General Lucha Set thoughts

elliott · March 17, 2014

My long term intent with this thread is to post brief comments on all the matches. Brief mostly because I suck at long reviews and there are others who will do these great matches the justice they really deserve.

I read a few of OJs awesome history lessons but decided I wanted to go and mostly blind on the first watch and see what really hit me. When I finish the set I plan on going back and reading OJs lessons and rewatch things with more context.

I haven't regularly watched since my douchebag late teens early 20s smark phase of the late 90s and early 00s. I watched a lot of lucha back then, mostly mid 90s AAA, Barnett comps and as much current stuff as I could from 2000-2002 so I'm pretty familiar with the style even if it's been years since I regularly watched. However my 80s lucha viewing was limited to santo/casas and Chicana vs ms-1. Looking at the match list I was familiar with guys like Fishman, Talisman, Ringo Mendoza, etc that I had never seen before. Some like Dos Caras, Mascara Ano 2000, and Rayo de Jalisco Jr I had seen but way past their prime. And then there are guys like Herodes, Mocha Cota, and as chara who I had never heard of.

This set has it all. Satanico, Atlantis and Dandy showing themselves to be all time greats. "Guys that sucked" actually being awesome like Perro or Rayo. And then there's someone like Mocha Cota who became my favorite wrestler ever in about 3 minutes.

You hear that phrase "something for everybody" a lot but this set truly has it if you're a fan of wrestling. If you like mat work, there are a ton of matches with really smooth crisp matwork. If you like wild out of control bloody brawls this has some of the best you'll ever see. There are fast paced sprints and slowly built epics. There are great advancing a feud storyline matches leading to incredible resolutions later on the set. You get to see all time great workers already in their prime like Satanico and then you get to see future GOATCs like Hijo del Santo grow up from being a green yet clearly talented young worker turn into an excellent worker.

This will be impossible to rank because I've liked literally every match. Even matches in the 80s and 90s will be matches I enjoyed.

This set has been truly amazing so far and everyone should buy it,

As of now I would call my top 10;

1. MS-1 vs Sangre Chicana 1

2. Satanico vs Gran Cochise

3. Mocha Cota vs Americo Rocca 1

4. Mocha Cota vs Americo Rocca 2

5. Sangre Chicana vs. Perry Aguayo

6. Santo Jr vs. Negro Casas

7. Satanico vs Koshinaka

8. Satanico vs Chicana

9. La Fiera vs. Baby Face

10. Perro Aguayo vs. Villano III vs. Sangre Chicana vs. El Faraon.

My top rated trios match is actually #11 and is Satanico, MS-1 and Pirata Morgan vs. La Fiera, El Faraon and El Egipico.

I have a list of about 10 matches I need to re-watch because I was distracted for one reason or another. Santo vs Espanto 1 is one of those matches and a couple other that could rank fairly high for me.

Bottom line is this set fucking rocks kudos. And it gives me some who's better/best ideas.

elliott · October 30, 2014

I totally forgot I started this thread. I'm rewatching the lucha set to help prepare myself for the GWE poll. Here are my thoughts for Disc 1.

Satoru Sayama y Gran Hamada vs. Perro Aguayo y Baby Face (4/13/80)

Good first fall with rudo’s bum rushing Sayama and Hamada at the bell and taking over with brawling. Lot’s of double teams by the rudo’s to maintain control throughout with the technico’s using flashy moves to come back. Sayama looks good before blowing the roll up at the end. 2^nd fall starts with Hamada doing some amazing armdrag exchanges with Baby Face. Really beautiful stuff. Sayama comes in and does some flashy stuff that is also pretty awesome. It’s really smooth and really fast. Rudo’s take over eventually with brawling tactics. Perro hits a really great top rope senton to put away Hamada who was just busted open. Perro continues to beat up Hamada in between falls. 3^rd fall starts with rudo’s dominating Sayama with punches, kicks, stomps, and double teams. Everytime Hamada tries to pull himself up on the apron Perro runs over to attack him. Sayama is able to mount a comeback on Baby Face with some kicks of his own. Hamada ges back in against Perro but Perro pretty easily takes control with boots and knees to the face. Hamada makes his comeback and rams Perro into the ring post as payback for an early spot while Sayama spin kicks at Baby Face in the ring. Perro blades (big shock) and stumbles all the way around ringside so all the fans can see his bloody face. He makes his way back in against Hamada and is pissed but Hamada just kills him with some headbutts. They brawl back to the outside so Sayama and Baby Face can come back in. Baby knocks Sayama outside and hits a plancha. Perro and Hamada get back in and start punching each other. Hamada flips his way out of a back drop and hits a dropkick. He goes for another but Perro gets out of the way and says “FUCK THIS SHIT” and kicks Hamada in the balls. He’s disqualified but he continues to kick and choke Hamada after the match. This was a really good match to start the set. Perro vs Hamada was an awesome match up and Baby Face did a great job working as a base for Sayama’s super fast and flashy offense. And Sayama looked good excluding the finish of the first fall. Good stuff overall.

Andre the Giant & Cien Caras vs. Alfonso Dantes, Herodes y Sangre Chicana (1981)

This is awesome before it even starts. Sangre Chicana casually strolls up to Andre with his hands on his hips, chewing gum and looking Andre up and down like he’s totally unimpressed. But as soon as Andre starts to approach him, Chicana backs up out of the ring. Crowd is already going crazy for this. First fall starts with Caras getting out of the ring and Dantes and Herodes casually getting out. Sangre realizes what has happened and looks at his team like “Wait, I’m starting against this guy?” So he goes in for a single leg and can’t do anything. Herodes runs in and grabs one as well. Andre just shrugs them both off. Dantes comes in and goes for a bearhug. Which again doesn’t work. This is all built around comedy and Andre strength spots. Chicana is jst amazing in this. Sneaking up behind Andre and jumping up on his back like Cary Elwes in The Princess Bride. Putting Andre in a top wristlock and wildly gesticulating when Andre picks him up of the ground. At one point Chicana has Caras in a wristlock and Andre tags in and Chicana keeps moving around while holding Caras’ arm to keep Andre away from him. Finally Andre just reaches over Caras and grabs Chicana. Fuck I wish there were 1000 Andre in Mexico matches on tape. 2^nd fall is a little more rudo dominated because they isolate Caras and try to take him out with double and triple teams. But it’s Andre the Giant. He’s just too much. Technico’s take two straight. This isn’t one of the best matches on the set by any means but it is a total blast. It is impossible for Andre not to stand out in a match just because of his size and who he is but he looked really good here. This is an awesome Sangre Chicana performance and one that is very different from the later awesome Chicana performances that we’ll see. Cool to see him in this setting. I’m so glad this exists on tape.

Centurion Negro vs. Gran Hamada (2/14/82)

Title match. Starts off on the mat as you’d expect. I’ve never seen Centurion Negro before but he looks quite good stretching Hamada. First fall was good mat work with Negro mostly controlling before taking the first fall with a double arm suplex and a backdrop. 2^nd fall is more of the same only with Hamada mostly controlling on the mat with holds. The second fall is a lot less interesting with Hamada in control. The holds are more headlocks and the Riki Choshu head scissors as opposed to the flashier holds Centurion Negro was applying. This makes the struggle for escapes a lot less interesting than in the first fall. This definitely picks up when Hamada brings it off the mat and hits some arm drags and cross body’s before taking it with a backdrop suplex. Third fall starts with Centurion Negro taking back over and so we get some more cool submissions and crazy roll up pin attempts that Hamada has to figure a way out of. They eventually pick it up off the mat for some rope running spots, back drops, topes, and dives out of the ring. Hamada hits a beautiful rana and gets the win with a really great sunset flip off the top. This was definitely a good match and worth watching. I didn’t like it as much as the first two matches even if it is probably better than the Andre match overall. Centurion Negro looked really good tying Hamada up in knots. When Hamada was trying to get out of submissions or doing rope running spots or flying around he looked great. Just as smooth and dynamic as you would expect. I was not impressed with him controlling the second call on the mat though as it was not nearly as interesting as the rest of the match.

El Canek vs. Don Corleone (2/14/82)

Another title match. Canek is fucking ripped. This starts with the back and forth exchanging of holds that you’d expect from a lucha title match. It isn’t as fast or quite as stretchy as it was in the last match but it is still good stuff although it did kind of drag at times. Corleone just can’t get Canek to give up and he yells at Lou Thesz who threatens a punch. Corleone decides he needs a new strategy and tries to punch and kick but he quickly eats a Baba style Running Neck Breaker and an elbow drop and loses the fall. Canek pretty easily dominates Corleone for much of the second fall with submission before Corleone comes back with punches to the face and taking the fall with a double arm suplex. Canek starts the 3^rd fall selling the suplex like death which lets Corleone take control with knees to the back, punches, and submissions. He uses some pretty awesome submissions that Canek struggles to find a way out of. Corleone realizes he can’t get Canek to submit so he tries something different. He slams Canek then goes for a running flipping senton that misses and gives Canek the opportunity to take over. He immediately hits a gorilla press slam, drop kick sending Corleone outside and then a tope. He goes for something else off the ropes as Corleone is climbing in but Don ducks and backdrops Canek out of the ring. Corleone tries a press slam and a back drop suplex for near falls. Neither works. He goes for a second backdrop suplex but Canek flips out of it, hits one of his own and takes the win. This was better than I expected going in. Not a great title match and not the sort of match I’m going to watch multiple times. But I’m glad I watched it. Good submission work and drama. Pretty exciting 3^rd fall. I didn’t like this as much as the Hamada/Negro Centurion match actually but this was still good.

Tatsumi Fujinami vs. El Canek (6/12/83)

FUJINAMI! Similar to the last 2 matches, this starts with back and forth mat work in the first fall. This is paced faster than the Corleone match but maintains a lot of the struggle to escape the more intricate submissions applied in the first fall. Nothing as wacky as some of the holds we saw in the Centurion Negro match. Canek takes the fall with jumping elbow drops which the crowd just loves. Canek maintains control in the 2^nd fall hitting a drop kick from a test of strength position and then hitting the Baba neck breaker drop. Fujinami eventually takes over hitting a dropkick, enzugiri, suplex, and backdrop suplex to take the fall. Short 2^nd fall but exciting. 3^rd fall again starts with a test of strength but with Fujinami taking control out of it with kicks. They go back to the test of strength with Canek taking control with a backwards roll and double wristlock before locking in an ab stretch. Fujinami tries to fight back with punches and kicks but Canek tends to come back pretty easily always having an answer for what Fujinami tries. Canek puts Fujinami in the figure 4 and Fujinami rolls to the outside sending them both tumbling down but Canek either refuses to break the hold or can’t so the ref has to pry them apart. I love that spot whenever and wherever it happens. Ref ends up taking a dropkick from Fujinami. Canek knocks Fujinami out and he tries to help the ref back up but it leaves him unprepared and Canek nails him with a tope. They crawl back into the ring and start to fight but the ref runs in and breaks it up and declares Canek the winner. Fujinami is pissed and he takes the fight to Canek and they start brawling around ringside. I liked this. It wasn’t great but definitely a good match.

Kevin von Erich, Mascara Ano 2000 y Halcon Ortiz v. Coloso Colosetti, Pirata Morgan y Herodes (9/23/83)

This is another match that I’m just happy exists on tape. I actually really like this as you’ve got a bunch of dudes working these super slick back and forth mat exchanges and then you’ve got super awkward Kevin von Erich. I actually love Kevin von Erich. He’s one of my favorite hot tags where he just comes in and fucking blasts people. He’s not doing that here. But he’s showing off his athleticism. Getting great height on all his drop kicks and elbow drops and what not. But compared to everyone else having this gorgeous match around him, Kevin comes across as awkward. He’s clearly working his ass off but stands out as not being super comfortable. When this turns into more of a brawl in the 2^nd and 3^rd falls, Kevin looks much better. Pirata Morgan is absolutely tremendous in this working super fast exchanges and bumping like the psycho he is. Mascara Ano 2000 also really stood out in this. He looked like a great technico worker. Kevin hits an incredible cross body block off the top rope to win the match. 3^rd fall was really short but overall I liked this match a lot.

MS-1 vs. Sangre Chicana (9/23/83)

Sangre Chicana ducking a punch and hitting one of his own for the first time in this is my favorite spot in the history of wrestling. I’m sure everyone has either seen or heard of this match. It is incredible. There are enough reviews of it out there that I feel like there’s nothing I can add. I will say it is my favorite match ever. Incredible performances.

Espectro Jr., Satanico y MS-1 vs. Mocho Cota, Sangre Chicana y La Fiera (9/30/83)

I fucking love this match. Total war with a bunch of guys I love as workers. MS-1 goes right after Chicana and tries to kill him. Satanico helps take out Chicana before they move on to take out Fiera. Infernales are controlling the ring before the match not even letting the technico’s get in the ring. Crowd is crazy hot for this match from the start. Chicana keeps getting back in the ring and getting triple teamed. MS-1 really goes after Chicana as Satanico and Espectro keep everyone at bay. Satanico is amazing in this just sprinting around the ring punching people in the face; keeping it clear so Chicana can get pounded into submission. Infernales just rotate through double and triple teaming the technico side. Chicana and Cota both end up getting busted open. The Infernales are just crazy intense in this. When the technico’s come back they dish it out with just as they got it and the crowd goes absolutely bat shit. Satanico ends up getting triple teamed like the technico’s in the first fall and he gets beaten into submission. Chicana drags MS-1 into the ring and just fishhooks the shit out of him. It was actually pretty brutal looking. The payback is almost as great as the initial rudo domination. The match ends with Chicana fouling Satanico behind the ref’s back. While he’s rolling around the ground all three technico’s are trying to rip off Espectro Jr’s mask. Finally Satanico recovers enough to run up behing Chicana and foul him which gets his team disqualified. This was a fucking awesome match that is a great companion match with the MS-1 vs Sangre match from the week before. It is definitely not on that level but this is a total blast. Everybody looked incredible in this.

