THE MOSS COVERED THREE HANDLED FAMILY CREDENZA

ARTICLE #40
MAY 27, 2002

Kerry Von Erich vs Ric Flair: The World Class Classics

Kerry Von Erich defeated Harley Race in a match on June 15, 1982 to earn an NWA World Title shot against champion Ric Flair. This match not only made Kerry a star, it also launched a run at the title that would provide many highlights in World Class over the next couple years. Kerry Von Erich had many great matches against Flair, and four of those matches that took place in World Class are looked at here.

NWA World Title, Best of 3 Falls: Ric Flair (c) vs Kerry Von Erich 8/15/82

Flair applied a headlock and took Kerry down to the mat with it. Von Erich countered with a headscissors. Flair escaped the headscissors and applied a headlock but again Von Erich countered with a headscissors. Flair reached the ropes the break the hold. Von Erich applied a headlock. Flair tried to whip Von Erich into the ropes but he maintained the headlock. Flair escaped the headlock but Von Erich ultimately overpowered him and forced him to the mat. Von Erich applied an armbar on Flair and then went back to the headlock. Flair applied a wristlock on Von Erich but Von Erich countered with an armringer. Von Erich gave Flair several kneedrops to his left arm and applied a wristlock. Von Erich then applied an armbar. Flair shoved Von Erich into the ropes but Von Erich rebounded with a tackle. Flair attempted a leapfrog but Von Erich caught him in mid-air, took him down and attempted a pin but overshot a rollup attempt. Flair kicked Von Erich in the corner and gave him a couple chops. Flair rammed Von Erich into the turnbuckle. He attempted a backdrop but Von Erich countered with a sunset flip, which Flair sold beautifully, for a heated near fall. Von Erich applied a headlock. Flair attempted a hiptoss but Von Erich countered with a hiptoss of his own. Von Erich took Flair down with a headlock but Flair turned him over and gained a near fall. Von Erich tackled Flair and attempted an armdrag but Flair held his ground. Flair threw Von Erich out of the ring and snapmared him over the top rope back into the ring. Flair landed some chops and punches but Von Erich fought back with several punches of his own for a pop. Von Erich kicked Flair, whipped him into the corner and backdropped him. Flair fought back with a kneelift. He chopped Von Erich and snapmared him before applying a chinlock. Von Erich tried to escape but Flair pulled his hair to maintain the hold. Flair gave Kerry several chops but Kerry fought back with some punches. Von Erich tackled Flair but ran into a chop and Flair gained a near fall. Flair slammed Von Erich but missed an elbowsmash. Flair tried to counter but Von Erich successfully applied an abdominal stretch amidst great heat. Von Erich then applied the iron claw to Flair�s stomach but Flair poked his eyes to break the hold. Flair punched, chopped and back suplexed Von Erich for a near fall. Von Erich fought back with a sharp dropkick and landed a second one. Von Erich went for a third dropkick but missed when Flair held onto the ropes. Flair dropped Von Erich neck first across the top rope. Flair snapmared Von Erich and gave him a kneedrop for a near fall. Flair piledrove Von Erich for a near fall. He attempted a second piledriver but Von Erich countered with a backdrop. Von Erich gave Flair a kneedrop of his own. He attempted to apply the iron claw but Flair countered and elbowed him. Flair gave Von Erich more chops and punches in the corner and pushed the ref out of the way when he tried to intervene. Von Erich fought back and went for a discus punch but accidentally hit the ref when Flair moved. Von Erich attacked Flair with a series of punches but Flair fought back. Flair missed a chop and Von Erich gave him a cross bodyblock. Flair attempted a suplex but Von Erich countered