2017 Ongoing MOTY List: Hechicero v. Valiente

42. Hechicero v. Valiente CMLL 10/6

ER: Really cool lightning match, and really Hechicero should be a guy who should just work a lightning match challenge gimmick. He's got a deep tool bag and is probably the best-equipped guy in CMLL to work weekly 10 minute singles matches (Negro Casas would also obviously be great at this). Hechicero tools Valiente on the mat, working some nice headscissors spots, really making it look like Valiente couldn't move if he wanted to. He ties him up, wrenches a nasty armbar with headscissors, does a sick rolling drop down allowing him to snag Valiente's ankle, all nice stuff. It's capped off by a cool German suplex variation where he lifts Valiente vertically and then just kinda drops him. He gets cocky and goes up top, leading to a rough spill to the apron that sees his knee getting hung on the top. Valiente hits a gorgeous rolling armbar that splats Hechicero to the floor, then we get a high speed Valiente tope and his still fantastic Valiente Special moonsault to the floor. We get Hechicero coming back and removing the straps (!) and breaking out tiny things I've never seen from him (like his leaping side kick under Valiente's chin). The ankle comes back into play as Hechicero locks in a rolling ankle lock, and actual effective rolling move as each roll looked like it was adding more pressure.

PAS: Total blast of a shortish TV match. These two had a great match in Monterey about a decade ago which was pretty much everyones first intro to Hechicero, and both guys seemed to have not aged a bit. Glad to see Hechicero get a chance to shine even in a truncated format. Really liked all of the aggressive early matwork, especially all of Hechicero's takedowns. Also it was nice to see the return of bump freak Hechicero as he really takes a nasty fall to the floor off of Valiente's armdrag, which leads to a great tope and gorgeous Valiente special, which is still one of the best highspots in wrestling. Loved the finishing rolling ankle lock as well, about as good a 8 minutes of lucha as your are going to get, would really love to see these two get another long showcase match.


2017 MOTY MASTER LIST