Sangre Chicana vs. Ringo Mendoza (10/28/83)

Crowd is nuts before this match even starts. I love how everyone crowds up around the ring apron. Chicana always comes across like a major star to me and him standing there wearing a title signing autographs isn’t all that surprising. Starts off as you’d expect with some good back and forth mat work. I like the spot where they get locked in the arm drag position and are just dragging each other around the ring and to the floor. They get back in the ring and have an awesome back and forth exchange that ends in a handshake. Really great tease by Chicana for a tope. Ringo teases a tope as well but it isn’t as great. But he kicks Chicana back down and hits a great looking plancha. Ringo takes the first fall by tying Chicana up in a totally ridiculous and awesome submission. 2^nd fall starts with Ringo maintaining control of the match. He hits a couple of neckbreakers and a slam before missing a dive off the top. Chicana’s selling in this is really great. Chicana takes advantage of Ringo’s missed splash from the top by locking him in a submission for the win. 3^rd fall starts with both guys still selling the damage they’ve taken. Sangre is able to dominate the beginning of the fall but his selling is phenomenal. He hits a top rope knee drop and puts Ringo up in a Gori Special before Ringo is able to turn it into a roll up. Crowd is going crazy for all of this. They start trading submissions but neither guy can put the other one away. The struggle over all the counters and applications of the holds in the third fall is tremendous and these guys are selling their asses off making this last fall really dramatic and heated. Match ends with a double pin, which I know probably rubs some people the wrong way but I like it in a match like this that is so even and with such great selling. End of the match has these guys shaking hands and the fans throwing money in the ring. Sangre picks up pretty much all of it before finally stopping and shaking hands and celebrating with fans. This isn’t the best title match ever by any means but it is a really great match. I know I mostly talked about Chicana in this, but I don’t mean to sell Ringo short. I have really liked him in all the matches of his that I’ve seen. He was terrific in this as well. His mat work and selling were great. Tremendous match from both guys. Sangre fucking Chicana man.

Atlantis y El Hijo del Santo vs. Fuerza Guerrera y Lobo Rubio (11/25/83)

Another match that is so cool to have footage of; Santo Jr’s Arena Mexico debut. He’s so skinny! Also cool to see young Fuerza and Atlantis who are two of my favorites. Pretty cool to see Santo was building a lot of matches around a head scissors in 1983. Formula’s work. Santo and Lobo Rubio have a nice back and forth opening exchange. Nothing mind blowing and pretty basic. But it is good. Atlantis and Fuerza come in and the mat work immediately gets a little more fast paced, intricate and wonky. These two already look tremendous and have a really awesome back and forth exchange that ends with Fuerza in someone’s lap in the front row. Rubio comes in and the good work continues. Atlantis is just so smooth and spectacular here. Santo comes in against Fuerza. Fuerza slows the pace a little. They’re still hitting moves quickly and smoothly but Fuerza is pausing in between them to put over the fact that he’s getting “outworked” by Santo Jr. Santo is really spectacular hitting a lot of spots fans of his 90s and 00’s work will recognize. They aren’t as smooth or as fast as they will be in the future as he gains experience. But it is cool to see the beginnings of Santo Jr. Fuerza is incredible in this as a base for Santo Jr to hit his spots and mixing in some great comedy spots. Rudo’s try some double teams on Atlantis at the start of the 2^nd fall but since Fuerza is involved they backfire in a really great extended comedy spot. Rudo’s finally gain the advantage by isolating Atlantis. Fuerza tries his handshake trick on Santo Jr but he doesn’t fall for it. Santo takes a slap to the face anyway. Rubio picks Santo up and throws him out of the ring and Santo lands really awkwardly and looks like he could have easily blown out a knee. 2^nd fall was good with the rudo’s mostly controlling. 3^rd fall has a great spot where Fuerza is nailing the crap out of Santo and Santo finally fires back and the crowd goes ballistic. He regains the advantage for his team briefly before getting double teamed. Santo Jr and Atlantis hit some absolutely spectacular dives in the third fall to win by countout. A result that I didn’t mind because the dives were enormous. This was a really great match. Because Santo is using a lot of the same spots and sequences he would use later in his career, you can see that he is green here. But you can see he’ll be great. Lobo Rubio looks really good here leading Santo through some nice exchanges and eating all of Santo’s spots really well. Fuerza and Atlantis look out of this fucking world good in this. Atlantis is a guy I never think about when I think about my favorite or the best workers but whenever I watch him, I love the guy. I could see him placing as high as my top 25 or 30 in the GWE ever. Terrific match.

Disc 1 Overall Thoughts

You get your money’s worth after one disc. Seriously. The other 9 are gravy. MS-1 vs Chicana is one of the best matches ever and the 6 man tag the following week is a total fucking blast. This has a great comedy match with Andre the Giant. A terrific title match. A historic tag match featuring the son of the greatest star in the history of Lucha that happens to also be a great match. Kevin von Erich sharing a ring with Pirata Morgan and Mascara Ano 2000. You get to see Perro Aguayo in his prime. El Canek. Gran Hamada. Tatsumi Fujinami. Espectro Jr's Mask. Lou Thesz even refs some matches. This disc is so good even Tiger Mask looks great. Sangre Chicana was definitely the standout worker on a disc full of great performances. If I felt comfortable calling someone the greatest wrestler ever after 4 matches, Sangre would be my #1. He is only in 4 matches and two of them are all out brawls. However one of those brawls is arguably the best match ever. He is tremendous and the definite standout working comedy spots against Andre the Giant in a match that while maybe not great overall but has Sangre putting on a great performance in a totally different way from the MS-1 match and the trios. And then he has the title match with Ringo which is a great match which is again worked in a totally different fashion from the previous matches. Sangre is one of the single greatest sellers I have ever seen. Anyone reading this has probably at least seen the MS-1 match so you know he can sell his ass off, brawl like a motherfucker, and milk the big moments for all theyre worth (seriously Sangre ducking a punch in returning fire in the 2^nd fall of the MS-1 match is the single most spectacular spot ever and it is a fucking duck and a punch). In the other matches he shows an ability to build heat in totally different ways. Sangre fucking Chicana.

goodhelmet · November 1, 2014

If you feel this away after Disc 1, stay tuned because this may be the weakest disc of the bunch.

elliott · November 2, 2014

That's the crazy things about this set. This is my second time running through it. The first time I watched it when I first picked it up, I got to probably midway through Disc 3 and was just exasperated trying to figure out how to rank the matches. There are just so many great matches on the set. I liked the Canek matches more this time around and KVE was less trainwrecky than I remembered. The only matches I'm not actively looking forward to are the Siglo XX match and the Kato Kung Lee vs Kung Fu match. I thought Sangre vs Ringo was a great match but it probably isn't one of the 70 best matches on the set. Incredible.

elliott · November 3, 2014

Been pretty busy the last few days but I managed to watch the first 4 matches of Disc 2. I will come back and edit in the rest of them. I couldn't possibly give the Cota vs Rocca matches the reviews they deserve so I just gave some general thoughts. Mostly that Mocho Cota is the spiritual brother of Volk Han. Also, my grammar and spelling suck. When I do this I'm typing as I watch and not looking at the computer screen or proof reading afterwards. Sorry for that.

DISC 2

Atlantis vs. El Satanico (1984)

Two of my favorites. Satanico charges before the bell but Atlantis leapfrogs the top rope with a drop kick, hits a few more then armdrags Satanico out of the ring. So Satanico slows it down. Fakes a handshake and takes over punching but it doesn’t last long. Atlantis hits a couple of spinebusters which Satanico sells like crazy. Satanico breaks a hold by biting Atlantis. But Atlantis is always one step ahead. He hits a beautiful cross body block off the top and puts Satanico away with a see-saw submission. Satanico is great selling the damage. Second fall starts with Satanico still selling the damage but taking his time getting back in the ring gathering his strength. He goes for a handshake but cheapshots Atlantis to take over. But everytime he goes for an irish whip Atlantis has a counter or an answer for it. Satanico just can’t get it going. Ab stretch by Atlantis that looks great and Satanico counters with a subtle foul. Crowd is going crazy. Satanico has a decided advantage now; Punching, stomping, kneeing, slamming Atlantis’ head into the ringside boards. Satanico has damaged Atlantis enough that he can start hitting moves off the ropes comfortably without Atlantis countering them. Satanico hits some backdrops, his running senton and finally puts Atlantis away with a roll up. In between falls Satanico stands over Atlantis and throws some more stomps and kicks but mostly just stands over Atlantis who is selling his ass off on the ground. Satanico even does some mask ripping to add further insult to injury. Eventually Satanico just kicks him out of the ring so he can gloat. Then he prevents Atlantis from getting back in the ring to start the 3^rd fall. 3^rd fall starts with Satanico biting the shit out of Atlantis and busting him wide open. Satanico continues to dominate with knees to the face and punches and more biting and mask ripping. Satanico does the spot where he spits Atlantis’ blood up in the air, which is as awesome as it is totally fucking gross. Atlantis is phenomenal selling his ass off and he is just covered in blood. At this point the picture turns to black and white due to “transmission problems” but it adds to the match because Atlantis is bleeding all over the place and it makes you think “maybe this was too gory even for 1984.” When Atlantis makes his comeback and starts biting Satanico and playing to the crowd, they are going absolutely insane and Satanico gets busted open as well. Atllantis is returning the brawling favors punching, kicking, biting and slamming Satanico’s head into the turnbuckle Color picture eventually comes back right as Satanico wipes the blood off his face and looks at his hands just furious. These guys are just blasting each other with punches. Both of them are terrific selling all the damage and blood loss here. Atlantis hits a great plancha. Satanico whips Atlantis into the ropes but Atlantis reverses it into an ab stretch. Super dramatic. Satanico finally puts Atlantis away with a submission of his own. This is a really great match. It’s crazy watching this and knowing that it isn’t a top 10 match on the set because it fucking rocks. Match was about 20 minutes total but easily could have gone 10 more. Both guys are tremendous here.

Mocho Cota vs. Americo Rocca (1/27/84)

Title match. The mat work in this is mindblowing. All of the counters and holds and the struggle for them are so fluid and natural. This is incredible. If Volk Han was an 80s Luchador he would be Mocha Cota. Some of the best back and forth exchanges leading to a standoff you’ll ever see. Mocho Cota looks like one of the most interesting wrestlers ever with his brawling in the trios on disc 1 and then this match being some of the most beautiful back and forth mat work you’ll ever see and some totally wacky submissions. Oh and his hand. And the fact that he looks like Seth Rogan after gastric bypass surgery. Mocho does so many great little things in this like pulling his own hair to move himself into better position for a reversal or driving his shoulder into Rocca’s shoulder on an arm wringer takedown. Rocca is great in this too but it’s impossible not to focus all your energy watching Cota. This is terrific.

Mocho Cota vs. Americo Rocca (2/3/84)

I imagine if Volk Han and Kiyoshi Tamura were 80s Luchadores, they would work like this. It isn’t super realistic mind you. But it is so fluid and so natural. Like they know all the tricks, all the ins and outs, all the counters make me think “it makes perfect sense that that is the way to counter that move based on how their bodies are positioned.” I don’t know if this makes sense or if I’m able to even clearly explain it, but these guys working together makes me think of Han and Tamura. This needed to be at least 10 minutes longer.

Atlantis y Lizmark vs. El Egipcio y El Faraón (2/17/84)

This starts and it is just Faraon and Egipcio brawling with the Infernales. And man I want that shit to happen. And later on in the set it does! And I remember it rocking. So Atlantis and Lizmark run out and immediately get attacked. Faraon is awesome in this throwing huge punches and kicks to the face. Some nice fast pace back and forth exchanges with Atlantis and Lizmark coming out on top. Faraon uses some great looking forearms to take back over. Some great heel miscommunication spots with Atlantis coming out on top. Great timing on everything by Faraon and Egipcio. First fall has one of my favorite lucha finishes where one rudo is pinned or submitting in the corner while a technico flies over them with a cross body block and pins the other rudo. When it looks good it looks fucking awesome. Rudos take over the second fall using some double teams and short cuts. It’s good stuff. Not Infernales level mind blowing but good enough to keep the short 2^nd fall moving along. Faraon’s posing and playing to the crowd is really entertaining. He throws some really good knees. 2^nd rope senton is another great finish I think. 3^rd fall starts to get personal with some mask ripping and the technicos finally fighting back with wild punches to the face and postings. I liked the finish with Atlantis and Egipcio getting pinned and Faraon and LIzmark going at it for a couple of minutes. Lizmark gets some really hot near falls off of roll ups and a flying cross body block before Faraon has had enough of that, fouls him and rips his mask off. This isn’t particularly great or memorable but it is good.

