R.I.W Wrestling Legend: Vampiro

Posted on October 21, 2025 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to Rotten Ink. We once more find ourselves at the Rotten Ink Arena for a spooky “R.I.W Wrestling Legend” update event as the Halloween season is a perfect time to take a look at horror themed wrestlers that scare and entertain fans, and who better to be in the main event than Lucha Libre legend Vampiro who has been a big draw in wrestling since the early 1980’s and is still around to this day. As you can see, the Arena has spooky decorations all around and they have vampire’s blood punch and creepy crawler finger sandwiches at the snack bar, so let’s grab a cup and find our seats as this is going to be one hell of a great event and I can not stress enough that this time of the year not only makes me think of horror films and horror hosts but also horror video games, horror novels and horror themed wrestlers, and I am very much looking forward to this update event as I have always been a big fan of Vampiro. But as you can hear, the music has started, so let’s find our seats and see what Vamp has in store for us this Halloween season.

Vampiro started his Pro Wrestling career in 1984 and was trained by Abdullah The Butcher. He would work as a jobber in International Wrestling out of Canada and would be in the business at the age of 16. He worked for International Wrestling from 1984 to 1991 before being signed to CMLL, the biggest promotion in Mexico at the time, and would then get the name Vampiro Canadiense. From the start, due to his look and being a vampire character, his popularity grew very fast and would become one of the company’s big stars. He would have big bet matches (Hair vs. Hair) as well as would take on some of the companies top stars like Perro Aguayo, Pierroth Jr., Blue Panther and Fuerza Guerrera, to name a very few. Vampiro, no matter if he was a Tecnico or Rudo, was being cheered by the fans and was building a strong female following. During this time as well he would work a few matches for Universal Wrestling Association as well as promotions in Japan. In 1996 he would leave CMLL and work for AAA and IWRG before returning to CMLL in 1998 for another brief run. During this time in CMLL, Vampiro would also start his real life feud with Konnan, who was one of the company’s top stars. This rivalry would continue off and on for many years and was about the popularity of both Luchadors as well as Vampiro being cast in a soap opera that was supposed to go to Konnan. His work in CMLL as well as appearing from other federations started to also get the attention of many American companies.

In mid 1998 Vampiro would make his way to WCW and would not fully become part of their roster until 1999 when he was booked as a heel and would be in a group called “The Dead Pool” with Raven as well as Shaggy 2 Dope and Violent J, better known as rappers ICP and would have a small run together going after Konnan, Rey Myserio Jr. and Eddie Guerrero. From there Vampiro would turn baby face as he would have matches against Berlyn and his bodyguard The Wall, and from there he would feud with Dr. Death Steve Williams and would team with the punk rock band The Misfits. During this time as well Vamprio would have matches in WCW against other luchadors as well as solid mid-card workers and was getting over with fans in America who liked his brawling style and his horror themed look and attitude. In 2000 his biggest feud in WCW would take place as he would find himself teaming and then turning on Sting. The two would have all types of matches and Sting would even be set on fire by Vampiro who at this point had joined the group called The New Blood that was being run by head booker Vince Russo and would be the younger wrestlers of WCW who were sick of the legends that made up the main events and locker room. Vampiro would once more team with ICP and this time add The Great Muta to his group that would be called “The Dark Carnival” and he would go after The Demon and his lady Asya, that is until The Demon would join his twisted group and Vamp and his crew would continue to feud with Sting. Through the rest of 2000 and into 2001 Vamprio would find himself winning Tag Team Gold (the only title that he would hold in WCW) with The Great Muta as well as just floating around in odd feuds, including one with Mike Awesome. In 2001 WCW was bought by WWE, and they closed the company’s doors and Vampiro’s contract was not picked up by WWE, and this ended Vamprio’s time in WCW.

After the closure of WCW in 2001, Vampiro would head back to CMLL and as well would work for many other companies all over the world. While back in CMLL he would be a big draw and would be used for big matches and PPVs and would mostly have him teaming with Shocker. He would also work matches for All Japan Pro Wrestling at this time and would do only a one month tour. He would also in 2002 go to Puerto Rico and work for World Wrestling Council and would even during his short time there, capture the company’s Universal Heavyweight title. He would also appear in XPW off and on from 2001-2002 and would work a small run for Impact in 2003 where he would feud with Raven. But still during this time his main federation was CMLL, and he would have matches against many Lucha Libre stars like Atlantis, El Rayo de Jalisco Jr., Lizamark Jr., Super Crazy and Dr. Wagner Jr. But his run in CMLL would come to an end in 2005 as he would leave to join Mexico’s best promotion.

In 2005 Vampiro, as well as many other Luchadors, would leave CMLL to go work for AAA and would work for them off and on for years as even up to this update’s posting he can be found in AAA doing events and appearances for them. In 2007 he would leave AAA to work a very small run for CMLL before leaving them for good, but also that year he would work for Wrestling Society X, a short lived promotion that was produced by MTV, and in 2008 he would returns to AAA as well as to XPW again, and this would start his run on working for the indies with one of his two big runs being for Juggalo Championship Wrestling (JCW) where he would become that company’s World Champion around three times. He would also work for Lucha Underground starting in 2014 and would stay with them until they closed up in 2018 and was a part time wrestler and a commentator. During his run in JCW, he would work with such wrestlers as Mad Man Pondo, The Powers Of Pain, Colt Cabana, Kongo Kong and 2 Tuff Tony, to name a few, and in Lucha Underground he had a iconic match with Pentagon Jr. that is considered one of the best matches in the promotion and that’s saying something. But over time Vampiro has slowed down working matches due to age and mounting injuries, but even that has not fully stopped him. Vampiro is a great worker who bonded with his fans and should be in both the AAA and WWE Halls Of Fame as he has truly made a big impact in the sport of Pro Wrestling. Over the decades Vampiro has been in movies, video games and music videos, has had his own bands, been made into action figures and has graced all types of other cool merchandise. And who knows were and when Vampiro will pop up next and who he will face in the ring.

I first found out about Vampiro when I was a youngster as his CMLL action figure for some reason was at a local Dollar Tree store, and he captured by attention as it was clear he was a mix of Luchador with Horror and Rock n Roll, and these were all things I was a fan of! B efore he made his way to WCW, I can remember seeing some of his matches on grey market tapes and I became a fan as I liked his mix of Luca Libre as well as Brawling American style. I should also mention I remember him being in many of the wrestling magazines that my brother and I had growing up. But when he came to WCW in the late 90’s is when I truly became a mega fan and have followed his career ever since. I mean he is the reason I made sure to watch Wrestling Society X on MTV when it aired. For me the thing about Vampiro is that he could have great matches against the cruiserweights but could also be a main event guy and be booked in matches against the top stars of the promotions he was in. I also find his history in AAA and CMLL very interesting as he had the reputation of being a pain to deal with and because he was a draw, they allowed him to get away with his behavior. I also find his real life heat with Konnan interesting, and I am glad that they two seem to have buried the hatchet as they are both icons and both deserve all the fame they have worked for in and out of Mexico. Vampiro also over the years has been very outspoken about his time in wrestling and has spilled the beans on wrestlers like Sting, El Canek, Paul Heyman and others for their behind the scenes behavior. He has also lead a very interesting life from being a bodyguard for pop group Milli Vanilli, to being involved in the occult and secret societies, having evil spirits that follow him around causing him to have to have a exorcism, dated many Latina models, hosted a show about the paranormal in Mexico, toured the world with his bands, worked as a wrestling booker and so much more very cool and unusual stuff. And while over the years much of what he says has been questioned by others, with many fellow wrestlers calling him out for his injuries and illnesses he says he has, I for one still find Vampiro to be a very entertaining guy who is a great worker and a cool personality that always makes him stand out in the world of Pro Wrestling.

We are now at the point of this review where we will be taking a look at the DVD set and review some of the matches on the discs like always between 4 to 8. But because this is a set about a Luchador, we will take a look at 10 matches. I want to thank Coliseum Of Wrestling & Boxing for having this set in stock and also want to thank Vampiro for his hard work in the world of wrestling. I also want to remind you that I will only be breaking down randomly select matches from this set and will be breaking down the match and will be rating the matches on a 5 Star rating system. I also only choose from Single matches as I want to break down his matches that showcase his style. Here is what the stars mean ½ Means a really terrible match, * Means a bad match, ** Means a below average match, **1/2 Means a good average entertaining match, *** Means a good match, **** Means a great match, ***** Means an epic match. So if you are ready, let’s step into the ring with Vampiro.

Best Of Vampiro

Match 1: Vampiro vs. Konnan

As Konnan plays up to the crowd on the microphone Vamprio attacks him from behind with a big clothesline that drops him to the mat. Then as Konnan tries to get up Vampiro unloads a series of kicks and then keeps his attack up on the injured Konnan who is struggling to get on his feet and make a comeback. Vampiro even climbs to the top rope and flings himself onto his opponent and then keeps kicking and stomping on him. At one point Vampiro points his finger into the face of the injured Konnan to talk smack as it’s clear these two have an issue that has carried over from Mexico to WCW. But when Vampiro misses a top rope splash, this gives Konnan a moment to catch his breath and unload some big punches and to make his comeback to take the momentum of the match for a moment. Konnan even hits a power bomb and gets a two count on Vamp. He then hits a DDT and is still only able to get a two count as the fans are really getting into this match. Konnan then hits a face buster, and Vamp rolls out of the ring. Konnan follows and the two start brawling. Vamp then grabs a chair and throws it at Konnan, and the referee has seen enough and DQ’s Vamp giving the win to Konnan by disqualification. After the match, Vamp continues to attack Konnan before leaving the ring. This is a great grudge match brawl that has both guys hitting some big moves and both clearly just want to hurt each other as they have great chemistry in the ring, and they are really telling a story of hatred, jealousy and history. Konnan, as always, does a fantastic job of selling as well as pulling off powerful looking moves as he gives a in my opinion very underrated clothesline as they look strong and like his opponents head might be knocked off. Vampiro is very quick in the match and his very aggressive and his anger comes out in his actions and makes him come off as a badass. Over all this is a great short match that helps build Vampiro as a heel and shows just how popular Konnan was in WCW.

Grade: ***1/2

Match 2: Vampiro vs. Steve “Dr. Death” Williams

Before the match starts, Williams’ manager Oklahoma is locked into a cage, and as Williams makes his way to the ring Vampiro jumps from the cage onto him taking him down with a surprise attack. Vampiro continues to attack outside the ring and is using his speed to keep his bigger and stronger opponent down. Once they get into the ring, Vamp continues his attack and uses punches, kicks, head butts to keep Williams injured, but then after a few moments Williams starts to make a comeback and the two exchange hits. Williams ends up hitting a series of football tackles to the knee of Vampiro, weakening him and then gets him into the corner and uses him as a punching bag. Williams misses a corner charge and this allows Vampiro to go on the attack once more and even hits a big backdrop on Williams that gets him a two count. But like before, the two end up just trading hits and holds, and Williams even hits a massive suplex from the top rope. At one point the punk rock band The Misfits, who are in Vampiro’s corner, try to get into the ring, and Williams takes them all down. But Steve Williams makes one big mistake when he attacks the refereem and this causes him to lose the match via disqualification, and by winning the match Vampiro gets five minutes in the ring with Oklahoma after Williams is forced to the back by security. This is pretty much a brawl that allowed Steve Williams to show off his power and for Vampiro to show off his skill, and while their styles clashed a little, they still did a great job of trying to make each other look good by selling hits and holds as well as each tried to showcase what makes them top stars. Oddly enough, this match was one of Williams last for WCW. Vamprio does a great job of using his speed and moves throughout the match to keep the heat on Williams, who in turn does a great job of hitting massive power moves that look very stiff and impactful. Over all this is a good match that featured two of my favorite wrestlers at the time. While it was not a smooth match, I would not want it any other way.

Grade: **1/2

Match 3: Vampiro vs. Juventud Guerrera

As the bell rings, Vampiro and Juventud start shoving each other, and then Vampiro floors Juventud with a kick. The two then exchange some chops before Juventud is able to take him down with his speed, but he is stopped when Vampiro hits a big power bomb and even gets a two count for it. Vampiro takes control of the match and uses big moves to keep Juventud grounded. Once they take the fight to the outside Juventud is able to hit a big dive that floors Vampiro. But once they get back into the ring, it’s the power of Vampiro that takes back control, even hitting some loud and powerful chops and at one point works over the knee of Juventud. Both guys fight back and fourth and each miss a high risk move, but in the end Juventud is able to hit the Juvi Driver on Vampiro and this gets him the win via pin. This is a pretty fast paced match that allowed both guys to take control of the momentum and for the most part they try and tell a good story in the ring. Their styles mesh well for the most part with Juventud doing his highflying moves and Vampiro doing a mix of Lucha and power moves. The fans in attendance also seemed to be into the match, and while they are on the side of Juventud, they also cheer Vampiro when he hits big moves. While some of the moves during the match clearly had some miscommunication moments, it really is a fun TV bout that showcased two great Lucha Libre stars who are now both legends. Plus I have to say that I was surprised when Juventud was able to get the win as he hit a perfect Juvi Driver.

Grade: ***

Match 4: Vampiro vs. Great Muta

As soon as the bell rings, Muta attacks Vampiro as well as ICP who are the mangers of Vampiro at the time, but as Muta sprays his green mist into the air Vamprio attacks him from behind and then unloads some chops before hitting a top rope spin kick. Vampiro tries for a top rope move and fails, and this gives Muta that chance to fight back against Vampiro and uses his speed to hit some impactful moves as well, Muta works over one of Vamp’s arms and uses his kicks to keep the momentum. Vampiro fires back with a Rock Bottom and is able to get a two count, but when Muta hits a moonsault, he is able to get the three count and win over Vampiro. This was a very cool match up that sadly WCW did not give lots of time when they really should have. These two worked very well in the ring together, and they both have a similar style that each made their own and putting them against each other just worked well. Muta is able to show his fast paced moves as well as why he was one of the best in the world to hit a moonsault as they are so smooth. Vamprio in the match does a great job of selling for Muta and as well does a great job of mimicking him in movements. This match should have been given more time as what little time these two had in this match was great stuff, and the fans in attendance clearly were behind Muta. Plus I would have loved to seen Muta hit Vampiro with the green mist. Over all a short but very cool match that should have been more.

