Various CMLL from July-October 1994:

First three matches are part of a short four team trios tournament at Arena Mexico...

El Dandy/El Texano/Silver King vs Angel Blanco Jr./Dr. Wagner Jr./Gran Markus Jr.: Short match but lots of action. This is the type of match you'd call solid but unspectacular aside from Wagner flying into the crowd after a baseball slide and the commisioners getting mad at him for landing near them. Dandy looked really good, easily the best on his team. I would love to see a Dandy vs Markus singles match. Tecnicos advance clean.

Vampiro/Rayo De Jalisco Jr./Pegasus Kid vs Mano Negra/Negro Casas/Pierroth Jr.: Nothing good aside from the Benoit/Casas exchanges. The finish was hilarious with Benoit trying to suplex Negra onto the ropes which he did but he did it so fast and violently. You could tell Negra had no idea what was coming and felt lucky to be alive afterwards.:)

Vampiro/Rayo De Jalisco Jr./Pegasus Kid vs El Dandy/El Texano/Silver King: I expected more from this. Turned into a brawl on the floor at one point which was odd and didn't help the match at all. Benoit vs any of those tecnicos would have made for an interesting match most of the time but nothing seemed to click here unfortunately. Forgettable finals.

Next matches are part of the CMLL Tag Team Titles tournament...

Vampiro/Pegasus Kid vs Emilio Charles Jr./Pierroth Jr.: Benoit did a nice tope suicida driving Charles into the second row while Vampiro pinned Pierroth. Not much else to talk about here.

Black Magic/Mano Negra vs Los Head Hunters I y II: I gotta preface this by saying everyone should watch the Head Hunters stuff from Mexico. They work so hard considering they are both huge dudes who could get over easily doing nothing but Abdullah The Butcher spots. Instead they take huge bumps and try to give their opponents as much as possible. The crowd really loves seeing them lose as well which can be pointed out in a later tournament match. Negra did a pescado onto one of the Hunters in the middle of the match which was fun to see. Magic got SQUASHED by a moonsault to end the match. Fun.

Vampiro/Pegasus Kid vs El Texano/Silver King: This wasn't too great. Lots of boring brawling and nearfalls that didn't make much sense. Cowboys move on.

El Dandy/Negro Casas vs Los Head Hunters I y II: Now we're talking! This wasn't quite Puerto Rico vs Head Hunters level but it had it's moments. Casas was fantastic selling how afraid he was of the big guys and how every thing they did to him hurt him twice as much as if that same spot was done to him by a smaller guy. Dandy played the "big brother" role to Negro and went right after the Hunters as much as possible. At one point they double clotheslined one of the Hunters to the floor and did dual tope suicidas onto him at the same time! NICE! Every time they would string together a few moves though, the Hunters would take over again and they ended up winning the match. Would have LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVED to see these teams in a 2/3 falls match for the belts.

Miguel Perez Jr./Ricky Santana vs Los Head Hunters I y II: Already reviewed this a long time ago when I saw it on a tape of various lucha matches I found in the Highspots building. You definitely gotta go out of your way to see this. FANTASTIC MATCH. Made my list of top lucha matches ever which by the way - can be found here

El Texano/Silver King vs Miguel Perez Jr./Ricky Santana: This was the final match of the tournament and couldn't touch the previous match which was one of the semi-finals. It's a shame b/c these guys were working hard but you could just tell the crowd knew the match wasn't as good as what they had just witnessed. On the bright side the match was used to start building for future stipulation matches so in the long-run the booking was correct.

