The Parade of Champions was a series of professional wrestling supercards promoted by Fritz Von Erich's World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW), first in 1961, in 1972 and then annually from 1984 through 1988.
Von Erich used the "Parade of Champions" name in 1984 as a way to honor his recently deceased son, David and the subsequent Parade of Champions were all "Von Erich Memorial" Parades of Champions. At the inaugural Von Erich Memorial event, in front of the largest crowd ever to watch a pro wrestling event in the United States up to that point, Kerry Von Erich defeated Ric Flair for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, only to lose it back to Flair 18 days later in Yokohama, Japan. Over the next few years, Von Erich altered the names as tragedy repeatedly struck his family.
The Parade of Champions was the most recognized event that WCCW, later known as World Class Wrestling Association, promoted. There was a Parade of Champions super card held by Southern Sports (precursor to WCCW) in 1961 and another held by Big Time Wrestling (the previous name of WCCW) in 1972. All Parade of Champions supercards were held at Texas Stadium in Irving, Texas. A wrestling organization out of Texas called NWA Southwest ran an event in late August, 2010, called Parade of Champions, which it claimed was the "Longest Running Wrestling Event In Texas History Dating Back To 1972," but there was no actual connection between the WCCW show event other than the name. Events #EventDateCityVenueMain event1Parade of Champions (1961)Dallas, TexasDallas SportatoriumPat O'Connor (c) vs. Dory Dixon in a two out of three falls match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship2Parade of Champions (January 1963)Lou Thesz (c) vs. Ray Gunkel in a two out of three falls match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship3Parade of Champions (June 1963)Lou Thesz (c) vs. Dory Dixon in a two out of three falls match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship4Parade of Champions (1972)Irving, TexasTexas StadiumDory Funk, Jr. (c) vs. Fritz Von Erich for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship5Parade of Champions (1974)Dallas, TexasMemorial AuditoriumJack Brisco (c) vs. Clay Spencer for the NWA World Heavyweight ChampionshipSan Antonio, TexasMunicipal AuditoriumJack Brisco (c) vs. Dory Funk Jr. for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship61st Von Erich Memorial Parade of ChampionsIrving, TexasTexas StadiumRic Flair (c) vs. Kerry Von Erich for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship72nd Von Erich Memorial Parade of ChampionsKerry Von Erich vs. One Man Gang in a Hair vs. One Man Gang facing Fritz Von Erich match83rd Von Erich Memorial Parade of ChampionsFabulous Freebirds (Michael Hayes, Terry Gordy and Buddy Roberts) (c) vs. Steve Simpson, Kerry Von Erich and Lance Von Erich in a Lumberjack elimination match for the WCWA World Six-Man Tag Team Championship94th Von Erich Memorial Parade of ChampionsSix-woman Mud Pit match105th Von Erich Memorial Parade of ChampionsIceman Parsons (c) vs. Kerry Von Erich for the WCWA World Heavyweight Championship
Show results 1961
The first Parade of Champions was held on at the Dallas Sportatorium in Dallas, Texas. It was promoted by Southwest Sports, the predecessor to World Class Championship Wrestling. With a capacity crowd in attendance, the event celebrated Ed McLemore's 22nd anniversary promoting pro wrestling in Dallas and also served as a benefit show for the March of Dimes.
Five matches were contested at the event and each match featured a championship on the line. The main event was a two out of three falls match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, in which defending champion Pat O'Connor fought Dory Dixon to a ninety-minute time limit draw, thus retaining the title. In other title matches on the card, Danny Hodge retained the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship against Jerry Kozak with 2-0 score, Don Manoukian retained the NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship against Alex Perez in the first defense of the title in Dallas during the reign, Hogan Wharton and Pepper Gomez defeated Jet Monroe and Sputnik Monroe to retain the NWA Texas Tag Team Championship and "Wild" Bull Curry defeated Tosh Togo to retain the NWA Texas Brass Knuckles Championship. Show results
January 1963
The second Parade of Champions was held on at the Dallas Sportatorium in Dallas, Texas. It marked the twenty-fourth anniversary of Ed McLemore promoting wrestling shows in Dallas.
Five championship matches were contested at the event including three title matches. The main event was a two out of three falls match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, in which defending champion Lou Thesz retained the title against Ray Gunkel via a double count-out at 1-1 score. Other title matches at the event saw "Wild" Bull Curry and Relampago Cubano beat Ivan the Terrible and Tony Borne to win the NWA World Tag Team Championship and Rip Hawk retain the NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship against Bill Dromo by losing via disqualification. Show results
June 1963
The third Parade of Champions was promoted by Southwest Sports on June 4, 1963 at the Dallas Sportatorium in Dallas, Texas. It marked the first time that a Parade of Champions event was held twice a year.
The event featured six matches in total and was headlined by a two out of three falls match, in which Lou Thesz defeated Dory Dixon to retain the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. In other title matches on the undercard, The Kozak Brothers (Jerry Kozak and Nick Kozak) defeated Jack Donovan and Louie Tillet by disqualification to retain the NWA World Tag Team Championship, Bill Watts defeated Mark Lewin to retain the NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship and Penny Banner defeated Madame X to retain the NWA Texas Women's Championship. Show results
1972
The fourth Parade of Champions event was promoted by Big Time Wrestling on June 24, 1972 at the Texas Stadium in Irving, Texas. It was the first Parade of Champions to be held under the Big Time Wrestling banner after Southwest Sports was rebranded in 1966.
