ohtani's jacket

Thanks for the feedback. I'll get around to those matches one of these days.

I don't understand why it matters. What's the point? That there's a vast majority of wrestling fans who are stupid? Is being a wrestling fan supposed to be something you're clever at?

EL DANDY y ULTIMO VAMPIRO vs. NEGRO NAVARRO y PANTERA (IWRG 4/4/02) Dandy vs. Navarro! This is the match where they use their fists a lot. RAGING NOODLES: This past weekend I saw this match for the first time in years and was blown away by the Dandy/Navarro exchanges. Most of the pimping of Negro Navarro centers around his incredible matwork, and it's obvious why. But Navarro's someone that should get much more praise for being a complete worker with tremendous brawling skills and this is one of his great performances. In this bout, Navarro appears to be in the elite league of great brawlers like Bill Dundee and Dick Murdoch with his masterful use of fists and his selling of Dandy's strikes. Late in the final fall, Navarro nails Dandy with a KO looking punch that sends Dandy crumbling to the mat. One announcer starts to compare Navarro to Marco Antonio Barrera and later on the other announcer talks about how Navarro's fists have sent many people to the hospital. Navarro's striking ability is so strong that you actually believe the announcers! I guess the best way to describe Navarro's performance is "Dick Murdochian". I always thought Pantera was one of the more underrated workers in lucha libre, and a really smooth technico worker. He's a rudo here, and spends a lot of time leading Ultimo Vampiro through the match. Pantera is solid enough in this role and does some good work with Ultimo Vampiro, who is without question the worst worker of the match. Pantera has some nice holds along the way, bumps good for Vampiro's stuff, and hits a great looking springboard senton. But it was awkward and ugly to see Vampiro lock a loose submission hold over Navarro and it was something one would have a hard time buying. Also, it's a major shame that the final showdown of the match was Pantera/Vampiro instead of it being an epic final conclusion to the great Navarro and Dandy story. Like Dick Murdoch's giant bag of selling tricks, Navarro demonstrates a variety of ways to put over Dandy's strikes. In the match, he'll get hit by a punch and sell it as if his legs are buckling below him, he'll slightly lose his balance and try to regain his composure. At another moment, Dandy nails him and he slowly collapses against the ropes, and then he takes that Jerry Estrada bump on his head to the outside. One other example is he'll draw closer to Dandy to shorten the distance between Dandy and himself after a blow has rocked him. Dandy gets the better of Navarro with counter punches, and he has some cool moments dodging Navarro's stuff. Dandy absorbs a lot of punishment and it makes him look like such a tough badass. He takes Navarro's best right hooks, straight rights, uppercuts and bodyshots against the ropes. Dandy has that selling that is hard to pull off, the selling where he's trying to act like it's not hurting him but it's really killing him inside. It's awesome and it feels like a brutal war. A few months after this, El Dandy started a AAA feud with El Hijo Del Perro Aguayo that turned out to be very disappointing and underwhelming. In 2004, he had a title match with LA Park that had both guys working hard but it was nothing more than OK. Of course, there is the possibility that some hidden post-2002 El Dandy gem gets discovered any day now, but this appears to be the final great El Dandy match. On the other hand, Navarro is still one of the best workers in the world and has had some great performances in 2009 against Solar I, Black Terry, Mike Quackenbush, and Dr. Cerebro. OHTANI'S JACKET: This really was the tale of two wrestlers -- one of whom went on to become the wrestler of the decade and the other who faded into obscurity. Flashback to 1992 and it seems unreal. Dandy was the middleweight champion of the world and still a draw at the main event/semi final level. Navarro was working a dying territory and hadn't been a draw since the Misioneros broke up in '86. I'm not sure what the story with Dandy is. Most people assume that he's burnt all his bridges and doesn't have a good enough relationship with the promoters to earn a veteran spot. I guess those were heady days back with the suits and shoes, and the nice watches. Big things had been predicted for Navarro early in his career, but according to Dr. Lucha, by 1991 he was reduced to working small independent shows, living off his reputation. I would've loved for the Misioneros to have jumped ship in '92 and reformed with Texano in the trios scene back then, but from all accounts, Navarro wasn't charismatic enough or a big enough draw to interest anyone. That should've been the end of Negro Navarro, and would've been if not for two things: the digital revolution and Navarro's rise from El Misionero to El Maestro. The growth of digital technology has given us access to shows we would've never seen before, and while it's a pretty small circle of fans who'd consider Negro Navarro the best wrestler of the decade, fuck it, veterans working the indies has been the best thing about this decade. I'd love to know what motivates Negro Navarro and other UWA cast offs, but whatever it is, it's the difference between El Dandy and Negro Navarro in 2009. To be fair, Negro Navarro is something of a late bloomer. Los Misioneros de la Muerte weren't the most charismatic group in Mexico. They were hailed by the lucha magazines for their new breed of skill, speed and athleticism, and Navarro was very much the "middle worker." I've seen scraps of Misioneros footage, and Navarro, while an excellent worker, never stood out from his peers. The interesting thing about this match is that it's somewhere between a Misioneros style performance and the focus on Navarro as a singles worker this decade. Navarro's selling and bumping was straight out of his Misioneros days. We didn't really see his famed submission knowledge until the final fall, and even then it wasn't the single takedown stuff that's made him so tough in recent years. This was brawling style Negro Navarro, similar to how he's worked with Black Terry of late. I think I've said in the past that Navarro was never much of a brawler, but this match and a handheld I saw from '84 knock that idea on its ass. Navarro ducking and weaving like a pro-boxer was awesome, and the comparisons with Dick Murdoch and Lawler and Dundee are apt. Dandy was still the man here and the charisma from both workers was off the charts. Back in the Misioneros days, the Dandy/Navarro exchanges would've formed a small part of the overall match. Here, the match was stripped back, and Navarro and Dandy were able to shine in all their bareknuckled glory. It was great watching Navarro emerge as a singles worker of note, even if there was a reversal of stature going on every time Navarro landed rights and lefts. Like I said, I have no idea what happened to Dandy this decade, but I hope he's still driving around in an El D Cadillac getting paid in full. The match was a bit too scrappy for me to call it great, but if there were more matches like this available, fans like me wouldn't have to bother with the travesties that other companies promote.

