Found Footage Friday: 1989 AJPW~! MALENKO~! FUCHI~! ABBY~! BABA~! KAMALA~! MIGHTY~! RUSHER~!

Mighty Inoue vs. Shinichi Nakano AJPW 2/23/89

MD: Another set of Classics drops as we go down the list of new footage. This one is probably one I wouldn't have gone out of my way for in general, but it was good overall. A Jr. Heavyweight Title match. We've gotten pieces filled in for this lineage and defenses and the matches hold up quite well against late 80s NJPW title matches really. You have guys like Fuchi, Inoue, and Momota carrying the division with people like Joe Malenko popping in.

I don't have a lot of time for Nakano in general, but this was set up to be almost impossible to fail. For one, he ambushed right from the start, giving things early direction and not forcing them into feeling out matwork he might not excel at. He slapped Inoue out of nowhere and then hit his signature power slam before tossing him to the floor and destroying him on the rails. Back in the ring, it was a seated chinlock. He at times had a sense that he wasn't sure how to best capitalize on the moment. 

None of that from Inoue. First chance he got (grabbing the head out of a Nakano toehold) he focused right in and chained three or four things together perfectly. As the match went on and they went back and forth, he wouldn't let things meander much either. At one point, Nakano was hitting shoulder thrusts in the corner with not enough pepper behind them, so Inoue asserted himself and started shin kicking him in the face. 

They had an exciting finishing stretch where Inoue got him down for the flipping sentons but missed the second. That allowed Nakano to hit his fisherman's suplex but Inoue got out to win with a very cool headscissors roll up out of a side slam. This overachieved, but it was entirely because Inoue is so good.

ER: I love Matt's specific, targeted dislike of Nakano, but I'm not sure I agree. I thought this match was great, but because of both men, and how easy they made it to buy in to an All Japan juniors match based around stiff work and snug holds. When I first started trading tapes, traders were not fans of the All Japan juniors division. If you wanted "Juniors Wrestling" there were so many other options: Michinoku Pro, New Japan, WAR, lucha, all filled with small guys working fast and flying, building to big highspots. All Japan's juniors division had none of that. It was permanently understocked with talent, AJPW never used it to showcase a future star, gaijin imports mostly focused on heavyweights (meaning you might get at best Rex King in a juniors match), and the matches were mostly worked like Kings Road undercard matches. It was not the style people associated with juniors wrestling, and now I'm far enough removed from that, that I can see the style for what it is and love it. 

Nakano tried to get the drop on Inoue and wear him down with holds, but since he is just a lesser version of Inoue it only worked until Inoue got fired enough to put him back in his place. Nakano came out hot, staggering Inoue good with a slap across the face and trying to secure a quick surprise title win with an awesome powerslam, knowing Inoue would be favored the longer the match went. When he moved into wearing down Inoue with holds, I bought all of them, because every submission felt like Nakano was working it to specifically finish the match. He believed in this firmly held submissions, and it made each one matter. His camel clutch, late match Boston crab, his single leg crab, all felt like something he was locking in to force a submission, never just to kill time. I bought into the struggle on every hold, and especially got into Inoue's long escape pulling a chinlock out of a deathlock, stretching Nakano until breaking. It all led to organic advances. Inoue's grounded headlock was snugly pulled into a swinging neckbreaker, the way he fanned Nakano's legs while locking in a butterfly stretch looked punishing, and when he locked in the tightest headscissors possible it was nice foreshadowing for the headscissor cradle he used to retain his title. 

If I'm talking about guys pulling snug submissions that look like they could get a tap, none looks better than Nakano pulling Inoue into a bow and arrow and holding it firm. How many bow and arrows subs have you seen fall apart at the seams? The legs come uncrossed, the knees aren't pressed firmly into the back to hold the sub taut, it's almost as common to see someone inadvertently slip out of the hold while rolling onto their back than it is to see a firm successfully applied lock, and Nakano puts the work in on every part of the sub. He put in the visual work of digging his knee into Inoue's back while securing the deathlock, worked through every bit of securing the hold at both ends of Inoue's body, leaving no wriggle room when he rolls to his back with Inoue stretched. 

Does Inoue "look better" as a wrestler? Yes, probably. His fast and weighty crucifix pin was so good I thought it was the finish for sure, and the way he makes cradles and backslide attempts feel threatening in general means there's always a sense he can surprise with a finish, which made his cradled headscissors work so well. He gives weight to opponents' with good selling in holds and fast bumps. His flipping bump through the ropes to the floor is one of my favorite signature bumps. I love how this man exits a ring. But, All Japan Juniors matches were never about crazy bumps or building to big highspots, which was why the division never got acclaim 30 years ago. I'm not even sure what the biggest highspot of this match was - the crucifix pin? Inoue's somersault senton? - and that's why people weren't seeking out this work. Viewing it outside of its Juniors framing you can see how tight the work was. 

Giant Baba/Rusher Kimura vs. Abdullah the Butcher/Giant Kimala AJPW 3/8/89

MD: It would be easy to dismiss this, to just say some fun things about Baba's cool trip on Kamala, how Kamala fought out of the corner, or how great Rusher's strikes against Abby looked. Or we could play into the amusing bits here, the amazing look on Baba's face when Abby got a cheapshot on him on a rope break and then did the whole martial arts hand waving shtick. We could go on about how they were like a married couple having a spat and how delightful that was. And that'd be valid. We could talk about how into this the crowd was, how they buzzed for Kamala's big moments or Abby asserting himself or Rusher making a comeback or whenever Baba came into the ring. 

And on some level, I am going to talk briefly about the sum of all of that. But I just don't think I can do this justice. I'm not even sure I want to do this justice. This match, ten minutes or so until the countout, is its own sort of magic. It's delightful. I was smiling the whole way through, out of delight, and I rode the same wave as the crowd, decades later. I could argue that we were taught and trained and conditioned not to enjoy matches like this and then I'd feel dumb, because of how stupid that sounds, but also because how stupid it makes me feel that at one point in my life many years ago, I would have denied myself this sort of joy, would have tried to hide behind a sort of self-important sense that wrestling had to be something else. 

Sometimes wrestling should be this. Hell, most wrestling should be begging to be this, because this clash of characters, of timing, of conducting a crowd, of heart and humor and misfit, monster, mythic heroism and villainy... it's just so different than we can hope to find out of most other forms of entertainment. There's nothing in the world quite like this. Watch this. It's ten minutes plus some before and after. Let yourself feel what that crowd was feeling. Smile along. Be delighted. It's okay. The world is a dark place, but there's light to be found in the least likely of places.

ER: I get so excited whenever Matt and I get to write about Abdullah the Butcher and Kimala 2 teaming in All Japan, that I went into this having no idea it was actually Abby teaming with the real Kamala. I've seen so many Abby/Kimala 2 matches, several matches where both Kamala's team with Abby in a trios, but I've seen little of Abdullah and original Kamala as a team. I think it only happened on this one tour. Also, it's important to note that I don't think Real Kamala is an upgrade overall, but it does make the team more threatening and less beatable. Kamala in Japan is weird. He looks like he'd be a natural fit, because his size and appearance makes him stand out more than at any time he was in WWF, it's just that his work does not fit in with Kings Road style at all, and at times he comes off like a total first year fat guy who isn't sure how to work with any of the old pros he's in with. He throws his overhand chops somehow worse than he threw them in 1993 WWF, but at least he tried throwing spin kicks like 1986 Kamala. His early match spin kick into Rusher's chest was easily his highlight of the match. 

So, with no Kimala 2 to work the heel in peril role, it is down entirely to Abdullah to create all the match's intrigue, which he is great at doing. His work against Baba and Rusher is always worth seeing, regardless of what current freak is teaming with him. Abby's aura lifts other, differently fat ships, because there is no other situation where Kamala would have grabbed Rusher to headbutt him if he wasn't headbutting him with Abby. I was impressed by Baba's work with Kamala, how all his chops looked like they were moving the large savage, knocking him down to build to the big Abby/Baba showdown that everyone was dying to see. Abdullah looked like he had so much fun working with Baba, just try not to smile as Abby is doing his karate posing. He looks like he's having a ball, and while I think it is very silly that Abby gets busted open by Kamala's tribal mask, it leads to Baba straight kicking Abby in his forehead grooves several times and Rusher opening those cuts with headbutts, so the silliness leads directly to violence. The karate chops and backhands Abby throws at Baba's neck to stop the onslaught are one of the things that make their showdowns worth watching no matter the year. 

I take it back, maybe Kamala's best contribution to this was when Rusher swarmed him with chops and punches, Kamala selling the swarm by backpedaling in fear while flailing his arms to keep hornets away from his face. Kamala feels so out of place in Japan, that there can be awkward moments...but when a moment like that plays into his fish out of water placement, suddenly it all makes sense. 

Joe Malenko vs. Masa Fuchi AJPW 10/20/89

MD: I can't help but think about this match in context. 1989 All Japan is defined by the war between Tenryu and Jumbo, between Hansen teaming with Tenryu and tearing through people, by Footloose having spotfests, Rusher and Eigen and Okuma doing comedy, guys like Shunji Takano and Kabuki scrapping and holding down the midcard against both Revolution and foreign monsters. And yet, here is a an absolute throwback to both the sort of 70s hold-driven matches Jumbo had made his name on and the sort of Junior Heavyweight technical battles we'd expect out of Fujinami at the turn of the 80s before Tiger Mask changed the paradigm in New Japan. It feels like the pinnacle of the Denny Brown/Nelson Royal style of NWA Junior Heavyweight Title matches that riddled the undercards of certain territories for years. 

I also can't help but think of Newborn UWF, a native monster that was threatening all traditional ways of doing business in Japan. To watch Maeda, Takada, Yamazaki, Anjo, and all the others is to feel a constant sense of danger. One mistake could bring a fight to an end or allow for severe punishment. There's a tension that leaves viewers on edge the whole time through. It's exciting but it's also exhausting. There can be narratives. There were always narratives. But they were based on an incessant pressure. This is different. It's a slow unlocking, a game of chess instead of a perilous tug of war. Damage had to be done, joints had to be weakened, effort had to be put in. It required a different sort of investment, both for the wrestlers and for the crowd. The struggle is somehow more simulated but also richer and broader for that simulation. It may not feel quite as real but it feels just as true. The wrestlers struggle for every inch, sell every twist of a joint, and react emotionally to consequences (such as Fuchi retreating from the ring, arm damaged, after it seemed like Malenko had an answer for everything he tried). If UWF was constant sudden death, this was regulation soccer, where the ebb and flow of shots on goal and ball possession would add up over time.

And of course, I couldn't help but think about Fuchi. He's the most versatile wrestler I've ever seen. He could go from comedy, to a title match like this, to mauling younger wrestlers. You see wrestlers manage that over their career, but for him that might all be within the same week. I think about him destroying the knees of the Super Generation Army on tables, brutality on top of brutality. Here though, it was a chess  move. It opened the match up, turned everything on its head, gave him a lever to pry on for the rest of the match, and pry he did. Malenko was constantly off balance and every subsequent move he hit was full of desperation. Fuchi could, would, and did throw little pokey kicks to the knee to take back over whenever the opportunity arose. It was the same move, even the same brutality, but it was used in an entirely different way than those Tsuruta-gun trio matches of a year or two later. 

It all built to a spectacular finishing stretch. Malenko's desperation paid off for him as he caught Fuchi in a bridging blockbuster fallaway slam. He followed it up with a northern lights suplex and then a clutch armbar. With leg damaged, he couldn't put Fuchi away. Fuchi, arm possibly still hurt, went with leaping enziguiris instead, and then was able to jam Malenko's final attempt to slip around him for a bridging butterfly suplex and the title win. So while I thought back, forward, and laterally to 70s Jumbo, to Denny Brown, to 1989 AJPW, to UWF, and to 1991 six-mans, what I thought about most of all was how this match stood on its own, and just how good it all was. History might show these late 80s AJPW Juniors matches to be a last gasp of an older tradition in some ways, but it was a gasp that showed how much vital, vibrant, and worthwhile life might have still been left to be found in the style.

