Oh man, this thread brings back some memories for me. As the user name suggests, I'm Puerto Rican and grew up watching WWC on the weekends. Some of these matches I remember vividly, some I probably saw but can't recall too well, some I remember hearing about and then there's the stuff I've never seen before. As a frame of reference, I really started watching full-time around 90-91, with the late 80's being a somewhat hazy area of hearing about some wrestlers but not really watching. I'll start watching some of the links this weekend and chime in with opinions and (where possible) some background info I can recall. If anyone needs a translation or summary of any spanish commentary or promos in the videos, let me know and I'll see if I can help.
Looking over the thread, one thing that caught my attention (well, one of several) was Dylan's review of the Leo Burke vs. Invader 1 taped fist match. Specifically, the comments about the dynamic of Burke avoiding Invader's taped fist punches. There's actually some context to why Leo Burke would be avoiding those punches like if they were the plague. Invader's finisher is the Heart Punch. Back when Invader debuted in the late 70's, he would wrestle with his fists taped up more often than not (maybe all the time but this was before I was born). Anyway, what happened was the unfortuante incident in 1978 when Michel Martel passed away about half an hour after wrestling on that night's card. His opponent that night had been the Invader, who won the match via heart punch. This being wrestling, they used the unfortunate real life circumstance as part of a wrestling angle.
What happened was that the wrestling commision ruled that the heart punch was a dangerous move and was being banned. Now, I'm not sure it it was just the taped fist version or the actual move that was banned, but a ban did occur. This also ignited a feud between Pierre Martel and brothers Daniel and Rick against Invader, which ended when Pierre turned face after admitting that Invader was not responsible for his brother's death. Although the heart punch was being used by the Invader again, the taped fist was no longer used regularly. Instead, throughout the years, it's only been busted out when an Invader feud has escalated. Because of the previous angle, the taped fist heart punch in Puerto Rico has been set up as a very serious and even deadly maneuver. Heck, the heart punch itself was treated as serious if given more than once in the same match. I remember a TV studio match between Invader and King Kong where Invader hit him once with the heart punch, which staggered Kong but did not knock him down. Invader then proceeded to jump off the second turnbuckle with another one, which knocked Kong down and allowed Invader to get the pin. However, Kong stayed down, and a trainer came out and gave him chest compressions to revive him. That's how serious the heart punch has been put over in the PR wrestling context.
Anyway, every so often when a feud has escalated, sometimes a match would be made as a taped fist match (particularly if Invader is involved). In many cases though, the match itself is not a taped fist match, but a stipulation would be that the Invader would have his fist taped ("con el puno vendado'). This was one way to indicate to the fan base that this has just become that much more serious if the Invader was willing to bust out the taped fist.
So that would be the reason for Burke to stay away from Invader's taped fists, because in the context of PR wrestling logic/psychology, those fists are likely to be deadly. When you watch Invader matches, keep a lookout to see if his fist is taped. That's an indication that that feud's been escalated and is probably at or near the blowoff.
