El Deporte de las Mil Emociones: Strong Punch

Week 57: Strong Punch

We saw Carlos Colon get the win against the savage Polynesian Prince in a barbed wire match and TNT regain the TV title against the man who put him on the shelf, one King Kong. We do have one other match we need to mention from the June 1 house show in Bayamon. Invader #1 faced Ron Garvin in a special challenge match and the match ended up going to a draw. Throughout the match there were a couple of instances where both Invader and Garvin looked to have the match won but circumstances caused the match to restart and then the time limit ended without a winner. As a result of this challenge match having no winner, the two wrestlers agreed to a rematch at Aniversario 91. To make it official, a contract signing aired on TV and things got heated when each man brought up the moment they had the match in hand.. The back and forth got a bit heated and then talk turned to who had the better and stronger punch. Again, the back and forth got a bit heated, leading to both men standing up. At that moment, Garvin surprised Invader with a punch right to the face. Invader went down and his nose was injured from the blow. As a result, Invader will have a bandage around his nose as he recovers from the damage Garvin's punch did. This has only added more fuel to the newly signed match for Anviersari 91. And there’s one more stipulation that will be added as a result of all the arguing over who has the better punch. In order to prove who has the best punch, Invader will be allowed to show up with his fist taped for the Aniversario match. The taped fist heart punch is the most dangerous move in Puerto Rico wrestling, so the stakes are high for that encounter.

Do we have any other updates for Aniversario? Let’s go to what's either the June 8 or June 15 west coast version of Super Estrellas to find out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRMBHXeS91w

We join this episode in progress, as Eliud Gonzalez is in the Road to Aniversario control center. He’s just finished talking about Invader #1 (looks like he has a match for Aniversario) and then talks about the revenge match between Bronco and Skandor Akbar. They replay the fireball incident and aftermath. There’s also the match between Monster Ripper and El Profe, and we go to a recap of how this all started at Noche de Campeones. And if that’s not enough, we also have the feud between Billy Joe Travis and Hugo Savinovich, where we get the recap of the brief altercation and then Hugo getting Carlos Colon and Giant Warrior to agree to help him train for the match. Back in the control center, Eliud tells us that more matches will be announced soon and remember that you can get your tickets at Thom McAn (a shoe store chain) in the western region starting this Thursday. If you pay attention to the clips shown in the segment outro, you’ll see Ron Garvin decking Invader during the contract signing for their Aniversario match, which is what leads to Invader wearing a bandage around his nose for the next couple of weeks.

The control center is followed by an El Profe promo, where he again runs down Monster Ripper by saying that here in Latin America women are objects for men. We cut to a card rundown for the Aniversario show in San German and we can confirm that Invader #1 with his taped fist will face Ron Garvin. Also added to the card are the Caribbean Express defending the Caribbean tag titles against the Samoan Swat Team and Super Medico #3 defending the Caribbean title against Rod Price. Tomorrow (either June 9 or 16) they will be in Guanica with the following lineup: Invader #1 & TNT vs Polynesian Prince & Dick Murdoch; Giant Warrior vs. King Kong; Ricky Santana vs Rod Price; Miguelito Perez vs Action Jackson; minis in action; Huracan Castillo vs Billy Joe Travis; and Mr. Ito vs. Galan Mendoza.

Since this is the last we’ll hear of King Kong, I want to mention a memory I have that has to be from around this time period. It was a TV match taped in Miramar where Invader #1 faced King Kong. In a rarity, Invader #1 was wearing his mask in a singles match, so it's likely he was protecting his injured nose from further damage. The reason I remember this match is for the finishing stretch. Invader hit Kong with the heart punch, leaving him staggered but still on his feet. Invader then went to the middle turnbuckle and jumped off with another heart punch, knocking Kong down. Invader gets the pin and leaves the ring, but Kong remains down on the mat and you have the ref  and Akbar checking on Kong. The ref starts panicking and they have to revive Kong with chest compressions since he had sustained two heart punches. Kong is successfully revived and then leaves the ring normally under his own power, likely on his way out of the territory.  

MD: They start this episode recapping Akbar vs Bronco, Profe vs Ripper, and Hugo vs Travis. It’s wild that this is how they’re doing Aniversario this year. As we get there, I’m hoping Esteban can dig up some details about just how successful it was, because it is a bold strategy. It looks like, a month out, they’ve added Invader 1 vs Ron Garvin, Caribbean Express vs SST, Medico IV vs Rod Price, and Giant Warrior vs Murdoch. With Colon vs Bravo on top. It’s an interesting card to say the least. 

Meanwhile, the house show for the week had Invader/TNT vs Polynesian Prince/Murdoch, Warrior vs King Kong, Santana vs Price, Perez vs Jackson, Midgets, Castillo vs Travis, and Ito vs Mendoza, so that’s not really a bad card either all things considered. 

Invader IV vs. Ronnie Garvin

EB: We go to a JIP Ron Garvin vs. Invader #4 arena match and it wouldn't surprise me that this was signed after Garvin punched out Invader #1. If you'll recall, Invader #4 is the younger brother of Invader #1, so it stands to reason he is looking to get some revenge on Garvin. Hugo and Eliud on commentary say that you have to be very careful of Garvin’s punches. Invader #4 is the one in control when we join the match, having backed Garvin into a corner and getting some punches on him. It doesn’t last long and Garvin takes over with some punches of his own. A Garvin hip toss gets a two count, but Invader #4 quickly gets up and hits Garvin with some punches. Garvin is whipped into the ropes and is able to hold on to them, causing Invader #4 to miss a dropkick. Garvin immediately goes for the Garvin Stomp and then knocks Invader #4 out with a right hook to the face. Garvin gets the win and shows off his punching prowess in the process.

After the match, we go to taped promos from Garvin and Invader #1. Garvin wants it to be known that all he needs are his bare hands, he could probably kill a bear with his bare hands. Garvin promises that he will dismantle Invader in front of all the fans at Aniversario. Invader (with the bandage on his face) follows by saying that Garvin should be embarrassed for what he did at the contract signing. Invader understands why Garvin did it, Garvin was angry about the time limit draw and not being able to defeat Invader. Garvin asked for 5 more minutes, Invader gave it to him, and still Garvin could not beat Invader. When we signed the contract for Aniversario, you punched me and hurt my nose,but come Aniversario you'll have to show that you have the strongest punch. Remember, I'll have my fist taped and when I hit the heart punch on you Garvin, you will not get up.

MD: Despite being greyscale, I think this is new footage. Garvin doesn’t have a manager and Invader IV only showed up during the run of our footage, I think. At least with the gimmick. He pummels Garvin in the corner, really taking it to him. Garvin comes back with a headbutt but he can’t keep Invader IV from firing back on him. But Invader misses a dropkick, and it’s Garvin Stomp followed by Hand of Steel for the definitive and anti-climactic win.

Garvin cut a great promo about how while Invader will be coming for revenge (I have no idea what for but his nose is sure bandaged) and will have taped fists, Garvin will have bare knuckles and he could punch out a bear with his bare knuckles. Then Hugo translates while he shadow boxes and I am excited for this match already. 

EB: Hugo Savinovich is in training for his Aniversario match against Billy Joe Travis and here we have video of him being trained by Carlos Colon. At the end we get some words from an out of  breath Hugo where he thanks Carlos and promises to continue getting ready for Travis in order to teach him a lesson

MD: There are more than five minutes of this! Why is this so long! There’s a whole minute of just Hugo stretching. On the other hand, I can’t wait for part two of this if he’s being trained by Giant Warrior next.

Dino Bravo vs. Armandito Salgado

EB: Dino Bravo is taking on Armandito Salgado in Manati. Hugo apologizes for the black and white picture, this is how the match was filmed apparently. This goes as well as you would expect for Salgado, with Bravo making quick work of him and winning with the full nelson.

MD: Pretty effective squash here. He charged right in, punching him in the corner, pile driving him, hitting elbow drops. He was using the full nelson instead of the side slam so he couldn’t just finish him off. He instead tossed him out and had a nice entry point to the full nelson where he starts to whip Salgado out of the corner and put him right in it after a few steps. As effective as I can imagine from Bravo.

EB: Next is Billy Joe Travis with El Profe, and they just spend the time making fun of Hugo. It cuts to Profe’s closing remarks about how Dino Bravo will be the new Universal champion at Aniversario. Then Carlos Colon (from the track where he is training Hugo and with one of the Colon kids) has some comments, saying that his goal is having a convincing win against Bravo at Aniversario.

MD: Travis was sure having fun and Profe seemed to be having fun with him. He mocked Hugo, his training, his wife, all within the span of less than a minute. 

Rod Price & Action Jackson vs. Tito Carrion & El Corsario

EB: We go to another JIP match as Rod Price and Action Jackson are in the middle of facing Tito Carrion and El Corsario. Price and Jacksna are getting the better of Carrion and refusing to cover him for the pin, even after hitting a Doomsday Device. Price finally gets the merciful pin after a shoulder tackle. 

MD: I made the mistake of looking up Price and Jackson’s association because they were both GWF guys and they had this wild looking SPWF tour in 1996 against Yatsu, Teranishi and Poison Sawada. ANYWAY, this was brutal. A Price belly to belly (lifts up the opponent). A doomsday device (lifts up the opponent). A Price flying lariat (doesn’t lift up the opponent). 

EB: SkandorAkbar has some comments where he is incredulous that Bronco is daring to come back here after having been burned. Akbar warns Bronco to stay in Santo Domingo, because he has a plan to finish him off. We then get an interview from Bronco sent in from Santo Domingo, where he says he is recovering nicely although some burn marks still linger. Bronco urges the fans in the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico to see some of the burns still on his face, so he covers up with a towel to remove his mask. We then get a still shot of the burn marks Bronco wanted to show. Bronco says he is returning at Aniversario, even if he is not fully healed by them. And he warns the president of CSP to make sure he has medics and emergency services on hand, because they are going to need them for Akbar once he is done with him.

MD: Akbar tells Bronco not to come back to Puerto Rico and that he has a back up plan, as always. Bronco looks cool as always (whether he’s lounging here or running in from the back in a suit). They do a deal where he takes off his mask but shields his face with a towel so they can zoom in on the burn. 

EB: The Caribbean Express have some words about defending the Caribbean tag tiles at Aniversario against the Samoan Swat Team. Pretty standard comments where they say they are training hard and promise to keep the belts. They also have some comments about their singles matches for tomorrow in Guanica.Hugo says he cannot be unbiased and he hopes Castillo teaches Travis a lesson tomorrow. 

