Found Footage Friday: GIANT GONZALEZ SPEAKS~! LAWLER'S FANS SHRIEK~! HURACAN RAMIREZ RETREATS~!

Huracan Ramirez/Huracan Ramirez Jr./Kung Fu vs. Bestia Salvaje/Indomito/Killer Arena Naucalpan 1/10/88

MD: A farewell match for Huracan Ramirez and the oldest footage of Arena Naucalpan we have. We come in with a media discussion of Ramirez, but quickly get to the match. This is handcam and as blurry as can be but we can tell who everyone is (the hardest being between Ramirez and Ramirez, Jr. but there are clear differences to their bodies). 

And footage like this is a gift. Who knew that we'd ever get it, right? Yes, it's a little hard to watch but we're pros and it's worth it every time. The Ramirez' did well on early exchanges and then Kung Fu got to play into some very fun rudo communication including some scrambling and tripping that felt novel and interesting. Everything took a turn once Killer was able to get his hands on him, however, all the way to hitting a tombstone on the floor in the midst of the chaos.

That wasn't quite the match ender that you'd think it'd be but it let the rudos really take over. Ramirez got a big moment of shine here where he stood tall against all of them and did well for a while, but it was down to Kung Fu recovering and coming back in with nunchucks to turn things around. That was basically the end of the match but not the end of the beating as Indomito, bloody face contrasting with blonde hair, took an absolute thrashing from Ramirez around ringside. The match was thrown out or the rudos won by DQ but it hardly mattered as the crowd burst in the ring to celebrate with Ramirez. It's clear how much this mattered to them and to the wrestlers and shaky cam or no, it's a joy to get to be a fly on the wall to history like this. 

Jerry Lawler vs. Doink the Clown Pro Wrestling Shenandoah 3/19/94

MD: Indie match between Lawler and a Doink that the internet thinks is Steve Keirn and I believe it. We get maybe the first two thirds of this, as clearly the person filming was running out of tape from capturing the entire Damian Demento match that preceded it. But what we get is pretty great. All minimalist shtick in front of a crowd that was made up of kids happy to chant Burger King for twenty minutes. Basically the best crowd you could get for a thing like this.

When Lawler finally did engage, he got clowned (literally) again and again. He'd miss a punch in the corner and get tagged. He'd miss a punch, duck Doink's punch, miss another punch, and get tagged. The building, timing, and payoff were all wonderful. Exactly what you'd want. Eventually he started to play hide the object, never actually using it but hiding it over and over as the ref checked the hand then the singlet again and again. Finally, Doink got fed up, took the ring bell, and put it under his own singlet and it was a beautiful piece of pro wrestling hilarity I'd never seen before. The match cuts out shortly thereafter but that was well worth the YouTube click.

ER: 15 minutes of 90s indy wrestling Metal Machine Music in the form of shrill children tirelessly screaming maniacally at Jerry Lawler. Lawler doesn't land any offense for those 15 minutes. He takes one great back body drop, and takes two punches. It's what he fills in the spaces between those moments of impact with that draw enough heat to keep waves of high pitched ambient sound ricocheting off the walls of a packed to the rafters gymnasium. Shenandoah is a town with less than 5,000 people and it looked and sounded like every resident was there. Lawler could have worked this match with anyone - no offense to Keirn - such were his powers in 1994. I love the way he throws his over-confident missed punches. The two he throws to miss here are a comic book version of Lawler's normal punch style, reared back and thrown straight as an arrow to exaggerate his full body lunge when fist finds no face. I wish we could have watched 15 full minutes of him pretending to have a weapon. I wish we could have had 15 full minutes of him selling his balls after Doink pulled the middle rope into them. I wish we could have seen the Johnny Gunn/Damien DeMento semi-main that used up the rest of our cameraman's battery. The ending is lost forever, but Lawler made small town ears ring on a Saturday night, same as it ever was. 

Mr. Perfect/Randy Savage vs. Mr. Hughes/Giant Gonzalez WWF Dark Match 8/17/93

ER: I've wanted to see this match for so long. There were not actually that many Giant Gonzalez matches in WWF. 60 matches across 1993, 85% of them happening on house shows or TV taping dark matches. We've seen all of the other possible Giant Gonzalez combinations, of which there are far too few. He was mostly married to Undertaker and Randy Savage on house shows during his run, kept him away from most of the roster, offering no opportunities for him to break out of his comfort zone. I would have loved to see what Bret could have done with him in a singles match, hell in half a dozen singles matches. I'm confident we would have gotten Giant's best matches, until we get the Lawler match footage from USWA. But there's a roster of people I'd love to see interacting with him. Let's see what Tito could have done, or Mr. Perfect. Let's turn him on other heels so we can see freak show dreams like Gonzalez vs. Yokozuna. No, we got mostly Undertaker or Savage, meaning there weren't any unique one off matches that could potentially show up on handhelds. 

