Found Footage Friday: BASH 85~!

Great American Bash JCP 7/6/85

Buddy Landel vs. Ron Bass

MD: A twenty minute draw, only a bit cut (we lose some of Buddy's control). I always was partial to this feud so it's nice to get a bit more of it. It filled out the midcard well, just having Bass trying to get revenge on JJ basically for picking a city slicker instead of a country guy. 

This was going long and it had a lot of Buddy getting early stalling and comeuppance. Buddy's body language is almost generational, the way that he scoots through the ropes after taking a shot or gets fired into the corner. He tries to outwrestle Bass and fails, tries to outsneak him and fails, tries to outfight him and definitely fails. When he does take over, it's about grinding Bass down and letting JJ get shots in when he can. The comeback on the floor is fiery and the crowd loves it but it's a prelude to the bell ringing for the draw. Post match, Bass gets his hands on JJ and Buddy tries to intervene only for the two to end up crashing into one another. Satisfying stuff even despite the draw.

Ole Anderson/Arn Anderson vs. Buzz Sawyer/Dick Slater

MD: This was a blast. I love the Sawyer/Slater team, even as babyfaces. Huge energy. They came in hot firing away at the Andersons, with Buzz and his fuzzy boots swinging a title belt around over his head. It was stooging fiery chaos for the first half, with Slater's windmill punches and Buzz running about biting arms and interjecting at every point. He had one charge into the corner where he shot back at high speed with a forearm that was just nuts. 

Eventually the chaos was too much and the ref got distracted so that the Andersons could take over on Slater. Super hot crowd for this as Buzz stomped back and forth on the apron. Some great hope spots and last second cutoffs where an Anderson would lock up the legs. The hot tag was sufficiently hot but things ended pretty abruptly with an elbow drop cheapshot behind the ref's back. Could have used another rotation on the finish but this lived up to my expectations.

Manny Fernandez/Buzz Tyler/Sam Houston vs. Abdullah the Butcher/Superstar Billy Graham/Konga the Barbarian

MD: I haven't talked about what we had and didn't have here but we came in during the heat on the old footage of this one. That's all beatdown on Houston who survives and survives until he's able to get close enough to draw his own guys in and win in the ensuing chaos with a roll up.

All of that is in here and it's pretty good pro wrestling, but we get the front here as well. That was Graham and Konga stooging (as once Abby got in, it would be time for the heels to take over). And it was very good. This is some of the best I've seen 80s Graham look. He was flying around way more than usual and leaning hard into the goofing. Konga did his share as well honestly. And all of that was fine because it set the stage for Houston getting destroyed. The fans absolutely loved the finish. It really seemed at this point that they could make Houston into a big deal in the years to come.

Paul Jones vs. Jimmy Valiant (Dog Collar)

MD: Previously we just had the opening feint and the finish here. The feint was great, as Jones hemmed and hawed and refused to put the dog collar on before trying to slip it on Abby instead. That didn't work but it drew attention so Abby could stab Valiant in the forehead. Previously we had commentary over that but here we got to clearly hear a scream from the crowd and that's the sort of thing that makes all of this better. 

Jones controlled, smacking a bloody valiant with the chain wrapped around his hand. He made sure to bask in it and taunt the crowd. Said crowd went up huge for Valiant's comeback as he manipulated Jones with the length of the chain. He got the sleeper on. Abby tried to interfere. Valiant was too smart for it and he got the win before Abby unloaded on him. Pretty enjoyable piece of business overall.

Russians vs. Road Warriors

MD: This couldn't have been more heel-in-peril. Not only was it Krusher and Ivan, Nikita wasn't even there because he was prepping for the main event. Even though the Roadies were the AWA champions, only the JCP titles were on the line (which given the finish made no sense anyway).

And the Warriors took the brunt of this. Maybe Ivan would get an eye rake or Krusher would get a few body shots in, but then they'd miss an elbow drop and would get swept right back under again. Animal press slammed Krusher into the top rope, then pressed Ivan off the top. Hawk got in on the action. In no case did they really get them up but the struggle made it work nonetheless. It was a bit of diminishing returns though.

They had a sort of convoluted bit to let the Russians take over and they kept control with frantic, almost desperate quick tags. Even then, when the hot tag came, it was while the Roadies were taking shots. They just didn't matter. Things devolved quickly after that as both sides used chairs. It get having the Russians finally look vulnerable but a straight up Clash of the Titans might have been more palatable. 

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El Deporte de las Mil Emociones: Aniversario 89 (For Real This Time)

Week 11: Aniversario 1989 (For Real This Time)

EB: After a three week postponement due to Hurricane Hugo, it is finally time for Aniversario 1989. It is taking place on October 7th in Bayamon and broadcasted for the first time locally on PPV. We also have a second night of Aniversario on October 8th in Mayaguez, where we have the same match lineup albeit with slightly less stakes or stipulations. However, before talking about this weekend’s happenings, we should note that there have been some changes to the card (which are likely due to scheduling conflicts stemming from the three week postponement). We’ll discuss them as we go along but there are two things I’ll mention right now that have to do with the Universal title match. First, Gorilla Monsoon will not be appearing as the special referee for the Universal title match. Second, the match is now a barbed wire match.

Now we do have a bit of a footage issue with Aniversario 89. Despite the fact that the show was broadcast on PPV, it was never released on home video. The matches we have from Bayamon were uploaded years ago back when videos were limited to a 10 minute cutoff. So only a few matches from the PPV broadcast have surfaced, even though I hope that a copy of the full broadcast is floating around out there somewhere. We also have some matches that were broadcast in later airings on tv but these are mainly from the second day in Mayaguez. Since the match lineups for both days are practically the same (outside of some stipulations), we are taking the approach of reviewing the show by intertwining matches from both nights to go over as much of Aniversario as possible in our runthrough.

Let’s talk first about the matches for which we don’t have footage for (or for which we have a small clip as part of a broader video package) from either night. There are four such matches. Unfortunately we do not have the two tag title matches or the world junior title match available. Also, for two of those matches, the challengers changed from the announced card (again likely due to scheduling conflicts or unavailability due to the hurricane postponements).

Miguelito Perez and Huracan Castillo, hijo were set to defend the Caribbean tag titles originally against the Wild Samoans combination of Tama and Afa. However, after the postponement, it was announced that the challengers would be Doug Furnas and Dan Kroffat. Unfortunately for everyone looking forward to this match (including us), we not only do not have the match footage available but the Can-Am Express did not make the event. Stepping is as the challengers are the team of the Cuban Assassin (Angel Acevedo) and Jerry Morrow, known as Los Mercenarios. And this new set of challengers actually won the Caribbean tag titles from Perez and Castillo.

Jeff Jarrett was unable to make the show for the battle of the World Junior champions. In his place was El Gran Mendoza serving as the challenger to Super Medico’s WWC World Junior title. Medico retained his championship.

One match that did not experience changes but for which we unfortunately don’t have the footage for is the World tag title match between champions Rip Rogers and Abudda Dein and challengers Mark and Chris Youngblood. This tag title match also saw new champions crowned as the Younbloods scored the win.  

For those disappointed at the Can-Am Express and Jeff Jarrett not appearing, don’t despair because Paul Jones did make it for his match vs the Junkyard Dog. There is about a minute and half of the ending stretch of the Mayaguez version of this encounter and it's mainly Paul Jones choking JYD with a chain and hitting a flurry of punches before JYD makes a comeback with several headbutts and a Russian legsweep to get the win.

With those matches we don’t have out of the way, let’s talk about the ones for which we have at least one version from either Bayamon or Mayaguez. We originally had Kerry Von Erich scheduled to face Abdullah the Butcher but as we saw previously, Kevin Von Erich had stepped in to replace Kerry for the original Aniversario date.  Kevin is here for this new date and let’s see him in action vs Abdul… never mind, Abdullah wasn’t able to make it to Aniversario on the new date.  Well, let’s go to the match and see who Kevin Von Erich’s opponent is…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDA3xYmfIaQ

It’s Ron Bass, making what I believe is his CSP debut. Kevin also is making his first in-ring appearance for the territory since the late 70s if I’m not mistaken. The commentary team of Hugo, Carlos and Profe spend a lot of the match talking about the Von Erich legacy and talk about what a privilege it is to have wrestlers of this renown (referring to Kevin and Bass) competing in a WWC ring (“it adds prestige and signals to the rest of the world the caliber of competition we have”). Profe also complains about how someone with a German last name can claim to be Texan (“it’s like saying a Perez is English“) and hopes Bass comes out triumphant to show what a real Texan is. This match is a good showcase for the local crowd in seeing Kevin’s wrestling style. Kevin is in control for most of the match, although Bass gets a bit of a control segment in the middle due to some cheating and roughhouse tactics. Kevin tries to get the claw on Bass, and despite Bass initially holding him off, he manages to get a stomach claw on Bass. Ron Bass manages to fight out of the clawhold but an attempt to hit Kevin with his boot misses, which Kevin takes advantage of to roll up Bass for the pinfall win.