El Faraón, Herodes y Mocho Cota vs. Lizmark, Ringo Mendoza y Tony Salazar (2/24/84)

This starts with the rudo’s in control dominating with punching, kicks, and double teams. Cota hits some great dropkick. He and Faraon put away Ringo and Lizmark while Herodes beats up on Salazar on the outside. 2^nd fall starts with Salazar getting isolated and triple teamed and busted open. Salazar is bleeding profusely pretty much immediately. Herodes slams Salazar face first into the turnbuckle and starts choking him on the rope and we get some awesome camera work. Salazar just takes an absolute beating from the rudo’s and Ringo literally attempts to drag Salazar to safety. El Faraon throws some really awesome knee’s to the gut. Rudo’s are really dominating the match and the ring in this. Usually keeping Ringo and LIzmark on the outside so they can triple team Salazar. Finally Lizmark and Ringo are able to take the advantage and the crowd does totally nuts. Ringo gets Herodes in a precarious situation and calls Salazar to come in and get some revenge. Salazar immediately starts biting the shit out of Herodes and beating him in the corner. Herodes takes a really awesome bump in the corner. Almost a combo of the Flair Flip and Flair Flop. We get a good shot of Herodes stumbling around ringside with his face now covered in blood as Salazar continues to go after him. Now the technico’s are fully in control with Lizmark and Ringo keeping Faraon and Cota outside the ring so Salazar can get is revenge. Eventually Salazar just gets pissed and kicks Herodes right in the nuts in front of the ref. Technico’s get DQ’d giving the rudo’s the match. Really good ass kicking brawl that gets you stoked for the hair match between Salazar and Herodes.

Solar, Ultraman y Super Astro vs. Sergio El Hermoso, Bello Greco y Rudy Reyna (2/26/84)

This starts off with back and forth slick mat exchanges as each guy pairs off. Everyone looks really good but I thought Solar sand Greco’s pairing stood out the most. Though Ultraman and Hermoso’s was cut short by clipping. Ruodo’s end up taking the first fall in this. Rudy Renya does some really fun comedy spots including failing on a nipup after Astro did it several times and then literally running away from the technico’s before running into the ringo to find all the Space Cadets waiting for him. Greco takes a crazy backdrop to the outside. Super Astro has some really fun comedy spots as well. Dive train at the end of the 2^nd fall is awesome in this particularly Super Astro’s getting backdropped over the top by Ultraman into a HUGE tope. Terrific spot. Crowd is loving it. Great spot in the 3^rd fall that has Reyna running away from Astro around the ring so Astro turns around, runs the opposite direction and nails him. 3^rd fall is really exciting with some good comedy and good wrestling. I liked this a lot and wonder how much was clipped. Super Astro really looked good in this and I have never really liked Astro before.

Enrique Vera vs. Dos Caras (2/26/84)

Title match so we get the back and forth exchanging of holds you would expect. It is definitely not Cota vs Rocca level stuff but it is still good. Slow paced. Some good struggles over wacky submissions. Some minor clipping in this match but it doesn’t really bum me out like it does in the Space Cadets match. Vera hits a fucking awesome Billy Robinson side backbreaker. 2^nd fall is clipped again and super quick. Caras takes it with a small package from a suplex attempt. 3^rd fall has some dramatic submission attempts and some really nice counters. Vera uses the side backbreaker again that helped him win the first fall but he can’t put Caras away. They continue with nearfalls off of rollups and submissions. Vera looks quite good in this actually. Just an enormous pop when Caras finally puts him away. This was a good match but really doesn’t stand out for me. It is worth watching for sure but it isn’t one I’m going to rush to rewatch.

Jerry Estrada vs. Ultraman (3/2/84)

Another title match. Starts with Estrada trying to get Ultraman to shake his hand. Ultraman kinda slaps it away after much consideration and we’re off. This is your typical title match back and forth mat work. Ultraman does a little bit of arm work that Estrada nicely sells an appropriate length of time. Ultraman mostly controls this early. It isn’t really spectacular but it is good back and forth work. It feels pretty basic compared to some of the stuff we’ve seen before and what we’ll see later on the set. But it is still very good. Ultraman hits a couple of neck breakers that Estrada is great selling. Estrada actually takes the first fall off of what looks like a clumsy side Russian leg sweep into a submission. Estrada starts the 2^nd fall in control keeping Ultraman grounded with armdrags and armbars. Some nice hope spots by Ultraman trying to take over with more flashy offense before Estrada is able to regain control with his armbars. Finally ULtraman is able to put him away with a spinebuster and wacky submission. 3^rd fall starts with Estrada selling the back of his head. So Ultraman takes over with some enzugiri’s neckbreakers, and suplexes. He’s throwing everything at Estrada. Estrada gets dominated in the 3^rd fall but is able to mount enough of a comeback to hit a few dropkicks and a tope. But Ultraman is able to respond with a tope of his own. They get back in and Estrada just destroys Ultraman’s shoulder and they have to stop the match. That was weird. This was definitely a good match. Some sloppy parts throughout the match but nothing too awful. I didn’t like the finish and it really seemed to come out of nowhere. I liked the match overall as I generally like Lucha Title match format and there was more than enough good in this to outweigh the flaws.

Tony Salazar vs. Herodes (3/2/84)

Hair vs Hair match. Starts with Herodes jumping Salazar before he can get into the ring. But it doesn’t last long as Salazar gets in and Herodes bumps around nicely for him. That doesn’t last long either as Salazar catches a knee to the gut and ends up back outside. Herodes posts Salazar as he tries to get back in the ring. He tries it a second time but Salazar is able to counter and hits a beautiful flying cross body block and is able to put Herodes away with an in ring reverse tope and a senton. Short 3 minture first fall but it fucking rocks already. 2^nd fall starts with Salazar still in control. He hits a backbreaker which sends Herodes outside. Salazar looks on for the crowd’s approval and then posts Herodes for revenge for the first fall posting. Herodes cautiously gets back in the ring and waits for the split second that Salazar has turned his back before jumping him. Herodes takes over with some arm work. Salazar is terrific selling. Crowd loves it when Salazar does a few arm wringer drops to get some payback. But Herodes maintains control. He even hits a senton on Salazar’s arm leading to a submission and the fall. Herodes continues to work over Salazar’s arm for a bit in between falls. 3^rd fall starts with Herodes posting Salazar and Salazar getting busted wide open. Herodes works over the cut with more bites and another posting. Herodes is fully in control at this point. He takes it back in the ring and continues to work the cut with punching and bites all while trying to choke Salazar out. Salazar is a fucking mess at this point, his face and hands just covered in blood. He finally gets an opening and is able to return fire with some punches of his own but is too weakened from the blood loss to really take control. He finally gets some punches and biting of his own in and when Herodes tumbles outside, Salazar follows him out and posts him and then nails a bulldog and posts Herodes again before hitting another bulldog. Salazar gets back in the ring and is celebrating meanwhile, Herodes is stumbling around outside the ring. We finally get a closeup on Herodes and he is pouring blood out of his face. His selling and stumbling blood loss bumping on the outside is amazing. We get both guys back in the ring trading punches with Salazar mostly having the advantage. Herodes hits an unbelieveable tope on Salazar. This is so fucking awesome. Both guys barely beat the count back inside. Salazar hits a dropkick on Herodes as someone fires a cannon or something inside the arena and then follows it up with a plancha. Both guys barely beat the count back in again. Herodes hits a seonton but can’t get the win. The ring is covered in blood. INSANE near fall from a reversal of a body slam with a small package. Seriously the best nearfall from a small package ever. Crowd collectively shits their pants. Herodes bumps into the ref and fouls Salazar. Ref starts to count the pin but realizes something was up. He declares Salazar the winner right as the video cuts out. Really wash we got the full post match as this was fucking tremendous. Classic match.

Hijo del Santo, Ringo Mendoza y Chamaco Valaguez vs. Jerry Estrada, Fuerza Guerrera y Talisman (3/9/84)

This starts with Santo going after Fuerza on the outside before the match. Ringo Mendoza starts the actual match off with Talisman. Some decent back and forth arm draggy work. Best part is Ringo hitting a side kick and Talisman claiming foul. Fuerza gets in against Valaguez and bails out as soon as Santo comes in after him. Estrada jumps in and tells Santo he has to fight him. Santo tries to drag Fuerza in which allows Estrada to attack Santo. So Fuerza takes this as the time to come in and attack Santo. Awesome. Fuerza is so great. Rudo’s easily dominate Santo with double and triple teams. Ringo finall comes in to save Santo. Santo goes right after Fuerza and hits some great knees before Fuerza bails out and sprints away. Ringo and Talisman come in to have some more nice back and forth exchanges. Estrada comes in as well but Ringo is able to outwrestle both of them. Valaguez gets in and falls for a Feruza handshake and hug. Idiot. Valaguez bails out and Santo immediately comes in for another shot at Fuerza. They have some spectacular back and forth’s with Fuerza making Santo look like a king. Really great. Tremendous finish to the first fall with dives and submissions galore. Fucking awesome. 2^nd fall starts with Ringo vs Estrada and they have more good back and forth work before Estrada takes a backdrop to the outside for a tremendous bump. Talisman and Valaguez come in and the good work continues before Talisman takes a bump to the outside. Santo comes in but Fuerza refuses to gt in the ring slowing the pace down. Talisman comes in and Fuerza kinda sneaks in behind him but keeps finding himself in the way. Great heel miscommunication and comedy spots with Talisman and Fuerza with Santo coming out looking great. So Estrada comes in and in jumps Ringo. Estrada is able to take over with punches and it looks like the rudos might finall take over double and triple teaming Ringo. Estrada is just running around kicking and punching dudes. Talisman and Fuerza also come in to join in the fun. Fuerza drags Santo around by the mask talking shit and setting up Santo to get kicked in the face. Talisman and Estrada put Valaguez and Ringo away inside the ring as Fuerza continues to beat on and talk shit to Santo on the outside. Rudo beat down continues in between falls with Santo getting isolated and beat down. The rudo’s do their damndest to get Santo’s mask off. Finally Valaguez is able to break through and get to Santo to help him out. Santo goes after Fuerza with a vengeance punching and kneeing the crap out of Fuerza while tearing and ripping the mask. Ringo and Valaguez but away Talisman and Estrada with rana’s and Santo tries to put Fuerza away but Fuerza flies by and rips Santo’s mask right off. Santo immediately it’s the ground covering his face and Valaguez dives on top of him so no one can see him. They get a shirt to cover Santo’s face and the rudo’s continue to try and get at it. This was all fucking great. Santo eventually get a loner mask and goes after Fuerza. Beating the crap out of him and ripping his mask off. Crowd goes totally insane. Santo gets his mask back. This was all kinds of awesome. Great great great match and really fun post match.

Lizmark vs. El Satanico (April 1984)
Title match. Great heat from the start with the crowd chanting for Lizmark and Satanico talking crap back to them saying he’s #1. This starts as you expect Lucha title matches to start. Back and forth mat work. Struggling over the application and countering of holds. It is really good as Lizmark brings some flash and Satanico brings some bullying. Both bring a great knowledge of lucha mat work. Satanico’s arm drags and hip tosses are awesome as they look more like throws than drags or tosses. Both guys are fairly cautious in this to start which makes it more dramatic when Lizmark hits a dropkick. Satanico is great stalling and slowing the pace in between locking up while still keeping the match interesting with his sellig, facial expressions or crowd interactions. It makes it so much more meaningful when they do lock up and makes the nearfalls that much more dramatic. But when it is time to pick the pace up and go, Satanico can bump and move as fast as anyone. Lizmark takes the first fall with a doublearm suplex and the crowd goes crazy. Satanico is awesome selling the damage in between falls and at the start of the 2^nd. Lizmark takes advantage of Satanico’s sore neck at the start of the fall. He focuses on that and even does the Curt Hennig neck whip move. Satanico is really great selling and interacting with his second. Lizmark hits a piedriver which Satanico sells like crazy for flopping all around. He’s really good at going back and forth between subtle understated selling and wild over the top selling. Lizmark hits a couple of dropkicks and goes for a rana but Satanico just plants him with a desperation powerbomb and takes the fall. Lizmark does a great job getting it over as a devastating move in between falls while Satanico is trying to recover as well. Satanico charges Lizmark full speed at the start of the fall but misses a knee and hits the turnbuckle. Lizmark is pretty solidly back in control really, reversing a Satanico hip toss into an ab stretch. Satanico finally gets the hip toss and nails a senton for a good near fall. Lizmark hits a few running topes in the ring for a near fall. Lizmark is selling as though he is as beat up as Satanico in spite of controlling most of the match which is a little werid but I guess that powerbomb was great. Really dramatic 3^rd fall with lots of pinning combinations and great near falls. Lizmark hits some beautiful flying cross body blocks in from the top rope both in the ring and to the floor. Just tremendous selling by Satanico after the one to the floor. Match actually ends with a double pin so Satanico escapes with his title. This was interesting. Lizmark really dominated the vast majority of the match. It was good and Satanico is really great selling and putting over Lizmark. But he really got outwrestled for 30 minutes and barely escaped with his title. Which is great for a heel title holder in a title defense, but you really wanted to see Satanico take more of the match. He nailed the powerbomb as a reversal and lucked into Lizmark pinning himself. Really good but weird. I liked the Atlantis mach more.

