EVEN MORE Dandy vs. Casas

 El Dandy/Humberto Garza Jr./Silver King vs. Fuerza Guerrera/Negro Casas/Rambo (4/5/1996, Arena Coliseo)

Fun match at a brisk pace. They cycle through all the possible match ups, which means no extended Dandy/Casas section, but there is some, and somebody does get punched in the face. Everyone looks really good here, I especially liked Rambo who is kind of out of place looking with his schlubby appearance but stooges insanely well, even getting a guy as good as Silver King to look on another level. I liked young Humberto Jr as he was opposed a murderers row of great bases, and at one point Casas got bowled out of the ring just to take a bit out of someones candy apple.

El Dandy/Mr. Niebla/Silver King vs. Negro Casas/Black Warrior/Emilio Charles Jr. (9/6/1996, Arena Mexico)

CMLL was white hot in 1996. Blazing blazing hot. Every match up here has so much heat. Casas vs. Dandy is heated because these two are just pure fire in 1996, King vs. Charles Jr. is heated because people want to see King pop that fucker Charles in the mouth, and Niebla/Warrior starts out as good young guy workrate stuff before they also turn up the heat with Warrior trying to unmask Niebla, and then Casas and Dandy are in again and their match up somehow has even more heat. It’s like you have a 6 man tag with one pairing being Rock vs. Austin and the next Sting vs. Goldberg and then Flair vs. Steamboat. Except the wrestling was a hell of a lot better. First fall was very long and felt huge with Dandy and Casas squaring off, doing their scrappy wrestling and punching each other in the face, Warrior/Niebla bringing something fresh to the mix and King/Charles really working the crowd good. It felt like a monumental first fall with an extremely well done finish. The second half focusses less on Dandy/Casas which is less to my liking, though there are some snippets of them such as Casas hitting another sneaky low blow on Dandy. The focus is more on Charles Jr./King and the young guys, though CMLL was so good in 1996 that pretty much no one could do any wrong. Great stuff regardless that was another epic Dandy/Casas showdown away from being one of the best of the year. Apparently this was the last time they matched up on opposite sides on TV not counting the 3 way with Santito. Well, I guess that was a good way for the feud to go out.

El Hijo del Santo vs Negro Casas vs El Dandy (Mask vs Hair vs Hair - CMLL – 12/6/96)

Well, it’s about the best conclusion to the Dandy/Casas 1996 saga we have. Santitos heel turn overshadows everything, though we get a faint memory of animosities between Dandy and Casas. Opening minutes were incredible as Casas and Dandy just let loose their hatred for Santito and kick the shit out of him. There is a brief face off between Dandy and Casas, but then Casas decides he wants to kick the shit out of Santito some more and fucking jumps at him, only to miss and get his ass kicked a bit. Santito is eliminated quickly leaving us with a few brief more technical exchanges between Dandy and Casas. Casas comes out on top and before leaving he decides to jump Santito from behind and rip his mask. That sets up the blood-drenched feverish war between Santito and Dandy which is the rest of this match. Just absolutely fabulous hatred from the get go. The last portion is truly a war with crazy amounts of blood, really violent stomps, huge dives, bitter fighting from both guys – Dandy struggling out of a La de a Caballo attempt while covered in blood is a truly epic visual. Insane atmosphere too with the crowd refusing to see Santo as the rudo after he just took a 2 on 1 asskicking, while Dandy struggles with the number Casas did on his leg. A truly monumental, classic spectacle from the beginning to the end.

EMLL in 1990 #7 - 2/16/1990

Lola Gonzalez/Irma Gonzalez/Irma Aguilar vs. Martha Villalobos/Rossy Moreno/La Diabolica (Arena Coliseo, 2/16/1990)

Fun match from the ladies. Almost nobody ever talks about Mexican womens wrestling but these ladies could go. Match had an extensive opening fall with lots of fun matwork which is always nice to see, lots of stooging and fun multiperson spots. Pretty much all you want from a lucha trios. The biggest standout in the match was Martha Villalobos, who does not look very athletic but she can wrestle and stooge in fun ways, and also has that sense of comedic timing and swagger you want from the standout of a heel trio.