I really think this is a case of knowing more about your hobby than other situations where fan behaviour crosses the line. If you wanna compare wrestling to other forms of fiction, live arena wrestling isn't shot on a secure lot and actors don't taunt and antagonise a live audience, though a great many of them have worked their character in public.

Fuerza and El Dandy never met in any known singles match. When did Terry Funk style Puerto Rico stories stop being cool? You can lay the blame at fans attacking wrestlers for any number of reasons -- drunkenness, socio-economic level, fans hating the heels, or just plain stupidity, but unless it crosses the line I don't see what's wrong with an old school wrestling crowd. Flair having to drop the title to Colon to avoid a riot is a great carnie story. Could be complete bullshit, but wrestling wouldn't be wrestling without carnie lies. What would you prefer Jingus? How should a crowd react?

Who says British fans thought Big Daddy matches were real? They were filled with comedy for the most part. The same audience who loved Big Daddy enjoyed watching Jackie Pallo and Les Kellet yap their way through entire bouts. To be honest, I don't understand the problem. If you can work an audience into believing what they're seeing is real, that's generally taken as a sign of a good worker. Does that mean the audience are stupid? Maybe, but that's why the boys in the back had names for the fans out front. It's a bit ondescending for my liking. Kayfabe was an important part of the business up until recently, and to rubbish the hand that feeds you is pretty ignorant on the part of the wrestling business and the people in it. As for why people believed it was real, there's always been skeptics who didn't and pro-wrestlers have always put up a front that it is real. But mostly, people believed it was real because they wanted it to be real. And on that point, what does it matter? Give me an audience who think it's real over a ROH type crowd any day of the week. Why the rant about one of the best possible things in pro-wrestling?

I don't know much about the Baseball HOF, etc., but I assume there are journalists who get a ballot. I wonder what the chances are of a sports blogger one day getting a ballot. It seems like Dave isn't casting his net wide enough if he gives his opinion columnists a ballot but doesn't recognise other pro-wrestling journalism.

Is it just me or has DVDVR been down for the past few days?

