World Class Wrestling Association World Class Championship Wrestling ( WCCW ) was a regional professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Dallas and Fort Worth , Texas . Originally owned by promoter Ed McLemore , by 1966 it was run by Southwest Sports , Inc . , whose president , Jack Adkisson , was better known as wrestler Fritz Von Erich . Beginning as a territory of the National Wrestling Alliance ( NWA ) , it went independent in 1986 in a bid to become a major national promotion , but was unsuccessful in its attempts and eventually went out of business in 1990 . Rights to the pre - 1988 WCCW tape library currently belong to WWE ( the post - 1988 rights are owned by International World Class Championship Wrestling ) . " World Class Championship Wrestling " was a member of the NWA and was originally known as " Big Time Wrestling " until 1982 , when Adkisson decided that the name of his federation needed to be changed . Mickey Grant , who headed the production of its telecasts , suggested the name " World Class " , and from there , the rest was history . WCCW operated its enterprise in Dallas , Texas and held wrestling events at the Reunion Arena , and mostly at the famed Sportatorium , located just south of Downtown Dallas , which was also a well - known boxing and wrestling arena as well as the one - time home to the famous Big D Jamboree . Golden years . During WCCW ' s golden years ( 1981 – 1985 ) , the company was booked for the most part by Ken Mantell , with David Von Erich , Gary Hart , Bruiser Brody and ( after David ' s death ) Kevin Von Erich as the go - to people to keep the success of World Class going . During World Class ' heyday , the Adkissons owned the majority of the promotion , with partial ownership held by Bill Mercer , Mickey Grant , Gary Hart and Bronko Lubich . WCCW ' s television programming . Weekly wrestling shows were staged there on Tuesday nights until August 1978 , then were moved to Sunday nights until the early ' 80s , and finally were held on Friday nights until the promotion ' s demise . WCCW ' s syndicated show was usually taped at the Sportatorium beginning in 1981 , with two hour - long shows being recorded every other Friday . These telecasts were , in the beginning , seen in only a few markets and were hosted at various times by Gene Goodson , Steve Harms , and Marc Lowrance ; when the show was taken over in 1982 by Continental Productions ( a subsidiary of local station KXTX ) and went to international syndication , well - known north Texas journalist / sportscaster Bill Mercer ( a former play - by - play announcer for the Dallas Cowboys , Texas Rangers and Chicago White Sox along with other Texas - based teams ) became the ringside announcer at the Sportatorium . For a few months he co - hosted with Jay Saldi , and by 1983 , hosted the hour - long program alone , with Lowrance filling in for Mercer from time to time . After Mercer left in 1987 to join Ken Mantell ' s Wild West Wrestling promotion , Lowrance returned to the broadcast position , where he would remain until resigning to become a minister in July 1990 . Lowrance would later be paired by former wrestler - turned - matchmaker Frank Dusek for one year , then later by " The Beauty " Terrance Garvin , a pro wrestler who resembles Jimmy Garvin . Lowrance left World Class / USWA in May 1990 to become a full - time Methodist minister , after nearly 10 years with the organization . Craig Johnson ( real name : Jon Horton ) replaced Lowrance for the final two months of telecasts , due to the unavailability of Bill Mercer , who was a ringside announcer for Gary Hart ' s wrestling promotion at the Metroplex Arena . Percy Pringle III would replace Garvin , who returned to the wrestling ring . Horton eventually went on to host the USWA and GWF telecasts in later years , and Pringle went on to greater fame in the WWF / WWE as Paul Bearer , the manager of The Undertaker . Lowrance did return to the Sportatorium as ring announcer in September 1990 ( as did Mercer , who filled in for Lowrance on a few cards ) , when World Class seceded from the USWA , and appeared occasionally during the 1990s in other Dallas - based promotions such as the Global Wrestling Federation . Lowrance is no longer in the business , but does appear at vintage pro wrestling conventions on occasion . Monday and Saturday night matches . The promotion also held matches on Monday nights in Fort Worth at the North Side Coliseum ( an indoor rodeo arena , known today as the Cowtown Coliseum ) , until the mid - 1970s , then relocated to the Will Rogers Memorial Center , where it remained until WCCW discontinued its regular Fort Worth shows in 1988 , although the promotion did promote Fort Worth house cards on occasion until 1989 . These matches aired Saturday nights on local station KTVT , as a 90 - minute broadcast entitled " Saturday Night Wrestling " , which was expanded to two hours in November 1983 and retitled " Championship Sports " . From late 1988 until the station cancelled wrestling in 1990 , KTVT ' s tapings were held at the Sportatorium on Saturday mornings . Dan Coates , who had served as ring announcer in Fort Worth for many years prior to the Von Erich era , called the action on KTVT from 1966 until 1976 , when Bill Mercer was brought in to replace him . When Mercer moved to the syndicated telecasts , Marc Lowrance took over the KTVT show . As he would with the syndicated series , Jon Horton became host of " Championship Sports " for its last few episodes . Ring announcers . Lowrance was also the ring announcer at the Sportatorium for several years before moving to TV full - time ; he was originally hired in 1980 to replace Boyd Pierce , who had been with the group since the 1960s and left to join Bill Watts ' Mid - South Wrestling promotion . Other ring announcers in WCCW included George Preston ( 1960s ) , Joe Rinelli ( from the 1960s until 1988 ) and Ralph Pulley ( mid - 1980s ) , who also served as a referee for a time . Lowrance , who was 21 at the time , was originally hired for a three - week stint until a permanent replacement was found for Pierce . Soon after , when no one was found , Lowrance ' s stay with World Class became permanent . Doyle King , and for one week Jim Ross , worked as fill - in announcers for Lowrance for the Fort Worth telecasts . In 1981 , Dallas rock ' n roll singer Gene Summers took over the ring announcing duties for both the Dallas and Fort Worth matches . However , his tenure was cut short due to conflicting European music tours . It was during this time period that he released the now famous recording " Ballad of Moon Dog Mayne " under the pseudonym of Ricky Ringside . Summers ' brief announcing career in 1981 lasted from March 8 to May 31 . Marc Lowrance returned to the ring announcing duties in Dallas , and either Ralph Pulley or Joe Rinelli handled the Fort Worth matches . NWA era . Big Time Wrestling : 1966 – 1981 . WCCW was originally known as Big Time Wrestling and , until the late 1970s , was dominated by its owner , Fritz Von Erich . In 1966 , Von Erich and Ed McLemore - owner of the Dallas Sportatorium - bought out the Dallas / Fort Worth Wrestling Office , breaking away from Houston Wrestling Office , which was managed by Paul Boesch . In 1969 , Von Erich took sole control over the Office after McLemore died from a heart attack , and also gained ownership of the Dallas Sportatorium . Initially playing his longtime role of a snarling , goose - stepping Nazi monster heel and sometimes teaming with " brother " Waldo , Fritz turned babyface in late 1966 and began feuding with Gary Hart and his stable of wrestlers ( which at this time included Karl Von Brauner , Al Costello and the masked Spoilers ) ; the feud between Hart and Fritz ( and his sons ) would continue off and on for more than two decades . Fritz ' s other classic rivalries during this early period were with such stars as Johnny Valentine , Stan Stasiak , Professor Toru Tanaka , Lord Alfred Hayes , The Sheik , Bruiser Brody and The Great Kabuki . Babyface wrestlers playing secondary roles in the promotion at various times included Wahoo McDaniel , Pepper Gomez , Red Bastien , Jose Lothario and Lonnie " Moondog " Mayne . Many of these wrestlers were regular mainstays of the Grand Olympic Auditorium wrestling promotion in Los Angeles , who would compete in Dallas regularly , as did Fritz and several Texas - based wrestlers doing the same for Gene and Mike LeBell ' s promotion in L . A . As his sons began to launch wrestling careers of their own in the mid - to - late 1970s , Fritz gradually cut back on his in - ring appearances and concentrated on promoting , finally retiring from the ring altogether after a 1982 NWA American Title win over King Kong Bundy at Texas Stadium in Irving . By then , the promotion had switched to the World Class name and was centered around Fritz ' s sons , Kevin , David , Kerry , and later , Mike Von Erich . Peak years : 1982 – 1985 . Around this same time , WCCW began its hour - long weekly syndicated television show which introduced numerous innovative production techniques , many of which are still commonly used today . The promotion was also the first to use familiar rock songs as entrance