Tag: 2019 catch up

Rush vs Último Guerrero
(02/19 @ CMLL GDL, 10:00, ok, thecubsfan)

Último Guerrero throwing around Rush is cool to start the match, but it doesn’t quite stay that way. It also doesn’t go that long, falls into Último Guerrero cliches and has a predictably unsatisfying ending. It’s fine for a diversion but not much more. I don’t know what referee Willy Estrada was doing with his pinwheel counts in this match but he should be considered lucky he didn’t hurt his arm.

Eterno & Tromba vs Freelance & Imposible
(02/17 @ Super X/MDA, 14:12, good, mluchatv)

This is a three falls match, which is odd for a super indie match and hurts the momentum here. The first two falls are reduced to some isolated interesting spots without really getting going. Eterno is great basing for Freelance, but Tromba also looks impressive through and matches up well with Imposible. I’ve never really paid much attention to Tromba, this performance was worth paying attention to. Freelance manages to take super high backdrops and nearly end himself on a dive, so it is the full Freelance experience.

Aero Boy vs Aramis
(02/17 @ Super X/MDA, 14:38, great, mluchatv)

The first five minutes of this are unusually messier than usual. I think it was a little more Aeroboy than Aramis, but it was a group effort and it looked messy. Aramis’ supersonic tope somehow knocked everything in to place, the rest of the match gets better and better. The Aramis dive to the floor was incredible and followed by better sequences in the ring. They built up the tension in the last few minutes and easily could’ve kept going for more. Aeroboy looked good and Aramis looked like the best guy people outside of Mexico haven’t heard about yet.

Laredo Kid vs Dragón Bane
(02/17 @ Super X/MDA, 10:25, good, mluchatv)

Laredo Kid sat back, let Dragon Bane do all the crazy athleticism, and was content just forearming and kicking him hard most of the match. This is a really good sign for how future 40-year-old Laredo Kid’s ability to have good matches. Dragon Bane isn’t quite as good at building a match as Aramis & Aeroboy were before him; he did so much cool stuff but it didn’t really feel like as much mattered as when Laredo would get in one shot at it did. Dragon Bane did do a lot of cool stuff, he’s still useful, there’s just another level he can still reach.

Alas de Acero, Impulso, Iron Kid vs Fulgor I, Fulgor II, Mr. Leo in a super libre match
(02/23 @ MexaWrestling, 10:23, good, +LuchaTV)

Fun while it lasted. I muttered “oh no” when the pinfall came, because it felt they had just gotten a good groove. Iron Kid & Alas de Acero had some crazy dives, the Indy Nation team had some good teamwork. Less relevant but still important: the new Fulgor gear looks great, Iron Kid appears on his way to becoming the new Bandido (primarily in the hair department) and the hard camera looking like a security camera was offputting. I need the Fulgor/Metaleon team to try the jump rope spot again, it seemed brilliant.

Gato De Ecatepec vs Demus in a bull terrier match
(02/23 @ MexaWrestling, 8:44, good, mluchatv)

Pretty normal for a bull terrier match to start before one guy has the collar on. That’s pretty standard. In this one, Demus appeared to be bleeding before the collars were actually on. Gato de Ecatepec is over matches and brutalized often in this match, though he does get lucky in the end and forces us to consider if touching the bottom buckle with your boot counts in a four corner match. (The fans vote no, loudly.) This is good fun in the usual way of Demus destroying people and has a lot more ending teases than most of these matches. It is a little weird in that Demus is definitely the aggressor but also somehow the face, but I’m looking forward to the mask match.

Aramis & Mirage vs Arkángel Divino & Black Destiny
(02/10 @ Tr3S Caidas, 10:15, good, Arena Clandestina; match starts at 4:25)

An action match that got smoother as it got along. Arkangel Divino had a couple of moments early on where he looked shockingly lost. He came back to nail his last few moves. Aramis was the shiniest luchador here, getting in his flying well, showing surprising power for a skinny guy and selling the reverse rana big. Mirage & Destiny were their normal good but also sort of average selves.

