El Deporte de las Mil Emociones: August Rush

Week 34: August Rush

EB: We’ve once again reached a point in our journey where the footage and results we have are scattered about, so we're going to be skipping a bit in time depending on what we have available. Case in point, last week we finished the hype for Fan Appreciation Day  with the Super Sabados appearance. Unfortunately, we don’t have footage or definitive results for the actual Fan Appreciation Day card. We do know that almost all of the champions retained their titles. The one exception are the Super Medicos, they lost the World tag team titles to Lance Idol and Rick Valentine. Due to the footage gap, we’re going to be jumping towards the end of the month, to the TV from August 25. But before getting to the TV episodes, we do have some goodbyes to say.

First, we say goodbye to Scott Hall. The signs were there for anyone noticing. since Hall was not included on the Sunday Fan Appreciation card and the Bronca Boricua for that day had 16 wrestlers instead of 17 (Carl Styles seems to have slotted in Hall’s spot for now). The blonde outlaw had an interesting run here in CSP, first as a rudo and then becoming a solid fan favorite. It seems that Hall’s time in Puerto Rico was an important step in his development and, while we do not have one last clip of his run here to say a proper goodbye, overall it was a really good run for Hall and he will be missed.

Also leaving us after a 10 months here is Angel acevedo, known as Mercenario #1. It was honestly time to move on but what a run he had both with Gerry Morrow and then Ron Starr as his partners. As a farewell, we have a full match between the Caribbean Express and Los Mercenarios from a few months back, during the lead up to Aniversario 90.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KC4UMLR1uQ

This match starts off with Perez and Castillo taking it right to both Mercenarios, with Castillo sending Acevedo out of the ring and Perez handling Ron Starr in the ring. The fighting continues as Castillo attacks Acevedo on the outside by throwing him onto the announcers' table and hitting him with a chair. Perez throws Starr to the outside and Ron gets rammed onto the table and hit with a chair as well. The match settles back into the ring, as Castillo continues teeing off with several punches on Ron Starr. Castillo rams Ron’s head several times on the turnbuckle, with Ron then teetering between punches from Perez and Castillo. The Express do some quick tags and maintain control on Ron, but Starr is able to find an opening to cut off Castillo and tag in Acevedo. However, Acevedo runs into an armdrag and another series of quick tags by the Express has them working over Acevedo’s arm. Again the rudos are able to find an opening to make the tag, and again it does not work as Castillo counters Ron Starr’s kneedrop attempt and tags Perez in. Again the Express maintain control by working the arm and doing some quick tags. We go to a commercial break during a chop exchange and come back as the chops continue. Finally Los Mercenarios get some offense going after a double team maneuver. Now it is Los Mercenarios that keep the advantage with some quick tags and double teams of their own. The turning point for the match comes when Perez is able to hit a double clothesline on both Mercenarios and makes the tag to Castillo. Huracan cleans house on both rudos, including hitting a monkey flip on both Mercenarios at the same time. Perez comes in and the Express try to ram both Mercenarios into each other. The rudos reverse and it is Perez and Castillo that collide. Los Mercenarios whipped Castillo into the corner and set up Perez to be whipped into Castillo. However, Perez is able to stop himself before hitting the corner and vaults Huracan over him. Castillo lands on Starr with a bodypress as Perez holds off Acevedo. The Express get the three count and retain the Caribbean tag titles. Bon voyage Mercenario #1.. .

MD: I feel like we’ve seen this match a dozen times now but it’s always good. It started hot with chairshots on the outside and the first half was all Express control as Starr and Assassin stooged. While part of me likes the idea of Los Mercenarios being an endless Ship of Theseus, ever changing members, it feels like it’s time to push Starr again with Chicky, Burke, and Assassin all gone. Nice transition with a drop toehold/elbow drop combo out of nowhere and solid heat until the big exciting finishing stretch. This had the hanging-on double monkey flip and that great vault ending. They could have wrestled two dozen more times and they’d all be good.

EB: We have one more goodby to make, and it is the biggest one we have had so far. We last saw Chicky Starr stirring things up as TNT’s second on Super Sabados. Chicky would be at ringside for TNT in the rematch against Carlos Colon on August 4, but unfortunately he has left CSP after being the top rudo in the company since the start of 1986. It is going to be different with Chicky Starr no longer around and we’ll talk about some of the changes made as a result of his departure in a bit. As a farewell to the incomparable self proclaimed king of wrestling, let’s look at a pair of matches featuring Chicky Starr. Our first match may actually be one the most recent matches he taped for TV (it is definitely in the weeks after Aniversario 90). It is a mixed tag match where Chicky is teaming with Espectrito to take on the tecnico team of Huracan Castillo Jr and Aguilita Solitaria.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwa0aKCoLGw

