2016 watch later catch up, part 6 of ∞

Matches in this one

• Dinamic Black vs Cerebro Negro, Arena Naucalpan, 05/22/2016 
• Rey Hechicero vs Máscara Dorada, Arena Coliseo Monterrey, 05/22/2016 
• Flamita & Johnny Idol vs Drastik Boy & Ronnie Mendoza, Arena Victoria, Ecatepec, Estado de México, 05/29/2016 
• Black Terry & Shadow Boy vs Apolo Estrada Jr. & the Tiger (Tamaulipas), Arena Naucalpan, 06/29/2016 
• Último Ninja vs Ronnie Mendoza, 8105 Campo Bowie West Blvd, Benbrook, Texas, 06/03/2016
• Hip Hop Man © vs Dragón Fly [AIWA ARGENTINA CRUISER], Arena Naucalpan, 08/24/2016 

Watching good matches instead of boring matches is a more fun who knew. The IWRG stuff doesn’t quite fit as good matches, unfortunately. Even when the matchups look good, the production problems are just killer. I hope they’re getting a good viewership out of being AYM or some cash. We’re used to it by now, but jumping back in it reminds me how bad it’s hurting their product.

Dinamic Black vs Cerebro Negro
Arena Naucalpan, 05/22/2016
Video: mluchatv, thecubsfan

Winner: Cerebro Negro (Cerebro Driver)
Match Time: 7:25

Review: [ok] When I hit play and realized this was only 11 minutes, I thought I’ve made a big mistake. It luckily was only one fall, but it never really developed into a full match. There was a good idea of Cerebro just taking Black to the woodshed for the first half of the match for whatever reason. It didn’t stick, and one Dinamic Black dive later, they were doing too normal near falls to follow the beating that came prior. The idea here was Dinamic would’ve gotten a title match if he won, but didn’t really come all that close. Cerebro gets all the big moves, and I’m kind of left wondering if this was laid out as a response for the bad way Dinamic Black left years ago. He’d only stick around one more week anyway.

Rey Hechicero vs Máscara Dorada
Arena Coliseo Monterrey, 05/22/2016
Video: thecubsfan

1. Mascara Dorada torito (3:30)
2. Hechicero conjuro (0:57)
3. Hechicero Mad Scientist Bomb (7:07)

Winner: Hechicero
Match Time: 11:34

Review: [great] I watched this when this aired, because I’m not a total idiot, but I don’t seem to have written notes for it. This is not that much longer that Dinamic/Cerebro match, shorter if you only count the third fall, and yet there’s just so much more packed into it. They seem to defy the laws of time with as much as they make out of that last fall. It’s big moves and counters and genuine emotion on near falls in front of small crowd in Monterrey. Hechicero’s a really good base for Dorada and Dorada’s just very easy to throw around. I’m left wondering what would’ve happened had they had an occasion to do a title match in CMLL before Dorada left. If you’re looking for a match to show people these two guys, you could do worse than this match. It doesn’t show everything they can do, but you get the idea.

Flamita & Johnny Idol vs Drastik Boy & Ronnie Mendoza
Arena Victoria, Ecatepec, Estado de México, 05/29/2016
Video: Ricardo Peña

Winner: Team Drastick/Mendoza (Ronnie 450 splash on Idol)
Match Time: 18:52
Notes: Keep your volume low; there’s loud distortion all the way and it never really balances out. It’s also lightly edited ad blurry – the phone or camera they’re using can’t quite keep up with the action when people are moving around.

Review: [good] a hard hitting fight. Idol would’ve been training in CMLL’s school by this point but still a month debuting, and it’s one of those matches where it’s frustrating the other three guys weren’t pulled in after. Idol is fine, he’s good, but he’s also the four best guy. (And Drastick Boy is even featured much here.) Idol’s also good in ways he’s not in CMLL, suggesting the other guys would be changed too, but it still sticks out. It’s a weird match for it being four normally técnico luchadors with everyone pretty much battering each other in ugly rudo fashion. They get some dives in at the end and some prettier double teams, but this is not a spot fest the way you might think of for this guys. Flamita and Ronnie’s exchange, about two-third of the way in, is particularly tight and really compelling. It’s too bad those two haven’t had a singles match; there’s still some time! I could see people having this higher. It’s one where getting to see it all is really neat, but being able to see it professionally shot might have added a bit more.