Látigo vs Dragón Bane
(02/10 @ Mexa Wrestling, 8:07, good, Estrellas del Ring)

They decided to make the match with just the hot spots. It didn’t really work out well because people weren’t as excited for those spots and a couple of them didn’t go well. Latigo seems like he can build matches better than this. Not sure about Dragon Bane. It did have a few fun highlights. I really liked the finishing spot even if it seemed like 90% of the crowd didn’t understand it was the finish.

Belial & Impulso vs Ricky Marvin & Zumbido
(02/10 @ Mexa Wrestling, 24:25, good, Estrellas del Ring)

It is weird mentally that Zumbido appears to be lighter than Ricky Marvin this time. They work as a team for the nostalgia if not for the style. Zumbido’s out to prove he can once again be the Zumbido of the early 2000s. Ricky Marvin has no interest in that time’s Ricky Marvin and wants to destroy anything that vaguely resembles it. Ricky Marvin going after joins is fn, though they have trouble making it go anywhere and he doesn’t always seem to be in the right spot for the counters. This match seems to peak well before they get to the finish and could’ve been better cut down a bit, but there are still some solid moments.

Hijo de Voltrón © vs Decnnis for the Europa Welterweight Championship
(02/10 @ FMLL, 17:05, ok, thecubsfan)

Voltron is the Carlos Colon of Guatemala, having been at the top of the local promotion for a couple of decades. I don’t know if he’s the guy running things behind the scenes, though the evidence suggests it strongly. Being the top of Guatemalan wrestling doesn’t seem to be mean much – there’s maybe a 100 people here for this match – but it does mean one of his sons get to wrestle former AAA superstar Decnnis. This is a very AAA weapons infused brawl, with Decnnis attacking with a drink carrier early and the first fall ending due a second swinging a chair and lot of heel referee work. Hijo del Voltron seems fine, which is no sure thing given his role. Decnnis is a good base for them when they’re not swinging chairs. It does stick out that Voltron looks worse on his own; the cartwheel splash he does to end the second fall looks ugly and he’s got a slow motion tope later on. There’s no special charisma there either. He’s fine but the thing that makes him a star is his name. Decnnis works good enough as a base that it’s too bad he doesn’t turn up in Mexico doing that a bit more.

Virus vs Demus in a super libre match
(02/16 @ Revolucion Lucha Libre, 10:48, good, +LuchaTV starts at 27:36)

I was really left wanting it to not as easy it did. The brawling portion of the match is as enjoyable as when they actually get to the ring, though neither feels fully developed with the time they get. It is neat to see Virus take a fight over the rail, so unlike CMLL, and Demus is in his element here. Still felt like this could’ve been more.

Bam Bam vs Demus
(02/16 @ WWCI/XMW, 5:52, good, mluchatv)

Demus matches sure aren’t long. (It occurs to me later that a reason might be because both of these matches were happening the same night.) This seemed like a fair end since it appeared he comprised Bam Bam to a permanent end. “Esto es criminal” was the right and proper call for Demus guiding Bam Bam’s tope into head and back first landing on the chairs. Bam Bam seemed something like 75% of what he used to be (in skill, in size he was more like 150%) but he did contribute a lot of blood in his time in. This was a quick entertaining match if not more.

Drako & Impulso vs Fly Star & Toscano
(02/16 @ WWCI/XMW, 6:18, good, mluchatv)

Again, another match that’s on the short side, but completely believable in ending when it did because someone just got taken out in the end. Toscano is still really solid, though age has caught up with his looks. Impulso stood out for his reckless disregard, right down to the finish. Drako lands one of the better butter splashes. This was too short to be a lot but there’s enough here to like.

Flamita vs Rey Horuz
(Mexa Wrestling @ Arena San Juan Pantitlan on 01/01, 14:31, good,Carxyus Pro)

Rey Horuz/Flamita had some really nice DDT bumps if you like people take fancy DDTs. This might be the extent of nice things I can say about this match. Nothing went wrong in the execution of the moves and there were moves, but the pace of the match was slow and there was no flow at all to the action. This is less the indie dream match style and more like “the beatdown by working years of CMLL midcard” style. I’ve switched it back between OK & good at least three times.

