El Deporte de las Mil Emociones: Turnover

Week 18: Turnover

EB: As we head into the latter half of January, it looks like there is some turnover happening in the roster and in some of the existing feuds. We saw some debuts in the beginning of the year and we’re close to saying goodbye to some of the post Aniversario roster members. We’re also at what may be crossroads regarding the top feuds in CSP.  Carlos Colon thought he had solved the outside interference problem in his matches with Leo Burke by bringing in Barba Roja to neutralize Chicky Starr. But as we saw, he didn’t count on other members of El Club Deportivo getting involved. Manny Fernandez saved Leo Burke’s Universal title reign by attacking Carlos Colon when it looked like Burke might submit to the figure four leglock. And in the ensuing chaos, Manny attacked Barba Roja with the flying kneedrop and severely injured him. How will Carlos Colon react to what happened?  We shall see. Let’s go to a Puerto Rico title match where Manny Fernandez is defending against former champion Invader #1. 

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

Eliud Gonzalez does the ring introductions, indicating that this is a Puerto Rico title match with a 30 minute time limit. Invader is making another attempt at regaining the Puerto Rico title from Manny. Hector Moyano on commentary mentions that it looked like Manny was staring disdainfully at the title belt when it was being presented by the ref, indicating that he’s disgusted with Puerto Rico. Both men are wary to lock up at first but once they do Manny takes a quick upper hand with some chops and sends Invader into the ropes. Invader counters with a  sunset flip for two, which causes Manny to back away into a corner to regroup. The ref gets Invader to back off as both wrestlers stare at each other. Another feeling out process leads to a lock up once again. Manny gets the advantage and shoots Invader once more into the ropes, but Invader ducks a clothesline and counters with a crossbody for a one count. Invader goes for an inside cradle and that gets two. Invader’s strategy is one of trying to score the pinfall whenever the opportunity is there. Manny goes outside to stop Invader’s momentum and complains to the ref about his pin counts. El Vikingo starts the ring out count on Manny as he slowly gets on the apron while continuing to complain at the official (you can also see Chicky voicing his complaints at ringside and to the camera). Both wrestlers face off again but when they go to lock up, Manny quickly puts on an armbar and forces Invader down to the mat. The advantage is short lived, as Invader fights to his feet and counters with two arm wringers and a drop toe hold to take Manny down to the mat. Manny eventually is able to fight out of the hold and sends Invader into the ropes, hitting a hiptoss. A followup elbow misses, and Invader counters with a hiptoss of his own and is back to working on Manny’s arm. 

Manny eventually works out of the armbar by hitting headbutt, but Invader is able to hiptoss Manny again and work the arm once more. This has not been Manny’s match so far. Eliud on commentary mentions that we are in Dorado for this match. Invader continues working and attacking the arm. We go to commercial break and when we come back Invader still has Manny in the armbar. Manny finally is able to turn things around by sending Invader into the ropes and hitting his rolling elbow smash. This stuns Invader enough to allow Manny to attack him with some headbutts and then a kneedrop. Manny hits four rapid fire elbow drops on Invader and goes for the pin. He only gets a two count. A back suplex gets two as you can hear some fans start chanting for Invader. A short arm clothesline by Manny goes into an immediate pin attempt for two. Manny works a reverse chinlock, leading to the referee to check on Invader via arm drops. Invader keeps his arm up and fights out of the hold. It looks like Invader may be starting a comeback. Manny and Invader have a blow exchange (including chops, headbutts and elbows), Invader knocks Manny down with a clothesline and starts getting fired up, slapping his chest and doing his short hops. 

Invader and Manny again exchange blows, but Manny counters Invader coming off the ropes by side stepping and throwing Invader through the ropes to the outside. As Manny distracts the ref, Chicky almost immediately starts attacking Invader, with both men exchanging blows on the outside. Manny blindsides Invader from behind by jumping off the ring apron with a blow. Manny rolls Invader back into the ring, hits a slam and decides to go to the top turnbuckle. It looks like he is setting up to hit a flying kneedrop, the same move that severely injured Invader #3 and more recently took out Barba Roja. Miguelito Perez rushes into the ring and attacks Manny, causing a disqualification. It looks like El Ejercito de la Justicia does not want any more injuries occurring from Manny’s flying kneedrop. Manny fights Miguelito off however, and sends him over the top rope to the floor. Chicky tells Manny to go to the other turnbuckle to try again, but as Manny starts climbing that turnbuckle we see him get shoved off by Carlos Colon. On the other side of the ring, Miguelito had grabbed Invader by the legs and was dragging him outside of the ring to safety. Carlos (in his suit and tie) starts ferociously attacking Manny, wanting revenge for what Manny did to his trainer Barba Roja. The fight spills to the outside as Carlos and Manny continue fighting. Manny is able to ram Carlos into a lighting rig to momentarily halt the attack, but Carlos recovers and continues right after Manny. Carlos gets his head rammed against a ringside table but still continues grabbing onto Manny and attacking. Now it’s Manny who gets rammed face first into the table. Both men are bleeding and punching each other on the floor. Eliud mentions that we’re basically watching a streetfight here between Carlos and Manny. Carlos throws Manny back in the ring and they continue tussling as the commentators note that it’s a bit hard to be able to attack while dressed in a suit since your movement is more restricted. Manny bails to the outside but Carlos gives chase and the video ends with Carlos still attacking Manny at ringside. Carlos wants Manny’s blood for what happened to Barba Roja and it looks like his attention has shifted away from Leo Burke and the Universal title. 

