DVDVR Puerto Rico 80s Set: Invader I vs. Ron Starr (9/19/86)

Disc 3, Match 3: Invader I vs. Ron Starr (9/19/86)

I want to cover two things straight from the start. First, there's a moment shortly before the comeback where Invader I makes a hope spot out of standing up outside of the ring and staggering around. Then he cuts himself off by falling into chairs. The crowd reacts towards that the same way a southern crowd would to Ricky Morton punching back and his opponent cheating to cut him off. Just stop and think about that. When have you ever seen that before? Some of it was the nature of Puerto Rico brawls where guys fight back to their feet and storm the ring to come back, but so much of it was just Invader's selling, his connection to the crowd, Starr's dickishness and the timing of it all. I can't think of a single wrestler today who would even think to attempt such a thing. Yet it worked like it was the easiest thing in the world. You watch this and you think to yourself "This is how wrestling is supposed to be." It created belief through performance alone.

Then look at his comeback. Yes, Invader struggling to get up and back into the ring was part of it. Then, when he finally made it back in, he didn't just start firing back. He had to earn it through a series of cut offs, through taking shots and exhaustedly bouncing back against the ropes to fire back. This wasn't some sort of cutesy rebound lariat thing or eating a big boot and no-selling it with the help of the ropes to show fighting spirit. This was desperation and exhaustion, his body almost out of his own control. Through actually selling and giving meaning to the beating he was taking, he came off as many degrees tougher than the Japanese or indy guys who just eat stiff shots and fire back as if nothing was happening. Look at how exhausted he seemed. Look at how beaten down he was. Look at the damage he was taking. But he still somehow willed his body to get that punch in. Again, it's everything wrestling should be and so much of what's been lost.

Here's a third thing, the finishing sequence. It somehow built without ever really escalating and that's so refreshing. There's never a sense of complex reversals or multiple finishers and kickouts. Instead, it's two guys who have been through a war, a series of wars, a lifetime of wars, just trying to keep some sort of advantage and do anything at all that works. They're just trying to stay in it. Moreover, they're working the slight Starr advantage based on the whole of the match. He's the one who hit the back suplex. He's the one who is able to get more jabs in, even if Invader's comeback shots are bigger and bolder. That all plays into the clean finish (even if the transition was anything but clean). Invader isn't diminished at all. Starr looks all the more formidable.

Some of that was the transition. It was the debut of the valet. She had a chair. This was after a first act where Invader had Starr's number, where Starr would give it his best, either with underhanded sneaking knees, or by going over the top with a 1986 STO, but Invader was just too good, always able to turn the situation to his advantage. By setting the stage so clearly and cleanly, they ramped up the heat and fury of the crowd with the great wooden equalizer and allowed for everything that came after.

I can't understate how hugely special this sort of wrestling was. We'll never see its like again.

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DVDVR Puerto Rico 80s Set: Super Medico vs. White Knight (9/19/86)

Disc 3, Match 2: Super Medico vs. White Knight (9/19/86)

This was a match where both guys looked good and the feud felt hot but where I wish the commercial break had been positioned a bit differently. It also presented two academic examples of chinlock utilization: how one that is well worked can enhance a match and how one that's barely worked and is misplaced can screw up an otherwise great match.

Bit of background because PWO's El Boricua was kind enough to provide it to me. Medico was Jose Estrada, Sr., hugely energized by the mask. White Knight was Pat Rose of all people (which, once you realize, actually helps a lot in telling the two apart). The angle was Knight coming in to interfere in another mask vs mask match (against the Original Medic, being Dusty Wolfe). They revealed that Knight was a former Medico partner from the mainland who had come in for revenge.

Both men seemed enhanced by the stage and the setting (being night one of the Anniversary weekend). The brawling to begin was nuts. One thing I've noticed out of the big WWC babyfaces (Colon, Invader, Estrada) is just how great they are at taking back offense during an early part of the match. Knight, here, would come back in and get a few shots in, but it's downright triumphant how Medico would fire back and the crowd responded with appreciation. Really, this left me wanting to see a lot more of Estrada in the Medico gimmick; it's a shame he's not on the set more with it as it really allowed him to channel his charisma. As a whole, the match was very much what you'd want out of a first encounter between these two. The biggest things to complain about here would be the finish and the lack of blood, which I usually don't care about, but when you have two guys with white masks, you end up with an expectation. This was early on a card with tournament matches where clean finishes would likely be necessary so something had to give, and it was the finish here.

The chinlocks then. Knight utilized one a few times to constrain and contain Medico. They worked the hell out of it, engaging the crowd, Medico working big to the last row as he slowly fought his way out and back on to offense (he'd use a nervelock to the same effect later). Later on, however, Medico locked in a babyface version and it killed the match dead. This is where I wish they went to commercial because then i would have never really known. They just sat in it, and really, what else could they do? Knight wasn't going to work his way out of it like a babyface. It's not the sort of revenge hold that makes the crowd feel like they're seeing the heel get punished. It was dead space. I can't imagine this was something Estrada did often but if it was, it would be a mark against him as it was a mark against an otherwise ok match. I do want to see more of Estrada in the Super Medico gimmick though.

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DVDVR Puerto Rico 80s Set: Invader I vs. Ron Starr (Street Fight) (8/17/86)

Disc 3, Match 1: Invader I vs. Ron Starr (Street Fight) (8/17/86)

Well, I'm not regretting starting the PR set back up. That's for sure. This was a blast. There wasn't a whole lot to it structurally or narratively but when you have a set piece like this, you don't really need much.

Here you had a retreating Rambo Ron Starr and a pressing Invader I brawl around a baseball stadium. That's pretty much the match. Starr took it to him from the start. Invader fought back and got the best of him. Starr started running, mounting rear offenses when he could manage, and they ultimately ended back in the ring, trading punches, kicks, stomps, belt shots, and finally more punches, all with escalating selling, paying off with one of the most believable, well-executed double KOs in wrestling history.

