El Deporte de las Mil Emociones: The Week After

Week 30: The Week After

EB: Aniversario 1990 is in the books and it was quite the eclectic event, with minis, an AWA title being defended, Robocop backing up the tecnicos and some memorable appearances (for different reasons) from the Rougeaus and Zeus. We had the Caribbean title change hands in a boxing match, Scott Hall had his tecnico coming out party and there was an hour long draw in the Universal title match. After the dust (or mud in this case) had settled, there was no clear winner between Carlos Colon and TNT. Due to the draw, Carlos retains the Universal title. The match was an intense back and forth, one where TNT seemed to be aggressive first and Colon responded in kind. Now the question is what is next for everyone in CSP. 

We have arrived at July 14, one week after Aniversario. Most of the wrestlers that came in for Aniversario have left, although with the exception of the mini wrestlers (we’ll see them pop up throughout the coming weeks). The tecnicos have two new arrivals in the form of the White Angel and Gama Singh, both who have had previous runs in the territory. How long they will be here remains to be seen. As we dive into this post-Aniversario landscape, we're going to slightly change our format in this installment. Since we’re in a time period where we actually have mostly complete tv episodes available, we are going to focus this week on the programs that aired the weekend of July 14. This will allow us to get a good feel for how CSP is setting up post Aniversario, what feuds will continue and also provide a good understanding of what the dynamic is with how the tv programs worked during this time period. 

First though, we are going to start with a clip from an episode that we don't have in a more complete form. We go to the intro of the San Juan Metro version of Superestrellas de la Lucha Libre episode that aired on channel 11 (Teleonce).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuBbESFmr24

Hugo is already part way through the show’s intro, talking about this past Saturday’s.Aniversario 90  Specifically, he’s talking about the amazing time limit draw between Carlos Colon and TNT. Before the 60 minutes were up, there was some controversy over TNT supposedly winning the bout earlier (which they’ll talk about more later in the program). The important thing to know is that it was a 60 minute draw and, even more important, is the news that the rematch for ‘El Reto para la Historia’ has been signed for Saturday August 4 at Estadio Juan Ramon Loubriel in Bayamon (the same location as their Aniversario match).  Earlier, Hugo had been mentioning that tonight they were going to be in Caguas, but something happened on one of the other TV programs where Hugo and Carlos Colon serve as co-hosts (he’s referencing Campeones which airs on a rival channel). Something happened on that program, and Hugo wants the director to show what went down.

The clip cuts immediately to an argument that’s occurring between TNT and Carlos Colon ,with Hugo caught in the middle.  Hugo is asking TNT to wait a moment but TNT is already in Colon’s face and saying “Why do I have to wait until August 4 for a rematch for the Universal title? Why don’t you defend it tonight in Caguas?” Colon responds “Because that’s what the commission decided.” Things get more heated as TNT starts pointing at Carlos and Carlos slaps TNT’s hand away (“Don’t put your hands on me, with more respect here.”) TNT exclaims “You know that at Aniversario 90 Un Reto para la Historia I gave you a beating and I won the title from you! The real Universal champion is TNT!” Carlos looks at Hugo: “Wait a moment, Hugo I think this man has gone crazy, he’s become disrespectful and now he’s coming here in this manner...”. As Carlos is speaking, Hugo tells TNT to be more respectful, causing TNT to yell at Hugo to shut up. TNT again yells why doesn’t Carlos put up the title tonight. Hugo tries to calm things down but Carlos continues saying that TNT is disrespecting not just him but Hugo and the tv viewers as well, meanwhile TNT starts yelling about how Carlos is old and that he defeated Carlos  at Aniversario, so why don’t they fight tonight in Caguas.  

Hugo again tries to calm things down, telling TNT that the card is already booked for tonight, prompting TNT to again yell at Hugo to shut his mouth. Carlos says that he’ll fight TNT anytime, but the rematch was signed for August 4. TNT yells “I don’t care about August 4, we’ll wrestle tonight! The real champion here is TNT!” Carlos starts getting more upset: “Let me tell you something TNT, (voice gets angrier) who do you think you are?” TNT: “I am the karate ninja TNT and I’m the real Universal champion!”” Carlos: “I’m not afraid of you or of anybody! I’ll fight you anytime!” TNT: “I want to fight with you tonight in Caguas!” Carlos looks at Hugo and tries to tell him something but TNT keeps yelling about why they are not wrestling tonight. Hugo again tries to tell TNT that the card is already booked and again TNT goes off telling Hugo to shut up,that he doesn’t care about that. ”Why don’t we fight tonight! Are you scared?” Carlos shoves TNT at that remark, saying he’s not afraid of him or of anyone. Hugo tries to stay between the two as things are more heated and TNT and Carlos are trying to get at each other. Carlos says that he’ll fight TNT here right now if he wants. Finally, Carlos goes ”Let’s do something Hugo. I’ll wrestle TNT tonight in Caguas but with one condition... (TNT yells something at Carlos) wherever, we’ll fight right now if you want (Hugo pleads for that not to happen)... Hugo, I am tired of this guy’s shameless actions (TNT yells at Carlos “I don’t care what type of match it is!”), one condition, if this match goes and I defeat you (points at TNT), like i'm planning to do, then you can forget about the Universal title.” TNT: “We’ll do whatever, all I want is to break your face!” Both Carlos and TNT keep getting heated and start taking their jackets off. Hugo panics and asks Carlos if he accepts the challenge for tonight in Caguas, to which Carlos says yes. Hugo then quickly turns to TNT: “He accepted the match, TNT, please leave!”, but TNT and Carlos are still arguing and try to get at each other again as Hugo is caught in the middle, desperately trying to throw it to the next segment. 

The video transitions back to Hugo in the studio, where Hugo remarks that the situation got tense for him there, he took his lumps there. The match is now added to tonight’s card, Carlos Colon vs TNT in a non-title match in addition to the other scheduled matches.   

The confrontation that occurred between Carlos Colon and TNT happened on the Campeones episode airing on local channel 2 (Telemundo), which is why Hugo was vague about what program it happened on (Superestrellas aired on channel 11 at the time). We do have that Campeones episode and are including the link, but for our review we’ll touch upon some of the highlights of the episode (since the matches are mainly from before our relevant time period or ones we already covered).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6F_u5qR_LBM

The episode starts with Hugo and Carrlos as the hosts, with Hugo introducing Carlos as the still reigning Universal champion. Hugo thanks the fans for all the calls received, with congratulations for Carlos from all over the island. Carlos thanks Invader #1 and Huracan Castillo Jr. for subbing for him the past couple of weeks as he was training for his match, then he and Hugo run down what’s to come on this week’s episode. The conversation then turns towards tonight's show in Caguas, where the main event is the new Caribbean champion Invader #1 defending against the former champion Leo Burke. Carlos and Hugo mention that Burke is very angry about his loss at Aniversario since he was the favorite to win in the boxing match due to his skills, but Invader #1 embarrassed Burke and left him laid out. We also have Scott Hall and Atkie Mulumba in a rematch from Aniversario 90, with Carlos saying that he thinks Hall will be looking to finish the job tonight. Carlos also mentions that he wants the fans to know that they’re talking with Scott Hall about officially joining El Ejercito de la Justicia, to which Hugo remarks that he had heard the rumor and was glad Carlos put it out there. Hugo mentions  that the Super Medicos will also be facing Los Mercenarios tonight, but then pivots to talking about Aniversario 90. 

