Found Footage Friday: LOS BRAZOS~! LAWLER~! REDD DOGG~! EDDY~! REY~! JBL~! hhh~!

Humberto Garza Jr/Principe Franky/Tigre Universitario vs. Los Brazos Monterrey 4/24/94

MD: Tecnico vs tecnico encounter with the Brazos vs locals. Pretty much as fun as it sounds. First two falls were a blast. Franky matched up with Brazo, Tigre with Oro, and Garza with Porky. Then they switched it around in the segunda. Primera had a couple of exchanges each with matwork/chain wrestling leading into rope running in the second. It all hit for me. Then Porky accidentally splashed his brothers and celebrated and they argued and hugged and you've seen it dozens of times and it always works. In the segunda, there was a bit more animosity due to a Brazos kick and this time around a stumbling but spectacular Porky splashed all three off the top to even the falls up.

Tercera had them trade holds (but not really break them up, which was interesting). There was a nice Porky/Franky exchange in there where Porky hit a couple of big power moves before stretching him a bit. He could have been an absolute killer in another world. Then they cycled into the tandem spots, like La Estrella with the associated 'rana, and back and forth leglocks where everyone got involved. After simultaneous pins. things got pretty exciting between Oro and Garza (I think, look, it's far away and blurry) before they pinned one another. There was a great nearfall where the Brazo got a killer grounded punch countering a pin attempt. But the fans, who were chanting for their locals the whole way through, got to see then go to a draw with the larger than life stars at least. Any new Brazos is immediately worth watching. 

ER: I don't know if there's anything that makes me happier than the words New Super Porky Handheld. Handhelds are my favorite kind of wrestling, the difference between a great soundboard recording or a great recording from the pit, and they can each reveal such different things about a match. It turns a match into a completely different experience, putting you inside a crowd to see what they're seeing. Super Porky is one of our greatest handheld wrestlers ever; he's a man whose case as a mega star legend grows more and more with every new Los Brazos handheld over a 15 year stretch. Early 90s house show Porky was a force of nature, the ultimate babyface who felt like a genuine cultural phenomenon. It's fitting that Principe Franky comes out to Selena's "Amor Prohibido". I don't think I've ever considered comparing Brazo de Plata to Selena, but whenever I see Super Porky working to god level reactions in some LA high school gym, it feels like the same kind of cultural secret. One broke mainstream for the saddest reason, one became the weirdest and completely botched WWE signing ever.     

Porky is a master entertainer, a legend who works every reaction from a packed Monterrey arena that on tape looks stacked with German Expressionist angles. Porky works just another match where every single movement gets a great reaction. It's like when Elvis is cracking jokes during the late night set at the International and he's actually funny and deserves laughs, in front of a crowd who would also love him if his jokes were bad. Porky has that charisma and as much variety in strong material. 

All three Brazos looked strong, all match. Brazo de Oro is a high end great matwork guy who hasn't survived as a referenced name when discussing great mat workers. This is a long match and his gas tank through long match filling-while-engaging fast matwork was a highlight. Brazo is a consistent treat in the handhelds, for the brother who became the least worker by the 2000s he's a great fusion of Oro with a meaner streak. But everyone is there on their Sunday afternoon to go nuts for every riff Porky takes off with. When he splashes his brothers to end the first fall, you can tell the buzz in the crowd is caused by them all being familiar with the branching ways the aftermath could go. Los Brazos are so good at playing off learned material, expanding on regular spots and adding punchlines. As his brothers approached him, I was so giddy waiting for Brazo to smack Porky, and for Porky to shed wounded tears to squealing admirers, that I actually squealed when Oro pecked his brother was a soft kiss. Prime Brazos didn't ever miss. 

