WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.899 Welcome in. We are so glad you are here with 00:00:02.899 --> 00:00:06.559 us today. Absolutely. Because today we have a 00:00:06.559 --> 00:00:10.160 custom tailored deep dive designed entirely around 00:00:10.160 --> 00:00:12.439 the stack of sources you provided. And it's a 00:00:12.439 --> 00:00:14.519 great stack. It really is. We are looking at 00:00:14.519 --> 00:00:16.920 a fascinating biographical entry on a figure 00:00:16.920 --> 00:00:19.679 who operates largely behind the curtain of professional 00:00:19.679 --> 00:00:23.019 wrestling. We are talking about Hector Melendez. 00:00:23.280 --> 00:00:25.440 Right. Who you probably know better by his stage 00:00:25.440 --> 00:00:28.339 name Moody Jack Melendez or simply just Moody. 00:00:28.399 --> 00:00:31.550 Just Moody. Exactly. And the mission for our 00:00:31.550 --> 00:00:35.070 deep dive today is to explore exactly how a bilingual 00:00:35.070 --> 00:00:39.030 kid from Ponce, Puerto Rico, managed to navigate 00:00:39.030 --> 00:00:42.450 the chaotic, hyperdramatic and constantly shifting 00:00:42.450 --> 00:00:44.549 business of international professional wrestling. 00:00:44.649 --> 00:00:46.689 Which is an incredibly difficult business to 00:00:46.689 --> 00:00:49.350 navigate. It is. And to see how he navigated 00:00:49.350 --> 00:00:52.189 all that to become an absolute creative powerhouse. 00:00:52.250 --> 00:00:54.630 I mean, it is a wild ride. It really is an incredible 00:00:54.630 --> 00:00:57.390 trajectory. And to fully appreciate this journey, 00:00:57.549 --> 00:00:59.500 you know, we really have to look. past the ring, 00:00:59.640 --> 00:01:01.159 when you think about professional wrestling, 00:01:01.359 --> 00:01:04.000 the immediate focus is naturally on the talent. 00:01:04.239 --> 00:01:06.459 The larger than life characters, the in -ring 00:01:06.459 --> 00:01:08.739 psychology, the promos. The stuff on camera. 00:01:08.939 --> 00:01:12.000 Exactly. But the real architects of the industry, 00:01:12.200 --> 00:01:15.159 the people who actually build the entire emotional 00:01:15.159 --> 00:01:17.840 and logistical framework that you are watching. 00:01:18.219 --> 00:01:21.540 are the sportscasters, the bookers, and the television 00:01:21.540 --> 00:01:24.579 producers. They construct the weekly television 00:01:24.579 --> 00:01:27.840 narrative that makes the big pay -per -view payoffs 00:01:27.840 --> 00:01:30.480 actually matter to you. And what's fascinating 00:01:30.480 --> 00:01:34.140 here is that Melendez's career is a masterclass 00:01:34.140 --> 00:01:35.959 in wearing all of those hats simultaneously. 00:01:35.959 --> 00:01:39.400 Oh, yeah. We are talking about a guy moving fluidly 00:01:39.400 --> 00:01:42.040 from play -by -play announcer to lead video editor 00:01:42.040 --> 00:01:45.079 to head booker. And not just across competing 00:01:45.079 --> 00:01:47.299 promotions, but across entirely different countries 00:01:47.299 --> 00:01:49.920 and distinct wrestling cultures. Okay, let's 00:01:49.920 --> 00:01:52.459 unpack this. Because his story does not start 00:01:52.459 --> 00:01:54.719 in a production track. No. Or at a commentary 00:01:54.719 --> 00:01:57.280 desk. It starts exactly where you would expect 00:01:57.280 --> 00:02:01.000 with pure, unadulterated fandom in the territories. 00:02:01.400 --> 00:02:04.680 But as we are going to see, this journey is filled 00:02:04.680 --> 00:02:07.959 with intense corporate rivalries, real world 00:02:07.959 --> 00:02:10.800 tragedies, and the very fine art of learning 00:02:10.800 --> 00:02:12.740 how to leverage your skills so you don't become 00:02:12.740 --> 00:02:15.539 a yes man in a famously cutthroat industry. Which 00:02:15.539 --> 00:02:18.080 is a crucial skill. Definitely. So let's take 00:02:18.080 --> 00:02:20.379 you back to Melendez's childhood. Picture those 00:02:20.379 --> 00:02:24.150 early Saturday mornings. He is a young kid. And 00:02:24.150 --> 00:02:26.490 his mother is taking him to the World Wrestling 00:02:26.490 --> 00:02:30.409 Council or WWC shows every single Saturday in 00:02:30.409 --> 00:02:32.849 Puerto Rico. Well, every Saturday. Every Saturday. 