Before giving the fans some big news, Hugo wants Carlos to share his thoughts about his title match against TNT at Aniversario. Carlos mentions it was a hard, tough battle (Hugo interjects violent as well), but he is satisfied with the decision since it was a draw and that means he remains the champion. A draw against a wrestler of the magnitude of TNT is a great triumph, so he is satisfied, happy and thanks the fans for going to the event and giving their support. Hugo mentions that both Carlos and TNT displayed a high level of wrestling dignity and conditioning, a 60 minute draw is a feat. Hugo then announces the big news, due to the controversies in the match and that it ended up being a draw, that means TNT remains as the number one contender. A rematch has been signed and it will take place on August 4 at Estadio Juan Ramon Loubriel. Hugo asks Carlos how he will prepare for the rematch and Carlos says just like he did for the first one, by training hard, this rematch will be with no time limit so he has to be ready to go as long as it takes. Carlos thinks he has an advantage because they went 60 minutes at Aniversario and, at the end of the match, he had TNT in the figure four. With just a bit more time he would have made TNT submit. All modesty aside, Carlos feels he was in better condition than TNT and that TNT was saved by the bell. Hugo: “So you felt you had him?” Carlos says that he did think he had TNT ready to give up. Carlos thinks the no time limit stipulation works in his favor. Hugo comments that there has to be a winner since there is no time limit, and he wants to know what Carlos will do for this type of match. Carlos mentions that since tonight he’s not scheduled in Caguas and that he is taking it easy with his schedule, he’s going to take the opportunity to train hard for the rematch to show up in better condition than at Aniversario. He thinks this will be the most important match of his career. Carlos already showed TNT that his desire to be Universal champion was not going to be as easy as TNT thought, and now Carlos has the goal of defeating TNT decisively so that TNT asks for forgiveness, not from him but from the Puerto Rican people. “I'm going to train hard so TNT can be embarrassed as he deserves to be embarrassed.” Hugo again asks Carlos about his training when TNT barges on set and we get the altercation that aired on Superestrellas as well. Hugo frantically throws it to our first match as the altercation ends.

The first match in the episode is an Invader #3 vs Mr Pogo match from either 1988 or 1989. I won’t recap it in detail but will mention that Hugo is solo on commentary. It seems Carlos was so upset by the confrontation with TNT that he has left the studio and now Hugo is alone for the show. Hugo apologizes to Carlos and the fans for TNT’s actions on behalf of himself and the team at Capitol Sports TV. Hugo confirms the match is official for tonight and that it is non-title. The Pogo and Invader #3 match is from Caguas and is airing because Mr. Pogo will soon be making a return to the territory. Hugo mentions that Friday they will be in Yauco and tomorrow Sunday they will be in Aguadilla.As the match progresses Hugo talks about how Carlos and Chicky alternated each week as Hugo’s co-host, and that it was the first time they had Carlos in almost a month since he had been training for his Aniversario match. The match between Pogo and Invader #3 is a solid, back and forth match with Pogo getting the win with the cobra sleeperhold.

Other notable occurrences in this Campeones episode include promos from Leo Burke and Invader #1 about their match tonight, a White Angel music video and promo about his return to Puerto Rico,  a quick Scott Hall promo surrounded by kids about his match tonight with Mulumba, and a Profe rebuttal promo where he promises that Atkie will teach Hall a lesson for betraying them. The program ends with Hugo closing the show, once again apologizing to the fans for what happened at the start of the program with Carlos and TNT. He knows the fans were looking forward to finally having Carlos back on the program after being gone these past weeks, but it was an unfortunate incident that prevented him from staying on the program today. Hugo thinks that it was not the time nor the place for TNT to do what he did, especially since the rematch had already been signed for August 4. Hugo confirms again that the challenge for tonight was accepted and it will be Carlos Colon vs TNT in a non-title match. At that moment, Carlos reappears on camera to apologize to Hugo and the tv viewers about storming out earlier (Hugo: ‘We are the ones that should apologize’), but he was so angry about TNT that he wasn’t in the right frame of mind to be able to narrate and host the show after that. But he sends a message to TNT that he better stop with the disrespectful actions because he (Carlos) respects the viewers and tonight it will be a different story, since he won’t be the gentleman he was on the program. TNT will be facing a wild man tonight and the job Colon couldn’t finish last week will be finished tonight. It will be a fight tonight and he will end TNT for being shameless and a charlatan.

MD: One constant thread since we started the project is that the booking has been solid, especially on top, but not just, given the constraints they have. By constraints, that’s the occasional injury or act of weather, and the fact that a lot of top talent were locked into contracts by WWF or WCW/NWA and therefore couldn’t be tapped into even as a guest. It makes total sense for them to stick with the TNT program now. The title match was inconclusive, the start of a story instead of the end of one. Nothing was proven. There’s no reason why this couldn’t take them deeper into the year, thus the confrontation. I think part of me expected that they would bring in Chicky now to get more heat but there could be reasons not to that we'll learn soon. Still it's notable, coming out of Aniversario, there isn’t a clear lead heel.

I guess that’s one reason to have Pogo coming back into the territory. Otherwise, it does seem like they’re rolling right into a “Wrestlemania Revenge” type show with Invader and Burke and Hall and Malumba still going at it. Of course you can put Los Mercenarios against any of the tecnico teams. Heating up the White Angel again (and bringing in Gama Singh) is interesting since they seem stacked on the tecnico side. Case in point, a quick Scott Hall promo with him surrounded by kids. The accent on Thompson when he says “Puerto Rico” is something else though. 

EB: The other episode we have for this date is the west coast version of Superestrellas de la Lucha Libre. As mentioned in previous installments, since TV in Puerto Rico still operated in having specific regional broadcast signals, the west coast channel that broadcasts Superestrelelas usually had a version that referenced the events happening on the Sunday west coast house shows and the interview and house show lineups reflected this. So keep that in mind as we dive into this episode.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mIB9vRYbcU

Hugo opens the show by running down what we’ll be seeing on today’s program (including mentioning the returns of White Angel and Gama Singh to Puerto Rico). You’ll notice that this intro is different from the San Juan Metro area version we saw earlier, that is because since Carlos and TNT are not planned to match up at the west coast house show the next day, there is no need to mention the altercation and challenge that happened on Campeones. Instead, Hugo hypes up the card taking place the next day in Aguadilla. Hugo also wants to briefly talk about Aniversario 90, although again some references of what happened will be regarding the show in Mayaguez rather than what happened in Bayamon. The event was a success in both towns and they want to thank the fans for their support for CSP in their Aniversario event.Hugo talks about the main event of Carlos Colon vs TNT, a tremendous match that was stopped due to blood (again, referencing the result from the Mayaguez card). As a result, Carlos Colon remains the Universal champion. Hugo mentions some of the results from Bayamon such as Invader #1 winning the Caribbean title and mentions the encounter between Scott Hall and Atkie Mulumba (so we are starting to get a good idea about the top rivalries being highlighted post Aniversario).

Hugo then talks about the house show tomorrow in Aguadilla at 3:30pm, with the main event being Invader #1 vs TNT. Also on the card, a rematch between Scott Hall and Atkie Mulumba, a World tag team title match as the Super Medicos defend against the duo of Leo Burke & Rick Valentine, the minis that were such a hit at Aniversario will be wrestling in a singles match as Aguilita Solitaria takes on Espectrito, Miguelito Perez and Gama Singh team up to take on Los Mercenarios, and Invader #4 faces Chicky Starr. Hugo then takes us to the first match on the show, as the returning White Angel takes on the monster known as Atkie Mulumba.

Eliud Gonzalez is out commentator for this match. Eliud makes note of the size difference between the two wrestlers as White Angel mocks Mulumba’s belly slapping by doing his own version. Angel keeps his distance but is caught in a lock up in a corner. Mulumba tries an overhand chop at the break but Angel ducks out of the way and Atkie hits the top turnbuckle instead. The same sequence is repeated although this time Angel blocks the blow and counters with several unanswered punches. Angel gets a headlock on Atkie, but Mulumba backs Angel into a corner and breaks the hold with a corner splash. Atkie takes over with several blows in the corner, and then proceeds to bite White Angel in the face. Angel fires off several kicks after the biting stops but Mulumba isn’t fazed and grabs Angel in a double arm choke. Angel backs Mulumba into a corner and breaks the choke with several punches. Atkie cuts Angel off with an eye rake and knocks him down with a nice thrust kick. Mulumba continues on the attack with an eye gouge and choking Angel on the ropes. A clothesline sends Angel to the outside, with Atkie following him out. Both men fight on the outside before Angel gets back in the ring. Angel catches Mulumba coming in with a kick and several punches, and hits a clothesline when Mulumba is shot into the ropes. Atkie absorbs the blow and doesn’t fall down. Angel follows up with some standing punches in the corner but an irish whip attempt is countered into a corner splash by Mulumba ,who then hits a headbutt to set up a splash. Atkie picks up Angel before the three count, hits another splash and then picks Angel back up before the three count. The referee warns Atkie about this behavior. Atkie goes to the top but the camera cuts away as he starts jumping off (it looks like Angel was starting to roll away). Eliud continues narrating as it appears that something may have been messed up in the ring since they continue with the crowd shot. When we cut back, Mulumba is attacking Angel and it looks like the referee has had enough of Atkie refusing to make the cover and awards the match via dq to White Angel. The winner is White Angel, although he looks worse for the wear compared to Mulumba.