PERRO AGUAYO, JR. VS. UNIVERSO 2000, hair vs. hair, 3/17/06 Just to get our readers up to speed: After Universo Dos Mil laid Perro Aguayo, Sr. out and took his hair, Perro Aguayo, Jr. took on the age old quest of avenging his father's defeat. Perro, Sr. wound up returning on the 2004 Homenaje a Dos Leyendas show, where the Aguayos took the hair of Cien Caras and Máscara Año 2000 in a pretty good match actually. Sadly, Lover Ice's account was pulled before we could give it a proper review, but it all lead to one defining moment -- a showdown between Perro Aguayo, Jr. and the man who ended his father's career. RAGING NOODLES: Another match from one of the hottest feuds of the decade, and another example to point to if you want to show people a strong Universo 2000 performance. The Dinamitas were always some of the more charismatic performers in lucha libre, and El Hijo Del Perro Aguayo had more star quality and more charisma than anyone else in 2006. Also, this might be the last great lucha de apuestas match that still feels part of the same style of hate-filled brawls that EMLL loved to built to. While I thought the 2009 Villano V-Panther match was excellent, the work in that bout felt stylistically closer to a modern WWE main event brawl than it did with an old fashioned lucha libre fight. As the years have gone by in pro wrestling, almost everybody has started working for the TV cameras, and this has played a part in making a lot of CMLL matches forgettable and generic in recent years. But Universo 2000 and El Hijo Del Perro Aguayo were elite arena performers that worked for the people there in attendance and this had the feel of a big time Mid-South Coliseum main event. Just like the Perro Aguayo match from 2001, Universo was the worker of the match and he deserves a lot of credit for how impressive this turned out to be. Right at the opening, Universo goes straight at Aguayo with a flurry of tight looking strikes and throws Aguayo around by his hair. Universo also takes him over with a nice hip toss throw and hits a hard senton. Universo is not giving him any time to recover and is closing in the distance to go for the kill. Universo puts him away with a fireman's carry slam and a medio cangrejo to win the first fall in a direct fashion. Aguayo never had an opening and the attack was violently straight forward. Between the falls, he is still after Aguayo and gives a slam on the ramp and poses at the crowd to show them who's in control. The second fall starts with Univeso 2000 entering the ring with a sloppy but painful looking dropkick on Perrito. Universo just continues the onslaught with a nasty looking camel clutch as he tries to rip Aguayo's mouth wide open. Aguayo refuses to submit, so Universo hits him with another hard senton. Perro's selling the punishment with a lost stare and Dr. Alfonso Morales cries out that he's in another Galaxy! Universo hits a HUGE dropkick on Perro, and then makes the timeless mistake of going to the top rope. Of course, the high risk move fails and Perro makes a quick comeback and hits la lanza for the win. I guess one of the criticisms here is that Aguayo's comeback didn't have the impact it probably should have had and his strikes weren't as good as what Universo was dishing out. At this point, it's a little surprising that the seconds in the match, Cien Caras and Perro Aguayo Sr., have not had any huge role on what has taken place in the ring, but that's going to change soon. In the third fall, neither guy has a significant advantage over the other, as it progressed into a more back and forth struggle between the two. It's a pleasant surprised to see how organic it felt rather than the problematic "my turn, your turn" stuff that infects too much of pro wrestling these days. In the opening moments, Universo takes his awesome corner bump that just sends him flying to the outside in a great looking visual. It's a trademark bump that Universo takes, and the impressive thing about it is how reckless and out of control it feels. When Universo steps back in, he quickly surprises Aguayo with a great flying elbow blow and hooks on the Gory Special. Aguayo reverses the Gory Special quickly into the Octagon special for a nice counter. After that, Perro avoids Universo's charge and Universo takes another great bump, this time into the ringpost and it sends him flying to the floor again. Aguayo immediately sees the opening and follows it up with la silla from the apron. As the match unfolds, we see more nearfalls, counters and the usual moves we see in these type of matches. As expected, Universo starts to cheat as the match starts drawing to a close by using the assistance of ropes in a couple of nearfalls. Aguayo also takes a huge over the top rope bump, and Universo quickly goes flying out of the ring with an impressive tope that sends Aguayo into the 2nd row. Finally, the seconds get involved and we get martinete teases, a low blow false finish, and a furious Perro Aguayo Sr. punting Universo between the legs for Perrito to finally score the victory. Confetti rains down from the sky while Perro Sr. and Cien Caras have a brawl. Epic encounter, amazing atmosphere and one of the great CMLL brawls of this decade. Universo 2000's facial expressions and him clutching at his crotch as they cut his hair is one of those great postmatch moments. OHTANI'S JACKET: I thought Perro's performance here was crap. Think about it like this -- here's a guy who humiliated your father and ended his career. Your father is a guy who got over by ripping El Santo's mask and bloodying him like few had before, which, according to legend, saw Santo retaliate by going back to his rudo beginnings. He made enemies his entire career, til finally he was shot down in the street like an aging gunslinger. It's an archetypal revenge story: Los Capos are Frank and his men in Once Upon a Time in the West, and you're Charles Bronson. Steve Sims describes a hair vs. hair match as follows: Gone are the days of "blood, sweat, tears and more blood," but if any feud fit the bill this decade it was Aguayos vs. Los Capos. This ought to have been one of the fights of the decade, with Perro, Jr. showing the same intensity as his father. After all, he'd waited five years for this apuestas. So how did Perro play it? Like a chump. It's all well and good to have the big, dopey offence befitting an arena performer, but it doesn't mean shit if you can't act or sell. The writing was on the wall when he come to the ring as though he were the Rock or some shit, and later on he took off his shirt and posed to the crowd. Jesus Christ, you're supposed to be avenging your father not auditioning for a WWE development spot. This match was a complete waste of Universo 2000, arguably the best main event performer CMLL have had this decade, who I thought gave an excellent performance. The match would've been better off as a one fall contest, but no amount of bullshit could've saved this since Perro Aguayo, Jr. was working like a rising CMLL superstar and not the son of the man whose honour he was defending. Perro was so misguided, so focused on his own heat, that he barely gave any shine to Universo Dos Mil or the meaning behind the bout. Perro's comeback here was the worst I've seen in a big match, and Universo really should've sandbagged him, which he could've done in a single fall contest by cutting off his comeback attempts. Watch how Perro pops up on offence like Kurt Angle. This is the type of shit that gets ignored when wrestling debate boils down to favouritism. The highlight of the match was Universo's tope, which was an awesome spot but came off like a title match spot. That's the problem with CMLL hair matches these days -- there's nothing to differentiate them from title matches or any kind of singles match for that matter. The finish was bullshit too. Technicos should never win a hair match like that, even if it is "una sopa de su propio chocolate," and Perro, Sr. was a famous rudo in his glory days. Full credit to Universo 2000 for the way he sold the aftermath. That put the young Aguayo to shame. Let me set something straight: I don't think Perro Aguayo, Jr. is a hopeless worker. It was just a hopeless performance in a hopelessly modern CMLL hair match, and a massively disappointing way to cap off one of the better feuds this decade. Universo was shifted from the main event scene after this -- a shitty exit for such a proven performer. Perro, Sr. and Cien Caras retired amid a storm of controversy. Universo should've got a better send off. Raging Noodles thought this was great, and he's a much nicer guy than me, so you've got two opinions. If I learnt anything from doing these reviews with him, it's that Los Capos were gun.* * Aussie slang -- to be gun at something is to be very good or the best at something.

