El Deporte de las Mil Emociones: The Tag Team Ides of March

Week 22: The Tag Team Ides of March

EB: Last time we covered the first weekend of March where the TNT vs Abdullah Universal title series kicked off. Although we touched upon the end result of that Universal title series between TNT and Abdullah, there were  other happenings in CSP across those weeks, which will be our focus in this installment. As was previously mentioned, there is a Caribbean tag title tournament approaching on March 10. The titles are vacant due to Gerry Morrow leaving the territory and we have eight teams in contention: the Super Medicos, the Invaders, the Caribbean Express, Carlos Colon & TNT, the Alaskan Hunters, Los Mercenarios, Carl Styles & Rick Valentine, and Chicky Starr & Leo Burke. The tournament is taking place at Estadio Sola Morales in Caguas. While we don’t have the tournament bracket results available, we do have video of two matches from that night, that TNT & Carlos Colon were scheduled to take on Chicky Starr & Leo Burke in the first round ,and which team walked away as the winners and new Caribbean tag champions.

The first of the two matches we’ll review from the tournament features two teams that had spent most of February in a rivalry for the World tag team titles. The newest version of the Super Medicos quickly ascended the tag ranks and became the number one contenders to the World tag team titles held by Los Mercenarios. They face each other once more, this time with advancement in the Caribbean title tournament on the line.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31S6k1O6Mb0

This match video is from a Campeones airing in early April, so there is some reference on commentary to future upcoming events (some which will be covered in this post and others in the next installment).  Ron Starr and Super Medico #3 (that’s what Hugo calls Estrada Jr on commentary for this match) start off. Carlos on commentary reiterates that 1990 is the year of the tag team and it’s kind of hard to argue with the influx of new versions of legacy teams. There is a nice rope running exchange between Ron and Medico #3, which Ron ends with an elbow. A follow up elbow drop misses, and Medico #3 counters with a dropkick that sends Ron to a corner. Acevedo tries to come in and help his partner, but Medico #3 sends Acevedo into the same corner as Ron and hits a monkey flip on both men. Medico #1 gets in the ring and the Medicos hit stereo monkey flips but a follow up stereo dropkick attempt is evaded by Los Mercenarios. Acevedo misses an elbow drop on Medico #3 but Ron hits his elbow drop on Medico #1. Still, Medico #1 recovers quickly and both Mercenarios end up on the outside. Carlos mentions that he feels that the reason the Super Medicos have been a great team so far is that it is a father and son teaming up (so by April they have acknowledge who the new Medico is) and that it allows for communication and the willingness to listen to each other (and learn in the case of Medico #3). 

Ron Starr gets back in the ring and we get an inset promo from El Profe and Los Mercenarios. The two teams are set to face each other that night in Bayamon for the World tag titles (and in a bit of a spoiler, yes the Super Medicos have won the World tag team titles from Los Mercenarios by this point in time). Carlos on commentary also makes mention of a new opponent he is facing on that night’s card, but we will discuss this more in depth in future installments. In the ring, Ron has tagged in Acevedo but Medico #3 armdrags Acevedo to the mat and works an armbar. Both men end up colliding off the ropes, with Medico #3 rolling out of the ring. The Medicos do a switch and Medico #1 rolls back into the ring instead. Medico #1 comes off the top rope with a couple of his signature punches, causing Acevedo to tag Ron back in. Starr doesn’t fare any better and falls victim to several punches from Medico #1, including a sequence where he pinballs back and forth between the Medicos and their punches. Carlos and Hugo on commentary start talking about if it is justified for the tecnicos to pull tactics like the switches against the rudos, with both agreeing that you have to fight fire with fire when you’re against opponents who will not hesitate to use such tactics and who have repeatedly done so before. Ron throws Medico #1 out of the ring and again the Medicos pull another switch (with El Profe yelling at the referee afterwards about the switches). The Medicos continue in control as we go to a commercial break.

Back from commercial we see Ron is in control against Medico #1, it appears Acevedo kneed Medico #1 in the back to give Ron the opening. Acevedo is tagged in as we get an inset promo from the Super Medicos about tonight;s match. It appears that Los Mercenarios tried to hurt Estrada Jr but the Medicos will be out for revenge tonight and also look to keep the World tag titles. What exactly happened? We’ll discuss it more next time. Los Mercenarios continue working over Medico #1 for a few minutes, with Medico #3 running in to break up a few pin attempts and sleeperholds. The tide turns in the Medicos favor when Medico #1 ducks an attempted clothesline from Ron and hits acevedo with a clothesline off his own, giving him the opening to make the ta. Medico #3 come sin and cleans house on both Mercenarios, with Medico #3 eventually attempting a few covers on Acevedo. Medico #1 is tagged in and gets a hit machine on Acevedo. A pin attempt is broken up when Medico #1 sees Ron come in and Medico #1 unleashes punches on Ron. All four men get in the ring but the referee tries to get Medico #3 to leave the ring. With the ref distracted, Los Mercenarios take advantage and hit an assisted back suplex on Medico #1 (who had been up on the middle turnbuckle punching Acevedo). This gets the three count and Los Mercenarios advance in the tournament. They will eventually be one of the two finalists in the tournament. Which team will join them?

MD: Really fun tag tournament match, more or less everything you’d want it to be for this part of the tournament. They’re calling Estrada, Jr. Medico 3 now and admitting that he’s Medico 1’s son so things continue to progress. Medicos have a fun shine early, with rope running, lots of stooging by Starr, a lot of Medico 3 in there to look good with his youthful athleticism, some sneaky masked confusion switching, control of the arm, and even Medico 3 monkeyflipping both Mercenarios at the same time which not a spot I think would have worked with Morrow. We miss the transition due to a break unfortunately, but they’re leaning hard on Medico 1 when we come back. That includes Medico 3 leaping into the ring off the top repeatedly to try to save his father but it just leading to illegal switches behind the refs back by the heels. Eventually he dodges enough to get the hot tag and Medico 3’s stuff looks pretty good as he comes in hot. Then Medico 1 looks even better after he comes back in, but Starr turns a ten count punch on Assassin in the corner into an assisted back suplex to pick up the win. It’s a bit of a shame they didn’t run Invaders vs Super Medicos because that would have been a fun babyface match but I get that they wanted heels in there deeper into the tournament. By the way, one other thing here that we haven’t seen much before: inset promos. I don’t remember them using those much. They were talking about the match at hand instead of something in the future (as best as I could tell) so I’m not sure how useful it was but it did add some color.

EB: The second match we have from the Caribbean tag title tournament features the new Invaders (one week after their official debut) taking on the team they faced in their debut match. In their previous encounter, the Invaders and the Hunters went to a time limit draw. Will things be different this time? Let’s find out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SeE15J97LC4

This match video is from the English language version of Caribbean Championship Wrestling from the weekend of March 17. Hugo provides the context of who is competing in the tournament and the rules for advancing. Invader #1 starts off with Hunter #1 and the initial minutes are controlled by the Invaders, with some quick tags and Invader #1 working a side headlock on the mat. Hugo promises the viewers that they will reveal who won the tournament before the show ends (as will we when this match review is done). The Hunters try a double team maneuver, with Hunter #4 holding Invader #1 against the ropes. The move backfires when Invader #1 dodges, which results in Hunter #1 kicking Hunter #4 to the floor. Invader #1 hits a dropkick that sends Hunter #1 outside of the ring as well. The Hunters get into a shoving contest with each other and also shove El Jeque a bit when he tries to break it up. Hunter # 1 gets back in the ring and another attempted double team backfires. Another shoving contest breaks out and Hugo mentions that the newer Hunter is the brother of the other original Hunter. Hunter #4 is tagged in and does not fare any better. This match so far has been the Invaders getting the better of the Hunters, with the Hunters breaking down in terms of communication and teamwork.
The Hunters never seem to get it in gear, as we come back from commercial break and Hunter #4 is not doing well. Hunter #1 is tagged in and finally there is some semblance of teamwork from the Hunters, with a slingshot clothesline getting a two count on Invader #1. Hunter #4 works on Invader #1’s arm and spits at Invader #4. The Hunters do some double teams (including a nice suplex into a crossbody maneuver) when the ref’s back is turned from trying to stop Invader #4 from entering the ring . It’s not enough to put Invader #1 away and this brief moment of control ends when the Hunters yet again have a communication breakdown (they went for the suplex into a crossbody maneuver again but Invader #1 countered by putting Hunter #1 in front of the jumping Hunter #4). The tag is made and Invader #4 cleans house on both Hunters. All four men end up in the ring, with the finish being Invader #1 slingshotting Invader #4 into the ring for a sunset flip pin on Hunter #1. The Invaders win and advance in the tournament. As the Invaders run off the Hunters, Hugo mentions that the Invaders ended up reaching the finals and defeated Los Mercenarios to become the new Caribbean tag team champions. Not bad for a team that is officially in their second week of competition.

MD: I have been high on all of the booking but I do wonder a little about having both the New Medicos and the New Invaders at the same time. I half wonder if you don’t team up Invader 1 and Medico 1 as a super team and then have Estrada, Jr. pal around with Castillo/Perez/Savoldi. It’s a bit of diminishing returns as is. That said, this is worked very differently, with more heel miscommunication, basically two giant lunkheads who keep crashing into each other due to the Invaders. Invader 4 is more of a seasoned vet and can set this stuff up a bit more confidently (and according to commentary, he spent four months learning the special skills of being an Invader). Invader 1 does the usual great selling job when they take over on him. He actually kicks out of their finish (the suplex/wrecking ball off the top combo) but he hadn’t taken too much damage as of yet so it makes sense. They go for it again shortly thereafter and he plays into the story of the match by having one crash into the other to set up the hot tag and the eventual Invaders win. Tecnicos who knew what they were doing and bad guys that would play into it well, so this worked.

EB: This is not the only tag team action we have featuring these teams from this week. Thursday in Humacao (likely March 8) these four teams were in action. These matches again are from TV episodes that aired in the weeks that followed, so the commentary may have spoilers for future developments (which may be touched upon in the review) and the reason why we covered the Caribbean tag title matches first in this installment.  Our first match from Humacao is the Super Medicos against the Hunters.

