New Footage Friday: ARKANGEL DE LA MUERTE!!! MR. NIEBLA!! TEXAS HANGMEN!! RODDY PIPER!! ADRIAN ADONIS!!

Roddy Piper/Tim Brooks vs. Adrian Adonis/Ron Starr PNW 3/31/79

MD: About ten years ago, I went back and watched all of 79-82 Portland and there are very few pro wrestling pastimes more fulfilling. This wasn't part of that collection and I think it's because it was part of the syndicated show as opposed to the live (or delayed) Saturday night one. It seems like every other match we're watching these days is "before its time," but the shine here absolutely was. Starr and Adonis basically pinballed themselves around the ring in interesting and coordinated ways to land upon Brooks' leg. Meanwhile, on the apron, Piper showed ass by bumping himself in reaction or because he tried too hard to reach for a tag. The structure was interesting here. It was absolutely heel in peril, by definition, but it didn't wear out its welcome. Part of that was because Piper never made it in, so it wasn't the babyfaces dominating both heels, which is something you never see. Right when Piper did make it in, he launched a few "karate" cheapshots and the heels took over, controlling the ring, distracting the ref, etc. They had a double clothesline behind the ref's back lead to the heel's first fall win but a dodged one led to the finish and that's the kind of callback that always works for me. So yeah, it's cliche, but this was before its time, but then a lot of things in Portland were, tag wrestling especially. If nothing else, this is worth seeing for babyface Adonis.

ER: I really love the Portland wrestling scene of the 70s and 80s, and I wish that kind of thing were sustainable today. The crowds were always really great from the footage we have, and this kind of match seems so unique to PNW. Loved Piper's extended bagpipes squawking, and it's wild to go from minutes of bagpipe practice to minutes of Tim Brooks' knee getting ripped apart. Brooks is a guy who shows up in a lot of territories and is immediately the worst guy in the territory, but I really dug the Piper/Brooks team and thought Brooks was a great addition to the match. He had this great veteran taunting rope running to before the bell, hitting the ropes too close to Adonis and Starr under the guise of warming up. Adonis and Starr had some real heavy leg work on him, both of them flying high and landing on Brook's leg. Starr even comes off the top rope onto it! Babyface Adonis is a real treat, with his feathered hair and 100 lb. lighter frame. You can see his potential for being a chubby boy, but here we get him looking like the lead singer of Grim Reaper and it rules. Piper has become one of my absolute favorite wrestlers over the past 5 years or so, someone that was hiding in plain sight for so long. His style is so great and I can't believe he wasn't recognized as a greater in-ring guy, as he's really someone with a super extended period as an excellent worker. His Portland work has such a manic energy to it, always infectious. This got a lot of time and at the end of it I wasn't left feeling that the guys had done a ton of "big" stuff, but they all knew how to nail small moments that the match just kept sustaining.

PAS: I was shocked at what a great babyface team Adonis and Starr were, for a pair of guys who rarely worked babyface and didn't seem to have a long run together, they had a bunch of smooth double teams and great shtick. I loved all of the early leg work including some great fast takedowns from both guys, and a lot of leapfroggy drops on Brooks' knee. The Russian legsweep/superfly splash combo they used to win the second fall was dope, as was all of the taunting of Piper. The in ring breakdown of heels in the match was about 80/20 in favor of Brooks, which is suboptimal. Piper is really fun getting aggravated on the apron though. Any new Piper footage is a mitzvah and this had some really nifty moments from him.

Texas Hangmen vs. Carlos Colon/TNT WWC 11/3/90

PAS: Standard southern tag match, with the added addition of a wild start and finish. I loved Puerto Rican baseball stadium brawling, and the Hangmen jump the faces in the infield and they go after each other. We even get TNT smashing a Hangman's head into home plate. The in-ring stuff was solid, including Colon getting opened up. TNT is a fun hot tag too, love his spinning kicks. Finish goes back to the dugout with El Profe running to the locker room to grab bullropes and the locker room emptying. We could have cut five or so minutes in the middle, but otherwise this was good stuff.

ER: I'm always going to love the atmosphere of a big Puerto Rico baseball stadium brawl. I'm happy with 20 minutes of punch and kick as long as you have those great visuals of rowdy people in a bleacher, people standing up from their folding chairs on the infield, you get scenes of Ferris wheels and carnival rides out past the outfield, and it's just the best wrestling vibe. The first 12 minutes of this match are just TNT and Colon beating the Hangmen pillar to post, just the Hangmen stumbling around the stadium and ring getting punched into position. TNT has a bunch of spinkick variations, a big heavy swinging leg that he uses a bunch in control and during a late match comeback, his big leaping kick, big savate kicks and superkicks, punches with dramatically long follow through, and the Hangmen served as great punching and kicking bags. Colon is a ball of energy that is impossible to root against, too easy to feed off the crowd's reactions to him. Every time he or even TNT got any kind of a strike against the Hangmen, the crowd exploded. Colon is an animated puncher, a violent take on the classic dancing babyface, someone with a good foot shuffle and leapfrog to lead to a big coconut crush headbutt, and the fans losing it for all of his movements makes it so much better. Colon gets busted open, the Hangmen (Bull Pain among them) are good kick punchers themselves, and the match gets even more electric when they roll back out to the infield. Castillo and Los Medics running in front the outfield to break up Profe's bullrope choking was a spectacular wrestling moment, we get a great pull apart with the locker room, all of it is pro wrestling eye candy.

MD: I thought this had a great atmosphere, with the stadium crowd being up for almost everything, and bookended by the wild brawling out of the ring. Right from the start, we have Colon slamming a Hangman's head into home plate which is maybe the best way to start any match in the history of wrestling. I loved how TNT and Colon worked together for merciless shine. I've seen Abby in this (very Memphis) role as the absolute extreme of a partner Colon can unite with, but TNT brought the crazy kicks and mobility while keeping all of the manic unpredictability. Meanwhile, Colon was running around with a fork, preemptively, like he was Abby. It's Puerto Rico so both transitions involved low blows, but the Hangmen's control section was good, even if they were more sound and solid than violent and brutal like the match probably warranted. TNT's hot tag was cut off and cooled down a bit since they had to wait for Colon to recover and set up the end brawling. The bullrope beatdown and post match with the faces trying to keep Colon and TNT from going after the Hangmen off the field all really worked for me. Just good PR spectacle with a solid foundation.

Mr. Niebla/Oriental/Tsubasa vs. Arkangel De La Muerte/Zumbido/El Engima CMLL Japan 8/13/98

PAS: CMLL Japan was such a fun promotion, with a bunch of cool 90s luchadores just going all out for short Nitro lucha matches. Man it is easy to forget what an absolute athletic marvel young Mr. Neibla was. He was just flying all over the ring with really impressive pop and height on everything he did. Loved his feint into an over the turnbuckle tope, great vertical leap, would have loved to see what his combine numbers were. Zumbido and Arkangel were really great rudos (Zumbido shows up in shows around Denver and still fucking rules) and I always loved the way Zumbido's mullet would spin along with his dives. Enigma (who we think is a young Mazda) has some nice moments, but almost dies on a tope when his feet get caught. Good stuff, and I am looking forward to digging into more of the new stuff they are uploading.

MD: 9 minutes of all action, big dumb lucha spectacle with no real narrative but lots of bodies flying around. Of these guys, I think I'm least familiar with Enigma and I thought he comported himself well, in his opening exchange with Tsubasa and then eating all of Oriental and Tsubasa's tandem stuff. Plus he had the makings of a rolling Northern Lights Suplex sequence. Zumbido was charismatic as ever. There's not a lot you can do storywise in nine minutes though I guess I did sort of appreciate the 30 seconds of Arkangel putting Niebla in holds before a micro comeback and the dive train/finish. It's amazing what you can do with even the tiniest bit of glue.

ER: Love CMLL Japan, Phil is right that it's always sprint Nitro lucha, and it's always filled with guys who had enough fun spots to fill a Nitro lucha match. Niebla was such a king during the late 90s, super graceful height on everything and a willingness to die on dives and bumps. He jogs lightly around the ring to laughs from the crowd before slingshotting himself effortlessly over the top in a wild torpedo of a dive. Zumbido is a top 20 favorite luchador for me, a great rudo with huge bumps and spectacular highspots, whip crack strikes and tight rolling. His mullet flows in mesmerizing ways while his tassel pants are among the best in wrestling history, making every Zumbido roll through look like a crashing wave. Arkangel does rudo in Japan well, and here he's the big bumper in a match filled with them, taking a super high backdrop from Niebla, crashing on arm drags, and taking dives. We get several big dives to the floor: Tsubasa hits an Asai moonsault that flattens Enigma, we get a sloppy-but-reckless fun dive train with Enigma catching feet and faceplanting, Tsubasa almost breaking both ankles flying over Zumbido with a somersault senton, Zumbido hits a wild dive on Niebla that sends him face first into the 2nd row, Enigma mans up a mere 15 seconds after crashing on his dive and sinks a perfect catch on a big Oriental moonsault to the floor, all action that feels wholly like CMLL Japan. I love when stuff shows up there, always a must watch for me. 1998 was the first year I got into lucha so this era and these guys have major nostalgia for me, and it's always great to see how it holds up.

