El Deporte de las Mil Emociones: The King of Kong

Week 50: The King of Kong

EB: It was supposed to settle the feud. A cage with a roof and a lock on the door to ensure no interference. Finally, we would settle things once and for all between Carlos Colon and Dick  Murdoch. But it seems that Murdoch had a plan, as Joe Don Smith was able to pass Murdoch a piece of barbed wire through a hole in the fencing. Murdoch proceeded to attack and cut up not just Carlos Colon with the barbed wire, but also attack and cut up referee El Vikingo as well. The match had no definitive winner and it seems Murdoch’s actions are under review by the WWC committee due to his attack on the referee. While that matter is under review, one more match has been signed between Colon and Murdoch. It is scheduled for April 6 in Carolina and it has a few stipulations attached. Due to the attack with the barbed wire, the match will be a barbed wire match. In addition, to ensure that Joe DonSmith cannot interfere in any way, he will be locked inside a small cage that will be suspended above the ring. Will this finally settle this feud? 

Another long running feud that has apparently reached its climax is the one between Action Jackson and TNT. This feud was restarted in January when the Original TNT made his return to Puerto Rico and continued even after TNT had claimed the sole rights to the TNT name. After three months, TNT has been able to defeat ActionJackson and regain the TV title. But it seems that Action is getting a title rematch at the upcoming TV taping, so we will have to see if this finally settles the issue. Let’s go to the April 6 episode of Campeones to find out once and for all if the rivalry between TNT and ActionJackson can finally be put to rest.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGCLcUayh-0

Hugo and Profe welcome the viewers to another episode of Campeones on TeleOnce. They run down who will be inaction on today’s program (including a name we have not heard of before), when Hugo mentions that we will go to what happened last Wednesday at the TV taping when Action Jackson was facing the new TV champion TNT. We cut to TNT having Action in the Cobra Dinamita when a huge masked guy climbs into the ring and attacks TNT from behind. This man is known as King Kong and he is the latest acquisition of Gen. Skandor Akbar. Kong attacks TNT, finishing the attack with a splash off the top turnbuckle. It looks like the TNT has finally gotten past action Jackson and already has someone new targeting him. Kong continues stomping on TNT until reinforcements arrive to make the save. 

Back to Hugo and Profe, and Profe is gushing about how impressive and wonderful King Kong’s first impression was. Hugo says that because of this attack, tonight’s card in Carolina is undergoing a change. Instead of facing Motor City Madman, TNT will now be facing King Kong. Hugo also says that TNT wants to send his apologies to the fans for not being able to appear on the Thursday and Friday shows due to the attack (with El Profe interjecting ‘and tonight's as well!’), but Hugo says TNT says he will be there tonight. Also tonight, a huge main event as the Universal title will be defended in a barbed wire match and Joe Don Smith will be suspended 15 feet above the ring in a small cage to prevent him from interfering. Last week, it was Joe Don who passed the barbed wire to Dick Murdsoch that was promptly used to hurt both the referee and Carlos Colon. Hugo says that the WWC is reviewing all of these things DickMurdoch has done and may be deciding soon what actions to take against this individual. Profe is looking forward to seeing Carlos Colon torn apart by the barbed wire and Dick Murdoch as the new Universal champion.Hugo says we will have video of what happened last week as well as some special interviews, but these seem to be edited off the version of this episode we have available. Hugo finishes by promoting the merchandise available for fans to purchase tonight and also plugs an amateur boxing tournament that was happening that night as well in Miramar (where they tape their TV). Again, please remember to buy your tickets at the box office, protect your money.

MD: As best as I can figure here, this King Kong is actually Awesome Kong and not King Kong II who is the King Kong that teamed with Awesome Kong as part of the Colossal Kongs. Got it? Regardless, this was pretty effective overall. He had good presence in framing the moment after TNT crashed into him off the ropes and moved pretty well heading up to the top for a splash.

EB: Our first match is Huracan Castillo vs Rick Valentine, an offshoot of the Caribbean tag title change from a couple of weeks back. Valentine blindsides Castillo before Huracan can take off his ring jacket. Valentine controls for a couple of minutes before Castillo comes back and finishes Valentine off with a body press. Short match as Valentine is finishing up his year long run.

MD: I think this week might be just about it for ol’ Kerry Brown in Puerto Rico at least this time around. You have to admire the run that he had. This was a pretty compact affair where he attacked Castillo before he got his jacket off and they skipped the shine to go straight to the heat. Valentine was focused and effective and had a nice neckbreaker. Castillo came back with energy and jumping knees and won it clean without any real drama with a body press. Professional stuff at least.

EB: The California Studs have done very well in their run so far and have moved into position to challenge for the World tag team titles.They were not successful last week, but Akbar, Lee and Anthony cut a promo on facing Bronco and Invader tonight in a rematch. Akbar promises the gold will be theirs tonight. Bronco and Invader respond by saying it won’t be easy, with Bronco saying you have to go it there willing to fight, willing to die, willing to kill if they want to get these World tag titles.Invader puts over the quality of the Studs and they will be ready when that bell rings. 

MD: Still amusing to see how the choreography is off. Akbar starts speaking and sticks the mic in Lee’s face but they all have to wait for the voice over to be done. Lee talks and does the “tell ‘em, big man” for Anthony (which is funny in its own right) and then they have to wait again. I do like how this is where Devastation Inc. ended up between World Class and Global. Invader and Bronco don’t necessarily seem as hot about this program as Studs do. Anthony’s talking about how they left the babyfaces laying in their blood and Invader’s talking more about conditioning and competition. 

EB: We saw him debut earlier in the program by attacking TNT, but here is our first look at King Kong in a match. His opponent is Jerry Mercado and it goes as well as you would expect for poor Mercado. Hugo on commentary says that he's heard that this King Kong weighs 450 pounds and Kong makes quick work of Jerry. A big splash gets the three count and poor Jerry is stretched out after the match. Akbar has found quite the big gun here.

MD: Kong has the cool barbarian robe deal, so that’s a plus. He does a kick (just an okay kick), then a DDT of all things and the splash you’d expect and I reiterate that he’s moving around int here pretty well. That’s the whole match. They stretcher Mercado out after the fact. There’s every sense that the top guys (Colon, Invader, etc.) could do something with him but I’d wonder what he and Giant Warrior could do with each other.

EB: Profe is with Scott Hall and they talk about Hall’s match tonight against Giant Warrior. It is for the Caribbean title and Hall says it will take more than face paint, arm ribbons and some screaming fans to beat the blond outlaw. Warrior responds by reminding Hall that he beat Hall in the bullrope match and that he is looking forward to winning that Caribbean title.

MD: We have to be running out of time on Hall too but at least we get to see him do all of his hand gestures while Profe talks. Warrior won a recent bullrope match so now he gets a shot at the Caribbean title.

EB: Our main event is a match that took place recently between the California Studs and the team of Giant Warrior and Ricky Santana. Anthony and Santana start off by exchanging punches, followed by Santana getting the better of Anthony on a corner whip. The crossbody by Santana is broken up by Lee and all four men are in the ring. Warrior and Ricky send the Studs out with a double team (Warrior holds santana while Ricky kicks the Studs). The Studs regroup and Brian Lee is tagged in. The match continues with Ricky in control by using his speed to counter Lee and Anthony. It gets to the point where Lee has to rub Anthony’s shoulders to psych him up. A blind tag to Lee finally allows the Studs to take control when Ricky is blindsided by a Lee clothesline. Lee distracts the referee by taunting Giant Warrior and drawing him into the ring, allowing Tony Anthony to attack Ricky on the arena floor. The Studs keep Santana isolated but a couple of missed moves by Anthony allows the tag to be made. Warrior briefly cleans house on the Studs. All four men are in the ring and it leads to Santana getting a small package on Anthony that is reversed by Lee. The Studs get the win. Hugo complains that they stole that win and then starts doing one last hard sell for tonight’s show as the video cuts.

MD: The Studs really fit in well. If I had my choice, maybe there’d be more contrast between Lee and Anthony but it’s also a lot of fun to see Lee stooging so huge. He ran a sequence with Santana early here where he won on shoulder tackles but then lost on speed and it was full of him flexing, pinballing, stalling, stooging, escaping outside of the ring and it was great stuff. Warrior had a nice big where he lifted up Santana to kick everyone too. Heat was on Santana after a nice blind tag transition (Anthony leapfrogged him and he ran right into a clothesline) and they built well to the hot tag to Warrior. Finish had Santana get a roll up as the ref was distracted and Lee pushing them over so Anthony could win. You could put the Studs against any two guys in the territory and it’d probably be good.

EB: We now go to the west coast version of Super Estrellas from the same day.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MQ1Q-wa60g

The version we have starts with a Rick Valentine vs Giant Warrior match already in progress. Valentine jumped Warrior before Warrior was able to get his ring jacket off. Sound strategy but Warrior is able to shake Valentine off and gets the win while still wearing his ring jacket. And that should be it for Rick Valentine in CSP.

MD: Similar to the Castillo match in Valentine attacks before the ring jacket comes off. It doesn’t go quite as well for him as Warrior is just too big. They go back and forth a bit but Valentine runs into a boot and maybe this is it for him?

EB: We get a series of interviews regarding matches for tomorrow’s house show in Quebradillas. Monster Ripper is facing Sasha in a non-title match. Ripper reminds everyone that she is the champ and that she won't let Sasha beat her to get a title shot. Sasha is garbage, a worm and she will prove it tomorrow. Sasha responds by urging the fans to support her tomorrow as she looks to get another title shot and bring the title to Puerto Rico.

Ricky Santnaa is facing Gran Mendoza tomorrow and the topic is that controversial glove that Mendoza uses. Ricky sends a hello to the fans in Quebradillas and Hugo says that the ladies are especially looking forward to seeing Ricky tomorrow.

MD: Not a lot to say about these. Ripper’s got the belt. Sasha wants the belt. She wants to give it back to the people of Puerto Rico. And Santana has to contend with Gran Mendoza and his loaded glove. We’ll hear from him later.

EB: Up next is Dick Murdoch taking on Kim Duk. Duk threatens Murdoch with the kendo stick while trying to enter the ring, with Murdoch begging off. Murdoch snatches the kendo stick from the ref when he is trying to put it away, but is not able to use it before the ref takes it back. Murdoch then tries to jump Duk when he has his back turned for the salt ceremony, but Duk catches Murdoch and wards him off with the threat of salt being thrown. As the match goes on, Hug takes a moment to explain what happened the previous weekend during the cage match between Carlos Colon and Dick Murdoch. Joe Don Smith slid a piece of barbed wire through the cage fencing to Dick Murdoch, which Murdoch used to attack and cut up not just Carlos Colon but the referee as well. Hugo says the incident is being evaluated by the WWC committee and we have to see what decision they reach regarding this disgusting and unprofessional action. In the ring, Murdoch takes control due to some dirty tactics and controls most of the match with punches and elbows. Duk eventually starts punching back and goes off on Murdoch for the last couple of minutes (with some great stooging and begging off from Murdoch). Duk gets the cobra clutch on Murdoch and it looks like he may have Murdoch down, but Joe Don Smith jumps in for the dq. Duk chases Smith but Murdoch attacks from behind and they briefly double team Duk. Murdoch then wraps a cord around Duk’s throat and chokes him out. Duk wins by dq but Murdoch has left him down.