This match is from a Clasicos segment that aired much later, so the commentary is not the original one. The match is already in progress, with Espectrito landing a dropkick from the turnbuckle onto Aguilita. Espectrito picks up Aguilita in a fireman’s carry and takes him over to the rudo corner. However, the ref is right there and Chicky raises his arms up to show that he is not breaking the rules by attacking the wrong pair of his matchup. Espectrito kicks Aguilita out of the ring, prompting Castillo to go over and check on Aguilita as Espectrito shows off in the ring. Castillo helps Aguilita onto the ring apron, but Espectrito grabs Aguilita and runs him right into the post. Castillo again goes over to check on Aguilita on the floor. Chicky distracts the ref as Espectrito gets another kick in on the outside. Castillo protests to the ref as he holds Aguilita, trying to get the ref to get the rudos to back off. Castillo gets Aguilita on the ring apron and gets in the ring for his team. Castillo wants Chicky to be tagged in, but Chicky refuses and Espectrito remains in the ring. Huracan continues wanting Chicky to be tagged in but Espectrito takes the opportunity and kicks the injured Aguilita off the apron. Castillo goes over to make sure Aguilita is okay as Espectritot jumps on the turnbuckle to brag about what he did. Chicky finally decides to get in the ring and Castill comes in. Chicky works a side headlock and he and Castillo do a rope running sequence that ends with a Castillo armdrag takedown. Espectrito tries to come in but the ref heads him off. Chicky attempts an armdrag counter but Huracan keeps a hold on Chicky’s arm and armdrags him over to maintain control. Chicky fights out of the armdrag and now the minis are in for their sides. Espectrito continues attacking Aguilita’s head but misses when Aguilita tags Castillo in. Huracan stays in the corner and serves as a base for Aguilita to bounce off and hit Exepvtrito with a series of moves. The match ends when Castillo sends Aguilita off the top rope in a rocket launcher onto Espectrito, giving the pinfall win to the tecnicos. The clip ends with Espectrito and Chicky having a discussion about what happened. .

MD: At first I was going to shake my fist at Esteban for holding this back, but it’s ok. It’s better on paper. Which isn’t to say it’s bad. I just have great memories of all of those mixed tags from Houston and this isn’t that. The first half is Espectrito bullying Aguilita Solitaria repeatedly by knocking him out of the ring. Chicky is good at coaching here and Castillo is good in getting his partner back in. Back half has Chicky showing that he still had Juniors chops with rope running with Castillo. And then the finish is Castillo and Aguilita working well together on a couple of set up spots including a great rocket launcher flipping senton deal for the pin. No real comedy though and that’s what I came for.

EB: Our second match is one I held back for this moment. It is from the May 19 episode of Superestrellas, during the early stages of the Invader #1 vs  Leo Burke singles feud. This is likely the last time Chicky and Invader wrestled each other in a single match during this era of CSP. I can’t think of a more fitting farewell then to see the eternal rivals face each other one more time

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3KZaGPdQNI

Hector Moyano is on commentary and mentions that we are about to witness a classic matchup. The man who was once trained by Invader #1 versus the man who nowadays is one of Chicky’s most hated enemies. Chicky goes to the apron and stalls by asking the ref to keep Invader back.The ref counts as Chicky refuses to get in the ring, and Invader starts getting impatient. Eliud Gonzalez is also on commentary, mentioning that this is a match between two champions, with Invader #1 being the Caribbean champion and Chicky being half of the Caribbean tag champions with Leo Burke. Chicky continues to avoid locking up with Invader, and we see Leo Burke make his way to ringside as Chicky exits the ring. Invader decides to chase after Leo outside of the ring and Chicky rolls back inside. Invader chases Leo back to the locker room and heads to the ring. However, it seems Invader’s attention is a bit diverted as he keeps glancing behind him to make sure Burke is really gone. Chicky is in a corner, again avoiding locking up with Invader. Chicky continues stalling by exiting and then reentering the ring, Finally the two wrestlers lock up and Invader gets an armdrag takedown on Chicky. Invader keeps working the arm and taking Chicky down each time he attempts to get up from the mat. Invader hits a couple of chops on Chicky and sends him into the ropes. Invader lands a kick to Chicky’s knee that sends him through the ropes to the outside. Chicky starts limping and asking for timeout, but the ref starts his count. Invader decides to go out after Chicky. They exchange chops and Chicky rolls back in after Invader gets an eye poke on him. Chicky begs off as Invader starts getting fired up. Invader smashes Chicky’s face against the mat and hits a backdrop for a two count. Chicky misses an elbow drop but recovers to land several chops on Invader. The chops are countered by Invader, leading to Chicky being put in an airplane spin. At that point, Leo Burke rushes into the ring wearing a boxing glove and knocks Invader down. Leo puts Chicky on top of Invader but all this happened right in front of the referee, so it is a disqualification victory for Invader. Chicky raises his arm in victory and argues with the ref when he indicates otherwise. We then get a couple of promos from Burke and Invader about their upcoming Caribbean title match on May 19. That is it for Chicky Starr in CSP, things will certainly be different without him around.

MD: Very sad to see Chicky go. But this is a good way to see him off. Lots of stalling and it’s all great. Lots of feeding for Invader, his head whipping all over the place for nasty shots and you can freeze frame in on his expressions and they’re all perfect pro wrestling. Then he fired back almost as well as he took, but not quite as well. What an absolutely great pro wrestler, and this felt iconic in its own way even in six minutes or so. Invader had chased Burke away early during Chicky’s stallfest antics, but he came back after an airplane spin to clock Invader, drawing the DQ even as Chicky added insult to injury by pretending to pin Invader. Good stuff that built to the Burke/Invader boxing match. Chicky, we barely knew ye.