music for its wrestlers . Talent deals and exchanges helped WCCW bring in future stars such as Chris Adams , The Fabulous Freebirds , Jake Roberts , Mick Foley , a young Shawn Michaels , Gino Hernandez and Iceman King Parsons , Jimmy Phillips , and others . The show was syndicated across the United States , and at one point arguably scored higher ratings than " Saturday Night Live " . By the fall of 1983 , the opening sequence of World Class ' syndicated broadcasts began with a NASA photo of Earth , taken during the Apollo 16 mission back in 1972 . An animated satellite would beam down over Dallas , and as it moves east , the World Class logo would appear and move across to the upper left hand corner of the picture . Two more satellite beams aired two highlights from World Class : one involving a match between Kerry Von Erich and Michael Hayes , and another between David Von Erich and Jimmy Garvin . Another opening sequence featured one segment with Kevin Von Erich performing a flying splash onto Terry Gordy , and another with Michael Hayes attacking Kerry Von Erich , who was handcuffed onto a ring rope . In late - 1984 , a different World Class logo was used and two different match sequences : one involving Skandor Akbar urging The Missing Link to head - butt Kerry Von Erich ; while the other scene was Kerry Von Erich slamming Kamala to the mat , with his handler Friday outside the ring moving his fist down in disgust , with announcers Marc Lowrance and Ralph Pulley watching . This opening sequence would be used again in 1991 with Boston - based International World Class Championship Wrestling . By 1987 , the opening sequence changed ; beginning with a dusk photo of Dallas , and other shots of the city , including the Dallas North Tollway , before the World Class logo would appear ; then scenes of past wrestling events ( mostly from the 1987 Texas Stadium event ) would follow before the logo reappeared again . Freebirds - Von Erichs feud . Developed and booked by manager and behind - the - scenes booker Gary Hart , World Class ' most storied feud was the legendary and long - running battle between the Von Erichs and the Freebirds , which began on December 25 , 1982 during an NWA World title match between Kerry Von Erich and champion Ric Flair at Reunion Arena in Dallas . After several of Flair ' s title defenses against Kerry ended in controversy with the champion retaining the belt by various illegal means ( including an earlier match which involved a corrupt referee , Alfred Neely ) , the promotion had finally booked a rematch between the two in a steel cage to prevent any interference , and announced a write - in poll in which fans could vote for the wrestler they wanted to serve as special referee for the match . Freebird Michael Hayes , whose popularity in WCCW at that point was second only to the Von Erichs themselves , was selected to officiate , and his tag team partner Terry Gordy was at ringside to guard the cage door . However , when Kerry refused to pin Flair following unwanted interference on his behalf by Hayes , the Freebirds turned on Von Erich , with Gordy slamming the door on Kerry ' s head . Backup referee David Manning banished Hayes and Gordy to the dressing room , and the match ended shortly thereafter , with Flair retaining the title yet again as Manning stopped the match due to Kerry ' s inability to continue the match . Shortly after , Gary Hart left WCCW , due to money issues with Von Erich ; the Freebirds wanted to follow suit , but Hart persuaded them to stay in WCCW . A year later , Gordy would have his head slammed by the cage door from Fritz Von Erich , in retaliation . The Freebird - Von Erich rivalry was one of the most violent feuds in modern - day wrestling history , and continued off - and - on for much of the decade ; Parsons , Adams , " Gorgeous " Jimmy Garvin and members of Skandor Akbar ' s Devastation Inc . stable were also involved in the Freebird - Von Erich feud directly or indirectly during the course of the angle . The official last match between the Freebirds and the Von Erichs took place in April 1993 in Dallas . Buddy Roberts vs . King Parsons . Buddy Roberts was also involved in several conflicts in 1983 with " Iceman " King Parsons , including a match in which Roberts lost his hair in a " hair vs hair " match despite winning the match . Parsons , who lost the match , managed to grab the infamous " Freebird Hair Cream " ( used as a plot device in earlier matches as a fictional hair remover ) and rub the contents onto Roberts ' head . This prompted Roberts to wear a wig and headgear to cover his bald head , whose hair grew back in a time span of six months . Jimmy Garvin vs . Chris Adams . A secondary feud was born between Jimmy Garvin , who had spent much of 1983 feuding with David Von Erich , against England ' s Chris Adams . Adams faced Garvin for the first time on August 26 , 1983 at the Dallas Sportatorium , both wrestling to a time - limit draw . Afterwards , both Garvin and Adams exchanged insults , calling each other a " coward " , with Adams challenging Garvin to a title match on October 7 , as Garvin was about to face David Von Erich ( which proved to be the last - ever match between Garvin and Von Erich ) . Prior to this , Adams was involved in a long angle against The Mongol , which was ranked the third top angle in the promotion behind Garvin vs . David and Freebirds vs Von Erichs . The angle reached new heights on October 21 when Adams disguised himself as " The Masked Avenger " and faced Garvin . Playing possum , Adams surprised Garvin with some wrestling moves , and then as he threw Garvin to the ropes , Chris superkicked him , which stunned the Sportatorium crowd and announcer Bill Mercer whose famously uttered " " a thrust kick . . . HEY that looks like . . . here it is ; 1 , 2 , 3 ; a superkick " " . Afterwards , he unmasked to reveal himself as Chris Adams , which proved to be a turning point in Adams ' tenure in World Class ; elevating him from mid - card to main - event status . Sunshine , who previously was Garvin ' s valet , joined Adams ' side two weeks later , and with Sunshine in his corner , Adams defeated Garvin for the American title on November 24 at Reunion Arena ; the first of five NWA American / World Class heavyweight title reigns for the British star . Adams and Garvin traded the American title on numerous occasions , and engaged in mixed tag team matches involving Sunshine and Precious . It was said to be among the first mixed tag - team matches in modern wrestling history , and would pave the way for future mixed tag team matches , including one Adams promoted himself six years later involving two of his ex - wives ( Jeanie Clark and Toni Adams ) and his protégé Steve Austin . The death of David Von Erich . On February 10 , 1984 , at the height of the Von Erich - Freebird wars , David Von Erich died from an intestinal rupture caused by a stomach ailment just after arriving in Japan for a series of appearances . Although Ric Flair asserted in his autobiography that most people in wrestling believe David died of a drug overdose , with Bruiser Brody flushing pills down a hotel toilet before the police arrived , David ' s autopsy report indicated no drugs in his system and that his death was definitely caused by acute enteritis . His death was front page news in the Dallas - Fort Worth Metroplex , triggering an area - wide outpouring of shock and grief among fans , and was the beginning of the Von Erichs ' decline and fall ( and WCCW ' s as well , although attendance levels would remain high for a time ) . His death prompted a few changes in upcoming events . The February 10 non - televised card at the Dallas Sportatorium was to have Kamala , The Missing Link and Jimmy Garvin face Chris Adams and Kevin and Kerry Von Erich in the main event . Instead , Brian Adias and King Parsons took Kevin and Kerry ' s places , and the trio of Adams , Parsons and Adias defeated Kamala , Link and Garvin in an emotional match for all involved . The February 13 card , featured Marc Lowrance and David Manning in the ring alongside Sunshine , Adams , Parsons , Adias , Junkyard Dog , Chief Jules Strongbow , Jimmy Phillips , Bronko Lubich and Johnny Mantell as a ten - bell salute to honor David Von Erich was carried out . David ' s funeral took place two days later , and an estimated 5 , 000 people paid tribute to the fallen star ; one of the largest funeral gatherings to take place in the Metroplex at the time . A February 18 , 1984 telecast of " World Class Championship Wrestling " was dedicated exclusively to the life of David Von Erich , with wrestlers Michael Hayes , Jimmy Garvin , Harley Race , Chris Adams and Ric Flair paying tribute to the fallen hero . Bill Mercer and Mickey Grant also provided footage of David ' s earlier times as a high school basketball standout and had an interview with Fritz , Kevin and Kerry during the broadcast . The Von Erichs , who took David ' s death extremely hard , did not compete again until February 27 , when they teamed with Adams to defeat Butch Reed , Jimmy Garvin , Michael Hayes and Terry Gordy . David had been seen by many in the NWA as potential World Championship material . According to Ric Flair , David had indeed been chosen by the NWA to become the World Heavyweight Champion and Flair also stated in his autobiography " To Be The Man " that had David lived , he would have had the potential to be a long - term NWA Champion . On May 6 , 1984 , as a tribute to his late brother , Kerry Von Erich finally defeated Ric Flair after a hard - fought 14 - minute battle to win the title at the first annual " David Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions " supercard held at Texas Stadium in Irving . However , because Kerry already had a reputation within the industry for being unreliable due to substance abuse , the NWA only allowed him a brief title reign ; he lost the belt back to Flair in Yokosuka , Japan on May 24 ( May 23 in the U . S . ) in another hard - fought match . The match , which did not air on television initially , allowed World Class to use an angle in which Flair cheated in the match , and claimed the referee was a sumo official who did not understand the rules of pro wrestling . The match , which Flair won with a clean pinfall over Kerry , in fact was officiated by veteran All Japan Pro Wrestling referee Joe Higuchi , who found David Von Erich ' s body the previous February , and was also the one who alerted David Manning of his death . Afterwards , the Freebirds left World Class in the summer of 1984 , and , except for a few appearances , did not return until December 1985 . Jimmy Garvin and Precious also departed WCCW during this time to join the AWA . Killer Khan vs . The Freebirds and The Von Erichs . An unusual three - way feud ensued during the summer of 1984 involving Killer Khan , originally brought in by the Freebirds in their quest to destroy the Von Erichs , fighting the Freebirds and Von Erichs after Khan was bought by General Skandor Akbar . During one match at the Sportatorium , Michael Hayes and Kevin Von Erich took turns attacking Khan , shoving each other away in the process . Gino Hernandez & Nickla Roberts vs . Mike Von Erich & Sunshine / Stella Mae French . One of the top angles of the summer of 1984 was a mixed feud between Gino Hernandez & Nickla Roberts ( aka Baby Doll , billed as " Andrea The Lady Giant " ) against Mike Von Erich & Stella Mae French . The angle reached new heights in the fall of 1984 when Sunshine , arriving on a helicopter at the Cotton Bowl , interfered in a match , allowing French to pin Roberts . This angle , which also involved Chris Adams , ended in 1985 . Chris Adams & Gino Hernandez vs . The Von Erichs . With The Freebirds out of the picture , and attempting other angles that proved to be not as highly successful as the Freebirds - Von Erichs wars , World Class decided to turn Chris Adams heel and start a long and legendary war which lasted for over a year , and at the same time , drawing revenues that exceeded the Freebirds - Von Erichs angle . The new angle was developed by Ken Mantell , Gary Hart , Chris Adams and Fritz Von Erich , which was born out of a conversation between Adams and Hart , where Adams wanted to change his image and try his luck as a heel wrestler . Gary Hart , who left World Class in early - 1983 due to a dispute with Fritz Von Erich over the booking of the Freebirds - Von Erich feud , returned to World Class in August to scout the babyface talent , including Adams , Iceman King Parsons , Brian Adias and others . Towards the end of the month , Adams , who had returned from his tenure in Los Angeles during the 1984 Summer Olympics , announced his alliance with Hart , which resulted in some friction between Adams and the babyfaces . On September 28 , 1984 , Adams was paired with Kevin Von Erich against Jake Roberts and Gino Hernandez , with Gary Hart and Stella Mae French in Adams and Von Erich ' s corner . As the match wound down , Hernandez had Adams in a high vertical suplex , with French tripping Hernandez , causing Adams to land on Gino ; however he rolled over on top of Chris and pinned him . After the match , an enraged Adams began arguing with French , with Hart and Kevin coming in as peacemakers . Hart later abused Stella Mae , prompting Kevin to shove him to the corner of the heels ' side of the ring . Out of nowhere , Adams blasted Kevin with a superkick , which prompted Hernandez and Roberts to throw French out of the ring and attack Kevin , while Adams and Hart walked away . The two - on - one gangup continued ( which included Roberts ' patented DDT ) until Buck Zumhofe and David Manning ran in to chase Roberts and Hernandez away . Oddly , two days after that incident , Chris teamed with Kerry and defeated Killer Khan and the Missing Link in San Antonio . Neither Kerry or Adams showed animosity towards each other to stay on kayfabe terms since Adams ' heel turn would not be seen on television for at least another week . On October 27 , Adams and Von Erich squared off at the Cotton Bowl , with Kevin winning the match , amid controversy when Adams lifted his shoulder at the count of one , but referee David Manning counted to three with Adams lifting his shoulder again , believing he was at the count of two . Afterwards , Kevin made a deal with Chris : leave Gary Hart and go on his own and all would be forgiven . Adams responded by attacking Kevin with a chair . Unintentionally , Adams hit Kevin in the head hard enough for the chair to break in half , causing Kevin some bleeding from the head and resulting in his hospitalization for a few days . The Adams - Von Erich feud had been set up in this way because Fritz Von Erich felt that too many fans were siding with Adams , and after the Cotton Bowl incident , Adams still heard cheers from some of the fans . A month later , Kevin returned the favor by smashing a chair into Adams ' head after losing to him , and that resulted in Chris being helped out of the arena with a minor concussion and nearly losing his left eye when a piece of the wooden chair lodged onto his nose after the chair shot , very dangerously close to his eye . The wooden chair angle was quickly scrapped at Kevin and Chris ' requests due to the legitimate injuries both wrestlers sustained . Adams eventually became World Class ' biggest heel ; yet at the same time , as the feud with the Von Erichs progressed , he began facing other heels , such as Ric Flair and members of Skandor Akbar ' s army . By 1985 , Adams began tagging with Hernandez , forming the second and most successful version of The Dynamic Duo ( Tully Blanchard and Hernandez formed the original version ) . Towards the end of the year , Adams and Hernandez used scissors ( a gimmick that Brutus Beefcake would use later on in the WWF ) to cut hair off opponents after each of their matches , and this resulted in a Cotton Bowl showdown in October 1985 , in which Kevin and Kerry Von Erich defeated Adams and Hernandez in a losers - lose - hair match . Adams and Hernandez eventually broke up and began feuding , and faced each other in a January 1986 match where the loser would have his hair removed with Freebird Hair Cream ( a gimmick previously used in a June 1983 match between Iceman Parsons and Freebird Buddy Roberts ) . Adams had the match won , but picked Hernandez up twice to dish out more punishment , and while he was arguing with referee Rick Hazzard , Hernandez grabbed the hair cream and threw the contents in Adams ' face , thus " blinding " him . Adams won the match by DQ as a result . However , by the time this angle aired on television a few days later , Hernandez was dead ; his death , which was revealed by an autopsy to be the result of a cocaine overdose , ended any prospects of a hot feud between the former partners . The Scotland Yard questioned Adams regarding Hernandez ' s death , but no charges were ever filed against him . The original plan for the Adams - Hernandez feud was for Chris to return to face Hernandez at the Texas Stadium card , and stretch the feud out through much of 1986 with possibly Missy Hyatt and Sunshine getting involved later on . The Fantastics vs . The Midnight Express . This feud began in early - 1985 , and was centered around managers Sunshine and Jim Cornette over a " green jacket " . Tommy Rogers and Bobby Fulton traded the tag team titles a few times with Cornette ' s team of Bobby Eaton and Dennis Condrey . The Midnight Express soon departed for Jim Crockett Promotions and Rogers and Fulton soon wrestled Chris Adams and Gino Hernandez several times . Battle of the Superkicks . A brief yet high - profile angle between Chris Adams and Great Kabuki was played out during the summer of 1985 over which wrestler had the most lethal kick : Chris Adams and his superkick or Kabuki and his thrust kick . Both wrestlers displayed their martial arts talent in their matches , and during one singles match at the Dallas Sportatorium , half of the crowd was chanting for Adams , while the other half was chanting for Kabuki . Both Adams and Kabuki would have sporadic matches , both singles and tag team , through 1986 . Israel tour . In 1985 , World Class went on a major tour to the Middle East ( including Israel ) . The tour , which ran from August 3 through August 7 , was held mostly in Tel Aviv , and proved to be extremely successful , but was also the start of another episode for the Adkisson