hillbilly Jim, Kato Kung Lee, Rufus R. Jones and Brutus Beefcake. None of these are full time contracts, they will be used on a pay-per-appearance deal as needed.

 

The other big contract news is that Magnum TA's contract was extended and he will be with World Class for a long while more.

 

The first taping of Big Time Wrestling after the pay-per-view took place on Thursday and had quite the bit of news coming out of it.

 

 

The show started with World Class President Fritz Von Erich appearing on TV for the first time since booker Steven Graham took over. He made the announcement that the WCCW Six Man Tag Titles have been vacated due to David Von Erich's injury. David is expected to be out for another 11 months. This will be an 8 team tournament over the next few weeks.Two matches took place on the TV as the Freebirs defeated Barry Windham, Blackjack Mulligan and Skip Young and Devasation Inc. upset the team of Kerry & Kevin Von Erich with Dutch Mantell. The other two matches see The Rock'n'Roll Express & Mangum TA against The Midnight Express and Greg Valentine, and Strike Force versus The Poffos and The Great Kabuki.

 

The other major news coming off the TV was Greg "The Hammer" Valentine introducing Jim Cornette as his new manager and the start of the unification build up. Valentine has retired the Texas & American Titles and has proclaimed himself the first WCCW Double Title holder. He then beat Magnum TA in a great TV match. The chemistry between these two are awesome.

 

On Saturday World Class ran at the Sam Houston Coliseum again, this time selling out the building with 10,000 in attendance.

 

 

The first round of the World Class Six Man Tag Team Titles Tournament concluded as Strike Force defeated The Great Kabuki and The Poffos and in an upset The Rock'n'Roll Express and Magnum TA beat The Midnight Express & Greg Valentine. Valentine was so pissed his team lost that he challenged Magnum TA (who pinned Eaton in the tag match) to a re-match from the TV. That Double Title match was another good match, but not quite on the level of the TV.

 

This puts the semi-finals of the tournament as Strike Force versus Devastation Inc and Magum TA & Rock'n'Roll Express against The Fabulous Freebirds.

 

The main event of the show saw Kerry Von Erich have an awesome match with The Spoiler for the NWA Brass Knuckles Title. These two had real good chemistry and it was a good idea to have The Spoiler lose on his way out as he is not expected to renew his expiring contract and he was one of the few who hasn't signed a written contract.

 

In the final news of the week World Class made a major move going forward for their national expansion as they pulled out of the NWA.

[Grimmas]

Week 3 of April 1983

 

The fall out of World Class leaving the NWA has begun as Mid-Atlantic wrestling has declared war on World Class.

 

 

World Class has signed up The Dynamite Kid. A dynamic performer in Japan, he looks to come in as a babyface potentially teaming with Bret Hart on the babyface side.

 

In a bizarre story, last week it was reported that The Spoiler would be leaving when his contract ends. However, Fritz Von Erich personally renewed The Spoiler's contract. A miscommunication between Fritz and booker Steven Graham? It sure seems so, quickly after The Spoiler was given a written contract.

 

Two big stories coming out of this week. We will start with the national expansion plans of World Class. The first move was to change the taping date of the TV from Thursday to Saturday. Then there will be a major show on each Sunday. Week 1 will be from the Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh, week 2 will be from the Sam Houston Coliseum, week 3 from the Cow Palace and finally week 4 will be from Freedom Hall in Kentucky. This schedule will start up next week, as this week the TV and major show will both take place on Saturday from the Gran Olympic Auditorium in California.

 

The second story as a big shocker, as there was a major backstage incident:

 

This was the first the third type incident out of Buddy Roberts, which lead to his firing. Last time this happened he got a final warning, so this was just the follow through of that.

 

Obviously the Fabulous Freebirds were not happy losing one of their members. Since the Freebirds were scheduled to take on Magnum TA & The Rock'n'Roll Express in the semi-finals of the Six Man Title tournament there was obviously a change to the TV.

 

 

The show began with The Fabuous Freebirds. They said that Buddy Roberts has left World Class and they have to bow out of the Six Man Tag Titles tournament. However they still want some gold, so they have refocused on the Tag Team Titles and challenged The Rock'n'Roll Express to a match on the show for those belts. The Express accepted and in the main event of the TV The Freebirds regained their titles.4

 

This was not the only title change on the show as "Macho Man' Randy Savage stole the WCCW Television Title from Barry Windham by pulling the tights. Word has it these two are set to feud going into a blow off at the upcoming pay-per-view.

 

The final bit of news saw Devastation Inc. using Skandar Akbar to advance to the finals of the title tournament to take on Magnum TA and The Rock'n'Roll Express.

 

In the PM of Saturday World Class ran a second show.

 

 

This was a pretty generic show, but featured the finals of the Six Man Tag Titles as Devastation Inc. walk out as champions. Roddy Piper, Larry Zbyszko and Kamala are the champions going forward.

 

There was three other title defenses with the best being Kerry Von Erich taking on The Spoiler again. There chemistry was great again.

 

The week ended with rumours of World Class looking into building a women's division.

