El Deporte de las Mil Emociones: Aniversario 1990 Part 1

Week 28: Aniversario 1990 Part 1

The date is July 7, 1990 and we have arrived at Aniversario 1990 ‘Un Reto Para la historia’! Taking place in Bayamon at two locations (Coliseo Ruben Rodriguez and Estadio Juan Ramon Loubriel), with five matches at each site (and presented on screens for the fans in attendance). The event received a VHS release, although edited down for a two hour run time. Nine of the ten matches were included on the home video release, with the Mark Youngblood vs Rick Valentine match being the only one left off. There are edits to fit the event on the video release, although we get several of the matches in full for the most part. We’re going to review the first five matches in this installment and the remaining four from the home video release in the next installment. We are including a link to the home video release if anyone wants to watch the event that way, but we will include video links to the individual matches we are reviewing if you prefer to watch them that way. Here is the link to the home video release.

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

I will briefly mention that the event started with a welcome by Hugo Savinocih (including a shout out to his mother who apparently was in attendance), where he presented  the commentators for the event (the teams of Lysette Santiago & Eliud Gonzalez and Hugo Savinovich & Hector Moyano will be doing commentary for the matches depending on which of the two sites the matches were occurring at). We also have the commissioners of the WWC Caribbean region and  the Puerto Rico Boxing and Wrestling Commision on hand, with each giving some brief remarks to open the event. 

MD: There’s something enjoyable about watching a video from 1990 where they rewind it and start it over. With the officials saying a little (but very little) there was a patina of authenticity over the event. Which makes it funny as the first guy out is Chicky.

EB: As Matt alluded to, our first match features Chicky Starr taking on Chris Youngblood. Originally it was supposed to be the Mongolian Mauler as Chris Youngblood’s opponent, but Chicky has stepped in. The Youngbloods have made a return to Puerto Rico for this event, although they are in singles action this go around. Let’s go to our first match of the night. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpYC0DmfqK

Chicky Starr makes his way to the ring, wearing his crown and doing his hand pose to the crowd. The crowd wastes no time throwing garbage at Chicky and this is just the first match of the night. Hector Moyano asks Hugo if he has any words for the crowd and Hugo asks the fans at Coliseo Ruben Rodriguez to please behave themselves. Chris Youngblood comes out wearing his medicine man mask and he gets the crowd hyped up (the Youngbloods have always been strong fan favorites in Puerto Rico). The ring introductions are made, the ref checks both combatants and the bell rings. Both men circle each other and Chicky complains to the ref that Chris has something taped to his hands. The ref checks but finds nothing. They lock up and Chicky shoves Chris after they break. The ref admonishes Chicky for that (with Chicky protesting his innocence) and then both men briefly lock up again. Chris gets a quick side headlock and sends Chicky into the ropes, leading to a sequence that ends with Chicky being punched in the head. Chicky rolls out of the ring as Chris celebrates with some war dancing. Chicky gets back in the ring and complains it was a closed fist, but the ref disagrees. Chicky works a side headlock on Chris, leading to a shoulder block off the ropes. Another rope running sequence results in Chris armdragging Chicky to the mat. Chris works the armbar as Chicky complains his hair was pulled.

Chicky gets back on his feet and breaks the arm bar by yanking Chris down by his hair behind the ref’s back. Chicky feigns innocence at the hair pull as Hugo talks about the fans throwing things at the ring, indicating that it is not acceptable behavior and that there are fans that show their support with cheers and applause. They lock up once more and Chicky again uses a hair pull to take down Chris. The commentators talk about how Chris has the fans’ support, as Chicky again feigns innocence about the hair pull and even busts out a strut for the crowd. Another lock up ends with Chris bringing Chicky down with a hair pull, causing Chicky to complain about it and the fans to agree with Chris that he didn’t do it. Chris gets the crowd going with some claps and Chicky decides to step halfway out of the ring to yell at some fans. Chris uses the opening and kicks the middle rope right into Chicky’s groin. Chris follows up with a kick to the groin and plays to the crowd with a war cry. A dropkick knocks Chicky down. Chicky is slow to get up and asks the ref for a timeout due to the groin damage he’s incurred. Chicky tries to walk it off and continues to stall. A lock up leads to a knee to the midsection by Chicky, which is followed up with some short clothesline blows on the ropes to Chris. The blows send Chris to the outside, but Chicky stays in the ring, slightly hobbling around. Chicky catches Chris with a knee to the midsection when the latter gets back in the ring. A series of kneedrops gets a two count for Chicky. Come punches by Chicky draw a warning from the ref to watch out for the closed fist. Chris catches Chicky with several punches to the midsection, following them up with some chops in the corner and a backdrop. Chicky begs off, but Chris continues on the attack. Chicky manages to throw Chris outside but Chris comes back with a sunset flip attempt from the apron. Chicky tries to hold on to the ropes to counter, but the ref kicks Chicky’s grip loose and the sunset flip is completed. Chris gets a three count and the win in our opening match. The crowd cheers and starts throwing trash at Chicky again. 