MD: They were theoretically able to get over both the Profe and the SST matches here but they seemed to focus on the SST match more as Ripper didn’t talk.

EB: The episode closes with video of the barbed wire match between Carlos Colon and the Polynesian Prince. Hugo closes the show by hyping up the Friday Aniversario card in San Germana and tomorrow’s house show in Guanica. 

Now let’s go to the June 15  episode of Campeones, it's a cut down version of the episode with some repeat matches but let's see if there is any new news about Aniversario.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfCgFiiu8p8

Hugo and Profe welcome us to another edition of Campeones. Hugo immediately starts getting on Profe’s case about Anciersari saying Profe is going to lose against Monster Ripper. Profe plays it off saying that he will be the one doing the beating. Hugo says that women are to be respected, Profe responds with ‘What lady?’ Hugo mentions what we'll see on today's program, while also reminding viewers about the upcoming Aniversario 91 on July 6 in Bayamon. Tonight they will be in Carolina with a main event of Carlos Colon vs the Great Kokina (looks like they’ve brought in another monster to try to derail Carlos before Aniversario). Profe reinforces that point, saying he doesn't care if Kokina wins tonight, Kokina is here to destroy Carlos Colon. Profe warns Carlos to not show up tonight and laughs when Hugo says they better be careful, because El Ejercito de la Justicia is ready and may decide to send them to the hospital instead. Also tonight we have Dino Bravo vs. TNT and Invader #1 vs. Polynesian Prince. With that let’s get to our first match (courtesy of El Profe’s magic finger).

Rod Price vs. Mr. Ito

Rod Price is taking on the newcomer known as Mr. Ito, who you may better know as Akira Nogami. Mr. It looks good in the early going, hitting some nice dropkicks that send Price to the outside of the ring. Price tries an armbar and Ito works out of it. Price turns the tide by hotshotting Ito on the top rope, allowing Rod to control the next portion of the match. Ito is not easy to put away, and a missed change in the corner gives Ito an opening to come back with some nice kicks. Some mounted punches and a spin kick follow and it looks like Ito has momentum on his side. Akbar gets involved however by grabbing Ito’s leg when he’s coming off the ropes. The distraction is enough for Price to attack Ito from behind. One shoulder tackle later and Rod Price gets the win.

We then go to the Aniversario 91 control center, but it unfortunately is edited off the version we have video for.

MD: Ito is Akira Nogami of all people and this was a solid TV match. He’s babyface here and controlled early with dropkicks. Price stalled until he was able to take over with a cheapshot and as always has a lot of “stuff.” Belly to belly suplex, press slam, vertical suplex, with punches and occasionally cutting off hope chopping from underneath. Ito kept kicking out and was able to get out of the way of a corner charge to take over with kicks in the corner. Akbar caught his leg off the ropes though, letting Price hit a flying shoulder tackle for the win. A good way to spend five minutes or so.

EB: The rest of the episode’s matches are ones we do not need to cover since they are the Garvin vs. Flair cage match from JCP…

MD: I guess it’s nice we now have a version of this match commentated on by Hugo?

EB: And the Colon vs. Murdoch barbed wire match from early April. We also have a promo from Skandor Akbar with the Polynesian Prince, whose opponent tonight is Invader #1.

MD: Prince is definitely committed to the gimmick. You can’t say he’s not. He’s biting at the air and making faces as Akbar talks and it’s quite the scene. 

EB: We also get a brief clip of Eliud Gonzalez in the control center that is in between segments of the Colon vs. Murdoch match. Eliud runs down the matches signed for Aniversario 91 and mentions there is a change to one of the matches. The match in question is Giant Warrior vs. Dick Murdoch, it seems that TNT has asked Warrior if he would team up with him to face… and the clip cuts off there. Guess we’ll have to wait until next week to find out what the match is instead. The real reason the Warrior vs. Murdoch match was changed is due to Dick Murdoch having signed with WCW. Hugo and Profe close the show by hyping tonight's card in Carolina with a main event of Carlos Colon vs. Great Kokina.

We'll finish off this week’s post with footage of the Dino Bravo vs. TNT match from June 15.

TNT vs. Dino Bravo - June 15

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NY8RsFYAYgE

It's only a short clip of the match since this is taken from a  TV episode that aired some months later. They show TNT hitting his shoulder on the post when missing a corner charge and Bravo takes advantage by working over TNT’s shoulder. TNT gets a hope spot with a sunset flip, but Bravo knocks TNT down with a clothesline and continues attacking the arm. TNT gets another comeback, but a missed spin kick allows Bravo to lock in the full nelson. TNT submitted due to the hurt shoulder and a big win for Bravo on his way to Aniversario 91. . 

MD: We get the last four minutes of this. TNT misses a corner charge and Bravo works over the arm. It’s not exactly impressive armwork but it’s fine. Varied even if none of the holds look great. TNT comes back and Bravo feeds well for it. He misses an elbow drop as well. But TNT misses the spin wheel kick and he gets a clean win with the full nelson. I get putting him over so strong going into Anversario but usually this would have a distraction or interference. That made me realize I don’t know who TNT is actually facing at Anversario.

EB: Next time on El Deporte de las Mil Emciones, we are in the final stretch of the road to Aniversario 91. Giant Warrior helps train Hugo, we’ll cover some matches that happened during the latter half of June such as Invader #1 teaming up with Mr. Ito and Carlos Colon vs Great Kokina in a steel cage, and the final hype for Aniversario 91 as we get some feud recaps to make sure we know how we got there.

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El Deporte de las Mil Emociones: For Each Show Host, A Match

Week 56: For Each Show Host, A Match

EB: We continue on the road to Aniversario 91, as four matches have been officially signed. The main event is scheduled to be Carlos Colon vs Ron Garvin for the Universal title, but Dino Bravo has been making noise about wanting that title match for himself. Bravo made a surprise appearance at Noche de Campeones where he made a surprise attack on Carlos Colon. It looks like we finally have a decision with regards to whether Bravo gets the match or not. Meanwhile, Carlos is dealing with the Polyneasian Prince, Gen. Akbar’s latest recruit and someone who seems to be focused on injuring Carlos before Aniversario. They faced each other last week in Caguas after having quite the brawl at the TV taping, and it looks like the rivalry has escalated. They are set to face off once more in a barbed wire match.

In other Aniversario news, Bronco remains out due to the fireball attack but promises revenge on Akbar at Aniversario. Meanwhile, Profe keeps spiraling a bit with the idea of having to face Monster Ripper, in part due to the constant needling from Hugo Savinovich over the situation. One final piece of news, TNT has been cleared for action and has set his sights on getting back the TV title from King Kong. Now let’s go to the west coast version of Super Estrellas de la Lucha Libre from June 1 and see what the decision regarding Dino Bravo is.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0tpp1n8IWI

Hugo welcomes the viewers to the show and goes over what we will see today, including Universal champion Carlos Colon (in a rare tv studio match) taking on King Kong. During the rundown Hugo makes mention of Dino Bravo being the number one contender for the Universal title and the man who will face Carlos at Aniversario, so it looks like the commission made the decision to change the match to Colon vs Bravo. Since this is the west coast edition of Super Estrellas, all mentions of Aniversario are focused on the Friday card in San German. Hugo updates the viewers on the most recent developments for that card, but not before hyping up the air conditioning, ample parking and security available at the facility in San German. The main event for Friday July 5 is Carlos Colon defending the Universal title against Dino Bravo. It is official, since Bravo and Profe were alleging that Carlos was ducking Bravo out of fear. To help Bravo’s cause, it seems that Profe went to Ron Garvin and paid him off to step aside. Garvin called the WWC commission and relinquished his title shot. Add to that Carlos wanting payback for the attack Bravo did at Noche de Campeones and here we are with Bravo now challenging Carlos at Aniversario.

Also scheduled is a first time ever match in Puerto Rico as a man faces a woman, and Hugo says that Monster Ripper is favored against Profe. Dick Murdoch vs Giant Warrior and Bronco vs Skandor Akbar in a vengeance match round out the signed matches so far, there will be 6 other matches so stay tuned as new updates are made. Next week there will be information about where you can purchase tickets for the show, and with that let’s go to the ring for our first match. 

King Kong vs. Carlos Colon

Our first match is a surprising one, as Carlos Colon takes on King Kong. This is a non-title match and Hugo mentions this is a dangerous opponent for Carlos. Akbar is not at ringside with Kong, but Hugo says that it will be a big boost for Devastation Inc if Kong defeats Carlos here. The first minutes of the match are all about establishing Kong’s size and strength advantage, he shoves Carlos down a few times and works him over with nerve holds. The match continues with Kong in control, with Hugo saying it's surprising that Kong is having such a dominant showing against Calros, who trains diligently. Hugo sends a hellos to the viewers watching in the different countries the program airs and it sure seems that this match is to help establish if Carlos can handle bigger and stronger opponents such as Dino Bravo. After six or seven minutes, Colon makes a comeback after dodging a corner splash. The offensive flurry is ended when Kong uses his weight to belly bump Colon on a corner charge. Kong picks Colon up for a slam and Carlos grabs the ropes to prevent it. The referee tells Colon to let go and kicks Colon’s hands off the ropes. The sudden momentum shift seems to unbalance Kong and he falls down with Colon on top. The ref makes a count and Carlos wins the match, although it looks more like it was luck. This may be a sign that Carlos may have a tough time against Bravo unless he really prepares.

MD: Not a long match but kind of an interesting one since we haven’t seen Colon face someone this size in a while. Kong really had Colon’s number for the first two thirds of this, overpowering him and then leaning down on him hard with clubbers and nerveholds. Colon dodged a corner charge and took over. There was some sense that he had worn him down with a rope-a-dope though it didn’t quite have enough time to play out. Kong was so active that it sort of worked though. He came out of the corner with a Vader Attack though but Colon held on to the top rope on a slam attempt and when the ref kicked the hands out, he fell on him for a quick three. If Kong was leaving the territory this was a good way to have him do business on TV on the way out. Otherwise, it was a weird thing to give away.

