AEW Five Fingers of Death 12/8 - 12/14 Part 1

AEW Dynamite 12/10/25

Samoa Joe vs Eddie Kingston

MD: Eddie Kingston is so, so tired.

He was on top of the world. He had beaten his rival, his contrast (Claudio) to win the ROH Title. He represented New Japan with the NJPW Strong title, a dream he could have never imagined. He had put it all on the line for the inaugural Continental Classic, betting on himself when none of his peers would, and he had come out triumphant. And then, just to cap it all off, he proved Bryan Danielson wrong about literally everything. 

It was a beautiful end to a very difficult story. 

But that's not how life works and that's not how pro wrestling works. The story never ends. There's always another day. There's always another challenge. There's always another hill to climb.

Sometimes, your story bumps into someone else's. So Mark Briscoe, living a story of his own, defeated him for the ROH title. Okada beat him for the Continental Championship. And against Gabe Kidd, he lost more than just the NJPW Strong title. He lost a year and a half of his career.

Maybe he could have quit right there. Maybe he could have let the demons overtake him. But this is all he knows and so much of what he loves. So he pushed, one step after the other.

And he came back to a world he could barely recognize anymore (except for some of it he recognized all too well). Ortiz was nowhere to be found. Ruby went off and had herself a baby. Mox had gone completely off the rails (Claudio). Being back in the ring was like trudging through mud, one hard step after the other as he got his instincts back, got his wind back, fought his way back to his feet again and again.

But hey, in all things, hope, right? There was Hook. The kid had come back himself, the odd man out. Eddie knew something about that. Maybe he needed some guidance, maybe he could be the path forward. Maybe through Hook, Eddie could find an end to his story, a legacy, could leave the place better than he found it. Maybe that was the dream as much as any title was. 

The thing is, Eddie Kingston's dreams so often turn into nightmares. 

Yeah, Hook was using him, sure, but it wasn't even about him. Eddie was just part of a cover story, just some trappings to get people's guard down. It wasn't his story. He was barely a bit player in the story actually going on. He was scenery so that Hook could betray Hangman Adam Page and Samoa Joe could steal (When did Joe have to steal anything?) the title once again.

You have to understand though, Eddie's spent his life like that, people looking past him, people ignoring him, people underestimating him, people insulting him. Eddie Kingston may be tired, but he sure as hell isn't asleep. 

And there's no cup of coffee quite like getting slapped in the face. 

So he did what he did. While Hangman and Swerve ran to the ring to band together and cause trouble, Eddie stayed in the back and called out Shibata. Shibata's second generation, trained with Inoki, got to be part of a legacy beyond Eddie's imagination, and he put in the work, and now he's out there sticking his finger in his ear and hitting low blows. So Eddie, still a half step slow, pushed through it and overcame him. He called out Joe, and even with Joe, with Joe of all people, Eddie was trapped in a familiar hell all over again, the old using the young, tossing out false promises and hypocritical bullshit, taking, taking, taking. 

By this point, Eddie knew that you can't count on anyone in life. You got to make that change yourself, even if it was hard and even if it was thankless and even if some days it felt pointless and futile. 

This wasn't the time he would choose to challenge for the big belt. He wasn't ready yet. He was still a quarter step slow. But to get to  choose, you have to compromise. You have to play the game. Eddie Kingston didn't play games and he sure as hell didn't compromise. 

And that's what led him to standing across the ring from the World Champion, sixty minute time limit, title on the line, in front of a hot Georgia crowd on a cold winter day. 

And say what you will about him, he didn't compromise.

He stood tall.

That was the one thing that Samoa Joe couldn't handle. 

Bullies never can.

At the bell, he pressed Joe to the corner, backed on to the center, and called him out to meet him there. That's how you deal with bullies. 

As Eddie tried to contain him, Joe hefted him over, leaning on size and strength, and he spent the next few minutes unleashing his signature strikes, jabs, elbows, chops, open handed shots. For each and every one, however, Eddie Kingston had an answer. He was a tree rooted in the center. Sometimes he bowed, sometimes he even cracked, but he never broke. He stood firm, and even though it might have taken a while now and again, he fired back. 

Joe may have been bigger. Joe may have been stronger. But Eddie had the higher moral ground. Joe was the champion. He was driven by pride. He had the world watching. They were chanting for him too. He had to meet Eddie's challenge. But though he met it, he came up short time and again. He may have staggered Eddie with a chop to the throat, but Eddie dropped him to his back with a chop off the ropes. 

So, in the face of mortal fortitude he couldn't imagine (because he underestimated Eddie Kingston just like everyone else), Samoa Joe blinked first. He slammed his body into Eddie in the corner. He stopped fighting and dropped down to hit a snap power slam. And because he blinked first, because the fans knew it, and because Eddie kept on struggling, kept on reaching, kept on working his way back to his feet, the fans stopped chanting for Joe and put all of their support behind Eddie instead.

And maybe that was enough to bolster him for one last comeback. Eddie got beneath the monster that is Joe and hit an exploder, all the pain he'd been absorbing squeezing its way out in the form of the anguish on his face when it only got him a two count. He hit the DDT he used to beat Shibata but that anguish doubled as Joe managed to roll out of the ring. 

And then, feeling it all slip away again, like it had so many times before, Eddie tried for the killshot, the Uraken. Joe blocked it once but Eddie pushed through the pain to set him up for it a second time. Joe was ready for it, ducked under, and locked in the Kokina Clutch. Eddie Kingston was ready enough to stand up to a bully but maybe not yet ready to defeat a champion, and trapped in the middle of the ring, nowhere to go, all he could do was tap. 

Life is hard. Life never ends. The struggle is there with you every day. But the thing is, life isn't black and white either. Did he win the title? No. Did he win the match? No. Did he make Joe blink first? Absolutely. And for a man like Samoa Joe, a man that lives and dies on his reputation, that's something he'll see in his own reflection when he looks in the mirror next. Joe knows. Eddie knows. The world knows. Eddie can come out of this one his head, heavy as it might be, held high. Will he? Maybe not, because he's Eddie Kingston after all, but he can. Can Joe? Can he really?

You see, Eddie may have had to tap, but he didn't quit, and difference between the two is absolutely everything. Maybe it's not the stuff dreams are made of, but it's as human a story as pro wrestling can tell.

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80s Joshi on Wednesday: Yokota! Mimi!

Disc 1 

11. Mimi Hagiwara vs. Rimi Yokota - 8/80

K: Before I go into the match, I’ll fill in a bit of missing context. Shortly before this match we’re covering was the biggest AJW show of 1980, which was on 8/8/80 at the Denen Coliseum. The claimed attendance was 10,000 fans, almost certainly exaggerated, but it gives you an idea. The main event was Jackie Sato vs. Monster Ripper for the WWWA Singles Title, the semi-main was Rimi Yokota vs. Yumi Ikeshita vs. the All Pacific Title. Because this is early 80s Japan, both matches ended in draws. The WWWA Title match was a double countout/no contest, and the decision was that the belt would be vacated and a tournament held to crown a new champion. The All Pacific Title match was a 60 minute draw, which tells you how much of a push Yokota was already getting that they’d book her in such a match.

Other significant things about that show include Tomi Aoyama’s retirement ceremony (sayonara, we barely knew you), and the opener being Chigusa Nagayo vs. Yukari Omori, both of whom were making their in-ring debuts, and would go on to become very important wrestlers. The company also did a bit of a reset by putting everyone into three factions, Dynamic Jaguars, Red Phoenix and Black Devils. Here is how they’re split:

Dynamite Jaguars = Jackie Sato, Mimi Hagiwara, Rimi Yokota, Yukari Omori, Tomoko Kitamura
Red Phoenix = Nancy Kumi, Lucy Kayama, Chino Sato, Ayumi Hori, Chigusa Nagayo
Black Devils = Yumi Ikeshita, Mami Kumano, Tenjin/Devil Masami, Hiroe Itoe, Kaoru Matsumoto.
Plus a bunch of rookies who we won’t see on this set. This 3 way split of the roster (they travelled separately, the stable names came from the tour buses) would remain for the next few years.

Now to the match:

This opens with Rimi Yokota going all raging bull immediately on Mimi. Beating her to the floor, then kicks her out of the ring, and then chases after her on the outside and throws her into some chairs. She looks like she's barely capable of restraining herself she's got so worked up. Mimi gets herself back into things with a fancy rollup through the ropes, but not much in the way of offense.

That opening was a microcosm of how this whole match plays out. Yokota is a dominating force of nature that Hagiwara can barely hold out against. There's a bit of heeling in there, for example Yokota sneaks in some biting where she can while working on Mimi's leg. She has a very interesting submission hold where she pulls Mimi's knee out between her own legs and just pulls at it, I don't recall seeing that anywhere else except from her.

Mimi has a good performance, although she's mostly just selling and hobbling on her leg. There's one moment where she attempts a rollup, and I'm not sure if this was deliberate or not, but she screws it up and just lies down holding her leg for Yokota to get back at attacking it. It's not like her rollups ever lead to much at anyway. Shortly after we get the closest thing Mimi's got to a comeback when she hits a couple of flying neckbreakers and follows it up with a tiger driver style sideslam, that's really all we get though, as Yokota bridges out of the pin and then one-ups Mimi by hitting a far more impressive version of that same move before getting the win.

This was very one-sided. It established Rimi Yokota as a rising force to be reckoned with, Mimi came across as a sympathetic personality, but she just couldn't hang.

***1/2

MD: Very glad to have the context, though even with it, I'm not 100% sure why the new stablemates are so heated here. But it was heated. Yokota didn't just bite, she bit three different places, the fingers in one of her early holds where she was really wrenching Mimi every which way; the knee! which makes no sense, but it did play into that weird knee submission she did; and then the foot, which got her chastised hard from the ref. I swear she also stepped on the hair and pulled at one point too, and tossed Mimi around by her hair too. 