Mil Mascaras vs. Perro Aguayo, Olympic Auditorium, 1982 I believe this is from Hollywood Wrestling, the LA promotion which Kurt Brown immortalises each week on the Slammin' Stan Podcast. It was taped off the Spanish International Network, and featured guest commentary from British wrestlers Chris Adams and Ringo Rigby, who sounded like the Beatles. I shouldn't really say that, since I'm from the Commonwealth and have been familiar with British accents my entire life, but still I got a kick out of Chris and Ringo. The match was your typical sort of one fall contest where they grapple for ten minutes before the rudo gets frustrated and calls it quits. Neither guy was about to job here, but I've never understood why bookers and promoters think an "early showers" match will satisfy the paying customer. There was nothing wrong with the work mind you, they just cut it off at the knees. Mil gets a bad rap as a worker. He may have been difficult to work with, but I like a guy who doesn't give away too much. His brother often fed guys shit they had no business getting over him. With Mil, there was a shootish edge to his matwork. Perro plugged away in this match, and Mil gave him a sniff here and there. I suppose you could argue that Mil had no intention of making Perro look good, but let's face it, aside from some good looking takedowns, Perro was no Wonder Mike on the mat. Perro's big moment in the match was his punch combos in the corner. I also saw a short clip of a Lucha Leaves Town, Mexican Death Match from the same territory. I'm not sure what classified it as a Mexican death match, but it was a tag match between the Americas champs, Carlos Mata and Kiss, and the Misioneros de la Muerte (Signo and Texano.) The finish wasn't shown, but I'm assuming the Misioneros were run out of town. According to Negro Navarro, Texano was the best mat worker of the Misioneros, and sure enough his grappling was solid. Last, and definitely least, was a nothing match between Canek and Mario Valenzuela. I can never quite figure Canek out. Mechanically, he did everything a luchador should, but for a guy of his fame and notoriety, he could be as soulless as Blue Demon Jr at times. Valenzuela provided what little there was in the way of interesting spots, but he was a loose sort of a worker and had trouble with his execution. Canek did the worst job of hiding a foreign object in his tights that you will ever see in professional wrestling.

