cad

Guys with a case for greatness: 31) Javier Cruz Strengths: He was good as a spunky unmasked tecnico (talk about a dead art) and good as a snotty rudo. Some of his his high flying was brilliant stuff. There's no real weak period of his career. Weaknesses: Seemed to struggle to have a great match if he was the more spectacular of the two workers. He's more the type of guy who'll be there when Ciclon Ramirez or Jerry Estrada is having their signature performance, and it's like, "Oh yeah, Cruz was good in that match too." Peak: Cruz's prime probably started at some point in the second half of the 1980s and then ended in 1991, right around the time he was told to change gimmicks and then to become a rudo. During that stretch he was a top 25-30 worker for Mexico. His peak year, though, was 1994, when he had a fantastic match against Ciclon Ramirez and tried his best to carry a team of himself, Cachorro Mendoza and Mogur to some exciting matches. He was a candidate for best worker in the country that year. Best matches: vs Hombre Bala (1989), vs Jerry Estrada (1989), vs Ciclon Ramirez (1994), vs Barbaro Cavernario (2012) 32) Brazo de Oro Strengths: Very good technician who was vital to the Brazos' reputation as an all-around great trio. Has the best resume of the three. Weaknesses: In lucha lore, Brazo de Oro could have been a superstar but subjugated that potential for the good of the team and the family. Personally, I never saw him as having much personality, certainly not enough to have ended up as a star on his own. The Brazos as a unit were charismatic, but I think his brothers were the ones who made it that way. Peak: Dunno. We don't really have the best impression of what the Brazos were like in the 1980s. I'd have him in Mexico's top 5 for 1991. Best matches: Brazos vs Bucaneros (1989, super libre), vs Pirata Morgan (1989), vs Hijo del Santo (1991), Brazos vs Infernales (1991) 33) Hombre Bala Strengths: Excellent worker as part of a trio. Great at comedy sequences. Weaknesses: Utterly lacking in star power. Much less effective in random 3v3s when he isn't teaming with a regular partner. Peak: It's gotta be the Bucaneros run from 1987-89. Maybe top 20 for Mexico in 1989. Best matches: Bucaneros vs Alfonso Dantes, Atlantis and Rayo de Jalisco Jr. (1987), Bucaneros vs Angel Azteca, Atlantis and Ringo Mendoza (1988), vs Javier Cruz (1989), Bucaneros vs Atlantis, Super Astro and Mascara Sagrada (1989), Bucaneros vs Brazos (1989, super libre) 34) Solar Strengths: One of the classic lucha technical workers. Weaknesses: I love watching Solar wrestle, but I don't really love any one of his matches. I made a list of my top 100 Mexican matches some time back and IIRC he wasn't on it. Peak: Possibly the 1980s or even the late '70s when he was winning titles at multiple levels and in multiple weight classes, or possibly in this century when he was going around the country displaying his technical skill against Negro Navarro. My favorite year for Solar is 1994, when he got a lot of action and even an updated gimmick in AAA. He's in a dogfight with Javier Cruz and La Parka for best worker in the country that year. Best matches: Mariachi vs Blue Panther (1994), vs Negro Navarro (luchadb has them with 115 1v1 matches, I think the most popular one might be the 2009 version?) (A lot of Solar's 1v1 matches on video, pre-maestro era, are with guys who aren't really peers. Random Panamanian talent, solid journeymen like Arkangel or Bombero Infernal, etc.) 35) Dr. Wagner Jr. Strengths: Charisma, mostly. Actually a very well rounded worker when he wants to be. Weaknesses: He has matches that are great in the moment, and then I can't remember anything about them a couple of weeks later. Peak: Some point in the aughts. That's after the period for which I have a decent idea of who ranked where. Best matches: vs Atlantis (January 2001), vs Shocker (2005), vs LA Park (2013) (My favorite Parka vs Wagner match was from 2006 in Arena Mexico, but I think that consensus has their TxT match as the ultimate version of that matchup.) 