Uprising: Lucha Libre Workrate Report 2/1/14

This is from the 1/27/13 show in Watsonville, CA, so we're at least getting stuff within a calendar year. So, I've done over 15 reports on this TV show. You readers that actually read the reports have probably noticed that I bitch and complain about how lousy (for the most part) this show has been. This is not hate-viewing on my part, I just really, really want this show to actually be good. They're a local fed with some workers that I like and it's rough watching them botch so many things in regards to the TV show and presentation. I don't think they're maximizing their opportunity. Over the last few episodes they've at least advertised the dates of their upcoming shows, which should have been a no-brainer from the beginning. They don't do any interviews or background on any of the wrestlers, the spend WAY too much time showing entrances (more on that in a bit), they often feature workers that haven't worked the fed in 2+ years, they put over the referees way too much during commentary. It's like the only lucha they've watched is Guadalajara, as it genuinely feels like the only episode-to-episode continuity they're building up is a potential Tom Castor vs. Sparky Ballard referees feud. There is no rhyme or reason to the matches they air. The dates of shows jump around wildly. The last three weeks have been one match each from one card in July 2012, the week before was some random matches from May 2010. One of the matches was not even particularly good. I'm unsure the benefits of showing almost 4 year old material, but there can't be many if the material in question isn't even good. "Hey, did you hear this Stone Temple Pilots album from 2010? It was horrible! But you should check out their new stuff!" Who are you? Why are you talking about a bad album from 4 years ago?  Why are you talking about STP? But then add to that the fact this is a PAID timeslot. They are paying to show this stuff. So if you're not showing your most recent stuff and making people want to see your current product, you'd likely want to showcase your best all-time matches. A mixture of both would make a lot of sense. "Here's some of our current roster, and here's a classic example of the kind of action you can expect LIVE!" It seems so simple. And yet...

1. El Mariachi, La Pantera & Ultimo Panda vs. Famous B, Fantasma de la Opera & Persian Prince

Over the last few weeks they've gone in a simple presentation direction, either as a way to focus more on specific guys, or (more realistically) as a way to milk their recorded footage to cover more airings. To do this they've been airing just one match per episode, regardless of match length. Thing is, I don't know if I've seen a match in the promotion go over 15 minutes, which means they have one short match stretched out over a full 1/2 hour of programming. It happened the other week with the Lady Apache match, and here we go again. We get FULL wrestler ring entrances and full announcer introduction. Each wrestler comes out separately. Slaps fives with the fans, walks all around the ring. We see ALL of this. We get to the 11 minute mark. Still entrances. We go to a commercial break. Long story long the first actual physical exchange does not happen until my DVR reads 16 minutes. 16 minutes!! Of a 30 minute show that you PAY TO AIR! How is this even possible!? Even then we get a lot of stalling to start, leading us into another commercial. So essentially most of the first 2/3 of their money was spent on guys walking to the ring, standing in the ring, and then doing "who can get this side of the crowd to cheer louder!?" spots. Good lord.

Match itself was fairly decent, as decent as a 9 minute match hacked by commercial breaks into 3 parts could be. La Pantera is not *THEE* Pantera, so pretty lame choice of name there. Panda is a smart gimmick by the promotion of putting a chubby not-very-good guy into a Kung Fu Panda costume. Doesn't matter that he's not good, the kids love it and it gets easy pops. Smart move. The rudos (team with Famous B) don't really get much offense, which is another thing that's really starting to grate on me about this promotion. Most of the matches are just extended tecnico squash matches. It's fine to have those on the card, give the kids something to cheer for, but 80% of the matches they air are tecnicos running wild on rudos, rudos rolling to the floor, and then tecnicos winning. Hardly any times in peril.

Why am I paying money to see these goofs live this weekend? Well, because they booked Timothy Thatcher and Super Crazy. But also...Rocky Romero Workrate Report coming this weekend!!!

Read more!

IWL Extreme Reinforcements 7/31/11

Never got an IPPV before, but I love lucha and I love Necro Butcher and I occasionally make rash Goyimish financial decisions so here we go.

We start with a tag gauntlet where I recognize no one. The opening section had a couple of nice sections between Ninja Del Fuego and some one who might be named Guerrero Arlaquin. Mulusco Jr. had a in ring quebrada which smashed his opponent square in the mouth. Match falls apart after it gets turned into a gauntlet by the ubiquitous Valerie who was all over the first part of the show. One of the worst cases of Dinero Marco I have seen in quite a while. Gauntlet is basically Big Mama and Juan Ranchero squashing rudos. I like fat luchadores, but these two couldn't even pull off fake Super Porky spots competently.

Freelance/Turbo/Naruto vs Kensuke/Tribal/Samurai Del Sol

This was more like it. Freelance has been hit and miss on the 2011 IWRG I have seen, but PPV Freelance is solid gold. We got some really solid fast matwork with Kensuke before all hell broke loose and guys started flying all over the ring. Everybody hit there stuff cleanly and lots of it was spectacular. The dive train was one of the crazier I have seen in a while, topped off with a nutso flip springboard plancha by Freelance. Had never heard of Kensuke before but he was impressive, as was really everyone. Terrible booking though, they call a time limit draw in the middle of the action just so Valerie can come out to add five more minutes. Just killed the match dead and they blow the initial attempt at the superbomb finish. Hell of match which was shit on by the bookers and promoters. They seemed to set up a revanche, which assuming they don't screw it up, will be enough to get my $10.

Zumbido v. Tony Rivera

Zumbido is not a good person, but a good wrestler, and he and Rivera have worked each other a bunch. This was a fun bloody brawl, with Zumbido breaking out some of his big bumps to the floor. His Estrada style floating over the top rope bump is still beautiful. Rivera worked hard too, and this built into a really exciting match. The booker couldn't resist though as we get a run in from Setimental and Mortiz who attack both guys. Valerie comes to the rescue and has her security run them off with ranas and topes. At this point I am getting really exasperated by this show. The luchadores were working hard and just being killed by the booking.

Cerebro Negro/Cerebro Maligno/Epitafia/Heavy Boy v. Kung Fu Jr./El Hijo Del Fishman/Medico Assesino Jr./Epidemia

Kind of a dull match which really dragged. Medico Assessino Jr. was really tall for and indy luchadore and was pretty impressive, I also always like seeing Cerebro Negro although he didn't do a ton to stand out here. Match was booked to set up Kung Fu Jr. and Fishman Jr. turning on each other. This show was dragging a bit at this point and they could have achieved the purpose quicker.

Daga v. Mickey Suicida Segura

These guys turned the show completely around. A hell of match, up there with the best stuff anywhere in the world and justified the purchase on its own. This was for the internet title and worked as a hybrid of a lucha title match and a indy juniors match. We got a long very well executed mat section early. Both guys looked very comfortable locking in holds and countering them, and it came off as a struggle not a exhibition. They moved seamlessly into a long, very cool finishing run. Lots of awesome big moves, including a great Sucida tope, a nasty back suplex on the apron by Daga, Daga hitting an Alantida into a headrop and and top rope German, while Segura hit a crazy top rope rana and a moonsault. Finish comes after a big Daga superplex, with Segura hooking his legs for a double pin. No problem with that finish, as it felt like a match that neither guy should have lost. They may have kicked out of a little too much, but that was a small complaint. The crowd was going bonkers as I imagine everyone watching IPPV was as well. Great stuff, I think it would be a good idea for IWL to throw this match on youtube, I could see it convincing folks to pick up the next IPPV.

Super Crazy/Heddi Karroui v. Craig Classic/Oriental

Oriental and Crazy have a very cool opening section with each other, fast intricate and cool. When Karroui and Classic tag in unfortunately it falls apart. I have no idea what Heddi's deal is, he appears to be a Turkish kickboxer from France and performs lucha as well as one might guess a Parisian Turk MMA guy would perform if thrown in a lucha match. Just a mess anytime he is the ring. I have no idea what he is doing in this fed, and I felt bad for the other three guys. Classic is pretty inoffensive, although he seems like a waste of a plane ticket too. Crazy seemed more lively then I have seen him in recent years and I would like to see him and Oriental match up without the millstone around there necks

Los Porros vs. Low Rider/Mad Man Pondo/Balls Mahoney/Fantasma de la Opera

Necro no-shows much to my chagrin. Balls Mahoney is the replacement, which is like being promised a Porterhouse steak and instead having someone shit in your mouth. Balls and Pondo didn't do much but the Mexcians in this match bumped pretty big, getting thrown through barbedwire tables and going face first into light tubes. Most lucha garbage matches are awful and backyardy, but this felt like less of an exhibition and more of a fight. There was some awkward stuff, but I was entertained. Necro would have actually been pretty awesome in this context, bummer about the no show.

Certainly some frustrations, but a definite thumbs up. Two entertaining matches, part of a third, and one absolute classic is enough for me. It did go too long, the show could have used some tightening. Plus this is an indy lucha show, they are doing a nice job of having a little bit of everything, give me some Maestros. Navarro, Solar, Terry, Super Astro. It doesn't feel like an indy lucha show without those guys doing their thing.

Read more!

Black Terry Grew Up Quick and He Grew Up Mean, His Fist Got Hard and His Wits Got Keen

Black Terry/Dr. Cerebro/Cerebro Negro v. Los Officiales v. Freelance/Gemelos Fantasticos v. Trauma I/Trauma II/Zatura IWRG 4/2/09 - FUN

PAS: Total train wreck and a total blast. 12 guys just throwing it all at the wall, some stuff isn't hit cleanly, but there is more great shit then you can demand. This is the kind of shit Freelance is made for, and he is just flying around the ring with abandon, he does three dives into the crowd, each crazier then the last, and is just constantly diving into the ring ranaing the fuck out of dudes. Officiales looked great here, as they ate all of Freelances stuff well, and did I nice job covering for some of the lesser lights (the less I say about the Gemelos the better) Terry is great too, but this was a little chaotic for him to be at his best. This week goes to Freelance.

