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Blogs

Great Lucha

Cassandro vs. Rubi Gardenia

Cassandro vs. Rubi Gardenia, Chikara Welterweight title, Lucha Libre London, 12/7/08   From a star of the golden age to one of the biggest stars of 2008. Or at least I thought so. Judging by the Tapatia Awards, I'm completely out of touch with the lucha fanbase. Mind you, Cassandro was 8th in the Best Wrestler category and 5th in Best Technico, and I forgot to vote for him in both.   This was a fun 10 minute match with a little bit of everything. They floated through some dives and matwork
Floyd's Blog O' Wrasslin'

Kerry Von Erich Vs. Jumbo Tsuruta (All-Japan – 5/22/84)

Kerry Von Erich Vs. Jumbo Tsuruta (All-Japan – 5/22/84)   Match history: Two weeks ago Kerry Von Erich stunned the world by defeating Rc Flair for the NWA World title. One week ago Jumbo Tsuruta lost the AWA World title to Rick Martel. For years Jumbo Tsuruta has been wrestling Ric Flair for the NWA World title, always coming close but never winning. More experienced than Von Erich, now Jumbo gets the chance to get another World title for Japan.   Fall #1: Crowds hot right away. Tie up
  • floyd
Great Lucha

Ray Mendoza vs. Tatsumi Fujinami

Ray Mendoza vs. Tatsumi Fujinami, WWWF Junior Heavyweight Title, El Toreo, 8/13/78   Very cool.   Cubsfan pulled out a quote recently from El Santo's final interview, where he said: "back in my day, we wrestled on the mat - using holds that could kill a man - and now all they do is flying and clown stuff." It's the same lament you hear from every generation, but after watching Mendoza, I'm inclined to believe it. This was the twilight of his career, one of his last competitive fights befor
Great Lucha

More from the locals

Black Tiger, Centella de Oro, Tigre Rojo vs. Karisma, Mr. Rafaga, Siki Ozama Jr., 1/5/09   What I like about the Puebla locals is how they come in all shapes and sizes. Add to that the weird assortment of gimmicks and you have the sort of charm that's been missing from CMLL since they decided to push guys with abs. I also like how they stick to the game plan, regardless of how good they are. The first caida is matwork, the second is either a rudo beatdown or a technico comeback and the third
Great Lucha

Some IWRG

Hijo de Cien Caras, Mascara Año 2000 Jr. y Negro Navarro vs. El Pantera, Mano Negra y Halcon Ortiz, 8/21/08   No matwork in this one, just a soft brawl. Still it was pretty harmless. Mano Negra and Pantera did some neat spots off the ropes and Halcon Ortiz looked better than Mil Máscaras.   Los Oficiales vs. Fantasma de la Opera, Dr. Cerebro y Cerebro Negro, Distrito Federal Trios Championship, 8/24/08   I really dug this. They may have been a little safe with the structure, but it was
Great Lucha

Puebla locals

Asturiano/Black Tiger/Centella De Oro vs Espiritu Maligno/Fuerza Chicana/Siki Ozama Jr., Arena Puebla, 1/26/09   This was my first look at the Puebla locals and I was impressed.   It wasn't a perfect match, but cubsfan nailed it when he said: "being there to hit your move just as the guy turns around to take [it] is such a great skill but one seemingly missing from a lot of CMLL guys." These guys showed that with the right timing you can hit upon a far better rhythm than "baseless" lucha.
Great Lucha

Casas Brothers

Negro Casas/Felino/Heavy Metal v. Sagrado/Mascara/ El Volador, Arena Puebla, 2/8/09   So, Negro Casas fits the mainevent scene like a glove, Heavy Metal has his working boots on and it's great that Felino's getting some sort of push again; potentially the Casas Brothers are a really good trios. But what a sorry bunch of technicos. They all look the same, they wrestle the same and I don't know how I'm supposed to tell them apart. If it were up to me, I'd shoot the lot. Obviously that's not goi
Great Lucha

