Of Course it's More Puerto Rico

Carlos Colon v TNT (11/15/86)

This probably wasn't done any favours coming after some absolute corkers on the disc. It's hard to top Invader/Perez or Colon/Hansen, you know? That said, this wasn't trying to be either of those; it was a short TV match and if nothing else a fun look at TNT, the future Savio Vega. He was really game in this, threw some nice uppercuts to the throat and leveled Colon a couple times with big thrust kicks. He headbutts Colon at one point and I'm wondering if Colon has been doing a Fujiwara-ish hard head gimmick this whole time where it's pointless trying to headbutt him, because he just stares at TNT like he's a dummy before throwing a headbutt of his own. They're treating TNT's cobra clutch as quite the death kill here and it leads to the grizzly post-match visual of Colon lying KO'd and foaming at the mouth, which coincidentally is another Fujiwaraism.


Carlos Colon v TNT (11/27/86)

One thing about Colon that I haven't really seen brought up yet is his unselfishness as top dog/ace. You watch that Abby match where Colon slaughters him for twenty minutes in isolation and you might get the impression he would just guzzle guys, especially when you consider Abby's status, but that's very much an outlier. He could've easily taken more of this match given the fact Rivera is in his first year as a pro, but he was on a mission to make TNT look legit. This was one of those matches that started out okay and built and built and before you knew it you were watching something really damn good. TNT is still pretty raw around the edges, but for a guy who hasn't even had a full year of working under his belt he handled himself well. He has lots of energy and bumps big, especially off of backdrops, and he will absolutely take your head off with a superkick (he hit two in this as Colon was running off the ropes, and they both looked brutal). He also hits a lot of chops and uppercuts to the throat and he isn't above flat out choking a guy. Structurally he was in control for most of this, working the arm for a bit early on, then Colon would make sort of mini comebacks. But TNT would always find an answer, whether it was through shutting Colon down with a superkick or eventually going to the cobra clutch. When Colon hooked in the sleeper hold around midway through it looked like it was only a matter of time before he'd win, but TNT found an answer to it and worked his way back on top. When Colon cartwheeled and got the crowd going (and boy did they go) it looked like he'd finally go on that big run and put the match to bed, but again TNT managed to regain control. By the time it spills to the floor and they brawl to a no contest it feels like TNT has solidified himself as a genuine threat. He had plenty to do with that himself, but Colon really gave him a ton and went the extra mile to push him over the line.