El Toreo Requiem Part 2, UWE, 1/23/09
This is a long goodbye. Not that I'm complaining or anything.
LOS CADETES DEL ESPACIO SOLAR, SUPER ASTRO Y ULTRAMAN
VS
LOS MISIONEROS DE LA MUERTE NEGRO NAVARRO, SIGNO Y BLACK POWER
This was all about Negro Navarro vs. Solar, and I'd go on and on about how great it was, but you know how much of a junkie I am for this stuff. The other guys weren't so bad on the mat, but their timing isn't what it used to be and neither is their strength. T
Blue Panther vs. Mr. Niebla, Arena Puebla, 11/17/08
What is the deal with Mr. Niebla? Fuck he's an awful worker.
But the real problem here was Panther.
And ever since he unmasked, he's been doing this "old man in peril" act where he looks piss weak. It doesn't matter whether he fights back with a punch or a tope, it all looks weak. Guys like El Faraón never showed their age, but Panther can't seem to help it. His selling is shitty, and I hate the way he draws support by lying on t
Los Oficiales vs. Black Terry/Cerebro Negro/Dr Cerebro, Distrito Federal Trios Championship, IWRG, 9/18/08
Black Terry is such a legend. There was a close-up of him early on, watching from the apron... A little tape from the cut man, a bit of gum to loosen up...
He looked a little weathered, but without geting out too out there, that rough, charismatic look kinda summed this match up.
This wasn't a classic, and it was a little rough around the edges, but it had a sort of magneticis
Negro Casas vs. Blue Panther, CMLL Guadalajara, 8/3/08
I enjoyed this.
It reminded me of those old school mano a mano contests, minus the blood. Mano a mano is neither a title match or a hair vs. mask match, so you have to take it down a notch (or two) in the event that one of those stips takes place. A Negro Casas/Blue Panther program is unlikely to happen at this point, but these guys were schooled in the old ways. They told a simple story about Casas cheating, the ref preventing Pa
Sangre Chicana vs. Villano III (12/3/83; may be from '84)
Eighties lucha! Where men were men and mano a mano meant hideous bladejobs.
Sangre Chicana has always been one of my favourite workers to watch. You watch a fight like this and he gets so much out of nothing, whereas today's kids get nothing out of too much. He took a beating here and his forehead was gashed, and not only was his selling better than anything I saw out of CMLL for the entirety of last year, but his offence amoun
La Sombra/Volador Jr. vs. Averno/Mephisto, CMLL World Tag Team Championship, 1/16/09
No good!
Where do you start a match? Do you start from dives or do you start from the ground up?
If you ask this layman, you either start from the mat, or from rudo brawling, and you hold off on your dives until the time is right. But the only building blocks these guys have are their dives and tricked out moves, so they go to them early.
Stuff happens... It just happens. None of these guys
These are based on the Tapatía Awards over at cubsfan's site.
Best Wrestler -- Negro Navarro
Negro Navarro is the best wrestler in Mexico. He looked good in everything I saw from him and his matwork was amazing every time he wrestled. Moreover he deserves credit for reinventing himself in his late 40s/early 50s, because the Navarro you see today is different from the guy who resurfaced in the 2001 El Dandy matches. Not a lot of guys change what works for them, and even fewer get better
Solar vs. Blue Demon Jr., NWA World Heavyweight Title, 12/9/08
When Santo was asked what London could expect from Lucha Libre, this was his answer: "You will see a contact sport but a great part of it is close to art. This is because in lucha we wrestle close to the canvas where you will see a lot of movement with ‘castigos’, holds and locks, it becomes harmonious and this beautiful skill converts into art." Perhaps so, but not when junior's involved.
Solar's a great worker, but Blue D
Mystico De La Juarez/Silver King/Rubi Gardenia v. Cassandro/Magno/El Hijo Del Santo, 12/9/08
This was by far and away the match of the year. So, alright, it wasn't wrestled in Mexico and didn't have a lucha crowd; in fact the atmosphere was difficult to describe, with the announcer putting it over like a cabaret show and DJs playing between falls, but it was a hell of a trios match and an awesome live show. Hell, it made me wanna fly over to London for the next foray.
