El Hijo del Santo vs. Negro Casas (Mask vs. Hair) (7/18/87)
I think this was the only match to make Jeff Bowdren's Top Matches of the 80s list, and since improving Bowdren's list was the original impetus for the 80s sets, I thought it would be interesting to see how it holds up. The verdict?
It holds up well. It's not a violent match like Santo vs. Espanto the year before, but the work is excellent and if anything I like it more than when I first saw it a decade ago or more. Back the
Kato Kung Lee vs. Kung Fu (Mask vs. Hair) (4/29/88)
One of the best things about lucha is that you can take two guys who aren't that good and put them in a mascara contra cabellera match where big moves and basic timing are all they need to draw heat. A Satanico or a Sangre Chicana will add all sorts of details and craft a masterpiece, but even the goofiest of shit gets over in the cauldron of an apuestas match.
I'm a big fan of Los Fantasticos, especially Black Man, who is sadly absent
Arandu vs. Guerrero Negro (Hair vs. Hair) (1988)
This was a shitload of fun. I'm not sure if it was technically any good, but if there's been one match on the set that screams "fuck yeah!" then this is it.
Arandu's hair was out of this world. It was like Mocho Cota's afro on steroids. The building was ready to come unhinged at the prospect of him losing it. Every time they went to the outside the heat was amazing, as though there was this push to the front to get at the wrestlers. At one
Americo Rocca vs. El Talisman (3/29/85)
This was a nice little title match. Nothing fancy just solid lucha.
It didn't have a huge arc in terms of dramatic structure, but the narrative was decent enough. Rocca and Talisman were frequent rivals in the welterweight class and ended up having a hair match a few years later. This date was Rocca's chance at reclaiming the title Talisman had taken from him months earlier, and more or less pit Talisman's strength against Rocca's skill. I liked
Enrique Vera vs. Dos Caras (2/26/84)
I usually take for granted that Dos Caras is a gran maestro despite the fact that there's really not that much Dos Caras out there. Recently I was watching a tag match of his from his 1980 All Japan tour where he teamed with Jumbo Tsuruta against Dr. Wagner Sr. and Caribs Hurricane. Caribs Hurricane wasn't a luchador but rather Texas draw Ciclon Negro. The match was the usual watered down shit with the Japanese not really getting the lucha spots. To illu
Tony Salazar vs. Herodes (3/2/84)
This was the first time for me to see Herodes in a single match let alone a mano a mano grudge match. For those of you who don't know, Herodes is considered one of the great forgotten workers of the 80s. This recent discovery sheds some light on that claim and is set up on the disc by a classic brawling trios similar to other blood feuds over the years. Herodes and Salazar bleed heavily in that match, giving the audience a taste for the gore to come.
T
Mocho Cota vs. Americo Rocca (1/27/84)
Mocho Cota vs. Americo Rocca (2/3/84)
Mocho Cota is such a compelling worker.
On one hand, he looks like an evil genius like the Master from Dr. Who. On the other hand, he's so hyper with his pre-match taunting that when you hear the Bihari relayed stories about how he lost his fingers he may just be a maniac who's on something. Maybe with his "deformity" he's got a whole "if I cannot prove a lover, I'm determined to prove a villain" Richard II
So the DVDVR set has finally been released and with it a great opportunity for folks to be introduced to lucha or have their exposure broadened. I'm going to write about a few matches I haven't seen before or which interest me for some reason, starting with this Chicana title fight.
Sangre Chicana vs. Ringo Mendoza (10/28/83)
First thing's first, Mocho Cota was the coolest looking second. Wearing a t-shirt and towel over suit pants and pointed leather shoes with his fresh for '83 hair
Been watching a lot of rudo-driven matches this week, so this one's a tribute to rudoism.
Rey Bucanero, Satanico y Emilio Charles Jr. vs. Apolo Dantes, Black Warrior y Dr. Wagner Jr., CMLL 3/21/97
This was a one fall, rudos contra rudos final to decide the vacant trios titles. Since it was a title match, the rudos kept with tradition and worked a technical match instead of brawling with each other. For a single fall match it was a well worked bout and could have been something special
Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Juventud Guerrera (AAA handheld 3/16/96)
I was all ready to moan about how this wasn't real lucha, but the first two falls of this were actually really cool. It was a really spiteful match compared to most Rey Mysterio vs. Juventud Guerrera bouts and the atmosphere was fantastic with a seat right at ringside and a pan of the arena that made it seem like an amphitheater. There were a lot of neat details that a pro shot match would never dwell on, like a "long take" of Rey
La Parka vs. Jerry Estrada, Mexican National Light Heavyweight title, AAA 3/28/95
Man, how good was Parka at this point? He brought the same sort of attitude to this as the Lizmark match, shoving Estrada early and gyrating in his face. And if there was ever a guy who deserved a Park gyration it was Jerry Estrada. This wasn't as epic as the Lizmark match as it had a ton of bullshit with Tirantes, but it was a similar brew of uncooperative matwork and killer high spots. On the Jerry Estrada sc
Villano III vs. Rambo, mask vs. mask, UWA 10/25/87
This was the match Cronicas y Leyenda teased us with a few years ago and which I posted so pictures of from DJ Spectro's blog about a year ago. Finally, the bout is in circulation and while it's hurt a bit by clipping what's shown is good enough to take pride of place alongside the other great Luchas de Apuestas matches that exist from the 80s.