MD: This was a substitution as Chicky was in for the Mongolian Mauler, and while Mauler has his goofy charm, this crowd deserved Chicky and Chicky deserved this crowd. Even before the match, all he did was stand there and do a Jimmy Snuka type pose with his hands and they belted him with trash. It was glorious. It was the first match on the card and they had a spotfest minis match coming after, so they kept it really simple, but the crowd almost made it impossible for them to do anything else; every lock up was electric. Every bit of comeuppance that Chicky experienced came with a huge roar.
He made sure to give them plenty to roar about too, running into armdrags or punches and eating a crotch shot as he was coming between the ropes. He took over with a knee and had some hard clubbers on Chris but they were pretty soon back to milking every bit of this. Chicky managed a redirect to send Chris out but he came back in with a sunset flip to win it. Just a few minutes but you could tell they knew what they had with the crowd and absolutely made the most of it for a short opener.

EB: Our second match features two teams of minis from Mexico, as Mascarita Sagrada and Aguilita Solitaria take on the rudo team of Espectrito and Piratita Morgan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHmb2FfZU3A

Eliud Gonzalez does the ring introduction for this match, and as he starts we can see Espectrito jawing at the crowd while standing on the middle rope. Eliud mentions that this is a meeting between ‘grandes en la lucha libre’ (large or greats in wrestling) even if of short stature. Espectrito and Aguilita start off for their teams. Espectrito shoves Aguilita off a lock up and strikes a bicep pose. Mascarita Sagrada is quickly in for his team and sends Espectrito out of the ring with a high roundhouse kick. Piratita comes in (they’re doing Mexican rules where you can come in without a tag once your partner is out of the ring) and knocks Sagrada down with a blow. Aguilita quickly does a tumbling routine into the ring to cut off Piratita and defend his partner. We get a nice counter move sequence between Morgan and Aguilita, ending with Morgan being dropkicked through the ropes by Aguilita. Espectrito and Mascarita are in for their teams and Espectrito does a series of takedowns on Mascarita. Espectrito brags to the crowd but another sequence of holds ends with Mascarita sending Espectrito to the mat. Eliud on commentary mentions that Espectrito reminds him of one of his commentating partners (clarifying that it is not Lysette he’s talking about). On that note, Eliud sends a hello to Hector Moyano and Hugo Savinovich who are doing the commentary for the other location. Espectrito hits a press slam and again celebrates after. Mascarita comes back with a flying headscissor takedown. A series of armdrag counters lead to Espectrito being tossed out of the ring.

