AEW Five Fingers of Death (and Friends) 9/9 - 9/15

AEW Collision 9/14/24

Wheeler Yuta vs Anthony Henry

MD: There are only so many stories in the world. That's what some people think at least. You can find literary theory listing seven, for instance: 1. Overcoming the Monster; 2. Rags to Riches; 3. The Quest; 4. Voyage and Return; 5. Rebirth; 6. Comedy; 7. Tragedy. It's all about the execution though, all about the details. You can immediately see some parallels to wrestling and the stories that can be told, not just in general, but specifically in the ring. I won't try to categorize along those lines. It's more the general idea I find interesting. We've seen so much, but so much falls along a few different lines: babyface vs heel; shine, heat, comeback; who's the best?

You get different results, different manifestations, different details. Looked at in another way, it's all about something that has to be overcome: a size differential, cheating, an injury. You can watch a thousand matches and see five or six things over and over again, and that's okay because you can find appreciation in small alterations and massive ambitions.

But when you see a match that's worked differently, that plays upon one of those elements in a different way, that commits to an unusual, yet still believable and human idea, it stands out.

That's what we had here. Wheeler is a man cratered, a miserable man, a man at his lowest. We would find out he just lost a family member; moreover, his found family is forever shattered. For all the things I know and all the things I've seen, I have no idea how hard it is to actually go in a ring and wrestle, to keep track of spots or to call them, to hit things with perfect precision to protect yourself and your opponent while creating the illusion of fireworks to move and wow a crowd. I'm pretty sure it's pretty damn hard though, and to do all of it while portraying an emotional anchor dragging you down, to change every aspect of your body language without a moment's lapse? It feels akin to wrestling in a mask for the first time or wrestling underwater.

In no part of the match was Yuta not on, not feeling it, not portraying it, not channeling it. I can think of performances where someone sells the leg throughout, but Yuta was selling his soul. At one point early in the match, he managed a small comeback only to clutch at his chest, afflicted by the effects of a broken heart.

He managed it throughout the first third, and in all honesty, this might have been the most challenging of all of it. It meant working rote wristlock-based chain wrestling a half step slow, going through the motions with all the normal skill but none of the energy or passion. He'd hit a sunset flip but would linger and leave himself open. He'd get knocked through the bottom rope but be unable to shoot himself back in with his signature recovery. Those were the big things. The little things like listlessly moving through a headlock exchange were somehow far more impressive; the idea is that most can do something fast and wild but it takes a real expert to do it do it tortuously slow.

Henry pressed his advantage on the floor and changed the tenor of the match by suplexing Yuta into the guardrail. For the most part, he played his role perfectly. Henry's a guy with a chip on his shoulder, with plenty of chips actually. Let's look at the character. He's a veteran trapped beneath an artificial ceiling, and he knows how good he is. He almost lost everything due to injury earlier this year; so did Yuta, but Henry's the one pressing his opportunities now as Yuta sleepwalks through this match for emotional reasons. His partner's on the shelf so it's not like he doesn't feel his own grief. He's stuck with his an irritating (and wildly successful) second cousin by marriage in Beef so he's got a burr that Yuta can't begin to understand. Yuta's a trios champion! He's got success right before him. All he has to do is man up and embrace it. That was the emotion underpinning every one of Henry's actions here. Yuta needed contrast to push off against: a vibrant, seething energy to provide the light that let us see the shadows creeping into his every movement.

You could hear it in the crowd in the first third, an unsettled hush. You could hear them in the second third when they started to get behind Yuta. Even then, things were off. His hopespots were lackluster. The commercial break ended and he didn't start to fire back like we'd usually see in most other AEW matches. He'd hit a big move like his German Suplex but would be unable to capitalize. He'd buy space and make it to the floor only to stumble into a chair exhausted and get nailed. I'd say that the attention to detail was amazing, but like I noted, those few big ideas (like not being able to shoot himself back in) were the (relatively) easy bits; what made this work was how the depression consumed him all the way from his pre-match interview with Lexy where he noted he hoped to find himself in the ring like Bryan did, to him trudging out towards the ring to his usually rousing Punch Out theme, all the way to the very second that Henry took it too far. That was the genius in this performance, the consistent mood he created through his total commitment, not one or two clever moments of misery.

And Henry did go too far. If I could change one thing in the match, maybe I would have had him not verbally goad him with the "sad boy" comment and the comment about Bryan. It would have been enough for it to be implied probably. On the other hand, this is such a unique story that they're telling that it's better to overexplain. I think the slap itself could have been enough to awaken the fury within Yuta, but we can't be sure. Regardless, it worked. It absolutely worked. Everything Yuta had been holding within burst out of him to create suffering upon Henry's frame. He beat him around the ring, around the ringside area (even getting revenge in that selfsame chair), and then put him down with the elbows and the Mutilation. Once unleashed, it took everything he had to bottle it back up; he was seeing red.

All in all, it was as unique a performance for a television match as I've seen in ages. It could have been overwrought or over the top. Yuta could have gone out and made faces and forced it into the realm of self-parody. He played it subdued save for the one moment where his passions boiled over and Henry took it too far. This storyline feels different than everything else in the company, then everything else in 2024 wrestling. It has the potential to be something more, something that grips the hearts within our chests and refuses to let go, something that moves us in the best of ways, something that leads to triumph but only after the longest, hardest most worthwhile road, something that both transcends and glorifies pro wrestling as the unique and amazing art form that it is. What it'll take more than anything else is commitment and care. If they care, we will care. And Yuta cared so very much here. This was just a small match on a small show, but it felt like the second ripple signifying the tidal wave that may come.

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Found Footage Friday: MIL~! GORDMAN~! KOLOFF VS KOLOFF~! GRINGOS LOCOS~! PANTHER~!

Mil Mascaras vs. Black Gordman (Mexican Death Match) Los Angeles 80s

MD: This is from Richard Land's last upload as well. We'll probably have at least one more week of the German footage after this, but we might break it up so we can focus on some things that aren't behind paywalls (even if it's worth paying). I'd never seen it or seen it listed anywhere. Gordman is listed as a 13 time Americas tag champion and winner of the 1974 Battle Royal which makes him feel like a bigger deal than he usually does when he pops up elsewhere in the early 80s. This is a Mexican Death match. The ref can't stop it. There must be a winner after a pin and a ten count.

They go back and forth for the most part, with the transitions generally based around low blows. Mil's stuff looks really good here, including some really solid jabs I don't associate him with, plus a nice bodyslam into a suplex type move, and just keeping the crowd up by slamming Gordman's head into things. Gordman eventually brings a chair in, misses, and gets clocked by Mil. Mil goes one step further and nails who we think to be Pete Collins (the guy who created the Monster in an infamous shlock gimmick that I can't find much about). Collins bleeds big off of the errant shot, putting it over well by staring off in fury as the blood runs down his face (refusing to wipe it off). After Mil and Gordman gnaw on each other a bit, Collins slips Gordman a chain. Mil gets it, clocks Gordman for the pin, clocks Collins while the count is going, and the fans go up as high as they can get for it all. Pretty classic, iconic stuff.

ER: My dad used to mention Black Gordman as a guy he used to see at the Cow Palace when he was a young man, and I remember reading a Meltzer bio about him and Great Goliath probably two decades ago, about how unassuming a star Gordman was. I haven't seen much footage of him (because we didn't have much Los Angeles or San Francisco) and while I know this is late in his career, I do love how unassuming he is. He is a man of my size but shorter, has next to no offense, no real look, and yet clearly knows exactly what to do opposite Mil Mascaras's bright glowing star. Mascaras looks so cool here, like when Eddie came back somehow leaner than ever while also being more muscular than ever. Laugh all you want about the sucked in stomach but what the fuck do you know about Johnny Weissmuller? Gordman had this athletically unathletic way of taking Mil's offense, like how he would get rammed into a turnbuckle differently than anyone I've ever seen, not recoiling at all, just splatting his face into it like the victim of a pie gag. But then when it's finally time to separate from the buckles he takes this beautiful bouncing rolling backward bump and comedic pratfall. The man has no offense and when it's finally time for him to take over, the zeal he puts into biting Mil's fingers is hilarious. A wrestler who finally has their chance to take control who chooses to just bite is a concept that no longer exists in wrestling, in the same way that it would be impossible for a guy who looked like Gordman to be a star. Mil's chain wrapped fistdrop is a cool ass way to earn a 10 count, dropped right into the button of Gordman's jaw. 

Ivan Koloff vs. Nikita Koloff (Chain Match) Peach State Wrestling 10/90

MD: Obviously another great vein of footage comes from the work done by Ben/goc/KrisP/ArmstrongAlley, whatever you want to call him. We rarely focus on the stuff he puts together and organizes because it's more episodic territory work and we tend to hone in on single matches with FFF. This is definitely a single match from a recent batch of Peach State he's been putting together. It's more found than new but it's gotten very little attention over the years.

Yes, this is a touch the corners chain match with most of the blood and guts coming post match as a Sheik and his minion come out to attack (heel) Ivan so (face) Nikita can make the save and they can presumably set up tag matches to come. That said, these two absolutely know how to work one of these to the fullest. That means they go for the corners (and get three) after each knockdown, generally leading to an almost immediate transition and repeating the formula, but there's also escalation in the offense.

That means things start out with punches and kicks, and they slowly work in the chain for punches and whip shots and comedic crotchings, before building to Nikita hitting quasi sickles with it wrapped around his arm. Very effective pacing overall. Finish has the ref take an errant shot and Ivan winning even though he missed a corner before everything breaks down post-match. The save is pretty endearing overall though and while I would prefer a big mauling and a big comeback as opposed to the constant stop-start of going for the corners, they were so good at these matches that they made things feel fairly dramatic nonetheless.

 

Eddy Guerrero/Love Machine Art Barr vs. Blue Panther/El Magnate Monterrey 1993

MD: I don't know if this is the best match we've gotten out of this channel, but it feels almost like the most surprising. You figure you're not going to get another Gringos Locos match and here we are. The alignments were weird here as we were post mask match and Eddy and Barr were definitely going in very hot at times but the ref was stopping them at other times and Panther and Magnate were technically rudos. Barr cut an impassioned pro Monterrey speech at the end as well. But on some level it didn't matter because animosity is animosity and this had a ton of it. That meant lots of Barr going after Panther's match and Eddy running interference. It meant a comeback where they were beating Barr into the seats. It meant a wild dive or two. And maybe most of all, it meant an absolutely crazy finish where Barr went for a Martinete playing on the apuestas match and Panther snuck in an upside-down foul. Great finish. This was better to just take in and enjoy because who knows if anything else quite like it will pop up.