Past Invader's selling (with Starr dancing backwards and in heels to match) and the sheer consistency of the driving and retreating pressures, the stadium was the star here. It's just cool to see two guys brawling across a diamond, let alone up into the stands with fans swarming and no real security to be found. I appreciated that Starr didn't break out the belt as a weapon until he was clear of the fans' hands on the dugout roof (and smart that he did since that brought out the bottles). At one point they even end up on top of a truck, somehow trapping the camera in a place where it can't reach the action. You just hear the banging of blows and see distressed WWC employees (I assume) until it finally catches up with things and you see the two of them going at it up there.

This was a war that, instead of crescendoing, diminuendos, the two of them wearing each other down until there's just the still of broken, exhausted bodies and the stretchers to go along with them. I can't wait to see their September match.

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DVDVR Puerto Rico 80s Set: Los Pastores vs. The Invaders (8/2/86)

Disc 2, Match 17: Los Pastores vs. The Invaders (8/2/86)

This was a great little paint by numbers 80s tag. There's nothing more satisfying in wrestling than the southern tag formula done well, and while this was brief at points, nothing in it ever wore out its welcome either.

I've seen a lot of Sheepherders in the last few years between Portland, Houston, and PR, and my biggest takeaway is that while Luke is probably somewhat underrated, it's Butch Miller that was a truly special and unique talent. I can't think of anyone else quite like him. He was always on in the ring, always acting and reacting with weird and engaging physical ticks that portrayed a sense of mania. He'd find these oblique ways to sell, stomping or recoiling or writhing and he'd implement them in his offense as well. It didn't always make logical "real life" sense but it wasn't supposed to. It was heightened reality and it created a sense of both danger and impact. He was affecting everything around him and was equally affected. In fact, throughout a lot of these matches, between the single camera and the video quality and their shared look, I have a hard time telling Luke and Butch apart right up until the point they start moving. While Luke aped it to a degree, Butch's body language is so distinct and fascinating that you ultimately can't mistake them.

I think people have come to resent the terms in the last few years, but they fit and they work and they help classify these matches. Shine. Heat. Comeback/Finish. That's what happened here and each segment was very good for what it was. The shine was exceptional with the Invaders working over Luke's arm at a rapid fire pace, clowning the heels at every point. It was a bit heel-in-peril with the missed tags and miscommunications and babyface cheating but it moved so quickly (which is a testament to both teams and the manager/ref) and finished with a bit of hubris (the distracting of the ref ultimately allowed for a Butch cheapshot from the apron). The heat wasn't hugely interesting offensively, but it had a few really good cut-offs and some great selling by Invader I (who is one of the absolutely greatest sellers ever, so...), with Invader III more than competent as the cheerleading/upset guy on the apron. The hot tag worked well, the comeback was fiery, and frankly, all of the BS at the end was completely fine because it had an ebb and flow to it, the crowd was into it, and it got the Sheepherders over as a threat and the Invaders over as triumphantly courageous. As far as BS DQ finishes go, there was a lot to it and it had weight. Miller's blade job was somehow both obvious and so lightning fast that it was impressive as hell. It's probably the only blade job I've ever seen in such plain sight that somehow still seemed acceptable because of speed he did it.

I've said it before, but I could watch matches like this one all day every day.

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DVDVR Puerto Rico 80s Set: Abdullah the Butcher v. Victor Jovica (Chain Match) (July 1986)

Disc 2, Match 16: Abdullah the Butcher v. Victor Jovica (Chain Match) (July 1986)

This is my first review in a while for SC. Work's been nuts for me since about February and we've got another baby coming in September. I have a bit of a window right now to get some things done though. I should tackle Lucha Underground, but the slots of time I have right now don't fit 45 minute blocks well. Apologies to Eric. Instead, I'm going to keep moving forward with the DVDVR PR set.

I had watched this match before I fell off on these and really enjoyed it. It might be part of why I fell off, because I wasn't sure I could do it justice in a write-up. I'm not entirely sure I can now either but I'll give it my best shot.

This was actually a big surprise. It's one of the best chain/strap matches I've ever seen, a combination of blood, guts, and logical escalation, with a hero (who the Trinidad crowd was absolutely behind), a hugely self-aware monster, a hot crowd, and a great, satisfying finish. I don't believe a word of the announcing, from the crowd size to the way they were painting Jovica as some sort of jobber to the tournament to get the main event slot, none of it. Some of it is entertaining, mind you, but thankfully the match is gloriously minimalist and stands on its own.

This was a bloodbath from the get go with Jovica bleeding and Abby using the chain around his fist to work his wound. It really never looked back. I absolutely loved the use of the chain in the match. It was the great equalizer, as it let Jovica believably come back from the early damage. It was a meaningful object of escalation. When Abby took back over by using his usual "object," the devastation of it felt all the more powerful because he chose to go with that instead of the chain. The escalation worked for Jovica too as he went from chain-assisted punches, to shots to the ribs, to whips, to (one one of his final comebacks) clotheslining shots to the throat followed by outright choking. Every comeback feels earned, intuitive, and clever. You really got the sense that Jovica was trying to figure out how to topple the monster and Abby, to his credit, understood that the chain was an equalizer and that he could be more giving in this match without losing any heat. There was more of a sense of danger for him than usual; some of his desperation tactics, whether it was a punch or kick out of nowhere (with alarming speed) or just him rushing to win the match towards the end, made him come off as a truly wounded beast.

Likewise, the winning gimmick, to touch all four corners was utilized well (and cut off equally) well. There was never a moment where someone seemed like they could have won if they weren't ignoring the gimmick which is a problem in other such matches. It was only when his opponent was beaten down that Abby or Jovica went for it. If one of them tried to touch too early, he'd pay for it. Jovica would use the chain defensively to try to root Abby so he couldn't make it all the way around. Abby would do the same, even rolling out of the ring so that his girth could prevent it. When Jovica finally used the chain in the most PR way possible to get the advantage, it was a big triumphant moment and the crowd realized it; the sound for this one wasn't great, but the roar was impossible to deny. Post-match Abby made sure to get his heat back, which let the babyfaces come down, drive him away, and celebrate with Jovica. Great match, one of the best chain matches of all time.

