The panoramic photograph from last Saturday in Humacao, from the IWA PR Hysteria Boricua event, makes any ardent fan of the company blush. According to the editor-in-chief of Impacto Estelar, around 800 fans packed the coliseum, Emilio Huyke. (The official source of the company declined to confirm the official data, so this is an estimate at best.) For many readers, this must be the ideal mask for detractors of the IWA PR. However, the reality of Saturday left a single, clear winner, and it was not IWA PR.
WWC right now must be looking forward to their big event this Saturday. IWA fans truly wanted those 1,000 fans. But, it seems that WWC will give it that pleasure with its Lethal Alliance event.
As I explained in a previous article, WWC is the best company in 2020; which is good and healthy for the island scene. The company has made some moves that have achieved the perfect balance for the Puerto Rican fans. It still maintains the classic essence of the Colón at the top, the classic universal championship, the use of legendary characters such as Rey González (finally as an authority figure) and the fiefdoms that use a lot of microphone technique by the rudo. Now, the second generation Colons have not forgotten the new; they refreshed the image with a new logo; they have streamlined part of their struggles; employing fresh talents like Riviero and Justin Dynamite, their Universal Championship again seems to have regained prestige with legitimate defenses by Orlando Colón.
With all these changes, the World Wrestling Council (WWC) was already at the top of Puerto Rican wrestling. However, the company’s goal goes further. Something was needed to leave La Liga no chance. At IWA PR they found the opportunity of the year. They found a dying company, whose historical relationship with the Colons, despite its current poor state, could bear fruit in attracting more fans.
If IWA PR hadn’t shot itself in the foot so many times since they returned in 2019, I’m sure this alliance wouldn’t be happening. But, as we have witnessed, in desperate moments, desperate measures merit the situation. The IWA PR presentation in Humacao was amazing and must be recognized. But, the result says more about WWC, than the previous one.
Some fans would like to see the IWA-WWC relationship as equitable. Reality contrasts sharply with that desire. IWA PR depends on WWC. The latter will exploit to the maximum the resources that IWA PR can offer. We must remember which are the two particular elements that IWA offers: unusual struggles and a large dose of nostalgia.
The first is a direct result of mixing talents that have never met. Undoubtedly, Mr. BIG vs. Orlando Colón is attractive, reliving that fief lost in the invasion period in the late 2000s. Add to this, the arrival of Puro Macho, Legio, among others.
The second is the largest product that IWA PR set out to offer from the first return date. In a way, IWA PR has been the victim of its own trap. Nostalgia was going to be his vehicle, but this was expensive and he needed a good story to give it continuity.
Now, the IWA PR will continue with the success presented this past Saturday. But, their success will always depend on how far WWC will want to continue the relationship. On Saturday, the company of Carlos Colón was the winner. Since they have secured a minimum of 1,500 fans and a history line that will make them extremely dominant until the summer and in a more generous case, all year.
Savio Vega will live another month to still see his dream, the IWA PR, erected as the second-best Lucha Libre promotion in Puerto Rico. However, all that success will depend on what at some point in his career he wanted to destroy.
