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's where their class shone through.

The opening matwork is a good example. Satanico began with a waistlock, Lizmark went for the most basic counter possible and they followed through with a simple exchange. I know a lot of people struggle with how slow lucha matwork can be, but it really is beautiful. Because the refs are so vigilant about where the shoulders are on the mat, even a basic hold like Satanico hooking the arm and head takes on extra weight. It requires Lizmark to bridge out of the pinning predicament, but a bridge in that situation is fairly demanding and he only managed a couple of quarter lifts before he could get a full one. That broke the count, but not the leverage. Instead of Satanico dropping the hold, like so many wrestlers do today, Lizmark fought to free his head and regain upper body position. Satanico countered by leaning into his man with the arm still locked, but Lizmark rolled him onto his shoulders. He couldn't keep Satanico's arm tied, however, and Lopez grabbed the rope. Usually that would signal a break, but as Lizmark was backing off, in one foul swoop, Satanico pounced on the heel and ankle, took Lizmark down, scissored the leg and began working the point of his elbow into the thigh area. Not only did Lizmark have to keep his shoulders up, he had to block out the pain and figure out a way to break the hold. The snapping motion as he hooked Satanico's head to the canvas was really beautiful, as was Satanico's selling as he looked for the safety of the ropes.

It was simple stuff compared to their younger days, but every hold was a battle, there were no easy escapes and the bout was wholly contested. Lizmark limited his big moves to the backbreaker and suicida plancha, they sold their fatigue and Lizmark adapted to the ref's rather bizarre interpretation of the first pinfall by avoiding the same type of pinning attempt. They kinda lost it a bit when they worked off the ropes, but it was a good match, reminiscent of Blue Panther vs. Atlantis from earlier this year.