El Deporte de las Mil Emociones: Justice Has Many Allies

Week 8: Justice Has Many Allies

EB: We’ve talked about different wrestlers on our journey so far, but there are still some members of El Ejercito de la Justicia that we briefly met in the Bronca Boricua who will be a part of our journey throughout the next couple of years. Two of them share something in common in that they are second generation wrestlers and carry their fathers’ names to boot. A third carries a masked identity and (in the not too distant future) will also see the family legacy carried on in the ring. Let’s take a look at Miguel Perez (Jr.), Huracan Castillo (Jr.) and Super Medico (#1).

Super Medico (or Super Medico #1 when there is more than one active in the territory at the same time) is the masked identity of Jose Estrada, who has been a constant presence for most of the 80s in CSP. Along with tag partner Johnny Rodz (also under the mask as Medico/Super Medico #2), they formed the villainous tag team of Los Medicos (becoming Super sometime in 1983). Throughout the first half of the decade, Los Medicos/Super Medicos were one of the top tag teams in CSP. Sometime in late 84, Estrada remained as the lone Medico in the territory, still a rudo and teaming up with Black Gordman. However, due to the constant insults and mocking Gordman did about Puerto Ricans, Super Medico had enough and revealed himself to be Puerto Rican and that he wasn’t going to let Gordman continue with the insults. Thus, Super Medico in early 85 became a tecnico. For the next two and half years (to about mid-87), Super Medico would compete as a singles wrestler and also team up with fellow tecnicos when needed, with rivalries against opponents such as Black Gordman, Los Pastores (the Sheepherders), Fidel Sierra, Jesse Barr, Dan Greer wrestling as La Momia, Eric Embry, evil doppelgangers the Original Medic and later the White Knight, and a feud over the World Junior title against Frankie Lancaster. Here is a match to help provide a look at Super Medico in the ring.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOt6BgRVrrY

This match is from the summer of 86, around the time the Original Medic had appeared claiming that Super Medico was a copy (sounds familiar to one of the feuds we have seen on our journey so far doesn't it). We know it’s from that time period because Chicky on commentary spends the first minute and a half just going on about how Super Medico is just a cheap copy compared to the Original Medic.  This match is vs Mike Kelly and is a quick showcase to give an idea of the style Super Medico was working as a tecnico around this time, one focused more on technique mixed with agility. The jumping headbutt Medico does at the end was his typical finishing maneuver on TV.

MD: I’m under the opinion you can learn something from any match, even a pretty quick competitive squash like this. Whether what you learn is the absolute truth is probably up for debate and you need multiple data points. Full disclosure at the top this week; I’ve seen my share of all three of these guys but I couldn’t write a paragraph comparing and contrasting them in-ring. Here, Medico came off as technical, maybe on the idea that if he did have medical training of some sort, he knew the human body. He put on deliberate holds. Kelly would come back, sometimes with a cheapshot, but Medico would fire out, with his finishing sequence being a series of nice jabs and a headbutt off the top to a standing Kelly.

EB: Estrada would leave for the then WWF where he would adopt another masked identity and, outside of a couple of one shot appearances, would not return full time to CSP until the end of April of 89. Upon his return, Super Medico immediately challenged for and won the World Junior title held by Jonathan Holliday. Later in the summer, Super Medico had a series with Chicky Starr for the World Junior title, which saw Medico lose and later regain the title from Chicky. As September of 1989 approaches, Super Medico still is the reigning World Junior champion. Unfortunately we do not have available footage vs Holliday or Chicky from 89, but we do have a tag match from July where Medico and Rufus R Jones take on the Batten Twins.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-zcbA3dlyI

Hugo on commentary makes note that Rufus is also known by the fans as the king, which causes Chicky to protest that maybe to the fans but the current king is him (Chicky conveniently forgets that he actually just stole the crown from Rufus, literally ran off with it, and started calling himself the king). The opening moments show just how masterful Rufus is at working the crowd as he does a fun sequence where he manages to slip out of a headlock. The tecnicos take over the match doing quick tags and exchanges to maintain the advantage. Carlos describes Super Medico as being in tremendous physical condition and that he moves like a cat in the ring. Chciky counters that the Battens have something in their favor and that is that they look alike, which can play to their advantage. Carlos mentions that Medico was a rudo for several years and is aware of the tricks they could pull (remember that his tag partner was another masked Medico so he’s likely not a stranger to the switching tactics). As the tecnicos work over the Battens with armbars, Hugo brings up that Super Medico won the World Junior title from Chicky Starr (a sore subject for Chicky), which leads to talk about Medico’s upcoming title defense at Aniversario (more on that soon). The Battens take over as we go to commercial break and we come back to them doing illegal tactics to maintain their advantage on Rufus. Eventually, Rufus manages to turn the tide by dodging a charge by one of the Battens into the corner. The tag is made to Medico and he goes off on the Battens. All four men briefly tussle in the ring before Medico reverses a flying bodypress for the win.

MD: Rufus keeps popping up week in and week out for us. They got their mileage out of him in 89 and he’s always over. Just look at him shimmy out of a headlock early on. This went nine minutes or so, with half of that being the heels in peril for fake tags and armbar switches, but it was entertaining stuff. The Battens were good at being in the moment and reacting to what was going on, whether they were getting rolled over or were in control. Rufus ate the heat (and just like AEW, they went to commercial the second the Battens took over with a cheapshot knee to the back from the outside). There was a nice bit of wrestling physics during a chinlock where one kneeled down outside the ring and reached in to hold the foot of the other during a seated chinlock, like that would somehow make it more effective. Medico shined after the hot tag, throwing fists with confidence and fighting off both Battens.