Piratita and Aguilita are back in for their teams, with Piratita getting the better of Aguilita. Piratita hits a press slam and Espectrito comes in to do a celebratory pose again. It’s pretty clear that Piratita is bringing the power and Espectrito the attitude on the rudo side. Piratita kicks Aguilita out of the ring and Mascarita comes in for his team. As Mascarita faces Piratita, Espectrito runs in and kicks Mascarita from behind. They briefly double team Mascarita but Aguilita makes it back in and cuts off Piratita. Morgan and Aguilita engage in several armdrag counters, which leads into some pin attempts by both wrestlers and then to both men doing the front somersaults into a standing position stand off. The crowd sounds like they are enjoying the action so far. Espectrito tags in and kicks Mascarita into the corner. Espectrito lands some punches but misses a corner charge to the crowd’s approval. Mascarita does a snapmare takedown and tries to charge at Espectrito, but is shoved and sent flying back into the corner by Espectrito. A leapfrog by Mascarita leads to a flying armdrag takedown from the top turnbuckle  by Mascarita. A somersault off the middle rope leads to another armdrag takedown by Mascarita. A dropkick sends Espectrito to the outside as the crowd cheers. Mascarita plays to the cheering crowd but is blindsided by Piratita coming into the ring and hitting a dropkick. Piratita’s punches send Mascarita to the apron and Aguilita front flips into the ring. Before they can lock up, Espectrito changes in from behind and takes over. Espcetrito works over Aguilita, eventually hitting a backdrop and senton for a two count. Mascarita tries to break up the pin attempt and is met with a dropkick by Piratita. All four men are now in the ring and, as Espectrito and Aguilita are tied up fighting, Piratita hits a suplex and pins Mascarita. The ref makes the three count, the rudos have won the match, and the crowd is not happy with this result. Espectrito drags Aguilita over to the ring apron and proceeds to hit some more blows on Aguilita after the match. El Vikingo goes over and saves Aguilita by dragging him back into the ring. The rudo team leaves as the tecnicos are left laying on the mat. 

MD: These guys were announced as giants: big in wrestling but small in stature. This was all action. Every spot, every exchange, got a buzzing roar from the crowd. Things really sang when Espectrito and Mascara Sagrada were in there but Piratita and Aguilita held their own. There was just an extra bit of zing for every time Mascarita did something that felt impossible due to the standard rules of physics. There would be little moments of bullying but they were quickly overcome as the tecnicos flew around once again. I get that there needed to be some parity in finishes and there might have been some politics I don’t know about but it felt like a big downer to have the rudos win this one and leave the tecnicos laying with a post-match beatdown. At least have them turn it around and run them off?

EB: Our next match features a recently turned Scott Hall taking on Atkie Mulumba. Hall had his differences with Mulumba after a tag match and even hit the crucifix on El Profe, making him an enemy of Chicky Starr and El Profe. The rudo managers want Hall to pay for his betrayal and they feel Atkie Mulumba is the one to do it.

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

The video begins with Hall standing on the middle turnbuckle, waiting for the entrance of his opponent. Atkie Mulumba is heading towards the ring, accompanied by El Profe. Hall plays to the crowd, getting them to rally behind him as Mulumba approaches. Atkie gets in the ring and Hall wastes no time in charging to attack. The bell rings as both men exchange blows, Mulumba grabs Hall and both men fight for several moments over control of a lock up. Eliud Gonzalez and Lysette Santiago are on commentary, with Eliud mentioning that Hall had said in interviews that he had thought about it for two weeks and Hall felt that the best thing to do was to face Mulumba. Atkie takes over with a couple of headbutts but Hall fires back with a series of punches, finishing it up with a tornado punch that knocks Atkie down. The crowd has been firmly behind Hall so far. Hall plays to the crowd as Atkie gets back up and slaps his belly. Hall goes to the outside to try to get at El Profe but Mulumba goes out to cut Hall off. Eliud mentions that surprisingly it seems Mulumba has some fans in the crowd as well. They lock up on the outside and briefly scuffle, and Atkie ends up ramming Hall’s head on the ring apron. 

Back in the ring, Mulumba sends Hall into the ropes and hits his flying clothesline. Mulumba chokes Hall on the middle rope, with El Profe pointing and encouraging Atkie from the outside. Atkie then rams Hall’s head into the top turnbuckle, followed by a headbutt and backrake. Hall comes back with a punch but is cut off with a kick and chops. Atkie gets a nerve hold on Hall and brings Hall down to his knees. The ref checks Hall’s arms and he keeps them up at the two count. Hall fights back and breaks the hold, firing off some punches and a tornado punch that staggers Atkie but doesn’t knock him down. Hall grabs Mulumba and slams him. Hall gets fired up again and signals to the crowd. Hall comes off the ropes with a blow onto Mulumba, and follows up with a clothesline. Scott starts doing the cross pose, signaling that he’s going for the crucifix. Hall sets up Atkie, but before he can lift him up, El Profe charges into the ring. Hall catches Profe with a punch and sets Profe up for the crucifix instead. Hall has Profe up but Atkie hits Hall to save Profe. Atkie has his totem in his hands and starts attacking Hall with it as the ref has called for the bell. The Caribbean Express quickly come out to fight off Atkie and make the save for Hall .The crowd cheers as Hall is back on his feet and goes outside to fight with Mulumba. Both men exchange several blows before Mulumba gets away and starts walking to the locker room. Hall gives chase and both men exchange blows once more. Atkie finally gets away and Hall returns to the ring and is declared the winner by disqualification. The video ends as Hall poses on the different turnbuckles towards the crowd. It looks like we may have a new fan favorite here in Scott Hall.

