El Boricua

There's this Mineros de Carbon match from either December 88 or January 89. Enjoy!

Fuck them. Already got there money. With exhibit A being this past Wrestlemania.

Really enjoying the trip back to 1985. Look forward to following along.

I'd wager that they wanted it to be The Four Horsemen but Flair's already in. Since you can't have the double inductee, this is the closest combination you could realistically nominate that excludes Flair (which still makes it weird since you are excluding a fourth member of the Horsemen). Arn and Tully weren't a tag team for that long of a period, and the last year they were together was with Heenan instead of Dillon.

If i remember correctly, they are not eligible to be nominated because Stan Lane is already in and there can't be a double inductee.

I'm going to assume that it's because someone must have finally realized who would want to buy a book about some silver spooned rich girl's life experiences and the details of the career she has due to nepotism.

Congratulations to all of the inductees. Sad to see no traction was made in Mexico and Europe. Hopefully Morales makes it in next year.

Lesnar's 'aura' of danger and wrecking machine was not hurt by the way the match went. The way it played out is a cocky, arrogant Lesnar went in dismissing his opponent, got surprised and taken out quickly by Goldberg's best shots. If the match had been of a notably longer length with him getting dominated then you could say his aura takes a hit. But as it played out, it's much easier to frame it as Brock not taking his opponent seriously and it coming back to bite him in the ass in embarrassing fashion. Now, because he is dangerous, the intrigue is seeing how Lesnar reacts to being embarrassed.

I think the plan was Sid would go on to face Rude to unify the two World titles.

How many of those are free months given to new subscribers or lapsed subscribers as incentives for signing up/enticing them to come back? Not all of those active in a month are paying customers.

