El Bandido vs Astrolux
(WMC @ Salón Balumcanan on 08/20, 11:21, great, Estrellas del Ring)
The first few moments of this match feel strange. It took my mind a little time to adjust to little Bandido embracing his inner Último Guerrero and wrestling as the strong rudo in this match. It totally work. He came off as Astrolux’s best opponent, throwing him around incredibly (especially on the finish) while also basing in a way to make Astrolux’s offense look great. This might be the best Astrolux ever just for Bandido’s effort. There’s not many people Bandido can really work like a rudo like this for, but he can absolutely do it if needed. Astrolux and Bandido seem to get lost a bit for a minute before the finish, and the match would’ve been better just cutting it out, but this whole thing is worth seeing.
Estrellas del Ring matches are still joined in progress for whatever reason, but it’s unedited from there and they’re more complete than in past years. Got to be happy with incremental improvements in Mexico. (Still, Astrolux does a flip rana that’s just out of frame, making me wish for professional cameras.)
Iron Kid vs Demus 3:16
(LuchaMemes @ Coliseo Coacalco on 06/18, 7:25, great, via +LuchaTV)
Demus freed from the shackles of CMLL minis division is a fantastic thing. He was always capable of great matches there, but clearly was bored out of his mind for most of the last few years. This year’s indie run has really got his juices flowing again – or, with a fork from a helpful fan, has allowed him to get others juices running. This was a CMLL lightning match taken to the dirt of Coacalco, with Demus allowing Iron Kid a few moments of glory before knocking the life out of him with the scariest version of his piledriver yet. Iron Kid’s dives looked spectacular, as did his fling in to the pole to start the match. A match this short needs to go full ace the entire way and it seemed to slow down a bit to me, but it’s still worth your time. It won’t take long.
Black Taurus & Hijo de LA Park vs Daga & Rey Fénix
(WWCI/ANCLA @ Arena Lopez Mateos on 09/30, 24:40, good, via hector godfrey)
Note: There’s no opening whistle here. They finally get down to two people in the ring at about 2:15, but there’s more stalling from there. You can jump it at 5:00 if you just want the action.
Review: A good match to half pay attention too. There’s no great flow here, the match actively drags at points, and they’re making it up as they go so stuff like the row of seats being thrown in goes nowhere when the referee ushers them back out. There’s plenty of cool spots to make a highlight video of this match, but it takes a long time to settle into something more than spots. d I’m not sure it ever really did. I know this is good action but I also know I didn’t find it altogether interesting as a package.
Flyer, Magnus, Oro Jr., Príncipe Diamante, Robin, Star Jr. vs Esfinge, Explosivo, Mágico, Omar Brunetti, Star Black, Vaquero Jr. in a cibernetico match
(CMLL @ Arena Coliseo Guadalajara on 10/03, 27:37, good, via thecubsfan)
Notes:
for the Guadalajara side
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Magico is in blue and black.
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Explosivo is in white with red/orange flames, and a black/white mask.
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Star Black is black and white, with a big star on the back of his gear.
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Omar Brunetti is unmasked in Superman gear.
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Vaquero Jr. is unmasked in black and silver.
I always like the concept of locals versus Mexico City guys, and it’s always helpful to have an idea of the local guys to see if anyone stands out. The action was alright, but no one really had that kind of stand out performance. Star Black is the one being pushed the most, though not in this match. They have him doing some Rayo spots to get him over with this crowd. It feels forced, and he doens’t connect much with the crowd otherwise. Omar Brunetti feels like the most complete of the Guadalajara crew and could be placed in the DF midcard without being a problem, but doesn’t feel like he has much more upside ethan that. (He also has the Dragon Rojo thigh band going on, which make me wonder if him disappearing at times from Guadalajara is actually injury related.) Vaquero seemed to get the best reaction, and was OK. Magico is a veteran feeling guy, Explosivo is a skinny rookie. The Ciudad de Mexico guys were just fine too, with Star Jr. having the best night. People cheered Esfinge winning, so that was nice for him.
Tigre Rojo vs Bárbaro I, mask vs hair
(Arena Coliseo San Ramón on 10/15, 23:14, good, via Diiva Moxha)
Barbaro got very heavy, or this is a different one than I saw long ago in Arena Puebla and Monterrey. I couldn’t figure out where he was bleeding from in the second fall, then I realized Tigre Rojo was bleeding so heavily that his opponent was getting soaked in his blood. That’s a lot blood. Barbaro caught up with Tigre Rojo in the third, and is completely red by the end of the match. This was the massive bleeding apuesta match that you’re unlikely to see outside of indie shows now, which makes it a feel very different. This is a simple match in what they do with it – the risky dives are the biggest things attempted – but the mask match stipulation and the blood produce a lot of drama. It’s slow paced, either due to both men losing so much blood or at least selling that destruction. The speed makes some of the later reversal spots hard to believe. The other Babraros interfere in the match to distraction, which doesn’t add much but gets the crowd more annoyed. This might be one where I’d be more into it if I had see them outside of this one isolated match. The home building fans seem very into it.
Kalibus vs Cobre vs Centvrión vs Rafy vs Low Rider
(Mexa Wrestling @ Arena San Juan Pantitlan on 10/21, 14:07, great, via Adrian Martinez)
I’m not sure if it was translation issues or silliness to call this match Five Star Match, but it comes crazily close to living up to the name with the outstanding insanity all the way thru. All the more impressive for the weirdo crew from different parts of the indie scene. Cobre’s a DTU guy, Low Rider is a northern Mexico/Texas guy now who rarely makes it to Mexico City, Centvrion & Rafy both dip into IWRG but rarely are against each other nowadays and Kalibus is a Neza local. They make it work, great chemistry for a match which often featured three or more people fighting at the same time. Cobre is murdered by Centvrion before the finish, which is too bad because he’s a guy want to see more of. You can see why DTU is high on him with some of his flying here. Rafy is the best wrestler in the world at points. Low Rider is an immense character who can also wrestle. Everyone contributes to the madness well.