What a bizarre system. How many wasted votes are there every year? Also, what happens to the Japanese or Mexican votes for a North American workers? Do they disappear into the ether? I'm guessing Dave must classify a fair number of people as wide ranging experts.

PERRO AGUAYO VS. UNIVERSO 2000, hair vs. mask, CMLL El Jucio Final, 3/30/01 So here's the deal: 2009 is almost over, and I'm no closer to figuring out what the best matches of the decade were, so from now until whenever we drop this project, Raging Noodles and I will search for the likely candidates. Judging by the wrestling this decade, we'll probably watch anything and everything. First up is a mascara vs. cabellera match from Perro Aguayo's lengthy retirement tour. RAGING NOODLES: Wow, this was far better than I was expecting it to be. Crowd heat is incredible for this, and Perro looks like he belongs more in a wheel chair than he does in the ring. But even though Perro looks like he could barely walk, I'm surprised to see him taking bumps off of Universo's offense in the early portion of the match. Universo tries that spot where you fall back and monkey flip a guy over you, but Perro just stomps him in the face. Smart man. Perro then clotheslines Universo to the outside, and follows up with a tope! I would be dishonest if I did not admit that it might be the worst tope in the history of Arena Mexico, but it was gusty as hell and made Aguayo look like an insane old crippled man that doesn't give a fuck. So, that was awesome and I loved it. Mascara Año 2000 is Universo's second, and he starts to beat the shit out of Aguayo. While this is going on, Aguayo's second Villano III, is furious and starts to argue with the referee Tigre Hispano. Back in the ring, Universo misses a charge in the corner and takes a great back body drop bump and then takes another one of those to the outside. Man, Perro seems to be in a lot of pain yet he still busts out la silla spot. Some more interference from Mascara Año 2000, and Hispano attempts to restrain a furious Villano III. Whoever laid out this match deserves all the credit in the world for how great of a spectacle it's turning out to be. Back in the ring, Universo attempts to submit Aguayo and then gives Aguayo a back body drop which must have felt like hell for Aguayo. Aguayo is sent out to the floor, and Universo accidentally wipes out his brother with a tope. Perro starts counting Universo out, but Tigre Hispano continues to be a dick and refuses to count Universo out. This is really entertaining. A rudo referee breaking up the rhythm of a Santo/Panther match in Monterrey is really stupid. But this stuff here is really smart and it's working. Perro is now in control and starts to unleash some of his usual offense to try to put Universo away. Perro does a nice samoan drop and hits a big senton off the ropes for a cover. Perro continues to be in charge until Mascara Año 2000 trips Aguayo and Universo hits a low blow on Aguayo. Villano III is awesome as the second, and his reactions to all this interference is incredible. Universo goes to the top rope for a big move, and Aguayo moves out the way and quickly goes for a pinfall. Tigre Hispano refuses to count up to three, and Dr. Alfonso Morales screams that it might be arthritis that's preventing him from making the three count. That was hilarious. Aguayo knees him in the face and hits an elbow drop, and Hispano refuses to count to three again. Perro Aguayo can't believe this and is flabbergasted at all this bullshit. Perro's acting and body language has always been one of his strongest points. Probably the best thing he does in this match is the masterful job of being able to convey all his emotions to the Arena Mexico crowd. Universo fails to clothesline Perro, but hits Tigre Hispano and the ringside commissioner orders Tigre Hispano to the back. Aguayo is awesome at stirring up the audience to chant for Hispano to leave the ring. In the brief moments where there is no referee, Mascara Año 2000 just pops inside the ring and both brothers double team Aguayo. Roberto "El Guero" Rangel comes out! Awesome, Rangel blocks a martinete attempt from Universo and orders Mascara Año 2000 to the back. Behind Rangel's back, Aguayo hits a low blow for a nearfall. After a couple of more false finishes from Aguayo, and with the crowd chanting "Si Se Puede!", Aguayo finally sets him up for La Lanza. He hits it, does a huge fun celebration and is in a state of ecstasy about it. But when he makes the cover, a "fan" with a Pierroth mask, throws a drink in his face to blind him. As soon as Universo recovers, he picks