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: Earthquake

Posted on April 22, 2025 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to Rotten Ink. As you can see, we find ourselves once more here at the Rotten Ink Arena with another “R.I.W Wrestling Legend” update event that has a true monster heel in the main event and that wrestler is Earthquake, who worked for the WWF as well as companies like WCW, All Japan and CMLL and was a draw for many of them as a top star. The snack bar is packed tonight, and Mr. X has the Old Grave Digger as back up as they are selling some Quakeburgers and I heard they are made out of python meat! So let’s grab a burger and a drink and find our seats as the ground is starting the shake with tremors and the house lights are going down and that must mean the matches are about to start. So let’s grab our snacks and get our seats as this is going to be one heck of an event.

John Tenta started his Pro Wrestling career in 1987 and was trained by Giant Baba, Terry Gordy, Jumbo Tsuruta and Great Kabuki. Due to his past in Sumo Wrestling, he was a Baby Face from the start and for a man his size, he could work quickly around the ring. Tenta would find himself working for All Japan Pro Wrestling in 1987 and would stay with them until 1989 and was a big draw as he was booked strong from the start and would team with names like Giant Baba, Tiger Mask and Great Kabuki and would have matches against names like Tiger Jeet Singh, Jason The Terrible, Brady Boone, The Moondogs and The Road Warriors, to name a few. In 1989 Tenta would sign with the WWF and would become the monster heel known as Earthquake (first called Canadian Earthquake) and would be managed by Jimmy Hart. The Earthquake would also team with Dino Bravo and would quickly rise up the card as one of the company’s monster heels and would have feuds with the likes of Ultimate Warriors, Jake Roberts and Hulk Hogan, even at one point crushing Damien, the snake of Jake Roberts and then cooking it as hamburgers! During this time he would get shots at the WWF Heavyweight Title and would also send many of his opponent’s to the back on stretchers. In 1991 Earthquake would join forces with Typhoon (formerly Tugboat) to become the massive heel tag team called The Natural Disasters that would later turn baby face and would win Tag Team Gold and would have some great matches against teams like The Rockers, Road Warriors and Money Inc. By late 1993 Earthquake would leave WWF for a short time and work briefly for CMLL in Mexico and WAR in Japan before returning again to WWF in 1994 working as a baby face against the likes of Yokozuna, Adam Bomb and Bam Bam Bigelow before leaving once more that year to return to WAR.

Later in 1994 Earthquake would find himself signed to WCW and would go by the named Avalanche and be a member of the heel team The Three Faces Of Fear along with Kevin Sullivan and The Butcher. During this time he would feud with Hulk Hogan, Sting and Randy Savage! He would then become The Shark and be part of the stable called The Dungeon Of Doom whose main goal was to end the career of Hulk Hogan and he would be joined by such names as Kevin Sullivan, Meng, The Zodiac and Kamala to name a few. In 1996, The Shark would be no more and he would go back to work under his real name John Tenta and would become a baby face and would have matches against the likes of The Giant and Big Bubba Rogers. It was clear at this point Tenta’s star was starting to fade as he would find himself sinking lower down the card and losing matches to the companies top and mid-card heels. By 1997, John Tenta would leave WCW and would only wrestle for them one more time in his career in 1999 in a dark match against Lash LeRoux. But in 1998-1999 Tenta would return to the WWF and be the masked wrestler Golga, who was part of the stable called The Oddities that were sideshow performers and would be managed by musicians ICP and he would carry a South Park Eric Cartman plush to ring when the group went from heels to baby faces and would have a feud with the companies heel teams like The Headgbangers. And the reason John Tenta was Golga and not Earthquake during this return is cause he had lost lots of weight. After leaving WWF in 1999, John Tenta would find himself working the indies, and in 2001 he would work two matches for the WWF and would end his in ring career in All Japan Pro Wrestling. During his career he would win some titles and would be a draw as well as a good solid mid-carder as both a baby face and a heel. Plus his star never faded in Japan as all the way up to his retirement he was a main eventer. Sadly John Tenta would pass away on June 7, 2006 at the age of 42 from cancer. And as of this update’s posting John “Earthquake” Tenta is now in the WWE Hall Of Fame class of 2025 and that’s really were he should be.

Earthquake was a great monster heel in the WWF during his first run as his massive size and speed made him seem very dangerous to his opponents that he would squash with his sitting splash. Two things that Earthquake did during his time with the company that stand out is when he crushed Damien who was in a bag and the look of sadness and horror on Jake Roberts face was great story telling. I also remember his feud with Hulk Hogan when he squashed Hogan on the set of the Brother Love show. Oh and let us not also forget when Earthquake attacked Andre The Giant and broke his leg or when he would stomp around his downed opponent and the commentators would call it Tremors…classic stuff! So as you can see, Earthquake was a great heel that was still great when he and Typhoon first started teaming up as the Natural Disasters. I was never a fan of when Earthquake would turn into a baby face as I feel he was just lost in the shuffle of all the big names in the WWF during that time, and let’s be honest his run in WCW as both heel and baby face was a little lacking as I feel they just did not know how to book him right and did not use him to his full potential of being a good heel. In the late 90’s when he would be Golga at first I was wanting to see what they would do with this masked man who was part of a group of misfits, but quickly they turned him into a generic baby face who carried around a doll and was aimed towards kids to cheer as he danced around. I think the WWF also really missed the boat by not having Earthquake feud with The Undertaker as I think it could have been an interesting series of matches, and it would have been cool to see The Dead Man rise after taking an Earthquake Splash. In fact if they had kept The Oddities as heels, it would have also been cool to see them go after The Undertaker as they could become obsessed with him and want him to join them. And I am not the only one that when looking at Earthquake thought he was much older than he was right? When people talk about some of the best Big Men in wrestling names like Vader, Bam Bam Bigelow and Andre The Giant are spoken about, but I feel that Earthquake is often over looked and should be on that list of hard working guys who put asses in the seats and feuded with some of the industry’s top names. I was really bummed when I heard of Earthquake’s passing in 2006, but while he is gone, his matches live on thanks to the WWE Network, Home Media and Grey Market sets.

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 Coliseum Of Wrestling & Boxing for having this set in stock and also want to thank Earthquake for his hard work in the world of wrestling. I also want to remind you that I will only be breaking down randomly selected 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 Earthquake.

Best Of Earthquake

Match 1: Earthquake vs. Koji Kitao

At the start of the match the two start to lockup in a test of strength but Earthquake is able to grab Koji into a headlock, once out of the hold the two finally lock up in the test of strength that ends with Earthquake getting Koji into a reverse bear hug and then gets him into a takedown move that makes Koji roll out of the ring and throw a table around. Once back into the ring after locking up Koji starts to work on the wrist of Earthquake who breaks the hold by smacking him in the face, tensions are high as they smack off each others move attempts and then just stare at each other both with anger in their eyes. The two then end up throwing kicks and punches at each other before the referee breaks them apart. Koji tries to poke both or Earthquakes eyes and ends up getting kicked in the leg for his troubles before once more they square up ready to start throwing punches, but then stand and stare at each other while Earthquake yells at his opponent. Koji then kicks the referee hard causing him to fall and ring for the bell as Earthquake wins the match by DQ. This is a match that turns into a shoot as Koji starts stiff kicks and tries to go for the eyes of Earthquake who defends himself with some kicks and slaps. This is pretty much a brawl and is more of a contest that falls apart and has two wrestlers in the ring ready to throw down staring daggers at each other, and oddly it is kind of entertaining as it seems like the tow have mega heat with each other and the fans in attendance seem to be really into it. The DQ ending also is fitting as I am sure neither guy would have wanted to loose this shoot.

Grade: **

Match 2: Earthquake vs. Executioner

When the bell rings Executioner hits the ropes and tries a pair of clotheslines that do nothing, Earthquake then hits a clotheslines and sidewalk slam style move that floors Executioner. Earthquake then tries to take the mask off Executioner then pokes Earthquake in the eyes and quickly climbs to the top rope and is then thrown across the ring by Earthquake who then walks over and hits a belly to belly suplex on Executioner and then hits a leg drop on the downed masked man. Earthquake then hits a power slam, a dropping elbow and then his Earthquake Splash finisher to get the win via pin. This is pretty much a squash match as Earthquake tosses and smashes Executioner in the ring as the fans cheer, and while Executioner tries to fight back, he is just over powered and out skilled by his much bigger opponent. Earthquake for his size is very fast moving and hits some big power moves that end this match fast. Over all a good jobber match that entertained me and the fans in the crowd as this really was the execution of the Executioner.

Grade: **1/2

Match 3: Earthquake vs. Yokozuna

The two big man size each other up as the bell rings and then a shoving match breaks out as they each are showing that they are a big man. Earthquake takes the momentum at first with some jumping kicks and then a headlock and then hits a series of clotheslines that knock Yokozuna down to one knee, but Yoko changes the tide quickly with a back elbow and a shoulder tackle that takes Earthquake down to the mat and then hits a leg drop. Earthquake is in big trouble as he struggles to get to his feet and when he does he eats some chops and a big splash in the corner and when Earthquake is down on the mat Yokozuna climbs the ropes and hits the Banzai Drop and gets the win via pin. This is the battle of two of the WWF’s biggest men at the time that was a great way to build up Yokozuna as the monster heel that was climbing the card and heading towards World Title shots. And while clearly Earthquake was being used as an enhancement talent in this match, they still allowed him to take the lead of the match early own showing his power and strength, and I feel Earthquake did a great job of selling the beating from Yokozuna who was able to showcase his size and power. The Banzai Drop at the end is a move that could put any superstar away and this was a match to prove that to the fans and his future opponents. Over all this is a good quick match that both guys did a great job of entertaining the fans as well as telling the story of the rising Yokozuna.

Grade: **1/2

Match 4: Earthquake vs. Tito Santana

As the match starts Earthquake uses his power and size to throw Tito off him every time he tries to lockup and even after getting Earthquake in a headlock he is just picked up and tossed. Tito is finally able to use his speed and fast punches to land some good hits on his more massive opponent and then starts working over his arm. Tito cannot keep up the pressure as Earthquake takes the momentum with a body slam, but a missed elbow drop gives Tito the chance to fight back and once more goes to work on the big mans arm. But Earthquake quickly shakes it off and continues to beat up on Tito and locks him in a massive bear hug, once free the two exchange hits and holds and Tito even hits his Flying Forearm and only gets a one count. Earthquake slams Tito and then drops and elbow and starts to go for the Earthquake Splash but Tugboat comes from the back to stop it and then Dino Bravo, The Honky Tonk Man and Greg Valentine enter the ring and start beating up on the baby faces that is until Hacksaw Jin Duggan comes out with his 2X4 and chases off all the heels. The match ends in a no contest as the match got so out of hand by the end with run-ins. This for the most part was a very slow paced match with lots of rest holds and moments of sizing each other up and both use pretty basic moves. It was nice to see that the match was not a total squash as it was clear they were building Earthquake as that monster heel as he shrugs off many moves and hits, but they still allowed Tito to seem like a contender, even though his signature move the Flying Forearm barely phased the big man and at no point did it seem like he was going to win the match. The finish was a little silly as before Earthquake could hit his finisher Tugboat comes lumbering out to get the match thrown out, but in reality Earthquake should have won by DQ. Over all an ok match that was entertaining but not the best match these guys could have had and because of the terrible finish I have to Grade this match a little lower.

Grade: **

Match 5: Earthquake vs. Jake “The Snake” Roberts

Right as the bell rings and Jake enters the ring Earthquake goes on the attack and only after a knee to the head is Jake able to get distance between them. Every time Jake goes after the arm of Earthquake the big man breaks the hold with a smashing forearm and as Earthquake poses Jake turns him around and lands many punches to the big man’s face and continues his attack with some knees in the corner, but Earthquake uses his size to knock Jake to the mat and then stomps on him until Jake falls out of the ring. Earthquake goes after Jake’s new snake Lucifer and Jake saves his pet with a knee that rocks Earthquake and he continues his attack on the big man once they get back in the ring unleashing lots of knees, but Earthquake is able to take back over the momentum by going after the knee of Jake and works it over for a bit. Earthquake goes for his finisher sit down splash but Jake rolls out of the ring, Earthquake goes back after Lucifer the snake and before he can splash the animal Jake is able to trip him and it causes Earthquake to crash onto the mat hard. Jake then lets the snake out of the bag and Earthquake leaves the ring and the referee give him the win by DQ. This is a true grudge match as this takes place after the killing of the snake Damien and Jake unleashes lots of punches and knees to his opponent, but do to the size of Earthquake the match goes south for the baby face as the big heel works over his knee and keeps him down and weak on the mat. This is pretty much a brawl and the story told in the ring is good as the fans were really into it as Earthquake kept acting as if he was going to squash the new python. It’s strange as no big moves are thrown and lots of selling and staling takes place, but yet it is an entertaining match and ends with a DQ so that the WWF could keep this feud going and it makes sense as the emotions of Jake Roberts would be out of control.

Grade: **1/2

Match 6: Earthquake vs. Hillbilly Jim

Before the bell rings Earthquake tries to sneak attack Hillbilly Jim who dodges the big man’s charge and lands some hits of his own including ramming his head against the turnbuckles. Earthquake turns the tide when he rakes the eyes of Hillbilly and then lands some punches and shoulders but Hillbilly starts fighting back and this causes Jimmy Hart the manager of Earthquake to distract Hillbilly by trying to steal his lucky horseshoe and this causes Earthquake to be able to hit a big corner splash and then a dropping elbow before hitting the Earthquake Splash and this gives him the win via pin. Even after the match Earthquake keeps hitting splashes and elbows as Jimmy Hart laughs and the referee is powerless to stop the attack, and after the beating stops Hillbilly Jim is taken out on a stretcher. This is a very quick match and does a great job of showcasing Earthquake as a rising heel as he defeats Hillbilly Jim and then after the match destroys him and uses him powerful impact moves. And during the match Hillbilly Jim does not look like a jobber as he takes control of the match throughout its short runtime, and if not for him paying attention to his opponent and being more focused on his horseshoe he was in charge of it’s pace. This is of course more of a brawling match and is by no means a technical masterpiece, but I will say it was a entertaining match that does it’s job of building Earthquake and was one of the final full time matches for Hillbilly Jim.

Grade: **1/2

Match 7: Earthquake vs. Top Gun

The masked man Top Gun rushes Earthquake before the bell rings and hits him with some big forearm smashes, Earthquake shrugs off the attack and makes Top Gun pay for this as Earthquake hits him with an atomic drop, clothesline and then a dropping elbow. Earthquake before he can hit his sit down splash gets distracted for a moment when Big Bubba Rogers and Jimmy Hart try to break his attention from the match, but Earthquake does not take the bait and hits his splash and gets the win after the three count is made. This is a very short squash match that took place in WCW and Earthquake was of course wrestling under his real name John Tenta and hits all his classic moves from the dropping elbow and the sit down splash and he looks like he has gained some weight but is still moving fast. Top Gun does not stand a chance as his forearm smashes are all he is able to fire off and those do no damage and he quickly finds himself counting the lights. This is a short squash match and for some reason I enjoyed as the masked Top Gun is a great jobber and seeing Earthquake being the monster wrestler was cool, so over all this was entertaining for me.

Grade: **1/2

Match 8: Earthquake vs. Ultimate Warrior

Earthquake attacks Warrior before the bell rings and is hitting him in the back with axe handle blows, the Warriors moves around the ring and then tries to run the ropes and clash into Earthquake who does not budge, but after a shoulder tackle Earthquake is taken off his feet and has to roll out of the ring and Warrior follows him as he goes after Jimmy Hart, this gives Earthquake the chance to attack Warrior from behind. Once back in the ring, Earthquake keeps his attack going on Warrior even kicking him in the back and getting him into the corner to choke him as well as knee him and keep him hurt and weakened. Earthquake keeps up the attack and then starts trying to injure the back of Warrior even getting him in a bear hug that he holds for a long time. Earthquake tosses Warrior to the mat and then drops an elbow and then hits his finisher the Earthquake splash and goes for the pin and Warrior kicks out at two and then fires himself up by the cheers of the fans and the power of the warriors. Warrior then hits a series of clotheslines, a shoulder tackle and then body slams Earthquake and is able to get the win via pin after a big splash. This is a standard Ultimate Warrior match that has him getting beat by the heel only to get the power of the warriors to bring him back into the match and this allows him to hit his finishing combo moves the clotheslines, shoulder tackle and splash in order to get the win and while he does a good job of making Earthquake look good he also at the same time ruins the monster heel build of Earthquake as he kicks out of his finisher and then beats him in seconds after doing so. And it was clear at this time that Ultimate Warrior was being built for the top of the card and Earthquake was finding himself as an upper mid-card heel who was slated to help get over Warrior even more. And while this is a paint by numbers Warrior match I for one am a fan and enjoy his matches and while I wish they would have made this match feel a little bigger I still found it entertaining as did the fans in attendance who were 100% behind Warrior and cheered very loudly for him throughout.

Grade: **1/2

Earthquake is one of those wrestlers who really did make his mark on the sport as he had many very high profile matches and feuds and even had a good tag team run with his partner Typhoon and was an icon in Japan. It’s a shame he passed away at such a young age as who knows what he would have gone on to do and where he would have wrestled. And as the house lights come up and the clean up crew are coming out, this marks the end of this update event and also marks the final in our WWE WrestleMania Month. As we make our way out of the arena, I would like to take a few moments to let you know that our next update will take us out of the Squared Circle and into the world of DC Comics as we will be talking about Plastic Man! 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 time for a stretchy silly good time.

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 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: The Texas Hangmen

Posted on March 13, 2024 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to Rotten Ink. As you can see, we find ourselves once more at the Rotten Ink Arena as we have another “R.I.W Wrestling Legend” update event planned and this one will feature a tag team that mostly made a name for themselves in Puerto Rico but did have a good run in the AWA and while they did not last that long as a team, they did capture some gold and built up a reputation of being a brawling, rough and tough masked menacing team…and this team is The Texas Hangmen and as you can see, they are the main event for this update. So let’s head to the snack bar and grab a drink and some chili to snack on and then find our seats as this will be a quick and hard hitting update event.

The Texas Hangmen was a masked outlaw cowboy team that started working together around 1988 in Windy City Wrestling under the names Hangman # 1 and Hangman # 2 and could not find their groove mostly losing to more established teams before leaving the company and finding their new home in the AWA that they started working for in 1989 and found some more traction and started going under the names Psycho and Killer. They worked matches against the likes of The Guerrero Brothers, The Tokyo Bullets and John Nord and Scott Norton. They were hated heels and fans loved to boo these brawling masked men who would challenge for the AWA Tag Titles but never could win them. The Hangmen would stay in AWA until around 1990 when they went out of business. The Texas Hangmen then traveled to Puerto Rico to work for WWC and would become a big team that feuded with many of the company’s top teams and stars from The Medics, The Invaders and even Carlos Colon. The Texas Hangmen would also capture the WWC Tag Titles twice during this run and would stick around until 1991 before returning to the states to work for USWA. Once in the USWA, they found themselves a top team for the company and would quickly capture the Tag Titles as they beat Jeff Jarrett and Eddie Gilbert (who was filling in for Jerry Lawler). But even being the Tag Team champions, Texas Hangman were being booked very oddly as they ended up losing to many of the companies top stars at the time like Bill Dundee and Steve Keirn. They would stick around USWA for a short time and would break up for a time and would get back together for one last run in WWC in 1997 that would have them win the company’s Tag Title and by the end of the year The Texas Hangmen were no more. While The Texas Hangmen never made it to the big companies like WCW and WWF, they did make their mark in AWA and WWC and would find their marks later when they disbanded. I should say a version of The Texas Hangmen had a small run in WCW as a jobber team.

Frank Vizi was the wrestler behind the mask of Psycho and he was trained by Tom Stone and started his Pro Wrestling career in 1984, and is known as Bull Pain, a wrestler who worked for ECW, WCW and JCW. He would end up retiring in 2012 and was a mid-card heel that fans loved to hate. Mike Morgan was Killer, and he started his Pro career in 1982 and was trained by Jake Milliman and Rocky Stone and would best be known as Mean Mike, a member of the WCW tag team Disorderly Conduct, and part of a similar team called Texas Hangmen that were a jobber team. He would as well retire in 2012. While The Texas Hangmen or even Disorderly Conduct are not household names, and Bull Pain is only with diehard ECW fans, these guys made their mark in the world of Wrestling and over their careers had captured titles as well as did a great job of entertaining fans all over the world. At this point The Texas Hangman are not in the WWE Hall Of Fame, and I doubt if they ever do make it.

In the late 80’s and early 90’s Tag Team wrestling was very big and teams like the Road Warriors, Demolition and The Powers Of Pain were the ones that brought fans into arena as they had a look of face paint, flashy gear and a badass wrestling style that made them feel like true tough guys and like they could snap their opponents’ necks. I feel like The Texas Hangmen are a team that traded the face paint for masks, as well traded in the apocalyptic fashion for western gear and used names like Killer and Psycho to show that they meant business. They also would bring out nooses to show that they truly were Hangmen as I can remember them getting a little heat from people when they used the nooses to hang and choke Invader # 1 and this single act is what made them big names in Puerto Rico and made them feared by fans as they came off as true madmen. Growing up I remember The Texas Hangman from the AWA and seeing them on ESPN and wondering why they were not working for WCW as their look and style would have fit right in and they could have had some great matches with the likes of Steiner Brothers, Road Warriors and even Doom. The crazy thing to think about is that as a team they only stayed together for a few years and when disbanding the team the each tried to make their own paths in the business, and while they both did find small amounts of success I would have liked to seen them stick together and try to make runs in WWF, ECW, CMLL, New Japan and WCW. They are also a team that I am pretty sure got their gimmick stolen as Texas Hangmen or teams with similar looks and names would pop up in small indie federations. Another very interesting thing about The Texas Hangmen is that their background as a team is very all over the place with many saying the started in AWA and others saying it was for the smaller indies before landing in AWA, but one thing is for sure they were a entertaining team that I would love to see have a match at Rock Star Pro Wrestling in Dayton, Ohio against a team like The Hooligans or even The Bad Dudes.

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. Sadly on a side note I could only review 3 full matches. I want to thank HyperDevil for having this set in stock and also want to thank The Texas Hangmen for their hard work in the world of wrestling. I also want to remind you that I will be breaking down the match and will be rating the matches on a 5 Star rating system. 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 Texas Hangmen.