Grade: ***

Match 5: Vampiro vs. Sting

This is a House Of Pain Steel Cage Match (the rules are you have to shackle both of your opponents hands to the cage) and at the start of the match, Sting climbs to the top of the cage and the fans go wild. Vampiro waits for him inside it, but Sting uses his baseball bat and busts out a section of the cages roof and drops in and attacks Vampiro and even hits him with a Stinger Splash in the corner, Then the two start brawling with each man throwing the other into the cage and exchange hits and holds. But when Vampiro gets the advantage, he tries his best to hurt Sting as the fans boo as clearly they want Sting to win this match, but Vamprio just keeps using his speed and kicks to chop down the Icon Sting. The tide once more changes when Sting hits a power bomb on Vampiro, who was leaping from the top rope for a drop kick. Sting hits a series of moves, and as Vampiro is dazed, he is able to shackle him to the cage and get the win. As Vampiro is handcuffed to the cage Sting beats him up some more and then leaves the cage as Vampiro smiles even though he lost the match. This is a very strange and sadly way too short of a match between these two as the idea of the two being locked in a cage with no referee and no rules was a great idea, but sadly the match pretty much was rushed as Vampiro dominates the start of the match and when Sting gets the advantage, it’s only for a short time and a small amount of moves before he locks Vamp up and gets the win. The other odd thing is that the winner was supposed to beat the heck out of his shackled opponent, and Sting hits a few splashes and leaves, and this is billed as these two hating each other. The top rope power bomb is the most impressive move of this match. While the match is a little of a letdown when it comes to action, the two have great chemistry in the ring, and they tell a good story that has the fans going crazy and for that I myself found it pretty entertaining.

Grade: **1/2

Match 6: Vampiro vs. Scott Steiner

As soon as the bell rings, Steiner uses his power to get Vampiro into the corner and unleashes punches on him. He then hits a big suplex and then press slams and drops Vampiro to the mat. Things are looking bad for Vampiro until he changes the tide with a big boot to Steiner’s face, and then he is able to land some hits of his own including his fast kicks, but Steiner is not down for long as he fights back and lands a powerful dropping elbow onto the chest of Vamp. Scott then tosses Vamp out of the ring and goes out after him throwing him against the guardrails as well as hits him with a chair and finally slams him on the commentator’s table and breaks it. Vamp is hurt but starts fighting back and even slams a chair over Steiner’s head. Then the action goes back into the ring as the two brawl with each other and even Steiner’s female mangers enter the brawl when Vampiro grabs his blowtorch and gasoline can and threatens to set one of them on fire until Sting comes out and smacks him in the head with his bat and then beats him with that bat all the way back to the ring where Steiner hits Vampiro with a belly to belly suplex and then makes him tap out to the Steiner Recliner, and with all that madness Scott Steiner is the winner. This is the clash of styles, and yet it worked very well in this match that pretty much is a brawl that is to showcase the power of Steiner as well as the crazy nature of Vampiro who tries to set a female on fire during the match. Oh and they also showcase his fast kicks. It’s crazy that the match did not end by DQ as they both smack each other with chairs and Sting shows up and beats the hell out of Vampiro with a bat. Over all a crazy match that for some reason just kind of worked in its madness.

Grade: **1/2

Match 7: Vampiro vs. Hulk Hogan

Vampiro attacks Hogan as soon as he gets in the ring and keeps up his attack even knocking Hogan out of the ring and then goes out after him and throws him into the guardrails as well as even hits Hogan with a chair. But Hogan shrugs it off and fights back and even smacks Vampiro with a chair several times returning the favor. Hogan keeps up his attack all around the ring and even once back in the ring, he starts hitting Vamp with his weightlifting belt and then starts choking him with it. Then Hogan keeps up his attack even dropping elbows, and the fans are going crazy for The Hulkster. Hogan even hits his Leg Drop finisher but does not go for the pin instead he just keeps on attack Vampiro, and this allows Billy Kidman to come out and hit Hogan in the back of the head with Vamp’s blowtorch. Kidman then drags Vampiro over to Hogan, and he gets the three count and the win via pin. After the match Vamp and Kidman are about to try and set Hogan on fire when Sting comes to his aid and runs off Kidman, and they then beat up Vampiro. This is another cluster match that is pretty much a brawl between Vampiro and Hogan that has Vampiro winning the match and Hogan for the most part dominating the momentum of the match. The match is just a sloppy brawl, but is entertaining because the fans in attendance are really into it and Vampiro does a great job of selling for Hogan. Plus for those who are Hulkamaniacs, you do get to see Hogan hit his finisher the Leg Drop. Over all another mess of a match that is over booked and yet was a fun watch as it was cool to see Vampiro in the ring with Hulk Hogan, and the right wrestler even won the match. And I have to point out that Hogan clearly does not know how to deliver chair shots and even at times throws some very odd punches. AKA this match reeks of Vince Russo as it’s over booked and is more of a “shoot brawl” then a wrestling match.

Grade: **1/2

Match 8: Vampiro vs. Van Hammer

As the match starts Van Hammer uses his power to slam Vampiro hard onto the mat, but then Vamp uses his speed to arm drag Hammer to the mat showcasing that he is just as strong. Vamp uses his speed to keep hitting moves on Hammer and even kicks him out of the ring and then dive out onto him. The two brawl on the outside with Hammer getting the better of the exchange and even once back in the ring Hammer keeps up his attack even hitting some big kicks and then gets him into the corner and unloads some big punches. Hammer continues to keep the momentum on his side and even tosses Vampiro from the top rope and then chokes him with the middle rope before the referee steps in. Once Vampiro is able to make a comeback he hits some thunderous chops as well as a headbutt and some quick kicks. Hammer is able to use his power to once more up his attack and even tries to hit big power moves, but Vamp is able to roll him up but the pin attempt is stopped when Hammer gets his foot on the ropes. The two exchange hits and holds until finally Van Hammer puts Vampiro into a chin lock and holds it for awhile, with this rest hold the loose the fans who go quite. After the hold is broke the two trade back and fourth again and then finally Vampiro gets the win via pin with a rollup. This is a odd matchup as it’s clear that Vampiro is slowing himself down in order for Van Hammer to keep up, and at first it seems that the fans are into the match but after Van Hammer’s rest hold as well as very awkward moves they loose them slightly. Vampiro does what he can with the stiff Van Hammer and is able to get a good match out of him. Vampiro is clearly the star of this match as he uses his kicks and moves to bring the impact to the match, and to be fair Van Hammer is really trying and does hit some passable power moves. Over all this is a standard match for TV and does a great job of building Vampiro, but it also is a little to long as it should have been around two minutes shorter as it was clear Van Hammer was slightly struggling to keep up.

Grade: **

Match 9: Vampiro vs. Ric Flair

The match starts off with the two of them trying to size the other up and then Vampiro is able to use his speed and takes Flair to the mat and is working over his knee, the hold is broke when Flair is able to get to the ropes. Vamp keeps using his speed and hits a pair of clotheslines and then a backdrop and this causes Flair to exit the ring to try and catch his breath. But even once back in the ring Vampiro keeps control of the match and even hits some very hard chops to Flair who he has backed into a corner. But Flair cheats and pokes Vamp in the eye and then puts him in the corner and lands some big chops, but after a big spin kick Vamp takes back control but losses it again when he misses a top move attack and this gives Flair the chance to work over the leg and knees of Vampiro, Flair keeps up his attack and even kicks Vamp in the stomach when he is down all the while the fans are cheering “Flair Sucks”. Vampiro is clearly hurt and Flair keeps up his attack working over his leg as well as getting cheap shots in when he can. But just as Vamp is about to make his big comeback Miss Elizabeth and Lex Luger make their way down to ringside and as she distracts the referee, Lugar hits Vamp with a baseball bat and this allows Flair to lock in the Figure Four and get Vamp to tap out. After the match both Flair and Lugar attack Vampiro. This is a really good match and both guys look great throughout the match and I have to say Flair does an outstanding job of making Vamp look like a main event star! Flair sells great for Vamp and also makes him look strong by having to cheat in order to win. Vampiro is able to show off his moves and speed and really does hold his own against a legend like Ric Flair. The two have great chemistry, the fans are really into the match and adding Lex Luger and Miss Elizabeth into the match makes it seem more epic as well makes Vampiro really look like a contender. A great match that I really enjoyed from start to finish.

Grade: ****

Match 10: Vampiro vs. Lex Luger

Lugar at the start of the match uses his power to back Vamp into the corner and then smacks him across his face, Vamp responds with his speed and delivers a kick and a chop that knocks Lugar to the mat. Vampiro keeps the heat on Lugar and gets him in the corner and chokes him before flinging him across the ring and keeps up his attacks and does not let Luger get a chance to get the match going for his side. When Luger finally gets the momentum going its because he cheats and then is able to hit a very powerful back drop and it’s his turn to keep the attack up and even press slams Vampiro just to show that he is the strongest in the ring. Vampiro is able to escape a Torture Rack attempt and makes his comeback on Luger with his speed, kicks and top rope movies. But Ric Flair comes down to the ring and Vamp has to fight them both off and when the referee’s back is turned, Lugar’s manager Miss Elizabeth hits Vamp in the back with a ball bat and this allows Lugar to get him in the Torture Rack and Lugar wins via submission. This is another case of Vampiro taking on a wrestler who is the opposite of his style that some how just works and delivers a very entertaining match. Vampiro has the fans behind him for this one and is able to really show off his speed as well as impactful moves that Lex Lugar goes a great job of selling and making Vamp look like a rising star in the company. And on the other side Vamp as well does a great job of selling and allowing Lugar to show off his power and strength and sells for him really well. The match is a good back and fourth with each guy getting their time to take control of the match and it also has a good ending that has Lugar having to cheat and get the help of his manager and friend in order to win the match. While the match does not have any show stealing moves it is a very cool match that’s interesting to see as these two pit against each other.

Grade: ***

Vampiro is a true legend in wrestling and as you can see that during his run in WCW he took on most of the companies biggest stars from Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Sting and so many others and was able to have great matches against them all showing that he could adapt to any style. I really do not think that Lucha Libre nor Pro Wrestling will ever have another like Vampiro as his attitude, style and personality can never be duplicated. And to me he is one of the best at being a horror themed wrestler, and he has always involved his look and style to the times and places he was working showing that he has a very creative mind. But as you can see, the house lights have came up and our spooky R.I.W update event is over so that is our cue to head to the exit doors, but before we do that let me tell you that our next update will take us to Willy’s Wonderland that rundown closed restaurant that houses killer flesh eating animatronics…won’t that be fun! So until next time, read a comic or three, watch a wrestling match or two and as always support your local indie wrestlers. See you next update, and let’s hope that Willy is not on the prowl as it will be the big Halloween update and he might be in a nasty mood.

R.I.W Wrestling Legend: Crypt Keeper

Posted on August 4, 2025 by bloodlinematt

The Halloween season is almost upon us, and as you can see, we are once more here at the Rotten Ink Arena for a spooky “R.I.W Wrestling Legends” update that is sue to chill your blood as well as gross you out as today’s subject is a hardcore death match wrestler who is truly a horror themed wrestler as his name is The Crypt Keeper (or Crypt The Keeper), and he is based on the Tales From The Crypt host of the same name. He terrorized the federations of Japan, and now he is the main event update for this countdown to Halloween update. So let’s head to the snack bar and grab some witch’s punch to drink and maybe some candy corn to munch on, and then let’s get to our seats as I can hear his sinister laugh echoing all around and that’s the sure sign that this event update is about to start. Try not to get to scare.

Jose Estrada Jr. started his Pro Wrestling career in 1986. Hould work for World Wrestling Council (WWC) in Puerto Rico as Super Medico III and would team with his father Super Medico I as the Super Medicos, and they would even capture the company’s tag team titles. In 1991 he would find his way to Japan and would start working for FMW as Jose Estrada Jr. and would have hardcore street fights against the likes of Atsushi Onita, Tazan Goto and Ricky Fuji. Jose would also go back to working under the Super Medico III for a short time in FMW as well as in WWC where he would be apart of a tag team called Solid Gold. But in 1993 he would become the wresting horror grappler named Crypt Keeper who wore a TV show Crypt Keeper mask as well as a skeleton mask. He would work for WING and became a hardcore wrestler who did death matches and would have battles with Jason The Terrible, Crash The Terminator, Leatherface, The Headhunters as well as Shoji Nakamaki. During this time as well Crypt Keeper would also make small stops in Mexico even working for CMLL. And in 1994 he even would even return to work some matches in Puerto Rico. Crypt Keeper quickly became a heel that fans feared and opponents knew that they would be involved in a brutal match. In 1995 Crypt Keeper would start working for more federations in Japan including IWA and BJW as well as would work small shots in America as well as more matches in Mexico’s CMLL and would wrestle against the likes of El Canek, Arlantis, Dos Caras, El Rayo de Jalisco Jr., El Dandy and Silver King. In 1996 he would head to FMW and become one of the company’s biggest heel stars and was considered a draw and would also start working for them under the ring name Halcon Negro and would start using that name more often from them. In 1997 he would have a house show tryout match for the WWF losing to Miguel Perez, and when working for FMW at the time he once more changed his name to Black Hayabusa. And while he worked under many names and gimmicks, his most well loved in Japan was Crypt Keeper.

Jose Estrada Jr. would then leave Japan and head to WWF to become a member of the Savio Vega lead group Los Boricuas and would feud with The Nation Of Domination as well as The Disciples Of The Apocalypse starting in mid-1997. His run with the WWF would mostly see him teaming with his stable mates Jesus Castillo, Miguel Perez and Savio Vega, and they would have matches against the likes of The Legion Of Doom, The Head Bangers and The New Age Outlaws. And while Jose Estrada Jr. would get some wins, he and his fellow Los Boricuas members found themselves falling down the card and racking up more losses. During his solo matches in WWF he would lose matches against the likes of Goldust, Edge, The Godfather and El Hijo Del Santo (on the short run show WWF Super Astros), and by late 1999 Jose would be out of WWF and find himself retired for a few years. But around 2001 he started working the indies around the world again and would work as The Crypt Keeper again off and on for many hardcore matches. Today while he is pretty much retired, he can from time to time be seen at conventions. Over his years as a wrestler he would capture some gold mostly in Puerto Rico but would be a two time WING World Heavyweight Champion. He is not in the WWF Hall Of Fame, and sadly I do not think he ever will make it in.

I was a big fan of FMW when I was a teenager and one of the wrestlers that stood out to me was Crypt Keeper as he was a brawler who wore a HBO Tales From The Crypt mask (or sometimes just a skeleton one) and would team and even fight the other horror themed wrestlers in the company in matches like barbwire, coffin and death matches. And when Crypt Keeper would cackle and laugh he became even more awesome to me as it added to his creepy, spooky persona. You could see that he was trying to do something a little different with his version of the character and this was also seen in his wrestling attire as it was very baseball themed and made him standout, but I will also say I liked when he would also wear the back suit. And like many masked wrestlers, during his run some knock off wrestlers using the gimmick popped up and worked the indie’s around the world pretending to be him or just straight up stealing the gimmick. While Jose Estrada Jr. was a good worker in the WWF during his run, I have to say I enjoyed his time as Crypt Keeper way more as I found it to be way more interesting. And I know that he was not as hardcore as most of the other horror themed wrestlers of that time, but dang it, he was an entertaining one who seemed to get into scaring the fans as well as being as “hardcore” as he could get in the ring. From the first time I saw Crypt Keeper in the ring, I always thought it would be cool to see him join the WWF and have a run against The Undertaker as it would have been great to have him pop out of a coffin and go after Taker with a barb-wired baseball bat! I mean Crypt Keeper could have fit well into the Attitude Era and could have been a great addition to the Hardcore Division. While the Crypt Keeper gimmick didn’t last all that long in the world of wrestling, it did leave its mark and was the best thing Jose Estrada Jr. did in wrestling in my opinion as I find it very memorable.

