El Deporte de las Mil Emociones: California Studs?

Week 47: California Studs?

EB: March 2 had a high profile card for CSP, with two big apuestas matches and the second match between Carlos Colon and Dick Murdoch taking place. Let’s recap what happened that night in those three matches.

Dick Murdoch won the second match against Carlos Colon by using the ropes for leverage. Murdoch is now 2-0 against Carlos, having also won the first match using the ropes for leverage. Both times Colon and Murdoch fought after the match, with Murdoch taking some cheap shots and attacking Carlos with weapons. As a result of these two victories, Murdoch has now earned a Universal title match. Carlos Colon, angry at being cheated out of victory twice in a row, has demanded that they bring in a special referee to make sure Murdoch does not cheat him out of the Universal title.

Invader #1 and Bronco #1 won the World tag team titles and the Texas Hangmen’s masks. After this defeat, the Hangmen have left the territory. Also on that night, TNT defeated Original TNT with the name and paint on the line. Due to this, Original TNT can no longer claim to be TNT or dress up like him. He is now going by the name of Action Jackson. It wasn't all bad news for El Profe though, as on the March 3 card in Cabo Rojo, Scott Hall was able to win the Caribbean title from Miguelito Perez.

So with all of these developments taking place, let’s go to the TV programs from March 9 to see where things go. Let’s start with the Campeones episode.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NX30u7w5bGU

Hugo and El Profe welcome us to the program, with Profe posing and preening to show off how good he looks. Hugo introduces Profe as the supreme leader of El Club Deportivo along with his general Skandor Akbar, and also makes note of Profe modeling for the camera. Profe remarks that what keeps the great presidents in power are their generals.Hugo again remarks that he is impressed that El Profe has secured the services of someone like Sksndor Akbar, it establishes him more globally. They run down what they’ll have on today's program, with Profe mentioning that we’ll see the newest acquisition for El Club Deportivo and Devastation Incorporated, a team called the California Studs. Also today we'll see a very special look at the feud between Sasha and Monster Ripper, including footage from their most recent battle in a street fight. Hugo also mentions that they will have plenty of interviews, including one from the special guest referee for tonight’s Universal title match in Carolina between Carlos Colon and Dick Murdoch. Profe is happy about the guest referee because finally it’ll be someone that won't allow Carlos Colon to cheat, this gentleman has so much experience and such stature, and  tonight we will finally have a worthy Universal champion in Dick Murdoch. Hugo points out that Murdoch also won’t be able to cheat tonight, to which Profe says that Murdoch does not need to cheat to beat Colon. Hugo reveals the guest referee’s name and it’s none other than ‘Nature Boy’ Buddy Rogers. Tickets are on sale tonight and they also talk about the VHS tapes and merchandise available for purchase.

Hugo then brings up that there is another notable match tonight, as the team of Scott Hall (who is the new Caribbean champion) and the Motor City Madman are facing the new World tag team champions, Invader #1 and Bronco #1. Hugo also mentions that they took the masks off the Texas Hangmen, to which Profe complains that they won by cheating and they don’t recognize that victory. Hugo mentions that the Texas Hangmen are done, they lost their masks and they are no longer a factor. Profe says that tonight it’ll be different since they have a wall of humanity in there, the smaller of the two is like 6’9”, the rudos will simply steamroller and end those two mediocrities. ‘Invader and Bronco will pay dearly for what they did last week’. With that, Hugo presents the special look at the feud between current Women’s champion Sasha and Monster Ripper.

MD: At the start of the show, Hugo congratulates Profe for having Akbar with him now as it makes him global. They also hype a video tape and a bunch of merch.

EB: The feud recap for Sasha and Monster Ripper starts with one of their first encounters back in mid October (around the time Eric Embry made his return to Puerto Rico), as Profe talks about witnessing the beauty of Monster Ripper compared to ‘that thing in white’. In the clip, Sasha was mainly in control with the fight going to the outside before cutting to the next match. We then go to November 10, where the highlights again focus on them fighting outside of the ring (including some ringpost smashes and ramming heads on the ballfield ground). Hugo points out that you can tell these matches are not focused on holds but are straight out fights between the two ladies. Next is a clip from their November 22 encounter, showing each of them briefly in control. Hugo mentions that Sasha had shown that despite the size difference she has not backed down. Next is a highlight from January 12 in Carolina, where Ripper has a sleeperhold on Sasha, who fights out of it. Next is a clip from January 26, where Ripper body slams Sasha on the arena floor. Ripper then tries to ram Sasha onto the ringside table but Sasha blocks it and rams Ripper into the table several times instead. This match ends in a double countout as the two women fight on the floor near the table.

The last clip is from their most recent encounter, a streetfight. Both ladies are dressed in street clothes (with Ripper wearing overalls). Ripper is in control, ramming Sasha into the ringside table and into the ringpost. Hugo mentions that Sasha is bleeding from the attacks. We also see Ripper ram Sasha into the wood panel stack and hit Sasha over the head with what looks almost like a dining room chair. But it was not all Monster Ripper, as Sasha got fired up and countered with several blows and ringpost rams. Now Ripper is also bleeding. As the two women continue fighting on the floor, they head over to the ringside table and even end up in the crowd fighting after Ripper gets tossed over the barricade.  They cut to them back in the ring, where Sasha has lost her shirt and is hitting Ripper with what looks to be a weight belt or a wrapped up object of some sort. During this exchange, Ripper appears to pull out an object, which she later uses to knock Sasha out for the ten count. Tonight, Sasha defends her title against Monster Ripper and expect it to be a fight.   

We then get promos from both ladies. Ripper promises to win the title tonight, because everybody knows Sasha is a cheater and Ripper is the best in the world. The title is going back around her waist. Sasha mentions that tonight is an important match because the title is on the line and wants the fans to come out and support her to victory.

MD: Big takeaway here is that they were really laying it in. Second big takeaway was that Sasha more than held her own despite the size difference. She was just a bruiser in her own right. The streetfight we only get clipped here but it honestly looked great. Ripper had of-the-times overalls like she was on Blossom or something and they battled all over the stadium, including up in the stands, until Sasha ran into a shot and got counted out. That was non-title and the title match was coming with Sasha ensuring everyone knew she was defending the title for the people.

EB: We also get a  quick promo from the Super Medicos, who are facing new arrivals the California Studs tonight. Medico #3 tells the Studs to come prepared, because tonight may be the beginning and end of them in Puerto Rico. Medico #1 mention that they are aware of the Studs’ reputation from coast to coast in the U.S.,  but if they think they've come to the Caribbean to also have their way, then they are mistaken because the Super Medicos are here. ‘Remember, from A to Z, we are the rulers and masters of that ring’.

Next is the card rundown for tonight’s show in Carolina: Carlos Colon defends against Dick Murdoch in a Universal title match with Buddy Rogers as guest referee; Invader #1 & Bronco #1 (the clip they show them has them with the titles and the Hangmen masks in their hands) defend the World tag team titles against Scott Hall & Motor City Madman; TNT & Kim Duk vs Action Jackson (the ex-Original TNT) & El Profe; Mr. Pogo defends the World Jr title against ‘El Nene de las Nenas’ Ricky Santana; Sasha defends the Women’s title against Monster Ripper; Galan Mendoza & Rick Valentine defend the Caribbean tag titles against the Caribbean Express; and the Super Medicos vs the California Studs.

Next is our first look at the California Studs,a new team brought in by Skandor Akbar. A limo is arriving at the airport, where it parks to pick up two guys in sunglasses, bow ties and jackets (but shirtless), and it seems they are in their wrestling gear.  Skandor Akbar gets out of the limo to greet them before all three get inside. In the limo, the California Studs say they are going to show everyone what they are all about as they zoom in on a tv monitor in the limo. It then cuts to the Studs in tv studio action. By the way, you may have recognized who these two wrestlers are (if not we’ll identify them soon), but it is clear that neither of their accents screams California. We then get a video that is intercut with scenes from the tv studio match and scenes of the Studs posing on a bridge (including being served champagne by their female limo driver). The video is followed by a promo featuring Akbar and the California Studs. Interesting enough, they still have not identified either of them by name. Both Studs cut a promo followed by Hugo translating. If you have not recognized them by now, the California Studs are Tony Antonhy and Brian Lee.

MD: The funniest part here was Hugo talking after each Stud and Akbar coming in early since he was going to follow Lee, and then glaring at Hugo as he started talking while the Studs tried to call him down. The second funniest bit was Lee’s accent being dubbed a California Stud. so it’s Brian Lee and Tony Anthony, which is a total surprise to me, but they’re going to fit in just fine in Puerto Rico. Anthony cut a good promo about how the Medics don’t know them but they’ve done the research.

The card, by the way, is pretty interesting, with Buddy Rogers coming in to ref the Colon vs Murdoch match. While the Studs are in underneath vs the Medicos, Valentine/Mendoza and Motor City Madman/Hall seem temporarily above them on the card. They call Original TNT Action Jackson too so I’m sure they’ll explain that to us later.

EB: El Profe is with Scott Hall and Motor City Madman, and they are there to talk about tonight's World tag title match ‘against those two imbeciles’. Madman dubs their duo “The Twin Towers" and can’t believe that the tecnicos will be able to beat them. Hall mentions that the hot streak Bronco and Invader are on is out of luck. Hall actually mocks Bronco’s dance (and does a pretty good imitation of it) and says that the champions can’t measure up to the madman and the blonde outlaw.

Invader and Bronco respond, wearing their title belts and holding the Hangmen’s masks in their hands. Their opponents may be strong but they better come ready, because Invader and Bronco are ready to fight to keep the titles around their waists. In a nice touch, Invader has one of the Hangmen’s hands around his fist and it waves around as he gestures throughout his promo.

MD: Madman and Hall are up against Invader and Bronco for the titles. Madman calls them the “Twin Towers.” and Hall makes fun of Bronco’s dance. We get more lovely pantomime as Hall and Madman figure out what to do with their hands as Profe talks. But even better is that Invader and Bronco have the Hangmen’s masks. Great symbol there.

EB The Dick Murdoch music video we’ve seen before plays next, although it has been updated to include some highlights from Murdoch’s feud with Carlos Colon. Besides the brainbuster on the ballfield we’ve seen before, the video includes clips of when Murdoch busted open Carlos in the tv studio, Murdoch attacking Carlos with a stick after their first match, and a post match attack after their March 2 match (where Murdoch attacked Carlos with a chair near the dugout after carlos had shoved the referee out of the way).

