El Deporte de las Mil Emociones: Ninja Quest

Week 19: Ninja Quest

Leo Burke has had a notable January. His first title defense of the newly won Universal title was against former champion Carlos Colon. That match ended with controversy, as Chicky Starr got involved by ringing the timekeeper’s bell and cost Carlos Colon what looked to be a title victory. A rematch was held due to this and this time Carlos brought in his trainer Barba Roja to neutralize Chicky. However, Burke still managed to keep the Universal title when fellow stablemate Manny Fernandez ran in to save Leo’s title and in the process severely injured Barba Roja. With Carlos Colon’s attention diverted by the Barba Roja injury, Leo then participated in a Ruleta Rusa match and (through cheating) was able to cost TNT his face paint. Now Leo Burke has an enraged TNT after him, with the karate ninja wearing a mask and vowing to avenge this humiliation. TNT is on a quest to defeat Leo Burke and pay back the humiliation.

However, TNT was not able to initially get his revenge against Burke, with Leo managing to eke out a countout victory despite TNT beating him from pillar to post. Burke and Chicky Starr thought they had gotten the better of TNT but Carlos Colon ceded his upcoming Universal title shot to TNT, allowing TNT another opportunity to avenge his humiliation (and give Carlos a chance to go after Manny Fernandez for what he did to Barba Roja). The Universal title match between Leo Burke and TNT took place on January 27 in Guaynabo and it resulted with no clear winner due to cheating and issues with the referees that resulted in Invader #1 getting involved. Due to this controversy, a rematch was ordered  February 3 with a special referee appointed to prevent any further chicanery taking place. The special referee was boxer Alfredo ‘El Salsero’ Escalera, someone who has previously dabbled with wrestling in the early 80s. Chicky was not happy about Invader’s involvement in the January 27 match or with the special referee appointed for February 2  

That second title match ended in a disqualification win for TNT when Chicky again got involved. Although TNT won the match, he had not yet pinned Burke. Once more, due to the results of the match, it was decided that there would be one more Universal title match between Leo Burke and TNT. The match will be held on February 10. As for Chicky Starr, due to what happened between him and Alfredo Escalera a match has been signed that will see a boxer vs a wrestler also for February 10. Will TNT be able to complete his quest for vengeance? We shall soon see. But before getting to that February 9 match between Burke and TNT, there is one more thread we need to wrap up for January.

That last thread we need to catch up on before passing into February is the saga of ‘Tough Guy’ Eddie Watts and his challenge for the World Junior title. As we have talked about previously, Watts has been brought in by Chicky Starr as the newest Club Deportivo member with the goal of winning the World Junior title. Eddie had wrestled Super Medico for the title, but the match ended in a disqualification victory for Medico when he was tossed over the top rope by Watts. A rematch was signed for January 27 and let’s go to Guaynabo for that match.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIw8N7l4pZE

This is from the February 10 Campeones airing, so we get the commentary team of Hugo, Carlos and Chicky. We also get some comments throughout the match about that night’s card (which includes discussion about both the Universal title match between Burke and TNT and the boxer vs wrestler match between Alfredo Escalera and Chicky Starr). Hugo mentions this isn’t the first time Medico and Watts have faced off for the World Junior title and that Chicky wants to add the title to his stable of champions. As the ref checks both participants, Carlos says that he hates to admit this but Chicky has quite the prospect in Eddie Watts, one of the better junior heavyweights to have come to Puerto Rico (something Chicky brags about after Colon’s comment: “The tough guy may not be the biggest but he’s got an ability and intelligence that few can match”). Hugo starts getting at Chicky for once again using the word intelligent to describe his wrestlers, with Chicky saying that in his organization there are only intelligent people. Carlos sarcastically goes: “Hugo, El Club Deportivo is composed of geniuses apparently”. Hugo clarifies they must be geniuses of evil., but one has to admit they are going through their best period with all of the champions they have right now. Carlos says that will change tonight because he’s feeling good about TNT’s chances tonight. Carlos also mentions Chicky’s match vs Alfredo Escalera, saying that he’s given some pointers to Escalera (with Chicky being annoyed by this). I’ve made all these observations about the commentary because Watts has been taking his time in getting into the ring to start the match.

Back to the match, as Watts finally locks up with Medico (almost two minutes in). Medico backs Watts into the corner and breaks, with Watts complaining his hair was pulled (looks like he’s been studying Leo Burke).  Hugo mentions that historically, fans side with the wrestler in a boxer vs wrestler setting, but he has a feeling that tonight the fans will be firmly in Escalera’s corner against Chicky. Eddie Watts is backed again into a corner after a lockup and stays there after the break, stalling once more and complaining about his hair being pulled. Chicky at ringside also complains to the ref, which Hugo makes mention of on commentary (Chicky: ‘Of course, I’m right there and saying what happened; Hugo in a sarcastic tone: ‘The man who always tells the truth, Chicky Starr, an honest man’; Chicky: ‘Definitely, now you’re talking correctly’).  A third lock up leads to Watts shoving Medico and then falling to the outside after a punch by Medico. He really is doing the Leo Burke playbook here. The commentators put over the Canadian guillotine maneuver as Watts recovers and gets back in the ring.