Best Of The Texas Hangmen

Match 1: Texas Hangmen vs. Carlos Colon & T.N.T

The Texas Hangmen and Carlos and T.N.T start brawling before any of them even get in the ring and the fans are going crazy as they keep throwing punches all around as it’s clear that these teams have a hatred for each other. Carlos even rips one of the Hangman’s mask as he is trying to make the masked man bleed with big punches. T.N.T gets one of the Hangmen into the ring as Carlos rams the others head into a plate as the ring is set up in the middle of a baseball field, once they all get back to the ring the match becomes more of a normal tag match and Carlos and T.N.T take control of the match landing hits, holds and even using what looks like a fork on the heads of The Texas Hangmen. For a short time the Hangmen make a comeback but it quickly turns into both teams brawling and they take it outside the ring again and the match it thrown out as the two teams keep on fighting and even the locker room empties to try and break them up. This match is pretty much mostly a brawl with both team just exchanging punches and kicks in and outside the ring and the fans were really into this match as it was clear that they love Carlos Colon and T.N.T as for most of the match they are in charge. The match also has blood and The Texas Hangmen prove that they are brawlers and can take a beating and dish out a beating and still seem like contenders. The match ending in a brawl and being thrown out was very fitting as it was clear that fans would come back for a rematch between these two teams. Over all, while it’s nothing super special when it comes to moves, the story they tell in the ring as well as the chemistry between the two teams is good and that is what makes this match a great watch.

Grade: ***

Match 2: Texas Hangmen vs. Invader # 1 & T.N.T

As soon as the two teams get into the ring they start brawling, and Invader even takes one of the Hangmen out of the ring and uses a chair on him and is delivering big punches while in the ring T.N.T is beating up on the other Hangmen and these beating continues for a while even at one point T.N.T chokes one with a belt and Invader smashes the other over the head. The teams end up taking the brawl into the ring again and it turns into a normal tag match with each team exchanging holds and mostly punches back and fourth. The referee ends up getting knocked out, and The Texas Hangmen try and use their bull rope to hit Invader # 1 with but T.N.T saves him for a moment, but one of the Hangmen uses the rope to choke Invader who is in deep trouble. The match is thrown out as The Texas Hangmen leave the ring and head to the locker room as T.N.T and Invader # 1 pose for the rabid cheering fans. This is another brawling match that pretty much follows the same formula as the last match that is pretty much the baby face team brawling with the heel team all around the arena as the fans cheer and once they get it back into the ring the match goes back and fourth and in the end a brawl erupts and the match ends with a no contest. No big moves are thrown, the brawling looks great and the hanging spot looks good as his the reversal of the hanging. Over all just another brawl that is entertaining and both teams look good throughout the match. The fans in attendance are really into this match as well, and I am not sure but at one point I think a fan throws a smoke bomb around the ring…a wild match.

Grade: ***

Match 3: Texas Hangmen vs. Invader # 1 & Bronco # 1

The Texas Hangmen are the tag champions, and as they head to the ring, they taunt the fans who really hate these guys. Bronco # 1 has seen and heard enough and goes out after him and gets them both in the ring and Invader # 1 starts dealing out some punches. When the Hangmen roll out of the ring, they return only to taunt the fans some more. And every time the match is about to start and Invader # 1 gets any momentum the Hangmen roll out of the ring. Once the match really starts Invader and Bronco take the momentum and use fast tags to keep the match in their favor, Bronco even works over one of the Hangmen’s arm as the fans cheer, but shortly after The Hangmen take control of the match and use their brawling style to cause pain. The two teams then take turns going back and fourth with momentum and several times Invader # 1 tries to go for the pin but it’s always broken up by the other Hangman. But after a big punch Invader # 1 is finally able to get the win via pin and the fans go wild as they have just won the Tag Titles. This match starts off way to slow and I get that The Texas Hangmen were getting heart from their taunting and slowing down the action, but when watching at home it sadly comes off bland and uninteresting. But while it starts off not great, I think the match speeds up slightly and the tag team chemistry between Invader # 1 and Bronco # 1 was good as they did fast tags and used double team moves to keep their two monster heel opponents down. The Texas Hangmen are doing their normal brawling style, but also use lots of rest holds throughout the match. The finish is a little odd as well as such a simple move ends a title match. At times I also have to point out that when Bronco # 1 would do off the rope moves he seemed very awkward and stiff. But much to say besides it was an ok match between four skilled workers that the fans seemed to be into for the most part, I was entertained but was also slightly bored at times.

Grade: **1/2

The Texas Hangmen was a pretty cool tag team that worked all around the world and clearly was big draws as heels in Puerto Rico as the fans really did seem to hate them. And it really is a shame that they never got a full chance to show their talents in one of the two major companies WWF and WCW as I really do think they could have been a solid mid-card heel team that could have helped put over the companies top baby face teams as well as get win over some of the mid and lower card ones. Teams like The Texas Hangmen are a product of the past as you just don’t see teams like them on TV anymore. But as you can see, the matches are over and the house lights have came up and the cleaning crew are out so that’s our clue to leave and as we make out way to the exit doors I would like to tell you that our next update will take us away from the squared circle and back into the world of Western themed media as we will be talking about the iconic cowboy Red Ryder and his comic books as well as his B.B. Guns! So with that until next time read a comic or three, watch a wrestling match or two and as always support your local wrestlers. Oh and remember the phrase “You’ll Shoot Your Eye Out Kid” as Red Ryder and it go hand and hand.

R.I.W Wrestling Legend: Kamala

Posted on October 12, 2023 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to the Rotten Ink Arena. As you can see, the Halloween decorations are hanging, the arena is packed to the rafters and the snack bar has candy corn, caramel apples and monster punch in stock as this “R.I.W Wrestling Legend” update will be all about our main event monster heel that was from the jungles of Uganda who gave the likes of Hulk Hogan, Kerry Von Erich, The Undertaker and Andre The Giant a run for their money throughout the 80’s and 90’s. A wrestler who was managed by the likes of Skandor Akbar, Freddie Blassie, Slick, Mr. Fuji, The Wizard and Kim Chee and by know I am sure you figured out that it’s Kamala we are talking about one of the best big men in the business and one heck of a monster heel who terrorized his opponents and fans alike as they were all unsure of what he was capable of! So let’s find our seats as this Halloween Countdown R.I.W event is in full swing, and let’s see what Kamala has in store for us this spooky holiday season.

Kamala started wrestling in 1978 and was trained by Bobo Brazil and Tim Hampton and would originally work under the name Sugar Bear Harris and would work the Southern territories and would also work in Germany and England and worked under names like Ugly Bear Harris, Big Jim Harris and The Mississippi Mauler. And in 1982 he would find himself in Continental Wrestling Association and here is were he would become Kamala a Ugandan headhunter and would be managed by JJ Dillon and would go after Jerry Lawler and his AWA Southern Heavyweight Title that he would win and hold for a small amount of time. Late 1982 he would leave Continental and would sign to Mid-South Wrestling and this time would be managed by Skandor Akbar and would be apart of the Devastation Inc. stable and would have a high profile match against Andre The Giant as well a Junkyard Dog. In Mid-South he would be one of the companies heel draws and would also scare younger fans as they thought he was going to get them as he played the Wildman part well and never broke character in public. In 1983 he would head to World Class Championship Wrestling in Texas and would even get a NWA World Heavyweight title shot against Harley Race and would have a long time feud with the Von Erich’s and would have big profile matches against Kerry, Kevin and David. And would even face The Great Kabuki at the David Von Erich Memorial Parade Of Champions in 1984. He would stay around in WCCW until 1985. But while a big heel and draw in WCCW he was still also working other territories and one being WWF were he would be built as a monster heel and would beat names like B. Brian Blair, Chief Jay Strongbow and Salvatore Bellomo and then would have a series of matches against Hulk Hogan for the WWF Heavyweight title! And after his run with Hogan he would have a feud with Andre The Giant and after a battle royal in late 1984 he would be done with the WWF for his first run. After WWF he would head to AWA and would be booked like always as a monster heel and would have matches against the likes of Sgt. Slaughter, Jerry Blackwell and Rick Martel. In 1985 Kamala would find himself working for Jim Crockett Promotions and would take on NWA United States Heavyweight Champion Magnum T.A., and from their he would have small runs in All Japan Pro Wrestling and International Wrestling from Canada.

In 1986 Kamala would return to WWF and would be managed by Kim Chee and The Wizard and once more was booked as a major monster heel and would once more go after Hulk Hogan for the WWF World Heavyweight title, and after not winning the title he would start a feud with Jake “The Snake” Roberts who found out Kamala had a fear of snakes. During 1987 The Wizard would sell Kamala’s contract to Mr. Fuji but shortly after this Kamala would leave the WWF once more. Starting in 1988 Kamala would once more work for WCCW and working with the Von Erich brothers and would stay until 1989 when the company would close for good. He would also head to All Japan again as well as would head to CMLL in Mexico and have big matches against Mil Mascaras, and would also work for other Japanese companies W*ING and Super World Of Sports. In 1990 he would work for USWA and once more would go after Jerry Lawler and this time would challenge him for the USWA Unified World Heavyweight title. Kamala would leave USWA in 1992 and would return to the WWF once more. Kamala would be managed by Kim Chee as well as Harvey Wippleman and would have big matehs against many of the companies top faces including Randy Savage, Ultimate Warrior, Bret Hart and Texas Tornado Kerry Von Erich. And would have many matches against The Undertaker and would even loose a Coffin Match to the dead man. In 1993 Kamala would turn baby face and would be managed by Reverend Slick who was trying to teach him the ways of the modern world and that kindness was the way. While a face he would have matches against the likes of Bam Bam Bigelow, Mr. Hughes, Kim Chee and Papa Shango. The WWF would start working Kamala mostly on house shows and then would let him go in late 1993. After this WWF run Kamala would go into semi-retirement and become a truck driver and would pick up Indie matches from time to time as well as matches for USWA and would even travel to India to tag with Dusty Wolfe to become the IAW Tag Team champs.

In 1995 Kamala was talked out of retirement and would head to WCW to become a member of the Hulk Hogan hating team “The Dungeon Of Doom” that would be lead by Kevin Sullivan and made up of wrestlers who’s sole purpose was to stop Hulkamania once and for all. Kamala would get wins in WCW over the likes of Hacksaw Jim Duggan and Chris Kanyon and after The Dungeon Of Doom would loose to Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage at Fall Brawl 1995 his small run with the company would be over. After leaving WCW Kamala would find himself back working Indies like USWA, JCW and would even work a few matches back in the WWF as at WWF WrestleMania X-7 in 2001 as apart of the gimmick battle royal and in 2005 on WWF Smackdown Kamala would have a match against Randy Orton. Kamala’s last match would be for JCW as he would team with The Weedman and he would retire from wrestling in 2010. After wrestling Kamala’s health would turn for the worse and he would battle complications from diabetes and would end up loosing his legs. Sadly in 2016 he would be one of many wrestlers on the class action lawsuit over head injuries that was thrown out in 2018 and hurt Kamala into getting into the WWF Hall Of Fame. In 2017 he had to have emergency surgery to clear fluid from around his heart and lungs and was even put on life support at the time, he would recover. Sadly on August 5, 2020 Kamala would pass away from Covid-19 and diabetes at the age of 70.

Kamala The Ugandan Giant is a wrestler that I have been a fan of sense I was a kid as he was a great big man wrestler who played his gimmick well and when he would pat his belly, groan and even made surprise faces he would make me mark out and even laugh at times when he would run away from things that scared him. Plus his matches against The Undertaker and Hulk Hogan always seemed larger then life and came off as big deal matches, and that’s one other thing I liked is when Kamala would face other similar themed wrestlers like Papa Shango, Andre The Giant, The Great Kabuki, Kendo Nagasaki, Bruiser Brody and George “The Animal” Steele to name a few. And one thing that I think people never gave Kamala credit for is the fact he was very agile for a man his size and was also pretty fast and would not tire as easy as many of the wrestling big men at the time. Plus he was a true journeyman of wrestling as he worked all over the world and for almost every big promotion from WWF to WCW and was a top draw and a star every territory he went and while he was a heel most of his career he could even pull off being a loved baby face. When I was younger I can remember classmates of mine who watched wrestling being scared of Kamala and talking about how he was a cannibal and a savage and to me that fear he struck them with showed that he was doing his job and was great at it. Kamala was also a wrestler who won very little titles during his run, but he never needed them in order to be a draw as his matches always seemed like an attraction and a belt around his waist was not needed. One thing that always annoyed me as well as a kid was all the Kamala knock-off wrestlers who would dress, act and even sometimes steal his name, and no matter how hard they tried none of them could hold a candle to the real Kamala. And while Kamala might be on the bad side of the WWF over joining that lawsuit, it’s a shame that they have not inducted him into their Hall Of Fame as he is one name that should have been in years ago. Say what you will, but for me Kamala The Ugandan Giant will always be one of my favorite wrestlers from the 80’s and was one heck of a heel who played his gimmick well and did his job putting butts in the seats and selling the tickets when his name was on the card.

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 Kamala 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 Kamala.

Best Of Kamala

Match 1: Kamala vs. El Silenico

As the bell rings Kamala goes after El Silenico and just starts hitting him with massive chops to the top of his masked head. Kamala then body slams him and just stays on him not allowing El Silenico to even try and make a comeback. Kamala knocks Silenico to the mat and delivers a series of big splashes to his back, crushing the masked man. He then goes for the pin and gets it. After the match Kamala goes after the mask of El Silenico and gets it off and takes it almost as if it was a trophy. This was a total squash match as El Silenico was there to get beat up by Kamala and in the end even get damasked. Kamala hits big power moves in the match with his chops and splashes being his trademark moves that seem to almost frighten the fans at ringside. El Silenico is a total jobber who does not even get one move off in the match and just gets beaten up and pinned. Over all a good squash match as it did its job to build Kamala up as a monster heel and a major threat to any baby face.

Grade: **1/2

Match 2: Kamala vs. King Cobra

As the bell rings Kamala charges Cobra who dodges his attack twice and even is able to land a dropkick that stumbles the big man. King Cobra tries to unload some punches on Kamala and he shakes it off and gets his hands on him and the beating starts. Kamala lands some of his big chops to the top of King Cobra’s skull hurting him and knocks him to the mat and starts choking him. And as Cobra’s on the mat Kamala lands a series of big splashes and goes for the pin and gets the three count and the win. While this is another quick squash match at least King Cobra tries to fight back and is able to land a few dropkicks that staggered Kamala and is even able to land a few punches even if they had no effect. Plus for enhancement talent you could see that King Cobra was a skilled worker even if he was paid to loose. Kamala like always comes off as a great monster heel as he hits big power moves and shrugs off the attack from his opponent. His splashes look like a finishing move and his aggressive in ring work really does make him a big threat. Over all a great quick squash match that helped build Kamala as a big star.

Grade: **1/2

Match 3: Kamala vs. Hulk Hogan

The start the match off running the ropes and bumping into each other in the middle of the ring and neither man budges, they do this a couple of times and its Kamala who ends up knocking down The Hulkster. The two lock up and Hogan does for a body slam but he is cut off by Kamala who clubs him in the back causing him to drop him and not land the slam and this allows Kamala to use his chops and clubbing hits to keep Hogan down. But Hogan is not down for long as he pops up from the mat and starts landing his big punches on Kamala, but when Hogan is distracted by Kamala’s manager he looses the momentum of the match as Kamala attacks him from behind and get a nerve hold on Hogan that takes him down to the mat. Kamala then breaks the hold and hits a big splash, and Hogan kicks out at one, Kamala keeps on attacking that is until Hogan starts Hulking Up and takes the fight to Kamala and lands a big boot, a body slam and the atomic leg drop! Hogan goes for the pin and gets the three count as well as the win. This is your normal 80’s Hulk Hogan wrestling a big monster heel match that has Hogan selling for the heel only to comeback from the beating and land his finishing move the leg drop and get the victory all the while the fans are loosing their minds as Hulk Hogan was the biggest thing in the world of wrestling. And that’s the thing while Hogan gets the win and at one point when he Hulks Up he no sells for Kamala he still makes the big man look great throughout the match and sells well for him. While the match is very paint by numbers and when I says it’s your normal Hogan match during this time I mean it. Best way to sum this match up is big moves, monster crow pops and Kamala getting a match with the world’s biggest superstar makes this a pretty good entertaining match.

Grade: ***

Match 4: Kamala vs. Yokozunna

This is a battle of two big men and when the bell rings the two charge and crash into each other with neither man moving, but Yoko is a little rocked as Kamala watches the big sumo wrestler rock on his feet, the two crash again and Yoko once more gets rocked and when he tries to hit Kamala he is able to dodge and kick Yoko in the gut. Kamala then uses his chops to attack Yoko who is still feeling the effects of the kick, but Yoko turns the tide when he uses a cheap shot to the throat of Kamala and then starts dealing out his own punishment and even knocks Kamala off his feet. Kamala is able to make a small comeback using his chops to Yoko’s head, but Yoko takes back over with a big splash in the corner and then lands the Banzai Drop and gets the pin and the win. This is a good match that was really just an enhancement match as Kamala was feed to Yokozuna who was the companies biggest heel at the time and it made sense to have him win the match as he was about to have a big match against Hulk Hogan and at this point Kamala was not being pushed at a big superstar. The match is pretty much just big man moves with both men selling for each other and making each other look good, and the fans are behind Kamala who was a baby face at the time. Yokozuna you can tell had respect for Kamala and he does a good job of not making this look like a squash match. And the Banzai Drop looks painful and Kamala sells the effects really good after the match. While the match is nothing special it does have a good pace and was a almost passing of the torch of monster heels. Also it was cool to see Mr. Fuji around as he was the manager of Yokozuna at this time and in the 80’s he managed Kamala.

Grade: **1/2

Match 5: Kamala vs. The Undertaker

As the bell rings Kamala rushes The Undertaker and it was a big mistake as Taker starts landing big shots on him causing him to fall back into the corner and starts choking him. The Undertaker then walks the rope “Old School” and works on the arm of Kamala and keeps up his attack, and at this point Kamala has not be able to get the match momentum going his way that is until he knocks Taker off the top rope. Kamala then starts landing some chops and punches of his own and knocks Undertaker out of the ring, Taker then goes after Kamala’s managers and this causes him to have to exit the ring to save them and Kamala starts beating up Taker around the ringside. Once back in the ring The Undertaker hits Kamala with a choke slam and a flying clothesline and just as he is about to get Kamala in the Tombstone Piledriver one of his managers Kim Chee jumps into the ring and strikes The Undertaker causing the match to be thrown out and The Undertaker wins by DQ. After the match Kamala attacks The Undertaker and hits him with big splashes and when The Undertaker sits up after the attack Kamala gets scared and runs away. This is a great match that features two of the WWF’s best monster style gimmicks against each other in a match that is big man paced and showcases the classic slow moving Undertaker style. And while the match is short under four minutes neither guy looks weak with both having moments to shine and each are able to hit some of their trademark moves. And the stuff after the match that has Kamala beating down The Undertaker and then being scared when the Dead Man sits up is classic Kamala stuff as he gets scared and runs away. While the matches end is a let down as it was a DQ I do understand why as they seen more life in the feud and wanted both men to come out with neither having a pin loss to the other. Great stuff if you are a fan of classic Undertaker matches and if you like the style of Kamala at this stage of his career, and keep in mind this match is not for everyone as it is very slow paced and is a typical big man match from the early 90’s, but I for one enjoyed it.

Grade: **1/2

Match 6: Kamala vs. Tito Santana

Kamala charges Tito as the bell rings but cannot catch him, as he is much faster and is able to dodge his attack, and even when Kamala is able to get his hands on him he is able to use his speed to get away. Tito is able to get Kamala in an arm bar and when the big man gets out of it Tito is able to land some big punches to his head and rocks him for a few moments and allows Tito to get the arm bar back on. Kamala breaks free and misses a big splash and this gives Tito a chance to once more lock in the arm bar. But Kamala is able to take the momentum of the match and starts using his chops to break down Tito and even locks in a massive bear hug that crushes the life out of Tito. Once out of the bear hug Tito tries to make a comeback but it is cut off by Kamala who uses a kick to the face to knock Tito down and then as he is going to big splash for the win he sees The Undertakers manager Paul Bearer wheel down a casket and this causes him to run away from the ring and get counted out, giving Tito the win. This match is filled with lots of rest holds as arm bars and a over long held bear hug brings down the pace of the match and it’s a shame as both super stars are way more skilled then what they show in this match. And the ending of Kamala getting counted out by running into the crowd to escape the casket also does not help the match that was already not that great due to all the rest holds. Kamala does well in the match but does not shine like he normally does, and while Tito Santana starts off with quick moves he quickly falls into using the arm bar for way to long multiple times. Not much to really say about this one besides it was kind of a letdown as I am a big fan of both superstars and they just did not have a good match, and more the most part the crowd as well seemed really dead for this one.

Grade: **

Match 7: Kamala vs. Great Kabuki

As the bell rings Kabuki spits the green mist into the air and Kamala looks unsure of what he has just seen, and as the two lock up its Kamala that gets the upper hand and starts hitting him with big chops. Kamala then grabs Kabuki by his neck and lifts him in the air chocking him and causes Kabuki to spew the green mist and this makes Kamala let him go. But Kamala stays on the attack but Kabuki is able to fight back with a spinning kick to his gut and then to the chin knocking the big man down. The two end up locking up in a test of strength that Kamala wins and turns it into a bear hug on Kabuki and holds the move on tight, and Kanuki is only able to escape when he chops the ears of Kamala at the same time. The two end up trading blows until Kamala once more goes for a nerve hold that takes Kabuki down to the mat. Kabuki is able to use his speed and kicks to escape and land some movies on Kamala hurting the big man. The two once more trade punches back and fourth and Kabuki is able to land a good kick to Kamala’s face rocking him and just then both wrestlers managers (Skandor Akbar and Gary Hart) enter the ring and the match is a double DQ. This was a really good match between two great “monster heel” wrestlers one who uses power moves and one who uses quickness and martial arts and their styles worked well together. Kamala uses his power to try and ground Kabuki and does a great job at keeping his kicks and green mist at bay. While Kabuki uses his kicks to rock and hurt his bigger opponent, and his quick kicks to Kamala’s face are awesome and look good. The crowd is clearly on the side of Kabuki for the match as they pop for some of his moves and in the end when he gets the last shot in the match. The downside is that the match does not have a winner as the managers entering the ring cause it to be thrown out and that stinks, as is the fact they have Gary Hart get a few kicks off on Kamala. A good match for sure that is ruined by a bad finish.