MD: This was a very fun title match on TV until it all broke down. Manny fed into Invader’s arm control early. Just two guys who knew exactly how to build that early stage of making a champion look vulnerable to the challenger’s superior wrestling. Manny was one of the best every at hitting a picture perfect cutoff off the ropes and he took over after that. And of course, Invader’s maybe the best ever at timing and portraying his comeback. Here when he got the first shot in and recoiled to show how far he still had to climb, the crowd went nuts. Eventually, Manny desperately cut him off by tossing him to the outside and Chicky got involved and it all ended with Colon rushing in, still wearing his tie, and brawling with Manny. The match was definitely a means to an end to set up the post-match but it was an enjoyable journey to get there.

EB: With the issues surrounding Manny (both with Colon and Invader) ,a tag match happened between Burke and Manny versus Carlos and Invader #1. We go to highlights of that tag match.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRHzkyi4_lo

We join the match with Invader making the hot tag to Carlos Colon, who starts exchanging blows with Manny Fernandez. Carlos gets the better of that exchange and knocks Manny down with a clothesline. A cartwheel follows as Manny begs off but Carlos presses the atack. While this is happening, Invader is standing outside of the ring, leaning on the ring apron and trying to recover from the damage he has taken so far. Carlos hits a clothesline as Chicky on the outside rushes Invader and rams Invader’s head into the ringpost. We cut to Carlos attacking Burke in the ring and we see Chicky rush towards a downed Invader (who is bleeding from the head) and repeatedly kick him in the face. There is no love lost on Chicky’s part towards Invader. We see some wrestlers come out to check on Invader as the match continues on. We cut to later in the match as Carlos is still on the attack vs Leo Burke, while outside of the ring they are trying to bandage Invader’s head. The wrestlers on the outside (they look familiar and it’s almost like seeing double, we’ll discuss them in more detail next time) try to help Invader to his feet as Carlos gets Burke in a sleeperhold. Manny rushes Carlos from behind to break it up and now the rudos are double teaming Carlos. Invader doesn’t seem to be reacting too well so the wrestlers help Invader to the back as Carlos is still being double teamed by Burke and Manny. Later in the match, Carlos has been busted open as both Burke and Manny continue punching Carlos repeatedly in the head. The ref calls for a disqualification since Burke and Manny are ignoring his orders for one of them to exit the ring. Burke and Manny setup Carlos for the flying kneedrop, but Invader rushes out to the ring and shoves Manny off the top turnbuckle. Burke, Manny and Chicky decide to run to the safety of the locker room as Carlos and Invader go after them. Carlos runs over to the ringside table and grabs the ringbell (which he tosses to Invader) and a chair as they continue to head towards the locker room entrance. As the clip ends, we hear Hugo say that they are on their way to try to break down the rudo locker room door.  

MD: We come in with Invader’s hot tag. He had been opened up and it’s a shame we miss the heat on this. Invader’s tended to immediately after the tag and thereby basically out of the match. It’s neat to see Colon’s comeback after a tag, cartwheel and all, as he comes in a house of fire. He also hits some great neckbreaker drops on Burke. Just when he locks the sleeper on, Manny flies in to break it up and they double team until they get DQed. Invader runs back out, bandaged up, to stop them from injuring Colon though. What we got of this looked really good and I bet the whole thing was great.

EB: We’ve seen two of Chicky’s Club Deportivo members in action but a third member had officially debuted at the start of the year. Harley Race won the Caribbean title and is looking to make an impact in Puerto Rico. Let’s look at him in action against Mark Youngblood.

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

We get Mark in singles action against Harley. Mark gets the better of Race in the initial exchange,as Harley goes to the outside to regroup. The commentators (Eliud and Moyano) are talking about the seven time World champion’s pedigree. Race is back in the ring and Mark continues in control with a slam. Mark continues getting the better of Race as the commentators talk about how Chicky has been bragging about having Race in his stable and that he is the Caribbean champion. Race counters a side headlock into a back suplex, and follows it up with a measured knee drop. A fisherman suplex follows for the three count. Although Harley didn’t dominate the match, his experience came through and he was successful against Mark Youngblood. We’ll have to see if Harley gets more involved in the goings on between El Club Deportivo and El Ejercito de la Justicia.

