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.

Indie Luchador Files: Blue Flame

Posted on March 23, 2025 by bloodlinematt

The Indies are a great way for unsigned young wrestling talent to build a name for themselves and show the world and the majors what they are bringing and why they should be signed andapart of their roster. It’s also a great place for journeymen to entertain the crowds as well as work with the next generation. Tthe indies is also a great place for the legends to wind down their careers and be able to show that they still have it and work with the youngsters as well as bond with their fans. For this update we are going to look at another amazing indie Luchador who was a journeyman who became a legend and who gave so much back to the world of Lucha Libre as he became a trainer to so many of the next generation Luchador stars of the ring. And the amazing talent I am talking about for this Indie Luchador Files update is Flama Azul aka Blue Flame! So let’s enter the Rotten Ink Arena and chat about this iconic Lucha Libre star.

Again, I want to think all the blogs and websites that had information on Flama Azul as not only did they make this update possible but also are keeping the legacy of Flama Azul alive. I also have chosen him to be the second Luchador featured in an Indie Luchador Files update because I feel he really did make a mark in the world of Wrestling, and with that, let’s take a brief look at the one and only Flama Azul.

Flama Azul
Started: 1967 Companies: Indies & CMLL Active: No Seen Live: No

In 1967 Antonio Sanchez Vargas started his wrestling career as Flamer 1 before settling on the name Flama Azul (Blue Flame), and due to his skill and popularity with fans he quickly captured many titles on the indie scene with such titles as National Lightweight Championship, Border Middleweight Championship, Tamaulipas Middleweight Championship and Cd Juarez Couples Championship! During his time on the indies, he really was popular and headlined many events and was capturing not only the fans’ attention but also the respect of his fellow Luchadors for his hard work in the ring and his crowd drawing ability. After working hard on the indies, he would get the call to sign with CMLL and would be part of the group Superlibres at the Pavillob Azteca and would even have some matches against the likes of Blue Panther, Jaguar and Black and would even win the masks and hair of many of his fellow Luchadors! But his luck would run out in 1982 as he found himself on the losing end of a bet match and he himself lost his mask along with Nurse II when they were pinned by the Brazos and worse once unmasked he found himself in a downward spiral in bet matches as he would lose his hair a total of four times. But he would be on track to at least win a few more title belts in the Indies when he captured the AWWA World Title! Flama Azul would even have matches against the likes of El Hijo del Santo and El Solar both of whom would even be ones that took the hair of Flama Azul in bet matches! Flama Azul would wrestle well into the 1990s and would even start training future Luchadors in the art of Lucha Libre! Sadly on March 28, 2018 Antonio Sanchez Vargas aka Flama Azul passed away and the world lost a great Luchador and teacher. Working his career, it looks like Flama Azul would be both a Rudo and a Tecnico and would be masked and unmasked and he would entertain the fans with his Lucha Libre style.

Flama Azul is one of those Luchadors that I feel would have made a great fit for WCW in 1996 when they had the massive boom of cruiserweights coming in to help build their Cruiserweight division. I mean sure he would have been older and at that point unmasked, but I feel he could have been a veteran in the division who could have put over many of the younger talent all the while also teaching them. I am also happy that in what history we know of Flama Azul, he did get a break in Mexico’s biggest company at the time, CMLL ,as it’s great to see hard workers and journeymen like him get a bigger spotlight. Some of his later matches can be found online with his hair losing match against El Solar being on YouTube. Wwith next month being WWF Wrestlemania month, let’s stay in the world of wrestling and in the Rotten Ink Arena for our next update and take a look at Phantasio for a “R.I.W Wrestling Legends” update. So until next time, read a comic or three, watch a movie or two and as always support your local Indie Wrestlers.

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: Mr. Wrestling II

Posted on May 22, 2023 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to Rotten Ink. As you can see, we are here again at the Rotten Ink Arena and the house is packed! I mean they could not shoe-horn another fan in here as the topic of this “R.I.W Wrestling Legend” update is who brought them all in here. Mr. Wrestling II is a true icon of wrestling and is one of America’s most popular masked grapplers of all time! Yeah, he really is considered one of the best wrestlers in general from the Golden Age of wrestling and this is one update that should be a fun one as I can remember seeing some of his matches as a youngster and I cannot wait to revisit his matches. So if you are ready, grab yourself a soda pop as the matches are about to start.