ER: I wrote about the maligned/unregarded All Japan juniors style up above as we were breaking down Mighty Inoue/Shinichi Nakano without realizing that Matt went into different detail on the style in this review down below. Denny Brown is an interesting style comparison for this type of match, and it's interesting because at one point that would have been considered a pejorative and now it's clearly being used as a positive comp to something that we both miss from modern wrestling. This match is nothing but excellent, honest work, both guys gluing themselves together to craft something tough and true while making my own joints and ligaments scream out in pain. 

They build this around increasingly torqued holds, no traditional "highspots", no strike exchanges of any kind, just one blunt attack that leads to a long full match of superglue. The blunt attack comes when Fuchi begins smiling and taunting Joe with a couple of head fakes, a couple of lunges that weren't ever leading to anything, but Joe sees the evil behind Fuchi's smile and just headbutts him in the face when he gets his hands on him, wrestling him to the ground and beginning the always satisfying wrenching. Joe's holds all look like the finish: his cradle, grapevining one leg while concurrently forcing Fuchi into a painful half nelson, using all his limbs to manipulate Fuchi's body, not going for a pin just going for pain; a camel clutch with no pullback on the chin, all focus instead on hooking both arms and pulling back on them as he sinks into the hold, leaving Fuchi wincing and rubbing out his shoulders after he escapes to the floor.

Joe Malenko is someone who can make a Fujiwara armbar takedown look like a hold that damages the entire body. The way he takes Fuchi's arm and drives him down with his full weight sends Fuchi's head, face, and shoulder into the mat, like he was using the arm as leverage to do something more sinister. He uses that same leveraged arm to do a Russian legsweep when Fuchi eventually fights to his feet, holding the arm the whole time and using that as the point to pivot into attacks that folded in other limbs. 

Fuchi makes no inroads working the mat with Joe so eventually involves his tried and true friend Ringside Table to smash Joe's knee into. Joe's knee selling is real and escalates the match instantly. I love an injury coming into play late in a match, rather than give someone a memory exercise in the first couple minutes that makes it near impossible to do an actual match without conveniently forgetting your injury. Once Fuchi smashes Joe in the knee, Joe's strategy changes entirely and you can see in his eyes that this was the worst thing to happen to him. Fuchi is now in kill mode and Malenko is bringing out the big guns. The way Joe swings his leg away from Fuchi's single leg attempt before swinging him over with a front face lock takeover, catching a high crossbody and floating over with Fuchi's momentum into a bridging pin, and a clean northern lights that I'm sure he wished he had pulled off earlier with a sturdier knee. Fuchi doesn't so much as wear Joe down as he does hold him down long enough to win, the same thing Joe had been doing all match long. Excellent work all around, showcasing a style that really wouldn't be hard to integrate into any modern work, you just have to be honest and actually put in the work. That's the thing I don't see happening.  

Read more!

Found Footage Friday: EDDIE~! JANNETTY~! COLT~! GANG~! REY~! GERMANY~!

MD: Going to finish out last month's Richard Land Germany knowing we've got some 81 footage to go through too (Rudge vs. Bret Hart for one).

9/6/80

Axel Dieter vs. Kim Duk

MD: Just a clip. We come in JIP. We get no finish. It's almost entirely Duk chopping Dieter with karate strikes. Overhand shots. I've seen a lot of Duk between Germany and Puerto Rico and that one cool Korea match that came up last year. And he can be very good. He really can. And we get flashes of that here right at the end when he's scrapping with Dieter who's firing back. The chops are quicker. They hit harder. He's actually trying to cut a resurgent warrior off instead of just marking time. Usually though, I find him lacking and I did in the first bit here. He's relatively big and has a great look and a clear personality and he just does the bare minimum to limited effect a lot of the times. But when it is time to go, he goes hard. Not much here.

Sal Bellomo/Achim Chall vs. Jim Harris/Tom Shaft

MD: Something of a slight tag but another look at Shaft and another chance to see Pre-Kamala Harris. There was some tomfoolery early where neither Harris nor Shaft wanted to be in there (past one shaky bit at the start, Harris fed pretty well for early shine), but as you can imagine, Harris was able to take over fairly quickly. It was interesting to see him do the handshake with one hand behind is back on his knees deal, which led to the transition. He had a misunderstanding with the ref. Due to the nature of the rules, you have to connect a pin to your last move in some way shape or form. His big splash defied that and he had to make sure to get in an extra bodyslam and quick pin to win the fall. Shaft did not impress. He could grind someone down but whenever he tried to do anything more (like a butt butt where he barely got off the ground) it just lacked oomph and energy. 

Not much to say about the faces. Bellomo took massive back body drops here and Chall came in hot on the hot tag. Good strikes. Bellomo won the second fall with a body block but everything got thrown out, with the heels getting DQed for illegal double teaming early into the final fall. More educational than entertaining overall.

9/13/80

Chris Colt vs. Louis Lawrence

MD: I knew how great Chris Colt was. I've seen him in a bunch of different territories, right? But watching him in these German matches is a whole different beast. He's itchy. That's the word. He wrestles like he's seeing colors wherever he looks and it's wild. Everything he does is worth watching, whether it's strutting around the ring as he's being announced or pointing at the ref, paranoid, between rounds. At the end of one round he was trying to get out of a headlock with roll ups and lifts where he got taken over, and he just decided to lay there in the middle of the ring once the bell rang. Lawrence had to come over and pour water on him and then he freaked out. Constant motion, constant manic energy, just fascinating to watch.

Lawrence, unfortunately, was not fascinating to watch, but I guess he provided a sane baseline for everything going on around him. There was one point where he just put him in a cross toehold for a few minutes and Colt WAS entertaining in it but they could have been doing a hundred more entertaining things. Finish was pretty hilarious as Colt guided the ref to the ropes to look out so he could climb them to do an elbow drop off the top. But the ref only looked for a second. It clearly didn't work. Just a "Look over there" that was futile, but the ref let him get away with it anyway. Maybe it was legal there and he thought it wasn't? Who knows? Anyway every match we get with him here is well worth watching.

Eddie Guerrero vs. Marty Jannetty ECW Enter Sandman 5/13/95

ER: We only had this (already short) match in very clipped form, and now we have all six minutes. Eddie had wrestled a 30 minute draw earlier in the night against Malenko and who could say what could ever have happened in that one. Maybe someday we'll get to see any of the Malenko/Guerrero matches but for now I'll watch this unclipped match for the first time and...see why ECW originally clipped it so much. This isn't that great! That's unexpected! This is one of those times where I was really hoping for a hot go go go short match, two guys who can work some speed and never otherwise wrestled, and instead it's kind of slow and sleepy and structurally confused. Eddie seemed tired and Marty worked down to his sleepy foe. Eddie and Dean had jerked each other off for a half hour earlier but Joey Styles wasn't pushing Eddie being tired from an earlier match whatsoever on commentary, so I guess this was just a couple quick guys working at 75%. Eddie pokes Marty in the eyes and scrapes his boot across his face but otherwise does nothing else heelish. Heatless backslides, ramp up that doesn't ramp, never reaches drama. Eddie's snapped off huracanrana finish looked good. Great leg hooking. 

One Man Gang vs. Flash Flanagan WWF 2/3/98

MD: Gang dark match. He had dropped some weight from his peak and was up against Flash Flanagan. My big takeaway is that he had a lot to add to the company if they were to bring him in but that this match didn't necessarily serve him. He worked the crowd well. His clubbers looked great. He had pretty decent presence. He shouted out "Shut your hole" which popped everyone. He gave Flash a ton though, and while it was generally earned, it was probably too much and serving too many masters. I think the fans saw the two of them too differently and it didn't do Flash any favors. If he had to work from underneath even more and had to really scrape for every inch he got it would have done him better and I think it would have served the match (and Gang) too. Kind of weird what might have been here. You could see him all over the card, the lost member of DOA, an Oddity, or the third man in a Bossman/Shamrock Corporation trio?

ER: I love getting a look at these dark/tryout matches because some of them are good, some of them aren't, and some of them are weird. This one was kind of weird, as it was laid out almost like a double showcase. I"m not certain it did a good job of showcasing Gang, but it played like a Flash Flanagan babyface showcase while also playing as a "here are all of my various skills" showcase for Gang. By that, I mean it felt like Gang was showing every thing that he could possibly do, without necessarily putting that into a coherent match. Think of it like someone auditioning for SNL by doing a bunch of impressions rather than doing a tight set utilizing those impressions. This was slower than it should have been, because it felt like Gang showing his entire skillset, in order. You can see how he works a crowd or gets verbal with a ref, you see what offense he can do, then you see how good he is at taking and selling offense. Some of Gang's offense looked great: he drops a pair of sick elbowdrops that are, quite frankly, perfect, he gets his boot up in the corner right to Flanagan's chin and gets an audible OOF from the crowd, and his follow up clothesline following through to his knees looked great.  

But I don't think I expected, going into this, how much more valuable Gang would be at putting over a fired up babyface. He was fantastic at taking and selling Flash's offense. Part of it was that Flash Flanagan had great offense. His missile dropkick is strong (Gang hangs in the whole way and takes it to the chest), and he has a cool springboard dropkick that starts in the ring and gets aimed at Gang in the corner. He has several kinds of nice punches and is great at "punching up" to the much larger Gang. He even has a couple big back elbows that looked like they would indeed move a guy Gang's size. But I don't think Flash's offense works as well without a guy selling it as well as Gang. This wasn't just about bumping, it's about being a humongous man believably getting knocked around by a smaller heavyweight, and Gang was so good at getting punched around into place. But he topped it all with a ridiculous spot where he gets hung up across the corner ropes like Shawn Michaels and splashed repeatedly by Flash until falling to the mat. I loved it, never seen anything like it before. A man the size of One Man Gang using the rope corners like a hammock alone looked absurd, but every time Flash hit him his large body would get rearranged into a different hilarious position. Body sagging, legs propped up like legs that size never are, finally falling gracelessly to the mat. Ridiculous. 

I would have loved One Man Gang in 1998 WWF, even if he was just a guy working Sunday Night Heat. Reuniting the slimmed down Twin Towers would have been booking directly to me, and with Gang recently on the payroll it would have made them more likely to bring the Towers back as a triumphant patriotic babyface team at the end of 2001. 

 

Eddie Guerrero/Kurt Angle/Edge vs. Undertaker/Kane/Rey Mysterio WWE 7/2/05

MD: Enough of a lost Japan house show match to write about certainly. We miss a huge amount of it but we get the beginning and the end and there's plenty to see. For one thing, this might have been the best use of Kane ever. He was tagged in early when Guerrero and Angle were basically trying to throw Edge under the bus. They had dodged Rey and Edge thought he was going in to face him only to get Kane. Lots of goofing around and it's all entertaining as the characters crash up against each other. Best part might have been Eddie trying for a sneak attack only to run when Kane turned his head. When Eddy finally gets in there, the crowd tries to encourage him which is all very funny. 

For what actual action we see, we get a good Eddie and Rey exchange where Eddie bases all over the place for him and then Edge feeding and feeding for Undertaker and that's pretty much what he's best at so it all works for me. It's much preferable to things being the other way around. Then we come back for the finish where Eddie got to goof against all the babyfaces and the ref with a chair. House shows are the best sort of wrestling? Sure seems it.

Read more!

Found Footage Friday: PRE-KAMALA~! WRIGHT~! ONITA~! WISKOWSKI~! MOROWSKI~! UFO~!

9/13/80 Hanover, Germany

Big Jim Harris vs. Bob DellaSerra (UFO)

MD: Now and again someone will wax poetic about how wrestling today is better than it ever was and we have so many four+ star matches on TV every week and whatever else and what people seem to miss in that is what we've lost. A match like this is what we lost and no amount of choreographed counters and athletic spots and constant fast pace will ever get it back. The social contract between the crowd and wrestlers changed. It's not about people thinking it's real or kayfabe. It's about the way the crowd reacted.

I'm not saying it can never come back but it's going to be hard especially with the incentives all broken.
For instance, if you watch FTR vs Nigel/Garcia from Double Or Nothing, the fans don't pop for each of Nigel's comeback shots out of the corner. They may react overall, but they're not living and breathing with each move done on either side. They may react to momentum shifts, but generally they're only going to react to big spots and more often than not, the way they react is that they're just glad to be there, just glad to see a spot. They don't have a horse in the race anymore, except for that the race is as exciting as possible. 

