AEW Five Fingers of Death 12/9 - 12/15

ROH TV 12/12/24

Athena vs Billie Starkz vs Leyla Hirsch vs Red Velvet

MD: This was to see who would go on to WrestleDynasty and represent ROH. It was set up backstage with Athena demanding that Billie lay down for her. Though we didn't know it yet (though we kind of did) it also set up Athena vs Billie and highlighted Leyla vs Velvet which are the two women's matches at the PPV. 

And, it was a very creative, imaginative four-way right? There are good things about that and there are bad things about that. I liked a lot of the character bits overall. There was Athena ducking out early as everyone was upset with her antics (even Billie). There was Hirsch getting in Velvet's face. There was Athena picking her spots at times. All of that was good. I wouldn't say the creative spots all hit the same way. There were a lot of moving parts. People had to get in position. It didn't always go well. It didn't always feel smooth. There was a particularly bad bit where Athena and Billie had to wait on the apron to get knocked off and then had to wait again until they could get dived on from around the ringside area. There was a tower of doom spot. There was Velvet rolling up two people at once. A lot of imagination and effort but I'm not sure how it worked out in practice. Some things, like Athena holding up Leyla and Velvet at the same time and then doing simultaneous moves on both worked on sheer impressiveness.

Obviously the interplay between Billie and Athena was the most interesting issue here. That made me forgive things I might not otherwise, like a spot where everyone put a submission on everyone else one after the other. Billie, desperate to get out, grabbed Athena's hair. That felt like a small but poignant moment where Billie had no choice. Later on, the ref had to avoid counting a pin for a few long seconds so that Athena could bound off of the pinfall itself to hit a 'rana on Billie. But that was an intentional act as opposed to Billie's desperate one and the story benefit made me look past execution concerns. The finish had Athena stealing the win from Billie and gloating to all parties. And THAT led to the post match backstage where Billie demanded a match and Athena misunderstood and thought she'd be getting an easy night at Final Battle. 

Unlike their match last year, you get the sense that comeuppance is heading Athena's way. I don't know exactly how it's going to go. On paper, she's going to underestimate Billie and get taken by surprise. Then she's free to reemerge in the main roster next year with an excuse for why she lost. I have seen the spoilers from the ROH taping for next week and it sounds like a hot way to set things up but maybe not hot enough. Lots of other things can happen. Maybe Billie emerges as the monster Athena created and destroys her in a bloody mess and becomes the new heel to rule the division. 

I'm assuming that we're just getting a plucky babyface moment here though, and if that's the case, the build hasn't really worked for me. Let's recap. Athena created a monster in Billie, Billie stood up for herself and took Athena to the limit but lost, Athena finally embraced her and guided her to the TV title. Billie lost the title. Athena shunned her. And here we are. At no point has Billie ever become a babyface again. She's still a heel. She's still petulant. Now the difference is that she's a petulant brat that's not getting the attention that she craves from her abusive cult leader. There are a lot of ways this could go that are interesting and complex but us being happy that Billie finally got petulant enough to stomp her foot like a brat and stand up to Athena isn't actually one of them. So I guess hopefully that's not the payoff here, right? We'll wait and see.

It does speak to a broader issue I've seen in AEW that I want to briefly touch upon even if it ends up not being entirely applicable here. AEW has done some great heel turns in the last year, since the start of the company. I'm less impressed by the babyface turns. Statlander's happened backstage. Hangman is cheered but not necessarily acting any different. Swerve just sort of meandered onto the other side of the line and only later did the Gates turn on him. Jay White returned to save his friend who was also probably more heel than babyface last we checked. The list goes on. 

If it just happened once or twice, you could attribute it to a more modern and maybe mature sort of storytelling where people aren't just good or bad but layered and things happen with nuance instead of in a sharp moment of alignment shifting. On the other hand, we still have pretty clear and crisp heel turns and there just isn't any of that nuance (except for maybe in the fans' heads as they try to make sense of everything). I worry that sometimes it's just a matchmaker's contrivance, the idea that if no one's really a sharp face or heel, any match can be made at any time with anyone playing any role. It washes things out though. Dynamism is often traded for a versatility that should be unnecessary given the size of the roster and the fact that people accept face vs face and heel vs heel matches more in 2024.

Face turns, the actual moment of that ultimate crystallization, even when there was subtle or overt build to it (especially then), are some of the most memorable and moving moments that pro wrestling can create. AEW is doing itself a disservice by leaving them on the table so often.

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2024 Ongoing MOTY List: Best Friends vs. Sabian/Butcher

 

15. Orange Cassidy/Trent Beretta vs. Kip Sabian/The Butcher AEW Rampage 3/8/24

ER: I wrote about this before I knew the Best Friends suddenly broke up. The concept of a team called Best Friends makes me think about a kind of indy wrestling I've set out to avoid since Chikara, but it turns out I didn't need to soften my stance on that wrestling, because the few who weren't canceled just got better. I didn't know when watching this match I was watching the near end of a great TV match era. Orange and Trent were a team I really loved, and two wrestlers who have turned into must see AEW for me. I'm going to miss the Jefferson Starship TV era. Pixies Cassidy doesn't quite hit the same for me. Anyway. 

There are probably better AEW matches that I've watched and will not be adding to the MOTY List for reasons like "it went on longer than I thought it should" or the more accurate "I recognize it was good but not good enough to move me to want to write about it". A match like this feels like more of an accomplishment than a 20 minute ****3/4 match. They're both going to be forgotten about the next week, so I think a great Kip Sabian performance is more memorable. When I think back to the start of AEW, I think about how awful Kip Sabian was and how much TV time he was consistently getting over...well, almost everyone. I think at one point he was the most consistently featured TV worker. Those were the dark days, with guaranteed Kip Sabian and Private Party and Orange Cassidy matches every week. I couldn't stand Orange Cassidy matches for years. Now it's 5 years later, here's a show with Kip Sabian, Orange Cassidy, and Private Party, and it's the same but everything has changed. Cassidy is now one of the guys that make me watch these shows and Kip Sabian is one of the most improved wrestlers on the roster. I guess not everything has changed, as Private Party are still essentially doing the exact same thing in the exact same spot with the same spots done slower. The main event of this episode was the weakest go nowhere match on Rampage. 

I never foresaw loving Orange Cassidy, and I certainly did not anticipate Kip Sabian ever being a wrestler worth watching. But he now is, that. It happened, and it's cool. Cassidy came into the match with his back and ribs wrecked from his title loss to Roderick Strong, and Sabian and Butcher went after those ribs with backbreakers. There were two very cool physical momentum reversals, where Cassidy was slowed and couldn't pull off his round the world DDT, and Sabian and Butcher each stopped his momentum mid-move in ways that felt like both were really fighting to stop it. Butcher had wobbling legs as he powered OC up for a powerslam, then lifted him up by the front waistband of his joggers high enough to drop him over his knee. Sabian always looked like he was fighting OC's momentum, even on roll-ups. 

When they weren't working over his back, I thought Sabian was great at working around Cassidy's selling and his shtick. I liked the spot where Cassidy was fighting to tag out with his hands in pockets, as Sabian expertly crashed around him and into Butcher, credibly fucking up repeatedly against an armless man. All parts of Sabian's game have been tightened. Five years ago I couldn't imagine Sabian as a guy with good elbow smashes, but now he has them. He was always someone who could bump, but now his bumps seem more directed towards the match he is having than an empty athleticism. His bumps are an essential part of Trent's hot tag, he's great at being in position for the finish sprint, and he does it all while taking in-character bumps. The way he kicked his legs in panic while getting tossed with a backdrop, or getting yanked into a Saito suplex and knowing just how to get where he needed to be to lean into a knee, he does it like him. 

Cassidy's Superman punch to set up the finish looked its best and came in with force, like he wanted to get it in quicker than the one earlier that had been caught by Butcher and ended with his back being punished by a half nelson backbreaker. Instead of flying right at Butcher he came at an angle, blindsiding him into a Beretta Strong Zero. Cassidy is impossible to keep down but stayed with it in ways that didn't make Sabian and Butcher's back work feel stupid, it just made him seem tough. It's been five years, the surprise of my Orange love has finally faded, and now I'm spending my time writing glowing things about Kip Sabian. I'm convertible. Who will be the next to convert me?  

2024 MOTY MASTER LIST

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Found Footage Friday: MULLIGAN~! WILKENS~! STRONGBO[SIC]~! JACOBS~! BOERSEUN~! SCHUTTE~!

Jan Wilkens vs. Blackjack Mulligan South Africa 1982

MD: Another mystery tape by Richard Land (on his Patreon). All around expert Ohtani's Jacket was able to help us identify some names. I'm going to focus on the Mulligan matches. Apparently Mulligan came to South Africa in October 1981 and beat Wilkens for their title. Wilkens was the big star, their Wanz (who had lost to Wanz incidentally in the first CWA title match). This was good. I get the sense it would have been great three or four years earlier.

I get the sense these might have been ten minute rounds. There's a bell after around ten minutes but then things just continue on pretty quickly thereafter. It's two falls to win. Mulligan works it pretty technical, using his size (Wilkens was not small, but Mulligan was Mulligan) to bully him. Wilkens then could show off escape after escape. He had a great slip out of a side headlock into a roll up that I've only seen once or twice elsewhere. When Mulligan got him to the ropes, he'd hit a great strike or two and it built to Wilkens firing back. Once they started in with pins, things moved quickly, with Wilkens getting a backbreaker out of nowhere and then Mulligan powering back with a clashing Neckbreaker Drop. Mulligan hit a knee off the top but when he went for another, Wilkens tossed him off for the win. The crowd was hot for this and it was wrestled well but I think they left more in the tank for the title match to come. 

