IWRG 1/3/10

More IWRG HH courtesy of

http://www.youtube.com/user/tvluchadelpasado

1. Comando Negro v Dinamic Black

TKG: So it’s a face working “charismatic peppy black” gimmick vs. a heel working “militant negro” gimmick. I have seen this booking a million times. Never before have I seen it worked with two wrestlers with no African ancestry. Comando Negro does a convoluted elaborate set up for a roll up that starts with a knuckle lock leading to him climbing his opponents back; it really felt like a spot Johnny Saint should steal. I always like Comando’s big dropkick and his flying yoke but he didn’t really do anything as cool as Elijah Akeem’s big elbow drop. Dinamic Black didn’t have Sweet Brown Sugar’s ups either.

PAS: The opening mat work in this match really felt like two guys workshopping a match at half speed. They had some cool ideas and I would like to see them work it for real. Dinamic Black really does nothing in the match except a crazy tope. He smacks Comando Negro three rows back and bends the fuck out of a plastic chair seat. Not something I was expecting from this match.

2. Alan Extreme/Hijo Del Signo v Gemelos Fantasticos

TKG: First fall of this had Hijo del Signo paired off with the Gemelo Fantastico who facially looks more like a young Fred Willard. They don’t do anything overly elaborate but I enjoyed their really basic headlock/leglock and hiptoss/armdrag exchanges. Alan Extreme and the Gemelo Fantastico who facially looks like a young Eddie Mekka do some awkward looking exchanges but they pretty quickly move into rudos double teaming on Fred Willard. Second fall starts with lots of Alan Extreme clapping his hands while doing drop kicks and leg lariats, and the fall doesn’t pick up till the Gemelos go on offense and Eddie Mekka attacks Signo on the floor. Somewhere in the end run of the second fall Signo gets his nose busted which results in a super abbreviated third fall.

PAS: The Gemelos have consistently been some of the crappiest guys in IWRG, but here they looked almost watchable. Their poor mans Young Bucks combos aren't my thing, but they seemed well executed enough. And the slimmer of the two had a perfectly fine low end mat section with El Hijo Del Signo. Honestly all I ask for IWRG undercarders is a basic level of competence and they seemed to have that.

4. Traumas/Barba Roja v Exodia/Hijo del Pantera/Ultraman Jr.

PAS: We have talked a bunch about how great Trauma II has become, he was my wrestler of the year for IWRG and is one of the top under 30 wrestlers in the world. Trauma I has lagged behind, but damn has he gotten good too. He is the bigger and thicker of the brothers and is a pretty great bruiser, he looks like his blows leave dents, and has some of the best headbutts in the world. Also his spinning reverse figure four leglock is the coolest finisher in the world. II ruled here as usual, as he looked just awesome in his mat section with Ultraman Jr., Barba Roja looked fine too although he botched a senton and may have crippled Exodia. That kind of blew the flow of the match, which was going fine before hand. This wasn't a blow away match, but anytime you can see the Traumas, you want to see the Traumas

TKG: This is a match that should have been a complete trainwreck but weirdly wasn’t. Ultraman Jr lands a leg drop on Trauma II’s face in the first fall that leads to the doctor removing Truama II in third fall. In the third Barba Roja lands a senton right on top of Exodia’s head and shoulder that necessitates a doctor removal. This should have been a complete mess and instead it was just a small mess. Once in a while I get the impression that Ultraman Jr is a lot better than I give him credit for being. Maybe it’s a result of him being teamed with such green guys but he really felt like guy who was keeping large chunks of this together. I dug the opening exhange between Trauma II and Ultraman Jr. I even liked the set up to Ultraman Jr facecracker leading to Truam II backcracker receipt. Trauma II's elaborate carny matwork never felt out of place opposite Ultraman Jr's real 70s Florida matwork. I think you need to give both guys credit for how natural they made this feel. I was also surprised at how much I dug Ultraman's little section opposite bruising Trauma I in the third fall. I may end up giving him more credit than he deserves. Other guy worth mentioning is Hijo Del Pantera who hits a really nice dive in the first fall and is super expressive as sympathy babyface selling a beating for the rest of the match. Hijo Del Pantera is a guy who makes you want to root for him which is important for a guy working face.