Mr. Wrestling II was trained by Pat O’Connor and Tony Morelli and started his in-ring career in 1955. He was going under the named Johnny Walker and would travel around the territories and was building a good name for himself as he was a solid worker and promoters took notice of his work,. And because he was so flexible he was even given the nickname “Rubberman” by Texas promoter Paul Boesch who ran Houston Wrestling. In 1964 Johhny Walker would walk away from wrestling and would “retire”. In 1967 Walker would return wearing a mask and going by The Grappler and would work the Indies in Florida until 1972 and was a wrestler that fans took notice of as he was skilled and could work with stars as well as jobbers and get great matches out of both. During his time as Johnny Walker, he had a mixed bag win loss record, same as The Grappler but as both ring names he was booked in some high profile matches. Being semi retired, Johnny Walker would once more be talked into coming back. This time he would go by the name Mr. Wrestling II and would be the tag team partner to Mr. Wrestling, and the two would work both Championship Wrestling From Florida as well as NWA Georgia. The team would fade away and Mr. Wrestling II would continue on and would be a major draw and was one of the most loved wrestlers going at the time and would make promoters so much money when booked on a card as people paid to see him wrestle. During this time he would also take young wrestler Magnum T.A. under his wing, and the pair would work as a tag team and would even have an angle that had Mr. Wrestling II turning on him, due to resentment. The angle was massive and would make both look great in the end. While Mr. Wrestling II was getting up there in age, he still had a few years left in his career as well as a few more federations to wrestle in.

In 1984 Mr. Wrestling II would be hired by Vince McMahon to be part of the WWF as the company was making a big play to expand and take over the world of wrestling and they needed a legend like Mr. Wrestling II for the roster. While working for the WWF he was mostly used on house shows and as enhancement talent putting over younger stars as Mr. Wrestling II was getting up there in age and Vince just wanted him for his name value and to keep him locked up and not working for a competitor. He would end up putting over names like Iron Sheik, Bob Orton Jr., Brutus Beefcake, Chief Jay Strongbow, Jim Neidhart and Randy Savage. Barely seen on TV and too old to be a big star for WWF, his run would come to an end in 1986. Once free from the WWF and with a few more years left in him, he would go into wrestle for Continental Championship Wrestling, Southern Championship Wrestling as well as picking up a few dates working some Indies. And in 1990 he once more stepped away from in-ring action, but would work on final match in 2007 at the age of 73 for Hawai’i Championship Wrestling before fully retiring from the sport. Over his long on and off again career in wrestling, Mr. Wrestling II would capture many titles, build up a massive fan base and would make money for the promoters who booked him. Sadly Mr. Wrestling II passed away on June 10, 2020 at the age of 85 from unknown causes.

Mr. Wrestling II is hands down one of the most popular masked wrestlers of the classic days of wrestling and is a name that almost every wrestling fan knows as he was truly a journeyman wrestler who worked his ass off in the ring to entertain fans. The one thing about Mr. Wrestling II is that while he was a great wrestler, I do feel he stuck around a little too long and ended up getting wins over some younger talent that he should have been putting over. But when you look back at it all, promoters kept booking him and allowing him to win matches because he was still a draw even when older and his name meant something in the sport and more importantly to the fans. I can even remember seeing him on a old WCW event where Mr. Wrestling II was wearing his mask as well as a suit, funny stuff and reminded me of the old days of El Santo when he rocked the mask and suit combination in films and public appearances. The thing that I also remember the most about Mr. Wrestling II is just how basic he looked as his mask was a simple black and white and nothing special and flashy so nothing like most of the Luchadors have in Lucha Libre, but yet his simple look really worked for him. I also find his career very interesting, as he was a wrestler who retired many times and was talked into coming back by promoters…I mean Mr. Wrestling II seems to be the must reluctant legend in wrestling history! I also love that former President Jimmy Carter has said that Mr. Wrestling II was his favorite wrestler and the two became kind of friends and I also love that he would not remove the mask as he tried to keep his identity a secret. When watching his matches as a kid I always found Mr. Wrestling II to be skilled but a little dated and lacked the flash of the then modern wrestlers of that time. A true masked wrestling legend in the sport and one that has left a huge legacy.

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 Mr. Wrestling II 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 Mr. Wrestling II.

Best Of Mr. Wrestling II

Match 1: Mr. Wrestling II vs. Buzz Sawyer

Buzz tries to get the jump on Mr. Wrestling II before the bell but instead eats a punch to the gut and then Wrestling II delivers a big backdrop to Buzz. But then the Masked Superstar who is in Buzz’s corner grabs Wrestling II’s robe and rips it apart at ringside, and Buzz does his best to make sure that Wrestling II cannot get out of the ring to stop it. Buzz keeps tackling Mr. Wrestling II who is able to get off a few hits and after the robe is destroyed Buzz leaves the ring, and the bell is rings and Mr. Wrestling II wins by DQ. A short and lackluster match when it comes to wrestling as a few punches, takedowns and a backdrop is all you get, but the story telling from Mr. Wrestling II, Masked Superstar and Buzz Sawyer is really good as you can feel the hatred and emotion come from Wrestling II as he cuts a promo on them after the match. Sadly it’s a super low rating for the match but for storytelling I will give it at least one star.