ER: 1997 Eddie goes harder than almost any wrestler I've loved; a blow away great year where he returns from an injury fully formed into the most charismatic heel in wrestling. It was incredible. And you see him here in '93 and he looks good, the movement and impact are getting there. But he's nowhere near 1997 Eddie just like that Eddie was nowhere near 2003 Eddie. And you see Art Barr in 1993 and you see him bringing 1997 Eddie energy with this wild eyed flipped lid intensity that gives an edge to him as a tecnico. Tecnico Eddie never had any edge. Heel Eddie was a more polished and higher end of Art Barr's Gringo Loco rudo. Eddie was more athletic and had better comedic timing and better ring timing and had more impressive body control. As brilliant as it is - and 1997 Eddie really, really is - it's a juiced up version of 1993 Art Barr. Art Barr had this intensity as a tecnico that can only be pulled off naturally. Every part of Barr going after Panther was constantly ramped up, punches building to harder punches to dramatically unlacing a mask to being whipped into a violent tope. Panther ends this with a full armed shot to Love Machine's balls to stop a martinete, a surprise new note in a truly great feud. 

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El Deporte de las Mil Emociones: Hype for Fan Appreciation Day

Week 33: Hype for Fan Appreciation Day

EB: The calendar has turned to August in 1990 and that means we have arrived at Fan Appreciation weekend in CSP. Typically held the last weekend before the school year begins, the event this year  is scheduled for August 4 in Bayamon (and August 5 in San German for fans on the west coast) and features the Bronca Boricua as one of its featured attractions. The big match that has been promoted for the card is the Universal title rematch between Carlos Colon and TNT. After their time limit draw at Aniversario, TNT has proclaimed that he is the rightful Universal champion because he pinned Carlos Colon and had the victory stolen by the ref and commission. Carlos Colon has grown tired of TNT’s claims and has vowed to publicly shame TNT by defeating him decisively once and for all. The two have tangled twice since Aniversario, once in an impromptu non-title challenge match on July 14 (which saw Atkie Mulumba interfere to attack Colon and Scott Hall make the save) and a tag match on July 21 (with TNT getting the pinfall victory for his team over Colon). Now, we have arrived at the big rematch.

But before we get to the actual show, we do have some final tv hype to get through first. There’s also a special TV appearance that CSP had as a final bit of hype for the card that we’ll close today’s installment with. We are fortunate to have two programs from the August 4 weekend that provide our last bit of hype for the big Fan Appreciation Day show. In addition, this is the last of the continuous chronological tv episodes we have for 1990 ,so going forward we’ll once more have a mix of angles, matches and summaries from what is available, along with the odd tv episode here and there. As for the July 28 card that happened the previous weekend, we really don’t have much information about what happened on that house show, but to be honest that show was a bit of a placeholder a week before Fan Appreciation Day. Lets go first to the Campeones episode for Aug 4. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaRQ8w4MKI0

Our hosts this week are Hugo Savinovich and Chicky Starr. Hugo is very happy because Fan Appreciation Day has arrived. Chicky runs down the matches we’ll see today, including Chicky’s Esquina Caliente segment. Hugo reminds the fans that tonight the fans will get a chance to get autographs and pictures with their favorite wrestlers. Hugo turns the conversation to something that has caused a great unrest among the fans, and that is how is it possible that Chicky was able to get one of the big fan favorites and turn him to his side (referring to TNT joining El Club Deportivo). How did Chicky pull it off, was it money? Power? Chicky says it was none of that, ‘it’s not my fault that I’m so intelligent’. Chicky is very happy with TNT in his camp and the moment has arrived. Tonight TNT will show Carlos Colon that he can be Universal champion. Hugo throws it to the first match and it’s the Idol and Valentin vs Caribbean Express match we covered in our last installment.

After the match, we get promos from Lance Idol and the Super Medicos about tonight's World tag title match. Idol talks first about the Bronca Boricua and claims that he invented breaking the rules and that he and Valentine will win the $10,000 prize money. Idols says that the Medicos' days as champions are numbered and that he’s heard that the Medicos’ wives have pleaded with them not to get in the ring with Idol and Valentine.’Space Mountain, climb aboard!’. 

The Super Medicos cut a promo in response, first congratulating the fans on their day and then Medico #1 tells Idol and Valentine that they can try to take the belts away from them but the Medicos will stand victorious in the end. Also, tonight is the Bronca Boricua, one of the most dangerous matches there is, but tonight they’ll try to be the winners.

MD: Chicky asks Idol about the Bronco Boricua and challenging the Medicos. He actually calls it the Puerto Rican Brawl to Idol which is interesting since it’s not like he wouldn’t get the other name as what it’s branded as. Idol is wonderfully corny. If you cut a “Let me tell you, brutha” promo as a heel right now, you’d probably come off quite like him. It’s refreshing. As for the Medicos, pretty straight forward. They’re able to cover both of the key issues (Tag Title Match, Bronco Boricua) fairly quickly.

EB: We go to the outside of Hospital Pavia for an interview with a returning Carl Styles. Carl has not been seen in a few months and we don’t really know anything about where he’s been. Hugo is with Carl (who is shirtless standing outside of the hospital) and both men are wearing sunglasses. Hugo tells the fans that what we are about to hear will surprise the fans, as it did Hugo when Carl first spoke with him on the phone. Hugo asks Carl to tell the fans the unbelievable story and Carl opens by saying he can’t believe that he is back in Puerto Rico and that he is alive. Two months ago he was in Hospital Pavia, he had busted blood vessels in his lower abdomen and had developed a bad infection as a result of that injury.  He was in the ER for a few days and over two weeks in the hospital. As Carl is talking they show him walking shirtless on the sidewalk in front of the hospital (it’s unintentionally funny to me, I can only imagine what the passersby thought of the sight).  Carl mentions that when he signed on  with Profe and Chicky to come to Puerto Rico the first time, he said they told him they would take care of him. Basically, they left him in the hospital near death and never checked up on him, offered no help or notified his family of what was going on. Hugo translates for the fans and follows up with Carl about Profe not doing anything. Carl goes on with his story, saying that El Profe said that the Puerto Ricans were bad and that he should only trust Profe and Chicky, but the doctor and nurses here treated him very well and if it wasn't for them he would be dead. Carl’s had over two months to think and he has a message for El Profe. He’s going to get ahold of Profe, and he is going to pay Profe back for all of the suffering that Carl and his family were put through. He’s back, he’s stronger and better than ever. Carl gets fired up as he finishes his threat towards Profe. 

MD: Styles is in front of a local hospital, talking to Hugo, and claims that he had a life threatening abdominal infection and that neither Chicky nor, especially, Profe helped him. They were supposed to call his family and get him help. It’s pretty effective stuff. For some reason I thought Styles would have a Canadian accent and not a southern one. He also doesn’t seem nearly as tall next to Hugo as I was expecting. He’s coming for revenge and this would make me get behind him. 

EB: It looks like this is a West coast version of Campeones, because we get a rundown for the August 5 Fan Appreciation Day card in San German. The card is  similar to the one in Bayamon, although with Carl Styles taking on Atkie Mulumba for that show and 16 men instead of 17 competing in the Bronca Boricua.

Back from a commercial break we get a Kim Duk vs Gama Singh match from Caguas. TNT and Chicky are both seconding Kim Duk (something that Hugo questions Chicky about but Chicky ignores answering the question). Duk gets the early advantage thanks to Singh being distracted by having Chicky and TNT at ringside. Singh is able to come back with some punches and strikes, backing Duk into a corner. However, Duk gets an eye poke to stop Gama’s attack. Chicky on commentary claims to not have seen the eye poke and proceeds to talk up Kim Duk, saying that he’s been brought in from Korea to team up with TNT. Duk chokes Gama on the ropes and then, when TNT distracts the ref, he chokes Gama with the kendo stick that Chicky throws to him. Chicky on commentary again feigns ignorance at that happening. As Duk continues working over Singh with some chokes, Hugo reminds the fans that this Thursday they will be in Vega Alta and Friday they will be in Ponce. We go to commercial and come back to Duk still in control and tossing Gama to the ring apron. Duk chops Gama and backs off, allowing an opening for Chicky to hit Singh off camera with the kendo stick (which Chicky denies happening since it was off camera and thus not visible). Gama recovers and starts getting fired up outside of the ring, and is able to cut off Duk once he’s back inside. Singh hits several punches and a backdrop on Duk. Singh gets a crossbody from the top but Duk is able to kick out. A sunset flip by Singh gets two. An irish whip is countered by Duk with a kick to the midsection. Duk hits an enzuigiri  and then puts Singh in the cobra sleeper. Singh struggles but falls unconscious and Duk gets the win. 

The match is followed by an interview with Chicky and Kim Duk about the upcoming Bronca Boricua and the Caribbean title match Duk has against Invader #1. Duk cuts a promo where he promises to win the title, he is in good shape and he ‘feels not sorry for you man’ about Invader #1. We then get Invader #1 responding, hyping up the Bronca Boricua and saying that it won’t be easy for Duk tonight.

MD: It’s interesting they’re pushing Duk against midcard babyfaces instead of enhancement guys. Esteban has a guess that they had to bring him in because Pogo didn’t work out after they hyped him and it makes sense. He was less established here than Pogo so maybe they’re giving him bigger wins to get him over quicker. I still don’t get why Singh is there. He’s got the hairline of a heel and they needed heels and he could have come in as one. Heck, he could have teamed with Duk and it would have been effective. He fights from underneath here but Duk controls most of this with a size advantage, the martial arts, and some dirty moves. He uses the staff to choke Singh as the ref isn’t looking and this time slips in a back brain kick between the Dinamita Kick and the Cobra. TNT’s on the outside coaching with Chicky which is a nice touch. Hard cam had a lot of empty seats which was kind of striking.

Another rough Kim Duk interview follows. He’ll be challenging Invader 1 too. Chicky says “It’s all clear” after Duk speaks and I’m not sure that’s actually the case. Both he and Invader are hyping up both their match and the Bronco Boricua. I imagine their match would be pretty good. Hopefully we get some of it.