MD: This definitely wasn’t Kerry vs Abby. Bass is a guy who definitely drops off the radar early in 1989. He finished up with WWF in March and after this, works for Dusty in Florida and some Guam tours and who knows what else. He’s basically done by 91 when he was early into his 40s. He had a big frame and had put a bunch of wear and tear on it though. He wasn’t very mobile here even if he still had solid timing, decent presence, and a good punch off the ropes. Kevin was Kevin, bare-footed, aggressive, a tried and true babyface and the crowd got up for him winning with a roll-up, even if they weren’t into much else. This didn’t outwear its welcome but it would have been better five or six years earlier.

EB: We also have a match between semi regulars in the territory as Jimmy Valiant takes on Kareem Muhammad. This match is the one from the second night in Mayaguez.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXQdVk7FSnM

We have Hugo Savinovich, Carlos Colon and Chicky Starr on commentary for this match (suggesting this is from a Campeones airing). Hugo asks for their thoughts on who has the advantage here in a styles clash of opponents and Carlos makes the remark that if Jimmy Valiant manages to hold out for five to six minutes then he should have the advantage since Kareem gets tired due to his conditioning after about ten minutes. Valiant takes the initial advantage by choking Kareem (which Hugo makes note of) and maintains the attack for the initial moments of the match. Kareem rakes the eyes to take control of the match. As Kareem continues his attack, the camera cuts to El Profe who is posing and mugging for the cameraman (showing off that kilowatt smile). Chicky makes the comment that with the attack Kareem is doing on Valiant at the moment he’s probably forgotten how to dance by now. Valiant tries to gather himself on the outside and get the crowd into it but Kareem keeps knocking Valiant off the apron when he tries to get back in the ring. Jimmy does manage to get back inside and launch an offensive flurry but Kareem manages to counter with a clothesline and an elbow drop for the pin (although Valiant got his leg on the rope at two, Kareem pulled it away before the ref saw it). Kareem leaves with El Profe as the ref helps Valiant to the back.

MD: They were in and out under five minutes here. We came in with Valiant choking Muhammad with his bandana and poking at the eyes, but it’s not long before he’s overpowered and tossed out. The rest of the match is a king of the mountain sequence with Muhammad knocking Valiant off the apron and Valiant walking around ringside clapping and interacting with fans. He finally hits a shoulder to the gut to get back in and mounts a bit of a comeback before running into Muhammad’s outstretched arm and is squashed. He does make sure to get his foot on the ropes for a second to protect himself in defeat. There wasn’t a whole lot here. I imagine Valiant could have a pretty entertaining match against El Profe (alternatively, Paul Jones was right there and from the minute of footage we have, could still punch, stagger, and eat headbutts pretty well) and Muhammad could be a useful foil for Colon or Invader but this wasn’t either of those things. It was still nice to see Jimmy walking and clapping and hanging out with the crowd, I guess.

EB: We finally get a match from the main night of Aniversario in Bayamon and it’s the long awaited revenge match featuring Invader #3 facing off against Manny Fernandez.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDt9YVFnxWk

Manny is in the ring with Chicky Starr as the music for Invader #3’s entrance begins playing. Invader #3 rushes out and runs to the ring holding a large stick. He jumps Manny from behind (Manny was posing on the turnbuckle looking towards the crowd) and proceeds to hit several blows with the stick on Manny (including one blow that hits Manny right in the mouth). The crowd goes crazy as Invader #3 continues his attack on Manny on the outside . Manny is chased back inside and, as Invader #3 gets back in, Chicky reaches out and manages to yank the stick away from the fired up Invader #3. This does not stop Invader #3, who continues his attack on Manny undeterred. Eventually, Manny manages to lift Invader #3 up in a desperation move and hotshots him on the top rope to stop the attack. On the PPV broadcast, Hector Moyano and El Profe are on commentary and talking about how Invader #3 is looking for revenge for the infamous attack and injury that Manny Fernandez had done to him. Manny checks his bleeding mouth and proceeds to focus his attack on Invader #3’s throat and neck area. Manny slows the pace down as he continues his focused attack, including a headscissor submission hold which Chicky reaches in to help with the leverage (and El Profe on commentary acting like he’s not seeing the cheating going on). As Chicky walks around at ringside, you’ll notice that the ring is on a raised platform here in Bayamon, so one misstep and someone could take a tumble. Manny continues working the submission hold as Moyano makes a comment about how Manny is bleeding from the mouth quite noticeably. Manny starts getting frustrated at not being able to put Invader #3 away and starts punching him around the throat area. Invader #3 manages to get some distance between him and Manny and, as the crowd starts ramping up, begins to land some hits on Manny from a kneeling position. They exchange a few blows but Manny manages to knock Invader # 3 down again and regain control. Manny works a chinlock but Invader #3 responds to the crowd cheering him on and fights out of it, ramming Manny’s head into the turnbuckle. Manny counters out of the corner with a charge and proceeds to adjust his kneepad. Manny then makes his way to the top turnbuckle as the crowd gets worried, remembering that this was how Invader #3 had been gruesomely injured. Invader #3 gets up though and catches Manny on the top turnbuckle, slamming him to the mat. Invader #3 goes on a punching spree but, when he attempts to monkey flip Manny out of the corner, Manny grabs on to the ropes and Invader #3 crashes onto the mat. An attempted dropkick off the ropes by Invader #3 is also countered by Manny holding onto the ropes. Manny proceeds to grab Invader #3 from behind and hold him so Chicky can get up on the ring apron with the stick. As Manny tries to shove Invader #3 into Chicky and the stick, Invader #3 ducks out of the way and it is Manny that takes the hit. Invader #3 dropkicks Chicky off the apron, sending the stick flying into the ring. Invader #3 makes the cover but Manny surprisingly kicks out at two. Invader #3, seeing that the ref is holding the stick, immediately runs toward him to try to grab the stick. As the ref and Invader #3 play tug of war with the stick, Manny attacks Invader #3 from behind and it looks like Invader #3 may have hit the stick on impact. Manny grabs Invader #3 and hits his flying burrito maneuver, which scores the pinfall win. Invader #3 got some satisfaction in attacking Manny for what had happened a year and a half ago but in the end Manny gets the win. Manny and Chicky celebrate as they leave the ring.

MD: One fun part about this entire project for me is that I have no idea what’s coming next. I’ll say this, though. I see the Chicky/Manny act and I just see money. There’s no reason why these two together couldn’t have drawn into 1990 or 1991. Invader #3 came in hot as you’d expect, with a baseball bat in hand. He wanted blood and he got it quickly, even after Chicky got the bat away, opening up Manny from the mouth. He was overexuberant though, which was the story of the match, and flew right into a hotshot on the top rope. That let Manny work the neck, most especially with headscissors (with Chicky assisting at first and then, after a hope spot, by grabbing the ropes himself). Invader would come back and even get a huge nearfall after ducking a bat shot from Chicky, only to lose sight of the goal by trying to get the bat from the ref instead of staying on Manny. That let Manny hit the flying forearm and steal the win. Lots of heat just like you’d want. I’m half surprised this didn’t cause a riot. Hopefully he sticks around.

EB: We unfortunately do not have the chain match for the Puerto Rico title between Ivan Koloff and Invader #1, but we do have their match from Mayaguez the next day. It’s a rematch for the Puerto Rico title that Invader #1 won in the chain match.

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

This match is taken from a tv airing a year later, so the commentary is not focused on what was happening back in 1989. We start the match as Invader and Koloff face off and then lock up, exchanging holds. Tempers flare and soon they start exchanging punches and blows, but Invader uses an arm wringer and drop toehold to regain control of Koloff on the mat. So far this match is different from how I’m thinking the chain match went in terms of being a fight, this is more of a straight wrestling match between Koloff and Invader. As they continue exchanging holds, you can see in a zoom in on Koloff that he has a bandage on his head (again I’m guessing from the chain match). We go to commercial break as Koloff has Invader in a full nelson and come back to them fighting outside of the ring and Koloff using some bolted together chairs to attack Invader. The crowd also looks to have tried to get closer to the wrestlers on the outside, so I’m wondering what have we missed for the match to switch up from where we were before the break. Koloff gets back in the ring and taunts the crowd as Invader recovers on the outside. Invader gets back in the ring and both wrestlers proceed to exchange a flurry of chops, punches and kicks, Invader hits an eye rake on Koloff and rolls him up for two. Koloff attacks Invader and hits him with a back elbow, and for some reason also hits the ref with a back elbow which looks to be deemed inadvertent since there is no dq called. Hugo protests that should have been a disqualification. Koloff rolls up Invader and tries several pin attempts while holding Invader’s tights. Invader keeps barely getting a shoulder up on the different attempts as Koloff keeps trying to get the pin. Invader manages to kick Koloff off of him and takes control with a headbutt to Koloff’s midsection and a dropkick. Invader tries a pin attempt but Koloff gets his leg on the rope. The match continues as time starts winding down. An inside cradle gets a two count for Invader and the wrestlers continue fighting in the ring. A series of punches on the turnbuckle by Invader opens up Koloff’s cut on his forehead. A crossbody from Invader gets a near fall. A backslide attempt gets two. Invader manages to get a sleeper on Koloff but it’s just as the bell rings as the time limit expires. Invader gets the moral win by putting Koloff to sleep but the match ends in a draw.  

