Week 45: Kim’s Inconvenience
EB: We have two matches from the February 16 card that we have in full. The first one we’ll cover is the street fight between the Texas Hangmen and Invader #1 & Bronco #1. The Hangmen have quickly regained the World tag titles they lost and we get another escalation in the hostilities between the two teams via a street fight.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dx2DuInmSVI
We are in Caguas and you can tell the Texas Hangmen are ready for a street fight by the way they are dressed. El Profe and the Hangmen are waiting at the top of the stairwell, ready to ambush the tecnicos. As we hear Broco’s entrance music being played., Bronco and Invader rush out from the crowd and surprise the Hangmen from behind. The tecnicos start attacking the Hangmen around the arena floor as Eliud Goznalez makes the ring intros (with the announcement that the last ones standing are the winners). Bronco has one of the Hangmen over by the barricade while Invader has the other Hangmen up in the stands as they continue attacking the rudos. Bronco and Invader continue attacking the Hangmen on the arena floor as the crowd continues to cheer. After a couple of minutes, the Hangmen start fighting back, with Invader getting thrown into the rinside table and getting hit with a title belt. The tecnicos quickly recover and gain the upper hand once more. All four men are now near each other on the arena floor and the tecnicos ram the Hangmen into each other. Bronco continues on the attack with his Hangman, but the one with Invader is able to use an eye rake to turn the tide and manages to knock Invader down. The Hangmen quickly regroup and double tema Bronco. Invader recovers and tries to help, but the Hangmen subdue him and take control of the match.
One of the Hangmen brings out an object that he grinds against Bronco’s masked forehead and then both Hangmen put the tecnicos into camel clutches on the floor (for added insult they have the tecnicos facing each other as they are in the holds). The tecnicos manage to leverage out of the camel clutches, which causes the Hangmen to knock heads. The tecnicos once again take over, as Invader rams one of the Hangmen into the ringpost and follows up with a foul kick. We have not seen the inside of the ring yet and we are at the seven minute mark. The fight continues on the floor, with Invader and Bronco busting out belts to hit the Hangmen with. Finally, almost nine minutes into the match, Invader and one of the Hangmen get inside the ring. The Hangman paired with Bronco has gotten ahold of the belt Bronco was using and chokes Bronco with it. In the ring, the other Hangmae has taken control of the match. All four men are now in the ring and it is the Hangmen who have the advantage.
We get the ten minute time call and a reminder that the winner is the last person standing. Invader and Bronco start a comeback, which leads to Invader and one of the Hangmen exiting the ring (with the referee following them). In the ring, Bronco hits his drop down DDT but, with the ref outside, El Profe runs in and nails Bronco with one of the bullropes. While Invader and one of the Hangmen continue fighting on the arena floor, referee Victor Quiñonez notices that Bronco and the other Hangmen are down on the mat. Victor makes his way to the ring and starts applying the ten count to both wrestlers. The Hangman makes it to his feet first and the Texas Hangmen are declared the winners. Invader #1 gets in the ring to check on Bronco, and all of a sudden invader #4 emerges from the stairwell with a chair. Invader #4 starts hitting the Hangmen and Profe with the chair, chasing them away from the ringside area. This gives the crowd something to cheer for but your winners of the street fight are the Texas Hangmen.
MD: This was a total war. Really, it was more of a Bunkhouse than a street fight as they were out in their street clothes (for the most part). Invader had no mask. Invader and Bronco started out strong really beating them around the stadium but they got pulled apart and taken out two on one. Invader tried to fire up but the numbers got him. From there they did a comeback at the five minute mark, worked things back towards the ring with a lot of shots from Invader and a strap, and then got swept under again. At the ten minute mark they mounted a second comeback. Invader chased one Hangman away while Bronco hit his drop down DDT finish. The ref was distracted, Profe whacked Bronco with the rope/cowbell, and the Hangman beat the ten count. I’m not sure about that finish at this stage of the feud but you can’t look past the great brawling and hot crowd here.