MD: They covered a lot of ground in two minutes here. That meant Race let his punches get blocked early with a bit of stooging and a retreat out of the ring. He tried a cheapshot but Mark got the better of him off the ropes. Then Race shifted gears from bumping and stooging to ever so casually taking over by turning a headlock into a belly to back, hitting a kneedrop, and winning with the fisherman’s suplex. They could have done this same match in ten minutes but the cliff notes version was interesting, in as it still felt kind of effective at two. 

EB: One wrestler who has been a notable presence throughout the last three months of 1989 has been Gary Albright. Built up as a monster on tv with his Albright lock, amateur abilities and his belly to belly suplex, Albright unfortunately has not been as successful when challenging some of the higher ranked tecnicos. Albright had been unsuccessful in challenging Invader and Miguelito Perez for their titles but still continued to impress on tv. However, as the month of January wound down, Gary Albright’s run in Puerto Rico would come to a close. We have a couple of matches of Albright from the late 89 period just to round out our look at Gary Albright in Puerto Rico. And to finish our look at Albright, we’ll see him take on TNT.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h--cUAZoYEE

Our first match harkens back to the period where Albright was being built up as a monster. Here he is facing Maelo Huertas and Armando Fernandez in a handicap match. Both tecnicos try to team up on Albright to start, but Gary is able to fight them off and attacks them one at a time, ending the match by slamming Maelo on top of Armando and pinning both of them.

MD: Totally elementary in one minute. Albright just pushed people away from him until he could isolate one, a power slam, a slam of the other onto the first, and the win. That’s how you book a monster.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vx9YB5TQJYc

EB: Our second match is a TV match against Miguelito Perez. This appears to be from before Albright challenged Perez for the Caribbean title at the end of 1989. The commentators mention that this is a tough challenge for Perez, as Gary has the power and size advantage. Albright just dominates Perez with knee strikes and an elbow in the corner. Perez tries to fire back with punches, but they have no effect on Albright. Perez finds an opening when Albright puts his head down too early when Miguelito is coming off the ropes, getting an inside cradle for a two count. Albright goes back on offense and Perez is only able to come back when Gary makes another mistake by missing a charge into the corner. Perez is able to knock Gary down with a clothesline but misses his own  charge into the corner. Albright sends Perez into the corner twice and hits a shoulder tackle (a bit weak on contact) and then an elbow drop for the win (with Perez kicking out at three). It looks like we’re somewhere in between the Albright Lock being dropped and the belly to belly coming into play as his finisher.

MD: We have a number of PR matches with Albright where he works far too weak and scared. He’s a monster. He should act like one. Here in a two and a half minute match, he does, just relentlessly swarming Perez. I’m not saying his stuff looks great necessarily but it almost doesn’t have to because he’s such a relatively imposing figure and because he’s so persistent with it. Perez takes over on a missed charge but then misses one of his own and Albright clunkily puts him down for a big elbow drop. Sort of surprising how much of a squash this was but Perez had the banana peel of hitting hard in the corner to excuse it. If Albright worked like this all the time in PR he would have been way more marketable. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsDIBG68eCI

EB: We finish our look at Gary Albright with a match against TNT. And yes, it looks like Albright is facing Kwang instead but it is TNT (we’ll explain shortly why TNT is wearing a mask). TNT starts off very aggressive, throwing a kick at El Profe to scare him away from ringside and getting the early offense on Albright. A spin kick sends Albright to the outside to regroup. Albright and Profe start complaining that it was an illegal throat hit and that Albright should be the winner by disqualification. The ref tells Albright to get back in the ring. Albright wins a lock up by backing up TNT into a corner and hits a chop, but that only gets TNT animated and he scares Albright off. TNT is really fired up for some reason (we’ll find out why soon). Albright keeps trying to find an opening but TNT starts attacking Albright in the corner with several strikes. However, Gary hits one chop that sends TNT backwards and now Albright has the opening needed to go on the attack. Albright controls the middle portion of the match, using his size and power (and some choking and interference from Profe) to maintain control. TNT at one point counters with a crossbody but Profe has the ref distracted and the pin only gets two. Albright shifts his focus of attack to TNT’s back, putting him in a couple of bearhugs to use his size advantage. Albright also uses an abdominal stretch (with El Profe assisting) to further weaken TNT’s back. The turning point comes when Albright decides to go to the top and is too slow, allowing TNT to catch him at the top. TNT slams Albright and follows that with a thrust kick. TNT continues attacking Albright but Gary is able to counter a throw into the corner and starts punching TNT. The ref tries to get Gary to back off and gets caught with the follow through of Albright’s punches. As Gary turns to see the ref on the ground, TNT seizes the opening and uses the ropes to hit a double leg kick that sends Gary backwards. Albright trips over the ref and TNT quickly jumps on top to use the leverage and get the pinfall. This is it for Gary Albright in Puerto Rico, his last appearance in the available results is February 2 where he was scheduled to face Victor Jovica.