I've added a lot of context in the first post of the thread. Here is my recap of the match: A feud that has been going on for 21 months comes to a head tonight. This is one of the main events from Aniversario 87, emanating from three locations on the same night. This is the career vs. hair match with a 15 minute time limit. There must be a winner. If Invader 1 is not able to win the match in the 15 minutes, he must retire. If Invader 1 defeats Chicky Starr within the 15 minutes, Chicky loses his hair. Chicky is out first and the fans boo and throw trash at him. Invader 1 makes his entrance through the crowd and he is wearing his mask. But not just any mask, he is wearing one of the earlier masks he wore when Invader first showed up in Puerto Rico. His t-shirt says Say No to Drugs. Hugo runs down all of the stipulations for the match and introduces the combatants and referee Victor Quinonez. Invader 1 then calls Hugo over and speaks into the mic. Inv1: "Savinovich, I am going to give something to you. Here I have scissors and a shaving machine. Please hold on to this as if you were holding on to your own life." While Invader says this, Chicky starts wagging no with his finger and then proceeds to flip off Invader. Hugo leaves and Invader gets ready for the match. The commentators make comments that it looks like Chicky had his hair done for tonight and looks to preserve it. Invader is looking to avoid retiring. Just before the bell rings, Invader again calls Hugo over and asks something from him. Inv 1: "Savino, another thing that is very important. Please tell me minute by minute what the time is, because I want to be very aware. Because every minute that goes by for me, it's my family that's at stake." Hugo mentions that we're starting, the time is 15 minutes. The bell rings and the match is on. Chicky and Invader exchange chops and Invader tries to get a quick pin with a small package. Chicky kicks out and complains to the ref. He then begs off in the corner, but Invader lays into him and sends him outside from the blows. As Invader gives chase and grabs Chicky we hear... 1 minute has elapsed. Invader proceeds to slam Chicky's face into the apron a couple of times. As they get back into the ring, Padin on commentary mentions that Invader has to be careful, Chicky had basically said that he was going to do everything possible to run out the clock. Chicky tries to exit the ring but Invader manages to stop him. Invader lands some blows but Chicky manages to stun him with a kick. Instead of following up, Chicky bails again to the outside and hides under the ring. He's blatantly trying to run out the clock. Invader looks around for Chicky from the ring as we hear... 2 minutes have elapsed. Invader heads outside of the ring and looks for Chicky under the ring. Victor Quinonez also looks under the ring. Invader finds Chicky and drags him out. Invader tosses Chicky back in the ring and goes on the offensive. Chicky's knocked down after a knee to the mid section and starts begging off claiming it was low. Chicky tries to roll outside but Invader stops him as we hear... 3 minutes have elapsed. Invader snap mares Chicky over and measures him with some blows. Invader slams Chicky's face into the canvas and goes for the pin. Chicky kicks out. Chicky immediately tries to go outside but is stopped again. Backslide gets two. (As an aside, you can hear some of the fans clear as day. You hear things like "Give me a Miller" and "Tell him the time Hugo"). Chicky rakes the eye and sends Invader to the ropes. A backdrop attempt is countered with a sunset flip attempt by Invader. As Chicky struggles to not fall into the sunset flip we hear... 4 minutes have elapsed. Chicky falls but kicks out at 2. Chicky quickly starts punching Invader 1 in the face and then hits him with a blatant foul. As Invader 1 crumples to the mat, Chicky starts wiping his hands and then signals at his wrist to signal that the time is running. Chicky starts stomping Invader as the crowd starts chanting "Invader! Invader!". Chicky signals to the crowd to knock it off and continues stomping, but Invader seems to be gathering strength. Chicky switches to punches as Invader gets to his feet. Invader starts slapping his chest and we hear.... 5 minutes have elapsed. 10 minutes are left. Chicky knocks Invader down again and then picks him up to deliver more punches. Chops in the corner followed by a snapmare and Chicky puts Invader in a chinlock. The announcers speculate if it's a chokehold as Invader tries to get out of it. He breaks the hold but Chicky quickly cuts him off, sends him off the ropes and into a clothesline. Chicky goes for his first pinfall attempt but Invader kicks out at 2. Chicky launches Invader towards the ropes again as we hear... 6 minutes have elapsed. Invader ducks Chicky's clotehsline attempt and nails Chicky with a clothesline of his own. Both wrestlers are down, but Chicky rolls all the way to the floor (and takes a tumble of the raised platform the ring is on). Both men are slow to move as Chicky gets up and Invader goes outside. Chicky