As mentioned earlier, the Universal title match has a special referee. We hear from both participants as well as the special referee. Up first is Dick Murdoch with his sidekick Joe Smith. Except now it’s Joe Don Smith due to the great job Joe has been doing  at basically being Murdoch’s stooge. Joe is happy about the middle nama and also mentions that  Murdoch now has him living in a home with windows. Murdoch complains about Buddy Rogers being named the special ref, but it doesn’t matter who the ref is because Murdoch will beat Colon for the Universal title. Murdoch wants Rogers to call things straight down the middle, because if he doesn’t he will get slapped. Last time in Carolina, Murdoch left tColon laid out and he’ll do it again tonight with the Universal title on the line. Murdoch promises Colon that this will be one of the greatest matches of both their careers and that the title is coming to him.

Buddy Rogers is next and gives a basic but solid promo about being happy to be in Puerto Rico, refereeing what will be one of the greatest matches in the Puerto Rico area, that he will take no favorites, and there will be a clear winner.

Finally, Carlos Colon has his say about tonight’s match. Colon makes clear that he requested Buddy Rogers as the referee because  he’s tired of Murdoch stealing wins in their matches by cheating. And with the Universal title on the line, Colons definitely wants to be sure Murdoch is not able to do his usual cheating antics. That’s the only reason he requested a special referee, to stop the cheating, because he does not need any help in giving Murdoch a beating. Tonight he is going to give Murdoch a bigger beating, so be ready.

MD: Very good Murdoch music video made better maybe by the shaky VQ? There’s stuff from Texas of him fighting Funk which makes me wish that happened in Puerto Rico. His promo is pretty funny too as he’s given a middle name to Joe (He’s now Joe Don) and he’s got real windows for the first time in his life. Buddy Rogers’ promo is very straightforward and he’s good at not trying to do things with his hands as Hugo translates. Again, they’ve done another good job of making a match seem suitably big and important.

EB: The final match on this Campeones episode is one we have covered before, it is from the feud between the Caribbean Express and Los Mercenarios that led up to Aniversario 1990. It’s being shown since the Caribbean Express are challenging for the Caribbean tag titles on tonight's card. Before the match, Profe is complaining about the cut of his suit, with Hugo suggesting that perhaps it is because Profe has gained weight. Hugo also starts needling Profe about his tag match tonight, where he may end up alone against TNT and Kim Duk. Hugo also gets Profe’s thoughts on the other matches tonight, with Profe predicting wins for the rude and insulting the tecnicos. Hugo wonders why he bothered asking Profe for his opinion as he throws it to the match. Afterwards, we go back to Hugo and Profe for the show close. Before he forgets, Hugo wants to give a thank you to the limo driver from the California Studs video, who was very professional, especially considering how the California Studs can behave. Hugo thanks the fans for their letters and reminds them about tonight’s card and when to catch Campeones weekly.  

We now go to the west coast version of Superestrellas de la Lucha libre for March 9. Quick note for those that watch the videos, you can skip to the 4:30 mark here since the first few minutes are the intro to last week’s episode.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZZIF-V4D_U

Hugo welcomes the viewers to another episode of Superestrellas and goes over what we’ll see today on the program. Our main event will feature the Invaders (#1 and #4) taking on the Motor City Madman and Scott Hall. We also have the debut of a new team brought in by El Profe and Gen. Skandor Akbar, the California Studs. Besides the scheduled matches, there was an incident that occurred in the studio while they were taping another Superestrellas episode (I’m guessing Hugo is referring to the promos and wraparounds they filmed for the SJ Metro version of Superestrellas). There is a change to a match that was scheduled for today's TV program due to that incident and Hugo asks the director to show what happened. They cut to Hugo talking about what is scheduled for tonight’s show in Carolina when all of a sudden Action Jackson (the former Original TNT) and El Profe  show up on set. Jackson is angry and shouts that he does not want to wait to face TNT tonight, he wants him right now. TNT shows up and the two get into a brief argument and agree to face off for the TV title right now instead of waiting. We cut back to Hugo and he announces that our first match today will be TNT challenging Action Jackson for the TV title. Regardless of the result, this does not affect their scheduled match for tomorrow, the only thing that could change is who is defending the TV title based on how the upcoming match goes. Hugo takes a moment to run down tomorrow’s card in Aguadilla and also says that they are proud to return to their west coast home which is the arena in Aguadilla. After running down the card, Hugo then introduces the impromptu TV title match.

TNT and Action Jackson start off hot, exchanging several punches before Jackson gets the advantage. Eliud Gonzalez on commentary makes note that Action Jackson is furious about TNT stripping him of the name and paint and he is out to get revenge. Jackson rams TNT into the corner, but TNT comes back with several blows. TNT hits a backdrop on Jackson ,who then rolls out of the ring to catch his breath. Back in, TNT continues in control and makes a pin attempt. Jackson regains control with an eye rake, controlling the next couple of minutes with elbows, eye gouges and rear chinlocks. TNT briefly gets a comeback by ducking a clothesline and hitting a bodypress, but Jackson quickly gets back on offense. Eventually, Jackson misses a corner charge that allows TNT the opening to hit a couple of strikes to the midsection. TNT sends Jackson into the ropes and a karate chop gets a two count. TNT tries another whip into the ropes but Jackson counters and Profe trips up TNT. The referee sees this and calls for the disqualification. The two men continue fighting after the bell, with Profe trying to help out Jackson. TNT briefly fights them off but eventually Jackson is able to surprise TNT from behind. Both Jackson and Profe attack TNT, and Profe helps Jackson hit a piledriver. With TNT out, Jackson takes out a towel and wipes the paint off TNT’s face in a sign of disrespect. The commentators mention that Jackson is doing to TNT exactly what Jackson had done to him after losing their apuestas match last week. Kim Duk runs out to chase the rudos off, as TNT tries to cover his face. This certainly seems like a feud that is not yet over.

We get some promos from Action Jackson (with El Profe) and TNT about tomorrow’s TV title match. Jackson promises to finish TNT, he’ll take his paint off again to embarrass TNT again. He’s sick and tired of beating TNT but he’ll do it again tomorrow, TNT is wearing his head mask and mentions that taking off the paint was an act of disrespect. He’s worn that paint for years and no one has dared to do what Action Jackson did. The one and only TNT is angry and tomorrow he will take that TV title off Jackson, just as he did the name and paint.      

MD: TNT won the rights to the name so now Original TNT is Action Jackson. He’s still got the TV title so he has that going for him but now he has some colorful tights instead. They have the confrontation and an impromptu match which is very neck vice heavy. Maybe Jackson was worse off without the karate gimmick. TNT would fight from underneath and get cut off repeatedly until he finally took over, got tripped by Profe and then, when he took back over Profe came on in for the DQ. They needed to heat things back up so they did with Jackson wiping the paint off of TNT’s face in a sign of disrespect, an affront. Kim Duk came out to make the save. The promos were about what you’d respect with TNT talking about the sanctity of the paint and Jackson, kind of amusingly, cutting his promo and then talking on as Profe translated for him. Probably still some juice left on this program with the high heat angle.

EB: They do the rundown for tomorrow's show in Aguadilla: Giant Warrior vs. Dick Murdoch; Invader #1 & Kim Duk vs Motor City Madman & Scott Hall; Action Jackson defends the TV title against TNT; Ricky Santana vs. Rick Valentine; Bronco #1 vs. Galan Mendoza; Sasha vs. Monster Ripper; and the Super Medicos vs. the California Studs.

Up next is Ricky Santana vs. El Condor.The match is joined just as Condor has jumped Ricky Santana and is ramming Ricky’s head into the turnbuckle. Condor irish whips Ricky and follows up with a clothesline, but a second irish whip is reversed and Santana hits a backdrop. From there it's all Santana in a short match, hitting a flying splash to finish off El Condor.

Monster Ripper, Galan Mendoza and Rik Valentine are in the interview area to talk about their singles matches tomorrow in Aguadilla. They each insult their respective opponents and give guarantees of victory tomorrow. Ricky Santana is next, sending a hello to the fans in Aguadilla in Spanish but then does the rest of the interview in English. Bronco #1 also cuts a promo on his match tomorrow against Galan Mendoza, warning Mendoza to be ready and that it won’t be easy.

MD: They’re in Aguadilla for another card they’re hyping with a different line up, including Santana vs Valentine and Bronco vs Mendoza. The Santana match was JIP and pretty quick with him fighting back and hitting the top rope splash. Valentine said he was only back to the island due to a court date for stealing hubcaps. Obviously, Santana cutting a pretty solid promo in English did not appreciate that. Mendoza went after the locale and its people more than Bronco but it was going to be a singles match between two of the different tag title holders, so that made it a little interesting.

EB: Our next match is a replay of the Dick Murdoch vs Giant Warrior match that we saw just a week or so ago. It's being shown to build up tomorrow’s main event between Giant Warrior and Dick Murdoch. This was the match where Murdoch busted open Warrior and continued choking him after the bell. After the match we go to Hugo in the interview area with Dick Murdoch and Joe Smith,  or rather Joe Don Smith due to the great job he has been doing for Murdoch. Joe also makes sure the west coast fans are aware he now has windows in his house. Murdoch promises that he’ll beat Warrior even worse than last time. He also promises that if Colon shows up he will beat him up as well.  

Hugo follows with a voiceover over clips of Giant Warrior, who is on his way back to Puerto Rico from a foreign tour  and who spoke with Hugo over the telephone. The clips include opponents such as Atkie Mulumba, Nitron, Roadblock and Abdullah the Butcher. Hugo lets the fans know that Warrior has been training and is now more aware of how Murdoch operates. Warrior is looking forward to dealing with this menace and shutting up Murdoch once and for all.

MD: They know they have good material so they reuse it, I guess, with Murdoch giving Joe a middle name again and them talking about a house with windows. Murdoch navigates his feud with Colon and going up against Warrior. More fun bits with Hugo translating in between them including the two of them miming the brainbuster in unison.

EB: The California Studs are in the interview area with Skandor Akbar. The interview starts with Akbar presenting the team and bragging about how accomplished they are. Again they do not name either of the Studs in the interview and each of them has a chance to talk about their match tomorrow against the Super Medicos.

Afterwards we join the California studs vs. El Corsario and Tito Carrion match already in progress. Lee and Antohone are just tossing their opponents around and having their way with the tecnico team. It’s an impressive showcase for Akbar’s new tag team, as the Studs win the match with a powerslam into a flying kneedrop combo.  

MD: It’s interesting how they haven’t quite worked out the patter of Hugo translating after everything they say yet. Anthony tried to throw it to Lee and then they had to wait for Hugo. Akbar was a big pick up really, honestly feeling as big as getting Greg Valentine or Harley Race. That hasn’t quite played out on top yet, but he just adds gravitas to everything. Even the goofy sunglasses. Squash was pretty straightforward. A lot of quick tags and control. Pulling up at 2 by the hair. I don’t know about Lee’s top rope kneedrop finish but otherwise he was a big man that could move.