MD: Murdoch, as always, is great to watch. He had antics at the start with the kendo stick. His hands were going all over the place throughout. He controlled most of it and all of his offense looked great, but when Duk was ready for his comeback, he took everything and made it look ten times better and a hundred times more entertaining than usual. He ended up in the cobra clutch but Joe Don (in full baseball gear) broke it up for the DQ with them double teaming Duk and leaving him laying after the fact. 

EB: El Galan Mendoza is next with Monster Ripper and Mendoza claims he is making his return (dude, you’ve been around since January). He is facing Ricky Santana tomorrow. Hugo brings up his glove and Mendoza is aghast that Hugo would say such a thing about any illegal use. They are followed by Akbar and the California Studs, their opponents tomorrow are TNT & Kim Duk, who close this section with comments of their own.

MD: Mendoza, on his own with Ripper, as much as I think he’s a solid talent, is kind of punching above his weight here. It is nice to see Duk and TNT together after all they’ve been through since Duk was brought in as heel TNT’s karate associate.

EB: We next get the King Kong vs Jerry Mercado match we had on Campeones. King Kong will be in action tomorrow in Quebradillas against Miguelito Perez. 

MD: This is the same match from the other show. Akbar is always respectful of Perez, Sr. but he really wonders what Perez Jr. is thinking going up against Kong.

EB: Dick Murdoch is bragging about taking Joe Don to his ranch in Texas and putting him to work. Then he has some words for Giant Warrior, who he is facing tomorrow in Quebradillas. Afterwards, Giant Warrior says that Murdoch is a tough man but he will not back down.

MD: Murdoch has fun confusing the town of Quebradillas with a food. He does a good job of putting Giant Warrior over as dangerous but also indicating it won’t matter a bit.

EB: We have the El Bronco music video that was done when he debuted back in December 1990..

MD: This is not at all important but considering how much Bronco’s valet is featured in this video I wonder why she’s never around. It could also be an old video from when he was coming in the first time?

EB: We have another series of promos for tomorrow’s card, as Action Jackson is facing Bronco tomorrow and he mocks Bronco's dancing. Bronco promises he will not be made a fool off tomorrow, and Miguelito Perez promises to do his best for the fans tomorrow against a guy that is big.  

MD: Jackson’s really funny because he’ll toss it over to Profe and then just keep talking as Profe talks over him with the mic and it’s certainly memorable if not particularly effective. 

EB: The California Studs are facing the team of Super Medico #3 and Invader #4. The tecnicos do well early on but Invader #4 falls prey to a Tony Anthony punch and then Lee proceeds to take over once tagged in. They work over Invader #4, but eventually the hot tag is made. All four men are in and the tecnicos are briefly in control again until Medico #3 misses a charge and is clotheslined on the top rope. This allows Brian Lee the opening to hit his flying kneedrop and get the pin. 

MD: They have the match bookended by the Studs video. Medico III and Invader IV is actually a pretty smart team now that Invader I is with Bronco and Medico I had to hang it up. Invader IV is pretty spry and agile and Medico III has some size and his dad’s striking (though not quite as good). I get the sense they don’t run with this pairing for long though. Here they were there to put over the Studs. More good stooging and controlling the ring (with some Akbar interference). Finish had Invader IV make the hot tag but Lee able to redirect Medico’s throat over the top rope and then he hit the bombs away knee from the top clean to get the pin. Studs train keeps on rolling. 

EB: Our final match for the episode is Doug Gilbert taking on Ricky Santana. The first half of the match has a focus of both wrestlers working over each other's arms, with Gilbert then controlling the middle portion with some chinlocks. Ricky comes back and they end up taking a not smoothly executed tumble over the top rope to the outside. They start fighting as the ref counts them both out. Hugo then closes the show. 

MD: This wasn’t a lot to write home about. The early bits where Gilbert controlled the arm by pulling the hair repeatedly were done well, but a lot of the middle chunk were chinlocks where he wasn’t as active as he could have been. He’s not exactly a force, just sort of a heel presence on the midcard, and they ended up protecting both of these guys with a double countout.    

Carlos Colon vs Dick Murdoch barbed wire match from April 6 in Carolina

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fSbbbCKVsY

EB: We finally have a match from the Carlos Colon and Dick Murdoch feud. This is a barbed wire match where Joe Din Smith will be suspended in a cage above the ring so he can't interfere. We begin with Joe Don already above the ring in a cage as Colon and Murdoch are facing off. Colon is able to back Murdoch up into a corner and it seems Murdoch's tights have gotten caught on the barbed wire Murdoch asks referee Victor Quiñonez to help remove the barbed wire from his butt.Colon and Murdoch start exchanging punches again (although Murdoch takes a moment to sell the pain of being pricked in the buttock by the barbed wire) and Murdoch is the first one to try to shove his opponent's face into the wire. Carlos fights Murdoch off and avoids going into the wire. Murdoch flips off Colon. They continue exchanging blows and we get a camera shot where we can see Joe Don hanging above the ring. Murdoch manages to knock Carlos down and starts signalling to Joe Don. It seems they have a plan and it involves Joe Don lowering a blackboard with some instructions written on it. Joe Don has hidden some wire cutters near the ring and the blackboard is telling Murdoch where they are at. Murdoch heads to a corner and finds the wire cutters, and puts them to use by cutting off a piece of barbed wire.  Murdoch then uses the piece of wire to choke Carlos. It is no dq so the ref can only watch and see if Carlos gives up. Murdoch headbutts the ref for good measure to ensure he doesn’t intervene and stop the choking with the wire. Carlos is able to break out of the choke by foul kicking Murdoch and then proceeds to give him a taste of his own medicine by choking Murdoch with the wire. The ref finally is able to toss out the wire and Carlos scrapes Murdoch's head on the barber wire. 

Murdoch is bleeding and Carlos continues the attack by working over the cut. However, Murdoch cuts that off with a foul blow of his own. Murdoch rams Colon’s head into the wire and is in control as Joe Don uses the blackboard to send down this message of encouragement: ‘You're winning!’.Carlos is now bleeding and is sent back first into the barbed wire. Murdoch continues punching (with taped fists) and Carlos catches his arm on the wire. Murdoch continues working over Colon’s forehead but eventually Carlos makes a comeback.Carlos sends Murdoch into the wire a couple of times and we see Joe Don banging on the cage in frustration. Murdoch rakes Colon’s eyes to stop the attack. Murdoch gets a piledriver for a two count and then signals to Joe Don for something. Joe Don lowers some brass knuckles, but Carlos intercepts them. Carlos wallops Murdoch with the knuckles and gets the pinfall win. The crowd cheers as Colon has his hand raised. Carlos wants to continue attacking Murdoch but the ref waves him off. We still have Joe Don above the ring in the cage, looking defeated. 

We cut to when Joe Don’s cage is being lowered, and Carlos goes back into the ring. He decks Murdoch with a punch that sends Murdoch head first into the bottom of the small cage. Murdoch is knocked out and Joe Don is trapped in the cage with an angry Carlos Colon waiting for him. Carlos rolls out of the ring to wait for the cage to be lowered, while Joe Don starts begging for them to lift the cage back up. Carlos has the knuckles and is yelling for them to lower that cage. The ref opens the cage door as we see Murdoch slowly roll out of the ring, still a bit out of it. Carlos stalks Murdoch who then motions to Colon and points at Joe Don in the ring to try to get Colon off his back. It works as Carlos gets in the ring and unleashes some frustration on Joe Don. Murdoch does eventually come back in to get Colon to back  off, but Joe Don took quite a few lumps. Carlos has gotten some measure of payback on both Murdoch and Joe Don.  .  

MD: We’re lucky to have this one. Joe Don Smith was elevated over the ring in a small cage. It’s more or less what you’d want from a barbed wire match but with that Dick Murdoch twist. It started with his trunks getting caught on the wire and it didn’t really look back. He controlled after a low blow but then Colon came back after one. Meanwhile, Murdoch’s idea for the match, which was wonderful in practice, was to use a small blackboard to trade instructions back and forth with Smith. It was pretty comedic in practice. Super entertaining. At one point, he sent down a note saying how great a job Murdoch was doing. 

I think early on he got Murdoch some wire cutters so he could cut off a part of the wire to use to choke Colon. Of course Colon got it himself later. After the cartwheel, Colon used headbutts and they all seemed to twist Murdoch about and send him headlong into the wire. He bled big. Finish had Murdoch get a pile driver and then, confident, ask Smith for knucks. Colon got them and won the match. Post-match was all about Colon getting his hands on Smith and to set it up, as the cage was being lowered, they pulled off one of the greatest stooge bumps I’ve ever seen, as Murdoch missed a shot and got nailed right into the lowered cage, getting KOed. That let Colon unload on Smith before Murdoch could recover and pull him away. This was really a blast. Maybe it needed just a bit more of Colon getting ripped apart but otherwise, it was great stuff.

EB: Next time on El Deporte de las Mil Emociones, TNT seeks payback against the massive King Kong, Galan Mendoza gets a new tag partner, and the California Studs paint the town red (well, the ring at least).  

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El Deporte de las Mil Emociones: So That's Where The Stairs In Caguas Lead To...

Week 49: So That's Where The Stairs In Caguas Lead To...

MD: We are back covering the untapped gold of 1991 Puerto Rico. If you want to catch up, here's the Master List.

EB: We don’t have results for the March 16 card in Bayamon, so we don’t know with certainty the end result of the Colon brothers tag against Dick Murdoch and Joe Don Smith. As we’ll soon see, Murdoch seems pretty pleased with what went down, so at the very least it seems that Murdoch and Joe Don came out on top. And riding that high, Dick Murdoch has decided to throw out a challenge to Carlos Colon for one more match with the Universal title on the line. Only there is a stipulation attached. It also seems that the issue between TNT and Action Jackson has not yet been settled and we have a big stipulation match coming tonight in Caguas as a result of an altercation that happened at the most recent TV taping.

Let’s go to the Campeones episode from March 23 (please note that the video title says 3/16 but this is the 3/23 episode) so we can see what the latest developments are in CSP.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtK3dcOEyik

Hugo and El Profe welcome the viewers to the program, with Profe remarking that he has Akbar on some scouting trips at the moment. They run down the matches we’ll have on today’s program (some of which we have previously covered). Hugo also mentions they will have a look at what happened last Wednesday in Miramar between Action Jackson and TNT. Profe says that it will be a chance for the people to see what kind of garbage TNT is, because he cowardly attacked someone from  behind while getting involved in something that didn’t concern him. Hugo says the viewers can be the judge of that. The main event for today’s program is the match from February 2 where the Texas Hangmen defended the World tag team titles against Invader #1 (with taped fist) and Bronco #1. Profe is not happy with the match selection since there are so many matches they could show (obviously not happy with how that match ended). Hugo says it is a very important bout and the fans deserve to watch those types of matches.

They move on to tonight’s house show in Caguas where the main event will be a falls count anywhere match between TNT and Action Jackson. Profe starts talking about all of the different things they could get away with like dunking TNT in a toilet, taking TNT out to the parking lot and other things. Hugo counters what if TNT is the one that gets the upper hand, to which Profe tries to change the subject and claim he’s never gotten involved in anything (Hugo isn;t buying that claim at all). Hugo mentions that Scott Hall retained the Caribbean title but almost lost it to Kim Duk, with el Profe complaining that Duk tried to steal the title by throwing salt in Hall’s face but thanks to him the ref was made aware of what happened. He also says that he would never accept any of his guys doing anything underhanded like that, with Hugo just mocking Profe for lying. Tonight, Hall and Duk will have a rematch and Hugo says that Kim Duk told Hugo that he was going to make sure that the ref wouldn’t see any salt throwing this time around.  With that, they send it to the first match, the Caribbean tag title match from March 9 in Carolina.