Grade: *

Match 2: Mr. Wrestling II vs. Paul Garner

Mr. Wrestling II starts off the match by locking on a headlock on Paul in the center of the ring and ever after Paul breaks loose for a moment he is quickly placed right back into the hold. Once out of the hold Wrestling II then beats Paul in a test of strength and then starts working on his arm with an arm lock. Paul escapes and lands a few hits onto the chest of Wrestling II and then throws him into the ropes only for Wrestling II to take the lead on the match again dropping Paul with only one clubbing hit to his back. Wrestling II then body slams Paul and as he is getting up Wrestling II hits him with his knee lift finisher and is able to get the three count after splashing on top of him with a weird awkward dive. This match is pretty much a squash match as Paul Garner tries his best and fails to do anything of real value to Mr. Wrestling II who shrugs off every attack and just rest holds his way to victory as the fans cheer for him to win. Not much to say really about this match besides Paul looks like a jobber, Wrestling II looks like a vet who still wants a top spot in the company and what you get is a very lackluster middle of the road match with no storytelling and no real heart.

Grade: **

Match 3: Mr. Wrestling II vs. Larry Higgins

As soon as the bell rings Larry Higgins tries to go on the attack but Mr. Wrestling II is to smart for him and dodges all of his attacks with ease. And then Wrestling II gets Higgins down and starts working on his leg with stomps and after getting him in a leg lock Higgins can only save himself by getting to the ropes. But just as quick Wrestling II takes Higgins down again for a leg lock and is really putting pressure on it, and like before getting to the ropes is the way the hold is broke. And again Wrestling II gets him down and works on that leg, Higgins tries punching Wrestling II in the face in order to break the hold and it works for a second before he is back working the leg until another rope break. Higgins has had enough and after a cheap shot on Wrestling II he starts pounding on the masked man, but the comeback only lasts a few seconds before Wrestling II is once more working over his leg and then hits Higgins with his Knee Lift and gets the pinfall victory. This boring technical rest hold match will at the start make you wonder if you are stuck in that movie Groundhog Day as the loop of Wrestling II’s leg hold and Higgins rope break plays out way to many times and makes for a very bland start of the match. And sadly it never really picks up as Mr. Wrestling II just keeps up with the leg locks and after a brief “explosion” of stomps and punches hits his Knee Lift finisher and gets the win. And by this point while Mr. Wrestling II is a good old school wrestler its clear he is passed his prime and has slowed down in his moves and is working slow paced matches. Larry Higgins looks like a total jobber in the match as he barely gets any moves off and when he does Mr. Wrestling II barely sells for him and just keeps making Higgins look foolish. Not much more to say besides a pretty boring bout that was pretty much a squash match. But again have to say the fans love Mr. Wrestling II and the chat of two rings out after he wins the match.

Grade: **

Match 4: Mr. Wrestling II vs. Mike Bond

Mr. Wrestling II stops all the takedown attempts from Bond from the start, but Bond is able to get an arm bar that is quickly escaped by Wrestling II. Bond then gets a headlock and like the arm bar Wrestling II escapes and he then puts Bond in that hold. And while in the headlock Bond tries his best to break free but Wrestling II keeps the hold on tight, and even after a suplex Mr. Wrestling II will not break the hold. Mr. Wrestling II then suplexes Bond and hits him with the Knee Lift and gets the win via pin. Once more this is a pretty boring match of Mr. Wrestling II holding a headlock on his opponent for most of the match and this time around he even makes himself look like Superman as nothing Bond does can really hurt him or break his holds, and the crowd for this match are pretty much dead and some of their faces show the boredom they have for this mostly one hold show. Mike Bond tries to put up a fight and tries to not look like a total Jobber but Mr. Wrestling II is not having any of that as he does his best to make Bond look like a weak fool. Mr. Wrestling II does a few moves and lots of them are headlocks and the commentators try their best to put him over as one of the best of all time, while I get that he is old school he just comes off so boring and also slightly ego driven in his matches that are just about how skilled and great he is. Over all another boring pretty much squash match that is clearly to put over Mr. Wrestling II, who I wish would allow these guys to do some offense in order to make these matches a little more of a contest and less one sided.

Grade: **

Mr. Wrestling II is a classic wrestler who was super skilled and was a draw from the start and put on some great matches with many now legends of the sport, but I also feel he was very much a product of his time as most of his matches was rest holds and mat work that I feel like modern fans would not be so into today. While I clearly respect Mr. Wrestling II, the four matches I watched at random for this review do not due him justice as most of them are super boring and do not tell a story at all besides that of a legend who wanted to keep is spot in wrestling and would make the younger wrestlers he faced look like jobbers. But as you can see, the matches are over and the Rotten Ink Arena is closing up for the night so I think it’s time he we head out, but before we do I would like to let you friends and readers know that the next update will take us out of the squared circle and into the world of Horror Movies as we take a look at the direct to video release Survive This! So until next time read a comic or three, watch a wrestling match or two and as always support your local wrestlers. Oh and Survive This! is all about ghost pirates.