EB: El Profe is with Skandor Akbar, new Caribbean champion Scott Hall and Motor City Madman to talk about tomorrow’s tag match with Invader #1 and Kim Duk.  Akbar runs down the tecnicos, especially that traitor Kim Duk, who owes Profe an apology. Madman talks next and makes a racist insult involving food, with Hall finishing the interview by saying they have the brains and the brawn to handle Invader and Duk tomorrow. Duk and Invader cut their promo from the backstage area in the arena, with Duk threatening the rudos with his kendo stick and Invader urging the fans to come out and support them. Their opponents may be big but Invader has a partner with a lot of heart and fortitude in Kim Duk.  

MD: Case in point, Akbar talking for these two. More fun hand motions (in tandem) as Hugo translates. Hall is the Caribbean champion still. Invader seemed to be chomping at the bits to speak for Duk but it’s a pretty fresh match at least.

EB: The Super Medicos cut a quick promo about facing the new arrivals of the California Studs. They promise that they won't; back down, they have faced many great teams before and beaten them. It won’t be easy for the California Studs tomorrow.

MD: Straightforward stuff here as they prepare for the Studs. Other teams have come in before and they’ve faced them down. Medico 1 says that the Studs better be in good condition because they’re facing some tough “super middleweights.” I’ve got some high hopes for this feud at least.

EB: Our main event for this program is a tag match between Scott Hall and the Motor City Madman vs the Invaders. Both Profe and Akbar are at ringside for the rudos. The Invaders start off the match with their signature armwork and quick tags on Scott Hall. Invader #1 takes down Hall and works a hammerlock, but Hall is able to get back to his feet and fight out of it. Madman is tagged in, but Invader is able to scoot through Madman’s legs to avoid an attack and gets an arm wringer. Another series of quick tags and arm works is done on Madman. Eventually, Invader #1 is backed into the rudo corner and Hall gets tagged in. A double clothesline from the rudos gets an unsuccessful pin attempt. Invader #1 again is able to scoot through his opponent’s legs and gets an arm wringer. Quick tag to Invader #4, who continues to work the arm but is overmatched by Hall when they get into a punch exchange. Halls gets a tornado punch and a body slam, before sending Invader #4 into the rudo corner.

Madman is tagged back in and the rudos work over Invader #4. The rudos manage to keep Invader #4 isolated, with Hall getting a variation of the abdominal stretch on Invader #4. Invader #1 comes in to break the hold, but the rudos continue to keep Invader #4 near their corner. Hugo mentions that the rudo team has impressed him with their moves and how well they are working together as a team. Invader #4 gets a sunset flip (with an assist by Invader #1 in knocking Hall down) but he is unable to tag Invader #1 in. The attack continues on Invader #4 but eventually Invader #4 is able to roll away and make the hot tag to Invader #1, who starts cleaning house on the rudos. All four men end up in the ring fighting and, in the confusion, Invader #4 gets backdropped by Hall over the top rope to the floor. Invader #1 gets a backslide on Madman, but Hall comes over to break up the pin attempt. Invader #1 backs Hall into the turnbuckle and starts punching away as the referee tries to break it up and send Hall back to his corner. On the other side of the ring, Akbar has given Madman one of his boots. When Invader turns around, the ref gets tied up with Hall and does not see Madman hit Invader with Akbar’s boot. Madman covers and gets the pin on Invader #1.

Hugo then closes the show by hyping up tomorrow’s card and reminding fans about where to get the merchandise and VHS tapes that are available for purchase.

MD: This goes about ten and was pretty good. Invaders were masked (and it was a good way to build vs Invader/Bronco defending against the “Twin Towers”). Invaders controlled early with quick tags and working the arm. They finally took over on Invader 4 in the corner and did a long, super credible heat with some clever hope spots as Invader 1 intervened. This gave you a great sense of how big Hall and the Mad Man were. They just loomed over their opponents. Invader 1 came in hot after the tag but an Invader (4?) went crashing to the floor hard and in the confusion, the Mad Man used a weapon and got the win. Nice way to heat up the bigger match.

EB: Next time on El Deporte de las Mil Emociones, we’ll find out what happened in the Universal title match. Do we have a new champion? Did Buddy Rogers call it down the middle? What exactly happened post match? Also, we get a new dirty arrival to Puerto Rico and a final  look at one of the stalwarts of Puerto Rican wrestling.

Read more!

El Deporte de las Mil Emociones: Springtime in CSP

Week 24: Springtime in CSP

EB: One of the main challenges of doing this journey through Puerto Rican wrestling is that we are covering a period where we usually have a dearth of results and/or footage to help inform the rivalries and wrestlers that are appearing in this time period we are covering. The late 1989 to first half of 1990 in particular is a time period where we tend to lack information. Matt and I have done our best in piecing together what we have found (both footage wise and results wise) but this is still a bit of a dark period. April 1990 is definitely a month where this lack of information is notable, so we’ll try to piece together as best as we can how things are progressing in CSP as Spring gets into full swing. The best way to try to cover the goings on is by reviewing the status of the titles and their current feuds.

Let’s begin first with the World Junior title, where ‘Tough Guy’ Eddie Watts has been the World Junior champion since the end of January. After initially winning the title from Super Medico #1, for the past couple of months, Watts has held back the challenge of Huracan Castillo Jr. and Joe Savoldi. More recently, Watts has had a few matches with Invader #4, but his main challengers are still Castillo and Savoldi. And while Watts has been able to hold onto the title so far, his luck is about to run out. According to the title’s history, Huracan Castillo Jr. was able to defeat Eddie Watts for the World Junior title on April 21.   

Although we will still see a bit more of Eddie Watts, we do have to say goodbye to Joe Savoldi, whose most recent semi-regular run wraps up in April. Before saying goodbye to Savoldi, let’s watch him in action against two opponents. First, a non-title TV match against Eddie Watts, and then a bonus match against Chicky Starr.

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

We join the match in progress as Watts has Savoldi on the mat and applies a spinning toe hold. Chicky Starr as usual is at ringside for Watts. Eliud Gonzalez is on commentary, and he makes sure to point out how effective Eddie’s repeated toeholds are on damaging Savoldi’s knee and leg. Watts keeps focusing his attack on Savoldi’s left leg, but Savoldi eventually is able to kick Watts away and flip him over off the ropes. Watts and Savoldi get into a blow exchange, one that it looks like Savoldi is winning. However, Watts sweeps Joe’s leg and sends Savoldi to the mat. Eddie follows up with an ankle twist and then stomps on Savoldi’s leg after placing it on the bottom rope. Watts takes too long jawing at the crowd and Savoldi counters a leg hold with an enziguri. Savoldi mounts a comeback but is showing the effects of the hurt leg. Savoldi works over Eddie’s right leg by ramming it a few times into the ringpost. Both men fight on the outside but Savoldi manages to throw Watts back into the ring. Watts begs off but is able to throw Savoldi through the ropes. However, Savoldi surprises Watts on the apron with a sunset flip back into the ring and is able to score a three count for the win! Savoldi may have not been able to defeat Watts for the World Junior title, but he was still able to score a clean win over Watts.

MD: This is JIP with Watts doing damage to Savoldi’s leg to start. Savoldi does a good job selling it on the comeback, using punches and other things instead of his usual start-of-the-90s junior offense. Watts tries to take a powder but Savoldi chases him down, drops the selling and hits a sunset flip into the ring to win. 

EB: As a bonus, let’s also watch footage of a Savoldi vs Chicky Starr match. We’re not sure if this match is from 1989 or 1990, but it gives us another chance to see Chicky in singles action.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iX53MgPnWc

Another match joined in progress, as both men briefly lock up but Chicky quickly gains the advantage with some blows. Savoldi fires back with a few haymakers and hits a backdrop on Chicky, who quickly decides to roll outside to regroup. Chicky takes his time getting back into the ring and once again gains the advantage with a low blow on Savoldi. Chicky starts hobbling around, complaining that he has a bad knee, but continues attacking the downed Savoldi with several kicks and knee strikes (including using his supposedly injured knee). Chicky remains in control for a couple of minutes, hiding some illegal punches from the ref’s view and taunting the crowd as he maintains control while adjusting his knee pad every so often. Chicky attempts a cover after a slam but Savoldi quickly kicks out. Savoldi fires off a few punches and seems to gain control, backing Chicky into the corner with some kicks. Savoldi hits a monkey flip on Chicky and the tide has definitely turned in Savoldi’s favor. Joe goes on the attack, including chasing Chicky around the ring, and continues with the advantage with several punches and kicks. A punch knocks Chicky through the ropes to the outside, and Savoldi gives chase. However, Chicky appears to reach into his tights as he ambles around the ring,  and when Savoldi tries to chase after him back into the ring, Chicky catches Joe with a loaded punch. Savoldi falls to the mat and Chicky quickly covers for the pinfall win. A not so clean victory for Chicky Starr.

MD: Pretty complete in seven minutes or so. Maybe a little JIP. Chicky eats some shine work until he uses the loaded kneepad (that rare weapon) to throw a bunch of shots into Savoldi’s guts. Joe eventually comes back with monkey flips and a running knee into the corner of his own and Chicky takes a great bump through the ropes. On the floor, though, he pulls out yet another object, this time the knucks and catches Savoldi back in the ring after he gives chase for the win. It makes sense if Chicky’s being pushed as a tag champ (or about to be depending on this was filmed) that he can still get one over, dirty, on a Jr. Heavyweight.

EB: Let’s talk briefly about the other singles title holders. March was a turbulent month for the Universal title, with two title changes occurring in the month. TNT lost the Universal title to Abdullah the Butcher, who in turn lost it to Carlos Colon to end the month. TNT was not happy about losing the Universal title, and beside that unexpected match vs Saito on TV, would soon find himself enveloped in a feud with Rick Valentine (another member of El Club Deportivo). Let’s go to a brief clip from the ending of a recent TNT vs Valentine match.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXgoZV2IrH0 

Hugo narrates the clip, mentioning that both men are on the outside and bleeding. We cut to both TNT and Valentine on their knees and exchanging blows, with both men notably bleeding from their foreheads. We then cut to later in the match, where both men get to their feet and trade blows once more. TNT is able to get the better of this exchange and is able to knock Valentien down with a headbutt. Valentine kicks out of a pin attempt and TNT fires off a few chops in the corner. TNT whips Valentine across the ring but runs into Valentine’s knees when attempting to follow through. Valentine takes advantage and quickly pins TNT, placing his legs on the ropes for leverage and scoring the three count. Valentine steals the win as Hugo mentions that blood has been spilled and TNT is going to be looking for revenge.

MD: This is clipped in a way that we don’t usually see in this footage. We just get snippets of it for a minute or so. What we do get to see is mainly bloody brawling with both of them on their knees throwing shots though. It looks really good and this is one that I wish we had in full, even if on paper, you might not expect much of it. Valentine gets the crooked win by putting his feet on the ropes after a double leg in the corner. 

