MLJ: Blue Panther Lightning Matches 4: Blue Panther vs Negro Casas II

Aired: 2013-12-21
Taped: 2013-12-13 @ Arena Mexico
Blue Panther vs Negro Casas in a lightning match

I had forgotten that I had another Casas vs Panther match in here. The last one was really heated, this one, on the other hand, had a bit more of a heat segment, but was worked cleanly. Unlike the last, it had a non-draw finish, and even better, post match, the two clapped for each other, shook hands, and Panther raised Casas' hand.

I love old men Casas and Panther interacting. One of my favorite things I've seen in lucha from the last few years was when they were paired up in the parejas increibles tournament and Casas wrapped his arm around Panther on the way down as if they were the best of friends. Panther is a guy who was definitely hurt by the loss of his mask but he can portray geezerly grumpiness well.

Like I said, this one had a bit more focus than the others I'd seen. Casas had the advantage for a lot of it, taking over early by targetting the arm. Panther tried to counter repeatedly (like the below gif):

But Casas kept on things. He really gained an advantage with that keylock roll we've seen before, followed up by an armbar/headscissors combo. Panther kept getting out using more and more effort, but Casas just shifted positions. There was a commercial cut in here which seems a but superfluous in a lightning match, but it probably helped the focus since Casas had the advantage when they left and when they came back.

All of this built to Casas trying to lock in the Scorpion Deathlock (the arm control having been moved away from), but Panther blocking it by cinching up the cross-legged headscissors from the ground. They worked that for a few minutes, Casas going for a pin, Panther trying to flip him. In the grand scheme of things, it would have been great in the primera of a normal match. Here it was a bit much. It did build to a worthwhile moment, however, when Panther finally tossed him and hit a tope.

That led on to the finish, with Panther going for a Casita back in the ring, getting shrugged off, eating a low dropkick to his knee, and Casas utilizing his own Casita for the win. Panther was great fighting from underneath and all the more gallant in his loss. Another good one even if the pacing was a bit off.