EB: It is time for Chicky Starr’s Esquina Caliente segment and we have Chicky and El Profe in the ring. The topic of conversation is Carl Styles and El Profe is baffled about Styles reappearing on the side of El Ejercito de la Justicia. Chicky mentions that this man Carl Styles was with El Profe’s organization, he left for the U.S. without telling anyone, and now he’s come back on the side of the tecnicos. El Prfoe says he is surprised at this, this man (Carl) didn’t show up for some contracted appearances, he was announced on TV as appearing and wasn’t anywhere to be found, he’s an irresponsible man, and now he is showing up in El Ejercito de la ‘Inmundicia’s’ locker room. ‘What’s going on with this stupid individual?’ Chicky calls out Carl Styles, if he is brave enough, to come out here and give Chicky and Profe an explanation for him siding with the tecnicos.Chicky claims that El Profe treated  Styles like a king when he was here before, and that Styles no showed and cost Profe a lot of money in fines for not being there. Profe continues running down Carl, calling him a coward, irresponsible, that he cost him a lot of money, that he treated him very well, until Carl finally shows up. Carl calls out Profe for not contacting him while laid up in the hospital, and Chicky and Profe both claim that they have no idea about that. Chicky and El Profe keep demanding for an ‘explication’ (as Chicky calls it) while Carl says that they know what Styles is talking about. Profe gets angry and starts poking Carl in the chest as he complains about the money Carl cost him and how irresponsible Carl is. Styles has enough of this and decks Profe, and then grabs Chicky in order to smash the two managers’ heads together. Carl tosses Chicky over the top rope and locks Profe in the full nelson. The fans cheer Carl on, but Atkie Mulumba makes his way into the ring and attacks Styles from behind in order to save El Profe. Mulumba knocks Styles down and hits several splashes (remember that Carl had an abdominal injury so this is not the best attack to be on the receiving end of). As the splashes continue, you can hear Chicky talking on the microphone about how this is what they do to traitors. This is what happens to anyone that betrays El Profe or Chicky Starr. Before the attack can continue, members of El Ejercito de la Justicia rush the ring to chase Mulumba and Profe off. Chicky keeps calling Carl a traitor and promises that Carl will pay for what he did to El Profe and Chicky. 

MD: In ring interview segment with Chicky. Time to get Profe’s side of the Styles situation. He said that Styles went back to America, didn’t say anything to anyone, left contracts unfulfilled, and now was with the Justice Army. Chicky and Profe call him out. Styles comes out and they argue about whether or not Profe knew before Styles fires off on them. He even gets Profe in the Full Nelson before Mulumba comes out to crush him and splash him. The babyfaces make the save. Pretty good angle here that sets up a singles match at the upcoming show.

EB: The main event for this episode is the tag match between Carlos Colon and Scott Hall vs TNT and Atkie Mulumba that we previously covered. Before the mach airs, we get some comments from Chicky about how TNT and Mulumba showed that they are number one in the match. Hugo also comments about how TNT is now more dangerous in the ring with the things Chicky has been putting in his head, but Chicky claims that he’s simply taking TNT along the correct path so he can reach the top. After the match, we get some final words from Hugo and Chicky about the Universal title rematch later that night. Hugo thinks Carlos needs to be very careful tonight since with Chicky in TNT’s corner, TNT may very well become the new Universal champion. Chicky says that tonight it will be a fight and that TNT wil do everything he can to be Universal champion (‘and of course, I will be in his corner’).
The second TV episode we have is the Superestrellas de la Lucha Libre episode for August 4.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCUfLpf8ZzA

Hugo welcomes us to the program and mentions that today is the fans day, it’s Fan Appreciation Day tonight at Estadio Juan Ramon Loubriel. Hugo runs down what we’ll have on today’s program and, since it’s a day dedicated to the fans, there will be no Chicky Starr’s Sports Shop today. Among the highlights for today, Hugo mentions that if you haven’t heard about what happened to Carl Styles, you will find out later in the program. Hugo also runs down the card for tonight’s Fan Appreciation Day, reminding fans about the Universal title rematch happening that night. They then show part of the video where TNT was commenting over the footage of the Aniversario 90 match that we saw last week. Back to Hugo, and he reminds fans that tonight it will be without a time limit. Also, tonight will also have the Bronca Boricua with 17 wrestlers participating. Hugo mentions that the Gillette company will be handing out some of their products and they will have a photo of El Reto Para La Historia available for fans as well. Remember that your favorite wrestlers will be there signing autographs and posing for pictures, so please bring your cameras. 

We go to a video for Kim Duk, where it starts with Chicky standing with Duk and TNT, where Chicky introduces the latest acquisition for El Club Deportivo. The audio isn’t good for this, so it is tough to make out what Kim Duk says (although it sounds like mumbled Spanish), but we get the cage fighting and martial arts demonstrations we have seen previously for Duk, mixed in with some newer footage of him wrestling at the TV tapings.

MD: The audio is rough but I think they have him reading Spanish off a sign instead of cutting a promo in English here. This is probably the same video we’ve seen before otherwise with the movie clips and the martial arts exhibition with TNT holding the bag.

EB: Immediately after the Kim Duk video we cut to outside of Pavia Hospital, where Hugo (in shades) is with a shirtless Carl Styles. Hugo mentions that Carl will be competing in the Bronca Boricua tonight but that he wants Carl to tell the fans about the situation with El Profe. Carl mentions that the money is on the line tonight but that pride is more important to him. Carl is mad that El Profe basically abandoned him in the hospital while he was hurt, never checked up on him, and he is going to pay him back for that. Hugo mentions that Mulumba will be in the Bronca Boricua match tonight and Carl says he will take care of him if they cross paths. Carl has one focus, to pay back El Profe and Chicky Starr for what they did, they are trash, he trusted them and they basically left him for dead. Hugo then translates, adding more of the detail that was explained in the Campeones interview (again with Hugo not naming the program by name, just saying on another program). For the fans that aren't aware, Carl had spent three days in the ER and two weeks in the hospital because a blood vessel burst in his abdomen during a match. Carl suffered an abdominal infection as a result of that and he was near death, and then El Profe abandoned him. Neither Profe nor Chicky checked up on Carl or informed Carl’s family of what was going on. It’s a bit funny hearing Hugo talk about the serious situation Carl went through all the while Styles is doing poses in the background. 

MD: Another interview in front of the hospital this time more about the specific matches and less about the situation in general. He notes that the money for the Bronco Boricua doesn’t matter nearly as much as him getting his hands on Profe. Still pretty compelling stuff. One consistent issue/opportunity for English-speakers is to try to do at the end of their promo when it’s being translated. Here Styles hams and poses which maybe doesn’t fit the somber/intense theme. Last time he mugged which didn’t help either. They should have probably just had him walk off while Hugo finished it.

EB: El Profe is with Los Mercenarios as tonight they get one more chance at the Caribbean Express and at regaining the Caribbean tag titles. Ron Starr mentions that in their last encounter they went to a 30 minute draw, but this time they are coming in guns blazing and taking the titles with them. El Profe translates and also mentions that they are gunning  for the prize money in the Bronca Boricua. The Caribbean Express get their chance to cut a promo about tonight’s match, Miguelito says if Los Mercenarios are confident then they (the Express) are double confident of retaining the titles. Hugo asks Castillo about the Bronca Boricua match (where weapons are allowed) and Castillo says that the Bronca Boricua is a very dangerous match since weapons are allowed, but he and Miguelito will watch each other's backs. No matter which one of them wins, they'll just split the prize money. Hugo reminds them that it’s important to not get injured in the Bronca Boricua and that it’s the last match of the evening.

MD: Great shot of the Assassin as this opens. Starr talks about the last match between them and the Express being a 30 minute draw, which sounds pretty solid actually, but not like something we’d ever have anyway. Both teams talk about both the tag match and the Bronco Boricua as we’ve been seeing. Castillo notes that no matter if he or Perez wins, they’ll split the money. That would have been a great heel turn angle, if Perez won and then kept it all for himself. Ah well.

EB: We go to a match featuring Lance Idol and Rick Valentine taking on the team of Gama Singh and Herbert Gonzalez. Idol and Singh lock up to start, with Singh countering a headlock into an armlock that is broken by Lance grabbing the ropes. Gama gets a side headlock and gets a punch off the ropes when Idol counters. Valentine is tagged in and Singh catches him with an armdrag. Singh works Valentine’s arm and tags in Herbert. Valentine and Herbert exchange armbar counters, with Herbert taking down Valentine to the mat. Idol breaks up the armbar by punching Herbert from the apron, which draws the ref’s attention to Idol. As the ref warns Lance, the tecnicos switch out and Gama takes over with several punches and a clothesline. A pin attempt by Singh is unsuccessful and Valentine tags Idol back in. Gama catches Idol with some punches and a slam for a pin attempt, then tags Herbert back in. Herbert keeps the momentum going with several punches and even recovers from getting kicked on the head to keep the advantage. However, Valentine ducks a wild swinging punch Herbert makes off the ropes and counters with a back suplex. A quick tag to Idol sets up a splash from the top and Idol and Valentine pick up the win. The tecnicos looked good but a mistake by Herbert was enough for Idol and Valentine to get the opening they needed. Idol gets some stomps on Herbert before leaving the ring and Valentine makes a challenge into the camera to anyone willing to put their title belts on the line against them.

MD: Straightforward way to keep Idol/Valentine shined up, doing next to no harm to Singh. He controlled as they stooged. Gonzalez got to control a little bit too, but they snuck in a shot from behind and made short work with him, ending it with the kneedrop off the top and a quick challenge to any team with belts as they were leaving the ring. 

EB: We get a series of promos hyping up tonight’s card, particularly the Bronca Boricua. Chicky is with Kim Duk, with Chicky saying he’ll be in there competing but that he has something even better and that is this man right here (points at Kim Duk). If Kim wins, then Chicky wins, so it’s all good. Chicky also mentions that Duk is challenging Invader #1 tonight for the Caribbean title and promises that there will be a new champion. Kim Duk cuts a promo and it’s basically what Chicky already said so I don’t know if it is necessary to keep Duk talking during these segments. 

Invader #1 is with Hugo and they first talk about the Bronca Boricua match before talking about the title defense against Duk tonight. Invader mentions that the Bronca Boricua is a dangerous match, people get their arms broken and their heads busted in there, but the fans always enjoy them and that Invader’s goals are to make sure nothing happens to him in the Bronca Boricua and to win the prize money. Hugo mentions  that Kim Duk was very confident in his interview about tonight’s Caribbean title match and Invader says that Duk is a tremendous wrestler, has experience, and that he is competition. But we’ll see if he is going to be able to win the title, Invader loves competition and we’ll see when the bell rings at the end if Duk was able to pull it off.

Our last promo for this segment is from Gama Singh, who talks about the Bronca Boricua and a singles match against Chicky Starr that is also scheduled for tonight. Gama says that it will be the smartest man that will win the match tonight and he looks to win tonight. Gama thinks that Chicky is either a sadist or a complete idiot for facing him again, but he’ll beat him tonight 

MD: All hyping the show. Chicky was up against Singh. Invader was defending against Duk. They let Duk talk again and it continues to be weird. Invader cuts a great promo as he so often does. Singh said that Chicky was either a Sadist or an idiot because he kept coming back for me. 

