CHIKARA - F.I.S.T. vs. Atlantis and Rey Bucanero Review

CHIKARA – Chikarasaurus Rex II Night 2

7/31/11 – Philadelphia, PA

F.I.S.T. (Chuck Taylor & Johnny Gargano) vs. Atlantis and Rey Bucanero

This match caught my eye on paper as a big lucha fan, with the opportunity to see two mainstays like Atlantis and Rey Bucanero facing two of the better young guns on the U.S. independent circuit today in Chuck Taylor and Johnny Gargano.

F.I.S.T. comes out first and it is announced that their “scheduled opponents”, Beer Money, are not in the building. They decide to pull names out of a hat, and the first name is Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson, who are not there. Then they pull out Atlantis & Rey Bucanero, who the crowd reacts to lightly and the two of them come out to a modest reaction. Rey starts out with Chuck doing some work on the mat and the two seem to have a little miscommunication at first with Rey not going over for a headlock takeover right away and looking a little hesitant. Chuck tags out and Gargano is in with Atlantis now, who works Johnny’s left knee over and then almost gets an early submission from Gargano with an armbar. Gargano gets up favoring the left knee and left elbow and Atlantis goes to work with punches to the arm and then a hammerlock, but Gargano takes him over with a wristlock. Atlantis hits the ropes but Taylor kicks him in the back and Gargano takes control. 2 on 1 beatdown on Atlantis and F.I.S.T. is in control of the contest early. Double big boot by F.I.S.T. sends Atlantis out and Bucanero hops in but gets a quebradora from Taylor followed by a running knee from Johnny on a propped up Rey. Taylor distracts the ref while Gargano chokes Rey in the corner and Taylor then knocks Atlantis off the apron. F.I.S.T. runs at the same time into the corner on Rey but he puts up the boots and Atlantis comes off the top with a double plancha. Double irish whip into the ropes and stereo quebradoras by the tecnicos. Snapmare and knee to the head by Atlantis on Gargano. Atlantis makes the rudos run into each other and then hits a big hiptoss and then quebradora on Taylor followed by a knee to the back and then tags out. Springboard elbow by Bucanero on Taylor and the two of them trade shots in the middle of the ring. Slingshot spear by Gargano takes Rey down and they start going at it. Slingshot by Atlantis on Gargano followed by a great corkscrew by Rey onto a prone Gargano draped across Atlantis’ knees for a two count. Clothesline in the corner and bulldog out by Gargano on Rey but Atlantis is in now. Running crossbody by Atlantis for two and then a big bodyslam for another two count. Atlantis clotheslines Taylor out and then slingshots Bucanero over the ropes for a tope con giro in a cool spot. Atlantis and Gargano are the last two in the ring as the ref attends to the other two on the outside and Gargano pulls an awesome move out of the CMLL playbook by going down and faking a low blow which gets the tecnicos disqualified and F.I.S.T. wins.

This was a fun match, definitely enjoyable as a lucha fan and as a fan of both members of F.I.S.T. It was cool seeing Bucanero and Atlantis interact with some younger U.S. indy guys and they managed to make a good match out of it. I liked the DQ finish as it put F.I.S.T. over as big rudos and didn’t discredit Atlantis and Bucanero for a possible return down the line. The only problem I had with the match was the lukewarm reaction of the crowd; one has to figure that Atlantis and Bucanero was something they pulled together at the last minute, because they could’ve certainly advertised them and gotten some more fans who know who they are and could welcome them with a good reaction to the U.S. All in all a good match though and I applaud CHIKARA for doing something like this.

CMLL Sin Piedad 2010 Review

CMLL Sin Piedad 2010 Review

12/3/2010 – Arena Mexico – Mexico City, Mexico

CMLL’s big end of the year show from 2010, with a mask vs. mask showdown between two minis and a big cabellera vs. cabellera showdown between two feuding veterans, Rey Bucanero and Mr. Aguila, in the main event of the evening that ultimately failed to deliver.

1. Dark Angel, Luna Mágica, Marcela vs. Estrellita, Mima Shimoda, Tiffany

As far as the entrances go, Mima Shimoda looks like she’s wearing a dress made out of grey Sham Wow cloths or something, Tiffany and Estrellita want you to know that the best part of being a woman is the prerogative to have a little fun, and I think Estrellita’s gimmick is that she’s a racecar driver or a pit crew member. Marcela and Mima start out, and Marcela works the leg until Tiffany and Estrellita run in to break up a standing leglock, then Tiffany and Dark Angel take over and Tiffany hits an Edge-o-matic on Angel. Angel hits an alright springboard headscissors into a few armdrags and sends Tiffany out so Luna and Estrellita jump in. They have a pretty sloppy exchange and Luna hits a bulldog that sends Estrellita out. Luna then does a somersault to the floor and hits Estrellita with a ridiculous X-Factor on the floor. Inside the ring, Dark Angel hits a frankensteiner on Tiffany and Mima gets german suplexed by Marcela for the first fall. In the second fall, Marcela comes off the top to hit Estrellita with a missile dropkick and sends her to the outside. Dark Angel comes in and hits Mima with a shoulder tackle and crossbody for two. Dropick by Dark Angel sends Mima to the outside but Tiffany and Estrellita jump in for a two on one. The ring fills up as the rudas start to take over and Tiffany hits an Iconoclasm off the top for the pin on Angel. Third fall begins and all six women are brawling in the ring. The rudas isolate Dark Angel and pull on her hair, and then send her in for a double spinebuster and a kick to the back of her head from Mima. Triple team facebuster on Luna Magica as the rudas continue the beatdown but Dark Angel and Marcela run in to even the odds and clear the ring. The rudas huddle on the outside but Dark Angel goes to the top rope and dives to the outside in the most impressive spot of the match. Estrellita comes off the top into the ring on Luna and then hits her with a big boot for the cover, but Luna reverses the pin and gets a small package for the pin in a finish out of nowhere that the fans booed. Really a typical women’s trios match, not worth going out of your way to see.