This match is the most unique of the 60 Giant Gonzalez WWF matches. It's one of his only tag matches, and it's an intriguing on paper pairing. I'm a big fan of Mr. Hughes and his 60-something match WWF run. He and Gonzalez are a cool team of freakshow giants, and while the match itself isn't some kind of hidden gem, there are moments featured that we don't see ever again and I always love that. The Mr. Hughes/Mr. Perfect sections are genuinely good. Perfect was on a strong run in '93 and I love the way his body reacted to Hughes. There's a Hughes back elbow and big boot that Perfect sets up and leans into so well, his bumping style more reactive than athletic, and it's one of the things that made his later work so good. Hughes was a real physical specimen that should have been a bigger deal. His size and look are awesome, and he takes an incredible Jerry Estrada style back body drop during Perfect's comeback, leaping his knees into Perfect's shoulder so he's several feet higher in the air when Perfect flips him. It's an impressive visual and you can probably count on one hand the men that size who could have done the same. 

But, while it's not a very adventurous offensive performance from Gonzalez - he limits himself exclusively to some of his worst overhand clubbing shots to the back - it gives us what is our only glimpse of something different. This match gives us Giant Gonzalez: Vocal Showboat, a completely different look at the largest man in wrestling. I've never seen him more vocal during a match. He trash talks the crowd, trash talks his opponent - both in the ring and actively from the apron - and he shows personality that was lacking in his TV footage. The camera catches him doing something so funny, and it more than anything makes me wonder what might have been, had they kept him around and used him as a tag partner of other monsters. The moment comes when he tags out, as he makes eye contact with a ringside fan. As he's walking to grab the tag rope, he waves a large hand down over his airbrushed ab muscles, smirk on his face like he's displaying his body for some taken girl, confidently showing off his muscles that are just as fake as his airbrushed pubes. It's such an amusing piece of heel comedy, something we otherwise didn't see him attempt. That's why I find these matches so valuable. All it takes is one quick gesture, otherwise unseen, giving us a glimpse of a different past.   

MD: I watched this before reading Eric's comments (usually I get places before he does so I can't cheat off of him but this time he got there first), and was thinking to myself that I was going to have to come down real hard on Gonzalez' offense. Real hard. You don't want to compare him to Andre but you do have to sort of compare a giant to a giant and late era Andre was immobile but he made every shot seem credible, while you got the sense Gonzalez, who was more mobile, was just afraid to hurt the people he was in the ring with. His kicks barely extended. His shots were just so so soft, and that's ok on some level, but there was no way to sell them as anything but. He didn't have any idea how to use his size to inspire imagination. Thankfully, the one shot that did look great was the one that counted, towards the end when he caught Perfect coming off the ropes while on the outside, which distracted the ref and allowed Savage to get his illegal shot in to set up the finish. That one looked quite good.

BUT that said, I am totally aligned with Eric on the idea that trash talking Gonzalez is something special. With no commentary, you heard everything, and he'd just bellow in from off screen and you'd more or less make it out, would make it out enough, and that guy was alive and feeling the moment. It made me think that he probably did have some pretty entertaining house show performances towards the end, especially if you shut your eyes.

Otherwise, the moments that stood out to me were right at the start, Hughes taking Harvey's hand in a sort of sensitive gesture of friendship as the match started. And the crowd going up for Perfect and chanting for him and Hennig letting it sink in and basking. Otherwise, he and Savage really got almost nothing, a couple of chops at the start. Even when Perfect went through the legs for a tag, Savage got swept right under almost instantly. Interesting match along those lines, one that really protected the heels even in a loss, but that still gave the fans that moment of basking at the beginning and moment of triumph at the end.

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Found Footage Friday: 1982~! OLYMPIC~! AUDITORIUM~! LUCHA~!

 

Azteca Promotions, Lucha Libre, Olympic Auditorium, October 16, 1982

Super Astro vs. Capitan de Oro

MD: Super Astro was young here and though he'd always look small, he looked especially so in this one. This went a worked ten minutes (not quite) for a draw, and never really got out of first gear, but it was a very fun first gear. Lots of takeovers, lots of Astro having to use every big of lucha libre physics to get Oro over. What was most striking was how direct a lot of the landings were. Less rolling and flowing and more thudding than I'd expect. I'm not sure if it was the ring or the experience level or the locale or what, but the points of impact felt harsher than what I was used to. It never really opened up though, just one takeover after another even though some were novel relative to what we see today.