EB: Our second match that we have in full is the kendo stick on a pole Caribbean title match between Miguelito Perez and Kim Duk. These two have been feuding since about mid January, a feud that has included the smashing of a car windshield and El Profe making some miscues that have cost Kim Duk some of the matches. The full match aired as the main event of the February 23 Campeones episode, so let's watch that episode and see what happened (although it becomes clear as the show progresses that we have a new champion and something happened between Duk and Profe).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjJHusBYHP0
As usual, we have Hugo Savinovich and El Profe as our hosts for this week’s Campeones program. Hugo introduces the supreme leader of El Club Deportivo and also makes mention of the man now helping to manage the Club’s affairs, one General Skandor Alkbar. Hugo and Profe mention what they will have on today’s program, including today’s main event featuring the kendo stick on a pole match that happened the previous week between Miguelito Perez and Kim Duk. The mention of this march causes El Profe to exclaim “Do not mention the name of that human garbage.” Tonight there is a show in Ponce headlined by Carlos Colon vs Scott Hall and tomorrow Sunday they will be in Carolina with the main event being the awaited match between Carlos Colon and Dick Murdoch. Profe has been waiting for this match because he wants to see the beating Murdoch will give Colon. Hugo hypes up the merchandise that will be available at the shows and we cut to our first match of the program, Galan Mendoza vs Super Medico #3.
Mendoza has Medico #3 down on the mat and is working a chinlock. Hugo and Profe talk about Mendoza’s experience advantage by highlighting his titles won and the territories he has worked in. Medico #3 gets to his feet and elbows his way out the chinlock, but Mendoza cuts him off with a knee to the midsection. Mendoza goes back to working the chinlock as Profe talks up the ‘galan’ aspect of Mendoza (galan means hunk or handsome man). Hugo mentions that tonight in Ponce we will also see Mendoza and Valentine taking on the Caribbean Express, as well as Bronco #1 vs Mr. Pogo and Invader #1 vs. Dick Murdoch.In the ring, Mendoza has backed Medico #3 into the corner and hits several punches, but Medico #3 is able to counter when sent into the ropes with punches of his own. A backdrop leads to Mendoza begging off, but then Medico #3 gets overzealous and misses a corner charge to give the advantage back to Mendoza.
A pin attempt gets two and Medico #3 gets another comeback. A dropkick sends Mendoza out of the ring and Monster Ripper goes over to check on her charge. Profe claims that Medico #3 must be in love with Monster Ripper but Hugo counters that he saw Profe and Ripper together in the locker room. Profe says that they were making plans on how to deal with the tecnicos, nothing more. Mendoza uses some headbutts to the chest once back in the ring, but is faked out when attempting a leapfrog in the corner, leading to Medico #3 getting an inside cradle for a nearfall. Mendoza makes a play to untie Medico #3’s mask, but Medico fights him off. Medico #3 gets several nearfalls but Mendoza keeps kicking out. Medico #3 gets a headbutt off the top rope and makes the cover, but Monster Ripper is able to put Mednoza’s leg on the ropes to stop the count. Medicio #3 misses a follow up splash, allowing Mendoza to load up his glove and head to the top turnbuckle. Mendoza hits a loaded punch from the top and makes the cover, but Medico #1 comes in to attack Mendoza. Medico #1 sends Mendoza out of the ring as the referee calls for the bell, declaring Mendoza the winner by disqualification. Ripper raises Mendzoa ‘s hand as they leave the ring area while Medico #1 checks on his son.
MD: This was the most complete Medico III match I’ve seen so far. He’s come a long way in the last year. Here he had a nice comeback after avoiding the glove but then spent most of the rest of the match working from underneath with hope spot roll ups. Some of them were very good. Finish had him miss a diving headbutt and Mendoza load the glove and nail him only for Medico I to come out to disrupt proceedings. Mendoza looked good overall. Just a nice TV match to keep the feud going.
EB: We get couple of promos regarding a match taking place tomorrow in Carolina. Due to what happened in the street fight between the Texas Hangmen and Bronco & Invader #1 (where Invader #4 made a post match appearance), a six man tag match is taking place. It will be the Hangmen and Profe vs Bronco and the Invaders. First we hear from Profe and the Texas Hangmen, as Profe says he is going to become a Hangmen tomorrow for the match. The Hangmen are ready for the tecnicos to step into the war zone with them. They also have some words for the Super Medicos, who are their opponents tonight in Ponce. The Invaders and Bronco are next and they are looking forward to the chance of getting their hands on El Profe in the ring. They blame Profe for not winning the World tag titles last week and they are out for payback.
