Found Footage Friday: SAD GENIUS~! GRANS HAMADA & GUERRA~! GYPSY JOE~!

La Gran Guerra: Jason the Terrible/Chicky Starr/Iron Sheik/Ron Starr vs. Carlos Colon/Ricky Santana/Rufus R. Jones/TNT WWC 10/29/88

EB: On December 12 and 13 of 1987, Capitol Sports Promotions held for the first time ever the La Gran Guerra match, which pitted members of the heroic El Ejercito de la Justicia against members of the villainous El Club Deportivo. La Gran Guerra is two rings enclosed by a steel cage with all team members starting the match together. Handcuffs are located around the sides of the cage and the objective is to handcuff your opponents in order to neutralize and take them out of the fight. The winners are the team that is able to handcuff all of the opposing team’s members first. And the prize for winning is that you get to uncuff your teammates and then get 5 minutes to attack your neutralized opponents at your own leisure. The two sides have each won one La Gran Guerra match and now, ten and half months after the first two matches were held, a third La Gran Guerra is set to happen.

The date is October 29, 1988 and we are almost two months removed from the big Aniversario show main evented by Carlos Colon vs Hercules Ayala in a fire match. This feud continued beyond Aniversario, with Colon and Ayala engaging in several rematches that escalated to a stretcher match and most recently a Texas Death match on October 8. Colon and Ayala are captaining their respective teams for this third La Gran Guerra, but while Colon is competing in the match for El Ejercito de la Justicia, Ayala will be captaining from ringside for El Club Deportivo. Ayala is unable to compete due to a neck injury suffered when Carlos Colon piledrove him on the arena floor during their Texas Death match. He’ll be here supporting his team, even if he’s there in a neck brace at ringside.

Joining Carlos Colon on the El Ejercito de la Justicia are a veteran of the previous two La Gran Guerra matches in TNT and two first timers in Rufus R Jones and Ricky Santana. For El Club Deportivo it is none other than Chicky Starr leading the charge, joined by his cousin Ron Starr, the Iron Sheik (a key member of the team that won the second La Gran Guerra) and Jason the Terrible (who is making his return to Puerto Rico after a year and half away). Ron and Jason are competing in their first La Gran Guerra match. All combatants are in the ring so let the war begin. 

MD: There has been a lot of talk about modern cage matches and about how the cage is seen as something to climb or something to escape or something to fight on top of. That's in contrast to decades ago where a cage was somewhere where there could be no interference, where there could be no running, where feuds had to end. Gran Guerra takes it a step further even. In these, the goal is not to contain the action, but to constrain it. Instead of one more person entering every few minutes, wrestlers are removed instead. The action becomes tighter and more focused as it goes on and more and more wrestlers are handcuffed. 

Here the blood came quickly as people were tossed into the cage. Santana bled first but he was soon joined by almost everyone, with Jason as the obvious and striking exception. For the first few minutes, they stayed in one ring and ignored the other, just making everything feel all the more claustrophobic. When they did venture out into the second, it was more to allow for the handcuffing to be spaced out geographically than anything else. Colon and Jason were matched up for most of this and they would be the ones to end it.

These days interference happens in almost every cage match, just another way the gimmick has been diminished over time. But matches should serve purposes, not just to entertain and titillate. Dissonance creates heat. The cage is supposed to be a way to end feuds, to allow violence to run its course. In a world where that is true, where the last thing people expect is interference, it can cause amazing heat. In a world where it happens all the time, then there's much more to be gained by NOT having interference, because that's what goes against expectation. Then, one time out of ten, do it. That's how things played out here, with Ayala throwing in salt as Colon was about to win. Not only did it cost the babyfaces match, it also meant that they were beat on mercilessly for the next five minutes as per the stipulation. Here, because it was set up to matter, that meant even hotter rematches between the babyfaces and the heels and more tickets sold. So yes, there was interference here, but it's shown to be the exception that proves the rule.

ER: It can be tough watching such a large scale two ring match in fuzzy video quality, action further obscured by being shot through a chain link cage, but here it feels like we're seeing what anyone sitting in the cheap seats would be seeing at a huge blowoff event. The action can be hard to follow, but when the action is all blood-drawing punches you know you're just seeing the universal pro wrestling language being spoken. Blood flows early and often (Ricky Santana is so bloody that for all I know he hit the blade in the dressing room) and my favorite thing about it was TNT in there throwing all variety of full extension high kicks and spin kicks. In a match where every man is punching and using the cage, it's awesome to be the guy throwing huge kicks that play to the back row. All of his kicks look great, especially the ones to Chicky and Jason. Chicky is a great guy to see sell a kick, but I loved the match long story of Jason just walked through every kick to his mask, no matter how hard or spectacular, and finally fell flat on his face after a high kick to the back of his head. This is fucking Jason! Conventional weapons cannot harm him, conventional kicks cannot move him, and finally TNT finds his weak spot. This doesn't seem like the kind of match they could have done in PR just a decade before, as I've heard of far smaller things causing riots. Ayala throwing salt in Colon's eyes leading to all the babyfaces taking an unprotected 5 minute beatdown should have brought back the glory days of rioting. I don't think it would have been possible for the heels to make it past one minute without the cage being swarmed. 

Sad Genius vs. Gran Hamada 9/5/00

MD: I know Genius has other Texas Death Matches but I haven't seen them. But on some level this is a brilliant exercise in futility and frustration for Gran Hamada. Genius comes in with this amazing level of confidence, belt around his waist, pulling his hand back on the shake, and then he immediately gets rolled up by Hamada. this is a Texas Death Match though (the traditional style that can ONLY end in the ten count after a fall), so no big deal. He just gets up and keeps wrestling. Then he ends up in a cross arm breaker and almost immediately taps out. And he just gets up, selling the arm a bit, but otherwise unperturbed. Why not tap out? You have ten seconds to get back up after that. There's no reason to stay in a hold in a Texas Death Match with these specific rules except for pride, and this guy is somehow perfectly delusional and self-aware at the exact same time. 

In the face of all of this, Hamada is Hamada. He is full of pride. He, even in 2000, can still land on his feet out of a takeover, no problem. And yet he's been tossed into this bizarre world against this bizarre wrestler who was obviously capable and talented, with these rules that drive him increasingly nuts. Yes, Genius would take advantage of the ability to escape any hold he wanted and would come back with a clubbering shot or two, but Hamada just plowed through and kept things coming, escalating his offense and those holds. There was a path where he could eventually get Genius either hurt enough, knocked out enough, or humiliated enough that he'd stay down and that journey might have be compelling, but everything just sort of fizzled out as either Hamada or Genius or the ref or god himself just had enough and this ended without meaningful conclusion.

ER: I'll be honest: I've watched a lot of wrestling in my life, but I can't pretend I knew who Sad Genius was before this week. Maybe I heard about him once, who's to say. I've already forgotten enough names of movies, bands, actors, whatever, to fill books. If I'd heard tale of Sad Genius before a few days ago, they've been forced out by newer but not necessarily more interesting knowledge. Sad Genius is essentially a trust fund kid who keeps trying to buy his way into high society but is never accepted by the peers he seeks. It feels like he's doing a fake title belt Andy Kaufman bit, only if Andy got actually good at pro wrestling fundamentals and wanted to be taken seriously as a wrestler instead of just using wrestling as a medium for chaos. Sad Genius even looks like Andy Kaufman, right down to the exact same grown out at the sides combover Kaufman was sporting in 1982. 

