FIGHTS: A new luchador claims the 'Sin Cara' mantle

FORMER UNMASKED RIVAL TAKES PLACE OF WWE'S BOTCHED LUCHA EXPERIMENT
by
Bowie V. Ibarra

(Photos ripped off from wrestlingrumors.net)

Noted pro-wrestling pundit Brandon Stroud of With Leather along with other online writers reported that the luchador playing Sin Cara has been replaced by Hunico, the luchador that was once Sin Cara Negro who took on Sin Cara in an outstanding Mask vs. Mask match in Mexico.  Though I'm disappointed the original athlete who played Sin Cara has, apparently, been shitcanned, I'm happy at the prospect of the legacy of the name being carried on.

Sin Cara, once known as Mistico in Mexico, had become one of the biggest names in Mexico.  His athleticism and acrobatic attack was a thing of beauty when he was in his zone.  At his height, he was having international title matches like the one's below.

 

The guy was outstanding.  That is, until he began his run in WWE.

 

There's no sense listing his botches, as they have been the stuff of ridicule for years since he's come to the WWE.  Even one of his first t-shirts turned into yet another reason for the already stupid WWE universe to make fun of the Mexican superstar.

 

 

For whatever reason, the talented luchador could not get one shred of traction on his WWE run.  From injuries in matches to sadly hilarious botches to failed wellness testing, Sin Cara's run was atrocious.

 

But it seems WWE has been making enough money off of their own original lucha gimmick that they want to keep the name alive, at least for a while.  So it seems they passed the mantle to Hunico, an extremely talented lucha-style wrestler who once competed under a mask even before his WWE run.

 

Truth is, Hunico was actually pretty good.  And when he was Sin Cara Negro, his matches were on par with, if not better, than Sin Cara Azul's WWE matches.  But he lost his mask to Sin Cara and was repackaged as a Mexican thug cholo.

 

Truth is, I'm thankful that WWE has perpetuated the gimmick with someone else.  Though it completely violates the tradition of lucha libre, the silver lining is that they are continuing to back a gimmick that is a positive toward Mexican culture instead of just a trashy Mexican street thug. 

 

It's not the first time WWE has violated lucha tradition.  Rey Mysterio, who had lost his mask due to the work of asshole Eric Bischoff and the bane of pro-wrestling, Kevin Nash, reclaimed his mask in WWE.  Because Vince wasn't stupid like Bischoff and Nash and saw the money potential on the masks and the money of an always-supportive Hispanic/Latino demographic, he put the mask back on Rey.  Incidentally, Rey was a 'cholo' type character unmasked as well.   

 

 

Mexican Americans/Hispanics/Latinos/whatever you want to call us, need positive influences and examples for them.  And though WWE continues to perpetuate negative Mexican Archetypes (the cholo) like mainstream media, the legacy of the nobility of masked Mexican wrestlers is an archetype that I'm okay with.  I don't even have a problem with their main reasoning being the money they were making on their own original gimmick.  They created it, they earned it.  It's still a positive influence on Mexican/Latino culture.  So I'm hope they continue to move forward with this gimmick change.

 

Word on the street is they've been wanting a Rey Mysterio/Sin Cara match at WrestleMania.  Make it a Mask vs. Mask match, and a dream of mine will come true.

 

We'll see what happens and what WWE does with this Sin Cara 2.0.  So in the meantime, check out a book that features a lucha libre superstar who crosses over into MMA, very much like Alberto Del Rio once did.  Follow the adventures of El Aire in the combat sports series, 'Pit Fighters'.  'Pit Fighters: Baptism by Fire' and 'Pit Fighters: Double Cross' are combat sports-themed books that features fights from the early days of MMA, and plenty of underground money fights.  You've got to check them out, and they're available on Kindle or paperback today.

 

 

BOWIE V. IBARRA is the author of the 'Down the Road' zombie horror series from Permuted Press and Simon and Schuster.  His latest story, 'Tejano Star and the Vengeance of Chaplain Skull' is a Tex-Mexploitation superhero story in the tradition of 'Machete' and 'Black Dynamite'.  Get it in paperback or Kindle today.

Bowie earned a BFA in Acting and MA in Theatre History from Texas State University.  Network with Bowie for updates and news at his official website, ZombieBloodFights.com.