 We haven't seen a ton of Hagiwara as of late but what I remember of her is that her strong point is her emotive selling and that was absolutely at play here. I'm not sure if her background (acting I think?) but she's excellent at it. She also had hope spots that were almost exclusively roll ups, which was interesting in a Ricky Morton sort of way. I can't say her offense was awe inspiring though, and really, when it came down to it, Yokota just cut through her. You can almost see her moving into the Aoyoma role in the hierarchy maybe?  I guess time will tell (for me at least; it's history for others but mostly new for me). This was a great showcase for her, bolstered by Mimi's selling.

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AEW Five Fingers of Death 12/1 - 12/7 Part 2

ROH Final Battle 12/5/25

Athena vs Persephone

In so many ways, pro wrestling storytelling is about the creative and strategic demonstration of vulnerability. Both babyfaces and heels find their true strength in knowing when and how to deploy it.

This then was a story of three vulnerabilities.

Coming into the match, Persephone had Athena's number. Maybe Athena is a fallen goddess but Persephone is one at the height of her youthful power. She was able to keep up with her athletically to start, no small feat. Even when Athena got a temporary advantage, Persephone turned it back around. When she went to mind games, switching hands and dancing to mock Persephone (and maybe her superior strength) on the test of strength, Athena got clocked in the face for her trouble. 

The champion allowed the cracks to show, heading to the floor for a time out. She returned to the ring with another left-handed handshake (the first one refused by Persephone). This was a ploy for her can't miss magic forearm, but her younger opponent had her scouted and avoided it. Back on the floor, Athena tried to whip Persephone into the rail only to have it turned around on her. Nothing was working. Everything was failing. The walls were closing in already. 

That left her desperate, full of an emotional sort of vulnerability that she was confident enough to show. Diamante was out to second her, and she saved her boss from getting tossed into the stairs (generally Athena's own tactic). That allowed Athena to launch an ambush. She dove off of the stairs at Persephone knee-first, but Diamante's presence meant she couldn't hit a meteora but instead had to drop backwards into a code-breaker, taking the advantage but also badly harming her back.

She carried that second vulnerability with her for the rest of the match. It defined everything she did, every reaction, every bit of strategy, the possibilities at play. Selling isn't about holding your back after a move. It's not even about holding your back before a move. It shows consequence, yes, but it also defines the state of play for a character. Athena, far better than most, portrayed this pain throughout everything she did. It impacted how she moved across the ring, how she hefted Persephone up for a suplex, how she failed to heft her up for her more advanced signature offense. It made her a half step slow and a half step sloppy. It increased her desperation and doubled her paranoia. It created an underpinning of panic even as she tried to celebrate her advantage (and all but caused Athena's eyes to bug out as Persephone lifted her up out of the Koji Clutch down the stretch). 

And of course, it ultimately lead to Persephone not only being able to come back, but also able to put Athena's title at as much risk as it had ever been.

To defeat Athena, a wrestler has to not just be lucky, as Persephone was here (even if she had created her own luck) but also, as a character, be able to wrestle their very best match.

And that was the third vulnerability, Persephone's relative youth and overexuberance. 

Once she took back over from Athena and started doing damage, she repeatedly took her eyes off the prize. Right after taking over, she made a little pose as if the belt was around her waist. Her first real cover was lackadaisical. After slamming Athena into the announce table brutally, she went out of her way to say it had been for the commentary team and stuck her tongue out to either them or the crowd. 

And most of all, after finally hitting her Razor's Edge finisher, after Athena still managed to barely kick out, she completely lost her cool, pounding on Athena wildly and rushing up to the top rope to try to put her away. Athena followed her up, hit a killer German back into the ring, and then dropped her with the O-Face for a skin-of-her-teeth win.

Wrestling isn't math, of course, but a good match can often be defined by one good vulnerability. This one had three and it was the mix of the three, two character driven and one a situational result from one of the others, and the wrestlers' dedication and courage to show such weaknesses, that made this match sing.

Eddie Kingston vs Josh Woods

MD: Never in the history of pro wrestling has a tune-up match been more necessary.

In fact, I'm not entirely sure that a tune-up match has actually ever been necessary before this. Usually it's just a way to get a little more heat/momentum for a wrestler before a bigger match. That's not even true. Usually it's just a way to fill TV time and allow the announcers to hype the upcoming bigger match. Rarely does it make sense in practice. 

Here it absolutely did.

Look, I love Eddie Kingston. We all love Eddie Kingston here. And yeah, he's been interesting to write about, and I am absolutely looking forward to write about his match with Samoa Joe. While I'm going to be surprised by how it plays out, I've got the hook in my head already (not that Hook). 

But he has been trudging through mud. He came back from injury and through design or simple reality (pretty sure it's design), he's been slugging it out, one step after another, dragging the weight of all that he is behind him. It's going to seem counter-intuitive to some people, but that's compelling. The best match is not necessarily the one that moves the fastest and hits the cleanest. It's not the one with the most stuff. When you come across a match or a story where you actually have to invest time, effort, focus, patience, almost always, the payoff there, so long as there is payoff, can mean even more. Anyone can invest in an Ospreay match, right? It's candy. It's fluff. It's special effects. This is a journey. And it's a risk too. You know Ospreay's going to get you where you're going, even if you're a baby strapped into a car seat and going around the block to make you stop crying. 

You can trudge through the wasteland watching Eddie Kingston and who knows if you have any idea if you're going to actually get there. Maybe, in 2023 you did. We're in 2025 now, almost 2026, and who the hell knows? 

But you know what? I think this match took us one step closer. 

It reminded me of Roderick Strong vs Erick Stevens that I wrote-up recently. 

Much like Stevens in that match, Eddie knew he needed something from Woods. What made this a tune-up is that you could squint and see Woods in the Ops. He's got that same sort of dogged skill. It's exactly what Eddie needed to throw himself up against.

And I think he worked the match like someone who knew he had to pick up speed, dragging all that weight behind.

They shook at the beginning (it's ROH after all) and Eddie got him right in the corner, and he didn't chop. Why not? Because chopping then and there wouldn't help him. It wouldn't give him what he needed. Now, later on, after Woods had wrenched at his arm, had tossed him around a bit, had charged at him from three different corners. When Eddie chopped later on? Well, then it mattered, it showed that he had it in him, that he could slug, that he could fight. It reminded a body that's still waking up from a year+ out of the ring what it's like to fire back. But he needed something to fire back against first. When Eddie hefted him up to top rope and slung both of them off with a superplex? That's not something you see Eddie do all that much, but he needed that impact, he needed to jar his bones and his spirit, to realign his spine so it could be one with the ring. And when he dropped the strap and started tossing Woods around? Well, that just felt right, didn't it? In a way things hadn't felt right for a long time. When he had dropped the strap against Shibata recently, he got a cheapshot for his trouble. This though? This was one step back towards the light, one step towards the promised land. And then, when he shouted Samoa Joe's name before hitting the DDT and picking up the win? Well, you ask me, that shout wasn't for Joe and that shout wasn't for us, but that shout was for Eddie, because he still needs to feel it, because maybe, probably, unfortunately, tune-up match or no, he's not quite there yet.

But here's the thing. All that weight Eddie's dragging? It's emotional weight. And if you let go and invest and have patience, he'll end up dragging you along with it and you'll get where he's going and it may not be where you thought you wanted to be, but it's where you needed to be. And honestly? That's a hell of a thing for pro wrestling to accomplish. Let's see how far he can take us on Wednesday Night. 

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1990 Andre Remains Undefeated, 1990 Hansen is Unmoved, 1990 Funk is Ponytail Terry

Andre the Giant/Terry Funk/Dory Funk Jr. vs. Stan Hansen/Joel Deaton/Dan Spivey AJPW 12/1/90 - EPIC

ER: I love this. It's 8 minutes long and every second is great. It has numerous peaks from all six men, efficiently mixing and maximizing several different pairings, playing perfectly into the natural hierarchy. You know this is going to end with Joel Deaton being pinned by somebody, you know the second Deaton is left in the ring that we are close to the end, but those facts do not diminish a single exchange because often what should happen happens for a reason. The match has everything, including my three favorite pro wrestlers all doing the things that make them my three favorite wrestlers. This is the only time my three favorite pro wrestlers ever were in a match together. Do not even try counting some West Texas battle royal from 50 years ago, this is the only match Andre, Funk, and Hansen ever had. Isn't that something?  

Terry Funk vs. Stan Hansen never had an exchange that wasn't worth watching, and here it's Ponytail Terry, taking a swing at Hansen on the apron, a swing to connect. I don't think Hansen sees it coming but his blurred vision instincts knew he had to duck quick and low with the speed Ponytail Terry was approaching him. Hansen chops Terry so hard, Terry punches Hansen like he does, and it's great...

but it's nothing like the smile on Andre's face as Hansen is backed into their corner and he tags in. I don't know if Andre entered a ring quicker over the rest of his life, and Hansen hops backward up onto the bottom buckle like a trapped animal. His instincts are correct. When he tries to lock up, Andre grabs pro wrestling's ultimate ass kicker by the fucking throat and backs him up all the way across the ring, dropping him with one punch to the chest while Mustache Joel Deaton runs for his life down the apron. Everyone got their own individual Andre Jump Scare spot. 

Andre uses his size and Sasquatch grabbing ability to herd all three big men into a corner and hold them there so the Funks can use him as a battering ram. Hansen is trapped below the pile and shows he's one of the best wounded animals in wrestling, only here it's his pride that's wounded and makes him advance on Andre with punches and chops. Hansen is an egotistical Great White Shark in a way that nobody else has ever captured. Hansen famously never stops advancing in his matches, and when Andre stops him dead in his tracks by grabbing his fucking throat, I wonder how many times it will take him to learn that this is the one man you cannot keep advancing on. Andre does not back Hansen up by the throat, this time, he punches him in the nose and tags out. 

Sometimes Dory looks at his opponent with those Sydney Sweeney eyes and upends them with two hard uppercuts, and it's the best 1990s Dory.