36) Psicosis Strengths: High energy rudo who simply had a lot of highly praised matches in a lot of places. Underrated choice for Rey Misterio's top opponent. Weaknesses: That WCW run seemed to take a lot out of him as a worker. Peaked early and some of his big matches aren't quite as revered as they used to be. Peak: In 1995 he's a solid choice for best Mexican worker and he had such good chemistry with Rey Misterio Jr. that they took their act all over the wrestling world. Best matches: The definitive AAA 3v3 (March 1996), vs Rey Misterio Jr. (September 1995), vs Rey Misterio Jr. (July 1996) 37) Bestia Salvaje Strengths: One of the best choices to fill out a team of rudos. Great left hand. Weaknesses: Peaked as a physical talent in 1989-92. Peaked as a personality in the second half of the '90s, when he had lost a step. Never quite the total package. Peak: Probably 1992. Top 10-15 worker in Mexico. Best matches: vs Huracan Sevilla (1992), Bestia and Scorpio Jr. vs Santo and Casas (March 1999, apuestas) (Meltzer had that Sevilla match as his lucha MOTY.) 38) Pantera Sureña Strengths: The top two women's matches from Mexico that I've seen are Pantera vs Jaguar Yokota (1985) and Pantera vs Lola Gonzalez (1988). Had a really good match in Houston vs Estela Molina. Weaknesses: Didn't really do all that much to elevate the typical women's 3v3s. Peak: Probably the first half of the '80s. Best matches: I already listed three of them. Her feud with Jaguar Yokota in Japan, where she wrestled as La Galactica, has a decent amount of fans. 39) Rambo Strengths: Had just about everything you'd want from a rudo, minus top flight athleticism. Forget Atlantis, this guy is the definitive Villano III rival. Weaknesses: Usually solid, but you're not going to see any mindblowing technical work or character work from him. Peak: Dude, Rambo had an entire career before even adopting the Rambo character. He was damn near forty when he first appeared on TV. No idea when he was at his best. Best matches: vs Villano III (1987), vs Villano III (1993), vs Villano III (2000), vs Villano III (2000) 40) Brazo de Plata Strengths: Unparalleled comedy wrestler. Even if the joke doesn't land it's hard not to admire him for trying. Driving force of one of Mexico's definitive trios. Weaknesses: Past, like, the mid-'80s, he's not really capable of conventional greatness. Peak: On video, it's probably 1989-91, when the Brazos were a new act in Arena Mexico and on television. Before that, who knows? Astonishingly svelte in some of the Brazos matches on video from the mid-1980s, to the point that he's unrecognizable. Best matches: Brazos vs Bucaneros (super libre, 1989), Brazos vs Dandy, Popitekus and Super Astro (1991), Brazos vs Infernales (1991) 41) Ultimo Dragon Strengths: Such a talented offensive wrestler that he was able to get over everywhere he went except WWE, where it was more important that he was... Weaknesses: Boring as shit as a personality. Peak: In Mexico, 1993. Probably in the country's top 10 that year. Best matches: vs Fiera (1992), vs Negro Casas (1993), vs Shinjiro Ohtani (1996), vs Rey Misterio Jr. (1996) 42) Perro Aguayo Strengths: One of the definitive lucha brawlers, and also perhaps the most visibly adored wrestler ever. Weaknesses: I find him hokey a lot of the time. Even before he's an old man. Like bringing scissors into the ring, come on. Peak: World War II was still going on when Perro was conceived. He probably peaked in the '70s. Maybe I should have listed that as a strength, that he impresses so many people even though most of what we have from him is so far removed from his peak. Best matches: vs Sangre Chicana (1986), vs Mascara Año 2000 (1993) 43) Negro Navarro Strengths: Supremely talented technician. Played a major part in the development of two types of match that endure to this day. That latter statement is an objective truth, not really subject to debate or difference of opinion. Weaknesses: At some point in the second half of the aughts, he decided that he wanted to work holds without any of the struggle to counter or escape. Just slap on a hold to show off your knowledge and then let go. He threw away like half of what makes technical work engrossing. And great workers like Blue Panther, Virus, Dr. Cerebro and Black Terry, guys who know better, would happily play along. That's maybe the worst thing you can say about a wrestler, that he made his opponents worse. Peak: We have almost none of his Misioneros work on video. I'd go with the first half of the aughts, when he was revolutionizing the maestros style without selling out the competitiveness of it. Best matches: vs Dandy (2001), vs Engendro (2003), vs Solar (pick one, I'm not watching all 26 available matches), vs Zack Sabre Jr. (2017)

