ohtani's jacket

Centella de Oro, Sensei & Starman vs. Espíritu Maligno, Inquisidor & Pólvora, 4/6/09 Spirited Puebla opener, this time in front of a full house. Centella de Oro and Espíritu Maligno are two guys you need to check out whenever they make TV. The match wasn't overly special, but the work was smooth and the larger attandence helped. Blue Panther/Maximo/El Hijo Del Fantasma v. Negro Casas, Felino & Heavy Metal, 4/10/09 This was entertaining. I dunno if I'll ever get used to Blue Panther without a mask, but he looked sharp here and had some great exchanges with both Casas and Felino. This was the first time I've enjoyed the Casas brothers' comedy act, which is so sketch based that it breaks kayfabe. I can deal with the stop/start stuff if the actual work is good. Maximo is one of the stranger exotico gimmicks I've seen, and while I'm not inclined to check out the rest of his work, he was OK here. Heavy Metal, on the other hand, did nothing. Máscara Dorada, Metro & Valiente vs. Okumura, Skándalo & Virus, 4/17/09 Dorada, Metro and Valiente are rapidly becoming a must-see trios. The Valiente/Viruse exchanges in this match were incredible. Those two guys are the best match-up in Mexico right now, and Valiente is making a push for worker of the year, but the encouraging thing is how well the others are doing. They're hitting their spots cleanly and making smart decisions on offence. When you've got guys clicking and backing each other up, that's when you can fully enjoy the Valiente spots. That tope spot was hot buttered. I tell you what -- CMLL is far less offensive when you watch it on youtube.

Wasn't the Sakuraba fight after he was inducted? A lot of Dave's connections are in the press, right? They were extremely supportive of Pancrase.

You've got to be a little careful when talking about the history of wrestling in Japan, because there's never been anything definitive written about it in English. It was first staged in 1887, which was a long time before the war. They failed throughout the 20s to promote pro-wrestling in Japan and the first efforts after the war weren't promoted by Japanese. Originally it was entertainment for US servicemen. I do not think that Funaki was ever seen as an elite world athlete and I don't agree that PANCRASE was a Fujiwara offshoot. I wouldn't give Fujiwara any credit for PANCRASE. They couldn't have been further apart ideologically.

What does this mean?

Funaki was the man in 1996.

Satanico vs. Super Astro, mano a mano, 1984 Satanico's hair was awesome in this. I wasn't digging his work to begin with. It was good, but not the genius you'd expect from Satanico. And I thought they made a mistake giving the first fall to Super Astro, especially since he turned on a dime to make his comeback, instead of fighting his way out of a corner. They went straight back to the beatdown, which isn't the overlap you'd expect, but the third fall was really good. Super Astro made a brawling comeback, and as we all know, brawling comebacks are where Lopez kicks it up a gear. Super Astro bit his forehead open and the maestro was incensed. That's when the genius began to emerge -- they dropped the cliched story of the technico not being big enough and fought it out. I always thought Super Astro was a worker who couldn't use his fists, but he pelted Satanico a couple of times and turned his tope into an awesome headbutt. They did this really cool spot where they were trading blows on their knees and Super Astro bent all the way back, touched the mat with his head and popped back up with a headbutt. The finish wasn't the greatest, but the lead-in was vintage Satanico. There was a great visual of him pulling on a hold -- blood pouring from his head, spit flying from his mouth. Just a fantastic image of the effort needed to win a match. He's a guy who put so much into his finishes. You watch a Satanico match and his selling tells the whole story. It doesn't matter whether you're in the front row, back row or sitting at home, the guy was just a genius at selling. And he understood structure and the need for an arch. He'd clue you to why he lost, then bullshit himself and everyone else. Just a hell of a performer.

Black Terry, Cerebro Negro y Dr Cerebro vs Negro Navarro, Trauma I y Trauma II, 3/28/09 There was something a bit off about Terry's matwork in this match and even Navarro was a bit skew-whiff. I'm not sure that he should out and out dominate Dr.Cerebro like that. The match stayed on an even keel, but the only explosive moments where when Terry and Navarro brawled and even that wasn't outstanding. I think they're building to a title match, so we can live in hope, but shorter mat sequences with the Navarro kids and more of a focus on Negro vs. Terry would probably help.