It's amazing how over Della Serra is here. Just constant UFO chants. A real connection with the crowd that he then makes the most of. This was on the card but not on the tape label so it's a bit of a bonus match and I'm glad we have another look at Harris. I watch the way he moves here, his swagger, his confidence, and I think he could have had a run with Dusty as this character in the mid 80s. You say that there was Bad News Brown or Leroy Brown or a few others that fill that gap but I just think between his size and how he moved and how he carried himself, he could have done it without Kamala. I'm just not sure he would have been an always in demand top guy for those years like he was. 

This went the full draw, over twenty minutes, and it was pretty good the whole way through. They had Harris lean on UFO building to big, hot moments of comeback. Everything was pretty simple and straightforward but they kept it moving and everything Harris did was credible and when he missed a charge or a splash and UFO was able to fire up, he sold big enough to make it all seem believable and meaningful. And when UFO finally slammed him, the fans went nuts, even if it didn't lead to a finish. I'm kind of amazed that they filled the time as well as they did but it was just a case of the right guys doing the right stuff in front of the right crowd.

ER: I love what Matt had to say about losing wrestling like this. This is wrestling at its barest essentials presented to the exact people who wanted those essentials. Big Jim Harris was two years away from Kamala and maybe 50 matches into his whole career and working a crowd like this must have been a breakthrough for him. Yeah, just put me up against a beloved babyface and I will be a tall black guy who throws downward strikes all match and it will get nuclear reactions. It's just that easy. Was it that easy? It couldn't have been that easy. This wasn't about the fans having lowered expectations, it was about the fans believing in UFO and rooting him on against this large tri-hawked presence. The men in the ring also knew how to best make use of the rounds system. They were good at saving something big for the bell in every round, like a serial where something was just about to happen but you'll have to tune in after this musical interlude. 

The first round ends with Harris breaking a front face lock agreeably at the bell but then whipping down hard with a strike not unlike his Kamala/Baba chops a decade later, except this one looked like Finlay smacking someone in the back of the head. Kamala learned to lighten up on the chops but Big Jim Harris was still throwing those long arms full strength. He lands one big downward strike after breaking so genially, then walks away with his hands up like he did everything that was asked. He understood the assignment. Harris cannot run the ropes yet but when he tries he looks like any guy his size would look attempting to run the ropes. He barrels into UFO like a large man completely out of control and UFO falls back rigidly, as if the contact of the shoulderblock/full body block knocked him out before he hit the mat. 

We get a round that ends with UFO actually hoisting Harris up onto his back and Harris using physics to fall back into a crucifix just as the bells sounds. This was the best round ending and while nothing in this match was clean or any kind of revolutionary offense, when have you ever seen Kamala rolling up ANYBODY with a crucifix? This is something I have never even pictured, or thought possible. What man could even attempt to get Kamala up on their back like that? Who would want to? What situation would Big Him Harris ever find himself in where he was lifted up on another man's back. No fireman would be able to carry him out of a burning building, only UFO. UFO hitting an ugly bodyslam on Harris felt like such a big moment, even if it only got a one count, because every single shot that landed on the big man was treated by everyone in that room as the greatest thing that could be happening. This was 20 minutes of build to one messy bodyslam, which will sound like the absolute worst shit to people who I have no interest in watching wrestling with, but they weren't there. It wasn't for them, and it didn't have to be. It's a testament to a babyface a specific crowd wants to live for...and also probably the threat of a large black man. 

Sal Bellomo vs. Moose Morowski

MD: Long match but a pretty good one. Bellomo had a special connection with the crowd too but I'm not sure if it had as much to underpin it as UFO. I get why it made a lot of sense to try to push him as an Italian American star in the WWF in the early 80s but I also get why maybe it didn't work. Plenty of energy and pluck. But at this point some of his timing was just a little suspect now and again. Morowski is infinitely credible. Able to just smash someone into the corner or toss them from the ring or hit a cheapshot from his knees as at a moment's notice. When he leaned on someone, he really leaned on him but then he could backpedal and take as good as he could give.

He took more of this than Bellomo and a number of times when Bellomo came back it was either due to a round break (catching Morowski as he charged in) or due to the ref intervening. At one point he goes so far as to swipe with someone in the crowd (maybe another wrestler/official but it's hard to tell from the footage). It's pretty constantly entertaining because the fans go up for all of Bellomo's comebacks and the cutoffs are mean and believable even if I'm not sure I need quite so many rounds of it. Finish has Bellomo knock Morowski off the top to the floor with a big bump but then get posted as he goes after him and made short work of once he makes it back to the ring.

Steve Wright vs. Klaus Kauroff

MD: Every new Wright match is a blast. You look forward to every exchange because you have no idea what he'll do next. The downside generally is that he does tend to eat up his opponents. With Karoff, however, that wasn't going to happen. This was more like a three act play than you usually get in these German matches. 

Wright clowned him early including some ridiculously elaborate sequences where he bounded and cartwheeled and twisted and turned and then turtled up. Karoff leaned hard on him in the middle with lots of big shots and cutoffs whenever Wright tried to fire back. And then Wright fought his way back into the ring headfirst and really pressed Karoff until he tried that head first lunge one too many times and ended up clotheslining himself on the rope. Karoff followed with this great over the shoulder backbreaker where he pressed Wright's neck up onto the top rope from underneath. Only problem is that it was very illegal and he got DQed for it. Overall, though, it was a fun, complete match.

Takashi (Sumo) Ishikawa/Atsushi Onita vs. Kim Duk/Ed Wiskowski

MD: Pretty surreal match and a great early look at Onita. It's not our earliest match of his but it's pretty close. Wiskowki and Duk are a tall, tall team. Duk really towers over Onita and trolls him early with a test of strength tease. By 82 you can definitely see signs of Onita in Onita but I was wondering if they would show up here and they did, not just in a perfectly milked hot tag but also in the way he'd get knocked to the apron and hang off by his feet. Just hamming it up in a way that had visual impact.

Ishikawa knew how to get over with this crowd too. A lot of sumo charges that were almost more football tackles, one of which missed and had him sailing out of the ring. The Japanese team would get beaten down (Onita especially) and make big comebacks and Duk and Wiskowski would bump and stooge until they could take over again. Wiskowki willingly got carded by jumping off the top so that he could win the first  fall. That's always a clever bit. In the second, they were firing back on Duk until Onita got caught in a tombstone. Pretty good match overall and as noted, a great look at young Onita in an interesting setting.

Read more!

Found Footage Friday: HANOVER 1980~! WRIGHT~! KAMALA~! WISKOWSKI~! MARTIN~!

Hanover Germany 10/4/80 (Richard Land Patreon)

Caswell Martin vs. Karl Dauberger 

MD: Martin's really a joy to watch. I look forward to new matches of his almost as much (but not quite as much) as Fujiwara and that's saying something. Yes, he does some of the same bits a lot (the cartwheel out for instance). But he has that same sort of imagination and creativity where you wonder how he's going to treat an exchange. And he's interesting in different settings whether it's WoS or here or UWF. 

This was face vs face or whatever they call it in Germany. They were just teaming the previous night after all. And it was a pleasant sportsmanlike affair until the last round where things got a little heated. A lot of great escapes by Martin really. He had a way of handstanding up just a little higher to rana out of a double leg and even did a spinning headstand toupe escape out of a grounded side headlock that I'm not sure I've ever seen done quite that way. They'd be good sports about things. He'd use a butt butt escape out of a go behind and Dauberger had a good laugh from losing his wind from it. Lots of nearfalls and reversals here and they had the crowd the whole way. Down the stretch it got a little chippy with Martin doing a facewash with his foot and they picked up the pace with rope running and a couple of bombs (very nice double underhook slam by Dauberger for instance) before Martin got him on a banana peel takeover from a waistlock. Good stuff.

Ed Wiskoski vs. Jim Harris 

MD: Here we have Ed Wiskowski, as a cowboy, against Jim Harris, before he became Kamala. It's a massive stooge-fest from Wiskowski, the sort where he'll take face first bumps just from being in a headlock and it was hugely entertaining stuff that had the crowd. Harris just had to be a center of gravity and keep the pressure on, but he did it so well that you think he could have had a pretty great career even without the gimmick. Wiskowski is usually the biggest guy in a match and he was a little taller than Harris still, but here he worked like the smaller man. Flying all over the place, arms flailing, trying and failing to slam him.

When he did take over it was by going after the eyes and drawing a public warning and that lasted just until he got carded and the distraction let Harris come back with big clubbing blows. Finish had Harris go off the second rope but miss a splash so that Wiskoski could come off the top with Bombs Away and then actually slam Harris for the win. Good stuff though. Extremely entertaining and it makes me hope we get more Harris from this tournament against guys like Wright, Colt, or Destroyer.

ER: We call this era Kamala 0: The Departure Point, in which Sugar Bear Harris is sporting a tri-hawk two years before Clubber Lang existed, and he even comes out throwing jab fakes. But Harris is extremely raw here and it gives us a chance to see - yet another - incredible Ed Wiskoski carry job. I love Ed Wiskoski. He's like if Nick Nolte got into pro wrestling and was just as good at wrestling as Nolte is at acting. He's got the same military straight posture and size, and the same amazing hair as same-era Nolte. However, Wiskoski wrestles much, much differently than Nick Nolte does in this hypothetical situation where Nolte got into wrestling instead of doing Who'll Stop the Rain. I don't think Nolte, with his size and looks, would be one of our most gifted stooge bumpers in the same way Wiskoski is. Ed Wiskoski might be the tallest wrestling stooge we were ever gifted and I am in love with the way the man moves. Jim Harris at this point - and at many points - had a very limited tool bag and Wiskoski works this entire match staggering and falling all around the ring for simple arm strikes. 

Wiskoski does not ever go crybaby John Tatum but he has bumps that Tatum would go on to steal. That includes the way he stacks his bumps so that one headbutt makes Wiskoski take a bump that then sends him face first into the turnbuckles which then turns into a third bump recoiling from the buckles which could also turn into a fourth bump if he gets pinballed by another strike. Wiskoski spends the first two plus rounds stuttering and staggering around for Harris, comes back in the third with a couple of nicely timed eye pokes, and then spends another couple rounds building to some classic chained Wiskoski bumps until Harris misses a middle buckle splash. I could watch this man fall all day. I will say however, and I think this is important: Wiskoski is not a "realistic" bumper, but I don't think his bumps could ever be seen as "comedy bumps". This is difficult to do. It is hard to be a theatrical bumper without including several comedic pratfalls, but he somehow pulls off silly unrealistic bumps without ever feeling like he is doing them for a laugh. They are always in direct response to the offense he is selling, and never feels like he is doing them to show off his own athleticism. They might look silly in a vacuum, but they always look appropriate within a match, and that's a line he walks so impressively that it only makes me love him more with every new match we get. 

Kim Duk vs. Manuel López 

MD: We spend a lot of time with 90-91 Kim Duk given his extended run in Puerto Rico so at first it was nice to see him here. Lopez is not someone I'm familiar with so I was curious how this would go. Not particularly well. The first thing you notice is just how huge Duk is, which is not something that stands out as much if he's wrestling TNT or Scott Hall (or people like Jumbo or Hogan) but he just towered over Lopez. It created a sort of disconnect in the match because while they did wrestle it like Duk had a size advantage, he was primarily technical so you barely expected Lopez to get anything on him. And he didn't get much. In the second round, they picked up the pace a little and Lopez came flying back off a charge into the corner only to get caught and carefully tombstoned as an act of mercy. They can't all be winners.

Bob (UFO) Della Serra vs. Takashi (Sumo) Ishikawa

MD: UFO remains as over as ever. Ishikawa came out to Turning Japanese. He's an interesting character as he disappears from AJPW so as not to be part of Jumbo vs Revolution or Tsuruta-gun vs Super Generation Army, though he pops back up in SWS. He ends up being more of a role player instead. But he could go and hit as hard as anyone else from the decade. I'm not sure if this is clipped or if it's just short but during the middle the camera cuts to some of the wrestlers standing by the entrance watching or talking to each other. They seem to match up well from the bit we do see with trading of slams and armdrags and Ishikawa having a nice step over to break the grip before launching karate type strikes.. Ishikawa leaned into the sumo bit with crouched charges and got caught on one in the corner and rolled up.

