On Brand Segunda Caida: Gran Apache vs. Oscar Sevilla

Gran Apache vs. Oscar Sevilla vs. Panthro vs. Cuerno De Chivo AAA 10/17/99

ER: The Fall and Fall of Goat Horn! This was an excellently set up cage match, and I love that these good lucha cage matches have made themselves hidden to me and now I keep stumbling across them unintentionally. This was a hair match, last man in the cage gets shaved, and the layout of the twists was so much fun. Cuerno de Chivo - Goat Horn - had lost his mask to Sevilla several months before, Sevilla is a hair and mask winning machine, Apache hates Sevilla, and there's a Thundercat. That's a good start for a foursome! And everyone has great moments, made only better by the turns of the match. Apache is a sadistic killer to Sevilla, interrupting everything he does with his punches (that were probably my favorite punches in the world in 1999), and flattens him with two different super violent sitout pedigrees. One of Sevilla's skills was whipping his face into the mat, and Apache really lifted him up high in that double underhook before bringing him down on his face. He finds time to punch Panthro too, and does get smashed face first into the cage by Sevilla, but then kicks Sevilla out of the air when Sevilla goes for a twisting elbow. 

Apache escapes 3 minutes in, then just makes fun of everyone from the outside. Panthro escapes a couple minutes later, and Apache starts helping out Chivo by blocking attempted Sevilla escapes. Apache really parkours his way up the cage to punch Sevilla in the face, distracts him enough to make him face plant on a missed frog splash...but, Apache can't pull himself away from the glee of knocking Oscar off the cage and manages to get himself pulled back in! Apache takes a real dangerous awesome fall back into the ring, and then we get Apache fully helping Chivo kick Sevilla's ass. This makes Panthro climb back into the ring to save Sevilla, essentially giving us a late match restart. We get the tecnicos finally pulling the duke on the rudos and quickly escaping, leaving the two rudos begrudgingly left fighting each other for their hair. Apache was downright giddy at the thought of Sevilla losing his long silky locks, but he's not going to be losing his own hair to anybody. We get a great long bit of Chivo and Apache talking it out and Chivo keeps trying to reason with him. They shake on it, Apache kicks him in the balls as swiftly and cruelly as possible, and then scrambles up the cage with ease, blowing kisses on his way to the floor, Chivo left holding his balls in the ring. Apache was a real whirlwind here, like a quick moving lucha Finlay. Great cage matches, a lucha staple. 

Gran Apache/La Rata I/La Rata II vs. Oscar Sevilla/Pegasso/Bull Rogers AAA 2/18/00

ER: Pegasso is billed as Luchador Sin Nombre here but looks exactly like he's always looked (not sure how long he went unnamed), Apache has a fine Indian maiden with him, and La Ratas are absolutely horrifying scarecrow men. This is also weird to me, as it's 2/3 falls, which is something I didn't realize AAA was still doing at this point. This is a short trios, very quick falls, but packed with enough dives for an hour of TV. Pegasso especially seemed intent on injuring himself, breaking out a couple tope con giros, and Asai moonsault, and a sick springboard rana to the floor where he basically powerbombs himself. There are more dives from the others (even Bull Rogers, a luchador who seems to only exist for a few months of 2000 AAA), but I got so much more glee from Gran Apache's antics. 

This was a master stooge class for Apache, in a match where I don't think he landed a single piece of offense, not even a punch. Every Apache exchange had him bumping nicely to the floor to put over a Rogers dropkick or Sevilla rana, and the rest was him working an incredible bit around being kicked in the balls. Apache swings several times on Sevilla and misses every shot, so just immediately complains to Pepe Casas that Sevilla kicked him in the balls. After being awarded the segunda for this (without too much of an investigation by the refs), Apache proceeds to duck walk all around ringside while holding his balls, feebly giving thumbs up to the crowd while limping around with his butt out, so distracted by his aching sac that he walks face first into a ringpost, then staggers off holding his balls and his forehead. I'm not sure when the change happened, but there aren't anywhere near enough lucha matches based around a rudo selling a phantom ball kick, but this was some of the best I've seen. Sevilla pays him back by winning the tercera, merely by faking his own injured balls, but obviously doesn't put anywhere near the care that Apache put into his aching scrotum. 

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Lucha Worth Watching: Cassandro! CMLL Undercard!

Cassandro/Flyer vs. Magnus/Medico Asesino Jr. FILLM 11/18/18

ER: Man how cool is Cassandro?? Here he is working the coolest lucha arena in the world, the one that looks like it's a Street Fighter II background, and he comes out wearing a spectacular green coat with a long train, which somehow looks elegant while being dragged across the dirty concrete. He's not a guy who shows up a ton on tape, as that is part of the excitement around Cassandro. But he's the exact same guy you remember, here pulling off tight armdrags, a painfully precise missile dropkick, and his signature tope con giro. Asesino came off like a fun rudo stooge, Magnus hits a nice dive into the aisle and Flyer gets to hit two (which makes sense as his name ain't Matwork) including a big asai moonsault. Cassandro commanded the crowd like a conductor at a couple points, really a guy who knows exactly what to do no matter the setting, and while this match didn't set out to be a classic you definitely would have left satisfied had you gone there seeking a fun Cassandro main. Lucha shows are becoming more and more common in the States, and it feels like Cassandro should be able to bring buzz to these shows. There's no reason one of the three lucha feds running Denver isn't running Cassandro/Zumbido matches, but come on people let's make this happen!