up the blinded Aguayo and hits the piledriver for the win. Dr. Alfonso Morales is screaming about this injustice and is furious at everything that has taken place. He starts interrogating the commissioner, Roberto Rangel, Mascara Año 2000, and screams at Universo 2000 that he couldn't beat Aguayo like a man. Morales also goes on to accuse him of getting one of his family members to throw the drink at Aguayo's face. Morales is awesome as a pissed off, truth seeking journalist trying to get to the bottom of this conspiracy against Perro Aguayo! The audience appears to be shocked and appalled at seeing an unconscious Perro getting his head shaved. As much as I love Perro Aguayo, he was so limited and broken down at this point, that it's a miracle to see how awesome this turned out to be. Universo 2000 deserves a lot of the credit for carrying Aguayo along the way, and I would love to know who was in charge of booking all the smoke and mirrors bullshit. OHTANI'S JACKET: Eight years ago, I wouldn't have watched this match. Nowadays, I figure that if anyone can make a CMLL match work it's a 55 year-old Perro Aguayo and a 37 year-old Universo 2000. It's not that I automatically distrust anyone under the age of 40, it's just that a match like this needs a whole lot of bullshit and a whole lot of heat, and these guys spent forever working that style. The Arena Mexico is set-up these days, the way it's lit, and even the way they shoot the matches, means you have to be a big match worker to pull this shit off. Many of the lucha classics would look out of place in present day Arena Mexico. They'd be better suited to smaller venues like Arena Coliseo. It's possible that past workers could get heat for their rudo tactics, but not at the same pace. There used to be an unbearable tension to the way a rudo would brutalise the technico. These days, they've filled in the "down time" with crooked refs and over involved seconds. You need to be larger than life to stick out from all the bullshit, and that was always one of Perro's strengths. A lot of workers are poor at playing to the crowd, even great workers who've been in the business for decades. Blue Panther, for example, is hopelessly bad, but a lot of other masked luchadores struggle with this as well. Perro was a guy who got over by channeling his intensity into a confrontational style. Win or lose, he set about making an impression, and was able to project that intensity onto the entire arena. 55 year-old Perro was difficult to watch at times, but he worked this match like he would've ten years earlier. In fact, the booking was straight out of 1992, right down to the heel ref being ejected and Rangel taking his place. I guess it's no surprise that two guys who headlined "Pena style" main events in the early 90s were so successful in this match. In many ways, it was the culmination of not only Aguayo's feud with Los Hermanos Dinamita, but a bookend to the Pena driven boom of the the early 90s. Matches like these are full of bullshit, but when it comes to booking, there's good bullshit and bad bullshit. The bullshit here was phenomenal. The key to the match's success was that they booked it as a single fall contest. If they'd booked it as 2/3 falls, they would've had to chop up the fifteen minutes and overbook the finish to each fall, similar to wager matches of late. With a single fall, it meant they could work a simple match where Perro kept having his offence cut off and was a step closer to being screwed over. But the clincher was the finish. I have no idea what the feeling was at the time, but watching the match it seemed just as likely that Universo would lose his mask. I've got to admit that I had no idea whether the fan was a plant or not, but Perro taking the martinete on his back neck came as a complete shock. To have a legend like Perro Aguayo laid out like that is just about the ballsiest finish I've seen in lucha. Aguayo deserves credit for jobbing like that. It was only his second apuestas loss in fifteen years. Granted, he'd had the better of Los Hermanos Dinamita over the years, but it was an awesome way to put over Universo. I know there's been a reappraisal of Los Hermanos Dinamita in recent years, but up until now I haven't really bought it. I like their early 90s stuff, but I don't think they were good in the 80s. Watching the bullshit here, it kind of dawned on me that Universo was better than any other point in his career. The work here was pretty basic, but his bulked up frame made him a tougher looking proposition than his prime years. I think this match turned me into a Capos fan.

