El Boricua

Any type of contest: Arm wrestling, pose down, test of strength, dance off, etc. Somebody's getting blindsided during that.

I second KrisZ on Cannonball Run II. How many other movies have their theme song sung by Menudo? That seals it right there.

Didn't the first of these air during Survivor Series with Bret delivering the try lacing my boots line?

As mentioned previously, Invader 1 was set to take on Abdullah the Butcher on March 1. For this encounter, Carlos Colon would serve as the special referee. Also on that card, Ron Starr faced Al Perez and Chicky Starr challenged (unsuccesfuly) Invader 3 for the Junior heavywieght title. Invader 1 vs. Abdullah the Butcher with Special referee Carlos Colon - Mar. 1, 1986 Carlos is the ref and Chicky is at ringside as Abdullah's manager. Carlos tries to check Abdullah for foreign objects but is met with some resistance. Carlos eventually checks him and finds a foreign obkect in his tights. Invader makes his entrance and the match is on. Invader quickly pounces on Abdullah and, shockingly, hits a quick heart punch. Abdullah falls, but is near the ropes and barely grabs them to break the pinfall. From there, Abdullah goes into survival mode as Invader just has his way with him (to the crowd's delight). Every now and then Chicky tries to get close, but Carlos cuts him off. Invader hits a suplex Abdullah. Abdullah eventually manages to strike Invader in the throat. As Carlos checks on Invader, Chicky passes a foreign object to Abdullah. When Carlos goes towards Abdullah, he is attacked with a fork. Abdullah proceeds to attack both Carlos and Invader. Before Abdullah can do too much damage, the RPMs and Invader 3 arrive and fight off Abdullah. Chicky and Abdullah leave as the tecnicos check Carlos and Invader 1. The ringside doctor enters the ring and also checks them. Eventually, they all head back to the locker room. From there, Chicky would start feuding with Invader 3 over the Junior heavywieght title. He would also team up with Ron Starr to face the Invaders in tag matches. Chicky would defeat Invader 3 for the Junior Heavyweight title on March 4. The next day, March 5, the Starr Cousins would win the North American tag titles from the Invaders. Invader 3 would regain the Junior Heavyweight title on March 19. While the Starrs feuded with the Invaders, Carlos was busy with Abdullah. I'm now sure that the Carlos Colon vs. Abdullah match I posted earlier is from around this time. This would all lead to a rematch between them on April 5. Starting from the 1:10 mark, we see the end of a match between Carlos and Abdullah. This match had two referees assigned (this is why I believe the previous match is the set up to this one). One of them has been taken out, so the second referee has taken over. As Carlos starts to put the figure four on Abdullah, Ron Starr tries to interfere. The referee stops him. While the referee is busy with Ron Starr, Abdullah takes control of the match. Invader 1 appears and climbs the turnnbuckle. He surprises Abdullah with a top rope heart punch. Carlos then covers the fallen Abdullah and gets the win. After this match, two things occurred. The first is Chicky Starr would once again win the Junior heavywieght title from Invader 3 on April 12 The second is that the Starrs and Invaders would have a match on April 19 that would result in the North American tag titles being held up. Also, during this time period, the six men would face off in different encounters. Eventually, a six man tag between Abdullah and the Starr Cousins and Carlos and the Invaders was signed for April 26. Carlos Colón and The Invaders vs. Abdullah The Butcher and Chicky Starr & Ron Starr - April 26, 1986 The teams are introduced and they immediately start fighting. Hector Moyano comments that the tecnicos are looking to avenge all of the interference the rudos have done in the individual matches they have had. Eliud Gonzalez puts over these six men as the top wrestlers in Puerto Rico. Moyano comments that they all want Chicky to eat his words. ("He called Carlos a negro, Invader 3 a dwarf and Invader 1 a pig.") This is a heated six man tag with Invader 3 being the face in peril for a stretch. Jumping ahead to the end of the match, all six men are fighting in the ring, As the Starrs and Invaders spill to the outside. Carlos is able to surprise Abdullah with a clothesline for the pin. Post match, Abdullah throws something into Carlos' face as the Starr Cousins and the Invaders keep fighting on the outside. (Moyano: "It smells like it had alcohol".) Carlos starts violently convulsing while covering his face. As the Invaders and the doctor help Carlos to the back, the announcers speculate that it was ammonia that was thrown in his face (they apparently could smell it). They also express worry and hope that Carlos has not suffered a serious injury. Unfortunately, the ammonia thrown into Carlos' face got into his eyes and blinded him. As a result, the Universal title was declared vacant on April 30. It appeared that Carlos Colon's career was over at the hands of Abdullah the Butcher.