MD: And if Albright will get controlled by Perez at the 1989 year end show, of course he’s going to beg off and hide behind the ref against TNT, only ever taking over because of Profe’s interference. I really do think there’s something to the dissonance of an Olympic level threat being a big coward, but it’s also sort of limiting. Albright likely learned a lot about what a pro wrestling heel could be during this stint but I think he used it to better focus him over the years to come. TNT did a decent amount of fighting from underneath here, including having to deal with a bear hug, but when it was time, he came back with a huge kick (after another missed splash) and they went into a really fun finish where the ref got knocked down and then TNT tripped Albright over him.

EB: One other stalwart of the last few months of 1989 has been the team of Angel Acevedo and Gerry Morrow. On their debut they won the Caribbean tag titles from the team of Perez and Castillo and have recently been challenging the Youngbloods for the World tag team titles. We’ve recently uncovered a recap of that feud between Los Mercenarios and Perez and Castillo, so let's take the opportunity to see how this feud played out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_T_U4Npdumg

This video starts off already in progress as we revisit the singles matches held at Aniversario 89 in Mayaguez. We start with the second singles match where Perez won. However, here we see that after the match Los Mercenarios attacked Castillo and Perez, in particular having a prolonged double team attack on Perez as Casitllo had been knocked to the outside. Huracan is able to get back in the ring with a chair to chase off the rudos, but we see that Miguelito has been busted open and left laying. We go to another match held on October 18 in Toa Alta, where Castillo is facing Acevedo. The attempted interference from Morrow backfires as he instead splashes his tag partner, allowing Castillo to get the pinfall win. Our next highlight is from October 21 in Bayamon, this is the rematch for the Caribbean tag titles. Perez and Castillo were in control but Morow manages to hotshot Perez on the top rope. Los Mercenarios send Perez over the top rope, drawing a disqualification. Los Mercenarios continued attacking Perez and Castillo after the match.

We go to October 28 where the two teams are once again facing off for the Caribbean tag titles. Perez and Castillo are once again in control but Perez accidentally runs into Castillo ,which turns the tide in favor of Los Mercenarios and allows them to get the win. Both teams squared off once more on November 8 in Toa Alta, with Perez cleaning house on both Mercenarios. All four men end up in the ring and the bell rings as it’s a time limit draw. Both teams continue fighting after the bell. The next highlight is from November 11 in Yabucoa, as once again Perez and Castillo are in control when Morrow backdrops Perez over the top rope and draws a disqualification for his team. Our last highlight comes from November 22 in Manati. This time it’s Castillo cleaning house as Miguelito is down on the apron recovering. Once again all four men end up in the ring, but as the ref escorts Perez out of the ring Los Mercenarios blindside Castillo from behind and roll him up for the win. This feud looks to have spanned over two months and we still don’t have a full tag match between the two teams. But at least we can see how the feud progressed. . .

We do have one more match featuring Castillo and a partner taking on Los Mercenarios (we’ve seen a few iterations of this in previous posts). But this time, Castillo might have his strongest non Perez partner yet in Super Medico.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBRURCN19eI

As you would expect from the tecnico tag team combination ,they perform very well against Acevedo and Morrow. Both Castillo and Medico have had extensive tag experience (even if not with each other). The tecnico team is clearly in control of this match, with Castillo and Medico easily keeping the match flow against both Mercenarios while tagging in and out. Los Mercenarios are only able to turn the tide when Acevedo sneaks into the ring to catch Castillo unaware with a clothesline. Castillo is able to tag out and Medico handles both Mercenarios with ease. Medico goes for a couple of pin attempts o n Acevedo that are broken up by Morrow. This draws Castillo into the ring. Castillo and Medico ram Los Mercenarios into each other. Castillo tries to send Morrow into the corner, but Morrow counters. However, Morrow’s charge is dodged by Castillo and Morrow goes through the ropes. As the ref escorts Castillo out of the ring, Medico hits a crossbody block on Acevedo. But as has happened many times before, Morrow takes advantage of the ref having his back turned and comes off the top rope onto Medico, allowing Acevedo to get the pinfall. 