00:02:32.909 --> 00:02:34.969 And he is absolutely hooked. She becomes completely 00:02:34.969 --> 00:02:37.569 invested in the local capital sports promotions 00:02:37.569 --> 00:02:41.610 product. But then a very real, very dark disruption 00:02:41.610 --> 00:02:44.129 completely shatters his connection to the local 00:02:44.129 --> 00:02:46.430 scene. It is a profound pivot point for him. 00:02:46.509 --> 00:02:49.069 Looking at the timeline of his fandom, this intense 00:02:49.069 --> 00:02:51.590 dedication to the local product came to a sudden 00:02:51.590 --> 00:02:53.960 halt. Right. And this was because. of the infamous 00:02:53.960 --> 00:02:56.520 alleged killing of Bruiser Brody by Jose Huertes 00:02:56.520 --> 00:02:59.319 Gonzalez at a local event. Yeah. When you look 00:02:59.319 --> 00:03:01.280 at the psychological impact of a moment like 00:03:01.280 --> 00:03:03.639 that on a fan, it is staggering. It completely 00:03:03.639 --> 00:03:05.560 shatters the barrier between the locker room 00:03:05.560 --> 00:03:07.919 and the audience. Because the real world crashes 00:03:07.919 --> 00:03:11.599 in. Exactly. And for a young Melendez, the local 00:03:11.599 --> 00:03:14.580 territory suddenly felt painted. It was entirely 00:03:14.580 --> 00:03:16.780 alienated. You can completely understand why 00:03:16.780 --> 00:03:18.719 he pulled away from it. But the interesting thing 00:03:18.719 --> 00:03:21.979 is. he didn't stop watching wrestling wow he 00:03:21.979 --> 00:03:24.319 just fundamentally shifted his viewing habits 00:03:24.319 --> 00:03:27.539 he turned his attention almost exclusively to 00:03:27.539 --> 00:03:29.919 the programming of the major mainland promotions 00:03:29.919 --> 00:03:33.060 in the united states so the wwf and wcw which 00:03:33.060 --> 00:03:35.560 becomes so important later right exactly because 00:03:35.560 --> 00:03:37.840 he wasn't just seeking distance from the local 00:03:37.840 --> 00:03:40.979 tragedy he was honestly he was inadvertently 00:03:40.979 --> 00:03:43.360 studying high -level television production yes 00:03:43.360 --> 00:03:46.400 he was watching polished mainland broadcasts 00:03:46.400 --> 00:03:49.469 he was absorbing the sophisticated editing the 00:03:49.469 --> 00:03:52.050 multi -camera setups, the tightly timed commercial 00:03:52.050 --> 00:03:54.849 formats. He kept one eye on the local capital 00:03:54.849 --> 00:03:57.550 programming, but his brain was absorbing the 00:03:57.550 --> 00:04:00.430 mainland production style. Precisely. That immersion 00:04:00.430 --> 00:04:02.870 in mainland television production planted the 00:04:02.870 --> 00:04:06.229 seeds for his future skill set. But that deep, 00:04:06.370 --> 00:04:09.069 visceral spark for local wrestling didn't return 00:04:09.069 --> 00:04:12.389 until an entirely new entity arrived on the island, 00:04:12.590 --> 00:04:15.189 the IWAs. Exactly. The debut of the International 00:04:15.189 --> 00:04:19.430 Wrestling Association, or the IWA. The arrival 00:04:19.430 --> 00:04:22.649 of the IWA represented a clean slate in Puerto 00:04:22.649 --> 00:04:24.910 Rico. A fresh start. It was a fresh product, 00:04:24.990 --> 00:04:27.509 a completely new booking philosophy, and it finally 00:04:27.509 --> 00:04:30.649 reignited his local passion without that heavy... 00:04:30.889 --> 00:04:33.529 Real world baggage of the past. And this is exactly 00:04:33.529 --> 00:04:35.290 where the transition from fan to professional 00:04:35.290 --> 00:04:38.430 actually happens. At the time, Melendez was just 00:04:38.430 --> 00:04:40.629 working a regular job for a magazine publisher 00:04:40.629 --> 00:04:43.769 in Puerto Rico's metropolitan area. But that 00:04:43.769 --> 00:04:46.689 renewed spark from the IWA pushed him to pursue 00:04:46.689 --> 00:04:48.930 a position with them. He got his foot in the 00:04:48.930 --> 00:04:51.189 door, stepped out of the audience and crossed 00:04:51.189 --> 00:04:53.610 the barrier to the backstage. And he clearly 00:04:53.610 --> 00:04:55.790 had a vision. He clearly impressed the right 00:04:55.790 --> 00:04:58.870 people because by 2004, he leaves Puerto Rico 00:04:58.870 --> 00:05:01.350 entirely to enter the major leagues. He packs 00:05:01.350 --> 00:05:03.490 up and moves to Nashville, Tennessee to join 00:05:03.490 --> 00:05:06.990 total nonstop action wrestling TNA. Which at 00:05:06.990 --> 00:05:10.290 that time was a massive jump. TNA was actively 00:05:10.290 --> 00:05:13.209 establishing itself as the primary alternative 00:05:13.209 --> 00:05:17.120 in the American wrestling landscape. Thanks to 00:05:17.120 --> 00:05:19.839 connections with wrestling veterans Dutch Mantle 00:05:19.839 --> 00:05:22.019 and Jeff Jarrett, Melendez wasn't just brought 00:05:22.019 --> 00:05:24.740 in to call us matches. He was hired as a sportscaster, 00:05:25.000 --> 00:05:28.060 a video editor, and a producer. I have to pause 00:05:28.060 --> 00:05:30.199 there because doing just one of those jobs for 00:05:30.199 --> 00:05:32.399 a national television broadcast is exhausting. 