After the Jan. 6 match, Chicky and Invader locked up again on Jan. 16. This time, Invader was ready and furiously went after Chicky. Chicky would get busted open and proceed to run off with Invader giving chase. Another match between the two men was made for Feb. 8 and, to ensure that Chicky would not run off, it would be a steel cage match. At one point, Chicky tried to climb out of the cage, but Invader stopped him and they exchanged blows straddilng the top of the cage. Eventually, they are tussling in the ring and Invader hits his heart punch when... Ending of Invader 1 vs. Chicky Starr Cage Match - Feb. 8, 1986 Invader 1 had Chicky on the ropes after hitting the heart punch. Pissed off over what had previously happened, Invader picked up Chicky and set him up for another heart punch when an uninvited guest entered the cage. Invader 1 tries to cut off Jos LeDuc, but he quickly overwhelms Inavder and puts the boots to him. Meanwhile, Chicky is still somewhat out of it, trying to gather himself on the ropes. Invader 3 comes out to aid his partner and goes after LeDuc. Both Invaders double team LeDuc as Chicky is still recovering from the heart punch. Now Abdullah the Butcher comes out to help Jos LeDuc. (As an aside, I couldn't help chuckling at Abdullah squeezing in through the cage door.) Hugo on commentary is screaming "What is going on here!?!". As Abdullah grabs Invader 1, Carlos Colon sprints in dressed in slacks, a dress shirt and a powder blue sports coat. Carlos takes off the coat before getting into the ring and goes after Abdullah. Chicky has finally gotten up and all six men are paired up and fighting. As Hugo cheers on the tecnicos on commentary, the French Hangman appears to help out the rudos. He is carrying a chain which he uses to lock the cage door with. The rudos then proceed to destroy the tecnicos. (Hugo: What the hell is this Padin!) Abdullah has his trusted fork with him and takes turns stabbing the tecnicos with it. At this point, Miguelito Perez, the Rock N Roll RPMs and Super Medico come in to try to help their fellow tecnicos. However, the cage door is locked and the French Hangman runs interference to foil their attempts of climbing in. Eventually, the tecnicos get two of the ring crew members to start working on disconnecting one of the cage walls. The rudos continue attacking Carlos and the Invaders. Finally, the cage wall is pried loose and the tecnicos rush in. However, the rudos had already exited out of the cage door and headed for higher ground. As the rudos celebrate outside of the ring, the tecnicos attend to Carlos and the Invaders. Eventually all three are carried out to receive medical attention. Before proceeding to March of 1986, a couple of quick notes. Chicky and Invader 1 would face off again on Feb. 22 in a chain match, considered one of their more brutal matches. Carlos would get his revenge on Jos LeDuc in a barbed wire match. Also, on that same show, Invader was scheduled to face Kamala, but Abdullah attacked him prior to the match and busted him open. Against doctor's orders, Invader wrestled Kamala anyway. After these attacks by Abdullah, Invader would face off against Abdullah on March 1. By this time, Chicky had become Abdullah's manager. Finally, a new wrestler would show up in Puerto Rico and align himself with Chicky Starr. Someone Chicky claimed was his cousin. A wrestler by the name of Ron Starr. And it would not be long before the Starr Cousins would make an impression.