MD: I like Thompson well enough when he’s got someone like Chicky (or even a Burke) backpedaling from him. I’m not sure he’s up to the task to stand toe-to-toe with Malumba. Malumba does take most of this including beating him on the outside but Thompson fires back and it’s, you know, ok. Eventually, Malumba crushes him with a splash and then picks him up. He presumably misses the top rope splash but they decided to cut to a wide shot of the crowd where they just pan over a bunch of kids which was a bizarre choice. When they cut back, he’s choking Thompson incessantly and the ref gives him the win. Kind of strange if you ask me. 

EB: We then go to a couple of promos talking up the World tag title match between the Super Meidocs and the team of Leo Burke and Rick Valentine. The makeshift team of Burke and Valentine look to capture the World tag titles, with Burke congratulating the Medicos on getting past the Rougeaus. However, Leo has scouted them and saw all the mistakes they could capitalize on. The Super Medicos thank the fans for their support this past week at Aniversario and they know they have to be careful of Burke’s figure-four and Valentine’s bionic elbow. Super Medico #1 says ”Also, we don’t make mistakes, the mistake was made by you when you signed to face us for the World tag team titles.” 

MD: These two interviews are setting up a tag match between Burke and Valentine and the Medicos. I thought Burke was pretty effective in congratulating the Medicos for their Aniversario win and being brave enough to put up the belts, but noting that he saw a lot of mistakes in their match and that he and the “bionic elbow” were going to take the titles. Medico 1 then said the real mistake was taking a match with them in a solid retort and Estrada, Jr. got to thank the fans.

EB: We then go to this week’s edition of Chicky Starr’s Sports Shop. Chicky welcomes the viewers to the most anticipated segment of the show. Every week there is a special guest and this week is no exception, when he says their name everyone will recognize it. Naturally you’ve all noticed by now, this week’s special guest is none other than Chicky Starr himself. He wants to talk about his match tomorrow against Invader #4, someone that has given Chicky a lot of problems and work. But tomorrow he will show everyone that he can handle Invader #4, that he can end him and that he’ll do something tomorrow he has long wanted to do., He’s going to take Invader #4’s grimy mask off and throws it to the fans so they can throw it into the sea that’s near the arena. Chicky promises to defeat Invader #4 tomorrow. Looks like this is a localized version of the Sports Shop for the west coast audience.

MD: I thought we were going to see the Sports Shop in its natural habitat but he really just cuts a promo on Invader #4, including saying he was going to throw his mask into the sea. 

EB: After the card rundown for the Aguadilla show and an Aguadila Motors commercial, we have Rick Valentine taking on Justo Maldonado.Valentine is accompanied by Chicky, It is a short match, with Justo getting a brief offensive advantage to start but Valentine takes over and finishes Maldonado off relatively quickly with his bionic elbow drop. Chicky barely had enough time to go over to the commentary desk and talk about the beating TNT gave Carlos Colon at Aniversario, although to date there has been no official alliance between TNT and Chicky.

MD: Valentine needs all the help he can get so a squash match isn’t a bad thing. It’s interesting they don’t hammer (pun intended) that he’s Greg or Johnny’s relative but I’m not actually sure how much that would matter here. Chicky’s on commentary. The opponent gets a little bit of comeback but Valentine shuts him down with a clothesline out of the corner and the elbow drop. 

EB: The rivalry between Los Mercenarios and the Caribbean express came to a head at Aniversario but it looks like Acevedo and Ron Starr have a chance at getting some revenge on Miguelito Perez. They are scheduled to face Miguelito and the returning Gama Singh in Aguadilla. Los Mercenarios say it makes no difference if Gama Singh is in there, since they are familiar with him from facing Singh in different parts of the world. Meanwhile, Gama is happy to be back in Puerto Rico and is looking forward to teaming up for the first time with Miguelito. Perez hypes up the match and says he and Singh will be ready tomorrow, and hopes the fans will be there.

We then get a showcase match for Gama Singh, taking on the masked Blue Angel. This match also is relatively short and serves as a reintroduction of Gamna Singh to the local fans (it has been a few years since Singh had a notable run in the territory). Singh shows off his abilities, although at one point he starts undoing the laces of Blue Angel’s mask. After the attempted unlacing, Blue Angel gets a bit of offense in and even makes a pin attempt for a one count. It doesn't last long as Gama takes over again and eventually wins the match with a crossbody off the top rope. Nice win for Gama Singh in his return to CSP. 

MD: These bits were setting up a tag between Perez/Singh and Los Mercenarios. Starr talked up Singh. Then Singh got to talk himself and Perez up and Perez got to talk up Singh too. I’m not sure why Castillo wasn’t there with Perez but I guess having a tag champ team with someone else is a good way to build heat back up if you’re going to let the rudos win. Singh is not someone I’ve seen a ton of but there is that direct pipeline from Canada to Puerto Rico. Against Blue Angel, he was dominant on the mat, had this interesting sweeping arm strike out of a headlock he did a couple of times, and had some fire as Angel got into a pushing contest with him. He won it with a flying body press. I still sort of wonder why they didn’t bring him in as a rudo though that would have disappointed the one support of his they kept cutting to. 

EB: The main event of the Aguadilla house show is Invader #1 taking on TNT, so we get promos from both men. TNT mentions that people that really know about wrestling know that TNT is the real Universal champion, He showed it at Aniversario in Mayaguez and if there is any remaining doubt, he’ll show it again tomorrow against Invader #1. So tomorrow Invader #1, the real Universal champion will put you in the Cobra Dinamita. We go to Hugo and the new Caribbean champion Invader #1. Hugo mentions what TNT said in his promo and Invader responds by saying that it’s very easy for someone to get in front of the cameras and say many things, but when the bell rings it gets hard to do. For the past three months TNT has been telling the Puerto Rican fans that he was going to be the Universal champion, and TNT is not the Universal champion right now. Invader said that he was going to be the new Caribbean champion, and he is the Caribbean champion right now. “So you can say a lot of things but let’s see what you can do when the bel rings tomorrow. Remember what you did to us, because we were very angry about it, you shouldn’t have done what you did. You say that you will put me in the Cobra Dinamita, let’s see if you can really do it. I know you are a tremendous wrestler, but when that bell rings tomorrow that is when you’ll get the chance to show me who you really are! Let’s see if you are man enough or wrestler enough to get that Cobra Dinamita on me.”

MD: These two would be wrestling at the upcoming house show. TNT cut a promo declaring him the true champion. Invader 1 fired back in his own promo with an impassioned diatribe about how he’d face TNT down. I was sold on this after hearing from these two.

EB: We get a rundown of the WWC top 10 rankings, with TNT still as the number one contender and then go to a Leo Burke vs Herbetr Gonzalez match. Leo as always is accompanied by Chicky Starr. A lock up leads to Burke getting a punch after the break but Herbert comes back with some punches of his own and actually takes control of the match with some slams and a headlock. Burke breaks the hold but Herbert maintains control with a shoulder block and an elbow (with the camera cutting to Chicky shaking  his head disapprovingly on the outside). Herbert goes back to the headlock but Burke is able to eventually counter with a back suplex. Burke hits several blows on Herbert and hits a neckbreaker for a pin attempt. Herbert counters a Burke rope throw with a kick and then sends Leo into the ropes for a backdrop. However, Leo counters with a blow to the midsection and immediately works the leg to set up the figure four. Herbert submits and Burke gets the win., Chicky talks to the camera, talking about the stupidity of anyone thinking they can handle the master of the figure four as Burke flashes four fingers at the camera. 