Disc 2 Overall Thoughts

Another tremendous disc. Starts and ends with great Satanico performances. Mocha Cota was really the standout worker on the set though. The first match with Rocca is an all time classic and the 2^nd one was just too short to get there but on its way there. Just amazing mat work. This also had some really great bloody brawls and exciting multi man matches. Caras vs Vera was ok but not great. The Faraon Egipcio tag was good but not memorable. Everything else is on the very good to all time classic rang.

elliott · November 12, 2014

DISC 3

Satanico vs. Shiro Koshinaka (Hair vs. Hair) (7/30/84)

Hair vs Hair match. I remember seeing this years and years ago on Lynch’s tape list and never picking it up even though I liked both guys at the time. What a mistake that was because this is a fucking awesome match. Koshinaka attacks Satanico as he’s getting into the ring before he can even get his jacket off. Crowd is going nuts as he’s stomping the crap out of Satanico. Koshinaka starts this match firmly in control. Satanico is one of the great sellers in history so that is fine with me. Koshinaka dominates with arm work mostly. Working an arm wringer before slipping into some other submissions. Satanico is such a great mat worker that he’s able to work a few near counters in spite of the damage he’s taken. When none of that works he kicks his way out in a great show of frustration. Koshinaka hits his flying butt attack which is a move I’ve always liked and then he does the shittiest rolling cradle. Satanico gets some nice near reversals before Koshinaka puts him away with a backslide to take the first fall. Satanico is great selling the damage between falls and walking around ringside trying to regain his strength. Koshinaa takes back over right away when Satanico finally comes in to start the 2^nd fall. Continuing to beat the horse, Satanico’s selling is tremendous in this. Especially his attempts to transition onto offense. He sneaks in elbows and knees to the gut where he can but he just can’t totally capitalize enough to take over. Koshinaka hits a great flying knee drop for a good near fall and follows it up with a double arm suplex for another. Koshinaka goes for another move off the top but Satanico manages to stumble over and toss him off. This finally gives Satanico the opening he needs. Koshinaka rolls to the floor and Satanico limps after him (still selling the brief legwork Koshinaka just attempted) and throws some great knees before posting Koshinaka repeatedly and busting him open. Satanico puts Koshinaka away with a roll up following a great suplex and splash to take the 2^nd fall. Satanico talks shit and stomps and bites the bloody Koshinaka between falls. Satanico is awesome here firmly in control. Strutting around the ring and antagonizing the crowd while still selling the beating he’s taken already. 3^rd fall starts with Satanico knocking Koshinaka from the ring and not letting him back in. Satanico dominates the start of the fall punching and biting the cut. Koshinaka manages to get Satanico outside the ring for some payback postings. Koshianaka takes back over with punching and biting of his own. Koshinaka hits a pretty nice piledriver and follow it up with some JYD headbutts. Satanico’s face is a bloody mess at this point but he manages to fight back with wild punches and knees. Great nearfall on a sunset flip by Koshinaka. Koshinaka tries a boston crab but Satanico has really had an answer for most of Koshinaka’s submission attempts in this so he manages to reverse out of it. Another great nearfall when Satanico misses his senton after a slam. Both guys are just trading near fall attempts at the end and they are all terrific. Koshinaka ends up fouling Satanico on a body slam attempt in it looks like a mistake but the ref calls the match for Satanico anyway. It was the 3^rd straight attempt of a body slam off an Irish Whip for Satanico so maybe Koshinaka was going for a reversal and just happened to slam Satanico in the balls. Either way the finish didn’t hurt the match at all. This is absolutely a classic match that has a phenomenal Satanico performance. Definitely a contender for the top 10 matches on the set.

El Satanico y Espectro Jr. v. El Faraón y La Fiera (8/12/84)
Infernales jump Faraon and Fiera from the start. Fiera gets taken out and the Infernales isolate and just destroy Faraon before he can even get his jacket off. They’re throwing tandem knees and punches and biting the shit out of him. Finally Fiera is able to run in and they turn the tide in their favor. Satanico gets isolated and busted wide open. Fiera and Faraon refuse to let up on Satanico and beat him to the point where they get disqualified. Fiera hasn’t even taken his jacket off yet. In between falls they continue working over Satanico just taking turns biting the shit out of him. His face is totally covered in blood. 2^nd fall is more of the same with Satanico just getting killed by Faraon. Espectro Jr tries to come in and make a save but Fiera takes him out and posts him. More double teaming of Satanico continues. Great spot where Faraon has Satanico in an ab stretch and Fiera rams Espectro’s head into Satanico’s stomach. Satanico avoids a dropkick on a double team attempt and manages to break free right as Espectro Jr is making a comeback in the ring. Infernales get some payback with brawling and biting of their own. But Faraon manages to nail a charging Satanico with a big boot on a double team event. I assume their some slight clipping in this because next we see Faraon basically hitting a ganso bomb on Espectro Jr to take the 2^nd fall as Fiera is putting away Satanico. I’m stunned Espectro Jr didn’t great his neck. 3^rd fall is Faraon and Fiera continuing to beat the shit out of the Infernales. They take out Satanico and focus their attention on ripping away at Espectro’s mask. Including putting him in a brutal tandem submission while tugging at the mask for more leverage. They try another which opens to door for Satanico to sneak in and grab the advantage. Faraon takes an insane bump over the top rope. Satanico goes over to work on Fiera next. Infernales are pretty firmly in control finally. Satanico hits some terrific uppercuts on Fiera who is awesome selling and bumping around. Faraon is able to break free of Espectro Jr’s attack and helps out Fiera allowing them to take back over again. Jeez. Satanico goes all Jerry Lawler and makes a 2 on 1 comeback throwing these great punches and buying himself some time until Espectro Jr makes it back in. Espectro Jr tends to get taken out pretty easily over and over in this leaving Satanico fighting back against two guys. He’s awesome selling and finding ways to make realistic comebacks at a moments notice before getting cut off again. It is eventually too much though as he ends up getting put away. Espectro is able to make a brief comeback at this point actually. He dodges a Fiera tope attempt and Fiera takes a nasty bump. But Faraon nails Espectro with a tope of his own. Faraon drags himself and Fiera back in the ring as Espectro Jr is counted out. This was basically an extended squash but it was really enjoyable because of another tremendous performance by Satanico. Speaking of…

Gran Cochise vs. Satanico (9/14/84)
This is a title match so it is worked completely differently from the match against Koshinaka earlier on this disc. This is a contender for #1 on the set. Both guys are cautious to start but it gets straight into the mat work you’ve come to know and love in Lucha title matches. The way that Cota/Rocca reminds me of Han/Tamura and Chicana/MS-1 makes me think of Lawler/Dundee, this match has me thinking of Flair vs Steamboat from 89. I always loved Satanico’s flying headscissors. It seems more violent than graceful. It’s like the Tenryu Enzugiri of flying headscissors. If the great matches metric is important to you for the GOAT talk, this match is a great building block for Satanico’s candidacy. He is probably thought of as a brawler by most people, but here he is in a title match as good as any match you’ll ever see. He has the great brawling matches in singles and trios and tags. He’s a terrific seller. But this is best example of Satanico is world class mat worker. His selling in this is fantastic. He’s able to sell limbwork and it be great but he’s also one of the best at selling the general overall exhaustion of a big epic match. He is as great at expressive over the top movements as he is at being subtle and understated. If you value peak, longevity, versatility, selling, working the crowd, etc etc etc you would love Satanico.

Sangre Chicana vs. MS-1 (Hair vs. Hair) (9/21/84)

I love that they did this as a rematch on the Anniversary Show after having the best match probably ever the year before. It’s like the 80s Lucha version of the Undertaker vs Michaels WM matches only much much much better. This starts with MS-1 jumping Sangre Chicana at the bell. At least Sangre made it through the introductions without bleeding this year. I could watch Sangre Chicana get fake beaten up all day long. He is so expressive. I love anytime he starts a comeback with dodging a strike and firing back a punch. Sangre Chicana dodging a punch or kick and punching back is the single most exciting move in wrestling history. Chicana wins a quick but fun first fall. Every ref treats Sangre Chicana like Joey Crawford treats Tim Duncan. Only it doesn’t piss me off as much because it leads to Sangre Chicana getting beat up which is always a good thing. MS-1 is great in this too bringing the hate and being a smug prick. I feel like this match is climbing an uphill battle in a lot of ways overall. There was no way they could outdo the match from the year before we had all seen before this set. It didn’t really have the same hate or violence as the last years match and it was definitely missing the blood. Through 2 1/3 discs, I would comfortably put it behind their first match, Satanico vs Cochise, the two Cota/Rocca matches, Satanico vs Atlantis, Sangre vs Ringo, Satanico vs Koshinaka, and Herodes vs Salazar. And that’s just the singles matches. There are some trios I like more as well. And I know for a fact that by the end of this disc I wouldn’t rank this in my top 10 singles matches so far. But I really think that speaks to the great quality of the set more than it does the low quality of the match, because I thought this match was great. The fact that this would struggle to make my top 50 is a testament to the depth of great matches Will and Co put together on this.

Atlantis, Ringo Mendoza y Tony Salazar vs. El Satanico, MS-1 y Espectro Jr. (9/28/84)

This starts with Satanico vs Atlantis so I’m immediately a fan. MS-1 uses a bunch of hip tosses to dominate Salazar and Mendoza before Espectro Jr comes in to face Mendoza. I really like Mendoza a lot so I’m excited for any chance to see him work. This is pretty fast paced back and forth rope running arm draggy stuff to start with everyone looking very good. Satanico slows the pace down when he and Atlantis get back in and waits for Atlantis to turn his head before jumping him. Salazar and Ringo have a lot more success against MS-1 and Espectro Jr than Atlantis does against Satanico which is a really cool way to layout the first fall. 2^nd fall starts with Satanico in control of Atlantis. Allowing the tag to Salazar then dragging Atlantis back into the rudo corner. Ringo gets some double and triple team treatment as well when he comes in. I think the spot where the rudos take turns back dropping Salazar from their knees is cool. They follow it up by all hitting him with sentons for the pin. Satanico gets Ringo to submit while Atlantis is still out selling on the floor. The rudo’s turn their attention to him and do a little more damage between falls. 3^rd fall starts with rudo’s still in control but Tony Salazar valiantly fighting back and trying to make something happen for his team. As soon as he does, Satanico comes in for a sneak attack and puts a stop to it. He gets Salazar in a submission but it is finally time for Atlantis’ comeback. He comes in and starts punching Satanico, whipping him into the turnbuckle, then hits a backbreaker before locking in a submission. Unfortunately, his back is turned and MS-1 comes in for a cheap shot allowing Satanico to take back over control of Atlantis. Satanico tries to tie him up and unask him and does some mask ripping. Ringo tries to make a superman comeback for his team but ends up locking in a submission with his back to the Infernales and gets cheapshotted. Satanico locks in a submission which gives Atlantis the opening to come in and take a shot at Satanico. Technico’s take the fall with a great triple sunset flip spot that ends up in a two pinfalls when Satanico reaches up and rips off Atlantis’ mask. This was a good match. Certainly an enjoyable match with everyone looking good but it isn’t really memorable.

Villano III vs. Perro Aguayo (10/7/84)

God bless the Japanese film crew. This is a title match. Perro immediately starts talking trash to what looks like an enormous crowd. This starts with both guys struggling to get the advantage and apply a hold. Perro moves around on the mat much better than you would ever expect and he’s yet another guy known for being a great brawler that shows he knows how to work the mat in a traditional title match. Villano III blasts Perro with some awesome dropkicks This is the first look at 80s Villano III and he looks terrific in this. He’s pretty clearly a great mat worker and super charismatic. Perro’s reversal of a ddt and senton was awesome. Perro also nails Villano with some great clotheslines and hits a great tope. They really moved out of the early mat work phase and into the dropping bombs phase quicker than a lot of other title matches. But they definitely provided a good base. Perro puts Villano away with a nasty looking top rope foot stomp. I’m a huge fan of Perro’s foot stomp offense and his top rope one is always great. 2^nd fall starts with more double foot stomps. I loved when Villano tried to roll out of the ring to get away but Perro runs and jumps over him blocking his escape. It’s the sort of thing I have done to every puppy I’ve ever had. Perro has a great moveset if that’s your thing. He hits a beautiful doulb earm suplex. Perro yells at the ref which gives Villano an opening to hit a backdrop. Villano hits a ddt and Perro’s selling of it is awesome. Villano hits some beautiful running topes and ties Perro up to take the 2^nd fall. I love the way Perro is always running and charging at his opponent at every opportunity. Perro starts to get cocky and pull Villano up at the 2 count after a senton. So he slams Villano and goes for a top rope foot stomp. But Villano moves of course and just goes to town on Perro’s leg. Perro selling of the missed foot stomp is fucking awesome but it doesn’t last too long. Both guys start going for roll up pin attempts for a nice series of near falls. After eating probably 4 or 5 sentons throughout the match, Villano gets some payback by flattening Perro with a second rope senton. But he misses on his top rope flipping senton attempt allowing Perro to take over. Perro hits a brutal looking tombstone piledriver before missing a top rope flipping senton of his own. Great nearfall with Villano reversing a gori special into a victory roll. Perro hits Villano with another tope and Villano does a fantastic job selling he’s out on his feet and might teeter over and get counted out. Match ends with a double pin. Perro is pissed at the finish which leads to a crazy brawl with him beating the shit out of Villano, repeatedly fouling him and trying to rip his mask off. This was fucking awesome. It was much more aggressive than the other title matches on the set so far. They did some nice back and forth mat work briefly to start and then this turned into more of a bombfest with great selling and dramatic near falls. This was a fucking awesome match. I remembered liking it when I watched it originally but it blew me away this time. This is probably a top 10 contender for the entire set.