MD: My big takeaway from both the 5 match recap and the Medico/Castillo match is just how valuable Cuban Assassin and Jerry Morrow were during this span. They were credible, reviled, nasty, worked just as hard as they had to in order to get their comeuppance early on or towards the end of a match, had a lot of different, believable ways to win. Morrow could come off the rope at any moment or they could hit a double team like a spike pile driver out of nowhere. They had the size and presence, even if not necessarily the athleticism to hit a believable cut off clothesline or just a shoulder block no matter how fiery the babyfaces’ offense are and they were physically memorable enough to play into comedy beats if need be. These were two guys that would never get a major run with WWF or WCW (note: Major) at this point but that had tons of value when put in the right spot and in the right way. Likewise, you could believe that Castillo and Medico could win at any point. The hierarchy was loose and the crowd was with them. When Medico rolled up Assassin, I thought it was possible (right until Morrow came sailing off the top to cut it off).

EB: As we’ve seen previously, Los Mercenarios had been involved in rivalry with the Youngbloods for the World tag team titles. When we last saw the two teams tangle, it was in a strap match where Los Mercenarios had the match won if not for the referee not seeing Acevedo hitting the turnbuckle first. Due to the circumstances of the finish, Los Mercenarios were granted another shot at the World tag team titles. This time, on the first weekend of February, Los Mercenarios defeated the Youngbloods and captured the World tag titles. However, this was not the Mercenarios team we’ve seen since Aniversario 89. 

https://youtu.be/BhYSZS_pnVY

We bid goodbye to Gerry Morrow as we have a new tag partner for Acevedo in Rambo Ron Starr. We previously saw Ron Starr take on Leo Burke in October of 1989, but before that he had quite the memorable three year stint as Chicky’s cousin and accomplice. He’s back now, and while the last time we saw him was as a tecnico, it appears he has fallen back to the side of the rudos. He’s aligned himself with El Profe (still selling the fallout he had with Chicky) and this is the New Mercenarios tv debut. However, a very important piece of information is mentioned at the start of the match. While this is the team’s tv debut, they had actually already competed the previous weekend against the Youngbloods for the World tag team titles. And on their first weekend teaming together, Acevedo and Starr defeated the Youngbloods for the World tag team titles. Does that make them double tag champions? We’ll find out next time if that’s the case.

The opponents for Acevedo and Starr are Super Medico and Herbert Gonzalez, and while Medico can definitely get the job done I’m not sure if Herbert is up to the task.  Medico starts off for his team and does well against both Starr and Acevedo, but the tide turns once Herbert gets in the ring. The commentators make note that Rambo Ron Starr is back, looks to have gotten bigger and that he is quite the reinforcement for El Profe and Mercenario #1. El Profe brags about his team winning the World tag titles right off the bat and that no one will be able to defeat them. Herbert tries but Starr just outclasses him in the ring. Herbert is able to back Ron into the corner and tag Medico back in, with Medico hitting a flurry of punches on Ron. Medico hits an elbow and dropkick on Ron but decides to tag Herbert back in. Ron rakes Herbert’s eyes and hits the DDT (which had been established during Starr’s previous run as his finisher) for the win. A strong showing for the new World tag champions in their tv debut. Super Medico might need to rethink his choice of tag partner next time.

MD: Rambo Ron Starr is in for Morrow and he adds a little more motion and speed to the proceedings. More oomph on rope running. Quicker to bump and feed. All while still being rugged and mean. This was just a few minutes long and not much of a showcase really. It went back and forth though Los Mercenarios were always just an eyerake away from taking back over and then controlled the ring well. Starr won with a DDT out of nowhere.

EB: Another newcomer we briefly saw in our last post is Eddie Watts, who hails from Canada and appears to have his sights set on the World Junior title held by Super Medico. Let’s take a look at Watts in action against Herbert Gonzalez.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEYpj--hEnM 

The first detail is that Eddie Watts is managed by Chicky Starr, so we have another new member of El Club Deportivo. This match is mainly a showcase for the new arrival, as Watts pretty much is in control of Herbert throughout the match. Eliud on commentary gives Eddie’s vital stats, including that he hails from Winnipeg, was World Junior champion in Canada and studied at the University of Calgary. Watts’s offense looks fine if basic for the junior division but it’s clear Chicky has brought him in to continue the quest for all of the titles (he already has the Universal, Puerto Rico and Caribbean champions in his stable). Eliud tells the fans that Eddie’s favorite maneuver is the Canadian guillotine. An ax handle from the bottom turnbuckle doesn't connect well and Herbert briefly looks to start a comeback. Watts is able to stop Herbert with a boot to the face and eventually wins the match with an Alabama Jam off the top rope (I’m guessing this is the aforementioned Canadian guillotine). Eddie celebrities and motions that he wants the title.   

