[1996-07-07-WCW-Bash at the Beach] Rey Misterio Jr vs Psicosis

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

So early on, I'm wondering why this match always had the rep of being this balls out spotfest and I'm not really getting it at all, because they're wrestling on the mat most of the time. Then, things pick up and it turns into a very good match. I think this match is a little overhyped, and I've seen both guys have many matches in '96 that I've liked better, but this was a good early Rey match to establish him. I do prefer the Malenko match though. I suspect I'm the only one.

[goodhelmet]

You're not the only one. I like Malenko on the mat more than most and I really didn't mind (In fact, I enjoyed) when Malenko would eat Rey up with his offense. With Rey and Psic, I like their matches from almost everywhere else (Japan, Mexico and ECW) more than their WCW matches.

[Dylan Waco]

I really don't like the Malenko matches much at all aside from HH match. This is the only Psicosis v. Rey match in WCW that was any good, but it was great. I think it rivals Eddy v. Rey at HH 97 for the best cruiser match WCW ever ran actually.

[shoe]

I thought this match was excellent. The guys worked some neat stuff and focused on body parts as the base of the match. Then went into some fun spots. Psicosis looked about as good as he ever did in WCW. I liked the Malenko bouts, but I thought this bout trumped both of the Misterio/Malenko bouts on ppv in 96.

[Tim Evans]

I'm going to agree with Shoe here. I liked this more than the Malenko matches cause it was more of a showoff of Rey. The dive into the guardrail both times was just nasty looking. The thing that kinda hurt the match was Bobby Heenan's shitty jokes. He seemed off the whole night.

[Zenjo]

The aerial work was cutting edge with some breath taking daredevil manoeuvers. Having sufficient time allowed them to turn it into an impressive match. Usually it was just a 5m collection of spots on Nitro. Here they could mix in some submissions and pace it out. After so many battles against each other the two Luchadors combined flawlessly. Not top-notch, but one of the better WCW Cruiserweight matches from the era.

[PeteF3]

They really should have swapped cruiserweight matches between the two Bashes--run Rey vs. Psicosis at GAB and Rey vs. Dean here. This is an outstanding intro for both Rey and Psicosis--they've had better matches against each other but this has plenty of spots that get both men over huge and plenty of *new* spots at that, with about 3 or 4 new huracanrana variations by Rey not seen before.

[Superstar Sleeze]

Rey Misterio Jr. vs Psicosis – Bash At The Beach 1996

 

Growing up, Psicosis was one of my favorite wrestlers just based on look alone. I would argue that he had even cooler costume than La Parka, but La Parka had the dance moves & chair so it was a close call. I was always disappointed that he was never featured at the same level of Rey Misterio or Juventud Guerrera. It turns out these childhood feelings have been validated by the fact that Psicosis is really fucking good. Both going back through the old footage and reading other people’s opinions that Psicosis is one of the best workers in the world in the mid-90s. Unfortunately, he was not able to sustain his greatness in the late 90s while his arch-nemesise, Rey Misterio Jr. really took off. Misterio and Psicosis have a history that dates back to Tijuana wrestling scene of the 90s. Psicosis was the clown, base and vicious heel to Rey Misterio’s undersized underdog with revolutionary high-flying. They were the perfect mix and they took their act on tour. From their home promotion of AAA (an upstart lucha libre promotion challenging CMLL think the American League or AFL), they travelled to Japan to wow the crowds there and then came to Philadelphia to the little promotion that could, ECW. In 1996, in an effort to further differentiate WCW from WWF, Eric Bischoff brought in a small army of luchadores to populate the fledging WCW cruiserweight division. So logically, the hottest match of 1995 was featured for the first time for a wide scale American audience when Rey Misterio and Psicosis locked up at Bash At The Beach 1996.

 