El Texano/La Fiera/Silver King vs Emilio Charles Jr./Miguel Perez Jr./Ricky Santana: Really good match. I can see why at the time people were saying CMLL stuff was awful and AAA was worlds ahead. These guys don't have the flashy appeal of a Rey Jr., Parka, Psicosis, Fuerza or Mariachi nor do they have the spectacular dives in every fall like an AAA match would routinely have. They just went out there and had a really good brawl with some old school rudo tactics that would make any lucha fan happy. The feuds were all over the place here with Texano/Santana, Silver King/Perez, Silver King/Emilio and Fiera/Emilio. Great third fall with tons of drama and a smartly booked finish to leave the fans happy but save up a valuable pinfall. After the match the Puerto Ricans turned on Emilio and the tecnicos didn't make the save. It's amazing how this match directly setup the '94 Anniversary main events and also indirectly setup the '95 and '96 main events at the same time. After the match lots of challenges were issues and we would eventually see Texano vs Santana in a hair match and Perez vs Emilio in a hair match. In '95 we'd see Silver vs Miguel. In '96 we'd see Silver vs Emilio. Now think about that these days. Certain people complain when the Limzarks challenge Averno and Mephisto to a tag team mask match and there is no follow-up. *L* What would the reaction have been if the internet existed to everyone back in '94 when this match took place? It'd be at least a YEAR till two of the guys got into their hair match. Long builds used to make CMLL fun but that also has to do with smart bookings b/c they'd find stuff for the guys to do in between to distract from the fact they are feuding with a certain other wrestler. These days nobody really has a story to work with in any random GdR matches.

El Mestizo vs Escudero Rojo - Hair vs Hair: For some reason this was only one fall and very one-sided. Rojo got busted open early and he really knows how to blade well. He hit a gusher and left blood on all the ringside seats he got slammed into at Arena Coliseo. Who would sit back in a seat covered in so much blood? Mestizo dominated roughly 12 minutes of the 14 minute match. Naturally Rojo got a little offense at the end and acted like he passed out while trying to climb the ropes. But a minute or so later he used a backslide to pin Mestizo and take his hair. Crowd was really into it b/c these guys were Coliseo regulars and got to do their own thing on the undercards instead of just being setup guys for the main eventers like it is these days. Imagine if Tigre Blanco was allowed to start a feud with Jeque that could culminate in a mask match as the main event. It's worth a shot but CMLL just doesn't care.:(

Emilio Charles Jr./Negro Casas/Pierroth Jr. vs Miguel Perez Jr./Ricky Santana/Satanico: All brawling and angles. Just trying to push towards the Anniversary show. Emilio bled a lot, as did both Puerto Ricans. Casas sold like a double team power bomb killed him to take him out of the equation. Rayo nailed Santana with a tope suicida. Satanico got eliminated by Pierroth but then Perez pinned Emilio clean to win the match. Finish got a HUGE pop. This whole feud and the entire build to the '94 Anniversary show are quite underrated.

IWRG TV 5/25/06:

Everyone seemed to be working harder on this show b/c the building was JAM PACKED! Noticable difference from the usual TV crowd. Tons of kids as well. Might have had something to do with a guy in the main event who's name starts with 'M' and ends in 'istico'.;)

Halcon Salvaje and Kid Tiger vs Bacteria and Nemesis: Hey - false advertising! Fredo says Ultimo Tigre was wrestling instead of Salvaje.:( That was disapointing at first but then Salvaje showed he came to wrestle so I was alright with it. I love the spot Kid Tiger does where his opponent drops to his knees so Tiger can backflip over him and then kick him in the back of the head. Felino needs to use that before Tiger grows up! I liked the first and third falls especially. Finishing sequence was really nice and Tiger continues to progress quite well.