This match is about 10 minutes long, and the entire time it feels like something teetering into a shoot. You get a real sense that there were details Gran Hamada was not told and he is finding them out over the course of the match. Hamada recognizes this man, whose name sounds like a bedroom shoegaze project, is Up to No Good. I am positive that Hamada was not told about the Texas Death rules. I am positive about that, as the only interpretation of what happens in the first 30 seconds of this match, is that Hamada recognizes Sad Genius is Up to No Good and shoot pins him with an inside cradle. Hamada dragged this man into an inside cradle and looked upset to learn that the house style was Texas Death. He wrestled the rest of the match like that and looked constantly perturbed and guarded, like he couldn't wait to lace into Genius for this shit. And that's before Genius kicks Hamada in the stomach a couple times as hard as he can, or hits the most shootstyle rolling kappo kick possible, or drops him on the back of his head with a back suplex. I'm confident nobody has told me about MUGA-trained Andy Kaufman before. I would remember that. 

Hamada still does flying, but he does it in this fascinating untrusting way, knowing he has to force Genius to catch a pescado, he throws dropkicks like he's expecting his target to move, and he keeps taking Genius down with armbars that keep turning more serious...but Genius never does act up. He just looks like he keeps getting shoot taken down and arm barred by a 50 year old legend until somebody in jeans gets on the apron and starts yelling. Sad Genius is either a great salesman or Gran Hamada actually hurt his arm, and there's a feeling that no matter what happens in any of these matches, Sad Genius is getting awarded the title. There's a 10 minute post-match interview with him and it plays like a video deposition of a man hesitant to give up his family. Sad Genius would have made a 500. 

JR:The music swells. You need to hear it for yourself. It starts out like music you’d normally hear through shitty laptop speakers and suddenly it swells, like when something diegetic becomes the needle drop over a montage. It dawns on me at this moment that I’m watching a haunted object. Not something cursed but something possessed and controlled by the spirit of Sad Genius. It dawns on me again when he is pinned almost immediately via a small package that looks uncooperative. Hamada looks confused and part of me wonders if he knows the rules to the match and then the referee starts counting as though it’s a Texas Death Match without weapons or cowboy boots or hatred. You can see in Gran Hamada’s eyes that he is in a wrestler’s stress dream. He is in the ring and he has no idea what the finish is, what the rules are. It’s a dream and he can’t go anywhere. His eyes are narrowed and wet and confused and Sad Genius stares back with the eyes of the man who used to come in to the library and tell me that fractals and zeroes were gateways to other dimensions. Hamada has no alternatives. He fights, applying an arm bar and winning and then hearing a bell and then starting over. The referee got to eight that time. He is stuck chasing a ghost, hearing an invisible audience. Suddenly he leaves. He breaks out. He wakes up. We are left behind. Maybe it was our dream all along. We are the ones trapped. Sad Genius has his arm raised, and we follow him back to the locker room. He’s sitting in a folding chair and speaking, staring into space just beyond the plane of the camera. We can now see the cameraman. We must be in the room, it’s the only explanation. He is staring at us. We can’t understand what he’s saying. The camera man is gone by now. Sad Genius is staring at us when the video ends.

 

Sad Genius vs. Gypsy Joe 1/19/03 

MD: There were not many people in this crowd, which sort of tracks and is not at all a surprise, but it does give this a distinct feeling like it's being wrestled specifically for us almost twenty-three years later. If the Hamada match was a novelty, this was a spectacle and pretty much everything one might have expected. For the first few minutes of this, Genius (who had his music start back up as he disrobed) and Joe (who came out to Dust in the Wind, of course) absolutely kill each other. After a couple of clean breaks, Genius launches just the nastiest kicks and then Joe brutalizes him with chops. There was one little short elbow that Joe hit that I went back and watched ten times because it was the best peppering shot I've seen in ages. Genius finally has enough and hits the floor only to start in on Joe's legs on the posts. If we had another five minutes of this I imagine it would be just as imagined.  

Instead, two masked Karate Guys come running in and it becomes an impromptu tag match with both of them working over Genius until he could get a dragon screw leg whip on one. Joe comes in just mauls them in the best way including taking all their chops like they were nothing. Genius gets in on the act too including Inoki pumphandles, but he gets hit by this hilarious low blow kick. He comes back anyway and hits a belly to back to win it and it's just all wonderfully ridiculous. Post-match Joe is ready to fight anyone in Tokyo and wants more people to show up next time.

ER: Sometime between the Hamada match and this match, Sad Genius added disrobing music. He keeps his robe one right up to the bell, when a 3 second power riff plays, timed to his disrobing and kicking off the match. Joe is 70 and definitely doesn't know who Sad Genius is, and at first I thought he was going to wrestle this in a t-shirt but instead he treats this guy like Fujinami. Genius hits three stiff as hell kicks to Joe's chest and Joe treats him like an asshole, at one point throwing a jab of an elbow point into Genius's eye. The double ninja DQ robbed us of any kind of chaotic finish and means we never get to see Joe try to break this guy's nose. Joe does do a 70 year old kneedrop off the top to one of the ninjas and that feels like one of the most dangerous things a man his age could possibly do. 

JR: Sad Genius disrobes in time with a music cue that hits with the force of a horror movie jump scare or a hammer or a bottle breaking. At this point I think it is not farfetched to assume we are in the presence of a trickster god. The front row here is completely empty this time. I cannot tell if it is the same building. It looks like it. It might not even be a building but a dimension. A domain. Gypsy Joe looks incredible and looks as though he is decomposing. He is wondrous. Sad Genius is beautiful and it is easy to see why so many gave him so many chances. While I’m thinking this, two masked men in karate outfits attack everyone. They do not look like trained pro wrestlers. They are resplendent. Suddenly, Joe and Sad Genius are united. They are on our side. They are on a side together. It feels like a moral impossibility for Sad Genius to understand the idea of comradery. There is someone off camera yelling instructions in English. There are probably voices speaking in languages that do not exist if I dare turn the volume up any louder. 

The bell never ends anything in this match. There is a winner and the fight continues. The sacred space bleeds into something profane that only Sad Genius understands. He lays out wrestling matches like an alien who had wrestling explained to them by a child and then thought about it for a thousand years. He lays out wrestling matches like those chess computers that have only ever played chess against other computers. One of the karate men hits Sad Genius in the groin and he doubles in pain, and something so normal and recognizable and banal feels uncanny. Music plays and there is another winner and the two men with faces are attacked again. The bell never means anything. Eventually the karate men stop returning into the frame. It feels final and I can’t say how. The camera follows Joe and Sad Genius out, back into a locker room. They speak in English. They speak past one another. We are left with a still shot of a grey hallway, like something out of a Tsai Ming Liang film. I can still see it with my eyes closed.
 

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Found Footage Friday: BUNKHOUSE STAMPEDE~! CENTRAL STATES SHENANIGANS~!

Bunkhouse Stampede JCP 12/14/86

MD: Omni next week as we're going to give Eric more time to recover from D3AN. This was another recent drop from JCP's debut at the Rosemont Horizon (so says Charles and we believe him when he says things). Very good cross section of the talent here though obviously no Flair, Tully, Dusty, and Nikita since that was the main event tag. It's hard to talk about any one specific thing in this but I definitely have a few thoughts. 

The first is that this, more so than almost any other battle royal I can think of felt purely chaotic. Workrate, spots, any of that is impossible here because there are just so many people and there are a few weapons (boot, flimsy trash can lid, Animal's wrist spikes, a strap, etc) flying around moving from participant to participant. The second that someone starts to do something interesting, someone else comes behind them and nails them. Sometimes it registers, sometimes it doesn't. Animal got someone with the spikes but they didn't realize it was happening and they didn't sell it right. The match was full of stuff like that but somehow it's additive because it just adds to the feel. 