2. Delta, Stuka Jr., Valiente vs. Euforia, Pólvora, Sangre Azteca

Valiente and Sangre start out trading holds on the ground and Valiente hits an awesome looking somersault roll into single leg takedown. Sangre locks Valiente in a standing full nelson, then an abdominal stretch into a pinfall for a two, then the two exchange holds until Sangre finds the ropes on a Valiente ankle lock style submission. They continue to exchange some average looking matwork and then tag in Stuka and Polvora. They each sweep each other’s legs and go for the pin a couple times and then face off in the middle of the ring. Stuka shoots Polvora into the ropes, hits an armdrag and then a snapmare and rear chinlock. They roll around a bit and Stuka sends Polvora out with an armdrag. Delta and Euforia are in and they run the ropes a bit doing reversals until Euforia messes up a tiltawhirl slam on Delta. Headscissors by Delta sends Euforia outside and Valiente runs in to hit his awesome springboard moonsault to the outside. Delta hits a brutal looking powerslam on Sangre and Stuka comes off the top with the torpedo splash for the first fall. Second fall begins with Sangre beating down Stuka and chopping him against the ropes. Stuka does the Mistico style rebound off the ropes but Sangre hits him with a superkick in an awesome spot. Sangre goes outside, Stuka baseball slides and misses but then hits Sangre with the tiltawhirl backbreaker. Inside, Polvora and Valiente exchange chops and Valiente knocks Polvora down with a huge chop. Valiente hits Polvora with a back body drop and then springboards from the second to top rope and comes off with a great looking headscissors. Valiente is probably one of the smoothest flyers in CMLL and he really makes moves like that look easy, especially for a guy with his size. Valiente ducks a Sangre dropkick, runs in to the corner and hops up but gets crotched by Sangre and a brawl breaks out in the ring. Seated dropkick in the corner to Valiente’s groin by Sangre and the rudos are just beating down the tecnicos now. Polvora is up top and hits a dominator from the second rope on Stuka, and Delta goes for a springboard hurricarana but gets powerbombed by Euforia for the second fall. The tercera caida begins with the rudos taking turns splashing Stuka in the corner and Sangre runs in with another huge dropkick to the groin. Valiente is next and gets sent to the ropes and spinebustered by Polvora followed by a dropkick off the second rope by Sangre on Valiente. Delta is then held up by the rudos and chopped until Euforia runs the ropes and gets tripped by the two other tecnicos on the outside and pulled out. Valiente hits the ropes and hits a monkey flip on Sangre followed by a dropkick to the legs of a running Polvora and Delta comes off the top with a headscissors to Euforia. Asai moonsault by Delta on two rudos on the outside and Stuka hits his torpedo plancha on the outside to the other. Back in the ring, Valiente springboards but gets dropkicked by Sangre who covers him, only to be pulled off by his partner Polvora who tries to cover him on his own but gets locked in a cradle to finish the match as Stuka hits a rollup on Sangre.

3. La Mascara, La Sombra, Hijo del Fantasma vs. Averno, Mephisto, Ephesto

The rudos enter last and the tecnicos meet them at the top of the ramp to start the match. Ephesto throws Sombra in the ring and Mephisto throws Fantasma in the ring. The rudos and Fantasma are in the ring alone and Mephisto/Averno hit a double back elbow on Fantasma. Mephisto slaps him around and Averno knocks Sombra off the apron with a kick right to his eye. Irish whip by Averno and Mephisto hiptosses Fantasma over the ropes onto the ramp. The focus changes to Mascara as he gets beat down in the corner and then whipped to the ropes. Averno and Mephisto run alongside Mascara while he’s hitting the ropes, trip him up, and pull him out of the ring slamming him super hard against the floor onto his hands and knees. They focus on Sombra now, Ephesto spinebusters him and then hits the ropes while the others drag him to the outside and prop him up for a dropkick from Averno that slams him to the floor. Fantasma stumbles back in and gets beaten down and dragged to the top rope where Mephisto tears at his mask and then drops him into the tree of woe for a kick to the face. Triple big boot to Fantasma followed by the awesome triple dive fake with all the rudos posing. Mascara gets whipped into the corner, but comes out with a headscissors on Mephisto and Sombra hits a springboard headscissors on Ephesto. Fantasma sprints down the ramp, leaps over and hits an awesome tornado DDT on Averno that sends him to the outside and follows that with a headscissors to Mephisto that sends him to the outside followed by a tope. Inside, La Campana on Averno by Mascara for the three count as the tecnicos fight back to win the first fall.