family , as it was during this tour that Mike Von Erich suffered a separated shoulder ( in a tag team match with Kevin against Gino Hernandez and Chris Adams ) that led to his near - fatal bout with toxic shock syndrome following surgery . In an ill - advised desperation move that would later infamously backfire , Fritz brought in Pacific Northwest Wrestling Champion , Ricky Vaughn as " cousin " Lance Von Erich to fill the gap while Mike was recovering . Fritz billed Lance as the " son " of Waldo Von Erich , with whom Fritz tagged years earlier , but was not related to Fritz in any way . Vaughn made his WCCW debut at the 1985 Cotton Bowl event . To this day , it was considered to be the worst idea that Fritz came up with . Among the main participants on the Israel tour included Kevin and Mike Von Erich , Chris Adams , Gino Hernandez , Iceman King Parsons , Freebird Buddy Roberts , Scott Casey , Brian Adias , Rip Oliver , Kelly Kiniski and Johnny Mantell . Other notable angles . A then - unknown Shawn Michaels wrestled in a few matches in World Class , including one against Billy Jack Haynes . Iceman King Parsons was involved in several matches against Adams , as well as members of Gary Hart ' s and Skandor Akbar ' s stables . During this time , Michaels and Scott Hall appeared in opening matches , while backstage the two built their wrestling skills courtesy of Chris Adams , who began working behind the scenes as a trainer at that time . The One Man Gang , Mark Lewin , Steve " Dr . Death " Williams , Rip Oliver , John Tatum , Steve Casey , Tommy Montana , and DJ Peterson also competed in World Class during 1985 . Independence . WCWA : 1986 – 1988 . 1986 . On February 4 , 1986 , local authorities and friends of Gino Hernandez - now one the company ' s major stars - discovered him dead in his apartment . In addition , the NWA President at the time , Jim Crockett , Jr . , had also decided that he would no longer book the NWA World Champion at the time , Ric Flair , to wrestle in the state of Texas . World Class , still reeling over the death of Gino Hernandez , withdrew its membership from the NWA on February 18 , 1986 , became known as the World Class Wrestling Association , yet they retained the World Class Championship Wrestling name for its broadcasts . The NWA American Heavyweight Championship , which had been the promotion ' s top championship for nearly 20 years , was immediately renamed and declared it to be their " World " title and Rick Rude , the holder of the American Heavyweight Championship , was recognized as the promotion ' s first World champion . While there is no official means of granting a championship " World " title status in professional wrestling , " Pro Wrestling Illustrated " didn ' t recognize the championship ' s status as a " World " title as it had with the AWA , NWA , and WWF titles . It was rumored that the NWA didn ' t want to give Kerry the title back , and the NWA didn ' t recognize the faster pace of the sport . The new corporation also gained a deal with ESPN to air a weekly show on the network as well . As a result of the NWA withdrawal , the WCWA also introduced a title - change rule in which a champion could lose the belt on a disqualification or a countout , much to the dismay of heel wrestlers , who opt to DQ themselves to keep the championship ( most notably Ric Flair ) . That rule had previously been in place during the 1984 NWA World Heavyweight Championship match between Flair and Kerry Von Erich , and had been used sporadically before World Class seceded from the NWA . The Freebirds - Von Erich war reignited in late - 1985 , with Hayes , Gordy and Roberts against Kevin , Kerry and Lance Von Erich ; reborn following a surprise gang - up on Kevin and Kerry during a match in Fort Worth , with announcer Marc Lowrance exclaiming that " The Devil has emerged " when returning from the commercial break . John Tatum and Missy Hyatt entered the promotion , and started a feud with The Fantastics and Sunshine . Chris Adams returned in April to do two house shows , and in May received a huge ovation from the crowd at Texas Stadium in his first televised match since the " blinding " angle . Chris did begin an angle with Rick Rude ; but not before becoming a full - fledged face . However , when the WCWA was formed Fritz von Erich refused to book his shows outside of Dallas . This move led to a disputes with Fritz von Erich and the company ' s head booker Ken Mantell , who soon left the WCWA to become the head booker for the newly formed Universal Wrestling Federation ( UWF ) ; Referee David Manning took Mantell ' s place . After Mantell ' s departure in May 1986 , attendance for WCWA shows began to drop greatly ; along with Mantell , the new UWF was able to lure away more WCWA talent as well . During a May 26 , 1986 six - man tag match in Fort Worth , Adams was paired with Lance and Kevin Von Erich against Rick Rude , Kabuki and the One Man Gang . It was the first time since September 30 , 1984 that Adams was partnered with a Von Erich in any tag team match , and there was still some tension between Kevin and Chris in the early - going , but that eventually changed as the match progressed . As the match wound down , the One Man Gang was about to launch a major assault on Kevin with a chain . As Kabuki and Rude was distracting referee Bronco Lubich , Adams entered the ring and superkicked OMG , then rolled Kevin on top of him and alerted Lubich that a pin was occurring in the ring . Lubich made the three - count and Chris , Kevin and Lance won the match . After several minutes with Chris and Kevin standing in the center of the ring , Kevin extended his hand , and Chris shook it and the two embraced in the center of the ring , signaling the end of World Class Championship Wrestling ' s most storied feud . Adams also feuded with Tatum and Hyatt , with Sunshine once again managing Chris . Chris evidently continued wrestling against Rude on several occasions , and in one match after a " Rude Awakening " neckbreaker , Chris " regained his eyesight . " With the patch gone , Chris became the number one contender to Rude ' s World Class heavyweight title , and on July 4 , 1986 , he won it after a hard - fought and bloody battle at Reunion Arena in Dallas . Adams won with a small package when interference from Rude ' s manager Percy Pringle backfired . Over the course of the next three months , Chris defended the title almost every week , against challengers like Rude , Kabuki , One Man Gang , Blackjack Mulligan and others . In a non - title match at the Dallas Sportatorium , he lost to the Ultimate Warrior , who was then known as the Dingo Warrior . In that match , Adams used a piledriver on the Warrior , and somehow the force of the piledriver hit Adams ' throat ; which had been hit earlier due to interference by manager Percy Pringle during a pre - match altercation . Unable to continue , Adams allowed the Warrior to pin him following a flying elbow . Chris gave the Warrior a title shot , and narrowly defeated him . Adams also faced Abdullah the Butcher in some matches , all of which ended either in a countout or a DQ against Abdullah . Abdullah , Mulligan and Bruiser Brody were involved in a three - way feud during that time ; while South African Steve Simpson joined World Class as an ally of Adams and the Von Erichs . Between July and September 1986 , many of the top stars of World Class , including Adams , Parsons , Hyatt , John Tatum , and the Freebirds , defected to the Universal Wrestling Federation , following longtime WCCW booker Ken Mantell , who had resigned and joined the UWF after a falling - out with Fritz . World Class heavyweight champion Chris Adams was forced to relinquish his championship on September 17 , 1986 ; one day after being convicted of misdemeanor assault from an incident on June 30 , 1986 inflight between San Juan , Puerto Rico and Dallas . According to testimony and accounts from the " Dallas Morning News " , Adams , who was under the influence , verbally assaulted a stewardess when he became belligerent when it was announced that liquor sales would no longer be available in flight . He then head - butted an American Airlines co - pilot before Kevin Von Erich , who was also on the flight , restrained Adams . He left World Class shortly thereafter and joined Ken Mantell in the UWF , when it was told that Adams would lose the belt to Black Bart on September 19 at the Dallas Sportatorium , a decision that enraged Adams , then - booker Gary Hart and several other wrestlers . Adams was sentenced on October 25 to 90 days in jail and fined $ 500 . He began his sentence on November 1 , and was released on January 29 , 1987 . Kevin Von Erich later defeated Black Bart for the World Class heavyweight title at the Cotton Bowl , and hold that belt for nearly a year . It was also at this point that Kerry Von Erich was involved in a motorcycle accident ( June 4 , 1986 ) and suffered injuries that later worsened when he attempted to return to the ring too soon ( an attempt said by some observers to have taken place under heavy pressure from Fritz ) and would finally necessitate the amputation of his right foot . As a result of this accident , the organization ' s attendance