EB: Carl Styles makes his in ring return in a TV match against Assassin #2. Assassin gets a brief offensive flurry after an eye rake but Carl quickly counters back and takes over the match. Carl hits a backdrop, a leg drop, a powerslam and a belly to belly suplex on his way to locking on the full nelson and getting the submission win. Carl is back and looks to be in good form.

MD: Styles isn’t a small guy but he has terrible posture. This feels a little uncooperative as he just powers his opponent over with a power slam and belly to belly before winning with the full nelson. I imagine this was taped before the promos aired so the crowd has no idea what to make of him as a babyface. 

EB: We get another series of promos about tonight's card. First, El Profe is with Atkie Mulumba, and Profe promises that Mulumba will run over everyone to win the Bronca Boricua before directing words at Scott Hall .Tonight Hall and Mulumba are in a cage match and Profe promises Hall that Mulumba will leave Hall disfigured before being crushed with a slash from the top of the cage. Profe promises that as sure as there is a God in heaven, this will be the last match for Scott Hall after Mulumba is done.
Scott Hall is next and talks about the Bronca Boricua (he promises to win because business is business and he’s here to make money). With regards to the cage match with Mulumba, tonight he looks to settle things once and for all with Mulumba. 

Our last promo for this segment is Lance Idol with Chicky Starr, with Chicky talking for the absent Rick Valentine and promises they will win the money and also the World tag team titles. Lance Idol talks about the World tag title match and again repeats the dance with the devil line to close out his promo. Chicky promises that the gift they will give to the fans tonight will be new World tag team champions. 

MD: Nothing major of note here. Profe said Mulumba would have a special weapon for the Bronco Boricua. Both he and Hall hyped up the cage match. Idol did the Batman ‘89 Dance with the Devil line again and Chicky refused to translate it. He said that if Idol won, then he’d win in a way that made me feel like he’d be skimming way too much money off the top but that he could say it because Idol didn’t know Spanish.

EB: Los Mercenarios get a showcase match against the team of Armandito Salgado and La Sombra. Mercenario #1 starts off with Salgado. Both wrestlers exchange arm drags but Mercenario #1 tags Ron Starr in after claiming his hair was pulled. Armandito and La Sombra briefly get the better of Ron in some hold exchanges, but Ron is able to cut off Sombra and regain control for his team. A series of turnbuckle smashes by Ron leads to Mercenario #1 being tagged in. Los Mercenarios do some quick tags and Ron keeps working over La Sombra. Sombra briefly counters some turnbuckle smashes wth a coupe of his own, but Ron cuts him off with some kicks. A DDT by Ron gets the pinfall win for Los Mercenarios.  

MD: Short match. I continue to feel like Los Mercenarios needed something else in their act at this point. If this was a year later, they could steal the cattle prod from the Mountie or something. Finish is a DDT out of nowhere to counter a back body drop attempt.

EB: TNT is with Chicky Starr as they talk about tonight’s Universal title match. Chicky calls TNT the Universal champion and that everyone tonight will see who is the real Universal champion. TNT says that everyone saw him beat Colon 1-2-3 at Aniversario 90 so tonight the fight (it’s not a match, it’s a fight) has no time limit. Last time he gave Colon a beating and tonight there is nothing that will stop that match. The Universal title is going around TNT’s waist and to Chicky Starr’s Club Deportivo. So Colon get ready, because the people of Puerto Rico are tired of you as champion and as a man. TNT will once more have the title around his waist.

Carlos Colon gets a chance to respond and Colon mentions that he has a debt to the people of Puerto Rico, That debt is to put some shame into TNT. Tonight is with no time limit and TNT has challenged him to a fight, which is fine with him because he has had fights with the best. Colon wants to avenge TNT’s hypocrisy of coming on TV and saying that he is doing things for the Puerto Rican people but instead he has done all of these shameless things. Colon will teach TNT to have some shame tonight.
Super Medico #1 congratulates the fans on their day and says that both he and his son are looking forward to winning the prize money in the Bronca Boricua. Medico #3 says that they are ready for Valentine and Idol tonight, with Medico #1 adding that they have not danced with the devil but tonight the Medicos will dance on Idol and Valentine’s  heads. 

MD: Another intense close up TNT promo, where he notes that the match will have no time limit. Colon responds by saying he didn’t get everything he wanted last time but would this time and that he would give TNT the beating his father should have when he was a kid. Then Medico 1 responded that no, he had never danced with the devil in the pale moonlight but he would dance all over Idol.

EB: We get the WWC top ten and the TNT Evolution music video before going to Hugo for the show closing. Hugo reminds fans that tonight is the big Fan Appreciation day card and that there will be autograph signings and photo ops. The big Universal title rematch is tonight, along with the Bronca Boricua and other exciting matches. 

There is one final piece of Fan Appreciation Day hype that occurred that Saturday. As we’ve mentioned previously, the Campeones tv program aired on Saturdays on local channel 2 or Telemundo. Obviously, there was a lot of other programming that aired on Telemundo and one of the key programs in 1990 was a variety show called Super Sabados. As the name suggests, Super Sabados aired in the late afternoon to early evening time slot for Telemundo, covering about four to five hours. The program is similar to other Latin American variety shows such as Sabado Gigante, where hosts see you through several hours of a mix of games, comedy skits, prize giveaways, celebrity appearances, musical acts and off the wall competitions. For example, in the case of Super Sabados you had several games with audience members, prize giveaways involving homes and cars, music performances, and weird competitions such as the baby race, kid impersonators, biking contests (they had a Miss Thong 1985 competition once) and (in 1990) a lambada dance competition (it was the fad at the time). I would  spend many a Saturday afternoon watching this show during the late 80s and, to give you an idea of just how varied the show could be, here’s a promo for an episode.. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlVpdHIAt8Y

You had a bevy of musical acts, prize giveaways and a bunch of circus acts for this particular episode. Also, the show had a fun theme song. Here it is to add a bit more flavor..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iJAo0ihbUI

The show ran from around 1985 to 1991, and in its fifth year Super Sabados celebrated with a big anniversary show. In 1990, they were celebrating their sixth (and as it turned out, their last) anniversary with a big celebration at Coliseo Roberto Clemente. True to form, the anniversary show would feature a wide variety of games and entertainment, as highlighted by this promo for the broadcast.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxj4Rg-ovvs

Among the many things scheduled for the anniversary celebration you had Xuxa and Menudo performing, a celebrity hunk basketball game,  a bikini contest, a circus act with show co host Dagmar in the globe of death, and the usual bevy of games and prizes. For anyone interested, here are the Xuxa and Menudo performances, they'll give you a good idea of the size of the venue and the crowd for the event.

Xuxa’s performance:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpZP7z57kSc

Menudo’s performance:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGZ1je281mc

Oh, and we also had the participation of CSP with a special one on one match for the Super Sabados Cup. TNT, who was challenging for the Universal title match in the big rematch later that Saturday, would be facing Invader #1. Both men would have someone seconding them, Chicky Starr would be in TNT’s corner and Carlos Colon would be in Invader #1’s corner. Looking back, it’s interesting that we’re getting this at a non wrestling event (thank you to network cross-promotion) and that it is at a notable location as Coliseo Roberto Clemente. Many a Three Kings’ Day show had been held at the coliseum and there are some notable historical markers featuring these four men in particular. It was here that Chicky Starr cemented his turn to the dark side by blindsiding Invader with an attack after Invader made one last plea to reason with Chicky, setting off the biggest rudo run of the past half decade and one of the most storied rivalries in Puerto Rican wrestling history. It was here that TNT and Carlos Colon had their big Universal title match on Thanksgiving Day in 1986, set up on TV  by TNT leaving Carlos passed out from the Cobra Dinamita and refusing to wake him up (the first time TNT ever did this). It was here that Carlos Colon defeated Stan Hansen in a bullrope match and banished his rival Hercules Ayala from Puerto Rico. And, under the Super Sabados banner, all four men are at Coliseo Roberto Clemente once more. Let’s go to the Super Sabados 6th anniversary show to witness the battle for the Super Sabados Cup.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19HYaEFqmz4

The segment begins with Hugo Savinovich and Dagmar (one of the co-hosts of Super Sabados) in the ring. Hugo is holding a trophy and Dagmar is doing the ring introductions. We have ‘War’ from Rocky IV playing as the entrance music and TNT is making his way to the ring. TNT gets in the ring as Dagmar introduces him (and for some reason Dagmar is wearing boxing gloves), as we get a shot of the crowd. We cut back to the ring and see that Chicky Starr is in the ring with TNT, dressed in a suit. Dagmar introduces the other contender for the Super Sabados Cup, Invader #1, who leaps over the top rope into the ring and does his customary two hops. Dagmar also introduces Carlos Colon, also dressed in a suit (although that’s how Carlos always dresses for these appearances), and he’ll be seconding Invader #1. They again cut to the large crowd, this time clapping and cheering for the tecnicos. Dagmar finishes the intros by presenting El Vikingo as the ref and Hugo Savinovich as our commentator for this one night only event. Hugo then takes over the microphone to commentate the proceedings. Hugo welcomes the fans to the event and quickly presents everyone again that is involved in this super bout for the Super Sabados Cup. As Hugo is finishing, TNT snatches the microphone away from him and starts talking. He doesn't want to fight with that old guy (points at Invader), he wants to fight with ‘viejito’ Colon (both TNT and Chicky point at Carlos at ringside). TNT knows that tonight there is a very important match for the Universal title, but he does not want to wait for tonight. He wants to fight Colon right now, because TNT knows that there are more than 15,000 people here in person, but there are more than one million watching on TV. And he wants to break Colon’s face live on TV. The camera cuts to Carlos annoyed at ringside, pointing and yelling something back to TNT. Hugo says let’s go to the action and El Vikingo calls for the bell to start things off.

Invader and TNT circle each other, but TNT stops and again starts pointing at Carlos. The camera again shows Carlos annoyed and pointing at TNT to focus on his opponent, and Carlos then motions to Invader to go after TNT. The match starts with a lockup  that leads to a chop exchange. Hugo is live on the microphone narrating for the crowd. Both wrestlers stand off again and TNT once more turns his attention to Colon at ringside. Carlos again tells TNT to focus on his match, and then we hear Chicky’s voice over the microphone. As Invader and TNT again exchange strikes in the ring, Chicky can be heard questioning why Carlos Colon isn't accepting TNT’s challenge on live TV on the sixth anniversary of Super Sabados. As Chicky continues complaining, the camera shows TNT has exited the ring and is jawing with Carlos Colon at ringside. Carlos keeps pointing at the ring, telling TNT to focus on his opponent. TNT locks up and gets the better of Invader with some chops and a clothesline. Hugo mentions that tonight they are having a big show in Bayamon where Carlos and TNT will face off for the Universal title. TNT starts throwing overhand strikes and stomps on the downed Invader, while gesticulating towards Colon. TNT starts throwing punches and you can see Carlos is trying to provide encouragement to Invader from ringside. 