EB: With Chicky out of the picture, there is the issue of what happens to El Club Deportivo. Well, it seems that El Club Deportivo has now fallen under the management of El Profe, so Profe now is seconding TNT and Kim Duk. In the case of Rick Valentine and Lance Idol (where I think Chicky was no longer actively managing Valentine by this point in time), they actually have a new manager. Making a return appearance to CSP as the new rudo manager is none other than the reigning Women’s World champion Monster Ripper. It is going to be interesting to see how Monster Ripper works as a manager, but I’m sure it will be fun to watch.

With El Profe now managing TNT, we go to a segment that has the latest developments in the Colon vs TNT feud. The video has some playback issues but it does play correctly from around 2:30 onwards, so you can skip ahead to that point.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASaRb1PdBmk

Hugo is narrating the footage as we go to August 4 and the big Universal title rematch. Carlos is putting TNT in the figure four leglock as Chicky Starr watches from ringside. As TNT struggles to hold on, Kim Duk appears in the ring and drops an elbow on Carlos. This results in a disqualification and saves TNT from having to submit. Duk puts Carlos in the cobra sleeper and keeps the pressure applied until the Super Medicos and Miguelito Perez run in for the save. We now go to what is likely August 18 in Caguas (which Hugo refers to as last week in the video). TNT and Carlos are both bloodied and we pick up the action with TNT reversing an irish whip and hitting a clothesline on Colon. TNT tries to do an irish whip on Carlos that Colon tries to reverse, but TNT does a reversal of that attempt that sends Colon right into the referee. As the ref is briefly down and Colon is dazed from the collision, TNT puts on the Cobra Dinamita. The ref struggles to get up as TNT takes Carlos down to the mat keeping the pressure on. El Profe, now seconding TNT at ringside, raises his arms in victory as Carlos struggles to get loose to no avail. Carlos is able to reach the ropes but Profe grabs the ropes and yanks them out of Colon’s hands, right in front of the referee. An argument breaks out between El Profe and the ref, as Hugo mentions that the hold should have been broken. Carlos tries to make the ropes again but can’t reach them, and he starts fading away in the hold. Carlos is down to his knees and it looks like TNT is going to win the Universal title. Suddenly, Invader #1 runs to the ring with a chair in hand and proceeds to hit TNT in the back with the chair. The ref disqualifies Colon but the Universal title remains with Colon and El Ejercito de la Justicia due to the disqualification.

We then go to El Profe and TNT for some comments about the rivalry so far, with Profe saying that TNT is the rightful Universal champion. TNT agrees with El Profe and goes on to say that the WWC and the people of Puerto Rico even more so should recognize him as the Universal champion, because last week he once more proved to be the real Universal champion by putting Colon to sleep. TNT calls out Invader for sticking his nose in what was not his business, and as such TNT has demanded a cage match to ensure no one can intervene in the next title match. We’ll see how ‘viejito’ Colon can handle being in a cage with a young man who is an expert in martial arts. TNT will leave Carlos Colon bathed in blood tonight. TNT has beaten Carlos up every time they have faced each other and tonight once more he will give a beating and walk away the champion.  

Carlos Colon is with Hugo and responds to TNT. Carlos believes TNT made a mistake in asking this to be a cage match, because this time it’s on TNT that it is a cage match. Carlos thinks TNT has been crying too much about Invader interfering last week and saving the title. Carlos admits that it may be so, but TNT conveniently forgets to mention how Carlos had TNT in the figure four on Fan Appreciation Day ready to break his leg, and that Kim Duk came in to save TNT. That's all in the past now, tonight no one from either side will be able to interfere, it just the two of them one on one. And if TNT thinks that he has more experience in cage matches or that his martial arts skills will be the difference maker, then TNT is mistaken. Carlos is going to show that spoiled kid exactly who Carlos Colon is when in a cage ‘I was wrestling in cages when you were still in diapers.’ Hugo thanks Carlos for his time and says to the fans that he has to remain neutral, but may the best man win tonight.  

MD: Profe’s in to manage TNT now. They’ve done the draw and some unclear finishes. Now, they add in a few more to keep things churning. First, Kim Duk breaks up the figure-four as he’s in the mix now. Then, in another match, Profe pulls the rope away from Colon while TNT has him in the Cobra. That brings out Invader with a chair. How do they solve this? A cage match. Makes sense to me. They can’t keep spinning this indefinitely but there’s still some air left in the tank.

EB: The Carlos Colon vs TNT feud has escalated to a cage match that is scheduled for August 25. Let’s go now to the two TV episodes we have from the August 25 weekend, first up is Campeones.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CiQk-2FeRM

Another sign that Chicky is gone is that we now have El Profe serving as the rudo co-host with Hugo. The video we have for this episode cuts in after the show has already started, with the two hosts finishing up their intro and comments on the current happenings in CSP. El Profe is in the middle of finishing up his comments about tonight’s cage match between TNT and Carlos Colon, indicating that it will just be the two of them in there and no one will be able to interfere (‘Carlos Colon will have no one to save him tonight’). Hugo closes by saying they will continue talking about what’s going to happen tonight throughout the show and we go to our first match of the program.