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

The match is joined in progress with the Medicos trading off and a headlock on the smaller Hunter (who was identified as #4 previously). Hugo is solo on commentary and is not helping matters by just calling them Super Medico and Hunter without the numbers. I believe it’s Estrada Jr who tagged in. We got a nice sequence where Hunter #1 tries to come in and help his partner, but Medico #4 (or is it #3 by this point?) hits him with a dropkick without releasing the headlock, then gets a headscissors on Hunter #1 and flips both Hunters over. A monkey flip is hit on Hunter #4, followed by a body drop and some punches for a two count. Medico #1 is tagged in. Hunter #1 makes a move to get in the ring but Medico #1 cuts him off and crotches him on the top rope.  A slam gets a two count on Hunter #4. The Medicos continue in control of the match, with Estrada Jr. being tagged back in and working the arm. The Hunters gain control via a double team as Hugo reminds fans that they are managed by El Jeque (who is also Abdullah the Butcher’s manager). Estrada Jr. reverses a whip into the corner on Hunter #4 and gets a two count on an inside cradle. As Hunter #1 is tagged in and starts clubbing on Estrada Jr, Hugo mentions that the newer Hunter is the youngest of the Hunters and is the brother of the other original Hunter, who suffered nerve damage to his arm in Japan. Now his brother is carrying on the Hunter tradition. The Hunters maintain control via illegal switches behind the referee’s back.  A Demolition Decapitation by the Hunters results in Medico #1 coming off the top to break up the pin attempt. Medico #1 tries to get in and help but this allows the Hunters to continue double teaming and switching behind the refs back. The Hunters hit a nice slingshot clothesline but Estrada Jr surprises Hunter #4 with a small package for an unsuccessful pin attempt. The Hunters continue in control but remain unsuccessful in pinning Estrada Jr. Hugo on commentary mention that we know for sure that Medico #1 is Puerto Rican but we are not sure about the newest member (so it seems they have yet to acknowledge that they are father and son when this aired).  Estrada Jr finally gets the tag and Medico #1 cleans house on both Hunters (including a hit machine for each of the Hunters). Medico #1 has things well in hand, attempting a few pins off a small package and a backslide. All four men end up in the ring and it results in a double pin situation. The ref makes the three count and awards the match to the Super Medicos. 

MD: This is a good way to get fans ready for the tournament. I think of all the tag matches we saw this week, this had the strongest heat actually, despite having lower stakes. While we do come in a little JIP, the match just had a more evened out balance overall, where the shine didn’t take up more than half the match. That’s not to say that they didn’t make fools out of the Hunters, who were more than happy to get crotched or crash into each other. It just didn’t last quite as long relative to the Hunters isolating an Invader and hitting him with a bunch of stuff: decapitation, slingshot clothesline, Bushwhacker Battering Ram (!) as well as lots of illegal switches and a missed babyface tag or two. The comeback was nice and fiery and lead to a double pin where the ref noted that the legal man was the Medico doing the pinning.

EB: The Hunters did not have a good couple of weeks and this is pretty much it for the Hunters team in CSP. El Jeque is down two clients but he still has Abdullah the Butcher (who won the Universal title from TNT). As for our second match from Humacao, we have a rematch between the two finalists of the Caribbean tag title tournament. The Invaders take on Los Mercenarios.

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

There’s a brief cut at the start so the match is joined in progress as Invader #4 dropkicks Mercenario #1. It looks like Acevedo tried to surprise Invader #4 from behind but was caught. Invader #4 whips Acevedo into the corner where Ron already is and proceeds to hit a monkey flip on both Mercenarios at the same time. Invader #4 gets back to attacking Ron and tags in Invader #1, who works Ron’s arm over with an arm wringer. Carlos on commentary mentions that this may be the best Invaders combination yet. Hugo mentions that they had been in training for several months and the results can be seen. The Invaders continue to tag in and out and work over Ron’s arm. On commentary they are talking about the matches these two teams have had (again, this is airing after the Caribbean tag tournament has taken place), with a third match scheduled for that night.  Ron hiptosses Invader #4 and tags in Acevedo, but Invader #1 is tagged in and takes down Acevedo with an armlock. The Invaders maintain control with another sequence of quick tags. The Invaders do a switch behind the ref’s back, with the crowd backing them up when the ref asks if the tag was made. Acevedo fights to make the tag but, in a reversal, the ref doesn’t see it and forces Ron Starr back to the corner as the Invaders tag out. Invader #4 shows off his skills by going through the ropes but holding on and skinning the cat, hitting a headscissors on Acevedo. This first part of the match has been mainly the Invaders in control. We go to commercial break but come right back where we left off, with Ron attempting to break up a pin attempt and instead accidentally elbowing and legdropping his partner. The Invaders continue in control of the match for several minutes, working over Acevedo’s arm and foiling any attempts at double teaming by the Mercenarios. Carlos on commentary mentions that masked wrestlers have an advantage since it helps to hide any reaction the face can make and it is harder for your opponent to get a read on you. After about ten minutes, the Mercenarios are finally able to get control over the Invaders. We go to commercial break as Acevedo starts stomping on Invader #1.

We come back with Ron Starrr ramming Invader#1 into the top turnbuckle and tagging Acevedo back in. Invader #4 breaks up a pin attempt but Ron takes down Invader #1 and works over the arm. Invader #1 tries to make a comeback but misses a charge into the corner and rams his shoulder into the post. Invader #1 falls to the outside and Invader #4 rushes over to prevent the Mercenarios from attacking his brother. Invader #1 gets back in the ring, holding his shoulder. Ron takes advantage and works over Invader #1’s arm. Carlos mentions that it’s impressive what the Invaders have accomplished after only being active as team for a couple of weeks and that he thinks they’ll get even better with more experience. Invader #1 starts a comeback but the ref does not see the tag to Invader #4 and Los Mercenarios regain control with a double team maneuver. A pin attempt by Ron is broken up by Invader #4, and Invader #1 counters being thrown into the ropes with a sunset flip for two. Ron goes back to working on Invader #1’s arm. A rope running counter sequence leads to both men hitting a clothesline and knocking each other down, as you can hear the timekeeper make the time announcement in the background. Both men make the tag to their partners and Invader #4 cleans house on both Mercenarios. Invader # 1 eventually joins the others in the ring. All four men fight and make several flash pin attempts as the time limit starts counting down. The bell rings and we have a time limit draw. 

MD: This is not the tournament match between them but instead a time limit draw independent of that. You still get the same sense of the tag scene in the moment, however. I thought Invader 4 looked good, including a skin the cat headscissors takeover and some fire towards the end. This was a big opportunity for him and he was taking it. They did the double monkey flip spot again, as it was a big crowd pleasure. Long, long shine here, ten minutes out of seventeen (on the idea there’s some clipping at the start and during the break) with a lot of quick switches and armwork and stooging, especially from Starr. Mercenarios were able to lean hard on Invader 1 for the heat with some revenge control on the arm. That meant things were ready to boil over for the comeback. The finish had lots of quick roll ups and pin attempts by the Invaders but all for naught as time expires. 

EB: Los Mercenarios would get a rematch for the Caribbean tag titles but were unsuccessful in getting the titles. Still, Los Mercenarios remain the World tag team champions and have the challenge of the Super Medicos coming up on March 31.  

The tag team tournament and the rivalries stemming from it are not the only feuds going on. Eddie Watts remains the World Junior champion and Huracan Castillo jr and Joe Savoldi both are chasing the title. Joe Savoldi gets another crack at Eddie Watts on the same show as the TNT vs. Abdullah rematch. That night Watts was able to escape again with the title but Savoldi still had his sights on Watts. Let’s watch a TV match featuring Savoldi taking on Assassin #3. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9EpQANttuU

This match is pretty basic and, surprisingly, Assassin #3 gets a bit of offense throughout. Savoldi is in control early and then Assassin #3 takes over for a little while (although they seem to get crossed up on a rope throw spot). Assassin goes for a pin and complains to the ref that the count was slow after Savoldi kicked out. Savoldi takes over and hits a gutwrench suplex on Assassin #3 for a pin attempt that gets broken up with an eye gouge. Hugo on commentary mentions the hot action in the Junior division and that Savoldi still has his sights set on Eddie Watts. Savoldi comes back with a  backdrop and then does a rollover bridge to get the pin. Savoldi celebrates the win and leaps over the top rope to the floor to exit the ring. We’ll have to see if either Savoldi or Castillo will be able to topple Watts from his perch.

MD: Assassin 3 is the one in red who is slimmer. Assassin 1 is the bigger guy. This is the least important bit of wrestling trivia I know, at least this week. Savoldi had all the 1990 Jr. babyface offense you’d expect, including dropkicks worth the Jumping moniker. He won with a deep jackknife pin which was a bit more sweeping than usual. You’d buy him as #3 on the card vs Watts and probably wouldn’t complain too much.

EB: The Invaders are the new Caribbean tag champions and it just so happens that there is a TV taping from their hometown in San Lorenzo. Let’s watch the Invaders wrestle in their hometown against the team of Gran Mendoza and Assassin #1.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIQH6LFHk7Y

The Invaders make their entrance in their jumpsuits and music, although this time they have the Caribbean tag titles round their waist. This match is a quick showcase for the hometown boys, as the Invaders take the fight quickly to the rudos and show off their quick tag teamwork. Mendoza and Assassin try a double team maneuver, but Invader #1 backdrops Assassin (while Mendoza is still holding him) and then tosses Mendoza off him. The Invaders continue on offense against Mendoza but assassin #1 manages to get  a brief offensive flurry when tagged in. This doesn't last long and the Invaders win when Invader #4 hits a reverse crossbody from the top onto Assassin #1. A strong win for the Invaders in their hometown.

MD: Nice showcase match for the champs. They came down with their jackets/robes and music (we don’t get such entrances often). Invader 1 let himself get outnumbered but overcame as he always knew how to present himself like a star. Invader 4 had some slick agility moves and did add something different to the team along those lines. Mendoza and Assassin would try to double team or clubber down but they didn’t do much memorable here except for getting beat.

EB: Another rivalry that has been brewing throughout March is between Miguelito Perez and Carl Styles. This stems from the indent where Styles put Perez in the full nelson and refused to release the hold. They’ve had a few matches between them and are facing each other again at the TV taping in San Lorenzo.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gi2ycHjp-KU 

Another match that is JIP, with Perez having Styles in a headlock to start. Carl sends Miguelito into the ropes and both men stay standing after a shoulder tackle. Perez ducks a clothesline off the ropes and counters with a crossbody for a two count. Perez takes down Carl with a side headlock, leading to a reverse pin attempt by Styles on the mat. Miguelito gets his foot on the rope and the ref El Vikingo flips them over (causing Hugo to question the validity of doing that instead of breaking the hold, but in the end he says it's the referee's discretion). Styles manages to stand up and sends Perez into the ropes, but an attempted kick to the midsection is blocked by Perez. Carl gets hit with an atomic drop but is able to duck a followup clothesline and almost gets the full nelson on Miguelito (who makes the ropes before it’s locked in to force a break). Carl hits several blows on Perez, but Perez leapfrogs over Carl when coming off the ropes and hits a slam on Styles. Perez gets a side headlock but Styles fights out of it and takes Perez down with a hair pull. Carl works the arm on the mat but falls victim to another counter when Perez is sent into the ropes (this time it’s a sunset flip for a two count). Perez works a side headlock on the mat but Styles counters into a headscissors. Perez flips out of it and goes back to the side headlock. Hugo mentions that this has been quite the rivalry between Perez and Styles, with Perez only losing in their previous encounter because of Rick Valentine’s interference. Perez sends Styles into the ropes and attempts a dropkick, but Styles holds onto the ropes and Perez crashes to the mat. Carl hits an elbow on Perez and does a double bicep pose to the crowd. Carl hits a suplex for a pin attempt but Perez grabs the ropes. Styles throws Perez to the outside and does more poses towards the crowd. Perez rolls back in without incident. Styles hits a slam but misses an elbow drop, which gives Miguelito the opening to fire back with several punches and a couple of turnbuckle rams. A rope running sequence leads to Carl knocking Perez down with a clothesline. Carl goes for a cradle cover and grabs onto the ropes for leverage. The ref doesn’t see it and counts the three. Styles has stolen the win against Perez.   