TKG: Yeah this was a wreck. The whole concept of elimination trios match where you can tag anyone else into the ring is almost TNA level stupid. Hey its two twins forced to wrestle each other in an elimination match, isn’t that clever? Dumb. You also had a couple of awkward Zatura v Freelance sections where both guys looked like they need a rudo. Some spectacular looking Freelance highspots. Plus you get the Zatura “Hey I’m in a match with Freelance I have to do even crazier out of control dives and possibly injure myself” stuff that you get when those two are in a match together. A fun clusterfuck but a dumb match.

Black Terry/Cerebro Negro/Fantasma De La Opera v. Negro Navarro/Trauma I/Trauma II IWRG 7/9/09 - GREAT

TKG: It’s been a while since we’ve seen this type of full on Black Terry match. The Cerebros are enough of a solid unit that Terry can often times take a back seat.The Fantasma/Terry/Cerebro Negro unit is less polished as a unit and Terry fully takes over directing traffic, bumping attacking, always the center of the match. In many of the matches in 09 Terry’s seemed to be a step below what he was in 08. But this is the full on Black Terry show. Pre match Terry says he wants to test the new title holder Trauma II and the match is all about the match up between Terry and both Trauma II and the match up between Terry and Navarro. All that Cerebro Negro and Fantasma need to do is keep Trauma 1 busy while Terry does the rest. First fall involves the heels triple teaming to pin both Truamas. It’s problematic fall, in that you don’t really buy the Fantasma/Cerebro Negro attacks as having taken Navarro out of the match allowing for the triple teams on the kids. I don’t know to what degree that’s the fault of Fantasma/Cerebro Negro’s lack of credibility and what is the way Navarro is unconvincing bumping and eating their stuff. Probably a little of both. Fantasma doesn’t know how to eat Trauma I’s finisher, and while I really liked his heavyweight face off with I, it felt like he worked his faceoff with II exactly the same way. But the point of match was to keep the attention away from Cerebro Negro/Fantasma and Trauma I and let Terry do his thing. And Terry did his thing and was awesome facing off with Navarro and Trauma II. And you leave this match actively wanting to see a Trauma II v Terry match and worrying that Trauma II may be out of his league.

PAS: The Traumas have been on quite a run in the last couple of months, but man when the team with their dad, you see the difference. This is bad ass brawling Navarro, he is pissed at Fuerza talking shit, and he comes out like a B-movie hero who has been pushed too far. Terry is such a great foil to that kind of fury, as he is much more of a B-movie villain, a tough guy, with tough backup, but fundamentally lacking the moral authority of our hero. I love all of the hierarchy stuff these tags do so well, and Terry v. Trauma II could be incredible if they run it.

Black Terry/Chico Che/Dr. Cerebro v. Avisman/Hijo del Diablo/Gringo Loco IWRG 3/7/10 - EPIC

TKG: The booking to add Chico Che to this feud was super smart and really well executed. Adding a tecnico to this feud totally changes the dynamics and Chico Che was really the right tecnico. The feud went form being a rudo v rudo feud (which IWRG is great at running) into a native v foreign team feud (where nationalism unites heels/faces). That change effects the way everyone works. There is a fun vibe that adding a tecnico brings, and you really got the sense that Black Terry/Cerebro were actively enjoying having Chico Che with them. There are these awesome moments where both of them stand back with shit eating grins and direct Chico Che into abusing the foreigners. There is a point where Terry is punching Gringo Loco on the floor and then Chico Che lands a punch of his own on Gringo Loco. Terry lights up “hey you got this, let me do something else”. First fall is mostly Gringos dominated as they leave Cerebro, Terry and Che all bloody, this stretches into the second fall which develops into a real isolate and triple team one guy while keeping other faces away from action fall (except done on the floor instead of in the center of ring) until the tecnicos see an error and take advantage bloodying Avisman and Diablo and then a third fall which starts with tecnicos beating rudos in one on one exchanges (with Che beating the shit out of Avisman on floor, Cerebro really laying into Diablo and Che running through his big spots) back into a section where rudos try to remount control. Part of what makes this kind of classic lucha fight work is that there are not a lot of changes in momentum. Just long periods of one sided action where both teams look strong (for both dishing and eating beating). I imagine if you were to watch this match with a stop watch and a calculator, the heels would have taken more than 75% of the offense in a match where the heels win clean. But this is the furthest thing from a competitive squash. Part of that is the selling which is all about guys toughing it out by taking a giant beating waiting out an opening Chico Corrales style. When it works it works and here it really worked. The actual match finish with everyone but Diablo and Cerebro taken out by dives and Diablo reversing a rana into a desnucadora/slam was also a super cool clean finish that still left you wanting more.

PAS: Man was this filmed spectacularly. This is a gruesome gritty fight, and pretty much every camera shot looked like the cover of a 1987 issue of Wrestling Eye. Black Terry his great exhausted beaten bloody facial expressions. He looks like William Munney at the end of Unforgiven. This is a match with six great performances, Gringo Loco is on fire, beating people, bleeding and taking one of the craziest corner post bumps I have ever seen. It is the kind of thing Cassandro would wince at. Diablo is also great as kind of the rudo glue. He has been in a million seedy Tijuana brawls in his career and this kind of thing is right in his wheelhouse. Then we have Chico Che continuing his June '09 to June '10 run as one of the five best wrestlers in the world. He is just stupendous in this match, as the victim and the deliverer of beatings, and his signature rope running is a little bit of beauty in the ugly.

COMPLETE AND ACCURATE BLACK TERRY

Read more!

Black Terry is Caged By Frail and Fragile Bars

Black Terry/ Kraneo/ Fantasma De La Opera v. Star Boy/Kid Tiger/ Ave Fenix IWRG 7/5/07-FUN

Match had its moments, but primarily existed as a set up for the Terry v. Opera feud. I liked the opening Kid Tiger v. Kraneo mat work although it was nothing exemplary. As expected Terry was the rudo standout, as he spend much of the first two falls kicking the shit out of Star Boy, including ending the first fall by impaling him with a fisherman DDT. Most of the second fall Star Boy spent having a doctor look at his neck, but when he finally comes back Terry hits a spinning neckbreaker and starts kicking him in the head. It almost felt like a Finlay WCWSN level asskicking. Star Boy gets his revenge when Opera and Terry miscommunicate leading Opera to hit Terry multiple times.

Black Terry/Cerebro Negro/Dr. Cerebro v. Negro Navarro/Trauma I/Trauma II IWRG 4/16/09-EPIC

PAS: This is the first match in the Naculpan run of this feud (the Arena Xochimilico series is here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-Y2vY4DXtA and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4w4XhSMOiY&feature=channel) and is worked as a technical battle of one upsmanship. You have two veteran maestros each bringing in their young charges to determine superiority. The structure of the match was a little unusual especially in the first fall, as guys would lock in a submission and would release it, just to show they could get their opponent. This is the best I have seen Trauma 1 look, he was always the Solar 2 to his Trauma 2's Solar 1, but his mat section with Black Terry was the best of the three long opening mat sections. It had more countering then the others, and Trauma I also gets the first fall with an awesome spinning leg lock. Navarro surprisingly looked stronger in the third fall which was exchanges and brawling, then he did in the first two matwork falls. I loved his handshake takedown, but the Terry v. Navarro on the mat was a little underwhelming. However the Terry v. Navarro brawling was great especially his infighting, a sick headbutt and punch countering. The Cerebros also looked great. I think this was the best of three matches between these teams, but I still think their classic encounter hasn't happened yet. They are working each other twice next week, lets hope our youtube peeps hook us up.

TKG: Trauma 1 is still the Solar II of the Traumas as that was all Black Terry. One of the big differences between the stronger mat guys and the weaker ones in this match is the way the stronger ones will wrench the lesser opponent into the submission. Trauma I and Cerebro Negro are guys who will move one leg here and another leg here and an arm here and “look a cool looking submission”. Terry, Trauma II, Navarro and Dr Cerebro will take their opponent down directly into a sub. Their subs all feel like they’re set up by dragon screw moves as they just absolutely wrench a guy to the mat and wrench them into a tight sub. These aren’t so much cool looking subs as they are absolutely nasty ways to put those subs on. I think my favorites were the sub Terry set up in the first fall that’s set up by kicking the inner thigh and then steeping on the hand; and the application of Dr Cerebro’s sub on Trauma I in the second fall which was amazing, as I’ve always liked his goofy submission but I don’t remember any other time where it looked this much like he was applied with this much force and torque. The one point where Trauma I actually sneaks a sub in, it’s the only time any of his stuff has any torque behind it.