Have we all seen Super Porky actually getting STUCK under the bottom rope as a routine? My memory is terrible so forgive me if I've come to this conclusion on several Porky matches before but I'd like to think my declining brain would retain the image of Porky's big round butt hung up on the bottom rope like a crawling toddler held in place by his diaper. The referee ran over to him, freeing him so lovingly. He reworks the spot after the confusing and disappointing finish, where everyone is waiting for him to get back in the ring and he gets stuck trying to roll in. Nobody leaves the arena when the match is over, 1/4 of this link is just a packed arena celebrating Super Porky, lingering, drawing out poses so they can listen to the entirety of "Amor Prohibido", then only one month old. Undeniable.   

Jerry Lawler vs. Redd Dogg WWE 10/22/02 - GREAT

MD: Richard Land posts Raw and Smackdown feeds every month and usually that gives us a dark match with Steve Bradley or Scott Vick or someone, which is fine but not usually worth covering. This was in Memphis holding court against Jerry Lawler vs the future Rodney Mack. That's worth covering, even if it only went around five minutes.

Maybe I'm biased but this was very good. Dogg slammed Lawler to start and Lawler shot him a look and the Jerry chants started. Dogg did it again and howled. Then he hit a back body drop and was really feeling it, right until he went for another and the punches started. Lawler finished it with his own body slam and dropkick which Dogg sold by rolling to the outside and having a fit and the crowd went up big for all of this of course. 

They followed with rope running and Lawler caught himself on the criss-cross and strutted, and I wonder how many indie matches he did that in over that three month period. He dodged a corner charge and hit a nice bulldog and pointed to Dogg who sold it as the fans chanted again. Mack probably deserved to get a spot out of this one as he was playing into everything very well. He took over with a nice punch in the corner (selling his hand) but Lawler got his knees up on a splash and then dropped the strap in the most self-aware, funny way possible. This was a ritual celebration and at this point turned into a ritual slaughter Punches, mare, second rope fistdrop and Lawler could go back to greeting everyone at ringside as if they were old friends and kissing babies (well, maybe let's not).

ER: For as much time as he actually spent in WWF, there is so little Lawler match footage that I get excited anytime something like this turns up. Lawler is an excellent short match worker and every four minute Lawler match provides insight into who he was as a worker. This is a cool situation to see him work. He was far from a WWE regular in 2002 - his year saw him work three TV matches, two dark matches, and two house show tags - and here he gets to work as hometown legend vs. a larger, almost complete unknown who had been working house shows and dark matches. It's a great spot for Redd Dogg to be in, too, as he gets an opponent to sink his teeth into, someone who the crowd really wants to see succeed for them. To this point he'd only been in dark matches teaming opposite Charlie Haas, or working Batista on house shows. Against Lawler, in Memphis? Suddenly he has an actual canvas. 

I really loved the surprised reaction Lawler got, people excitedly rising to their feet when they realized Lawler would be wrestling, not doing commentary. Actually, it is really odd seeing him wrestling in a Smackdown ring. Have I seen Lawler wrestling on Smackdown? What is this Velocity? That never happened. I'm sure I saw some nothing Lawler match on Smackdown, but Lawler coming out to the Velocity color scheme is new, and gives this match some unidentified energy. 

This is only a few minutes, but few are better than Lawler at setting up a short story with payoffs. Was Bobby Eaton still employed by the company? Anyway, Lawler takes early match bodyslams that lead to his own later match bodyslams, he takes a dark match back body drop - I thought Redd Dogg set it up way too close to the ropes when he shot him in, but Lawler found a way to take a great one anyway - and the next time Dogg dropped his head for one Lawler dropped to a knee to punch him. The more Lawler makes his way into the match, the more the crowd reacts with glee, perhaps none more than when Lawler holds the ropes on a criss cross and floats into a Fargo strut like he was Fred Astaire. I knew I'd be rewinding any fistdrops that would be occurring, but I didn't expect to watch Lawler maneuver his way into a Fargo strut a half dozen times. I watched it frame by frame, watching his feet, watching how he hit the ropes and spun those feet lithely into place, strut locked into a groove. I'm happy we got a classic Lawler ugly dropkick, lest I feel the need to use the word "lithe" again. 