At this point the match settles into moments where each man gets a few moments of advantage, with Medico and Watts each working a side headlock segment. A rope running segment leads to Watts leapfrogging over Medico and celebrating, resulting in Medico punching him. Watts once again exits the ring as Chicky complains about a closed fist. We go to commercial break as Medico flips Watts back into the ring and come back with Watts in control. Hugo on commentary mentions that Watts can thank Chicky Starr for helping him gain control, it looks like Medico had Watts in a jam but Chicky has been able to distract the ref. Watts is on the attack, but a throw into the corner is reversed by Medico. Super Medico is slow to get up but manages to scoop up Watts for a slam attempt. However, Medico can’t hold Watts up and falls, allowing Watts the chance for a pin attempt that gets two. Medico is able to get a sunset flip but the referee is tied up with Chicky and Watts escapes the pin attempt. Chicky on commentary starts justifying why he’s talking to the ref.

Watts attacks Medico on the outside, ramming Medico’s head onto the ring apron. An attempt to ram Medico into the ringpost is countered and Watts ends up hitting the ringpost instead. Watts is busted open and Medico unloads a series of punches on the outside. Medico throws Eddie back in the ring and another punch combination results in a pin attempt that gets two. A headbutt sends Watts to the outside, with Medico giving chase and attacking Watts near the crowd (including ramming Watts into the guardrail). Watts staggers back to the ring and Medico comes off the rope with a headbutt that knocks Watts down. A pin attempt gets two. Medico has things well in hand, but both men knock heads coming off the ropes. This sends Watts to the outside but he remains on his feet staggering around. Chicky points Watts to the direction of the ring and, as Watts gets on the apron, he is met by Medico. Eddie headbutts Medico in the midsection and jumps over the ropes with a sunset flip. Medico counters by grabbing onto the top rope for leverage and sits down on Watts for the pin (remember his feud with Brett Sawyer and how Medico didn’t like that this was done to him?). Chicky immediately jumps on the apron to complain to the ref about Medico holding onto the ropes, telling the ref to check Medico’s hands for blood (since Watts was bleeding the ropes would have been covered by the blood). The ref checks Medico, finds blood and restarts the match. Chicky on commentary is happy justice is done, but Carlos brings up how Leo Burke used a foreign object to defeat TNT in the ruleta match and that the decision wasn’t reversed then but here it is (which Carlos thinks is unfair). Watts briefly has the advantage but Medico uses a series of punches and headbutts to regain control. Medico goes up top and goes for a senton, but Watts rolls away. Medico lands hard and Watts makes the cover for the three count. We have a new World Junior champion. El Club Deportivo now has four of the five singles titles.   

MD: This is a very complete stadium match (shown, I think, the next week to hype up that week’s matches) though we lose the point of transition due to a commercial. I’d be interested to see how Watts took over but it was probably just an eyerake or something. Watts is not someone I’m terribly familiar with. He worked Stampede before this (including losing at least once to Morrow and Cuban Assassin in 89) and had a mask match with Atlantis and Lizmark in late 90 as Animal II. He feels like a perfect guy to have been in the GWF Light Heavyweight Tournament to lose to Jerry Lynn in the second round or something. He sort of grew on me as the match went on, starting with some stalling which really paled to what was going on in the territory with Leo Burke (though Chicky being with him helped) but you couldn’t help but enjoy watching him move backwards step by step around the stadium with each Medico punch. That was actually a solid chunk of the match. And he ate some nice headbutts (with the proper transferal of blood onto a white mask) after blading. They went out of their way to protect Medico here, with a phantom pin and a false finish when he accidentally had his hands on the ropes after a sunset flip. Watts finally won it after Medico missed a leap off the top (and they went out of their way to show Chicky telling Watts to move). I don’t know about you but I enjoy watching Medico jab people in the face.   

EB: Let’s see Eddie Watts in a tv match as the new champion. His opponent is the masked La Sombra.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2ee_aT-xgk

Watts seems pretty hyped in showing off his new championship as the video starts. Chicky seems to fake out Sombra as Watts is taking his jacket off, likely to prevent Sombra from jumping Watts early. This is a short match and one that further establishes Watts for the tv viewers. It’s another solid if basic showing for Watts, with the big spot being the Canadian guillotine finish (Watts covered some distance across the ring there). A rematch between Medico and Watts would take place on February 3, with Watts retaining the title. We’ll have to see what challenges arise for Eddie Watts as we progress into February.