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DVDVR Puerto Rico 80s Set: Invader I vs. Eric Embry (June 1986)

Disc 2, Match 15: Invader I vs. Eric Embry (June 1986)

At this juncture you might be asking yourself "Why is Matt so unfamiliar with Eric Embry?" It's what I'm asking myself, because I've enjoyed him a lot on the set so far. I think if you took someone from our circle from ten years ago or so, they'd be more familiar with Embry than Ron Starr, by far. That's not the case with me. I've got my gaps. Some are more obvious than others. I'd seen Starr in Portland and Grand Prix and vs Fujinami and even a match here or there in Alabama or Georgia. Embry I had mainly seen as a ~20 year old babyface in Portland where he felt kind of interchangeable with Brian Addias or someone. My Dallas watching has generally been limited because the cult of Von Erich always bugged me when I was younger. Obviously, by the time Embry showed up it was less of a deal but the end result is that I've seen way more Global than later era World Class or USWA Texas. I'll rectify that later, but for now, I've got Puerto Rico to watch.

This was so very good, one of my favorite matches on the set so far. I've seen people underwhelmed by it which surprises me a bit. I think a lot of that has to do with the double countout finish. It felt like a war though, far better than, for instance, a lot of the best of the ten minute early 80s AJPW brawls that end in a similar manner. This told a hell of a story buoyed by Invader's fire, Embry's antics, and the brilliant selling by both of them.

PR expert Boricua helped me with the backstory. Sasha, Embry's former valet is with Invader. He's also lacking his hair. All of this stems from a feud between Embry and Super Medico that ended with a hair match that we have but was far too clipped for the set. Apparently Sasha got fed up with Embry's abuse, Medico came to her rescue, and during the subsequent hair match, Invader got involved.

This match itself was straightforward in the best ways. Invader kills him for the first part of the match. Embry yanks him out of the ring and takes over, destroying Invader on the outside and then pulling him for bombs and pin attempts. Invader fights back, survives a cut off, gets some well-deserved revenge on the outside, and then they both sell the exhaustion by brawling on their knees in the ring and then to the outside for the countout.

So it's a story as old as time, but the execution is just great. Embry manages to stay in it during the shine, always seeming like a threat, if not to Invader than at least to Sasha, but that just makes Invader's mauling of him all the more impactful. Then, when they make it out to the floor, Embry's absolutely brutal, clobbering him with a chair (and following it with an exasperated but triumphant scream to rile the crowd), slamming him into the post or the rail, taking him to the wall and slamming him into that, biting him, and finally pile driving him on a table. He has a 1986 Randy Savage element to his offense in the ring, bounding in from the outside with a single axe handle and launching headbutts both grounded and off the top. At every kick out, he portrays frustration, selling the stakes and doing his part in keeping the crowd invested.

That's more than he needs to do, really, since Invader's so good at it from the point of peril. When Invader finally reverses a suplex and they crash into one another, he's able to get the crowd going just by slapping his own chest a few times. It's ritual and they know their role. They come when called and despite one last pile driver cut off by Embry, Invader rewards them for their devotion. He gets the advantage after Embry goes to the well once too often with the falling headbutt. Invader drags him out, hits him with a chair and sends him back to the far wall, getting full revenge for the previous brutality. They finish it off back in the ring, both of them bloody, exhausted messes, just throwing bombs (punches, headbutts, low blows) at one another while struggling to even kneel, let alone stand. Invader has the advantage here, with Embry bumping through the ropes out to the floor, giving him the moral victory even as the two brawl to the back to bring this to a close.

Yes, sure, a cleaner finish might have been nice, but this still felt like a satisfying moral victory for Invader while keeping Embry strong. Invader was able to return upon Embry almost the exact beating on the outside that he himself received and then was able to knock him out of the ring to finsih the match. Embry, due to his pluckiness, the brutality of his attack on the outside, and the fact that he never quite gave up, even as Invader was taking his pound of flesh, looked strong despite it all, but it was obvious that Invader won the day, even without a clean finish. It just meant that they could go back, and give this to another crowd on another day. Great stuff.

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DVDVR Puerto Rico 80s Set: Carlos Colon vs. Abdullah The Butcher (6/15/86)

Disc 2, Match 14: Carlos Colon vs. Abdullah The Butcher (6/15/86)

This was a complete and utter thought experiment. It's one of those things interesting to see in wrestling, because it validates certain norms. Sometimes you need a match to end on a random move to justify a two count having meaning. Sometimes you need a match to end with an early submission. Sometimes the heel has to hit that grounded axe-handle off the second rope. Sometimes Ric Flair needs to hit a top rope move. It all gives meaning to the ritual. This match, then, was the answer to the question of "what if Colon's early attacks upon Abby's eyes didn't get cut off?" The answer was a long, well-worked, one-sided mauling without much drama.

Colon and Abdullah work different matches structurally, but they all feel the same in key ways. They all feel like wrestling as religion, like the same circle going around. It feels like wrestling mythology. I'll use the word ritual again. I'm lacking context for these matches, and I know there are stories behind them, alliances and turns and affronts that need to be avenged. In a vacuum, though, this feels like the Puerto Rico crowd going to church, going to see that circle completed once again, the two cosmic forces clashing against one another once more in their eternal struggle. Sometimes the balance is in favor of one, sometimes the other. It's wrestling Zoroastrianism, with Ahura Mazda and Ahriman in eternal struggle.