EB: TNT would continue feuding with Valentine into the beginning of May, but he would not remain without a title for much longer, as at the April 25 tv tapings TNT would regain the TV title he never lost (he had vacated the title when he won the Universal title) by defeating Leo Burke. That’s now two titles El Club Deportivo has lost as the end of April approaches. Of the remaining singles titles, two are in the hands of El Ejercito de la justicia (Colon has the Universal title and Invader #1 has the Caribbean title), while the Puerto Rico title is still held by the injured Manny Fernandez (although the title’s status may soon change since it seems Manny is not returning).

We’ll talk soon about the Universal title, but first let’s look at the tag scene. As mentioned in our previous installment, the end of March saw both tag titles switch hands, with the Super Medicos winning the World tag team titles and Chicky Starr & Leo Burke winning the Caribbean tag titles from the Invaders. Let’s first review the Caribbean tag title feud that began at the end of March.

Chicky and Burke were able to win the Caribbean tag titles from the Invaders thanks to interference from the Iron Sheik. While this interference led to a singles match between Sheik and Invader #1 on March 31, the Invaders quickly started chasing Chicky and Burke to get their rematch for the Caribbean tag titles. As we saw last time, Chicky and Leo gave the Invaders a non-title match, but the Invaders were able to win that match and secure a return title match. 

On April 7 in Caguas, the two teams faced off once again, but Chicky and Burke attacked Invader #4 during the match and temporarily took him out of action. An angry Invader #1 signed to face the Caribbean tag champs in a two vs one handicap match on April 14.  This handicap match took place at Estadio Hiram Bithorn and at one point during the match, Maelo Huertas showed up to help save his brother from a two on one attack, bringing a two by four with him to help clear the ring. Hugo said he had never seen Maelo (Invader #4) like that when he showed up with the two by four. The two teams are signed to face each other in a grudge match for April 21, so it looks like the feud between Chicky & Burke and the Invaders is far from over. We unfortunately do not have footage of any of these matches, but we do have an Invader #1 music video with several highlights from 1986 and 1989 (and set to their current entrance music). Let’s see how many opponents you can recognize.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Xr9kfTpjEY

MD: I’d honestly say that this is a great way to show someone who isn’t in the know exactly what made Invader special. You only see a little bit of his selling but you see a ton of him coming back with big strikes against formidable foes as the crowds go wild. 

EB: The Super Medicos were finally able to defeat Los Mercenarios for the World tag team titles on March 31. The former champions were not happy over losing the World tag titles, and they decided to send a message to the Super Medicos. We got an inkling of something happening during an insert promo we saw in a previous installment, where the Super Medicos made reference to an attack done by Los Mercenarios. What exactly happened? Well, the incident occurred during a tag match where the Super Medicos were facing an unexpected tandem popping in for an appearance in CSP.

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

We already saw Mr. Saito in action vs TNT in the previous installment, but it appears he did not make this excursion alone. Riki Choshu is teaming up with Saito to face the Super Medicos and I am still in shock that these two popped in for an appearance in CSP in April 1990. Eliud Gonzalez introduces both teams, as the Super Medicos show off their recently won World title belts. Saito and Choshu are being managed by El Profe, who has specialized in managing the Japanese wrestlers that have come into the territory. Profe is also the manager of Los Mercenarios, so there may be something else up as well. Choshi and Medico #1 start off for their teams. Choshu gets the better of the initial exchange and is able to back Medico #1 into the rudo corner. Saito holds Medico #1 as Choshu delivers some chops. Master Saito is tagged in and briefly maintains the advantage on Medico #1. However, Medico #1 counters with several chops on his end and is able to tag Medico #3, who sends Saito down with a dropkick. Estrada Jr (it appears we’re still in that weird period where he is being called #4 although by now I think he had been promoted to #3) gets a two count but Saito gets control back with an eye poke. Choshu is tagged in and delivers several kicks to Estrada Jr, followed by a suplex. Choshu gets a two count and tags Saito back in. Saito applies a sleeperhold on the younger Estrada, but Medico #1 jumps off the top rope to break the hold. The rudos make a switch behind the ref’s back, and Choshu puts a nerve hold on the younger Medico (which is again broken up by Medico #1). The rudos switch again, Saito works a nerve hold and again Medico #1 comes in off the top rope to break the hold. Another illegal switch and Choshu works a neck wringer on Estrada Jr. The ref asks Profe if the tag was made and he shakes his head vigorously in the affirmative. Another Illegal switch occurs and Saito backdrops Estrada Jr. Saito continues in control, choking Estrada Jr. and eventually tags Choshu back in. Choshu and the younger Medico exchange blows and Choshu keeps Estrads Jr near the rudo corner. 

Saito is tagged back in and proceeds to choke out Estrada Jr on the mat. Medico #1 cheers on his partner from the apron, and it looks like Estrada Jr is trying to fight out of the choke. Saito sends Estrada Jr. into the ropes and Estrada Jr counters with a dropkick. This allows for the tag to be made to Medico #1, who comes in  with punches on both Saito and Choshu. While this is happening, El Profe charges towards the tecnico corner and yanks Estrada Jr off the apron. This angers Estrada Jr, who goes after Profe, who is backing up towards the locker room entrance. El Profe tries to kick Estrada Jr, but the kick is blocked and Estrada Jr knocks Profe down. As Estrada Jr sets himself up to punch a downed Profe, Los Mercenarios rush out of the locker room and attack the younger Medico. It was a set up. Los Mercenarios and El Profe grab the younger Estrada and drag him into the locker room. Meanwhile, Medico #1 has been successfully fighting off both Saito and Choshu. However, Medico #1 realizes that his tag partner is missing and asks the crowd what happened. Medico #1 leaves the ring in search of his son, as the fans point in the direction of the locker room. All of a sudden, the younger Estrada is tossed out of the locker room and to the floor, busted open. Medico #1 sees his son and goes to him, but the referee has been doing the ring out count while all this has been happening. As Medico #1 holds his son and tries to help him, the referee counts out the Medicos. Saito and Choshu win the match and it looks like Los Mercenarios have sent a message to new World tag team champions.   

MD: Well, this is surreal. It feels like a 1990 WCW tag tournament or something. Choshu and Saito (MASTER Saito) don’t take the night off either. They feed early and then cut Medico (4? They’re saying 4; I’m going to assume it’s Estrada, Jr. unless Esteban tells me otherwise) off with a perfectly timed shot from Saito. A lot of these Medicos matches have felt like an education in Estrada, Jr. taking the heat and there’s more of that here as he takes a beating and gets a hope spot or two in. On the comeback, Medico 4 goes after Profe and gets ambushed by the Mercenarios so while Medico 1 is punching Choshu and Saito and giving them a double noggin knocker, Medico 4 is nowhere to be seen. Eventually he’s tossed out, a bloody mess, and Medico 1 tends to him leading to the countout. This was a fun surprise. 

EB: The Super Medicos and Los Merenarios would face off after this attack in a rematch on April 14. This feud will continue throughout the month and we’ll see how it ends up unfolding next time.
We have a couple of matches that appear to be from April 7. The first match features El Profe’s latest monster Atkie Malumba taking on Miguelito Perez. Let’s see if Perez fares better than the other wrestlers that have faced Malumba so far.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wHxkly5mOY

Hugo and Chicky are on commentary, as they mention that Miguelito has a tough opponent in Malumba. Atkie has been impressive thus far as part of El Profe's Real Academia. Hugo notes that Miguel will have to use his speed and agility against Malumba, as we wait for Atkie to finish his pre match preparation. As Malumba bows, Hugo asks Chicky if they are happy that this man is with El Profe and not against them (Chicky responds with Definitely). Atkie charges at Perez to start but is met by several; punches from Miguelito. Perez is able to stun Malumba and back him into a corner, where he continues attacking Malumba with punches and kicks. Perez does some standing punches and continues the attack, ramming Malumba into another corner and not letting up. Chicky admits on commentary that he is impressed that Perez has been able to keep Malumba at bay so far. However, the momentum shifts when Miguelito whips Malumba into the opposite corner and tries to follow up with a corner splash. Malumba meets the incoming Perez with his own standing splash, and Perez is knocked down. Atkie follows up by choking Perez on the mat, as Hugo mentions that Perez must feel like he ran into a truck. El Profe mugs for the camera holding the shrunken head, as Malumba tosses Perez outside of the ring. Malumba drags Perez over to the fence in front of the crowd and attacks Perez there, including grating Perez’s head across the fencing. Atkie starts shaking and chanting, as he moves over to El Profe and bows to him and the shrunken head. Profe makes sure to point Malumba back in Miguelito's direction, and Atkie kicks the incoming Miguelito right in the face. Back in the ring, Malumba hits a slam and follows up with a splash. As we have seen before, Atkie foregoes the pin and decides to go to the top turnbuckle. A flying splash leads to a three count and another impressive win for Atkie Malumba. El Profe celebrates in the ring and Malumba hits an elbow drop on Perez post match. Chicky says that this man is here to destroy El Ejercito de la Justicia and, so far, it looks like Malumba will do just that. 

MD: Quick mauling here. Malumba took him out to the fence and beat him there a bit, rolled him back in and hit a top rope splash. It was what it should have been.

EB: The other match we have from April 7 features the new Universal champion. Carlos Colon defeated Abdullah the Butcher on March 31st to become the Universal champion once more. While Abdullah will not be appearing in the short-term (meaning no title rematch), El Jeque has sent his latest acquisition after Carlos Colon. The Iron Sheik is no stranger to Carlos, with the two men having previously had a feud over the Universal title in early 1988. Now, it appears Sheik is set on continuing what Abdullah is not able to follow up on.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxfqwzFWEl0 

We join the match in progress as it looks like the Iron Sheik was using his loaded boot to counter a charge into the corner by Carlos. We cut to later in the match as Hugo continues narrating. Carlos goes for a slam on the Sheik but the ref gets knocked down by Sheik’s legs on the slam pick up. Carlos is bleeding and both wrestlers look tired. Carlos hits another body slam on the Sheik and goes to the top turnbuckle. Carlos attempts a flying legdrop but the Iron Sheik rolls out of the way. Sheik gets to his feet first as we see El Jeque lying on the ground beside the ring, completely knocked out. Sheik puts Carlos in the camel clutch. The ref is still out but eventually comes to. Carlos manages to break the hold and the Sheik falls to the outside. Carlos goes after the Sheik and the clip cuts to both men exchanging punches outside of the ring as the ref tries to get them to go back inside. Both men  continue fighting and attack the ref when he tries to break it up (Sheik with a shove, Carlos with a headbutt). Carlos gets fired up and continues punching the Sheik, but a kick to the groin stops Carlos in his tracks. The Iron Sheik takes advantage of the low blow and puts Carlos back in the camel clutch outside of the ring. 