MD: I found a post from over ten years ago where our old pal Dylan was lamenting about the chain match not being available. I too shall lament about this. What we do have is this, with a hotter, angrier crowd than the one in Bayamon for Invader #3 vs Manny, and it’s this weird cross section of a riot scene and a title match with all the trappings of a title match. They start with chain wrestling, to a degree, with Invader controlling with a hammerlock. We come back from a break with Invader on the outside hurting and Ivan leans on him hard with the crowd throwing things into the ring to express their displeasure. Invader comes back, in part by using some sort of sharp, dangerous object that someone did throw in to rake at Ivan’s eyes and then they go into full Steamboat vs Savage mode with roll ups and near-falls. There’s an awesome back elbow cut off by Koloff here which might be the best back elbow in the history of wrestling (and one to the ref too for good measure). He does another one to the ref just for the hell of it too. The finish is a big Invader sleeper with the great visual of Koloff reaching desperately for the ref but Esteban let me know that the time ran out making it just a spiritual victory for Invader. So yeah, these two matched up really well. It was a title match though, even if it was a heated one, and it just whets the appetite for what that chain match could have been. Someone has to have it, right? If you’re reading this, help us out and do some digging.

EB: As mentioned earlier, the Universal title match is now a barbed wire match. Carlos Colon gets his first chance to avenge his shoulder injury against Sadistic Steve Strong and looks to regain the Universal title in the process. We go to Bayamon for the ring introductions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjWvgb7M4z4

You can tell it’s a big match as each competitor heads to the ring with an entourage. Sadistic Steve Strong is accompanied by his manager Chicky Starr and by Manny Fernandez carrying the U.S.A. flag. Garbage starts pelting them as they head to the ring. The Spanish version of My Way plays as the tecnicos come out. We have Invader #1 carrying the Puerto Rico flag, accompanied by TNT and the Youngbloods as the crowd grows loud with cheers and air horns go off. Carlos Colon follows the tecnicos out, accompanied by his trainer Barba Roja (looks like he did take Hugo up on the invitation to visit sometime) and also by our backstage interviewer Lysette Santiago. Strong has entered the ring and is waiting for Colon. Eliud Goznalez starts the ring introductions but stops because we haven’t yet played the national anthems. We first hear La Borinqueña (Puerto Rico’s national anthem), followed by The Star Spangled Banner. Strong remains in the ring throughout all of this. Carlos gets in the ring as the ring introductions are made. Carlos gets some final instructions from Barba Roja just before the match begins.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKm7Ha3fdyQ

Carlos immediately charges at Strong as the bell rings, attacking him and trying to drive Strong’s face into the barbed wire. Strong manages to hold Colon off, but Carlos goes back on offense including biting Strong in the face. Carlos keeps the pressure on and continues trying to rake Strong’s face in the barbed wire. Strong continues to fight Carlos off, managing an unsuccessful attempt to send Carlos face first into the barbed wire. The first hit of barbed wire occurs when Carlos shoves Strong backwards into the ropes and Strong briefly makes contact as the crowd cheers. Carlos is not letting up and continues on the offensive trying to again smash Strong’s face into the wire. However, Strong manages to gain control and starts fcusing his attacks on Colon’s left shoulder (the one that had been injured). Strong continues putting pressure on and attacking the shoulder as we can see Strong has some cuts on his back and Carlos is bleeding from his forehead. Strong grabs Colon’s left arm and wraps it around the rope (and the barbed wire) to inflict more damage. Strong continues to control the match despite some attempts by Carlos to counter and run Strong into the barbed wire. A choke lift is countered with an eye rake by Carlos and he goes on the offensive as the crowd cheers on. Strong manages to avoid a back bodydrop attempt and hits a DDT on Colon. Carlos ducks a clothesline attempt (remember that training session we saw where part of the strategy was ducking the clothesline?) and both men hit each other with a clothesline. Colon immediately falls down, followed by Strong after a delayed reaction. Colon hits a slam and tries a legdrop off the middle turnbuckle but Strong moves out of the way. Strong hits a slam and tries to come off the middle turnbuckle with an elbow, but this time it’s Carlos who gets out of the way. Carlos starts attacking Strong’s leg to set up the figure four leglock as the crowd cheers on. Strong manages to throw Colon off on his first attempt at the figure four, but Carlos immediately attacks Strong's legs again when he stands up. Strong falls and immediately starts crawling away so Carlos can’t get the figure four on him. Carlos keeps attacking the leg and Strong’s leg buckles on an irish whip attempt due to the damage done. Carlos is almost successful in getting the figure four on but Strong yanks Colon by the hair in order to push him away. Colon dodges a Strong tackle and finally gets the figure four on. It looks like Strong may give up but don’t forget Chicky is at ringside. As the ref is asking Strong if he will submit, Chicky reaches into his jacket and pulls out a spray can. He moves close to where Carlos is and sprays Colon right in the face. This causes Carlos to squirm in pain and the hold is broken. Barba Roja chases Chicky around the ring and catches up to him, trying to get the spray can Chicky had hid once more in his jacket. However, Chicky starts attacking Barba Roja! As Chicky is attacking Barba Roja, Strong adjusts ‘Damian’ on his arm and hits Carlos straight on with a clothesline. Strong gets the three count! Chicky is kicking Barba Roja at ringside when we see a chair fly out at the crowd and hit Chicky. TNT then shows up to go after Chicky and help Barba Roja. TNT grabs Chicky and holds him as Barba Roja finds the spray can in Chicky’s jacket.  As Barba Roja shows the referee the spray can, Chicky runs to the other side of the ring, grabbing a chair and using it to defend himself from other chairs that are being thrown at him. The ref restarts the match after seeing the spray can and, as the match restarts, if you look at the top right corner you’ll see security jumping on the ring platform and shielding Chicky from the crowd. They immediately take off running to get Chicky out of there before the situation gets worse. Back in the ring, Strong immediately had started punching Carlos as the match restarted. Strong throws Carlos on the ropes but Carlos ducks the clothesline and hits a back suplex (once again, remember the planning session we saw, one of the moves they worked on was ducking the clothesline and hitting a back suplex).  Carlos gets the three count and wins! The crowd goes wild (and we even see a chair get thrown in the ring) as Carlos has regained the Universal title. The tecnicos come out to celebrate but as Carlos tries to leave he gets blindsided and attacked by an angry Steve Strong. In a bit of an unintentionally funny visual, one of the Youngbloods is spraying champagne in celebration as Carlos is getting attacked by Strong. Carlos manages to leave the ring and is surrounded by El Ejercito de la Justicia to celebrate his win, as champagne is sprayed everywhere. Strong remains in the ring throughout the celebration as El Ejercito de la Justicia heads to the locker room.

Post match we get interviews with Steve Strong (wanting a rematch in whatever match Colon wants after feeling he was cheated out of the win) and Carlos Colon with Barba Roja (celebrating the win in a tough match thanks to the crowd and Barba Roja’s support). And as the interview with Carlos ends, Lysette says we’re headed back to the ring for our next match. Wait, we have another match to go?

MD: This was a massive spectacle, starting with the huge entrances with retinues. Manny was with Strong and Colon had the Youngbloods (I think) and Invader waving the flag. I’ve mentioned it before but the joy of barbed wire matches isn’t necessarily the blood but instead the constrained lack of space and the anticipation of the wire becoming part of the match. Sometimes that can play out as long minutes of people just pressing each other’s head towards it. Here it was more dynamic. Colon rushed in early and had an advantage until Strong started on the damaged shoulder. Using that as a wedge he bloodied Colon first. Carlos came back with some grisly headbutts. It’s striking to see him fight so violently considering how soft spoken he’s come off in the bio and other appearances, but that’s why he’s the national hero I suppose. Strong cuts him off only for Colon to come back hot, working on the leg and trying and trying for the figure four until he finally gets it. Chicky asserts himself then, spraying Colon in the face. That leads to a moment of true darkness where Barba Roja rushes around the ring only to get battered by Chicky, and Colon, blinded and despondent gets flattened by the loaded armguard of Strong and pinned for three.