Grade: ***

Match 8: Kamala vs. Andre The Giant

Kamala attacks Andre right as he is entering the ring and is landing big chops to the giant’s skull, and Andre starts fighting back with big chops of his own across the chest of Kamala. Andre then hits a big headbutt that dazes Kamala who exits the ring and does not want to get back in with the angry giant, and when he finally gets back in the ring he second guesses himself and gets right back out. Kamala finally gets the courage and gets back in the ring only to be choked by Andre as well as clubbed on with his massive fists. Kamala once more flees the ring in pain, and when back in the ring Andre continues to beat up on Kamala even landing a big boot to his face. But Kamala is able to make a comeback when he starts landing his chops to the top of Andre’s skull once more knocking the giant into the ropes and causing him to get his arms tangled and this allows Kamala to really unload on him. Once free Andre uses the ropes to choke Kamala and give himself a moment to catch his breath. Andre once more starts beating up on Kamala who once more gets out of the ring and has to be forced back into the ring by his managers. Andre beats Kamala in a test of strength and then steeps on his toes with all his weight, Andre then gets Kamala into the corner and crushes him with his size and weight. Kamala is in trouble and his managers know it so they enter the ring and attack Andre and get Kamala disqualified and this gives Andre The Giant the win. This is a true battle of the Big Men and Andre being the biggest as he even makes Kamala look small! The match is your normal big man fight with no technical moves used and it was all big man brawling power moves that the two threw at each other. Both men look great in the match with Andre of course coming off the stronger of the two and he was being showcased as the man who made Kamala even afraid due to his massive size and power. Andre is slow moving in the match as Kamala is the one who does lots of the bumps and work in the match, and what is really surprising while they took lots of breaks in the Kamala out of the ring bits they did not over use rest holds. And while Andre is clearly the one being pushed in the match they do a great job of still making Kamala look strong and this is a time when a DQ finish is needed so neither man has to take a pin or submission loss. Over all a slow brawl that has two giant going to war with each other and is a good entertaining match that Kamala really does shine in by making Andre look even better in the ring.

Grade: ***

Kamala really was one of my favorite wrestlers growing up and was one that I knew I had to cover on one of these “R.I.W Wrestling Legend” updates as I had to share is story and matches with you readers and friends. As you can see, he was a wrestler who could work his gimmick and have some good to great matches with many of the times top wrestlers. But as you can see, the lights are going out and the clean up crew is coming out here at the Rotten Ink Arena and the staff knows that I could talk Kamala for many more paragraphs, but I won’t as I am sure they are wanting to leave and you guys as well have things to do, so as we make our way to the exit I would like to take a few moments to let you know that the next update will be another spooky themed one as our Countdown to Halloween continues with a look at a Horror Host that made his home in the basement of the Grand Ole Opry House and I am talking about Sir Cecil Creape! So until next time read a comic or three, watch a wrestling match or two and as always support your local wrestlers. So you next time for a spooky good time.

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.

R.I.W Wrestling Legend: George “The Animal” Steele

Posted on January 23, 2023 by bloodlinematt

The doors are open at the Rotten Ink Arena, and the fans are pouring in as this “R.I.W Wrestling Legend” update is one that will please the young and old. Our main event is the missing link wild man known as George “The Animal” Steele who in the 80’s was a major star for the WWF, and as you can see at the merchandise table, his shirts and Mine Dolls are selling like crazy. And it looks like in George Steele’s honor they are serving green drinks and food at the snack bar, so let’s grab some green hotdogs and a Mountain Dew and find our seats as this update event is going to be a crazy one. The lights are dimming and the matches are about to start, so let’s get ready to cheer on the one and only George “The Animal” Steele. Oh and we should keep an eye out as who knows if we will see Mine or even if George himself will go wild and run crazy in the crowd!

George “The Animal” Steele started his pro wrestling career in 1960 and was trained by Bert Rubi and started working the indies around Detroit, Michigan under the name The Student that was a masked wrestler as he wanted to hide who he really was as he was also a high school teacher at the time. During his run as The Student, he would be managed by Gary Hart who also acted as his mouthpiece and would hype of his brute strength. Around 1967 The Student would be no more and he would be called up to wrestle for the WWWF (that later would be WWF/WWE) and would also work a few other NWA territories and would be called George Steele and would be booked as a solid heel who would even challenge Bruno Sammartino for the WWWF World Heavyweight title. He would feud with Bruno and many other of the federations’ top baby faces and would headline matches in Madison Squared Garden and would have a small run against Chief Jay Strongbow before taking a small time away to work more on his crazy wild man persona. And once back George “The Animal” Steele was fully wild and would rip up and eat the turnbuckles, had a green tongue and would have a strange wrestling style that had his arms wiggling around, which confused and worried his opponents. And his heel persona continued and allowed him to feud with the likes of Hulk Hogan, Bob Backlund, Ivan Putski and Jimmy Snuka to name a few. And while he would never win a title, he did get many chances at them as a heel. During this time his interviews would be him loudly speaking a string of words, or yelling much like a young child would who is learning to speak. And I should also note during this time as a heel, he would also capture a few title from smaller NWA companies before he went to the WWF.

On May 11, 1985 on NBC was the first every Saturday Night’s Main Event, and in the opening match George Steele teamed with Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff in a losing effort against The U.S. Express and Ricky Steamboat. But after the match, George is blamed for the loss and is attacked and this makes baby face manager Lou Albano save him and in this moment Steele went from heel to face. And very quickly George became one of the company’s top faces as fans loved this wild man who would put on silly cartoonish matches. In 1986 George Steele would start to get a crush on Miss Elizabeth, the manager of “Macho Man” Randy Savage, and the two would have a feud and this would last well into 1987 with Steele even managing Ricky Steamboat as he went for Savage’s intercontinental title at WrestleMania III, but in the end Steele would be on the losing end of the feud and would never get the affection of Elizabeth. And keep in mind, Elizabeth was so nice to George and it was Savage, who was one of the company’s top heels, who hated the attention George was trying to get. During this time as well Steele would be getting big wins against such names as Hercules Hernandez, Iron Mike Sharpe, Iron Sheik and Bob Orton Jr. to name a few. In 1988 George Steele would introduce the fans to his stuff doll friend named Mine and he would bring him to the ring to watch his matches as well as would have the doll in his promos. He would be involved at WrestleMania IV and would be in the Battle Royal, but due to a real life knee injury he would just stay outside the ring and annoy the heels in the match. It was also starting to be clear that George was falling down the card and also his health was starting to be an issue and by late 1988 he would retire from the ring for the first time and would become a road agent for the WWF working backstage. He would be let go in 1990 and a short time later hired back, and he would hold that job until around 1997 when he left the company.

After leaving WWF in the late 90’s as a road agent George Steele would start working the indies taking bookings and appearances. He even returned to WWF for an episode of Monday Night Raw in order to team with Taka Michinoku against Jerry Lawler and Brian Christopher. And again in 1998 he would work for WWF as apart of The Oddities and would leave again in 1999. He would make a big mistake and be a part of the disaster wrestling PPV called “Heroes Of Wrestling” and was managed by Sensational Sherri and would face Greg “The Hammer” Valentine and this was in late 1999. At the start of 2000, he would have a match against Jeff Jarrett on an episode of WCW Monday Night Nitro. His last match took place in late 2000 at an ACW event against Sgt. Medallion. And even late in his career, he was very loved by fans and he helped many indies draw when his name was on the card. But while George Steele’s in ring work came to an end in 2000, he still made appearances for federations in including Impact in 2008 and WWF in 2010. And even all through his time working the indies, he was also working wrestling themed conventions. Sadly George “The Animal” Steele would pass away from kidney failure on February 16, 2017 at the age of 74. As some of you might know, George battled Crohn’s Disease starting around the late 80’s and battled it for much of the rest of his life. He also was an actor in such films as Ruthless People (1986), Ed Wood (1994) and Small Town Conspiracy (2003) to name a few. And he also was inducted into the WWF Hall Of Fame in 1995 and has appeared in a small amount of wrestling video games.

Growing up through the 80’s and 90’s was a great time to be a wrestling fan as Hulk Hogan was the biggest star in the sport and business was great and so many icons stepped foot into the ring as we also still had stars from the 60’s and 70’s competing. And one older star that I was a fan of was George “The Animal” Steele, the crazy man who would yell, chase around his opponent and would eat the turnbuckles all the while showing his green tongue. And yeah I know what you are thinking and you would be right, George Steele might not have been the world’s greatest wrestler and by all accounts he was just a gimmick wrestler who put on comedy matches, but man when I was a kid it worked. I had the George Steele LJN figure as well as his Bendy toy, and I always wanted a Mine doll and still do want one to this day. The best part of George Steele is that he was a heel that people believed could rip a person apart with his brute strength, and when he turned baby face, he was loved as people thought he was simple and misunderstood and fun loving. And let’s be honest, everyone in the stands and watching at home would mark out when George would eat and rip apart the turnbuckle having the stuffing go all over the ring. Also his cartoonish nature when wrestling, as a face would cause fans to laugh at his odd style of waving his hands around and silly faces that he would make at his opponents. When booked as a heel I have to say that George Steele really did come off as a threat as he would be totally wild and his hairy missing link look seemed to scare the fans as well as would through his baby face opponent off their game as he would wiggle his arms around and come off as a total crazy man. George “Steele” is also a wrestler I would pop for even way after he was winding down his in ring career but when he would show up on WWF or WCW I would cheer as seeing him in the ring brought back memories of my youth. Plus on a side note, Tim Burton and his team did a fantastic job of hiring George Steele to play Tor Johnson in the 1994 cult classic film Ed Wood based on the filmmaker’s life. Also the first ever WWF Ice Cream bar I ever got had George Steele on it and inside had a trading card of George as well! With that said George might not have been the most skilled in ring worker but he sure as hell was a very entertaining one.

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 George Steele for his hard work in the world of wrestling. I also want to remind you that I will only be breaking down randomly selected 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 the 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 George Steele.

Best Of George Steele

Match 1: George Steele vs. Hulk Hogan

As the match starts, George starts by wiggling your hands around and Hogan stops his antics by flexing and stopping George in his tracks and as George gets out of the ring Hogan goes out after him and beats him up as the fans go crazy. Once back in the ring Hogan and George size each other up and neither wants to make a mistake and its George who makes the first move and with a wrack to Hogan’s eyes he takes the lead of the match by working over his eyes and even biting him. George takes the padding off of a turnbuckle and tries to ram Hogan’s head into it before he reverses it and rams Georges into it and then Hogan takes the match momentum and even bites the head of George! The two exchange hits and punches and with the help of brass knuckles George hurts Hogan and keeps using it to keep the Hulkster down. But after a while Hogan has had enough and after Hulking Up and some punches and a big boot to the face of George and when going for the legdrop, Mr. Fuji cheats and trips Hogan and as George distracts the referee he throws powder into the eyes of Hogan blinding him and causing him to fall out of the ring and is counted out and the fans are very mad by this. This is a match that on paper should not work well as both Hogan and Steele are wrestlers who work their own styles with Steele’s really being more of a gimmick and yet the two made it work as they blended both together and really got the crowd into it. No big moves are thrown and nothing really fancy is delivered, but the way Steele cheats and gets the heat from the crowd and the way the fans pop for Hogan at every move really does make the match feel big. I was also really surprised when Steele is the one who gets the win via pinfall. Over all a good match that had a big fight feel and showed that George Steele could have been a big heel even in the 80’s if booked right.

Rating: ***

Match 2: George Steele vs. Pete Mitchell

George Steele is managed by Freddie Blassie in this match and as soon as the bell rings, the weird movements of George throws of Pete and George moves in and attacks the face and head of Pete even biting him. George then destroys the turnbuckle and keeps his attack on Pete going who is helpless at this point and is just being destroyed. George even tosses Pete out of the ring and Blassie even delivers a kick to him, and George will not let him back in the ring. Once back in the ring George starts working on both arms of Pete stomping on them, and at this point Pete has not even landed one punch or move in the match. George continues beating up and tossing Pete around and in the end with a lifting hammerlock George gets the win when Pete is forced to give up. And after the bell George still beats up on Pete and Blassie loves it. This match is a total squash match and has George Steele destroying Pete Mitchell by just biting, knocking him out of the ring and stomping on him. George looks great as a heel in this match as he is vicious and does not allow his opponent to even fight back and his lifting hammerlock is fantastic looking. Poor Pete Mitchell looks like a total jobber and does nothing in the match besides sell like crazy for Steele. Not much more to say besides this is a very one sided match that while entertaining of seeing George be mean heel, is not much of a match.

Grade: **

Match 3: George Steele vs. Adrian Adonis

George starts the match by chasing Adonis around the ring and causes him to escape by getting out of the ring. Once back in the ring George charges at Adonis who is able to land a punch first and even chokes him with his scarf, and even uses the ropes to try and take the breath away from George. But with a quick punch to the face George makes his comeback that allows him to unleash a series of stomps and punches. George even slams Adonis on the entry ramp as the fans cheer with joy. But while hurt Adonis is able to land a few punches to the gut of George and then gives a few stomps, but George as well brawls his way back to being the one on top of the match momentum for a moment until Adonis takes back over for a brief moment with some punches. Adonis climbs the top rope and George crotches him and Adonis then elbows the referee knocking him out for a moment, George gets Adonis into the hammerlock and causes him to tap out but there is no referee to see it. George goes to check on the referee and when doing so Adonis rolls him up and gets the pin and the win. This is a brawling match that is kind of bland as Adrian Adonis is very lazy in the match and spends most of its short time resting on the mat or ramp and throwing very sloppy moves. This clearly was during a time when Adonis just stopped caring about the quality of his matches and he and George’s style just did not mix well at all. I do feel that he did sell really well for George throughout the match. George as well does his basic punches and stomps with his lifting hammerlock to Adonis being the most impressive move in the whole match. Over all it’s a very sloppy match that George Steele did his best to try and make it look good and entertaining and while he tried it just was not a good match.

Grade: *1/2

Match 4: George Steele vs. Greg Valentine

As the match starts, Greg tries to attack George from behind and it backfires, as George is able to see the attack coming and lands a punch to his gut and then starts beating up Greg more and more even ramming his head into the turnbuckle. But Greg makes a comeback after George botches an attempt at a bulldog headlock and Greg drops chops and elbows onto the down Animal and then unloads many elbows onto him as George tries to get up. After trying to land a top rope axe handle that misses Greg finds himself getting beat up by George who is now worked up with some anger and the fans are clearly behind him. And George then goes after Jimmy Hart the manger of Greg Valentine and starts to chase him to the back as Greg ends up going out after George to try and save his manager. And with that George Steele is counted out by chasing Hart around the ring and Greg wins the match via count out. This is another sloppy brawl that showcases two powerhouse wrestlers from the WWF from the 80’s slugging it out and showing once more that when pitted against the right opponent Georges limited move set can work and Greg was a good opponent for him to be working. Greg also does a great job of selling for George and does a good face flop when hitting the turnbuckles. George pretty much does his normal stomping, punching and acting weird while limited the fans love every second of him in the ring. The end being a count out was a little of a letdown but it did at least make both wrestlers look strong with Greg Valentine getting the win and George Steele still looking like a top baby face in his loss as he was not pinned and even was able to scare Jimmy Hart who was a hated heel manager. Over all super sloppy but entertaining for such a quick throwaway match that was clearly just a way to give Greg a win.

Grade: **1/2

Match 5: George Steele vs. Gorilla Monsoon

We start the match already in progress and Gorilla is down on the mat and is injured as George starts to work over his arm by stomping on it and keeps the pressure on Gorilla and even almost gets a three count on him. George starts working on the shoulders of Gorilla, who then ends up getting out of George’s hold and locks in a big bear hug as the crowd starts cheering for Gorillas comeback, George lands a big punch to his forehead and both men crash to the mat. Once back up George starts using an object to punch Gorilla who is very injured and weak by now, and George almost tosses Gorilla over the top rope and once Gorilla gets back in the beating continues as George uses an object to punch him in the head over and over. And after a sloppy comeback Gorilla locks on a bear hug again and like before George uses an object and the hold is broke and the pair fall to the mat. In the end Gorilla gets ahold of the object and George leaves the ring and gets himself counted out and Gorilla wins the match via count out. This is a very slow paced match and Gorilla Monsoon spends most of the match on the mat sweating like crazy and kind of so-so selling for George who is doing all the work and trying to make this match at least somewhat good. The match has the most basic moves thrown with most of them coming from George who is doing his normal brawling style that is mostly throwing punches. This match is really bad and many spots in the match happen several times making them very uninteresting. Not much more to say then George Steele looks good in the match and does his best to work with a clearly out of shape Gorilla Monsoon and while George has a limited style it was clear Gorilla was even more limited at this time. And really silly that they gave the count out win to Gorilla when they should have given George the win as he was becoming a great heel.

Grade: *

Match 6: George Steele vs. Mike Powers

As the bell rings, George Steele rushes Mike Powers and lands some clubbing blows and tosses him over the rope and goes after him and rams his head into the rails, and George will not even let Mike back into the ring. Once back in the ring Mike is placed in an arm bar and his arm is even bitten by George. And then George gets Mike into his lifting hammerlock and Mike quits and this give George the very quick win. Wow, this was 100% a squash match as George Steele busts out his brawling moves and his finishing move the hammerlock to make Mike Powers look like a jobber as he is unable to even land one move. The only move that stands out in the whole match is once more George Steele’s lifting hammerlock. And I have to say Mike Powers does a good job of selling for Steele throughout this quick match. Nothing special here but did its job of building George Steele.

Grade: **

So as you can see while George “The Animal” Steele was a wrestler who had a brawling gimmick style that could get fans to cheer when a face and boo him like crazy when heel and while not a technical wrestler he was one hell of an entertaining one that was one of my favorites growing up cause he made Pro Wrestling fun. And that brings me to this, in 2023 I feel like doing something very fun and will be a major treat for fans of wrestling like myself as I think every month this year I will have a “R.I.W Wrestling Legends” update! Remember back in 2021 we did this same thing for “Horror Host Icons”, but in April, what our household calls WWE WrestleMania Month, I will deliver two updates showcasing wrestlers! Again I know you fans of the squared circle are looking forward to seeing who we cover, now with that said our next update will take us out of the Rotten Ink Arena and back to the world of Star Comics as we go on adventures with Royal Roy one of the companies most popular original characters. So until next time, read a comic or three, watch a wrestling match or two and as always support your local wrestlers. And yes the land that Royal Roy rules over is called Cashelot…just think about that.

R.I.W: Top 60 Best Luchadores

Posted on September 13, 2021 by bloodlinematt

I have been a fan of Pro Wrestling for as long as I can remember, and alongside Horror Movies, Video Games, Rock Music and Comic Books, it’s still something that I enjoy to this very day…sure WWE’s product has been lacking on the creative front for decades with only hints of great booking in stories like The Fiend and the heel turn of Roman Reigns. Over the years I have seen many wrestling events live from companies like WWE, WCW, ECW, Rockstar Pro and many indie federations. I grew up not only watching the above mentioned on TV but also GWF, AWA, NWA, GCW, Impact, ROH, WCCW, AAA, CMLL, FMW, New Japan, All Japan, XPW and so many more thanks to broadcast as well as home media formats. Who remembers the VHS Wrestling Tape Trades that allowed fans to see matches and wrestlers from all over the world? One style of wrestling that has been my favorite from the first time I saw it is Lucha Libre as the fast paced moves and amazing grapplers with superhero style looks and characters has always been my go to for wrestling. For this update I am going to countdown my personal picks for the top 60 Luchadors aka my personal favorites!

While working on Rotten Ink, I started to think about ways to bring in other subjects that I love as well as fun themed updates that I can bust out from time to time stuff to join the likes of Horror Host Icon, SOV Flashback Classics, Sports Mascots Countdown, Talk Back and a few more. So I decided to create R.I.W. that stands for Rotten Ink Illustrated and is a play off of Pro Wrestling Illustrated (P.W.I) that was my favorite wrestling magazine growing up. And with these R.I.W updates, I am thinking that I will not only be doing Top 60 Countdowns but might also talk about PPV events and break them down and who knows maybe even will cover some live events…as I am not sure really just yet what I want to do for these themed updates.

Keep in mind this list is just my opinion and these rankings are just how I am feeling now. Ask me in a year or two and I am sure it could and would change! The rankings for this are based on me seeing matches of these Luchadors and their character and look. I am ruling out two icons El Santo and Blue Demon as they are the kings of the ring and while I have seen very little of their matches, I grew up watching their films on Commander USA’s Groovie Movies. Oh and by saying “seen matches” I mean watching on TV, Seen Live, Online Matches and old Tape Trade VHS. So if you are ready, let’s head to Rotten Ink Arena and let’s talk Luchadors…and yeah I added one extra for the fun of it!

# 61

Mr. Iguana
Started: 2009 Companies: AAA Active: Yes Seen Live: No

The super popular Mr. Iguana has made a big name for himself in AAA and is hands down one of the most popular wrestlers with kids in the promotion! Mr. Iguana started in the indies, and after an injury set him back, he quickly made a name for himself upon his return to the ring and got the attention of AAA and was signed to compete in the company. While he is not a main eventer and is a Mid-Card lucha, he is very entertaining to watch in the ring. Mr. Iguana is one that I have seen thanks to AAA’s social media that has allowed me and other US fans to see these guys wrestle. While he is not one of my favorite current Luchadors, I will say he is one that I am going to keep my eye on as I think he could become a very interesting wrestler if given the right feuds and matches.

# 60

El Mosco
Started: 1995 Companies: AAA & WWE Active: Yes Seen Live: No

El Mosco, who is now known as X-Fly, was a Luchador I first saw on WWE TV as he was part of their short-lived team up with AAA to help kick off their Lightweight division. He was a big deal in Mexico and ran a faction called “Los Rudos De La Galaxia” up until he left the promotion and his then-name Mosco De La Merced was given to another wrestler. During this time is when the El Mosco character was born, and he went on to work not only for Indie Federations but also at WWE, WCW and ECW many of times wrestling under different names and this started in 1997 and he still takes bookings to this day! And in 2010 he returned to AAA until 2012 and was a part of a major storyline that had him teaming with Halloween and Damian 666. He’s a very skilled Luchador, who I mostly knew from his short WWE run and was one I found myself cheering for. And man, he has had a ton of other in ring names that include Winners II, Pierroth Jr., Johnny and Juan El Mosco to name a few.