EB: Miguelito Perez is the son of Puerto Rican wrestling legend Miguel Perez, the first major wrestling star the island produced in terms of success outside of Puerto Rico. When CSP was first established. Miguel Perez Sr was the top name in the promotion and helped give credibility as CSP tried to establish itself in Puerto Rico. Perez Sr. would eventually yield the limelight to Carlos Colon (once the latter was established as a star), but would remain an active and respected member of the promotion until retiring in 1984. That same year, Miguel Jr (or Miguelito as he is often called) started his wrestling career. Miguelito would make his debut for CSP at Aniversario 85 due to an angle where Eric Embry attacked first Miguel Sr. and then Miguel Jr. when he came out to defend his dad. This ended with Embry (with the help of Dan Greer) giving the elder Perez a piledriver of the turnbuckle, which resulted in Miguelito challenging Embry to avenge the attack on both his father and himself. From there, Miguelito would have a prominent position on the card, having a short-lived World tag title reign with Carlos Colon (which would be cut short post match by Los Pastores taking Miguelito out). As 1986 started, Miguelito’s path would cross with another second generation wrestler. Here is a TV match from the summer of 86 showcasing Miguelito vs Dan Greer (billed as La Momia).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgjR8LSzcjs

Hugo mentions that this will be a test for Miguelito since La Momia is very experienced and in a very bad mood because he’s recently lost his mask and his hair. That explains that weird haircut La Momia has, although I wonder then why they continue to bill him as La Momia when Dan Greer was literally in the promotion several months before this as himself (he’s the opponent Chicky Starr was facing in that brief clip we saw of Chicky wearing boxing gloves in our last installment). This match is short and is designed to be a showcase for Miguelito, who by this point has been wrestling in the promotion for less than a year (and that includes a period of about two and half months where he was out due to an attack by Los Pastores). Hugo on commentary says that you have to admire Miguelito for agreeing to take this match on TV since a loss here would be a setback for him in his career. The match itself is a bit back and forth in terms of momentum changes, ending when Miguelito rolls out of the way from a diving body press and secures a small package on Greer for the three count. Some of the fans celebrate with Miguelito at ringside as Joaquin Padin says that it’s a victory for  ‘el nuevo idolo de Borinquen’’, which means the new idol of Puerto Rico.

MD: I don’t know here. Esteban promised us a wrestling mummy and we get Dan Greer, completely bald except for a bit of hair in a sort of mullet. This was worked with Perez as an arm-dragging, underdog rookie. He could get a quick move in at any point but would put his head down or get overpowered in the corner and Greer would take back over. He won off of a roll up after Greer missed a top rope splash. You got the sense that it was sort of an “A for Effort” approach to establishing Perez.

EB: Huracan Castillo Jr (or Huracan Castillo, hijo which is typically also used for sons that share the same name as their fathers) is the son of Pedro ‘Huracan’ Castillo, rudo extraordinaire for much of the 60s and 70s in Puerto Rico. While not as big of a name in the U.S. as Miguel Perez, Huracan Sr. had a long career that included wrestling across several different territories as part of the Castillo Brothers tag team (under the name of Fidel Castillo). Huracan Jr first appears in results from 1981, wrestling alongside his father for competitor promotions to CSP. But in 1984, both Castillos went to CSP, Castillo Sr. to have his retirement run from active competition (afterwards he would become the on screen commissioner and do a couple of one off in-ring returns) and Castillo Jr to wrestle as a lower card wrestler while he continued to gain experience. Castillo Jr. would mostly remain in the undercard throughout 84 and 85 but would start being positioned in a more prominent role in 1986 when he was teamed up with another second generation wrestler in the promotion, Miguelito Perez. To give an idea of Huracan Castillo Jr in action, here is a match also against Dan Greer from the summer of 1986.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EszFhfAfcU

This match follows similar beats as the Miguelito vs Greer match, so you can make a comparison of Huracan's skills. In the exchanges Huracan comes off a bit more polished (of course he’s been wrestling for a few more years than Miguelito by this point). Joaquin Padin on commentary calls Huracan a tremendous wrestler, very agile and young, and as everyone knows he has been teaming up with Miguelito Perez. Today he is in singles competition. Hugo puts over Huracan’s ground and aerial skills, saying that he’s young and willing to learn and he thinks it’s great that Miguelito and Huracan are teaming up. He also applauds that they’re still wrestling as singles which will allow them to continue to grow their confidence and experience. As the match moves on and Greer controls the middle portion of the match, Hugo talks about the importance of working hard and training, and that you can see how it's paying off for Castillo with how he’s improved. Greer continues to have the advantage for a good portion of the match, in contrast to the shorter match worked with Miguelito (which was more back and forth). Castillo regains the advantage by rolling out of the way of a diving splash and hitting a high knee. Greer manages to stop Castillo’s momentum with some dirty tactics. Greer goes for the pin off a belly to belly suplex, but Castillo gets his foot on the rope to break the count. Greer tries a clothesline off the ropes, but Castillo ducks and on the rebound grabs Greer in a small package for the win.

MD: Castillo was a bit farther along than Perez and that meant that Greer (still not a mummy in any meaningful sense of the word) was able to do a bit more with him here, a longer, more complex match, more stooging when taking things, more biting on top, more suplexes overall from both of them. Greer hit a belly to belly and Castillo hit a nice butterfly. I’m not sure what I think about Castillo’s jumping knee yet. It comes at his opponents a bit more dead on than I'm used to. Still armdrags early and still a roll up out of nowhere for the win by Castillo.  

