2018 Ongoing MOTY List: Cuatrero vs. Angel de Oro Mask vs. Mask!

53. El Cuatrero vs. Angel de Oro CMLL 3/16

ER: Fun mask match that sees Angel de Oro really step up more than I've seen from him. He showed a personality in the trios sprint the week before, really putting in some quality tecnicos work, and I think it carried over into the big apuestas match. Match starts wild with Cuatrero taking the big Sgt. Slaughter bump to the floor, with Oro attempting to vault out after him but getting matador'd right into the barricade. And that would be the story of the match. Oro was going to take flying risks knowing it was his way in, Cuatrero was going to try to send Oro into the barrier or off into the crowd. He sends him into the barricade, throws him into another barricade, crotches him on the barricade, drags him into the crowd and powerbombs him in the aisle, easily wins the primera. By the time he's ripping at Oro's mask, and Sanson is putting the boots to him from the apron (never underestimate how awesome your stomps will look when you're wearing a nice-fitting suit jacket w/ lucha mask. Sanson looked like an Ivy League valedictorian majoring in Sneaky Ass Kicking here), the fans are dying for an Oro comeback. And I think he does great with all the big spots: He hits a dive off ring entrance, beautifully times a moonsault to the floor, hits a wild handspring moonsault, and the fans are into it all. Cuatrero does get to plaster him into the barricade once more on a dive, and we get a compelling nearfall stretch run. They went to the well a couple times too many on some of the spots, but overall I thought the stretch built well, especially liked how some classic lucha spots played into nearfalls (such as Oro getting a rana with a pin, but Cuatrero smoothly rolling it through for a close call in the tercera). I didn't know who won when I watched the match, and I thought they did a great job of making it seem like any man's game down the stretch. Oro is really good at milking his unmasking, but eventually he is revealed to....look exactly like his brother, Niebla Roja. Sheesh no wonder they tossed these two into a team with Hector Garza, they all look alike (although the brothers were under masks then so it makes no sense). This was a nicely done big time stips match, with modern luchadors (i.e. guys 30 and under). Usually a mask match needs some kind of age or sympathy or legacy to get me involved, and while this didn't have those things, I thought they worked great with what they did have.

PAS: I really liked the opening of the match. I love a lucha apuestas match where the rudo dominates the Primera and Cuatrero side stepping the tope, smashing his head in the door and powerbombing him in the crowd was awesome. I also liked how Oro stole the segunda after getting beaten down. Tercera I liked less, it felt very 2018 lucha with the stage dive and a bunch of big moves. I did love Cuatrero's bullet tope which bent Oro's back. I thought Cuatrero was a great brawler early, and I would have liked to see the end be more of a war, instead of a moves match. Still this had some great moments and was a solid new generation mask match.


2018 MOTY MASTER LIST