00:05:32.779 --> 00:05:35.459 Oh, absolutely. How does one guy even manage 00:05:35.459 --> 00:05:37.500 that workload? What does that actually look like 00:05:37.500 --> 00:05:42.470 day to day? Well, it is... A grueling, nonstop 00:05:42.470 --> 00:05:46.069 workflow. As a video editor and producer, you 00:05:46.069 --> 00:05:48.430 are spending your days in a dark editing bay. 00:05:48.629 --> 00:05:50.529 You're cutting together the high energy promotional 00:05:50.529 --> 00:05:53.250 packages, timing out the dramatic beats of a 00:05:53.250 --> 00:05:55.449 storyline and making sure the final video perfectly 00:05:55.449 --> 00:05:57.709 sells the upcoming match. Right. Then you step 00:05:57.709 --> 00:05:59.269 out of the editing bay, you put on a headset, 00:05:59.410 --> 00:06:01.449 walk out to the arena. And as a sportscaster, 00:06:01.629 --> 00:06:03.829 you have to dynamically call the live action 00:06:03.829 --> 00:06:06.649 of the very storylines you just spent 12 hours 00:06:06.649 --> 00:06:10.009 editing. That is insane. The synergy is incredible 00:06:10.009 --> 00:06:12.649 because he knew the storylines inside and out. 00:06:12.689 --> 00:06:16.569 Yeah. But the burnout rate for that kind of multitasking 00:06:16.569 --> 00:06:19.250 is astronomically high. Yeah. He was a one man 00:06:19.250 --> 00:06:50.120 production army. Yeah, he did. Right. yawning, 00:06:50.180 --> 00:06:52.720 and practically trying to set the stage on fire 00:06:52.720 --> 00:06:55.040 while you're trying to deliver your lines. That's 00:06:55.040 --> 00:06:57.240 a great way to put it. Melendez felt Conan openly 00:06:57.240 --> 00:07:00.040 disrespected the position and actively prevented 00:07:00.040 --> 00:07:02.699 him from doing a good job on the broadcast. If 00:07:02.699 --> 00:07:05.199 we connect this to the bigger picture, we see 00:07:05.199 --> 00:07:08.120 a fascinating phenomenon that happens constantly 00:07:08.120 --> 00:07:10.139 in professional wrestling. What's that? The off 00:07:10.139 --> 00:07:14.060 -screen dynamics. The real life backstage frustrations 00:07:14.060 --> 00:07:17.379 and personal heat have a way of bleeding directly 00:07:17.379 --> 00:07:20.279 into the onscreen creative direction. They absolutely 00:07:20.279 --> 00:07:22.779 do. Because right in the middle of this alleged 00:07:22.779 --> 00:07:26.839 desk friction, by December 2005, Conan forms 00:07:26.839 --> 00:07:29.620 a brand new onscreen stable. The Latin American 00:07:29.620 --> 00:07:33.639 Exchange or LAX. OK. And the core narrative of 00:07:33.639 --> 00:07:35.879 this faction, their specific onscreen mission 00:07:35.879 --> 00:07:38.180 statement for the audience, was that Latinos 00:07:38.180 --> 00:07:40.259 were actively being discriminated against by 00:07:40.259 --> 00:07:42.399 TNA management. Right. And we should note that 00:07:42.399 --> 00:07:44.939 was the faction's storyline claim to generate 00:07:44.939 --> 00:07:46.560 heat with the crowd. It was part of the show. 00:07:46.800 --> 00:07:48.879 Exactly. But here's where it gets really interesting. 00:07:49.300 --> 00:07:52.300 Moody Jack Melendez, despite the real life frustration 00:07:52.300 --> 00:07:54.860 with Cone at the desk, becomes deeply integrated 00:07:54.860 --> 00:07:58.319 into this massive onscreen act. He does. LAX. 00:07:58.319 --> 00:08:00.600 LAX gets their own specialized entrance and Moody 00:08:00.600 --> 00:08:03.800 becomes the official booming Spanish voice making 00:08:03.800 --> 00:08:06.459 their introductions and the storyline escalates 00:08:06.459 --> 00:08:09.139 dramatically. That really ramps up. By mid -2006, 00:08:09.300 --> 00:08:12.139 LAX sets up a physical border zone around the 00:08:12.139 --> 00:08:15.410 Spanish commentary table. The story was that 00:08:15.410 --> 00:08:17.629 they would decimate any wrestler who dared to 00:08:17.629 --> 00:08:20.649 cross that line. So Melendez was no longer just 00:08:20.649 --> 00:08:23.490 calling the action. He was woven into the physical 00:08:23.490 --> 00:08:26.209 environment of the show. And it peaks at the 00:08:26.209 --> 00:08:29.990 TNA Victory Road event in 2006, where Moody actually 00:08:29.990 --> 00:08:32.669 starts physically interfering in matches. He 00:08:32.669 --> 00:08:35.690 is actively helping LAX defeat their opponents. 