The Single File #11
Posted: 05/08/01
A few things before we begin:
Okay, on with the show…
Our match today comes from the AAA/IWC: When World Collide pay-per-view (1). This show is very fondly remembered by a lot of folks, since (a) it was their first exposure to Lucha Libre, and (b) it kicks ass. Here's the card:
Mascarita Sagrada/Octagoncito vs. Espectrito/Jerrito Estrada (Minis Match)
Fuerza Gurrera/Psicosis/Louie Spicoli (2) vs. Rey Misterio, Jr./Heavy Metal/Latin Lover
Chris Benoit/2 Cold Scorpio/Tito Santana vs. La Parka/Blue Panther/Jerry Estrada
Octagon/El Hijo Del Santo vs. Eddie Guerrero/Art Barr (Double Hair vs. Double Mask)
Perro Aguayo vs. Konnan (Steel Cage Match)
Can't complain about a card that features Rey, Psicosis, Benoit, Scorpio, La Parka, and Eddie on the card. In fact, the whole show is very good all the way through (well, actually the main event's pretty stinky-but Perro bleeds a gusher and you get to see Eddie go after a fan).
But what's really cool about the show is that it was sponsored by WCW, so you could order it on PPV and see it live as it occurred. Plus, Mike Tenay and Chris Cruise handled the English announcing chores, and both did a solid job getting over the storylines and subtle nuances of Lucha. It's a good way to expose yourself to Lucha, since some of the wrestlers should be familiar and everything's in English.
We'll be looking at the forth match on the card, which sees El Hijo Del Santo and Octagon take on The Los Gringos Locos team of Eddie Guerrero and "Love Machine" Art Barr.
El Hijo Del Santo/Ocatgon vs. "Love Machine" Art Barr/Eddie Guerrero (Double masks vs. Double
Hair, 2/3 falls elimination match):
When: November 6, 1994
Where: The Los Angeles Sports Arena
Backstory: If you watched WCW in the early 90's (and God help you if you did), you may remember a character named the Juicer. You Juicer was, as you may have guessed, based on the movie character "Beetlejuice." He wore ragged clothes and white makeup and hung around with Trucker Norm. The whole thing was really dumb, and was dropped pretty quickly due to legal problems on the Juicer's part. The tragedy of the whole thing is that the Juicer was actually Art Barr, a phenomenally talented wrestler who could play an awesome heel. In fact, he and Eddie Guerrero (who you all know and love) inspired unmatched hate in Mexico by playing the ugly Americans. They won the AAA World Tag Titles from El Hijo Del Santo and Octagon on 7/23/94 under dubious circumstances (namely the Gringos paying off the ref). So finally, enough was enough and the Technicos (3) put up their masks against the Gringos' hair.
Why aren't the belts on the line? Well, losing your mask or hair is the ultimate humiliation in Mexico. Not only that, anyone who's taken Spanish knows that "El Hijo Del Santo" translates into "The Son of the Saint." El Hijo is the son of the original Santo, and it's not a stretch to say that Santo was the most popular wrestler in Mexico's history. Besides being a huge draw in the ring, he made 44 films and had a comic book that sold a million copies a week! And Santo never lost his mask (he was even buried in it), so his son losing his mask would be some heavy shit. Now, with all that said, let's get to the match.
The Match: The champs (seconded by Gringos Locos cohort Louie Spicoli) come out first to incite the crowd while Tenay and Cruise lay some backstory on us. Barr and Guerrero have the stylish American flag pants. Eddie's mullet is in full effect as well. Santo and Octagon (seconded by Blue Panther) come out next to huge cheers. Santo has his usual gray outfit. Octagon dresses like the Great Sasuke (or vice versa, I suppose). We find out in the match that Octagon took his name from a Chuck Norris film (which is lame), and is actually a lawyer when not in the ring (which is awesome).
Fans chant "Mexico," which cause the Gringos to take a powder up the aisle. Barr does "The Swim" to piss off the fans (4). Back in the ring it's Eddie and Santo to start. They tie up, and Santo hit a quick armdrag. They tie up again, and go through an impossible-to-call mat sequence that sees Eddie on top with a cover for a 2 count. Eddie locks on a front chancery, but Santo responds by hitting a sorta release Northern Lights Suplex. Eddie manages to recover and apply a wristlock, which is reversed by Santo, which Eddie reverses by flipping out and tripping Santo. Eddie feigns going for a cover, snapmares Santo over, and applies a headlock. Santo manages to get his feet, leaps up, and manages to snapmare Eddie out of the ring! Eddie complains to the ref of a hairpull while Santo tags in Octagon. Eddie decided to tag in Barr. Barr offers a handshake to Octagon, which no one is buying. It's a moot point, as Barr kicks Octagon in the gut and clamps on a headlocks. Octagon shoves Barr into the ropes, drops down, sidesteps him, and hits a nice hiptoss. Barr gets to his feet and Octagon hits a bizarre jumping armdrag. He tries another, but Barr dodges, and Octagon crashes to the mat. Barr has a good laugh and tries a running senton, but alas, misses. Octagon clamps on a headlock, but Barr shoves him to the corner. Barr charges after him, but Octagon slings over him, ducks a clothesline, and hits a dropkick. Sadly, he gets blindsided by Eddie and crashes outside the ring. Santo tries to come in, but Eddie cuts him off and hits a T-Bone suplex. Barr picks Santo up on his shoulders and Eddie heads to the top. Eddie goes for a jumping 'rana, but can't rotate all the way and he ends up SPIKING Santo's head into the mat. Good lord, that was one of the nastier head bumps I've ever seen. It earns Eddie the pin, of course (3:38). Octagon comes in and gets a kick in the gut from Eddie. He puts Octagon on the top rope, and hits a superplex. Barr comes off another turnbuckles and hits the A-1 BEST Frog Splash ever. Octagon's dead meat, Barr gets the three (4:04), and it's Rudos 1, Technicos 0.