and applied a sleeper as alternate ref David Manning entered the ring. Von Erich apparently made Flair pass out due to the hold as the bell rang at 21:08 of the first fall. Manning raised Von Erich�s arm but the other ref came to and overturned that decision, disqualifying Von Erich in the first fall for punching him. Von Erich got the better of Flair early in the second fall with a series of punches. Von Erich whipped Flair into the corner and applied a sleeper for a huge pop. Flair broke the hold by maneuvering Von Erich out of the ring to the floor. Von Erich grabbed Flair�s right leg and rammed it into the apron. Von Erich elbowed Flair�s leg but Flair fought back by slamming his leg across Von Erich�s neck. Flair landed a chop and stomped Von Erich in the corner. Flair then choked Von Erich. Von Erich kicked Flair, elbowed him from the second rope and landed more punches. He whipped Flair into the corner and Flair took an earlier version of his trademark flip bump. Von Erich applied a headlock but Flair countered with a kneebreaker. Flair attacked Von Erich�s right leg, kicking it and using the ropes to stretch the leg. Flair trapped Von Erich�s leg in the ropes and unwrapped the tape from around it. Flair continued to attack the leg and Von Erich tumbled out of the ring. Flair gave Von Erich a vertical suplex back into the ring and elbowsmashed him. Flair then applied a figure 4 leglock on Von Erich for a lengthy period of time. Von Erich successfully turned the leglock over but both men turned again and reached the ropes. Flair twice kicked Von Erich�s right knee. He attempted to apply another figure 4 leglock but Von Erich countered with an iron claw. Flair began to bleed from the head while in the iron claw. Flair tried to fight back but Von Erich maintained the claw and gained a near fall. Flair�s shoulders went down again and this time Von Erich pinned him to win the second fall at 9:21. Flair was bleeding heavily as the third fall began. Von Erich attacked him with punches but Flair fought back with a kneelift and a chop. Flair landed several punches in the corner and snapmared Von Erich. He gave Von Erich more punches and shoved the ref. Von Erich landed some punches including a discus punch. Von Erich attacked Flair with more punches and also pushed the ref when he tried to intervene. The ref called for the bell at 1:26 into the fall as the fight got out of hand. Flair and Von Erich then had a pullapart brawl, which was only part of the chaotic post-match scene. The ref declared the match a double DQ so Flair retained the title. Fritz Von Erich then confronted the ref about disqualifying Kerry in the first fall (since Kerry could have won the title had he won the first fall) and actually had to be restrained from attacking him. This was a pretty special match for its time. This was the first time you could tell that something special was brewing in World Class and the Von Erichs, as the fan heat was just unreal with an audience of young females only rivaled in the 80s by the Crush Gals fan base. They were really loud and responded huge to everything that took place. The work was pretty primitive by today�s standards, but it was clear just how well old school matches were built from start to finish. This match also shows just how masterful Flair was a bumptaker, as he was years ahead of his time and almost like a precursor to Shawn Michaels in terms of overall workrate in the ring. He knew exactly how to pop the crowd with his bumps and selling. Von Erich clearly hadn�t reached his working peak yet, but already showed a charisma and intensity that he would be known for in World Class�s soon-to-begin glory period. Most importantly he was very carryable, and Flair was always up to such a task. This was a match of the year candidate for its time, but not quite an all-time classic.