Flawed or borderline greats: 24) Blue Panther Strengths: Technically proficient, knows what pops the crowd, extreme longevity. Weaknesses: My experience with Panther is that the more you look, the less you see. At his worst, he's well below the standards of a great worker and actually quite average. Even at his best you often have to wade through slop such as lazy transitions and Life Alert worthy selling. Not really much for details (more of an action guy). Peak: When WAS his peak? Meltzer had him with three **** matches in 1992 and probably would have called him Mexico's finest that year. I've heard people say that turn of the century Panther is the peak version. I thought he was one of the country's top ten workers in 1997. Much more of a longevity/consistency case than someone who blew away his contemporaries for a stretch of time. Best matches: vs Atlantis (1991), vs Mariachi (1994), vs Atlantis (1997), vs Hijo del Santo (April 2000), vs Negro Casas (2012), vs Bryan Danielson (the boyhood dream has come true) 25) El Texano Strengths: Up until about 1993 or 1994, Texano pretty much always looks awesome. Weaknesses: Doesn't have the resume of the guys around him for filmed matches. There just aren't a lot of Texano spotlights, and for most of his prime his promotion had no TV. Peak: I'd guess his best years were the late '80s into the early '90s. By the time he becomes a fulltime CMLL guy (1994?) he's past his prime. 1992 might be his best bet, as he has his Cowboys run with Silver King and a really good underrated title match with Signo. Probably in the top 10-20 for Mexico that year just from what's on video. Best matches: Texano vs Signo (1992). Most of his best stuff is in other people's 3v3s. 26) Villano III Strengths: Has the look and feel of a classic '80s brawler. Is in one of the common choices for best lucha match ever. Looks the better of the two workers in that match. Weaknesses: The Atlantis match and the Rambo matches provide the outline of an all time great but the middle isn't quite filled in. Not many great 3v3s, not many matches in which he works outside of his comfort zone. Villano was very much a formula worker, and his was a lazier and less satisfying formula than Santo's. Peak: Almost certainly before he started appearing on TV. There's actually a solid chance we have not a single match from his peak on film. Had an excellent 2000, with the classic mask match, some fiery unmasked tecnico work, and an IWRG feud with Rambo. Best matches: vs Rambo (1987), vs Rambo (1993), vs Atlantis (March 2000) 27) Jerry Estrada Strengths: Bombastic comedy almost on the level of Fuerza Guerrera, and he could turn on a dime into a thug and a bully, with a little more blood and guts to his work than Fuerza. Weaknesses: Not very consistent over the course of a match. Like I said about Blue Panther, even the best Estrada matches often feature some awkward or ugly moments. Peak: While inconsistent from moment to moment, Estrada was extremely consistent from year to year. His prime runs from 1989 (maybe as far back as 1987 with the Bucaneros) through 1994, and he doesn't have a standout year in that stretch. Generally a top 15-30 worker in Mexico for a long time. Best matches: His best matches are probably vs Fiera (1991) and vs Lizmark (1993). To me, the matches that best demonstrate what he was about are vs Javier Cruz (1989) and vs Stuka (1994). Once upon a time, those were considered lucha classics, and if you get through them thinking they had more good than bad, then you're a real Estrada fan. 28) Pequeño Pierroth Strengths: Extremely solid. Rarely in a bad match before he entered his fifties. Weaknesses: Not really a big match worker. Benefited from working with the same crew night after night. Large swaths of his career unaccounted for. Peak: I'd be lying if I told you that I knew. One of the better workers in the famed '97 minis division, but below Virus (and possibly Cicloncito) in the rankings. Best matches: Pierrothito and Damiancito vs Dragoncito and Cicloncito (March 1997), the famous minis 3v3 (October 1997), vs Demus (2010), vs Shockercito (2017) 29) Dos Caras Strengths: Technical proficiency, ability to project himself as a star in foreign territories. Weaknesses: Is there any Dos Caras in Mexico on video from before he turned forty? His foreign work might be better than his domestic work. Peak: No clue. Best matches: vs Jumbo Tsuruta (1979), vs Canek (1992), vs Blue Panther (2004?) 30) Angel Azteca Strengths: Technical ability, graceful flying. In 1990 they consistently stuck him with some of the best CMLL workers and he usually came away looking just as good as they did. Weaknesses: Not as explosive as contemporary tecnicos Lizmark and Atlantis. After the first half of 1990, had a real hard time getting into any important matches. His best matches were generally against great workers. Peak: In 1990 he was one of the top five or ten workers in Mexico. Probably not a darkhorse best in the world candidate, because he appeared on TV a lot less in the second half of the year. Might have continued improving as a worker after that, but never again had the chance to put together the collection of matches that he did in 1990. Best matches: Angel and Atlantis vs Dandy and Texano (1989), vs Emilio Charles (1990), all those matches where he teamed up with Javier Cruz against El Dandy's teams (1990), vs Dandy (June 1990), vs Blue Panther (1992) (Meltzer loved that Blue Panther match. No one talks about it today though.)

