2017 Ongoing MOTY List: Tigre Rojo v. Barbaro 1 Mascara contra Cabellera

30. Tigre Rojo v. Barbaro 1 ASR 10/15

PAS: Rojo is an old Arena Puebla technico, who is probably in his mid 50s, this is clearly his home arena (a painting of his mask is up on the wall next to Santo), so the crowd is going batshit watching him wager his mask. Barbaro is a Puebla rudo, and instead of working spots in an opening six-man they are spraying blood all over the ring, and doing dangerous dives no one this old and fat should ever try. First two falls are short and good, with both guys bleeding a bunch, but in the third fall it gets truly nuts. Babaro needs the ref's help to get to the top rope, but then he uncorks this crazy flying senton off the top onto Rojo and his seconds. Rojo responds a little later with a flying seated flip senton (imagine Fantastik or Super Astro) to the floor. By the end we get some great near falls, with the crowd going nuts. Some of the execution wasn't the cleanest, but I will forgive wonky execution when it is coated in this much blood

ER: Two fat guys enter wearing mostly blanco, leave almost entirely rojo. This is a mega bloody brawl, with some absolutely spectacular (and entirely unexpected) spots making up an all time great tercera. The primera and the segunda drew blood, big blood, and also set up great false finishes in the tercera. Barbaro crushes Rojo with a falling splash from the top to end the primera, Rojo locks in a Trauma-esque twisting figure 4. Fans are into Rojo and it's weird, I love rudos in my mainstream lucha, but I LOVE regional tecnicos. And this tercera is a real doozy. Both men are absolutely soaked in blood, and we hit an increasing level of highspots that nobody could have expected: Barbaro gets backdropped by the ref into everyone, then hits a fat guy Kamaitachi standing senton off the top to the floor through everybody. But the craziness peaks when Rojo hits a bonkers rolling senton tope to a prostrate Barbaro. Holy cow. This was way more nuts than Super Calo's rolling senton to the floor, as Calo's was done slingshot style. This was a full running tope, through the ropes, and then rolling before hitting Barbaro. If I saw someone super athletic like John Morrison or Ricochet pull of that spot, it would seem crazy. But here's a guy who - at minimum - is in his late 40s, and a chubster at that! Insane spot. We get a couple great nearfalls that were set up early in the match, with Barbaro missing moves off the top on that HARD Coliseo San Ramon mat (that falling splash is brutal hit or miss) that both seem like plausible ways to get yourself pinned. Rojo finally locks on that twisting figure 4 and adds extra leverage to the knee this time, getting the tap. This is the kind of match you dream of getting to witness live in a building like this.


2017 MOTY MASTER LIST