MLJ: Babe Face, Negro Casas, Rambo b Villano I, Villano IV, Villano V

1992-03-06 @ Arena Neza
Babe Face, Negro Casas, Rambo b Villano I, Villano IV, Villano V

I was in a Villanos mood still, and looking through the various things decadas80s90s2000 has posted over the years and found this. There's a lot of stuff on there which isn't easy to search for on youtube or catalog. I found a number of things I want to get to at some point. This may not have been the best choice. It was fun disposable lucha, but I wanted to see some more 92 Casas in a match that isn't one of his hyped ones.

This was something of a trainwreck with lots of feeding and lots of bumps, lots of ducked moves and lots of counters. There was some shine at the beginning and some heat in the middle but it was really just a constant flow of action. I'd say that the entire rudo side delivered in one way or another here, though Babe Face the least. He had to be getting up there in age by this point and it showed. That said, he had some great comedic sells and at least an attempt of a few bumps. He was just a half step behind everyone else. Rambo, on the other hand, was a blast. I need to see more of him. He was an amazing cheerleader on the outside and his offense is just so offbeat and novel. It's not that it's well executed or brilliant or anything, but he just has a way of using his body as a weapon that fits his scummy, over the top character perfectly. I need to see more of him. He came off like the perfect Mocho Cota partner here.

Casas was above and beyond. One thing that amazes me, absolutely amazes me, is that you can watch a random Negro Casas trios and you will, maybe seven or eight times out of ten, see him do something you've never seen him do before. It almost always fits. It almost always makes sense. It almost always adds to the match. It never seems forced or contrived. It just seems like Casas wanted to do something different that night, to try inflicting pain a different way or to react differently. I'm not sure I've ever seen another wrestler like that. Here, he took the monkey flip bump to the floor, which I'm sure he must have done other times in this era. However, he also did a fun comedy spot where Rambo fell straight backwards, like a tree-falling senton, trying to break up a pin, and the Villano moved. Casas got his knees up to save himself and Rambo sold it like he was shot in the back by his own man. He also did a double corner clothesline (tried a corner clothesline on a Villano in the corner who got his arm up), which is one of those sort of no-brainer spots you've just never seen before. He added so much energy and excitement and motion and character to the match.

I had no context here, but it didn't matter. I'm glad to watch great rudos clowning and bumping and bullying for super tecnicos and it's always great to see near-prime Casas. He could do almost everything he does now in adding meaning and purpose and character to a match but he could do all the more athletically back then.