As TNT continues with the punches, you can see that Invader is starting to get fired up. The crowd starts cheering and Invader makes it to his feet. TNT sends Invader into the ropes but a clothesline attempt is ducked and countered with a clothesline by Invader. The crowd continues cheering as Invader sends TNT into the corner with some strikes and a headbutt, as Hugo says that we are seeing the best wrestling in the world here at the sixth anniversary of Super Sabados. As Invader continues attacking TNT in the corner, the camera cuts to Hugo and Chicky standing nearby, Chicky with a concerned look on his face and Hugo continuing the live narration. Hugo mentions that TNT has been sent out of the ring and the camera cuts to TNT standing at ringside, once again staring down Colon. Carlos again points at TNT to get back in the ring, and an angry Chicky again gets on the mic to question why isn’t Colon accepting TNT’s challenge right now here at the sixth anniversary of Super Sabados. Hugo tells Chicky to please calm down, as TNT is once again in control of the match, attacking a kneeling Invader with punches. Carlos claps at ringside in support of Invader, but TNT hits a spin kick to knock Invader down. 

TNT goes for a pin attempt but Invader kicks out. Carlos starts tapping the ringpost to get the crowd even more into it as TNT hits a slam and a leg drop at the 5 minute time call. A nonchalant cover only gets two. Hugo mentions that both of the seconds are worried as TNT misses a blow and Invader counters with a dropkick. Another dropkick leads to a big chop off the ropes from Invader. The crowd continues cheering as another strike sends TNT through the ropes to the outside. Again TNT starts staring down Carlos. TNT gets close, and as Carlos starts jawing at TNT to get back in the ring, TNT slaps Colon in the face. Carlos has had enough and takes off his suit jacket and tie. Carlos undoes his top dress shirt buttons, and the crowd cheers as Colon enters the ring. 

Invader, seeing Carlos get in, exits the ring. TNT immediately meets Carlos with several punches and kicks as the ref calls for the bell. According to Hugo, the referee has thrown the match out. TNT tears Colon’s dress shirt and continues the attack, sending Carlos into the ropes. Carlos ducks the dynamite kick and counters with dropkick that knocks TNT down. Colon snapmares TNT over and starts hitting some mounted punches. They stand up and Carlos hits a headbutt and gets fired up. Carlos and TNT exchange punches as the crowd continues cheering. Carlos is briefly staggered by a punch from TNT, and TNT takes the opening to grab the front of Colon’s pants and gives them a yank. The whole crotch area of the pants tears off. Carlos tries to counter with some punches but has to cover up to avoid being indecently exposed. This leaves him open to TNT’s attacks. Invader tries to get back in the ring to help Carlos, but Kim Duk makes his way to ringside. Invader turns around but is immediately hit right on the forehead with the kendo stick. Invader is face down on the floor as Duk hammers away with the kendo stick, hitting several blows to Invader’s back. Colon sees this and tries to go out and help Invader, but TNT grabs Carlos and stops him. Invader is busted open on the floor as Duk hits some more cane shots to Invader’s head. Chicky is at ringside directing traffic and  Carlos gets thrown over the top rope to the outside. TNT and Kim Duk get some final blows in before Chicky herds them all away, the damage and message having been delivered. 

Carlos and Invader are laid out on the floor,  Invader bleeding profusely and Carlos having his clothes pretty torn up. Hugo asks El Vikingo who won the match, and Vikingo waves his hands indicating that there is no winner, the match was thrown out. Hugo starts asking the crowd who won, was it Invader or TNT? Hugo announces that the crowd at Coliseo Roberto Clemente has decided upon Invader as the winner and points at Invader, who is still laid out on the ground in a puddle of blood. By the ring apron, Carlos is in a sitting position as El Vikingo is trying to wrap the tattered remains of Colon’s dress shirt around his crotch area. Someone brings Vikingo a towel or blanket so that Carlos can cover himself up, and the crowd cheers at Invader being declared the winner. Carlos and Vikingo check on Invader and the lady holding the cup decides to place it down next to Invader’s head (since he won the thing). Dagmar makes her return and asks Hugo what’s happening. Hugo tells Dagmar that Invader is bleeding and they need to get him some medical attention. The camera again focuses on Invader convulsing a bit on the floor, with his face now rolling over the puddle of blood that is on the floor. Dagmar leans over and sees that Invader is actually bleeding and starts waving  for help as well. For some reason, at this point the sound guys start playing ‘War’ from Rocky IV again. Security comes in as we wait for medical help (and you can see Victor the Bodyguard working his shoot job as security). In an unintentionally funny moment (to be honest, there have been a few of them in this segment so far) the camera keeps doing a close up on Invader’s bloody head as Hugo asks the director to not show Carlos Colon because he barely has any clothes on (so Carlos in skimpy briefs is not okay to show, but Invader bleeding on the floor in closeup is good to broadcast, this on a show that has a women’s bikini contest scheduled as well).

Hugo again requests a doctor to come help as Dagmar asks one of the attendees what’s the status. The man replies that they are going to transfer Invader to the emergency room so he can receive medical attention. Dagmar asks Hugo if it is always like this and Hugo says not always but this time Kim Duk attacked Invader and left him practically motionless on the floor.  Dagmar starts freaking out and says that she can’t be seeing this and starts pleading for them to get Invader out of here, even if they have to carry him out, but get him help quickly. At this point, another of the co-hosts arrives (Luis Antonio Cosme) to check in on Invader and also to help calm Dagmar down. The stretcher finally arrives as we get a freeze frame on the video but can still hear Hugo’s voice talking. Cosme asks Hugo how grave the situation is and Hugo replies that the man who attacked Invader is a martial arts expert who struck repeated blows with a kendo stick. The audio ends with Hugo saying that Invader’s in a very bad state. Just an all around memorable moment on what is basically the afternoon/early evening family program block.     . 

MD: Three things come to mind immediately. The first is how natural and charismatic Hugo seemed here. He just fit right in. He belonged. He could stand on any stage and introduce the wrestling action to everyone as if they were his friends. Incredibly valuable. The second was just the sheer level of talent involved. Invader, TNT, with Colon and Chicky seconding. Just a perfect capsule of the nucleus of what we’ve seen so far in 89 and 90. It’s an image to last forever and one to appreciate while we have it in this particular formulation. And speaking of lasting images, it’s so crazy that with this platform, this reach, this celebratory moment, they went with a crazy, gruesome, high gore, big heat angle. You would figure they would give something more family friendly and sanitized for the moment. I wish I knew if there was blowback here. It had to make an impression but what did the papers say the next day? What did the network think? Etc.? 

EB: We had quite the angle here to finish up the hype for Fan Appreciation Day, with blood, a serious wardrobe malfunction and everyone involved playing their role perfectly. Coliseo Roberto Clemente was once more the site of a notable wrestling moment involving Carlos Colon, Invader #1, TNT, Chicky Starr and Hugo Savinovich. Unfortunately, this would turn out to be the last time all of them would be involved in such a big angle together.

Next time on El Deporte de las Mil Emociones, as summer ends there is some roster turnover that sees the arrival and departure of a few wrestlers, including a giant arrival and the departure of one of the biggest names in the company. Also, new champions, a new manager arrives, and the Carlos Colon vs TNT feud escalates further.  

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70s Joshi on Wednesday: Nancy! Victoria! Kumano! Ripper!

 30. 1979.05.XX1 - 01 Mami Kumano & Monster Ripper vs. Nancy Kumi & Victoria Fujimi

K: This was a very similar kind of match to one we covered last week and the main purpose was clearly building up Monster Ripper for her title match against Jackie Sato on 7/31. To avoid repeating myself I’ll just focus on the different aspects. Firstly this was two falls but the two falls played out very differently. In the first fall Monster was just dominating both the Golden Pair she barely even needed Mami’s help. Monster’s getting a bit better at these long heat segments, they do start to get a bit repetitive once she’s been at it for more than a couple of minutes but she’s lacking the pauses/hesitation that hurt some of her earlier performances.

In contrast, the 2nd fall was descended into a chaotic brawl quite quickly. Golden Pair apparently decided they weren’t going to bother playing by the rules and just started double teaming, even attempting a double pin at one point. This livened things up a lot. Nancy Kumi actually made an effort for solid minute or so. The first fall arguably set the scene for things to get more hectic here, but it’s definitely the more entertaining portion. Especially when Yumi Ikeshita gets involved on the outside and starts throwing people around into the chairs. Monster once again won with her big splash of terror.

So it turned into a decent match but forgettable match on the road to 7/31.

**1/4

MD: This one somehow felt less complete than the last tag, though it went about the same time. Given some of the time calls after the first fall, we may have lost some of this. It started with Ripper …well, ripping up a Jacky poster, so that was fun. At times, the Golden Pair could use their superior teamwork and speed to bedevil Ripper, or just run right through her together, but Fujimi came in heavily taped up and that made her a big target for Ripper, first with a shoulder claw, but really just in general. Kumano got in on the act too with a hair-pull assisted torture rack and over the shoulder backbreaker. They were able to hit a series of flapjacks/goardbusters on her and hurt her knee, but it didn’t even the odds for long.

That was especially so because, as opposed to the last match, the outside members of the Black Army got involved to help do damage on the floor. Moreover, and object (maybe a soda can? Hard to tell) came into play though at least they were able to fire back on Ikeshita with it. Fujimi was just too hurt to give them a chance for long. By the end, Ripper was more or less playing with her food, holding out her hand until Ikeshita could sneak behind her and they could do a double crash into her repeatedly. Ripper’s suplex was more or less a death move. She followed it up with a splash and the deal was that the victim’s partner simply couldn’t pull her off. The act was down by this point at least and the act was solid.

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AEW Five Fingers of Death 9/2 - 9/8 Part 2

MD: This was a jarring enough experience that Tim Livingston is tagging with me on it. His thoughts are below mine

AEW All Out 9/7/24

Bryan Danielson vs Jack Perry

MD: This is not necessarily the match I would have booked, but it was the match that we had. And this match had to carry weight. It had to carry more weight than matches I would have probably preferred. It did so admirably, valiantly even. This match had to lower the guard of nine thousand people in an arena and tens of thousands of people at home. It had to provide them with something meaningful, believable, understandable, acceptable, leaving them absolutely and completely unprepared for what was to come. It had to be conventional, predictable. Maybe it even had to carry its own flaws proudly, like a badge of honor. It had to manage this while following an emotional war in MJF vs Garcia, multiple spotfests that shot for the stars, and a physical war in Statlander vs Willow, plus Mone vs Shida which may or may not have hit as intended. It had to precede the angle, yes, but also the sickening spectacle of Hangman vs Swerve. It had to create a mood of complacency right in the middle of all of this.