Akuma/Espanto Jr./Espiritu Negro vs. Star Jr./Pegasso/Stigma CMLL 4/16/19

ER: This was a real fun undercard match that had a real fine rudo trios team performance and a bunch of great big tecnico moments for Star Jr., in the kind of match that really looked like they were already looking at Star Jr. as a future Soberano Jr. (when Soberano moves up even higher on the card). The crowd reactions for Star Jr. hear were real loud and real organic, felt like a guy who the locals were really treating as a star (he can just drop the Jr. once he's an actual star). The rudo team is a bunch of guys who haven't gotten much ink on Segunda Caida even though they've all been in the biggest lucha fed for like 5 years. Here they really make the case as an interesting team, standing out in ways that I think the Dinamitas started standing out a couple years ago on undercards. They had a bunch of mean double teams (loved a missile dropkick into tandem vertical suplex that poor Stigma took), Akuma hits a sky high flapjack, all three guys bite opponents at one point, and they handled their end of big base bumps. They were a team that made me want to see more of them as a team. Star Jr. had a big exciting match; crowd was flipping out for his headscissors, his big springboard rana to the entrance ramp looked as big as it should have, the crowd went nuts for every time he outsmarted the rudos, just a really fun performance that got a deserving response. Pegasso is a pro in these kinds of "2nd flashiest tecnico in a trios" roles, and Stigma was in there for some big bumps; the whole match has a nice breezy vibe that I think made all 6 look strong.


COMPLETE AND ACCURATE CASSANDRO

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

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

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

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

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

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Lucha Worth Watching: Your 2017 CMLL Midcard

Virus/Disturbio/Okumura vs. Pegasso/Soberano Jr./Fuego (CMLL 2/3/17)

ER: We get more of 2017 tecnico superstar Soberano. He's really connecting with the Arena Mexico crowd, and it's always exciting when a crowd starts really reacting to a wrestler, the excitement in a worker's movements when he's getting loud reactions are palpable. Here he gets to show off a lot of flash, and also shows his bump freak side. The bump freak side is my favorite side of his, with him flying recklessly to the floor in the primera off a bull rush shoulderblock from Virus, taking an Okumura lariat on the side of his head, taking a hip toss from the ring to the rampway, and the bumps all lead to bigger reactions on his comebacks. Rudos really take a back seat to tecnicos here, with all three just trying (and succeeding) in drawing heat from the crowd verbally instead of just hogging all the offense. I mean, Virus is always going to look good, but here he hangs back, mostly keeping his offense to simple things (big shoulderblock, sharp elbow drop to the "lower abdomen", big lariat). The finish gets wild with Pegasso hitting a tornillo, Fuego hitting a missile dropkick followed immediately by a springboard missile dropkick, then pins Virus with a cool crucifix variation. Soberano clears the ring with a springboard rana, hits a smooth as hell tornillo off the top, and a moonsault off the middle onto a hanging Okumura wraps it up, crowd flipping their lid the whole time. Fun stuff.

Hechicero/Sagrado/Misterioso Jr. vs. The Panther/Guerrero Maya Jr./Blue Panther Jr. (CMLL 11/17/17)

ER: I really like this rudo team, they same to show up fairly regularly together and they all mesh nicely. They're good at being jerks and bullies, and they're good at allowing openings for any tecnicos that want to grab them. The rudo antics in this one are as good as expected, like The Panther sending Misterioso to the floor with a rana, so Misterioso responds angrily yanking Maya off the apron and then chucking Kemonito into the front row. Just as Stan Hansen turns a pinfall save into an opportunity to beat the hell out of the guy pinning his partner, I love and appreciate how Misterioso took out frustrations on the other team. We get some big bad triple teams too, like Hechicero doing his weird inverted monkey flip to Panther while Sagrado and Misterioso dish kicks on the way down. The tecnicos get some big dives and get to show some stones, like when Hechicero hits his cool moonsault to the floor, and he then gets jumped on the floor by the other two opponents. You don't normally see that from a tecnico team. Guerrero Maya peaks things with an insane tope con giro that sends him flying into the second row, The Panther keeps getting better, and these rudos know how to get an Arena Mexico reaction, and I love when these midcard acts go out of their way to get noticed on a nostalgia show.

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Lucha Worth Watching: More Dinamitas! Liga Elite!