Javier Cruz, Impacto y Solar II vs. El Dandy, Franco Colombo y Panico (10/84)

The first look at El Dandy on the set who will be one of the best workers in the world by the end of this thing. The first thing we see from him is taking an enormous bump over the top rope. Javier Cruz hits a beautiful cross body block and thwarts a double team attempt by Panico and Colombo. Some really fun rudo miscommunication spots in this with both Cruz and Impacto. Dandy takes over by punching Solar II and opening him up for double teams. He also finds the time to sneak in a killer shot on Javier Cruz. Dandy throws some really nasty looking punches in this. He also absolutely kills Solar II and Javier Cruz with top rope sentons to take the first fall. Rudos continue to dominate the 2^nd fall by sneaking up on Javier Cruz as soon as he turns his back. Dandy really goes after Cruz. Punching, stomping, kneeing, and just straight up slamming his face into the mat. Theres a great spot where Colombo is holding Cruz up and dangling him over the apron and Dandy jumps up off the apron and just kills him with a knee to the back of the head which also drives Cruz’s face right into the side of the ring. Technico’s get a slight advantage and it looks like Cruz is about to get some revenge but Dandy refuses to renter the ring pissing off the crowd. Dandy is able to maintain control but Solar II has had enough and he comes in to bring the pain to El Dandy. Impacto II comes in and gives Colombo some spinebusters. Everytime Dandy tries to come in Cruz comes in as well, much to the chagrin of Dandy and the delight of the crowd. They exchanges some great punches before Dandy takes another huge backdrop out of the ring. Solar hits an enormous tope. We’re left with Dandy and Cruz and Cruz is able to put him away and the crowd goes crazy. Technicos take the match. This was either clipped and I didn’t notice or just the 2^nd two falls. Either way it was very good. Not great but it does have me excited for the Dandy vs Cruz singles match. This was a lot of fun but not really memorable especially on this disc.

Perro Aguayo vs. Sangre Chicana vs. El Faraón vs. Villano III (Elimination Match) (10/84)

I love the crowd surrounding the ring. This starts with Perro and Faraon trying to get at each other as they enter the ring. Then Perro and Villano go after each other as Faraon is throwing these monster knees as Sangre Chicana. So I love this match right away. I’m excited for every possible match up in this. Just great punching all around from everyone. Everyone seems to take delight in beating up Sangre Chicana. The Perro vs Faraon portion of this is very good. They move and bump around so much faster than you would expect. Faraon in particular since he seems like such a big dude. Villano trips Faraon on a rope running spot and Perro hits a senton putting Faraon away. We get some shenanigans on the outside with Chicana and Perro. Now we get Chicana vs Villano III and the crowd is going crazy chanting for Chicana who offers to shake Villano’s hand and then kicks him in the knee. Tremendous. Perro attacks Villano at ringside and as Villano is stumbling around selling it Sangre hits a fucking spectacular tope which leads to Villano getting counted out. Now we get Sangre vs Perro which works well for me. Perro kicks the crap out of Sangre outside the ring and battering rams him into the ringside. Perro climbs back in the ring and Villano takes this chance to run over and lay some shots in on Chicana and post him. Chicana makes it back in but Perro puts him away quickly to take the fall. Perro attacks Sangre in between falls and starts biting him. The next look we get at Chicana’s face and he is covered in blood. Perro fires some brutal looking punches at Sangre’s cut. It looks like Perro is just killing him. Sangre is fantastic as usual selling this brutal ass kicking. He finally gets an opening when Perro tries to ram his head into the post but Chicana reverses sening Perro into the post instead. Sangre starts to get his payback throwing his great punches and biting Perro. We get the best high spot in wrestling when Sangre ducks a Perro punch and throws a right hand. Perro appears to be busted open now as well. Oh, Sangre Chicana has a really great dropkick. I don’t think I’ve mentioned that yet. Sangre takes the 2^nd fall tying Perro up in a knot for the submission. Sangre gets some shots in on Perro in between falls on the outside of the ring. Back inside and Chicana continues to dominate with punches and tries another submission. Perro counters with punching and a submission of his own. Sangre manages to hit another crazy tope for a nearfall by countout but both guys manage to make it back into the ring. The selling is off the charts great. Sangre teases ANOTHER tope but he’s so out of it stumbling he can’t pull it off in a great spot. Perro seizes the opportunity and manages to take over throwing some knees and a clothesline before knocking Sangre out and hitting a huge tope of his own. Both guys barely make it back in and it looks like Sangre is about done. He’s really out on his feat but he manages to fire a punch to pop the crowd. Perro misses a 2^nd rope flipping senton and maybe Sangre has a chance. It looks like Perro goes for a foul but Sangre catches the foot and seems surprised that Perro would try this and he just blasts Perro in the nuts with his own foul. He doesn’t seem to care at all that he’s DQd and just stands there watching Perro roll around in pain while the crowd rushing the ringside and chants his name. Phenomenal. I loved this match. It was definitely a little confusing at first with all the single falls that then lead to the Chicana/Perro 2/3 falls match but its pretty easy to figure out. And all the work is great. Lots of violence, great punching, an awesome crowd, the tremendous Chicana vs Perro matchup. I loved this and it could easily end up in my top 15.

Satanico vs. Super Astro (10/26/84)

Satanico matches on disc 3 have been something else so my expectations are quite high for this. I remember liking it the first time but not being blown away by it so we’ll see. This starts off with Satanico talking shit about Super Astro being so short and miming for the crowd that he’s going to squash Astro like a bug. Then he tries to get Super Astro to shake his hand. Astro doesn’t so Satanico blasts him with some running knees. Satanico mostly dominates this to start with sick looking knees to the gut and face as well as some really good punches. He also does the classic heel spot of picking his opponent up after a two count. He kicks Astro out of the ring and walks around gloating. Astro is really good bumping for everything and taking a beating. Satanico starts biting Astro so you know we’re going to get some blood eventually. Satanico is excellent as the bully in this gloating whenever he can. So when Astro hits him with a flying cross body and some running topes the crowd just loves it. Astro ends up taking the first fall with a beautiful top rope reverse tope. 2^nd fall starts again with Satanico trying to shake Astro’s hand and then jumping him as soon as he turns his back. Satanico is back in control after Astro’s spectacular flurry at the end of the 1^st fall. We’re back to kicking, punching, biting, and choking. Great spot with Astro lying face down on the mat and Satanico just repeatedly slams his face into the bottom turnbuckle then tries to tie him up and unmask him. Satanico literally drags Astro’s body across the ring by the mask and continues trying to rip it off and bite Astro’s face. Astro finally gets busted open as Satanico continues to bite and punch the shit out of Astro. Satanico puts Astro away with a submission and continues to attack Astro after the fall eventually knocking him from the ring so he can gloat and tell the crowd he’s #1 and he’s the champ. 3^rd fall starts like many of these matches with Satanico kicking and knocking Astro down everytime he ties to enter the ring. Finally Astro is able to dodge an attack when Satanico starts his charge from a little too far away and Astro is out for some revenge. Punching and biting Satanico and busting him wide open. Satanico takes a nasty bump into the turnbuckle. One thing about Satanico is that when it’s his turn to bleed, he bleeds like a motherfucker and his face is always instantly covered in blood. He is also great at reacting to getting busted open. It makes him fight back with even more fury and rage. He’s done gloating, now its time to get your ass kicked. There’s an awesome spot where both guys are down on their knees selling, Satanico punches Astro, Astro falls all the way back, bounces up and hits a headbutt. Then they repeat it a second time. It was awesome. Like Undertakers sit up from the knees into a headbutt. The second one gets a great nearfall. Astro complains to the ref ,which allows Satanico to take back over. He continues to bite and punch and tires slapping on a submission. Astro hits some running topes and a senton for a nearfall then puts Satanico in a submission which leads to some awesome facials by Satanico. Lots of really great near falls down the stretch before Astro takes this with a surprise rana. Satanico is pissed. I don’t know why this didn’t hit me before, but I thought this was a great match. Another brilliant Satanico performance and I thought Astro (who is a guy I’ve never been as big on as most people are) looked great and more than held up his end of the bargain in what I assume was a huge win for him. I didn’t like this as much as the last match or Satanico vs Atlantis, but this was an excellent match.

El Canek vs Andre the Giant Clips 2/84

ANDRE! Woooo! Andre takes a freaking arm drag in this and it is ridiculous. It also looks like he takes a backdrop. Canek definitely gets a nice body slam on him as well. Pretty amazing spectacle and it is cool to have it on tape as this is something I’d always heard about. Not really good and nowhere near complete and the handheld camera is pretty crappy. But a very cool 8 minutes to have.

Disc 3 Overall Thoughts

This is going to be a hard disc to top. Several all time classic matches including a #1 overall contender and 3 more top 10 contenders. Fucking incredible. The “lows” on this match were really good matches that weren’t super memorable. This was definitely Satanico’s disc with 3 great singles matches and two really good multi man matches. He showed tremendous versatility in all of his matches. The Cochise match obviously is an all time classic mat based match. The Koshinaka and Astro matches were both wild bloody brawls that were both great and both worked completely differently. Sangre Chicana continues to be one of the most impressive guys on the set with two more great matches and unbelieveable performances. This disc also has me looking forward to what is to come with El Dandy making his first appearance and the Cruz match coming up.

soup23 · November 20, 2014

Been rewatching this as well Elliot to finally kick my ass in gear and fill out a ballot. This is the third time I have watched to disc 3 and every time, I come away around the Lizmark match by audibly declaring that Satanico is fucking great. That Gran Cochisse match just gets richer and richer every time.

The Santo mask ripping match also gets raised every time I watch it. This set really is great stuff and I am committed to finishing it before the end of the year.

elliott · November 21, 2014

Both times watching Cota/Rocca 1 I've thought to myself "that's got to be the best title match on the set. Nothing can top that shit." Both times I got to Satanico vs Cochisse and thought "oh, shit, that was clearly better than Cota/Rocca. Holy fuck!" The only match I could see bumping that one down to #3 is Perro vs Chicana which has blown me out of the water every time I've watched it.

I've fallen into a Tommy Rich wormhole the last few days and work is totally insane for me during the holidays but I'm definitely going to finish this again before the New Year as well. Hope to make some major headway this weekend.

elliott · November 27, 2014

DISC 4

Javier Cruz vs. El Dandy (Hair vs. Hair) (10/26/84)

Starts with Cruz attacking Dandy before either guy can even get their jackets off. Once they settle in and start the match proper after ring introductions, Dandy takes over with kicks and his great punches. Cruz gets a few shots in here and there including a backdrop but Dandy mostly controls. He posts Cruz a couple of times. Cruz hits a beautiful tope off the top rope and ends up taking the first fall with a surprise submission that Dandy sells the crap out of. Short but fun first fall. Cruz takes control at the beginning of the 2^nd fall with punches and smashing Dandy into the turnbuckle. Dandy is a really great bumper and really smooth already. Dandy manages to nail Cruz with a clothesline to get an opening and he takes over. Cruz is selling the neck/back of the head big time. Dandy plants him some nasty looking ddt’s. He picks up Cruz’s shoulders on a 2 count to piss off the crowd. He starts biting Cruz in the face and just continues to dominate. Dandy finally puts Cruz away with a submission to take the 2^nd fall. 3^rd fall starts with Cruz having recovered enough that he’s fired up and ready to fight so Dandy backs up and gets out on the apron so he can stall for more time. He’s able to distract Cruz and sneak in a hard right and starts biting. But Cruz is able to fight back with punches of his own. Nice series of nearfalls on roll up pin attempts and counters to them. Dandy hits a beautiful dive from the top rope to the floor and Cruz hits a tope through the ropes. Both guys get counted out and Dandy jumped up and started kicking the shit out of Cruz. This fell flat for me. It lacked the intensity of your typical hair vs hair match. Cruz is a 4 year vet here and Dandy debuted 3 years earlier. I should have looked that up before watching this because by the end I was thinking this felt like a match between 2 young guys who are clearly talented but haven’t figured it all out yet. Dandy’s selling was hit or miss in this. It is good and definitely worth watching but it won’t be as high as the Dandy to come later.

Gran Cochise, Villano III y Rayo De Jalisco Jr. vs. Fishman, Mocho Cota y Tony Bennetto (11/30/84)

Mocho Cota’s hair makes this a 5 star match no matter what happens. It is Andre the Giant’s afro on a guy 2/3 the size of Andre. Cool to see Fishman. Rudos take out Villano and Rayo to start so they can triple team Cochise in the ring. They work him over for a while before he gets clotheslined out of the ring so Villano gets in only to find 3 rudos waiting for him. Villano get’s clotheslined out of the ring after some triple teams and then Rayo gets in to meet the same fate as his partners. Technico’s manage to make a comeback to stop the rudo triple teaming madness. Mocha Cota winds up alone in the ring with Cochise and takes a backdrop out of the ring. Rayo and Bennetto pair up and have a nice rope running back and foth arm draggy exchange before Bennetto bumps out of the ring. Fishman shows himself to be the spirit guide of Fuerza Guerrera by tripping on his way into the ring like a goof. He lulls Villano into a false sense of security and then punches him in the face. Villano takes over quickly and they have a nice back and forth exchange. The rudo’s take the first fall when Villano and Rayo pin Fishman and Bennetto while Cochise takes Cota at bay. That’s a singles feud I want to see really badly. In between falls Cochise/Cota and Villano/Fishman are talking crap and about to get into it. 2^nd fall starts with all 6 guys brawling outside the ring with the technico’s dominating. Great spot where cota is ducking down trying to sneak up on Cochise on the outside and Cochise catches his foot when Cota tries to kick him much to the crowd’s delight. Inside the ring the rudo’s are still dominating with double teams and brawling tactics. Rudo’s take the fall when Fishman hits a beautiful splash off the top onto Villano III. 3^rd fall starts with rudo’s still dominating the match. Awesome double team where Bennetto puts Cochise in a fireman’s carry while Cota is kneeling down in front of them and Cochise just tosses Bennetto onto Cota’s knee. Crowd goes crazy as the technico’s start to make their comeback. Cota gets isolated and Cochisse starts biting the shit out of him while Villano and Rayo keep the others at bay. Cota gets busted open. Triple sunset flips by the technicos for a nearfall. Cota takes a monkey flip to the outside onto Bennetto and Fishman and Rayo and Villano follow it up with double topes in a great spot. Cota gets back in the ring and we get him and Cochise one on one going back and forth. It is really good back and forth stuff before Cochise puts Cota away for the win. This was an awesome match. Great brawling, wrestling, some spectacular dives, blood. Mocho Cota’s afro and mustache situation. Just great fun all around.

