El Deporte de las Mil Emociones: A Side of Duk

Week 32: A Side of Duk

EB: Two weeks after Aniversario 90 we have two matches that continue to follow up on some of the key rivalries from the event. A super tag match between the team of Carlos Colon and Scott Hall and the team of TNT and Atkie Mulumba scheduled for July 21 in Caguas continues two rivalries that had their first encounters at Aniversario. The second of our top matches from July 21 features what may well be the finale for an ongoing rivalry that has been waged since the end of March. The rivalry between Leo Burke and Invader #1 began as a tag team rivalry but morphed into a singles feud over the Caribbean title. Burke started using a boxing glove as a weapon and talked up his amateur credentials and skills as a boxer. The plan to embarrass Invader #1 at Aniversario failed, as it was Invader #1 that obtained the knockout win in the boxing match due to landing a taped fist punch on Leo Burke. The first rematch post Aniversario saw Burke almost steal back the Caribbean title via the use of a loaded taped fist punch, something that has been Invader #1’s trademark move for years. It all comes to a head now in a taped fist match. Let’s go to that match.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaJEjdW1rY8

This match is from a Campeones airing with Hugo and Carlos on commentary. The video starts with Chicky and Leo exchanging a pre-match hug outside of the ring. Burke gets in the ring and you can clearly see both Burke and Invader #1 have their hands taped up. Carlos talks about why this match is with taped fists, mentioning  the different times Burke has stolen wins and titles via the use of the boxing glove, foreign object assisted punches, and the latest incident with the taped up loaded punch that almost resulted in Burke regaining the Caribbean title. Basically, Invader has said enough is enough and that is why we are here . Hugo mentions that Burke may very well have some object inside the wrapping but we also know about Invader's famed taped fist heart punch, so it remains to be seen who will come out on top. In the ring, Burke takes the advantage after a lock up and rope run by Invader by hitting a taped fist punch to the midsection that immediately sends Invader down. Invader lays prone over the bottom rope as referee El Vikingo checks on him. Burke grabs Invader and continues to focus on Invader’s midsection with a series of kicks. Invader again goes down and Burke stomps on Invader. Burke works an armbar but backs away when Invader squares up to punch with his taped fist. Burke regroups and goes back to the armbar. Burke hits some kneedrops on Invader's arm and continues working the armbar.  It is clear that Leo’s strategy is to try to neutralize Invader’s arm to minimize the danger of the taped fist punches. Invader gets to his feet but Burke yanks him back down via a hair pull. Invader is able to get back to his feet and breaks the hold by sending Burke into the ropes. It looks like Invader may be setting up for a heart punch on the rebound but Burke avoids it by basically grabbing and jumping into the ropes, almost holding himself in a cradle position. Burke then immediately slips to the outside. Burke regroups with Chicky outside and takes his time getting back in. On commentary, Carlos and Hugo are talking about the upcoming Fan Appreciation Day match with TNT and mention that TNT seems to have brought in a new wrestler as backup (more on this shortly). Burke finally gets back in the ring and we go to commercial as Invader gets a side headlock after a lockup. 

Back from commercial, Burke is in control of the match and hits a neckbreaker on Invader. A pin attempt gets two. Invader crawls on his hands and knees around the mat, scooting through Burke’s legs and hitting a taped fist punch on Burke’s right knee. Leo immediately falls over after the blow. Burke uses the ropes to get back up but Invader again goes after Burke’s leg with a punch, Burke keeps a hold on the ropes for balance and counters with a kick to Invader’s face. Burke lands some taped fist punches and some turnbuckle smashes on Invader. Both men start exchanging strikes, with Invader getting the better of Burke as the chops keep being thrown. Invader gets his second wind and continues on the attack, but Burke gets a respite when Invader is tripped up by Chicky Starr. Burke misses an elbow drop though, and Invader winds up for the heart punch. Burke gets up and gets hit right in the chest. Leo is knocked out and Invader pins Burke to retain the Caribbean title. The crowd cheers and celebrates Invader’s victory. We then cut to Burke being attended to in the ring, with the last image being Leo Burke being stretchered out. This feud is finally over and we have seen the last of Leo Burke in CSP. So long Leo, you had quite the nine month run.   . 

MD: Given the commercial clipping we only get about seven minutes of this but its the usual high quality between these two. Burke takes over early and works over Invader’s left arm. Maybe an odd choice considering Invader throws the heart punch with the right but it works for him for a bit until Invader starts to fire back. Burke delays the gratification by leaping into the ropes and then slipping out to escape, a great bit of business there. Invader does come back but Chicky trips him off the ropes, only for Burke to miss an elbow drop and get crushed by the Heart Punch. This felt like a definitive blow off.

