El Deporte de las Mil Emociones: Christmas Revenge

Week 39: Christmas Revenge

EB: We’re nearing the end of our runthrough of 1990 and we have hit another stretch where results and footage are a bit scarce. What we do have is concentrated more in the latter half of December, so before talking about the final weeks of the year let’s take a moment to review where things stand as December begins.

The Texas Hangmen have had a series of matches vs La Pareja Increible of Carlos Colon and TNT. As we enter December, Carlos is going to shift away from battling the Hangmen, as his responsibilities as Universal champion come calling. He is set to defend the Universal title on December 15 against a new challenger, one that has not really had a run before in CSP. Direct from the World Wrestling Federation, it is Greg Valentine (back to his signature blonde look after  the end of Rhythm n’ Blues). 

TNT is still in the fight against the World tag team champions the Texas Hangmen, but he needs a tag partner with Colon otherwise engaged. It just so happens that Invader #1 has made a recovery from the hanging the Texas Hangmen gave him in mid October, and he has been cleared to return to active wrestling duty. Invader wants to get revenge on the Texas Hangmen and that chance will happen on December 15, as he will team with TNT.

The feud between the Super Medicos and Eric Embry & Rick Valentine has been going on for almost three months. As we get into December, the two teams had an apuestas elimination match where the last person eliminated would lose either their mask or their hair. The two teams continued their rivalry over the Caribbean tag titles, including a time limit draw that resulted in a no time limit rematch happening on December 15. A key part of this feud has been the involvement of Monster Ripper and Sasha, and both ladies are still actively involved. Ripper is scheduled to defend the Women’s World title against Sasha on December 15.

As for the remaining titles, Huracan Castillo Jr. remains as the World Junior champion after defeating Billy Joe Travis in their feud, while Kim Duk has been able to hold onto the Caribbean title for the past few months. However, Duk has a title defense scheduled for December 15 against El Bronco #1, a wrestler who in his short time in CSP has become a fan favorite. Speaking of fan favorites, Giant Warrior makes his return to CSP after being on a month long Japan tour.. He is set for action on December 15 against another World Wrestling Federation wrestler in The Barbarian.

So with this summary, it is time to look at the last couple of weeks in1990. We have a mix of results and matches from December 15, clips from the December 22 episode of Superestrellas and also some matches from the December 25 Christmas Day show that ended the year. Let’s begin with a match from the big December 15 card, as Giant Warrior makes his return and faces The Barbarian.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnFyCJr1qmI

This match is from a video release about a year or so after the match took place, so again the commentary is after the fact . This is Giant Warrior’s first big match since returning from Japan and this is also a return for The Barbarian, who had previously been in CSP in 1984 (Barbarian actually faced Invader #1 at that year’s Aniversario show). The video begins with El Profe leading Barbarian to the ring, Giant Warrior already having made his entrance. It is a battle of big men here in CSP. The Barbarian takes his time getting his ring entrance attire off and finally the bell rings. A lockup leads to Warrior backing Barbarian into a corner, and on the break they start shoving each other. Warrior pumps up the crowd while Barbarian resets for another lockup. Warrior gets a side headlock that leads to Barbarian sending Warrior into the ropes. Barbarian puts his head down too early and gets kicked in the face by Warrior. The third lockup leads to Barbarian gaining control with several arm wringers. Barbarian works the arm, but Giant Warrior is able to counter with an arm wringer of his own and starts working over Barbarian’s arm. The match continues with Warrior in control until an eyerake from Barbarian leads to Warrior being tossed outside. Barbarian follows and both men fight on the field. Warrior gets the better of Barbarian and once back in the ring, Warrior works over Barbarian’s arm once more. 

A pin attempt by Warrior after an atomic drop and a clothesline only gets two. From there, Barbarian is able to find an opening and takes over the match, working Warrior over with several blows and a rear chinlock. Warrior starts fading and the ref does the arm lift check. Warrior is able to keep his arms up on the third check and starts getting fired up. Warrior fights out of the chinlock but a knee to the stomach from Barbarian stops any further comeback. Barbarian hits several punches, and when the ref gets Barbarian to back off, El Profe takes advantage and gets a hit on Giant Warrior. A series of headbutts from Barbarian leads to a pinfall attempt, but Warrior breaks it by getting his leg on the middle rope.  Barbarian gets a slam to set up an elbow drop from the turnbuckle, but he takes too long and Warrior rolls out of the way. Warrior goes on the attack, making an unsuccessful pin attempt after a clothesline in the corner. A back elbow gets two, and it seems that momentum is favoring Giant Warrior. A slam and a legdrop only get two. Warrior signals for the big boot but Kim Duk runs out from the dugout upon seeing this. Warrior gets distracted by Kim Duk (who has gotten on the ring apron). With Warrior and the ref distracted by Kim Duk, Barbarian takes off his boot and clocks Warrior from behind with it. Barbarian makes the cover (while slyly tossing the boot out of the ring to Kim Duk) and the ref makes the three count. The Barbarian has defeated  Giant Warrior thanks to Kim Duk’s help. Not the successful return Warrior was likely hoping for. The rudos celebrate the win on their way back to the dugout. 

MD: This got a lot of time (12 minute video) but was overall good. Warrior seems well trained, right? He’s a little bit gangly and awkward but can still hit things clean enough. He can move around in there. He really tries to engage and work the crowd. I think he lacks some natural charisma but he’s doing the right things generally. Barbarian looked good here. He came out in his WWF 1990 garb with the antlers and everything. Just like Warrior can punch down, he was able to punch up here and his shots looked good. They built to a lengthy chinlock but it’s not like Barbarian wasn’t straining and working it. Big transition was Barbarian missing a rope walk elbow drop. Warrior was loading up the boot when Kim Duk came in and interfered, allowing Barbarian to get a cheapshot with his own boot used as a weapon for the win. I’m up for more Barbarian but against some of the other babyfaces. Amusingly, they mentioned a bunch of other giants on commentary including Baba, Andre, and El Gigante of Argentina.

EB: We have a title change happening at Bayamon on December 15, with El Bronco #1 defeating Kim Duk to become the new Caribbean champion. It’s quite the accomplishment for someone who has not been in the territory long, and it’ll be interesting to see where El Bronco goes from here. We do not have footage of the match but to celebrate Bronco’s victory, we do have a music video. The video features clips from Bronco’s initial intro vignette where he arrives in Puerto Rico, highlights from matches against Rick Valentine, El Exotico, El Condor and Grizzly Boone, and of course dancing with Amarilis.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7Naop1qYpc

MD: It’s a good act, right? Dancing neighbor. Black and red mask. Dancing valet. Latin American NWA champion. The drop down DDT. The Mongolian type chops. I don’t know about the dance itself, but it does seem like the sort of thing that would get over. I’m not sure I have a great sense of who he is from this, but I do have a good sense of what he is, and it makes for a solid mid-card act.

EB: One of the big matches for the December 15 card is the tag match featuring Invader #1’s return. We have the full match video, once again from the raw house show footage so there’s no commentary (but you’ll get to hear the crowd loud and clear).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x49ewXyjj7c

We have Invader and TNT waiting in the ring as the Texas Hangmen are on their way out. Psycho and Killer stop at a distance, so they can remove their bullropes and World tag title belts. They are both wearing studded leather masks for their entrance which they remove as well. Eliud Gonzlez makes the ring introductions (with the crowd heavily cheering both TNT and Invader). The tecnicos rush to meet the Hangmen just as they are getting into the ring and the action is underway. TNT fights one of the Hangmen in the ring, while Invader tosses the other one outside. Judging by the hair sticking out from the mask, I’d say Killer is outside with Invader and Psycho is in the ring with TNT. For the next four minutes, the tecnicos run over both Hangmen. Invader attacks Killer around the ballfield, smashing him into the announcer’s table, the playing field, into the ringpost and near the crowd. TNT is doing the same to Psycho in the ring, at one point using his karate belt to choke Psycho. The crowd is electric for all of this, cheering on the tecnicos as they run over the Hangmen. TNT and Psycho also head outside of the ring and they continue fighting on the field. Invader once again rams Killer into the small ringside table and then picks it up to hit Killer over the head. Psycho tries to head over to help his partner, but TNT grabs him from behind. TNT holds Psycho so Invader can get some hits in. Finally, all four men get in the ring, but the tecnicos continue with the advantage. What appears to be a smoke bomb goes off at ringside and TNT exits the ring, leaving Invader and Killer. Invader presses the attack, hitting a Garvin stomp on Killer. TNT is tagged in and handles both Hangmen with kicks. 

The tecnicos continue in control until about the 8 minute mark, where the Hangmen are able to stop TNT and turn the tide in their favor. The Hangmen control the next part of the match with their usual assortment of double teaming behind the ref’s back. TNT (who it looks has started to bleed) is thrown to the outside, but Invader rushes over to prevent any further attack (including hitting a foul kick on one of the Hangmen). Invader helps TNT into the ring near the tecnico corner, but Psycho quickly grabs TNT and puts him in an armbar. TNT is able to briefly fight out of the hold with several blows, but Killer runs in from behind to knock TNT down. Psycho again puts TNT in an armbar as the crowd tries to cheer TNT on. Psycho attempts a pin after a clothesline but Invader makes the save. The Hangmen work TNT over in their corner and Killer is tagged back in. The Hangmen continue in control until TNT and Psycho collide, and then Psycho misses a follow up splash. Both men tag their partners and Invader cleans house for a bit on both Hangmen. TNT recovers and gets back in the ring. All four men are in the ring, with the tecnicos taking control and ramming the Hangmen into each other. TNT and  Psycho go to the outside, leaving Invader with Killer in the ring. 

Invader has Killer against the ropes and sets up for a heart punch, but is grabbed by the referee since Killer is tied up in the ropes. Invader, thinking it was Psycho, turns around and fires off the heart punch on El Vikingo (who goes flying through the ropes to the outside). With the referee out, Killer knocks Invader down and goes for one of the bullropes. TNT stops Killer from attacking Invader and Invader ends up with the bullrope after a quick tug of war. However, Psycho rushes in and knocks Invader down. He attempts another hanging but can’t hold Invader high enough because there is only one person doing the hanging. Profe comes in to help and Invader takes advantage by kicking Profe away, using the momentum to flip over and out of the hanging. Invader sends Psycho out of the ring and is able to grab Profe. Invader sets up Profe and is able to hang him for a few moments before the Hangmen break it up. The Hangmen again try to hang Invader but TNT stops them, with Invader grabbing the bullrrope again. The tecnicos fight off the Hangmen and chase them all the way to the dugout. Invader and TNT stand tall and walk along the field to the cheers of the crowd, with Invader ringing the cowbell in response. There is no winner and you can bet Invader still wants payback.

MD: You know you’re going to get something good when you hear the buzz of the crowd for Invader and TNT being announced. This is a little wild considering how deep into a blood feud TNT and Invader were not long before. The Hangmen come out with spikey Demolition style masks. Once the bell rings however, Invader gets right to it brawling around the stadium with a Hangman, slamming his head repeatedly into a convenient desk that’s been conveniently placed there. TNT holds down the other in the ring to give Invader a spotlight to shine upon his return but eventually gets into the walking and brawling act as well.

When they hit the ring, TNT and Invader got to beat them all over the place for a bit. Probably what made them viable as a main event act in Puerto Rico (on top of the big heatseeking angles) was that they were very much willing to stooge and flail about and weren’t just monsters. The numbers game won out however and they started a lengthy bit of heat on TNT, including choking him with the rope behind the ref’s back once or twice. Invader made it in finally and the place came unglued. 

He took out the ref but they still built to a big post-match moment of Invader holding up the rope, the Hangmen getting it back and trying to choke him, and Invader flipping backwards onto his feet. He got the rope and hung a writhing, spasming Profe for a bit before the Hangmen saved him. After that TNT recovered and saved Invader and they chased the Hangmen off. Great little bit of booking which gave the fans plenty memorable and meaningful even with a non-finish, leaving much more on the bone.

EB: We finish off our look at the December 15 card by noting the other title changes that occurred that night. Sasha was able to win back the Women’s World title from Monster Ripper, but her allies the Super Medicos were not as fortunate. They lost the Caribbean tag titles to Eric Embry and Rick Valentine under unfortunate circumstances that we will discuss shortly. The Universal title was also defended by Carlos Colon against Greg Valentine, and after the match was over controversy reigned. Valentine had attempted a figure four with his reverse shin guard on, but Colon was able to kick Greg away. However, Valentine ended up colliding with the referee, knocking El Vikingo out of the ring. Colon was able to gain control of the match and put his figure four leglock on Valentine, but there was no ref in the ring. As Colon kept the hold applied, El Vikingo started to get up but was still a bit loopy outside of the ring. Meanwhile, El Profe ran into the ring and hit Colon with a loaded punch, causing the figure four to be broken. Valentine recovered and put on his figure four leglock. Colon struggled in the hold but El Vikingo was still trying to get back in the ring. Finally, referee Victor Quiñones arrived on the scene and, after a few moments, called for the bell indicating Colon had submitted. Valentine and Profe started celebrating with the Universal title but El Vikingo had finally made his way to the ring. Vikingo went over and pulled down Valentine’s arm. It turns out that Vikingo had seen El Profe’s interference and was disqualifying Valentine. The referees started talking the situation over and it was decided that the Universal title would be held up pending a review. 

