El Deporte de las Mil Emociones: Strong Punch

Week 57: Strong Punch

We saw Carlos Colon get the win against the savage Polynesian Prince in a barbed wire match and TNT regain the TV title against the man who put him on the shelf, one King Kong. We do have one other match we need to mention from the June 1 house show in Bayamon. Invader #1 faced Ron Garvin in a special challenge match and the match ended up going to a draw. Throughout the match there were a couple of instances where both Invader and Garvin looked to have the match won but circumstances caused the match to restart and then the time limit ended without a winner. As a result of this challenge match having no winner, the two wrestlers agreed to a rematch at Aniversario 91. To make it official, a contract signing aired on TV and things got heated when each man brought up the moment they had the match in hand.. The back and forth got a bit heated and then talk turned to who had the better and stronger punch. Again, the back and forth got a bit heated, leading to both men standing up. At that moment, Garvin surprised Invader with a punch right to the face. Invader went down and his nose was injured from the blow. As a result, Invader will have a bandage around his nose as he recovers from the damage Garvin's punch did. This has only added more fuel to the newly signed match for Anviersari 91. And there’s one more stipulation that will be added as a result of all the arguing over who has the better punch. In order to prove who has the best punch, Invader will be allowed to show up with his fist taped for the Aniversario match. The taped fist heart punch is the most dangerous move in Puerto Rico wrestling, so the stakes are high for that encounter.

Do we have any other updates for Aniversario? Let’s go to what's either the June 8 or June 15 west coast version of Super Estrellas to find out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRMBHXeS91w

We join this episode in progress, as Eliud Gonzalez is in the Road to Aniversario control center. He’s just finished talking about Invader #1 (looks like he has a match for Aniversario) and then talks about the revenge match between Bronco and Skandor Akbar. They replay the fireball incident and aftermath. There’s also the match between Monster Ripper and El Profe, and we go to a recap of how this all started at Noche de Campeones. And if that’s not enough, we also have the feud between Billy Joe Travis and Hugo Savinovich, where we get the recap of the brief altercation and then Hugo getting Carlos Colon and Giant Warrior to agree to help him train for the match. Back in the control center, Eliud tells us that more matches will be announced soon and remember that you can get your tickets at Thom McAn (a shoe store chain) in the western region starting this Thursday. If you pay attention to the clips shown in the segment outro, you’ll see Ron Garvin decking Invader during the contract signing for their Aniversario match, which is what leads to Invader wearing a bandage around his nose for the next couple of weeks.

The control center is followed by an El Profe promo, where he again runs down Monster Ripper by saying that here in Latin America women are objects for men. We cut to a card rundown for the Aniversario show in San German and we can confirm that Invader #1 with his taped fist will face Ron Garvin. Also added to the card are the Caribbean Express defending the Caribbean tag titles against the Samoan Swat Team and Super Medico #3 defending the Caribbean title against Rod Price. Tomorrow (either June 9 or 16) they will be in Guanica with the following lineup: Invader #1 & TNT vs Polynesian Prince & Dick Murdoch; Giant Warrior vs. King Kong; Ricky Santana vs Rod Price; Miguelito Perez vs Action Jackson; minis in action; Huracan Castillo vs Billy Joe Travis; and Mr. Ito vs. Galan Mendoza.

Since this is the last we’ll hear of King Kong, I want to mention a memory I have that has to be from around this time period. It was a TV match taped in Miramar where Invader #1 faced King Kong. In a rarity, Invader #1 was wearing his mask in a singles match, so it's likely he was protecting his injured nose from further damage. The reason I remember this match is for the finishing stretch. Invader hit Kong with the heart punch, leaving him staggered but still on his feet. Invader then went to the middle turnbuckle and jumped off with another heart punch, knocking Kong down. Invader gets the pin and leaves the ring, but Kong remains down on the mat and you have the ref  and Akbar checking on Kong. The ref starts panicking and they have to revive Kong with chest compressions since he had sustained two heart punches. Kong is successfully revived and then leaves the ring normally under his own power, likely on his way out of the territory.  

MD: They start this episode recapping Akbar vs Bronco, Profe vs Ripper, and Hugo vs Travis. It’s wild that this is how they’re doing Aniversario this year. As we get there, I’m hoping Esteban can dig up some details about just how successful it was, because it is a bold strategy. It looks like, a month out, they’ve added Invader 1 vs Ron Garvin, Caribbean Express vs SST, Medico IV vs Rod Price, and Giant Warrior vs Murdoch. With Colon vs Bravo on top. It’s an interesting card to say the least. 

Meanwhile, the house show for the week had Invader/TNT vs Polynesian Prince/Murdoch, Warrior vs King Kong, Santana vs Price, Perez vs Jackson, Midgets, Castillo vs Travis, and Ito vs Mendoza, so that’s not really a bad card either all things considered. 

Invader IV vs. Ronnie Garvin

EB: We go to a JIP Ron Garvin vs. Invader #4 arena match and it wouldn't surprise me that this was signed after Garvin punched out Invader #1. If you'll recall, Invader #4 is the younger brother of Invader #1, so it stands to reason he is looking to get some revenge on Garvin. Hugo and Eliud on commentary say that you have to be very careful of Garvin’s punches. Invader #4 is the one in control when we join the match, having backed Garvin into a corner and getting some punches on him. It doesn’t last long and Garvin takes over with some punches of his own. A Garvin hip toss gets a two count, but Invader #4 quickly gets up and hits Garvin with some punches. Garvin is whipped into the ropes and is able to hold on to them, causing Invader #4 to miss a dropkick. Garvin immediately goes for the Garvin Stomp and then knocks Invader #4 out with a right hook to the face. Garvin gets the win and shows off his punching prowess in the process.