Sangre Chicana vs. Villano III (12/7/84)

Starts with Chicana in the ring signing autographs but he stops so he can meet Villano at ringside so they can try and throw some punches at each other. Back in the ring for intros and crowd is hot as fuck already. Villano gets the jump on Sangre when he turns his back and takes over with punching and this spills to the outside. Villano smashes Chicana into the apron and posts him before getting back in the ring for some gloating. Villano goes back outside to continue dishing out the punishment. Villano gets back in the ring and we get a good shot of Chicana covered in blood like 3 minutes into the match. Villano gets right on the cut with some biting and he does the great spot where he spits Chicana’s blood up into the air. Sangre’s selling of the beating is as awesome as it usually is. He is easily one of the best sellers in history. Villano takes the first fall after a top rope senton. Villano continues biting Chicana’s forehead and spitting blood at the start of the 2^nd. Villano plants Chicana on the outside with a ddt and continues gloating and playing to the crowd while Sangre is outside selling. Chicana makes it back in the ring but Villano stays on top of him with more biting, kicks, and submission attempts. Sangre finally manages to get some offense in when he reverses an irish whip to the corner, lands a HUGE right hand which sends Villano to the outside and Sangre follows it up with one of the single greatest tope’s in wrestling history. Just completely spectacular. As fast and violent a dive as you will ever see. Sangre takes the fall by countout after dragging himself back into the ring. Next we see Villano covered in blood and Sangre attempting to rip his mask off. Eventually Sangre gets it off and tosses it in the crowd. Villano fouls Sangre and the ref calls off the match awarding it to Villano III. Both guys are just covered in blood. This was well on it’s way to being an all time classic and a third fall would have gotten it there. What we have is great but it is definitely incomplete. Nonetheless, I absolutely loved this and wish there was a wager match between the two.

Raul Reyes Jr. & Climax vs. Mocho Cota & Loco Zavala (Sonora 1985) (Youtube)

Cota is rocking the afro but it isn’t as epic as the last time we saw it. Reyes and Zavala start but Reyes is demanding Cota get in the ring. After some deliberation, Cota gets in the ring. We get some really beautiful back and forth mat work. Both gys look spectacular. Cota goes to the outside so Zavala can get in with Climax but Reyes still wants him. Cota does not oblige. This has the wonderful spot where Zavala picks Climax up and just tosses him into the turnbuckle. Climax takes over with some dropkicks sending Zavala to the outside bringing Cota in for some heel applause. We get a little bit more of Cota vs Reyes before Cota bails out again which pisses off both Reyes and the crowd. This time Cota is like “ok you want me to wrestle this fucker, I will.” Cota gets back in and hits a hip toss and gives the crowd a look like “SEE!” before going for another that gets reversed into an armdrag. Cota follows up with a little roughhouse tactics with a running knee. Reyes gets him back with a clothesline putting Cota down much to the delight of the crowd. Great little sequence with Cota being cocky and getting out wrestled. We get more Zavala vs Climax and Zavala is a fucking blast as the fat dude tossing around and then bumping for the skinny little dude. We get some really fast Cota vs Climax exchanges before Cota bails out. Zavala takes the advantage on Reyes with punching. Cota comes in and continues and hits a knee sending Reyes out. Tremendous end to the first fall when Zavala catches Climax coming off the top, slams him, and then looks up and eats a cross body from Reyes off the top. Reyes and Cota talk shit at ringside in between falls with Cota trying to antagonize Reyes into a fight. Really great rudo work by Cota daring Reyes to hit him, with his hands behind his back, running away and diving over the top Bobby Heenan style to get away from him. This gets the crowd really worked up. We settle back into the match with Cota controlling Reyes with punches after a cheapshot. Rudo’s dominate with double teams and punching before taking the fall with a 2^nd rope senton from Cota on Reyes and a submission on Climax. 3^rd fall starts with Climax dead in the center of the ring. Cota drags him to his feet for a suplex. Climax is knocked out of the ring and Reyes comes in and gets double teamed by the rudos. Cota tries to put him away with a boston crab. Climax tries to come in for the save but is basically overpowered by the ref before getting away and making the save. Reyes takes over on Cota and gets some payback firing punches into Cota’s scummy face. All 4 guys take turns trying submissions, making saves for their partner, and throwing some punches. Finally it ends up with Cota vs Reyes again and they go after each other with the crowd going crazy. Rudo’s manage a double team and go for a submission but Climax goes in for the save. Technico’s go for a double charging headbutt but get reversed. Rudo’s take over and put on a totally wacky double submission and take the fall and the match. I liked this so much more the 2^nd time around. It is a ton of fun. The first fall in particular is great and I love the Cota/Zavala team. Reyes Jr worked some really great mat exchanges with Cota in the first fall.

Atlantis vs. El Faraón (3/22/85)

This is another title match. El Faraon reminds me of Jumbo Tsuruta for some reason. This starts off with your typical mat work for a title match. The picture quality on this 30 year old wrestling match from Mexico is incredible by the way. Especially when I think back to getting what were probably 10^th generation (at best) vhs tapes for $35 back in the day. Anways, both guys are looking good early. It isn’t spectacular but it is solid slow paced back and forth mat work. What is up with the random loud blasts that sound like a freaking cannon being fired in the arena that happen from time to time in matches? It’s weird. Faraon really takes over planting Atlantis with a few spinebusters before tying him up and taking the first fall via submission. 2^nd fall starts with Faraon hitting some big clotheslines and Atlantis selling them like he gets killed. Faraon goes to the well once to often and Atlantis gets an armdrag to start his comeback. Atlantis starts working over Faraon’s arm. He does some nice stuff, arm wringers, arm breakers, turnbuckle smashes, etc. Faraon is doing a good job selling it. Eventually Faraon bails out of the ring which gets a nice reaction from the crowd. Faraon gets back in the ring but Atlantis continues the arm work. Atlantis gets a little overzealous which gives Faron an opening and he hits some great clotheslines. He goes for a 2^nd rope senton but misses which allows Atlantis to take back over. Atlantis hits a few back breakers and then takes the fall with a submission. 3^rd fall starts with Atlantis hitting some running topes and then whiffing on the 3^rd and getting his fac slammed into the turnbuckle. Faraon takes over hitting a ddt and a neckbreaker while going for some pins and submissions as well. Atlantis manages a counter into his own submission attempt that gets broken up when both guys end up with their shoulders down and they’re forced to kick out. Faraon uses this for an opening. He press slams Atlantis off the 2^nd rope and tries for more submissions and hits another neck breaker. Atlantis makes a comeback using a backdrop and a dropkick to knock Faraon too the floor then Atlantis follows it up with a tope in a great series of spots. They make it back to the ring and Atlantis plants Faraon with some dropkicks and running topes for near falls. Atlantis tries over and over to put Faraon away with a series of funky roll up pin attempts. Faraon eats another dropkick sending him to the floor and Atlantis blasts him with another tope and then follows that up with a plancha. Atlantis is really pulling out everything he can here. Faraon makes it back in the ring first and thinks he’s won by countout but Atlantis made it back in time and puts Faraon away with a victory roll to win the match. This was very good. It isn’t one of the higher end singles matches on the set so far but it is still a very good match with the final fall being really good as Atlantis tries everything he can before pulling the match out over his veteran opponent. Good stuff.

La Fiera, El Faraón y El Egipico vs. MS-1, Satanico y Pirata Morgan (3/29/85)

Crowd is super hot for this as Fiera’s team is just taking it to the Infernales from the start. Guys are brawling all over ringside in this. Satanico is great trying to fire back but getting overwhelmed by double teams. Satanico manages to back faraon up to his corner so the Infernales can get some double team work of their own. Great kicks and punches all around in this. Faraon gets isolated and worked over and Fiera keeps trying to come in and help but Satanico always positions Faraon between him and Fiera whenever he tries. Infernale manage to put Faraon away with a series of elbows. Fiera finally gets his chance but he’s put away easily by the MS-1/PIrata double teams with Satanico directing traffic. Egipico wants some too but it works out poorly as you would imagine. He is literally kicked into submission and then stomped by all 3 guys after the match. 2^nd fall starts with Satanico exploding after Faraon and Egipico is continued to get worked over. Faraon manages to make a comeback with the help of Fiera. Satanico is great selling on the ropes. The technicos get their payback punching and kicking the Infernales. Fiera hits his spinkicks and hits a great knee drop on MS-1 before making him submit. Pirata Morgan takes a running dive into the post while brawling on the outside with Fiera as Satanico is getting double teamed inside the ring. Pirata Morgan is tossed through the boards on ringside while Satanico eats a 2^nd rope senton in the ring. 3^rd fall starts with everyone brawling in the ring. These guys are just going back and forth killing each other with punches, clotheslines, kicks, chokes, etc. Really intense brawling. Faraon hits a great tope and then Fiera just kills himself attempting a dive on Satanico from the top rope to the floor. Seriously. How did he survive that?! Egipcio ends up putting Pirata Morgan away with a powerbomb to a huge pop while everyone else is counted out. Really hot ending and everyone looked excellent. Great brawling match.

Americo Rocca vs. El Talisman (3/29/85)
This is a title match. Standard title match beginning with both guys cautious to lock up at first. Eventually they do and we get the back and forth exchanging of holds that all of these matches start with. It is good. stuff Not nearly on the level of the Cota/Rocca matches but both guys still look good. Especially as they approach the finish of the first fall which Rocca takes with a roll up. Talisman takes over the 2^nd fall with 2 dropkicks and goes for a big headlock take over but Rocca reverses it into the Buddy Rose backbreaker in an awesome spot. This is really short and Talisman quickly regains the advantage and takes the 2^nd fall with a submission. Talisman maintains the advantage at the start of the 3^rd fall with some hiptosses and submission attempts. Rocca is really good selling and figuring out counters and sneaking in roll up attempts. They execute the slowest and crappiest hurricanrana probably ever. Talisman sends Rocca to the outside and hits a tope. Rocca manages to make it back in the ring first and he hits Talisman with a plancha. Both guys crawl back in the ring and Rocca maintains the advantage with a bulldog. He goes for a 2^nd but gets tossed. Talisman goes for a 2^nd rope flipping senton but misses. Rocca manages to take the match with a submission. This was pretty good in general. In the context of this set that is loaded with great matches it isn’t all that good. Too short to really be anything memorable. There were some good moments in the first fall but overall this wasn’t anything to write home about. Probably in the bottom 3 at this point.

El Hijo del Santo & Black Shadow Jr. vs. Espanto Jr. & Eskeletor (12/1/85)

This match is full of really awesome masks. Black Shadow and Eskeletor start this off. It is pretty decent back and forth mat work. I don’t think either guy looks particularly good. Kinda green looking. Match picks up right away when Santo and Espanto get in the ring. They are really smooth working back and forth exchanges and the crowd is much hotter for their match up, which isn’t all that surprising. Santo was an elite flyer from the very start it looks like. He is really smooth on his arm drags, head scissors take over and the way he moves around the ring. Espanto is fantastic and obviously has a big part in why Santo’s stuff looks so good. Technico’s take the first fall when Santo submits Espanto in the corner while Shadow dives over them onto Eskeletor. I love that spot. Rudo’s dominate the start of the 2^nd by isolating Shadow Jr and using puches/kicks/double teams to wear him down. Rudo’s take a short 2^nd fall pinning Santo and submitting Shadow Jr. 3^rd fall starts with all 4 guys brawling around ringside. They get back in the ring and Santo is double teamed by the rudos. Espanto tries to untie Santo’s mask and pull it off. We get some pretty some pretty intense mask ripping and he is close to getting it off. Crowd is pretty hot for this. The match clips to the rudo’s double teaming Shadow and trying to get his mask off. Santo makes the save and crowd is going totally nuts chanting for him. He gives Espanto two bulldogs and then returns the mask tearing favor. It looks like the technico’s are about to win the match but we get another clip and see the ref raising Espanto’s hand. Not sure what happened. I don’t know how much of this was clipped because there were quite a lot of clips but they seemed short so who knows. This wasn’t great but it was enjoyable to see young Santo and he is always good against Espanto. Eskeletor and Black Shadow didn’t really add much to the match. Their opening segment was pretty pedestrian compared to what we’ve seen on this set so far. You’re really just waiting for Santo and Espanto to square off. Post match shenanigans are fun.