Ringo & Cachorro Mendoza/Kung Fu vs. Hijo de Gladiador/El Egipcio/Emilio Charles Jr. (Arena Coliseo, 2/16/1990)

A well rounded trios. Lord knows all is right in the world when everybody just gets down and does their thing in a trios. Even with not many stars in the lineup, everyone here is at minimum a good wrestler, and everybody had a cool moment. You get a long first fall that really allows you to the get into the match up, a quick and mean asskicking from the rudos, and a well executed finish that felt unpredictable. The star of the match was Emilio Charles Jr., he went from having some fun mat exchanges with Ringo Mendoza to absolutely beating the dogshit out of Kung Fu. His knee strikes and punches looked like something out of PRIDE and made me wonder if this would kick off a blood feud between him and that goofy martial artist. Kung Fu was in the spotlight a lot, meaning that the rudos stooged a lot for his stuff. While he is sort of goofy, him crane kicking people in the face and throwing fast punch combos is something different. I also like Ringo Mendoza, he is not super spectacular, but every promotion needs a stumpy legged unassuming old man technician who can grapple and bust out a neat move here and there. Hijo de Gladiador had some mean punches to the midsection and Egipcio did good stooging and at one point bitchslapped a Mendoza off his feet. Sometimes that’s all you need to do. They did not go all out because lord this card also has a hair match and a title match, but for undercard action this stuff well and truly serves its purpose.

Comando Ruso vs. Remo Banda

For a hair match this was lacking a bit in intensity. They got the formula right, but didn't really deliver the asskicking to kick it up to the next level. Comando Ruso kind of looked like he was about to check his watch in between hitting Remo. The first two falls were well done but rather short and without surprises. The last fall was much bigger with Banda bumping really big and some huge dives. The best part when both guys started fighting over a superplex and traded punches. They really needed to trade more punches like that. Comando started Remo when he was down and ended up disqualified, which has to be one of the lamest ways to lose your hair. Not horrible but not really worth going out of your way to see, proving that listless big matches with quick opening falls have been a thing in lucha libre for a long time.

Brazos vs. Ulises/Pierroth Jr/Gran Markus Jr.

A title match that delivers. All the falls were pretty short but they went hard delivering everything you want. Matwork, fast exchanges and Brazo de Plata bringing that extra WHOMP that he is so good at. For a bunch of tubby dudes with short legs the Brazos are really damn good wrestlers, really fast moving through intricate exchanges, really good snap on their armdrags and bumps that puts many skinnier wrestlers to shame. The rudo team played fair and they were allowed to look good showcasing their wrestling ability. Brazo de Plata was the man who got the match to the next level, as he really punctuated every fast, slick exchange with his behemoth wrestling style. There is such a real edge to what he does, like he will go for an amateur ride and just flatten his opponent with his sheer size, at one point he grabbed the almost equally massive Markus Jr. and throw him effortlessly with a belly to belly suplex that was awe inspiring. His kip ups and cartwheels were on point and bumped and flew with abandon. It was probably his physical prime and he went hard. There's dive train here that's absolutely spectacular, and I always love the star. I was expecting more intensity considering these teams had some quite heated face offs previously, but what we got was a really cool slice of unique wrestling.

The Library

More Dandy/Casas

 Dos Caras/El Dandy/Lizmark vs. Negro Casas/Bestia Salvaje/Chicago Express (5/31/1996, Arena Coliseo)

It’s hard to believe Negro Casas wasn’t the best wrestler in the world in 1996. He is just dominating every match he’s in. This was basically a really great Dandy/Casas singles match with occasional appearances from the other guys. Everyone else in this match is good-very good of course, but these two take center stage and it was awesome. First fall had some great Dandy/Casas matwork before Casas cheapshotted Dandy at which point the intensity was sent through the roof. Really good mix of hold for hold and more high impact stuff such as Dandys out of nowhere Backdrop suplex. Even a fairly standard spot like countering a back body drop with a kick felt brutal and huge. Second fall Casas starts kicking Dandy in the face and bloodying him which was also really great. The third fall sees a pissed off Dandy comeback and now Casas is bleeding too and both guys are bleeding all over the place and just tearing each other up and this is fucking epic. Man the blood ban really was the worst thing to happen to CMLL, the intensity of these two just blows everything from now away, and the face kicks looked Shibata/Fujita tier violent (tho probably a lot safer). Like I said everyone else is good though their appearances are only brief. Chicago Express is hilarious, he has this ridiculous fluffy mop of hair with a bald spot and goofy singlet. I guess he was trained in Mexico because he wrestles like a luchador, although he looks like the protagonist of an 80s comedy who accidentally ended up in a Mexican wrestling ring. That aside, holy fuck Dandy and Casas are freakin great.