1. Imposible/Diamante v. Jinzo/Ciclon Ramirez Jr. (Liga Elite 9/14/16)

ER: A bunch of younger guys breaking out a bunch of crazy moves and fast work to get noticed, cool. Every guy got several moments in this, but Imposible impressed me the most. He showed a lot of polish, unique sequences, super quick set-ups, and some crazy, ankle destroying high spots. First he places Ciclon in a chair and runs from the entrance stairway to do a balls first Thesz press. Later he has Diamante holding Jinzo in a wheelbarrow on the floor, and just drops balls first onto the back of Jinzo's head from the top rope. It's like he just aimed to crotch himself using Jinzo. I really want to see more from Imposible now. Diamante blew out of CMLL and doesn't seem like he missed a beat as he clearly looked improved. He worked stiff and his timing was on point, came off like a real badass. Jinzo had one of his best showings since the CWC...although I guess this was only a couple months after the CWC stuff was taped. Look, all I know is that I haven't really liked him in anything other than his Kendrick match, and I liked him in this. I'm always kind of skeptical of Jrs. in lucha, as it seems like it's going to be a guy coasting on a legendary mask. That's not really fair, as there's been some amazing Jrs. in lucha, including some of the absolute greatest luchadors. But I see a young guy with a Jr. and my pre-formed opinions are bad. But Ciclon wasn't coasting on a damn thing. He was as good as any of CMLL's more pushed tecnicos, a real pleasant surprise, and hit a batshit crazy rana from the top rope to Diamante on the apron. Balls out craziness from both. He works some swift roll ups and takes some nasty moves from the rudos, real quality modern tecnico. I kept expecting this whole match to fall apart and it never did, they just kept busting out cool, dangerous moves and working some fine drama. Fun stuff.

2. El Cuatrero/Forastero/Sanson vs. The Panther/Blue Panther Jr./Drone (CMLL 12/6/16)

Dinamitas are my favorite new trios team, a real trio of young rudo assbeaters, who do all the lucha rudo things that I love: big bumps, stiff shots, great bases. All of that is on display here, and we also get a nice little standout performance from Drone. Drone, the former Hombre Bala Jr., has always had some pretty great - and pretty diverse high flying spots. He doesn't just stick to a couple of trademark spots like Diamante Azul or others, he's often breaking out new and crazy stuff. His gimmick is kind of dorky, but it's easy to look past that when he's launching himself to the floor with a no hands tope. Cuatrero is still standing out as my favorite Dinamita (and as long as he keeps taking crazy bumps to the floor every match, that probably won't change), but each one always does a couple notable things, even in a short match like this. All the tecnicos get a couple dives, Panther ranas Cuatrero off the apron, Sanson hits a sick kneedrop to the back of BPJr.'s head, Cuatrero does an actually plausible handspring move, and despite a couple awkward timing spots early in the segunda this was loads of fun.

3. El Cuatrero/Forastero/Sanson vs. Pegasso/Black Panther/Blue Panther Jr. (CMLL 12/13/16)

I can't get enough of these rudo asskickers right now. The primera sees them working a traditional and basic assbeating, just literally stomping the tecnicos most of the time, three of them clubbing one of them to the mat all at once, just ganging up and bullying (and ends with a long and painful swanton from Sanson). Tercera sees them break out two of their crazier semi-trademark spots: Sanson's springboard kneedrop (so tough to pull off, and he really plants it nice) and Cuatrero's brutal and pinpoint match ending springboard elbowdrop. Two violent moves that few could make looks this good. Pegasso got to throw out a bunch of his flashy stuff including a sweet no hands tornillo, but this match was mostly about the rudos, and I'm totally cool with that.

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Lucha Worth Watching: Nuevos Dinamitas! A Mask Match! More Wotan!

El Cuatrero/Forastero/Sanson v. Blue Panther Jr./The Panther/Pegasso CMLL 11/8

ER: Man I am loving Nuevo Dinamitas! This is a quick but action packed 2 falls finish. Una caida is standard but with some notable moments from Dinamitas, with their cheapshotting and great pratfall apron bumps; segunda kicks into high gear, with Dinamitas doing one of their huge press slams, Cuatrero and Forastero bumping big into the crowd (with Forastero booting a fan in the face on his way over), all the tecnicos hit massive dives, and later we get the Dinamitas hitting badass dives of their own. I love how the Dinamitas bump around, the way they do classic lucha bumps like the backwards one through the ropes to the floor, or how they take ranas, or how they throw big overhand chops and cut low on clotheslines. It's a classic style done by guys in their mid 20s, making it look great. I'm thinking Cuatrero is clearly the best at this point, but as with the Oficiales several years ago I look forward to monitoring them to see who makes gains.

Delta v. Galactar MDA 11/26

ER: Man did this stink. It was really, really bad. But I think this qualifies as "worth watching", because I hated it, but saw that it had popped up on a few year end top 10 lists. I can't see any explanation for how this would end up in a top 10 of any given month, let alone year, but if you have a spare 40 minutes you'd like to spend watching a match you may hate, then you should watch this. Delta - who you know from being the 5th or 6th best man in a CMLL trios match - versus Galactar - a man whose post-mask career you won't bother following. Spoiler alert. We get a quick primera and quick segunda, with Delta starting the segunda with his amusing rope flip headscissors to the floor, and after that he shows that either he can't properly do another move without stumbling the rest of the match, or that Galactar can be awkwardly out of position for nearly every move. Man Galactar was bad. He was good at taunting the crowd. That's important. Otherwise we would have two guys doing moves in a vacuum, as Delta sure wasn't acknowledging the crowd much. Galactar would at least hit a move and soak in the boos or adulation. It was everything else he stunk at. It seems like he blew up pretty early, and would just be so damn lazy on so many moves. Watch him Irish whip Delta, and by Irish whip I mean he kind of pats Delta's lower back and Delta runs across the ring on his own. This happens at least 4 times. We get a few big dives, always almost completely missing. Galactar hits an insane moonsault to the floor, and mostly hits a moonsault to the floor. His head somewhat grazes Delta. Delta hits a bullet tope and falls mostly short. Galactar has a much easier bump falling back into the seats. 