We have Ron Starr taking on Hurcana Castillo Jr. This match is from Caguas and I’m guessing it’s likely from August 18. Castillo is the reigning World Junior champion and this match is non-title. Starr is back in the singles ranks with the departure of Mercenario #1, still part of El Profe’s Real Academia. Ron jumps Huracan at the start, hitting him from behind when Castillo was setting down his jacket. Ron lands several blows and tosses Castillo through the ropes to the floor. Hugo asks Profe what he thinks about Starr’s attitude here and Profe responds ‘As the Puerto Ricans say, he who hits first hits two times, and Rambo Ron Starr is not timid about attacking valiantly that way.’ Starr goes after Castillo on the outside, ramming Huracan into the announcer’s table and hitting him with a chair. On commentary, Profe mentions that the Real Academia and El Club Deportivo are now one organization, so El Profe is in charge of both groups now (‘one organization that has united to end El Ejercito de la Inmundicia’). Ron stomps Castillo on the floor, but stops momentarily to roll into the ring to break the ref’s count. Ron goes back outside to continue attacking Castillo, including ramming him into the floorboard pile and ramming him back first onto the ring apron. Back in the ring, Ron maintains control with a back elbow on Castillo, as Hugo mentions Starr’s credentials, including his past reigns as NWA World Junior champion. Starr continues on offense with several hits on Castillo in the corner, but Castillo soon blocks the punches and counters back with a punch and some kicks of his own. Castillo gets fired up and continues punching Ron in the corner, but Starr cuts Castillo off with a punch when the referee attempts to get Castillo to back off. Ron gets a nice knee strike on Castillo as El Profe gushes about the acrobatics being displayed by Ron Starr.  Castillo gets a sunset flip for a two count but Ron goes back on the attack with a side headlock and cuts off Castillo’s attempt to power out of it.

Hugo reminds the fans that this Thursday they will be in Corozal with a card that includes Carlos Colon & Carl Styles taking on TNT & Atkie Mulumba, Invader #1 vs Kim Duk, the Super Medicos vs Lance Idol & Rick Valentine, Huracan Castillo Jr vs Ron Starr, and Gama Singh against Texas Hangman #1 (who?, we’ll discuss them next time). Castillo counters an irish whip and follows up with a clothesline into the corner that sends Ron down to the canvas. Starr staggers to his feet and Huracan pounces, hitting some punches and ramming Starr’s head into the top turnbuckle various times. Starr begs off, but Castillo gets a backdrop and tosses Ron to the outside. As Castillo goes out after Ron, Hugo mentions that Starr has been focusing on competing for the World Junior title and has been dropping weight in recent months for this.Outside of the ring, Castillo pays back Ron for earlier by ramming him into the announcer’s table and hitting him with a chair (with a great sell by Ron after getting hit with the chair). Both wrestlers get in the ring and Ron begs off, as Profe complains about Castillo doing these things after Ron has been wrestling cleanly. Castillo gets an inside cradle for two. A standing switch leads to a rollup by Castillo for two. Huracan throws Ron into a corner but runs into Starr’s knee on the follow through. Starr misses an elbow drop, and an irish whip reversal sees Castillo come off the top with a crossbody press. However, Starr uses the momentum to roll over and hook in a pin. The commentators argue over whether Ron is holding the trunks as well (Hugo thinks he is, Profe says no way) and Ron gets the three count pinfall win. Ron Starr celebrates his win outside of the ring and it looks like he will get his chance at the World Junior title now. It’s Ron Starr vs Huracan Castillo Jr. tonight in Caguas with the title on the line.     

MD: I’ve been saying they should make Starr a singles guy for a while, and now it makes sense. He’s not Leo Burke but he’s also not that far off of him and this was a match to show what he could do both on offense and taking stuff. He ambushed Castillo at the get go and they did a good job of giving Castillo the tiniest bits of hope only to get cut off. When it was time for Starr to stooge, he did so in a big way, going head over heels at times. Finish was fairly hot with stuff that was countered or missed before he rolled through on a cross body and held the tights for the win. Profe put him over on commentary the whole time.

EB: With Chicky gone we have an opening for a new manager in the rudo ranks, and it is none other than Monster Ripper. She has returned to CSP on a more full-time basis, taking over as manager for the new World tag team champions of Rick Valentine and Lance Idol. Ripper is here with the tag champs and they’re cutting a promo about the Super Medicos and their new second, someone Ripper knows well from her last run back in 1987. It seems that the Super Medicos have brought in Sasha to counteract Monster Ripper, and Ripper is threatening that she'll end up killing Sasha if they cross paths. Idol doesn’t care who the Medicos bring in, there is nothing they can do about Idoo and Valentine keeping the World tag titles. Valentine chimes in, saying he doesn't know what barrio they dug up Sasha from, he has no respect for her since she is associating with a bunch of losers. Ripper cuts another promo in Spanish (it’s more her cutting a promo that reiterates some of what Idol and Valentine said rather than translating what they were saying) and then laughs menacingly to close out their segment.