It was the last TV taping of 1985. Chicky Starr had challenged his mentor Invader 1 to a match because Chicky felt Invader was blocking him from getting competition. Invader 1, never one to back down from a challenge, reluctantly accepted. It was supposed to be a technical match between a teacher and his student. Highlights of Invader 1 vs. Chicky encounter 12/22/85 + interviews For now, only watch until the 4:00 minute mark, if you watch ahead it will spoil some details that come much later. The video starts near the end of the match. Invader and Chicky are trading hammerlocks to show who was the superior wrestler. After a few reversals, Invader charges towards the ropes and and drops down. The momentum of this move slings Chicky to the outside. We have a quick cut to Invader holding the ropes open for Chicky to get in. As Chicky gets in, he promptly foul kicks Invader. Chicky then goes outside, shoves Joaquin Padin off his announcer's chair and takes that chair into the ring. (Padin: Friends, what's going on here? I've been shoved down too and he's taken my chair.) Chicky smacks Invader right on the head with the chair, knocking Invader down and busting his head open. As the ref checks Invader, Chicky starts slapping his chest and jumping around in the ring. The ref disqualifies Chicky. Chicky leaves the ring happy with himself. Meanwhile, Invader 1 is lying in the ring completely busted open and bleeding as the ref comes to his assistance. Invader would be carried to the locker room and require a lot of stitches for the cut on his forehead. As a result, a rematch was signed for the year opening Three Kings Day show on Jan. 6, 1986. At the 1:19 mark, we jump to an interview with Invader 1 two weeks after the attack by Chicky. Inv1 (in a subdued tone): You know, it has been two weeks since Chicky gave me that chair shot across the head, and I still have not been able to understand why you did that to me. So much sweat that I spilled with you at the gym, teaching you, and for you to pay me back in that manner now, I can't understand that. You are a very intelligent young man, I don't know why you have done this. I don't know what's happened to you, if you got a blow to the head, I don't really know. I have not been able to even sleep peacefully at night thinking about what you have done to me. Because,... I'm not able to understand that all of the sacrifice I did with you, the help that... I gave you, that you've paid me back like this. So Chicky Starr..., every time you look in the mirror you're going to see me, you'll see my face. Because that chair shot you gave me, what you have done to me, the way you repaid me, you don't do that to anyone. I cannot understand, and I repeat again, I cannot understand this that you have done to me. But Chicky Starr, let me tell you something, everything that is done is paid for. And I believe you have made a mistake. And again I'll repeat myself, maybe you will think it over and you will realize, and I hope that's how it will be, that you wil realize the mistake that you have made. At 2:48 we go to Hugo inteviewing Chicky about the whole situation. HS (at 2:48): The Judas, the traitor, Chicky Starr vs. Invader 1. We have conducted a small survey, Mr. Chicky Starr, and the public is disgusted with what you have done. The names that can be said on TV of what they have been calling you, among them are Judas, they also call you the traitor. CS (at 3:02): Well, first of all, I'm interested very little, but very little, in what the public says. Because I make my living in wrestling, that's what they pay me for and I climb into the ring to destroy my opponent. That they call me Judas, a traitor, I don't know. They should call Invader 1 that, since he is the one who betrayed me. But that's not what is important, what is important is that tomorrow in Aguadilla, Invader prepare yourself. And you may be looking at this (points at golf club), but I'm not planning on hitting you over the head with it, because you don't even have any brains left. (Looks at Hugo) You who are a friend of his, you better watch him, because one of these days that man is going to bend over and stay there eating grass because he no longer has any brains. That man is an animal. In every good sense of the word, you are a beast. So Invader 1, get ready. And if you think you are going to defeat me in Aguadilla tomorrow, I'm sorry for you, because you are already old. And this young man right here, who has class and is in another category, is going to teach you what professional wrestling is about. Heading into the Three Kings Day match, Invader had expressed hope that Chicky would realize the mistake he had made. That night, Chicky appeared with a new golden blonde hair color, signalling his new change of attitude. Invader 1 came out and grabbed a microphone. As they both stood at ringside, Invader gave a speech, trying to reason with Chicky and telling him to reconsider and put all that had happened behind them. That it was not too late to patch things up. Chicky grabbed the microphone: “Invader, I only have one thing to say to you”, and proceeded to blindside Invader with the microphone across the existing cut, busting Invader open again. As Invader was laid out at ringside, Chicky climbed into the ring. Chicky Starr v. Invader I - 1/6/86 The match video starts after Chicky had smacked Invader with the microphone. Chicky's celebrating in the ring and then goes out to attack Invader. (Hugo: Chicky Starr is saying that he is number one). Chicky slams Invader into the announcer's table and furiously shouts in English to the fans. (Hugo: He's dyed his hair, now he's speaking in English). As Invader tries to gather himself, Hugo exclaims "Chicky Starr has stopped being a tecnico in order to become an animal. A powerful animal, a different animal." Chicky gets some more shots in on Invader as Hugo continues mentioning how Chicky's changed and the crowd doesn't recognize him now. (Hugo: He's dyed his hair blonde and is speaking English. He apparently doesn't want anything to do with latinos.) Chicky continues the punishment and slams Invader into the ringpost. The crowd starts chanting 'Hijo de puta' (Son of a bitch) at Chicky. Invader continues receiving blows from Chicky, but eventually makes it into the ring. Chicky dominates the match for several minutes as Invader is still trying to recover from the earlier assault. Hugo on commentary puts over the savage beating Invader is taking and talks about how Chicky has surprised him. (Hugo: He was a gentleman, humble, honest, kind. A stylistic tecnico. He's turned into a human beast.) This match has been all Chicky and Invader's cut has been opened up more. Eventually, Invader is able to get one blow on Chicky coming off the ropes, but Chicky quickly rakes the eyes and tosses him over the top rope to the floor. The ring and ringside are covered by a noticeable amount of trash that had been thrown at Chicky throughout the match. As Chicky goes to attack Invader outside, Hugo says this has been a massacre by Chicky. As Chicky waits in the ring for the count, Invader starts psyching himself up as the crowd cheers him on. Invader gets back in the ring, withstands some of Chicky's blows and chops him down. Invader is still too dazed to follow up quickly, but he manages to start exchanging blows with Chicky. Invader finally gets the upper hand, but before Invader can really get going Chicky bails and gets counted out. Invader is too dazed to go after Chicky. As the ref tries to raise Invader's hand, Invader yanks it away. Hugo on commentary mentions that Invader does not want the win that way, that he has been hurt and humiliated by Chicky tonight. (Hugo: Chicky Starr has gotten away with it tonight.) Invader would not give Chicky any more second chances or benefit of the doubt. One of the biggest wrestling feuds in Puerto Rico had only just begun.

Going by memory, I think you could still consider Vince the guy in the right when the Tyson / Austin face off occurred (the one where Vince goes bonkers screaming "You ruined it!"). It was after Wrestlemania 14 where Vince really started going overboard.

I'll second Flair in 88.

Another one was Sid's punctured lung in 89. Also Rick Rude at the end of 92. On the WWF side there was also Harley Race in 88. But most of the mentioned injuries really didn't affect things as much as the ones to Magnum and Sting.

