Blue Panther vs. Ángel Azteca, Mexican National Middleweight Champion, AAA 9/4/92

It's good to revisit things every once in a while.

This was one of the first lucha tapes I ever bought, and while I could swear the version I had was complete, I could only find a clipped version of this floating around. Obviously that breaks the rhythm of a match, and can make it seem better than it really is, but despite the cut this was vintage Blue Panther.

They only showed the finish to each fall, but it was all there; the brilliant work between the ropes; exaggerated selling on the mat; creative ways to escape and counter holds; the exquisite build-up to his own success. Panther's selling wasn't prolonged, but if you're familiar with lucha, I guess that comes with the territory. A lucha match is a type of rolling match, and Panther did put a lot of detail into the falls he won. Finally, a word or two about Ángel Azteca; of all the guys who took up lucha in the sixteen years since this match, none of them showed the potential to be a great luchador like Ángel Azteca. Azteca was cut from the Lizmark/Atlantis/Solar/Ciclón Ramírez mold, and although he wasn't quite there yet, the fact he never got there is a blight on modern lucha. As green as he was, he could work "Greco-Roman" and no technico these days comes close to applying the types of holds Azteca used here.

But enough of my lamenting. Panther and Azteca worked a match in the true lucha style