Ave Fenix/Panterita/Vertigo vs Fantasma De La Opera/Nitro/Shigeo Okumura: Aw, Nitro wished Okumura a happy birthday before the match! This was worked more CMLL style than IWRG style as the rudos took over almost right away and won the first fall with lame brawling and the odd double team move or two. Second fall seemed to be joined in progress. Okumura and Fantasma De La Opera got knocked outside behind the ringpost on opposite sides. Ave Fenix nailed Fantasma with a running tope over the top where he almost impaled himself! Panterita did a ringpost plancha on Okumura. I thought Vertigo was gonna pin Nitro to win the fall but Nitro just decided not to get in the ring and got counted out. Third fall started nice with Panterita going nuts, doing a springboard 360 onto his feet and a cool springboard frankensteiner. Then a spot got messed him with him and two rudos. This led to Ave Fenix having a spot of his screwed up and they had to slow things down to get back on track. Vertigo ended up going for an ugly pescado on Nitro who moved. Fantasma gave Panterita a S-I-C-K sounding power bomb that had concussion written all over it while Okumura made Fenix submit in the opposite corner. Rudos win clean! Good match.

Pantera/El Hijo Del Texano/Sicodelico Jr. vs Cien Caras Jr./El Veneno/Mazada: Pretty good match and not mailed in at all like I expected. Pantera did a nice tope suicida onto Veneno early in the first fall. Texano Jr. and Cien Jr. seem to have good chemistry together. Cien Jr. got unmasked at one point and had blondish hair. Suplex??? Lots of back and forth stuff in the third fall which was really good and made the match stand out which is exactly what I ask for when I watch Lucha Libre. Sico Jr. did a gorgeous slingshot tornillo onto Mazada. Pantera pinned Veneno but he wasn't the captain. A bit later Cien Jr. low blowed Texano and pinned him. Texano was the captain so rudos win!

Dr. Wagner Jr. and Mistico vs Canek and Cerebro Negro: Interesting pairings here. They mostly kept themselves seperated into singles matches early on. Rudos took the first fall. Mistico had his mask ripped up and was bleeding. The second fall was either edited off on TV or by whoever recorded it b/c we came back from commercial in the middle of a tecnico comeback. Canek/Wagner traded some boring stuff. Mistico and Cerebro Negro then did some okay stuff which got a huge reaction but it seemed a little awkward when Mistico did his crazy tornillo armdrag and then just picked Cerebro up for a neck snap and chokehold. Those moves don't really go together at all. Canek and Mistico had a very short confrontation which was quite good as Mistico escaped from the Gorilla Press and then backflipped onto his own feet. He then got hit with the Gorilla Press and Wagner saved him by clotheslining both he and Canek to the outside. Mistico then made Cerebro Negro submit to La Mistica for the win(hence why I say we missed the second fall). Lots of challenges afterwards.

Probably the best IWRG episode in the new batch so far. Worth checking out as it's a good top-to-bottom show and I can almsot guarantee you it'll be one of the few times Canek and Mistico oppose each other on TV.

CMLL GdR July 2006:

7/15 Continuted:

Dr. Wagner Jr./Mr. Niebla/Rey Bucanero vs Atlantis/Tarzan Boy/Ultimo Guerrero: I can't help but feel I've seen this before. Rudos brawl to win the first fall, tecnicos react and win the second fall in seconds. Two tecnicos dives at the same time and then a roll-up win. Why does that formula sound so farmiliar? PROBABLY BECAUSE THEY DO IT EVERY FUCKING WEEK ON THIS SHOW!

7/22:

Dos Caras Jr./Dr. Wagner Jr./Lizmark vs Olimpico/Pierroth/Ultimo Guerrero: Replace "roll-up win" with "DQ win" from above and that's about all I have to say about this. Honestly, can anyone point out a single difference from the above match and this one?

Atlantis vs Rey Bucanero - NWA Light Heavyweight Title Bout: So Niebla is injured and Bucanero takes his place. I can't believe I had to take a minute to pause and think whether that's a good thing or a bad thing. By the time I decided though, the match was over. A whopping ~5 minute! main event. Now that may be iron man standards for a RAW fan but that's just plain embarassing for these two guys. I know, the third fall was clipped so we could see the thrilling PRE-MATCH INTERVIEWS for both this and the previous match. What would I do without knowing how Dr. Wagner Jr. prepares for a match?

This show does Luchamania Magazine better than Luchamania Magazine!