dropped greatly . WCCW ' s fortunes declined further in 1986 – 87 with the Texas oil businesses entering a recession and Mike Von Erich ' s health and substance abuse problems and eventual suicide . As a result of these multiple catastrophes , attendance in both Dallas and Fort Worth plummeted ; according to some former WCCW wrestlers , many fans became disillusioned with the Von Erichs as the supposedly " clean - living " brothers ' drug use became harder to cover up , and they frequently no - showed cards the promotion booked in smaller towns . Sportatorium cards , which at the beginning of the year before drew well over 4 , 000 had dropped to less than 1 , 000 within a time span of six months . In an attempt to keep World Class hot , by means of running long - term angles , Brian Adias , who was billed as the childhood friend of the Von Erichs ( which is legitimate , since Brian grew up with the Adkissons in Denton and also went to high school with Kerry ) , began a storyline with them by turning heel against Mike Von Erich during a match , then eventually began feuding with Kevin Von Erich later on . This angle , similar to the one used with Chris Adams in 1984 , proved to be unsuccessful , and pairing Adias with Alberto Madril to form a newer version of " The Dynamic Duo " ( and even going so far as using Adams and Hernandez ' s " Bad to the Bone " as their ring entrance music ) made matters worse . Adias lacked the charisma and talent that Adams had during his feud with the Von Erichs , and Kevin and Mike dominated this feud from start to finish . There was one high mark in that feud , when Kevin passed out from concussion complications during an eight - man tag team match . That incident was worked into an angle in which Adias tried to end Von Erich ' s career by applying the Oriental Spike , a finisher made famous by Terry Gordy . Madril often drew the ire of the crowd by shouting in Spanish , sometimes using obscene language . The Los Angeles native eventually turned babyface and began feuding with Adias by 1987 . Late in the year , the promotion briefly added another show to its lineup called Texas Championship Wrestling , which aired nationally on the now defunct cable network Tempo Television , filling a void left by the folding of USA All - Star Wrestling . The new show retained USA All - Star Wrestling ' s Steve Stack as its host and was taped at Gilley ' s Club in Pasadena , Texas , the site of its predecessor . The matches and interviews on Texas Championship Wrestling did not acknowledge the ongoing storylines taking place on the territory ' s other current television shows . 1987 . Between late - 1986 and the latter part of 1987 , World Class was behind the UWF as the top promotion , but things were about to change soon , which would include the return of many major World Class stars by year ' s end . In April , World Class suffered another death when Mike Von Erich - who now was diagnosed with toxic shock syndrome - was found dead near Lake Lewisville , having committed suicide by overdosing on Placidyl . The upcoming Parade of Champions card held in May was renamed in honor of both David and Mike Von Erich . This event , which drew over 10 , 000 fans the previous three years , drew less than that amount for the 1987 event , which featured Kevin Von Erich defending the World Class title against Nord The Barbarian , who in actuality was a protégé of Bruiser Brody ' s . To make matters worse , the WWF had also reached the pinnacle of its success at WrestleMania III , and began to gain more national exposure . The Dallas Sportatorium received a facelift with a new ring and red , yellow and blue ring ropes with a World Class banner placed at Section D of the arena , with the American flag moved to Section C . By now , attendance for WCCW shows was nearly dead . Gary Hart ( who along with Brody were now World Class ' main go - to people ) formed a new stable alongside wrestler / manager Phil Apollo ( who was then known as " Vince Apollo " ) which included Brian Adias , Al Madril , and Al Perez , who would eventually win the World Class heavyweight title by August . Eric Embry , Frankie Lancaster , The Rock & Roll RPMs ( Mike Davis and Tommy Lane ) , and Jason Sterling ( the son of The Missing Link ) also competed for a time in World Class . In mid - 1987 , after the buyout of the UWF by Jim Crockett Promotions , Ken Mantell launched his own Wild West Wrestling promotion with the popular Fort Worth nightspot Billy Bob ' s Texas as its homebase . Headlining for Mantell ' s group were such former World Class stars as Fabulous Lance ( formerly Lance Von Erich , who by then had walked out on Fritz in a dispute over money ) , Wild Bill Irwin , The Missing Link , Buddy Roberts , Brian Adias , Jack Victory , Tatum and Parsons . Bill Mercer left World Class to become the ring announcer for Wild West Wrestling . After only a few months , Mantell agreed to return to WCCW as co - promoter with Kevin and Kerry Von Erich , following Fritz ' s decision to sell out his interest in the promotion ; Wild West was absorbed into WCCW , and most of its talent — with the notable exception of Fabulous Lance , who was now considered " persona non grata " by the Adkissons after his abrupt departure earlier in the year — returned along with Mantell . Wild West Wrestling continued promoting cards at Billy Bob ' s until late - 1988 , with its programming now featuring its Championship Sports broadcasts from the Sportatorium . Chris Adams , who stayed with the NWA following their buyout with the UWF , abruptly left the NWA over a money dispute ( reportedly against the wishes of Michael Hayes to stay ) , and returned to World Class soon thereafter . Upon returning , Adams worked an angle with Al Perez and manager Gary Hart , engaging in several matches — including one in which he supposedly won the World Class title following a victory over Perez . The decision was reversed by referee John Keaton who was pushed into Adams ' s superkick by Perez ( backup ref Bronco Lubich made the three - count when Adams surprised Perez with a sunset flip ) , thus Keaton DQed Adams and Perez retained the championship , a match which fans felt was a Dusty Finish . Adams also engaged in a brief feud with Brian Adias , mostly out of the rights to use the ring entrance music " Bad to the Bone " , which Adias used , much to the objection of Adams , who was best known for this ring entrance music with Gino Hernandez . Kerry Von Erich also returned to World Class , wrestling with a prosthetic foot , and during a November card at the Sportatorium , he interfered in a match between his brother Kevin and Brian Adias . Adias , who taunted Kerry to enter the ring , was discus - punched out of the ring by Kerry , and then later Kerry and Kevin Von Erich drop - kicked manager Percy Pringle out of the ring , which brought the Sportatorium patrons to their feet . Kerry even bodyslammed Ted Arcidi during the post - match brawl . Upon Ken Mantell ' s return , WCCW held its final " Christmas Day Star Wars " show , during which one of the most infamous incidents in Texas wrestling history — known to wrestling purists as the " Christmas Day Massacre " — occurred . WCWA champion Al Perez and Kerry Von Erich were scheduled to face each other in a steel cage main event for the title , with Gary Hart handcuffed to Fritz to prevent interference . However , before the match began , Terry Gordy ran in and made disparaging remarks about Kerry and his motorcycle accident , which started a fight . Buddy Roberts , Iceman King Parsons and the late Angel of Death stormed the ring and handcuffed Fritz to the cage , delivering a furious beating while Kerry was being ganged up by Gordy . Eventually Kevin stormed the ring to save both Kerry and Fritz . After the attack , Fritz — who was normally seen walking away from vicious attacks under his own power — was assisted out of the ring by Kerry and Kevin . Upon leaving the ring , Fritz staged a seizure by self - collapsing onto the floor of Reunion Arena , and was supposedly rushed to a hospital ; local news media reported this as a top story , not realizing until later that the entire incident had been a work . Kerry , after an hour or so , returned to the ring to face Perez but lost the match due to outside interference from Hart . The next day on Championship Sports , announcer Marc Lowrance recapped the incident throughout the course of the two - hour program . Afterwards , World Class promoted the renewed Freebird - Von Erich rivalry pitting Terry Gordy , Buddy Roberts , King Parsons and The Angel of Death against Kevin and Kerry Von Erich and Chris Adams , with Steve or Shaun Simpson also helping to even the odds . The unusual twist of this feud was the absence of Michael Hayes , who was still in the NWA , but would eventually return to World Class , as a face , wrestling alongside the Von Erichs , starting a civil war between Hayes , Roberts and Gordy . Gordy would eventually join Hayes and the Von Erichs later on , but this occurred only weeks before the angle ran its course . One high mark in this renewed rivalry was a February 1988 country - whipping match between Kevin and Kerry against Gordy and Roberts . Iceman King Parsons and Chris Adams got involved in the match , and eventually turned into a six - man brawl . David Sheldon , aka The Angel of Death , also got involved , and orchestrated a four - on - two gangup on both Kerry and Adams with Kevin handcuffed to the ring rope . Kevin managed to escape and chase Sheldon , Roberts , Gordy and Parsons away . Another was a planned match between Adams against Parsons , with Kevin and Gordy seconding their respective partners . This event , which occurred three weeks after the Christmas Day Massacre of 1987 , turned into a four - on - two brawl , and eventually erupted into a battle royale . Announcer Marc Lowrance exclaimed during the brawl that 20 men were coming into the ring , which proved to be true as wrestlers from the back tried to end the carnage . 