2017 Ongoing MOTY List: Old Guys in Arena Mexico

92. Solar/Super Astro v. Virus/Black Terry CMLL 11/17

ER: I love the annual (is that right? biannual maybe?) old guys show at Arena Mexico. The matches aren't always great, but they scratch the nostalgia itch, and it's great to see some of them really try to impress the crowd instead of just getting a ring entrance pop. Super Astro has lost a step, but it's somewhat inevitable after 40+ years of wrestling, and he's still able to fire off a big time tope, like a battering ram knocking down a castle gate. Terry gets mostly matched up with Astro, so most of his time is spent facilitating a couple classic Astro spots. But the Virus/Solar exchanges? Those are straight fire. Solar busts ass and while you can see Virus hold back a bit, but he doesn't need to that much for Solar to catch him. He and Solar work some nice submissions, and it's amazing how quickly Solar pops up to his feet after these exchanges. I loved that step up rolling armbar he does to Virus, and the match has an incredible moment of Virus slaps Solar in the chest with both hands, and Solar catches his arms and tosses him with a nasty overhead belly to belly. The "okay, okay old man, ya got me" look on Virus' face after was amazing. I'm glad these guys can still do their thing, and glad a nice Arena Mexico crowd still responds to it.

PAS: PAS: I am always going to be a sucker for a maestros match, and it is a treat to watch these guys perform on a bigger stage. Astro is always a bit problamatic in these as he always tries to wrestle the same athletic style he did 25 years ago, still he does break out an awesome tope and doesn't badly botch anything. Terry is a little miscast in these matches, he is less a mat wrestling wizard then an insane brawler, but he keeps up fine and I liked his role in the long submission train near the finish. Really liked Solar v. Virus, and we clearly need to check out their singles match. Loved that finish Virus pulled off to end the segunda, and Solar looked pretty springy.


2017 MOTY MASTER LIST 

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Your Adversary Yoshiaki Fujiwara Prowls Around Like a Roaring Lion, Seeking Someone to Devour

Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs. Masaaki Mochizuki Tokyo Gurentai 12/14/13 - EPIC

This is about as great a six minute match as you are going to get. This was worked on UWF rules and is a classic Fujiwara story as the sneaky veteran is taking on the powerhouse kicker. Mochizuki unloads some really big shots, organ shifting body kicks, dental work knees. Meanwhile Fujiwara was trying to survive the onslaught and look for openings. I loved how when he maneuvered Mochizuki in the corner, he mixed in some liver shots with his body shots, he knew he wasn't going to stop this beast with power, but a perfectly placed kidney shot might. Finish was an all timer, Mochizuki goes up for his rope climb knee strike and Fujiwara shifts slightly and catches his knee in almost a calf slicer and just cranks it until Mochizuki taps. After reviewing over a hundred Fujiwara matches, shocked he can still find ways to surprise me.

COMPLETE AND ACCURATE FUJIWARA

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