El Deporte de las Mil Emociones: The Week After

Week 30: The Week After

EB: Aniversario 1990 is in the books and it was quite the eclectic event, with minis, an AWA title being defended, Robocop backing up the tecnicos and some memorable appearances (for different reasons) from the Rougeaus and Zeus. We had the Caribbean title change hands in a boxing match, Scott Hall had his tecnico coming out party and there was an hour long draw in the Universal title match. After the dust (or mud in this case) had settled, there was no clear winner between Carlos Colon and TNT. Due to the draw, Carlos retains the Universal title. The match was an intense back and forth, one where TNT seemed to be aggressive first and Colon responded in kind. Now the question is what is next for everyone in CSP. 

We have arrived at July 14, one week after Aniversario. Most of the wrestlers that came in for Aniversario have left, although with the exception of the mini wrestlers (we’ll see them pop up throughout the coming weeks). The tecnicos have two new arrivals in the form of the White Angel and Gama Singh, both who have had previous runs in the territory. How long they will be here remains to be seen. As we dive into this post-Aniversario landscape, we're going to slightly change our format in this installment. Since we’re in a time period where we actually have mostly complete tv episodes available, we are going to focus this week on the programs that aired the weekend of July 14. This will allow us to get a good feel for how CSP is setting up post Aniversario, what feuds will continue and also provide a good understanding of what the dynamic is with how the tv programs worked during this time period. 

First though, we are going to start with a clip from an episode that we don't have in a more complete form. We go to the intro of the San Juan Metro version of Superestrellas de la Lucha Libre episode that aired on channel 11 (Teleonce).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuBbESFmr24

Hugo is already part way through the show’s intro, talking about this past Saturday’s.Aniversario 90  Specifically, he’s talking about the amazing time limit draw between Carlos Colon and TNT. Before the 60 minutes were up, there was some controversy over TNT supposedly winning the bout earlier (which they’ll talk about more later in the program). The important thing to know is that it was a 60 minute draw and, even more important, is the news that the rematch for ‘El Reto para la Historia’ has been signed for Saturday August 4 at Estadio Juan Ramon Loubriel in Bayamon (the same location as their Aniversario match).  Earlier, Hugo had been mentioning that tonight they were going to be in Caguas, but something happened on one of the other TV programs where Hugo and Carlos Colon serve as co-hosts (he’s referencing Campeones which airs on a rival channel). Something happened on that program, and Hugo wants the director to show what went down.

The clip cuts immediately to an argument that’s occurring between TNT and Carlos Colon ,with Hugo caught in the middle.  Hugo is asking TNT to wait a moment but TNT is already in Colon’s face and saying “Why do I have to wait until August 4 for a rematch for the Universal title? Why don’t you defend it tonight in Caguas?” Colon responds “Because that’s what the commission decided.” Things get more heated as TNT starts pointing at Carlos and Carlos slaps TNT’s hand away (“Don’t put your hands on me, with more respect here.”) TNT exclaims “You know that at Aniversario 90 Un Reto para la Historia I gave you a beating and I won the title from you! The real Universal champion is TNT!” Carlos looks at Hugo: “Wait a moment, Hugo I think this man has gone crazy, he’s become disrespectful and now he’s coming here in this manner...”. As Carlos is speaking, Hugo tells TNT to be more respectful, causing TNT to yell at Hugo to shut up. TNT again yells why doesn’t Carlos put up the title tonight. Hugo tries to calm things down but Carlos continues saying that TNT is disrespecting not just him but Hugo and the tv viewers as well, meanwhile TNT starts yelling about how Carlos is old and that he defeated Carlos  at Aniversario, so why don’t they fight tonight in Caguas.  