1988 . Another hot feud taking place during this period was Chris Adams against both Terry Taylor and Iceman King Parsons , both of whom were brought into WCCW by Mantell . Parsons and Adams resumed their feud that began in the UWF , while Taylor came in during late - January 1988 , duping everyone into believing that he was a changed wrestler and wanted to tag - team with Adams again , after a violent feud of their own . This led to a February 1988 angle at the Sportatorium in which Taylor was to have faced Al Perez for the WCWA World title . Adams came in wondering what Taylor was doing in World Class , and then later went on a tirade against Perez , demanding a title shot . Terry Gordy later came in and began fighting with Adams , with Kerry Von Erich running in to help Adams . With Gordy and Von Erich outside the ring , Taylor sucker - punched Adams , then piledrived Adams twice in the ring with the second one legitimately breaking Adams left hand . Chris was attempting to block the second piledriver , and injured his hand in the process . The Taylor - Perez match never took place , and was ruled a no - contest . Adams missed at least six weeks of action as a result of his injury . The card itself , which featured the infamous country - whipping match , had at least a half - dozen piledrivers performed in the ring ; including two by Taylor on Adams , another by Gordy on Kevin Von Erich , and two from Kerry – one on Gordy and another on Roberts . In another strange angle , Adams wrestled Taylor while wearing a catcher ' s mask , in order to protect Chris from legit injuries he sustained during an earlier match in Missouri . Adams lost that match by DQ when he hit Taylor with the mask . Meanwhile , Kerry Von Erich won the World Class title from Perez ; and lost it to Iceman Parsons following an infamous incident during a March 1988 card in which the lights at the Sportatorium went out during the match , and when the lights returned , Kerry was down on the mat , with Parsons pinning him . Michael Hayes , who was fighting outside the ring with Buddy Roberts , was also down outside the ring . Many wrestlers believed at one time that Kevin Vaughn , formerly Lance Von Erich , was responsible for the lights being turned off which resulted in the unknown attack on both Hayes and Kerry . Kerry regained the championship the following May at the final Texas Stadium Parade of Champions card . By May 1988 , World Class and the Memphis - based CWA began a working agreement with Renegades Rampage , allowing wrestlers from both organizations to appear either in Dallas or in the Memphis area . Jerry Lawler entered the Sportatorium ring for the first time in late - May and faced Kerry Von Erich for the first time . This bout never took place , as Lawler sucker - punched Kerry in the ring , resulting in Kerry being taken out on a stretcher . Adams and Taylor took their angle to Memphis and competed against each other several times at the Mid - South Coliseum . In the summer of 1988 , the major storyline pitted Michael Hayes and Steve Cox against the Samoan Swat Team , managed by Buddy Roberts ; along with a series of bouts between Jerry Lawler and Kerry Von Erich over the World Class and AWA titles . Chris Adams , Terry Gordy and Terry Taylor all left World Class at that time ( Adams , who was also a promoter under the L & A Promotions banner , would eventually return towards the end of the year , as a wrestler and trainer ) . Gary Hart also left World Class during this time , and would not return to Dallas again until 1991 under the Global Wrestling Federation banner . Hart ' s decision to stay away from World Class ( other than being under contract with the NWA ) was mostly due to his concern about the federation that he , Mercer and Grant help build in a time span of eight years , go out of business two years after leaving the federation , as he mentioned in the " Heroes of World Class " DVD documentary , as well as not liking the idea of Ken Mantell buying a portion of the company , which he also revealed on the Triumph and Tragedy of WCCW DVD . Pro Wrestling USA ( WCCW , CWA , AWA ) 1987 – 1988 . Several unsuccessful attempts had been made in 1987 – 88 to take World Class national ; among them was a sparsely - attended " Von Erichs over America " tour , and a merger between World Class , the AWA and CWA the following year . A major pay - per - view card , AWA SuperClash III , was held in Chicago in December 1988 , featuring a world title unification match in which Jerry Lawler defeated Kerry Von Erich . However , SuperClash III was not a hit , and Pro Wrestling USA was dissolved . The last years : 1989 – 1990 . After SuperClash III , Ken Mantell and Fritz Von Erich sold WCCW to CWA owner Jerry Jarrett . According to Skandor Akbar , Jarrett got sued by Kevin , although his brother Kerry welcomed Jarrett to the promotion . The combined federation became known as the USWA . Jarrett would run the new USWA out of two headquarters : one in Dallas ( the weekly shows in Fort Worth being discontinued at this point , however several Fort Worth cards were still held ) , the other in Memphis . The deal made Jarrett 60 percent owner of World Class , with Kevin and Kerry Von Erich being 40 percent owners . In addition , the Sportatorium began to run free wrestling tapings for its " Championship Sports " broadcast on KTVT and for several months on its " Wild West Wrestling " program , which in some markets accompanied its " World Class Championship Wrestling " broadcasts , featuring its top stars wrestling preliminary wrestlers and up - and - coming stars , very similar to the Memphis Wrestling programs seen there . These broadcasts lasted until August 1990 . A few markets , including Las Vegas , included a three - hour block of wrestling from the USWA promotion ( two hours from Dallas and one hour from the Memphis ' CWA promotion ) . John Keaton left the promotion soon afterwards , and was replaced by former Wild West Wrestling referee Harold Harris . Eric Embry vs Skandor Akbar and Devastation Inc . . Following the merger of World Class with the CWA and AWA , the promotion originally developed an angle pitting wrestlers from Texas against wrestlers from Tennessee . This would eventually evolve into a new angle that would bring a return to sellout crowds to the Sportatorium for the first time in over six months : Eric Embry against Devastation Inc . Embry , who became the promotion ' s booker and lead babyface , was originally offered a contract by Skandor Akbar to join Devastation Inc . , which he refused to join . This resulted in several gangups on Embry by his stable , including Cactus Jack Manson , King Parsons and Gary Young . Jeff Jarrett , who was feuding with Embry over the World Class light heavyweight title , joined Embry ' s side and helped out fight off Akbar ' s Army , with Brickhouse Brown and later Gentleman Chris Adams ( returning to World Class after a six - month hiatus ) getting involved . On two occasions , Embry duped Akbar , who referred to Embry as " the flamboyant piece of trash " , into signing a contract to join Devastation Inc . , once in which he took his $ 5 , 000 cash bonus and decked Akbar after quitting ; and again when Embry and Akbar signed a document which was revealed by matchmaker Frank Dusek to be a wrestling match between the two . The popularity of Embry reached its point when he lost a loser leaves town match to Gary Young , due to outside interference by Cactus Jack Manson . This prompted the return of Percy Pringle to the promotion , who would later campaign to bring Embry back to World Class ; as well as being the victim of several attacks by Akbar and his troops . The campaign led to Embry ' s reinstatement to World Class . Among the famous incidents that occurred during this angle include Embry being hit with a baseball bat by Akbar , Cactus Jack and Gary Young ( in a mask as " The Zodiac " ) during an April 1989 battle against Akbar ; both of whom were hiding under the Sportatorium ring for some three hours . Frank Dusek , who served as the special referee , was also lit up with the baseball bat and piledriven by Young during the melee . Afterwards , Embry induced vomiting in the ring ( which was censored on television ) . Prior to that , another infamous angle occurred when Embry , who was a special referee in a match between Kerry Von Erich and Gary Young , was fighting with Akbar . The