We then get the card rundown for the Carolina show tomorrow, which is as follows: Carlos Colon vs Dick Murdoch; no time limit rematch for the TV title as Original TNT defends against TNT; six man tag as the Invaders & Bronco #1 take on the Texas Hangmen & El Profe; Kim Duk vs Motor City Madman; Miguelito Perez defends the Caribbean title against Scott Hall; mixed tag match as the Super Medicos & Sasha take on Mendoza, Valentine & Monster Ripper; and a World Junior title rematch as Mr. Pogo defends against former champion Huracan Castillo.
MD: If I’m reading the card right, we’ve got Invader IV teaming with his brother and Bronco against Profe and the Hangmen, which, again, is a way to keep things rolling. They could honestly cycle Bronco out here and get a few more weeks out of just Hangmen vs Invaders if they really needed to. You could argue that Invader IV, while being less of a threat on his own than Bronco might work better with Invader I for instance.
EB: We get a Dick Murdoch music video featuring footage not just from Puerto Rico but a;so other places Murdoch had wrestled in recently. The video includes a clip of when Murdoch attacked Carlos Colon after the cage match with Greg Valentine.
MD: They pulled footage from numerous territories here (or at least Texas) and also did things like highlighting him doing a chinlock, which I found funny. Still nice to see though.
EB: Scott Hall has returned and is set to challenge new Caribbean champ Miuguelito Perez in an attempt to bring the title back to El Club Deportivo. Hall also has some words for Carlos Colon, his opponent tonight in Ponce.
MD: Hall is coming for Perez and his title (which means he beat Kim Duk for it). As always, the best part is after he finishes talking and while Profe is translating for him and as he is trying to figure out what to do to kill the time with his hands.
EB: Back to Hugo and Profe in the studio and they want to show the viewers the latest in the Medicos vs. Valentine & Mendoza feud, one where Sasha has gotten more involved with lately.. On February 2, the Medicos had a cover after the ref had been knocked down. Monster Ripper jumped off the top rope to break it up and put Valentine on top of the Medico, giving her team the win. Then on February 6 in Miramar, they had a mixed tag match with Sasha and Monster Ripper joining their respective teams, and this encounter was won by the tecnicos. On February 9 in Caguas, Mendoza used the loaded punch but the Medicos countered with a loaded headbutt. It looked like the Medicos might win the Caribbean tag titles when Medico #1 had Valentine in a sleeperhold, but Monster Ripper came in with one of her boots to break it up and give the DQ win to the Medicos. February 16 saw another rematch, with Sasha and Monster Ripper handcuffed to each other at ringside. The match went to a time limit draw but all six people engaged in a brawl after the match. Tomorrow they will face off in another six person tag. We go to the rudos for an interview about tomorrow’s match, and they also have comments for the Caribbean Express (who are their opponents tonight). The Medicos also give some quick remarks about their matches tonight and tomorrow.
We get a card rundown for tonight in Ponce where we have Carlos Colon vs Scott Hall; Invader #1 vs Dick Murdoch; TNT & Kim Duk vs Original TNT & Motor City Madman; the Super Medicos vs the Texas Hangmen; Bronco #1 vs Mr. Pogo; Sasha vs Monster Ripper; and the Caribbean Express vs Rick Valentine & Galan Mendoza.
MD: I’m sure Esteban will explain this better but it looks like they’re promoting two shows this week and the second one has some new feuds (Colon vs Hall, Invader vs Murdoch, Medicos vs Hangemen, TNT/Duk (babyfaces) vs Original TNT/Madman, Bronco vs Pogo, Castillo/Perez vs Valentine/Mendoza) and they set the last of those up with the promo here. Not much to say about the feud footage; we’ve seen a lot of this before but you really do get a sense of how much they flip people over back and forth to turn pinfalls around in this one. I am about ready for things to move on so we’ll see if this is the path for some of the feuds.
EB: With Scott Hall returning, we get his music video with highlights of his turn against Giant Warrior, some matches from his original rudo run in 1990 and some more recent tv matches.