MD: I’m pretty sure Profe said they’d flush TNT’s head in the toilet for a few minutes before beating him. I think that’s a thing that happened here. 

Caribbean Express vs Gran Mendoza/Rick Valentine

EB: The Caribbean Express are the challengers and Hugo says that they are in their hometown for this match. The champions, Valentine and Mendoza ,are already in the ring, with Monster Ripper accompanying them at ringside. Castillo and Valentine start off for their teams. Castillo controls the early minutes of the match by working the arm of Valentine and then Mendoza. Galan Mendoza is able to back Castillo to his team’s corner and he and Valentine double team Castillo. This brings in Perez, who is momentarily cut off by Mendoza. Miguelito recovers and charges into  the corner, monkey flipping Castillo out of there and Castillo lands on his feet, chagrin at Mendoza. Perez is tagged in but falls prey to the champs and is worked over for the next couple of minutes. Perez and Mendoza collide and this leads to Castillo and Valentine getting the tag. Castillo starts cleaning house, with Miguelito sending Mendoza outside and fighting with him on the floor. In the ring, Castillo gets a sunset flip for the three count. New Caribbean tag champs! The crowd cheers as the new champions head back to the locker room with their newly won title belts.  

MD: While I’m ok with us moving on from Valentine/Mendoza as Valentine had a long run which had a high floor but maybe not the highest ceiling, it does feel like there was another month they could have gotten out of this pairing, considering how long the Super Medicos feud went. This was yet another quality tag. Valentine pinballed early. The heat really came from controlling the corner. There was a great switch of the FIP/hope spot with Perez monkey flipping Castillo who turned around into a clothesline as he landed which is just a beautiful lost spot but the VQ is pretty rough here so you don’t get the full effect. They crashed heads to set up the hot tag and after a bit of chaos, Perez and Castillo got a quick pin and the belts. 

EB: The California Studs (specifically Brian Lee) talk about their match tonight against Giant Warrior and Ricky Santana. Speaking of tonight’’s card in Caguas, we get a partial rundown of what is set for tonight: Falls count anywhere for the TV title as TNT faces Action Jackson; a rematch as Invader #1 faces Motor City Madman; Giant Warrior & Ricky Santana vs The California Studs; and Scott Hall defends the Caribbean title against Kim Duk.

Afterwards we get the Dick Murdoch vs. El Corsario match from February 2 that we previously covered. We then get a snippet of a Dick Murdoch promo where he says that Joe Don is the first thing from Puerto Rico he has been proud of (so I’m guessing he did well in the tag match the previous week). We then cut to El Profe who says let’s hear what that coward Carlos Colon has to say. Carlos is here to accept a challenge Dick Murdoch has made. It’’s a cage match for the Universal title, with a roof on the cage and a lock on the door. Carlos wishes Murdoch had the guts to show up tonight in Caguas or even now to the studio so they could have that match right now. Carlos challenges Murdoch to show up tonight if he dares, but he will accept the challenge for the cage match.

We then get comments from the Motor City Madman about his match against Invader tonight. He left Invader hanging last week in Bayamon and tonight it will be Invader’s last match. 

MD: We get a tiny glimpse of a Murdoch promo here which makes me think that Murdoch and Joe Don did win the mixed tag, a good way to get heat for the upcoming cage match. Not too much else to say for this show given that we have it clipped and it has things we’ve already covered. The upcoming show looked to have a lot of return matches (TNT/Jackson, Hall/Duk) but Santana/Giant Warrior vs Anthony/Lee is a weird and interesting one.

EB: The episode closes out with an airing of the Invader& Bronco vs. Texas Hangmen from February 2. Now let's go to the west coast version of the Super Estrellas episode from that same day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGt0ykdKNPg

Hugo welcomes the viewers and runs down what we will see on today’s show. Afterwards, Hugo starts talking about tomorrow’s house show lineup but the video cuts to the end of the TNT Evolution music video. From there we get a promo from the California Studs about their tag match tomorrow in Aguadilla against the team of Kim Duk and Ricky Santana. It looks like Tony Anthony has a score to settle with Ricky Santana for busting his nose and eye up in a previous match. Kim Duk and Ricky Santana follow with their comments, with Duk talking about the conditioning he and Ricky have, while Ricky promises to leave Tony Anthony laying this time around.

We get a rundown for tomorrow’s card in Aguadilla: Falls count anywhere for the TV title as TNT faces Action Jackson; Invader #1 & Giant Warrior vs. Scott Hall & Motor City Madman; Kim Duk & Ricky Santana vs The California Studs; Huracana  Castillo Jr vs Rick Valentine; and Invader #4 vs. Doug Gilbert.

Our first match of the program is the California Studs vs Invader #4 and Jerry Mercado. Hugo makes note that Skandor Akbar is not there because he is on a scouting trip, which means El Club Deportivo is likely getting reinforcements. The match is short, as the Studs isolate Jerry Mercado and work him over, getting the pinfall after the powerslam / flying kneedrop combo.

MD: Santana had tagged Anthony previously and now they were going to get revenge. Santana/Partner vs the Studs seemed to be what they were doing this week as here he was teamed with Duk. No Akbar here (he was off scouting for Devastation Inc. apparently). The highlight was Anthony trying to figure out what to do when Hugo was talking and tearing at his own eye. Duk said that both he and Santana were in superior condition and I’m not sure about that visually looking at him, but then he sort of always looked like this, just more grey in his beard now. The squash was efficient (even with Lee pulling Mercado up once). Invader was a non-factor and they won with a bombs away kneedrop from Lee which is a good thing to do if you’re billed from California I guess.

EB: Giant Warrior and Invader are here to talk about facing Scott Hall and Motor City Madman tomorrow. We get the back half of the interview with Hugo translating, where he says that tomorrow it is not going to be two on one. The size difference is really stark here when you have Giant Warrior standing next to Hugo and Invader (although I think Invader may be standing lower just to make the contrast even more since here he’s at Hugo’s height when he’s taller).

MD: Warrior and Invader vs Hall and Madman feels like a pretty solid match that they could put on right now. I think this is the first time I fully realized that Warrior’s face paint was supposed to be like Ultimate Warrior. I saw him in Japan first so I think I took that for granted. I always saw him as an answer to El Gigante. Anyway, this was just them clasping hands as Hugo spoke for a few seconds.

EB: Up next is another showcase for Doug Gilbert as he takes on Tito Carrion. Hugo mentions that Doug looks like a pirate with that bandanna on. The commentators again talk about the places Doug has wrestled and that he is a  dangerous individual. Carrion gets a brief hit of offense but this all Doug as he wins with the slingshot suplex.

MD: Doug really does feel like a herald for what is to come like when Lanny Poffo came into Mid-South and they started to mention Randy (even though that never came to be). Doug has pretty good execution of his suplexes and what not, but you can tell he hasn’t quite put it all together yet just yet in how he goes from point A to point B. Good energy and enthusiasm though. Carrion outwrestles him for a second here but that’s all he gets as Gilbert steamrolls him. When we hear his promo later on Invader IV, he was sure shouty.

EB: We get promos from Huracan Castillo Jr and Rick Valentine on their singles match tomorrow. Valentine wants revenge for the cheaters (according to him) taking the Caribbean tag tiles. 

MD: They’re doing a singles match between these two and Valentine complains that Castillo stole the belts and the best way to get revenge is one-on-one. Straightforward stuff.

EB: We get a name vs name matchup next as Kim Duk faces the current TV champion. Action Jackson. Profe is with Jackson, and I’m sure Duk has not forgotten his resentment towards his former manager. Duk works over Jackson’s arm to start but then Action starts getting aggressive by going for the eyes. Jackson controls the middle portion, mainly working Duk’s neck with a nerve hold, but when Duk fights out of it they start exchanging blows. Profe gets involved by tripping up Duk when he runs off the ropes. Jackson gets the cobra clutch, but TNT runs in to attack Action and send him from the ring. This causes Duk to be disqualified, but it’s clear that TNT still has his issues with Action as the two men start brawling around the ring area. They ram each other into the posts, Action bites TNT’s head, TNT spin kicks Action over the barricade into the crowd. We see them fight through the crowd and then cut to them still fighting outside the arena, as the fans run after them to see the action. They end up reentering the ringside area from the other side and continue fighting. I guess we now know why we’re getting the falls count anywhere stipulation.

We also get another series of promos for tomorrow, as Doug Gilbert is excitedly shouty about facing Invader #4, Action Jackson has a bandage on his forehead as he promises to retain the TV title no matter where he has to beat TNT up, and a fired up TNT angrily says that if they have to go to the town square or the outskirts it won’t matter as he promises to get that TV title. 

MD: The Duk vs Jackson match was a little rough. A lot of Duk hiding little shots while he had a hold on to start. Then a nerve hold. Worked fine overall but the first part wasn’t wry and fun enough and the second was pretty dull. It did pick up with some big Duk shots in the corner before Profe tripped him and we got the cobra. They kept cutting to a wide shot before anything happened so you had a sense that TNT was about to run out and he did, leading to a legitimately crazy brawl that went all over. Between that and the promos that followed, with Jackson doing so much better as himself (with his hair growing back and the Zubaz pants and him talking over Profe hyperactively) and TNT bloody and passionate, they sure sold me on this Falls Count Anywhere match, no matter how long the feud has been going on. Good pro wrestling right here.

EB: Our main event of the program is Miguelito Perez vs. Dick Murdoch. This an even matchup but Murdoch takes his shortcuts to try to gain the advantage. Perez actually holds his own and has Murdoch against the ropes punching him. When the ref tries to get Perez to back off, Joe Don Smith sneaks up and trips Perez up from the outside, allowing Murdoch to drop an elbow and steal the win. 

MD: You watch Murdoch and there’s no one else like him in 1991 anywhere in the world. Maybe a Negro Casas. Maybe Terry Funk. He’s just so self-aware and confident and treats pro wrestling differently than anyone else. There’s an element of vaudeville or being a character actor. It’s like watching Abbot and Costello or Laurel and Hardy or All in the Family. We come in with Joe Don and Murdoch sort of leaning on the apron while on the floor and it’s just this weirdly iconic image. Murdoch controls early but then gets it turned around on him and just stooges like wild for a few minutes. Joe Don grabs the leg between Murdoch’s legs while they’re in the ropes and a quick elbow ends it. Everything Murdoch has done during this run has been incredibly entertaining. 

EB: This episode closes with part of the Carlos Colon vs. Greg Valentine cage match we covered before, shown because next week we will have the Colon vs. Murdoch cage match at the house show. So, let’s find out what exactly happened in Caguas on March 23 as we go to the Campeones episode from March 30.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6TJdeB_Am8

Hugo and Profe open the show, with Profe preening and showing off his fit as usual. Hugo reminds the fans that tonight is the cage match for the Universal title, as Carlos Colon has accepted Dick Murdoch’s challenge. There will be a roof on the cage and a lock on the door, so the only way to win is by pinfall or submission. Profe says it’s high time for that coward Carlos Colont to have to face Dick Murdoch without being able to run away. Hugo says it won’t be an easy encounter for either man. They run down the matches for today’s program, with Profe calling the Caribbean Express the Chicken Express. They promise we’ll see highlights from the falls count anywhere match between TNT and Action Jackson, with Profe saying that the fans will see how they beat up TNT (Hugo clarifies that we’ll see in the video what really happened). 