EB: The story of Perez Jr and Castillo Jr as a team would begin in March of 1986, when a one night tournament was held for the vacant World tag titles (they had been vacant since Los Pastores had put Miguelito on the shelf). Miguelito would enter the tournament with Huracan Castillo Jr as his tag partner, forming a tag team of the two second generation young lions in the promotion. And thus their journey as a tag team partnership began, one that would be on and off over the next few years. From 86 to 88, there would be stretches where Perez and Castillo would be a regular tag team and other stretches where each would focus more on singles competition (Miguelito wrestling for the NA and PR titles and Huracan in the junior heavyweight division). Both of them would find success as singles but also when teaming together.

As 1989 began, Miguelito and Huracan where in one of the stretches were they working mainly as a regular tag team. They were the reigning Caribbean tag champs and would kick off the year by facing the New Ninja Express on the Three Kings Day year opener, leading to a series of matches between the two teams throughout the first two months of 1989.     

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

The New Ninja Express are Mr. Pogo and Sasaki San (a young Kensuke Sasaki) with El Profe as their manager. This match shows how Miguelito and Huracan have come along as a team and in their development as wrestlers. The first half of this match is basically Perez and Castillo in control and showcasing their teamwork. Pogo manages to finally get the advantage by hitting a reverse kick on a charging Miguelito but the Ninja Express lose the advantage when the more inexperienced Sasaki tags back in. Pogo regains control with a sleeperhold on Perez, but is able to make the tag once Sasaki is back in. Castillo works over both team members and looks to have the match in hand when he tries a suplex on Pogo, who is on the ring apron. But El Profe trips Castillo up and holds Castillo’s leg from outside the ring, allowing Pogo to get the pin. As referee El Vikingo is preparing to hand the title belts to the Ninja Express,referee Ricky Vargas comes out to explain that El Profe interfered by holding down Castillo’s leg. El Vikingo reverses the decision and disqualifies the Ninja Express. Therefore, Perez and Castillo are still the Caribbean tag team champions.

MD: Ok, here’s the tip for everyone, which really isn’t rocket science to anyone familiar. By this point, Perez and Castillo had matching gear and similar haircuts and there are indications that Perez had maybe caught up with Castillo. But even in a match with wonky video resolution like this, all you have to do is remember that Perez is the hirsute one. Sasaki brought youthful abandon, some power, some hard strikes to the table, but this was missing Kendo Nagasaki’s bullheaded aggression and tendency to eat up his opponents. That meant Perez and Castillo took a lot of this with quick tags and holds that didn’t entirely seem earned relatively. It was still effective and probably a good match for Sasaki’s excursion but it didn’t have the same energy as the Rufus/Medico tag from earlier.

EB: Perez and Castillo would spend most of March on tour, but upon their return would once more battle the New Ninja Express. Soon afterwards, they would become embroiled in a feud with the Battens, who had turned rudo after having lost the World tag titles and gone with El Profe as their manager. The feud, which would involve the Caribbean tag titles, would include a scaffold match and eventually a hair vs hair match.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28G8cf7Scmw

Before seeing the scaffold match clip, the card rundown for the Father’s Day show is seen. When the Battens vs Perez & Castillo match is announced, you can see a brief clip of Perez and Castillo holding down one of the Battens and cutting some of his hair off, and then a clip of the Battens attacking a downed Miguelito and trying to cut some of his hair. So you can tell this rivalry has gotten serious. The hair vs hair match is with no time limit and there must be a winner. But before all that, the teams had a scaffold match sometime in late May in Caguas. By that point, the teams had traded the Caribbean tag titles back and forth, including a period where the titles were held up after a match between them (with the Battens winning the held up titles on Mother’s Day). This clip is the last two minutes of the scaffold match. The Battens take control and throw salt into Castillo’s face, impairing his vision. As Castillo tries to not roll over the edge, the Battens double team Miguelito. As Castillo lies close to the edge of the scaffold, the Battens attack him and try to throw him off (Rip Rogers on commentary mentions that Perez and Castillo had already cut some of the Battens' hair before this match). Castillo tries to hang on but eventually falls to the two on one onslaught.

Castillo and Perez would regain the Caribbean tag titles on June 9th, but would lose  the hair vs hair match due to the Battens cheating. The teams would still continue their rivalry, as we go to June 24.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exjX4sFdYO8

This is a Caribbean tag title defense and Perez and Castillo (sporting their new haircuts) immediately rush the ring and go right after the Battens. They fight to the outside of the ring, where Perez and Castillo just continue punching the Battens and ramming them into whatever railing or fixture they can find. The fans are cheering the tecnicos on. The Battens manage to get a breather after being thrown around, as the referee tries to get Castillo and Perez into the ring. Hugo on commentary mentions that Perez and Castillo are angry about the cheating the Battens did that cost them their hair.  The match goes back outside and Perez and Castillo are just vicious in their attack on the Battens. Miguelito and one of the Battens make it back to the ring, where Perez gets a couple of pinfall attempts. The Battens try to go to the floor but Castillo chases them and does not give them a chance to regroup. We go to commercial break with Perez and Castillo still in control but come back with the Battens having taken the advantage. The Battens isolate Miguelito and he gets thrown into the ringpost. Castillo goes out to help Miguelito back in the ring but the Battens continue with the advantage. Heel miscommunication allows Perez to make the hot tag and Castillo comes in to clean house. All four men fight in the ring and, while the ref is trying to get Perez out of the ring, Castillo hits a flying bodypress on one of the Battens for a pin attempt. The ref starts to count the pinfall but El Profe jumps into the ring and hits Castillo .The ref admonishes El Profe instead of calling for a dq. Suddenly, Maelo Huertas runs out and chases El Profe around and into the ring. One of the Battens knees Maelo in the back as he’s going out of the ring. El Profe and one of the Battens attack Maelo on the outside, but in the confusion Castillo rolls up the other Batten and gets the pinfall The Battens and El Profe hightail it out of the rinside area as Castillo and Perez celebrate.