Carístico, Dragón Bane, Templario vs Aramis, Arkángel Divino, Toxin
(Mexa Wrestling @ Arena San Juan Pantitlan on 01/01, 13:27, ok, Carxyus Pro.)

This was really the opposite. They wanted this match to be good and had planned out a lot, but things big and small were falling apart. The opening minutes have Carístico trying a handspring and landing on his behind hilariously. The closing minutes have Dragon Bane and Arkangel Divino trying an ambitious step up reverse rana on the apron and only really coming close to disaster. There are good exchanges and an idea to build to at the end (Arkangel’s super Mistica versus the guy who started the move) but the execution is lacking at times. There’s enough here to make a better highlight video than other match but it didn’t go so well. Templario was underutilized and really needed to be on the other team to base for some of this, or maybe everyone needed to fail a bit so they could learn from the experience.

Aramis, Imposible, Rokambole Jr., Villano V Jr. vs Capo del Norte, Capo del Sur, Dragón Bane, Hijo de Canis Lupus
(IWRG @ Arena Naucalpan on 01/06, 17:17, good,+LuchaTV)

A good out of control IWRG brawl. The Villanos and the Capos don’t really add a whole lot to this, though they don’t get in the way either. Canis Lupus bleeds a tremendous amount, which comes out of nowhere in the second half of the match. It looks like he takes some Imposible chairs hots and blades but he’s not seen from the front for a while and then they suddenly show him covered in blood. It’s quite a sight. Dragon Bane & Aramis steal the show with a hilarious chase thru the bleachers and a big fall and a plancha to get of it. There’s one spot that requires a second try in the ring, but most of their action goes well and they’re the best part of this match easy. Everyone’s game in this match and it finishes surprising well for an IWRG match.

Angelikal, Hijo Del Vikingo, Niño Hamburguesa vs La Chiva, Tiger Boy, Villano III Jr.
(Sanchez @ Arena Neza on 01/06, 21:40, good,Estrellas del Ring)

This vague crew of people are having more entertaining AAA house shows matches than the past; the two Jinetes, V3 and Chicano had a fun match late last year too. This one is more brawling than that, with it splitting over the barrier earlier on. The small loud Arena Neza crowd gets into it and shrieks loudly when the técnicos get in their big moves. There’s a lot of those, with Vikingo especially taking it to a spectacular level in his third fall run. Villano III Jr. works with him a bunch and does well at it, as he does in the beatdown. V3 Jr. is as good or better as he is on AAA TV, and as good as some of the other guys being brought up as the next guys to break out in the US. I’m not sure if he’s flashy enough to stand out. I’m sure he would be a valuable part of an ensemble.

Penta 0M & Rey Fénix vs Cibernético & Rush and Hijo de LA Park & LA Park
(The Crash CDMX? @ Centro de Alto Rendimento The Crash on 01/27, 15:10, good,Estrellas del Ring)

A wild match with strong effort for a heavily attended but smaller show. It loses a little bit when they try to settle it down to a normal match for a bit near the end, and LA Park & Rush make the rest of the match disappear for two minutes at the end while they go thru all their ref shenanigans. That was the matchup the people wanted to see, so I guess it’s more strange than bad. Most of these people have worked so much with each other the last couple of years that they can get to the big moments pretty easily. Ciber is a little bit slow out and out of place, but he still takes the Fenix double stomp to the back like a champ. This seems good on video and probably was more fun live.

Dragón Lee & Golden Magic vs Fénix & Flamita
(Sanchez/Invasion Indy @ Arena Neza on 01/27, 9:32, great,+LuchaTV)

This doesn’t go long, so they go full speed from the start. There’s a strong intensity to the match, with everyone trying to outdo each other. They even eventually settle into some level of teamwork, instead of just coming off like a four way match earlier. Dragon Lee & Fenix have an exchange that desperately wants to see one singles match between them before they go different ways, and the Fenix & Flamita team is exceptional good for two guys who haven’t teamed much (and haven’t always been close friends.) I liked this a lot.