El Hijo del Santo vs. Negro Casas, 5/17/91, Tijuana (handheld)
Not a great match compared to the matches Santo had against Brazo de Oro and Espanto Jr, or the stuff Casas was doing with El Dandy a year later, but it had the usual awesome atmosphere, with local kids climbing all over the ring and plenty of activity in the audience.
One kid in particular leads a pretty rousing ovation at the end, while the other kids bang on the apron. Once again, the handheld gives you a feel for what a r
Negro Navarro/El Signo/Black Power vs. Silver King/El Texano/El Gran Hamada - 10/17/92, UWA
This wasn't as awesome as it sounds, but it did make me lament that AAA became popular & UWA died out.
(There's perfectly good reasons why that happened, but I'll take vets working a style I like. Even if it's non-drawing Misioneros w/ a bum partner.)
Black Power's a third stringer, but the rest of these guys could work. There's something reassuring about that in this day and age. The phys
Espanto Jr. vs. El Hijo Del Santo (UWA World Welterweight Title Match), 5/14/92
This was such a beautiful Lucha Libre match & made a fool of me thinking Santo wasn't one of the great Lucha mat workers. If more of his UWA work was available, I think we'd get a bigger picture of how good Santo really was.
Again, the single camera at ringside gives this a raw documentary feel, only it's not a glimpse of Santo working Durango. Sure he looks every bit the superhero during the introducti
El Engendro vs. Negro Navarro (NWG Intercontinental Title), 2/15/03
Negro Navarro's one of the only guys I enjoy in wrestling anymore, so if there's any dirt on him I don't want to hear it. I just want to enjoy seeing him do what he does for a living, even if it's in front of a tiny crowd in some gym in Guadalajara.
The match is a throwback to when wrestling was about holds. They work their way in and out of holds, trying to catch each other out. There's not a lot of "fight", so to sp
Floyd's Rewatching Ratings (Your Mileage May Vary)
Last updated: 2:00 AM - 7/7/08
1980:
1. Rimi (Jaguar) Yokota Vs. Chino Sato (All-Japan Women - 1/4/80) - [****]
2. Jackie Sato Vs. Tommy Aoyama (All-Japan Women - 1/4/80) - [***3/4]
3. Dynamite Kid Vs. Tatsumi Fujinami (New Japan - 2/15/80) - [****]
4. Bruno Sammartino Vs. Larry Zbyszko (WWF - 3/24/80) - [***1/2]
5. Ken Patera Vs. Pat Patterson (WWF - 4/21/80 MSG) - [***1/4]
6. Jumbo Tsuruta Vs. Dick Slater (All Japan - CC
For those of you unfamiliar with the concept, the Guest Booker DVD series is an idea from KayfabeCommentaries.com where a famous wrestling booker is given the task of booking a promotion or territory form a particular point in time with the idea that things didn’t go exactly as they did in real life and this is their chance to show us what they would have done were they the booker at the time. The first DVD featured Kevin Sullivan booking the WWF from the beginning of 1984 but without Hulk Hogan
El Hijo del Santo vs. Psicosis, AAA 5/3/95
There was some talk over at the surviving Smarkschoice board about whether this is any good. MJH mentioned that "at other times (especially the matwork and the finish) some of the execution is just really, really poor" and that "for a full singles match, Psicosis and Santo were having a bad night together." I thought this couldn't be right, but after a dozen sendspace attempts, I gotta admit -- stock's going down.
Whenever people used to doubt
El Hijo del Santo vs. Espanto Jr, mask vs. mask, 8/31/86
This is a classic Monterrey bloodbath, but the best thing about it is seeing Santo as a young luchador. There wasn't any semblance of a traveling act yet. It was like the match unlocked a period in Santo's early career where he didn't have fixed ideas about working; where he was still searching for the best way to bump and sell & make face comebacks. The Santo roadshow is a great roadshow. Many times I've thought, "Here we go -- s
Pirata Morgan/Gran Markus/Ulises vs. Popitekus/Atlantis/El Dandy, 05/28/89
Wow, this wasn't good... I was surprised since 1989 El Dandy, Atlantis & Pirata Morgan is what hooked me on lucha in the first place. It was almost technicos v technicos, complete with matwork. When it comes to lucha matwork, I'm as big a sucker as the next guy, but this was... middling.
Javier Cruz v. Jerry Estrada, hair vs. hair, 10/20/89
For the life of me, I can't figure out what other people see i
Here's a reference list for people looking for somewhere to start w/ lucha. It's not a definitive list, but ought to get you hooked.
1. Atlantis vs Blue Panther, 8/9/91
2. El Dandy vs Negro Casas, 7/3/92
3. Angel Azteca vs. El Dandy, 6/1/90
4. El Satanico/El Dandy/Emilio Charles Jr. vs. Atlantis/Javier Cruz/Angel Azteca, 5/13/90
5. Los Infernales (MS-1, Satanico & Pirata Morgan) vs. Los Brazos, 11/22/91
6. Bracito De Oro/Cicloncito Ramirez/Mascarita Magica vs Damiancito El Gu
Gran Apache vs. Oscar Sevilla, 3/19/00
Gran Apache is a favourite of a lot of people these days, which doesn't surprise me as he's over 40 & all the best guys in Mexico seem to be over 40. I tried getting into the whole Apache family saga. It seems like a pretty cool angle (apart from the baby being scared out of its wits), the only problem is that Billy Boy sucks.
Apache, however, is quite the worker. So I sought out a technico who might not suck as much, and here you have it --
El Brazo vs. Rambo, hair vs. hair, CMLL 3/22/96
Thought I'd compare this to Rambo's earlier fight in AAA.