Frankly, it feels like the most natural thing in the world. Nature drives the two of them, Colon charging in aggressively with his shots to the eyes, close in and unrelenting, Abdullah creating space with his retorts to the throat until he can utilize the fork or overpower Colon with sheer girth alone. Here, Colon got the fork out of the way early. Here, he opened Abdullah up early. Here, he refused the temptation to try a slam, laser-focused on the eye instead. On this night, the stars were aligned and the balance had shifted towards Good. Abdullah never had a chance to get going. Colon was cruel, biting, scraping, raking, driving his fingers in, utilizing the ropes, chairs, shoving the ref. Abdullah was giving. He'd try to fire back once or twice, but Colon always bounced back against the ropes with a shot. He was a master at knowing how much to sell, how much to stagger, when to start to sink.

In many ways this was a remarkable, cathartic match. Once the fork was out of play, the crowd didn't really have any reason to go up or down. They were just along for this one-sided ride, ever forward, ever onwards, a worship in blood and violence that took them further and further in a single direction. The match peaked with a monkey flip, one that didn't seem tricky or amusing, but instead strangely brutal. From there, with Abby fully down and Colon continuing on the wound, the doctors started to come in. From there, Abby tried to (valiantly, really) fight back up, but Colon wouldn't let officials or doctors stop him in continuing the punishment. They ultimately called the match, Colon drove Abdullah to the back, pounding on him the entire way, and the crowd carried their hero on their shoulders, evil thoroughly vanquished on this day. Sometimes, I suppose, people just need a win.

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DVDVR Puerto Rico 80s Set: Invader I vs Bruiser Brody (6/15/86)

Disc 2: Match 13: Invader I vs Bruiser Brody (6/15/86)

Ok, let's talk about Brody. There are two ways to look at him. One is relative to the hype. Relative to the hype, Brody is terrible. This is the guy who is lionized as the greatest brawler of all time with awards named after him, who's brought up again and again in shoot interviews by old wrestlers as being great and believable and fearsome. When people in 2016 watch Brody matches on tape and don't see that, it's then pointed out that the fans reacted and he kept getting booked, so obviously the problem is with us as viewers. Some of it is that he can't live up to that level of hype. Some of it is that he simply doesn't. Some of it is that wrestlers value things that we don't. He was a role model to numerous wrestlers in standing up against promoters and that bleeds into how they talk about him in-ring. Apparently, he had amazing stamina which is all Flair ever wants to talk about with him.

The other way is to look at him a vacuum. That paints a slightly better picture. This is a guy who was very savvy about protecting himself and his position and his aura. In some ways he's the opposite of a guy like Terry Funk, who was able to create a legacy through selling. By not giving, Brody could feign toughness and give credence to the wild image. It didn't matter that his stuff didn't look all that good, because he built up enough credit with the fans/media/etc that it didn't have to. In that regard, he was a great "worker," as in he was "working" everyone, ensuring his bookings, granting himself freedom in what bookings he took, and making money. It sure didn't make for great matches, however.

You could even argue that by no-selling so much, especially in early parts of matches, by bumping but then bouncing back up again and again (and usually cutting his opponent off with an eyerake), it allowed for meaning to be bestowed whenever he DID sell. I don't think the evidence bears that out often. Some of that is due to the nature of AJPW tag matches, which is a lot of the Brody footage we have. They don't follow the shine/heat/comeback formula as much, which would allow for such things. We've seen that a bit more in Houston, but unfortunately, a lot of that footage has him as a babyface, which sort of defeats the purpose. Here in Puerto Rico, against a guy like Invader I even in a match that was mostly even, it works better. This was actually one of the best Brody matches I've seen.

When Brody was on top early, it wasn't as good as Invader's matches against Kamala or Abdullah, where he had a real force to sell for, but he's Invader I, so he made it work. When he comes back after a low blow, he's just unrelenting and the sense of escalation in the brawling leads to the arch-typical Brody formula actually working for once. He does start to sell more and more. It's absolutely warranted. And yes, in this particular situation, it means more because of how ungiving he was earlier in the match. When Invader drives Brody off with a chair, it feels like he actually achieved something. It's not easy to make a BS double countout finish mean something, but they managed it here, with the crowd carrying Invader on their shoulders to end the footage.

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DVDVR Puerto Rico 80s Set: Chicky Starr vs. Invader III (Scaffold Match) (May 1986)

Disc 2: Match 12: Chicky Starr vs. Invader III (Scaffold Match) (May 1986)

Past Flair vs Colon, I think this is the first match on the set that I'd actually seen before. At the time it was my first exposure to an Invader as an Invader and Chicky Starr being Chicky Starr. It's a special match, a unique match. The sense of danger and dread made it the first thing I thought of when watching Sasha and Charlotte almost kill each other multiple times a month ago in the cell.

Look, like a lot of people, my first scaffold match was the Great American Bash 91 monstrosity. I've written before how, during my years as a teenager not watching wrestling, a taped version of that show was the only wrestling I owned, and the scaffold match was the first thing on there, so I've seen it as many times as any other human being, I imagine. This is as far from that as possible. I'm not sure if I like it quite as much as some of the big ones out of Memphis, but that's more of a preference issue than a quality one.

They're high up. They're daring. They're absolutely Invader III and Chicky. There's an absolute joy in Chicky being up there and in danger. It's everything wonderful about sticking the manager in a cage about the ring and having him sell it as the worst thing imaginable, just made all the better by there being a scaffold instead of the cage, and having the poor bastard have to fight for his life.

There are a few definitive transitions, a few big moments, including the biggest of Chicky thinking he's won (with the crowd throwing things at him for his swagger), only for Invader to still be hanging on for his life. There are great, perilous punches, a very unlikely dropkick, and plenty of blood. There's a sense of desperate exhaustion as the match goes on, with as believable selling as you can imagine to match. It's that constant sense of danger that really puts it over the top though. They aren't just laying down. It's not a fifteen minute front facelock. There are slams and a suplex. There are stomps and kicks and bumps. At any point either of them could have put a foot the wrong place and more than the match could have been over. That they are able to utilize that as a tool and combine it with hateful biting and pounding and everything else is what makes this work as a one-of-a-kind spectacle. Everyone should see it at least once. It's pretty much the only scaffold match you ever need to see.