We are now at the point of this review where we will be taking a look at the DVD set and review some of the matches on the discs, like always between 4 to 8, sadly I only have 3 solo matches of his on my best of DVD. I want to thank HyperDevil for having this set in stock and also want to thank Crypt Keeper for his hard work in the world of wrestling. I also want to remind you that I will only be breaking down randomly select matches from this set and will be breaking down the match and will be rating the matches on a 5 Star rating system. I also only choose from single matches, as I want to break down his matches that showcase his style. Here is what the stars mean ½ Means a really terrible match, * Means a bad match, ** Means a below average match, **1/2 Means a good average entertaining match, *** Means a good match, **** Means a great match, ***** Means an epic match. So if you are ready, let’s step into the ring with Crypt Keeper.

Best Of Crypt Keeper

Match 1: Crypt Keeper vs. Keisuke Yamada

As the bell rings, Keeper is the aggressor and starts hammer Yamada with hits in the corner and then hits a clothesline as well as some well places stomps and repeats this attack in another corner until Yamada is able to escape his attack and with a backslide gets a two count and then starts beating up Crypt with hammering hits and knocks him out of the ring and then dives out on him. Once back in the ring Yamada remains in control even locking a step over toe hold on Crypt trying to get him to tap, Crypt gets to the ropes but still takes a beating for a bit by Yamada the two start smacking the hell out of each other until Crypt makes a mistake and finds himself in a arm lock on the mat, and like before once out of the move Yamada keeps up his attack. The fans are clearly behind Keisuke Yamada as they cheer him on as Crypt Keeper rolls out of the ring to shake off the butt kicking he has been getting, and once back in he continues to get beat up on that his until he is able to hit a big boot and a running bulldog, and now Crypt is in control, and goes for many pin attempts. Crypt keeps Yamada on the mat and works over his limbs trying to get him to quit and even trying to get the quick pin. The two once more exchange punches and moves Crypt hits a massive power bomb and it did not keep Yamada down, nor does a top rope fameasser. But after Crypt Keeper hits a power slam he is able to get the win via pin. This is one of those odd matches from Japan that has bursts of hard hitting impactful moments that is then slowed down with rest holds and it makes for a fun and yet some what dragging match. Keisuke Yamada looks good in the match as he is in control for most of the match and even comes of aggressive and his chops are loud and brutal looking. Crypt Keeper hits some really hard hitting moves but does not showcase his more hardcore death match style moves. The two’s chemistry was a little off and at times the match come off a little botchy in spots, but the live fans seem to enjoy it and even with those moments its an average entertaining match.

Grade: **1/2

Match 2: Crypt Keeper vs. Jason The Terrible

This is a spiked nail death match that pits two horror themed wrestlers against each other! Crypt attacks Jason as he is making his way to the ring and the two fight into the fans and Crypt knocks off Jason’s hockey mask and rams his face into the bed of nails and tries to push the nails deep into the flesh of Jason, and does it again as Jason starts to bleed. Once in the ring Crypt keeps the beating up and tries to knock Jason out of the ring and onto the bed of nails. Jason fights off the attempts and while he is getting beat up he just keeps coming after Crypt who is clearly the more aggressive of the two this far and keeps trying to toss Jason out and onto the nails. When Jason finally gets the upper hand he as well tries to toss Crypt out of the ring and onto the nails and both at this point are using mostly brawling moves to do so and from here the two go back and fourth with taking the momentum and failing to toss the other onto the nails. Jason during this time does hit some big choke slams that get’s the fans to pop. And it’s Jason who is finally able to knock his opponent onto the bed of nails as Crypt lands hard on them after being knocked out of the ring and with that Jason wins the match. This was a very slow paced Spiked Nail Death Match as most of the time is spent with them trying to toss or kick the other out of the ring and onto the nails, and besides a few cool movies like the choke slams from Jason and the fameassers from Crypt the match is pretty much just punches, kicks and stomps and I know that is pretty normal for these types of matches but at times these two seem like they are moving in slow motion. The match also only has Jason bleeding and it’s a shame that the hockey mask is removed right from the start as it takes a little away from this monster vs. monster match. Over all an ok death match that sadly was nothing that special, and it did seem the live fans did enjoy it for the most part.

Grade: **

Match 3: Crypt Keeper vs. Shohji Kakamaki

This is a coffin match where you have to get your opponent into a coffin for a 10 count. As soon as the bell rings Crypt Keeper goes on the attack and rips at the injured head of Shohji and starts kicking him in the head and causes him to bleed. Crypt keeps up a fast paced attack landing a big power slam and then tossing him into the coffin, Shohji escapes and goes after Crypt who takes big head butts that rock him. Shohji takes him outside the ring and beats Crypt up in front of the fans with punches and knees and Crypt fights back with a chair. Once back in the ring Crypt is now in control and with a laugh he pile drives Shohji into the mat and back into the coffin he goes for a nine count, Crypt makes him pay for getting up with a big drop kick. Crypt beats him up some more and back in the coffin Shohji goes for once more a nine count, this angers Crypt even more who turns up the beating and power bombs him onto the coffin lid before tossing him back into the coffin and letting out his trademark laugh. Shohji cannot escape the coffin this time and looses the match given the big win to Crypt Keeper. This was a very entertaining coffin match that for the most part had Crypt Keeper in charge and allowed him to pull off some basic and yet impactful moves like his drop kick, power bomb and pile driver, and while being dominate most of the match he still allowed Shohji to look like a fighter and even sold really well for him. The coffin was made of very cheap pressed wood and from the moment it comes into the match it is falling apart, and this added to the enjoyment of the match. The fans in attendance also seemed to really be into the match and cheered and clapped when needed and my favorite moment of the match is the pile driver due to not only it looking impactful but also the fact that Crypt Keeper is doing his crazy laugh! Over all this is a fun match and while not the best coffin match I have ever seen it is one that entertained me lots.

Grade: ***

The Crypt Keeper was a wrestler that scared the fans as he would cackle with evil laughter as he attacked his opponent with his violent brawling style, and while in America he never did find his place, in Japan he was a feared mid-card heel who could draw. And while WING and FMW were his home federations, I will say it again, it would have been great if they would have brought him in to the WWF as this gimmick and not just a generic henchman for Savia Vega in the team Los Boricuas, as I feel a feud with The Undertaker and or Kane would have been great…or even making him a member of the Ministry Of Darkness back in 1998 as this masked menace could have been great alongside The Brood, Viscera, Acolytes and Mideon as he cackled his way into the feud with The Corporation. But the lights are flickering and the Jack-O-Lanterns are blown out, so that is our cue that this spooky update event is over and it’s time for us to head out of the Rotten Ink Arena, but before we head out into the cold night air I would like to tell you that the next update will take us to the world of cheesy horror films as we will be talking about Sharknado 3! So until next time, read a horror comic or three, watch a wrestling match or two and as always support your local wrestlers. See you next update as the sharks are flying and the chainsaws are revving.

R.I.W Wrestling Legend: Waylon Mercy

Posted on October 21, 2024 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to Rotten Ink. As you can see, we are once again at the Rotten Ink Arena for another “R.I.W Wrestling Legend” update and another in our countdown to Halloween and this one is going to be partly scary as we will be talking about wrestler Dan Spivey but mostly his Waylon Mercy gimmick that had him playing a psychopath who tormented opponents in WWF throughout 1995 and was a great heel. And as you can see, the Rotten Ink Arena is packed to the rafters as everyone wants to see what Waylon Mercy is going to do and also those at ringside want to see if they can get a handshake. So let’s grab something to drink and find our seats as this one is going to be a crazy time as Our Lives Are In The Hands Of Waylon Mercy…well at least our entertainment is.

Dangerous Dan Spivey started his in ring career in 1983. He was trained by Dusty Rhodes and would start working for Championship Wrestling From Florida and would wrestle under the name Eagle as part of the tag team “American Starship” and his partner was Coyote who was really Scott Hall. And this run would be very short as he would leave in 1984 and would find himself working Jim Crockett Promotions and NWA Central States for one year before leaving again this time he would find himself in the WWF and would now be wrestling as Dan Spivey he would take the place of Barry Windham in the tag team The U.S. Express teaming with Mike Rotunda and the two would stay together until 1987. After Rotunda left and the U.S. Express was no more, going under the “Golden Boy” Dan Spivey he would have a short singles run before leaving in 1988 and working All Japan Pro Wrestling that he would off and on until 1995. After his time in WWF he would return to Jim Crocket Promotions who was about to turn into WCW in 1989 and would be apart of The Varsity Club stable along with Steve Williams and Mike Rotunda and later that year he would be in the tag team The Skyscrapers with Sid Vicious and was managed by Teddy Long, the team would stay around for awhile but Sid would get injured and Mean Mark Callous would take his place. During his time in WCW he would also be working matches in All Japan, UWF and a few other NWA territories. Dan would leave WCW in 1992 and would continue working for UWF and would become the companies first and only UWF Americas Champion and he would stay with them until 1995. And during this part of his career he would capture some gold in Tag Team and Single runs.

In 1995 Dan Spivey was starting to show the effects of injuries but returned to WWF as Waylon Mercy, a psycho who would wear Hawaiian shirts, had jet black hair, talked with a calm creepy southern accent, had a dagger tattoo on his forehead was built with vignettes that had him warning the superstars that “Lives Are Gonna Be In Waylon Mercy’s Hands.” And from the start Mercy was fed enhancement talent and fans didn’t know what to make of this demented wrestler who acted like a gentlemen one moment and then would be super sadistic the next. He would use a sleeper hold as his finishing move and would looked wide-eyed and crazy as his opponent would pass out. And after stacking up wins and creeping out fans, he would find himself in bigger matches against the company’s stars and would even have a big match at the In Your House 3 PPV against Savio Vega. As time passed Waylon Mercy was gaining even a fan base as some fans started to cheer this crazed wrestler who would shake hands before the bell rang and acted as if he was a face when he was a total heel. But after a match against then WWF World Heavyweight Champion Diesel and taking two massive Jackknife Power Bombs Waylon Mercy would not be seen on TV again just like that Dan Spivey aka Waylon Mercy would retire from wrestling due to injuries that had built up over his career. But keep in mind that Dan Spivey did wrestle one match in 2015 for !BANG!.

Growing up, I was a fan of Dan Spivey when he was a member of The Skyscrapers as they are a great tag team that WCW should have pushed way more as they could have been a huge heel team that could have been dominating and been in the leagues of The Road Warriors and Demolition. But for me Waylon Mercy was the main gimmick that made me a fan of Spivey as his “Cape Fear” inspired character was crazy and had a Horror theme to it and was a wrestler that you had to like when he would destroy his opponent’s and shake hands of fans, referees and even his opponent all the while creeping out the fans and given the cameras the most crazed of stares and looks. I can remember when his vignettes aired both my brother and I was hooked as we both liked how he would be all gentlemen like and then all of a sudden he would turn sinister even smashing a worm on his arm in one. His catch phrase of “Lives Are Gonna Be In Waylon Mercy’s Hands.” was great and one, and when at school when talking about wrestling I can remember telling friends that I was a fan of Mercy as he was one wrestler that I was hoping would get a match against the likes of The Undertaker, but sadly that match never happened. And to now thinking about it if The Big Boss Man was still in the WWF in 1995 he would have had a great feud with Mercy as well. I also have to say his theme was also great and weird and was a piano piece that had an edge of insanity to the sound. I was so bummed with Waylon Mercy disappeared off TV and was never seen again in the ring as he was a great character that could have been such a great heel that could have had some great matches with many of the top faces in the company. It’s a shame that his injuries were so piled up that made him have to retire from the ring and end his run in the WWF. In more modern times I think WWE has dropped the ball by not having Waylon Mercy be part of the Wyatt Family and it’s clear that the cult leader with the same look and charm Bray Wyatt was a newer version of the character, and Mercy should have been added as part of the family in a manager role, but nope the creative team for WWE is too lazy for any ideas like that. Really looking forward to watching these matches again as all of these I saw when they aired so re-visiting them in modern times will be very interesting. And like so many other wrestlers we have covered on these R.I.W Wrestling Legends update as of this update he is not in the WWE Hall Of Fame and that’s so silly that they have not respected him with that honor.

We are now at the point of this review where we will be taking a look at the DVD set and review some of the matches on the discs like always between 4 to 8. I want to thank Coliseum Of Wrestling & Boxing for having this set in stock and also want to thank Waylon Mercy for his hard work in the world of wrestling. I also want to remind you that I will only be breaking down randomly select matches from this set and will be breaking down the match and will be rating the matches on a 5 Star rating system. I also only choose from single matches, as I want to break down his matches that showcase his style. Here is what the stars mean ½ Means a really terrible match, * Means a bad match, ** Means a below average match, **1/2 Means a good average entertaining match, *** Means a good match, **** Means a great match, ***** Means an epic match. So if you are ready, let’s step into the ring with Waylon Mercy.

Best Of Waylon Mercy

Match 1: Waylon Mercy vs. Tony Roy

As the bell rings Waylon goes over to shake the hand of Tony and with a cheap shot he clotheslines him hard and they just starts hitting and kicking Tony and really unloads on him in the corner. Waylon then tosses Tony outside the ring and apologizes for doing so to the referee, but Waylon then goes outside the ring and hits Tony with a DDT knocking him out and he wins the by count out. After the match as Tony Roy is knocked out Waylon Mercy leaves the ring and steps on him by “accident” and once more says he is sorry as you can tell he enjoyed dealing the pain. This is 100% a squash match as Tony Roy was a jobber who never even gets one move off and is beating up and knocked out with ease and this match was a great way to build up and show the craziness of Waylon. The fans you can tell are a little creeped out by Waylon who in the match uses mostly kicks, punches, clothesline and a DDT to win the match in quick fashion. I also love that Waylon does some cheap and mean spirited stuff in the match and acts like he is sorry for his actions when you can see the glee in his face as he hurts poor old Tony. Over all this is a good match that did its job of building Waylon as a heel and buried Tony Roy as a jobber for life when it came to WWF matches. And the reason I am giving it this grade is cause I think in a short time it told a good story of who Waylon Mercy was and what fans and his opponents needed to fear from him.