None of the usual critical tools to talk about wrestling (structure, selling, workrate, execution) work in an environment like this. You wouldn't want it all the time but as a novelty, it's fascinating, because these are still incredible talents and characters all interacting with one another and having to operate on the fly. No plan survives more than a few seconds and everything becomes reaction. 

You can follow the flimsy trashcan lid around the ring as different people get it and since you're never going to keep track of the action (Ronnie Garvin's in this and I couldn't tell you one thing he did and he'd be a great person to watch generally), it's a good center point. It's best use, by the way, was when Rick Rude wrapped it around Animal's skull. It was that flimsy but it's a great visual. Rude and Manny drove a lot of this, with Manny scrapping with Wahoo (a precursor to their AWA feud a little while later I guess). Lots of heat for both, but at the end it was Eaton and Animal and that went about as well for Eaton as you'd expect in Chicagoland. This was a bit of a mess but despite what certain people will tell you sometimes a mess full of tons of talent is exactly what you need.

ER: This was so great, appropriately released in the middle of a battle royal compilation video, directly before the Great Berzerker Battle Royal. This battle royal is great because it throws 25 or so of the best dressed photo album dads in the world into one crowded ring and just hangs out with them. Almost everyone bleeds, but it would have been just as good (better?) if they had just been in there drinking beers like they had just finished a softball game. The cagematch listing is not accurate, because there is no Dick Murdoch, Road Warrior Hawk, Big Bubba, or Baron von Raschke, but that doesn't matter. Well, maybe Dick Murdoch would have mattered. Okay Dick Murdoch with a 50-50 poly cotton blend t-shirt stretched over his stomach would have made a huge difference. This is a blood and fashion battle royal. Everyone is in their finest yard weeding jeans - except for Jimmy Garvin, who is by far the easiest to find man in the ring at all times - and old t-shirts and tank tops. 

Every man is dressed entirely appropriate for a Bunkhouse. Jimmy Valiant looks tall and powerful and exactly like Toby Klein just looked at D3AN. Bobby Eaton gets pummeled in the corner all match and survives all the way to the end until Road Warrior Animal throws him violently to the floor, Eaton swinging a weight belt at his face a few times before he's gone. Arn Anderson is an incredible focal point all match, a target in his red slacks and white t-shirt. He punches, he gets punched, he bleeds, he is eventually eliminated without his shoes. You see, more than one person removes their boots or shoes to use as weapons, and Arn's stocking feet up in the air is a reminder of that. Ole is in camouflage pajamas like he's Udo Dirkschneider in the "Balls to the Wall" video. Wahoo and Manny put on a helluva performance before eliminating themselves, punching each other bloody and bashing each other into ringposts. Ronnie Garvin looks incredible in his black sleeveless shirt (that gets ripped away at some point) and brown leather weight belt. Barry Windham stands tall in dark blue jeans and a dark blue tank, Rick Rude stands tall in part because of his cowboy boots. Tim Horner is in a goldenrod shirt and takes the fight well to everyone larger than him, meaning everyone but Bill Dundee. Bill Dundee is in town because he had to leave Memphis in July, and he runs around hitting everyone and pulls these great I'm a Little Guy faces whenever someone tries to lift him up and over. Dutch Mantell is dressed like Bunkhouse Buck, who modeled his entire fashion on Dutch Mantell in a Bunkhouse Battle Royal.  

As far as drunken softball fights go, you've seen better. But I don't think wrestling fashion ever approached being this good again. Everyone knew exactly what kind of fight they were headed into. The red Ricky Morton and the purple Robert Gibson, the kneepads over the jeans, the Yard Work Outfit Supreme. Just throw on some old shoes that you don't mind getting dirty, some pants you don't mind kneeling in, find a bandana you can tie around your pants, or like the Bullet, around your neck. You know the drill. You've never seen 25 better dressed wrestlers in any one place at any one time and you never will again. This was the golden era, when men knew how to dress for a fight.  

Ken Timbs vs. Rufus R Jones (Boxing Match) Central States 3/28/85

MD: Next two are from one of our other great archivists, being Ben/ArmstrongAlley/KrisPLettuce, who has just organized some Central States. This was passed off to me as especially awful, and it's not quite as embarrassing as it could be. You think of the Piper vs T boxing match with the heavy gloves and T getting gassed as awful. The problems here were entirely of a different sort. 

If anything, there were two many punches. There was zero drama over the first few rounds. Jones just kept punching away again and again and Timbs kept his hands up until he couldn't and went down multiple times. There haven't been THAT many worked boxing matches in wrestling but the trick is to treat them like a wrestling match with boxing trappings and not a boxing match in a wrestling ring. That means that you do shine/heat/comeback as much as possible and in the shine, you should have the heel get some false advantages and then eat comeuppance. There was nothing of that here. Just Timbs walking into fists and selling as Jones chugged along. There wasn't a build to any highs at all. It was just a dull train moving slowly.

When he did take over in later rounds, it was because he was valiantly outpunching Jones in the corner. Only after he took over did he jab him in the eye with his thumb as Gary Royal distracted the ref. Totally backwards. Then later on Royal distracted the ref and Timbs got a knee in to take back over again. Only then he kept doing the knees when the ref was looking once more. One knee, followed by punches. That's the way to go. Maybe a second one that gets caught which could have led to the further distraction and Royal slipping the object in to Timbs' glove (because that was necessary) but don't just do it blatantly in front of the ref. 

Just no artistry, no build, no payoff. The place where that did happen was on the finish as there was a dramatic power around the object (which the fans noticed) and Jones had to duck it repeatedly before getting it himself and KOing Timbs with his own loaded glove. Maybe it was more powerful to put all of the actual "pro wrestling" part of this right at the end, but I don't think so. Just completely tossed the comparative advantage out the window and then didn't even make it believable for all the punches that Timbs was just eating.  

Gypsy Joe vs. Mr. Pogo (Chain Match in a Cage) Central States 3/28/85

MD: Well, this is definitely down our alley. Yes, there's a cage. It's about seven feet tall, I think. It doesn't come into play except for to set the mood and to show that they're enclosed and no one can get in and no one can get out, and in this case, I'm perfectly fine with that. There's enough going on with the chain after all. 

This was touch the corners, but they didn't try for a bit. Joe's advantage early on was fun, as he went after the foot first and then dodged a chain shot causing it to recoil and hit Pogo in the face. Pogo took over with it wrapped around his fist and didn't look back. One chain punch after the next, opening up Joe. The VQ is what it is, but you can tell he bled big. Eventually he went to touch the corners though and that let Joe come back. They did a good job of really building up anticipation for his first punch. He started going around and Pogo held him back until Joe finally charged in and took a shot that knocked him into the fourth corner.

Post match the cage did come into play. They had said that Sheik Abdullah the Great's New York Office had said he was on a fishing trip but he came in wearing a disguise with the heels to help beat on Joe and it took a while for the babyfaces to make the save. A good post down beating even if it was surrounded by the extra stuff. Otherwise, a nice minimalist bloody affair. 

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El Deporte de las Mil Emociones: Justice Has Many Allies

Week 8: Justice Has Many Allies

EB: We’ve talked about different wrestlers on our journey so far, but there are still some members of El Ejercito de la Justicia that we briefly met in the Bronca Boricua who will be a part of our journey throughout the next couple of years. Two of them share something in common in that they are second generation wrestlers and carry their fathers’ names to boot. A third carries a masked identity and (in the not too distant future) will also see the family legacy carried on in the ring. Let’s take a look at Miguel Perez (Jr.), Huracan Castillo (Jr.) and Super Medico (#1).