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DVDVR Puerto Rico 80s Set: Rock n Roll RPM's vs. The Crusher & Eric Embry (3/29/86)

Disc 2, Match 10: Rock n Roll RPM's vs. The Crusher & Eric Embry (3/29/86)

It's almost unfair to all other 1986 wrestling that Puerto Rico had Chicky and Ron Starr in the same tournament that they had Eric Embry. it's a stooging heel paradise here. This was the finals of the tournament. Crusher was Rip Morgan who had been part of the Miguelito Perez establishment feuding. I have no idea what path Crusher and Embry took to get here. The heels have Sasha at ringside. The babyfaces have Wendi Richter of all people with them, and in some ways, Wendi, always more awkward than anyone remembers, is the perfect second for a third-rate RnR team.

This was a very solid tag in front of a crowd that had to be a little tired of seeing very solid tags. Morgan and Embry stooged well in the shine, and the RPMs, in what had to be the biggest match of their careers, were as energetic as humanly possible. Embry came in bandaged and started bleeding early but never ended up gushing. Wendi got involved early to add insult to injury in the shine.

The heels took over with a low blow and that's where the match got really good. Davis was face in peril and while it's a bit of an alien role for him on paper, he did great with it. There was one point where he couldn't capitalize on hope spots because he was taking too long to use the ropes to get back to his feet, just a very solid bit of selling to logically explain the impending cut off. They worked the hope spots well, in and out, and the crowd was very into this by the end, and worked all of the southern tag tricks. My favorite bit was, after they drew Lane in and distracted the ref, a leverage assisted figure four, which I'm not sure I'd ever seen before.

The finish involved a blind switch, an amazing small package, and a completely unbelievable pop for Lane and Davis. The post-match ambush was maybe even better. I think this was a testament, on some level, that if you have competent, committed babyfaces, a heel-driven southern tag style is always going to work. Davis and Lane did what they had to, but it's not about what they did or didn't do. It's about who they are (and more specifically who they're not). And this was worked well enough that who they happened not to be just didn't matter. That's part of why wrestling is so great. The formula works.

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DVDVR Puerto Rico 80s Set: The Invaders vs. Chicky Starr & Ron Starr (3/29/86)

Disc 2, Match 9: The Invaders vs. Chicky Starr & Ron Starr (3/29/86)

One of the things I'm looking forward to the most with this set is Ron Starr, a lot of Ron Starr. I've seen him in Canada and Portland and Georgia and Japan and St. Louis, but not much of his Puerto Rico run. When I was watching Portland a few years ago and first came across him as Adonis' tag partner in 1979, I had never even heard of him, and that's after having been part of the community for a decade. It's a little like how I hadn't seen much of Crusher Blackwell before the AWA set. Starr was all over the place, a total journeyman, but he was new to me. And he's good, a fiery babyface, a stooging heel, someone who can effectively work so many facets of a match. It's so great that they were able to bring him as a mainstay as Chicky's cousin.

This was nice to break up the string of Rock'n'Roll RPM matches, which were fine so far but I was ready for something different. The Invaders are in masks here, which is their tag team gimmick. They talk about how Invader I uses the heart punch. I haven't seen that yet but I do love the heart punch way more than anyone should as the world's only Stan Stasiak fan. Ron and Chicky are a really natural pair, not quite big dog/little dog, but with a little bit of that combined with Ron's ability to stooge as well and the fact that they have visual similarities.

I thought the match itself was fun, but not perfect. In the grand scheme of things, the shine took up a bit too much of the match and the hope spots came a little too quickly after that. During the heat Chicky used an object at times but there was no focus to it. It was just part of the litany of heeling that they did. They were more than solid in doing interesting things while on offense (including a Hart Attack). The biggest problem with the match was the time limit finish. It may be realistic or believable that a match would just end in a time limit draw without any sense of urgency but it doesn't make for good drama. Wrestling is fake. As something that is fake, they should be able to maximize moments like that in order to craft the best ending possible. They didn't here. Really, this had me excited to see more Chicky and Ron more than anything else.

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DVDVR Puerto Rico 80s Set: The Rock n Roll RPM's vs. The Zambuie Express (3/29/86)

Disc 2, Match 8: The Rock n Roll RPM's vs. The Zambuie Express (3/29/86)

This had a little more meat to it than the previous RPM's match. We've seen some Leroy Brown in the Classics Houston footage lately. I hadn't realized then that he later on became Elijah Akeem. He was limited but effective then, in the late 70s, a good act after his babyface turn with the early use of music (and another guy more over than Dusty in Houston). I've never had strong opinions of the Zambuie Express. They're the sort I would have had little time for when I was a kid and haven't reevaluated. I should say that I do have a soft spot for Mike Davis, though. I grew up on Global as much as anything else, even if only for a year (it being on every day made it feel like more than that), and he was a memorable part of it.

This was a lot of what you'd expect it to be. The size differentiation helped, because it let them fall even further into the traditional formula, and allowed for the RPM's to pick up even more sympathy. They were using quick smart tags early on to contain the Express. It all felt earned enough. They built the heat up by having Davis draw the ref and the Express double team, which was all the more nefarious due to their size advantage. The hot tag came after a missed charge exactly like it should have.

So it was by the numbers, but the numbers added up, and the crowd ate it up. The pop for the underdog win was huge. If you told me that this was Mike Davis' greatest single moment in wrestling, just being able to bask in that pop and the adulation that came along with it, I would absolutely believe you. And hey, the finals were still to come!

