FULL Show #1 12/93 HH

- Handhelds 12/93
12/16 Tokyo
1. Incognito vs La Flecha

TKG: I dug this a bunch. Started with the two exchanging nutty armdrag/hiptoss variations with each one cooler than the last. No really springboardish stuff but still a million ways to do armdrag throws. My favorite being essentially a hiptoss across the back. They then move into a leg lock and leg lock escape section, favorite being Incognito putting La Flecha into a scorpion deathlock variation and then dropping down to turn it into an inverted figure four. Incognito is really fun at getting the crowd into the stuff, taunting them into starting a "Flecha" chant. Both guys look like they may have blown some stuff but really do nice job covering for each other and making it all look smooth. Incognito has a nice quebredaora and they work a work the back section into a throw opponent out of ring for dive thing. The section setting up the dives was kind of weak but the actual dives were super spectacular.

PAS: This is pretty much all you want from a one fall opener. You get the sense that this is a 1993 lucha indy touring match, as both guys have a lot of things to do with each other. The finish was a little goofy as it seemed that La Flecha submitted to a sunset flip, but it's lucha shit doesn't always make sense.

2. Villanos IV/V/Rokambole vs Dos Caras/Gran Hamada/Ninja Samurai

PAS: I am assuming Ninja Samurai is an Japanese indy scum junior, maybe a Kageki guy who ended up playing a google monster in Osaka or something. He was pretty much 50/50 with cool stuff and blown stuff. His cool stuff was really cool, but his blown stuff was really blown. Dos Caras and V were pretty fun, Dos had the best looking kip up I have ever seen and a reat Greco throw belly to belly. This was setting up the IV v. Hamada singles match later on this tour, so those two were the focus and man alive did they sell me on that. IV is working stiff as shit, killing Hamada with his Sano spin kick. It looks really great on midget ass Hamada as it hits him in the throat rather then the belly. Hamada is amazing as usual, as he may be the fastest wrestler ever, and is spectacular in everything he does here.

TKG: I'm not sure if the match focus was really on Hamada vs. IV so much as my focus was on that matchup. In the first fall everyone pairs up for a mat section a strike section a fast section and then switches partners for the end run. And really Hamada v IV is the pairing that you want to watch; the mat section with IV looking like a beast with takeowns while Hamada just rules on the mat, IV wastes Hamada in the strike section and well Gran Hamada gets some Yossino on crystal meth speed when given opportunity to work a fast exchange section. Dos gets some fn matchups with IV in the second round but what you want to see is IV v. Hamada match ups. First two falls end with your lower tiered guy eating fall (Rockambole, Ninja Samurai) last fall ends with Gran Hamada eating the pin form IV. Hamada destroys IV with an in ring tope and tries to follow it up with a rana only to get low blowed for the pin.

3. Kendo/La Sombra vs Guerrero de la Muerte/Oriental
12/17 Tokyo

TKG: This is some sort of weird parejas increible match where each team has one luchador with an Asian gimmick and one luchador with a bad omen gimmick. Naither guy with the fake Asian gimmick does any of their fake martial arts spots, the guys with bad omen gimmick trade punches and their is a lot of pareja increible accidental collision with own partner spots but they lead nowhere. Sombra has a nice dive but this was a nothing match.

PAS: I think this had one amusing comedy spot, but I can't really remember what it was. It went really long for a match with one amusing comedy spot, lucha is a formula that can be entertaining with anyone, this should have been, even though it wasn't going to be much.

4. Gran Hamada vs Villano IV (UWF Super Middleweight Title vs WWA Light Heavyweight Title)

TKG: OOH this is a title unification match and its Gran Hamada vs. Villano IV and I'm so stoked that their is no way the actual match was going to live up to my hopes. It was still excellent. I was kind of expecting it to be worked like a lucha title match but instead worked really like a Japanese indy main event title match with Hamada as babyface wrestler v. Villano IV as brawler. Villano IV wasn't a brawler in the Perro Sr mold, more like Nick Bockwinkle in Memphis. He just wastes Hamada with all of his offense, throws Hamada into rows of chairs nails him with chairs and then takes him into the ring to hit him with some of the best leg drops you've seen, big throws, am attempted top rope bombs away knee drop and nasty powerbombs. Hamada fights back with everything he has. This is also a single fall match and is full of neat near falls where you think this can end at any minute. They do a really neat tease of the All Japan count out finish. IV tries to keep Hamada on the outside , Hamada makes it to the ring and then does a crazy quebrada at the 15 count and you don't think either are going to make it back in. Hey it's a title v title match, those things are supposed to end on double count outs.

PAS: This had a great start with Hamada trying to lock up, and V IV just chopping his arms down. When they finally do lock up Villano forces him to the ropes and bucks him. Just comes off like a total bad ass and then just starts beating the shit out of Hamada. Hamada is amazing as a underdog babyface, he really is perfect at timing his comebacks, and his highspots really feel like brawling spots. That quebrada looked like the most insane thing in the world. You got the sense that Hamada felt he needed to really pull something out of his ass, to keep his belt

5. Oro/Plata vs Rocky Santana/El Bronco

TKG: This is a one fall match that for some reason gets money thrown at it. Oro was really spectacular in parts. Plata less spectacular. Rocky Santana eats all of his Oro's stuff really well and does a bunch of comedy bumping. He has about three different ways to trip through ropes. One through bottom ropes, once gets caught on middle ropes, etc. I think Heenan only had one rope trip spot, but I got the sense that Santana probably had enough tripping in the ropes spots to fill an entire three falls. He also has a pretty good looking silla. Bronco did nothing for me, a couple comedy spots with maybe one of them being way too broad comedy with the others being way too understated.

PAS: Oro was really amazing in the first exchange, just remarkable height on everything he did, and both rudos were bumping around a ton. Honestly nothing else in the match came close to living up to that opening section. Plata really looked like a lesser guy, and would drag the match down a bunch whenever he was in. The money was inexcplicable, as I thought this was kind of below average, although I could see Oro blowing you away if you had never seen him before