We’ve seen before how matches in Puerto Rico often had finishes overturned against the heels in the moment. It’s a very Memphis thing to do. The times I can think of it happening in WWF and AEW were times that Lawler or Jarrett were involved, for instance. It ratchets up the heat, sweeps the rug out from under the crowd, and then gives them hope at the last second. It’s the sort of thing that can’t be done too much because it makes it harder to accept any time a heel does cheat to win later. Here, though, it put everyone in exactly the right state of crazed mania to create pure elation with the true finish. For instance, just when everything was at its worse, you could see a chair come flying in from off the side of the screen to clock Chicky. It wasn’t that flying chair that would save the day but another fan favorite: TNT came out to rescue Barba Roja and assault Chicky. The ref was informed of what happened and allowed the match to continue.And, with the light obscuring him as if he was some sort of celestial figure, Colon ducked a shot and hit a belly to back suplex for three. Strong, furious, stomped at Carlos but the champagne was already flowing. He may have had a point, as all good heels do, and may have been protected, but Carlitos had scored a legendary win nonetheless. A big match with a big match feel. I am left wondering how Gorilla Monsoon would have factored in however.

EB: To close out Aniversario here in Bayamon, we have a match for the rights to the TNT name and gimmick. It’s TNT taking on the Original TNT, the man Chicky Starr had brought in claiming to be the actual TNT and that our TNT was an impostor. But… we have our last no-show of Aniversario as the Original TNT did not appear. Luckily for CSP, we have Chicky Starr, the man who masterminded and was the driving force and instigator behind the Original TNT plot (including outing TNT’s real identity and constantly calling him an impostor). In a change that may have occurred that same day (and who knows if it was announced during the event itself), we now have TNT taking on Chicky Starr in a five minute challenge match. The stipulations are TNT’s name and paint (basically the rights to the TNT identity) vs Chicky Starr’s hair. And the key stipulation in the five minute challenge is that TNT has to defeat Chicky within the five minute time limit in order to win. However, if Chicky lasts the full five minutes without losing then Chicky wins and TNT loses his identity. It’s a ploy Chicky has tried twice before vs Invader #1, first as a 15 minute challenge and then in a rematch as a 10 minute challenge. You can probably guess why the third time is now with 5 minutes as the time limit. Back to Bayamon we go.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2H7fGogrY18

After their altercation during the Universal title match, Chicky and TNT are going to face off once more this evening.  Chicky, after having to run for his life near the end of the Universal title match, is back out here in his crown and robe (and with Leper Messiah as his entrance music). The crowd wastes no time in throwing garbage at Chicky as he waits for his opponent. TNT’s music plays as he comes out in full TNT garb and with the TV title around his waist. TNT takes his gi off as Eliud Gonzalez does the introductions (mentioning it’s the TNT name and paint vs Chicky’s hair and TNT has to defeat Chicky in five minutes or less). The ref checks both combatants for foreign objects and we are underway. TNT has five minutes to win or else he loses his identity.  Moyano on commentary mentions that the clear disadvantage is for TNT since he has to win while Chicky just has to run out the clock. And this is apparent right off as Chicky just takes off, weaving in and out of the ring as TNT gives chase. Man, the ring mat is just full of garbage from earlier. Chicky continues running from TNT, including crawling under the ring with TNT giving chase (and the cameraman follows them too!). The only offensive maneuvers we see from Chicky so far are quick blows to get TNT to back off and Chicky immediately gets to running away again. Eliud Gonzale calls out that one minute has elapsed.

TNT and Chicky exchange strikes on the outside, but when it looks like TNT is going to take control Chicky bites TNT in the face and runs off again. Chicky maintains his distance from TNT outside of the ring while pointing at his wrist signaling the time ticking away. TNT finally manages to cut through the ring and grab Chicky, dragging him into the ring by his hair. They immediately exchange strikes, with Chicky surprisingly gaining the advantage and maintaining the offensive attack. We are past the two minute mark. TNT hits a bodyslam and immediately goes for the pin but Chicky kicks out immediately. An eye rake by Chicky gives him the advantage again. Chicky hits a DDT as Eliud Gonzalez calls out the time and reminds fans of the stipulations. Chicky again starts mockingly pointing at his wrist. Chicky continues on the attack as the fans start to make noise to encourage TNT. The commentators are talking about why someone would sign up for these stipulations (with Profe calling TNT an idiot) but, as we’ve seen from the build-up, Chicky had really been insulting TNT and put his safety at risk by revealing his real identity. Chicky goes for a pin but gets up at one and dismissively signals he doesn’t want to pin TNT. The attack by Chicky continues as the time keeps ticking away. We have reached the 4 minute mark as Chicky comes off the turnbuckle with an axe handle onto TNT. A pin attempt gets two as the count is at 55 seconds remaining. Chicky hits a body slam with 40 seconds left, covers but again quickly changes his mind and forgoes the pin attempt. Chicky punches TNT with 30 seconds left and hits a back body drop with 20 seconds left. TNT is in real trouble. Chicky points at his wrist as 15 seconds are left and he decides to go to the top again as TNT gets up. However, this axe handle attempt is met with a dynamite kick right to Chicky’s face. TNT quickly covers him as the countdown is at 6 and a quick three count later we have a winner. The crowd starts cheering as TNT has defeated Chicky with about three seconds remaining on the clock. Chicky now will lose his hair. Two refs and Super Medico hold Chicky down as TNT starts cutting some of Chicky’s hair with a pair of scissors. Profe starts having a meltdown on commentary over what is happening to Chicky. We end with Chicky fleeing the ring as security surrounds him while they run to the back, as fans pelt them with garbage. Outside of Manny Fernandez getting the win, not a good night for Chicky (or Profe for that matter having lost the World tag titles and the Puerto Rico title).

MD: Just so interesting that they finished with this. For one thing, I’m still boggled by what Action Jackson had to do that was more important than this match. I guess in part, they had to finish with this because otherwise you don’t have Chicky at ringside for the Strong match. Sending fans home happy with two major celebratory wins is a pretty good way to deal with a natural disaster. Chicky had to survive five minutes with TNT. If he did, TNT had to lose his name and take off the facepaint, to give the gimmick to the “Original TNT” basically. If Chicky lost in those five minutes, he’d lose his hair. Esteban likely will get into more detail past that, but it was a pretty transcendent heel performance by Chicky. He came out to Leper Messiah by Metallica and played defensive early, running around the ring, running under the ring (with the camera following TNT and Chicky, which is something I’m not sure I ever saw before). Eventually he got a cheapshot and took over for the brunt of the remainder of the match, refusing to even try to seriously pin TNT, just playing out the clock in control. The best defense was a good offense despite his hubris. The fans were throwing things in there but they weren’t near-riotous as time ticked down like you might expect. I think they had faith in TNT and faith in pro wrestling in general. Heels win, but not before the babyface at least tries to get a comeback in. It’s ritual and they knew it well. Chicky was poised to beat the clock, with an advantage, with fifteen seconds left. He could have hit the floor and ran it off. But instead he went up top and flew right into TNT’s kick. It was definitely a choice to give him all of it, but when you have only five minutes after a grueling war like Colon and Strong just went through and you have a heel charismatic and hated like Chicky to make it work, this wasn’t at all a bad choice at all.

EB: And that’s a wrap for Aniversario 89 from Bayamon. We’ve seen four titles change hands and TNT retain his identity. However, it remains to be seen if Steve Strong is truly done with Carlos Colon and if we'll see Chicky and Profe retaliate for the losses they’ve taken.

Next time on El Deporte de las Mil Emociones, we’ll see the fallout from Aniversario as we start heading toward the end of 1989.

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El Deporte de las Mil Emociones: Bronco Boricua 1989

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

WWC: Bronca Boricua (1989) - YouTube

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hugo (in an incredulous tone): Wow.

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

Profe: Well, that's a bicycle handlebar.

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

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

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

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

Hugo: Profe?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Found Footage Friday: FUJIWARA~! ROBERTS~! WRIGHT~! LAWLER~! VALIANT~! SAITO~! KHAN~!

Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs. Pete Roberts NJPW 9/19/82 - GREAT

MD: We covered a 1983 handheld between these two previously and that was solid but unexciting. This was solid and absolutely exciting, top notch wrestling the whole way through. The first half of this was the two of them chaining hold after hold and counter after counter, hanging on whenever possible. That was exciting when we saw it in the French footage, but here it was Fujiwara, one of the best defensive wrestlers of all time having to escape again and again. He had a couple of absolutely breathtaking ones, bridging and flipping, or even doing his own version of the French Catch up and over escape which we almost never see outside of France. Roberts was more than game in hanging on and whenever it was time for Fujiwara to take him over it was with electric decisiveness. Halfway through, Fujiwara started in with a short arm scissors and Roberts' limp-wristed selling for the rest of the match really put it over, even when there was a lull or a switch in momentum and he didn't have to. It helped that first Fujiwara and then later on Roberts in revenge were escalating things to these nasty whips across the ring where they put a twist on the wrist at the last second to force a flip bump and the illusion of grisly damage to the arm. Things picked up towards the finish with an escape that sent Roberts soaring out of the ring, his jumping kick back in, and some rope running before he got an unsatisfactory win given that Fujiwara's arm was under the ropes. Great stuff here and clear and crisp enough for an 82 handheld that we could see every detail. 

PAS: This was awesome, just a pair of maestros grabbing and twisting at each others arms and wrists and finding cool ways to reverse and escape. Those whips on the arm were sick stuff but really the only aggressive part of the match, everything else was pure craft and really great to watch. The seemingly botched finish was the only thing that kept this from an EPIC rating, and it felt more like an awesome Primera Caida then a full match, but it was an awesome Primera Caida.

Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs. Steve Wright NJPW 10/7/83

MD: This didn't have the sharp angles of Fujiwara vs Roberts but it ended up more strike heavy and maybe more imaginative as well. Interestingly, Wright drove the action here which was the opposite of the Roberts match, staying on top for most of it and even doing some of the specific moves that Fujiwara had done in the 82 match above. For instance, it was Wright that utilized a headstand escape right into a sliding grounded side headlock or that locked in the short arm scissors. In the Roberts match, there was the promise of a potential Gotch Lift. Here, there was the actuality of it as Fujiwara hefted him up and they went half tumbling over the ropes. Overall, this was a good look at Wright, a legendary figure, against a game opponent than anything else. After that Gotch Lift spot, he clapped and appealed to the crowd to show appreciation for what they had just seen. He laid his shots in with high low combos of forearms followed by a headbutt to the guts. He went to the top twice, once for a jumping kick; the second time, Fujiwara, ever the defensive wrestler, decided to defend by putting the ref between himself and Wright until he got down. Fujiwara came back primarily with a few strikes of his own and a huge headbutt that Wright sold like a falling tree, but this was a relatively one-sided affair all the way to Wright's very nice snap gutwrench suplex out of the corner to end it.

Jerry Lawler/Jimmy Valiant vs. Killer Khan/Masa Saito AJPW 2/1/85

MD: Not pretty. Lawler took a beating right from the get go, and he was savvy enough to know that he had to fire up quick and not take and take. He did and started firing his punches at Khan, but despite the punches looking as good as ever, the magic just wasn't there in Japan. I don't know if that was the crowd being used to a different sort of strike from guys like Jumbo or just a lack of head-snapping selling, but nothing was registering. Then Valiant came in, gave his sweeping but very light looking clubbers, and stumbled immediately on his first attempt to whip Khan, drawing laughter (and not for the first time). The match never really recovered and later on, when Valiant missed an elbow drop, the reaction was even more uproarious laughter. In between Lawler fought from underneath, but the crowd just wasn't buying what he was selling. Unless I'm mistaken, this was Lawler's third match ever in Japan and he'd only get this tour (tagging with Valiant the whole way) and then a New Japan tour in 89. It's Jerry Lawler, so I'm convinced that if he had enough time and maybe wasn't tied to Valiant here, he would have solved the puzzle eventually, but he never really got the chance.

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There Was a King, a Very Enchanted King

Jerry Lawler/Jimmy Valiant vs. Takashi Ishikawa/Great Kabuki AJPW 2/5/85 - FUN

ER: Lawler in Japan is so weird, somehow even weirder than Valiant. He feels so anachronistic here, in the way that Memphis often feels weird in a more solemn setting. Even his appearance is slightly off, as he comes out in tights that felt closer to something Rick Rude would wear than Lawler, not to mention the studded leather cross-chest straps holding his cape on. This is not a Lawler look I've seen more than twice. He worked less than 15 matches in Japan (Valiant worked less than 30), and the two of them were only there for this one week tour. And this match is weird. The crowd doesn't seem to know how to react to Valiant, laughing tentatively as he constantly talks on the apron (rooting on Lawler, talking to the ref, general cheerleading), but they react to Lawler like he's a big deal (he even gets a couple streamers in his intro). But the match is barely 8 minutes and they work it as if it was going 30. So we basically get 7 minutes of a match that was shaping up to be really cool, and then a finish that felt like someone suddenly shit their pants and they needed to get the hell out of there. 

Lawler works wristlocks with Ishikawa, and has a strike exchange in the corner with Kabuki that the camera mostly misses (seriously, who is cutting away while Lawler and Kabuki are striking??) when Lawler hits him with a right and Kabuki throws an uppercut that bounces Lawler to the center of the ring. The only real fire of the match comes when Lawler hits an insane top rope fistdrop (no idea how your aim and body restraint gets that perfect) and a couple more drop down ones, with some of the sweetest moments of Lawler shaking out his fast after each one. There's a neat touch I really liked, where Ishikawa broke up a pin by stomping the back of Lawler's head, and Lawler does an excellent sell of this stomp, the move that essentially keeps him from saving Valiant. Lawler really staggers around holding his head like he took the sickest rabbit punch - an accurate way to sell a nasty stomp from Ishikawa - and stumbles to tag out. The finish is what makes this match so perplexing, as you'd think they'd still be working another 10 minutes, but instead Valiant gets the tag, sort of takes a savate kick from Kabuki, then just quickly taps to a Boston crab. I don't get it. 

Jerry Lawler/Maria/Ashley vs. Santino Marella/Beth Phoenix/Melina WWF Raw 3/24/08 - FUN

ER: I think it says a lot about the abilities of Lawler and Santino that this was as entertaining as it was. This started as a bad Maria/Melina singles match that quickly ended with interference, and Lawler stepping up in jeans and a t-shirt to take another opportunity to punch Santino. Regal makes it into a trios, and it's Lawler and Santino working around several people who don't totally know where they should be. That Santino can actually properly sell a terrible beating from Ashley and Maria - two people who mostly did not know how to hit someone - while selling it within gimmick, is why he was so good. Lawler gets nothing but great shine here, sending Santino high up in the air with a great backdrop, then squaring up to hit a genuinely great standing dropkick for a man in his late 50s. 

The women's stuff was what it was, though it lead to one really good moment where Lawler had to consider whether or not to punch Melina in the face. This was intergender, so the two men didn't have to tag out, and Melina was literally asking for it. But Lawler instead sneaks a tag to Ashley, who throws her only good strike of the match once Melina turns around into her elbow. Santino has several actually funny stooge sells in a relatively short runtime, reacting to Maria and Ashley's light chops and slaps as if he were Maximo being tickled, or selling a Lawler atomic drop by duckwalking to tag out. The final payoff of the match is Santino walking into Lawler on the outside, where Lawler gets to throw his first punches of the match as Santino groggily attempts to escape into the crowd. Lawler is one of the few people in wrestling that has examples over the decades of elevating non-wrestlers in a fun match, and this was a fun look at Santino being one of those guys too. 

COMPLETE AND ACCURATE LAWLER

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New Footage Friday: NEW OMNI 11/6/83

Brad Armstrong vs. Chief Joe Lightfoot

MD: This was a weird one. Lightfoot wasn't necessarily a heel, but he ended up playing that de facto role here. It just took a little too long for him to get there given the structure. Lots of headlocks early on. That can work if they're full of struggle, and they were, but it only works if guy fighting from underneath has some heat and obviously he didn't here. Lightfoot always looked pretty good when I've seen him in Portland and he had good stuff here once he took over. Everything had a snap, especially the mares, which came at an odd, satisfying angle. He's the sort of guy that would have made a good FIP teaming with Wahoo or Youngblood. Once it got going, it was good, but this was the wrong match for the headlocks, especially considering just how well the same stuff was done in the main event.