Hugo again tries to calm things down, telling TNT that the card is already booked for tonight, prompting TNT to again yell at Hugo to shut his mouth. Carlos says that he’ll fight TNT anytime, but the rematch was signed for August 4. TNT yells “I don’t care about August 4, we’ll wrestle tonight! The real champion here is TNT!” Carlos starts getting more upset: “Let me tell you something TNT, (voice gets angrier) who do you think you are?” TNT: “I am the karate ninja TNT and I’m the real Universal champion!”” Carlos: “I’m not afraid of you or of anybody! I’ll fight you anytime!” TNT: “I want to fight with you tonight in Caguas!” Carlos looks at Hugo and tries to tell him something but TNT keeps yelling about why they are not wrestling tonight. Hugo again tries to tell TNT that the card is already booked and again TNT goes off telling Hugo to shut up,that he doesn’t care about that. ”Why don’t we fight tonight! Are you scared?” Carlos shoves TNT at that remark, saying he’s not afraid of him or of anyone. Hugo tries to stay between the two as things are more heated and TNT and Carlos are trying to get at each other. Carlos says that he’ll fight TNT here right now if he wants. Finally, Carlos goes ”Let’s do something Hugo. I’ll wrestle TNT tonight in Caguas but with one condition... (TNT yells something at Carlos) wherever, we’ll fight right now if you want (Hugo pleads for that not to happen)... Hugo, I am tired of this guy’s shameless actions (TNT yells at Carlos “I don’t care what type of match it is!”), one condition, if this match goes and I defeat you (points at TNT), like i'm planning to do, then you can forget about the Universal title.” TNT: “We’ll do whatever, all I want is to break your face!” Both Carlos and TNT keep getting heated and start taking their jackets off. Hugo panics and asks Carlos if he accepts the challenge for tonight in Caguas, to which Carlos says yes. Hugo then quickly turns to TNT: “He accepted the match, TNT, please leave!”, but TNT and Carlos are still arguing and try to get at each other again as Hugo is caught in the middle, desperately trying to throw it to the next segment. 

The video transitions back to Hugo in the studio, where Hugo remarks that the situation got tense for him there, he took his lumps there. The match is now added to tonight’s card, Carlos Colon vs TNT in a non-title match in addition to the other scheduled matches.   

The confrontation that occurred between Carlos Colon and TNT happened on the Campeones episode airing on local channel 2 (Telemundo), which is why Hugo was vague about what program it happened on (Superestrellas aired on channel 11 at the time). We do have that Campeones episode and are including the link, but for our review we’ll touch upon some of the highlights of the episode (since the matches are mainly from before our relevant time period or ones we already covered).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6F_u5qR_LBM

The episode starts with Hugo and Carrlos as the hosts, with Hugo introducing Carlos as the still reigning Universal champion. Hugo thanks the fans for all the calls received, with congratulations for Carlos from all over the island. Carlos thanks Invader #1 and Huracan Castillo Jr. for subbing for him the past couple of weeks as he was training for his match, then he and Hugo run down what’s to come on this week’s episode. The conversation then turns towards tonight's show in Caguas, where the main event is the new Caribbean champion Invader #1 defending against the former champion Leo Burke. Carlos and Hugo mention that Burke is very angry about his loss at Aniversario since he was the favorite to win in the boxing match due to his skills, but Invader #1 embarrassed Burke and left him laid out. We also have Scott Hall and Atkie Mulumba in a rematch from Aniversario 90, with Carlos saying that he thinks Hall will be looking to finish the job tonight. Carlos also mentions that he wants the fans to know that they’re talking with Scott Hall about officially joining El Ejercito de la Justicia, to which Hugo remarks that he had heard the rumor and was glad Carlos put it out there. Hugo mentions  that the Super Medicos will also be facing Los Mercenarios tonight, but then pivots to talking about Aniversario 90. 

