IWRG

Avisman vs. Bushi, 11/26/09

This was the lightweight title switch the Segunda Caida guys wrote about recently. Avisman definitely showed what he's capable of on the mat here. Bushi couldn't follow suit, but I guess he wouldn't really know how. The match peaked with Avisman's final action on the mat, which was a counter into a ankle lock of his own if I recall correctly. Great intensity from Avisman to match his angry little man demeanour. He was like a little Napoleon with his matwork here. The rest of the match bored me, however.

CMLL

Sangre Azteca/Dragon Rojo Jr./Misterioso II vs. Mascara Dorada/Metro/Stuka Jr, 1/6/10

This was also a title switch. There was an effort to make it seem important, but these guys are only capable of working one style and so this was just a longer version of that style. The rudos are so generic. I fucking hate the synchronised moves they do. You can't distinguish one rudo from another if they all do the same moves. They all look like Scorpio, Jr. to one degree or another, and who would've thought he'd have a lasting influence on the rudo division? Anyway, this was well rehearsed and the same match they do night in, night out. I guess you could call it solid, but the patterns are so predictable that it came across like an over-produced pop single to me. Stuka Jr is worth watching since he has a solid all-round game and a couple of nice dives, but he does the same thing in every match.

CMLL Arena Puebla

Centella de Oro/Blue Center/King Jaguar vs. Ares/Alarido/Crazy Black, 1/11/10

Haven't seen the locals in a while. When they're on song, the locals produce the truest form of lucha in Mexico. Centella de Oro has to be the most underrated guy in lucha circles. He carried Ares through some fucking great lucha exchanges in this match. Blue Center was awesome too. Like a veteran version of 1991 Atlantis.

Stuka Jr./Metro/Fuego vs. Dr. X/Pólvora/Virus, 1/11/10

This started off with the same mat exchanges that Stuka Jr. always does, but Virus is such a great worker that he was able to turn it into a pretty good slow build. Why they chose to work a slow build is beyond me since everyone else wanted to work up tempo. That's another thing I hate -- the token slow build. Whatever happened to working the opening pairs before upping the tempo on the second go through? Virus/Stuka aside, this pretty much sucked. There were a ton of botched spots and no rhythm to bail them out.

IWRG

Negro Navarro vs. Angelico, 1/21/10

The best worker in Mexico meets the worst worker in Mexico. This was such a weird match to watch. After years of watching Navarro annihilate young guys one on one, he sold for Angelico as if he were a fellow maestro. If Angelico wasn't Navarro's student and just some guy he was matched against on the indy circuit, you have to wonder whether he'd give him anything at all. I was actually annoyed with Navarro here because he was selling for some of the worst looking shit you'll ever see and putting it over huge. Angelico couldn't apply his holds properly and Navarro was submitting to them in the hope of giving his student some rub. There's been a bit of talk about Navarro working "even" with Angelico, but this was beyond even. On one level, his performance was excellent as he showed he can sell as well as he works holds, but Angelico is just not ready for the sort of respect Navarro showed him here. He contributed nothing to the match and looked completely out of place. I don't know whether Navarro has his blinders on in regard to his prodigy's skill, but I sure as hell wish he was giving the rub to somebody else.