We now go to the December 22 Superestrelals episode, where we have some clips that provide some direction on where things are going. There’s a big Christmas Day show on Tuesday and we have a few rematches set for that day. The big news (which we don’t have footage for) is that the Universal title will remain held up until December 25, where Carlos Colon and Greg Valentine will have a rematch to determine who the rightful champion is. As for the other matches, we’ll begin with Giant Warrior and his scheduled opponents for Christmas day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0uaYkyIcrA

This is Giant Warrior’s return to the TV tapings after his Japan tour (which Hugo mentions on commentary). As has been the case for the Giant Warrior singles matches we have seen so far from TV, it’s a handicap match. This time Warrior is matched up with El Condor and Johnny Ringo. The two rudos jump Warrior at the bell to try to get a quick advantage, but Warrior stops them with a double clothesline. El Condor rakes the eyes to again try to gain the advantage, but makes the mistake of trying to slam Warrior (which goes as well as you’d expect). Warrior counters with his own bodyslams on Condor and Ringo is tagged in for the rudos. Johnny tries a running shoulder block but ends up bouncing off Warrior on impact. Ringo attempts another shoulder block with the same result, and Warrior hits a high back body drop on Ringo. Condor comes in to help and Warrior just choke lifts and tosses Condor to the corner. Warrior continues in control (including turning Ringo up and over with a clothesline) before signaling for the big boot. Warrior gets the big boot (with Hugo commenting on the aspect of is he really or not really loading up the boot) and gets the three count on Ringo. An impressive TV return for Giant Warrior. 

As for Christmas Day, Warrior has got a rematch with the Barbarian but it will be a tag match. Joining Barbarian is Kim Duk (who interfered in the previous Giant Warrior vs Barbarian match). Joining Giant Warrior as his tag partner is a returning face for the big Christmas Day show, none other than Scott Hall. 

MD: Not much to say here, but Johnny Ringo looked great, both just bouncing off of Warrior with shoulder blocks, and with a nutty flip bump on a clothesline. I’m now of the opinion that Warrior was probably a boon to this specific territory at this specific time in this specific role even if it’s a little counter-intuitive. 

EB: As mentioned above, Sasha had regained the Women’s World title from Monster Ripper in the latest chapter of their ongoing rivalry. The Super Medicos had lost the Caribbean tag titles thanks to Eric Embry tossing fire into Super Medico #1’s face. Medico #1’s left eye has been hurt from the attack but he has demanded a match with the ring surrounded by fire in order to pay back Embry. It’s set to be a Caribbean tag title match as well ,but the new champions have lodged a protest over defending their titles against an unworthy team (in their eyes) and about being put into such a dangerous match. Let’s see what the WWC decides regarding this protest.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKQA06Y12pk

Hugo starts the segment by saying that we are going to look at what happened last week in Bayamon, where Eric Embry and Rick Valentine regained the Caribbean tag titles and in the process, threw fire in the face of Super Medico #1. The clip from the no time limit match between the two teams is shown, and the Medicos are in control. Embry and Valentine are bleeding and you can also see that Valentine has a new haircut (so you can guess who was the last person eliminated in the mask vs hair match). Medico #1 crotches Embry on the top rope, while Medico #3 is attacking Valentine in the opposite corner. Medico #1 attempts a cover after a headbutt from the top, but  Valentien comes over to help his partner after having tossed Medico #3 to the outside. Embry rolls to the outside and as Medico #1 fights with Valentine, we see Monster Ripper come over to Embry and toss him some paraphernalia. Ripper gets on the apron but gets inadvertently hit by a Rick Valentine clothesline after Medico #1 ducked. We get a quick cut and we have Medico #3 punching Valentine in a corner, while Medico #1 is punching Ripper on the apron (it looks like he has had enough of Ripper’s interference these past few months). The ref is busy with Valentine and Medico #3, and as Medico #1 continues punching Ripper, Eric Embry pops back up and throws fire into Medico #1’s face. Embry quickly scrambles into the ring as Ripper rolls off the apron, and covers Medico #1. Embry gets the three count and he and Valentine have regained the Caribbean tag titles. Medico #1 is rolling around on the mat in clear distress as the match clip ends.

We go to an interview with the former Women’s champion Monster Ripper and the new Caribbean tag champions Eric Embry and Rick Valentine. It seems that a rematch is happening on Christmas Day, and it will be with the ring surrounded by fire. The champions had lodged a protest about the match, and it will now be non-title but the fire stipulation remains. Valentine mentions that Medico #1’s face lit up like a Christmas tree, but now they are being forced by the WWC to have this match. It won’t matter because they are going to light up the Medicos on Tuesday. Embry insists that the Medicos will not get another title shot because they do not deserve it, they’d have to earn one by winning a match against the champions. Again, they are being forced to wrestle in this match against their wishes. Embry promises to wipe all the grease off of the Medicos and burn them.

The Medicos respond, with Medico #3 angry and promising that they will pay back the rudos for what they did to Medico #1. Hugo makes note that Medico #1 still has a bandaged eye and asks him if the rudos did that to him illegally, is he worried about what they may do with the fire being legal. Medico #1 says that the way he is feeling, he is not afraid of anything. He will be ready for Tuesday, maybe his eye won’t be all the way healed but he certainly will be there. He was attacked with fire and that is why he wanted this fire match, because you fight fire with fire. When Embry comes face to face with him, Embry better be ready for the fight of his life, because as Embry tried to take Medico #1 out, Medico #1 is going to do his best to take Embry out for good. 

MD: We get a clip of the title change where Ripper passes Embry some fabric and he tosses a fireball at Medico 1 for the win. Now Valentine (who has shorter hair and a bandage on his forehead) and Embry won’t put the titles on the line until the Medicos beat them BUT are being forced by the WWC (mentioned by name) to have a fire match with the Medicos. We get their view and see that Medico #1 has a white eyepatch under his mask which is a pretty unique look. 

EB: The other big rematch scheduled for Christmas is Invader #1 and TNT tangling with the Texas Hangmen once more. Let’s watch some promos from both teams about the upcoming rematch. Since we’ve seen the full match, I’ll take this opportunity to highlight the narration Hugo provides for the clip of the match that begins the segment.

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

Hugo (at 0:15): People, the moment has arrived where we will show you what occurred during Invader #1's return to wrestling at the Juan Ramon Loubriel in Bayamon, teaming up with TNT against the Texas Hangmen. Go ahead Mr. Director.

Tape rolls off the end of the match while Hugo narrates.

Hugo: Vengeance match as Invader returns to wrestling, with TNT fighting the Texas Hangmen. They have bloodied the Hangmen, their masks are somewhat torn. There has been fury from the Invader and TNT. And here it is! Look out, the Invader's preparing the heart punch! The referee tries to stop him, but there it is, El Vikingo just received the devastating heart punch! The Hangman takes advantage of the situation, he's grabbed the same rope they used to send him to the hospital. El Vikingo is on the floor! He's (the Hangman) running the ropes to deliver the blow, but TNT tripped him. Invader's trying to take the rope away and he's got it! Wow, he's got the rope. But El Profe's sending the other Hangman in and he's surprised Invader. He's got the rope back. TNT's fighting with the other Hangman outside of the ring and El Profe's yelling for them to hang Invader! TNT's tied up with the other Hangman and here it comes! He's doing it by himself. El Profe comes in to help, but Invader does a tremendous counter and now he's got the rope. The tecnicos are carrying El Vikingo off. Invader's setting up El Profe and, yes, he's hanging El Profe. This crowd is blowing the roof off. But here come the Hangmen to save El Profe. They keep attacking the Invader.

El Ptrofe (at 2:45): The day is almost here and what a sad Christmas it will be for Invader #1 and TNT.

The Hangmen speak as Psycho (thanks Profe for saying who is who here) promises that in two days it will be their Christmas because Invader and TNT are stepping into the war zone with the Hangmen. It will be a bad Christmas for the people of Puerto Rico, since the tecncios will spend Christmas night in the hospital. Killer promises that they will get their noose back and that the people of Puerto Rico will spend Christmas crying. 

Hugo (at 4:38): The Puerto Ricans have that bullrope and that bell. Invader #1 and TNT in a rematch this Tuesday in the Loubriel in Bayamon. What's going to happen Invader #1?

Invader: You know Savinovich, the Hangmen are worried about this bullrope because they know that this bullrope is very dangerous. With this bullrope is how they sent me to the hospital. And they know that with this bullrope we could do anything. But TNT and I only have one thing in mind, on December 25th, on a very special day like this, I would like to invite all of the people of Puerto Rico to be there that day. Because when that bell rings, TNT and I will have only one thing in our heads, and that is to try everything possible to hang one of them. It doesn't matter which of the two it is, and if it's possible El Profe too. Because he has laughed enough about this when I was in the hospital. Profe, let me tell you something, when the bell rings that day, you tell your Texas Hangmen that they better buckle their pants up tight, because we only have one thing in mind, and that is vengeance. And it doesn't matter what we have to do Savinovich, but we're going to do it.

Hugo: Wow! TNT?

TNT (at 5:50): You know Invader, as Carlos Colon and I did once already, we threw the rulebook in the garbage. And that's the same thing you and I have to do this Tuesday at the Loubriel in Bayamon, throw the rulebook in the trash. So Texas Hangmen, this next Tuesday, as Invader said, buckle up those pants real tight. Because with this bell and this rope, we are going to hang and we are going to do the impossible to run you out of Puerto Rico, Texas Hangmen...

Invader: That's exactly right TNT! That's what we are going to do!

TNT: So come Texas Hangmen because we're going to fight!

Hugo closes with ‘ Friends, the Puerto Ricans are ready! This Tuesday at the Loubriel. We continue with more of the best wrestling in the world.’

MD: They show the end of the last match with Invader getting Profe and escaping getting hung again, plus Invader and TNT getting the noose. Hangmen say it’s going to be a bad Christmas for the people of Puerto Rico because Invader and TNT will be in the hospital. TNT and Invader retort with their usual passion. Invader has the noose and TNT is in his full hooded entrance gear.

EB: To close out the clips from the December 22 Superestrellas episode, we have a match from August 25, which features the Giant Warrior’s debut in Puerto Rico against  Atkie Mulumba. After the match, there’s a brief clip of Hugo running down part of the Christmas show lineup.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vzg2N8IumYg

We’re in Caguas for the debut of Giant Warrior. It's interesting to see him make his entrance through the crowd and step over the ringside barricade. The crowd seems to be very impressed with Warrior, who poses briefly for the crowd before heading towards the ring., Atkie Mulumba is already in the ring, waiting in a corner for Giant Warrior to enter. Warrior again plays to the crowd but gets jumped by Atkie as the bell rings. Both wrestlers exchange blows, with Warrior getting the better of Atkie after an elbow to the head. Atkie starts staggering and a few more blows knock him down. More overhand chops are exchanged and Mulumba takes Warrior over to the ropes to try to choke him. A head smash attempt by Atkie is blocked and Warrior counters with one of his own. Warrior plays to the crowd as he hits a few more turnbuckle smashes and then sends Atkie hard into a corner, where Atkie ends up smashing his head on the ringpost from the momentum. Mulumba takes control thanks to the use of his totem and works a nerve hold. The advantage does not last long as Warrior gets fired up, breaks the hold and eventually gets the big boot to get a clear win over Atkie Mulumba. Quite a debut match and it looks like Warrior is a hit with the local fans. 

We immediately go to  Hugo for the show closer, where he reminds fans to keep their eye on Channel 4 for more of the best wrestling in the world. every Saturday from 12pm to 1pm and every Sunday from 11:30am to 1pm. Hugo wishes all of the viewers a Merry Christmas and reminds them to be mindful during the holidays since there are a lot of kids out and about, to have fun but be very careful (I’m guessing this is either related to drinking too much and/or engaging in reckless use of firearms or fireworks). Hugo also invites the fans to a special activity the Invaders are having the next day in Humacao, a Christmas ‘merengazo’ (basically a concert / party) with several bands taking part, as well as several of the Invaders’ friends like Carlos Colon, the Super Medicos and Miguelito Perez. And the big event coming up Tuesday at 6pm,with tickets on sale at the stadium this Monday. We have a rematch between Carlos Colon (defending the colors of Puerto Rico and the WWC) and Greg Valentine for the held up Universal title, the rematch between Invader #1 and TNT vs the Texas Hangmen, the minis will be in action,  and the match between the Super Medicos and Eric Embry & Rick Valentine with the ring surrounded by fire. Be sure to tune in tomorrow.

MD: Definitive victory to put Warrior over. He was so tall that he could punch down onto the top of Mulumba’s head. Mulumba took over for a brief period with the staff/wand, and a nerve hold, but Warrior tried to get the crowd into it and worked from underneath to fire back. He hit the big boot for the win, remembering to hook the leg midway through. I don’t know if Mulumba was on the way out or what but this really put Warrior over.

EB: We finish our look at 1990 with some of the matches from that Christmas day show. First is a clip from the minis match featuring the teams of  Mascarita Sagrada & Aguilita Solitaria vs. Espectrito & Piratita Morgan 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3bIO1jgxU4

We join the match in progress, with the rudo team working over Aguilita Solitaria in their corner. Espectrito continues in control over Aguilita, sending him into a Morgan kick in the corner. Sagrada tries to come in and help, but Espectrito heads him off with some kicks. In the other corner, Piratita is tearing at Aguilita’s mask. The rudos again double tema Aguilita and end up sending him to the outside. Sagrada sees the opening with the rudos having their backs turned (and this being lucha rules he can come in now that his partner is out of the ring), and punches Espectrito from behind. Sagrada shows off some great acrobatic moves into armdrags (a handspring into an armdrag on Morgan and getting backdropped onto Espectrito for another one), causing the rudos to be off balance and roll outside to stop the momentum. The crowd cheers for the tecnicos and it looks like Piratita and Espectrito are having an argument on the outside, leadng to Morgan shoving Espectrito. The crowd is enjoying this breakdown between the rudos,but it seems that the rudos have gotten back on the same page when the action resumes. Espectrito takes out both tecnicos with kicks  Espectrito celebrates a bit as he continues with kicks on Aguilita, then follows up with a clothesline into the corner. Espectrito gets a submission on Aguilita and when Sagrada tries to break it up, Morgan heads him off. Sagrada dodges Morgan and tries to hit a moonsault off the ropes, but Morgan ducks and Mascarita crashes to the mat. Morgan covers Mascarita and gets a three count. The rudos have won the match. Post match, the rudos continue attacking both tecnicos, leaving them laid out before leaving the ring area.