Redd Dogg's two big pieces of offense were two excellent right hands in the corner. I don't remember Rodney Mack having such great shutdown right hands, the kind of punch you only have to throw once or twice, like Chuck Palumbo's. Lawler's selling of the two punches, especially the second one that drops him to a knee and sends a hand to his jaw, feeling for any breaks. Loved how Redd Dogg shook out his fist after the second one, perhaps in reaction to Lawler's selling, perhaps because he knew what a great looking punch it was. As the rules state, anyone who shakes their fist out after a decent punch is automatically a very good wrestler. I've yet to find anyone who shakes their fist out while still looking like a bad wrestler, but I am excited for whomever eventually forces me to break that rule. 

It's WWF, so it was no guarantee that Lawler made a comeback in his hometown, but when he does we get yet another variety of strap drop: The crowd all knew the strap was about to be dropped, Lawler knew they knew and held up a finger waiting for their patience (the same way he held up a finger while in a side headlock, before backdropping Andy Kaufman), because he wanted to make sure Redd Dogg was looking right at him when the strap came down. Lawler waited to meet Redd Dogg's eyes, the way Stone Cold would get down into someone's face and blast the double middles straight into their eyes. Lawler finishes him with a bolo punch fistdrop from the middle buckle that lands so beautifully I watched it a half dozen times, just like the Fargo strut. Lawler shook out that arm the whole flight and if you didn't know what a Lawler fistdrop was you'd swear he just sent a fist into Redd Dogg's forehead as hard as he could. 

Undertaker/Batista/Rey Mysterio vs. Triple H/Eddy Guerrero/JBL WWF 7/19/05

MD: The biggest appeal of these dark matches is always to see wrestlers interact. I immediately want to see what JBL and Eddy teaming in 05 looks like, right? After their feud the year before. Our first image instead, however, is Triple H standing across from Rey and Batista flexing and Undertaker doing the throat cut, Rey in the middle, telling him he better damn well get out there and be David to a dubious Goliath. Apparently there was never a Rey vs Trips singles match. Seems like a huge oversight on his part as Rey would have made him look as good as anyone, right? This would have been the first time they ever faced off. 

So what happens? Triple H gets down on his hands and knees, begs off as a joke, punches the air like he was facing Little Beaver, and then Rey dropkicks him. Triple H sells it huge, sprawls out all over the place...

... and the fans start chanting Eddie Sucks. The Career of Triple H in a nutshell. 

Then the match goes from ridiculous to sublime as Eddy makes faces and tags in, the fans go nuts, and he immediately tags out to a scar-ridden JBL. JBL gets a shit eating grin, happy to be facing off against Rey, and then just as he gets in, Rey tags off to the Undertaker. JBL turns right back around, tags Eddy, and then he and Triple H take a powder, leaving Eddy in there with Taker.

The thing is, Triple H has to go along with it. He can't push against the heat here. He can undercut a babyface or someone with a political power disparity but he can't undercut Eddy. So after things cycle around to Eddy and Rey, and Eddy begs off and hugs Trips, all he can do is act like second banana to Shawn again and take the groan shot from Eddie's head as Rey runs over and slams it. Triple H is a survivor. 

For some reason, the crowd sweetening seems to go wild after that (even though it's a dark match) but they run a spot where Rey pulls down Triple H's pants and he runs around the ring, dragging Rey on the mat behind him, so obviously he knew what he was up against here. Then, during the ensuing Triple H/Batista "pec-off", JBL comes in posing like Road Warrior Animal and they all give him "too much, cut it out" expressions while he walks out of the ring with a kicked puppy face. Half the effort for at least an equal result.

(And yes, when Trips and Batista finally have an exchange and Batista clotheslines him over the top, the Eddie Sucks chants start anew).

Both Batista and Taker let themselves slip under a bit and then came back only for Rey to get caught in the fallaway slam by JBL. They worked him over on the outside, including a moment of JBL leaping over the rail as Taker got close. The crowd sweetening started up again, a wave of someone hitting the button every few seconds and it was pretty maddening. And so confusing. This is a dark match from 20 years ago! What the heck.

