[2016-02-28-LLE] Solar & Black Terry vs Blue Panther & Negro Casas

[conker8]

These four wrestlers are in my ballot.

Certainly the best Negro Casas match from this year. Solar and Blue Panther are old and they are past their prime but they can still deliver the goods on the mat. Just don't ask them to go on the third rope. The best part of the match are the interactions between Casas and Terry.

[Parties]

Negro Casas/Blue Panther vs. Solar/Black Terry (LLE, 2/28)
The +LuchaTV YouTube channel tends to be tons of short interview clips that aren’t exciting, but it seems like they’re starting to put up some interesting full-length matches. Lucha Libre Elite being a CMLL/IWRG hybrid company that favors maestros and puts them on hot shows at Arena Mexico is maybe the most exciting thing in wrestling right now. Kind of sad to see Panther and Solar stumbling early, but it was not because their minds didn’t know what to do, but rather because their knees are shot to hell and they can’t move on the mat as fast as they once could. The botch of Solar tripping off the top rope was a bit sad. But once the DDP Yoga kicks in they start doing great holds and cool flying armscissors. Terry-Casa's is good even if Casas wants to work harder and faster than Terry, but I’m not sure there’s anyone in the business right now who wouldn’t look inferior to Casas while in the ring with him.

There’s a really smart veteran spot that I only noticed for the first time: when Casas kicks out of a Terry pin, he puts his hand near Terry’s face and pushes off at the moment of the kick-out. Aside from looking cool, it also seems like a smart way to let your opponent know when to break the pin. Recent Terry has been a little sad even when he’s been good: the mustache makes him look ten years older, and his health looks to be deteriorating as he gains weight and seems to be gasping for air while working Casas. But once they start trading strikes, he looks like his old self again, and Terry getting bleeding hardway off a Casas headbutt was wild. I actually thought the Casas-Solar slap exchanges were better than the stuff with Terry, and their whole stretch at the end was cool even if it felt at times like Casas working with three crash test dummies.

[GOTNW]

Man this would have been such a great match just a few years ago. It was sad to see Terry mess up basic spots but he made up for it with awesome leglocks and his striking exchange with Casas was just unreal, vicious punches and headbutts, Terry bleeding made for a nice visual and also made it feel special since you rarely get to see that in Arena Mexico these days. Some nice maestros sequences with a hot crowd and the finishing stretch was super exciting, Solar's Reverse Rocking Horse was insane and I totally bit on it as a nearfall. ***1/4

[Tawren]

This was fun enough. When I saw the 4 listed wrestlers I was pretty excited, unfortunately this doesn't hit the levels of the recent maestros matches I've seen as I have been diving into that world. Still a fun match even though it lost its way in the middle. Black Terry seems to lose a bit of the aura in Arena Mexico, but it might have just been this match. NR