EB: While one rivalry has finally ended, there are two others that are still very much crescendoing. After coming to Carlos Colon’s aid on July 14, Scott Hall  is teaming up  with Carlos to take on TNT and Atkie Mulumba. Let’s go to Caguas once again for this encounter.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoeXCQhq7TU

As the tecnico team is introduced, Hugo makes note that Scott Hall is the newest member of El Ejercito de la Justicia after last week’s events. Our commentary team for this match is Hugo and Chicky Starr. Chicky calls Carlos old and Scott Hall a traitor. The rudo team of TNT and Atkie Mulumba emerge from the stairwell and immediately charge the ring to fight Colon and Hall. Carlos and Scott are ready and trade blows with their respective rivals. Colon knocks TNT out of the ring after several blows, while Hall takes the upper hand on Atkie in the ring. Colon gives chase and attacks TNT on the arena floor, hitting a bodyslam and throwing TNT into the ringpost. In the ring, Hall has Mulumba backed into a corner and fires off several punches and kicks. Mulumba is able to fight back and grapple with Hall, as TNT and Colon make their way back into the ring. Colon backs TNT into a  corner and does standing punches in the corner, as Hall once again gets Mulumba into the corner. Colon headbutts TNT out of the ring and then Hall and Colon hit a double clothesline on Mulumba that sends him staggering backwards onto the middle rope. It looks like the match has finally settled into one person being in for each team, as Hall kicks the downed Mulumba in the chest, sending Atkie to the outside as well. The rudos try to recover on the outside from the blitz they have received in the match so far, as Hall waits in the ring and Colon is ready in the corner to back Hall up. Chicky and El Profe try to get their guys composed (with Profe showing Atkie the totem to get him focused). TNT gets in the ring for his team and Hall tags in Carlos. Colon immediately gets the better of the lock up as he hits a couple of chops, a backdrop and clothesline on TNT. Hall is tagged back in and continues attacking TNT as the crowd cheers along. Hall makes an unsuccessful pin attempt after a clothesline, then works a side headlock on TNT. The hold is broken and TNT hits a clothesline on Hall but misses an elbow drop. Hall hits some punches and a clothesline of his own, leading to another unsuccessful pin attempt. Hall punches TNT but the momentum sends TNT backwards into the rudo corner where Mulumba is tagged. We go to commercial as Mulumba enters the ring.

We come back to see TNT in control of Scott Hall, working a rear chinlock (or maybe it’s a nerve hold). The ref checks Hall’s arm and it looks like it almost drops for three, but Hall starts kicking and stomping his legs to show he is still conscious. The crowd starts clapping along as Hall tries to fight out of the hold. Hall gets to his feet and hits several punches, but TNT stops the barrage with a quick punch and immediately sends Hall into the ropes. However, TNT puts his head down too soon and Hall is able to stop and put TNT in backslide for a two count. TNT again puts on the never hold on Hall, but Hall keeps his arms up. TNT decides to grab Hall and rams Scott’s head into Mulumba in the corner, stunning Hall. Atkie is tagged in and the rudos hit a double headbutt on Hall.  Mulumba bites Hall and sends him into the ropes, but Scott is able to hit a crossbody for a two count. Atkie bites Halla again and takes Hall over to the rudo corner. TNT tags back in but Hall is able to duck some attempted clotheslines off the ropes with one of his own. Finally, Hall is able to make the tag to Carlos, who leaps over the top rope into the ring. Colon hits a couple of dropkicks on TNT and starts getting fired up as the crowd cheers on. Carlos alternates between biting and punching TNT. Carlos continues on the attack (and does a cartwheel) but Atkie comes in to help his partner out. Hall comes in to cut Atkie off and once again we have the rivals paired up in the ring. Mulumba is able to headbutt Hall through the ropes and looks to be going after him. At the same time, TNT sends Carlos Colon into the ropes and attempts a spin kick. Colon ducks the kick but ends up colliding with the back of Mulumba. This collision sends Atkie out of the ring and Carlos turns around to face TNT. However, TNT was waiting on Carlos and hit him with a dynamite kick right in the face. TNT makes the cover and gets the three count on Colon! La Nueva Pareja del Terror have won the match. Hall and Mulumba continue fighting on the outside, not noticing that the match is over. They end up by the ringside fence, where Hall has the advantage on Mulumba. The camera cuts to the ring where we see Colon is still down on the mat but TNT is outside and has a chair in his hands. We go back to Hall and Mulumba, where Hall is picking up one of the signs that was hanging on the fence and  then chases after Mulumba. Hall hits Atkie with the sign but TNT is right there and immediately hits Hall with the chair. TNT hits the downed Hall with a couple of chair strikes, but Carlos Colon shows up with the sign Hall had and smacks TNT with it to chase him off. The video ends with TNT and Mulumba running for the stairs as Colon and Hall regroup.