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Mas Niebla, Segunda Parte

Mr. Niebla/Solar/Oriental vs. Zumbido/Arkangel de la Muerte/Ultimo Guerrero CMLL Japan 8/15/99

ER: CMLL Japan is some of the most consistently fun and excellent stuff out there. CMLL late 90s/early 00s workers were so talented that they could head to Japan in the middle of the week to break off a couple shows filled with 20 minute Michinoku Pro matches as if that was an easy style to work within. There were too many great moments to count, a bunch of chain spots and constant action with a swiftly rotating set of partners. Zumbido was a real standout, and Arkangel clearly tried to work up to the crazy level of Zumbido (and Arkangel always excels at these Japan trios) by taking the bump of the match when he redefines the Cassandro ringpost bump and takes some fast forward flipping nonsense right past it. Later he hits a big dive, just a guy really peaking a performance. Zumbido moves with such grace and has that Tony Hawk hangtime, love him getting upended, vaulted over the top to the floor, and sprawling backwards out through the ropes. Solar/Zumbido is a fun smooth legend vs. smooth punk battle, and we got some wild armdrags and confident basing throughout. These CMLL Japan trios are always all killer no filler, guys working a real go go style to get big pops. This was as great as expected.


Mask vs. Mask: Mr. Niebla vs. Mr. Niebla CMLL 8/20/99

ER: Phil wrote this match up the night of Niebla's passing, and before he brought it up to me that day I had no memory of a Niebla vs. Niebla feud. I was a big Mr. Mexico fan, had no memory of him ever working as fake Niebla. This must have happened during that period where I knew lucha existed but had yet to start recording it weekly on Galavision, but it couldn't have happened that much earlier. The match is only 8 minutes and una caida, but it's fun while it lasts. Dr. Wagner spouts a lot of BS before the bell and they jump OG Niebla, but Niebla comes back and goes for a dive...that leads to him backsplashing the floor and sliding into the front row like he was Chris Hamrick. And from there we go right to the home stretch, right into the nearfalls, but even with the short build within the match itself I was into them, having now watched several weeks of the fake Niebla being a preening dick, strutting around and taking cheapshots. The nearfalls were good, like a tight victory roll cradle from Niebla, and we got a nice Niebla moonsault before missing another. The pinfalls were good and the chaos of having two twins (albeit one with a much tighter physique) really added to the fun confusion of the finishing stretch for me, the match ending with the impostor Niebla getting locked in Nieblina, and amusingly staying trapped in it for a minute after the loss. Earlier in the match Alfonso Morales had brought up Alfred Hitchcock, no doubt playing upon the fears of every man in so many Hitchcock films: Niebla an impersonated and wronged man, an impostor doing misdeeds in his name, the evil of himself made flesh while those in the cheap seats can't always tell the two sides apart. And then I saw all those familiar front row Arena Mexico faces that aren't there anymore: The old rudo fan with the bell, the old man who looks like a cartoon mouse, the bald man whose workouts are focused entirely on his chest, the older woman with an underbite who frequently admonishes rudos (and was sporting a nice green dress on the occasion of this apuestas match), and then I got sad.

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Arkangel, One Day Later, Still RIP

Arkangel de la Muerte vs. Solar  CMLL 10/17/00

ER: Arkangel maestro train rolls on. We lost one angel of death yesterday, but today the circle of life continues as we celebrate the day of birth of another one. This was a match I'd never seen and didn't know existed, a fun quick paced match in front of a hot Coliseo crowd (featuring my two favorite beloved old man lucha fans, who I assume have since left us, but regularly showed up on my lucha viewings for 15 years and were likely around long before I noticed them). We get an awesome quick tap in the primera, with Solar locking on a trippy trapped arm standing abdominal stretch, bending part of Arkangel's body one way while grinding and forcing his jaw the other. Arkangel sells it on the mat afterwards like he's been sleeping and someone punched him awake, just sitting on the mat confused about why his jaw was so sore. I got to see Solar live a few months ago and he's still a treat, but here he's just in peak physical form and dazzles with his lucha grace and vicious snap. Solar's cradles are so smooth and have a bunch of different mechanisms working in different directions, like a graceful Rube Goldberg machine. Arkangel really helps Solar look like a master controller of leverage, taking huge flying bumps off a Solar kickout, backdrop, and massive armdrag off the top that throws Arkangel most of the way across on the hard as hell Coliseo ring. I loved Arkangel's big bump off a Solar kickout, flying off him like Bigelow throwing Spike, made it look like Solar knew how to properly leverage his weight and explosiveness for maximum effect. Arkangel isn't going to outclass him so he opts to just rough him up like a bully, blasting him with a cutting running elbow, hard downward angle punches, sharp back elbows, one of his stiffest clotheslines I've seen, just a 2x4 to Solar's chest, and also tossing him around with his nice Northern Lights and big powerbombs. This was a really cool match up, nice and tidy and with a bunch of rewarding moments. And cut to my dear old man ringing his rudo bell after the match.


Arkangel de la Muerte/Negro Casas vs. Virus/Solar  Dragon Mania 5/28/16

ER: Jesus this was 2016, nobody else has this unclipped? No camera phones? Estrellas del Ring seems to exist just to be assholes who exist only to taunt us with 2-4 minute clips of awesome lucha matches that nobody else has. Ooooooo a new Mr. Condor match? Oh, it's just 2 minutes of it and it looks incredible. Kewl. So we get 5 minutes of this match, and not a single second of it is anything less than awesome. One thing I love about lucha is that 47 year old Virus can be the youngest guy in the match and it will only make me more excited to see it. And these guys were clearly in a mood to GO. I can say with no hyperbole that this was the best I've seen Solar look all decade. He moved like a man half his age, never let Arkangel up for air during their run together, breaking out a couple cool ankle picks that saw him already rolling into a sub before Arkangel had even landed, and then peaking with a gorgeous head drag takeover, locking Arkangel's right arm under his own leg and rolling him into this beautifully tangled mess of a lucha submission. It happened so quickly and looked so smooth and painful, like he was forcing Arkangel to headbutt his own taint. They trade fast armdrags, Casas gets in there and Solar is jumping onto buckles, over the ropes, flipping back into the ring, and my jaw was dropped the entire time. Casas brings tremendous energy and presence to everything, and he works so many cool strike and missed strike exchanges, coming up with a couple cool ones here. This match from the 5 minutes we see looks like an absolutely legendary, it's pretty much worse to know this happened. But, we get a tasty 5 minute slice of something glorious, and we get to fall asleep tonight wondering if it is better to have loved and lost, or to never have seen Solar pretzel Arkangel. 18 stars.

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RIP Angel of Death

Arkangel De La Muerte vs. Pantera CMLL 9/21/99

ER: We purposely made the title of this post misleading so that we could clickbait some guy who was looking forward to us finally reviewing Angel of Death vs. John Tatum from Global. But seriously, Arkangel de la Muerte is one of the first names I thought of when I think of guys who I discovered because of the DVDVR 500. I would go through the top 100 and write down names of any guys I didn't know, and actively seek out matches from all of them. In the late 90s that lead me to Arkangel (a couple years later that would lead me to Michael Todd Stratton/Todd Morton), and what I saw I instantly liked. He always felt like a cool fusion of luchador with southern asskicking heel. He bumped generously, threw stiff arm lariats and cool scoop powerbombs, but would also roll on the mat and hit fast dives. He pretty quickly became a guy I would always seek out. And I liked what he brought here against Pantera. Pantera was going to be bringing the flash, and he does, with a beautiful springboard tope con hilo and various rana and headscissor combinations.

But there were two big moments where Arkangel showed who he was, showed why his game was respected. He bumps generously and amusingly on two big Pantera spots where Pantera either half assed or quit early on. Pantera hits a big leaping rana off the top, but it's really going through the motions, making no attempt to actually look like his legs and momentum are whipping Arkangel off the top, just doing an impression of a big rana. But Arkangel launches himself halfway across the ring off that loose shrug of a rana. To end the primera Pantera hits his gorgeous inverted headscissors on the apron, except his ankles don't actually land on Arkangel's shoulders and instead he basically gives Arkangel double knees to the back of the head before crashing across the edge of the apron. But Arkangel takes this majestic sprawling bump, launching himself off the apron sideways and rolling across the floor, kicking his legs spasmodically, and keeps kicking them as he's rolled back in the ring, and keeps kicking them the whole time he's getting pinned. I've seen Pantera hit that spot cleaner dozens of times, but due to Arkangel's selling I'm sure that nobody in the arena was thinking about Pantera not hitting it clean. We get some lucha that I miss, like Pantera slamming Arkangel and looking to the crowd to see if he should go up top, before opting not to. And we get several nice Arkangel moments: a picture perfect stomp to Pantera's ear in the tercera (his real ear, and his panther ear), those quick release scoop powerbombs I love (and that he was still using in the last match I saw him), a nice seated powerbomb to win, nice full extension senton with great snap and style, and a fast full force tope into the aisleway that was my favorite spot of the match. I've always loved Arkangel as a kind of lucha Finlay, and he'll always be a guy I go back and watch. I noticed him start to slow down noticeably in matches last year, and I hope he was not in much pain during his last year on Earth. At minimum I'm glad he got a long, respected career.