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DVDVR Puerto Rico 80s Set: Rock n Roll RPM's vs. Dan Greer & Don Kent (3/29/86)

Disc 2, Match 7: Rock n Roll RPM's vs. Dan Greer & Don Kent (3/29/86)

I'm just slightly behind the wave of people watching the set, I think, and I've seen a couple of reviews of the matches with the RPM's. People are hugely underselling how weird and surreal it is that Lane and Davis are earnest, honest, pretty boy babyfaces in Puerto Rico. We've seen it a dozen times in WWE over the last twenty years, that moment where a parody gimmick forgets that it's a parody gimmick and starts to play straight, usually going from heel to babyface (examples could be Hardcore Holly, Hurricane Helms, even New Day to some extent). It's just nutty to see it with these guys, who were so clearly meant to goof on the Rock'n'Roll Express and the Fantastics and the Fabs and the Rockers. Not only are they playing it straight, despite the fact they look far more like roadies than rockers, but the fans are completely into it.

There's not a ton to this but it's inherently obvious the RPMs have worked enough against babyface opponents to know how to play their roles. All of the posturing and posing and strutting and bouncing is completely ridiculous but it's also broad and works to the back row. I can't take them seriously, but the crowd had no problem doing so. It's always been said that the first team who tries this act regularly in a territory is generally successful with it, so maybe that's just it? If Ricky Rice and Jon Paul showed up as the Top Guns first, who knows? Maybe they would have been super over. Though, I think the Fabs WERE in first, so who knows.

I wish I had more to say about Kent. I haven't seen much Fabulous Kangaroos. He was right around 50 at this point and it showed. He had some good, well-timed and placed shots on offense and obviously knew well enough to let Greer take the bumps but there wasn't a lot to see. Greer, on the other hand, was unexpectedly dynamic. The mummy thing was funny, because obviously after losing the mask match, he wasn't in that gimmick anymore, but he was still called that left and right. He bumped around the ring and stooged up and down for the RPM's. I wouldn't mind seeing more of him.

This was a solid, traditional tag match that was just a little on the slight side and more than a little surreal.

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DVDVR Puerto Rico 80s Set: Carlos Colon vs. Abdullah the Butcher (March 1986)

Disc 2: Match 6: Carlos Colon vs. Abdullah the Butcher (March 1986)

I've watched this one twice now, more by accident than anything else, and I'm still not entirely sure what to say about it. There is a lot of sameness in the Abdullah vs Colon matches we've seen so far, but I think that it becomes more of a strength than a weakness. There's a level of familiarity between the two of them that lets them maximize their narrative opportunities.

There are two specific moments I'd point out here where it's obvious Colon knew how to work with Abby. The first is early on, in the shine/opening back and forth, where Colon takes the fight to him once again and Abdullah tries to fire back with the throat shots when he can. At one point, Colon has him staggered, but positions him perfectly in the ropes so that he can sit on the second rope and get a breather while he's being beat upon. It makes it seem like he's being rocked all the more when he's actually taking a second for himself. The second is much the same, but on the floor and in the comeback, where Colon positions Abdullah in a chair outside to better beat on him. It's obviously to let Abby catch his breath but they're able to work it in as an almost iconic moment of Colon unleashing righteous fury upon him.

I think it's also worth noting, at this point in the set, how Colon's selling is different than Invader's. Whereas Invader's goal seems to be to draw sympathy and build to his comebacks, Colon's is laden with him bouncing back against the ropes to score another hit, even from underneath, and constantly struggling to get back into the fight. It's more aggressive and aimed to portray his toughness and how he's an ace.

Ultimately, this was as solid as anything else. They showed the usual intensity and weight in the opening exchange. I liked Abby working over Colon's eye and Colon getting revenge later on. The comeback beating on the floor was good. It loses a few points for an overly BS-heavy finish but some of that probably has to do with context I don't have. It's a great rivalry but I'm not entirely sure I need to see it six times on a set.

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DVDVR Puerto Rico 80s Set: Carlos Colon vs. Jos LeDuc (Barbed Wire Match) (2/22/86)

Disc 2: Match 5: Carlos Colon vs. Jos LeDuc (Barbed Wire Match) (2/22/86)

It's a little bit hard to follow an Invader match with a Colon match. It's not that Colon's lacking. It's just that Invader borders on selling transcendence. Here, though, it doesn't really matter. This was all about Leduc. I love watching these big stadium shows and looking for how the wrestlers work a crowd that big and that distant.

Leduc was absolutely brilliant here in using his body language and the barbed wire. First, they set up just a little anticipation as he came in with his lumberjack shirt on and that protected him for a moment. It let Colon take an early advantage, however, as he pulled it up over his head and blinded him, before yanking it off. From there, the shine was all about Leduc having nowhere to go and trying desperately not to stagger into the ropes after every shot from Colon. It's something very easy to take for granted as I had to stop and think about how much a normal might move someone in a normal match. Less than this. Leduc was exaggerating how out of control his body went after each shot in order to build up the possibility that he might go crashing into the barbed wire. Just great stuff.

The heat wasn't quite as compelling. That's only half true, actually. On camera, it was pretty good, with a lot of close ups of Leduc tearing at Colon's mouth with the wire, but it probably wasn't doing much for the crowd considering only one quarter of the stadium could probably see it and then without much detail. There are some times where things aren't better left up to one's imagination. I did like, in the attempt at escape and recovery, that Colon just had nowhere to go. He needed the ropes to help him back to his feet. The ropes were radioactive and he couldn't touch them. The way he portrayed that crisis within the match was very strong.

During the comeback, I was wondering whether or not he was going to go with the cartwheel. He did. It was just slightly off camera. I just don't know. Obviously, it was ritualistic. It was something the crowd expected. It was symbolic. There are times that I love it, like after a hot tag or against a guy like Flair. I'm not sure it was entirely appropriate in a blood barbed wire match, but that's me thinking about it in a vacuum and out of context. I do think this was hurt by the fact we couldn't hear the crowd noise. The crowd was probably coming unglued on the comeback and we just couldn't hear it.