Grade: **1/2

Match 2: Waylon Mercy vs. Jeff Hardy

As the bell rings, Waylon Mercy charges Hardy and pushes him into the corner and starts rocking him with massive punches and knees and then knocks him to the mat and starts kicking Hardy in the gut. Waylon Mercy dominates the match and uses suplexes and other holds like snake-eyes on the top rope to throw Hardy around and cause him pain, all the while Waylon has a smile on his face and fake apologizes on his lips. He then rubs Hardy’s face into the mat and after a side slam Waylon goes for the pin and then decides to not finish the match as he wanted to torture Hardy a little more, and repeats the big move and then go for a pin only to stop it a few times as he is really getting joy of tormenting Hardy. And finally the match ends when Waylon puts Hardy in a sleeper hold and the young wrestler passes out, as Waylon Mercy looks crazed. This is another squash match but is a fun watch as its one of young Jeff Hardy’s early matches in the WWF when he worked as an enhancement talent. Waylon Mercy once more is totally psycho and aggressive in the match and does not allow Hardy to land one move and just torments his opponent the whole time. The brain buster that Waylon hits looks great and his finisher the Sleepy Hold is great when you add his wide crazed eyes as it helps bring out his madness and adds to the fans fear and hatred for him. Hardy does a great job of selling for Waylon and Waylon does a great job of looking like a major threat to any and all faces that could be stepping in the ring with him. A fun and solid squash match that helped build Waylon and also was a great look at the early career of Jeff Hardy.

Grade: **1/2

Match 3: Waylon Mercy vs. Doink The Clown

At the start of the match Waylon tries to shake the hand of Doink who refuses and when Waylon charges Doink is able to hip toss him to the mat and do so a few times causing Waylon to role out of the ring in frustration, and when he tries to get back in Doink makes sure he knocks him back out and laughs out his psycho opponent. Doink charges to try and keep Waylon outside the ring and he dodges his charge and this causes Doink to fall out of the ring and hit the ground hard. Once back in the ring Doink gets Waylon into the corner and is able to land some kicks and punches before the referee steps in to break up the attack as Waylon is able to get his torso out of the ropes forcing the separation. Waylon is able to land a left hook when Doink was distracted by the referee and then hits a clothesline and takes control of the match making Doink pay for his attack early in the match. And then Waylon is able to lock in the sleeper hold and put Doink to sleep and win the match as many in the crowd cheer for his victory. This match was not a super easy win for Waylon Mercy as Doink The Clown puts up a big fight and also is the first that we have seen that has taken Waylon off his feet and able to land moves on! Doink was a great worker and did a great job in this match being entertaining as well as selling for Mercy and really helped put him over and gave him a bigger win under his belt. Waylon Mercy as well is great in the match and is cold and calculated and is able to beat up Doink all to the delight of the crowd who are on his side as they would rather have this psycho heel win then the goofy clown. Waylon Mercy’s sleeper and crazed eyes is on point again and this makes for a fantastic ending and it was cool to see the fans cheer for him. A great match that had Waylon take some moves, deal some moves out and win a match against a mid-carder that had a name.

Grade: **1/2

Match 4: Waylon Mercy vs. Diesel

This is the battle of two big men and when the bell rings the two shake hands and Diesel pulls Waylon in so that he can stare him down and as the two break the shake its clear that this is going to be a fight. And when the two lock up its Diesel that shows he is the stronger of the two, but the two exchange some punches just to let the other know that they are here to win as Diesel is the WWE World Champion and has been on a losing streak and Waylon could get this big win under his belt and could be in line for a title shot. And after a few hits Diesel dazes Waylon with a big boot to the face and Diesel throws Waylon from corner to corner and lands punches and knees and is rocking his psycho opponent. And while Diesel has the upper hand he is distracted when British Bulldog Davey Boy Smith comes down the aisle and Big Daddy Cool goes crazy and leaves the ring to brawl with Bulldog and gets himself counted out and gives Waylon the win by count out. After the match Diesel who is in a rage gets back into the ring and Jackknife Power Bombs Waylon and then starts punching his down opponent while WWF officials try and break it up. This was a quick match and while the two big men exchange a few moves and hits nothing really happens that sets the match apart from any other and the count out victory was a major letdown and Waylon Mercy seems like a second thought as the match was a way to showcase Diesel and build his upcoming title match against The British Bulldog. Not much more to say besides it was cool to see Waylon in a bigger profile match even if he didn’t get to showcase his crazed persona nor moves. The match is limited and quick with a lackluster finish and could have been so much better then what we got.

Grade: **

Match 5: Waylon Mercy vs. Bret Hart

As the bell rings Waylon Mercy and Bret Hart shake hands and from the start of the match Waylon has the upper hand and starts beating up on Bret and get him trapped in the corner, and Bret is able to make a comeback when Waylon charges into a corner and Bret moves and starts working over Waylon’s arm. But Mercy regains control and is able to start putting a hurting on Bret even landing a massive body slam, but Bret being a skilled technician in the ring takes back control and keeps working on the arm of Mercy. But once out of the move Mercy is able to through Bret out of the ring to get a breather and able to try and take back control of the match and starts pounding on the Bret once he is back in the ring. Waylon even drives Bret’s face into the mat and lands some axe handle hits to his back, and Bret is in trouble and Waylon even starts clawing at the mouth and jaw of Bret with a crazy look in his eyes. After getting beat up for a little longer Bret is able to make a comeback after a boot to the face and a clothesline from the second rope takes Waylon off his feet and gives Bret the time needed to get his breath and figure out a way to win the match. Bret climbs to the second rope and lands his elbow drop and is able to get a two count on Waylon, but the match ends in a DQ when Jean-Pierre LaFitte makes a run in and attacks Bret Hart coasting Waylon Mercy the victory, but also saved him from possibly being pinned as he was on the ropes. This is a really good match and Bret Hart and Waylon Mercy trade moves back and fourth and the fans are very much invested, as they so want Bret to get the win. Bret as always is great and puts on a top-notch performance and even works around the limitations of the injured Waylon Mercy who also works really hard and puts on a great match. The moves landed in the match look very impactful and the back and fourth of the match momentum is well done. This is a great match and shows that Bret Hart was one of the best workers in wrestling history and that Waylon Mercy could have been a major heel if he could have been well during his 1995 run.

Grade: ***1/2

Waylon Mercy was awesome and one of my favorite heels from WWF in 1995 as he was a psycho southern gentlemen who got pleasure in hurting his opponent and trying to act as if he was sorry for his actions of brutality. I have to once more say that I would have loved to have seen him have matches against The Undertaker as I think the two could have worked a good program together, and I stick by that I think he should be in the WWE Hall Of Fame and that he should have been brought back to be apart of the Wyatt Family. Well as you can see the Rotten Ink Arena cleanup crew have came out and they are sweeping up all the left behind popcorn so that’s our queue to head out so as we make our way out the doors I want to let you all know that our next update will be about the iconic Pennsylvania Horror Host Dr. Shock and this will be a truly fun one for sure to celebrate Halloween with! So until then, make sure to read a comic or three, watch a wrestling match or two and as always support your local wrestlers. See you on Halloween for a Spooky Shocking good time.

R.I.W Wrestling Legends: The Zombie (ECW)

Posted on September 13, 2024 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to the Rotten Ink Arena. As you can see, Xmortis and his crew are starting to hang Halloween decorations, and they are serving a spooky Ghost Punch as well as a pork brain sandwich at the snack bar as tonight, as we countdown to the Halloween season, we have a creepy “R.I.W Wrestling Legend” update event for you. If you look around the arena tonight, I am sure you have noticed all the ECW shirts and signs as our main event features a strange character that haunted Extreme Championship Wrestling for one night only back in 2006. I am talking about the horror themed wrestler The Zombie or also known as The ECW Zombie! So let’s grab cup of Ghost Punch and a pork brain sandwich with extra hot sauce and find our seats as the casket music is playing and that can mean only one thing, The Zombie is here!

The Zombie made his debut in 2006 at the first ECW show under the ownership of WWE, and he was in the first match against The Sandman! The fans did not know how to take this shuffling, dirt covered undead wrestler who once in the ring would grab the microphone and grunt with anger. Most fans seemed to be confused and even laughed at The Zombie. And after his loss, he disappeared from ECW…but this was not his final match as The Zombie would find himself working the indies mostly in the New Jersey and New York area and would become a big draw and even a fan favorite as people would pay to see him wrestle. The Zombie would play up his undead gimmick for the fans and even would scare kids a little with his spooky appearance. He would work for companies like Pro Wrestling Syndicate, National Wrestling Superstars, Victory Pro Wrestling and Warriors Of Wrestling to name a few. He would have matches against names like Jason Static, Salvatore Sincere, Danny Demanto and The Boogeyman and would mostly be on the winning side of the matches. While The Zombie would not capture any titles during his run, he did capture the respect of the fans. The Zombie’s last match would be in 2014 as he would be in a six-man tag match for Victory Pro Wrestling. Say what you will about The Zombie, he took a very brief silly spooky ECW appearance and made it work on the Indies.

Tim Arson was the man who was the ECW Zombie. He started his career in 2001 and was trained by Johnny Rodz and worked the indies federations like USA Pro Wrestling, New York Wrestling Connection and Impact Championship Wrestling, and while working the indies he would find some success and would start building up a fan base. During his early days he would have matches against such names as Kid Kruel, The Rednecks From Hell, Grim Reefer and Damian Dragon. But in 2005 Tim would head to WWC in Puerto Rico and truly find his calling in the ring as he would rack up some big wins as well as would have some big matches including one against Sabu and would even capture the WWC Tag Team Titles with partner Rico Suave in 2006. In 2006, he would also work a match for WWE against Matt Striker that would air on WWE Heat. This is also when he would be the ECW Zombie in his one and only ECW appearance. After his brief micro run in WWE, he would head back to WWC and would stay there until around mid 2007. During this time he would head back to America and would work for many indies under his name as well as The ECW Zombie and would even go back and work in Puerto Rico. While never a big star, he was a solid worker and really did get the respect from fans who watched him, and yes Tim mostly worked as a heel. On January 7, 2015 at the age of only 38 Tim Arson passed away of an undisclosed clause.

The Zombie is a wrestler who clearly was booked in ECW for one match to get beat up, booed, laughed at and put into the match really so the company could prove a point to the Sy-Fy Channel (that was airing ECW) who wanted more Horror and Science Fiction wrestlers on the roster, that those type of gimmicks didn’t have a place in ECW as it was the house of Extreme…well a watered down WWE version of Extreme at least. And while The Zombie was supposed to be a throw away and forgotten, he is still talked about and remembered to this day showing that he at least made an impact! You have to give Tim Arson lots of credit as he took what would have been a bad gimmick and embraced it and made it work on the indies and by all accounts turned it into a fun wrestler who built up a fan base and brought horror to the events. I can remember when The Zombie appeared on ECW and can remember flashing back to the old days of the WWF and when The Zombie would have been a foe that was going after The Undertaker, and thinking wow, this is really cheesy and yet I did wish he would have stayed around a little while in ECW as a jobber to the stars. I really do like the idea The Zombie worked for years in indie federations in New York and New Jersey and got himself over with the fans who really would pay to see him wrestle. Not much more to say besides its cool that Tim was able to become The Zombie due to a wrestler that was supposed to play a martian no showing and Paul Heyman coming up with the wrestling zombie idea. I also liked the fact that he would cover himself in dirt so when he was hit or slammed a cloud of dust would come off him looking like he had just come out of the grave…nice touch and it’s a shame that The Zombie is no longer with us as it would have been cool to see him work some indie matches here in Ohio as well as seen him tour the conventions. And just in case any one was wondering, yes, I have an autograph picture of The Zombie that I bought second hand that hangs in my living room. Oh and I also need to say I like that on his debut, they do show two kids in the crowd who seemed to be a little scared of The Zombie.

We are now at the point of this review where we will be taking a look at the DVD set and reviewing some of the matches on the discs, like always between 4 to 8. I want to thank B-Videos 101 for having this set in stock and also want to thank The Zombie for his hard work in the world of wrestling. I also want to remind you that I will only be breaking down randomly select matches from this set and will be breaking down the match and will be rating the matches on a 5 Star rating system. I also only choose from single matches, as I want to break down his matches that showcase his style. Here is what the stars mean: ½ means a really terrible match, * means a bad match, ** means a below average match, **1/2 means a good average entertaining match, *** means a good match, **** means a great match, ***** means an epic match. So if you are ready, let’s step into the ring with The Zombie.

Best Of The Zombie (ECW)

Match 1: The Zombie vs. The Sandman

The Zombie makes his way to the ring and cuts a growling, grunting promo and is cut off by The Sandman who makes his way to the ring via the crowd guzzling beer the whole way as well as smacking his own kendo stick against his head. Once in the ring and the bell rings, Sandman beats Zombie with the kendo stick over and over and then uses it to Russian Leg Sweep the undead wrestler to get the three count and win the match via pin. This is 100% a squash match as The Sandman just uses the kendo stick to beat the hell out of the Zombie and then use one move to put him away, and the poor Zombie does not even get to land one move and just takes the beating. Not much of a match at all and is pretty much just a way to get The Sandman even more over with the WWE now owned ECW fans. The Zombie sells well and the dirt dust that poofs off of him during the beating was a nice touch. Over all a throwaway match that is just to showcase The Sandman and his brawling style.

Grade: *

Match 2: The Zombie vs. The Equalizer

After the bell rings the two lock up and The Equalizer is able to knock Zombie back into the ropes and the after they break apart Equalizer smacks him across the face. The Zombie is mad about this and responds with a massive spear that takes Equalizer to the mat, the two roll outside the ring and exchange some punches and The Zombie even starts biting the head of Equalizer who breaks free and runs around the ring with Zombie following close behind. Once Equalizer rolls back into the ring Zombie tries to follow but is greeted with stomps and the Equalizer takes control of the match and lands a big side slam and only gets a two count. Zombie then bounces off the rope and hits a back elbow that floors Equalizer and then the Zombie hits a press slam. Equalizer rolls out of the ring to catch his breath as the Zombie paces the ring and once outside the Zombie grabs a board and starts hitting Equalizer with it and around the ring the two brawl and Zombie even uses a chair and continues to even once back in the ring. After a low blow and a bulldog headlock Equalizer turns the tide and puts down thumbtacks that backfires as both he and Zombie go into them. The two brawl some more and Zombie misses a moonsault from the top rope, and Equalizer then misses a top rope move and this allows Zombie to grab a chair and leap and twist from the top rope with it and get the win over Equalizer via pin. The match is pretty slowed paced and is a weird brawling hardcore match mixed with Zombie hitting some pretty good classic style moves, and while his press slam was a little sloppy, it still was nice to see him get to work in a match. Both wrestlers brawl and do their best to try and get the fans into the match, and at times it’s clear the two did not have good chemistry together as many moves and moments just seem a little off. Not much more to say besides it was cool seeing two ECW guys from different eras having a match in a small indie federation. Not a great match but also not the worst I have seen and if you are a fan of either wrestlers, it might be one that piques your interest.

