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House of Glory presented the inaugural Mike Santana's Puerto Rican Weekend on Saturday 6/8 from the NYC Arena in Jamaica, Queens. This was timed for the same weekend as the Puerto Rican Day Parade, which is a major event in NYC. This was something the promotion has wanted to do for a long time.
*In the opening contest, Pedro Dones defeated Corey Mac, Chris Cage, Elijah Eden, Jarrett Diaz, and Matt Awesome in a Six Way Scramble. Cage hit a big cross body off the top to the floor on everyone but Diaz, who then hit a big tope con hilo onto everyone on the floor. Lots of near falls and moves off the top. Dones hit a big spear for the pin. Entertaining opener.
*Mercedes Martinez defeated Tasha Steelz and Diamond Virago. This was slated to be a singles bout with Steelz vs. Martinez but HOG Women's Champion Ultra Violette came out and made it a Triple Threat with Virago, Ultra's protege. Mercedes began wailing away on Virago. Steelz backed her off, but then began attacking herself. Virago took a lot of punishment. Martinez ended up in control, nailing the Three Amigos in honor of Eddy Guerrero. She turned the third one into a brainbuster on Virago but Steelz broke up the pinfall. Steelz nailed a Codebreaker onn Martinez and hit a superkick on Virago. Steelz looked great, one again raising the question as to why she isn't used more prominently by TNA.
Martinez wiped out the others, leading to a "HOG" chant. Virago ducked out, leading to Steelz and Martinez attacking each other with forearms. Martinez went for a Razor's Edge but Steelz turned it into a sunset flip and nailed an Ace Cutter. Virago attacked Steelz. They battled to the top, where Steelz kicked her off. Martinez yanked Steelz off the apron, sending her into the barricade. She mauled Virago with some hard strikes and cinched in the Romero Special. She clinched a Dragon Sleeper and Virago tapped. Good stuff. Virago was obviously there to get some experience and worked hard.
*Charles Mason (with Raheem Royal) defeated Danny Maff. This was Maff's first HOG appearance in almost eight years. Mason has been one of the promotion's top and most twisted heels for some time. The idea was he and Maff were both insane bad-asses, as they chopped and even bit each other early. Maff nailed a series of back senton splashes. Royal tried to get involved, so Maff went after him on the floor. Maff was attacked and choked on the floor. Maff was sent into the barricades. Maff came back to throw Mason into the barricades and showed a ton of charisma before being tossed into another himself, flipping into the barricades. The NYC crowd was loving the chaos. Maff was choked with a flag but lifted Mason and dumped him across a series of chairs on the floor. Maff slammed him on the apron outside and then brought him back into the ring, where they returned to biting each other. Maff worked him over but Mason went to the outside when Maff set up for a cannonball in the corner. Maff pulled him up against the ropes and beat Mason hard with shots across the chest, a la Sheamus. The crowd loved counting these in Spanish, as Maff really wound up for the final one. Mason snapped his throat across the top rope and then spit water in his face. The referee yelled at Mason, allowing Royal hitting a missile dropkick to the blinded Maff.
Mason worked him over with punches in the corner but Maff went for a powerbomb. Maff was too spent and collapsed. He was almost pinned but kicked out. Mason and Maff punched and chopped the hell out of each other. Maff almost scored the pin with a Skyhigh powerbomb. Mason hit a Meteora and a rolling DVDR for a close two count. Mason climbed Maff's back for a submission but Maff slammed him into the buckles and nailed an insane lariat for a two count. Maff nailed his finisher, the Burning Hammer but Raheem pulled the referee out. The ref ejected him from ringside. Mason lowblowed Maff and choked him out with a Puerto Rican flag while using a choke. Maff was out and the referee ruled a submission. Real physical match. Real physical match! Maff made Mason earn this one. Maff never fails to have a great performance and Mason has been one of the highlights of HOG in recent years. This was no exception. Real good stuff.
*HOG Tag Team Champions The Mane Event defeated Epico & Primo Colon. The Masked Jay Lyon was in control early but the Colons took over and nailed some double team maneuvers. Midas tagged in but was taken down with an armdrag and controlled. Mane Event did their trademark dive where Lyon dives through a hula-hoop, crashing down on the Colons. Orlando came back with a Flatliner/DDT on the champs. Both Colons looked real good in the ring. Eddie drove their heads together with a double noggin knocker. He monkeyflipped Lyon out of the corner. The Colons scored several two counts. They battled back and forth until Mane Event retained. Very good. Raheem Royal and Charles Mason attacked the champions after the bout and stood over them with the belts before throwing them back down.