We get a few moments of them holding each other for balance up top, nobody even pretending they were opponents, just helping each other maintain footing so they could perform another move that would get another 2 count, BUT then give strength to the person taking the move, enough strength that they can stand up and do their own move right back! I mean, not RIGHT back, because they have to lie motionless on the mat in between all of these 2.9zzzz. There must have been 10 total minutes of "lying on mat" time. So they overly sell these moves by lying motionless for so long in between moves...and then they stand up and don't sell at all! It's an interesting, and horrible, approach. Moves mean nothing as they become entirely too predictable, way too quick. There is no drama as you know each close nearfall will just result in the guy who barely kicked out and lied in an exhausted heap, stand up and do a move of his own. For about 20 straight minutes. We get a false finish, and you all can guess that the first move of the restart is what was going to get the win, even though the move looked no more or less devastating than any other moves that got 2 counts the rest of the match, only this one came after a 3 minute break where nobody was taking moves. This was a really shitty match. It was 35 minutes long. 35 minutes of shit.

Wotan v. Impulso WMC 2/11/17

PAS: My quest to find the second great Wotan match continues. This was overall pretty enjoyable, although it had some of the same garbage match elements which made Wotan v. As Charo a chore. Early on in the match Wotan hits this crazy twisting tope which sends both guys into the 6th row, totally out of control and awesome looking, they also have this cool section near the end where they just throw big shots , chops and headbutts on the floor which was pretty violent. Still this had a bunch of stuff with lightubes, some cool and some awkward looking, a spot with a spiked pineapple which looked dumb and the finish which had Wotan light a table on fire, which goes out by the time he hits a top rope move. Wotan definitely has a set of skills but it may take a Black Terry level guy to shepherd it together.

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Lucha Worth Watching 1/22/16 & 2/2/16

Blue Panther vs. Reapper (CMLL 1/22/16)

I couldn't imagine putting this on our MOTY list, but I also couldn't ever imagine not wanting to watch a Blue Panther singles match that gets 9 minutes. Opponent doesn't matter to me in that instance. You tell me "9 minute BP singles match" and I'm already following the link. Panther is old and has some things he hits in every match, but he's also not afraid to take risks during matches like this. Some stuff works, some doesn't, and it's always neat to see his process. Here he and Reapper do an odd extended martinete reversal segment that was more struggling than smooth, felt like guys weirdly fighting to be in odd positions, ending with Reapper in sort of a backpack, and every step of the way I was wondering where they were headed. Loved Panther's fast dive at the end, loved them playing around with little leglocks, love his beautiful middle rope rana, and love Panther's flash Fujiwara to end things. Your life would roll on just fine without matches like this, but I always love just seeing Panther be Panther.

Virus, Cancerbero & Raziel vs. Triton, Oro Jr. & Pegasso (CMLL 2/2/16)

I love when matches take an unexpected turn, no matter how slight. You're watching a match, in your comfort zone, and suddenly the tone shifts or moods change, and it kind of snaps you forward in your chair a little. Here I was watching match 3 of a 6 match Tuesday CMLL show, 80% watching Triton and Raziel go through some lucha single leg exchanges that wouldn't look much out of place if they were just roll practicing in the gym. And then all of a sudden Triton stands up and just hands-free headbutts Raziel. And then Raziel returns the favor. And then they start throwing nasty chops and elbows to each other's chest, and then I am suddenly 100% invested in match 3 of a 6 match Tuesday CMLL show. And then we just get a delightful little classic rudo vs. tecnico battle with some flippy guys vs. the black clad rudos. And Virus is a good guy to lead a couple of black clad rudo bullies. They're like Team Iceland in Mighty Ducks 2, except Virus' has more engaging hockey fight offense. Marvel as he lariats the piss out of Pegasso a couple of times. Watch Cancerbero work like a chubby lost Dinamita. See Oro Jr. have maybe his most fun and consistent performance ever, as he flawlessly breaks out a couple of gorgeous armdrags (him doing a full 360 around Cancerbero's arm before tossing him off in a different direction looked killer). Glimpse Triton getting held in the ropes by the goons as Virus lunges off the opposite rope and dropkicks him square in the taint, sending him sprawling hard onto the entrance. Look on in amazement as Pegasso sets up a dogshit Scoot Andrews tribute "Hey Virus please balance yourself across the middle rope but like hang your torso into the ring a bit so I can jump on you" legdrop and just as you roll your eyes Triton then actually makes the spot work by HOLDING VIRUS BY THE LEGS so he was actually trapped in the ropes as Pegasso did his 2001 ECWA Tuesday Night Tribute. This whole thing was fun as hell, and more maddening proof that you must watch EVERY lucha trios match, because you never know which ones are going to give you that magic. Stupid lucha.