00:08:35.970 --> 00:08:37.870 It is brilliant television production. Isn't 00:08:37.870 --> 00:08:40.250 it? You take a sportscaster, someone the audience 00:08:40.250 --> 00:08:42.919 naturally views as an objective. third -party 00:08:42.919 --> 00:08:45.860 observer, and you weaponize him as an active 00:08:45.860 --> 00:08:48.580 participant in a rebellious faction. It subverts 00:08:48.580 --> 00:08:51.080 expectations beautifully. It really does. But 00:08:51.080 --> 00:08:52.899 behind the scenes, the reality of the grueling 00:08:52.899 --> 00:08:55.259 business side was catching up to him. In October 00:08:55.259 --> 00:08:58.799 2006, Melendez abruptly quits TNA. He just walks 00:08:58.799 --> 00:09:00.600 away. And when you look at his reasons, it comes 00:09:00.600 --> 00:09:03.039 down to basic math. Yeah. He felt that the pay 00:09:03.039 --> 00:09:05.019 raise TNA offered him was laughably insufficient 00:09:05.019 --> 00:09:06.899 to make up for all those increased duties. I 00:09:06.899 --> 00:09:09.179 mean, he is announcing, managing, taking physical 00:09:09.179 --> 00:09:11.340 bumps, editing, and producing. Giving five jobs. 00:09:11.710 --> 00:09:14.029 Exactly. And the compensation simply did not 00:09:14.029 --> 00:09:15.889 reflect the value he was bringing to the television 00:09:15.889 --> 00:09:19.029 product. There was also a rumored fallout with 00:09:19.029 --> 00:09:21.470 Jeff Jarrett, one of the guys who initially brought 00:09:21.470 --> 00:09:24.070 him in. Right. But there was another prominent 00:09:24.070 --> 00:09:26.889 rumor floating around the dirt sheets. The rumor 00:09:26.889 --> 00:09:29.049 was that Melendez secretly wanted the pencil. 00:09:29.509 --> 00:09:32.230 He wanted more creative control and had supposedly 00:09:32.230 --> 00:09:34.990 already accepted a position as the head booker 00:09:34.990 --> 00:09:38.190 back home for the IWA before he even quit TNA. 00:09:38.330 --> 00:09:41.330 And his Direct response to that rumor is one 00:09:41.330 --> 00:09:43.590 of the most revealing moments of his entire career. 00:09:43.730 --> 00:09:46.110 Yes, it is a real power statement. Regarding 00:09:46.110 --> 00:09:48.470 the rumor that he already had the IWA job in 00:09:48.470 --> 00:09:51.230 his back pocket, Melendez explicitly stated that 00:09:51.230 --> 00:09:53.990 accepting the position was, and I quote, a fact 00:09:53.990 --> 00:09:56.289 after the matter just because I wasn't a yes 00:09:56.289 --> 00:09:59.110 man, end quote. That is a remarkable quote to 00:09:59.110 --> 00:10:02.450 unpack. And it offers a universal career lesson, 00:10:02.610 --> 00:10:05.690 regardless of your industry. It is about fundamentally 00:10:05.690 --> 00:10:08.610 knowing your own leverage. When you are performing 00:10:08.610 --> 00:10:11.610 three or four distinct jobs, when your on -screen 00:10:11.610 --> 00:10:13.710 and off -screen duties increase significantly 00:10:13.710 --> 00:10:15.950 and your check does not reflect that reality, 00:10:16.330 --> 00:10:19.190 you are the mark. The danger of doing all that 00:10:19.190 --> 00:10:21.769 extra work just for the exposure or out of loyalty 00:10:21.769 --> 00:10:24.889 is that it sets a permanent precedent for how 00:10:24.889 --> 00:10:27.169 management will treat you. Melendez recognized 00:10:27.169 --> 00:10:29.210 that. He definitely did. And it takes immense 00:10:29.210 --> 00:10:32.980 courage. to refuse to be a yes man in a tight 00:10:32.980 --> 00:10:35.240 -knit, highly political industry like professional 00:10:35.240 --> 00:10:37.299 wrestling. Getting a reputation is difficult, 00:10:37.399 --> 00:10:39.820 can get you permanently blacklisted. But he had 00:10:39.820 --> 00:10:42.059 the leverage because his talent as a producer 00:10:42.059 --> 00:10:44.879 and booker was undeniable. And we see that immediately 00:10:44.879 --> 00:10:46.960 in the next phase of his career. Yes, we do. 00:10:47.080 --> 00:10:49.860 He returns to Puerto Rico and takes the job full 00:10:49.860 --> 00:10:52.259 -time as the head booker for the IWA alongside 00:10:52.259 --> 00:10:55.259 Luke Williams. But his timeline gets incredibly 00:10:55.259 --> 00:10:58.149 bouncy here. Very bouncy. Just a few months later, 00:10:58.230 --> 00:11:01.570 on January 