After the match, we go to taped promos from Garvin and Invader #1. Garvin wants it to be known that all he needs are his bare hands, he could probably kill a bear with his bare hands. Garvin promises that he will dismantle Invader in front of all the fans at Aniversario. Invader (with the bandage on his face) follows by saying that Garvin should be embarrassed for what he did at the contract signing. Invader understands why Garvin did it, Garvin was angry about the time limit draw and not being able to defeat Invader. Garvin asked for 5 more minutes, Invader gave it to him, and still Garvin could not beat Invader. When we signed the contract for Aniversario, you punched me and hurt my nose,but come Aniversario you'll have to show that you have the strongest punch. Remember, I'll have my fist taped and when I hit the heart punch on you Garvin, you will not get up.

MD: Despite being greyscale, I think this is new footage. Garvin doesn’t have a manager and Invader IV only showed up during the run of our footage, I think. At least with the gimmick. He pummels Garvin in the corner, really taking it to him. Garvin comes back with a headbutt but he can’t keep Invader IV from firing back on him. But Invader misses a dropkick, and it’s Garvin Stomp followed by Hand of Steel for the definitive and anti-climactic win.

Garvin cut a great promo about how while Invader will be coming for revenge (I have no idea what for but his nose is sure bandaged) and will have taped fists, Garvin will have bare knuckles and he could punch out a bear with his bare knuckles. Then Hugo translates while he shadow boxes and I am excited for this match already. 

EB: Hugo Savinovich is in training for his Aniversario match against Billy Joe Travis and here we have video of him being trained by Carlos Colon. At the end we get some words from an out of  breath Hugo where he thanks Carlos and promises to continue getting ready for Travis in order to teach him a lesson

MD: There are more than five minutes of this! Why is this so long! There’s a whole minute of just Hugo stretching. On the other hand, I can’t wait for part two of this if he’s being trained by Giant Warrior next.

Dino Bravo vs. Armandito Salgado

EB: Dino Bravo is taking on Armandito Salgado in Manati. Hugo apologizes for the black and white picture, this is how the match was filmed apparently. This goes as well as you would expect for Salgado, with Bravo making quick work of him and winning with the full nelson.

MD: Pretty effective squash here. He charged right in, punching him in the corner, pile driving him, hitting elbow drops. He was using the full nelson instead of the side slam so he couldn’t just finish him off. He instead tossed him out and had a nice entry point to the full nelson where he starts to whip Salgado out of the corner and put him right in it after a few steps. As effective as I can imagine from Bravo.

EB: Next is Billy Joe Travis with El Profe, and they just spend the time making fun of Hugo. It cuts to Profe’s closing remarks about how Dino Bravo will be the new Universal champion at Aniversario. Then Carlos Colon (from the track where he is training Hugo and with one of the Colon kids) has some comments, saying that his goal is having a convincing win against Bravo at Aniversario.

MD: Travis was sure having fun and Profe seemed to be having fun with him. He mocked Hugo, his training, his wife, all within the span of less than a minute. 

Rod Price & Action Jackson vs. Tito Carrion & El Corsario

EB: We go to another JIP match as Rod Price and Action Jackson are in the middle of facing Tito Carrion and El Corsario. Price and Jacksna are getting the better of Carrion and refusing to cover him for the pin, even after hitting a Doomsday Device. Price finally gets the merciful pin after a shoulder tackle. 

MD: I made the mistake of looking up Price and Jackson’s association because they were both GWF guys and they had this wild looking SPWF tour in 1996 against Yatsu, Teranishi and Poison Sawada. ANYWAY, this was brutal. A Price belly to belly (lifts up the opponent). A doomsday device (lifts up the opponent). A Price flying lariat (doesn’t lift up the opponent). 

EB: SkandorAkbar has some comments where he is incredulous that Bronco is daring to come back here after having been burned. Akbar warns Bronco to stay in Santo Domingo, because he has a plan to finish him off. We then get an interview from Bronco sent in from Santo Domingo, where he says he is recovering nicely although some burn marks still linger. Bronco urges the fans in the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico to see some of the burns still on his face, so he covers up with a towel to remove his mask. We then get a still shot of the burn marks Bronco wanted to show. Bronco says he is returning at Aniversario, even if he is not fully healed by them. And he warns the president of CSP to make sure he has medics and emergency services on hand, because they are going to need them for Akbar once he is done with him.

MD: Akbar tells Bronco not to come back to Puerto Rico and that he has a back up plan, as always. Bronco looks cool as always (whether he’s lounging here or running in from the back in a suit). They do a deal where he takes off his mask but shields his face with a towel so they can zoom in on the burn. 

EB: The Caribbean Express have some words about defending the Caribbean tag tiles at Aniversario against the Samoan Swat Team. Pretty standard comments where they say they are training hard and promise to keep the belts. They also have some comments about their singles matches for tomorrow in Guanica.Hugo says he cannot be unbiased and he hopes Castillo teaches Travis a lesson tomorrow. 

MD: They were theoretically able to get over both the Profe and the SST matches here but they seemed to focus on the SST match more as Ripper didn’t talk.

EB: The episode closes with video of the barbed wire match between Carlos Colon and the Polynesian Prince. Hugo closes the show by hyping up the Friday Aniversario card in San Germana and tomorrow’s house show in Guanica. 