The card featured eight championship matches. It was headlined by a NWA World Heavyweight Championship match between Dory Funk, Jr. and Fritz Von Erich. The match ended in a draw, meaning Funk retained the title. In other championship matches on the card, Stan Stasiak defeated Red Bastien to retain the NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship, Billy Red Lyons defeated The Spoiler to retain the NWA American Heavyweight Championship and Lord Littlebrook defeated Cowboy Lang to retain the NWA World Midget Championship. Another marquee matches on the card saw El Santo and Jose Lothario defeat Terry Funk and Mr. Fuji, and Bearcat Wright win a 7-man Roulette match. Show results
1974
The 1974 Parade of Champions was a two-day event held on March 26 and March 27, 1974. The first event was held at the Memorial Auditorium in Dallas, Texas on March 26. The second event was held at the Municipal Auditorium in San Antonio, Texas on March 27.
The March 26 card featured a total of six matches. It was headlined by a NWA World Heavyweight Championship match, in which the defending champion Jack Brisco defeated Clay Spencer to retain the title. Another major championship match on the card saw The Texan defeat Fritz Von Erich to win the NWA American Heavyweight Championship. Show results
The March 27 show was headlined by another NWA Heavyweight Championship, in which Jack Brisco defended the title against Dory Funk Jr. The match ended in a draw which meant that Brisco retained the title. The card also featured participation from American Wrestling Association (AWA) as Nick Bockwinkel and Ray Stevens defeated Bob Orton Jr. and Jose Lothario to retain the AWA World Tag Team Championship. Another championship match on the card saw The Great Mephisto defend the NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship against Roger Kirby. Mephisto retained the title via a disqualification. Show results
1st Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions
The David Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions was held as a tribute show for David Von Erich, who suddenly died during a tour in Japan on . Parade of Champions was promoted by Fritz Von Erich on at the Texas Stadium in Irving, Texas. It was the first Parade of Champions produced under the World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW) banner after Big Time Wrestling had been renamed in 1982. The event drew a massive crowd of 32,123. It was the biggest crowd in the history of WCCW.
Eight professional wrestling matches were contested on the card and seven matches were televised. In the main event, Ric Flair defended the NWA World Heavyweight Championship against the deceased David's brother Kerry Von Erich, taking the title match that was originally planned for David Von Erich that same year. Kerry defeated Flair to win the title.
In other prominent matches on the card, Chris Adams and Sunshine defeated Jimmy Garvin and Precious in a mixed tag team match, Fritz Von Erich, Kevin Von Erich, and Mike Von Erich defeated Fabulous Freebirds (Buddy Roberts, Michael Hayes, and Terry Gordy) to win the WCCW World Six-Man Tag Team Championship, Rock & Soul (Buck Zumhofe and Iceman King Parsons) defeated The Super Destroyers (Super Destroyer #1 and Super Destroyer #2) to win the NWA American Tag Team Championship, and Kamala wrestled The Great Kabuki to a double disqualification.
The NWA World Heavyweight Championship match between Kerry Von Erich and Ric Flair was awarded the Match of the Year by Pro Wrestling Illustrated.
In 2013, WWE wrestler Cody Rhodes considered the NWA World Heavyweight Championship main event, a five-star classic match. 2nd Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions
The 2nd Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions was held on May 5, 1985 at the Texas Stadium in Irving, Texas. It drew a crowd of 26,153.
Nine professional wrestling matches were contested at the card. The main event pitted Kerry Von Erich against One Man Gang. The match stipulated that if Von Erich won, Gang's manager Gary Hart would have his head shaved bald, but if Kerry lost, his father Fritz Von Erich would have to come out of retirement and face One Man Gang one-on-one. Kerry won the match and as a result, Fritz's head was shaved bald. Another major match at the event featured Ric Flair defending the NWA World Heavyweight Championship against Kevin Von Erich. The match ended in a double count-out, meaning Flair retained the title.
In an other prominent match on the card, The Von Erichs (Kerry Von Erich, Kevin Von Erich and Mike Von Erich) and Fabulous Freebirds (Michael Hayes, Terry Gordy and Buddy Roberts) defeat The Dynamic Duo (Chris Adams and Gino Hernandez), Rip Oliver, One Man Gang, Kamala and "Dr. Death" Steve Williams in a twelve-man tag team match, where the winning team would split $100,000 and the wrestler who eliminated the last wrestler won a brand new Lincoln Continental. Kevin Von Erich scored the win by pinning Steve Williams. Also at the event, The Fantastics (Bobby Fulton and Tommy Rogers) controversially defeated The Midnight Express (Bobby Eaton and Dennis Condrey) (with Jim Cornette) in a two-ring no disqualification match to win the vacant NWA American Tag Team Championship.
The event was praised by critics. One critic stated "From the world title match to the 12-man best of five match to the tag team title match, this show completely overshadowed last year’s event."
3rd Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions
The 3rd Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions event was held on May 4, 1986 at the Texas Stadium in Irving, Texas. It was the first Parade of Champions promoted under the World Class Wrestling Association banner after WCCW separated from the National Wrestling Alliance in early 1986 and rebranded as WCWA. The card drew a crowd of 24,121.