80s Retro: Pinoy Wrestling

Back in the 80s, we only had 1 wrestling show per week, and that was WWF All-Star wrestling, which aired on Wednesdays at 10 PM.  Wrestling fans like me, struggled to get more of this kind of action.  So aside from being contented with All-Star wrestling and at times, Betamax rentals of WWF main events like Wrestlemania, Survivor Series and Royal Rumble, we tried to find other ways of satisfying our urge for wrestling.  Kinda funny but we appreciated Pinoy Wrestling, which aired Saturdays from 5-6 PM on the former PTV4.  I remember being able to watch this show live at the carpark of SM City North EDSA back then.  See how Jologs it was!!!


Pinoy Wrestling is a local rip-off of the former WWF.  It had a roster of wrestlers with both fictitious and funny monickers which initially tickled your fantasies but on second-look would be ridiculous-looking because of all the irony and sarcasm between them and the charcaters they play. Here are some of the wrestlers and characters I remember:

1) Lawin, the Birdman - you would expect him to be like Jimmy the Superfly Snuka, but dream on!  Despite his high flying monicker, he rarely displayed acrobatic and aerial movers
2) Turko Turero - dressed like Andres Bonifacio, portraying a farmer.  He could lift a sack of rice with  his teeth.  One of his memorable match was versus Max Buwaya
3) Max Buwaya - one of the most popular villains in this show but never showed any semblance to a crocodile  After his stint in Pinoy wrestling, he was seen playing the role of a goon in local action movies.
4) Joe Pogi - Always escorted by sexy ladies who could have worked for Maalikaya.  But who the hell gave this monicker?! He ain't pogi. My foot looks better than his face.
5) Mikrobyos - Max Buwaya's midget accomplices
6) Turreritos - Turko Turero's midget accomplices.  A freak show this was!
7.) Facifica Falayfay - dressed as a Las Vegas showgirl and portraying a gay.  But later in the show's existence, he changed image and transformed into a more manly Macho Franco.

Macho Franco

8) King Cobra - would have been a rip-off Jake the Snake Roberts but not again.  He didn't bring any reptiles in the ring.  And he's fat to portray a serpent.  A more apt monicker would be King Toad.  But he's a champion.
9) Sultan Bato - he's a real deal. Dressed as a Muslim warrior, he is one of the more legit fighters in this show.  He was my favorite.
10) The Bakal Boys (Caloy and Boy) - would have passed as a rip-off of WWF's The Killer Bees.  They were one of the most prolific tag teams in the show.  But eventually, Caloy's ego grew and left Boy to fight on his own. 
11) The Smokey Mountain Brothers (Big Boy and Ting)- Dressed like Hillbilly Jim of the WWF.  And yes, they look dirty and nasty.  they were the arch-rivals of the Bakal Boys.
12) Iggy Igorot - aside from Sultan Bato, he also represented an ethnic minority. But unlike Sultan Bato, he is  more of a whipping boy.
13) Juan Duwag - as the name implied, he was a coward whipping boy of a wrestler.
14) Zorro - Need I say more! Why not throw in Leon Guerrero, Geronimo and Julio Valiente as well.  He dressed like a Luchador.
15) Pinoy Ranger - if there was a Zorro, why not a Lone Ranger Pinoy version
16) Waway the Wildman - Pinoy version of George the Animal Steele
17) Kamikaze Kid - too chubby to be a legit martial artist.
18) Roboto - with an entrance music of "Roboto" by Styx.  More funny-looking than intimadating dressed in metallic costume which even a kid would laugh at. 
19) Dr. Q - he is the Chinese-looking manager of Roboto and Kamikaze Kid.  Could have been derived from WWF's Mr. Fuji or Mr. Slick with the attitude of Bobby Heenan. He is Johnny Revilla's partner in the commentary booth.
20) Johnny Revilla as himself - the ringside commentator.  Whenever i think of Pinoy Wrestling I think of him, and whenever I saw him, I thought of Pinoy Wrestling. 

Johnny Revilla : The face of Pinoy Wrestling

They indeed had funny names, crazy choreography and a freakin plot.  But way back when wrestling shows were scarce, unlike today when you have internet and cable TV where you can watch them anytime, it filled a void in every enthusiast's longing for action.  And despite being short-lived, it was one of the Pinoy shows to remember during the 80s. 

Joe Pogi/Zorro versus Smokey Mountain Brothers

Zorro versus Pinoy Ranger

Politics: RIP Angelo Reyes..... Screw You Mr. President

We have this mentality of condemning publicly a person who was associated with the former government.  But if you would think of it, we have yet to see credible evidence against them.  Furthermore, we also have yet to see solid evidence against GMA. It is this perception of association with GMA which clouds our judgment.  More often than not, our emotions take over our rationality in seeing things.  The same rule applies to the late Angelo Reyes.  The man has served the country well, both in the military and in the executive branch.  And all of a sudden these whistleblowers surface, and because they are again pointing to an anomaly of the GMA government, we take their word as if it were gospel truth.  And we again start to condemn people.  But then again, where is the evidence? Angelo Reyes was just a sacrificial lamb in this government's futile effort to investigate anomalies of the previous government which is just a way of covering up for their own non-performance.  It's so sad a good man had to die this way, tried publicly, not even given a chance to prove himself. 

Good man down...Who will be next?

I am quite puzzled by the way Filipinos think nowadays.  We seem to have a double standard, a crazy one.  We hate a corrupt official but we tend to embrace someone who has a clean slate, so clean that he has not accomplished anything during his previous term as a lawmaker.  We also hate military people who receive perks but we condone military adventurists, to the point of even electing them to the highest positions in our govrnment.  We hated someone who is too intelligent, we hated Marcos and GMA, and loved the incompetent ones, say Cory and his son NoyNoy.  I know we love underdogs but surely incompetent officials and military adventurists do not fit into the category of underdogs.  Or have we degenerated into proto-humans, often identifying with the same inferior kind.  Emotions really take a big part in our opiions regarding politics to the point that we fail to weigh evidence to achieve rationality.

Now going back to this government.  Our situation has never been this worse before.  Almost every commodities prices are rising, criminality is taking its peak, our international reputation is being laughed upon due to recent blunders by this government.  It's very easy to point fingers to the past government but after everything else has been settled, what's next?  Isn't it more prudent instead to use government funds for more postive and forward undertakings rather than use them in these hapless investigations which drag for years to months without even reaching closure.  This is the real waste of funds.  Why not act instead rather than blame the past government.  The ball is now in their hands, but sadly they don't even know how to dribble it.

The Lynch Mob
(picture taken  from the Philstar.com)

This government is turning into a lynch mob, out to lynch people who benefitted a lot from the past government.  But as previous events have turned out, thie efforts have been put to naught because of issues of constitutionality and merit. It seems this government had not thought of their steps very well.  They were not able to provide evidence against the "Queen" during her term, still groping for evidence in this government.  Maybe they do not have evidence at all.  While their intentions may be upright, their methods seem to be faulty, which makes everything all messed up.  Lots of time and public funds used up for these useless investigations.  It is time to quit all of these and do steps necessary to move forward.  Putting the past government behind bars is not much of a legacy, but to be able to turn around people's lives is. 



Non-Performing, Finger-pointing President



And so another one bites the dust....so unfortunate and sad.  For some, they might think he is guity enough to commit suicide but still some other think otherwise.  He could have been a victim of trial by publicity.  But the man who is behind all these investigations have yet to prove his worth as a President.  Eight months into office and we have yet to see even a tiny bit of substantial improvement in the nation.  Maybe he should also put a bullet into his head, or maybe he's too apathetic to notice this.  Like mother like son.