World Class Wrestling Association (WCWA)

[9.0] "I absolutely loved World Class Championship Wrestling when I was a kid. Here is a yearly review. 1982: The Von Erichs were so over. Used a small roster, seeing a lot of the same wrestlers each week. Best Storyline was the Von Erichs vs. H&H Enterprises. Gary Hart was tremendous. Bundy turning heel to feud with the Von Erichs was great. Wrestler of the Year: David Von Erich 1983: Loved the Von Erich-Freebird Feud, the Freebirds were tremendous at selling to get a pop for the VE. They would interchange wrestler combinations to keep the rivalry fresh. Jimmy Garvin was fantastic, loved his work, his feuds with David Von Erich & Chris Adams, and the angle with Sunshine & Precious. Wrestler of the Year: Jimmy Garvin 1984: The year begins with the Freebird-Von Erich Feud, which takes a turn following the untimely death of David Von Erich. The fallout of David's death includes inserting Mike Von Erich into the feud to replace David, and Mike wasn't as bad as critics make him out to be. He wasn't David, but he wasn't a jobber. He was a solid mid-card worker. It all leads to the stadium show, where Kerry Von Erich wins the NWA World Title. The reign lasts just 18 days. During the summer we see Killer Khan working with the Freebirds, only to later join Devastation Inc. & feud with the Freebirds. Chris Adams and Jimmy Garvin continuing their feud with Adam's now having Stella Mae French to counter Precious. Gino Hernandez was a national treasure. He was one of the best heel performers in any promotion at the time. Jake Roberts has made tremendous strides in the last two years, and his World Class work is his best work yet. The most notable swerve, was Chris Adams turning heel on Kevin Von Erich & joined Gino, Snake & Baby Doll. Wrestler of the Year: Kerry Von Erich TBC"

"I was around 14 years old when WCCW hit its ramp in popularity. I was in an area at the time that only had WWF on TV but then all of a sudden out of no where WCCW started to show up on tv in my area in late 1982ish. First match I saw was Kerry vs Hayes and I was instantly hooked. The music, the camera angles and hand held cameras, the vignettes, the strong match ups each week with big names were all so different from what I had been used to on what now looked like very very bland WWF tv shows. It was sad that it did not have the longest run but I still watch old WCCW matches from time to time on youtube and it brings a smile to my face."

[8.0] "I loved this promotion and didn't realize how much until I got to watch the entire run on the WWE Network. The Von Erichs/Freebirds feud was magnificent and really cemented the promotion with the fans. They were on fire from 1982-1986 when the Freebirds left. 1986-1988 seemed to die down a little bit, and the introduction of Lance Von Erich as a member of the family, despite what history has been rewritten, was indeed a hit with the fans after the deaths of David and Mike Von Erich. Kerry and Kevin did the best they could and seemed to be able to exist on their own to carry the promotion with new blood like Steve and Shaun Simpson, Chris Adams, and Iceman Parsons. In 1989, Eric Embry started booking himself as the face of the company in his war with Akbar's Army. I really enjoyed this era as well, but once the Memphis territory started appearing regularly and the Super Clash III experiment failed, the writing was on the wall and Jerry Jarrett bought the company and booked it out of existence. It was a good run for a "little engine that could" promotion, but Kerry's departure for the WWF and Kevin retiring put the final nails in the coffin. I miss those years and I wonder what this place could have become with people like Ross, Marshall, and Lacey Von Erich in place to inherit the limelight. RIP< World Class. You are missed."

[8.0] "The action was top notch. The storylines were shallow and predictable. That said it had it's niche and it was successful. You knew what you were getting going in. The action was great but the significance of the matches was forgettable. I'm probably biased becaused I watched every week."

[8.0] "This promotion helped to establish stars like Von Erichs and Fabulous Freebirds, and it? s also known for its use of entrance music. It had some drama along the way but overall this promotion met our expectations, 8.0"

[8.0] "A promotion that had the misfortune of being popular at a time when the World Wrestling Federation and Jim Crockett Promotions/World Championship Wrestling were both ascending in popularity. That's not to say that they never had incredible talents. The promotion in my opinion, was plagued with bad luck and misfortune, which was ultimately their downfall."

[8.0] "WCCW had some great storylines and matches. The Von Erichs Vs Freebirds comes to mind immediately. Ric Flair had a good run down in Dallas but outside of the Von Erichs and a few good heels there wasn? t much on offer which definitely bumps the rating down."

[8.0] "What a roller coaster! When they were hot, WOW it was GREAT 'rasslin - but when times were dark and bleak they were, literally deathly low. It's interesting to rewatch and from my perspective things were always best or better when Ken Mantell was booking. Gary Hart brought in some very good talent, but also some vastly mediocre talent while dissing most of "Mantell's boys" as being second rate (or less), yet his booking sometimes felt tired and directionless. All kinds of stars had their early runs there and some of them truly excelled and used it as a launching pad to HUGE stardom. Great stuff over the years that gave us peak Gentleman Chris Adams, the rise of Iceman King Parsons, One Man Gang beginning his iconic biker inspired look, early Jake the Snake Roberts truly exploring his character, Rick Rude's first major push, Jimmy Garvin absolutely OWNING the place. The Great Kabuki, Scott Casey, Shaun & Steve Simpson. The Freebirds/Von Erich feud, The Handsome Halfbreed Gino Hernandez! A young babyface Al Madril-then mid era dastardly heel Al-only to circle back to baby kisser Madril (I loved his stuff there! ). Here is the beginning of Missy Hyatt's career and we also have to mention SUNSHINE! The Fantastics were there and so were The Midnight Express, Rikishi got his first big break there as one half of the Samoan Swat Team and around the very end, some guy named Steve Williams eventually shaved his head and made billions of dollars after changing his ring name. Hell even Mark Calloway started here, and was totally decimated by Bruiser Brody. Go ahead and relive as much as the network/peacock has and watch all of the ups, downs, peaks, valleys, gems and coal lumps alike!"

[9.0] "Stayed rather close to home, but that's where it's rabid fanbase was. Great talent and exciting matches, obviously relied on all the Von Erich's for a little too long, but it was a winning formula for a time."

[9.0] "With its sloppy record-keeping and well-known tragedies, it's hard to convey to a modern audience just how hot and popular World Class was in the early and mid 1980's. The promotion was full of innovation (often and particularly born by Gary Hart) and completely changed the way wrestling was produced, shot, and televised. Moreover, it was 'rock 'n' wrestling' before the then-WWF was. If Fritz had been more ethical, it'd be easy to give World Class a 10/10 rating. As it stands, however, Fritz's negatives towards the end outweigh many of his positives, and I can only give World Class a 9/10."

[8.0] "World Class is THE Ancient Greek Tragedy in the world of wrestling. It should be watched from the end of 1982 tot he end of 1984 to experience it's most important highs and lows."