The ref comes to and calls for the bell, apparently it is a double disqualification. As Carlos struggles in the hold, the rudo locker room comes out to cheer Sheik on and to act as a barrier to anyone who might attempt to help Carlos. The tecnicos come out and start fighting with the rudos, as Sheik continues applying the camel clutch to Carlos.  As the fight continues, TNT breaks away from the group and goes around the ring, coming up behind the Iron Sheik with a chair. TNT cracks Sheik on the back with the chair, getting the camel clutch broken and saving Carlos.

MD: Wild stuff here. We only get three minutes of it. Colon accidentally takes out Vikingo with a slam, misses an Alabama Jam, and then just barely escapes the Camel Clutch (great bloody visual). He goes out with Sheik and headbutts him repeatedly and even headbutts Vikingo when he gets in the way. Sheik hits the foul and puts the Clutch back on while they’re out on the floor. Vikingo calls for the bell. The whole backstage area comes out to brawl (which I assume has to do with the heels uniting but it’s a great visual since they haven’t done anything like this since we started the project). 

EB: It looks like the rudos are banding together to try to take out El Ejercito de la Justicia. Colon obviously wanted payback against the Iron Sheik. What is next for these two? Let’s go to an airing of Campeones where we learn a bit more about how this rivalry escalated.

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

This match is from what is likely the April 14 Campeones episode. It’s an older match featuring the Iron Sheik vs Invader #2. We’re including it because the commentary is new, featuring Hugo and Chicky talking about the latest happenings in CSP. It also gives us a chance to see Invader #2 in action. This match originally happened in late 87 or early 88, when the Iron Sheik was being set up for his feud with Carlos Colon for the Universal title. At the time Chicky was the Iron Sheik’s manager. Besides the match, there are some important talking points we need to cover from the commentary.To start,Chicky mentions that he, El Profe and El Jeque have formed a coalition to take El Ejercito de la Justicia out. All three rudo managers are banding together and they will act as one unit going forward. As we’ll see in the coming weeks, this actually also serves as a way to phase out El Jeque, after this run with the Iron Sheik he will no longer be appearing as a manager for CSP. Chicky mentions that the Iron Sheik is an important centerpiece in this plan, as he’ll be facing Carlos Colon once more. Invader #2 controls the early part of the match, as he’s able to hiptoss Sheik. The Iron Sheik comes back with an eye rake and uses his spike toed boot to further gain the advantage. As Invader #2 cuts off Sheik with a dropkick, Hugo mentions that tomorrow they will be in Mayaguez (based on commentary from other matches, I believe TNT vs Iron Sheik was scheduled for that card). 

As the Sheik gains control again with another eye rake, we go to an insert promo featuring Carlos Colon. Carlos mentions that last week the Sheik hurt him (referencing the camel clutch incident we just saw), but tonight he will be out for revenge. They are scheduled to face off for the Universal title in a barbed wire match tonight at Estadio Hiram Bithorn. Calros promises he will deliver a heck of a beating to the Iron Sheik. Hugo and Chicky react to Colon’s words as the Iron Sheik begs off from an attack by Invader #2. As Invader #2 continues with a series of punches, Sheik resorts to another eye rake to cut off the attack. As the ref gets Invader #2 to back away from the corner, the Iron Sheik takes advantage to load up his boot. When Invader #2 charges in, Sheik comes off the ropes with a kick to the head and gets the three count. 

MD: This was a bit more of a spry Sheik from a few years earlier, up against Invader 2 in his Solar-masked glory. It was pretty back and forth with Sheik stooging backwards and bumping a bit more for him and then taking over with eyerakes primarily. This time when he loaded the boot, though, it was the end for Invader. I wonder how much of a boost him being in there, using that gimmick, and being with Chicky. had given Abbuda Dein as he was getting established. Unfortunately we don’t have the barbed wire match this sets up, which is quite the shame.

EB: We unfortunately don’t have any footage from the barbed wire match. Also, we have reached the end of the Iron Sheik’s short run in CSP. This means that there is an opening for a new challenger for the Universal title. Who will be next in line? We’ll find out in a moment as we go to a match that appears to be from the April 14 card.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlG1REUE9Lo 

Pierre Martel is back and this time his opponent is the monster known as Atkie Malumba. Hugo and Carlos are on commentary and it appears this match is from a late April airing of Campeones, since Carlos mentions that he is soon to meet Malumba that night one on one (it seems we have found who Carlos Colon’s next challenger will be). Martel gets an early advantage working Atkie’s arm but a thrust to the throat cuts off Pierre’s attack. From there it’s mainly Malumba, as he shows off the different ways he can choke Pierre. Carlos mentions that we shouldn’t forget that Pierre does use a loaded boot, but whether it’ll come into play here remains to be seen. Malumba continues with the throat and neck based offense, with Profe even getting a cheapshot in on Pierre at one point. The match goes to the outside and Atkie continues on the attack, throwing Pierre into some chairs near ringside. Pierre manages to get back in the ring and tosses some dirt he grabbed from the floor into Atkie’s face, causing him to stumble around outside in discomfort. El Profe checks on Malumba and tries to wipe his face clean. Hugo mentions that with an opponent like Malumba you pretty much have to figure out how to even the playing field. Pierre stomps Maluba as he gets near the ring but follows him outside and gets the better of a punch exchange with Atkie. Back in the ring, Malumba is staggered and Pierre sets up for his loaded boot, but Profe grabs onto Pierre’s leg and refuses to let go. Atkie takes advantage of this distraction and knocks down Pierre from behind. This sets up a splash, although Malumba decides to forgo the pin. Atkie goes up top and hits a flyin splash, again choosing to stop the cover at two. The ref tries to stop Malumba from coming off the top rope again and Atkie splashes the referee instead. Atkie hits another flying splash on Pierre, as another referee comes in and calls for the bell. Malumba leaves the ring, as El Profe tries to calm him down and it looks like Martel is hurt.

MD: You always kind of want to hold it against Malumba for who he isn’t, but he had solid presence; he was always on, always reacting, always trying to make the most of whatever was happening. That meant recoiling in confusion and frustration at every shot Martel got in early and just constantly being on him when he did take over. Martel came back here only to have Profe grab his leg and Malumba load his boot. Maybe you don’t need the monster to also have a loaded boot gimmick but then it does create that dissonance of unfairness that he has to resort to something like that when he’s so big and so dangerous. Post-match was kind of great actually, as he hit a flying body press on the ref (Vikingo) who was trying to get in his way, just squashing him, and then hit the top rope splash on Martel anyway. That’s how you get over a monster, give or take the loaded boot.

EB: It looks like Carlos was attacked in Mayaguez by Atkie Malumba and he is now the newest challenger for the Universal title. Carlos is going to have his hands full with this monster, who has made easy work of all of his opponents thus far. We’ll continue to follow this burgeoning rivalry as we head into May.

Next time on el Deporte de las Mil Emociones, as May approaches things heat up for some of the existing rivalries. Will there be any new title changes? Also, a new wrestler arrives in CSP as a blond cowboy comes calling as part of the new rudo coalition.
 

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El Deporte de las Mil Emociones: Title Changes, a Sheik and a Master

Week 23: Title Changes, a Sheik and a Master

EB: A lot has happened so far in CSP in the month of March. TNT started a feud with Abdullah the Butcher over the Universal title, leading to TNT’s title reign being cut short. A tournament for the vacant Caribbean tag titles was held, with the new Invaders emerging as the new champions. Los Mercenarios held off the challenge of two of the top tecnico teams in los Super Medicos and the Invaders, remaining the World tag team champions. Carlos Colon saw an opportunity to once again challenge for the Universal title now that Abdullah was the champion. Eddie Watts continued to face the challenge of both Huracan Castillo Jr. and Joe Savoldi for the World Junior title. Miguelito Perez had ongoing issues with both Carl Styles and Rick Valentine. And we saw the arrival of a new monster in the form of Atkie Malumba. We’ll see how some of these rivalries continue to evolve as April approaches. 

As we head towards the final big card of March (scheduled for March 31) which features Abullah the Butcher defending the Universal title against Carlos Colon, let’s look at some other matches that took place throughout the month. Then we'll focus specifically on some matches that occurred on the March 28 tv taping, which would have aired the morning of March 31. 

Leo Burke had not been successful in moving back into the top contender spot for the Universal title, but it looks like he and Chicky Starr have decided to take part in more tag matches. Let’s see them in action vs the Caribbean Express.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkZfsw9Acmw 

This looks to have aired on the April 7 weekend English language Caribbean Championship Wrestling that aired on Channel 13 somewhere in the U.S. Leo and Chicky seem to be focusing more in potential tag action after Burke’s unsuccessful attempt to gain the number one contendership for the Universal title. These two teams have faced each other before. As both teams spend several moments jawing at each other at the start (it looks like Burke and Chicky are taking their time deciding who will start the match for their side), Hugo runs down the credentials for all four men and reminds us that Burke is the reigning TV champion. It looks like Chicky will start for his team but immediately begins to stall again, demanding that Castillo stay on his side of the ring before they move to lock up. Chicky prances around a bit and the crowd starts getting on his case for it. Chicky repeats the prancing a couple of times, a tactic that Hugo mentions is likely gamesmanship to throw the Caribbean Express off. Chicky decides to tag Burke in (without having ever locked up with Castillo). Burke and Castillo lock up, with Castillo countering into a hammerlock. Burke forces a break in the ropes and tags Chicky back in. Chicky and Castillo exchange side headlocks on each other and this leads to a rope running reversal sequence (including a nice flip by Castillo over Chicky) that ends with Castillo taking Chicky down with an armdrag takedown. Castillo makes a quick tag to Perez, who continues working the armbar on Chicky. 

Burke sneaks into the ring, taking advantage that the ref has his back turned while talking to Castillo, and kicks Perez in the back of the head to break the hold. Chicky takes advantage and forces Perez into the Burke and Starr corner with a front facelock, with Burke being tagged in. Burke hits several blows on Perez before putting Miguelito in a side headlock. Perez eventually counters with a throw on the ropes, with a hiptoss being successful. Burke quickly regains control by cutting off Miguelito with a knee to the gut. Burke tags Chicky back in, who continues on the attack with some cheap blows that he hides from the referee. Chicky even moves in front of Castillo on the apron to hit one of his cheap blows, causing the ref to get tied up with an arguing Castillo and giving Chicky more chances to work over Miguelito. Perez hits a back suplex but misses a splash, as Hugo on commentary mentions that we’ll find out later in the program what happened last Saturday between Abdullah and Carlos in a Universal title match. 

