S03.E12: Chest To Chest

[AnimeMania]

Hawaii, 1986: The rival promotions come together for a Peter Maivia tribute show, but are soon at odds over how to best celebrate Dwayne’s grandfather. Dwayne pitches the event into chaos after a shocking run-in with Lars Anderson.

Premiere Date: February  17, 2023     8 pm     NBC

Mike Holley as Lars Anderson
Ryan Pinkston as Downtown Bruno
Brett Azar as The Iron Sheik
Rebecca Quin as Cyndi Lauper
Jeff Huth as Sting
Anthony Darrell as Bad News Allen 
Kevin Makely as Macho Man
Matthew Willig as Andre The Giant
John Tui as Afa Anoa'i
Fasitua Amosa as Sika Anoa'i
Kiff Vanden Heuvel as Pat Patterson

[Ailianna]

Not being into wrestling, I couldn't figure out who was the one wrestler who came to talk to Dwayne in the locker room after the fight. Can anyone fill that in for me?

[Raja]

10 hours ago, Ailianna said:

Not being into wrestling, I couldn't figure out who was the one wrestler who came to talk to Dwayne in the locker room after the fight. Can anyone fill that in for me?

Kerry Von Erich wiki

He was with the other company when Hulk Hogan and the WWF was going national with the cultural phenom. It seems he was a legacy wrestler like The Rock and young Dewey's hero but didn't make the superstar cut, like young  Sting or sleepy Ric Flair when the national promotions went to Turner's cable networks.

I guess we now know why middle Dewey got de-aged instead of going to college.

[reggiejax]

7 hours ago, Raja said:

Kerry Von Erich wiki

He was with the other company when Hulk Hogan and the WWF was going national with the cultural phenom. It seems he was a legacy wrestler like The Rock and young Dewey's hero but didn't make the superstar cut, like young  Sting or sleepy Ric Flair when the national promotions went to Turner's cable networks.

It is true that Kerry Von Erich did not ultimately reach the heights of your Flair's and Hogan's, but in 1986, when this episode was set, there were few bigger names than Kerry Von Erich. 

A little background: Kerry Von Erich wrestled for World Class Championship Wrestling. This was a territory owned and run by his father, Fritz Von Erich. It was part of the NWA, but in 1986 they broke away from the NWA and declared themselves an independent company,  with the intent of competing nationally. The reason they felt they could do this was because World Class had enjoyed tremendous success on a national level through the syndication of their weekly show. While declaring themselves a national company was a wildly ambitious move (and ultimately futile), it was not done without reason. The organization was extremely popular, the biggest reason being Fritz sons, Kerry, Kevin, Mike and David. 

To put it in terms non-wrestling fans can understand, the Von Erich brothers were the matinee idols of the 80's wrestling world. Young, handsome and talented, they were all very popular. Kerry being the most popular of them all.

Kerry had even been NWA World Champion for a brief time in 1984. Very brief, actually, only 18 days. He defeated Ric Flair at the "David Von Erich Parade of Champions" show at Texas Stadium, which was held in honor of his brother, who had died earlier that year. 

So yes, in 1986, Kerry was a huge star, and the idol of fans Dwayne's age. Of which I proudly count myself as one. Hogan was huge, naturally. He was the wrestler as superhero. Flair really was The Man, the standard bearer of what a champion should be. But Kerry Von Erich? He was an idol, the guy we wished we could be. 

Of course, that was Kerry Von Erich, the wrestling god. Kerry Von Erich, the man, had a troubled existence, which was one of the main reasons his star faded, and his life ended prematurely. But that's a whole other story. 

And I'm glad Young Rock resisted the urge to delve into what is famously referred to as "The Von Erich Curse". Instead it chose to portray him positively, as the wrestling idol we knew him to be back in the day. And ultimately a good guy.

But at the very least, they could've gotten a better wig for the guy portraying Kerry. If nothing else, at least one in the right color.

 

 

Edited February 18, 2023 by reggiejax

[rmontro]

Even I was touched by the Peter Mavia tributes.

It's nice to hear that the Rock had personal respect for Kerry Von Erich.  I agree that was a bad wig though, it was a distraction.

Not sure I understood the coffee plan.  Were they going to grow the coffee in the US?  I thought the Gjelghiughm soil (and I presume, the weather) was a big part of the process.

Edited February 18, 2023 by rmontro

[Raja]

My mind turns off when Dawn Lewis appears until Dwayne starts his past story 

[thuganomics85]

Fun seeing Rebecca Quinn a.k.a. "Becky Lynch" again as Cyndi Lauper.

Definitely knew about the Von Erich family, so it was nice seeing Kerry here and finding out how much he inspired Dwayne during his childhood.

Again, I really want to know what the real Lars thinks over basically being portrayed as a one-note antagonist.

This being a network show, I'm guessing "Sleepy" Ric Flair is the TV-14 version of "Drugged Up Out of His Mind" Ric Flair.

Baring something miraculous next week, I'm considering the whole coffee subplot to be a bust for the modern stuff.  Just didn't have the hook that all of the election drama had in the previous seasons.  Might have been a better call to actually have Dwayne win the presidency and then have the stories connect to his time in office.  I wonder if they just thought it would have been too on the nose to have him win. 

[rmontro]

21 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

Might have been a better call to actually have Dwayne win the presidency and then have the stories connect to his time in office.  I wonder if they just thought it would have been too on the nose to have him win. 

Having him lose is probably kinder to the budget.  They can stick him on practically any set and let him tell his childhood stories.  

[Traveller519]

On 2/18/2023 at 2:08 PM, thuganomics85 said:

Fun seeing Rebecca Quinn a.k.a. "Becky Lynch" again as Cyndi Lauper.

Definitely knew about the Von Erich family, so it was nice seeing Kerry here and finding out how much he inspired Dwayne during his childhood.

Again, I really want to know what the real Lars thinks over basically being portrayed as a one-note antagonist.

This being a network show, I'm guessing "Sleepy" Ric Flair is the TV-14 version of "Drugged Up Out of His Mind" Ric Flair.

Baring something miraculous next week, I'm considering the whole coffee subplot to be a bust for the modern stuff.  Just didn't have the hook that all of the election drama had in the previous seasons.  Might have been a better call to actually have Dwayne win the presidency and then have the stories connect to his time in office.  I wonder if they just thought it would have been too on the nose to have him win. 

Becky seemed much more comfortable in this go out than in her initial appearance in the season opener.

It was cool to see the actual picture of them at the event. Dwayne had definitely gone through a growth spurt that that stage, as he looked to be be significantly taller than both his folks in the "real life" shot. Given we know the move is coming, I'm guessing the death knell for Ata's promotion is coming, and I wonder if Lars is going to play a part in that.

I agree that the modern timeline stuff seems to have really petered out from any sense of interest. I think it's okay if they just drop the framing device if the show gets renewed for another season.

[Raja]

30 minutes ago, Traveller519 said:

I agree that the modern timeline stuff seems to have really petered out from any sense of interest. I think it's okay if they just drop the framing device if the show gets renewed for another season.

Or just my dinner with Randall.

[nilyank]

On 2/18/2023 at 11:24 AM, reggiejax said:

And I'm glad Young Rock resisted the urge to delve into what is famously referred to as "The Von Erich Curse". Instead it chose to portray him positively, as the wrestling idol we knew him to be back in the day. And ultimately a good guy.

 

And you can hear how much respect and admiration for the man that  Dwayne the person (not him as the actor) felt for him. It takes me back to earlier seaon when Dwayne was talking about Rocky and "he was my dad" and how much Dwayne loved (and missed his dad).