As others have n
El Toreo "Requiem por una Era", 12/3/08
This was a farewell show for Toreo de Cuatro Caminos (aka El Toreo), the famous wrestling venue, which, after 64 years, is being torn down and replaced by a shopping mall and apartment complex.
Elimination tournament for the Copa UWA Toreo:
- Scorpio Jr./Shu el Guerrero vs. Super Astro/Ultraman
- Villano IV/Villano V vs. Rambo/Kahoz
If you've ever seen any of the tournaments that the lucha promotions run, you'll know what to expect from
Dandy/Chicana/Lizmark vs Satanico/Charles/Estrada, 11/9/1990
This was a teaser for the big hair match. I hadn't seen 1990 El Dandy for a while, but before the match they showed him visiting a family and he looked every bit the champion of the world, with his black eye and open collar shirt. And check out the shoes.
This was Dandy at the peak of his powers. I liked how Satanico wouldn't grapple. El Dandy had to fight 3 on 1 just to get a piece of Satanico and even then Satanico wouldn't g
El Hijo Del Santo/Octagon/Rey Misterio Jr./La Parka vs Blue Panther/Fuerza Guerrera/Pentagon/Psicosis, AAA Triplemania III-B, 6/18/95
Alright, forget all the bad things I say about AAA, I know what I like when I see it and this was something else. Some of you will remember the 3/95 trios that hooked a lot of us on lucha. This was the same kind of match, but packed more of a punch.
It was one of those matches where the rudos are agitated from the outset, as Octagon "bumped" Pentagon of
Blue Panther/Sergio el Hermoso vs Solar/Super Astro, 10/18/87
This is a match I've seen a few times before and never cared for, but after being so impressed with Sergio el Hermoso in the Exoticos match, I thought I'd give it another run through. In all honesty, I wish I hadn't. I can't believe such a poor match gets touted as some kind of 80s find.
It starts off with the promise of Solar/Panther matwork, and Solar is awesome on the mat, but Panther's counters are awful by his standard
Los Cadetes Del Espacio (Solar, Ultraman, Super Astro) vs. Los Exoticos (Sergio El Hermoso, Bello Greco, Rudy Reyna), UWA 1984
I thought I should choose something spectacular for my 100th entry and here it is -- Space Cadets vs. Exoticos from 1984.
Phenomenal match really. One unbelievable spot after another and pure entertainment at that.
It was all wolf whistles and matwork to begin with. The Exoticos were fantastic; running away, avoiding engagement, working slick exchanges w
Negro Navarro & Killer Family (Rey Krimen, Sadico, Sepulturero I) vs. Ángel Azteca Jr., Brazo de Platino, Mascara Ano 2000 Jr & Shu el Guerrero, AULL 11/29/06
I wasn't sure what to expect from this, but it ended up being a fun match-up. The Killer Family weren't too bad. Apparently they were trained by Rocky Satana, so I guess they've got some ring sense.
And of course they were led by Negro Navarro, who's gotta be the most stoic motherfucker on the planet. He locked up with M
Santo/Dandy/Silver King vs Casas/Satanico/Dantes, CMLL 2/2/96
You don't need me to tell you this was good. Just look at the names.
I don't mean to sound like a broken record, but Satanico was awesome in this. He had a lengthy mat exchange with El Dandy where you'd swear he was twenty years younger the way he was moving. He was carrying some extra weight, but it made him seem more bullish. With the crew cut and taped fingers, he looked primed, and sure enough he kept gaining inside contro
Atlantis vs. Satanico, CMLL 1984
Atlantis was just a kid here. You could see it in the way he swivelled his head, looking for crowd support. That open armed stance is classic rookie behaviour; a type of nervous energy that young technicos have. Satanico, on the other hand, wasn't the least bit unsure of himself, in fact this was Satanico at his cockiest. A vain, ostentatious, altogether glorious display.