Sombra starts out the first fall with Ephesto and handsprings towards him only to get kicked over the ropes by Averno who then celebrates on the middle ropes like a true rudo. Sombra runs to Averno who throws him up in the air only for Sombra to headscissors Ephesto and then hit a springboard headscissors on Averno too. Fantasma, with a half torn mask, faces off with Mephisto. They run the ropes and Mephisto slides out to avoid Fantasma so Ephesto and Mascara are back in. Ropes sequence and then Mascara sends Ephesto out with a headscissors and Averno runs in for a sunset flip on Mascara but he rolls out and hits a dropkick to cover Averno for the two. Mascara runs at Averno who ducks and drops him to the apron, but Mascara kicks him in the face from the apron and hits a diving armdrag followed by a backflipping armdrag that sends Averno out. Mephisto is in with Fantasma finally and their feud boils over as Mephisto tackles him and lays into him with punches to the point where Averno finally pulls him off and holds him back. Fantasma comes back though and takes down the two to face off with Mephisto again. They brawl and Fantasma gets Mephisto down and rips his entire mask off. Sombra is in with a springboard twisting plancha on Averno and sends him out with a beautiful springboard headscissors to land on his feet. Diving headscissors from Mascara off the apron to Averno, tope suicida by Ephesto and a suicide tornillo by Sombra on all 3. Mephisto and Fantasma are fighting again in the ring and Mephisto powerbombs him, pulls his mask off, and celebrates with it on the top rope, though he really shouldn’t be celebrating because the referee calls for the DQ on Mephisto and the tecnicos win the second straight fall. This was a pretty good match, definitely the best of the show so far, with a good story involving Mephisto and Hijo del Fantasma with the slow build to Mascara vs. Averno as well.

4. Mascara vs. Mascara – Pequeño Warrior vs. Electrico

Warrior has an awesome dancing entrance that I’ll probably try to imitate later. Angel de Oro is the segundo for Electrico and Pequeño Olimpico is the segundo for Warrior. They go back and forth and Warrior starts the advantage with a big running clothesline. Electrico gets dumped outside through the ropes but skins the cat and hits a big reverse headscissors on Warrior that looks great. They stand around for a few seconds as Warrior holds his jaw, maybe getting knocked a little loopy on the spot before. Electrico pulls at his mask but gets knocked away and Warrior continues to pummel him down. Powerbomb into the turnbuckle by Warrior and he locks in a bow and arrow type submission on Electrico who submits to end the first fall.

Second fall, Warrior runs at Electrico and clotheslines him over the ropes and goes with him onto the ramp outside. Warrior slams Electrico’s head against the apron of the ring a few times and throws him in the ring. They trade moves in the ring for a while and Warrior drops Electrico with a cool looking delayed headscissors but Electrico rolls through and puts Warrior in a cradle pin for the second fall.

Third fall starts and Electrico has Warrior down on the mat and rips off the top part of his mask. They both hit the ropes and end up in the corner where Electrico gives Warrior a frankensteiner. They face off in the center, Warrior gets dropped to the outside and Electrico hits a perfect tope con giro on Warrior and Pequeño Olimpico on the outside. Electrico hops back up on the apron and hits an asai moonsault knocking Warrior down again. Back inside, beautiful springboard crossbody by Electrico for a two count. Really sloppy La Magistral by Electrico for a two count and Warrior gets the ropes. Warrior gets Electrico down and starts working the left arm with elbows and then headbutts followed by a northern lights and a german suplex for two consecutive two counts. Olimpico trips up Electrico as he hits the ropes and holds him in a wheelbarrow position for an awesome legdrop over the top rope by Warrior. Back in the ring and Warrior gets another two count. Warrior hits a spinning uranage into a pin and Electrico gets a foot on the ropes. They run the ropes again and Electrico does the dropkick to the knees and then locks on a surfboard that Warrior taps to and Electrico wins. Angel de Oro walks around with Electrico on his shoulders as Pequeño Warrior unmasks with his family in the ring. This was an okay match. Warrior looked really good but Electrico had some difficulties, especially trying to do the move advanced holds and submissions and it hurt the match at times.

5. Latino (Latin Lover), Místico, Shocker, Strong Man vs. Atlantis (with ZACARIAS), Felino, Héctor Garza, Negro Casas

Since Zacarias is here this match is already potentially the best on the show. Garza hides behind the wall for Latino’s entrance and jumps him from behind as everyone else is fighting in the ring. Místico is the last to enter and gets the biggest reaction of the night so far. Atlantis meets him at the bottom of the stairs and the two of them brawl outside the ring as the first fall begins. The rudos basically beat down the tecnicos for the entire first fall and get called for the foul for not letting up on the tecnicos.

Second fall begins and the rudos are beating down Místico in the ring. Flapjack by Garza and he kicks Mistico right in the face and sends him outside. Strongman is in and he cleans house of the rudos until Negro Casas does the dreaded eye poke to cut him off. This is why Negro Casas rules so much. Strongman powers back until ZACARIAS tries to hit him with a frying pan. Strongman stops, stares at Zacarias, and breaks the handle off of the pan. Poor Zacarias responds by hanging his head in shame and leaving the ring. At least Strongman had the decency to not beat up el perico. Strongman blocks a double suplex and reverses it into one of his own and tags in Latino. Latino and Garza face off in the battle of the beefcakes and Latino slaps him right in the face. Garza slaps him right back and sends him down. Latino chops Garza against the ropes which gets a WOO out of the crowd but Garza runs the ropes and hits a clothesline. Latino dumps Garza outside and goes for a dive but evil Tirantes trips him, so Latino runs again and jumps over him with a tope con giro onto Garza. Mistico is in with Casas and they trade kicks in the middle of the ring until Casas gets knocked down with a superkick. Felino, understandably angry with Místico after he took his mask, runs in and clotheslines Místico. Double crossbody handspring by Mistico on both and then armdrag and headscissors to both to send them outside followed by an amazing springboard tornillo on the two. Atlantis is in with Shocker now, spinebuster on Atlantis to send him out and Felino is in. They end up outside with all three and Strongman wipes them out with a plancha. Tope by Mistico onto Negro Casas outside and a sitout powerbomb by Latino on Garza for a very slow three count by Tirantes to give the second fall and the win to the tecnicos.

This was a really fun match due to all those involved and stands next to the Averno/Mascara trios as match of the night.