Before giving the fans some big news, Hugo wants Carlos to share his thoughts about his title match against TNT at Aniversario. Carlos mentions it was a hard, tough battle (Hugo interjects violent as well), but he is satisfied with the decision since it was a draw and that means he remains the champion. A draw against a wrestler of the magnitude of TNT is a great triumph, so he is satisfied, happy and thanks the fans for going to the event and giving their support. Hugo mentions that both Carlos and TNT displayed a high level of wrestling dignity and conditioning, a 60 minute draw is a feat. Hugo then announces the big news, due to the controversies in the match and that it ended up being a draw, that means TNT remains as the number one contender. A rematch has been signed and it will take place on August 4 at Estadio Juan Ramon Loubriel. Hugo asks Carlos how he will prepare for the rematch and Carlos says just like he did for the first one, by training hard, this rematch will be with no time limit so he has to be ready to go as long as it takes. Carlos thinks he has an advantage because they went 60 minutes at Aniversario and, at the end of the match, he had TNT in the figure four. With just a bit more time he would have made TNT submit. All modesty aside, Carlos feels he was in better condition than TNT and that TNT was saved by the bell. Hugo: “So you felt you had him?” Carlos says that he did think he had TNT ready to give up. Carlos thinks the no time limit stipulation works in his favor. Hugo comments that there has to be a winner since there is no time limit, and he wants to know what Carlos will do for this type of match. Carlos mentions that since tonight he’s not scheduled in Caguas and that he is taking it easy with his schedule, he’s going to take the opportunity to train hard for the rematch to show up in better condition than at Aniversario. He thinks this will be the most important match of his career. Carlos already showed TNT that his desire to be Universal champion was not going to be as easy as TNT thought, and now Carlos has the goal of defeating TNT decisively so that TNT asks for forgiveness, not from him but from the Puerto Rican people. “I'm going to train hard so TNT can be embarrassed as he deserves to be embarrassed.” Hugo again asks Carlos about his training when TNT barges on set and we get the altercation that aired on Superestrellas as well. Hugo frantically throws it to our first match as the altercation ends.

The first match in the episode is an Invader #3 vs Mr Pogo match from either 1988 or 1989. I won’t recap it in detail but will mention that Hugo is solo on commentary. It seems Carlos was so upset by the confrontation with TNT that he has left the studio and now Hugo is alone for the show. Hugo apologizes to Carlos and the fans for TNT’s actions on behalf of himself and the team at Capitol Sports TV. Hugo confirms the match is official for tonight and that it is non-title. The Pogo and Invader #3 match is from Caguas and is airing because Mr. Pogo will soon be making a return to the territory. Hugo mentions that Friday they will be in Yauco and tomorrow Sunday they will be in Aguadilla.As the match progresses Hugo talks about how Carlos and Chicky alternated each week as Hugo’s co-host, and that it was the first time they had Carlos in almost a month since he had been training for his Aniversario match. The match between Pogo and Invader #3 is a solid, back and forth match with Pogo getting the win with the cobra sleeperhold.

Other notable occurrences in this Campeones episode include promos from Leo Burke and Invader #1 about their match tonight, a White Angel music video and promo about his return to Puerto Rico,  a quick Scott Hall promo surrounded by kids about his match tonight with Mulumba, and a Profe rebuttal promo where he promises that Atkie will teach Hall a lesson for betraying them. The program ends with Hugo closing the show, once again apologizing to the fans for what happened at the start of the program with Carlos and TNT. He knows the fans were looking forward to finally having Carlos back on the program after being gone these past weeks, but it was an unfortunate incident that prevented him from staying on the program today. Hugo thinks that it was not the time nor the place for TNT to do what he did, especially since the rematch had already been signed for August 4. Hugo confirms again that the challenge for tonight was accepted and it will be Carlos Colon vs TNT in a non-title match. At that moment, Carlos reappears on camera to apologize to Hugo and the tv viewers about storming out earlier (Hugo: ‘We are the ones that should apologize’), but he was so angry about TNT that he wasn’t in the right frame of mind to be able to narrate and host the show after that. But he sends a message to TNT that he better stop with the disrespectful actions because he (Carlos) respects the viewers and tonight it will be a different story, since he won’t be the gentleman he was on the program. TNT will be facing a wild man tonight and the job Colon couldn’t finish last week will be finished tonight. It will be a fight tonight and he will end TNT for being shameless and a charlatan.

MD: One constant thread since we started the project is that the booking has been solid, especially on top, but not just, given the constraints they have. By constraints, that’s the occasional injury or act of weather, and the fact that a lot of top talent were locked into contracts by WWF or WCW/NWA and therefore couldn’t be tapped into even as a guest. It makes total sense for them to stick with the TNT program now. The title match was inconclusive, the start of a story instead of the end of one. Nothing was proven. There’s no reason why this couldn’t take them deeper into the year, thus the confrontation. I think part of me expected that they would bring in Chicky now to get more heat but there could be reasons not to that we'll learn soon. Still it's notable, coming out of Aniversario, there isn’t a clear lead heel.