MD: Pretty even match up here, more so than I expected considering how Styles had been presented so far. He tried for the full nelson early and almost took over on a panicked Perez due to the response, but Perez came back immediately. They traded holds mostly, with Perez more or less having the advantage on points (and headlock takeovers). Eventually, Perez ran into a clothesline and Styles pressed the advantage with a dubious looking illegal pin in the ropes. This was perfectly fine wrestling and the fans were behind Perez but it didn’t do Styles a lot of favors, even in victory. 

EB: The Super Medicos did not win the Caribbean tag titles but have stayed in contention for the World tag titles. Let’s see them in action against the team of Gran Mendoza and Assassin #1.

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

Estrada Jr.is called #3 here. This match is all Medicos as they control Mendoza with arm work and quick tags in and out. Mendoza cuts off Medico #3 with an elbow and tags in Assassin #1, who gets a hotshot on Medico #3 for a pin attempt. Assassin #1 hits a backdrop but misses an elbow drop, which allows Medico #3 to tag in his partner. Medico #1 does a hit machine on Assassin #1 and cleans house on both opponents when Mendoza tries to attack him. An inside cradle pin attempt goes nowhere and all four men are in the ring. Both rudos are thrown into each other, with the Medicos hitting a double dropkick on Mendoza to send him outside. A double suplex on Assassin #1 leads to the assisted splash and the Medicos get the win. They’re next stop is challenging Los Mercenarios once more for the World tag team titles on March 31. 

MD: Another straightforward enhancement tag here. Mendoza had a nice back elbow to cut them off but they were able to fire back before long, including impressively double suplexing the sizable Assassin before Medico 1 pressed up Medico 3 into a splash and a pin.

EB: As March rolls on we have a newcomer to CSP. El Profe has brought in another formidable looking wrestler, one that may look familiar.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6R_sPY3-tX4 

We have Atkie Malumba taking on Victor Jovica. You may know Malumba as Kamala 2. He is El Profe’s newest acquisition, billed from Mozambique and weighing around 400 pounds. Jovica attacks Atkie at the bell with several punches and a turnbuckle ram. Atkie immediately counters with an eye rake and goes on offense with a headbutt, chop and a choke against the ropes. Hugo mentions that Malumba is undefeated so far since coming over to Puerto Rico and the United States. Atkie sends Victore into a corner and hits a corner splash. Jovica mounts  a short comeback with some punches and chops, but Atkie counters an attempt to send him into the ropes and hits Victor with a foot to the face. Atkie goes for a splash but does not cover and decides to do another one (Hugo: He’s made Jovica into a pancake!). The ref gets a count of one before Atkie again gets up and hits a third splash. This gets the win. El Profe comes in with what looks like a shrunken head and Hugo mentions that they call it Malumba’s warrior spirit. El Profe shows it to Malumba in order to keep him calm and Atkie starts bowing in reverence. Meanwhile, Jovica is twitching on the mat and looks to be in need of medical assistance. El Profe ties up the ref and Atkie goes for another splash on the prone Jovica. Profe once again shows Malumba his ‘warrior spirit’ and Atkie calmly crawls out of the ring. This Malumba may well be a dangerous threat to El Ejercito de la Justicia. 

MD: Jovica wasn’t a small guy, not really, but Malumba just crushed him, especially in the corner. He finished things off with a series of big splashes where he kept getting up at one and backpedaled with his hands waving about before charging in again. Very definitive stuff. Post match he was drawn away by a mystical object, nominally to spare Jovica’s life.

EB: TNT has had a bit of an up down month. He lost the Universal title against Abdullah the Butcher and it is up in the air who the next challenger will be. Still, the challenges keep coming and TNT is facing Carl Styles on TV.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1i_j-3x7dk 

The match is joined in progress as Styles has TNT in the corner and fires off a series of kicks and punches. Styles is facing a tecnico that is higher up on the hierarchy, so it’s a test of his skills. TNT is coming off the uUniversal title loss and looking to remain near the top of the contender rankings, while a win for Styles would really boost him up the rankings. Styles sends TNT into the ropes and puts on a bearhug. They fall to the ground but Styles keeps the bearhug on. After a while, Styles gets into a mount position and starts punching TNT. Back on their feet, Styles again sends TNT into the ropes and puts on another bearhug. TNT fights out of the hold, but Styles shoves TNT back first into the corner and puts on the bearhug again. Styles works the bearhug and it looks like TNT may be out. However, TNT keeps his arm raised on the third check by the ref and breaks the bearhug with some elbows and punches to Carl’s head. A shoulder tackle off the ropes takes down TNT and Styles makes a cover for a two count. TNT ducks a clothesline and comes back with a dynamite kick. TNT starts getting fired up and hits some blows and a hiptoss. A charge is dodged by Carl and he uses TNT’s momentum to send him to the outside. TNT quickly gets back on the apron and surprises Styles with a  sunset flip for a two count. As Carl argues with the ref, TNT hits a reverse cradle for the three count. TNT picks up the win and we’ll have to see what’s next for him. 

MD: We have three or four minutes of this JIP. I’m not sure these two synched up well. Styles was big and lumbering but TNT was just big enough that some of what Styles did, like the long bearhug, didn’t quite work for me visually. TNT worked well from underneath and ultimately won this with a roll up, and maybe if we had the early feeling out, I’d feel differently, but I think I would have liked more of a clash of the Titans sort of encounter. Remember, we had just seen Perez work even with Styles after all.

EB: Next time on El Deporte de las Mil Emociones, as the end of March approaches, a decision is made about who will be the next challenger to Abdullah. It will be Carlos Colon and the match will take place on March 31. Who will end the month as Universal champion? Also, the last week of March sees some upheaval at the top of the tag team scene, a former World champion and Universal title contender makes his return to CSP, and we get one of the most surprising ‘he worked Puerto Rico in 1990’ appearances.

Read more!

70's Joshi on Wednesday: Kayama! Aoyama! Kumano! Hackney!

9. 1978.12.17 - Lucy Kayama/Tomi Aoyama vs. Mami Kumano/Sylvia Hackney (2/3 Falls)

K: I’ve mentioned her a couple of times prior to this but this our chronological footage debut on Tomi Aoyama. She was also part of that 1st official class of 1977. She was a spectacular athlete in an era where they hadn’t quite worked out how to incorporate her kind of athleticism into pro-wrestling. She’s like a 1970s version of Dante Martin where it’s more about good she is at basic things like jumps than anything much more complex.

We have a basic start where the heels just jump Tomi. Lucy tries to tag in but she gets admonished by the referee for coming too far out of her corner to do a legal tag, and while the referee is distracted the heels double team Tomi a bit more. This bit of unfairness gets over who the heels are to the Hawaii crowd, and sets up Tomi looking really impressive by being able to overcome the double-teaming without any help by escaping Sylvia’s choke and quickly hitting a standing dropkick to take her down so she can run over and tag Lucy in.

I did think it was funny a bit later when Mami Kumano hit Tomi and the referee in succession with a chair, and the ref sells it x10 harder falling halfway across the ring. This being closely followed by Mami dangling her opponent off the apron by her neck swinging her back and forth like a deranged grandfather clock. She’s the first person I’m aware of to use that spot (although that’s possibly a footage issue), I did note that when Dump Matsumoto turned megaheel in 1984 she regularly used it and initially she was given Mami Kumano’s entrance music.

I’ll also note that the heels are throwing everyone around the ringside area causing chaos and I’m only 4 minutes into the match now. This style really doesn’t want to have any wasted moments.

Skipping ahead to the 2nd fall now, and shortly after we get a cool moment where Lucy Kayama has been laid down with her throat over the second rope, one heel is pushing her head downwards to choke her on the rope and the other has pulls her feet from outside the ring so she’s been violently yanked around throat-thirst on the rope being choked. Part of me thinks someone needs to steal that but it also looks a bit dangerous but what do I know. The heels are getting an impressive amount of heat for all of this.

By the time we get to the final fall the crowd is audibly in to all of this. The pace noticeably picks up quite and lots and things become a lot more chaotic. Chairs start being swung around but there’s also some rapidfire moves from Queen Angels. Tomi does a pretty spectacular dive over the top rope to the outside for a match from 1978, followed by some appalling camera work of Lucy flying into shot but we don’t see what dive she did as the camera wasn’t looking at the ring. Queen Angels win by countout and they celebrate in the traditional AJW babyface manner: beating up the referee.

***

MD: So we’re still in Hawaii, which makes it clear that the majority of early footage we have apparently is in Hawaii. This, to me, felt like a really good lucha match, just from the themes and the ebbs and flows, and even the action. The faces here were the Queen Angels (Kayama and Aoyama) who were the champs. Hackney and Kumano ambushed to start and Hackney fit right in with quick swarming offense, even if Kumano would stand out more in the match (would she ever?). There was a brief moment of early shine after a Tomi shotgun dropkick that hit like a brick that included some of Kamaya’s cool short elbow smashes, but the heels took over completely with some chairshots on the floor and in the ring (and getting the ref too for good measure). The beatdown was just top notch rudo stuff. Kumano would hang people by their necks dangling over the top rope. She’d launch them by their hair. She’d press them into the bottom rope throat first while a second yanked on their legs on the floor. She would grind her heel into their skull with the head on the stairs and squash a hand over the top rope. She won the first fall with a calf branding sort of meteora but that wasn’t nearly as impressive as the general feeling of massacre. And Hackney did her part too, tossing Tomi into the front row a few times.

When Kayama was able to sneak around for a clutch cobra twist out of nowhere, the crowd came unglued. It was the hottest I’ve heard a crowd so far and really felt like that glistening moment of lucha comeback. Tomi followed up with a giant swing and bodyslam-position suplexes and the Queen Angels took the second fall with a very high body press off the top. They continued to press the advantage for a bit in the third fall but the heels took back over. Hackney tried for multiple figure-four attempts, and Lucy eventually had enough but the ref held her back, definitely holding them to a higher standard, as if they were tecnicos. But Tomi forced a second big comeback with a high body press off the ropes and they went into their “Queen Rocket” planchas to knock the heels loopy enough to score a countout win. Post-match they took their grief out on the ref for his transgressions. This felt more extreme than most Brass Knucks matches in the states at the time and had a ton of familiar lucha beats in all the best ways.

