great match roundup, 2012 catchup part 1

Covering January and February…

Negro Navarro, Trauma I, Trauma II vs Black Terry, Hijo de Pirata Morgan, Skayde (Arena Neza, 01/01): GOOD – A good technically sound match with some very loud chops that got the crowd a lot by the end of the match. I liked the Skayde/Negro mat wrestling at the start, because it felt like they were fighting for and free of holds (where Trauma II and Black Terry were just catching releasing) and I liked how one of the 1000 holds actually worked for the 3rd fall finish. It was just missing something for me to make it stand out as an important match. It won’t make my list but I wouldn’t argue if it made yours.

Centvrión, Dinamic Black, Tritón vs Alan Extreme, Carta Brava Jr., Imposible 2 3 (IWRG, 01/05): GREAT – just on the line of making it; would’ve like a more complete match (and better camerawork on the finish), but there were some very great moments in here. Crazy amounts of athleticism too; the roll Alan Extreme did out of his top rope 450 was amazing. Really enjoyed the rudo work in general here.

Daga, Eterno, Flamita vs Sádico, Trauma I, Trauma II 1 (part 2) 2 3 pakorusell (AULL/UWE, 01/14): GOOD – I watched this match in January, forgot I did the recap for months, then wrote this teaser, then forgot it again until I was going thru things for this MOTYC. I am only explaining to tell you why this section is even more useless than usual. I believe I did not like this match quite as much as everyone else did at a time. It’s still a really good match wroth seeking out, but it didn’t quite go far enough to get to the level. They went strong about Trauma I and Daga really wanting to almost shoot on each other, as the Traumas like to do, but it did not come off as genuine. Third fall ended without them really being involved, and didn’t really have near falls when it seemed like they could actually be the end (after the dives). Actually, this might have been a really good start to a longer issue, but Daga and the Traumas would have better things to do the rest of the year. (In a world where Perros del Mal could run weekly shows, we still might have gotten it.) Still worth watching.

Atlantis, Delta, Guerrero Maya Jr. vs Morphosis, Psicosis, Volador Jr. for the Mexican National Trios Championship  (GDL, 01/17): GOOD – Felt like a usual trios match for most of three falls, then they went past the normal finish for about 3 more minutes in action. It was good action and a good match, but not something that separates itself from the many iterations of this title match the last couple years.

Black Terry vs Chico Che (IWRG, 01/22): EXCELLENT – so awesome. I cackeled many times watching this. A great brawl at times, a legalized mugging at others. Chico Che just kept destroying Black Terry for long enough that I was trying to remember if Black Terry had spent a portion of the year flattened into a pancake, since he never seemed to be moving out of the way form the corner charges – until he did and it was glorious. This match was Chico Che destroying Black Terry, Black Terry destroying Chico Che, and then both of them destroying each other for a while. I know they’ve got me when they tease the double countout and I’m very upset at the notion they might end it that way. Those who are turned off by bloody matches may want to skip this one, and Black Terry & Chico Che do not visually look like guys who’d be taken seriously out of Mexico, but if you can get past that, this a match definitely worth going out of your way to watch.

La Sombra vs Negro Casas for the NWA World Welterweight Championship (Puebla, 02/13): GREAT – This was a match I had sitting to watch for a long time, waiting for a good opportunity to watch what I figured was a great match. All that waiting can build undue expectations and maybe that was a problem here – I thought this was a great match, but I also thought it’d be more than. A lot of the action was really good, all of Sombra’s stuff looked really good and this was the best looking hanging double stomp Negro’s done because Sombra really went with it. The finish came of strong for something that was very simple (and Negro handled the double moonsault a lot better than people would later on.) The finish to both the falls won was Negro outsmarting Sombra, but I wanted the rest of the match to have more of that idea. Instead, there was a lot even athletic battles. Negro’s the best conditioned 52 year old man I can think of and amazing what he can do, but it’s stretching credibility to have him be able to do everything just as well as a guy 30 years younger. (I haven’t really had this problem with the other Negro title matches against equally as young guys; maybe it’s my high estimation of Sombra as an athletic freak that’s causing the problems.) This was still a really good match, but not as smart as it should’ve been.

El Hijo Del Santo & Villano IV vs Angel Blanco Jr. & El Hijo del Solitario part 2 part 3 (TxT, 02/25) EXCELLENT – in the same vein as the as the Chico Che/Black Terry, but even more intense, and much more a sense of desperation. The tencicos were fighting to survive here, and the rudos seemed genuinely angry. These four guys were not afraid to destroy each other, and this was a bloody brawl. I know how this story ended – Santo beats both rudos himself – but if I had to pick a possible big draw who might cause bigger headaches, I’d make peace with Hijo del Santo a dozen times before Dr. Wagner. Solitario & Blanco, two guys on the periphery of the lucha scene and stars in name only, came across as killers simply because of what Santo and Villano IV game them. (That never happened with Mascara Año 2000 Jr.)