The neat thing about getting to watch this match workshoped around is how different the Naucalpan version of the technical match is from the Xochimilco version. In that match they hid Trauma I by having him not have a mat section at all in the first fall. Instead he worked a Coco Verde v Xibalva fast exchanges section. Here he gets walked through the mat stuff with Black Terry. Both matches have the exact same finishing sequence to set up the rematch. But everything before that is completely different. The Xochimilco match starts with both maestros matching up and working pretty even sections with the stronger junior member of the opposite team. Terry and Navarro worked as Mantell v Lawler, two tough guys who can go toe to toe on the mat and standing. They worked a long Trauma II face in peril getting double and triple teamed until Navarro came in upset about the liberties taken with his son and was attacking folks like Bruno after someone got his Italian up. The Naucalpan match is worked nothing like that. The Naucalpan match is worked with no sense of their being any parity in the matchups. Both teams are trying to set up the match up to take advantage of the other team’s weak side. First fall has the two strongest junior members (Dr and II) match up in a long really cool even section, while each maestro gets to work against the weaker member of the opposite team. They play this up and there is no real attempt to hide that Truama I and Cerebro Negro are outmatched. The Terry/Trauma I, Navarro/Cerebro Negro is not the only mismatch that they play up. Terry isn’t working Dutch in the Naucalpan match he’s working almost Gino. There is nothing Mantell v Lawlerish about the Terry v Navarro matchups. Instead they’re really worked like Tully v Hashimoto. Navarro is an absolute beast and Terry is a guy in over his head but a dangerous shitkicker when given the opportunity. First fall is Black Terry toying with Trauma I, Dr Cerebro working even with Trauma II, and Navarro toying with Cerebro Negro until he decides to submit him. Black Terry comes in to even it out and ends up underestimating Trauma I and gets caught in a submission. The playing up of the mismatch makes this feel like a big deal. Second fall has Navarro toying with Terry, Dr Cerebro avenging Terry by subbing Trauma I, and then Navarro underestimating Terry and getting caught in a sub. Third fall is the stand up section and the cheat to win finish. Pretty great match up and completely different than the Xochimilco one. As the announcer says “Si usted, si usted quiere a la lucha…Aqui, aqui esta la lucha” I like the lucha.

Rey Del Ring IWRG 7/16/09-SKIPPABLE

TKG: It’s time for IWRG's annual Rey Del Ring. This is a thirty man tourney that normally goes between an hour and half and two hours. My memory is that originally it was worked like a cibernetico starting with four men where new participant came in any time someone was eliminated. It has slowly been evolving into pretty much a straight up Royal Rumble type match with guys getting added in every couple minutes. This year the evolution is really pretty complete as no cybernetic feel at all. It’s a Royal Rumble where guys eliminated through pinfall or submission. And it had a real U.S. style feel with the first half being your lightheavyweights and then the second half being the actual heavyweights.

Half way through the match Super X come in and invade the commentary booth. Juvi explains that Super X has a contract available for the winner of this tourney, whoever he may be (the best contract in the business with potential for movie deal,licensing for a video game, a toy, etc). This is a real U.S. type angle and Juvi is really great at selling it. Juvi’s dad is better at selling more traditional Mexican angles (his anger at Trauma II showing disrespect by trying to rip his mask), and when faced with this type of U.S. angle kind of just goes “well we know the only possible winners are these three guys”.

You normally hope in these things to get some more random primera guys or just guys you haven’t seen in ages but unfortunately no Radamantis appearances. Megatronic is the only guy I had never seen before (he seemed too thick to be Cyborg but he felt really familiar). It was also more of an everyman for himself match than it has been in the past. There really didn’t seem to be guys allying themselves along technico/rudo lines or attacking each other based on long term feuds. The two Officiales work together but that’s about it when it comes to cooperation. Dr Cerebro eliminates Negro Navarro which felt like a big deal but that was it. Captain Muerte eliminates former partner Xibalba. One would think that Ricky Cruz and Arlequin Amarillo would have long term issues with Mascara Ano Dos Mill 2000 Jr but when three in the ring together Cruz and Arlequin fight. Veneno is the one representative of invading fed Super X but never get the sense in the match that the IWRG guys have any interest in allying against him. Technicos feuded with technicos, Rudos feuded with rudos. Still they do a nice job at keeping the match moving at a fun clip where there are no real long downtimes till the end.

No Freelance this year. Freelance is often one of the big highlights of the Rey Del Ring as he’ll come in and do seven absolutely insane spots and then be eliminated. The real stars of this match ended up being the Cerebros/Terry team. Never in the ring with each other but when they are in the ring, they absolutely dominate it, each one acting as ring general to keep their section of match together.

The match can really de divided into four sections : Dr Cerbero section, Black Terry section, Cerebro Negro section, and the post Terrible Cerebros section.

Dr Cererbo is really the star of the first third of what was aired as he just runs around punching folks, kicking folks, eating topes, topeing people,tossing people around and eating peoples offense better than you'd think possible. I really liked the section where Captain Muerte had Dr Cerebro draped over top of ring post punching him while Dr Cerebro fought back throwing body shots.

Once Dr Cerebro is eliminated you have this sketchy period where you have Angelico, Exodia, Buschi, Mascara Ano Dos Mil Jr, and 911 in the ring by themselves. Then Black Terry comes in and tries to save the match.He transitons the match from that kind of green guys and 911 start to the real heavyweight brawlers section. As when he leaves the participants in the ring are all heavyweights Arlequin Amarillo, Olimpico, Mascara ano Dos Mill Jr, Ricky Cruz, Olimpico, AK-47, and again 911. They almost work this transition period like a Steiners/Nasty Boys or RNR/Poffos match where you have guys brawling on the outside and guys wrestling in ring. Exodia v Angelico is the world’s crappiest Gibson v Lanny Poffo/Scott v Saggs. Terry is the guy who moves back and forth between these two worlds and tries to keep them both watchable.

Once Black Terry is eliminated again you have this kind of sketchy all heavyweight section where Arlequin Amarillo appears to be carrying the interactions with Olimpico and the Officiales are double teaming the Dinamita to keep him busy. And then Cerebro Negro runs in to save the match. He just runs in and is small guy in heavyweight match who sticks and moves, blasts folks and then moves. He's the one guy who will get tossed around and eat stuff in a ring full of guys reluctant to leave their feet. They add Toxico who I never realized was that big, Veneno and Trauma II who really has no idea how to work opposite heavyweights.

Post Terrible Cerebros all you can hope for is interactions between IWRG regulars Rigo, Chico Che, and Fantasma de La Opera to keep you distracted from the stink. Then once they’re all gone just avert your eyes. I can’t decide who looked worse Olimpico or his green awkward son Exodia. The final singles match up between Cruz and Veneno didn’t do a ton for me but I think might appeal to people who dig Taker v HBK stuff. On some level that’s the story of the entire match: it felt like the type of Royal Rumble that gets a bunch of praise but I was left disappointed.

PAS: Tomk covered this pretty well, a couple of things he didn't mention. For the best wrestler in the world, Negro Navarro didn't look good here at all. He didn't really brawl like he is capable, and wasn't bumping. This was the worst Navarro performance in 2009 by far, still think he is #1, but we will see how Rey does against Dolph Ziggler tonight. There were a couple of nice double teams with Captain Muerte and Dr. Cerebro and I would much rather see Captain Muerte in the mix as a replacement Terrible Cerebro then Fantasma De La Opera. I am still on the fence with the Super X angle, I like the Navarro family as defenders of IWRG, but Ricky Cruz doesn't do much for me in the Sting role of top recruit. Also behind the Guerrerra's the Super X side is pretty thin, it is all Horace Hogans and Bryan Adamses left there.

COMPLETE AND ACCURATE BLACK TERRY

Read more!

IWRG 8/27/09

More Slambamjam IWRG, god love Alfredo

Miss Gaviota/Star Boy vs. Carta Brava Jr./Vampiro Metálico

TKG: I dug the first two falls of this a bunch. Carta Brava and Star Boy match up really well as did Gaviota and Metalico. The crotching of StarBoy into heel offense was a fun transition spot. These opener tags sometimes fall apart either during the heel double team section or when the faces comeback from those double teams. It didn’t here as Metalico/Brava team have some nice heel double team stuff and both of he faces are guys who can do comebacks well. Unfortunately, it did fall apart during the third face dominated fall as a lot of stuff felt off.

PAS: This was the best I have seen Miss Gaviota look, I am not sure she is much of a wrestler, but this had a ton of really amusing well worked exotico spots. I loved the octopus which forced her opponent to wave effeminately, and all of the showing of ass and kissing was timed really well. I am with Tom on the first couple of falls being good, and the third fall not being good, although in the second fall Star Boy does blow a kip up about as badly as I have seen. It looked like if I was taking a Pilates class and tried to kip up to impress a divorcee.

Bushi/Chico Che/Freelance vs. Avisman/Fantasma de la Ópera/Gringo Loco

TKG: The announcer describing all the participants in the match says that Gringo Loco reminds him of the great touring artist of the seventies Kris Kristopherson. I didn’t know Kristopherson was a country icon in Mexico. And really never really associated him with Gringo Loco. But now I can’t separate them in my head. He mostly does a bunch of Alice Doesn’t Live Here any More heel shtick here although he and Avisman have a bunch of neat double teams including The Sunday Morning Coming Down double leg drop. Somewhere in the long first fall Freelance absolutely concusses himself performing a top rope leap into a rana. Fantasma does a swanton type headbutt to Freelance prone head. And the whole thing is absolutely scary. Freelance looks completely loopy and you expect the whole match to fall apart. Instead he gets back in for another two falls takes every bump for a chop on the back of his head and does a ton of crazy suicidal dives. I mean I think this was a good match but I really couldn’t pay attention to anything but Freelance’s toughness and insanity.