I guess that’s one reason to have Pogo coming back into the territory. Otherwise, it does seem like they’re rolling right into a “Wrestlemania Revenge” type show with Invader and Burke and Hall and Malumba still going at it. Of course you can put Los Mercenarios against any of the tecnico teams. Heating up the White Angel again (and bringing in Gama Singh) is interesting since they seem stacked on the tecnico side. Case in point, a quick Scott Hall promo with him surrounded by kids. The accent on Thompson when he says “Puerto Rico” is something else though. 

EB: The other episode we have for this date is the west coast version of Superestrellas de la Lucha Libre. As mentioned in previous installments, since TV in Puerto Rico still operated in having specific regional broadcast signals, the west coast channel that broadcasts Superestrelelas usually had a version that referenced the events happening on the Sunday west coast house shows and the interview and house show lineups reflected this. So keep that in mind as we dive into this episode.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mIB9vRYbcU

Hugo opens the show by running down what we’ll be seeing on today’s program (including mentioning the returns of White Angel and Gama Singh to Puerto Rico). You’ll notice that this intro is different from the San Juan Metro area version we saw earlier, that is because since Carlos and TNT are not planned to match up at the west coast house show the next day, there is no need to mention the altercation and challenge that happened on Campeones. Instead, Hugo hypes up the card taking place the next day in Aguadilla. Hugo also wants to briefly talk about Aniversario 90, although again some references of what happened will be regarding the show in Mayaguez rather than what happened in Bayamon. The event was a success in both towns and they want to thank the fans for their support for CSP in their Aniversario event.Hugo talks about the main event of Carlos Colon vs TNT, a tremendous match that was stopped due to blood (again, referencing the result from the Mayaguez card). As a result, Carlos Colon remains the Universal champion. Hugo mentions some of the results from Bayamon such as Invader #1 winning the Caribbean title and mentions the encounter between Scott Hall and Atkie Mulumba (so we are starting to get a good idea about the top rivalries being highlighted post Aniversario).

Hugo then talks about the house show tomorrow in Aguadilla at 3:30pm, with the main event being Invader #1 vs TNT. Also on the card, a rematch between Scott Hall and Atkie Mulumba, a World tag team title match as the Super Medicos defend against the duo of Leo Burke & Rick Valentine, the minis that were such a hit at Aniversario will be wrestling in a singles match as Aguilita Solitaria takes on Espectrito, Miguelito Perez and Gama Singh team up to take on Los Mercenarios, and Invader #4 faces Chicky Starr. Hugo then takes us to the first match on the show, as the returning White Angel takes on the monster known as Atkie Mulumba.

Eliud Gonzalez is out commentator for this match. Eliud makes note of the size difference between the two wrestlers as White Angel mocks Mulumba’s belly slapping by doing his own version. Angel keeps his distance but is caught in a lock up in a corner. Mulumba tries an overhand chop at the break but Angel ducks out of the way and Atkie hits the top turnbuckle instead. The same sequence is repeated although this time Angel blocks the blow and counters with several unanswered punches. Angel gets a headlock on Atkie, but Mulumba backs Angel into a corner and breaks the hold with a corner splash. Atkie takes over with several blows in the corner, and then proceeds to bite White Angel in the face. Angel fires off several kicks after the biting stops but Mulumba isn’t fazed and grabs Angel in a double arm choke. Angel backs Mulumba into a corner and breaks the choke with several punches. Atkie cuts Angel off with an eye rake and knocks him down with a nice thrust kick. Mulumba continues on the attack with an eye gouge and choking Angel on the ropes. A clothesline sends Angel to the outside, with Atkie following him out. Both men fight on the outside before Angel gets back in the ring. Angel catches Mulumba coming in with a kick and several punches, and hits a clothesline when Mulumba is shot into the ropes. Atkie absorbs the blow and doesn’t fall down. Angel follows up with some standing punches in the corner but an irish whip attempt is countered into a corner splash by Mulumba ,who then hits a headbutt to set up a splash. Atkie picks up Angel before the three count, hits another splash and then picks Angel back up before the three count. The referee warns Atkie about this behavior. Atkie goes to the top but the camera cuts away as he starts jumping off (it looks like Angel was starting to roll away). Eliud continues narrating as it appears that something may have been messed up in the ring since they continue with the crowd shot. When we cut back, Mulumba is attacking Angel and it looks like the referee has had enough of Atkie refusing to make the cover and awards the match via dq to White Angel. The winner is White Angel, although he looks worse for the wear compared to Mulumba.