PAS: There aren't a ton of long Arkangel singles matches, and it is cool to watch him work a long title match. Pantera is definitely the more flashy of the two guys, but this was clearly a match controlled and put together by Arkangel, Eric mentioned him covering for some of Pantera's iffy execution, and this was a Lil B level based god performance. That bump he took on the semi blown headscissors to the floor was awesome and nasty. I also loved a lot of the little things he brought to the match, his straight arm clothesline looks like he is hitting a guy with a baseball bat, and that tope was truly awesome as was Pantera's bump. What a pro Arkangel was, the ultimate mechanic, put him anywhere on the card and he is going to look good and make everyone around him look good.


Arkangel vs. El Hijo Del Santo CMLL 11/17/95

ER: What an all time great WorldWide match. This is under 4 minutes and part of a tournament, but is absolute rolling fire. It starts hot with Santo locking on several of his incomparable crossed ankle headscissors, rolling Arkangel through in a few cool ways as Ark kicks and flails out of pain and frustration. Santo also hits a sweet rolling piledriver/headscissors takedown that I don't think I've ever seen, and we get cool moments of Arkangel trying to spread and put pressure on Santo's hips, dropping headbutts on Santo's stomach, and getting caught in more headscissors. There's a great moment where Santo goes for one of his kneelifts and Arkangel catches him and deadlifts him into a back suplex, and the tope Arkangel hits is absolutely 10 stars, looks like he practically broke Santo's jaw with a flying lariat. But as always, Arkangel is giving, and Santo hits a beautiful tope headbutt into the ring, with Arkangel taking this awesome bump, spinning around and landing face first on the mat before eating the camel clutch. I've never seen these two work together and this really should be considered a legendary sprint.

PAS: Very neat short match, lucha tournament wrestling is usually pretty lame, but this was a blast. The little teases of matwork here make me feel like there is some untaped long classic between the two, loved all of the work Arkangel working the core and thighs and his rolling back elbow into a missile tope was dope. I like how much Santo let him shine in a short match, he may have lost quick, but he looked great.

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Lucha Worth Watching: CMLL in Japan, 1998

Somebody uploaded a few matches from a 1998 CMLL Japan tour, and none of them have been released before now. Let's check 'em out!

El Hijo Del Santo vs. Fishman  CMLL Japan 8/22/98 

ER: Wow what a treat. I don't think this match has ever seen the light of day before now, it's the only listed singles match between the two, and it's really good. Fishman is in his late 40s and spry, Santo is in his mid 30s and the greatest. Santo is so fluid and graceful, but hits hard, lighting up Fishman with great chops the whole match. Just a couple minutes in and Santo already hits a gorgeous dive to the floor, landing far away from the ring, just crazy distance on a dive you knew was going to land you on a gym floor. I wish we could have seen more of the crowd brawling, as it's filmed semi-handheld style and the guy doesn't move, so you hear a bunch of crashing but only see bits and pieces. Still neither man hesitates to throw stiff blows and what we can see is good. The in-ring work is gold, with Fishman taking a nice backdrop bump to start (and Santo later taking an even higher, more graceful one), and I was really struck by the violence of Santo's knees, just the best kneelifts and flying knee strikes, done with a luchador's grace but the end result still being a sharp knee getting driven into Fishman. We get an awesome battle over the camel clutch, with Fishman bringing excellent struggle, twisting to get his arms free, Santo working for it and turning it into a twisting cravate, rolling it back into a nasty seated surfboard, all great stuff. And after another crowd brawl Santo even hits a rolling senton off the apron to a freshly bodyslammed Fishman. The finish is a great one, as Fishman is beating Santo in the ropes, undoes his mask, ties it to the top rope, and continues beating on him. He walks away to soak up the boos, and Santo merely removes that mask to reveal that he was wearing ANOTHER MASK, and gets a surprise roll up. Dude just wrestled a match wearing two masks, just for a cool finish. Legendary status.

PAS: Fishman was always a guy with a great reputation, who looked completely washed every time he showed up on tape. I remember when I did commentary on a lucha TV pilot in Monterey around the time of this match, Fishman was the worst guy on the show. Here though he is the spriest I have seen him, he is throwing pretty hard shots and bumping around. It is a little glance at why he has such a great reputation. Santo is of course brilliant, people mainly think of how graceful he is, but he isn't afraid to brawl and really lays it in Fishman. Loved that finish, what a fun BS twist on a wrestling trope. Feels like the kind of thing Eddie Guerrerro might come up with.

El Hijo Del Santo/Atlantis/Lizmark/Mr. Niebla/Rey Bucanero/Mano Negra Jr./Tsubasa/Ultraman Jr. vs. Satanico/Arkangel de la Muerte/Ultimo Guerrero/Fishman/Black Warrior/Tortuga/Super Cacao/Pirata Morgan  CMLL Japan 8/23/98

ER: A lot of this wasn't very good. It was not a cibernetico, instead it was worked like an All Japan battle royal, only it didn't have the alliances of the best AJPW battle royals, and the comedy didn't land as well. We did get an amusing early dogpile spot, with Arkangel and Santo really leaping up on top of a big pile only to have Tortuga eventually crawl out of the bottom unscathed (I assume because he has a tough turtle shell). Santo is probably the most active throughout, but the eliminations all come immediately from guys either taking one move or getting in one loose sub. BUT, Atlantis and Santo are the final two, and we get a 5 minute sprint between the two of them, and they aren't guys who ever had a singles match at this point (and I still think their only singles match is the 2005 Leyenda de Plata finals). So we get a big Santo dive and a somersault senton, and the handheld up close camera work really shows how damn hard those bodyslams are. Every bump is loud and painful, and the struggles over the camel clutch are all great. But my favorite moments is after the match, when Santo finally traps Atlantis in the clutch, and Atlantis is lying on his stomach holding his back......Santo then begins standing on Atlantis' back and buttocks to help with his back pain!! THAT is an awesome wrestling moment that I have never seen before, making all of this totally worth it.

Arkangel de la Muerte/Ultimo Guerrero/Fishman vs. Atlantis/Lizmark/Mano Negra Jr.  CMLL Japan 8/23/98

ER: A fairly by the numbers trios that picks up a bit down the stretch, but is mostly kept to the same marriage partners throughout (Arkangel/Negra, UG/Lizmark, and Atlantis/Fishman), working what feels like a CMLL house show match. But that's not a bad thing. My favorite combo was Lizmark/UG as it was fun seeing UG work some mat tricks that he basically stopped doing after 2002, he had this neat takedown where he wrapped Lizmark's arm around his own neck and then rolled backwards, taking Lizmark down with him, he takes a super high late rotation backdrop, and late in the match he even goes for a moonsault (and almost lands on his shoulder). Arkangel working with Negra is fun with both hitting cool leaping armdrags, and peaking with Negra hitting a mammoth tornillo over the ringpost to the floor that I really didn't think he had in him. Late 40s Lizmark and Fishman were far more lively than I remember them being, and while this never attempted to go into 3rd gear, it was solid work and a fun historical piece.

Now let's just hope this person uploads the Hijo Del Santo/Rey Bucanero match that happened on this tour...

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Lucha Worth Watching: Templario + Metalico, Dinamitas vs. Pierroth Familia

Templario/Metalico/Arkangel vs. Astral/Pegasso/Starman (CMLL 10/3/17)

ER: Who is Templario and why do I need to watch so many more of his undercard matches!? I have never seen him before (though I think he only recently started showing up on occasional Arena Mexico undercards, so I don't think I've missed tons), and he's like a 4th Dinamita. He works really fast in this match, bumping big for the tecnicos, but gives as he gets: he's a guy who will whip fast on an armdrag but also snap one off. I'm not sure I've ever seen Astral look better working fast mat exchanges and quick rope running than here opposite Templario. They matched up most of the match and I came away really impressed. The best was in the tercera when he took and awesome somersault bump through the ropes to the floor after getting faked out by Astral, then perfectly catching Astral's gorgeous handspring rana to the floor (where he vaults from in ring, handsprings off the apron, and flips into a rana). He fit in great with best buds Arkangel and Metalico, always quick with a save (and throwing nice clubbing forearms during saves). Metalico's ham was especially delicious here. He comes out wearing tattered office attire and carrying a rocking horse. Why? For he is Metalico. Later he kisses a woman in the front row. And this was no grandma kiss, he planted one on her lips, lips that have kissed before but never so publicly, paying attention to her, noticing her nice sequined dress, telling her with his eyes that she looks good for her age, making her sister giggle and the woman herself blush and wave it away. The cameras cut to a young lady holding a baby. One might think that lucha camera crews just like cutting to cute ladies. One might also think that this camerawork was implying that this particularly lady was just another in a long line of ladies who have been gifted a child by Metalico. Later, he would eyeball the big butt of the tercera ring card girl. Later still, he would take a nice bump on the floor from a slick Pegasso headscissors. The rudos got each others' backs, I loved the three of them stomping the flipping tecnicos, and again, this was the best my memory can recall Astral looking, and it sure felt like it was because of his dance partner: Templario, my new dreamboat with horrible torso tattoos.