Grade: * ½

Match 3: The Zombie vs. The Musketeer

Before the match even starts, Musketeer does not want to get into the ring with the Zombie but is forced into the ring and the match starts and Zombie throws Musketeer across the ring and then hits a back body drop and then a few big clothesline and even a dropkick and gets a two count. The Zombie then chases Musketeer’s manager to the back, give Musketeer a moment to shake off the attack. The Zombie comes back out wearing a Musketeer hat and when the referee tries to get him back on track The Musketeer attacks the undead superstar from behind and starts stomping him on the mat and keeps the pressure on him even hitting a strong clothesline, but the Zombie makes his short comeback with a back elbow but is stopped when Musketeer hits a jawbreaker and tries to get Zombie to summit with a chin lock, Zombie gets out of the hold but is rolled up and Musketeer gets a two count, Zombie then fires back with some moves and gets a two count himself. Musketeer misses a move and racks himself as his manager enters the ring and attacks Zombie who knocks him away and then starts biting the head of Musketeer and once more his manager tries to save him and this causes the referee to DQ Musketeer and this gives The Zombie the win. This is a strange and basic style match that mixes in a dash of comedy wrestling, and while no major moves are used the basic stuff Musketeer and Zombie do looks good and makes for an entertaining match. The Musketeer does a great job of selling for The Zombie and acts like he is in major pain when hit. Not much else to be said about this match besides it very basic and fun for what it is, and I would have rather had a clean finish then the DQ is the major flaw with the match.

Grade: **1/2

Match 4: The Zombie vs. Boogeyman

Before the bell rings Boogeyman spits on the Zombie and the fans are grossed out by this, and as the bell rings the two stare at each other and Zombie rolls out of the ring as he does not have a game plan yet on how to attack Boogeyman who meanwhile is shaking all around the ring as the young fans in the crowd chant his name and then he throws worms into the crowd. The Zombie then attacks Boogeyman from behind and lands some big forearm smashes to his back and neck, Boogeyman fires back with some kicks to the gut of Zombie and then tosses him out of the ring and then stalks the Zombie who walks around the ring looking for brains. As they both get back into the ring Zombie catches Boogeyman and starts stomping on him and then bails out of the ring when Boogeyman starts making his comeback. The two start exchanging hits and moves outside the ring and even fight up the bleachers and Zombie even bashes Boogeyman with a trashcan who in turn does the same thing back. Zombie then uses a chair on Boogeyman trying to inflect as much damage as he can, but he misses his big shot and this allows Boogeyman to start beating the heck out of Zombie who is trying to crawl away and then like before the two exchange hits and trade the momentum back and fourth and this continues when both get back into the ring. Boogeyman ends up winning the match after he hits a choke slam that gives him the three count. This is a gimmick match as both Monster Themed wrestlers play up to the fans and mostly brawl to the delight of the young fans who are 100% behind Boogeyman and are eating up this match. Both guys pretty much just punch, kick, stomp and hit each other with objects the majority of the match and both guys for the most part do a great job of selling for each other and work around each others limitations and understand each others gimmicks. Some of the outside the ring brawling is hard to see as the crew did not have the proper lights to make it work. Over all a silly and fun match that did what it was suppose to do and that’s entertain the viewers no matter how sloppy and basic it was it did just that. Also Boogeyman makes Zombie eat worms after the match and them brings kids into the ring to dance like him.

Grade: **1/2

Match 5: The Zombie vs. E.J Risk

The Zombie chases E.J around the ring as the fans cheer as the bell ring E.J lands a few punches but Zombie shrugs them off and then tosses him across the ring and no matter how hard E.J tries The Zombie has an answer for his moves, but after trying to leave the match in fear and being forced back in he pulls the ropes down on the Zombie who tumbles out of the ring and E.J goes out after him and starts his attack and even continues to hit his moves once they make it back to the ring and hits a shinning wizard that knocks the undead wrestler out and this allows him to flip with a corkscrew elbow onto Zombie causing even more damage. E.J misses a splash in the corner and Zombie takes this chance to rack him on the ropes and lands a swinging neck breaker. And E.J tries to make a comeback but is cut off by Zombie who slams him into the turnbuckle and then hits a spine buster after an Irish Whip into the corner, E.J cheats with a low blow behind the referees back but after a failed top rope movie E.J is caught and Zombie hits his finisher the CKO and wins the match via pin. This is an okay match but sadly is riddled with botches mostly from E.J Risk as it seemed that the two had a very old chemistry together as at times the match was smooth while others it was a little rough. But with that said the fans seemed to really be into the match and were behind Zombie who they wanted to see win the match. I have to give E.J credit as well as he does his best and does pull off some impressive moves and even does a great job of selling for Zombie. Meanwhile Zombie wrestles his normal style that is a mix of basic moves and brawling tactics and like before it has a dash of comedy wrestling thrown in. Over all this was an okay match that brings an entertaining match to viewers and showcases that while the Zombie was limited in his own gimmick he still got fans hyped and behind him.

Grade: **

While The Zombie is not the most scary or skilled of monster-themed wrestlers in the business and when working many of the indies he had a big kid following who cheered him on, he still made his mark in pro wrestling just for being in the first match for ECW when WWE took over. I do want to once more say, it’s a shame that Tim Arson aka The Zombie passed away at such an early age. Well as you can see, the fog has dissipated and the house lights are now on so that is our cue that this update is over with as the clean up crew is now out sweeping up the dropped candy corn and the spatter of the pork brain sandwiches that made their way to the floor. As we make our way to the exit, I want to let you know our spooky countdown to Halloween 2024 continues as we will next be chatting about the 1943 Bela Lugosi classic Ape Man, that’s right, from a wrestling zombie to half ape human! So until next time, read a horror comic or three, watch a horror-themed wrestling match or two and as always ,support your local wrestlers. And see you next update for a creepy From Horror Movie To Horror Comic update.

R.I.W Wrestling Legend: La Parka

Posted on April 2, 2024 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to Rotten Ink. As you can see, we find ourselves at the Rotten Ink Arena as it’s WWE WrestleMania month so that means we celebrate the legends of Pro Wrestling and Lucha Libre, and as you can see, today’s update event main event star is one that has packed the house as he has been a big draw in both Mexico and America as this “R.I.W Wrestling Legend” update is about the Chairman of WCW the one and only La Parka, a masked Luchador that has always been a favorite of mine and has been long over due as I need to cover more of my favorite masked wrestlers from South Of The Border. Starting off with La Parka for our celebration of the 2024 WrestleMania month was just the right choice. So let’s grab some nachos and a burger from the snack bar and find our seats as this is going to be one fun wrestling legend event.

Adolfo Tapia started in Pro Wrestling career in 1982 at the age of 16 and was trained by Alberto Mora and Raul Reyes. He would work for the indies in Mexico and would work under many names and masks including El Gringo, El Asesino De Tepito, Principe Island and Invasor Del Norte I and would even lose a bet match against El Hijo Del Santo, and he worked hard for years in the indies before being signed to AAA in 1992 and would become La Parka, the skeleton reaper, who was a rudo that got cheered almost instantly by fans who liked his style of brawling and high flying. And just like that, La Parka was a main event star and would have his first major feud against Lizmark and the pair would even fight for titles that they would exchange back and fourth. In 1994 La Parka would be in a six man tag match for the When World’s Collide PPV that had WCW and AAA coming together, in the match he would team with Blue Panther and Jerry Estrada in a loosing effort against Chris Benoit, 2 Cold Scorpio and Tito Santana. And from there La Parka would continue to be a huge draw for AAA and would even win and hold many of the company’s titles and his popularity with fans continued to rise. In 1995 he would even make an appearance at ECW and would team with Psychosis to take on Rey Mysterio Jr. and Konnan. But a big step in La Parka’s career was coming in 1996! During his first run in AAA, he would have big matches against many Lucha Libre Legends like Solar, Octagon, Super Astro, Lizmark Jr., Eddie Guerrero and Villano IV to name a few.

In 1996 WCW was expanding their Cruiser Weight Division and hired many Luchadors at this time including La Parka who quickly became a breakout star among the pack that was hired as his creepy mask and more silly and playful gimmick got him over with the American fans. La Parka was used as a mid-card draw and would find himself in matches against fellow cruiser weights as well as matches against bigger stars in order to put them over like Goldberg. La Parka would have a manager for a short time in Sonny Onoo and would also team with Psychosis at the time. This would be a short lived partnership but would find La Parka working on WCW PPV’s as well as their top three shows Nitro, Thunder and Saturday Night. La Parka would also gain more fans when he would be called “WCW Chairman Of The Board” as he would carry out a steel chair that he would play air guitar with as well as would dance on it. In 1998, he would become a member of the Latino World Order (LWO) a group of Hispanic wrestlers who came together under the leadership of Eddie Guerrero and would have members Juventud Guerrera, Psychosis, Silver King, El Dandy, Damien 666, Hector Garza and Villano IV & V, sadly this group would disband in 1999. Later in 1999 he would have a gimmick that would have him speaking in Spanish and would have a silly English dub would play over his interviews. This was toward the end of his WCW run as at this point, he was being booked more as a joke and sadly he seemed to be the butt of the jokes. He would leave WCW in 2000, but this run would be what helped put him into the mainstream for wrestling promotions worldwide. In WCW La Parka just never got the push he should have and always found himself on the lower card.

La Parka in 2000 would return to Mexico and work the indies as well as a few dates for CMLL before signing with them in 2003 to a full time contract…but with this came a lawsuit from AAA who claimed they owned the name La Parka, and while the original was in WCW, they had a LA Parka Jr. working events. When the original signed with AAA’s biggest rival, they took action and now he had to go by L.A. Park with Jr. now becoming La Parka. L.A. Park would work as a main event star in CMLL but for a short time he had to be kept off TV due to the legal issues with AAA, and oddly enough CMLL would only work L.A. Park in bursts and this allowed him to as well still work for the indies in Mexico. His biggest feud in CMLL at this time was against Dr. Wagner Jr. During this time L.A. Park would also work for Xtreme Latin American Wrestling starting in 2004 and would come back to them for a run from 2009-2010. And by 2008 L.A. Park would leave CMLL and after working the indies would find himself back in AAA for a three year run that would have him feud with La Parka over the name as he would say the other was an imposter. This run was well done and would have him take on such Luchadors as Heavy Metal, Cibernetico, Extreme Tiger, Jack Evans, El Zorro and Electroshock. L.A. Park would leave AAA in 2013 and would return for a very short run for CMLL in 2014-2015 all the while still working in the indies.

In 2018 L.A. Park would return to AAA and find himself once more at being one of the company’s top draws and is still working to this day for them as he has won some big matches and even was the one who took the mask of El Hijo Del Fantasma who is now known as Santos Escobar in WWE/NXT. And while he is getting older, his brawling style is still very much over with fans and is what helps make him remain as one of Mexico’s biggest wrestling stars around the world. In 2018 he also worked in MLW, an indie American company that he quickly became a main event star for them and would have feuds with such names as Sami Callihan, Mace Warner, Pentagon Jr., Rey Fenix and Ross & Marshall Von Erich. L.A. Park would be fired from MLW in 2022 when he and his son El Hijo De L.A. Park attacked some fellow wrestlers with chairs in a off the rails attack that left two fellow workers injured. While L.A. Park is starting to slow down in the ring he still remains an icon of Pro Wrestling and Lucha Libre and during his run has won many titles from all types of companies from AAA to CMLL and even WWA showing that he was a big draw for companies and they know it. Sadly as of this update L.A. Park is not in the WWE Hall Of Fame, but once he retires he should be!

La Parka is a Luchador that I have been a fan of since I first saw in him in WCW and from that moment on, I followed his career as well as even started to look into his past and that meant his work for AAA. In WCW the thing that separated La Parka from the other Luchadors is his spooky skeleton look as well as the fact he would dance around and play air guitar and would wrestle a more brawling lucha style and was a little bigger than the others and this did allow him to work matches against none cruiser weight stars and kind of look like a contender. And while he know goes by L.A. Park to me he will always be La Parka and that is no disrespect to La Parka II who sadly passed away in 2020 after complications to an injury that happened in the ring, as he was a fantastic worker as well, it’s just that I grew up with the WCW La Parka and I am so used to calling him that. Back in the days of WCW I use to play as La Parka in many of the video games like WCW/NOW Revenge for the N64 and WCW Thunder for the PSX and it’s a shame that he has not been in any of the modern WWE games as a legend as it would be great to play as him again in a game. I have also been lucky enough to see LA Parka wrestle live in WCW and it was awesome to see the live crowd cheer him as he made his entrance, and I was one of the fans cheering my head off! I also find that La Parka’s mask is one of the most iconic masks in Lucha Libre and his legacy in wrestling will live on after he retires thanks to his son who doing the Jr. gimmick and this is great as I hope generations to come will get to see just how great La Parka is who as of this posting is still going strong in Mexico. I also want to say that La Parka took the # 6 spot for my Top 60 Luchador Countdown that you can read HERE.

We are now at the point of this review were we will be taking a look at the DVD set and review some of the matches on the discs like always between 4 to 8. But because this is a set about a Luchador we will take a look at 10 matches. I want to thank Coliseum Of Wrestling & Boxing for having this set in stock and also want to thank La Parka for his hard work in the world of wrestling. I also want to remind you that I will only be breaking down randomly select matches from this set and will be breaking down the match and will be rating the matches on a 5 Star rating system. I also only choose from Single matches as I want to break down his matches that showcase his style. Here is what the stars mean ½ Means a really terrible match, * Means a bad match, ** Means a below average match, **1/2 Means a good average entertaining match, *** Means a good match, **** Means a great match, ***** Means an epic match. So if you are ready lets step into the ring with La Parka.

Best Of LA Parka

Match 1: La Parka vs. Chris Jericho

As the bell rings La Parka charges and misses a body bump that causes him to crash to the mat and Jericho goes for a side headlock that La Parka breaks out of and lands some big punches and chops, that is till Jericho throws him into the ropes and is dropped when La Parka hits a shoulder tackle and then does some karate movies to the air as the fans boo. Jericho is able to recover fast and hits a dropkick that knocks La Parka down to the mat, and when La Parka tries to make a comeback he is kicked in the face by Jericho who is now in charge of the matches pace for a second as La Parka uses the ropes and is able to keep Jericho on the defense as Parka hits big of the rope kicks and even gets a two count on Jericho. Parka hits a good power bomb and then starts working on the arm and neck of Jericho and once more gets a two count. Jericho gets a one count when he sneaks and rolls up Parka who is able to get to the ropes to stop the pin attempt. Parka unloads some more moves including a belly-to-belly suplex, but cannot keep Jericho down. After a little more of a beating Jericho has had enough and makes a comeback unloading hits and moves on Parka and beats him with a roll up that gets him the three count. This is a very competitive match between two of WCW’s top cruiserweights at the time and the two work really well together and make each other look very good in the ring, as both sell well for each other and allow each to showoff their speed and moves. It was great to see La Parka move fast in the match and his rope work is great stuff, and as always Chris Jericho looks great in his fast paced moves. And the rollup win is fitting for the pace of the match and still made La Parka look like a contender. The fans in attendance also seemed to be into the match and that was nice to see as it was clear both La Parka and Chris Jericho were semi new to the company and trying to make names for themselves. Over all a pretty fun and solid match that entertained me and I have to admit that I popped when La Parka did his martial arts spot.