Mascara Dorada, Metro, Valiente vs Euforia, Nosferatu, Virus, 4/10/09 This was really good. It started off with an extended mat sequence between Valiente and Virus, which is a hell of a match-up, but what made this match was the rhythm. The timing on the dives was perfect and I think the crowd picked up on that. A tidy match with good, clean progressions. Nobody overplayed their hand and the bumping & catching was strong. Valiente might just be prettier than Super Astro.

Yeah, not reeeaally in the mainstream. Though a late night TV comedian did used to have a regular Fujiwara segment on his show.

Mainstream acting success?

Atlantis/El Hijo del Santo/Tony Salazar vs. El Satanico/El Dandy/Espectro Jr., mid-80s This was pretty cool. Not the three fall classic you're looking for; in fact the technicos ran away with it, but if you're into your technicos then this was irresistable. Santo did the kind of things you've seen him do a million times before, but at three times the speed. Even though he's Santo, it was staggerly how cleanly he hit everything. Whenever a match pops up from his UWA period, it always seems so much fresher and I've no doubt that this was the peak of his athleticism. Not to be outdone, Atlantis and Dandy couldn't match him for pace but put together some ridiculously intricate exchanges. Atlantis was a special luchador in his youth and it's almost impossible to pin him as the same guy today. The captains were Satanico and Tony Salazar, who, as you'd imagine, had heat with each other. It seems Satanico's had an issue with everyone at one point or another. Satanico wanted to throw away the contest and have a boxing match, and when the refs put a stop to that, the crowd took great delight in Salazar delivering the bulldog. The finish was a popular one in the 80s, with the rudo avoiding one technico's dive and getting blindsided by another's. Considering the technicos were Santo and Atlantis, I won't lie, it was a bit of a mark-out moment. And when Santo hit his dive proper, a bit of a fuck yeah. Friend of the blog, Robert Bihari, talks about all luchadores wanting to up the pace of things in their youth, and it's true -- Santo, Atlantis and Dandy were dramatically quicker than Caras, Wagner and Mendoza, but the kids today don't do shit this good. Even Freelance can't touch this stuff and he's the best thing going down. Something has gone awry with the modern luchador. Mind you, something's gone awry with all modern things. Perhaps I have entered my old age. I have arrived. I wonder if you can pinpoint the whole thing to Diablo Velazco's death. Robert's a great champion of the younger guys, but jeez they get shown up on even the most limited footage of the older days.

Dos Caras Sr. vs. Dr. Wagner Sr., All Japan Pro-Wrestling I remember Jose telling me about this match when we hung out one time. Now that I've seen it, I can honestly say it's one of the high points of my lucha fandom. Caras was mobbed on his way to the ring. The crowd were on their feet, trying to get a glimpse of him, and kids rushed from everywhere to touch him. And there, waiting for him, was the Doctor. In full attire. The TV producers cut to the body of each fall, but what was shown was the most beautiful lucha you'll ever witness. Watching this, I saw the lucha contest in its full light. The gracefulness of Dos Caras and the sheer physicality of Dr. Wagner Sr. Caras was sublime in all his movements, while the Doctor was coarser, but the contest was such that at one point the sweat was just pouring from their masks. And the selling was exquisite. After a Caras plancha, a young boy was brave enough to run up to him, and you could sense it was unlike anything the crowd had seen before. There were the slower, exaggerated spots, then the perfect dives... the exact turns and rolling bumps. Caras flew through the air with his headbutts and the Doctor's remedy for everything was brute strength and forearm smashes. If it were a work of art, you'd make a pilgrimage to see it. And the thing is that it was so short, just a few minutes... but those minutes were priceless. And I was fortunate to see them.