Flawed greats (or greats with flawed cases): 16) Ciclon Ramirez Strengths: His tope suicida is as must see a spot as anything that guys like Rey Misterio Jr. and Sabu were doing at the time, but it's a standard move that countless wrestlers do rather than something new and innovative. He made a basic move into something as exciting as the Steiner Screwdriver. Weaknesses: Didn't have a particularly good career. His resume can't compare to most of the guys around him on this list. His case is about appeal, talent, fun and MAYBE his top few matches. Peak: Probably 1991, when the Saetas del Ring started making TV, through the Javier Cruz match in 1994. After that he's a forgotten man. In '91 and '93 he's maybe a top 20-30 guy for Mexico unless, again, you place very little emphasis on resume. Best matches: vs Felino (July 1993), vs Javier Cruz (1994) (This ranking probably wouldn't hold up in court, but it's my list.) 17) Felino Strengths: Athleticism, technical ability, enthusiasm. He has a bunch of highly praised matches. Technical work had lot of detail put into it. Weaknesses: Bomb heavy third falls in which he often reused specific counters (ESPECIALLY that powerbomb off a top rope Frankensteiner attempt). Not particularly concerned with realism. Peak: From 1996 through 2001 (and maybe later), Felino is guaranteed to give you at least one excellent fall of technical work whenever he's in a title match. He's a top ten guy for Mexico in 1996 and 1998, possibly top five. Best matches: vs Ciclon Ramirez (July 1993), vs Mascara Magica (1996), vs Hijo del Santo (July 1997, either one I guess), vs Hijo del Santo (1998), vs Dr. Cerebro (2001) 18) Mocho Cota Strengths: He's a fascinating character with a perfect look for a villain and he's great at rudo bumping, comedy and heatseeking. And yet the two matches that form the backbone of his case incorporate none of this, for the most part, so there's even more to him than that. Weaknesses: His case relies A LOT on two similar matches, in back to back weeks, with the same opponent, who has been given virtually no credit for them. Who's to say it was truly representative of Cota as a worker, rather than just a good matchup that we're lucky to have on tape? Peak: First half of the 1980s. More or less impossible to say where he ranked in the Mexican (or world) scene at that point. Best matches: Guerreros vs Infernales (1983), vs Americo Rocca (January 1984), vs Americo Rocca (February 1984) 19) LA Park Strengths: Charisma, longevity, brawling. For much of his career felt like a totally different entity in the Mexican scene. Weaknesses: I'm not sure if he ever had a match that was as satisfying as it could have been, in large part because of the bullshit prevalent in his matches. Peak: I'm not sure. I don't know what weekly LA Park was like once he came back from WCW, so I don't really have an idea of how good he was in years like 2001 and 2016 when he had some of his best matches. In 1993-94 he was one of the top five workers in Mexico but probably not a candidate for best in the world. Best matches: vs Sandokan (1988 mask match), vs Lizmark (1993), vs Hijo del Santo (2001), vs Rush (March 2017, among others) 20) Lizmark Strengths: Well rounded with a terrific offensive repertoire consisting of holds, throws and dives. Played the masked tecnico role for a long time and, as far as I know, never suffered the fan backlash that workers like Atlantis and even El Hijo del Santo did. Weaknesses: Probably should have more classics on video than he does. None of the four Lizmark vs Satanico matches on video is a classic, which has hurt him a lot given that Satanico and Satanico's greatness are prominent starting points in lucha discussion. Never as brilliant in 3v3s as Atlantis. Peak: I'd guess that his prime was in the 1980s, but his peak may have been 1993, when he was top 5 in Mexico. Best matches: vs Enfermero Jr. (1983), vs La Parka (1993), Jerry Estrada (1993) 21) MS-1 Strengths: The Mexican Tully Blanchard. Weaknesses: Like Tully, MS-1 has one of the all time classic brawls in his country's history and is part of one of its most legendary groups, but he was even more of a walk behinder than Tully and has less to his name. Maybe if more '80 stuff appears some day. Didn't age that well and career fell apart at a relatively young age. Peak: Hard to say without more footage. In 1989 he's probably in the country's top 15-30. Best matches: vs. Sangre Chicana (1983), Infernales vs. Guerreros (1983), Infernales vs. Brazos (1991) (For a lot of these peak estimates, I'm estimating the guy's CMLL rank and then doubling it if I can't say much about the other promotions that year. I don't think I'd have MS-1 in my CMLL top five for 1989, but he'd likely be in the top ten and certainly the top fifteen.) 22) El Faraon Strengths: Has a solid amount of really good matches despite not being well represented on video, especially in his prime. Excellent seller. Weaknesses: I just do not have a good grasp on what Faraon's personality was or what I'd expect from him in a given match. Peak: From the very limited amount of 1985 lucha on video, Faraon has the best resume of matches of anyone so far. Best matches: vs Atlantis (1985), vs Sangre Chicana (1985), vs Pirata Morgan (1990) (One of my biggest gainers over the course of this project. I had to be talked into considering him. The emergence of the full Chicana match helped.) 23) Pierroth Jr. Strengths: So charismatic that he could cover for uncharismatic workers like Mogur and Supremo, ensuring that his matches against guys like that would still be heated. Considered one of the preeminent rudos of his era. Seemed to get the appeal of the outlandish late '90s US better than most. Weaknesses: Not as technically gifted as most of the guys around him on this list. Athleticism declined precipitously after 1990, and he wasn't someone who was always gunning for great matches anyway. Peak: He was probably around Mexico's top 20-30 from 1989-1992. Not sure if any one year stands out. Best matches: vs Mogur (1990), Intocables vs Infernales (February 21 1992), Pierroth vs La Parka (1998) (That Infernales match is I believe the only Pierroth match ever to get four stars in the Observer.)