# 59

Super Calo
Started: 1990 Companies: AAA & WCW Active: Yes Seen Live: Yes

Super Calo was a Luchador that I first saw on WCW as part of the Mexican superstars that were showing up to help push the cruiserweight division, and while a super skilled wrestler, he failed to capture my attention like many of the others brought in, but keep in mind that I still enjoyed watching him in matches. Super Calo started his in ring career in 1990 working some indie federations before landing at AAA in 1992 where he became a very popular wrestler and a draw with his rapper gimmick. His run lasted until around 1995 as by 1996 he had been signed to WCW and helped showcase Lucha Libre to American fans. Super Calo would be used as enhancement talent and would stick around WCW for a few years before heading back to Mexico to work for the Indies. In 2007, he returned to AAA for another brief run and would then go back to the Indies as well as opening his own promotion called FSW. While Super Calo might not have been a main eventer here in America, he is a well respected Lucha in Mexico.

# 58

Sin Cara
Started: 2011 Companies: WWE & AAA Active: Yes Seen Live: Yes

Ok, I know what you readers are saying: why is Sin Cara this high on your list as everyone knows that he was considered a failure in WWE and even had two wrestlers under the mask during his run. But let me explain. While he had some very botch filled matches while in WWE and even never really captured a Main Event Spot and was barely a Mid-Carder by the end, he helped paved the way for other masked Luchadors to be signed to WWE and be able to keep their masks on! And I am not going to talk about the history of Mistico or Hunico the two who played the gimmick and will more just talk about Sin Cara in general. In 2011 the WWE held a press conference to talk about the signing of Sin Cara as he was built up to be the next Rey Mysterio Jr. for the company and so much hype and push was placed on him as he was slated to be a main eventer even having him team with the company’s top star John Cena…but sadly his star quickly started to fade as injuries, bad attitude and botches made him fall down the card and with his title wins coming along side fellow Luchador Kalisto when, as the Lucha Dragons, they won the NXT Tag Team belts once. He was let go from the WWE in 2019 and has since made an appearance in AAA and now is going under a new name. While he might not be the best of the WWE Luchadors, he is one I enjoyed seeing on TV and at Live Events.

# 57

Tigre Uno
Started: 1998 Companies: AAA & Impact Active: Yes Seen Live: No

This Luchador started his career like so many working the Indies and making a name for himself. He did so at California’s WWA (World Wrestling Association) promotion and during this time as well he became more of a Hardcore Wrestler using chairs, tables and ladders in his matches. In 2006, he got the call and joined AAA and climbed his way up the card winning not only some championships but also tournaments. And during this time Impact Wrestling ended up signing Tigre Uno in 2013 where he would become an attraction in the X-Division a belt that he would end up winning in 2015! Tigre Uno would stay with Impact until 2016 and after this he once more went to the Indies and has been there since entertaining fans worldwide. Tigre Uno is one of those wrestlers I have seen a little of his Impact matches and would like to see more of his work as well as see him live in person. Over the years Tigre Uno has also wrestled under the names Tyger Mask, Extreme Tiger, Ultimate Tiger and Xtreme Tiger.

# 56

Kalisto
Started: 2006 Companies: AAA & WWE Active: Yes Seen Live: Yes

Kalisto is a wrestler who I was happy to see in NXT and WWE as he was a masked Luchador that they allowed for the most part to wrestling in that style…well that was up until his call up to the main roster. Kalisto started his wrestling career working the Indies by the name of Samuray and making a name for himself that ended up leading him to a job with AAA and going from Samuray to Octagon Jr. as he became the student of one of his biggest inspiration Octagon himself! He was in AAA from 2011 and left in 2013 as he became a very in demand wrestler in the Indie scene all over the world and during this time he returned to the Samuray name and worked for companies like CZW, Dragon Gate and AAW! But later in 2013, WWE came calling and hired him to be part of their NXT brand. This would lead to a move up to the main roster in 2015, and during this time he became the United States Champion as well as the Cruiserweight Champion and has been part of the Tag Team “The Lucha Dragons” with Sin Cara and “The Lucha House Party” with Gran Metalik and Lince Dorado and remained a fun draw for American fans who enjoy the Lucha Libre style of wrestling. He also went under the names Bello Greco Jr., The Son Of Superzan, Jordy Stone and Love Warrior. He was let go from the WWE in 2021.

# 55

Chavo Guerrero Jr.
Started: 1994 Companies: WCW & WWE Active: Yes Seen Live: Yes

Chavo was born into one of Mexico’s royal families of wrestling, the Guerrero’s! He started wrestling in the indies and even landed himself matches in New Japan Pro Wrestling mastering his craft and building a name for himself. He would be brought into WCW in 1996 as part of the wave of Luchadors being brought in to build the cruiserweight division and he would be a contender off and on throughout the years for the belt even winning it twice and even capturing WCW Tag Team Gold once with partner Lash LeRoux! He would also have a gimmick in WCW that would see him go crazy and carry a stick horse around he called Pepe. He would leave WCW in 2001 after the company was closed down and would start working for WWE and was part of The Alliance story angle. During his WWE run, he was mostly used as a Mid-Carder with his biggest run coming when teaming with his uncle Eddie to win the WWE Tag Team Titles twice! He would also win the ECW Championship once as well as the WWE Cruiserweight Championship four times…he would also have one of the worst gimmicks ever while in the WWE when he changed his name to Kerwin White and denounced his Mexican heritage. Chavo would leave WWE in 2011 and would start working for the Indies like WWC before landing at Impact Wrestling in 2012 and would slink around there until 2013 and would make another appearance for them in 2019. After Impact and still taking Indie bookings, he also worked for Lucha Underground as well as the very short lived Nacion Lucha Libre, a federation he co-created with Alberto Del Rio in 2019 (they closed in 2020). While Chavo is still wrestling, he also has gone on to do other media releases like Acting, Comic Books and Podcasting. While Chavo is a still worker, he just never fully captured my attention and never truly lived up to the Guerrero name. He is currently working for AEW.

# 54

Texano Jr.
Started: 1999 Companies: AAA & CMLL Active: Yes Seen Live: No

The bull rope carrying Texano Jr. started his in ring career in the indies under the name Kempo Kid, and it was during his time in the indies during a “bet matches” that Kempo Kid had to unmask and became Texano Jr. as he was the son of Luchador legend El Taxano! Very quickly after unmasking Texano Jr. would go to CMLL. He started in 2003 and was placed in many big stories as well as feuds and would even have factions like “Perros Del Mal”! But things came to an end for his CMLL run in 2011 when he decided to leave and join Perros del Mal Producciones, an indie promotion created by the iconic Perro Aguayo Jr. and he would leave them the same year and join AAA, where he still is to this day. Texano Jr. has a great look as he reminds me of the cowboy wrestlers of the 80’s and 90’s like Stan Hansen and Outlaw Ron Bass, not to mention he is very skilled in the ring and one I enjoy watching on AAA events.

# 53

Bestia 666
Started: 2009 Companies: AAA & WWA Active: Yes Seen Live: No

Bestia 666 is the son of Damien 666 and started his career not only in the indies but also in Perros del Mal Producciones. This would lead to a small run in AAA that allowed him to team with his father as well as his long tome friend Halloween as a stable, all the while he was still working for Perros del Mal Producciones. In 2012 he quit them and decided to start his journey of working the indies in Mexico as well as America that would lead him to work such federations as MLW, Lucha Underground, GFW, UWF and EWF and would allow him to get a tryout match in the WWE (he would get two) but sadly he was not signed. Bestia 666 has a great look and is super skilled in the ring, and I for one enjoy watching his matches on YouTube and would like to see more matches as well as would like to see him get signed to one of America’s top four federations WWE, AEW, Impact or ROH. Over his career he has also went under the ring names Leo and Bestia.

# 52

Bengala
Started: 1995 Companies: AAA & CMLL Active: Yes Seen Live: No

Not to be confused with the CMLL Luchador named Bengala, I am talking about the one who is working for AAA and has the white tiger look that I discovered thanks to YouTube and AAA’s social media as well as Lucha Underground that has allowed me to see his matches and become a fan! Bengala started like every other wrestler making his mark on the indies and building a name for himself and once his dues were paid, he was signed to CMLL in 1998 and would become a lower card Luchador who would rise to being a popular mid-carder up until he left them in 2003. Because of CMLL he got to work many matches in Japan for Toryumon Japan promotion and even held the NWA World Welterweight Title. He would wrestle in Japan off and on for many years even when he became signed to Pro Wrestling Noah in 2003 and stayed until 2015 as a featured star for the promotion. He would then come back to Mexico off and on working for AAA from 2007-2008 and again from 2013-2017, and during this time with AAA the Bengala character was born! Starting in 2016 Bengala was played by another Luchador until 2019 when he as well left the company and as of now ended Bengela’s run. While not a household name when coming to Lucha Libre stars, he was an entertaining one that I enjoyed seeing in the matches I watched.

# 51

Abismo Negro
Started: 1987 Companies: AAA & CMLL Active: No Seen Live: No

First thing I want to say is R.I.P Abismo Negro, who sadly passed away in 2009 as the world of Lucha Libre lost an amazing talent. Like all wrestlers Abismo Negro began his career in the indie scene and in 1991 he was signed to CMLL and only stayed there until 1992 as he left to join the new promotion AAA and this would be his federation that he would stick with for his career, and during this time he would have name changes landing on Abismo Negro in 1997. He was part of many factions, held many titles and even represented AAA in a tournament that was being held by Impact Wrestling. Abismo Negro was an amazing Luchador and was an amazing Rudo who would use fire in his entrance and captured the attention of every fan who seen him. Sadly I have only been able to watch his matches online and have not got to see many, as I am sure if I was able to have seen him live or even more matches Abismo Negro would have easily made his way into my Top 10 on this list! Over his career he had also went by the names The Winner, Pequeno Samurai, Furor and Alex Dinamo.

# 50

Espiritu Maya
Started: 2017 Companies: Indies Active: Yes Seen Live: Yes

In my opinion one of the best Luchadors going in the indies here in America is Espiritu Maya, who has been building a name for himself at many promotions and has been growing his fan base and reputation as a Lucha star. Espiritu Maya has captured titles at many of the promotions he has worked for and has even had some matches with wrestlers from Impact as well as legends at these events. Espiritu Maya is an up and coming Luchador that is one that you should all keep an eye on as he could get the call up to NXT or AEW in the future. Espiritu Maya is also a main stay at Rockstar Pro Wrestling the local Dayton, Ohio federation that I work for, and I have had the privilege of watching him wrestle many times.

# 49

Heavy Metal
Started: 1988 Companies: CMLL & AAA Active: Yes Seen Live: No

I first saw Heavy Metal in WWE as he was one that took part of the AAA team up that lasted a short time in the 1990’s as he even had a match at the 1995 Royal Rumble! With a brief run in some Mexican indie federations, he truly started in CMLL and would stay there until 1992 when he jumped ship and started to work for the newly formed AAA. He would became a mainstay and big draw for them even being apart of a talent exchange between AAA and WWE and later Impact. During this time with AAA, he would win many titles like The Mexican National Welterweight Championship two times and AAA Campeon de Campeones Championship once not to even talk about all the Bet Matches he was apart of. Heavy Metal would leave AAA in 2004 and by 2005 he was breifly working for IWRG (International Wrestling Revolution Group) and then went back to CMLL from 2005 to 2010 and was once more a big name for the promotion. But AAA came calling again, and by 2010 he was back with them and would stay around for many more years, until going and working indie shows. While Heavy Metal is not the major star he once was, he is still an icon and legend in Lucha Libre, and still to this day I have his AAA figure from 1994! Over his career he also went by the name Canelo Casas.

# 48

Humberto Carrillo
Started: 2012 Companies: WWE & Indies Active: Yes Seen Live: No

Humberto Carrillo started his in ring career in the Indies and he is apart of the Garza Family Tree and proved that he was just as skilled as the rest of his family as he became a main attraction at events and even won many belts and tournaments and would compete for federations like Chilanga Mask, The Crash Lucha Libre, Casanova Pro and Lucha Libre Azteca. Humberto would float around the indies from 2012 through 2018, and in 2018 he got his big break by being signed by WWE and wrestling for NXT until being brought up to the main roaster as apart of the 205 Live brand in 2019 and by the end of 2019 he was brought up to be featured on Raw during a draft and this started his push to become a main star on the roster. Well that was until the out of touch Vince McMahon lost interest in the superstar and moved onto the next wrestler he could push and crush in a short time. Humberto is a great Mid-Carder who puts on top notch matches in WWE and if given the chance, he could easily becomes a mega star just like Rey Mysterio Jr.! Other names Humberto has used in his career is Ultimo Ninja and Humberto Pidorasio, and I should note that when WWE House Shows and Live Events returns to the Dayton area I hope to see Humberto in action.

# 47

Pagano
Started: 2008 Companies: AAA & Impact Active: Yes Seen Live: No

Mexico has many wrestling clown Luchadors and one of the biggest and most popular is Pagano, who started his career in 2008 and was a hardcore wrestler who would wrestle in Mexico and America in the indies that included feds like WWA4, FULL and IWRG before getting signed to AAA in 2016 and being flung into a main event spot and being in the group “La Familiar Fonteriza” alongside Damian 666, Halloween and Psychosis that would last for awhile and as well allowed him to get into feuds with Psycho Clown and Pentagon Jr. and o this date Pagano is one of AAA’s big stars featured in many high profile matches. While working for AAA, he has also been featured on Impact Wrestling as well has fought and won a MMA match…and has won many belts and tournaments for AAA that including the AAA World Tag Team Championship with partner El Mesias. Super entertaining to watch and a Lucha that puts on great matches both in skill and in brawls Pagano is surly going to be a legend in Lucha Libre when he retires. Pagano has also wrestled under a mask before settling on his classic face paint look. I have mostly seen his work in AAA thanks to their social media and YouTube.

# 46

Andrade
Started: 2003 Companies: WWE & CMLL Active: Yes Seen Live: Yes

One of the biggest recent wasted talents in WWE is Andrade, who is a super skilled Luchador who went from being a Main Event prospect all the way to being a Mid-Carder that was then barely thought about thanks to Vince. It was a shame as he has all the makings of being a great world champion who could play the rudo role. Andrade started his career in 2003 working for many of the indie promotions in Mexico and started when he was just a teenager and built up his skills as well as impressed those who watched him in action. By 2007 he was signed to the big leagues in Mexico as he got a contract with CMLL and quickly rose up the ranks and became a main eventer and would be placed in many main featured matches and would capture many belts, win bet matches as well as tournament wins! During his run with CMLL he would also have a small run in New Japan Pro Wrestling and during this time is when he caught the eye of WWE. Andrade would leave both CMLL and New Japan in 2015 as he signed with WWE and would make his debut on NXT and would make it to the main roster on 2018. In his WWE career, he captured the NXT Championship once and the WWE United States Championship only once until he left the company in 2021. He now wrestles for AEW. During his career this far he has also wrestled under such names as Brillante Jr., La Sombra, Rey Azteca and Guerrero Azteca to name a few.

# 45

El Dandy
Started: 1981 Companies: WCW & CMLL Active: No Seen Live: Yes

El Dandy is known in America for his run in WCW as part of their Cruiserweight division as well as a member of the stable L.W.O., but for many he is also known for that classic Bret Hart promo that had Bret saying “Who are you to doubt El Dandy?” when he selected him for a match. I saw El Dandy take on Scott Norton on a WCW Saturday Night taping live here in Dayton, Ohio and a fan behind us was all about cheering El Dandy on during the match. El Dandy, like all pro wrestlers, started his wrestling career in the indie scene starting in 1981 and was quickly respected by fans and fellow workers for his hard work in and out of the ring, and by 1981 he got his big break being signed to CMLL where he was a big star and a numerous champion holding several titles including the CMLL World Middleweight Championship a total of three times! He would be involved with many bet matches as well as was able to take indie bookings as well as work for WWA out of California. But when WCW needed wrestlers for their cruiserweight division El Dandy was called up in 1997 and would be used as an enhancement talent his whole time their losing almost all of his matches with many being squash matches. By 2000 El Dandy was released from WCW along with many of the other Luchadors, and this allowed him to wrestler for not only indies but also a short run in AAA as well as IWRG and he would retire from wrestling in 2014. While he was one of Mexico’s top wrestlers during his run, he sadly never caught on in America and was used as a jobber. El Dandy is awesome and I for one am glad I was able to see him wrestle live a few times before he retired.

# 44

Angel Garza
Started: 2008 Companies: WWE & AAA Active: Yes Seen Live: No

Another member of the Garza family and another that shows that Lucha Libre is alive and well in America when allowed to shine in one of the main companies! Starting out in the Indies, Angel Garza got the attention of many federations including Impact and AAA with the latter signing him to a contract in 2015. He would make his mark on the company by putting on great matches as well as being involved in some high profile ones, but by 2017 Angel had left AAA and started working for the Indies again as well as worked with Impact Wrestling and during this time is stock was rising even more as he was able to get the attention of WWE who signed him to a contract in 2019 and placed him on NXT and then 205 Live before making his main roster debut in 2020 when they placed him into a short tag team with Andrade, managed by Zelina Vega. After the team broke up, he has been used on the mid-card with teases of breaking into the main event soon. So far in WWE, he is a one time NXT Cruiserweight Champion. With tons of skill and a legacy family name Angel Garza could become a big star if given the chance. Over his career he has gone by the names El Hijo del Ninja, Garza Jr. and Humberto Garza.

# 43

Laredo Kid
Started: 2003 Companies: AAA & Impact Active: Yes Seen Live: No

Laredo Kid is a super popular Luchador who is one of AAA’s top main eventers that puts butts in the seats. Laredo Kid started his career in 2003 and worked the indies until 2005 where he signed with AAA and rose his way to the top of the card with fast paced and impressive matches! During his time in AAA, he was also allowed to make appearances in Impact and AEW as well as even had a tryout match in the WWE! He is the winner of many AAA titles as well as tournaments and bet matches and will surely become one of the company’s futures Hall Of Famers if he stays the path to greatness as he is now. I have mostly seen his matches in AAA as well as a few of his Impact matches thanks to YouTube and I look forward to seeing more of his work in the coming years as he is one to truly watch.

# 42

Taurus
Started: 2005 Companies: AAA & Impact Active: Yes Seen Live: No

Taurus is a Luchador that I first discovered on Facebook and quickly watched many of his matches on YouTube and then have seen him on AAA and Impact events via TV and social media. Taurus started out working indies in Mexico before being signed to AAA in 2012 and would work as Machine Rocker as part of the group Los Inferno Rockers and would work as this character until 2015 when he was repackaged as Taurus, but by 2016 he left AAA and worked for Lucha Libre Elite as well as other indie federations, that was until he once more signed with AAA in 2018 and this has also allowed him to work matches in Impact, MLW and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla as well as has made appearances in many American indies. While he is not considered a main eventer in AAA and has not captured any belts yet, with his cool look, skills in the ring and great rudo attitude, it’s only a matter of time before he climbs the card. I also think that if Taurus was around in 1996 he would have been brought into WCW and would have been a great addition to the Cruiserweight division. Over the years Taurus has also went by the names Machine Rocker, Semental, Black Taurus and Black Tauro.

# 41

Lizmark Jr.
Started: 1991 Companies: WCW & CMLL Active: Yes Seen Live: Yes

WCW strikes again as his stint in the company is how I became a fan of Lizmark Jr. as well as was able to see him live during a taping of WCW Saturday Night! Lizmark Jr. started his career in 1991 and worked for a few indie promotions in Mexico as well as had a short AAA run before going to WCW in 1997 as apart of their big boom of Luchador talent being signed in order to build their Cruiserweight division. He would stick around in WCW for a while and sadly was mostly used on the lower card and enhancement talent and never won a WCW title. In 2000, he was let go from WCW and Lizmark would return to Mexico and start working for CMLL and would end up turning Rudo and would lose his mask in a bet match in 2007 after being pinned by Blue Panther. Lizmark Jr. would go onto to capture his first belt in a major federation when he won the CMLL World G1 Heavyweight Championship. Lizmark also started working for Lucha Libre USA on MTV2 in 2010 and would capture the LLUSA Heavyweight Championship from them as well! In 2011 he would go back to AAA and have a small run and is now working on the indies all over Mexico and from time to time the USA. I think Lizmark Jr. is a talent that sometimes gets over looked here in America as his run in WCW was less then stellar, but do yourself a favor and watch some of his matches and you will see why I am a fan.

# 40

Chessman
Started: 1996 Companies: AAA Active: Yes Seen Live: No

One of the greatest rudo’s in modern Lucha Libre hands down is Chessman and only a few other names come to mind in AAA that can match him in his ruthless behavior! Chessman started his time in the ring in the indies in 1996 and became a Luchador to watch as he was making a major splash with his style and appearance he adopted in 2000 known as Chessman. And with the name and appearance change AAA came calling and signed him in 2001 and his long and awesome career as one of Lucha Libre’s top Luchadors started and would have him see many title wins, many bet matches and have him mix it up with wrestlers from Impact. He would be in many stables and groups like Los Hell Brothers, La Secta and The Black Family to name a few. He has been loyal to AAA over all these years just like The Undertaker has been to WWE and Sting was to WCW showing that Chessman is surely a AAA Hall Of Famer when he retires from in ring action. Like many of the AAA Luchadors, I have seen so many of his matches thanks to the company’s social media accounts. He’s a true amazing Luchador to watch in action and one that deserves his position in the company. Before being Chessman he also wrestled in the indies under the names M-357, Magnum and Quinto Elemento.

