[1997-01-07-CMLL] Cicloncito Ramirez vs Damiancito El Guerrero

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

I told myself going into this yearbook that I didn't want to comment on match reputation at all this time around, but instead just talk about the merits of the match as I see it. So I won't do that here. This was a terrific match with some really nice matwork. It was reminiscent of Dandy/Casas in some ways (even with some of the same matwork). I don't think the "big" feeling was quite as strong here as for Espectrito/Sagrada at Triplemania, but this is probably a better worked match of the two, and the high-flying here was as picture perfect and clean as any you'll ever see. Guerrero works some nice cartwheel highspots into his arsenal that somehow don't seem hokey. Ramirez is the guy who blew me away in this, both with his ground attack and highspots. I'd say think Casas vs Dandy with more high-flying -- not in terms of match quality, but match style. This is a shade below the very best matches of the decade, but only a shade. I probably won't go the full five stars on this, but Guerrero accidentally slipping off the ropes in his post-match celebration and making the crowd laugh after such a graceful match makes me wonder if I should.

[ohtani's jacket]

Just a note about the two matches:

 

Espectrito/Sagrada was taped at the CA Sports Arena in Los Angeles, not Triplemania, and drew nearly 14,000. This match was an Arena Coliseo taping with a capacity of about 5,000 so I'm not surprised that the AAA match felt bigger, match styles notwithstanding.

[Childs]

These guys pulled off some beautiful wrestling, especially in the finishing sequences for the first two falls. The fluidity on the most complicated stuff hit a level we haven't seen often. The only thing that held it back from the pinnacle was a lack of rising drama. I know they moved to high flying in the tercera caida, but I never got the sense they were hitting a new level of intensity. The first two falls were sharply contested, so they didn't necessarily need to ramp it up. But at the actual finish, I thought, "Hmm, seemed a little easy given everything that came before." Great match regardless, and I loved the last bit of comedy when Guerrero wiped out on his celebration hop after flawlessly nailing so many tricky moves. They showed two replays of it, so the producers obviously found it amusing as well.

[soup23]

Did the rare back to back watch on this as the first time I was distracted. I was glad I did as a lot of the subtlety and tightness of the matwork came across with paying close attention. I agree with Loss minor criticisms of the match and feel it didn't reach an absolute elite level, but it was still a great match. The finish in the second caida of the rolling surfboard specifically impressed.

[Kevin Ridge]

Some great timing by both guys on moves. Very unique finish to the second fall. I totally lost it on Guerrero's post match celebration when he did a header off the top rope to the outside. The replay even comes with the AJPW super slow mode. That is just great.

[Robert S]

Do they always have mini referees in mini matches in Mexico? This seems wrong to me, but that may be my western bias.

[Zenjo]

I wouldn't compare this to AAA Minis because that was midget wrestling and this isn't. In CMLL it seems to be a weight category rather than being based on height.

 

Anyway this was great fun with high quality action all the way. They were clearly experienced opponents who worked smoothly together. Impressive on the mat and even better in the air. There were some spectacular exchanges as both men impressed me equally. It's great how they were given the showcase to go full out and have their best possible match. After winning Guerrero did an Ohtani celebration.

 

I agree that it was an excellent match but there wasn't a strong enough emotional involvement to take it to the top echelon. It needed more heelishness or some other added psychology. Maybe some more 2.9ers at the end too.

[Grimmas]

The matwork is out of this world smooth. When they hit high spots, they are amazing, including two of the best topes I have ever seen. The third fall is one of the best final falls I have seen and was so great, I rewound and watched again.

 

I loved this match and will re-visit it again. Just perfect lucha title match wrestling.

 

**** 1/2

[PeteF3]

Fantastic match with great build to the high-spots and some truly creative finishes to each fall. Damiancito's unique rolling surfboard to end the segunda caida is one of those great-looking, original holds that you can pretty much only get from minis. Both guys look great but Cicloncito really carried the way until they started trading great near-falls down the stretch. I also appreciated how they threw in some false finishes in the first two falls, to keep them from feeling too perfunctory.

 

Damiancito's celebration is one of the most laugh-out-loud moments of any Yearbook. I'm trying to think of comparable events and the only one that comes to mind is Dawna interviewing Tony Atlas.

[JKWebb]

#363 - placetobenation.com/countdown-top-500-matches-of-the-90s-400-351/2/

 

The match was fluid and tight. The second fall finish was cool and creative. I like how the leg work came into play in all three falls. I'm feeling what Childs said, the third fall picked up with really great looking spots, but, I didn't feel a real increase of intensity or drama that I was looking for. I still thought this was really good. Everything looked very neat and had impeccable timing, but it just lacked a certain level of emotion or feeling to it (for me). Well, until the finishing celebration, poor guy...

[Rah]

I'm not sure how often he did it, but Virus spilling over the top-rope is a comedy spot he was using in trios as early as 1993

[KB8]

Still tremendous. I think watching it for the first time a decade ago, the freshness of it and the fact more people hadn't cottoned on to its greatness probably played a part in how thoroughly I was blown away by it. I guess lucha is still the most niche of niche in terms of what internet wrestling fans are talking about, but by 2019 we've had the 90s yearbooks and the DVDVR lucha set and the footage explosion of those godly youtubers putting up shit we never knew existed. Even if there's far less lucha-driven discussion online than New Japan or NXT or maybe even modern joshi, there's certainly more of a spotlight on it now than there was fifteen years ago. In 2009 I think I'd only ever seen this brought up by OJ on his blog. Nobody had comp'd it and Virus was still a couple years away from making everyone want to go back and watch everything he ever did. Watching it then was notable for me not just because it was an awesome wrestling match, but because it shaped a lot of what I would come to look for in lucha title matches afterwards. I still find myself judging matches against it to this day, and by now I'm pretty well settled on what my own idea of great wrestling is.

Some of the matwork is still absolutely world class. Fluid, scrappy, graceful, a little of everything. It's one thing pulling out a bunch of gorgeous reversals but it's the struggle and fight over holds that really push it over the top. There are a few times were they'll do something I've never seen before - like Damiancito reversing a wishbone into a camel clutch - and then they'll punctuate the ground exchanges with bursts of rope running and armdrags or springboards. It felt like all through the match they were establishing Cicloncito as the superior flier and that it would be his route to victory. The best example of that came at the end of the primera when he hit a spectacular springboard rana where he leapt backwards over Damiancito's head. They kept that theme running into the segunda and there was one extended sequence that had about seven awesome moments strung together. Plus the finish to the fall was one of those preposterous submissions that reminds you you're watching a fucking lucha title match. If we're holding this to the same standard as the true all-time classics - and I am - then I guess the two big dives in the tercera never carried quite as much weight as they should've, maybe because they moved past them a bit quickly, but the dives themselves were humongous and Ramirez really lived up to the name with that bullet tope.

I never expected to come out of this again thinking it's the best match ever, and that's the case, but it absolutely held up like I hoped it would and I'd still easily call it a MOTD-level bout. It's only fair given the post-match celebration. 

[WingedEagle]

Absolutely loved. Likely my minis MOTD and one of the best lucha outings overall as well. This was the type of active, engaging mat work I can get behind.