MD: We get five minutes of this and it’s good for what we get. A little bullying from the rudos to start, Mascarita Sagrada with a big comeback where he clowns them as smoothly as can be, some arguing between then rudos on the pitch, and then Espectrito and Piratita turning things around for a pretty good, clean and straight finish. Post match, Mascarita got lawn darted into the post in a nice spot. I’m surprised they were still running this as an attraction but it’s a good one.

EB: Our next match from Christmas Day is the tag match featuring Scott Hall’s return to Puerto Rico to team up with Giant Warrior to face the rudo combination of Kim Duk and The Barbarian.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfcQbO27_G8

Kim Duk and Giant Warrior start off for their teams. El Profe on commentary mentions ‘look at all the great people we have in the ring’, to which Hugo responds that we is too many people. Profe says that his greatness is not in height. Warrior goes for a quick cover but Barbarian breaks it up, and this allows the rudo team to take control with quick tags. Duk and Barbarian are pretty aggressive in their attacks on Warrior, and they take advantage of Hall trying to come in to double team Warrior behind the ref’s back. Hall is able to break up a Barbarian chinlock on Warrior, but for the most part the rudos remain in control throughout the first half of the match. Giant Warrior is able to turn things around after about six minutes by ducking a clothesline and countering with one of his own. But before he can crawl over to Hall to make a tag, Barbarian kicks Hall off the apron in order to stop the tag. Warrior counters a suplex attempt with one of his own and this time is able to make the tag. Hall comes in and attacks both rudos, and Warrior almost immediately gets back in the ring to help out. Warrior and Duk end up outside as Hall punches Barbarian in the corner. As Hall continues punching, the referee gets close to the action and Hall accidentally knocks him down on one of the wind ups. Hall looks to not have noticed this, as he continues punching Barbarian. Meanwhile, Kim Duk rushes back to the ring with a chair and attacks Hall from behind with it. The rudos double team Hall and set him up for a piledriver on the chair, but Warrior is back in the ring and pulls the chair away (although Barbarian still ends up piledriving Hall). Barbarian makes the cover and Warrior swings the chair to hit Barbarian, but he rolls out of the way and Warrior instead hits Hall. The ref lets the match continue for some reason and throws the chair out of the ring. While this is happening, Warrior seems to be apologizing to Hall about what happened, but Barbarian takes advantage of that moment and attacks Hall from behind. The referee tells Warrior to leave the ring and he goes back to the tecnico corner, as Barbarian continues attacking Hall. Scott is able to come back and gets Barbarian in an abominable stretch. Warrior comes in to head off Duk, and while the referee is distracted by them, Preofe sneaks into the ring with the chair and hits Hall with it. A second attempt is stopped by Warrior, who takes the chair from Profe. Hall turns around and sees Warrior with the chair, resulting in Hall immediately attacking Warrior (he had already been hit once before by accident, so I’m guessing he thought Warrior did it again on purpose). Hall continues attacking Warrior, grabbing the chair and hitting Warrior. El Profe is on the apron egging Hall on by yelling that it was Warrior that had hit him with the chair. Hall starts choking Warrior with the edge of the chair but some of the  tecnicos come in to make the save. Hall leaves the ring and complains to the camera about being hit twice. We then go to Hugo and Profe in the studio, with Profe happy about what went down and Hugo declaring that if Hall wants to go with El Profe then he can have him, not a big loss for El Ejercito de la Justicia. El Profe starts talking about how his guys will deal with the tecnicos and Hugo just walks away in disgust as the credits roll. 

MD: What an odd match on paper. Duk had more of a run here than you’d think, but him and Barbarian as a tag team at the very end of 1990? And then Hall with Giant Warrior. This had a long heat on Warrior which was compelling enough if a bit weird on paper. Barbarian looked great in knocking Hall off the apron at one point and ate a suplex on the big come back spot. Hall came in hot but Duk ran in with a chair (it took him a couple of tries to get it between the ropes as it wasn’t a folding chair). Warrior accidentally hit Hall with it after preventing a pile driver on it (but not the pile driver itself). Hall shrugged it off and kept fighting but then Profe hit Hall with a chair and when Hall turned, Warrior had taken it from Profe. Uh oh. Hall showed great emotion in destroying Warrior due to the miscommunication and Profe was pleased with his own brilliance after the fact. I thought Hall was a great babyface earlier in the year so this is a bit of a shame, but he’s probably more worthwhile on the heel side at this point.

EB: Our last match from Christmas Day is the fire match between the Super Medicos and Eric Embry & Rick Valentine. Will we finally have an end to this feud? Let's find out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9hghuCwB0o

The match begins with the Medicos attacking Embry and Valentine on the outside, and they have yet to light the fire on the ring ropes. Hugo explains that the fire will be lit once all four men have entered the ring. Medico #1 tosses Embry into the ring and they continue fighting, as Medico #3 has Valentine on the ground outside continuing his attack. They start lighting the fire as Embry and Medico #1 continue fighting. They leave one side unlit for a few moments as they finally get Valentine and Medico #3 in the ring. With all four men in, they light up the remaining side and now no one can leave until there is a winner. The Medicos control most of the match, as the dynamic is Embry and Valentine trying to fight off being pushed into the fire and not being too successful. Hugo and Profe mention everything that’s happened between the two teams (Valentine lost his hair, a leg was injured, they’ve bloodied each other up, the fire thrown in the face) and that this seems to be another escalation in the rivalry. As the match continues, Hugo makes note that the referee is only there for a pinfall or submission, he cannot disqualify anybody. The Medicos continue in control of the match, although Valentine and Embry do get some brief moments of offense. But the Medicos quickly come back and it is Embry and Valentine that feel the effects of the fire. Profe on commentary says that he is hoping to see one of the Medico’s masks catch on fire and see their head look like a torch. The match reaches a climax when Embry gets a foul blow on one of the Medcios and then the rudos try a double team on the other one. However, the Medico gets out of the way and Embry hits Valentine instead. The blow sends Valentine into the fire and Valentine gets rolled up for the win. But the Medicos are not done yet, as they grab Embry to dish out some more punishment. A headbutt sends Embry backwards into the ropes, where he smashes his face into the flames. Medico #1 continues punching and raking Embry’s eyes as the ringside attendants start removing the fire from the ropes. All four men exit the ring, as the Medicos continue attacking Embry and Valentine all the way to the dugout.  I guess this means the Super Medicos have earned a shot at the Caribbean tag titles based on the champions’ previous protest.

MD: This is a little bizarre. It’s the only fire match that I’ve ever seen that is mostly a stooging comedy affair. I can’t even count how many times Embry and especially Valentine go careening into the flames and bounce off wildly. Medicos control most of this except for a few times where Embry/Valentine get lucky shots in. It’s always sold big but it’s never decisive. The finish, which is a heel communication bit that sends one into the flame to set up a roll up doesn’t seem particularly worse than any other spot that didn’t lead to a pin. It’s not bad. The stooging is good. You can buy that they never take the fire in the worst place, maybe, but they probably could have accomplished twice as much with half the fire bumps.

EB: And with that, we’ve reached the end of our look at 1990 in Puerto Rico wrestling. We do have some pending results to talk about, specifically what happened in the Invader #1 & TNT vs Texas Hangmen rematch and who is the Universal champion after the Carlos Colon and Greg Valentine rematch. Also, is the feud between the Super Medicos and Eric Embry & Rick Valentine finally over? What about Scott Hall, is he really going with El Profe? We’ll find out the answer to all this and more when we begin our journey through 1991. But first…

Next time on El Deporte de las Mil Emociones, since we have reached the end of 1990, it seems like a good moment to give some thoughts on our journey so far. So we will have a checkpoint of sorts, where Matt and Esteban are going to talk about what has been covered so far on our journey from mid 89 to 90. What have we learned? What have been our highlights.or surprises so far? How has this changed our thoughts or notions of Puerto Rico wrestling? We’ll give our thoughts on these and other topics as we get ready to move into 1991. 

Read more!

El Deporte de las Mil Emociones: Caged Hangmen

Week 38: Caged Hangmen

EB: It is mid-November and we have two really hot feuds happening in CSP. The Texas Hangmen have been tangling with La Pareja Increible and so far we have not had any clear winners in their encounters. Colon and TNT are focused on paying back the Hangmen for the abuses they have committed, especially for severely injuring Invader #1. After the last match between the two teams ended and the Hangmen (with el Profe) attacked the tecnicos, TNT and Colon demanded a cage match with the Texas Hangmen and it looks like the challenge has been accepted. 

The other hot feud involves the Super Medicos and Sasha against Eric Embry, Rick Valentine and Monster Ripper. The history between Sasha and Eric Embry has come into play in this rivalry, with Embry stooping to the level of physically attacking Sasha. For this rivalry we have had two new developments, both happening on November 10. The Super Medicos defeated Embry & Valentine for the Caribbean tag titles, getting a victory over the hated rudo team. But on that same day, Sasha lost the Women’s World title back to Monster Ripper, when Eric Embry interfered and hit Sasha on the leg with a bat. The issue between these two groups is far from over as well.

We also have seen a group of new arrivals to CSP in the month of November, with an influx of names from the USWA. The most notable one is Billy Joe Travis, who made a quick impact by winning the World Junior title (although by using a loaded punch to do so). Since his arrival in CSP, Travis has shown a huge disdain for Puerto Ricans and has also had some rematches with Castillo. So far, Travis has used his loaded punch to keep the title, but Castillo is still hot on his trail.

Another notable arrival form the USWA is Jeff Jarrett, who we saw among the members of El Ejercito de la Justicia who came out to help Carlos Colon and TNT when they were being attacked by the Texas Hangmen. Jarrett would make some appearances throughout November and December but does not really get heavily involved in any feuds in these appearances. We do have one match from around this time period featuring Jeff Jarrett in CSP, so let’s go to Bayamon for a match where Jarrett takes on the returning veteran Ivan Koloff. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8cwlQstlOQ

This match happened sometime in the November to early December period. The commentary is from a video release about a year or so later, so the commentary does not really add much context for what was going on at the time the match took place. The veteran Ivan Koloff (with his chain) is making a return to CSP, and is facing Jeff Jarrett. El Profe is again accompanying Koloff at ringside. This is youth vs experience and the first moments of the match showcase the two wrestlers trading holds and working over each other’s arms. The first half of the match is mainly focused on arm work, with Jarrett getting the better of Koloff for the most part. About halfway through the match, Koloff works in a  headscissors on Jarrett that they counter back and forth between a Jarrett headlock and the Koloff headscissors (and we get a nice moment of Ivan trying to pump feeling back into his arm after the damage it had taken during the first part of the match). Koloff eventually rakes Jarrett’s eyes and throws him to the outside, where the momentum shifts towards Koloff. From there, Koloff works over Jarrett and makes some pin attempts, but cannot put Jarrett away. Jarrett gets a sunset flip attempt that Koloff tries to stop by grabbing the ropes, but the ref kicks Ivan’s hands away and the attempt gets a two count. Before going back to attacking Jarrett, Koloff takes a moment to get in El Vikingo’s face about kicking his hands a few moments earlier. Koloff and Jarrett trade blows and Koloff decides to go to the top rope after knocking down Jarrett. However, he takes too long, allowing Jarrett to catch Koloff and throw him down to the mat. Jarrett looks to be in control and, even with Profe tripping him up, is able to get a few pin attempts on Koloff (including a nice crossbody from the top turnbuckle). As the ref backs Jarrett away from the corner, El Profe hands the chain to Koloff. When Jarrett approaches, Ivan decks Jarrett with the chain while Profe distracts the ref, and Ivan makes the cover. The ref starts counting, but then notices the chain lying on the mat. El Vikingo stops his count, picks up the chain and admonishes Koloff. He then raises Jarrett’s hand as the winner, having disqualified Koloff for using the chain. Koloff tries to attack Jarrett post match but is sent out by a dropkick. Jarrett celebrates his win as the video ends. 

MD: As matches go, this was definitely a match. It had a hot few minutes that I really liked and everything before that was 100% sound. Jeff had been wrestling for a while by this point but it’s always good to get time in the ring with a vet like Koloff. Ivan had Profe with him and was a known entity but I wouldn’t say he had a lot of heat and I wouldn’t say the fans really got behind Jeff even though he was a perfectly fine babyface. Maybe part of that is that they wrestled things pretty straightforward for the first ten minutes or so. Lots of in and out of holds. Headlocks, armdrags, that sort of thing. Certainly, Ivan stooged a bit, escaping and ending up right back in, but he didn’t really cheat. Eventually he did hit a belly to back out of a headlock and tossed Jeff out of the ring (after an eyerake to cut him off) to set up a short king of the mountain. Jeff finally fired back but Profe kept getting involved. I thought he might have had him on a flying body press after tossing him off the top (Big bump for old Ivan) but Profe snuck his charge the chain and distracted the ref. Ivan clocked Jeff but didn’t get the chain all the way out of the ring. One thing I really enjoy about Puerto Rico is that for such a down and dirty territory, the heels have their efforts to cheat overturned or caught more often than you’d think.