MD: This was ok. The most memorable moment is Watts stepping back to dodge a dropkick and end Sombra’s one flurry of offense. He won with the legdrop off the top again. Basically, he’s workmanlike and competent, but not magic

EB: As February began, some changes continued in terms of the roster. One area with notable turnover was the tag team division. As mentioned in our last post, a new version of Los Mercenarios made their debut the first weekend of February. This new combination of Angel Acevedo and Rambo Ron Starr defeated the Youngbloods for the World tag team title. In addition to the new Los Mercenarios, another team arriving for some appearances is the team of The Hunters (or Alaskan Hunters). This tag team had a previous run in CSP in 1987 and it appears they're heading back to the territory. But while the rudo side seems to be reloading, the tecnico side is losing two of their stalwart teams. The first team leaving are the Youngbloods, who are finishing up this latest run with CSP after their title loss on February 4. Let’s take one last look at the Youngbloods with a throwback match from 1987, one that also allows us to take a look at the Alaskan Hunters.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkRqsqYv-mk

This is from a Campeones episode that aired in January1990. This match was airing since The Hunters were on their way back and this served as a reminder to the fans who they were. The commentary mentions that the scheduled opponents for the Hunters were originally Huracan Castillo and Miguelito Perez but they had not yet arrived, so the Youngbloods are taking their place. The Alaskan Hunters (composed of Dale Veasy and the Bob Brown that is not the Bulldog) had a good run back in 87, winning the World and North American tag titles in the summer to fall run they had. The Youngbloods are able to counter an initial attack by the Hunters into an offensive flurry that sends both Hunters outside to regroup. You can see Chicky Starr is their manager back in 1987, but when we next see the Hunters that may not be the case. Carlos on commentary talk about how Chicky cost him the Universal title the previous week against Leo Burke by ringing the bell prematurely and interrupting the match (it appears this episode aired the same weekend as the rematch with Barba Roja in Colon’s corner, as Carlos says he has a surprise to counter Chicky tonight).  The Youngbloods control the first part of the match  to the crowd’s delight, although both teams could confuse the ref if he’s not paying attention by switching out their team members. The Hunters take control by sending Mark into their corner and working him over. The latter half of the match is one where the Hunters are in control, including a member switch when the ref’s back is turned. We go to a commercial with Mark trying to counter the Hunter in the ring with some chops but come back with Mark in a bearhug trying to fight out of it as Chris is trying to rile up the crowd. The Hunters continue attacking Mark in the corner (with some quick crowd shots shown throughout including a kid that looks to be sucking his thumb). Mark gets a couple of pin counters but the Hunters continue with the advantage. As Mark is being worked over with a reverse chinlock, we see Castillo and Perez arrive in street clothes. They proceed to jump in the ring and attack the Hunters, which the referee allows. It looks like they’re taking over for the Youngbloods. Present day Chicky on commentary can’t believe they’re allowing this (and in this case I’d have to say he has a point) but the fans cheer as Perez and Castillo make quick work of the Hunters for the win. We’ll be seeing the Hunters again soon, although if they look the same remains to be seen. .  

MD: This is from 87. The Youngbloods were replacing Perez and Castillo who had a transportation problem (Maybe a “four flat tires” situation?). The Hunters (Veasy and “Not Bulldog” Bob Brown) come off like the Outrunners, a perfectly genuine parody of 80s pro wrestling. They’re bald, energetic muscle guys, with a bearhug and a tendency to get redirected into one another. Youngbloods clown them early only to get dragged down in the corner. Right when they’re maybe starting a comeback (or at least have some roll-up hope spots), the Express hit the ring in their street clothes and get a counted pin that surely didn’t count.

EB: The other tag team the tecnico side is losing is the team of Huracan Castillo and Miguelito Perez. While they are not leaving the promotion ,the two are going to focus more on the singles title division for the time being and not be a full time team. Let’s also take a look at them in action, first with two matches from late fall of 1989 and then with one from our present day 1990 chronology where they take on the Universal champion Leo Burke and his manager Chicky Starr.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6CYH6AiJIw

