By Michael Moore, PWTorch Specialist

In the WWE-produced “Triumph and Tragedy f World Class Championship Wrestling,” we’re given the idea that the Texas-based wrestling promotion was responsible for a bit of good wrestling action, some innovative TV production ideas, and, most of all, some of the most heartbreaking stories in wrestling history.

The DVD follows Fritz Von Erich’s rise from wrestler to promoter, to father of one of the most popular clans the sport has ever seen. It doesn’t vilify him, as some news stories, books and articles have done since his passing a decade ago, but it doesn’t shy away from his mistakes, either.

Kevin Von Erich, the only survivor of Texas’s most powerful wrestling dynasty, defends his father in the DVD, claiming Fritz never pushed his boys to do anything they didn’t want to do.

A great deal of time is spent on the Freebirds-Von Erichs feud, which was the feud that defined the promotion. More than two decades later, it’s amazing how well everyone played their parts in this feud. The fighting in the matches looked real; you get the feeling that both sides really hated each other and wanted to hurt one another as much as possible.

Michael Hayes, Jimmy Garvin and Buddy Jack Roberts provide insight into the legendary feud, recalling that they agreed with the Von Erichs not to break any bones while they were in the ring, but just about everything else was fair game. WWE’s Hollywood writers and TNA’s creative team would do themselves a huge favor to sit down and analyze hours upon hours of this feud and learn how to book a truly meaningful rivalry.

The DVD also provides a lot of insight from WCCW legends like Gary Hart and Skandor Akbar, and more bit players like “Wild” Bill Irwin. It features a lot of the stars of WCCW, like the Missing Link, Kamala, Iceman King Parsons, Gino Hernandez, and Chris Adams.

But while the deaths of the Von Erich brothers are covered in painstaking detail, such as Kevin Von Erich recalling how he stumbled upon younger brother Chris just before his suicide but didn’t realize what he had planned, the deaths of some of the biggest stars of WCCW are omitted. The tale of Bruise Brody’s stabbing in a Puerto Rico locker room is nowhere to be found, and while “Gentleman” Chris Adams is prominently featured, there’s no mention of his death either.

One particularly touching moment is listening to Gary Hart talk about Gino Hernandez, who played his heel role like few others. Hart breaks down into tears and talks about how to this day, he can’t bring himself to look at a picture of Hernandez. He describes Hernandez as a “lost soul” who he tried unsuccessfully to help.

It will be hard for anyone who grew up a fan of WCCW or ‘80s wrestling in general to watch parts of this DVD. Anyone who was around the age of 10 during WCCW’s peak years probably would still like to believe the Von Erichs were the wholesome, milk-drinking brothers who took on the evil, Jack Daniels-swigging Freebirds. You’ll quickly learn by watching this that the Von Erich clan wasn’t as wholesome as it was portrayed on TV.

There are some glaring omissions in this DVD, and it’s far from a complete history of the promotion. The “Heroes of World Class Championship Wrestling” DVD, which was distributed by Big Vision Entertainment last year, makes an excellent companion piece. Both DVDs have gaping holes in them, but each one helps to plug holes the other one left open.

At the end of the DVD, Triple H (whose presence on a WCCW DVD is completely unnecessary) claims there was no “curse of World Class Championship Wrestling,” but that the history of WCCW was a PSA telling kids “don’t do drugs.” I wonder who will be left to say the same thing about the WWE, steroids, and painkillers in 20 years.

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