EB: Another notable new arrival we saw debut is El Bronco #1. Hailing from the Dominican Republic, this tecnico seems to be gaining the fans’ support via his upbeat ring entrances and his performances so far. We go to  a match from what is likely November 10, as Bronco defends his Dominican National title against Grizzly Boone.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbK4FxVCBhA

The match video starts with Bronco and a dancing woman already at ringside. She is known as Amarilis, la princesa del ring (the princess of the ring). Grizzly Boone immediately attacks Bronco as the latter is getting into the ring and Eliud Goznalez does the ring introductions as Boone continues his initial attack. Hugo says that Boone wasted no time, he really wants to win that Dominican National title. Grizzly continues his attack with clubbing blows and chokes in the corner, with Hugo mentioning the presence of the gorgeous woman that came out with Bronco (although he won’t say more so as to not get him and Eliud into trouble). Boone continues with several choking attacks, as the announcers mention that it is a good strategy on his part since it does not give Bronco an opening to get back into the match. Boone starts mocking Bronco as he continues in control of the match, making mocking gestures of Bronco’s dance (Eliud calls it some sort of mountain merengue). Hugo lets us know that Amarilis is a professional wrestler in her own right who sometimes accompanies Bronco in his appearances. The turning point of the match comes when Boone misses a charge into the corner, which gives Bronco the opening to come back with a series of ear claps on Boone. Grizzly is staggered and Bronco takes advantage to hit his falling DDT  to score the win. A successful title defense for the Dominican champion. Bronco celebrates with Amarilis outside of the ring, as the music starts up and they do a bit of dancing on their way back to the dugout. 

MD: Very different vibe from the TV squash match. This was Boone just squashing Bronco, especially in the ropes. Quite effectively at that. Once Bronco got out of the way on a huge corner charge, he did his little hop taunt and took over with these pretty great jumping double overhead chops. Very theatrical. Very much for the last row. Then he hit a kick and charged in with his falling DDT. Ended celebratory at least. But I was expecting him to be a bit more of a powerhouse maybe?

EB: As mentioned before, we are now in mid-November, specifically November 17. We have a Superestrellas episode from this date that should help us better understand how everything has been progressing.  This is the west coast version so references will be to the house shows that are happening on Sunday (although the card is likely similar to what is scheduled for November 17 in Bayamon).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCWQpN4V5s4

The video starts with Hugo Savinovich holding up the latest copy of the local wrestling magazine, hyping up how fans can purchase it. We then go the the first match of the program (likely from November 3), as Tom Burton  (billed as Dirty White Boy) is taking on Invader #4. Burton immediately jumps Invader #4 at the bell (as Eliud Gonzalez announces Mario Savoldi as the referee) and hits a series of blows and cheap shots to send Invader #4 to the mat. Our commentary team for this match is Hugo and Eliud. Burton continues with the advantage as the announcers talk about how Invader #4 is looking to get the win against a difficult opponent, someone who has been making waves in the USWA and (according to Hugo) someone who is quite the cheater. Burton  makes an unsuccessful pin attempt after a legdrop and continues his attacks by mixing in blows with some cheap shots behind the ref’s back. Invader #4 has not been able to get any offense in so far as Burton is living up to the Dirty White Boy name. Burton continues in control of the match and makes a couple of unsuccessful pin attempts, but the momentum changes when Burton misses a diving headbutt from the middle turnbuckle. Invader #4 makes a comeback with several chops on Burton, leading to a couple of pin attempts from Invader #4 after a backdrop and a small package. A backslide gets two, but Invader #4 ends up running into Burton’s knee after whipping him into the corner. Burton goes for a slam but Invader #4 counters with another small package for the pinfall. The crowd cheers as Invader #4 rolls out of the ring and gets his hand raised as the victor.

We then go to some promos from El Profe and Invader #4. They are scheduled to face each other the next day in San German. Profe mentions that Invader #4 believes Profe was one of the men responsible for what happened to Invader #1 and he is right about that. Profe is proud of being part of the attack on Invader #1 and dares Invader #4 to get revenge. Profe has faced Invader #4 before and is not afraid of him. This time it will be a fight and while Invader #4 will be looking to get revenge for what happened to his brother, Profe is going to enjoy doing the same thing to Invader #4 and promises that they will take out the members of ‘El Ejercito de la Inmundicia’ one by one. We then go to Hugo with Invader #4 and Maelo is pretty fired up about getting his chance at El Profe. He was the one who prevented the tecnicos from being able to get to the ring to help Maelo’s brother, but tomorrow Profe will pay the consequences. Carlos Colon and TNT will make sure to make the Texas Hangmen pay, but he and El Profe will be face to face and he will make sure to make Profe pay (‘as sure as my name is Invader #4’). 

MD: We’re going 0 to Tom Burton here. For the most part he looked ok. There was one corner whip towards the end where Invader IV lost him, but that actually played into the match as he was able to get his knee up on the charge. This had a decent amount of Burton leaning on him and it was fine (one good lariat) before a fairly hot roll-up laden finishing stretch after a missed diving headbutt. Invader even snuck it out with a roll up counter to a bodyslam, which maybe felt like the right move in the end, especially since he was going after Profe to get revenge for what happened to his brother. They set that up with a couple of promos and it’s good undercard booking that makes a ton of sense and I bet it got decent heat. Obviously Profe is still carrying quite the load.

EB: Up next is Monster Ripper’s Castle of Pain, where apparently this week’s guest is Sasha (who has not arrived yet). Ripper has her newly won Women’s World title around her shoulder (she won it back the previous week) and remarks that Sasha has not arrived yet. Ripper mentions that she invited Sasha on because she wanted to confront her face to face about Ripper having become the champion again. One detail that I will mention, Ripper’s Spanish is definitely more Mexican influenced, so she uses some words that are more common to Mexican Spanish rather than Puerto Rican Spanish (and yes ,there are notable differences in the Spanish spoken across the different Latin American countries). Ripper looks around and asks if Sasha is not here yet, to which a voice from far off camera responds ‘No’. Ripper goes on to talk about what an embarrassment this is, it’s clear that Sasha is afraid of her, in fact, everyone is afraid of her. Sasha may have the Super Medicos with her, but on her own Sasha can’t defeat Ripper. Again Ripper asks if Sahsa is here and gets another no, which causes her to sigh and again say that it's an embarrassment and a shame. Ripper promises to bust up Sasha’s face next time they are face to face, Sasha is the embarrassment of Puerto Rico and Ripper will remain the champion and true queen. Ripper cackles as the segment ends. 

MD: Ripper has invited Sasha who does not show up. This lets her cut a promo on her instead. I’m not convinced she actually invited her. It’s a shame though as it could have been a real Hulk Hogan visits the Dungeon of Doom moment with all the smoke flying around.

EB: We get our first look at recent arrival and new World Junior champion Billy Joe Travis. His opponent is Herbert Gonzalez. Travis wants a handshake to start, and Herbert and the announcers are dubious on the sincerity of Travis in making such a gesture. Travis makes a show of wanting the handshake (including getting on his knee)  and then feigns to throw a punch, but Herbert squares up and Travis thinks better of it. Hugo mentions that this Billy Joe Travis has been something, calling the Puerto Rican fans Mexicans, calling Hugo by the wrong name, he changes Huracan Castillo’s name, and it is clear that Travis does not like latinos at all. Travis is stalling about and gets on the turnbuckle to jaw at the fans, who have started yelling at him from the stands. Travis complains to the ref about the crowd chants and Herbert claps along to encourage the chants. Hugo complains that the ref needs to be stricter with Travis about actually wrestling in there instead of stalling about. Travis jumps out of the ring and stares at the crowd, covering his ears at his displeasure with their chanting. Hugo says that any of the wrestlers facing Travis should take advantage when Billy Joe is out doing this stalling and just attack him, since Travis would do the same thing to them (it is clear Hugo is not a fan of Travis, he might be getting Eric Embry flashes here). Travis is back in the ring and again wants the crowd to shut up, and Hugo again mentions that Herbert should be jumping on Travis instead of encouraging the crowd along. Finally, Herbert punches Travis on the back and sends him into the ropes, getting a backdrop. Travis immediately rolls out of the ring and makes a show of holding his back. Billy Joe is annoyed with the crowd and makes like he’s going to hit the cameraman for getting too close to him. Hugo again talks about how all of this stalling and posturing by Travis works in his favor, as it confuses both the ref and his opponent and allows Travis to set up openings for him to attack when the opponent’s guard is down. Travis complains his tights were pulled and Herbert pokes Travis on the butt. Travis finally gets some offense going as Hugo mentions how dangerous Travis is and runs down his accomplishments (including being a current champion in the USWA). Travis gets more aggressive, including hitting a slam on the floor. Eliud brings up tha one advantage Travis has is that he is so quick with his punches that one can’t really see if he is getting away with closed fists. Back in the ring Travis has gotten serious, takes control of the match and even takes some time to antagonize the crowd about how Herbert is faring. Travis gets the win with a reverse splash from the turnbuckle.

We then get promos from Travis and Huracan Castillo about their upcoming match. The two have been embroiled in a series of matches over the World Junior title and it appears the key point of contention has been that Travis has been using a loaded punch to win his matches against Castillo (which is how Travis also became champ in the first place). Travis says that this will be Castillo’s last title shot and also makes sure to call Puerto Ricans Mexicans, says that Hugo’s name is Hector and that Castillo’s name is Herman. Huracan Castillo gets his chance to respond and he is not amused with Travis, calling him a cardboard champion for the way he won the title and has won their rematches with the loaded punch. Castillo says that he has always been fine with getting beaten clean, but not with how Travis has been getting these victories. Hugo talks about all the fan support and protests about how Castillo was wronged and Castillo promosies that tomorrow it will be different. Castillo warns Travis that he better watch out that it’s not Castillo that surprises Travis this time around. 

MD: Really great we get at least this look at Travis. I don’t know if Embry’s coaching him or what. I do remember him being a pretty entertaining heel in USWA Texas around here. The Gonzalez match was a blast. He was way over the top trying to get a handshake to start and then stooged big. He looked like a guy who could anchor the territory honestly. Then he called Castillo “Herman” in the promo and Hugo and Castillo talked about all the support Castillo had in his quest to regain the title.

EB: We have a new wrestler by the name of The Nightmare (not sure who this is), who is taking on Tito Carrion. Eliud mentions that Nightmare had held a World Junior title in the US (seems kinda beefy to me to be a junior heavyweight). Carrion gets an initial advantage off a backdrop but Nightmare quickly takes over by working Carrion’s leg. Hugo mentions the coincidence of both men wearing very similar ring gear as Nightmare continues focusing his attacks on Carrion’s leg. Tito is able to make a brief comeback (including a nice back elbow) but Nightmare soon regains control and eventually wins the match via a superplex. Not sure if this masked wrestler is anyone of note underneath the mask, but it’s a clear win for The Nightmare.   

MD: I guess Embry is bringing in people through USWA? Not sure if this is Ken Wayne (doesn’t seem to be Davis, that’s for sure) or just the mask being ported over. Transitions were weird here as he just stopped Tito short a couple of times. Finishing stretch was good with a backbreaker and suplex before a superplex. Didn’t really give us a sense of who he was or what he wanted though. 

EB: Hugo introduces a clip of what happened the previous week between the Super Medicos and Embry & Valentine. The Super Medicos had won the Caribbean tag titles on November 10 and this footage is from their match on November 11 in San German. It looks like the Super Medicos have a pinfall on Valentine when Monster Ripper gives a boot to Eric Embry, who uses it to attack the Medicos. The referee disqualifies Embry and Valentine but the rudos take advantage to attack the Medicos. Embry and Valentine hold both Medicos in order to give Ripper a chance to attack the Medicos with the boot. As the attack is happening, Sasha runs out (although noticeably limping) with a baseball bat. Sasha attacks Ripper with the bat, but Embry and Valentine come over to help Ripper. Embry grabs the bat and makes a show of hitting the held down Sasha, but the Medicos are able to stop Embry before he gets to swing. Medico #1 chases the rudos away with the bat and it seems that there will be a mixed trios match between the two groups. 

Monster Ripper, Eric Embry and Rick Valentine cut a promo about the trios match tomorrow in San German. Ripper mentions that having the Medicos will not help Sasha since she has Embry and Valentine with her, and between the three of them they will finish off Sasha and the Super Medicos. Valentine says that it is three of the best in the world against a father, a son and their family pet dog. Embry says that everything has gotten out of hand, but tomorrow he will get his hands on Sasha. Embry promises to pay back Sasha for what he has done, and reminds Sasha that he was the one who brought her from nothing. Tomorrow, all of them will pay. The Medicos and Sasha cut a promo in response, it's a quick one but they promise they will get their revenge for what has gone down. Sasha mentions that the Medicos will help her get revenge on ‘Erica’, who cost her the Women’s World title by hitting her leg with a bat during her title defense against Monster Roppr.

We get a full card rundown for the card tomorrow in San German (which again is likely similar to the card for November 17 in Bayamon). Scheduled matches include: Carlos Colon and TNT vs Texas Hangmen in a cage; a mixed trios as the Super Medicos and Sasha take on Monster Ripper, Eric Embry and Rick Valentine; a rematch for the World Junior title as Billy Joe Travis defends against Huracan Castillo Jr; Miguelito Perez vs Kim Duk; Invader # 4 vs El Profe; Nick Ayala vs The Nightmare; and other great stars.

