Lucha Azteca Workrate Report 3/1/14

These matches are from the 2/14 Arena Mexico show, and feature the finals of the Gran Alternativa tournament.

1. Mr. Niebla & Barbaro Cavernario vs. Volador Jr. & Soberano Jr.

Oh god Volador and Soberano are dressed as the blue people in Avatar and it's one of the absolute lamest things I have ever seen in lucha. I already lean rudo, but nothing has ever made me lean more to the rudo side than this. How embarrassing. I mean, at least go all the way with it. If you're gonna dress up like a Pandoran, then your partner should be some sort of dragon that you can fuck with your ponytail. These two look like the creepiest cosplayers you can imagine, cruising the bars post ComicCon. This match is kind of a mess but has a lot of fun individual moments. Niebla looked really good in the first half but gassed toward the end and got lazy. Volador took a dangerous bump into the crowd, smashing his calves into some poor woman (Happy Valentine's Day!!)  but a lot of the match highlighted his poor match construction skills and dated spots (have you seen anybody since Kidman have his opponent balance himself on the middle ropes so you can get in your neat spot?). Soberano Jr. turned in a real nice performance with a couple wild dives and a massive bump through the ropes to the floor off a Niebla shoulderblock. Cavernario also impressed me here. He bumps big (took a sunset flip powerbomb off the apron and another to the floor) and hits some big moves. I dig his double knee drop and his giant splash from the top to the floor will be sure to turn his knees to dust. The match didn't have any sort of build and was a real muddled mess of moves (MMM?) but a lot of the moves worked, so it was perfectly fine viewing.

2. Lightning Match: Marcela vs. Dallys

Damn this was a nice, short, violent match. Dallys picks apart Marcela for the first few minutes after ambushing her before the whistle. Dallys works a lot stiffer than I remembered. Marcela's comeback is wild as Dallys eats a brutal dropkick through the ropes and Marcela hits a nasty running dropkick off the apron that sends Dallys flying. Both women looked great here, maybe my favorite lightning match of the year.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyAGU-r1ggI&feature=youtu.be

3. Ultimo Guerrero, Euforia & Gran Guerrero vs. Valiente, Mascara Dorada & Mistico

I really loved this. Tons of crazy spots and big bumps, and not just crazy spots but some that I rewound several times. Mascara Dorada is a huge favorite of mine, really gives me a 2009 Freelance vibe which I think is massive praise. The match essentially starts with one of the nuttiest dives I've ever seen, with Dorada getting so much speed that he ends up going totally vertical, with his body gliding legs up directly through his opponent and into the barrier. It looked insane and if this were at Coliseo he would have been 4 rows deep. Meanwhile Valiente's feet hang up and he does a massive belly flop on the floor. Euforia is is the ultimate bumping lucha base GOD and here he catches a wild no hands Dragon rana running from the ring to the floor, takes a giant Cassandro bump in the tercera. Dorada is so breathtaking, not just hitting spectacular ranas and dives but doing them so effortlessly and flawlessly. Replacement Mistico looked good here as well, and usually he doesn't leave a major impression on me. This left me wanting to see these teams match up many more times, which has been a recurring theme in 2014 wrestling for me. Tons of guys I'm loving to watch, but specifically tons of match ups I'm loving. Go out of your way to watch this one.