Found Footage Friday: KOX~! SHEREEF~! WRESTLING LA RAMS~! MAEDA~! YATSU~! LUCHA ROBOCOP~?!

Killer Karl Kox/El Shereef vs. Don Chuy /Joe Carollo WWA 2/2/67 

MD: The family of Killer Karl Kox shared this and I think it's the earliest Kox footage we have on tape. Chuy and Carollo were LA Rams (offensive tackle, I think) and they did this during their off season. They even had runs in Japan (teaming with Kox) if I'm not mistaken. Shereef brought bigger bumps and Kox brought ones that went over with a bit more effort and grounded things. Things got a little disjointed towards the end of the first fall as Kox jumped in once to break up a pin but was supposed to get shaken off the second time and the ref didn't quite stop the pin. Things reset and the football players hit their big charges and back body drop charges.

Second fall stared with some crowd pleasing grinding headlocks, lots of big selling and arm waving, that sort of thing. The heels took over though but the Rams fought out of the corner and hit a series of double charges until the ref threw it out. The third fall was quick, just three minutes and it ended with Kox planting Carollo with the brainbuster. I knew he did it in the 70s but's crazy that he was doing this as early as 66! It was treated like absolute death Carollo was out for the rest of the match. They did a fourth fall due to the thrown out second and they made short work of Chuy, two on one, and he fell to the brainbuster too. Great look at mid-30s Kox and maybe historical for the Rams on top of that.

PAS: So cool that this showed up, Kox has maybe 10 matches in full that are out there, but looks incredible in all of them. I also just love this kind of match with local heroes, bumping around willing heels. I dug how so much of the Rams offense was tackles and blocks, and all of the crowd pleasing payoffs, like Kox jumping off the top with stomp to break a Chuy headlock, and then when he tries it again Carollo shakes the ropes to spill him off. This must have been building to a big rematch of some sort, because Kox really dominates the end of the match, spiking both Rams with his brainbuster for clean pins in both falls. Would definitely make the fans buy a ticket to next month to see their heroes try to solve the problem of the Killer. 

Akira Maeda vs. Yoshiaki Yatsu NJPW 1/6/84

MD: Maeda and Yatsu were more or less finding themselves here. This would have really been something three and a half years later. As it was, though, they had all of the prerequisite skills. Both could take it to the mat. Both weren't afraid to strike. Both had a suplex or two. They also had plenty of animosity for one another based on the fact that they were on opposing stables and in plenty of tags and trios against one another. This had been out there but only in the form of a tiny, unwatchable, real player sized file. This is much more watchable. They'd go at it from the bell to the post-match after a double count out and it wasn't in the least bit refined, but it was chippy and active, including some armwork by Maeda and a nice seated octopus by Yatsu. Once they started throwing suplexes, Maeda somehow managed to drop Yatsu exactly on his head but Yatsu was unfazed and stumbled up to hit a belly to belly of his own. It was pretty grisly stuff. Overall this was rough around the edges but full of fire, so they definitely had that bit down. 

ER: I thought this was incredibly cool, a very grown up version of a match I wouldn't have expected from either at this point. This felt like a couple older pros, especially Yatsu, who moved spry and almost like a cruiserweight but obviously not. Both looked lithe and had incredible ring confidence. It was some great halfway point between Choshu/Fujinami and Young Lions. Maeda was about to go on a pair of month long WWF excursions, but Yatsu feels like the perfect 1984 WWF Japanese wrestler. Yatsu works this like  shootstyle Mr. Fuji, with some fast unstoppable throws, takeovers and strong-cradled pins, but with a throat thrust and elbowdrop assortment that would play well in Buffalo working Terry Daniels. Akira Maeda got to work a couple months of WWF as Akira Maeda. If I was given the information that a) Akira Maeda worked a couple WWF tours in 1984, and b) worked a tour somewhere early in his career as Kwick-Kick Lee, I would bet so much money on there being a New Haven card with a Kwick-Kick Lee vs. Rene Goulet time limit draw. Yatsu's quick, strong style would have fit well in 1984 WWF, even if it would have just inevitably lead to a tag team with Tiger Chung Lee. 

The submission work and movement within holds was really captivating. You could see the legitimacy in how they worked to prevent the unpreventable or grapple like real heavyweights. Maeda almost scorpions Yatsu with an overhead belly to belly - it's not as bad as it initially looks, with Yatsu taking a lot of it on his forearms and not his neck - and plays it as a successfully blocked takedown, scrambling straight up to his feet and Maeda's waist to pivot into his own belly to belly. It reads as a real way an Olympic level freestyle wrestler would sell the same. They're so good at grappling that they manage one of the great abdominal stretch spots, some beautiful work of real cool fighting over who could secure an abdominal stretch, sending both tumbling hard through the ropes. The way I wrote about it makes it sound like an inevitable end to that spot, but they way they did it didn't feel like it was going that way. It was this shoot authenticity they worked their pro wrestling with, an abdominal stretch do-si-do leading to the stiffest strikes of the match being thrown on the floor to double count out. They could have worked this exact same match just two years later, nothing changed about the wrestling, but now perceived as bigger and bigger stars. They got big reactions for what they didm, and the crowd reacted to this like a fight between two names. But nowhere near the names they'd become, but the wrestling was real. 

Principe Franky/ROBOCOP vs. Ministro de la Muerte I/Ministro de la Muerte II CMLL 1992

MD: This is blurry but kind of novel because I'm not sure how much Robocop footage we actually have. Franky had been Polimero Espacial but lost his mask quite recently in a tag with Latin Lover against Sangre Chicana and El Sanguinario, also in Monterrey. From what we see, he looks solid. There's a fun moment late in the match where his partner teases a dive and we just see him come flipping from off the side of the screen as a blur instead. Robocop is, as promised, Robocop, with a plush looking but intricate costume, visor and all. It's a much more elaborate costume than the other match we've covered years ago. He moved surprisingly well in there, able to do a couple of tricked out armdrags and to finally win it (after teasing that dive) with the diving back headbutt off the ropes. He actually had some presence too. When he came in to break up a submission, there was a little extra swagger in how he moved. Los Ministros are pretty generic rudos but played their part well in this sub-ten minute match. That meant basing for a guy dressed like Robocop and throwing fouls when Robocop was duly distracting the ref. This was undercard stuff and didn't go long but it was fun while it lasted, for the novelty of Robocop as much as anything else.

ER: I can't pretend to know any of these guys and I can't pretend I knew there was a lucha Robocop but I assumed that was likely. I was impressed at how good the Robocop suit looked. I'm not sure what I was specifically expecting from lucha Robocop but this was a quality looking suit. Intricate, as Matt called it, but allowing for smooth movement. No way a 1992 Monterrey luchador working a Robocop gimmick should have a Robocop suit this good. In our grainy tracky footage he looked like La Parka, or a Storm Trooper. He moved smoothly for being the largest guy in the match (maybe some of that was suit weight and mask height) and had an armdrag reversal on the back end of a backdrop that surprised me, and his topes en reversa landed firmly. Ministros were my kind of rudos, guys who would each take a backdrop and are good at catching dives and taking complicated armdrags, working over Franky's knee in a way appropriate in a short lucha match. Franky's dive looked crazy, visible only in the background, Robocop in the foreground, Franky already upside down when he enters the frame. Cameras catch the wreckage on the floor and Robocop wins right after. Opener undercard lucha remains winning.  

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El Deporte de las Mil Emociones: A Cowboy Comes Rolling In

Week 25: A Cowboy Comes Rolling In

EB: As we head into May, there are some new developments that should be mentioned. There is a new permanent home for the TV tapings, starting from around this time CSP will be holding their Wednesday TV tapings at the boxing gym located at the former Naval station located in Miramar.

The second development is that the yearly Aniversario show will be taking place a couple of months earlier than is customary. Due to the experience with the most recent hurricane seasons (as we discussed previously, the 1989 show was postponed due to Hurricane Hugo, but there was also a close call in 1988 where a hurricane passed to the south of the island the day of the Aniversario show), it has been announced that Aniversario 1990 will be taking place on  July 7 in Bayamon. We’ll have to pay attention to future announcements for the show, but for now it is expected that the Universal title will be defended at the show against the number one contender that the championship committee will name.We will have to see who the champion and number one contender will be, although Abdullah the Butcher never got a rematch and may be a possibility.  

The last new development of note is that we have a new arrival to CSP, joining the rudo coalition headed by Chicky Starr and El Profe (El Jeque is no longer managing in the territory by this point). It’s a cowboy with a large mustache, blonde hair and a signature move known as the crucifix. The wrestler’s name is Scott Hall. Let’s see him in action against Miguel Perez Jr.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjcEr99NrPc

This is our first look at the Scott Hall in Puerto Rico. He has Chicky Starr seconding him at ringside and Hall’s opponent is Miguelito Perez. Hugo and Carlos are on commentary, and as the two wrestlers lockup. They talk about Hall’’s credentials and that Carlos feels that Hall will be making waves in CSP. Perez backs Hall into a corner and they get into a shoving match after Perez breaks the lockup. They lock up again and this time Hall backs Perez into the corner and fires off a series of chops. Perez counters by throwing Hall into the corner and firing off his own series of chops, punctuated with a chop off the ropes that sends Hall to the outside. Chicky goes over to offer advice to Hall. Scott reenters the ring and Hugo takes the opportunity to remind  the fans that tomorrow they will be in Moca for a show. Hall gets a side headlock on Perez, but Miguelito quickly counters into a headscissors. Hall quickly breaks the hold and they go into a sequence where they repeat the side headlock into a headscissors a couple of times. After the third time, Hall exits the ring and slams the apron in frustration, Miguelito is getting to him. The fans get on Hall’s case as Chicky again goes over to help Hall regroup. Hall and Chicky complain that Perez pulled Hall’s hair. Hall gets back in the ring and Carlos talks about how the rudo alliance has brought in some great reinforcements, with Hall joining El Club Deportivo and the menace that has been Atkie Mulumba for La Real Academia. Carlos adds that tonight  in Caguas he’s facing Atkie Mulumba for the Universal title and El Profe is banned from ringside (he’ll be in a cage at ringside to prevent him from interfering. Hugo congratulates Carlos on the battle he had with Mulumba the week before, saying that not many people would have been able to stand toe to toe with Mulumba and Hugo mentions that Carlos was able to bust open Atkie (we’ll discuss more about this feud shortly).