That's awesome. I'm a big fan of both of those matches, so thanks. I was never an insider in any fan circles, so I don't really know any of those names (I think I recognize Bihari as the guy who's uploading things like IWRG and Guadalajara at the moment). But that's a more interesting story than any from my days of looking under rocks for old matches from Mexico.

Clear greats: 7) Sangre Chicana Strengths: There are wrestlers who shoot for big, theatrical selling and there are wrestlers who shoot for selling that's as realistic as possible, but Chicana's big theatrical selling was somehow as believable as anyone else's. Weaknesses: Nothing about his style or abilities played well in a technical match. Peak: Well, he certainly looked like one of the best in the world in the handful of matches we have from September 1983. Without consistent weekly TV from the era it's hard to say, but I'd guess that you could stretch it out through the Perro Aguayo match in early 1986, which would also cover the half-new Faraon match. Best matches: vs MS-1 (1983), vs Faraon (November 1985), vs Perro Aguayo (1986) 8) Pirata Morgan Strengths: Possibly the best 3v3 worker of all time. He did more with blood, both his own and his opponent's, than anyone else in wrestling. Weaknesses: Once he turns thirty, he just isn't that good anymore. And his post-thirty work is hardly an insignificant portion of his career. He still works regularly today. Peak: Top ten worker in Mexico from 1989-1992, probably 1988 as well. 1988 and 1989 might be the best of that run, because he captained a fantastic team in those years. Possible candidate for best in the world when he was with the Bucaneros. Best matches: vs Dandy (1988), Bucaneros vs Brazos (1989, not the title match), vs Faraon (1990), Infernales vs Brazos (1991), vs Masakre (1992), vs Satanico (1993) 9) Espanto Jr. Strengths: Major rudo talent who had an outstanding record in his 1v1 matches for which we have video. Weaknesses: His three 1v1 classics are all against the same guy, who was possibly the best ever at having great matches. Two of those classics are just different variations of the exact same match. I have no idea what Espanto vs Celestial or Valente Fernandez or Super Muñeco would look like, as Espanto vs Santo matches were very much Santo matches, rather than matches that forced Santo to experiment. Peak: It was certainly in the UWA, but the Santo feud seemed to elevate his stature a lot, so he probably reached his apex right around the time the UWA went into decline. The luchadb doesn't show him wrestling many 1v1s against non-Santo opponents until the late '80s. In 1992 he was one of the 5-10 best in the country. Best matches: vs Hijo del Santo (1986), vs Hijo del Santo (1988), vs Hijo del Santo (1992) 10) La Fiera Strengths: Big match worker who thrived on dramatic bumping, selling and offense. Better in Japan than a lot of his contemporaries. Weaknesses: When you think of Fiera, what picture comes to mind? The hotshot prospect apprenticing under scuzzy rudos Chicana and Cota? The dashing tecnico brawling and bleeding in the second half of the eighties? The greasy dude in the sunglasses and leather jacket cracking his rivals with a steel chain? The veteran who could still get up for a big kick to the head or dive over the top? Fiera's career was fragmented by turns and disappearances that prevented a dominant image of him from forming, which leaves him as just a list of accomplishments to some extent. Peak: Supposedly it was in the eighties before he started getting banged up (and with his style getting banged up was an inevitability). I'd have him in my top 5-10 for Mexico in 1992, maybe just short of best in the world consideration. Best matches: vs Tiger Mask (1984), vs Babe Face (1986), vs Jerry Estrada (1991), vs Ultimo Dragon (1992), vs Negro Casas (1993) 11) Dr. Cerebro Strengths: One of the best technical wrestlers in his country's history. If IWRG counts as an indy, possibly the best indy worker of all time. Weaknesses: Like Virus, he's good at bumping and selling and making it funny, but he just doesn't have a big personality. Not a naturally dramatic worker. Peak: I'm not sure. He was on fire from December 2000 to March 2001 with the Santo feud, and in the middle of that was a title defense against Felino that was possibly better than any of the matches he had with Santo. Likely one of the best in the country around that time. A linchpin of IWRG for the majority of that promotion's existence. Best matches: vs Hijo del Santo (2000), vs Felino (2001), vs Hijo del Santo (February 2001), vs Multifacetico (2011), vs Virus (2015) 12) Satanico Strengths: Great longevity, perhaps the premier bully in lucha, well rounded worker. Weaknesses: For me it's aesthetics. There is nothing he does that is wondrous to observe for its form, and consequently he has a whole lot of matches for me that are no more enjoyable to watch than they are to read about. I expect NO ONE else to share that opinion, so I'll add that for a guy who's touted as a candidate for the top spot, only one classic match in the championship style just doesn't cut it. Peak: Satanico would have to be uncharacteristically bad in the 1984 matches that we don't have video of to not be a candidate for best in the world that year. There are those who rate him at that level in 1990 and other years too, and maybe they're right, but even so 1984 was clearly his absolute peak. Best matches: vs Atlantis (1984), vs Samurai Shiro (1984), vs Gran Cochisse (1984), vs Dandy (December 1990), vs Pirata Morgan (1993) 13) Emilio Charles Jr. Strengths: The ideal rudo. Had an ineffable genuineness to him even though he was as over the top as any other rudo of the time. Weaknesses: Sometimes too committed to the rudo cause of making the tecnico look as good as possible, and consequently he didn't feel like a threat to win in the third fall. Maybe that's fine for the promoters, but with more effort into making himself look good he'd have given fans like us some more exciting stretch runs. Peak: In 1989 he's my pick for best worker in Mexico and one of the world's best. He was never as good again. Best matches: vs Dandy (July 1989), vs Dandy (December 1989), vs Atlantis (1992) 14) Black Terry Strengths: Had the people's champion appeal of 1980s Sangre Chicana, but in the more cynical setting of the 2000s-2010s indy scene. Possibly the best old worker ever. Weaknesses: When you're in your fifties working indies, you're not going to get booked against many great workers, which limits how many classics you can put together. Like a lot of great old workers, his memorable old age run came after a midcareer slump (in Terry's case the CMLL years). Peak: I think his peak was probably in the late aughts up through some point in the first half of the 2010s. His most revered classic came after that, though, so who knows? Best matches: vs Multifacetico (2008), vs Aero Boy (June 2016), vs Wotan (2016) (Maybe I should have said 2016 for his peak.) 15) Super Astro Strengths: Astonishing to watch when he takes to the air, and his dives look like they hurt. Extremely consistent and a good entertainer. His act never gets old. Weaknesses: The promotions with TV didn't seem interested in giving him many matches in the '90s. Not sure if he was much of a brawler. Peak: Probably at some point in the 1980s, when he was a top middleweight contender and occasional champion. His case is more about consistency than peak or resume. Best matches: vs Satanico (1984), vs Blue Panther (1992) (I know that second one has gotten tagged as overrated, and once something gets that label it's hard to shake, but there was a time when Astro vs Panther was considered one of the classic old school AAA title matches. Anyway, I don't want to write out full 3v3 listings so I'll just add this and this as two of Astro's best.)

I'm closer to Gramsci on this one. If you erased Dandy's 1989-90 from the record, you'd still have the Pirata match, the Casas match and feud, the Llanes match and feud, the Warrior match, the Santo/Casas threeway, the recently unearthed Monterrey Santo match and more. That's a strong top 100 candidate. With Dandy I sometimes wonder if he's hurt by the fact that his character doesn't immediately jump off the page to someone watching old matches. He's not a bombastic rudo or a masked superhero, even if he was a captivating performer to the crowds he wrestled for. Oh, cool, what's the story there? I don't know if that's fair. Would you hold that against Ricky Steamboat or Steve Grey? Or do you think they'd be good heels? Not totally Atlantis's fault he was booked to change sides and they weren't. He probably had gotten a bit stale when he started getting the Cenalike reactions, but he'd also been performing in the same arenas for twenty years by that point. Who else can say that? And twenty years after THAT, he's still around in the same arenas.