MD: Larger than life tag here, bookended by crazy brawling. Colon and TNT/Mulumba and Hall paired off to start, with Hall and Colon getting the advantage, standing tall as they hammered away in respective corners, sending Mulumba especially outside of the ring in confusion. We get Colon and Hall pressing down on TNT after he reenters the ring, but not the transition to heel offense; we come back from commercial with TNT using a nerve hold on Hall. Hall gets some big star-like comeback attempts against first TNT and then Mulumba but gets cutoff until he can make the hot tag to Colon. Very clever finishing sequence with Colon ducking the spin wheel kick but crashing into a stunned Mulumba who goes sailing out of the ring. That leaves Colon open for the Dynamite Kick and TNT to score a pinfall on him. Post-match, there’s the other half of the crazy brawling with Hall chasing down Mulumba with a table in his hands only to get whacked by TNT from behind with a chair. Great stuff that kept the programs going.

EB: We once again have two tv episodes for the weekend we are covering in this installment. First, we have the Campeones episode from July 28 ,with the added detail that this seems to be the west coast version of the program since it is hyping the west coast version of Fan Appreciation Day, as well as some of the cards occurring later in the week.

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

Your hosts for this episode are Hugo Savinovich and Carlos Colon. Hugo asks Carlos to mention what they will feature on the program today and Carlos mentions that we will see a new wrestler from Korea brought in by TNT by the name of Kim Duk. Kim is a martial arts expert and a tremendous wrestler, and we will get our first chance to see him today against Huracan Castillo Jr. We’ll also get the Super Medicos against the team of Idol and Valentine. As Hugo starts talking about the other matches they’ll have today, a fan reaches over from off camera to shake both hosts’ hands. Hugo continues talking while shaking the hand. Hugo then segues into talking about the upcoming Universal title rematch on Fan Appreciation Day. Carlos says that he is training hard and will be ready for TNT. Hugo promises they’ll talk more about this and other happenings throughout the program. 

MD: Funny moment as Hugo and Carlos were introducing things as someone just reaches a hand in from off screen to shake both of their hands. They don’t miss a beat. 

EB: Our first match is the debuting Kim Duk against Huracan Castillo Jr, with the match already in progress. Castillo is down on the mat as Duk has a standing armbar on his opponent. Chicky Starr is pacing at ringside, holding a kendo stick over his shoulder. Castillo manages to stand up and back Duk into a corner, unleashing a series of punches and kicks on Duk. Carlos on commentary mentions how Duk has been highly talked about by Chicky and TNT but it remains to be seen if he is that good. An irish whip reversal leads to a clothesline attempt from Castillo being partially blocked by Kim Duk. A couple of blows keep Castillo down and this leads to Duk putting the cobra sleeper on Castillo for the submission win. The ref makes the five count to get Duk to release the hold after the match is over, as TNT and Chicky enter the ring. Hugo mentions that Duk needs to wake Castillo up but instead Duk takes the kendo stick from Chicky and chokes Castillo some more as Chicky and TNT have the ref’s attention. Afterwards, Duk wakes Castill up and the rudos leave without any further incident.It’s an interesting choice to have Kim Duk come in as TNT’s partner, my feeling is that he may be a substitute for Mr. Pogo (they had spent the last couple of weeks mentioning Pogo was returning but he hasn’t shown up still and there was no mention of him this week).

MD: I was not expecting Kim Duk here in 1990. The presentation is interesting. We come in JIP and he turns a Castillo advantage around quickly and floors him with a clothesline before hitting basically the dynamite kick and locking in the cobra dinamita as TNT watches with approval. They need more strong heels and it sort of made sense for TNT to remake things in his image. Maybe a little weird because Duk was so much older than TNT, but we’ll see how they spin it. He certainly ate up Castillo here. 

EB: We have a promo from Lance Idol and Rick Valentine about an upcoming match on Friday against the Super Medicos in Fajardo. Lance Idol sets a record for the amount of times mentioning Space Mountain in a span of a minute, comparing himself and Valentine to Space Mountain. Valentine also mentions that the Medicos are facing Space Mountain, so I’m not sure if they are trying to get this over as a team name or if they are stuck in that metaphor. Chickty translates and glosses over most of the Space Mountain mentions. The Super Medicos give a response in their promo, mentioning their two matches against Idol and Valentine this Friday and tonight in Caguas.  Super Medico #1 says that they don’t have nightmares (in response to valentine’s part of the previous promo) and if they’re scared of anything, maybe it is of ‘el cuco’ (basically the boogeyman) but certainly not of them. 