LOS TEMERARIOS (Shu el Guerrero, Black Terry y Jose Luis Feliciano) vs LOS FANTASTICOS (Kato Kung Lee, Kendo y Blackman), 3/16/02 This was from some UWA tribute show back in '02. It was a typical Fantasticos match, with a bunch of dueling takedowns leading into Space Cadets type spots, and Blackman in particular was really good at that shit, but what impressed me were the Los Temerarios. It was like they hadn't skipped a beat. Terry had this really awesome slap exchange with Kato Kung Lee, where he got backhanded by a slicing karate chop and sold the fuck out of his nose. Shu asserted himself as the patron saint of this blog by doing the greatest trip up ever. It was classic Shu -- planting himself face first, then going after the ref, accusing him of pulling on the top rope. And Jose Luis Feliciano, I dunno where he is these days or what he's doing, but he ought to be working 'cos he was all class. The rudos strung together some nifty spots and even better than that -- nifty reactions to the technicos, who were dancing like technicos should. Watch Terry's selling in the finish. Beautiful. Black Terry, Cerebro Negro y Dr Cerebro vs Negro Navarro, Trauma I y Trauma II, March/April '09 This kinda reminded me of 2008 BattlARTS -- lots of stiff shots and nasty looking submissions, with Navarro and Terry playing the Ishikawa and Ikeda roles. I'm not sold on Navarro as a brawler, but man, you do not want to piss him off. The big Navarro and Terry exchanges were awesome, following on from the clips we saw last year. At this point, it's a toss-up whether you wanna see Navarro face Solar or Terry. I kinda lean towards Terry because you know they'll bash the shit out of each other. Terribles Cerebros are becoming a really fun trios, but get the fuck out of the way and let's see a singles match again. Is there any bigger legend than Black Terry? His work this year has been better than anything Casas has done in years. One thing I want to say about the Casas love this year is that his skipping in that Mistico match was fucking embarrassing and I just knew that people would point to it as classic Casas. Enough. We will be canonising Black Terry this year.

IWRG 3/26/09 Freelance, Turbo & Chico Che vs. Black Thunder, Black Terry & Capitán Muerte IWRG is back and it'll only take a few seconds of matwork to make you realise what you've missed. The match itself was low-key. There wasn't much of a crowd and they didn't bite on the switch-up in the first fall, which, considering the technicos snuck a fall they should've lost, kinda killed the tone for the rest of the match. The rudos played it a bit loose after that, but the work was good. The Black Terry matwork was awesome and Freelance was able to bust a move or two from the mat without killing himself. Fuerza Guerrera vs. Oficial 911 [Campeonato Intercontinental Welter IWRG] Hadn't seen Fuerza in awhile and wasn't sure if he still had it. He still has it. In spades. He's a lot heavier and slower than the Fuerza I remember, and his body can't move or bump like it used to, but it's all about the top two inches and Fuerza's as keen as ever. Through two falls he looked better than Blue Panther and Negro Casas combined, but they worked this awful finish that was straight out of '94-95 AAA with an Americanised twist. What a gaffe. You could see it coming, actually -- they passed up on some awesome finishes and you knew the beat beyond would be shit. Still, the finer points in this were awesome.

El Signo vs. Villano V, UWA World Light Heavyweight Championship, 4/3/92 Signo really was a fantastic worker. Not only was he ridiculously smooth with his rolling bumps, he was also quick on the mat. And he could sell too. Which no matter what people say is the art to professional wrestling. This match was unique in a lucha sense in that Villano spent a lot of time targeting a body part. Often times, you'll see a guy work a body part for a finish or perhaps even a fall, but Villano was hellbent on separating the arm from the shoulder, which, if you're into that psychology shit, was to render the lariat arm useless. The holds were reminiscent of his father, but the force with which he applied them was astonishing. You could almost describe it as technical brawling; just sheer brute force. If it had been any closer to a shoot, he would've wrenched the arm off completely. Signo, as defending champ, didn't get much of a rub. He was up against it the whole match, but sold well and negotiated a tricky comeback in the second fall. The match opened up towards the end, but Signo was spent from the smothering he'd received. You could see that he was looking for a way out, but Villano was too strong and probably too young at this point. Signo seemed a little gassed, but he got up one last time for a pretty finish. Villano took a lot of people by surprise, himself included, and the post match came across like a legit title upset. Shit like that is always cool to see. I wish they'd bring back the aura of a real title fight. This wasn't the best I've seen in lucha, but it was a pleasure to watch.