MD: Watts seems like he should be beneath Chicky’s notice as a charge, but I guess Chicky wanted to go after the Junior title and needed a warm body. He is not a familial Watts, only one in name. This was not the world’s most impressive showing either. He had a great finish with his take on the Alabama Jam, but his double axe handle off of the BOTTOM turnbuckle was so ineffectual that Gonzalez fired up on him after absorbing it. Overall, Watts seemed competent enough but he’s going to need his opponents to do a bunch of the heavy lifting, I think.

EB: As to why Chicky would have interest in the World Junior title, besides the goal of his stable holding all of the titles, the World Junior title is one singles title that Chicky himself had held previously, as recently as 1989. In fact, the reigning World Junior champion, Super Medico, had a brief feud with Chicky in the summer of 89 where they traded the title back and forth. As recently as the Thanksgiving Day show Chicky had challenged for the World Junior title, and while we didn’t have the footage available when we covered the event, we do have video of that match available now. Let’s take the opportunity to see Super Medico and Chicky Starr in action battling for the World Junior title.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awsBNzSBjx8 

We join the match in progress and we see that Chicky is still growing his hair back from Aniversario. This is a good showcase for both Chicky and Super Medico as we really haven't been able to see them in this setting as much. The video opens with Chicky in control, hitting a wristlock throw on Medico and then putting on a headlock. Medico reverses into a hammerlock but Chicky makes the ropes. Chicky buys time by staying in the corner and telling the ref to keep Medico away. As the ref is talking with Medico, Chicky appears to reach for something that was in his kneepad. The ref checks the kneepad at Medico’s request but doesn’t find anything. Chicky looks pleased with himself as he sort of prances around the ring. Hugo calls the movement weird and thinks it may be a tactic to throw Medico off his game. Chicky goes into the ropes to prevent Medico from attacking him and the ref tells Medico to step back. Hugo talks about how Medico is a complete wrestler on both offense and defense. Chicky continues stalling as the crowd gets on his case. Finally, they lock up and Medico takes Chicky down to the mat. Chicky eventually breaks the hold by reaching the ropes. Chicky wins a blow exchange and struts a bit before continuing his attack on Medico. 

The match continues with Medico gaining the advantage, but Chicky is able to stay in it with some counters, including using Medico's tights as leverage and ramming him head first into the turnbuckle. A kneedrop leads to a pin attempt, but Chicky’s cover is a bit too cocky and Medico kicks out. Hugo channels Gorilla Monsoon a bit by saying that he’s not going to win if he doesn’t hook the leg. Chicky continues with a focused attack on Medico's head and neck area. Medico fights out of the clutch hold Chicky had on. Medico is slow to get up as Chicky is a bit frustrated that the hold was broken, but he immediately starts attacking Medico with kicks. Chicky uses the ropes to leverage a double kick and push Medico to the floor. Chicky again starts prancing a bit in the ring (Hugo says that Chicky is doing those weird moves again) as Medico slowly gets back in the ring. Chicky sends Medico into the ropes but makes the mistake of putting his head down a bit too soon and Medico counters with an elbow to the back of Chicky’s head. Medico takes over with a series of punch combinations, including his signature punches off the top rope. Medico hits a hiptoss and a shoulder tackle but the video skips ahead as Medico is going for a second shoulder tackle. Just before the video skips ahead, we see Chicky start grabbing the referee. The video comes back to Chicky pinning a downed Medico as the ref calls for the bell. Based on the context, it looks like Chicky grabbed the referee and pulled him into Medico’s tackle. Chicky then may have knocked Medico out with the foreign object he had been hiding earlier. However, the ref has disqualified Chicky for pulling him into the shoulder tackle. Chicky thinks he won but the ref lowers Chicky’s arm and raises Medico’s instead. Medico immediately chases Chicky out of the ring as the crowd cheers. Chicky makes a hurried exit as he is flanked by security and the fans throw garbage at him. Medico retains the World Junior title.  

MD: Tremendous sub-10 minute match, one of my favorites I’ve seen for this project so far. It’s mostly strikes but they’re all really good. There’s some BS with Chicky avoiding the lockup or trying to hide an object, but a lot of what hits are these great forearms or mean kicks and stomps. Medico’s stuff looks great when he fires back or gets a knee in. And of course, Chicky throws his head into every shot. There is a bit of a clip at the end, but you can get the idea. Chicky got desperate, cheated in a blatant way, lost the match. It’s great to see him do his thing with such a game opponent though.

EB: We’ll continue to follow Eddie Watts and his challenge for the World Junior title next time. 