6. Cabellera vs. Cabellera – Mr. Aguila vs. Rey Bucanero

Tirantes is the ref for the second consecutive match so you know he is going to play a big part in this as the rudo douchebag ref. Aguila jumps Rey on his way to the ring and throws him head first into the post to start the match. Big clothesline by Aguila on the inside for a one count. Bucanero starts to fight back but Tirantes gets in his way and Aguila cuts him off. Hiptoss over the ropes onto the ramp by Bucanero and he follows him out. Aguila drags him by the hair and kicks him in the back repeatedly on the ramp and just throws him back in. Off the ropes, leg drop by Aguila for a quick two count. Aguila starts choking out Bucanero with his leather vest as Tirantes turns the other way, and Aguila tosses him out again but Rey jumps right back in and dropkicks Aguila out. Bucanero runs and hits a big tope con giro even though Tirantes makes an effort to trip him. Back in the ring, Rey whips Aguila in, tucks his legs through the ropes and gives him a backcracker but Tirantes chooses to wipe his shoes off instead of count and the fans are beginning to whistle at this point because frankly this is just getting tired already. Bucanero grabs Tirantes by the collar and Aguila rolls him up for a quick three count. The biggest rudo in the match at this point is Tirantes, and an official from the lucha commission comes into the ring and tells him that he has to leave to the roaring approval of Arena Mexico. The official runs Tirantes off to the back and a different ref is sent out.

Second fall starts, finally, with a new ref, finally, and they take turns chopping each other in the corner. Spin kick by Aguila knocks Bucanero down followed by an ugly headscissors and another kick. Sloppy enziguri by Rey sends Aguila against the ropes, followed by another, and he runs at him only to take a HIGH back drop to the outside followed by a tope con giro by Aguila. In the ring two count on Bucanero and a standing moonsault by Aguila for another, some stalling, and a leg drop for another two count. Aguila goes for a senton over the ropes from the ramp but Bucanero ducks and rolls him in an inside cradle for the second fall.

Third fall starts and they’re going to have to do a lot better to win the crowd back at this point. Aguila starts this one off poorly by going for a springboard but losing his balance and just jumping back into the ring. They mess up the timing on clothesline over the ropes spot and now it just looks awkward. Plancha off the top rope to the outside by Bucanero and the crowd is pretty quiet at this point compared to the last match. Suplex into the ring turned into a messy cradle by Bucanero for a two count and Aguila goes for a crucifix pin on Bucanero who takes a while to flip over but finally does for a two count. Aguila sends Rey outside and hits a huge tope con giro over the ring post in the best spot of the match so far. Cavernaria in the ring by Bucanero but Aguila slips out, and Bucanero slaps the mat to try to rally the fans. Running the ropes again, double crossbody and both men are down. Repeated clotheslines by Aguila but Bucanero refuses to go down and finally hits a big one of his own to send Aguila down. Rey goes for a hurricarana but Aguila powerbombs him for a two count. Aguila hits a springboard with the wristlock and powerslams Rey down, following it up with a great moonsault for the two count. Essa Rios/Mr. Aguila has always had one of my favorite moonsaults so that definitely helps this match. Second moonsault attempt but Rey puts his feet up and rolls him up for a two count. Bucanero runs at Aguila on the ramp now and Agula hits a crazy Spanish fly on the ramp that did not look fun to take. They follow that up with a two second shot of a kid in the crowd who literally could not look more bored. Back in the ring, spin kick by Aguila sends Rey down and now there are really loud boos and people are whistling a ton. Back up, powerbomb attempt by Aguila, Rey tries to spin out of it and just falls down, then stands back up and hits a Canadian Destroyer for the three count to end this debacle of a match. There were times where it looked like they were going to pull it out but it was just really sloppy. I don’t know if Bucanero was injured but he messed up more than a few spots in this and didn’t look like his normal self at all. I watched these guys have a match at PWG Kurt RussellReunion 2 that was much better than this. Afterwards, Zacarias celebrates in the confetti with Bucanero as Aguila gets his gigantic red mohawk cut off.

Overall this is a skippable show unless you are a pretty big lucha fan. Matches 2, 3, and 5 are worth tracking down if you’re a fan of those involved and the rest of the show is really underwhelming, especially the main event which was just a mess.

CMLL Juicio Final 2011 - Averno vs. La Mascara Review

After a long week of college courses I was certainly jovial when I arrived home and saw that the CMLL Juicio Final DVD had arrived in my mailbox. For those who are unaware, the 2011 CMLL Juicio Final took place on 6/17/11 and hosted a huge main event that featured a mask vs. mask match between La Mascara and the greatest rudo in lucha libre today, Averno.

-Averno vs. La Mascara – Mask vs. Mask – CMLL Juicio Final 2011 (6/17/11)

The 15,000 or so fans packed into Arena Mexico go crazy as Mascara and Averno make their big entrances. Mascara meets Averno at the bottom ramp and they start going at it. Mascara gives him a hurracarana into the ring, a flying armdrag to the outside, and then goes for a big dive, but Averno pulls two cooking sheets out of thin air and slams them into his head. Averno, being the awesome rudo that he is, punctuates this by posing around ringside for a few seconds making sure to take his time. Back in the ring, and Averno crotches him backwards on the top and starts tearing off his mask, punches him a few times and then hits the Devil’s Wings for the first fall. Averno shows a ton of personality in this match, but after seeing him without a mask for a couple months I think it can be safely said that he is a much better rudo without his mask, especially with the awesome hairstyle he’s sporting these days.