After some pretty solid cutoffs... look, when this dropped, I joked to Eric we'd get to see Triple H landing on a boot after a flying nothing and then staring at the lights for a minute before flopping. I was kidding. I shouldn't have been. That's what sets up the last burst against Eddy and the hot tag. Thankfully, it's not quite a minute, and it was made better by JBL trying to talk to Triple H through it, but, that's it for me. I'm out. Maybe Eric will mention Triple H taking everyone's finish or taking one last scare bump for Taker. Maybe he'll mention the drama of Taker milking a handshake to Batista and a fist bump to Rey. Me? I'm moving on to the next match.

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Found Footage Friday: KOX~! SHEREEF~! WRESTLING LA RAMS~! MAEDA~! YATSU~! LUCHA ROBOCOP~?!

Killer Karl Kox/El Shereef vs. Don Chuy /Joe Carollo WWA 2/2/67 

MD: The family of Killer Karl Kox shared this and I think it's the earliest Kox footage we have on tape. Chuy and Carollo were LA Rams (offensive tackle, I think) and they did this during their off season. They even had runs in Japan (teaming with Kox) if I'm not mistaken. Shereef brought bigger bumps and Kox brought ones that went over with a bit more effort and grounded things. Things got a little disjointed towards the end of the first fall as Kox jumped in once to break up a pin but was supposed to get shaken off the second time and the ref didn't quite stop the pin. Things reset and the football players hit their big charges and back body drop charges.

Second fall stared with some crowd pleasing grinding headlocks, lots of big selling and arm waving, that sort of thing. The heels took over though but the Rams fought out of the corner and hit a series of double charges until the ref threw it out. The third fall was quick, just three minutes and it ended with Kox planting Carollo with the brainbuster. I knew he did it in the 70s but's crazy that he was doing this as early as 66! It was treated like absolute death Carollo was out for the rest of the match. They did a fourth fall due to the thrown out second and they made short work of Chuy, two on one, and he fell to the brainbuster too. Great look at mid-30s Kox and maybe historical for the Rams on top of that.

PAS: So cool that this showed up, Kox has maybe 10 matches in full that are out there, but looks incredible in all of them. I also just love this kind of match with local heroes, bumping around willing heels. I dug how so much of the Rams offense was tackles and blocks, and all of the crowd pleasing payoffs, like Kox jumping off the top with stomp to break a Chuy headlock, and then when he tries it again Carollo shakes the ropes to spill him off. This must have been building to a big rematch of some sort, because Kox really dominates the end of the match, spiking both Rams with his brainbuster for clean pins in both falls. Would definitely make the fans buy a ticket to next month to see their heroes try to solve the problem of the Killer. 

Akira Maeda vs. Yoshiaki Yatsu NJPW 1/6/84

MD: Maeda and Yatsu were more or less finding themselves here. This would have really been something three and a half years later. As it was, though, they had all of the prerequisite skills. Both could take it to the mat. Both weren't afraid to strike. Both had a suplex or two. They also had plenty of animosity for one another based on the fact that they were on opposing stables and in plenty of tags and trios against one another. This had been out there but only in the form of a tiny, unwatchable, real player sized file. This is much more watchable. They'd go at it from the bell to the post-match after a double count out and it wasn't in the least bit refined, but it was chippy and active, including some armwork by Maeda and a nice seated octopus by Yatsu. Once they started throwing suplexes, Maeda somehow managed to drop Yatsu exactly on his head but Yatsu was unfazed and stumbled up to hit a belly to belly of his own. It was pretty grisly stuff. Overall this was rough around the edges but full of fire, so they definitely had that bit down. 