EB: Dino Bravo is in the studio for another promo about facing Carlos Colon, only this time the match is officially a go. Bravo says that he tracked Colon to his backyard and on his first visit to the island almost broke Colon’s neck. Bravo has his number and he will become the new Universal champion at Aniversario 91. Carlos Colon is next and says that Aniversario 91 is going to be an important night for him. Not only is he facing the world strongest man and a great wrestler, Colon has a personal score to settle with Bravo after the humiliation he received at Noche de Campeones. Hugo makes note that this is not only for the title but also a chance for Carlos to represent Puerto Ricans well. Carlos says that the fans know Bravo's accomplishments and it is a tough task he faces, but with the fans support he will come out with the win. The segment ends with an Aniversari 91 card rundown featuring the four announced matches so far.

MD: Bravo just seemed happy to be there, talking about how Colon was the ambassador to the world but that Bravo had come to his backyard and could have broken his neck. He had to ask Profe for confirmation on the fact it was called Aniversario but said that Colon should bring his heart and his belt and he’d take both. As a kid from New England in 1991, I would have probably seen Bravo as a bigger star than Ron Garvin but I still have my doubts here.

Billy Joe Travis & Gran Mendoza vs. Ricky Santana & Tito Carrion

EB: We go back to Miramar for our next match but it seems that an argument is happening at the commentary desk. Billy Joe Travis is there with El Galana Mendoza and El Profe, they are up next. Instead of being in the ring, Travis is angrily yelling at Hugo Savinovich, it seems Travis is angry about comments Hugo has made about him. Hugo dismisses Travis and tells him to get in the ring, he doesn’t want to talk to Travis right now. Profe has to drag Travis away so they can go to the ring for their match. As Travis and Mendoza enter the ring, the camera shows Hugo and Eliud at the commentary desk and Hugo is angry, explaining to Eliud that this guy Travis brought up Hugo’s wife again and Hugo is not having that. It looks like there have been some verbal jabs between Travis and Hugo in recent weeks but we haven't seen them on the TV episode versions we have. Still, Hugo says that if Travis has any issues with him that’s fine but he should stick to talking about Hugo and not his wife. Eliud adds that Travis took it further by shoving Hugo and Hugo says he’ll compose himself because he is a professional and has a job to do. 

In the ring, Mendoza and Travis are facing Ricky Santana and Tito Carrion. Travis and Santana lock up and Hugo asks Eliud to continue with the commentating for now. Santana and Carrion get the early advantage on Travis, as Hugo has calmed down enough to join Eliud on commentary. Hugo says that he's pretty sure that El Profe is behind all of this by goading Travis and getting him riled up to go after Hugo. Hugo thinks it’s because of all the comments and grief he has given Profe over the Monster Ripper situation. Hugo draws the line at having his wife and family brought into this though. As Travis and Mendoza take over on Carrion, Hugo continues going off, saying that this has to be Profe and other people that are likely jealous of the good work Hugo does on the TV shows and that he’s not going to continue letting this go. The rudos continue working over Carrion and Profe decides to go over and needle Hugo about what happened. Hugoa accuses Profe about being behind all of this and Profe just laughs, saying all he did was tell Travis the truth about all the garbage Hugo was saying about Travis. In the ring, the rudos continue isolating Carrion and, despite a brief flurry from Carrion, win the match after a Mendoza DDT. Post match, an angry Travis once again makes a beeline towards Hugos and starts yelling and shoving him a bit before being pulled away.

MD: Travis was an awesome heatseeker. He has some things I love in USWA Texas right around this time if I’m not mistaken, and he was getting right in Hugo’s face before the match. It’s funny that on a card where they already have Profe vs Ripper and (if I’m not mistaken) Akbar vs Bronco, they’re looking to maybe do Hugo vs Travis too, but I guess it would fit a theme. This was effective (in part because it was so unusual) nonetheless.

Travis was a natural fit here, leaning his face in so Santana could take a swipe, then nailing him with sweeping punches and slaps of his own. He stooged big when it was time, and then, once they got Tito in, they leaned hard on him, drawing Santana in a couple of times that just made the double teaming worse. Real mauling. Carrion finally got a comeback but it was brief as he ran right into Mendoza’s knee and ate a DDT. Post-match Travis jawed with Hugo at the desk some more.

EB: Skandor Akbar has an interview and talks about not being certain that Bronco will make it to Aniversario. Akbar is retired and pays other people to fight for him, but he is not happy at being forced by the WWC to face Bronco. But he has a plan and Bronco better be careful. Bronco responds by telephone as they replay video of the fireball incident. Bronco says he has burn marks, blisters and scars from Akbar’s fireball but promises that at Aniversario he will get his revenge. 

MD: Akbar wasn’t happy with having to face Bronco. He said he was the godfather, the general, and retired, rich enough to pay others to wrestle but WWC was forcing the issue. He sounded frazzled, focusing both on the idea that Bronco might be too hurt to wrestle due to the burn but also that it could happen again or he might have a trick up his sleeve. Bronco, despite not being in the studio, was spirited as ever and fans would certainly think he was showing up for this one.

Rod Price vs. Herbert Gonzalez

EB: Rod Price is in action against Herbert Gonzalez and this match is a showcase for the man who says he is the perfect wrestler. Herbert gets no offense and Price shows off some nice moves as Hugo and Eliud talk up Price's credentials and background. Price gets the win after a shoulder tackle. Let’s see what waves Price can make in Puerto Rico.

MD: On paper, Price really fits in too but I’ll need to see something more competitive. He steamrolled Herbert here, belly to belly, hotshot, leg drop, fist drop, a goofy roll into an elbow in the corner and a great jumping shoulder tackle, all while Akbar gloated on the outside. 

EB: Giant Warrior is in the studio to talk about his scheduled match against Dick Murdoch. Warrior says that Murdoch won’t get any vindication at Warrior’s expense. He'll keep an eye out for Joe Don Smith but his main focus is on Dick Murdoch.

MD: Interesting bit here is that they did half, translated, and then did the other half. You don’t usually see Hugo actually ask a follow up question (this time about Joe Don Smith) that way. I can’t say that Murdoch vs Giant Warrior is exactly what I’d want for my #2 match on the PPV relative to Murdoch vs Invader or TNT but they had run through some of these pairings already I guess and it’s not like Warrior wasn’t heavily established by now. 

Brad Anderson vs. Huracan Castillo Jr.

EB: Up next is Brad Andersn taking on Huracan Castillo and there may be fireworks considering that Profe and Monster Ripper are at ringside. And immediately Ripper tries to go after Profe but instead Profe hides behind Brad Anderson. Ripper still goes after him and Profe decides to flee to the locker room instead of getting caught by Ripper. Profe stays in the shadows of the entrance as Ripper calls him a chicken, but runs back out when Ripper goes back to ringside. The match starts and it is pretty even in the first minute until Castillo catches Anderson with an atomic drop that sends Anderson through the ropes to the outside. Profe rubs Anderson’s booboo before  Brad gets back in the ring. As the match continues, Profe heads over to the commentary desk and explains that he’s trying to avoid any incident since the commissioner has been going around levying fines as of late and Profe doesn’t want to risk his license (although he wants nothing more than to give Ripper a slap in the face). Anderson works a chinlock on Castillo and Ripper again tries to chase after Profe (who hides behind the commentators). This match is really a backdrop for the Profe and Ripper rivalry. Castillo ends up making a comeback but it’s the managers that lead to the finish. Profe distracts the ref so that Anderson can get the advantage, but Ripper takes that opening to shake the ropes and cause Anderson to fall from the turnbuckle. Castillo gets the pin right after and he and Ripper head back to the locker room.

After the match we get promos from El Profe and Monster Ripper. Profe says that he is fed up with the insults and has reached the point of not caring about being a gentleman. Since he is being forced to do the match, Profe will take this opportunity to use Ripper as an example that a woman's place is in the home, tending to their husbands and doing the household chores. . Maybe Ripper is infatuated with Profe and that is why she wants to get her hands on him but Profe is going to forget she is a woman and will beat her up at Aniversario. Monster Ripper responds by saying Profe will respect women and reminds Profe that she is not like the women from around here. She will fight on behalf of all of the women in the world and she will hit him hard.

MD: Ripper was out with Castillo. Profe was out with Anderson. Really, the match took a backseat to their antics as Ripper chased Profe to the back once or twice. I’m not sure about the chemistry between Castillo and Anderson (probably down to Anderson), but there also wasn’t a lot to latch on to here. Castillo had his nice jumping knee on the comeback. Finish was muddled as Profe distracted for no reason as Anderson was going to the top, allowing Ripper to shake the ropes and Castillo to steal a win. Post match promos seemed to be what you’d expect for a man vs woman match. I’d almost rather have had Ripper defeat a guy (Exotico would have been perfect but we haven’t seen him for a while) as part of the build instead.

EB: Skandor Akbar is in the studio with Rod Price, a recent arrival to his stable. Price has several nicknames it looks like. Akbar talks up Price's physique and wrestling skills. 

MD: Akbar touted all of Price’s attributes and called him Rugged and Mr. Perfect. Price said he was a Dude with a Tude and Hugo had to figure out how to translate it.

Dino Bravo vs. George Anderson from WWF Superstars

EB: We get a Dino Bravo squash match courtesy of the WWF. We still haven’t seen Bravo wrestle in Puerto Rico but that will change soon.

MD: Bravo has some weirdly babyface coded offense, both an inverted atomic drop and an airplane spin. I hate how he sets up the side slam with a kick to the gut. If he had done it after the airplane spin, it would have been much better and less stilted. The WWF heat machine is droning and distracting in a way I don’t usually notice. Wonder if it has something to do with the Hugo voice over on the sound mix. It would have been nice to have Bravo in studio for a squash. I bet it’d have a different feel.

EB: Dick Murdoch and Joe Don Smith offer some comments about the scheduled match with Giant Warrior. Murdoch is miffed that he is booked against Giant Warrior because he wants Carlos Colon again. If Murdoch has to annihilate someone else to get that, he will do that. The episode then ends with the previously seen TNT and Ron Garvin music videos and Hugo's sign off.

MD: Now I feel bad for questioning Giant Warrior because Joe Don and Murdoch feel the same way I do. But Murdoch says Warrior should say bye to his loved ones because he’s going to lift him up for the brainbuster and send him to the hospital.

EB: So we’ve seen how Aniversario is shaping up on the west coast, but we have a big card scheduled for tonight in Bayamon. Let’s go to part of the Campeones episode from June 1 to get the latest news.