This first match is from late fall of 1989 as we get Perez and Castillo taking on El Exotico and El Gran Mendoza. Castillo and Mendoza start off, both men being familiar with each other from a previous rivalry they had over the World Junior title in 1987. We get a nice hold exchange and counter sequence from Castillo and Mendoza, which ends up with Mendoza missing a charge and ending up going through the ring ropes to the outside.  Exotico goes over to help his teammate but Mendoza is not happy about the attempted backrub. Mendoza rolls back in but gestures to Exotico to get in and makes the tag. Exotico gestures to Castillo to meet him in the center of the ring but the exchange does not go well for Exotico. Castillo tags Perez in and they hit a couple of double team moves on Exotico. Perez continues in control of the match, faking out Exotico on a leapfrog and then taking him down with an armdrag. Castillo tags back in but a missed elbow drop allows Exotico to tag Mendoza back in. Mendoza maintains control on Castillo but decides to tag Exotico back in, who promptly misses an elbow drop. A punch exchange is actually won by Exotico and he knocks Castillo down with a clothesline. Another successful clothesline sees Exotico start to dance a bit, but the overconfidence allows Castillo to counter with his own clothesline when Exotico attempts a third one. A neckbreaker gives Castillo time to tag in Perez, and Perez goes on the attack, with Mendoza and Castillo eventually all coming into the ring. The rudos try to ram Perez and Castillo into each other but they counter and instead attack Mendoza and Exotico. This leads to a powerslam on Exotico for the pin. 

MD: Perez and Castillo have matching Zubaz-type gear. It’s funny that Castillo is the one with the top instead of the hirsute Perez. Mendoza takes a slow-mo Hamrick bump early and then gets annoyed as Exotico tries to rub his back. Exotico has these fun preening short arm clotheslines but it gets reversed on the third and they go into a finishing bit with the Perez powerslam.

EB: Let’s go to our second match from late fall of 1989.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgYCR2aNbkU

Mendoza is again facing Perez and Castillo but he has Abudda Dein as his partner in this go around. Dein and Castillo start off with armbar exchanges and seem evenly matched. Mendoza on the ring apron keeps trying to take some swipes at Castillo every time he circles near the rudo corner. Dein takes control with a knee to the midsection but Castillo counters with a monkey flip out of the corner and a dropkick. Dein tags in Mendoza, who seems ready to go after Castillo. However, Mendoza circles around once and then tags Dein back in without engaging Castillo, Another exchange ends with Castillo getting an atomic drop that sends Dein into his corner and into Mendoza. Dein regroups and has a strategy conference with Mendoza, but does not tag out. Perez is tagged in for the first time this match and Dein does not fare any better against him. The rudos are able to gain the advantage when Mendoza reaches over to grab Miguelito by the neck when he’s coming off the ropes. Mendoza tags in and works over Perez briefly before once again tagging Dein back in. Dein briefly maintains control but a belly to belly suplex off the ropes allows Perez to tag Castillo back in. Dein also tags Mendoza in at the same time and now it’s castillo and Mendoza fighting in the ring. Castillo hits a flying knee and this leads to all four men fighting. In the chaos Castillo ends up getting rammed into Dein, which briefly allows the rudos to attack Perez two on one. However, an attempted double team backfires when Mendoza hits Dein with a kick when Perez gets out of the way, allowing Castillo (the legal man) to jump off the top turnbuckle with a bodypress onto Mendoza for the pin. 

MD: In cutting this footage up, Dein’s shoes have been a big help. He’s probably on the way out here as he needs Mendoza’s help (a nasty head grab as Perez was coming off the ropes) to take over and then eats a belly-to-belly to set up the comeback in short order. Mendoza takes the fall after some miscommunication however.

EB: We go to our present time as Perez and Castillo (who are being identified more by their team name of The Caribbean Express) are facing the Universal champion Leo Burke and Chicky Starr in tag action.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xgG-Cop2bE

Castillo and Burke start the match off as Eliud Gonzalez on commentary talks about how proud Perez and Castillo’s fathers are about how their sons careers are going. Castillo knocks Burke down with a dropkick, which sends Burke looking for relief in the corner. Burke goes for a side headlock but Castillo manages to take Burke down with a couple of armdrags. Castillo works the arm as Chicky yells at the fans. Hector Moyano on commentary mentions that the tecnicos’ speed has been the difference so far. Leo breaks the armbar by sending Castillo into the ropes and hitting a knee to the midsection. Chicky tags in but falls victim to an armdrag takedown. Chicky breaks out of the hold but a nice exchange leads to Chicky once again being trapped back in the armdrag. Burke tries to come in to help Chicky but the ref stops him. While the ref is distracted with Burke, Perez switches out with Castillo and continues to work on Chicky’s arm. The ref asks Castillo if he tagged out and the crowd cheers in affirmative when Castillo points at them. Chicky manages a headscissor counter but the attempt to charge at Perez backfires and Chicky ends up getting dropkicked out of the ring.