PAS: Yeah this was really hard to judge as a match, as the second and third falls are completely judged through the lens of Freelance being the badest motherfucker on earth. Minutes after spiking himself on the top rope diving rana on the mat, he decided to do the same move to the floor. He also does an Asai moonsault which landed really nastily into the crowd. Chico Che looked really great too, as he has some really great moments of graceful flying. Freelance wins the match and does some post match mike work which I assume was something like “I want to thank the fans of El Salvador for the welcome, Pineapple, Wheelbarrow, Turkey Sandwich”

Black Terry, Cerebro Negro, Dr. Cerebro vs. Barba Roja, Hijo de Pirata Morgan, Pirata Morgan Jr. [EdM Trios]

TKG: The Piratas really felt out of their league here. First fall has Dr Cerebro matched up opposite Jr, ,Black Terry matched up opposite Barba Roja and Cerebro Negro opposite Hijo. Black Terry strained his arm on an armdrag had a doctor check it out and then had Barba Roja work over his arm. Terry is really good at the wounded tough warrior stuff and that may have been the best first fall interaction. The other Piratas looked completely lost working technical mat based offense. Second fall was rope running move fall where everyone switched up partners and third fall was all about the big moves where member of team runs in to prevent the fall. Piratas were way more comfortable in those settings. The second fall where they were most comfortable was short, and the third fall felt kind of mechanical.

PAS: Black Terry cuts a post match promo basically saying “It is good for young guys like that to get experience against wrestlers like us.” The match really felt worked like that, with Cerebros being polished professionals, carrying some green rookies through a match. There was individual moments of competence from the Piratas, but this match was 90% Cerebros

Head Hunter I & Sangre Chicana vs. Scorpio Jr. & Villano III

TKG: This is a bunch of old guys stabbing each other and bleeding. Head Hunter I is a guy with a lot of Japanese experience and really plays to the ring side cameras, there were moments where he really delivered a great Pro Wrestling Gold Abby v Austin Idol cover shot opposite Scorpio. The Villano III comebacks didn’t involve any DDTs and really weren’t as energetic as his comeback run in the trios match. Heels win two straight falls which is kind of an odd booking for a show built around celebrating 25th anniversary of Scorpio Jr in wrestling. All four do mic work post match and all four are really good on the mic and make me want to see the matches this set up.

PAS: Scorpio Jr. spent most of those 25 years as a rudo, so it is appropriate to have the rudos dominate. Chicana was truly the standout here, as he was pretty energetically running around stabbing dudes in the head. He really has an expressive forking. Lots of gory headwounds from old dudes, which is what you want from this match.

Read more!

IWRG 1/1/10

Black Terry Jr., IWRG and Segunda Caida open 2010 with a bang
http://www.youtube.com/user/tvluchadelpasado

1.Avisman/Flama Infernal v. Eragon/Volaris

PAS: First fall is pretty fun, as it is about 8 minutes of Avisman twisting and stretching Eragon, as he does a pretty passable Negro Navarro impression. The rest of the match was pretty bad as Volaris and Flama Infernal are super green and it had a real Chikarish awkwardness. Still Avisman matwork is always a blast and if we got weekly tastes of him stretching rookies I could dig that.

TKG: Flama Infernal and Volaris have clearly worked together but weren’t good and their WWEish stuff Batista powerbombs, bronco busters, and spears were just painfully ugly. I don’t know what was going on but Avisman’s third fall throws looked far nastier and more punishing than they have ever looked before. He had a hundred ways to pick up Volaris and then drop him kidney first across Avisman’s knee. They would start all Kanyonesque and end with real Gary Albright/Ron Simmons type thud.

This was a tag tourney, for what purpose I do not know

2. Veneno/Keshin Black v. Ultraman Jr./Guizmo

PAS: This was better then it looked on paper. This was a showcase for Guizmo and he looked pretty good. You don't really think of Veneno as a maestro, but their mat section was pretty nice, with Veneno showing me something. Guizmo also had some nice ranas and armdrags, including winning the match with a sweet looking dragon rana. Still clearly green as goose shit, but totally a guy I wouldn't mind check out again.

TKG: As a general rule, lucha tourney stuff disappoints. All matches being single falls means they often don’t have a sense of development, they come across really abbreviated, and they normally feel like you’re only getting to see the second fall in what would’ve been a neat three fall match. But this is IWRG where stuff gets some time and this goes almost twenty and builds from ground up. Veneno and Guizmo match up on the mat followed by Ultraman Jr and Keshin Black, then they switch off for brawling section, switch back, build to some big dives etc. Keshin Black feels like the Black Thunder/Averno to Guizmo’s Turbo/Mistico. He’s a guy who does an amazing job of eating Guizmo’s stuff. His own offense left something to be desired. I really dug Ultraman Jr’s “early 80s Florida technical worker” style matwork, was less pleased with his “early 80s Florida technical worker” style indifferent selling during brawling.

3. Dr. Cerebro/El Hijo Del Signo v. Imperial/Rocket

PAS: Same idea as the first match with a single veteran rudo in with three rookies. Rocket showed me nothing, but Imperial had some fun if slightly awkward highspots. He got some really height on his tope con hilo, and a really nice rana. Cerebro is super solid at this point, probably at top 20 worker in the world. His carry the rookie matwork was a nice carrying of a rookie.

TKG: Hijo Del Signo is really developing fast and all his stuff looks crisp. His huge superfly splash was nice looking as well. Imperial really flays his body awkwardly as he's eating a beating and also just kind of tosses himself out to rana (or hit whatever other move he's going for on) his opponet in a style that really reminded me of Masato Yakashiji. I don't know how to describe that style. It isn't spastic or sloppy but it's just throwing himself out there without abandon.

4. Black Terry/Alan Extreme v. Chico Che/Dinamic Black

PAS: This tourney is pretty much a testing ground for rudos. Each match basically tests how your veteran rudo can run a match, and as why might have guessed, Black Terry throws off the curve. This was a virtuoso one man show, as his carry job of Dinamic Black may have been as good as what he did with Multifacitico in 2008. Chucked him around the mat, kicked the shit out of him, and then bumped and put him over when he needed to. I liked everyone else a fair amount too, and this was the match of the show and goddamn is Black Terry spectacular.

TKG: Alan Extreme is now a rudo. Not sure when that happened. He also now has the star with tassels on his belly and not his buttocks. Still don’t know what his gimmick is. Is he supposed to be an Extreme version of Alan from the Barrio Boys? What is more extreme than an underage boy prostitute? Does Alan Extreme insist on bareback, only work for IV drug users, have no safe word? With Extreme Barrio Boy working rudo, I’m assuming Dinamic Black is part of some type of face version of the Black Family. Was there an episode of the Munsters where they tried to rid the neighborhood of the child street whore menace? Both Alan Extreme and Dinamic Black have some entertaining multiple springboard armdrags.

5. Oficial 911/Comando Negro v Bushi/Guerrero 2000

TKG: This was more what I expect out of a lucha tourney, super short match that starts with the brawling into highflying, Guerrero 2000 is a chubby guys stuffed in a smaller ring gear, he has the Abismo Negro white face paint and a look that’s a little too close to IWRG’s Mascara Magnifica. He got huge height in his jump into a rana but outside of that got no sense.

PAS: The faces had a nice double tope, and it fun to watch an Oficial eat a tope, but outside of that this wasn't much. I did like the red and black Oficial gear though.

6. Trauma I+II v. Gringo Loco/Fantasma De La Opera

PAS: Gringo Loco is a Chicago luchadore I remember really digging, and he looked very good here. He bumped well, hung with Trauma II nicely on the mat and had some amusing shtick. First fall was pretty darn good with some really nice mat wrestling between II and Loco. Match never really lived up to the promise of the first fall withe some uninspired brawling in the second and third. Fantasma De La Opera was wearing a CM Punk t-shirt, straight edge Phantom is a really weird gimmick. Is he living the bowls of the Black Cat and Gillman Street? Do people hear ghostly hardcore rifts late at night?

TKG: This was a non-tourney match and disappointing considering the folks involved. First fall had a lot more momentum changes than I expect in a primera caida: there is a mat section between Loco and II, double team rudos section and a Trauma I based fired up tandem combo section. For a second I mistook it for another single fall tourney match. And that first fall would have been a fine tourney match. Second fall was rope running fall and I thought it looked very sloppy and off. Post second fall they had the start of a fun streetfight, and there were sections of entertaining brawling in the third but I expected better.

7. Dr Cerebro/Hijo Del Signo v Ultraman Jr/Guizmo (semifinal match)

TKG: This was actively disappointing. At times this year, Dr Cerebro has looked like one of the top 20 wrestlers in the world. Hijo Del Signo and Ultraman Jr lately have been some of my favorite of all the anonymous interchangeable masked IWRG underders. Both Hijo Del Signo and Ultraman Jr used big top rope splashes in their prelim rounds, and I love a “battle of the top rope splashes”. Plus it’s a son of a Missionero De La Muerte v son of Space Cadet. I wanted more than this. Ultraman Jr wussies out on taking a posting, Hijo del Signo does a really bad eat of rana out of a ring, and this just felt like a real throw away match. This was the typical underwhelming meandering lucha tourney match with guys who you expect more from.

PAS: I liked the first four minutes of this, Ultraman Jr. and Cerebro have some perfectly fine matwork and a nice rope running section, with Ultraman taking a fine bump to the floor. Last five minutes weren't much, and after Cerebro's first round performance I was hoping for more.

8.Oficial 911/Comando Negro v Chico Che/Dimanic Black (semifinal match)

TKG: Neither 911 or Commando Negro are Black Terry. Nope they aren’t and neither really could do much of anything with Dinamic Black. This came together for a bit when Chico Che was in it. I imagine Chico Che and Oficial 911 have matched up as captains multiple times before and they do essentially a captain face off that was fun. Chico Che also does his fast spot exchange with big in ring shoulder tackle opposite Comando Negro. It’s a good looking spot but this match was less a big semifinal than essentially just one Chico Che segment.