MD: On the one hand, Burke probably gives him a little too much here, but he is that sort of great stooging heel that can get away with that. Plus, with Burke, he can shift gears suddenly, turn right onto Gonzalez’ leg and change the mood entirely, which is what he does here. Chicky’s great in the margins of this, by the way, but no surprise there. 

EB: El Profe, accompanied by Atkie Mulumba. cuts a promo about the rematch between Scott Hall and Mulumba. Profe mentions that the people of Mayaguez received Scott Hall last week with open arms, but tomorrow Profe and Atkie will receive him with closed fists, in order to end Hall, to finish with him and show the people what a coward Hall is. “You are a traitor and that is why we gave you a beating last week, but tomorrow it will be even worse. You're very big but also very stupid, and tomorrow we will finish you so you never get in the way of El Profe and Atkie Mulumba again.” The camera zooms in on Atkie’s face as El Profe finishes his promo.

We also get a rundown of the card for Thursday in Cabo Rojo. The lineup is as follows: Carlos Colon vs. Atkie Mulumba; Invader #1 vs TNT; Super Medicos vs Los Mercenarios; Gama Singh vs Rick Valentine; Miguelito Perez vs Leo Burke; and Aguilita Solitaria vs Espectrito. After this, we get an Invader #4 vs Eddie Watts match that we’ve previously covered.

The last part of the show features our main event for the program, as TNT takes on Super Medico #3 in TNT’s continued series against his former Ejercito de la Justicia stablemates. Eliud Gonzalez does the ring introductions and also does commentary. Eliud mentions that this is a matchup of two of the more popular wrestlers at this moment in Puerto Rico. The match starts with some nice counter sequences that lead to Medico #3 getting some armdrag takedowns and a dropkick that sends TNT to the outside. TNT gets back in the ring and Medico #3 works a headlock takedown. TNT breaks out of it eventually but ends up back in it after Medco #3 counters off the ropes with a dropkick. Eliud mentions that both wrestlers are similar in size so no advantage there for either of them. TNT rolls over Medico #3 for a pin attempt but Medico #3 slides back over into the headlock position on the mat. TNT surprisingly is working this match clean and not as aggressive as we have seen in his more recent matches against the tecnicos, so maybe this may signal him mellowing out on his demeanor towards the tecnicos (then again, we did see how he went off on Colon with regards to the Universal title rematch). Another rollover counter gets two and both wrestlers work to a standing position. TNT sends Medico #3 into the ropes and hits a leapfrog, but Medico #3 stops after passing under and catches TNT with a slam. Medico #3 goes back to the headlock but TNT sends him into ropes and hits a clothesline. TNT hits a thrust to the neck area and some chops, leading to a backdrop and some karate strikes to the downed Medico #3. TNT sends Medico #3 into the ropes, and Medico #3 catches TNT with a front facelock on the rebound. TNT is pushed into the corner as Medico #3 gets some offense in, including a high back body drop for an unsuccessful pin attempt. TNT is able to catch Medico #3 with a spin kick off a rope rebound. This leads to the Cobra Dinamita and TNT wins the match when Medico #3 is put to sleep. Unlike the previous weeks, TNT actually wakes up Medico #3 without incident and quietly leaves the ring, so again not sure if TNT is coming to his senses about how he has been behaving lately. We then get Hugo closing the show reminding fans about tomorrow’s show in Aguadilla.

MD: A clear sub-10 minute win for TNT but Medico III took around half of it, mainly outquicking TNT and utilizing headlock takeovers and smart wrestling. TNT really only controlled for a minute in the middle before Medico came back. He got cut off quickly with the spin wheel kick and immediately put in the Cobra. I wonder if there was less of a need to protect TNT quite so much now that they were past Aniversario. Good match for Medico III to have in general.

EB: Next time on El Deporte de la Mil Emociones,we find out what happened in Caguas in the top rivalries and how they continue to develop. Will TNT get the better of Carlos Colon? Will Leo Burke make Invader #1‘s title reign a short one? Will El Profe make good on his promise that Atkie Mulumba will end Scott Hall's career? We’ll find out as we continue our journey through 1990.

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El Deporte de las Mil Emociones: Of Heart Punches, Taped Fists and (Sometimes) Masked Men

Week 4: Of Heart Punches, Taped Fists and (Sometimes) Masked Men

EB: On May 20, Sadistic Steve Strong became the new Universal champion, defeating Carlos Colon in a Death match. In the process, Colon’s shoulder was badly injured after the repeated targeting by Steve Strong throughout their feud finally resulted in the shoulder giving way. Although Carlos tried to gut it out, there was no way for him to be able to stand up to Strong in that condition. Thus, Strong and by extension Chicky Starr were in control of the top prize in Puerto Rican wrestling. As we saw during the death match, two members of El Ejercito de la Justicia came out to try to help Carlos with his injury during the match, Invader and TNT. With Carlos on the shelf, someone had to step up and take on Steve Strong. And the first challenger was Invader, Chicky Starr’s hated enemy.  

The feud between Invader and Chicky Starr had been raging since Chicky turned on Invader in a teacher vs student match at the end of December of 85, creating the biggest rudo in Puerto Rico and starting a feud that had raged between the two of them since then. When Invader stated that he wanted to return to wrestling after the murder trial had concluded in February, the wheels for his return would start via Chicky running him down on tv. This would eventually lead to a Sports Shop segment that signaled that Invader had returned.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXG-NyPDF38

We go to the start of the March 4 episode of Superestrellas de la Lucha Libre, where Hugo welcomes the viewers and hypes up the big card happening tonight at Hiram Bithorn Stadium. He also mentions what we’ll be seeing during the show (including the awaited special video of Invader training for his return and a Sports Shop segment with new arrival Sadistic Steve Strong as guest). Tonight is the night Puerto Rico has been waiting for, the return of The Invader. As part of the hype, Hugo presents a recap of what has occurred between Chicky and Invader recently.

On February 25th, an interview with Chicky occurred where Chicky went hard on running down Invader. If you hear the bleeps, it’s because Chicky went there (the words bleeped out are murderer, criminal and pile of sh#t).  Later on the same episode, a Sports Shop segment aired where Chicky was with El Profe. Chicky stated that again Invader had not answered his invitation to appear as his guest on his Sports Shop segment (including not answering a certified letter inviting him on the show which received no response). Chciky sends Profe to check just in case that stupid Invader was out there somewhere in the studio. After Profe leaves, Chicky again starts talking about that idiot Invader when we hear some noises come from somewhere off camera. The video jumps to Chicky saying that Invader lost his chance to appear back on tv when El Profe comes back. Chicky asks him if that idiot had arrived but Profe shakes his head no. All of a sudden, someone runs into the studio in their underwear screaming and covering his face. It’s El Profe! As Chicky stands up and turns around, he sees an unmasked Invader dressed up as El Profe. Chicky demands to know what the heck he is doing here, but Invader just smacks Chicky hard across the face (sending Chicky tumbling over his chair) and leaves. We then cut to an interview with Invader where he’s mentioning that he’s not going to take any of Chicky’s insults, when all of a sudden Chicky appears and throws black ink onto Invader (and getting some on Hugo as well). This sets up Invader’s return match vs. Chicky. Later on in the show, they also aired the training video for Invader. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZT-Bdsii3TY

MD: Chicky really lays it in to Invader here, not shying from the fact he isn't there and from all of the issues at play, and that's such an interesting choice. There's no way to make a side seem less credible than to have a guy like Chicky go all in on it. Then, to have Invader respond by stealing Profe's gear is such a clever, over the top moment. They follow that with the music video that leans so incredibly hard on sentiment. It's Invader working out, Invader training with other wrestlers in the ring, and Invader with his family on a beach. Unsurprisingly, it feels like something right out of Memphis. When you look at the total package, they were really stacking the deck to make this work as well as possible.