Second fall begins and Mascara’s mask is showing a lot of damage already and his slightly exposed. Averno pulls him to the apron and drives his head into the ring post, taking his time afterwards to pose for the crowd and ham it up. Mascara’s father, his second, gets in the referee’s face over Averno’s rudisimo actions and Mephisto, Averno’s second, comes over and gets in his face, while the camera shows a close up of the blood leaking through Mascara’s mask from getting his head rammed directly into the ring post. Mascara stumbles around selling the blood, climbs to the apron, and is grabbed by Averno. Averno goes to ram his head into the post again but Mascara blocks it, kicks him in the face with the move Mistico always does, hits a leaping tornado DDT off the top and follows it up with an awesome tope on Averno, who is standing with his back turned and hilariously covering his head like someone at a baseball game who knows a foul ball is coming towards them but doesn’t know where it is. They get back in the ring and Averno gets rolled up by Mascara to end the second fall as the fans loudly chant Mascara’s name.

Shocker is shown in the crowd in a full suit, pumping his fist and cheering on the tecnico. On the other side of the ring, Mephisto comforts Averno and lets him know that everything will be just fine. Third fall starts and Averno smacks the crap out of Mascara’s chest and they whip each other around until Mascara hits a big armdrag and tears half of Averno’s mask off as Averno looks shocked and angry. Kick to the head by Mascara followed by a diving hurracarana from the top and a tope con giro to the outside on Averno, and the crowd, that is very heated right by this point, loudly chants Mascara’s name again. This may mark the first time that I’ve seen Mascara in a match and really felt that he came across as a big star. I may have been taking his work for granted before this point, but you can really tell in this match that the crowd loves him and he knows exactly how to put them in the palm of his hand. A series of roll-ups by Mascara but he repeatedly only gets 2 out of the 3 before Averno dramatically kicks out each time. Averno starts to manage to get some of his fans to cheer for him now and hits a tilt a whirl facebuster on Mascara for the two. They fight out onto the apron and Mascara superkicks Averno off to the ground. Mascara goes for a running hurracarana off the apron but Averno holds on and powerbombs him hard into the ring post and Mascara crumples into a heap. Trying to top Mascara’s dive, Averno climbs into the ring and hits a beautiful tope con giro of his own and both men are down. They come to their feet in the ring and Mascara goes for another diving hurracarana but gets powerbombed again and folded up for only a two count. Averno pumphandle slams Mascara for another two count and the crowd is loudly chanting Mascara’s name again, begging him to recuperate. Averno, feeling cocky, signifies the end with a throat slash, and goes for the second Devil’s Wings of the match. Mascara, having already fallen to this move once, struggles his way out, drops Averno and sets up for La Campana but Averno struggles his way to the ropes before Mascara can lock it in, teasing a finish and making the crowd even hotter. Mascara sets up for a dive, Averno moves, Mascara baseball slides out and then comes off the apron with a hurracarana onto Averno who takes a big bump on the outside. In the ring again, and Mascara rolls up Averno for a very close 2.9 count and each guy works on the crowd for support as they stir to their feet. Averno rolls Mascara into a schoolboy and gets a 2.9 of his own as the crowd continues to scream Mascara’s name. They work their way to the top rope and Averno hits a huge Devil’s Wings off the top rope but only gets a two count to the crowd’s approval. Averno hits his first headscissors of the match on Mascara, sending him spilling to the outside, and hits a perfect quebrada to the outside, as the rudo fans begin to get loud for him. Averno goes to suplex Mascara from the apron into the ring but Mascara reverses it and hits a Devil’s Wings (or would it be Angel’s Wings in that case?) on Averno and covers him for a two count. Averno runs at Mascara in the corner, misses, and Mascara kicks him in the head to send him over the top to the floor. Mascara takes advantage, climbs up top, and hits an enormous plancha dive on Averno with perfect form. Averno is up first and locks Mascara in a cavernaria inside the ring and rips at his mask and Mascara flails in pain. Averno finally lets go, and at this point the crowd is starting to really boil over as both men fight to their feet. Mascara goes for a hurricarana but gets powerbombed straight down and Averno pins him with his legs on the ropes for leverage but only gets a two count again. Averno slowly goes up top and goes for a swanton but Mascara rolls out of the way and Averno goes splat. Mascara grabs Averno, bodyslams him down, and goes up top for a swanton of his own that misses again. Averno twists Mascara’s leg and puts him in a casita for a two count. Averno tries to roll Mascara up but Mascara rolls through and starts to set up La Campana which Averno quickly runs away from. Averno goes for another rollup and gets another two count and both men are exhausted in the ring. Slowly up again, and Mascara goes for the diving rollup this time but Averno blocks it for a Campana of his own, but Mascara finds the ropes at the last second when it looks like it’s all but over. They trade a series of rollups and Mascara barely gets his foot on the ropes for the two. Averno misses a clothesline and Mascara turns it into a Devil’s Wings in the center of the ring, followed up by another even bigger Devil’s Wings, and then locks him in La Campana, and Averno submits to lose his mask as the crowd goes insane for their hero La Mascara.

Post match, Super Porky, Maximo, and others come down to the ring to congratulate Mascara as pyro goes off. Mephisto embraces the downed Averno in the ring, and possibly informs him not to worry because he will be a better rudo without his mask anyways. Mascara poses with a kid who I might guess is his son. Averno tells Mascara on the microphone that he lost his mask because on this night Mascara was better than him, and raises Mascara's hand. Averno embraces Mephisto and Ephesto one more time before the two of them remove his mask for him and Averno hands his mask to Mascara as confetti falls in the ring.

This was a really great match, I’m going to have to watch Guerrero Maya vs. Virus from June again and compare it to this but I think I like this better given how much the crowd was into it and how well these two pulled everything off. Mascara shined as bright as a star could here and Averno, who was equal here in his star power, played the perfect rudo to complement him. I would suggest anyone go out of their way to see this match if you are a fan of lucha libre.

