Joseph and Colette Discuss Art Barr & Eddy Guerrero vs. Santito & Octagon

The famous double hair/double mask match from AAA’s When Worlds Collide PPV was the subject of discussion this week, prompting Joseph to write on how its legacy has endured for nearly 30 years, and Colette to do some thinking on the “anything for heat” heel. Before digging into their discussion, read their essays and watch the match.

Joseph: How the Legend of the When Worlds Collide Apuesta Endures
Colette: Los Gringos Locos, or: doing anything for heat

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Colette Arrand
I know that we'll get to the in-ring aspect of the match, but I'd like to start by asking your opinion as to the influence of acts like Los Gringos Locos. It might be obvious to anybody who follows me on Twitter, but I'm building the legacy of that kind of character in my head because I found myself in the double hell of watching peak D-Generation X and "generational talent" Maxwell Jacob Friedman basically back-to-back on Wednesday. Is this a "getting a lot of Boss Baby vibes from this one" situation?

Joseph Anthony Montecillo
I think Los Gringos Locos are just really part of a wider pattern of the edgy heel, really. In Eddy's biography, he compared Art Barr to Ric Flair, and I think you see a lot of that influence here. A lot of loud "Woos!" from Barr during the match. That is to say that people like Ric Flair play just as much a role, probably larger than either Eddy or Barr on their own. Flair was known to uncork some slurs when he wasn't on TV (probably even sometimes when he was), and Piper very much comes from that school of "say anything for the heat" from his territory days too.

I don't think either Eddy or Barr got nearly enough play among people in power in the 90s to have that kind of effect. One might want to point some more fingers at Heyman and ECW who also helped synthesize this really edgy, anything-goes approach to character for a whole new generation. And Heyman's the type to actually scour through AAA tapes. Eddy and Barr were meant to come in as a team if Barr hadn't died so soon after this match.