PAS: Pretty disappointing performance by the rudos. I figured they would throw a bit of spark into the proceedings, but they seemed like they were sleepwalking a bit through the match. Black was green, although I did like his out to in second rope rana, Chico Che has a really great looking flying shoulder tackle.

9. Dr Cerebro/Hijo del Signo v Oficial 911/Comando Negro

TKG: This is rudo contra rudo which is also an odd way to end a tourney. The Oficial/Comando team dumps Signo out of the ring and double teams Dr Cerebro until he is able to dump Comando out of the ring so that Signo and the Dr can double team the Oficial and then isolate the Comando; the Oficial/Comando team threaten a Zbysco walk to the back and then come back to settle into a Commando v Signo one on one exchange that leads to big dives from the Signo/Cerebro team; and then it’s back into the ring for some near falls. There was a second there where it felt like both uppercard heels were going to pin both lower card heels and we might get a singles match up between Cerebro and 911. It felt like we were about to get something epic and then instead we got a straight forward second fall finish. This match was short and again felt more like a second fall then an actual match. But it was an actively good satisfying second fall where I left wanting to see the full match. Unfortunately, it’s a match I can’t imagine them ever booking toward in any other context. This was a weird tourney where for the most part I enjoyed the long opening rounds which felt like complete matches. I thought the semifinals both felt like mediocre segunda caidas while the final felt like an actively good one.

PAS: Cerebro comes flying back after a mediocre Segunda, as he is just killing it here. He has a really great punch section where he is mixing up hooks to the body and the head. He also breaks out a sweet looking tope. 911 looked good here too, but I was a little underwhelmed by Signo and Commando. Tom is right about this feeling abrupt. I don't like lucha tournaments, they are often really intriguing match ups which invariably disappoint. This actually had some match ups which overachieved, but it was still less then the sum of its parts.

Read more!

IWRG 7/30/09

More Slambamjam IWRG

Eragon/Sexy Gladys v. Carta Brava Jr./Heavy Boy

TKG: Eragon is a guy we’ve seen before and looked pretty green. Sexy Gladys is an exotico who I assume must have blown all his spots in the only other IWRG match I’ve seen with him in it (as they edited him out completely). Carta Brava Jr is a solid if unspectacular rudo and Heavy Boy is a guy who does lots of innovation. Eragon looks to have developed a ton. I really liked him throughout this. Him and Heavy Boy work a mat section in the first fall that felt almost like boxers infighting as all the exchanges were moved in and out of in really tight space. I just liked the way Eragon would get up off the mat after executing a rana would do a leg trip or push down opponent’s head in sub. He’s just gotten really crisp. Carta Brava is able to walk Sexy Gladys through some basic stuff, Gladys and Heavy Boy can’t do as much with each other. In the end they try to do a finish that seemed out of place in the undercard.

PAS: There were more good parts in this match then most undercard matches, but also had some awkward shit. Sexy Gladys is not very good at all, and with a mask and short hair he looks nothing like an exotico. I don’t understand the point of an exotico on the down low. Finish was super complicated for an opener, as they did a double pin and a final showdown Eragon and Carta Brava Jr. It the kind of finish you expect in a mask match not a random fourth from the top tag.

Chico Che/Rigo vs. Bushi/Fantasma de la Opera

TKG: This was surprisingly short for an IWRG match. Three quick falls filled with action. Almost a spot fest by IWRG standards. A lot of those spots where really cool. I especially dug Chico Che’s missile shoulderblock. They were running a goofy Fantasma de La Opera is feuding with his tag partner angle which almost overshadowed the match. The angry forearm exchange between the two was really ugly looking. Still RIGO~!!!

PAS: Fantasma de la Opera is one of the more problematic guys in IWRG, he does some things really well, he has nice timing, bumps good, pretty tope, will bleed,.However sometimes you get stuff like his awful elbow exchange or his incredibly terrible looking missed clotheslines. He was 50/50 in this match, the greatness of Rigo and Chico Che made the match entertaining. Rigo has preposterous hops for a guy who looks like he does, not a guy you would choose in a pick up hoops game, but just flies around the ring.

Barba Roja/Hijo de Pirata Morgan/Pirata Morgan Jr. vs. Oficial 911/Oficial AK47/Trauma II

TKG: Is Juvi booking this show? Feuding tag partners explode in third from top. Second from top has a face reluctantly coming into a match with an injury and reluctantly tagging with heels, a heel run in (by Fierro)and a heel beat down on the face partner which leads to a face run in (by the Navarros) which leads to match challenge (Dinastia Navarro v Officiales) interrupted by faces getting jumped by the Guerreros starting impromptu brawl leading to match. And then the lights go out and Sabu points to the sky, WTF??? Just ridiculous ECW booking in IWRG. I blame Juvi. Who else can I blame. Is Gertner in the Sexy Gladys mask? Match itself was kind of underwhelming. I think Officiales v Piratas could be something fun, but it really wasn’t much of anything here. AK-47 continues to be the 2009 Officiale MVP, as he is really fun and flamboyant in this. Does a great job of selling for all the elaborate Pirata stuff (flying crotch to face, double arm bar, etc.)

PAS: I think the Piratas might not be very good, I have enjoyed them as bases for flyers, but if you are fake sons of Pirata Morgan you should be able to fucking brawl. This had a some triple teams, some looking good, some looking not so good. Trauma II had some nice headbutts and punches, but this wasn’t much.

Fuerza Guerrera/Juventud Guerrera vs. Negro Navarro/Trauma I

TKG: We are middle of IWRG v SUPER X. The first two falls are really underwhelming, Juve wrestles the first fall in Kanye West style plastic Venetian blind sunglasses, and he second is very rudo ref heavy. The third fall really kicks in with a cool Juve v Navarro section built around Navarro being a bad ass and Juve being an amusing pussy. Nice Fuerza v Trauma I, and surprisingly entertaining Juve v Trauma I sections leading to final face off between Navarro and Fuerza. Really fun third fall. Post fall challenges are laid out. Navarro thinks the Guerreros are only good at talking should go back to the US and just be “[US style]SHOWMAN” but if they ever want to try actual lucha he or his son will take them on in singles.

PAS: This was a pretty disappointing show overall and the whole show really only got going during the third fall of the main event. Navarro looked amazing in his exchange with Juvi, smacking him around like a punk. I could see those two having an amazing singles feud at one point. Still more booking then wrestling, and overall I think IWRG probably improved when the Super X guys left.

Read more!

IWRG 7/23/09

PAS: More Slambamjam IWRG, man we need a new youtube source bad.

Goleador/Guizmo vs. Blasfemia/Keshin Black

TKG: This was bad. Guizmo doesn’t have much of a Gremlins style mask. He has what looks like raccoon eyes on the back of his shirt and raccoon foot prints down one leg of his pants? The other leg of his pants say Pikashu down the side. Is he working multiple Asian themed small creature gimmicks? Is he wearing the wrong gear? Both rudos do amusing shtick. Keshin Black begs off in the crowd after his run ins and Blasfemia milks his scummy looks as he struts around ring. I liked the way Blasfemia eats bumps always landing sitting up and dejected and Guizmo has a real wide variety of kip up variations. But nothing else in this looked good, and almost everything in the second fall looked blown.

PAS: Blasfemia takes a really nice high backdrop, but this was not good. In part really had that Ants v. Egyptians feel of green rookies trying way too much and only pulling every fourth thing off. If this was run in Chikara they would have had a spot where they throw water on Guizmo and he would go crazy, so at least we didn’t have that.

Black Terry/Capitan Muerte/Fantasma de la Opera vs. Exodia/Jack/Pendulo

TKG: This is a stacked rudo team. Exodia has looked awful in the past but looked fine getting walked through stuff by the rudo trio. I think he may have hurt his knee at one point and his final dive seemed really dangerous but I got the impression that he made it through match pretty intact. All the Black Terry v Jack sections were awesome as Terry starts with a really cool handshake into takedown, refuses to do Jack’s KidnPlay comedy spot and does a bunch of cool mat and brawling exchanges. Pendulo is clearly the best of the technicos but doesn’t do a ton in this. I dug all of his sections and he had the coolest dive, but never had the sense that he was anchoring his team. That’s a silly thing to nitpick in a match with three really good falls.

PAS: I also need to add a bit about how awesome Captain Muerte was in this match. He was matched up with Exodia who is the greenest of the techinco team, and he was a huge part in Exodia looking competent. He also broke out his ridiculous signature Flair bump to the floor where he torches the back of his neck on the apron. I want to second the awesomeness of Black Terry, Jack is a pretty terrible normally, but I came away from this match wanting to see a Jack v. Black Terry singles match which is pretty ridiculous.

Chico Che/Rigo/Trauma II vs. Avisman/Bushi/Dr. Cerebro

TKG: Phil and I argue over whether Rigo qualifies for Observer rookie of the year. I mean he clearly has been wrestling for ages but this is the first year he’s showed up in a major promotion (well if you count IWRG as major). I mean I gues he could have been a Scarecrow in AAA or something but if he qualifies for rookie of the year, he deserves it. He carries Bushi through some nice opening matwork and does a real neat job covering for some of Bushi’s awkwardness, bumps like a freak for Dr Cerebro through the first fall, des a huge dive in the second and matches up against everyone in the third.