Super Medico (or Super Medico #1 when there is more than one active in the territory at the same time) is the masked identity of Jose Estrada, who has been a constant presence for most of the 80s in CSP. Along with tag partner Johnny Rodz (also under the mask as Medico/Super Medico #2), they formed the villainous tag team of Los Medicos (becoming Super sometime in 1983). Throughout the first half of the decade, Los Medicos/Super Medicos were one of the top tag teams in CSP. Sometime in late 84, Estrada remained as the lone Medico in the territory, still a rudo and teaming up with Black Gordman. However, due to the constant insults and mocking Gordman did about Puerto Ricans, Super Medico had enough and revealed himself to be Puerto Rican and that he wasn’t going to let Gordman continue with the insults. Thus, Super Medico in early 85 became a tecnico. For the next two and half years (to about mid-87), Super Medico would compete as a singles wrestler and also team up with fellow tecnicos when needed, with rivalries against opponents such as Black Gordman, Los Pastores (the Sheepherders), Fidel Sierra, Jesse Barr, Dan Greer wrestling as La Momia, Eric Embry, evil doppelgangers the Original Medic and later the White Knight, and a feud over the World Junior title against Frankie Lancaster. Here is a match to help provide a look at Super Medico in the ring.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOt6BgRVrrY

This match is from the summer of 86, around the time the Original Medic had appeared claiming that Super Medico was a copy (sounds familiar to one of the feuds we have seen on our journey so far doesn't it). We know it’s from that time period because Chicky on commentary spends the first minute and a half just going on about how Super Medico is just a cheap copy compared to the Original Medic.  This match is vs Mike Kelly and is a quick showcase to give an idea of the style Super Medico was working as a tecnico around this time, one focused more on technique mixed with agility. The jumping headbutt Medico does at the end was his typical finishing maneuver on TV.

MD: I’m under the opinion you can learn something from any match, even a pretty quick competitive squash like this. Whether what you learn is the absolute truth is probably up for debate and you need multiple data points. Full disclosure at the top this week; I’ve seen my share of all three of these guys but I couldn’t write a paragraph comparing and contrasting them in-ring. Here, Medico came off as technical, maybe on the idea that if he did have medical training of some sort, he knew the human body. He put on deliberate holds. Kelly would come back, sometimes with a cheapshot, but Medico would fire out, with his finishing sequence being a series of nice jabs and a headbutt off the top to a standing Kelly.

EB: Estrada would leave for the then WWF where he would adopt another masked identity and, outside of a couple of one shot appearances, would not return full time to CSP until the end of April of 89. Upon his return, Super Medico immediately challenged for and won the World Junior title held by Jonathan Holliday. Later in the summer, Super Medico had a series with Chicky Starr for the World Junior title, which saw Medico lose and later regain the title from Chicky. As September of 1989 approaches, Super Medico still is the reigning World Junior champion. Unfortunately we do not have available footage vs Holliday or Chicky from 89, but we do have a tag match from July where Medico and Rufus R Jones take on the Batten Twins.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-zcbA3dlyI

Hugo on commentary makes note that Rufus is also known by the fans as the king, which causes Chicky to protest that maybe to the fans but the current king is him (Chicky conveniently forgets that he actually just stole the crown from Rufus, literally ran off with it, and started calling himself the king). The opening moments show just how masterful Rufus is at working the crowd as he does a fun sequence where he manages to slip out of a headlock. The tecnicos take over the match doing quick tags and exchanges to maintain the advantage. Carlos describes Super Medico as being in tremendous physical condition and that he moves like a cat in the ring. Chciky counters that the Battens have something in their favor and that is that they look alike, which can play to their advantage. Carlos mentions that Medico was a rudo for several years and is aware of the tricks they could pull (remember that his tag partner was another masked Medico so he’s likely not a stranger to the switching tactics). As the tecnicos work over the Battens with armbars, Hugo brings up that Super Medico won the World Junior title from Chicky Starr (a sore subject for Chicky), which leads to talk about Medico’s upcoming title defense at Aniversario (more on that soon). The Battens take over as we go to commercial break and we come back to them doing illegal tactics to maintain their advantage on Rufus. Eventually, Rufus manages to turn the tide by dodging a charge by one of the Battens into the corner. The tag is made to Medico and he goes off on the Battens. All four men briefly tussle in the ring before Medico reverses a flying bodypress for the win.

MD: Rufus keeps popping up week in and week out for us. They got their mileage out of him in 89 and he’s always over. Just look at him shimmy out of a headlock early on. This went nine minutes or so, with half of that being the heels in peril for fake tags and armbar switches, but it was entertaining stuff. The Battens were good at being in the moment and reacting to what was going on, whether they were getting rolled over or were in control. Rufus ate the heat (and just like AEW, they went to commercial the second the Battens took over with a cheapshot knee to the back from the outside). There was a nice bit of wrestling physics during a chinlock where one kneeled down outside the ring and reached in to hold the foot of the other during a seated chinlock, like that would somehow make it more effective. Medico shined after the hot tag, throwing fists with confidence and fighting off both Battens.

EB: Miguelito Perez is the son of Puerto Rican wrestling legend Miguel Perez, the first major wrestling star the island produced in terms of success outside of Puerto Rico. When CSP was first established. Miguel Perez Sr was the top name in the promotion and helped give credibility as CSP tried to establish itself in Puerto Rico. Perez Sr. would eventually yield the limelight to Carlos Colon (once the latter was established as a star), but would remain an active and respected member of the promotion until retiring in 1984. That same year, Miguel Jr (or Miguelito as he is often called) started his wrestling career. Miguelito would make his debut for CSP at Aniversario 85 due to an angle where Eric Embry attacked first Miguel Sr. and then Miguel Jr. when he came out to defend his dad. This ended with Embry (with the help of Dan Greer) giving the elder Perez a piledriver of the turnbuckle, which resulted in Miguelito challenging Embry to avenge the attack on both his father and himself. From there, Miguelito would have a prominent position on the card, having a short-lived World tag title reign with Carlos Colon (which would be cut short post match by Los Pastores taking Miguelito out). As 1986 started, Miguelito’s path would cross with another second generation wrestler. Here is a TV match from the summer of 86 showcasing Miguelito vs Dan Greer (billed as La Momia).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgjR8LSzcjs

Hugo mentions that this will be a test for Miguelito since La Momia is very experienced and in a very bad mood because he’s recently lost his mask and his hair. That explains that weird haircut La Momia has, although I wonder then why they continue to bill him as La Momia when Dan Greer was literally in the promotion several months before this as himself (he’s the opponent Chicky Starr was facing in that brief clip we saw of Chicky wearing boxing gloves in our last installment). This match is short and is designed to be a showcase for Miguelito, who by this point has been wrestling in the promotion for less than a year (and that includes a period of about two and half months where he was out due to an attack by Los Pastores). Hugo on commentary says that you have to admire Miguelito for agreeing to take this match on TV since a loss here would be a setback for him in his career. The match itself is a bit back and forth in terms of momentum changes, ending when Miguelito rolls out of the way from a diving body press and secures a small package on Greer for the three count. Some of the fans celebrate with Miguelito at ringside as Joaquin Padin says that it’s a victory for  ‘el nuevo idolo de Borinquen’’, which means the new idol of Puerto Rico.

