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Blogs

Great Lucha

IWRG 8/10/09

IWRG 8/10/09 (taped 8/6)   We have a new benefactor on youtube!   Los Piratas Barba Roja - Pirata Morgan Jr - Hijo del Pirata Morgan vs Los Terribles Cerebros Cerebro Negro - Dr. Cerebro - Black Terry   This was the first time I've bothered to watch Los Piratas, and I must say I approve. They've got matching outfits, matching masks, can wrestle on the mat, brawl when they need to, and more importantly, they've got the right build. Thick and stocky, none of this skinny abs crap.
Great Lucha

Random matches

Sergio El Hermoso & El Bello Greco vs. Yoshiaki Fujiwara & Kengo Kimura, New Japan 2/3/89   Oh, man. I'm a huge fan of Fujiwara, so there was no way I could resist watching him work against exoticos.   This got over with the crowd better than I thought it would, since there were nowhere near as many gay entertainers in Japan twenty years ago as there are now. There were a couple of genuine laugh out loud moments, and Sergio El Hermoso in particular was fantastic. They worked a pre
Great Lucha

1992 UWA

Dr. Wagner Jr. y Espanto Jr. vs. Celestial y Coloso   Man, Espanto Jr. was good.   This match confirms what we already knew from the Santo title match -- Espanto Jr. was in the top handful of workers in 1992. Sadly, this match, a couple of other tags, and the two Santo matches, are the only footage that exists of his UWA work, but there's enough evidence to suggest that he's one of the lost workers of the 80s. I know there's people who point to his AAA work, but I don't think he was anywhe
Great Lucha

El Dandy vs. Emilio Charles Jr. ('93 hair match)

El Dandy vs. Emilio Charles Jr., hair vs. hair, CMLL 10/23/93   The most obvious thing about this match is that it's a hair match without any blood. Normally, I'd go on a spiel about how you can't have a hair match without any blood, but I never promised to be fair or consistent with these reviews.   This was a great fight and one that carried a bit of extra meaning for me.   The great thing about getting into lucha libre is that you have to want to get into lucha libre. There's not t
Great Lucha

Classic Infernales

Los Infernales (El Satanico/MS-1/Masakre) vs. Rayo de Jalisco Jr./La Fiera/Tony Salazar, CMLL 1987   When I say "Classic Infernales," I really mean older footage of the Infernales in action, since Pirata Morgan had already left the group by this stage. Nevertheless, the Masakre version was a good team in its own right, and this was an awesome Southern style tag match.   The Infernales were fantastic as Southern heels -- backing into the ref when the technicos wanted to duke it out, attack
Great Lucha

Lizmark vs. Jerry Estrada

Lizmark vs. Jerry Estrada, Mexican National Light Heavyweight Championship, AAA 6/18/93   I hate Jerry Estrada.   He's probably my least favourite lucha worker of all time. To me he's like the anti-Sangre Chicana. Sangre Chicana was out of his mind the entire time and took it to surreal heights. Jerry Estrada was out of his mind the entire time and was a train wreck.   But like him or not, this was one hell of a match.   By far the most coherent performance I've seen from Jerry Es
Great Lucha

Enrique Vera vs. Dos Caras

Enrique Vera vs. Dos Caras, UWA World Heavyweight Championship, 2/26/84 (slightly clipped)   Dos Caras is a great wrestler. One of the finest to ever step foot inside a squared circle. But this isn't a great example of his work.   The difference between Caras and workers like Lizmark and Solar is that Caras was a heavyweight, which meant he had to work from a dominant or standing position. Guys like Lizmark could zip around, but Caras had to maintain the illusion that he was difficult to t
Great Lucha

Some new IWRG

Negro Navarro, Trauma I, Trauma II vs. Black Terry, Cerebro Negro, Fantasma de la Opera, 7/9/09   I dunno what's been going on with IWRG lately, but there hasn't been any TV available and this is the first match I've seen in almost a month.   Things got off to the worst start possible really, when Navarro called Fuerza out on the house mic. This led to some group conference over an angle I haven't been following, while the match time became shorter and shorter. Fuerza said his piece, the C
Great Lucha