Jeff Lynch Classic Lucha Review - 1A

Jeff Lynch Lucha Tape #1A Review

We are going to be reviewing the tapes from Lynch’s collection of Mexican wrestling, starting, naturally, with tape 1. Some of the tapes, including the first one, are divided up into two DVDs. For this installment we will be reviewing the three matches on disc 1A of his collection, each from the period of 1983-84 in CMLL.

1. Sangre Chicana d. Ringo Mendoza (C) – Mexican Heavyweight Title

I am having a hard time confirming which specific belt this is, but Lynch has it listed as the Mexican Heavyweight Title, so there you go.

Sangre Chicana is incredibly over with this crowd. I was told that he was the most over tecnico in EMLL during this time period, and this match is solid proof of that. The place comes unglued for just about everything he does in the ring and treats him like a superstar. This is not to suggest that Mendoza isn’t over, he manages to get a ton of heat from the crowd as well. The two start out with some great lucha matwork, and the two roll around in pins with Sangre getting some really inventive rope breaks, stuff that looked innovative even 30 or so years later. The two of them show a lot of chemistry working in a lot of cool transitions, and Sangre pulls off a really graceful looking cartwheel into headscissors takedown on Ringo. After sharing a bunch of transitions, the two of them face off in the center of the ring and shake each other’s hand to the crowd’s approval. This is possibly where Gabe Sapolsky got his inspiration for the Code of Honor, but I won’t jump to any conclusions here. Ringo teases a big dive but stops, Sangre climbs up on the apron, Ringo dropkicks him to the floor and hits a springboard plancha to the outside on Sangre. Sangre rolls back into the ring, gets shoulder blocked twice and then Ringo rolls him up with a cradle and gets a three count for the first fall.

At this point in the match the thing I have noticed the most is how awesome these two are at selling, especially Sangre Chicana. He sells everything so realistically, it makes a lot of sense why the crowd gets so behind him and gets so passionate when he’s making his comeback. Ringo beats down Sangre for a while at the beginning of the second fall but misses a twisting moonsault and Sangre pulls him into the stretch muffler for the submission and the second fall.

The third fall starts and the two men are stumbling around the ring dizzy, tired and beaten. Sangre twists Ringo around and lifts him up into the Gory Especial but cannot manage to get him to submit even though both men look beaten down at this point. Ringo slides down his back and rolls him up but only gets a two count and the crowd is molten at this point for the nearfalls. Ringo tries to roll him up again but gets the same result. They do a cool spot where Sangre whips Ringo into the ropes and goes for a bodyslam, but Ringo lands on his feet and throws Sangre for a bodyslam of his own and then locks him in the Texas Cloverleaf, though Sangre makes his way out. Sangre then locks on a goofy looking seated wrist submission that I have never seen before, almost like an inverted test of strength from the STO position. Ringo makes the best of this situation by reversing it into a kneeling torture rack but Sangre makes his way out. These two are submission crazy at this point, and Ringo locks Sangre in a camel clutch. Ringo transitions the move into a standing campana, but Sangre switches it into his own Campana, then flips onto his back to pin Ringo’s shoulders and gets the three count, winning the match and Ringo’s belt. After the match, Ringo and Sangre share a handshake, money is thrown into the ring as a show of appreciation for the awesome match, and then the fans rush the ring to celebrate with their hero Sangre Chicana. This was a really good match between two guys who had great chemistry and clearly understood how to work well with each other. They put on a lucha clinic while keeping the dives simple and keeping the fans interested. Sangre Chicana is an exceptionally good luchador who I need to see more of.

2. Blackman/Kung Fu/Cato Kung Lee (Los Fantasticos) vs. Talisman/El Puma/El Enfermo Jr.

This is your classic lucha trios match with each guy taking turns in the ring doing their spots. El Enfermo is a classic rudo who does all the little things right, taking every cheap shot possible and pissing off the tecnico fans in the process. Enfermo holds one of the tecnicos down on the ground and Talisman repeatedly slips his legs through the middle ropes and dropkicks him in the face, an awesome spot that any heel tag team should mimic immediately. Enfermo shines in this match from the start and is immediately a favorite of mine here. The way he makes so much happen in the ring with his actions is great, he does all the little things right. The rudos continue to beat down the tecnicos and score the first fall via submission. They then proceed to pose in the ring in a style that would make Edge and Christian jealous. Well, not really, they just stand there talking shit to the fans and opponents.

The rudos do a lot of holding the tecnicos down and stomping on them, especially putting the tecnicos in surfboard holds while their teammates stomp and punch them in the chest. Blackman/Kung Fu/Kung Lee finally make a comeback and start giving the other team a taste of their own medicine with the group beatdowns. Kung Fu gets in the ring and starts doing, what else, kung-fu style offense on El Enfermo. Unfortunately he gets immediately cut off by Puma, who is then cut off by Cato Kung Lee with more thrilling kung-fu kicks and chops. Talisman has Lee down in a nerve hold and Blackman proceeds to do the greatest hold break-up ever: climbs in the ring, It is at this point that I notice how absolutely enormous the ref is; he looks like a Mexican Vic Grimes and is at least a head taller than all the other guys in the ring, though he still gets pushed around by the luchadors at every opportunity. This guy has to be well-known, because, well, he is really hard to miss. The ring empties down to Kung Lee alone with the rudos, and they proceed to do a spot straight out of Jackie Chan movie, if a Jackie Chan movie took place in a wrestling ring. The rudos chase Kung Lee around the ring and he leaps up to the turnbuckle and does a 180, leaving them looking confused, then does it again, does some weird dancing and a reverse backfist the two guys, and finally hits a Mistico-style springboard back elbow. Blackman hits a hurracarana on Talisman and pins him while Lee pins Enfermo for the second fall, and the match (or at least, the footage) ends here. Fun little trios match, Talisman and Enfermo both stand out as guys who looked great here.