ER: I am wholly unfamiliar with the South African wrestling scene of the early 80s. I don't know Jan Wilkens, but I sure liked this. This was a cool, tough, 2/3 falls match with great build. It really felt like they aimed to worked each fall harder than the last, so by the 3rd fall they're throwing bombs and falling hard. All falls had strong build, starting with matwork that I've never seen Mulligan do quite the same. Wilkens is a guy with size - not as much size as Mulligan, but a heavyweight only a couple inches shorter - so I got into Mulligan forcing him down with stiff armbar takedowns, leaning into Wilkens body and forcing him down with weight. It's leverage by brute force and it's a good way to establish Mulligan as a brute who isn't afraid of working technical. Then, by the time he was working as a brute, the crowd hated him. 

Mulligan is a bit like Stan Hansen, without the body control. Hansen is this huge man who has incredible control over his body - evident in his selling and the way he pushes back against offense - whereas Mulligan is a big guy who doesn't quite seem to understand how his body is falling. He breaks out his big flying back elbow twice, and after he lands hard on his back each time he appears to collect himself and make sure he was damaged in the fall. I like the dimension that adds, making the big elbow feel like something he knows is a risk, knowing that it's taking something out of him just by doing it. I thought for sure a missed elbow was going to lead to the finish due to the way he was selling the delivery. Instead, he breaks out a top rope kneedrop, an insane move for a man of any size, but especially crazy for a guy as large as Mulligan. When Mulligan got pressed off the top for the finish, I bought it keeping him down because I saw how hard his landings were on his own flying elbows. I agree with Matt that they likely left some stuff for bigger future matches, but this build had me hooked. 

Big John Strongbo/Little John Strongbo vs. Mike Schutte/Boerseun South Africa 1982

ER: Goddamn do I love that there was also a Little John Strongbo. The Strongbos, wearing singlets that look like bastardized American flags and I believe referred to as Die Amerikanas on commentary, look like total freaks. If they are working a fake asshole American gimmick, it's hilarious that this is how South Africans viewed Americans in the early 80s. They're both big (yes, Big John is the bigger, rounder one) and have identical white blond hair done up in short curly bobs. They look like the largest albinos I've ever seen. Even Little John is larger than Edgar and Johnny Winter combined. Big John has a white blond beard that hides in plain sight and only reveals itself during a horrifying close up. Mike Schutte looks like Gorilla Monsoon got shrunk down to 2/3 size, and Boerseun - which translates to peasant, or farmer's boy - looks nothing like a peasant or a farmer's boy. He looks like Ray Traylor-as-War Machine in that one '87 War Games, wearing a black mask, black tights, and a tight black crewneck sweatshirt that says BOERSEUN on the chest in glitter. 

This firmly establishes the 1982 South African 2/3 falls style, where in the first fall all four guys barely look like wrestlers and by the third fall they're all beating the shit out of each other. Mike Schutte was a famous South African boxer who had retired a couple years prior, and the climax of the match saw him finally throw blows with the Strongbos, going high and low and knowing to finish with a big fist off the side of the head. The Strongbos worked more viciously as the match went on, playing slight cowards in the early falls before breaking out stiff punches and kicks in the third. When they tied up Boerseun in the ropes Andre style and got Schutte in the tree of woe, I think that was the first time all match that Little John started laying in shots. The fans were making a ton of noise as the DQ was drawn, and honestly I cannot believe the Strongbos did not bleed with that hair. I assumed the only reason they had their hair done up that freakish color of white blond was because they were going to bleed buckets. 

Jan Wilkens vs. Blackjack Milligan (Title) South Africa 10/1982

MD: This was the big title match. Mulligan said in his promo that it was the first nationally aired wrestling match in South Africa. No idea if that's true but he worked it like it was. It was everything I wanted from their first match and more. After a bit of feeling out (and Mulligan complaining about a hairpull and then going for the tights), Blackjack just started unloading on Wilkens. He dominated both inside and out of the ring, really putting a beating on him. Just big credible shots over and over as Wilkens sold. He brought him in from the apron with a powerslam that almost turned into a Northern Lights Driver and then put him down with an elbow drop.

Second fall was Wilkens coming back huge with some great forearms as the crowd went nuts. Mulligan sold and begged off and got outpunched. Wilkens slammed him from the outside in as well to score the fall. Then they wrestled a third round more evenly with some nice technical bits like Mulligan hanging on to a chicken wing only for Wilkens to go up and over with a headscissors and Mulligan repeatedly ending up in a body scissors. It all built to great slugfest, really good stuff, with Mulligan bleeding as he tried to fire back from the apron before they both crashed into one another and Wilkens draped an arm over for the finish. Mulligan absolutely earning his fee here and wrestling to the level of gravitas the event seemed to carry. Excellent title match that was completely off our radar before now.

Jan Wilkens/Tarzan Jacobs vs. Blackjack Mulligan/Big John Strongbo

MD: Apparently it's just Strongbo, yes. He was a big lad, shall we say and perfect for this match, which was an absolute blast. Maybe it didn't need to be 2/3 falls and go quite so long but the fans were buzzing the whole time as it was one entertaining bit after the next. Pretty early on they bulldog ram Strongbo into his own corner and Mulligan takes a huge bump from the apron off of the collision and that sets the tone for the entire match. So much stooging here. Wilkens had this amazing way of throwing himself into everything he did (especially pinfalls or pin breakups). Jacobs was a stand up fighter with a goofy superkick and unafraid to throw endless headbutts. The heels got most of their offense with ring rope choking in the corner or swarming in the ropes and at times it felt heel-in-peril with Mulligan and Strongbo pinballing all over the place but for a place in time that we're going to drop in and never come back to, I didn't mind it one bit. It devolved into chaos but that seemed somehow fitting.

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

42. 1979.08.XX1 - 02 Monster Ripper vs. Nancy Kumi & Victoria Fujimi

K: We’ve seen Fujimi face Monster Ripper in a handicap match before teaming with Masumi Tsumaki, Nancy Kumi should be an upgrade in kayfabe as these two are former tag team champions. The booking here is a bit peculiar because you could read it as Monster Ripper being unfairly softened up being put into these difficult handicap matches when Jackie Sato is due a title rematch, but I don’t think anyone watching is seeing it that way. More like everyone on the roster who isn’t Jackie doesn’t even stand a chance against her so let’s give them a fighting chance.

Nancy & Victoria seem to be playing different roles. Nancy’s being more of a straight wrestler just taking the fight to Monster, which isn’t going to work, but she’s got Victoria running around being a little trickster helping to balance the scales. For example there’s a couple of spots where Victoria just repeatedly rushes between Monster’s legs, apparently confusing her. What I’m paying attention to when I watch these matches is any kind of clue for what Monster’s weakness is. Is someone - by trial and error - going to expose the flaw that someone can build a working gameplan around to beat her?

This isn’t the best match for that though, as the only times the babyfaces get any real advantage is when they double team, and that’s not going to help anyone beat her for the WWWA Singles Title (well, assuming nobody’s going to just outright cheat). I did enjoy the comeback moment where the Golden Pair look like they’re trying to get Monster up for a double vertical suplex, but she’s too heavy to rotate over, but they do get her up most of the way, so they just drop her back on her face. That seems effective enough so they do it again! Maybe forsaking regular moves for just dropping Monster on her face is part of the path to victory.

**

MD: To be fair this was Ripper against a set tag team, being the Golden Pair, but this probably went around the loop one or even two too many times. Past one time that Fujimi went through her legs, Ripper dominated any time it was one on one and half the time that it was one on two, but she did get swept under quite a bit. The most definitive time had them hit two double gourdbusters in a row on her followed up by a figure-four/splash off the top combo. By the time it spilled outside, there was a chaotic sense of Ripper swiping at fiery small creatures that just wouldn’t quit. It actually took some miscommunication and a double team backfiring after they hit a double suplex on her for Ripper to really take them out. At one point, I thought she was going to grab an arm and a leg and do a giant swing like that but it didn’t quite work. I do like Ripper (Who I think they said was 17) still trying to figure it all out and being creative as a monster, learning on the fly, but as the champ, she probably should have mowed through these too with a little less effort.

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AEW Five Fingers of Death (and Friends) 12/2 - 12/8

AEW Dynamite 12/4/24

Darby Allin vs Komander

MD: Full disclosure. I want to talk about Kyle Fletcher and Daniel Garcia, even briefly, and I'll do that down below in something of a C2 roundup. I don't want to shortchange this match though. Even within AEW where we have all sorts of match-ups on a weekly basis, the C2 is unique. I'd argue that this year's is even more unique than last year's. Last year you had RUSH in there, sure, but he's a little more conventional, a lucha brawler. Likewise Andrade who had worked a more conventional US style for years. This year, the C2 really shows the diversity of the roster. Styles make fights and all that, and it's true to a degree with wrestling as well. Komander seems like the poster child for this notion. His match vs Ricochet was like vs like to a degree, even if it was different flavors of like and even if Ricochet had some extra fun with it during the break. He'll be up against a deity of basing in Claudio and an absolute monster in Brody. They're all going to be very different matches and of course wildly different matches than what we would have gotten if Juice had been in there still. It's a great opportunity for Komander and for AEW to elevate him, even as a guy likely in there to eat falls. On some level, even with the loss of the Lucha Bros, it's exciting to think that there'll be an almost more dynamic tecnico engine of Hologram, Komander, and Bandido soon. That feels especially important with Texas looming.