Klaus Kauroff/Le Grand Vladimir vs. Salvatore Bellomo/Steve Wright

MD: Another incredibly entertaining tag. I didn't like the Duk match much but the overall level of quality here is just amazing honestly. This had what you'd expect early with the fans singing along to Bellomo and especially Wright making absolute fools out of the heels. Lots of great stuff. Rope running spots. Ref goofing bits. Wright a dervish of cruel and hilarious technique and bounding about. But then things did settle down to heat, and they actually went double heat on it, including some southern elements like drawing the ref. Both hot tags and comebacks were a ton of fun, with Wright pinballing people and Bellomo coming in hot. They finished with a draw, but with Wright and Bellomo both doing the Franz Van Buyten dash across in the ring to leap up and punch. Very fun stuff.

Read more!

El Deporte de las Mil Emociones: The Ghost Brings Chaos

Week 36:  The Ghost Brings Chaos

EB: TNT has once again been thwarted in his quest for the Universal title. It looks like there was a plan in place among the duo of TNT and Kim Duk to ensure each walked away with a title on September 8. While TNT was successful in helping Duk win the Caribbean title (more on this shortly), Duk was not successful in his attempt to help TNT win the Universal title. Thanks to noticing Duk just in time and also being in a position to use TNT as a shield, Carlos Colon was able to avoid being misted in the face. Instead , TNT took the brunt of the spray and was pinned. Does this mean that TNT has run out of chances at the Universal title? Carlos Colon probably thinks so, but we will have to see if TNT will let the matter go. 

The barbed wire match was not the only notable match to take place on the September 8 house show. Abdullah the Butcher made a quick return to Puerto Rico and went to a double countout with Giant Warrior. Roadblock made his debut appearance for CSP in a match against Mr. Pogo. The Super Medicos were finally able to regain the World tag team titles from Lance Idol & Rick Valentine. As mentioned already, Kim Duk defeated Invader #1 in a kendo stick on pole match to win the Caribbean title. Also on the card was the Caribbean Express defending their Caribbean tag titles against recent arrivals the Texas Hangmen. Let’s go to Estadio Juan Ramon Loubriel for that encounter.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G20fgmIJZKI

EB:  You can tell this match is from September 8 since you have the coal miner’s pole attached to one of the corners. This is the Hangmen’s second week in and already they are challenging for gold. Your announce team is Hugo Savinovich and El Profe, so this must be from a Campeones airing. As the video starts, Hugo appears to be talking about the difficulty in telling the Hangmen apart and how that causes problems when figuring out who the legal man is. El Profe interrupts, basically seeing himself on screen and waxes poetic about how handsome he is. Hugo asks if he needs a moment and El Profe says he was only stating reality. Hugo asks him if his mother accepts the reality of who her son is and Profe says that he gives her an autographed photo of himself as her Mother's Day gift (much to her delight) and she has a wall filled with his pictures. Hugo marvels that mothers are such wonderful beings that they forgive their son's faults. El Profe counters with "Just like your mother", and from there Hugo says the match is about to start so let's focus on that. Castillo and one of the Hangmen start (it seems it is the one who has more hair sticking out from behind his mask). They lock up and back up to a corner where they exchange chops. El Profe starts putting over the Hangmen's size and that he only brings the cream of the crop to Puerto Rico. Hugo tries to figure out which Hangmen (Psycho or Killer) is in the ring, while Profe says that it doesn't matter which one's which, the important thing is that one's in and the other's outside. Hugo ends up indicating that Psycho is on the apron and Killer is in the ring.

Early in the match, Castillo uses his quickness to get a quick advantage. The Hangmen regroup and Profe rings the cowbell in support (Profe on commentary: "Who does the bell toll for, it tolls for Miguelito and Castillo. What a beautiful thought."). Hugo mentions that this Thursday they will be in Guanica and runs down the list of wrestlers scheduled. There is some confusion as to which Hangman should be in the ring, so the referee makes them tag again. Psycho and Castillo do a test of strength ,and Psycho gets the initial advantage. Profe starts saying that it is not that hard to tell them apart, one has blue eyes and the other has green eyes (Me: Good luck with that ref!). 

We go to a commercial break and are back with the Hangmen still in control, although with Miguelito in. Hugo says that the Hangmen have had a tough time putting away the Caribbean Express. Profe explains that it's his fault, he hasn't yet fully counseled the Hangmen about their opponents style, but he'll remedy that soon. At this point, the Hangman in the ring (Killer probably due to the hair) and Perez knock heads and both go down. Psycho is tagged in but misses a dive from the top and Miguelito makes the hot tag. Castillo cleans house on both rudos and then all four men are in the ring. Hugo mentions that this Friday they will be in Camuy. In addition there will also be  a concert at Camuy. Castillo comes off the top with a cross body for the pin, but the ref is busy getting Miguelito out of the ring. The other Hangman jumps off the top onto Castillo and they get the pinfall and the titles (Hugo: That's illegal!; El Profe: Illegal my foot! That was beautiful!). Hugo complains that there was cheating involved while Profe celebrates that they are the champs. Huracan and Miguelito proceed to attack the Hangmen after the match, mad about the outcome (El Profe complains that they are sore losers). The ref is trying to restore order as the Hangmen take control and proceed to hang Miguelito (El Profe: My guys may have gotten slightly out of control there, but I like what they're doing to Miguelito). The ref's has seen enough and proceeds to reverse the decision and award the match by DQ to the Caribbean Express. Thus, they remain the champs (El Profe: Why is the ref doing this! They attacked first!). The Caribbean Express retains the titles but Miguelito is down on the mat feeling the effects of being hanged for a while by the Texas Hangmen. 

MD: I wasn’t expecting the Hangmen to give so much early but then they were going to win. AWA was never a high heat territory and while I’m not as familiar with what it was like at the end, I imagine they had to give a lot there too. They took over on Perez and looked pretty effective in their control. I’ll eventually figure out how to tell them apart hopefully. Profe ringing the cowbell was a good part of the act. Castillo came in hot after the hot tag and knocked them around. Then we got the same sort of finish we’ve gotten so many times in the last year with a heel coming in off the top to break up a pin and switch things around. Post match they made good use of the bullrope with an insult to injury hanging though (and apparently reversing the decision to put over the severity of it all too). Not a bad way to get the new heels over immediately.

EB: As we move forward to September 15, it has become a bit more clear what TNT is focused on now, which is getting revenge on the person who he blames cost him the chance to win the Universal title. And that person is not Kim Duk. It is someone who had interfered previously to save the Universal title when it looked like TNT had Carlos Colon out with the Cobra Dinanita. That person is Invader #1. 

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

EB: Hugo presents the recent altercations between Invader #1 and TNT. The most recent incidents started on September 8, when Invader # 1 was defending the Caribbean title vs Kim Duk in a kendo stick on a pole match. Invader and Duk were playing tug of war with the kendo stick and Invader hit a dropkick to knock Duk down and gain control of the stick. Invader starts attacking Duk with the kendo stick as the crowd cheers on. Duk falls to the mat and Invader continues with kendo stick shots to Duk’s head, busting him open. Invader uses the kendo stick as a clothesline to knock Duk down again, but a second attempt misses Duk and Invader accidentally takes out the referee instead. Invader looks to hit Duk again but TNT has run out and jumped up on the ring apron. Invader takes a swing at TNT, who ducks the blow. Invader on the turnaround decides to hit Duk before he can attack but when.Invader goes for a second strike, TNT reaches out and grabs the stick. Invader is wide open and Duk hits two kicks that knock him down. Duk covers Invader as the ref recovers and TNT hightails it back to the dugout. The referee makes a three count and Kim Duk is the new Caribbean champion (so that part of the plan went as they wanted). We then go to the most recent TV tapings in Miramar (I’m guessing the 12th), where TNT was making some comments about Invader that caused him to rush out and attack TNT. Both men start fighting at ringside and take it into the ring. El Profe starts yelling for TNT to ‘finish off that imbecile, hit him, hit him!’ Invader and TNT continue fighting in the ring and TNT sends Invader into the ropes for a clothesline attempt that Invader ducks. On the rebound, Invader squares up and catches TNT with the heart punch. TNT gets to his feet for a second but then collapses from the blow’s effect  El Profe starts protesting and Invader yells that this is only the beginning. El Profe is then shown helping TNT to the back.

Later in the taping, TNT had recovered enough to make another appearance. It was during a match between Invader and Rick Valentine, where after Valentine tossed Invader to the outside, TNT ran out with a net and threw it over Invader. TNT teed off on the trapped Invader, as Valentine casually left the ring area. After hitting Invader several times, TNT put on the Cobra Dinamita with Invader still trapped in the net. TNT kept the hold on until Invader was put to sleep, while El Profe was running interference and trying to keep the ref away from interfering. TNT finally broke the hold and left with El Profe, leaving an unconscious Invader (still trapped in the net) unconscious on the floor. Since TNT had refused to wake Invader up, Victor Jovica and then Huracan Castillo come out to help wake Invader up from the hold’s effects. 

TNT and Invader are scheduled for a grudge match tonight and we get comments first from TNT and El Profe. Profe starts by saying ‘he who laughs last laughs best, and tonight Invader, TNT will laugh right in your face’.TNT agrees with El Profe and says ‘and what an ugly fish we caught, didn’t we’ as they both chuckle at the comment. TNT says that Invader hit him with the heart punch and he is still feeling it right now. But remember that when he put the Cobra Dinamita and that net on Invader, he left him sleeping like the dog that he is. Tonight it's a grudge match because TNT knows invader has a grudge with TNT, but TNT has an even bigger grudge with Invader, since Invader cost him the Universal title. TNT continues taking heaving breaths as he rants that the Universal title means a lot to him and that tonight he swears by his mother he will finish Invader. 

Next is Hugo is with Invader #1 and Hugo says that TNT has said that tonight he plans on taking Invader out. Invader calmly responds by saying that he thinks that TNT has filled the glass up to the very top, there are no more drops that the glass can take. Last week the fans saw how thanks to TNT he is no longer the Caribbean champion. The fans have also seen what happened at the TV taping, with the net, the Cobra Dinamita and the refusal to wake him up. Invader starts talking about what he has planned for tonight when the video cuts to the card rundown for that night’s show at Estadio Juan Ramon Loubriel. The scheduled card is as follows: Carlos Colon defends the Universal title against Kim Duk; Invader #1 vs TNT in a grudge match; Giant Warrior vs Roadblock; the Super Medicos defend their newly won World tag team titles against the former champions Lance Idol & Rick Valentine; The Caribbean Express defend the Caribbean tag titles against The Infernos; Invader #4 challenges Ron Starr for the World Junior title; and other great stars. We also get an ad for the September 19 TV taping at Miramar, with the following scheduled matches: a no DQ rematch between the teams of Invader #1 & Giant Warrior and TNT & Kim Duk; the Super Medicos vs Lance Idol & Rick Valentine; Miguelito Perez vs Roadblock; a rematch between Huracan Castillo Jr. and Ron Starr; and other bouts

MD: This looks like a great feud! At least we have this much to walk us through it. First, that Kim Duk vs Invader match had a super hot finish where they were fighting over the Kendo Stick. Invader got it and just clocked Kim Duk repeatedly until he accidentally got the ref with a cross check. Then TNT got involved and Duk got a lucky kick and won the title. That was followed by Invader ambushing TNT on an interview and them having a heated brawl and then more heated promos between the two. I wasn’t sure they’d be able to really transfer the feud over to Invader, especially since they ran the match once or twice after the full heel turn but this looked like it was really working. 