Well, if you're ranking any, which ones you got? I've spent the last few years ranking the Mexican candidates, and this is how my list shook out: #1 candidates: 1) Hijo del Santo Greatest strength: Perhaps the best wrestler ever at having great matches. Greatest weakness: Not exactly a figure of great fun or spontaneity. Peak: I'd have Santo as a best in the world candidate for 1995, 1998, 2000, and 2001. I know that he has advocates for his '96 and '97 as well. He might have had years in the UWA when he ranked among the world's top workers as well, but we have very little footage from this era, and UWA Santo was more formulaic than the later version. Prime lasted over ten years. Best matches: Compiling a brief list of Santo's best matches is a daunting task. I'd say the most famous/revered ones are vs. Espanto Jr. (1986), vs. Negro Casas (1987), vs. Brazo de Oro (1991), vs. Dandy and Casas (1996), vs. Casas (1997), and vs. Parka (2001). I'll throw in his 1988 match with Espanto as a personal favorite. 2) Negro Casas Strength: One of the most creative and charismatic wrestlers ever. Weakness: He was incredible in his thirties and had a good old man run in his fifties. I'm not sure his forties do a whole lot for his case. Peak: One of the best workers in the world in 1992-93. Weekly Casas footage doesn't begin until the UWA got TV in late '91, by which point Casas had already entered his peak, so it's not clear how many years before 1992 he'd already been wrestling at that level. In 1996 he was a #1 candidate as well, although he didn't have the big 1v1 matches that he did in '92/'93. Best matches: vs. Santo (1987), vs. Santo (1991), vs. Dandy (1992), vs. Ultimo Dragon (1993), vs. Fiera (1993), vs. Santo (1997), vs. Blue Panther (2012) 3) Fuerza Guerrera Strength: A totally singular approach to villainy that was like 50% comedy, and it somehow worked. Weakness: Doesn't have the resume of the workers around him on this list, in part because he was 5-15 years older than they were and likely had more of his best stuff in the '80s. But he also had a personality that didn't necessarily lend itself well to epic matches, especially against other top workers. Peak: In 1990 he's one of the five best workers in Mexico. In 1991 he's my pick for #1 in the country and a contender for best in the world. He was still great for several years after, but as more of a great entertainer than a worker's worker. 1990-91 had the strongest overlap between his pure wrestling ability and his showmanship. Best matches: vs. Pantera (1990), vs. Octagon (1991), vs. Misterioso (1991), the definitive AAA 3v3 (March 17 1995) (I'm trying to limit the "best matches" to 1v1s, for reasons of space in this post and simplicity of assigning credit, and because I know that's what most people are looking for anyway. I'm also trying to combine my personal preferences with those of the rest of the universe for that section. I don't know if it's working.) 4) El Dandy Strength: A master of two essential matches in the lucha style, the title match and the 3v3 leadup to a bigger match. The latter is especially valuable, as whenever there's a Dandy 1v1 available, it means that there are likely one or two preceding matches worth watching as well. Weakness: Prime is inconsistent in quality, and his WCW years are largely a waste. Several of his best brawls involve rudo ref spots, which for a lot of people is an automatic fail. Peak: One of the best wrestlers in the world in 1989 and 1990. There used to be a mythos around around his 1990 that I'm not sure still exists. Was one of the best in the world in 1996 as well, albeit at a slightly lesser level. Prime starts with the Pirata Morgan match at the latest and ends with the three-way at the end of '96. Best matches: vs. Pirata Morgan (1988), vs. Angel Azteca (June 1990), vs. Satanico (December 1990), vs. Negro Casas (1992), vs. Santo and Casas (1996) 5) Virus Strength: One of the best technical wrestlers who's ever lived. Weakness: He can brawl, but I wouldn't call him a great brawler, and his resume also lacks heated 3v3s. Peak: I think that Virus was at his best 2011-2015, when he was working as an old school rudo champion in a modern CMLL, but his best year (grading the performances rather than the worker) was 1997. He's up there with Eddy Guerrero and Stone Cold for the best in the Western Hemisphere that year. A rare case of peak and prime not aligning. Best matches: Damiancito el Guerrero vs. Cicloncito Ramirez (1997), vs. Guerrero Maya Jr. (2011), vs. Guerrero Maya Jr. (2013), vs. Fuego (2014), vs. Metalico (2019) (I've dropped Virus a couple of spots since the last time I worked on this list. I have a lot of respect for how hard he had to work and how good he had to be to escape the minis division and get bigtime matches on the main roster, and when I went through his career that really hit home with me. A couple years later, I'm a little more focused on how cruiserweighty his minis work is, and his lack of emotional 3v3s does bother me a little.) 6) Atlantis Strength: The best 3v3 worker of all time, and it's not like he's lacking for great 1v1 matches. Weakness: Had a reputation as more of a follower in the ring than a leader. Regardless of how true that is, you're not going to come away from Atlantis matches thinking that he's a genius. And I know that a lot of people grade wrestlers on how smart they are. Peak: Top ten worker in Mexico from 1989-1992 (and looks just as good in the scant footage of 1988 Atlantis). In 1991-92 he's probably top five. In 1988-89 he was one of the best flyers in the world. Best matches: vs. Faraon (1985), vs. Blue Panther (1991), vs. Emilio Charles (1992), vs. Blue Panther (1997), vs. Villano III (2000) (I would rate Atlantis vs. Satanico from 1984 above most of these matches, but I'm not sure if it's a great Atlantis performance even if it is a great match. He was just twenty-one.)