MD: This was all to set up the mixed tag. It’s booking by numbers but two of those numbers are Sasha’s valiant saving of the Medicos and Embry’s menacing of Sasha. Here the match ended on a roll up and interference with a weapon. Then Ripper came in to make it 3 on 2. Sasha made the save but Embry almost got her. Embry goes way over the top in these promos but that’s to be expected, I guess. 

EB: Our next match features Nick Ayala (who we saw work TV matches earlier in 1990) taking on a newcomer in El Chino (who looks a bit like Chicky Starr if he was put in a dryer).  Hugo shines up El Chino on commentary, saying that he is getting his first shot in CSP and wants to show off his ability. Ayala starts off hot, including countering a hiptoss with a monkey flip that sends Chino out of the ring. Hugo again talks about how this wrestler El Chino, although it is his first appearance, he seems to have experience and wants to show it off. Chino gets back in and actually gets some hits on Ayala, as Hugo states that he would like to know more about where this wrestler El Chino is from, he’s shown to have a bit of rudeness to him. El Chino controls for a bit but Ayala counters with some punches, and Chino stumbles and falls back into the ropes. Ayala gets a nice looking dropkick on Chino, hits a slam but then seems unsure of going off the top. Instead he does a legdrop of the middle turnbuckle for two. As Ayala continues in control, Hugo mentions that we’ll have to see if Chino has run out of gas or if he has been knocked loopy from Ayala’s blows. To be honest, with the way Hugo has been talking about Chino I’m starting to think this may be a rib on somebody. Chino whiffs on a reverse crossbody (falling with the grace of a cement sack) and Ayala eventually hits a top rope splash for the win. .   

MD: Ayala was at the bottom of the upcoming card against the Nightmare so he gets a match to shine him up first. Chino looked and worked a little like a poor man’s Chicky Starr actually. Ayala had some nice stuff but seemed maybe a half step lost at times? There was a moment where he wasn’t sure how he wanted to get up onto the turnbuckles for instance. He did do this nice hip toss reversal into a monkey flip that I don’t think I’ve ever seen before and won it in the end with a top rope splash.

EB: We go to last week, as La Pareja Increible takes on the Texas Hangmen. Hugo apologizes for the video quality but the action needs to be shown.TNT gets hit with the bell but eventually tags Carlos in. Carlos also gets decked with the bell. TNT gets back in and the match breaks down and ends in a double countout. This sets up a cage match. El Profe and the Hangmen cut a promo from behind a chain link fence that will be used for the cage. Profe mentions that tomorrow in San German, in a cage just like this one, the Texas Hangmen will take on Carlos Colon and TNT. The Hangmen have a head of lettuce with them and grind it against the cage to show what they will do to Colon and TNT. There is no escape in the cage from the Hangmen. Zero hour is here, the moment of truth is here.

We then go to Hugo, who is with Carlos and TNT.  Hugo remarks that danger looms and that the Hangmen have promised to destroy Colon and TNT’s faces. We get comments from both wrestlers.

Carlos: Well Hugo, that does not worry us in the least. What I do have to tell you is that, last week they hit us with the rope and they hit us with the bell, but it was not enough to finish us off. Because we then grabbed them, battled them all around the court, but those dogs hid in the locker room. But this week, tomorrow, that is not going to happen tomorrow because we'll be in a cage. And we want to dare them to bring the bullrope, the bell, the belts, the cowbell, the rope, whatever they want. Because TNT, tomorrow night we got to bathe these dogs in blood. Because we have promised the fans that we will get these guys out of Puerto Rico, and we will do that tomorrow in San German.

TNT:  Carlos, and as the message that they left with Hugo says that they're going to destroy our faces against the steel, that's not that easy to do Texas Hangmen. You're going to have to fight nice and pretty with Carlos Colon and myself. Because we have promised the people of Puerto Rico and especially Invader #1 that we will avenge ourselves against these dogs, and if possible we're going to take their masks and we're going to run them out of Puerto Rico. And Texas Hangmen, you have never been in a cage, so when these two Puerto Ricans step into that cage we are going to fight. So Texas Hangmen, bring the best you have, because tomorrow night in San German we are going to give you a good fight.

Hugo: Wow! The Pareja Increible is ready for tomorrow night! Do not miss it, in a cage!

MD: Glad we had the full match here and not just this clip. Just some heated promos. The Hangmen yelled. Profe translated. Colon and TNT were on the same page. Bring on the cage.

EB: We then get a match from late 87 o early 88, with Carlos Colon and TNT  taking on the Ninja Express of Kendo Nagasaki and Mr. Pogo. I won’t recap the match in detail, but it’s a good showcase of how over Colon and TNT were at the time, how hot the TV studio crown in Cataño could get, and also how La Pareja Increible could function when teaming together. It’s also a match against a Profe managed team, so there is also that dynamic on display.  Seconding Colon and TNT is Huracan Castillo Sr, who at the time served as TNT’s manager and mentor. The tecnicos get the win after Profe hits the wrong man. 

MD: Good showcase match for our heroes. First this was a Profe team and he got involved in the finish. Second, they took most of it. There was a brief bit of leaning down on Colon but for the most part they ran through Pogo and Nagasaki (And Nagasaki wasn’t one to get run over usually). I’m not sure about the context here and context matters in PR footage; we know that by now. This was effective to remind people of just what the Texas Hangmen had coming for them though.

EB; To end the episode we have an interview with the still recovering Invader #1. Hugo is at Invader’s home and they are somewhere in the backyard for this interview. Hugo mentions that a lot of fans have been asking about Invader’s condition and here we are to get an update from Invader himself. First, Invader wants to say hello and thank the fans for all of the letters and well wishes he has received. Invader says he is recovering well, the doctor sees him coming along fine, about 95% better. He's just waiting to receive the all clear with regards to being able to get back in the gym and start training. Hugo mentions that it’s tough for an athlete to be sidelined and not be able to train like they usually do. Hugo asks Invader if he knows if he will come back to wrestling, and Invader says it’s still too soon to tell. He wants to first see if he gets the go ahead to start training and then see if he can regain the conditioning he had before the injury. Hugo says that he finds that Invader seems more optimistic as of late, that he looks better, and that last time they talked Hugo felt that Invader was very down. Invader says that what happened to him was a sad situation, an athlete of his condition being bedridden, taken in a stretcher to the ER, he almost died according to the doctor that attended him in the ER. He’s got a family to support and that it’s a rough situation being out. He spent 11 days in the hospital and now it has been four weeks that he has been basically cooped up in his house. Hugo promises that they will keep the fans updated on Invader’s condition. We then get Hugo closing the show by hyping up tomorrow’s house show in San German

MD: They’re leaning hard on the idea that Invader almost died. He’s almost ready to get back training but he doesn’t know if he’ll be coming back as of yet. Heavy sympathy stuff obviously.

EB: To close out this installment, we are going to have our final look at two of the active feuds. First is the rivalry for the World Junior title between Billy Joe Travis and Huracan Castillo. This feud lasted about a month, with Billy Joe winning the title from Castillo on November 3, keeping the title via the use of some loaded punch aided wins, and then Castillo regaining the title about a week after this November 17 program (the title history say November 20 but that is a Tuesday so it is likely off). To settle the feud, Travis and Castillo faced off in scaffold match, one that likely took place at the end of November or early December, since Castillo is the champion going into this match.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhb9f4dTapg

This match is from a Japanese release of CSP matches, so the commentary is in Japanese. Travis makes a show of climbing the scaffold, while Castillo looks on from the ground with a focused stare. Eliud Gonzalez does the ring intros as Travis continues slowly climbing and pointing at the ref to keep Castillo back, Travis wants to make his climb up without Castillo attacking him. Travis really milks the climb, taking  over two minutes and at certain points going back down a bit to annoy the crowd and Castillo.  The ref and Castillo get tired of Billy Joe’s stalling and the ref lets Castillo start climbing the scaffold, in essence chasing Travis up there. Travis gets up first and takes advantage by repeatedly kicking Castillo in the face before he can fully climb up. Castillo is stunned but holds on, and Travis starts doing a celebratory dance for the crowd on the scaffold. Travis then grabs Castillo b by the hair, pulling him up onto the platform and the match begins. The scaffold used for this match is a bit wider than ones I’ve previously seen in CSP, allowing for a bit more room to move. Travis maintains the early advantage by ramming Castillo into the scaffold and throwing those quick punches of his. He also makes sure to taunt the crowd by showboating and dancing a bit, which does get the crowd on his case.

Travis telegraphs a punch and Castillo gets a backdrop, causing Travis to start begging off and the crowd to cheer for Castillo to get him. From there we get a couple of attempts by Castillo to send Travis over, with Billy Joe holding on for dear life. On the third attempt, Travis is able to ram Castillo’s face into the scaffold and it’s now Travis who attempts to push his opponent off, giving us our first instance of somebody hanging off the edge with their legs dangling. Castillo is able to get his legs on the scaffold rigging and uses that to push himself back up onto the platform. Travis begs off again but is able to tackle Castillo down. Billy Joe then takes out the knuckles he has been using to win his matches against Castillo and goes over to deck Huracan. Travis hits several punches with the knuckles and then slams Castillo on the platform. Travis goes for another fist drop but loses the knuckles when making contact. Castillo picks them up instead and goes after Travis, paying him back for the times Travis used the weapon before. Two punches send Travis rolling to the side of the platform and now it’s Travis hanging from the edge. Castillo starts stomping away on Billy Joe’s hands, and finally Travis loses his grip and falls to the ring. Huracan Castillo has won the match and the feud.  . 

MD: This was a scaffold match and maybe not the best setting to see this iteration of Travis but it was still pretty fun. The best parts were the beginning and the end. Early on he refused to go all the way up and did an Elvis shake once he did then ambushed Castillo as he tried to follow him. Eventually he got back body dropped which was one of the only actual spots in the match. It was a pretty wide scaffold, so little danger of falling incidentally, just getting pushed off. They hugged the side for a while. Finish was Travis pulling out knucks but missing a fist drop and Castillo getting it. Travis took a pretty nasty bump down onto his legs to end it.

EB: We also have the cage match from November 17 between Carlos Colon & TNT vs the Texas Hangmen. As with the previous match we covered between the two teams, we have the raw video with no commentary. So let's go to Bayamon and this encounter in the cage.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Li_uhP7ffA4

Colon and TNT are already in the ring as the Hangmen hesitate for a moment in getting into the cage. As soon as Psycho and Killer make their way in, they are attacked by Colon and TNT. There's nowhere to hide as Colon and TNT start using the cage to ram both Hangmen around. Colon starts tearing and biting one of the Hangmen in the head as the tecnicos continue their attack. The structure for this match is similar to the previous encounter, with Colon and TNT taking the fight to the Hangmen early on and controlling the first part of the match . Around the three minute mark the referee finally sends Colon and one of the Hangmen to their corners, leaving tNT and possibly Psycho in the ring.  Colon and TNT work over Psycho while tagging in and out, Colon focusing on the legs and TNT using the cage as a weapon. The match turns in the Hangmen’s favor when Colon puts on a figure four leglock on Psycho, drawing in Killer to break it up and the Hangmen take advantage to stun Colon and take over. The Hangmen work over Carlos for a few minutes, maintaining control with double teams and cutting off Colon’s attempt at fighting back. They bust Carlos open as they continue their attack. The Hangmen start ramming Colon’s head repeatedly against the cage wall and (as promised) start grating Colon’s forehead along the steel cage. The Hangmen make the first pinfall attempt of the match but TNT breaks it up. The Hangmen continue in control, keeping Carlos from being able to tag out.

At about the 12 minute mark, Colon and one of the Hangmen collide heads and both men go down. The Hangmen make the tag but a splash is missed, allowing Carlos the chance to tag in TNT. The crowd ‘hwah’s’ along as TNT attacks both Hangmen. TNT is able to keep them at bay for a while but the two on one advantage comes into play and TNT is thrown into the cage wall. The camera shows Profe raising his arms in celebration, as the Hangmen start working over TNT. Carlos recovers and gets in the ring, with all four men fighting and the tecnicos getting the upper hand. We get a double pin scenario where the ref counts to three and awards the match to Colon and TNT (to be fair, I think TNT was the legal man for the tecnicos). Both teams continue fighting and El Profe takes out a weapon he had hidden and hands it to one of the Hangmen through the cage, The Hangmen start attacking Colon and TNT with the weapon, leaving both men bloodied and down on the mat. The Super Medicos, Bronco and Jeff Jarrett run in to chase the Hangmen off and check on Carlos and TNT. The Hangmen hold up the weapon they were using and celebrate what they did, and you can see that the Hangmen are also busted open. Before leaving ringside, one of the Hangmen goes near the ring and spits through the fence at the tecnicos. Meanwhile, the ringside doctor is checking over Colon and TNT, who are still bleeding and down on the mat. 

MD: Very similar to the last tag match but that’s a good thing, not a bad thing. That meant that TNT and Colon controlled after the initial bit of brawling (and cage shots), using superior teamwork as one of the Hangmen bounced around for them. They’d hit big doubleteams and then go back to the legs to soften him up for the figure four. Once Colon went for it, however, the other Hangman struck and they took over on him. He was great at working from underneath and they were great at drawing the ref and infuriating TNT so that they could double team. While it was a cage match it was more or less under conventional rules past that opening. Whenever TNT tried to get involved they took it out on Colon all the more, including ping ponging him against the cage. Finally he was able to outfinesse one Hangman and make the tag and just like last time, TNT came in hot. Just like last time, however, the numbers game got him and he got beat on until Colon could recover enough to even the odds. They kept things churning here with a double pin. Colon hit a sunset flip while a Hangman reversed a TNT whip and got a belly to belly for simultaneous three counts. Post match, Profe slipped them a pipe and they ended up leaving Colon and TNT bloody until the babyface locker rushed in. I’m not sure it protected the cage match as a gimmick but it certainly kept things hot for whatever would come next.

