El Deporte de las Mil Emociones: O Bronco, Where Art Thou?

Week 52: O Bronco, Where Art Thou?

EB: Carlos Colon finally got his revenge against Dick Murdoch by defeating him in the barbed wire match and even got some payback on a caged in Joe Don Smith. It looks like Colon is ready to move on to his next opponent but we will have to see who that will be. The match against Dick Murdoch was not the only instance of Colon getting involved in events on the April 6 card in Carolina, as he played a role in the Scott Hall vs. Giant Warrior match. We’ll cover what happened and what it looks to be setting, although  I suspect that a sudden departure may have resulted in plans changing. This will all lead to one more match for Carlos against Dick Murdoch on the April 21 show in Bayamon.

There were other happenings on that April 6 house show. The World Junior title was held up after match between defending champion Mr. Pogo and Ricky Santana. They will have a rematch for the held up title on April 13. Invader #1 and Bronco#1 retained theirWorld tag  titles against the California Studs via dq in a match where the Studs almost won the titles via chicanery. They will also have a rematch scheduled for April 13. Finally, TNT faced King Kong in  a match demanded by TNT after Kong had debuted by attacking TNT at a TV taping. TNT felt the wrath of Kong’s splash after Akbar’s interference. TNT will get another crack at King Kong on April 13 but with a stipulation. Let’s go to the April 13 Campeones episode so we can catch up with all the latest developments in CSP. 

Campeones 4/13/91

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

Hugo and Profe welcome us to the program (every Saturday at 4pm on TeleOnce),with Profe having his back turned to start so he could turn around and pose when introduced. Hugo makes a comment that the viewers ask him about why he tolerates Profe’s antics and insults (Profe: ‘They’re not insults, they’re truths and realities.’)’, but Hugo says that ultimately Profe is someone that knows about wrestling and that’s why he's here. Profe can’t pass up the opportunity to applaud that comment and say it's a privilege to have him here. They run down the action we’ll see on today’s program, including two matches from last week in Carolina. Hugo takes a moment to thank the fans that were in attendance last week, saying it’s on behalf of everyone at Capitol TV (Profe says to leave him out of that thank you) for a wonderful experience last week in Carolina, it is becoming  a hotbed for wrestling action.

Hugo mentions we’ll see later an incident that happened last week involving Scott Hall, Action Jackso, Giant Warrior and Carlos Colon, as well as what happened last Wednesday in Miramar. Tonight they are back in Carolina and we have a World tag title rematch, with Hugo mentioning the Studs almost stole the titles last week. Profe corrects Hugo that the Studs almost won the titles last week and tonight they will get it done. Hugo also mentioned that tonight TNT will face King Kong in a rematch with the stipulation that Skandor Akbar is barred from ringside due to his constant interference. Profe thinks this is unfair and even stupid on TNT’s part, because now Akbar won’t be there to keep Kong under control.  With that, let’s go to our first match.

Action Jackson vs. Kim Duk

We go to April 6 in Carolina as Kim Duk faces ActionJackson. El Profe is at ringside for Action and there is still resentment between Kim Duk and El Profe over how their partnership ended. Profe on commentary mentions that the reason Duk is being cast in movies with certain celebrities is because of how ugly looking Duk is. Hugo mentions that Duk and Toru Tanaka (who had previously had a run in Puerto Rico) have been doing well in getting movie roles and talks up a recent movie Duk was in. In the ring, Duk and Action Jackson have locked up a couple of times with not much interaction, leading to them facing off and Duk slapping Action in the face. Action sells the blow and retreats to the outside. Jackson gets some words of advice from Profe and goes back in, but again comes up on the short end of the exchange and goes back outside. Action is back in and eventually is able to gain control of the match, knocking Duk down and locking on a chinlock. Duk goes to the eyes to break the hold and works over Action with several blows. A butterfly suplex gets a two count. Kim gets the cobra clutch but gets distracted by El Profe and decides to leave the ring to chase after Profe. Action tries to ambush Duk from behind, but Duk catches him and throws Action back in the ring. The crowd gets loud as Duk hits several kicks on Action, and it looks like he has the match in hand. However, Profe trips Duk when he rebounds off the ropes and Duk hits his head on the mat. Action hits an elbow drop and gets the three count for the win (with Profe sort of reaching in to hold Duk’s leg down for good measure). 

