2016 watch later catch up, part 3 of ∞

Reviews in this post

• Negro Navarro, Trauma I, Trauma II vs Hijo del Pantera, Pantera, Pantera I for the IWRG Intercontinental Trios Championship
  Arena Naucalpan, 01/17/2016 
• Golden Magic & Tritón vs Puma & Tiger
  Arena México, 02/07/2016 
• Ángel de Oro, Carístico, Máscara Dorada vs Cibernético, La Máscara, Mephisto
  Arena México, 02/07/2016
• Volador Jr. vs Mariachi Loco [UIPW CHAMP]
  482 N. Garfield Avenue, Montebllo, California, 01/30/2016 
• Drastik Boy vs Rocky Lobo in a lightning match
  Autolavado VM, Tulancingo, Hidalgo, 03/18/2016 
• Bandolero & DJ Z vs Gringo Loko & Skayde Jr.
  Our Lady Of Mt. Carmel School, Cleveland, Ohio, 04/30/2016 

Negro Navarro, Trauma I, Trauma II vs Hijo del Pantera, Pantera, Pantera I for the IWRG Intercontinental Trios Championship
Arena Naucalpan, 01/17/2016
Video: thecubsfan, +LuchaTV

1. Los Panteras
   • DQ Navarros [ref attack] (5:35)
2. Navarros
   • Trauma I lo negro de negro Pantera II (3:24)
   • Trauma II lo negro de negro Hijo del Pantera (3:24)
3. Navarros
   • Negro Navarro cross armbreaker Pantera II (11:55)

Winner: Navarros (2/3)
Match Time: 20:54
Notes: Navarros refuse to stop beat up the Panteras and shove the referees away in the first fall, drawing the DQ. Pantera II sells an arm injury after the finish.

Review: [good] This is a bit of a surprise: instead of trading holds, the Navarros quickly decide they’d rather working brawling rudos early on and wallop the unsuspecting Panteras. It works well, because the Navarros beating up the Pantera is by far the better part of the match. The problem is the Panteras really weren’t that good in this match, especially when they finally got their comeback in the third fall. I’ve seen them all better, but I also saw Hijo del Pantera throwing punches that missed by a mile and Navarro literally carrying Pantera II thru a finishing sequence. Pantera II sold his arm after the match, and I remember thinking that was a built in excuse for losing cleanly, but now I’m wondering if he was banged up in the match, because they just seemed off. There were a lot of Pantera fans (or family) there, so the reactions came off like it was a much better match than it seemed to me.

Golden Magic & Tritón vs Puma & Tiger
Arena México, 02/07/2016
Video: MisticieroTV

1. rudos
   • Puma face first slam Golden Magic (2:34)
   • Tiger backcracker Triton (2:41)
2. técnicos
   • Triton springboard guillotine legdrop Puma (2:09)
   • COR Tiger (2:29)
3. rudos
   • Tiger Double Canadian Destroyer Golden Magic (3:57)
   • Puma double stomp Triton (4:34)

Winner: rudos (1/3)
Match Time: 9:44 shown; video is edited

Review: [good] This one comes across like a really fun young guys tag match with some strong teamwork and building action to the third fall. There’s a slip or two in what we do see, but there’s many more big spots, and Golden Magic fits in well against the rudos. (The back to back 450 splash by the técnico is pretty too.) I like how he edits out big portions of the match, but has to leave in the countout in the second fall to preserve the integrity of the match. I do think there’s plenty enough here to watch it despite the editing.

Ángel de Oro, Carístico, Máscara Dorada vs Cibernético, La Máscara, Mephisto
Arena México, 02/07/2016
Video: MisticieroTV

1. Hell Brothers
   • Cibernetico choekslam Mascara Dorada (1:44)
   • Mephisto Devil’s Wings Angel de Oro (1:58)
2. técnicos
   • Mascara Dorada springboard splash Cibernético (2:06)
3. Hell Brothers
   • DQ Carístico [mask removal on Mascara] (6:46)

Winner: Hell Brothers
Match Time: 10:50

La Mascara’s mask came off while taking La Mistica.