Castillo throws Chicky back in and Perez and Castillo continue to maintain control on Chicky. Burke breaks up a pin attempt with a kneedrop, which gives Chicky enough time to make the tag. Burke attacks a dazed Castillo. Perez fires up the crowd as Burke hits a neckbreaker on Casitllo. A second attempt at a neckbreaker sees Burke slip to the mat when Castillo grabs onto the ropes. Perez is tagged in and cleans house on Burke and Chicky. All four men briefly end up in the ring, with Chciky rolling out and Castillo being told to leave the ring by the ref. Perez hits a powerslam on Burke, but with the ref’s back turned, Chicky stomps on Perez. This gives Burke the opening to send Perez into the ropes, where Chicky grabs onto Miguelito from behind when coming off the ropes, snapping his head back. Burke takes the opening to put on the figure four and Perez tries to fight out of it. It looks like Perez might reach the ropes but Chicky moves over to yank the ropes away (something he had been doing while seconding Burke against Carlos Colon). The ref warns Chicky to back away but it’s enough for Perez to finally give up.  

MD: They’re in and out in under six minutes here. Burke is an absolute workhorse paired with Castillo to start, rope running, feeding, hitting a cheapshot or a cut off, and then feeding again. Chicky takes his share of damage too. Brief, brief heat here as Perez jams a neckbreaker attempt by holding on to the ropes and the heels feed some more. There’s an awesome matter-of-fact pin breakup in the stretch with Chicky just sauntering in with a nonchalant stomp. Finish has him catching Perez from the outside which lets Burke put on the figure-four.

EB: We’ll have to see if any new teams step up to fill the void left by these two tecnico teams. Speaking of open spots, with Gary Albright wrapping up his run in CSP, there was an opening for a new wrestler in El Profe’s Real Academia. El Profe has brought in another power wrestler in the form of Carl Styles. Styles first appears in the available CSP results on February 2, taking on Mark Youngblood. Let’s see him in action against Nick Ayala and learn more about Carl.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hesb-lQweFQ

The announcers talk up the young Ayala and mention that he’s up against a man with an impressive physique in Carl Styles. As Styles knocks Ayala down with a clothesline, Eliud Gonzalez starts mentioning that Styles was a collegiate champion at the University of Tennessee, was three years intercollegiate champion in bodybuilding and he is from Georgia. As Styles continues with the advantage, El Profe moves toward the announcers table and yells ‘As you can see, what I bring here is quality, the cream, so watch and learn’. Eliud remarks that so far Carl is backing up Profe’s words. Ayala briefly looks to start a comeback but an eyerake stops him. Carl continues showing off his power with a delayed shoulder breaker. Carl’s offense seems to be focused on the neck and shoulder area of Ayala. A gutwrench suplex leads to an attempted pin but it looks like Styles decided to lift Ayala up. The commentators continue talking up Styles and his bodybuilder physique (so they’re giving Styles a similar presentation as Albright, although focused on bodybuilding instead of amateur wrestling). A powerslam sets up a full nelson (that explains the neck and shoulder based offensive attacks) and Ayala gives up. An impressive win for Carl Styles. 

MD: Styles feels like he’s taking Albright’s spot on the card. He feels like a guy who should be dressed up like Super Freddie or Jason the Terrible to me. Ayala tries to punch back but just gets powered over with a shoulder breaker, a gutwrench, a power slam, before finally being put away with the Full Nelson.

EB: As has been the case with other newcomers, sooner or later they will be tested by some of the more established tecnicos. In this case, let’s see how Carl Styles does against Super Medico.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOFzaYbZ0VI

The match starts with Styles hitting some clubbing forearms to Medico’s back. Styles then hits an overhead press slam on Medico before posing for the crowd and going for the pin attempt. Medico kicks out at two. He then counters Styles with a sunset flip attempt for two. Styles goes back on the attack, hitting a snapmare and then a chinlock on Medico. A slam leads to an elbow drop miss by Styles and Medico tries to take advantage with his punch combinations (or as Eliud calls it his ‘maquinita de golpes’ or hit machine). A backdrop and a slam gets a two count for Medico. A shoulder tackle knocks Styles down, but Carl is able to get to his feet and grab Medico coming off the ropes, leading to a hotshot onto the top rope. That is enough to give Carl the opening to put on the full nelson and get the submission win. Styles refuses to break the full nelson and holds on until forced to break. It looks like El Profe has brought in another potential power threat for the tecnicos. The video ends with Carl trash talking the crowd and the camera guy.

MD: We come in JIP here, hard to say how deep. Styles shows off his power more with a press slam, then puts on a chinlock. Medico works up and yes, I do like watching him punch people. Styles takes it with big flailing arms. He cuts off Medico with a hotshot (pretty varied set of offense from this guy) and locks in the full nelson for the win.