Back in the ring, Hall puts Perez in an armlock and yanks Perez down by his hair. Miguelito kips back up and Hall repeats the hair pull a couple of times with Perez kipping right back up. Perez yanks Hall down by his hair, and Hall complains about that to the ref. Hall takes his time staring at Perez and decides to challenge Miguelito to a test of strength. While this is going on, Carlos asks Hugo what he thinks will happen tonight in his match against Mulumba since El Profe will be neutralized in a cage. Hugo thinks that it’ll be 50/50 on who will win, but it’ll come down to who is able to withstand the punishment more. Perez declines to engage in the test of strength and Hall backs away to flex a bit for the crowd. After a few false starts, both men finally lock up in a test of strength, one that sees Hall use his leg to push Perez to the ground. Miguelito goes down but in a bridge position and is able to push himself back up. Just when it seems Miguelito is going to start pushing Hall back, Scott immediately cuts Perez off with a knee to the midsection and forces Perez back down. Hall works the test of strength for a while, but Perez is able to fight back and breaks it by monkey flipping Hall. Scott stares at Perez, visibly frustrated at how Miguelito has handled everything thus far, and leans over the ropes to talk strategy with Chicky. Hall is able to punch Perez out of the ring and continues the attack on the outside, sending Miguelito into the railing. Hall continues the attack and forcibly throws Miguelito back into the ring.

Hall puts Perez in single leg crab and Carlos again mentions that this man Scott Hall is one to watch out for.  Hall works the hold and uses the ropes for leverage, but Perez refuses to submit. The ref checks but Hall has let go of the ropes and Chicky grabs onto the ropes to hide the fact that they were shaking from Hall holding on to them. Hall switches to an abdominal stretch (while also using the ropes for leverage) but again is not able to get Perez to submit.  Perez is finally  able to counter with a hip toss but is to beat up to immediately follow up. Hall hits an elbow drop and goes for the cover but only gets two. Hugo on commentary reminds the fans that tomorrow Sunday they will be in Moca and that this Friday they will be in Arecibo. Hall hits a clothesline and again only gets a two count. Miguelito attempts a sunset flip but Hall cuts it off with a punch to Perez’s head. Hall and Perez exchange punches, with Perez eventually winning that exchange and proceeding to ram Hall’s head into different turnbuckles around the ring. Perez is able to hit his powerslam but instead of going for the cover, Perez decides to follow up with a splash. Hall counters by getting his knees up and Perez is down. Hall gets to his feet first and raises his arm to signal for something. He grabs Perez and proceeds to hit what he calls the crucifix (or as we’ll know it in the future, the Razor’s / Outsider's Edge). Hall covers and gets the pinfall win over Miguelito Perez.

MD: This is a full match at 11 minutes. Hall does a lot of things well. He throws his head back as he’s getting hit in the corners (you have no idea how important that is to me). He feeds and stooges and clubbers and grabs the ropes when he has a crab or an abdominal stretch on. A lot of it is refreshing to watch in 2024, but even then, I’m just not sure it all comes together to be greater than the sum of its parts. Some of it feels like him going through the motions. I wouldn’t be surprised if a run here in Puerto Rico is what helped him work it all out though. Here Perez has a big comeback and hits the power slam but then instead of pinning Hall, goes for a splash and eats some knees. That let’s Hall hit the Razor’s Edge/Diamond Death Drop (Which was called a “crucifix” on commentary) for the win.

EB: Since Scott Hall is a part of the rudo coalition, specifically El Club Deportivo, Chicky is going to use him as part of their effort to take out the members of El Ejercito de la Justicia. As an example, we heard that there is an upcoming card in Arecibo (likely the May 11th card). Here is an interview with Hall about an upcoming match he has scheduled with Invader #1 for that card.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4n8TPaIHJJY

Chicky is conducting the promo at ringside and Hall has a bullrope with him. Hall talks about knowing Invader’s reputation. He sees Invader as a stepping stone on the way to the top and that in Arecibo Invader will be facing one big, tough and nasty cowboy.  Invader will end up kneeling before the crucifix. Chicky translates and mentions that this man is on the hunt for the Universal title. We go to a promo with Hugo and Invader #1. Hugo mentions that Invader has a tough challenge against Hall, a man that has such impressive moves such as the crucifix and a backbreaker variant (I assume Hugo is referring to the fallaway slam). The reigning Caribbean champion mentions that it will be a tough challenge, in the short time Hall has been in Puerto Rico he has made quite the name for himself. Hall has defeated all of his opponents, has the experience, is strong, tall, wily and he will be tough competition. But Invader loves competition and it doesn’t matter if Hall is 6’7”, once the bell rings Invader wil bring him down to his size. He’ll do everything in his power to defeat Hall, which may be easier said than done. But Invader is counting on his experience seeing him to victory.

We’ll continue to monitor Hall’s progress and see who Chikcy will send him after. Also, for those curious, the lineup for that card in Arecibo is as follows:

Rematch: Carlos Colon vs Atkie Mulumba
Invader #1 vs ‘Cowboy’ Scott Hall
TNT vs Rick Valentine
Los Super Medicos vs Los Mercenarios
Miguelito Perez vs Chicky Starr
Huracan Castillo vs Eddie Watts
Invader #4 vs El Profe

MD: You have to imagine being Scott Hall at this point of his career. He’s in his early thirties. He’d been an American Starship, Magnum, Gator, and now he was a cowboy. He still had the mustache but had developed the handwipe motion already and the arms out for a crucifix. I haven’t seen a ton of 90 Hall but I have seen a lot of 91-92 Diamond Studd and I can’t help but think that he and Invader could have a good match.We’ve also been seeing enough squash matches lately that some of these featured matches make sense. Colon vs Malumba is built up. TNT vs Valentine has heat with the blood and the title switch. Likewise, Mercenarios vs Super Medicos. Even with Race and Manny gone, they put together a pretty good card here.

EB: As the month of May begins, we have a card scheduled for Caguas on the 5th (the same card Carlos and Hugo were referencing in the Hall vs Perez match). Let’s go to a segment of El Deporte es la Solucion from that day’s Campeones tv episode. The segment features TNT showing off martial arts techniques with some volunteers. TNT has had an up and down 1990 so far, but currently is the reigning TV champion and has been building momentum since losing the Universal title to Abdullah the Butcher. He still has an ongoing feud with Rick Valentine that is close to wrapping up and he’s ready to face any possible challengers for the TV title. After the El Deporte es la Solucion segment we get the May 5 card rundown.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p79n-XU81LQ

The first segment has TNT talking that he is back to teach the kids at home another martial arts technique (it seems he’s been showing off different techniques in the previous weeks) and he hopes that they have a family member or friend to help practice. TNT also mentions that he hopes that the kids will participate in a martial arts summer camp that they are holding, where they’ll learn techniques from jiu jitsu, taekwondo, aikido, etc. He mentions the address to participate in the summer camp contest and all you have to do is send in the name of today’’s technique, which is the Hammer Technique #1. TNT talks about the technique as two kids demonstrate. The point of the technique is for a smaller kid to defend themselves from a larger one. They show off the technique and then go over it step by step. This technique will allow a smaller kid to defend himself anywhere and you can learn this and other techniques at different taekwondo dojos around the island. TNT reminds the viewers about the summer camp and that now they will; have five winners for the contest. TNT signs off by reminding the viewers that these techniques are to be practiced only for your defense, they are not for attacking anyone unprovoked. Remember that practice makes perfect and that sports is the answer.
Afterward we get the rundown for the May 5th card, which is as follows:

Universal title rematch with El Profe in a cage: Carlos Colon defends against Atkie Mulumba
TV title: TNT defends against Dragon Master
Cage Match: Super Medicos 1 and 3 vs Los Mercenarios
Caribbean tag titles: The Invaders 1 and 4 challenge Chicky Starr and Leo Burke
Super Medico 4 vs Scott Hall
Coal Miner’s Glove Match for the World Junior title: Huracan Castillo defends against Eddie Watts
Miguelito Perez vs Rick Valentine

MD: TNT teaches kids karate, this time hammer technique 1, and if you send the name of the technique in on a postcard, well, you could win something. This was nice feel-good stuff but it would have been great if Rick Valentine came out from behind a tree and assaulted him or something.

EB: We’ve had several feuds going on as April ended, with one of the main ones being Carlos Colon vs Atkie Mulumba. This rivalry started soon after Colon’s series of matches with the Iron Sheik, when Atkie attacked Carlos in a show in Mayaguez. Since then they've had a series of matches where there has been no decisive winner, where blood has been spilled on both parts and El Profe has gotten involved on Mulumba’s behalf during the matches. Let’s go to a TV match featuring Mulumba as he gears up to continue his feud with Carlos Colon in Caguas.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIqtIfcAzh8

EB: This is our first look at the new TV taping location at Miramar. We heard earlier on commentary that Carlos had busted Muluma open the previous week and you can see Atkie bandaged up for this match. You’ll also  notice that El Profe is wearing a neckbrace, this was due to some damage Profe took during one of the Carlos Colon vs Atkie Mulumba matches that devolved into a no contest. How exaggerated the injury is we can't be sure of (it is El Profe after all) but he’s claiming that he’s been severely hurt due to the actions of Colon. Atkie’s opponent is Super Medico #4,and this is not Jose Estrada Jr. This is actually Julio Estrada, the younger Estrada son. He is joining his dad and brother in the family legacy and will pop up sporadically from this point forward as he gains more experience. Medico #4 has a very tough draw in Mulumba, who despite his bandaged head remains very dangerous.  Medico #4 immediately charges at Mulumba as the bell rings, firing off a series of punch combinations to stagger Mulumba. Medico #4 is able to keep up the offensive attack for the first half minute, but is caught by a series of headbutts from Atkie. The headbutts reopen Atkie’s head wound and you can see the blood seeping through the bandages when Atkie slams Medico #4. You can also see that some of the blood has stained the white mask of Medico #4. Mulumba immediately hits the splash and gets the win. But that’s not enough for Atkie, who decides to throw Medico #4 to the outside and continue attacking him near the fence. Medico #4 tries to fight back but Atkie continues attacking with headbutts and chokes. This attack brings out both Super Medico #1 and #3 to chase off Atkie and help their family member. Atkie and El Profe leave, with the camera showing a bloody Atkie chanting as he leaves ringside.

MD: Whatever we’ve missed here, it looks to have been interesting. Malumba is bandaged up. Profe has a neckbrace. Medico 4 takes it right to him and does well for a bit, opening up the bandaged wound which is a sight to see. Malumba cuts him off and crushes him with a slam and a splash for the quick win. Post match, he does damage until Medico 1 makes the save.