Policeman vs. Centella de Oro, hair vs. hair, Arena Puebla 56th Anniversary show, 7/20/09 I only saw the second and third falls of this on Tercera Caida, but from the looks of things it's one of the better matches this year. It was given about as much build-up as you can possibly get for an Arena Puebla match, starting with Policeman feigning a foul and Centella de Oro being unjustly disqualified. This was followed up by a couple of weeks of legit fouls, and really, there's two things that lead to a wager match. One is a bunch of mask ripping and the other is a kick to the balls. Of course this was a modern hair match, so there was no blood. Tercera Caida showed footage of their match from last year where Policeman bladed, but I guess you can't do that shit on TV anymore. So what you're left with is a little bit of brawling and selling and a greater focus on moves. This is a trend that began in the mid-90s, so I won't go on my usual rant about how shitty this decade has been, but the problem with a bloodless hair match is that it takes away all the hate and animosity and leaves you with a high stakes singles match. There's two ways to look at that, I suppose. You can either say it's not a great brawl, there's no blood, it's not a real hair match, or you can give up caring. Personally, I thought they did a pretty good job for two guys who are usually part of the opening card attractions. The match was heated and reasonably well paced. It was kinda obvious that they're fun trios workers and not exactly great at singles matches, but this was a legit attempt at an epic Puebla match. To make a CMLL match epic these days, you need a whole bunch of bullshit happening at ringside. The bullshit here was pretty good. Espíritu Maligno was Policeman's second and spent the entire match trying to cost Centella de Oro his hair, which is the booker's way of stirring up controversy without anyone getting the shit beaten out of them. The contrast between this and the eventual DVDVR Lucha set, where guys bladed at the drop of a hat in dimly hit, smoke filled arenas probably says something about the difference between the 80s and the 00s. One of the most annoying things about lucha these days is that the fans closest to the ring are self-aware that they're on TV. The fans who'd lose their shit over rudo interference are in the cheap seats, fenced off like they're at an ice hockey game. Anyway, the coolest thing about this match (and the coolest thing I've seen in lucha all year) is that after it was over, Centella de Oro put Policeman in a bunch of holds to make sure he had his hair cut. Amusingly enough, it was the best work they did all match.

What's with the voting patterns for Saito? -- 2008 - 49%; 2007 - 18%; 2006 - 46%; 2005 - 13%

Arena Puebla 9/14/09 Asturiano & Centella de Oro vs. Ares & El Bárbaro Mascara Dorada, Sagrado, Valiente vs. Dragon Rojo Jr., Misterioso II, Sangre Azteca Most of the sources for Puebla have disappeared lately. I know Alfredo gets a steady supply of Puebla, but unless someone releases a "Best of Arena Puebla" set, I think I'll stick to whatever I can nab. From the little I saw, the locals vs. minis feud was the best idea a CMLL booker has had in years, which naturally means it's over. The locals didn't have much spark this week. They did their bit and hit the showers. Centella de Oro looked as smooth as ever, but the highlight of the match was the finish. Ares was in the ring and Bárbaro was on the floor. Asturiano set his sights on Ares, but floated backwards on a no-look dive to the outside. Centella de Oro scored a big takedown on Ares for the submission finish, and the technicos got a nice pop from the balcony. Moves are just tools of the trade as far as I'm concerned, but I have to admit I watched that Asturiano spot a few times. It was beautifully done and well caught by Bárbaro. I haven't seen any Valiente lately, so I decided to watch his trios here. Earlier in the year, Valiente and Freelance were neck and neck for technico of the year. Freelance injured himself and fell off the radar, while Valiente threw all his charm out the window by looking positively scrawny. The good news is that Valiente looks bigger than before and is still pound-for-pound one of the best workers in Mexico. The match began with a tribute to veteran luchador, Roberto Paz, who died on September 12th. The rudos and technicos joined together to give him a send off, and everyone worked hard out of respect for the man.

Taue doesn't have a great rep in Japan for what it's worth. People in the business thinking Hase was a better worker than Taue shouldn't come as a surprise.

I kinda doubt that they were having wild brawls.

I don't know whether it's true, but it's amusing if you know who Sterlo is.

Awesome -- legendary Australian rugby league player asking Hogan about Hiro Matsuda breaking his leg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdTFviNTzBs Hulk tore both his biceps when he picked Andre up http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILmUrlCOtro

It was co-promoted with some other company, Arena Wrestling Alliance. I think the idea was that it was a Bushwhackers home coming tour.