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

The video starts with Hugo in the Aniversario 91 control center, where he is explaining the confirmation of Colon vs. Bravo and the whole deal with Ron Garvin stepping down. Hugo also talks about the incident that happened last Wednesday in Miramar with Billy Joe Travis. It’s the same incident we saw on Super Estrellas but we get some additional footage. It seems Carlos Colon has come out to the commentary desk and Hugo is asking Carlos if El Ejercito de la Justicia would help Hugo train if he decides to challenge Travis to a match. Carlos says of course they will and promises in front of everyone that he will be the first one to train Hugo. Hugo yells out ‘You got it Mr. Travis’ and it looks like we have another match for Aniversario 91. Giant Warrior also approaches Hugo and offers his help in training Hugo. The control center wraps up by reminding the dates for Aniversario 91.

MD: We see a little bit more of what occurred after the match from the last show. Because (at the urging of Profe, says Hugo) Travis insulted both Hugo and his wife, he said he’d fight Travis. Colon offers to help. Giant Warrior offers to train, and we’ve got another non-wrestler vs wrestler match for Aniversario. After this we get just a glimpse of a pretty cool looking Road to Aniversario video.

EB: We then get a card rundown for tonight in Bayamon:  Carlos Colon vs Polynesian Prince in a barbed wire match; in a super challenge Invader #1 vs Ron Garvin; Giant Warrior vs. Dino Bravo; rematch for the TV title as King Kong defends against the returning TNT; Super Medico #3 defends the Caribbean title against Dick Murdoch; Galan Mendoza & Billy Joe Travis defend the Caribbean tag titles against the Caribbean Express with Monster Ripper handcuffed to El Profe at ringside; Brad Anderson defends the World Junior title against Ricky Santana; and Invader #4 & Mr. Ito vs. Rod Price & Action Jackson. Also, tomorrow they will be in Caguas with Carlos Colon vs. Ron Garvin; Invader #1 vs. Dino Bravo; TNT & Giant Warrior vs. Polynesian Prince & Dick Murdoch; Super Medico #3 vs. King Kong, Castillo, Perez & Santana  vs. Mendoza, Travis & Price; Invader #4 vs Brad Anderson; and Mr. Ito vs. Action Jackson.

We cut to Skandor Akbar and Polynesian Prince in the studio, with Akbar talking about tonight’s barbed wire match. Clips are shown of last week’s match between Colon and Prince, with Akbar saying Carlos gave Prince his best shot and it didn’t get the job done. Tonight Prince will finish Colon and then Colon will call Akbar master. Prince just chews on some straw while Akbar is talking. Then Akbar talks about tomorrow’s tag match against TNT & Giant Warrior.

MD: The card they’re promoting with the Prince vs Colon barbed wire rematch is really good. Invader vs Garvin. Giant Warrior vs Bravo. King Kong vs TNT. Super Medico III vs Murdoch. Caribbean Express vs Travis/Mendoza with Profe and Ripper handcuffed together. Anderson vs Santana. Plus Invader IV. Mr. Ito. Rod Price. And Action Jackson. That’s a really strong show. Another show has Colon vs Garvin, Invader vs Bravo. TNT/Warrior vs Prince/Murdoch and Medico vs Kong. So some good shows in the lead up to Aniversario. The most interesting part of the Akbar promo was him talking about how many favorites Murdoch had done for Devastation Inc. over the years.

EB: El Profe is with Travis and Mendoza, and they talk about tonight’s title defense against the ‘Chicken’ Express. Travis starts by calling Puerto Rico ‘his island’ and insults Hugo Savinovich and his wife. Profe is happy that he will be handcuffed to Monster Ripper so he can stop her from doing her underhanded cheating. Mendoza talks about tomorrow's six man tag and says something that gets bleeped. 

MD: Travis was leaning hard into this saying he’d not just beat Hugo but beat his wife as well.

EB: Ron Garvin is here and is looking forward to knocking out Invader #1 tonight. Invader has to prove to Garvin that he can knock Garvin out. Garvin is confident he can knock Invader out, ask Carlos Colon about that.

MD: Garvin having to come up with about six ways to show off his fists as Hugo was translating his promo doesn’t quite reach Scott Hall levels of amusement but it comes close.

Brad Anderson vs. Ricky Santana

EB: Our main event for this episode of Campeones is the World Junior title match from last week in Caguas, as Ricky Santana challenges Brad Anderson. The match starts with Profe goading Santana into chasing him outside the ring, allowing Anderson to surprise attack Santana when he rounded a corner. Sanatna quickly recovers however, and decks both Anderson and Profe. Santana is back in the ring as Anderson is trying to revive Profe on the outside, but has to race back in to avoid the countout. The wrestlers exchange shoves and punches with Saatana winning the exchange. It looks like Profe massaging Anderson’s booboo is a regular part of their act, as he does it again after Anderson got atomic dropped by Santana. On commentary Hugo and Profe are arguing about their upcoming Aniversario matches and who will fare better, and also about Profe’s insistence of making fun of wrestlers' nationalities. Ricky continued in control as we got to commercial break.

Back from the break and Santana is doing a sunset flip for a two count. Based on the commentary, it looks like Profe had thrown Ricky into one of the posts, which gave Anderson the opening to take control of the match. Profe claims that Santana fell into the post and he was only near him to try to help him back up. Santana is bleeding and Anderson works him over with a rear chinlock. Anderson misses a legdrop and Ricky comes back, highlighted by a foul kick to Anderson when the ref wasn’t looking. As Ricky gets fired up, Hugo has the video crew show a brief moment of when Profe threw Ricky into the post so the fans can see what a liar Profe is. Another punch exchange is won by Santana. Ricky goes for a flying body press but accidentally takes out both Anderson and the ref. Ricky covers but there is no one to count. Ricky starts punching Anderson again, with Anderson countering with a backdrop that sends Santana over the top rope to the floor right by where the referee is coming to. Santana gets on the apron and exchanges more punches with Anderson. Brad tries to suplex Santana in but Ricky shifts his weight and lands on top of Anderson. A second referee runs in and does the three count. Santana has won the title… or so it seems. Turns out the first referee saw Anderson throw Santana over the top rope and awarded the decision to Sanatan by dq. Anderson remains the champion. 

MD: On paper, this pairing was getting old, but this had enough Puerto Rico hooha to make it work. Profe distracted Santana for an Anderson ambush on the floor to begin but when he held him, Santana ducked and Andreson took his manager out on the floor. Fun stuff. Back in the ring, Santana controlled for a while as Brad stooged. One big problem with Anderson is that his transitions tend to be fairly weak, a lot of just pressing someone into the corner and taking over. The big damage was done during the break as Profe had posted Santana though, opening him up. That was a good visual during the chinlock at least. Finish was wonky and Dusty-ish, with the ref getting taken out on a flying body press by Santana and Santana then hefted over the top by Anderson. A second ref came in to count a pin on the way back in but the first one had seen the over the top hefting and ruled it a DQ instead of a title switch. It’s the Junior title. Just switch the thing back and forth, right? Overachieving match overall though, especially fun for Profe trying to explain what he did and didn’t do on commentary.

EB: We have video for two of the matches from the June 1 house show from Estadio Juan Ramon Loubriel. Before getting to those matches, let’s discuss some of the other results from that card. As would be expected, Dino Bravo picked up the win against Giant Warrior in his first match in Puerto Rico on his way to Aniversario 91. Titles wise, Super Medico #3 retained his title against Dick Murdoch, while the Caribbean Express and Ricky Santana regained their titles. As for Invader #1 and Ron Garvin, we’ll discuss what happened in their match next time. 

That leaves the TV title match and the barbed wire match, which are the two matches we have footage for. First, TNT has made his return and is getting a chance to get revenge against King Kong  and possibly win the TV title back. Let’s see how that goes for him.

TNT vs. King Kong - June 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3x8W7Pcf8aU

We join this match in progress as King Kong is stomping a downed TNT. Kong sends TNT into the ropes and knocks him down with a belly bump.  Kong casually steps on TNT and continues attacking him. As the blows continue, TNT starts gathering himself and fires back. Eventually TNT is able to knock Kong down after two clotheslines. An eye rake by Kong stops TNT’s surge and Kong splashes TNT in the corner. TNT is sent into the ropes and ducks a Kong clothesline, setting up a dynamite kick that staggers Kong. A second one staggers him more but Kong does not go down. TNT comes off the ropes with a flying spin kick and finally knocks Kong down. TNT makes the over and gets the three count. TNT has regained the TV title and defeated the monster that had put him on the shelf.

MD: Just two minutes here. Kong controls for a bit, moving around well and with credible shots. I liked TNT’s hulk up here. Kong still squashes him in the corner but TNT ducks a shot and starts laying in the kicks, with Kong as a big canvas for his offense, making it look great. TNT hits the jumping kick and scores a decisive win.

EB: And now let's see how Carlos Colon fares against the Polynesian Prince as the ring is encased in barbed wire.

Carlos Colon vs. Polynesian Prince - Barbwire Match - June 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9b7r8GSoHc

We join the match with Carlos already in the ring and the Polynesian Prince climbing over the ropes into the ring. The ropes have barbed wire wrapped around them. The match is a bit tentative to start, with Colon doing a side headlock and Prince attacking but not with much aggressiveness. As this is going on, Hugo shills the PPV broadcast of Aniversario 91 on the cable system this is being broadcast on. The match continues with Prince in control, using chokes and biting offense but again it does not come across as being aggressive considering the type of attacks.Carlos starts bleeding and Prince attacks the forehead. Carlos ends up going into the barbed wire off some blows from Prince, but it comes off more as incidental than done with purpose by Prince. The match continues with some standard spots of trying to push your opponent's face in the wire and Prince pulls out a foreign object to attack Colon with. Prince controls the first half of the match but once Carlos makes his comeback it is all Colon. Prince bleeds as Carlos starts throwing Prince into the barbed wire and attacking the cut on Prince’s forehead. Carlos ducks a clothesline and hits a back suplex that sets up Prince for the figure four. Prince submits and Carlos Colon has won the barbed wire match. Post match, Carlos decides to dish out some more punishment to Prince and make sure the rivalry is settled once and for all.

MD: It’s great we have this one but I’m not quite sure it lives up to other Colon barbed wire matches. Some of that could be the muted sound, of course, but a lot of it was how they treated the barbed wire. Prince went into it early. He responded by hitting a foul and taking over for quite a while. Colon came back and punished him for much of the rest of the match, leaving both men bloody. There were a lot of whips back into the wire and Prince was deep into character as he responded with an almost dancing sort of Kamala-esque selling. There just wasn’t enough gravitas in trying not to end up in it maybe? The best bit was actually Colon having to adapt his comeback headbutts and getting Prince from behind. Finish had him locking in the figure-four and the wire here almost was more useful to keep any potential interference out so Prince had no choice but to give up.