First impression response would be that NWA/WCW was more unlucky with the timing and WWF having better and logical back ups to turn to. Let's look at the injuries during the time frame. WWF: Paul Orndorff worked through his injury and caused permanent nerve damage to his arm. Dynamite Kid was out for a while, but was substituted for in the title matches for a spell. Makes an appearance to drop the titles and then comes back a bit too soon. Jake Roberts has a neck injury from Honky's guitar shot but works through it. Between his drug and legal problems still gets some time off during the next two years. Rick Martel in 1990 was taken out of SummerSlam but was still able to appear on TV to start his feud with Jake. The angle itself helped since Jake was out of commission due to the attack and Martel could heal up. Randy Savage was injured when he started his feud with Warrior but they were able to work through it with him doing interviews and run in attacks. Sid gets injured and they have Savage step in to replace him on the house shows against Jake. The focus of the feud was related to Savage anyway. Flair is injured and quickly drops the belt to Bret. NWA/WCW: Magnum has his car wreck. Dusty turns Nikita in a bit of inspired booking, but they really didn't have a back-up. In fairness, kind of tough to have some back-up to your rising star/future ace. Sting's injury in 90 was again a case of not having a credible back-up since they had basically dumped all other viable top of the card options (Funk retired, Muta was cut off at Starrcade, Steamboat had left some months earlier, Flair had just become the top heel again). I'm kind of drawing a blank about what other notable injuries NWA/WCW had around that time. What injuries did you have in mind when making the random note?

I happened to be looking at Jack Veneno's Spanish Wikipedia page and here are some interesting items from the article: - His nickname was "El campeon de la bolita del mundo" (The champion of the small ball of the world). - Got his wrestling name from a book he read titled Jack el Veneno. - His famed hold was called La Polemica (a sleeperhold). - Became interested in wrestling from the movies El Santo did. From there he would go to the shows a local promoter did with Mexican wrestlers. - Made his professional debut in 1969. - To not worry his mother he wore a mask initially but was found out eventually. The mother accepted that this is what he wanted to do. - Made appearances for WWC in Puerto Rico in the 70's, held the North American tag titles with Jose Rivera on one occasion. - Beat Jhon Richard for his first world title. - His arch rival was Relampago Hernandez. - In the 70's his fiercest rivals were Los Hermanos Muerte, specifically Muerte 1. - Apparently faced off against wrestlers such as Adrian Street, Killer Khan, El Monje Loco (from Guatemala), Nick Bockwinkel, Taras Bulba (article states this one is from Ecuador). - His most bitter match was against Mexican Buddy Montes, who suffered a heart attack while wrestling Veneno and died in the hospital. - Dominicana de Espectaculos was run by Arcadio Brito (wrestled as Vampiro Cao). - Had a three match series with Ric Flair in 1982. - First match was Jan. 7 of 1982. Flair and Veneno wrestled for 16 minutes. Veneno had Flair in his sleeperhold when Relampago Hernandez interfered and caused a DQ. Sabud, a tecnico, came to Veneno's aid. Also on the card were Carlos Colon vs. Relampago Hernandez and Victor Jovica & Sabud vs. Kimba & Cruz Diablo. - A rematch occurred months later, the time limit ran out as Veneno had Flair in the sleeperhold again. - Apparently defeated Tommy Rich on a card in Puerto Rico to become the top contender to the World title again. - The third match occurs on August 29. Flair was accompanied for this match by Roddy Piper. The match ended when Veneno countered a Flair suplex attempt with a roll up and got the three (this is different from the match clip posted earlier, the clip could be from a different match or this recap may be wrong). Other matches on that card included Victor Jovica vs. Roddy Piper and El Caballero Negro vs. Relampago Hernandez. - Mentions the reasons for Veneno not being recognized as champion as being either Flair calling the audible to avoid discontent from the public or Veneno refusing to defend the title around the world and having to return it. - Veneno became a cultural icon after the Flair series and the show "Luchja Libre Internacional" exploded in popularity. - There was a section on the show where Veneno and the announcers would hand out to kids different popular products of the time, such as sausages, shoeshine kits and malts. - Besides his famed rivalry with Relamapgo Hernandez, Veneno also had a rivalry with Hugo Savinovich. Hugo and Relampago formed a tag team called Los Desalmados (you could translate it as the Heartless Ones). - Hugo defeated Veneno twice and won Veneno's Dominican championship. This rivalry included cage matches and barbed wire matches. Hugo first wrestled in the Dominican in 1976 and started his feud with Veneno in 1981. - Hugo wrestles as the masked El Hoimbre Simio (The Ape Man) in 1981 and lost his mask against the masked Puño de Hierro (Iron Fist). Hugo would attack Veneno that night with a piece of wood during the latter's lumberjack match against the Bounty Hunter and that's how their feud started. - Other rivals for Veneno included Puño de Hierro (when Hierro turned rudo), El Galeno, Astroman, Sweet Daddy Davis, The Animal, Jason The Terrible, Hiroshi Hatanaka, Señor Lanza (from Argentina), among others. - Veneno was tag champs with Puño de Hierro, El Caballero Negro, and Maravilla among others. - Arcadio Brito passes away in the late 80's and Veneno assumes control of Dominicana de Espectaculos. The company's direction takes a different turn. - During 1990, a rival fed is formed called the Dominican Wrestling Federation. It was comprised from the beginning by some of the best wrestlers from Dominicana de Espectaculos, such as Relámpago Hernández, Los Hermanos Broncos (Bronco #1 being the main figure), Johnny Gómez, Kimba, El Galeno, among others. - The DWF started beating Dominicana de Espectaculos in the ratings and Veneno started losing popularity. The DWF was bringing in wrestlers from Puerto Rico such as Colón, El Invader #1, Huracán Castillo Jr. and Hugo Savinovich. They held talent exchanges with WWC (this is how Bronco 1 vcame to Puerto Rico). - The DWF lasted two years before ceasing activity. It is rumored Veneno had something to do with that fed's disappearance. - Dominicana de Espectaculos would chang eit's name to "Raff Sanzz Promotions", the abbreviated real name of Jack Veneno (it is Rafael Sanchez). The company folded in 1995. - A lot of people feel the company went under because Veneno mismanaged it and would only push himself and not give younger talent their chance. - After retirement, Veneno got into politics. Overall some interesting tidbits.

