Twenty Years Ago

July 16 is one of the darkest and controversial days in wrestling history. Twenty years ago today, Bruiser Brody was et to contest Abdullah the Butcher and Dan Spivey in a match in Puerto Rico for the World Wrestling Council. Before entering the shower, Brody was approached by Jose Huertas Gonzales, know as Invader I. Huertas was reportedly carrying a knife in a towel and wanted to question Brody on his position in the company. Huertas had become part of the booking committee and was a good ally of wrestler and promoter Carlos Colon. Colon was apparently upset with Bruiser for wrestling on his own terms and the rumors of him trying to buy or takeover the company. Brody refused to talk to Huertas who supposedly grabbed Brody by the hair and stabbed him several times in the chest and stomach. When discovered, Brody was rushed to a San Juan medical facility but it was too late. Bruiser Brody, whose real name was Frank Goodish, died during a second surgery hours after the incident. Eventually, Jose Huertas Gonzales went to trial. However, he was acquitted after his attorney showed the judge photographs from Brody's matches. Witnessing the intensity of Bruiser's bouts, the judge deemed Gonzales innocent due to his belief of self-defense against Brody's "insanity." After the ruling, several top wrestlers from America and inside Puerto Rico ceased working in the country for their own safety and their disagreement with the trial. After the trial was over, Manny Fernandez stirred up controversy in Puerto Rico. In a match with Invader III, friend and tag team partner of Gonzales, Fernandez allegedly paid Gonzales back by giving three knees to Invader III's chest and stomach causing him to cough up a large amount of blood. Even though it is often considered a work, Fernandez claims it was real and wishes III would have died to prove it. Ramifications of the murder were felt elsewhere. In Japan several angles were conducted that ended in a fake murder and the appearance of bloody knives. It has been proven that the storylines were used to lure Jose Huertas Gonzales to Japan so that he could be killed. The fallout of the event left a dark shadow over not only Puerto Rican wrestling but also wrestling all over the world. Still, today, wrestlers and fans alike believe that Huertas was given an undeserved break and should have been jailed. More seriously, the wrestling world lost a brilliant wrestler and an unbreakable personality in Frank Goodish. Bruiser Brody was forty-two and is still severely missed.