Let's break down what this match seemed to be and what people's expectations for it were. On paper, looking at just the straight text, the TNT champion, much like the International Champion earlier this year, was challenging for the AEW World Title. Danielson had more or less made an open challenge. Perry was more than ready for it. I don't think anyone thought that Perry was going to beat Danielson, however. The subtext, outside of kayfabe, as it was, is that this was not the main event. Swerve vs Hangman was main eventing. It was a way to help keep Danielson active, to potentially give Perry some rub, maybe even to prove if he could hang on this level. People suspect that part of Perry's push was due to the reaction he got for the NJPW Strong show in Chicago. If this was somewhere else, maybe he wouldn't be in this spot. There was the usual chatter about Danielson being selfless and wanting to highlight new talent, etc., to help support the people that would be there after he was gone, and so on.

So that was the text and the subtext leading into this. Of course the context is that it had to set the stage for the angle at the end while taking advantage of the biggest thing the angle had going for it, the element of shock and surprise. Given all that, they treated it as if the subtext was really all that mattered. People knew that Perry didn't have a chance, so the match couldn't be just about Danielson beating him. The drama and the tension had to come from something else. Here it was Perry getting his comeuppance at Danielson's hands. Look at the first couple of minutes. The fans chanted for Perry right from the start but that wouldn't last long. He was quick to rush forth, to get an armdrag, to muss Danielson's hair, to be as insufferable as possible. He actually won the first exchanges but when Danielson rushed in to try to undo that, Perry escaped to the floor. In some ways this was even more insufferable than if Danielson had gotten an armdrag back before the escape because Perry wasn't even allowing him the chance at it. He took the tiniest of wins and scampered. Quickly Danielson DID catch him, reversing a hold and leaning hard, capturing him in La Tapatia so that he couldn't escape and going for what would become the central throughline of the match, the ultimate goal, to stomp Perry's f'n head in with the hands trapped. Here, though, in the first act, Perry slipped out beginning a dance of denial that would drive the proceedings moving forward.

Instead, Perry ate some feet to the face and Danielson's end-of-career flip dive but Perry rolled through the ring and caught him on the other side. The fans knew they had been denied the stomps, and now Perry would lean on Danielson in his irritating manner. That meant focusing on the neck, sure, but also false ten count punches in the corner, eyerake cutoffs, and plenty of posing and preening. Danielson came back with a huge belly to back off the top and got a modicum of revenge, but Perry snuck his way back into control with the Snaretrap, again being as irritating as possible with Cattle Mutilation and a couple of dragon suplexes. Danielson would even the odds with another huge suplex, this time a butterfly suplex off the apron, but they'd repeat it with another Snaretrap and escape to set up the ref bump. Maybe it was all a little bit long but everyone expected that to give Perry a chance to shine as much as possible. Normally a ref bump is about covering up a false finish. Here though, it was to deny the crowd Danielson stomping Perry's head in once again. Before he could the Bucks ran in. After they did their damage, Claudio and Yuta ran in, which made extra amounts of sense given they faced off earlier in the show. All of this set up a finishing stretch, full of Perry pushing Danielson too far and paying for it, and maybe one too many kickouts from Perry, which met well the suspected subtext of making him look strong in defeat Finally, the head did get kicked in, not once but twice, and to the tune of the Yes Chants, and Perry, all but asking for it, got wiped out by a third knee.

All of this met expectations perfectly. The match was set up in a way so that the crowd got satisfaction not through Danielson's victory but instead through Perry's comeuppance. It went long on a show that had already drowned people in sensation, but that worked well enough with the misdirecting post match angle: Killswitch attacking, Perry having a moment with him, Christian coming down to cash in. Moxley showing himself. It all would have been enough to push the ball a little further. In and out, nice and neat, Christian lurking in the wings, ready to prey upon Danielson's fatherhood as only he could. And how long could Moxley, up to whatever he was up to, coexist with Bryan? Both the text and the subtext were satisfied, closed off. Expectations, both positive and negative, were met. People sang along to the Final Countdown, were glad to see Moxley and Danielson reunited, were ready to move on to the gory finale of the main event. AEW is plagued by Excalibur (through no fault of his own), quickly transitioning to the next thing with a "But what about..." and there was no reason to think we weren't headed into a video package here. They burned down a house after all.

I don't think a shorter match would have worked quite as well. I don't think a different match could have worked quite as well. It had to be this, something people begrudged but accepted, something that was worked smartly and provided satisfaction in the moment even it was a little contentious just how much satisfaction that turned out to be, something that seemed to accomplish multiple things, that set up a perfectly conventional post-match that we were all too familiar with but were ultimately okay with.

I can't imagine anything that could have understood us as an audience more or brought our guards down more effectively. In this, our familiarity and our complacency were our undoing.

TL: As we tend to do with big setting AEW matches, the meta speaks much louder than the story trying to be told. This is (sadly) not a new phenomenon for the company, but it becomes weirder when the meta context rewrites or even overwrites what’s presented to the viewer. There’s little doubt here as to the result, and there’s no doubt at all as to the perceived gap in talent and stature between Bryan and Perry, even with Perry’s in-company position as the #2 guy with the title he’s holding. For three years, it’s been a guarantee that Bryan was the better wrestler in any match he was in; the challenge was always how to overcome that perception and tell a story that grabs. The larger the perceived gap, the seemingly more impossible the challenge. It just so happens to be a challenge Bryan relishes.

The setting had a few things going for it; Perry is absolutely loathed in Chicago for obvious reasons, is considered a failson even though his dad never wrestled, and he’s not above going low to get to his destination, as has been his MO for the last year. Fans are also happy to see Jack eat shit, slip on the proverbial banana peel, all the comeuppance tropes you’d want to see a heel take. To Perry’s credit, he's smart enough to troll, even if it’s the easy way out. It’s one thing to do the Cattle Mutilation to Bryan in a title match, or even do the Snapdragon Suplexes to show up Bryan’s first AEW showcase opponent and the man he usurped in The Elite, but he also does the charging corner lariat and reverse neckbreaker combo in Chicago, which is an easter egg for the sickos and an attention to detail that goes above and beyond what is usually the case for AEW house style references.

However, I feel the best thing it has going for it is it’s a Bryan title defense. For all the types of matches Bryan gets celebrated for, and all the matches he’s had in what’s becoming a career-defining run, it’s become a rarity for him to be The Man holding off a challenger. His last WWE title run was hit or miss save an all-timer of a reign ender, and while the ROH house style at the time of his monumental reign was 10-15 minutes too long on the regular, that run was rightfully celebrated for its breadth and depth given the quality of opponents was so varied. There are fewer matches sweeter than a Bryan title defense; he gets to show off a mean streak when he wants to, his technical superiority, counter wrestling smarts, all the beats that make him the all-timer he is. 

Put it all together, and while it’s probably not the match we wanted for Bryan’s first title defense in a half-decade, what we got was exactly what it should have been. Bryan hit all the beats expected of him; he hit the familiar high spots to harken back to his heyday, laid it in stupendously to the point where he was downright mean at times (the chops, the kicks/knees to the prone arm, the torque/technique on all his suplexes), played to the crowd even when they knew the result was inevitable; how do you not get involved in a match when someone is so earnestly making sure you pay attention?  Perry was given every opportunity to shine in ways that made sense, and on top of that, decided to bump like a madman in key moments. Say what you will about Perry, but his self-awareness has become one of his biggest strengths, if not his biggest. He knew when to stooge, knew when to gloat, knew when to die.

The post-match, though…5-year-old me should have never seen the Clash VIII post match during the awesome 1989 NWA Main Event two-hour Year in Review special when it aired that New Year’s Eve. Subconsciously, it’s difficult to shake, as you might imagine. So now imagine having that deep in your memory recesses, getting shocked to your core initially with the Claudio uppercut, the look on Bryan’s face in a close-up (one of the great AEW production moments), and then the plastic bag from Mox (making it THE great AEW production moment), all in the span of about five seconds. Now throw in Yuta crying helplessly while Claudio and Marina hold everyone at bay while Mox holds the bag over Bryan’s head for way longer than you’d expect.

Yuta unwillingly became an avatar of my now 35-year-old trauma being reawakened. I had to pause and walk away on my rewatch right after the BCC jumped the rail to stare away the Patriarchy cash-in attempt, right when my heart started trying to leap out of my chest. Bryan got me in Wembley by pulling at my heartstrings. I don’t think I can go back and rewatch the match because it is one of my favorite wrestling memories ever, and I want it to stay unaltered. Maybe when my own daughter comes of age (if she even becomes a wrestling fan) and I show it to her as an example of why it’s important to have balance between your dreams and family, hoping as we watch that it somehow grows in stature. 

Yet I went back and watched this match and angle until literally my brain told me danger was lurking around the corner and I needed to get away or something very bad was going to happen. You appreciate the story they’re trying to tell, but what it uncovers about yourself in the process might literally bring hidden demons into the light. The Sport of Kings remains, always and forever, undefeated.

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AEW Five Fingers of Death 9/2 - 9/8 Part 1

AEW Collision 9/6/24

Bryan Danielson/Claudio Castagnoli/Wheeler Yuta/Pac vs. Jack Perry/Kazuchika Okada/Matthew Jackson/Nicholas Jackson

MD: Wrestling seems to be the easiest thing in the world and the hardest thing. It's creating a primal connection with people that touches the core of their humanity, denial and gratification that stimulates the endorphins in the brain. It's building imaginary towers, bigger and bigger, creating more and more emotions. Yet if you try to overcomplicate it in the wrong ways or if you don't control for extraneous bits, you lose people along the way and only end up with a ghost of what you might have otherwise built. Worst case, the entire structure collapses in upon itself. The main thing you're trying to do is build up a credible, believable reality while at the same time creating as few disruptions that hinder suspension of disbelief as possible. Wrestling isn't math, but if there was an equation, you'd have that positive element and that negative element summing up to create as much immersion and emotion as possible.

