By 

D.P. (California) –

  

Before I get started, just let me point out for the record that I saw WWE’s documentry on World Class first so eventhough this one came out before WWE did their version, just keep in mind that I saw this version after that one. Now just like I stated in my review for the WWE version of his documentry, I’ll be honest in that I didn’t have the chance to see World Class until I got WWE 24/7 a year ago as it wasn’t available to me growing up but after seeing the wonderful WWE documentry & founding a new respect for what I saw there & on the 24/7 channel, I decided to give this video a try. The format of this DVD was different than the usual ones I see (like WWE and others like Forever Hardcore & History Of TNA) in that this came off more as a mix of a documentry movie (like Beyond The Mat). You’ll see & hear from various familar faces like Kevin Von Erich, Skandar Akbar, Gary Hart, Bill Mercer along with comments from Chris Adams via an old RF Video shoot interview he did before he died.

The documentry begins talking about the orgins of Fritz Von Erich & World Class Championship Wrestling with the advanced camera & audio production along with bringing in Bill Mercer. The idea of doing something different as far as brining in new young talent such of the Von Erich boys, Chris Adams, Great Kabuki, and the Freebirds is discussed next. The high number of syndication markets the show got is talked about next with very interesting details of how they kept getting new syndication every week along with even getting bigger ratings than the popular Saturday Night Live & even got high ratings than the local territories did in their own markets…including the WWE. Scandar Akbar’s devistating stable of Kamala, Missing Link, and the Super Destroyers called Devistation Inc. is profiled next along with their feud with the Von Erich’s. How the NWA Champions toured the territory, Brusier Brody, and the companies big events called “Star Wars” were talked about next before the thoughts of WCCW alumni regarding Mike Von Erich as a wrestler were discussed next followed by the personality profiles they would do on talent including showing the one with Jimmy Garvin & Sunshine working on the Von Erich’s ranch. David Von Erich’s death due to stomach problems in Japan is heavily discussed next including the story how thousands showed up to the funeral & burial before moving on to the tribute show & Kerry winning the NWA Championship. Highlights of the Freebirds/Devistation Inc./Von Erich rivarly is shown next before going into Chris Adams turning heel on Kevin & joining up with Gary Hart. Gino Hernandez’s run is profiled next showcasing how he lived the high life, his association with Nickla Roberts, forming the dynamic duo with Chris Adams, and the hair feud with the Von Erichs. Highlights of the Midnight Express & Fantastics’ feud is shown before heavy discussion regarding the Mike Von Erich shoulder injury that led to his toxic shock syndrome & how he was brought back too soon. The Lance Von Erich incident is briefly mentioned before the heavy drug problems of Gino Hernandez that led to his death is heavily discussed with some people thinking that it was more than just a drug overdose. Brief notes regarding pulling WCCW out of the NWA due to the politics of Jim Crockett along with the ESPN deal were shown before the negative effects of Fritz Von Erich still respecting the old school “territorial code” is talked about. Kerry Von Erich’s motorcycle accident, absence for 18 months, and the lifetime effects of that accident were focused on next before the suicide of Mike Von Erich was talked about along with how his memorial show showed how WCCW was on a downward spiral. The downfall of the company in regards Fritz’s selling the company, attendance dropping, failed merge with AWA before Jerry Jarrett changing it to USWA is noted over before going into the details of the murder of Brusier Brody in Puerto Rico & how that effected people to the point where a wrestler on this documenty stated that he will never go to Puerto Rico. The suicide deaths of Chris & Kerry Von Erich, Fritz’ death due to cancer, and Chris Adams murder close out the documentry before Kevin Von Erich takes one last emotional walk through The Sportatorium before the building is torn down.

DVD extras include an alternative documentry beginning, footage of the Von Erichs & Bill Mercer going on a duck hunt, David Von Erich’s last interview & match on the World Class show against Freebird Terry Gordy, Bill Mercer & WCCW Executive Producer Mickey Grant infont of the Sportatorium one last time (the audio is very bad on this one), trailers for the documentry, various audio interviews & segments, and the section of the ROH shoot video with Jim Cornette where he talks about his time in World Class including a funny & gross story regarding Percy “Paul Bearer” Pringle & french fries.

Unfortunally I saw WWE’s documentry on World Class…

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 Comments (4)

This is a cool documentary. I just found that they glossed over Kerry’s death so fast at the end and it was strange. It was like they ran out of time and just hurriedly got through it. It’s like Kerry Von Erich was the biggest star of World Class and they should have talked about it more. It was good, especially the comments by Marc Lowrance. It’s recommended for sure, just wasn’t as good as people made it out to be when it first came out.

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