Solar

[Grimmas]

Discuss here.

[Loss]

Just to confirm, Solar is El Mariachi, right?

[Phil Schneider]

Yes

[ohtani's jacket]

Just to confirm, Solar is El Mariachi, right?

 

In Los Folkloricos, Solar was El Mariachi, Angel Azteca was Charro de Jalisco and Halcon 78 was El Mexicano. I read recently that Solar had several sleepless nights agonising over whether to agree to the gimmick change because it would prevent him from going back to the Solar gimmick in AAA.

[Graham Crackers]

Solar is one of the classiest wrestlers I've ever seen. There is something eternal about him that makes every taped appearance he makes feel special. Who knows if those classic matches that were never taped or nobody saved are really the classics I like to imagine. Regardless, that great Space Cadets vs Exoticos fan cam from 1984 is an incredible glimpse at an era of wrestling that's underrepresented. What I am sure about is that Solar wrestled in my favorite AAA match ever (Mariachi vs Blue Panther), my 2005 MOTY (Cadetes Del Espacio vs Misioneros de la Muerte), and following his never ending feud with Negro Navarro is one of the most special things about being a wrestling fan in the internet age.

[goodhelmet]

I need more Solar pimping!!!

[Loss]

FYI, El Mariachi = Solar. Check out the Blue Panther match from 10/94.

[GOTNW]

What is the quintessential Solar outside of that one Blue Panther match?

[ohtani's jacket]

The Solar/Navarro matches are more quintessential than that Panther bout.

[Jetlag]

He really doesn't have a lot of non-Navarro singles matches, but I recall him doing a mighty fine job carrying Blue Demon Jr. on one of these UK shows.

[El McKell]

Having looked into some Solar, I cannot imagine a world where he comes close to making my ballot. I really think having a sense of escalation is so important for my enjoyment of a match and I really find that lacking in Solar matches, and the wacky submission holds and letting your opponent out of them stuff really doesn't impress me. 
 

[fxnj]

Lucha matwork is best enjoyed as a style where you just turn off your brain and watch for cool shit. Think like a high flying spot fest but done by old guys on the mat. The more you think about it, the less you'll enjoy it. This pin counter makes little sense in terms of physics and looks highly cooperative, but bah gawd does it look cool.

[El McKell]

That pin attempt does rule & that match was my favourite Solar match that I watched. My problem is less in the fact that the actual moves don't look plausible (neither does something as basic running the ropes, wrestling is full of that kind of thing) but especially in the Solar-Negro Navarro matches but in plenty of other stuff too, I'll see a weird submission and rather than any kind of escape attempt or anything the guy applying it just lets his opponent go. I can't turn my brain off for that I'm sorry to say because it just creates the impression that nobody's seriously trying to win; this is a similar problem to what I have with a lot of ladder matches from the past 15 years or so.

[ohtani's jacket]

Why would you hold onto a submission that's not getting you a submission? It's clearly not working. 

[cad]

I tend to associate the releasing of holds with Negro Navarro rather than Solar. I don't remember it happening in, say, Solar vs Virus but it was all over those Navarros vs Cerebros matches I loved so much. Although it makes sense how the maestros stuff could matter more for Solar's case in people's eyes, given how that period saw him presented as a much bigger deal than in his CMLL/AAA runs, he had an entire career before changing his style for the veterans' circuit. It's actually remarkable how little the CMLL front office thought of him (most of his matches there are against the likes of Supremo II and rudo Mogur), but in AAA he did get a chance to show what he could do, even if it resulted in only one major match. There's plenty of Solar vs Panther to be found and he has good exchanges with random talent like Ice Killer, and he turns out to be one of the best opponents for Angel Azteca of all people. Seriously, that was quality work whenever those two matched up. He probably doesn't appear enough in my list of favorite matches to have a shot at my top hundred, and I do consider him a bit one-dimensional. In the end, though, he was great enough at that one dimension for me to rank him as a legitimate candidate.

I think this is gonna be nothing but Solar in AAA:
Solar, Angel Azteca and Super Astro vs Blue Panther, Parka and Rambo
Solar, Panterita del Ring and Super Astro vs Blue Panther, Ice Killer and Jerry Estrada
Solar, Katana and Volador vs Angel Azteca, Misterioso and Winners
Solar, Misterioso and Super Calo vs Angel Azteca, Volador and Winners
Folkloricos vs Blue Panther, Fuerza Guerrera and Fishman (rare-ish chance to see Solar bleed and brawl)