EB: Besides the roster turnover, we also have the existing issues between the Club Deportivo members and El Ejercito de la Justicia. We talked about Leo Burke and TNT earlier, but what about Carlos Colon and Manny Fernandez? Well, the week after the attack on Barba Roja, Carlos was absent from the Campeones episode, meaning it was just Hugo and Chicky on commentary. Throughout the show, they talked about what had happened and how Carlos was out for blood against Manny. Chicky said that Carlos was not going to be able to do anything to Manny while Hugo said Carlos was going to go on a rampage. They would face off on January 27 and then again on February 2, but no clear winner was had either time (with the February 2 match ending in a double countout). The feud between Carlos and Manny is far from being settled.

Still, Manny is also the Puerto Rico champion and he is facing challengers for his title. Let’s go to a JIP title defense against Miguelito Perez.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFUgm8FJEdY

We join the match in progress with Miguelito on the floor outside of the ring, right by the lighting rig. The referee is administering the ring out count as Manny Fernandez is on his knees recovering. Outside is Chicky Starr,  who is watching Perez attempt to stand up. Inside the ring Manny is able to stand up and gets tied up with the ref, allowing Chicky the opportunity to attack a vulnerable Perez on the outside. Hector Moyano on commentary mentions that Manny had rammed Miguelito’s neck against the lighting rig pipes and that Chicky appears to have hit Perez with something just now as well. Perez is able to stagger back to the ring but he is easy pickings for Manny. Fenrandez hits a corner clothesline on Perez but a second attempt results in Miguelito charging back with a clothesline of his own. Miguelito starts getting fired up and knocks Manny down with a second clothesline. Several punches lead to a dropkick for a two count. Perez hits an irish whip and a charge into the corner. Perez tries for a slam but Fernandez counters with an inside cradle for two. A punch exchange leads to a criss-cross rope running exchange between the two men. Perez manages to drop down as Manny passes through but Manny catches Miguelito with the flying forearm off the rebound and gets the pinfall win. A successful Puerto Rico title defense for Manny Fernandez.

MD: We just get the last three minutes of this, starting with Perez on the floor. That lets Manny distract the ref so Chicky can get a cheapshot in. What pals. Manny’s swagger was in full display when he was in control. Perez is able to reverse a second corner clothesline and fire back. Finish is rope running with Manny hitting the flying forearm out of nowhere. Looked like it was probably a good one.

EB: Harley Race is also one the champions in El Club Deportivo, holding the Caribbean title. So far he has stayed out of any direct feud with El Ejercito de la Justicia but that is soon to change. First, let’s look at Race in action against Chris Youngblood.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2weqnRrhsc

Last post we saw Mark Youngblood take on Harley Race, let’s see how brother Chris does. The ring introductions are made and Race gets a side headlock of the lock up. Chris counters by sending Race into the ropes and hitting a chop. Another lockup leads to a break in the corner, where Race attempts to cheap shot Chris but his punch is blocked and Chris counters with a double overhead chop. An irish whip and clothesline gets a two count for Chris. As both men circle one another again, Chris starts clapping to get the crowd into it. Youngblood gets a side headlock on Race and works if for a few moments. Race sends Chris to the ropes, but misses a punch, allowing Chris to hit a slam for a two count. Chris starts pumping up the crowd and doing a war yell on the turnbuckle as Race tries to collect himself. Hugo on commentary mentions there may be a potential upset here, which has been happening all over including boxing (I’m guessing this means Tyson vs Douglas happened already, so this is from a mid February tv airing even though the match was likely taped at the end of January). Race uses a knee to take over for a moment, leading to a pinfall attempt for two. Chris is able to get a sleeperhold on Harley and it may be an upset. However, Race manages to counter by ramming Chris face first into the corner. A piledriver sets up the fisherman suplex and Race gets the win. You can’t give Harley these openings, he’ll end it quickly with that fisherman suplex.

MD: It’s interesting to think that the Sports Club at this point was Race, Burke, Manny (and yeah, Watts). That’s quite the group. This had Race skidding to the ground for Youngblood’s chops early, thudding him down in the middle, and then cutting off the comeback with a piledriver and the laying fisherman’s suplex. Didn’t quite have the time to be anything more. Race could still take a few bumps early though.

EB: Earlier we mentioned that Invader #1 had gotten involved in the January 27 Universal title match. After Invader's interference, Chicky Starr promised on tv that Invader would pay for sticking his nose where it didn’t belong. This resulted in Chicky asking Harley Race to take care of Invader.