starts walking around the ring with Invader right behind him. Invader finally catches up to Chicky and slams his face a couple of times into the raised platform. Invader rolls Chicky into the ring and starts a Garvin Stomp as we hear... 7 minutes have elapsed. Invader finishes the Garvin stomp and Chicky begs off. Invader locks in the figure four as the crowd starts cheering. Chicky grabs the ropes quickly and Victor Quinonez tells Invader he has to break the hold. Invader refuses and Victor Quinonez has to break the hold himself. Fans start yelling for the ref to leave him in the hold. Invader finally breaks the hold and Chicky again bails outside as a fan screams "He's getting away!". Chicky can barely walk and is drooling from his mouth. The fans start chanting "Baboso! Baboso!" (Drooler! Drooler!) because of it. As Chicky continues walking around the ring with Victor Quinonez signalling that he has to get back int he ring we hear... 8 minutes have elapsed. Invader surprises Chicky and proceeds to lay some chops in. Chicky gets away and heads in the opposite direction outside of the ring. Chicky's followed by the ref, security and Invader. The ref continues signaling that he has to get back into the ring but Chicky ignores him. Chicky finds the exit aisle and makes a break for it. Invader runs after him and they are out of sight for a few moments. They reemerge with Invader dragging Chicky back towards the ring. Chicky gets tossed back in and promptly begs off. Invader starts slapping Chicky. Invader puts Chicky in a front facelock as we hear... 9 minutes have elapsed. Invader goes for a small package but Chicky gets out after the 2 count. Chicky again tries to bail outside but Invader quickly grabs him. Invader tries to go for a sleeper but Chicky falls down. He still manages to slap it on. Chicky struggles in the hold as the fans roar. The ref checks the arms but Chicky manages to leave them up. As the commentators mention that you have to give Chicky credit for withstanding the hold, Chicky manages to maneuver into a position where he delivers a foul to break the hold. Both men fall to the mat, but Invader manages to grab Chicky and push him towards the turnbuckle. Invader delivers some chops as we hear... 10 minutes have elapsed. 5 minutes remain. Invader whips Chicky into the opposite turnbuckle and charges after him. Chicky dodges and Invader rams his shoulder into the post. Chicky's exhausted and can barely stand but proceeds to go on the offensive. Chicky snapmares Invader and proceeds to hit a piledriver. Chicky goes for a cover but Invader gets out immediately. Chicky grabs Invader and starts smiling because we hear... 11 minutes have elapsed. 4 minutes remain. Chicky again goes on the offensive. Chicky stomps Invader in the corner and then proceeds to whip him across the ring. Invader jumps on the second turnbuckle and surprises Chicky with a body press. It only gets two. (A fan in the crowd yells at the ref to "Count faster you bastard. Son of a..."). Chicky goes back on the offensive.Chicky punches Invader and sends him off the ropes. Invader surprises Chicky with a small package as we hear... 12 minutes have elapsed. 3 minutes remain. Chicky again manages to kick out before three. Chicky then holds up three fingers signaling the time left. Chicky measures Invader and delivers a couple of thrusts to the throat. Chicky comes off the ropes with a forearm blow and covers Invader. Invader again quickly gets out of it, not wanting to chance being pinned. Chicky sends Invader off the ropes again and Invader surprises him with a backslide. Chicky manages to place his feet on the ropes before three. Chicky goes back on the offensive. After some chops and punches, Chicky puts Invader in a facelock as we hear... 13 minutes have elapsed. 2 minutes remain. Chicky sets up Invader for a suplex and hits it. Chicky then tries to roll outside but Invader manages to grab his foot. Chicky grabs on to the apron as Invader still has a hold of his foot. Invader grabs Chicky's trunks and yanks him back into the ring. (Some fans scream "Invader I'm rooting for you!" and "Get a move on, get a move on!"). The two tired men exchange blows as Chicky tries to go for a headlock. Invader sends Chicky into the ropes and ducks one time. However, both men knock their heads on the second bounce and go down (the fans were expecting the heart punch there). The ref starts counting both men out. As both men start coming to and getting up we hear... 14 minutes have elapsed. 1 minute remains. Invader slaps his chest and gets up. He immediately reaches into his tights and pulls out a foreign object. He proceeds to put it in his mask. 50 seconds left. Chicky lays some punches into Invader and sends him to the ropes. Invader ducks a clothesline and comes back with a headbutt that knocks Chicky out. 1-2-3 and Invader wins! A jubilant Invader hugs the ref and celebrates. Chicky must now lose his hair. The Fantastics come out to hold Chicky while Invader does the honors. He proceeds to not only cut the hair on his head, but also his mustache.