Burke tags in and works a headlock on the mat as Miguelito avoids having his shoulders down for a three count.  Perez eventually counters by shooting Burke into the ropes, ending with a scoop slam. Perez follows up by whipping Burke into the corner but Leo sidesteps a charge by Perez. Chicky gets tagged in and continues on offense, but the moment Perez gets a comeback Chicky tags Burke back in. They try to double team Miguelito but it ends with Perez hitting a double clothesline on the rudos. The tag is finally made to Castillo, who cleans house on Burke with several blows.  Castillo gets a sleeperhold on Leo, but Chicky runs in and breaks it up. Castillo tags Perez back in and eventually all four men end up fighting in the ring. The rudos are whipped into each other and Castillo dropkicks Chicky to the ring apron. Castillo continues punching Chicky on the apron as Perez monkey flips Leo off the turnbuckle. The ref comes over to escort Castillo back to his corner as Perez throws Burke into the rudo corner for another monkey flip attempt. Chicky sees the attempt coming and grabs onto Leo from behind, causing Perez to crash backwards on the mat instead. Burke covers and gets the win for his team. If Burke and Chicky continue to pile up wins they may have a title shot in their future. And they do in fact get a Caribbean tag title shot at the March 28 tv taping.

MD: Chicky has a goatee here so in my head this match is what earned them the title shot against the Invaders (Chicky also has a goatee in that match). After a bit of chicanery where Chicky didn’t want to start off and a nice exchange with Castillo, this went to heat on Perez quickly. He was able to get three or four hope spots (cut off) before hitting a double clothesline to set up the hot tag. Things broke down after that but Chicky jammed a Perez monkey flip by holding Burke’s boot in the corner to score a flash win. It’s interesting how quickly the territory shifted to a much larger focus on tag teams.

EB: Another team that has been on the hunt for championship gold is the Super Medicos. Since debuting as a team, they have had a rivalry with the World tag team champions Los Mercenarios. So far they have not yet been able to win the titles, but a tag match held in mid March allows them to get some measure of payback against the Mercenarios manager El Profe.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPdo8Ut_qBQ 

We join the match in progress, as El Profe is hiding in the corner from one of the Medicos (it appears to be Medico #3). Profe has El Gran Mendoza as his tag partner for this match. Medico #3 goes after Profe in the corner but it was a ruse to allow Mendoza to rush in from behind and allow the rudo team the chance to double team Medico #3. Mendoza remains in the ring and works over Medico #3 with an abdominal stretch. Profe comes in to try a double team but Medico #1 rushes in to fight Profe off and sends him scurrying back to the rudo corner. Mendoza and Profe tie up Medico #3 in the ropes and try to take off his mask, but Medico #1 rushes in again to make the save. Profe and Mendoza are working fairly well and it seems that their strategy is to focus on unmasking Medico #3. Hugo mentions on commentary that going after the mask may result in a  disqualification for the rudo team but it is apparent that they don’t care about that. El Profe continues trying to get Medico #3’s mask off, with Medico #1 charging in to make several saves. The match continues with the rudos working over Medico #3, including a double hotshot on the top rope and several double stomps from El Profe. All the while, El Profe keeps taunting Medico #1 on the apron. At one point Medico #3 is able to make it to his team's corner but is not able to make the tag because Medico #1 had gone after El Profe after the constant taunting. Medico #3 finally makes the tag after knocking heads with Mendoza and Medico #1 comes in hot with several punches on both rudos. All four men end up in the ring and this leads to a finish where Medico #1 counters a Mendoza pin attempt into a cradle for a pin (as Medico #3 and Profe are just teeing off on each other with punches). It’s a victory for the Super Medicos and they will get one more shot at the World tag team titles on March 31st. 

MD: We come in here with Profe and Mendoza working over Medico 3. It was actually pretty compelling stuff as they kept him in the corner and worked at the mask, which is something we haven’t seen much of since we started the progress. Medico 1 gets angrier and angrier on the outside and Medico 3 is able to create distance once or twice but never make it to the corner before getting cut off. There’s a pretty elaborate sequence leading to heads crashing and the hot tag. Medico comes in destroying everyone but gets a quick reversal pin on Mendoza for the win.

EB: As the weekend of March 31 arrived, viewers were treated to some new developments that happened at the most recent TV tapings. Let’s go to a Caribbean tag title match where the Invaders are defending against the team of Leo Burke and Chicky Starr. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ommAruj8Z00

Chicky and Burke are in the ring waiting for the Invaders to enter, Chicky has his crown with him and Burke has the TV title belt. The Invaders make their entrance with their jumpsuits and coordinated jumps into the ring. There is no love lost between long time enemies Chicky and Invader #1 so this should be an interesting match. Eliud Gonzalez makes the ring introductions and we get a pre match hug from Chicky and Burke. Invader #4 and Chicky start off and this is a bit of a lengthy match. Invader #4 shows off his ability early on, taking down Chicky with several acrobatic armdrag takedowns. Invader #1 tags in and the Invaders do their arm wringer quick tag maneuver on Chicky. The Invaders continue controlling the first part of the match with quick tags and switches, keeping Chicky grounded and in the ring. Chicky makes a brief comeback but is sent to the outside as we go to a commercial break. When we come back, Burke comes in for his team and Invader #1 is also tagged in. Burke and Invader #1 are evenly matched for a moment but that ends when Invader #4 is tagged in and hits a mockery flip on Burke. The rudos try to do the same but instead Chicky ends up monkey flipping Burke by mistake. The Invaders hit running topes on Burke and Chicky and continue attacking them outside on the floor.

Chicky tries to move towards the entrance of the rudo locker room as Invader #1 gives chase, and when they get close, it appears that someone tries to help Chicky. It’s the Iron Sheik! Invader #1 punches Sheik away and the Invaders drag the rudos back to the ring. As all four men are in the ring, the Iron Sheik makes his way to ringside with his flag. It appears he is here to lend moral support to Leo and Chicky. But the odds quickly even when TNT comes out and stands in the Invaders corner. Burke tries to send Invader #1 into the corner but Invader #4 saves his brother. Chicky attempts to make a similar save for Burke but is left hanging dry. Burke and Chicky are able to gain control on Invader #4, attempting several pin attempts that are broken up by Invader #1 (and I do mean several pin attempts). After several minutes, Invader #4 is able to make the tag and Invader #1 fires off on both Burke and Chicky. Eventually all four men end up in the ring, with Invader #1 and Burke paired off on one side of the ring. While the ref is distracted in dealing with Invader #4 and Chicky on the other side of the ring, Invader #1 manages to get a cradle pin attempt on Burke. But they're too close to the ropes and the Iron Sheik hits Invader #1 with the flagpole. Burke makes the cover and we get new Carribean tag champions (thanks to an assist from the Iron Sheik).Chicky and Burke are presented with the tag belts and celebrate as the video ends.

MD: This one had all the bells and whistles. Very long shine for the Invaders. This is maybe the first match where the New Invaders really clicked for me. Invader 1 is the technical striker. Invader 4 is the finesse flyer, wrestling like his career depended on this working. He had some really slick stuff, flipping around armdrags and a bit where Invader 1 held both rudos (one at a time) on the floor for a tope. There was some fun brawling on the outside, a nice comedy bit where Chicky tried to use his body to save Burke in the corner and paid for it, and illegal switches too. The rudos took over on Invader 4 and while you’d inherently want it to be Invader 1 doing the selling, 4 being smaller and more spry made this work nonetheless. Chicky looked like a beast here with a killer German Suplex and a pile driver. Eventually they crashed heads though and Invader 1 got to punch a lot of people, as they built towards the crazy finish. In this case, the bells and whistles were TNT and Iron Sheik and Sheik was able to sneak in a flag shot to help Chicky and Burke win the titles. Very good title match.

EB: As we saw in the previous match, the Iron Sheik has made his return to Puerto Rico. The Sheik’s most notable run was an early 1988 feud he had with Carlos Colon over the Universal title. He has made other sporadic appearances since then and it seems that El Jeque has brought the Iron Sheik back to CSP as his latest recruit. Let’s watch the Sheik in action against Miguelito Perez.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nc4_3iThcA

El Jeque asks for the crowd to be quiet so Sheik can sing the national anthem ‘of Iraq’ (that’s a screwup). Sheik sings the anthem and heads to the ring. Eliud Gonzalez on commentary makes note that it's the Iran national anthem. The crowd does not like the Sheik and is behind Miguelito. The match starts off fairly even between both men. But Perez is eventually able to hit a sunset flip for a two count. Iron Sheik bails to the outside and argues with the crowd. Sheik gets back in and goes on offense, although he gets cocky by lifting Perez up on a couple of pin attempts. Perez makes a comeback with several punches, but when the referee gets Miguelito to back off, Sheik takes the opportunity to load up his boot. Sheik takes advantage of an opening to kick Miguelito right in the face with the loaded boot, busting Perez open. Sheik continues attacking Perez with a foreign object and continues to target the cut. Sheik continues to lift Perez up and refusing to pin him, so the referee calls for the bell. Invader #1 runs in to fight and chase the Iron Sheik away and, between this and Sheik's interference in the earlier tag title match, a match between Invader #1 and the Iron Sheik is set to take place on the March 31st card. 

MD: This was astounding. 1990 Sheik was made for Puerto Rico. He was a stalling, stooging machine early on, staggering back, taking his one real bump of the match, hitting the floor and hitting his one big suplex, a deep belly to back. He tried to load the boot once or twice before finally luring Perez in with a kick to take over. Then he pulled out a hidden object and went to work. Perez bled and Sheik gnawed on the wound and kept pulling him up until the ref eventually called it off and Invader ran in to get revenge. I am ready for this Sheik run.  

EB: We’ve been following the arrival of Atkie Malumba, El Profe’s newest acquisition. Let’s watch him in action against Herbert Gonzalez

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIU2Xd08UnQ 

This match is short and Herbert really doesn’t have much of a chance against the impressive force known as Atkie Malumba. A flying splash mercifully ends Herbert’s night and Malumba gets another dominant win. This one is going to be trouble for the members of El Ejercito de la Justicia.

MD: Malumba had a pretty good idea how to work a two minute squash, taking him right to the outside and never giving him a chance. Best part of this was the glaring light in the background that made it seem like Malumba was flying right out of the sun itself as he crashed down with the top rope splash.

EB: Our last highlight from the March 31st tv is a video showcasing some of the history between Carlos Colon and Abdullah the Butcher, mainly highlights from when they started feuding again in 1985 and the subsequent ammonia attack that blinded Carlos in 1986. They will be facing off for the Universal title tonight and it’s a reminder that eventually, both men will end up colliding time and time again.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErqKGRWdFN4 

MD: It’s always surreal to see that Flair/Dory vs Carlos/Abdullah match. Of all of the Memphis-y stuff in PR, it might be the most so. Colon accidentally hits Abby and it all falls apart. They really did a great job getting the idea across that Colon will always have to face Abdullah until the day that they die and just how terrible and horrific that fate is.