Read more!

2024 Ongoing MOTY List: Makabe vs. Sabre

 

Tangled Up in You

1. Daniel Makabe vs. Zack Sabre Jr. Prestige Wrestling 4/14

ER: I didn't plan on following Dan around on tour like I was following late era Dead, but after he worked the main event of our DEAN~!!! show last week and I saw he was working Zack Sabre in Portland the next weekend, I checked plane tickets just to see how feasible it would be. You now those plane ticket deals you hear about but never actually experience? The kind where someone you know makes it sound like an airline paid them $1,500 and gave them free flight vouchers to anywhere in the world just for moving to an empty seat to accommodate a mom and her child? And then a similar deal is offered to you on a future flight and there is no cash offer, no flight vouchers, only the knowledge of letting a mother sit with her child, and you feel like a sucker? Well, whatever happened, I looked up flights and there was the kind of screaming deal that I have never benefitted from, some kooky mileage plan perk that was giving me 5x the usual value on points, meaning I booked a trip to see Wrestling Genius Daniel Makabe wrestling Zack Sabre Jr. for what came out to $22.40. That is a deal I could not pass up, so after seeing Dan in Philly and New Jersey one week, I jetted off to see him in Portland the next, and this summer I plan on seeing him in Deer Creek, IN, the Alpine Valley Music Theater in East Troy, Wisconsin, and possibly out to the Hampton Coliseum in Virginia for a two-nighter. 

It was totally worth it. Makabe and Sabre worked a long, nearly 25 minute match, that did not in any way feel like a 20+ minute match. It was heavy on grappling and leverage and the crowd ate it up. That's not an easy feat on a 4 hour show that already had several 15-20 minute matches, but this packed 1,000+ strong house at the Roseland wanted to see some fucking grappling, and these are two of the finest to do it. Seeing a match like this up close (standing behind the 3rd row on camera side) only makes this style of wrestling sing, but I also feel the match would play no matter how you watched it. You can watch it on 240p on your phone to save battery, or you can stand and watch it next to some gal who is going to be married to Makabe, both of you reacting with disgust and glee as Sabre leaves a literal boot print on Dan's neck with a kick. There's no wrong way. They could have gone on grappling forever and tricked the crowd into watching a 60 minute Broadway until midnight on a work night. That's how strong a command they had. 

They stayed closed and tangled through much of it. The gamesmanship was great. Sabre is the perfect kind of cock who can back it up, Dan is a guy who can be goaded into things but also loves letting opponents get comfortable thinking they can ace him, both have tricks, both wrestle with the confidence of someone who knows their tricks are craftier than the other. My favorite thing to see Makabe do up close is dig his palm or elbow into flesh to procure a method of advancement, Digging a quick elbow into Sabre's ribs and being right there to catch his arm when he flinches. There are no seams, nobody is moving their arm or leg into place for the other, you can watch Makabe force an error and be waiting to catch the forced error, like a guy bouncing a ball off a wall and anticipating how to play it before the bounce. Dan digs elbow points into thighs, throws a stiff palm underneath the ribs, seemingly knows many pressure points to strike on every limb that allow him split second distractions on his way to advancing up or down that limb. It's a joy to watch up close, like Ricky Jay is showing you a card trick repeatedly, until you can process what he's doing. 

A kid standing on his seat not far from me kept screaming out for Zack Sabre to twist or injure a part of Makabe. This kid was a real sicko, screaming for Sabre to twist Makabe's neck, leg, feet, fingers, just screaming out his childlike voodoo doll requests with every Twisting Dream sounding like a worse and worse existence for Dan. I loved little ways Dan would play possum, laying in wait for Sabre to throw a kick just so he could catch him with a sick abbreviated dragon screw, or luring Sabre into a stomach kick just to pivot instantly into a trap leg suplex (the only throw of the match). The possum moments were great, because they also led to possum moments that worked out terribly: laying in wait for a kick he knew was coming only to not be quick enough and instead take a full kick to the chest, or later when he gets a little too married to a kneebar while legs are tangled, he's left prone for a swinging kick right in the neck that sounded louder than anything else in the match (and left an even louder welt). Sabre was of course the first one to go for strikes, but this is a match that didn't need any kind of strikes (and really didn't even have that many). Sabre is always the first one to pull shit like that, but I loved the ways Dan forced him back into a Frye/Shamrock stubborn kneebar battle. Watching ol' slippery Daniel Makabe slip his way in and out of an octopus, or squirm through shifting Sabre's foot a couple inches to allow him to get his own trailer hitch while Sabre was also pushing on Makabe's foot to do the same, locked in a ligament twisting ouroboros that managed to always build while still feeling like they left hours of material on the table. 

Sabre worked over and welted up Dan's arm whenever the leg twisting didn't go well for him, and there were multiple times where Makabe couldn't capitalize on something because of the ways it was now harder to utilize his left arm. Posting up on the arm was now out of the question, but using it bluntly for twisting now became more focused, and no matter how many times Sabre kicked at Makabe's left arm, he couldn't slow down Dan's Luis Castillo-like right hand (one of which landed hard and clean, one which landed on Sabre's jaw just as a flat boot kick landed right in Makabe's gut). Both men had a couple of rope breaks during some long engagements with tangled legs, including Sabre having to scramble so quickly that he ended up grabbing the bottom rope on either side of ref Aubrey Edwards like he was Eddie Guerrero hugging the referee for protection. Every twist felt like a possible finish, a thing that could catch the other on a bad day, but when Sabre locked his leg around Dan's left arm and trapped them both behind his back in a sick attempt to make Makabe's elbows touch, the could started feeling like a certain would. 

I don't think it's easy to main event a long show and keep a tired Sunday night crowd hot for wrist bending and elbows dug into hip points, but it's business as usual for a wrestling genius and the evergreen Gotta Hand it To Sabre. These people, me included, got louder and louder for all of it, and I think we all would have been right there in minute 45. Two wrestlers so good they make you lose track of time, when everything we do every day revolves exclusively around time. I like the way they twisted. 

2024 MOTY MASTER LIST

Read more!

AEW Five Fingers of Death 4/8 - 4/14

AEW Dynamite 4/10/24

Samoa Joe vs Dustin Rhodes

MD: To me, this was a beautiful match. I love the build, the execution, the set up, the payoff, the restraint, the focus. I love that the first half of the match was basically nothing but punches, nothing but Dustin coming in hot, Joe raking the eyes to cut him off, tossing him into the post to open him up and cement his control, and then just Joe leaning and leaning on him, working the wound, pressing down upon him in the corner, just causing harm. Dustin would try to fire back and would get cut off. All that meant, when they shifted gears into the second half, Dustin hitting his power slam felt so meaningful. It meant that the code red was a way to cement Dustin coming back into the match, not just another move as part of a series of them. The match allowed it to be an escalation and not just noise. And then, of course, the ultimate escalation was the belt, and the rest of the match built to it being used, with some revenge (but not enough for Dustin, thus the belt being introduced in the first place) and a couple of exciting near-falls along the way.

I enjoy a lot of AEW, but I deeply wonder just how many guys on the roster, especially under the age of forty, would be able to do this sort of match. I wonder how many would even understand the value in it. I wonder what we're on the verge of losing over the next few years even as I am acutely aware of what we've already lost. But it doesn't have to be that way. They just did this match on a night where more eyes than normal were upon them. Joe's the locker room leader. Dustin is an coach and a trainer. It's 2024. I'm willing to accept that the point is no longer to do as much as possible with as little as possible, no matter how serene and perfect that sort of manipulation can be. But the goal can still be to make those things that you do mean as much as possible through taking the crowd up and down, through crescendoing throughout the match, through setting things up and paying them off. The formula here can be extrapolated to anything else on the card, even a Takeshita match, and it would probably make the match better, while still highlighting the amazing things other wrestlers could do. There's a skeleton key in this one for anyone who just wants to try to understand it.

AEW Collision 4/13/24

Bryan Danielson/Claudio Castagnoli vs Powerhouse Hobbs/Kyle Fletcher

MD: Very long tag. The premise coming in is that Callis wanted them to hurt Danielson, even to the point of fines or suspensions, in order to stack the deck in Ospreay's favor at the PPV. That played out well enough in practice as this had a wild feel for the most part. The BCC were forewarned and prepared, meeting Hobbs/Fletcher head-on for early brawling and high-impact charging blows on the outside. This cycled into the ring for a shine until they were able to use a double or triple blind to allow Fletcher to take over on Castagnoli. That is, Claudio got dumped to the floor errantly and then was distracted by Hobbs, successfully dealt with the distraction, and then and only then, ate a cheapshot by Fletcher. This came up a few times in the match, each cycle more complicated than the last.

That's the advantage and the disadvantage of running tags like this in 2024. We've seen everything. We've seen how transitions in southern tags operate. We've seen the inversions. We've seen the inversions of the inversion. You can just do it, and there's real value to that, but the second you commit to at least one inversion, at least one fake-out in order to fool the fans and leave them guessing, then the train's going and you can't just get off. You have to pick the right stop. Here, they did a pretty good job throughout, both here initially transition to the heat on Claudio, then to cut off hope spots (often in part by eliminating the partner on the apron) and then to cycle through back to the floor after the hot tag to Danielson to take things into the (second, I think?) commercial break. It meant that when Fletcher just got a lucky reversal in to take back over on Danielson, that you were left just a little unsatisfied; once that genie is out of the bottle, you need a bit more thought to a key transition.

Overall it worked though and they were able to shift back from everything breaking down once again into a dynamic and escalated second round of heat on Danielson. For instance, once Claudio had recovered enough to herald Danielson's comeback in a very All Japan sort of way, the big hope spot was Danielson locking in a LeBell Lock, in as he might have gotten the win and not just the hot tag. The match had progressed enough that even though they were in the midst of heat, it still sort of worked. And then it all built to the crowd pleasing stuff, the BCC triumph, and the nefarious post-match to keep the story going. Claudio's a pro at these big TV tags and is only strengthened by having less restraints and more time. I know certain people have certain reservations about Fletcher and I do too, but he has some great instincts when it comes to working the crowd and letting things breathe in between moves. It's just that half of his opponents don't allow for that sort of thing and the star rating economy rewards the exact opposite. He's 25 and if encouraged to keep developing these good habits instead of bad, I'm curious just how he might develop.

By the way, I did watch the Team Kingston vs Team Kidd match from the NJPW show but while it was suitably chaotic with a solid, productive finish, I really wanted more ebbs and flows and momentum shifts instead of specific spots and unbridled mayhem so I'm not going to give it more words than that.