EB: On the same night that Steve Strong would make his house show debut, Invader would make his in-ring return and face Chicky Starr (they would also wrestle the following week). While we do not have these matches vs. Chicky, we do have a joined-in-progress tv match vs. Sasaki San (Kensuke Sasaki, who was one half of the Ninja Express at the time with Mr. Pogo) which takes place during the first month of Invader’s return.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-em9KAp2LbU

It’s a short clip but there’s a few things I want you to take note of. First, you can tell the crowd is behind Invader here.   You can see him do a two-hop celebration after the win, you’ll usually see Invader do the two hops as sort of a signature playing to the crowd, firing up or celebration move. And, while it’s not clearly visible since the ref El Vikingo was moving across the shot, Invader wins the match with the heart punch. This is Invader’s signature finishing move and it is one with quite a bit of backstory to it that will keep coming up and being referenced as we go along our journey. So, let’s explain the story surrounding Invader’s heart punch.  

Invader first appeared in CSP around August of 1977, a masked man hailing from parts unknown who had a taped right fist and used the heart punch as his finisher. He was a heel. Speculation ensued about the mystery behind that taped fist of his, on whether it was loaded and if it was illegal, but it was clear that it was effective.  But before the year was out, Invader would end up turning and switching sides, joining the tecnicos where he would remain as a fan favorite for the next decade. Although he had turned, Invader still had his taped fist. But things would change after June 30, 1978.

Invader was teaming with Carlos Colon in a tag team match facing the Martel Brothers, composed of Pierre (who you may know as Frenchy Martin) and Michel (the real life older brother of Rick Martel).  The Martels were among the top heels for CSP throughout the mid and late 70s and this match was the main event of a card held on June 30 of 78 in Ponce.  This match was a continuation of a rivalry that had started a few months earlier between Invader and Pierre over the Caribbean title and had continued from there. The Martels won the tag match but afterwards in the locker room Michel complained to Pierre about not feeling well.  While making the trip back to San Juan, Michel suffered a heart attack and, although rushed to a hospital in Ponce for assistance, unfortunately passed away.  A young Rick Martel had to come to Puerto Rico to identify and take his brother’s body back to Canada. And in a world where kayfabe is king, a storyline emerged from this real-life tragedy (with the Martel family’s permission and approval) that would kick off one of the biggest feuds of the next two years in CSP.

On TV, Pierre Martel would accuse Invader’s taped fist heart punch of being responsible for causing Michel’s heart attack and death. With uncertainty surrounding if Invader’s punch had indeed caused Michel’s death, the commission banned the taped fist heart punch. The feud between Invader and the Martel family would continue on and off for the next two years, with Invader 2 (Roberto Soto) debuting as Invader’s tag partner and helping out against the Martels (which included Pierre, Rick, Daniel and Jean). The feud would end in a last battle cage match in which Pierre had his loaded boot and Invader had his taped fist. Shortly after, Pierre would turn face and acknowledge that Invader was not responsible for Michel’s death. But the seeds of doubt would still linger in kayfabe.

The heart punch was further solidified as a dangerous move in 1983 when Ox Baker ended up putting Invader in the hospital for several weeks with Ox’s version of the heart punch, setting off a heart punch vs heart punch feud which was eventually settled at the Aniversario 83 show. As part of the story, mention was made of Ox Baker causing the death of two wrestlers with the heart punch (Roy Gunkel and Alberto Torres), while Invader’s heart punch history was also referenced. As you can see, the heart punch has quite the loaded backstory here in Puerto Rico.

Since then, the heart punch has been treated as a serious move in Puerto Rico, and a dangerous one if delivered via a taped fist. Eventually, after the initial banning of the move,  Invader would start using the heart punch again but without his fist taped up. However, on occasions, whenever a feud or rivalry has heated up, a stipulation would be added to matches where Invader would be allowed to use his taped fist. And that taped fist was always treated as a dangerous weapon.

With that explanation of the history of the heart punch and taped fist, let’s go back to 1989. After Invader’s return he would eventually spend the month of April and May in a feud with Abudda Dein over the Puerto Rico title. The feud would reach its peak on Mother’s Day (the same card as the chain match between Carlos Colon and Steve Strong), where Invader defeated Dein for the Puerto Rico title. Here is a match from earlier in their feud, taking place on April 8 with Rufus R Jones serving a special ref.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJFzPa0_PTU

MD: Kensuke Sasaki on excursion was a nice little surprise even if he's working to the stereotypes and isn't as dynamic, as, let's say Muta in PR a couple of years before or as acclimated to the style as Pogo and Nagasaki were. I'm in full agreement with Esteban that the most important thing to note here (as we don't get the best look at the heart punch), is probably how into the match the crowd was in general and how thoroughly they were behind Invader upon his return. It's the same with the Dein match. They really got their mileage out of Rufus in this run. I hadn't realized that Dein was Rocky Iaukea. Rufus obviously plays into the finish. If the fans hadn't remember just who and what Invader was in the ring, this reminded them; he was so good at working from underneath, especially when bloody, and then picking that perfect moment to start with the big punching comeback. 

As someone who had gone through most of the 80s DVDVR set and his share of Invader matches, I do think of him as a striker but I'm not sure I ever really placed the heart punch as so integral to his act. In a territory where there were often bombastic, chickenshit heels (Embry, Rogers, Chicky, Profe, etc.), having a babyface with the heart punch gives his opponent a lot to work with and to be wary of. I fooled myself for a while in thinking Stan Stasiak was actually amazing (he wasn't) just because I love watching him as a babyface menace Buddy Rose in Portland with the move. 

EB: But while feuding with Dein, Invader had also teamed up with Carlos Colon as his tag partner in Colon’s tag confrontations with Steve Strong and partner (be it Chicky, Dein or Abdullah). So, Invader was already familiar with Strong from having faced him in the ring and seeing the havoc and injury he had caused to his fellow tecnicos. And Chicky had not forgotten about his hated enemy either. We go to a Sports Shop segment airing May 27, the week after Steve Strong won the Universal title and put Carlos Colon out with an injured shoulder.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bW1TYm4Y1Qg

Chicky opens by introducing his guest Steve Strong, the new Universal champ and the person who has made Chicky the happiest he has ever been in his entire professional wrestling career. He’s reached the climax of his profession, because they have finished off Carlos Colon, Chicky’s number one enemy. His joy is so great he wants to share it, but not with Carlos Colon or the fans, but with Steve Strong who has made all this possible (‘the man that finished you, the man who defeated you Carlos Colon’). Chicky asks the director to play the video of what happened last week in Caguas when Steve Strong defeated Colon. As footage of the match plays (specifically the shoulder ramming part), Chicky talks about how Strong dismantled Colon’s shoulder under his direction and now Colon is done. Steve Strong is the new Universal champ, the new king of wrestling and Colon has passed into history. Chicky then turns it over to Strong so he can talk about how he feels and what is next. After Strong finishes talking, Chicky agrees with Strong and says that Strong destroyed, squashed, and humiliated Carlos Colon, as the fans cried at his defeat Strong’s heart was overflowing with joy and glee. As just as you have passed into history Colon, now you’re passing days in the hospital. And up next for Strong is ending Invader #1. Chicky asks the director to play more footage of what happened last week so they can keep enjoying the moment. Chicky continues to gloat about achieving his dream and Colon’s career being over. Chicky then asks Strong to talk about what he has planned for Invader. Chicky closes out by saying that Invader #1, you’re next on the list and what will happen to you will be worse than what happened to Colon. And to the rest of El Ejercito de la Justicia, do not get involved with this man (Strong).

