2017 Ongoing MOTY List: Villano Familia v. Black Terry and the Boys

51. Black Terry/Demonio Infernal/Diablo Jr. v. Villano IV/Kortiz/Villano III Jr. IWRG 5/3

PAS: This was a good old fashioned smash a head into a beer cooler Arena Naucalpan brawl. Villano III Jr. is a little green and a little slight for a Villano but I though he had good energy and he and Terry really went after each other. This was worked as local rudos vs. invading rudos which is always a fun lucha trope. The little moments of VIV and Terry brawling were sublime, at one point Terry starts bleeding and Villano IV just goes after that cut with a true bit of nasty focus. Kortiz looks virtually indistinguishable from a classic Villano, slightly different outfit but otherwise he would fit right in a UWA match in the 90s. The only downside of this match was a weirdly blown finish with Villano IV rolling up Terry but Terry clearly kicking out before three, no idea whether the ref just missed it, or it was supposed to be a weird rudo ref thing, it was deflating though. Otherwise this was well worth watching.

ER: The odds are pretty good that if a match literally opens with Black Terry and a Villano punching each other on the floor, that I'm going to like the match. And guess what? I liked the match. This was my first time seeing Villano III Jr., and he had a couple kinks (if you can't throw a decent back elbow, don't throw one at Terry, as he will demonstrate how to strike) and he's real lanky, like no Villano you've ever seen (compared to Kortiz, who may as well have been Villano V, just the same exact shape, even his face looks similar through his mask), but he takes some big bumps (that backwards flip bump into the crowd is quite the crazy lucha bump to be turning into a common bump) and he does have certain "Villano" things down like that "left left left right" strike combo, and I liked his kicks. He doesn't spam superkicks or anything, he just had solid "normal" kicks. That's a good sign for his future work. Diablo is getting better literally every match I see him, Kortiz too. They're becoming guys I need to seek out whenever they make tape. But if you're watching this, you're probably watching it to see Terry and V4 mix it up, and they certainly mix it up. As I said, the file literally starts with them punching each other, and they kinda stay at each other's throats for the first two falls. Terry gets buster open quick and bleeds the way Terry bleeds, scraps with everyone throughout the match, and Villano looks as badass as ever. V4 has slowed down a bit but throws some great strikes, barrels through dudes with a mean western lariat, really works like a bully. Finish of the match is total horse apples, with Terry kicking out well before the 3 but the ref counting anyway. Laaaaaame. The ref didn't even seem like he was working lucha heel ref, just looked like he kept counting and stubbornly stuck to his guns. In a year of lousy finishes, this might be the worst. Still, enjoy the journey and all that, there was tons of gold to be found.


2017 MOTY MASTER LIST

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Digging in the Crates Podcast #2

Welcome to Episode #2 of the Digging in the Crates Podcast. Phil is joined by Kris Zellner as we add four more matches to the ongoing Schneider Comp, We also add some non-wrestling recommendations at the end.

Digging in the Crates episode #2


Here are some links to matches

Cactus Jack v. Tarzan Goto 10/5/95

Daisuke Ikeda/Takahiro Oba v. Kengo Mashimo/Makoto Hashi 10/24/10

Dean Malenko v. Bobby Eaton 4/27/97


Brazo Jr. v. Kortiz 9/24/14

Tattletales

The Violent Century by Lavie Tidhar

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2014 Ongoing Match of the Year List

14. Brazo Jr. v. Kortiz WMC 8/24

PAS: This is the son of a Brazo vs. the son of a Villano  and it is the kind of gritty a old school bloody lucha singles match which would have been right at home on the 80's set and something which does the legacy of that family feud proud. Kortiz is great, really a nasty asskicker truly in the family tradition, he mauls Brazo Jr. early with nasty punches, and post shots until Brazo Jr.'s gear is covered in blood. Very traditional structure for this kind of match, with one sided rudo domination early, until Brazo ducks a punch and unloads with an over hand slap. He then takes over and bloodies Kortiz by smashing his head into the top of the metal post. Then we get more of a back and forth match including an awesome section with both guys on their knees unloading everything they have. The finish was a little goofy, with Brazo's second faking a towel throw, and then Kortiz gets distracted, his mask pulled off and rolled up, but for a bs finish it was pretty clever.

ER: This was a 3 part match for me (well, erm…I suppose most lucha matches are). I loved the first two parts, right up with the best stuff I've seen all year, and the third part was good but lost me a little by the end. But damn those first two parts. Kortiz comes out not rocking the Villano name, but unmistakably rocking the Villano body and viciousness. You realize what kind of match this is going to be around the 4 minute mark, as the action had spilled out in front of the camera and Kortiz punches Brazo a lot right in the ear, and Kortiz is really mean throughout all of this. His overhand chops sound like the sound-sweetened versions on Lucha Underground. Brazo looked like kind of a pushover (I really appreciate that somebody somewhere taped this, but you get the feeling the match would be that much better if filmed up close so we could really get inside Brazo's selling and comeback) until a missed Kortiz strike and then it was on! Possibly my favorite lucha moment of the year (and think of the ground that covers in 2014) sees Kortiz climbing up the ropes but getting caught by Brazo, and with both men facing out towards the corner, Brazo starts bashing Kortiz's face into the edge of the ring post. I've never seen that before and lucky us it was happening on the post closest to camera side, so we could see all the glory of a guy getting smashed into a ring post. We get some nasty leg work from Brazo in the tercera, the worst when Kortiz has his leg draped over the bottom rope and Brazo just curb stomps right through it. They lost me a little with some move and submission trading, but upon rewatching the match it wasn't really nearly as bad as my initial impressions. There aren't wild lucha brawls with blood anymore so I should really have been focused more on how exciting THAT was, instead of getting a little lost with some mostly pointless "but he didn't sell the knee long enough" type stuff. As a whole picture the match was great, total hidden gem that - thanks to Phil's OCD about searching for obscure wrestlers every day on the internet - totally pays off.

2014 Match of the Year Master List

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