MD: This was actually a pretty good one. Jackson was growing his hair back and had the Zubaz on and did a good job stooging and feeding, creating a lot of motion for Duk. Some of the holds in the middle around the commercial break weren’t the most compelling things in the world, but I liked Duk’s comeback where he had a butterfly suplex and some nice kicks he doesn’t usually do. Jackson’s punches were pretty lively too. Finish had Profe get involved while Duk had the cobra on and Duk menacing him on the outside. Jackson recovered but Duk had his number until Profe grabbed the leg. They sort of missed him holding it down at the end but it was fine. Now Duk has a singles match upcoming with Profe and can finally get even with him.

EB: Afterwards we get a promo from Kim Duk in the studio, he has a match tonight with El Profe and Duk wants revenge. Back to Hugo and Profe, where Hugo needles Profe about the match with Duk tonight. Profe angrily responds that nothing will happen because he is too smart and then just changes the subject to talk about what happened with Scott Hall and Giant Warrior. We go to the video, with Warrior reversing an Irish whip attempt on Hall and Hall colliding with the referee in the corner. Warrior knocks Hall down and starts stomping his foot to set up the big boot. At ringside, Profe starts frantically waving his arm as if to signal someone to come in. It’s Action Jackson, who Warrior intercepts on the apron and is able to fight off. However, Hall has recovered and knees Warrior in the back. In an impressive feat of strength Hall gets Giant Warrior up in the crucifix and hits it. Hall covers, but before the ref can complete the count, Carlos Colon yanks referee Victor Quiñonez out of the ring. Hall is unaware of what happened and starts slapping the mat angrily, waiting for the count. Hall stands up and sees Colon talking with the ref, and the ref calls for the bell. Warrior is declared the winner by disqualification. 

We then go to this past Wednesday in Miramar, where Scott Hall and Carlos Colon were squaring off. Profe trips up Carlos and Hall gets the brief advantage. Carlos makes a comeback and starts punching a downed Hall. Action Jackson runs in and jumps Carlos from behind, locking in the cobra clutch. Profe celebrities and then he and Hall run interference to make sure the ref and anyone who comes in can’t help Carlos out of the hold. Eventually, Giant Warrior makes his way out and gets the better of Hall, By this point though, Carlos is out from the cobra clutch and Action Jackson goes over to help Hall with Giant Warrior. The rudos bust Wariro open and Action actually bites on Warrior’s forehead a couple of times for good measure. We get some more help from the back in the form of Kim Duk, TNT and Invader and they run the rudos from the ring, but the damage is done. Warrior is down bleeding heavily and Carlos is out from the cobra clutch, with TNT having to wake Carlos up from the hold. As a result of this incident, tonight we have a tag match between Carlos Colon & Giant warrior and Scott Hall & Action Jackson. 

We get promos from both teams about tonight’s match, where you get the combination of Hall’s hand gestures and Action’s mouth running while Profe translates. Carlos and Warrior (with a bandaged forehead) promise that they will get even tonight against these dangerous individuals. Tonight the odds are even. The segment finishes with a card rundown for tonight in Carolina: Carlos Colon & Giant Warrior vs. Scott Hall & Action Jackson; TNT vs.King Kong with Skandor Akbar barred from ringside; World tag title rematch as Invader #1 & Bronco #1 defend against the California Studs; Ricky Santna vs Mr. Pogo for the held up World Junior title; Super Medico #3 vs. Motor City Madman; Invader #4 vs.  Doug Gilbert; and Kim Duk vs. El Profe in a lights out match. Also, don’t miss the TV taping in Miramar on Wednesday,where we'll have TNT & Invader #1 vs the California Studs, Kim Duk vs. King Kong, and Ricky Santana vs. Action Jackson. 