Lizmark in AAA

Satanico, Rambo y Fishman vs Villano III, Lizmark y Panterita del Ring   They only aired five minutes of this, but what was shown was pretty awesome.   Satanico was his usual maniacal self, ripping at Lizmark's mask and throwing in headbutts. When Lizmark rolled under the bottom rope, Satanico tried to reach through the ropes and grab him. I swear Satanico is the greatest improviser I've seen in wrestling. Not only does he follow-up on everything, but he's forever selling his obsession wi
smkelly's Blog

Doesn’t Play Well With Others #1

That’s the title of my wrestling column, it’s not too eye popping original, but it’s not completely devoid of originality either. I got my motivation to write this time consuming column because I love professional wrestling, and I want to make an honest living out of writing professionally. Being a forum member at internet message boards like DVDVR (Death Valley Driver Video Review) and Pro Wrestling Only also helps considerably in wanting to spend the hours it takes to watch matches, jog down
Great Lucha

Negro Casas/Heavy Metal v. La Sombra/ Volador Jr.

Negro Casas/Heavy Metal v. La Sombra/Volador Jr., CMLL World Tag Team Championship, 2/13/09   Negro Casas and Heavy Metal made a great team here.   Heavy Metal's a guy I never liked watching in AAA. In fact, if there's a hell below, the only lucha I'll find is Heavy Metal vs. Jerry Estrada on an endless loop. Yet somewhere along the way he's developed into a real asskicker. He still looks like he's on something, but I liked how he carried himself here. I guess it was a combination of the
Great Lucha

Gran Hamada vs. Centurión Negro

Gran Hamada vs. Centurión Negro, UWA World Middleweight Championship, 2/14/82 (2nd & 3rd falls only)   This was from a UWA Anniversary show at El Toreo De Naucalpan, and is supposedly one of the great lucha matches, but to me it was more of a juniors match than a great lucha match. That's not a knock on the match, I can just live without seeing backdrops and bridged suplexes in lucha.   Hamada's a good grappler, with awesome leg strength, and he's the kind of guy I like because he loo
Great Lucha

Ringo Mendoza/Atlantis/Ultraman vs. Los Infernales (Satanico/Masakre/MS-1)

Ringo Mendoza/Atlantis/Ultraman vs. Los Infernales (Satanico/Masakre/MS-1), early-to-mid 80s   Now here's a match nobody ever talks about.   This was a classy trios that started out with an awesome exchange between Satanico and Ringo Mendoza.   Ringo Mendoza is the kind of technico that never backs down from a fight. If a rudo tries to rough-house him, he puts up the fists. He's never a dick about it, you just don't take liberties with Ringo Mendoza. Satanico was looking for an advanta
Great Lucha

Villano III/Gran Hamada/Eddy Guerrero vs. Shu el Guerrero/Scorpio/Scorpio Jr

Villano III/Gran Hamada/Eddy Guerrero vs. Shu el Guerrero/Scorpio/Scorpio Jr., Arena Neza, early 90s   With all the El Toreo shows taking place, I thought I'd do a little reminiscing of my own.   This was a fun fifteen minute match back when these guys could move a whole lot quicker. It started off as a non-descript rudo beatdown, but Villano got this inspired idea to beat everyone with a stick. He used the thing until it was just a handle and even swung it at the ref. I'm not a fan of gu
Great Lucha

Farewell to El Toreo... again!

El Toreo Requiem Part 2, UWE, 1/23/09   This is a long goodbye. Not that I'm complaining or anything.   LOS CADETES DEL ESPACIO SOLAR, SUPER ASTRO Y ULTRAMAN VS LOS MISIONEROS DE LA MUERTE NEGRO NAVARRO, SIGNO Y BLACK POWER   This was all about Negro Navarro vs. Solar, and I'd go on and on about how great it was, but you know how much of a junkie I am for this stuff. The other guys weren't so bad on the mat, but their timing isn't what it used to be and neither is their strength. T
Great Lucha

Blue Panther vs. Mr. Niebla

Blue Panther vs. Mr. Niebla, Arena Puebla, 11/17/08   What is the deal with Mr. Niebla? Fuck he's an awful worker.   But the real problem here was Panther.   And ever since he unmasked, he's been doing this "old man in peril" act where he looks piss weak. It doesn't matter whether he fights back with a punch or a tope, it all looks weak. Guys like El Faraón never showed their age, but Panther can't seem to help it. His selling is shitty, and I hate the way he draws support by lying on t
Great Lucha