Black Shadow (last match), Santo de Oro, Huracan Ramirez vs. Sergio el Hermoso, Bello Greco, El Medico

MD: Interesting that Black Shadow would have his last match against a couple of exoticos. If there was anything else behind it other than them being a hot act, I don't know it. Though this is second on the tape, I'm pretty sure it's the main event of the evening. Sergio is great in the introductions, just leaning his cheek on the top rope as if to sully the integrity of the proceedings. Despite losing his match to Santo decades earlier, Shadow got to wear it out and then take it off before the match. 

I enjoyed this a lot. For the primera, after Sergio screwed around a bit early calling Santo out, they landed on pairings. Greco and Shadow worked well, very smooth. Sergio did all of his comedy bits with Santo, including where he keeps falling back into a body scissors. I saw him do that in 89 NJPW too. Then things sort of broke down and we got rudo miscommunication with an exotico twist spot after spot, bit after bit, just endless riffing as the rudos got more and more angry at one another. It was delightful how far they took it before the tecnicos won the caida. Second caida started the same way but then got pretty grisly as they tore at Santo's mask and started the woundwork. Tecnico comeback in the tercera was Ramirez having enough and shoving the ref down. And the finish, I suppose protected the rudos for some reason, as Ramirez, after Santo's dive, hit a low blow foul to save Shadow giving the rudos the DQ win. Entertaining stuff, with enough blood (Medico ended up with his masked ripped and bleeding too) to give it some substance even if maybe it didn't have quite the weight you'd expect.

Sonia Orellana vs. Marlene

MD: This was a good amount of fun. It went a worked 15 in two falls. Marlene would press an advantage and Orellana would come back, and it got pretty tricked out at times. In the first fall, Orellana came back in the end with a number of tumbling takeovers including one where she jammed her knee right in the crook of Marlene's hip in a way that looked nasty. She won that with a slam and a big splash. Second fall had Marlene try to grind her down but Sonia fire back. She hit some sort of diving takeover off the top that we couldn't really see and missed a splash from the top that went pretty far across the ring. The time expired (for hook or crook) while Marlene had her in a bodyscissors and they called it a draw. Solid stuff.

Tony Rocco y Gallo Tapado vs. El Cobarde y Muralla Del Ring

MD: All of this stuff has been really good, honestly, and it makes me wish that this was just on LA TV and we end up with a ton of it some day. I haven't seen Rocco since the 80s lucha set and he was very good. All of these guys were in their own way. I expected Cobarde to stand out more and while he had good strikes and occasionally played the coward well as you'd expect, Muralla was probably more dynamic. I loved the early exchange with Rocco where Rocco did his step over armdrag twice and then jammed Muralla when he tried to do it. Gallo had more high flying stuff, all a lot of fun. The beatdown was lengthy but they switched it up with some tandem slingshots and a lot of brutal shots. Eventually Gallo was able to lean into some rudo miscommunication for a quick second fall win, but the rudos came right back.They undid his mask so Rocco had to fight them off two on one, but he managed it until Gallo could even the odds. Finish had them tear off Gallo's mask. The ref went so far as to pull his own shirt off to cover the face, which was a great bit. 

Mando Lopez y Kato Fu Mask vs. Migra Primero y Tony Curiel

MD: We don't spend a ton of time on this one so it's a little hard to get a sense of things, but if I have everyone right here, I liked Curiel's reactions and Kato Fu Mask's bumping. After a little bit of clowning early (on Curiel, I think) by Lopez, the rudos took over and they did a good job controlling the ring and keeping the beatdown on. We only get the primera here. And then the rest of the tape are random Gagne vs Larry Z AWA and Skip Young vs Al Perez matches. Weird things to keep alongside this.

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Found Footage Friday: 1989 CMLL

Full Show

Septiembre Negro/Bufalo Salvaje vs. Pegasso/Sombra Poblama

MD: We come in JIP here, just the finish, but it's a fun one. After a bit of measured rope running, Septiembre Negro takes a wild hefting bump over the top. Sombra Polbama hits a great driving heatbutt off the apron onto him as Pegasso (I think) locks in this cool dangling pulling armhold on Bufalo Salvaje to win it. 