Black Terry & Shadow Boy vs Apolo Estrada Jr. & the Tiger (Tamaulipas)

Arena Naucalpan, 06/29/2016
Video: thecubsfan

1. Team Norte
   • Apolo Estrada powerbomb Shadow Boy (4:11)
   • COR Black Terry (4:43)
2. Team FILL
   • Shadow Boy Canadian Destroyer The Tiger (3:02)
   • Black Terry nudo Apolo Estrada (3:12)
3. Team FILL
   • The Tiger frog splash Black Terry (3:35)
   • Shadow Boy casadora cradle Apolo Estrada (4:44)
   • Shadow Boy small package the Tiger (7:05)

Winner: Team FILL
Match Time: 15:00
Notes: It’s really unclear when any of the falls start; ther’es minutes of brawling between the first and second fall that might actually be part of the second fall. The Tiger pulls Shadow Boy’s mask off, but Shadow Boy immediately cradles The Tiger for the win. One referee is staring directly at the mask pull as it happens (and I’m not sure why they had two referees for this one.)

Review: [ok] One where it took a lot longer to watch just because I’d get bored and distracted and have to back up again to see what I missed. (And to figure out why Apolo was bleeding; he got hit by a chair in a bit not well shot by AYM.) These kind of IWRG brawls work much better live, or even on ringside camera, than they do on TV. You feel much more when the brawl is physically close to you, but the brawling out of the ring here doesn’t mean much more than it does in ring. This was a knock out drag out fight, but it didn’t really become compelling for a while. I watched it as much to see the prospects – this was a follow up to a FILL cibernetico with the teachers and students teaming for the rematch – but the brawling style really didn’t work for what they do, or they just don’t do much. The Apolo/Terry brawl had some good moments in the third fall, but I’d rather just have seen them alone if that’s what they were going to do. (The rookies go back to just doing a normal match when it comes down to them, which shows their comfort, but it’s not a special singles match for anyone but the friends of Shadow Boy in the front row.) I do think you should ask for your money back if a trainer decides your name should be “The Tiger”, or if he lets you go out in the world with such a generic name.

Último Ninja vs Ronnie Mendoza

8105 Campo Bowie West Blvd, Benbrook, Texas, 06/03/2016
Video: +LuchaTV, victor Martinez

Winner: Ronnie Mendoza (backcracker)
Match Time: 14:22
Notes: The +LuchaTV video is the full match with commentary. The ropes seem to move a lot – there’s a metal clanging every time they hit them – and they stay off them. The lights start to flicker about 12 minutes into this match, but recover before the luchadors do.

Review: [good] strong match between the two, though with a bit of sloppiness and a near concussion. Ronnie’s head bounces off the cement catching a diving about eight and half in, and I’m surprised he wasn’t more shaken up. He fights well the first of the match, surprised by how much the younger ultimo Ninja is fighting back but never not confident. Both guys look good for the most part, but the triple double boot spot near the end goes poorly and it really hurt what had been a great flurry up to that point. Still, I wish we got much of more these style matches in general instead of random trios, and Último Ninja feels like a name to keep an eye on for in 2017.

Hip Hop Man © vs Dragón Fly [AIWA ARGENTINA CRUISER]
Arena Naucalpan, 08/24/2016
Video: thecubsfan

1. Dragon Fly modified espectrina (4:59)
2. Hip Hop Man crossface (1:24)
3. Dragon Fly mounted octopus (8:41)

Winner: Dragon Fly (1/3)
Match Time: 15:04
Notes: Segment starts with Hip Hop Man doing a long promo that we can’t actually hear, and the announcers are busy talking over anyway.

Review: [good] this feels borderline; there’s moments where it gets well worked in a your move/my move style, but it never totally becomes interesting. I was confused why Dragon Fly was doing a submission move so late until it turned out to be the finish. Maybe there’s a story there I would’ve got if I had been paying attention. Both guys look OK but never breaks out, and the match is a generic slow building match the whole way. It’s doesn’t really feel like cooking about five minutes into the third fall, and that’s when Dragon Fly slips when trying to go up for a moonsault. This is not terrible executed by any means, but there’s no one great quality to make it work. Dragon Fly wearing a white outfit on a white ring with the camera close to being over head makes for a tough watching experience. They had three camera angles and managed to choose to the worst one on Hip Hop Man’s first dive.