MD: I like Thompson well enough when he’s got someone like Chicky (or even a Burke) backpedaling from him. I’m not sure he’s up to the task to stand toe-to-toe with Malumba. Malumba does take most of this including beating him on the outside but Thompson fires back and it’s, you know, ok. Eventually, Malumba crushes him with a splash and then picks him up. He presumably misses the top rope splash but they decided to cut to a wide shot of the crowd where they just pan over a bunch of kids which was a bizarre choice. When they cut back, he’s choking Thompson incessantly and the ref gives him the win. Kind of strange if you ask me. 

EB: We then go to a couple of promos talking up the World tag title match between the Super Meidocs and the team of Leo Burke and Rick Valentine. The makeshift team of Burke and Valentine look to capture the World tag titles, with Burke congratulating the Medicos on getting past the Rougeaus. However, Leo has scouted them and saw all the mistakes they could capitalize on. The Super Medicos thank the fans for their support this past week at Aniversario and they know they have to be careful of Burke’s figure-four and Valentine’s bionic elbow. Super Medico #1 says ”Also, we don’t make mistakes, the mistake was made by you when you signed to face us for the World tag team titles.” 

MD: These two interviews are setting up a tag match between Burke and Valentine and the Medicos. I thought Burke was pretty effective in congratulating the Medicos for their Aniversario win and being brave enough to put up the belts, but noting that he saw a lot of mistakes in their match and that he and the “bionic elbow” were going to take the titles. Medico 1 then said the real mistake was taking a match with them in a solid retort and Estrada, Jr. got to thank the fans.

EB: We then go to this week’s edition of Chicky Starr’s Sports Shop. Chicky welcomes the viewers to the most anticipated segment of the show. Every week there is a special guest and this week is no exception, when he says their name everyone will recognize it. Naturally you’ve all noticed by now, this week’s special guest is none other than Chicky Starr himself. He wants to talk about his match tomorrow against Invader #4, someone that has given Chicky a lot of problems and work. But tomorrow he will show everyone that he can handle Invader #4, that he can end him and that he’ll do something tomorrow he has long wanted to do., He’s going to take Invader #4’s grimy mask off and throws it to the fans so they can throw it into the sea that’s near the arena. Chicky promises to defeat Invader #4 tomorrow. Looks like this is a localized version of the Sports Shop for the west coast audience.

MD: I thought we were going to see the Sports Shop in its natural habitat but he really just cuts a promo on Invader #4, including saying he was going to throw his mask into the sea. 

EB: After the card rundown for the Aguadilla show and an Aguadila Motors commercial, we have Rick Valentine taking on Justo Maldonado.Valentine is accompanied by Chicky, It is a short match, with Justo getting a brief offensive advantage to start but Valentine takes over and finishes Maldonado off relatively quickly with his bionic elbow drop. Chicky barely had enough time to go over to the commentary desk and talk about the beating TNT gave Carlos Colon at Aniversario, although to date there has been no official alliance between TNT and Chicky.

MD: Valentine needs all the help he can get so a squash match isn’t a bad thing. It’s interesting they don’t hammer (pun intended) that he’s Greg or Johnny’s relative but I’m not actually sure how much that would matter here. Chicky’s on commentary. The opponent gets a little bit of comeback but Valentine shuts him down with a clothesline out of the corner and the elbow drop. 