We then go Sasha and the Super Medicos. Sasha was at home with her husband and kids but was seeing the injustices that Idol, Valentine and Monster Ripper were doing to the Medicos. It seems the Medicos called her up to ask if she would be willing to second them tonight in order to counter Monster Ripper and she said yes. Medico #1 asks for the director to roll the tape of what happened last week in Caguas, and it is highlights from the World tag title match between the Super Medicos and Idol & Valentine. Medico #1 has Valentine in the corner, hitting him with several chops. The ref gets tied up with Idol and Monster Ripper steps into the ring and gets in front of Valentine. Medico #1 tells Ripper to get out of the way, but Ripper refuses. Medico #1 has enough and grabs Ripper, tossing her through the ropes and to the outside. Medico #1 gets an inside cradle for a pin attempt, but Idol comes in to break up the pin. This brings in Medico #3 and all four men are now in the ring. Medico #3 manages to knock Idol onto the ring apron, but the ref goes after Medico #3 and tells him to leave the ring. As the ref escorts Medico #3 out of the ring, Medico #1 attempts to bring in Valentine from the ring apron with a slam. Ripper interferes, grabbing Medico #1’s leg and causing Valentine to fall on top and score the pinfall. Idol and Valentine retain thanks to the interference from Monster Ripper. We go back the Super Medicos and Sasha, where Medico #1 says that everyone has now seen how MonsterRipper interfered and cost them the match. Tonight in Caguas it will be different because Sasha will be there and the World tag titles will be back where they belong around the Super Medicos’ waists.

MD: This is definitely a way to freshen things up a bit. Monster Ripper could cut promos for Idol and Valentine and we hadn’t seen mixed tags like this for a while. Sasha fit in with the Medicos in all white and presumably she could play face-in-peril given the size difference with Ripper. Ripper certainly caused enough chaos in the match clip they showed, both in and out of the ring. It’s all a pretty quick and effective pivot in a post-Chicky world.

EB: We’ll discuss a bit more of Sasha’s past history next time. Up next is a segment with a nuclear medicine physician (introduced by Hugo as the Super Medico Nuclear) named Dr. Angel Luis Rodriguez Rosado. The reigning Universal champion Carlos Colon is also with them. Dr. Rodriguez is here as an honorary member of El Ejercito de la Justicia and wants to talk to all the cadets of El Ejercito to tell their family members and neighbors that are medical graduates to not go anywhere on Labor Day weekend other than the annual Medical Graduates Convention (starting on August 31). He wants this to be a  new romance with the medical school and asks the cadets to help spread the word. Then the doctor then tells Carlos that he is aware of the money their time on TV costs, so he is willing to make it up with a match. He has seen some wrestlers in the gym he might be able to take on (this draws a chuckle from Carlos). In fact, he might be able to take on that guy over there in the red pants who now changed into a light blue shirt. The camera cuts to show Invader #1 talking with Miguelito Perez and the doctor calls Jose over to shake hands and say hello. Invader puts over the work the doctor has been doing and invites him to come over to Invader’s house to treat him to some ‘asopao’ and also asks the doctor to bring his neighbor Carmen Jovet along. Invader also invites Carlos but I’m not sure if Hugo’s invited as well. Carlos tells the doctor that a match won’t be necessary, just keep doing the great work that you do. The doctor says his goodbye and Carlos mentions that he hopes that the kids learn to love school, because that is the solution.

MD: Both I and Carlos got a kick out of him being introduced by the doctor as his mother’s son. But really, I’ll let Esteban explain nuclear medicine to everyone.

EB: We get a card rundown for tonight’s show in Caguas: Cage match for the Universal title as Carlos Colon defends against TNT; no time limit rematch for the Caribbean title as Invader #1 defends against Kim Duk; the debut of the Giant Warrior against Atkie Mulumba; World tag team title match as the Super Medicos with Sasha in their corner challenge Rick Valentine and Lance Idol with Monster Ripper in their corner; Huracan Castillo defends the World Junior title against Ron Starr; Carl Styles takes on El Profe in a lumberjack match, and other super bouts.

Also this Friday in Yabucoa, we have the following matches scheduled: Carlos Colon & Invader #1 vs TNT & Kim Duk; a no time limit rematch for the Caribbean tag titles where The Caribbean Express defend against Idol & Valentine; Carl Styles vs Atkie Mulumba; the Super Medicos vs the Texas Hangmen; Gama Singh vs Ron Starr; and other super bouts. And tomorrow Sunday August 26 they will be in Manati, where Invader #1 takes on TNT; Giant Warrior vs Kim Duk; Carl Styles vs Atkie Mulumba; Miguelito Perez & Gama Singh vs Lance Idol & Rick Valentine; Super Medico #1`vs Ron Starr; and Super Medico #3 vs El Profe.