However, due to Maelo getting involved, a six man tag was held the following week with Maelo joining Perez and Castillo and El Profe joining the Battens.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Nv8EQS-UKU

We start with the match participants being introduced, which leads to El Profe doing a muscle pose on the turnbuckle when he is introduced. Castillo and El Profe start, with El Profe making a show of getting warmed up. Once he turns around and sees Castillo standing in front of him, Profe immediately turns back around and tags out. The ref starts questioning Profe if he was starting the match or not and Profe shakes his head no. After some back and forth talk, Maelo is now starting and is daring El Profe to get in the ring. Profe gets in, but the moment Maelos starts charging at him, he immediately tags out. You can guess how El Profe’s participation in this match is going to go. Maelo tags Miguelito in. Miguelito starts jawing at the Batten twin in the ring and pointing at El Profe, indicating that he should be in the ring. Profe decides to get in there but as he's getting in Miguelito quickly tags Maelo back in. Profe jumps out of the ring and argues with the fans as he paces around. We continue with the dynamic of El Profe getting in the ring when he thinks Maelo is tagged out only to find Maelo tagged back in and El Profe bailing again. This has been all heel schtick so far. Finally the match starts properly with one of the Battens in the ring. The story of the match becomes El Profe trying his best to avoid being tagged by his teammates as the match goes on, effectively making it a two on three match because he refuses to get in there. The match goes to commercial break with a promo for Aniversario 89 (we’ll talk about this soon) and returns with the tecnicos still in control. The tecnicos continue in control despite the Battens best efforts, and El Profe continues to conveniently move away from being tagged in anytime one his teammates gets close to the corner. El Profe finally tags in when he sees Maelo is down and hits a double foot stomp. He tags out after hitting the move and cockily struts out of the ring, doing a bicep pose on the apron to the crowd when he gets on the ring apron. The Battens continue the attack with a double clothesline as El Profe enthusiastically applauds from the corner. El Profe signals for the Batten twin to throw Maelo into his knees in the corner and then Profe tags back in. Profe taunts the tecnicos and, as the ref tries to get Castillo and Perez out of the ring ,the rudos triple team Maelo. Castillo and Perez have enough of what's happening and charge into the ring, attacking the Battens. El Profe bails but Maelo starts chasing him around the ring. Back in the ring, Perez and Castillo are dominating the Battens. The match ends when Miguelito catches one of the Battens coming off the top rope and hits a powerslam (which at the time was his finishing maneuver).

MD: From what we can see here, this looked to be a great feud, and it goes back to the show to show booking in 89 and how solid it’s come off to me. Things escalated to the point of a scaffold match. We only get a minute or two here but what stood out was how big the scaffold was, that the Battens used powder in the eye to win, and Castillo’s fall. That led to a big hair vs hair match where Perez and Castillo were shaved. Then they had a big revenge match with a ton of heat and had the Battens immediately overwhelmed and tossed all over the ringside area. I’d never given them too much time before but they look great in all of these matches. They were somewhat undersized relatively (just look at them standing next to Profe) but they fed and bumped and drew a ton of heat with that constantly “on” energy that I love to see. Perez and Castillo won that match but Profe made a violent spectacle out of himself at the end, which led to the six man with Maelo. That was another heel-in-peril structured tag, but with good reason; Profe refused to tag in making it a de facto handicap match. He finally cheated to help his team get the advantage and came in to pick the bones (which made him stand out as different than the more assertive Chicky) but the tecnicos rushed into the ring shortly into the beatdown. Profe still managed to escape Maelo chasing him around the ring, but at the price of his team losing.

EB: As the feud with the Battens wound down, Perez and Castillo would have a brief World tag title reign as well (making them double champions) but would lose the titles back to Rip Rogers and Abudda Dein. As September of 89 approaches, they are still the Caribbean tag champions.

Next time on El Deporte de la Mil Emociones, the road to Aniversario 89 comes into focus.

El Deporte de las Mil Emociones Master List

Read more!

El Deporte de las Mil Emociones: Bronco Boricua 1989

Week 2: Picture it! Puerto Rico. August 1989.

EB: It’s the first weekend of August in 1989 and Capitol Sports Promotions (today known as WWC), the main wrestling promotion in Puerto Rico, is preparing for its 16th anniversary show (or Aniversario ‘89) in about a month and half’s time (September 16 to be exact). Since the first official Aniversario show in 1983, it has been the promotion’s big show of the year. We’re at the point where feuds are underway or being set in motion to pay off at the Aniversario show, but we’re not there yet.

Before we drop in on who’s who and what’s going on, a quick primer on Capitol Sports Promotions (or CSP for short). Founded in September 1973 (with Victor Jovica, Carlos Colon and Gorilla Monsoon serving as owners), the promotion was able to eventually establish itself as the leading wrestling promotion in Puerto Rico, becoming successful enough to become an NWA member around 1979. The decade of the 1980s saw a huge surge in popularity for CSP and it’s viewed by many local fans today as the golden age of local wrestling. But like many surges and booms, eventually a downturn comes. As we’re finishing the 80s and 1990 looms ahead, things aren’t as they were just a couple of years ago. Still, locally things are moving along for CSP.

The top title in the promotion is the Universal title, which was established in 1983 when a series of matches (that started back in late summer of 1982) were held between the WWC and NWA World champions (mainly Carlos Colon vs either Harley Race or Ric Flair). This series of matches ended with Carlos Colon defeating Ric Flair in a cage match on Dec. 18 of 83 to determine ‘the undisputed champion of the universe’.