Leo Burke has been able to retain the Universal title so far in January, although it may appear that the rise was a bit sudden based on the tv performances we’ve been able to review.  But as a bit more footage has been uncovered, we’ve discovered Burke had faced almost the entire tecnico side before facing off against Colon. While Burke has been able (so far) to stave off Colon’s attempts at regaining the Universal title, there are some other potential challengers in the tecnico camp. And Lro is not a stranger to any of them. Let’s go back a moment to the fall of 89 to add some more context to Leo’s rise to the top of the challenger rankings.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eX3xl_nuA5A 

This is from late fall of 1989, as Leo Burke continues to rise up the contender rankings and is facing the TV champion TNT in a non title match. If you recall Burke had faced TNT in early November as part of Chicky’s continued quest to avenge the humiliation suffered at Aniversario when Chicky lost his hair. Hector Moyano mentions that both wrestlers are looking to rise up the Universal title rankings. We get the pre-match hug between Burke and Chicky and Eliud Goznalez comments on how TNT makes his presence felt with his fabulous face paint. There’s a bit of a staredown before both men lock up. TNT backs Burke into a corner but is forced to break by the ref. Burke tries to punch TNT off a second lock up but the punch is blocked and Leo immediately bails from the ring. Burke takes his time getting back in and attempts to sucker punch TNT off a lockup. TNT was ready and swats Leo’s hand away. Burke backs away but when the ref tells TNT to keep his distance, Leo takes the opening and lunges with a kick, surprising TNT and allowing Burke to gain control of the match. Burke attacks TNT in the corner with chops and a choke. He follows that up with a snapmare and some kneedrops. TNT counters by sending Burke into the ropes and eventually hits a crossbody for two. Burke begs off as we go to commercial break. 

Back from the break, we see TNT lying on the mat with Burke in control once more. However, Burke sends TNT into the ropes, where TNT ducks two clothesline attempts and hits a spin kick. TNT goes for a pin but Burke breaks the count by putting his leg on the rope. TNT goes back on the attack and hits a side kick to the face. TNT makes the cover but Chicky has jumped on the ring apron and is distracting the referee. Burke takes the opportunity to toss TNT over the top rope and it looks like TNT landed on his knee (he starts holding his knee in pain). TNT stumbles a few times trying to get back in the ring, his knee looks to be hurting and causing him issues in standing. Burke suplexes TNT into the ring and goes for a pin attempt that gets two. TNT ducks a punch and hits an atomic drop on Burke, but the move causes more damage to TNT’s injured knee and TNT cannot follow up. Burke goes after TNT’s injured knee and is able to put the figure four leglock on. TNT tries to hold on and fight out of the hold but the pain is too much and he submits. Burke has won the match and moves up the Universal title rankings. Post-match, Burle leaves the figure-four on for a while longer before breaking the hold. Chicky and Burke celebrate as they leave the ring while the ref checks on TNT who is still clearly in pain.    

MD: Burke’s looked great in this run so it’s nice to be able to flesh things out with a few missing puzzle pieces. He stalled to start and then fed for TNT, which was typical for him but hasn’t gotten old yet. We miss the transition and have no idea how long the heat was due to the commercial but we come back with TNT’s comeback, hitting the spin wheel kick off the ropes. Chicky intervenes after the superkick though, letting Burke toss TNT through the ropes, hurting his knee. From there, TNT would get spots in (an atomic drop and a knee lift) but would be too hurt to capitalize and Burke eventually gets him to cleanly submit to the figure-four, putting Burke over huge and only protecting TNT a little. 

EB: Burke managed to get past TNT on his way to the top of the rankings, but how will he do against Invader #1? 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5RLgNgTYs0  

We are again in late fall of1989 as Burke faces one fo the top tecnicos in Invader#1. As the ring introductions are made, Invader tries to get at Chicky, which causes Burke to get in front of Chicky as he bails to the outside. Burke also joins Chicky outside after the bell rings, he hasn’t taken his jacket off yet. Chicky helps Leo take the jacket off and we get their pre-match hug. Burke gets back in the ring and the action starts. Invader gets a quick roll up attempt but Leo kicks out and immediately goes outside to halt Invader’s momentum. Burke gets back in, complaining his tights were pulled. Invader quickly takes Burke down to the mat and Leo tries to call a timeout. Invader uses a pair of arm wringers and a drop toe hold to gain control, but Burke soon counters and hits a knee to take over. We go to commercial break as Leo is on offense and come back with Burke still in control, working over Invader’s arm. Invader is able to briefly counter with a slam, but a knee to the midsection cuts him off and Burke continues in control. Burke focuses his attacks on Invader’s arm. Invader makes a comeback via several chops, and a backdrop gets two. A clothesline knocks Burke down, who immediately rolls out of the ring. Invader follows right behind, and a chase around the ring begins. Burke manages to get to the ring apron and kicks Invader away, but looks to hurt his leg jumping back into the ring. Invader immediately goes for a figure four attempt, but Burke was playing possum and counters into an inside cradle for the pinfall. Burke joyously celebrates by doing some squats to show his knee is fine and points at his head as he exits the ring. Burke has faced pretty much all of El Ejercito de la Justicia and has come out on top. He’s definitely earned the number one contender spot and, as we know , Burke would win the Universal title soon after.  