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MLJ: Dragon Lee vs Virus/Casas 9: Puma, Tiger, Virus vs Dragon Lee, Esfinge, Pegasso

2015-01-13 @ Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
Puma, Tiger, Virus vs Dragon Lee, Esfinge, Pegasso

I finally made it into 2015, so from here on in, with the Dragon Lee spotlight, consider this sort of a secondary look at his year. Keep in mind, I'm only looking at matches where he's up against either Casas or Virus. The way I see it, everyone else has the Kamaitachi stuff covered. This is all additional evidence one way or another. Plus, Virus and Casas are my two current favorite guys in CMLL, so it's win-win. Anyway, this is kind of like comfort food to me. I don't know if I have a lot more to say about CMLL trios in general, but I can delve into specific performances.

Here, the rudo team was just so much fun. I like Puma and Tiger, but I especially like them when Virus is there to ground their tendencies a bit and to direct traffic. This had a ton of time in the primera, or at least it felt that way. Some of that was a testament to Virus, and to Pegasso, who he was paired with, keeping up with him. This was in front of an absurdly hot crowd. Looking back, there might have been some sort of corporate give away of tickets or someting. Some sort of promotion. I have no idea what they're chanting or who they're rooting for but they were into this thing from the get go.

Again, the get go was Virus and Pegasso, with Virus looking like the best wrestler in the world, working an inside armlock from a standing position with Pegasso flipping and twisting and hitting to get out and Virus just hanging on. Yes, he was controlling the flow of this and moving Pegasso around, but I thought it wasn't entirely apparent. It certainly wasn't even from a presentation point of view. By having Pegasso continue to fight, even as Virus remained in control, it made both of them look good.

The other pairings were pretty good too. Tiger was with Esfinge and they picked up the pace a bit. The real strength of that pairing was Tiger's personality, complaining about his mask whenever he lost an exchange. Puma and Dragon Lee brought a ton of energy to the match from the second they stepped in to face off. All good stuff. The fall ended with things breaking down and Virus and Dragon Lee going at it (after holding off from that the entire primera). Virus would catch Lee off the ropes, reversing the second slidekick of the match with his legs into a submission. Very novel spot:

Puma and Tiger are always a blast to watch. The beatdown continued into the segunda, and just watch Puma's dickishness with teasing Pegasso's corner with the tag:

They're the spottiest guys in CMLL but since things follow the usual structure, it adds instead of distracts from the procedeeings. When you add in other players like Dragon Lee and Virus, you end up with fairly elaborate spots:

Anyway, this churned a bit, with a few false moments of comeback. Eventually, the tecnicos were just too much. The rudos could withstand one attempt, but eventually they fell behind and lost the momentum, leading to flip dives by Esfinge and Pegasso on Puma and Tiger and the first real Dragon Lee/Virus exchange of the match. Thanks to some clever positioning knocking Virus off the corner, they actually made the dangling double stomp look pretty natural, which is always a plus.

The tercera was pretty much what you'd expect. Tiger and Puma acted sufficiently rudo, teasing handshakes and trolling the crowd to get heat. Pegasso and Esfinge hit their stuff. They cycled guys in and out. Dragon Lee and Virus faced off again, with Lee getting the clear visual victory, hitting his dive. The tecnicos lost the war, though, as Puma and Tiger were able to get Esfinge and Pegasso down, setting up the flip splash on both and a double pin. Too many talented wrestlers here for this not to be fun and enjoyable, even if it was low stakes.

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MLJ: Dragon Lee vs Virus/Casas 5: Dragon Lee, Pegasso, Rey Cometa vs Kamaitachi, Okumura, Virus

Aired: 2014-11-29
Taped: 2014-11-21 @ Arena México
Dragon Lee, Pegasso, Rey Cometa vs Kamaitachi, Okumura, Virus

Well, on paper, this looked to be a really fun match, and sort of the reason why I decided to go about this the way I did. I could have just done Dragon Lee vs Kamaitachi, but I think that's gotten enough play and frankly, I just wanted excuses to watch Casas and Virus matches while feeling DL out. I like the sides here a lot. Cometa and Pegasso aren't necessarily wrestlers I'd want to watch a lot of singles matches with but part of the joy of trios is that people play their roles and you don't necessarily need to be strong in all aspects or well-rounded in all aspects to contribute to a match.

The rudo side was a lot of fun. I just don't give Okumura enough credit. He's been in Mexico forever and works the style very well. He's more solid than dynamic but if I had to choose between solid but not dynamic or dynamic but not solid, I'd take the former anyday. He makes a good mentor for younger Japanese talent, though he did kick out a rudo quebadora in the segunda here which was very offputting. Just saying.

Structure-wise, this was just a fun trios match. A primera of feeling out with the tecnicos finessing a win, a segunda of matching up that led to the rudos catching the tecnicos, and then a tercera with just a little bit of heat before a comeback and the finishing barrage. I like matches with more heat, generally, but this was a showcase and that's certainly as fun as any sort of lucha.