18, 2007, he makes a brief return 00:11:01.570 --> 00:11:04.769 to TNA television on Impact. He is back as an 00:11:04.769 --> 00:11:07.190 announcer and the manager of LAX, interfering 00:11:07.190 --> 00:11:10.250 in matches again. Right. But this second stint 00:11:10.250 --> 00:11:12.649 does not last long at all. He takes a complete 00:11:12.649 --> 00:11:15.210 break from wrestling for about four months, and 00:11:15.210 --> 00:11:18.389 then he makes a shocking jump. A massive jump. 00:11:18.629 --> 00:11:21.990 He accepts a position with the IWA's fierce rival, 00:11:22.190 --> 00:11:25.750 the World Wrestling Council, the WWC. He begins 00:11:25.750 --> 00:11:28.610 working as their head booker, head of TV, and 00:11:28.610 --> 00:11:30.909 commentator. Wait, I have to stop you there. 00:11:30.990 --> 00:11:33.629 Okay. In a business built on extreme backstage 00:11:33.629 --> 00:11:36.809 politics and loyalty, doesn't jumping directly 00:11:36.809 --> 00:11:39.590 to your fierce local rival completely burn your 00:11:39.590 --> 00:11:41.909 bridges? How does he survive that politically? 00:11:42.370 --> 00:11:44.990 He survives it through absolute indispensability. 00:11:45.190 --> 00:11:47.990 Okay. In a territory system or a localized market 00:11:47.990 --> 00:11:51.090 like Puerto Rico, promotions will swallow their 00:11:51.090 --> 00:11:54.519 pride and ignore perceived disloyalty. If you 00:11:54.519 --> 00:11:56.559 were the only person who could deliver a rating. 00:11:56.740 --> 00:11:59.259 Wow. So he was that essential. Exactly. When 00:11:59.259 --> 00:12:01.379 you break down what it means to be the head booker, 00:12:01.379 --> 00:12:03.059 the head of TV, and the commentator simultaneously, 00:12:03.580 --> 00:12:05.659 you realize he is carrying the entire company 00:12:05.659 --> 00:12:08.580 on his back. Right. As head booker, you are staring 00:12:08.580 --> 00:12:11.779 at a blank booking sheet mapping out a 52 -week 00:12:11.779 --> 00:12:14.580 emotional arc for 40 different egos in the locker 00:12:14.580 --> 00:12:17.240 room. As head of TV, you are sitting in the gorilla 00:12:17.240 --> 00:12:19.779 position. timing the commercial breaks to the 00:12:19.779 --> 00:12:22.120 second and screaming at the camera operators 00:12:22.120 --> 00:12:25.519 to catch the right angles. And then, as commentator, 00:12:25.600 --> 00:12:28.059 you have to go out there and use your voice to 00:12:28.059 --> 00:12:30.419 sell the very narrative you just wrote and directed. 00:12:30.580 --> 00:12:32.720 It's unbelievable. To be able to do all three 00:12:32.720 --> 00:12:35.399 flawlessly means you hold all the leverage. You 00:12:35.399 --> 00:12:37.539 can bounce between rivals because they literally 00:12:37.539 --> 00:12:39.940 cannot produce their weekly television show without 00:12:39.940 --> 00:12:43.379 you. And his reputation as a one -man production 00:12:43.379 --> 00:12:46.500 powerhouse wasn't limited to Puerto Rico or the 00:12:46.500 --> 00:12:50.500 States. Since way back in 2004, the late Antonio 00:12:50.500 --> 00:12:53.039 Peña, the president of the massive Mexican promotion 00:12:53.039 --> 00:12:56.379 AAA, had been calling Melendez. Right, for years. 00:12:56.639 --> 00:12:59.919 Peña had a massive vision to completely revolutionize 00:12:59.919 --> 00:13:01.879 the television presentation of Mexican wrestling, 00:13:02.039 --> 00:13:04.700 and he genuinely believed Melendez was the specific 00:13:04.700 --> 00:13:07.259 guy who could translate American TV pacing into 00:13:07.259 --> 00:13:10.129 Lucha Libre. He offered him a job to book right 00:13:10.129 --> 00:13:12.570 alongside him. Which is an incredible vote of 00:13:12.570 --> 00:13:14.970 confidence. AAA is an absolute titan of the industry. 00:13:15.370 --> 00:13:17.789 But Melendez had politely declined the offer 00:13:17.789 --> 00:13:21.110 for years. However, timing is everything. After 00:13:21.110 --> 00:13:23.590 dealing with the exhausting, multi -hat pressure 00:13:23.590 --> 00:13:27.070 cooker of the WWC, Melendez felt it was finally 00:13:27.070 --> 00:13:30.220 time to shift gears. He takes the leap. He quits 00:13:30.220 --> 00:13:33.259 WWC, does another incredibly brief run with the 00:13:33.259 --> 00:13:36.000 IWA, takes three months off to breathe, and then 00:13:36.000 --> 00:13:38.559 finally accepts Antonio Pena's offer. Right. 