NWA World Title Steel Cage Match: Ric Flair (c) vs Kerry Von Erich 12/25/82

Michael Hayes was the guest ref (although kinda in an in-ring enforcer role as David Manning was the actual official) while Terry Gordy was the doorkeeper. Keep in mind that the Freebirds were pretty popular faces going into this match. Von Erich took down Flair by the leg and elbowsmashed the leg twice. Flair tried to counter but Von Erich took him down again and dropped another elbow to Flair�s leg. Flair unsuccessfully tried to counter with a chinlock but did escape Von Erich�s grip when he went after his arm. Flair gave Von Erich an armringer but Von Erich bounced right back up and scored with a dropkick. Von Erich backed Flair into a corner. Flair landed some punches and chops in the corner but Von Erich fired back with several punches of his own, causing Flair to do his trademark forward collapse bump. Flair fought back with a couple kneelifts. He punched and chopped Von Erich in the corner and gave him a snapmare. Flair kneedropped Von Erich and landed a chop. Von Erich fought back with punches but Flair kneelifted him and chopped him to the mat. Flair punched Von Erich against the ropes and Hayes forcefully pulled Flair away, even pushing him to begin a trend of physical involvement. Von Erich scored with some punches in the corner but Hayes forcefully restrained him as well. Flair landed a chop but Von Erich countered a suplex attempt and applied a sleeper for a pop. Flair escaped the hold with a back suplex on Von Erich. Von Erich recovered and hit a kneedrop off a very loose top rope. Von Erich landed two more kneedrops and attacked Flair with a series of punches. Flair blocked an iron claw attempt and punched Von Erich. Flair kicked Von Erich and elbowed him. Flair dropped Von Erich neck first across the top rope and Hayes got into a heated argument with Flair. Flair choked Von Erich in the ropes and Hayes forcefully restrained him again. Von Erich kicked Flair but Flair punched him in response. Flair rammed Von Erich�s head into the turnbuckle and chopped him. Flair snapmared Von Erich and elbowsmashed him for a near fall as both refs counted. Von Erich fought back with more punches but Flair kicked him. Flair tried to counter but Von Erich successfully applied an abdominal stretch. Flair escaped with a hiptoss but missed an elbowsmash. Von Erich rammed Flair�s head into the cage twice and raked his face across the cage mesh. Hayes basically pushed Von Erich away from Flair. Von Erich gave a bloody Flair more punches and rammed him into the cage again. Von Erich went to apply an iron claw but Flair kicked him. Flair kicked Von Erich�s knee twice but himself staggered due to his bleeding. Flair attacked Von Erich�s knee by tying it up in the ropes and Hayes pulled Flair off of him by his hair. Flair took Von Erich down and continued to attack his knee in the ropes. Flair landed some punches and a chop, then went back to attacking Von Erich�s knee in the corner. Flair snapmared Von Erich and attempted to apply a figure 4 leglock but Von Erich kicked him off. Flair attempted to apply it again but Von Erich kicked him off again. Von Erich landed some punches and rammed Flair into the cage. Flair hit Von Erich�s knee to break his momentum but Von Erich fired back with more punches. Von Erich missed a kneedrop with his bad knee and sold the damage huge. Flair dragged Von Erich by the leg to the center of the ring and successfully applied a figure 4 leglock. Flair gained a couple near falls while maintaining the hold as heat mounted. Unable to reach the ropes, Von Erich instead countered by turning the leglock over, causing damage to Flair�s knee. Von Erich then attacked Flair�s right leg with stomps and stretched the leg around the bottom rope. Flair tried to leave the cage but Von Erich grabbed his tights. Von Erich gave Flair some punches as Flair sat on the top turnbuckle, including some to his right leg. Von Erich continued to attack Flair in the ropes and Hayes pulled him away very forcefully. Von Erich rammed Flair�s head into the cage again and grinded his head against the mesh. Flair fought back with a kneelift and a chop. Flair jumped off the top rope but jumped right into an iron claw from Von Erich as fans popped huge. Von Erich gained a near fall with the claw as well. Hayes called for him to break the hold supposedly because Von Erich had touched the ropes. Manning disagreed with Hayes and let the hold stand. Von Erich maintained the claw and Hayes did everything he could to break Von Erich�s grip, pulling him off by the hair as fans booed. Von Erich confronted Hayes long enough for Flair to recover and give Von Erich a jumping knee from behind. Flair choked Von Erich in the ropes and Hayes was slightly less passionate in making him break. Hayes tried to pull Flair away but Flair pushed him down. Hayes then punched Flair and pushed Manning when he confronted Hayes. Hayes told Von Erich to go for the pin but Von Erich refused because Hayes had punched Flair. Hayes pushed both Manning and Von Erich, then left the cage. As Hayes was leaving, Von Erich confronted him, Flair kneed Von Erich from behind and Von Erich crashed into Hayes, knocking him off the apron, through the door and onto the floor. In the incident that launched the World Class peak era and an angle that would be repeated hundreds of times in the future, Gordy slammed the cage door in Von Erich�s face. Hayes came back in and counted a pin attempt by Flair as three when it was clear that Von Erich�s shoulder was up at two. Manning overruled him and Hayes stormed out of the cage. Flair attacked Von Erich with punches and rammed him into the cage. Flair gave Von Erich more punches and snapmared him for a near fall. Flair rammed Von Erich into the cage for a near fall and landed more punches to Von Erich�s bloody head. Von Erich fought back, won an exchange of blows and gave Flair a discus punch, but was unable to capitalize as he collapsed and the ref declared Flair the winner at 24:00 when Von Erich was unable to continue. Technically I was more impressed with their first title match, but this one had much more intensity, drama and storyline twists. Von Erich relied a bit much on punches and basic offense but Flair made the most of the match with his masterful bumptaking and selling. I liked how they paced the match, with Von Erich attacking Flair�s leg early, then Flair working on Von Erich�s leg, and the story-based work leading to the finish. Hayes was very entertaining in his role as enforcer/ref due to his overzealousness, which should have been an obvious heel turn tipoff except for that such an angle had rarely if ever taken place by 1982. But this match accomplished two objectives which makes it one of the most historically significant of the 1980s. First, it added fuel to the intense feud between Flair and Kerry, and actually the Von Erichs in general. Most of all though, it caused the beginning of a white hot peak period for the next couple years, where almost every Sportatorium card sold out, cards at Reunion Arena either sold out or exceeded 15,000 fans consistently, and not to mention the record breaking Parade of Champions card headlined by the next match in this article. The seeds for a thriving promotion had been planted in previous months with the emergence of the Von Erichs as hugely popular wrestlers, especially among women, but this was the match that kicked that growth into overdrive. A classic match, but its greatness would really be told by the success of World Class during the next two years.

