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. The Cadetes stay grounded these days, though Solar and Super Astro managed to work a classic Space Cadets tope spot. That left Solar alone v Navarro. I'm a real mark for these Negro Navarro standoffs; they're like a spaghetti western showdown with the bounty-killer. This wasn't quite up to a Ennio Morricone score, but Solar was awesome, incorporating stuff they'd done for show into a match winning bid. The finish was supremely satisfying, and while the match wasn't up to the one they had when Texano was still alive, I couldn't have asked for much more.

VILLANO IV Y V

VS

SHU EL GUERRERO Y ENGENDRO

This was another good match. Shu is feuding with the Villanos at the moment and coming dangerously close to losing his mask to Quinto, but I'm enjoying this far more than the crap with Panther. The Villanos look far better in UWE than CMLL, especially Villano V. What impressed me most about this match was Engendro. It was supposed to be a revenge match between the Villanos and Shu/Scorpio Jr., but it was all the better for having Engendro involved. He was everywhere he needed to be to keep this ticking over as a brawl. This was a strong mascara contra mascara riff running through this, and the fact Engendro lost his mask to Villano IV once upon a time was a neat twist. Most of all it was nice to have a Shu showcase in the early part of 2009. The guy plays second or third fiddle a lot, and he's good at that, but it's cool to see him in a feud, even if it can only end badly for him.

CANEK, ENRIQUE VERA Y VILLANO III

VS

MIL MASCARAS, DR. WAGNER JR. Y DOS CARAS

This was an attempt at working a classic UWA style mainevent brawl. Villano III wore his mask for old time's sake and it looked like an old man version of youtube clips you might see from El Toreo's heyday. Wagner toned it down a bit, which was a blessing, and Vera got stuck into him from the moment he entered the ring. We can only imagine he was saying, "fuck your bullshit, Wagner." Vera's brawling was pretty decent. No Dos Caras matwork, instead it was Canek's turn to look pretty good. Not much to say really. They pulled each other's masks off too much, and Villano III kept trying to hide his face until finally he walked around without his mask on (which was in Wagner's mouth.)

I skipped the opener, but check out the middle two matches.