Call Me Pirata Morgan, Eternal Light. These Gravely Digs of Mine Will Surely Prove a Sight.

Pirata Morgan, El Hijo del Pirata Morgan, & Barba Roja vs. Negro Navarro & Los Traumas IWRG 4/14/2011 - GREAT

This is kind of an odd note to start this project on, I admit, but it was on my list of stuff I've been meaning to watch already, so why not? The thing is that while it's a great match, it's not really about Pirata, at least not as an active competitor in the match. It mostly focuses on the second generation guys on both teams, with Pirata and Navarro both playing supporting roles. Fortunately, the Traumas are awesome, and I thought the younger Piratas stepped up pretty big here. Still, the old-timers are plenty fun in their limited roles. This is also a bit of an odd place to start because Morgan's performance here is not what I usually think of when I think of Pirata Morgan. That's not to say it's bad. It's actually quite good, and it adds a lot to the match. It's just that I just got done describing him as this great violent lucha brawler in the intro, and he works this match as an old-fashioned cowardly heel. It's not the performance choice I tend to associate him with. But versatility is often the mark of a great performer, something which Pirata most certainly is, so I shouldn't be too surprised that he looked as comfortable as he did stepping out of his comfort zone. Basically, this is less of a great Pirata Morgan match than it is a great match that had Pirata Morgan giving a very good performance in it, but if you haven't yet, you should check it out anyway.

Pirata Morgan vs. Vampiro Canadiense CMLL 7/17/1992 - SKIPPABLE

On the other end of the spectrum, we have this - a match much more in line with what I think of when I think of great Pirata performances, but that ultimately doesn't work overall. Take a guess who's fault that is. To be fair, this isn't Pirata's most dynamic performance, either, but I think a lot of that is down to how Vampiro eats his offense. He's very much into the W/WWF/E style of bumping off of everything instead of eating offense in stand up brawling, and the result is an uncharacteristically sluggish Pirata apuestas match. It's kinda telling that one of the more entertaining parts of the match was when Vampiro got trapped in the corner, and Pirata really got to lay in a Pirata level beating. It's not even like Vampiro is a particularly impressive bumper, either. His corner bumps in particular looked like shit. He would sorta jump onto the bottom turnbuckle and then act like he hit either his chest or his head on the top and fall down. Really goofy looking. Pirata was still pretty game here, and while he had to dial back his pace and intensity for Vampiro, he still looked pretty good. Also, it's an early 90's Vampiro match, so even if the work wasn't the best, you at least got a really hot crowd. Highlight of the match is Pirata trying to throw Vampiro onto a row of chairs. The menfolk clear out, but one woman rushes in, presumably in a desperate attempt to stop him. Unfortunately, there's just one of her and four chairs, so Pirata just dumps Vampiro onto the seat next to her. They did have the good sense to let Pirata control most of the offense in the match, winning the first fall decisively and losing the second after Vampiro fluked into a brief offensive run. But then they have one of the weirder babyface comeback spots at the top of the third, as he stumbles into the crowd, still selling like he's totally loopy, then walks back into the ring, and suddenly he's completely healed from everything he had taken before and is doing energetic babyface dancing spots en route to Pirata getting a haircut. Pirata was solid, and there were enough entertaining moments that this would have been FUN if Vampiro had been at least half-way competent, but c'est la vie. At least he bled.

Pirata Morgan, MS-1, & Espectro Jr. vs. Octagon, Heavy Metal, & Intocable AAA 6/20/2004 - GREAT

Now this is what I'm talking about! Pirata and his gang of thugs lay waste to some mediocre technicos who at least have the good sense to eat the beating well. Great opening stretch of the Infernales (weird applying that name to a team without [and not feuding with] Satanico) going completely out of control pounding the technicos. I think Espectro Jr. may actually be the star in this regard. He looks like a real killer here. But Pirata is right there with him, socking dudes hard and throwing a big lariat on the outside that sends Intocable over the guardrail. Then the technicos rally, and as good as Pirata was at laying in a beating, I think he's even better in this match taking one. He takes a posting really well, and looks really good eating Octagon's armdrags and a nasty low-flying tope into his gut. The big technico highspots were not pretty, but they were reckless and violent in a way I thought was befitting the reckless and violent tone of the match. Heavy Metal grabs a small package on Espectro Jr., and Pirata decides he's not going to take any chances, so he rushes the ring with...umbrellas? Short, brightly colored kendo sticks? Broken Badd Blasters? I don't really now, but he's wielding something pretty ferociously. He bashes Metal with one to break up the pin, and then starts distributing the others to his teammates. Pepe Tropicasas is reffing this, and is obviously not cool with the Infernales using foreign objects on his son, so Pirata does the sensible thing and hauls off and punches the old man in the face. Tropi takes the beating like a man, and the Infernales continue to stomp a hole in Heavy Metal as he desperately tries to cover up his father's body. The match falls a bit shy of the ten minute mark, there wasn't any blood, and I thought MS-1 - who hadn't been wrestling regularly since 1997 - kinda showed his ring rust a little. But Pirata and Espectro were awesome, the technicos were game, and overall, this was a blast.

COMPLETE AND ACCURATE PIRATA MORGAN