EB: Based on the outcome of this cage match, I’m pretty certain that we had another match between these two teams, but results are scarce for the last weeks of 1990. This is the last we will see footage wise of Carlos Colon being involved in the feud with the Texas Hangmen. As the month of December unfolds there will be a new challenger awaiting him with regards to the Universal title. As for TNT, he’s still fighting the Texas Hangmen but he will need a partner to take them on. And it just so happens someone has been cleared to return to the ring…

Next time on El Deporte de las Mil Emociones, we get the return of Invader #1 as he gets his chance for revenge against the Texas Hangmen. Also, Giant Warrior returns from his foreign tour and a couple of ‘feds’ make their way to Puerto Rico as we finish our look at 1990.

Read more!

El Deporte de las Mil Emociones: The Ghost Brings Chaos

Week 36:  The Ghost Brings Chaos

EB: TNT has once again been thwarted in his quest for the Universal title. It looks like there was a plan in place among the duo of TNT and Kim Duk to ensure each walked away with a title on September 8. While TNT was successful in helping Duk win the Caribbean title (more on this shortly), Duk was not successful in his attempt to help TNT win the Universal title. Thanks to noticing Duk just in time and also being in a position to use TNT as a shield, Carlos Colon was able to avoid being misted in the face. Instead , TNT took the brunt of the spray and was pinned. Does this mean that TNT has run out of chances at the Universal title? Carlos Colon probably thinks so, but we will have to see if TNT will let the matter go. 

The barbed wire match was not the only notable match to take place on the September 8 house show. Abdullah the Butcher made a quick return to Puerto Rico and went to a double countout with Giant Warrior. Roadblock made his debut appearance for CSP in a match against Mr. Pogo. The Super Medicos were finally able to regain the World tag team titles from Lance Idol & Rick Valentine. As mentioned already, Kim Duk defeated Invader #1 in a kendo stick on pole match to win the Caribbean title. Also on the card was the Caribbean Express defending their Caribbean tag titles against recent arrivals the Texas Hangmen. Let’s go to Estadio Juan Ramon Loubriel for that encounter.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G20fgmIJZKI

EB:  You can tell this match is from September 8 since you have the coal miner’s pole attached to one of the corners. This is the Hangmen’s second week in and already they are challenging for gold. Your announce team is Hugo Savinovich and El Profe, so this must be from a Campeones airing. As the video starts, Hugo appears to be talking about the difficulty in telling the Hangmen apart and how that causes problems when figuring out who the legal man is. El Profe interrupts, basically seeing himself on screen and waxes poetic about how handsome he is. Hugo asks if he needs a moment and El Profe says he was only stating reality. Hugo asks him if his mother accepts the reality of who her son is and Profe says that he gives her an autographed photo of himself as her Mother's Day gift (much to her delight) and she has a wall filled with his pictures. Hugo marvels that mothers are such wonderful beings that they forgive their son's faults. El Profe counters with "Just like your mother", and from there Hugo says the match is about to start so let's focus on that. Castillo and one of the Hangmen start (it seems it is the one who has more hair sticking out from behind his mask). They lock up and back up to a corner where they exchange chops. El Profe starts putting over the Hangmen's size and that he only brings the cream of the crop to Puerto Rico. Hugo tries to figure out which Hangmen (Psycho or Killer) is in the ring, while Profe says that it doesn't matter which one's which, the important thing is that one's in and the other's outside. Hugo ends up indicating that Psycho is on the apron and Killer is in the ring.

Early in the match, Castillo uses his quickness to get a quick advantage. The Hangmen regroup and Profe rings the cowbell in support (Profe on commentary: "Who does the bell toll for, it tolls for Miguelito and Castillo. What a beautiful thought."). Hugo mentions that this Thursday they will be in Guanica and runs down the list of wrestlers scheduled. There is some confusion as to which Hangman should be in the ring, so the referee makes them tag again. Psycho and Castillo do a test of strength ,and Psycho gets the initial advantage. Profe starts saying that it is not that hard to tell them apart, one has blue eyes and the other has green eyes (Me: Good luck with that ref!). 

We go to a commercial break and are back with the Hangmen still in control, although with Miguelito in. Hugo says that the Hangmen have had a tough time putting away the Caribbean Express. Profe explains that it's his fault, he hasn't yet fully counseled the Hangmen about their opponents style, but he'll remedy that soon. At this point, the Hangman in the ring (Killer probably due to the hair) and Perez knock heads and both go down. Psycho is tagged in but misses a dive from the top and Miguelito makes the hot tag. Castillo cleans house on both rudos and then all four men are in the ring. Hugo mentions that this Friday they will be in Camuy. In addition there will also be  a concert at Camuy. Castillo comes off the top with a cross body for the pin, but the ref is busy getting Miguelito out of the ring. The other Hangman jumps off the top onto Castillo and they get the pinfall and the titles (Hugo: That's illegal!; El Profe: Illegal my foot! That was beautiful!). Hugo complains that there was cheating involved while Profe celebrates that they are the champs. Huracan and Miguelito proceed to attack the Hangmen after the match, mad about the outcome (El Profe complains that they are sore losers). The ref is trying to restore order as the Hangmen take control and proceed to hang Miguelito (El Profe: My guys may have gotten slightly out of control there, but I like what they're doing to Miguelito). The ref's has seen enough and proceeds to reverse the decision and award the match by DQ to the Caribbean Express. Thus, they remain the champs (El Profe: Why is the ref doing this! They attacked first!). The Caribbean Express retains the titles but Miguelito is down on the mat feeling the effects of being hanged for a while by the Texas Hangmen. 

MD: I wasn’t expecting the Hangmen to give so much early but then they were going to win. AWA was never a high heat territory and while I’m not as familiar with what it was like at the end, I imagine they had to give a lot there too. They took over on Perez and looked pretty effective in their control. I’ll eventually figure out how to tell them apart hopefully. Profe ringing the cowbell was a good part of the act. Castillo came in hot after the hot tag and knocked them around. Then we got the same sort of finish we’ve gotten so many times in the last year with a heel coming in off the top to break up a pin and switch things around. Post match they made good use of the bullrope with an insult to injury hanging though (and apparently reversing the decision to put over the severity of it all too). Not a bad way to get the new heels over immediately.

EB: As we move forward to September 15, it has become a bit more clear what TNT is focused on now, which is getting revenge on the person who he blames cost him the chance to win the Universal title. And that person is not Kim Duk. It is someone who had interfered previously to save the Universal title when it looked like TNT had Carlos Colon out with the Cobra Dinanita. That person is Invader #1. 

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

EB: Hugo presents the recent altercations between Invader #1 and TNT. The most recent incidents started on September 8, when Invader # 1 was defending the Caribbean title vs Kim Duk in a kendo stick on a pole match. Invader and Duk were playing tug of war with the kendo stick and Invader hit a dropkick to knock Duk down and gain control of the stick. Invader starts attacking Duk with the kendo stick as the crowd cheers on. Duk falls to the mat and Invader continues with kendo stick shots to Duk’s head, busting him open. Invader uses the kendo stick as a clothesline to knock Duk down again, but a second attempt misses Duk and Invader accidentally takes out the referee instead. Invader looks to hit Duk again but TNT has run out and jumped up on the ring apron. Invader takes a swing at TNT, who ducks the blow. Invader on the turnaround decides to hit Duk before he can attack but when.Invader goes for a second strike, TNT reaches out and grabs the stick. Invader is wide open and Duk hits two kicks that knock him down. Duk covers Invader as the ref recovers and TNT hightails it back to the dugout. The referee makes a three count and Kim Duk is the new Caribbean champion (so that part of the plan went as they wanted). We then go to the most recent TV tapings in Miramar (I’m guessing the 12th), where TNT was making some comments about Invader that caused him to rush out and attack TNT. Both men start fighting at ringside and take it into the ring. El Profe starts yelling for TNT to ‘finish off that imbecile, hit him, hit him!’ Invader and TNT continue fighting in the ring and TNT sends Invader into the ropes for a clothesline attempt that Invader ducks. On the rebound, Invader squares up and catches TNT with the heart punch. TNT gets to his feet for a second but then collapses from the blow’s effect  El Profe starts protesting and Invader yells that this is only the beginning. El Profe is then shown helping TNT to the back.

Later in the taping, TNT had recovered enough to make another appearance. It was during a match between Invader and Rick Valentine, where after Valentine tossed Invader to the outside, TNT ran out with a net and threw it over Invader. TNT teed off on the trapped Invader, as Valentine casually left the ring area. After hitting Invader several times, TNT put on the Cobra Dinamita with Invader still trapped in the net. TNT kept the hold on until Invader was put to sleep, while El Profe was running interference and trying to keep the ref away from interfering. TNT finally broke the hold and left with El Profe, leaving an unconscious Invader (still trapped in the net) unconscious on the floor. Since TNT had refused to wake Invader up, Victor Jovica and then Huracan Castillo come out to help wake Invader up from the hold’s effects. 

TNT and Invader are scheduled for a grudge match tonight and we get comments first from TNT and El Profe. Profe starts by saying ‘he who laughs last laughs best, and tonight Invader, TNT will laugh right in your face’.TNT agrees with El Profe and says ‘and what an ugly fish we caught, didn’t we’ as they both chuckle at the comment. TNT says that Invader hit him with the heart punch and he is still feeling it right now. But remember that when he put the Cobra Dinamita and that net on Invader, he left him sleeping like the dog that he is. Tonight it's a grudge match because TNT knows invader has a grudge with TNT, but TNT has an even bigger grudge with Invader, since Invader cost him the Universal title. TNT continues taking heaving breaths as he rants that the Universal title means a lot to him and that tonight he swears by his mother he will finish Invader. 

Next is Hugo is with Invader #1 and Hugo says that TNT has said that tonight he plans on taking Invader out. Invader calmly responds by saying that he thinks that TNT has filled the glass up to the very top, there are no more drops that the glass can take. Last week the fans saw how thanks to TNT he is no longer the Caribbean champion. The fans have also seen what happened at the TV taping, with the net, the Cobra Dinamita and the refusal to wake him up. Invader starts talking about what he has planned for tonight when the video cuts to the card rundown for that night’s show at Estadio Juan Ramon Loubriel. The scheduled card is as follows: Carlos Colon defends the Universal title against Kim Duk; Invader #1 vs TNT in a grudge match; Giant Warrior vs Roadblock; the Super Medicos defend their newly won World tag team titles against the former champions Lance Idol & Rick Valentine; The Caribbean Express defend the Caribbean tag titles against The Infernos; Invader #4 challenges Ron Starr for the World Junior title; and other great stars. We also get an ad for the September 19 TV taping at Miramar, with the following scheduled matches: a no DQ rematch between the teams of Invader #1 & Giant Warrior and TNT & Kim Duk; the Super Medicos vs Lance Idol & Rick Valentine; Miguelito Perez vs Roadblock; a rematch between Huracan Castillo Jr. and Ron Starr; and other bouts

MD: This looks like a great feud! At least we have this much to walk us through it. First, that Kim Duk vs Invader match had a super hot finish where they were fighting over the Kendo Stick. Invader got it and just clocked Kim Duk repeatedly until he accidentally got the ref with a cross check. Then TNT got involved and Duk got a lucky kick and won the title. That was followed by Invader ambushing TNT on an interview and them having a heated brawl and then more heated promos between the two. I wasn’t sure they’d be able to really transfer the feud over to Invader, especially since they ran the match once or twice after the full heel turn but this looked like it was really working. 

EB: We don’t have full results for September 15, but know that Carlos Colon retained the Universal title against Kim Duk, the Super Medicos retained the World tag titles against Lance Idol and Rick Valentine, the Caribbean Express retained their Caribbean tag titles, and Invader #4 defeated Ron Starr to win the World Jr. title. We have a tag match involving the World Junior title match participants from TV shortly after Invader #4 won the World Junior title, as the Invaders take on Ron Starr and El Exotico.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0ZNqkodlp8

EB: The ring introductions are made and Hugo Savinovich notes that Ron Starr has returned to wearing tights instead of the camo gear we have seen him have. Invader #4 and Exotico start off for their teams. They work a move sequence that ends with Invader #4 catapulting Exotico over. They repeat the sequence but this time Exotico is the one trying to catapult Invader#4. However, this does not work since Invader #4 stops short and stomps on the waiting Exotico. A dropkick sends Exotico back into the rudo corner and Ron Starr is tagged in. Invader #1 is also tagged in and we get the veterans squaring off. They work a nice grapple sequence off a side headlock and Invader #1 eventually hits a dropkick on Ron. Invader #1 again goes for the side headlock which leads to a pin counter and then a reversal, echoing the earlier sequence. Invader #1 gets an arm wringer on Starr and tags Invader #4. The Invaders proceed to work over Ron’s arm while making quick tags. Ron is able to take down invader #4 with a hiptoss and a punch exchange results in Invader #4 being backed into a corner. Hugo mentions that Invader #4 recently won the World Junior title from Ron Starr. Both men exchange several strikes and chops (with Starr even egging on Invader #4 to hit him), but Ron ends up taking Invader #4 down with a snapmare and tags in Exotico. The rudos remain in control as Exotico hits a nice clothesline, but he takes a moment to grandstand and only gets a two count. Ron is tagged back in and the rudos get a double clothesline on Invader #4. The resulting pin attempt is broken up by Invader #1. Ron hits a few knee strikes on Invader #4, then a hiptoss and a kneedrop for a pin attempt. Invader #1 breaks it up. Exotico is tagged in and he comes of the turnbuckle with a forearm smash to Inavder #4’s back. Exotico is briefly in control, but Invader #4 lands on his feet after a backdrop attempt and quickly tags in Invader #1, who cleans house on both rudos. All four men end up in the ring and the rudos get irish whipped into each other, resulting in Ron Starr being clotheslined out of the ring. Exotico then irish whips Invader #4 into a corner, but Invader #4 jumps on the turnbuckle and counters with a reverse flying body press that gets the three count. Ron Starr immediately leaves the ring area as the Invaders celebrate their victory.