As part of Steve Strong’s celebration of winning the Universal title, he issued an open challenge to face anyone which resulted in a two vs one handicap match against Gino Rodriguez and Maelo Huertas. We’ve seen Gino Rodriguez before being a victim of Steve Strong in his debut TV match. Maelo Huertas had also previously faced Steve Strong on TV, meeting a similar fate as Rodriguez.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNHHjfT4mM8

Maelo has been wrestling for the past couple of years as a young up and comer in a JTTS / lower card spot. He also happens to be Invader #1’s younger brother. We go to the handicap match.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RO8xMIHv3B0

Even two on one Gino and Maelo have a tough time dealing with Steve Strong, who easily handles them in the opening moments of the match. Not even a minute in, Strong grabs Gino and tosses him over the top rope in front of the referee, which causes a DQ to be called. With Rodriguez out of the picture, Strong proceeded to attack and bloody Maelo Huertas. On commentary, Hugo talks about how Strong just wants to hurt people and sow terror in the World Wrestling Council (in case I forgot to mention this before, CSP is the promotion, WWC is the sanctioning body of which CSP is part of). Strong continues his assault on Maelo as Chicky cheers on. Strong pushes the ref away when he tries to call him off and the attack continues. We then see Invader heading towards the ring, but he’s shown to be taping his fist up as he makes his way to the ring to help his brother. Strong cuts Invader off and slingshots him into the ring.  Invader is sent into the ropes but ducks a clothesline, blocks a kick on the rebound and uses the opening to square up and land the heart punch on Strong. A taped fist heart punch. Strong tries to stay standing, but after trying to withstand the effects of the blow, he eventually collapses down on the mat. As Strong convulses slightly from the effects from the blow, Invader just stares at the downed Strong before grabbing his brother and helping him away from the ring. A concerned Chicky gets into the ring to check on Strong and calls for help, which arrives in the form of the Batten Twins, Rip Rogers and Johnathan Holliday.

If you know the context behind the taped fist heart punch, you can see that Invader was not messing around. He had seen first-hand what Steve Strong was capable of doing, due to being in the ring against him and also seeing what Strong had done to Carlos Colon. His brother was in serious trouble and he was going in ready to do what it took to deal with Strong.  And in the process, it looks like Invader has shown that he has an equalizer to go up against Strong, something that can give him a chance to take the Sadistic one down.

The video then cuts to Chicky starting a promo about what had happened but he doesn’t get too many words in (‘Invader, what you did has no name, but let’s see what you’re able to do when…’) before an enraged Strong comes into the locker room, screams ‘Get out!’ and shoves Chicky out of the way. As Strong cuts his promo talking about how no one has ever put him down and that he was going to make Invader pay (which includes showing off the weapon to counter the heart punch that he had been gifted by Luc). While Strong rants, the camera slowly pans to reveal Chicky laid out on the floor of the locker room, having been sent tumbling over a bench by Strong’s push. Strong promises that the first meeting with Invader will be the last, Invader’s time is numbered. This match would happen on May 27 in Caguas.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=we0Jh18AfSY

We go to a clip from the June 3rd Super Estrellas de la Lucha Libre episode, where Hugo shows what happened in the closing moments of the Invader vs Strong Universal title match the previous week. We cut to Invader standing on the turnbuckle punching a bloody Steve Strong.  Invader tries to Irish whip Strong across the ring, but Strong counters and sends Invader into the corner. Invader manages to jump on the middle turnbuckle, immediately jumps to the top and comes off with a crossbody. Strong manages to duck however, and Invader ends up cross bodying the ref El Vikingo by mistake. As Invader is gathering himself on the mat, Strong goes on the offensive with some kicks to the head. He grabs Invader and whips him into the ropes, but Invader manages to leapfrog over Strong. As Strong turns around, Invader gathers himself and hits a heart punch on Strong, which stuns him but does not knock him down. Invader, seeing Strong stumbling a bit but not going down, comes off the ropes with a second heart punch. This time Strong falls as the crowd cheers on. Invader covers Strong but El Vikingo is still out. After a while, a second ref (Ricky Vargas) comes running out to make the count, but Strong by this point has come to and manages to kick out at the count of two. However, Strong is still feeling the effects of two heart punches and rolls out of the ring. Invader jumps off the ring apron with an ax handle smash to Strong’s back and attacks Strong on the outside. Strong is trying to get away but Invader does not let up. Strong is visibly still feeling the effects of the heart punches. As Invader and Strong continue fighting outside of the ring, Chicky comes out and motions for Strong to get into the locker room. The bell rings, signaling the match is over and is a double countout. Strong manages to get away and down the stairs, still reeling from the heart punches. After this first encounter, the heart punch has shown itself to be a potent weapon against Strong, but even so Strong took two heart punches and was still able to kick out (after a delay in the count, but still impressive) and even walk out under his own power.

After the match clip, we go to Steve Strong talking about tonight’s rematch in Carolina. Due to what happened with the referee the previous week, Rufus R Jones has been named as special ref for the rematch (as we saw earlier in the Dein match, Rufus has been serving as a special ref depending on the circumstances). Strong talks about how Invader has messed up his gods’ plans and talks about how devastating the heart punch is. But once again, Strong makes mention that he has been given a weapon to counter the heart punch. Even with Rufus R Jones being the special ref and the crowd being behind Invader, none of it will save Invader.

We then go to Invader, who talks about what happened the previous week about how he missed out on becoming the Universal champ because the ref was out when put Strong down with the heart punch. He notes that tonight Rufus is the ref, and it’s not because needs any help, because he does not want or need help to become the Universal champ, he wants to feel proud of becoming Universal champion because he did it by himself. Rufus is the referee because of what happened with the ref last week. Invader says he has shown to everyone in Puerto Rico that he can put Strong down with the heart punch and he will do so again tonight in Carolina. He will do whatever it takes to become the Universal champion and he doesn’t care how powerful Strong is, he will defeat him once and for all tonight. Both Hugo and Invader make a quick mention in their comments about Strong having injured Carlos Colon, making sure that stays present in the fans’ minds.

After the June 3 match, Strong and Invader squared off in a lumberjack match on June 10 (I’m guessing the match on June 3 also likely ended in a double countout if they had a lumberjack stipulation). But once again, the finish of the lumberjack match led to another rematch the following week for Father’s Day weekend. And this time, a stipulation was added, Invader would be allowed to have his fist taped. We go to the June 18 match, joined in progress.

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

Invader has his fist taped and has the advantage on Strong, who is once again bleeding. Invader hits some chops and blows in the corner with the taped fist, but we see a repeat of their first match where Strong reverses an Irish whip and Invader counters with a cross body of the top. And once again, Strong ducks and the ref is taken out. Invader is stunned by the collision and Strong takes advantage to hit a piledriver on Invader. Strong goes for a cover as the ref has come to and crawls over to make the count. However, they are too close to the ropes and Invader manages to break the count at two by getting his foot on the rope. Strong just stares at Invader’s leg and shoves the ref out of frustration. Strong slams Invader and proceeds to go to the middle rope where he sets up his loaded elbow pad in order to do his elbow drop. Strong jumps off with the elbow but Invader manages to roll away in time. Both men slowly get to their feet but Strong goes on offense first with a clothesline. Strong then sends Invader into the ropes and hits a flying tackle. He then does his hand signals and starts loading up the power of Damien into his elbow. Strong sends Invader into the ropes ready to deliver the blow, but Invader ducks and they hit heads on the rebound. Both men are down, but Invader starts pumping himself up and manages to get a clothesline on Strong. Invader starts a flurry of blows onto Strong (including an eye rake) but Strong manages to counter by sending Invader into the ropes, causing them to smack their heads together again. Strong once again manages to get on offense first, but after Invader manages to dodge two clotheslines, he is able to hit the taped fist heart punch. Strong hits the mat but he falls right by the ring ropes and apron. Before Invader can get to Strong (he’s spent from the damage taken in the match), Chicky Starr grabs Strong and rolls him out of the ring. Strong collapses to the ground as Chicky stands over him, patting Strong on the back. Invader makes his way out of the ring and proceeds to grab Chicky and knock him out with a taped fist blow to the head. Invader then tries to lift Strong up to get him back in the ring, but Strong is completely out of it and is too big for Invader to easily lift. Invader eventually manages to get Strong onto his shoulders in a fireman’s carry and proceeds to place him on the ring apron, to roll Strong in and pin him. But before Invader can finish getting Strong in the ring, the ref reaches the out of the ring count and the match ends once again with no winner on a double countout.

