Fear Will Always Make Anton Tejero Blind

Anton Tejero v. Walter Bordes 8/29/67 - EPIC

PAS: We last saw Tejero as one of the awesome Peruvians tag team. Here we get to see him work a long singles match and he was kickass. This was worked a lot like a classic lucha title match. They start with some very maestroish matwork. They have a nice mix of slow deliberate reversals, and fast counters. I didn't get a huge sense of Borders, but he was very athletic and had some cool ranas and headscissors. Tejero eventually lost his temper and started getting nasty, ripping at Borders eyes and really working over his neck. The neck work was great with a tombstone, forearms to the back and front and a great looking neck crank. Borders would get the advantage with ranas and dropkicks, including a couple which spilled Tejero to the floor. Tejero is an awesome bumper and he flings himself to the floor like a crazy person. Finish seemed a bit abrupt but this was a great addition to the canon

ER: I really liked both guys here. Bordes immediately reminded me of Johnny Saint, not only in the way he moves but in specific things he does. It's not too much of a stretch to watch Bordes and assume he had a major influence in how Johnny Saint wrestled. I think Phil is kind of underselling Bordes a bit here. He has all sorts of cool escapes and will occasionally surprise you with some stiff shots. At one point he hits a mean shoulderblock that sends Tejero sprawling into the ropes. Both guys are super athletic, doing all sorts of cool roll ups and escapes that need to be stolen by some non-lousy indy worker. Tejero's athleticism is surprising, as at first glance he looks like my old landlord. Then he does intricate armdrags and takes crazy bumps and he seems nothing like my old landlord (who admittedly was really good at landlording). At one point he flies ass over elbow into the top and middle ropes off a monkey flip, like an absolute lunatic version of the bump Eddy used to take. My favorite thing about their exchanges is how natural they come off. Not necessarily uncooperative, but somehow done without looking like rehearsed-to-death dance recital. Somehow they're able to weave these intricate exchanges and make them look like the natural course of action. I'm not sure how it's possible to move at the speeds these guys do without each guy knowing exactly where the other is supposed to be and how he's supposed to get there, but there's no tell in either guy's face. It really breaks down everything I've experienced in wrestling, as they're able to make silly things like leapfrogs look like something that would believably happen.