MD: Maybe I’m crazy (Esteban will tell us), but this felt like a starmaking performance for Hall. This is a guy who worked underneath a ton of great babyfaces for five years and wrestled his share of them, including Colon so recently. He was ready to push it over the top. He had the physical charisma necessary here, appealing to the crowd, selling, bounding back off the ropes with a forearm for a hope spot (that’s all it took), eating Malumba’s neckbreaker drop and his imposing choke over the rope with his tongue out, and then coming back with a huge bodyslam en route to Profe interfering and Malumba using his relic to save Profe and get dq’d. Post match, the Caribbean Express made the save, fully anointing Hall as a tecnico and Hall went right after Malumba, fully showing the crowd that he was a guy to get behind. I’d consider just giving him the win outright here, but I think they wanted to run this back and having the other tecnicos join him post-match had symbolic value. Maybe you didn’t need him in 1990 WWF with Warrior and Kerry, but I wonder now if they shouldn’t have brought him in to 91 WCW as this instead of the Diamond Studd. 

EB: Next we have the match for the Caribbean title as Leo Burke defends against Invader #1 in a boxing match.This specific rivalry stems all the way to the end of March (although the enmity between Chicky and Invader goes back even further) when Leo and Chicky won the Caribbean tag titles from the new Invaders. The two teams spent over a month feuding over the titles and it eventually transitioned into Burke challenging Invader #1 for the Caribbean singles title. Burke won the match using a boxing glove and since then has made it known he is a Canadian boxing champion, bringing (and using) the boxing gloves in his appearances. Invader #1 has finally secured his awaited chance to get back at Burke, but under the match conditions set forth by Chicky and Leo. Thus we have a ten round boxing match. Chicky and Burke believe they have Invader #1 right where they want him, but Invader #1 has Robocop and Invader #4 backing him up. 

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

Chicky Starr and Leo Burke are making their way to the ring, and quite a bit of trash and debris is being thrown at them by the fans. Hugo is making the ring intros as we cut to Invader #1’s entrance. We see Invader #1 come out with his boxing gloves on, followed by Robocop. The music playing is basically gunfire and explosion sounds with some of the Robocop music, along with some Robocop sound bites. Invader #4 is already at ringside (I’m guessing he led the tecnico procession). We hear Hugo make the announcement that also in Invader #1’s corner is none other than boxing champion Hector ‘Macho’ Camacho (I don’t know if it was announced on tv or if it was a last minute deal where Camacho was at the event and they asked him). Both combatants and their cornermen are in the ring as Camacho makes his entrance. The crowd roars at seeing Camacho, and he and Invader #1 touch hands. Camacho does some quick shadow boxing, has a brief chat with the ref, and then tries to also shake hands with Leo Burke. Leo turns his back on Camacho as Chicky dismissively waves at him to go away. Camacho does one last pose for the crowd and exits the ring as Hugo continues with the ring intros. Burke has Chicky in his corner, Invader #1 has Robocop, Camacho and Invader #4 (although only Invader #4 and Robocop are out there for the duration of the match). As the wrestlers prepare for the start of the match, Hugo asks the fans at ringside if they wouldn’t mind taking their seats. Chicky has some last minute words for Leo, while Invader #4 and Robocop seem to be going over some things in their corner. Both Burke and Invader #1 touch gloves as the bell rings, the first round has begun.