Andre looks like he's having the time of his life on the apron. Apron work is just one other thing that old Andre excelled at. When Dory reverses a whip and sends Deaton his way, Deaton hits the damn brakes while Andre nods and grins at him like crazed Willem Dafoe. This match sets up the idea of Joel Deaton getting whipped into Andre more than once and pays it off incredibly for the finish. Hansen and his goons all hit Dory hard on the floor far away from where Andre can reasonably get over to them, which is a great old Andre spot where heels take advantage of how there's no chance Andre will be able to even reach them. But they always eventually wind up too close. Spivey tries to get all cute back in the ring and rolls Dory up with an abdominal stretch cradle, but Andre reaches over the ropes and breaks up the pin by grabbing Spivey's entire mullet in his fist and not letting go! Spivey looks like a man actually considering whether he's fine with having his hair ripped out to escape. Andre is the best apron threat in wrestling history. 

You can see the moment Hansen knows he's not defeating Andre and you can see the moment one second later when it stops bothering him. Hansen had a pattern all match of using Joel Deaton as a projectile in his war against Andre. Deaton was used in two rocket launchers, and 1.5 of them connected. When Hansen got tired of getting throttled, he decided in one instant to whip Deaton as hard as he could in Andre's direction. Joel Deaton is a great pro wrestler and even though we all knew the entire match was building to his demise, he never once wrestles like he knows. When Hansen whips him toward Andre and starts heading for the showers before even seeing whether Deaton got caught or not, Deaton really thinks he is hitting a big time clothesline on Andre. He is not a man forced into running toward his own death, he isn't a guy running towards someone just to take a spot, he is a man doing his best to connect with that clothesline. 

It doesn't connect, Andre kills him. Hansen won't stick around to see the pin.  

You want to tell me old Andre's elbowdrop sucks? You're wrong. In this very match you can see an example of the most perfect elbow every dropped, that of Stan Hansen. There has never been a better elbowdrop than Hansen's. His form is perfect, his landings always directly on target, his impact incredible and something I wouldn't survive. You cannot throw a better elbowdrop. Andre's elbowdrop is ugly. Not just by comparison, it's just ugly. The form is terrible. He looks like an old dog who is taking five steps just to lie down. Legs down first, then the left arm to the elbow, then the right, slow roll to his side, off center on his favorite fur covered rug. But when the camera cuts in close and you see Andre lying across Deaton's chest, there is no way Deaton could get a shoulder up if his life depended on it. When old Andre pinned someone, it was a shoot. Andre lying on top of you cannot be kicked out of, so the delivery of Andre falling on top of you does not matter. Hansen's elbowdrop is about maximum targeted impact. Andre's is about finding the best way to get laterally onto his opponent. Impact is not created in form when you are Andre's size, it just Is.  

COMPLETE AND ACCURATE ANDRE THE GIANT

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Found Footage Friday: SAD GENIUS~! GRANS HAMADA & GUERRA~! GYPSY JOE~!

La Gran Guerra: Jason the Terrible/Chicky Starr/Iron Sheik/Ron Starr vs. Carlos Colon/Ricky Santana/Rufus R. Jones/TNT WWC 10/29/88

EB: On December 12 and 13 of 1987, Capitol Sports Promotions held for the first time ever the La Gran Guerra match, which pitted members of the heroic El Ejercito de la Justicia against members of the villainous El Club Deportivo. La Gran Guerra is two rings enclosed by a steel cage with all team members starting the match together. Handcuffs are located around the sides of the cage and the objective is to handcuff your opponents in order to neutralize and take them out of the fight. The winners are the team that is able to handcuff all of the opposing team’s members first. And the prize for winning is that you get to uncuff your teammates and then get 5 minutes to attack your neutralized opponents at your own leisure. The two sides have each won one La Gran Guerra match and now, ten and half months after the first two matches were held, a third La Gran Guerra is set to happen.

The date is October 29, 1988 and we are almost two months removed from the big Aniversario show main evented by Carlos Colon vs Hercules Ayala in a fire match. This feud continued beyond Aniversario, with Colon and Ayala engaging in several rematches that escalated to a stretcher match and most recently a Texas Death match on October 8. Colon and Ayala are captaining their respective teams for this third La Gran Guerra, but while Colon is competing in the match for El Ejercito de la Justicia, Ayala will be captaining from ringside for El Club Deportivo. Ayala is unable to compete due to a neck injury suffered when Carlos Colon piledrove him on the arena floor during their Texas Death match. He’ll be here supporting his team, even if he’s there in a neck brace at ringside.

Joining Carlos Colon on the El Ejercito de la Justicia are a veteran of the previous two La Gran Guerra matches in TNT and two first timers in Rufus R Jones and Ricky Santana. For El Club Deportivo it is none other than Chicky Starr leading the charge, joined by his cousin Ron Starr, the Iron Sheik (a key member of the team that won the second La Gran Guerra) and Jason the Terrible (who is making his return to Puerto Rico after a year and half away). Ron and Jason are competing in their first La Gran Guerra match. All combatants are in the ring so let the war begin. 

MD: There has been a lot of talk about modern cage matches and about how the cage is seen as something to climb or something to escape or something to fight on top of. That's in contrast to decades ago where a cage was somewhere where there could be no interference, where there could be no running, where feuds had to end. Gran Guerra takes it a step further even. In these, the goal is not to contain the action, but to constrain it. Instead of one more person entering every few minutes, wrestlers are removed instead. The action becomes tighter and more focused as it goes on and more and more wrestlers are handcuffed. 

Here the blood came quickly as people were tossed into the cage. Santana bled first but he was soon joined by almost everyone, with Jason as the obvious and striking exception. For the first few minutes, they stayed in one ring and ignored the other, just making everything feel all the more claustrophobic. When they did venture out into the second, it was more to allow for the handcuffing to be spaced out geographically than anything else. Colon and Jason were matched up for most of this and they would be the ones to end it.

These days interference happens in almost every cage match, just another way the gimmick has been diminished over time. But matches should serve purposes, not just to entertain and titillate. Dissonance creates heat. The cage is supposed to be a way to end feuds, to allow violence to run its course. In a world where that is true, where the last thing people expect is interference, it can cause amazing heat. In a world where it happens all the time, then there's much more to be gained by NOT having interference, because that's what goes against expectation. Then, one time out of ten, do it. That's how things played out here, with Ayala throwing in salt as Colon was about to win. Not only did it cost the babyfaces match, it also meant that they were beat on mercilessly for the next five minutes as per the stipulation. Here, because it was set up to matter, that meant even hotter rematches between the babyfaces and the heels and more tickets sold. So yes, there was interference here, but it's shown to be the exception that proves the rule.

ER: It can be tough watching such a large scale two ring match in fuzzy video quality, action further obscured by being shot through a chain link cage, but here it feels like we're seeing what anyone sitting in the cheap seats would be seeing at a huge blowoff event. The action can be hard to follow, but when the action is all blood-drawing punches you know you're just seeing the universal pro wrestling language being spoken. Blood flows early and often (Ricky Santana is so bloody that for all I know he hit the blade in the dressing room) and my favorite thing about it was TNT in there throwing all variety of full extension high kicks and spin kicks. In a match where every man is punching and using the cage, it's awesome to be the guy throwing huge kicks that play to the back row. All of his kicks look great, especially the ones to Chicky and Jason. Chicky is a great guy to see sell a kick, but I loved the match long story of Jason just walked through every kick to his mask, no matter how hard or spectacular, and finally fell flat on his face after a high kick to the back of his head. This is fucking Jason! Conventional weapons cannot harm him, conventional kicks cannot move him, and finally TNT finds his weak spot. This doesn't seem like the kind of match they could have done in PR just a decade before, as I've heard of far smaller things causing riots. Ayala throwing salt in Colon's eyes leading to all the babyfaces taking an unprotected 5 minute beatdown should have brought back the glory days of rioting. I don't think it would have been possible for the heels to make it past one minute without the cage being swarmed. 

Sad Genius vs. Gran Hamada 9/5/00

MD: I know Genius has other Texas Death Matches but I haven't seen them. But on some level this is a brilliant exercise in futility and frustration for Gran Hamada. Genius comes in with this amazing level of confidence, belt around his waist, pulling his hand back on the shake, and then he immediately gets rolled up by Hamada. this is a Texas Death Match though (the traditional style that can ONLY end in the ten count after a fall), so no big deal. He just gets up and keeps wrestling. Then he ends up in a cross arm breaker and almost immediately taps out. And he just gets up, selling the arm a bit, but otherwise unperturbed. Why not tap out? You have ten seconds to get back up after that. There's no reason to stay in a hold in a Texas Death Match with these specific rules except for pride, and this guy is somehow perfectly delusional and self-aware at the exact same time. 

In the face of all of this, Hamada is Hamada. He is full of pride. He, even in 2000, can still land on his feet out of a takeover, no problem. And yet he's been tossed into this bizarre world against this bizarre wrestler who was obviously capable and talented, with these rules that drive him increasingly nuts. Yes, Genius would take advantage of the ability to escape any hold he wanted and would come back with a clubbering shot or two, but Hamada just plowed through and kept things coming, escalating his offense and those holds. There was a path where he could eventually get Genius either hurt enough, knocked out enough, or humiliated enough that he'd stay down and that journey might have be compelling, but everything just sort of fizzled out as either Hamada or Genius or the ref or god himself just had enough and this ended without meaningful conclusion.

ER: I'll be honest: I've watched a lot of wrestling in my life, but I can't pretend I knew who Sad Genius was before this week. Maybe I heard about him once, who's to say. I've already forgotten enough names of movies, bands, actors, whatever, to fill books. If I'd heard tale of Sad Genius before a few days ago, they've been forced out by newer but not necessarily more interesting knowledge. Sad Genius is essentially a trust fund kid who keeps trying to buy his way into high society but is never accepted by the peers he seeks. It feels like he's doing a fake title belt Andy Kaufman bit, only if Andy got actually good at pro wrestling fundamentals and wanted to be taken seriously as a wrestler instead of just using wrestling as a medium for chaos. Sad Genius even looks like Andy Kaufman, right down to the exact same grown out at the sides combover Kaufman was sporting in 1982. 

