From 9/6/92 TV:

Super Astro/Solar I/Angel Azteca vs. Blue Panther/El Indomito/El Cobarde

This was really good.

It had a lot of stalling to begin with, so you knew you weren't gojng to see a mat classic, but once they locked up we got some good, older style exchanges. I was impressed with Panther as the main rudo. He's not a guy I see as a strong rudo worker, but they were playing to a red hot crowd in Tijuana, and the public were for the technicos like a lucha crowd should be. He also had worthy flunkies in Indomito and Cobarde, lifers who made Panther look like the gang leader. A fan threw his drink all over Panther, so he was obviously doing something right

The match was your typical slow feud burner, in this case building to a Panther/Azteca singles match. I recall that match being a disappointment, but this made me want to revisit it. Solar played an Atlantis role here, mentoring the all too fired up Azteca; adjudicating over all that is fair and righteous; taking the law into his own hands when it came to the heel ref. And most pleasing for the lucha fan, Super Astro did all of his spots.

A total success, I thought.

La Parka/El Sicodelico/El Espanto Jr. vs. Konnan/Octagon/El Hijo del Santo

So, any match with Konnan in it isn't going to spend the first fall on the mat, but you've gotta appreciate that the fucker was over. And in a wild match, in front of a hot crowd -- not that bad to watch.

They started off with some quick exchanges, and although I don't like how Espanto basically became a bumper in AAA, he took the most amazingly fast, whip-like bumps off Santo's rope work and had a terrific comedy spot on the apron. The finish to the fall was beautifully done and basically involved the lucha equivalent of repartee, with everyone catching each other by surprise. From there it spilled out onto the floor, and they took full advantage of the fact that there were no barricades, just flimsy wooden set-ups with loose ropes. The rope became a weapon and the crowd were fully into this. Konnan was fish hooked in the ring and it wasn't long before he sent a fat Sicodelico flying into the audience. I mean, seriously, he sent that fat fucker flying. And he waved him off too. Adios.

Espanto and Parka kept busy the whole match, and later on Santo and Octagon did topes into the crowd, which I thought they were crazy for doing given the arena set-up. The match disentigrated into some tripe about a foul, a DQ and El Sicodelico having his mask removed, but if you watch it stay to the end... Konnan gets fed up with Parka post-match and socks him. Parka falls ass backwards out of the ring.

Konnan always strikes me as a LL Cool J wannabee, but I liked him here.