ER: I thought this was incredibly cool, a very grown up version of a match I wouldn't have expected from either at this point. This felt like a couple older pros, especially Yatsu, who moved spry and almost like a cruiserweight but obviously not. Both looked lithe and had incredible ring confidence. It was some great halfway point between Choshu/Fujinami and Young Lions. Maeda was about to go on a pair of month long WWF excursions, but Yatsu feels like the perfect 1984 WWF Japanese wrestler. Yatsu works this like  shootstyle Mr. Fuji, with some fast unstoppable throws, takeovers and strong-cradled pins, but with a throat thrust and elbowdrop assortment that would play well in Buffalo working Terry Daniels. Akira Maeda got to work a couple months of WWF as Akira Maeda. If I was given the information that a) Akira Maeda worked a couple WWF tours in 1984, and b) worked a tour somewhere early in his career as Kwick-Kick Lee, I would bet so much money on there being a New Haven card with a Kwick-Kick Lee vs. Rene Goulet time limit draw. Yatsu's quick, strong style would have fit well in 1984 WWF, even if it would have just inevitably lead to a tag team with Tiger Chung Lee. 

The submission work and movement within holds was really captivating. You could see the legitimacy in how they worked to prevent the unpreventable or grapple like real heavyweights. Maeda almost scorpions Yatsu with an overhead belly to belly - it's not as bad as it initially looks, with Yatsu taking a lot of it on his forearms and not his neck - and plays it as a successfully blocked takedown, scrambling straight up to his feet and Maeda's waist to pivot into his own belly to belly. It reads as a real way an Olympic level freestyle wrestler would sell the same. They're so good at grappling that they manage one of the great abdominal stretch spots, some beautiful work of real cool fighting over who could secure an abdominal stretch, sending both tumbling hard through the ropes. The way I wrote about it makes it sound like an inevitable end to that spot, but they way they did it didn't feel like it was going that way. It was this shoot authenticity they worked their pro wrestling with, an abdominal stretch do-si-do leading to the stiffest strikes of the match being thrown on the floor to double count out. They could have worked this exact same match just two years later, nothing changed about the wrestling, but now perceived as bigger and bigger stars. They got big reactions for what they didm, and the crowd reacted to this like a fight between two names. But nowhere near the names they'd become, but the wrestling was real. 

Principe Franky/ROBOCOP vs. Ministro de la Muerte I/Ministro de la Muerte II CMLL 1992

MD: This is blurry but kind of novel because I'm not sure how much Robocop footage we actually have. Franky had been Polimero Espacial but lost his mask quite recently in a tag with Latin Lover against Sangre Chicana and El Sanguinario, also in Monterrey. From what we see, he looks solid. There's a fun moment late in the match where his partner teases a dive and we just see him come flipping from off the side of the screen as a blur instead. Robocop is, as promised, Robocop, with a plush looking but intricate costume, visor and all. It's a much more elaborate costume than the other match we've covered years ago. He moved surprisingly well in there, able to do a couple of tricked out armdrags and to finally win it (after teasing that dive) with the diving back headbutt off the ropes. He actually had some presence too. When he came in to break up a submission, there was a little extra swagger in how he moved. Los Ministros are pretty generic rudos but played their part well in this sub-ten minute match. That meant basing for a guy dressed like Robocop and throwing fouls when Robocop was duly distracting the ref. This was undercard stuff and didn't go long but it was fun while it lasted, for the novelty of Robocop as much as anything else.

ER: I can't pretend to know any of these guys and I can't pretend I knew there was a lucha Robocop but I assumed that was likely. I was impressed at how good the Robocop suit looked. I'm not sure what I was specifically expecting from lucha Robocop but this was a quality looking suit. Intricate, as Matt called it, but allowing for smooth movement. No way a 1992 Monterrey luchador working a Robocop gimmick should have a Robocop suit this good. In our grainy tracky footage he looked like La Parka, or a Storm Trooper. He moved smoothly for being the largest guy in the match (maybe some of that was suit weight and mask height) and had an armdrag reversal on the back end of a backdrop that surprised me, and his topes en reversa landed firmly. Ministros were my kind of rudos, guys who would each take a backdrop and are good at catching dives and taking complicated armdrags, working over Franky's knee in a way appropriate in a short lucha match. Franky's dive looked crazy, visible only in the background, Robocop in the foreground, Franky already upside down when he enters the frame. Cameras catch the wreckage on the floor and Robocop wins right after. Opener undercard lucha remains winning.  

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