EB: The rivalry between Los Mercenarios and the Caribbean express came to a head at Aniversario but it looks like Acevedo and Ron Starr have a chance at getting some revenge on Miguelito Perez. They are scheduled to face Miguelito and the returning Gama Singh in Aguadilla. Los Mercenarios say it makes no difference if Gama Singh is in there, since they are familiar with him from facing Singh in different parts of the world. Meanwhile, Gama is happy to be back in Puerto Rico and is looking forward to teaming up for the first time with Miguelito. Perez hypes up the match and says he and Singh will be ready tomorrow, and hopes the fans will be there.

We then get a showcase match for Gama Singh, taking on the masked Blue Angel. This match also is relatively short and serves as a reintroduction of Gamna Singh to the local fans (it has been a few years since Singh had a notable run in the territory). Singh shows off his abilities, although at one point he starts undoing the laces of Blue Angel’s mask. After the attempted unlacing, Blue Angel gets a bit of offense in and even makes a pin attempt for a one count. It doesn't last long as Gama takes over again and eventually wins the match with a crossbody off the top rope. Nice win for Gama Singh in his return to CSP. 

MD: These bits were setting up a tag between Perez/Singh and Los Mercenarios. Starr talked up Singh. Then Singh got to talk himself and Perez up and Perez got to talk up Singh too. I’m not sure why Castillo wasn’t there with Perez but I guess having a tag champ team with someone else is a good way to build heat back up if you’re going to let the rudos win. Singh is not someone I’ve seen a ton of but there is that direct pipeline from Canada to Puerto Rico. Against Blue Angel, he was dominant on the mat, had this interesting sweeping arm strike out of a headlock he did a couple of times, and had some fire as Angel got into a pushing contest with him. He won it with a flying body press. I still sort of wonder why they didn’t bring him in as a rudo though that would have disappointed the one support of his they kept cutting to. 

EB: The main event of the Aguadilla house show is Invader #1 taking on TNT, so we get promos from both men. TNT mentions that people that really know about wrestling know that TNT is the real Universal champion, He showed it at Aniversario in Mayaguez and if there is any remaining doubt, he’ll show it again tomorrow against Invader #1. So tomorrow Invader #1, the real Universal champion will put you in the Cobra Dinamita. We go to Hugo and the new Caribbean champion Invader #1. Hugo mentions what TNT said in his promo and Invader responds by saying that it’s very easy for someone to get in front of the cameras and say many things, but when the bell rings it gets hard to do. For the past three months TNT has been telling the Puerto Rican fans that he was going to be the Universal champion, and TNT is not the Universal champion right now. Invader said that he was going to be the new Caribbean champion, and he is the Caribbean champion right now. “So you can say a lot of things but let’s see what you can do when the bel rings tomorrow. Remember what you did to us, because we were very angry about it, you shouldn’t have done what you did. You say that you will put me in the Cobra Dinamita, let’s see if you can really do it. I know you are a tremendous wrestler, but when that bell rings tomorrow that is when you’ll get the chance to show me who you really are! Let’s see if you are man enough or wrestler enough to get that Cobra Dinamita on me.”

MD: These two would be wrestling at the upcoming house show. TNT cut a promo declaring him the true champion. Invader 1 fired back in his own promo with an impassioned diatribe about how he’d face TNT down. I was sold on this after hearing from these two.

EB: We get a rundown of the WWC top 10 rankings, with TNT still as the number one contender and then go to a Leo Burke vs Herbetr Gonzalez match. Leo as always is accompanied by Chicky Starr. A lock up leads to Burke getting a punch after the break but Herbert comes back with some punches of his own and actually takes control of the match with some slams and a headlock. Burke breaks the hold but Herbert maintains control with a shoulder block and an elbow (with the camera cutting to Chicky shaking  his head disapprovingly on the outside). Herbert goes back to the headlock but Burke is able to eventually counter with a back suplex. Burke hits several blows on Herbert and hits a neckbreaker for a pin attempt. Herbert counters a Burke rope throw with a kick and then sends Leo into the ropes for a backdrop. However, Leo counters with a blow to the midsection and immediately works the leg to set up the figure four. Herbert submits and Burke gets the win., Chicky talks to the camera, talking about the stupidity of anyone thinking they can handle the master of the figure four as Burke flashes four fingers at the camera. 

