Hijo de Cien Caras, Mascara Año 2000 Jr. y Negro Navarro vs. El Pantera, Mano Negra y Halcon Ortiz, 8/21/08

No matwork in this one, just a soft brawl. Still it was pretty harmless. Mano Negra and Pantera did some neat spots off the ropes and Halcon Ortiz looked better than Mil Máscaras.

Los Oficiales vs. Fantasma de la Opera, Dr. Cerebro y Cerebro Negro, Distrito Federal Trios Championship, 8/24/08

I really dug this. They may have been a little safe with the structure, but it was at least recognisable as lucha libre. Nothing outwardly spectacular, just guys chiming in at the right time. There were some decent mat exchanges between 911 and Dr. Cerebro & Fierro and Cerebro Negro, and Fantasma de la Opera did a good job as the guy who swings the momentum. It was a little telegraphed, but a cautious approach to structure is better than no structure at all.

The Oficiales lack the journeyman instincts that a lot of older rudos have, and I get the feeling that they don't have much in the way of shtick, but what I'd like to see from them (if IWRG ever gets TV again) is more bite. Fantasma de la Opera & Co. were chippy here, and I think in a better trios match they would've made more out of that, but the Oficiales tend to rotate the strike. 911 was the captain, but there was never a sense that he was the key guy or that 911 vs. Fantasma de la Opera was the key match-up, because they don't pair off enough. They're great at backing each other up. They'll hit the ring and build off the previous exchange, and either retaliate or take the bump, but what's lacking is the chieftain factor. I hate to bring Satanico up, but he was a master at singling out the mano a mano contest within a trios match, and I think the Oficiales need to take turns being the chief. You don't need to be feuding over a singles title to work an inbuilt rivalry into a trios match, you just need to take charge and single each other out. The way Black Terry singled out 911 in their September title match.

Despite all that it was still a good match. You could pretty much call it, and it was a little cushioned, but damn it feels good to watch something that makes sense.