Besides the Universal title, there are several other secondary singles titles as well as two tag titles active in the promotion at this time. Due to the number of titles and the roster size, it’s not uncommon to sometimes see wrestlers hold more than one title concurrently, with the frequency with which the titles are actively defended varying based on emphasis given and which wrestler holds it (meaning if it’s a local who is regularly here week after week compared with a semiregular who comes in for the big shows every month or two). We’ll get into more detail about who holds these titles soon enough.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBAn3wBkrxQ

As we start our journey, we begin during Fan Appreciation weekend for CSP (around this time they traditionally would hold their Fan Appreciation Days during the first weekend in August just before the school year would start). Our first stop is a segment of the Chicky Starr’s Sport Shop airing Saturday Aug. 5. Chicky’s guests are heel (or rudo) manager El Profe (the masked man sitting to the left) and three of Profe’s charges: Abudda Dein, Kareem Muhammad and Kendo Nagasaki. In Puerto Rico, the bad guys are the rudos and the good guys are the tecnicos. One important detail, the tecnicos are known as El Ejercito de la Justicia (which means ‘The Army of Justice’ or ‘Justice Army’). As for the rudos, for the most part (not always but usually) they are aligned with one of the heel managers in the promotion. Currently there are two of them, Chicky Starr (his stable is named El Club Deportivo which means ‘The Sports Club’) and El Profe (his stable is La Real Academia which means ‘The Royal Academy’). Just to give you an idea on how they are presented, Chicky is more of a wrestler who also manages while El Profe is more of a manager who also wrestles. Chicky is usually the lead heel or involved with the lead heel, while El Profe typically handles the tag teams and an occasional top heel. In a bit of a departure, at this moment in time most of the rudos with a manager are aligned with El Profe. Chicky is focusing on wrestling and managing one client in particular (we’ll discuss this in more detail next time).

The topic of conversation for this Sports Shop segment is the Bronca Boricua match (which can be translated as Puerto Rican Brawl) that is taking place on that night’s card. The match features a $10,000 prize for the winner and is also for La Copa Medalla (the Medalla Cup), so named because it is sponsored by the national beer brand Medalla. Chicky welcomes the viewers to the Sports Shop and starts talking about the big match happening tonight, mentioning that El Profe has seven chances at winning (he has seven of his wrestlers in the match) and Chicky himself will be competing as well in order to win the money and the cup. Chicky says whether it’s Profe or him that wins the money, it’ll be in good hands, as long as it’s not El Ejercito de la Justicia that wins.

El Profe agrees with Chicky, saying it will be the Real Academia’s night, he has seven chances at winning the money and cup. He has three of his wrestlers here with him and also mentions the Battens who are not here but are in training. No matter if it’s him or Chicky (‘preferably me though’) the important thing is that the money will be coming to them. Profe also mentions the rematch for the TV title where TNT will defend against Kendo Nagasaki and that he feels it’s unfair that he is barred from being in Kendo’s corner (‘TNT accused me last week of ringing the bell’). Doesn’t matter where he is though, what matters is where Kendo is and that is in the ring against TNT. The people will finally have a TV champion they can be proud of representing them, they’ll stop feeling the embarrassment and shame of seeing TNT as their champion. Chicky agrees with Profe, calling the stipulations for the match cheap on the part of the WWC. He closes by repeating again that they’re going for the $10,000, he and El Profe (at the mention of his name Profe pops into camera view for a second and taps his chest), but naturally Chicky is rooting for himself.

The action takes place tonight at Hiram Bithorn Stadium as the card rundown starts.  Let’s take the opportunity as they roll call the participants to introduce them. There is a Universal title match featuring a beast vs a monster, as Sadistic Steve Strong defends the title against Abdullah the Butcher. We’ll talk more about these two next time. For the Bronca Boricua match we have the following participants:

Invader #1 – I’ll address this once. Yes, that Invader. This journey will focus on Puerto Rican wrestling and he’s going to be appearing a lot throughout our reviews. Has been back since mid-to-late February and is one of the top tecnicos in the promotion. Currently is in a feud with Ivan Koloff over the Puerto Rican title. Is also the reigning North American champion, although this title is rarely defended and will be retired before the year is out. In addition to competing in the Bronca Boricua tonight, he has a match vs Ivan Koloff for the Puerto Rico title.

Kamala – He has made sporadic appearances in CSP since the mid-80s as a monster heavy that is brought in by one of the managers when needed. One such example is taking on Kerry von Erich on tonight’s card. He will make a few more appearances on a couple of the big shows for the remainder of 1989.

Ivan Koloff – Although he made a couple of appearances back in 1985 when JCP and CSP were members of the NWA, this is Ivan’s first run as a regular in the territory. He is managed by El Profe and is the reigning Puerto Rican champion (won the title just a few weeks before), feuding with former champ Invader (including a match on tonight’s card).

TNT – The rising star on the tecnico side, you likely know him as Savio Vega. He is a face paint wearing karate ninja and the reigning TV champion. Has a title defense against Kendo Nagasaki also on tonight’s show, with El Profe banned from ringside due to bell ringing shenanigans in their match the previous week.

Kerry Von Erich – A name that way back in the late 70s/early 80s made a couple of appearances for CSP, has recently appeared on a few shows throughout the summer and is being brought in as a special attraction for the big monthly cards. Besides the Bronca Boricua tonight, Kerry is also scheduled to face Kamala in a singles match.  He doesn’t really make any more appearances for the promotion after this weekend.