ER: This one had some long headlock moments that kept threatening to take me out of the match, but execution, a hot finish, and other things kept pulling me in. It went a bit long for what it overall accomplished, but I did like what we wound up with. Armstrong can work some compelling headlocks and I do dig seeing sequences bases around headlocks and headscissors. Joe Lightfoot has a weird way of getting into position off Irish whips, I kind of love it and hate it. Lightfoot would get real close to the ropes when shooting Brad in, so Brad would smack into him immediately after hitting the ropes; it was close enough that it didn't felt like Armstrong could get any momentum recoiling off the ropes, so the hits never looked as tough as they could have looked, but it also makes sense from a physics perspective that Lightfoot and Armstrong would catch each other off guard and make a collision more likely (but it still feels like he was getting too close). Lightfoot has some simple offense that ends with impact, getting nice reactions from things like legdrops. And the finish is really hot, because Armstrong is a guy who is going to make small packages and roll-ups look like something that can finish a match. A major feature of the match was establishing that we got a real primo front row wrestling audience. The best fans are sitting at the left side of the screen, including an old lady yelling at the action, an older old lady next to her, and a younger girl looking bored and cool while kicking her legs over two chairs and focusing on a lollipop. 80s territory feuds added so much color to broadcasts.

Ron Garvin vs. Jake Roberts

MD: 1983 Georgia Jake is the Jake we were always promised. He was amazing here, absolutely amazing. The way he uses his body to always make sure that he's putting a hand or foot on the ropes and never kicks out is just a step above, as was the corner spot. Let's go over the corner spot. Garvin had him in the corner. The ref was trying to force a clean break. Jake couldn't capitalize. Therefore, he went and whispered to Ellering. They repeated it and this time, Ellering swiped at Garvin's foot and it still didn't work. I know that doesn't sound much, but it was a ton of set up for a spot that wasn't even going to work out for the heel. No one ever puts that much thought into something unless it's ultimately going to work. Moreover, the finish centered on the corner again so it all paid off in the end. Anyway, all of that was great as was every single punch Garvin threw and, of course, Jake's reactions to the time being counted down as the belt was only on the line for the first ten minutes. Again, it's the Jake we were always promised.

ER: This was Jake using some of his peak powers, a guy who really knew how to conduct a 10 minute TV match. Jake is absolutely massive (I don't know why his size started standing out to me these past several years, but he really intimidatingly towers over nearly everyone while still knowing how to get beat. Garvin is a guy I always look forward to seeing and this was the match that excited me most on paper. And it was a concise, wonderful version of exactly what I wanted. Garvin put over the height difference by hopping up half the time he was throwing hard individual right hands at the top of Jake's head, landing big close fists to the head with Jake leaning forehead first into every one. We get some great moments around this punching (and a significant portion of this match is punching), like Roberts getting put down hard with several straight punches, kicking out at 1, rushing to his feet and then immediately falling straight back; and Garvin set up these match long leaping punches to eventually build to a great leaping headbutt, leaving his feet to just smack heads with Jake. 

Garvin always comes off tough as hell, the best possible version of Da Crusher, dropping nothing but knees and elbows and fists. Jake was at his slithery best, adding personality to things as small as stepping into the ring (the moment where Jake steps over and slides over the top turnbuckle felt like a dance instructor doing a chair step routine for her students), and the way he can subtly keep his same demeanor while projecting dominant and dominated is really special. The moments he was beating down Garvin were great, and the moments where he is getting walloped were great, and Roberts is the same guy with important differences through both. The cheating finish is great, and Jake is one of those great cheating wrestlers who knows just how confidently to act after clotheslining your wrist tape into an opponents' throat and hitting that DDT. This was all I wanted.

PAS: Totally class match. Jake is such a master at timing out a match. He slows it down and then builds to these crashing heights. Garvin is such an explosive wrestler, and Jake orchestrates those explosions. When Garvin finally throws hands and lands the big headbutt, it is like the drum solo in "In the Air Tonight." Loved the heel sneaking in the throat thrust and DDT to sneak under the clock and get the pin.

Jimmy Valiant vs. Great Kabuki

MD: The first minute was legitimately great. The last minute was legitimately very good. Valiant grabbing the mic, threatening Hart, and then immediately living up to the threat, was such good folk hero stuff. He was lightning for the first minute with these awesome awkward clumsy skull-shattering forearms. The last minute where he brought out the chain and just pinballed his fist against both guys was also really good. There was too much BS on this card, up and down, but generally the talent overcame it. Everything between the beginning and the end was just okay, but overall, this was just primal stuff. Someone should have written a song about this match based on thirty year old memories of being in the crowd as a kid.

ER: I dug this. There's plenty of nothing happening, but plenty of great stuff happening. I'm not really a Valiant guy, while also recognizing that Jimmy Valiant is pro wrestling as fuck and that makes me a Valiant guy. He's definitely more of a "the feel of wrestling" guy rather than an execution guy, and that's cool. Wrestling ain't pretty and Valiant looks clumsy and dangerous at once. Valiant dodging so that Kabuki ends up misting his side is some excellent stuff, but I'm also a sucker for claw holds and we got several Kabuki clawholds. The match would gift us a minute (or two) headlock or clawhold, and then it would gift us something genuinely special like those two bumps Kabuki took off Valiant shoulderblocks. Honestly they could have done anything they wanted in this match, they could have sat on the mat in the loosest chinlocks you've ever seen, and been 100% redeemed by Kabuki getting absolutely upended by two shoulderblocks, bouncing off Valiant's shoulders like a kid getting bounced off the Blob in Heavyweights. Kabuki was taking those kind of bumps where you couldn't know how you're going to land, and it happening in a match like this made me love it even more.

Abdullah the Butcher vs. Buzz Sawyer

MD: As much as I love '83 Jake, the most interesting thing in this footage has been babyface Sawyer. It feels like one of the great turns of all time that has been virtually lost to history. We saw him teaming with Brett vs. the Roadies and in a match vs. Dibiase before. We haven't gotten the Thanksgiving tag with Rich yet though. This was right at the moment of the turn. I hadn't been sure it happened yet. In fact there's a promo where he calls out both Dusty AND Abby with Ellering with him that builds to this. When he just appears out of the corner of the screen like a bullet, it's magic though. The crowd goes absolutely nuts. Eventually, in this run, he'll go up against Leduc and the Sheik, but this is the first of these clash of the monsters. It's great. The match itself didn't go long but they just keep fighting and fighting and fighting, with Abdullah being the one to try to withdraw and Sawyer just leaping at him. It all ends up with what had to be the most triumphant moment of Sawyer's professional career up til that point, when he slides back to the ring, hits the kneeling mad dog stance, and just bathes in the adoration of a crowd that wanted his head only a few weeks before.

ER: Buzz Sawyer is such perfect pro wrestling. The horseshoe hair with an all time great wrestling build, a real crazy presence, the perfect brawling babyface who can bleed. He's a guy who territory fans love, whose case as a legend only grows with the release of unearthed footage. Vintage footage findings have raised Sawyer's stock as much as anyone's, and it's smoking performances like this one that will continue to do so. The "fighting bleeding babyface who doesn't want to stop fighting" is a role Sawyer can play to perfection, and this match was a total messy tangle, the kind of fight that goes on just as long on either side of the bell. Abby is a presence that I love, and Sawyer crashes through this thing with amazing intensity, getting old moms in the crowd behind him and cheering for him to bash Abby in the head again, even if it means him taking more shots himself. This has no finesse, and the parts of this I loved the most were the ugly, rolling on the dirty floor bleeding on each other moments. This is the kind of thing absent from major platform wrestling cards (you know, if we aren't considering Coacalco or Zona 23 to be major wrestling platforms).

PAS: This was really great, one of my favorite Abby matches ever and I am a guy who loves Abby. Abdullah is this slow moving movie monster wrecking everything in his path, so when you put a pinball bumper and and pace pusher against him, it works really well. Buzz kept coming forward and getting repelled, dusts himself off only to get repelled again. When he finally gets the upper hand it this cathartic moment for the entire crowd. That ending with both guys brawling and bleeding over the entire crowd only for Buzz to return to the ring as a concurring hero. That is just wrestling perfection. God bless the network for giving me all of this Mad Dog.

Road Warriors vs. Brett Wayne Sawyer/Dusty Rhodes

MD: I can assure you that if I was a ten year old in this crowd in 1983 (instead of being two and in New England), Brett Sawyer would have been my favorite wrestler. He was the scrappiest guy, just a never say die babyface with a lot of good daring looking stuff. Dusty was Dusty and he always stood out, even on the same card with '83 Valiant. I like how giving the early Road Warriors were, because they still came off as completely dangerous but it made for better matches. I liked the focus on Sawyer's back but they needed to build to better hope spots to keep the bearhugs interesting. I think Dusty shouldn't have gotten the slams in during the shine because then they meant less when he did them after the hot tag. The finish of these last few matches were all pretty weird and this one seemed to be about Dusty getting DQ'd for breaking up a pin. What will stick with me here though was Buzz coming back out to save his brother.