Grade: ***

Match 2: La Parka vs. Ice Train

As soon as the bell rings La Parka attacks Ice Train from behind and starts working on the back of his knee trying to keep the big man down on the mat, but La Parka’s hits and kicks are having very little effect on Ice Train who is raging up and drops Parka with one big chop. Ice Train starts using his power moves to toss La Parka around and hits a big power slam that knocks Parka silly. Train then hits a leaping shoulder tackle and Parka is clearly in trouble that is until he is able to hit a head kick and a spinning kick off the top rope that knocks Train down and is able to only get a one count. And once more Train takes back over and lands another power slam on Parka and then flings him into the corner and delivers a splash. Parka makes a small comeback with a jawbreaker and some kicks and even knocks Train out of the ring and lands a dive onto him. Once back in the ring Train hits a massive clothesline another power slam and then his finisher The Train Wreck (a big splash) and gets the win via pin over La Parka. This match was clearly a match that was set to showcase Ice Train who WCW was building up as a massive Baby Face and they pretty much have him dominate the match and shrug off much of the moves of La Parka, and that’s a shame as La Parka was clearly the more skilled worker of the two as Ice Train could only hit power moves as he hits a power slam three times during this short match…as he was very limited in the ring and it was clear he was being pushed due to his massive muscles. La Parka does a great job of selling for Ice Train and makes the limited wrestler look a little better. Not much to say besides La Parka’s outside dive looked amazing and if trained a little longer Ice Train could have probably been a bigger name in the sport. Over all an average match that WCW used La Parka as enhancement talent for a wrestler who had a very short shelf life. And the only reason this match is getting two is cause the hard work La Parka put in to get a match out of Ice Train.

Grade: **

Match 3: La Parka vs. Juventud Guerrera

As the bell rings La Parka and Juventud start shoving each other and Parka tries to get Juventud into the corner but keeps missing his hits as the faster Luchador is able to dodge his hits and escape. And Juventud then slides around his opponent and then lands a jumping kick that knocks Parka to the mat. Juventud then tries to land a top rope body press but is caught by Parka who dances while holding him before setting him on the other corner to slap him across the face, this fires Juventud up who leaps from the rope and flying head scissors Parka who goes to the outside only for Juventud to dive over the ropes onto him. The fans are into this match as they have popped for both guys and are enjoying this fast paced cruiserweight match. Once back in the ring Juventud lands a missile drop kick and gets a two count on a pin attempt. Parka turns the tide of the match with a boot to Juventud’s face and then a big clothesline and then dives off the top rope onto Juventud and gets a two count. Parka keeps up the pressure hitting moves on Juventud as the fans just keep on cheering for the match, this time Juventud is outside the ring and Parka dives over the top rope and onto him. Once back into the ring Juventud takes back control of the match that is until Parka hits a top rope power bomb followed by a spinning body splash from the top rope and he is able to get the win via pin. This was such a great WCW Cruiserweight match that had both guys getting equal time to shine with the live fans being very much into the fast paced match. Both La Parka and Juventud did a great job of making each other look good, both sell well for each other and both are able to show off their highflying moves. Both of there outside dives also look fantastic and impactful adding to the story that’s being told in this match. La Parka looks strong and is able to get the win and even though he is the heel of the match fans cheer for his hard work. This is a very cool match and is why I loved the Cruiserweight Division in WCW!

Grade: ***

Match 4: La Parka vs. Ultimo Dragon

As soon as the bell rings Parka and Dragon run the ropes and each showcase their speed and land some flips and moves. Dragon gets Parka into the corner and lands some chops and keeps using his speed to takedown and trip up Parka. And when Parka tries to make a comeback Dragon unleashes a fury of fast kicks and lands a dropkick that knocks him out of the ring and then Dragon climbs the top rope and dives onto him. But outside the ring Sonny Ono the manager of La Parka attacks Dragon and this allows Parka to land some hits and moves and even get a two count after a power bomb on the Dragon. Parka stays in control of the match until he misses a corner splash and this allows Dragon to land a off the top rope Frankensteiner and then get La Parka in the Dragon Sleeper, but Sonny Ono distracts the referee and this allows La Parka to kick Dragon in the back of the head and then Ono botches as he by accident kicks La Parka and once more Dragon locks in the Dragon Sleeper and gets Parka to tap out and wins via submission. This is a very fun fast paced match that did a great job of showcasing why Ultimo Dragon is considered one of the best cruiserweights in the world and also shows La Parka as a threat for the mid-card titles. The speed and kicks of Dragon are very awesome to see and La Parka does a great job of selling and acting amazed by the feats of Dragon throughout the match, I also like that they make it appear as if La Parka just might win the match with the help of his manager. Over all a really fun and entertaining match as both guys have great chemistry in the ring and told a quick story.

Grade: ***

Match 5: La Parka vs. Glacier

La Parka starts the match waving a Mexican Flag on the top turnbuckle as the fans cheer, Parka then gets off the turnbuckle and makes fun of Glacier’s martial arts and the fans continue to cheer. Glacier has seen enough and the two exchange karate chops and Glacier’s strike hard and knock Parka to the mat, but Parka gets back up and lands some punches and then uses a shoulder tackle to go for a pin attempt and gets a one count and repeats these actions again. Glacier then hits a series of kicks that knocks Parka out of the ring and Glacier jumps over the ropes with a cross body. Once back in the ring Parka takes control of the match hitting some big moves and lands a big piledriver and then dances around before landing some more moves on Glacier including knocking him out of the ring and corkscrew diving onto him. Outside the ring Parka slams Glacier’s head into a chair and the two battle more outside the ring and even Parka crashes into the chair. Once back in the ring Glacier hits his Cryonic Kick finisher and gets the three count for the win. This is a pretty fun match as La Parka is on and is playing up to the live fans who clearly want him to get the win! La Parka goes a great job in the match and uses his speed and Lucha Libre moves to try and make the match exciting as Glacier mostly does his same “martial arts” style moves, but does pull off a very cool over the top rope dive. The match is very short and sadly in my opinion the wrong wrestler won, as clearly everyone in the arena wanted La Parka to get the victory and La Parka is way more skilled in the ring than his opponent. The two lacked chemistry in the ring but Parka did his best to get a fun match out of Glacier.

Grade: **1/2

Match 6: La Parka vs. Disco Inferno

As soon as the match starts La Parka throws a chair at Disco who in turn doges the charge Parka who crashes into the corner. The two exchange hits and Parka hits a power slam before getting up and mocking Inferno’s disco moves. Disco returns the favor and hits a power slam of his own, and Disco takes control of the match his hits and holds and La Parka fights back and even knocks Disco out of the ring and hits a corkscrew splash and the two brawl outside for a bit and Disco even drops Parka on the guardrail trying to hurt his opponent to secure the win. But once back in the ring Parka goes on the attack with some kicks and a chinlock and once Disco gets out of the hold Parka continues his attack thanks to his speed and hits some impactful moves, but is unable to get the pinfall over Disco. La Parka once more goes for a chinlock to slowdown the pace and to ware down Disco who gets out of the hold and starts unloading on Parka trying to take the match momentum, but the two end up just trading the momentum back and fourth with holds and hits but Disco with the help of a chair is able to hit his Chart Buster finisher and get the win via pin over La Parka. This is a pretty good match and for the most part is entertaining, with both guys getting times to shine in the match the only downside is that I feel that their styles did not mesh that well and caused for some moments that seem off. La Parka shows off his speed and some of his Lucha style, but does seem to slow down his moves and does less flips than he normally worked into his matches. Disco Inferno is also a very solid worker who I think often get overlooked for his work, but his style just did not click well with La Paraka’s and what we have here is a match that is good and entertaining but is just lacking something to take it to the next level. Both guys do well for selling for each other and that helps both guys look like a contender, the fans in the arena seem to be into the match as they do cheer for La Parka as clearly they are on his side and want to see him win. Also I should say that this was an odd choice as this was part of the WCW SuperBrawl VIII and is given around 12 minutes.

Grade: **1/2

Match 7: La Parka vs. Psychosis

As the bell rings Parka and Psychosis start to lock up and Parka takes a cheapshot and then lands a series of big chops and after some rope running Psychosis returns the favor of chops and then takes Parka down with some flying head scissors and Psychosis keeps his attack on La Parka even knocking him out of the ring and hitting him with a big dive. But La Parka is able to turn the tide when he is able to get back into the ring first and delivers a big kick to Psychosis who was entering the ring and now he deals out some hits and holds including a massive clothesline and a split legged moonsault. Every time Psychosis tries to make a comeback he is cut off my Parka who just deals out more of a beating. But La Parka makes a mistake by dancing on the top rope as this gives Psychosis time to recover and knock Parka down and racking him on the ropes and then deliver a Frankenstein to get a two count. Psychosis keeps up his attack with highflying moves in and outside the ring, and finally after La Parka makes a small comeback it’s Psychosis that gets the win via pin after hitting Parka with a guillotine leg drop. This was a pretty fun match against two of WCW’s best cruiserweights at the time and each man had their time to shine as well as show off their Lucha Libre moves. Psychosis was the faster of the two and is able to do more fancy rope work, but La Parka does hold his own and is able to play off the fans to draw them into the match. Neither guy is made to look like a jobber and while La Parka showboats and this helps lead to his lose it’s these moments that bring that extra entertainment to the match. La Parka’s split legged moonsault looked fantastic as did most of Psychosis’s dives. Over all this is just a great cruiserweight match that showcased why WCW had the best division in America at this time. Also I should say that Psychosis and La Parka have great in ring chemistry and that is why this matched worked so well for the WCW PPV Spring Stampede.

Grade: ***

Match 8: La Parka vs. Booker T

La Parka is a member of the L.W.O at this time and as soon as the bell rings he and Booker T size each other up and Parka makes a big mistake as he starts dancing to taunt Booker T who ends up making the masked wrestler eat a big clothesline and then tosses him out of the ring. But La Parka tricks Booker T when he makes his opponent come outside the ring to get him, and then jumps him before he can get back in with some punches and chops and keeps up the attack that is until Booker T once more drops him with a clothesline and then gets off a few punches before the two start trading hits and holds trying to get the upper hand over the other. And Booker T hits the Scissors Kick and is able to get a two count, but Parka is able to fight back and the two go to the outside and start slugging it out as the fans cheer. Once back in the ring La Parka brings in a steel chair and tries to use it but Booker T stops him who in turn tries to use the chair and is stopped by Parka. The match ends with Booker T winning the match via pin when he kicks the chair into the face of La Parka. The match is clearly one to showcase and build Booker T as a top star for WCW as he has more of the hard hitting moves and is in charge for most of this short match. The fans are clearly behind Booker T who hits some amazing kicks and does a pretty solid job of letting La Parka not look like an enhancement talent in the match by selling for his moves. La Parka does not get to showcase much of his high -lying moves in this match and pretty much just does a brawling style with kicks, chops and punches. This match is very short and while nothing super fantastic happens both wrestlers look good in the match and it’s clear that their styles clashed slightly but they were able to pull it together as both workers are outstanding talents. And I should also note that its shocking that no other member of the L.W.O didn’t come out and try and help La Parka win the match.

Grade: **1/2

Match 9: La Parka vs. Tank Abbott

As soon as the bell rings Tank punches Parka in the face and drops him, he then backs Parka into the corner and unloads a series of big punches as Parka tries to punch back it’s clear that he is being out striked by the former MMA fighter. Tank then throws some elbows and then picks Parka up and slams him hard to the mat. La Parka gets out of the ring and grabs a chair and as Tank comes out after him he smacks him on the head with the chair and Tank shrugs it off and rams Parka into the steel railing and then starts stomping on him. The referee has seen enough and throws out the match, but Tank takes a few more stomps on Parka and even attacks security before heading back to the locker room. This is a total squash match that has Tank Abbott who was just off working for the MMA company UFC totally destroying La Parka in a very quick match that has Tank dominating him. And Tanks punches and stomps look brutal as does his slam, and this was a great way to build Tank as the fans were behind him once they seen just how rough and brawling he was. I mean he shrugged off a chair shot to his head. Poor La Parka throws a few punches and gets off one chair shot and none of these even faze Tank, and while this match makes La Parka look weak it does a great job of building Tank and the brawl almost comes off real and that makes for one entertaining match! I also think the finish of the match being thrown out by the referee was the right way to end the match.

Grade: **1/2

Match 10: La Parka vs. Brad Armstrong

As the bell rings La Parka does his dance to taunt Armstrong who responds with a massive clotheslin then pulls off a series of arm drags and keeps the momentum going on his side as even if Parka tries to comeback Armstrong keeps having an answer for his moves. Parka is finally able to make his comeback with a power slam and then unleashes some hits and kicks on Armstrong before even landing a big missile drop kick that gets him a two count on a pin attempt. Parka then hits a corkscrew dive on a downed Armstrong and gets another two count. Armstrong is able to turn the tide of the match and gets off a series of big punches and La Parka during this bumps into the referee taking him out, but then Alex Wright and his bodyguard The Wall come into the match and as Alex attacks Brad Armstrong, The Wall attacks La Parka outside the ring and tosses him back in and Armstrong falls on top of Parka and the referee wakes up and makes the count giving Armstrong the victor over Parka via pin. This is a match that should have been fantastic but sadly is a quick match that is more of a way to build the feud between Alex Wright and Brad Armstrong and poor La Parka was just being used as enhancement to keep the feud growing. The one good thing about this short match is that La Parka does get to use some of his highflying attacks with his Missile Dropkick and Corkscrew Splash being well pulled off. Brad Armstrong does not get to showoff much of his highflying moves but does get to show off his more technical ones. It’s clear that these two would have had great chemistry in the match if they were given the chance to really work it before the interface. And the finish is a little odd as Alex Wright and The Wall end up helping their target win the match and almost seem happy to have done so. Over all it’s an ok short match that sadly ends very oddly and I wish that Parka and Armstrong had been able to have a full competitive match.

Grade: **1/2

La Parka has always been one of my favorite Luchadors, and along with the others that came to WCW in the 90’s is what made them the better federation for the longest time in my opinion, and to me seeing L.A. Park as he goes by now working in AAA has been awesome because at his age he is still working at the top of the card after all these years. Well as you can see, the “R.I.W Wrestling Legend” update has came to an end as the arena staff have just turned up the house lights and the clean up crew is coming out to clean up for the next event as this is just the first of three wrestling updates in honor of WWE WrestleMania. Our next one will be about the legend Chief White Owl! And as we make our way to the exit doors, I want to say that if you have never seen a La Parka match, make sure to look some up on YouTube or find one on the Grey Market as you will truly enjoy them if you like Lucha Libre. Well until next time, make sure to read a comic of three, watch a wrestling match or two and as always support your local indie wrestlers. See you next update as we will watch the master of the Tomahawk Chop in action.