MD: I don’t get putting the title on Invader 4 when they really need to be establishing Ron Starr as an anchor but I’ll see how it plays out in the margins, I get. This was a fun little five minute match, pretty complete for what it was. Exotico and Starr got bounced around by both Invaders to start. They were really highlighting Invader 4 here. Got a kick out of the verve Exotico put into things when he and Starr did finally take over on 4. Starr was more grounded and focused. Eventually some acrobatics got 4 to the corner and 1 came in hot en route to Exotico getting steamrolled by a press back off the ropes for the win. Good Invaders showcase overall. Exotico is not Mercenario material. They could have the Invaders challenge as a tag team whenever they needed.

EB: Invader #4’s reign as World Junior champion would be a short one, as Ron Starr would regain the title at the September 26 TV taping. However, this new reign by Ron Starr would also be a short one, as the World Junior title would end up back in the hands of Huracan Castillo Jr. on the October 6 house show. This would also signal the end of Ron Starr’s run in CSP in 1990. Ron has been a semi-regular presence in the territory since 1986, coming in for several months at a time and then leaving for a few months before returning. We’ll see if he resurfaces in the future but for now we bid farewell to one of the most underrated wrestlers of the 80s.  

Speaking of short title reigns, the World tag titles are also about to experience a quick change as well. The Super Medicos had regained the World tag titles on September 8 and defended them against the former champs on September 15. But at the September 19th TV tapings, the Super Medicos defended their titles against recent arrivals the Texas Hangmen and the match resulted in the World tag titles being held up. A rematch was signed for September 22 in Caguas. That September 22 card was basically rematched all around, beside the rematch for the held up World tag titles, the card also had Carlos Colon vs Kim Duk; Invader #1 vs TNT; Giant Warrior taking on Roadblock in a lumberjack match (I guess their previous match must have ended in a double countout); and Invader #4 vs Ron Starr. It is not listed in the results, but it is likely that Lance Idol and Rick Valentine had an unsuccessful shot at the Caribbean tag titles on that show. But if you are worried about Rick Valentine going without championship gold, do not fear. The next day (September 23) in Juana Diaz, Rick Valentine and his tag partner won the Caribbean tag titles from Perez and Castillo. I say tag partner because that person was not Lance Idol, who has left CSP. The Super Medicos would win the held up World tag titles that night in Caguas. 

One other match scheduled for September 22 was Sasha getting her chance to face Monster Ripper one on one. Sasha has been a big help to the Super Medicos and it seems that all that remains to really put this rivalry involving the Super Medicos, Idol & Valentine and their seconds is this loose end of Sasha getting her shot at Monster Ripper. But sometimes, when you least expect it, the ghosts from your past come back to haunt you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUxeKFnQVm8

Eric Embry has returned to Puerto Rico. It’s been four years since his run as one of the most hated rudos in CSP, and it has been about a year or so since he made his last appearance in the territory.  Hugo Savinovich narrates the recent events that have occurred as a result of this unwelcome return. A still image of Super Medico and Eric Embry is on screen as Hugo talks about who can forget the rivalry Embry and Super Medico had years ago, back when Eric Embry had Sasha as his valet and would be abusive towards her. This would result in Medico and Embry crossing paths back then and now this rivalry has gotten more intense. This time Embry has Rick Valentine and Monster Ripper on his side (so Embry is taking the place of Lance Idol) while Super Medico has his son and Sasha on his side. Hugo says to forget what happened between them is almost impossible, but Embry is a violent man and he has a specific type of violence around him. We go back to September 22 in Caguas, where Sasha is set to take on Monster Ripper. Without warning,  Eric Embry appeared out of nowhere, looking to reclaim Sasha as if she were his personal property. The clip from Caguas rolls as Hugo calls this a historic moment. Sasha is staring from the ring with a look of disbelief, and it turns out it is Eric Embry (looking scuzzy as ever) making gestures at Sasha as if to say you and me girl. Sasha goes outside, Embry moves in for a hug and Sasha just slaps Embry in the face (to the crowd’s approval). The match starts after that and we jump to later in the match as Sasha is taking advantage of a missed charge by Monster Ripper to get some offense in. All of a sudden, Eric Emrby makes his return to the ring area and ends up distracting Sasha with his presence on the ring apron. Ripper takes advantage of Sasha having her back turned and grabs Sasha from behind. Embry casually strolls into the ring and just straight up punches Sasha in the face. The ref calls for the DQ and Ripper gives Embry a hug. Sasha is out on the mat and before anything else can happen, the Super Medicos run out through the crowd and head straight to the ring. Embry and Ripper make their escape as the Medicos stare them down.

Back to Hugo in the studio who has some strong words about Embry: ‘Friends, Eric Embry really is a low life, he has no scruples, because can you even imagine going to a low of such magnitude as hitting a woman, hitting a lady. And especially in his case, where one can expect practically anything, I was left shocked, because even knowing how he is, to have done this and to be bragging about it is beyond.’ Hugo mentions that we know Super Medico is not going to let anything happen to Sasha, because he made some statements on a recent Castle of Fear segment. We go to a clip of that segment, where Super Medico and Sasha are with Monster Ripper. Sasha has an injured eye from Embry’s punch and Medico is doing all of the talking. ‘Look Monster Ripper, it’s not that Sasha is afraid of you, or that I’m here to defend her from you, it’s from your disciple Eric Embry. Because what he did last week to Sasha, hitting her with a punch, that is not something a man does. I have made it my goal that Eric Emrby will not touch her again.’ For her part, Monster Ripper looks a bit chagrined while Super Medico is giving his message.

Back to Hugo, where he states that Eric Embry has once again realized that Super Medico is once more in his way. He wants to get to Sasha and Super Medico is blocking him. So Embry has decided to injure Super Medico or come up with a way to hurt him more than physically. We go to Miramar on September 26, where it was supposed to be a tag match between the Super Medicos and Embry and Valentine. Embry shows up in street clothes and with a bandaged foot, he is claiming he is injured and cannot wrestle. Eliud Gonzalez is doing the ring intros and announces that the ref has indicated that Embry could not wrestle because he is injured. Super Medico #1 is getting ready to face Valentine in a singles match (and you can see that the Medicos are the reigning World tag team champions at this point in time since they are wearing the belts), but Ripper and Valentine start insisting that they want Super Medico #3 instead as the opponent. They get their way, and we cut to the end of the contest, where Super Medico #3 gets the win with a sunset flip. Valentine attacks Medico #3 from behind when he was having his hand raised, and Embry and Ripper emerge from the back. Embry’s foot is magically healed and the rudos proceed to attack Medico #3. Embry hits Medico #3 over the head with a boot, Embry continues attacking Medico #3 and you can see that Medico #3 is bleeding from the forehead through his mask. Medico #1 runs out to make the save but Valentine heads outside to cut Medico #1 off and hold him back from the ring. Embry continues the attack in the ring as Medico #1 is desperately trying to get Valentine off him and get in the ring. Medico #1 finally kicks Valentine away and gets in the ring, with Embry immediately hightailing it out of there. Medico #1 checks on his son, who has been left in bad shape in the ring.

We go to a promo from the rudo trio, and they have their recently won Caribbean tag titles with them. The more notable comments come from Eric Embry, where he makes it clear that this has only just begun because ‘that Puerto Rican dog Sasha’ belongs to him. The Super Medicos get their chance to respond, promising to avenge what they did to Super Medico #3. Medico #1 also reiterates that he is not going to let Embry get at Sasha, what he did by punching her was the lowest thing one can do. Embry is a parasite, and you squash parasites. This is not a rivalry, this is a war.

MD: Talk about heating up the territory. Between the Hangmen and the great stuff between Invader and TNT and this, everything feels hot. Embry coming out as a surprise, wanting the embrace, and getting slapped was a great moment but then things go way over the top as he hits Sasha as Ripper holds her. They followed it up by him faking an injury so that Valentine could have a singles match against Medico #3 only to run out perfectly fine once Valentine slipped on a banana peel and lost. High heat stuff. Lance Idol for Eric Embry is an all time trade in the promotion’s favor. Huge shot in the arm. 

EB: With all that has happened from Eric Embry’s return, it's not surprising that the Super Medicos would end up losing the World tag titles to the Texas Hangmen on September 29. Between the Hangmen’s tendency to play dirty, and the distraction Embry is likely causing to their focus, the Super Medicos are no longer the World tag team champions. But to the Medicos, their focus is now entirely on Eric Embry and his allies. You can bet that this feud between the Super Medicos and Embry & Valentine is only just beginning.

Elsewhere, we have had a couple of intense weeks of TNT fighting Invader #1, both in singles matches at the arenas and at the TV tapings in tag matches involving Kim Duk and Giant Warrior as their respective tag partners. We go to one of these tag matches from the end of September.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39bWWfptCYI

The video opens with Hugo Savinovich and El Profe, where they are about to show the main event of the program. But before getting to the match, Hugo starts talking about how in his opinion, this match will show that all is not well between TNT and Kim Duk. El Profe says that Hugo should not be sowing discord or dissent, but Hugo interrupts saying they went to blows. Profe said that things happen in the heat of the moment and when the adrenaline is flowing, but this does not mean that things are off. Everything's good, under control, TNT is happy and feels comfortable being with them. Hugo wants the fans to see for themselves what happened and El Profe starts complaining again as they go to the match. 

The match is in progress with TNT putting Invader in a sleeperhold. Hugo reminds the fans that this Thursday they will be in Guayanilla. As TNT keeps working the hold and Invader tries to fight out of it, Hugo reminds the kids watching that they should never attempt these holds, these are dangerous moves and can badly hurt someone if you are not trained in how to execute them properly. Invader gets to his feet and TNT sends Invader into the ropes. A clothesline and dynamite kick are ducked by Invader, and he hits a clothesline off the ropes that sends both men down. Invader slaps the mat and tags in Giant Warrior. TNT is overwhelmed by Warrior and Duk comes in to help, but to no avail. Warrior easily attacks both rudos as Hugo puts over the size difference between Warrior and his opponents. Warrior hits a clothesline on TNT and then one on Duk, which brings in Invader #1. All four men are in the ring, leading to the rudos being irish whipped into each other. Duk is knocked out of the ring and the ref tells Invader to go back to the ring apron. 

Meanwhile, TNT and Giant warrior are exchanging blows in the ring. As the ref is distracted with getting Invader #1 to his corner, TNT holds Warrior so that Duk can hit him with the kendo stick. Warrior ducks and TNT gets hit with the kendo stick instead. Duk throws the kendo stick in frustration, as Giant Warrior and Invader stand on their side of the ring and watch the rudos. TNT gets up and has some words with Duk, The two rudos start shoving and punching each other. El Profe quickly jumps into the ring to try to separate his guys, with little effect. El Profe on commentary starts asking if they could cut the video here but Hugo says no. A group of rudos rush the ring to separate TNT and Duk, as the tecnicos stay in the corner enjoying the breakdown between TNT and Kim Duk. The referee awards the win by DQ to Invader and Warrior. Meanwhile, Eric Embry and El Profe are holding TNT back while Monster Ripper and Rick Valentine are holding Kim Duk back. As El Profe tries to calm things down in the ring, on commentary Profe and Hugo are going back and forth on whether things are okay or not (El Profe says everything is smoothed over, Hugo keeps reiterating that it does not look that way to him). As the rudos continue talking things out, you can hear the crowd start making noise and trying to get them riled up again. El Profe says that everything is fine, they shook hands so all is good. Hugo harps on how long it took for them to get to shaking hands and wonders if TNT is satisfied with that apology. The segment ends with the rudos peacefully leaving the ring as Profe says that you can see TNT is satisfied and calm.TNT’s frustrations are really coming to a head for him. Duk has seemingly messed up a few times, although it does not seem to have been on purpose. Still, TNT has always had his hothead moments, and we will have to see if he can refocus or if things will spiral even more for him.

MD: All things must come to an end I suppose. This starts with Profe saying everything’s cool with the Sports Club and then we cut to this tag. Invader starts in a TNT sleeper fighting from underneath like only he can. Once Warrior gets in after the hot tag he’s got lots of clubbering and clotheslines. His best stuff is that straight down shot and it looks pretty good. I wish he’d move just a tiny bit faster and hit a tiny bit harder but I can kind of live with him, I guess. Against the right heels, he’s a novelty. TNT catches him in the throat though and holds him for a Kim Duk kendo shot. Giant Warrior uses his superior agility to move and Duk hits TNT and chaos ensues. I like the range of the bad guys that come out, including Monster Ripper, to try to calm things down.

EB: The month of October brings some returns to CSP. Kamala is back for a brief shot, where he is scheduled to face Giant Warrior on October 6. Also making a  brief return during October is Ricky Santana. While we don’t have much footage from this nearly part of October, we have  two videos highlighting these two wrestlers. First we have a TV match featuring Kamala taking on Invader #1.