Santo vs. Panther (UK rematch)

El Hijo del Santo vs. Blue Panther, University of Essex, 10/8/04   Y'know when see a band play and the second night is better than the first? Didn't happen here.   This was a mess of the highest order.   The ring set-up meant that they couldn't dive into the crowd, so they threw in an "over the top" rule as a means of beating your opponent. In the first match, Santo tossed in a dive whenever he needed a highspot; here they tried eliminating each other.   That's a fucked situation.
Thoughts and Opinions on Pro Wrestling

2005 MOTY List

So about a month ago, I picked up goodhelmet's MOTYC compilations and have begun to work through them in the hopes that I can determine my Match of the Decade. I have not liked to keep a lot of matches on my computer and I don't have access to most of my collection right now, but these comps have basically every really pimped matches from 05-08, I've been keeping up to date with 09, and I have a feeling most of the recommended stuff from 00-04 is available online.   I'm pretty slow at watchi
Great Lucha

Atlantis vs. El Faraón

Atlantis vs. El Faraón, Mexican National Middleweight Championship, 3/22/85   A villainous El Faraón!   I hadn't seen Faraón's rudo work, in fact I've never really seen him in his prime. He was a hell of a vet during the Dandy run, but this was another echelon altogether.   I've always put a great deal of importance in how a guy moves in the ring, since I don't think it's something that can be taught. You can change the way you bump and sell, but movement can only really be aided by t
Great Lucha

Santo vs. Panther (UK 2004)

El Hijo del Santo vs. Blue Panther, Colchester Arts Centre, 10/06/04   This was first of two matches Panther and Santo worked in England, as part of an exhibition of prints by Mexican artist Demián Flores Cortés.   'Flores Cortés' work, which is inspired by Mexican pop culture and in particular lucha libre, was described by the Gallery Director as "full of the raw energy, movement, and the staged drama of the wrestling world." Santo and Panther were invited to "animate" that work and did
Great Lucha

Satanico vs. Lizmark (1984)

Satanico vs. Lizmark, NWA World Middleweight Championship, 4/84   With both these guys retiring on the Luchas 2000 show, I thought I'd pay tribute to two of my all-time favourite workers.   This isn't a great match, and to be honest, I wish it had been much better, but it's as close as we'll ever get to the heart of the Lizmark/Satanico rivalry.   There's a moment towards the beginning of the match that sets the tone for everything that follows. The ref is giving his instructions to L
Great Lucha

Zatura vs. Trauma II

Zatura vs. Trauma II, IWRG Intercontinental Lightweight Championship, 6/18/09   Somehow we ended up skipping an episode of IWRG. It must've been an eventful one, since this week was all about singles matches and recriminations.   I haven't been as high on Trauma II as other people who watch and write about IWRG on a weekly basis, but I figured this match would showcase one way or another whether the kid's any good. And I'll say it up front -- the kid blew me away.   There were a few th
Great Lucha

Arena Puebla 6/15/09

Arena Puebla 6/15/09   Ares, Espíritu Maligno, Siki Osama vs. Black Tiger, Blue Center, Centella de Oro   This was the Puebla boys at their best.   The opening matwork wasn't just good by Puebla standards, it was arguably the best matwork to come out of Mexico this year, but what really made the match were the follow-up falls. Usually, the Puebla guys lose their way after the first caida, but here the rudos did a good job of pushing the action. They kept changing the point of attack,
Great Lucha

Puebla and IWRG

CMLL en la ARENA PUEBLA 6/1/09 Siki Osama, Espíritu Maligno VS Iron, Blue Center   Espíritu Maligno and Siki Osama! I like both these guys, so I got a kick out of this.   The first caida had a real old school feel to it. Blue Center is such a classical thinker. He may not have the athleticism of a Lizmark or Solar, but he thinks like a technico and has all the right ideas. There were a lot of neat exchanges in the first fall and they were nicely spaced; the way lucha used to be before it
Great Lucha