MD: On the one hand, Burke probably gives him a little too much here, but he is that sort of great stooging heel that can get away with that. Plus, with Burke, he can shift gears suddenly, turn right onto Gonzalez’ leg and change the mood entirely, which is what he does here. Chicky’s great in the margins of this, by the way, but no surprise there. 

EB: El Profe, accompanied by Atkie Mulumba. cuts a promo about the rematch between Scott Hall and Mulumba. Profe mentions that the people of Mayaguez received Scott Hall last week with open arms, but tomorrow Profe and Atkie will receive him with closed fists, in order to end Hall, to finish with him and show the people what a coward Hall is. “You are a traitor and that is why we gave you a beating last week, but tomorrow it will be even worse. You're very big but also very stupid, and tomorrow we will finish you so you never get in the way of El Profe and Atkie Mulumba again.” The camera zooms in on Atkie’s face as El Profe finishes his promo.

We also get a rundown of the card for Thursday in Cabo Rojo. The lineup is as follows: Carlos Colon vs. Atkie Mulumba; Invader #1 vs TNT; Super Medicos vs Los Mercenarios; Gama Singh vs Rick Valentine; Miguelito Perez vs Leo Burke; and Aguilita Solitaria vs Espectrito. After this, we get an Invader #4 vs Eddie Watts match that we’ve previously covered.

The last part of the show features our main event for the program, as TNT takes on Super Medico #3 in TNT’s continued series against his former Ejercito de la Justicia stablemates. Eliud Gonzalez does the ring introductions and also does commentary. Eliud mentions that this is a matchup of two of the more popular wrestlers at this moment in Puerto Rico. The match starts with some nice counter sequences that lead to Medico #3 getting some armdrag takedowns and a dropkick that sends TNT to the outside. TNT gets back in the ring and Medico #3 works a headlock takedown. TNT breaks out of it eventually but ends up back in it after Medco #3 counters off the ropes with a dropkick. Eliud mentions that both wrestlers are similar in size so no advantage there for either of them. TNT rolls over Medico #3 for a pin attempt but Medico #3 slides back over into the headlock position on the mat. TNT surprisingly is working this match clean and not as aggressive as we have seen in his more recent matches against the tecnicos, so maybe this may signal him mellowing out on his demeanor towards the tecnicos (then again, we did see how he went off on Colon with regards to the Universal title rematch). Another rollover counter gets two and both wrestlers work to a standing position. TNT sends Medico #3 into the ropes and hits a leapfrog, but Medico #3 stops after passing under and catches TNT with a slam. Medico #3 goes back to the headlock but TNT sends him into ropes and hits a clothesline. TNT hits a thrust to the neck area and some chops, leading to a backdrop and some karate strikes to the downed Medico #3. TNT sends Medico #3 into the ropes, and Medico #3 catches TNT with a front facelock on the rebound. TNT is pushed into the corner as Medico #3 gets some offense in, including a high back body drop for an unsuccessful pin attempt. TNT is able to catch Medico #3 with a spin kick off a rope rebound. This leads to the Cobra Dinamita and TNT wins the match when Medico #3 is put to sleep. Unlike the previous weeks, TNT actually wakes up Medico #3 without incident and quietly leaves the ring, so again not sure if TNT is coming to his senses about how he has been behaving lately. We then get Hugo closing the show reminding fans about tomorrow’s show in Aguadilla.

MD: A clear sub-10 minute win for TNT but Medico III took around half of it, mainly outquicking TNT and utilizing headlock takeovers and smart wrestling. TNT really only controlled for a minute in the middle before Medico came back. He got cut off quickly with the spin wheel kick and immediately put in the Cobra. I wonder if there was less of a need to protect TNT quite so much now that they were past Aniversario. Good match for Medico III to have in general.

EB: Next time on El Deporte de la Mil Emociones,we find out what happened in Caguas in the top rivalries and how they continue to develop. Will TNT get the better of Carlos Colon? Will Leo Burke make Invader #1‘s title reign a short one? Will El Profe make good on his promise that Atkie Mulumba will end Scott Hall's career? We’ll find out as we continue our journey through 1990.