2015 Ongoing MOTY List: Panther vs. Satanico

58. Satanico vs. Blue Panther Cara Lucha 7/25

ER: This is the kind of lucha match I will always seek out, working a style of lucha that I'm constantly afraid will wash away for good. I just love how these two move, love watching their dance. Give them 15 minutes, I'm good. I would be fine with these two just going through the motions as their lucha muscle memory alone is a treat. But this match is a little more than just their muscle memory. Panther really needles into Satanico in a few great moments, the best being Panther fighting for a drop toe hold and Satanico fighting to not go down, so Panther starts elbowing the back of Satanico's knee to get him to go down, then starts kicking at the back of his knees. Satanico showed his wonderful wily side, my favorite being a sequence with Panther coming off the ropes and Satanico setting out to kick him, but faking the kick to sucker Panther into a grapple, which Panther turns into a nice abdominal stretch. There's no bad blood or even strikes in this match, just a fine masterclass in lucha leg drags and old man grace. There aren't many things in wrestling I love more. 

PAS: I started writing this review five years ago, and stopped for some reason. Interesting to rewatch this with 2021 eyes, as it really was the end of an era. Six years later this generation of maestros has passed out of real relevance. Satanico is 71 now, insane he was performing at this level into his 60s, Panther is 60 now, was a spry 55 during this match. They could still really go in 2015, and there were a bunch of nifty little tricks. Loved Panther ripping down on the arm and Satanico finding little ways to free himself. Satanico isn't as intricate but is still really smooth with all of his movement, like watching lake period Baryshnikov: He isn't going to jump as high, but will still awe you with his movement.

2015 MOTY MASTER LIST