ER: This was a really terrific performance from Sawyer, a guy who - like his brother - has also had his stock raised through new footage finds. He reads as such an undersized guy in matches like this, but his shots pack a wallop and occasionally he shows flashes of the same kind of strength possessed by his brother. Dusty grabbing a knucklelock only to have Brett crawl between his legs to pop Animal is a moment that could come off silly, but since Sawyer sticks the punch it works great. Dusty was at his silky charismatic best, moving around the ring with impossible charm, and that Sawyer turns in such a compelling babyface performance while teaming with one of the most charismatic humans of all time is a true testament to Sawyer's skills. I thought he made great work out of the bearhugs, and I fully agree with Matt that early Road Warriors, far more generous than they would become just a couple years later, where incredibly fun. Road Warriors attacking Sawyer's arms was some nasty business, the two of them and Ellering dropping heavy legs on both arms. And it lead to perhaps the great moment of the match, which was Buzz coming out and Tasmanian Deviling his way quickly through the heels. Dusty gets a comeback blow against Ellering, Jake the Snake is out helping other heels, and Buzz protecting his brother came off like some of the most effective wrestling relative drama.

Ted DiBiase vs. Tommy Rich

MD: I wasn't really excited about this coming in. We've seen some lackluster heel Dibiase during these footage drops. This was next level stuff though. Dibiase was replacing a no-showing (or not booked, depending on who you ask) Race, so the crowd was robbed of a NWA championship match. They made it up by going at triple speed and getting mean and bloody. I can't say enough about the opening headlock exchanges. They were working it so hard while really entertainingly going in and out of them. Dibiase constantly went for the tights, until Pistol Pez (the special ref for the title match who just kept the booking) ultimately stopped him. Some of the best 80s opening headlock spots you'll ever see. When Dibiase ultimately took over (with just enough of him earning it and capitalizing on mistakes to be really satisfying), he was extra mean, probably the meanest I've ever seen him, with goozles and pounding and eventually opening Rich up and just trying to get as much blood as possible. The hope spots were equally satisfying though obviously the finish (likely Dibiase getting DQ'd for not stopping his assault in the corner despite Pez pushing him off repeatedly) was more confusing than effective and the post-match brawl probably shouldn't have been on the same card as the Abby vs Sawyer match. The action we did get was great and it was certainly a way to escalate the feud and build towards the loser leaves town match, even though they hadn't planned for this specific encounter in the overall booking.

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New Footage Friday: DiBiase, Race, Lawler, Kerry, PS Hayes, Boogie Woogie, John Paul?

Harley Race vs. Ted Dibiase AJPW 10/31/83

ER: This was one of those matches that, for me, highlighted the structural problems that both of these guys have. Race and Dibiase are two guys who do a ton of things I like, but sometimes they do them in a way that does not make me care very much about those things. So we get fistdrops and kneedrops and headbutts and powerslams and brainbusters and big bumps to the floor, and a lot of the time it just feels like stuff they're doing on the way to filling their allotted time, and the transitions often feel like "alright that was fun, now it's my turn to try something!" Everything they do LOOKS good, the order of these things just feels off. I liked how tenacious Dibiase was, as it looked like he was trying to find ways to finish Race early, and before long he was trying to lock in sleepers and a figure 4, and I liked how that would lead to Race anchoring himself and sending Dibiase sprawling. A sleeper leads to Race ducking his body weight and flinging Dibiase to the floor, a figure 4 inevitably leads to Race kicking him off and Dibiase taking a great bump over the ropes to the floor. But a lot of this stuff that looked cool felt like both guys trying to get their cool stuff in, regardless of when it made sense. Race hits a brainbuster on the floor, but misses a headbutt off the apron. The headbutt off the apron could have been missed at any point, why do it when it requires somebody to get up right after you gave them a brainbuster on the floor? Both guys don't seem fazed by piledrivers or powerslams, and even Dibiase going for figure 4s so late in the match only read like a prop to set up him losing and not like an actual match long plan. It was much more "try to powerbomb Kidman" than "I'm wearing down his legs to win". I like both guys, I liked how everything looked, but the order of that everything made me feel disconnected from the match.

MD: There is a new 1983 AJPW TV set out there from Dan over at PWO (go get it!) and while we expect it'll take a while to figure out what's new and what's not (anyone who feel like they have a great sense of what's been out there and what hasn't, reach out), this one jumped out immediately.

We lose just a scant two minutes of this, which were mainly headlocks I imagine. It's a pretty strange creature, feeling ten years before it's time, and not necessarily in the best way. Once they really get going, which is only about four minutes in, it's bombs, bombs, and more bombs. It's hard hitting (especially the headbutts and strikes) and everything looks great, but the whole affair is pretty jarring for the time as a NWA title match. It's purely back and forth with nothing really settling for long. The spectacle and the struggle makes it stand out: you're not going to forget Race hitting that brainbuster to the floor or missing the subsequent headbutt plunge off the apron anytime soon and standing tall babyface Dibiase is the best Ted Dibiase, but this was not some high watermark of storytelling. All that said, if you're going to get a Harley Race title match, you'll probably want this one, where he does a bunch of stuff and fights real mean, instead of something where he gives up 75% to his opponent.

PAS: I imagine if we saw this as a music video in 1983 (maybe set to The Warrior by Scandal) we would thing it was the coolest fucking match ever and be begging to see the whole match. As a whole match though, I thought this was actively stinko. Eric hits it on the head, they just did a bunch of cool stuff totally disconnected from any structure. Cool bumps to the floor, huge moves, but no selling, no progression, no actual wrestling match. That brainbuster on the floor, leading to the missed headbutt by Race is about as bad as it gets. For two hall of famers who are considered all time great workers, this felt like a match you might see two rookies work at an indy fed somewhere, where they want to hit every video game spot they practiced until the arbitrary finish. Man I bet Meltzer would love this if he saw it.

Cactus Jack/Bad Company/Rock and Roll RPMs vs. Jeff Jarrett/Rock n Roll Express/Top Guns AWA 9/18/88

MD: This was a nice showcase for both sides. The 10 man tag format allows for a lot of energy in the shine since everyone gets to move in and out, with the babyfaces working together even in unique pairings and all looking good except for Rice who seemed to puff his cheeks up weirdly with every punch. The heat was all on Paul (who I initially thought was a weird choice) and I thought he looked surprisingly good, bumping high on a back body drop, selling well, fighting back in the most direct way possible and leaping across the ring for the hot tag. I thought Gibson getting cut off without chicanery almost immediately after the hot tag was a weird way to have everything break down. It would have been better if Page grabbed a leg (which would have protected the AWA champs) or even if the heels all rushed in when he had the advantage. Everything else basically worked though.

PAS: Got to give John Paul credit, he takes the biggest back body drop bump in a match with Cactus Jack, Ricky Morton and fucking Pat Tanaka. He had to be a -800 in Vegas betting for biggest back drop bump. This had moments, but kind of sputtered out instead of building to a big finish. Pat Tanaka was such a ball of energy back them, and he brought a lot of the pizzaz to this match. No big bump by 1988 Cactus which was a shocker, you figure if he had a chance to be on ESPN he would land tailbone first on the concrete or something.

Jerry Lawler/Jimmy Valiant vs. Kerry Von Erich/Michael Hayes AWA 9/18/88

MD: Weirdly, this felt more iconic to me than the Superclash title match. I think that was trying too hard to be something specific and this was lower stakes and allowed Lawler and Kerry to just be themselves. That meant they traded struts after lock ups or shoulder blocks. It meant that they got to work fun little spots around the discus punch or the fist drop or dropkicks or just double punches. It was loose and fun and really highlighted how equal they were. Extremely smartly put together to accomplish what they were trying to do. Immediately, this feels like one of the most enjoyable match-driven builds to a babyface vs babyface match I've ever seen.

If you're going to have guys working the apron or around the margins, Valiant and Hayes are pretty much the best ever. They had a little moment of playing to the ground with stomps at the beginning. Just good, charismatic stuff. This was a great little piece of color with a heated post match.

PAS: This was nifty. Totally perfect way to set up a big PPV match. We get just enough of Lawler vs. Von Erich to wet your whistle. Some face offs, some big shots, but nothing definitive. We get Hayes and Valiant being rock stars on the apron, and having a wild punch out on the floor. We have Lee Marshall and Frank Dusek making drinks and steaks bets on commentary, and we get an awesome pull apart at the end. Lawler unloading his punch combo on Kerry in the corner is all time great stuff, no one can put it together the way Jerry Lawler can.

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New Footage Friday: Boogie Jam 1984

The Steamboat vs. Flair match from this show was available before, otherwise everything is new stuff.