Signo, Negro Navarro y Black Power vs. Solar, Fantasma y Psicodelico, early 90s This was really cool. Hard-hitting, fast-paced lucha, with more action than you see these days. Guys kept hitting the ring and working cool exchanges. Clipping may have sped it up, but the Misioneros were going flat tack. Signo was motoring and must've been a dynamo in his prime. He led with the headbutt and Psicodelico got so pissed with the smash mouth tactics that he started grabbing people by the ears and fish hooking them. Solar was amazingly athletic and did a classic 3-on-1 spot. He was shit talking after that, as tomk puts it. Navarro wasn't the maestro he'd become (i.e. the best mat worker on the planet), but there were glimpses of it. He worked a few rope exchanges with Solar and it was as slick as you'd expect. The Misioneros were a smooth unit even with BP in their ranks. They hit the ground running and I swear you don't see guys work this hard or fast anymore. Awesome bumping and rapidfire exchanges. Not a dive in sight yet the technicos were spectacular. You've gotta love real pros.

Cheers, The Puebla locals are awesome. Shame about the crowds, though. There seems to be less and less people each week.

Valiente vs. Rey Hechicero, WWA World Middleweight Championship, 1/27/08 This was good stuff. If I'd seen it earlier, I would've voted for it in the Tapatía Awards. It was a genuine attempt at a lucha title match, with Valiente showing how skillful and competent he is on the mat. I'm sick of sounding like a broken record, but I can't understand why CMLL don't give us matches like this. With the numerous TV shows they have, you'd think they could throw out something authentic from time to time. There's no reason why you can't mix the old with the new, as this match aptly demonstrated. It was chock full of matwork and submissions, but had newish moves and pretty flying -- modern moves with a classic structure. I'm sick of guys hiding how good they are on CMLL cards. Shit this good shouldn't be a throwback. Anyway, y'all need to watch this and appreciate what a guy like Valiente is capable of. Rey Hechicero also looked like a quality worker and it was a deft little encounter. Some great struggles on the mat, smart use of the dives, jinking footwork. Good showing.

Black Tiger, Blue Center, Tigre Rojo vs Espiritu Maligno, Mr. Rafaga, Toro Bill Sr., Arena Puebla 3/2/09 After two years of marriage, I finally decided to have a wedding. That was a blast and so was this match. This was a bunch of older guys doing stuff they're not capable of anymore and pulling it off. It was fantastically old-school; the kind of lucha you can hang your hat on. The last thing I expected the first thing this morning was a great match, but this was instantly recognisable as lucha libre. Lucha's lost a lot of its character and a lot of what makes it unique, but these guys are stokin' the fire. It was a welcome return to lucha -- a bit of Toro Bill matwork to greet me and a match where everything made sense. They cranked out some great falls and Espiritu Maligno lived up to his moniker by bumping like a 21st century Espectro Jr. I love how these old guys will try a move and maybe not get all of it, but the match continues to flow because the timing and placement is so good. I also watched Mistico/Casas, but that was a souless, unimaginative piece of crap. Niche lucha continues to grow stronger.

Los Oficiales vs. Freelance, Marco Rivera, Veneno, 8/9/2007 With no new IWRG, I figured it's worth checking out the back catalogue. I dunno if it was the low bit-resolution or the fact the Oficiales were only a few months into their run, but they seemed fresher here. They were a well-oiled machine in this, cutting off the ring and working slick triple teams. Their brawling had a real snap to it and it was great to see them working as a unit. As for Freelance -- the first chance he got, he almost killed himself. I realise that happens in every Freelance match, but this was amazing. He took off for a plancha suicida like he was taking off from the free throw line, but overshot the Oficial and landed head first on the floor. The doc seemed concerned, but in true Freelance fashion he shrugged it off and worked the most spectacular exchange of the match. Everyone followed suit hitting big moves and wiping each other out. If lucha was this exciting all the time, I wouldn't have any cynicism about the younger generation.

Brazo de Plata vs. Asesino Negro, hair vs. hair, Arena Coliseo Guadalajara, 6/6/04 BATTLE OF THE SUPERHEAVYWEIGHTS! This is why lucha is so much fun. Just an awesome brawl between two fat guys. The crowd loved this and there were kids jumping up on the apron, despite a hideous double bladejob. I loved the front on collision when they charged at each other and all of their brawling. I also loved how Asesino Negro wouldn't accept the loss. That's right, Asesino. It ain't ever over. Colossal stuff.