I wrote about alignment the other day and I'll double down on it a little bit here. The build for Pac vs Ospreay has been all about Pac ambushing the likable chap. Cheapshots, denying the crowd the first Ricochet vs Ospreay interaction, walking around with a chip on his shoulder. Maybe Pac has a point but the way that he's going about it is not buying him any favor with the crowd. Yet due to opportunity or circumstance, he's one third of the trios champs, with a group that he had grievances with just last year after their last attempt to team up. And here he had to be a fiery babyface. Yes, characters can be three dimensional and don't need to follow clear heel/face alignment, but they do need to be presented in consistent ways. Moreover, I have no idea what Pac thinks about his partners or how he feels about working with them. I don't have a great sense how he feels about the Elite right now. Here, it felt like a chink in the armor of the match, something that raised questions that weren't going to get answered, that took people out of the proceedings.

There were both structural positives and negatives as well. I'll get to Perry and his antics in a paragraph or two. Top of the list of positives was the denial and payoff of certain elements: Danielson getting his hands on Perry (an alchemy of its own), and certainly the giant swing, which was teased early and then cut off only to come back for the finish, denial and gratification just like it should be. Also there was a very strong face-in-peril segment on Danielson and co. with the Elite hitting a lot of interesting, dynamic, mean, credible offense in rapid succession. On the other hand, you had the big frog splash on multiple members of the babyface side at once, which probably took too long, and had things like Okada hanging on to the much stronger and not all that damaged Claudio for ages while they set it up. Another crack in the foundation. You can kind of get away with something like that if the babyfaces are doing it to the heels as part of a comeuppance laden comeback because you're expecting the babyfaces to be stronger and the heels to try to (and be unable to) wriggle away, but it doesn't work nearly as well when it's the heels doing it to try to get more heat. It's stuff that looks good on paper, maybe, but that ends up being more of a negative in the equation than the positive.  

And then there was the timing of everything breaking down only to come back together and calm down for the first ten minutes or so of Rampage. A match like this was always going to break down once or twice and probably needed to cover a few extra minutes to keep people engaged for the transition to Rampage. I'll admit that I was kind of ready for everything to go home shortly after the teased Okada dive. If they were going to go a few more minutes, just beating Okada around without major attempts to try to pin him wasn't the most engaging thing in the world. Another round of heat on someone like Yuta leading to a second hot tag and the actual finish would have reset the tension enough to get them over the finish line. I get that they had to get through the first commercial break for Rampage but the crowd was low again after the chaos of everyone hitting big moves in rapid succession and beating on Okada didn't really give them a chance to build up dramatic tension again for the finish.

Speaking of tension, let's talk about stalling. I'm still not quite over the lack of it in MJF vs Ospreay at All In, but that doesn't mean I want him to do it against Garcia at All Out. The situation is different. Vs Ospreay he was the blowhard champ and there was a real opportunity to figure out what the crowd wanted (in this case to see Ospreay do his stuff in a stadium and amass rating stars) and deny it completely while showing a cowardice and hypocrisy relative to what he'd been saying. Against Garcia, Max has a hierarchical advantage and while Garcia wants revenge, it makes sense to go a different route with layout and exactly how to heel. Perry's an interesting case. He claims to have just wanted a chance to prove himself but was benched, to be his own man and not Jungle Boy, that he was a scapegoat when he's really just a standup guy, that it wasn't his fault. But then in ring, he's been taking shortcuts and avoiding confrontation wherever possible. He'll get in when it's easy and hit the floor when it's hard. 

I never wanted stalling for the sake of stalling (I never want anything for the sake of itself!). For MJF vs Ospreay, it would have been purposeful, and I think with Perry, maybe it is as well. The heart of any heel is cognitive dissonance. Just like how comedy works by creating a gap between expectation and reality, heeling does as well. Within that contradiction, animosity can be created within the hearts of the fans. Heels can say one thing and do another and then deny that there's any difference at all. There's heat to be found there.

I think Perry's doing a pretty good job at striking the right balance. The first time he came in, the fans were happy to chant along with his catch phrase. But after he escaped Danielson kicking his head in (and that never did get fully paid off in this one; that's for the PPV), and after he popped in and out for a few cheapshots, they seemed a lot less willing to sing along and more eager to see him take a beating. Good! There's a place for all sorts of things on the card, and if he wants to lay claim to that, and if he can find the slightly shifting balance that really fits his character in different situations against different opponents, there's a real chance that Perry can find that niche after all. But like I said, while it's pure and primal, a burr in the heel of the audience that will drive them to care, it's not always easy. But often times, it's the hardest things that are most worthwhile.

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Found Footage Friday: STUDD~! WANZ~! COCOS~! NOSAWA~! MASADA~! FANTASMAS~!

Big John Studd vs. Otto Wanz CWA 12/20/83

MD: This is a 40 minute John Studd vs. Otto Wanz match from December 1983 found in the massive lot of tapes that @maskedwrestlers was able to rescue from Germany. Go hit him up if you want to see it. Obviously, I jumped at it. I covered a slew of Wanz matches years ago and he has excellent timing, hits hard, and has a singular connection with the crowd. As the 80s roll on, he becomes less and less mobile and while none of those skills fade, the matches do suffer a bit for it. Then there's Studd. In so many ways, he's the most human of the giants, emoting frustration, fear, hatred, resentment. He's a two-hundred pound stalling stooge in a much larger frame. It creates an amazing dissonance he can use to rile an audience, but that dissonance unfortunately carries over to not being particularly dynamic on offense. 

This overachieved and I think it did so because the environment maximized the opportunity for these two to lean into their strengths. This match takes place over nine rounds. There's a minute rest period with music playing in between each. While the narrative can build over rounds, it creates a clear break and bit of respite. Studd has a reputation of sitting in some fairly uninteresting holds and there's very little of that there. There were other advantages as well. Studd's height allows him to strike down and always have an excuse for getting back into the match. They're both massive and everything, from a lock-up to punch to a snap mare to one of them daring to go up to the turnbuckles feels weighty and consequential. The ten count to win added gravitas to every knockdown as well. Maybe most important of all is the fact that Otto is very good at working from underneath in holds, constantly moving his hands, constantly trying to fight his way to a different position. That's more than half the battle against Studd. The crowd was hot the whole way through. There were two camera angles here, spliced together; one picked up the crowd better than the other, but they were buzzing, constantly chanting "Otto, Otto".

If any one of these pieces dropped, it might have been a slog, but none of them did. Let's take it through the text itself. This is going to be a little dry but I want to make the case knowing people may not have forty minutes for this. Right from the get go, after the anthems, Studd was quick to shove Otto, to demand a test of strength. They locked up, shoved off, crashed off the ropes into each other and shook the entire arena. Studd struck downwards with elbows and clubbers. Otto would come back off the ropes with big meaty shots. Studd would attempt a chinlock, a standing one at the end of the second round with him peppering in a knee, and grounded ones in the third, but Otto was quick to get up and the third ended with him jamming Studd's mare and turning it around, to a big pop from the crowd. 

Otto pressed the advantage in the fourth round, dropping Studd with a single leg and then rowing along in time with the crowd's chants with a standing toehold. Otto had a way to make these interesting and entertaining, whether working on top or from the bottom. They had teased slamming each other earlier, but at the end of this round, riding his momentum, Otto finally got Studd up and over as the bell rang. Right after, I'm Still Standing played for the crowd and it felt like a high point in some DreamWorks animated movie. In the fifth, Studd, desperate, was able to get Otto out of the ring and brawled with him there. He caught him on the way back in and layed in some heavy shots. He couldn't hold back Wanz for long though and Otto controlled this middle portion fairly well, even through Studd's attempt to work his arm in the sixth. 

By the seventh round, Studd was at his wit's end. He demanded they announce over the house mic that he had previously said that Otto was going down in the seventh. Otto charged in, they slugged it out, and Otto got the best of him in the corner at hit his signature flip senton. Studd was a bedraggled, sweaty mess by this point. He managed a cheapshot and a corner  beatdown of his own, but Otto powered up and tosses Studd from the ring. There was a clear narrative throughline in all of this, and while it could have potentially been a bit more dramatic, the crowd wanted to see Otto fight back again and again and it led to what happened after the seventh. Instead of staying in his corner, Studd attacked between rounds. This was treated like a horrific offense, with officials and Wanz's second coming in only to get dispatched with ease by Studd to a chorus of boos. Studd beat Wanz around ringside before pulling down the corner pad and opening him up with the metal underneath. Otto was able to fire back at the bell but Studd had the advantage.

Studd pressed that advantage in the ninth, picking Otto up a couple of times with a level of aggression you wouldn't expect out of him at this point of the match, before crashing into the exposed post himself, and finally getting slayed for the ten count (if just barely) by an Otto pile driver. 

Between the round system and Otto's ability to work from underneath, this never slowed down for long. The level of motion may have been more subdued but how hard they hit didn't. Studd taking three or four big steps across the ring to lay a clothesline across Wanz' chest was absolutely impactful. And those times when they really moved, whether it be Studd missing an elbow drop or Wanz coming flying off the top with a big shot, meant all the more for the build. Lots of little bits of build and payoff throughout too, whether it was Otto hitting that slam or changing the trajectory of the match by jamming the mare attempt. They very much knew what they were doing and while I think this could have been even stronger if Studd took slightly more of the middle, that only made his egregious (and dissontant; why does someone so big have to do that!) cheating between the seventh and the eight mean all the more. This was an unquestioned accomplishment. They went forty minutes, never losing the crowd, always hitting hard, utilizing holds at times but not wearing out their welcome and never just sitting there, finishing strong.

ER: I always think of Matt as the Big John Studd Guy because Matt was the guy who really dove into what made Studd different from other big workers, learning his patterns and strengths better than anyone else I know. I think I was close to the trail. I remember talking to Phil about him years ago, tell Phil that Studd wasn't anywhere near as big as he was billed. I thought he had Big Dick Dudley or Col. DeBeers size and build and was a fake big man. A man with military posture like DeBeers or Nick Nolte in Who'll Stop the Rain. Adding size. But I was just being tricked by Studd's sometimes odd style, the smallest working giant we've ever had. Matt recognized it for the oddity it was and cracked the code on what the best assets of Studd were. So Matt covered this match well, as I knew he would. Matt left me the link to this match in the draft of our review and told me to "give myself time." I did, because of course I wanted to watch 40 minutes of a Giant and an Obese Regional Megastar. I love the fat regional babyface. I love Big Daddy. Imagine if Abdullah the Butcher was the big Puerto Rico babyface and Carlos Colon was the island's greatest heel? The feud would be even more blowaway great than their actual feud. 