*A bunch of the talents from the Subway Mania YouTube series, which has even gotten New York Times coverage, were involved in a vignette next. One came out dressed like NWO era Hogan. The crowd chanted "SubwayMania." He cut a Hogan-esque promo. He said if anyone in the back has an issue with them, they can come on out. Out came someone dressed like the original Kane, right down to the mask and wig, but wearing the Puerto Rican flag. Subway Kane attacked him. This led to The Subway Dudleys, who are part of the cult Subway Mania YouTube series cast, coming out with a table. They placed it in the corner of the ring and this got a big ECW chant. They put Hogan through with a 3D but were then chokeslammed by Kane.
After intermission, HOG Crown Jewel Champion La Sombra Carlos Ramirez defeated Homicide. They battled back and forth early until Homicide clotheslined him off the apron to the floor. Homicide went for a sliding kick but was caught and slammed on the apron outside. Homicide sent him hard into the barricade. Homicide suplexed him on the entrance ramp. Ramirez battled back and nailed a full nelson flatliner for a two count., Homicide came back to nail a big T-Bone Tazplex for a two count. Homicide missed a splash in the corner and was caught with a DDT. He nailed a pumphandle buster and scored the pin clean, which was a bit of a surprise. Good, methodical, hard fought match.
*HOG Champion Mike Santana defeated Amazing Red. The atmosphere for this and Santana's entrance were both electric. Massive "HOG" chant at the start of the bout. They shook hands at the bell and Santana went down to one knee out of respect for Red. They had a feeling out process and then Red went insane with a big dive to the outside and a missile dropkick. Santana superkicked Red out of the ring and nailed a dive to the floor. Red kicked Santana from the apron and went for a rana but was caught and swung into the barricades. The crowd chanted "Oh My God" in Espanol. Somewhere, Joey Styles' ears perked.
Red was bleeding from the barricade shot. Santana and the referee both checked on Red. The crowd began chanting for Red as he fought to return to the ring. Santana asked him to get checked but Red was ready to keep going. Santana acted like the bout should be stopped, which offended Red. Red slapped him. Santana reacted and they started brawling, shoving the referee out of the way as he tried to intercede. The referee ruled it was now a No DQ match. They smiled and went right at each other. They brawled back to the floor and into the crowd. They battled towards the front door of the venue and into the area set up to sell merchandise. They battled back into the ringside area, where Santana reversed a whip on the floor and Red flew into the barricade, which fell over and he landed in the crowd. NYC lost it. Red, pissed and intense, returned to the ring ready to fight and fight they did. They exchanged some hard chops before Santana had enough and took Red down, cinching in a side chinlock.
Red came back and hit a great tornado DDT off the ropes. The crowd chanted "HOG." Santana went for a superplex but Red escaped and went for a Code Red off the ropes. Santana escaped and nailed a leaping leg lariat. The crowd chanted, "This is awesome" and they were right. They faced off on their knees, slapping the shit out of each other. Red fired up with a series of hard chops, finally taking Santana down to one knee. He fired back and they kicked each other at the same time, going down in unison like Rocky and Apollo Creed. Red fired up but was murdered by a pair of lariats. Red fought back and nailed Code Red for a close two count. He ascended to the top and nailed a double stomp, then returned to the top for a frog splash, but Santana kicked out.
Santana caught Red coming off and ropes and nailed him with a discus lariat but Red kicked out. Santana nailed another and that was the end. Hell and I mean a HELL OF A MATCH. This was like a modern day Terry Funk vs. Sabu brawl, minus the table stunts, in a lot of ways. Absolutely great main event with so much intensity and physical warfare. Santana obviously has a chip on his shoulder to prove himself and he's accomplishing the goal. It's rare in 2024 that I end up wishing I had been in attendance for a match but this would be that rare match that I wish I had experienced it live. Great main event!
Santana took the mic as a lot of the talents came to ringside as fans waved Puerto Rican flags. He thanked the fans for making it possible and asked who was ready for next year and every year after that. Huge pop as the crowd chanted "HOG." Santana singled out WWE Hall of Famer Carlos Colon, saying that if it wasn't him, they wouldn't have an identity in pro wrestling and that their small island in the Atlantic would make the biggest noise in the whole world. He thanked Carlos and the crowd chanted for him. He put over the talents who made an opportunity for themselves today and thanked his family for saving his life.
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