Cuatrero/Sanson/Forastero vs. Mistico/Dragon Lee/Comandante Pierroth (CMLL 11/24/17)

ER: This was the finals of a mini tournament that included teams made up of dinasties. You had the Panther family, The Munoz family, the Dinamitas, Felino's family, fun little concept and I love the family tradition in lucha. All styles of wrestling obviously have generations, but the family aspect in lucha seems to be more much powerfully respected in lucha. This is super fun and energetic, with the Munoz family all being heels. I've seen Lee work rudo with Rush on an indy show, but I don't recall seeing Mistico and Lee working rudo on CMLL TV, with their nefarious father. The Dinamitas work tecnico for the first time I've seen, and it's funny as they don't really wrestle any differently, but they're now doing their offense against three guys acting like dicks, so the fans are into it. Munoz familia has some great bullshit in the primera, with the three of them working a new twist on their soccer ball volleying as they instead play a little game of baseball with Lee tossing an invisible head to Mistico who blasts it for a home run, holding the pose. Later, Pierroth fakes the crowd into thinking he'd actually attempt a dive, and ends up slowly bouncing off and flopping through a somersault to pose like Burt Reynolds in Vanity Fair or Shawn Michaels in Playgirl with the belt (which I believe was used as Segunda Caida's masthead from 2007-2008, before I joined). The Dinamitas are all lanky and mean, which makes them seem like valiant tecnicos. I love their catapult monkey flip spot that flings Cuatrero fast and upside down into the corner. They do axe handle attacks and act as great bases for Mistico and Lee, and there's something about rudos doing gracious highflying that seems deliciously disingenuous. It feels like showing someone up, flashy hubris, even if it's done the exact same when they're tecnicos. The rules force the concept force the perception. Lee hits a wild rana leaping from the ring to grab Cuatrero on the apron, with Cuatrero flipping onto the floor. Cuatrero is the best. Naturally Rush comes sliming out at one some point, and I know they rarely do 8 mans but add Rush to one side and Masacara Ano Dos Mil to the other and I'd love to see that. There's mask yanking and shenanigans, but you knew that. This was a real fun role reversal, well worth the time.

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Lucha Worth Watching: Panthers & Dinamitas & Metalico, Oh My!

Blue Panther Jr./The Panther/Blue Panther vs. Sanson/Cuatrero/Mascara Ano 2000 (CMLL 6/6/17)

ER: I love this feud! New guys are always stepping up depending on the match, you never know who the star is going to be but they always treat the match up like a big deal. BP was fired up crazy eyes tecnico, Mascara was amusing rudo stooge, and all the sons ramped up the meanness. My favorite thing about this match was all of the great pinfall saves, especially from the Panthers. Panther runs in to break up a pin by kicking Sanson in the eye, Jr. runs in and just fully double stomps to break up a pin, and it went on like that the whole match! I loved 2000 playing chicken, actually running around the ring and hiding behind the ref to prevent being touched. BP looked like he was having a blast during their showdowns. All the Panthers hit dives, but they always do that. This might have been the most impressed overall I've been by the Panther clan, as the kids brought more than just dives and really seemed to be gelling as a team. Cuatrero dialed back the crazy bumps and instead worked in and around all the Panther clan's offense, and I think he's really great at that type of thing. Sanson brought more offense, thought the clip towards the end of he and Jr. running to attack in opposite corners came off great, that kind of thing can usually seem cheesy. They also structured falls differently that you see from most CMLL trios matches. You didn't get three pinfalls/subs happening all at once, you would get scattered pinfalls that didn't mean the end of a fall, which is far more exciting. Like Brazo kids vs. Villano kids, this is a match up I'm always going to go out of my way to see.

Metalico/Sangre Azteca/Arkangel vs. Oro Jr./Principe Diamante/Star Jr. (CMLL 6/13/17)

ER: Metalico gets us off on the right note by driving out on a constantly stalling motorcycle (that gets pushed at one point), dressed up like a highway patrolman cosplaying Mussolini. His entrances are wonderful low budget Sakuraba. And in the primera we get some fun and uncommon matwork with him working over Diamante, and he shows that his grudge against Oro for taking his mask is not any less than it was 3 years ago. Sangre Azteca ties Oro up in some really great knots,  my favorite being his backpack full nelson maneuvered into a nasty octopus hold. And every time Oro starts to reverse the tide, Metalico comes in and kicks or slaps him back into Azteca's advantage. Diamante and Star each try springboard moonsaults to the floor, but Azteca yanks Star's legs and Metlalico clotheslines Diamante right in the shins, both of them take great chin first bumps into the apron. The segunda is filled with rudos holding tecnicos prone so Azteca can dropkick and elbow drop them in the taint, and we get other fun moments throughout the tercera: A neat midair flip headscissors from Star, a tornado lariat from Arkangel; I especially liked a little moment where Star went to snapmare Metalico and Metalico held onto the ropes to reverse it. I love that kind of stuff. It all builds to a showdown with Metalico/Star Jr. in the tercera. Every time Metalico had battered Oro, Star had run in at his defense, always backing Metalico down. When they finally go at it it's really fun. Metalico ends up hitting a weird bearhug overhead suplex to get the win, and while Oro sits on the mat in disbelief at the loss, Metalico helps him out to the floor by booting him in the chest.

Blue Panther/Rey Cometa/Titan vs. Hechicero/Morphosis/Rey Bucanero (CMLL 6/13/17)

ER: I'm sure I've seen Panther and Hechicero match up before, but it feels like something I haven't seen in several years, and even then I don't know if I've ever seen this much of them together. Hechicero is super generous and Panther looks like he belongs, and the two have a few of the most fun sequences I've seen in a couple months. The primera ends with those two going at it, Hechicero being the aggressor with Panther rolling through with cool counters, getting some slow counter matwork with Hechicero showing off his strength, Panther holding onto armbars even while Hechicero is standing up and propping BP on his head, culminating in Panther rolling through to wristlock that bends Hechicero's forearm back over his bicep, and Hechicero is still smarting from that lock in the segunda. We get some fine Cometa headscissors and a nice rana off the apron to Bucanero. Bucanero looks extremely sluggish but still catches fine. It's obviously been a day since I've seen Morphosis, since I haven't seen him unmasked until now. He mainly stays out of things, throws some big time chops at Titan, and then catches a huge top rope springboard moonsault to the floor towards the end. But I was too busy waiting to see more Panther/Hechicero, and we got another nice run with Panther again showing he can keep up. Hechicero grabs a waist lock, Panther runs him into the ropes, sends him rolling with a back to front armdrag, gets run into the corner and hits a pretty headscissors that sends Hechicero rolling to the floor, and completes a happy Saturday morning for me. Those two were the center of the match, which naturally makes it essential viewing for me - and hopefully you.

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Metalico, Policeman & Arkangel: Three Friends Doing a Bit

Metalico, Policeman & Arkangel vs. Tigre Rojo Jr., Arkalis & Millenium (CMLL 1/2/17)

ER: Metalico and Policeman and Arkangel may be my favorite three wrestlers who are usually in matches that aren't very good. And here we have the three of them teaming for what is - at least from what I could tell - the first time, on tape. And they work it like three friends doing a bit. I don't know much about the tecnicos. Rojo seems the most rounded out of the bunch. Millenium is either working a gimmick 17 years expired, or 983 years into the future. Judging by his 2000 Scoot Andrews offense I think it's the former. Arkalis was also in this match. It doesn't matter because it's the rudos who are the stars. Policeman comes out literally brandishing a firearm. He just walks to the ring, unholsters his pistol and just starts aiming it around the arena, as if he was clearing the room. When he gets to the ring Tirantes politely asks him to hand over the weapon, and he does, which makes me laugh more than it should. Please, do not book Policeman in a No DQ match. We need referees to be allowed to take his firearm. Metalico comes out dressed in tan resort wear, looking like someone who would be lounging around the pool at Elliott Gould's house in the 70s. And the three of them proceed to work a few bits, like you do. 

Arkangel is amusing as the guy nonchalantly directing traffic, you can see him lightly waving Policeman into position a few times. Policeman is a generous bumper with some nice strikes, a guy I'm happy is showing up more often. Metalico is the real ham, and I love some of his bits. My favorite is the one after the primera, with his team losing, and he just runs out of the ring down the ramp, out of danger, to avoid eating a pinfall, then trips and falls on his face. He later does a couple variations on the Eddie Guerrero/Hector Garza "head down, eyes averted, hands behind my back" sheepish weenie. You couldn't possibly hit meeeeee, could you? Metalico throws weird lariats, comically puts boots to guys who have wronged him, laughs when Arkangel hits a sharp back elbow, does a dozen spit takes, plays to the crowd in a way a lot of guys don't do any longer; he's a guy working several bits with friends. Rojo eats a couple lariats in nasty fashion (again, he is the only tecnico here that looked like a keeper), Arkalis tries to throw a couple armdrags that don't look great, Millenium gets minimal height on a rana, but nobody watched this for the tecnicos. These three rudos have a shtick, and it's not one I'm anywhere close to tired of seeing. You get the sense that they know each other well, get the sense they have some in-jokes, all due to knowing the same lucha language. Like a roommate who can walk into your bedroom eating a bowl of cereal without announcing himself and you're totally fine with it, such are Metalico, Arkangel and Policeman.