The Junkyard Dog – Has also recently started a regular run in the territory during the summer, wrestling in the upper card and main events as needed. Unlike Kerry, JYD’s run will last a bit longer throughout the rest of the year.

Boogie Man Jimmy Valiant – Had previously made sporadic appearances for CSP in the mid to late 80’s, currently making a semi-regular run in the promotion from late summer into the fall.

Chicky Starr – Has been the lead heel since 1986 when he turned on Invader #1 (in a mentor / student angle similar to Sammartino and Zbyszko), serving as wrestler, manager and interview segment host. Currently focusing more on wrestling (including a recent World Junior Heavyweight title reign) but has one key client in the reigning Universal champion. The self-proclaimed inarguable king of wrestling according to him (as evidenced by the rope and crown he wears, a recent development in 1989 thanks to a feud with Rufus R. Jones).

Kendo Nagasaki – First appearing for CSP in mid-83, he has had several runs in the territory, most recently as part of the Ninja Express from late-87 to mid-88. Would continue to make sporadic appearances being brought in by a heel manager, in this case by El Profe. Is currently in for a few weeks and having a series challenging for TNT’s TV title (including the previously mentioned match on tonight’s card where el Profe is barred from ringside).

Rip Rogers – One of the key heels of 1989, having previously won the World tag titles (with Abudda Dein) and also is the reigning Caribbean champion. Has a no DQ match on tonight’s show teaming with Abudda Dein against the reigning World tag champs Miguelito Perez and Huracan Castillo Jr.

The White Angel – You may know him as Curtis Thompson or Firebreaker Chip. A masked wrestler brought in by Chicky Starr who, after a few weeks of unsatisfactory performance for Chicky’s liking, was booted from his stable. He unmasked and feuded with Chicky. Currently a tecnico.

Kareem Muhammad – First appearing in CSP in mid-82 and presented as Abdullah the Butcher’s cousin. Since then he has continued to make regular appearances throughout the years. Currently being managed by El Profe.

Abudda Dein – Managed by El Profe, has served as an upper midcard heel for most of 1989, challenging for the different singles titles (including a reign as Puerto Rico champion during the first part of the year) and also managing to have one reign as World tag champs with Rip Rogers. Has a World tag title match on tonight’s card.

Eric Embry – Responsible for one of the greatest heel runs in Puerto Rico from mid-85 to mid-86, a run that saw Embry have a feud of some sort with nearly every notable tecnico of the time (including announcer Hugo Savinovich). Has continued to make sporadic appearances since then, with this weekend being such an occasion.

Super Medico – A stalwart of CSP throughout the 80’s as both a tag and singles wrestler, initially serving as a rudo before turning tecnico. Returned in May to CSP after an almost two year absence (outside of a couple of one shot appearances). Is the reigning World Junior Heavyweight champion, having regained the title from Chicky Starr just one week before. You may know him as Jose Estrada or as one half of Los Conquistadores.

Miguelito Perez – Son of the legendary Miguel Perez. Made his debut in 1985 and has had different stretches of success as a singles and tag competitor. Currently teaming with Huracan Castillo Jr. and is co-holder of both the World and Caribbean tag titles.

Huracán Castillo Jr. – Son of the legendary Huracan Castillo (who served as commissioner and a manager after retirement up until he was paralyzed in a shooting), has been linked at times with Miguelito as a tag team across the past few years as well as competing in the junior heavyweight division. Currently holds both the World tag and Caribbean tag titles with Miguelito.

The Batten Twins – Bart and Brad are just about wrapping up a one year run on the island, with their most recent feud being against Perez and Castillo. Have held both sets of tag titles and even took Perez and Castillo’s hair a couple of months prior.

Carlos Colon – Making his return after suffering a shoulder injury in mid-to-late May, Carlos is the leader of El Ejercito de la Justicia and the top star of the territory for basically the past decade and half (yes, he’s a co-owner of CSP but the people still have to buy into what you’re selling). This is his comeback after being put on the shelf and he has his sights set on regaining the Universal title.

They also mention that an hour and a half before the show starts, wrestlers will be signing autographs and taking pictures with fans if they bring a camera (it is Fan Appreciation Day after all).  After the card rundown there is a brief tease about Aniversario 89, taking place on September 16 in Bayamon.

So, what exactly is a Bronca Boricua? It’s a battle royale where you can come dressed how you want and can bring one weapon of your choice to use in the ring. Eliminations occur when a wrestler is tossed over the top rope and to the floor. Last competitor remaining wins. Unfortunately, we do not have footage (outside of a small snippet in a recap video) of this Bronca Boricua match. According to the results available, Carlos Colon won the Medalla Cup in his return from injury. However, thanks to CSP typically running a similar card as the main San Juan Metro area card for the west region of the island on the other weekend day (usually Sunday), we do have

WWC: Bronca Boricua (1989) - YouTube

A Bronca Boricua from what appears to be the same weekend, most likely taking place on August 6. Our location is Mayaguez, the big town on the west coast of Puerto Rico. Unlike the Bronca Boricua advertised above, this one has 16 competitors instead of 20. From the advertised Bronca Boricua from the previous day we are missing Kamala, Kerry, Castillo, the Battens and Chicky. We have two new competitors serving as subs, El Profe and Victor Jovica (who as a wrestler in Puerto Rico is typically slotted as a lower card / JTTS).