Read more!

2023 Ongoing MOTY List: Darby vs. Cage

7. Darby Allin vs. Brian Cage AEW Rampage 8/11 

ER: Maybe one day I will tire of watching Darby Allin fall in ways I don't think the human body should fall, but this tunnel is black with no sign of any light at the end. Darby Allin appears to not just lean into bad landings, he seems to relish aiming the plane directly at them. I can't get past it. Darby has this Low Ki precision to his landings, but Low Ki's landings were works of athletic physics that made his body spring across the mat and ropes with a violent control. Darby seems to have the same incredible control but opts to make his landings worse. When Prince Nana clotheslines his legs out from him on the top rope, there were dozens of ways he could have take a great-but-less-painful bump; he didn't have to get swept onto the back of his head from that high up, but he constantly seeks to aim the plane beyond the runway. That's important in a match with Brian Cage. Darby is the most ideal opponent for Cage, and again I must state that it is no coincidence that the AEW roster works UP to Allin. When Brian Cage asks himself "How do I view myself as a pro wrestler?" you can bet that he views himself as the guy throwing Darby's ass around in this match. If you wrote out The Whole Basic Idea of Brian Cage it would read like this match. Darby Allin allows wrestlers to achieve their full potential. 

I used to think Cage was a doofus who did too much and not enough at the same time, but he somehow means more to me in 2024 than ever. He's a real dummy, and I need gassed to the fucking gills lunkheads wearing silver face paint in wrestling. I need a freak with a distended HGH belly that leaves him prone for an apron Coffin Drop. Of course all of Cage's offense wouldn't be possible without a willing opponent, but I've seen plenty of guys hold back with very willing opponents, and Cage does not do that. That's important. I knew I would be writing about this match the moment Cage stopped a full speed Darby tope with a shoulderblock, like he was setting a screen against a guy on a moped. Darby bounces extra hard on every landing, and Cage throws him into landings that deserve that bounce. The way Cage threw himself into his inside-out vertical suplex from the middle buckle, running through a table like he was jumping into a swimming pool while wearing a Darby Backpack, and throwing Allin so hard into the turnbuckles that Darby hit them as fast as possible, sideways, on his neck, just seemed like what would happen if you were thrown by Brian Cage at his Fullest Powers. Darby Allin makes Brian Cage look like an Essential Worker. Darby Allin is a boon to American Prosperity, making everyone's dreams possible. 

2023 MOTY MASTER LIST

Read more!

Found Footage Friday: R'N'R VS FOOTLOOSE~! BENITO GARDINI~! FALK~! HOUSTON~!

Benito Gardini/Al Williams vs. Cyclone Anaya/Walter Palmer NWA Chicago 5/26/50

MD: This was a delightful 27 minutes, with some clipping, but you get so much of it, you hardly care. My buddy Ohtani's Jacket got here first and said I'd love Gardini, and guess what, I do. He likened him to a 1950s Porky, and I can see that on appearance and over the top antics, but, of course, with a deep Italians stereotype. He was great at getting driven down on his face (at one point the commentary said his nose would soon be like a wet donut), at getting caught up in the ropes and on top of the ropes, jiggling along with them, at making faces, and most of all, at getting caught in crowd-pleasing heel miscommunication spots. Meanwhile, he's one of the only US based workers I've ever seen do the headspin escape out of a headscissors. Legitimately funny, great left handed body shots so he could lean on his opponent when he needed to, big bumps. Definitely a fan.

Williams was instantly credible, if only because he had tons of tattoos (commentary said he was a member of Rough and Ready, Inc. or Grief, Inc., just a real nasty character). He was game for feeding into all of the babyface offense and playing into all of the comedy spots, while still keeping a mean disposition and hitting hard, especially with forearms in the ropes. Palmer looked good with his escapes and a big forearm off the ropes but we probably saw more of Anaya who was flashy and fiery and had an abdominal stretch/cobra twist with a few variations that he'd use as a finish. This moved quickly and never wore out its welcome and I'm eager to see more Gardini.

Ricky Morton/Robert Gibson vs. Samson Fuyuki/Toshiaki Kawada AJPW 10/28/88

MD: Pretty sure that the match that has been out there previously was the 5/24/88 one that ends in a count out. This is not that. This is pretty hilarious. We've heard stories of what happened backstage between these two and I don't know about that one way or another. What I do know instead is that Morton and Gibson used their powers for evil on this night. They worked this thing like they were Jr. Versions of Brody with a little 92 Freebirds built in (the former eats the match; the latter eats the crowd). They took and they took and they took.

They really dominated for the first half, quick tags, winning rope running exchanges 80% of the time, constant appealing to the crowd with claps (which worked; the crowd was into them, Rock and Roll chants and all). More than that though, whenever Footlose did get something in, they were quick to fire back. In the second half it was somehow worse even though it should have been better. There was some nominal heat on Morton; he was always so good at using roll ups for his hope spots. He'd eat some offense, some beat down, and then give you hope of a win out of nowhere. Here, however, he used those roll ups but after every single spot done to him. It broke the flow completely in a way that made it seem like it was 50-50 and that he was never in any real trouble. The finishing stretch had some nice nearfalls but the finish itself was a bit of a banana peel with Fuyuki getting a hand up from the outside and one of the R'n'R basically running into it. They were ahead ten to one on points. Just a masterfully selfish performance. 

ER: This is the Rock n Rolls last ever match from the only Japan tours they did in the 80s. I thought this match was clean, man. I watched this match in a Portland Air BnB basement on a TV that had motion smoothing turned on (or off, whatever the bad one is that every single girl in her 30s has on the TV at her place, so when you go over and they're watching Heat or Below Deck: Australia it looks like a fucking soap opera) and I don't know if I've ever watched wrestling this way but it just might make handhelds even better. My sister watching Mandalorian and it looking like people wearing cosplay gear hanging out in a western saloon TV set didn't work for me, but feeling like I'm smack dab in the middle of this crowd on a hot tour closing night of wrestling. It's crazy that the Rock n Rolls hardly went to Japan. For a team I love more than almost any team in history, I guess I assumed Ricky was a guy working Japan more than a couple AJPW tours here, a couple FMW show there kind of guy. Because they seem perfect for Japan and now I understand why the Youngbloods and Fantastics had such sustained (and good!) runs as AJPW gaijin. 

Also, I had no idea what kind of backstage altercation there was between these teams until Matt told me something happened on one of these tours and Robert Gibson kicked Fuyuki in the face, so I thought this match was going to be worked in Bad Blood...but instead I thought this match was most notable for Robert Gibson working the entire match visibly using only one leg. Is Robert Gibson okay? Robert Gibson looked like he got roughed up and forced to wrestle one legged as humiliation, because every time he moved he was dragging his left leg straight behind him while hopping on his right. I remember seeing a 2000s AAA match where Pimpinela drug his leg the entire time and wondering if these guys are just psychos or they're the greatest salesmen in the world giving themselves a Jorgen Leth/Lars Von Trier  Five Obstructions Dogme 95 task of working a match within a personal challenge. Whatever was happening, this handheld, motion the smoothest it has ever been, had me feeling every shoulderblock and every bump, every kick, every perfectly downward angled Ricky Morton punch, the fucking 11/10 suicide dive Ricky does where his body truly feels like a weapon, this handheld had real live impact. And there was Robert Gibson, shaking his leg on the apron and trying his best not to put weight on it during his (much briefer than Ricky) in-ring interactions. That it was so exaggerated and not gone after in any way by Footloose makes it all the more jarring. Was his leg hurt and they were instructed to stay away from it? Kings Road is a style famous for exploiting shoot injuries of opponents. Years later in 2002 NOAH it felt expected that Kenta Kobashi made a big comeback after his knee injury only to have Jun Akiyama go after his knees so hard that Kobashi missed several more months with knee injuries. Is Gibson doing some kind of Teddy Hart phantom knee injury? To what gain and for what cause? Whatever, he kept it believably up for entire match without seemingly anyone else talking about it, and the match was still somehow the perfect 9 minutes of constant hard contact and no stopping for breath. The heat was up bell to bell with stiff work free from Bad Blood. Handheld wrestling is our greatest treasure. The purest presentation of the best eras of wrestling. 

Tony Falk vs. Barry Houston NWA Worldwide 5/11/00

MD: I came into this expecting Houston to bump all over the ring for Falk. We've seen enough of this Worldwide stuff to know that they didn't give away a ton on TV because they wanted people to come to the shows. Most matches didn't end in a finish. This went around ten minutes though with a commercial in the middle, and it was really Falk bumping around the ring for Houston. He'd rope run with him, would take armdrags and mares and back body drops. Of course, it was Tony Falk, so after every bump, he'd milk it, hang out with his manager, whine to the ref or the crowd, stall, and it was all highly entertaining stuff.

He'd complain about hairpulling too, which was heat-garnering since that was most of his offense through the match. Post-commercial he was in charge with a top wristlock, going to Houston's ponytail again and again. Eventually, after a Falk DDT (again nothing with a big bump), Houston started to fire back and hit one of his own. That set up a frog splash where he almost hit the ceiling. "Basket Case", being Mark Jindrak came in to take out the ref. I thought Houston was saving his bumps for Jindrak to get him over, which would have made sense, but he really only take a press up pancake before Falk leaped off the second rope at him. This had all the Falk I was expecting and more, really, but not nearly as much of those Houston bumps. From the bit of 2000 Houston I've seen, I do wonder if he wasn't working quite like he had a few years earlier.

ER: We have limited amounts of post-'99 Houston available so every match is a gift, and while I thought Houston looked like Barry Houston in this match, this was a Tony Falk show. Houston looked his most professional: His gear and body were the best he'd looked, but the window was already shut for whatever reason. He should have been given some kind of real TV role in 98/99 but it never happened to the degree we wanted, and here he is in Tennessee getting shown up by a Tony Falk who is in his early 40s, looks like he is in his late 50s, and moves like he's in his late 20s. Houston looks good, but it's also one of the few matches we have where he works "on top". We grew so accustomed to Houston bumping bigger than Kidman and leaning into beatings, that he's like a whole new wrestler when we see him work dominant. It's not bad, it's just different. 

But Tony Falk is the one who looks like a star. Well, let me rephrase that, because he looks like absolute shit. He looks like Eddie Marlin in the Cowboy Boot match had Eddie Marlin showed up really out of shape. Falk is wearing a singlet and you can tell he has just an awful body under that singlet. And yet, I was consistently surprised and impressed by how quickly he got up for everything. Falk was a real bumper here, body as bad as I've seen but speed undiminished. He took armdrags the way 1995 Barry Houston would take armdrags, went up for a backdrop, and sold punches perfectly. Houston has nice punches and Falk would bump every one of them as a one shot kill. I loved this great telegraphed missed punch Falk threw, holding up his fist, kissing it, and then of course sending it right past Houston's head. His begging off was great because it was less heel and more Tired Man. Gypsy Joe was at ringside for Houston and when Joe got involved we got our meanest punches of the match. Time to find more fat big bumping Tony Falk I guess. 