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 and there was a bunch of hair pulling and bitchy slaps. It was a perfectly good houseshow match, with Casandro working the crowd like you'd expect. There was a cry of "C'mon, Wonder Woman!" which prompted Cassandro to leap over the barricade to find thes guy. The lucky bugger got a peck on the cheek. Gardenia was a good base and bumped well, and I think the comments about him being somewhat worthless are somewhat unfair. Cassandro just happens to be the perfect mix of charisma and working ability, and the fact he's playing technico means he can show what an awesome worker he is without having to stooge. Thus, his star shines brighter. But Gardenia was everywhere he needed to be in this, he rolled with his bumps, sprang to his feet and got into position again. And that made for a tidy little showcase. Nice one fall match.

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 before retiring in 1983. Even with a dodgy knee, his takedowns and matwork were phenomenal. Whatever skepticism there is over the halcyon days, there's no denying that this guy could wrestle. Based on this match alone, I'd say he was the best mat worker I've seen. I love Satanico and his matches against Gran Cochisse and Ringo Mendoza, and I dug Mocho Coto v. Americo Rocca, but those guys were pinballs by comparison. Mendoza was fierce and had the look of a wrestler. If it had stayed on the mat, I have no doubt he could've killed Fujinami. Fujinami was a flashy junior, who fully embraced that 70s trope of leaving the mat to win a fall. He was a fantastic athlete (back when Japanese wrestling could attract fantastic athletes), but all limbs. Watching Mendoza school him with takedowns and leg locks was nothing short of amazing. When he overpowered him to win the fall, I found a new lucha hero.

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 is the crowd pleaser. It's a faster paced style than classic lucha, but everyone works the mat, the finishes are intricate and they aren't chained to the dives. Centella de Oro is just about the best technico worker you'll see on a CMLL card. Not all of the locals are good and they sometimes get bogged down, but Centella de Oro always comes up trumps and worked the smoothest of exchanges with Siki Ozama Jr. Akira & King Jaguar vs. Mr. Rafaga & Toro Bill Jr., 1/19/09 TORO BILL JR. is awesome. Remember that name, you'll be hearing a lot more about him in the future. Not only is he ridiculously good at just about every aspect of lucha libre, it's all wrapped in a Dick Togo package. And damnit if he isn't a rudo. He actually had the gumption to tear King Jaguar's mask completely, and they were about an inch away from what would've been a bladejob in days gone by. He bit Jaguar's forehead and even gnawed on Akira's fingers when he had him in a wristlock, and his headbutts to the stomach were reminiscent of how rudos used to work. His partner in this was an older rudo by the name of Mr. Rafaga, who was only semi-good, but together they put a lot of guys to shame. They did the dirty work and let the technicos get the better of them, whether it was on the mat or off the ropes. Toro Bill Jr. took a nasty bump over the turnbuckle, ate a spectacular plancha from King Jaguar, had his mask torn off, ate all of Jaguar's best shit and jobbed hard. All in a day's work. Asturiano, Centella de Oro, Lestat vs. Policeman, Toro Bill Jr., Toro Bill Sr., 2/2/09 This was a wild match that threatened to go off the rails, but managed to stay on track because of how good the rudos were. Toro Bill Sr. was having a whale of a time. He's a fat, older rudo, who knows he's a fat, older rudo and has fun with it. I loved how he bit on the tope fake by falling ass backwards into the crowd. There was a great shot of the big man sitting on a couple of guy's laps, wiping his forehead after such a close shave. And he was pretty spry for an older guy. He bumped well, ran the ropes at a reasonable clip and used his girth like a battering ram. Policeman is a journeyman type, who I wasn't sold on until he started having the most awesome punch exchange with Centella de Oro that demanded a singles match somewhere. And Toro Bill Jr. was incredible again, especially his tope. Heads clashed, just like they're supposed to. I wasn't too high on the other technicos, but sometimes three rudos and a good technico is all you need and watching Centella de Oro fight back was fun. The finish was something only a couple of luchadores are capable of.