Gagne pushed on in 1986 and into ’87, staging regular programs in his core cities of St. Paul, Chicago, Green Bay, Salt Lake City, Denver, and Milwaukee. ESPN TV tapings in Las Vegas were routine and popular, drawing over 2,000 on a regular basis at the Showboat Sports Pavilion. Holding on to the idea of expansion, Gagne also held shows in the Northeast with co-sponsorship from the ICW, went into Pittsburgh, and stopped at two locations in northern California in August 1986. Crowds were scarce until a few months later, on November 11, when the AWA and ICW ran a comparatively successful program in Palmetto, Florida, with 3,000 people in attendance. St. Paul on October 19 was a big disappointment (1,500), but Gagne drew 4,000 on Thanksgiving and 3,500 on Christmas at the Civic Center. For years, the Civic Center had been home to the AWA, and many important events were held there. In late 1986, Gagne was notified by arena officials that the WWF had signed an exclusive deal for the venue for 1987. The news left the AWA without a Twin Cities facility.
It was akin to the WWF losing Madison Square Garden. Instead of buying the AWA, McMahon was content with taking over Gagne’s assets a little at a time. According to an article in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, McMahon was paying the Civic Center $10,000 per event for exclusivity, and writer Sid Hartman noted that Gagne’s success “had supported the Civic Center for many years when it was empty most of the time.”359 And in a repeating pattern, Gagne was on the losing end of the loyalty versus money argument, as he had been for most of the past three years.
Around the same time, Gagne was feeling the pressure from Curt Hennig, a talented 28-year-old grappler from just outside Minneapolis and the son of longtime AWA mainstay Larry Hennig. In late 1986, he was fielding offers from the WWF, and it was up to Gagne to aggressively fight to keep him in the promotion. Gagne did, and Hennig agreed to a $2,000-a-week guarantee and a run with the AWA world title.
After renting the costly Met Center in Bloomington for a January 1987 show, and attracting but 950 fans, Gagne entered into a lease for the old Minneapolis Auditorium, where he’d made his pro wrestling debut back in 1949. The AWA’s return to the Auditorium on March 1 was part of a successful three-day run beginning on February 27 in Salt Lake City, a show that drew over 6,500 patrons. On February 28, Gagne ran the Cow Palace in San Francisco for the first time since 1985, and enthusiasts must have missed the AWA tradition as an estimated 9,000 people were on hand to see Jimmy Snuka win an 18-man battle royal. It was the largest AWA crowd since June of 1986, bringing in $104,000. Finally, on March 1 at the Minneapolis Auditorium, another 4,500 people were in attendance. Major feuds during this period included Hennig versus AWA champ Nick Bockwinkel, the Midnight Rockers against Buddy Rose and Doug Somers, and Colonel DeBeers against Jimmy Snuka.
On May 2, 1987, two-thirds fewer people were present at the Cow Palace for SuperClash II than the February 28 program. Nonetheless, Gagne went forward with the title switch between Hennig and Bockwinkel but was still cautious about Hennig. He booked a controversial finish, and the belt was held up after the bout in case Hennig pulled a double-cross and left for the WWF anyway. But Hennig was solid, and the AWA Championship Committee (Al DeRusha, Ed Francis, Jerry Jarrett, Larry Lisowski, Gene Reed, and Don Owen) declared him the rightful titleholder. Including Jarrett and Owen signaled Gagne’s continued interest in promotional cooperation. The day before SuperClash, several AWA workers were in Eugene, Oregon, for a joint event with Owen at McArthur Court on the campus of the University of Oregon. The show drew 3,000 people, and Bockwinkel went over Hennig in the last match.
Gagne was angling to unite Memphis, Portland, Birmingham, and Kansas City — the four remaining territories — and act as a bridge between them. He was open to sending his AWA champions into the various cities, much like the NWA used to, and working together against the WWF and JCP. Jarrett was on board with the idea and had been booking Bockwinkel steadily since January 1987. (Jerry’s son Jeff was named AWA’s Rookie of the Year for 1986.) In April and May, Bockwinkel went into Kansas City twice for Bob Geigel’s recently reopened office, and the Midnight Rockers appeared twice.