We also have some new music video specials, as we’ll see new ones for  Dick Murdoch, the World tag team champions Invader #1 and Bronco #1, and Caribbean champion Scott Hall . Hugo wants Profe to comment about tonight’s semi main event, as we will have a last man standing streetfight that cannot be stopped due to blood between TNT and Action nJackson. Profe says that it is time to end this feud, it has gone on far enough, and what better way to settle it in a match where the only rule is there are no rules. TNT better say goodbye to his family and fans because it all ends tonight.  Hugo reminds the fans to purchase the tickets at the box office, please protect your money from cheats.

Our first match is from the March 16 house show in Bayamon, as the California Studs take on the Caribbean Express. This is a good solid match with both teams jockeying for control by working holds with the occasional counter. Skandor Akbar is seconding the Studs, who bail a  couple of times to regroup after the Express get the better of them (Castillo with a headscissors, Perez with some dropkicks). We go to commercials and come back as Perez is being worked over. This continues for a couple of minutes until he is able to make the tag to Castillo. The finish comes when Akbar distracts Perez, which allows the Studs to hit their powerslam / flying kneedrop finisher on Castillo. Another win for the California Studs and they keep climbing the tag ranks. That title shot may be coming soon.

MD: It’s amazing how well these tag matches work. It’s just magic, right? Pro wrestling’s most perfect form. You get the Invaders or the Super Medicos or Invader/Bronco or TNT/Invader (who would be defending against the Studs upcoming) or Colon/TNT or the Caribbean Express like here and put a couple of stooging, cheating, jerk heels against them and work that southern tag and it works. It works here. They just plugged Lee and Anthony in and it’s beautiful in its own way. Shine, Heat, Comeback. Stooging to start. Hope spots along the way. A surprisingly clean finish as Castillo comes in hot and hits a missile dropkick but misses another off the ropes and eats the power slam/bombs away combo. They could run this for a while honestly. They always can. 

EB: The big news from last week is the falls count anywhere match between TNT and Action Jackson. Hugo says it was a wild encounter, Profe claims that we will see Action Jackson humiliate TNT. Hugo interrupts Profe to say that is now how it was, let’s go to the tape. We pick up with TNT at the top of the stairs, and for anyone who has ever wondered where those stairs in Caguas lead to, this is your moment. TNT heads down and we see him and Action Jackson tussle in a small hallway with the ref watching. TNT bites Action and they continue down the hallway and up a flight of stairs at the other end. We come out to a backstage hallway area and get highlights of TNT and Action fighting at different parts of the hallway. They eventually emerge at the upper part of the stands, still fighting. Down the stairs they go and we cut to them fighting on the arena floor. Both men are bleeding and are on their knees exchanging blows. Eventually, they collapse on the ground and are both counted out by the ref. So tonight, it’s a streetfight that cannot be stopped for blood and there must be a winner.  We hear from both Action Jackson and TNT and they are looking forward to coming out the winner tonight. 

MD: And they could run this for far longer I expected. We just get glimpses of the falls count anywhere match but it looks awesome, them going through stairwells and into the main area bloody and battered. They finally both collapse from exhaustion and get counted out. I think if we had all of this one it might be a classic. But it was inconclusive and they can come back for more with a street fight. TNT is in his street clothes for his promo including his fanny pack which is not what I was expecting. 

EB: Some quick comments from Kim Duk, who is facing Scott Hall in a no DQ match. Duk is happy because that means he can bring his salt or kendo stick with no issues.This is followed by the new music video for Invader #1 and El Bronco, set to Bronco’s music. Afterwards, Scott Hall asks Kim Duk how it feel to be a loser, to be in fear. Anything goes tonight and Duk can bring anything he wants, all Hall needs is his fist to come out on top.

MD: “Kim Duk, how does it feel to wake up in the morning and know you’re a loser?” That’s how Hall starts his promo and honestly, every promo we get from him where he fills every single second Hugo is talking with ridiculous mannerisms is a precious joy to be appreciated. 

EB: Motor City Madman and giant warrior are facing off tonight in a strap match, we get comments from both men. And for those curious, we get a card rundown for tonight in Bayamon: Enclosed cage match for the Universal title, must win by pinfall or submission as Carlos Colon defends against Dick Murdoch; in a streetfight for the TV title TNT challenges Action Jackson; Invader #1 and Bronco #1 defend the World tag titles against the California Studs; Giant Warrior vs Motor City Madman in an Indian strap match; No DQ for the Caribbean title as Scott Hall defends against Kim Duk; Ricky Santan vs Eddie Gilbert; and Huracan Castillo Jr vs Doug Gilbert.

MD: They were building to a strap match here. That’s a lot of gimmicks on one show since I think Murdoch and Colon were in the cage here too. Plus we finally get Eddie Gilbert! I don’t know if they weren’t drawing well enough or this was a bigger show or what but it was stacked. 

EB: It’s time for the Dick Murdoch music video and this one  includes clips of how Murdoch won the first two matches against Colon (using the ropes for leverage). Murdoch has gotten the better of Colon for the most part but the Universal title has eluded him. Will tonight be different? Carlos Colon promises that will not be the case, he plans to keep the Universal title.

MD: Murdoch really came off well in the video, using the stick as a weapon, doing wound work on Colon’s skull, fighting off all the babyfaces, and yes, getting two fluke roll up wins, one with his hands on the ropes. It’s a shame we don’t have these matches in full because it really does seem like a great feud. 

EB: We get a card rundown for tomorrow in Ponce, as Carlos Colon & Giant Warrior take on Dick Murdoch & Motor City Madman; TNT vs. Scott Hall; Kim Duk vs. Action Jackson; Invaders 1 &4 vs the California Studs; Bronco vs. Eddie Gilbert; Ricky Sanatna vs. Doug Gilbert; and Huracan Castillo Jr vs. El Profe. We then end the program with a new music video for the blond outlaw himself, Scott Hall, and a final push for tonight’s big card.

MD: Not much more to say here. If Hall had stayed in Puerto Rico for the rest of 91 I have no idea how good he could have gotten, especially if he shifted back to feuding with Invader and Colon. He got there eventually but he was very much fully formed here. He’d never be this character or this person again.

EB: Next time on El Deporte de las Mil Emociones, is the feud between Carlos Colon and Dick Murdoch finally over? Who won the streetfight between TNT and Action Jackson? And, we will meet Skandor Akbar’s newest acquisition as we reach April 1991.

Read more!

El Deporte de las Mil Emociones: An Authorized What?

Week 48: An Authorized What?

EB:On March 9th, Carlos Colon defended the Universal title against Dick Murdoch in a match that had none other than Buddy Rogers as the special referee. Murdoch had pinned Colon in their previous two non title matches thanks to rope assisted cradles, leading to a special referee (Rogers) being appointed to make sure no shenanigans occurred in the title match. Well, shenanigans did occur and it led to Jose Colon (brother of Carlos) getting involved at one point of the bout. His appearance resulted in him getting attacked by Joe Don Smith and Dick Murdoch, and the fallout of this attack remains to be seen. Also on March 9th, the Caribbean Express won the Caribbean tag titles from the team of Rick Valentine and Galan Mendoza. It looks like the Caribbean Express are back in the tag ranks and once more holding championship gold.  

Let’s go to the March 16 episode of Camepones to see just what happened during the Universal title match. Please note, the listed date on the video says 3/23 but this is the 3/16 episode (since it refers to the events of the Colon vs. Murdoch match with guest red Buddy Rogers as happening last week).

3/16/91 TV

Your hosts are Hugo Savinovich and El Profe, with Hugo welcoming the viewers and Profe remarking that it's always a pleasure for the people to see him (modest as always). Profe mentions who will be in action on today's program, with Hugo adding that we will have our first look at a newcomer to CSP, one ‘Dirty’ Doug Gilbert (mentioned to be ‘Hotstuff’ Eddie Gilbert’s younger brother and Profe says that Doug is well recommended as a great talent). Hugo then mentions that we will have a special look at the training Jose Colon has been doing, causing Profe to laugh and mockingly say ‘the training’. We will have a video of what happened last week in Carolina when Jose Colon, who is not a  trained wrestler, was attacked. El Profe interjects that  everyone should find out that Jose is ‘un HP autorizado’ (which translates to an authorized SOB). Hugo is annoyed and corrects Profe, Jose is a CPA. Profe ‘apologizes’ since he thought it was SOB, but Hugo tells Profe to stop being a jerk. Hugo continues talking about the attack on Jose as Profe just continues cackling and saying ‘as if he is going to learn anything in a week’. Hugo says that Jose was attacked by Murdoch's lackey Joe Don Smith (Profe corrects Hugo by saying disciple not lackey). Hugo promises that we will have special interviews with Carlos and Jose Colon, as well as Murdoch and Joe Don later on in the show.

They then start talking about tonight’s show in Bayamon. The main event will see Carlos and Jose Colon take on Dick Murdoch and Joe Don Smith. Profe keeps laughing, calls Jose SOB again and talks up how Joe Don Smith is a legitimate athlete while Jose has been sitting behind a desk. Profe says that there is no chance for the Colons to win, Joe Don with one arm tied behind his back could mop the floor with Jose Colon. Hugo indicates that Jose has been training since early Monday morning, but Profe is not buying Jose having any chance. Hugo and Profe also hype the merchandise and videos available for sale. Hugo also reads an announcement for an amateur boxing tournament that will be starting later today, with over 130 amateur boxers participating (Profe audibly yawns and whistles as Hugo reads the announcement). One last topic, Hugo says that they've received news of unscrupulous individuals selling fake tickets to fans outside of their events. Please protect your money and only buy the tickets from the official box office at the arenas (as Profe puts it ‘Protect yourselves, morons. You don't get a chance to see me if you don’t.’). Hugo throws it to the first match, Ricky Santana vs. Moondog Spot.

MD: And lo, the name “Gilbert” would be mentioned for the first time in our journey, both Eddie and Doug, with the latter about to face Ricky Santana.

Moondog Spot vs. Ricky Santana

EB:  This match is from March 2. Moondog Spot is making a return appearance to Puerto Rico, previously having had a notable tag run with Moondog Rex back in 1982 (in fact,, the Moondogs had a bit of a feud with Tommy and Eddie Gilbert at that time). Ricky (who El Profe insists on calling ‘Ñico’ Santana to Hugo’s exasperation) is being pushed as a heartthrob and Hugo talks up Ricky's popularity with the ladies early on in the match. Profe starts wondering what the heck do the ladies find attractive about Santana, causing Hugo to needle Profe about checking out Santana. Profe counters by going off on how attractive ladies find him (to Hugo’s incredulity). In the ring, Santana has a size disadvantage against Spot but the early portion of the match sees Ricky be able to counter Spot’s wrestling holds. Spot takes to complaining about a hair pull and yells at the crowd. Tonight there will be a show at Estadio Juan Ramon Loubriel where Ricky Santana will take on newcomer Doug Gilbert. Spot repeats the earlier hold and Santana counters once more, leading to another round of complaining. Ricky starts to get mad at Spot’s stalling. Ricky works over Spot’s arm as El Profe gets on Santana for having US Male on his tights since Ricky is Cuban. Hugo explains that Ricky was in a tag team with White Angel over in the U.S. and they had decided on that as their team name since Ricky lived in Florida.