Maybe what was most interesting with this match specifically was how Darby got to stretch. If you forced me to define him in a bucket, I'd almost call him a Cruiserweight Bully here. He was able to jam Komander at the beginning with a technical prowess that he can only ever show mere flashes of and he jammed him at the end out of nowhere in a beautiful sort of boy-scout knot tying. In the middle, he did his best to match Komander's speed and high risk daring and paid for it more often than not, each time more spectacularly than the last. In some ways it reminded me of the escalation in the Darby vs Jeff Hardy match but here there were more defined roles. Here, the This is Awesome chant was appropriate and fit the match perfectly. At some point, you got the sense that Darby realized it and that he wasn't going to be able to beat Komander how he wanted to, by playing Komander's game (one that more often than not is at least parallel to Darby's usual one), and he shifted gears, scratching at the back and then finally putting him away without pageantry or daring, no matter how badly you knew that Darby wanted to find a way to leap off a high object just one more time. It was a star coming to grips with the reality of the situation and making the mature decision and the sort of random complexity that you're only going to find in the C2. 

Fletcher/Garcia: 

I'm not writing a full blown essay here but I am noting what is plainly clear to see. Kyle Fletcher is wrestling fearlessly as a heel. The match with Shelton may be one of my favorite AEW matches ever. Ever. Some of that was due to a game crowd. Some of it was due to Shelton being willing to lean into it. So much of it was Fletcher though. I've seen comparison with Tully, but to me, the comparison point is young Gino, someone so fearless and confident that he's able to get under the skin of everyone in the crowd and get them to react accordingly, react the way that makes wrestling different than any other performance art out there. He's taking his time. He's interacting with the crowd, the ref, his opponent. He's inhabiting every moment and taking up all the air in the best way. It becomes a loop. They feed him. He feeds them. He gives them something to react to. They give him something to react to. It's all better than the sum of the parts or the sum of any carefully constructed spotfest. He's giving them noting positive to latch on to and he's cheating to win. The end of the Okada match where they eschewed a finishing stretch in general and went with the low blow and Brainbuster instead felt like a heelish repudiation of the very notion of fighting spirit. In some ways it's the purest, most distilled pro wrestling that I've seen in years. It's a beautiful thing and it needs to be protected and fostered. It's like the first sprout of a plant growing in an arid, barren wasteland. That's not to say there aren't industrial towers a hundred stories tall, impressive marvels of modern architecture and technology in the wasteland. But this is different. This is green. This is life. And I thought maybe it was gone forever.

And on the other side, you have Garcia doing his very best to create an earnest, positive relationship with the crowd, one that doesn't rely on him being cooler than what's going on, but that instead has him embracing it. He's slapping hands, slamming the mat, reaching out while in pain, holding the hands of kids to draw upon their power. He shined against Okada. Against Mortos it was tricker, because that's not a match that would normally be booked at this point. It was like 89 Steamboat vs Muta. That wouldn't have been fair to Steamboat, but people seemed to like it nonetheless. Then he turned around vs Briscoe, someone who would be more over than almost any babyface in the world, and played up his aggression, brought back the dance for the first time in ages (which felt like Danielson using the Yes Chants for the first time in ages in the first Okada match after he got hurt because he realized he needed an extra bit of connection with the crowd). He was put in a difficult position twice in one week and held steady while finding ways to adapt to the moment. 

Sometime in the next two weeks, maybe even this week, we're going to get Fletcher vs Garcia. There's a world where this is the Steamboat vs Flair or Cena vs Orton of the next ten years. They're tapping into something almost no one is even trying to do (Max is Max and I acknowledge what he accomplished at Full Gear; different pros, different cons; these can complement each other). And I'm not going to lie, I feel more hope for the future of pro wrestling this last week than I have for a long, long time.

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Found Footage Friday: PUNK~! RED~! NUNZIO~! JUVI~! MARTINEZ~! HERMANN~!

Luis Martinez vs. Hans Hermann NWA Chicago 1960

MD: Another one that Charles posted a while ago that we're just getting to now. This one went through Lee first as the length would have probably had me deprioritize it. It's only five minutes but it's five very fun minutes with a few comedy spots that I've never seen before. Hermann had a foot on Martinez and was an evil German with a chin to match. He ground Martinez down early with nerve ("muscle") holds and the sort.

When Martinez took over, he never really looked back. He went for a waistlock and Hermann crashed his fists down to break it, but Martinez was gone and he punched himself. Legitimately funny spot. There were a few more like that, like Martinez darting out of the way as Hermann tried to club him in the ropes. That set up Hermann tied up in said ropes and the charging headbutts to the gut. The physics of Hermann going over for Martinez on things like a flying headlock takeover felt weighty to say the least (and Martinez accentuated it with a loud "Arriba!"). He put him down in short order after this flurry with a Thesz press.

Post match, there was a special spotlight segment with John Paul Henning (sic). This is third hand, as in I found it on the internet, but apparently Henning had to stop wrestling because during a riot, he slammed the door and locked it, leaving Sonny Myers out with the rioting crowd to get stabbed. 

Nunzio vs. Juventud Guerrera WWE 11/15/05

MD: The vault released this one fairly quietly a few weeks ago and we're just getting to it now. It was in Rome. Nunzio was wildly over. Juvi was more than happy to get heat in front of a crowd like that. This ended up being incredibly minimalist, way more than I would have expected, but they were eating up everything that happened so it worked.

Juvi was doing a thing where he'd go for a pin at almost every opportunity and it meant that every kickout got a pop and felt almost like a hope spot. He'd cut Nunzio off with kicks to the guts, nothing fancy, but they could do no wrong (and in my mind, they did no wrong). Eventually, Nunzio got the slice rocker dropper off the top and it felt like a finish but Juvi got a foot on the rope, which, in itself, felt like a signal to the crowd that Nunzio wasn't winning in the old WWE style. The Juvi driver that followed would have really signified that but Juvi picked him up at one and demanded another. That allowed Nunzio to slip up and over, get a backslide and listen as the place became unglued. Fun stuff with just an amazing crowd and two guys willing to just bask in the glory of it all.

ER: I'm not sure when it started, but at some point I started writing "Juvi" as "Juvy" and now there's no turning back. I think Matt's right on this one. He also goes Eddy to my Eddie so it's clear my Mexican nickname spelling is nowhere near as good as my taste in wrestling. But one thing I know is that people with real taste in wrestling think Juventud Guerrera is one of the greats. Now, 1997 Juvy is different than 2001 Juvy is different than 2005 Juvy and beyond, but they are all phases of Juventud and that attitude and insanity is lurking inside every iteration. In 1997 he was one of the most insanely athletic ring guys in history, an improviser with nutty ideas and offense that nobody else was thinking about, a guy outshining Rey Misterio on the weekend shows with a degree of danger. 

This was Juvy in 2005, in Rome, against an Italian man who reveals after the match that he can barely pretend to speak Italian phonetically. "Italia Numero Uno" is the kind of thing someone guessing at Italian would say, but for this match Nunzio is a regional hero fighting for a championship in front of 10,000 Italians. Except in no part of this match does Nunzio come off like the star, only the de facto star, because this is expert heel Juventud working a match in Italy in 2005 like he's heel Terry Taylor. Juvy is great at working as heel Terry Taylor. Don't go into this waiting for the springboard improv of 1997, this is Juvy being a smug prick and drawing real damn heat. There is absolutely no highflying in this (well, aside from Juvy taking a mighty high backdrop during Nunzio's fiery comeback) because Juventud is Terry Taylor. Nunzio is the only one who goes up top, and it leads to the greatest part of the match: while up top, Juvy sweeps his leg and Nunzio flies off the top onto his tailbone (a bump I don't really remember him taking) and then Juvy does the fucking funniest little strut that ends with a slow motion shoulder shimmy. Juvy's strut is everything and all I need to tell me how damn good this match is. Juvy could have worked all of this without a highspot - he does the Juvy Driver and picks it up at 1 - because he really didn't need them. He takes the Sicilian Slice perfectly and gets his foot on the bottom rope with expert timing and nonchalance, and you could hear the crowd realizing they wouldn't be seeing this ox-eyed prick defeated. Until he is, by his own smugness, and the roar is deafening. Juvy fully understood what could be accomplished within a stripped down "safe" WWE style, a totally different kind of star than he was a decade prior. 

CM Punk vs. Amazing Red WWE 5/14/05 

MD: Not a ton to say here. I didn't think they were totally on the same page during the comeback and down the stretch and that felt a little more on Red, but he worked well from underneath before that and got to show off a bit in general. Punk stood out though, adapting to what he thought they were looking for like he always did in these situations. Just canny stuff. Lots of being vocal, wrestling for the last row, trying to get the crowd engaged. Yes, he had a couple of flashy things like the curb stomp and his grapevined DDT finisher, but in general, he was working this like it was fifteen years earlier as a way to show his mettle and that he wasn't some spot-laden indy guy. A worker working.

