Lucha Azteca Workrate Report 2/8/14

These matches were all from the 1/24 Arena Mexico show.

1. Negro Casas, Averno & Mephisto vs. Rush, Shocker & La Sombra

I am immediately confused as Shocker jumps Rush on the rampway so I think they're having a singles match but then Sombra comes out and I have no idea what's going on. Then the rudos come out and Shocker is still stomping Rush in the ring. Before the match Rush had been jumped by Shocker in the weight room, choking him out with the bench press bar. Rush's chest and shoulders are all bandaged up for this and this match definitely plays out much more as angle than match. Every time Rush would begin to make a comeback against the rudos, Shocker would blindside him and the rudos would take back over. Rush had a real great performance against the odds here, constantly getting backed into a corner, and his quick picks of offense were great. I love his thrust headbutt and running kicks. Averno is good in this tying together Sombra's spots and Casas is great as a shark smelling blood and cockily picking apart Rush knowing that Rush has no chance. Him stomping on Rush's bandages while cupping his hand to his ear is classic. So is this an official Shocker turn? The match ended with him punting Rush right in the balls and then lying down for the rudos.

2. Lightning Match: Euforia vs. Diamante Azul

Fun match with Azul hitting his rampway somersault senton (which Euforia catches in a way that makes him look like he was hit with a cannonball) and breaking out a sweet deadlift German. Euforia takes a couple nice spills and in the coolest spot matadors Azul right into the barricade on a missed dive. Naturally this is a lightning match so it's not like the nasty bump counts or anything, as Azul goes right back on offense. But you knew this already.

3. Ultimo Guerrero, Reapper & Niebla Roja vs. Mascara Dorada, Volador Jr. & Mistico

What has happened to Volador. He's so tentative and bland now, and it's even more obvious when he's teamed with someone like Dorada who has a bunch of spectacular spots and can also catch (Niebla gets tossed into an awesome tornillo in the 3rd and Dorada protected him so much it probably felt like landing on a crash pad). Volador even got outshone by Mistico in this one. Some guys just weren't made to be tecnicos and Volador just comes off like a grinning weenie now. But even worse, a grinning weenie with zazzy Hot Topic contact lenses (don't ask me to explain, but they seemed less douchey when he was a rudo. Let's just say that we turn a blind eye and just expect many of our luchador rudos to have horrible late 90s nu metal entrance music and bad mall goth fashion sensibilities). Dorada looks awesome in this, his over the ropes running rana from the rampway to the ring is amazing, and his running springboard flip dive is one of the more spectacular spots in lucha. Mistico gets some nice sequences with UG here, with a beautiful spinning armdrag and the his great slingshot rana from the ring to the floor. Volador clearly had the weakest presence of the 3 which doesn't make sense to me seeing how charismatic he was as a rudo. Reapper was fine but didn't do any of his nutso bumps that he's been breaking out lately.