EB: Next time on El Deporte de las Mil Emociones, more matches are signed for Aniversario including Ron Garvin getting a new opponent for the event. We also will see who Mr. Ito and Hugo Savinovich starts his training as we continue on the road to Aniversario 91.

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Found Footage Friday: CENA~! REIGNS~! TAMBA~! TINIEBLAS~! MAGNUM HALL~! MALUMBA~!

Tinieblas Sr. vs. Tamba [Mask vs Hair] WWA 9/19/87

MD: LA was a dead territory. Obviously WWF had success there in the 80s, but in the midst of that, these Olympic Auditorium shows were happening and they're very much a missing piece of wrestling history. There's a lot of talk about what was happening in the 90s, but these were just there underneath the surface the whole time. And while I wish we could hear the crowd a little bit better, you can't deny the trash being thrown in at the end here, and this was overall a wild scene.

Tamba is a pudgy babyfaced guy with no shirt and no mask and he was putting his hair up against Tinieblas' hallowed mask. The commentary indicates that maybe he was being nudged into this by his partner, Super Halcon, and there was a build here where they had gotten some cheating tag wins apparently. There was also an indication that the promoter too had been goaded in and that other promoters wouldn't have put up Tinieblas' mask like this. 

Halcon hangs out on the apron at the start of the match. Tinieblas nails him and Tamba gets Tinieblas from behind and we're off to the races. Tamba's stuff is, shall we say, rough around the edges. He had size and he had size and he had size and that was pretty much what he had. His forearms did not look great, but you sort of bought them given that size and Tinieblas made sure to spin and backpedal on each one on the floor. He used a chair as well. Back in the ring he hit maybe the worst top rope splash I've ever seen, just sort of falling down on Tinieblas' legs but that scored in the primera. The segunda had a couple of Tinieblas comebacks where he beat Tamba around the ring, but that size kept coming into play. Here though he missed a second rope splash after laboriously getting up the ropes, and that allowed Tinieblas to slap on La de a Caballo.

The tercera, then, was all over the place. The video cuts in and out a bit but by the end of it, Tinieblas had hit Tamba with a chair and opened him up (though maybe not a gusher). Tamba manages to come back with not just one low blow, but two, and he pulls at the mask and goozles Tinieblas. When the ref tries to get involved, Tamba tosses him off repeatedly, until he climbs on both Tamba and Tinieblas in the ropes and Tinieblas hefts both Tamba and the ref over. That allows Halcon to come in and interfere and Tamba to steal a three fall. The trash came flying, and they were very, very quick to get on the house mic (lowered from the ceiling) and let everyone know that they were reviewing the tape because of the fouls. I thought they were going to maybe restart the match, but no, they just gave it to Tinieblas and probably avoided a riot in the process, and we were left with the image of Tamba and his giant with a wound right in the middle, getting sheered with expert speed. It was more of an experience than a match but you really get a sense of the time and place.

ER: Oh, Tamba, where have you been all my life? Tamba, with his post-peak fat guy body and jack o lantern smile, 38 but moving like a 55 year old luchador, every fall the fall of a formerly great and still unique wrestler. He has among the worst fat guy splashes you've seen, falling in a controlled way on Tinieblas with no jump at all, like Cathy flopping onto her bed after a long Monday at the office. He wins the primera with a top rope splash that was an insult to the name. He landed somewhere near Tinieblas's legs with the form of a man who fell into a swimming pool while trying to fish something out. He looks like he's never climbed the ropes before and yet he's got this unique aura the entire time. He has great heavyweight punches, heavy blows that came from the side, thrown to the face, head, and chest. His punches are great enough that I know 1982 Tamba was an incredible menace. You can see him as a Super Porky who immediately fell off once the athleticism aged out to size. He got great fat guy color and did a tremendous job of almost starting a riot by taking one of the legendary lucha masks in a 100:1 upset. I don't think the lacking or loose execution held this back because the aura was there. It still felt like a big match even if the outcome was so unlikely and the opponent so washed. Underdogs got nothing to lose and it felt like there was more raw emotion in Tamba's toothless face than I expected. This felt like the right match for the occasion and felt like a look inside a scene. 

Scott Hall vs. Atkie Malumba [Cage] WWC 8/4/90 

MD: One great thing about having covered 1990 Puerto Rico so thoroughly is that we can fit this right in. This was after Hall's face turn and after the Aniversario match and they were using gimmicks to keep the feud going. You can see from the finish here that they left more meat on the bone. To me, this was right around the point where everything clicked for Hall. He could have had a serious babyface run in the back half of 1990 somewhere, but I guess he was in Germany as a heel (I saw some of that recently, a Tony St. Clair/Owen Hart handicap match).

This was from an episode a couple of years later so Profe kept joking how there was resemblance to Razor Ramon. I thought it was laid out well though. They went back and forth early, Hall's punches vs Malumba's heft, but it opened up when Malumba was able to toss Hall into the cage a couple of times. From there he leaned on him with a couple of hope spots when he tried to escape the cage through the door and Hall stopped him. There was a long nervehold (maybe too long) but it let Hall power up, the fans behind him, and start firing back. Hall finally got to toss Malumba into the cage (they had protected that), and there was a good nearfall for a cage when he dropkicked Malumba and Malumba almost went out the door from it, a finish we'd seen all too often but that I haven't seen teased like that much. Hall finally got the slam (also protected) to a big pop. He sold it well too stumbling backwards after the fact. And the finish had him go up and over but Malumba make it through the door a second before he landed. Maybe they could have shrunk that nerve hold just a little but overall this was a good piece of business and gave them room to go back for one more. 

ER: I've written a lot about Scott Hall, but almost exclusively 1992-1997 Scott Hall, which is when he became a really great worker. I've written a lot about Kimala II as well. He's probably the worst wrestler who Matt and I frequently write about, and I love him. I love both guys, but it never crossed my mind that they had ever wrestled each other. In another country. I didn't even know Scott Hall worked Puerto Rico or how big the cultural impact of Magnum PI on 1990 Puerto Rico was. I've never seen a Razor Ramon vs. Kamala match but now we have a version of that from an alternate dimension where Scott Hall wrestled like green Lex Luger and worked Gallagher Too in Puerto Rico. 

Scott Hall is an okay Lex Luger, and it's fun to see him sell like 96/97 Lex and use the same kind of punch comebacks. It's weird seeing Hall throwing lesser versions of his punch, before he perfected it, but I like how he sells for Kimala. Kimala's strikes never look great but they look correct for a Kimala. I love his shape and his big smooth back makes me think of him as a Punch-Out!! character. More wrestlers should remind me of a different ethnicity King Hippo. Kimala was a completely different opponent than we ever got to see Hall work, and it's good fun seeing Hall selling his back on lifts and throwing heavyweight dropkicks because he's a hunky babyface and not a greasy foreigner. Kimala's splashes always look good and I think he was able to have a 20 year career because he was a fat guy who worked without kneepads who stayed healthy. His deadweight landings look like they would never hold up over a decade long All Japan run, but these two were just built different. 

John Cena vs. Roman Reigns WWE 12/26/17 

MD: I'm not touching the Cena retirement tour but in watching this, I was stricken by how great a Cena retirement match this would have been, albeit 8 years too early. I don't remember the first thing about 2017 WWE. If I looked things up, I could probably piece it all together. Reigns was the Intercontinental champ apparently. This was at MSG, the big holiday show that kids get tickets for over XMas.

And I really liked it. It was Ace vs. Ace and felt like a passing of the guard moment. It has the room to stretch and breathe that you'd want in a house show. Cena leaned into it right in the beginning, going for a long lock up that let the fans chant at him (Let's Go Cena/Cena Sucks). He pushed Reigns into the corner for a clean break and basked in it. There was such a sense of mastery here, of really knowing the value of a moment.  Reigns came back and controlled on a test of strength and then won on a shoulder block.

The match opened up when Cena went for a punch exchange, a traditional strength for him and Reigns clocked him. From there, it became about Reigns having a soft, punch-based advantage on these exchanges, and both men trying to unlock their moves. Instead of hitting things three times, they made getting through each part of the sequence an effort that needed to be built to. The crowd then went nuts when Cena finally hit his dropping belly to back or the five knuckle shuffle or Reigns finally got the Superman punch. There was one finisher kick out. Cena got the AA first and Reigns kicked out. Just that one and Cena wouldn't get it again, though he would cannily come close, hitting the mat as Reigns beat him again on a punch exchange only to lure him in on the pin and roll into a fireman's carry. This time Reigns escaped and hit the spear for the three, though. Just a very clever, very self-aware, very trusting match. Very little excess and because of that, what did happen mattered all the more and felt iconic. 

ER: 2017 was not my favorite John Cena year. It felt fully post-peak Cena at the time and scanning his television and PPV year now doesn't make me want to rewatch any of it. My favorite Cena match of the year had been a TV match against Jason Jordan, which feels like such a 2017 thing to say while also not sounding like it ever happened. I think I'd believe anything you told me about 2017 because none of it feels real, the timeline fake. It feels forever ago, not 8 years ago. Eight years ago, Jason Jordan was a Rising Star that I liked and wrote about, and Roman Reigns was a guy I thought might have been the best wrestler in the world. I went out of my way to watch and write about as many Roman Reigns/Braun Strowman TV, PPV, and house show matches existed - and there were a lot - and loved them all. In 2026, the idea of watching one Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman match would never cross my mind, and if suggested to me it would make me wrinkle up my nose in decline. 2017 feels like an implanted memory I only learn about from my own supposed writings and observations that I find in various notebooks that the RPG slowly reveals to me. 2017 was when you could go to a house show and see Enzo Amore vs. Kalisto but nobody saw it because it wasn't real. 

Roman Reigns was one of the best in the world in 2017 and was the best wrestler in WWE, and now they are a promotion I do not watch in part because I got tired of the new main event talk and walk style popularized by Roman Reigns. Eight years doesn't feel long, but it was a long time ago. This style isn't the main style in the fed that these two were the aces for, so this match - a great version of that style - feels like something much further back in time. It also greatly benefits from its handheld feel, shot on pro cam in the middle of the real crowd noise, like a concert recording from the taper's pit, but a taper who had a four man team and had been traveling to shows for several years. On TV everything is mic'd different, but in the middle of MSG you got to hear how much people hated Cena and wanted to cheer Roman...which made it so much better that we got to hear Cena winning them over the entire match. By the end of this, Roman's offense is being met with silence, like they didn't want to see Cena lose, and every time Cena made a comeback the crowd got louder with their support. 