00:13:38.600 --> 00:13:41.059 He moves to Mexico. And surprise, surprise, he 00:13:41.059 --> 00:13:44.759 puts on a dozen different hats. For AAA, he works 00:13:44.759 --> 00:13:46.960 as a creative consultant to the Pena family, 00:13:47.179 --> 00:13:50.919 an agent, a TV producer, and a video editor. 00:13:51.220 --> 00:13:53.659 Just doing everything. Everything. He stays in 00:13:53.659 --> 00:13:55.960 Mexico doing this exhaustive foundational work 00:13:55.960 --> 00:13:58.960 until 2011. when he eventually returns to Puerto 00:13:58.960 --> 00:14:01.519 Rico with his role at AAA being taken over by 00:14:01.519 --> 00:14:03.960 Miguel G. Fonseca. But even back in Puerto Rico, 00:14:04.139 --> 00:14:06.860 his ability to navigate complex political waters 00:14:06.860 --> 00:14:08.580 keeps him right at the center of the industry. 00:14:08.759 --> 00:14:10.940 He gets heavily involved with the World Wrestling 00:14:10.940 --> 00:14:13.759 League, the WWL. Right. And his connections from 00:14:13.759 --> 00:14:15.820 his past continue to pay off. Remember Conan? 00:14:16.000 --> 00:14:19.440 From TNA. Exactly. Despite their massive backstage 00:14:19.440 --> 00:14:22.419 friction at the TNA desk years prior, they were 00:14:22.419 --> 00:14:25.159 able to put business first. Melendez mediated 00:14:25.159 --> 00:14:27.820 a major talent exchange between... the WWL in 00:14:27.820 --> 00:14:30.399 Puerto Rico, and a Mexican promotion called The 00:14:30.399 --> 00:14:32.899 Crash, where Conan was working. Right. They set 00:14:32.899 --> 00:14:34.740 up this cross -promotional event called Golpe 00:14:34.740 --> 00:14:38.039 de Estado in 2017. But what actually goes into 00:14:38.039 --> 00:14:39.940 a talent exchange behind the scenes? That's so 00:14:39.940 --> 00:14:42.340 complicated. Because fans just see cool dream 00:14:42.340 --> 00:14:44.500 matches, but it has to be a logistical nightmare, 00:14:44.679 --> 00:14:46.279 right? It is high -stakes corporate diplomacy. 00:14:46.940 --> 00:14:49.720 A talent exchange isn't just a handshake. It 00:14:49.720 --> 00:14:52.779 involves incredibly complex logistics. You are 00:14:52.779 --> 00:14:55.279 securing international working visas, negotiating 00:14:55.279 --> 00:14:57.659 who pays for the flights and the hotels, and 00:14:57.659 --> 00:14:59.899 most importantly, the booking protection. The 00:14:59.899 --> 00:15:02.879 politics of the match itself. Precisely. If you 00:15:02.879 --> 00:15:05.159 send your top star to another promotion, you're 00:15:05.159 --> 00:15:07.200 trusting their booker not to make your star look 00:15:07.200 --> 00:15:09.919 weak. Who agrees to take the pin? How do you 00:15:09.919 --> 00:15:12.500 ensure your local talent gets the rub, the elevated 00:15:12.500 --> 00:15:14.700 status from working with the visiting international 00:15:14.700 --> 00:15:18.090 star? Melendez had to mediate all of those massive 00:15:18.090 --> 00:15:23.129 egos and corporate interests. And the backstage 00:15:23.129 --> 00:15:26.389 drama at WWL never really stopped. Following 00:15:26.389 --> 00:15:28.509 the summer season, Melendez actually left the 00:15:28.509 --> 00:15:31.450 WWL. He did. He had an offer on the table to 00:15:31.450 --> 00:15:33.769 book for the crash in Mexico, and he walked out 00:15:33.769 --> 00:15:36.049 amidst intense internal differences with the 00:15:36.049 --> 00:15:38.230 owner of the wrestling ring and his own tag team 00:15:38.230 --> 00:15:41.710 partner. It was a messy political exit. Yeah. 00:15:41.789 --> 00:15:44.190 But true to form, it was a short -lived one. 00:15:44.289 --> 00:15:47.110 He returned to the WWL shortly afterwards when 00:15:47.110 --> 00:15:49.210 that same tag team partner left to go work for 00:15:49.210 --> 00:15:52.950 the rival WWC. But then the script gets flipped 00:15:52.950 --> 00:15:55.929 entirely. Yes. This is where the story shifts 00:15:55.929 --> 00:15:58.429 from the manufactured drama of wrestling politics 00:15:58.429 --> 00:16:01.370 to the devastating reality of the physical world. 