[Grimmas]

Week 4 of April 1983

 

World Class Championship Wrestling has officially started it's women's division with a bunch of signings. These include: Sue Green, Pantera Surena, Vicki Williams, Joyce Grable, and Jackie Sato.

 

World Class had their best TV show to date:

 

 

World Class makes its debut in Kentucky with a television taping and it was awfully successful.

 

The best segment on World Class TV this year was "Macho Man' Randy Savage on Piper's Pit! These two with such great chemistry and Savage bragging about being the new TV champion was just awesome.

 

The show had four great matches. The first was an 8 man tag, put that was a dark match. On TV Rick Martel & Tito Santana beat Roddy Piper & One Man Gang. Valentine & The Midnight Express beating Kerry & Kevon Von Erich with Dutch Mantell. This was a prelude to the upcoming Kerry-Valentine war. Finally the main event was a step above with Larry Zbyszko cheating his way to victory over Ricky Steamboat. The rest of the show was solid, but with those awesome matches the overall show was great.

 

 

The World Class debut at Freedom Hall was another great show headlined with the WCCW Double Champion Greg Valentine continuing his streak of great matches with Barry Windham. These are two great talents that World Class seems to be building upon going forward. There was another great match The Freebirds making a title defense against The Rock'n'Rolls. The Freebirds are re-establishing themselves as one of the best teams in the business.

 

Coming out of Freedom Hall the direction of "Unification" which the next World Class pay-per-view will be called is becoming clear.

 

It will be headlined by Greg Valentine and Kerry Von Erich in a title unification match, however more has become clear. Devastation Inc. will defend the Six Man Tag Titles against Strike Force. Barry Windham and Randy Savage will square off for the TV Title as well. With Magnum TA and Dutch Mantell beating The Midnight Express it looks like they may be an upcoming challenger for The Freebirds, as well.

[Grimmas]

World Class Weekly (Week 1 of May 1983)

from the desk of Steven Graham

 

World Class always strives to showcase the top talent in wrestling. This week One Man Gang, Rip Rogers, Ron Starr, Tim Horner, Skip Young, The Spoiler and Bruiser Brody are signed exclusive to World Class. If you want to see the best talent in the world, you must watch World Class!

 

Speaking of great talent there is some fresh blood coming in the form of Scott McGhee and S.D. Jones. These two both play great roles in the world of wrestling and will be a great addition to the crew.

 

Last week the WCCW Women's Division begun to take shape and this week more talent was added, including: Penny Mitchell, Debbie Combs and Judy Martin. All great veterans of women's wrestling. World Class is really becoming the place to be for women's wrestling.

 

Outside of talent changes TV negotians are taking place right now. World Class is working hard to get their talent showcased everywhere. Stay tune to this newsletter for updates.

 

This week's TV tapings were back in the Hara Arena in Dayton, Ohio drawing 3,360 rabid fans! A great turn out and a huge increase from the 2,030 fans that were at the tapings in April.

 

 

Two huge matches free on TV! The main event was a awesome classic that saw Greg Valentine defend the Double Title over Ricky Steamboat, by pulling the tights. Another B- match from Valentine, who you may not respect for his actions, but you have to respect his ability. He has to be at the top of his game, because he is taking on the NWA Brass Knuckles Champion Kerry Von Erich on the next WCCW PPV in June to unify the titles.

 

The other huge match saw The Freebirds and the newer team of Dutch Mantell & Magnum TA go to a time limit draw. The Fabulous Freebirds have been on a role since Buddy Roberts left World Class winning the NWA American Tag Titles along the way and renaming them the WCCW World Tag Titles. On the other hand, Dutch & Magnum have been undefeated since they teamed up. These two will square-off again at the PPV in June for the Titles.

 

Piper's Pit continues to be a highlight of each week's show. This time Piper had Larry Zybszko with him and they brought out the other members of Devastation Inc. in Skandar Akbar, Kamala and One Man Gang. Skandar made a surprise announcement at this point and brought out a new member in The Great Kabuki. Piper and Zbsyzko exchanged glances and it appears they were not aware this was coming. The question become how can Skandar control Kabuki and how can Kabuki work in a team unit. We did get a small glimpse of this as Kabuki teamed with Gang, but they lost to Rick Martel & Tito Santana. We will see how Kabuki does going forward.

 

The last thing to note from the TV show was the bizarre video that the "Macho Man" Randy Savage sent in. Savage and his valet Sunshine were on a ranch making fun of the Windhams and taking credit for Blackjack's injury. Barry can not be too happy with this bit of footage. He will have a chance to get his WCCW Television title back from Savage in a week at the Sam Houston Coliseum.

 

The other major news of the week was the debut of WCCW at the Mellon Arena in Pittsbrugh, PA! What a card they saw and you can only see this great show live! 4,112 people witnessed a good C- rated show headlined by the debut of Stan Hansen getting the win over Bruiser Brody.