NWA World Title: Ric Flair (c) vs Kerry Von Erich 5/6/84

Flair took Von Erich down but Von Erich escaped his grip. Flair grabbed a waistlock but couldn�t hold on as Von Erich slid out of his grip again. Kerry applied a headlock, Flair pushed him off but Von Erich tackled him. Von Erich gave Flair a couple dropkicks and backed him into a corner. Von Erich applied a headlock but Flair countered with a wristlock. Von Erich overpowered Flair by taking him down and applied an armbar. Von Erich applied a wristlock but Flair backed him into a corner. Flair gave Von Erich a couple shouldertackles in the corner and a couple chops. Von Erich fought back with a series of punches and press slammed Flair for a pop. Von Erich went after Flair but Flair bailed out of the ring. Von Erich landed some punches but Flair fought back with a kneelift. Flair gave Von Erich several punches and chops and then threw him out of the ring. Flair punched Von Erich as he got up on the apron but Von Erich shouldered him in the gut and sunset flipped him for a heated near fall. Flair fought back but Von Erich whipped him into the corner and applied a sleeper. Flair countered the sleeper with a back suplex and gave Von Erich a chop. Flair snapmared Von Erich and kneedropped him. Flair landed a punch and suplexed Von Erich for a near fall. Von Erich fought back with a dropkick but Flair quickly elbowed him in response. Flair attempted a backdrop but Von Erich countered by turning Flair around and applying an abdominal stretch. Flair escaped the hold with a hiptoss but Von Erich fought right back with a couple kneedrops. Flair tackled Von Erich but ran right into an iron claw as fans popped huge. Flair fought back with a kneelift and snapmared Von Erich. Von Erich caught Flair on the top rope and press slammed him to the mat. Von Erich landed a couple punches and whipped Flair into the corner, and Flair took his signature flip bump. Flair fought back with a kneelift and a chop. He snapmared Von Erich and attempted to apply the figure 4 leglock but Von Erich pushed him off. Flair tackled Von Erich and they did a criss cross. After a couple hiptoss counters back and forth, Von Erich gave Flair a backslide and pinned him to win the title after about 13:00 of action in one of the most memorable finishes I�ve seen. Fans came unglued and erupted in one of the most amazing pops I�ve ever heard- it was as if the Cowboys had won the Superbowl, but more meaningful. For those who don�t know, David Von Erich was supposed to get this title shot, and probably win the title in the biggest event in World Class history. Unfortunately, the family�s streak of horrible luck and circumstances began when David passed away three months earlier. So Kerry took his place and dedicated this match to his brother. This was much weaker than most Flair-Kerry matches in that it was shorter and there was also little sense of a building storyline from start to finish. However, you would never have known if judging the match simply by the crowd heat. There were very few �pops� in the match, simply because the heat was at such a loud decibel level for most of the match and they never quieted down. This was one of those matches where fans just came to see the end result, and the quality of the match didn�t even matter. It was one of the few occasions where the two participants just went in there, went through the motions, did an abbreviated version of their routine, and that was more than enough to make it such a memorable match. This is a must-see match for any wrestling fan, if only to see just how magical an aura a match can have when fans REALLY care who wins.