Cena had one of his typical sloppy execution matches and some stuff looked hokier when played to the back rows of MSG. That big long lean over the apron while waiting for Roman's dropkick, the way his punches look so much worse than Roman's (until they start getting better when MSG is moved to cheer for him!?) are things that Cena is able to overcome stylistically, because the sloppy execution is baked into his style, and because the most important thing is his timing. Knowing when to bump, knowing when to take a beat, knowing which punch to get knocked down by. His timing was on the top of his game this whole match and it's knowing and perfecting that rhythm that had the entire building on his side within 15 minutes. 

It doesn't not matter in the grand scheme of things that his punches look loopy and cartoon-y, because he is so much better at taking Roman's punches and knowing how to bump and sell for each individual punch. I loved an early spot where he missed a turnbuckle charge and turned around into a nice Roman uppercut that sent Cena pirouetting into the mat, and there was this ongoing story where the punch exchanges never felt like they ended where Cena/Roman planned on ending them, but they ended where the punch quality and crowd reaction dictated they would end. This never felt like a match that they laid out and then worked exactly how they laid it out, it felt like something worked with room to grow into whatever the crowd wanted it to be. When Cena's tornado DDT maybe 7 minutes in got a big nearfall reaction, it's like that moment gave people a reason to believe in Cena, thus ROOT for Cena, and the dynamic change was huge. That's when this became something that felt a bit bigger and different than your usual send 'em home happy house show main. 

This was technically for the Intercontinental Title, but that seems laughably quaint. IF someone cared about that title before the match started, the title became an unimportant part of the match midway, if not sooner. This never felt like an IC Title match and by the end it only felt like a main event epic, a crowd worked to perfection, and moments timed for maximum impact. Neither man was able to hit their spots clean. Within a couple years, the WWE main event style was just finisher kickout spam, and this match got by with only one big surprise kickout (Roman kickout out of the AA, and to a lesser extent Cena kicking out of the Superman punch) because they wisely kept being unable to hit their various finishes. Finisher kickout is a lazy kind of surprise, but crafting a big main event build around stopped attempts and alternate means of attaining victory before looping back to one big finisher changed everything. Neither could put the other away because neither could connect with the big one. 

The reaction for Cena ducking a Superman punch, sloppily drop toe holding Roman into the STFU, was huge, a crowd chanting CENA SUCKS minutes before suddenly fighting with him, so much so that the pop when Roman lands his first Superman punch actually sounded more like shock than excitement. It got so Roman's offense was being met with silence. He wasn't being booed, but suddenly people were icing him out like they didn't want to actually see Cena lose. When Cena actually hits the AA (or moments where the 5 knuckle is stopped and then hit again later as more of a sudden surprise) the camera can no longer handle the decibels of the crowd and starts to distort. The finish was fantastic, with Cena leaping off the middle buckle for a legdrop but being hit with a sitout powerbomb for a good nearfall, leaping into a great punch exchange. This was the best punch exchange of the match, the one that felt like a gift to the crowd rather than one planned to go a specific length. It was a Boo/Yay exchange with people now booing Roman and cheering every punch a staggering Cena would throw, like they were the ones actually willing the men on instead of having a lengthy punch exchange foisted upon them. Cena deftly went down like a shot for Roman's best punch of the match, and it felt like it wasn't where Cena was "supposed" to go down, it just felt like he went down for the punch that felt (and looked) right. When Cena rolled through the pin and fought to deadlift Roman to his feet, clean and jerking him to his shoulders, it looked like the most triumphant Cena win and that's what everyone wanted to see. It was also the perfect way to set up Roman's win, Cena burning through all his reserves just to give everyone a look at Vintage Cena, doing it for the fans and forgetting he was in there with the new ace. 

I don't think the match happens like this if it was on TV or PPV, and I don't think it feels this good without the camera capturing the real crowd sound. This was a match that became more powerful because of its status as a house show main event (a house show in their main venue, but a house show nonetheless) and they seem to have completely forgotten that aspect of the show. Picturing this match done with their classically bad scripted commentary and all of the zoomed in reaction shaky cam and ugly LED displays just makes me nauseous. This was the right match for the right time presented in the best way. 

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El Deporte de las Mil Emociones: Who Will Challenge at Aniversario 91?

Week 55: Who Will Challenge at Aniversario 91?

EB: We certainly had quite the special event to celebrate all of the mothers in Puerto Rico. Championships were defended and we had quite the few incidents occur as well. Before proceeding, let’s recap some of the key events. For that, let’s go to Hugo Savinovich.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dH5hP_bip_s

Hugo is narrating the highlights from Noche de Campeones, starting with the controversial ending to the World Junior title match. What do you think, was it a three count? Regardless, Brad Anderson is now the World Junior champion.

We then go to the finish of the Women’s World title match as we see Profe get involved and the miscommunication leading to Monster Ripper losing her title to new champion Candi Divine. We also see the post match argument where El Profe started shoving Monster Ripper and then Ripper having enough and fighting back. Profe ends up laid out on the floor. After the highlights we get comments from Monster Ripper where she says that it’s Profe’s fault she lost her title,  and then Profe dared to put his hands on her. Ripper says that Profe will pay dearly for that and she wants a match with him. We go to Hugo who confirms that it’s official, Monster Ripper has laid down a challenge to El Profe, let’s see what Profe has to say about that. Profe: “Listen Miss Piggy, I can’t accept that challenge because I can’t touch a woman, I’m a total gentleman and would be completely incapable of…” Hugo interrupts Profe to say that she beat up Profe at Noche de Campeones, could it be that he’s afraid of her? "I'm not afraid, I’m a gentleman and even if she doesn’t look like a…” Hugo again interrupts to say that Ripper knocked Profe through the ropes to the floor. “Even if she doesn't look like a woman, she is a woman, and I respect her, I respect women…” Hugo interrupts to ask why Profe doesn't accept the challenge. An exasperated Profe says that he can’t accept that before just walking off. 

Now Hugo presents the highlights to the main event of Noche de Campeones, the Universal title match between Carlos Colon and Ron Garvin. We go to the highlights and see the back suplex into a bridge finish. Hugo makes note that both men's shoulders were down and they had to wait for the official announcement to know who won, which turned out to be Carlos Colon.

Finally, we have the World tag title match highlights which include Akbar being locked in the cage, the finish of the match where Invader uses the foreign object dropped by Savage, and then Bronco getting a fireball to the face when he went to open the cage Akbar was locked in. We get a bit more of the aftermath of the fireball as we see the ringside doctor come in to check on Bronco while he is in pain on the floor. The segment finishes with a phone conversation with Bronco (over a still image of him on the ground in pain), where Bronco thanks the fans for their well wishes and also God for no major damage occurring. He has second degree burns around his eye, he can’t open it too much at the moment, and he also has blisters and burn marks on his face. Hugo brings up that Bronco’s mask likely mitigated some of the damage and Bronco says to an extent, but his eye took the brunt of it. Thankfully he didn’t lose the eye or have any permanent damage. Bronco also wonders how someone with such dark and macabre intentions as Akbar can be allowed to participate in professional wrestling.Hugo thanks Bronco for his time, reminds him that everyone in Puerto Rico is rooting for him to get better and they will keep in touch to get updates.

MD: Ripper vs Profe as a program feels ahead of its time. We’ve seen a lot of things follow what happened in the states in one way or another (Zeus, Robocop, Giant Warrior as an El Gigante sort of pastiche, etc.) but I can’t think of too many places that were doing a match like this in 1991. Maybe there’s a USWA thing I’m not thinking of. 

The Bronco phone interview was particularly effective as he said he was going to real dark places and you believed it after you saw the fireball.

EB: While we don’t have the results for the rest of the matches from Noche de Camepoens, we can ascertain who retained and who did not based on the future TV episodes and lineups. King Kong and Super Medico #3 remain as the TV and Caribbean champs respectively, while it looks like Butch Cassady defeated Little Louis to win the Midget World title.  As for the Caribbean tag titles, we are not sure of when it exactly occurred, either during Mother's Day weekend or during the following week (possibly the TV taping?) but we also have new champions in Galan Mendoza and Billy Joe Travis.  Furthermore, after Monster Ripper’s falling out with El Profe, it appears that Mendoza and Travis no longer have Monster Ripper as their manager.  In fact, they appear to have new representation and it is El Profe. The Caribbean Express are not standing idly by though, as they have decided to hire a manager to help counter El Profe and it is none other than Monster Ripper.  

That is all with regards to the current championship situation but we still have one notable occurrence to discuss from Noche de Campeones. The head of the Puerto Rico Boxing and Wrestling Commission was on hand to announce who will challenge for the Universal title at Aniversario 91. Carlos Colon retained so as of now he will be one half of the match, but who will be the challenger? There are five names under consideration and let’s go to the recap video to find out who it is.

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

Hugo Savinovich narrates the recap video and opens with the following question: Which of these wrestlers will challenge Carlos Colon for the Universal title at Aniversario 91? Will it be Dino Bravo, Tatsumi Fujinami, Ron Garvin, Stan Hansen or Abdullah the Butcher? Commissioner Feliz Suarez announces that the commission has decided that the challenger will be… Ron Garvin! He has been selected based on tonight’s performance in a very close match and the commission feels this earns Garvin another shot at the Universal title. We cut to later where we have Carlos Colon (in a suit) and El Profe in the ring. Carlos is there because he was asked to come out to formally accept the match. However, Profe entered the ring uninvited and angrily started arguing with Colon. Profe is not happy about the decision of Garvin being the challenger and it is because he has a new client who he feels Colon is ducking. Profe calls Carlos a coward for ducking his client, the man who would easily defeat Carlos if they wrestled and who happens to be the strongest man in the world.”Do you want me to tell you his name! Do you want me to say his name! It is Dino Bravo! Do you accept his challenge?” Carlos responds by saying that the commission has decided the challenger is Ron Garvin, once he wrestles Garvin then he’ll gladly face Profe’s guy. Profe continues ranting "Accept reality, you are a coward!” Carlos taps Profe at that and starts saying don’t you say that about me, but Profe starts yelling “Don’t put your hands on me!” Colon and Profe continue arguing, with Profe still calling Carlos a coward and Carlos getting more heated and pushing Profe. Hugo starts asking for them to calm down when the camera cuts to show someone running to the ring, it’s Dino Bravo! Bravo gets in the ring and attacks Carlos from behind with a knee to the back. Hugo gets out of the ring as Bravo continues attacking Carlos with Profe approvingly watching. Bravo eventually gets Carlos in a full nelson and, even though three tecnicos come out to try to get Bravo off Carlos, their blows have no effect and Bravo still keeps the hold on. Reinforcements arrive, causing Bravo to release the hold and escape.

