DVDVR Puerto Rico 80s Set: Carlos Colon vs. Jos LeDuc (Barbed Wire Match) (2/22/86)

Disc 2: Match 5: Carlos Colon vs. Jos LeDuc (Barbed Wire Match) (2/22/86)

It's a little bit hard to follow an Invader match with a Colon match. It's not that Colon's lacking. It's just that Invader borders on selling transcendence. Here, though, it doesn't really matter. This was all about Leduc. I love watching these big stadium shows and looking for how the wrestlers work a crowd that big and that distant.

Leduc was absolutely brilliant here in using his body language and the barbed wire. First, they set up just a little anticipation as he came in with his lumberjack shirt on and that protected him for a moment. It let Colon take an early advantage, however, as he pulled it up over his head and blinded him, before yanking it off. From there, the shine was all about Leduc having nowhere to go and trying desperately not to stagger into the ropes after every shot from Colon. It's something very easy to take for granted as I had to stop and think about how much a normal might move someone in a normal match. Less than this. Leduc was exaggerating how out of control his body went after each shot in order to build up the possibility that he might go crashing into the barbed wire. Just great stuff.

The heat wasn't quite as compelling. That's only half true, actually. On camera, it was pretty good, with a lot of close ups of Leduc tearing at Colon's mouth with the wire, but it probably wasn't doing much for the crowd considering only one quarter of the stadium could probably see it and then without much detail. There are some times where things aren't better left up to one's imagination. I did like, in the attempt at escape and recovery, that Colon just had nowhere to go. He needed the ropes to help him back to his feet. The ropes were radioactive and he couldn't touch them. The way he portrayed that crisis within the match was very strong.

During the comeback, I was wondering whether or not he was going to go with the cartwheel. He did. It was just slightly off camera. I just don't know. Obviously, it was ritualistic. It was something the crowd expected. It was symbolic. There are times that I love it, like after a hot tag or against a guy like Flair. I'm not sure it was entirely appropriate in a blood barbed wire match, but that's me thinking about it in a vacuum and out of context. I do think this was hurt by the fact we couldn't hear the crowd noise. The crowd was probably coming unglued on the comeback and we just couldn't hear it.

Anyway, despite a few things I wish they did differently on the heat, this was another strong match. I particularly loved that they treated the barbed wire with so much respect. It shouldn't be gratuitous or just supplemental. It was front and center here and every time it was used it meant something.