Both men feel each other out a bit to start, although it’s Burke who starts to get some punches in early on. Invader #1 starts sticking and moving a bit on Leo ,as Hugo mentions that you have to watch out for Burke as he tends to play dirty. Hugo also mentions that each round is two minutes followed by a one minute rest period. Invader throws a punch, with Burke responding with one of his own. Invader cinches up with Leo to stop the punch, and Burke takes  the opening to headbutt Invader. The ref warns Leo about doing that and Invader manages to shake the effects off before both combatants start circling each other again. Some punches are thrown before Leo grabs Invader to force him back into the corner, and again Burke takes the opening to headbutt Invader. This staggers Invader, who has to lay against the ropes to try to recover. It also looks like he’s been cut by the headbutt. Burke comes in with some punches, although Invader seems to have gotten his bearings and does some good footwork to avoid Burke’s punches. Just as the bell rings, Invader hits a drop toehold on Burke, dropping him to the mat. As both men go their corners, Burke seems to be complaining about the drop toehold, while Invader #4 is checking his brother’s face. The camera zooms in on Robocop patrolling the corner area as both cornermen tend to their fighters. 

Round two sees Invader come out quicker than Burke, with Invader circling Burke and landing some punches. Burke again decides to lock up with Invader and again throws a headbutt to break. This hit sends Invader tumbling into a sitting position on the middle turnbuckle. Burke tries to follow up but the ref stops him. The ref checks to see if Invader is good to continue and Invader is back on his feet (although looking a bit dazed). Leo comes back with some punches but Invader covers up. Invader does another quick drop toehold to take Burke off his feet. When Burke gets back up, Invader starts firing off a quick flurry of punches that sends Leo into a corner. As Invader follows in with another punch, Burke locks up to stop the attack and, for the first time in the match, breaks without a headbutt. It looks like Leo’s a bit hurt by the recent flurry, as he decides to go outside to gather himself. Chicky gives some words of advice to Leo on the outside and Hugo complains that Burke shouldn't be able to do this since it’s under boxing rules. However, as soon as Burke steps back into the ring, Invader catches Leo with another series of punches that result in Burke being knocked down. The ref sends Invader to the corner and starts his count on Burke. The crowd counts along but Burke is up before ten. Invader gives Leo no room to breathe as he starts attacking as soon as Leo is back up. Leo is backed into a  corner and locks up to stop the punches as the bell rings. Leo gets a cheap shot in after the break, with Invader responding in kind, and the ref has to break it up as the rest period starts. The cornermen again work over their fighters and the bell rings for round three. 

As both men advance towards each other, Leo spits a mouthful of water at Invader’s face. This gives Leo an opening to launch a series of blows that sends Invader into the corner. Invader is sitting down in the corner after those blows, so the ref gets Burke to go to a corner so he can administer a count on Invader, who is able to stand up before the ten count. Invader slaps his chest to signal he is good to go. Both men approach each other and start throwing punches, although Burke seems to be landing more of them at first. However, Invader shifts into another gear and starts throwing several punches, sending Burke stumbling into a corner. Invader continues with several unanswered punches as it looks like Burke may be knocked down. But once more a lock up occurs to stop the onslaught and Burke again breaks with a headbutt. As the ref chastises Chicky for his man’s tactics, Leo lands a punch on the dazed Invader that knocks him down. The ref counts as Invader starts to get back up, and you can see Robocop at ringside urging Invader to get up. Invader is back on his feet and both fighters start exchanging punches again. After a few moments, Invader is able to come back with a series of punches that knocks Burke down again. The crowd roars in approval, as trash continues to be thrown at the downed Burke. The crowd chants along to the count but Burke is saved by the bell as the count only reaches seven. Chicky has to come into the ring to help Burke back to the corner. You can also see one of the security guys trying to clear out the garbage on the mat with his weapon. Burke is so out of it that he completely misses the stool when sitting down and has to be helped back up by Chicky. Both cornermen tend to their fighters during the rest period, and if you pay attention you’ll spot Invader #4 undoing the snap on one of Invader’s boxing gloves.