The announcers continue bickering as sRicky maintains the advantage by working over Spot’s arm. Ricky eventually sends Spot into the corner for some mounted punches, but Spot counters with an inverted atomic drop (which has the announcers arguing over the legality of the move). Spot tosses Ricky outside and chokes him out with a camera cable. Hugo yells at Profe about the legality of that move and why doesn't he say anything about that. Profe responds with ‘Because it was well done.’ Spot sends Santana into the ringpost as Profe insinuates something may be going on with Hugo and Ricky, since Hugo goes on and on about Ricky this and Ricky that. We go to commercial break with Rick on his feet and looking to get back in the ring. We come back with Ricky having Spot in a sunset flip for an unsuccessful pin attempt. By the argument the announcers are having, it seems that it was a case of Spot grabbing the ropes to try to hold on, but the ref kicked Spot’s hands off the ropes. Profe was complaining about the ref doing  that and Hugo actually agreed with Profe on that point. Spot works on Ricky’s neck but Santana fights out of the hold momentarily. A missed dropkick leads to Spot once again working over Ricky’s neck. Spot continues in control but makes the mistake of sending Santana to the outside. Ricky recovers and surprises Spot by grabbing the Moondog’s leg and dragging him out of the ring. Santana fires off several punches on the outside and then sends Spot shoulder first into the ringpost. Back in the ring they continue fighting, with each getting a nearfall (Santana manages to get his leg on the ropes after a splash). Spot tries to slam Ricky, but Santana counters with a standing switch and is able to hit a reverse rollup off the ropes for the win. An impressive win for Santana over a larger opponent.

MD: I liked this a lot actually. It got a ton of time and was very straightforward but Spot brought a lot of enjoyable BS to the table. It amuses me to no end that he could get the ref to blame Santana for false hairpulls on takedowns multiple times. He’d bump bigger than you’d expect (I think he was just younger than 40 which you wouldn’t expect either) on things like back body drops and then would go complain to the crowd as they threw stuff at him. He stooged all over the palace for Santana until he could toss him out and then had a chinlock later on with a pulling of the rope for leverage that couldn’t have made a lick of difference to the strength of the hold but was great wrestling nonsense. Eventually he hit a big splash but Santana got his feet on the ropes and Santana got him in a pretty dubious roll up off the ropes for the win. It was a better win for Santana than it might have been if it was less of a match.

Scott Hall vs. Tito Carrion

EB: Next we have Scott Hall facing Tito Carrion and this is a great showcase for Hall. Profe mentions that what we are seeing Hall do to Carrion is what Murdoch will do to Jose Colon tonight. Hall wins with the crucifix. Afterwards, Kim Duk cuts a promo on how he will become Caribbean champion once more. Scott Hall follows by saying  that every week he comes on TV to say who he has faced and defeated, tonight it is Duk’s turn to try to shut Hall up. 

MD: This is a fully formed Diamond Studd here. He doesn’t have the toothpick or the swagger from being the character necessarily, and is more cowboy with the way he carries himself, but just the execution and the big bombs, it’s him. He’s made it. He chains together four things (hanging tree toss, fall away slam, slingshot belly to back, crucifix/razor’s edge) and looks like the most formidable heel in the world basically. Duk and Hall cut promos one after the other and while Hall tries to keep it short, Hugo still talks over it for a while so we get a dozen fun hand motions as he tries to figure out how to fill time (Duk just did a few karate things). I’ll miss that when it’s gone.

EB: We get our first look at Doug Gilbert with a music video set to ‘Can I Play With Madness’. It seems Gilbert is a very recent arrival because the footage is from one studio match and an interview he seems to have done in the studio.

MD: It didn’t seem like they had a lot of footage to go with here. This was to Iron Maiden’s Can I Play with Madness and had a clip from an interview started and stopped and overlaid with fun colors plus footage from maybe one match with him doing a slingshot suplex. If I was watching this at home I don’t think I’d be too moved to see him in person.

EB: We then get promos from Action Jackson and TNT about their match tonight in Bayamon. TNT promises to take the TV title from Jackson the same way he took the name and paint from him.  

MD: Jackson is a lot more comfortable as himself. TNT is still frustrated that Jackson has the TV title and is going to keep working to get it back. That’s about all there is to say here.

EB: Our next segment is what happened last week during the Carlos Colon vs. Dick Murdoch match.. The leadup to the clip features Hugo and Profe arguing about what happened the previous week and what will be tonight’s main event, a tag match between Dick Murdoch and Joe Don Smith vs Carlos Colon and his brother Jose. Hugo says that we’ve heard a lot about what happened last week and it was even in the press, the incident whereDick Murdoch and his lacey Joe Don Smith (Profe says Joe is a protege) attacked Jose in a savage manner and… Profe interrupts saying it was deserved what happened to him (meaning Jose Colon), why was he sticking his nose in what was none of his business. Profe rants how Jose cost Dick Murdoch the Universal title, but Hugo explains a bit of what happened. Profe complains about why Jose got involved, Hugo says that sometimes family ties can cause you to get involved. After the video of what happened last week, we will see a video of JoseeColon training (Profe really wants to see this, because there’s no way that Jose can be trained in a week).

We go to the match highlights, with Colon attempting a figure four on Murdoch, but Murdoch kicks Colon away. Colon ends up colliding with Buddy Rogers in the corner. In the confusion, Joe Don Smith hands a foreign object to Murdoch, which he uses to hit Colon and get the pin (Rogers had not seen the use of the object). Profe claims that he didn't see anything untoward happen and that if they show anything it’s because they doctored the footage. We cut to Rogers giving the title to Murdoch, when suddenly someone runs out to ringside. It is Jose Colon, and he’s there to tell Rogers about the cheating that happened. Rogers tells Joe Don to allow him to check for the object and  Rogers initially finds nothing. Jose tells Rogers to check Joe Don’s boots and eventually Rogers finds the object. As a result, the decision is reversed and Carlos Colon is the winner by disqualification. An irate Murdoch and Joe Don attack Jose Colon outside the ring and a brainbuster on the outside is prevented by the tecnicos coming in for the save. They then show Jose Colon being checked on and carried out for medical assistance. Carlos was furious about his brother being attacked and we cut to Carlos going after Murdoch with a chair. We see them duel with chairs for a moment before Joe Don grabs Colon’s chair from behind and helps Murdoch attack Carlos, before they are run off by the tecnicos.

Murdoch and Joe Don cut a promo where Murdoch says how proud he is of the job Joe Don did last week. Joe Don says that tonight they will sweep the Colons. Murdoch wants Joe Don to listen to him tonight so that no harm comes to Joe. Murdoch then insults Colon and his brother, promising to get rid of Jose Colon tonight and then allow Joe Don to get some paintbrushing on Carlos. 

We then go to a video showing the training Jose Colon has been doing. Jose is in the ring with Invader #4 under the supervision of Carlos Colon and Isaac Rosario. We get a few minutes of Jose doing drills as Hugo explains what the purpose of some of the drills are (mainly for endurance and agility). Sometimes Carlos would get in the ring to encourage his brother whenever Jose would start tiring. We then get an interview with the Colon brothers, with Hugo mentioning again that Jose is not a trained wrestler but after what happened last week Carlos wanted his brother to pay back what happened. Hugo asks Jose if he is worried, which he is but he is ready to pay back what happened last week and he has Carlos with him to guide him. Carlos responds that he has confidence in his brother, this isn;t about wrestling, it is about respect. Carlos reminds everyone that one time someone he will not name attacked his wife and Carlos made sure to avenge that.. After tonight, he hopes that Murdoch, Smith and everyone else on the rudo side will learn to respect Puerto Ricans.

We go back to the studio, and El Profe says that after watching the authorized SOB train (Hugo yells CPA), he thinks he has seen women that have just given birth train with more intensity than Jose. Profe laughs as Hugo is exasperated and the video cut out as Hugo starts rebutting Profe’s insult. 

MD: Super high heat angle here as Buddy Rogers, the special ref got bumped out of a figure-four leglock pushoff. Joe Don gave Murdoch an object. He nailed Colon and won. Joe Don rushed in to get it and put it in his sock. Colon’s CPA (and Profe loves to talk about this) brother Jose came down to tell Rogers what happened. After some back and forth, he found the object and Murdoch responded by hitting a brainbuster on Jose on the outside. Big, big heat. Now, they were going to come back with a mixed tag and we got the training video accordingly. Very different and very fun stuff here and again, just super high heat. 

EB: Let’s go to the March 16 west coast edition of Superestrellas de la Lucha Libre in order to get an idea of what else is happening in CSP.

3/16/91 West Coast TV

Hugo welcomes the viewers to the program on WORA TV and runs down some of what we will see on the program (including the debut of the younger brother of ‘Hotstuff’ Eddie Gilbert). Before running down tomorrow’s house show lineup, Hugo apologizes to the fans for some no shows the previous week. Giant Warrior unfortunately was not able to make the show due to a flight delay causing him to miss his connection from Japan.  He is here this week though and will be in action. Also, Super Medico #1 apparently was very ill and was not able to appear last Sunday, so as a make good to the fans they are adding a bonus match to tomorrow’s house show in Aguadilla. We will have Super Medico #1 taking on ‘Dirtys’ Doug Gilbert. Tomorrow’s main event will be a no time limit rematch between TNT and Action Jackson, the stipulation is due to them going to a 30 minute draw last Sunday. Other matches scheduled include Invader #1 vs. Motor City Madman, Scott Hall defending the Caribbean title against Kim Duk (it seems Duk scored a win over Hall last week and gets the title shot), the Caribbean Express vs the California Studs, Giant Warrior vs. Rick Valentine, Ricky Santana vs. Galan Mendoza and the previously announced bonus match. Hugo hypes up the merchandise that will be on sale at the arena and also the VHS releases available for purchase.

Super Medicos vs. The California Studs (Tony Anthony/Brian Lee)

EB: Our first match is in progress, it is from the March 9 house show from Carolina. The Super Medicos are facing off against the newest rudo team known as the California Studs. Super Medico #1 and Tony Anthony are in the ring for their teams. Skandor Akbar is at ringside seconding the Studs. The announcers make note that Brian Lee is the taller of the Studs so that the fans know who is who. Medico #1 is sent into the ropes but gains control by hitting Anthony on the bounceback with a tackle. Medico #1 follows up with the ‘hit machine’ punch combo, knocking Anthony down. Medico #1 goes for a pin but Anthony grabs a hold of the ropes. Medico #1 runs into the ropes but is grabbed from behind by Lee. Medico #1 is knocked down and the rudos do an illegal switch. Lee throws Medico #1 into the rudo corner and taunts Medico #3, causing Medico #3 to try to run in. This gives the Studs an opening to do a double team choke in the corner. After choking Medico #1 for a bit, Anthony tags back in and hits an elbow and legdrop for a pin attempt (broken up by Medico #3). The match continues with the Studs working over Medico #1 in their corner while Medico #3 keeps being drawn in to try to help to no avail. 

A pin attempt by Lee is broken up by Medico #3. This annoys Lee, who tosses Medico #1 to the outside and starts jawing with Medico #3. While these two are facing off in the ring, Anthony takes advantage and rams Medico #1 back first into the ringpost. Medico #3 keeps being baited by the Studs, which gives them more opportunities to continue attacking Medico #1 behind the ref’s back. Anthony suplexes Medico #1 into the ring but the pin attempt is broken up. The Studs continue in control, with Medico #1 at one point getting a sunset flip counter that the ref doesn’t count due to being distracted by Anthony. An inside cradle counter by Medico #1 obtains the same result. Medico #1 starts coming back with some punches on Lee, but gets yanked by his mask when he goes after Anthony. The Studs continue in control but eventually a missed elbow drop by Lee gives Medico #1 the chance to tag in Medico #3. The crowd cheers as Medico #3 is finally the legal man and Medico #3 is able to clean house on both Studs. Medico #1 eventually joins the action in the ring, pairing up with Brian Lee and ramming Lee’s head into the turnbuckle several times. The Studs are whipped into each other, with Medico #1 dropkicking Lee out of the ring. Medico #3 hits a shoulder block  on Anthony, but as the ref is telling Medico #1 to get back on the apron, Medico #3 charges at Anthony, who grabs Medico #3 and hotshots him on the top rope. Lee is tagged and the Studs hit a powerslam into a top rope kneedrop combo for the pinfall victory. A big win for the California Studs. And on a separate note, this is the last time we will see Super Medico #1 in action for CSP. It seems that his no show the previous week may have not been due to being sick and it will become apparent in the coming weeks that he has left the company. 