Now let’s go to the June 15  episode of Campeones, it's a cut down version of the episode with some repeat matches but let's see if there is any new news about Aniversario.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfCgFiiu8p8

Hugo and Profe welcome us to another edition of Campeones. Hugo immediately starts getting on Profe’s case about Anciersari saying Profe is going to lose against Monster Ripper. Profe plays it off saying that he will be the one doing the beating. Hugo says that women are to be respected, Profe responds with ‘What lady?’ Hugo mentions what we'll see on today's program, while also reminding viewers about the upcoming Aniversario 91 on July 6 in Bayamon. Tonight they will be in Carolina with a main event of Carlos Colon vs the Great Kokina (looks like they’ve brought in another monster to try to derail Carlos before Aniversario). Profe reinforces that point, saying he doesn't care if Kokina wins tonight, Kokina is here to destroy Carlos Colon. Profe warns Carlos to not show up tonight and laughs when Hugo says they better be careful, because El Ejercito de la Justicia is ready and may decide to send them to the hospital instead. Also tonight we have Dino Bravo vs. TNT and Invader #1 vs. Polynesian Prince. With that let’s get to our first match (courtesy of El Profe’s magic finger).

Rod Price vs. Mr. Ito

Rod Price is taking on the newcomer known as Mr. Ito, who you may better know as Akira Nogami. Mr. It looks good in the early going, hitting some nice dropkicks that send Price to the outside of the ring. Price tries an armbar and Ito works out of it. Price turns the tide by hotshotting Ito on the top rope, allowing Rod to control the next portion of the match. Ito is not easy to put away, and a missed change in the corner gives Ito an opening to come back with some nice kicks. Some mounted punches and a spin kick follow and it looks like Ito has momentum on his side. Akbar gets involved however by grabbing Ito’s leg when he’s coming off the ropes. The distraction is enough for Price to attack Ito from behind. One shoulder tackle later and Rod Price gets the win.

We then go to the Aniversario 91 control center, but it unfortunately is edited off the version we have video for.

MD: Ito is Akira Nogami of all people and this was a solid TV match. He’s babyface here and controlled early with dropkicks. Price stalled until he was able to take over with a cheapshot and as always has a lot of “stuff.” Belly to belly suplex, press slam, vertical suplex, with punches and occasionally cutting off hope chopping from underneath. Ito kept kicking out and was able to get out of the way of a corner charge to take over with kicks in the corner. Akbar caught his leg off the ropes though, letting Price hit a flying shoulder tackle for the win. A good way to spend five minutes or so.

EB: The rest of the episode’s matches are ones we do not need to cover since they are the Garvin vs. Flair cage match from JCP…

MD: I guess it’s nice we now have a version of this match commentated on by Hugo?

EB: And the Colon vs. Murdoch barbed wire match from early April. We also have a promo from Skandor Akbar with the Polynesian Prince, whose opponent tonight is Invader #1.

MD: Prince is definitely committed to the gimmick. You can’t say he’s not. He’s biting at the air and making faces as Akbar talks and it’s quite the scene. 

EB: We also get a brief clip of Eliud Gonzalez in the control center that is in between segments of the Colon vs. Murdoch match. Eliud runs down the matches signed for Aniversario 91 and mentions there is a change to one of the matches. The match in question is Giant Warrior vs. Dick Murdoch, it seems that TNT has asked Warrior if he would team up with him to face… and the clip cuts off there. Guess we’ll have to wait until next week to find out what the match is instead. The real reason the Warrior vs. Murdoch match was changed is due to Dick Murdoch having signed with WCW. Hugo and Profe close the show by hyping tonight's card in Carolina with a main event of Carlos Colon vs. Great Kokina.

We'll finish off this week’s post with footage of the Dino Bravo vs. TNT match from June 15.

TNT vs. Dino Bravo - June 15

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NY8RsFYAYgE

It's only a short clip of the match since this is taken from a  TV episode that aired some months later. They show TNT hitting his shoulder on the post when missing a corner charge and Bravo takes advantage by working over TNT’s shoulder. TNT gets a hope spot with a sunset flip, but Bravo knocks TNT down with a clothesline and continues attacking the arm. TNT gets another comeback, but a missed spin kick allows Bravo to lock in the full nelson. TNT submitted due to the hurt shoulder and a big win for Bravo on his way to Aniversario 91. . 

MD: We get the last four minutes of this. TNT misses a corner charge and Bravo works over the arm. It’s not exactly impressive armwork but it’s fine. Varied even if none of the holds look great. TNT comes back and Bravo feeds well for it. He misses an elbow drop as well. But TNT misses the spin wheel kick and he gets a clean win with the full nelson. I get putting him over so strong going into Anversario but usually this would have a distraction or interference. That made me realize I don’t know who TNT is actually facing at Anversario.

EB: Next time on El Deporte de las Mil Emciones, we are in the final stretch of the road to Aniversario 91. Giant Warrior helps train Hugo, we’ll cover some matches that happened during the latter half of June such as Invader #1 teaming up with Mr. Ito and Carlos Colon vs Great Kokina in a steel cage, and the final hype for Aniversario 91 as we get some feud recaps to make sure we know how we got there.

