Freelance, Mike Segura, Yakuza vs Arashi, Belial, Impulso
(AULL @ 11/15, 19:38, good, mluchatv)
Mas Lucha had this as a MOTYC. I didn’t see it at that level, though it was an enjoyable match that built to the singles match (Impulso/Freelance) that was spinning out of it. Those two had a good back and forth brawl which would’ve been better if it was in the ring where people could see it. The years have gotten to Freelance – he was grimacing on the apron when he wasn’t in – but his dive over the barricade still looked great. The other four were solid but didn’t have a great effect on the match. Yakuza doesn’t look much like Yakuza these days.
Hijo de Canis Lupus © vs Fresero Jr. for the IWRG Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship
(IWRG @ 10/11/2020, 17:17, ok, mluchatv)
Never a satisfying sign when a match ends and I’m yelling “is that it? Is that really it?” at the screen. There was a lot of fat here and not a lot of what either man does well. The opening eight minutes are low-interest mat wrestling, with the crowd whistling. Everything after that is a tease of the match picking up and then calming back down. It never pays off, it’s never that great. Maybe just a bad pairing but an easy skip.
Rugido vs Jorge El Salvaje in a tournament semifinal match
(WTMB @ 10/07, 9:52, ok, mluchatv)
This is the first of three semifinals in Welcome to Mi Barrio’s initial title tournament, which I’m finishing out watching completely. I feel like that if you knock someone out with a cookie sheet for long enough to tie their shoe to the bottom rope and remove a turnbuckle, you probably should try pinning them. That’s just my thought, Jorge el Salvaje is free to wrestle the way he feels fit. These guys went too long and looked terrible after the nine minute marks. The big spot was Jorge taking a headscissors into that exposed buckle, only Jorge couldn’t take a headscissors and fell lamely. Rugido trying a mounted submission following that was a sign he was following a plan that had existed and not adjusting to what happened. (So was Jorge obviously blading.)
Verzal vs Hijo del Pantera in a tournament semifinal match
(WTMB @ 10/14, 3:06, n/r, mluchatv)
The match effectively ends in less than two minutes with Hijo del Pantera claiming an ankle injury. It takes a bit longer for it to get called, waiting for Verzal to put Pantera in a submission move for him to give up. Verzal is very confused and unhappy to win. Pantera never tries an offensive move.
Hijo del Pantera showed no interest in this match from the moment it started. I’m uncertain if he came in injured, came in not wanting to take a loss toVerzal or actually got hurt. If Pantera was actually hurt, Verzal did a terrible job of handling it. I don’t think that’s what happened. This is not even something worth rating, much less watching.
Hijo Del Payaso Purasanta vs Pantera Jr. in a semifinal match
(WTMB @ 10/21, 5:47, good, mluchatv)
This was a breath of fresh air after the other two semifinals. These guys went hard from the start, their energy overwhelming any sloppiness. The Payaso Purasantas suffer a bit from being another an indistinct clown gimmick, but the ‘son’ showed great work going after Pantera’s knee before the crushing finale. Pantera’s are one of the few people who are going to make that knee work mean a lot too. There was good quick back and forth, their kicks connected well, and I was mostly left wishing they had gotten a more time.
Rugido vs Hijo Del Payaso Purasanta vs Verzal in a tournament final match
(WTMB @ 10/28, 9:39, ok, +LuchaTV)
Rugido leaving this match with a ref stop arm injury sure was weird coming after a previous match where they didn’t stop it when someone had a leg injury. Maybe there were meetings to fix that situation. This was a weird shift from Purasanta looking dominant to being caught and beat in twenty seconds. It makes sense in real life but it is unlike how matches are normally worked here. The match felt short as a result. The audio and video are noticeably worse for this final match than the rest of the tournament.