ER: I feel for Amazing Red here. I had no idea he ever even got a WWE tryout, let alone after he had already been done with his first several year run in TNA. It was clearly a case of them making him work a restrained version of whatever his match would have been in 2005. By the early 2000s they weren't really letting tryout dark match guys go out there specifically to Wow the audience, they wanted them to work a basic face/heel match with Young Boy restrictions. Hey Amazing Red, go out there and show every one your armdrags and dropkicks and your inside cradle. Maaaaybe a sunset flip. Red is a guy capable of Amazing things timed very nicely, and he was basically not allowed to be Amazing or use his timing. 

But - and I can't say "lucky for Red" as this tryout clearly went nowhere for him - CM Punk went out there and had a superstar performance that made this crowd fully get behind a generic Young Boy. Punk kept the crowd engaged the entire time and worked like an asshole from the second he appeared through the entrance. It's a super vocal performance that made me want to go back and rewatch all of that 2004-05 Punk that I haven't watched since 2004-05, just to see how much of this kind of heel wrestling he carried over from the indies. He sold loudly but not theatrically, yelling not to be funny but in a way that stood out as unique. Not like "Barry Darsow Unique", not hammy noise, but noise like nobody else was making on 2005 WWE cards. Seeing how vocal Punk was made me wonder if everyone else on the roster is given directives to be as quiet as possible. Rob Conway, Sylvan Grenier, the Bashams, I don't remember any of these guys making noise in a 2005 WWE ring. Punk kept people invested with great selling - vocals being a big part of it - and small movements. He came off like an asshole but kept them there with details, like that punch to the jaw after a rope break or the way he absentmindedly shook out his arm long enough after Red had driven his knee into it that it would have been understandable if he never referenced it again. 

Red wasn't allowed to be Amazing, and it didn't matter because people wanted him to shut CM Punk up. This crowd bit so hard on Red's swinging DDT, 100% convinced that Punk was going down, and I think it was all because he made himself out to be a guy who people wanted to see get beaten. 

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El Deporte de las Mil Emociones: Puerto Rico 1991

Week 41: Puerto Rico 1991

EB: As 1991 approaches, we have a couple of pending results from the 1990 Christmas Day show. We’ve already talked about Bronco #1 winning the Caribbean title, Sasha regaining the Women's World title from Monster Ripper, Scott Hall turning on Giant Warrior, and the Super Medicos defeating Eric Embry & Rick Valentine in a fire match. Still, there are two key results we need to mention.

The first result is the tag match between Invader #1 and TNT vs. the Texas Hangmen. The Hangmen's strategy for this match was focusing their attacks on one opponent, resulting in TNT being busted open and suffering enough damage and blood loss where he had to be helped back to the locker room. This left Invader #1 trying to continue at a disadvantage against Psycho and Killer. However, Bronco #1 came out to even the odds and help Invader fight off the Hangmen.

The other result to discuss is the Carlos Colon vs Greg Valentine rematch for the held up Universal title. Valentine was disqualified for using his shin guard as a weapon to bust open Carlos. Valentine continued attacking Colon after the bell and attempted to put on a shin guard assisted figure four leglock in order to hurt Carlos. However, Carlos was able to kick Valentine away and Greg ended up hitting the ringpost. Carlos took the opening to grab Valentine’s shin guard and attack Greg with it as payback before Valentine left the ring. As a result, Colon won the match but the Universal title was still vacant since the match ended by disqualification. 

MD: Of all the footage we've missed out on so far, other than some specific 60 minute draws between Burke and people that sounded amazing, I am probably most frustrated we're not getting a bunch of full Greg Valentine squashes and matches.

EB: As 1991 approaches, the customary Three Kings Day season opener is going to kick off the year. Based on how 1990 closed we can expect a few rematches or grudge matches stemming from Christmas. We’re also going to be without TNT and Miguelito Perez for a few weeks, both are currently on tour in New Japan and will be back in the second half of January. With TNT on tour, this means Invader is going to need a tag partner to go up against the Texas Hangmen. Let’s go to a clip from an episode of Superestrellas de la Lucha Libre from New Year’s Eve weekend, where we have Giant Warrior in a handicap match and an interview from Invader #1 and his new tag partner.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXjxuDfr_U8

Giant Warrior’s opponents are Gran Mendoza and El Exotico. Both rudos jump Warrior at the bell to try to get the advantage, but it is short lived as Warrior is able to knock their heads together. Despite the best efforts of Mendoza and Exotico, Giant Warrior is able to keep control of the match by fighting them off and eventually Warrior hits a big boot that sends Mendoza to the outside. Exotico gets hit with a backdrop and, after Giant Warrior stomps his foot, gets hit with what Hugo calls the controversial big boot. Warrior pins Exotico with one foot on his chest (as Mendoza thinks better of getting in the ring) and it is another impressive win for Giant Warrior.

We go to El Profe in the locker room with the Hangmen, and Profe says that January 6 will be a war. Most expect the Magi but the Hangmen are expecting Invader and Bronco to finish them off. Psycho makes his threats, making note that they are stepping into a war zone on a holy day. El Profe translates as the Hangmen ham it up for the camera and Profe promises they will show who the World tag team champions are on Three Kings Day.

We then go to the interview area, as Hugo is with Invader #1 and Bronco #1, who got involved on Christmas Day and will now team with Invader to challenge the Texas hangmen for the World tag team titles.  

Hugo: With us the number one contenders to the World tag titles, Invader #1 and from the Dominican Republic, the Dominican champion and Caribbean champion Bronco #1. They challenge the Texas Hangmen for the World tag titles, but this is more than a title match, this is something personal. What's going to happen Bronco #1?

Bronco: Look, the 6th in Bayamon, you have to be paying attention to what's going to happen. Invader #1 and Bronco #1 are not just going for the World tag titles, but are also going after the heads of the Texas Hangmen. Danger Texas Hangmen, look at what Invader has in his hands., the bullrope that hurt Invader. Let me tell you one thing Hangmen, your heads, besides the titles you are going to lose, your heads are going through this noose. Danger Texas Hangmen, danger January 6th in Bayamon.
Hugo: Wow, Invader #1 your comments.

Invader: Bronco's already said it all. We are going to do everything possible. The Dominican champion, the Caribbean champion and now we are going after the World tag titles. And we are going to do everything possible to become the new champs, and especially because we have this bullrope, which has caused a lot of damage here in Puerto Rico. So Profe, tell your boys that they better be really prepared, because on January 6th we are going to do everything in our power to become the new World tag champs.

Hugo: Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic united in search of the World tag titles.

After the interview, we get a rundown of the lineup for the January 6 show:

• No DQ for the held up Universal title - Carlos Colon vs Greg Valentine
• WWC World tag titles - Invader #1 & Bronco #1 challenge TheTexas Hangmen
• Grudge Match - Giant Warrior vs. Scott Hall
• Jimmy Snuka vs Dick Murdoch
• Caribbean tag titles - Los Super Medicos challenge Eric Embry & Rick Valentine
• Mascarita Sagrada & Aguilita Solitaria vs. Espectrito & Piratita Morgan
• Super Medico #4 vs. Kim Duk
• And other great stars.

MD: Just two minutes bell to bell here, though there were promos from Bronco/Invader and the Hangmen after (maybe Killer has more hair coming out the back?). Not much to say about the 2-on-1. Exotico didn’t get to do much but he did jump at Warrior comedically at one point before getting put down with the boot.

EB: We have a mix of matches and results from the 1991 Three Kings Day show. Let;s begin with a singles match between Kim Duk and Super Medico #4.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQEX-ohradA

Super Medico #4 is Julio Estrada, the younger son of Jose Estrada Sr. He had previously appeared a few times in 1990 and again makes an appearance on the Three Kings Day card to take on former Caribbean champion Kim Duk. If you recall, Duk ended the year by being The Barbarian’s tag partner in the match where Scott Hall turned on Giant Warrior. This match is joined in progress with Medico #4 working an armbar on Duk, but Duk fights out of it and proceeds to get the advantage with punches and chops. Hugo and Eliud are on commentary and Hugo takes the opportunity to send a hello to the wife of Super Medico #1  and mother of the other active Medicos, with Hugo and Elud talking about the special kind of lady it takes to handle seeing three of her family members take the risks they do when they get in the ring. Meanwhile , Kim Duk has Medico #4 down with eye rakes and chops. Medico #4 makes a comeback after Duk puts his head down too early, getting a pin attempt after a nice spinning elbow off the ropes. Medico #4 works a side headlock but Duk takes him down with a toehold and works the arm. Duk continues with punches and even hits a slap (earning a warning from the ref). Duk stops a Medico #4 counter with a thrust kick. The cobra sleeper is applied and Duk wins the match. .  

MD: Six minutes JIP, primarily of Duk beating on Medico IV. Medico IV is the one that looks most like a Memphis mid-card heel given his physique by the way. It’s crazy to think since we last wrote about him, we discovered the 1978 South Korea match where Duk was a super babyface. Here he was an effective heel. Medico got tiny bits of hope but got cut off fairly quickly and was doomed to run into the kick and fall to the cobra. Duk was certainly making a run here. It’s been a bit.