For those that have not read it, here is a story from Dory Funk Jr. about what happened that night prior to the match: http://www.dory-funk.com/heropic.html

Definitely agree that context always matters. If that is the more general point being made, you can't argue much against that. You change any of the variables surrounding a match and you don't necessarily get the same response to it. I do have one issue with what Dave is saying though. I do agree that a match rated X number of stars in the U.S. is possibly a different X number of stars rating in Tokyo. But, why is the assumption that a 4 star U.S. match would be 3 and a half in Tokyo? It could hypothetically end up rated higher since the context has changed.

If you subjectively prefer the nuances one style/setting brings over another, you'll end up with this line of thinking. It's not necessarily wrong subjectively, but this is not any sort of objective truth.

Yes, he had a previous run in 1984 where he and Brody wreaked havoc on the tecnicos. This culminated in the unlikely alliance of Calros Colon and Abdullah the Butcher teaming up to take on Hansen and Brody in a three match tag series that culminated in a supercage match. The second match was a lumberjack match and is included in the Extras.

Sorry for the delay in continuing the context tidbits, the MLB postseason has derailed my progress on those a bit (life long Cubs fan here so this has taken up a lot of my free time the past few weeks). I will continue later tonight with the rest of 1982 and the start of 1983. As for.. Going by what I have heard mentioned and from my own experiences, more than you would think initially. From before my time as an avid viewer, i know for certain that they aired Poffo's ICW on channel 4, pretty sure that WWf was available (definitely mid-80's onward with Rickin Sanchez hosting the wraparounds locally, before that very likely due to the PR connection of sorts there), and if you had cable TV, you had access to whatever wrestling was available on those stations (TBS, WWOR, USA, WGN, later on ESPN). Also airing locally was Titanes en el Ring (the Martin Karadagian fed), which is actually what hooked TNT/Savio Vega into becoming a fan. Also there were local indies that would air, among them PRALL (Puerto Rico Ases de la Lucha Libre). Not sure what else would air from that time period. Also, never forget the presence and influence of lucha libre from Mexico, the films would air here in movie theaters and TV creating interest in that style and influencing others into becoming fans (Hugo Savinovich and Jack Veneno are two examples of people that got hooked by watching luchador movies). When I committed to being a wrestling fan (which would be latter half 1990), I could watch WWC (both Saturday and Sundays), WWF Superstars and Challenge (both in English and in Spanish with Miguel Alonso and Pedro Morales as your announcers), all of the USA Network WWF shows, NWA/WCW on TBS, the WCW show they had on WGN (the ones that included the Brickhouse Bonus segments), USWA and later GWF on ESPN, and one of the local channels carried LPWA. In late 90-early 91 there was a short lived local startup on one of the channels that featured Chicky Starr and someone else at a desk presenting matches form other feds (here i saw Hennigs vs. Road Warriors, Hansen vs. Vader whee Vader got his eye socket fractured, Bunkhouse Stampede, GLOW matches and so forth). There would also be some random lucha, since i recall seeing a match with the Cocos and also an eight man tag featuring four exoticos taking on four ninja turtles. By late 91 you had AWF on channel 2. Oh, and also PPV since the late 80s.

Yeah, they would always film the important house shows during the weekends to have footage to air for the feuds and angles on the TV show. They would sometimes film stuff on Friday nights with a single camera if there was something needed for feuds, angle advancements or title changes. They would not film weekday house shows, typically only the weekend stuff unless it was a big holiday show that occurred on a weekday (like Thanksgiving, or Three Kings Day).

Who knows. I believe some of the 82-83 footage actually was sourced from America Samoa or the Philippines, so who knows if there is something out there in unexpected places. Locally it's believed that there really isn't anything left from those early 80's years (the commonly told story is that WWC had their tape library damaged by a hurricane). Now, whatever long-shots may be out there would be looking in countries where the program would air in. So places like Jamaica, Trinidad, Barbados, USVI, etc. in the Caribbean, countries in Central and South America, and even some U.S. markets. But, all of these years later and with the tropical heat and natural disasters that hit the area, who knows if there may be anything left at all.

José Rivera and José Luis Rivera aren't the same person, right ? Ah crud, you're right. I always forget that detail. I'll amend the tidbit. Thanks!