Anyway, despite a few things I wish they did differently on the heat, this was another strong match. I particularly loved that they treated the barbed wire with so much respect. It shouldn't be gratuitous or just supplemental. It was front and center here and every time it was used it meant something.

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DVDVR Puerto Rico 80s Set: Kamala vs. The Invader (2/22/86)

Disc 2: Match 4: Kamala vs. The Invader (2/22/86)

This was awesome. It's also a sign of how screwy this set is. This wasn't at all a complete match in a conventional sense. You can't easily compare this to Flair vs Colon or whatever. That doesn't mean it wasn't excellent, because it was! They had a goal. They executed it. It was compelling, not just due to what they were trying to do but due to the unique talents at play, but the points of comparison are just tough to sync. This is why I like comparing wrestlers way more than comparing matches. You can isolate what Kamala and Invader I did here, why it was special and how it created a total effect (and I'm about to) but what they were shooting for just can't easily compare to a more complete narrative that had more time and was meant to serve as a full main event.

The narrative, put simply was this: Kamala is a monster. Invader I (the character of, at least) is a valiant homegrown fighter. He's come in with an obvious disadvantage made even worse by preexisting injuries, bandaged, one poke away from bleeding. Kamala would have been a great challenge at his best. Here, the monster was insurmountable. They start off toe-to-toe, Invader matching him blow for blow. Kamala's overhand chops target the injury. Invader fights back equally. Kamala tears off the bandage and opens him up once again. Invader starts to stagger as he fights back, weakening. Kamala keeps up the targeted onslaught and Invader goes from fighting back to trying to fight back to just trying to stay on his feet. Finally, he can no longer stand. Kamala drinks in his blood, walks around with his belly-slapping taunt and Invader's roused to one last attempt at fighting back. It's valiant as can be, but not enough, and the ref throws out the match. After the match Kamala ascends to launch a top rope splash but the ref pulls him away (the threat of it more than enough) and the doctor checks on Inavder.

It's an unusual story. We don't generally see something so one-sided. That it was effective was all in the execution. Invader's selling isn't just unique; it's singular. The way that he gradually shifted his body language to show his burgeoning weakness was amazing. He was selling not just from the blows, but in showing the effects of them any time he tried to fire back, often tossing his entire body desperately into an attack. At one point, he was gasping up his own blood, making sure to milk it for all that it was worth. Kamala was as vicious as you'd ever seen him. I'm sure someone out there with knowledge of "real fighting" would laugh at the overhand chops, but this is wrestling and they are symbolic: Kamala is a monster so everything he does is more dangerous through presentation; he's targeting the bloody forehead so the blows are better through focus; Invader is selling them like death. That's everything that makes wrestling wonderful. Through collaboration, presentation, focus, blood, and committed reaction, they create the illusion of truth.

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DVDVR Puerto Rico 80s Set: Carlos Colon & Miguel Perez Jr. vs. Los Pastores (January 1986)

Disc 2: Match 3: Carlos Colon & Miguel Perez Jr. vs. Los Pastores (January 1986)

At the time of writing this, we're still waiting for La Boricua to start his sure-to-be-awesome history/context bits that were delayed due to a Puerto Rican island wide power outage (EDIT: He has started it and it is great: http://prowrestlingonly.com/index.php?/topic/35658-historycontext-thread/). I pulled together some stuff on my own, which is probably going to be shortly moot by the time this drops, but it shaped how I saw the match: Perez is obviously the son of a huge star (and Colon partner). He was somewhere between 19 and 20 at this point and had debuted back in 1985 in an angle with his dad and Eric Embry, leading to his debut match which he won (by countout with a big celebration afterwards). Prior to this tag, he had a feud with Rip Morgan as the Crusher. They'd want him as a draw for the 86 Anniversary show, challenging Flair on night 2 of 3, so this is all part of the build, teaming with Colon and wrestling the dreaded, triple-tough Sheepherders. With the way that they had completely destroyed the Sheepherders at the end of 85, you have to wonder about diminishing returns here, but for this specific purpose, they still meant something and could help to let Perez prove his toughness.

And here, he was able to as a face in peril. After the initial brawling, he ate a knee to the back from the outside in a rope-running exchange. They targeted the back for a little bit, drew Colon in for double-teams, and had some interesting offense (not just the double gutbuster, but also a great move where they charged Perez, back first into a foot in the corner). Perez was fine as a face-in-peril, but you could tell his lack of experience in some things like how he hit the corner on a whip.

Colon's hot tag was great. The tag itself not so much, but the house of fire bits. His cartwheel is always effective in its own way, as the crowd's into it and he tends to know exactly when to do it, but here, it was part of him entering the ring and dodging the first Sheepherder punch which was absolutely perfect. I have to imagine he did that throughout his career when coming in after a hot tag because it's too good a spot not to run into the ground. The comeback was properly fiery but things went around in circles a few too many times at the end with Perez looking a little rough and the sense of drama slowly fizzling out. I think it served its purpose in helping Perez on, however. As a bonus, them destroying the Sheepherders after the match with chairs and the guardrail to the sounds of upbeat Caribbean music is a true highlight of the set up to this point.

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DVDVR Puerto Rico 80s Set: Invader III vs. Eric Embry (1/6/86)

Disc 2: Match 2: Invader III vs. Eric Embry (1/6/86)

Ok, this one's on me. Look, I've got a blind spot when it comes to Dallas based wrestling. It's the crowds. I just can't stand the Von Erich hero worship. I've seen my share of 1984 because you almost have to, but in general? Nope, not even the USWA combined stuff. Nothing until Global. That means my major exposure to Eric Embry has been bland 1980 Portland Babyface Embry. "May be confused for Brian Adidas" Embry. Sometimes I do it to myself.