FIGHTS: Will the NWA's Master Plan in New Japan blow up in their face?

by Bowie Ibarra

Newly-crowned NWA champ 'The Ironman' Rob Conway will be the NWA's representative going into this weekend's NJPW Supershow, 'Invasion Attack'.  The word on the street is that he'll be facing NJPW stalwart, Satoshi Kojima, who is not only a vet in the ring, but has a lariat that would make Stan Hanson proud.  It's a big weekend for wrestling fans, but also a big weekend for Conway.

You might remember when the NWA President Bruce Tharpe took to the YouTubes to call out NJPW and insult them and their fans with his planned run at their organization.  I couldn't help but notice Tharpe didn't have then-champ 'Tokyo Monster' Kahagas present for the taping.  When I saw that, there was a sense that Tharpe was holding his cards to the vest.  He fast-tracked Kahagas to the championship belt only months before in a 16-man title tournament that had Kahagas show up in the final by his decree.

Did Tharpe lose confidence in his golden boy?  Was he just holding his cards to the vest, knowing that Kahagas was, indeed, a fighting champion and, knowing his schedule, considered that Kahagas might lose the belt somewhere along the way?

Either way, Tharpe has pushed all in with the new champ, Rob Conway.

Rob Conway?  I know, right?

Wrestling fans outside of San Antonio might remember Rob Conway as an arrogant WWE wrestler.  He's gone on the indy wrestling circuit for some years now, keeping his skills sharp and waiting for an opportunity.

It came March 16 when then champ Kahagas was set to face challenger NWA-Branded Outlaw Heavyweight Champ Jax Dane.  When Dane was jumped by the NWA World Tag Champs The Kingz of the Underground, taking Dane out of contention, Conway was granted a shot and won.

Check out the historic match here:

Say what you will about Rob Conway, but the fact remains that the guy was able to take that golden opportunity and cash it out.  The guy has been looking for a big break for a while now, and he got it.

But now his first title defense is going to test not only Conway, but an entire organization.  The NWA invading Japan could be great, or it could fizzle out.  A lot of that rests on Conway's performance against the tough-as-nails Kojima. 

But is Conway ready?  It's my opinion that he is.

Let's face it, the guy was able to beat Kahagas, who was on an unbeaten streak since he won the belt late last year.  Kahagas might have got the belt under shady circumstances, thanks to Tharpe.  But he still showed he was a quality champ by defending it all over the US.

Conway is a good representative for the NWA in Japan.  He has WWE credentials, has kept his skills sharp since then, and has the potential to do well.

Ironically enough, 'The Vanilla Godzilla' Jax Dane will be at his side as they travel to the Land of the Rising Sun.

When put in perspective, this is the opportunity Conway has been waiting for years to have.  Now that NWA has given him the ball, here's hoping he makes it out of Japan healthy and with a victory for NWA.

That win alone will easily propel him to a great title run as NWA champ.

Best of luck, champ.

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BOWIE V. IBARRA is the author of the 'Down the Road' zombie horror series from Permuted Press and Simon and Schuester. 

His combat sports themed book, PIT FIGHTERS: BAPTISM BY FIRE, features a luchador from Mexico who transitions to mixed martial arts competition.  It is available in paperback and on Kindle for .99 cents.

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Agree?  Disagree?  Leave a comment below using your Google+ or Blogger account.

You can network with Bowie and explore his other titles at his personal website, ZombieBloodFights.com.

FIGHTS: RETROSPECTIVE: 'War Games-The Match Beyond' and the Four Horsemen, WWE HoF '12

by Bowie Ibarra

As Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, Barry Windham, and manager James J. Dillon walk to their induction into the WWE Hall of Fame 2012 on April 1, 2012, I think it's very important to take a look back at one of the biggest matches in pro-wrestling history that defined the cruelty of the Four Horsemen and the kind of fight that their rivals had to face.  Especially if they faced them in this signature match, created to destroy The Horsemen:  War Games-The Match Beyond.

Though the Horsemen are known for many things and accomplished many great feats during the first incarnation of the stable, it is this match that stands out to me as one of their best, and a legacy to the team.  I think its important for the current WWE Universe to watch and understand how true rivalries were settled back in the classic 80s era of wrestling.

The match was held in a steel cage that was placed over two adjacent wrestling rings.  The cages were lined up right against the rings, with no outside area like in a 'Hell in a Cell', so there was nowhere to run.  There was also no referee in the ring, so anything could happen on the inside.  Very dangerous.

The match consisted of 8 periods.  The first period was five minutes, with one guy from each team starting the fight.  Then a ref conducted a coin toss to determine who would go in next, giving that team an advantage throughout the periods until 'The Match Beyond'.  During the periods where competitors entered, there were no pinfalls or submissions, 'it was just a fight'.  It was until the final competitor entered the ring that 'The Match Beyond' began, in which the winner was determined by one of the competitors quitting, submitting, or getting knocked out.