battle carried out into the Sportatorium parking lot , when a hand came through the fire door to kidnap Embry ( later revealed to be Killer Tim Brooks ) . Chris Adams , Kerry Von Erich and Jimmy Jack Funk then carried a bloodied Embry out of the parking lot back into the arena following that vicious attack . Another angle involved the late referee Harold Harris . Harris , who was using a British accent to make people believe he was from England ( prompting Frank Dusek to say that if Harris was from England , then Chris Adams was Paul McCartney ) , drew controversy for favoring the heels , and on a few occasions , like the WWE ' s Danny Davis and the NWA ' s Teddy Long , Harris would execute fast three - counts on the heels and slow three - counts on the babyfaces . During one infamous incident , Embry piledrived Harris as he was attempting to get a spot as a referee in some matches . Harris was eventually " fired " by matchmaker Frank Dusek following a controversial Texas heavyweight title match in which Gary Young , dressed as " The Super Zodiac , " defeated Eric Embry for the title , when Young grabbed a chain from the pocket of Harris ( who took a bump by Embry ) and blasted Embry for the win . Shortly afterwards , during an interview segment , Harris , Iceman King Parsons , Brickhouse Brown and Skandor Akbar orchestrated a four - on - one gangup on Dusek , with Harris smashing a wooden chair over Dusek ' s head . Marc Lowrance exclaimed the incident as being " absolutely sickening , " then later said that he was told not to use those words . Lowrance , outraged by the incident , later told Akbar to " kiss my ass " as the tag team match between Kerry Von Erich and Jeff Jarrett vs . Mick Foley and Gary Young was about to begin ; and even walked away from the broadcast table while Akbar was conducting a tirade of his own . Foley and Young won the match , again due to interference by Akbar . Tojo Yamamoto was then introduced as the " President of World Class , " who drew the ire of the fans due to his lack of action for the Dusek incident , then later getting involved in several altercations with various wrestlers , including a vicious attack against Dusek in an empty Sportatorium . Lowrance was also physically restrained by P . Y . Chu - Hi ( Phil Hickerson ) as manager Tojo Yamamoto berated Lowrance . Embry came out to save Lowrance from any further harm . Prior to that , Lowrance was involved in heated confrontations against Yamamoto , including one instance in which he called Yamamoto " a disgrace to wrestling and to himself . " At the end of that interview , an unusually angry Lowrance said " go to black " , signaling for a commercial message . The debut of the USWA . With all of these aforementioned occurrences , everything came down to a battle for control of World Class on August 4 , 1989 at the Dallas Sportatorium . Embry wrestled Hickerson in a steel cage match , with the winner gaining control of World Class ( Embry representing the USWA , and Hickerson representing WCCW ) . During the match , Yamamoto shouted instructions at Hickerson , with Lowrance grabbing the mike out of his hands on several occasions . Finally , after a 16 - minute battle , Embry managed to small - package Hickerson and pin him to win , thus officially changing World Class into the USWA . This was necessary in reality because the Adkissons owned the World Class name , and would no longer allow Jerry Jarrett to continue using the name any further after this event . After the match , Embry and manager Percy Pringle walked to the D section of the Sportatorium and tore the World Class Championship Wrestling banner off of the wall ( in the same spot where the American flag once was displayed ) . Various wrestlers such as Matt Borne then stomped and spit on it . Lowrance and Chris Adams , who celebrated Embry ' s victory in the ring , did not partake in the post - match festivities , showing respect to the Adkissons and the World Class name , and neither Kevin or Kerry were on hand during the celebration . Other World Class banners , all owned by the Adkisson family , above the Sportatorium were later removed , replaced with various World flags . The red World Class ring aprons were covered by the Renegades Rampage logo except for one section of the ring , but all of the aprons would be replaced as well as the ring itself . USWA Dallas . The Dallas Sportatorium was refurbished with a new ring , and ring aprons with the " Renegades Rampage " logo . Section D also had a large yellow banner promoting Renegades , which did not sit well with some longtime patrons who were more used to the American flag or the World Class banner displayed there . The main camera position was also relocated to the Section D area , and the broadcast table returned to its original position on the southern end of the arena . For a time , a USWA wrestling banner was placed above the Section D sign , but was later moved adjacent to the E and F sections of the Sportatorium , or the east corner of the arena . Its syndicated programs , " World Class Championship Wrestling " and " Wild West Wrestling " were later renamed " USWA Challenge " and " USWA Main Event " respectively . The latter program featured a main event of its Saturday " Championship Sports " program , with the remainder of the program featuring past World Class cards dating as far back as late - 1987 . These two programs aired in this format until 1991 . Some of the hot feuds of the era included Chris Adams & Toni Adams vs . Phil Hickerson & Tojo Yamamoto ; Kerry Von Erich vs . Tarras Bulba ( with Kerry doing a stretcher job against Bulba , pinned by Bulba ' s iron claw ) ; and Eric Embry vs . Billy Travis . Travis later feuded with Chris Adams , Jeff Jarrett and Kevin Von Erich . Kerry later wrestled against Mark Calaway , who was known as " The Punisher " at that time , while Embry was involved in a " blinding " angle ( similar to the angle used with Chris Adams nearly four years before ) involving a white bottle ( which may have been Freebird Hair Cream ) which Travis used against Embry to blind him . In fact , Billy Travis became the Sportatorium ' s biggest heel wrestler who would often sing a line of various songs during ringside interviews , heckle the crowd ( a la Gino Hernandez ) , and on several occasions smash a wooden guitar over the head of several wrestlers . One notable such incident occurred in October 1989 when he cold - cocked Percy Pringle with a guitar during an interview , then claimed that the guitar was given to him by Mick Jagger . During one incident , Travis spanked Toni Adams in the center of the ring at the Sportatorium ( a la Sunshine six years before at the Dallas Fair Park Auditorium ) , with Chris handcuffed on the ring rope ; and in another infamous incident , Travis cold - cocked Adams with a coke bottle over his head , prompting announcer Marc Lowrance to announce that Adams " may be dead " . Chris only received a minor cut on his scalp and returned to wrestle the following day , even disguising himself as another wrestler to gain revenge against Travis . In December 1989 , Adams and Embry began feuding . The angle , developed by Embry and Adams , was brought about when Adams and Embry blamed each other for two significant losses in tag team matches , including one during a tag team tournament between Billy Travis and Gary Young . A few weeks later , a six man tag match between Adams , Embry and Bill Dundee vs . Travis , Young and Skandor Akbar , was held . After taking punishment for 11 minutes by Young , Travis and Akbar , Adams was thrown out of the ring . Embry and Toni Adams attempted to help Chris , and an argument ensued , which led Embry to shove Toni down to the floor . As Embry attempted to help her back up , Chris attacked him , and a brawl between Adams and Embry ensued . Dundee attempted to help stop the carnage , but was hit by Embry , while Akbar , Young and Travis stood in the ring cheering . The carnage was broken up when wrestlers from the back , including Steve Austin and Matt Borne , came in to help get order restored . Two weeks later , Adams and Embry faced each other in the ring , with the majority of the crowd cheering for Embry in the beginning , and the hint of a possible heel turn by Adams . As the match progressed with no true true dominance by either wrestler , Embry hit referee Bronko Lubich during the bout , which resulted in a DQ . As referee Tony Falk came in to stop the fight , Adams hits him , and another brawl between Embry and Adams ensued , with wrestlers again coming out to separate the two . According to Embry , the idea was for Embry to turn heel and start a long feud with Adams , but the crowd would not boo for Embry and turning Adams heel wouldn ' t work either , since he is a beloved figure in the area himself . The angle was short - lived , and Embry left the organization for a while , but returned a few months later and reteamed with Adams and continued his battles with Akbar ' s group until the USWA pulled out of Dallas . 