1982 Highights: The year kicks off with the traditional Three Kings Day opener. The main event is a rematch for the NWA World title between Ric Flair and Pierre Martel. The match goes to a 60-minute time limit draw. Also on the card, the Funks defend the World tag tiles against Invader 1 and Super Gladiador, Carlos Colon defends the Puerto Rico title vs. Hans Muller, Jose Rivera faces the debuting Bobby Jaggers, Tommy Gilbert brings in his son Eddie as a tag partner to challenge the Kangaroos for the North American tag titles, Gama Singh takes on Invader 2, Victor Jovica takes on new arrival The Mongolian Stomper, and Johnny Rivera faces Frank Savage. A few days later Charlie Cook makes his debut for the promotion teaming with Tommy Gilbert to face Invader 2 and the Bounty Hunter. Pierre Martel wins the Caribbean title from Hans Muller (possibly on 01/09 or 16/82). He would go on to feud with Bobby Jaggers over the title (including a Texas Bullrope match on 02/13/82), but would lose the title on 2/20/82 to Angelo Mosca. As for Bobby Jaggers, he either wins or is awarded the North American title (which had been vacant since November of 81) by 2/20/82. Invader 1 and Super Gladiador defeat the Kangaroos for the North American tag titles on 01/26/82. They would lose them to recent arrivals the Moondogs on 02/13/82. Bruno Bekkar leaves the promotion. Don Kent wrestles solo for a month or so but eventually brings in Johnny Heffernan as his new Kangaroos partner. Carlos Colon and the Mongolian Stomper start a feud that lasts over two months. Stomper would defeat Colon for the Puerto Rico title on 02/06/82 and would include a rematch on 2/13/82 with Jose Rivera as special guest ref, and a cage match on 2/20/82. The 2/27/82 house show sees La Pareja Dinamica (Colon and Rivera) take on Los Monstruos (Abdullah and Stomper). This would be one of the last times La Pareja Dinamica would team up. Also on the card, Angelo Mosca defends his recently won Caribbean title against former champ Pierre Martel, Charlie Cook challenges Bobby Jaggers for the North American title, the Gilberts challenge the Moondogs for the North American tag titles (the beginning of a feud that would last for over three months), Invader 1 face Hans muller and Super Gladiador face Don Kent. Invader 2 faces Invader 1 on 03/06/82 in Bayamon. Shortly after, Invader 2 would transition to wrestling on the other islands of the Caribbean throughout 1982 but would not wrestle in Puerto Rico. He would not return to Puerto Rico for five and a half years. Also on 03/06/82, Carlos Colon teams up with Pierre Martel to take on Abdullah the Butcher and the Mongolian Stomper. Carlos Colon regains the Puerto Rico title from the Mongolian Stomper on 03/13/82 in a streetfight. Also on that card is Abdullah the Butcher vs. Pierre Martel and Jose Rivera taking on Hugo Savinovich in a lumberjack match. Invader 1 defeats Bobby Jaggers for the North American title on 03/27/82. In a surprising move post-match, Invader 1 voluntarily removes his mask and reveals his identity to the fans. He states that the reason for doing so is he was tired of the fans not knowing that he was Puerto Rican and that he wanted to represent them with pride. From then onwards he Angelo Mosca is stripped of the Caribbean title when he leaves the promotion in mid-March. Dick Steinborn wins a tournament final over Charlie Cook to become the new champion. Cook would defeat Steinborn for the title on 4/20/82. After two and a half years as World tag champions, the Funks lose the title to the Fabulous Kangaroos (Don Kent and Johnny Heffernan) on 05/01/82. May sees Carlos Colon and Pierre Martel feud with the Fabulous Kangaroos. The Gilberts continue their feud with the Moondogs over the North American tag titles, with the titles being declared vacant on 05/08 and then being won by the Moondogs the following week. Hangman Bobby Jaggers is the Caribbean champion. The end of May sees Jose Rivera finish up for CSP. He had been a mainstay on the face side from the beginning of the promotion and had been one of the top local tecnicos throughout his tenure. According to Hugo Savinovich, the company had been booked throughout the late 70s/early 80s by the trio of Colon, Invader 1 and Rivera. He would not make an appearance again for WWC until the mid 00s. The Gilberts finally win the North American tag titles from the Moondogs on 06/05/82. Meanwhile, Carlos Colon has a short series of matches with Bobby Jaggers during the first half of June and invader 1 teams up with Pierre Martel against the Fabulous Kangaroos. The feud between Carlos Colon and Abdullah the Butcher reaches a breaking point and they wrestle each other in a cage match on 06/24/82 in Barbados and in a barbed wire loser leaves town match in Puerto Rico. Abdullah had previously ambushed Carlos during a match between Carlos and the Mongolian stomper. This attack put Carlos temporarily out of action and led to the loser leaves town match. Hugo Savinovich was to be locked in a cage to prevent him interfering. As the match approached the participants would be interviewed on the TV show. Hugo would be complaining about being caged like some type of animal. Later in the show Carlos provided his comments. However, as he was leaving the set As for the match, Carlos would win and banish Abdullah from Puerto Rico. Or so was thought. The team of Invader 1 and Pierre Martel defeat the Kangaroos for the World tag titles on 06/26/82, but lose them a month later on 07/24/82 to the Moondogs. Abdullah the Butcher defeats Antonio Inoki to become the WWC World champion in Japan (allegedly). Because of his status as World champion, Hugo Savinovich uses this as a loophole to bring back Abdullah the Butcher to Puerto Rico not even a month after he had been banished. Kareem Muhammad debuts in Puerto Rico billed as Abdullahs cousin. Carlos Colon is named the number one contender to the WWC World title and faces off against Abdullah. They have two matches where Carlos is unable to win the title due to Abdullahs tactics. This leads to EXTRA: Carlos Colon Training Video (7/24/82) Carlos Colon is at the interview desk with Rickin Sanchez. Carlos is getting ready for a World title match. He has been training with Pierre Martel to get ready. We go to a video of Carlos training. It turns out that Carlos is training for a third match with Abdullah the Butcher on Saturday July 31st (next week). Carlos asks for the fans support and says this is his last chance. Third times the charm. Hes held every title there is to hold except the World title. He wants to win the World title not just for him, but also for Puerto Rico. He promises not to let the fans down. Carlos would go on to defeat Abdullah and become the WWC World champion on 07/31/82. EXTRA: Johnny Rivera Training Video (7/24/82) Also training for a World title match on 07/3182 is Johnny Rivera. Johnny has been a mainstay on the tecnico side for the past few years, becoming a top challenge in the junior heavyweight division. Rickin Sanchez talks up Johnnys career trajectory and how hes doing things the right way. Johnny is challenging for the World Jr. title on the 31st, the champ being Les Thornton. We also get a training video where he is training with both Carlos Colon and Pierre Martel. Those neck spins he does in the video make me wince just watching them. Back at the desk and Rickin talks up Johnnys dedication and is optimistic about Johnnys chances at winning the title. Johnny mentions that he wants to thank the fans for the support they gave him last Saturday when he defeated Dick Steinborn to become the top contender and is hoping to do his best against Thornton. Rickin says that God willing well have two World champs on Saturday. Before throwing it to a studio match, Rickin asks Johnny about the battle royale scheduled for that nights house show and Johnny says that the purse money would help a lot. In case anyone wants to know what the scheduled 7/31/82 card was, here it is: WWC World Title: Carlos Colon vs. Abdullah the Butcher © NWA World Junior Title: Johnny Rivera 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 (Slater is substituting for the originally scheduled Dory Funk) vs. The Fabulous Kangaroos (Don Kent & Johnny Heffernan) North American Tag Titles: Tommy & Eddie Gilbert © vs. Los Medicos Minis: Kid Bugalu vs. Chico Santana Big Red vs. Dick Steinborn

