Tag: 2018 watch later

Mistico vs Último Guerrero
(CMLL @ Arena Coliseo Guadalajara on 07/17, 12:12, ok, thecubsfan)

A by the numbers Mistico/Ultimo Guerrero match, only notable for Último Guerrero saving the dropkick off the apron to the end of the match. It’s a good set up to an unexpected Místico comeback, which goes wrong when Místico slips on a springboard anyway. The floor of the standard UG match is decently high but the ceiling is not much higher, and this doesn’t break that pattern.

Dragón Lee II vs Último Ninja
(RevoLucha @ Gimnasio Nuevo León Unido on 07/22, 16:13, great, doncelladehielo89 (part 1), doncelladehielo89 (part 2))

July seems long ago. This was Ninja’s farewell to Mexico match and one of Dragon Lee’s last matches before his reality show trip. In the great tradition of Mexican luchadors with impending NXT deals, Último Ninja gives everything in a high impact battle, feeling like more like a big title match than an all-star exhibition. You probably shouldn’t be taking hanging double stomps to the floor when you’re packing for Orlando, but Ninja took that and more in what might have been his best match under that name. I really liked his match with Rey Horuz in RIOT and this was easily better than that, pretty close to a MOTYC level. It’s a lot of Dragon Lee’s big match moments, but Último Ninja steps up to the challenge and it feels like a huge battle all the way to the end. They did a lot and it all comes off really well. Worth going out of your way to see.

Kunai vs Iron Kid
(Lucha Tlahuc @ Gimnasio Raton Macias on 07/22, 12:16, great, Adrian Martinez)

Just complete insanity. There’s a spot with a basketball hoop support and it’s not even the craziest spot in that minute. Iron Kid is entertaining whenever he shows up in IWRG or the super indies. I had no idea who Kunai was before this match. I really wanted to know more about Kunai (or maybe it’s Kunay) after this match, and still don’t know much. If he’s got a Facebook, I can’t find it and the few promotions he’s working for don’t mention it. Kunai is athletically gifted, pulling off inside springboard moves with ease. It’s outweighed by his willingness to do outrageous stuff that’s not going to help him last too long but sure made him stand out here. I’m not sure if Kunai was going far above and beyond because this was a match with a much more visible (though hardly older) opponent, or if he’s always this way, but it was something to watch. Kunai wasn’t just taking silly bumps, he was also hitting all the spots he wanted to hit and looking like the equal of a far more hyped luchador. I’d love to see more of him.

The King (Rey Fenix) vs Laredo Kid
(MDA @ Arena Coliseo Monterrey on 07/29, 16:53, excellent, +LuchaTV)

This match is probably why AAA set up a Fenix/Laredo Kid match during their Yucatan weekend of shows. I guess it’s all the same that they’ve since forgotten it and moved on to other matches which won’t actually happen either since it’s unlikely it’ll be as smooth as this one. Fenix and Laredo Kid are similar wrestlers, separate more by years than style, with Laredo’s major deficiency being coming along a half-decade too soon to be cast in a cult favorite US wrestling show. Outside of Lucha Underground, Fenix has become the US guy who just has great matches every time they put him into a situation to have one, and also someone who gets little character attention seemingly because the people in charge see having good matches as his ceiling. In Mexico, Fenix is the top guy and Laredo Kid is Fenix, the likable guy who gets no character attention because the people in charge see him just as a good who can have really good matches. The similarities in style and effort are shown throughout the match, though Fenix always seems to be giving a little bit more than Laredo. It comes up pretty early when Laredo Kid does a tope to thru first row and Fenix does a tope con giro thru the first row. Laredo Kid has a few beautiful spots, and Fenix looks spectacular with his jumping cutters. (Fenix maybe does too maybe of those cutters, here and in general, but at least he’s overdoing a move that’s not overdone in Mexico.) This match is all about the spectacular spots, but it still feels like they’re competing to win – they’re competing in a spectacular fashion.

The shorter version is I thought this way superb. I don’t think it’ll make my top ten because it’s a match with no context – if this really was a built-up AAA title match with the same hot crowd, it may have a bigger place in my memory – but that doesn’t seem something you can put on the wrestlers. Neither can you put on them the weird mid-match break for some crowd hype. I think I’m really more partial to both Laredo Kid & Fenix than most, but I still think you should definitely watch this even if you’re not.

Demus vs Príncipe Legendario
(MDA @ Arena Coliseo Monterrey on 07/29, 7:45, ok,+LuchaTV)

A CMLL lightning match of an indie match, both in length and approximate effort. I had to rewatch it because I felt like I must’ve met something interesting happen. It remained alright but didn’t stick out beyond the weirdness of Principe Legendario playing rudo against Demus, an odd choice. There are moments where it seems like it’s going to turn into a brawl, and that would’ve been more interesting than how it ended up with more normal action.

Mephisto © vs Titán for the CMLL World Welterweight Championship
(CMLL @ Arena Coliseo Guadalajara on 08/07, 17:47, great, thecubsfan)

This match gets more (TV) time than most Guadalajara title matches and makes the most of it. Titan is better at getting sympathy than most CMLL luchadors. It sticks out more in CMLL style matches, and this is definitely a Mephisto CMLL title match. Titan’s willing to go longer without getting in any offense, and to be on the wrong side of the match for an extended period. The third fall doesn’t go “my move, your move” instead turning into Mephisto just hitting Titan with his usual finishing moves (and repeatedly) and Titan just barely surviving. Even when he mounts a comeback, it may not end well. The apron powerbomb here definitely didn’t end well, and that sort of stuff made the match feel a bit more unpredictable than usual CMLL title match. It still is recognizable as a CMLL title match and might be worth passing if you’re just tired of those, but it was better than average as far as those are concerned.