Before our next match we get a card rundown for the west coast version of Fan Appreciation Day taking place on August 5 in San German. The card is similar to the one that will be held in Bayamon on August 4. The main event is the Universal title rematch between Carlos Colon and TNT, with the stipulation being that the match cannot be stopped due to blood. We also have the customary Bronca Boricua match that takes place on Fan Appreciation Day, with 16 wrestlers scheduled to take part. These wrestlers are Invader #1, Atkie Mulumba, Scott Hall, Kim Duk, the Super Medicos, Lance Idol, Gama Singh, Rick Valentine, Miguelito Perez, Los Mercenarios, Huracan Castillo Jr, Chicky Starr and El Profe. Besides these top two matches, we also have other bouts scheduled such as Scott Hall vs Atkie Mulumba in a cage match, Invader #1 defending the Caribbean title against Kim Duk, a rematch for the World tag team titles as the Super Medicos defend against Lance Idol and Rick Valentine, The Caribbean Express defend the Caribbean tag titles against Los Mercenarios, Aguilita Solitaria vs Espectrito, and Gama Singh vs Chicky Starr. 

After the card rundown, we get a match from the TV taping between the Super Medicos and Lance Idol and Rick Valentine. It’s a non-title match since Idol and Valentine have only just started teaming up together. Super Medico #3 and Lance Idol start off for their teams. A lock up leads to a side headlock by Medico #3. A rope throw counter results in Medico #3 doing a baseball slide through Idol’s legs and then hitting a dropkick. Idol decides to tag Valentine in, but Medico #3 counters a rope run with a leapfrog, leading to the two rudos almost colliding with each other. Medico#3 hits a dropkick into Valentine’s back, sending him into Idol. Valentine then gets hit with an armdrag takedown. Hugo and Carlos on commentary are talking about how Lance Idol has recently arrived to team up with Rick Valentine, and they wonder if they have had experience working as a team before based on how they’ve done in CSP so far. The Medicos do some quick tags that involve leaping off the top onto Valentine’s arm while he is held in an armbar by the other Medico. After doing this a few times, Medico #3 remains as the legal man in the ring working the armbar. Medico #1 is tagged in and the Medicos continue their strategy of working over Valentine’s arm. Medico #3 is tagged back in and sends Valentine into the ropes, but puts his head down too early. Valentine takes the opening and hits a neckbreaker, allowing Valentine to tag in Idol. Lance takes over with a snapmare, kneedrop and several punches to Medico #3’s head. Idol sends Medico #3 into the ropes for a backdrop and then tags Valentine back in. 

The rudos do a couple of double team maneuvers before Valentine exits the ring. Idol hits a clothesline for a pin attempt but Medico #1 breaks up the attempt. As the ref is busy sending Medico #1 out of the ring, the rudos do an illegal switch. Valentine hits a dropkick on Medico #3, but Medico #1 immediately breaks up any potential pin attempt. Medico #3 starts firing back with some punches but Valentine cuts him off with a kick. Medico #3 ducks a clothesline from Valentine and then counters with a clothesline of his own. Medico #1 is tagged in and he cleans house on Valentine and Idol. A double noggin knocker sends Idol rolling out of the ring, and Valentine is hit with a backdrop for a one count. A small package attempt leads to Valentine kicking out as well. Medico #1 gets an abdominal stretch on Valentine, but Idol comes in to break it up. Medico #3 also comes into the ring and now all four men are fighting. The rudos are whipped into each other and the Medicos hit a double dropkick on Idol to send him out of the ring. The Medicos set up and hit a rocket launcher on Valentine, but as the pin attempt is made by Medico #3, the ref is busy getting Medico #1 out of the ring. With the ref distracted, Idol goes to the top and connects a kneedrop onto the .back of Medico #3’s head. Valentine rolls over to cover Medico #3 and they steal the pinfall win. Carlos mentions that it was a smart move by Idol and Valentine even if it was sneaky, and that this shows how well they work as a team if they could pull off a sneaky tactic without getting caught.  As a result of this non-title win, Idol and Valentine have earned a World tag title shot in Caguas.

MD: So, we started the Idol/Valentine interview and I was worried. Idol said “Space Mountain” and “Baby” about seven times each in a one minute span and then Valentine said “You Know” a lot, but somewhere in there, it dawned on me that, somehow, amazingly, Idol and Valentine were actually calling themselves Space Mountain as their tag team name, and that’s one of the most amazing things I’ve ever heard. 

Valentine said that Medico 1 had to reassure his son after they both had nightmares and the Medicos responded by saying they never have nightmares. I do appreciate that they’re not just cutting promos in a vacuum but they do respond to one another, which I think is important given the language gap between the two teams.