EB: We don’t have full results for September 15, but know that Carlos Colon retained the Universal title against Kim Duk, the Super Medicos retained the World tag titles against Lance Idol and Rick Valentine, the Caribbean Express retained their Caribbean tag titles, and Invader #4 defeated Ron Starr to win the World Jr. title. We have a tag match involving the World Junior title match participants from TV shortly after Invader #4 won the World Junior title, as the Invaders take on Ron Starr and El Exotico.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0ZNqkodlp8

EB: The ring introductions are made and Hugo Savinovich notes that Ron Starr has returned to wearing tights instead of the camo gear we have seen him have. Invader #4 and Exotico start off for their teams. They work a move sequence that ends with Invader #4 catapulting Exotico over. They repeat the sequence but this time Exotico is the one trying to catapult Invader#4. However, this does not work since Invader #4 stops short and stomps on the waiting Exotico. A dropkick sends Exotico back into the rudo corner and Ron Starr is tagged in. Invader #1 is also tagged in and we get the veterans squaring off. They work a nice grapple sequence off a side headlock and Invader #1 eventually hits a dropkick on Ron. Invader #1 again goes for the side headlock which leads to a pin counter and then a reversal, echoing the earlier sequence. Invader #1 gets an arm wringer on Starr and tags Invader #4. The Invaders proceed to work over Ron’s arm while making quick tags. Ron is able to take down invader #4 with a hiptoss and a punch exchange results in Invader #4 being backed into a corner. Hugo mentions that Invader #4 recently won the World Junior title from Ron Starr. Both men exchange several strikes and chops (with Starr even egging on Invader #4 to hit him), but Ron ends up taking Invader #4 down with a snapmare and tags in Exotico. The rudos remain in control as Exotico hits a nice clothesline, but he takes a moment to grandstand and only gets a two count. Ron is tagged back in and the rudos get a double clothesline on Invader #4. The resulting pin attempt is broken up by Invader #1. Ron hits a few knee strikes on Invader #4, then a hiptoss and a kneedrop for a pin attempt. Invader #1 breaks it up. Exotico is tagged in and he comes of the turnbuckle with a forearm smash to Inavder #4’s back. Exotico is briefly in control, but Invader #4 lands on his feet after a backdrop attempt and quickly tags in Invader #1, who cleans house on both rudos. All four men end up in the ring and the rudos get irish whipped into each other, resulting in Ron Starr being clotheslined out of the ring. Exotico then irish whips Invader #4 into a corner, but Invader #4 jumps on the turnbuckle and counters with a reverse flying body press that gets the three count. Ron Starr immediately leaves the ring area as the Invaders celebrate their victory.

MD: I don’t get putting the title on Invader 4 when they really need to be establishing Ron Starr as an anchor but I’ll see how it plays out in the margins, I get. This was a fun little five minute match, pretty complete for what it was. Exotico and Starr got bounced around by both Invaders to start. They were really highlighting Invader 4 here. Got a kick out of the verve Exotico put into things when he and Starr did finally take over on 4. Starr was more grounded and focused. Eventually some acrobatics got 4 to the corner and 1 came in hot en route to Exotico getting steamrolled by a press back off the ropes for the win. Good Invaders showcase overall. Exotico is not Mercenario material. They could have the Invaders challenge as a tag team whenever they needed.

EB: Invader #4’s reign as World Junior champion would be a short one, as Ron Starr would regain the title at the September 26 TV taping. However, this new reign by Ron Starr would also be a short one, as the World Junior title would end up back in the hands of Huracan Castillo Jr. on the October 6 house show. This would also signal the end of Ron Starr’s run in CSP in 1990. Ron has been a semi-regular presence in the territory since 1986, coming in for several months at a time and then leaving for a few months before returning. We’ll see if he resurfaces in the future but for now we bid farewell to one of the most underrated wrestlers of the 80s.  

Speaking of short title reigns, the World tag titles are also about to experience a quick change as well. The Super Medicos had regained the World tag titles on September 8 and defended them against the former champs on September 15. But at the September 19th TV tapings, the Super Medicos defended their titles against recent arrivals the Texas Hangmen and the match resulted in the World tag titles being held up. A rematch was signed for September 22 in Caguas. That September 22 card was basically rematched all around, beside the rematch for the held up World tag titles, the card also had Carlos Colon vs Kim Duk; Invader #1 vs TNT; Giant Warrior taking on Roadblock in a lumberjack match (I guess their previous match must have ended in a double countout); and Invader #4 vs Ron Starr. It is not listed in the results, but it is likely that Lance Idol and Rick Valentine had an unsuccessful shot at the Caribbean tag titles on that show. But if you are worried about Rick Valentine going without championship gold, do not fear. The next day (September 23) in Juana Diaz, Rick Valentine and his tag partner won the Caribbean tag titles from Perez and Castillo. I say tag partner because that person was not Lance Idol, who has left CSP. The Super Medicos would win the held up World tag titles that night in Caguas. 

One other match scheduled for September 22 was Sasha getting her chance to face Monster Ripper one on one. Sasha has been a big help to the Super Medicos and it seems that all that remains to really put this rivalry involving the Super Medicos, Idol & Valentine and their seconds is this loose end of Sasha getting her shot at Monster Ripper. But sometimes, when you least expect it, the ghosts from your past come back to haunt you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUxeKFnQVm8

Eric Embry has returned to Puerto Rico. It’s been four years since his run as one of the most hated rudos in CSP, and it has been about a year or so since he made his last appearance in the territory.  Hugo Savinovich narrates the recent events that have occurred as a result of this unwelcome return. A still image of Super Medico and Eric Embry is on screen as Hugo talks about who can forget the rivalry Embry and Super Medico had years ago, back when Eric Embry had Sasha as his valet and would be abusive towards her. This would result in Medico and Embry crossing paths back then and now this rivalry has gotten more intense. This time Embry has Rick Valentine and Monster Ripper on his side (so Embry is taking the place of Lance Idol) while Super Medico has his son and Sasha on his side. Hugo says to forget what happened between them is almost impossible, but Embry is a violent man and he has a specific type of violence around him. We go back to September 22 in Caguas, where Sasha is set to take on Monster Ripper. Without warning,  Eric Embry appeared out of nowhere, looking to reclaim Sasha as if she were his personal property. The clip from Caguas rolls as Hugo calls this a historic moment. Sasha is staring from the ring with a look of disbelief, and it turns out it is Eric Embry (looking scuzzy as ever) making gestures at Sasha as if to say you and me girl. Sasha goes outside, Embry moves in for a hug and Sasha just slaps Embry in the face (to the crowd’s approval). The match starts after that and we jump to later in the match as Sasha is taking advantage of a missed charge by Monster Ripper to get some offense in. All of a sudden, Eric Emrby makes his return to the ring area and ends up distracting Sasha with his presence on the ring apron. Ripper takes advantage of Sasha having her back turned and grabs Sasha from behind. Embry casually strolls into the ring and just straight up punches Sasha in the face. The ref calls for the DQ and Ripper gives Embry a hug. Sasha is out on the mat and before anything else can happen, the Super Medicos run out through the crowd and head straight to the ring. Embry and Ripper make their escape as the Medicos stare them down.

Back to Hugo in the studio who has some strong words about Embry: ‘Friends, Eric Embry really is a low life, he has no scruples, because can you even imagine going to a low of such magnitude as hitting a woman, hitting a lady. And especially in his case, where one can expect practically anything, I was left shocked, because even knowing how he is, to have done this and to be bragging about it is beyond.’ Hugo mentions that we know Super Medico is not going to let anything happen to Sasha, because he made some statements on a recent Castle of Fear segment. We go to a clip of that segment, where Super Medico and Sasha are with Monster Ripper. Sasha has an injured eye from Embry’s punch and Medico is doing all of the talking. ‘Look Monster Ripper, it’s not that Sasha is afraid of you, or that I’m here to defend her from you, it’s from your disciple Eric Embry. Because what he did last week to Sasha, hitting her with a punch, that is not something a man does. I have made it my goal that Eric Emrby will not touch her again.’ For her part, Monster Ripper looks a bit chagrined while Super Medico is giving his message.

Back to Hugo, where he states that Eric Embry has once again realized that Super Medico is once more in his way. He wants to get to Sasha and Super Medico is blocking him. So Embry has decided to injure Super Medico or come up with a way to hurt him more than physically. We go to Miramar on September 26, where it was supposed to be a tag match between the Super Medicos and Embry and Valentine. Embry shows up in street clothes and with a bandaged foot, he is claiming he is injured and cannot wrestle. Eliud Gonzalez is doing the ring intros and announces that the ref has indicated that Embry could not wrestle because he is injured. Super Medico #1 is getting ready to face Valentine in a singles match (and you can see that the Medicos are the reigning World tag team champions at this point in time since they are wearing the belts), but Ripper and Valentine start insisting that they want Super Medico #3 instead as the opponent. They get their way, and we cut to the end of the contest, where Super Medico #3 gets the win with a sunset flip. Valentine attacks Medico #3 from behind when he was having his hand raised, and Embry and Ripper emerge from the back. Embry’s foot is magically healed and the rudos proceed to attack Medico #3. Embry hits Medico #3 over the head with a boot, Embry continues attacking Medico #3 and you can see that Medico #3 is bleeding from the forehead through his mask. Medico #1 runs out to make the save but Valentine heads outside to cut Medico #1 off and hold him back from the ring. Embry continues the attack in the ring as Medico #1 is desperately trying to get Valentine off him and get in the ring. Medico #1 finally kicks Valentine away and gets in the ring, with Embry immediately hightailing it out of there. Medico #1 checks on his son, who has been left in bad shape in the ring.

We go to a promo from the rudo trio, and they have their recently won Caribbean tag titles with them. The more notable comments come from Eric Embry, where he makes it clear that this has only just begun because ‘that Puerto Rican dog Sasha’ belongs to him. The Super Medicos get their chance to respond, promising to avenge what they did to Super Medico #3. Medico #1 also reiterates that he is not going to let Embry get at Sasha, what he did by punching her was the lowest thing one can do. Embry is a parasite, and you squash parasites. This is not a rivalry, this is a war.

MD: Talk about heating up the territory. Between the Hangmen and the great stuff between Invader and TNT and this, everything feels hot. Embry coming out as a surprise, wanting the embrace, and getting slapped was a great moment but then things go way over the top as he hits Sasha as Ripper holds her. They followed it up by him faking an injury so that Valentine could have a singles match against Medico #3 only to run out perfectly fine once Valentine slipped on a banana peel and lost. High heat stuff. Lance Idol for Eric Embry is an all time trade in the promotion’s favor. Huge shot in the arm. 

EB: With all that has happened from Eric Embry’s return, it's not surprising that the Super Medicos would end up losing the World tag titles to the Texas Hangmen on September 29. Between the Hangmen’s tendency to play dirty, and the distraction Embry is likely causing to their focus, the Super Medicos are no longer the World tag team champions. But to the Medicos, their focus is now entirely on Eric Embry and his allies. You can bet that this feud between the Super Medicos and Embry & Valentine is only just beginning.

Elsewhere, we have had a couple of intense weeks of TNT fighting Invader #1, both in singles matches at the arenas and at the TV tapings in tag matches involving Kim Duk and Giant Warrior as their respective tag partners. We go to one of these tag matches from the end of September.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39bWWfptCYI

The video opens with Hugo Savinovich and El Profe, where they are about to show the main event of the program. But before getting to the match, Hugo starts talking about how in his opinion, this match will show that all is not well between TNT and Kim Duk. El Profe says that Hugo should not be sowing discord or dissent, but Hugo interrupts saying they went to blows. Profe said that things happen in the heat of the moment and when the adrenaline is flowing, but this does not mean that things are off. Everything's good, under control, TNT is happy and feels comfortable being with them. Hugo wants the fans to see for themselves what happened and El Profe starts complaining again as they go to the match. 

The match is in progress with TNT putting Invader in a sleeperhold. Hugo reminds the fans that this Thursday they will be in Guayanilla. As TNT keeps working the hold and Invader tries to fight out of it, Hugo reminds the kids watching that they should never attempt these holds, these are dangerous moves and can badly hurt someone if you are not trained in how to execute them properly. Invader gets to his feet and TNT sends Invader into the ropes. A clothesline and dynamite kick are ducked by Invader, and he hits a clothesline off the ropes that sends both men down. Invader slaps the mat and tags in Giant Warrior. TNT is overwhelmed by Warrior and Duk comes in to help, but to no avail. Warrior easily attacks both rudos as Hugo puts over the size difference between Warrior and his opponents. Warrior hits a clothesline on TNT and then one on Duk, which brings in Invader #1. All four men are in the ring, leading to the rudos being irish whipped into each other. Duk is knocked out of the ring and the ref tells Invader to go back to the ring apron. 