I won't run through all of it, but there were little things I liked up and down. Cometa and Virus had a nice exchange, including Cometa trying to do a headscissors takedown from a grounded position and Virus just shrugging him off.

Aberrations in normal spots are hugely important to me because they add an air of logic to the proceedings. Sometimes, things that always work, shouldn't work. The finish was cute. The rudos had tripped the tecnicos from the outside and they paralleled it with Pegasso doing it to Virus which set up a Cometa roll up.

Dragon Lee and Kamaitachi were obviously paired up and I think this was relatively early in their feuding. It showed. They were spirited and exciting but pretty thoroughly sloppy. I've seen enough of their recent work to know that they've tightened things up. Here they get an A for effort and the out of control feel of some of their spots actually does convey a sense of immediacy but it's not like that was the intent. Even still by November, 2014, it was really a world of difference when Lee is up against someone who can contain and guide him like Casas or Virus.

My favorite spot of the tercera was Cometa going for a dive and Kamaitachi holding the ropes open from the outside so he'd fall through. I love stuff like that. Anyway, the finishing stretch was just as exciting as you'd expect and the match is probably worth watching just for it. I so, so much prefer when Lee uses the spider suplex as a finish instead of the double stomp. Just a good, fun trios. And very gif-worthy too:

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2015 En Busca De Idolo Qualifying Cibernetico

Not as excited about this years lineups as I was last year, but I figure I will cover it again, and see if anyone breaks out. Like last year, I am going to rate everything either Must See, Spare Moment and Don't Bother

Blue Panther Jr./Boby Zavala/Canelo Casas/Delta/Disturbio/Esfinge/Flyer/Guerrero Maya Jr. v. Akuma/Cancerbero/Gallo/Joker/Pegasso/Raziel/Sagrado/Stigma-Spare Moment

This was less lunatic then last years qualifier, it had less awkward blown stuff (really the only awful thing was Maya Jr. blowing a dive, which is weird because he is the most experienced guy here), but also less holy shit moments. I liked Joker's brawling, and Cancerbero is always good, they were the two stand outs for the non-qualifiers. Flyer looks like he will take the Star. Jr./Dragon Lee role of young guy embracing hot death, will be interesting to see if he has anymore to show. Casas, Maya and Panther Jr. have the genetics and Maya has been pretty good for a long time, although he did look off here. Hard to get much of a sense of anything in a match like this, but I am going to remain optimistic.

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CMLL Worth Watching 2/6/15 & 3/22/15

Ultimo Guerrero, Euforia & Niebla Roja vs. Mistico, Volador Jr. & Valiente (2/6/15)

Fun quick and dirty spotfest. Ultimo has been so much fun ever since losing his mask. I love when guys get a new lease on life like that. I love how the match starts with Volador taking the Sombra bump asshole over elbow into the crowd, then Ultimo high jumping the barrier to crash into the recovering Volador. Rudos mostly set up nice spots for the tecnicos in this. Volador actually looked much better here than usual. Roja was doing the lord's work catching some Mistico ranas and making them look good. Euforia is always an admirable bumper. Valiente has one of those matches every several months where he just has no balance, and that was this match. Poor guy. Everybody else looked about as on point as possible, and he fell a couple times and seemed rattled. Nice recovery though for the big finish as the Valiente Especial looked wonderful. This is 3 falls in well under 15 minutes, and as lucha junkfood it worked just fine.

Virus, Okumura & Bobby Zavala vs. Dragon Lee, Pegasso & Fuego (3/22/15)

You see that team of tecnicos and instantly think "those are three guys I like watching opposite Virus"  and that is not only accurate, but fun. I would have liked to see him opposite Pegasso more, as they don't seem to pair off that much. But Virus/Lee is a guarantee win and he usually brings some extra spice out of Fuego. Bobby Zavala is a unique presence who never really gets talked about, but he feels like he has Rush breakout rudo potential. He always has the false modesty to him, a real "who, me??" face. He plays to the crowd using some old Hector Garza tactics and that attitude has been missing from CMLL. Okumura works really nicely with Pegasso here, taking some complicated armdrags and flinging himself into the barricade off a rana from the apron. We get some big dives, and while you know these same six guys could have an epic match, they weren't given the time to do so, but still had a fun one. Come for the opening Virus/Fuego matwork, stay for the rest!

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CMLL Worth Watching 9/21/14

1. Mercurio, Pierrothito & Pequeno Olimpico vs. Electrico, Ultimo Dragoncito & Stukita (9/21/14)

Fun little match even though the caidas ended in fairly disappointing ways. Still this was a real nice Mercurio showcase as he's arguably the best bumping rudo mini, here he takes a nice back splat bump to the floor, Chris Masters style, and then a great Halloween bump later on. He also shows a lot more personality than most minis, and he with Pierrothito is a rudo mini powerhouse. Stukita is a bit too tiny to buy as any sort of threat, and really the tecnicos are missing somebody with more fluidity, such as Bam Bam. Electric has a couple nice springboard moves and Dragoncito whips around quickly on a Santo roll up, but Mercurio was where it's at in this one.

