[2000-11-09-IWRG] Mr Niebla & Lizmark Jr & Tarzan Boy vs El Dandy & Blue Panther & Silver King

[soup23]

This was a good match to ease me back into the lucha side of things for 2000 after a bit of a break. The pairings in the beginning was well done with the worker highlights of 2000 showing off their skills and things intensifying in a natural way leading to an eleven minute fall with a cool finish by the tecnicos. Second fall was nice in that the rudos didn’t panic and took their time to regain their control even with a bit of in fighting. Third fall culminated all of these things and even threw in a little bit of Tarzan Boy being an asshole by scoring a fall off of a foul. Silver King is able to obtain the win for the rudos. Very good match. ***1/2 (7)

 

[ohtani's jacket]

This was a solid trios match until the bullshit with Tarzan Boy began. Talk about the most drawn-out rudo turn in the history of lucha. The fact that it spans across three promotions makes it even more irritating. It seemed like a good idea during the first few weeks but Lord knows why they didn't pull the trigger on it during week three. It's this lack of narrative consistency that makes it difficult to sell people on lucha. It reminds me of the confusing Santo turn which dragged on for years. On the positive side, Panther looked sensational in his mat exchange with Hijo del Lizmark. It was all Panther on attack but it made you forget how bad of a worker Lizmark can be. I haven't revisited the Santo/Panther matches yet but given how good Panther has looked throughout the year, and the number of memorable pairings he's had, I think 2000 has to be in the running for his career year (on tape). He may end up walking away with my Lucha WOTY award and performances like this are the reason why.