NWA World Title: Ric Flair (c) vs Kerry Von Erich 11/84

Flair grabbed a headlock and took Von Erich down but Von Erich countered with a headscissors. Von Erich applied a headlock, Flair escaped but Von Erich overpowered him and reapplied the headlock. Flair went for a hammerlock but Von Erich countered with a hammerlock of his own. Flair took Von Erich down by tripping him but Von Erich held his own. Von Erich hammerlocked Flair and gave his arm a couple kneedrops. Von Erich applied a wristlock and went back to the hammerlock and kneedrops to Flair�s arm. Von Erich grabbed a half nelson and maneuvered Flair into a pinning position and gained several one counts. Flair gave Von Erich a kneelift but Von Erich blocked a suplex attempt. Von Erich applied a headlock that Flair unsuccessfully tried to escape. Flair backed Von Erich into a corner and chopped him but Von Erich responded with a hiptoss and a headscissors takedown. Von Erich maintained the headscissors on the mat. Flair escaped ,crossed Von Erich�s legs and bent them back. Von Erich countered with a chinlock on Flair but Flair quickly escaped. They had a criss cross and Von Erich scored with a dropkick. Von Erich gave Flair another headscissors takedown and also applied an armbar while maintaining the headscissors. Flair reached the ropes and stomped Von Erich in the corner. Flair gave Von Erich some punches and chops in the corner. He snapmared Von Erich and kneedropped him for a near fall. Flair suplexed Von Erich for a near fall and threw him out of the ring. Flair elbowed Von Erich on the apron and tossed him back into the ring. Flair chopped Von Erich and rammed his shoulder into Von Erich�s gut repeatedly in the corner. Flair landed more chops and punches but Von Erich fought back with several punches of his own including a discus punch for a pop. Von Erich landed more punches in the corner but Flair fought back with a kneelift. Von Erich applied a sleeper on Flair but Flair countered by giving Von Erich a kneebreaker. Flair went for a snapmare but Von Erich countered with a backslide for a great near fall playing off the finish of Von Erich�s title win. Flair landed a chop and tackled Von Erich. Von Erich caught Flair rebounding off the ropes and press slammed him for a near fall. Von Erich suplexed Flair for what looked like a pin but the ref waived it off when he realized Flair�s foot was underneath the bottom rope. Von Erich landed a couple punches but Flair gave him a kneelift. Flair tackled Von Erich and gained a near fall with his feet on the ropes. The ref pushed Flair off Von Erich when he saw the infraction. Von Erich won a slugfest and whipped Flair into the corner. Flair took his trademark flip bump, ran up to the top rope, jumped off but jumped right into an iron claw from Von Erich. Flair landed a kneelift and snapmared Von Erich, but then collapsed himself. Von Erich blocked a kneedrop attempt. Flair hiptossed Von Erich over the top rope to the floor and the bell rang. Flair was DQed and thus retained the title. About 16:21 aired on TV, but they appeared to cut some footage from right before the end. A really cheap ending given the attendance and setting, at it was World Class�s major Thanksgiving show. They appeared to be building to a rematch and in fact both men would have many more matches after this date, including some of their best against each other. As for this match, it doesn�t rate that high, although it was a very satisfactory effort. Flair again worked hard and employed his heel charisma to near perfection to draw heat. Kerry looked pretty sharp on offense. My main complaint is that for the most part, this match wasn�t any more advanced than their matches in 1982. They seemed like they had settled into a routine and were comfortable to stick to it without adding too many new twists and turns. I�d call this a good to very good match, since the standards were tougher in 1984 than 1982. They worked harder and better than their 5/6/84 match, and the pacing was more focused. Once again, great crowd heat made the match better than it seemed and it proved that World Class was still enjoying its peak period in late 1984.

Next Issue: Lucha Libre: Recent Greatness

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