2. Kamaitachi, Bobby Zavala & Okumura vs. Fuego, Pegasso & Hombre Bala Jr. (9/21/14)

Daaaaamn this was a fun little spotfest! Constant fast exchanges and no down time, all fast action with cool little moments. Kamaitachi is back to being my little replacement Namajague. He looked good throughout from his bigger spots to little mat things like he and Fuego going to the mat and Kamaitachi doing a cool shoulder shrug to buck him off. Zavala also looked killer throughout as he bumped all over for the flippy offense and had a couple great stooge moments, and a real fun bump where he took a back bump and then scooted on his back to safety, but scooted too far and went right out the ring with a back bump to the floor. Hombre Bala had some nice flying including a wild tope en reversa from the top to the floor, Pegasso is always a fun guy to have pop up on TV and his flying is even better with a base like Zavala. Fun stuff that didn't even really feel like a "CMLL" match, would have fit nicely on Lucha Underground.

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MLJ: Cavernario Spotlight 5: Black Metal, Pegasso, Tritón vs Bárbaro Cavernario, Espíritu Maligno, Skandalo

Aired 2013-07-17
taped 2013-06-24 @ Arena Puebla
Black Metal (Guadalajara), Pegasso, Tritón vs Bárbaro Cavernario, Espíritu Maligno, Skándalo

It's actually a lot of fun to watch some of these lower card, more provincial matches. This, for instance, was given a ton of time, and while it had some unpolished work, it was for the most part competent and I'm glad I saw it. In some ways the lack of the sort of polish you get with the upper card workers was what made it so interesting.

Triton almost felt like he was slumming here, but I could be wrong about that. I spent a chunk of a match being unable to figure out him out from Black Metal, and while that inspires a lovely sort of nostalgia in me of not being able to tell one luchador from another, it did get a little old by mid match. Skandalo is good at what he does, which is mainly kick people in the crotch and serve as a perfectly acceptable base for his opponents. There was one match in May of 2013, right before this one actually, where Skandalo and Kraneo were on different sides and it didn't make tape; that's got to be one of the great losses of our decade right there.

Structurally, this was A-B, B-A, C, which is to say that there was a pretty even shine with a slight tecnico advantage, followed by the rudos catching the tecnicos out of nowhere to end the primera, then a long beat down, followed by a quick comeback to end the segunda, and then a back and forth tercera leading into a finish. I'm not saying it's the best possible structure for a trios match, but it's definitely the most straightforward and by its nature, it's both fun and effective.

Here, given the time that the match got, everything was able to breathe. We had fully developed opening exchanges between Triton and Cavernario, Maligno and Black Metal, and Skanadlo, and Pegasso, the first two being mat based and pretty solid. I really like Cavernario's sliding leg pick. It broke down in the end, with the tecnicos gaining an advantage, but they ended up caught after an over-complicated alley oop into a powerbomb with Cavernario simultaneously hitting a great looking belly to back into a sort of pumphandle slam for three.

This, after a slight delay where it looked like the tecnicos were going to immediately fight back, led to an extended beat down, and to be honest, it might have gone on a little too long. The rudos worked well together and the tecnicos fed back into the ring one at a time, believably, to get beaten. Skandalo's offense where he had his partners hold his opponents in complex positions so he can dropkick them in ridiculous ways probably stood out the most.

Finally, the tecnicos came back by reversing a poetry in motion attempt in a triple corner charge. It was a nice spot, but loads of dropped selling. It didn't feel like an adrenaline burst or the rudos overextending and getting their comeuppance. It was just time to shift gears so Black Metal was magically recovered enough to hit the spot. A lot of matches manage that element of it better. The best part was Cavernario tripped into his Hamrick bump through the ropes but ending up stuck there so that he could eat a second rope legdrop while dangling. It looked far more organic than it should have been.

The tercera was back and forth with mostly solid exchanges. There was a Black Metal vs the World segment which could have worked better. Metal ended up flubbing a bit too much including a kip up. In the end the rudos took the advantage again but stumbled into a few miscommunication spots, allowing Black Metal and Triton to fly in with arm drags and follow them up with some great, giant dives. That cleared the ring for Pegasso to try to win it, but he was caught by Skandalo and his reverse pile driver to end the match. Not a great match but a fun one and a decent enough way to kill 25 minutes. Cavernario played his role well, as usual: solid in opening exchanges, in cut offs during beat downs, and in being clowned by the tecnicos when it's time to show ass.  

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CMLL on LATV Workrate Report, 11/19/11

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

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



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

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



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

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



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

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



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

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

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CMLL on LATV Workrate Report, 10/29/11

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

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



2. Silueta vs. Ray:

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



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

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



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

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

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CMLL on LATV Workrate Report, 10/15/11

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

A bunch of minis who rarely make TV, I really like the two rudos though. Mercurio and Universo bump around great for the bland tecnico offense, especially Univero. He adds an extra snap to all the little armdrags and other things that could look really lifeless otherwise. Mercurio hits a boss corkscrew plancha and there isn't too much to this, all empty calories but it goes down super smooth. Suddenly 20 minutes goes by and you don't remember much of what happened, but nothing offended you and you had a good time.