After the match we get a  promo from the California Studs and Skandor Akbar  about their non-title tag match tomorrow against the Caribbean Express. Akbar promises that the Express is nothing more than a stepping stone for the Studs getting all the gold. The Studs offer some remarks as well. The Caribbean Express followed with their own comments about tomorrow’s match, with Miguelito cleaning up that the reason it is non-title is because the Stud have not yet earned a title shot. Miguelito recognizes that he and Castillo have to be very careful, because the California Studs have shown their quality so far. Hugo congratulates the Express on their title win last week, Castillo reiterates that the Studs have to beat them first in order to get a title shot.

MD: Match was really good, because the Studs leaned about as hard as possible into the southern tag structure, drawing in Medico #3, cheating when the ref was distracted, having the ref miss roll ups by Medico #1, everything you could want. Anthony took Medico #1’s punches well to start and Lee was just big enough to be the perfect cut off man in the match. Very good stuff with the Studs getting a fairly cheap banana peel out of nowhere (but not fully cheating to) win. Perez and Castillo won the belts off of Valentine/Mendoza and now Studs are gunning for them. This felt like maybe a half step back for Perez but it’s Puerto Rico and guys can always be moved back into tag feuds. It’s one of the strengths of the territory. The Studs had their rhythm down with Hugo and Akbar and I’m sure these matches will be good as well.

EB: Giant Warrior is in the studio and has words for Rick Valentine and Monster Ripper. He also apologizes for not being there last week but promises you can count on him tomorrow.

MD: Warrior apologies for not being there due to the flight from Japan. He’s pretty confident as an interview by this point, honestly, and it kind of makes me wonder what his ceiling could have been. He was better in the ring than El Gigante but, you know, a foot shorter. I feel almost obligated to try to find some of his Big Tiger Steele Germany run from the late 90s now. Anyway, he’s up against Rick Valentine next and said that Valentine may have been a great tag wrestler, but… He also doesn’t do crazy hand motions while Hugo is translating for him. That’s confidence right there.

Doug Gilbert vs. Herbert Gonzalez

EB: We get our first look  at ‘Dirty’ Doug Gilbert in action as he takes on Herbert Gonzalez. Hugo and Eliud talk up how Doug is part of the Gilbert dynasty, the fans should remember Tommy and Eddie from their previous runs in the territory. Hugo continues talking about how much Doug has learned from his father and brother and this match is mainly a showcase for the newest arrival in CSP. Herbert gets a brief moment of offense but this is mainly all Doug, who wins the match after a slingshot suplex. Afterwards, we also get our first promo from Doug, where he has words for Super Medico #1 and speaks pretty fast.

MD: Dougie’s in his early 20s here and he looks pretty solid. His stuff hits well. Nothing was over the top or crazy either in his bumps or his stooging or his offense, but everything felt solid. Good hand type stuff with one corner bump to give Gonzalez hope before the finish. He was using a slingshot suplex (and maybe a fist drop, re the interview) here. Interview was a little scream-y, but he’ll figure it out.

EB: Monster Ripper is here with Valentine and Mendoza so they can talk about their respective singles matches tomorrow. Valentine says that Warrior's height doesn't make a difference to him. Mendoza is mad about losing the Caribbean tag titles and promises that he will take it out on Ricky Santana tomorrow.

Motor City Madman and Akbar are out next and Akbar has words for Invader #1, saying they gave him a taste last week of the power that is the combined might of El Club Deportivo and Devastation Inc. Madman just mentions that he is tired of being on this trashy island and the trashy people, and he is going to take out Invader like the trash he is.

Invader #1 is next and says that everyone last week saw what kind of man Madman is when he stuck his nose in Invader's match against Dick Murdoch. Invader wanted to teach Murdoch a lesson for all he has said about Puerto Ricans and the antics he has done, he almost had Murdoch with the sleeperhold. However, Madman attacked him. Now, what Madman started last week, Invader will take care of it tomorrow.

MD: I’d love if Ripper ended up with the Gilberts but I don’t see that happening. Valentine has Giant Warrior upcoming and mentioned he’d been to Japan multiple times too. This is true. Kerry Brown was used a lot by NJPW in 84-86. Madman and Invader 1 are set to face each other and I wonder what an Akbar vs. Invader 1 match would have looked like in 91. I bet they could have made that work.

Action Jackson vs. Miguel Perez Jr. 

EB: Action Jackson is taking on Miguelito Perez in a studio match that is joined in progress. Action has Miguelito down on the mat but picks Perez up to continue attacking with punches. Action takes down Perez and works over Miguelito’s head with a headscissors. Perez eventually fights out of the hold and sends Action into a corner. Action dodges the springboard elbow, but Miguelito catches him coming out of the corner with a clothesline. Perez briefly remains in control, but Action counters with some punches and eventually gains control with a rear chinlock on the mat. Perez fights out but Action hits a hard clothesline for a two count. Back to the chinlock on the mat. Perez again eventually gets to his feet, but Action sends Perez back down with a slam. However, Action misses a splash from the middle turnbuckle and Perez starts his comeback. A legdrop leads to a near fall. Perez gets a powerslam and goes to the top for a crossbody block. Perez hits it but the momentum allows Action to turn it over and then uses the tights for leverage to get a three count. Perez complains about the tights being  pulled but it’s a win for the reigning TV champion. 

Action Jackson and El Profe are in the studio to talk about tomorrow’s no time limit rematch. Hugo says they were lucky last week that the title was saved by the time limit, but Profe says that the only one saved was TNT from getting beaten up some more. Action echoes those sentiments. We go to an annoyed TNT, because Hugo is telling him that Action Jackson is claiming that he had TNT in the cobra as time ran out, but in fact it was the other way around. TNT says it was Jacksonw who was saved by the bell last week and also complains about Action resorting to low blows that the ref missed thanks to that dog El Profe. Tomorrow there is no time limit and he will get that TV title.  

MD: I’m sticking to my guns that Perez was ready to move up into singles more thoroughly. He looked pretty good here even if Jackson’s stuff was kind of dull (holds which he didn’t work to the level I would have liked). Perez had good escapes and then was dynamic when he was on offense. At one point he missed a handspring into the corner but rushed right back out to run through Jackson (Jackson made this look really good). Finish was flying body press that Jackson rolled through on to pull the tights. Maybe not the finish if you’re building him for a no time limit match with TNT. 

EB: We get a repeat of the handicap match Giant Warrior had against Johnny Ringo and El Condor, won by Giant Warrior. 

MD: And it’s still a great flip bump on that clothesline by Johnny Ringo.

EB: We are then treated to a Kim Duk promo about his Caribbean title shot against Scott Hall. Duk says he is ready anytime and anywhere, and reminds Hall that he beat him one two three last week. Duk also throws shade at El Profe for causing Hall to lose that match. We then go to Scott Hall with Hugo. Hall promises that he will rise to the occasion and leave with the belt tomorrow.

MD: I know that the Diamond Studd starts soon, but do we really need to lose Scott Hall? It’s almost not fair. I see him on the screen with Hugo and I just crack up before he even says anything because I know all the arm motions and hand motions to come. Ah well. I’m not sure Hugo knew exactly what even to say after Kim Duk’s promo which, I guess, is understandable.

Kim Duk vs. Rick Valentine

EB: Our final match on the program is Kim Duk vs Rick Valentine (accompanied by Monster Ripper). Hugo mentions that Duk is a bug fan favorite as we get Duk doing the salt ceremony before starting the match. The announcers mention that it looks like Duk has gotten in better shape and they think it is due to his positive change in attitude leading to better habits and encouragement. The match is surprisingly short, as Duk catches Valentine with a blow out of the corner and gets the pinfall victory a couple of minutes in. Hugo closes the show as the video cuts out. 

MD: This was certainly efficient. It went ~3 minutes after Duk’s salt ceremony. Two of those were Duk having Valentine in an armbar. Valentine took over for a little but ran into a really nice looking strike out of the corner (punch, forearm?) by Duk and he got the pin off that. Not much here.

EB: Next time on El Deporte de las Mil Emociones, Dick Murdoch issues a challenge to Carlos Colon for a cage match, Action Jackson and TNT show that the time limit is not the only thing that needs to be eliminated in order to try to settle their rivalry, and the California Studs get their first tag title shot as we finish off March 1991.

Read more!

El Deporte de las Mil Emociones: California Studs?

Week 47: California Studs?

EB: March 2 had a high profile card for CSP, with two big apuestas matches and the second match between Carlos Colon and Dick Murdoch taking place. Let’s recap what happened that night in those three matches.

Dick Murdoch won the second match against Carlos Colon by using the ropes for leverage. Murdoch is now 2-0 against Carlos, having also won the first match using the ropes for leverage. Both times Colon and Murdoch fought after the match, with Murdoch taking some cheap shots and attacking Carlos with weapons. As a result of these two victories, Murdoch has now earned a Universal title match. Carlos Colon, angry at being cheated out of victory twice in a row, has demanded that they bring in a special referee to make sure Murdoch does not cheat him out of the Universal title.

Invader #1 and Bronco #1 won the World tag team titles and the Texas Hangmen’s masks. After this defeat, the Hangmen have left the territory. Also on that night, TNT defeated Original TNT with the name and paint on the line. Due to this, Original TNT can no longer claim to be TNT or dress up like him. He is now going by the name of Action Jackson. It wasn't all bad news for El Profe though, as on the March 3 card in Cabo Rojo, Scott Hall was able to win the Caribbean title from Miguelito Perez.

So with all of these developments taking place, let’s go to the TV programs from March 9 to see where things go. Let’s start with the Campeones episode.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NX30u7w5bGU

Hugo and El Profe welcome us to the program, with Profe posing and preening to show off how good he looks. Hugo introduces Profe as the supreme leader of El Club Deportivo along with his general Skandor Akbar, and also makes note of Profe modeling for the camera. Profe remarks that what keeps the great presidents in power are their generals.Hugo again remarks that he is impressed that El Profe has secured the services of someone like Sksndor Akbar, it establishes him more globally. They run down what they’ll have on today's program, with Profe mentioning that we’ll see the newest acquisition for El Club Deportivo and Devastation Incorporated, a team called the California Studs. Also today we'll see a very special look at the feud between Sasha and Monster Ripper, including footage from their most recent battle in a street fight. Hugo also mentions that they will have plenty of interviews, including one from the special guest referee for tonight’s Universal title match in Carolina between Carlos Colon and Dick Murdoch. Profe is happy about the guest referee because finally it’ll be someone that won't allow Carlos Colon to cheat, this gentleman has so much experience and such stature, and  tonight we will finally have a worthy Universal champion in Dick Murdoch. Hugo points out that Murdoch also won’t be able to cheat tonight, to which Profe says that Murdoch does not need to cheat to beat Colon. Hugo reveals the guest referee’s name and it’s none other than ‘Nature Boy’ Buddy Rogers. Tickets are on sale tonight and they also talk about the VHS tapes and merchandise available for purchase.