Puebla locals + IWRG 5/28

Fuerza Chicana, Mr. Rafaga, Sauron vs Asturiano, Centella de Oro, Tigre Rojo, Arena Puebla, 5/25/09   Ah, the Puebla locals.   What I like about these guys is that they come in all shapes and sizes. A real mix of odds and ends. Centella de Oro was the only worker here, but there was no shirking from the match-ups and no hiding in the trios. They all took their turn here and were all rolling with an 80s bent. It was standard fare from these guys, but more praise worthy than anything from l
Great Lucha

Mike Quackenbush/Kendo/Solar v Negro Navarro/Mr. Ferrari/Claudio Castegnoli

Mike Quackenbush/Kendo/Solar v Negro Navarro/Mr. Ferrari/Claudio Castegnoli, Invasion Azteca, 3/08/09   Well, for the second year running, it looks like my match of the year will come from outside Mexico.   Perhaps this wouldn't have been a MOTY in years gone by, but these days you have to search every nook and cranny. It's a bit like diggin' in the crates. I won't deny that finding lucha in Delaware is half the fun, but the important thing is that it was lucha through and through.  
Great Lucha

Blue Panther vs. Averno

Blue Panther vs. Averno, CMLL World Middleweight Championship, 5/29/09 (clipped)   This was a difficult match to judge since it was clipped, but it made me wanna throw in the towel.   The opening matwork was there or thereabouts, with Panther making it look more spectacular than it really was. Averno is an average worker, but he at least brought his A game and Panther has enough credibility to work an opening caida along traditional lines.   The third fall is where my apathy grew, espe
Great Lucha

Good workers, bad lucha

El Dandy vs. Javier Cruz, hair vs. hair, 10/26/84   This was just a bad match.   Way too much offence for a hair match and not enough selling. That should come as no surprise. Dandy was only 22 here and Cruz 25. Collectively, they didn't know shit yet. It kind of reminded me of Kiyoshi Tamura's early fights, where he's all limbs and no control. Sadly, we'll probably never seen their '86 feud and won't be able to pinpoint when Dandy entered his prime or if Cruz was ever a good singles work
Great Lucha

IWRG 5/21 + a CMLL 6-man

IWRG 5/21/09   Freelance, Miss Gaviota & Diva Salvaje vs. Xibalba, Carta Brava & Avisman   Usually I'd skip a match like this, since you have to sit through so much crap to get to the Freelance parts, but it was worth it this week. From the opening matwork with Avisman to all of his rope work and bumps, it was a really solid outing from the world's foremost technico. There were a few hiccups on the mat, but they worked through it and I liked how pissed Avisman was at himself.  
Great Lucha

Black Terry vs. Fantasma de la Ópera

Black Terry vs. Fantasma de la Ópera, IWRG Intercontinental Welterweight Championship, 7/19/07   Black Terry is a guy who's more or less had a second career in IWRG, and you'd have to say 2007 was the peak of that career.   He was tearing shit up in this feud. In one trios, they did a huge old school bladejob, where both guys worked the cut until Fantasma looked like something out of a Dario Argento film. Terry's brawling was fantastic. It wasn't the strikes or the DQ for excessive rudoing
Great Lucha

Perro Aguayo vs. Sangre Chicana

Perro Aguayo vs. Sangre Chicana, 3/20/92   Ha, this was awesome!   Easily the best Perro Aguayo match I've seen and probably the best thing Konnan's ever been involved in. There was so much bullshit going on in this match and it all worked beautifully. They couldn't have booked or executed it any better.   It started off on the perfect note with Chicana beating Aguayo over the head with the charro hat he wore to the ring, and was filled with hokey shit from La Fiera, Konnan and the hee

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