MD: We come in right at the end of Hall vs Warrior with the ref getting squashed in the corner on a whip reversal (Hall doing the squashing; it looked good). Warrior loads up the boot after the fact but Jackson comes in to interfere. Then Hall actually gets Warrior up in the crucifix (Razor’s Edge) which was pretty impressive. Colon rushes out to tell the ref what happened and while he holds his own against Hall, Jackson is able to get the Cobra on him. Then they bloody Warrior up two on one. Pretty effective angle and we haven’t seen a ton of Colon teaming with Warrior so that feels novel, as does the Jackson/Hall team. They might just get one or two matches out of this but it was very effective to set it up.

King Kong vs. Tito Carrion & El Corsario

EB: Up next is a handicap match where King Kong takes on Tito Carrion and El Corsario. Kong just steamrolls over both guys, and wins the match with a big splash on Carrion (who gets stretchered out afterwards). Profe on commentary says that this is what awaits TNT tonight. After the match, we get a promo from Akbar and Kong, with Akbar  warning TNT that if he's not going to be at ringside then Kong will be uncontrolled. TNT follows by saying that things will be different from last week with Akbar not allowed at ringside, He dares Kong to hit him again with that splash like he did last week, Kong may be big but he is a coward. Tonight Kong will face a very angry Puerto Rican who is coming to fight. We close out this segment with some very brief comments from Super Medico #3 where he says he is not afraid of Motor City Madman. 

MD: We’ve seen our share of handicap matches with monsters, and this was a little on the iffy side with Kong stumbling at times, but he recovered well. His clubbers looked good, especially the downward elbow strike and that powerslam was particularly nasty as the ring had absolutely no give. TNT’s promo was sufficiently intense. I’m not convinced this feud has legs but it’d be good for a few weeks at least.

Miguelito Perez & Huracan Castillo Jr. vs. Gran Mendoza & Doug Gilbert 

EB: Our main event is joined in progress, as the Caribbean Express is facing Galan Mendoza and his new tag partner Doug Gilbert. Mendoza and Gilbert are in control, working over Huracan Castillo. This is a rematch of sorts for Mendoza and the Caribbean Express, with Doug Gilbert now in the mix. Most of the match clip shown is Mendoza and Gilbert working over Castillo for several minutes until the hot tag is made to Migueliro. Perez cleans house and then all four men end up fighting in the ring. The finish comes when Perez gets a roll up on Mendoza, but the ref is busy sending Castillo out of the ring. Gilbert hits Perez, allowing Mendoza an opening to load up his glove and then deck Perez for the pinfall win. It looks like this new team may be in line for a Caribbean tag title shot in the future.

Hugo and Profe close the show with Hugo running down tonight’s card and Profe interjecting every now and then about the beating he will give Kim Duk tonight.

MD: I love that there’s this weird direct like from Rick Valentine teaming with Lance Idol all the way to Mendoza and Gilbert here, and it probably continues onwards too. These two work together well, cutting off the ring, drawing in Perez as they work on Castillo. Mendoza has one nice hot shot cut off. Perez does get the hot tag and they feed for the comeback. The finish with an extended distraction leading to Mendoza using the loaded glove and slipping the object back to Ripper maybe takes a little long, but they’re putting these two over strong immediately.

