Uprising: Lucha Libre Workrate Report, 9/15/13

So again, living in a heavily hispanic area I tend to get random lucha shows popping up for 6 weeks on Mexican channels I didn't even realize I get ( this is on Azteca America). It appears to be affiliated with the Bay Area's Pro Wrestling Revolution, but I have no clue what dates the matches orginally happened. It's odd that no channels I get show CMLL anymore, but I can see Willie Mac lucha matches at midnight on a Saturday.

1. Vaquero Fantasma/Incognito/Rockero Del Diablo vs. El Amante/Ulysses/Magno

Okay these matches may be up to 4 years old, if they're still using Incognito. The announcer mentions Santa Maria, CA. A (not very ) quick internet search shows me that holy lord this match was from 6/26/09! That's right, some local channel is showing high school gymnasium lucha from over 4 years ago at midnight on a Saturday night. I am unsure if this is the IWRG Rockero, but it actually appears to be. Amante and Ulysses are small tecnicos and Incognito and Fantasma are good at tossing them around with powerbombs and backdrops. We get a pretty great dive sequence into the entrance way with stereo topes and all 6 guys spilling out dangerously. Magno is pretty slick and with his height it's surprising he wasn't also signed by WWE when they took Incognito. Match goes a little under 10 minutes and was fine. They try and end it on a triple rana, but the timing is all off and a couple guys have to get their faces grinded on for a really long time while the third group completes their rana.

2. Felino/El Chupacabra vs. Hijo de Rey Misterio/Hijo del Rayo de Jalisco Jr.

This match is even older as it's from 3/28/09 (pretty sure the fake Misterio doesn't even work anymore, but not positive about that). I have no clue who the Rayo son is, but I assume he is one of a dozen guys who pay Rayo Jr. money to wear a Rayo mask. Chupacabra is still a bay area guy though this is when he still wore a full green bodysuit with spikes down his spine. Now he just wears tights and face paint (with some fangs). Match starts and the announcer actually does drop "Rayman" so maybe this really is Rayo's son. I loved me some Hombre Sin Nombre back in the day. Now I'm thinking it actually is Rayman as he and Felino pair off and he doesn't look lost in the least and it's not Felino just working stiff matwork against a rook (though Felino's matwork is killer here). Chupacabra is awesome from the apron, sneaking in kicks on Rayman, until Rayman gets sick of it and hits a running forearm, with Chupacabra taking an admirable bump from the apron into the guardrail. I went to a PWR show once and they are clearly very shady about pretending this Mysterio cousin is actually Rey Mysterio. Most of the kids don't know the difference so I suppose there's really no harm in it; gives them a thrill and the parents don't pay an arm and a leg to drag them to a WWE show. When I was a kid my dad took me to see the Harlem Clowns performing in my home town of Healdsburg against some combo of the Healdsburg Fire Dept. and Police Dept. Clearly it wasn't the Globetrotters, but it had former Globetrotter "Showboat" Robinson and they did old Globetrotter routines as well as some new schtick. It was $10 and a 5 minute drive and it was a blast. I can't imagine 10 year old me having more fun seeing the Globetrotters at the Oakland Arena than I did seeing the Clowns in the Healdsburg High gymnasium. So fake Rey does a (bad) 619 and a decent dive to the floor, and a bunch of kids are stoked. Match ends not too long after that with Rayman hitting a majistral on Felino. So, not much of a match at 7 minutes, but pleasantly weird to find it on TV on a Saturday night after Svengoolie.

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Phil's Ongoing 2008 MOTY List

1. Blue Panther v. Villano V CMLL 9/19
2. Yuki Ishikawa + Alexander Otsuka + Munenori Sawa v Daisuke Ikeda + Katsumi Usuda + Super Tiger II BattlArts 7/26
3. Jimmy Jacobs v. B.J. Whitmer IWA-MS 3/1
4. Floyd Mayweather v. Big Show WWE 3/30
5. Mike Quakenbush v. Johnny Saint WXW 3/8
6. Teddy Hart v. Eddie Kingston v. Homicide JAPW 1/19
7. Yuki Ishikawa v. Carl Greco BattlArts 6/1
8. Necro Butcher v. Sami Callihan IWA-MS 10/4
9. Rey Cometa/Pegasso/Freelance vs Los Oficiales IWRG 10/17
10. Bull Pain/Todd Morton v. Jerry Lawler/Chris Michaels XCW-Midwest 8/9
11. Necro Butcher v. Predator IGF 6/23
12. Blue Panther v. Atlantis CMLL 7/11
13. Mystico De La Juarez/Silver King/Rubi Gardenia v. Cassandro/Magno/El Hijo Del Santo Lucha Libre London 12/9
14. Necro Butcher v. 2 Cold Scorpio IWA-MS 8//17
15. Blue Panther v. Villano V CMLL 9/29
16. Meiko Satomura v. Aja Kong SENDAI 10/26
17. Yuki Ishikawa v. Alexander Otsuka RJPW 6/18
18. Mitsuhara Misawa v. Takeshi Morishima NOAH 3/2
19. Bryan Danielson v. Nigel McGuiness ROH 2/23
20. Erick Stevens v. Roderick Strong FIP 2/8
21. Trik Davis v. Sami Callihan IWA-MS 8/17
22. Hayato Jr. Fujita v. Yoshitune MPRO 12/12
23. Nigel McGuiness v. Austin Aries ROH 3/28
24. Evan Bourne v. Chavo Guererro WWE 10/14
25. Finlay v. Chuck Palumbo WWE 5/20



Previously on the List

Shawn Michaels v. Ric Flair WWE 3/30
Finlay v. JBL WWE 3/30
El Valiente + El Hijo Del Fantasma + La Mascara v. La Sombra + Volador Jr. + Sagrado CMLL 4/30
Blue Panther v. Averno CMLL 11/4

13. Mystico De La Juarez/Silver King/Rubi Gardenia v. Cassandro/Magno/El Hijo Del Santo Lucha Libre London 12/9

This was the main event of the final Lucha Libre London show, and is pretty much everything you could ask for in a lucha libre trios match. Santo is a guy who only shows up on tape once or twice a year, and you really have to search high and low for it. Santo is still Santo and hits all of his signature awesome stuff here, but this match was really made by the performances of everyone else. Cassandro was completely amazing here, crisp, spectacular and really charismatic, by the end of this match he was the most over guy on the show. Mystico De La Juarez and Magno are Juraez guys who clearly work each other a ton, and they have some very cool exchanges, Mystico is a total bump freak as he takes an awesome reverse rana and a nasty looking Code Red from Santo. This was really a traditional formula lucha match, mat work and quick exchanges in the first fall, violent rudo brawling in the second and wild dives and near falls in the third. It is a great formula, and much like the Southern tag formula, pretty rare in 2009. So when you see it done so well like this it is a real pleasure.

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