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El Deporte de las Mil Emociones: For Each Show Host, A Match

Week 56: For Each Show Host, A Match

EB: We continue on the road to Aniversario 91, as four matches have been officially signed. The main event is scheduled to be Carlos Colon vs Ron Garvin for the Universal title, but Dino Bravo has been making noise about wanting that title match for himself. Bravo made a surprise appearance at Noche de Campeones where he made a surprise attack on Carlos Colon. It looks like we finally have a decision with regards to whether Bravo gets the match or not. Meanwhile, Carlos is dealing with the Polyneasian Prince, Gen. Akbar’s latest recruit and someone who seems to be focused on injuring Carlos before Aniversario. They faced each other last week in Caguas after having quite the brawl at the TV taping, and it looks like the rivalry has escalated. They are set to face off once more in a barbed wire match.

In other Aniversario news, Bronco remains out due to the fireball attack but promises revenge on Akbar at Aniversario. Meanwhile, Profe keeps spiraling a bit with the idea of having to face Monster Ripper, in part due to the constant needling from Hugo Savinovich over the situation. One final piece of news, TNT has been cleared for action and has set his sights on getting back the TV title from King Kong. Now let’s go to the west coast version of Super Estrellas de la Lucha Libre from June 1 and see what the decision regarding Dino Bravo is.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0tpp1n8IWI

Hugo welcomes the viewers to the show and goes over what we will see today, including Universal champion Carlos Colon (in a rare tv studio match) taking on King Kong. During the rundown Hugo makes mention of Dino Bravo being the number one contender for the Universal title and the man who will face Carlos at Aniversario, so it looks like the commission made the decision to change the match to Colon vs Bravo. Since this is the west coast edition of Super Estrellas, all mentions of Aniversario are focused on the Friday card in San German. Hugo updates the viewers on the most recent developments for that card, but not before hyping up the air conditioning, ample parking and security available at the facility in San German. The main event for Friday July 5 is Carlos Colon defending the Universal title against Dino Bravo. It is official, since Bravo and Profe were alleging that Carlos was ducking Bravo out of fear. To help Bravo’s cause, it seems that Profe went to Ron Garvin and paid him off to step aside. Garvin called the WWC commission and relinquished his title shot. Add to that Carlos wanting payback for the attack Bravo did at Noche de Campeones and here we are with Bravo now challenging Carlos at Aniversario.

Also scheduled is a first time ever match in Puerto Rico as a man faces a woman, and Hugo says that Monster Ripper is favored against Profe. Dick Murdoch vs Giant Warrior and Bronco vs Skandor Akbar in a vengeance match round out the signed matches so far, there will be 6 other matches so stay tuned as new updates are made. Next week there will be information about where you can purchase tickets for the show, and with that let’s go to the ring for our first match. 

King Kong vs. Carlos Colon

Our first match is a surprising one, as Carlos Colon takes on King Kong. This is a non-title match and Hugo mentions this is a dangerous opponent for Carlos. Akbar is not at ringside with Kong, but Hugo says that it will be a big boost for Devastation Inc if Kong defeats Carlos here. The first minutes of the match are all about establishing Kong’s size and strength advantage, he shoves Carlos down a few times and works him over with nerve holds. The match continues with Kong in control, with Hugo saying it's surprising that Kong is having such a dominant showing against Calros, who trains diligently. Hugo sends a hellos to the viewers watching in the different countries the program airs and it sure seems that this match is to help establish if Carlos can handle bigger and stronger opponents such as Dino Bravo. After six or seven minutes, Colon makes a comeback after dodging a corner splash. The offensive flurry is ended when Kong uses his weight to belly bump Colon on a corner charge. Kong picks Colon up for a slam and Carlos grabs the ropes to prevent it. The referee tells Colon to let go and kicks Colon’s hands off the ropes. The sudden momentum shift seems to unbalance Kong and he falls down with Colon on top. The ref makes a count and Carlos wins the match, although it looks more like it was luck. This may be a sign that Carlos may have a tough time against Bravo unless he really prepares.

MD: Not a long match but kind of an interesting one since we haven’t seen Colon face someone this size in a while. Kong really had Colon’s number for the first two thirds of this, overpowering him and then leaning down on him hard with clubbers and nerveholds. Colon dodged a corner charge and took over. There was some sense that he had worn him down with a rope-a-dope though it didn’t quite have enough time to play out. Kong was so active that it sort of worked though. He came out of the corner with a Vader Attack though but Colon held on to the top rope on a slam attempt and when the ref kicked the hands out, he fell on him for a quick three. If Kong was leaving the territory this was a good way to have him do business on TV on the way out. Otherwise, it was a weird thing to give away.

EB: Dino Bravo is in the studio for another promo about facing Carlos Colon, only this time the match is officially a go. Bravo says that he tracked Colon to his backyard and on his first visit to the island almost broke Colon’s neck. Bravo has his number and he will become the new Universal champion at Aniversario 91. Carlos Colon is next and says that Aniversario 91 is going to be an important night for him. Not only is he facing the world strongest man and a great wrestler, Colon has a personal score to settle with Bravo after the humiliation he received at Noche de Campeones. Hugo makes note that this is not only for the title but also a chance for Carlos to represent Puerto Ricans well. Carlos says that the fans know Bravo's accomplishments and it is a tough task he faces, but with the fans support he will come out with the win. The segment ends with an Aniversari 91 card rundown featuring the four announced matches so far.

MD: Bravo just seemed happy to be there, talking about how Colon was the ambassador to the world but that Bravo had come to his backyard and could have broken his neck. He had to ask Profe for confirmation on the fact it was called Aniversario but said that Colon should bring his heart and his belt and he’d take both. As a kid from New England in 1991, I would have probably seen Bravo as a bigger star than Ron Garvin but I still have my doubts here.