MD: We only get bits and pieces of this feud obviously, but what we get looks very good. Strong, again, looks great in squashes. He pulled out a slingshot belly to back in the handicap match and made Maelo bleed which isn't something I'm personally used to in a handicap match, though Esteban tells me it happened with Abby sometimes. We come into both singles matches with Strong bleeding so it's a shame we miss the beginnings, but after that they follow a similar pattern with Invader causing a great ref bump with the back cross body off the turnbuckles. In the first one, Invader actually gets the heart punch and the phantom pin before it gets thrown out on the outside. In the second, Strong takes over and hits the pile driver (also great is how he keeps adding on to his ridiculous lore in promos by the way) only for the ref to slowly recover and Invader to get his foot on the rope. Things build to the comeback and the heart punch again, but this time Chicky pulls Strong out; Invader crushes him with the heart punch but can't get the massive Strong back into the ring in time. If you're ready to move on to the next challenger, it's a pretty satisfying non-finish.

EB: The feud between Invader and Steve Strong would start winding down by the end of June, although they would still face each other a few times in tag matches (and even one more singles match) in July. By mid-July, Invader would soon be in a feud with new arrival Ivan Koloff over the Puerto Rico title. But in between winding down the feud with Strong and starting up with Koloff, there was an opportunity for Invader to after for the World tag team titles. By his side, for the first time in over a year, was his regular tag team partner since 1983, Invader #3.

WWC: The Invaders vs. Rip Rogers & Abudda Dein 7/1/89

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HG9I87mgnAM

EB: This match is from July 1 in Caguas.  The World tag team champions are Rip Rogers and Abudda Dein and they are defending against the team of the Invaders, specifically Invader #1 and Invader #3. If you need to distinguish which Invader is which, Invader #1 is the taller one of the two. I mentioned earlier that Invader #2 (Roberto Soto) had first shown up in the second half of 1978. With the arrival of a second Invader, the original one would then be referred to as Invader #1 to differentiate which Invader was being referred to (although when no other Invaders are active it can default to Invader without the number). Invaders 1 and 2 would be tag team partners for two years, but in the latter half of 1980, Invader #2 would turn heel stemming from Invader #1 deciding to team up with former hated rival now turned tecnico Pierre Martel in a tag team tournament. This would result in an on and off feud between the two Invaders that would last throughout the next two years all the way up to Invader #2’s departure from CSP around March of 82. And just a couple of months after Invader #2 left, something happened with Invader #1. After a victory over Bobby Jaggers, Invader after the match voluntarily unmasked and revealed his identity to the people of Puerto Rico. His reasons were that he had grown tired of hiding who he was, that he was Puerto Rican, and wanted the fans to know this. He stated that initially he had been masked because he did not want his mother to see him wrestling and worry about him, but it was time. And thus, Invader #1 was revealed to be Jose Gonzalez (Gonzalez being his mother’s last name and the alias he adopted when wrestling in the U.S) from San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico. If you look at the earliest CSP tv episodes we are fortunate to have, they’re actually just a couple of months after Invader had unmasked, so seeing him without the mask was still relatively new to the fans.

For the next year or so, Invader #1 would be the only active Invader in CSP and would continue wrestling without a mask Then, in the summer of 1983, just as Invader was finishing up his feud with Ox Baker, he made the move to the then WWF to wrestle as part of The Invaders tag team. His partner for this version was Johnny Rivera, who had previously wrestled in the WWWF in the 70s (at the same time Invader #1 was there) and had been wrestling in CSP in the early 80s. The Invaders spent a year in the WWF, with Rivera billed as Invader #2 (because there had never been Invaders before in the WWF and it made no sense to bill him as #3). But The Invaders eventually returned to CSP in the Spring of 84, with Rivera billed as Invader #3. Since then, they had been among the top tecnicos, with Invader #3 finding singles success in the junior heavyweight division as well. We’ll discuss more about Invader #3 in a future post. Let’s go back to the World tag title match.

You’ll notice that Invader #1 is wearing matching blue gear and mask with Invader #3. In all of his matches and appearances that we’ve seen so far in 1989, he’s been maskless and wearing long yellow tights. Why is he wearing the mask? Well, since Invader #1 had voluntarily unmasked, it was deemed acceptable for him to wear the mask if he chose to do so. And when teaming with a fellow Invader, he would wear the mask so they would have a uniform team look. It also allowed for certain strategies such as quick switches. You’ll also sometimes see Invader #1 wear the mask in singles matches, which he has said is a strategic move on his part to try to hide his expressions from his opponent to make it harder for them to get a read on him in the ring (usually happens when a feud has gotten serious or near its climax). This is also the first time in over a year, between Invader #3 being put on the shelf by Manny Fernandez (yes, some of you may know the incident, we’ll talk about this in a future post) and Invader #1 being out due to the Brody murder and trial, that the Invaders have teamed up.
The match starts with Invader #1 in the ring (besides the height, for this match it’s a bit easier to tell them apart since #1 has more of a tan). Right away you can tell how the Invaders work as a team, doing quick tags and switches, coming in off the top rope or jumping over the ropes into the ring. It’s a more acrobatic style compared to how Invader #1 typically wrestles as singles wrestler, so there is a bit of a style adjustment for Invader #1 in terms of how he wrestles in singles vs tags when teaming up with Invader #3. You’ll notice that the fans love it when they use the switches against the rudos. Invader #1 at one point starts antagonizing El Profe by moving towards him and spitting at him from the ring apron. The Invaders set the pace and control the first part of the match. On commentary, Hugo makes mention of Abudda Dein having a kick that may be due to a loaded boot, but nothing has been conclusively proven.

Eventually, the rudos are able to take control against Invader #3 but after both Dein and Invader #3 collide and are down, a hot tag is made to Invader #1. After a pier six brawl breaks out, Rogers and Invader #1 end up fighting outside. In the ring, Invader # 3 manages to slam Dein and  make his way to the top rope to try to hit his famous catapult maneuver onto Dein. But Rogers sees this and shoves Invader #3 off the top rope. Dein starts loading the boot in order to finish up Invader #3, but Invader #1 comes from behind and cuts him off with a rollup. However, there is a slight delay in the count since the ref is tied up with Profe and Rogers is able to break up the pin attempt. The match then goes to the outside and results in a double countout. The four wrestlers make their way back in to continue fighting, but the match is done. The scuffle continues for a bit in the ring and ends with the Invaders tossing the champs over the top rope. The video ends with the Invaders standing in the ring, cheered on by the fans.

The tag match provides a good idea of how the Invaders work as a tag team. It’s also, at least based on the results available, the last time Invaders #1 and #3 will team up as the incumbent Invaders team (we’ll discuss what happens with Invader #3 in a future post). So there is also a bit of historical hindsight to this match.

MD: Invaders took a ton on Rip to start but it's ok because Rip and Dein were champions and retaining so you want them to look vulnerable. Even more than that, it was Rip so watching him stooge and feed and bump is always super entertaining. I think Invader 3's size naturally helps him draw sympathy when he's in peril, even if he's not quite as strong at emoting as Invader 1 is. Even knowing that this didn't end with the Invaders winning the titles, they still got me on the nearfall roll up after the boot got loaded up. When you're going to have everything break down, it's nice to get a moment like that where the babyfaces should have won. Plus they end up standing tall at the end leaving the fans happy enough.

EB: Next time on El Deporte de las Mil Emociones, we continue to follow Steve Strong’s run in Puerto Rico as the next challenger takes his shot. Learn about the face paint wearing karate ninja known as TNT and why you should be wary of his Cobra Dinamita hold.

El Deporte de las Mil Emociones Master List

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DVDVR Puerto Rico 80s Set: Los Pastores vs. The Invaders (8/2/86)

Disc 2, Match 17: Los Pastores vs. The Invaders (8/2/86)

This was a great little paint by numbers 80s tag. There's nothing more satisfying in wrestling than the southern tag formula done well, and while this was brief at points, nothing in it ever wore out its welcome either.