This is 40 minutes of big man wrestling heaven, where two behemoths worked like rival lumbering mastodons punctuated by polka and electronic instrumental themed rest breaks. It was slow but always intense. Otto Wanz is a real favorite of mine. I love a country who gets behind a big fat guy who looks like a King of Fighters character, and is the kind of fat guy that looks more normal in a double strap singlet than he does in normal clothes. John Studd has some of the great understated gear in wrestling. The long white tights have literally never been pulled off better. The fit impeccable, the build never more impressive. John Studd looked like a tree of a man and Wanz looked like a Bill Plympton drawing. His face has this youthful woundability, and no matter how short or long any Wanz match is, it will be constantly filled with Otto chants. Otto is a master of falling into ropes in dramatic ways, hitting the bottom rope on Studd's short arm western lariats to the fucking face, falling sideways or chest first into them reeling from other strikes. 

This was not a stiff match but had the appearance of a stiff match, an exquisitely worked long match where every single impact had real weight behind it. The longer they worked, the more dramatic it felt. This felt like a true clash of the titans. Studd was not a cheating heel, and often he would call his shot in a more badass way than I've seen from anyone this side of Stan Hansen: multiple times pointing to his very large flexed forearm before swinging it straight at the bridge of Otto's nose. Every time either one of them fell or was knocked down felt like a major deal. The few spills through the ropes to the floor felt like major moments all, none bigger than Studd kicking Otto's ass around ringside while a worried man on the house mic pleads with him to stop and a large old man in a dinner jacket keeps getting dangerously involved. 

The drama and big match feel were so strong here that you wouldn't even need to know anything about Wanz or Studd. You would be easily able to see their appeal even though nobody else works quite like them. I loved the pacing of this, I loved how it felt like it really could have kept going a full hour. I knew Matt had my best interests in mind when leaving a 50 minute link to a Wanz/Studd match, but I never anticipated feeling robbed of a longer match. 

IWRG Retro 3/8/2001

Suicida/Coco Rojo/Coco Blanco vs. Payaso Misterioso/Nosawa/Masada

MD: More IWRG Retro. This is episode 27 which feels like a high number so I probably have to go back and see what I missed. This is the same show with the Santo/Silver King trios main event. This from the undercard definitely worked for me. Nice mix of Nosawa and Masada moving at high speed with Segura, including doing a great job of getting into position for his stuff and then everyone just playing into Los Cocos' act with a bunch of crowd pleasing comedy stuff. Payaso Misterioso had some heft to him so Segura bounced right off of him, but then he'd stumble into a shot from Rojo or Blanco to get knocked out of the ring, that sort of deal. The primera had the beatdown, the segunda the comedy in the comeback, and then they cycled through fairly quickly in the tercera. The finish had Los Cocos get the advantage on the Japanese with quebradoras into submissions, only for a third figure to come in to disrupt things. Probably Minoru Fujita? What we had here was a little clipped but it was 13 minutes of good fun overall.

Enterrador/Bombero Infernal/Black Metal vs. Fantasma/Fantasma Jr/Ultimo Vampiro

MD: Pretty complete trios match here. Fantasma Sr. was just over 50 here if I'm not mistaken. Jr. is his nephew and, alongside, Vampiro, rounded out the tecnico side with flying since Sr. wasn't going to do that.. The rudo side were better than the sum of their parts. Black Metal was tall and Enterrador ("Undertaker") was wide in an Abyss sort of way. Apparently he'd have a mask match with Ultimo Vampiro later that year and from what I saw here, I sort of wonder if that exists. (Edit: It does.). Point being, in the segunda especially, Bombero Infernal was directing traffic as a poor man's Satanico and it all went quite well. Fantasma, Sr. was very giving, allowing for his mask to get pulled in a big way. He was front and center for the comeback, moving out of the way of an Enterrador dropkick. Black Metal used his height to the fullest, first eating a double dropkick from Fantasma, Jr. and Vampiro and then basing for a huge over the top dive. The finish had Enterrador vs Fantasma where Fantasma fooled Bello Greco (who had ref duties here) by tossing his mask to a charging Enterrador to draw the DQ. Totally blatant, no way the ref should have been followed, but wildly charming at the same time.

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70s Joshi on Wednesday: Jackie! Lucy! Ripper! Ikeshita!

29. 1979.04.XX2 - Jackie Sato & Lucy Kayama vs. Monster Ripper & Yumi Ikeshita

K: This feels like a match that didn’t have much thought put into it. Just stick two of the top babyfaces vs. two of the top heels in a tag match and have it end on a double count-out because the company is saving the decisive finishes involving these wrestlers for a better occasion. It’s still an enjoyable match though. For some reason Jackie is wearing an eye-patch. I would have liked it if it factored into the match somehow but the heels didn’t target it, which makes me think it’s just a legitimate eye-injury rather than an angle. Someone should show this match to Shinobu Kandori to see what she thinks about that.

They did work it well to make Monster appear to be the bigger threat. A good moment was when Monster had been knocked to the outside, Jackie went really wild relentlessly hitting Yumi with her biggest bombs, as if she was thinking that she needs to do as much damage as possible now as when Monster’s back up then the opportunity would have been missed. That 1st fall was the best part of the match. It felt like they kind of repeated themselves in the 2nd fall in a not very interesting way except with the heels pulling one back this time. The double countout was far from the worst I’ve ever seen, but I had already got a feeling before the 2nd fall had even ended that that was going to happen.

**1/4

MD: Pretty solid fifteen minute tag here. Ripper emerged from her rope with a mighty scream to set the scene. Jackie had an eyepatch. We don’t know why. She’s actually taller than Lucy which is weird since Lucy’s gimmick is that she’s “Mt. Lucy” but I guess that’s more something to do with her legs. Some fun heel communication bits early as they use Ripper’s size against her to Ikeshita’s dismay. Jackie definitely came off as a star again, just a level above the other babyfaces in how she can slug and stand tall and take stuff. She was also smoother with things like her short headscissors takeovers.

First fall ended with Jackie holding Ikeshita for the Queen Rocket by Kayama. Second fall had that same spot set up with Ripper eating it this time, but Ikeshita showed her mettle by smashing everyone with a chair and letting Ripper get back into it so she could suplex Lucy. Ripper seemed much more confident in there than she had previously and could just mow through her opponents and toss them about. Ikeshita had some great powerslams where you think she’s going to do a tombstone but she falls forward instead. Lucy makes a comeback here but it all breaks down and becomes a double countout, which weirdly we haven’t seen a ton of yet.

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AEW Five Fingers of Death 8/19 - 8/25 Part 4

AEW All In 8/25/24

Darby Allin vs Jack Perry (Coffin Match)

MD: I've noted this before but one thing I like about Darby being part of the 5 is that he ends up in more matches which, on paper, I don't necessarily want to see and that I almost certainly don't want to write about. This broadens my horizons a bit. It forces me out of my comfort zone. It's good for me. On top of that, he's a miracle worker, right? I've written about almost 70 Darby matches as part of this project and they've almost all been very good, and a number of them probably shouldn't have been (on paper).

This one should have had a fighting chance. I was never a fan of babyface tag team Perry. I imagine we have very different views on what makes for good tag team wrestling, most acutely when it comes how early in the match things should break down and the value of structure over well... cool stuff that pops the crowd. We haven't had a ton of chances to see heel Perry, but I will say that I think he did well enough against Hook in their two matches last year, including the All In one. I think there's something to him getting heat by just laying around with a shit eating grin during the TNT title ladder match too.

Sometimes his stuff seems uniquely orchestrated in a way that should take you out of the match, a bit too focused on "clever moments," maybe. Here it was during the glass pouring exactly as they went to a wide cut and it did take me a little out of the moment, but then he has the cover of egotism and the Elite angle. You believe that Jack Perry the character, knowing he'd set up the glass under the ring in a bag and planned to pour it, would tell the producers that when he had a chance to use it, they should do certain things with the camera. If anything, they should lean into that more overtly, make it clear that he's using his power like that. Here, it backfired on him. He was the one who went into the glass and maybe him caring so much about the moment getting caught on camera could have been part of that. It's okay for a heel to be full of himself and self-centered and desperately crave attention. He's a heel! In this case maybe we aren't supposed to think "Oh yeah, he has a point," but instead think he's full of shit and ideally people will want to see him get his head kicked in. If they try to play it with shades of grey though, it'll probably end up the worst of both worlds.

So the balance maybe felt a little bit off when it came to the big moments and how they were milked on this, but even then, Darby, in and of himself, in an environment where he could come in with tacks glued to his face, where he could crash in burn against the coffin, where he could get his hands tied up and still fight from underneath like that, well... it still should have worked. Watching it the first time it seemed almost too maximalist (everything was big, absolutely nothing was small) and too minimalist (there wasn't enough overall, including enough reactions; they moved from one giant thing to the next without anything getting to resonate), even at the same time.

There are always things that we can't know as viewers (reviewers/critics/fans/consumers, whatever you want to call it). We primarily engage with the text as it is presented to us, especially when it comes to current wrestling. Sometimes with older matches, you can carry a bunch of known context with you as well and that gives you different entry points into the matches. I'm pretty sure it was the Observer (Radio) that reported due to the firm ending time for the show, Darby vs Perry got rushed and could only go around ten minutes. No idea if this is accurate or how many more minutes they would have gotten if things had gone as planned. It does, however, offer a very feasible explanation for the weird feel of the match and why it didn't work relative to almost every other Darby match and every other Darby Coffin match. There is only so much improvisation one can do in a match with so many moving parts (tacks, chairs, the coffin, glass, the tape, the belt, and, you know, Sting). Certainly, a match with three more minutes of Darby trying to fight from underneath with his hands tied would have been far more interesting. Do I think if it was Darby in there with Christian things might have gone better? Maybe. But the match also more or less served its purpose, to give the crowd a few big memorable moments before the emotional roller coaster of the main event, to keep heat on Perry especially if he was to challenge for the world title at All Out, to provide the thrill of Sting saving the day.

None of that means I'm going to give the match a pass. As a match, it's not magically better because of mitigating factors. But it does mean I might give the wrestlers a bit of a pass. I'm not necessarily going to hold this against Perry too much (he has another chance against Danielson in a week). I'm not going to see Darby as any less of a miracle worker overall. And I'm certainly not going to write any differently moving forward. There are always going to be things I can't know. That doesn't mean I can't joust with the text as provided and put down my thoughts to the best of my ability. It doesn't make it a less worthwhile endeavor to try to make sense of it all. If new information comes to light, I'll readjust my opinions accordingly. Save for many the most dogmatic and driven of the listmakers, most of us aren't searching for some sort of objective truth. Our hands will always be a little tied as we're sitting on the outside looking in and discussing an artform veiled in secrecy and impossible, incomplete knowledge, but with the right mix of confidence and humility, we can make those leaps of faith just as well as Darby.

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