Your commentary team is Hugo Savinovich, Carlos Colon and El Profe. As the Boogie Man makes his entrance (holding what appears to be a stake), Hugo says that you can bring whatever you want with you (belts, chains, wood, chairs, brass knuckles, etc.). Already out we have Super Medico (with 2x4), Rufus R. Jones, the White Angel, TNT (with kendo stick), JYD, Victor Jovica, the previously mentioned Jimmy Valiant, Rip Rogers, Abudda Dein (with what looks like a leather strap), Kareem Muhammad (with some weird looking piece of metal), Kendo Nagasaki (with a bigger kendo stick), Eric Embry and El Profe. Ivan Koloff comes out in his wrestling gear and with his chain. Invader #1 arrives with a large weight belt. Carlos Colon shows up in a blue tracksuit. On commentary, Carlos mentions that he likes to show up with a small weapon that he can use and not worry that it will be taken away easily. Miguelito Perez (with a stick) jogs out after Carlos and the match starts.

The first few minutes the commentators put over the danger of this match and that tempers get so high that you sometimes see tecnicos hit each other and likewise with the rudos. El Profe starts getting on Carlos over being on the apron attacking, saying he was hiding. Carlos says that he's not hiding, he's being careful since he has a big title match coming up and he wants to be smart in order to avoid injury. This leads to Carlos questioning how the heck El Profe ended up in this match:

Hugo (as El Profe starts hopping around in the ring): Look who's jumping around in there. El Profe going around in circles.

Profe: It's that damn Invader whipping me with that huge weight belt. That's all leather and all you feel is leather. It feels like it tears at your skin.

Hugo: There's Rip Rogers as well...

Carlos: Hugo, I don't know how El Profe had the guts to get in there.

Hugo: I don't know, but after those first few hits he took, he was probably thinking the same thing.

Carlos: I think one of his charges missed the match and the WWC forced him to fulfill the contract.

Profe: Are you insinuating that I'm not sufficiently brave to step into this match...

Hugo: I'm pretty sure that Carlos is right about what happened, because if I'm not mistaken, one of your Real Academia wrestlers was injured and couldn't compete. That meant you had to fulfill the contract, you were forced to enter the match.

Profe: No, no, no. I voluntarily entered because I'm afraid of no one. I know I can beat them all and finish them all off...

Hugo (in an incredulous tone): Wow.

The match continues for a few minutes with no eliminations. Carlos mentions that Nagasaki and Koloff have an advantage since they are so familiar with how to handle the weapons they have. El Profe brags that they are part of his Real Academia. At 5:50 we have our first elimination, Kareem Muhammad.
Hugo: There goes the first person. It's the giant from Sudan, Kareem Muhammad. And what is that thing he has in his hands Profe?

Profe: Well, that's a bicycle handlebar.

Hugo: Well, the bicycle just crashed Profe, because he is eliminated.

Rufus is next out, prompting the following comment from El Profe: "There goes Shaka Zulu's grandpa". Hugo proceeds to apologize and say that Profe's comments do not represent him or Carlos. Jimmy Valiant is the next one to go, as the commentators start talking about how anyone could win this match. We go to commercials as Jovica and JYD are eliminated.

We come back and Rip Rogers is circling the ring, apparently not eliminated but looking to pick his spot to get back in. Invader #1 has been busted open. Embry looks like he has a boot in his hand. Meanwhile, TNT eliminates El Profe and Hugo and Carlos get on Profe's case about that.

Carlos (somewhat condescending): What happened to you there Profe?

Hugo: Profe?

Profe: Hey, it took 5 guys to get me out, because one by himself couldn't!

Embry is eliminated by Carlos. White Angel is also tossed, as Profe says he's still in there in spirit since his guys are still in it. TNT and Nagasaki start exchanging blows with their sticks. Rogers eliminates Medico during this. We're down to 8 guys, four of El Profe's men and 4 Ejercito members. Dein and Rogers team up to attack Carlos, as Koloff starts going after Miguelito with the chain. Dein loads his boot, but Carlos blocks the kick. Carlos atomic drops Dein out, but Rogers comes up from behind and tries to toss Carlos. TNT tries to help Carlos, but Dein helps Rogers from outside and it results in all three men going out.

We're down to our final four: Miguelito, Invader (who's a bit out of it on the turnbuckle), Nagasaki and Koloff. On the outside, Carlos and TNT decide to stick around at ringside (Carlos: As the captain of El Ejercito de la Justicia, we stayed out there to ensure Profe would not do any of his tricks.; Profe: Hey, I left my guys alone out there). Miguelito and Invader stare down Koloff and Nagasaki as all four men ready their weapons. Invader goes after Koloff while Miguelito goes after Nagasaki with his stick. Koloff gets the better of Invader with the chain. Meanwhile, Miguelito is just teeing off rapid fire style on Nagasaki. Then Miguelito just goes nuts hitting the heels. Eventually, Koloff puts Invader in the tree of woe and the heels team up to get rid of Miguelito. Invader tries to go at it two on one, but eventually falls to the numbers game. Heel miscommunication leads to Nagasaki being eliminated and the final stretch of the match is Koloff vs. Invader.

MD: Just as a bit of disclaimer to start: I have a pretty good working knowledge of the 80s set. I didn't get all the way to the end but I'm filling in gaps as we go. That said, I have no idea what to expect in 90 and onward so I'm in Esteban's hands as much as you here. For instance, just in this one, Valiant, Koloff, and JYD are definitely guys I don't associate with Puerto Rico. When the ring was full, it had the sense of a match that was honestly dangerous but maybe didn't actually look so, when you ideally expect wrestling to be the opposite. It was just a lot of people and a lot of weapons and a lot of shots from behind.

Profe stood out as a Jimmy Hart-in-armor sort of out of place figure. He had some fun running around at one point. It's quite neat to see two of the best scummy heels of all time sharing a ring in Embry and Rip; they even team up on JYD at one point. People seemed fairly reluctant. Two guys that weren't were TNT and Nagasaki and there was a moment in the middle where they really started unloading on each other. This teased a match that I don't think we have, something to get used to with Puerto Rico. Colon wrestling in his tracksuit was a little offputting. They had a nice little cascading elimination sequence with Carlos eliminating Abudda Dein only for Rip to go after him and TNT to follow suit with all of them sailing over in the span of a few seconds.