EB: We have another appearance from the Mexican mini luchadores. While we don’t have footage from the tag match from Three Kings Day, here is a singles match between Mascarita Sagrada and Piratita Morgan that occurred sometime during the holiday season.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qE0gClUi5_0

Hugo and Profe are on commentary for this bout, it is from one of the commercial tape releases. Profe mentions that few can match the speed of these wrestlers, while Hugo talks about how they were inspired by watching wrestlers from the U.S. like Sky Low Low and Little Beaver. Sagrada and Morgan start off with a nice counter sequence, with both wrestlers missing dropkicks and then kipping up. Morgan immediately slaps the back of Sagrada’s head and knocks him to the mat. Profe says that the action is so fast that they can barely keep up announcing it, which Hugo agrees with. Morgan hits a tilt a whirl backbreaker and, after yelling at the crowd, does a front drop to Sagrada. Morgan continues in control with some nice punches, but Sagrada counters with a spin kick when Morgan attempts a corner charge. Sagrada briefly takes over but again Morgan knocks Sagrada down with some punches. Sagrada eventually comes back, including doing a headstand on the top turnbuckle into a headscissors and a series of ranas. Morgan gets dropkicked out of the ring and takes a while to gather his breath. While Morgan is outside, Profe notices Victor Quiñones at ringside and starts mocking him, but changes his tune when Hugo points out Victor is the one paying them for commentating the video. Back in the ring, Sagrada gets a moonsault body block for a pin attempt.  Sagrada successfully does a switch but a second attempt gets countered by Morgan into a version of a chokeslam that gets the pinfall win. Morgan gets his hand raised and does  muscle pose for the crowd.  

MD: Plenty worse ways to spend five minutes then with this fun, very complete sprint. Profe is on color commentary which is just a sign of how much he’s tasked with right now. Morgan controls for most of it but with escalating hope spots. His offense looks great. Just really good strikes and bullying. He bases well for everything Sagrada does too and all of it is good and imaginative and flashy. I feel like they often put the rudos over in these for some reason and they do so here as well with him turning a Sagrada cazadora into a one arm slam. This felt like the biggest hit from these guys so far in Puerto Rico even if it was only five minutes or so.

EB: Continuing with the results from January 6, Jimmy Snuka no-showed the event and Huracan Castillo Jr took his place as Dick Murdoch’s opponent. We will talk more about Murdoch next time. Also not appearing at the show was Eric Embry, although in his case he either left or had been fired sometime over the holiday break. As a result of Embry no longer being there, the Super Medicos regained the Caribbean tag titles (although I’m not sure if it was via forfeit). Embry’s departure was explained as him suffering a serious eye injury from having his face thrown into the flames during the fire match and being advised by doctors to not get in the ring. So the Super Medicos have successfully run Erci Embry out of Puerto Rico. However, Rick Valentine has found a new tag partner to  help avenge Embry, none other than Gran Mendoza (who is now going by the moniker of Galan Mendoza).
We have footage of the World tag title match between the Texas Hangmen and Invader #1 and Bronco #1. The video has no sound but we can still see the action that unfolded between the two teams on Three Kings Day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_a3ANsZTPE

The match is in progress with Invader working the arm of one of the Hangmen and tagging in Bronco (who is wearing an animal print version of his mask and attire). Bronco comes off the top with a punch but soon loses a punch exchange to Killer. Psycho is tagged in and continues in control with punches on Bronco. The Hangmen tag in and out and do double teams on Bronco. The Hangmen continue to work over Bronco as a frustrated Invader paces on the apron. The Hangmen taunt the crowd and block Bronco’s attempts to make the tag. Invader tries to help Bronco a few times, but only gets some blows in each time before the ref escorts him out of the ring. Finally, after being worked over for several minutes, Bronco makes the tag after the Hangmen miss an elbow drop. Invader quickly comes in and fights off both Hangmen. Bronco comes back in and all four men fight, with Invader eventually sending one of the Hangmen outside of the ring. Invader follows the Hangmen to the outside as Bronco is taking care of the other Hangmen in the ring. El Profe comes over with the bullrope to hit Invader from behind, but Invader takes away the bullrope and chases Profe to the dugout.  Bronco is attacked by both Hangmen in the ring. The Hangmen start to hang Bronco as Invader emerges from the dugout with the bullrope around Profe’s neck.When Invader notices that Bronco is being hanged, he releases El Profe and heads to the ring to make the save. Invader fends off both Hangmen and keeps the bullrope in his possession.

MD: We’ll take what we can get, sound or no. But when that hot tag hit here, I wish I could have heard the pop. On the other hand, we’ve been doing this long enough, we could imagine it perfectly. We get a little bit of shine here, just a bit, with Bronco being his usual theatrical, bombastic self, but the numbers game takeover. Then we get a long-ish heat of them just beating him down with kicks and stomps. It feels effective to me. Invader finally comes in hot. They’re not quite on the same page. I get the sense that he wanted to toss one Hangman into the other but Bronco was doing his own thing. That inadvertently plays into what happens next as Invader heads out of the ring with a Hangman and ends up chasing Profe into the dugout. That allows for a 2x1 and the Hangmen to get some new year's heat back after the big matches that had recently happened by hanging Bronco. Eventually, Invader makes the save with the rope Profe had and clears the ring after they almost got him too. Another good tag.

EB: The no-DQ rematch between Carlos Colon and Greg Valentine ended with controversy. Carlos Colon had Greg Valentine in the figure four leglock and it looked like Valentine was going to submit. El Profe jumped on the ring apron and grabbed onto the referee when El Vikingo went to tell him to get down. With the ref distracted, Dick Murdoch ran in and dropped an elbow on Colon to break up the figure four. Later in the match Valentine ducked a Colon charge and instead Carlos took out El Vikingo by accident. With no referee, Valentine got his figure four on and waited for the ref, as Colon tried to fight out of the hold. However, this time Giant Warrior rushed to the ring and broke up Valentine’s figure four with a legdrop. Warrior then stomped his foot and sent Valentine into the ropes for a big boot. Valentine was knocked out and Warrior proceeded to drag Carlos over Valentine as the crowd cheered on. Warrior tossed the ref back into the ring and Colon got the three count. Post-match, Valentine attacked Colon and put on the figure four as rain started falling. Colon had to be helped out afterwards and Profe and Valentine lodged a protest about the match result. Colon had won the match and the Universal title, but controversy reigned as well.

The weeknd of January 12, Carlos Colon announced on TV that he was not going to accept winning the Universal title the way things happened on Three Kings Day and thus the Universal title remained officially vacant. Colon would issue a challenge to Valentine and El Profe to have one more match to settle the Universal title vacancy. To avoid any further controversy or interference, Carlos wants it to be a steel cage match. We await Profe and Valentine’s response.

Also on January 12, a house show was held in Carolina. The Super Medicos faced the new team of Rick Valentine and Galan Mrndoza in a non-title match, with Mendoza using his glove to knock out one of the Medicos while Valentine was being pinned, resulting in the rudos stealing the win and earning a shot at the Caribbean tag titles.

There was a rematch between the Texas Hangmen and Invader #1 & Bronco#1. This match resulted in Invader being bloodied and laid out outside of the ring. As the Hangmen proceeded to double team Bronco, a dazed Invader left the ring area and headed to the back. He would come back with the bullrope he had kept from the previous encounters and saved Bronco from the Hangmen.

The main event of that January 12 house show was a Royal Rumble match, with the winner being TNT. Wait… isn’t TNT on tour in Japan? Yes, he is. Turns out that the TNT that showed up to compete that night and win the event was none other than the Original TNT that was last seen around September of 1989. Yes, the same one that Chicky Starr had brought in claiming to be the true TNT is back, this time with El Profe as his manager.

With all of these happenings in the first half of January, let’s go now to the TV shows from January 19, starting with Campeones.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7j8TJ1QiWg

The Campeones opening has clips of one of the Colon & TNT vs Hangmen matches and of one of the mixed trios matches between the Super Medicos & Sasha and Embry, Valentine & Ripper. Our hosts are Hugo and Profe.. Hugo greets the viewers as Profe starts peacocking around showing off his outfit. Hugo asks why he is doing that, and Profe says that Hugo is jealous because he can’t match his face to his outfit like Profe can. Hugo and Profe run down the matches and Ptrofe says that he has to congratulate CSP on the tremendous production they did on the Duk & Barbarian vs Hall & Warrior match, where they edited the video to make it look like Profe was the one that hit Giant Warrior. Hugo takes exception at Profe insinuating that they (Hugo is part of the production team) did something like that. Profe keeps saying that it’s a setup by production and Hugo responds that he thinks Scott Hall is an imbecile for believing Profe.

Hugo changes topics and announces that soon there will be a tournament  for the vacant TV title, which has been inactive since TNT vacated the belt during his previous run as Universal champion. Hugo also mentions that we are all waiting to see if Profe and Greg Valentine have the guts to answer Carlos Colon’s challenge for one more match to settle the Universal title vacancy in a steel cage. Profe says that how can you dare stick Valentine in a cage, and then says some over the top remarks about how Colon is used to being in cages, with Hugo cutting him off so they can talk about tonight’s house show in Caguas. Last week, Profe’s new charge Original TNT surprised everyone by winning the Royal Rumble match. Profe says he knew his guy could do it, but Hugo says he was able to win because Carlos had been busted open by Scott Hall earlier in the match. Tonight it will be one on one as Carlos Colon faces the Original TNT.