2. Leono/Molotov/Trueno vs. Bronco/Rayo Tapatio I/Rayo Tapatio II:

Yes! The Tapatios finally back on my TV screen. This was like a throwback match to LATV a year ago, where they would just throw on these heatless openers with fun rudos who never make TV. This was from a Fan Appreciation show so the crowd is heated and it rocks. Los Rayos and Bronco are great old style rudos who don't do much on offense but they make so-so tecnicos shine and put over their offense wonderfully. The older Rayo is just the best, as he really works like my favorite type of rudo (like an Arkangel or Dinamitas type) who will throw a great back elbow, work the mat, and then take a bunch of armdrags. He blasts Molotov with a back elbow out of the corner that just made me squeal with glee. Bronco is like the Stevie Richards of lucha, as he has zero offense, but is always compelling in matches. All the tecnicos are just fine, but this was a great show for the rudos. I'm glad CMLL throws these guys on TV every so often.



3. Angel de Plata/Fuego/Pegasso vs. Hijo Del Signo/Nosferatu/Raziel:

Theme of the night is solid rudos who know their role. Pegasso kinda bums me out because I always think he's Rey Cometa when I first see him, but Cometa is way better. Pegasso usually hits a decent dive or rana or something, but whatever. Fuego keeps getting TV time and the more I see him, the more I like him. Signo seems like the kind of worker who is guaranteed to never get pushed. All the young fliers get pushed, and he's like a young Cien Caras, which is not what the young women and children want to see these days. I love you though, Signo. Plata hits a big dive, Signo boots dudes in the stomach, business as usual, nothing flashy nothing bad, fun solid 2011 lucha match.



4. Ephesto/Misterioso Jr./Vangelis vs. Angel de Oro/Black Warrior/Metro:

Too short to mean much of anything, but I like all the guys here. Vangelis inspires fans to bring a bunch of Nazi signs to Arena Mexico which is...difficult...to explain to my girlfriend. This just went by so freaking quick that I hardly remember anything in this.



5. Atlantis/Hijo Del Fantasma/La Mascara vs. Mr. Niebla/Ultimo Guerrero/Volador Jr.:

Another super quick match as it goes by in two straight falls, but there is TONS of stuff to see in these quick falls. This was a total Volador showcase as he really makes Mascara work for his tecnico pops. Cuts him realllll low on missed clotheslines and really allows Mascara's spots to have maximum value. Niebla and Ultimo ain't no slouches here either, with Ultimo hitting his awesome butt splash in the corner and Niebla just blasting somebody in the corner with his awesome left hand. Atlantis is really a truly great tecnico as he was just on fire throughout all of this. But still, Volador, people. Volador. His timing is expert and he carries himself like a total superstar. It's hard not to get into everything that this guy does. He's like the best possible version of rudo Mistico. So yeah, super short match, nothing MOTY worthy, but there's tons of good stuff here crammed into a tiny amount of time.

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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. Necro Butcher v. Predator IGF 6/23
11. Blue Panther v. Atlantis CMLL 7/11
12. Necro Butcher v. 2 Cold Scorpio IWA-MS 8//17
13. Blue Panther v. Villano V CMLL 9/29
14. Yuki Ishikawa v. Alexander Otsuka RJPW 6/18
15. Mitsuhara Misawa v. Takeshi Morishima NOAH 3/2
16. Bryan Danielson v. Nigel McGuiness ROH 2/23
17. Erick Stevens v. Roderick Strong FIP 2/8
18. Trik Davis v. Sami Callihan IWA-MS 8/17
19. Nigel McGuiness v. Austin Aries ROH 3/28
20. Evan Bourne v. Chavo Guererro WWE 10/14
21. Finlay v. JBL WWE 3/30
22. Shawn Michaels v. Ric Flair WWE 3/30
23. Blue Panther v. Averno CMLL 11/4
24. El Valiente + El Hijo Del Fantasma + La Mascara v. La Sombra + Volador Jr. + Sagrado CMLL 4/30

9. Rey Cometa/Pegasso/Freelance vs Los Oficiales IWRG 10/17

In an area where most lucha trios match feel clipped even when they aren’t, IWRG is still a place where they let things draw out a bit. This didn’t have the matwork you will occasionally see in IWRG, as this was worked more like a classic 90’s AAA match then a classic 90’s CMLL match. Oficiales have awesome masks, and are like a trio of 1994 Psicosi, crazy bumps to the floor, a sick tope, and incredible eating of all of the flyers spots. They basically keep the AAA guys out of this match, outside of their big dives, and give us plenty of Freelance. If you aren’t on the Freelance bandwagon, jump on, as he is the single most spectacular wrestler in the world. It isn’t even his dives (although he bust out an insane springboard tope con hilo into the seats), but his rope running, headscissors and armdrags are as fast and slick as Rey Mysterio at his greatest. I think this would even appeal to the lamers who don’t “get” lucha, as this doesn’t take much getting.

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