[1981-02-22-BTW-Dallas, TX] Harley Race vs Kerry Von Erich

[shoe]

This is from Reunion Arena and it's from one of WCCW's Star Wars cards. I think I had my expectations to high. This was Harley trying to make Kerry and have you believe Kerry was going to take the title. Kerry was really green here. He reminded me of a young Sting or Austin in rookie year with Adams. Stuff just didn't seem smooth. We got some ref bumps that hurt the bout. It just didn't click here at times, but Harley did an incredible job of making Kerry here. A year later Kerry seemed to have it. Their was a lot more back and forth so the structure wasn't like your typical NWA title match. 3*

[CurtainJerker]

This match is a hidden gem to me, although I concede the first time I watched it years ago I was disappointed with the finish. However, with a fresh pair of critical eyes, I found this to be one of my all-time favorite Harley matches. I am currently going through the earliest Word Class footage I have access to, and this match has been the best so far.

Heat: 8

The hype was that Kerry has a chance to be the youngest World Champion and he had already put Harley to sleep in their non-title match. This was Star Wars and this was the NWA title match, so the fans were hoping for a title change. Unfortunately I don't have any TV or promos for the build. But I gave this match a high Heat rating because it was booked as part of an angle, and was important and had meaning (the exact opposite of an AEW Dark match.)

In-Ring: 8

No wasted time to start and no boring restholds. The workrate is fast. Kerry may not be crisp, but Harley's bombs are. Kerry's power moves (press slam, body slam, discus punch, gut wrench suplex, and even drop kick) inspired awe. I have no need to penalize this entire match because Kerry is green because Harley lets him throw the kitchen sink at him, a la Flair vs Sting/Luger/Nikita. I also compared this match to Harley making David Von Erich in 1977. Harley kept telling David to go back to the armbar to get instructions for the next sequence. Pretty boring stuff for 20 minutes until they picked it up for the last 10 to a time limit draw. Kerry is much more exciting than David in this match, but Harley called both completely. 

Highspots: 9

I now understand why the double countout finish was acceptable here: Harley missed the flying headbutt from the corner of the apron onto a table. That is a jaw dropping highspot in 2021, so imagine it in 1981. Harley bleeds in this match. Misses a splash/headbutt attempt earlier in the match. Action spilled outside of the ring. Lots of bombs hurled.

Storytelling: 9

Kerry is a young stud who oozes charisma. The guy was so over it's not funny. Harley is the grizzled and respected champion who will do anything to retain the title. Harley cut out all the boring stuff as usually seen in NWA title bouts, enhanced Kerry's good qualities, and created an exciting match. Kerry missed two leaping elbow smashes. Even the commentator noted the second one was not smart. Harley is the one who called for it, so he was showing that Kerry was still young and overeager. 

The match was built on Kerry hitting the sleeper hold again, since it was shown to beat Harley last time. The sleeper hold attempts were fine in this match. You knew it would be bad news for Kerry when he hit the sleeper on the outside with no ref. At least he rolled Harley in for the pin, something other babyfaces from the era forget to do. I didn't mind the ref bumps, by the way. It didn't feel that choreographed, and it allowed the fans to see that Kerry would have won. The substitute ref ran in but was too late as Harley kicked out at 2 to a big pop.

Unfortunately any time the NWA champ fought a Von Erich, the question was always "how do we get out of this?", something that AEW has deconstructed in modern times. So WCCW had to have two ref bumps, Kerry with the 10-count pin, and then a DCO for the finish.

Fan Reaction: 9

The acoustics of Reunion Area and/or the audio recording isn't that loud, but the fans were clearly into every move, standing up, running around, and screaming, so I am sure the live experience was deafening. Kerry is mobbed when he walked out and tons of fans wanted autographs. One fan ran under the ring ropes to make the 3 count after the ref was knocked out.

Match rating: 8.6/10 Recommended