Keyra & Zumbido vs Lady Maravilla & Steve Pain
(LLB @ Arena Lopez Mateos, 06/17, 14:41, good,CaritaJC LuchaLibre)

Video Note: This is lightly clipped.

Review: I’ve got this match as good, but its borderline higher. I haven’t seen a lot of Zumbido in the last decade, but this is the best I’ve seen him look since he was in CMLL. He’s great as the técnico who isn’t going to put up with any of Maravilla & Pain’s cheating, plays to the crowd well, and is effective in his moves. Keyra & Zumbido are the best working team thanks to what seems like Zumbido’s ideas. He’s a little off at times but still worth the show. Everyone is good, Maravilla shows more personality as a ruda than the Keyra does a tecnica, and the finish looks outstanding.

Hijo de LA Park & LA Park vs Dragón Lee & Rush
(IWRG @ Arena Naucalpan on 06/17, 22:28, good,IWRG tv)

This match is one where almost everyone writing about lucha libre has already written about this match and I have nothing interesting or new to add. I think I like it a little less than most, but it’s still pretty good. It’s a great Naucalpan brawl around the building for two falls. Park & Rush bring more intensity to the usual wandering around the building, and the younger Park & Dragon Lee fit in fine when they mix the fights. The third fall loses the plot a bit – it goes too long, Dragon Lee & Hijo de LA Park are going back to a highspot match (and less than perfectly done) that just seems like an interruption to Park/Rush – but the first half of this is well worth watching.

Aramis © vs Freelance for the IWRG Rey del Aire match
(IWRG @ Arena Naucalpan on 07/01, 5:05,good, via +LuchaTV)

Video note: This aired live on one of +Lucha’s first times streaming from Naucalpan, but the feed died a few times in that show. This is joined in progress after one of those dead moments. The announcing comes and goes during the match, seemingly as they try to figure out if they’re on air. It never got posted as a stand along match later.

Review: I don’t know if this match counts as a sprint, because they’re not moving faster than the usual rapid speed Aramis & Freelance wrestle at. It’s more this one goes only five minutes (of what we see) because they’re throwing big moves from the start. It’s not going to last long and shouldn’t last long if they’re just throwing the IWRG lightweight equivalent of big bombs. Freelance got Aramis in a position where the next move was probably going to win, and Aramis escaped to land that move himself. Five minutes doesn’t make much of a remarkable match, and it doesn’t reach the insane level to make it a must see level. It’s still a good fireworks show.

Soberano Jr. © vs Cavernario for the Mexican National Welterweight Championship
(CMLL @ Arena Coliseo Guadalajara on 07/10, 20:28, good,thecubsfan)

Video Note: my video is dropping frames at different points. It’s a little distracting but never unwatchable.

Review: I know I watched this one back in July but I guess I never wrote anything about it. Watching it again, it’s striking how much of it is Cavernario control. Soberano gets in almost nothing in the first two falls, just getting a surprise pinfall. Cavernario’s good enough that they don’t seem to lose the crowd at the end. Cavernario’s good enough at the end too to keep them going after the finishing sequence doesn’t work right the first time. Soberano adds his big spots and dives but this is Cavernario making the match work.

Penta El Zero M vs Senza Volto vs Gringo Loco vs El Bandolero
(GALLI @ Arena GALLI on 06/24, 22:00,great, GALLI Lucha Libre)

Video Note: Match actually starts at 8:41, though there’s still a bit of interior decorating before anyone fights.

Review: This match is turned into an extreme match before it starts – the long delay before it starts is for people gathering weapons, and then tossing those same weapons back out so they have room to do stuff. They certainly make use of the rules to do some crazy stuff. There’s total insanity in this one, punishment they’re taking in the first half of the match they probably shouldn’t be doing in front of this size crowd (or maybe any side crowd.) It probably didn’t need to get 20 minutes and it never developed into more than just craziness, but it was a good crazy match. Bandolero takes the most brutal things. I have not seen France’s Senza Volto prior; he’s obviously super athletic to do big dives with ease. He could use more refinement in some areas, but there’s a lot of potentials to tap into – like, the pull up he does to get on top of the entrance set is somehow more impressive than the dive off it. I was going to rate this as good, and then the finish happened. The finish came off as insane enough looking on video to push it over the line. It was probably a normal bump for the situation but it just looked amazing the way we saw it.

Daga vs Matt Riddle
(The Crash @ Auditorio de Tijuana on 07/14, 9:53, good, Lucha Libre De Tijuana)

Video Note: This version is edited. All the version are edited and this one had the longest running time. The editing doesn’t seem bad at first, then it gets more present and more obviously being used to cut out any point where there’s no action as it goes on.

Review: The Daga/Riddle match is built around them being equals, while Riddle also comes off as the more impressive guys. He’s better at taking Daga’s offense, and his own looks more impressive. Daga looks good too, though getting distracted to tell of a fan doesn’t help his cause much. I was expecting a little more grappling than they get to, at least until the final moments. The moves they do instead look good, it’s just more of a regular indie match done well than a different style of match. This was good fun.