This match is about 10 minutes long, and the entire time it feels like something teetering into a shoot. You get a real sense that there were details Gran Hamada was not told and he is finding them out over the course of the match. Hamada recognizes this man, whose name sounds like a bedroom shoegaze project, is Up to No Good. I am positive that Hamada was not told about the Texas Death rules. I am positive about that, as the only interpretation of what happens in the first 30 seconds of this match, is that Hamada recognizes Sad Genius is Up to No Good and shoot pins him with an inside cradle. Hamada dragged this man into an inside cradle and looked upset to learn that the house style was Texas Death. He wrestled the rest of the match like that and looked constantly perturbed and guarded, like he couldn't wait to lace into Genius for this shit. And that's before Genius kicks Hamada in the stomach a couple times as hard as he can, or hits the most shootstyle rolling kappo kick possible, or drops him on the back of his head with a back suplex. I'm confident nobody has told me about MUGA-trained Andy Kaufman before. I would remember that. 

Hamada still does flying, but he does it in this fascinating untrusting way, knowing he has to force Genius to catch a pescado, he throws dropkicks like he's expecting his target to move, and he keeps taking Genius down with armbars that keep turning more serious...but Genius never does act up. He just looks like he keeps getting shoot taken down and arm barred by a 50 year old legend until somebody in jeans gets on the apron and starts yelling. Sad Genius is either a great salesman or Gran Hamada actually hurt his arm, and there's a feeling that no matter what happens in any of these matches, Sad Genius is getting awarded the title. There's a 10 minute post-match interview with him and it plays like a video deposition of a man hesitant to give up his family. Sad Genius would have made a 500. 

JR:The music swells. You need to hear it for yourself. It starts out like music you’d normally hear through shitty laptop speakers and suddenly it swells, like when something diegetic becomes the needle drop over a montage. It dawns on me at this moment that I’m watching a haunted object. Not something cursed but something possessed and controlled by the spirit of Sad Genius. It dawns on me again when he is pinned almost immediately via a small package that looks uncooperative. Hamada looks confused and part of me wonders if he knows the rules to the match and then the referee starts counting as though it’s a Texas Death Match without weapons or cowboy boots or hatred. You can see in Gran Hamada’s eyes that he is in a wrestler’s stress dream. He is in the ring and he has no idea what the finish is, what the rules are. It’s a dream and he can’t go anywhere. His eyes are narrowed and wet and confused and Sad Genius stares back with the eyes of the man who used to come in to the library and tell me that fractals and zeroes were gateways to other dimensions. Hamada has no alternatives. He fights, applying an arm bar and winning and then hearing a bell and then starting over. The referee got to eight that time. He is stuck chasing a ghost, hearing an invisible audience. Suddenly he leaves. He breaks out. He wakes up. We are left behind. Maybe it was our dream all along. We are the ones trapped. Sad Genius has his arm raised, and we follow him back to the locker room. He’s sitting in a folding chair and speaking, staring into space just beyond the plane of the camera. We can now see the cameraman. We must be in the room, it’s the only explanation. He is staring at us. We can’t understand what he’s saying. The camera man is gone by now. Sad Genius is staring at us when the video ends.

 

Sad Genius vs. Gypsy Joe 1/19/03 

MD: There were not many people in this crowd, which sort of tracks and is not at all a surprise, but it does give this a distinct feeling like it's being wrestled specifically for us almost twenty-three years later. If the Hamada match was a novelty, this was a spectacle and pretty much everything one might have expected. For the first few minutes of this, Genius (who had his music start back up as he disrobed) and Joe (who came out to Dust in the Wind, of course) absolutely kill each other. After a couple of clean breaks, Genius launches just the nastiest kicks and then Joe brutalizes him with chops. There was one little short elbow that Joe hit that I went back and watched ten times because it was the best peppering shot I've seen in ages. Genius finally has enough and hits the floor only to start in on Joe's legs on the posts. If we had another five minutes of this I imagine it would be just as imagined.  

Instead, two masked Karate Guys come running in and it becomes an impromptu tag match with both of them working over Genius until he could get a dragon screw leg whip on one. Joe comes in just mauls them in the best way including taking all their chops like they were nothing. Genius gets in on the act too including Inoki pumphandles, but he gets hit by this hilarious low blow kick. He comes back anyway and hits a belly to back to win it and it's just all wonderfully ridiculous. Post-match Joe is ready to fight anyone in Tokyo and wants more people to show up next time.

ER: Sometime between the Hamada match and this match, Sad Genius added disrobing music. He keeps his robe one right up to the bell, when a 3 second power riff plays, timed to his disrobing and kicking off the match. Joe is 70 and definitely doesn't know who Sad Genius is, and at first I thought he was going to wrestle this in a t-shirt but instead he treats this guy like Fujinami. Genius hits three stiff as hell kicks to Joe's chest and Joe treats him like an asshole, at one point throwing a jab of an elbow point into Genius's eye. The double ninja DQ robbed us of any kind of chaotic finish and means we never get to see Joe try to break this guy's nose. Joe does do a 70 year old kneedrop off the top to one of the ninjas and that feels like one of the most dangerous things a man his age could possibly do. 

JR: Sad Genius disrobes in time with a music cue that hits with the force of a horror movie jump scare or a hammer or a bottle breaking. At this point I think it is not farfetched to assume we are in the presence of a trickster god. The front row here is completely empty this time. I cannot tell if it is the same building. It looks like it. It might not even be a building but a dimension. A domain. Gypsy Joe looks incredible and looks as though he is decomposing. He is wondrous. Sad Genius is beautiful and it is easy to see why so many gave him so many chances. While I’m thinking this, two masked men in karate outfits attack everyone. They do not look like trained pro wrestlers. They are resplendent. Suddenly, Joe and Sad Genius are united. They are on our side. They are on a side together. It feels like a moral impossibility for Sad Genius to understand the idea of comradery. There is someone off camera yelling instructions in English. There are probably voices speaking in languages that do not exist if I dare turn the volume up any louder. 

The bell never ends anything in this match. There is a winner and the fight continues. The sacred space bleeds into something profane that only Sad Genius understands. He lays out wrestling matches like an alien who had wrestling explained to them by a child and then thought about it for a thousand years. He lays out wrestling matches like those chess computers that have only ever played chess against other computers. One of the karate men hits Sad Genius in the groin and he doubles in pain, and something so normal and recognizable and banal feels uncanny. Music plays and there is another winner and the two men with faces are attacked again. The bell never means anything. Eventually the karate men stop returning into the frame. It feels final and I can’t say how. The camera follows Joe and Sad Genius out, back into a locker room. They speak in English. They speak past one another. We are left with a still shot of a grey hallway, like something out of a Tsai Ming Liang film. I can still see it with my eyes closed.
 

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El Deporte de las Mil Emociones: Champions Celebrate Mothers

Week 54: Champions Celebrate Mothers

EB: It’s Mother’s Day weekend and that means we are celebrating the mothers of Puerto Rico in style, with a big wrestling card dedicated to them. Champions will be defending their titles on Saturday and Sunday, with the Saturday Noche de Campeones having a portion of it airing live on Channel 4. Carlos Colon and Ron Garvin are scheduled to have the rubber match in their series, they are 1-1 in Universal title matches so far. There are some other updates to the big card that we’ll cover shortly, so let’s go to the May 11 west coast version episode of Super Estrellas de la Lucha Libre.  

WWC Super Estrellas 5/11/91

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2YHP5Indpw

Hugo welcomes us to the program and (since this is the west coast version of the program) tomorrow is the day for the big Mother’s Day card, Tarde de Capeones (general admission is $5). Hugo runs down what we’ll see on today's program and then talks about tomorrow’s card: Carlos Colon vs Ron Garvin for the Universal title; Invader #1 & Bronco #1 vs the SST for the WWC World tag titles; King Kong vs Giant Warrior for the TV title; Monster Ripper vs Candi Divine for the Women’s World title; and added to the card due to the Mexican minis having visa troubles in getting into the country to work the show is new Midget World champion Little Louie (who recently defeated Little Tokyo for the title) will be defending his title against Butch Cassady. Tomorrow they will also have merchandise and videos for sale.  

El Bronco #1 & Invader #1 vs. The Samoan Swat Team

Our first match is joined in progress from Lares (suggesting this is from the most recent Thursday or Friday house show) and here we have our first look at recent arrivals and Gen. Akbar’s latest tag team, the Samoan Swat Team. This version of the team is Samoan Savage and Fatu and they are billed as the UWA World tag team champions. Hugo mentions how this team inherited the name from their family, the original Wild Samoans of Afa and Sika, and that this current combination may be the best one yet. Savage is in the ring with Bronco when we join the match, with Invader being tagged in. Savage gains control, tags in Fatu and the SST control the next minutes of the encounter. Fatu tosses Invader outside and distracts the ref,allowing Savage to ram Invader into the fence and hit him with one of the signs. Bronco has enough and gets to check on Invader but then starts exchanging blows with Fatu outside the ring, sending Fatu into the ringpost. Hugo says that the SST are definitely showing they have the quality, energy and viciousness to compete. The SST continue working over Invader with nerve holds, headbutts and switching out behind the ref’s back. Invader makes a brief comeback but misses a corner charge. However, Savage goes to the top and for some reason slips and falls off, allowing Invader the opening to tag in Bronco. Both SST members are handled by Bronco and then Invader joins the fray. The Samoans are whipped into each other and Invader knocks one of them out of the ring. Bronco gets his Bronco DDT on the other, but in the confusion Akbar gets in the ring and clobbers Bronco with an object. The SST are able to score the pin and get a win over the reigning WWC World tag champions. 

MD: Pretty fun one here. Either we come in JIP past most of the shine or there was no shine as they take over on Invader fairly quickly. It definitely had an effect in making the SST seem more formidable than a lot of other teams so I imagine the cutting (whether in the match or the tape) was on purpose. Good heat on Invader including Bronco and the ref getting distracted so they could dump part of the local signage on him and Bronco getting fed up and posting one even if it didn’t do them much good overall. SST can be a little silly at times here and one basically crotched himself on the top after a perfectly good cutoff on Invader’s hope spot, allowing for the hot tag. Bronco came in fiery and pretty quickly got his face first DDT finish on, but the ref was distracted with the brawling on the outside and Akbar was able to intervene, clock Bronco, and turn things around to heat things up for the bigger match.

