(and so I start looking through some 2020 for IWRG just to see what I can find. This is going from the Bandido show to the empty arena show – or maybe not exactly, because I can’t get myself to watch a bonus empty arena show.)
Recapped: 03/29/2020
Matches:
Mary Caporal & Miss Delicious beat Lady Cat & Miku
(10:25, ok, +LuchaTV)
There’s a 25 second stretch in this match where Miku is kneeling on the top turnbuckle, waiting for her opponents to both get up and get in position. They’re very slow up after Lady Cat’s dive for some reason, and then they’re still in the wrong corner. The dive looks fine, and that’s just generally the level of these matches. There are sequences that go well, but they struggle connecting those sequences, and when more than two people are involved. There are also sequences that don’t go quite as well. This seems, at this point like an issue more of repetition than hopelessness so maybe they just need time. Still, while they tried for a lot more than a CMLL women’s match, there were more obvious issues; I’m being overly generous going with OK.
Ambu, Hijo De Payaso Purasanta, Manchas, Pantera Jr., Payaso Purasanta, Rayado, Rudigo, Verzal beat Águila Oriental Jr., Chef Benito, Chicanito, Legendario, Lunatik Extreme, Puma de Oro, Rey Halcón, Voltrex in a Copa Higher Power
(27:17, ok, mluchatv)
This isn’t really good and rarely memorable, but I had been warned it wasn’t much good and ended up pleasantly surprised but it just being boring. The Welcome to Mi Barrio guys don’t really stand out in a way where I feel like I need to see them again, with the guy left at the end being an unimpressive pick for that position. The match takes forever to really get going because they keep doing brawls on the outside and the first few eliminations are messy, but there’s been worse.
Shun Skywalker went to a draw with Súper Nova
(14:57, good, mluchatv)
This match felt like the opening match of a longer feud, though not one they really got back to before the shutdown. Shun is obviously very good and been given few interesting matches in Mexico. Super Nova gets to show more here as a singles than usual and they have some decent chemistry. It just never really gets anywhere. The ankle injury bit derails the match a bit, though it does seem to have some purpose in setting up why Nova can’t make it back in by twenty. No real reason Shun can’t though. This is a countout finish, and those finishes are tough to take seriously in a promotion where they brawl outside for minutes at a time with no consequence.
El Bandido & Fuerza Guerrera NG beat Emperador Azteca & Toxin
(22:28, good, mluchatv)
The main event is enjoyable but not particularly satisfying. The crowd cares about Bandido, they go through the steps of a big IWRG match, but it never really feels like it builds in a way. It’s a CMLL big match in the transition to a numbing amount of near falls which don’t feel like they mean much. The tag format might actually make it works because the point because to rotate through everyone having a turn than either side having much control. Maybe I’m expecting something out of these matches that just aren’t going to happen but this left me unsatisfied; it was enjoyable but there’s much better Bandido stuff to watch. They seemed to be going for a great one of those but didn’t really put it together.