MD: This is to “Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys” which feels a little jarring on PR TV and a little low key for Hall beating on guys as a heel, but that’s what we’ve got. Just like the babyface version we had in 90, this heel Cowboy version (relative to the version a year before) feels like something that could have actually worked in the mainstream if he didn’t become Diamond Studd.
EB: As mentioned by Hugo earlier in the show, Skandor Aknar is back on the island. He is with Motor City Madman as they have words for Kim Duk. They feel Kim Duk has double crossed Profe and Akbar and the Madman will teach him a lesson. Madman adds some trash talk about Duk’s martial arts skills and promises to show Duk just how good Madman is.
MD: Why do you bring in Skandor Akbar to cut a good promo (albeit in English) if you’re going to have the Mad Man talk too (also in English)? Not the choice I would have made.
EB: Profe is with Original tNT and mentions that Original TNT is facing that fake Juan Rivera one more time in a no time limit match. Original TNT cuts his usual promo about calling TNT an impostor and being sick and tired of facing him again. El Profe translates and also talks about tonight’s tag match featuring Original TNT and Motor City Madman against two pieces of garbage.
MD: They should have had both Akbar and Profe speak for Original TNT too.
EB: The main event for today's program is last week’s Caribbean title match. Before the match, we get a cut off ad for the tv taping in Miramar, where it looks like Ricky Santana is making a return to Puerto Rico. We then get some words from Hugo and Profe, where they show off some fan art (with El Profe praising the talent of the artist that drew him and complaining that they drew Sasha much prettier than she is). Hugo intros the match, saying they will have comments afterwards during the show close (Profe just stays silent as they go to the match).
We join the match with Miguelito making an attempt for the kendo stick almost at the start of the match. Duk stops him and both men start exchanging punches in the ring. Duk is able to make a charge for the pole but Perez stops him and they exchange blows standing on the top turnbuckle. Duk grabs Perez and throws him to the mat and Duk attacks Perez with a foreign object (that he hides from referee Victor Quiñonez when he goes to check by offering him the leg that does not have the object hidden in it). On commentary, Hugo mentions Duk’s cheating and El Profe just starts lambasting Duk for being an idiot and not listening to him. Duk controls most of the middle portion of the match and makes a few attempts at climbing the pole but is stopped by Perez each time. Profe on commentary just gets on Duk’s case for being too slow and incompetent in not being able to climb the pole fast enough. Perez tries to climb up using Duk’s shoulders for footing, but Duk is able to grab Miguelito’s legs and prevent him from climbing up further.
We go to commercial break (with a cur TNT promo serving as a bookend) and come back to Duk missing a legdrop. Perez gets an atomic drop, several punches and hits his powerslam. This gives Perez the opening to climb up the pole and retrieve the kendo stick. El Profe made an attempt to grab Perez during his climb but was stopped by the referee. Miguelito now has possession of the kendo stick, meaning he can now use it on Duk. Miguelito comes off the top but is caught with a punch to the midsection by Duk. The two men fight over the kendo stick. As Duk and Miguelito struggle to see who gets the kendo stick, Huracan Castillo (who is seconding Perez) sees Profe making a move and tries to get closer. The ref stops Castillo and warns him to stay in his assigned corner. With the ref distracted, Profe reaches in to trip up Perez but screws up once more by inadvertently tripping Duk as well. Perez ends up with the kendo stick, hits Duk several times with it and makes the cover for the win. Perez is the new Caribbean champion as the crowd cheers.
Post match, Duk is angry with Profe over another accident costing him the match (and in this case the title). Profe gets in the ring but instead of apologizing, he starts berating Duk for losing the match, even touching Duk’s face during his tirade. Duk has had enough and attacks Profe as the crowd explodes in cheers. El Profe gets a big chop and a slam, but before Duk can do more damage, the Motor City Madman runs in to attack Duk. Madman and Profe double team Duk and Madman uses the kendo stick to bust Duk open and leave him laying in the ring. On commentary, Profe is calling Madman a man of honor and class, who was there to defend him against the cretin attacking him. Hugo mentions that we are out of time and will not be able to have a show close and Profe just keeps hurling insults at Duk and celebrating the attack by Madman. The show ends with Duk busted open and then cutting to a scene of Duk being stretchered out after the attack.
