IWRG 4/2/09

PAS: Hits keep coming, r0b3rt0x3L14S is the king of youtube, just uploading all of the lucha, I am obsessively checking his page and he just keeps delivering.

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=1EA3D88F6D1F8C22

Eragon/Mascara Magnifica v Commando Negro/Avisman

TKG: YES! We get a opener this week. IWRG OPENING MATCH!!!! I don’t get Avisman. I feel like I should go back and watch old Avisman singles matches and old Avisman and Avisman II tags. He’s now working openers and is really weird. He’s a guy who is really tricked out and fluid on the mat and doing technical exchanges but just looks completely lost and awkward in stand up rope running sections. Is he the anti-HHH? Has he always been this way or did he have a horrible rope running accident which has made him tentative? Does he need to remask? Perhaps with a mask on he wouldn’t always look like a deer in headlights worried about what to do next during the standing sections of a match (mask wouldn’t help his kicks/boot scrapes to back). Given this problem he really is ill suited to be working as base for green highflyers in openers. I mean the primera caidas will be good but really you can’t be a base when you’re this uncomfortable getting into place for stand up sections.

PAS: Yeah this was weird, I enjoyed the heck out of the first fall especially the Eragon v. Avisman mat sections. Really solid stuff. It feels like you should be able to hide Avisman more, no reason not to put him in trios match, where he works a long opening mat section and then stays the fuck out of the ring. IWRG opener is too structured, so after the good mat section Avisman has to try to eat ranas and that isn't something he can do. It is weird, there are a bunch of really old luchadores who are still super strong on the mat, you would think that athletic counters would be a weak spot for them, but Navarro, Dos Caras, Solar et all never look this awkward on their feet. Avisman may only be in his 30's but he wrestles like you might expect a broken down hypothetical Maestro to wrestle, even thought they don't.

Yack/Azoka v Capitan Muerte/Hijo del Signo

TKG: And its week two of the Captain Muerte World Beater 2009 Tour. Captain Muerte is one of those guys like Hijo Del Diablo where you’re always pleased to see him in a match and he’s always super competent veteran rudo but it’s been ages since he’s been a guy who did anything that really blew you away. This is two weeks in a row where Muerte has looked like a world beater. Yack is a guy working essentially poor man’s indy La Parka schtick, and Hijo Del Signo and Azoka both feel super green (Azoka does eat stuff nicely, kicks a bunch when put in short arm scissors and is really flexible when put in submissions). But this is pretty much a one man show, As Captain Muerte elevates this thing: beating folks, awesomely selling for technico offense, rudoing it up when the crowd gets on his partner for blowing stuff, interjecting in match to keep things moving, etc. Finish is awkward but I am on the 2009 Captain Muerte bandwagon.

PAS: This reminded me of the first 4-way on the 2nd night of the Chikara KOT, Muerte was in the Austin Aries role of "trained wrestler amongst backyardy chumps." There wasn't even a dark hair Young Buck in this match, it was like three Fire Ants. Still I think a lucha formula allows you to make something out of a match with only one real wrestler in it. Watching Yack do shitty fake La Parka really allows you to appreciate the professionalism of not just La Parka, but Super Parka, La Parkita and La Parka Jr.

Hijo Del Pierroth/Pierroth II v Arlequin Amarillo/Arlequin Verde

TKG: I was dreading this but it was nowhere near as bad as I was expecting. Maybe Phil was right in bitching about the Headhunters. I mean the Arlequins actively suck. Green Arlequin has some Shawn Michaels level execution and may be even shittier than Yellow Arlequin. But this was perfectly fine mediocre brawl. I mean it wasn’t good but didn’t bore me or make me want to tear my eyes out like the six man from last week. They work a basic Nastys v Steiners/RNR v Poffos “one man brawling on the floor/ one man in the ring” structure with lots of spots where guy on floor is taken out leading to two-on-ones in ring. Instead of listless arena walking around brawling, the on the floor brawling is pretty much all ring ramp and ring ramp stairs spots/bumps. Kept the brawl moving at a fine pace and held interest for the whole thing.

PAS: Yeah this was shockingly okay, they kept it moving, wasn't particularly stiff and there weren't any big bumps, but it didn't drag. I liked the mediocre Arlequin double tope, and Hijo Del Pierroth had nice wind up on his punches, they didn't look good when they landed, but I enjoyed the demonstrativeness.

Officiales v. Freelance/Gemelos Fantasticos v. Trauma 1 y 2/Zatura v. Dr. Cerebro/Cerebro Negro/Black Terry

PAS: Total train wreck and a total blast. 12 guys just throwing it all at the wall, some stuff isn't hit cleanly, but there is more great shit then you can demand. This is the kind of shit Freelance is made for, and he is just flying around the ring with abandon, he does three dives into the crowd, each crazier then the last, and is just constantly diving into the ring ranaing the fuck out of dudes. Officiales looked great here, as they ate all of Freelances stuff well, and did I nice job covering for some of the lesser lights (the less I say about the Gemelos the better) Terry is great too, but this was a little chaotic for him to be at his best. This week goes to Freelance.

TKG: Yeah this was a wreck. The whole concept of elimination trios match where you can tag anyone else into the ring is almost TNA level stupid. Hey its two twins forced to wrestle each other in an elimination match, isn’t that clever? Dumb. You also had a couple of awkward Zatura v Freelance sections where both guys looked like they need a rudo. Some spectacular looking Freelance highspots. Plus you get the Zatura “Hey I’m in a match with Freelance I have to do even crazier out of control dives and possibly injure myself” stuff that you get when those two are in a match together. A fun clusterfuck but a dumb match.