#188: Eddie Guerrero & Art Barr vs. El Hijo del Santo & Octagon, AAA/WCW When Worlds Collide (11/6/1994).
EDIT on 2/17/2025: I just recently learned that Art Barr was charged with the rape of a 19 year old four years before this. It honestly taints my perception of him from this match. I'll retain my original thoughts on this match, but don't bank on me ever reviewing an Art Barr match again. I don't care how talented he was: Raping someone makes all of that irrelevant.
This is a 2 Out of 3 Falls Double Masks vs. Hair Match.
Odds are, you’ve heard of this one.
In the early 1990s, after creative differences lead to an exodus of wrestlers from CMLL, AAA was born. The idea behind the promotion was to bring Lucha Libre to America, and to say they accomplished that would be an understatement. Despite their standings in the wrestling world today, AAA’s influence on introducing an international audience to Mexican wrestling cannot be overlooked, and this show is arguably the leading juggernaut behind that.
“When Worlds Collide,” co promoted by AAA and WCW, was America’s first true exposure to Lucha Libre. Even greater than that, it’s also the first exposure many had to a future wrestling legend: Eddie Guerrero. Here, with his partner Art Barr, they take the role of American villains, facing off against El Hijo del Santo – son of El Santo – and Octagon, who are here to stand up for traditional Lucha. With masks and hair on the line in this match, the twist is that for a fall to count on either side, the opposing side’s team must have BOTH members pinned.
The crowd is nuclear for this before anyone locks up. The bell rings, and Los Gringo Locos – Guerrero and Barr – powder to the ring quickly. Guerrero and Santo start things out. They lock up, and Santo takes Guerrero down with an arm drag. Guerrero gets on top, and Santo is able to flip him to his back. Guerrero takes control of the arm, and trips Santo down. He applies a chin lock, and then hammerlocks the arm. Santo is able to send Guerrero to the floor.
Barr tags in, and so does Octagon. Barr offers his hand out for a shake, and he quickly kicks Octagon in the gut. Nice arm drag by Octagon, and he avoids a senton. Good kick to the head by Octagon, and Guerrero comes in for the attack. Santo is in, and Guerrero hits a hurricanrana to Santo, while Santo is on Barr’s shoulders! Santo is eliminated, and Guerrero quickly hits a superplex to Octagon, followed by a splash by Barr, and Octagon is done as well. Gringo Locos take the first fall quickly.
Art Barr does jumping jacks in the corner, while Guerrero spits water into the crowd. The bell sounds, and the second fall begins. Guerrero and Santo start things out. He slams Santo down, and gets a nearfall. Guerrero with a nice suplex that gets another nearfall. Octagon tags in, and Guerrero offers his hand out for a shake. He goes to his knees, and offers Octagon a free shot to the jaw. He pokes Octagon in the eyes, and here comes Barr.
Beautiful dropkick to Octagon by Barr, and another. More jumping jacks. This man has great heel heat. He powerslams Octagon, and tags in Guerrero, who does his apron senton as beautifully as ever. Santo comes in, and they double team the Locos. Santo with a nice elbow drop to Barr, and a head scissors to Guerrero. Guerrero accidentally clotheslines Barr, and both men get dropkicked to the floor. Double dive by Santo and Octagon, and the crowd pops hard for that!
In the ring, Santo hits a sunset flip to Guerrero for a 2 count. Santo drops Guerrero chest first to the mat. On the top rope, Guerrero hits a hurricanrana, and he pins Santo! One more pin to Octagon, and they will lose their masks. The tension is high now. Locos double team Octagon in the ring with a double clothesline. Octagon with a double facebuster, and a quick hurricanrana roll up on Guerrero out of nowhere, and he gets the pin on him! He goes from that to a submission to Barr, who submits! Santo and Octagon take the second fall! Nice sense of urgency from both sides in that second fall, and a great comeback from Octagon, who saved his team from losing their masks in two straight falls. Barr’s cocky arrogance cost his team that fall.
The third and final fall begins, and Santo starts out with Guerrero again. Santo reverses a powerbomb into a pin, and Barr breaks up the pin. Guerrero applies the Camel Clutch, and Octagon comes in with a nice kick to the head to break it up. Santo locks in his own Camel Clutch, and Barr kicks him in the back of the head. Santo with another nearfall, as Guerrero breaks up the pin. Barr locks Santo in Red Ink, Okada style, and Octagon comes in to break it up with some kicks to the midsection.