MD: This felt fresh. I don’t think we’ve seen any of these in this run. And obviously it’s at the end of a big feud with a title change and a surprisingly over face turn and high heat angle, so there was a lot going on here. As for the match itself, it was a lot of Perez trying to climb to get the kendo stick at the top of the (surprisingly long) pole and Duk pulling him off but that kept things moving and the offense was credible and fans were behind Perez. Perez did get it but that never ends these things as they started fighting over it. Profe tried to trip Perez from outside; they both fell; Perez nailed him with the stick and won.
Post match, Profe tried to smooth things over but Duk unloaded on him and the fans went nuts. Some of it was Profe (who’s been so front and center on the heel side since Chicky left) finally getting his. Some was probably familiarity with Duk as he’d been there for a while now. Motor City Madman ran out and they completely clobbered him with the stick leading to lots of blood and a stretcher job. I don’t know how exactly we ended up in a world with a 1991 Kim Duk babyface turn in Puerto Rico but here we are.
EB: We also have the west coast version of Superestrellas de la Lucha Libre from February 23.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrhbZLXu_kg
Hugo welcomes the viewers to this week’s program and immediately mentions that we have a new Caribbean champion in Miguelito Perez. The go to a clip of what happened at the end of the match, with El Profe screwing up again, which led to Perez getting the win and the title. They also show the post match incident between Profe and Duk, including Motor City Madman running in to save Profe. Duk is busted open and left laying. Back to Hugo in the studio who has a big announcement. Due to the vicious beating that happened after the match, Kim Duk has demanded to face El Profe in a one on one and that will happen today on this program. Hugo mentions the other matches on the program before talking about the upcoming house shows. Due to the show happening in Carolina the next day ,there will be no show in the west coast area tomorrow. However, they will be in Moca on Thursday and they will be back in Cabo Rojo next Sunday March 3 (we’ll run down the scheduled card in a bit).
Our first match is joined in progress and it is Dick Murdoch vs Super Medico #1. Murdoch is cowering in the corner from Medico, who has the upper hand and has been hitting Murdoch with punches. Hugo is on commentary and warns that Medico needs to be careful because Murdoch is a dangerous individual. Medcio switches to kicking Murdoch in the corner, but Dick is able to grab one of the kicks and trip up Medico. A quick jab to the eye allows Murdoch the chance to stand up. Medico regains control but misses a corner headbutt charge. Murdoch stomps Medico’s head and then tosses him outside to the floor. Murdoch rams Medico’s shoulder into the post and then tosses him back inside. Dick hits several punches to the face and chokes Medico right in front of the referee. Murdoch motions at Joe Smith at ringside and Joe passes him what looks to be a rope or wire that is used to choke Medico. The ref tries to get Murdoch to break but Dick refuses, and Murdoch ends up being disqualified. Murdoch continues choking out Medico #1, and does not let go until El Vikingo has to physically pull Murdoch away. Medico #3 comes out to check on his father as the segment ends.
MD: Not enough punches here, because we came in JIP and then it was clipped up, so we even miss Medico’s really nice headbutt (I’m sure). A great transition early as Murdoch catches the stomp and hits a few quick punches to take over. He eventually dodges a corner charge and then hits his running ringpost shoulder charge on the outside. Then, as he has the advantage, his second (in the baseball get up), passes him a rope and he choke Medico. When the ref tries to stop him he does the most passive aggressive little headbutt to push him away. Anyway, he was dominant but still lost so everyone keeps their heat. I bet this was even better in full.
EB: We go to a series of promos regarding the different matches scheduled for the next week. Original TNT and El Profe are up first, and it seems Original TNT is facing Kim Duk on Thursday. Profe goes on a tirade, indicating that Duk was never his friend, he is rash, and he will be taught a lesson on Thursday. Hugo takes the opportunity to remind the viewers that later on the program we will have Kim Duk vs. El Profe. Hugo also gets comments regarding the Sunday March 3 match against TNT, to which Original TNT does his usual spiel about TNT being an impostor.
MD: We’re in a wild world where with hot new babyface Kim Duk and Original TNT still around for some reason and calling people imposters. I actually think the two of them will match up pretty well, just not, you know, for long or anything.