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MLJ: Barbaro Cavernario Spotlight 2: Leo, Metatrón, Stigma vs Arkángel de la Muerte, Bárbaro Cavernario, Skándalo

Aired 2012-09-22
taped 2012-09-18 @ Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
Leo, Metatrón, Stigma vs Arkángel de la Muerte, Bárbaro Cavernario, Skándalo

The first Cavernario trios that we have online was only a few weeks after the last match. Stigma I've seen before but I'm not very familar with Metatron or Leo. They're mid-to-bottom of the card tecnicos that get more play regionally than in Arena Mexico, from as best as I can tell. Cavernario took Leo's mask back in July of 2012. Arkangel de la Muerte we've seen before and  Skandalo (who has a pretty crazy look) is his stablemate of Los Guerreros Taureg which was a spin off of Pandilla Guerrera which was the Guerreros del Infierno sub-group, so it all ties together, somehow. Stigma and Skandalo are brothers, which is always fun.

This was a perfectly fine mid-card match (of a card which had a title match between Olimpico and Diamante and Prince Devitt in the main event trios), though it didn't have the sort of snap I like in comebacks and there were some definite moments of awkardness that you kind of expect more out of the younger and lower-card wrestlers. It was partially made up for by everyone working hard and a couple of really big spots. Skandalo and Leo began with a decent effort at mat work, but one that never really got past collaborative to competitive and could have been smoother. Arkangel showed tons of character against Stigma, who eventually got the better of him, right until he sent both Arkangel and Skandalo out with a headscissors/armdrag combo and went for a dive. They caught him and punished him on the floor, which was a great cut off spot to end the tecnico shine sequence and one that I wish we saw more often. 

From there the beat down was in full effect and Cavernario worked well with his partners for it. They had some fun tandem offense including pulling the legs of Leo apart so that Arkangel could drop a second rope elbow, and did a good job of using distraction and diversions to keep on top of the fresh tecnicos whenever they entered. the finish was a nutty alley oop out past a power bomb position and over the shoulders on poor Leo, who when he was in mid air, fell prey to a top rope Cavernario dropkick. Great looking spot. 

The beat down continued into the segunda, including Cavernario charging over people on the outside and more diversions and cut offs on the fresher tecnicos upon entry. Eventually Cavernario would miss a corner splash and the tecnicos would storm back, both in and out of the ring. It felt more disjointed than wild but again, the effort was there. This ended with Cavernario taking a rana through the ropes, and then eating a massive and beautiful step up inside-out tope con hilo by Stigma, and Metatron and Leo hitting their finishers within the ring. 

The tecera was mostly a reset with the pairings getting to work each other again. Some of the what stood out was Stigma's nice little rope-draped sell of a shot, Cavernario's really cool clothesline-into-a-backbreaker where he just got his knee forward as his opponent falls, Stigma's contrived but entertaining flippy offense against Skandalo and Cavernario, and the tiger driver that he finished Cavernario off with. Stigma looked pretty impressive out of the tecnicos, enough so that I want to go back and watch his title match against Virus from this year. They ended it with a weird video cut: the tecnicos had things under control but a distraction allowed the eliminated Cavernario to slip back in to foul, though we never really got to see it clearly.

Certainly another good showing from Cavernario, especially acting as a base for Stigma, working well with his partners, and bringing a great intensity to the beat down. I think, if anything, he works better in a trios setting because he doesn't have to carry the matwork (which isn't a matter of talent but character) as much and can fit into a broader ebb and flow. I'm looking forward to seeing more of his development into 2013.

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MLJ: Hijo del Santo vs Blue Panther 11: El Hijo Del Santo & Mil Mascaras vs. Blue Panther & Arkangel de la Muerte

Taped 1/28/01 @ All Japan
El Hijo Del Santo & Mil Mascaras vs. Blue Panther & Arkangel de la Muerte

This is a very specific sort of lucha match. I know this because I've seen the sort before. I would call this almost more of an exhibition than a match. It was in front of a large (though apparently disappointing) All Japan Egg Dome crowd for a monumental Baba Memorial show which also had the Hansen retirement ceremony. It was the third match a card that also had Rotunda, Hennig, Windham, Liger, Funk, Onita, Abdullah, and Kamala on it. It was celebratory and was meant to be celebratory.

It was also sort of a parody and exactly what you'd expect. I say parody because the difference between Mil and Santo was night and day. To the crowd, Mil was the bigger star. They were excited for his elaborate costume in his entrance, for the first time he got into the ring, for his big plancha towards the end of the match. I'd go so far as to say that he tried in his pairing against Arkangel. He had good reason considering how Panther and Santo started the match.

By this point I've seen the two of them work against each other a number of times. They may have been flashier or more energetic earlier in their careers, but by this point, with Santo at 37 and Panther at 40, they were absolutely masters of their craft. The opening matwork jumped off the screen. There was a sense of elaboration and complexity, both in moves and counters, but none of it felt collaborative. There was always a sense of struggle, yet such direction and momentum. At no point did they have to compromise on either smoothness nor competitiveness. It's the sort of stuff I could watch all day. In their second exchange, they had some headscissors spots that were just out of this world. The match didn't have much else, but it definitely had this.

So, as I said, when it was time for Mil to have a go at it, he tried, but he tried in a very Mil Mascaras sort of way. He gave Arkangel absolutely nothing. Instead he bullied him from one hold to the next. There was no ebb and flow. There was no back and forth. I wouldn't even call it shine because there's at least an aura of competition there. It was squash. There wasn't any heat to the match. The rudos got to take over on Santo for maybe fifteen or twenty seconds here or there, but when you have a lucha tag match with no heat, you have a match with no drama, with no heart or meaning or weight. It was also a match with a ref who wasn't part of the program. After Santo's first tope suicida the match just stopped. The dives work in trios matches because they serve to create shifts in the action. They're page breaks, built to and then allowing for something else to begin. Here, everything stopped until they were able to stumble back to the ring to tag. It was a hell of a dive too, with Santo and Panther going right over the barrier and then a table. It was a shame that they then had to make a tag before the match could keep going. It sort of defeated the structural purpose of the dive.

I would have liked to see more out of Arkangel. He just didn't have many opportunities. He did sell to a huge extent for Mil, so that was something. Really, I think they gave the crowd what they wanted, some fun matwork, a few big moments from Mil, a couple of dives. I think it's not Santo's best performance. There was confusion with the ref and his tope after the somersault senton seemed off. They ended it with the big flipping roll up on Panther with Mil leaping over them to hit the body press on Arkangel and it all served its role. Post match there was a great moment when Mil called the Destroyer over and the fans went nuts. The match is worth seeing for that but more especially for the opening Panther/Santo matwork but it really didn't have much else going for it.

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2014 Ongoing Match of the Year List

12. Arkangel De La Muerte v. Gallo CMLL 6/24

PAS: Such a treat to watch Arkangel get some time to stretch out and have a long singles match. He is 48 years old and what was really surprising is how he is still so athletically impressive. A lot of older luchadores used technique, guile and performance to make up for not having as much pop, but Arkangel looks really great eating all of Gallo's offense and really threw an explosive looking tope. He also broke out two awesome looking moves I have never seen before, a Tapitia where he springboards Gallo into a flapjack, and evading a corner run by leaping onto Gallo's back into a backcracker. Gallo was fine, seemed to keep up in the mat sections and had a nice quebrada, but this was mainly a showcase for an all time great, and it was a hell of a showcase

ER: Arkangel!! This guy has been one of my absolute favorites since I started watching lucha some 15 years ago. He trains tons of guys, and most often gets put in the Finlay role of working undercard matches with young guys to guide them through stuff. He also gets matched up with foreigners a lot, which speaks a lot to his ability to tie together a decent match no matter the worker or language barrier. But he sadly doesn't get many singles matches to showcase all of his skills. It's always a blast watching him tear up fliers in trios, or masterminding entire sequences in a trios, but I honestly don't think I've seen a long singles match from him since that random Angel Azteca mask match popped up on Galavision a decade ago. And here he gets to show everybody what they've been missing out on all these years. Here he has no problem filling 20 minutes, even looking like he could easily fill twice that. His mat stuff is arguably the best in the promotion, and I die just knowing that he and Blue Panther have been in the same fed for almost 20 years and only matched up 5 times, none of them making tape. And the matches on paper all sound like all time classics. Last Christmas in Guadalajara saw Blue Panther and Solar vs. Arkangel and Negro Casas. How much money would you pay to see that!? I would plunk down $20 right now to watch that match. That match would headline the first Segunda Caida money mark show. In 2006 Blue Panther and Satanico went against Arkangel and Pierroth. Fuck you, wrestling. How many Dolph Ziggler/Kofi Kingston matches exist on tape? Why does wrestling torture us?!

