El Dandy

[Matt D]

From a GWE "input" perspective, I did think the Gonzalez singles highlighted Dandy's selling very well in a scenario where he didn't really have a lot to work with.

[elliott]

I ranked El Dandy 17th in 2016 and thats another one I nailed. Definitely a top 20 wrestler. Could do anything in the ring. Was as graceful as he was vicious. The Pirata Morgan match is one of the best matches ever. The fucking Satanico feud. The Angel Azteca matches. He got really great really fast and at his best was about as good as anyone. Its been a while since I've really looked at Dandy so he's someone I plan on and really look forward to revisiting again. 

[KB8]

I had yer man Roberto Gutiérrez El Dandy at number 12, and he'll be there or thereabouts again in 2026. Dandy is one of my three favourite Mexican wrestlers ever and probably the one most responsible for shaping what I like in lucha when I was first properly getting into it. I started with AAA because of the Eddie and Rey Mysterio links. I'd already seen plenty of Psicosis and Juventud. I knew who El Hijo del Santo was. So it made sense to start there, and while it was a fine gateway there were still things I kind of struggled with. Then I started checking out more CMLL and oh boy THAT was the lucha libre I wanted to watch. Dandy was the guy I gravitated to more than anyone else and from that point on I haven't looked back. I think part of what makes him such a good intro guy is that he has a bit of everything. He has the singles matches, whether it's title matches that showcase the best of lucha matwork, or the apuestas that showcase the greatness of filthy blood-drenched lucha brawling. Those matches came against a wide variety of people -- Javier Cruz, Pirata Morgan, Emilio Charles Jr., Angel Azteca, Satanico, Negro Casas, Bestia Salvaje, Javier Llanes, Black Warrior, El Hijo del Santo (the triangle match was effectively a Dandy/Santo singles match), Negro Navarro, LA Park. He's been involved in some of the best trios matches in lucha history, from the brawling spectacles to the more mat-based, graceful exchange-driven trios. He even has the 2 v 2 tags. He's an incredible mat wrestler, a wonderful flier and a great brawler. He has stupid versatility, basically. I guess the significant knock on him (or significant relative to the other top 10/15/20 contenders) is that he maybe doesn't have the longevity. That probably becomes more striking when you put him next to his peers from Mexico; guys like Casas, Satanico, Santo, Panther. Dandy doesn't have that consistency over four different decades like a Casas or Satanico (not to say those guys were great that ENTIRE time). In that sense he's more of a peak candidate, but that peak is fucking tremendous and at this point I think he has better longevity than he sometimes gets credit for anyway. '89-'91 he was at the very peak of his powers and in 1990 he was the best wrestler in the world. In 1992 he has the Casas program and the July title match is the best match of all time so maybe you extend that peak to then as well. He has great stuff in '94 with the Javier Llanes feud and then in '96, going through the yearbook I thought he was a best in the world candidate that year, right there with guys like Casas, Santo, Hashimoto, etc. Every other week more weekly CMLL TV pops up and there's Dandy, not looking as washed as we maybe thought. He then has the Negro Navarro feud in 2001 and it produces one of the best title matches of the decade. Footage seems to dry up a bit after that and I honestly haven't seen that much of him the last 10-15 years. To me that holds him back more than anything to do with his peak being short, because some of his peers were (and still are) doing great stuff during that period. Maybe he's been killing it on untaped indie shows or whatever, but if there's hardly any footage of it then it's hard to judge him, so it is what it is. Either way I think there's more than enough great Dandy for a top 15 case. At his very best there weren't many better. Never doubt him. 

 

EL DANDY YOU SHOULD WATCH:

v Javier Cruz (EMLL, 10/26/84)

v Pirata Morgan (EMLL, 9/23/88)

w/El Texano v Atlantis & Angel Azteca (EMLL, 3/31/89)

v Emilio Charles Jr. (EMLL, 7/28/89)

w/El Satanico v MS-1 & Masakre (EMLL, 8/11/89)

v Angel Azteca (CMLL, 3/23/90)

w/El Satanico & Emilio Charles Jr. v Angel Azteca, Javier Cruz & Atlantis (CMLL, 5/11/90)

v Angel Azteca (CMLL, 6/1/90)

v El Satanico (CMLL, 10/26/90)

v El Satanico (CMLL, 12/14/90)

w/Apolo Dantes & Black Magic v Blue Panther, Javier Cruz & Pierroth Jr. (CMLL, 8/16/91)

v Negro Casas (CMLL, 7/3/92)

v Bestia Salvaje (CMLL, 9/3/92)

w/Atlantis & Pierroth Jr. v La Fiera, Emilio Charles Jr. & El Satanico (CMLL, 11/13/92)

w/Atlantis & Ringo Mendoza v Javier Llanes, Mano Negra & Black Magic (CMLL, 2/15/94)

v Javier Llanes (CMLL, 2/22/94)

w/El Hijo del Santo, Lizmark & Atlantis v Negro Casas, Blue Panther, Dr Wagner Jr. & Felino (CMLL, 3/15/96)

w/Lizmark & Silver King v Negro Casas, El Satanico & Felino (CMLL, 6/28/96)

v Black Warrior (CMLL, 11/2/96)

w/Negro Casas & Hector Garza v El Hijo del Santo, Bestia Salvaje & Scorpio Jr. (CMLL, 11/22/96)

w/Negro Casas & Hector Garza v El Hijo del Santo, Bestia Salvaje & Scorpio Jr. (CMLL, 11/29/96)

v Negro Casas v El Hijo Del Santo (CMLL, 12/6/96)

w/Ultimo Dragon, Atlantis, Negro Casas, Shocker, Mascara Magica, La Fiera & Brazo de Oro v El Hijo del Santo, Felino, Black Warrior, Silver King, Dr. Wagner Jr., Satanico, Kevin Quinn & Scorpio Jr. (CMLL, 4/18/97)

v Negro Navarro (IWRG, 11/18/01)

v LA Park (Enesma, 10/15/04)

 

[cad]

Did you know that Dandy has a Youtube playlist called "Favorite Matches"? It's mostly just a catalog of his own matches that have been uploaded to the site, but scattered throughout are some others that will give you a sense of the kind of wrestling that moves him, including some PWO favorites. For some reason that makes me happy. Dandy has plenty of reasons to be cynical about wrestling at this point, but instead he still has some enthusiasm for it and the things he did in it. I know that it shouldn't count for anything and I know that some people prefer for their wrestlers to be detached from their accomplishments in a worked sport. Me, I like that when I watch his matches it's hard not to think that he believed in what he was doing.

Some Dandy matches:
Dandy, Mascara Sagrada and Atlantis vs MS-1, Emilio Charles Jr. and Tierra Viento y Fuego
Dandy, Texano and Chavo Guerrero vs Angel Azteca, Americo Rocca and Javier Cruz
Dandy and Angel Azteca vs Javier Cruz and Emilio Charles
El Dandy vs Angel Azteca (It's been listed multiple times, and in fact this thread features a debate about whether it's even a good match, but to me this is an alltime classic)
Dandy, Ringo Mendoza and Ultimo Dragon vs Negro Casas, Bestia Salvaje and Fiera
Dandy, Pierroth Jr. and Atlantis vs Fiera, Emilio Charles Jr. and Satanico
March 1996 Cibernetico (okay, it's not online, but Dandy was the MVP of this match)