EB: We have two matches from the April 13 house show that we will cover in this installment. The first is the TNT vs. King Kong match with Gen. Skandor Akbar barred from ringside.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cl6nMQkE4Q

The video opens with Hugo saying that King Kong had quite the unexpected surprise when he faced TNT. We cut to TNT making his entrance in full mask and gi, clapping his hands and playing to the crowd. TNT gets into the ring and is immediately jumped by King Kong, with not even an opportunity for TNT to get any of his entrance attire off. The ring intros are made as Kong continues attacking TNT, Irish whipping him into a corner and following up with a corner splash. TNT goes down and Kong hits his big splash. The ref counts three and Kong has won. Almost immediately, someone rushes into the ring to attack Kong, it's TNT! It seems TNT sent someone dressed as him to the ring and that was who Kong pinned. TNT attacks Kong, whips him into a corner and follows up with a spin kick that sends TNT himself over the turnbuckle to the outside from the momentum. Kong is staggered but still hasn't gone down though, so TNT goes back in and dropkicks Kong. That blow knocks Kong down and Kong proceeds to roll out of the ring and leave. The crowd cheers as TNT checks on his friend and then starts doing karate poses for the crowd and to taunt Kong. As TNT checks again on his friend, Kong is angrily pacing back and forth outside of the ring. Just as Kong tries to get back in the ring, Akbar arrives to call Kong off. TNT’s ploy worked but his friend got the worst of the plan as he gets stretchered out.

MD: Sometimes these Puerto Rico angles trail the US ones by nine months. Here you had someone dressed like TNT come out and get absolutely destroyed, and I bought it for a minute too even the pin (like a twist on the fake Sting angle from Halloween Havoc 90), but it was a friend of TNT apparently and it let TNT come out and drive Kong from the ring. It came at a big cost to his friend though. Given how shocking it felt when the fake TNT had gotten ambushed and squashed in the gi, I almost wonder if they shouldn’t have legitimately done that and then gave TNT a mountain to climb. Still, this was an interesting take on things.

EB: The second match from the April 13 show is the World tag team title rematch between Invader #1 & Bronco #1 and the California Studs. And a lot went down there, so much that we have a whole episode of Campeones dedicated to airing this match and showing what went down. The version of the TV episode we have is edited to the show intro,  the match, the show close and one Gen. Akbar with Kong promo where Akbar talks about Kong challenging TNT for the TV title tomorrow in Bayamon. We’ll cover the match as aired on the Camepones episode from April 20, but this match also had a release on one of the commercial tapes. We'll post that link after the episode rundown for anyone who wants to watch that version. So let’s go to the craziness that happened in Carolina.

Campeones 4/20/91

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

EB: Hugo and Profe welcome us to another episode of Campeones, with Hugo mentioning that this week they have quite the match to show, an exclusive airing of one of last week’s main events in its entirety. It’s a match that has been the talk of the fans due to what happened, it is the World tag title rematch where Invader and Bronco were supposed to defend their titles against the California Studs. Profe says that this is a chance for the fans to see the quality of the California Studs, how bravely they fought last week, and a chance to see what kind of cowards and trash Invader and Bronco are. Hugo interrupts and says that before Profe continues his insults they want to explain what happened. Bronco, who usually comes in from his native Dominican Republic to wrestle here, had not yet arrived in Carolina, Twice the California Studs had gone to the ring for the match and both times Invader requested more time to allow Bronco to get to the arena. Profe interrupts to make a bad joke about what happened (he heard that the raft they were on had gotten stuck and since they were Dominicans they stopped to see if the tire had gone flat). Hugo clears up that it was a flight delay and since Bronco had not yet arrived by the third time they went to the ring, the ref was about to declare the California Studs the new World tag team champions by forfeit. That is the point where we will pick up the action in a bit.

But before that, Hugo wants to talk about tonight’s show in Humacao and tomorrow's big show in Bayamon at Estadio Juan Ramon Loubriel. The main event for tonight is Carlos Colon and TNT vs. King Kong & Dick Murdoch. Tomorrow's show in Bayamon will start at 4:30pm, with the main event being Carlos Colon vs. Dick Murdoch. This will be Colon’s chane to finally pay back every rotten thing Murdoch has done while in Puerto Rico and Murdoch’s lackey Joe Don Smith will  be handcuffed to Ricky Santana. One additional note that will come up during the match on commentary but that I will make note of here, apparently we have a new Caribbean champion (Scott Hall has departed for WCW). We’ll talk more about who the new champion is next time. And with that, let’s go to the exclusive airing of last week’s World tag title match. 