Anyway, the mat stuff is great, the innovative  offense Phil mentioned is so cool you wonder how you've never seen it before. The slingshot Tapatia was a thing of beauty and would make a cool early fall finisher. Gallo is a larger guy than Arkangel but the move looked entirely plausible and Arkangel managed to throw him (with his legs) with a nice amount of force. The back cracker evasion will be stolen by every worker everywhere. Expect to get sick of it in one years' time, but do remember this first moment where it looked awesome. But even if you don't get that stuff you can still marvel at all the simple stuff Arkangel does better than almost anybody: The tight elbow drops, expertly getting into position for his opponent's offense, believable takedowns, keeping guys honest on drop downs, a brutal tope, a wicked bump over the top to the floor. Hardly ever a wasted movement from this guy, he really does work as the lucha Finlay. Go watch this now.


2014 MOTY MASTER LIST

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CMLL on Galavision Workrate Report, 2/9/13

These matches all took place on the 2/1/13 Arena Mexico card.



1. Arkangel de la Muerte/Skandalo/Nitro vs. Hombre Bala Jr./Fuego/Super Halcon Jr.

First fall is kind of a mess as it all boils down to Nitro being the foil for Fuego and Halcon's double teams, and nobody does much of anything very well in the set-up. Arkangel is not surprisingly the highlight of the first fall, as his work with Bala looks pro. Even little things like locking up look engaging when Arkangel is involved. I did really like Fuego's sunset flip that saw him climb up and over Nitro. 2nd fall is all about some awesome Bala/Arkangel sequences. Arkangel has an expert way of falling into position for crazy and/or silly tecnico offense and he puts that to masterful display here. Bala does two weird dives that Arkangel falls for, one of them being a dive through the bottom ropes into a splash on the ramp way, the other being an AWESOME dive while Arkangel is sitting in the corner. Bala vaults off Fuego and goes torpedoing headfirst into Arkangel, coming in at a fierce diagonal. Crazy. Third fall is all about the rudos getting tecnicos into prone positions and then doing running dropkicks to their taints. It seriously happened like 4 times. At one point Fuego hits a balls out insane dive over the top to the floor, coming in completely vertical. Overall the match wasn't much, but definitely worth watching for all the cool Arkangel moments.



2. Amapola/Princesa Blanca/Princesa Sugheit vs. Dark Angel/Marcela/Estrellita

First fall is a pretty good shitkicking of Estrellita. Amapola in particular looked like she wasn't holding back very much , but then things got awesome when Estrellita made her comeback and didn't hold back on Amapola, wrenching her around by her hair and giving her a stiff as hell dropkick to the floor. All that continues into the 2nd with more stiff clotheslines and Amapola taking a brutal Cassandro bump through the corner ropes that saw her barely catch the turnbuckle. She basically did a suicide dive to nobody. Nuts. Dark Angel has some pretty ranas and Blanca is a gal who is great at taking ranas. Tecnicas win in straight falls but it's all action and really fun.



3. Ultimo Guerrero/Mephisto/Terrible vs. Maximo/Rush/Shocker

First couple falls were all angle and a total schmozz, but an awesome schmozz that saw UG attack Atlantis at the announce table and bust his lip open, and then Atlantis take off his belt and threaten UG. Maximo bumps big into the guard rail and Rush continues looking really great while Shocker continues to look slow and busty. UG will take a massive Jerry bump (here he wasn't going to get much height so clearly pushes off with his arms to fling himself higher. Crazy.) but he's mostly occupied with shit talking Atlantis from the ring in this match. Rush is probably the star of the whole thing, hitting a nutso running dropkick from the apron to the floor, timing a superkick great while Maximo is doing a do-so-do with Terrible, and generally jacking up the crowd. Maximo looked great here too as he and Mephisto match up really well together for complicated armdrag spots. So yeah, not much of a "match" as things are fairly short and chaotic, but I would say it's well worth checking out.

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CMLL Puebla Workrate Report, 11/18/12

These matches are from the 11/5 Puebla show.



1. Arkangel de la Muerte/Hooligan/Skandalo vs. Virus/Raziel/Cancerbero

THIS excited me to no end because it has to be like 10 years since I remember Virus and Arkangel being on opposite sides since Virus hasn't really been a tecnico since around 2003/04. This is weird as both teams are rudos, and both teams work as rudos. Arkangel appears to take the rudo reins early by cheating a bunch and using his foxy gypsy valet Isis to interfere...but then Virus comes in and he's a dick too. The match never really reaches any sort of great heights, but has plenty of nice sequences throughout. The Virus/Arkangel showdown in the 3rd does not disappoint, as Arkangel gets to rough up the "young" punk (I assume they're both basically the same age) by throwing some awesome overhands to Virus' neck, and then hitting a perfect rolling tope en reversa to knock Virus out of the ring. These guys are all capable of much greater things, but nevertheless this was plenty fun.



2. Misterioso Jr./Vangelis/Euforia vs. Rey Cometa/Maximo/Diamante

Another match that will be rather unimportant in the grand scheme of things. It should be noted that Maximo seems to have lost a bit of weight as he looks to be in the best shape of....well, since whenever I saw my first Maximo match. He's slimmed down quite a bit and it's made him a bit more spry in the ring (he hit a sweet running dive off the apron and a beautiful head scissors, landing on his feet afterwards). Euforia is a good worker who I often forget about. Diamante kinda gets in the way. Cometa is a guy I now look forward to and may start going out of my way to see. Vangelis is maybe the best power worker in CMLL and looks better every time I see him. Misterioso Jr. almost always looks good. But hey, this was a Monday match and it seemed like a Monday match most of the time.



3. Mephisto/Dragon Rojo Jr./Tama Tonga vs. Mascara Dorada/La Sombra/Mistico II

Good lord Mephisto got HUGE! The guy is enormous and just jacked to the gills. He looks like a boss battle villain in Arkham City. Tonga looks fine but sorta out of place in a lucha setting. I like Dragon Lee as Mistico. He's able to get the same crazy height on bumps. Dorada looked like the star out of the tecnicos but that shouldn't be much of a shock, as he has looked awesome for some time now. Rojo has gotten real good without me really noticing. He never really does much that stands out, but when you watch him you never think "Man this guy stinks," which sounds like some backhanded praise but he's actually quite good. This match was fairly unremarkable outside some nice flying stuff from Dorada and to a lesser extent, Mistico.

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CMLL on LATV Workrate Report, 12/10/11

Princesa Blanca/La Commandante/Zeuxis vs. Marcela/Luna Magica/Lluvia:

Not really sure why this match needed so much time to stretch its legs. It's good to see Luna Magica back on TV, as she brings something different to the table than most of the tecnicas. Her butt splash in the corner in the match was awesome. Blanca/Marcela is always a match-up worth seeing, but Lluvia/Zeuxis is about as polar opposite as you can get. And we got a lot of that here, with a lengthy match never really evolving beyond "one side lying around while the other side does sloppy triple teams". Plenty of painful moments of Zeuxis or Commandante struggling to lock on lousy submissions. Just mostly ugly stuff here. Zeuxis' bodysuit is pretty fantastic, though.



Arkangel de la Muerte/Nitro/Skandalo vs. Rey Cometa/Stuka Jr./Dragon Lee:

This was all about Rey Cometa: Bump Freak, and Arkangel: Twister of Young Tecnico Limbs (you probably already guessed that last one would happen). Arkangel gets cool sequences with everybody here, including throwing Lee around by his arm in the first fall, but the 3rd is really his time to shine. He works some cool spots with Cometa, and Arkangel/Cometa is fast becoming one of my favorite pairings in all of lucha. CMLL must agree with me, too. Arkangel is just the perfect base for this guy, never getting lost on his inside out armdrags and catching all his ranas (dropping from some great heights). Arkangel looked flat out great here. Cometa, though, also looked great. He took two nasty bumps in the 1st, one a flat back bump to the floor after spilling through the ropes; the other a massive bump from the ropes to the ring ramp, sending him asshole over elbow after being dropkicked by Nitro. Lee is always good for some spectacular flying, same goes for Stuka. There were also two separate synchronized dive trains by the tecnicos (the first with all three doing big somersault topes almost totally in sync). This match really had potential to be just a tossed off throwaway midcard trios, and the longer it went the more it kinda built into something special. It just kept gaining momentum and being just about the best possible version of this match-up. I recommend you watch it.



Misterioso Jr./Polvora/Okumura vs. Valiente/Metro/Sagrado:

Pretty longish match that doesn't really go anywhere but is never unpleasant. Kinda seemed like a house show match instead of a match taped for TV. None of the faces get to unload and do anything really spectacular (though Valiente did leap up like he was about to do Valiente Special, but leaped back into the ring to do a halfway-across-the-ring rana). Misterioso still got to look like a tassly, slick-bumping star, Okumura threw some fine back elbows, Sagrado threw in a surprisingly good performance, and Metro had an brutal somersault senton into the corner in the first fall. Just full on sprint and then splatted right into Misterioso. Ending move was pretty great as Sagrado just leveled Polvora with a superkick, which knocked him into a bridged Metro german suplex (landing him on his head).