Meanwhile, TNT and Giant warrior are exchanging blows in the ring. As the ref is distracted with getting Invader #1 to his corner, TNT holds Warrior so that Duk can hit him with the kendo stick. Warrior ducks and TNT gets hit with the kendo stick instead. Duk throws the kendo stick in frustration, as Giant Warrior and Invader stand on their side of the ring and watch the rudos. TNT gets up and has some words with Duk, The two rudos start shoving and punching each other. El Profe quickly jumps into the ring to try to separate his guys, with little effect. El Profe on commentary starts asking if they could cut the video here but Hugo says no. A group of rudos rush the ring to separate TNT and Duk, as the tecnicos stay in the corner enjoying the breakdown between TNT and Kim Duk. The referee awards the win by DQ to Invader and Warrior. Meanwhile, Eric Embry and El Profe are holding TNT back while Monster Ripper and Rick Valentine are holding Kim Duk back. As El Profe tries to calm things down in the ring, on commentary Profe and Hugo are going back and forth on whether things are okay or not (El Profe says everything is smoothed over, Hugo keeps reiterating that it does not look that way to him). As the rudos continue talking things out, you can hear the crowd start making noise and trying to get them riled up again. El Profe says that everything is fine, they shook hands so all is good. Hugo harps on how long it took for them to get to shaking hands and wonders if TNT is satisfied with that apology. The segment ends with the rudos peacefully leaving the ring as Profe says that you can see TNT is satisfied and calm.TNT’s frustrations are really coming to a head for him. Duk has seemingly messed up a few times, although it does not seem to have been on purpose. Still, TNT has always had his hothead moments, and we will have to see if he can refocus or if things will spiral even more for him.

MD: All things must come to an end I suppose. This starts with Profe saying everything’s cool with the Sports Club and then we cut to this tag. Invader starts in a TNT sleeper fighting from underneath like only he can. Once Warrior gets in after the hot tag he’s got lots of clubbering and clotheslines. His best stuff is that straight down shot and it looks pretty good. I wish he’d move just a tiny bit faster and hit a tiny bit harder but I can kind of live with him, I guess. Against the right heels, he’s a novelty. TNT catches him in the throat though and holds him for a Kim Duk kendo shot. Giant Warrior uses his superior agility to move and Duk hits TNT and chaos ensues. I like the range of the bad guys that come out, including Monster Ripper, to try to calm things down.

EB: The month of October brings some returns to CSP. Kamala is back for a brief shot, where he is scheduled to face Giant Warrior on October 6. Also making a  brief return during October is Ricky Santana. While we don’t have much footage from this nearly part of October, we have  two videos highlighting these two wrestlers. First we have a TV match featuring Kamala taking on Invader #1.

Invader #1 vs. Kamala (forowwc.com) - maybe 1990?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zv1I9ImBGuY

Kamala returns for a brief stop in CSP and faces an old nemesis in Invader #1. The match is joined in progress, with Kamala working an armlock on Invader #1. Hugo and Eliud Gonzalez are on commentary, with Eliud mentioning that Kamala has to keep Invader at some length in order to avoid the strong hits Invader can give. Hugo mentions that both men have given their all so far, and you can tell the match has been going on for a while already. Invader fights back to his feet but Kamala pushes him back into the corner and hits an overhand chop. Kamala slaps his belly and looks at the crowd, only to continue with chops on Invader in the corner. Kamala chokes Invader with his foot and continues with more chops and headbutt that knocks Invader back down in the corner. This part of the match has been all Kamala, who dances around the ring in celebration. More chops and a choke in the corner, but Invader starts showing signs of life by slapping his chest to fire himself up. Kamala goes back for more chops but Invader starts firing back with chops of his own, and knocks down Kamala with a dropkick. The crowd comes alive as Invader stomps on Kamala and keeps slapping his chest. Invader is now in control and rams Kamala’s head into the corner. A blow to Kamala’s chest knocks him down, but when Invader goes over to grab Kamala, he is hit with a punch to the midsection. Kamala takes the opening to toss Invader through the ropes to the outside. Kamala raises an arm in celebration, while Invader tries to get back into the ring, Kamala attacks Invader, stopping him on the apron and knocking Invader back to the floor. A second attempt results in Invader again being kicked to the floor, but on the third attempt Invader fakes Kamala out and dodges the kick. Invader then grabs Kamala’s extended leg and drags the Ugandan warrior to the outside. Invader starts attacking Kamala on the outside, but the referee starts his ring out cut and eventually both men are counted out. No winner but Invader slides back into the ring to play to the crowd and seems to have gotten a bit of a moral victory.

MD: If you’re going to bring in Kamala for a cup of coffee, having your #2 babyface fight from underneath against him and then take the fight to him is not a bad choice really. I think we try to measure our praise to some degree, but Invader was incredible here. It’s just five minutes with a hold to start, but the way he fights up, the way he fights back, the way he recoils against getting swept back under and pulls Kamala out. And most importantly, the way he recovers on the floor with the kids in the middle. It’s all time pro wrestling stuff. It’s five minutes. Click the link and see just how good he was at what he did.

EB: And while we don’t have any matches of Ricky Santana in his October return, we do have a music video highlighting him. In it we can appreciate that apparently the ladies dig Ricky Santana (with some unintentional comedy abounding). 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0m9kA8tBKo

MD: I see this and think that Santana would have had more utility on the babyface side in 90 than Singh or Styles or whatever. This is funny both for the premise of a bus full of girls chasing him down and for how many of said young ladies had “Colon” in their last name during the credits.

EB: CSP had a show on October 6 in Bayamon that featured Carlos Colon defeating Roadblock; Invader #4 defeating Kim Duk by DQ; Giant Warrior defeating Kamala by countout; the Super Medicos and Eric Embry & Rick Valentine going to  a no contest (a lot of heat there based on what has happened so far); Huracan Castillo Jr. winning the World Jr. title from Ron Starr;  Sasha defeating Monster Ripper by countout; and Mr. Pogo went to a time limit draw with Ricky Santana. The following week on October 13, Sasha was finally able to defeat Monster Ripper and in the process won the women’s World title.

We close out this installment by checking back in with the Texas Hangmen. In the span of one month, Psycho and Killer have made it known that they have no qualms with using their bullropes and live up to their names against the tecnicos. They have used the bullropes to win matches and have tried hanging their opponents when given the chance. They have also won the World tag team championship. Let’s go to a TV match at one of the October TV tapings, where they are facing the Invaders.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubuZ3EXl5lc

The match is joined in  progress with the Hangmen working over Invader #4. Hugo on commentary mentions that the Hangmen have been dominating the tag division by using the strategy of isolating one member of the team and focusing on them, weakening that specific opponent and then causing their other opponent to have to go at it 2 against 1. Or the Hangmen just flat out attempt to injure their opponents (as we saw happen in the match vs the Caribbean Express).  One of the Hangmen (still not sure which is which yet) makes a charge at Invader #4 in the corner, but Invader #4 gets out of the way and makes the tag to Invader #1. The Hangmen also make a tag but Invader #1 hits a dropkick on both Psycho and Killer and takes the attack to both of them. All four wrestlers end up in the ring, with the Invaders attacking the Hangmen in opposite corners. The Invaders try to irish whip the Hangmen into each other, but one of the Hangmen counters, causing Invader #4 to collide with a Hangman instead. Invader #4 is knocked out of the ring and now it is Invader #1 against the two Hangmen. Invader #1 holds his own for a while but the odds overwhelm him and the Hangmen back Invader up against the ropes. As the Hangmen are hitting Invader #1, El Profe takes out a pair of handcuffs and holds onto Invader #1’s leg, as the Hangmen handcuff Invader to the ropes. Hugo complains that the ref has not seen that they are cheating with the handcuffs when all of a sudden El Profe runs across the floor to grab a chair. El Profe hands it to one of the Hangmen, who promptly uses the chair to smack Invader #1 on the head. With Invader #1 knocked down to the mat, the Hangmen turn their attention to Invader #4 (who had been recovering on the outside of the ring from the earlier collision). Invader #4 briefly holds off Psycho and Killer with some dropkicks, but a third attempt is dodged and Invader #4 is left open for attack. The Hangmen grab one of their nooses and and they pick up Invader #4 in an attempt to hang him. The Hangmen can’t get a good grip on Invader #4 on their first attempt, but they reset and get him up on the second try. Hugo is worried that this could seriously hurt Invader #4, He is not left hanging for too long though, as the Super Medicos and Giant Warrior rush out to chase the Hangmen and Profe away. The Medicos check on Invader #4 as Hugo mentions that it may be that Invader #4 slipping on the first attempt may have been enough to save him from suffering a serious injury there. Invader #4 still looks like he may be worse for the wear and the Hangmen lose the match by DQ (although I’m sure they don’t really care too much about that).

MD: What was interesting to me here was how the Hangmen physically responded to Invader #1 getting the hot tag and coming in. They fed a little, getting knocked around a bit or knocked off the apron or eating a double noggin-knocker but in general they just held firm and absorbed the blows for long enough for Profe to grab Invader’s leg. That’s very different than almost any other opponent who was going to have Invader come in hot on them and it made them seem all the more foreboding and dangerous. Hugo had made the point earlier that their style was to really beat down one opponent so it became a 2-on-1 and that’s how things played out for a chunk of the ending and post-match. I’m not sure how much of this was a conscious decision or not but it was striking in the moment.

EB: The Texas Hangmen have continued with their use of the bullropes and the attempted hanging of their opponents. El Ejercito de la Justicia is getting tired of this, and after being handcuffed to the ring ropes, Invader #1 wants another crack at the Texas Hangmen. His partner this time around is the Universal champion and leader of El Ejercito de la Justicia, none other than Carlos Colon. Let’s see if this super team can teach the Hangmen a lesson. Let’s go to the October 17 TV taping in Miramar. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5av8DfHy2G0

EB: The ultimate tecnico team of Carlos Colon and Invader #1 is facing the World tag champs the Texas Hangmen in a non-title match. Their objective is to teach the Hangmen a lesson after the continued abuse and dangerous attacks they have attempted. Your announce team is Hugo Savinovich and Eliud Gonzalez. The commentators talk about how dangerous the Hangmen are and that experience favors the tecnicos. It's the courage of the tecnicos versus the tag champs that do not hesitate to hurt their opponents. The match is in progress, with Invader having one of the Hangmen down on the mat with a hammerlock. Carlos switches in when the ref’s back is turned to continue with the hammerlock,  and when Carlos yanks the mask at around the 40 second mark, Hugo says that this is a sign that the faces are going to fight fire with fire and are looking to avenge some of the abuses the Hangmen have committed with other members of El Ejercito de la Justicia. Carlos works over the Hangman’s arm and the commentators again mention the difficulty in telling which one is Killer and which one is Psycho. Invader is tagged in and again puts on a hammerlock, but the Hangman hits a back elbow to break the hold. A rope running sequence ends with Invader hiptossing the Hangman. Back to working the arm and again the tecnicos do a switch when the other Hangman tries to get in the ring as we get a commercial break.

We return to the Hangmen taking control, as Carlos gets backed into the rudo corner and gets double teamed. The Hangmen keep Carlos near their corner, raking his eyes across the top rope and taking advantage of a ref distraction to choke him with the bullrope in their corner. When they use the bullrope to choke Carlos in the corner, Hugo mentions that they are experts at using the rope and they don't care if they get DQ'd for using it. It's not enough to win, they have to finish their opponents. The match continues like this for a while, with the Hangmen working Carlos over and Invader making the save a few times when some pin attempts were made. After taking the continued punishment for a while, the announcers mention that if it weren’t for Colon’s fortitude he would likely have been beaten already. Carlos is able to make a tag but the ref misses it and the Hangmen continue to work over Carlos. A miscommunication by the Hangmen leads to the hot tag and Invader comes in on fire. Almost immediately Carlos goes back in and all four wrestlers are fighting in the ring. Ona attempted Irish whip collision, Invader surprises a Hangman with a small package and the tecnicos get the win .

The Hangmen are furious about losing and proceed to jump Colon and Invader. Colon (who had been worked over for most of the match) gets hit with the bullrope and tossed over the top and to the floor. El Profe jumps into the ring and holds down Invader’s arms, while the ref gets tossed outside. The Hangmen then proceed to attack Invader, and with Profe's help, hold him down and wrap the noose around his neck. Carlos tries to get back in but is hit in the head with the bell on the bullrope. The ref's calling for the bell and also tries to go back in but Profe cuts him off (Hugo: Profe's going to be fined for that!). The fans are throwing some garbage at the rudos and the Hangmen proceed to hang Invader with Profe running interference in the ring.