When you mention Titanes, is that Titanes en el Ring from Argentina? La Momia! For those that don't know about Titanes, here's a video showing of the wrestlers they had: A few months ago a Guatemalan talk show did a special show on the history of lucha libre in Guatemala. Here's the link to the show if anyone is interested: Apparently the current state of wrestling in Guatemala can be described as alive but not doing so well. The person interviewed at the beginning, Perseo, is part of a blog dedicated to the history of wrestling in Guatemala: http://luchalibreguatemala.wordpress.com/ They have pictures, profiles, blurbs and some videos on there. Here is a direct link to their about page, with a summary of Guatemalan wrestling history: http://luchalibreguatemala.wordpress.com/about/

I don't know how amenable the TV station would be to such an overture, but it doesn't help that I'm a country away and a foreigner. One would have a better shot with a connected or knowledgeable native.

I'm a little over an hour in, but I completely agree with the Arn Anderson comments. The way he carried himself in the ring and on interviews just commanded one's respect even if you didn't like him.

Capitol Sports would run Trinidad and the Virgin Islands. In Trinidad they had local guys like Ray Apollo and Thunderbolt Williams. In the Virgin Islands the top star was Victor Jovica. They would also sometimes have shows in Haiti. Some of the Capitol Sports talent would work in the Dominican, but this was a separate promotion. It was Dominicana de Espectaculos (an NWA affiliate). The top names there were Jack Veneno, Relampago Hernandez, Astroman, the Broncos and others. Unfortunately, I'm not too familiar with wrestling in the Caribbean outside of Puerto Rico (outside of the top names that would sometimes appear in Puerto Rico). I do know that the wrestling was shown on the station Color Vision in the Dominican. They would be the ones to have footage. I did find a video on Youtube with some pics of some notable matches from the Dominican. There's also a Facebook page that talks about Dominican wrestling. https://es-es.facebook.com/luchalibrerepublicadominicana There's also a clip from a certain famous match. According to some commenters, it was apparently for the DWE belt (with Flair challenging), not the NWA title. Similar to what Carlos Colon did in PR.

Team ICON is similar to the top heel trio from 1994 in WWC. Just switch out Travis for Eddie Gilbert and keep Dutch and Doomsday (albeit unmasked). It was an awesome group.

One detail I like about the Colon-Abdullah vs. Hansen-Brody matches is the logical progression of the match stipulations. Match one it gets out of control and both teams are counted out. Fine, just surround the ring with wrestlers to keep them in check. That fails, so they decide to put them in a cage. It's not just any cage though. They bust out a super cage, one that has really high walls (I've heard anywhere from 15 to 20 feet) to keep them in check. I'm not sure who was booking at that time. According to an interview with Mike Davis, the booker in 85 was Luke Williams (when the Sheepherders had their run). When they left at the beginning of 86, Invader got the book. Still, that doesn't clear up who was the booker in 84. I'm glad you guys are enjoying these write ups. There's still two years to get to La Gran Guerra, but it's key to know the journey of Chicky Starr. After all, the rudos for that match are Chicky Starr's Sports Club.

