Uprising: Lucha Libre Workrate Report 7/26/14

This is pretty shockingly from one of their most recent shows, the 5/18/14 show in Morgan Hill which featured a Jushin Liger vs. Blue Demon Jr. match that I'd actually be really interested in seeing. The odds are that we'll never actually get to see that match. I'm still waiting on the Santo matches they ran a year or two ago.

We immediately start with a tremendous use of paid for TV time, as we get the audience standing during a recording of Whitney Houston singing the National Anthem. La Migra then interrupts the Mexican National Anthem with their entrance, but I guess we needed the full context of what happened to really show how dastardly they are. This promotion is oddly obsessed with showing full entrances and time killing mic work, often starting a match 10+ minutes into a 30 minute show. And sure enough,  we get the bell here at the 13 (!) minute mark of the show. I guarantee the match would have been just as enjoyable if they just opened from the ring bell.

1. Derek Sanders & Colt Stevens vs. Los Gallineros

I assume these are the same Crazy Chickens from Lucha VaVoom (they ARE wearing tights that say Lucha VaVoom after all) but I don't remember who they were at this point. TJ Perkins? Rocky Romero? Scorpio Sky? All possible. One of these chickens seems chubbier than other chickens I've seen, so who knows. Also not sure who Colt Stevens is, maybe a Bay Area guy I've never seen before. So…this match happened. Wasn't bad, wasn't really good. It was a 12 minute match stretched out over a 30 minute show. Sanders is always solid if unspectacular. Best part of the match was probably when he leveled a chicken with a clothesline and that chicken flipped over and bumped in nasty fashion. Couldn't get a good read on Stevens here as he didn't get to work much of a match. Chickens matches tend to be built 85% around chicken comedy spots. They don't ever seem to spend too much time in danger, so it's mainly the rudos stooging, or taking offense from the chickens. Great for kids, probably more fun live, didn't do tons for me on TV. Chickens do have some nice spots, including a great double springboard somersault sentons, but it's tough to get too invested when the match is formatted for minimal drama.

This show, man.