He was tremendous here. There's a category of wrestler I love, that Rip Rogers, Chris Colt, Bobby Bass, Eddie Mansfield, Buddy Landell stooging, sleazy, stalling, goony sort, and Embry's perfect in that role here, puffy cheeked facial expressions, reacting big and broad to everything that happens to him, strutting his way ridiculously into danger, waggling his finger to draw the ref in so that he can complain about imaginary slights. Then when he's on top, he cheats like crazy to stay there, grins enjoying every second of it, and draws so much heat.

Which means, of course, we don't get a proper comeback moment in this first part due to a commercial break. Incomplete again. That said, once again, you almost don't care because what comes after is so good, with Invader III targeting the leg, tearing off protective gear and whipping out a nice, varied bit of offense as Embry squirms dramatically. He stays alive only through eyepokes and punches from his knees, and a great pulling, one legged pile-driver out of nowhere. There's a moment where he heads up the ropes to get thrown off, and unlike when other people do it, everyone in that crowd knew he'd be too slow due to the weak leg, so there's this awesome moment of anticipation for the doom that's about to come to him. It felt totally natural though, just desperation and hubris and the stupid of his character in that instance.

Anyway, this just keeps on building and building, with a lot of kick outs but none of them feeling egregious, all of them just ramping up the heat until Invader pays it off with the first real dive on the set, a crushing tope suicida that leads to the crowd counting along with the ref and Embry with his shattered leg not able to beat the count. I wish we didn't lose that first comeback moment because I bet it was great, but what followed it was more important and moreover, what we do have here is all really tremendous.

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DVDVR Puerto Rico 80s Set: Invader I vs. Chicky Starr (1/6/86)

Disc 2: Match 1: Invader I vs. Chicky Starr (1/6/86)

Disc 1 was fun but underwhelming. It's installed a worry in me for the set as a whole. It was a series of matches which were somehow incomplete. Either there were damaging cuts due to commercials or the matches themselves were missing one element or another either in the build or the payoff. That's been the case with other Disc 1s I've seen though, which, in the earlier years of the decade, tends to be the "beggars can't be choosers" disc. Here, though, we're already all the way through 1985.

Thankfully, Disc 2 starts well with Invader I vs Chicky Starr. There's no way I can call this complete though. We have no idea how Chicky got the initial advantage as the tape rolls from the Sport Shop setting this up right to him starting the beatdown. There's no proper ending either, with Chicky running for his life in the midst of the comeback and drawing a countout. I almost don't care though. The 3/4th of a match that we actually have here was just so good.

Look, I'm not going to say that selling is the only thing that matters in wrestling, but it is. Selling creates meaning. Selling is the glue that holds up the suspension of disbelief. Strong enough selling can overcome any weakness in offense or execution or imagination. You can have fast paced action but it'll never have any weight to it if it's not married to selling. It is the be all end all. And despite any personal failings he may or may not have as a human being, Invader I is one of the best sellers I've ever seen.

Like I said, this started with Chicky in control, and he just stayed on him, rolling in and out and laying in more damage on the floor. Invader had such space to work with out there, given the gap between the ring and the crowd. It was his stage and he was visible to everyone upon it. He'd stagger after Chicky's hammer blows, would stagger around the ring trying to recover, and in doing so would rouse the crowd and gain their sympathy. No one in that crowd thought any of the less of him when he finally, heroically, made it into the ring only to get stomped upon on the way in. When Chicky would control him back with a pretty lame armbar, it was the blood and the body language, the exhaustion, the selling, that made it seem weighty and painful and nefarious. To Chicky's credit, he made a point of showing off that bloody head to the crowd at every point. They milked some very minimalist hope spots with Chicky cruel in his cutoffs. In one moment, right before the real comeback, Invader was out on the floor, using the guardrail to even stand, and Chicky was like a peacock in the ring. The amount of garbage the crowd was throwing was way over the top for it. Beautiful heat.

The comeback came and it was, on the one hand, a complete tease, Invader shaking off the damage in rage and anger and heroics, charging back in and fighting through the pain, only for Chicky to run. On the other hand, though, it felt somehow satisfying, just in the act of him overcoming, which feels like a rare feat. It was alright that Chicky didn't get his full comeuppance on this night (there would be others), because Invader, still selling with a stagger, had overcome adversity for each and every single person in that crowd. What a singular master.

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DVDVR Puerto Rico 80s Set: Carlos Colon & The Invader vs. Los Pastores (Ambulance Match) (12/21/85)

Disc 1: Match 14: Carlos Colon & The Invader vs. Los Pastores (Ambulance Match) (12/21/85)

I'm not even entirely sure what to do with this. To begin, it's amazing. It's just wonderful wrestling spectacle and a beautiful and appropriate way to end the disc. It feels like something that could only exist in Puerto Rico. It's not really a conventional match by any means. Realistically, I should be ranking the disc at this point, but I'm going to duck that for now, precisely due to "matches" like these.

The Sheepherders had a reign of terror in Puerto Rico, injuring people, insulting the natives, causing havoc. This was them getting their comeuppance and being driven out of the territory. It was about the most definitive version of such a thing that I've ever seen and past certain key title changes or hair matches, this could possibly be the happiest a crowd has ever been sent home in wrestling.

It's not really much of a match. There's not much of a sense of danger for the babyfaces. They get worked over for a few minutes and then some of those poor souls that the Sheepherders had injured come back and beat them with weapons for about three times longer than the match had been at that point. It's basically a bloody tarring and feathering (but not a literal one, save for the blood part).

The crowd goes absolutely nuts for all of this, with the very best moment, and maybe the best single moment on Disc 1 being someone in the crowd swiping at Luke and a security guard with a big stick threatening him. Holy crap. I think in front of most other crowds, the sheer length of this would have almost made the Sheepherders sympathetic. I was feeling bad for them by the end. That wasn't a worry here though. This was as one-dimensional as it gets, but it's a dimension you'll never forget.

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