We'll get back to Carlos and Abdullah soon. For now, we'll look at the start of one of the key feuds in La Gran Guerra. Let’s go back again to 1985. A wrestler by the name of Chicky Starr returned to WWC in the summer of 1985 after having been gone for around a year wrestling in the U.S for Southwest. He had previously been in WWC from 82-83 after wrestling on the independent circuit in PR and for Stampede in Canada. He had wrestled as part of a tag team know as Los Hermanos Peron (The Peron Brothers). He would adopt the name Chicky Starr and, along with his tag partner, moved to WWC. There he wrestled mainly singles. His partner, Angelo Rivera, would also make a go of it as a singles wrestler, but would find great success later when he assumed the masked identity of El Profe. Here is a match involving Chicky from 1982 when he was initially in WWC (Note: I’m using WWC as the name but the promotion was actually Capitol Sports Promotions up until the early 90’s). Chicky Starr vs. Terry Gibbs And here is a match from his stint in Southwest. Bob Sweetan and Chicky Starr vs The Snake and Randy Haskins He would eventually return to WWC in the latter half of 1985. Here is a match featuring Chicky after his return in 1985. Chicky Starr vs. Yucan Joe The commentators (Hugo, Joaquin Padin and Hercules Ayala) talk about Chicky's quickness and how well he's coming along. Hercules notes that he has a lot of heart. Padin states that you've got to support Chicky. As the match progresses, the announcers note that Chicky has to use his quickness against Yucan Joe's power advantage. They also take the opportunity to send get well wishes to Miguelito Perez who was on the shelf due to an attack by the Sheepherders (we'll get to this eventually). The announcers keep rooting for Chicky. Eventually, Chicky goes to the top (Hugo: He's never been up there before.) and hits a body press for the win. Shortly after Chicky returned, Invader 1 went to him and made him an offer. Invader 1 felt that Chicky had great potential and wanted to help the younger wrestler by offering his advice, training and mentorship. Chicky accepted the Invader’s offer and Invader 1 took him under his wing. However, as time went by, Chicky started getting angsty about the level of competition he was facing and wanted more challenging opponents. He started expressing that he felt as if someone were purposefully keeping the competition away from him. Eventually, Chicky revealed that he had found out that Invader 1 was purposefully holding back the top competition away from him. Chicky claimed that it was due to fear and jealousy on the part of Invader 1 of how far he had come. Chicky demanded a match with Invader 1. Invader 1 was taken by surprise by Chicky's challenge and stated that Chicky was mistaken about his allegations. Why would he be blocking him from having competition when he wants him to succeed? Still, Invader was never one to back down from a challenge and accepted Chicky's challenge to a match. The match took place on December 22, 1985. It was expected to be a teacher vs. student match. It didn't turn out that way. Instead, one of the greatest wrestling rivalries in Puerto Rico history would be born.

As mentioned previously, Abdullah the Butcher had been the scourge of Carlos Colon's existence for over six years. But in 1984, two new wrestlers entered WWC and left a wake of destruction. These men were Bruiser Brody and Stan Hansen. Each of them was a handful individually, but together they were nightmare for El Ejercito de la Justicia. Brody and Hansen would injure a few of the wrestlers and that includes Carlos. Supposedly one of the Hansen vs. Colon matches ended when the ringside doctor jumped into the ring and covered Colon's body to stop the carnage.The doctor then proceeded to stitch Carlos up right there. Faced with this unstoppable duo, Carlos did the unthinkable. He went to the one man who could stand toe to toe with Hansen and Brody in terms of violence and destruction. Carlos turned to Abdullah the Butcher, his blood enemy and rival. The angle that set up the team up is the intro in the following link. Carlos Colon/Abdullah the Butcher vs. Bruiser Brody/Stan Hansen - Lumberjack Match Fall 84 The prevailing story for the initial team up was could Abdullah be trusted. Carlos had faced both men in singles and tag matches that year with no luck in driving them out of WWC and resorted to going to Abdullah for help. To say this was a surprising development to the local fans would be an understatement. The two teams faced each other three times: A regular tag match that ended in a double DQ (at Aniversario 84), a lumberjack match that did not work in containing the two teams in the ring (see the link just above this paragraph) and finally a cage match contested in a 15 foot high ‘supercage’. Carlos won the supercage match for his team by escaping the cage, but this left Abdullah alone in the ring with Hansen and Brody and he took quite a beating from them. Carlos eventually was able to get back in and make the save, but Abdullah was not happy at all and attacked him. Sometime later, Carlos tried to smooth things over with Abdullah and it appeared to have worked. We move forward a year to 1985. Carlos had spent a good deal of 1985 feuding with Dory Funk Jr. over the Universal title. Dory defeated Carlos for the title on Feb. 27 in a rare instance of the Universal title being defended (and lost!) outside of Puerto Rico. Carlos and Dory would battle in singles matches and tag matches and the title would be held up after a match on May 18. The feud was so heated that even Dory’s wife got involved. Carlos Colón & Fabulous Moolah vs. Dory & Marti Funk The mixed tag match was a couple of weeks before the reamtch for the held up Universal title. Carlos would eventually regain the Universal title from Dory on June 15 in a ‘supercage’ match. Still, that didn’t stop them from facing each other in other matches afterwards. One of these matches saw Carlos team up once again with Abdullah. Now, Abdullah was no stranger to Dory, they had faced off previously in PR. Abdullah The Butcher vs. Dory Funk Jr. So on July 9, a tag match pitting Carlos and Abdullah vs. Dory and Ric Flair took place. For now. only watch up to the 1:10 mark in the following video. Ric Flair & Dory Funk Jr. vs. Carlos Colón & Abdullah The Butcher (highlights) As Carlos tried to tag out, Abdullah kept refusing the tag. Eventually, Abdullah would storm off and leave Carlos by himself. The fall out of this betrayal led to Aniversario 85, where Carlos and Abdullah squared off for the Universal title. Carlos Colón vs. Abdullah the Butcher - 9/21/85 Abdullah is accompanied by JJ Dillon. The announcers note that Commissioner Castillo is at ringside for this match. After some technical difficulties with the entrance music, Carlos Colon enters to We Are The World. Skipping to the end, the referee takes a fall to the outside and is knocked out. A second referee comes in as Carlos and Abdullah start fighting outside of the ring. The new referee counts both men out. As Carlos and Abdullah fight off in the crowd, Commissioner Castillo decides to declare the match a no contest and hold up the title because of the original referee being incapacitated during the match. With the Universal title held up, a rematch was signed for Oct. 19. The card was dubbed ‘La Batalla de Gladiadores’ (The Battle of the Gladiators). Carlos regained the belt that night and would close out the year facing off against Hercules Hernandez and teaming up with other wrestlers to take on the Sheepherders (we’ll get to them soon). Still, Abdullah would not go away. Carlos would end up facing Abdullah on the Three King’s Day card to open 1986. I think that the following match may be from that date. Abdullah The Butcher vs. Carlos Colón -1/6/86 (?) The date on the link is incorrect since this match is for the Universal title and (for reasons we'll get into shortly) that's not possible because the title was vacant in July. This is the usual brawling affair between these two. The match ends with some confusion, as Abdullah gets the pin but the decision is overturned by the original referee. Even though Carlos retained the title that day, it would not be that long before they crossed paths yet again. In fact, it would be a month later. This time though, it wasn’t just Carlos and Abdullah who would be involved.