Now we get comments from Dino Bravo at the TV studio. This could have been anywhere in the world as Bravo lists off different locations, but Bravo has tracked Carlos Colon to his own backyard. Bravo wants to take that Universal title from Colon and whether Colon likes it or not, it will be at Aniversario 91. Hugo follows, saying they have gotten in touch with Carlos Colon about Dino Bravo’s challenge and Carlos is willing to face Bravo. In fact, Carlos has already gotten in touch with WWC commissioner Hayden T. Joseph to request for the necessary adjustments to be made so that the challenger is Dino Bravo. We will have to await the commissioner's decision in the coming days of whether the challenger will be Ron Garvin or if they will make the change to Dino Bravo.

MD: I know none of us want to see Dino Bravo in this spot, BUT 1.) It was an interesting angle as it looked like it was going to be Garvin again, 2.) Profe was supercharged and energetic and this is really the first time he looked like the proper successor of Chicky to me. And 3.) Bravo did come in with a ton of energy both in his beat down and in the subsequent promo, so we shall give this a shot. If we could change what happened decades ago, I’d come up with a better conclusion to the Black Scorpion angle after all.

EB: The next show is scheduled for May 19 at Estadio Juan Ramon Loubriel and Carlos Colon is not getting any respite from the rudo brain trust of El Profe and Gen. Skandor Akbar. While there is yet to be a decision made as to who the Universal title challenger will ultimately be, that isn’t stopping Gen.Akbar’s latest acquisition from targeting Colon. The wrestler’s name is the Polynesian Prince and his match with Colon on May 19 devolved into a brawl where both men bled. Profe and Akbar are hyping Prince up as one crazy and dangerous individual, who will not hesitate to injure Carlos. In addition to their match on May 19, Colon and Prince had another altercation at the May 22 tv taping in Miramar. Polynesian Prince is scheduled to face Ricky Santana as we join the action.

Ricky Santana vs. Polynesian Prince

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

Polynesian Prince immediately jumps Santana and kicks him down. Prince does not let up on the attack, as Hugo makes note that you can still see the fresh wounds Prince has on his forehead from his match with Carlos Colon in Bayamon. Hugo puts over how crazy Prince is as Santana is stomped out of the ring. Prince grabs Ricky and runs him headfirst into the wall! Ricky is busted open and out of it. Prince sits on Santana and for some reason bites Santana’s boots as the ref calls for the bell. The match has been thrown out but that is not stopping  Prince, who continues attacking Santana’s bleeding forehead. Referee Victor Quiñonez tries to call off Prince, but instead Prince grabs Santana and rolls him back into the ring. Prince sets Ricky up in an electric chair and drops him face first across the top turnbuckle. The bell keeps ringing as Prince comes off the top with a diving headbutt from halfway across the ring. Prince goes up top for another attempt, but Carlos Colon has arrived and pushes Prince off the turnbuckle. Carlos starts ramming Prince’s head into several objects, including the ringpost, the first aid kit on the wall, the commentators' table and a chair. Prince is bleeding but starts fighting back, leading to Carlos getting rammed headfirst into the post. The referee tries to stop them but gets pushed away. Colon and Prince start exchanging headbutts and then start fighting in the crowd. Ricky Santana is out cold in the ring as the fighting continues, with several tecnicos coming out to stop the fight between the bloody Colon and Prince. The situation gets more hectic as the rudos make their way out to try to stop Polynesian Prince and break the fight up. The two men are separated but then get loose and start fighting again. Carlos jumps back towards the ring area with a large piece of wood and goes after Prince, hitting him with the piece of wood. The wrestlers again try to separate Colon and Prince as the commentators start worrying about how close the fight is to them now.  

MD: Very effective stuff. I’ll be honest that I’m not 100% sure yet who the Prince is here. Fatu? Samu? Someone else. Probably someone else. The footage is very blurry. But he moves in a stylized sort of way we haven’t seen in a bit, really portraying a savage and getting into character. The SST basically walked and talked like everyday people at this point. But he wrestled like he knew what he was doing. This quickly spilled to the outside and he ate the countout just for the joy of ramming Santana’s head into the wall. Santana ended up opened up and Prince hit a very cool electric chair snake eyes sort of move before the top rope splash. Colon ran out to save Santana and things got super heated as they brawled all over the place before the wrestlers broke it up. Like I said, very effective way to heat someone up instantly.

EB: Besides the developing rivalry between Carlos Colon and the Polynesian Prince, let’s get to the May 25 episode of Campeones to see what other developments we have in CSP.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gX_l0C_edMg

Hugo and El Profe welcome us to another episode of Camepones. Profe mentions what we’ll have on today’s program Hugo adds that they'll also have footage of what’s happened between Carlos Colon and Polyneasin Prince, including what happened this past Wednesday in Miramar (Profe: ‘It was a war.’). Unfortunately, this footage is not included in the edited version of the tv episode we are reviewing, but it’s the footage we covered just now of the fight that happened between Colon and Prince during the latter's match with Ricky Santana. Tonight they will be in Caguas, as there will be a rematch between Carlos and the Prince with Skandor Akbar barred from ringside. Profe says that there will be no one to control Polynesian Prince tonight and that not since Abdulla the Butcher has Colon had an opponent as bloodthirsty and savage as Prince. Hugo comments that it seems that Profe and Akbar do not want Carlos to make it to Aniversario (which Profe denies) and that it seems that they want Prince to hurt Carlos before then. Also scheduled for tonight is Invader #1 & Giant Warrior vs King Kong & Rod Price, a no time limit and no DQ rematch for the Caribbean title between Super Medico #3 and Action Jackson, Ricky Santana tries to regain the World Jr title from Brad Adnerson, Huracan Castillo vs Billy Joe Travis, and Little Louis challenges new champion Butch Cassady. 

Super Medico III vs. Action Jackson - May 19

Now let's get to what happened this past Sunday in Bayamon as Super Medico #3 defended the Caribbean title against Action Jackson with most of this match taking up the runtime of the version of the Campeones episode we have. Profe is optimistic that Jacksn will regain the Caribbean title for his stable, maybe as soon as tonight. Hugo mentions that these two have been feuding for a while and it seems that Action has needed to cheat to get the wins he has over Medico. Action keeps bailing during the first few minutes every time Medico #3 gets the advantage, with Profe on commentary saying that it is a 30 minute time limit so they have the time to slow it down and strategize. The match continues in thai pattern until the first commercial break, and when we come back it looks like Action Jackson has been playing hide the foreign object from the ref. The ref is checking Jacksn but cannot find anything since Action had just passed it off to Profe. Medico #3 comes in to attack but Action soon cuts him off and we get the middle portion of the match with Jackson in control using punches, biting and the foreign object throughout. Medico makes a comeback that leads to Jackson getting knocked outside, and it becomes apparent that it had been raining as Jacksn’s tights are covered in mud. Hugo and Profe have an exchange on commentary about Profe apparently not wanting to get close due to the mud and Profe says that’s not true.

Jackson drags Medico out of the ring but ends up getting backdropped by Medico right into the mud. Jackson argues a bit with Profe over him staying away due to the mud and actually rubs mud on Profe’s clothes out of frustration. Back in, Action regains control and works over Medico #3 with a neck wrench. Medico’s white tights start getting dirty from the mud Action has indirectly smeared in the ring as they’ve fought. A test of strength leads to Medico #3 flinging Jackson through the ropes and into the mud once more as we go to another commercial break Back from commercial and Jackson is kicked into the mud by Medico #3. Medico then decides to go after Profe, but Profe backs away. Back in the ring Medico continues on offense and tries a small package for a near fall. Action counters and controls with a nerve hold. Medico’s white tights and mask are starting to take on a brownish tint due to the mud. The match continues back and forth but Action cheats by hitting Medico #3 with the foreign object and gets a three count. Profe is celebrating the win on commentary, but referee Victor Quiñonez runs out to tell in ring ref El Vikingo about the use of the foreign object. Vikingo orders the match to be restarted. 

Jackson quickly goes on the attack and gets some nearfalls but is unable to put Medico away. We get yet another commercial break as Action starts working a nerve hole again. Back from commercial, both men are visibly tired and exchanging near fall attempts. Medico gets a two count of a reverse body press and Jacksn takes the opening to put on the cobra clutch. Medico tries to fight out of it and in the background you can hear the time calls as we are nearing the end of the match. Medico manages to keep his arm up on the third ref check and is able to break the cobra clutch by ramming Jackson’s head into the corner. Twenty seconds are left in the match as Medico #3 gets a sleeper hold on Jackson, and the time runs out before Jackson can submit. It’s a 30 minute time limit draw. Post match we get comments from Action Jackson and Super Medico #3 about tonight’s no time limit and no DQ rematch

MD: This one went really long, multiple commercial breaks. We don’t know what happened with Kim Duk as ref but obviously Medico retained the title. Vikingo is reffing this and Profe got to make fun of him at least. This was a play in four parts. Act 1 had Medico outwrestling Jackson who’d go to the outside and regroup with Profe. Profe, on commentary claimed that they were messing with Medico’s nerves. Act II had Jackson take over for a bit using an object but ultimately getting routed on the outside again and again (which would be Act III). He’d get tossed onto the baseball diamond and end up covered with mud and get upset and then doubly so as Profe wouldn’t help clean him off. Finally (Act IV), he got Medico with the object but a second ref restarted the match after the pin and they went into the finishing stretch. He got the Cobra on Medico, even through a great escape attempt where he bounded up the ropes in the corner and tried for a toss off, but couldn’t put him away with it and Medico had a sleeper on when the bell rang for a time limit draw.

This set up two stips at once, as they could justify it being both no DQ and no time limit. So that’s what they did with the promos. Jackson said he had beaten him already (though it was overturned) and Medico said that he too could cheat.