Our first match of the show is one from March 1990, where the actual TNT is facing Carl Styles back during Carl’s original rudo run. The match serves more as a backdrop for Hugo and Profe to argue over who the real TNT is, with Hugo saying the one we’re watching is the real one and Profe saying that the one they are currently watching is a cheap copy. Hugo mentions that TNT is currently in Japan, although Profe is incredulous and thinks he may be hiding in a corner somewhere. Hugo mentions that soon both TNTs will be in Puerto Rico and we will see what happens then. The match itself is surprisingly more of a showcase for Carl Styles ,who controls most of the bout. Profe takes the chance to run down Styles for turning on him, to which Hugo calls Profe out as shameless. Profe again is incredulous on TNT being in Japan, with Hugo saying that TNT had sent them a magazine from over there and they had talked with him as well. Hugo says they told TNT that Original TNT had returned. Profe says that after hearing that, TNT likely will not come back for a month, maybe six months, from being afraid. Hugo responds that TNT will be back next week, so Profe can calm down about that. The match ends with TNT making a comeback and getting a roll up for the win.    

MD: At first I had thought this was Original TNT vs mid-card face Styles but it’s 1990 TNT vs heel Styles. This was before Styles had been depushed upon his return. I had been confused why they were having Original TNT, their returning lead heel work so weak. It makes a lot more sense now that I realize what’s going on. Styles takes most of this but TNT gest a kick and the Cobra to win it.

EB: Hugo mentions that they have a clip of something that happened at Miramar between the Super Medicos and Mendoza and Valentine (again, can’t mention it’s from Superestrellas due to being on different channels). We go to a singles match between Rick Valentine and Super Medico #3, where Monster Ripper gets on the apron and accidentally is knocked into the ring after Valentine hits the ropes. As the ref is tending to Ripper, Medico #3 makes a pin attempt on Valentine. However, Mendoza runs in and hits Medico #3 with his glove. Mendoza quickly puts Valentine on top of Medico #3 and runs off. Ripper conveniently rolls out of the ring at that moment and the ref starts making the count, only for Super Medico #3 to run in and attack Valentine. The ref disqualifies Super Medico #3, and Medico #1 fights both Mendoza and Valentine. Medico #1 is overwhelmed by the odds and is hit repeatedly by Mendoza with the glove. Medico #3 enters the ring with a chair and clears the rudos from the ring.

The Super Medicos cut an interview about their upcoming Caribbean tag title defense against Valentine and Mendoza, with Medico #1 saying that the rudos will find out what being hit by a B-52 is like when they face them tonight. The rudos respond, with Monster Ripper promising that her new team will win the Caribbean tag titles. Mendoza promises that they will win by any means necessary while holding up his gloved hand.   

MD: Mendoza feels like a lateral move from Idol but a drop down from Embry. He’s looking particularly like Chicky in some ways here, actually, but also has the glove. I imagine he was glad for this push and was going to work hard with it. The match itself had a good finish with Valentine crashing into Ripper and in the ensuing chaos, Mendoza intervening only for the ref seeing Medico making the save instead.

EB: We get a promo from Johnny Ringo, who is facing Huracan Castillo Jr for the World Junior title tonight. Ringo says that he’ll do more damage than Hurricane Hugo and make history tonight. We then get the rundown of tonight’s show in Caguas: Carlos Colon vs Original TNT;  in a lumberjack match (I’m guessing due to the wrestlers continuously going back to the dugout to get the bullropes) for the WWC World tag titles we have the Texas Hangmen defending against Invader #1 and Bronco #1; Giant Warrior vs Scott Hall; the Super Medicos defend the Caribbean tag titles against Rick Valentine & Galan Mendoza; Miguelito Perez makes his return to take on Kim Duk; and  Huracan Castillo Jr defends the World Junior title against Johnny Ringo.

MD: I have no idea who this Johnny Ringo is but he cuts a promo in English saying he’s more dangerous than Hurricane Hugo and that he’s going for Castillo’s Jr. Belt. It is funny to see him kill time as off screen Hugo (not the hurricane) translates.

EB: Our next match is a TV studio match that that occurred on Jan 9th between Invader #1 and Psycho. Invader comes out with the bullrope he had taken from the Hangmen during their earlier matches (it was the one he used on them during the Three Kings Day match). Invader controls the first part of the match to the crowd’s cheers. During the match, Profe makes off with Invader's bullrope, leaving only Psycho's at ringside. Psycho takes control of the match and Profe is pleased with the results. 

Eventually, Invader makes the comeback and wins the match when Profe and Killer's interference backfires. Post match, Invader fights both Hangmen but eventually succumbs to the cowbell. The ref gets tossed and the Hangmen beat up Invader again. It's deja vu, as Carlos comes out to help Invader but is cut off by the Original TNT. The Hangmen continue beating up Invader. Giant Warrior comes out and is cut off by Kim Duk. Los Super Medicos are held off by Galan Mendoza and Rick Valentine. Huracan Castillo tries to get to the ring and El Profe heads him off. Finally, Bronco runs out and makes the save (Profe: We didn't know he was in the building!). The Hangmen leave, but the bullrope is left behind. Invader is dazed and bleeding, but firmly holds the bullrope in his hands.

MD: Another good one. Invader wrestles with such amazing confidence. Just total conviction in everything he does. Even just a stomp that leads right into a foot on chest pin. Profe stole back the noose that Invader had after the last match and Psycho took over on him with a lot of stomps and facewashes. This led to Killer coming out and the Hangmen miscommunicating for an Invader roll up. Post match they tried to have lightning strike twice with another huge beatdown in the ring while all the locker room fought to prevent the save. I get the sense Bronco had been away selling the effects of the hanging from the last match and he’s the one that ultimately makes the big save for a bloody Invader. It hits but it doesn’t hit quite as hard because you don’t have Embry menacing Sasha and a huge turn like TNT. But it still does hit. I don’t think they could get away with it again though.

EB: El Profe and Original TNT cut a promo about their match tonight against Carlos Colon, where they show a quick clip of how Original TNT beat Carlos to win the Rumble (Carlos took a version of the Slaughter bump after missing a charge into the corner). ‘TNT’ says he’ll put Colon’s lights out and may not bother waking him up afterwards. Carlos responds by putting over last week’s Royal Rumble match and saying that ‘TNT’ has reason to celebrate. But Carlos says that he should not be going around saying he beat Carlos Colon ono on one, because that match was everyone vs everyone, Original TNT was the last entrant and took everyone by surprise when they were tired, and that Carlos had been busted open and bleeding for a while. Tonight it is one on one and Carlos will be fresh. Tonight ‘TNT’ will not have the same luck.

We then get Original TNT taking on Huracan Castillo Jr. This match is joined in progress and is mainly to reintroduce Original TNT.  This looks to be from the previous week in Carolina. ‘TNT’ controls most of the match, although Huracan gets some comebacks in. On commentary, Hugo talks about Carlos being honorable in not accepting the Universal title while Profe calls Carlos stupid for doing that. Hugo says it was an act of integrity, Profe says it was a guilty conscience for the chicanery that went down. In the finishing stretch, Castillo comes off the top rope with a bodypress that ‘TNT’ rolls over for a near fall. Castillo sends ‘TNT’ into the ropes and puts his head down too early, allowing ‘TNT’ to kick him twice in the head and get the pinfall win.

MD: A little jarring to hear that voice come out of someone who looks at least somewhat like TNT. Colon had a big flag graphic behind him just like in the promo for the card (which looks overall good even if I’m a little doubtful of the match on top). The Castillo match itself had TNT taking a good chunk but when Castillo took over, TNT was just walking around ringside sucking air and it wasn’t a great look. Something of a banana peel finish too where he got his last advantage by turning around a body press. I think maybe he could have looked stronger but this was not unusual for Castillo putting someone over.

EB: Scott Hall talks about how the fans in Caguas will be behind him tonight against Giant Warrior, he has never lost in Caguas and tonight Profe says it won’t happen. Giant Warrior says that tonight it’ll be time for Hall to lose for the first time in Caguas. We then get the tag match from Christmas Day where Hall turned on Warrior. Profe again insists that this is a masterful editing job to make him look like the one that hit Warrior. Hugo remains exasperated about the accusation. At the end of the program, Hugo walks off in disgust as El Profe talks about what his guys will do tonight.

MD: Hall cut a good delusional heel promo about how all his fans would be there to cheer him vs Giant Warrior. Then he did all of his poses as Profe spoke. He’s the best at that. Warrior actually cut a promo and it was ok. Then they had Hugo (off screen) translate as he fumbled with the mic. Would have been better to have Hugo stand next to him for the size difference as he didn’t look big with the backdrop.
EB: We also have the west coast version  of the January 19 Superestrellas de la Lucha Libre.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDEeO7KuYdg

Hugo is talking about tomorrow’s house show in Hormigueros, and it looks like we have a similar card as the one in Caguas. Hugo mention the upcoming TV title tournament and sends some greetings to some fans before going to our first match, which is Super Medico #3 vs Rick Valentine (the one we saw a clip of in the Campeones episode). So if you want to see the full match here it is. Eliud Gonzalez introduces the combatants and the match has a feeling out process to start. The commentators talk about how Embry was injured during the fire match and now Valentine has got Mendoza as his new tag partner, promising to avenge Embry and get the Caribbean tag titles. Medico #3 takes over by working the arm as Hugo says that he doesn’t think the match will remain a straight up wrestling contest for long. Hugo also mentions the topic of Galan Mendoza’s controversial glove, with suspicions that it may be loaded. Rick Valentine controls the middle portion of the match and the finishing stretch we saw on Campeones stars with Valentine missing an elbow drop. We get a bit more of the post match, as the ref declares Valentine the winner.