1990 . Two major feuds erupted in 1990 : one between Chris Adams and " Stunning " Steve Austin ( later " Stone Cold " Steve Austin ) , and the other between Kerry Von Erich and Matt Borne ( later the first Doink the Clown ) . The Adams - Austin feud started slow , but eventually picked up huge heat thanks in part to good promoting by Adams , whom decided to bring in former wife Jean Clarke ( also known as Jeanie Adams for a time , and later married to Austin ) and then - current wife Toni Adams into the feud ; resulting in a mixed tag - team war very similar to the Adams - Sunshine vs . Garvin - Precious battles of the early 1980s . On a few occasions , Jeanie was spanked by Adams in the center of the ring ; and on one interview segment , Clarke and Austin showed pictures of Adams with different women , including a 1986 picture with Sunshine and the World Class belt , and another of Adams and Clarke from his early days in England . The angle even gained national headlines , as the National Enquirer ran a story on the Adams - Toni - Jeanie - Austin angle . The climax of the Austin - Adams feud occurred just before the USWA / World Class breakup ; when Austin wrestled in a come - as - you - are match , with Austin wearing his football gear from his playing days at UNT , and Adams wearing his Judo gi and using a kendo stick . The Kerry Von Erich - Matt Borne feud began in May 1990 when Borne turned heel by attacking Chris Von Erich during an interview segment with the soon - to - be departed Marc Lowrance at the Sportatorium . A week or so later , Borne and Von Erich battled in a " pinfall counts anywhere in the building " match , which eventually continued outside the Sportatorium . During the outside confrontation ( in a thunderstorm , among other things ) , Von Erich slammed Borne onto the hood of a parked vehicle and also attempted to attack him with a piece of two - by - four . Minor damage occurred with the vehicles , and the ensuing fight continued until Chris Adams , Jeff Jarrett , and others broke up the brawl . Promoter Max Andrews " suspended " Kerry for his actions , but no time frame was given as to how long he was suspended . This drew the ire of Borne , who demanded the USWA forfeit Kerry ' s Texas heavyweight belt . Instead , Kerry was reinstated days later as the two battled for the belt , which Borne won thanks to interference by Percy Pringle . Pringle joined Borne in his feud with Kerry , until June 1990 , when Von Erich left for the WWF . Borne also left a short time later to join that organization as Doink The Clown . Percy later joined Austin and Clarke in their feud with Chris and Toni Adams , with Chris Von Erich and at times Kevin Von Erich getting involved . Another feud that drew headlines was between " Hollywood " John Tatum and Bill Dundee , with valet Tessa in the middle of the feud . Originally brought in by Tatum , Tessa , like Sunshine years before , turned face and joined Dundee ' s side . During a match against Tatum , Kevin Von Erich , who beat Tatum , swept Tessa off her feet and carried her into the dressing room much to the dismay of Tatum . During a July 1990 match , Tatum knocked Tessa unconscious following a superkick to the head , resulting in Tessa being carried out on a stretcher . In that same event , Toni Adams was carried out on a stretcher following a flying splash from the top rope onto Toni in the ring by Steve Austin , while Toni was on top of her husband Chris , who was piledrived on the concrete floor by Austin earlier , to protect him . These two incidents resulted in a few stations canceling its " USWA " broadcasts due to its violent nature . Under Jarrett , World Class / USWA Dallas was finally able to turn itself around financially , and became modestly profitable during the 1989 – 1990 period . However , because of a revenue dispute with the Adkissons ( who still owned 40 percent of the Dallas promotion ) , Jarrett ultimately pulled the promotion out of Dallas in September 1990 . Shortly before Jarrett ' s departure , KTVT dropped its long - running Saturday night wrestling telecasts ; according to some reports , the cancellation was the result of frequent on - air profanity ( mostly used by Eric Embry ) , despite multiple warnings from station management , as well as the controversial superkick incident between Tatum and Tessa . Kevin Von Erich , without the benefit of television ( as the result of KTVT ' s cancellation of Saturday Night ' s " Championship Sports " ) , the absence of his brother Kerry ( who was in the WWF as " The Texas Tornado " ) , and longtime World Class guru Gary Hart ( who was starting his Texas Wrestling Federation promotion at the time ) , began promoting Sportatorium wrestling himself , bringing back the World Class Championship Wrestling name . Longtime World Class mainstays Chris Adams , King Parsons , Kevin ' s brother Chris Von Erich , Percy Pringle , John Tatum , David Sheldon , Stone Cold Steve Austin , Jeanie Clarke and Toni Adams remained , while wrestlers associated with the Memphis end of the USWA left . Steve Simpson and Brian Adias also returned to the promotion , with a few appearances by former WCCW referee David Manning . Initially , the return of World Class proved to be a modest success ( which included the return of ring announcer Marc Lowrance and a few appearances by Bill Mercer ) , but financial sources ran out quickly and attendance at the Sportatorium dropped considerably to sometimes fewer than 500 . As a result , on November 23 , 1990 , Von Erich held its last World Class Championship Wrestling card at the Sportatorium , which featured Kevin winning the Texas heavyweight championship from David Sheldon ( The Angel of Death ) in the card ' s final match . After that match , referee Bronko Lubich announced his retirement from the sport . Lubich would return a few times as a special referee afterwards in the Global Wrestling Federation , with his last appearance in 1994 . Lubich died in 2007 . A month later , the USWA returned to the Sportatorium , but only for a limited basis , as promoters Max Andrews , Joe Pedicino , Grey Pierson and Bonnie Blackstone were getting their Global Wrestling Federation promotion ready to go for the summer of 1991 . WCCW veterans went on to compete in other promotions , including Gary Hart ' s Texas Wrestling Federation group in North Dallas . After the fall . Several attempts to revive WCCW since then have been modest at best : in 1991 , Kevin Von Erich began a working agreement with Boston - based International Championship Wrestling , which renamed itself International World Class Championship Wrestling . During that brief time in IWCCW , Kevin had a legendary interview in which Tony Rumble , aka The Boston Bad Boy , made derogatory remarks about Kevin and his brothers , after which Kevin ran Rumble out of the interview studio . The following year , Kevin began promoting a few scattered cards under the WCCW banner ( featuring Kerry , who had been released from the WWF , and Chris Adams ) . Finally , in 1997 , Gary Hart – with no participation by either Kevin or Fritz — launched a World Class - in - name - only independent promotion at the Sportatorium . This organization , known as " World Class II : The Next Generation " , featured only a few of the surviving wrestlers from the original WCCW group ( most notably Chris Adams , Iceman Parsons and Maniac Mike Davis ) , as well as Gary ' s son , Chad Hart ; it folded in less than a year . That promotion was also co - owned by Bill Mercer and Mickey Grant , and some believe that Adams was also a silent partner in World Class II . Adams , Mike Davis and Terry Gordy died in 2001 , and the Sportatorium , which stood since 1934 , was demolished in 2003 , but not before Kevin Von Erich toured the damaged arena for the last time , along with filmmaker Brian Harrison . In 2008 , Gary Hart died from a heart attack shortly after returning home from an autograph session . Two years later , Skandor Akbar and Toni Adams had died . Kevin Von Erich released a compilation DVD of classic Von Erichs matches in 2004 . Rumors of an impending WWE buyout of the WCCW video library began to spread on internet message boards the following year , and on June 5 , 2006 , the company issued a press release announcing that the purchase had been finalized . WWE released a DVD entitled " The Triumph and Tragedy of World Class Championship Wrestling " on December 11 , 2007 . A documentary by Chicago filmmaker Brian Harrison on WCCW and the Von Erichs , " Heroes of World Class " , was released on DVD on June 15 , 2006 , to rave reviews from fans and critics alike . An updated " Director ' s Cut " DVD of " Heroes of World Class " , 30 minutes longer than the original , was released in December 2006 . The documentary featured interviews from several of the key figures in World Class , including Kevin , Mercer , Grant , Hart , Adams , Skandor Akbar , Marc Lowrance , David Manning and Johnny Mantell . On February 14 , 2007 , WWE 24 / 7 debuted WCCW on WWE 24 / 7 hosted by Kevin Von Erich and Michael " P . S . " Hayes . In 2009 , the entire Von Erich family was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame . World Class ' two major venues , Reunion Arena and Texas Stadium would be demolished soon thereafter . Reunion Arena was imploded on November 17 , 2009 , while Texas Stadium saw the same fate nearly five months later , on April 11 , 2010 .