Espectáculos Promociones Panama: More Atila Jr. (Mystery Solved!) and His Pal Satanico! Panamanian Impacto! El hijo de Urracá!

Satanico/Atila Jr. vs Impacto/El hijo de Urracá - November/December(?) 1988

MD: Another pretty complete tag. I have a much better sense of the Satanico/Atila Jr. act after this one. They have matching jackets here and very much come off as an interchangeable unit. They still feel like the Gemelos to me, with a sense of being swarming nuisances, but they're a little more dangerous over all. For instance, when they have control of Impacto in the segunda, they really hone in on the leg with one rapid-fire stretch/pull/yank after the other. They had plenty of tandem kicks and knees. I wouldn't say that they were a completely well oiled machine as there were a couple of wonky bits where they didn't seem to know what they were trying to do. Overall, while Atila, Jr. looked better on the mat, this was more of a high-energy Satanico showcase overall.

Meanwhile, they were quick to stooge and feed and base and did mostly well in that role. Impacto was a little all over the place. He did a bound into the ring to start and immediately seemed to hurt his leg, to the point where his partner moved him to the corner. Then he was fine a couple of minutes later (though maybe that did explain the leg focus later in the match... but you wouldn't know it from the selling and what came before and after?). He had some nice flowing armdrags (primary credit to the rudos here) and these absolutely bonkers diving lawn dart headbutts towards the end where he hit a weird angle and just bounced off.

Said partner was El hijo de Urracá and this is our first look at him, named after a Panamanian folk hero. No idea if there was another Urracá and he was his son or if he's supposed to be the spiritual son of said folk hero, but I liked him here. He had some interesting stuff when facing a 1-on-2 scenario against the rudos, a few little finesse bits that they fed into and based for that I've never seen done quite that way and a nice, similar transition into a submission to win the primera. Solid fire overall too and a good connection with the crowd. I wouldn't mind seeing him again and I'm curious what Graham digs up, if anything, now or in the future.

GB: I’ve got a lot of diddly squat to offer here. Just a couple quick anecdotes and not much more, honestly.

Firstly, Atila/Exterminador reached out to me and through him we can confirm this Atila Jr is the real McCoy. They seemed rather pleased that this part of their history hasn’t been forgotten and were amazed we have videos and photos of their time in Guatemala and Panama. I had lamented before of how he joins fans in attendance at ringside with only the old wrestling guard recognizing who he is. I feel grateful that, if nothing else, Matt and I can restore some joy to a luchador whose career is paramount to the success of lucha libre in at least two countries.

Secondly, I believe El hijo de Urracá is the son of the 70s Panamanian luchador, Indio Urracá. They’re a semi-regular on the cards but not nearly as prominent as you’d assume they’d be based on the name. Not as high on the cards as say Indio Ibeorkun, for instance. Perhaps the gimmick didn’t fit his style, much like it doesn’t quite suit Hijo. The real Urracá was a leader of what is now modern-day Panama. A fierce protector, Urracá has become a legendary figure for his guerrilla warfare like resistance against Spanish colonization, leading the Ngäbe-Buglé people in multiple battles and thwarting Spanish conquest for years. He has since become a symbol of indigenous resistance and Panamanian pride; a symbol a little lost in translation between the ropes here. There are moments where things go right, as Matt alludes to but, for the most part, El hijo de Urracá feels more calm and hesitant than he should be. In these 2-on-1s he hits back with a headbutt or two to shift momentum but it takes him some time to move to the second move of his arsenal. Satanico/Atila try and make up for it by adding their own movements but it’s all a little jarring. If he had been any other name I’d probably have no quibble here but you have to play to your gimmick.

Less harshly, I’ve started to come around on Impacto. He’s not someone I think we can go to bat for, but he’s a lot more entertaining in this match. Not having to focus on the “history” of the match or trying to build canon has allowed me to come into this with the goggles of a fan again and I love the dumb fun he pumps out here. The lawn dart headbutt has to be seen to be believed. A completely buffoon thing to do but just so memorable. As a high-flyer babyface that had to get over in a territory with better flyers, this was the way to do it. Not that it was a great choice for career longevity, of course, but when Matt mentioned “a spot” I immediately knew what he was going to say next. If you thought he had to retire a few years later due to injuries, you’d be right! Cut down in his prime (I’m guessing a complete rookie here in 1988), Impacto seems to retire less than a decade into his career. In the grander scheme of things, his highest career accolade would most likely be in 1996 when he and his partner el Patriota won the mask (though I’d assume hair?) of Rosa Salvaje (Rey Demonio) and Adrian el Exotico (Andy Barrow). That’s where his trail runs cold and I believe he retired.