PAS: This match happened during the period where Trauma II and Avisman were feuding over the Welterweight title, and much of this match focused around them. Avisman is a flawed guy, good on the mat often awkward everywhere else. Here he looked good throughout, really cool brawling with Trauma II on the floor, nice matwork, really cool eating of Trauma’s awesome armdrags and a nasty backcracker finish. He was really a guy on a hot streak, and I am hoping some of his Freelance feud turns up. Chico Che is another hit and miss guy, in the March show we recently reviewed he looked awful, blowing everything he tried, here he was totally on fire, especially in the third fall, running threw complicated headscissors and armdrag variations with speed and precision. You have to love a fat dude who can be so graceful and he was a pleasure to watch here.

Read more!

IWRG 7/9/09

TKG:Luchalibrenation has disappeared for a bit and luckily this episode showed up for downloading. We hope luchalibrenation will return soon. He is missed. IWRG followers may also want to watch handheld Avisman v Trauma II for number one contendership to Trauma II’s title (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GaSm92Dq64).

Avisman + Bushi + Judas El Traitor v. Rigo + Chico Che + Yack

TKG: Avisman and Buschi aren’t really the most dynamic of brawlers. Avisman is odd in that he’s a guy with just one facial expression (hostile confusion) and it works when the match calls on him to make that face and doesn’t when there is no reason for him to be making that face. And then there is JUDAS. Judas El Traidor is a guy who I don’t think I’ve ever seen work anything but openers. Really solid rudo with Ronnie James Dio style hair (long stringy hair that hides balding). Last year during Chanukah I had planned to do eight days of Golem (IWRG undercard worker) matches and was all excited to write about the Golem v Judas as Hebrew avenger v blood libel as acted out through basic opener mat work. Then 24/7 ran the same gimmick and I dropped the idea. Judas really stepped up to be the anchor of the team and was the highlight of the rudo team. There is no reason to keep him in primarias. And then there is the technicos and RIGO!!!! So looking up Rigo Tovar on Wikipedia tells me that he was a guy who suffered from blindness starting in his twenties, vitiligo, and diabetes dying at 59 from “diabetic complications leading to cardio-respiratory failure”. So not a guy known for his health. On the other hand, Rigo the wrestler is a beast. Just an absolute bump machine getting tossed and falling this way and that taking a nasty posting etc. Pretty solid brawler with all his shots looking tough and having a crazy into guy standing in third row tope. Both Cumbia guys looked good here although Chico Che keeps on catching his feet on his tope. And rather than complaining about how underwhelming the normally mediocre Yack looked let me say that looking for more stuff on cumbia on the interweb I discovered the world of cumbia rebajada which is essentially cumbia slowed down; one might say screwed (more slopped than chopped). According to the Austin Chronicle there was a guy making screwed cumbia as early as the 60s (http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/story?oid=oid%3A106216). But you can find stuff looking through youtube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMlqguPNYBo) or I really liked this mix (http://www.siebethissen.net/Dr_Auratheft/Mom_Radio/Rebajadas_El_Maldito_Acordeon.mp3).

PAS: I only remember Judas El Traitor working singles opening matches before. It sort of makes sense, he doesn't seem like a guy you would want to tag with. "Look I really need to be able to trust my partner, and well you know." Apparently Avisman and Bushi are believers in the second chance (well Bushi may be a Buddist) and they go into battle. This was the RIGO show though, he was constantly flying into the audience, taking crazy bumps into chairs, and really breaking out one of the crazier topes I have seen in a long time. Really one of those performances in which you come away needing to see everything he has ever done.

Negro Navarro + Trauma I+ II v. Fantasma De La Opera + Black Terry + Cerebro Negro

TKG: It’s been a while since we’ve seen this type of full on Black Terry match. The Cerebros are enough of a solid unit that Terry can often times take a back seat.The Fantasma/Terry/Cerebro Negro unit is less polished as a unit and Terry fully takes over directing traffic, bumping attacking,:always the center of the match. In many of the matches in 09 Terry’s seemed to be a step below what he was in 08. But this is the full on Black Terry show. Pre match Terry says he wants to test the new title holder Trauma II and the match is all about the match up between Terry and both Trauma II and the match up between Terry and Navarro. All that Cerebro Negro and Fantasma need to do is keep Trauma 1 busy while Terry does the rest. First fall involves the heels triple teaming to pin both Truamas. It’s problematic fall, in that you don’t really buy the Fantasma/Cerebro Negro attacks as having taken Navarro out of the match allowing for the triple teams on the kids. I don’t know to what degree that’s the fault of Fantasma/Cerebro Negro’s lack of credibility and what is the way Navarro is unconvincing bumping and eating their stuff. Probably a little of both. Fantasma doesn’t know how to eat Trauma I’s finisher, and while I really liked his heavyweight face off with I, it felt like he worked his faceoff with II exactly the same way. But the point of match was to keep the attention away from Cerebro Negro/Fantasma and Trauma I and let Terry do his thing. And Terry did his thing and was awesome facing off with Navarro and Trauma II. And you leave this match actively wanting to see a Trauma II v Terry match and worrying that Trauma II may be out of his league.

PAS: The Traumas have been on quite a run in the last couple of months, but man when the team with their dad, you see the difference. This is bad ass brawling Navarro, he is pissed at Fuerza talking shit, and he comes out like a B-movie hero who has been pushed too far. Terry is such a great foil to that kind of fury, as he is much more of a B-movie villain, a tough guy, with tough backup, but fundamentally lacking the moral authority of our hero. I love all of the hierarchy stuff these tags do so well, and Terry v. Trauma II could be incredible if they run it.

Dr. Cerebro + Ricky Cruzz v. Juventud Guerrera + Fuerza Guerrera

TKG: Juvi comes into this match with his back taped up supposedly as a result of the hair v hair match with Dr Cerebro. First time we saw Juvi in IWRG in 09 he was a guy who ate stuff well but all his offense looked like crap. Here his offense all looks really nasty but it’s unclear if he may be legit too banged up to eat anything: the heel collision spots look off, he taps before Dr Cerebro can fully put on his sub in order to protect his back and after that never gets back into the ring.

PAS: Juvi has this Yellow plaid hat with a matching plaid scarf which he wears to the ring, and man does he know how to be hatable. This was really a WCW Nitro main event, the show was about the Super X v. IWRG feud and this match was killing time before the big run in. The big run in was pretty great though as Dinastia Navarro runs in for the save and holy fuck is Negro Navarro the best Bill Watts walking tall asskicker in wrestling today. He just comes in killing fools with rights and lefts and I am just amped to see every match in this feud.

Read more!

IWRG 6/4/09

PAS: We are all members of the Lucha Libre Nation

Lucha Libre Nation
TKG: Sadly they didn't air the Gizmo v Radamantis opener.

Epidemia, Heavy Boy VS Comando Negro, Goleador

TKG:So neither of us wrote anything about Commando Negro in the 4/2/09 show. Commando Negro is a undercard heel who works a pretty simple heel style of guy who is always bested by the faces. He’s not a big bumping heel or an Averno style guy who eats face offense spectacularly. Just a guy who the faces get the better of. He has nice punches, works nice mat exchanges, nice rope running exchanges but the point with him is that he will always loose those exchanges. He’s never guy in control. When he wins a fall it’s normally a quick cheap win where he either cheats or takes advantages of a slip. Combine that with some good heel shtick and that’s a fine way to work as a heel. But here he is working as a defacto face. Face who is always on the loosing end of exchanges and has no hope spots feels especially jobberish. The Pareja Toxico have worked IWRG a couple times in the past and they’re a indy rudo tag team with lots of “innovative” combo moves. A couple neat spots here and there that someone should steal (I liked both leg drop combo finishers in first fall) but the good ideas are drowned out by the sheer volume of ugly looking show- offy elaborate innovation for innovation garbage. On some level this felt like a political burial as your flashy indy team gets to do all their spots and control 85% of the match and yet still loose to an ad hoc team of midcard face and undercard heel.

PAS: Yeah the whole booking was very odd, it would be the equivalent of the WWE bringing in the Motor City Machine Guns, having them hit all their spots, but still job to a makeshift Zach Ryder and K-Krush team, or ROH signing Osiarian Portal and having lose to Shawn Spears and Sugarfoot. That would actually be a perfectly appropriate use of both teams, but if it happened you would suspect something was up. IWRG is full of guys who aren't any good, but I enjoy, and Goledor has definitely turned into one of them. Maybe it is the height he gets on his springboard armdrag, or his goofy mask, I don't like soccer but I dig him.

Diva Salvaje, Miss Gaviota, Péndulo VS Avisman, Fantasma de la Ópera, Bushi

TKG: They finally got rid of Xibalba in this feud. This was a really fun all over the place brawl. On paper you wouldn’t think adding Bushi and Pendulo would work this well in this context. They start with some Bushi v Diva Salvaje mat exchanges which were inexplicably better than you’d expect. From there they went pretty much straight into a brawl. Pendulo’s a guy who I always thought of as a really dull rote technico, but he came off really charismatic here. I’m not completely sold yet. He may have gotten better. May just be that a pendulum swing both ways and there is an extra bit of sugar in his step when he’s swinging with the queens.

PAS: Diva Salvaje really has the look of a guy who lived in a small town in Indiana his whole life, and at 42 decides out of the blue to start taking hormones and live as a woman. "Well I have bought Insurance from Sam for years, if he wants to call himself Samantha now, well that is his concern and he won't lose my business." This was the best of your 2009 Exoctico matches. I am surprised how well Bushi fit in here, lucha exoticos work very differently then Men's Teiho or Dino, and I am impressed that he could adjust.