EB: We unfortunately haven’t located footage from the matches in the Colon vs Mulumba feud, from the bits we have it definitely appears to have been a bloody and hard hitting rivalry. We do have a  music video for Atkie Mulumba that includes highlights from some of the encounters between Mulumba and Colon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPOMB7sEeoE

Besides the highlights against Carlos Colon (the first clip being from the March 5 match), we also see Mulumba dominating in a handicap squash match and also in action against Invader #1 and TNT. The last clip appears to be from the match where both Colon and Mulumba ended up busted open. We see highlights of Atkie attacking Carlos and, if you look closely, you can see near the end that El Profe is standing near the ring holding his head and looking in pain (I’m guessing this is where the neckbrace comes from). Not shown is Carlos attacking Mulumba with a chain (we’ll see a clip of this in a future installment), so this feud definitely reached some violent highs.
MD: Two minutes of the Beast killing guys, flying around, and sticking his tongue out while they occasionally cut to stock footage of jungle animals. Yes, he wasn’t Kamala but it’s not like he didn’t bring a lot to the table in his own (admittedly similar) way.

EB: We mentioned the May 5 card rundown, but what actually happened that night? Based on the results we have, Colon vs Mulumba ended up as  a double countout (I’m guessing the feud was settled at some point in May with a stipulation match). The Super Medicos look to have settled their feud with Los Mercenarios by winning the cage match. Scott Hall defeated Super Medico #4 and Rick Valentine defeated Miguelito Perez. In the battle for the World Junior title, it seems Huracan Castillo has ended his feud with Eddie Watts by winning the coal miner's glove match.

Of the remaining two matches, let’s talk first  about the Caribbean tag title match between Chicky Starr and Leo Burke and the Invaders. This feud started at the end of March and Chicky and Burke have been doing everything possible to avoid giving the Invaders a fair rematch for the titles. One thing you may have noticed earlier during the May 5 card rundown is that, when announcing the Caribbean tag title match, the images shown of Chicky and Leo Burke had Burke wearing boxing gloves. It seems that at some point during this feud with the Invaders, since Invader #1 is known for his heart punch, that Leo and Chicky have taken to talking uo Burke’s experience and knowledge as an amateur boxer. Because of this, Burke has taken to showing up for matches with boxing gloves on. It’s likely that this is a tactic to get in Invader #1’s head and also to potentially have another weapon to use during their matches. Regardless, the Invaders were able to win the May 5 match by dq but did not regain the Caribbean tag titles from Chicky Starr and Leo Burke. But that was not the end of the feud, as Burke would challenge Invader #1 for the Caribbean singles title on May 19.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usT65Ycerfk

This match is from a Camepeones airing sometime in June, with Hugo and Chicky on commentary. Invader #1 has his mask on for this match and Chicky is at ringside seconding Burke. Invader controls the first couple of minutes of the match by working several side headlocks on Burke. Leo tries to counter and escapes a few times, but Invader ends up placing Burke back in the side headlock. We go to a break as Invader and Burke continue jockeying for position and come back to Invader coming back with a headbutt to the midsection on Burke. Leo grabs Invader's tights and uses them as leverage to throw Invader to the outside. Burke follows but Invader is able to counter and ram Burke headfirst a few times into the timekeeper’s table. Invader grabs the Caribbean title belt on the table and hits Burke over the head with it. Invader is limping slightly but remains in control, ramming Burke headfirst into the ringpost. Back in the ring, Invader starts getting fired up and hits several punches and chops on Burke. Invader remains in control but a reversed irish whip attempt leads to Invader ducking a clothesline from Burke that ends up hitting the ref instead. Invader rolls up Burke but El Vikingo is climbing back into the ring and unable to make the count. Burke kicks out and sends Invader flying into El Vikingo, knocking the ref back outside. Chicky actually goes over to help Vikingo back into the ring, as Burke sidesteps an Invader charge into the corner. Burke cradles Invader and puts both legs on the ropes for leverage but Invader is able to kick out at two! Invader pushes Burke into the ropes and both men collide on the rebound, knocking Invader down and sending Burke outside of the ring. Leo disappears underneath the ring for a moment, as Chicky gets up on the apron to distract the ref. Burke emerges with a boxing glove on, which he uses to knock out Invader. Burke quickly tosses the glove away and covers Invader for the three count. Leo Burke has won the Caribbean title thanks to using the boxing glove.Burke is barely able to stand but celebrates with the title as Invader remains knocked out on the mat.  

MD: We get the beginning and end of this and miss the middle, which is a shame because what we got was really good. Burke is a guy that I’d like to call a ring general but that term doesn’t mean much anymore after years of it being used to refer to heel Dibiase or Hunter. He’s so good at doing the absolute basic stuff, working in and out of a headlock, taking a powder, going up and down and up again, but making it feel alive and compelling. He’s never going through the motions but it’s so sound. We come in after the break with both guys hurting and selling legs and what not. Burke has a nominal advantage but Invader has his usual great comeback on the floor with the table and belt. They cycle into two great ref bumps and a visual pin by Invader and a nice near-fall with Burke’s feet on the ropes. It ends with Burke under the ring as Chicky distracts the ref which means we get the loaded boxing glove and tons of heat once again.

EB: If you think Leo Burke using the boxing glove to get the better of Invader #1 would be the end of using the boxing gloves, then you would be wrong. Burke and Chicky would lean even more into the great punching skills of Burke after using the glove to win the Caribbean title. As an example, here is a TV match featuring Leo Burke taking on Super Medico #1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jb1M9DeUjiU

Elidu Gonzalez is commentating and mentions that Burke is both the Caribbean singles champion as well as the tag champion with Chicky Starr. Super Medico has to wait as Chicky unties the boxing gloves Burke is wearing, he had come out to the ring with the gloves already on. Eliud mentions that the wearing of the gloves has become a habit with Burke. Leo starts off with several punches (again leaning into the great puncher bit) before working over Medico’s midsection and leg with several kicks in the corner. Leo grabs Medico’s left leg and drags him to the ringpost, slamming the leg into the post. He is clearly thinking about setting up the figure four already. Back in the ring, Burke continues relentlessly attacking Medico’s leg. He tries to put on the figure four but Medico manages to kick Burke away. Medico is able to keep Burke at bay by using the turnbuckle for support and kicking Burke away. Medico attempts a slam, but his leg gives out and Burke falls on top for a two count. A rope reversal sequence leads to a Medico crossbody for a two count. Medico fires off a series of ‘hit machines’ leading to a sunset flip for a two count. A backdrop leads to Chicky jumping on the apron, but Medico quickly knocks Chicky down.  Some more punches lead to an irish whip reversal, where Medico attempts a reverse crossbody onto Burke. Leo ducks though, and Medico takes out the ref instead. Chicky tosses the boxing glove to Burke, who uses it to knock out Medico. Burke revives the ref and gets the three count for the win. Chicky jumps into the ring and proceeds to repeatedly stomp and kick the downed Super Medico, which brings out Medico #3 to run both Burke and Chicky off.

MD: Nice functional five minute TV match. They skipped the shine and Burke went right to the leg, dismantling it over a minute or two. Medico would get hope spots (a lifted kick in the corner, a slam attempt) but would get cut off due to the hurt leg. He eventually got some rope running going and came back with a bunch of great punches (as usual) before they went into maybe my favorite PR ref bump, the one where the ref eats a twisting body press when the heel gets out of the way. Then Chicky, who had been punched off the apron during the comeback, tossed Leo his loaded boxing glove and he ko’d Medico for the win. That’s likely going somewhere.

EB: As seen in the May 5 lineup, The Dragon Master (or Kendo Nagasaki) is once again making an appearance in Puerto Rico. His target this time is TNT. Let’s look at Dragon Master in action in a TV match.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1YxeEgeDuk

Dragon Master’s opponent is La Sombra. El Profe (with neckbrace) is once again serving as Dragon Master’s manager. This is mainly a showcase for Dragon Master ahead of his TV title challenge later that night. Master controls most of the match, showing off some of his wrestling techniques. At one point we get a shot of an older woman in the crowd, yelling at the rudos and having some missing teeth to boot. Sombra is able to get a brief offensive flurry, including a slam and a legdrop, but a second legdrop attempt misses and from there it’s academic. A side slam and kick to the midsection set up a piledriver for Dragon Master, which gets the win over La Sombra..  

MD: Nagasaki is Dragon Master. Profe has his neckbrace. There’s an old lady missing teeth who gets really into things so I like this venue already. Nagasaki controls early. Sombra takes over but misses a leg drop and is made short work of with a side slam and pile driver.

EB: The May 5 title match saw TNT defeat Dragon Master to retain the title. However,  they would end up having a rematch on TV. But before going to that match, we have an important announcement to make. It appears that the WWC championship committee has revealed the latest rankings. At the moment, the number one ranked contender is none other than TNT.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aF24GnP7wQg

Hugo and Chicky are on commentary for this match. As TNT and Dragon Master start exchanging blows, the camera cuts to Scott Hall holding a microphone at ringside. He is with El Profe (still in a neckbrace) and Chicky explains that Hall is throwing out a challenge to TNT (likely due to TNT currently being the number one contender and Hall has stated that his goal is to challenge for the Universal title). Chicky also mentions that in his opinion TNT has progressed a lot and that he is currently ranked as the number one contender for the Universal title. Hall and Profe remain at ringside as Dragon Master takes over the match with some kick combinations. On commentary, Hugo mentions they will be Thursday in Naranjito and tomorrow in Aguadilla. Chicky adds that tonight in Caguas there will be a new match concept called ‘lucha de barracon’. The ring will be surrounded by a cage with a roof and 12 wrestlers will compete. Each will put up $2,000 and the winner walks away with all of the money. Chicky will be one of the competitors. In the ring, Dragon Master attempts a pin for two. A front facelock is broken by TNT, leading to a quick pin attempt. Both wrestlers get to their feet and stand off. Dragon Master backs TNT into a corner, firing off several kicks and follows up with a  backbreaker. Master sends TNT to the outside and follows up by throwing TNT into the fence. TNT comes back with several strikes and back into the ring they go. TNT works an arm wringer, but Master counters and hits several kicks. Master attempts a pin but TNT kicks out. Dragon Master chokes TNT but gets thrown off. Back on their feet, Master chokes TNT on the top rope. Master continues with some chokes and strikes but TNT comes back with some strikes and a headbutt. Both men exchange blows, with TNT winning the exchange. A rope running sequence leads to both men colliding and going down. Master gets to his feet first but both men collide again. TNT gets the better of the next exchange and is able to lock in the Cobra Dinamita. TNT gets the submission win but we see Scott Hall is still walking near ringside as the video ends.