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

The video opens with Invader heading towards the announcers’ table where Harley Race and Chicky Starr are standing and appear to have been ranting and raving moments before. It looks like Harley and Chicky had come out and issued a challenge to Invader. Chicky wants Harley to teach Invader a lesson for interfering in the Universal title match. Invader addresses Harley and asks if he understood correctly that Race was challenging him. After Harley and Chicky make it clear that they want Invader right now, Invader says to give him 5 minutes to get ready and he’ll face Harley. But before Invader finishes talking, Race decks Invader with a punch as Chicky yells ‘Right now!’. Harley rams Invader face first into the ringpost and grabs the table to attack Invader, as Chicky eggs Harley on and runs down Invader on commentary. ‘I’ve taken over the official commentary for this encounter, as you can see the Invader is finished, you can see the blood is flowing! Harley Race, the champion, the only man that will finish with Invader. This is for sticking his nose into what didn’t concern him’. Chicky gives back the mic and joins Harley in yanking Invader’s dress shirt sleeves in order to make a straight jacket of sorts. Harley and Chicky taunt the defenseless Invader and Harley continues hitting Invader at his leisure. 

Eventually the trio of Castillo, Perez and (I think) a masked TNT arrive to help Invader, with Harley and Chicky getting into the ring. Race challenges Castillo to get in the ring with him as Invader is helped to the back by the other tecnicos. Inside the ring the bell rings, and Castillo immediately is on Race with a series of punches and a clothesline. A slam sets up an elbow drop, but Race dodges it. Race gets up before the stunned Castillo and immediately hooks in the fisherman suplex for a quick pinfall. Race has another quick victory, but more important, he’s set his sights on Invader #1.

MD: This is a great angle, with Invader wanting just five minutes with Race and getting cheapshotted, tied up, and bloodied up for his trouble. It leads to a match with Castillo where Race made short work with him. I know that there were short matches on TV even with names sometimes, but Race’s feel even shorter, which makes him come off as particularly dominant. It may be because he couldn’t work longer matches or at least not frequently but it was probably effective in giving him a bit of extra aura.

EB: Invader #1 and Harley Race would face off on February 2 in Humacao in a tag match (with partners Carlos Colon and Leo Burke, respectively) and in a singles match on February 3. This match ended in a disqualification win for Race, but the rivalry is only heating up. They are scheduled to face each other again on February 10. We’ll talk about some of the other happenings of the February 10 card next time but we’re closing out this week’s post with the Universal title match between Leo Burke and TNT. Although the rematch has been ordered by the wrestling commission, this is basically understood to be TNT’s last shot at Burke and the Universal title. Because of the repeated cheating by Burke and Starr, Carlos Colon has offered to serve as TNT’s second for the match. And in another boost for TNT, a decision has been handed out by the wrestling commissioner. After a few weeks of review, it has been decided that due to the way Leo Burke won the ruleta rusa match, the stipulation of TNT losing his face paint has been rescinded and TNT can legally wear his face paint again. Let’s go to Caguas for the match.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgq0PHDMTBE

TNT is back in the face paint and Carlos Colon is seconding TNT in order to counter Chicky Starr. This is from a Campeones airing a week after the match took place, so we get the interesting dynamic of the two seconds being on commentary along with Hugo. Carlos mentions on commentary that he had been saying that this year they weren't going to keep taking any more underhandedness from Chicky Starr and El Club Deportivo and it was going to be an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. TNT and Burke are near one side of the ring, with Burke arguing and pointing that TNT needs to head to the opposite side of the ring to start the match. Carlos is watching from the ring apron but Chicky is still in the ring and also motioning that TNT should move to the other side of the ring. The ref El Vikingo has his hands full, telling TNT to move to the other side but also going after Chicky and telling him to get out of the ring. As TNT moves a bit to the other side, Burke immediately moves towards Carlos and starts pointing and telling him to get off the apron. TNT moves back near Burke and,as Burke turns around from yelling at Colon, TNT unleashes a kick that scares Burke away. The match has begun.

Burke starts begging off in the corner but TNT stands his ground. (Wait, did someone throw a smoke bomb near ringside?) Burke tries a kick but TNT blocks it and counters with a chop. Burke staggers back up but TNT follows up immediately, not giving Burke the opportunity to try his usual rolling out of the ring and stalling playbook. A lock up leads to a TNT chop and Burke again staggers away but is grabbed by TNT. A blow exchange occurs but TNT comes out with the better end of it. Burke finally is able to leave the ring and stall a bit to slow down TNT’s momentum. Chicky on commentary says that he’ll say one good thing about TNT, he’s one of the young lions in the sport and has made an impressive showing so far in his career, but he’s in there with the master in Leo Burke and has no chance of winning. Back in the ring, TNT and Burke circle each other, with Burke jabbing his hand into TNT’s face. As TNT recovers and goes back after Burke, Leo puts the ref in between them to stop TNT from getting at him. Burke again gets away to the outside and the ref stops TNT from going after him.  