7/29:

Battle royale and three trios matches that all ended in less than 3 minutes each. Leono was actually on one of the teams as an emergency replacement and he got to show nothing. WHEW. That was a close one CMLL... you almost revealed there are actual talented young guys on the undercard for a second there! Thankfully we showed everyone they can't hang with such talents like Lizmark Jr. and Shigeo Okumura.

Dos Caras Jr. vs Ultimo Guerrero: Finally something worth watching. Not a classic by any means but a well worked match with a selfless finishing spot by Ultimo Guerrero. They worked the exact match you have to expect these days on an Arena Coliseo taping.

Nothing to go out of your way to see on this episode but if you HAVE to choose between the three, pick 7/29.

Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan GdR brings out so much negativity. And now we have TWO of the same show!:o At least the extra match airing has a chance of freshening things up. And also on the bright side is now I can finally watch the Chicago Lucha b/c I am anal about watching things in the order they arrive and those are up next. Unless the IWRG gets too tempting...

Arena Coliseo De Monterrey 3/6/05:

Yes, I continue to torture myself and pick up the shows nobody else wants to see in the hopes it will convince Fredo to finally convert the 2003 Monterrey that nobody else has.:)

Los Teletubbies Gay/Gayer/Gayest vs Apolo Chino/Red Flamer/Shrek: What a waste of three rudos who are actually pretty good, Apolo Chino in particular. I've already mentioned in an older review of a Teletubbies match that they wear these large outfits which makes it quite impossible for them to do anything close to a wrestling move during a match. So their entire matches are just comedy and then the rudos shove them around as nobody in the crowd(even the kids) gives a shit. I think the idea is to make the kids happy by having the Teletubbies win. So naturally Elizondo books them to lose and a few weeks after this they lost their masks as well. Explain that one to me.

Galactar/Hatar Kong/Lobo Negro vs Guerrero Negro Jr./Panthro/Sika: It goes from one stupid gimmick to another EXCEPT... this stupid gimmick is amazing! Hatar Kong is pretty much an ape from 'Planet of the Apes'. EXCEPT... he's a giant ape. So they have him come out in these giant lifts that must weigh a ton b/c whoever is doing the gimmick seems to struggle just taking a step forward. The illusion is awesome though b/c he towers over everyone. Thankfully this match was actually alright b/c in addition to the great comedy of the little rudos running from the giant ape, you had two talented tecnicos doing nice spots while Kong got rest. The second fall was the rudo beatdown and if you hadn't figured out by now - it is impossible for Hatar Kong to take normal bumps b/c leaving his feet would mean he'd have to get up which he is unable to do on his own. So much to my surprise to end the second fall, Guerrero Jr. and Sika grabbed him for a vertical suplex, then Panthro got in between them and helped guide Kong over into the triple-team suplex!!! I thought for sure the ring would break.:) They cut away so I'm still not sure how Kong stood up exactly. Third fall had a funny dive sequence with the best being a running somersault plancha from Sika. It concluded with Kong doing a plancha off the apron!!! Well, it was more like him just falling down onto everyone so he made sure to land on his feet. I believe the tecnicos won by countout. I am PUMPED for the next DVD which has Hatar Kong vs El Texano and Sika in a Handicap Match. How amazing does that sound?

Angel Del Amor/Corazon De Barrio/Sicodelico Jr. vs Black Gordman Jr. and Los Head Hunters I y II: I was a little disapointed by this b/c I wanted to see how good Sico Jr. is since he will probably be getting an Arena Mexico push soon but he only worked with Gordman the entire time. I hate judging guys when they are only working with their best buddies since it shouldn't be much of a challenge. Amor and Barrio got busted open by the Head Hunters but responded with dual tope suicidas near the end of the match. Okay for what it was but I liked the previous match better. Still wanna see more of Sico Jr. and Gordman Jr. who came out to an amazing remix of 'The Beautiful People' combined with the Star Spangled Banner!