EB: So for the March 31st card, we actually have video for a couple of matches. The card lineup is as follows: Abdulalh the Butcher defends the Universal title against Carlos Colon, Invader #1 takes on the Iron Sheik, Los Mercenarios defend the World tag team titles against the Super Medicos, Leo Burke takes on Pierre Martel, Eddie Watts faces Invader #4, Rick Valentine takes on Miguelito Perez, and Huracaa Castillo is set to take on El Gran Mendoza. These last two matches are the ones we have video off.

Let’s go first to the match between Huracan Castillo and El Gran Mendoza, two men who have been longtime rivals in the junior heavyweight division.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRIklSDgM5A

I’ve mentioned before that Castillo and Mendoza had a rivalry over the World Junior title back in 1987 and here in March of 1990 they’re facing off again. The match is joined in progress with Mendoza trying for an unsuccessful cover of Castillo. Mendoza continues on the attack with a fireman’s carry that leads to Castillo being dropped on the top turnbuckle, followed by a slam and double stomp by Mendoza. After Mendoza briefly argues with the crowd, he puts a sleeper on Castillo. This is countered with a back suplex and both men are down on the mat. Mendoza is up first but misses an elbow and Castillo counters with a running elbow drop of his own. Castillo is a bit slow in following up and is caught with a kick to the head by Mendoza, which leads to a pin attempt. Mendoza hits a neckbreaker and again only gets a two count. Mendoza maintains control for the next few minutes despite Castillo’s attempts at making a comeback (such as a sleeper attempt that is quickly broken up by Mendoza). Huracan turns the tide by just slugging Mendoza across the face and following up with several blows including a high knee. Castillo goes into a punching stance and tees off on a staggered Mendoza, who tries to beg off. Castillo continues on the attack with a kneedrop and backdrop, but a splash is blocked by Mendoza’s knees.  Mendoza attempts a flying body press from the top but Castillo catches him and rolls over for a two count. Castillo leapfrogs over Mendoza and rolls him up in an inside cradle for the pin. Another win for Huracan Castillo Jr and he stays in the hunt for the World Junior title. 

MD: This got some time and we even came in JIP. This might be the best I’ve seen Mendoza look. He had some really good stuff with a fireman’s carry heft onto the top turnbuckle, a double stomp, a nice neckbreaker, some good strikes. Castillo kept firing back but then missed a big move including a nasty bump in the corner. Eventually he did get control and fired off a lot of shots, punches and slaps, playing on a striking lineage. Even then, he had to win this with a small package which seemed a bit much against Mendoza.

EB: We also have video of Miguelito Perez taking on Rick Valentine. We’ve previously seen Carl Styles and Rick Valentine form an alliance due to the Caribbean tag title tournament, but unfortunately Carl Styles was injured during a match in late March and will be out of action for the foreseeable future. So it looks like Valentine will be focusing more on singles action now.

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

As Hugo mentions on commentary, Perez and Valentine have already wrestled each other before and Miguelito is looking to even up the score. Miguelito immediately goes right after Valentine, not giving him a chance to get his ring jacket off. Perez fires off several punches, corner rams and a dropkick to waylay Valentine at the start. The referee manages to hold back Miguelito long enough so that Valentine can finally get his ring jacket off. Hugo notes that Valentine is the master of the bionic elbow as Perez picks the attack back up. Rick eventually rolls out of the ring to stop the assault and regroup with Chicky at ringside.  Valentine demands that the ref keep Perez at bay but once again Perez charges and begins to attack Valentine. A corner charge by Perez is dodged by Valentine, finally giving Rick the first opening of the match. Valentine takes too long climbing the turnbuckle though, and Perez throws him off and starts back on offense with a clothesline and armdrag takedown. Perez remains in control for the next few minutes, mainly working the arm. The match continued with Perez mainly in control and, although Valentine would get brief moments where it looked like he would turn the tide (such as throwing Perez through the ropes to the outside), Miguelito would usually cut Valentine off quickly and go back on the attack. One gambit that works for Valentine is faking a knee injury after a leapfrog. This gives him enough time to leave Perez open to hit him with an elbow and then toss him outside, where Chicky would throw Perez into the ringpost. The ref starts making the count on Perez but he is able to get to the apron. Valentine grabs Perez and hits a few blows, then hits a back suplex in the ring for a two count. Valentine continues to attack Miguelito’s head and neck area, getting another two count off a swinging neckbreaker. Valentine tosses Perez back outside and we hear Hugo mention that Valentine is having a feud with TNT at the moment this match aired. Perez manages to block Valentine on the apron and regains control with several punches. Perez tries a pin off a clothesline and from there both men go back and forth making different pin attempts. The match ends when Perez tries to take down Valentine with a rollover, but Valentine holds onto the ropes and Perez instead falls backwards, smacking his head on the mat. Valentine follows up with his bionic elbow drop and gets the win.

MD: Kerry Brown was a perfectly good wrestler, a Stampede mainstay, a credible third foreigner in a late 80s NJPW trios match (you know, because you need someone to take the fall). I’m not sure I’m feeling him as a viable TNT opponent. Still, as a stooging jerk who looked more like a fake Buddy Rose than a fake Valentine family member (great elbow drop or no), he fit in well here in Puerto Rico. That meant bumping and flailing about as Perez kept the advantage early, having a few moments where he schemed to get over only to have it swept away from him due to Perez’s skill, and then finally taking over and keeping the advantage with Chicky’s help. Chicky definitely made people more than what they might have been otherwise. This turned out to be a good match and despite the chicanery mid-match, Valentine basically won clean, but he sure gave Perez a lot along the way. Maybe if he had Jason the Terrible as a heater I’d buy him more as a threat to the champion. 

EB: As for the other matches from March 31st, the big news is that there were two title changes that night. The Super Medicos finally won the World tag team titles and Carlos Colon regained the Universal title once more. We’ll discuss what awaits the new champions next time. One team that was looking to also regain some title gold was the Invaders, who were not happy with how Chicky and Burke won the Caribbean tag titles. Burke and Chicky granted the Invaders a rematch, but…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YR7ppEL00uA 

Burke and Chicky have granted the Invaders a rematch, but it is a non-title match, something that Hugo and Carlos are not happy about on commentary (but not surprised considering it is Chicky Starr). The crowd is loud and also not happy that it's a non-title match. Chicky is wary to lock up with Invader #4, as Invader #1 keeps jumping into the ring to psych Chicky out. Carlos and Hugo continue talking about how it’s expected for champions to defend their titles and not take the coward’s way out. Burke and Chicky continue stalling but eventually Invader #4 and Chicky locked up. The exchange goes in favor of Invader #4, who hits a series of twisting armdrags on Chicky and finishes with a head scissors on the outside. Carlos mentions how Maelo has been impressive with his maneuvers so far as part of the new Invaders tag team. Burke and Invader #1 are tagged in and again it goes the Invaders way, with attempted double teams by the rudos backfiring. Burke falls victim to a series of arm wringers and quick tags from the Invaders. Chciky tries to interfere and the Invaders take the opportunity to switch out twice. We go to commercial and come back to Chicky being armdragged and then going to the outside of the ring. This leads to the Invaders hitting a series of topes on both rudos when Burke tries to help Chicky. The Invaders celebrate in the ring as Burke and Chicky are beat up on the outside. Chicky is bleeding from the forehead. The crowd starts getting on Chicky’s case as Burke gets back in the ring. Burke gets a sleeper on Invader #1 but they are too close to the tecnico corner and Invader #4 is tagged in. Burke is still with the sleeper and doesn't see Invader #4 come in, and is surprised when invader #1 gets out of the way and Invader #4 hits a monkey flip on Leo. Burke manages to grab Invader #4 and calls Chicky in to help double team but Invader #4 gets loose and instead Chicky monkey flips Burke instead. Nothing has gone right for the rudos so far.

The rudos escape to the outside but are taken out by a flying cross body press. Finally the rudos get a segment of control when Burke gets back in the ring and is able to take down Invader #4.  Burke and Chicky are able to maintain control on Invader #4 but are not able to put him away.   At one point Chicky puts on an abdominal stretch on Invader #4 and Burke helps by adding leverage from the outside, but Invader #1 does not take the bait and stays in his corner. Eventually, Invader #1 chooses his spot and comes in to break up the hold. Burke hits a neckbreaker and puts on the figure four, a move that we know will end this sooner than later if Invader #4 does not get out of it. Invader #1 wastes no time in breaking the hold and also breaks up a follow-up spinning toe hold by Chicky. Invader #4 eventually is able to make the tag to his brother and Invader #1 comes in cleaning house on both rudos. Invader #1 hits atomic drops on both rudos and Invader #4 joins the others in the ring. Eventually, it is Burke and Invader #1 who are left duking it out in the ring. As Chicky tries to interfere, Invader #4 sees him coming and comes off the top with a body press, which the ref counts for the win. I’m not sure who was the legal man for each team but it’s a win for the Invaders. Perhaps now they’ll get their title rematch. Or will Chicky and Leo still try to find a way to weasel out of it? We ‘ll continue following this rivalry as we move into April.

MD: Chicky and Leo were obviously too cowardly to put the titles up here. It started with the usual hesitation from Chicky. He matched up very well with Invader 4 though. For all the credit we give Chicky, I think personally, I didn’t realize how great a base he was. He was there for everything Invader 4 did, the tricked out arm drags and the headscissors takeover using the apron. The topes from the Invaders with the other Invader holding each rudo looked wild here. They had the fans buzzing. They did a really fun tit-for-tat spot where an Invader held a rudo in the corner for a monkey flip and when the rudos tried it, they ended up monkey flipping one another. Then, as the icing on the cake, the Invaders hit another huge dive from the top to the floor Just high octane stuff here. The shine was two thirds of the match but the roles were now reversed, with Chicky and Burke the vulnerable heel champs. Plus a little went a long way as Chicky and Burke were very effective in dismantling Invader 4 in just a few minutes. Invader 1 came in hot after the tag and things had that usual chaotic flavor until Invader 4 was able to fly in with a body press for the non-title win. Another really good tag in a string of them.

EB: To finish off this installment, let’s go to a match featuring TNT taking on one of the more surprising wrestlers to make an appearance in CSP so far. We had no idea before coming across the footage that this wrestler actually made an appearance in the first half of April.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEipWA6pDHU 

It's TNT taking on Mister Saito! Or as Eliud Gonzalez calls him on commentary, Master Saito. Yes, it seems Saito made a brief stop in CSP at some point in the first half of April. It’s a short match, but a surprise to see this take place in 1990 Puerto Rico. Eliud on commentary mentions that the crowd is excited to see a wrestler of Saito’s caliber appear in a CSP ring against TNT. The match itself saw Saito control most of the match, with TNT making a comeback and both men getting counted out as they kept fighting at ringside. It does make me curious about what matches Saito had during his brief stop. 

