2015 Ongoing Match of the Year List

8. Kraneo, Morphosis & Olimpico v. Blue Panther, Fuego & Super Porky CMLL 1/11

ER: I didn't go into this expecting much, even though I always love Kraneo and Panther. But then every single guy in this match wrestles like they have something to prove, nobody dogs it, and all of it works. Panther and Olimpico tangle to start and I really love their matwork together, both are quick and very familiar with each other, but it managed to look smooth and graceful while never feeling rehearsed. The whole rudo team busts ass the whole time, like they had a running bet to see who could work harder. This was the best Morphosis has looked in over a year, really throwing everything he had into bumps, being the perfect base for Fuego and breaking out a couple awesome pendulum arm drags. Kraneo matches up a lot with Porky and this was also the hardest I've seen Porky work since probably the Escorpion feud over a year ago. He actually seems like he is actually trying to run, he leaves his feet a LOT which is rare for him, and he and Kraneo start by just trying to dislocate each other's shoulder with some huge shoulder blocks. Both guys really slam into each other and Kraneo is a master of making Porky look great. Kraneo bumps like a maniac through all of this, getting super height on a back drop from Porky (and truthfully bumping a little too freely for Fuego). Even Kemonito gets in on the action with some of his best stuff in ages, coming in and potatoing Mije a bunch in the eye socket and hitting a great low (high?) dropkick. It's great seeing just a random trios with a tossed together team, where everybody just decides to go for broke. It's one of those little lucha mysteries, but it's so wonderful when it happens.

PAS: I enjoyed the hell out of this too, I had completely forgotten that Morphosis existed (apparently he is the ex-Histeria), and really haven't enjoyed a Olimpico match this much since the 90's, but both guys ruled. Olimpico used to be a mat guy, and he and Panther have a throwback thursday exchange or two. The Porky v. Kraneo sumo section was probably the highlight, but this had a bunch of fun stuff. Porky wasn't doing comedy at all, he was just rumbling, including doing an apron dive, which is still crazy looking. I love trying hard Porky, last time I remember it was when he and Rey Escorpion were trying to punch each others eyes out, so it is weird to see it show up in a random trios. They should just set up him taking Kraneo's mask at an Anniversary show. Maybe I need to be watch all the Invasors matches

2015 MASTER LIST

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Lucha Underground Episode 21: Uno! Dos! Tres! Workrate Report

ER: Ryck and his boys (including Willie Mack!) confronting Dario, with his boys holding him down while Ryck casually eyes his lit cigar, made me legit tense and nervous. These vignettes are so damn effective.

1. Angelico vs. Johnny Mundo

ER: I really liked all the kung fu counter sequence. I could also see putting some guys on blast for something like that, but fuck you're on a network where 20% of the programming is kung fu movies, so it feels like a nice thing to do, like it will make for a nice "Network Synergy" montage to be shown at an El Rey corporate retreat. This whole match was really a pleasant surprise. Not something I was excited for when I saw the lineup. Angelico has some junky looking offense (I hate his missed punches, he throws them with the same arm slot you'd throw a baseball), but he will bump like a loon and he flies admirably into some of Mundo's goofy-yet-fun offense here. Mound's parkour wall-leaping spin kick was awesome, Angelico can throw a fine flying knee, Mundo dumped him with a top rope powerbomb, just a bunch of fun quirky spots that all landed.

PAS: Man I kind of like Angelico in this fed. Pretty shocked, as he was a nightmare when he first showed up. This was dosey doe wrestling, but it had some very awesome individual moments, this was the coolest Mundo parkour stuff yet, and I could live without ever seeing another Angelico v. Mundo punch exchange, but there was way more to like then dislike.

ER: And talk about stuff that's perfect for El Rey, now we have an "Avenging my parents' death" angle. Yes!! Next we'll have somebody debuting because they're trying to rid their village of drug lords. Or a rare elephant heirloom has been stolen from their village and people in Lucha Underground know where it is.

2. Drago vs. Aerostar

ER: A little disjointed but with these two at this point I really don't care, they're just too fun to watch. You get the dives you want, some of their cool headscissor takedowns; Aerostar does a bunch of effortless stuff, but also peppers in nice between move stuff like nice stomach kicks and a couple mean stomps to Drago's head. I love the force Aerostar gets on his spin around rope walk dropkick, love Drago's tight cradles and submissions. The finishing flash pin worked for me because it looked constructed in a way that Aerostar kicking out of it was unlikely. Drago did such a cool job of grapevining every limb.

PAS:  A little less crazy then some of their other matches, but it definitely had it's moments, Aerostar has been awesome so far, I think they should push him as one of the top guys going forward, he has really put it all together.

3. Big Ryck, Killshot & The Mack vs. Sexy Star, Super Fly & Pentagon Jr.

ER: Killshot is Shane Strickland, who was in one of the worst matches I've seen in the last decade. I know there are a finite amount of black indie guys available, but come on man. Toss Derrick King some dollars or something. And man was Strickland predictably bad in this. All of his overly rehearsed strike combos looked so awkward. And his flying offense is completely negated by teaming up with a giant fat dude who does way more impressive flying offense. Hats off to him for catching Star on the alley oop top rope rana but damn did he look like shit in this. That's not even factoring in his shitty lurching body posture and mannerisms, which I guess is his idea of character work? Really would have been flipping the hell out for this if it was Ryck/Mack vs. Pentagon/Fly and those guys all straight brung it. The Pentagon/Mack stuff was godly, with Pentagon lighting Mack's chest up with chops (Pentagon really came off like a menacing badass throughout, even against the much larger Ryck) and Mack hitting all his super impressive fat guy flying. Striker was a complete king of the misplaced references twat throughout the show, here saying Mack reminded him of a young Junkyard Dog...as Mack is hitting a springboard armdrag.

PAS: There isn't really a finite amount of indy black guys though (I mean technically the number isn't infinite, but in the colloquial sense of the term, scarcity isn't an issue) so here comes a classic Segunda Caida name drop, 27 indy black guys who would have been better then Shane Strickland in this six man

1. ACH
2. Louis Lyndon
3. Flip Kendrick
4. Rich Swann
5. Derrick King
6. 2 Cold Scorpio (how fucking great would 2 Cold be in Lucha Underground)
7. AR Fox
8. Boyce Le Grande
9. Dairus Carter
10. Jonathan Gresham
11. Se7en
12. Virgil Flynn
13. Marcus Lewis
14. Kongo Kong
15. Moose
16. Big Ben Johnson
17. Trevor Aeon
18. Black Baron
19. Jay Lethal
20. The Dark Mon
21. Brian XL
22. Shadow Jackson
23. Jon Williams
24. Trey Williams
25. Fred Vehi
26. Cedrick Alexander
27. Oaktown Kid Tyson Thompson

I have no idea what that Killshot suplex was supposed to be, it looked like he powerslammed himself. Continuing to love Ryck in this fed, and this really made me want to see Ryck v. Pentagon singles match. Also dug the Mack too he looks way more polished then last time I saw him. Despite Sexy and Killshot, this was very good.

LUCHA UNDERGROUND MASTER LIST

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