It's related to something that happens in 1982 (which I'll try to post in the history thread tonight), but the only one of the Invaders that wrestles without the mask (at least when billed under the Invader name) is Invader 1. When teaming with another Invader, Invader 1 will almost always wear the mask to keep the uniform team look. Singles wise it's unmasked more often than not.

Depends on the video release, but he's had Bobby Jaggers, Rip Rogers, and the Battens as cohosts. The video releases are from 88 through 92, so virtually all of the English commentary is made for the video releases. As for Invader 1, he actually does wear the mask sometimes as a single. There are some singles matches on the set where he wears it as a single. When teaming up with Invader 3 he'll typically wear the mask to keep a uniform team look. When he wears it as a single, it's typically when a feud has escalated and he uses it as a psychological warfare tool. The idea is that it makes it harder for his opponent to read his emotions and face, so that it becomes harder for his opponent to anticipate what he may be planning or feeling in the heat of the match.

Glad you enjoyed the matches. Hopefully as I add some more context it'll add some more flavor to some of the ones you've watched (as well as allow you to enjoy the extras).

Glad you guys are finding these post helpful. I definitely need to give thanks to Manuel Gonzalez's write ups at Kayfabe Memories, clawmaster's available results, and Matt farmer's Puerto Rico and Caribbean wrestling history Facebook group for being a huge help as sources for putting these initial highlight summaries together. One thing about the special mask Invader 1 wore to counter the salt attack ,this actually was not something new for him. About a year or so before this, both Invaders had donned similar special masks while feuding with the team of Kimura and Sasaki. And we've actually reached our first entry on the set. Match - Abdullah the Butcher vs. Carlos Colon (September 1981) It seems fitting that the first match on the set features 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. He was brought in by rudo manager Hugo Savinovich to take on the tecnicos, in particular top dog Carlos Colon. And just like that, a legendary and lengthy feud was born. At the time of Abdullah’s initial arrival, Carlos held the Puerto Rico title and this was the focus of their early rivalry. Of course, the rivalry would develop and evolve over the next years. Here are some of the highlights prior to this match. 1978: Abdullah would debut in PR as one of Hugo Savinovich’s first clients 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 would 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 match). This match takes place in Trinidad and Abdullah appears to be defending the West Indies title in this match. We’ll continue to follow the Colon vs. Abdullah rivalry as we make our way through the set, but to take us through to the end of 1981, following this match, the feud would continue in a barbed wire match on Sept. 26, in a match where Carlos injured Abdullah's knee. Carlos would regain the Puerto Rico title in that match, but Abdullah remains the North American champion. Abdullah would then face Carlos in a stretcher match on 11/21/81. During the match, he attacked Carlos viciously, trying to injure his eye. This caused Carlos' brother Jose colon to come in to help his brother. Abdullah would attack Jose and this attack on a civilian would lead to him being stripped of the North American title. They then face off in a super libre match at the year end show. On to 1982.