Los Oficiales vs. Black Terry/Dr Cerebro/Cerebro Negro

Los Oficiales vs. Black Terry/Cerebro Negro/Dr Cerebro, Distrito Federal Trios Championship, IWRG, 9/18/08   Black Terry is such a legend. There was a close-up of him early on, watching from the apron... A little tape from the cut man, a bit of gum to loosen up... He looked a little weathered, but without geting out too out there, that rough, charismatic look kinda summed this match up.   This wasn't a classic, and it was a little rough around the edges, but it had a sort of magneticis
Great Lucha

Negro Casas vs. Blue Panther

Negro Casas vs. Blue Panther, CMLL Guadalajara, 8/3/08   I enjoyed this.   It reminded me of those old school mano a mano contests, minus the blood. Mano a mano is neither a title match or a hair vs. mask match, so you have to take it down a notch (or two) in the event that one of those stips takes place. A Negro Casas/Blue Panther program is unlikely to happen at this point, but these guys were schooled in the old ways. They told a simple story about Casas cheating, the ref preventing Pa
Great Lucha

Sangre Chicana vs. Villano III

Sangre Chicana vs. Villano III (12/3/83; may be from '84)   Eighties lucha! Where men were men and mano a mano meant hideous bladejobs.   Sangre Chicana has always been one of my favourite workers to watch. You watch a fight like this and he gets so much out of nothing, whereas today's kids get nothing out of too much. He took a beating here and his forehead was gashed, and not only was his selling better than anything I saw out of CMLL for the entirety of last year, but his offence amoun
Great Lucha

The first lucha of 2009

La Sombra/Volador Jr. vs. Averno/Mephisto, CMLL World Tag Team Championship, 1/16/09   No good!   Where do you start a match? Do you start from dives or do you start from the ground up?   If you ask this layman, you either start from the mat, or from rudo brawling, and you hold off on your dives until the time is right. But the only building blocks these guys have are their dives and tricked out moves, so they go to them early.   Stuff happens... It just happens. None of these guys
Great Lucha

2008 thoughts

These are based on the Tapatía Awards over at cubsfan's site.   Best Wrestler -- Negro Navarro   Negro Navarro is the best wrestler in Mexico. He looked good in everything I saw from him and his matwork was amazing every time he wrestled. Moreover he deserves credit for reinventing himself in his late 40s/early 50s, because the Navarro you see today is different from the guy who resurfaced in the 2001 El Dandy matches. Not a lot of guys change what works for them, and even fewer get better
Great Lucha

More lucha from London

Solar vs. Blue Demon Jr., NWA World Heavyweight Title, 12/9/08   When Santo was asked what London could expect from Lucha Libre, this was his answer: "You will see a contact sport but a great part of it is close to art. This is because in lucha we wrestle close to the canvas where you will see a lot of movement with ‘castigos’, holds and locks, it becomes harmonious and this beautiful skill converts into art." Perhaps so, but not when junior's involved.   Solar's a great worker, but Blue D
Great Lucha

Lucha Libre London

Mystico De La Juarez/Silver King/Rubi Gardenia v. Cassandro/Magno/El Hijo Del Santo, 12/9/08   This was by far and away the match of the year. So, alright, it wasn't wrestled in Mexico and didn't have a lucha crowd; in fact the atmosphere was difficult to describe, with the announcer putting it over like a cabaret show and DJs playing between falls, but it was a hell of a trios match and an awesome live show. Hell, it made me wanna fly over to London for the next foray.   As others have n
Great Lucha

Farewell to El Toreo

El Toreo "Requiem por una Era", 12/3/08   This was a farewell show for Toreo de Cuatro Caminos (aka El Toreo), the famous wrestling venue, which, after 64 years, is being torn down and replaced by a shopping mall and apartment complex.   Elimination tournament for the Copa UWA Toreo: - Scorpio Jr./Shu el Guerrero vs. Super Astro/Ultraman - Villano IV/Villano V vs. Rambo/Kahoz   If you've ever seen any of the tournaments that the lucha promotions run, you'll know what to expect from

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