00:16:01.509 --> 00:16:05.110 Because sometimes real world events are so catastrophic 00:16:05.110 --> 00:16:07.129 that they completely decimate the infrastructure 00:16:07.129 --> 00:16:09.950 of the industry. During the 2017 Atlantic hurricane 00:16:09.950 --> 00:16:12.549 season, Puerto Rico took direct hits from Hurricanes 00:16:12.549 --> 00:16:15.389 Irma and Maria. Absolute, complete devastation 00:16:15.389 --> 00:16:17.029 for the island. The infrastructure was wiped 00:16:17.029 --> 00:16:19.399 out. Melendez lost power for several months, 00:16:19.500 --> 00:16:21.740 and under those conditions, running an independent 00:16:21.740 --> 00:16:23.659 professional wrestling promotion is physically 00:16:23.659 --> 00:16:26.240 impossible. You just can't do it. You can't broadcast 00:16:26.240 --> 00:16:28.860 television. You can't cool an arena. You can't 00:16:28.860 --> 00:16:32.759 fly in talent. The WWL was forced into an indefinite 00:16:32.759 --> 00:16:35.840 hiatus. The carefully constructed storylines, 00:16:35.960 --> 00:16:38.580 the meticulous booking sheets, the international 00:16:38.580 --> 00:16:42.539 talent exchanges, all of it evaporated in the 00:16:42.539 --> 00:16:45.539 face of basic survival. Yeah. And during this 00:16:45.539 --> 00:16:48.090 dark period, The business landscape shifted again. 00:16:48.389 --> 00:16:51.570 Conan left the crash to join Arulucha, which 00:16:51.570 --> 00:16:53.710 formally ended the talent exchange agreement 00:16:53.710 --> 00:16:55.870 they had worked so hard to build. You can't control 00:16:55.870 --> 00:16:57.830 the weather, and you can't stop the industry 00:16:57.830 --> 00:16:59.889 from moving forward while your island is without 00:16:59.889 --> 00:17:02.809 power. But you have to admire Melendez's resilience. 00:17:03.549 --> 00:17:05.710 The rebuild eventually starts. It always does 00:17:05.710 --> 00:17:08.869 with them. By early 2018, the WWL was finally 00:17:08.869 --> 00:17:11.369 gearing up to return to action. And Melendez 00:17:11.369 --> 00:17:13.549 was right back at the helm as the Booker. He 00:17:13.549 --> 00:17:15.289 wasn't just hiding in the production truck either. 00:17:15.470 --> 00:17:17.750 No. He was actively appearing in several promotional 00:17:17.750 --> 00:17:19.910 videos, physically approaching figures like Mr. 00:17:20.349 --> 00:17:23.009 Big Miguel Maldonado and Dennis Rivera. His goal 00:17:23.009 --> 00:17:25.589 was to construct a powerful new on -screen faction 00:17:25.589 --> 00:17:28.049 that would oppose the dominant heel group led 00:17:28.049 --> 00:17:30.829 by Manny Furno. He was back to doing exactly 00:17:30.829 --> 00:17:33.309 what he does best, engineering the narrative. 00:17:33.829 --> 00:17:36.789 And all of these disparate experiences, the childhood 00:17:36.789 --> 00:17:39.150 trauma that pushed him to study mainland TV, 00:17:39.329 --> 00:17:42.670 the exhausting multitasking in TNA, the ruthless 00:17:42.670 --> 00:17:45.049 bouncing between rival Puerto Rican territories, 00:17:45.289 --> 00:17:48.549 the expansion into AAA in Mexico, and surviving 00:17:48.549 --> 00:17:50.890 the total infrastructural collapse of the hurricanes, 00:17:51.190 --> 00:17:54.349 all of it forged a skill set that leads directly 00:17:54.349 --> 00:17:57.299 to an ultimate... historic culmination. Yes, 00:17:57.519 --> 00:17:59.539 this brings our timeline up to an absolutely 00:17:59.539 --> 00:18:01.980 massive milestone. We are talking about the upcoming 00:18:01.980 --> 00:18:05.859 event scheduled for June 7, 2025. It is the ultimate 00:18:05.859 --> 00:18:09.700 industry crossover, WWE x AAA Worlds Collide. 00:18:09.799 --> 00:18:12.279 This is an unprecedented collaboration between 00:18:12.279 --> 00:18:14.259 World Wrestling Entertainment, the undisputed 00:18:14.259 --> 00:18:16.240 corporate juggernaut of American sports entertainment, 00:18:16.460 --> 00:18:19.539 and AAA, the titan of Mexican lucha libre. It's 00:18:19.539 --> 00:18:22.220 massive. And for this historic high wire event, 00:18:22.400 --> 00:18:24.960 Moody Jack Melendez was hired. This marks a the 00:18:24.960 --> 00:18:27.700 second major return to AAA, but much more significantly, 00:18:27.960 --> 00:18:30.839 it marks his very first creative job for WWE. 00:18:31.279 --> 00:18:33.859 The magnitude of this cannot be overstated. You 00:18:33.859 --> 00:18:35.940 are dealing with a massive clash of corporate 00:18:35.940 --> 00:18:39.220 cultures here. Right. WWE operates in an incredibly 00:18:39.220 --> 00:18:43.019 insulated, highly sanitized, and strictly formatted 00:18:43.019 --> 00:18:46.480 television environment. AAA, by contrast, embraces 00:18:46.480 --> 00:18:49.559 the chaotic, high -flying, vastly different psychology 00:18:49.559 --> 00:18:52.619 of traditional lucha libre. Historically, these 00:18:52.619 --> 00:18:55.759 two styles do not. mash easily so what does this 00:18:55.759 --> 00:18:58.599 all mean why was moody jack the exact right guy 00:18:58.599 --> 00:19:00.980 for this incredibly delicate crossover because 00:19:00.980 --> 00:19:03.359 he is essentially the industry's rosetta stone 00:19:03.710 --> 00:19:06.269 Melendez's unique bilingual capabilities obviously 00:19:06.269 --> 00:19:08.130 allow him to communicate across borders. But 00:19:08.130 --> 00:19:10.410 far more importantly, he possesses a deep, nuanced 00:19:10.410 --> 00:19:13.190 understanding of the distinct creative psychologies 00:19:13.190 --> 00:19:15.430 of American, Mexican, and Puerto Rican wrestling. 