EB: Next is a recap of the feud Super Medico #3 and Action Jackson are having over the Caribbean title. We see clips of the finish of their match from April 27 and their subsequent match from Cataño where Kim Duk got involved and explained to the ref the cheating that went down. As mentioned before, these two men will face off once more for the Caribbean title with Kim Duk as the special referee. After the feud recap, Profe and Action Jackson cut a promo where they are not worried about Medico #3 or about Kim Duk being partial to Medico, Action will win the Caribbean title and they will party with the ladies all night long. 

MD: We saw the recaps last time. That first ref bump was really good. Most important thing to know about the promo is that Jackson isn’t worried about Duk as the special ref and promises that after he wins 1-2-3 in the center of the ring, he and Profe will party with all the ladies.

EB: Brad Anderson gets a music video, with highlights from some of his matches against Kim Duk and Ricky Santana. He is challenging for the World Junior title this weekend.

MD: Maybe the only Brad Anderson video ever? But they made him look pretty good with footage against Duk and Santana and others set to I Want It All by Queen. A few shots of his spinebuster slam, which was a pretty interesting creative choice given how cool the normal spinebuster is. Not much of his weird gourdbuster though.

EB: A King Kong interview gets cut, but we do get Akbar with the SST (who have their UWA Tag title belts with them). Akbar says this is the team and we get comments from Savage as well. Fatu just mugs for the camera as Hugo translates. Bronco and Invader cut their usual promo about how it won't be easy to get the titles from them, with Invader putting over the quality of the SST and that they’ll be ready for them.

MD: They just flawlessly move to the next feud with these tags. Akbar set it up well with “You thought the California Studs were tough…?” and mentioned how the SST had done a bunch of favors for Devastation, Inc. and now signed big contracts. They already had one set of belts (thanks to Estevban for identifying them) and were going for another. Bronco and Invader were as spirited as ever though and this felt like a big deal to me.

Billy Joe Travis & Gran Mendoza vs. Herbert Gonzalez & Invader #4

EB: Galan Mendoza gets another tag partner and it is the returning Billy Joe Travis (who had a feud with Huracan Castillo over the World Junior title back in the late fall of 1990). Travis and Mendoza work over Invader #4 for a couple of minutes util Herbert Gonzalez gets the tag. Surprisingly, Herbert gets a  few seconds of shine before all four men end up in the ring. As the ref clears the ring of the illegal men,Monster Ripper goes over to Mendoza and slips him an object that he loads into his glove. One loaded punch later and Herbert is pinned. It looks like Mendoza and Travis will continue the rivalry with the Caribbean Express over the Caribbean tag titles. 

MD: And lo, Billy Joe replaces Doug Gilbert as Mendoza’s partner continuing the stooging chain. He and Mendoza are a good match with the blonde mullets. They have Ripper with them still. Invader IV starts out in peril here and he has a nice little flip to his feet for a hope spot but gets cut off. When Gonzalez does make it there’s a ton of stooging before Ripper slips Mendoza the glove. They didn’t exactly look super strong here but maybe that was the point.

EB: It’s clear from Anderson’s interview that he’s faced and defeated Ricky Santana twice already and he says the third time will be the same, only this time the World Junior title will be around his waist. Ricky follows with a rebuttal, saying Profe is talking too much. Ricky is dedicating this match to all the mothers and he will not disappoint them. Anderson needs to remember two things, that Ricky is the champion and that Rivky will be walking out the champion.

MD: They’ve been through a couple of matches but Anderson was ready to get the light heavyweight title. This feels like a perfectly fine undercard feud even with no real heat behind it.

EB: TNT joins us in full garb, he is not competing this weekend due to being sidelined due to King Kong’s top rope splashes. TNT wishes all of the mothers a happy Mother’s Day and also lets us know he has started rating and is feeling better already. He soon should be ready for action. TNT talks about tomorrow’s TV title match where Giant Warrior is challenging King Kong. TNT spoke with Warrior and warned him to watch out for those splashes. He will be rooting 100% for Giant Warrior.

MD: TNT is back from being laid out and in his full ceremonial gear looking ready to get revenge.

EB: We get a Ron Garvin music video where it looks like he is running and working out around the Condado area of San Juan. The video includes clips from some of his late 88 matches, including his win over Carlos Colon in the Universal title tournament finals. Hugo follows by saying that the third time is the charm as we get highlights of the previous two matches between Garvin and Colon. They are tied 1-1. We cut off the Ron Garvin telephone interview (I’m guessing it’s the same one from last week) and then go to Carlos Colon in the studio. Carlos reiterates that he wants everyone supporting him tomorrow against a very dangerous opponent, with the fans’ support he is sure that the Universal title will stay here in Puerto Rico.

MD: Again, not much in the way of new Garvin footage. This is older stuff. The music video is funny as it has him running and punching and on the beach, etc. The very best part is when they intersperse clips of his fist with a giant rock at high speed. The clips are interesting in context. At the end of 87 he was anchoring things in JCP and at the end of 88 he looked to be anchoring things for Puerto Rico. Then at the end of 89 into 90, he had the Valentine story in the WWF and now he’s back to headline a big show. It makes me wonder if people don’t give him quite enough credit. 

Kim Duk & Giant Warrior vs. Action Jackson & King Kong

EB: Our TV main event is Kim Duk & Giant Warrior taking on Action Jackson & King Kong. We have both El Profe and Skandor Akbar seconding the rudo team for this encounter. Duk and Jackson start and Duk gets the better of that exchange, hitting a backdrop and causing Action to roll outside. Back in, Action gets backed into the tecnico corner and Giant Warrior is tagged in. Action manages to back Warrior up to the rudo corner, but a double team attempt is avoided by Warrior, and Action almost crashes into Kong (causing an angry exchange from Action to Kong). Kong is tagged in. Another double team attempt fails,with Kong hitting Action and sending him to the floor.   This rudo team is not gelling well. Duk is in and the rudo team briefly gets some offense in, but Warrior comes in again for his team. Warrior misses a charge and seems to hit his head on the post (due to his size), allowing Action and Kong to work over Warrior. The match breaks down a bit with Warrior rammed into the post outside and Duk coming in. The rudos double team Duk and he falls victim to the Kong splash for the p in. Warrior comes back in the ring. Tosses Action out of the ring, and then hits the big boot on Kong. Warrior and Kong fight on the outside and continue fighting towards the locker room as we go back to Hugo in the studio for the show closing. 

MD: They teased Jackson and Kong having dissension early by each crashing into the other as Duk got out of the way and the fans were very excited at that idea. Jackson was just a naturally volatile figure in the best of ways. Warrior played face in peril well and it was believable enough with these two. Jackson leaped to nowhere and landed on Warrior’s upstretched boot but it was notable because he flopped forward in a really nice twist on the flying nothing. When Duk got in, he immediately got swept under and splashed though. Post-match they paid off Warrior vs Kong with a nice brawl on the outside and the fans wanted to see more of that too.

EB: While we’ve been reviewing mostly west coast versions of the TV that are hyping up the May 12 Mother’s Day show, we do have a counterpart Noche de Campeones card occurring on Saturday May 11. It is happening in Guaynabo and there is a very important development for this show. WAPA, the station that airs Super Estrellas de la Lucha Libre, will be airing part of the card live on TV. And we actually have a good portion of this airing available. First, let’s go to the May 11 episode of Campeones for the final hype for Noche de Campeones. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgGPKj7yoiE

Hugo and Profe are here to start the program, with Hugo welcoming the viewers to Campeones on TeleOnce. Profe sounds happy and Hugo makes note that not only is it because of the wrestlers he has competing tonight for titles, but it turns out Profe has been helping to train Monster Ripper for her title defense as well. It’s a partnership that has developed recently and Profe has been taking this responsibility seriously. In fact, we’ll see highlights of this training later in the program. Hugo reminds viewers that tickets are already on sale with special prices in honor of the mothers they are celebrating (ringside $8, general admission $5, and children under 11 years old are $2). Hugo makes sure to emphasize the first match starts at 8pm, since Campeones airs on Teleonce (Channel 11) they can’t promote the live airing of the card on WAPA (channel 4), so this is an indirect way to make sure people are there on time for the start of the live airing. Profe runs down what’s in store and makes sure to run down the tecnicos (calls the Caribbean Express the Chicken Express, calls Invader and Bronco stupid, and declares Garvin the Universal champion since it’s a lock that he will win). Hugo continues running down the rest of what’s in store before again giving another reminder of tonight’s Noche de Campeones card dedicated to all of the mothers in Puerto Rico and then drops some big news. All who attend tonight in person will find out who will compete in the main event of Aniversario 91, as they will announce the challenger for the Universal title (who will face whoever is champion after tonight’s match). With that, let’s go the first match,

Gran Mendoza & El Condor vs. Caribbean Express (Miguelito Perez & Huracan Castillo Jr.)

Mendoza has been feuding with the Caribbean Express since losing the Caribbean tag titles to them, but has had a bit of a revolving door of partners (from Rick Valentine to Doug Gilbert and now Billy Joe Travis). Here Mendoza is teaming with El Condor, which suggests this may have been taped in between the switch from Gilbert to Travis. Hugo mentions that Castillo and Perez are the champions of Puerto Rico, wearing flag t-shirts to show off how proud they are of their country and heritage (which they wore during their tour of Central America). Profe complains that those are cheap t-shirts but Hugo says that where the shirt comes from doesn't matter, it’s the pride in representing their homeland that matters. Perez and Condor start and condor actually gets a bit of shine by knocking down Perez with a clothesline before tagging out. Profe talks up Condor by saying that he’s talented, has a future  and we’ll see him in a few years in main event matches, he just needs experience. This continues the recent trend of the commentators talking up Condor (it looks like they may have plans for him soon). The Caribbean Express maintain control of most of the match, regardless of whether it is Mendoza or Condor in there. Profe insults Miguelito by saying that it looks like Miguelito owes money to his barber judging by that haircut, he looks like a Dick Tracy villain. Hugo complains that it looks like Mendoza is purposefully avoiding being in there too long against the Express and is letting Condor handle the bulk of the match. Profe justifies it by saying that Mendoza is letting Condor gain experience. Condor makes a good showing but ends up getting hit by a Perez handspring elbow and powerslam,and Castillo finishes it off with a Northern Lights suplex (with Mendoza just jumping off the apron and not bothering to make any effort at a save). 

