Found Footage Friday: CASAS~! PANTHER~! PANTERITA~! HAMADA~! ARANDU~!

Blue Panther vs. Panterita del Ring CMLL 1991

MD: Panterita took on the identity as tribute to Blue Panther and they worked this one with the level of effort and intensity you'd expect accordingly. It was chippy throughout and this was my favorite iteration of Blue Panther, that perfectly balanced rudo, able to work the mask, beg off when the time came, play to the crowd, be absolutely brutal with the outside guardrail, but really to overlay all of that over the things that Panther is known for: crispness, technical soundness, etc. It's the best of both worlds. This is a guy who could tie you in a knot but that's also going to win the second fall here with a foul just because he can, both endlessly credible and a total shitheel all at once.

Panterita was the local hero that you'd expect, meeting Panther halfway with violence in the primera, eating his beating after heel ref Guerrero held him back in the segunda, and then coming back big in the tercera leading to a series of exciting nearfalls from both wrestlers. There were no stakes here. This was a prelude to the title match and that was supposed to be prelude to an apuestas match, but between the hard shots, mask undoing, and nearfalls, they worked it like it was a bigger deal than it was, like it was a feud ender instead of a feud starter. And hey, Guerrero even got his by eating an errant Panterita dropkick which allowed another official to reluctantly come in and count for Panterita. That gave all of this the proper air of disruption and unfinished business to set up the next match. 

ER: Oh the foolish things I would do for the woman in giant hoop earrings and white bike shorts who accompanies Blue Panther to the ring. I really liked the pace of this, how quickly Panterita takes Panther out with a tope, and how fast and violent all of the strikes look. Panther throws short arm fast knife edge chops that really sting like hell, and it's one way he's able to outquick Panterita. Panterita gets a quick primera win and Panther pays him back by kneeing him in the balls in the segunda. I love how Panther is able to switch back and forth from technician to asshole, with some small elements of John Tatum panic. The fought-for sunset flips looked great, with Panterita really looking like he was trying to drag him over and Panther looking like he was constantly adjusting his weight to stop it, but it got even better when Panther was nearly screaming while holding the ropes, freaking out until Panterita got off him. And of course, whenever Panterita was separated from him, Panther would go back to being an asshole with a fresh start, ripping at his mask after Panterita was stopped from doing so before the segunda. Heel ref Guerrero takes the best bump of the match, a dropkick from Panterita sending him crashing fast to the floor with Fuerza-like speed. The nearfalls were all strong and all felt like they could actually end the match, and the Panterita huracanrana win was a legitimate surprise, with Panther throwing a fit on the house mic after. 

Negro Casas/Ponzona/Monje Negro vs. Panterita del Ring/Gran Hamada/Shibata

MD: I was super high on the two Casas vs Panterita trios from last week but this didn't quite rise to the same level. Some of that was the VQ being as rough as we've seen in this footage, but a lot of it was a lack of that single-minded focus. This was trying to have it both ways too much, threatening to boil over again and again only to settle back down to stilted exchanges. There wasn't a long beatdown or big comeback. The finish was a Casas dodging a kick and pretending to be fouled.

There was still a lot to like though. Whenever Casas and Panterita got into it, it was strong scuffling, no question. They had great chemistry. It makes me wonder if there's not some random Negro Casas vs Hombre Sin Nombre or Ephesto exchange worth tracking down. Monje Negro is a guy I want to see more of, just a hefty monk who is like a brick wall out there. We got a tease of Hamada vs Casas but just that; he carries himself with so much confidence and certainty though. And Shibata looked really good too; he's a local known for training people as varied as Hechicero and Latin Lover if I'm not mistaken. Just a competent pro. So this was fine but it I would have liked it to commit a little more either to set exchanges or the chaos of Casas vs Panterita.     

Arandu vs. Panterita del Ring CMLL 1991

MD: Again rough VQ here with some clipping of key moves, but not anything you can't look past. We didn't lose the overfall flow, just seconds here and there. Given that there were less people in the ring, it was easier to follow too. Arandu was quite the journeyman and this had the making of a provincial grudge match. We've seen enough now to know that Panterita could hold his own in the role of local hero. Arandu made a great foil for him.

Here he ambushed him from the get go, dropkicking him off the apron on his way in. He took a lot of this overall, which was good because had plenty of stuff, slams and suplexes, plenty of asserting himself and pressing his size advantage. He had Guerrero the ref to help hold Panterita's hand so he couldn't punch too (tecnicos have to act like tecnicos!), at least until an errant shot knocked the ref back and allowed for the comeback in the segunda. This led to a pretty hot tercera with a lot of dives (hit and missed) and drama, including a pretty spectacular asai moonsault from Panterita and Arundu's flip dive off the apron. Good, complete, satisfying match overall.