Gagne might have been grasping at straws with the co-op, but he was hustling to make the AWA work. It was rumored in May that he was close to landing a rich investor, perhaps even a lucrative arrangement with the Tribune Company of Chicago, giving him a spot on the cable outlet WGN.360
Such a deal wouldn’t have been far-fetched. Gagne had a longstanding relationship with people at WGN, and as late as 1982, he’d discussed the possibility of a timeslot on the station. If the Tribune Company wanted into wrestling and put money behind Gagne to lure big-name talent to the AWA, it would have closed the gap between Gagne and McMahon and Crockett. But the idea never materialized, nor did a plan to operate a string of West Coast cities with Wahoo McDaniel as booker. But McDaniel did assume that role for Gagne’s main AWA circuit beginning in June. By the summer of 1987, the promotion was again in dire straits, drawing 175 in Green Bay, 300 in Denver, and less than 900 in Minneapolis. Gagne pulled out of Chicago entirely. He made the same decision about Denver before the end of the year. Tommy Rich and Adrian Adonis were added to the roster, and Greg Gagne was feverishly chasing Curt Hennig’s championship, but attendance wouldn’t budge.
Memphis was an important cog in the AWA machine in 1987, and Jerry Jarrett had a tremendously loyal audience. Of course, a lot of it had to do with the sustained popularity of Jerry Lawler. During the second half of 1986, the central plotline of CWA action was Lawler’s feuds with Bam Bam Bigelow and Big Bubba, and the King ended the year in a fiery war with ex-partner Tommy Rich. On February 16, 1987, Lawler teamed with Nick Bockwinkel to beat Rich and Austin Idol by DQ before a crowd of 9,000 at the Mid-South Coliseum. The latter duo was defeated by Lawler and Bigelow three weeks later in Memphis as 8,000 looked on. On April 27, 1987, in what was billed as the “Match of the Century,” Lawler and Idol battled in a hair versus hair cage bout and the intensity of their rivalry captivated fans well beyond the normal standards.361 In fact, after Rich interfered and Lawler was not only defeated, but shaved bald, irate spectators tried to climb the cage to attack the heel duo.362
The heat generated was off the charts, and the feud continued through June, when Lawler and partner Bill Dundee got their revenge in a scaffold match. As part of the joint AWA–CWA Super Tour ’87 campaign, Memphis imported many recognizable stars. On July 27, Lawler beat Nick Bockwinkel, and Curt Hennig successfully retained his AWA belt with a little outside interference from a disguised Brickhouse Brown. Lawler and Dundee became two-time AWA world tag team champions during the month of October, first defeating Soldat Ustinov and Doug Somers and then Hector Guerrero and Dr. D (Carl Styles), both times in Memphis. They dropped the straps before the month concluded, losing to the Original Midnight Express (Dennis Condrey and Randy Rose) at a TV taping in Whitewater, Wisconsin, on October 30.
Notably, Jerry Jarrett’s involvement with the AWA took a more serious tone when he entered negotiations to purchase the promotion outright. With check in hand, he went to Minnesota and reached a preliminary agreement with Verne Gagne to assume control of the organization. There was one stumbling block, and that had to do with Greg Gagne’s future status with Jarrett’s AWA, and whether he’d be guaranteed a job. Jarrett didn’t see a position for him behind the scenes, and both parties walked away from the table without a deal.363
On the war front, Memphis was invaded by the WWF on September 11, 1986, and by Crockett’s UWF on September 11, 1987. The WWF attracted a surprising 5,000 people, but eight months later, only 700 were interested in its return effort. As for Crockett, he drew 4,000 but didn’t schedule a return program in 1987, or in 1988. While Memphis was generally off-limits to any promotion other than Jarrett’s CWA, the WWF was making good elsewhere in the territory. It sold out the Louisville Gardens for a television taping on June 24, 1987, and crowds jumped to 10,000 in Nashville by September.
Down in Dallas, rebuilding was proving
to be a considerable problem, and booker George Scott was striving to broaden the grappling pool. “The local talent cannot be one-sided, not just the Von Erichs, but the best, the finest competitors we can find in the business,” he told a reporter in late 1986. “Nobody can touch the all-American personality and ability of the Von Erichs, but a variety of personalities create more fan interest, and right now we have a waiting list of 15 guys who want to come to World Class Championship Wrestling. We’ll pick the best talent and not worry about those things going on around us. It’s like that old saying, ‘Can’t worry about those things you can’t control.’”364 The challenge of having to constantly work through unforeseen, real-world issues was beyond the comprehension of any wrestling promotion. David’s death, Mike’s illness, and Kerry’s accident were crippling to a once-thriving enterprise. These things were well beyond all control.