MD: A showcase for the Express. I’m not sure if this was between partners for Mendoza or what. I’d have been all for Condor being the third guy with Mendoza and Travis with Ripper managing all three though. He had just enough clever little mannerisms and stalling that made me think he was getting it. They’d get little bits of offense but the Express were quick to comeback. I love Castillo’s jumping knee and Perez had a handspring elbow in the corner, with Castillo winning it with a Northern Lights Suplex. I wonder if he learned that from being around Hase in New Japan.

EB: Hugo presents the finish of the match the Samoan Swat Team had this past Thursday in Lares in their debut in CSP. It’s the match against Invader #1 and Bronco #1 we saw on Super Estrellas. Tonight there is a rematch with the WWC World tag titles on the line and there is  special stipulation for that match, Skandor Akbar will be locked in a cage. Also, if Invader and Bronco win, they’ll get 5 minutes with Akbar. Obviously,Akbar is not happy about being put in a cage but is focus do more important things and that is the World tag team titles. And they can forget about getting those 5 minutes. Bronco and Invader are ready and Bronco is looking forward to getting those 5 minutes with Akbar. Invader mention they don’t run from anyone and they’ll gladly defend the belts tonight. Invader also wants those 5 minutes so they can beat respect into Akbar.

MD: Akbar claims he’s not an animal. The gimmick here was that he’d be locked in a cage at ringside and if Bronco and Invader won they’d get five minutes with him. Really something that should be done more today. It’s perfect for Stokely for instance.

EB: Some more promos for tonight, as the Caribbean Express (wearing the shirts the announcers were talking about earlier) are defending their titles against Galan Mendoza and Billy Joe Travis. Castillo recognizes that Mendoza and Travis make a nice team but the Express is the better team. Profe introduces the Ron Garvin music video we’ve seen before and then we get some words from Monster Ripper, Galen Mendoza and Billy Joe Travis. Ripper says that she has a surprise while gesturing to Travis, so I’m guessing this may actually be the official launch of this team. Travis praises his manager and partner and reminds the viewers that he is a former World Junior champion as well. Mendoza says that they have the Express right where they wanted, Perez and Castillo made the mistake of signing an open contract and here they have Billy Joe Travis.

MD: They’re up against Perez and Castillo moving forward. All I really have to say here is that Travis looks like he was raiding Chicky Starr’s wardrobe. He calls Ripper the most beautiful woman and himself and Mendoza the most handsome men. Mendoza just seems happy to be there.

EB: They show the finish of the Giant Warrior & Kim Duk vs. King Kong & Action Jackson where Warrior and Kong fought to the locker room as part of the hype for the TV title match tonight. Akbar calls out warrior for thinking he’s some type of savior around here, but Kong will take care of him tonight.

MD: Akbar really had a lot of value still at this point. If I was WCW, I would have brought him in to be with Sullivan and Black Blood and One Man Gang or something. Anyway, here he said that Giant Warrior saw himself as a savior but that he’d end up calling Akbar master. Pretty solid stuff with shots of Kong. It’s amazing not just how long Warrior’s run was but that he was a babyface throughout. 

EB: We get the card rundown for tonight in Guaynabo: Carlos Colon vs Ron Garvin for the Universal title; Invader #1 & Bronco #1 vs the Samoan swat team for the World tag titles, with Skandor Akbar locked in a cage and if Invader and Bronco win they get 5 minutes with Akbar; King Kong vs Giant Warrior for the TV title; Monster Ripper vs Candi Divine for the Women’s World title; Little Louis vs Butch Cassady for the Midget World title; Super Medico #3 vs Action Jackson for the Caribbean title with Kim Duk as guest referee; Ricky Santana vs Brad Anderson for the World Junior title; the Caribbean Express vs Galan Mendoza & Billy Joe Travis for the Caribbean tag titles; and other great stars. 

This is followed by the Super Medico #3 vs Action Jackson feud recap video and promos from Action Jackson and Super Medico #3. Action is tired of Medico #3 and says he is the baddest thing on the island. Medico #3 is happy that Duk is the referee, meaning that there won;t be any cheating from Jackson or Profe.

MD: Action Jackson had a white letters on black Action Jackson backdrop which I don’t remember as a sort of thing used in the promotion. Apparently we don’t have this match, which is sad because I wanted to see ref Kim Duk. 

EB: Profe does a voice over for the Monster Ripper training footage, where he brags about the pace he is putting Ripper through and that Candi has no chance. Loot at her strength, her beauty, her sensuality, her agility, her fortitude. Profe has Ripper training with men (in this case Condor) so it’s tougher, and if Ripper can dominate a man what chance does a woman have against her. Ripper gets her reps on the bench press and does a nice bridging pin on Condor as the video ends. 

MD: As training videos go, this is a pretty good one. It’s played for humor to some degree with her sparring with some masked guys (Condor?) in the ring and working in the gym but I’m glad they did it since they weren’t building much to her match otherwise. Maybe Esteban can identify the song.

EB: Sorry Matt, I can’t identify the song from the bit that plays in the video. If anyone knows what it is do let us know. Let’s go to today’s main event, our first look at the UWA World tag team champions the Samaon Swat Team in Cataño. They take on Kim Duk and Ricky Santana. 

Samoan Swat Team vs. Kim Duk & Ricky Santana

The SST are competing against a pair of credible opponents, and while Duk and Santana do get their moments of shine by controlling the first minutes of the match, this is a showcase for the new arrivals to put over how much of a threat they are. Sanatana is the face in peril and again we see the spot where the Samoan slips off the top rope when going for a top rope splash (are they doing the barefoot is affecting their balance thing?). Duk is tagged in and momentarily cleans house but then makes the mistake of ramming the two Samoans' heads together. This has no effect and instead the SST double headbutt Duk. A few monet later, a piledriver into a flying splash gets the SST the win. 

Hugo and Profe close the show with one more sell of tonight’s card (remember it starts at 8pm sharp) and Profe says his people will win all the titles they are competing for tonight. Remember, we’ll find out the main event of Aniversario 91 tonight as well.

MD: The big takeaway they want to get across here is that you don’t headbutt a samoan. Multiple times here things were done to no effect. When they got driven out early, they ended up doing some sort of haka with Akbar and Duk slammed their heads together to no effect. Then during a hope spot (after he’d been hit by a superkick out of nowhere while distracted as a transition), Santana slammed Fatu’s head on the mat to no effect. And in the comeback after the hot tag Duk tried to slam their heads together again and ate a double headbutt (followed by a pile driver and a top rope splash). These aren’t the same SST of a year or two earlier. They’re still fearsome but more apt to stooge and a little more rounded out. 

EB:  We’re fortunate to have 4 of the 5 matches that aired live on Noche de campeones on WAPA. We also have the first hour of the live broadcast (including commercials), so yo can watch up to the 54 minute mark on the live broadcast video (which takes you to the ring itnros for Colon vs  Garvin). After that, we have the individual match links for the Universal tile and World tag team title matches. The Women’s title match is included in full in the live portions segment we have, although there will be an individual match link for that one as well (although our review will be from the live broadcast portion we have). So let’s celebrate  the mothers of Puerto Rico by watching wrestling. 

Noche  de Campeones from May 11, 1991

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_MQxz1shFw

Our sponsors for this live airing on WAPA are Medalla, Coca-Cola and Bacardi. Hugo Savinovich welcomes us to Noche de Campeones as we get some pyrotechnics from the ringposts. Hugo is joined by El Profe and Eliud Gonzalez, they will be our commentators for most of the proceedings. Everyone's dressed up in tuxedos since we are celebrating Mother’s Day. Hugo gets comments from Eliud and Profe about the matches we'll see on the live broadcast: Ricky Santan vs Brad Anderson for the World Junior title (Eliud: Brad Anderson is going to have to get tough against Ricky Santana, who is in the best physical condition of his life); Monster Ripper vs Candi Divine for the Women’s World title (Profe: The moment is here, finally we’ll see the condition I’ve gotten Monster Ripper in, there is now way anyone can defeat her!); Invader #1 & Bronco #1 vs the Samoan Swat Team for the World tag titles with Gen. Akbar locked in a cage at ringside and if the SST loses the champs get 5 minutes with Akbar (Profe: That will not happen, the SST are too strong and powerful for that to happen); Carlos Colon vs. Ron Garvin for the Universal title (Eliud: Carlos is in his best shape because he already had a very unpleasant experience with Ron Garvin, Garvin is someone who knows everything there is to know about being in the ring); and for the kids a special treat as Little Louis defends his newly won Midget World title against Buthc Cassidy (Profe: Butch Cassidy is simply too strong for any other midget, the champ has no chance). Of the five matches, we do not have footage of the Little Louis vs. Butch Cassidy match. We’ll soon be back with our first match. Ricky Santana vs Brad Anderson.

MD: This felt big. Fireworks to start. Everyone in tuxes. Even the big shows haven’t felt quite like TV productions in the way that this does. It’s a nice change. I don’t get a sense of how big the crowd is but this does feel like a big deal.

EB: Our first batch of commercials features the cast of satirical comedy show ‘Que es loq eu psa aqui,ah?’ promoting a phrase that pays contest in partnership with Burger King, a Medalla commercial featuring former Menudo member Ricky (the first one, not Ricky Martin).a BWAC furniture outlet commercial featuring Cheo Felicianos serenading a mother, and a Mixing Magician commercial. 