The match itself was fairly straightforward. I liked how Idol bumped for things like dropkicks, but Valentine seemed maybe too over the top, even for a stooge-laden territory like PR. It almost veered into parody in a way guys like Rogers, Burke, and either Starr managed to avoid. Valentine took over with a pause and a neckbreaker on Invader 3 and they did a good job beating him down. Comeback was fiery with the Medicos hitting the double dropkick and the rocket launcher but the heels hitting a knee drop off the top to turn it around. That’s a finish we’ve seen a few times in the last year now, but it does heat things up for the next match. 

EB: We now go to a series of promos, first up is new arrival Kim Duk. Chicky is conducting the interview and asks Duk about his upcoming match this Friday in Fajardo against Invader #1. Duk cuts a short promo, although it is clear that talking is not his strong suit. The advantage here in Puerto Rico is that you can cover a bit for some of the weaker English promos with the translation. Case in point, Duk says a couple of sentences about his match with Invader #1, Chicky then translates and makes it sound more confident. Chicky also talks about Duk’s match tonight in Caguas against Gama Singh. As soon as Chicky finishes up talking about that match, TNT walks into frame ready to talk about his upcoming matches. This Friday TNT is teaming up with Atkie Mulumba to face Scott Hall and ‘el viejito’ Colon, but tonight in Caguas TNT is facing Invader #1. TNT says that he knows Invader #1 has been sent by Carlos Colon to hurt TNT before the rematch, but TNT has Chicky Starr in his corner now and nothing and no one will get in TNT’s way. Next week TNT is going for the Universal title, but tonight TNT is sending Invader #1 out on a stretcher.

After the rudos have had their say, Invader #1 cuts a promo in response. He starts off by sending a special hello to wrestling  fan Carmen Jovet (she is a journalist and tv host/personality). Invader #1 gets to the point  quickly by mentioning that we’ll see what Kim Duk is made of on Friday and then turns his attention to TNT’s comments. TNT has been saying that Carlos Colon is ordering Invader to hurt TNT, but Invader makes it clear that neither Carlos Colon or anyone for that matter needs to be ordering Invader to do anything, so TNT can get that out of his head. Invader knows that TNT wants to become the Universal champion, well so does Invader. The only difference is that while Carlos is the champion, Invader is not interested in challenging for the title. Invader knows that TNT is already thinking about the August 4 Universal title rematch, but to get there TNT has to go through Invader first. So TNT better be ready for tonight, and if he thinks Chicky Starr will make a difference, Invader has El Ejerciot de la Justicia watching his back. 

MD: This was more or less effective. Chicky talked about Gama Singh in here too. I don’t think they should have had Kim Duk speak in English about the Invader match. He only did ok with it and it wasn’t needed. He could have just looked fearsome as either Chicky or (especially) TNT talked him up. Invader gave a shout out to a kid and emphasized again that they all wanted the Universal title but that they were stronger together and fought for justice and all that. Effective overall. 

EB: The rest of this Campeones episode has a couple of matches that we have already covered (including the Invader #1 vs Leo Burke taped fist match covered at the start of this installment). Besides these matches we also get some more promos, including one where Carlos Colon talks about the upcoming match with TNT for Fan Appreciation Day, El Profe with Atkie Mulumba talking about Mulumba’s upcoming matches against Scott Hall, Scott Hall offering his response about his upcoming matches against Atkie Mulumba, and a show closing where Carlos Colon offers some additional comments about how he is training hard for the Universal title rematch scheduled for next week and that he is confident he will defeat TNT.  

MD: Not much to say about the end here. Pretty straightforward promos from Profe and Hall but it was fun to see Hall having to come up with a bunch of different expressions and poses as Hugo was translating.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FiDKw3okhq0

EB: Beside the Campeones episode for July 28,  we also have a Sueprestrellas episode from the same day. The show opens with Hugo doing a voiceover announcing that tonight in Caguas the main event will be Invader #1 vs TNT. Also tonight, there will be a lumberjack match between Scott Hall and Atkie Mulumba.  We go to Hugo in the studio  after the show intro and he runs down the other matches for tonight’s show in Caguas. Hugo also runs down what is scheduled for today’s program, including new arrival Kim Duk joining TNT as a guest on Chicky Starr’s Sports Shop. After reminding fans that tonight they are in Caguas, Hugo starts talking about next week’s Fan Appreciation Day show taking place in Bayamon.

