2018 watch later catch up, part 17 of 17

This is the last one of these general indie catchups for 2018. You can read the rest of the posts under this tag. This bit went a little bit longer this year, but a lot of The Crash shows got folded under this.

Aramis vs Virus
(PROLLM @ Coliseo Coacalco on 12/02, 14:33, good, REPORTE LUCHA)

What Happened: This video suddenly and unexpectedly changed from a hard camera far away from the ring to a ringside camera five minutes in with much better picture quality. It’s also very loud. The video quality changes again near the finish.

Review: There’s a pretty good match here shot very weirdly. It would’ve been neat to see the good mat work from less than twenty feet away, it would’ve been nice if the sound wasn’t screaming for most of the match, but it’s good to see the match at all. Aramis and Virus mix pretty well, with Virus having moments looking as quick as the much younger man. Aramis dutiful destroys himself on a tope and comes back in for some flashy moves. This deserves a rematch in a better video setting.

Dragón Bane vs Alan Extreme
(9:18, Mexa Wrestling @ Arena San Juan Pantitlan on 12/08, 9:14, good,CarxyusRing)

What Happened: Alan Extreme is in his old mask and gear and is completely unrecognizable as the guy who’s been a Ninja Turtle for the last while.

Review: [good] Really, I can’t get over how much weight Alan Extreme has lost. It would’ve been a perfect time to sneak him under a new character because it might as well be a new person. Some of his old basing skill there and he’s a good fit for the flying spots Dragon Bane wants to do, but they’re a little off at times. These guys might be better suited for a tag match at the moment. It might be worth waiting to see if +LuchaTV puts up this show because there’s some outside the ring action that Carxyus can’t capture from his angle. It’s still a pretty fun match with what we can see.

Rey Horuz vs Arez vs Aramis vs Toxin
(Mexa Wrestling @ Arena San Juan Pantitlan on 12/08, 15:43, good,Carxyus Pro)

I liked this match much more when I was watching it half asleep than when I watched it a week or later while mostly awake. Not sure how that helps as a review. Maybe it helps explain the match, with a lot of big spots that’ll wake up a drowsy person in between some dead moments. The match gets smoother as it goes down but it’s only after Aramis’ near death on a tope (and the match being stopped to check on him) where it picks up some sort of rhythm. There’s still more dead moments than you’d expect from a four-way, accompanied by a lot of outstanding looking spots. They were close to even more spectacular things and it just didn’t really work out. Toxin was good but tough to identify when he’s not wearing his normal mask; I had to check both times that I didn’t mistake him for someone else. The finishing sequence was good but the run-in coming so sudden and meaning nothing really didn’t help the match at all.

Volador Jr. vs Último Guerrero
(CMLL @ Arena Coliseo Guadalajara on 12/11, 9:21, ok,thecubsfan)

This match wasn’t as competitive heartless as the Arena Mexico singles match. It still didn’t have much to it, just checking off half their moves before going to the finish. The finish itself was amusing for the referee dying for about 12 seconds after a superkick, to the point where Volador stopped selling to see if the referee would ever recover. That’s not really a great selling point.

Fly Star vs Demus in a hardcore rules match
(MexaWrestling @ Arena San Juan Pantitlan on 12/08, 11:40 seen, good, Estrellas del Ring)

Estrellas del Ring is missing about three minutes from the start. It’s better than the Carxyus version: this is a brawl around ringside and you need to see it from that angle to get much of it. It’s definitely bloody and brawly, though messy even by the usual standards. The effort is really strong and Demus is a fine mood; I can tell it’s good and it doesn’t really connect with me. The big spots are worth checking out at the least.

Aramis, Hijo del Alebrije, Relámpago vs Demonio Infernal, Hijo de Canis Lupus, Lunatic Xtreme
(IWRG @ Arena Naucalpan on 12/21/2018, 11:01, good, via mluchatv)

What Happened: Alebrije & Relampago are wearing split outfits to set up a team I’ve forgotten was supposed to be a team.

Review: There’s a moment, in what turns out to be late in the match, where Hijo del Alebrije attempts to monkey flip Demonio Infernal over the top rope. It’s not high enough, so Demonio instead hits the ropes and lands on his head. It’s as if everyone in the match collectively realizes that they’re going to get grounded for that but, since they’re already going to be grounded, they can do whatever they want with no further consequences. It really picks up with Lunatik blindsiding Alebrije with a chair shot as a lead into a dive train and it peaks with Lunatik doing a balcony splash for no particular reason. Aramis getting dropped on his head multiple times is the actual finish, but this is less about the actual finish and more about young Naucalpan wrestlers going crazy for moments of this match. It has all the shakiness you might expect but the way it escalates is definitely compelling.