MD: I don’t know here. Esteban promised us a wrestling mummy and we get Dan Greer, completely bald except for a bit of hair in a sort of mullet. This was worked with Perez as an arm-dragging, underdog rookie. He could get a quick move in at any point but would put his head down or get overpowered in the corner and Greer would take back over. He won off of a roll up after Greer missed a top rope splash. You got the sense that it was sort of an “A for Effort” approach to establishing Perez.

EB: Huracan Castillo Jr (or Huracan Castillo, hijo which is typically also used for sons that share the same name as their fathers) is the son of Pedro ‘Huracan’ Castillo, rudo extraordinaire for much of the 60s and 70s in Puerto Rico. While not as big of a name in the U.S. as Miguel Perez, Huracan Sr. had a long career that included wrestling across several different territories as part of the Castillo Brothers tag team (under the name of Fidel Castillo). Huracan Jr first appears in results from 1981, wrestling alongside his father for competitor promotions to CSP. But in 1984, both Castillos went to CSP, Castillo Sr. to have his retirement run from active competition (afterwards he would become the on screen commissioner and do a couple of one off in-ring returns) and Castillo Jr to wrestle as a lower card wrestler while he continued to gain experience. Castillo Jr. would mostly remain in the undercard throughout 84 and 85 but would start being positioned in a more prominent role in 1986 when he was teamed up with another second generation wrestler in the promotion, Miguelito Perez. To give an idea of Huracan Castillo Jr in action, here is a match also against Dan Greer from the summer of 1986.

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

This match follows similar beats as the Miguelito vs Greer match, so you can make a comparison of Huracan's skills. In the exchanges Huracan comes off a bit more polished (of course he’s been wrestling for a few more years than Miguelito by this point). Joaquin Padin on commentary calls Huracan a tremendous wrestler, very agile and young, and as everyone knows he has been teaming up with Miguelito Perez. Today he is in singles competition. Hugo puts over Huracan’s ground and aerial skills, saying that he’s young and willing to learn and he thinks it’s great that Miguelito and Huracan are teaming up. He also applauds that they’re still wrestling as singles which will allow them to continue to grow their confidence and experience. As the match moves on and Greer controls the middle portion of the match, Hugo talks about the importance of working hard and training, and that you can see how it's paying off for Castillo with how he’s improved. Greer continues to have the advantage for a good portion of the match, in contrast to the shorter match worked with Miguelito (which was more back and forth). Castillo regains the advantage by rolling out of the way of a diving splash and hitting a high knee. Greer manages to stop Castillo’s momentum with some dirty tactics. Greer goes for the pin off a belly to belly suplex, but Castillo gets his foot on the rope to break the count. Greer tries a clothesline off the ropes, but Castillo ducks and on the rebound grabs Greer in a small package for the win.

MD: Castillo was a bit farther along than Perez and that meant that Greer (still not a mummy in any meaningful sense of the word) was able to do a bit more with him here, a longer, more complex match, more stooging when taking things, more biting on top, more suplexes overall from both of them. Greer hit a belly to belly and Castillo hit a nice butterfly. I’m not sure what I think about Castillo’s jumping knee yet. It comes at his opponents a bit more dead on than I'm used to. Still armdrags early and still a roll up out of nowhere for the win by Castillo.  

EB: The story of Perez Jr and Castillo Jr as a team would begin in March of 1986, when a one night tournament was held for the vacant World tag titles (they had been vacant since Los Pastores had put Miguelito on the shelf). Miguelito would enter the tournament with Huracan Castillo Jr as his tag partner, forming a tag team of the two second generation young lions in the promotion. And thus their journey as a tag team partnership began, one that would be on and off over the next few years. From 86 to 88, there would be stretches where Perez and Castillo would be a regular tag team and other stretches where each would focus more on singles competition (Miguelito wrestling for the NA and PR titles and Huracan in the junior heavyweight division). Both of them would find success as singles but also when teaming together.

As 1989 began, Miguelito and Huracan where in one of the stretches were they working mainly as a regular tag team. They were the reigning Caribbean tag champs and would kick off the year by facing the New Ninja Express on the Three Kings Day year opener, leading to a series of matches between the two teams throughout the first two months of 1989.     

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

The New Ninja Express are Mr. Pogo and Sasaki San (a young Kensuke Sasaki) with El Profe as their manager. This match shows how Miguelito and Huracan have come along as a team and in their development as wrestlers. The first half of this match is basically Perez and Castillo in control and showcasing their teamwork. Pogo manages to finally get the advantage by hitting a reverse kick on a charging Miguelito but the Ninja Express lose the advantage when the more inexperienced Sasaki tags back in. Pogo regains control with a sleeperhold on Perez, but is able to make the tag once Sasaki is back in. Castillo works over both team members and looks to have the match in hand when he tries a suplex on Pogo, who is on the ring apron. But El Profe trips Castillo up and holds Castillo’s leg from outside the ring, allowing Pogo to get the pin. As referee El Vikingo is preparing to hand the title belts to the Ninja Express,referee Ricky Vargas comes out to explain that El Profe interfered by holding down Castillo’s leg. El Vikingo reverses the decision and disqualifies the Ninja Express. Therefore, Perez and Castillo are still the Caribbean tag team champions.

MD: Ok, here’s the tip for everyone, which really isn’t rocket science to anyone familiar. By this point, Perez and Castillo had matching gear and similar haircuts and there are indications that Perez had maybe caught up with Castillo. But even in a match with wonky video resolution like this, all you have to do is remember that Perez is the hirsute one. Sasaki brought youthful abandon, some power, some hard strikes to the table, but this was missing Kendo Nagasaki’s bullheaded aggression and tendency to eat up his opponents. That meant Perez and Castillo took a lot of this with quick tags and holds that didn’t entirely seem earned relatively. It was still effective and probably a good match for Sasaki’s excursion but it didn’t have the same energy as the Rufus/Medico tag from earlier.

EB: Perez and Castillo would spend most of March on tour, but upon their return would once more battle the New Ninja Express. Soon afterwards, they would become embroiled in a feud with the Battens, who had turned rudo after having lost the World tag titles and gone with El Profe as their manager. The feud, which would involve the Caribbean tag titles, would include a scaffold match and eventually a hair vs hair match.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28G8cf7Scmw

Before seeing the scaffold match clip, the card rundown for the Father’s Day show is seen. When the Battens vs Perez & Castillo match is announced, you can see a brief clip of Perez and Castillo holding down one of the Battens and cutting some of his hair off, and then a clip of the Battens attacking a downed Miguelito and trying to cut some of his hair. So you can tell this rivalry has gotten serious. The hair vs hair match is with no time limit and there must be a winner. But before all that, the teams had a scaffold match sometime in late May in Caguas. By that point, the teams had traded the Caribbean tag titles back and forth, including a period where the titles were held up after a match between them (with the Battens winning the held up titles on Mother’s Day). This clip is the last two minutes of the scaffold match. The Battens take control and throw salt into Castillo’s face, impairing his vision. As Castillo tries to not roll over the edge, the Battens double team Miguelito. As Castillo lies close to the edge of the scaffold, the Battens attack him and try to throw him off (Rip Rogers on commentary mentions that Perez and Castillo had already cut some of the Battens' hair before this match). Castillo tries to hang on but eventually falls to the two on one onslaught.