Review: [ok] This one, on the other hand, is edited so much that it’s tough to recommend it. The third fall turns into a highlight reel at one point. What we do get to see looks good, with Dorada being on and Cibernético working as hard as advertised – him catching Dorada’s dive before being hit by Angel de Oro’s tope is not an easy spot for anyway. La Mascara/Caristico was the focus and fine, but the other players looked more interesting.

Volador Jr. vs Mariachi Loco [UIPW CHAMP]
482 N. Garfield Avenue, Montebllo, California, 01/30/2016
Video: MIGUEL ORTEGA

1. Mariachi Loco springboard legdrop (2:23)
2. Volador backcracker (1:22)
3. Volador backcracker (9:17)

Winner: Volador (2/3)
Match Time: 13:02
Notes: At the end of the match, the lights go out, and Mariachi Loco is distracted by a video promo from Misterioso (CMLL). Volador takes advantage for the win.

Review: [good] Mariachi Loco plugged into the Volador Jr. big match formula and doing well for himself. We haven’t seen him get a long singles match in Lucha Underground, at least to the point of me writing this, and he’s appears to have a lot of varied offense which hasn’t been shown on the TV. He’s also got the cool superkick. Volador is giving it his all, even far away from home, and it feels like a match which might main event an Arena Puebla show except for the live commentary. The finish, a distraction by video bit, might work ok for the greater context but didn’t feel to belong in this match.

Drastik Boy vs Rocky Lobo in a lightning match
Autolavado VM, Tulancingo, Hidalgo, 03/18/2016
Video: Sensacional de Luchadores, Cuadrilátero Tv

Winner: Rocky Lobo (moonsault plancha)
Match Time: 9:58
Notes: billed as a lightning match, but ending at 10:00 seems to be a coincidence – there’s no sign of a clock.

Review: [good] I watched this on CuadrilateroTV, which featured adds taking up the lower quarter of the screen (including obscuring some action) and the same background music repeating underneath a voiceover. The filming is actually good, but the production choices make it harder to watch. (Best choice is to mute the whole thing.) The action itself is pretty good, and they try to put together more of a story than just trying to a highspots. It doesn’t come totally together, but it does kind of show Drastick Boy as a more polished guy than Rocky Lobo. His moves look a little cleaner, and he’s in a better spot for his opponent. There’ a double kick knockdown spot last, and Draztick sell the kick so much better that it’s disappointing when he doesn’t end up winning. Going to have to watch more of him this year.

Bandolero & DJ Z vs Gringo Loko & Skayde Jr.
Our Lady Of Mt. Carmel School, Cleveland, Ohio, 04/30/2016 

Winner: Bandolero & DJ Z
Match Time: 17:39
Notes: This is a match from US promotion AIW. You can buy the match as part of their Girls Night Out 17 show via smartmarkvideo. It’s the only men’s match on the show, and it’s the debut match for everyone besides DJ Z.

Review: [great] Just a total pleasure to watch something totally exceed expectations; they killed it in front of an unfamiliar crowd. This was not an easy situation, and I was worried they were going to lose the crowd after the big dive gone wrong. Instead, the lucha hard belt slaps got the crowd back in, and they kept on building and building bigger spots. The super ‘rana was huge, but it felt like the super Falcon Arrow was the moment where the fans minds were amazed about what they were seeing. The last few minutes were off the charts; DJ Z was the best guy in this match, but all he had on the best bit of the match was go to on all fours while the other guys took out each other with the great Bandolero headscissors off the apron on Skayde was perfect, and I had a hard time deciding which was my favorite spot. “Great”, to me, means something I’d recommend watching again. I already watched this a couple time and I’d eagerly watch it together. There’s matches I’m going to have rated higher for the contextless value by the end of the year, but there aren’t going to be many more that I really like – it’s not like they were doing this in Arena San Juan or Arena Mexico, they totally won over a crowd who probably mentally saw this as an intermission. There were little flaws and lucha style stuff that didn’t seem to work for this audience, but it was a fantastic exhibition overall.