R.I.W Wrestling Legend: Yeti (AAA)

Posted on September 23, 2023 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to the Rotten Ink Arena. As you can see, the doors are open and this is a very special “R.I.W Wrestling Legend” update as this one is a part of our countdown to Halloween 2023 and the arena is filled with cool terrifying decorations and the snack bar has Baron Von Porkchop Pizza via the Pizza Bandit for sale. For those wondering it has bacon, salted peanuts, provolone cheese, apple butter sauce and candy corn on it! And today’s headliner is a Luchador who worked under many different gimmicks, several of them being Horror themed. The one we will be looking at is Yeti who worked for AAA in the early 90’s. And during the late 80’s and early 90’s Mexico was filled with amazing monster themed wrestlers who brought the fear as well as the action to the rings. Well a chill has filled the air and I can hear the music starting, so let’s grab a slice of pizza and a Witch’s Punch to drink and find our seats as this one is going to be a spooky good time.

Masakre started his pro wrestling career in 1983 and worked the indies in Mexico and very quickly would find himself working for CMLL and would also work under the name MS-2 and was paired with MS-1 and the two were a very popular team. He would then go on to join the group Los Infernales and with MS-1 and El Satanico and during this time as well he would win the Mexican National Tag Team Belts and would keep them until around 1988. The group would split and Masakre would feud with MS-1 and this would end in a hair vs. hair match and Masakre would lose, but this would lead him into join the group Los Intocables with Pierroth Jr. and Jaque Mate. And these three would win the CMLL World Trios Belts. For a brief time from 1993 to 1994 Masakre was the booker for CMLL, but things turned sour between he and the company and he would leave them by 1994. During his time in CMLL he would have some big matches against such names as Lizmark, Atlantis, El Rayo de Jalisco Jr., Villano III, Blue Demon Jr., El Texano, El Dandy, Konan and Vampiro to name a very few. Masakre built his name in CMLL and was considered a great worker and would be apart of very big and entertaining matches. And for those wondering Masarke would lose his mask in a match in the early 80’s to Kiss (who was based around the band Kiss).

In 1994 Masakre would head to AAA and would become the vampire Luchador named Drakula who was a feared Rudo who would team with the likes of El Hijo del Espectro, Karis La Momia and Quasimodo. And while Drakula was not a main eventer, he did work some matches with some big stars like El Hijo del Santo and La Parka. But in 1995 Drakula was no more and in his place was Yeti, a white furry suited monster and a masked Luchador who rampaged throughout AAA and was an odd attraction in Lucha Libre for the time as the fans did not know what to make of this superstar. Yeti would mostly be involved in trios matches and would not make his way to the main event or even title shots. The Yeti would stick around AAA until around 1997 and would find himself mostly on the losing end of matches. During his run Yeti would work matches against Perro Aguayo, Cibernetico, Tinieblas Jr., Super Calo, Heavy Metal and El Pantera. And just as fast as he came Yeti was gone and no one knows really what Masakre did for a few years but in 2000-2004 he would work as a evil clown gimmick called Coco Rosa for both AAA as well as the Indies in Mexico, and he is said to have worked as Yeti, MS-2 and Masakre in the indies around this time as well. But sadly in 2012 Masakre would pass away on April 12 at the age of 57 from cancer. While he was never the main star for CMLL or AAA, he was still a well respected Luchador who worked under many masks and gimmicks in order to entertain and along his journey in the ring he was able to at least capture some tag team titles.

Masakre was a wrestler that I knew more as Drakula as I can remember seeing some of his matches on grey market tapes as well as later on sites like YouTube and I truly enjoyed the monster themed Luchador. In fact I am also positive that I had seen him on a mix tape that had weird clips cut together from back in the early 2000’s. While I do think his work as Drakula is great and showcased his in-ring skill for me, his short time as Yeti is what stands out as the fuzzy bodysuit, the strange looking mask with blood red teeth makes you do a double take and wonder what this brawling monster was all about. And while it must have been really hard to work in that costume and mask, somehow Masakre made it work and was able to work the gimmick well. From what I have seen and read Yeti did not go over very well with the fans as well as his fellow Luchadors as many felt he was way to cartoonish and the gimmicks and costumes made for many limitations during the matches featuring them. Over the years many also have complained about the monster themed wrestlers being featured in the early days of AAA and did not understand why then owner and booker Antonio Pena would heavily feature them on the TV Shows, live events and “Pay Per View” events, and it’s simple as Horror was very big in Mexico at the time and Pena himself came from a legacy of Horror Themed Luchadors with he himself working as Espectro Jr. and his father being Ponzona and his uncle being the original Espectro. And what is cool also about Masakre is that he would change with time and would work as many different wrestlers both masked and unmasked and would also work for both CMLL and AAA and would be a part of Mexico’s Horror Luchador legacy.

We are now at the point of this review where we will be taking a look at the DVD set and review some of the matches on the discs like always between 4 to 8. Sadly I only have one match to cover for this “R.I.W Wrestling Legend” update. I want to thank B-Videos 101 for having this set in stock and also want to thank Yeti for his hard work in the world of wrestling. I also want to remind you that I will only be breaking down randomly select matches from this set and will be breaking down the match and will be rating the matches on a 5 Star rating system. I also only choose from Single matches, as I want to break down his matches that showcase his style. Here is what the stars mean ½ Means a really terrible match, * Means a bad match, ** Means a below average match, **1/2 Means a good average entertaining match, *** Means a good match, **** Means a great match, ***** Means an epic match. So if you are ready, let’s step into the ring with Yeti. Oh and I also need to alert you that this match is also a Six Man Tag Team match so it will be a little different than our normal R.I.W Wrestling Legend update.

Best Of Yeti

Match 1: Yeti & Karis la Momia & Espectro vs. Principe Zafiro & Torero & Ludxor

Before the bell even rings, Yeti and his teammates attack their opponents with Yeti going after Ludxor and even hits a spinning kick to his gut. Yeti then knocks Ludxor out of the ring and continues his attack outside with ramming his head into the steel post and then does it again as the fans are going wild as the Rudos keep up their attack. As the match goes on, Yeti attacks those who fall outside the ring and unleashes a series of hits on Principe Zafiro as his teammates watch the monster attack. Once back in the ring Principe Zafiro is attacked by Karis and Epesctro and a few moments later Yeti as they stomp him into the mat. The Yeti then gets back out of the ring and once more goes on the attack of Ludxor by ramming him into the railing as Karis tosses Torero into the fans, while in the ring Espectro keeps up his attack on Principe hitting a leaping leg drop to the back of his neck and knocking him hard to the mat. After a few moments all six men once more start brawling with each other with Yeti once more going after Ludxor and he and Karis even land a couple of double team moves on the injured Tecnico. And with that, the Rudos keep up their attack and for some reason it appears that the referee gives Ludxor and his teammates the first win and the Rudos just keep up their attack as Yeti just stands on Torero in the corner. And then Yeti once more exits the ring and goes after Ludxor even starts to choke him with a chair and places it around his neck and drags him around outside the ring and then once more starts ramming his head into the steel posts. The Yeti then joins Karis and Espectro in the ring and they all start beating up on Principe Zafiro but he is saved when Torero enters the ring and goes after Yeti and rams his head into the turnbuckle dazing the furry Rudo. But Karis saves him and once they toss Torero out of the ring they join Espectro once more in beating up Principe. All men once more are in the ring and Yeti hits a cannon ball on Ludxor, but this just fires him up as Ludxor then grabs a chair from outside the ring and bashes it over the head of the Yeti. In the end Espectro uses a chair in the ring on the head of Principe and the referees give the second win to the Tecnicos and they win the match, but the Rudos keep up the attack even after the bell. This six man tag match is crazy and is all over the place as its clearly a tornado tag as all six guys are battling all in and around the ring with our boy Yeti going crazy on Ludxor almost the whole match as he lands a few cannon balls, stomps, punches and chair attacks throughout it. It’s clear that he was not doing any truly high flying moves as he was more of a brawler then a flyer. The main workers of the match as Espectro and Principe Zafiro who work well together and work hard with Espectro doing some pretty cool moves. Yeti also takes a pretty stiff chair shot in this match that looks like it might have staggered him for a moment, but I have to give him credit as he fought on. While this match was chaos it was very entertaining and I feel that Yeti did a great job in the match as his brawling style was needed to make moves look impactful and to help toss and drag around his opponents, plus he was part of a couple double team moves that looked impressive over all a good solid match featuring mid-carders from AAA at that time. On a side note I would like to see some more matches featuring Principe Zafiro and maybe do an update on him.

Grade: **1/2

As you can see, Yeti was by no means a high flyer and while he would do some basic aerial moves, he was mostly a brawler who enjoyed beating his opponents up. And you had to feel for him in that suit as you know that he had to be burning up as most of those arenas he worked did not have air conditioning and the temperatures had to be super high. And with that it looks like Xmortis has turned on the house lights and Mr. X is bringing out the push broom so that is our sign that this event update has came to an end, and before we make our way out I would like to say that I hope in the future I am able to hunt down some more matches of the Yeti and will add them to this very update if I do and I would also like to tell you that our next update will bring us to the land of Horror Movies as we will be heading to Stanley Hotel and be chatting with Jack about axes, that’s right we will be talking about The Shinning! So until next time, read a comic or three, watch a wrestling match or two and as always support your local Wrestlers. See you next update as we kick off October 2023 right!

R.I.W Wrestling Legend: Papa Shango

Posted on October 21, 2022 by bloodlinematt

The Rotten Ink Arena doors are open and as you can see, it’s really spooky in here as fog is all over and Halloween decorations are hanging all around as this “R.I.W Wrestling Legend” update is about a wrestler who had the power of voodoo on his side and who could put curses on his opponents and make fans look on in fear! And I am of course talking about Papa Shango who terrorized the WWF as well as a few indies in the early 90’s and who is going to be coming down this aisle with his smoking skull and will shock, scare and entertaining this packed house. And while he grab some candy corn and spooky punch from the snack bar and find our seats I am also here to say that from time to time in the month of October we will have some “R.I.W Wrestling Legend” updates about these spooky themed wrestlers. But as you can see, the house lights are going down and the smoke is pouring in so that mush mean Papa Shango is on his way to the ring and our update is about to start.

Charles Wright started his pro wrestling career in 1989 and was trained by Larry Sharpe and came from background of working for bars and would first start working for Jerry Lawler in the USWA and go under the name The Soultaker and would even capture the USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship title his rookie year and held it for two weeks. While working for USWA he would also get chances to work a few matches in New Japan Pro Wrestling and this helped him learn more moves and skill sets. The Soultaker would also start working other smaller indie feds during this time and by 1991 he would get the call to come work for the WWF. And when first working for the WWF in Dark Matches and House Shows as Sir Charles and was not a character with a future. But in 1992 Sir Charles would become Papa Shango a voodoo master who would chant curses, wear face paint to make him look like a skull, would carry a skull that would smoke and he even could control the arena lights. Kids in the crowd was scared of this creepy guy as he would be pushed fast from the start and would get wins over name mid-carders and would also be pushed in big stories as he would feud with Ultimate Warrior that had him curse the Warrior and cause him to bleed and vomit black goo. He would also get a WWF World Heavyweight Title shot against Bret Hart at Saturday Night’s Main Event XXXI and even entered the 1993 Royal Rumble. But while he started out being a big heel for the company he quickly found himself falling down the card and loosing matches against names like Tito Santana and Hacksaw Jim Duggan. And by mid 1993 Papa Shango would be faded away from TV and the WWF. But he would be sent back to USWA by WWF as the two companies worked together and Papa Shango would win the USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship title for a second time. And would even in 1994 wrestle for the German company Catch Wrestling Association as Papa Shongo would go for the company’s world title but would loose. Papa Shango would fade away due to Pat Patterson not being a fan of the spooky character. But during his short run he would have some big matches against some big names like The Undertaker, The Road Warriors, Bret Hart, Ultimate Warrior, Randy Savage, Big Boss Man, British Bulldog, Kamala and Bob Backlund to name a few. Papa Shango really did scare the kids in the crowd and even some adults was spooked by his voodoo ways but his time to scare was short.

In 1994 Papa Shango would be no more and in 1995 Kama “The Supreme Fighting Machine “ would appear and be a shoot fighter who loved to fight and would feud with The Undertaker and even steal the Dead Mans urn and turns it into a gold necklace and would join the Million Dollar Corporation a stable of heels lead by Ted DiBiase. And Kama was a short-lived character that would be gone by 1996 after entering that years Royal Rumble. Kama Mustafa would return to WWF in 1997 and would no longer have the nickname The Supreme Fighting Machine and would be apart of the Nation Of Domination stable that was lead by Ron Simmons and would have fellow members over the years like The Rock, Mark Henry, D’Lo Brown, Owen Hart and PG-13. And after a good run with the stable he in 1998 would become The Godfather a pimp who would have hos come to the ring with him and the fans would love him and his larger then life persona. The Godfather would be a very popular mid-carder who would be in the WWF Intercontinental title picture from all the way up to 2000 and would even capture the title once. In mid 2000 The Godfather would become The Goodfather and would stop his sleazy ways and join the stable known as Right To Censor and would capture WWE Tag Team Gold along with partner Bull Buchanan. In 2002 he would return to The Godfather character with his ladies and all. But by the end of 2002 he would be let go from the company. From 2005 on The Godfather would make special appearance off and on for the WWF via Royal Rumble matches and even backstage segments. And even in 2007 Charles Wright would start working the Indies as well as doing conventions and at many would be both Papa Shango and The Godfather. In 2016 The Godfather was inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame and still remains a beloved semi retired wrestler.

Papa Shango almost made two big returns to the WWF over the years but the plans just never seemed to work out. Like in 1994 a plan was in place that would have Papa Shango be the one who put a voodoo spell on Bob Backlund to explain his crazed heel turn, but they decided to bring Charles back as Kama The Supreme Fighting Machine. And in 1997 they had plans to bring back Papa Shango and even update his look and character and once more he was instead Kama on his return. I am not going to lie as I would have loved to have seen either of these returns happen as I feel that the WWF did not fully do Papa Shango justice as the character was really cool and was a favorite of mine in the early 90’s and his feud with The Ultimate Warrior was one I enjoyed. And on a side note I still think WWF could bring back Papa Shango even now and have him involved in a story with The Fiend, and he could even have a none wrestling role and it still would work. But check out the first two pictures below to see what Papa Shango would have looked like in 1997 if he had returned.