Black Terry, Cerebro Negro, Dr. Cerebro VS Trauma I, Trauma II, Zatura

TKG:I dug this a lot although I don’t know how good it actually was. I left this thinking these two teams match up really well and have a really good match in them, this has hints of it but isn’t it. That’s the same feeling I have leaving every Jumbo v Billy Robinson or Backlund v Adonis. I may have ridiculously high standards. It’s kind of ridiculous to say I liked this match for its sloppiness. I don’t know if Trauma I legit busted his arm up or if he was just selling over the three falls. Don’t know if Trauma II legit fucked up Cerebro Negro’s neck or if that was a match element. Either way the match was constantly broken up by medical staff checking on guys pulling them out of the action and eventually letting them back in, while the rest of the luchadors had to continue to work ignoring the downed guys and medical staff. I’m assuming that this was all guys getting legit tweaked but I really enjoyed the weird pacing and general dynamic (of guys getting pulled out and reinserted) that it created. Not a dynamic that I think they’ll ever be able to recreate. I imagine if they rematch these teams, the rematch will be smoother and not sure if that’s necessarily for the better. Anyway the real shocker of this match was how good both Cerebro Negro and Zatura looked; and how well they matched up opposite each other. Cerebro Negro was a guy who I enjoyed a bunch in 08 as kind of the best of the “flashy innovative offense” IWRG rudos. But he’s really underwhelmed in the Terry/Cerebros v Dinastia Navarro stuff. And well Zatura is a guy who always struck me as being nothing but insane out-of-control dives. But here the two match up shockingly well and felt like working spotty highflyer lit a fire under Cerebro Negro. I get the sense that people are starting to get a better sense of what they can do with Trauma I and really liked both all the Terry work on Trauma I’s arm and how Terry set up and sold all the Trauma I comebacks. The Trauma II v Dr Cerebro interactions were really the least version of that match up and shockingly the most uninteresting part of the match.

PAS: I don't think anyone would look at this match up on paper and think that Zatura and Cerebro Negro would come out looking the best. Their long mat section was very cool, I especially loved all of the countering based around Zatura's arm. Zatura also broke out a great looking dive, and Negro was probably the top brawler during the brawl section. There is a moment where Trauma II is on his stomach and Cerebro Negro is just unloading with right hands, it really looked like a guy violently finishing someone in MMA. There is such a great mix of trios right now in IWRG, now that it looks like the Trauma's turned on Zatura, I hope we get Negro Navarro back soon, because Dinastia De La Muerte v. Officiales, Juvi/Fuerza/Pirata or Zatura/Chico Che/Freelance all could be incredible


Scorpio Jr, Angelico, Bobby Lee Jr VS Pirata Morgan, Fuerza Guerrera, Ricky Cruz

TKG: Last time I saw Scorpio Jr work a match, he looked completely immobile and a week away from death. I don’t want to say he looked "healthy" here. In his quarter century career I don’t think there’s ever been a period where I’d describe Scorpio Jr as a "healthy looking guy". But he was a lot of fun here, a guy who I will look forawrd to seeing in the ring in the future, commanding presence, bumped around a bunch and for the most part held the technico side of this match together. Unfortunately one of his fellow technicos was Angelico. My wrestling opinions are not infallible. Watching last weeks show I opined that the problem with Angelico was that he was working captain, when he’s a guy who would be less objectionable working ancillary role. Holy shit was I wrong. Working ancillary he was an awful guy who completely took me out of this match. This rudo team is a really superior team to the brawling rudos in the second match but wow Angelico stinks. I mean if you replaced him with Pendulo, Goleador, or either of the Exoticos I think this could have been a blast. Watching Angelico v Cruz, it might be possible that Angelico could work Puerto Rico as an evil chicken shit pussy Spaniard. In that role the Puerto Rican wouldn’t have to sell for him. I don’t even know if he can do that as that doesn't work if the heel is sloppily busting his opponent open. Was Travesti Man from Spain? Travesti Man v Angelico working a Lou Perlman v Nick Carter feud in Spain might be fun. There may be a role for Angelico somewhere in wrestling…just not in Mexico.

PAS: I really liked parts of this, Bobby Lee Jr. had a nice in ring back tope and a tope to the floor. Fuerza and Pirata both owned and I loved all of their interactions with each other. Fuerza doing the ringpost shoulder bump and fouling his partner was a cool heel miscommunication spot I have never seen before, and should be stolen by Austin Aries and D'Lo. Scorpio Jr. really looks facially like an old jew now, and his brawling with Pirata looked like an especially violent Buddy Hackett v. Ruth Buzzi slapfight. Lots of things to like, but man is Angelico the fucking worst, he isn't in this much, but just drags the match into the toilet every time he tags in. He didn't potato Cruz with his awful looking kicks, but when he slipped on his Low-Ki rip off double stomp and kicked him in the eye. I am hoping this was just a short visit over in Mexico and he returns to his feud with the Catalanian separatist heel faction in whatever random Spanish indy he normally works

Read more!

IWRG 5/28/09

After being oppressed by the fascist Viacom Yotube stormtroopers Roberto has come storming back with a new youtube account and reloaded the IWRG for us

http://www.youtube.com/user/LuchaLibreNation

This is the first show of 2009 without either of your legendary maestros Terry and Navarro, so we get to see what the youngsters can do.

Vampiro Metálico & Carta Brava Jr. VS Galactik & Máscara Magnífica

PAS: These are four of your most solid opener guys, and this was a darn good little match. Brava Jr. and Metalico have a bunch of nifty double teams. They are both great at finding inventive ways to backcrack and frontcrack their opponents, which is a huge part of current lucha. The technicos were a bit vanilla, but they ate everything well and I liked an early Galactik rope running section.

TKG: Week two of me enjoying Vampiro Metalico’s “innovative” spots. He’s a lot more backcrackerish this week but still he has a nice way of getting over the innovative stuff without it being elaborate or show offy. Carta Brava is really solid and a bunch of steps above Metalico when it comes to crispness and polish. The two are a real nice pairing and instead of working the segunda tag format where each guy pairs off with one face, they do more of an almost US tag with both guys getting shots at both faces, lots of quick tags cutting off the ring, low blows behind refs back, keeping face tag partner out of ring etc. And this really felt like a match that if it took place in a US indy against Generico/ Fire Ant would get a ton of pimping. Galaktik and Mascara Magnifica are better than Generico or Fire Ant but it’s lucha so neither of the faces do real sympathy baby face selling during what essentially amounts to a FIP section, and although both faces do angry Robert Gibson on apron being kept out of ring sections…neither do fired up hot tag when they enter ring. Fun second match.

Angelico, Chico Ché, Freelance VS Capitán Muerte, Durango Kid, Tetsuya Bushi

PAS: I have talked before about how IWRG really needs a good third technico for the Freelance and Chico Che team, well Angelico is very much not that guy. Angleico looks kind of like Jeff Spicoli, while he might be a very light skinned Mexican, he really felt like a random Texas indy dude who figured that an IWRG run would help him get into CZW or something. The match opens with Angelico and Bushi doing a long mat exchange, and it was as bad as you might expect an All Japan rookie and a fake Marek Brave doing ras de lone segment would be. When Angelico stands up he basically does a bunch of poorly executed Low-Ki spots, his kicks and knees looked like a guy doing a poor CM Punk imitation of a poor KENTA imitation. Freelance was in this match, and he is consistantly awesome, there was an awesome section where Durango Kid is seeing how high he can launch him with backdrops and monkey flips, which ends with him throwing Freelance into the fourth row with a somersault plancha. Worth watching for that stuff, but not a good match.

TKG: I don’t know if Chico Che and Freelance really need a good third technico so much as they need to be the captains. I really liked Chico Che’s sections with everyone, and enjoyed Freelance’s sections with everyone as well (especially loved all the Freelance v Captain Muerte stuff). This would have probably been a good match if it was structured for either Che or Freelance to be captain. But for some reason instead of having Angelico and Durango Kid work ancillary roles, they were booked as the team captains. They announce Angelico as being from Spain and he looks like he’s working some sort of ridiculous Russell Brand gimmick. I can’t believe that he’s supposed to be a face, I mean he doesn’t look like he’s working a BXB Hulk gimmick so much as a parody of BXB Hulk gimmick. One announcer starts talking about how visually Angelico reminds him of British wrestler Steve Wright who he saw tour Mexico in the seventies “ and have great matches with Rene Guajardo and Karloff Lagarde”… and now I’m even more pissed that I’m stuck watching this turd. I have no idea why Phil harped on the piss poor opening mat work instead of the match finish run between Angelico and Durango Kid. Last week I wrote that “ I think Durango Kid is the La dojo guy who taught lucha to Rocky Romero and Alex Koslov but I’m not going to hold that against him”. This week I’m holding it against him as that finish section really felt like it was put together by a guy who was “taught lucha” by Rocky Romero and Alex Koslov.

Diva Salvaje, Goleador, Miss Gaviota VS Avisman, Fantasma de la Ópera, Xibalva

PAS: I have been consistently enjoying these exotico matches, even though I can't say any of them are actually any good. A spirited little heavyweight brawl with Goleador showing some nice athleticism (and didn't really show the matching awkwardness). I wonder if Diva Salvaje is Bestia's gay younger brother, he definitely has all of Bestia's Guapo good looks.

TKG: Last week I described the team working the Exoticos as “the rudo team at best is Carta Brava Jr who is really solid if unspectacular and at worse is Xibabla who is really mediocre but competent. Somewhere in between those two lies Avisman who can be completely hit or miss” This week they replaced Carta Brava with Fantasma de La Opera. Like Brava he is a really super solid rudo but Fantasma is flashier. He brawls a little rougher and has a bunch of really nasty unprotected throws which he hasn’t really figured out how to integrate into his match. They often come out of nowhere and can feel out of place. This week Xibalva looked even shittier than last week and Avisman didn’t have Freelance to work against (he had some nice mat sections and running sections with Goleador but also some awful strike/brawling stuff). But the rudo star was Fantasma de La Opera. You take a guy who doesn’t know how to incorporate his dangerous throws into his big matches and you put him in a match with two trannies and soccer mascot and suddenly the inappropriateness of his offense comes across as deliberate heelish jerk move.