Terrible/Rey Buccanero/Mephisto vs. La Mascara/Angel de Oro/Rush:

Second match in a row with a kind of random rudo team of guys who usually team with others. First fall showed potential for this to be a pretty great main event, but then the rest of it got kinda rushed. Rudos were getting good heat (not exactly difficult to do opposite Rush), Terrible has stepped up his game over the last couple months and has been coming off like a superstar, and Mephisto stepped things up here (maybe saw an opportunity to shine more than usual since he wasn't teaming with Averno and Ephesto). Oro has been bringing it, too, and Rush kinda just stayed out of the way so it could have been worse. Kind of the story of most of this episode, with a bunch of wrestling that mostly stayed out of the way, exiting your memory as soon as you see it. The Arkangel/Rey Cometa match is worth spending 20 minutes on, but the others are kinda "fan only" affairs.

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CMLL on LATV Workrate Report, 11/19/11

1. Mercurio/Pequeno Universo 2000 vs. Aereo/Pequeno Halcon:

Boy, these guys don't make TV that often. I think the only one of these guys I've seen in more than one match this year is Universo. And this was a pretty decent showcase for Universo. He was the rudo who actually worked like a rudo here (and he's also super short and fat), yelling at the crowd a bunch and bumping big. Mercurio was fine, but basically worked like Halcon. Aereo was able to do a bunch of elaborate armdrags with Universo's help. First 2 falls aren't much but 3rd gets more time. The dive train is fun in a sloppy way, as none of these guys are really big enough to be bases for the other, so each landing looks a lot more painful than the move itself.



2. Bronco/Hooligan/Inquisidor vs.Molotov/Starman/Tigre Blanco:

Another match that just kinda happened. That Molotov guy? Not that good. But Starman is a guy I dig. Is he actually the real Starman, just back wearing his mask again? Blanco hasn't been on TV in awhile (after being on practically every week in the first half of the year) and he's always welcome on my TV. Always does some neat stuff on the mat, will do a cool dive (this week he did a somersault dive off the apron that the cameras cut away from). But the COOLEST spot was Starman monkey flipping Blanco into Blanco doing a super fast sunset flip on Inquisidor. Blanco just got launched at Inquisidor and whipped right over him for the pin. Such an awesome spot, and not only do I not remember seeing the spot, it's a spot that seems like something that has been attempted by somebody before, but never this successfully. The rudos are all good hands and Bronco is a guy who I just wasn't enamored by earlier in the year, but now really look forward to him. There are probably 2-3 guys just like him in every town in Mexico, and it's a style I really like that seemed to be sorta dying once Cien Caras and Universo 2000 retired. I'm glad it's still being showcased semi-weekly.



3. Arkangel de la Muerte/Loco Max/Skandalo vs. Mr. Cacao/Angel Azteca/Pegasso:

Mr. Cacao? Is this the same Mr. Cacao from earlier this decade? Are we gonna get Arkangel matching up opposite Asian Cougar or Tortuga soon? For some reason they were really trying the whole match to put over Cacao, and the crowd seemed very not into him, booing when he would go on offense against Arkangel. I was hoping Arkangel would get to drag him to the mat and twist him a bit, but it was more Arkangel bumping for his so-so offense. The Angel Azteca here also confuses me. I assume this is the one who occasionally pops up as Angel Azteca Jr., except now he's wearing a shirt? He also kinda looked like Robin at times...but I think it was Azteca Jr. Either way, he was the bright spot on the tecnico side. Pegasso just doesn't do much for me. Not the tecnico team I wanted to see go over in straight falls. Needed two straight falls of the awesome rudo side destroying these wimps.



4. Alebrije/Olimpico/Psicosis II vs. Delta/Hijo Del Fantasma/Toscano:

Alebrije is back and he somehow looks fatter! I love this man. I love how he bumps for Delta and accidentally kicks Cuije and then accidentally splashes Cuije and love how he takes a bump sliding to the floor but crotches himself on the bottom rope. As much as I love Alebrije, I am completely bored with Toscano. My face looks like this when he wrestles *__* My mouth is neither frowning nor smiling, and I start thinking of mistakes I've made and people I've wronged. Then I snap out of it and the 3rd fall is over.



5. Averno/Terrible/Texano Jr. vs. Hector Garza/La Mascara/Rush:

As with many CMLL matches lately, not much to the first couple falls, and the 3rd gets all the action. Kind of a nothing match on a nothing episode, really. Each guy got their own moments, but nothing really gelled to make it a good or great match. Garza got a great run in the 3rd, and Terrible has kind of stepped up to be kind of a rudo Garza. In fact Terrible in the 2nd worked almost exactly like rudo Garza, with a bunch of fast rope running and fun thigh slappy kicks to Mascara. Mascara hits a great dive, Garza takes his clothes off, Rush has shitty hair, Averno and Terrible worked like Averno and Terrible. This match happened, parts were enjoyable, nothing was bad. Except Rush's hair. And his tassle boots. Tassles are one of my favorite things in wrestling, and Rush can't even get those right. Misterioso, now there's a guy who knows how to tassle the fuck out. Him doing an elbow drop is like watching waves crash into a beach. Rush's tassles are all fat and short. What's the point. Huh? What's the fucking point, Rush!?

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CMLL on LATV Workrate Report, 10/29/11

1. Arkangel/Loco Max/Skandalo vs. Dragon Lee/Angel de Plata/Pegasso:

Really good first fall, 2nd fall got derailed by an injury, 3rd was non-existent. First fall you knew would be good, because it was a bunch of expert rudos beating up a bunch of fliers. Pre-match graphic lists Rey Cometa instead of Plata, but it's definitely Plata. I like Plata, but this got me falsely excited for a Cometa/Arkangel mat sequence that was not to be. All the rudos are wearing Dr. X tribute shirts which makes me sad. What a shame. Arkangel matching up against Pegasso was awesome, as Arkangel matching up anybody kinda so-so always is. I want him to put a hurting on Pegasso, as Pegasso was wearing a tank top cut so that his nipples *just* peeked out the sides. Make him pay for that. Arkangel always has really great takedowns, really forces a guy to the ground with his leg scissors takedowns. He breaks out some cool mat submissions and generally twists Pegasso around, which was exactly what I hoped for. 2nd starts with rudos kinda killing time until the tecnico comeback (though it did feature a nasty Loco Max kick to Dragon Lee's taint), Skandalo takes a great spill to the floor, and when Pegasso/Lee do stereo springboard moves, Lee gets stumbly on the ropes and basically does a swanton to the floor. Luckily he was able to compose himself enough to flip all the way over and didn't just go head first. He gets stretchered out (as CMLL replays it 5 times) and Skandalo is awesome beating up Lee on the stretcher. But then they cut to a quick Plata roll up finish, and the 3rd is a nothing fall ending in quick rudo DQ.



2. Silueta vs. Ray:

Really good women's match that would be well worth going out of your way to check out. I have only seen these two a couple times each and it was always in a trios so I never got a great feel for how good they were. Well, I would like to see more after this match. First two falls were very quick but had some good spots and good action. Ray's roll up to win the 2nd looked cool. But the 3rd is where it really picks up, and it's mainly because suddenly Ray starts working as a southern heel out of nowhere. It had been worked as a face/face match up until this point, and Ray comes out in the 3rd and starts, well, chopping Silueta right in the tits. Ouch. I mean, like 15 chops, right to the tits. Not upper chest, is what I'm saying. And the fans INSTANTLY turn on Ray. Sounds like mostly dudes booing her, too. Ray soaks it up and starts choking Silueta in the ropes and then kneels on her head while choking her in the ropes and I am loving evil Ray! Sadly, she gets less evil as the fall goes on and it does fall a bit into move trade offs, but it still was very very good and kept me engaged. Each woman gets to do their take on a somersault dive off the apron, nice superplex by Silueta, a GREAT nearfall for Silueta, and then the ending is kinda botched as the ref holds up on the 3 count, the whole crowd reacts to the nearfall...10 seconds go by....and then the ref just kinda raises Silueta's hand. Flat finish for a title win, but the match was very good and the CMLL ladies have really been delivering this year.



3. Misterioso Jr./Rey Escorpion/Vangelis vs. Angel de Oro/Black Warrior/Delta:

A match that had a lot of fun moments and nice individual spots, but wasn't really much of a match. Misterioso always brings it and he was probably the best guy here. Even if he wasn't he is always tassled out, which would make a bad wrestler look at minimum awesome. Delta didn't break out any real insane spots like he usually does, Vangellis hit his rad spear through the ropes onto the ramp, Oro hit a bunch of nice looking stuff (sweet little moonsault from the middle turnbuckle to the floor in the 3rd). Escorpion looked kinda off in this one, though. Overshot two moonsaults bad, and then took forever to do the "pull off mask, roll up Delta" finish. It was already a cheap finish, and then he kinda made it worse. So, some good moments, not much as a whole.



4. Dragon Rojo Jr./Averno/Mr. Niebla vs. Rush/Super Porky/La Sombra:

This went pretty much like the last match: Not much to it, but some good individual spots. And too much Rosa Concha. Averno takes Sombra's stuff real well, Rush hits a giant flip dive (Rush actually got cheered for doing it!), and that's about it. Not a very good main event by any means.