Castillo and Perez would regain the Caribbean tag titles on June 9th, but would lose  the hair vs hair match due to the Battens cheating. The teams would still continue their rivalry, as we go to June 24.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exjX4sFdYO8

This is a Caribbean tag title defense and Perez and Castillo (sporting their new haircuts) immediately rush the ring and go right after the Battens. They fight to the outside of the ring, where Perez and Castillo just continue punching the Battens and ramming them into whatever railing or fixture they can find. The fans are cheering the tecnicos on. The Battens manage to get a breather after being thrown around, as the referee tries to get Castillo and Perez into the ring. Hugo on commentary mentions that Perez and Castillo are angry about the cheating the Battens did that cost them their hair.  The match goes back outside and Perez and Castillo are just vicious in their attack on the Battens. Miguelito and one of the Battens make it back to the ring, where Perez gets a couple of pinfall attempts. The Battens try to go to the floor but Castillo chases them and does not give them a chance to regroup. We go to commercial break with Perez and Castillo still in control but come back with the Battens having taken the advantage. The Battens isolate Miguelito and he gets thrown into the ringpost. Castillo goes out to help Miguelito back in the ring but the Battens continue with the advantage. Heel miscommunication allows Perez to make the hot tag and Castillo comes in to clean house. All four men fight in the ring and, while the ref is trying to get Perez out of the ring, Castillo hits a flying bodypress on one of the Battens for a pin attempt. The ref starts to count the pinfall but El Profe jumps into the ring and hits Castillo .The ref admonishes El Profe instead of calling for a dq. Suddenly, Maelo Huertas runs out and chases El Profe around and into the ring. One of the Battens knees Maelo in the back as he’s going out of the ring. El Profe and one of the Battens attack Maelo on the outside, but in the confusion Castillo rolls up the other Batten and gets the pinfall The Battens and El Profe hightail it out of the rinside area as Castillo and Perez celebrate.

However, due to Maelo getting involved, a six man tag was held the following week with Maelo joining Perez and Castillo and El Profe joining the Battens.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Nv8EQS-UKU

We start with the match participants being introduced, which leads to El Profe doing a muscle pose on the turnbuckle when he is introduced. Castillo and El Profe start, with El Profe making a show of getting warmed up. Once he turns around and sees Castillo standing in front of him, Profe immediately turns back around and tags out. The ref starts questioning Profe if he was starting the match or not and Profe shakes his head no. After some back and forth talk, Maelo is now starting and is daring El Profe to get in the ring. Profe gets in, but the moment Maelos starts charging at him, he immediately tags out. You can guess how El Profe’s participation in this match is going to go. Maelo tags Miguelito in. Miguelito starts jawing at the Batten twin in the ring and pointing at El Profe, indicating that he should be in the ring. Profe decides to get in there but as he's getting in Miguelito quickly tags Maelo back in. Profe jumps out of the ring and argues with the fans as he paces around. We continue with the dynamic of El Profe getting in the ring when he thinks Maelo is tagged out only to find Maelo tagged back in and El Profe bailing again. This has been all heel schtick so far. Finally the match starts properly with one of the Battens in the ring. The story of the match becomes El Profe trying his best to avoid being tagged by his teammates as the match goes on, effectively making it a two on three match because he refuses to get in there. The match goes to commercial break with a promo for Aniversario 89 (we’ll talk about this soon) and returns with the tecnicos still in control. The tecnicos continue in control despite the Battens best efforts, and El Profe continues to conveniently move away from being tagged in anytime one his teammates gets close to the corner. El Profe finally tags in when he sees Maelo is down and hits a double foot stomp. He tags out after hitting the move and cockily struts out of the ring, doing a bicep pose on the apron to the crowd when he gets on the ring apron. The Battens continue the attack with a double clothesline as El Profe enthusiastically applauds from the corner. El Profe signals for the Batten twin to throw Maelo into his knees in the corner and then Profe tags back in. Profe taunts the tecnicos and, as the ref tries to get Castillo and Perez out of the ring ,the rudos triple team Maelo. Castillo and Perez have enough of what's happening and charge into the ring, attacking the Battens. El Profe bails but Maelo starts chasing him around the ring. Back in the ring, Perez and Castillo are dominating the Battens. The match ends when Miguelito catches one of the Battens coming off the top rope and hits a powerslam (which at the time was his finishing maneuver).

MD: From what we can see here, this looked to be a great feud, and it goes back to the show to show booking in 89 and how solid it’s come off to me. Things escalated to the point of a scaffold match. We only get a minute or two here but what stood out was how big the scaffold was, that the Battens used powder in the eye to win, and Castillo’s fall. That led to a big hair vs hair match where Perez and Castillo were shaved. Then they had a big revenge match with a ton of heat and had the Battens immediately overwhelmed and tossed all over the ringside area. I’d never given them too much time before but they look great in all of these matches. They were somewhat undersized relatively (just look at them standing next to Profe) but they fed and bumped and drew a ton of heat with that constantly “on” energy that I love to see. Perez and Castillo won that match but Profe made a violent spectacle out of himself at the end, which led to the six man with Maelo. That was another heel-in-peril structured tag, but with good reason; Profe refused to tag in making it a de facto handicap match. He finally cheated to help his team get the advantage and came in to pick the bones (which made him stand out as different than the more assertive Chicky) but the tecnicos rushed into the ring shortly into the beatdown. Profe still managed to escape Maelo chasing him around the ring, but at the price of his team losing.

EB: As the feud with the Battens wound down, Perez and Castillo would have a brief World tag title reign as well (making them double champions) but would lose the titles back to Rip Rogers and Abudda Dein. As September of 89 approaches, they are still the Caribbean tag champions.

Next time on El Deporte de la Mil Emociones, the road to Aniversario 89 comes into focus.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

El Deporte de las Mil Emociones Master List

Read more!

El Deporte de las Mil Emociones: Enter: The Sadistic Beast

Week 3: Enter: The Sadistic Beast

EB: Last time we had an introduction to many of the wrestlers we’ll be seeing on this journey. As we go forward, we’ll discuss  some of the key players a little more in-depth. But there is one person that we did not see in the Bronca Boricua that is very relevant to what is happening in August 1989 in Puerto Rico. Someone who is the reigning Universal champion and the reason why Carlos Colon was making his return from injury. Someone who was different from the typical monsters the rudo managers would bring to Puerto Rico in their continued attempts to get rid of the members of El Ejercito de la Justicia. A sadistic beast named Steve Strong.

To fully understand who Steve Strong is, we need to go back to early 1989. As 1989 started, Carlos Colon had finally vanquished his rival Hercules Ayala (the top thorn in Colon’s side for most of the past two years) in a loser leaves Puerto Rico match. Ayala was Chicky Starr’s top talent in Club Deportivo and left a void in Chicky’s stable. And although Chicky had Jason the Terrible (having come in for a second run on the island in late 88) and Abdullah the Butcher (when would make his semi-regular appearances) to battle his enemies, his stable was not as successful as hoped in their quest to regain the Universal title and get rid of Colon. To make matters worse for Chicky, the man whom he had turned on three years prior and who was his hated enemy, was making his return to CSP. The Invader was coming back and straight for Chicky Starr.

As March started, there was a big card set for March 4 deemed ‘El regreso de los grandes’ (‘The return of the greats’) at Hiram Bithorn Stadium. It would feature the grudge match everyone had been waiting for, Invader #1 vs. Chicky Starr. But that same day on tv, Chicky had a surprise for the viewers in the form of his latest talent acquisition. We go the Sports Shop segment from March 4th:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--DB2CnxquE

Chicky introduces Sadistic Steve Strong by saying he is the man that will finish every single member of El Ejercito de la Justicia. This is the surprise he had been promising, a diabolical and savage person who loves evil and ending his opponents. Strong is facing Rufus R. Jones tonight and, as you’ll see, Strong is basically a devil worshiper. Again, a bit of a departure in presentation compared to some of the other monsters brought in by the rudo managers. Strong calls himself the beast and explains what he’s going to do to Rufus tonight. That same episode, the local fans got their first glimpse of Sadistic Steve strong in action against Gino Rodriguez.