Read more!

El Deporte de las Mil Emociones: The Universal Ninja

Week 21: The Universal Ninja

EB: As March begins we have quite a few developments occurring in CSP. TNT is set to defend the Universal title against the number one contender Abdullah the Butcher (since Carlos Colon stepped aside because he did not want to fight a fellow Ejercito de la Justicia member). The issue between TNT and Abdullah has become a bit more persoanl with the attacks both men perpetrated on each other. We also have Carlos Colon and Manny Fernandez scheduled to clash in what may be a resolution to their feud. The weekend also has several other titles being defended and the debut of the new Invaders tag team. 

We have video of some of the matches and happenings from March 3 but let's mention first some of the results for which we do not have any video.The card featured Rick Valentine defeating Victor Jovica, Carl Styled defeating Miguelito Perez (an issue we saw starts in our previous post), Huracan Castillo Jr defeat Eddie Watts by dq (Watts escapes with the World junior title), Los Mercenarios and Super Medicos went to a  double disqualification in a match for the World tag titles, and (in a bit of a surprise) the Invaders went to a time limit draw against the Alaskan Hunters in their debut. Also schedule for that card was a TV title defense by Leo burke against the returning Pierre Martel.

We have footage from the Universal title match, the TV title match and the Carlos Colon match from March 3. We’ll discuss these in this installment, but the order will be different due to when the matches aired on TV. The reasons for this is that the commentary and talking head segments that accompany some of these matches make reference to the events that surround the TNT vs Abdullah rivalry and covering these matches with the videos means we need to address how their feud unfolds throughout March. We’ll begin with the Universal title match between TNT and Abdullah the Butcher. Let’s go to a segment of Profe’s Wrestling Class where Profe’s guest is El Jeque (this likely aired either March 17 or 24).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lvsl1K8O-qY

The video starts with TNT hitting a legdrop on a downed Abdullah as El Profe is narrating. Prpfe comments that TNT is giving all he had but it still isn't enough to put Abdullah away. TNT goes to the top turnbuckle, but Abdullah gets to his feet and catches TNT with a thrust to the throat as TNT comes flying down. Abdullah follows up with his elbowdrop and goes for the pin. TNT manages to get his leg on the bottom rope before the three count, but the ref doesn't see it and counts three. El Vikingo raises Abdullah’s hand as the winner, as TNT continues lying on the mat with his leg still on the bottom rope. Profe starts saying that Abdullah won fair and square and he should be given the title. El Jeque gets in the ring and jumps around in celebration as Profe continues saying that TNT should admit that he was beaten cleanly. All of a sudden, the entire Ejercito de la Justicia has arrived at ringside and starts telling the ref that TNT’s leg was on the rope before the three count. El Profe is irate on commentary, mentioning that ‘El Ejercito de la Inmundicia’ is out here lying to the ref and putting TNT’s leg on the rope in an attempt to get the decision overturned. The ref decides to restart the match and Abdullah starts attacking TNT (who is still lying on the mat). The footage stops as Abdullah continues attacking a downed TNT, the match ends up being a double disqualification with no winner. Profe says that Abdullah had the Universal title belt stolen from him and that the Real Academia condemns this attitude and action from ‘El Ejercito de la Inmundicia’. While he is neutral towards Abdullah the Butcher, El Profe has invited El Jeque to the segment in order for him to explain what will be done about this injustice that was done to Abdullah. El Jeque says that he admits that Abdullah made a mistake in not destroying TNT, but this Saturday Abdullah will finish TNT, will break every bone in his body and send him to the hospital.  At the end, there will be no doubt that Abdullah will be the Universal champion. El Jeque walks off as El Profe starts saying that this guy is a bit arrogant, isn’t he? El Profe signs off and starts muttering under his breath "What an imprudent guy…” as the segment ends. We then get the card lineups for that coming week’s shows, including the full lineup for that Saturday's card featuring the TNT vs Adullah the Butcher rematch.

Abdullah showed off just how aggressive he was feeling on TV in a match vs Huracan Castillo Jr. from a tv taping in San Lorenzo (we’ll cover other matches from that TV taping in our next installment).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUzoNcFf3PA

Castillo wastes no time in going right after Abdullah, as soon as Castillo gets in the ring he fires off a series of kicks on Abdullah, who is backed into a corner. Castillo tries to send Abdullah into the opposite corner but is cut off by a thrust to the throat. Castillo recovers quickly and backs Abdullah into another corner with several punches, but one thrust from Abdullah is enough to knock Castillo down. Abdullah follows with a headbutt and knocks Castillo outside. Castillo is trying to recover, but he is bleeding from his head. Abdullah stops Castillo on the ring apron and just assaults him with several headbutts, busting Castillo up even more. Castillo gets dragged into the ring and the headbutts continue. The bleeding is noticeable on Castillo’s forehead and Abdullah knocks Castillo down. El Jeque distracts the ref as Abdullah gouges Castillo’s eyes and continues trying to open up the cut more. Castillo tries to fire back,exchanging blows with Abudllah’s headbutts, but the punishment is too much and Castillo falls down. The blood loss is taking its toll. Abdullah hits his elbowdrop and gets the pinfall. Abdullah is showing what he has planned against TNT in their rematch. 

MD: It’s great to see Abdullah as a weekly character again. He was obviously instantly credible and dangerous, including getting that contested win over a TNT with his foot on the rope. Castillo charged him at the bell but got headbutted into a bloody oblivion. Abby is one of the best cut off guys in wrestling history but he also had a great sense of knowing how much was enough to get across what he was trying to achieve. You didn’t hold it against Castillo that he didn’t do better than lasting three minutes against Abdullah and being a bloody mess; you just thought that Abby was all the more dangerous for his victory.

EB: We’ll discuss the other two matches from March 3rd that we have footage of later on, as we will need to address what happened in the Universal title rematch when we do. In the meantime, there is a new development that we have not covered and that is the status of the Caribbean tag titles. If you recall, the titles were held by the team of Los Mercenarios, specifically the Cuban Assassin and Gerry Morrow. Morrow has been replaced by Ron Starr and the new Mercenarios combination of Cuban Assassin and Ron Starr won the World tag team titles from the Youngbloods. However, we have not yet received clarification on what the team member switch means for the Caribbean tag titles. Well, it has been decided that the Caribbean tag titles are vacant. Los Mercenarios remain the World tag team champions because the current version of the team is the one that won the World tag titles. But it was Acevedo and Morrow who held the Caribbean tag titles and that version of the team is no more. As such, there will be a tournament for the vacant Caribbean tag titles that will be held on March 10. Eight teams will participate in order to crown a new Caribbean tag champion. The teams scheduled to take part are the Super Medicos, the new Invaders, the Caribbean Express, the super team of Carlos Colon and TNT, the Alaskan Hunters, Los Mercenarios, Carl Styles and Rick Valentine, and the team of Leo Burke and Chicky Starr. 

We’ll discuss the results of the Caribbean tag title tournament next time but, in the leadup to the tournament, several of the teams were showcased on TV. Let’s go to several different matches with some of our participating teams, including our first look at the current day Hunters and the new Invaders. Let’s begin with a showcase for the Super Medicos.as they take on the Assassins.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sR8cmT6j3TQ

To be clear, the Medicos are #1 and #4, while the Assassins are #1 (in black) and #3 (in red).  Medico #4 and Assassin #3 start us off and this match is a good showcase for the still relatively new Super Medico team. It's been about a month since their debut but so far they have managed to work their way into being top contenders for the World tag team titles. A headlock by Medico #4 leads to a slam off the ropes and then a tag to Medico #1. Assassin #3 is able to push Medico #1 into the Assassins’ corner, which leads to Assassin #1 tagging in. Medico #1 is able to cut off Assassin #1’s attack by punching him and putting on a side headlock. This allows Medico #4 to tag in and he continues to work a side headlock on Assassin #1, although it is broken by several knees to the midsection from Assassin #1. Medico #4 is sent to the ropes and counters with a flying body press for a two count. Medico #4 attempts a backbreaker but rolls out as soon as Assassin #1 kicks out. As Medico #4 rolls out you can see Medico #1 jump off the apron to the floor in the same direction, and when a Medico rolls back into the ring it’s Medico #1 instead. They’ve pulled off a switch and the ref hasn’t noticed. So now we have both #1’s in there. Medico #1 does a headlock takedown which eventually leads to a rope running sequence where Medico #1 hits a shoulder tackle, a hiptoss and a dropkick that sends Assassin #1 to the outside. Assassin #3 tries his luck but also gets dropkicked to the outside. The Assassins regroup and lure Medico #1 into their corner, where they use the younger Estarda’s inexperience to cause him to try to help his tag partner. This distracts the ref, leading to double team attacks in the corner on Medico #1.  Assassin #3 is tagged in but gets caught by Medico #1 with a knee off the ropes. Medico #4 is tagged in and  hits Assassin #3 with several punches before getting an inside cradle. It’s broken up by Assassin #1, as is a follow up backslide pin attempt. Medico #4 manages a standing switch into a roll up and this time Medico #1 cuts off Assassin #1 with a dropkick as the pinfall is made. The Super Medicos pick up the win and next for them is the Caribbean tag title tournament. 

MD: It is a lot of fun to see these enhancement matches because they don’t exist anymore, not with a familiar set of undercard talent like this. Granted, we don’t know who were under the Assassin masks here, but they had mismatching suits and were big bulky guys. That rationalized the little bit of offense they had on Medico 1. For those keeping track, Jr. was Medico 4 on this night and not 2 or 3 as we’d seen. No great punches out of Medico 1 unfortunately, but the finishing stretch was a series of roll ups from the Medicos. Given the Assassins’ superior size, it still felt like they accomplished something.

EB: Although they are the World tag team champions, Los Mercenarios are also entered into the Caribbean tag title tournament, giving Mercenario #1 a chance to regain the title he had to vacate. 