RIP. It's sad that possibly the most famous, charismatic and beloved wrestler ever, at least stateside, got booed out of the building in his last appearance on a wrestling show. He brought it on himself, but it's still sad to see a story turn out that way. On the other hand, on a former stomping ground for some of the hardest of the hardcores, nothing could be more appropriate than a thread about his death being filled with mostly ill will. Eventually it got to a point where even they had to admit that the guy knew what he was he doing between the ropes, but this is much more tonally consistent with workrate fans' feelings about Hogan throughout his career.

Satanico vs Fiera, spring 1996 The first fall was missing, which is often the most interesting part of a title match, and all they showed was Fiera winning it with a pretty simple short arm scissors. Then the second fall began and Fiera was trying to get a hold of that arm and Satanico was desperate to keep it away from him. It had me flashing back to the way tecnico Fiera readily worked like a rudo against Negro Casas in 1993, or how Satanico and Cochisse kept working holds throughout their match in '84. That lasted for just a fleeting moment, though, before they just started working a standard, forgettable match. By the third fall both men looked like they were running out of ideas, as they basically did the same crossbody counter spot twice within a span of minutes. Fiera's offense worked much better in a brawling setting, and I dunno if Satanico was going through a sort of midcareer crisis or if he was just having a bad night, but his third fall offense was a lot better against Averno seven years later. The match was fine but not something to list in either guy's catalog.

Couple of things about Pirata Morgan: 1. Pirata's birthday is listed as July 29 1962. I know he has the Satanico match in 1993, and I know there must be some other stuff that somebody likes from his later career. but for the most part he made his case almost entirely in his twenties. How many other candidates can say the same thing? I assume some joshi workers. 2. Pirata is almost universally regarded as a great worker by lucha fans, and again that's with a case made up almost entirely of his work from his twenties. Does he have the best twenties of any candidate? 3. On closer inspection, the other Bucaneros all wore eyepatches that they could see through, so they weren't actually wrestling half blind. I was wrong about that, and I'm upset about that. Not as much as when I found out that MS-1 was not actually Mungo the Alien (I was wrong about that too), but I'd still rather have avoided that mistake.

Lotta Freelance fans here. I watched a couple of matches where he squared off with the master. Freelance vs Dr. Cerebro, May 21 2017 This was a good match. It was a little less mat based than your typical Cerebro match but he's not a one dimensional worker. Freelance clearly had more talent than a lot of the pikers I've seen Cerebro try to match holds with. On the other hand, it didn't really have anything special going for it, and Freelance pretty clearly just let go of a hold and walked away at one point. Keep that shit limited to Negro Navarro matches, please. Freelance, Fenix and Aeroman vs Dr. Cerebro, Fantasma de la Opera and Cerebro Negro, July 31 2008 Dr. Cerebro beat the absolute shit out of Freelance here. This was the kind of rudo performance I've wanted to see from the doctor for a long time. It wasn't heatseeking stuff, he just destroyed Freelance, who was a great sympathetic babyface. The other rudos got into it too and I loved how Freelance just collapsed with exhaustion after evening the match. They were two thirds of the way to a great one. I didn't really like Freelance's third fall offense. It was good tecnico offense in and of itself, and I have no problem with tecnicos making a comeback on rudos with flashy tecnico offense. I'm just kind of OCD about blood, I guess. Once you're busted open and having trouble even standing, that should be a sign that you're in no condition to be doing crazy standing flips or whatever. As usual with IWRG I can't understand what they wanted to do with the finish, which saw Freelance eliminated early before Aeroman and Cerebro landed winning blows simultaneously. Still, I gotta call the match a big success, as it improved my (already very high) opinion of Cerebro and made me want to see more Freelance.

I gotta rewatch this. I remember it being a 3.75 kind of match myself, but I don't have any memory of the technical work being brilliant. It exists in my head as a lesser version of Mogur vs Pierroth from a couple months later.

If it were to come out that one day a spaceship flew down to Earth and dropped off Bobby Backlund with express instructions of blending in with the humans as best as possible... well, maybe I'd be a little surprised, but definitely less surprised than for any other candidate I can think of. He's always just a couple of steps away from looking like an honest to goodness actual person. Whoa whoa whoa whoa.

That's interesting that it was a 3v3 that shaped your views of lucha. For a lot of people it seems like they can maybe get into the big apuestas or title matches but 3v3s just don't work for them. I hope you keep doing these.