I was asked about what led to La Gran Guerra. This was the result of the issues between El Ejercito de la Justicia and Chicky Starr’s Sports Club coming to a head. To tell the story of this match, it would be best to go over the history and feuds between the wrestlers involved. Two feuds are of vital importance, but I'll start with a different rivalry first. This rivalry is the best known one and, while not one of the main feuds at the time of the match, the history between them always adds to any match when they are on opposite sides of the ring. I'm referring to the eternal rivals Carlos Colon and Abdullah the Butcher. Carlos and Abdullah actually first encountered each other in Canada in the early 70's. The feud would really kick into gear when Abdullah made his first incursion into Puerto Rico in the latter half of 1978. All Abdullah had to do was attack Carlos and a feud was born. At the time, Carlos held the Puerto Rico title and this was the focus of their initial rivalry. Of course, the rivalry would develop and evolve over the next six years. Here are some of the highlights of those six years. 1978: Abdullah would debut in PR and attack Carlos to set up a feud. Abdullah would go on to win the PR title from Carlos on 11/18/78 and hold it for over eight months. Abdullah would not lose the title to Carlos, he woud lose it to Pampero Firpo on 7/31/79 (both men were heels). 1979: Faced each other on June 2nd. Would wrestle against each other on Nov. 7 and 24, leading up to a No DQ match on Dec. 15. On 12/15/79, Abdullah would defeat Carlos again for the PR title (Carlos had won it from Firpo on 9/22/79). 1980: The year starts off with a series of matches over the PR title. The title is held up on Jan. 5 when the match (a barbed wire match) is a no contest. Carlos wins the rematch (a streetfight) on Jan. 12. They would have matches against each other on Feb. 23 and Mar. 8 (this one supposedly a cage match). Would face off again later that year on Sept. 27. They wrestled at the year end show to determine who got a shot at the NWA World title at the first show of 1981. Carlos won that match. 1981: Carlos defeats Killer Karl Krupp for the held up North American title on May 9. Carlos now holds both the North American and Puerto Rico titles. Carlos and Abdullah face each other on June 13, which would lead to a match on Aug. 10 that saw Abdullah win the Puerto Rico and North American titles (I've also seen Aug.11 in Trinidad listed as the date of the NA title switch). This would culminate in a barbed wire match on Sept. 26, in a match where Carlos injured Abdullah's knee. Carlos regains the Puerto Rico title, but Abdullah remains the North American champion. Here's a match from Trinidad from around that time period (likely Aug/Sept of 81). Abdullah The Butcher v. Carlos Colon - 1981 Abdullah would would face Carlos in Novemeber in a stretcher match. During the match, he attacked Carlos viciously (hurting his right eye) which resulted in Jose Colon to come to his brother's aid. Abdullah would also attack Jose. This would cause Abdullah to be stripped of the North American title on Nov. 21 for attacking Carlos Colon's brother. This would lead to them wrestling again to close out the year, this time in a super libre match. 1982: Abdullah made a surprise attack on Carlos Colón when Colón was wrestling the Mongolian Stomper, injuring Carlos, This leads to Carlos wrestling Abdullah in a barbed wire loser leaves town match around June of 82, a match that Carlos wins. Thanks to a loophole found by Abdullah's manager Hugo Savinovich, Abdullah returns in July. However, he shows up billed as the WWC World champion. It is claimed later that he defeated Antonio Inoki for it on 6/20/82. Here is a TV match from when he made his return. Abdullah The Butcher vs. Big Red (1982) The video starts off with the card for that night's show: World Title: Carlos Colon vs. Abdullah the Butcher © World Junior Title: Johnny Rivera (the future Invader 3) vs. Les Thornton © World Tag Titles in a 'super libre' match: Invader 1 & Pierre Martel © vs. The Moondogs Gorilla Monsoon vs. Kareem Mohammed Bunkhouse Match: Terry Funk & Dick Slater vs. The Fabulous Kangaroos (Don Kent & Johnny Heffernan) North American Tag Titles: Tommy & Eddie Gilbert © vs. Los Medicos Carlos would go on to defeat him for the World title on July 24. He would vacate the Puerto Rico title due to the World title victory (he had lost and regained the PR title from the Mongolian Stomper earlier in 82). Abdullah would bounce back by winning the Caribbean title from Charlie Cook on Aug. 14. He would hold it for almost five years. 1983: Abdullah would attack one of Invader's brothers. Carlos, tired of Abdullah's abuses against other wrestlers, challenged Abdullah. Here is a video. Carlos interrupts Abdullah's scheduled match vs. Keith Larson Carlos jumps in the ring and is challenging Abdullah, saying that if he wants to fight anyone it will be him. Apparently Abdullah had attacked Invader's brother and Carlos was out to stop Abdullah from doing the same thing to Keith Larson. Hugo and Abdullah blow Carlos off and leave. Carlos says that if Abdullah comes out to fight, it will have to be with him. He's not leaving until Abdullah shows his face. He's willing to put the World title on the line. Carlos continues arguing with the ref that he wants to wrestle Abdullah right now. At around 3:15, some people in the crowd start chanting/singing "Abdullah tiene miedo, miedo, miedo" (Abdullah is afraid, afraid, afraid). Eventually Rickin Sanchez (the show host/producer) comes out and convinces Carlos to leave. This would eventually lead to a match between Carlos and Abdullah in a cage where Hugo would be in a separate cage 15 feet above the ring. Hugo interview and Abdullah The Butcher attacks Carlos Colón during Interview Abdullah The Butcher attacks Carlos Colon The two videos feature the same attack, with the second one being in better video quality. This is the lead up to the previously mentioned cage match. Hugo is complaining about having to be caged like some wild animal and promises that Abdullah will win. Later in the show, after Carlos had done his interview, Abdullah surprised attacked Carlos. Of course, Carlos and Abdullah would bring their feud to the mainland and wrestled on the Starrcade 83 card. And as can be seen in the magazine phoos posted earlier, they would also face off in PR near year's end on Dec. 4. Here's a final video of a clip of a match between them from either 83 or 84. Going into 1984, it had been six years of a bloody rivalry between Carlos and Abdullah. However, events in 1984 would lead to an unexpected twist to this rivalry.