Back in, Burke again circles around and slaps TNT in the face. He is really trying to goad TNT into making an angry mistake. TNT charges again  but Burke once more hides behind the ref, using him as a shield. AS TNT is backed away, Leo kicks TNT from around the ref’s side. Burke works the advantage with punches and a turnbuckle ram, leading into a side headlock. TNT counters by sending Burke to the ropes and hitting a slam for a pin attempt, but Burke gets his leg on the rope. TNT immediately kicks Leo’s leg and takes him down with a headlock. After working the headlock on the mat, TNT continues with the advantage as we go to commercial break. Back from the break and we see TNT lying partly on the top turnbuckle as Leo is yanking TNT’s left leg. As Leo keeps applying pressure, TNT is able to kick the back of Burke’s head in order to break the hold. Both men tumble to the mat. TNT is limping as he gets up and Burke immediately attacks the injured leg. You can tell Leo is probably thinking about the figure four already. TNT sends Burke into the ropes but collapses after a leapfrog counter, his leg unable to support his weight. Leo goes for the figure four but TNT manages to kick Burke away, sending him into the corner with Burke hitting the back of his head on the top turnbuckle pad. Burke is first up and hits a neckbreaker that gets a two count. A back suplex by Burke gets two. Both men are showing signs of fatigue but Leo maintains control with some punches and a kneedrop. Burke gets a sleeperhold on TNT in the middle of the ring and this may be enough to put TNT away.

TNT struggles in the hold and starts to fade, but is able to ram Burke back into the turnbuckle to break the hold just when it looked like TNT was going to collapse to the mat. TNT hits a couple of back elbows but an irish whip charge is countered by Leo into a sunset flip pin attempt. TNT kicks out at two and immediately counters with his own cradle attempt for two. TNT hits  a spin kick off the ropes and both men are down. Carlos starts clapping and cheering TNT on. Both men get to their feet and try to gain control but they end up colliding heads off a Burke shoulder tackle and are down again. Carlos gets up on the ring apron in a kneeling position to cheer on TNT, causing the ref to move over to make sure Colon does not get involved. On the other side of the ring, Chicky takes advantage of the ref’s attention being diverted and slips a foreign object to Burke. Chicky on commentary once again is having monitor problems and doesn’t see what Hugo is talking about. Burke tries to hit TNT but is sent flying by a backdrop to the mat. Leo loses the foreign object on impact, with it landing right by Carlos Colon. Carlos sees the object and points the ref’s attention to Chicky, who is on the apron. As he does this. Carlos grabs the foreign object. The ref now moves towards Chicky Starr and tells him to get off the apron. In the confusion, Burke chop blocks TNT’s leg and starts his attempt at putting on the figure four. Seeing this, Carlos decides to get in the ring with the object and decks Burke with it. Carlos immediately jumps out of the ring and hides the object in his sock as Chicky is arguing with the ref. TNT crawls over to make the cover and the ref turns around in time to make the three count. TNT has done it! Chicky Starr is not happy about the outcome as Carlos jumps into the ring to celebrate. Carlos helps TNT up and hugs him as Chicky on commentary says that the WWC cannot accept this win. As Carlos continues raising TNT’s arm in victory, Chicky starts wagging his finger indicating  that this should not be. The ref goes to give TNT the title belt but Carlos grabs it to present it to the new champion. As TNT grabs the belt, we see Invader #1 and Huracan Castillo arrive to celebrate with TNT. Invader and Carlos help put the title belt on the new Universal champion as TNT and Castillo share a moment. The tecnicos leave the ring as Chicky continues waving his hand around, with Carlos on commentary saying that he did what he had to do in order to ensure that Chicky and Burke did not get away with it again.  

MD: Great moment here. As always, I love seeing Burke do his thing early, trying not to engage, ducking out of the ring, hiding behind the ref. He tried to sneak a kick in that way but it didn’t do him much good. TNT controlled the first half. We lose the transition and presumably a chunk of Burke’s control due to the commercial as we come in on TNT hope spots as he’s limping around. For someone who did come off as quite dangerous, TNT was very good at portraying vulnerability. Here, he did a leapfrog but immediately crumbled due to the knee and wasn’t able to capitalize after the spin wheel kick. Lots of hooha at the finish, with Chicky giving Burke a weapon, TNT dodging and hitting a back body drop as Colon was complaining to the ref, Burke clipping the leg, and then Colon hitting Burke as he was going for the figure-four as the ref was distracted by Chicky. Huge, warranted celebration as TNT rolled over for the win.

EB: TNT has become the Universal champion! He is the first El Ejercito de la Justicia member  that is not Carlos Colon to become the champion. But you can bet Chicky Starr and Leo Burke will be complaining about the match ending. Will there be a rematch?

Next time on El Deporte de las Mil Emociones, some ‘new’ tag teams make their debut as we also get a new manager joining the rudo ranks. Plus, TNT begins his reign as the Universal champion, but an old foe may end this reign before it’s really begun.