Our first match for the program is Invader #4 taking on TNT. Eliud Gonzalez is our commentator for this bout. TNT and Invader #4 circle each other to start but TNT kicks Invader #4 in the midsection when it looks like they will lock up. TNT knocks down Invader #4 with a karate thrust and follows up with a clothesline attempt that is ducked by Invader #4.  A surprise crossbody by Invader #4 off the ropes gets a two count. TNT immediately rolls out to stop the momentum, as Invader #4 stares at both TNT and Chicky and makes a ‘come on’ motion with his hands. TNT gets back in as the crowd chants for Invader #4, and is met with an armdrag and two dropkicks. Once again TNT rolls out of the ring and we see that Kim Duk has also made his way to ringside to second TNT. Back in the ring, TNT and Invader #4 exchange hammerlock counters and then some chops. TNT is visibly frustrated with the way the match is going and turns to complain to Chicky at ringside. A lock up leads to Invader #4 taking TNT down with an armdrag. Invader #4 hits another dropkick on TNT but a followup attempt falls short when TNT is able to hold himself back. This gives TNT the opening to take control with a knee to the head and a spin kick. A clothesline is ducked by Invader #4, who briefly counters with a clothesline of his own. However,  an irish whip reversal and charge leads to TNT hitting a dynamite kick on Invader #4. This sets up the Cobra Dinamita and eventually Invader #4 falls unconscious. TNT wins by submission. Kim Duk and Chicky Starr enter the ring to congratulate TNT, but when TNT goes over to wake up Invader #4 he is waved off from doing so by Chicky. They turn to leave but the ref stops TNT and reminds him he has to wake up Invader #4. TNT goes back to do this, but this time Duk waves TNT off and tells him not to do it. Again the rudos turn to leave but the ref once again stops TNT and tells him he has to wake his opponent up. TNT finally wakes up Invader #4 (while jawing at the ref) and the rudos leave the ring.   

MD: Short but complete match. I feel like we haven’t seen as much Invader IV lately but he has been on the cards, just towards the bottom. There was more of a need of the Invaders as a tag team when they were doing the tournament earlier in the year and maybe more of a need to have Invader 1 as a singles guy recently. TNT tends to take over here either by just walking backwards or getting a kick out of nowhere, but it is a clear sense that he is in control of what’s going on, almost in a Samoa Joe sort of way, just his presence being that strong. Despite that, they do go back and forth a bit before the kick and the cobra take Invader down. 

EB: We get a couple of promos from the two teams that will battle for the World tag team titles tonight in Caguas. The challengers are Lance Idol and Rick Valentine and they are getting the title shot after getting a win over the Super Medicos in a non title match (which aired on Campeones). Chicky is conducting the interview and says that these two men will be the new World tag champions after tonight. Rick valentine wants the fans to see the video of what happened in the non title match. After showing the finish, Valentine promises that they will leave with the belts tonight and that Chicky should start getting the party ready. Idol adds that the Medicos better be ready because they are facing two of the greatest athletes in wrestling. The Super Medicos are then shown with Hugo, where they comment about the title match tonight. Medico #1 promises that what happened in the previous match will not happen again. Medico #3 mentions that they won’t make the same mistake twice. Hugo brings up the Medicos defeating the Rougeaus at Aniversario and Medico #1 says that not only the Rougeaus but they’ve defeated a lot of other great teams as well. Idol and Valentine better be ready to wrestle “good and pretty, because from A to Z,  masters in the ring are the Super Medicos. Those belts are too big for you.” Medico #1 also sends a message to Chicky, saying that they shouldn't be partying yet, because some dreams are nightmares.   

MD: Main issue here is that Valentine and Idol have a fall on the Medicos now. This time they do not call themselves Space Mountain so we’ll see if that was just a one time thing. Medicos have beaten big teams and they’re primed to get revenge on Idol and Valentine.

EB: It’s time for this week’s Chicky Starr’s Sports Shop segment and our guests are TNT and Kim Duk. Chicky introduces the segment and his guests as TNT and Duk shake hands. TNT speaks first, mentioning that he saw Duk on one of his Japan excursions. Tremendous wrestler, bloodthirsty and he is not afraid of fear. That is why he and Chicky brought Duk over, so that El Ejercito de la Justicia can pay for the things they have done to TNT. Chicky then asks Kim Duk about his match tonight and Duk cuts a promo that again shows that speaking is not his strong suit. Duk mentions that the Puerto Rican people will see what he can do and that his team with TNT will mean that it will be over for their opponents. Chicky translates, and again there is the advantage of being able to cover for a weaker promo with the translation. Hopefully they let Duk talk less going forward to maintain a more threatening vibe (or maybe he’ll get better, we shall see).

We get a rundown of tonight’s card in Caguas and for tomorrow’s card in Salinas. The card in Salinas is as follows: Invader #1 & Scott Hall vs TNT & Atkie Mulumba; Miguelito Perez vs Kim Duk; the Super Medicos defend the World tag titles against Idol & Valentine; Huracan Castillo Jr. vs Ron Starr; Gama Singh vs. Mercenario #1; and a mixed tag match as Aguilita Solitaria & Invader #4 take on Espectrito & El Profe. After some commercials, we get a Kim Duk music video that shows off his martial arts prowess.