After the house show rundowns, we get a video of the new arrival Giant Warrior walking around Old San Juan. He is making his debut tonight against Atkie Mulumba. After the video, El Profe is with Atkie Mulumab and cuts a promo about this 7 foot tall newcomer who wants to make a big impact on his debut by taking on Atkie Mulumba. After tonight, he is going to be 3 feet tall when Mulumba is done with him. It will be hello and goodbye tonight for the Gian Warrior. We then go to Giant Warrior, he is here to explain who he is and what his mission is. Warrior is here to destroy El Club Deportivo (which is now managed by El Profe).

MD: Wow. So, I mean, yeah. He stands around and walks slowly. In face paint. And then he has this throbbing glowing animated heart over his chest. And he holds his arms out. There’s a world where Hall stayed and feuded with TNT. Warrior kept mentioning the Sports Club in his monotone which felt weird but I guess Profe owns it now. Let’s move on.

EB: With Chicky’s departure it means we need some new interview segments to replace the Sports Shop and La Esquina Caliente, and it looks like Campeones now has Profe Confidencial. El Profe is at a desk and welcomes the viewers to his segment. It seems he has a report for El Club Deportivo on this new threat by the name of Giant Warrior. The report says that this man is over 7 feet tall and over 300 pounds and a great danger to El Club Deportivo. El Profe says that they are going to have a meeting and see how they deal with this new menace. The other order of business is that they are hoping that Invader #1 will be fined or punished in some way for the cowardly way he attacked TNT last week. Nothing has been done so far and they are waiting on the WWC to mete out some punishment. Invader won’t be able to serve as Carlos Colon’s protector tonight because the match is in a steel cage. TNT will become the new champion tonight and that is all for this segment of Profe Confidencial.

MD: I like Profe as much as the next guy but this is a lot of weight to put on him. The set up is funny with him going through files as they introduce the scene and then him sitting at a desk as if he was the principal and talking about various things happening (Giant Warrior, Invader 1 interfering, etc). I don’t think they cover it much on this episode but the Styles vs Profe bit is going to lead to a lumberjack match and that’s fun too. Still, a lot of Profe.

EB: This Campeones episode also includes two matches from the Aniversario 89 weekend we already covered, but we also get promos from TNT and Carlos Colon about tonight’s cage match. El Profe introduces TNT, saying that any Puerto Rican with a speck of dignity must recognize that this man is the rightful Universal champion. TNT says that all of Puerto Rico should celebrate, because he should have the Universal title in his hands at this moment. Last week he put old man Colon to sleep and he wants them to show the tape of what he is talking about. We go to last week in Caguas, as TNT has Colon in the Cobra Dinamita. The ref seems to be arguing with El Profe about something as TNT has the hold on. Colon starts fading and goes down to his knees. As TNT keeps the pressure on, we see Invader #1 run to the ring with a chair in hand. Invader gets in the ring and hits TNT in the back, causing a disqualification. TNT complains that he would be the champion right now if it were not for that meddling Invader. Tonight TNT asked for it to be a cage match so that Invader can’t get involved, it is just TNT and Colon tonight. He’ll be able to beat up Colon as much as he wants tonight and ‘not even the mother who birthed you will save you Colon!’.Tonight TNT will leave Carlos bathed in blood and the Universal title is coming with TNT and El Club Deportivo.

Carlos Colon responds by asking the director to show what happened earlier in the match against TNT, to show why Invader interfered in the match. They tried to steal the Universal title last week, and the members of El Ejercito de la Justicia have vowed not to let that happen because the title belongs to the people of Puerto Rico. The clip rolls and we see Carlos grab onto the rope to break the hold, but El Profe yanks the rope away right in front of the referee, something that Carlos points out and says that the ref should have broken the hold there due to that. Invader interfered to stop them from stealing the Universal title. The tecnicos are going to intervene as many times as necessary, they are tired of all this cheating and it is now an eye for an eye. And watch out, because now they have a 7 foot giant on their side, so tonight in Caguas we will see who comes out on top.

MD: TNT is a scary dude here, very passionate, very loud. Colon mentions that they have their own giant now (feels like El Gigante showing up in WCW around this time in its own way). I liked how they showed the footage TNT wanted to show first with Invader interfering and then the footage Colon wanted to show with Profe pulling back the rope.

EB: Campeones closes with some comments from Hugo and El Profe reminding fans about tonight’s card, talking about the cage match, Sasha’s return to wrestling and the debut of Giant Warrior. We also have the Superestrellas episode for August 25, so let’s go to that video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4YDnpQZsv0

Hugo opens the show talking about Monster Ripper costing the Medicos their World tag title match the previous week and as a result Sasha is making her return to back them up tonight. Also, the debut of the Giant Warrior as part of El ejercito de la Justicia. Hugo talks about the rest of the card, including the cage match that TNT requested and Carlos Colon accepted. Hugo runs down what we’ll see on today’s program, including the Monster Ripper’s Castle of Pain segment (looks like we have our Sports Shop replacement) and the tv debut of the Giant Warrior in a 3 on 1 handicap match. Once again tonight they have Gillette promoting their new Actra Plus product and they will have the commemorative photo of El Reto Para La historia available for the fans (and Carlos will also be available to sign the photo for the fans).