EB: Next is Monster Ripper with the Caribbean tag team champions of Rick Valentine and Galan Mendoza. Their scheduled matches are Thursday against Huracan Castillo Jr. and the returning Ricky Santan and on Sunday March 3 against the Super Medicos. Ripper says that she doesn't have much to say because it doesn’t matter who her guys face, she has total confidence in them. They are champions for a reason. Mendoza says that Castillo knows him very well, so he wants Castillo to let Ricky Santana know what awaits him (as holds up his gloved fist). Valentine and he are the champions and will remain champions no matter who their opponents are. Valentine provides comments about the match against the Super Medicos, it is a non title match. Valentine says that it’ll be another time the Medicos will lose against them again.
MD: Now that I know we’re theoretically getting some new feuds soon I’m sort of over the Valentine/Mendoza vs Super Medicos feud. I think this might be the most effective partner for Valentine of them all though because Mendoza knows this is his biggest push he’s going to get and he’s able to hang on the promos with Ripper doing something more over the top.
EB: Our last interview of this segment is Dick Murdoch with his sidekick Joe Smith. Murdoch is facing Invader #1 on Thursday in Moca (which Murdoch deliberately misunderstands as Monkey, an appropriate town name for Puerto Rico). Murdoch also complains about the awful food Joe’s mother fed him. Murdoch promises that Invader will just be a stepping stone on his way to facing Carlos Colon on Sunday. Murdoch has been waiting a long time to get in the ring against Colon, and this is what it is all about. Murdoch says some choice comments about it being a great white man against Colon (with some racial insults thrown in), reminding Colon about an incident in Kansa City when they wouldn't allow Colon in a restaurant (which Murdoch enjoyed) and now he will embarrass Colon in his home country,
We get the card rundown for Thursday February 28 in Moca: Carlos Colon & TNT vs. the Texas Hangmen; Invader #1 vs. Dick Murdoch; Miguelito Perez vs. Motor City Madman; Kim Duk vs Original TNT; Huracan Castillo Jr. & Ricky Santana vs. Galan Menodza & Rick Valentine; and Sasha vs. Monster Ripper.
And next Sunday March 3 in Cabo Rojo, we have: Carlos Colon vs. Dick Murdoch; Invader #1 & Bronco #1 vs. the Texas Hangmen; TNT vs. Original TNT; Jeff Jarrett vs. Greg Valentine; Kim Duk vs. Motor City Madman; Miguelito Perez defends the Caribbean title against Scott Hall; Ricky Santana challenges Mr. Pogo for the World Junior title; and the Super Medicos vs. Galan Mendoza & Rick Valentine.
MD: I’m never going to clip these promos because they’re so blatantly racist and because Murdoch was part of the klan and what have you but they’re something alright. Usually about 2/3rds of them would pass but not that last third. Just his reactions while Hugo (Herbert) is talking and the stuff he does with his hands to mimic the brainbuster. I suggest you go and click on the link and see them, but no way am I clipping them. Anyway, he really sells the Invader match and the Colon match here. I’d want to see him get his ass handed to him if I was there. That’s for sure.
EB: We go back to Miramar for Motor City Madman vs. Nick Ayala. Skandor Akbar is at ringside for Madman, and this match is short as Madman quickly grabs Ayala and does his inverted vice into the head rams on the turnbuckle maneuver. Hugo barely had time to ask Eliud Gonzalez about the union we apparently have between General Skandor Akbar’s Devastation Inc. and El Profe before the match ended when referee Victor Quiñonez called for the bell.
MD: Very short work here as he hits a kick and then his repeated over the shoulder snake eyes thing over and over and over again. I love seeing it so I was fine with this.
EB: We now go to some interviews with the tecnicos, beginning with the recently turned Kim Duk (or as Hugo introduces him, the new Kim Duk). Duk first asks the people to stay tuned so they can see him get his revenge against El Profe. Duk says he will be competition for Original TNT on Thursday and will show him what Duk is made of. Next Sunday Duk gets a chance to face Motor City Madman, who left him laid out and bloodied. Duk says that Madman made a mistake because Duk is still here. Duk never went down and now they will show the people who is strong.