October 2003 (Part two) February 2004 June 2004 November 2004

Satanico got a bit of play in Guadalajara during the first decade of the 2000s: Satanico vs Charro (October 19 2003) Even in his fifties Satanico still knew how to carve a fellow up. I don't know Charro from Adam, so maybe he was a brilliant local worker, but as far as I could tell the first fall was fantastic just because of how good Satanico was at beating up and bloodying tecnicos. This is the sort of specific thing that I would point to if I ever wanted to make the case for Satanico as the GOAT, or for Satanico over Negro Casas. Not many could do it like Satanico. Charro made a bizarre choice in his second fall comeback, but I suppose it was the sort of Attitude Era influenced move that wrestling saw a lot of around then. They didn't really go big in the third fall, but there's no taking away that first fall. Satanico vs Averno (February 15 2004) Satanico vs Averno (November 7 2004) Couple of title matches. The first one was for the welterweight (yeah right, Satanico) belt and saw some cheating from Averno and a rather muted response from Satanico. I'm used to tecnico Satanico fighting fire with fire, but I guess he wanted to play it babyface. The second match was for the middleweight championship and was really good. They didn't really dig into the first fall technical work enough or display enough creativity for it to be a classic title match, but the falls were paced well and the third fall had all the dramatic swings and nearfalls that you'd hope for. I was impressed with how Satanico pulled that off without busting out some new-gen offense. He still had the sense of timing to get it done with moves he could have been using twenty years back. I still think that the Cochisse match is doing a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to Satanico's reputation in title matches, but this was at the level of the handheld match with Chicana or maybe one of the better Lizmark matches. Satanico vs Ringo Mendoza (June 27 2004) This felt like two Diablo Velazco students doing their own take on the burgeoning style of maestros wrestling. Not much flash, just one fall of trading barebones holds, with an attempt to keep it realistic and grounded in the principles taught to them in the '70s and '60s (Ringo is OLD). Same as they'd have done in the first fall of a title defense from 1982.

Positives are that he gets incredible heat for modern wrestling and that he brought a sense of violence to 2010s Arena Mexico that no one else could. But he's so one dimensional. Doesn't sell much, and never emotes anything other than smugness. Pretty much any early '90s rudo was a more varied performer. Yeah, I know that prime Rush was "the most hated tecnico" or something, rather than a true rudo, but still.

Never hated Triple H. I respect a lot of his matches. But even with peak HHH, I don't really know what I'd say his greatest strength was as a wrestler. Does that mean it was some nebulous quality like "ring generalship" or "a sense of the moment"? Maybe he was just "more than the sum of his parts." I do think that he was good at being a loathsome heel while still making himself look like one of the top wrestlers in the promotion, instead of working as a weasel/coward or an unstoppable badass.

Overachiever. Warrior almost objectively sucked giant ass as a worker but his list of good matches (and MEMORABLE good matches) is better than it has any right to be. Like, I doubt he was more talented than Vampiro, but Warrior clearly has the better matches. I don't think it was just his opponents, either. Warrior's character somehow lent itself naturally to big, important matches, and I'm sure it helped that Hellwig seemed to fancy himself a genuine real life superhero. If you're one of those guys who rate squashes, I'm not sure there was ever a more legendary squash than Warrior vs Honky Tonk Man.

Small guy, didn't do flips or twists but moved like a cat. He had a really nice plancha suicida and a beautiful straight right that worked as part of a fired up tecnico comeback or a rudo beatdown. His charisma was like that too. Totally believable as a spunky babyface or a little prick. Sounds like an awesome worker, right? The catch with Apache (and there's always a catch) is that if you want an extended look at him in action then you have to watch a bunch of matches that were designed to top out at three stars or so. Matches where all they're doing is playing out some AAA backstage soap opera storyline in the ring for the live crowd, or openers where he and the guys are told to just go out there and warm up the audience. I'd likely have overlooked him if not for a match he had in 1993 when they took the shackles off him and he worked this dramatic, bloody war that showed that he could do big exciting encounters as well. It was just a matter of being booked to. That knowledge helped me appreciate his smaller matches more, once I got that it was the promotion rather than his own abilities setting those limits on him. These are probably the most attention grabbing Gran Apache matches: Gran Apache and Mestizo vs Escudero Rojo and Reyes Veloz (this match sold me on Apache, with parents sending their kids over to kiss his bloody face afterward) Gran Apache and Mestizo vs Escudero Rojo and Reyes Veloz (this time it's an apuestas match and it's still dramatic, but the layout takes away from it a bit) Gran Apache vs Oscar Sevilla (yeah, as mentioned above, the ring is soaked and they still have a fun AAA brawl)

He was an important part of the wrestling landscape for only a few years, but to see him once, as the saying goes, was to never forget him. Fans from the TV boom period still fondly remember the Saetas del Ring even though they generally just wrestled matches that opened the TV shows. His big push happened after AAA formed and CMLL business started circling the drain, but the mask match with Felino nonetheless stood out as a major event in those rough years. In a lot of ways he was the quintessential luchador whose career could never recover from his unmasking. In an ideal world his career would have gone better, but he was a guy whose legend outstripped his kayfabe accomplishments. I think that's something we'd all like in the end, to be much more than the sum total of what we've done. He'd recently taken to referring to himself as "el rey del tope." Who could ever have challenged that? I am sad. RIP, Celso Reyes.

Believing that a son should disown his father is asking a lot of him.

This was uploaded in full today. It ran about fifteen minutes and probably had fewer than ten wrestling moves, and it provides the best look we have at peak Chicana as something of a villain. One second he's taking a comedy bump outside of the ring, and the next he's smashing a bottle against the ringpost to prepare for his next attack. The rudo fans (or possibly just Chicana fans) jumped out of their seats just to raise their hero's hand in victory. Faraon isn't gonna outshine peak Chicana, but his bloody selling was fantastic, and between this and the title match with Atlantis there's a chance that the best worker in 1985 Mexico (or at least '85 EMLL) was Jose Luis Barajas. Sorry for the double post.

There's a long title match from IWRG that's probably your best bet to see extended Virus action from 2005. Just looking now, Youtube actually has a fair bit of 2005 IWRG, via Roy Lucier, IWRG themselves and other scattered accounts. I gotta check out that cibernetico from April.

Isn't there a British match that ended when someone slipped on a puddle of water once? That's the one I wanna see you guys debate.