00:19:15.589 --> 00:19:18.309 He's lived all of them. Exactly. He understands 00:19:18.309 --> 00:19:22.150 the meticulous, rigid TV pacing that WWE demands 00:19:22.150 --> 00:19:25.509 because he studied it and executed it in TNA. 00:19:26.119 --> 00:19:28.579 He understands the Lucha Libre psychology because 00:19:28.579 --> 00:19:30.880 he lived it working for the Pena family in AAA. 00:19:31.119 --> 00:19:33.859 Right. He is arguably the only creative producer 00:19:33.859 --> 00:19:36.680 who can translate not just the literal language, 00:19:36.880 --> 00:19:39.460 but the creative intent between WWE's regime 00:19:39.460 --> 00:19:42.000 and AAA's management, ensuring neither side looks 00:19:42.000 --> 00:19:44.440 weak and the broadcast is flawless. That makes 00:19:44.440 --> 00:19:46.900 perfect sense. Furthermore, his career -long 00:19:46.900 --> 00:19:49.539 willingness to walk away from bad deals, demand 00:19:49.539 --> 00:19:52.460 proper compensation, and refuse to be a yes -man 00:19:52.460 --> 00:19:54.839 ultimately protected his professional value. 00:19:55.279 --> 00:19:58.410 it elevated him to this historic stage. It really 00:19:58.410 --> 00:20:00.869 is a phenomenal arc. We started with a young 00:20:00.869 --> 00:20:03.930 fan sitting in the stands in Ponce, Puerto Rico, 00:20:04.109 --> 00:20:06.369 completely alienated by a real world tragedy 00:20:06.369 --> 00:20:08.549 that pushed him to study the mechanics of mainland 00:20:08.549 --> 00:20:11.190 television. And we end with the lead architect 00:20:11.190 --> 00:20:13.230 operating behind the curtain of historic WWE 00:20:13.230 --> 00:20:16.589 and AAA collaboration. It is a powerful reminder 00:20:16.589 --> 00:20:19.410 of the value of being endlessly adaptable. It 00:20:19.410 --> 00:20:21.509 highlights the strategic importance of knowing 00:20:21.509 --> 00:20:23.849 the intricate mechanics of your industry better 00:20:23.849 --> 00:20:26.380 than anyone else in the room. And above all, 00:20:26.500 --> 00:20:29.140 it proves the long -term payoff of standing your 00:20:29.140 --> 00:20:31.619 ground, leveraging your indispensable skills, 00:20:31.819 --> 00:20:33.759 and knowing exactly what your time is worth. 00:20:34.019 --> 00:20:36.440 Absolutely. And as we wrap up, this raises an 00:20:36.440 --> 00:20:38.519 important question for you to mull over. When 00:20:38.519 --> 00:20:42.339 you look closely at Melendez's actual life, navigating 00:20:42.339 --> 00:20:45.839 intense corporate fallouts, mediating high -stakes 00:20:45.839 --> 00:20:48.519 international talent exchanges, demanding proper 00:20:48.519 --> 00:20:51.619 pay under extreme pressure, and literally surviving 00:20:51.619 --> 00:20:54.380 natural disasters that shut down entire economies, 00:20:55.049 --> 00:20:57.829 His real life is arguably vastly more dramatic 00:20:57.829 --> 00:21:00.549 and complex than any fictional storyline he ever 00:21:00.549 --> 00:21:02.410 wrote for a wrestling ring. That is so true. 00:21:02.630 --> 00:21:04.589 It leaves you wondering. Yeah. In entertainment 00:21:04.589 --> 00:21:06.789 industries that are built entirely on manufacturing 00:21:06.789 --> 00:21:09.410 drama and controlling the narrative for the audience, 00:21:09.609 --> 00:21:11.950 how often are the most brilliant, highest stakes 00:21:11.950 --> 00:21:14.690 games being played entirely off camera by the 00:21:14.690 --> 00:21:17.170 very people holding the pen? That is a fascinating 00:21:17.170 --> 00:21:19.150 thought to leave on. Thank you so much for joining 00:21:19.150 --> 00:21:21.609 us on this deep dive. We hope you enjoyed exploring 00:21:21.609 --> 00:21:23.730 the mechanics of this industry through these 00:21:23.730 --> 00:21:27.049 sources as much as we did, and we warmly invite 00:21:27.049 --> 00:21:30.170 you back for our next exploration. Until then, 00:21:30.289 --> 00:21:30.970 take care.