The first match set the bar for every other War Games match, and was the progenitor of such matches as 'Hell in a Cell' and especially 'Elimination Chamber'.

This particular team of the Four Horsemen, composed of Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, Lex Luger, and J.J. Dillon.

The team lead by Dusty Rhodes was Dusty, Hawk and Animal of the Road Warriors, Nikita Koloff, and Paul Ellering, who was the manager of the Road Warriors and former wrestler.

The first competitors ever in a War Games match were legends Dusty Rhodes and Arn Anderson, who mixed it up for five minutes.  They threw rounds at each other, with Rhodes even popping Anderson in the nuts with a punch.  Dream took control, planting Arn with a DDT and aggravating a head laceration by raking Arn's injured head against the cage.

It was also here we got the traditional 'throw the man face first into the cage' bit, which is mandatory for cage matches.  Dusty did it here before slapping on his vaunted Figure Four.  Since there was no submission yet, Rhodes broke the hold to see who would win the coin toss.  It turned out to be the Horsemen winning the coin toss, bringing Anderson's Texan tag partner, Tully Blanchard, into the ring to double team Dusty.  And boy did they go at it.  Blanchard slapped on a Figure Four on Rhodes before having to break the hold getting ready for the odds to be even by the next member of Dusty's team.

And boy did the odds get even.  Animal of the 'Road Warriors was brought into the ring, who proceeded to pendulum swing Blanchard into the fence and give Dusty a chance to attack Arn.  Animal gave Blanchard the fence treatment before Dusty came in to add more abuse to Blanchard.

Before long, however, the next Horseman made his way into the ring, and Dillon sent in Ric Flair, who went after Animal with Arn.  Animal got the fence face toss as the Horsement took control and did it again.

It was back and forth before the teams were even again when Nikita Koloff jumped in to wreck shop.  Flair tried to gouge his eyes to stop his progress, only to make the big Ruskie mad.  And there were Russian sickles to go around.  Animal even press slammed Flair.  With the odds even, Rhodes team was tearing it up.

But the Horsemen regained the advantage with Lex Luger entering the cage, going after Koloff and Animal.  After being punched in the nads by Flair, Koloff was hit with two spiked pile drivers from Flair and Blanchard.

It's important to understand that the pile driver was not your average move.  It was considered very devastating back in the day.  A spiked pile driver was enough to end your career.

Koloff took two.

Then Hawk came in to even the odds and went right to work against all of the Horsemen, giving his friends a chance to regroup and counterattack.

But after attacking the genitals of two Rhodes teammates, Flair slapped on the figure four on Rhodes before the Horsemen were to take the advantage.

Next in was J.J. Dillon.  Like an idiot, Dillon went right on the attack against Hawk, the freshest dude in the fight.  That didn't sit well with Hawk, who returned fire on Dillon.  With Dillon a liability, the Horsemen still had to fight to keep the advantage.

Finally, Paul Ellering entered the ring, thus initiating 'The Match Beyond', submission or surrender.  It was now at this point that the match could be won by one of the teams.

Ellering was wise and went right to work against Dillon.  At this point, with the Horsemen occupied, Paul Ellering was using a spiked wristband against Dillon, splitting him open.  It was then that the Road Warriors double teamed Dillon.

You had to know Dillon and Ellering were the weakest links on each of the teams.  Why the Horsemen didn't go on the offensive against Ellering like the Road Warriors did against Dillon is beyond me.  The Road Warriors set up Dillon with a variation of their 'Doomsday Device' and planted him into the mat.  Hurt, they forced him against the cage and stomped him until cageside ref Teddy Long (yes, that Teddy Long), heard Dillon surrender, ending the match.

There was another match in this same wrestling year with a similar result.  And though the match seemed to run the same way, it is this match that will be remembered as the first and the best ever.

More 'War Games' matches were to follow.  Many matched the brutality of this one.  But like Shawn Micheals/Undertaker in 'Hell in a Cell', this one set the standard for the ones to come.

ZombieBloodFights.com would like to say congratulations to the members of The Four Horsemen who will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame 2012.

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Bowie Ibarra is the author of the 'Down the Road' zombie horror series from Permuted Press and Simon and Schuster.  His combat sport themed books, "Pit Fighters: Baptism by Fire", and "Pit Fighters: Double Cross" feature a Mexican luchador who crosses over into MMA.

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