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- More than just a territorial outfit, World Class Championship Wrestling was a landmark promotion in its day as one of hte most popular outfits of the early 1980s. While the legacy of WCCW is intertwined with the overwhelming personal tragedy surrounding the Von Erich Family — it even affected the Von Erich/Freebirds rivalry, as one might expect — it would be a shame to not also take a look at the legendary feud that helped define WCCW in its heyday. So, with a second crack at the Fabulous Freebirds vs. Von Erichs rivalry, let’s delve into some more of the context of the feud, as well as the surprising in-ring return that ensued during its run.
In the annals of great wrestling feuds, the Von Erichs vs. the Fabulous Freebirds remains something special. Even though it’s been almost 40 years since it began, wrestling fans of the 1980s can still gush on the greatness of this feud. On one side were the Von Erichs, the handsome and talented brothers as Kerry, Kevin, David and Mike were the heart and soul of World Class Championship Wrestling.
On the other side were the Freebirds, as Michael Hayes, Terry Gordy and Buddy Roberts made an amazing trio who could get fans cheering or booing them with ease. For almost two solid years, their feud was the best in wrestling and would continue a bit a couple of years later. While World Class is long gone, these are some reasons why the Von Erich-Freebirds feud still remains epic so many decades later.
UPDATE: 2023/06/01 07:30 EST BY DANNY DJELJOSEVIC
More than just a territorial outfit, World Class Championship Wrestling was a landmark promotion in its day as one of hte most popular outfits of the early 1980s. While the legacy of WCCW is intertwined with the overwhelming personal tragedy surrounding the Von Erich Family — it even affected the Von Erich/Freebirds rivalry, as one might expect — it would be a shame to not also take a look at the legendary feud that helped define WCCW in its heyday. So, with a second crack at the Fabulous Freebirds vs. Von Erichs rivalry, let’s delve into some more of the context of the feud, as well as the surprising in-ring return that ensued during its run.
13 They Started As Friends
When the Freebirds entered World Class, they were presented as allies of the Von Erichs. The Freebirds were favored aiding the Von Erichs, including in tag team matches against the bigger heels of the territory.
It’s notable how popular the Freebirds were, with Hayes winning over fans while aiding the Von Erichs against the likes of Gary Hart’s guys like The Great Kabuki, King Kong Bundy and others. It looked like they had a good alliance going…until one fateful Christmas Day ended it all.
12 Spun Out Of A Kerry Von Erich vs. Ric Flair Feud
Just before the Von Erichs vs. Freebirds feud kicked off, the Von Erichs had a different kayfabe concern: the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. By 1982, Kerry Von Erich — arguably the star of the brothers — had gained enough momentum to challenge for the top prize in wrestling at the time, held by Ric Flair in his first-ever reign. Kerry Von Erich and Ric Flair initially wrestled to a disqualification, but Von Erich remained in contention. What followed was incredibly dramatic, with Flair enlisting the services of heel manager Gary Hart to keep Von Erich distracted, and going as far as putting out a bounty on his challenger. In addition to his brothers, Von Erich had backup in the form of The Fabulous Freebirds.
11 A Cage Door Slam Began It
At the 1982 Christmas Star Wars show, Kerry challenged Ric Flair for the NWA World title in a steel cage match. A “fan vote” had Michael Hayes being the special referee who seemed ready to call the action down the line. Hayes soon showed bias, including laying out Flair, but Kerry refused to take the pin.
Flair knocked Kerry into Hayes, but Hayes thought it was Kerry who attacked him. That had Gordy slamming the cage door onto Kerry’s head and the feud was on.
10 David Von Erich Teamed With The Freebirds Earlier That Night
The betrayal of Kerry Von Erich at the hands of The Fabulous Freebirds couldn’t be more shocking, especially, as the two groups teamed up earlier that night. The Freebirds were set to take on Mike Sharpe, Ben Sharpe, and Tom Steele in a match to crown inaugural World Six-Man Tag Team Champions, but Freebird Buddy Roberts couldn’t make it. However, David Von Erich elected to step up as Robert’s replacement, and upon winning the belts, Von Erich proclaimed that he would relinquish his spot as champion to the absent Roberts.
9 The Wonderful Dynamic
What made the feud work so well was the way it played on classic setups. The Von Erichs were presented as the clean-cut babyfaces fans cheered on and favorites with Texas pride. The Freebirds were thugs from Georgia playing up the Southern heritage and enjoyed riling up the crowds.