MD: Considering how terrible a promo Duk has been through this entire run as a heel, he did pretty well here as a fired up babyface with a chip on his shoulder. Motor City Madman made one mistake, KIm Duk is still there! I mean, sure, let’s go with it. Why not?
EB: Huracan is next to talk about the tag match against Mendoza & Valentine (he’s happy to team up again with Santana and they will give the champions the beating they deserve).
MD: Perez is getting the bigger singles push so Ricky Santana is coming back in to team with Castillo against Valentine and Mendoza. That’ll be fresh at least. Santana really had a relatively short run last time. Usually they space the promos out by feud on these episodes but here they’re just pulling whoever is around one after the other.
EB: Invader # follows, commenting first on his match this coming Thursday against Dick Murdoch. Invader says that Murdoch is racist, but he also has a lot of experience and is a great wrestler. Murdoch loves to talk and drag Puerto Ricans through the mud. Invader says that when that bell rings on Thursday, Murdoch will regret speaking badly about Puerto Ricans, because when you come over here you have to respect us. He’ll make sure Murdoch starts respecting Invader this Thursday. Bronco #1 joins the interview to talk about the scheduled match against the Texas Hangmen next Sunday. Bronco says they’ve had a lot of battles, but he’s got this feeling that the end is near for the Hangmen. The careers of the Hangmen are in his and Invader’s hands and they will give the final blow next Sunday. Invader asks the fans to make sure they come out and support them next Sunday, and that he and Bronco have one thing on their minds, to send the Hangmen out of Puerto Rico.
MD: Invader cut an impassioned promo here against Murdoch. He had the mask on since they then pulled Bronco in to cut a promo on the Hangmen, but it helped the anti-Murdoch promo. Honestly, this made me want to see what would happen if Murdoch faced off against Bronco. I bet he’d get a ton out of how stylized his movement was.
EB: Our next match is a joined in progress clip from 1989 from Original TNT’s first run. His opponent is White Angel and this is mainly shown to put over Original TNT and his cobra sleeper. Angel makes a comeback, but Chicky Starr distracts Angel and Original TNT gets the cobra sleeper for the win
MD: I was going to say we hadn’t seen Thompson in forever which made me wonder when this was from, and lo and behold, as he’s making his big comeback, there’s Chicky to get up on the apron and distract him to set up Original TNT’s Cobra. So they just didn’t have much recent to show Original TNT winning. This was quick and decisive but weirdly highlighted Chicky in a way you’d figure they wouldn’t want to.
EB: Motor City Madman and his manager Skandor Akbar are here for an interview about the upcoming matches Madman has. Akbar says that he hopes Miguelito’s dad taught him well for the match on Thursday, because the Madman is going to bring down that big 747 on Perez and that will be all that Perez will remember. Next Sunday Madman faces Kim Duk and Madman feels betrayed by Duk. He promises that he will leave Duk laid out again. Madman makes sure to take off his sunglasses when he speaks to the camera and puts them back on as soon as he’s done talking.
MD: Man having Akbar around is great. He just has this gravitas with his deep voice and enunciation. And even invoking Devastation, Inc. When he says he hopes Perez’s dad trained him well you believe that there’s deep history there. He cuts the promo on Perez for the first match and then Mad Man cuts a quick one on Kim Duk (saying they were just drinking beer together but now he was hanging out with Colon).
EB: El Profe and the Texas Hangmen are up next to talk about their upcoming matches. This Thursday the Hangmen take on Carlos Colon & TNT (the team they feuded with in November) and Psycho says this has to be a nightmare for Colon & TNT, a reminder of the beatings and blood that has been spilled when facing the Hangmen. Next Sunday they face their current enemies Invader #1 & Bronco #1 and this may be the last time the tecnicos step into the war zone, the Hangmen are tired of facing them and want to end the tecnicos once and for all.
MD: Again, covering a lot of ground with one Hangman handling one match and the other the other. The first is the flag match with Invader and Colon and the second the next one with Bronco and Invader. A flag match was novel and they did a little catch phrase about pain being their policy and hanging their game (or something like that). This has been unquestionably a legitimate main event run for them. Yes Greg Valentine has been bouncing around but he’s wrestling Jeff Jarrett on the undercard of one of these shows, so come on.