Our first match on this episode features Ron Starr taking on Gama Singh. Ron is now competing in the singles division and is focused specifically on going after the World Junior title. Ron is back in his wrestling trunks as opposed to the military pants he wore as part of Los Mercenarios. Hector Moyano is on commentary for this bout. Singh starts off with a side headlock and then a takedown when Starr tries to power out of it. Ron counters into a headscissors which Singh quickly gets out of. Both men stare at each other from a standing position, before locking up again. Starr briefly gets an arm lock on Gama but it is countered by an armdrag. Ron gets a side headlock but again Singh counters, this time with an arm lock takedown. Starr is able to break the hold by backing Gama into a corner, and whips him across the ring. However, Gama counters and hits an armdrag when Starr rebounds out of the corner. Another armdrag and Gama works the arm on the mat. Ron backs Gama into a corner and an Irish whip counter sees Starr hit Gama with a clothesline. Ron hits a short clothesline for a pin attempt. A slam and a kneedrop result in another unsuccessful pin attempt by Starr. A knee to the head keeps Ron in control and Starr controls most of the remainder of the match. Gama is able to get some pin attempts near the end with an inside cradle and a backslide, but soon after Ron hits a Russian leg sweep to score the pinfall win (with an assist from pulling the tights). Ron Starr is kicking off his singles journey on a good note.

We then go to a promo from Ron Starr, where he makes clear his intention to become the World Junior champion and is challenging Huracan Castillo for the title tonight in Caguas. Huracan responds, admitting that he lost last week to Starr due to a mistake Castillo made., But tonight, he won’t make the same mistake again and he’ll walk away still champion.

MD: They did a great job of using guys like Castillo, Perez, and Singh to put over new or refocused heels when they had to. Here, Starr gets a clean win with a Russian Leg Sweep out of nowhere. That match with Castillo had been non-title, but now Starr has dropped weight (not sure I see it but ok!) and was training hard and was going to challenge for the Jr. Title. You can really see the blade wrinkles on his forehead here. Or maybe they’re just wrinkles but they’re striking. Castillo admits his mistake in their last match but says the war isn’t over and if they are moving Starr into getting the Jr. title, that will be a good staple for the roster moving forward.

EB: Up next is Monster Ripper’s Castillo del Dolor (Castle of Pain) segment. The segment intro has Ripper in a fog and laughing maniacally. Her guests today are the World tag team champions, Lance Idol and Rick Valentine. Ripper shows off her Spanish speaking skills by threatening Sasha, calling her an embarrassment and that it is ridiculous to think Ripper would be afraid of anyone. Idol complains about the Medicos not being able to get the job done by themselves and having to bring in Sasha. The tag champs want payback for the Medicos putting their hands on their manager. Ripper closes the segment by again threatening Sasha and laughing maniacally.  

MD: Big fan of this in theory certainly. Ripper laughing with white smoke behind her gets the point across. Maybe an actual Castle backdrop or something would have helped. For the actual interview she has just a fenced area. I’d be curious what this looks like with someone other than Idol/Valentine.

EB: We have the debut of Giant Warrior, who is billed as being from the land of the giants. He is facing three opponents, a trio comprised of El Exotico, Mr, Tempest #2, and El Satanico (not that one). El Exotico wants to go first as his partners cheer him on from the apron. Exotico starts poking Warrior in the chest and follows up with a chop that has no effect. Exotico turns his back to Warrior and promptly gets kicked in the rear. A slam and back elbow send Exotico rolling out of the ring, and Tempest and Satanico jump in to attack Warrior. The attack only lasts a few seconds before Giant Warrior powers out and sends both men flying. Overhand chops knock both men down and Warrior is able to hold off all three rudos easily despite their best efforts at attacking him. Warrior eventually hits a big boot on Tempest and then Satanico, stacks them on top of each other, sends Exotico off the top rope to the floor and then pins both Satanico and Tempest with one foot on them. An impressive debut for the newest member of El Ejercito de la Justicia.

We then get El Profe and Arkie Mulumab talking about tonight's match, where Profe promises it will be hello and goodbye for Warrior. We then go to  Hugo interviewing Giant Warrior, who is ready for tonight’s match against Mulumba. Warrior promises to slam Mulumba’s 400 pound body tonight.
MD: Warrior moved pretty well in there actually. Satanico was a little bigger than I would have liked but the other guys were smaller. Warrior promised to slam Mulumba, which is interesting since he did basically nothing power-driven against the three guys he beat. Just shots to the guy and clubbing and big boots. I liked the idea that Warrior said he heard about Mulumba all around the world since he’s not really known of that anywhere else. I have some misgivings about that match up.

EB: We go to the clip of what happened last week during the World tag title match (which we also saw on Campeones) and then go to Hugo with the Super Medicos and Sasha. Hugo asks what is in store for tonight and Sasha says she would have accepted being there for free because she is going to stop the injustices committed by that ugly fat Monster Ripper. Medico #3 says that with Sasha in their corner they will be champions again. And Medico #1 says that every headache has its aspirin and this Ripper headache will be dealt with by Sasha. Medico #1 also closes out by sending a hello to some friends of his in Piñones.

