2016 watch later catch up, part 7 of ∞

In this one

• Histeria & Psicosis vs Dragón Lee & Titán, Arena Cuatro Caminos, Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, 05/16/2016 
• Imposible © vs Freelance for the IWRG Intercontinental Lightweight Championship, Arena Naucalpan, 05/22/2016 
• Laredo Kid & Última Sombra vs Flamita & Mr. Elektro, Arena Coliseo Monterrey, 06/19/2016 
• Metaleón & Mr. Leo vs Puma King & Tiger, Salón Citlalli, Ecatepec, Estado de México, 07/31/2016 
• Máscara Dorada vs Flamita, Anaheim, California, 06/26/2016 
• Aero Boy vs Black Terry hair/mask, Autolavado VM, Tulancingo, Hidalgo, 06/10/2016 

Some disappointing matches, some I really liked, one I even rated excellent. The topic of “what match would you show a promoter to sell them on [X]” comes up a fair bit on the podcast, and there’s some of those in here. If you hadn’t seen Imposible & Freelance, or Metaleon, Mr. Leo, Puma and Tiger, those matches give you a really good idea of what they’re about.

Histeria & Psicosis vs Dragón Lee & Titán
Arena Cuatro Caminos, Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, 05/16/2016
Video: Lucha Laredo, Entre Mascaras Y Cabelleras Factor Lucha

1. rudos
   • Histeria & Psicosis double ppmphandle powerbomb Titan (4:49)
   • Histeria & Psicosis double bulldog Dragon Lee (5:10)
2. técnicos
   • Dragon Lee Spanish Fly Histeria (2:38)
   • COR Psicosis
3. técnicos
   • Dragon Lee casita Referee (no real time, but maybe two minutes more)

Winner: técnicos (2/3)
Match Time: 7:48 before it fell apart

Review: [ok] This is a bizarre one, and a sign I need to read my own notes better. This match looks good on paper but falls apart of the second fall. Dragon Lee did his usual poor Spanish Fly and Histeria fell badly. He grabbed his head and didn’t move, with a backboard taking him away. Ripper killed time with a promo, then deputized the referee into being his partner. It made for some odd ball scenes sand Dragon Lee counting his own pin, which was enough for the crowd to feel like they saw something. It just looks weird on TV. Histeria & Ripper were a good 2v2 team, and would be fun in that fashion if CMLL had an active tag team division. Dragon Lee has to bag the Spanish Fly.

 

Imposible © vs Freelance for the IWRG Intercontinental Lightweight Championship
Arena Naucalpan, 05/22/2016
Video: mluchatv, thecubsfan

1. Imposible powerbomb (2:48)
2. Freelance modified figure four (2:54)
3. Imposible reinera (8:03)

Winner: Imposible (1/3)
Match Time: 14:32

Review: [great] so much fun and not nearly long enough. Imposible came out strong and Freelance matched him. The first two falls are quick but still worthwhile, and there’s good back and forth in the third fall. Freelance sneaks out a win multiple times, and Imposible crushes him a few more. Imposible becomes the first man to stop doing a tapatia once he started it, getting annoyed at Freelance blocking him enough to stomp him hard (and then dropkick him harder.) This was missing Freelance diving into the crowd in the third fall but generally had it everything else they could do in the time. This is handicapped by AYM production; the person in charge of switching the cameras seems to be on break for the first 10 minutes of the match, leading to some unusual angles of moves in early going. It’s worth sticking with.

 

Laredo Kid & Última Sombra vs Flamita & Mr. Elektro
Arena Coliseo Monterrey, 06/19/2016
Video: +LuchaTV, thecubsfan

1. Electro & Flamita
   • Electro powerbomb Laredo Kid (3:09)
   • COR Ultima Sombra (no time, Flamita tope)
2. Laredo & Sombra
   • Laredo Kid 450 splash Flamita (4:25)
   • COR Mr. Electro (no time, Ultima Sombra tope)
3. Electro & Sombra
   • Mr. Electro Rey de Reyes Ultima Sombra (5:15
   • COR Laredo Kid (no time, Flamita dive)

Winner: Mr. Electro & Flamita
Match Time: 12:49

Review: [ok] Picked this match hoping for more Laredo Kid/Flamita, so I get Electro doing maestro spots with Laredo. Mr. Electro envisions this as his big star moment, so he’s doing mat stuff with Laredo and humiliating Ultima Sombra later, while Laredo Kid & Flamita are light years ahead of him when they’re in. They’re not in together enough to really make this worthwhile as a whole watch, but the stretch they have in the third fall is outstanding and Flamita looked great the entire match.

Metaleón & Mr. Leo vs Puma King & Tiger
Salón Citlalli, Ecatepec, Estado de México, 07/31/2016
Video: Estrellas del Ring, TVLuchaMundial

Winner: Tiger + Puma (Mouse Trap on both Lion Brothers)
Match Time: 14:11

Review: [great] This one starts – maybe not slow, but maybe more conventional than you’d expect from these two teams for the first five or so minutes. It greatly accelerates in the second half, with both teams busting out their double teams and bigger moves. Mr. Leo (assuming I’m getting it right, they’re looking more alike in this match) going full speed into Puma cut off kick was amazing, and the later back and forth was exciting. There were a usual bit of stumbles (though Metaleon having to lift Tiger up twice to get to his move was one of those stumbles that made it more dramatic), and I was surprised at how cleanly Puma & Tiger won in the end. It didn’t matter much, crowd was loudly chanting for the Lion Brothers anyway. Someone needs to run a tag league.

Máscara Dorada vs Flamita
Anaheim, California, 06/26/2016
Video: MIGUEL ORTEGA

Winner: Mascara Dorada (Dorada Screwdriver)
Match Time: 6:03
Notes: Because US lucha, this is a match that wasn’t advertised that’s happening in a parking lot in Los Angeles.

Review: [good] The video length was right there, so I knew it was going to be short, but it was still disappointing when this match ended so soon. They go hard for the six minutes they go and it’s about as good as you’re going to get in that time, but it’s also only a six minutes and makes you wish it was the first fall of a match. It’s a lot of their trademark stuff but they show good chemistry despite neither being a normal rudo. The ending is brutal enough to feel like it should be one, even if this reduces this to a very good lightning match.

Aero Boy vs Black Terry for the hair and for the mask
Autolavado VM, Tulancingo, Hidalgo, 06/10/2016
Video: tvluchadelpasado, Sensacional de Luchadores, Sensacional de Luchadores, Cuadrilátero Tv

Winner: Aeroboy (cross armbreaker)
Match Time: 19:12
Review: [excellent] This was a sensibly brutal hair match, fitting for the end of a long issue and in a big stakes match. I liked this from the start, where Aeroboy is so angry with Black Terry that he doesn’t like take off his jacket before grabbing a chair to ambush his rival. It doesn’t work, and a lot of what Aeroboy doesn’t work out for him, with Terry hitting him very hard the entire match. Aeroboy fights back hard, with his early tope having a tremendously violent impact into the chairs. The hate comes thru and seems so believable, I was actually onboard with the stabbing bits that happened during the match. I’m usually not, but they came across as so angry at each other that it worked. Aeroboy screaming in pain as Terry tried to make him give up by breaking his arm was just as well done, with the crowd rooting for him not to give up. Maybe the only thing I was thrown off of was when there would be actual moves and pinfalls; there’s no way a fight like this could or should end on a small package, it needed the catharsis of one man giving up. They got there in the end. This one doesn’t really come across well on GIFs, and it’s probably helped quite a bit by watching it via Black Terry Jr.’s close up camera, but I liked this one a lot.