EB: Ricky Santana is returning and we get a repeat of the music video set to Tom Jones’ ‘Kiss’. What a heartthrob Santana is.
MD: It’s the same music video from last time he showed up with the same girls (three Colons included) on the bus. I don’t remember him ducking a half dozen Profe shots to hit him with an atomic drop but I bet that was in there too.
EB: The super team of Carlos Colon and TNT are in the studio with Hugo to talk about their tag match against the Hangmen on Thursday and their respective singles matches next Sunday. Carlos says that El Profe’s words don’t bother them at all, instead they are focused on finishing the Hangmen off on Thursday in order to weaken El Club Deportivo. TNT agrees with Carlos and then they move to next Sunday. Carlos says he has been waiting for this match and it will be one of the most important days of his career. It will be his chance to avenge something Murdoch did to him, and he will make sure that this dog, this charlatan gets the revenge coming to him. He wants the fans to be there next Sunday to see how you beat respect into a racist and charlatan such as Dick Murdoch. TNT talks about how Original TNT keeps talking about how he is the real one, but it’s interesting that he still has not signed the contract for the match challenge TNT has given, one where the name and paint will be on the line (as was originally scheduled for Aniversario 89). TNT promises to give Original TNT such a beating that he will have no choice but to exit the island. There’s a brief clip of Sasha talking that gets cut off, where Sasha was asking the fans to be there Thursday to support her in her match against Monster Ripper.
MD: This one I think was maybe a little blunted because they had to cover too much disparate ground. I wanted to see Colon really lay it into Murdoch. After this we get a few seconds of Sasha before the tape cuts, so we’ll never know what she was going to say.
EB: Our main event for the program is Kim Duk taking on his former manager El Profe, and boy is this crowd hot for Kim Duk. El Profe is already in the ring as Duk makes his way out, and as Duk gets ready you can hear the crowd making noise and Profe trying to hush them. A loud ‘Kim Duk’ chant breaks out as Duk gets in the ring, and El Profe starts begging off. Profe rolls out, Duk gives chase and Profe almost makes it to the safety of the nearby boxing ring but gets caught by Duk. Profe gets rammed face first onto the ring apron and into the wall as the crowd is excited to see Profe get his comeuppance. Back in the ring, Duk gets a big chop on Profe and starts slapping Profe across the face. The beating continues with Profe getting no offense and Duk at one point makes an attempt to unlace Profe’s mask. Profe immediately drops to the ground and the ref warns Duk to stop doing that. Duk signals to the crowd that he's going for the mask and continues making attempts to unlace Profe’s mask. The ref again stops Duk and Profe tries to re-lace his mask. Duk goes back on the attack and hits a hotshot on Profe. A throat thrust and choke follow, with a punch from Duk leaving Profe face down with his legs on the bottom rope. Duk gets the cobra sleeper on Profe, but Motor City Madman hits the ring and attacks Duk to save Profe. Skandor Akbar is also at ringside. Akbar gives instructions to Madman, who grabs the kendo stick and attacks Duk with it. The match is a disqualification win for Duk but he did not get his full measure of revenge.
We then go to Hugo for the show close, where he reminds the west coast fans of the cards on Thursday and next Sunday.
MD: This was really good in just the few minutes we have of it. Duk is legitimately over. Profe is excellent running away from him (including almost into the neighboring boxing ring). Just a really nice stooging performance from Profe as he pinballs and begs off. Duk stands tall as a vet with his years knows how to and it’s building to a real mauling when Madman comes in to break things up. Nice taste to show what Duk as a babyface could be and keep things churning to bigger matches.
EB: Next time on El Deporte de las Mil Emociones, a lot of feuds seem to have reached a boiling point as we get the final hype for the Colon vs. Murdoch showdown (including a rare Carlos Colon TV studio match), feud recaps for two big apuestas matches, and a look back at a mask vs hair match from November 1990 between the Super Medicos and Eric Embry & Rick Valentine.
Labels: Dick Murdoch, El Deporte de las Mil Emociones, El Profe, Kim Duk, Miguel Perez Jr., Puerto Rico, Texas Hangmen, TNT
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