MD: Interesting he carried on the Dragonmaster gimmick here. If he came out with the giant headdress I guess it makes sense but otherwise, him being painted up has more appeal if he’s wrestling TNT. Hall was out causing a commotion early which distracted TNT and let Kendo take over. Lots of karate shots as you’d expect. TNT fought back on the outside but got cut off in the ring. Finally he came back and, after some nice exchanges back and forth in the corner, won with the cobra clutch.

EB: It looks like TNT has accepted Scott Hall’s challenge and the match is taking place on TV a week or so later.

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

TNT and Hall start fighting almost immediately, not giving Eliud Gonzalez a chance to finish the ring introductions before the fighting begins. They exchange blows and TNT sends Hall into the ropes. An attempted kick misses as Hall grabs onto the ropes and goes outside to regroup. El Profe (sans neckbrace, looks like he’s finally recovered) is at ringside with Hall, so it appears that Chicky and Profe are sharing managing duties as part of the coalition. Hall gets back in the ring and they fight for position in a lockup. Hall backs TNT into the corner and uses a knee to the midsection to gain control. Several loud chops follow, but TNT reverses and counters with his own strikes. Hall gets sent into the ropes and gets hit with a chop to the chest, which sends Hall back outside. Hall walks around the ring  as Profe complains that the chop was near the throat area. Hall gets back in the ring and ends up countering a TNT corner charge with a boot to the face. Hall kicks TNT down and locks in a single leg crab. TNT refuses to submit. Hall breaks the hold and sends TNT into a corner, following close behind with a nice clothesline. A legdrop leads to a two count as we go to commercials. Back from the break, Hall tries to ram TNT’s head into the turnbuckle, but TNT counters and Hall’s head is the one rammed. TNT is dazed and slow to follow up, but eventually knocks Hall down with a clothesline of his own and gets a one count. A sunset flip by TNT gets two. Hall and TNT exchange blows, with TNT winning the exchange and hitting Hall with a spin kick. Hall goes outside briefly and gets caught by TNT when he gets back in the ring. An irish whip is reversed twice, causing TNT to collide with the referee. Hall starts attacking TNT but is hit by a dynamite kick. TNT locks in the Cobra Dinamita and it looks like Hall is going to lose. El Profe goes to the top turnbuckle and jumps off with a double ax handle blow to TNT’s back, breaking the hold.   Hall hits the crucifix as Profe revives the ref. The ref slowly makes the count but El Ejercito de la Justicia rushes the ring and starts attacking Hall to prevent him from pinning TNT. The rudo locker room immediately comes out and a brawl breaks out in the ring. The wrestlers continue fighting as the video ends.

MD: One thing to note is that all four of the main stars we have now (Colon, TNT, Invader 1, Super Medico 1) are all great at punch/brawling, but it’s all different. Colon’s stuff is almost mythic. Invader will build to these monumental exchanges where each shot feels like a big deal. TNT is much scrappier. Medico has rapid fire combos. Here, Hall looked much more natural, less trying to fill a role and more just scrapping with TNT. Hall does another half crab with the rope being held but TNT comes back for an extended finishing stretch. There is a ref bump. He hits a really great running superkick but Profe rushes in to attack. It looked like Hall would win it with the crucifix but the entire locker room bursts into the ring, with the Invaders and Medicos first and it devolves into chaos before he can get the stolen pin. This was a better use of Hall but that might say more about TNT than anything else.

EB: We’ve seen Carlos Colon feud with Atkie Mulumba and now we’ve seen Scott Hall challenge TNT. In a logical next step, we have all four  men facing each other in tag action, as Colon and TNT take on Mulumba and Hall. Let’s go to a segment of Chicky Starr’s La Esquina Caliente and see what happened when these two teams collided.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUqHtFXew2M

Chicky starts by saying that he’s going to show the crushing defeat Carlos Colon suffered last week when he teamed with TNT against Atkie Mulumba and Scott hall. But more importantly, Chicky wants the audience to see all of the times Carlos Colon broke the rules of the WWC and of professional wrestling in that match. Let’s all savor that crushing defeat. The clip starts playing as Chicky narrates what he feels went down. TNT is in the ring with Atkie, as Hall and Colon are staring each other down at ringside. The ref tells Colon to get back to his corner as TNT is thrown over the top rope by Atkie. Chicky frames this as Colon not following the rules by remaining in his assigned corner and being the cause of TNT being thrown over the top rope. Carlos goes over to help TNT as Chicky complains that it’s too little too late. We cut to Atkie hitting a slam and splash on TNT, with Colon coming in to break up the pin. Again, Chicky starts complaining that this beating TNT is taking is Colon’s fault and that he is illegally entering the ring to break the pin. Another quick cut to Hall hitting offense on TNT and going for a pin. Carlos breaks it up and Chicky continues complaining that all this is because Carlos was not in the corner earlier to receive the tag and that again Colon is illegally entering the ring. A third pin attempt is broken up by Carlos and Chicky keeps yammering on about the illegal entry into the ring. Another cut to Colon trying to get in the ring and being held back by the ref, as Hall and Mulumba continue attacking TNT. Chicky complains that Colon is failing his partner by allowing the other team to double team TNT. Colon again breaks a submission attempt. We cut to Mulumba hitting a crossbody on TNT. Colon breaks it up. Quick cut to a Hall powerslam and Colon breaks up that pin attempt. Chicky continues complaining that Colon’s mental deficiencies are causing TNT to be severely beaten down in this match. The beatdown and pin breaks continue and Chicky keeps tying all of this pain and suffering that TNT is going through to Carlos not being there for the tag when he was warding off Scott Hall. ‘There’s only one person responsible for this severe beating TNT is taking and that is Carlos Colon’.

We finally reach a cut where all four men are in the ring and the tecnicos whip the rudo team into each other. Malumba falls out of the ring after a kick from TNT, leaving Hall alone in there with TNT and Carlos. Colon grabs Hall from behind, setting up for TNT to deliver a dynamite kick, However, Hall dodges and TNT instead hits Carlos. Chicky starts framing this as TNT is pulling all of the weight on his team, since Colon is so incompetent he can’t even keep a grip on an opponent. ‘Carlos Colon is weak, he doesn’t have any strength left, he is old’. The ref grabs TNT and tells him to leave the ring as Scott Hall sets up Carlos for the crucifix. Chicky mentions that TNT does follow the rules and leaves the ring as instructed,  as Hall hits the crucifix on Colon. Hall gets the win over the reigning Universal champion. Chicky on commentary says that this crushing defeat happened to Colon 'because he is a cheater,  an animal, an idiot, for being weak, for being old ’. TNT comes in to check on Carlos and both men seem to be having a discussion about what happened. It looks like Carlos is not pleased that TNT did not come in the ring to break up the pin like all the times Carlos did for TNT throughout the match. Chicky on commentary keeps running down Carlos, saying that this loss is entirely Colon’s fault, TNT did what he was supposed to do. Both men walk back to the locker room, with Carlos still upset about TNT not trying to break up the pin and a tired TNT seeming to tell Carlos that it wasn’t possible. Chicky ends the video by saying that Carlos didn’t appreciate all the help TNT gave him during that match and that Carlos is the only person responsible for that defeat since he could barely hold on to Scott Hall. ‘Carlos is old and finished. On the other hand, TNT is young and corpulent, and someone who follows the rules of the WWC. There is a huge difference between TNT and Carlos Colon’. Chicky is really stirring the pot here but I’m sure El Ejercito de la Justicia will work it out.

MD: Chicky gets to frame as only he can what went down in the larger than life TNT/Colon vs Hall/Malumba match. Where we come in, they are just destroying TNT. So many big moves: a Malumba gourdbuster, a Hall lariat, a Malumba top rope flying body press, a Hall bulldog, a Malumba big splash, and each time Colon is there to break it up. On the comeback, however, TNT accidentally nails Colon with the superkick and he’s almost immediately pinned by Hall’s crucifix. This is absolutely one way to start a hot and unexpected program out of nowhere.

EB: Next time on El Deporte de las Mil Emociones, Scott Hall has scored a pin over Carlos Colon and has his sights set on challenging for the Universal title. Will Carlos be able to hold back this challenge? Aniversario is approaching and the Universal champion is expected to defend against the number one contender. Will Hall interject himself into the title picture? Will TNT remain the number one contender?  The road to Aniversario 90 has begun.

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70s Joshi on Wednesday: Yokota! Figueroa!

15. 1979.01.XX2 - 03 Marina Figueroa vs. Rimi Yokota

K: A rare chance to see Yokota on the receiving end of a squash match, this time from the veteran Marina Figueroa. Figueroa doesn’t seem to be able to move very fast so some of Rimi’s usual spots probably aren’t available to her here, so this is mostly just her getting beat down in an effective but not very interesting manner. The most interesting part is when Marina started targeting Rimi’s arm, I liked how she yanked on Rimi’s arm and yanked it into the top rope to put an little spin on a common move. Rimi’s comeback though wasn’t very good as she just brushed it all off and when into a standard comeback as if she’d hadn’t just had her arm-worked over. Marina took over again fairly quickly where Charito Silver got involved from the outside and then puts Rimi away.

*1/2

MD: As best as I can tell we only have a couple of Figureoa matches but she had been wrestling for a couple of decades at this point. Here, she dominated the first half of this, refusing a handshake and then rushing right in as Yokota had turned around with a youthful shrug. She had a way of moving Yokota exactly where she wanted her and doing a very specific sort of damage. Her shots didn’t look particularly impactful but they all hit in the worst possible places, the gut, the nose. Very targeted. That led to her smothering Yokota while twisting the nose and to Yokota diving deep into the well with a very jaguar like bite on the hand that was smothering her to escape.

Yokota tried to work the leg but had to settle, after a figure-four that made it to the ropes, with just containing Figueroa with a headlock. Marina turned that into a nasty headscissors and opened things up to working over Yokota’s taped-up arm, with some nasty and consistent offense. We’re starting to see this sort of selling dropped quickly though, and it was here, as Yokota came back with a cross chop and abdominal stretch that both heavily used the arm that was just getting wrenched over the top rope. There was also a piece of blatant second interference to break up the hold letting Figueroa take over to finish the match with a quebradora and a backbreaker stretch over the knee. Dropped selling aside (only an issue because of the limb being so specifically targeted and so specifically used), it was good to see Yokota in a match where she was positioned more as a babyface and to see Figueroa and very focused, very nasty offense.