# 39

Octagon
Started: 1981 Companies: AAA & CMLL Active: Yes Seen Live: No

Octagon is a true legend in the world of Lucha Libre and is a Luchador that I can remember buying grey market Best of VHS tapes of as well as seeing him in the pages of wrestling magazines all through my youth. Octagon started his wrestling career in 1981 and was able to blend his martial arts background into his Lucha Libre style and took the indies by storm. By 1982 he was working for CMLL, and by 1989 he was a super popular and top star for the promotion being in several high profile matches as well as captured the fans’ attention. When AAA started in 1992, one of the Luchadors to leave CMLL for the new promotion was Octagon who was a major star for the company for many years and was one of the companies main attractions, but by 2014 his place on the card was falling slightly and this caused Octagon to leave AAA and sadly caused a major rift between them over the rights to the name, look and back pay! He would then go onto wrestle for CMLL as well as other Indie feds over the years. While his in ring career has slowed down, he still is active from time to time. He truly is a legend in Lucha Libre, and I wish he and AAA could bury the hatchet and patch things up so that he can have a proper retirement match when he is ready to hang the boots up. Over the years he has also gone under the names Dragon Dorado and La Amenaza Elegante.

# 38

Aero Boy
Started: 2003 Companies: Indies & CZW Active: Yes Seen Live: Yes

Aero Boy is one of the best unsigned Luchadors in the indies going as he can wrestling the classic Lucha Libre style as well as work hardcore matches! He is a true journeyman wrestler as he has wrestled all over the world and has made a name for himself in every nation he has performed in, and he as well as captured many of the belts including the Intergalactic World Championship from Rockstar Pro Wrestling. Aero Boy is a Luchador I have had the pleasure of seeing live many times and if he comes to your town, make sure to see him in action as you will not be sorry! Over his career thus far as well he has faced many names in the business and it’s crazy that he has not been signed to Impact, CMLL or AAA as they don’t know what they are missing with his guy!

# 37

Drago
Started: 1998 Companies: AAA & Impact Active: Yes Seen Live: No

Drago is a Luchador who has one of the coolest looks in the business as his mask is fantastic! Drago is one I discovered while watching AAA videos on YouTube and reading their Facebook page, and he quickly became one of my favorites! Like all before him, he started his career on the Indies and would quickly be signed by AAA the same year in 1998 and would be saddled with other masks and names like Jimmy Boy, Alan and Gato Eveready and while they had a following and fans it was in 2011 when he became Drago that his career in AAA really took off and he got the main event push he had been fighting for his whole time with them! And because of this new look, name and push it lead to him representing AAA in federations like Lucha Underground, Impact, Global Force Wrestling and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla and getting more eyes on him across the world. At one point a rumor was going around that even WWE was interesting in signing him to NXT! Drago in AAA has won many belts, bet matches and tournaments and still is a very popular Luchador for them.

# 36

Perro Aguayo
Started: 1968 Companies: AAA & UWA Active: No Seen Live: No

One of the biggest draws in Lucha Libre history in Mexico is the rudo everyone loved Perro Aguayo! This Luchador was like none other as he had such a presence in the ring and was such a brawler that set him apart from everyone working in Mexico at the time! Perro is one that I discovered thanks to the grey market VHS tapes that I would see him on as well as later YouTube and DVDs from HighSpots Video. Perro reminds me of a very early version of a Hardcore wrestler who would bleed and brawl all over the ring and would have the fans on the edge of their seats doing so. Perro Aguayo started his career in 1968 working for the indies before being one of the top Rudos in UWA the place he would make the name for himself and would even feud with the likes of El Santo! The crazy thing being while he was a rudo, he was a draw as fans would often cheer him over the tecnico he was facing. He was such a draw that UWA would spotlight him and have him in all types of high profile matches against the companies top stars. During this time as well he would work matches for CMLL and was a major headliner. In 1992 he would leave UWA and help build AAA and would be a big star for them as well and during his time in AAA he would also work for WWE in 1997 as part of the talent trade the companies made. In 2000 he would leave AAA and sign with CMLL and would stay around for awhile and was a draw for them as well, he would loose a retirement match and would remain gone for a while until returning to team with his son for a time before heading back into retirement in 2001. During his time in the ring he would be a main-eventer, a respected rudo, win many belts in AAA, CMLL, UWA and even was the first ever WWE Light Heavyweight Champion (even if WWE does not have it on the records now). Not to even mention he is in the AAA Hall Of Fame and took part in so many Bet Matches. Sadly Perro Aguayo passed away in 2019 at the age of 73 from an infection. While gone his legacy is still very much alive in Mexico and his popularity and drawing power is still stuff of legend.

# 35

El Pantera
Started: 1985 Companies: WWE & CMLL Active: Yes Seen Live: No

One of the best things for me during the WWE Attitude Era was the Lightweight division that was sadly overshadowed by Jerry Lawler screaming Puppies and the never ending feud between Stone Cold and Vince McMahon that ate up so much airtime. And what made it so cool was not only seeing the cruiserweights get some time to shine, but was also cool to see some Luchadors on TV again in WWE! One of my favorites was El Pantera who was played as a rudo and always put on great matches. El Pantera started working the indies in Mexico in 1985 and by 1992 he was working fulltime for CMLL and would win a few belts and become a solid Mid-Carder who had his fair share of fans and even had a few high profile matches that helped build his name in Lucha Libre, but by 1996 he left CMLL and after leaving he started to work some dates in Japan as well as for IWRG and this is also when he had a short run for WWE that lasted from 1997 and ended in 1999. While still working for IWRG he would also be sent back to CMLL as the companies had a talent exchange and he would stick around for a short time and even win a title, before setting his sites on only working for IWRG, while not as active as he once was El Pantera is still working the indies from time to time as well as for IWRG. Over the years El Pantera has also gone by other names like El Manaya, Pantera II, America, Triyon and Tanaka.

# 34

Guerrero Maya Jr.
Started: 2005 Companies: CMLL & Indies Active: Yes Seen Live: Yes

Guerrero Maya Jr. is a Luchador that I have had the pleasure of not only seeing live at a Rockstar Pro Wrestling event, but is also one that I was lucky enough to chat with before and after the event. His match against Zachary Wentz was the best on the card as it was highflying and high impact! Guerrero Maya Jr. started working the indies for a short time in 2005 and by 2007 he was working for CMLL and was wresting under the names Samba and Multifacetico and it was in 2009 that he got the name Guerrero Maya Jr. and that is also when his popularity and position on the card was on the rise. He even was part of the Crocket Cup in 2019 as he represented CMLL alongside Stuka Jr. and sadly they lost. Guerrero Maya Jr. would go on to win titles in CMLL like the Mexican Trios Championship a total of three times with Delta and Atlantis. To me it’s crazy that AEW, Impact nor WWE have not signed Guerrero Maya Jr. yet as he is a great talent and one of my favorite Luchadors I have seen live over the years!

# 33

Hector Garza
Started: 1992 Companies: WCW & AAA Active: No Seen Live: Yes

Hector Garza is another member of the Garza Family and is one that I first saw in action thanks to WCW when they brought in many Luchadors for their Cruiserweight division as well as mid-carders. I was lucky to have seen Hector Garza in action at a WCW Saturday Night taping in Dayton, Ohio and he showcased why the Luchadors was why I was a big fan of WCW during that time! Sadly Hector passed away in 2013 and it’s a shame as the world of wrestling lost a super talented Luchador. Hector started working the indies in 1992 and would spend sometime in FILL and his in ring rudo style got the attention of CMLL who signed him in 1994 and this would only last until 1996 when he left and signed with AAA that lead to him also being able to work a few WWE events as part of their talent exchange and even was showcased at the 1995 Royal Rumble and even got a win on T.L Hopper on an episode of Superstars, but in 1997 his time with AAA and WWE came to an end when WCW came calling and he joined them from 1997 to 1999 and while in WCW he became a member of the L.W.O as well as got a clean pin fall victory over Scott Hall in a short lived storyline. Once let go from WCW in 1999 he returned to AAA and worked their as well as a few dates for Impact and had a big feud with Heavy Metal, Latin Lover and Perro Aguayo Jr. for many years. But he once more left AAA to this time return to CMLL in 2005 that allowed him to have his star keep rising in Mexico and also let him wrestle in New Japan! And always a Luchador on the move in 2011 he left CMLL and started working for Perros del Mal Producciones the federation he would stay with until 2012 when he was forced into retirement due to being diagnosed with lung cancer. After his death Hector Garza was inducted into the AAA Hall Of Fame and has left a massive legacy in the world of wrestling. In his time in wrestling he had won multiple titles in many companies like AAA, CMLL, Luca Libre Azteca, Perros del Mal Producciones and many more.

# 32

Villano V
Started: 1976 Companies: WCW & AAA Active: Yes Seen Live: Yes

WCW strikes again as they are how I first saw Villano V as well as his brother and partner Villano IV, and while they both were skilled workers it was Villano V that was my favorite of the team! Before he was named Villano V he was Rokambole and worked the indies as well as being trained by his father and brothers who where known as The Villano’s and he had to earn his number in the family. And by 1983 he had earned the name Villano V and along with his brothers worked for many promotions like CMLL, AAA, UWA and IWRG before he and his brother Villano IV landed jobs with WCW in 1996 were they were used not only in the growing cruiserweight division but as well as the tag team division as they were perfect rudos, but sadly they were used as enhancement talent their whole run. When Villano IV was injured and out for a time Villano V was used as a jobber but would become a member of the L.W.O! Villano V would leave WCW in 2000 after being let go and would return to Mexico and would work for the likes of CMLL and would even have a retirement event in “2013” that was not truly a retirement match as shortly after the event he was taking bookings and still does to this day. Over his long career he has won many bet matches, belts and tournaments and is one of the best rudos as he is so unlikable and wrestles dirty. While he lacks the flash of so many other Luchadors on this list his pure rudo ways is what made him one of my favorites to watch.

# 31

Ciclope/Halloween
Started: 1990 Companies: WWE & AAA Active: Yes Seen Live: Yes

Ok let’s get this out of the way now, Ciclope was the renamed Halloween for when he came to WCW during the Cruiserweight boom of the late 90’s, and his in ring skill and his spooky Horror themed character is what made me a fan…plus seeing him live also helped make me a fan. Halloween started his career in 1990 and worked for the Indies up until 1996 when he was hired by WCW to grow their Cruiserweight division and was called Ciclope and was used on the undercard and booked against the bigger names in the division to help get them over and his lackluster run came to an end in 1999. Working the indies after his WCW run, he would lose his Ciclope mask in a bet match and would quickly go back to his Halloween character and would then lose Halloween mask in a bet match causing him to paint his face like a Jack-O-Lantern. While working the indies for many years and having matches for companies like FCW, XPW and USA Pro Wrestling before landing at CMLL in 2002 teaming with Damian 666, Rey Misterio Sr., Nicho el Millonario and valet Lady Victoria as “La Familia de Tijuana” to become one of the biggest rudo stables at the time and would be off and on with CMLL until around 2009. And by 2010 he was working with AAA and would be apart of a few big matches and by 2012 he left and would end up in IWRG, but Halloween would still do matches for AAA and would stick around for awhile before just going back to the indies. Halloween while not as well known around the world like so many Luchadors before and after him, he is a true icon of the ring and a good worker who should get more respect. Halloween also cannot only work the Lucha Libre style but can also work the Hardcore style. Over the years of wrestling besides the name Ciclope he has went by Rocky Boy, Cyclope and Elvis Gonzalez.

# 30

Dr. Wagner Jr.
Started: 1985 Companies: CMLL & AAA Active: Yes Seen Live: No

Dr. Wagner Jr. is a true legend in Lucha Libre and has had so many great feuds and matches over the years with one of my favorites being the one he had with Blue Demon Jr. in 2019 that even lead to Dr. Wagner Jr. losing his mask! I first saw Dr. Wagner Jr. matches on grey market VHS Tapes I would buy off Ebay and at conventions and also over the years have watched his matches in AAA and man I must say he is super entertaining and I would even say at one time he was Lucha Libres best rudo going! Like everyone, after training to become a Luchador he worked the indies in 1985 going under the name El Invasor for a short amount of time before taking the name Dr. Wagner Jr. in 1986 as his father was of course Dr. Wagner! After a terrible accident that left his father in a wheelchair, Dr. Wagner Jr. signed with UWA (Universal Wrestling Association) in 1987 and would be one of their top stars until they had to partner with CMLL in 1993 and this allowed Wagner Jr. to work their and captured belts and even more attention from the fans. Dr. Wagner Jr. was so popular that when facing tecnico’s the fans would cheer him as he was a rudo! This would also lead him to have matches in Japan with New Japan Pro Wrestling and helped build his legacy is wrestling. But in 2009 CMLL and Wagner Jr. split ways and he would end up at their rival AAA and he would become a major player for them until 2013 when he left to travel the Indies for a short time and then would go on to have matches in CMLL and they back on and off with AAA up until 2020 were he retuned to the indies. And who knows when Dr. Wagner Jr. will show back up in CMLL or AAA, but one thing is for sure wherever he goes he will be one of the biggest Luchadors in the federation.

# 29

Atlantis
Started: 1983 Companies: CMLL & New Japan Active: Yes Seen Live: No

One of CMLL’s biggest and most iconic Luchadors in modern time is Atlantis who has spent almost his whole career with them as one of their top draws and most respected stars. In 1983, he started working for many indie feds in Mexico, but by 1994 he was signed to CMLL and quickly rose through the roster to became one of the company’s main draws who was placed in many big matches, won so many belts including the CMLL World Light Heavyweight Championship twice as well as a number of tournaments and bet matches. He would also travel for CMLL and have matches in New Japan Pro Wrestling and Michinoku Pro Wrestling! While spending almost his whole career as a Tecnico, he has turned Rudo before adding more layers to his legacy, and giving fans more passion to see what Atlantis was up to. Like all classic Tecnico Luchadors, Atlantis has also been the main characters in films as well as had action figures made of him, in fact one of his figures is in my living room right now! While his in ring career will be winding down soon, you cannot deny that Atlantis is truly one of Mexico’s most legendary Luchadors of the ring.

# 28

El Solar
Started: 1975 Companies: UWA & AAA Active: Yes Seen Live: Yes

One of the greatest Luchadors who was a great mat wrestler as well as a submission artist is the legendary El Solar who is still wowing fans in his 60’s. El Solar is an amazing Luchador who I have had the honor of watching live in the ring as well as chatting with at a Rockstar Pro Wrestling event, and it was such a great moment for me as well as my friend Jason Young. El Solar started in 1975 and worked the indies as well as for UWA where he would stay up until the promotion closed even winning many titles as well as being apart of groups and high profile matches. In the dying days of UWA, El Solar would also go and work for AAA and oddly they would change his character to El Mariachi and this was a very silly move. When he left AAA, he would join CMLL and as well become El Solar again and would be a star for them up until around 2000 when he would once more head back to the Indies of Mexico as well as America from time to time and even wrestled for the very short lived MTV2 and Hulu wrestling federation called “Lucha Libre USA” and would be joined by the likes of Lizmark Jr. and Super Crazy. While El Solar is working the indies still to this day he still makes some appearances for AAA and IWRG and locking his place in Lucha Libre history. El Solar is a master of his art and his art in classic Lucha Libre mat wrestling with skillful submission moves. A True legend and one that I feel you should go and see if he is in your city before he retires.

# 27

Silver King
Started: 1985 Companies: WCW & CMLL Active: No Seen Live: Yes

Silver King was another of the Luchadors that I was introduced to thanks to WCW and was also able to see live in action because of them and he was pretty damn great in the ring! And when in 2019 I heard of his passing, it was a sad day as he was such a great wrestler and one I also enjoyed watching. Silver King started his career in 1985 working the indies as El Invasor for a short time before becoming Silver King who originally wore a mask and landed working for UWA and during this time he mostly worked the undercard but did have a bet match against El Hijo del Santo where Silver King lost his mask! Once unmasked, the fans got to see that he was in fact one of Dr. Wagner’s sons and that means Dr. Wagner Jr. is in fact his brother! But becoming unmasked helped him rise up the card and with a stable he called Los Cowboys and along with tag partner El Texano they won the UWA Tag Team Champions and well as Tag Champs for WWA and these wins let them be part of the NWA World Tag Team Championship Tag Team tournament that was held at WCW’s Clash Of The Champions XIX, they lost in the first round to the Free Birds. In 1994 he left UWA and ended up working for CMLL as well as had matches in IWA in Japan, but when WCW came calling in 1997 Silver King signed on to help try and build the growing Cruiserweight division, but sadly like many of his fellow Luchadors, he was used at enhancement talent and would stay on the mid-card level with his big claim to fame being a member of the L.W.O. He was let go by WCW in late 2000. Once leaving WCW he would go back to CMLL and would also work New Japan Pro Wrestling under the Black Tiger character he would stay with them until 2006 as by 2007 he quickly had a run in All Japan Pro Wrestling. In 2008 he would go to AAA and have a very big run and would win the AAA World Tag Team Championship once and would find himself in many high profile matches. In 2018 Silver King would leave AAA and start working the indies up until his death in 2019. I also want to alert you readers that Silver King also played Ramses in the 2005 film Nacho Libre that stared Jack Black. During his time as a wrestler Silver King also went by the names Silver King 1, El Bronco, Silver Cain, Dr. Wagner Jr. and a few more.

# 26

Puma King
Started: 2006 Companies: CMLL & AAA Active: Yes Seen Live: Yes

Puma King is a Luchador I have gotten to see live in action at Rockstar Pro Wrestling as well as got to film is promo for the event, and this guy is a great talent! Puma King started his in ring career working the indies as well as for IWRG and got the call from CMLL in 2008 and would team with his older brother Tiger Kid and would mostly be used on the undercard, he would however be involved in many tournaments as well as bet matches. Puma King would leave CMLL in 2018 and would quickly sign with AAA and by doing this he is also able to work for the Indies as well as take matches in such federations as Impact, IWRG, Pro Wrestling Guerrilla and MLW to name a few. Thus far in his career he has won some tournament and bet matches and captured gold once in CMLL when he won the Occidente Light Heavyweight Championship! Plus in 2019 he won the Impact World Cup Of Wrestling for Impact Wrestling with his partners Psycho Clown, Aero Star and El Hijo del Vikingo as they defeated the team of Sami Callihan, Fallah Bahh, Eli Drake and Eddie Edwards! Puma King is also the son of Luchador legend El Felino and being only in his early 30’s still has lots of time to climb the ranks of Lucha Libre and capture more gold.

# 25

Lince Dorado
Started: 2007 Companies: WWE & Chikara Active: Yes Seen Live: No

Nowadays the WWE show 205 Live is a shell of what it was, but when it started for me it was must see TV as they had so many great and talented workers on the roster and one of my favorites was Lince Dorado! Like all wrestlers and Luchadors starting out, Lince started his in ring career working the indies and would sign with Chikara in mid 2007 and would work for them as well as many other indie promotions over the years like Dragon Gate USA, IGNITE and even had a tryout for Impact. Lince would work for the indies up until 2016 as that year he would be signed to WWE as part of their Cruiserweight Division and help get their new show 205 Live off the ground to showcase the wrestlers who weighted 205 pounds or under. Lince would get title shots for the Cruiserweight title during this time but was mostly booked on undercard matches and was sadly hardly on TV at times. His big break came in 2018 when he joined Kalisto and Gran Metalik and they became the stable known as The Lucha House Party and they would go from 205 Live to being featured more and more on Raw and later Smackdown putting Lince on the main roaster. While he and Gran Metalik are still teaming and they are used as undercard talent, I for one am always a mark to watch them in action. Thus far in WWE he has only won the 24/7 Championship once, but during his career in the indies he has captured may titles as well as tournament wins. A solid working and a skilled Luchador it’s a shame WWE does not know how to book Lince Dorado right.

# 24

Alberto Del Rio
Started: 2000 Companies: WWE & CMLL Active: No Seen Live: Yes

Alberto Del Rio was a Luchador that could have been the guy who in the 2010’s that could have brought American mainstream a big star from Mexico and could have been the next Rey Mysterio or Eddie Guerrero if only his backstage attitude did not stink so bad! I was a fan of Alberto’s when he started working in NXT and was brought up to the main roster of WWE as he had a great Million Dollar Man meets JBL gimmick with a Latin flare! Alberto started his Lucha Libre career in 2000 fast track working for AAA and while there he was also making appearances in Japanese promotions all the while gaining in ring skills he worked for the likes of All Japan and Pro Wrestling Zero1 and for all promotions at this time he was going by Dos Caras Jr, but in 2002 he left AAA and in 2004 he left the Japanese promotions. He also in 2003 would try his hand in big time MMA and would have a few fights in Pride, both he would lose. In 2005 he would sign with CMLL and would become a major star for the company and would win the companies World Heavyweight Championship as well would win the 2006 La Copa Junior tournament. But he would leave CMLL in 2009 when he got a contact with WWE who would send him to FCW for matches before also having him wrestle on the main roster shows Raw and Smackdown in Dark Matches and House Shows. And at first they allowed him to wear his mask but quickly they unmasked him and Alberto Del Rio was born who was a rich Mexican aristocrat who would drive expensive cars to the ring and had his own ring announcer for a time named Ricardo Rodriguez and quickly climbed the ladder and became a main eventer and even would win the WWE Champion, the World Heavyweight Championship as well as big matches like the Royal Rumble and the Money In The Bank ladder match. But a bad attitude and a physical altercation with an employee after a bad racist joke lead to his firing. He would then head back to Mexico and sign with AAA in 2014 and would become a main eventer off the bat and even would win the AAA Mega Champion! But AAA was not the only promotion he started working for in 2014/2015 as he also worked for World Wrestling Council, Wrestle-1, Ring Of Honor, World Wrestling League, Lucha Underground and all these federations pushed him as a main star…but all those companies would be left behind in 2015 when he resigned to work for WWE again and on his first night back he would win the United States Championship from John Cena at the Hell In A Cell PPV, and this would also lead to him to be apart of a group called The League Of Nations along with Sheamus, Rusev and Wade Barrett…but this run would end almost as soon as it started as he would quit in 2016. He would end up working for Impact Wrestling in 2017-2018 and was booked as a main event and even won the GFW Global Championship while there, he was fired from Impact when he no showed a big event. And after this Alberto worked the indies up until 2020 when a legal issue halted his in ring career. While Alberto seems like a very terrible person, his in ring work was always something I enjoyed when watching WWE, and that’s all I have to say as his out of wrestling life would give him a negative rating on here. During his time in the ring he also went by some of these names El Patron, El Dorado and El Hijo de Dos Caras to name a few. Again need to stress it sucks that his out of control life is overshadowing his work in the ring.