Growing up a wrestling fan I have always liked the creepy and horror themed wrestlers and Papa Shango was one of my favorites as how can you go wrong with a wrestler who looked creepy and would put voodoo curses on his opponents and scare the hell out of the kids in the crowd. I mean he would make black goo pour from peoples heads, make them get sick and puke up that same black goo, he would mess with the arena lights and even set peoples feet on fire! He even once put the black goo curse on Mean Gene Okerlund and caused his arm to have pain and drop the microphone as the goo ran down his arm. And I always marked out for his matches against the likes of The Undertaker, Ultimate Warrior and Kamala. And I even had his Hasbro figure and would play him in the video games on the Sega Genesis. And in these modern times it seems that Papa Shango is finally getting some respect and love as the character was loved by many and hated by many when he first appeared, and now it seems like more people have discovered just how awesome the character was and how much potential he had as they really could have used him as a monster heel and could have had him in the World Title picture. If you can see Charles Wright at a convention at times you can get photo ops and he will dress as Papa Shango complete with smoking skill prop! I should also note that when Papa Shango disappeared off WWF TV I was pretty bummed and when he showed back up as Kama I was disappointed as while I like Kama and The Godfather the best gimmick in my eyes for Charles hands down was Shango. While he is none active for the most part from in ring action I for one hope that he does return at some point to the WWF as I think they could do some cool stuff with him in the over all story arch of The Fiend.

We are now at the point of this review were we will be taking a look at the DVD set and review some of the matches on the discs like always between 4 to 8. I want to thank Coliseum Of Wrestling & Boxing for having this set in stock and also want to thank Papa Shango for his hard work in the world of wrestling. I also want to remind you that I will only be breaking down randomly select matches from this set and will be breaking down the match and will be rating the matches on a 5 Star rating system. I also only choose from Single matches, as I want to break down his matches that showcase his style. Here is what the stars mean ½ Means a really terrible match, * Means a bad match,** Means a below average match, **1/2 Means a good average entertaining match, *** Means a good match, **** Means a great match, ***** Means an epic match. So if you are ready, let’s step into the ring with Papa Shango.

Best Of Papa Shango

Match 1: Papa Shango vs. Tatanka

Shango jumps Tatanka from behind just as the bell rings and unloads some punches and throws Tatanka into the ropes but misses a dropkick, given Tatanka a chance to fight back with some massive chops. Papa Shango takes the chops for a short time but once more takes control of the match and even delivers a big jumping head butt that knocks Tatanka down, and allows Shango to keep up his assault and even choke the Native American superstar on the ropes. Shango then gets Tatanka in a nerve hold trying to make him submit and he really digs it in with all his size and power, but as the fans start cheering Tatanka starts to war dance and use his elbows to Shango’s gut in order to break the hold and take the momentum of the match. Tatanka climbs to the top rope and drops a chop to the head of Shango, and is able to get a two count. Shango goes outside the ring and grabs his voodoo stick and tries to hit Tatanka with it as sparks shoot out of the top of it and the referee has seen enough and disqualifies Papa Shango and gives the match to Tatanka. This was a good solid match that was sadly a very lame ending as both guys were being pushed at the time so they just did a DQ ending so neither had to take a pin. The match for the most part is all brawling styles mixed with some moves and a dash of rest holds. While the styles of Tatanka and Papa Shango did not blend all that well they both did a great job to make the best of the match that the fans at the arena seemed to enjoy as they popped for Tatanka throughout. It was also nice to see Papa Shango try and pull off a dropkick and Tatanka’s top rope head chop looked good. And also the commentators did a good job of putting both men over in skill as well as Shango’s gimmick. Over all a good upper mid-card match that had Shango trying to use his voodoo to win and it backfiring and causing him to loose by DQ.

Grade: **1/2

Match 2: Papa Shango vs. Kamala

Before the bell rings Papa Shango shows Kamala the smoking skull, and as Kamala stares at it and the bell rings Shango makes the skull shoot fire from the top and this scares Kamala who tries to leave the ring and is only being stopped by his manager Slick. Shango then attacks Kamala from behind and even starts biting him, and splashes him into the corner. When Shango whips Kamala into another corner and tries for a splash again Kamala is able to move and makes a comeback complete with a chop to the top of Shango’s head. Kamala misses a big splash and Shango is able to once more take control of the match and attacks the eyes of Kamala and then starts choking him on the ropes. Shango keeps up the attack on Kamala and tosses him out of the ring, and then starts to attack his manager Slick. Kamala sees the attack on his manager and gets back into the ring and is able to save him and then the two go outside the ring and get counted out. First thing I have to say is that Kamala’s selling of looking at and being freaked out by the smoking skull is fantastic! Kamala is such an under rated wrestler and his comedy aspects are great when he wants to be funny. This match is pretty much a brawl as Shango and Kamala throw punches and hit basic movies like body slams and yet for some reason it really works as both guys have gimmicks that mesh well and they play off each other so well. In fact when selecting the matches for this update, this was the one I was most looking forward to. Neither men throw out any moves that standout or are that impressive, but the comedy between the two is what makes this match work so well. I was a little disappointed in the count out ending though. To sum it up, I would have liked for this match to go a little longer and would have had one of them winning the match. And Shango is the prefect heel in the match as he uses dirty moves and trues his best to scare his opponent silly.

Grade: **1/2

Match 3: Papa Shango vs. Mr. Perfect Curt Henning

Papa Shango jumps Curt Henning as the bell rings and lays in some big punches, and then tosses Henning out of the ring. Shango even rolls out of the ring and attacks Henning before he can even get back into the ring and even once he is able to get back into the ring. Henning makes a comeback and dropkicks Shango out of the ring and then goes out after him even ramming him into the post. Once back in the ring Henning and Shango exchange hits and moves each trying to cut the other off from getting to much momentum. Shango ends up getting Henning in a headlock and cheats to get leverage by putting his feet on the ropes and almost puts Henning asleep with the hold. But Henning is able to get out of the hold and land some big clotheslines, and after a missed move Shango is put into the Perfect Plex and Henning gets the win. This is a good match as Curt Henning was one of the all time best and he was able to work well with the style of Papa Shango who throughout the match looked like a major threat. Henning also really sells for Shango well and makes him look like the monster heel they were building him up to be. The ending was great and having Henning quickly hit the Perfect Plex was a great way to give Henning the win and also not damage Shango in the process. Over all this was a really good match and again have to stress just how good Henning was at this time in making everyone in the ring with him look like a true superstar.

Grade: ***

Match 4: Papa Shango vs. Repo Man

Before the match its clear that Repo Man is a little scared of Papa Shango as is many of the young kids in the crowd. As soon as the bell rings Papa Shango is all over Repo Man and throws and batters him around the ring before getting an arm bar and working over the wrist joint of his opponent. But Repo Man is able to make a comeback and after a few bit punches he uses a clothesline to take Shango off his feet. Repo Man then gets an arm bar of his own and starts working over the arm of Shango who gets out of the hold by picking him up and body slamming him hard to the mat, and locks in a chin lock on Repo Man who is clearly in lots of pain. Shango breaks the hold and pushes Repo Man into the corner and starts biting him as the referee yells at him. Repo Man tries to make a small comeback but is cut off and after a double clothesline Shango gets mad and grabs his voodoo stick and shoots sparks into the face of Repo Man who in turn grabs his rope and hook and the referee disqualifies both me and neither get the victory. What a strange match for the WWF to have as both men are heels and the fans have no idea who they should cheer as they both work a brawling style with each throwing big punches and hitting your most basic wrestling moves. And because they wrestle a semi same style the action in the ring was solid and it was clear that Shango is who was being pushed and he is in control for most of the match. And Repo Man does a great job of selling as well as acting scared of Shango, and on the other side Shango does a good job of selling for Repo man when he makes his comebacks. But like before the finish is a little of a letdown as once more is a DQ as both men grab weapons and the referee has seen enough and throws it out, it should have had a clear winner of the match. This is a weird booked match but at least a very entertaining one.

Grade: **1/2

Match 5: Papa Shango vs. Marty Jannetty

From the start of the match Papa Shango out powers Marty and gets him into the corner and starts throwing punches and even works over Marty’s eyes. Shango makes a mistake and tries to axe handle hit Marty who is able to jump kick Shango in the face. Shango then challenges Marty to a test of strength, but Marty is to smart for him and just as they are about to lock up he gets Shango in an arm bar, Shango gets out of the hold and they pull off a chain of moves against each other and Marty ends up back to having the arm bar locked in on Shango. Marty ends up knocking Shango out of the ring and goes out after him, but Marty misses a move and hits the guard railing and this gives Shango the chance to stomp on Marty outside the ring, and then tosses him back into the ring and drops an elbow and stomps on his face and then tosses Marty back out of the ring. Marty gets back in and rolls up Shango for a pin, Shango kicks out and hits Marty with a massive clothesline and is only able to get a two count on the Rocker. Shango starts arguing with the referee and Marty roles him up for a one count. Shango then starts punching Marty who bounces off the ropes and rolls up Shango again and this time gets the three count. What a good match that had to solid mid-card draws entertaining the fans as Marty of course worked a fast pace as Shango brought the brawling style. The two really worked well together and the quick surprise pin was a great finish for the match as if gave Marty a win and also didn’t make Shango look weak in defeat. The crowd was behind Marty and he does a great job of playing the crowd and getting them involved in the match. And the fans do not like Shango as they boo for his moves. Over all really a good quick match and both guys look great and both guys work well together and made for an entertaining match.

Grade: ***

Match 6: Papa Shango vs. The Undertaker

The bell rings and The Undertaker and Papa Shango stand in the middle of the ring face to face and stare each other down and the electricity is filling the arena and Shango makes the first move and grabs Taker by the throat and backs him into the corner. But Taker then grabs Shango by the throat and backs him into the corner. Once the choke is broke Taker starts landing good hits on Shango and even walks the top rope and clubs the arm of Shango who tries to make a comeback but is body slammed for his attempt, but taker misses a dropping elbow and Shango is able to knock Taker out of the ring who lands on his own feet, but Shango will not let him into the ring. Once Taker gets back in the ring and behind the referee’s back Shango uses his voodoo stick to shoot sparks into the eyes of Taker who falls out of the ring blinded and Shango goes out after him and starts pounding on him and hits him with a chair and even throws him into the steel steps. And once back in the ring Shango continues to beat up on Taker who keeps sitting up and after a serious if big elbow drops Shango waits to see if he rises, and as the manager of The Undertaker Paul Bearer lifts the urn he carries into the air The Undertaker sits back up and hits Shango with a leaping clothesline and then choke slams him and gets the three count and the win. This is a match that features two of the best wrestling gimmicks that were in the WWF at the time as both had horror themes and these two should have had a much bigger feud than they did. I mean imagine a story that had Papa Shango using voodoo to control The Undertaker and turning him into a heel, and Paul Bearer having to figure out a way to get Taker back, but that for another topic. The match is slow passed as both work a brawling style but their styles cause very similar mix very well and The Undertaker does a great job of selling for Shango even when sitting up like Michael Myers from the Halloween movie series. While Shango does great selling and watching The Undertaker as you could tell he wanted to bring him down. The Undertaker walking the top rope in a movie that is now called Old School is great and got a pop from the crowd. In fact the crowd was really into this match and it was clear they wanted The Undertaker to win. The stare down between the two at the start of the match was great and really set the mood for the match and when Shango landed all those elbows and watched to see if Undertaker would sit back up was great creepy heel stuff. A great entertaining match as I enjoyed the story telling in the ring as well as the slow moving brawling action, really do wish these two got a longer and more flushed out feud.

Grade: ***

Match 7: Papa Shango vs. Bret Hart

This is match is for the WWF World Heavyweight Title. As the bell rings Papa Shango starts landing clubbing blows to the back of Bret and takes control for a moment, but then Bret is able to pull off a monkey flip and hits some big punches and goes for the pin after a flying body press, but only gets a one count and with the kickout Bret is thrown to the outside, Bret slides back in and hits Shango with an atomic drop and then clotheslines Shango over the top rope as the fans go crazy, as Bret dives out and lands a big punch to the downed Shango. Once back in the ring Shango is able to take control of the match when he whips Bret chest first into the turnbuckle, and then start beating up Bret with punches and moves and even gets Bret into a massive bear hug, Bret escapes the move by biting Shango on top of his head, but Shango keeps the momentum in his favor and shows just how powerful he is, and then goes for a never hold on Bret. And anytime Bret tries to make a comeback Shango uses his power to cut it off and stop it. Shango misses a top rope elbow drop and Bret takes over the momentum of the match and keeps hitting Shango with moves and going for the pin only for the Voodoo Man to kick out. But Bret is able to get Shango in the Sharpshooter and Shango gives up and this gives Bret the win. This was a great WWF title match and like always Bret Hart gets a great match out of his opponent with this one being Papa Shango. Bret does a great job of not only flawlessly pulling off his moves, but also makes Shango look like a top heel contender for his title and like the true superstar he is gets the fans really into the match. Shango as well does a great job of hitting massive moves and stays on Bret making it look like the title is in jeopardy of switching hands. And even in loosing Shango still looked strong throughout the match. A really good match and shows that Papa Shango could work with every style of wrestler on the WWF roster at the time as he could work jobbers as well as top of the federation like Hart and have good matches with them all.

Grade: ***1/2

Match 8: Papa Shango vs. Bob Backlund

From the start of the bell Backlund is able to use his speed and technical style to trip up, out maneuver and take down the much bigger Papa Shango who ends up talking the momentum when he beats Backlund in a test of strength. Bob is able to gain control again and this time shows Shango that he as well has power. But Shango is able to land a massive backbreaker and take Backlund down, and then the two battle outside the ring with Shango being the one in control and rams Backlund’s back into the apron, and even back in the ring Shango keeps up the attack keeping Backlund down with a headlock. Even when Backlund is able to use an arm drag to get out of the headlock Shango keeps up his attack not giving him a moment to catch his breath, and after pounding on him locks in another headlock and cheats to get leverage by putting his feet on the ropes. Shango lets go of the hold and starts to torture Backlund a little more, but the veteran out smarts Shango and is able to roll him up with a small package and get the win via pinfall. This was a good match that was for the most part very one sided as Papa Shango was in control for most of the match and just beat the heck out of Bob Backlund and event used submission moves to try and wear the old veteran down, and Shango looked like a beast doing so and really got the fans worked up as they were on the side of Backlund. And speaking of Backlund he does a good job of selling for Shango, getting the crowd to cheer and his for his age at the time showed that he had speed. Bob Backlund was super skilled in the match and while he and Shango have very different in ring style the match comes off very good and both come out looking like the superstars they are. Also should note this was a match of the past meeting the then generation of WWF wrestling.

Grade: **1/2

Papa Shango was one of my favorite heels in the WWF in the early 90’s and is truly one that I wished would have stuck around as he could have had good matches and feuds with many of the wrestlers at the time and the years after he was gone. I mean I would have loved a full feud with The Undertaker, Ultimate Warrior, Jake “The Snake” Roberts and later Mankind and Vader. While Papa Shango might not be the most skilled wrestler of all time his gimmick, look and skills made him a stand out for me and he was one of the best horror themed wrestlers at the time only behind the likes of The Undertaker. But as you can see the ghosts, goblins and vampires have started to fill the Rotten Ink Arena for the after midnight monster bash so I think that’s our cue to leave, but before we do I would like to tell you that our next update will have us hanging out with Horror Host Icon Sammy Terry as we celebrate Halloween! So until next time read a comic or three, watch a wrestling match or two and as always support your local indie wrestlers. I wonder if the Great Pumpkin will show up for the next update?