1981 Highlights: Carlos Colon faces NWA World champion Harley Race on Three Kings Day. The match sees Colon lock Race in the figure four, but Dutch Mantel interferes to save race from losing the title. This would lead to Colon and Dutch continuing their feud. The Three Kings card also sees the debut of Buck Robley and Los Pastores in a battle royale. Killer Karl Krupp makes his way to the promotion and is built up over the first couple of months. He eventually defeats Pierre Martel for the North American title on 03/14/81. Carlos Colon and Invader 1 defeat Dutch Mantel and Danny Condrey (Wayne Farris) for the North American tag titles on 01/19/81. The match is a rare tv match title change. In their first title defense, Dutch ends up laying out Colon and puts him temporarily on the shelf. Pierre Martel would team up with Invader 1 to avenge Carlos against Dutch and Condrey. In a stunning upset, Maravilla defeats Danny Condrey for the Caribbean title on 02/09/81. The other half of the Castillo brothers, Maravilla had returned at the beginning of the year and was basically a jobber before the unexpected title win. Los Medicos join the promotion in February. This version of the team is Jose Estrada (Medico 1) and Johnny Rodz (Medico 2). Medico 2 quickly captures gold by defeating Maravilla for the Caribbean title on 03/07/81, but would lose it to recent arrival Tommy Gilbert two weeks later. Carlos Colon comes back from being taken out by Dutch Mantel, but he and invader 1 lose the North American tag titles to Los Pastores on 02/28/81. Los Pastores would go on to face a variety of tag teams over the next two months, including the Briscos in their first title defense. Ciclon Negro returns to Puerto Rico and teams up with Invader 1 against Los Pastores. Abdullah the Butcher has a feud with Mighty Igor. The fued revolved around a test of strength over who could break a chain. Igor (managed by Miguel Perez) broke the chain, Abdullah (managed by Hugo Savinovich) couldn’t break it and attacked Igor with the chain. In a heel vs. heel match-up, Los Medicos defeat Los Pastores for the North American tag titles on 04/04/81. This would actually lead to a feud between the two heel teams. Andre the Giant makes appearances for CSP the weekend of April 11, including a battle royale win. The NWA World title rematch from Three Kings Day is held on 04/18/81. Carlos Colon takes on Harley Race in a match where any wrestler that interfered would be suspended by the NWA. Also on the card, the Funks defend the World tag titles against Mil Mascaras and Jerry Brisco, Les Thornton defends the World Junior title against Dick Steinborn, Killer Karl Krupp defends the North American title against Invader 1 in a lumberjack match, Los Medicos defend the North American titles against Pierre and Rick Martel, Tommy Gilbert defends the Caribbean title vs. Luke Williams, and in a special appearance Jack Veneno regains the Dominican Republic title against rival Relampago Hernandez. In a match where two titles are on the line, both the North American and Puerto Rico titles are held up after a match between Killer Karl Krupp and Carlos Colon on 05/02/81. Colon wins the following week’s rematch and becomes a double title holder. Kim Song defeats Tommy Gilbert for the Caribbean title on 05/16/81, only to lose it to Jack Brisco two weeks later. Brisco would remain Caribbean champion almost to year’s end. Dick Steinborn has another series of matches with Carlos Colon. The feud between Los Medicos and Los Pastores escalates, as now their managers are wrestling each other (Hugo Savinovich for Los Pastores and El Cirujano for Los Medicos). Los Medicos take out Butch and ‘cousin’ Johnny Miller (Johnthan Boyd) takes his place on the team. Los Pastores would remain as Luke and Johnny for the rest of the team’s stint in 1981. Los Pastores would eventually regain the North American tag titles from Los Medicos. Black Gordman debuts for the promotion and would remain a semi regular heel presence for the next four years. His first feud is with Pierre Martel. During a tag match against Los Pastores, Ciclon Negro turns on tag partner Jose Luis Rivera. This leads to a feud between them which will include a boxing match between them. Carlos Colon comes to the aid of Jose Luis Rivera during a Ciclon