CMLL hair matches always feel like more of a fight than AAA matches. More punching, ramming each other's heads into the ringpost, the mat... Just more scrappy in general. Yet they're far more narrow in scope, even with a double bladejob like this one. Even though they're more solid than AAA hair or mask matches, they lack that big time feel. The structure is largely the same -- tw
Floyd’s Rant for Wrestlemania XXIV
1. NO-DQ BELFAST BRAWL: J.B.L. Vs. Fit Finlay (w/ Hornwoggle) - I haven’t kept up with WWE in a while so bear with me, but I think the story goes like this: Midget Hornswoggle was discovered to be Vince McMahon’s illegitimate son. So of course Vince McMahon showed his affection by beating the shit out of him as much as possible. Then JBL, using his A.P.A. detective skills, dropped the bomb that Hornswoggle is really Finlay’s son! JBL also went dwarf to
Trio Fantasia v. Thundercats, masks vs. masks, 12/8/91
Trio Fantasia are Super Muñeco, Super Raton & Super Pinocho. Thundercats are actually Leono, Tigro and Panthro. Complete costumes and everything. THIS IS A FUCKING GREAT BRAWL. One of the best Monterrey brawls I've ever seen, and definitely one of the best lucha matches of the 90s. I had no idea this was a mask match when I started watching it. I was expecting comedy, maybe a bit of flying. This was amazing. They beat the fuck out o
Villano III vs. Rambo, hair vs. mask, AAA 9/24/93
Rambo was such an awesome gimmick as he looked less like Rambo & more like your average mercenary/militant from an 80s action flick. He wasn't much of a worker aside from easy to set-up spots & big bumps, but this was AAA & the style revolves around big spots & bigger bumps. Brawling Villano is my favourite kind of Villano III. I saw him brawl with El Hijo del Santo the other day, which made me wish there was a widely known
Everybody needs to check out this clip of Los Brazos vs. Los Fantasticos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLTOJ7Fa8bA
Such an amazingly great caida of wrestling.
Everything you need to know about lucha, you can learn from watching Los Brazos.
Brazos vs. MS-1/Pirata Morgan/Emilio Charles, Jr. (early 90s, aired WWO)
Brazos vs. Kato Kung Lee/Super Astro/Volador, CMLL 2/8/91
Brazos vs. Atlantis/Mascara Sagrada/Octagon, CMLL 5/17/91
These aren't outstanding matches, in fa
Miguel Perez Jr./Ricky Santana vs Los Head Hunters I y II, CMLL 8/5/94
Here's a match I wasn't too sure about that ended up being pretty damn good. I guess I'm a bit iffy about foreigners working Mexico, but these guys took to it well. It's a beatdown to start with; Los Head Hunters cutting off the face comebacks, before taking it to the outside & working the foreign objects. An older lady complains to the ref while Santana blades at her feet. Awesome. Bloodied & battered, the faces
Atlantis, Cien Caras & Rayo de Jalisco Jr vs Mocho Cota, La Fiera & Sangre Chicana, CMLL '84
This ruled. It was a trios built around punches, heel shtick & cheap shots. Mocho Cota may be one of the great, all-time rudo stooges if this is anything to go by & worked the comedy as effortlessly as he worked the mat against Rocca. The two sides barely locked up once. So entertaining. And the kids swarming the ring at the end was awesome.
Brazo de Oro vs. Sangre Chicana, hair vs. hair, 6/19/92
Jesus Christ this was awesome. The heat was amazing.
Most of us are familiar with Sangre Chicana as the sympathetic babyface who takes one hell of a beating from MS-1 in their '83 bloodbath, selling every blow as sheer brutality... Here he's a veteran rudo, who only has to take a few steps for the heat to start rising. Unbelievable charisma. At one point he starts jawing with a fan and it's so convincing that you can believe those
Pierrotito/Damiancito el Guerrero vs Ultimo Dragoncito/Cicloncito Ramirez, 4/97 TV
This didn't have the beautiful structure of the Mini Classics from '97, but even in an average sort of a match (average meaning "good" or "very good" by comparison), there's a ridiculous amount of talent on show. I've seen a few comments about how Damiancito el Guerrero (now Virus) is one of the great, underrated workers of the last decade or so, but I'm not feeling that in so far as they were all great.
Negro Navarro vs. Solar, 10/12/06
This was from an UD show at Korakuen Hall. Korakuen Hall's not my favourite place for lucha -- some of the early Hamada shows were all right, but lucha is a novelty for Japanese people & that's the way it always comes across. If you wind up talking pro wrestling at a bar or something, older guys will always talk about Mil Mascaras, which is why Mil still gets gigs & is "mobbed" by salarymen on his way to the ring, but lucha itself is a curiosity. He
Pequeno Reyes Del Aire, 1/04/08
Pequeno Damian 666 vs. Mascarita Dorada, 1/11/08
Bam Bam/Pequeno Olimpico/Ultimo Dragoncito vs Pequeno Black Warrior/Pequeno Violencia/Pierrothito, 2/15/08
Mini FdT vs Dorada, Tzuky, Shockercito, 2/24/08
Bam Bam/Tzuky/Mascarita Dorada vs Fire/Pequeno Pierroth/Pequeno Damian, 3/21/08
What I appreciate most about the current crew of minis is how they build a match from the ground up, even if the results are sometimes average. They'll start on the mat be
El Hijo del Santo vs. Negro Casas, mask vs. hair, 9/19/97
I've never liked this match. I was hoping that watching CMLL TV of the Santo vs. Casas brothers feud would reveal exactly what's great about it, but it remains a mystery.
I have no idea what they were trying to do in this match. Portions of the match are kinda like shoot-style -- a junior heavyweight approximation of shoot-style, really, like BattlARTS -- but lucha has no counts for rope breaks or downs, so most of the match is