MD: Lots of medical themed stuff in the promo. Going terminal and aspirin and what not. They said that Sasha could have just stayed at home and been a mom but she answered the call. This still does feel like something different at least.

EB: We get a card rundown for tonight’s show as well as a promo for the Wednesday tv taping that will feature Giant Warrior vs TNT, Invader #1 & Carl Styles vs Kim Duk & Atkie Mulumba, a rematch between the Caribbean Express and Idol & Valentine, and the Super Medicos taking on Ron Starr & El Profe. We then go to Carl Styles vs Kim Duk, with El Profe at ringside as Duk’s new manager. Duk starts the match by doing a salt throwing ceremony at each corner. Duk gets a side headlock to start, which Styles tries to power out of unsuccessfully. Styles does eventually send Duk into the ropes and, after being knocked down with a shoulder block, counters with an armdrag and a slam on Duk. A cover only gets one, Styles sends Duk into the corner but is hit with a knee to the midsection on the follow through. The match continues basically as a back and forth, with Duk and then Styles getting bits of offense and control of the match. Late in the bout, Styles gets control with a clothesline and attempts a backslide pin on Duk that only gets two. Styles runs the ropes but has his legs grabbed by El Profe, stopping Carl’s momentum. Styles kicks Profe away but the distraction was enough for Duk to surprise Carl with a kick to the head and get his cobra sleeper on Styles. Carl passes out and Duk wins the match. Styles still has a chance at getting some payback on El Profe tonight in Caguas when they face off in a lumberjack match. As for Kim Duk, he is angling to win the Caribbean title when faces Invader # 1 once more. Duk wakes up Styles while El Profe acts like he is going to hit Carl with the kendo stick. The ref moves in to make sure Profe does not follow through on his threat, and the rudos leave without any further incident.

We go to a series of promos. First up is El Profe and Kim Duk, who are talking about tonight's Caribbean title match. Duk asks for the tape of what happened last week to be shown. We go to the clip as Duk knocks down Invader and makes a cover for a two count. Duk puts Invader in the cobra sleeper and Invader manages to struggle in the hold until falling onto the mat. The bell rings as the time limit has been reached, but before the ref could check on Invader to see if he was out. Duk thinks he won the Caribbean title but it's actually a time limit draw. Tonight there is no time limit, so there will be no bell to save Invader this time.

Invader is with Hugo and Hugo says that we have to admit that you were saved by the bell. Invader looks at Hugo and asks what does he mean by that, and Hugo says he doesn't want to put words into Invader's mouth but it was dangerous for him last week with the bell. Invader says all right, let’s say I was saved by the bell. Invade puts over Duk’s experience, conditioning and skills, but he did not become the Caribbean champ last week. The bell may have saved Invader last week but this time there is no time limit and it is going to come down to conditioning. Invader has great conditioning, but does Kim Duk?

We end this segment of promos with a fired up Carl Styles promising that he’ll get his revenge on Profe tonight, the Puerto Rican people are behind him and want to see Carl put down El Profe. There is no running away for El Profe tonight.

MD: I thought the Profe angle went pretty well for Styles, so I’m not sure about feeding him to Duk. Profe does grab the leg at the end so that furthers their program, I guess. At the same time, Duk is wrestling Invader, second from the top and Styles is further down the card and they have theoretically replaced Hall with Giant Warrior, not Styles, so it’s fine overall. I’m not really sure that Styles can work as well as a babyface anyway. He seemed a lot smaller against Duk than when he was wrestling the good guys earlier in the year. Duk had some great backfists but not much to say about this past that.

The promos showed us a nice looking Invader vs Duk match that ended in a draw with the bell while Duk had a bloody Invader in the cobra. Nice way to build up interest for a rematch. I may not have fed Styles to Duk like this but they did cover a lot of ground in a short period of time.

EB: Our main event for the program is a continuation of our World tag title feud, as Lance Idol (with Monster Ripper at ringside) takes on Super Medico #1. Unfortunately, the video cuts out before the match ends, so we do not get the finish. The match starts with Ripper refusing to leave the ring and angering Medico #1. Both Idol and Ripper start to leave the ring area, and the ref starts talking with Ripper. As the conversation between the ref and Ripper is going on, Idol tries to sneak attack Medico #1 in the ring, but Medico was ready and caught Idol with a punch to the midsection. Medico hits several punches and a backdrop, causing Idol to beg off. Medico continues on the attack, including a ‘maquinita de golpes’, before sending Idol across the ring into the opposite corner. Medico hits a clothesline and a slam, and then goes for a cover as we hear the commercial break music start playing, This is where the video cuts out. I’m guessing Ripper got involved in the match but we don't really know how it ended. Still, these two will face off in tag action tonight with Sasha making her return to counter Monster Ripper.

MD: I like the idea of them doing singles matches here as they’re new matches to us. Monster Ripper is full on Sherri here, causing a stalling distraction early that didn’t work out for her guy. Medico has great punches but we knew that. Hard to say how this was overall as it cuts off pretty quickly.

EB: Next time on El Deporte de las Mil Emociones, we head into September as a new tag team debuts, we delve into Sasha’s previous run in CSP, and the Colon vs TNT feud reaches a bloody conclusion.