MD: Aha! This is the entire match that we saw the finish of during the last show. It’s pretty good too, with Valentine stooging early, trapped in an armbar going in and out as Medico hangs on. There’s a great bit before the transition to heat (missed corner charge) where he tries to go for a tag forgetting it’s a singles match. I noted now Mendoza used the loaded glove in the post match beatdown too.

EB: Next is another Johnny Ringo promo, this time about tomorrow’s match in Hormigueros. We also get Valentine, Mendoza & Ripper and the Super Medicos talking about their match tomorrow in Hormigueros. They run down the show lineup for the January 20 house show, and it’s exactly the same as the one in Caguas.

MD: It’s too bad we don’t get a Ringo squash match in here because I’m real curious what this guy can do.

EB: Original TNT gets  a TV showcase match against Sabu (not that one). This match is all Original TNT, just a dominant win to reestablish him. The commentators talk about how the real TNT is in Japan but should be back soon. ‘TNT’ wins with the cobra sleeper, as Hugo makes sure to remind the kids watching to not try these moves at home since they are dangerous. The ref has to insist with ‘TNT’ to wake his opponent up, which he eventually does. After the match ,we get promos from Original TNT and Carlos Colon about their match in Hormigueros, similar to what we saw in Campeones.

MD: I’ve seen two or three Sabus in wrestling in this is by far the least fearsome looking one. He does get to fire out of the corner once only to get crushed. Pretty solid intensity from Original TNT here. Some of the promos here are either the same or very similar to ones we saw on the other show.

EB: After an airing of the TNT ‘Evolution’ music video, we have a match from the TV studio with Scott Hall taking on Nick Ayala. We have seen Ayala before, but Hall makes relatively quick work of Nick. Hugo mentions that there are a lot of fans mad at El Profe for stealing Scott Hall away from El Ejercito de la Justicia, since they had a lot of appreciation for him. Hall gets the win with the crucifix.

MD: I feel like we haven’t seen a proper Hall match in a while. Ayala has been competitive before, but he’s not going to be here. Great bump on the crucifix (Razor’s Edge) as Ayala flips over as part of the bump.

EB: The Texas Hangmen and Invader & Bronco cut promos about their match tomorrow in Hormigueros, with Invader mentioning that everyone saw last week that the Hangmen are cowards, they ran off when things got rough, this time with the lumberjacks there is no running away. There is an unintentionally funny moment when Invader walks off after cutting his promo and Bronco stays behind to say his piece.We then get theTexas Hangmen music video we have seen before. 

We also have a TV showcase match for the team of Invader #1 and Bronco #1 vs Joe Casanova and El Condor. Invader and Bronco do quick tags to work over Condor, The rudos team gets almost no offense in, as this is a clear showcase to put over Invader and Bronco’s teamwork in their quest to win the World tag team titles. Bronco wins the match with his falling DDT maneuver.

MD: After Invader 1 chasing Profe last match, they’re coming back with a Lumberjack match. Obviously both teams think that’s to their advantage and call the other team cowards. In the music video what stood out the most was the variety of Hangmen masks. I hadn’t noticed that before. I’m left wondering what happened to Bronco’s valet. I’m annoyed Exotico isn’t Casanova’s partner for obvious reasons. Bronco and Invader work well together, control the arm. Invader sells a bit but only to make a comeback. It kind of amazes me that Bronco’s drop down DDT finisher wasn’t used by basically anyone else for years. 

EB: We end the episode with a match between the minis, as Espectrito and Piratita Morgan face Aguilita Solitaria & Mascarita Sagrada, this time in the TV studio. The match is joined in progress and the rudos are in control. Espectrito misses a knee charge into the corner, giving Aguilita a chance to fire off some off his impressive moves. Espectrito gets sent out of the ring and now we get Piratita and Mascarita in the ring for their teams. Mascarita gets the better of Morgan due to his speed, but the size advantage remains with the rudos. Still, Mascarita is able to dodge charges by both rudos that end up with them hitting the ringpost and going to the outside. We continue with a quick pace, with the wrestlers from both teams going in and out and some miscommunication from the tecnicos leading to the rudos gaining control. It does not last long and Sagrada gets a nearfall off a sunset flip. The match continues back and forth until the bell rings in a time limit draw. 

MD: This cuts out but I do think that the bell rang and it was a draw. I get bringing these guys in. I get putting them on shows. I get maybe having a match now and again on TV to let people know what they’re getting on the live show but they’re so detached from everything else, as an attraction is want to be, that I wonder about spending so much TV time on them. A couple of clips would probably do the trick and then you can sneak in a Giant Warrior promo too or something.

EB: Next week on El Deporte de las Mil Emociones, we reach the final weekend of January 1991. We’ll find out if Greg Valentine will accept Carlos Colon’s challenge for the steel cage match. We’ll also have an update on our ongoing tag feuds, our first look at Dick Murdoch in Puerto Rico, the TV title tournament is set to take place, and someone gets put to sleep when Carlos Colon takes on the Original TNT.

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70s Joshi on Wednesday: Day! Tomi!

41. 1979.08.XX1 - 01 Cheryl Day vs. Tomi Aoyama

K: I usually do my write-ups going through the match chronologically while trying to explain my thoughts rather than just doing a play-by-play. I’m going to break that habit here though because this match really felt they started with that spectacular finish in mind and then worked backwards. Tomi counters an Irish Whip with a top rope boomerang into a flying bodypress for the three count. I thought this spot was ahead of its time when I saw Manami Toyota do it in the mid-90s so imagine my shock learning that someone was doing this in 1979. In more recent years when I’ve watched Toyota do her boomerang leaps I’ve noticed Aoyama being referenced on commentary, so the Japanese fans got what she was doing. It really helps in understanding Manami Toyota when you realise- contrary to Western fan conventional wisdom - she wasn’t supposed to be an innovative wrestler at all. She was being a stylistic throwback. That’s why she had such a plain look with the long black hair, basic black gear and was all softly spoken in promos. The ‘traditional’ girl presentation matched how she wrestled in the eyes of longtime AJW fans.

I hope you’ll pardon that digression, it’s just the rest of the match doesn’t really invite analysis. Tomi takes control early until she misses a dropkick and then Cheryl Day starts her heat section very early on with a series of strikes targeting Tomi’s throat before settling on working her arm, but the match doesn’t go on long enough for that to really go anywhere and they were probably just killing time to get to the big finish. They put some physical effort into the body of the match though, I don’t think it was ever boring. Pedestrian seems a fair description though.

**¼

MD: This was a pretty complete piece of business. Day took over early with a quasi-dropkick right to the throat, intentional enough as she followed it up with a throat chop. Then she took the arm and bulldogged it down right onto her knee. They worked the brunt of the match after this with Day grinding the knee into the arm and eventually Tomi coming back with kicks to the legs and working it over. Eventually Day got her out and beat her up a bit but Tomi came back on the inside with a flurry of her own and it was all spirited stuff. Obviously you’d rather the arm and legwork matter in the end but expectations are what they are and they at least framed things well enough due to one bit leading to the other. Finish was Tomi’s leap back body press where she lionsaults-styles her way to the very top back onto a standing opponent and it would be an impressive spot in 2024 let alone 1979.

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AEW Five Fingers of Death (and Friends) 11/25 - 12/1

AEW Dynamite 11/27/24

Darby Allin vs Brody King

MD: Darby's an interesting case right now, in general and for the tournament. He's the guy. He almost has to be, right? He's 31. He's the heir to Sting. He's been positioned as the one making the big dramatic over the top saves recently. We're also relatively early into the Moxley run. And there's a mountain between them and the finale. Everett looms and Darby has to be protected but he can't be launched into the stratosphere until it's time. He can't peak too early because he's got a peak to climb. 

Wrestling doesn't have to seem real. It has to seem consistent, but even more than that, it has to seem compelling. I'd argue that consistency is part of being compelling, but I'm annoying that way. I'll also argue that occasionally, a push towards a sort of real helps wrestling be compelling, because the point is to help suspend your disbelief like you do when you're consuming any fictional medium. That's where Darby shines. I have no idea where the line blurs between work and shoot with how banged up he is at any one point. You tell me he's feeling the effects of the worked car crash from Saturday night and I tend to believe it. You tell me he broke his clavicle in a motorcycle stunt last Tuesday? Sure. You tell me he set himself on fire by trying to fry his turkey with a flamethrower? It's plausible. 

That helps, right? It helps bridge the gap and explain away why he, the lead babyface in the company, is going to lose to Claudio one week and Brody the next and probably a few more times during this tournament. Wins and losses matter. They absolutely matter. But it's not math. What matters more is the presentation. What matters is how things are framed because that's how it works in life. This isn't just some sort of numerical exercise. Life isn't quantitative. What's the cost of a win? How does a loss make a wrestler grow? How hard did he fight? I get the impression sometimes that AEW is full of wrestlers who are hesitant to take losses (That makes Darby come off all the better, by the way). But what matters is the way it's shown on screen and how it's presented to the audience. 