Dory Funk Jr. vs. Tully Blanchard

MD: This was a good opener, not at all worked like I was expecting. Tully was so smart. It's almost comedic how hard he struggled to find anything to do other than to sit in Dory's headlock, which is one of the most boring things imaginable to watch. Sitting in that thing wouldn't have got him over. Getting knocked out of the ring and stooging on the floor though? Absolutely. If Dory's in there throwing forearms and European uppercuts instead, it's going to be a pretty enjoyable time and that's what this was. Tully on top wasn't as interesting mainly due to Dory's quiet selling but all of Tully's stuff looked good. The finish was smart and sufficiently pissed off the crowd which is what you'd want in a match like this.

ER: Man Tully is an all time great. I have always liked Tully, but as a kid I was more into Arn (possibly because he looked like a cooler version of my dad) and seeing what he pulls in the match it is just one more of a million points in Tully's favor. Tully is like Terry in this match, right down to the era-appropriate curly mop of hair. He handles Dory like a total pro and takes rote Dory spots and turns them into gold. Have you ever seen the side headlock -> rolled into a pin look as interesting and engaging as it did here? Look at all the small body movement struggle happening during these multiple side headlock pinfalls, shoulders twitching, hips hitching, feet pushing off the mat trying to find better leverage, the whole thing was amazing. We've all seen Dory grind a match to a halt with a headlock before action ever starts (just look at the Harley/Dory match that Phil and Matt suffered through last week) and this looked like Tully absolutely refusing to have an uninteresting match. Even when Dory misses a moment Tully is right there with an interesting follow up. Look at when Dory is being choke in the ropes, and Tully snaps the ropes to get Dory to recoil, but Dory doesn't move an inch. Well, Tully just flies right in with a hard kneelift without missing a beat. I mean I don't think anyone would disagree that this is one of the more fun and interesting Dory singles matches we've seen, and Tully is a MAJOR part of that, and possibly the only part of that. Tully stooged and bumped his way through all of this while Dory felt 1/3 committed at any given time. Tully made every Dory strike look like it sent him off balance, just constantly doing favors that weren't going to be paid back in any way other than a pinfall victory. I think this match should be viewed as a legendary Tully performance, and I don't think that's a bold statement.

Ernie Ladd vs. Rufus R. Jones

MD: I love watching Ladd work. He's lankly but uses every inch of his frame to get his message across. Forget working to the back row; you could see him take a bump from the moon. One of my favorite wrestling tropes is when a huge guy pisses off the crowd by consciously not working to his size on offense but cheating again and Ladd has that down as well as anyone ever. He eye-pokes, uses the object, begs off, etc. I don't think anyone in the crowd expected the Rufus win out of nowhere and it lit the place up.

Bob Orton Jr./Don Kernodle vs. Mark Youngblood/Wahoo McDaniel

MD: If there was just one person who we have relatively limited 74-84 footage of that I'd want more of, it might be Orton. We have so little complete of his tag team with Slater. It's obvious from this just how great a tag worker he was. The way he cuts off the ring and sets up double teams with Kernodle. The way he follows up a Kernodle power slam (a novel move for the time) with one of his own to create some sort of branding. The use of ref distraction. All good stuff. Also, he made it all seem organic and opportunistic instead of pre-arranged spots, especially his use of the ropes. That makes such a huge difference and it's decades lost to wrestling. It's virtually unimaginable in a world so polished.

This had double heat as a structure, so much heat in general. The fans being this into everything helped. The southern tag structure helped. Kernodle being enough of an ass to slap Wahoo across the face in the early going helped. Mark obviously wasn't Jay and all of his stuff looked a bit clumsier, but the crowd was going to cheer for his wardance anyway. Both hot tags were good, with the second one with a ducked double-team set up, great. The double chop finish was so simple but the crowd came absolutely unglued and it made it feel like the best finishing move ever. Just a really good old tag that never wore out its welcome.

PAS: There are few things I enjoy more in wrestling then Wahoo chopping the shit out of someone, and he had a really great opening run of lacing into Orton and Kernodle with both heels really flying for each shot. Both Kernodle and Orton are really great bumpers. Mark Youngbloods chops were pale imitations, although he was a fine face in peril, including getting slammed spine first into the guardrail, which felt like the kind of bumps some crazy fuck in GCW would take, not an 80s babyface.

Angelo Mosca Sr./ Angelo Mosca Jr./Junkyard Dog vs. The Great Kabuki/Ivan Koloff/Gary Hart

PAS: This had a little more Mosca Jr. then you would want in any situation. He has a rep for being one of the worst second generation guys ever, but he just looked kind of dull and all of the early heat was on Jr. Kabuki is always fun to watch, as is any JYD we get, but I wanted this to be crazier after the great angle which set it up.

MD: Mosca, Jr. was such a doomed project. That said, the fans were behind him because they would have been behind anyone in the world on this night, and it was pretty enjoyable watching Kabuki kick him. Mosca, Sr. and JYD were obviously great on the apron. In 84, that's generally where you'd want both of them (though with someone else in there as the third man). The use of Hart here was inspired: first coming in getting shots in on Jr., then later sneaking in his choke on Sr. to set up the second bit of heat, and finally getting his comeuppance in the final act to set up the hope spots, the comeback, and the triumphant finish.

This needed to be one thing, a build for JYD to get in and do his thing, and we got it basically twice with it working both times. This wasn't the sort of match that could carry a card by itself, but it was a fun mid-card attraction.

Greg Valentine vs. Dick Slater

MD: This is the best look at babyface Valentine we are ever going to get and it's well worth seeing. It's also an amazing look at 84 ace heel Dick Slater. With Flair gone for big swaths as champ, it was Slater that anchored things. Outside of one chinlock during the shine (which was made way better when he went seated with it), I really liked Valentine here. He was stoic, but had this amazing ability to just be still and let the fans build up their anticipation. Slater, on the other hand, did these big wind-ups which had the same effect just through a different avenue. I loved the contrast in their selling, something that was easy to see due to a few revenge spots (biting a wound, but more importantly, punches while the opponent is trapped in the ropes, slamming their head back into the cage). Valentine would acknowledge it, but Slater would just throw his body into everything. It created a firm distinction between babyface and heel.

Structurally, my favorite thing about this might have been how they tied the transitions to the use of the cage. They teased it early but didn't pay it off until Slater threw Valentine back into it with a cheapshot. The woundwork was good, and I liked Valentine's selling of his own headbutts given it. When Valentine came back, the cage got an assist for it. I liked the finish a lot, but wish they'd teased it earlier on with some leg damage instead of the chinlock. Great lost match with a great crowd.

PAS: I thought this was pretty awesome, pre-WWF Valentine is a big winner in the WWE dropping stuff on the network, between this and the Piper match we have had two new classics. So strange to watch Greg work babyface, but he does have nice timing, and there was a big "Let's go Greg" chant. The structure of this match was a pretty standard 80s cage match structure, but both guys bring extra to the table to make it stand out. Valentine is such a bruiser, and every one of his shots was 5% nastier then they needed to be. I loved the section where they are both on their knees, and Slater is throwing great jabs, and Valentine his hurling these overhand smashes to the neck. Slater has really fun Terry Funk cosplay with his selling, and does a great job of being "Dirty" Dick. There is a part where he is just smashing the back of Valentines head into the match, which felt just like the kind of line a scumbag bar brawler would cross. Finish was fun, although it did feel a bit like Greg was on his way out. Loved that we got to see this.

ER: I don't have a lot to add, this was just 20+ minutes of two hardasses beating each other around a cage, and Valentine is one of the meanest toughest dudes in wrestling history. His clubbing shots to Slater's body had to have left Slater bruised for the next week. Slater did a really fun Terry Funk approximation in this (I don't think as good as Tully's Funk approximate earlier, but one that was very appropriate for this match). I loved Valentine going after Slater's knee in unique ways, especially when he was on his knees and clubbed an approaching Dick right in his thigh, then his knee to drop him to his level. And the shots to the leg were even cooler to me because they didn't set up any extended legwork, they set up a *reason* for Valentine to continue making attempts at leg work, with his figure 4 attempt eventually leading to him being pushed face first into the cage and rolled up. Slater was really fun selling Valentine's hard shots, bouncing between rope and cage, I'll always love a stooge who hits hard. Valentine kept pulling out neat little tricks that others should steal, like when he had Slater on his back and grabbed both legs, Slater covers up, so Valentine leaps over him and drops a knee right on Slater's chest! The more Valentine that shows up further solidifies his legendary status. 

Assassin #2 vs. Jimmy Valiant

MD: Not much to say here, except for this. Jones, just in his reaction to Assassin #1 getting sent back to the locker room, probably extended the viability of the feud by another year. Talk about full commitment to what was going on. This was all sizzle, but after an hour long title match, that's fine. You watch a show like this and wonder how the territory wasn't doing way better than it was in 84. Then you remember that they just lost Piper and they were about to lose Orton and Valentine and that Flair was away every week and it makes a little more sense, but this crowd was just so good.

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