Invader #1 vs. Kamala (forowwc.com) - maybe 1990?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zv1I9ImBGuY

Kamala returns for a brief stop in CSP and faces an old nemesis in Invader #1. The match is joined in progress, with Kamala working an armlock on Invader #1. Hugo and Eliud Gonzalez are on commentary, with Eliud mentioning that Kamala has to keep Invader at some length in order to avoid the strong hits Invader can give. Hugo mentions that both men have given their all so far, and you can tell the match has been going on for a while already. Invader fights back to his feet but Kamala pushes him back into the corner and hits an overhand chop. Kamala slaps his belly and looks at the crowd, only to continue with chops on Invader in the corner. Kamala chokes Invader with his foot and continues with more chops and headbutt that knocks Invader back down in the corner. This part of the match has been all Kamala, who dances around the ring in celebration. More chops and a choke in the corner, but Invader starts showing signs of life by slapping his chest to fire himself up. Kamala goes back for more chops but Invader starts firing back with chops of his own, and knocks down Kamala with a dropkick. The crowd comes alive as Invader stomps on Kamala and keeps slapping his chest. Invader is now in control and rams Kamala’s head into the corner. A blow to Kamala’s chest knocks him down, but when Invader goes over to grab Kamala, he is hit with a punch to the midsection. Kamala takes the opening to toss Invader through the ropes to the outside. Kamala raises an arm in celebration, while Invader tries to get back into the ring, Kamala attacks Invader, stopping him on the apron and knocking Invader back to the floor. A second attempt results in Invader again being kicked to the floor, but on the third attempt Invader fakes Kamala out and dodges the kick. Invader then grabs Kamala’s extended leg and drags the Ugandan warrior to the outside. Invader starts attacking Kamala on the outside, but the referee starts his ring out cut and eventually both men are counted out. No winner but Invader slides back into the ring to play to the crowd and seems to have gotten a bit of a moral victory.

MD: If you’re going to bring in Kamala for a cup of coffee, having your #2 babyface fight from underneath against him and then take the fight to him is not a bad choice really. I think we try to measure our praise to some degree, but Invader was incredible here. It’s just five minutes with a hold to start, but the way he fights up, the way he fights back, the way he recoils against getting swept back under and pulls Kamala out. And most importantly, the way he recovers on the floor with the kids in the middle. It’s all time pro wrestling stuff. It’s five minutes. Click the link and see just how good he was at what he did.

EB: And while we don’t have any matches of Ricky Santana in his October return, we do have a music video highlighting him. In it we can appreciate that apparently the ladies dig Ricky Santana (with some unintentional comedy abounding). 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0m9kA8tBKo

MD: I see this and think that Santana would have had more utility on the babyface side in 90 than Singh or Styles or whatever. This is funny both for the premise of a bus full of girls chasing him down and for how many of said young ladies had “Colon” in their last name during the credits.

EB: CSP had a show on October 6 in Bayamon that featured Carlos Colon defeating Roadblock; Invader #4 defeating Kim Duk by DQ; Giant Warrior defeating Kamala by countout; the Super Medicos and Eric Embry & Rick Valentine going to  a no contest (a lot of heat there based on what has happened so far); Huracan Castillo Jr. winning the World Jr. title from Ron Starr;  Sasha defeating Monster Ripper by countout; and Mr. Pogo went to a time limit draw with Ricky Santana. The following week on October 13, Sasha was finally able to defeat Monster Ripper and in the process won the women’s World title.

We close out this installment by checking back in with the Texas Hangmen. In the span of one month, Psycho and Killer have made it known that they have no qualms with using their bullropes and live up to their names against the tecnicos. They have used the bullropes to win matches and have tried hanging their opponents when given the chance. They have also won the World tag team championship. Let’s go to a TV match at one of the October TV tapings, where they are facing the Invaders.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubuZ3EXl5lc

The match is joined in  progress with the Hangmen working over Invader #4. Hugo on commentary mentions that the Hangmen have been dominating the tag division by using the strategy of isolating one member of the team and focusing on them, weakening that specific opponent and then causing their other opponent to have to go at it 2 against 1. Or the Hangmen just flat out attempt to injure their opponents (as we saw happen in the match vs the Caribbean Express).  One of the Hangmen (still not sure which is which yet) makes a charge at Invader #4 in the corner, but Invader #4 gets out of the way and makes the tag to Invader #1. The Hangmen also make a tag but Invader #1 hits a dropkick on both Psycho and Killer and takes the attack to both of them. All four wrestlers end up in the ring, with the Invaders attacking the Hangmen in opposite corners. The Invaders try to irish whip the Hangmen into each other, but one of the Hangmen counters, causing Invader #4 to collide with a Hangman instead. Invader #4 is knocked out of the ring and now it is Invader #1 against the two Hangmen. Invader #1 holds his own for a while but the odds overwhelm him and the Hangmen back Invader up against the ropes. As the Hangmen are hitting Invader #1, El Profe takes out a pair of handcuffs and holds onto Invader #1’s leg, as the Hangmen handcuff Invader to the ropes. Hugo complains that the ref has not seen that they are cheating with the handcuffs when all of a sudden El Profe runs across the floor to grab a chair. El Profe hands it to one of the Hangmen, who promptly uses the chair to smack Invader #1 on the head. With Invader #1 knocked down to the mat, the Hangmen turn their attention to Invader #4 (who had been recovering on the outside of the ring from the earlier collision). Invader #4 briefly holds off Psycho and Killer with some dropkicks, but a third attempt is dodged and Invader #4 is left open for attack. The Hangmen grab one of their nooses and and they pick up Invader #4 in an attempt to hang him. The Hangmen can’t get a good grip on Invader #4 on their first attempt, but they reset and get him up on the second try. Hugo is worried that this could seriously hurt Invader #4, He is not left hanging for too long though, as the Super Medicos and Giant Warrior rush out to chase the Hangmen and Profe away. The Medicos check on Invader #4 as Hugo mentions that it may be that Invader #4 slipping on the first attempt may have been enough to save him from suffering a serious injury there. Invader #4 still looks like he may be worse for the wear and the Hangmen lose the match by DQ (although I’m sure they don’t really care too much about that).

MD: What was interesting to me here was how the Hangmen physically responded to Invader #1 getting the hot tag and coming in. They fed a little, getting knocked around a bit or knocked off the apron or eating a double noggin-knocker but in general they just held firm and absorbed the blows for long enough for Profe to grab Invader’s leg. That’s very different than almost any other opponent who was going to have Invader come in hot on them and it made them seem all the more foreboding and dangerous. Hugo had made the point earlier that their style was to really beat down one opponent so it became a 2-on-1 and that’s how things played out for a chunk of the ending and post-match. I’m not sure how much of this was a conscious decision or not but it was striking in the moment.

EB: The Texas Hangmen have continued with their use of the bullropes and the attempted hanging of their opponents. El Ejercito de la Justicia is getting tired of this, and after being handcuffed to the ring ropes, Invader #1 wants another crack at the Texas Hangmen. His partner this time around is the Universal champion and leader of El Ejercito de la Justicia, none other than Carlos Colon. Let’s see if this super team can teach the Hangmen a lesson. Let’s go to the October 17 TV taping in Miramar. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5av8DfHy2G0

EB: The ultimate tecnico team of Carlos Colon and Invader #1 is facing the World tag champs the Texas Hangmen in a non-title match. Their objective is to teach the Hangmen a lesson after the continued abuse and dangerous attacks they have attempted. Your announce team is Hugo Savinovich and Eliud Gonzalez. The commentators talk about how dangerous the Hangmen are and that experience favors the tecnicos. It's the courage of the tecnicos versus the tag champs that do not hesitate to hurt their opponents. The match is in progress, with Invader having one of the Hangmen down on the mat with a hammerlock. Carlos switches in when the ref’s back is turned to continue with the hammerlock,  and when Carlos yanks the mask at around the 40 second mark, Hugo says that this is a sign that the faces are going to fight fire with fire and are looking to avenge some of the abuses the Hangmen have committed with other members of El Ejercito de la Justicia. Carlos works over the Hangman’s arm and the commentators again mention the difficulty in telling which one is Killer and which one is Psycho. Invader is tagged in and again puts on a hammerlock, but the Hangman hits a back elbow to break the hold. A rope running sequence ends with Invader hiptossing the Hangman. Back to working the arm and again the tecnicos do a switch when the other Hangman tries to get in the ring as we get a commercial break.

We return to the Hangmen taking control, as Carlos gets backed into the rudo corner and gets double teamed. The Hangmen keep Carlos near their corner, raking his eyes across the top rope and taking advantage of a ref distraction to choke him with the bullrope in their corner. When they use the bullrope to choke Carlos in the corner, Hugo mentions that they are experts at using the rope and they don't care if they get DQ'd for using it. It's not enough to win, they have to finish their opponents. The match continues like this for a while, with the Hangmen working Carlos over and Invader making the save a few times when some pin attempts were made. After taking the continued punishment for a while, the announcers mention that if it weren’t for Colon’s fortitude he would likely have been beaten already. Carlos is able to make a tag but the ref misses it and the Hangmen continue to work over Carlos. A miscommunication by the Hangmen leads to the hot tag and Invader comes in on fire. Almost immediately Carlos goes back in and all four wrestlers are fighting in the ring. Ona attempted Irish whip collision, Invader surprises a Hangman with a small package and the tecnicos get the win .

The Hangmen are furious about losing and proceed to jump Colon and Invader. Colon (who had been worked over for most of the match) gets hit with the bullrope and tossed over the top and to the floor. El Profe jumps into the ring and holds down Invader’s arms, while the ref gets tossed outside. The Hangmen then proceed to attack Invader, and with Profe's help, hold him down and wrap the noose around his neck. Carlos tries to get back in but is hit in the head with the bell on the bullrope. The ref's calling for the bell and also tries to go back in but Profe cuts him off (Hugo: Profe's going to be fined for that!). The fans are throwing some garbage at the rudos and the Hangmen proceed to hang Invader with Profe running interference in the ring.

Invader #4 is quickly out to help his brother, but is cut off by Rick Valentine. Valentine's not even fighting, he is just grabbing the desperate Invader #4 to prevent him from reaching the ring. Miguelito Perez tries to get to the ring, but he's cut off by Eric Embry. Ricky Santana is next to try to save Invader, but he's cut off by Kim Duk. Meanwhile, Profe's holding off the ref from getting into the ring as Hugo starts worrying that Invader's life may be in danger. Giant Warrior tries to help, but he's held off by Skywalker (Nitron / Tyler Mane, a recent arrival to the territory). Invader #4 is desperately trying to get in the ring but he's still being held back (this time by Embry). The ref El Vkingo tries to get in the ring with an umbrella, but Profe cuts him off and takes it from him. Profe proceeds to whack Invader #4 a couple of times with the umbrella to ward him off. Carlos also gets whacked with the umbrella.

Hugo's still going on about the direness of the situation when Sasha!?! runs out and jumps into the ring to help. The Hangmen push her down and Embry seizes his chance to get at Sasha (and taking advantage that the Super Medicos are not there). Embry drags Sasah out of the ring by her hair and proceeds to slap her across the face a few times. Now Hugo's horrified at what's going on in the ring and outside of the ring. Embry waves someone towards him and motions for that person come and join the fun by taking a shot at Sasha. It’s TNT, who casually walks up to Embry and Sasha and decks Embry. The crowd goes bananas! El Profe goes out to confront TNT and also gets decked. TNT gets inside the ring after kicking Profe away and promptly breaks up the hanging. The rudos bail as El Ejercito de la Justicia storms the ring. The tecnicos are checking on Invader #1 while TNT stands off by himself watching from a corner of the ring. The fans are going crazy and chanting TNT's name. Giant Warrior asks Sasha if she's okay. Hugo says that if TNT hadn't helped, he doesn't believe the tecnicos would have been able to reach Invader #1. TNT leaves as the tecnicos keep checking on Invader #1. Hugo says the situation is critical, an ambulance has been called. The paramedics arrive and Invader #4 fans air to his brother as the paramedics check on him. We leave with Invader 1 being put in a protective neck brace and on the stretcher. And on a personal note, this is the first big moment I remember from when I started watching full time back in the fall of 1990.

MD: I have to admit, on some level, because of how good the match was and how long the video clip was, I was a bit disappointed it only went seven. I thought they could have had Invader come in and then get swept under and work a second FIP and it could be an all timer. What I didn’t realize coming in (all of this is new to me!) is that we were getting an all time face turn at the end of it. 

The match itself was very good. Colon and Invader controlled early by focusing on the arm and using teamwork. Eventually Colon got bullied into the corner and double-teamed. The heat was a lot of choking with some bits of impact or double teaming due to Invader getting upset and drawing the ref. The finish came quick with a roll up out of nowhere after the hot tag but then things devolved into chaos.

We got another hanging, this time with Profe’s help on Invader. It lasted forever (with bottles flying in) as the Justice Army got cut off by heels (Embry/Valentine). Embry went so far as to target Sasha, and it remains shocking just how casually he’d lay shots in on her. He waved to the heel locker room, calling TNT out for some free shots on her but TNT had seen enough and fired off on Embry and the others to a massive pop. Finally, he saved Invader and lingered for a bit, only to leave without a word as they stretchered Invader out. If you’re going to turn TNT babyface again so soon, that’s certainly a way to do it. All time great babyface turn.

EB: Next time on El Deporte de las Mil Emociones, the return of La Pareja Increible!

Read more!