In a recent interview with luchador Gringo Loco, we spoke a lot about of Art Barr. He felt he had this untold connection with him. He told me the story of when in Mexico and how he saw Barr’s impact:
If I were to go in to how many signs came to me from him before Mexico and after Mexico, it’s unbelievable. He had the song ‘Jump’ from Van Halen; I walked into a little bus in Mexico City on my way to my first big match, the whole front of this bus had an American flag graphic, and the moment I sat down, Van Halen’s ‘Jump’ started playing. I was like ‘no way!’ I had the Art Barr gear in my bag, looking at a perfect graphed out American flag dashboard, and as soon as I sat down the music played.
After that interview, I went home and looked up everything I could on Barr. I knew of his legend, and as a Lucha Libre fan, knew of his importance to the sport and to the career of Eddie Guerrero. I didn’t really grasp how good he was in the ring. He did not disappoint.
Art Barr is one of many what could have been stories in pro wrestling. His death in 1994 is shrouded in mystery, of a man with many demons. He truly loved the sport he helped put on the map. While his career in the United States was marred with controversy and exile. His career in Mexico is where he found the success he was looking for.
Also.
The Frog Splash.
Art Barr was always a luchador. You can see it in his work in WCW. He was a smaller junior heavyweight with unbelievable charisma. He was a kids favorite in his time in Portland, as well as his time in WCW. While being paired with a silly Beetlejuice inspired gimmick, his work in ring spoke for itself. He was getting over by himself much to the chagrin of then booker Bill Watts. Unfortunately, a sexual assault case led to his departure in WCW which led Art Barr to leave the US entirely, where he went south of the border to make his mark.
After his WCW run in the late 80’s, He caught the eye Konnan that brought him to EMLL (now CMLL). He got over as American Love Machine. He was first a masked luchador and lost the mask to Panther by DQ after using a piledriver (and illegal hold in Lucha Libre). This lead to him turning heel and becoming one of the hottest draws in Mexico.
In the early ’90s, Antonio Pena with many other top stars of the EMLL left to create the promotion AAA. There Art Barr (now known as Love Machine) continued his feud with Panther culminating in a Mask v. Hair match. He turned full heel, after being disqualified, and later that year, teamed up with a young Eddie Guerrero, after he turned on his then partner, El Hijo del Santo, forming La Pareja de Terror (The Terror Team) eventually becoming Los Gringos Locos.
They dominated the tag division for the next two years, being the hottest heels the company had ever seen. Near riots would start when Barr would insult the Mexican crowd. He would have to be escorted by security every show. They made regular trips to Japan as well and would headline the American shows that AAA ran in their early days. All which culminated in the infamous When Worlds Collide event in 1994.
The WCW-ran event saw the first American exposure of AAA and IWA talent on a national level in the United States. Showcasing in the undercard the different type of wrestling in Mexico, including a minis match, and trios tag matches, including the likes of Rey Mysterio Jr. And Juventud Guerrera to name a few. The main event of the night came in a cage match with Konnan versus Perro Aguayo. But the match that stole the night, and became regarded as one of the greatest matches of all time. The team of Octagon and El Hijo del Santo defeated Guerrero and Barr in a Lucha de Apuestas The pair lost the tag titles and their hair. This was going to be a jumping off point for a new feud that included Konnan in the mix, but multiple factors and tragedies would make the angle end.
What is considered one of the greatest matches of all time was an amazing swan song for the Love Machine. That was the last match of his career. He died on November 23rd, back home in Oregon. He was there for Thanksgiving. He was the first foreigner to make the front page of Box y Lucha, Mexico’s oldest sports magazine. Sadly, it was for his death. He was going to perform at the annual Tokyo dome show on January 4th that year. He was being contacted by American promotions including ECW and WCW. The match did exactly what Art Barr wanted. He wanted to show that he could be a main event player. But he became a victim of his own demons.
It is known that Art Barr was not terribly fond of Mexico. It was simply a case of homesickness. He was away from his home in Oregon, away from his family and took to self medication. He was a known as a man that would party hard it took a toll on his life. While no official details on his death were given, his long time tag team partner Eddie Guerrero believes it was an overdose. Whatever the case. Art Barr became another unfortunate statistic in the wrestling world. Another wrestler gone too soon.
Art Barr unfortunately might only be known as Eddie Guerrero’s tag partner in his early days. He was more than that. He had a charisma the heels of today yearn for. He elevated every feud he was in Mexico, and he elevated every performer in that ring. He was a flawed human but an amazing wrestler. A true pioneer in the junior heavyweight style, he helped Eddie Guerrero, someone who is loved beyond belief, catch on of his first major breaks in wrestling. He even gave Eddie his finisher. Eddie dedicated a large portion of his book to his history with Art, ill end this piece with my one of my favorite parts in Eddie Guerrero’s autobiography:
“Art taught me that wrestling is not just about being skillful in the ring. There’s so much more to it-having a charismatic personality, telling a compelling story with your facial reactions.
It was from working with Art that I started opening up…He had charm oozing out of every pore. Art was a star, plain and simple… One night Too Cold Scorpio said to Art, “Man, you look just like a frog!” That’s how it got the name ‘frog splash’.”
Art was the guy that really made the splash froggy.