# 23

Psycho Clown
Started: 2000 Companies: AAA & CMLL Active: Yes Seen Live: No

For me the best Luchador having the clown look is Psycho Clown, and I feel also that he is one of the biggest draws for AAA right now as he is super popular with the youngsters as well as the adult Lucha Libre fans. Psycho Clown started his Lucha Libre career working for the Indies up until 2003 when he signed with CMLL and this only lasted a short time as he was used on the lower card and was still very green and needed more training. By 2006 he had left CMLL and by this time as well he had already had two in rings names Brazo de Plata Jr. and Kronos and joined AAA who by 2007 rebranded him Psycho Clown and had him join a new stable they were creating called “Los Psycho Circus” that would over the years have such members as Monster Clown and Murder Clown and this was a big break for Psycho Clown as this stable became a draw and placed him in many big matches! And in 2015 this also allowed Psycho Clown to become a main draw wrestling single and would lead to many bet, tournament and title wins in AAA as well as their partner companies like Impact Wrestling. Hands down Psycho Clown is one of AAA’s most popular Luchadors and it would be great to see him wrestle in AEW or even WWE (as long as they leave his character and mask alone) and he surly will be in AAA’s Hall Of Fame once he retires. Check out his matches as many can be found on YouTube.

# 22

Super Crazy
Started: 1988 Companies: ECW & WWE Active: Yes Seen Live: Yes

Any one who grew up watching ECW knows the name Super Crazy and also WWE fans should know him as he was on the roster for years! I am a Super Crazy fan as he can wrestle the Lucha style as well as can do hardcore matches and his matches with Tajiri in ECW were legendary! Super Crazy started his wrestling career at the age of 14 in 1988 and worked for many indie federations like UWA and would sign with AAA in 1996 and was a mid-carder that would also get a few WWE matches per the talent trade the company had, Super Crazy would leave AAA in 1997 and would start working for Promo Azteca and would also still make some appearances on WWE TV as apart of their Light Heavyweight Championship tournament. In 1998 Super Crazy signed with ECW and quickly became a fan favorite and was placed in many great matches with names like Tajiri and Little Guido and became a mainstay and star for them up until 2001 when ECW went out of business. So starting in 2001 Super Crazy floated around the Indies as he would wrestle for companies like CZW, XPW, IWA, ROH, New Japan, Impact and even did a few matches in AAA! Finally in 2005 WWE signed him to a contract and had him appear on their ECW One Night Stand PPV and then placed him in a stable with Psicosis and Juventud Guerrero called The Mexicools and once the team was broken up in 2006 Super Crazy started a singles run on the mid-card. Super Crazy would leave WWE in 2008 and would make his return to the Indies and would became a draw and even would go and have matches again for AAA, Pro Wrestling Noah, All Japan Pro Wrestling and NXL. Super Crazy over the years also performed under the names Histeria, El Locco, Super Virus and Super Loco.

# 21

Espectro Jr.
Started: 1974 Companies: Indies Active: No Seen Live: No

Ok this is a hard one as several Luchadors have played the gimmick of Espectro Jr. over the decades as hell there are several working the Indies in Mexico and America going right now! But I could not leave him off my list as over the years I have found myself watching matches of this Luchador from all generations on YouTube. And while AAA owner Antonio Pena played Espectro Jr. it’s Jose Elias Pinceno version that has always got my attention. And this one is super hard to track down his history as its seems at times they all get mixed together so its almost impossible for me to due his write up justice, so what I am going to do here is talk a little about why Espectro Jr. has captured my attention all these years. First off he has a Horror gimmick as he is like a spirit and at times would even come from coffins at the start of his matches, he had a classic Lucha Libre style and when wrestling Rudo he was great as fans hated him. His green and black mask for some reason reminds me of the Halloween season and the masks grinning smile is perfect for this type of character. Espectro Jr. also has a legacy as I have said before so many other wrestlers have taken the name or some sort of variation of it. One part of history I would like to share is that in 2007 Espectro Jr. lost his mask in a bet match to Blue Demon Jr. and that Jose Elias Pinceno is now unmasked, and that he is also the Nephew of the original Espectro. Also look up Espectro Jr. matches on YouTube as they have many of his matches on there from all the Luchadors using the name.

# 20

Pierroth
Started: 1984 Companies: CMLL & AAA Active: No Seen Live: No

I first learned about Pierroth via WWE when he was an entrant in the 1997 Royal Rumble and for some reason my brother for years always talked about pin fall victories he had over random wrestlers (ones he never did) and would do so in the voice of Gorilla Monsoon. But because of this over the years I have seen many of his matches on grey market VHS tapes as well as now on sites like YouTube. And I have to say Pierroth is a legend in Lucha Libre and one that helped a younger me really become a fan of Luchadors. Like all who start out in the biz Pierroth would work the indies for a short time starting in 1984, but by 1985 and while at the start he was on the lower card and only working from time to time he rose to the top of the card pretty fast and also started his path of capturing titles for the company. By 1995 Pierroth left CMLL and signed with AAA and was a star from the start and of course would capture titles and be put into high card feuds. While working for AAA they had a talent exchange with WWE and this allowed him to wrestle for them on Monday Night Raw as well as make an appearance at the Royal Rumble, but by mid 1997 he would leave AAA and would do a short stint on the Indies before going to IWRG and would be their first Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship and would also start wrestling for WWC in Puerto Rico that was run by Carlos Colon and he would stay working these two federations until 1999. Pierroth would then sign back with CMLL and would stay with them until 2008 and was of course was a main eventer and was in big feuds. Sadly Pierroth suffered a stroke in 2008 and forced him to retire from the ring. It’s shocking that AAA has not placed Pierroth in their Hall Of Fame yet as he deserves it for all the years of hard work he has done in the world of Lucha Libre not to even all the titles he has held. A true legend Pierroth is and one that I owe lots to when it comes to making me a fan of Lucha Libre. During his time in the ring Pierroth also went by the names Pierroth Jr. and Comandante Pierroth.

# 19

Gran Metalik
Started: 2005 Companies: WWE & CMLL Active: Yes Seen Live: No

Gran Metalik is in my opinion one of the best Luchadors under contract to WWE and is a superstar I am looking forward to seeing live at an event when they come around. I first became aware of Gran Metalik when he was part of the WWE Cruiserweight Classic Tournament and quickly became a fan. Gran Metalik started his Lucha career in 2005 and worked very shortly for the indies before becoming apart of CMLL’s roster and quickly made his way up the card and became a main-eventer and was given big profile matches as well as many title belts! Gran Metalik was a mainstay at CMLL and was one of the companies big stars for many years that was until he left them in 2016 to join the WWE as apart of their new rebirth of the Cruiserweight division. But before he was a WWE Superstar while working for CMLL he was also working for New Japan Pro Wrestling off and on for many years and was making a name in Japan for himself as well, he would work for them from 2010-2016. When first in WWE he was pushed as one of the best Cruiserweights and Luchadors in the world and was called “The King of The Ropes” by the announcers, but as time went on he was shown less and less on TV as well as was losing matches to less skilled workers on the roster. Just like Lince Dorado when he became a member of the group Lucha House Party in 2018 he received a short-term push before becoming an undercard member of the roaster once more. WWE bookers have zero clue how to use Luchadors and it’s a shame as they have so many talented workers on their roster that are being misused and not used at all. Gran Metalik thus far has used the following names as well Plata II, Metalik and Mascara Dorada.

# 18

Konnan
Started: 1987 Companies: AAA & WCW Active: No Seen Live: Yes

Konnan is another of the Luchadors that I knew about thanks to WCW who showcased him for many years in the company even making him member of such groups as The Dungeon Of Doom and nWo Wolfpack! And one thing you have to give Konnan lots of credit for is the fact he is the one over the years that has gotten his fellow Luchadors work in companies like WCW and ECW. Konnan started his career in 1987 and got his first major indie gig with UWA and quickly he would be in many high profile main event matches that would lead him to working for CMLL as well as a few matches for WCW in 1990 and while also working dates in Japan he got a call from the WWE who wanted to sign him on to play a costumed character called Max Moon, and after a few tryout matches and was apart of the WWE. In 1991 while also still working for CMLL Konnan would loose his mask in a bet match against Perro Aguayo, he would also be the first ever CMLL World Heavyweight Champion as the company was originally called EMLL. In 1992 Konnan left CMLL to join AAA and would also leave WWE as many in the company did not like his bad attitude and when he started no showing events that was the final straw, but his time in AAA was during a big boom in Lucha Libre and he became super popular and was a major draw in Mexico. In 1995 he started working for ECW for a short time and even helped co-promote an event that had both AAA and ECW wrestlers together. But in 1996 WCW came calling and he would be booked strong at first winning the United States Championship before loosing it and being forced in the silly Dungeon Of Doom stable for a short time, but when in 1997 they put him the nWo and his popularity and WCW run would kick into full gear and during his WCW run he would win some titles as well as join the group “Filthy Animals” and team with rapper Master P! But in 2001 WCW went out of business and Konnan would head to work for the indies and even wrestled for XPW, World Wrestling All-Stars and this would lead to him working for Impact Wrestling in 2003. While working for Impact he would also sign back with AAA in 2004 and was a featured wrestler in both being involved in the main event spotlight and in Impact even fourmed the LAX group. And these two federations were he would stay working now as a manager and taking a back stage role. During his time in the ring he has also went by the names Conan The Barbarian, K-Dogg, El Centurion, Latin Fury, Max Moon and Konnan The Great to name a few. While I am not a super mega fan of Konnan I do respect his hard work in and out of the ring, I mean at one time he was called the Hulk Hogan of Mexico!

# 17

El Canek
Started: 1972 Companies: AAA & CMLL Active: No Seen Live: No

When you think of legendary names in the history of Lucha Libre, one of the names has to be El Canek as he is on my list at least and should be on yours! I first heard of El Canek thanks to WWE when he was apart of the AAA talent exchange and he wrestled a few matches for them including a three-man tag at the 1997 WWE Royal Rumble as he teamed with Hector Garza and Perro Aguayo, and later I went on to buy a Grey Market VHS tape off Ebay that had many of his matches on it as I was a fan of his from seeing him in action. Also its awesome to see a bodybuilder from that time be a Luchador! El Canek started his career in 1972 and worked for the indies for a year before wrestling for CMLL and started his build to be a main-eventer in Lucha Libre as he would be featured in many high profile matches. By 1975 El Canek would leave CMLL and would join Universal Wrestling Association and this is were he would become the legend as he was in many big feuds, won many titles, got the attention of the NWA was sent to New Japan Pro Wrestling and would even win the UWA World Heavyweight Championship a total of 15 times and would even defend the title after the company went out of business in 1995! While working for UWA he was also sent to CMLL for another run in a talent exchange and would become a staple at their events as well placed in major matches with big time feuds, this would last until 1994. But in 1995 he would start working for AAA and during this time as well he would make appearances at WWE events due to a talent exchange, and during his time in AAA he as well was a main event star and was in many high profile matches and would even win the “Rey de Reyes” tournament. El Canek would leave AAA in 2003 and would then find himself at IWRG and even CMLL again off and one for years and would even have a small return to AAA in 2013 and worked for some indie federations over the years! During his career he has also gone under the names El Universitario, Kanek and Principe Azul. Make sure to go to YouTube and watch some El Canek matches.

# 16

Cibernetico
Started: 1992 Companies: AAA & WWE Active: Yes Seen Live: No

WWE strikes again as thanks to them and the 1997 Royal Rumble is how I first discovered the Luchador known as Cibernetico who had a crazy neon and black mask and almost a 80’s Metal vibe to him, and over the years I have always kept up on his career. Cibernetico started his Lucha Libre career in 1992 working for UWA as he was a student in their training gym, and his bodybuilder background helped him stand out at the events he was featured at. While in UWA he started out as a tecnico but by the companies closing he was a rudo and was being built to be one the companies top! When UWA closed down for good in 1995 he found himself going to AAA and would have a very long a successful run with them finding himself the winner of many titles and was featured as a main event star! He would also work a few matches for WWE during this time starting in 1996 through 1997 as apart of AAA’s talent exchange adding more to his growing fan base. In 2004 Cibernetico would lose his mask in a bet match against La Parka! Cibernetico would stay in AAA until 2008 when he would leave for a year and start working for the indies in Mexico before landing back in AAA and having another long run and big matches and feuds before leaving again in 2015. That same year he would start a short run working for Lucha Libre Elite and would become the companies inaugural Heavyweight Champion, he would leave them in 2017. His last major run was in 2018 when he returned to CMLL for a quick time. Cibernetico is awesome and not only is a popular Luchador but has also appeared in his own comic book as well as was featured in a Mexico Burger King ad! I should also note that it stinks they took the mask off him in 2004 as his mask was very cool.

# 15

Fenix
Started: 2007 Companies: AAA & AEW Active: Yes Seen Live: Yes

Fenix is a Luchador that I had not only the pleasure of seeing wrestle live at Rockstar Pro Wrestling but also was able to film with for a un-finished episode of the Horror Host show I do called Baron Von Porkchop’s Terrifying Tales Of The Macabre. He is a super talented Luchador and a super nice person and if you ever have the chance to see him wrestle, go and do it! Fenix started working the indies in 2007 and was quickly signed to AAA in 2011 and was quickly put into big matches as well as feuds as the fans seemed to really be behind Fenix, and while working for AAA he was also working dates in Japan in federations like Pro Wrestling Noah. AAA would also lead him to work for Lucha Underground starting in 2014. But things would end for his AAA run in 2016 and this would allow Fenix to work the indies in Mexico and America as well as a few in Japan. Fenix was building a huge name for himself around the world and was being said that he is one of the best Luchadors going today! In 2018 Fenix would find himself signed to many major wrestling federations and working them all around the same time as he would work for Impact Wrestling, MLW, CMLL and would return to AAA and once more was a main eventer and a big attraction for each showing just how popular he is. In 2019 he was signed to AEW and is currently working for both AAA and AEW and is a major star in both. Fenix this far has captured gold in many of the places he has worked as he has held belts for AAA, Impact, Lucha Underground, MLW, Pro Wrestling Guerrilla and Pro Wrestling Revolver to name a few. He also has used the names Rey Fenix, The King, King Phoenix, Fenix el Rey and Mascara Oriental.

# 14

Essa Rios
Started: 1994 Companies: WWE & AAA Active: Yes Seen Live: Yes

Essa Rios is a Luchador that I became a fan of in 1997 when he was brought into the WWE as apart of there Light Heavyweight division going under the name Aguila and later in 1999 he would go under the name Essa Rios. He was a high flyer in the world of giants, plus he was the man to introduce the WWE Universe to Lita as she was his manager! Essa Rios started wrestling in 1994 and worked the indies in Mexico before getting a contract with WWE in 1996, wrestling under a mask and called Aguila he was a featured highflyer in the growing Light Heavyweight division. By 1999 the repackaged Aguila and unmasked him and started calling him Essa Rios and partnered him with a female valet named Lita. Essa would capture Light Heavyweight title, and sadly after losing the title he would find himself falling down the card and being used as enhancement talent and by 2001 he was no longer working for WWE. But while gone form WWE he quickly found work in AAA working for them from 2001 to 2008 and was a semi main-eventer who also got to work a few matches for Impact due to a talent exchange starting in 2004 and this would only be for a year. Essa would leave AAA in 2008 and would take a little time off as well as working a few Indie dates, but in 2010 he would sign with CMLL and would an upper card roster member used in some great storylines and put in some bigger matches. He would stay with CMLL until 2017 as he would return to AAA that same year and stay for a bit, before heading back to the indies. During his run in wrestling Essa Rios has also went under the names Aguila, Mr. Agulla and Papi Chulo. While he might not be a household name, he still is a great worker who has captured many belts and has entertained for many years in the ring.

# 13

Damien 666
Started: 1985 Companies: WCW & AAA Active: Yes Seen Live: Yes

Once more I have to pay respects to WCW for introducing me to Damien 666 as he was you guessed it apart of the Cruiserweight division boom of 1996! And because of WCW, I was also able to see him live at a Saturday Night tapping and have followed him in the indies. Damien started in 1985 and was working the indies as well as places like WWA and in 1991 he was signed to FMW in Japan and learned the Hardcore wrestling ways and would be a mid-carder and a favorite for fans to watch, during this time he as well would work a few matches for AAA. His run in FMW would end in 1996 and Damien 666 would find himself in America and doing a very short run for ECW, and in 1996 is also when WCW came calling and Damien 666 was added to the Cruiserweight division and was used on the undercard as well as an enhancement talent, he would never hold any belts in WCW but did become a member of the LWO. Damien’s WCW run would come to an end in 1999 and along with Halloween they become the tag team “Mexico’s Most Wanted” and work the indies as the team and would even be featured on XPW and would win the federations Tag Team titles. In 2002 Damien would sign with CMLL alongside Halloween and they would be in major programs and would became draws, Damien 666 would leave CMLL in 2008 and would then find himself in AAA and once more was pushed up the card and became a rudo star for them, he would also work a few matches for IWRG at this time. Damien 666 would capture the AAA World Trios Championship before leaving AAA in 2012 and would wrestle for IWRG for awhile and then would return to the indies were he is at currently. Damien 666 in his career has also went under the names Caballero 2000, Ultraman 2000, Ultraman II, Amigo Ultra, Damien and Galaxy. When Damien retires from the ring he should be remembered not just for his Hardcore Wrestling but also his Lucha Libre style.

# 12

El Felino
Started: 1987 Companies: CMLL & AAA Active: Yes Seen Live: No

El Felino is a Luchador that I knew about thanks to wrestling magazines as well as grey market VHS tapes, in fact the first Arena figure I ever bought was El Felino that I got for the Horror convention Cinema Wasteland. El Felino is awesome in the ring and when masked his look was fantastic and very eye catching. El Felino started in 1987 and worked the indies as well as UWA and in 1989 he got the call to go to CMLL and became one of the companies biggest stars and was placed in many major matches and feuds and would capture many belts during his run, and he was truly one of the most loved tecnico’s for CMLL! Shockingly El Felino left CMLL in 1999 and signed with AAA for a very short run in the main event scene teaming with his brother Heavy Metal. Less than a year away El Felino signed back with CMLL and once more was pushed as a big star and would go from tecnico to rudo and back again and would even loose his mask in 2004 in a bet match he lost to La Sombra and who is known now as Andrade in WWE. El Felino continues to work for CMLL and still to this day is a main draw! I also would like to say for a short while he also used the name Babe Casas. If you are a fan of Lucha Libre, I am sure you know who El Felino is and I am sure you know just how iconic and great he is, and if you don’t look up some of his matches and give them a watch.

# 11

Mil Mascaras
Started: 1963 Companies: WWE & WCW Active: Semi Seen Live: No

One of the biggest names in Lucha Libre history is Mil Mascaras, the Luchador that is know by the nickname Man Of 1000 Masks who is a true journeyman in the sport. At a very young age I knew who Mil Mascaras was due to his film career as well as his classic matches in WWE as well as his work in WCW. I would always cheer for Mil in his matches as he was a true superstar of the ring and is an icon and WWE Hall Of Fame member. Mil started his career in 1963 and worked all over the world as he would have stints in All Japan Pro Wrestling, WWE, International Wrestling Association, World Wrestling Council, WCW, WWA, Legacy Wrestling Enterprises among so many others and he was a trail blazer and brought the Lucha Libre highflying style to American fans and lead the way for all those that followed in his foot steps. The thing about Mil is that he never stayed in a federation long enough for him to become stale, and this made him stand out and really feel like a big attraction when he is on a card in the main event. Over the years Mil has also has his fair share of critics has he has been legendary hard to deal with for promoters and fellow wrestlers alike, but while this may be true you can never take away just how great Mil is in the ring and all the barriers he broke in American wrestling.

# 10

El Hijo del Santo
Started: 1982 Companies: CMLL & AAA Active: Yes Seen Live: No

El Santo is hands down the biggest name in Lucha Libre history, and his son El Hijo del Santo is on the path to be just as iconic and respected as his father. El Hijo del Santo is a Luchador I learned about via wrestling magazines, grey market VHS tapes as well as his comic books and movies. El Hijo del Santo started his in ring career in 1982 working for the indies of Mexico and would spend much of his very early career working for WWA and UWA and by 1983 he started working some matches for CMLL and during this time he was quickly a draw and main eventer, and not just cause who his dad was but because he had great in ring skills. Through the 80’s he had many big feuds against the likes of Espanto Jr. and Negro Casas. In 1997 El Hijo del Santo made his first tour of Japan working for Universal Lucha Libre making a name for himself outside of Mexico and in 1992 he started working for AAA and had some amazing matches with the likes of Octagon, Eddie Guerrero and Art Barr. In 1995 after having some creative issues with AAA, he would go to CMLL and during his run for the first time El Hijo del Santo would turn rudo and would even have bloody matches against El Dandy. The rudo turn helped CMLL draw big money and over time El Hijo del Santo would turn tecnico and become one of the company’s top stars up until he left in 2004. In 1998 El Hijo del Santo also had a small run working for WWE as apart of their very short-lived Super Astros program that features Lucha Libre and WWE Cruiserweight stars. El Hijo del Santo then started working for the indies and would even start booking his own shows in Mexico as well as even England and his fame was at an all time high! And still to this day he wrestles all over and is a true icon of Lucha Libra. Lucha Libre has so many amazing talents and El Hijo del Santo is one of them, and to be honest I would love to see his own son who is wrestling under the name Santo Jr. to work for the WWE and have some great matches with their current NXT talent. I should also note that El Hijo del Santo has also wrestled under the name El Korak when he first started.