MD: Burke and Invader are very well matched. Invader’s able to make the most of Burke’s stooging and stalling early. Burke eventually takes over on the arm which is a nice bit of variety as he usually targets the leg. Invader punches out of the corner for his comeback and they go into a great finish where Burke bounds into the ring from the outside, feigns a hurt leg, and then rolls Invader up after he attempts a figure-four to capitalize. Post match, Burke bounces around gloating. Good stuff. 

EB: As January of 1990 progressed, Leo Burke had managed to retain the Universal title against Carlos Colon (although not necessarily by clean methods). With Manny Fernandez getting involved and seriously injuring Barba Roja, Carlos Colon's attention is now divided between wanting revenge against Manny and wanting to regain the Universal title. In addition, Manny’s involvement has brought Invader #1 closer to Burke’s sphere and he could potentially be a challenger for Leo’s Universal title. However, an incident occurred in January that would set the stage for who Burke’s next challenger would be.
A new match called La Ruleta Rusa (The Russian Roulette) was announced on tv. In essence, it was a match where in order to compete, the wrestlers involved each had to put something up in a wager (basically making it an ‘apuestas’ match). The match ended up being TNT vs Leo Burke, with each man putting something up. Burke wagered his beard against TNT’s face paint, meaning Chicky Starr had one more chance to see TNT stripped of part of his identity (remember the whole ‘Original TNT’ plot in 89 that saw Chicky lose his hair in an apuestas match at Aniversario). In the closing moments of the Ruleta match, Chicky grabbed his opportunity. While the ref was distracted, Chicky slipped a foreign object to Leo Burke, who proceeded to knock TNT out with said object. Before the ref turned his attention back to the wrestlers, to everyone’s bewilderment, Burke lay down on the mat with TNT on top of him. The ref started his count put Burke countered TNT’s ‘pin’ at two and won the match. It was a ruse so that the referee would not notice TNT knocked out. Due to the match stipulations, TNT lost the right to wear his face paint. TNT was furious after the event, rightfully feeling cheated out of part of his identity. He vowed he would have his revenge on Burke and Chicky. And he vowed that he would not show his face until he was able to defeat Burke. That is the reason TNT was wearing a mask in the match against Gary Albright, he was still on his quest to avenge his humiliation (also explains why he was a bit aggressive). And TNT got his chance against Burke in a non title match.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lro0uCvI-8

We have a brief two minute clip of the match ending. We are in Isabela as Burke exits the ring and the masked TNT goes after him. Hugo mentions that the crowd has been mainly on their feet witnessing the uncontrolled fury of TNT on Leo Burke. TNT attacks Leo with chops on the outside of the ring as the ref starts the ring out count. A nifty spin kick knocks Burke down and TNT starts punching Burke on the ground. TNT throws Burke back in the ring, with Burke stumbling backwards into a sitting position. Burke is bleeding and TNT continues his attack as Burke rolls out of the ring to safety once more. TNT goes out after Burke but is surprised by a kick and Leo tries to ram him into the guardrail. The crowd obscures a few moments of the action but we then see Burke stumble backwards as TNT kicks him towards the ring. Burke rolls back in and then back out via  a different side trying to get away. TNT still gives chase. A tired Burke tries to leave the ring area but TNT grabs him from behind and rams him into the barricade. TNT drags Leo back to the rinside area and continues attacking him around the ring as the ref continues the count.  Leo gets on the ring apron and is able to fight TNT off long enough to fall back in the ring and get the win by countout. TNT was not able to defeat Burke and has yet to avenge his humiliation. 

MD: Full credit to TNT for all of the ways he refocused and reimagined himself during this run. You’d think that a facepainted ninja would be a bit one-note but they kept coming up with things. Here it was the mask. Anyway, he beats Burke around the ring with punches and kicks but then they do a banana peel finish where Burke just barely beats the count and gets a foot on TNT to stop him for a countout win. More meat on the bone.

EB: TNT was still furious and wanted to fight Burke but with the loss he wasn’t scheduled as Burke’s next challenger. It was Carlos Colon,who had the next title shot. But Carlos, understanding what TNT was going through in wanting to avenge the humiliation, decided to give his title shot to TNT (Carlos said it was a case of allowing TNT his chance at revenge). As the month of January came to a close, TNT now had another chance to face Leo Burke, this time with the Universal title on the line.   

Next time on El Deporte de la Mil Emociones, we head into February of 1990. We'll continue following the developments in the different feuds between El Ejercito de la Justicia and El Club Deportivo. Also, more new faces make their debut as the tag team division heats up.