Billy Joe Travis & Gran Mendoza vs. Ricky Santana & Tito Carrion

EB: We go back to Miramar for our next match but it seems that an argument is happening at the commentary desk. Billy Joe Travis is there with El Galana Mendoza and El Profe, they are up next. Instead of being in the ring, Travis is angrily yelling at Hugo Savinovich, it seems Travis is angry about comments Hugo has made about him. Hugo dismisses Travis and tells him to get in the ring, he doesn’t want to talk to Travis right now. Profe has to drag Travis away so they can go to the ring for their match. As Travis and Mendoza enter the ring, the camera shows Hugo and Eliud at the commentary desk and Hugo is angry, explaining to Eliud that this guy Travis brought up Hugo’s wife again and Hugo is not having that. It looks like there have been some verbal jabs between Travis and Hugo in recent weeks but we haven't seen them on the TV episode versions we have. Still, Hugo says that if Travis has any issues with him that’s fine but he should stick to talking about Hugo and not his wife. Eliud adds that Travis took it further by shoving Hugo and Hugo says he’ll compose himself because he is a professional and has a job to do. 

In the ring, Mendoza and Travis are facing Ricky Santana and Tito Carrion. Travis and Santana lock up and Hugo asks Eliud to continue with the commentating for now. Santana and Carrion get the early advantage on Travis, as Hugo has calmed down enough to join Eliud on commentary. Hugo says that he's pretty sure that El Profe is behind all of this by goading Travis and getting him riled up to go after Hugo. Hugo thinks it’s because of all the comments and grief he has given Profe over the Monster Ripper situation. Hugo draws the line at having his wife and family brought into this though. As Travis and Mendoza take over on Carrion, Hugo continues going off, saying that this has to be Profe and other people that are likely jealous of the good work Hugo does on the TV shows and that he’s not going to continue letting this go. The rudos continue working over Carrion and Profe decides to go over and needle Hugo about what happened. Hugoa accuses Profe about being behind all of this and Profe just laughs, saying all he did was tell Travis the truth about all the garbage Hugo was saying about Travis. In the ring, the rudos continue isolating Carrion and, despite a brief flurry from Carrion, win the match after a Mendoza DDT. Post match, an angry Travis once again makes a beeline towards Hugos and starts yelling and shoving him a bit before being pulled away.

MD: Travis was an awesome heatseeker. He has some things I love in USWA Texas right around this time if I’m not mistaken, and he was getting right in Hugo’s face before the match. It’s funny that on a card where they already have Profe vs Ripper and (if I’m not mistaken) Akbar vs Bronco, they’re looking to maybe do Hugo vs Travis too, but I guess it would fit a theme. This was effective (in part because it was so unusual) nonetheless.

Travis was a natural fit here, leaning his face in so Santana could take a swipe, then nailing him with sweeping punches and slaps of his own. He stooged big when it was time, and then, once they got Tito in, they leaned hard on him, drawing Santana in a couple of times that just made the double teaming worse. Real mauling. Carrion finally got a comeback but it was brief as he ran right into Mendoza’s knee and ate a DDT. Post-match Travis jawed with Hugo at the desk some more.

EB: Skandor Akbar has an interview and talks about not being certain that Bronco will make it to Aniversario. Akbar is retired and pays other people to fight for him, but he is not happy at being forced by the WWC to face Bronco. But he has a plan and Bronco better be careful. Bronco responds by telephone as they replay video of the fireball incident. Bronco says he has burn marks, blisters and scars from Akbar’s fireball but promises that at Aniversario he will get his revenge. 

MD: Akbar wasn’t happy with having to face Bronco. He said he was the godfather, the general, and retired, rich enough to pay others to wrestle but WWC was forcing the issue. He sounded frazzled, focusing both on the idea that Bronco might be too hurt to wrestle due to the burn but also that it could happen again or he might have a trick up his sleeve. Bronco, despite not being in the studio, was spirited as ever and fans would certainly think he was showing up for this one.

Rod Price vs. Herbert Gonzalez

EB: Rod Price is in action against Herbert Gonzalez and this match is a showcase for the man who says he is the perfect wrestler. Herbert gets no offense and Price shows off some nice moves as Hugo and Eliud talk up Price's credentials and background. Price gets the win after a shoulder tackle. Let’s see what waves Price can make in Puerto Rico.

MD: On paper, Price really fits in too but I’ll need to see something more competitive. He steamrolled Herbert here, belly to belly, hotshot, leg drop, fist drop, a goofy roll into an elbow in the corner and a great jumping shoulder tackle, all while Akbar gloated on the outside. 

EB: Giant Warrior is in the studio to talk about his scheduled match against Dick Murdoch. Warrior says that Murdoch won’t get any vindication at Warrior’s expense. He'll keep an eye out for Joe Don Smith but his main focus is on Dick Murdoch.

MD: Interesting bit here is that they did half, translated, and then did the other half. You don’t usually see Hugo actually ask a follow up question (this time about Joe Don Smith) that way. I can’t say that Murdoch vs Giant Warrior is exactly what I’d want for my #2 match on the PPV relative to Murdoch vs Invader or TNT but they had run through some of these pairings already I guess and it’s not like Warrior wasn’t heavily established by now. 

Brad Anderson vs. Huracan Castillo Jr.