It would be so easy for Misterio and Psicosis to just hit a myriad of mind-numbing highspots to astonish and amaze a virgin audience, but what makes these two among the all-time greats is how they transition and build to those highspots for maximum sensory impact. For that reason, this match holds up as one of the best matches in the history of WCW and one of the best PPV openers in any company of all time. Psicosis is consummate heel in this match. He knows when to let Rey shine and when to get vicious to put that heat on Rey. It is a great selfless performance that makes Rey look one of the biggest stars of the world, but in doing so elevates himself and the match. It was surprising to me that first highspot went to Psicosis with a gorgeous suicide dive over the top rope. Unlike all the wussy dives through the ropes recently, this one really wipes Rey out. Psicosis is just great laying down a wicked beating on Rey. Rey is so great at verbal selling as Psicosis whips, chops and slams him. Psicosis nails him with a top rope guillotine leg drop. There is a definite sense of Psicosis attacking the neck and looking to take the wind out of the high-flying Misterio, which is a great strategy against the quick Rey Rey. Psicosis takes his first crazy, hellacious bump, which is a monkey flip on the apron that propels him into the post. WOW! Misterio hits a rana off the apron and then a springboard hurricanrana spikes Psicosis only gets two. The match never feels like an exhibition even the objective of the match is to showcase these crazy spots. The competitors still care about the win and loss. Psicosis does a great job selling his knee after a Rey dropkicks his knee. Trying to chop down the bigger man is not a bad strategy for Rey especially after getting his ass kicked for a good chunk there. Psicosis quashes the Misterio comeback with a droptoehold and locks on a nasty headscissors. I loved Rey’s screams. One of the best worked headscissors I have ever seen and a perfect use of it: a heel who needs to stop the bleeding and sap the energy from a babyface. Good stuff. Psicosis is targeting the neck again as he sends him flying into the top rope. Rey powders to catch his breath, but Psicosis is right on him dropping him neck first on the railing. Then he hits a senton from the top rope to the floor. WOW! Psicosis’ offense is breath-taking and violent, perfect. Back in the ring, Psicosis applies a camel clutch and fishhooks him. Psicosis is just fucking killing it. Misterio is like Woah, woah I am pretty fucking good too so he busts out a cartwheel into a hurricanarana and a mind-blowing top rope hurricanarana onto Psicosis that was standing on the apron. Holy shit, I think all these spots would still blow the majority of WWE’s current audience’s mind in 2015. Psicosis takes one of my favorite bumps when he gets dropkicked in the back of the head, he slides belly first onto the floor. Misterio hits a twisting corkscrew Asai Moonsault and everybody loses their shit. You can tell how much Tenay loved calling that while Dusty and Bobby were just like What the Fuck. I think while Bobby would vacillate between not giving a shit and putting over the crusierweights, The Dream seemed to be really entertained by them and in his own way put them over at every chance. Psicosis is able to catch Rey with a powerbomb and it actually looks really good. Psicosis is looking for Splash Mountain and Rey hits a crazy rana to win the match. WOW!

 

I have seen this match a couple times before and I am always blown away by how good it is. Matches that revolve around showcasing spots usually don’t age that well, but this match was as character-driven as it was spot-driven. Not to mention, these spots were crazy awesome and hold up totally. To me a heel is selfless, big bumping and vicious. Psicosis just had that in spades. He took two crazy bumps and hit some amazing highspots. He was always vicious with how he attacked Misterio. Misterio is just an all time great. His verbal selling was off the charts and he was great as a ragdoll for Psicosis to throw around, but when it came to blow people’s minds. He never failed. That finish run is just one incredible highspot after the other all with the purpose of winning the match. Definitely a contender for best WCW match of 90s and a testament to the greatness of the Rey Misterio/Psicosis series. ****1/2

[soup23]

This felt in the same vein as PIllman vs. Liger to me. Some early matwork and then the back half is full of crazy stuff. I really was impressed of the crowd getting into Rey at the end and the audible groan when Psicosis does his final cutoff. Some of the spots were just spectacular here and this match was the perfect template for an opening match. Throw Rey Jr.'s hat into the WOTY ring. ****

[JKWebb]

This was the first WCW VHS I ever owned (Bash at the Beach 1996). I remember smacking down a pretty good chunk of change at Suncoast for this bad boy. This was the perfect opening for a landmark PPV such as this one. Talk about perfect timing. Mike Tenay does a good job of a quick history on Rey Jr. and Psicosis. Their submissions look great, the moves are point, and then Psicosis hits a PERFECT suicide dive on Rey. Rey makes the perfect face in peril. You really want to get behind him as Psicosis works him over. I remember being immediately drawn to him as the underdog in 1996. I really love the leg work Rey pulls out on Psicosis. Psicosis hitting the senton from the top rope onto Rey on the floor is just crazy! Another great spot is the Rey dropkicking Psicosis in the back of the head off the ropes. This match, without a doubt, still totally holds up. It would be over huge if it happened today. Top 3 Rey match in WCW.

 

#472 - placetobenation.com/countdown-top-500-matches-of-the-90s-500-451/2/

[tim]

After seeing these guys wrestle their standard match in Mexico, Japan and ECW it's pretty cool to see them do it on the biggest stage yet by far. And when they get this chance they really knock it out of the park, all their stock spots they pull off spectacularly. I didn't think the work they did in between the spots was all that great, but the spots made up for them and the homestretch was really awesome. Really cool to see the crowd taking to Rey.

[cactus]

Sometimes there's little point in trying to explain why a match is good and just let the match do the talking. There's nothing deep here. This is a spotfest that wowed audiences back in 1996, and would continue to do so if they had it in 2020. This doesn't quite have the breakneck pace that other big spotfests have, but some of the spots (Rey launching Psicosis into the the turnbuckle from a monkey flip is a personal favourite) are phenomenal. 

★★★★