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AEW Five Fingers of Death 5/20 - 5/26 Part 2

AEW Collision 5/25/24

Bryan Danielson/FTR vs Jeff Jarrett/Jay Lethal/Satnam Singh

MD: I thought about skipping this because I already said everything that needed to be said for the Dynamite singles match. I thought about just mentioning how great the commercial break was with Satnam doing damage while Jarrett and Jay (and Karen) sat on chairs on the outside and Nigel had a great one-liner about how he never called Tony "Whipped him into the ropes" as that would be silly. I thought about just noting that I'll write five-thousand words if they ever give us a Jarrett vs Danielson singles match. But this was really good. I don't need to say too much about it, but it was really good. You had Danielson getting one upped by Jarrett early and then instead of it working into a shine where the heel gets his comeuppance, it not playing out until the end. You had Satnam showing how dangerous he could and should be by just reaching over and cutting off Dax's shine and draping him over the top; it's as easy as that. You have the protection of Satnam by him not doing all of his big spots every match. He didn't do the body press here. He did do the head-dribbling; he hadn't done that in the Danielson match. That's a huge failing of modern wrestling, the Andrade Effect. Andrade's double moonsault should happen one out of five, maybe even ten matches. He should hit the moonsault most matches and only do the double one on the rare occasion that someone is going to organically roll out of the way. It's 2024 here. We're not all so bull-headed that we're trying to power bomb kidman when we've never done a power bomb in a life. I know that Ric Flair felt like he needed to get all of his signature stuff in because he would have been disappointed if Ray Stevens didn't, but it's better to draw the crowd into something immersive than just give them rote ritual. Don't do anything for the sake of doing it. If Satnam has a number of physically amazing spots, the fans will appreciate seeing the one or two that they actually got to see that sometimes others didn't get to see, as opposed to everyone always getting to see all of them.

Where was I? Oh yeah, Danielson vs Jarrett. Jarrett feeding for Danielson's stuff was so great, just the way he'd slam his whole body back and forth in response. I hated that they were doing the quick camera cuts on Danielson's dropkicks. It's Danielson and Jarrett! We're not talking someone from the Nightmare Factory who only has 40 matches under their belt (and those people will get there but at least then I get the impulse, right?). Don't do the camera cut and rob me of the chance to see Jeff Jarrett respond and react to Danielson flying at him! It'll be ok. I trust them. They trust each other. Production guy who will never, ever read this; please trust them too.

So yeah, this was good. In this case, it was even better at 15 minutes than it would have been at twenty five and it gave them so much to go back to. I just hope there's time to before it's all said and done.

AEW Double or Nothing 2024 5/26/24

Anarchy in the Arena

MD: There's no way to talk about any of these matches coherently. So let me tell a story instead. I caught this the morning after but hadn't been spoiled. Kind of weird thing happened midway through, though. My 11 year old woke up. One of the firm and fast rules of pro wrestling in the household is that it never gets in the way of my family life. I've told this story before but I basically moved in with my then five-year old stepson the same month of the Benoit incident and it was very informative on how much wrestling I have the kids consume. My main feeling is that if they came across it on their own and took an interest, great, I'd show them stuff. Otherwise, there was a firm line. I don't necessarily hide it from any of them, but I usually do stop watching if they come around and want to do something. But she was up early and I wanted to see the end of the match so I tossed her a headphone and we watched the back half together.

I'm not saying this was absolutely her first match ever, but she really doesn't have a working knowledge of the tropes, even if she great at English and has a strong sense of fiction in general. We came in at the point where all of the babyfaces were put through tables which built to the fire spot. And I have to admit, it was pretty tough. I had to explain why they set up the table instead of just laying someone on and jumping on them. Thankfully pro wrestling logic more or less works out. More importantly, I had to explain why everyone was bloody right at the get go. The first time she saw Dax or Danielson, she let out a "Ohhh!" in shock, and then was even more so when I explained how that happened and she was aghast and wanted to know why anyone would do that, to which I reminded her that the second she saw it, she went "Ohhh!" She was more shocked by the fire spot as you can imagine. But she didn't get how he was able to recover and come back later. In general, I repeated, multiple times, that this is the sort of thing they only do once a year.

The nicest thing I can say is that overall, I was able to explain the way causality and consequence worked here. Once Darby got tied up, even as his partners tried to save him, there was a sense that he just had to end up hanging up. It was inevitable. Once upon a time, the sheer threat of it would have been enough, and it would have been like knights saving a princess from a tower before a dragon devoured them. Now, the fans demand to see the dragon devour the princess, even if he spits her out later. But the idea of the Bucks' shoes ending up in Danielson's hands made total sense to her. That sense of hubris and comeuppance is universal. The heels did something that was dangerous but also the height of vanity and it backfired upon them. That sort of thing is primal. All of that is to say that the match mostly held together. If anything, you could be annoyed as a viewer that Perry was able to come back in and even get the win but you're sort of supposed to be annoyed by that, so long as he ultimately gets his comeuppance later on. But still, it would have been better if something like that could have mattered more. But you could say that about almost everything on the card, right?

I did go back to show her the beginning again, because she likes Final Countdown and I thought she'd get a kick out of it. That meant I had to explain why Perry was the Scapegoat so that was another headache. The match was full of things (fire, exploding weapons, gimmicked shoes, the music) that all were callbacks; it's very true that this drained some of the organic sense of violence of it all and the next time they run something like this it needs to be raw. At times it felt more like the Jarrett vs Briscoe Concession Stand Brawl (a WWE style food fight) than, let's say Mad Dog vs Demus. Next time they run this, they should be sure everyone is expecting the former and lean hard with the latter. Some of the individual moments were transcendent though, most especially some of the things Darby let happen to him and the two big musical moments: Darby hitting the coffin drop right as the words hit and the shot of Danielson reveling in it all with the wide shot. Still, it's best to remind yourself that it only happens once a year, give or take Stadium Stampede. It just means that the rest of the year should try harder to be like the two Satnam matches and define a baseline of meaning so that the rare match like this can play off of it. Anyway, right after this we watched To Catch a Thief together and that was a more wholesome family experience.

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2023 Ongoing MOTY List: Eddie vs. Komander

 

13. Eddie Kingston vs. Komander AEW Collision 10/7

ER: I really love the Eddie Kingston King's Road era, and I think it's partly because I'm happy that Kingston got to last long enough in pro wrestling to have the clout to do a King's Road era. A lot of us are of the age where we backyarded (or cleared space in the All Japan matches we didn't understand, and Kingston is a tape trader who lasted long enough to get to do it well. I love what he does, I love his influences, and I love the way his influences are represented. It's so cool that Kingston lasted long enough to be a Dream Match Wrestler they want to put in styles clashes. Kingston came up on this. I go stretches of not thinking about Eddie Kingston as a Chikara Original because he's so obviously spiritually aligned with 2001 Jersey All Pro. I laugh my ass off thinking about Eddie Kingston now - my favorite wrestler to watch on TV if Darby Allin wasn't on that episode of TV - working Komander, because 20+ years later Kingston just gets to wrestle the best possible version of Jolly Roger. We've seen a lot of Kings Road and puro Kingston, and it just feels good to see him have a really great Chikara Kingston match. AEW's roster is filled with the best of the Chikara Guys Who Made It Through, like Orange Cassidy, Claudio, Evil Uno, and plenty of good or even great guys who would have been Chikara Guys, like Dante and Darius Martin or Komander. I'm saying, there is a shocking amount of Chikara influence all over AEW TV, in a way that tightens the match quality and drops almost all of the constant Sex Pest vibes. 

This was different than a lot of my favorite Eddie matches of the last several years, because this is the first time in ages I went in knowing Eddie was going to win. I knew it would be a fun match, I knew Eddie was going to give Komander a fun match, and I knew Kingston was winning. What took my fandom of Kingston to the next level several years ago was when he just became a guy I actually wanted to win. He is great at losing but he is fun at winning, but there is always strife and always a fight. This match promised no Real fight, just fun, and it was a real great version of that match. I like Komander, and he was ON here. Not only did his flying look great - that torpedo dive over the corner with the perfect Eddie catch, or that in-ring tornillo that hit video game flush - but I was surprised at how good he looked in a style clash strike exchange. I knew it was going to be fun when Kingston hit a little guy, but I forget that Eddie is maybe even better at selling for little guys' strikes as he is going to war with a guy who can actually hit harder that he. But he was so good at getting in front of Komander's flurries, great at missing his shots, great at hitting his shots. When Komander chopped him and Kingston made a fun loud sound like they both knew he caught Komander fucking up, it made every chop after that excited OOO sound even better. I don't think Kingston ever caught luchadors - real or fake - better in Chikara than he did here, and Komander would have been a top 20 guy in Chikara, so the fact everything hit so well here thrilled me. Eddie Kingston, knowing he was going to win, laughing at Komander and getting surprised by Komander, 10 minutes fucking flat. One of those matches where you can be proud of 2002 indy wrestling's modern influence, which is one of the main things that AEW has been so good at delivering. 

2023 MOTY MASTER LIST

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AEW Five Fingers of Death 5/20 - 5/26 Part 1

AEW Dynamite 5/22

Bryan Danielson vs. Satnam Singh

If there is an art to this thing called pro wrestling that we all love, it is this: creating the biggest emotional impact by doing as little as possible. That does not necessarily mean that one should never do anything and it doesn’t even mean that one should never do much. It means instead that every bit of effort should maximize the amount of possible impact. Whatever a wrestler does should carry with it the greatest possible impact in the moment, done in a way and at a time to create the greatest possible impact as part of a greater whole. And in order to achieve that, one should likely do as little as possible at each point, so as to increase the value of increased effort when it is most impactful. Pro wrestling is manipulation. Pro wrestling is conditioning an audience. It's using every tool imaginable to move hearts and minds relative to the needs of the moment and the match and the card. If you do more, it should matter more. It should be the means and not the end. Getting this wrong devalues every individual action for everyone and unbalances the possibilities of pro wrestling. Getting this right over time can create possibilities so that when escalation occurs (even and especially at times where it is not expected if done sparingly), it blows minds and sends an audience into a meaningful, mindful, focused, driven fervor, where they are not chanting for sensation and to hear their own voice but instead towards a purpose and narrative destination.

