2017 Ongoing MOTY List: Traumas v. Terry/Diablo

43. Black Terry/Diablo Jr. v. Los Traumas IWRG 4/23

ER: I really liked this match and I actually watched it twice. It had some subtle little things that kept grabbing at me and made me want to revisit it immediately. Diablo has improved a lot (I don't ever remember him being bad, but he also has never been on my radar like this year) and his mat stuff against T2 is all good. He hangs in and they each work some twisty leg subs, and then T2 does a painful double chickenwing. My favorite stuff was when they do some neat twists on traditional armdrags, with Diablo whiffing on one when T2 holds the ropes, and then Diablo trying to catch one of T2's so T2 alters to a head drag, really cool stuff. I dug how Terry came in and got tapped quick, requiring Diablo to get back in a try to hang with a fresh T1, who locks on his nasty whipping figure 4. Segunda is quick but it happened right after Traumas spent way too long firing up the crowd with bullhorns, Diablo and Terry hanging around looking like assholes waiting for them to stop patting themselves on the back, so Diablo rushing in, hits a leg drag, and locks on some awesome and vicious cross arm twisting armbar, like an arm version of T1's figure 4. T2 sells it like his shoulders are disconnected. Diablo needs Terry to focus up in the tercera, and after some nice brawling and Diablo hitting a coconuts flip dive into T1/the railing, Terry and T1 finally commence beating the hell out of each other, with Terry destroying him with headbutts. I'm really liking this Terry/Diablo team, really liked the unique structure of this tag.

PAS: This was really fun, IWRG has had a good under the radar year (which is really our fault, if anyone is going to pimp IWRG it's us) and the Terry/Diablo team is a big part of it. Diablo looked perfectly competent working the mat with T2 and even added his own flourish or two. Highlight of the match was the first couple of minutes of the third fall where it spills to the floor and we get to see Terry get gritty. Terry and Trauma 1 really lace into each other with chops and headbutts, while T2 gets vaguely unprofessional with Diablo Jr. The finish of the third fall wasn't as violent as I was hoping as it got down to T1 and Terry again and they wrestled instead of murdering each other. Still this was good stuff and part of another top 10 in the world year from the legitimately ageless Black Terry.


2017 MOTY MASTER LIST