El Dandy vs. Emilio Charles Jr., hair vs. hair, CMLL 10/23/93
The most obvious thing about this match is that it's a hair match without any blood. Normally, I'd go on a spiel about how you can't have a hair match without any blood, but I never promised to be fair or consistent with these reviews.
This was a great fight and one that carried a bit of extra meaning for me.
The great thing about getting into lucha libre is that you have to want to get into lucha libre. There's not t
Los Infernales (El Satanico/MS-1/Masakre) vs. Rayo de Jalisco Jr./La Fiera/Tony Salazar, CMLL 1987
When I say "Classic Infernales," I really mean older footage of the Infernales in action, since Pirata Morgan had already left the group by this stage. Nevertheless, the Masakre version was a good team in its own right, and this was an awesome Southern style tag match.
The Infernales were fantastic as Southern heels -- backing into the ref when the technicos wanted to duke it out, attack
Lizmark vs. Jerry Estrada, Mexican National Light Heavyweight Championship, AAA 6/18/93
I hate Jerry Estrada.
He's probably my least favourite lucha worker of all time. To me he's like the anti-Sangre Chicana. Sangre Chicana was out of his mind the entire time and took it to surreal heights. Jerry Estrada was out of his mind the entire time and was a train wreck.
But like him or not, this was one hell of a match.
By far the most coherent performance I've seen from Jerry Es
Enrique Vera vs. Dos Caras, UWA World Heavyweight Championship, 2/26/84 (slightly clipped)
Dos Caras is a great wrestler. One of the finest to ever step foot inside a squared circle. But this isn't a great example of his work.
The difference between Caras and workers like Lizmark and Solar is that Caras was a heavyweight, which meant he had to work from a dominant or standing position. Guys like Lizmark could zip around, but Caras had to maintain the illusion that he was difficult to t
Negro Navarro, Trauma I, Trauma II vs. Black Terry, Cerebro Negro, Fantasma de la Opera, 7/9/09
I dunno what's been going on with IWRG lately, but there hasn't been any TV available and this is the first match I've seen in almost a month.
Things got off to the worst start possible really, when Navarro called Fuerza out on the house mic. This led to some group conference over an angle I haven't been following, while the match time became shorter and shorter. Fuerza said his piece, the C
El Hijo del Santo vs. Blue Panther, University of Essex, 10/8/04
Y'know when see a band play and the second night is better than the first? Didn't happen here.
This was a mess of the highest order.
The ring set-up meant that they couldn't dive into the crowd, so they threw in an "over the top" rule as a means of beating your opponent. In the first match, Santo tossed in a dive whenever he needed a highspot; here they tried eliminating each other.
That's a fucked situation.
Atlantis vs. El Faraón, Mexican National Middleweight Championship, 3/22/85
A villainous El Faraón!
I hadn't seen Faraón's rudo work, in fact I've never really seen him in his prime. He was a hell of a vet during the Dandy run, but this was another echelon altogether.
I've always put a great deal of importance in how a guy moves in the ring, since I don't think it's something that can be taught. You can change the way you bump and sell, but movement can only really be aided by t
El Hijo del Santo vs. Blue Panther, Colchester Arts Centre, 10/06/04
This was first of two matches Panther and Santo worked in England, as part of an exhibition of prints by Mexican artist Demián Flores Cortés.
'Flores Cortés' work, which is inspired by Mexican pop culture and in particular lucha libre, was described by the Gallery Director as "full of the raw energy, movement, and the staged drama of the wrestling world." Santo and Panther were invited to "animate" that work and did
Satanico vs. Lizmark, NWA World Middleweight Championship, 4/84
With both these guys retiring on the Luchas 2000 show, I thought I'd pay tribute to two of my all-time favourite workers.
This isn't a great match, and to be honest, I wish it had been much better, but it's as close as we'll ever get to the heart of the Lizmark/Satanico rivalry.
There's a moment towards the beginning of the match that sets the tone for everything that follows. The ref is giving his instructions to L
Zatura vs. Trauma II, IWRG Intercontinental Lightweight Championship, 6/18/09
Somehow we ended up skipping an episode of IWRG. It must've been an eventful one, since this week was all about singles matches and recriminations.
I haven't been as high on Trauma II as other people who watch and write about IWRG on a weekly basis, but I figured this match would showcase one way or another whether the kid's any good. And I'll say it up front -- the kid blew me away.
There were a few th
Arena Puebla 6/15/09
Ares, Espíritu Maligno, Siki Osama vs. Black Tiger, Blue Center, Centella de Oro
This was the Puebla boys at their best.
The opening matwork wasn't just good by Puebla standards, it was arguably the best matwork to come out of Mexico this year, but what really made the match were the follow-up falls. Usually, the Puebla guys lose their way after the first caida, but here the rudos did a good job of pushing the action. They kept changing the point of attack,
CMLL en la ARENA PUEBLA 6/1/09 Siki Osama, Espíritu Maligno VS Iron, Blue Center
Espíritu Maligno and Siki Osama! I like both these guys, so I got a kick out of this.
The first caida had a real old school feel to it. Blue Center is such a classical thinker. He may not have the athleticism of a Lizmark or Solar, but he thinks like a technico and has all the right ideas. There were a lot of neat exchanges in the first fall and they were nicely spaced; the way lucha used to be before it
Fuerza Chicana, Mr. Rafaga, Sauron vs Asturiano, Centella de Oro, Tigre Rojo, Arena Puebla, 5/25/09
Ah, the Puebla locals.