Las Estrellas Blancos vs. Bestia Salvaje/Comando Ruso/Panico

MD: Estrellas aren't super familiar to me but they had a kid or a mini out with them to do tricks pre-match and signed a bunch of autographs. Rudos ambushed to start with one Estrella getting lawn darted into the post. I'm not used to seeing Bestia Salvaje so young and he was really moving around in there well. Start of the segunda had solid tandem rudo offense including pressing an Estrella back against the top rope for a shot off the top and holding him up in Hart Attack position for a bunch of offense. Panico followed it up with a slam onto the side of the ring, but while doing so, the tecnicos came back. Little bit weird timing there. They did a revenge posting on Comando Ruso and then held Panico's arms so they could kick him again and again with big setups. A crowd pleaser that he sold like a foul. Rudos took back over and did a stacking submission with Bestia posing on top. Finish actually had an Estrella come from behind and foul him there, drawing the DQ but a moral victory perhaps. I'm not sure I've ever seen that exact finish to a fall. I had fun with this even if I thought the timing of the comeback as dubious.

Pirata Morgan/Super Halcon/Hijo del Gladiador vs. Jaque Mate/El Egipico/Pierroth Jr.

MD: Rudo vs. rudo war here. Pirata's side ambushed to start though it didn't really pick up until the end of the primera where Gladiador was waistlock dropping people on the ground and Pierroth's mask had been mostly torn apart. Egipico had a pretty solid comeback where he just started to punch everyone. Nothing really sparked it but it was fiery enough all things considered. After the comeback things devolved into lots of formless brawling and mask ripping. I wouldn't say there was any sort of central thesis to it, just things ebbing and flowing as people engaged and withdrew, but when it all came back together, it really all came back together. They were able to isolate Pierroth 3-on-1 and gave him one of the nastiest beatings I've seen in ages, leaving him a bloody mess with a strewn mask barely clinging on to consciousness. It was a hell of a way to end the thing at least.

Los Infernales (MS-1/Satanico/Maskare) vs. Magico/Blue Demon Jr./Huracan Ramirez

MD: Another rudo ambush. They were leaning hard into it on this one. They said this was a super libre, I think. Satanico can direct rudo beatdown traffic better than anyone and that's what we had here. Just a constantly moving beatdown ending in a triple submission that stretched Blue Demon in every direction at once. Notable is that when they were doing the "stand on your opponent" triple submission bit earlier, they saw the tecnico coming to break it up and dismounted to stop him, which you never really see.

Tecnico comeback was driven by Magico (Who would soon become Mascara Sagrada or at least Hombre Sin Nombre? That probably helps date this?) but things would sort of go back and forth with bits of tecnico comeback interspersed with renewed rudo beatdown. All the rudos managed to stooge and take the babyfaces' stuff, Satanico being especially great at it, but soon after they took back over and were undoing the tecnicos masks all at once. It went like that until they had the rudos in some real danger and in response they swarmed, beating the crap out of Huracan Ramirez and drawing the DQ when they wouldn't stop. So not exactly satisfying but you can't fault the rudo talent here certainly.

ER: I don't think we specifically set out to write about Satanico on consecutive days but there sure are worse ways to run this website. Our streak of Consecutive Days to Start 2026 Writing About Satanico will almost surely end with this, but I love our look at first 76 year old Satanico and now 40 year old Satanico. There is no moment of this match where my eyes were not drawn to whatever Satanico was doing. As Matt says, he is very clearly the one running traffic for this entire match. Whenever he is not directly involved in the action, my brain was always saying "Where is Satanico? What is Satanico doing right now?" because whatever he was doing was almost always the thing most worth watching. He is the man directly Los Infernales while dictating the match's tone and energy. It's incredible. It's one thing that his actual ring work is a cut above everyone else (not an insult to anyone, for he is Satanico), it's that he is such a presence at all times. He is the smallest of Los Infernales, but anyone seeing Satanico for the first time would instantly be able to tell that he is In Charge. 

Sometimes, due to 1989 lost lucha video quality and the incredible matching gear/full heads of gorgeous hair on Los Infernales, it would be easy to forget that Masakre or MS-1 was currently in the ring wreaking havoc and not Satanico. But then, our boy would come into frame with that smile and that even better head of hair and the mood would just change. He took offense from tecnicos better (love his fold on Huracan's huracanrana), he stirred shit and stooged better (loved the way he threw up his hands in plea while his boys were being pinned in the segunda), and he was the one who would always enter with punches and devilish charm. My favorite actual moment of the match was MS-1's apron fist fight with Magico. I've seen a lot of bad looking apron fights, and they had such a dramatic battle with both rocking each other with punches to the face, chest and body, both using the ropes to hold themselves up, never just simple back and forth, excellent dramatic movement by MS-1. But this was a six man Satanico match, through and through.   

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