MD: Another less than stellar promo from Duk but the training video more than made up for it with TNT holding a bag, footage from a cage fighting movie, and Duk (labeled as “Korean Power”) breaking boards. 

EB: The Caribbean Express and Los Mercenarios are tangling once more over the Caribbean tag titles. El Profe is with Mercenario #1 and claims that last week the Caribbean Express tried to take advantage of Ron Starr two against one, This time it will be two on two. Los Mercenarios will cut through Perez and Castillo’s dirty tricks and walk away with the Caribbean tag titles. Castillo and Perez offer their version of what happened the previous week, and it’s that Mercenario #1 interfered and rammed Miguelito into the post during the singles match Perez was having against Ron Starr. I believer their version of events over El Profe’s. Tonight it will be two on two and they will be ready for any potential dirty tricks Los Mercenarios may have. 

MD: This feels a little placeholder-y to me. Idol/Valentine vs the Express will be fresh when and if they get back to that, but Starr would have been more useful as a singles at this point.

EB: We get an ad for the Wednesday TV taping in Miramar which will include the Invaders taking on Idol & Valentine, the Super Medicos vs TNT & Kim Duk, Miguelito Perez vs Ron Starr in a coal miners match (a pole match), and Huracan Castillo Jr vs Mercenario #1. We then go to a  Gama Singh music video that  includes highlights of Singh against Rick Valentine, Chicky Starr, Leo Burke and others.

MD: They really do tape everything, or at least you get the sense of that watching this and seeing him against Chicky, Valentine, and Burke. Ah well. Nice to see them stooge and beg off and bump for Singh but nothing he does is particularly spectacular relatively.

EB: Scott Hall and Atkie Mulumba are set for a lumberjack match tonight in Caguas. We get a promo from El Profe about the  match, saying that Hall won't have anyone backing him up tonight and that, while Hall has been able to bloody up Atkie, that only makes Mulumba stronger and more dangerous. Tonight will be the last anyone sees of Hall. Scott responds by talking about how Mulumba always seems to be hightailing it when things go in Hall’s favor. But tonight he won’t be able to run as the lumberjacks will throw him back into the ring.  

MD: I’m not convinced Hall is particularly blonde to be the Blonde Outlaw, but whatever. This was set up by the match where they brawled down the stairs and maybe the tag where Hall ran across the stadium with a sign to attack him. Now they’re going to do a Lumberjack match. Makes a lot of sense and keeps the feud going. This is all solid stuff.

EB: Hugo has a special report segment about the upcoming Universal title rematch set for August 4. He has a masked TNT with him in what looks to be a control room. TNT says that he defeated Carlos Colon 1-2-3 ar Aniversario despite it being very slippery and he wants them to roll a tape of what he is talking about. As the footage plays, TNT mentions that Carlos tried to hurt him but he kept avoiding those attempts. As they show TNT grabbing the ropes for leverage, TNT claims that the ref was bought off by Carlos to waive off the pinfall. Hugo brings up that TNT held onto the ropes, but TNT claims that it was because the ring was dirty and very slippery. As the footage continues and the match gets restarted, TNT says that he had the celebration already in his head and was looking forward to celebrating with his friends, but it was taken away by the commissioner and that paid off referee. They then cut to the finish where TNT is in the figure four as time ran out. Hugo asks TNT if he was about to give up and TNT gets mad, pointing at the screen and saying ‘Who said I was about to give up, what does it look like I'm saying? I’m signaling no with my hands. I will never give up to viejito Colon’. This time there is no time limit and the bell won’t save Carlos Colon. The people are ready for a new Universal champion and he has Chicky Starr in his corner. 

Carlos Colon offers some comments from the studio. Next Saturday it will be a fight and he will beat some shame into TNT, particularly after falling in with Chicky Starr. Last time TNT was saved by the bell, but this time there will be no bell. Hugo then mentions some of the matches for Fan Appreciation Day, including the Bronca Boricua (with some footage from the previous year’s match). There will be a promotional photo of El Reto Para la Historia for the first fans that arrive and you will get a chance to take pictures and get autographs with your favorite wrestlers.  

MD: For as samey as something like Carribean Express vs Mercanarios might feel, they do a great job at keeping the big feuds novel. Here they have TNT with a ninja mask on watching tape in the booth with Hugo with Colon getting to retort in the end. Just an interesting way to look back so that they can look forward. 

EB: After the WWC top ten rankings, we get Armando Fernandez as this week’s sacrificial lamb for Atkie Mulumba. Armando tries to jump Mulumba at the bell but Atkie quickly cuts him off and finishes Fernandez off with a splash in about a minute. Atkie looks ready for his match tonight against Scott Hall.