Los Oficiales VS Traumas & Zatura

PAS: Tremendous match, as good with the best stuff we have seen from IWRG this year. Really a battle of captains with 911 and Trauma II just going at it. The match opens with a really long mat battle between the two. They aren't as smooth as Navarro, but make up for it with a lot more countering then you normally see in IWRG, there was an especially awesome Trauma II counter of a tapitia. We also get a big showdown between 911 and II at the end with both guys getting some pretty great near falls, before the clean finish. Everyone else played their roles well too, Trauma I has improved a lot, he is still the weaker guy, but he doesn't drag the match down as he has in the past, Zatura isn't much outside of nice dives, but he had an awesome dive, and your other Oficiales were bumping all over the ring. It is pretty great to see IWRG put something together this good, without any of the superworkers, and makes me even more excited to see what else they will do this year.


TKG: Phil is way overselling this. This is the best match we’ve seen from the Officiales in 09. This is a title match which is their bread and butter. They don’t get to eat that many fancy aerial moves here but they can do more complicated mat stuff with the Truamas then they could with Multifaceto/Pendulo. I think this match was also helped a bunch by having Trauma II work captain instead of Zatura. I enjoyed the Trauma II v 911 stuff and liked the way 911 upped the stiffness which Trauma II answered by upping the speed. But oddly my favorite performer here was AK -47. He has probably had the most impressive performances of the Officiales in 09. This was the best Trauma 1 has looked to me and a lot of that had to do with matching him up opposite AK-47 (the powerhouse off the Officiales). Trauma 1 always comes across somewhat awkward and his mat section with AK-47 was awkward. But it worked as you weren’t watching him try to work a Urijah Faber style featherweight smooth quick exchanges but instead more of a Brad Imes deliberate hard lumbering heavyweight exchanges. AK-47 gets caught in the first fall and submits to a super slick Trauma II sub. Part of why that finish is rewarding is the contrast between the heavyweight sections with Trauma I and the finesse stuff from II. This isn’t as good as the high end Navarro/Terry stuff this year but a nice use of everyone and a fine lil title match that works as rewarding main event.

Read more!

IWRG 5/14/09

PAS: After a three week swine flu hiatus, IWRG makes it triumphant return.

http://www.youtube.com/user/r0b3rt0x3L14S

TKG: I feel sorry for the creators of Corridos Marranos as I imagine there is less demand for comic books with covers depicting voluptuous women being sexually ravaged by pigs. I’m sure the Corridos Marranos albulms have also been hurt. Everyone on this show feels a step off, like working off ring rust or something. One of the cameramen wears a facemask. Fantasma de La Opera wears one for cheap heat as well.

Halcon 2000 v. Radamantis

PAS: Since IWRG has shown up on youtube, this is the first time we have really gotten to see an IWRG opener. IWRG openers are always worked in this really basic way. They almost have to spend twice as much time on the mat as they do standing, and you won't be seeing any dives or 2004 US Indy finishers here.

TKG: They actually do tease a dive as Radamantis gets tossed out of ring twice. First time Halcon follows to the floor for ringside brawling; second time he gets up on second rope but doesn’t have his footing. He has repeated problems with hat second rope. Halcon 2000 isn’t a very engaging technico but really liked his hold onto the headlock amateur ride. Radamantis on the other hand is kind of a blast. Everyone in IWRG watches way too much Smackdown, and you get the sense that Radamantis is a Finlay fan..as he has nice European uppercuts, nasty elbow drop, and some neat fire man’s carry based throws. He also has a preposterous Zorackish alien mantis costume. I look forward to him hopefully moving up the card.

Goleador/Jack v Misteco Jr/Avisman

TKG: This is odd. After talking smack about Jack, I enjoyed his mat section and after talking smack about Avisman I really enjoyed all his stand up rope running exchanges (and big dive). Goleador is an awkwardly crowbaring mobile heavyweight. It’s hard to tell who is a heavyweight in the ring opposite your normal tiny IWRG regulars, but I think Goleador is around Arlequin's size. My impression is for awkward mobile heavyweights he is a lot greener than Arlequin. Either Avsiman decides to sell like Goleador is constantly fucking him up or Goleador constantly awkwardly fucks Avisman up, including twisting his ankle wrong on a Romero special.

PAS: This is the most I have enjoyed Jack, this is the first time he has looked like a poor man's La Parka instead of a poor man's La Parka Jr.. Goleador is weird, he shows a bunch of agility during parts of the match, and in other parts he looks completely awkward and clumsy. You figure either a guy is a good athlete or he isn't. Avisman had one nice submission and a nice dive, but no one was really up to working the mat with him.


Fantasma de La Opera/ Capitan Muerte/Cerebro Negro v Miss Gaviota, Diva Salvaje, and Sexy Gladis

TKG: I’ve seen Miss Gaviota before but never seen the other two exoticos. Diva Salvaje is an amusing tranny trainwreck. He’s just a hot mess; big ole queen in an unflattering outfit that makes him look even fatter, can’t get his perm right, just can’t get himself together. Other trannys model themselves on Garbo, Cher, Tyra Banks, Hayley Mills, etc…Diva Salvaje is aiming for Abyss’ unattractive sister. It’s an amusing look. This match is clipped to shit and ends after the first fall so I never get any sense of Sexy Gladis. Well the sense I get, is “hey they clipped everything with him out of this”. Captain Muerte takes a bunch of amusing bumps trying to leap to break up rope walking and the Salvaje/Fantasma interactions are amusing but this is clipped to pieces. Miss Gaviota is stretchered after taking Fantasma’s nasty DDT variation and the heels do mic work talking about how they’re not here for kisses but to break people, etc.

PAS: I live off of 17th St. in Dupont Circle here in Washington DC, they have drag races every year right in front of my building, and I have never seen a drag queen look as busted as Diva Salvaje, not even after a full on heels wearing sprint. Fantasma de La Opera coming out with a flu mask to block both the Swine Flu and the Exotico kiss is an awesome heel spot, and Diva Salvaje ripping it off to give him a grim tongue kiss was funny. I also loved the badass heels stretchering the Exoticos, although it didn't appear to go anywhere next week. IWRG booking doesn't seem to ever build.

Officiales v Chico Che, Zakura, Freelance

TKG:Didn’t Chico Che have more of a bowl haircut at one point. His hair is thinning fast. This was a pretty classically constructed match designed to set up either a singles match with the technico captain (Zakura) or another trio with the technico captain’s normal trio (Zakura’s normal trio being him and the Traumas, with this Chico Che/ Freelance/ Zakura being more of an ad hoc team). I’ve seen matches with Chico Che as captain.and matches with Freelance as captain. Both guys can pull that role off well. And both are a blast as secondary guys here. The problem is Zakura really isn’t a guy who is capable of working captain at this point ( I don’t know if he’ll ever be ready). Zakura is fine as secondary guy with dives but can't pull this thing off at all. He just looked like shit in the captain role and it hurt the match. This match had a bunch of neat dives and good performances from the Officiales, Freelance and Chico Che but it needed someone else to play captain.

PAS: Zatura has a real AAA feel to him, as he is a guy with some really pretty spots, but everything in between those spots looks bad. That is fine when he has a secondary role in a match, but his flaws are really exaserbated when he is the focus. I really enjoyed Chico Che in this, as he is one of the better technicos in these midcard trios match. This did have some really sweet individual stuff, Freelances rana into the stands was especially awesome, but not a great match. I think they really need another quality mid card technico in this fed, Freelance rules, and I like Chico Che, but they need to bring back Mickie Segura.

Fuerza Guerrera,Juventud Guerrera, Dr Cerebro v Negro Navarro, Trauma 1, Trauma II

TKG: “Black is black and I want my baby back. It’s grey, it’s grey since she went away.” I want to say the story with Los Bravos was that after one of their members committed suicide, the label forced them to tour with a replacement member wearing a lone ranger mask so as to hide the suicide. As you can imagine the combination of instant celebrity, suicide and on stage masked hiding of the suicide fucked with everyone’s mind. It’s possible I’m confusing them with another Spanish garage rock type band, but I think that’s them. I don’t know what happened to Pirata, Juve at times looked really off and at other times had hints of being the worlds best Andy Barrow (guy more concerned with heat and eating stuff then anything else)I hope he gets his shit together. Dr Cerebro looked spectacular, all his mat work was nasty, his brawling was great and he can eat a tope like nobodies business. The post match DDT on the trashcan was also nasty and Black Terry confronting Fuerza is an awesome development. "Bad is bad, it makes me sad. It's Time. It's time. Time that I found piece of mind."

PAS: Juvi looked really athletically off here, which is weird as you figure he would still be able to hit his spots. Hey looked more physically shot then guys twice his age. I did enjoy him as a totally obnoxious heel, sort of Bobby Heenanish. Like his new gimmick is "guy you want to see Jack Evans Thai knee in the face." Navarro was awesome as usual, kind of directing traffic and sending his kids after Juvi. For a guy who is primarily known as a Maestro mat worker, Navarro may be one of the best brawlers in the world, his section against Dr. Cerebro was great, I love his little short headbutt, it feels like the kind of thing you would uncork in a bar fight. After watching Cerebro and Navarro work the mat and brawl I really want a singles match.

Read more!