Hugo then brings up that there is another notable match tonight, as the team of Scott Hall (who is the new Caribbean champion) and the Motor City Madman are facing the new World tag team champions, Invader #1 and Bronco #1. Hugo also mentions that they took the masks off the Texas Hangmen, to which Profe complains that they won by cheating and they don’t recognize that victory. Hugo mentions that the Texas Hangmen are done, they lost their masks and they are no longer a factor. Profe says that tonight it’ll be different since they have a wall of humanity in there, the smaller of the two is like 6’9”, the rudos will simply steamroller and end those two mediocrities. ‘Invader and Bronco will pay dearly for what they did last week’. With that, Hugo presents the special look at the feud between current Women’s champion Sasha and Monster Ripper.

MD: At the start of the show, Hugo congratulates Profe for having Akbar with him now as it makes him global. They also hype a video tape and a bunch of merch.

EB: The feud recap for Sasha and Monster Ripper starts with one of their first encounters back in mid October (around the time Eric Embry made his return to Puerto Rico), as Profe talks about witnessing the beauty of Monster Ripper compared to ‘that thing in white’. In the clip, Sasha was mainly in control with the fight going to the outside before cutting to the next match. We then go to November 10, where the highlights again focus on them fighting outside of the ring (including some ringpost smashes and ramming heads on the ballfield ground). Hugo points out that you can tell these matches are not focused on holds but are straight out fights between the two ladies. Next is a clip from their November 22 encounter, showing each of them briefly in control. Hugo mentions that Sasha had shown that despite the size difference she has not backed down. Next is a highlight from January 12 in Carolina, where Ripper has a sleeperhold on Sasha, who fights out of it. Next is a clip from January 26, where Ripper body slams Sasha on the arena floor. Ripper then tries to ram Sasha onto the ringside table but Sasha blocks it and rams Ripper into the table several times instead. This match ends in a double countout as the two women fight on the floor near the table.

The last clip is from their most recent encounter, a streetfight. Both ladies are dressed in street clothes (with Ripper wearing overalls). Ripper is in control, ramming Sasha into the ringside table and into the ringpost. Hugo mentions that Sasha is bleeding from the attacks. We also see Ripper ram Sasha into the wood panel stack and hit Sasha over the head with what looks almost like a dining room chair. But it was not all Monster Ripper, as Sasha got fired up and countered with several blows and ringpost rams. Now Ripper is also bleeding. As the two women continue fighting on the floor, they head over to the ringside table and even end up in the crowd fighting after Ripper gets tossed over the barricade.  They cut to them back in the ring, where Sasha has lost her shirt and is hitting Ripper with what looks to be a weight belt or a wrapped up object of some sort. During this exchange, Ripper appears to pull out an object, which she later uses to knock Sasha out for the ten count. Tonight, Sasha defends her title against Monster Ripper and expect it to be a fight.   

We then get promos from both ladies. Ripper promises to win the title tonight, because everybody knows Sasha is a cheater and Ripper is the best in the world. The title is going back around her waist. Sasha mentions that tonight is an important match because the title is on the line and wants the fans to come out and support her to victory.

MD: Big takeaway here is that they were really laying it in. Second big takeaway was that Sasha more than held her own despite the size difference. She was just a bruiser in her own right. The streetfight we only get clipped here but it honestly looked great. Ripper had of-the-times overalls like she was on Blossom or something and they battled all over the stadium, including up in the stands, until Sasha ran into a shot and got counted out. That was non-title and the title match was coming with Sasha ensuring everyone knew she was defending the title for the people.

EB: We also get a  quick promo from the Super Medicos, who are facing new arrivals the California Studs tonight. Medico #3 tells the Studs to come prepared, because tonight may be the beginning and end of them in Puerto Rico. Medico #1 mention that they are aware of the Studs’ reputation from coast to coast in the U.S.,  but if they think they've come to the Caribbean to also have their way, then they are mistaken because the Super Medicos are here. ‘Remember, from A to Z, we are the rulers and masters of that ring’.

Next is the card rundown for tonight’s show in Carolina: Carlos Colon defends against Dick Murdoch in a Universal title match with Buddy Rogers as guest referee; Invader #1 & Bronco #1 (the clip they show them has them with the titles and the Hangmen masks in their hands) defend the World tag team titles against Scott Hall & Motor City Madman; TNT & Kim Duk vs Action Jackson (the ex-Original TNT) & El Profe; Mr. Pogo defends the World Jr title against ‘El Nene de las Nenas’ Ricky Santana; Sasha defends the Women’s title against Monster Ripper; Galan Mendoza & Rick Valentine defend the Caribbean tag titles against the Caribbean Express; and the Super Medicos vs the California Studs.

Next is our first look at the California Studs,a new team brought in by Skandor Akbar. A limo is arriving at the airport, where it parks to pick up two guys in sunglasses, bow ties and jackets (but shirtless), and it seems they are in their wrestling gear.  Skandor Akbar gets out of the limo to greet them before all three get inside. In the limo, the California Studs say they are going to show everyone what they are all about as they zoom in on a tv monitor in the limo. It then cuts to the Studs in tv studio action. By the way, you may have recognized who these two wrestlers are (if not we’ll identify them soon), but it is clear that neither of their accents screams California. We then get a video that is intercut with scenes from the tv studio match and scenes of the Studs posing on a bridge (including being served champagne by their female limo driver). The video is followed by a promo featuring Akbar and the California Studs. Interesting enough, they still have not identified either of them by name. Both Studs cut a promo followed by Hugo translating. If you have not recognized them by now, the California Studs are Tony Antonhy and Brian Lee.

MD: The funniest part here was Hugo talking after each Stud and Akbar coming in early since he was going to follow Lee, and then glaring at Hugo as he started talking while the Studs tried to call him down. The second funniest bit was Lee’s accent being dubbed a California Stud. so it’s Brian Lee and Tony Anthony, which is a total surprise to me, but they’re going to fit in just fine in Puerto Rico. Anthony cut a good promo about how the Medics don’t know them but they’ve done the research.

The card, by the way, is pretty interesting, with Buddy Rogers coming in to ref the Colon vs Murdoch match. While the Studs are in underneath vs the Medicos, Valentine/Mendoza and Motor City Madman/Hall seem temporarily above them on the card. They call Original TNT Action Jackson too so I’m sure they’ll explain that to us later.

EB: El Profe is with Scott Hall and Motor City Madman, and they are there to talk about tonight's World tag title match ‘against those two imbeciles’. Madman dubs their duo “The Twin Towers" and can’t believe that the tecnicos will be able to beat them. Hall mentions that the hot streak Bronco and Invader are on is out of luck. Hall actually mocks Bronco’s dance (and does a pretty good imitation of it) and says that the champions can’t measure up to the madman and the blonde outlaw.

Invader and Bronco respond, wearing their title belts and holding the Hangmen’s masks in their hands. Their opponents may be strong but they better come ready, because Invader and Bronco are ready to fight to keep the titles around their waists. In a nice touch, Invader has one of the Hangmen’s hands around his fist and it waves around as he gestures throughout his promo.

MD: Madman and Hall are up against Invader and Bronco for the titles. Madman calls them the “Twin Towers.” and Hall makes fun of Bronco’s dance. We get more lovely pantomime as Hall and Madman figure out what to do with their hands as Profe talks. But even better is that Invader and Bronco have the Hangmen’s masks. Great symbol there.

EB The Dick Murdoch music video we’ve seen before plays next, although it has been updated to include some highlights from Murdoch’s feud with Carlos Colon. Besides the brainbuster on the ballfield we’ve seen before, the video includes clips of when Murdoch busted open Carlos in the tv studio, Murdoch attacking Carlos with a stick after their first match, and a post match attack after their March 2 match (where Murdoch attacked Carlos with a chair near the dugout after carlos had shoved the referee out of the way).

As mentioned earlier, the Universal title match has a special referee. We hear from both participants as well as the special referee. Up first is Dick Murdoch with his sidekick Joe Smith. Except now it’s Joe Don Smith due to the great job Joe has been doing  at basically being Murdoch’s stooge. Joe is happy about the middle nama and also mentions that  Murdoch now has him living in a home with windows. Murdoch complains about Buddy Rogers being named the special ref, but it doesn’t matter who the ref is because Murdoch will beat Colon for the Universal title. Murdoch wants Rogers to call things straight down the middle, because if he doesn’t he will get slapped. Last time in Carolina, Murdoch left tColon laid out and he’ll do it again tonight with the Universal title on the line. Murdoch promises Colon that this will be one of the greatest matches of both their careers and that the title is coming to him.

Buddy Rogers is next and gives a basic but solid promo about being happy to be in Puerto Rico, refereeing what will be one of the greatest matches in the Puerto Rico area, that he will take no favorites, and there will be a clear winner.

Finally, Carlos Colon has his say about tonight’s match. Colon makes clear that he requested Buddy Rogers as the referee because  he’s tired of Murdoch stealing wins in their matches by cheating. And with the Universal title on the line, Colons definitely wants to be sure Murdoch is not able to do his usual cheating antics. That’s the only reason he requested a special referee, to stop the cheating, because he does not need any help in giving Murdoch a beating. Tonight he is going to give Murdoch a bigger beating, so be ready.

MD: Very good Murdoch music video made better maybe by the shaky VQ? There’s stuff from Texas of him fighting Funk which makes me wish that happened in Puerto Rico. His promo is pretty funny too as he’s given a middle name to Joe (He’s now Joe Don) and he’s got real windows for the first time in his life. Buddy Rogers’ promo is very straightforward and he’s good at not trying to do things with his hands as Hugo translates. Again, they’ve done another good job of making a match seem suitably big and important.

EB: The final match on this Campeones episode is one we have covered before, it is from the feud between the Caribbean Express and Los Mercenarios that led up to Aniversario 1990. It’s being shown since the Caribbean Express are challenging for the Caribbean tag titles on tonight's card. Before the match, Profe is complaining about the cut of his suit, with Hugo suggesting that perhaps it is because Profe has gained weight. Hugo also starts needling Profe about his tag match tonight, where he may end up alone against TNT and Kim Duk. Hugo also gets Profe’s thoughts on the other matches tonight, with Profe predicting wins for the rude and insulting the tecnicos. Hugo wonders why he bothered asking Profe for his opinion as he throws it to the match. Afterwards, we go back to Hugo and Profe for the show close. Before he forgets, Hugo wants to give a thank you to the limo driver from the California Studs video, who was very professional, especially considering how the California Studs can behave. Hugo thanks the fans for their letters and reminds them about tonight’s card and when to catch Campeones weekly.  

We now go to the west coast version of Superestrellas de la Lucha libre for March 9. Quick note for those that watch the videos, you can skip to the 4:30 mark here since the first few minutes are the intro to last week’s episode.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZZIF-V4D_U

Hugo welcomes the viewers to another episode of Superestrellas and goes over what we’ll see today on the program. Our main event will feature the Invaders (#1 and #4) taking on the Motor City Madman and Scott Hall. We also have the debut of a new team brought in by El Profe and Gen. Skandor Akbar, the California Studs. Besides the scheduled matches, there was an incident that occurred in the studio while they were taping another Superestrellas episode (I’m guessing Hugo is referring to the promos and wraparounds they filmed for the SJ Metro version of Superestrellas). There is a change to a match that was scheduled for today's TV program due to that incident and Hugo asks the director to show what happened. They cut to Hugo talking about what is scheduled for tonight’s show in Carolina when all of a sudden Action Jackson (the former Original TNT) and El Profe  show up on set. Jackson is angry and shouts that he does not want to wait to face TNT tonight, he wants him right now. TNT shows up and the two get into a brief argument and agree to face off for the TV title right now instead of waiting. We cut back to Hugo and he announces that our first match today will be TNT challenging Action Jackson for the TV title. Regardless of the result, this does not affect their scheduled match for tomorrow, the only thing that could change is who is defending the TV title based on how the upcoming match goes. Hugo takes a moment to run down tomorrow’s card in Aguadilla and also says that they are proud to return to their west coast home which is the arena in Aguadilla. After running down the card, Hugo then introduces the impromptu TV title match.

