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Compound Varsity Bruised and Beaten By Hall Of Famers

Posted: Apr 2nd 2008 By: CMBurnham

Romero Contreras. Justin Lee. Rocco Valentino. Together, they were the Compound Varsity. They haven't been together since Rocco's retirement in May, 2007. That changed on March 29, 2008, when all the 3 reunited briefly and under unpleasant circumstances, following a heinous attack by ComPro Champion Anthony Jackson and Rico Suave. But that wasn't enough for the Hall of Famers leader, as he went on to feed his ego by not only winning another title, but costing Romero one.

Jackson takes great pride in being able to claim that he had defeated Romero Contreras on 2 occasions to retain his ComPro Title and it took some crafty negotiation for Romero to gain one last shot on April 12. Jackson had promised some stipulations that Romero had to agree to and one of those stipulations was that, until the day of the match, Romero could not touch Jackson in any way. Any physical contact and Romero doesn't get his title shot. Romero agreed to this and Jackson has gone out of his way in the weeks following to try and provoke Romero into hitting, slapping or in some other way physically contacting him. So far, Romero has remained strong, but that strength was put to the test Saturday when Jackson stopped going for Romero physically and tried to get to him mentally.

The entire incident began when ComPro commissioner Kitty brought out The Oklahoma Legend Rocco Valentino for a special interview. Kitty mentioned that Rocco was the original founder of ComPro and asked him what he thought of a lot of the current stars. Rocco said that he had only been able to attend a few shows, since he has been working on announcing at MMA events as well as training to become a member of the Oklahoma Boxing Commission. But he is a close friend of Romero and enjoyed watching him work his way back into contention, saying he had done it the right way. He then mentioned that the 1st person to graduate from his original training school was Anthony Jackson, then known as Splash Jackson. Rocco used to enjoy watching Jackson, but somewhere along the line, Jackson started using shortcuts. Rocco pondered the possibility that it might be time for Jackson to retire and also voiced a concern about Rico Valentino using Rocco's name.

These comments brought out Jackson & Rico and Jackson immediately berated Rocco, claiming not to know him, calling him an "old man" and telling Kitty that her glasses must be fogged up because the real Rocco was standing beside him. Rocco said he respects Jackson for being the champion, but didn't think much of him personally. Jackson reminded Rocco that he retired and Jackson was still very active. Rico threw in some comments about Rocco's inactivity as well and Rocco said he would take those comments from Jackson, but he would drop Rico where he stood if he said one more word. The silence from Rico lasted about 30 seconds and then he popped off and Rocco laid into him. But with the kendo stick close at hand, it was too much for Rocco and he found himself quickly beaten into a corner. Then, to a major cheer from the audience, Romero came running into the ring. But as soon as he tried to get to Rocco, Jackson stepped in front and reminded him that if he came into contact with Jackson, even accidentally, his title shot was null and void.

Romero was torn. He wanted to help his friend, but he didn't want to lose everything he had worked for and earned. Jackson even tried to humiliate him further by telling him to beg for his friend's safety. But Romero wouldn't budge. While he couldn't touch Jackson, he could still maintain his dignity and stand up to him. Jackson took the opportunity to announce another stipulation to their championship match at this moment. Previously, he had said that kendo sticks were legal and whipped Romero with one 4 times to enforce the idea. This time, he announced that in their match, tables would be legal, and to enforce this point, Rico took Rocco and hiptossed him over the top rope and through the ringside annouce table. The table buckled in half under the crashing weight of the Oklahoma Legend as he plummeted through it. Romero immediately ran to his friend's side and Justin Lee also made his way out at this point, resulting in the reunion of the Compound Varsity, although it was under the most unpleasant of circumstances.

Jackson wasn't done. He went on to unify the FCW & ComPro Titles by defeating the Canadian Red Devil with the help of Ray Martinez. And while that was his last match, it wasn't his last appearance of the night. The main event saw Romero & Justin taking on La M to unify the FCW & ComPro Tag Team Titles. It was a hard fought match and after it was about 1/2 over, Justin found himself on the receiving end of massive beating by El Choppo and Jesus Rodriguez. But he finally made the tag and Romero began to clean house. He threw Jesus out of the ring. He crushed Choppo, then disposed of him as well. Justin mounted the top rope and came crashing down on the Mexican duo with a massive plancha. But in the course of the impact, Justin landed on the back of his head, knocking himself out temporarily. This left Romero alone and Jackson saw his opportunity, he entered the ring area through the fan doors, came over the rope into the ring, speared Romero and quickly left the ring, allowing Choppo to get the pin and La M to put two tag team titles together, ending the 10 month reign of the Compound Varsity as FCW Tag Team Champions.

Rocco Valentino's physical condition is unknown at this time. It is likely he suffered some internal injuries as a result of the Hall of Famers' actions. Justin Lee reportedly suffered a mild concussion, which would be bad enough for most people, but Justin has a history of serious head injuries over his career and it is unknown how this one might affect his future. As for Romero, all he can think about is April 12 and getting his hands on Anthony Jackson, legally, violently and deliberately.

Tags: Romero Contreras, Justin Lee, Rocco Valentino, the Compound Varsity, Anthony Jackson, Rico Suave, Kitty, The Canadian Red Devil, La M, El Choppo, Jesus Rodriguez