Round four starts with some punches thrown (and a cup hitting Burke on the side of his head). Burke puts a stop to the punches with a knee to the midsection. Burke basically says to heck with the boxing and hits a knee rake to Invader’s face. He follows up with some stomps and kneedrops on the downed Invader. A headlock leads to Invader sending Burke into the ropes and hitting a dropkick on Leo. A clothesline follows as the crowd cheers. Invader goes after Chicky, who has jumped on the apron. As the ref goes over to get Chicky down, Chicky throws an object into the ring that Leo grabs. It looks like Leo has loaded his punch up. Burke grabs Invader and sends him into the ropes, ready to hit a loaded punch. Invader ducks the punch when he rebounds off the ropes and on the bounce back quickly takes off his boxing glove (remember, Invader #4 had unsnapped it during the last rest period). As Invader runs back toward Burke, he hits Leo right in the chest with a taped fist heart punch (if you've been following along with our walkthrough you know how dangerous Invader’s taped fist is). The ref starts his count and Burke is completely motionless on the mat. The crowd stars counting along and the count reaches ten. Invader has won the match and the Caribbean title. The crowd cheers and garbage again starts being thrown at the rudos. Both Invaders hug in celebration as Robocop does a fist pump on the outside.

MD: This was tremendous. Probably the Puerto Rico MOTY so far based on what we have footage of. Probably the best pro wrestling boxing match ever too. First, it was just an amazing spectacle pre-match. You had the trash flying for Burke and Chicky. You had Invader (unmasked) come down with the other Invader (masked), Hector Macho Camacho, and Robocop. Everyone got an introduction. It was wild.

As for the fight itself, they played it fast and loose in the best pro wrestling way. That meant that Burke got multiple advantages through cheating, first through headbutts whenever they were caught together in the ropes, but also with a water spit after a round ended, and by getting a knee up towards the end. Invader could milk a ten count and make fighting out of the corner visceral and gripping like no one in wrestling history, with Burke a top notch stooge to carry his side of things. They had a nearfall, of sorts, at the end of the second to last fall when Invader fired back and dropped Burke, only for the bell to ring mid-count. The fans hated that in the best way. And then, after Burke hit the knee and they really leaned into the pro wrestling with knee drops and a full on dropkick/clothesline comeback by Invader, they had Chicky interfere, Burke load the glove, and Invader to duck his shot off the ropes, lose his own glove, and hit the Heart Punch for the explosive win. Really great stuff. 

EB: The last of the five matches we are covering in this installment is the battle of the monsters between Abdullah the Butcher and Zeus. Abdullah’s reputation and history in Puerto Rico is well known, but it looks like the tecnicos have recruited an unstoppable monster in his own right to challenge Abdullah. How will this match go? Let’s find out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpnyOlQUF8k

The video begins with Abdullah reaching the ring area and Chicky tumbling to the floor, it seems Zeus was out first and had attacked Chicky when the the rudo manager had made his way to the ring (also, it looks like Chicky and Abdullah have made up from last year’s turn). Zeus and Abdullah start fighting at ringside as the crowd roars. Zeus starts choking Abdullah as Hugo makes the ring introductions for this ‘choque de trenes’. Zeus ‘lands’ some headbutts and gets back into the ring. Abdullah is a bit stunned but is able to recover and get into the ring. Zeus is up one the ropes working the crowd but sees Abdullah get in the ring and gets ready to face off. The ref tries to call the match to order as Hugo mentions that Abdullah typically uses his size advantage but he won't be able to here against Zeus. The crowd gets hyped and starts chanting Zeus a both men lock up. Zeus starts ‘landing’ some blows to Abdulalh’s head, followed by a choke (although it looks more like he’s trying to shake Abdullah awake). Zeus briefly picks Abdullah up in a bearhug before pushing him back into the corner and punishing Abdullah further with his signature blows and chokes. The ref tries to get Zeus to back off but is shoved away. Abdullah is sitting on the bottom turnbuckle as Zeus finally backs off. Abdullah gets back to his feet and catches Zeus with two karate thrusts to the throat that knock Zeus down. 