In spite of it all, Jack Adkisson was trying his hardest to keep his promotion afloat. Bruiser Brody replaced Scott as booker in early 1987, and a limping Kerry Von Erich made his homecoming on February 2 in Fort Worth. Adkisson was feeling the heat from the UWF’s invasion into Dallas–Fort Worth and signed off on Kerry’s premature return, hoping that his son was ready to go. A supportive and joyous crowd of 2,600 were excited to see Kerry back, and Von Erich defeated his old friend Brian Adias by pinfall. In the process, he re-broke his ankle. It was the worst-case scenario, and because so little blood was circulating into his foot, his chances of a full recovery were exceedingly slim. The pressure on Kerry was extraordinary, and he was considered sort of a white knight for the World Class promotion. Adkisson needed him back on the mat in tip-top condition if Dallas was going to rebound.
But doctors were limited in their ability to help Kerry. In mid-1987, doctors opted to fuse his ankle, a surgery that would leave his foot in a permanent walking position.365 The operation limited his movement and only served to hamper his return to wrestling. He soon went under the knife again to have his right foot amputated. With prosthesis, he’d have better mobility, though there was always a risk of losing the artificial limb during a match. The importance of Kerry’s return as a main-event star was made even more dramatic, following the suicide death of Mike Von Erich on April 12, 1987. The 23-year-old was depressed and despondent following a recent string of out-of-the-ring incidents, including an arrest, and he was believed to never have recovered completely from his 1985 battle with toxic shock syndrome. The Von Erichs and tragedy were becoming synonymous.
A deal that had been brewing even before Mike’s death promised some good news for the family and the future of World Class. Adkisson signed with Bright Sports Marketing, headed by multi-millionaire Harvey “Bum” Bright, co-owner of the Dallas Cowboys football team. A plan was established to refresh all aspects of World Class, from the technical side of their TV programs to the way the Von Erichs were publicized. In an article in D Magazine, writer Kit Bauman explained that the World Class television show was going to feature “souped-up graphics and high-tech production techniques — things not normally associated with pro wrestling.”366 Lee Martin Productions took charge of the promotion’s telecast and didn’t waste time upgrading the music, the opening sequence, and its graphics.367
The fourth annual Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions on May 3, 1987, took on an elevated significance after Mike’s death, and Kevin was the only Von Erich to wrestle on the card. He went to a double count-out with Nord the Barbarian in front of a disappointing 5,900 spectators. Eight days later, Kevin passed out during an eight-man tag team bout in Fort Worth, and fellow wrestler Tommy Rogers revived him with CPR. The situation came a little too close to yet another heartbreak for the Adkisson family.
Heading into the summer months, World Class was going to try expanding again, but this time around, the Bum Bright outfit was shouldering much of the financial burden. A tentative schedule was arranged for shows in Boston, Chicago, and south Florida, but then the scale of the tour was greatly reduced. The promotion did venture to Hollywood, Florida, where both the WWF and JCP had promoted previously, and drew about 1,500 fans on November 21.
Kerry Von Erich officially returned to the ring for that Hollywood show, teaming with Kevin to topple Brian Adias and the Iron Sheik. Kerry had actually already performed in a live workout with three foes in Dallas at the Cotton Bowl a few weeks earlier, on October 17. The following month, on Thanksgiving, Kerry defeated Adias, Al Perez, and the Thing in separate contests, displaying improved coordination and speed. He seemed to be on his way to regaining his form, and all mention of his prosthesis was kept secret from the public. Fans were more than happy to welcome him back to the day-to-day mayhem of pro wrestling. Also on Thanksgiving night, there was a bombshell backstage, as Jack Adkisson informed a reporter for D Magazine that he intended to sell his interest in World Class and retire, telling him: “I’m just tired.”368
The 58-year-old was worn out by the trials and tribulations of wrestling and the emotional roller coaster his family had been on. “It was simply the right deal at the right time,” said a spokesman for Adkisson. “It was a simple business deal that doesn’t represent any great philosophical [change]. He’s still involved in wrestling in that he’ll be managing his boys’ (careers).”369 In his place at the helm of World Class would be his former booker Ken Mantell and his sons Kerry and Kevin. With Kerry on the circuit once again, there was a fighting chance for the promotion in 1988.370 Fans of the Von Erichs wanted to see their heroes in good wrestling action and hoped the family’s misfortunes were behind them.
