January 1, 1983
Sam Houston Coliseum,  
Hosuton, TX
 
1.      Nikolai Volkoff(w/Ivan Koloff) wrestles Salvatore Bellomo. Bellomo takes it to Volkoff early, but goes for one dropkick too many and winds up falling victim to an over the knee backbreaker at the 7:22 mark.
2.      Sgt. Slaughter comes to the ring next to wrestle Butcher Vachon. Slaughter and Volkoff meet in the aisle and neither man will let the other pass. Slaughter gets in Voklkoff’s face and begins badmouthing him. At first, Koloff tries to play peacemaker, but eventually, begins yelling at Slaughter. Sarge pushes both men aside and marches on to the ring where he defeats Vachon with the Cobra Clutch at 4:50. The Houston fans chant “USA! USA!” throughout the match and give Slughter an ovation afterwards. Sarge acknowledges the cheers and takes an American flag from a fan at ringside and waves it proudly!
3.      Al Madril takes on Moondog King (w/Mr. JR) . During the match, Lord Aldfred Hays comes down and watches with great interest. King wrestles brutally and effectively, dominating the match. Madril finally comes back for a win with a sunset flip at 8:56. Hays and Madril argue after the match and appear to nearly come to blows.
4.      Killer Kahn (w/Mr. JR) takes on Lars Anderson. Lars puts forth a valiant effort, but in the end, Khan applies the Asiatic spike to score the win at 10:01.
5.      Scott Casey defends the American Title against Stan Hansen. Hansen  dominates most of the action, but when the match spills out of the ring, Casey amazingly holds his won. The two Texans fight on the floor and all the way back to the dressing room, leading to a double countout at 13:56. Casey retains his title.
6.      Dusty Rhodes takes on Terry Funk. Rhodes is in full “American Dream” mode here, shucking and jiving and rocking the house. Funk uses every dirty trick in the book, but the Big Dust always seems to find a way to stay in control. Finally, it looks like curtains for Funk, when Dusty drops the big bionic elbow on him, but Stan Hansen runs in to aid his Double Cross Gang cohort, causing Broko Lubich to call for the bell at 16:47. Fortunately, Scott Casey runs in to help Dusty and send Funk and Hansen out of the ring!
7.      Jim Cornette brings his Midnight Express to the ring for their shot at the Texas tag Team Titles by introducing them as a team ” that gets more slams than the Houston Cougars”. Kerry & Kevin Von Erich come out to a hero’s welcome from the Houston fans. The first several minutes is an incredibly close contest with several near falls. The momentum shifts when  David Shults comes to ringside to stand with Cornette, creating a major distraction.
The turning point of the match occurs when Kerr takes a spill outside the ring. Dr. D posts Kerry and then follows up by piledriving Kerry on the floor. Shults and Cornette roll Kerry into the ring in time to beat the count. Moments later, the helpless Von Erich is pinned by Eaton after a rocket launcher. The Midnight Express are your new Texas Tag Team Champions!
8.      David Von Erich defends his newly won NWA World Title against “Dr. D” David Shults(w/ Jim Cornette).  After what Dr. D did to his brother, David is very aggressive and proceeds to take the action right to Shults.  David gives Shults quite a beating in the early portion of the match, but Cornette’s interference turns the tide. Shults works David over and the title appears to be in jeopardy when the action spills to the floor and Shults posts David. Shults goes for the piledriver on the floor, but David blocks it and backdrops Dr. D to the concrete! Then, David repays Shults by posting him! The action goes back into the ring. Shults makes a comeback, but in the end, runs into a high knee from Von Erich and David gets the pin and his first successful title defense in Texas at the 22:43 mark!

With the Express getting a tag belt, there will be no shutting Cornette up, now. Nice Phi-Slamma-Jamma reference. Great match between Dusty and Funk. Casey is a fav, so his involvement brought out the mark in me. Liked the way you set up Madril-Hayes and Slaughter-Russian programs on the undercard. Like it a lot when angles are furthered on house shows.
 
Great stuff.