It's about using every emotional hook at one's disposal, everything with inherent value. That could be a geographic connection with a crowd, or a personal story that resonates with people, an injury, a difference in hierarchy or age, sheer athleticism used smartly, or an angle or storyline. It could be anything under the sun natural or contrived that can be used in lieu of action for the sake of action.

And yes, it can most certainly be the sheer existence of a towering giant. Giants are to be protected. Everything is to be protected in its own way (why? so you can cash in on that value when it matters and so that you can establish a meaningful baseline so that everything can matter in its own way; nothing for the sake of itself and everything with purpose!). Satnam especially should be protected. He's a legitimate giant in an industry that's shrunk over the last two decades with the right voices in his ear and as much agility as anyone his size ever. If we learned anything from the journey of Paul Wight, it's that hours of weekly primetime TV with featured matches devalues everything and everyone, but AEW with its cycled roster allows for someone like Satnam to be an attraction and to be special.

I've mentioned this before, but I learned so much from watching 89 Andre. He was mostly immobile and had lost much of his physical strength due to his injuries, but he was still a giant, in some ways even more so than he had been fifteen years earlier, for now he was wide and not just tall. He was one of the world's most famous wrestlers, a legend in his own enormous boots. He was considered a force of nature, and so long as he was treated that way by the other wrestlers and so long as he could leverage his own amazing instincts on when and how to act and when not to, his presence could be leveraged in the most amazing ways. He could accomplish more with a small move of his arm or an emanated sound and grimace than almost any other wrestler in history could do with a half dozen moves strung together.

Satnam has shown up on Dark or Rampage or ROH or a pre-show. We've got a match or two from a house show on tape. But generally, he's been used sparingly. In a world without Dark, it's tough because he needs reps too, and you can't move him from territory to territory. But he has been treated, if not as an attraction, then as someone used carefully. This was his biggest spotlight so far and it was against someone who knew how to make the most out of both the least and the most.

Here, that meant standing face to chest with Satnam to let the image burn into people's minds. It meant coming in with a gameplan of kicks in the best Inoki fashion only to get shoved away with ease. It meant letting things sink in with the chop in the corner and the stalling delayed vertical suplex. Satnam should take his time, should control the pace, should create a heavy, imposing atmosphere and here he did. At the same time, there was no need to rush right to the chokeslam on the apron when it's already established how deadly Satnam shoving Danielson away or tossing him into the stairs was. Teasing it was enough. Instead, with the accidental break of the table as either a planned spot or an inadvertent distraction, Danielson was able to get a few big jumping knees in. Satnam staggered but didn't fall. Then, when Satnam cut him off and did hit the chokeslam on the apron, it meant all the more for the build.

They moved into the finish with Danielson getting the low blow and using multiple knees to take Satnam down. Low blows aren't done every match or done right in front of the ref. They're protected and because they're protected, Satnam was protected by the tide turning because of one. It taking multiple knees to drop him didn't hurt either the knees or Satnam and in some ways helped both. And then Satnam was protected from the tap. Danielson had found a way, as the best in the world should. Satnam was shown to be a monstrous threat that could do damage to anyone at any moment and that couldn't be overcome cleanly. If they ever ran it back, people would be prepared for Danielson to have a nearly impossible hill to climb. And the storyline progressed towards the pay per view.

So much has been devalued over the years due to a penchant for excess, slavish devotion to sensation for the sake of sensation, and the burdens of weekly big match TV, so that any chance to restore weight of meaning like this should be lauded and appreciated. Wrestling can be this still. It can be this again! It’s not a lost art. It’s right there, just waiting for people to embrace it once more. The things that worked in the past worked for a reason and that reason lives in all of our hearts. The evidence is right here. People just need to reach out and rediscover the possibilities. Wrestlers have to stop working with us, stop working for us, and start working us again. A match like this can light the way.

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Found Footage Friday: SWEETAN~! TAKADA~! VIERNES 13~! CRUZ~! BANDA~! SHARON~! WOLFIE~! ROGERS~!

Bob Sweetan vs Nobuhiko Takada NJPW 4/11/84

MD: This was a fun underdog Takada match that came in around eight minutes. He wasn't fully formed yet. He'd be positioned as a junior even deep into 87 and this was pre-UWF but he was plucky and chippy, combining some of the junior stuff you'd expect from 84 NJPW like the headlock into a twisting drop toe hold and a body press with some kicks and punches and a nice back elbow that hit when I was expecting his spin kick. Sweetan was as solid as could be, every blow a thudding, imposing thing, be it a clubber or an elbow drop or a slam. Late in the match, Takada fought his way out of a pile driver attempt and got the crowd behind him and Sweetan gave him a bit of a comeback right until the fans stopped chanting; then he shut him down quickly and planted him on his head. A weird match up on paper but it worked because Takada got just the right amount for it to stay interesting. 

Babe Sharon/Milo Caballero/Viernes 13 vs Remo Banda/Javier Cruz/Rino Castro CMLL 1989

MD: This takes me, finally, to the end of the first wave of Roy's Monterrey uploads. What a road it's been. More to come as there's a second and maybe even third wave of these uploads. This gives us a first look at Rino Castro and Viernes 13. Castro was a local in the style of Super Porky, just a big tecnico with funny expressions, a finish where he just sits down on his opponent, and the ability to move better than you'd expect in exchanges. Viernes 13 is, yes, working a Jason gimmick, with the hockey mask and a great logo of a bloody axe on his chest. He was pretty clunky at times, not seeming at the right place at the right time, but fed okay at times. The idea that people would just punch his hockey mask and he'd sell it normally and their hand would be ok was a bit weird.

Everyone else looked good though. Babe Sharon was an always-on exotico (who came out with a turban and poofy robe) with a reaction to everything and a bunch of paintbrushing strikes, plush a finishing sequence of just running someone over with weirdly angled shots like an exotico Ultimate Warrior (just with a flip senton to end it). Remo Banda, being Volador Sr./Super Parka, of course, looked great in some of the exchanges, including a flip over armdrag I had to go back and watch three times, not to mention a huge dive on Viernes. Milo and Cruz played their role fine even if nothing stood out. Structure here was straightforward, with exchanges in the primera, a beatdown in the segunda (including a fun double headstand anklelock deal on Cruz to end it) and then cycling through after the comeback. Not a ton of drama here but some entertainment for sure. It's a shame we don't have much more Castro as I'd be curious to see him in other matches.

Wolfie D vs Tommy Rogers MECW 2/13/00

MD: Nice little five minute TV match palette cleanser. Les Thatcher and Dutch Mantell were on commentary.Rogers looked like he could be a solid mid card act in AWF a couple of years prior or XWF a year or two after. They wrestled this clean with a lot of nice looking chain wrestling. Basic stuff done well for the most part. Wolfie took over mid match with the nicest floatover DDT you'll see and then followed it up by immediately cutting off Rogers with another one. Rogers was able to twist back out of the corner for a pin out of nowhere though. Post match, Wolfie finally let the character shine through and cheapshotted Rogers before opening him up with the trash can lid and pedigreeing him on the lid. Presumably this led to a really good live show match but it was a different sort of look at Wolfie than what we normally got at least.

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El Deporte de las Mil Emociones: Springtime in CSP

Week 24: Springtime in CSP

EB: One of the main challenges of doing this journey through Puerto Rican wrestling is that we are covering a period where we usually have a dearth of results and/or footage to help inform the rivalries and wrestlers that are appearing in this time period we are covering. The late 1989 to first half of 1990 in particular is a time period where we tend to lack information. Matt and I have done our best in piecing together what we have found (both footage wise and results wise) but this is still a bit of a dark period. April 1990 is definitely a month where this lack of information is notable, so we’ll try to piece together as best as we can how things are progressing in CSP as Spring gets into full swing. The best way to try to cover the goings on is by reviewing the status of the titles and their current feuds.

Let’s begin first with the World Junior title, where ‘Tough Guy’ Eddie Watts has been the World Junior champion since the end of January. After initially winning the title from Super Medico #1, for the past couple of months, Watts has held back the challenge of Huracan Castillo Jr. and Joe Savoldi. More recently, Watts has had a few matches with Invader #4, but his main challengers are still Castillo and Savoldi. And while Watts has been able to hold onto the title so far, his luck is about to run out. According to the title’s history, Huracan Castillo Jr. was able to defeat Eddie Watts for the World Junior title on April 21.   

Although we will still see a bit more of Eddie Watts, we do have to say goodbye to Joe Savoldi, whose most recent semi-regular run wraps up in April. Before saying goodbye to Savoldi, let’s watch him in action against two opponents. First, a non-title TV match against Eddie Watts, and then a bonus match against Chicky Starr.

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

We join the match in progress as Watts has Savoldi on the mat and applies a spinning toe hold. Chicky Starr as usual is at ringside for Watts. Eliud Gonzalez is on commentary, and he makes sure to point out how effective Eddie’s repeated toeholds are on damaging Savoldi’s knee and leg. Watts keeps focusing his attack on Savoldi’s left leg, but Savoldi eventually is able to kick Watts away and flip him over off the ropes. Watts and Savoldi get into a blow exchange, one that it looks like Savoldi is winning. However, Watts sweeps Joe’s leg and sends Savoldi to the mat. Eddie follows up with an ankle twist and then stomps on Savoldi’s leg after placing it on the bottom rope. Watts takes too long jawing at the crowd and Savoldi counters a leg hold with an enziguri. Savoldi mounts a comeback but is showing the effects of the hurt leg. Savoldi works over Eddie’s right leg by ramming it a few times into the ringpost. Both men fight on the outside but Savoldi manages to throw Watts back into the ring. Watts begs off but is able to throw Savoldi through the ropes. However, Savoldi surprises Watts on the apron with a sunset flip back into the ring and is able to score a three count for the win! Savoldi may have not been able to defeat Watts for the World Junior title, but he was still able to score a clean win over Watts.

MD: This is JIP with Watts doing damage to Savoldi’s leg to start. Savoldi does a good job selling it on the comeback, using punches and other things instead of his usual start-of-the-90s junior offense. Watts tries to take a powder but Savoldi chases him down, drops the selling and hits a sunset flip into the ring to win. 