TNT and Action Jackson start off hot, exchanging several punches before Jackson gets the advantage. Eliud Gonzalez on commentary makes note that Action Jackson is furious about TNT stripping him of the name and paint and he is out to get revenge. Jackson rams TNT into the corner, but TNT comes back with several blows. TNT hits a backdrop on Jackson ,who then rolls out of the ring to catch his breath. Back in, TNT continues in control and makes a pin attempt. Jackson regains control with an eye rake, controlling the next couple of minutes with elbows, eye gouges and rear chinlocks. TNT briefly gets a comeback by ducking a clothesline and hitting a bodypress, but Jackson quickly gets back on offense. Eventually, Jackson misses a corner charge that allows TNT the opening to hit a couple of strikes to the midsection. TNT sends Jackson into the ropes and a karate chop gets a two count. TNT tries another whip into the ropes but Jackson counters and Profe trips up TNT. The referee sees this and calls for the disqualification. The two men continue fighting after the bell, with Profe trying to help out Jackson. TNT briefly fights them off but eventually Jackson is able to surprise TNT from behind. Both Jackson and Profe attack TNT, and Profe helps Jackson hit a piledriver. With TNT out, Jackson takes out a towel and wipes the paint off TNT’s face in a sign of disrespect. The commentators mention that Jackson is doing to TNT exactly what Jackson had done to him after losing their apuestas match last week. Kim Duk runs out to chase the rudos off, as TNT tries to cover his face. This certainly seems like a feud that is not yet over.

We get some promos from Action Jackson (with El Profe) and TNT about tomorrow’s TV title match. Jackson promises to finish TNT, he’ll take his paint off again to embarrass TNT again. He’s sick and tired of beating TNT but he’ll do it again tomorrow, TNT is wearing his head mask and mentions that taking off the paint was an act of disrespect. He’s worn that paint for years and no one has dared to do what Action Jackson did. The one and only TNT is angry and tomorrow he will take that TV title off Jackson, just as he did the name and paint.      

MD: TNT won the rights to the name so now Original TNT is Action Jackson. He’s still got the TV title so he has that going for him but now he has some colorful tights instead. They have the confrontation and an impromptu match which is very neck vice heavy. Maybe Jackson was worse off without the karate gimmick. TNT would fight from underneath and get cut off repeatedly until he finally took over, got tripped by Profe and then, when he took back over Profe came on in for the DQ. They needed to heat things back up so they did with Jackson wiping the paint off of TNT’s face in a sign of disrespect, an affront. Kim Duk came out to make the save. The promos were about what you’d respect with TNT talking about the sanctity of the paint and Jackson, kind of amusingly, cutting his promo and then talking on as Profe translated for him. Probably still some juice left on this program with the high heat angle.

EB: They do the rundown for tomorrow's show in Aguadilla: Giant Warrior vs. Dick Murdoch; Invader #1 & Kim Duk vs Motor City Madman & Scott Hall; Action Jackson defends the TV title against TNT; Ricky Santana vs. Rick Valentine; Bronco #1 vs. Galan Mendoza; Sasha vs. Monster Ripper; and the Super Medicos vs. the California Studs.

Up next is Ricky Santana vs. El Condor.The match is joined just as Condor has jumped Ricky Santana and is ramming Ricky’s head into the turnbuckle. Condor irish whips Ricky and follows up with a clothesline, but a second irish whip is reversed and Santana hits a backdrop. From there it's all Santana in a short match, hitting a flying splash to finish off El Condor.

Monster Ripper, Galan Mendoza and Rik Valentine are in the interview area to talk about their singles matches tomorrow in Aguadilla. They each insult their respective opponents and give guarantees of victory tomorrow. Ricky Santana is next, sending a hello to the fans in Aguadilla in Spanish but then does the rest of the interview in English. Bronco #1 also cuts a promo on his match tomorrow against Galan Mendoza, warning Mendoza to be ready and that it won’t be easy.

MD: They’re in Aguadilla for another card they’re hyping with a different line up, including Santana vs Valentine and Bronco vs Mendoza. The Santana match was JIP and pretty quick with him fighting back and hitting the top rope splash. Valentine said he was only back to the island due to a court date for stealing hubcaps. Obviously, Santana cutting a pretty solid promo in English did not appreciate that. Mendoza went after the locale and its people more than Bronco but it was going to be a singles match between two of the different tag title holders, so that made it a little interesting.

EB: Our next match is a replay of the Dick Murdoch vs Giant Warrior match that we saw just a week or so ago. It's being shown to build up tomorrow’s main event between Giant Warrior and Dick Murdoch. This was the match where Murdoch busted open Warrior and continued choking him after the bell. After the match we go to Hugo in the interview area with Dick Murdoch and Joe Smith,  or rather Joe Don Smith due to the great job he has been doing for Murdoch. Joe also makes sure the west coast fans are aware he now has windows in his house. Murdoch promises that he’ll beat Warrior even worse than last time. He also promises that if Colon shows up he will beat him up as well.  

Hugo follows with a voiceover over clips of Giant Warrior, who is on his way back to Puerto Rico from a foreign tour  and who spoke with Hugo over the telephone. The clips include opponents such as Atkie Mulumba, Nitron, Roadblock and Abdullah the Butcher. Hugo lets the fans know that Warrior has been training and is now more aware of how Murdoch operates. Warrior is looking forward to dealing with this menace and shutting up Murdoch once and for all.

MD: They know they have good material so they reuse it, I guess, with Murdoch giving Joe a middle name again and them talking about a house with windows. Murdoch navigates his feud with Colon and going up against Warrior. More fun bits with Hugo translating in between them including the two of them miming the brainbuster in unison.

EB: The California Studs are in the interview area with Skandor Akbar. The interview starts with Akbar presenting the team and bragging about how accomplished they are. Again they do not name either of the Studs in the interview and each of them has a chance to talk about their match tomorrow against the Super Medicos.

Afterwards we join the California studs vs. El Corsario and Tito Carrion match already in progress. Lee and Antohone are just tossing their opponents around and having their way with the tecnico team. It’s an impressive showcase for Akbar’s new tag team, as the Studs win the match with a powerslam into a flying kneedrop combo.  

MD: It’s interesting how they haven’t quite worked out the patter of Hugo translating after everything they say yet. Anthony tried to throw it to Lee and then they had to wait for Hugo. Akbar was a big pick up really, honestly feeling as big as getting Greg Valentine or Harley Race. That hasn’t quite played out on top yet, but he just adds gravitas to everything. Even the goofy sunglasses. Squash was pretty straightforward. A lot of quick tags and control. Pulling up at 2 by the hair. I don’t know about Lee’s top rope kneedrop finish but otherwise he was a big man that could move.

EB: El Profe is with Skandor Akbar, new Caribbean champion Scott Hall and Motor City Madman to talk about tomorrow’s tag match with Invader #1 and Kim Duk.  Akbar runs down the tecnicos, especially that traitor Kim Duk, who owes Profe an apology. Madman talks next and makes a racist insult involving food, with Hall finishing the interview by saying they have the brains and the brawn to handle Invader and Duk tomorrow. Duk and Invader cut their promo from the backstage area in the arena, with Duk threatening the rudos with his kendo stick and Invader urging the fans to come out and support them. Their opponents may be big but Invader has a partner with a lot of heart and fortitude in Kim Duk.  

MD: Case in point, Akbar talking for these two. More fun hand motions (in tandem) as Hugo translates. Hall is the Caribbean champion still. Invader seemed to be chomping at the bits to speak for Duk but it’s a pretty fresh match at least.

EB: The Super Medicos cut a quick promo about facing the new arrivals of the California Studs. They promise that they won't; back down, they have faced many great teams before and beaten them. It won’t be easy for the California Studs tomorrow.

MD: Straightforward stuff here as they prepare for the Studs. Other teams have come in before and they’ve faced them down. Medico 1 says that the Studs better be in good condition because they’re facing some tough “super middleweights.” I’ve got some high hopes for this feud at least.

EB: Our main event for this program is a tag match between Scott Hall and the Motor City Madman vs the Invaders. Both Profe and Akbar are at ringside for the rudos. The Invaders start off the match with their signature armwork and quick tags on Scott Hall. Invader #1 takes down Hall and works a hammerlock, but Hall is able to get back to his feet and fight out of it. Madman is tagged in, but Invader is able to scoot through Madman’s legs to avoid an attack and gets an arm wringer. Another series of quick tags and arm works is done on Madman. Eventually, Invader #1 is backed into the rudo corner and Hall gets tagged in. A double clothesline from the rudos gets an unsuccessful pin attempt. Invader #1 again is able to scoot through his opponent’s legs and gets an arm wringer. Quick tag to Invader #4, who continues to work the arm but is overmatched by Hall when they get into a punch exchange. Halls gets a tornado punch and a body slam, before sending Invader #4 into the rudo corner.

Madman is tagged back in and the rudos work over Invader #4. The rudos manage to keep Invader #4 isolated, with Hall getting a variation of the abdominal stretch on Invader #4. Invader #1 comes in to break the hold, but the rudos continue to keep Invader #4 near their corner. Hugo mentions that the rudo team has impressed him with their moves and how well they are working together as a team. Invader #4 gets a sunset flip (with an assist by Invader #1 in knocking Hall down) but he is unable to tag Invader #1 in. The attack continues on Invader #4 but eventually Invader #4 is able to roll away and make the hot tag to Invader #1, who starts cleaning house on the rudos. All four men end up in the ring fighting and, in the confusion, Invader #4 gets backdropped by Hall over the top rope to the floor. Invader #1 gets a backslide on Madman, but Hall comes over to break up the pin attempt. Invader #1 backs Hall into the turnbuckle and starts punching away as the referee tries to break it up and send Hall back to his corner. On the other side of the ring, Akbar has given Madman one of his boots. When Invader turns around, the ref gets tied up with Hall and does not see Madman hit Invader with Akbar’s boot. Madman covers and gets the pin on Invader #1.

Hugo then closes the show by hyping up tomorrow’s card and reminding fans about where to get the merchandise and VHS tapes that are available for purchase.

MD: This goes about ten and was pretty good. Invaders were masked (and it was a good way to build vs Invader/Bronco defending against the “Twin Towers”). Invaders controlled early with quick tags and working the arm. They finally took over on Invader 4 in the corner and did a long, super credible heat with some clever hope spots as Invader 1 intervened. This gave you a great sense of how big Hall and the Mad Man were. They just loomed over their opponents. Invader 1 came in hot after the tag but an Invader (4?) went crashing to the floor hard and in the confusion, the Mad Man used a weapon and got the win. Nice way to heat up the bigger match.

EB: Next time on El Deporte de las Mil Emociones, we’ll find out what happened in the Universal title match. Do we have a new champion? Did Buddy Rogers call it down the middle? What exactly happened post match? Also, we get a new dirty arrival to Puerto Rico and a final  look at one of the stalwarts of Puerto Rican wrestling.

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