Crazzy Boy/Monje Negro Jr. vs Androide/Rey Sagitario vs Apolo Estrada Jr./Black Dragon - Cage Match: I didn't see the point of making teams since everyone seemed to be fighting each other unless I missed something. I definitely saw Crazzy and Monje fighting at one point. Usual cage match with lots of brawling and then guys sorta stayed in the corner when it was time for Crazzy Boy to do some spots including a Spanish Fly off the top rope and a moonsault while Sagitario was hanging in the ropes. I was confused as to why Crazzy didn't do something silly like backflip off the cage to nowhere but that got explained in the next match. It came down to someone(I forget) and Apolo. Apolo escaped first and got a title with the FILL logo on it. Whatever. Not as bad as I thought it might be.

Konnan Big vs Mr. Texas - FILL Heavyweight Title Bout in a Cage Match: Konnan Big still seems more like a male model than an actual wrestler but surprisingly he took some punishment in the match including an electric chair drop off the top rope, a power bomb and he laid there so Mr. Texas(Hotstuff Hernandez) could hit a flying splash off the top of the cage! That was a cool visual and the crowd gave him a nice ovation for doing it. The finish was booked to be a draw but the guys didn't pull it off so well. They both climbed to the top and had a punching contest. So far, so good. Then they began to climb down and I think Hotstuff thought they were gonna stop near the bottom and time their jump together but instead Konnan Big just kept going and hit the floor CLEARLY a full second before Hotstuff did but the referee ruled it a draw since that was how it was booked. Crowd didn't seem to like the decision and Elizondo came out to announce the draw would stand and a rematch would be held. Just like above - not as bad as I thought it might be.

Overall... well... might as well stick with the trend so far: Not as bad as I thought it might be. Strangely entertaining show with Hatar Kong and two passable cage matches. I would definitely reccomend this show more than some of the IWRG TV I've seen lately which is saying something since I was real high on IWRG when the year began.

Imagine, if this was a decent episode, the 2003 Monterrey with Ricky Marvin working against 50 year old HERODES in the segunda must be FAN-FUCKING-TASTIC!!!

IWRG TV 5/18/06:

Ave Fenix/Panterita/Star Boy vs El Macho II/Kaleth/Xibalba: This had the makings of a good match on paper but matches like those tend to disapoint the most in IWRG.:( Second straight time that Panterita has made TV and not gotten the chance to do anything in a match. Ave Fenix looked alright but still seems rather bland and not worthy of the hype Ovaciones gave him. I miss the undercarders like Gran Cuchillo, Antaris and Chamaco Torres. Finish was really weak and came out nowhere. Surely they could have thought of something a little more creative than a triple frankensteiner spot.

Cerebro Negro vs Mazada: Not bad. Mazada controlled early on until Cerebro came back. He lost the first fall by DQ b/c of excessive violence. Cerebro hit a nice tope suicida in the second fall. They did the same no-sell spot as the week before. Mazada ended up winning in two straight falls. Not a spectacular match by any means but it established the on-going feud so nothing to complain about.

Mr. Niebla/Pantera/Vertigo vs Dr. Cerebro/El Veneno/Fantasma De La Opera: Vertigo got to advertise for his WFS promotion. How? With a promo? Nope. With a sign? Nope. He now has the WFS logo on the back of his outfit! I guess you really can tell who is running a fed based on who the top star is. Decent little match although very lucha by numbers. I liked the first fall finish with Niebla and Pantera doing simoltaneous handspring blind tope and rolling tope's at the same time followed by double nudo variations. Veneno looked pretty both in the ring and his appearence. He looked like he just got out of bed. Or was coming off a major hangover. Both perhaps? Average action = average match.