Ricky Santana vs Brad Anderson

Back to the arena and Eliud Gonzales does the ring introductions for the World Junior title match. Brad Anderson has defeated Ricky Santana twice in non-title matches and is seeking to beat Santana once more with the title on the line. Victor Quiñonez is the referee for this match. Profe is on commentary so he is not seconding Anderson at ringside, but he is confident that he has prepared Brad well for this matchup. A face off to start leads to slaps being exchanged and then punches. Anderson cuts off the exchange with a knee to the gut,but Santana counters a whip into the corner and proceeds to hit Anderson with a couple of atomic drops. Santana continues in control for the next minute and Anderson bails to the outside after kicking out of a Santana body press. Back in the ring Anderson and Santana engage in a test of strength, which Anderson controls for a couple of minutes. Sanatana eventually breaks it via a flip and then knocks Anderson down with a clothesline. Anderson switches tactics and works over Santana’s arm, but Santana also ends up getting out of the hold and hitting a few armdrag takedowns. This junior heavyweight match is more mat based. The match continues with Anderson getting out maneuvered by Santana. Anderson gets a somewhat sloppy bulldog on Ricky to gain control and is able to make a couple of unsuccessful pin attempts. Anderson continues trying to wear down Santana, but Ricky is able to get a counter here and there. Anderson goes to the top rope and jumps off, but Santana gets his knees up to block. Santana comes back with several punches and gets a two count of a flying forearm. Santana gets a flying splash from the top rope and somehow Anderson kicks out at two. Andersons hits his spinebuster slam and now it’s Santana that kicks out at two. We get a sunset flip by Santana that Anderson kicks out of, followed by Anderson doing a cradle on Santana. It appears that Santana kicked out just before the three count, but referee Victor Quiñonez signals for the bell to be rung as the two wrestlers continue trying to pin each other. The ref waves off an Anderson pina temp and then raises Brad’s arm as the winner. That finished looked very wonky. Santana protests and the crowd isn't happy with the result either but Brad Anderson is the new World Junior champion. 

MD: I came into this thinking that Anderson was a big step up from Eddie Watts or whoever else was going for the Jr. title, but coming out of it, I’m just not sure. Anderson was rough around the edges on fast exchanges, with a couple of rough looking leap frogs, etc. Some of it still worked because it put forth a sense of competition, but overall, this was dodgy at times. Santana hit his marks well though, and the match was structured well too. Anderson would try things early and Santana would get the better of him. Once Anderson took over, he hit his stuff, like the gourdbuster and would grind Santana down. Santana had hope spots that were cut off fairly quickly and they built it to a hot comeback. Santana hit a flying forearm and top rope splash but couldn’t win with them. Anderson caught him off the ropes with his spinebuster but just for two. Finish was weird as Anderson reversed a sunset flip into a pin of his own but they kept on wrestling after the three count for a few seconds before it set in that he’d won with it. Santana complained after the bell. This had good energy but was definitely rough around the edges.

EB: Before the commercial break we get a promo from Monster Ripper and El Profe, Ripper says that Profe and her together are untouchable, while Pofe says Divine has no chance against the Women’s World champion. We also get a brief shot of Little Louis backstage.

Our second commercial break has the Que es…?/BK commercial, a Bacardi rum commercial, an ad for a special Mother’s Day program called Posada Corazon with several well known local actresses, the Medalla commercial, a Coca-cola ad featuring Luis Miguel singing a Coke inspired version of his song Será Que No Me Amas (his Spanish cover of Blame It on the Boogie), and an ad promoting new program Quedaste Retratado!

We go back to the promo area as Hugo is with Candi Divine, and Candi is ready to leave the arena as the champion.

Candi Divine vs. Monster Ripper (if you just want to only watch the match you can click the following link)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5TN-wlwL4I

Monster Ripper comes out first and has El Profe with her. Candi is out next and Ripper and Profe yell at the crowd to be quiet. Ripper dominates the early going as her size is too much for Divine. Hugo mentions that Monster Ripper is the Abdullah the Butcher of the women’s division. Divine gets an opening when Ripper misses a legdrop, but Ripper quickly rolls out to stop Divine’s momentum. Candi tries to get the crowd riled up as Ripper and Profe have a chat at ringside. Back in, Ripper again takes over control of the match but Divine is able to survive. A missed splash from the turnbuckle again gives Candi an opening, and once more Ripper rolls to the outside to stop the momentum. Candi jumps Ripper when she enters the ring and tries several dropkicks. Ripper swats away the first two attempts, but Divine lands the third. Profe jump up on the apron at this point and Candi takes a swing at him. Profe ducks and grabs Divine, holding her for a Ripper charge. However, Candi gets out of the way and Ripper crashes into Profe. Candi uses that opening to get a cradle and surprises Ripper with a three count! There is a new Women's World champion. 

Divine is awarded the title belt and leaves the ring to the cheers of the crowd, Meanwhile, Profe has gotten into the ring and starts arguing animatedly with Monster Ripper. Profe starts shoving Ripper and Hugo calls out Profe for putting his hands on a lady. Ripper shoves Profe back and proceeds to fight back, sending him out of the ring. The crowd starts cheering this turn of events. Ripper is hyped up in the ring and Profe is out on the floor. Profe eventually heads to the back to the jeers and laughs of the crowd and then we get a quick promo from Butch Cassidy before going to a commercial break.

MD: It’s kind of sad that Ripper comes out with Profe instead of Mendoza (but this will make sense by the end). I have no idea the last time I’ve seen a Candi Divine match. So Ripper looks great here obviously. She feeds early and hits the floor and Profe does a nice job getting her hyped back up. She takes over almost instantly and her offense looks great, from the slams and corner avalanches to a really great sit down power bomb. She misses a splash and Divine has her comeback and her offense is about as weak as can be. Profe hits the apron to hold her. He and Ripper collide. Divine gets a roll up (with Ripper very quick to kick out on 2.8) and win the belt. The trash starts to fly and I’m not sure if it’s because of the title change/finish or because of heat Ripper/Profe had, but very quickly Ripper beat the crap out of Profe and raised her hand. No idea if this was a face turn or just heels beefing or if it’ll go anywhere. This would have almost certainly been better with Bronco’s valet if she hadn’t gotten hurt.

EB: Our third commercial break has the ‘Que es…?/BK commercial, ’the Medalla commercial, a Sonia Silvestre album ad, a commercial for a Julio Angel Mother’s Day special, a Bonanza ad,a Coca-Cola commercial featuring dolphins, and an ad for a Mother's Day special of Al Aire Libre featuring comedian Raymond Arrieta doing his Wally character (a spoof of Walter Mercado, how this warranted a Mother’s Day special I have no idea).

Back at the arena, Hugo and Eliud present the recap video of the two previous matches between Carlos Colon and Ron Garvin, this will be billed as the third time is the charm. Ron Garvin has a promo after where he promises to beat the dog heck out of Carlos Colon one more time and win the Universal title. Carlos responds by saying he feels great, the public is here to back him up and although Garvin is a tremendous competitor, he is confident in being the victor.

Our last commercial break rundown includes a special episode of Portada with pianist Raul DiBlasio, the Bacardi, ‘Que es…?’/BK, and Medalla commercials, an ad for several Ednita Naxario concert dates at Bellas Artes, and the Posada Corazon commercial.

Carlos Colón vs. Ronnie Garvin 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2nR8iRrVeo

Eliud Gonzalez presents our guest ring announcer for the Universal title match, local TV personality/producer Luisito Vigoreaux. The competitors enter the ring and referee Victor Quiñonez does the pre match check. As the bell rings to start,Hugo makes note that Profe has returned to the commentary desk, saying ‘Eliud, look who showed his face back here for the main event.’ Profe quickly says that he does not want any jokes or comments about what happened earlier, he is here because he has a commitment to commentate with Hugo an Eliud and that’s all he is doing. Hugo ignores him and starts asking if it hurts and saying that a woman beat him up. Hugo will keep bringing this up every now and then throughout the match with Profe being mad and exasperated. Back to the match, Colon and Garvin jaw a bit to start and then lock up. Both men give a clean break but then tempers flare a bit with some shove. Colon puts on a headlock and they work it for the next few minutes. Garvin would briefly break out of the hold but then Colon would go back to the headlock, leading to several Garvin reversals into pin attempt counters on the mat. Luisito Vigoreaux briefly joins the commentators to offer some words about the action so far. Back on their feet, Colon and Garvin exchange punches and Colon fires off a hard chop that staggers Garvin momentarily. Garvin responds by biting Colon in the corner, does a hard chop of his own and then puts Colon in a neck wrench. Garvin starts cheating by using the ropes for leverage and continues working over Colon’s neck. Garvin puts on a sleeperhold and almost gets a near fall after releasing it. 

Gavin fires off some punches but Colon counters off the ropes with a sleeperhold of his own. Garvin grabs the ropes to break it and then does the old trick knee to foul Carlos. Gavin is slow to follow up, but does get an inside cradle for a near fall. An abdominal stretch is countered by a Colon hiptoss, but then Carlos misses an elbow drop.A rope running sequence leads to both men knocking their heads together and going down. Carlos attacks first and gets a cover, but Garvin manages to get his leg on the rope. Colon attacks Garvin’s leg and sets up for the figure four, but Garvin counters with a small package for a near fall. Carlos goes back to working the leg and this time does get the figure four on. Garvin fights through the hold and eventually manages to reverse it, forcing Carlos to grab the ropes to break the hold. Garvin;s leg is injured though and Carlos goes back on the attack. Garvin is able to kick out of a pin attempt after getting headbutted, but then misses a swinging punch after Colon ducks. Carlos grabs Garvin and hits a back suplex into a bridge, scoring the three count. Carlos Colon has retained the Universal title in a very close encounter. Maybe Garvin’s performance warrants a rematch?

