There won’t be any partying for Savio Vega on Filthy Island, as the rightful owner to the Caribbean Heavyweight Title is looking to vanquish the massive Mil Muertes tonight on MLW Fusion.
Vega will have quite the uphill battle if he hopes to win the Azteca Jungle Fight against Muertes, a man Savio is no stranger to, as they have quite the storied history in IWA Puerto Rico. Savio sat down with WrestleZone’s Dominic DeAngelo to chat about the impact Mil Muertes has had not just in Mexico, but in IWA Puerto Rico as well. It all began with the late legendary IWA promoter, Víctor Quiñones, discovering Muertes (then known as Ricky Banderas), who eventually became one of Savio’s trainees.
“We did a big story here with Ricky, big time. We made Ricky here in Puerto Rico then he went to Mexico and Victor passed away. He stayed there in Mexico and still lives there in Mexico,” he said.
Savio is no stranger to Muertes’ ability to make lightning strike in the ring or even from a literal standpoint. He recalls one time during a packed-house downpour at Roberto Clemente Stadium in Puerto Rico when Muertes squared off against Rey Gonzalez in the “Match Of The Century” where matters got quite electric.
“There was a storm, it rained like crazy, but brother, that day was crazy. The ring was a pool, [but] the fans, nobody moved. At one point, Mil Muertes’ gimmick in Puerto Rico was ‘The Messiah.’ In that match, brother, he just went like this, [motions with his arms] and right there, lightning hit second base! Boom! Big explosion,” Savio explained. “The fans went nuts—and look at that, I got goosebumps—and it looked like a production, you know, but that happened by nature. And man, that thing [took you back] and it was like ‘whoa.’”
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The conniving catalyst at the center of this collision is none other than Salina de la Renta, who will be presenting Muertes on behalf of Promociones Dorado. Like Muertes, Savio is no stranger to Salina’s roots either.
“You know what? Salina de la Renta, she’s Puerto Rican. She represents that flag too, you know. She’s a product from Carolina, Puerto Rico. I’ll say five minutes from the stadium, and now she comes in like, ‘I want to buy the company!’ She becomes a witch. Esta loca, she’s crazy. That’s what she is—a big bruja!”
For several weeks now, de la Renta has been vying to purchase Vega’s IWA promotion through funding provided by Promociones Dorado’s new backer, the mysterious Azteca Underground, but Savio has stated many times before that his promotion is for the fans—and the fans only.
“You have no idea my friend what things I did, what I sacrificed to put over this company,” said Vega, who doesn’t think highly of Salina’s new source of income. “Salina’s like, ‘I want to buy the company, I have somebody with a deep pocket.’ Yeah, he’s a deep pocket, but you crazy loca, because there’s a hole in the pocket because you have to go deep, deep, deep, deep, and maybe all the way to the socks. But anyway, the company’s not on sale and now she brings Mil Muertes and now we gonna have this Aztec Jungle Match.”
Tune in to the premiere of MLW Fusion tonight on YouTube to see the full show at 7 pm EST. There’s also much more from this in-depth interview with Savio as he talks about his feud with Richard Holliday, his chemistry with “Stone Cold” Steve Austin in WWE, his love for behind-the-scenes production and more.
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