Invader/Bronco vs California Studs (Brian Lee/Tony Anthony)

The video begins with referee El Vikingo mid-speech, where he is explaining that the Studs and Akbar have been here on time and it’s not their fault that Bronco is not here. Vikingo tells Invader that he will have to wrestle one of them one on one or do something else, but the titles will go to the Studs if there is no team to face them. Invader thinks for a moment and says that he came here to wrestle, so he is going to go back to the locker room and find someone to team up with him right now. The ref allows this, so Invader goes to the back and comes out with Ricky Santana. Profe has a laughing fit at it being Ricky Santana and Hugo explains that if Ricky had not agreed to team up with Invader, the titles would have been automatically forfeited to the California Studs. Profe complains that the belts should have been awarded to the Studs anyway since the champs are Invader and Bronco. Hugo explains the rule regarding this, saying in the event one of the two champions is not present, the other partner is allowed at any moment before the bell is rung and the ref declares the default win for the challengers to find a substitute partner. However, this is with the understanding that if the champion and substitute partner lose the match, they lose the titles. If the champion and substitute partner win, then it opens the door for the challengers to get a rematch since they did not face the actual champion team in the loss. Profe complains that even if the rules say that, he doesn't think that it's right to not award the Studs the titles here. 

As the match is about to get underway, Hugo thanks the CSP promoters for allowing them to air this match in its entirety and also warns that this a very violent and bloody match so parents please exercise your judgement. Hugo makes note that Ricky has already wrestled earlier and had won the World Junior title against Mr. Pogo, but is wrestling again here helping out Invader. Gen. Akbar is with the Studs, enjoying the view from a seat at ringside. The first several minutes of the match have Invader and Ricky in control and getting the better of the California Studs. Profe complains a couple of times of what he feels is the unfairness of not awarding the titles to Lee and Anthony, while Hugo puts over Santana helping out Invader even though he wrestled earlier. The Studs take over when Lee catches Santana with a kick to the head and they proceed to work over Ricky. Things take a turn when Lee throws Ricky to the outside and, with the ref distracted, Tony Anthony throws Ricky head first into the ringpost. Ricky is busted open. Invader checks on Ricky and it is clear Santana is out of it. Invader is told to get back to his side of the ring and, with the ref again distracted, Brian Lee throws Ricky head first into the post again.Invader comes over once more and helps Ricky back into the ring.

Ricky is in trouble as the Studs work over his cut. The Studs continue beating up Ricky for the next few minutes, with Invader breaking up the pin attempt but not able to help Santana further. The Studs are content to just mercilessly go after Santana's bleeding head. Finally, the tide turns when Anthony misses a top rope maneuver (either a headbutt or slash) and Ricky staggers about and barely makes the tag to Invader. Ricky falls to the outside and is out on the arena flor. Invader comes in a house a’fire as the crowd cheers. Invader holds his own for a minute or two, but the two on one disadvantage catches up with him. The ref moves to get Brian Lee out of the ring, and Akbar passes an object to Anthony that he uses to punch Invader in the head. Invader has been busted open and what follows are several minutes of Invader bleeding heavily as he tries to survive against the two on one disadvantage. Invader’s face is a body mask as he keeps surviving the pin attempts and desperately tries to make a tag to someone who is not there (Santana is still passed out on the floor). Just when it seems the Studs will inevitably win the tag titles, the crowd starts reacting. Bronco has arrived at the arena and has emerged from the locker room in a suit and carrying his bag. Bronco drops everything he’s carrying and runs full sprint to the ring and takes his position in the tecnico corner. He takes off his jacket and shirt. El Profe goes off on commentary for the ref allowing Bronco to enter the match as it had already been started with Ricky Santana as the official competitor. Hug says what else is one to do when you see your tag partner in this situation. The ref seems to be allowing Bronco to stay on the apron. Invader keeps surviving and Bronco keeps cheering and yelling for the tag. While this is going on, we see some tecnicos come out to where Ricky Santana is and help carry him back to the locker room. Finally, Invader is able to make a tag to Bronco and the crowd erupts as Bronco cleans house on the Studs. Profe is again irate about Bronco being allowed in the match. Akbar trips up Bronco and ref calls for the bell. The Studs proceed to spike pildrive Bronco onto a chair. Lee gets a chair shot on the downed Bronco but Kim Duk and TNT run in to stop any further damage. Invader is down and covered in blood. Bronco is down from the spike piledriver on the chair. Santana has already been carried off. The ring mat is a mess from Santana and Invader’s blood. They show Invader and Bronco being stretchered out after the match, with Profe bragging about how three of the tecnicos were carried out. 