Lizmark, Mil Mascaras & Valente Fernandez vs. Sangre Chicana, Angel Blanco & Angel Blanco Jr. (12/1/85)
Really cool to see Mil Mascaras in Mexico when all of the Mil matches I have seen were in the US or Japan. Rudos dominate to start by jumping Fernandez. Chicana is great antagonizing and taunting Mil. Crowd is crazy hot for this match. Mil and Angel Blanco work a decent rope running arm draggy sequence. Great spot where Chicana is reaching over the ropes trying to grab Mil from the outside but he whiffs and his momentum carries him over the top rope and into the ring, he looks up at Mil with a look of sheer terror and bails out of the ring. Angel Blanco Jr and Fernandez come in and work some really nice back and forth spots arm draggy spots of their own but work at a much faster pace than the legends and put their younger man flair on the spots. Everything looks really smooth and it ends with Blanco Jr bailing to the outside, Fernandez following him and backdropping him on the floor to the crowd’s delight. Next we see Sangre Chicana slowly strutting his way into the ring to face off against Lizmark. Sangre takes over Lizmark using his friends for double teams but he gets to cocky and starts to taunt Mil again trying to keep Lizmark in between himself and Mil. Mil charges at Sangre who has to bail out of the ring as fast as he can but Mil chases him a bit. Crowd is loving the Mil vs Sangre interactions and they are awesome. Lizmark and Angel Blanco Jr work a really awesome back and forth segment. Then we cut to Chicana and Fernandez slugging it out. First fall ends with the technico’s taking it. We get a clip and we see Sangre and Mil talking shit at ringside and Mil gives Sangre a HUGE atomic drop. Cut to inside the ring and Sangre is getting beat down by Fernandez. Finally Mil casually walks over, stops Fernandez, picks up Chicana, and holds his arms behind his back so Fernandez can get a good shot in. Sangre bails outside and needs a breather. More cuts to these guys brawling all around ringside. Match has a super chaotic feel with the close up hand held camera, wild crowd, and guys brawling all over the place. The old lady taunting Chicana is wonderful and I wish we could have seen the whole interaction. I want to stress yet again that the crowd is going fucking crazy in this. Sangre shows off more of his great punching and even better his “just got punched stumbling wildly around trying not to fall” selling. The Blanco’s eventually isolate Mil and try to rip his mask off. Mil ends up getting his revenge by trying to get Blanco Jr’s mask. He doesn’t get it completely off but in a really great spot Blanco Jr is getting punched back and forth by the technico’s and as he gets hit and stumbles to the next guy he is pulling his mask off and showing his face and then pulling it back down. It makes sense if you see it. It is a great spot. I guess technico’s take 2 straight falls in this unless the entire 2^nd fall is clipped. I suspect this ended in 2 falls and we got the majority of it. Whatever it was I fucking loved this. When I saw it on the match listing I thought it would be cool to see Mil in Mexico but it’s kinda late in his career maybe he would just be coasting and if I’m lucky I’ll get some Chicana vs Lizmark action. Well Mil ended up busting his ass and everyone in this looked really good. Chicana was the star of this match like every match. He carries himself as a major deal and the crowd treats him that way. This is one of my absolute favorite matches on the set and could be a contender for my top 10 if I can ever figure out how to rank this set of great match after great match.

Disc 4 overall thoughts

I think this is the disc where this set becomes just over the top ridiculous. It is probably the 3rd best disc out of 4 and it still has a top 10 contender and multiple additional matches I would call great. Sangre Chicana was the star of the disc for the 2^nd time so far. The Villano III match was definitely on it’s way to being a classic before the quick finish and his performance in the trios match really stood out. He reminds me a lot of Riki Choshu so far in that he just has this charisma that makes all of his matches seem like the most important match ever (which probably seems crazy considering it took place on this card). If we had like 15-20 more 80s Sangre Chicana matches where he had performances like he’s had in every single match on the set so far, I would have no problem calling him the best ever. And the Perro match (a very real #1 overall contender match for me) and the Satanico match are yet to come.

elliott · December 2, 2014

Before getting into the Disc 5 comments, I just wanted to say that I cannot watch a Lucha match in 2014 and hear "Segunda Caida" without thinking of Phil Schneider. That is some really great passive advertising, Phil.

DISC 5

El Solitario vs. Dr. Wagner (Mask vs. Mask) (12/1/85)

Really awesome to have this match available even if it is clipped. This starts with them going back and forth with arm drags and mat work with the occasional punch thrown in as well. It is Mask vs Mask but in a lot of ways it feels like a rougher than usual Title match than a wager match. Solitario accidentally splashes the ref from the 2^nd turnbuckle in a fun spot. Solitario takes a quick first fall with a sunset flip. 2^nd fall starts with Wagner taking over with punches and a double arm suplex. Solitario is able to regain control by reversing an Irish whip in the corner and following it up with the Buddy Rose side back breaker. Wagner takes back over and more clips to Wagner being totally in control. Ripping at Solitario’s mask, posting him and hitting him with a chair. Solitario blades and this has become the hate filled brawl you expect. Wagner continues to dominate in the ring focusing on the cut with kicks, punches, turnbuckle smashes, etc. Wagner takes the 2^nd fall with a doublearm suplex and submission. Wagner continues to beat on Solitario in between falls as the crowd goes crazy. 3^rd fall starts with Wagner still taking it to Solitario beating him up outside the ring then getting back in and dancing around the ring. Wagner uses an ab stretch and grabs the rope with his free hand. Solitario starts to mount a comeback finally getting a big right in and ripping Wagner’s mask then slamming him on the floor. More clips with Wagner gaining the momentum again. Both guys are taking turns going on runs of punching each other in the face going for pins, ripping masks, etc. Great nearfallwhere Wagner hits a backdrop but Solitario holds on for a sunset flip. This is very dramatic down the stretch as they are trying to put each other away and Wagner has a noticeable advantage and Solitario is going for more desperate submission and pin attempts. Solitario finally takes this when he reverses a monkey flip attempt by dropping down and pinning Wagner. This is really good spectacle match. It is two really old dudes at the end of their career so it isn’t as athletic or flashy as practically everything else on here. The work was good and it was a major match. Cool to have it but realistically it isn’t a top 70 candidate.

Sangre Chicana vs. Perro Aguayo (Hair vs. Hair) (2/28/86)

This one though…This is one of my absolute favorite matches and I think it is one of the very best matches I have ever seen. I loved it the first time I saw it and this is the one match I keep watching on the set to see if I’m overrating it and every time I watch it I think it is a classic match. I didn’t know until after maybe the 3^rd time I watched it that Sangre said this match was the highlight of his career (thanks OJ!), which only deepened my love of the match and the participants. I said before that the most exciting spot in the history of wrestling is Sangre Chicana ducking a punch and hitting MS-1 with a punch in their 83 match. Well the 2^nd most exciting spot in history is Perro Aguayo charging across the ring at the start of the match. This starts off furiously with both guys brawling all around ring side. This is a handheld but it is perfect. I love the post where Sangre is refusing to get back in the ring and demanding Perro come out and fight him. This is just a totally wild scene with brawling in the crowd, postings, blood, selling, awesome punches, topes, more blood, more punches, near falls, more blood, more topes, more great selling, an insanely hot crowd, etc etc etc. I would understand if people don’t like the stuff with the ref. I get it. But it just doesn’t hurt this for me at all. It kinda did the first time around but now it doesn’t. The performances from both guys, the atmosphere of the match, just everything so far outweigh the rudo ref antics that I just don’t care at all. All time classic.

Lizmark, Alfonso Dantes y Tony Salazar vs. El Signo, El Texano y Negro Navarro) (8/15/86)

Cool to see the Death Missionaries. They get the jump on the technico team right at the bell. So this starts with brawling. It is pretty uninspired and lifeless compared to a lot of the brawling we’ve seen so far. They take a quick first fall using double and triple teams. Rudo’s continue to dominate early in the 2^nd fall with punching, whips to the corner, double teams, headbutts, etc. It is perfectly acceptable but also seems kind of run of the mill. Its hard to say because I’m mostly comparing them to the Infernales in my mind and the Infernales were so much more explosive and charismatic. It is unfair to base that off one match, but that’s all I have so far. I will say I think they look very good on defense bumping and feeding the flashy technico offense. Technico’s take the 2^nd fall. 3^rd fall starts with Lizmark on fire and all 3 Death Missionaries bumping all over the place for him and bumping into each other. Really great sequence and they looked awesome. Match kind of grinds to a halt for me as the Death Missionaries take back over with some more brawling that just isn’t very good compared to all the other stuff on this set (to be fair it is following an all time great brawl). Lizmark hits a really pretty dive but the technico’s lose when Tony Salazar goes low. I really didn’t like this. There were a few nice spots here and there but this would be a bottom 5 match so far probably. I didn’t think the Death Missionaries were very impressive at all. I get why this made the set but it didn’t grab me the way almost everything else on this is.

Rayo De Jalisco Jr. vs. Mascara Ano 2000 (8/15/86)

I love Rayo’s little dance. This had some very solid back and forth exchanges and trading of holds. Crowd is definitely hot for this. There are some moments that aren’t very smooth and look like there may have been some miscommunication but it isn’t too bad and most of this is actually very enjoyable. Rayo takes the first fall. He continues to dominate at the start of the 2^nd. Mascara eventually takes over and beats the crap out of Rayo before taking the fall with a submission. Crowd is pissed as Mascara Ano is crazy over as a rudo. Rayo hits a 2^nd rope tope on a charging Ano to start the 3^rd fall. Rayo takes over with his headbutts based offense. Ano manages to backdrop him out of the ring and follows it up with a huge tope to the floor. Really great sequence. They make it back into the ring and have another back and forth segment before Rayo armdrags Ano out of the ring and gets a tope of his own. This match was good but has really picked up a notch in the 3^rd fall. All the nearfalls are crazy dramatic. The crowd is great in this. Rayo hits a terrifc cross body block off the top to the floor. Rayo falls trying to make it back into the ring in a great spot which the crowd goes crazy for. Rayo goes for a tope in the ring but hits the turnbuckle for a nice near fall and giving Ano the advantage. But Ano misses a dive off the top for another great nearfall. Great spot where Ano counters a Rayo armdrag with an ab stretch. He and the crowd thought it was over. He lets Rayo go and starts to celebrate. This gives Rayo the opening to take over and take the match with a tombstone piledriver. Crowd goes crazy at the finish. Excellent match. I was not looking forward to this the first time I watched the set. I liked it a lot then but kinda figured I had overrated it because I had liked everything so far. I still really liked this a lot. 2 guys who had the bad worker label for years and years but ended up having a great match.

La Fiera vs. Babyface (8/15/86)

Fiera’s right shoulder is taped. This starts off fast with Baby Face attacking Fiera at the bell. Some really nice lariats and a backdrop. Fiera’s spin kick is really hit or miss for me but it looks awesome here in the first fall. Same with his enzugiri’s. Fiera takes a quick first fall with a dropkick from the top. Fiera continues to beat up Babyface. He drapes him over the side of the ring and slams his face into the side. 2^nd fall starts with Baby Face bleeding profusely and Fiera starts working over the cut with biting, elbows, punching, etc. Babyface starts to a comeback after Fiera attempts to put an ab stretch on but hurts his already hurt shoulder. Babyface starts to work over his shoulder and puts Fiera away with a submission. Babyface refuses to break it after Fiera has submitted. In between falls Babyface smashes Fiera into the turnbuckle and Fiera takes a Flair bump all the way down to the floor. Next time we see him, Fiera is bleeding. Babyface posts Fiera as he tries to get back in the ring. Fiera’s selling is really good in this. Babyface really takes over with punches, headbutts, kicks, etc. He eventually goes back to Fiera’s arm. Fiera attempts to make a comeback but his arm is too fucked up. Great spot where Babyface grabs Fiera by the feet and just dumps him headfirst outside the ring. Oh I should mention that Babyface’s Bionic Elbows are phenomenal. Fiera managed to drag Babyface outside and nail him with some headbutts because his arm is so fucked. They get back in the ring and Fiera hits him with a great looking spin kick. Unfortunately his momentum stops when he goes face first on a splash attempt from the 2^nd rope as Babyface moves. Fiera manages to take back over using his spin kick though sending Babyface oto the outside. Fiera then hits a crazy dive over the top rope to the floor. Fiera goes for a cross body block from the apron to the floor but this time he misses. Really great nearfall by countout off the miss. Babyface tries to suplex him back in but Fiera reverses it and hits a backdrop suplex for a great near fall. Babyface takes back over with a subtle foul but Fiera manages a victory roll and grabs the ropes for the pinfall in a bit of revenge. Great fucking match. All the blood, violence, crazy bumps and high spots you could hope for with some really good limbwork and selling of the limb work which isn’t something you see a lot of on this set. This is probably a top 15 contender which is huge praise on this set.

Espanto Jr. vs El Hijo Del Santo (Mask vs. Mask) (8/31/86)
This starts with some really good back and forth exchanges. It almost feels more like a rough title match than a wager match which I like because the Santo mask is the ultimate title in lucha. Espanto mostly dominates this to start and he is very aggressive but he’s using a lot of moves he’s not really kicking and punching. He is just constantly on top of Santo not letting up. Santo is eventually able to get some air and hits an armdrag and beautiful rana before going to the well one too many times and taking the fall on a great submission. One of the things I love about Lucha is that there isn’t a guard rail separating the fans from the ringside. So between falls there are all these little kids walking up and patting Santo on the back and offering encouragement. That is so fucking cool. 2^nd fall starts and Espanto is right back on top of Santo. Espanto starts to get a little rougher using backbreakers and pulling Santo up by the mask and throwing knees to the back. He keeps trying submissions and roll ups but Santo finds a way to escape. Espanto continues to dominate Santo and eventually starts ripping at the mask. Santo is able to make a comeback with his great knee lifts, backdrops and a huge dive. Santo ends up taking the fall with a senton. 3^rd fall starts with Santo dominating. He hits a bulldog and goes for a 2^nd but Espanto manages to reverse it. He snapmares Santo out of the ring and follows him out to post him,. Espanto starts wacking Santo with a chair before tossing him back in the ring. Santo is busted open and Espanto immediately starts biting and chewing on the cut while the crowd goes crazy. Santo is finally able to make a comeback on a missed senton by Espanto and Santo immediately starts ripping at the mask. Santo posts Espanto as well. Espanto hits a great tope later on and then we get a camera cut to both guys sellingon the floor and Espanto is just covered in blood. Santo tosses Espanto to the outside and hits a dive off the top. Back in the ring after a cut and Espanto misses a splash off the top. Santo moves out of the way and locks in the camel clutch for the win. Santo celebrates by jumping for joy. Great great great match. This disappointed me the first time around honestly. I watched it a second time and liked it more but wasn’t seeing the all time classic everyone always talks about. This time it really hit me and is a definite top 5 contender. Tremendous match.