Canek/Damian 666/El Hijo Del Cien Caras vs Bestia Salvaje and Los Head Hunters I y II: UWA style booking continues with Canek on top on a rudo team that makes no sense facing two foreigners. For those of you who didn't follow the UWA, during it's dying days(shocking, eh?), Canek would be involved in a trios match one week as a tecnico against Fishman and Killer. Then two or three foreigners would show up the following week and Canek would team with the same guys he fought the previous week which made no sense and the ending would always be the same - foreigners destroy Canek leading to a singles match where he wins clean. In this case it was sorta the same formula as in the end nobody mattered except Canek and the Head Hunters. He slammed one of them and ended up beating them both all by himself after his partners disapeared somewhere. I don't think there is ANY question as to whether Canek understands why the UWA failed. Not saying IWRG is on the verge of collapse b/c of this booking, just saying with Canek having a position of power in the building, he still doesn't change the way his matches go even if it proved to be a failure. Canek is probably near the top of my most hated wrestlers ever list, partially b/c I wasn't around for the time period when he was supposedly good but mostly b/c I hate all veterans who have never done anything for the younger guys. Sorta like Fishman and Cien Caras. I don't only hate them all b/c they suck in the ring, I hate them b/c when have they EVER done ANYTHING for a younger kid who getting over? Cien Caras especially had the chance when he was working in CMLL as Los Guerreros, Shocker and Niebla got over huge and he did nothing for any of them. He just kept jobbing to Rayo. Just like Canek now keeps feuding with and jobbing to Wagner. I'd ask would it kill him to start a feud with someone like Mike Segura or Dr. Cerebro but I'm sure it would b/c he'd rather commit suicide than have to acknowledge the fact he is worthless now except to create future stars.

Rant over... episode over... skip this one.

Quick AAA TV Thoughts from 9/3/06:

The first three matches in the Luchando para un Sueno tournament were pretty weak. Super Fly/Kaoma Jr. in particular only went about 3 minutes. Fly averages 6 backflips per 3 minutes in ANY MATCH but for some reason here all he did was a missed moonsault off the top. Laredo Kid was made to be the star of the first night and he did a bunch of fancy flips during the Mr. Condor match. Then he almsot killed Condor with a second rope springboard tornillo splash and finally he went for the Laredo 630 but ended up coming down full force with a headbutt on Condor's balls. Ever since Rey De Reyes, Laredo has hurt Mr. Condor *3* times with that spot. Maybe it's time to stop. SHOCKINGLY... and this is a huge rarity for AAA... it was the upper card guys who stepped it up big time to make up for the disapointing opening matches. Alebrije/Triple A/Elegido against the Aliens were fantastic. I'm not sold on the fact any of the Aliens are The Monster though. They seem to be veteran luchadors though b/c they were bumping like professionals and always in the right spot. Alebrije and Triple A in particular had GREAT exchanges on multiple occasions. The little Aliens is named Andros and he is definitely the ex-Chucky. Aliens won to establish themselves and I'm excited for the rematch! Atomicos Titles between La Secta and the MexPower was more angle than anything. Chessman's teammates refused to let him help them a lot of the time. Escoria once again worked with only one arm as his other shoulder can't be moved. Two weeks straight of this and a third one coming against Lider and Crazzy Boy. Now THAT is extreme, putting your life in their hands with a serious injury! Dave Meltzer always says Juventud is a world-class worker and could be one of the top 10 guys in the world if he wanted to. So what does it say when Chessman outshines him as he did in this match? La Secta won clean. Match had few highspots than I'd have predicted but they have a rematch next week. The semi-main was another fantastic match with Porky, Oriental and Zorro against the Guapos minus Shocker. Oriental looked as motivated as I've seen him since May. He did a gigantic tope suicida where he and Zumbido crashed ONTO the announcers table. Later he busted out a rarely seen ringpost moonsault!!! The Porky/Scorpio stuff was even interesting. Main event was way above average from the usual AAA standard. If you combine all that with a REALLY HOT CROWD, it was a fantastic show overall. I just hope the dream tournament matches next week are a little better.