Pierrotito/Damiancito el Guerrero vs Ultimo Dragoncito/Cicloncito Ramirez, 4/97 TV

This didn't have the beautiful structure of the Mini Classics from '97, but even in an average sort of a match (average meaning "good" or "very good" by comparison), there's a ridiculous amount of talent on show. I've seen a few comments about how Damiancito el Guerrero (now Virus) is one of the great, underrated workers of the last decade or so, but I'm not feeling that in so far as they were all great.

Whenever Damiancito steps into the ring with Cicloncito Ramirez, it's a rare instance of luchadors matching each other hold for hold. Most luchadors try to work hold for hold, but either the technico is poor, meaning the rudo has to bump a lot, or the rudo is crappy & nothing the technico does looks good. The former is OK if the rudo is great. The latter never good. Watching these guys here and in other trios, whatever sequence Damiancito pulls out, Cicloncito can match it with something equally spectacular, until one sequence is so spectacular that you have a "winner" & the next pair take over. For people new to lucha, these pairings can be confusing as they don't build to a finish in the way you might expect, in fact the finish can seem disconnected from what's come before, but as you start to learn about patterns in lucha, you'll get a sense for momentum -- how showmanship builds momentum & how you can pick the winner of the first caida based on who has the upper hand in the exchanges. Finishes seem random at first, with everybody entering the ring & walking into a finisher, but falls are won in the exchanges.

Now if a technico and a rudo match each other hold for hold, the technico should ultimately win, since they have superior technique (in theory anyway.) In lucha, falls are won on virtue more than anything else -- the technicos win through superior technique, the rudos through their rudo ways... If the rudos get jostled into one-upmanship in the first fall, it won't be too long until a rudo like Pierrotito decides beating the crap out of the technico is a much better option than wrestling him, & man do Pierrotito (and Damiancito's) cut-offs rule in this match. This doesn't go three falls, so you don't get the true pay-off, but they do such a great job of slowing down the pace & dictating the second caida, until coughing up the fall. Pierrotito was so awesome -- he wasn't as quick or agile as Damiancito & maybe couldn't bump as big or get as deep on an armdrag -- but he was great at cutting off technico offence & working the punches & he could go toe-to-toe in any style, most importantly on the mat and in comedy spots.

Ultimo Dragoncito had a little bit of a gut, which made him a tad awkward at times, but as many people will attest to, he was a crazy motherfucker with insane topes. Put them altogether & you have a crew with great chemistry.