I've seen a lot of Sheepherders in the last few years between Portland, Houston, and PR, and my biggest takeaway is that while Luke is probably somewhat underrated, it's Butch Miller that was a truly special and unique talent. I can't think of anyone else quite like him. He was always on in the ring, always acting and reacting with weird and engaging physical ticks that portrayed a sense of mania. He'd find these oblique ways to sell, stomping or recoiling or writhing and he'd implement them in his offense as well. It didn't always make logical "real life" sense but it wasn't supposed to. It was heightened reality and it created a sense of both danger and impact. He was affecting everything around him and was equally affected. In fact, throughout a lot of these matches, between the single camera and the video quality and their shared look, I have a hard time telling Luke and Butch apart right up until the point they start moving. While Luke aped it to a degree, Butch's body language is so distinct and fascinating that you ultimately can't mistake them.

I think people have come to resent the terms in the last few years, but they fit and they work and they help classify these matches. Shine. Heat. Comeback/Finish. That's what happened here and each segment was very good for what it was. The shine was exceptional with the Invaders working over Luke's arm at a rapid fire pace, clowning the heels at every point. It was a bit heel-in-peril with the missed tags and miscommunications and babyface cheating but it moved so quickly (which is a testament to both teams and the manager/ref) and finished with a bit of hubris (the distracting of the ref ultimately allowed for a Butch cheapshot from the apron). The heat wasn't hugely interesting offensively, but it had a few really good cut-offs and some great selling by Invader I (who is one of the absolutely greatest sellers ever, so...), with Invader III more than competent as the cheerleading/upset guy on the apron. The hot tag worked well, the comeback was fiery, and frankly, all of the BS at the end was completely fine because it had an ebb and flow to it, the crowd was into it, and it got the Sheepherders over as a threat and the Invaders over as triumphantly courageous. As far as BS DQ finishes go, there was a lot to it and it had weight. Miller's blade job was somehow both obvious and so lightning fast that it was impressive as hell. It's probably the only blade job I've ever seen in such plain sight that somehow still seemed acceptable because of speed he did it.

I've said it before, but I could watch matches like this one all day every day.

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DVDVR Puerto Rico 80s Set: Chicky Starr vs. Invader III (Scaffold Match) (May 1986)

Disc 2: Match 12: Chicky Starr vs. Invader III (Scaffold Match) (May 1986)

Past Flair vs Colon, I think this is the first match on the set that I'd actually seen before. At the time it was my first exposure to an Invader as an Invader and Chicky Starr being Chicky Starr. It's a special match, a unique match. The sense of danger and dread made it the first thing I thought of when watching Sasha and Charlotte almost kill each other multiple times a month ago in the cell.

Look, like a lot of people, my first scaffold match was the Great American Bash 91 monstrosity. I've written before how, during my years as a teenager not watching wrestling, a taped version of that show was the only wrestling I owned, and the scaffold match was the first thing on there, so I've seen it as many times as any other human being, I imagine. This is as far from that as possible. I'm not sure if I like it quite as much as some of the big ones out of Memphis, but that's more of a preference issue than a quality one.

They're high up. They're daring. They're absolutely Invader III and Chicky. There's an absolute joy in Chicky being up there and in danger. It's everything wonderful about sticking the manager in a cage about the ring and having him sell it as the worst thing imaginable, just made all the better by there being a scaffold instead of the cage, and having the poor bastard have to fight for his life.

There are a few definitive transitions, a few big moments, including the biggest of Chicky thinking he's won (with the crowd throwing things at him for his swagger), only for Invader to still be hanging on for his life. There are great, perilous punches, a very unlikely dropkick, and plenty of blood. There's a sense of desperate exhaustion as the match goes on, with as believable selling as you can imagine to match. It's that constant sense of danger that really puts it over the top though. They aren't just laying down. It's not a fifteen minute front facelock. There are slams and a suplex. There are stomps and kicks and bumps. At any point either of them could have put a foot the wrong place and more than the match could have been over. That they are able to utilize that as a tool and combine it with hateful biting and pounding and everything else is what makes this work as a one-of-a-kind spectacle. Everyone should see it at least once. It's pretty much the only scaffold match you ever need to see.

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DVDVR Puerto Rico 80s Set: The Invaders vs. Chicky Starr & Ron Starr (3/29/86)

Disc 2, Match 9: The Invaders vs. Chicky Starr & Ron Starr (3/29/86)

One of the things I'm looking forward to the most with this set is Ron Starr, a lot of Ron Starr. I've seen him in Canada and Portland and Georgia and Japan and St. Louis, but not much of his Puerto Rico run. When I was watching Portland a few years ago and first came across him as Adonis' tag partner in 1979, I had never even heard of him, and that's after having been part of the community for a decade. It's a little like how I hadn't seen much of Crusher Blackwell before the AWA set. Starr was all over the place, a total journeyman, but he was new to me. And he's good, a fiery babyface, a stooging heel, someone who can effectively work so many facets of a match. It's so great that they were able to bring him as a mainstay as Chicky's cousin.

This was nice to break up the string of Rock'n'Roll RPM matches, which were fine so far but I was ready for something different. The Invaders are in masks here, which is their tag team gimmick. They talk about how Invader I uses the heart punch. I haven't seen that yet but I do love the heart punch way more than anyone should as the world's only Stan Stasiak fan. Ron and Chicky are a really natural pair, not quite big dog/little dog, but with a little bit of that combined with Ron's ability to stooge as well and the fact that they have visual similarities.

I thought the match itself was fun, but not perfect. In the grand scheme of things, the shine took up a bit too much of the match and the hope spots came a little too quickly after that. During the heat Chicky used an object at times but there was no focus to it. It was just part of the litany of heeling that they did. They were more than solid in doing interesting things while on offense (including a Hart Attack). The biggest problem with the match was the time limit finish. It may be realistic or believable that a match would just end in a time limit draw without any sense of urgency but it doesn't make for good drama. Wrestling is fake. As something that is fake, they should be able to maximize moments like that in order to craft the best ending possible. They didn't here. Really, this had me excited to see more Chicky and Ron more than anything else.

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DVDVR Puerto Rico 80s Set: Invader III vs. Eric Embry (1/6/86)

Disc 2: Match 2: Invader III vs. Eric Embry (1/6/86)

Ok, this one's on me. Look, I've got a blind spot when it comes to Dallas based wrestling. It's the crowds. I just can't stand the Von Erich hero worship. I've seen my share of 1984 because you almost have to, but in general? Nope, not even the USWA combined stuff. Nothing until Global. That means my major exposure to Eric Embry has been bland 1980 Portland Babyface Embry. "May be confused for Brian Adidas" Embry. Sometimes I do it to myself.

He was tremendous here. There's a category of wrestler I love, that Rip Rogers, Chris Colt, Bobby Bass, Eddie Mansfield, Buddy Landell stooging, sleazy, stalling, goony sort, and Embry's perfect in that role here, puffy cheeked facial expressions, reacting big and broad to everything that happens to him, strutting his way ridiculously into danger, waggling his finger to draw the ref in so that he can complain about imaginary slights. Then when he's on top, he cheats like crazy to stay there, grins enjoying every second of it, and draws so much heat.

Which means, of course, we don't get a proper comeback moment in this first part due to a commercial break. Incomplete again. That said, once again, you almost don't care because what comes after is so good, with Invader III targeting the leg, tearing off protective gear and whipping out a nice, varied bit of offense as Embry squirms dramatically. He stays alive only through eyepokes and punches from his knees, and a great pulling, one legged pile-driver out of nowhere. There's a moment where he heads up the ropes to get thrown off, and unlike when other people do it, everyone in that crowd knew he'd be too slow due to the weak leg, so there's this awesome moment of anticipation for the doom that's about to come to him. It felt totally natural though, just desperation and hubris and the stupid of his character in that instance.

Anyway, this just keeps on building and building, with a lot of kick outs but none of them feeling egregious, all of them just ramping up the heat until Invader pays it off with the first real dive on the set, a crushing tope suicida that leads to the crowd counting along with the ref and Embry with his shattered leg not able to beat the count. I wish we didn't lose that first comeback moment because I bet it was great, but what followed it was more important and moreover, what we do have here is all really tremendous.

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