 

As we mentioned earlier Brody is now exclusive to World Class. We made his re-debut here and shockingly lost to Stan Hansen who is on loan from All Japan. Brody was irate at the ending though, as The Great Kabuki interfered costing him the match. Earlier in the night Kabuki defeated Tito Santana, but he seemed to be off the page with his manager Skandar Akbar. Later on Akbar did not seem happy when Kabuki attacked Brody costing him the match. What a bizarre situation brewing here. Why did Akbar bring in Kabuki if he can't control him?

 

The best match on the show had to go to Kerry & Kevin Von Erich taking on Greg Valentine & The Spoiler (C rating). The Hammer cheated his way to victory over Kevin. Kevin will get his chance for redemption by facing Valentine at the Sam Houston Coliseum. Now if Kevin defeats Valentine for the Double Title, what will that mean for the PPV?

 

Also on the show The Freebirds successfully defended their titles against The Rock'n'Roll Express. Randy Savage kept his Television title over Wahoo McDaniel. Rick Martel & Ricky Steamboat defeated Larry Zbyszko & Roddy Piper with a roll up win. Barry Windham beat Brutus Beefcake and Magnum & Dutch beat Ron Starr & Rip Rogers!

 

Before we end this week's newsletter, let us look at the upcoming schedule for World Class. Be sure to check WCCW live when you get the opportunity, as it is the World Class of Wrestling today!

 

TV tapings from Will Rogers Coliseum in Fort Worth, TX (Saturday Week 2 of May)

 

Sam Houston Coliseum show in Houston, TX (Sunday Week 2 of May)

featuring Kevin Von Erich vs Greg Valentine for the WCCW Double TItle and Barry Windham vs Randy Savage for the WCCW Television Title.

 

TV tapings from Grand Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles, CA (Saturday Week 3 of May)

Cow Palace show in San Francisco, CA (Sunday Week 3 of May)

TV tapings from Lousville Arena in Lousville, KY (Saturday Week 4 of May)

Freedom Hall show in Louisville, KY (Sunday Week 4 of May)

TV tapings from Hara Arena in Dayton, OH (Saturday Week 1 of June)

Mellon Arena show in Pittsbrugh, PA (Sunday Week 1 of June)

TV tapings from Will Rogers Coliseum in Fort Worth, TX (Saturday Week 2 of June)

Sam Houston Coliseum show in Houston, TX (Sunday Week 2 of June)

 

Unification in from Reunion Arena in Dallas, TX (Monday Week 3 of June) live on PPV!

featuring:

 

WCCW Double Title Champion Greg "The Hammer" Valentine vs NWA Brass Knuckles Champion Kerry Von Erich

 

Join us next week for another round up of the week in World Class Championship Wrestling!

[Grimmas]

A question for the readers of this thread.

 

Which way do you like to know what is going on with WCCW? Do you prefer the company newsletter version? The WON esque version or the me playing the game version?

 

Also, would you like an update each week or every other or a more broad monthly report?

[Bierschwale]

I think that a biweekly update system would work the best.

[Champagne]

I find the "me playing the game" style of update is the easiest, but I did enjoy your WON esque report.

[Grimmas]

Major issue. In May TV contracts came up. The network wouldn't let me extend my contract, so I tried to switch networks. I expanded my show in one area (South East) and then tried to get a new national contract only to find out you can only do that once. I tried cancelling my show to get a new contract, but I ran out of time.L

 

 

Long story short I have no TV. What can I do?

[JerryvonKramer]

And you've already saved?

[Grimmas]

And you've already saved?

Yeah.

[JerryvonKramer]

You have to go without TV for three months. You need to make up the loss of exposure by touring key areas and by running more live shows every week. Note how I dealt with the month of no TV when I was waiting for Superstars to change over to Tempo TV. I'd recommend a minimum of 3 live shows a week, if not more. One in home region, two in key secondary markets. Then look through TV stations and target those you think you have a chance of getting a deal with. I'd also take the game off auto-save, because when those talks come, they will be crucial.

 

(Incidentally, I can't play at the moment because my game is stored on an external HDD and I've got USB issues. No TEW or indeed podcasts until I can fix!)

[Grimmas]

You have to go without TV for three months. You need to make up the loss of exposure by touring key areas and by running more live shows every week. Note how I dealt with the month of no TV when I was waiting for Superstars to change over to Tempo TV. I'd recommend a minimum of 3 live shows a week, if not more. One in home region, two in key secondary markets. Then look through TV stations and target those you think you have a chance of getting a deal with. I'd also take the game off auto-save, because when those talks come, they will be crucial.

 

(Incidentally, I can't play at the moment because my game is stored on an external HDD and I've got USB issues. No TEW or indeed podcasts until I can fix!)

3 months no tv? That's bogus.

 

I guess you do what you have to do.

[JerryvonKramer]

Let's be clear, you were dropped for low ratings. LOL

[Grimmas]

Let's be clear, you were dropped for low ratings. LOL

Actually this is something I don't like about this mod. If you look at the tv network I was with you see that I am not suitable to be on there, so I was doomed from the start!

 

Here is how updates will work without TV. I will just give you guys PPV hype and results and then when I get back on TV I will give a big update with any major changes between then.