Hercules Ayala vs. Carlos Colon (Barbed Wire Match) (9/20/87)

[El Boricua]

Hercules Ayala vs. Carlos Colon (Barbed Wire Match) (9/20/87)

[elliott]

The last match between these two was so gruesome I’m nervous about this one. This is billed as figure 4 vs figure 4 and that’s the only way to win. Cool stip in a barbed wire match actually. This starts off with Ayala accidentally bumping into the wire and Carlos pushing him into it. Great stuff. Awesome way of getting over the danger of the wire without diving right in. Colon is the first to taste the barbed wire face first after Ayala takes control with a lowblow. Ayala immediately goes for the figure 4 but Colon is able to block it and gets in his own lowblow. Colon takes over stomping on Ayala and forcing him between the ropes and barbed wire and kicking Ayala into the wire. Pretty brutal as blood starts to stream down Ayala’s back and arm. Colon keeps after Ayala with punches and headbutts. Colon goes for a figure 4 but Colon kicks him off. He shoves Colon back into the wire face first holding him down. Gross. Ayala continues to beat down with punches, chops, and clotheslines forcing Colon into the wire again and again. Cool that all the figure 4 attempts are what lead to counters, hope spots and transitions. Carlos gets caught in between the ropes and barbed wire and he’s just taking it full bore on the back and its brutal. He makes a comeback from between the ropes and wire which rocks. Crowd goes nuts when he finally gets free and goes insane on Ayala. The pop when he hits the cartwheel is fucking CRAZY. Ayala manages to fend him off and get his own figure 4 on though and it’s a super hot segment. Finally Carlos gets his figure 4 on and Ayala can’t take it. He’s crawling to the ropes and finally reaches them but its anything goes so the ropes don’t matter. Ayala is literally grabbing the barbed wire trying to pull himself towards the ropes on instinct to get free. Finally he has to give up. AWESOME finish. I liked this a lot more than I expected. Surprisingly good stuff.

[AJS]

This isn't quite as gory as their last match, but it's no trip to Disneyland either. both men take some severe punishment here. The final moment with Ayala in the figure four grabbing the ropes and screaming was fantastic.

 

I've got to mention the standard Colon come back with the cartwheel and punches etc. It's superbly done and perfectly timed. It's pretty much the same every match with no change up but it never gets boring. He always manages to make it exciting and the crowd is always into it 100 percent.

[KB8]

This has a cool stip within the stip where the only way to win is by making the opponent submit to the figure four. Ayala was pretty fun again, especially in how he'd react to the barbed wire. It's his first time being in a barbed wire match, and right away you can tell he isn't at all comfortable being there. He backs into the ropes or the corner the way he would in any other match, but these ropes are covered in barbed wire. His reactions to this were pretty amusing, almost in a comedy bumping/stooging sort of way. We got lots of gruesome, nasty close-ups of barbed wire being dug into foreheads in this, but because everything was mic'd so much better we also got to hear the screams. It was pretty gnarly. There was one bit where Colon was using his feet to shove Ayala into the wire and it didn't take long for the cameraman to zoom in on the blood trickling down Ayala's back. I liked the finish a lot as well, with Colon playing Ayala's brass knucks game and locking in the figure four while Ayala futilely grabs the wire/ropes.

[AstroBoy]

This is a good barbed wire match hurt slightly by how awesome their Texas Death Match that preceded this was.

 

They do a good job playing up the danger of the wire and the story of the hulking Ayala who is afraid of the ropes and doesn't know how to cope with it vs. Colon who is a veteran in this setting. Helps even the playing field and they do a good job progressively integrating the wire as this descends into a back and forth battle.

 

There's a moment where Ayala breaks out of the figure four and stands up only to fall down in a hilariously goofy sell of the leg. A few moments later Colon does the same concept only a million times better. The finish with Ayala trapped in the ropes is cool and a satisfying revenge finish for Colon.

 

Postmatch wrestlers are helping a child into the ring, trying to wedge him in through the barbed wire ropes. I found that funny.

[dawho5]

Ayala's comedy/discomfort stuff early was gold. I love playing up not being comfortable with barbed wire AND stooging at the same time. I also liked Ayala going for the cover after the knucks shot and getting pissed that he couldn't win the match that way. Good way of putting over the mistake in demanding that stip. The pop for Colon's cartwheel was MONSTER even for Puerto Rico. Great finish.