Where Wrestling's Regional History Lives!
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Where Wrestling's Regional History Lives! |
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Well, turkey time is near and the cranberry
sauce is almost on the plate… speaking of of which, I remember when
Hector Guerrero came out as the Gobbeldy-Gooker in the WWF. That was
horrific!!! Lasted about a milli-second (editor's note: Thank God!)
This next piece took place in Puerto Rico, during the late 80's. Every January 6, 7,and 8th ( known as Three Kings Day) the equivalent of Puerto Rico's Christmas, the WWC would bring in the new talent for the year and start new angles. Well, the big show at Roberto Clemente Coliseum, this particular year had seen such talent as Rocky Johnson (He and Afa, brought little Duane "the Rock" at just 14 years old), and the Wild Samoans. Rocky tagged w/Bruiser Brody vs. Mr. Pogo/Kendo Nagasaki. Abdullah vs. Carlos Colon for the zillionth time, and a few others. Then, Bobby Jaggers walks in with this newly-bleached-blonde "Dandy" Dan Kroffat (Phil Lafon), bringing back that old horrible gimmick "The Kansas Jayhawks" which originally came from the mind of Dutch Mantell. Bobby had the original Dutch look with the scarf and straw hat while Phil had an old leather patched hat.. together these two didn't even coordinate. Much to my surprise, Mark and I had them and were furthermore starting the year's angle with them. At first I was beside myself. I whispered to Mark, "What are they supposed to be?" We go to talk over the finish and Phil starts talking, having the weirdest accent I have ever heard (French Canadian). Bobby reminisced about the old Amarillo Territory as I was sipping at my umteenth Pina Colada (in P.R., you had to get a little tipsy just to deal with the fans). The 'Hawks go to the ring first, with people yelling "Pato" at them (which I think means homosexual). Then Mark and I come out to the ring and once we get to the ring you couldn't even talk into each others ears, the cheering was so loud. My brother Jay left a hell of a legacy for us. Mark and Jaggers hooked up first and did some old Kansas City spots (I'm glad Dutch didn't rub off on Bobby, because Bobby could WORK). I was leery about Kroffat, but then Mark tagged me in with Dan and within the next five minutes it was like making love for the first time. Kroffat was one of the BEST ever in the business, and we worked that crowd together, getting them to pop like never before. By the end of the match, the people were virtually standing (20,000) as the four of us rocked the damn house down. We came back to the locker room and everyone shook our hand and hugged us. Throughout that year we worked against them numerous times, and Bobby showed Phil a lot and while Mark and I enjoyed every minute of it. Unfortunately, Kroffat and I had a personal falling out, although he's still all business in the ring. Those guys and the Youngbloods (I have goosebumps writing this) had the best chemistry in the squared circle and did tremendous business in P.R. That was the day when a headlock spot, popped the crowd every time. Damn, I sure miss those guys and those times. They were two of the best I ever worked with… |
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