# 9

Vampiro
Started: 1984 Companies: CMLL & AAA Active: Semi Seen Live: Yes

I first learned about Vampiro via a CMLL action figure that was at a dollar store in Sugercreek, Ohio back in the early 90’s and then read more about him in the pages of wrestling magazines and then became a huge fan of his when I got to see him wrestle in WCW both on TV and once live! Vampiro is one of those Luchadors who has been all over and everywhere and started working in 1984 for International Wrestling out of Canada as an enhancement talent and would stick around the indies for a while. In 1991 he would head to Mexico and started working for CMLL who originally hired him to be a silly character, but his looks and limited move set for some reason got over with the fans and he found himself climbing up the card very fast. He would find himself in many bet matches as well as would be in tournaments as well as getting title shots! While working for CMLL he has would be working some dates for UWA as well as working matches in Japan. In 1996 he would leave CMLL and work dates for AAA, IWRG and Promo Azteca but would return in 1998 to CMLL before getting his big break in America. You see Vampiro got the call to come to WCW in 1998 and was used as a mid-carder who would have feuds with some of the companies big stars like Sting, Steve “Dr. Death” Williams and would even be in teams with the likes of Raven, The Great Muta and musicians The Misfits and ICP. When WCW went out of business in 2001 and was purchased by WWE his contract was not picked up and he found himself heading back to Mexico and working for CMLL as well as taking matches in other federations like World Wrestling Council, All Japan Pro Wrestling, Impact Wrestling, Xtreme Pro Wrestling and would continue to work some of theme even after leaving CMLL in 2005. From there Vampiro would sign with AAA and work on and off for them until 2020 and while from their he would also work for Lucha Underground, Wrestling Society X, CMLL and Juggalo Championship Wrestling and every place he has gone Vampiro is a star! It’s crazy that WWE never signed him as I would have loved to have seen him feud with the likes of The Undertaker, Kane and even Mankind. While not what you would think of as a Luchador to me Vampiro is a great one who has been one of my favorites sense I was a teen. Vampiro has also went by the in ring names Vampiro Canadiense, Casanova, Gene Anderson, Ian Richards, Vampiro Casanova and a few more.

# 8

Eddie Guerrero
Started: 1986 Companies: WWE & WCW Active: No Seen Live: Yes

For many when you ask the question “Who Is The Best Luchador Ever” they will quickly say Eddie Guerrero and to be fair they are not wrong as he really was one of the best. I first knew of Eddie thanks to WCW and even ECW and followed him all the way up until his death as he was hands down one of the best minds and workers to step foot into the ring. I mean who else could make lying, cheating and stealing look so cool? Eddie started in 1986 working for the indies but was quickly picked up by CMLL in 1987 and was a popular Luchador to watch and would even work a few WCW matches as part of a talent exchange, but in 1992 when AAA was created he left CMLL to join them. While working for AAA he was a big star and would also work a few dates for New Japan Pro Wrestling and would be placed in many big matches for AAA. But in 1995 he would head to America and wrestle for ECW and would have some of the companies best technical and fast paced matches against the likes of Dean Malenko and 2 Cold Scorpio. But that same year WCW came calling and signed Eddie to a contract that would see him become a mid-card attraction and would win some titles as well as be apart of groups like LWO and the Filthy Animals. But after years of being misused and held back by aging wrestlers worried about their spots on the card Eddie would leave WCW and sign with WWE in 2000 and would appear with other wrestlers who left WCW for the same reason and those wrestlers were Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko and Perry Saturn and they became known as The Radicalz! Eddie would become injured at the start of his WWE run but would came back fast and become a future wrestler feuding with the likes of The New Age Outlaws, Chris Jericho and X-Pac and would have an angle that he was in love with Chyna. But in 2001 he was fired from WWE when he was battling addiction and was arrested for drinking and driving. Eddie would start working Indie dates in 2001 and worked for ROH, WWA and New Japan Pro Wrestling and was proving that he was still as talented as ever and was getting himself clean. Eddie would get a second chance in WWE as they resigned him to a contract in 2002 and he would be put into a team and later a feud with his nephew Chavo Guerrero as they were called Los Guerreros. After this Eddie became a contender for the belts and would end up winning the WWE Champion in 2004 by beating Brock Lesnar! And even after losing the belt he stayed a contender and a main event draw up until his death in 2005. While Eddie is gone he will never be forgotten, as he truly is one of the best Luchadors and Wrestlers to ever walk the Earth. Eddie in his career also used the names Black Tiger, Mascara Magica, El Caliente, Gory Guerrero Jr. and Eddy Guerrero.

# 7

Pentagone Jr.
Started: 2007 Companies: AAA & AEW Active: Yes Seen Live: No

Pentagone Jr. for me is the best modern day Luchador working in Mexico and America today as he can wrestle the rough Lucha Libre style as well as a very bloody hardcore style his hardcore matches with Sami Callihan and OVE in Impact Wrestling was some of the best things in wrestling at the time. Plus whenever Pentagone Jr. is in a match, it’s must watch TV for me as you know you’re in for one hell of a good match. Pentagone Jr. started in 2007 working the indies in Mexico and would get his first big break in 2010 when he signed with AAA and started out as a mid-card attraction and with hard work and sky rocketed up the card winning big matches and would win some belts as well as worked for Lucha Underground, Pro Wrestling Guerrilla and worked the Indies building his name and showing the world how good he really is. Pentagone Jr. would leave AAA in 2017 as they two sides clashed over creative ideas and freedoms. After leaving AAA he would still work a year for Lucha Underground and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla as well as would work for other federations like MLW and Impact Wrestling with the later him really making a name for himself in America with. In 2018 he would return to AAA and once more was booked as a main draw and would also still work the indies as well as would sign with AEW and he is still working to this day in AAA and AEW and continues to wow fans with his style. In his career he has also wrestled under the names Zaius, Dark Dragon, Pentagon Dark, El Hijo del Cuchillo and Penta El Zero M to name a few. If he keeps it up Pentagone Jr. will surely be in many Hall Of Fames when he retires from the ring as his hard work is building a massive fan base.

# 6

La Parka
Started: 1982 Companies: AAA & WCW Active: Yes Seen Live: Yes

La Parka is a Luchador that I discovered thanks to WCW and their big boom of hiring Cruiserweights for their budding division. And La Parka was one that became a favorite of mine due to his awesome mask and fun loving yet hard hitting style and even got to see him wrestle live a few times in WCW. La Parka started his in ring career in 1982 wrestling and would wrestle under his real name as well as the names El Gringo, El Asesino de Tepito, Principe Island and Invasor del Norte and would travel the indies up until 1992. AAA started in 1992 and it’s here that La Parka was born and quickly became one of the company’s biggest draws even though he was a Rudo! He would also have many big matches during this time and was even apart of the WCW and AAA event called “When Worlds Collide” in 1994. He would also capture gold winning the Mexican National Light Heavyweight title and holding it for over 200 days! La Parka would also appear on ECW while still working for AAA as apart of a talent exchange. La Parka would leave AAA in 1996 and would sign with WCW and would become a mid-card attraction for the booming cruiserweight division, and would later be called the Chairman of WCW as he would bring a chair to the ring and play it like a guitar and even dance around it! He also became a member of the LWO and was treated as a comedy character in the late 90’s. La Parka would leave WCW in 2000 and was let go by the company alongside many of the other Luchador talent. La Parka would start working the indies after being let go and still does to this day working for the likes of X-LAW, MLW and many more. In 2003 LA Parka now under the name L.A. ParK signed with CMLL as he had to change his name as AAA would claim the trademark in Mexico for the character’s look and name and would be a draw from them as well as he was involved in high profile matches as well as held many titles. La Parka would leave CMLL in 2008, ending a good run that helped build his legacy. In 2010 he would have another run in AAA and would feud with the company’s La Parka on who was the real deal that lead to a match to see who would be known as La Parka…they both ended up able to use the name in the end but him still using the L.A. Park name for AAA. He would leave AAA in 2013 and by 2014 would be back in CMLL for a very short appearance run and was let go by CMLL in 2015 for violating their rules of crowd treatment. L.A. Park would stick working for the indies until 2018 when he once more started working for AAA and he is still with them as of this update as well as still working the indies. L.A. Park or the original La Parka if you will is an icon of Lucha Libre and will surely be placed in a Wrestling Hall Of Fame in Mexico as well as America when retired from the ring.

# 5

Blue Panther
Started: 1978 Companies: CMLL & AAA Active: Yes Seen Live: No

Blue Panther is a legendary Luchador who is a true journeyman who has wrestled all over Mexico and America and is one that I discovered thanks to the grey market tapes that I got off Ebay when I was a teenager and he became one of my favorites of classic Luchadors. Blue Panther started his in ring career in 1978 working the indies and made a name for himself very quickly and by 1981 UWA came calling and worked his way up the card as a Rudo and by 1984 won his first title with the company, and he would become a major draw for them up until left in 1990. In 1991 he would have a very short run for CMLL and was one of the company’s top rudos and would capture some gold as well was the one who unmasked The Love Machine in a bet match, and the world seen Art Barr was the man under the mask. By 1992 Blue Panther left CMLL for AAA and this would have him turn tecnico and he as well was a draw for AAA as fans and his fellow Luchadors respected his skill in the ring, and he of course would win titles, be involved in big matches and even feuded with Art Barr once again when he jumped companies. He would be with AAA up until 1997 and then would go back to CMLL and work for them still do this day along with his son Blue Panther Jr. and would become a true legend with them as he would win titles and compete in bet matches and sadly lost his mask in 2008 when he lost a match to Villano V! Even during this time Blue Panther was taking some indie bookings and even would go on to open his own wrestling school in the 1990’s and has been responsible for many great Luchadors like Texano Jr., Ephesto and Cynthia Moreno to name a few. Blue Panther is awesome and if you get a chance make sure to watch a few of his matches and see his classic style, hands done one of my favorites.

# 4

Juventud Guerrera
Started: 1992 Companies: WCW & AAA Active: Yes Seen Live: Yes

Juventud is a Luchador that I first saw in ECW but became a fan of when seeing him in WCW as he was one the of top Cruiserweight stars and had a super fast and highflying Lucha Libre style! In fact while at a WCW Saturday Night taping at Hara Arena is Dayton, Ohio while waiting in line for a drink Juventud came out of a door and cut in front of me in line to grab a drink! Even cutting me off in line Juventud thanked me and for the cut and went back through the door, it was funny and awesome. He is the son of Lucha Libre legend Fuerza Guerrera and sadly he had a falling out with his father many years back. Juventud started his wrestling career in 1992 working very briefly the indies but was really a star for AAA right off the bat and he was pushed to the stars and was in a very epic feud with Rey Mysterio Jr. for the AAA Welterweight Title as they would pass it back and fourth. While wrestling for AAA he would also appear in early 1996 at ECW events and by mid 1996 he left AAA and signed with WCW as apart of their blooming Cruiserweight division. Juventud was pushed as one of the breakout stars by WCW and even would win the Cruiserweight title for the first time in 1998 beating Ultimo Dragon and he would hold it off and on a few times as well as always be a contender. In 1998 he would also loose a bet match in WCW to Chris Jericho causing him to lose his mask! Juventud would go on to join groups like LWO and The Filthy Animals and would even be in the film “Ready To Rumble” showing that he was one of the Luchadors they were pushing. In 2000 Juventud was let go from WCW due to an incident at an overseas tour that involved drugs. Once gone from WCW Juventud decided to do a small world tour and took matches in companies like XPW, AAA, Impact, FWA, CMLL and Pro Wrestling Noah building he name value even more and allowing fans from many federations to see him in action. But in 2005 the tour ended as he would sign with WWE and was teamed with Super Crazy and Psicosis to become the team known as The Mexicools and they would go for the Tag Titles as well as The Cruiserweight Championship. But in 2006 Juventud was let go from WWE for not listening and doing banned moves in a match. After his WWE run he would return to work the indies were he is still working to this day as well as had a number of short burst runs in AAA and remains one of Lucha Libres most popular Luchadors and a draw for indie promotions. It’s crazy that Juventud is not in the WWE Hall Of Fame and who knows once he retires from the ring maybe they will put him in as he deserves to be. Juventud over his career also wrestled under the names El Hijo de Fuerza Guerrera, Fighting Youth and Fuerza Grimm.

# 3

Blue Demon Jr.
Started: 1985 Companies: NWA & AAA Active: Yes Seen Live: No

Blue Demon Jr. is one of the most iconic Luchadors who is still active today and is a draw for any company that brings him in as he is a true journeyman as well who has wrestled all over the world. Blue Demon Jr. is one that I first discovered on grey marker VHS tapes that I got off Ebay when I was a youngster and became a major fan of, and give that fact I was a fan of his father Blue Demon it was a no brainer that Jr. would become one of my favorites. I even got to meet Blue Demon Jr. once at a Monster Bash Convention and while we had a language barrier, he was a super nice Luchador. Blue Demon Jr. started his Lucha career in 1985 working for the indies and building his own legacy that would go alongside his father’s, be was a draw almost right off the bat and would even have a few matches off and on for major Mexican promotions just bringing fans into the matches. In 1996 he would sign with AAA and would be a major draw and would have some big high profile matches. He would stick around AAA until 2001 and then he returned to the indies and being a journeyman and not until 2008 did he sign with NWA and became the companies first Mexican and Masked wrestler to hold the NWA Heavyweaight Championship as well as was running his own company called NWA Mexico. He would stay around in the NWA until 2010 and then would go to Pro Wrestling Revolution and would win their Heavyweight Title and would even team with his biggest rival El Hijo del Santo to win the Tag Titles! He would stick around until 2013 with Pro Wrestling Revolution and by that same year he signed back with AAA and has become a major draw for them in many high profile matches including an amazing feud with Dr. Wagner Jr. that set the world of wrestling on fire. In 2014 while still working for AAA he also started working for Lucha Underground and was there for a year and was one of the main focuses of that season. Blue Demon Jr. is still active as of this posts upload and his working for AAA as well as takes Indie bookings. A true legend of the ring and really is one of my favorite Luchadors ever to step into the ring.

# 2

Psicosis
Started: 1989 Companies: WCW & AAA Active: Yes Seen Live: Yes

Psicosis is a Lucha that I first discovered in the pages of wrestling magazines and finally seen him in action thanks to WCW who brought him in during the massive Cruiserweight boom. Once I seen him in matches I became a mega fan and would watch his old matches in Mexico and in ECW thanks to the tape trade market. I have also been very lucky to have seen Psicosis wrestle live both in WCW as well as in WWE and he is one of the best Luchadors I have ever seen live! Plus his mask is so awesome and he was one of the wrestlers I always played as in WCW/NOW Revenge on the N64. Psicosis started his career in 1988 under the name El Salvaje and worked the indies and by 1989 he would go under the name Psicosis and he was a rudo draw as he would have matches with some of the top upcoming stars like Rey Mysterio Jr. and Juventud Guerrera as well as legends like El Hijo del Santo and by this time as well he was signed and working matches in AAA even showcasing his style at the 1994 pay-per-view “When Worlds Collide” given American fans their first look at him, and this lead to him making appearances in 1995 for ECW. In 1996 Psicosis would start working for WCW and would become one of the featured Cruiserweights and would be come the champion as well as would be a member of the L.W.O. and would even lost his mask in a bet match against Billy Kidman, though Psicosis had lost his mask in Mexico to Rey Mysterio Jr. before this but his face was not seen in WCW it was and he would wrestle unmasked for the remainder of his time there. In 2000 Psicosis was let go from WCW and would return very briefly to ECW and from their would wrestle for many federations like XPW, All Japan, World Wrestling All-Stars, Impact, CMLL as well as NWA. Psicosis who had to start wrestling under the name Nicho El Millonario due to AAA and him having rights issues over the name as they had given the name to another known as Psicosis II and in 2005 he returned briefly to AAA in order to battle for the name and even Super Crazy got involved in the feud for the name. But he would leave AAA that same year and would sign to WWE and would be teamed with Super Crazy and Juventud Guerrera and became a group called The Mexicools, but his run would be short lived as he was fired in 2006 due to legal issues. But he would not be out of work for long as he would have a year run in CMLL before signing back with AAA in 2007 and would once more be a featured rudo in many big matches. During this run he would also put the mask back on and wrestle as Psicosis again in Mexico, but by 2014 he was once more released from AAA. He would return to the indies and is still working for them to this day, but did have a very small run once again in AAA starting in 2016 and by 2017 he was gone again. Really if you are a younger fan of Pro Wrestling and Lucha Libre, make sure to watch some of Psicosis matches and make sure it’s the original as you will see why he is one of my all time favorite Luchadors.

# 1

Rey Mysterio Jr.
Started: 1989 Companies: WCW & AAA Active: Yes Seen Live: Yes

Ok I had to pick Rey Mysterio Jr. as my # 1 spot cause well he is Rey and a true legend of Lucha Libre as well as brought the Mexican style to a mainstream pro wrestling fan her in America. Rey Mysterio I saw first thanks to WCW and I have seen him live several times not only during his WCW run but also in his WWE one. He is one wrestler that I have always cheered for and even the short time unmasked I was still a fan, but I will say thank goodness for WWE being smart and putting the mask back on him…and shame on WCW for unmasking him. Rey Musterio Jr. started in 1989 working the indies of Mexico and by 1992 was signed to AAA and was becoming one of the biggest rising stars in Lucha Libre, he would even have matches in ECW while with AAA and Americans would get their first look at Rey in action. In 1996 Rey would sign with WCW as part of their growing Cruiserweight division that was bring together some of the worlds best in that weight class. Rey would be one of the biggest breakout stars in that division and would hold many titles from the Cruiserweight Title to the Tag Titles, would be in such groups as the L.W.O., Filthy Animals and the No Limit Soldiers, he would also be unmasked by Kevin Nash and would be one of the company’s biggest mid-card attractions. Rey would stay with WCW until it closed in 2001 and then would work for CMLL as well as the indies until 2002 when WWE came calling and Rey signed with America’s biggest wrestling promotion. Rey Mysterio Jr. from the start was a big deal in WWE as he had a major fan base and he would be in main event matches as well as win titles like WWE Championship, World Heavyweight Championship, Cruiserweight Championship, Intercontinental Championship, United States Championship as well as Tag Team Champion with such partners as Eddie Guerrero and Rob Van Dam. He would also win the Royal Rumble and would have big matches with the likes of Kurt Angle, Matt Hardy, Eddie Guerrero, Shawn Michaels, JBL and so many more. Rey would leave WWE in 2015 and would take indie bookings as well as would return to AAA for sometime as well as took matches in Lucha Underground, New Japan Pro Wrestling. In 2018 Rey Mysterio Jr. would return to WWE and is still there as of this update and is working alongside his son Dominik and is a true WWE Legend and for sure will be in the Hall Of Fame when he retires. Rey Mysterio Jr. is an amazing Luchador and even after years of injuries as well as age he still can out wrestle almost all the youngsters in WWE today. Get the WWE Network and watch many of Rey’s older matches and see why he is my # 1. Rey Mysterio Jr. has also wrestled under the names El Nino, Colibri, Super Nino and Rey Misterio II.

This list was way harder to compile then I ever would have thought as many times while writing it and even getting it ready to post I changed the order of many of them. And it was tough to choose was going to be my number one as it went to Rey Mysterio but it also was so close going to go to Psicosis and even Blue Demon Jr. was considered for that spot! And to be honest I could have done a Top 100 as there is many other Luchadors that I am a fan of that didn’t make the list with the likes of El Zorro, Electroshock, Charly Manson and Dark Ozz to name a few and they could and should off if I had more slots on this countdown. Well for our next update we will be leaving Lucha Libre behind and will be once more taking a look at the world of Horror Hosting and will be talking about The Moon and Narrator who first hosted TNT Monstervision! So until next time, watch a Lucha Libre match or three, read a comic or two and as always support your local Horror Host! See you next time for some MonsterVision!

Kevin Nash The Master Of The Jackknife Powerbomb

Posted on March 23, 2017 by bloodlinematt

Here on Rotten Ink we have covered some big men of the squared circle of Pro Wrestling like Andre The Giant and King Kong Bundy, and now I think it’s time we take a look at another as we step into the ring with Kevin Nash who hands down was one of the most popular wrestlers of the late 1990’s and through out the 2000’s in both WWF and WCW and even made his mark in TNA as being a main-eventer and a wrestler who put asses in the seats. Nash has been a very topical wrestler as some fans, critics and fellow wrestlers don’t like him and claim that when he was WWE World Heavyweight Champion, he was not a draw and that he was lazy and only knew a limited move set. Others put him at the top of their favorite wrestlers and find his matches entertaining. Here on this update I will try and cover it all from his biggest match as Wrestlemania XI, to the Finger Poke Of Doom and even ending Goldbreg’s winning streak, it will all be covered! So once more lace up your boots and step over the top rope as we take a look at another big man of Pro Wrestling and the Image Comic based on him.

Kevin Scott Nash was born on July 9^th, 1959 in Detroit Michigan and had a pretty normal life besides sadly losing his father in 1968 from a heart attacks. Kevin was only 8 years old. Nash was a great student and went to the University Of Tennessee where played center for the basketball team from 1977-1980 even making it to the NCAA Sweet 16, but his prankster attitude and clashes with authority took him out from playing for a fourth year. After moving to Europe and playing pro basketball for many years, he tore his anterior ligament, and this caused him to have to retire. He took many other odd jobs overseas like 202^nd Military Police Company where he guarded a NATO facility, and back in the US he managed a strip club and worked for a Ford factory. Nash eventually decided to try and become a Pro Wrestler and was trained by Jody Hamilton aka Assassin # 2, and in 1990 Nash was able to get a job with WCW.

With grease paint on his face and an orange Mohawk, he became Steel and teamed with his partner Iron to become The Master Blasters that would spend a few months feuding with Mike Rotundo and Tim Horner. But Iron was not working out and was replaced by Blade, and the team was undefeated for a time making them a tag team to watch as they had the power and look. Their first loss came by the hands of Tom Zenk and Brian Pillman. Even after the loss, they ended up getting a tag team title shot against The Steiner Brothers and would not be able to take the straps from the champs. By 1991, their push as a tag team came to a end and so did the tag team as Steel would now just be called Master Blaster and would have single matches against the likes of Brian Pillman and Junkyard Dog only to lose.

Master Blaster was gone by February 1991, and Nash would get the second gimmick of his career as he became Oz! As Oz he had a weird old man Halloween mask, silver hair, dressed in green, was managed for a short time by The Great Wizard and was based on the book/movie The Wizard Of Oz. He was a powerhouse of power and made his debut at the 1991 Clash Of The Champions where he started his short undefeated streak…that was until The Great American Bash 1991 when he faced Ron Simmons, and after this loss he became a jobber for the wrestling stars like Dustin Rhodes, Rick Steiner, Bobby Eaton and Bill Kazmaier. And 1991 went that way for Oz, as what was supposed to be a big grand gimmick turned into a cheesy one that was used as enhancement talent. Rumor has it that Oz’s push came to an end over money, and it was also said that the whole gimmick was a rib (prank) on Nash to try to get him to quite WCW. I can remember watching that Clash Of The Champions when Oz premiered and thinking just how amazing his entrance theme was…while the gimmick was lame, it still is one I remember.