That cleared the ring for Koloff and Nagasaki vs Invader 1 and Perez; again, I liked seeing Nagasaki and Koloff together as Cagematch (obviously no solid guide for PR stuff) only ever has them together in one other battle royal in 85. I know from Koloff's start-of-1990 AJPW tour that he still had some stuff in the tank at this point and it shows here. With the ring cleared, the four were really able to go at each other as the crowd went wild, with the heels able to work more as a unit and overpower Perez. You want every battle royal, even a bunkhouse style one like this, to have a compelling story at the end. A bloody and exhausted Invader having to fight his way back against two monsters brandishing trademark weapons pretty much fits the bill. He's able to duck Koloff's chain as Nagasaki is holding him to even the odds which leads to a three or four minute iconic battle between Invader and Koloff. The two of them slug it out, Koloff presses his power, and Invader both sells the agony and fires back with all he has, before he's able to find that extra bit of strength and savvy and duck at exactly the right moment to send Koloff out. It becomes a sea of elated rioting as El Ejercito de la Justicia celebrates with Invader. A great entry point to see who the usual suspects were at this time and to remind me just what the right mix of, let's say, Invader 1, a strong heel, and a hot crowd could provide in Puerto Rican footage.

EB: Next time on El Deporte de las Mil Emociones, find out how Carlos Colon got injured in the first place and why Puerto Rican wrestling fans, when asked about 1989, will always mention these three words: Sadistic Steve Strong.

El Deporte de las Mil Emociones Master List

Read more!

Found Footage Friday: REY JR.~! PANTHER~! GILBERT~! FIRE~! INFERNALES~! LA PARKA~!

Eddie Gilbert vs. Huracan Castillo WWC 8/6/94

MD: This was limited by the gimmick, obviously, but you watch it to see the spectacle of it and how Gilbert chose to work it and milk moments. For one, before they got into the ring he took a head into the post and immediately bladed. That way, if nothing else, there would be color. There were flammable pieces of material in fixed intervals just outside the ropes and visually, things were most spectacular when the wind was blowing and the fire seemed to be reaching into the ring. Much of the match was based on Castillo trying to work Gilbert into those ropes and it portrayed that sense you get in exploding cage or barbed wire matches that the heel simply cannot escape. For most of the match, the payoff was Gilbert's hand getting whacked into the fire. Gilbert was able to get a little bit of control and get some revenge, but after Castillo's comeback (off of a Hotshot of all things), Gilbert took some shots to the face into the fire, bumping around and recoiling like crazy for it. The overall effect was diminished by the end since the fire had gone down significantly, but the finish revolved around Gilbert getting some barbed wire and choking Castillo with it, moving things forward to the next match in a very Memphis manner.

PAS: I thought this was awesome, it would have ruled if it was just a bloody Memphis punch out, but add the spectacle of the flames into, what a treat. Tremendous Gilbert performance, his punches looked great, got great early color, and did a wonderful job of making the fire bumps look horrific. Castillo was a fine regional babyface, and got amped up, but this was an Eddie show. I am surprised they used powder as the transition weapon, rather then the Gilbert fireball, but I dug Eddie using the barbed wire to set up the rematch, clever booking, and I need to search out the barbed wire match between these two.

Winners/Rey Mysterio, Jr./La Parka/Octagon vs. Blue Panther/Los Payasos AAA 9/2/95

MD: Maybe the biggest appeal here is just seeing Blue Panther hang out with a bunch of clowns. Really straightforward structure on this one. Exchanges in the primera leading to a tecnico pin, beatdown in the segunda, comeback in the tercera leading to some of the flashier spots, the dives, and the finish. A lot of the details were very good though. I loved the Panther vs Parka exchange in the primera. That felt like a fairly unique match up and they had fun with it on the mat. Coco Azul based really well for Rey too. I was less into what Winners and Amarillo were up to. Payasos and Panther worked well on the beatdown including some nice tandem offense and submissions. The comeback was great as Rey just went through everyone's leg to create chaos for La Parka to dance around. It was exactly what it should have been and the fans loved it. In general, it was a lot of fun to see the other tecnicos keep Parka chants going throughout the match. Rey's backflip dive over the top with a La Parka boost was memorable, but just the way he'd get up on a floating armdrag was endlessly impressive for the time and even now. Finish involved Los Payasos beating down Octagon after a dive and then starting to fight with the crowd, allowing Rey to slip in for a last second countout win. This was pretty much as enjoyable as you'd expect.

Infernales (Satanico/Pirata Morgan/MS-1) vs. Hector Garza/Lizmark/El Dandy CMLL 9/2/95

MD: Fun bit early on here where Satanico and Pirata had Garza held hostage in their corner and Lizmark and Dandy had MS-1 in theirs and it was a bit of a standoff. You're not going to win fighting Los Infernales on their own terms, however, so they eased into the beatdown almost immediately thereafter. No one can direct traffic quite like Santico and lucha beatdowns don't get better than Infernales ones. The comeback moment was just ok, Lizmark coming in to get a shot in, but he was really over with the kids on this night, so it's hard to complain. It was followed by Dandy throwing amazing punches at everyone, including an all time shot to Pirata on the floor. There weren't a lot of exchanges in this one, Satanico putting Garza through the paces to start and then later on a really good Dandy and Morgan one but given who was in there, it all flowed well and did what it was meant to.

Read more!