We close the show with Hug mentioning that there will be no flight delays this time as Bronco is already here. Tomorrow is the rematch and we get some final words from Bronco and Invader (with a band aid on his head). Bronco says that tomorrow it might feel like a hurricane will hit the Studs, they may be coming for the titles but Invader and him are coming for the Studs’ heads. Invader says he’s recovered the blood he lost last week and swears by his mother that they will remain the World tag team champions.  

MD: Esteban’s done a great job of explaining how we got here and you have to love all the details at play. They really focused so hard on covering every angle, from what would happen if the substitute team won to just thanking the promotion for letting them air the full match on an exceptional basis. In some ways they weren’t giving away the actual match since Santana was there instead of Bronco so the harm was actually limited. They cared so much in making it seem real and genuine by covering all these bases and it creates so much more of an immersive environment than what we see now on a weekly basis. It was a side effect of not raising questions in the eyes of the fans, but that’s what it took to create such a rich tapestry. 

Honestly, this was just a tremendous piece of business, up there with anything we’ve seen so far in this journey. I don’t want to go into too much detail, but it was a bit of shine to start and obviously Anthony and Lee were very good at feeding into things, making it seem like they were about to take advantage only to get caught. Santana ran into a boot however, and they opened him up on the outside on the post and really worked over the wound. Remember, he’d already faced Pogo earlier in the night. He eventually starts to really fire up, but gets cut off, only to finally dodge a flying second rope clothesline and make the tag.

Invader comes in super hot, really like only he could, but Anthony hits him with a hidden object and he bleeds massive. His work here is some of the best I’ve ever seen. Not an exaggeration. Santana is out on the floor and he tries to fire back and just goes corner to corner reaching his hand out for a tag. It’s just almost heartbreaking stuff, amazing work. This goes on and on with him getting opportunities but with no hope as he’s just bleeding out. Then, from the back, in a suit(!) comes Bronco. He rushes up on the apron and pulls off his shirt and barely, by the skin of his teeth, Invader’s able to make a tag. Bronco comes in even hotter than Invader and the crowd goes nuts. Obviously the match has devolved into chaos at this point, and Akbar grabs his legs. The Studs piledrive Bronco onto a chair but the babyfaces come out of the back to run them off as Invader and Bronco (and maybe Santana) get stretchered out. Absolutely classic stuff right here. 

EB: As mentioned, here is the commercial tape release of the match with Ricky Santana and Dick Slater on commentary. The video quality is clearer but it does cut off the pre match and post match stretcher  jobs we get in the TV episode version.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkxooWE_3L0

Next time on El Deporte de las Mil Emociones, the next challenger to the Universal title is announced as a former champion is on his way back to Puerto Rico. Also, TNT suffers one big splash too many, a new and unexpected Caribbean champion, and a big Noche de Campeones event is announced for Mother’s Day weekend.