Abdullah moves in but Zeus catches Abdullah with some of his signature windmill overhead strikes. Zeus chokes Abdullah back onto the ropes and proceeds to throw some overhead blows that cause boos to be heard from the crowd. Abdullah counters with a throat thrust and follows up with a headbutt. Abdullah uses the opening to grab a spike from his boot and tries to hit Zeus with it, but the blow is blocked. Both men fight for control of the spike, with Zeus gaining control of it. Zeus throws some blows with the spike to Abdullah’s head. Abdullah is bleeding as Zeus drops the spike and proceeds to put Abdullah in a bearhug. Abdullah rakes the eyes to break the hold and he starts biting Zeus in the forehead. The crowd is more muted, the hype from the beginning having cooled down a bit as the match has progressed. Abdullah knocks Zeus down with several thrusts and then hits an elbowdrop for a one count. Both men slowly get back to their feet as Hugo mentions that the crowd is backing Zeus (although who knows if that is still the case after the signature offensive flurries we have seen so far). They lock up against the ropes and Abdullah sends Zeus into the ropes for a shoulder block. Both men stay standing after the impact and Zeus remains standing after Abdullah attempts another shoulder block. Zeus hits a clothesline that knocks Abdullah back into the ropes. Zeus charges in and goes for his choke, a headbutt and then sends Abdullah into the ropes for a clothesline attempt. Abdullah grabs Zeus’ arm to block the hit (not sure if Abdullah is getting tired of selling these signature moves), but Zeus does another of his signature chokes to push Abdullah back onto the ropes. A bearhug is briefly attempted, followed by another choke that Abdullah breaks up with an eye rake. A series of thrusts knocks Zeus down and Abdullah does a standing choke with one of his boots on Zeus’ throat. Abdullah follows up with a nerve hold, but Zeus eventually fights out of it. 

Abdullah attempts a charge but is flipped over by Zeus. Abdullah is down and Zeus goes for a mega combo of choking while throwing his signature overhead strikes at the same time. The ref gets Zeus to break the choke and holds him off as Abdullah gets back to his feet. Zeus charges back in but Abdullah catches Zeus with a punch to the groin. Abdullah hits a punch to the midsection and follows up with a kick right to the groin. Zeus is down and Abdullah rakes Zeus’ eyes on the bottom rope. Zeus eventually gets to his feet and both men start exchanging blows. Abdullah catches Zeus with a couple of headbutts and sends Zeus through the ropes to the outside. Zeus tries to grab Abdullah’s legs but is grabbed by Abdullah and forced back up on the apron. However, Zeus fights Abdullah off and slaps on a bearhug from the ring apron. The ref tries to get Zeus to break the hold (since he is on the apron and Abdullah is inside the ring) but Zeus shoves the ref away three times. Abdullah manages to fight Zeus off to break the hold, but Zeus succeeds in dragging Abdullah to the outside this time.  Both men fight on the outside as the ref counts. They continue fighting (including Zeus hitting Abdullah with what looked to be one of the barricades at ringside) as the ref reaches the full count. Both men have been counted out. The video ends with both men still fighting in the aisleway.

MD: There are some positive things you can say about this one. First, it made a lot of sense to bring Zeus in. He had been the focus of three big WWF PPVs in 1989 (Summerslam, Survivor Series, and then the No Holds Barred cage match). There’s something to that. Abdullah sold his stuff exactly as well as you’d expect him too, recoiling, melting away in the corner. All of Abby’s offense looked great. The throat shots, the elbow drop, headbutts, whatever he did. And, to Zeus’ credit, he sold it all pretty well. He bumped for Abby and then sold for him, especially the throat shots. And last of all, it was a very impressive visual when he lifted him up for a bear hug. Abby was so good at doing what he did that he got the crowd back once or twice even.

But man, did Zeus have the absolute worst offense ever. Big sweeping shots are fine, but they have to at least look like they connect a little. It’s Abdullah. Just hit him. These are some of the worst strikes I’ve ever seen and the match is full of them. They tease the fork but Zeus blocks it and when he tries to strike back with it, there’s no attempt to actually stab or use the pointy part; he just does his same sweeping arm-waving with the fork in his hand. It still wasn’t as bad as I was expecting though and I think if you just keep your eyes on Abby whenever Zeus is on offense and both of them whenever Abby is fighting back, there’s some real stuff to appreciate (if not exactly enjoy) here. I was glad when they stumbled outside and ended it, however.

EB: Next time on El Deporte de las Mil Emociones, we continue our review of Aniversario 1990. Four title matches await us, including Robocop making his second appearance of the night backing up the Caribbean Express ,the Rougeaus making their debut in CSP as they challenge the Super Medicos, the AWA Women’s title is on the line in Puerto Rico, and the highly anticipated ‘Reto Para la Historia’ Universal title match between Carlos Colon and TNT.