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

With this intro, Sadistic Steve Strong has arrived and he’s facing ‘El Rey’ Rufus R. Jones tonight. As a reference, here’s the announced card for March 4:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_rrwZlpZ9Q

For the Universal title: Carlos Colon defends against Abudda Dein;

The grudge match Puerto Rico has been waiting for: Invader #1 vs Chicky Starr;

For the Caribbean title: TNT challenges Jason the Terrible;

For the World tag titles: The Batten Twins defend against Tama and Dandy Dan Kroffat;

For the Caribbean tag titles: The Youngbloods challenge The Ninja Express comprised of Mr. Pogo and Sasaki San (yes, this is Kensuke Sasaki);

‘El Rey’ Rufus R Jones vs Sadistic Steve Strong;

Rematch for the World Junior title: Ricky Santana defends against El Profe;

Jumping Joe Savoldi vs the White Angel;

and other great stars.

Also, TNT will be taking his test to become a 2nd Dan black belt in taekwondo.

We actually do have video of Strong’s match vs. Rufus:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZ84YTrMJIs

If you’re wondering why Rufus is the king and wears the cape and crown, it’s because he had been voted by the school children of Puerto Rico as the king of wrestling and had been given the crown and cape by a group of kids on tv.  If you remember our previous post about the Bronca Boricua, you will recall that Chicky was wearing the crown and cape and calling himself the inarguable king of wrestling on the Sports Shop segment we discussed. This is where Chicky got it from, there was a point where Rufus was attacked, and Chicky basically ran off with the crown and cape (and eventually wound up keeping them). Strong is facing someone who has been a regular presence in Puerto Rico since the summer of 88 and shows off what he can do.

MD: You pretty quickly get a great sense of what Strong brings to the table and what he might be lacking. From a promo perspective, having a buzzword-heavy introduction that was then covered and smoothed over in the promotion’s core language by Chicky was very effective. It’d probably be less so if he had Jimmy Hart or Slick next to him though. The squash was really top notch stuff. He kept it moving with one power move after another, mixing things up and keeping them interesting, everything looking mean and impactful. I’m not sure I agreed with how he came into the Rufus match though. Rufus took a lot early, which made sense because he was established and he was over, but Strong had this way of lurching forward in his selling, drawing in to Rufus after the shots. While Rufus wasn’t able to get him down through any of it, it still made him seem sort of smaller than if he recoiled backwards and stood tall. Much of the heat in that was a bearhug and that played to Rufus’ emotive strengths but it wasn’t nearly as dynamic as what we saw in the Rodriguez match and then after a banana peel miss in the corner, Strong just dropped an elbow and got the pin. I might have liked him hitting that snug side slam first after the missed charge instead.

EB: Steve Strong was presented to the fans as this diabolical and evil being, who worshiped the darkness, who was tough to knock down and had a high tolerance for taking blows and shrugging them off. Similar to the Sports Shop segment where Chicky presented Strong to the viewers, there was a segment of Profe’s Wrestling Class (yes, El Profe also had his own talk segment that would air on the other TV show that aired that week) where a visibly nervous and uneasy El Profe had Strong on and Profe basically said that you could just feel the evil radiate off him and that it felt almost unholy (although Profe took solace in that Strong was there to take care of El Ejercito de la Justicia).

Almost immediately after debuting, Strong teamed up with Jason the Terrible to defeat the Batten Twins for the World tag titles. However, this reign would be short lived, as Jason suffered an injury which put him out of action and caused the team to lose the titles via forfeit to Carlos Colon and Invader #1. On screen it was explained that Chicky had fired Jason for signing a Caribbean title match vs TNT without Chicky’s consent, a match where Jason lost the title to TNT. Due to this, Jason did not appear for the scheduled tag title defense against Carlos and Invader, and they won the titles via forfeit. However, that doesn’t mean that match didn’t take place that night.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FiszI4gpJY0

We go to the following recap video recounting some of the events that have happened between Steve Strong and El Ejercito de la Justicia. We begin with an interview where we see an unholy alliance of sorts, as we have Chicky and El Profe talking about the upcoming singles matches their charges Steve Strong and Abudda Dein will have against Carlos Colon (for Strong) and Invader (for Abudda) this Thursday in Yabucoa. They also talk about Strong and Dein teaming up to challenge for the World tag titles on Friday in Ponce. Chicky refers to something that happened the previous week, where Steve Strong and Abudda Dein basically laid waste to the tecnicos. Profe chimes in to talk about how Dein will take care of Invader for sticking his nose in the matches Dein was having vs TNT.

We then go to Hugo who takes us to footage of the incident that Chicky was referring to. Last week Carlos and Invader had defeated Strong and Chicky in a tag match and, due to the stipulations for the match, the loser of the fall now had to face the opposing team 2 on 1. Chicky had lost the fall and was trying to go to the locker room to avoid honoring the stipulation. Carlos chases after Chicky and tosses him back into the ring, where Invader starts attacking Chicky. But almost immediately Carlos is blindsided by Abudda Dein and El Profe. While Invader is busy with Chicky in the ring, Dein attacks Carlos from behind while Profe goes to open a small cage near the ring (I’m assuming it was there due to a stipulation from another match earlier on the card). Dein throws Carlos inside the cage and, together with Profe, they lock Carlos inside.  We then skip ahead a few moments later, with Invader attacking Abudda at ringside with El Profe near the small cage watching. Chicky by this point had escaped to the locker room. As Invader attacks Abudda, out comes Steve Strong from the locker room area and ambushes Invader. Now Abudda and Strong double team Invader while Carlos remains locked inside the small cage. The other tecnicos come out to help (among them are Ricky Santana, Super Medico and TNT in the black ski mask). Strong and Abudda fight them off, including a blatant knee to the groin by Strong to TNT. Strong then rams Invader into the small cage at ringside as Carlos shakes the cage trying to get it open to no avail. Strong and Abudda then throw Invader into the ring and proceed to beat him down further, while managing to thwart the attempts to save him. The clip ends just after Strong hits a chair shot right on Invader's head.

We go back to Hugo who is in the midst of explaining the World tag title situation. Jason did not show up and Carlos and Invader won the tag belts by forfeit. Hugo mentions that it was later found out that Chicky had fired Jason for taking on the Caribbean title defense (and subsequent loss to TNT) without Chicky’s consent. We then go to a clip of that night (which would be prior to the events in the first clip shown), where Carlos and Invader flipped a coin to see who would face Strong in singles competition since Jason was not there. Invader won the toss and faced Strong. We skip forward to a moment where Carlos and Chicky are fighting at ringside while Strong manages to put Invader in a bearhug. Carlos ends up ramming Chicky into the ringpost, and upon seeing Invader almost completely out due to the bearhug, decides to jump into the ring with a chair and hit Steve Strong from behind with it. The ref calls for the DQ (Strong wins), but Carlos hits a few chair shots to the back without much effect. Strong decides to leave the ring as Carlos continues with the chair shots.