"That's made in America," says Barr as he lays the verbal smackdown on the downed Octagon. Eddy does the swim as we see a replay. Blue Panther comes in to help his downed compatriot.
The second fall starts much like the first as Eddie pearl harbors Santo with a double axe handle. Eddie picks up Santo and hits a fallaway slam, then floats over into a cover for a two count. Eddie follows up with a big delayed vertical suplex for another 2 count. Santo then manages to roll to his corner to tag in Octagon. Eddie gets on his knees to offer Octagon a handshake, and of course pokes him in the eye. Eddie drags Octagon over to the Gringos' corner and tags in Barr. The Love Machine comes in with some slaps and hits a gorgeous standing dropkick. Barr picks up Octagon and hits another gorgeous dropkick, followed by some jumping jacks. Barr slams Octagon and Eddie comes in off with apron with his patented slingshot somersault senton. Santo has had enough at this point, and he comes in and goes after Eddie Santo nails Guerrero with some chops, and then whips him into the ropes and hits a back bodydrop. A Santo kneelift sends Eddie to the outside. Now Santo and Ocatagon double irish whip Barr into the ropes, and Santo drops down and Octagon nails Barr with a clothesline as he jumps over Santo. Santo heads to the top rope and drops a nasty looking elbow on Barr. Eddie comes back in the ring and whips Santo into the ropes, but Santo counters with a flying headscissors. Eddie gets up and gets popped by Octagon.
Octagon and Santo try to whip the Gringos into each other, but they flub the spot as Barr reverses the whip on Santo, Eddie bumps into Santo and then grazes Barr with a clothesline (I think Santo was supposed to duck and Eddie was to hit Barr head on). It's no big deal, as the technicos quickly hit two dropkicks that send the rudos to the outside. But they're not safe, oh no, as Santo and Octagon hit a perfectly times pair of tope suicidas. Blue Panther jumps for joy as the crowd goes nuts. Santo and Eddie get into the ring, and Santo counters a back bodydrop with a sunset flip for 2. Eddie tries a victory roll but gets dropped face first by Santo. Santo goes up top but gets nailed by Eddie. Guerrero climbs up and hits a top rope 'rana that gets a shocking 3 count on Santo (3:47)! The crowd is stunned as the rudos gloat. Now it's up to Octagon to not only save the masks, but also defend the whole Santo legacy.
Octagon gets back in the ring but gets walloped by Los Gringos. They whip him into the ropes and hit a big double clothesline. They pick up Octagon and whip him into the ropes again and try a back bodydrop, but Octagon turns it into a double face buster. Octagon charges at Barr, who catapults him over his head. But Octagon lands on Eddie's shoulders and 'ranas him over into a pinning position and a three count (4:46)! Barr, who was gloating to the crowd, turns around and sees his partner has just been eliminated. He takes a swing at Octagon, who ducks and nails a Russian leg sweep I one fluid motion. Octagon holds on after the hold and applies a funky submission where he has one of Barr's legs grapevined and uses the other leg to bend Barr's head forward. At any rate, Barr gives it up (4:55), the Arena goes nuts, and we tied at one fall apiece.