3. Lizmark (C) vs. El Enfermo Jr. – NWA Middleweight Title

Just like that, another El Enfermo Jr. match! Fans flock the ring before the match and Enfermo signs a few autographs for the fans that clearly love Enfermo as much as I do. Lizmark, on the opposite side, signs autographs as well in his blue lucha cape. The fantastic thing about this match from the start is the ring announcer’s shiny gold blazer, he might make about $50000 off that thing these days if that is real gold. I’m going to take a guess here and say that the ring announcer’s coat is not made of solid gold. There appears to be a chunk of something stuck to the mat in the ring, it may be some tape, it may be some hair, it may be some type of hair tape that I don’t know about, either way it really enhances the fact that the ring seems to be made of solid concrete and the ring canvas looks like it was used to clean the inside of a septic tank. The start off trading holds and Enfermo does an awesome submission where Lizmark is in front of him facing opposite and Enfermo does a log roll and trips him with his feet while at the same time rolling him up into like a one legged figure four leglock. If anyone can help me out by telling me the name of this move, or sending me $100 via PayPal to research the subject, that’d help me greatly. Enfermo is great at selling these submissions as he is squirming and grimacing in Lizmark’s holds with the most agonized look on his face. Lizmark keeps giving him backbreakers and Enfermo sells it by sliding up and down the mat looking like he’s about to cry. Lizmark locks him in the gory especial, continuing to go after his back, takes it to the mat and gets Enfermo to submit to get the primera caida.

The segunda caida starts and Lizmark goes right back to his back with hard kicks that send Enfermo reeling back with a group of kicks, and then puts him in a bow and arrow , but Enfermo gets out, bodyslams him and hits a running senton splash to turn the momentum his way. Enfermo then starts just kicking his ass and submits him with a crazy camel clutch variation where he lays back and locks in Lizmark’s ankles as well.

They start the third fall by going for the highflying stuff, running at each other with body blocks. Enfermo then drops Lizmark to the outside and goes to the top rope for a big plancha to the outside that the crowd goes crazy for. THAT is how you build to a highspot. They get back into the ring, Lizmark dumps Enfermo to the outside and hits a tope through the middle rope. Lizmark goes for a big plancha afterwards but Enfermo moves out of the way and Lizmark goes SPLAT right on the ground and there was a split second where I might have guessed that he was dead. Eh, not really. They start brawling in the ring and Lizmark hits two brutal looking powerbombs and rolls him up for two. He then hits Enfermo with a butterfly suplex and gets the three count to retain his title. Great match, I could have easily watched another ten minutes of it, but they finished it on a high point so no complaints here.

4. Kevin Von Erich/Halcon Ortiz/Mascara Ano 2000 vs. Pirata Morgan/Herodes/Colosso Colosetti

Von Erich is flying all over the place, sin zapatos, of course. Pirata Morgan is awesome from the beginning, just from the way he looks with his ring outfit. Colosetti is a jacked, mean looking guy who looks almost like a short haired Conan the Barbarian with short hair and a beard. Herode is about the exact opposite, resembling a giant human egg with immense body hair and white tights that he really should have thought twice about wearing. Kevin throws Herode around for a while at the beginning, getting the better hand on all the chain wrestling, and then hitting a big dropkick to the crowd’s approval. Pirata Morgan’s antics as he goes back and forth with Halcon are pretty awesome. Pirata gets backdropped and gets some crazy air making the move look amazing, and then gets monkey flipped to the outside in a very painful looking spot. Kevin and Halcon roll up two rudos to get the first fall after Von Erich hits some big dropkicks and a standing senton. The rudos beat Von Erich down for a long time and finally get the pin for the segunda caida. For the tercera caida, they do all their big spots, including Von Erich hitting a giant crossbody off the top rope for the fall. The move of the third fall worth noting is that Halcon threw Colosso over the top rope with a body slam straight down to the floor that looked like it really sucked. I think he may have instantly regretted doing that.

That is it for disc 1A. I will be back as soon as possible with the review for disc 1B and so on and so forth.

IWL "Extreme Reinforcements" 7/31/11 iPPV Review

IWL iPPV "Extreme Reinforcements" Review
7/31/11
Runtime: 3:40

Show was supposed to start at 5:30 CST, but when I signed on to the GoFightLive website at 5:00 it had been pushed back to 6:00 with no explanation. Other than that and the fact that the show lasted three hours and forty minutes which is just too long, there were zero technical difficulties and it was a much smoother show than the last effort, which featured an awesome match between Daga and Mike Segura.

1.) a. Guerrero Arlequin/Molosco Jr. D. Quimico Jr./Nino de Fuego

Molosco Jr. hit a springboard moonsault to pin one while Arlequin applied a casita on the other for the win.

After the pin, Valerie came out and announced that the match was turning into a gauntlet tag for some reason, and this match went downhill from here as we were given...

b. Big Mama/Juan el Ranchero D. Guerrero Arlequin/Molosco Jr.

These two came out and had about a one minute match that ended when Big Mama used the big splash.

c. Big Mama/Juan el Ranchero D. Caderno Punk/Matanza 88

I didn't recognize these guys but they also lost to the dynamic duo of Juan and Mama when they got sat on.

d. Big Mama/Juan el Ranchero D. Hammer/Black Heart

Actually looked like Hammer and Black Heart were going to win this until they met their imminent doom with another pair of sitdown splashes for the win. I really don't know what the point of this was.