At one point, Atlantis was lying on the mat; his mask ripped; forehead bleeding;
Negro Navarro/Shu el Guerrero vs. Solar 1/Skayde, AULL 11/01/02
According to the match finder at cubs' site, this was only the second time that Solar and Navarro had faced each other. Assuming that they wrestled for longer than in the original trios, this may be the beginning of their rivalry. In any event, it's the earliest footage to pop up and a bit of a treasure trove.
Before I discuss early Solar/Navarro, I've got to say that I was actually more impressed with Shu el Guerrero and
Solar I/Super Astro vs. Negro Navarro/Shu El Guerrero, Arena Coliseo De Monterrey 5/18/08
This was really enjoyable. A little on the soft side to be a MOTYC or anything like that, but it was everything they could deliver on paper.
Solar/Navarro is the best match-up in wrestling. No matter how many times you see it, you just wanna see it again. Three times they squared off and each time they flaunted their maestro reps. The opening fall was worked around wristlock takedowns and arm drag
Lizmark vs. Satanico, Mexican National Light Heavyweight Championship, AAA 9/17/93 (clipped)
One of my favourite things about lucha libre is classy performances from veteran workers, and this was one such occasion -- Satanico vs. Lizmark in 1993. The match was clipped, so it's impossible to know how much was shelved, but this was a simpler style than they were capable of. The work wasn't amazing by their standards, and in fact there were a few slip-ups, but everything was weighted and that'
Los Brazos vs Santo, Satanico & Eddy Guerrero, CMLL 9/16/90
I've been sick for more than two weeks, but I'm finally on the mend and this match is just what the doctor ordered.
Los Brazos are always entertaining, largely because they've got so many ways of telling the same stories over and over again, but rudo Brazos -- and not Bucaneros/Brazos, "rudos contra rudos" rudos, but actual "rudo" rudos -- is one of their best shticks.
You can follow the fortunes of any Brazo match b
Santo, Corazon de Leon & Ultimo Dragon vs. Negro Casas, Satanico & Emilio Charles Jr., 9/95
Santo, Corazon de Leon & Ultimo Dragon vs. Negro Casas, Satanico & Emilio Charles Jr., 9/95 rematch
Santo hates Casas! Casas hates Santo! as the old deathvalleydrivers would say.
This two-part penny opera starts with Santo dropkicking Casas in the face before everyone's been properly introduced. Casas spends an exorbitant amount of time checking his face for structural damage,
El Dandy vs. Satanico, hair vs. hair, 12/6/91
For some reason these two never had a great match together.
Take this match for example -- almost every hold is a clever piece of work and the attention to detail is amazing, yet somehow it doesn't add up. Hold for hold it's a virtuoso performance, but in the big picture only half satisfying. I suppose the reason for that is the scale. It's quite a minor match; not what you'd expect from a hair match. And the scenario was one sided.
I
La Sombra vs Ephesto, NWA World Welterweight Championship, 12/7/08
This was a strong Match of the Year contender.
It was a modern lucha match, so there was an emphasis on moves and nearfalls, but they managed to work this into quite a dramatic contest.
We often praise guys for working a crowd, but sometimes it's the crowd who can lift a match to greater heights and that was the impression I got here. Both guys seemed to grow in confidence from the crowd willing them on. Sombra's
Los Oficiales vs. Aeroman/Zatura/Freelance, 11/28 TV
Los Oficiales vs. Jack/Multifacético/Pendulo, 12/5 TV
Freelance/Pendulo vs. Comando Negro/Trauma II, 12/12 TV
These weren't that flash. IWRG never show the match-ups you really wanna see and their editor has no clue how to match two shots together. The editing was all over the fucking show, like a monkey at a typewriter. Still, if you haven't been introduced to Freelance or Los Oficiales, youtube is the ticket.
People keep talki