Ringo Mendoza, Atlantis y Ultraman vs. Satanico, Masakre y MS-1, (September 1986)

I love that babyface team. I don’t remember what I thought about this on my first run through but that is a babyface dream team for me and the Infernales are the Infernales so this should be good. Satanico starts with Ringo Mendoza. We get some nice back and forth mat work between them that includes a great spot where Ringo stands Satanico up on his head. Satanico gets out of the ring and we get an Atlantis vs MS-1 matchup. More good back and forth mat work. Not quite at Satanico vs RIngo levels but it is very good. Ultraman and Masakre get in and have a really fast back and forth exchange which Ultraman gets the better of. Ringo and Satanico quickly get back in and have another great back and forth with Satanico bumping all over the place. More Atlantis vs MS-1 and more rope running back and forth that ends with Atlantis sending MS-1 to the outside. Ringo reverses an armdrag by Satanico into an abstretch and Atlantis comes over the top of them with a dive onto MS-1. Technico’s end up taking a spectacular first fall. 2^nd fall starts with Atlantis and Masakre paired off. Nice back and forth with Masakre continually thinking he has the advantage only for Atlantis to come right back with a reversal. MS-1 and ULtraman get in and MS-1 starts in with punching. But ultraman is able to use his superior athleticism to quickly come back. Ringo and Satanico come in and work the same format of Satanico having brief control only for RIngo to come back right away. Satanico’s slamming the mat in frustration is great. Finally the rudo’s are able to get the advantage on Atlantis using double and triple teams in the corner. Ringo comes in when Atlantis is knocked to the outside and Ringo suffers the same fate. Rudo’s are able to take the fall using double teams and submissions. 3^rd fall starts with Ultraman stuck in the rudo corner. MS-1 hits a great jumping knee to send him to the outside. Atlantis runs in and gets caught and Ringo does the same. Rudo’s are firmly in control triple teaming Ringo. Satanico is awesome in trios matches waiting for the technico to turn their back so he can run in and attack them from behind. Momentum shifts to the technico side as Ringo wins a punching exchange with Satanico as Masakre is posted on the outside by Ultraman. Ringo makes the mistake of trying to submt an Infernale when MS-1 comes in and punches him in the face. He takes over for a bit before Atlantis makes the save for Ringo and takes over. He makes the same submission attempt mistake though and Masakre comes in to take over but HE makes the same mistake as well and Ultraman comes in. Ultraman takes over and you guessed it, tries for a submission. This time both Satanico and MS-1 come in to attack. They isolate Atlantis and attempt to unmask him. Great spot where the technicos each get some 1 against 3 action and run away from the rudos. Atlantis unfortunately gets caught and pays the price getting double teamed so more. Ringo and Ultraman come back in and try to fight back but at this point it is 3 on 2 and they eventually fall to the numbers. The Infernales take the fall and the match. This was excellent. Everyone looked really good in this and it was full of great spots. Pirata Morgan comes out after the match to brawl with Satanico in a wild scene.

Pirata Morgan, BabyFace y Cien Caras vs. La Fiera, Lizmark y Rayo De Jalisco Jr. (September 1986)
This starts with Babyface attacking Fiera right away and posting him while Caras goes after Rayo in the ring. Fiera is busted open in the opening seconds. Pirata Morgan immediately starts biting Fiera’s cut wen he gets the chance. This is just an out of control brawl all from the very start. Babyface works over Fiera with biting, knees to the face, headbutts, etc. Their feud has been wonderful. Back in the ring we see Lizmark getting double teamed by Caras and Morgan. Fiera takes a great Flair bump to the floor off a 2^nd rope turnbuckle smash from Babyface. Rudo’s end up taking the first fall. 2^nd fall starts with Babyface against Rayo and Rayo gets jumped from behind by Morgan. Great closeup on Babyface’s leg covered with Fiera’s blood. Pirata offers Lizmark a free shot which allows Babyface to sneak up behind him when Lizmark hesitates. Pirata takes over and starts working over Lizmark. Fiera gets in the ring and he is great stumbling around selling the beating he has taken but still demanding Babyface come in and face him. Unfortunately he is took weak and the rudo’s are too mean as Caras sneaks in and attacks him. Fiera gets sent to the outside and Rayo comes in to face Caras. Crowd is pretty stoked for this. They have a fast back and forth that ends with Caras taking a huge bump over the top rope. Babyfae and Fiera come in to continue their feud and Fiera gets the advantage finally sending Babyface to the outside with a spin kick. Lizmark hits a beautiful dive off the top onto Pirata and goes for a submission in the corner while Rayo comes over the top with a dive onto Caras. The rudo’s are pinned as Babyface bails out to get away from Fiera. Fiera goes after him on the outside and nails a great looking spinkick. 3^rd fall starts with Babyface refusing to get into the ring against Fiera so Fiera absolutely nails him with an enzugiri. Brawl all over ringside with technico’s taking the advantage finally. Caras and Morgan get left laying on the outside while Fiera is inside the ring biting the shit out of the now bleeding Babyface. Fiera hits a great bionic elbow off the 2^nd rope and continues to work the cut with punching. Babyface is awesome selling the beating he is taking from Fiera. Rayo tosses Pirata outside the ring over the top and then nails a cross body from the top in a terrific spot. Fiera airballs a huge dropkick from the top onto Babyface who then hits and elbow and takes the fall as Caras submits Lizmark giving the rudo’s the match. This was terrific. It was really a match to advance the awesome Fiera vs Babyface feud. Great selling and violence in this. Another terrific match.

Americo Rocca, Cacharro Mendoza y Kung Fu vs. El Talisman, El Dandy y Guerrero Negro (September 1986)
This starts with Kung Fu threatening the rudo’s with his nunchucks much to the delight of the crowd. He offers one to Talisman who is much slower and worse with them than Kung Fu. He manages to hit Guerrero Negro with them. Good comedy to start. Rocca and Guerrero get in and we get some nice back and forth mat work. Dandy and Kung Fu pair off for their own section and it is ok. It feels pretty basic but it is good. Talisman and Mendoza come in and work a little bit faster paced back and forth mat exchange and it is honestly more fluid and exciting than Dandy’s. Really awesome sequence when Rocca and Dandy pair off that ends with Rocca sending all the rudo’s to the outside one by one culminating with him victory rolling Negro to the outside. Kung Fu comes in and the rudo’s are great feeding him spots and taking all the karate stuff. Really awesome extended rudo miscommunication spot that has them running into each other over and over again based around Mendoza. Technico’s take the first fall. Excellent first fall. Rocca and Guerrero Negro pair off to start the 2^nd and Rocca is just awesome hitting all sorts of head scissors take downs and arm drags from out of nowhere. Really fun stuff. Mendoza and Talisman come in and work a really fun short sequence before Talisman is all “enough is enough” and bails out. Dandy and Kung Fu come in and work a really fast back and forth that ends with Dandy getting punched in the mouth. Rudo’s end up taking over using brawling double teaming rudo tactics. Talisman subtlely fouls Mendoza and gets the pin as the rudo’s take the 2^nd fall. 3^rd fall starts with Rocca getting triple teamed by the rudos. Technico’s are finally able to mount a comeback leading to Negro and Rocca squaring off. Rocca gives him a huge slap and then starts kicking the crap out of him. Great dual topes by Kung Fu and Rocca. Mendoza and Talisman work a nice back and forth in the ring before Mendoza just blasts Talisman in the nuts giving the rudo’s the match. That kinda came out of nowhere. This was yet another excellent match. Not one of the very best trios on the set so far but definitely an excellent match. More straightforward mat work early on than the more recent trios before exploding into more of a fight near the end of the match. I have to say El Dandy hasn’t blown me away just yet. He is very very good but the top 10 all time contender doesn’t start showing up till later in the set.

Discs 5 Overall Thoughts

Another great disc. Of the 5 singles matches on the disc, one is a candidate for best match I’ve ever seen, another is a top 5 candidate, and a 3^rd is a top 15 contender, the 4^th is a great match between two guys who have historically been shit on by smart fans, and the 5^th is one of the biggest matches of the 80s between two legends and is also a damn good match. The trios matches on this set are mostly great. The only match disappointing from a work standpoint is the long Death Missionaries match but you can’t really complain because we have such little footage of them that it is still cool to have a long example of their work. Disc 3 might be hard to top but this was damn great. That Perro vs Sangre match is just perfect.

soup23 · December 2, 2014

Agree with most of your thoughts although I might give the Dr. Wagner match another shot as I was similar to the Espanto vs. Santo match as you and also liked but didn't love the Wagner match but found a lot more to like the second time through. Probably still only a top 40 contender but really great stuff.

The more I mull it over, the more I want Perro vs. Chicana to be my #1 at this point.

elliott · December 2, 2014

I really wanted to be blown away by Solitario vs Wagner Jr. I thought it was excellent but it just didn't hit the level I wanted it to (although I did like it way more the 2nd time than the first). I will definitely give it a rewatch.

I could easily see myself putting Perro vs Sangre at #1. After running through the entire set the first time I watched the MS-1 match and at the end of it I thought "that's the best match I've ever seen" then I immediately watched the Perro match and at the end of it thought "Ok that's the best match I've ever seen." Not exactly science. But watching them side by side I could go either way. The only things I"m certain about is the two Chicana matches will be 1 & 2 in some order and Satanico vs Cochise will be #3.

Where I run into trouble with rankings is the trios matches. They're basically all good-great matches with most of them being very good to great. The ones that stand out for me so far are definitely the ones that are part of a feud or just the Infernales matches in general.

What did you think of the Chicana/Mascaras trios match? That one definitely stands out to me for their interactions. I'm probably seriously overrating it but it is one of my favorite matches on the set. It just hits the sweet spot for me. It was similar to the Andre match in that Sangre Chicana is playing the perfect foil against the major world wide star but since it isn't Andre, they can work a more competitive match with brawling and comedy mixed in.

soup23 · December 2, 2014

I find it funny that you compared it to the Andre tag as those two matches are honestly in my bottom two. Something about Chicana being the foil or Satanico in the Andre match don't sit well with me. I still think the Andre tag is the only match on the set that I wouldn't call good so far but something about the Chicana vs. Mascaras match left me cold besides those two mixing it up.

elliott · December 3, 2014

I love the interactions between Andre and Sangre Chicana. I'm obviously a big Chicana fan and I love Andre too. I thought Sangre posturing and looking Andre up and down and then running away in fear was really entertaining stuff. I'm also a mark for all the big guy comedy spots they worked in the match. Match wise it isn't great but I found it to be a lot of fun. I like it more than the Canek matches for sure.

I'll be honest on the Mascaras 6 man, every time I've watched it I just can't look away from Chicana. He is Choshu like in his charisma in and I just can't look away. I will rewatch that one and try to focus on the other guys in the match. It is possible my Chicana love, the great crowd, close up camera angle, etc just works for me as this awesome spectacle.

JerryvonKramer · January 2, 2015

Whoa!!! Hold on with the ballot!!!!!!

Give us a bit more time! Please!

soup23 · January 2, 2015

Agree with Parv here, think we need to give this at least a few more amount of time and have some type of sustained push to create interest for people to finish.

Grimmas · January 3, 2015

Agree with Parv here, think we need to give this at least a few more amount of time and have some type of sustained push to create interest for people to finish.

I need at least a few weeks to watch everything. Make the deadline the day of the Super Bowl or something.

I watched the entire AWA set in 3 weeks, I can do this.

If I knew this was coming, I would have no issue. Unfortunately I never go to DVDR anymore.

goc · January 4, 2015

This set feels like it's just flown totally under the radar. Some of that has to do with the split where a lot of people quit cross posting here and DVDVR but it also feels like the deadlines weren't really pushed and harped on like previous sets.

As far as quality though I would say I enjoyed this set a whole lot and I've been grabbing matches off youtube left and right of guys like Chicana, Aguayo & Los Brazos lately. I can't say I enjoyed this more than Mid-South or Memphis because I really love the overall package of promos & angles but the top matches on this set would contend with any of the other top matches from the sets I've participated in.

tim · January 5, 2015

I hadn't heard about the deadline myself, or just forgot it, and had my ballot finished over a year ago now.

I wonder if this project wouldn't be reinvigorated by becoming a PWO-centered project rather than DVDVR-centered? It seems this place is the number one hotbed for in depth wrestling discussion/projects now and most of the guys involved in the project seem to post here more often than there.

Grimmas · January 6, 2015

I don't go to DVDR, do we have a deadline?

If it is 2-3 weeks from now I can get it done and will start watching, if it is earlier I am just not going to bother.

benj · January 20, 2015

Posted this at DVDVR as well.

Finally finished the set and sent in my ballot. This was the hardest set to get through, but the most rewarding. When we finish the 80's project, there will be a lot of these matches and wrestlers in the top tier of 1980's professional wrestling.

WingedEagle · September 22, 2015

Were results ever compiled for this set?

peachchaos · September 23, 2015

I don't think so.

Here is the ballot.

The original deadline was January 1, 2015 which was extended to February and then the project was seemingly abandoned.

Grimmas · September 24, 2015

I stopped watching, because there was no way I could get it in by February. However if I knew the voting was still going on I could had finished it easily.

Let's get an update here from Will.

tim · September 25, 2015

I watched it all and have it ranked but the whole thing kind of slipped my mind. It's a shame it didn't get the attention/participation the other sets did. I wonder if there's any way to revitalize interest and sort of do a "reboot" and get more people to go through it, setting the vote for a year from now or something.

General Lucha Set thoughts

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