Invader #4 is quickly out to help his brother, but is cut off by Rick Valentine. Valentine's not even fighting, he is just grabbing the desperate Invader #4 to prevent him from reaching the ring. Miguelito Perez tries to get to the ring, but he's cut off by Eric Embry. Ricky Santana is next to try to save Invader, but he's cut off by Kim Duk. Meanwhile, Profe's holding off the ref from getting into the ring as Hugo starts worrying that Invader's life may be in danger. Giant Warrior tries to help, but he's held off by Skywalker (Nitron / Tyler Mane, a recent arrival to the territory). Invader #4 is desperately trying to get in the ring but he's still being held back (this time by Embry). The ref El Vkingo tries to get in the ring with an umbrella, but Profe cuts him off and takes it from him. Profe proceeds to whack Invader #4 a couple of times with the umbrella to ward him off. Carlos also gets whacked with the umbrella.

Hugo's still going on about the direness of the situation when Sasha!?! runs out and jumps into the ring to help. The Hangmen push her down and Embry seizes his chance to get at Sasha (and taking advantage that the Super Medicos are not there). Embry drags Sasah out of the ring by her hair and proceeds to slap her across the face a few times. Now Hugo's horrified at what's going on in the ring and outside of the ring. Embry waves someone towards him and motions for that person come and join the fun by taking a shot at Sasha. It’s TNT, who casually walks up to Embry and Sasha and decks Embry. The crowd goes bananas! El Profe goes out to confront TNT and also gets decked. TNT gets inside the ring after kicking Profe away and promptly breaks up the hanging. The rudos bail as El Ejercito de la Justicia storms the ring. The tecnicos are checking on Invader #1 while TNT stands off by himself watching from a corner of the ring. The fans are going crazy and chanting TNT's name. Giant Warrior asks Sasha if she's okay. Hugo says that if TNT hadn't helped, he doesn't believe the tecnicos would have been able to reach Invader #1. TNT leaves as the tecnicos keep checking on Invader #1. Hugo says the situation is critical, an ambulance has been called. The paramedics arrive and Invader #4 fans air to his brother as the paramedics check on him. We leave with Invader 1 being put in a protective neck brace and on the stretcher. And on a personal note, this is the first big moment I remember from when I started watching full time back in the fall of 1990.

MD: I have to admit, on some level, because of how good the match was and how long the video clip was, I was a bit disappointed it only went seven. I thought they could have had Invader come in and then get swept under and work a second FIP and it could be an all timer. What I didn’t realize coming in (all of this is new to me!) is that we were getting an all time face turn at the end of it. 

The match itself was very good. Colon and Invader controlled early by focusing on the arm and using teamwork. Eventually Colon got bullied into the corner and double-teamed. The heat was a lot of choking with some bits of impact or double teaming due to Invader getting upset and drawing the ref. The finish came quick with a roll up out of nowhere after the hot tag but then things devolved into chaos.

We got another hanging, this time with Profe’s help on Invader. It lasted forever (with bottles flying in) as the Justice Army got cut off by heels (Embry/Valentine). Embry went so far as to target Sasha, and it remains shocking just how casually he’d lay shots in on her. He waved to the heel locker room, calling TNT out for some free shots on her but TNT had seen enough and fired off on Embry and the others to a massive pop. Finally, he saved Invader and lingered for a bit, only to leave without a word as they stretchered Invader out. If you’re going to turn TNT babyface again so soon, that’s certainly a way to do it. All time great babyface turn.

EB: Next time on El Deporte de las Mil Emociones, the return of La Pareja Increible!

Read more!

Found Footage Friday: 1993 WWF House Show Oakland 2/13/93

WWF House Show Oakland 2/13/93

MD: Richard Land (@maskedwrestlers on Twitter) has launched a new service releasing rarities twice a month. It's honestly more than we can easily keep track of, which is a great thing, but we'll feed stuff into Found Footage Friday as much as we can. Reach out to him for more information. This was a house show that neither Eric or I had ever seen from a period where we have both seen a lot of house shows. 

ER: This is an example of the kind of house show I would have been able to attend at age 12, had my parents not kept secret from me the entire existence of live pro wrestling. We lived about 60 miles north of Oakland/San Francisco. We went into the city regularly for Giants games, occasionally for A's games, once for a baseball card show at the Moscone center, and every Christmas season so my mom could see the big window displays at the downtown SF department stores. We would not have gone into the city to see professional wrestling, and I believe that my parents hid the existence of house shows from me with the same ferocity of Peggy Hill hiding the concept of Competitive Eating from Bobby. Newspaper pages were cut out, lies were told. This show happened just after my 12th birthday and this review should be filled with me sharing memories of that happy day when my father or poor mother took me to this show. But they were trying to raise me right. 

1. Tatanka vs. The Predator

MD: The Predator is Horace Boulder with face paint. We hit this JIP and it's kind of nuts how Tatanka sets the mood immediately. Super hard chops in the corner, everything looking crisp, including an atomic drop. I've gotten the sense in revisits that I didn't appreciate Tatanka enough when I was younger, but everything looked great. He missed an elbow drop which let Predator take over. You'll be happy to know that he had the family legdrop. They worked a pretty decent grounded chinlock with the crowd absolutely going up for Tatanka's hope spots. They were hot for the opener here, especially so when Tatanka started the war dance. He absolutely flattened Predator figuratively with one final chop and then literally with the Samoan Drop. There was a reason why it wasn't just Strongbow but Wahoo as well that gave him the headdress I guess. Nice brisk opener here. I vaguely wonder if there are some great indy Tatanka matches from the late 90s we should try to find. Vaguely.

ER: I am actually a pretty big Horace Boulder Guy. Over the last 25 years of my wrestling fandom I have tried to sell more than one person in my life on the Idea of Horace Boulder/Horace Hogan. How cool is it that there was a guy who out there who was related to the biggest star in pro wrestling and even had the exact same movement, height, and posture as that biggest star, and that he also wrestled exactly the same in a lot of ways. Except that he was Hulk Hogan Without Success. He wrestled like Hogan, if opponents didn't have to treat him like Hulk Hogan and crowds didn't react to his offense as if it were being delivered  by Hulk Hogan. Hulk Hogan Without Success would have been a really funny gimmick. A lot funnier than "The Predator". 

The Predator is a name that invokes the scariest unkillable cool alien presence when it's associated with Arnold's machine gun biceps and John McTiernan's late 80s action perfection dominance. The name "The Predator" invokes the worst possible other horrors when associated directly with pro wrestling, and the singular The implies that he is the worst of them. Begging and pleading with my dad to finally take me into the city to see a wrestling show and suddenly tasked with explaining to him why this man is Thee Predator, and me having no answer because The Predator was a House Show Exclusive over the Winter and Summer months of 1993 and I wouldn't have understood the negative connotations of the word Predator anyway. This would have been one of only three chances for me to see Horace Boulder live in the Bay Area, a fact I wouldn't have appreciated at the time. Imagine living in Colorado and getting to sit in attendance for a Velocity taping dark match of Horace Hogan & Bull Buchanan vs. Mark Henry & Mark Jindrak? God could you imagine. Also of note, in this match, Horace was shaped exactly the same as Gene Snitsky. Exact same build, size, and shape. 

2. Kamala vs. Kim Chee

MD: This show is full of stuff that I feel like we just never had on tape on any other house shows. Kamala was with Slick and didn't want to fight Kimchee at all. That let Kimchee get an early advantage until Kamala started to fight back. An errant Slick distraction allowed Kimchee to whack Kamala with something I couldn't make out given the VQ, but then he erred and went after Slick. Kamala chased him down, fought him off, and crushed him to the delight of the crowd. Post-match Slick put Kimchee's hat on Kamala, so that was fun. This was a lot of shtick in a very short period of time, but the crowd ate it up as well they should.

ER: I wonder if 1993 could be considered our best year of Steve Lombardi, in ring. I'm not sure this match would be the one for you to support that claim. In fact, it had to be a pretty great gig pulling lowest card heel duty against house show Kamala in 1993. You got to bullshit with the referee and fans for a couple of minutes, do some light cardio to get away from the former savage who you keep provoking, and then you settle in to sway your body in response to 1-3 Baba chops, stand still for the thrust kick, and run into the cross chop. Lombardi takes a really big bump over the top to the floor as Kamala exits him from the ring post match, and for something that is probably the most dangerous part of his day, he takes it in a way that would classify as a Memorable Royal Rumble Elimination on any given night. 

3. Terry Taylor vs. Typhoon

MD: Speaking of shtick, this was the second massive physical mismatch in a row and they leaned hard into it. 93 Taylor was, in some ways, at the height of his powers and this was an absolute stall fest. He was strutting, hiding in the ropes, threatening to walk to the back. Everyone in the crowd knew that if Typhoon got his hands on Taylor, he'd lift him up with an armbar or clamp on a headlock or run him over with a shoulder block. Taylor used the ref as cover to get in a throat shot and stayed on the throat until Typhoon started to fight up. Whereas, the crowd was very much behind Tatanka because they wanted to see him triumph, them clapping up Typhoon was more about seeing Taylor get his comeuppance. His cutoff went low instead of high however, and Typhoon even went up for an ill-advised belly to back for him. Taylor then went up and out on the cover attempt, stooging himself about fifteen feet on a kickout. Taylor hitting that suplex actually meant the transition spot of Typhoon reversing a standing vertical (and propelling Taylor across the ring again) was all the more effective though. Finish was Taylor getting some distance with an eyepoke only to leap off the second turnbuckle into a powerslam that was more of a Snow Plow as Typhoon didn't quite get him around. 

ER: 1993 might also be the best year of Terry Taylor, and it's hidden almost entirely on house shows. He has an out of nowhere great Raw match against Mr. Perfect in January and then after a couple more TV appearances he continued working months filling out house shows as the perfect version of himself: A heel Mark Harmon who rubbed people the wrong way with an insincere Nice Guy act. Aloof "Nice Guy" Terry Taylor is a persona that Taylor captures so well that it's one of those things clearly just already being answered by his shirt. I think I would love this match if it were just Terry airing any wrinkles out of his robe before handing it to a ringside attendant. Taylor plays this great fame of Avoid and Strut, never running from Typhoon but showing far too much confidence and acting like an idiot whenever caught. He starts a shoving match and storms the fuck out of the Coliseum, working with the kind of craft that makes 90s House Show Heel From The Territories look like the most fun job in the world. I would take Taylor's full extension slow bounce over from Typhoon's shoulderblock every damn day. Buddy Landel was never this good. 1993 Terry Taylor might be one of the greatest hidden years in wrestling. What looks like a contender for the best in-ring year of Taylor's career, happening in the biggest American company...but hidden almost entirely on house shows. 

Taylor convincingly kicks Typhoon's ass when he takes over. His punches are great, and he acts like a shithead in between every strike. But he also gets pressed through the ropes to the floor during a pin attempt and he makes the spot look as great as it can look, like a French Catch level of comedy and grace. He takes a high backdrop and yells when splatted by an avalanche. I loved the twist before the ending, where Typhoon was ramping up for the finish and Taylor shut it down with an eye poke. I actually got tricked into thinking they were icing things down for another minute or two, until I saw Terry climb to the top. Terry leaps right into a powerslam and then maybe the best part of his whole performance happens, as he just lies flattened and motionless for a hilariously long time, the entire time Typhoon was celebrating and shaking hands with fans after. When Taylor finally starts to stir, he continues making a 90s house show heel look like the most fun job in the whole world, going around the ring claiming that he got his shoulder up in time, before finally hopping to the floor and proceeding to injure his back, limping and openly grimacing, not hiding his pain from the laughter. Terry Taylor feels like a Top 5 guy in 1993 WWF, if we actually got to see more than a handful of matches.  

