[1990-01-05-EMLL] El Supremo & Hijo de Gladiador & Herodes vs Ciclon Ramirez & Pantera II & Aguila Solitaria

[Jetlag]

Well this was just a classic lucha romp with that rudo/technico dynamics. Tons of highly entertaining technicos one upping the clumsy bad guys sequences. The rudo trio is pretty dedicated – Hijo de Gladiador takes a front flip bump when he misses a punch, and Herodes is just gleeful about his own evilness, while El Supremo has a very different presence. I liked how the rudo beatdown started with Supremo basically having enough and clocking Pantera with a stiff elbow. Of the technicos I'd say I liked Pantera II the best who has such beautiful armdrags and his trademark rope running spot altough everyone did something cool. The 3^rd fall had some really amusing chase spots. I was surprised how easily the rudos won this one.

[KB8]

Man, Herodes was the best. Best stooge, best bruiser, best everything. He was past his physical peak by 1990 even though he'd only been wrestling about twenty years, which by lucha standards is no more than the blink of an eye. He'd gained weight and wasn't terribly mobile, but what he'd lost in athleticism he'd gained in pure scuzz. The mask he wore pre-match was a Lidl brand Demolition hood, he was almost entirely bald on the top but still thick on the sides and retained the terrible rat tail, his dodgy Motorhead beard making him look like Brazo de Plata if Brazo de Plata inhaled Triple H. He started this on the apron, more goofy than menacing as he joked around a bit with some folk in the crowd. He was like the daft uncle at Christmas dinner who'd tell the kids that pulling on his ponytail would make him bite their fingers off. It was largely a stooge performance overall, giving up the ghost a couple times and taking a powder mid-exchange, but he got to bowl a few guys over and there was one gorgeous little sequence with Ciclon Ramirez that belied his impending decrepitude (not that it stopped him wrestling another ten years anyway). The first caida was about as basic as you'll get, but it got time to develop and was ultimately satisfying. I'm not familiar at all with Aguila Solitaria and I know I haven't seen much El Supremo. They were fine though, and their exchange to start the match was decent enough. The rudos chasing themselves in circles trying to catch Pantera wasn't quite Fuerza and Panther chasing Rey Jr., but it was a fun little segment that at least had you buying their reasons for snapping. You don't humiliate a man like Herodes and if Supremo and Gladiator are teaming with him you don't humiliate them either. A man's game charges a man's prices. They should've known better.