EB: As a bonus, let’s also watch footage of a Savoldi vs Chicky Starr match. We’re not sure if this match is from 1989 or 1990, but it gives us another chance to see Chicky in singles action.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iX53MgPnWc

Another match joined in progress, as both men briefly lock up but Chicky quickly gains the advantage with some blows. Savoldi fires back with a few haymakers and hits a backdrop on Chicky, who quickly decides to roll outside to regroup. Chicky takes his time getting back into the ring and once again gains the advantage with a low blow on Savoldi. Chicky starts hobbling around, complaining that he has a bad knee, but continues attacking the downed Savoldi with several kicks and knee strikes (including using his supposedly injured knee). Chicky remains in control for a couple of minutes, hiding some illegal punches from the ref’s view and taunting the crowd as he maintains control while adjusting his knee pad every so often. Chicky attempts a cover after a slam but Savoldi quickly kicks out. Savoldi fires off a few punches and seems to gain control, backing Chicky into the corner with some kicks. Savoldi hits a monkey flip on Chicky and the tide has definitely turned in Savoldi’s favor. Joe goes on the attack, including chasing Chicky around the ring, and continues with the advantage with several punches and kicks. A punch knocks Chicky through the ropes to the outside, and Savoldi gives chase. However, Chicky appears to reach into his tights as he ambles around the ring,  and when Savoldi tries to chase after him back into the ring, Chicky catches Joe with a loaded punch. Savoldi falls to the mat and Chicky quickly covers for the pinfall win. A not so clean victory for Chicky Starr.

MD: Pretty complete in seven minutes or so. Maybe a little JIP. Chicky eats some shine work until he uses the loaded kneepad (that rare weapon) to throw a bunch of shots into Savoldi’s guts. Joe eventually comes back with monkey flips and a running knee into the corner of his own and Chicky takes a great bump through the ropes. On the floor, though, he pulls out yet another object, this time the knucks and catches Savoldi back in the ring after he gives chase for the win. It makes sense if Chicky’s being pushed as a tag champ (or about to be depending on this was filmed) that he can still get one over, dirty, on a Jr. Heavyweight.

EB: Let’s talk briefly about the other singles title holders. March was a turbulent month for the Universal title, with two title changes occurring in the month. TNT lost the Universal title to Abdullah the Butcher, who in turn lost it to Carlos Colon to end the month. TNT was not happy about losing the Universal title, and beside that unexpected match vs Saito on TV, would soon find himself enveloped in a feud with Rick Valentine (another member of El Club Deportivo). Let’s go to a brief clip from the ending of a recent TNT vs Valentine match.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXgoZV2IrH0 

Hugo narrates the clip, mentioning that both men are on the outside and bleeding. We cut to both TNT and Valentine on their knees and exchanging blows, with both men notably bleeding from their foreheads. We then cut to later in the match, where both men get to their feet and trade blows once more. TNT is able to get the better of this exchange and is able to knock Valentien down with a headbutt. Valentine kicks out of a pin attempt and TNT fires off a few chops in the corner. TNT whips Valentine across the ring but runs into Valentine’s knees when attempting to follow through. Valentine takes advantage and quickly pins TNT, placing his legs on the ropes for leverage and scoring the three count. Valentine steals the win as Hugo mentions that blood has been spilled and TNT is going to be looking for revenge.

MD: This is clipped in a way that we don’t usually see in this footage. We just get snippets of it for a minute or so. What we do get to see is mainly bloody brawling with both of them on their knees throwing shots though. It looks really good and this is one that I wish we had in full, even if on paper, you might not expect much of it. Valentine gets the crooked win by putting his feet on the ropes after a double leg in the corner. 

EB: TNT would continue feuding with Valentine into the beginning of May, but he would not remain without a title for much longer, as at the April 25 tv tapings TNT would regain the TV title he never lost (he had vacated the title when he won the Universal title) by defeating Leo Burke. That’s now two titles El Club Deportivo has lost as the end of April approaches. Of the remaining singles titles, two are in the hands of El Ejercito de la justicia (Colon has the Universal title and Invader #1 has the Caribbean title), while the Puerto Rico title is still held by the injured Manny Fernandez (although the title’s status may soon change since it seems Manny is not returning).

We’ll talk soon about the Universal title, but first let’s look at the tag scene. As mentioned in our previous installment, the end of March saw both tag titles switch hands, with the Super Medicos winning the World tag team titles and Chicky Starr & Leo Burke winning the Caribbean tag titles from the Invaders. Let’s first review the Caribbean tag title feud that began at the end of March.

Chicky and Burke were able to win the Caribbean tag titles from the Invaders thanks to interference from the Iron Sheik. While this interference led to a singles match between Sheik and Invader #1 on March 31, the Invaders quickly started chasing Chicky and Burke to get their rematch for the Caribbean tag titles. As we saw last time, Chicky and Leo gave the Invaders a non-title match, but the Invaders were able to win that match and secure a return title match. 

On April 7 in Caguas, the two teams faced off once again, but Chicky and Burke attacked Invader #4 during the match and temporarily took him out of action. An angry Invader #1 signed to face the Caribbean tag champs in a two vs one handicap match on April 14.  This handicap match took place at Estadio Hiram Bithorn and at one point during the match, Maelo Huertas showed up to help save his brother from a two on one attack, bringing a two by four with him to help clear the ring. Hugo said he had never seen Maelo (Invader #4) like that when he showed up with the two by four. The two teams are signed to face each other in a grudge match for April 21, so it looks like the feud between Chicky & Burke and the Invaders is far from over. We unfortunately do not have footage of any of these matches, but we do have an Invader #1 music video with several highlights from 1986 and 1989 (and set to their current entrance music). Let’s see how many opponents you can recognize.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Xr9kfTpjEY

MD: I’d honestly say that this is a great way to show someone who isn’t in the know exactly what made Invader special. You only see a little bit of his selling but you see a ton of him coming back with big strikes against formidable foes as the crowds go wild. 

EB: The Super Medicos were finally able to defeat Los Mercenarios for the World tag team titles on March 31. The former champions were not happy over losing the World tag titles, and they decided to send a message to the Super Medicos. We got an inkling of something happening during an insert promo we saw in a previous installment, where the Super Medicos made reference to an attack done by Los Mercenarios. What exactly happened? Well, the incident occurred during a tag match where the Super Medicos were facing an unexpected tandem popping in for an appearance in CSP.

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

We already saw Mr. Saito in action vs TNT in the previous installment, but it appears he did not make this excursion alone. Riki Choshu is teaming up with Saito to face the Super Medicos and I am still in shock that these two popped in for an appearance in CSP in April 1990. Eliud Gonzalez introduces both teams, as the Super Medicos show off their recently won World title belts. Saito and Choshu are being managed by El Profe, who has specialized in managing the Japanese wrestlers that have come into the territory. Profe is also the manager of Los Mercenarios, so there may be something else up as well. Choshi and Medico #1 start off for their teams. Choshu gets the better of the initial exchange and is able to back Medico #1 into the rudo corner. Saito holds Medico #1 as Choshu delivers some chops. Master Saito is tagged in and briefly maintains the advantage on Medico #1. However, Medico #1 counters with several chops on his end and is able to tag Medico #3, who sends Saito down with a dropkick. Estrada Jr (it appears we’re still in that weird period where he is being called #4 although by now I think he had been promoted to #3) gets a two count but Saito gets control back with an eye poke. Choshu is tagged in and delivers several kicks to Estrada Jr, followed by a suplex. Choshu gets a two count and tags Saito back in. Saito applies a sleeperhold on the younger Estrada, but Medico #1 jumps off the top rope to break the hold. The rudos make a switch behind the ref’s back, and Choshu puts a nerve hold on the younger Medico (which is again broken up by Medico #1). The rudos switch again, Saito works a nerve hold and again Medico #1 comes in off the top rope to break the hold. Another illegal switch and Choshu works a neck wringer on Estrada Jr. The ref asks Profe if the tag was made and he shakes his head vigorously in the affirmative. Another Illegal switch occurs and Saito backdrops Estrada Jr. Saito continues in control, choking Estrada Jr. and eventually tags Choshu back in. Choshu and the younger Medico exchange blows and Choshu keeps Estrads Jr near the rudo corner. 

Saito is tagged back in and proceeds to choke out Estrada Jr on the mat. Medico #1 cheers on his partner from the apron, and it looks like Estrada Jr is trying to fight out of the choke. Saito sends Estrada Jr. into the ropes and Estrada Jr counters with a dropkick. This allows for the tag to be made to Medico #1, who comes in  with punches on both Saito and Choshu. While this is happening, El Profe charges towards the tecnico corner and yanks Estrada Jr off the apron. This angers Estrada Jr, who goes after Profe, who is backing up towards the locker room entrance. El Profe tries to kick Estrada Jr, but the kick is blocked and Estrada Jr knocks Profe down. As Estrada Jr sets himself up to punch a downed Profe, Los Mercenarios rush out of the locker room and attack the younger Medico. It was a set up. Los Mercenarios and El Profe grab the younger Estrada and drag him into the locker room. Meanwhile, Medico #1 has been successfully fighting off both Saito and Choshu. However, Medico #1 realizes that his tag partner is missing and asks the crowd what happened. Medico #1 leaves the ring in search of his son, as the fans point in the direction of the locker room. All of a sudden, the younger Estrada is tossed out of the locker room and to the floor, busted open. Medico #1 sees his son and goes to him, but the referee has been doing the ring out count while all this has been happening. As Medico #1 holds his son and tries to help him, the referee counts out the Medicos. Saito and Choshu win the match and it looks like Los Mercenarios have sent a message to new World tag team champions.   

MD: Well, this is surreal. It feels like a 1990 WCW tag tournament or something. Choshu and Saito (MASTER Saito) don’t take the night off either. They feed early and then cut Medico (4? They’re saying 4; I’m going to assume it’s Estrada, Jr. unless Esteban tells me otherwise) off with a perfectly timed shot from Saito. A lot of these Medicos matches have felt like an education in Estrada, Jr. taking the heat and there’s more of that here as he takes a beating and gets a hope spot or two in. On the comeback, Medico 4 goes after Profe and gets ambushed by the Mercenarios so while Medico 1 is punching Choshu and Saito and giving them a double noggin knocker, Medico 4 is nowhere to be seen. Eventually he’s tossed out, a bloody mess, and Medico 1 tends to him leading to the countout. This was a fun surprise. 