MD: Fernandez gives it a good try but this was short and quick and dirty, with Mulumba hitting a great World’s Strongest Slam before finishing him with the splash. Just a way to keep him dominant as Hall was really looking stronger in the feud. 

EB: Chicky and TNT are up next to cut a promo on Invader #1. TNT mentions that Invader has been the man that has taken a lot of wrestlers out of Puerto Rico, with the latest being Leo Burke after last week’s taped fist match. TNT says he is not stupid and knows that Carlos Colon is sending Invader #1 to take out TNT. But TNT is not alone, he has Chicky Starr with him, and tonight the real Universal champion TNT will make sure that Invader #1 is the one leaving on a stretcher. “Remember Invader #1, dignity is written in blood, and tonight I will write the name TNT with your blood.” Hugo is with Invader #1, mentioning that the match tonight is non-title and repeats TNT’s claims to invader about Invader being sent by Carlos Colon to take TNT out. Invader starts by saying that the most important thing is that TNT has shown the people of Puerto Rico what a tremendous wrestler he is and what great conditioning he has, TNT proved it at Aniversario 90. TNT has all the tools to be Universal champion, the only thing is that the people of Puerto Rico and Invader are not in agreement with the way he is trying to become Universal champion. He is not leaving on a stretcher and he is not being sent by anyone to take TNT out. They will see what happens tonight when they face each other one on one tonight. Invader also mentions next week’s Universal title rematch and says that he knows TNT is focused on that. But if Invader is given the chance tonight (and since TNT seems insistent on the notion), if the opportunity comes up then Invader will find a way to hurt TNT so he can get that idea of being Universal champion out of his head.

MD: TNT really has to carry the top of the promotion right now, feuding with both Colon and Invader (and in tags with Hall too), bringing in Duk beneath him, on TV against mid-card babyfaces. My gut says that when he was a top heel a couple of years before, he wasn’t nearly as ready as he is now. He’s able to cover a lot of ground in these promos with increasing intensity while not completely devolving to shouting. Here, they have a way of filming him up tight and close and it comes off as very intimidating.

EB: Our featured match for this program is a tag match between the Caribbean Express and Lance Idol & Rick Valentine. The team of Idol & Valentine has only been together a couple of weeks, but it seems they are being fast tracked against the top tecnico teams. Valentine and Castillo start off, with Valentine backing Castillo into the ropes. Castillo counters with a backdrop and a couple of dropkicks. Valentine tags out and Idol runs into an armdrag takedown once he charges at Castillo. Idol is able to get out of the armbar momentarily but ends up being armdragged down after some counters. Valentine on the apron is complaining to the ref  and the tecnicos take the opportunity to switch out, with Perez taking over the armbar on Idol. Lance is able to break the hold with an eye rake and tags in Valentine, but Rick finds himself also falling victim to an armdrag takedown to the mat. Castllo is eventually tagged back in and the Express hit a double elbow on Valentine after a series of leapfrog / duck down counters. Castillo attempts a pin after an elbow drop but Valentine kicks out. Valentine cuts off Castillo with a punch to the midsection and is able to make the tag to Idol. After hitting a couple of punches, Idol tags Valentine back in. Rick makes the mistake of putting his head down too soon after sending Castillo into the ropes, resulting in Huracan kicking Valentine in the head. Perez is tagged in and Miguelito takes over on Valentine with a series of punches and chops, a corner clothesline and a dropkick. A pin attempt is broken up by Idol, which draws Castillo into the ring. The rudos are rammed into each other and Idol is dropkicked out of the ring. As Huracan is told to get out of the ring by the ref, Perez hits a crossbody on Valentine. However, Idol again comes off the top with a knee to the back of the head and Idol and Valentine steal another win. That’s two non-title victories Idol and Valentine now have over the two sets of tag champions in CSP. 

MD: Express took most of this, which was a clear sign that Idol/Valentine were going to win. In general, I think Idol looks a little better than Valentine on things like rope running and stooging. He just hits the balance a little bit better, but Valentine was ok here too. Perez worked from underneath a little but just a little. Then they went into the same sort of finish with the knee drop from the top when Perez had Idol pinned. Otherwise, this did feel like a fresh match up though.

EB: The show closes with Hugo hyping up next week's Fan Appreciation Day event and tonight’s card in Caguas.

Next time on El Deporte de las Mil Emociones, we have arrived at Fan Appreciation weekend. We’ll check out the final hype on tv for the event, including a ‘super’ segment that may answer what Carlos Colon, Xuxa, Menudo, Chicky Starr, a swimsuit contest, a celebrity hunk basketball game, TNT, a wardrobe malfunction. money giveaways, Invader #1, a globe of death and a blood puddle all have in common..Also, a wrestler we saw earlier in 1990 makes a return to CSP looking for revenge (and it’s not against who you may think).