Lucha Worth Watching: Aeroboy vs. Aramis! Diabolicos vs. Super Pinocho/Super Raton/Super Muneco!

Aeroboy vs. Aramis MDA 2/17/19

ER: Sadly this is going to be another one of those LWW posts where I didn't actually like the match I was recommended, but wanted to write it up just to show I did the leg work and gave it an actual chance. This is one of those modern lucha matches that I absolutely despise, the kind that borrows from every single awful American indy trope and sullies my beautiful lucha with stupid suplex no sells and mirror sequences. What makes this actually worth watching is 2-3 legitimately spectacular spots peppered throughout. I don't love a lot of the stuff in between those matches, although things don't get too egregious until the back half of the match. Before we get to the "I take a nasty German suplex but it rolls me onto my feet so I run at you and hit a huge lariat but that you pop up from that lariat and hit a superkick and then the superkick bounces me into the ropes and I hit you with a superkick and then we lie on the mat selling but also I adjust my gear a ton while selling" portion of the match there was some stuff I actually enjoyed. There were a couple nice pop up ranas and headscissors early, Aeroboy hit a hard tope that smooshed up his body while crunching Aramis into the barricade, and Aramis gets thrown nicely into the ringpost. A lot of the rest is that "run into the corner and lariat me, but then I'll turn around and run right after you when you run back and hit you" kind of stuff that is a pox on modern lucha. But again, the two spectacular spots are spectacular: Aramis hits a bonkers tope, super fast, hard contact, that sends both of them smashing violently into the second row through a few fans. Later, Aeroboy is in the crowd, and Aramis climbs to the top, rope walks a few feet out on the top rope, and hits an amazing tope con giro into the crowd. The match itself never really matched those two moments, and didn't offer me a ton more than those moments, but your mileage may vary.

Romano Garcia/Gallego/Rocky Santana vs. Super Muñeco/Super Raton/Super Pinocho Sanchez 3/2/19

ER: Man I love lucha. This wasn't technically good, but it sure was enjoyable, and it had all the silly charm that really drew me to lucha 20 years ago. I think Romano Garcia is so good. He's getting older (he's literally 61!) but he has such a great brain for lucha and still knows how to put together a satisfying match, shining with a few moments worthy of being stolen by younger guys. He set up a couple comedy pratfalls including one where he really took his time before missing a planned spot, it was great. Gallego is fun too and it's cool we're getting full length Diabolicos matches in 2019. For awhile none of them were making tape, so either they all took a few years off or they just worked out of sight. Our tecnicos looked crazy, truly a collection of looks and gimmicks that could only work within lucha libre: Raton and Pinocho in particular, with their tiny little shorts and massive bellies with tight little shirts and suspenders doing some major heavy lifting. I presume that these are at least 2/3 original members, which would put them all in their late 50s/early 60s, and that's an old age to be wearing this gear. It's fun seeing old tubby guys pulling off armdrags, and I flipped out when Pinocho did a huge fat guy tope in the tercera. I mean that was just completely unexpected. It's lucha and it can be ridiculous, and it certainly gets there as Muneco steals the segunda pin while Pinocho is setting up a Vader bomb, and then to pay him back he punts Muneco right in the balls to give the match to Los Diabolicos. You have a man in his 60s dressed as a little wooden boy, kicking a clown in the balls, all for free. I love spending time with this kind of lucha.