At the start of 1992, after Oz was sent packing back to the Emerald City, Nash got yet another change this time becoming a wise ass gambling mobster type named Vinnie Vegas who was quickly placed in the A Half-Ton Of Holy Hell stable along side Vader and Mr. Hughes and was managed by Harley Race. But as fast as this stable was created it was also disbanded a month later. Vegas ended up going to the stable The Diamond Mine along with The Diamond Studd (Scott Hall) and Scotty Flamingo (Raven), and their leader was Diamond Dallas Page! This stable lasted for a short while, and after they broke up, DDP and Vegas formed a tag team named The Vegas Connection. This lasted until Page was fired. Vinnie Vegas floated around for a while longer losing matches and being forced into teams with such wrestlers as Big Sky. But his luck was about to change as he had some powerful friends in the WWF, namely Jim Ross and Shawn “HBK” Michaels, and they pulled some strings so Nash was able to get out of his contract and his wrestling career was about to blow up! Kevin Nash’s first run for WCW saw him as an orange Mohawked goon named Steel, then the silver haired Oz and ended it being a parody of a mobster named Vinnie Vegas…say what you will about his first run characters, but they are what makes wrestling fun with their cheesy outlandish appearances. Check out below for pictures to see the evolution of Kevin Nash in WCW wave one.

Kevin Nash entered the WWF in 1993. He grew out his hair and dawned black leather and became “Big Daddy Cool” Diesel, the bodyguard for Shawn Michaels. The pair became Two Dudes With Attitudes, and he helped Michaels deal with good guy wrestlers who were looking to beat up on the Heart Break Kid. In the 1994 Royal Rumble, Diesel entered the Rumble at # 7 and lasted for 18 minutes and tossed out seven men that included Owen Hart, Rick Steiner, Bob Backlund and Billy Gunn. Over the months Diesel would win the Intercontinental Championship from Razor Ramon and with Shawn Michaels captured the Tag Team Titles from The Headshrinkers, making Diesel a double champion!! This was a short feat as he would lose the IC belt back to Razor, and after a tag match his partner, HBK landed a super kick to his chin, breaking them up. They forfeited the belts and Disel was no longer his bodyguard. This marked his turn from heel to face as the crowd began cheering Big Daddy Cool. Things were going great for Diesel as he would go on to win the WWF World Heavyweight Champion from Bob Backlund in 8 seconds at Madison Square Garden only three days after breaking away from Shawn Michaels. He would defend his belt and retain it via a draw against Bret “Hitman” Hart at the 1995 Royal Rumble that would see Shawn Michaels winning the Rumble and getting a title match at Wrestlemania XI that we will go more in detail about a little later in this update. Diesel would hold the belt for a little while and would defend it against the likes of Sycho Sid and Mabel. He would also reform his friendship with Shawn Michaels, and they would go on to capture the tag team titles again and with HBK also being the intercontinental champ, the pair held all of the major titles! But this time at the top was coming to an end as he and HBK lost the tag titles to Owen Hart and Yokozuna on a technicality and Diesel would lose the WWF World Heavyweight Champion on November 19 1995 to Bret “The Hitman” Hart as Survivor Series. With this loss, Diesel turned heel again and had matches against the likes of The Undertaker and Bret Hart and would leave the WWF after WrestleMania XII losing to The Undertaker and jobbing at house shows before his contract expired. Kevin Nash’s first WWF run lasts from 1993-1996, and while many would say he was a low drawing champion, he certainly made his mark in the promotion’s history with multiple title wins and some classic matches as both a face and a heel.

With WWF owning the rights to the in ring name Diesel and not wanting to return as Vinnie Vegas or Oz, Nash made his return to WCW on the June 10, 1996 episode of WCW Monday Night Nitro when he joined his pal Scott Hall (formally Razor Ramon) to form the invading tag team known as The Outsiders and simply went by his real name Kevin Nash! You see WCW was now going head to head with WWF on Monday Nights, and the storyline at first acted as if WWF had sent the pair over to cause chaos and to bully their talent. But after the WWF threatened to sue them, the storyline changed that they were just there to take over WCW and they had a mystery partner waiting to come out and help with the takeover. At the PPV Bash At The Beach, Kevin Nash along with Scott Hall teamed with a mystery partner to take on Sting, Macho Man Randy Savage and Lex Luger, and it was soon revealed that Hulk Hogan was the mystery partner. The world of pro wrestling’s biggest face turned heel, and so began The New World Order (n.W.o). Kevin Nash would become one of the biggest draws for the company winning the Tag Team Title as well as the World Heavy Weight Title and would have feuds with the likes of The Giant, Lex Luger, Rey Mysterio Jr., Goldberg. Nash became one of the company’s biggest draws and flipped many times from being heel to face and back again. Not only was he a part of The Outsiders and n.W.o but also was the leader of the n.W.o Wolfpac, which had such members as Sting, Lex Luger, Macho Man Randy Savage and Konnan. Nash was a staple of WCW Nitro and Pay Per Views and was always a main event attraction. And unlike his first run with the company, he held the cards and was able to control the creative control of his character and was making the most money of his whole pro wrestling career. But also during this time WCW was beating WWE in the ratings and almost put them out of business. Kevin Nash was one of the pro wrestlers leading the charge of bringing in the ratings, but when the tide turned and the end started to come crashing down on WCW, they ended up the ones being closed and bought out by their rivals, and Nash sat out his contract instead of jumping onboard and joining the WWE for the Invasion storyline. Kevin Nash’s second run for WCW was a major success and lasted from 1996-2001. And while this tiny history lesson on his second run for World Championship Wrestling might not be 100% in detail, I suggest you do yourself a favor and get the WWE Network and watch old WCW events and live or in most cases relive the history of his run.

After WCW closed in 2001 and was bought out by WWE, many wrestlers who had long-term contracts with Time Warner had decided to stay home and not sign new contracts to wrestle for WWE during the WCW Invasion angle. Nash decided to stay home and collect his guaranteed money for the remainder of his contract and made his return to WWE in 2002 as part of the n.W.o alongside Hulk Hogan and Scott Hall who were also making their return to the company as part of Vince McMahon’s plan to poison his own company because he had to share the power of running it with Ric Flair…or so the storyline went. The n.W.o stayed around for a short time feuding with the likes of The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin and even Hulk Hogan as Nash and Hall turned on him after he lost his match at Wrestlemania X8 to The Rock. But a string of injuries left Nash out of action, and by this time Hall was let go from WWE. The n.W.o was no more when he returned, and instead he was put into an angle that had two of his best friends Triple H and Shawn Michaels at odds with each other. This lead to a feud with Triple H that gave him title shots that he was unsuccessful at capturing. His next major feud was with Chris Jericho, and his final match was in an Elimination Chamber match for the World Heavyweight Championship against Goldberg, Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Randy Orton and Chris Jericho. Nash was the first to be eliminated, and after neck surgery, the WWE did not renew is contract making his second run with the company lasting from 2002- 2004.

After being let go and healing from his surgery, he went to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) and made his debut along side Scott Hall to help Champion Jeff Jarrett retain his title at the 2004 PPV called Victory Road. Nash, Hall and Jarrett called themselves “Kings Of Wrestling” which lasted a short time until Hall left in 2005, and Nash wanted his shot at the title and turned on Jarrett to feud for the title. And just like before, Kevin Nash became a major draw for TNA and had matches against some of the company’s top talents like AJ Styles, Jeff Hardy, Monty Brown and Randy Savage. Nash also not only wrestled for them but also acted as an on-air character delivering comedy bits and showing his joker side. Nash had some solid matches, and his fans stood beside him during his time with the company that seen him as a member of such groups as The Band and Main Event Mafia and would have him in the spotlight in main events as well as helping push younger talent. Kevin Nash’s run for TNA was not as iconic as his time with WWE or WCW but it was entertaining and him being with them helped make them seem like a major player in the world of Pro Wrestling. Nash worked for TNA from 2004-2011 and from what Nash has said in interviews, his time there was just not a highlight of his career.

Kevin Nash as Diesel made his return to WWE on January 30, 2011 at the Royal Rumble as a surprise entrant and did not win. Nash was given a WWE Legends Contract and made appearances for the company off and on and had a few matches during his return most notably against Triple H who was feuding with CM Punk at the time. Nash interfered in a match causing Triple H to turn on his friend who was trying to help him win. He would induct Shawn Michaels into the WWE Hall Of Fame in 2011, helped in NXT as a guest match commissioner from late 2012 to early 2013, entered the 2014 Royal Rumble and lost again as well as inducted his long time friend Scott Hall as Razor Ramon into the Hall Of Fame and made many more appearances on Monday Night Raw as well as WrestleMania. Kevin Nash himself was inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame in 2015, and he still is under a Legends deal with the company as of this update. While his return to WWE might not have had him as a main eventer and had him in very little matches, it is nice that he is home in WWE, a company they he belongs in and who helped make him a household name.

Over his long career as a top draw in the world of Pro Wrestling, Nash has had his share of drama and moments that live on that anger some and entertains others. The first being that he was a member of a backstage group called The Kliq in WWF alongside Shawn Michaels, Razor Ramon, Triple H and 1.2.3 Kid who are said to have bullied talent and manipulated Vince McMahon into big contracts, screwing over other wrestlers like Vader, The Patriot and Shane Douglas, to name a few, from getting their proper pushes. When he left WWF on May 19 1996 at Madison Square Garden, Nash as Diesel on his last match in a steel cage against Shawn Michaels broke character at the end of the match when Diesel and Triple H who were “heels” hugged Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon who were “faces,” and this allowed people to see that Pro Wrestling was….you know the F word….I don’t want to say it as I have respect for what all wresters do to entertain and much like Horror Hosts I like to have the veil over my eyes. Lots of wrestlers would go on record and claim that he held them back from getting bigger pushes as he was worried about his spot at the top. He is said to have smacked Rowdy Roddy Piper in the face backstage in WCW in front of management and talent causing the legend to back down, breaking his tough guy image…or so Nash says. He is the man who many claim pulled strings to be the first to beat Goldberg in WCW, who was on the worlds longest winning streak in pro wrestling. Nash is the man who in WCW de-masked the luchador legend Rey Mysterio Jr.! Nash was considered to be very lazy by many dirt sheet writers who claimed Nash would put no effort in his matches in WCW and was handed titles due to his high-end contract. Many wrestlers and managers behind the scenes have had very harsh words about Nash and his attitude and ability like Jim Cornette, Matt Bourne, Ricky Morton, Ultimate Warrior and Bob Holly to name a few. But one thing he did in his career has been said to have been the final nail in WCW is the “Finger Poke of Doom” where Kevin Nash oversold a finger poke to the chest by Hulk Hogan to put the belt back on the Hulkster and start up their n.W.o friendship once again. People saw this as once more being a lazy move and storytelling by Nash and the bookers. But say what you want about Nash and his mixed bag of popularity with fellow workers and critics, but this Pro Wrestling fan was always entertained by his matches and gimmicks, below is a gif of the infamous Finger Poke of Doom.

The build up to Kevin Nash’s biggest WrestleMania match was played out for almost a year before it happened. It was between him and HBK, and their on and off again friendship had to come to a massive end and this match was to be it. Kevin Nash, as Diesel, had Pamela Anderson in his corner taking on Shawn “HBK” Michaels with Jenny McCarthy and Psycho Sid in his for the WWF World Heavyweight Champion at WrestleMania XI that took place on April 2, 1995 at the Hartford Civic Center in Connecticut. The match’s set up was Diesel was the champion, and he had to defend against his one time best friend Shawn for the final match of the feud as HBK had become jealous of the way the crowd was more behind Diesel. He felt that it took the spotlight off him during their friendship. The match was the second main event of the PPV and was a back and fourth match that showcased Diesel as a powerhouse as well as made it clear that Michaels could hang with the bigger wrestlers in top main event matches. The matched ended with Diesel using his finisher the Jackknife power after about a 20 minute match that in the end had Diesel leaving with both Pamela Anderson and Jenny McCarthy and locked in as a true world champion. While this match would never be on anyone’s top 5 list of best WrestleMania matches, it still was a good solid match and was Kevin Nash’s best at the worlds biggest pro wrestling event.

Besides Pro Wrestling Kevin Nash has also found his calling in acting and has been in a number of TV shows as well as movies. His first movie role came in 1991 when he played Super Shredder in “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret Of The Ooze”, with the next playing Quixo in the 1992 episode This Old House Of Mayan for USA Network show “Swamp Thing”! 1992 also saw him act in the TV show “Super Force” playing the characters Lau and Iau in two episodes. And 1995 saw him play a Male Phone Caller in the made for TV Film “The Weinerville Chanukah Special”. In 1997, he had a cameo in a TV Show playing The Giant in the episode The Crucible on “Sabrina, The Teenage Witch” and later that year would play Jackhammer Guy in the film “Family Plan” and be an unaccredited character in the Indian film “Aar Ya Paar”. Nash played a character named Rocky Williams on a 1998 episode of “Love Boat: The Next Wave” and would follow that up with starring as The Big Easy in two episodes of the show “Nikki” from 2000-2001. One of his biggest roles in a film came in 2004 as The Russian in the comic book flick “The Punisher,” and this helped mark him as a true actor as he was praised by fans and critics for this role. This lead to roles in films like “The Longest Yard” 2005 remake, “Grandma’s Boy” the 2006 comedy, “DOA: Dead Or Alive” as Bass Armstrong that was as well released in 2006, 2011’s “Monster Brawl” and “Rock Of Ages” in 2012 to name a few. His next big role was as well in 2012 as he played the male stripper character Tarzan in the film “Magic Mike” and would reprise the role for its 2015 sequel. And these titles are just a drop in the hat as he has been in many other films as cameos and through out this year of 2017 is also on tap to act in all types of flicks. So not only did Nash conquer the squared circle he also made his mark in acting.

Kevin Nash as well as his ring name Diesel has had much merchandise made in his image and had made it into his fans and collectors hands. He has graced the covers of many magazines from WWF Magazine all the way to Pro Wrestling Illustrated. He has had VHS and DVD’s made about him, showcasing his “best” matches. He has had action figures made in his image by such companies as Toy Biz, Mattel and Jakks Pacific as well as has been on Pogs and Slammers, posters, t-shirts, video games and so much more! Growing up, my favorite Nash merchandise I owned was a long sleeve n.W.o Wolfpac shirt that I wore for years until bleach and age caught up to it. So of you’re a fan of Nash’s lots of great stuff is out in the world to add to your collection.

For as long as I have owned a video game system, some of the must-buy releases for me are wrestling games, and Kevin Nash has made many appearances in them with many companies from WWE all the way to TNA. The first game I can remember him in was “WWF Raw” that came out for Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis and a number of handheld systems, all made by Acclaim. I can remember him in two WCW games for the N64 “WCW vs. n.W.o: World Tour” that was released in 1997 and “WCW/n.W.o Revenge” that was released in 1998 and both released by THQ. For the Sony Playstation, I remember him in the 1998 game “WCW Nitro” as well as “WCW Thunder” that was released in 1998 as well, both made by THQ. Later on for Playstation and N64 I remember him in the EA games “WCW Mayhem” from 1999 and “WCW: Backstage Assault” released in 2000. From here Nash would show up in WWE games on the PS2 for the Smackdown series and has made many appearances in the WWE games made by THQ and 2K and has been on systems like Game Cube, WII, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One. And he’s even in the most modern game WWE 2K17! Nash also was a part of the “TNA Impact!” game made by Midway and released on PS2, PS3, WII and Xbox 360. So as you can see, if you’re a gamer and a Nash fan, you can have him in your modern storylines in WWE 2K’s Universe Mode and maybe just maybe make him take a fall by the finger poke of doom!

As you can see, Kevin Nash has made his impact in Pro Wrestling, acting, video games and merchandise and even made his leap to comic books, thanks to Image Comics! Back in the late 90’s and early 2000’s, the wrestling boom caught the eyes of comic companies big and small, and many titles were made based on wrestlers like The Rock, The Road Warriors, King Kong Bundy, The Undertaker and more so why not give Kevin Nash his own comic series that had him act as a vigilante. I want to thank Dark Star and Lobe Star Comics for having these issues in stock, and the referee is wanting me to remind you all that I grade these on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comic stays to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story. So let’s climb into the ring with the man who named himself Big Sexy and see if he can jackknife powerbomb himself into having a solid comic series. I want to also note that Image Comics released a preview issue for Nash that was nothing more than a write up and unfinished pages from issue # 1 so I decided to skip it for this review.

Nash # 1 **1/2
Released in 1999 Cover Price $2.95 Image Comics #1 of 2

The world is coming to an end all thanks for a secret Cabal called The Citadel run by the evil Cyrus Storm who has made the worlds food supply run short and he and his goons are keeping the poor down and wanting them to die off! Citadel driver Seventeen is on a run when he finds some poor starving people and kills off the old woman and is about to kill her grandchild when Nash comes to the youngsters aid and makes a bloody mess of the driver. But even for the rich things are not all that well as Storm is in a power struggle with Minister Parch who’s food truck has gone missing! Storms daughter Tara takes the message that Parch and his men are going after the truck and are going to kill Nash who is out in the wasteland with the poor starving people. The Minister sends his right hand man Trax and a fleet of airships and soldiers to kill Nash and this legend of the wasteland fights them all off and just when he thinks he has won the fight someone shoots him several times in the back, ending out first issue on a cliffhanger as the shooter is in the shadows and Nash has been wounded bad.

The first issue of Nash will take you by surprise as not once is it said that he was once a Pro Wrestler and in the comic he is more like Mad Max as he wanders the wasteland and wants to help the weak and poor while sticking it to The Citadel. The underline plot of the comic is a statues war as the rich who are all members of a church have all the water and food while the normal low income people are forced to live in the wasteland a place were no food will grow and water is contaminated. The only hope for the poor is Nash a man whom the powerful fear and the weak idolize. Nash in the comic is a man who is trying to do the right thing but his macho ego still makes it hard for him to connect to those he is helping, he also loves the ladies and seems to 100% knows how to defend himself and will get as brutal as he needs to be. The Citadel clearly are people who crave the power over others and use their God as a way to justify their terrible deeds of killing and looking at the poor not as humans but as bugs that need to be exterminated. I kind of like the fact that they have not touched on the fact Nash is Kevin Nash from WCW and superstar of Pro Wrestling as this makes Nash’s violent acts more believable as well as fitting in the world the story has created. Another thing I like about this issue is that it has some bloody moments from an old woman taking a shotgun blast to her guts all the way to Nash blowing up the head of one of his enemies and each kill shows blood and slight gore! The things that don’t work for me as a reader is the fact the story seems very cookie cutter and seems like writers Kevin Nash himself and Marat Mychaels rented a bunch of Post Apocalyptic movies from Blockbuster Video and took elements they liked and mashed them together like potatoes on Thanksgiving. The art done by Marat Mychaels is ok but has that 90’s dated look and is in the style of early Image Comics. Over all this issue was a fun way to kick off the series and makes me wonder how they are going to wrap it up in one more issue? So with that lets see what they have in store for us in issue # 2 and who the man is that shot Nash in the back.

Nash # 2 **1/2
Released in 1999 Cover Price $2.95 Image Comics #2 of 2

Nash has a few slugs in his back and it was Trax who shot him and as Nash is about to embrace death his enemy turns on his own men and kills them! Trax tells Nash that he can only die when he allows it and that he himself is trying to gain power and will take down Minister Parch when he is ready. As Trax returns back to the city Nash and the poor come together to become an army and try and fight back against The Citadel and as they are on the move Tara Storm in a warship beams Nash up and informs him that he can end all this fighting and killing if he would just forget about the poor and join them once more and be a warrior for Storm! Nash turns down her offer and once placed back down with the poor people he decides that he needs to have sex with many of the women in the group, only to wake up and find almost all of them dead besides one who is an assassin for Minister Parch and has been hired to kill him! Nash and the female killer fight back and fourth and this leads to the young boy he saved in issue one being killed and Nash in a rage kills the female killer and promises that he is going to bring Minister Parch down once and fore all.

This second issue was suppose to lead to an issue three that never came to the light and left the story of Nash vs. The Citadel unfinished and questions never answered. The story this time around has Nash learning that Trax wants to be a player in ruling this new world as well as finds out that Tara Storm loves him and wants him to rejoin The Citadel and ends the issue having to kill a female killer who has been hired to kill him off in the name of The Minister. Nash in this issue is filled with even more ego and spends more time wanting to bang women than to protect and fight alongside the poor. It’s great as Kevin Nash once more was the co-writer and he in both issues has it that he is scoring with women and even that he has made it with Tara Storm the daughter of the series main bad guy! But while this is laughable bad that he would make himself a ladies man, it also is fitting for Nash and his style of humor. The female assassin is cold blooded and not only kills a few women but also kills a young kid all the while doing these acts in a tank top and panties, silly! Trax as well is cold as ice as he guns down his own men in order to fail on his mission on purpose so that he can use Nash as a tool to upset Minister Parch who he wants to overthrow. One odd thing is that Nash is spoken about as if he is a legend and savior but in both issue people die around him and again he seems more interested in scoring than defending. The art is once more done by Marat Mychaels and looks just like last issue with that pure 90’s Image cheese look. It’s a shame that this series just ended before the full story could have been told as I wonder what Marat Mychaels and Kevin Nash had planned to bring The Citadel down….I am guessing that it just would have had Nash bedding ladies till he finally could power bomb Minister Parch through a table all the while Tara Storm and random women giggled about Nash being a legend in bed. I am sure I am not to far off on my guess, but it really would have been nice for Image and Next Entertainment to have finished the story. This issue as well has some bloody moments and to sum it all up “Mad Nash: Beyond Wasteland Food Shortage Dome” as I have dubbed it was a fun read and took a Pro Wrestler and turned him into a comic book hero. Check out the art below to see the style this comic has to offer, and I would say if you’re a fan of Nash and cheesy end of the world comics you might want to give these two issues a read.

So while Kevin Nash might not have taken the comic shelves by storm like he did the world of Pro Wrestling, it’s still very cool that he added his touch to series based on wrestlers. But it’s time to leave the wrestling ring and step back into the world of Horror Hosts as out next update is one I am super hyped to bring to you. It will be about The Creeper, who hosted Moraine Playhouse Theater here in Dayton, Ohio via public access in the late 80’s! Until next time make sure to read a comic or three, watch a movie or two and support your local pro wrestling federation! Next update prepare to meet The Creeper as he is a true favorite Horror Host for this monster kid.