We get some replays before the third fall. Eddie and Art talk strategy on the apron and mention something about Prop 187, which is some anti-immigration law in California. How that pertains to the match, Cruise and Tenay never say. Eddie and Santo start out, and Eddie kicks Santo in the gut and goes for a powerbomb, but Santo turns it into a 'rana. Barr breaks up the pinfall attempt. Eddie slaps on a camel clutch, but Octagon casually walks into the ring and nails Eddie with a kick in the face. Now Santo slaps on a camel clutch, but this time Barr slowly gets in the ring and nails Santo with a STIFF kick to the back of the head. I guess Barr's the legal man as he scoops up Santo for slam, but Santo turns it into a small package that gets broken up by Eddie. Now Barr applies an STF on Santo, and Octagon again casually enters the ring and this time kicks a field goal on Barr's ribs. Octagon lays in some more kicks, which Barr sell like a king. The technicos send Bart into the ropes and hit a double elbowsmash. Santo picks up Barr and hits a suplex, but Eddie comes into the ring and nails Santo with a kick before he can go for a cover. Santo rolls out of the ring and Octagon comes in and lays in some more kicks on Barr, followed by a headbutt that hurts them both. Octagon slaps on an armbar, but Eddie comes in and pokes Octagon in the eye. Eddie tries to slap on the Gory special, but Santo breaks it up and hits Eddie with a kneelift. Eddie fights back and bodyslams Santo. Eddie heads up top (apparently for a moonsault), but Santo climbs up right behind him and ends up giving Eddie a super Electric Chair drop! Santo goes for a cover, but it gets broken up by Barr, who then knocks Santo to the outside. Octagon comes him, but he gets met with a dropkick that knocks him outside as well. The Gringos try stereo tope suicidas, but Eddie flubs his (I think, the camera doesn't really catch it). Everyone recovers on the outside, then Santo and Eddie get back in the ring. Eddie places Santo up top and tries a superplex, but Santo blocks it and drops Eddie face first onto the mat. Santo then comes off the top with a two-handed facebuster. But Eddie pops right back up and knocks Santo into the ropes. Eddie charges, but gets backdropped and lands on the apron. Santo quickly turns around and kicks Eddie in the gut, knocking him to the floor. Santo then slingshots himself outside and gives Eddie a sunset flip on the floor! While the ref is tied up with Eddie and Santo outside the ring, Barr and Octagon go at inside the ring. Octagon misses a dropkick, allowing Barr to hit the illegal tombstone piledriver that kills Octagon DEAD (4). D-E-A-D. DEAD DEAD DEAD. Barr gets the pin (5:19), because Octagon is DEAD.
Now it's up to Santo. Eddie dumps Santo in the ring and the Gringos slap him around a little. Eddie puts a waistlock on Santo, and the Gringos do the clothesline-German suplex double team. It gets 2. Eddie puts Santo up top as AAA promoter Antonio Pena checks on the unconscious Octagon and signals for medical help. Eddie and Art hit the Superplex-Frog Splash finisher on Santo, but he kicks out at 2! We also see Octagon getting placed on a stretcher. Eddie puts a full nelson on Santo, and Barr tries another clothesline, but Santo ducks and Eddie gets knocked to the outside! Santo hits a dropkick on Barr then goes up top and hits a dive to the floor on Eddie! Now the ref again tries to get Santo and Eddie back in the ring, as Barr heads up top. But Blue Panther (Barr's hated rival) sneaks in the ring and knocks Barr off the top. He follows up with a regular piledriver that knocks Barr silly. Santo manages to crawl in the ring and cover for the three count and a monstrous pop (7:57).
Eddie comes in to check on his partner, and Santo rolls him up for 2! Eddie comes back with a sit-out powerbomb for 2. He puts Santo up top and hits a belly-to-belly superplex for 2. Eddie puts Santo up top again, and hits a top rope 'rana for another 2 count. Eddie applies a full nelson and hits a Dragon suplex for another 2 count as Barr wakes up and says "We're am I?" Eddie tries another Dragon suplex, but Santo blocks it and rolls forward into a victory roll for 3 (10:23-19:22 total)!!!!
"The masks are saved," yells Cruise. The crowd goes nuts as we see Octagon get carted away and put in an ambulance as the announcers ponder whether or not his career is over. Santo holds up a Mexican flag in celebration. Barr finally starts cutting Eddie's hair and does a real hack job. Eddie reciprocates the favor. We end with both gringos making the walk of shame back down the aisle as the crowd celebrates.
This match is fantastic, with some stellar workrate, plus one of the cooler stories you'll ever see in a match. Embezzle money to see this show if you have to.
Fallout: In case you're wondering what ever happened to Barr, he passed away in a sleep 17 days later. The general consensus seems to be a mixture of painkillers and alcohol was the cause of death. This was Art's last match. He and Eddy were scheduled to work in ECW, but only Eddy made the trip. Eddy was a huge success in ECW, and soon was signed on by WCW and later the WWF, where he wrestles today.
Santo still wrestles in Mexico. I know Octagon wrestled a few matches in the WWF when they had the working agreement with AAA, but I don't know what he's up to these days.
This match rules, but it's also a little sad. You can't help but wonder what Barr (and Louie Spicoli, who also has since passed on) could have ultimately accomplished in ECW, WCW, or the WWF. Check out the match and see what might have been.
That's all for now. I'll be back next week with a Judgment Day Preview-if I can tear myself away from "Foley Is Good." Take care 'til then.
Joe Gagne
bwo@telegram.infi.net
Endnotes:
(1) AAA = Asistencia Asesoria y Administracion. IWC = International Wrestling Council, a group promoted by Ron Skoler that AAA was working with at the time.
(2) Competing under the bizarre nickname of Madonna's Boyfriend.
(3) Technicos = faces, Rudos = heels. But you knew that, right?
(4) Making swimming motions with his hands, insinuating that the mostly Mexican crowd had to swim across the river to get to the show.
(5) Tombstones in Mexico = Piledrivers in Memphis x 50