4. Doink vs. Bob Backlund

MD: I can't wait to read Eric's take on this one. That's true for the whole show, but especially this. It was, in my mind, exactly what you'd think a Backlund vs. Doink house show match would be. Just a perfect opening with Doink almost busting a lung falling over laughing at Backlund's handshake attempt followed by him hitting three measured takeovers before Backlund returned the favor with all three in quick succession. Beautiful stuff. They then took it straight to the mat just liked you want out of goofy Minnesotan wrestling machine and an evil clown, before switching over to extended holds and reversal attempts. When Backlund finally pried an arm away, he spent a good minute teasing a punch as the fans roared and the ref warned only to just go into an armbar instead; not just any, of course, as he made sure to wrench Doink up and over in the most painful manner possible. He just didn't punch him. That would have been unsportsmanlike. Not that he didn't keep teasing it. Doink, skilled harlequin that he was, turned Backlund over and started stretching him, going so far as to chucking him over the guardrail. Eventually Backlund came back and returned favor, hitting an atomic drop that sent Doink through the ropes. Both guys put absolutely everything they had into what they were doing. With Borne, it was what he had to do to get over. With Backlund, it was just who he was. Anyway, Doink was able to capitalize on being half out the ring to take out Backlund's eyes with something nefarious and he scored a quick, cheap pin. We're better off for having seen this.

ER: This is great. Historic even. It's a reason why handheld wrestling is the literal best wrestling. Handhelds capture moments that are manufactured for real people in the room that have a relaxed The Cameras Are Off vibe you would never see on TV. Doink/Backlund is a pairing that's remembered so fondly by those of us who remembered watching it as kids and seeing matwork and finding out what a fucking stump puller is. But there aren't actually that many Doink/Backlund matches, and the TV ones were under 5 minutes. This match was a different animal. This was a different animal because this was Doink working a Bob Backlund Madison Square Garden match. Bob Backlund was weird and awkward in 1993 WWF. He was like unfrozen territory babyface and it was like he had been in a Dead Zone coma for a decade and went right back to working 1983 territory wrestling babyface. And now he's doing it in Oakland, CA, which is hilarious to me. Bob Backlund is the whitest wrestler in history and here he is in Oakland, and it's the literal only time he's wrestled a match in Oakland. Doink is tasked with working a 20 minute match with a goofy 1980 white meat babyface in Oakland...and he succeeds by somehow working AS Bob Backlund. 

Doink the Clown works this match both as Doink, but also as 1980 Bob Backlund, were Backlund a heel and also wearing white grease paint to darken his complexion. Backlund also works as 1980 Backlund and Doink is his heel doppelgänger in the exact same style. This is a long form, mostly quiet match, that easily could have lost the crowd's attention at any point and yet they never did once. This crowd was invested in a recreation of a Bob Backlund/Buddy Rose match from a decade prior. Doink works slow strength spots and mugs whenever Backlund is unable to break the hold, Backlund works his long armbar while Doink takes big comical Backlund bumps. Doink bumps like a clown would bump, and it's perfect. When he finally makes the ropes after Backlund's armbar, Backlund pulls him back and Doink goes flying as if shot out of a cannon. Later he takes a big bump and lands right on his butt with his legs out, like a toddler learning to walk. When Backlund finally pulls off the big atomic drop, Doink springs forward through the ropes to the floor, all leading to him taking a weapon out of his jacket to jab Backlund with. Backlund gets the DQ win and literally runs through the crowd like a maniac, like a Bruiser Brody whose goal was to hurt zero people. 

5. Randy Savage vs. Yokozuna 

MD: This hit just right. Savage did the babyface version of the Taylor shtick to begin. He got on the mic just to go "Ohhh Yeahhh," which by 93 was probably more than enough. He spun around after Yoko started the sumo stomps. He got back on to start a USA chant. He was just late-era WWF Savage in the full body suit holding babyface court. The match itself was pretty straightforward. Yoko dominated with his size. He had these sort of downwards aimed punches that looked devastating. He tossed Savage out and slammed him into the rail. He dropped a leg on him. Savage would try to punch up but five or six punches equaled one of Yoko's. Finally Yoko missed a splash in the corner and Savage staggered him off the top rope before Fuji intervened with the flag, toppling him. Yoko hit a belly to belly for a quick pin. Post-match, he went for the Banzai Drop, missed, and got knocked out of the ring by Savage. There wasn't much to it. It didn't go wrong. They got as much value out of it as possible and I don't think the fans were at all disappointed for what they got.

ER: Matt pointed out that yes this is essentially babyface Terry Taylor vs. heel Typhoon (even though I don't think it's anywhere close to as good as our heel Taylor/face Typhoon match) although with less on the heel side and less on the face side. It's a lesser version of that, basically. Less. But also look how damn far Macho Man flew out of the ring when Yoko threw him to the floor! He didn't have to do that. He could have taken a much more sensible bump to the floor on a house show. I love how Savage punches to his feet, loved his punches to Yokozuna's face (and how Yoko would throw his head back for them) and I loved the way Savage crumpled when Yoko put him down with one return shot. I wish they had a couple extra beats before going right into the belly to belly finish, and I wish Savage had a piece of babyface offense that looked better than his top rope axe handle. It feels like a waste to go to the top rope and only come off with a weak axe handle that looks like spatchcocked hands. 

6. Tito Santana vs. Damien DeMento

MD: These two faced off twenty times between October 92 and the middle of 93. I would have sworn it was more. We have one of their PTW matches. DeMento more or did things right, but it didn't come off great. I'm not sure we needed another bit of early stalling after the Taylor match, even if he had the additional advantage of that special dissonance you get when a bigger guy does it with a smaller one. He took over by jamming Santana on a hip toss and hitting a clothesline. He cut him off with quick eye pokes (again dissonance). The grounded chinlock that made up a chunk of the heat worked in theory because you had someone as good as Santana fighting up out of it, but I'm not sure we needed to see it again this card. The finish was fine. Tito hit the flying forearm in the ropes. As a kid, I knew whenever he hit it and didn't get the win, which, after a certain chronological point was more often than not as his role shifted, he'd be losing. The shift to El Matador gave him El Pase de la Muerte, the shot to the back of the head, and that meant the ending of the match was more open to possibilities. Here though, DeMento landed on him on a suplex attempt back in. Maybe one too many heels going over in a row here? I probably would have liked this more in a bubble.

ER: I cans see Matt is setting me up here to be the Damien DeMento Guy, and maybe that guy is me. I am certainly more of a fan of DeMento's now than I ever have been from 1993-2021. What an odd guy to have basically existed in wrestling for only one year, the kind of guy with minimal ring experience who never would have been hired for this role in any other era. To hear DeMento tell his story, his "I had no experience but I trained with Johnny Rodz and then I worked worked 140 matches in 11 months in WWF and then retired" would sound like a whopper of a lie. "So yeah, there I was working Madison Square Garden with only 40 or so matches under my belt..." yeah sure okay bud. I don't know if DeMento was actually good, but he is a weirdo who came out of nowhere to work a full WWF schedule for a year and then returned to Pennsylvania and that's it, and that's cool. I love the energy he puts behind missed clotheslines, and his short lariat after blocking a hiptoss looked real good. I was impressed with his positioning near the ropes after taking Santana's flying forearm, and his dedication to making it look like he actually grabbed the top rope on his way back in the ring to shift his weight onto Santana. 

7. Steiner Brothers vs. Beverly Brothers 

MD: Unsurprisingly, this was very enjoyable. Here, the shtick worked on so many levels. Beau and Blake put so much energy and enthusiasm and verve into it. They'd try to buddy up with the ref, would hide behind a security guard, would bob in and out between the ropes at high speed. And with 2024 eyes, the anticipation was all about the huge bumps you know that they - the only guys willing to face the Steiners - would be taking. They were working so big that it wasn't even about the people in the last row seeing them; it was on the hope that Verne would see them all the way from Minnesota. And the Steiners obliged, dropping them on their skull for belly to belly suplexes, power slams, and of course the Frankensteiner at the end. Meanwhile, they really kept it moving. The Steiners were constantly fighting from underneath and often retaking the offense only for the Beverlys to have to go underhanded to stay in it and take back control. 

I get that in the years following this, Scott would become more and more listless in his matches and I would even say here that he wasn't necessarily working the crowd or working for the crowd, but he was entirely engaged with what his opponents were doing. You never got the sense that he wasn't trying to fight back, that he wasn't affected and incensed by everything that was happening to him, that he wasn't desperate to get revenge and to make it over to his brother for a tag. He was just laser focused on the Beverlys as opposed to channeling the crowd. It gave everything a more athletic, organic feel, and, after the hot tag, a more chaotic one with bodies flying around and timing perhaps being just a little bit off. It worked for the crowd, however, and it worked for me three decades later.

ER: I love the Beverlys/Steiners as a match. Their 1993 Rumble match might be the WWF MOTY, and Enos/Bloom should be in the discussion for Greatest Steiner Opponents. Enos and Bloom are big guys who bump huge for the Steiners, but in a way that makes it clear that these big bumps are being done by big guys. Mike Enos getting crazy height on a backdrop looked even crazier because it looked like a big man getting tossed up that high. But this is a gem because it's a Steiners/Beverlys match that we would never see on TV. Only on house shows do you get to see Scotty as face in peril, a match constructed much more around Beverlys cut off spots instead of Beverly bumps (those are still saved for the end). Mike Enos was always the praised member of the Beverlys, but Bloom is the one who shines brighter in a house show environment. He's the more expressive heel, the one better at drawing heat, the one better at arguing with the ref, the one who even goes and draws sympathy from a security guard in the aisle, and he also has better punches and stomps. The eventual hot tag was explosive and quick, the real time for Enos to shine. It's incredible to me that this is just the way Mike Enos took the frankensteiner. He wasn't just getting vertically spiked on PPV, he was doing it in front of a few thousand people, working towards that one dad in the crowd with a camcorder. Mike Enos taking the frankensteiner is one of our Great Bumps, a Minnesotan man in mustache and mullet and middle age spread doing the most complicated breakdancing head slide. It's incredible. How did the Beverlys never get a Hasbro? Enos should have had one with neck breaking action. 

8. Crush vs. Shawn Michaels

MD: Not entirely sure how to tackle this one. First and foremost, Sherri was at ringside as a "neutral observer" or some such. She unsurprisingly had the best offense in the match when she got to lay it in on Shawn. She was also really effective in the finish as Shawn was stalking her and she tripped over the ring steps backwards. It was generally a different match when she was involved, more visceral, more gripping. If I had never seen Michaels before, this would be my take: when he took offense early, he was bumping and stooging over the ring, but there was almost too much energy to him. It wasn't focused and channeled the way the Beverly's managed to do it. It felt much more like a guy playing a role. It was easy for him to be press slammed and otherwise tossed around by Crush and he went over the top for it when it was so inherently evident that maybe he didn't have to and it ended up subtracting from the overall effect. When he was on top, however, likely due to the fact that Crush was so much bigger and the effort did need to go into it, he was dogged and persistent and unyielding and his stuff ended up looking really good; it had to in order to be credible. He had no choice. Him putting the extra effort in there paid off whereas in the early stages, when he was stooging, it distracted. And there was nothing more real in the entire match than Michaels, irate, snatching the title belt and smashing Crush over the head to draw the DQ as he tried to check on Sherri. Nine times out of ten, a DQ like that would feel like them searching for a way out of the match. Here, it felt like an act of heated passion in the moment. 

ER: I love that there is one woman captured on camera who is fully into Shawn's entire routine, unafraid to publicly like what she likes. Crush is announced at 257 which must mean Crush was working a heel Buddy Rose act. 1993 was really the peak pro wrestling year for the fried fluffed out mullet, and appropriately we get a large portion of the match built around  the potential pulling and tugging of fluffy split end Rod Beck mullets. After Michaels complains immediately about a hair pull, they spend the next couple minutes with Crush holding him in a side headlock while Michaels' hand keeps drifting up towards that flowing cotton candy, the ref stopping his hand 2-3 dozen times on every side of the ring. Michaels going up for Crush's press slam is an awesome spot. Both men make it look so effortless, with the 257 lb. Crush walking Michaels and holding him up to a couple sides, more and more people getting to their feet the longer Crush has him up, dying to see Michaels thrown into the sun. I liked how Michaels' big bump to the floor focused more on the speed of getting there rather than something showy and athletic. The way he spilled made it look like a man who wasn't fully in control of the landing, even though he was. His selling for Sherri's slaps and kicks was excellent, like a man getting up from his blanket after one too many hornets makes his picnic an impossibility. 

Read more!