Kevin summed it up as “a battle between decency and filth,” and the fans responded wonderfully. The battles between them were epic and soon made World Class an international phenomenon for fans around the world to enjoy.
8 The Matches Could Be Unique
Thanks to the figures involved, WCCW could utilize the feud in a variety of ways. There could be singles bouts of one Von Erich against a Freebird, or tag team matches. They had a bout where the point was to “whip” an opponent or one where David and Gordy were handcuffed to each other.
The six-man tag matches were the most popular and the Von Erichs could get some allies like Iceman King Parsons involved too. It added up to a sensational war that got fans going and sold out arenas with ease.
7 Swapping Titles Around
As can be expected, some championships were swapped around amid this feud. The big one was the WCCW six-man tag title which the Freebirds held five times, usually losing to some combination of the Von Erichs.
Gordy and Kevin traded the Americas Heavyweight title while Roberts held the TV belt and Gordy and Hayes won the WCCW tag titles and defended them with Roberts under “the Freebird rule.” Also, while not an official Freebird at the time, Jimmy Garvin could aid them while he had the Americas Heavyweight title too. The belts added even more spark to an already wild feud.
6 David’s Tragic Loss
Sadly, just as the feud was truly reaching its height, World Class was hit by a huge tragedy. In February 1984, during a tour of Japan, David, arguably the most talented of the Von Erichs, died suddenly. It was a massive blow to the promotion as David was on the verge of becoming NWA champion and the territory suffered without him.
Kerry would win the belt for a three-week reign while the Freebirds faced the others, including Fritz coming out of retirement. However, much of the spark of the feud ended with David and World Class was never quite the same.
5 The Apparent End in 1984
While the feud continued for a bit, the passion behind it was no longer there. By this point, the Freebirds were already thinking of jumping to vie in another territory. So at the Labor Day Star Wars event in 1984, the Von Erichs beat the Freebirds in a “loser leaves town” cage match.
The Freebirds did return in 1985 only as “tweeners” who feuded with Devastation Inc as much as the Von Erichs. They would leave again for the AWA and then for Bill Watts' Universal Wrestling Federation, still a force there until the UWF folded in 1987. That set up another return to WCCW but in a different way.
4 The Feud Is Revived
In early 1988, the Freebirds returned to WCCW, now its own separate promotion. Hayes surprised everyone by announcing he was willing to bury the hatchet and even started teaming up with Kerry. This had Gordy and Roberts turning on him and aided by a now heel Iceman Parsons, calling himself “Blackbird.”
These Freebirds took it to Hayes and the Von Erichs, while Parsons would win almost every title in the promotion. Another turn came when Gordy beat Hayes in a hair vs. hair match but refused to cut his hair and turned on Roberts. It was intriguing yet also offbeat seeing Hayes working with the Von Erichs.
3 Fritz Von Erich Returned To The Ring During Their Feud
In June of 1982, Fritz Von Erich wrestled what was supposed to be his final match at a special retirement show in his honor, putting away King Kong Bundy in a Falls Count Anywhere Match. However, that proved to not be his final in-ring outing, as the patriarch returned to the squared circle nearly two years later, teaming with sons Kevin and Mike Von Erich to dethrone The Fabulous Freebirds for the World Six-Man Tag belts. However, Fritz’s return was a one-off situation, and his spot in the championship configuration was filled by Kerry Von Erich.
2 Fritz’s “Heart Attack”
One aspect of the later feud contained what may be one of the worst moves in WCCW’s history. At the Christmas 1987 Star Wars event, the Freebirds faced Kevin, Chris Adams and Steve Simpson in a cage match. It culminated in Fritz entering to be beaten down by the heels.
He then clutched his chest before being tended to by paramedics and the story was soon put out that he’d had a heart attack. It was a disgusting promotional tactic playing on the family’s list of real-life tragedies, including the death of Mike just months earlier. Rather than spark the promotion, it turned fans against it.
1 Ended Just Before WCCW Did
By mid-1988, WCCW was in major trouble, with the only hot angle being Kerry facing AWA World champion Jerry Lawler in a cross-promotional feud. Seeing the writing on the wall, the Freebirds exited as Hayes and Jimmy Garvin would win some tag titles in WCW while Gordy and Roberts hit the indie circuit.
WCCW would go out of business the next year to merge into the USWA and the feud never had that true huge epic blowoff. Yet the legacy of the feud remains and fans of the time can still recall when the Von Erichs vs. the Freebirds was the most epic war in wrestling.