2016 Ongoing MOTY List: Hechicero v. Virus

22. Rey Hechicero v. Virus Lucha Memes 5/14

PAS: One cool thing about 2016 wrestling is the number of lucha feds running dream match lucha. It is almost a Mexican version of the way US Indy wrestling was in 2005. These matches run the gamut from pretty great to disappointing, we haven't had the true all time classic from these fed yet. This was more in the pretty great realm too. It goes about 10 minutes, and we get some really great mat wrestling, with Virus especially looking brilliant, they have a cool stand up run with Hechicero hitting his spinning hammerlock backbreaker about as nasty as I have seen it hit, and an awesome submission finish. Still this was more like an awesome Smackdown match, rather then a big epic clash, and I really want Lucha Memes or Chilanga Mask to let these guys stretch out a bit.

ER:  Phil's right, we have been getting an absurd amount of dream match lucha, and it's almost all been worked like one off WCW syndicated matches. That isn't a bad thing at all, and it's hard to complain about getting indy lucha in crystal HD video. And not just the clarity, but the way they film lucha is far more desirable than AAA and CMLL. I know larger arenas have to be filmed a certain way, but it's a treat to see these two work so up close. And while this was a simple match, these two are so skilled that just watching them run through the basics for 2/3 of a match is engaging. The mat work and even some of the standing exchanges are simple, yet while there's never any sort of hint of either man being uncooperative, everything they do has weight. We get a lot of roll throughs and floatovers and other grace on the mat, but it all feels like neither man is allowing the other to get away with it very easily. There's none of the Dean Malenko assisted pinfall/kickout nonsense, just guys doing simple leverage stuff with real meat behind it. And it's not just mat stuff that had weight, we had heavy slams, a heavy elbow drop off the top. blame it on the seemingly concrete mats, or give credit to these two. I love how these two move so it was great seeing them once they started with some standing exchanges. We even get a strap removal/shirt off spot which I'm a mark for. Hechicero throws some wicked chops (and I always end up loving how loud indy crowds get for Hechicero, he's a real man of the people down there), hits a big leaping kick on Virus, and Virus always looks so effortless on his feet that you get the sense he could lose his eyesight and still be able to work at 80%. Let's hope these guys keep getting these kind of gigs and they keep popping up, more and more stretched.


2016 MOTY MASTER LIST