The exact chain of events aren't shown in the first two falls, but basically Villano III ta
Blue Panther/Fuerza Guerrera/Pierroth vs. Atlantis/Super Astro/Angel Azteca, CMLL 11/8/91
This was nowhere near as good as these teams are capable of, but there was still a lot of talent on show. I liked how we got some match-ups that you don't usually see like Fuerza vs. Angel Azteca. It's always bugged me how they didn't do more with Azteca during his cooling off period. They groomed him to be the next Atlantis, at least in my eyes, and then he fell by the wayside as Octagon got over. Of c
"El Ninja", Kato Kung Lee & Super Astro vs. Black Shadow Jr, Invasor II & Espanto Jr, Monterrey 11/91
Great to see Espanto again, one of the most underrated luchadores of this era. Unfortunately, he didn't do anything truly outstanding, even in his exchanges with Super Astro, but Monterrey was a bit of a holiday for the workers at times and this was one of those nights off. The focus was really on the upcoming mask match between El Ninja and Invasor, but Monterrey has always been th
Hijo Del Centurion Negro, Rey Hechicero, Simbolo vs. Black Spirit, Charles Lucero, Golden Boy, Monterrey 7/21/13
Monterrey has kind of snuck up on me as a good place to watching wrestling from. This was my first look at maestro Charles Lucero, who's supposed to be cut from the same cloth as Mexico's other maestro greats, but for me this was all about Rey Hechicero, who continues to impress. The other guys were there to make up the numbers and aside from the Hechicero/Lucero exchanges this w
Chico Che/Freelance/Hijo del Pantera vs. Apolo Estrada Jr./Avisman/Eita, IWRG 2/18/13
I really wanted to like this as it had Freelance, Avisman and Chico Che in it, but there wasn't a single exchange I thought was special. Freelance, in particular, seemed really off and nothing like the worker who used to dice with death every time his feet left the ground. It kind of meandered along in a very old-school way, which may appeal to some people, but there was none of the overlapping of falls or
Finally! I have first-run watched the entire decade and I'm so glad, because 2009 was a difficult thing to watch. So with that said, I'm going to end/suspend this blog and do my final run through (which will be much more fun/easy as it is only a limited subset of matches) and probably post my "results" in the main forum.
The blog didn't really help as much as I thought it would as it really became a hassle to remember to update it when I have excel files and assorted information here on
Virus vs. Blue Panther, CMLL 5/12/13
Ten minutes? They were only getting warmed up. I don't have a problem with ten minute matches, but CMLL workers generally aren't that clever at working lightning matches and I don't really like the gimmick of an enforced time limit. Still, this was all about the matwork, which, while not life changing, was pretty at times. Virus is pretty clearly the best guy in the company, in my opinion, but I couldn't help but think if it was Demus against a mini it wo
Negro Casas vs. Valiente, CMLL 2/4/13
Dream match for workrate fans as Casas and Valiente are two of the best in the business, but this was a disappointment. I'm not so sure it was a case of the chemistry being off between the two as much as it was a case of them not bothering to do anything creative. In fact, I was kind of annoyed that Casas put in such a cookie cutter performance against someone as talented as Valiente. Some of the early exchanges were okay, but the third fall in particul
Rush/Rey Escorpion/Maximo vs. Negro Casas/Terrible/Shocker, CMLL 6/28/13
Negro Casas, Mr. Aguila & Rey Bucanero vs. Blue Panther, Rush & Maximo, CMLL 7/14/13
So, this is the best thing going today or so I've been told. I like Rush a lot so I'm excited to see these. He kind of reminds me of the true, modern day heir to Perro Aquayo, since Perro's own kid hasn't been any good since about 2007 as far as I can tell, and he's learnt the value of having a great head of hair.
True t
So I finished the year of PPV's/big shows (with the exception of ROH as I am completely burned out with that promotion) and about about 60% through TV which I'll be finishing up this month. The plan from here is going to be:
Get a Top 10 for both WWE and TNA from the re-watch pile for 2008.
TV and PPV for TNA/WWE 2009
ROH 2008
ROH 2009
Top 10's/year for WCW, ECW (00-01), WWE, TNA, and ROH
Try and hammer out a Top 20 for Other US
Who knows after that. I'm going to eventually
TNA VICTORY ROAD 2008
MCMG/Curry Man v. Ultimo Guerrero/Rey Bucanero/Averno v. Doug Williams/Alex Koslov/Tyson Dux v. Yossino/Puma/Milano Collection AT - 3rd Round of World X Cup.
Great, fun match. Constant action and executed just like TNA wanted I'm sure. I definitely was entertained. If this was 12 TNA guys, it probably would have stunk, but having some vets in there from all over just made it awesome. Standings before was Mexico and TNA tied for 3. Team International and Team
There is a thread on the main board asking if TNA is the worst promotion in history. The thread was started six years ago and I never commented on it. I figured I would post my thoughts here to avoid accusations of trolling because my opinion may not be a popular one.
TNA is not the worst promotion in history. In fact, I believe it is better than the sacred cow known as the original ECW.
I've watched 154 of TNA's PPV's and all Impacts so I feel confident in this statement. Granted,