2.) Freelance/Turbo/Naruto vs. Tribal/Kansuke/Samuray Del Sol

Again didn't know two of the guys on the rudo side, graphics would have helped in this case (or better audio). Match had a nice big dive sequence in the middle and good sequences with Freelance and Turbo. Match goes on for about ten or fifteen minutes and they pull the time limit gimmick, with the announcer counting down first and then ending the match. Fans had no idea what was going on. Valerie came out (Valerie count: 2) and ordered five more minutes. They were granted, and Freelance pinned the Japanese man with a top rope powerbomb. After the match the rudos asked for a rematch, seemed like the tecnicos accepted for a later show. Good match, would have been better had they not done the stupid time limit stuff.

3.) Tony Rivera vs. Zumbido

This was a good bloody brawl that got the crowd back into the show after the weird time limit stuff had them confused before. Both guys bled after chair shots on the outside and brawled throughout the crowd. They were brawling on the outside when Semental and Mortiz jumped the railing and began beating everyone down, including the poor bow-tied referee.

Valerie comes out (Valerie count: 3) and her two security guys storm the ring, beat up Semantal and Mortiz, rip their shirts off, and then hit topes on both of them. The four of them brawl around in the ring for a while in what almost seems like a legitimate match until Semantal and Mortiz bail and walk out the back door of the arena.

4.) 8-man Elimination Tag: ATM vs. Hijo de Medico Asesino, Epidemia, Fishman Jr., Kung Fu Jr.

This match went on forever and was probably the least exciting match of the night next to the Big Mama stuff. Last two in the ring were Medico Asesino Jr. and Cerebro Negro, and Negro won when Fantasma de la Opera snuck in behind the referee and hit Asesino with a low blow. ATM cut a long promo in the ring afterwards about how they were taking over IWL and such.

Valerie came out (Valerie count: 4) and introduced, I think, XLAW Welterweight champion Serval. I say I think because the audio on her microphone at this point was terrible. It was someone with an XLAW belt and it looked a lot like Serval, so that's my guess. He came out, cut a promo, and was interrupted by someone who issued a challenge. Then they left.

5.) IWL Internet Championship: Daga (C) vs. "Suicida" Mike Segura

Valerie is out again to do the ring introductions for the title match (Valerie count: 5). Hey, at least they make it seem important. Good matwork at the beginning with each guy executing holds and reversals well. Each guy outsmarts the other with a reversal and neither can really gain an upper hand on the ground at first. About ten minutes in the turned up the speed after a Segura tope. Lots of nearfalls on Daga by Segura but he can't get the three no matter what he seems to try. Daga finally changes the momentum by reversing an irish whip into an ankle lock but Segura gets the ropes. Daga goes on offense for a while and they make their way out to the apron where Daga hits a SICK backdrop suplex on Segura against the edge of the apron for a two count. Lots of nearfalls near the end on Daga but he keeps kicking out of Segura's moves. Daga reverses the tide, hits a german superplex and a diving headbutt, but only gets two, and both luchadores are selling like they've been in a car crash. Segura hits a top rope frankensteiner and a swanton but still only gets a two count. They keep fighting and Daga hits EL ESTILETE as the announcers scream bloody murder but only gets a two count. The finish comes when Daga hits a superplex off the top but Segura rolls through and the ref counts three as both luchadores' shoulders are down on the mat. Yep, a double pinfall angle. Great match, went about 25 minutes and had a lot of good action with heated nearfalls, while the finish actually seemed to get the crowd interested in a rematch. I'm not really one for star ratings but this was something I'd recommend to anyone, just an awesome match. Both guys cut promos afterwards putting each other over, Segura said he deserved a rematch and Daga agreed.

6.) El Oriental/Craig Classic vs. Super Crazy/Heddi Karaoui

When Oriental and Crazy were in the ring together, it was awesome. When Heddi and Classic were in the ring, not so much. Heddi is, well, really bad. Lots of terrible pseudo-MMA along the same vein as his horrible match four weeks ago on the last iPPV. I'm not familiar with Craig Classic but he was pretty good here. Super Crazy went for a tope con giro onto both guys, but the ref blocked it, so Crazy jumped over him to the outside for an awesome looking dive. Classic and Oriental won when Classic pinned Crazy with a cradle.

7.) Los Porros vs. Low Rider/Mad Man Pondo/Balls Mahoney/Fantasma de la Opera

Necro Butcher was advertised but didn't make it, Balls Mahoney did. Light tubes were set up against the ropes before the match. At this point we are three hours and fifteen minutes into the PPV and the time between the last match and the beginning of this match is at least 15 minutes. Lots of blood, lots of glass, barbed wire, chairs, bats, crowd brawling, pretty much what you'd expect. About three minutes into the match Balls hit a Porro with a piledriver, so I don't know if he understands lucha. A few guys get rammed head first into light tubes set up against the ring posts, which does not look fun at all. Crowd was totally rabid for the match even after a long show. Pondo and Fantasma won with a backdrop and a powerbomb off the top through barbed wire tables for the win. After the match the tecnicos celebrated in the ring and cut a promo, and that was it. No goodbye from the announcers.

Overall another good iPPV from IWL. No camera issues and no outages this time, which was important because it shows that they're actually working hard on this. Final match ended around 9:40 PM, which means it was a 3:40 hr PPV which was definitely too long. Cut out the 8-man tag in the middle and this is a really good PPV. Daga vs. Segura, the Freelance 6-man and the main event are all worth watching again, especially Daga/Segura which is the best match of the last two iPPVs.