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

Los Mercenarios are facing a team of the two top contenders for the World Junior title in Huracan Castillo Jr and Joe Savoldi (a pairing that Moyano on commentary says should work well since they are both young, quick, move well in the ring and have a similar style).  Castillo and Acevedo start off and the initial exchanges go in favor of Castillo (including a shoulder tackle and a couple of dropkicks). Ron Starr gets tagged in and, after jawing at the crowd, takes Castillo down with a side headlock. Castillo eventually counters out of it, hitting a dropkick that sends Ron Starr near the tecnico corner and causing Starr to ping pong between punches from Castillo and Savoldi. Moyano on commentary explains that everyone had been surprised by Ron Starr leaving the tecnico side but apparently Ron was saying in interviews  that he had only been there to spy and that he preferred being a mercenary because that is how you get paid well. Castillo takes down Ron with a side headlock but Ron quickly counters into a pin for two. Castillo keeps hold of the headlock but Ron manages to get to his feet and tries to counter the hold. However, Castillo makes the tag to Savoldi, who jumps into the ring with a kick to Ron’s back. Savoldi does a couple of arm wringers and a hiptoss but Ron stays back to stop Savoldi’s momentum. They circle each other, but Ron shoves Savoldi off a lockup and tags in Acevedo. Savoldi sees Acevedo charging and is able to armdrag him down. Savoldi continues to work the arm but Acevedo tries to go for Savoldi’s leg, resulting in Savoldi just catapulting Acevedo over and keeping the hold on. Castillo tags in, but Acevedo yanks Castillo by the hair and tags in Ron. Again. the tecnicos see the rudos making their charge, with Castillo hitting a back body drop on Ron. This match has been going the tecnicos way so far. Castillo keeps working Ron’s arm, but the tide turns when Ron comes out of the corner with a clothesline. Acevedo comes back in and looks to finally have an advantage, but Castillo flips Acevedo to the mat to stop his momentum. Both men tag in their partners and Savoldi gets the better of Ron in their exchange, leading to Savoldi doing a quick tag to Castillo. Castillo hits a high knee on Ron and punches Acevedo in the corner, leading to all four men getting in the ring. It looks like the tecnicos have the upper hand but as the referee is distracted getting Savoldi out of the ring, Acevedo sneaks up behind Castillo (who has Ron in an abdominal stretch) and hits him from behind. One double DDT behind the ref's back leads to Los Mercenarios getting the pinfall win. 

MD: Savoldi feels like the Action Andretti to Castillo and Perez’ Top Flight. He fits in quite well despite being a little different. In some ways, he feels a little closer to Castillo than Perez actually. That means lots of armdrags and hiptosses and monkey flips here, lots of feeding by Starr and the Assassin. They didn’t have control for long and even the finish was a banana peel where they had a split second to doubleteam and get the double DDT in. Since they were great at feeding and the babyfaces were at least game and energetic, this moved well and was a fun if somewhat empty seven minutes. 

EB: We’ve mentioned before that the new version of the Invaders made their debut on March 3. While we don’t have that match, we do have one of their first appearances on TV. Let’s watch them in action against the team of El Exotico and El Gran Mendoza.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0HJm-vnysc

The video starts with Mendoza and Exotico already in the ring as we wait for the entrance of the Invaders. Exotico fluffs his hair and poses for the crowd when he is introduced. We hear a dance remix version of the Close Encounters of the Third Kind theme as the Invaders come out in matching masks and jumpsuits. They do stereo jumps over the top rope into the ring. This is Invader #1 and #4, with Maelo Huertas teaming up with his older brother. Eliud makes a comment about how nice the Invaders’ jumpsuits look as they help each other take them off. We get Exotico and Invader #1 to start. We get some early tags as Invader #1 tags in #4 after taking Exotico down with a shoulder tackle and Exotico tags Mendoza in after being backdropped by Invader #4. Mendoza backs Invader #4 into a corner and sends him across the ring to the opposite turnbuckle. Mendoza attempts a monkey flip but Invader #4 lands on his feet from the flip and quickly hits a dropkick on Mendoza. Gran Mendoza rolls out of the ring but Invader #4 immediately goes to the top and dives off the top to the floor with a bodypress onto Mendoza. Back in the ring, the Invaders do a series of quick tags while applying arm wringers on Mendoza (this is actually a staple of the Invader #1 and #3 tag team). Exotico charges in and hits Invader #1 from behind. A double team clothesline attempt is ducked by Invader #1, and he stops by the ropes to slingshot Invader #4 into the ring with a double clothesline on Exotico and Mendoza. The Invaders do a quick tag again and then, when Exotico tries to come in, do a switch when the refs back is turned. The Invaders hit a double back drop on Mendoza and Invader #1 continues working over Mendoza’s arm. Invader #1 keeps going over to the rudo corner and hitting Exotico every now and then. The Invaders continue in control, with Invader #1 actually going over to Exotico and yanking him into the ring. All four men end up in the ring, with the rudos being thrown into each other to set up the finish. It’s a doomsday crossbody basically. The new Invaders pick up the win.

MD: The Invaders looked good here. Huertas is Invader 4, so you have two 4s running around. I was going to say that at least Estrada, Jr. was younger but then you had Invader 4 leap off the top rope to the floor onto Mendoza just in the middle of the match like it was nothing. I’m not kidding either. It was in the middle of an arm control bit and just the spot that they chose to work in. A little later, Invader 1 did the same thing with a slingshot double clothesline on Exotico and Mendoza. Only one moment where Exotico hit a back body drop and sold it as you’d expect. This was wrestled pretty standard otherwise, though definitely heel-in-peril. Sometimes they’d get a brief advantage by doubleteaming but they never held it for long. Finish was a Doomsday Device but with a flying body press instead of a clothesline so that was pretty neat.

EB: We’ve previously seen matches from 1987 featuring the Alaskan Hunters and now we get a chance to see them in action in 1990. At first glance though, it looks like there is a change in terms of the team lineup, with a new Hunter forming part of the team. Here they are in action against the team of La Sombra and Armando Fernandez.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0Emk8T90pA

The Alaskan Hunters are being managed by El Jeque, so that’s another client for the newly arrived manager. Sombra and Fernandez do not fare well at all against the Hunters. What’s amazing is that, if we go by the commentary, they’re being called Hunter #1 and Hunter #4, so that’s yet another tag team with a 1 and 4 combination in the territory. The Hunters do not look alike and it seems that we have a new version of them (that’s why there’s a number 4 then, not sure who it is but he reminds me of Buddy Lee Parker). Fernandez starts the match for his team but is quickly overwhelmed and tags in La Sombra. It doesn’t go any better for him. The Hunters tag in and out and show off their power against La Sombra. They hit a nice double team decapitation elbow off the turnbuckle and just bulldoze Sombra with their offense. A nice double team suplex into a crossbody finish gets the win for the Hunters. They look good heading into the Caribbean tag title tournament.

MD: Just a straight up mauling here. Not a lot to say. Sombra and Fernandez got nothing. Hunters kept it moving, a few throws or suplexes, a lot of clubbing. They hit a decapitation midway through just for fun and then finished things a minute or two later with a suplex/top rope shoulderblock combo. They came off as capable and formidable, guys who knew what they were doing even if maybe they learned on the other end of a squash against even bigger guys.

EB: Leo Burke and Chicky Starr have been quite the duo in Burke’s singles run so far.  But with the upcoming tournament, they have the opportunity to win gold together as a team. Here they face the team of Tito Carrion and Herbert Gonzalez as they tune up for the tournament.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9m_LazLJ7g

Burke and Chicky have teamed up before, but this time they have title aspirations as they are in the Caribbean tag title tournament. This is a chance for Chicky and Leo to work on their teamwork and flow. Burke has his TV title belt with him and Chicky has his crown. Chicky and Carrion start off, but Chicky tags Burke in after hitting a slam. Burke goes to work on Carrion, hitting a kick to the shoulder and an atomic drop. Carrion eventually is able to back Burke into his corner and tag Herbert in, but despite a brief offensive flurry, Leo regains control when Herbert puts his head down too soon after sending Leo into the ropes. Burke kicks Herbert in the head and tags Chicky in. Chicky gets into a chop exchange with Herbert, but cuts Herbert off with some knees and tags Burke back in. A quick snapmare and kneedrop by Leo leads to Chicky getting tagged back in. Chicky goes for a splash but hits Herbert’s knees, allowing Herbert to tag Carrion back in. Tito immediately goes after Chicky with several kicks, but makes the mistake of backing Chicky into the rudo corner, which allows Chicky to make a tag to Burke. Leo blindsides Carrion with a shoulder tackle and from there is able to eventually put Carrion in the figure four for the win. They celebrate with a hug. It’s an easy victory for the team of Chicky Starr and Leo Burke, although they’ll have their hands full in the Caribbean tag title tournament. Their first round match is against the super team of Carlos Colon and TNT, two men that have no love lost for Chicky and Leo.

MD: Chicky had a goatee and his hair had grown in nicely once again. Once they got going it was a lot of quick tags, a brief comeback as Chicky leaped right into a pair of knees, and then a cutoff out of nowhere after a Burke blind tag. I bet that they would have done something neat if this went another minute or two but as it was it was effective in showing us that Chicky could still go if he had to but that Burke was the real threat.

EB: We also have a new pairing for the tag tournament as recent arrivals Rick Valentine and Carl Styles have decided to team up together. It’s not just a teamup of wrestlers but also of managers, as Valentine is managed by Chicky Starr and Styles is managed by El Profe.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k12jkj4vC0o

We briefly saw Rick Valentine in the battle royale and, while this match is short, we’ll be seeing a lot more of him going forward. You may know him as Kerry Brown, but I’m guessing due to the resemblance he is billed as a Valentine here in CSP. Rick is accompanied by his manager Chicky Starr but also by Carl styles and El Profe. Valentine and Styles are teaming up for the Caribbean tag title tournament and Styles and Profe are here in support of Valentine. The match is a showcase for the recent arrival, with Valentine taking most of the match against Armandito Salgado. There is a brief instance where Salgado mounts a bit of offense, but Valentine cuts it off with an eyerake. Valentine seems to favor the elbow as an offensive attack. Profe heads to the commentary desk to brag about this new team and the potential they have to dominate the division. Armandito gets another flurry of offense but once again is cut off when Valentine counters a charge into the corner by raising his legs and knocking Armandito down. A powerslam sets up Valentine's elbow drop and that gets the pin.

MD: Basically a showcase for Valentine’s elbow drop. Salgado had some good fire but his stuff didn’t move Valentine much. Profe was out with Styles since those two would be teaming upcoming but there wasn’t a lot to see here. A nice view for the nice elbow drop though.