EB: The Super Medicos and Los Merenarios would face off after this attack in a rematch on April 14. This feud will continue throughout the month and we’ll see how it ends up unfolding next time.
We have a couple of matches that appear to be from April 7. The first match features El Profe’s latest monster Atkie Malumba taking on Miguelito Perez. Let’s see if Perez fares better than the other wrestlers that have faced Malumba so far.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wHxkly5mOY

Hugo and Chicky are on commentary, as they mention that Miguelito has a tough opponent in Malumba. Atkie has been impressive thus far as part of El Profe's Real Academia. Hugo notes that Miguel will have to use his speed and agility against Malumba, as we wait for Atkie to finish his pre match preparation. As Malumba bows, Hugo asks Chicky if they are happy that this man is with El Profe and not against them (Chicky responds with Definitely). Atkie charges at Perez to start but is met by several; punches from Miguelito. Perez is able to stun Malumba and back him into a corner, where he continues attacking Malumba with punches and kicks. Perez does some standing punches and continues the attack, ramming Malumba into another corner and not letting up. Chicky admits on commentary that he is impressed that Perez has been able to keep Malumba at bay so far. However, the momentum shifts when Miguelito whips Malumba into the opposite corner and tries to follow up with a corner splash. Malumba meets the incoming Perez with his own standing splash, and Perez is knocked down. Atkie follows up by choking Perez on the mat, as Hugo mentions that Perez must feel like he ran into a truck. El Profe mugs for the camera holding the shrunken head, as Malumba tosses Perez outside of the ring. Malumba drags Perez over to the fence in front of the crowd and attacks Perez there, including grating Perez’s head across the fencing. Atkie starts shaking and chanting, as he moves over to El Profe and bows to him and the shrunken head. Profe makes sure to point Malumba back in Miguelito's direction, and Atkie kicks the incoming Miguelito right in the face. Back in the ring, Malumba hits a slam and follows up with a splash. As we have seen before, Atkie foregoes the pin and decides to go to the top turnbuckle. A flying splash leads to a three count and another impressive win for Atkie Malumba. El Profe celebrates in the ring and Malumba hits an elbow drop on Perez post match. Chicky says that this man is here to destroy El Ejercito de la Justicia and, so far, it looks like Malumba will do just that. 

MD: Quick mauling here. Malumba took him out to the fence and beat him there a bit, rolled him back in and hit a top rope splash. It was what it should have been.

EB: The other match we have from April 7 features the new Universal champion. Carlos Colon defeated Abdullah the Butcher on March 31st to become the Universal champion once more. While Abdullah will not be appearing in the short-term (meaning no title rematch), El Jeque has sent his latest acquisition after Carlos Colon. The Iron Sheik is no stranger to Carlos, with the two men having previously had a feud over the Universal title in early 1988. Now, it appears Sheik is set on continuing what Abdullah is not able to follow up on.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxfqwzFWEl0 

We join the match in progress as it looks like the Iron Sheik was using his loaded boot to counter a charge into the corner by Carlos. We cut to later in the match as Hugo continues narrating. Carlos goes for a slam on the Sheik but the ref gets knocked down by Sheik’s legs on the slam pick up. Carlos is bleeding and both wrestlers look tired. Carlos hits another body slam on the Sheik and goes to the top turnbuckle. Carlos attempts a flying legdrop but the Iron Sheik rolls out of the way. Sheik gets to his feet first as we see El Jeque lying on the ground beside the ring, completely knocked out. Sheik puts Carlos in the camel clutch. The ref is still out but eventually comes to. Carlos manages to break the hold and the Sheik falls to the outside. Carlos goes after the Sheik and the clip cuts to both men exchanging punches outside of the ring as the ref tries to get them to go back inside. Both men  continue fighting and attack the ref when he tries to break it up (Sheik with a shove, Carlos with a headbutt). Carlos gets fired up and continues punching the Sheik, but a kick to the groin stops Carlos in his tracks. The Iron Sheik takes advantage of the low blow and puts Carlos back in the camel clutch outside of the ring. 

The ref comes to and calls for the bell, apparently it is a double disqualification. As Carlos struggles in the hold, the rudo locker room comes out to cheer Sheik on and to act as a barrier to anyone who might attempt to help Carlos. The tecnicos come out and start fighting with the rudos, as Sheik continues applying the camel clutch to Carlos.  As the fight continues, TNT breaks away from the group and goes around the ring, coming up behind the Iron Sheik with a chair. TNT cracks Sheik on the back with the chair, getting the camel clutch broken and saving Carlos.

MD: Wild stuff here. We only get three minutes of it. Colon accidentally takes out Vikingo with a slam, misses an Alabama Jam, and then just barely escapes the Camel Clutch (great bloody visual). He goes out with Sheik and headbutts him repeatedly and even headbutts Vikingo when he gets in the way. Sheik hits the foul and puts the Clutch back on while they’re out on the floor. Vikingo calls for the bell. The whole backstage area comes out to brawl (which I assume has to do with the heels uniting but it’s a great visual since they haven’t done anything like this since we started the project). 

EB: It looks like the rudos are banding together to try to take out El Ejercito de la Justicia. Colon obviously wanted payback against the Iron Sheik. What is next for these two? Let’s go to an airing of Campeones where we learn a bit more about how this rivalry escalated.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIV-lVtyuLo

This match is from what is likely the April 14 Campeones episode. It’s an older match featuring the Iron Sheik vs Invader #2. We’re including it because the commentary is new, featuring Hugo and Chicky talking about the latest happenings in CSP. It also gives us a chance to see Invader #2 in action. This match originally happened in late 87 or early 88, when the Iron Sheik was being set up for his feud with Carlos Colon for the Universal title. At the time Chicky was the Iron Sheik’s manager. Besides the match, there are some important talking points we need to cover from the commentary.To start,Chicky mentions that he, El Profe and El Jeque have formed a coalition to take El Ejercito de la Justicia out. All three rudo managers are banding together and they will act as one unit going forward. As we’ll see in the coming weeks, this actually also serves as a way to phase out El Jeque, after this run with the Iron Sheik he will no longer be appearing as a manager for CSP. Chicky mentions that the Iron Sheik is an important centerpiece in this plan, as he’ll be facing Carlos Colon once more. Invader #2 controls the early part of the match, as he’s able to hiptoss Sheik. The Iron Sheik comes back with an eye rake and uses his spike toed boot to further gain the advantage. As Invader #2 cuts off Sheik with a dropkick, Hugo mentions that tomorrow they will be in Mayaguez (based on commentary from other matches, I believe TNT vs Iron Sheik was scheduled for that card). 

As the Sheik gains control again with another eye rake, we go to an insert promo featuring Carlos Colon. Carlos mentions that last week the Sheik hurt him (referencing the camel clutch incident we just saw), but tonight he will be out for revenge. They are scheduled to face off for the Universal title in a barbed wire match tonight at Estadio Hiram Bithorn. Calros promises he will deliver a heck of a beating to the Iron Sheik. Hugo and Chicky react to Colon’s words as the Iron Sheik begs off from an attack by Invader #2. As Invader #2 continues with a series of punches, Sheik resorts to another eye rake to cut off the attack. As the ref gets Invader #2 to back away from the corner, the Iron Sheik takes advantage to load up his boot. When Invader #2 charges in, Sheik comes off the ropes with a kick to the head and gets the three count. 

MD: This was a bit more of a spry Sheik from a few years earlier, up against Invader 2 in his Solar-masked glory. It was pretty back and forth with Sheik stooging backwards and bumping a bit more for him and then taking over with eyerakes primarily. This time when he loaded the boot, though, it was the end for Invader. I wonder how much of a boost him being in there, using that gimmick, and being with Chicky. had given Abbuda Dein as he was getting established. Unfortunately we don’t have the barbed wire match this sets up, which is quite the shame.

EB: We unfortunately don’t have any footage from the barbed wire match. Also, we have reached the end of the Iron Sheik’s short run in CSP. This means that there is an opening for a new challenger for the Universal title. Who will be next in line? We’ll find out in a moment as we go to a match that appears to be from the April 14 card.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlG1REUE9Lo 

Pierre Martel is back and this time his opponent is the monster known as Atkie Malumba. Hugo and Carlos are on commentary and it appears this match is from a late April airing of Campeones, since Carlos mentions that he is soon to meet Malumba that night one on one (it seems we have found who Carlos Colon’s next challenger will be). Martel gets an early advantage working Atkie’s arm but a thrust to the throat cuts off Pierre’s attack. From there it’s mainly Malumba, as he shows off the different ways he can choke Pierre. Carlos mentions that we shouldn’t forget that Pierre does use a loaded boot, but whether it’ll come into play here remains to be seen. Malumba continues with the throat and neck based offense, with Profe even getting a cheapshot in on Pierre at one point. The match goes to the outside and Atkie continues on the attack, throwing Pierre into some chairs near ringside. Pierre manages to get back in the ring and tosses some dirt he grabbed from the floor into Atkie’s face, causing him to stumble around outside in discomfort. El Profe checks on Malumba and tries to wipe his face clean. Hugo mentions that with an opponent like Malumba you pretty much have to figure out how to even the playing field. Pierre stomps Maluba as he gets near the ring but follows him outside and gets the better of a punch exchange with Atkie. Back in the ring, Malumba is staggered and Pierre sets up for his loaded boot, but Profe grabs onto Pierre’s leg and refuses to let go. Atkie takes advantage of this distraction and knocks down Pierre from behind. This sets up a splash, although Malumba decides to forgo the pin. Atkie goes up top and hits a flyin splash, again choosing to stop the cover at two. The ref tries to stop Malumba from coming off the top rope again and Atkie splashes the referee instead. Atkie hits another flying splash on Pierre, as another referee comes in and calls for the bell. Malumba leaves the ring, as El Profe tries to calm him down and it looks like Martel is hurt.

MD: You always kind of want to hold it against Malumba for who he isn’t, but he had solid presence; he was always on, always reacting, always trying to make the most of whatever was happening. That meant recoiling in confusion and frustration at every shot Martel got in early and just constantly being on him when he did take over. Martel came back here only to have Profe grab his leg and Malumba load his boot. Maybe you don’t need the monster to also have a loaded boot gimmick but then it does create that dissonance of unfairness that he has to resort to something like that when he’s so big and so dangerous. Post-match was kind of great actually, as he hit a flying body press on the ref (Vikingo) who was trying to get in his way, just squashing him, and then hit the top rope splash on Martel anyway. That’s how you get over a monster, give or take the loaded boot.

EB: It looks like Carlos was attacked in Mayaguez by Atkie Malumba and he is now the newest challenger for the Universal title. Carlos is going to have his hands full with this monster, who has made easy work of all of his opponents thus far. We’ll continue to follow this burgeoning rivalry as we head into May.

Next time on el Deporte de las Mil Emociones, as May approaches things heat up for some of the existing rivalries. Will there be any new title changes? Also, a new wrestler arrives in CSP as a blond cowboy comes calling as part of the new rudo coalition.
 

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