EB: Up next is Brad Andersn taking on Huracan Castillo and there may be fireworks considering that Profe and Monster Ripper are at ringside. And immediately Ripper tries to go after Profe but instead Profe hides behind Brad Anderson. Ripper still goes after him and Profe decides to flee to the locker room instead of getting caught by Ripper. Profe stays in the shadows of the entrance as Ripper calls him a chicken, but runs back out when Ripper goes back to ringside. The match starts and it is pretty even in the first minute until Castillo catches Anderson with an atomic drop that sends Anderson through the ropes to the outside. Profe rubs Anderson’s booboo before  Brad gets back in the ring. As the match continues, Profe heads over to the commentary desk and explains that he’s trying to avoid any incident since the commissioner has been going around levying fines as of late and Profe doesn’t want to risk his license (although he wants nothing more than to give Ripper a slap in the face). Anderson works a chinlock on Castillo and Ripper again tries to chase after Profe (who hides behind the commentators). This match is really a backdrop for the Profe and Ripper rivalry. Castillo ends up making a comeback but it’s the managers that lead to the finish. Profe distracts the ref so that Anderson can get the advantage, but Ripper takes that opening to shake the ropes and cause Anderson to fall from the turnbuckle. Castillo gets the pin right after and he and Ripper head back to the locker room.

After the match we get promos from El Profe and Monster Ripper. Profe says that he is fed up with the insults and has reached the point of not caring about being a gentleman. Since he is being forced to do the match, Profe will take this opportunity to use Ripper as an example that a woman's place is in the home, tending to their husbands and doing the household chores. . Maybe Ripper is infatuated with Profe and that is why she wants to get her hands on him but Profe is going to forget she is a woman and will beat her up at Aniversario. Monster Ripper responds by saying Profe will respect women and reminds Profe that she is not like the women from around here. She will fight on behalf of all of the women in the world and she will hit him hard.

MD: Ripper was out with Castillo. Profe was out with Anderson. Really, the match took a backseat to their antics as Ripper chased Profe to the back once or twice. I’m not sure about the chemistry between Castillo and Anderson (probably down to Anderson), but there also wasn’t a lot to latch on to here. Castillo had his nice jumping knee on the comeback. Finish was muddled as Profe distracted for no reason as Anderson was going to the top, allowing Ripper to shake the ropes and Castillo to steal a win. Post match promos seemed to be what you’d expect for a man vs woman match. I’d almost rather have had Ripper defeat a guy (Exotico would have been perfect but we haven’t seen him for a while) as part of the build instead.

EB: Skandor Akbar is in the studio with Rod Price, a recent arrival to his stable. Price has several nicknames it looks like. Akbar talks up Price's physique and wrestling skills. 

MD: Akbar touted all of Price’s attributes and called him Rugged and Mr. Perfect. Price said he was a Dude with a Tude and Hugo had to figure out how to translate it.

Dino Bravo vs. George Anderson from WWF Superstars

EB: We get a Dino Bravo squash match courtesy of the WWF. We still haven’t seen Bravo wrestle in Puerto Rico but that will change soon.

MD: Bravo has some weirdly babyface coded offense, both an inverted atomic drop and an airplane spin. I hate how he sets up the side slam with a kick to the gut. If he had done it after the airplane spin, it would have been much better and less stilted. The WWF heat machine is droning and distracting in a way I don’t usually notice. Wonder if it has something to do with the Hugo voice over on the sound mix. It would have been nice to have Bravo in studio for a squash. I bet it’d have a different feel.

EB: Dick Murdoch and Joe Don Smith offer some comments about the scheduled match with Giant Warrior. Murdoch is miffed that he is booked against Giant Warrior because he wants Carlos Colon again. If Murdoch has to annihilate someone else to get that, he will do that. The episode then ends with the previously seen TNT and Ron Garvin music videos and Hugo's sign off.

MD: Now I feel bad for questioning Giant Warrior because Joe Don and Murdoch feel the same way I do. But Murdoch says Warrior should say bye to his loved ones because he’s going to lift him up for the brainbuster and send him to the hospital.

EB: So we’ve seen how Aniversario is shaping up on the west coast, but we have a big card scheduled for tonight in Bayamon. Let’s go to part of the Campeones episode from June 1 to get the latest news.

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

The video starts with Hugo in the Aniversario 91 control center, where he is explaining the confirmation of Colon vs. Bravo and the whole deal with Ron Garvin stepping down. Hugo also talks about the incident that happened last Wednesday in Miramar with Billy Joe Travis. It’s the same incident we saw on Super Estrellas but we get some additional footage. It seems Carlos Colon has come out to the commentary desk and Hugo is asking Carlos if El Ejercito de la Justicia would help Hugo train if he decides to challenge Travis to a match. Carlos says of course they will and promises in front of everyone that he will be the first one to train Hugo. Hugo yells out ‘You got it Mr. Travis’ and it looks like we have another match for Aniversario 91. Giant Warrior also approaches Hugo and offers his help in training Hugo. The control center wraps up by reminding the dates for Aniversario 91.

MD: We see a little bit more of what occurred after the match from the last show. Because (at the urging of Profe, says Hugo) Travis insulted both Hugo and his wife, he said he’d fight Travis. Colon offers to help. Giant Warrior offers to train, and we’ve got another non-wrestler vs wrestler match for Aniversario. After this we get just a glimpse of a pretty cool looking Road to Aniversario video.