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Thoughts on Dragondoor?Gate? Hole? whatever in Mexico from DVDVR 158

Arena Mexico- 5/13/06

Arkangel de la Muerte/Negro Navarro/Skayde vs. Hayato Fujita Jr. /Kanjyuro Matsuyama/Shinji Nohashi

PAS: We only got about half of this match but it was pretty fun. It is always a treat to see Negro Navarro, and he was pretty great here, locking up a nice submission and doing his great kip-up. Nohashi hit a cool tope with a nice camera angle.

TKG: Yeah that was a great camera angle. Arkangel threw some really nice elbow drops and Navarro took a posting well and any time you get to see Navarro it‘s a treat but there really wasn’t much to this match.

Dark Angel/India Sioux vs. Mima Shimoda/Raven Hiroka_

PAS: Hiroka is the worlds shittiest Etsuko Mita, but she did have a really nice exchange with Dark Angel. Mima Shimoda doesn’t do a ton here, and we didn’t get a ton of time.

TKG: This was real clipped and nothing you want to see again. I liked India Sioux’s version of Virus’ finisher.

Dragon Scramble Match: Matematico vs. Ultraman vs. Kahoz vs. Cuchillo vs. Black Terry vs. Astro Boy Jr.vs. Brazo de Plata Jr. vs. Daisuke Haonaka vs. Hijo del Fantasma vs. Toshiya Matsuzaki

PAS: Ridiculously fun match which was a total train wreck but in a really entertaining way. You got to see a bunch of old luchadores who never see the light of day. Black Terry had an awesome punch exchange with Ultraman. For an ex-high flyer Ultraman has really turned into Jose Luis Castillo in his old age. Cuchillo and Kahoz are guys I haven’t seen in years, and they looked like guys I hadn’t seen in years. Kahoz especially looked shitastic, as he was completely unable to bump over the top on his first attempt, so he has to run to the other side of the ring to bump to the floor Also that actually looked like the real Matematico who must be 70. Total blast.

TKG: Black Terry looked to be guy holding this entire thing together working fun sections with Hijo del Fantasma, Matematico, and Ultraman and one of the Japanese kids. Gran Cuchillo comes out and stretchers the other Japanese kid just smacking him around with the butt of his gun, suplexing him on the ramp and then dropping elbows. Cuchillo hitting opponents with the butt of a pistol may expose the business more than Tiger Jeet Singh hitting opponents with butt of sword. But Cuchillo is way more fun. Cuchillo and Kahoz are really too old to pull off their miscommunication heel double team stuff. But fuck all that other shit: BLACK TERRY~!!!

Brazo De Oro/Brazo De Platino/Passion Hasegawa vs. Mazada/NOSAWA/Katsushi Takemura

PAS: This was alot of fun, the early parts were a little rough, as Platino spent the opening parts just doing all of Super Porky's spots but not as well as Super Porky. However when it got kicking it got really fun. Oro was especially awesome here, especially his stuff with NOSAWA, and his incredible tope. Passion was really fun as the fake Brazo fucking up all of the Brazo spots, and when Platino stopped apeing his brother and started hitting all of his dives he looked great too. Easily the match of the show.

TKG: Was that really Brazo De Platino. I remember him looking more scummy and garbagey. He does all of Platinos big dives but I don’t remember Platino looking that kind of classically handsome. Platino’s section where he was apeing Plata spots wasn’t much and the Passion v. Takemura exchanges weren’t much. But then fucking Brazo de Oro worked his section with Nosawa where they essentially did Ki vs. Red spots with Oro working superfast to dodge all of NOSAWA’s offense and then getting in his own strikes. Brazo de Oro’s speed was just amazing. And then once the match got going it was just on. I think my favorite Passion being too small to do Brazo signature spots was when he kept trying to lay across the heels only to get tossed off while Platino set up his big dive.

4 Way Dance: Averno/Mephisto vs. Trent Acid/American Gigolo vs. Brute Issei/Shigeo Okumura vs. Milano Collection AT/Kazuchida Okada

PAS: The match listing listed the Backseat Boyz, but instead American Gigolo was Trent Acid’s partner. You know someone sucks when you are pissed about being baited and switched out of Johnny Kashmere. Okada took some big bumps, but this match may have been the worst multi man match of Trent Acid’s career. Imagine what that entails.

TKG: The screen says that this went 11:23 but I swear it felt twice as long. They do the everyone puts everyone else in a headlock section before the big guy comes out only to do a big man miss-communication spot two or three times. With Issei really playing poor man’s Pancho Tequilla playing a poor man’s Brazo Platino playing a poor man’s Brazo de Plata. Averno and Mephisto are first eliminated for excessive rudisimo. Yeah so the Arena Mexico crowd is left to watch Issei/Okamura vs. Gigolo/Trent Acid. Do the Arena Mexico fans have any stake in an All Japan vs. PWU match up. All Japan is eliminated for PWU vs. Toryumon finish. This needed Slugger.

Decision Match for the vacant NWA Welterweight Title: La Mascara vs. Hajime Ohara

PAS: This was okayish. Mascara is a little green to lead Ohara through a real lucha title match, and it came off as more of a mediocred BOSJ match which doesn’t make TV.

TKG: Yeah this was where the lucha and the resu in your lucharesu just fall apart. This isn’t worked like a lucha title match at all. There is a cool part early on where La Mascara appears to get pissed as though Ohara is taking liberties with him and the two just start swinging at each other. Baby Richard keeps on trying to remind Ohara about his closed fists and elbows. This would be fine in a lucha brawl but you build to the brawling parts of match. Ohara paces his stuff like a puroresu match so you don’t have the lucha ebb and flow where wrestling section leads to break down into brawling section which leads to a regroup to wrestling section.

Super Libre: Dos Caras Jr./Hijo del Lizmark vs. Mark Jindrak/Johnny Stamboli

PAS: This was a pretty fun WWE Heat main event tag (2002 Heat, all four of these guys are liver enzymerific.) I don’t think this was as good as the technicos v. Stamboli/Palumbo would have been, and definitely not as good as the technicos v. Jindrak/Cade (especially with all the real life familial heat between Dos Caras Jr. and Lance Cade) Still these teams work each other alot, and they have a ton spots with each other. Jindrak looks like a total superstar as he hits all of his high spots and is a taunting fuck, doing a little bird flapping with his arms after he flew. He has crazy ups, and if he actually moves to Mexico he will be a big ass star.

TKG: Not as good as a Heat main event tag…closer to a RAW one. Jindrak’s taunts are great and him and Stamboli work like a touring tag team with lots of heel miscommunication spots that they could work against any face team. They do the old MX arm pull over rope spot that always makes me smile. And well, so about a year ago New York Times printed an article about the success of lucha libre in Mexico. Someone in WWE read the article and said “the only people who watch our shows are gays and wetbacks, we need more wetbacks”. There was all kinds of writing on the internet about WWE bringing in Mistico and Ultimo Guerrero and who they should and shouldn’t bring in. I proposed that they bring in Dos Caras Jr and either Sicodelico Jr or Hijo del Lizmark as they essentially can work you’re basic OVW style and are tall and masked and would be easy to plug in and build around..WWE ended up bringing in a bunch of minis and having them work US midget comedy spots. After watching this match, if I were to fantasy book luchadors in WWE, I’d use Sicodelico Jr as my Dos Caras Jr partner. But still fun, full Worldwide point.

Relevos Increibles: Atlantis/GREAT MUTA/Ultimo Dragon vs. Perro Jr./Dr. Wagner Jr./Ultimo Guerrero

TKG: Man I was expecting this to be BA—AD. Arena Mexico announcer says that Ultimo Dragon is thought of in Japan the way Santo is thought of in Mexico…and I was all ready for the worst type of money mark match. But this turned out to be pretty fun. Dr Wagner and Perro come out and agree to team while Atlantis and Ultimo Guerrero are pissed that they are on opposite sides. And they do a lot of great lucha storytelling throughout the match with Atlantis and Guerrero sparring happily. Guerrero unhappy whenever his partners go after Atlantis. Atlantis and Perro Jr stoked to match up, etc. Atlantis just looks super great in this as he has to carry his team in ring. Ulitmo Dragon has been useless for years and for the most part never eats anything. At least in this match he spent a lot of time eating offense. Muta has had twenty years of great ring entrances and essentially works as Abby here. Guy wandering around looking deranged and scary. His elbow drop isn’t as good as Abby’s and Abby can work a simple effective match around opponent stealing his fork and forking Abby while Muta having opponent dragon screw him really doesn’t mean a ton in Arena Mexico. Also the Arena Mexico crowd has become enough of a heel crowd that they react to Muta’s stuff like its camp while the Coliseo crowd seemed to have a more visceral reaction. Still Muta was hell of fun in this and the movement back and forward from guys just doing shtick and storyline to guys wrestling is what you want out of this type of main event lucha.

PAS: I liked this a lot too. MUTA is fun as an old old guy who still kind of can hit some of his signature spots at half speed. It’s lucha every weekend there are a dozen shows main evented by guys like that. Ultimo who normally works exactly like a old old guy who hits some of his signature spots at half speed, actually seemed kind of energized, with his spots being hit more 3/4 speed.

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