2020 Ongoing MOTY List: Ricky Marvin vs. Epydemius

Ricky Marvin vs Epydemius Lucha Time 11/10

JR: I am going to fully acknowledge that saying stuff like this makes me sound like an old person, but just yesterday I was bemoaning how no one in wrestling understands how to sprint anymore. Matches are built to be bloated and monstrous, crowds are conditioned to expect nothing of consequence to happen for at least the first 10 minutes. I think this is why I have been such a proponent of Ricky Marvin’s work over the past three or so years, as he has developed in to the last of the truly great sprint wrestlers. Everywhere he shows up now he wrestles as though he has plans immediately after. The bizarre thing is even typing that out it makes it seem like a critical negative, but it truly isn’t. He has cultivated this indie future maestro vibe and each match is worked as though in his mind, a feeling out process is completely unnecessary.

Its true here, against Epydemius, just like it has been true in his Arez feud, chock full of great matches, almost none of which go past eleven minutes. This is about the same. Even though Marvin is working a more classic respect/exhibition match than he has been doing recently, the opening moments here are crisp and everything is worked as though he is trying desperately to gain an advantage.

The other thing present here that I often lament the absence of is cruelty. Look at how Marvin uses the dragon screw in comparison to how someone like Kenny Omega uses knee strikes. We see Omega hit knee strikes over and over because theoretically we are told they are effective, we can surmise that he is good at them. Marvin goes to the same well here, using dragon screw leg whips over and over. Why? Because he did it early in the match and it fucked a dude up so he figured that he might as well try it again. One time I watched a Cavs/Hawks playoff game where Lebron James posted up Jeff Teague on four straight possessions because it was clear the Hawks had decided they weren’t going to double. You could practically see Lebron licking his chops like a cartoon wolf. I got that same feeling here, and it played directly into the finish, as Marvin stretches Epydemius to the point of sympathy.

I won’t claim this is my match of the year or anything, but I think it’s probably something that I would put as noteworthy for 2020. It stands out because it’s so different than what we have grown accustomed to. I would certainly recommend anyone spend 10 minutes seeing a style that has fallen out of favor for unclear reasons. 

PAS: Hard to get a huge sense of Epydemius here, he hit a nice dive early and had some nice limb selling for a style where that isn't super present, I thought his DDT variation was cool. Still this was a Ricky show, and a damn cool one. Marvin was one of the more spectacular wrestlers in the world during his NOAH stint, but he has put on some solid lucha weight and gone full Negro Casas at this point. Casas himself has finally started to slow down in his 60s and I am excited Ricky has taken up the mantle. The leg work here was so cool, just gross looking dragon screw after gross looking dragon screw. He puts on a very cool kneebar after the first one, shifting his grip on the ankle to add extra tourque, and rips up a nasty half crab into a twist to get the tap. I thought the minute before the finish run got a bit formless, but this was a nasty performance, reminds of the kind of thing Brian Kendrick is doing in obscurity on 205 Live, cool second acts for 2004's coolest juniors. 

ER: Matches like Ricky Marvin vs. Virus were the kind of matches that really hooked me on lucha in 2000. And now 20 years later Ricky Marvin is bulked up, and now he's the Virus attacking the leg of a younger fast moving flyer. Epydemius is quick and has nice follow through on his rolling and flying. He hits a very smooth and heavy flying headscissors, and then one of those wild 1999 Shocker topes. You know, the kind where he flips vertically before crashing? Well, Marvin decides to do something about that speed and wraps Epydemius's leg around the middle rope with a dragon screw on his way back in, and that's the start of Marvin using that dragon screw as a way to always level things off. I like how Epydemius kept trying to break out and start to get any line on Marvin, Marvin would catch that leg and give it another twist. His kneebar looked great and the finishing crab was extra nasty. But Epydemius always looked like he belonged and set a strong pace for Marvin to plays strengths to. I agree with Phil that Kendrick is having these same great "give a younger guy some leash" performances on 205 Live (Here are links to three of Kendrick's latest obscure 2020 gems), willing to get dropped on his head with a couple of sick package DDTs in between attempts at stretching Epydemius's achilles. Also, I like that Marvin still uses his 2005 driver's license photo, like me. 

2020 MOTY MASTER LIST