When Worlds Collide is often heralded as a truly great event -- introducing many American fans to the lucha libre style. But, you may be asking, why is a show from the (at the time) upstart Mexican wrestling organization a part of this list? Well, although the event consisted mainly of talent from the AAA promotion, the PPV itself was produced and promoted by the juggernaut that was World Championship Wrestling. WCWs Executive Vice-President, Eric Bischoff, was even the main catalyst for getting the lucha libre show on American PPV. So, in a way, the show was a WCW production -- and was subsequently a part of the video library purchased by WWE. While AAAs stateside debut did feature a few American stars -- 2 Cold Scorpio and Chris Benoit -- it mainly served as an introduction to numerous lucha competitors, both new and old. In traditional WCW fashion, they would sign away many of the young up-and-comers in the years to follow -- including Rey Mysterio, Psicosis, Konnan, La Parka, and Eddy Guerrero. It was a smart decision, as the Cruiserweights -- as WCW would dub them -- would become an integral and popular part of their Nitro broadcasts. The AAA show itself featured five matches -- all but one were multi-man contests, traditional for Mexico. Every bout on the card had its positives and negatives, as well as standout competitors. However, it was the semi-main event that stole the show. Lucha legends, Octagón and El Hijo del Santo would face off with brash youngsters Love Machine Art Barr and Eddy Guerrero -- who along with Black Cat, Madonnas Boyfriend Louie Spicolli, and Konnan were collectively known as Los Gringos Locos. The contest was a two-out-of-three falls Mask vs. Hair match, wherein the team of Octagón and Santo would lose their masks or Los Gringos would lose their hair, depending on the victors. Despite doing away with Octagón, who was carried out on a stretcher after a Tombstone piledriver from Guerrero, El Hijo del Santo would pick up the victory for his team. Thusly, Barr and Guerrero were forced to cut their own hair and shave their heads. It was a humiliating sight for both men. Obviously, Guerrero would go on to a legendary career in both WCW and WWE before sadly passing away in 2005. His tag team partner and close personal friend, Art Barr, would be unable to join him through the rest of his wrestling tenure, as Barr passed away just 17 days after When Worlds Collide.
Douglas Scarpa is a freelance writer, independent filmmaker, art school graduate, and pro wrestling aficionado -- all of which mean he is in financial ruin. He has no backup plan to speak of, yet maintains his abnormally high spirits. If he had only listened to the scorn of his childhood teachers, he wouldn't be in this situation.