Negro attack and starts a feud with Ciclon Negro. The feud would culminate in Colon winning a hair match vs. Ciclon. Another one of the Martel brothers, Daniel, makes his return to the island and teams up with Pierre. They earn a World tag title shot vs. the Funks by defeating Los Pastores. On that same 7/25/81 card where the Martels faced Los Pastores, Jack Brisco wrestles Terry Funk in a Caribbean title match. Jose Luis Rivera starts a feud with Kim Song which includes a Judo jacket match. Black Gordman lays out Invader 1, who has to be carried out on a stretcher. A feud begins thew two of them, including Invader refusing to wrestle unless he is granted a taped fist match against Gordman. The Briscos defeat Los Pastores for the North American tag titles on 08/08/81. They would hold the titles for two and half months and their reign includes a match against Pierre Martel and Invader 1 on 9/19/81 (Pierre and Invader had defeated Gordman and Ciclon for the right to challenge for the titles). Abdullah the Butcher defeats Carlos Colon for the Puerto Rican and North American titles on 08/10-11/81. After losing his hair, Ciclon Negro starts wearing a mask. A feud would begin with Pierre Martel when Pierre tried to yank of Ciclon’s mask during a match. The feud would eventually lead to a hair vs. mask match won by Pierre. September sees Tully Blanchard make a few appearances wrestling Mike Graham. Also during the month Jose Luis Rivera feuds with Mr. Pogo. Fall sees the return of Invader 2 and the Kangaroos (this time comprised of Don Kent and Bruno Bekkar), as well as the CSP debuts of Mr. Pogo and Sweet Daddy Davis. Hugo Savinovich states that for Carlos Colon to get his desired rematch with Abdullah, he must get past Mr. Pogo first. Colon does so and get his rematch with Abdullah where he regains the Puerto Rican title in a barbed wire match on 9/26/81. Abdullah remains the North American champion. Invader 1 and 2 pick up their feud once more during October. They meet in several matches including a cage match. Invader 2 gets a new manager named the Bounty Hunter. Super Gladiador makes his debut. He would eventually form a tag team with Invader 1. The 10/24/81 card sees Carlos Colon defeat Harley Race in a no DQ match to earn the right to challenge the NWA World champion. This card also has the aforementioned Invader 1 vs. Invader 2 cage match, Pierre Martel vs. Dick Steinborn, Jose Luis Rivera vs. Ciclon Negro in a match where they wear boxing gloves, and Super Gladiador vs. Mr. Pogo. Also on 10/24/81, The Kangaroos win the North American tag titles from the Briscos. They would begin a rivalry with Invader 1 and Super Gladiador over the titles. La Pareja Milagrosa (Invader and Gladiador) would win the titles on 11/23/81, but would lose them back to the Kangaroos in an Australian coal miners match on 12/06/81. The Kangaroos would also face the team of Jose Luis Rivera and Tommy Gilbert. Les Thornton, who has made appearances throughout the year defending the World junior title, loses the title to Joe Lightfoot for a week in November before regaining it right back. On 11/21/81, Carlos colon faces Abdullah the Butcher in a stretcher match for the North American title. During the match, Abdullah attacked Carlos viciously and hurting his right eye. The attack was so severe that it resulted in Jose Colon coming to his brother's aid. Abdullah would also attack Jose. This attack on a civilian would cause Abdullah to be stripped of the North American title. Invader 2 gets into legal trouble when during a card celebrated during the first weekend of December he hits a minor in the crowd during a match. He gets into further trouble when he hits a newspaper photographer as he was being led to be arraigned. CSP closes out its year on 12/20/81. The card sees Ric Flair defend the NWA World title against Pierre Martel, Carlos Colon taking on Abdullah the Butcher in a super libre match, Invader 1 and Super Gladiador defeat the Kangaroos in a barbed wire match to determine who would challenge the Funks for the World tag titles on Three Kings Day, Les Thornton defend the World junior title against Jerry Brisco, and a special appearance by Pedro Morales against Mr. Pogo. Supposedly, Jack Brisco loses the Caribbean title to Hans Muller on this card as well.