The Southeast franchise, Continental Championship Wrestling, was one of the last vestiges of the old territorial system. Throughout 1986, owner Ron Fuller kept his promotion strong with clever angles and skilled wrestlers like Brad Armstrong, Wendell Cooley, Tom Prichard, and Kevin Sullivan. Armstrong became a four-time Continental titleholder that year with victories over Robert Fuller and Jerry Stubbs, and between July 1985 and April 1987, Adrian Street held the Southeast heavyweight belt on six occasions. NWA world heavyweight titlist Ric Flair made four appearances in Birmingham for Fuller in April, May, June, and September of ’86. The Bullet (Bob Armstrong) was his opponent in three of those shows, with Cooley his rival in the fourth. Attendance fluctuated from 2,000 to 6,000 at the Boutwell Auditorium in Birmingham, and CCW continued TV operations from that same venue. By the end of 1986, Fuller put less emphasis on the southern part of his territory, foregoing events in Dothan and Pensacola, and was frequently operating in Knoxville.
Fuller faced opposition from the WWF twice in Birmingham, on September 10 and November 16, 1986, and then the UWF charged into Pensacola on November 19. Fuller flexed his muscle in defense of Pensacola and went head to head, but drew only 350 compared to the UWF’s 3,000. Interestingly, a few months before, on August 8, yet another adversarial group had challenged Fuller, this one an independent promotion headed by Austin Idol. The Bama Bash, as it was called, featured a unique mixture of grapplers, including Jerry Lawler, Road Warrior Animal, Paul Ellering, Abdullah the Butcher, and Stan Hansen, and lured 5,000 spectators in Birmingham. But Fuller expected the WWF, the then Bill Watts–owned UWF, and scrappy indie organizations to invade his region. What he didn’t anticipate was fellow NWA member Jim Crockett doing it too.
On March 4, 1987, Fuller watched as JCP staged a show in Birmingham with Dusty Rhodes, Tully Blanchard, and the regular crew. Ex-CCW booker Bob Armstrong was part of the card, having joined Crockett in February. His son Brad was on the bill too, but the Armstrongs and the WTBS firepower didn’t help push attendance over 750. Two months later, Fuller withdrew from the NWA and entered into a loose affiliation with the AWA, bringing in Nick Bockwinkel for two shots in June. Fuller also mapped out an expansion plan of his own, hitting Henderson’s Arena outside Atlanta plus shows in Albany and Marietta, Georgia. He increased the number of spot shows in Alabama and Mississippi as well.
“Dirty” Dutch Mantell was an effective heel for Fuller in 198
7 and he had a lengthy feud with Wendell Cooley. Bob Armstrong ultimately returned to CCW as the Bullet, and Marty Jannetty and Shawn Michaels (Midnight Rockers) spent nearly two months with the group from August to October 1987. Despite his best efforts to keep things fresh, Fuller’s attendance dwindled and reports surfaced that Continental was on the market. Was CCW going the way of Florida and UWF?
Portland was in the same boat. Confronted by lackluster audiences, Don Owen had been gradually scaling back his promotion until withdrawing from Washington state entirely in 1986. As he restricted his circuit to the I-5 corridor in western Oregon, Owen was under the gun, and seriously considered selling the company that had been in his family’s name for decades. Many of his problems were caused by misreading the direction of pro wrestling in the early to mid-1980s, and failing to change with the times. His television show and live events were amateurish in the eyes of casual viewers, while longtime fans appreciated the rough around the edges “territorial feel.” But even loyalists had their limits. The downgrade of talent in the area depressed people who could remember the kind of grappling Owen used to deliver.
Getting star wrestlers from Jim Crockett was a temporary and expensive fix, and cooperation between Owen and JCP ceased around May 1986. That was right around the same time Billy Jack Haynes jumped from the Pacific Northwest promotion to the WWF, a big loss. On September 23, 1986, Owen brought in AWA world champion Nick Bockwinkel and Curt Hennig and booked the Road Warriors and Bruiser Brody for a big Coliseum show in Portland, but the spectacle drew only 2,000. Vince McMahon exploited the weaknesses in the Northwest territory, and the WWF assumed a dominant share of the market in 1986, running regular programs in Portland, Spokane, and Tacoma. On June 17, the WWF drew an amazing 23,000 fans to the Tacoma Dome with a Hulk Hogan–Big John Studd main event. In comparison, a 3,000-person house for Owen was considered impressive. Needless to say, the WWF was now on a strikingly different level.
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