EB: We then get a card rundown for tonight in Bayamon:  Carlos Colon vs Polynesian Prince in a barbed wire match; in a super challenge Invader #1 vs Ron Garvin; Giant Warrior vs. Dino Bravo; rematch for the TV title as King Kong defends against the returning TNT; Super Medico #3 defends the Caribbean title against Dick Murdoch; Galan Mendoza & Billy Joe Travis defend the Caribbean tag titles against the Caribbean Express with Monster Ripper handcuffed to El Profe at ringside; Brad Anderson defends the World Junior title against Ricky Santana; and Invader #4 & Mr. Ito vs. Rod Price & Action Jackson. Also, tomorrow they will be in Caguas with Carlos Colon vs. Ron Garvin; Invader #1 vs. Dino Bravo; TNT & Giant Warrior vs. Polynesian Prince & Dick Murdoch; Super Medico #3 vs. King Kong, Castillo, Perez & Santana  vs. Mendoza, Travis & Price; Invader #4 vs Brad Anderson; and Mr. Ito vs. Action Jackson.

We cut to Skandor Akbar and Polynesian Prince in the studio, with Akbar talking about tonight’s barbed wire match. Clips are shown of last week’s match between Colon and Prince, with Akbar saying Carlos gave Prince his best shot and it didn’t get the job done. Tonight Prince will finish Colon and then Colon will call Akbar master. Prince just chews on some straw while Akbar is talking. Then Akbar talks about tomorrow’s tag match against TNT & Giant Warrior.

MD: The card they’re promoting with the Prince vs Colon barbed wire rematch is really good. Invader vs Garvin. Giant Warrior vs Bravo. King Kong vs TNT. Super Medico III vs Murdoch. Caribbean Express vs Travis/Mendoza with Profe and Ripper handcuffed together. Anderson vs Santana. Plus Invader IV. Mr. Ito. Rod Price. And Action Jackson. That’s a really strong show. Another show has Colon vs Garvin, Invader vs Bravo. TNT/Warrior vs Prince/Murdoch and Medico vs Kong. So some good shows in the lead up to Aniversario. The most interesting part of the Akbar promo was him talking about how many favorites Murdoch had done for Devastation Inc. over the years.

EB: El Profe is with Travis and Mendoza, and they talk about tonight’s title defense against the ‘Chicken’ Express. Travis starts by calling Puerto Rico ‘his island’ and insults Hugo Savinovich and his wife. Profe is happy that he will be handcuffed to Monster Ripper so he can stop her from doing her underhanded cheating. Mendoza talks about tomorrow's six man tag and says something that gets bleeped. 

MD: Travis was leaning hard into this saying he’d not just beat Hugo but beat his wife as well.

EB: Ron Garvin is here and is looking forward to knocking out Invader #1 tonight. Invader has to prove to Garvin that he can knock Garvin out. Garvin is confident he can knock Invader out, ask Carlos Colon about that.

MD: Garvin having to come up with about six ways to show off his fists as Hugo was translating his promo doesn’t quite reach Scott Hall levels of amusement but it comes close.

Brad Anderson vs. Ricky Santana

EB: Our main event for this episode of Campeones is the World Junior title match from last week in Caguas, as Ricky Santana challenges Brad Anderson. The match starts with Profe goading Santana into chasing him outside the ring, allowing Anderson to surprise attack Santana when he rounded a corner. Sanatna quickly recovers however, and decks both Anderson and Profe. Santana is back in the ring as Anderson is trying to revive Profe on the outside, but has to race back in to avoid the countout. The wrestlers exchange shoves and punches with Saatana winning the exchange. It looks like Profe massaging Anderson’s booboo is a regular part of their act, as he does it again after Anderson got atomic dropped by Santana. On commentary Hugo and Profe are arguing about their upcoming Aniversario matches and who will fare better, and also about Profe’s insistence of making fun of wrestlers' nationalities. Ricky continued in control as we got to commercial break.

Back from the break and Santana is doing a sunset flip for a two count. Based on the commentary, it looks like Profe had thrown Ricky into one of the posts, which gave Anderson the opening to take control of the match. Profe claims that Santana fell into the post and he was only near him to try to help him back up. Santana is bleeding and Anderson works him over with a rear chinlock. Anderson misses a legdrop and Ricky comes back, highlighted by a foul kick to Anderson when the ref wasn’t looking. As Ricky gets fired up, Hugo has the video crew show a brief moment of when Profe threw Ricky into the post so the fans can see what a liar Profe is. Another punch exchange is won by Santana. Ricky goes for a flying body press but accidentally takes out both Anderson and the ref. Ricky covers but there is no one to count. Ricky starts punching Anderson again, with Anderson countering with a backdrop that sends Santana over the top rope to the floor right by where the referee is coming to. Santana gets on the apron and exchanges more punches with Anderson. Brad tries to suplex Santana in but Ricky shifts his weight and lands on top of Anderson. A second referee runs in and does the three count. Santana has won the title… or so it seems. Turns out the first referee saw Anderson throw Santana over the top rope and awarded the decision to Sanatan by dq. Anderson remains the champion. 

MD: On paper, this pairing was getting old, but this had enough Puerto Rico hooha to make it work. Profe distracted Santana for an Anderson ambush on the floor to begin but when he held him, Santana ducked and Andreson took his manager out on the floor. Fun stuff. Back in the ring, Santana controlled for a while as Brad stooged. One big problem with Anderson is that his transitions tend to be fairly weak, a lot of just pressing someone into the corner and taking over. The big damage was done during the break as Profe had posted Santana though, opening him up. That was a good visual during the chinlock at least. Finish was wonky and Dusty-ish, with the ref getting taken out on a flying body press by Santana and Santana then hefted over the top by Anderson. A second ref came in to count a pin on the way back in but the first one had seen the over the top hefting and ruled it a DQ instead of a title switch. It’s the Junior title. Just switch the thing back and forth, right? Overachieving match overall though, especially fun for Profe trying to explain what he did and didn’t do on commentary.