EB: We have two other segments in this episode of Campeones. One is Hugo Savinovich with the Medalla girls who are there promoting a test of strength machine that Medalla is using as a promotion in different establishments. We then get two card rundowns for tonight in Cagaus and tomorrow in Dorado (with Colon & Giant Warrior vs King Kong & Polynesian Prince; Invader #1 vs. Action Jackson; Ricky Santana vs Rod Price; Super Medico #3 vs Brad Anderson; Huracan Castillo vs Billy Joe Travis, and Little Louis vs Butch Cassady).

We also get a music video for the Polynesian Prince where we see highlights of him in action  against Kim Duk, Ricky Santana and Carlos Colon (including Prince rubbing Colon’s blood over his mouth) and of Prince biting into some raw poultry during an interview segment. Hugo and Profe close out the show by hyping up tonight’s card in Caguas. 

MD: I’m not even going to pretend we know who this guy is, but it felt like they already had a decent amount of footage on him, coming to the ring with his plant headdress, thrashing both names and enhancement guys with biting, clawing, his electric chair snake eyes, and the top rope headbutt, and even a shot of him tearing a chicken apart in a promo.

EB: We have one more TV episode that is from May 1991, it may be from May 18 or May 25. It is a west coast version of Super Estrellas episode that is devoted entirely to hyping up the west coast date of Aniversario 91 that is still about a month away, so all of the focus here is on talking about what has happened so far and what matches at this point are signed for Aniversario 91. Let’s see what is official so far.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nHCHby9AwQ

Hugo welcomes the west coast viewers to this episode of Super Estrellas by running down what’s scheduled for today's episode. Also, on Friday July 5 we have Aniversario 91 scheduled for Mayaguez. However, since the air conditioning in San German has been installed, they are changing the Aniersario July 5th location to San German (likely a make good for changing if for Mother’s Day weekend). Hugo mentions the officially signed matches and it seems the Universal title match is still officially Carlos Colon vs Ron Garvin, although Hugo makes note that both Colon and Dino Bravo are interested in facing off against each other if possible. Also officially signed so far are Giant Warrior vs Dick Murdoch, Bronco #1 looks to get revenge against Sakndr Akbar for the fireball in the face, and for the first time ever in Puerto Rico it will be man vs woman as Monster Ripper and El Profe face off. Hugo wonders who will have the advantage here, since the last time they tussled it was Profe who was sent flying from the ring. Stay tuned as more matches are signed in the coming weeks, there will be six more matches in addition to the already announced four. Hugo mentions the ticket prices for the event and then segues into talking again about Dino Bravo and Carlos Colon. Bravo is claiming that Carlos is ducking him while Carlos is saying that he is not afraid of Bravo, it’s just that Garvin has been designated as the number one contender for Aniversario. That said Colon, Bravo and Profe are all going through the channels to have the currently scheduled match changed. Final confirmation is still pending. Hugo mentions that the people at Capitol Sports are aware of the great support west coast fans have given them and that is why they have decided to hold the Aniversario date for them on a Friday so they can comfortably attend the event. Hugo provides an update of Bronco, who is still recovering in the Dominican Republic. With that, let’s go to our first match.

Gran Mendoza vs. Huracan Castillo Jr.

This match is an offshoot of the current Caribbean tag title feud between the Caribbean Express and Mendoza & Travis, as well as the Profe vs Ripper rivalry. Ripper has now become a  fan favorite and is seconding Castillo, while Profe is seconding Mendoza. Castillo and Mendoza have faced each other many times before and this one starts off with Mendoza getting the early advantage. However, Mendoza decides to slide out of the ring and confront Monster Ripper which allows Castillo to intercept Mendoza. Castillo controls most of the match, with the commentators mentioning that Profe seems to be more well behaved than usual, which they attribute to Profe being wary of Monster Ripper. Mendoza makes a second attempt to go after Ripper but is once again foiled by Castillo. Mendoza gains control after a hammerlock and the crowd chants for Castillo.  Mendoza sends Castillo to the outside where Profe makes a move to interfere but Ripper comes over to ward him off. Mendoza suplexes Castillo into the ring for a  two count. Castillo makes a comeback after Mendoza misses an elbow from the middle turnbuckle and Castillo dropkicks Mendoza out of the ring. Profe puts an object in Mendoza’s glove but the plan backfires when Ripper trips Mendoza up. Castillo gets the three count and the win. Profe starts complaining about what happens as Castillo and Ripper celebrate. 

After, we get an interview from Monster Ripper where she talks about the upcoming match against Profe at Aniversario. She says Profe can say whatever he wants, but she will beat him up at Aniversario since she blames Profe for her World title loss.

MD: Our first look in practice at babyface Monster Ripper. A program with Profe for Aniversario (as we hear in the promo after the match) feels like a workable idea. It’s something different at least. Here she’s seconding Castillo with Profe out there with Mendoza. It gave us some fun bits of Ripper doing chicken arms to taunt Mendoza. Mendoza had a clear size advantage and controlled in the middle but he missed an elbow drop and Castillo started to rout him. Finish had Profe load the glove but Ripper snatched Mendoza’s foot off the ropes, allowing Castillo to pin him.

EB: We get the Ron Garvin music video we saw a few weeks ago (he's still officially scheduled for the Universal title match). After we get some words from Joe Don Smith who is representing Dick Murdoch. Joe Don refuses to speak Spanish and says that they will find out who the real giant of WWC is when Dick Murdoch gets his hands on Giant Warrior. 

MD: Joe Don’s back (from Texas of course), and he claims that not only won’t he speak Spanish, but by now he’s actively forgotten it. He’s there to hype up Dick Murdoch returning to face Giant Warrior and he does a pretty good job of it overall.

Brad Anderson vs. Herbert Gonzalez

EB: World Junior champion Brad Anderson is taking on Herbert Gonzalez. Anderson makes easy work of Herbert as Hugo talks about all the people that Brad has learned from including the older Andersons and Ric Flair. Herbert gets a brief flurry of offense after Anderson misses a diving elbow, but runs into the spinebuster slam and Anderson gets the pin. 

MD: Sticking to my guns. Anderson is pretty good at these squashes, but you see the cracks occasionally, and they really showed up in the long match against Santana. Overall, this was good though. He preened a bit which let Gonzalez get in it but then he cut him off and hit a bunch of stuff including the gourdbuster and a nice neckbreaker where he stepped a couple of feet before dropping him. He hit one elbow drop off the second rope but missed the second, but then he caught Gonzalez on a leapfrog and drove him forward for his spinebuster slam. I can’t say it looked amazing though. Good idea at least. Profe was there to take off his shades at the start.

EB: Profe is with Dino Bravo and Bravo talks about how at Aniversario 91 he will be the new Universal champion. Colon has already felt Bravo's power once and he knows that Colon won’t be able to overcome it. This is followed by a Bravo squash match against Louis Spicolli courtesy of WWF Superstars.

MD: This wasn’t a bad squash, not really. Some of Bravo’s strikes feel sort of dubious but his pile driver was nice and the side slam always looks good. Plus he played to the crowd and to Jimmy Hart ok. I sort of wonder what Spicoli from a couple of years later would have been like in Puerto Rico. The promo was pretty tame, the usual stuff. “Colon, you’ve faced great wrestlers before but..” that kind of deal. But we’ll see what he can do in practice.

Kim Duk vs. Polynesian Prince

EB: Our next match is a recently arrived Polynesian Prince against Kim Duk. This will be our last look at Kim Duk and it has been quite the run for him since arriving in September 1990. Prince jumps Duk while the latter is doing the salt ceremony, and this match is basically to show how dangerous Prince is. Duk’s offense doesn't have much of an effect and Prince shows off his rough tactics and unorthodox style. Duk gets rammed into the ringposts and is busted open. Hugo mentions that he thinks the ref should call the match to protect Duk from injury, but the match continues on. Duk is rolled back and Prince continues on the attack, finishing Duk off with a flying headbutt from halfway across the ring. Prince attacks Duk a bit more after the bell before getting called off by Akbar. 

MD: Very weird match. Prince ambushed Duk during the salt ceremony but then he’d just eat a Duk superkick and not sell at all. Then he’d stop moving and crouch down for no reason so Duk could come back and hit a nice belly to back. Then he wouldn’t sell that either. Ultimately, he crushed Duk with a body slam and diving headbutt for the win but it was more weird than decisive, though it was fairly decisive too. Post match, he launched another headbutt or two.

EB: Carlos Colon joins us with some words about the scheduled Universal title match on July 5 vs Ron Garvin. Carlos says that he’s signed to face Garvin, but with the humiliation Bravo did to him with the full nelson attack he is doing what he can to have the match changed to Bravo. Carlos wants to get payback and beat some respect into Bravo. Carlos says that he is not afraid of anyone and that a match will happen if he has anything to do with it. Carlos does mention that he wants a decision made soon about the match, because he is training right now for Ron Garvin but if it is Bravo that requires a different style of training and focus. 

Action Jackson vs. Giant Warrior

Our next match is Giant Warrior vs Action Jackson, who had a brief feud of sorts before Jackson moved into chasing the Caribbean title. The announcers (Hugo and Eliud) spend most of the first minutes of the match just ragging on El Profe, just lambasting Profe for his actions and about how well they think he will fare against Monster Ripper. The match itself has both Jackson and Warrior being tentative to start. Jackson resorts to an eye rake and biting to gain control. As Jackson continues in control, Profe wanders over to the commentary desk and complains that Ripper had been in love with him and that is why she lashed out at him. He is a sensual beautiful man and she is ugly. Hugo calls out Profe as a liar with a capital L. Jackson has Warrior in a bearhug but Warrior breaks out of it. A slam and legdrop gets two for Warrior. Action rakes the eyes and goes back on offense but Warrior surprises Jackson with a small package that gets the three count. A win for Giant tWarrior. 

Hugo closes the show by reminding viewers about Aniversario 91 on July 5 in San German.

MD: I liked this a lot when Jackson was stooging about for Warrior. I didn’t buy it when he was in control. Warrior worked way too small then. Flimsy kicks when he was trying to fight back, being in a bearhug that just didn’t make sense, ducking low under things before hitting a comeback big boot. I’m just not sure that was the right dynamic here and there were other ways to have Jackson be on top. More biting and grinding and less of all of that. Warrior won it out of nowhere with a small package too. 

EB: Next time on El Deporte de las Mil Emociones, the feud between Carlos Colon and Polynesian Prince escalates with a gimmick match, TNT makes his return, and more matches are signed for Aniversario 91 as a decision is made as to who will challenge for the Universal title.

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