MD: It was one thing for Garvin to have a music video to George Thorogood’s Born to be Bad, but to have him come out in the stadium to it is something else entirely. He was a star that knew how to bask in front of an audience like this. It’s important that everyone knows that Profe was taking a lot of grief for what just happened to him too. I love how straightforward this match was. It almost felt like a Saturday Night’s Main Event sort of blowoff match instead of the way they often did things to build long feuds over shows. 

After the early shoving, Colon controlled with just a great headlock. They were really working it. Garvin took over with cheapshots and was happy to eyepoke and bite before locking in a sleeper. Colon got one of his own but Garvin went low. From there they went into a stretch with Colon firing back (with the cartwheel), honestly outpunching Garvin. He locked on the Figure-Four, and got a headbutt, before winning it with a bridging belly to back. It was very simple, very straightforward, paced well, worked hard, just a good match with almost no real twists to it. The closest was when Garvin tried a small package out of that low blow. But I enjoyed it as an outlier for that. It was just a good, solid title match.

Invader #1 & Bronco #1 vs. Samoan Swat Team with Gen. Akbar locked in a cage

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtBl4cS9YLQ

EB: The final match we have for Noche de Campeones is the World tag title match. Remember that if Invader and Bronco win,they get 5 minutes with Skandor Akbar. The SST scored a win over the World tag champs two days ago in Lares and are looking to do it again with the titles on the line. Akbar has already been locked inside the cage as the match starts with Invader and Fatu. Profe puts over the amazing power and speed combination the SST has. Invader gets the better of Fatu early on and it looks like the SST are somewhat rattled. Savage is tagged in but does not fare any better, particularly when Bronco is tagged in. At this rate, it’s looking like Invader and Bronco are getting those 5 minutes with Akbar. Bronco and Invader send the SST from the ring with punches and the SST head over to the locked cage to get some advice from Akbar. Profe and Hugo start arguing on commentary, with Eliud saying that he might have to serve as referee between the two. Hugo says that he’ll just go get Monster Ripper if Profe continues acting up. Savage gets back in the ring and Bronco still maintains the advantage. The SST decide t play hide the foreign object and manage to get control over Invader #1 after a double clothesline. Invader is tossed outside and, while the ref is distracted, Invader gets hit with a chair. Bronco goes over to check on Invader and then gets into a fight with Fatu. While this is going on, Savage wraps an electric cord around Invader's throat and chokes him. 

Back in the ring, Savage puts a never hold on Invader as the crowd tries to cheer Invader on. The SSt tries to double team but Invader counters with a reverse body press on both Samoans. Still, Savage is able to get the nerve hold back on Invader. The SST gets a near fall off a backdrop and then go back to the nerve hold. Invader gets out of it and gets a headlock and headscissor takedown on both Samoans. Bronco comes in and hits a double clothesline but Invader is still not able to make the tag. The tide almost turns when Invaader catches Savage trying to come off the top and slams him to the mat. The SST stops Invader from making the tag, but a Vader bomb is countered with raised knees and this time invader gets the tag. Bronco cleans house but makes the mistake of smashing the SST’s heads together to no effect. The SST counters with a double headbutt on Bronco, but before they can capitalize, Invader joins the action to help his partner out. Invader knocks Savage out of the ring and Fatu and Bronco end up colliding and getting knocked down. As the ref is getting Invader out of the ring, Savage comes in and rolls out Fatu, taking his place in the ring. Savage reaches into his tights and tries to punch Bronco with an object. Bronco backdrops Savage though,and Savage drops the object upon hitting the mat. Bronco gets a dropkick and Invader, having spotted the object, grabs it and decks Savage with it as the ref is distracted by Fatu trying to come in. Bronco covers and gets the three count! The champions retain and now get 5 minutes with Skandor Akbar.

The SST are trying to complain about the foreign object but to no avail and Profe is throwing a fit on commentary about the way the match ended. Profe says that it’s inconceivable that they’ve gotten the 5 minutes. In the ring, Invader and Bronco shake hands and Invader motions for Bronco to go ahead and get Akbar. Bronco makes his way to the ringside cage and just when he gets close, Akbar lights up a huge fireball right into Bronco’s face. Bronco starts flailing about in  pain and Invader quickly grabs him and pulls him down so he can get medical assistance. Profe laughs maniacally and says that is exactly what he deserves as a concerned Invader is checking on Bronco. We don’t know how severely Bronco may have been injured.

MD: Another great tag. Maybe this wasn’t quite as great as some of the ones we’ve seen lately, but it was still very good. The shine was a lot of fun, especially once Bronco got in and the fans seemed to love every second of them running the SST off and dancing in the ring. There was some attempt for SST to hide an object and that would come back to play later. The heat was on Invader and while I wish they did a few more moves maybe, a lot of that motion and action was saved for the hope spots and cutoffs. That felt like a creative decision and if you’re going to have someone in chinlocks and nerveholds, Invader is about the best choice possible. Those hopespots really escalated too, with him doing a back body block out of the corner and then a headlock/headscissors combo (where Bronco came in illegally afterwards to hit a double clothesline which meant no tag could happen) and tossing a SST member off the top, before finally getting his knees up on a Vader Bomb in the corner.

The finish was wild as the SST successfully made a twin confusion switch but lost the object allowing Invader and Bronco to win with it. That meant they got five minutes with Akbar. But Akbar's too smart for this and had the fireball ready the whole time. The angle came off great and left Invader laying (once again).

EB: As mentioned by Hugo on Campeones, the matches weren’t the only things scheduled for Noche de Campeones that night, there also was a special announcement by the commissioner of the Puerto Rico Boxing and Wrestling Commission. This announcement was regarding the challenger for the Universal title at Aniversario 91. Five contenders were being considered: Dino Bravo, Tatsumi Fujinami, Ron Garvin, Stan Hansen,and Abdullah the Butcher. Who will the challenger be? And what is the condition of Bronco after the fireball to the face?  Did any other titles change hands? And just who is Gen. Akbar’s latest recruit? We’ll discuss all this next time on El Deporte de las Mil Emociones as the build to Aniversario 91 has begun.

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AEW Five Fingers of Death (and Friends) 12/1 - 12/7 Part 1

AEW Dynamite 12/3/25

Jon Moxley vs Claudio Castagnoli

I love babyface vs heel matches with a shine/heat/comeback format. I can almost promise you that I love them more than you do, dear reader. When done well, they are primal, speak to the basic fundamental storytelling tenets of good vs evil in a world that needs that more than ever, and take us on an emotional journey up and down and up again, placing us as viewers exactly where we need to be.

But that is not the only story that pro wrestling can tell. All too often, shedding those classifications and abandoning that structure means that wrestlers also feel like they can throw aside careful storytelling in favor of maximalism, making the story at play inherent at best and focusing instead on action, spots, sensationalism, over the top excitement. 

That couldn't be farther than what Jon Moxley has been doing in the back end of 2025. Now, within the Continental Classic, bolstered by the narrative framing of a sports-based tournament, he's able to place his own character, one that's come out of a series of babyface vs heel struggles in shambles, in a scenario where he has to figure out what could possibly come next, on how to stop or at least slow the spiral, on how to grasp at every opportunity to prove himself once more, to his followers, to the world, to himself. 

And while he's framing this with delusional, almost delirious, vaguely inspirational promos entirely full of bullshit, most of the actual storytelling is playing out in ring, artistic pro wrestling at its very best. 

Having just barely survived his initial match against Mascara Dorada, he found himself very early in the tournament against an ascendant Claudio Castagnoli, the bar, the gatekeeper, a creeping death always one step behind the lead rider. This was his next opportunity to test himself but it was also a warning, a living breathing Sword of Damocles, for if he was found wanting, then death would come for him as well.

And come it did. Claudio was the returning hero, back from Mexico with title in hand. Moxley was the one with something to prove and he took it right to Claudio, trying to outwrestle him, trying to outbully him, trying to outpower him. It was a foolish gesture for very few are stronger than Claudio Castagonoli, and he was almost instantly rebuffed. The only thing he proved was that there was blood in he water and Claudio figuratively forced that blood out with a double stomp, a sharp biting statement for the world to see.

Moxley abandoned wrestling and went to brawling. That took them to the outside, nominally his domain. But even here, Claudio remained too much for him. He turned things around, sending Moxley over the barricade. When he came back to the fight, the blood had become entirely literal, and when Claudio got him back into the ring and threw him about with the second giant swing of the match (the first being into the stairs, ruthless, merciless, death edging a half step closer), the blood really started to flow.

But Jon Moxley, mad, faltering king that he might be, was a king nonetheless; he had climbed and scraped to his throne and he would not fall easily. When Claudio screamed at him to quit, he did not. When Claudio went for the swing again, he pressed up on his head to gain the leverage to reverse it. He was able to stand back up and scrape with Claudio.

But even then, he couldn't do it for long. Even then, he couldn't press the advantage.

When he finally locked Claudio in a choke, his own blood became the lubricant that caused it all to slip through his grasp, and what could be a greater symbol for the current state of Jon Moxley than that.

With five minutes left to go on the clock, they stood across from the ring. Moxley was able to make it back to his feet no matter the punishment he'd taken, swings, power moves, strikes, holds. He was able to push back up, no matter how much blood was upon the mat. But whereas he was able manage the upwards momentum of a survivor, Claudio drove forth with the forward momentum of a conqueror, crashing into Moxley with a predator's uppercut and downing him for three. 

Moxley had wanted Marina out with him to start, had almost reached out to the crowd once or twice, looking for that security with Claudio across the ring from him instead of at his side, and the Death Riders did come now, checking on him, congratulating Claudio, and then forming a circle to cool down with push ups in the back as Moxley too congratulated Claudio and provided platitudes for what was to come. 

But the blood was on the mat and the blood was in the water and Claudio's done more than smell it now. He drew it. He tasted it. We're all on the clock. Death comes for us all. It comes for some of us sooner than others.

So, like I said, storytelling, right? The art and magic of pro wrestling, like nothing else. The old stories, the basic ones, are beautiful things, but with commitment, care, consistency, consequence, so much more can be told. It doesn't necessarily make one story better than the other, but when ambition is fueling the ship and the navigation is done with care, the sky really is the limit.

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