MD: This felt like a WCW Worldwide special with just a bit more heat and gravitas. They accomplish a ton in 4 minutes. Saito was an old pro of the territories and he fit in immediately here. He knew when to feed, how to work from underneath as a heel having his arm wrenched, when to get a cheapshot in, how much to take on a control. TNT came back and things spilled out to the floor, getting pretty violent as the two of them got counted out. It was a nice visit at least. Shame it wasn’t longer.

EB: Next time on El Deporte de las Mil Emociones, we delve further into April 1990 as we find out what’s next for Carlos Colon after regaining the Universal title, the Invaders continue to chase Burke and Chicky, some more potential title changes may be on the horizon, and yet another candidate for most surprising wrestler to pop in for a shot in Puerto Rico 1990.

Read more!

New Footage Friday: Funks, Invaders, Bestia, Dandy, Eddie, JBL

Terry/Dory Funk Jr. vs. Invaders WWC 12/9/86

MD: This is a find. Our Man in Puerto Rico tells me that that it was from a Clasicos segment that aired round 04-05 with a date of 12/9/86. The match itself is simple and straightforward, much more of a Southern Tag than a wild brawl like you'd expect from a Terry Funk Puerto Rico match. I love how much mileage they get just out of the headlock in the first third, with lots of babyface masked confusion switches and the heels getting flustered and Terry, especially stooging all over the place.

The heat has some more object-assisted choking (a theme this week), this time with Terry's wrist tape and the Funks getting some revenge for all the clowning of the first third. Invader 1 remains one of the greatest sellers of all time. The comeback was earned with him hitting a shot off the ropes like only he can but then having to dodge an elbow smash by Terry (who clocks Dory). The finish was brief but hot and I'm only disappointed we couldn't see the action on the outside with Invader 1 chasing after Terry.

ER: This was amusing, but kind of reverse of what you want. On paper you hope for white Invader masks turned red (why else would you be wearing a white mask!?) and we don't get a plasma match, we get more of a headlock match with some occasional fun Terry shtick. Terry has super short curly hair and his cop 'stache, but the bulk of this is Dory headlocks and Invader headlocks, and the tough part of Terry being such a fun hot tag is Dory is not usually an interesting guy to build to a Terry hot tag. You'd rather have Terry stumbling and swinging wildly to build to a some Dory hot tag forearms, but you get Dory headlocking his way into Terry throwing some punches and taking a couple loopy bumps. Terry is always going to be an amusing apron guy, there's always gold in them thar hills, but seeing him throw a nice punch from the apron isn't quite what I wanted here. A polite professional match, and professionally polite is never what you want or expect from 80s Puerto Rico OR Terry.

PAS: Terry Funk is such a master performer that any chance to fill in the holes in the tapestry is going to be well worth it. This is a minor performance, but a fun one. We did get a lot of Dory, and while we got a fun uppercut battle, Dory is going to be a bit dry. Invaders work a bunch of switches and double teams around a headlock early in the match, isolating Dory, and I am just disappointed I didn't get to see Terry react to getting hoodwinked like that. It got a little buzzy at the finish but more of a time capsule then a great match.

El Dandy vs. Bestia Salvaje CMLL 9/30/92

ER: This is another gem provided to us by premier wrestling YouTube champion Roy Lucier, a guy who makes this feature feel like we need to be doing it more than once a week just to catch up. It never quite struck me until we saw Dominic Garrini live 3 times in one day, but blurry YouTube video early 90s Bestia Salvaje is a spitting image of Dominic Garrini. I bet Garrini could grow his hair out a bit into Bestia's cool curly mullet shag. And if that Funks tag wasn't what we wanted, this match is exactly what we wanted (though we were kind of expecting some blood). I think it was a title match, but it was worked more like a stips brawl, but it didn't have the blood of a stips brawl. It was a fusion that worked and built to a scorching tercera. Bestia lived up to his gimmick name throughout, and I dug his hard kicks in the primera (ending with a two kick combo to Dandy's inner thighs), and viciousness in the segunda that backfires and ends with Dandy violently locking him into a brutal figure four stumpuller pin. You could feel a big tercera was on its way and yes that happened. Dandy takes a super fast and crazy bump into the third row, Salvaje hits a nice dive that sends Dandy back into seats, Bestia even comes running at Dandy with a ripped of row of hardass metal chairs and  - while we're used to Park taking something stupid like that - Dandy gets the hell out of Dodge once he sees 17 edges of sharp metal flying towards him, and that was a great visual. These two are pros and their exchanges were the kind of airtight gracefully violent lucha that plays so well to us.

MD: This is billed a title match, and I'm pretty sure it is, but it's definitely an odd one, especially for 92. By the time we come in, I assume they've already done the initial matwork, because we're deep into Bestia Salvaje drawing heat, beating Dandy on the ropes, choking him, biting him. I don't think this is a heel ref scenario but he's certainly hapless early on, preventing Dandy from using rudo tactics (like, you know, punching) in his first attempt at a comeback and missing about sixteen fouls from Bestia. I really liked the end of the primera, which had Bestia go out to jaw at a fan who threw something at him, allowing Dandy to come back with some great punches on the outside, only to get fouled back in the ring as the ref was still focused on the fan.

The segunda had a chain, choking and Dandy's biggest comeback of the match, whereas he got it and turned the tables on Bestia. The tercera had some more heat, another comeback by Dandy, including some great use of the side of the ring, just a hint of crazy brawling on the floor, and your dives and a finish out of nowhere.

Bestia drew a ton of heat with his cheating in a title match (I'm pretty sure that was what was going on here) and Dandy was sympathetic as ever, but the comebacks were a bit too sputtering and not quite triumphant enough to make this work as well as it should have. It was fine to use the ref actively and inactively to delay and defer it in the primera, but I think the comeback in the segunda should have been a bit more definitive. If you're going to lean into heat on a title match, make sure the payoff works out too. Still a good find though.

PAS: The graphic of this match said Super Libre, and I think it was that not a title match. Matt mentioned missing the matwork, but I think we got the match bell to bell and they didn't have any matwork, just started throwing. Dandy was such a multi tool player, he could brawl like an all time brawler, work the mat like a maestro and mix in suplexes and puro influenced stuff like the upcoming generation of guys who started watching tapes. Here we get the big time brawling, standing nose to nose against a hellacious asskicker like Bestia, the throws with a couple of big time spinebusters and a bit of technical wizardry with his pin combo. I liked the chain stuff, which is a old school wrestling trope you don't see much of in lucha, and the third fall was appropriately manic. If that chair hurl landed this would have amped up to an all timer level, it was a bit below that but a great unearthing by our boy Roy.

JBL vs. Eddie Guerrero WWF 6/3/04

ER: This was from a WWF Italy tour when Italy was the hottest wrestling market in the world, and my god does it deliver as any Eddie/JBL match we've seen thus far. It gets a lot of time, going past 25 minutes and building steadily. The headlock exchange at the beginning could have been rough, coming right after a good long look at Dory's headlocks, but instead Eddie and JBL show how damn awesome a long headlock sequence can be. Eddie especially throws a few perfect uppercut punches in a headlock, one of those things that is worth the price of admission alone. The important thing is we always built to something big out of the headlocks, as each guy's big moves were nicely executed and hit hard. JBL threw some of his best elbows (sometimes he could straighten his arm out a bit much to take away the "point of elbow" visual, here he threw heavy landing/tightly tucked elbowdrops, really among his best ever) and his lariat was really throat crushing. Eddie's stuff looked so good, I really miss seeing this guy, he was my favorite wrestler in the world when he passed and performances like this are part of it. Seeing him get caught on a crossbody but shifting it into a DDT, done with their movements, reads like such a big and special spot (as it should). The finish is even the kind of house show finish you would dream of if you were taking your kid to a show, as we get some big heel bumps (heel Kurt Angle was at ringside the whole time in a wheelchair and cast, Luther Reigns was pushing him), especially liked Luther Reigns taking a big backwards bump off the apron. But then all the biggest babyfaces at the time run out to hit big moves, so you have triumphant, Cena and Mysterio spots and a big RVD frog splash, the kind of extended moment that sent every kid and adult home incredibly happy. This was an awesome feud at the time and I don't think they ever had a poor match, now we see what they do off camera in Europe and it's clear we need to see every singles and tag from this era with these two on opposite sides.

MD: The 00s wrestling boom in Italy is one of my favorite things I know absolutely nothing about. Actually, I know Rikishi was big in Italy. That's the one thing I know. This was a WWE tour. I missed a lot of the Eddy vs JBL feud in real time (though I've gone back and seen the big matches) since I was abroad for the first half of the year. I love that this show had not just Chavo Jr. and Sr. vs Nunzio and Spike but that the Chavos won the match. Typical WWE killjoy booking. I wish we had that match too.

Anyway, this was a really good house show match (which last week established that we tend to enjoy) sandwiched by enjoyable WWE house show BS with Angle and Luther Reigns and a bunch of babyfaces. Eddy's lie, cheat, steal shtick meant that he could fill a shine with a ton of ritualistic entertaining nonsense. JBL made a great straight man for it too. Here it was all based out of a headlock with JBL trying to pull the hair to get out and Eddy osscilating between palm strikes and punches depending on the ref's position.

They laid the rest of this out smartly, with a lot of paralleled sequences and repetition of spots (for instance, a lot of the heat was JBL choking Eddy with his wrist tape. Eddy hit a belly to back to get free and started choking JBL who then hit a belly to back of his own ending that sequence and letting them move on to the next chapter; likewise, they smartly used multiple fall-away slams or attempts as a transition or to tease one, with the third attempt being turned into a DDT that helped to set up the finish). This had about three levels of feel-good finish and almost certainly made up for poor Nunzio losing earlier.

PAS: God do I love Eddie Guerrero. he is a guy who had a relatively short career for an all time great (15 years basically 1990-2005, consider how long Santo or Casas wrestled at a high level) so every new Eddie match is a mitzvah. He is especially great to watch in the house show format. He is such an electric performer and can really take the house show shortcuts and tropes and make them shine. Great JBL performance too, as he was great at flipping that switch between a stooge and a killer. He is a foil for Eddies stuff, but when he turns it on, he just crushed him with elbow drops, hurled him with throws and severed his head with a lariat. Loved the finish with every babyface in the back taking out every heel in the back, although RVD ending a show with a big frogsplash is pretty insulting on a show headlined by Eddie Guerrero.

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