Between the lack of dates and lack of available 90's footage it's absolutely understandtable that there's not that much presence. My comment was not meant to be any sort of negative criticism (and I don't believe you took it that way), just a comment on the reality of PR footage for these types of projects. I look forward to more of the fantastic work you guys do with both the projects and the shows.

Great show guys. Mad USA is classic. Looking forward to future shows. And Dylan, I completely agree with your WWC/Memphis/FMW thoughts. Onita did work a bit in PR, so there is definite influence there. I know there's not much PR stuff in the yearbooks, but I'm looking forward to the eventual show that tackles the subject (particularly the viewpoints and impressions from 'outsiders' who did not watch it on first run).

Agree with Parv, the hierarchy is a really good topic for discussion. It should be made into a separate thread so it doesn't bog down the Martel analysis. As a quick comment with intent on a deeper dive later. Wrestlemania III Top Faces - Hogan, Piper, Steamboat, Jake The Snake, JYD Top Heels - Andre, Savage, Adonis, Honky Tonk, Harley Agree with the faces. On the heel side, I think at this point HTM is bubbling under but is not there yet. In a month and half yes, at this point not yet. In terms of just heat, Danny Davis. Actual active guy, Orndorff was coming off the Hogan feud but was taking time off. Hercules might be an interesting choice, I'd put him ahead of HTM at that moment. Wrestlemania IV Top Faces - Hogan, Savage, Jake The Snake, Warrior, Steamboat Top Heels - Andre, DiBiase, Rude, Honky Tonk On the face side I'd argue Duggan ahead of Warrior and Steamboat at this point in time. Beefcake could also be argued for. One Man Gang could round out the heels, but I'd need to think a bit more if there are any other heel candidates. Wrestlemania V Top Faces - Hogan, Warrior, Jake The Snake, Beefcake, Top Heels - Savage, Rude, Andre, DiBiase, Perfect On the face side Demolition, if you need a singles it's likely Duggan again. On the heel side, too early for Perfect. It should be the Twin Towers, more specifically Bossman. Wrestlemania VI Top Faces - Hogan, Warrior, Jake The Snake, Piper, Beefcake/Bossman? Top Heels - Rude, DiBiase, Earthquake, Perfect, Savage/Bad News/Martel? The face side looks right to me, Bossman had recently turned so might rank behind Beefcake. On the heel side, at this point, I'd put Rude, Dibiase, Perfect and Savage as definites. Earthquake was still being built up a bit more but could fit in as number five (I'm not sure of that though). Wrestlemania VII Top Faces - Hogan, Warrior, Jake The Snake, Bossman Top Heels - Slaughter, Savage, Martel, Perfect, DiBiase/Taker? Heat wise Virgil could fit but I wouldn't put him in the top five. I'm leaning towards Duggan (when in doubt go with the Hacksaw?). On the heel side I agree, except I'd drop Taker. Still too new and being built up.

Not that I'm aware of. I think Flair's only appearance in PR that year was at Aniversario in September. That was also the year of the Carlos ammonia angle and Universal title tournament, so Carlos was otherwise occupied to be able to wrestle Flair for most of 1986 . They did go to an hour draw sometime in 82-83 (likely 83).