Santo and Octagon double team Barr, with a double elbow to the head. Suplex by Santo, and Guerrero kicks Santo in the back. Octagon comes in, and he kicks Barr in the head. He follows with a headbutt that hurts both men. Octagon applies an arm submission, and Guerrero breaks it up with an eye poke. Guerrero applies the Gory Special to Octagon, and here comes Santo, who kicks him in the chest and hits a knee lift.
Guerrero with a powerslam to Santo, and he goes to the top rope. Santo meets him there, and hits an electric chair to the mat below! Santo covers, and Barr breaks up the pin. Barr knocks both men to the floor, and Gringo Locos connect with a double Tope to both men on the outside. Blue Panther gets into it with Locos’ second at ringside...Madonna’s Boyfriend. Yes, that’s his name. Santo sends Guerrero to the floor, then hits a sunset flip powerbomb from the ring to the floor!
In the ring, Octagon and Barr go at it, and Barr connects with a Tombstone! Barr makes the cover, and Octagon has been pinned! Only Santo is left to protect the masks! Apparently that move is banned, and the referee didn’t see it used. Guerrero and Barr double team Santo with a clothesline/German Suplex combo, and Santo barely kicks out. Barr goes to the top, as Guerrero has Santo on the top rope. He hits the Super Plex, and Barr connects with the splash! Barr covers, and Santo is able to kick out!
Octagon is rushed backstage due to the damage from the piledriver. Barr accidentally clotheslines Guerrero to the floor, and Santo dropkicks Barr to the outside. Santo goes to the top, and hits a dive to the floor onto Barr! Barr goes to the top, but Blue Panther comes into the ring, and piledrives Barr with the referee distracted! The hard cam shakes, as the crowd goes bananas! Santo pins Barr, and he’s gone! It’s down to Santo and Guerrero!
Santo gets a nearfall on Guerrero, and Guerrero hits a sit out powerbomb for a nearfall. Guerrero places Santo on the top rope, and he hits a nice belly to belly suplex! Santo is able to kick out. Barr is still laid out in the ring. Back on the top rope, Guerrero hits a Frankensteiner off the top, and Santo again is able to kick out. Beautiful dragon suplex into a bridge, and Santo kicks out again. Guerrero goes for another, and Santo is able to reverse it into a rollup for the 3 and the win! Santo and Octagon take the final fall, and the match! They retain their masks, and Gringo Locos lose their hair!
Post match, Octagon is wheeled away, and Guerrero and Barr shave each other’s head. They look completely distraught. That was a lot of fun. It wasn’t always the most exciting match to watch, but what it lacked in “high spots” as you would say, it made up for with fantastic tag team psychology. With so much at stake, Santo and Octagon wrestled like their lives depended on it. Their masks, their legacies – and in the case of El Hijo del Santo, the legacy of his father, El Santo, who was never unmasked in his career. The weight and levity of the situation emphasized to the American audience the importance of your mask – if it’s gone, your career trajectory changes forever.
They were perfect babyface foils for Los Gringo Locos, who were the stars of the show. Art Barr sadly passed away just weeks after this show, leaving behind a void in the Lucha scene. It’s a shame too, because he had all the makings of a top level “rudo.” His heel antics in this match should be studied. They were simple, yet effective. He had great facials throughout, and he was just a great dick overall. He reminded me a bit of MJF and El Phantasmo in how he carried himself in this match. That may be an odd comparison to make, sure, but that’s where my head went as I watched him wrestle – this being my first time ever seeing an Art Barr match.
Oh, and that Eddie Guerrero fellow was okay too, I guess. In all seriousness, you can see just how much of a star quality Eddie had in this match alone. Like Barr, he played a great heel throughout, and he was the aggressive player, while Barr was the shit talker. He beat the hell out of both Santo and Octagon throughout this, and he helped make their climb to the mountaintop that much more difficult. Seeing him here, it’s no surprise that Eddie went on to become one of the greatest wrestlers who ever lived. He had all the little things down, and he made his high spots count.
I have to say that I liked this a lot more than I expected. Present day in 2024, I am not a fan of AAA at all. In fact, I’ll go as far as to say they are the worst promotion going, alongside the NWA. Compared to CMLL, they take the easy road with trash matches, bad booking, nonsensical angles, and a reliance on American wrestling tropes. That said, their influence on Lucha Libre cannot be denied. It was AAA, and this show, that introduced legions of American wrestling fans to Mexican wrestling.
They are the ones who held this match, and this match is absolutely wonderful. A great tag team match, with air tight psychology, great storytelling, and good emotional weight with the stakes. If this is someone’s first steps into the world of Lucha Libre, I’d imagine they’d never get out of it if the wrestling is this good. All around classic here, and I highly recommend.