Darby was fighting a monster. He was hurt. He'd beaten the monster once or twice. He'd lost to him once or twice. He got absolutely thrashed at the start. He had to fight his way back the entire match. He came close! That matters. It matters if it's shown on screen to matter. It matters if the audience open their heart and let it matter. If you just look at the results on paper you can start griping about how they let Darby lose when he might have to carry the company next year. If you actually watch the match, you know he didn't lose a single thing in defeat in this one and he came out looking just as strong as he came in (though I wouldn't necessarily say stronger). 

Real life things can help. When the sound dropped out due to Brody crashing into the post, that broke from the norm; it was literally exceptional, and it was all due to the force that Brody brings to the table. Yes, we lost commentary for a bit but how could you see that and not even be more drawn in than you were a moment before? Likewise, the looming mountain. There's such an opportunity for that to be worked into the story, for Darby to find what he needs as part of that journey to vanquish Moxley in a way that would be impossible now. It's Hero's Journey stuff. It just has to be framed and sold and presented that way. Wins and losses matter, but they matter because of what they mean in a fictional sense, not what they mean in a real one. That balance between real and worked is all part of what makes pro wrestling so unique and wonderful. 

Claudio Castagnoli vs Ricochet

MD: This was problematic. Let me lay out the pieces here. Claudio Castagnoli is a monster. He was presented at the end of the episode, chair in hand, looming as he meant to do permanent harm to Darby Allin, as a behemoth. It was meant to matter when Brody King, who he will face the following week in the tournament, stood up against him. He was to be respected, feared, reviled. He betrayed Bryan Danielson. That betrayal was on Jon Moxley's order, but it came at Claudio Castagnoli's hand. He struck the blow. 

Ricochet is a new hire. He chose to come to AEW to be free of creative chains, to wrestle the way that he always wanted to wrestle on a huge stage. He's supposed to be a trailblazer who helped set the current style due to his battle with Ospreay years ago. He's presented as something of an equal to him (him being the guy they present as the best wrestler in the world). He just came off of big loss to Takeshita. 

They both happen to be bald. So is the referee, Rick Knox.

This was the second match of the Continental Classic, the engine that is going to drive AEW through the month of December, something that was a legitimate ratings draw last year. It was Claudio vs Ricochet, one of the greatest bases of the century vs a high-flyer. It should have been a big bounceback match for Ricochet who hasn't quite connected the way he was expected to as of  yet. 

The match starts like you'd expect with Claudio basing. It builds to a big moment where Claudio, who had walked away from previous dives, catching Ricochet's dive impressively, crushing him to start the heat. Ricochet sells, emoting well, using his face and body language to try to draw the crowd in.

The problem is that they're all bald. And the crowd starts chanting about it. The commercial break starts. The heat continues. Ricochet tries to fight from underneath as Claudio leans down on him. The crowd creatively chants different things about baldness. Tony Khan then tweets about how wonderful this all is.

None of this is good. If it was on last week's Rampage which had a dance off between Nyla and Mina, a ten-count punch off between Butcher and Juice, and a Redneck Kung-Fu off between Briscoe and Silver, that would have been fine, good even.

There was supposed to be some level of gravitas about the tournament though. Claudio is not just a heel, but a guy who just went over the lead babyface in the company clean last week. He's a monster. He's not just a in-ring monster, but he's the guy who betrayed Bryan Danielson. If you can't get heat from that, what can you possibly get heat from? What hope is there? 

"Putting smiles on faces," having babyfaces lose and shrug it off with a smile? That's the 2010s WWE style that AEW was created to push up against and compete with, to be an alternative to. The fans were sure having fun. But they weren't connected or engaged to what the company was actually presenting, and what they were presenting should have been compelling. The start of a beloved and anticipated tournament. An impressive spot. A monstrous heel. A babyface trying his hardest to draw them in. 

It's on Khan not to celebrate that. He's celebrating that his product completely failed to compel the audience to react in the way that they were supposed to react despite doing everything right on paper. That's not worthy of a celebratory tweet. It's a presentation disaster. It's failure. Honestly, it's kind of frightening. If I was AEW creative, I'd be frightened. If you do everything right (and I think they DID do everything right here!) and it still doesn't work, what could possibly work? 

I do think Khan is part of the problem. He celebrates every This is Awesome chant like it's a victory. Sometimes things aren't suppose to be awesome. Sometimes awesome isn't the goal. A lot of times awesome isn't the goal. Most of the time you're trying to create other emotions and move people in different ways. For them to have that wash right off of them and for them to just neutrally celebrate what they're watching means that it's not reaching them emotionally in the way it was intended. 

Wrestling is broken. I do fully believe that Khan wants to be part of the solution instead of part of the problem. He's the leader of the company and he's, to a degree, a leader in how the fans receive its product. In order to do so, he needs to take a step back and try to think what went wrong here and how he can help to fix it moving forward.

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2024 Ongoing MOTY List: Jericho vs. Suzuki

 

9. Chris Jericho vs. Minoru Suzuki AEW Dynamite 7/24/24

ER: I cannot stand modern matches with long bad-looking stand and trade sections, and that's what makes up the bulk of this match between two guys whose wrestling matches I no longer look forward to seeing. "Hey man you hear about that match where two guys just traded forearms for a half hour" yeah man I'm never going to watch it or read about it. Why would I want to watch two wrestlers throw worked strikes with a hard strike thrown in maybe every fifth exchange? Well, I guess there are rules, and there are exceptions to rules, and the rules and their exceptions change when the combined age in the ring is 110 years old. Two 30 year olds chopping each other and making faces and straining their necks? Sounds terrible. Shit would suck and nobody would speak about it again. "Hey man you hear about that match where two grandfathers chopped each other until their hands were swollen and blood was running down their chests?" The rules have changed. 

It's a bit sad seeing the most lucrative earning years of Suzuki's career finally winding down. The man has made career money working forearm exchange matches for 5 years in the states. The polaroid money alone must be incredible. Every person who saw clips of the Mecha Mummy match and had never heard of Yoshiaki Fujiwara lined up in droves to see Minoru Suzuki blow into town with his 5 Light/1 Heavy Stick Out Tongue Repeat routine and every single person who ever wanted to scream Kaze ni nare with a a ton of people who look exactly like them has had chance after chance after chance to do so. Now Minoru Suzuki blows into the Volunteer State for the first time and the crowd response to Ayumi Nakamura was so tepid that I finally realized the whole thing is over. It's been over for me for a while now, but there were still believers and I assumed it would thrill them until he was in his late 60s. I wanted it to. I couldn't have been less excited to watch a 2024 Minoru Suzuki match against 2024 Chris Jericho. I didn't want to see Suzuki working a Jericho match and I really didn't want to see Jericho work a Suzuki match. God. Please. 

What I did want to watch was an honest to god war of attrition between two old guys who decided to hit each other until one of them gassed out. It's Jericho. Jericho's the one who gasses out. Jericho's obviously going to be the one who gasses out from hitting a guy with chops as hard as he can. It's at least 8 minutes of two old guys doing nothing but chops, and that sure sounds rote as I type it but what might start rote turns intriguing real quick when you can see Jericho visibly tiring and physically in pain as he gets outstruck. Minoru Suzuki barely regards Jericho's first chop, and by minute three he isn't reacting in any way to them. Jericho, in continuing to hit Suzuki, begins to only damage himself. Suzuki was reacting to his chops like Jericho was a young boy from a rival fed. He had no life behind his chops, could barely swing his arms, and the more gassed out he got the harder his body reacted to Suzuki's chops. Blood was literally running down Jericho's chest in rivulets and he could no longer flex his chest or straighten his arms enough to absorb Suzuki's chops. His entire body was being turned with every chop and yet he was stuck in this bit now and couldn't get out. His hand was killing him and the only thing he could do was beat his hand against a small brick wall that was never going to break. All Jericho had to do was break, but he was in it, and you could tell he was really seeing just how long he could go with old man Suzuki, who it must be said now has the exact same posture and movement as old man Fujiwara. 

Jericho wanted to test himself, and that's interesting. That's more than just a too long forearm exchange or even a too long chop exchange. Jericho wanted to see how much he could absorb and see how far through the pain he could push himself. That's some rock headed dumb brain wrestler stuff right there man. He doesn't need to do that. Nobody asked him to do that and I bet the majority of people watching him do it wished he wasn't doing it and weren't interested in seeing it. But Jericho wanted to do it because he's a dumb pro wrestler and wanted to see how many more chops he could take after his chest was busted open in several spots, and wrestlers who don't need the money who choose to do stupid physical things are the kinds of wrestlers I still want to watch. 

He eventually broke and the match pivoted into Suzuki working over Jericho's self-pummeled hand, and I laughed when Jericho torched his arms and then had to get the bad one arm barred over the ropes and smashed inside a folding chair. This man don't know when to quit and I realized I was smack in the middle of the most interesting Suzuki match in years, because Jericho had twisted and tweaked his formula and made the exchanges turn into limb work that actually meant something and flowed out of the endless stand and trade. 

You would not believe how uninterested I was in seeing these two wrestle in 2024, and they made me interested. Rules change. 

2024 MOTY MASTER LIST

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