EB: We have video for two of the matches from the June 1 house show from Estadio Juan Ramon Loubriel. Before getting to those matches, let’s discuss some of the other results from that card. As would be expected, Dino Bravo picked up the win against Giant Warrior in his first match in Puerto Rico on his way to Aniversario 91. Titles wise, Super Medico #3 retained his title against Dick Murdoch, while the Caribbean Express and Ricky Santana regained their titles. As for Invader #1 and Ron Garvin, we’ll discuss what happened in their match next time. 

That leaves the TV title match and the barbed wire match, which are the two matches we have footage for. First, TNT has made his return and is getting a chance to get revenge against King Kong  and possibly win the TV title back. Let’s see how that goes for him.

TNT vs. King Kong - June 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3x8W7Pcf8aU

We join this match in progress as King Kong is stomping a downed TNT. Kong sends TNT into the ropes and knocks him down with a belly bump.  Kong casually steps on TNT and continues attacking him. As the blows continue, TNT starts gathering himself and fires back. Eventually TNT is able to knock Kong down after two clotheslines. An eye rake by Kong stops TNT’s surge and Kong splashes TNT in the corner. TNT is sent into the ropes and ducks a Kong clothesline, setting up a dynamite kick that staggers Kong. A second one staggers him more but Kong does not go down. TNT comes off the ropes with a flying spin kick and finally knocks Kong down. TNT makes the over and gets the three count. TNT has regained the TV title and defeated the monster that had put him on the shelf.

MD: Just two minutes here. Kong controls for a bit, moving around well and with credible shots. I liked TNT’s hulk up here. Kong still squashes him in the corner but TNT ducks a shot and starts laying in the kicks, with Kong as a big canvas for his offense, making it look great. TNT hits the jumping kick and scores a decisive win.

EB: And now let's see how Carlos Colon fares against the Polynesian Prince as the ring is encased in barbed wire.

Carlos Colon vs. Polynesian Prince - Barbwire Match - June 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9b7r8GSoHc

We join the match with Carlos already in the ring and the Polynesian Prince climbing over the ropes into the ring. The ropes have barbed wire wrapped around them. The match is a bit tentative to start, with Colon doing a side headlock and Prince attacking but not with much aggressiveness. As this is going on, Hugo shills the PPV broadcast of Aniversario 91 on the cable system this is being broadcast on. The match continues with Prince in control, using chokes and biting offense but again it does not come across as being aggressive considering the type of attacks.Carlos starts bleeding and Prince attacks the forehead. Carlos ends up going into the barbed wire off some blows from Prince, but it comes off more as incidental than done with purpose by Prince. The match continues with some standard spots of trying to push your opponent's face in the wire and Prince pulls out a foreign object to attack Colon with. Prince controls the first half of the match but once Carlos makes his comeback it is all Colon. Prince bleeds as Carlos starts throwing Prince into the barbed wire and attacking the cut on Prince’s forehead. Carlos ducks a clothesline and hits a back suplex that sets up Prince for the figure four. Prince submits and Carlos Colon has won the barbed wire match. Post match, Carlos decides to dish out some more punishment to Prince and make sure the rivalry is settled once and for all.

MD: It’s great we have this one but I’m not quite sure it lives up to other Colon barbed wire matches. Some of that could be the muted sound, of course, but a lot of it was how they treated the barbed wire. Prince went into it early. He responded by hitting a foul and taking over for quite a while. Colon came back and punished him for much of the rest of the match, leaving both men bloody. There were a lot of whips back into the wire and Prince was deep into character as he responded with an almost dancing sort of Kamala-esque selling. There just wasn’t enough gravitas in trying not to end up in it maybe? The best bit was actually Colon having to adapt his comeback headbutts and getting Prince from behind. Finish had him locking in the figure-four and the wire here almost was more useful to keep any potential interference out so Prince had no choice but to give up.

EB: Next time on El Deporte de las Mil Emociones, more matches are signed for Aniversario including Ron Garvin getting a new opponent for the event. We also will see who Mr. Ito and Hugo Savinovich starts his training as we continue on the road to Aniversario 91.

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Thoughts on Hugo Savinovich, Lucha Underground Commentator

By TomK



So I'm way behind on Lucha Underground and don't get El Rey, so am watching it in Spanish on Unimas.

Anyways, Hugo Savinovich and Vampiro are Spanish commentators with Vampiro only talking between matches and Hugo calling them by himself. Hugo's always been a passable commentator with his set of cliché's that he falls back on (good for goose, yadda yadda).

As I'm going through these things it's clear Hugo wants a full time job with Robert Rodriguez and has expanded his clichés and attempts to get full on pulp narrator in his commentary. I'm not sure when exactly it happened but it gets awesome and I was losing my shit listening to him in the trios championship match opposite the Crew.


Loose translations:

"It is unfair. But in Lucha Underground, as in life,  nothing is fair."

"Dario has created in Lucha Underground a world where only the violent can survive."

(when Ivelisse grabs the Singapore cane) "The world suffers from violence, and only the violent can snatch up a part of the world."

(on No DQ match) "There are no rules, there is no tomorrow."

"Trios action is like no other thing, the strategy is different, and a trios worker needs to change his orientation to become a specialist in 3 on 3 fighting. The fighter's whole world changes and he needs to forget who HE IS and instead recognize who WE ARE."

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