EB: Let’s circle back to the other two matches we have pending from March 3. As mentioned before, we’re talking about them now because these matches aired a week after the TNTR vs Abdullah rematch and the commentary makes mention of the result. We don’t have clear information on how the match result came about, but Abdullah the Butcher emerged victorious in the rematch and is the new Universal champion. TNT’s reign as the Universal champion has ended after only a month and a half.  
With that said, we have the scheduled match between Carlos Colon and Manny Fernandez to talk about now. Carlos and Manny have been embroiled in a hot feud stemming form Manny costing Carlos Colon the chance to regain  Universal title in a match against Leo burke and then severely injuring his trainer Barba Roja with a flying kneedrop of the top rope. We’ve seen Carlos and Manny brawl on TV and fight in a tag match, and the singles matches they’ve had so far have been inconclusive. It’s been about a month and a half since Manny injured Barab Roja but Carlos is looking to get his revenge against Manny on March 3 and…it’s not happening. It was announced onTV that Manny Fernandez was not going to appear because of an injury (not sure if he was actually injured or if it’s the reason given to cover the no show). So no blowoff for Colon and Manny. We’ll have to see when Manny will be able to come back (if at all) and what his injury may mean for the Puerto Rico title. But, there's still a card taking place on March 3 and Colon will wrestle against a replacement opponent.  It is someone who has previously been in Puerto Rico under a different name and who as recently as the previous month had main evented a Clash of the Champions show for WCW.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgzwVYdW-m8

It’s the Dragon Master (aka Kendo Nagasaki) who is facing Carlos as Manny’s replacement. Hugo, Carlos and Chicky are on commentary and talking up how dangerous Dragon Master is, with Chicky in particular mentioning how Dragon Master is looking to destroy Carlos Colon and he’s come in from Japan specifically to hurt Carlos. Dragon Master immediately goes on the attack as the bell rings and aggressively goes after Colon. On commentary Carlos mentions that this must be due to the instructions El Profe and Chicky had given Dragon Master. The first couple of minutes of this match are all Dragon Master in control, as his immediate charge at the bell has resulted in a continued attack on Carlos. Dragon Master throws Carlos outside and attempts to ram Carlos into the ringpost. Carlos blocks the attempt and instead it's Dragon Master who gets rammed. This stuns Master momentarily and the two men exchange blows outside before getting back into the ring. Master gets a snapmare and works a rear chinlock on Carlos Colon. Carlos tries to fight out of it but Master cuts him off with some elbows. However, Carlos comes back with chops in the corner and regains control as the crowd cheers. A punch sends Master down and Carlos gets fired up with a hop and a cartwheel. Carlos goes on the attack and tries to put on the figure four, but Master yanks Carlos by the hair in order to stop the attempt. Colon again goes after Master’s leg with several kicks, but another figure four attempt is thwarted by Master yanking Colon’s singlet strap. Carlos is relentless in going after the leg but yet again the figure four is countered with a yank of the tights. Master hits an atomic drop, but the move hurts his leg and Master crumples to the mat in pain. Carlos makes another attempt to put on the figure four but Master counters again. Dragon Master grabs Carlos and throws him to the outside. Dragon Master follows outside, grabs one of the camera cables and starts choking Carlos with it. Master hits several punches and they get back in the ring. A side slam gets two for Master. Dragon Master sends Carlos into the ropes, with Carlos ducking the first chop attempt and then both men collide on the rebound. Master is up first and hits a slam, but Carlos counters with a move from the Leo Burke playbook and grabs a hold of Master’s leg as he hits the mat. This trips Dragon Master up and Carlos immediately puts on the figure four. Master submits and Carlos Colon has won the match as the crowd cheers.

MD: Pretty much a paint by numbers Colon match, but we like the numbers and we like the paint. Nagasaki was very good at just eating guys up and this was no exception. It meant some chinlocks, sure, but plenty of strikes and ominous presence. Colon took it and took it until he’d take it no more and started firing back, cartwheeling, and targeting the leg. Nagasaki made a real sport of it, tossing Colon off on every figure-four attempt, and even managing some late match offense like an atomic drop and side slam while favoring the leg. He even was able to take things to the outside and choke Carlos with a wire, but all it took was a bit too much celebrating after a bodyslam and Colon was able to pull out a leg and finally get the figure-four locked in and triumph.

EB: Our other match from March 3 we are covering is the TV title match between Leo Burke and the returning Pierre Martel. I’ve mentioned before that Pierre Martel was a key star in CSP in the mid 70s to early 80s, first as a top rudo act with the Martel family (including a huge feud with Invader #1) and then in the early 80s as a fan favorite. It’s been a few years but he is making a return and going after Leo Burke. First let's see a match of Pierre’s from late 1982 to get a feel for him in the ring.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCAAXbTZ70I 

This match is originally from 1982 but is being aired on the March 3 Campeones episode with new commentary as a way to reintroduce Pierre Martel. His opponent is a familiar face, as we get Mercenario #1 (Angel Acevedo), back during his original run in Los Mercenarios. Pierre has been a tecnico for about two years at that point and was in a tag feud against Los Mercenarios. Hector Moyano is on commentary with Carlos and Chicky, and brings up Pierre’s experience in the ring as Carlos calls Pierre one of the fans’ favorites. Moyano talks with Chicky about Mercenario #1’s skills as well, with Chicky reminding the fans that Acevedo is currently half of the World tag team champions and is very capable in the ring. Carlos says it’s been about three to four years since Pierre’s been in Puerto Rico (it may be closer to six actually) and that he’s coming in to challenge Leo Burke for the TV title tonight in Bayamon. Chicky thinks that the years have passed Pierre by and he won't be successful against Leo. The match itself so far has been Pierre working Acevedo’s arm and controlling most of the match on the mat. Pierre and Acevedo fight against the ropes but Pierre gets the better of that exchange. Carlos mentions that he had thought that Chicky would have learned his lesson and not shown up after the beating Carlos gave him the previous week (they had wrestled because Chicky had attacked Carlos with a chair two weeks before as part of Colon’s feud with Manny Fernandez). Chicky gets annoyed and says to Moyano that he should tell Carlos to stick to calling the action and be a professional. In the ring, Acevedo is in control, working Pierre over in the corner. Acevedo hits a knee to Pierre’s back and puts a submission hold on Martel.  Pierre is able to get the win when he surprises Acevedo with a roll up for the three. 

MD: Nice to see the Assassin (Still Mercanario #1 even in 82) with a dark black shaggy beard. He looked a lot more like a wild man and less like a canny operator. Most of his offense when he took over mid-match was to press Martel up against the ropes, bend him backward, and knee him in the back. It wasn’t a bad piece of business but he did it three or four times and I don’t remember him doing it much in 89-90. Martel didn’t do anything flashy but everything he did do was sound and most especially confident. This went back and forth for a bit until he was able to roll the Assassin back off the ropes. 

EB: We now go to the TV title match from March 3, but before the match itself we have a talking head segment featuring Hugo, Carlos and Chicky. This is airing a week after the Universal title rematch between TNT and Abdullah and the talk of the segment is about what resulted from that match.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3tcSphtZdo

The video starts with Hugo Savinovich, Carlos Colon and Chcky Starr running down what’s happening that night in Caguas. It appears that Carlos Colon had faced and defeated Leo Burke the previous week, which gave him a TV title shot that night against Burke. More importantly, Hugo makes reference to the big happening of the previous week, Abdullah the Butcher has won the Universal title from TNT. Chicky remarks that he really doesn’t care who is the Universal champion at the moment and talks up Leo Burke having defeated most of his opponents and being a top contender for the Universal title. Chicky isn’t either happy or sad that Abdullah is the Universal champion, all he cares about is that it isn’t TNT. Hugo addresses Carlos and brings up two points: Carlos is challenging tonight for the TV title and what does it mean for him now that Abdullah is the Universal champion. Carlos responds that it means a lot because now that Abdullah is the champion the door is open for him to challenge once more for the Universal title and win it for a ninth time (remember that Carlos had said that as lons as another El Ejercito de la Justicia member was champion he would not challenge them for the Universal title). So tonight’s match against Leo Burke is special since he’s not only challenging for the TV title but a loss tonight would damper his attempt at being the top contender for the Universal title once more. Chciky starts laughing at the thought of Carlos trying to beat Burke. Carlos asks Chicky straight out “Did or did I not defeat Leo Burke last week?” Chicky feigns ignorance and Carlos throws it to the match.

We go to March 3 where Leo Burke is facing the returning Pierre Martel. Burke is defending his recently won TV title. Burke rushes Pierre at the bell and hits Pierre over the head with the title belt. Burke maintains the upper hand with several kicks and then immediately starts working on Pierre’s leg. Burke’s already thinking about the figure four. Burke drags Pierre over to the ringpost and slams Pierre’s leg against it. The focused attack on Pierre’s left leg continues in the ring. Leo attempts the figure four but Pierre kicks him off. Still, Burke regains control by kicking Pierre’s left leg repeatedly. Leo puts on a submission hold on the leg and Pierre tries to kick Burke off, eventually breaking the hold. Pierre staggers to his feet, but his injured leg is hampering him. This gives Burke the opening to go on the attack once more and focus on Pierre’s left leg. Burke has been very aggressive so far, a different approach than we usually see from him. Pierre kicks Burke away and is finally able to mount a sustained offensive flurry with several punches. The crowd cheers as Burke is knocked down and starts to beg off from Pierre. Martel sends Burke into the ropes and hits him with an elbow, still showing signs of discomfort in the leg.Pierre continues on the attack but a hitposs by Burke changes the momentum. Burke hits a kneedrop and tries to punch Pierre when both are standing, but Pierrre blocks and answers back with a series of punches. Burke counters a charge into the corner with a sunset flip, but Martel kicks out at two. Pierre goes back to punching Burke and stops him from leaving the ring to continue his attack. Pierre gets a little too exuberant in his attack and ignores the ref’s warning to back off from the corner. The ref more forcibly gets Pierre to back away and Burke takes advantage of the ref having his back turned to get a foreign object from his tights. When Burke approaches once more, Burke hits him with a  loaded punch to knock him down. Burke gets a three count and retains the TV title. 

We go back to the studio where Hugo reminds fans of tonight’s show, with Chicky interrupting and saying that tonight will see the end of any Universal title aspirations for Carlos Colon at the hand of Leo Burke. Carlos responds by saying to the fans that tonight we start with the TV title and then it’s on to the Universal title. We’ll see how this story progresses in future installments.      

MD: As someone who has only seen so much of his PR stuff, it’s still fun to think that Frenchy Martin can just show up in Puerto Rico and instantly be a threat. Here he was a bit thicker, with big thudding blows. This was sort of an inversion of the usual Burke match as he gained an early advantage and went right to the leg. Martel sold everything big and broad and even when he was trying for offense, but he was able to fire back eventually and Burke did his early match stooging late. He eventually was able to sneak out some brass knucks and get the underhanded win though. Martel fit right in with Invader and Colon as a babyface who could get a ton of sympathy and could go quite far with just punches alone.
EB: As the end of March approaches we have a new Universal champion in Abdullah the Butcher. It remains to be seen who will be the next top contender but in the meantime let’s enjoy a music video of the new Universal champion.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5d7qKvDahqw

Next time on El Deporte de las Mil Emociones, we may have already covered what happened with the Universal title throughout March but there are still a lot of other developments to recap. Who will win the Caribbean tag title tournament? Will any other titles change hands? Will there be any new debuts? We’ll find out as we continue our journey through March 1990.

Read more!