MLJ: Recent Uploads: Atlantis © vs Emilio Charles Jr. [NWA MIDDLE]

1990-09-21 @ Arena México
Atlantis © vs Emilio Charles Jr. [NWA MIDDLE]

I wanted to properly do the Charles vs Atlantis feud at some point, but instead I'm reaching for the shiny 15 minute title match that popped up last week to offset my current lack of time to watch as much as I want. Maybe more important is the fact that there are just so many title matches between the two of them between 88 and 93 or so and not a ton are online. It'd be an exercise in spotty frustration. Better to just look at this in isolation and enjoy it for what it is.

It's good, is what it is. You sort of knew what you were getting coming in due to the time. There are three falls. It's a title match. The video is fifteen minutes long. Something had to give in one of the falls. If we're looking at a 2015 match, then that would mean a minuscule segunda. It's a 1990 match though, so I wasn't sure how that was going to work out.

The primera was worked as title match primeras ought to be worked, feeling out, holds, escalation into some sequence, and a sudden, definitive stop. This actually didn't have quite as many holds as you might have wanted, but the feeling out was really strong. They just wrestled to begin, riding each other and trying to maintain control. It was a little different from what I usually see and I enjoyed it:

It ended fairly quickly after the pace picked up with Charles catching a rana attempt into a 1990 powerbomb for the pin.

Charles started the segunda with the advantage, bursting across the ring to hit a dropkick out of nowhere (remember that). He was controlling the tempo here. Even though this wasn't a long match, a lot of it was very methodological, which made it feel sufficiently weighty. Eventually, though, he went to the well too often on corner charges, and Atlantis moved, following it up with a sort of electric chair fall-back. Charles sold it like it was the biggest move in the world:

Atlantis didn't let up in his comeback, hitting a really nice neckbreaker (I feel like you don't see too many of those in lucha), then finally the quebradora. The pace stayed about the same here, even as Charles fed him (and stooged for him too, falling through the ropes to sell):

Atlantis finally managed a dive and followed it up with a massive victory roll for the pin.

So nothing really gave in the primera or segunda. The primera didn't have too many holds, but the segunda had a bit of heat and a solid comeback. They certainly weren't rushing things. It was the tercera which was lightning fast. Charles went for the dropkick out of nowhere to start the fall, but missed it this time, and Atlantis almost immediately locked on the Atlantida for the quick sub. It was a jarring but very celebratory moment since it took the crowd by surprise. Definitely not the sort of thing they could do every day but as a surprise, it really worked, and was the sort of finish that would make future matches more interesting just due to the possibility of it. Obviously I would have liked a longer tercera with a lot of near-falls and selling, but this was fun for what it was.