[1991-12-08-Monterrey] Trio Fantasia vs Los Thundercats

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

Pretty crazy trios match -- easily the best of 1991 -- that will end up somewhere in my top ten for the year. I don't usually enjoy watching wrestling "cold" these days. I like to see lead-ins to big matches and know a little bit about the wrestlers when possible. But I'll make an exception here because the action is so great. The brawling starts off right away and by the third fall they are mixing that in with some really crazy daredevil spots. This also is sort of a lucha greatest hits, as it contains so many awesome things about the style in one match. And they actually hugged it out when this was all over? There's some unmasking at the end of this from Trio Fantasia. I think this is another match I'd call a really strong lucha libre primer. It's the only 1991 lucha match I've seen that really doesn't feel light years behind what El Dandy was doing in 1990.

[Kevin Ridge]

The ring looks dirty but that could be the fuzzy video. They use quick camera cuts through out match which adds to the out of control feeling. We also get a bowling game going where guys are tossed into the crowd with the purpose of knocking down as many chairs as possible. Lots of mask ripping and blood by the third fall. Them hugging it out at the end was humorous with what they were doing to each other during match.

[PeteF3]

From the Island Death Match, we go to Leono, Panthro, and Tigro from the Thundercats cartoon facing Mighty Mouse, Pinocchio, and a proto-Ebessan. Eat your heart out, USWA. Apparently the Thundercats are the rudos here as they jump the other kiddie characters before the bell and lay them out to win the first fall, then keep going to work between falls. Big pop when the technicos make a comeback in the second fall. Panthro gets mask torn open and Pinocho finishes with a great 2 Cold Scorpio-esque twisting dive. Suddenly as the third fall begins there's blood all over the place, chairs are being swung, Super Raton is getting into it with a referee, Tigro's had his ankle Pillmanized, and Leono is blatantly punting people in the nuts. I love that a match between blatant cartoon franchise trademark infringements and another team that's 2/3 kiddie trademark infringements is worked as a completely straight, bloody brawl with no hint of comedy. It's the equivalent of 1988 George Steele working a double juicefest with the Red Rooster. I have GOT to have more matches in my life of classic cartoon heroes working as scuzzball heels. Please tell me there's a rudo run out there for Los Ninja Turtles or Los Teletubbies. Irony and weirdness aside, this combined the juice and hate of Santo vs. Brazo with classic trios work. The more I think about this as the lucha MOTY, the more I'm sold on it. I honestly had more fun watching this than watching the '91 Dandy/Satanico.

[Childs]

This didn't do much for me, which was a real surprise given the praise from Loss and Pete. There wasn't much to the first two falls. And though the third fall featured plenty of blood and chaos, they didn't build to the decisive moments in any compelling way. It was like they went through the motions of doing a wild, hate-filled mask match without establishing the underlying sense of competition. I don't know; just didn't connect with me. Maybe it would be different if I knew the wrestlers better? I'll rewatch at some point, but I don't think it would make my lucha top 10 for the year much less my overall top 10.

[Dylan Waco]

I have GOT to have more matches in my life of classic cartoon heroes working as scuzzball heels. Please tell me there's a rudo run out there for Los Ninja Turtles or Los Teletubbies.

Bob Esponja, Lady Maravilla, Patricio Estrella vs Buzz Lightyear, Chelly Rock, Sky Kid ACM 5/12

 

 

Patrick and Spongebob are babyfaces, but Buzz is a rudo for lack of a better term.

[Rock_Of_Jericho]

Throw me into the underwhelmed viewers of this match as well. Maybe knowing something about these guys might have helped, but I think it's more the lucha style that I don't care for...having only viewed the 90/91 yearbooks, I've been unenthusiastic about a lot of the lucha after viewing. I have to admit that I enjoyed the Octagon-Fuerza match the most, to be honest.

 

To me, this was a bunch of sloppy brawling with a bunch of guys I could have cared less about...a shame, because I really wanted to like this, but couldn't.

[soup23]

Whoa, people didn't dig this? I am not one of those "wrestling has to be fun" type of guys but fuck if this wasnt one of the most fun matches I have seen. Weird ass costumes, blood, mask ripping, post shots, big dives that build up to the third fall. I don't want much more from my lucha trios than that. Definite gem that I have never seen before and instantly became one of my favorite matches of all time.

[garretta]

I was afraid that I would neither like nor understand one second of this before I sat down to watch it, and so it happened. I kept going hoping it would morph into a WCWSN squash match or a Piper's Pit circa 1985, but no such luck. The blood, the drama, the mask ripping, none of it registered. Never having been a fan of the Thundercats or of any of the characters on the Fantasia side didn't help much either. Nor did the fact that I'm not the biggest trios fan in the world, and that I still struggle to understand a lot of stuff that isn't U.S. based with English commentary, even though I've watched a lot of Japanese, Mexican, and European matches on the 80s sets and Yearbooks. That's why I have so little to say about foreign matches compared to American matches and interviews.

 

At any rate, I'm sure this was fun for those of you with more cosmopolitan tastes in wrestling than mine.

[Jetlag]

"So what are you planning on doing tonight?" - "I dunno, taking my little daughter to watch a bunch of children's cartoon characters beat eachother to a bloody torn pulp."

This match is basically the equivalent to an early 90s black/death metal record. It's gruesome, cartoony, sometimes sloppy and primitive, grim, badly produced, an utterly morbid spectacle, and hellishly great at times. There probably exists a better VQ version of this, but I don't need to see it. I get the criticism some have had of this match that there isn't all that match, but there are enough quick cuts and gruesome closeup shots of cartoon hero's throwing wild punches, clawing at eachother's face, bashing the next guy's head into the wooden side of th ring, or just flat out bowling eachother into the crowd to keep me entertained. The 3rd fall is utter mayhem with everybody flying around and crashing a bunch including useless Super Muneco getting his shoulder crushed and everyone walking around with their masks torn and bloodied looking like disfigured mutants. Grimy, seedy, bizarre and fun as fuck, it's everything a Monterrey bloodbath should be.

[dawho5]

I loved this. The Thundercats as rudos is an odd choice, but it ultimately works. Leono punting dudes in the balls in plain sight of the ref was fun and made the payback better. I'm not sure they bled enough. Panthro's mask was silver plus blood color by the end of the match. I'm pretty sure they wanted to smear blood all over as many fan's chairs as possible. Good souvenir there. Crazy dives and top rope stuff in addition to all the blood and violence, yes! Easily the most entertaining non-comedy trios of 1990 or 1991.

[Edwin]

This was beautiful. Mask tearing, blood, hot crowd, some wild dives and brawling in a lucha de apuestas. Great match.