Later that same night, Chicky had faced the White Knight in a cage match. Chicky had managed to escape the cage and get the win. As Chicky is outside the ring celebrating, Invader comes out to get at Chicky. Chicky sees him coming and decides to get back in the ring and try to climb out the other side to escape from the Invader, but Invader catches up with him and starts attacking Chicky. After a few moments, Strong arrives to save Chicky and attack Invader. This brings out Carlos to even the odds and a fight breaks out in the cage between the two pairs. Strong and Chicky get the upper hand, allowing Chicky to close the cage door and leave Carlos and Invader at the mercy of Strong.  The tecnicos try to make the save but Chicky holds them off at the cage door as Strong continues his assault on Carlos and Invader. The faces finally manage to get inside but Chicky and Strong escape. We end the clip with Invader and Carlos left laid out, beaten and bloodied. We finish this part with an interview with Steve Strong and Chicky Starr talking about the upcoming revenge match vs Invader and Carlos as a result of the attack in the cage.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxo35fKfMgA

After these events, Steve Strong started a series of singles matches vs Carlos Colon where he challenged for the Universal title. We go to a highlight video that features several scenes of his matches vs Carlos Colon during this April to May stretch. You’ll notice that Strong appears to have a strategy in terms of what body part of Colon’s he is attacking.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THIdYkWv8JY

These matches eventually led to a street fight that occurred on April 15 at Hiram Bithorn Stadium. The following clip is the finishing stretch, where it appears Carlos has figured out that instead of going toe to toe with Strong you have to find a way to wear him down.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsZl2w8QQDo

However, just when it looks like Carlos may have solved how to handle Steve Strong, Abdullah the Butcher makes an appearance. He takes out his trusty fork and begins to attack Carlos. Chicky comes out and signals for Mr. Pogo, who came out to help wake up Strong from the sleeperhold Carlos had put on Strong. The clip ends with Abdullah continually stabbing Carlos in the head with the fork as Invader is seen running to the ring to help Carlos out.

MD: The deeper we get into the project, the more of a sense I’m getting of how it might shape up based on the footage we do have. For instance, our best look at the start of the Colon vs Strong feud seems to be in the music video. Strong is a natural for music videos, just like he’s a natural for enhancement matches. He also seems like exactly the guy you want to come in to interfere and destroy people at the end of a match. He’s a perfect associate for Chicky in that regard. Likewise, we only have a few minutes of this (bloody) street fight, but you get the general idea with Colon working from underneath, hitting a low blow to turn the tide, and getting some real revenge on Strong, first outside the ring and then with a long, fairly definitive sleeper until Abby comes in to disrupt the proceedings. I’ll leave it to Esteban to discuss the booking overall, but this does have that territory feel of always thinking towards the next show and drawing the next house. I know he’d been active for at least a few years before this, but rarely at this level and Strong already seems more confident against an actual opponent than he had in the Rufus match.

EB: Abudllah’s interference in the street fight led to a tag match between Carlos and Invader vs Strong and Abdullah (on April 22), which was followed by Carlos and Invader vs Strong and Chicky (on April 29), and then a six man tag (on May 6) with TNT joining the tecnicos and Rip Rogers teaming up with Chicky and Strong (so Matt’s pretty spot on with regards to the booking of the feud). Still, the series between Carlos and Strong has not yet definitively been settled, so on May 14 (Mother’s Day) at Roberto Clemente Coliseum, a chain match for the Universal title occurred. We go to a clip of that match in progress.

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

MD: We get about seven minutes of this, joined in progress, with a few minutes of violence after the fact. There are some gimmick matches that have the means of victory being the appeal. A last man standing match has the drama of the wrestler trying to get up, for instance. With a chain match, if it’s about touching the corners, you can get a lot of guys pulling at each other or breaking the count instead of whacking each other with the chain. There’s a minute or two of that in the middle here (which means we’re robbed of the initial bloodletting to start the match) but they go back to using the chain as a weapon, or in Colon’s case as an equalizer in short order.  Strong is named as such for a reason though, and he’s able to smash Colon’s shoulder against the post on the outside and carry him around all four corners; what he didn’t realize was that Colon touched one of the corners first and he loses but with a hee’s grudge to protect him and a beatdown after the fact. I wish we had the first few minutes of this instead of some of the corner touching and no one’s ever happy with a chain match finish but this one was executed fairly cleverly and the match looked solid overall.

EB: You’ll notice that Strong continued to focus on Colon’s shoulder throughout the match. Due to the way the chain match ended, one final match was to be had in order to settle any complaints from Chicky and Strong. This time, Colon and Strong would face off in a Death match on May 20. For this Death match, the rules are anything goes, no disqualification, the wrestler after losing a fall has to be able to answer a 30 count, and the match could not be stopped for any reason. Last man standing wins the match and the Universal title.

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

Carlos takes it early on to Strong and has the upper hand for the first few minutes. Strong manages to get in a flurry of hits to Colon’s shoulder, but Carlos manages to get the advantage again and gets the first pin after a senton from the top. Strong answers the count though, and the match continues. Strong manages to get the upper hand and focuses all of his attack on Colon’s left shoulder. After tossing Colon to the outside, Strong once gain lifts Colon up on his shoulder and proceeds to ram Colon’s shoulder into the ringpost, a tactic that Strong had used time and time again against Carlos throughout their matches. This time however, Colon’s shoulder gives out under the attack and he has a bum arm. Carlos is rolled into the ring and he lays on the mat holding his shoulder in pain. However, Carlos is unwilling to give up and since the match can’t be stopped for any reason, Strong continues his attack. Strong gets the pinfall but Colon manages to answer the 30 count.  Strong loads up ‘Damien’ (what he called the loaded kneepad he has on) and continues to attack Carlos on the shoulder. Carlos manages to get out of the ring but is in a lot of pain. Chicky starts taunting and yelling at Colon, while motioning to Strong to go outside and continue the attack. At this point, Invader and TNT come out to check on Carlos. Again, the match can’t be stopped for any reason. Invader motions to TNT to go get something and TNT runs off to get the object. It’s some sort of sling or brace to try to give Carlos some support for the injured shoulder. Strong eventually goes out to attack Carlos, and though Carlos tries to fend him off, Strong continues to attack Carlos at his leisure. Strong removes the sling and continues to attack Colon, who still refuses to allow the ref to call the match. Strong continues to punish Colon’s shoulder,and finally gets Colon in the ring and gets a pinfall. The ref tells Strong to head to a corner so the 30 count for Carlos can start. However, Invader and TNT jump into the ring and tell the ref to call it, worried that Carlos was seriously injured and would not be able to defend himself. The ref calls the match and the rest of El Ejercito de la Justicia comes out to check on Carlos and also make sure that Strong does not try to continue his attack. A bloodied Strong is handed the Universal title and celebrates with Chicky in the ring as the tecnicos help Carlos out of the ring, continuing to check on him. The Sadistic Beast is the new champion.

MD: Speaking of gimmicks, you can see the advantages of the Texas Death Match rules here. They used the pinfalls almost as transitions. Colon was able to come in strong and really have Strong’s number. You got the sense that by this point of the feud, he cracked the code and knew exactly how to take him out. The count after the pin meant that he could recover, though, and he rose up from the depths, a bloody, deadly mess to take over on Colon and pin him as well. Of course Carlos beat the count, but the tide had turned and Strong went back to that shoulder, damaging it again and again; they tried to put a sling on Colon but Strong tore it off and stayed focused on demolishing it. It created a tangible sense of inevitability that powered the title change here so that when Colon couldn’t answer the count, it felt warranted and inevitable.  

EB: Next time on El Deporte de las Mil Emociones, we continue to follow Steve Strong’s run in Puerto Rico as Invader steps up as the first challenger in the wake of Carlos Colon being put on the shelf. Learn the history behind Invader’s heart punch, why it is considered dangerous to face Invader with his fist taped, and just why he sometimes wrestles with a mask and other times he does not.

El Deporte de las Mil Emociones Master List

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