What I like about these guys is that they come in all shapes and sizes. A real mix of odds and ends. Centella de Oro was the only worker here, but there was no shirking from the match-ups and no hiding in the trios. They all took their turn here and were all rolling with an 80s bent. It was standard fare from these guys, but more praise worthy than anything from l
Mike Quackenbush/Kendo/Solar v Negro Navarro/Mr. Ferrari/Claudio Castegnoli, Invasion Azteca, 3/08/09
Well, for the second year running, it looks like my match of the year will come from outside Mexico.
Perhaps this wouldn't have been a MOTY in years gone by, but these days you have to search every nook and cranny. It's a bit like diggin' in the crates.
I won't deny that finding lucha in Delaware is half the fun, but the important thing is that it was lucha through and through.
Blue Panther vs. Averno, CMLL World Middleweight Championship, 5/29/09 (clipped)
This was a difficult match to judge since it was clipped, but it made me wanna throw in the towel.
The opening matwork was there or thereabouts, with Panther making it look more spectacular than it really was. Averno is an average worker, but he at least brought his A game and Panther has enough credibility to work an opening caida along traditional lines.
The third fall is where my apathy grew, espe
El Dandy vs. Javier Cruz, hair vs. hair, 10/26/84
This was just a bad match.
Way too much offence for a hair match and not enough selling. That should come as no surprise. Dandy was only 22 here and Cruz 25. Collectively, they didn't know shit yet. It kind of reminded me of Kiyoshi Tamura's early fights, where he's all limbs and no control. Sadly, we'll probably never seen their '86 feud and won't be able to pinpoint when Dandy entered his prime or if Cruz was ever a good singles work
IWRG 5/21/09
Freelance, Miss Gaviota & Diva Salvaje vs. Xibalba, Carta Brava & Avisman
Usually I'd skip a match like this, since you have to sit through so much crap to get to the Freelance parts, but it was worth it this week. From the opening matwork with Avisman to all of his rope work and bumps, it was a really solid outing from the world's foremost technico. There were a few hiccups on the mat, but they worked through it and I liked how pissed Avisman was at himself.
Black Terry vs. Fantasma de la Ópera, IWRG Intercontinental Welterweight Championship, 7/19/07
Black Terry is a guy who's more or less had a second career in IWRG, and you'd have to say 2007 was the peak of that career.
He was tearing shit up in this feud. In one trios, they did a huge old school bladejob, where both guys worked the cut until Fantasma looked like something out of a Dario Argento film. Terry's brawling was fantastic. It wasn't the strikes or the DQ for excessive rudoing
Perro Aguayo vs. Sangre Chicana, 3/20/92
Ha, this was awesome!
Easily the best Perro Aguayo match I've seen and probably the best thing Konnan's ever been involved in. There was so much bullshit going on in this match and it all worked beautifully. They couldn't have booked or executed it any better.
It started off on the perfect note with Chicana beating Aguayo over the head with the charro hat he wore to the ring, and was filled with hokey shit from La Fiera, Konnan and the hee
Back to work for these guys.
Oficiales 911, AK47 y Fierro vs. Zatura, Chico Ché & Freelance, 5/14/09
This is the first Oficiales match I've seen all year. A decent hit out, I suppose, but largely forgettable. It was the type of trios where they pause in the middle for the Freelance show; he hits a bunch of cool spots and then it's back to the same old, same old. The beatdowns were mildly interesting, but it's difficult to care about technicos like Zatura and Chico Ché.
Fuerza
Dandy/Faraon/Lizmark v Casas/Pierroth/Brazo de Oro, 6/22/92
Casas v. Dandy; whoever booked this feud had a rare stroke of genius.
It only just occurred to me how early this was in Casas' run. By booking Dandy as his first opponent, it brought Dandy out of a slump and saw Casas leapfrog his way to the top.
The booking itself was fairly simple. Casas and Dandy had a bunch of exchanges where neither guy came out on top, and therefore a singles match was a must; but it was remarkably
Mascarita Dorada vs Pequeño Damian 666, Lucha Fiesta, 3/20/09
I've never been a big fan of lucha in Japan, aside from the 70s when Baba would bring in guys like Mil Máscaras, Dos Caras and Dr. Wagner. The UWF stuff I could never get into. The crowds always felt the need to do something, whether it was booing or cheering, and the hardcores were more interested in the masks, which still fetch a price if they were actually worn. But I was surprised by how well this got over.
I haven't se
Valiente vs. Virus, Match Relámpago, 4/3/09
These two guys have gotta be the best workers in CMLL right now.
I've been thinking lately about why their match-up is so good, and I wanna say that it's the old adage that styles make fights. Virus has bulked up a lot since he became a regular sized worker and likes to lead with the shoulder; Valiente prefers the armdrag. Virus uses his strength to lift guys off the mat; Valiente works counters and reversals. Virus is an excellent rudo foil
Black Terry, Cerebro Negro y Dr Cerebro vs Negro Navarro, Trauma I y Trauma II, 4/23/09
There's been a lot of "lost lucha" over the years, but not this feud...
Chapter four started off with a lengthy mat sequence between Black Terry and one of the Trauma kids. It wasn't a bad mat sequence, but it was fairly typical of IWRG matwork in that the guy applying the hold allowed for a reset, which to me isn't much of a mat contest. I realise that it's largely about machismo and letting the ot
Black Terry, Cerebro Negro y Dr Cerebro vs Negro Navarro, Trauma I y Trauma II, Distrito Federal Trios Championship, 4/16/09
This is the third Terribles Cerebros/Dinastía Navarro match to find its way onto youtube in the past few weeks and lo and behold there were multiple versions of it. Watching the handheld copy, I wasn't that impressed, but the televised version ended up being far more enjoyable.
In a longer, mat-based match like this, there are a lot of details which you can only