Elimination Match: El Felino/Emilio Charles Jr/Dr. Wagner Jr/Negro Casas vs Pantera/Silver King/El Dandy/El Texano, CMLL 12/15/1995

I am tracking down all the matches with Casas and Dandy on opposing sides because that is clearly a match up that delivers (shocker, I know). They were mostly teaming in 1995 but this seems to be the first time they face off. It’s in a big elimination match where everyone is giving their all, and yet their stuff still feels like it takes an extra stage of importance. The whole match was absolutely excellent, early on we get a great mix of chain wrestling and hard hitting. Casas and Dandy weren’t as hate filled but they already had their dynamic going. They started grappling and then Casas started throwing kicks. I love how Dandy caught his leg, took him down and punished him with a really fast leg twist, such a cool way to make an already impressive spot make sense and look even cooler. Everybody else was awesome too and hitting awesome lucha exchanges left and right without a slip up. I especially loved the Charles/King segment which was really vicious, they did this great squence struggling over abdominal stretches. King ends up putting on an indian deathlock pushing at Charles chin and throwing punches, so Charles reverses and viciously chinlocks king. The athletic stuff of Panter and Charles slow lumbering presence were really cool and mixed it up in a matchup full of stocky middleweight. Lots of cool rope running, snug clotheslines and submissions, everyone is really fast. Elimination can happen anytime but they manage to not rush. The match peaked with Casas suddenly eating powerbombs and giving his all to survive, with the crowd absolutely loving the technicos taking the lead. The match was still very good afterwards, though I was slightly annoyed with Wagner Jrs lack of selling. He and Charles were pushed to the limit facing a 2 vs. 3 disadvantage against the technicos, but it didn’t really translate to Wagners performance as he’s a bit robotic. Still everybody else was great, there was a fantastic dive train with Dandys huge tope being absolutely incredible, and the twists and turns felt earned. 30 minutes of amazing wrestling, CMLL was spitting fire in the mid 90s.

Negro Casas & Felino & Black Panther vs. El Dandy & La Fiera & Silver King, CMLL 12/22/1995

Yeah put 6 awesome wrestlers in a trios why not! We get a nice King/Panther segment (Panther being Black Warrior) before Casas and Dandy match up. They do some intense wrestling that already feels like their hatred for each other is rising, with Dandy grabbing a handful of hair here and Casas really bending Dandys wrists in nasty ways there. It turns into one of those annoying trios matches where the rudos keep running in to break up the chain wrestling which sucks, but the intensity keeps increasing and eventually we get Casas sucker punching Dandy. It does lead to some intense hate filled brawling, with the second fall having another brief but awesome Dandy/Casas exchange and a fantastic dive train with old guy Fiera somehow having the biggest and most awesome dive, and then Casas kicks Dandy in the nuts. Everyone looked good and the match had some awesome stuff, they didn’t go full bore but they set the stage for the more bloodthirsty Casas/Dandy stuff that was to come.

Negro Casas, Apolo Dantes & El Satanico vs. El Hijo del Santo, El Dandy & Silver King (2/2/1996, Arena Coliseo)

Yeah, throw in Santito and Satanico into the mix too, why not! Casas and Dandy largely stay apart, although we get a brief moment of Casas brutalizing Dandy during the beatdown section. Dandy mostly matches up with Satanico, and that is a really good match up. Their matwork is very good, with Satanico busting out some crafty reversals, and their standup stuff is also neat. Dantes vs. King was a hot feud so the crowd was super hype for them, and likewise Santo/Casas was hot fire. Their stuff was great. Chaotic brawling in the 2^nd half was fun and lead to some more violent Casas/Santo exchanges as well as Dantes being quite mean to King. Ending was not huge or epic but still great. It served to heat up the rivalry which is what you want. You could really feel they were just gearing up for what was to come in CMLL later down the year, as all these feuds and characters mingling feel fantastic.

EMLL in 1990 #5 - 2/4/1990

 

Watch

Tauro Jr. & Octagon & Rafaga Azul vs. Zorro de Oro & Panico & Canelo Casas

This started out with some promising matwork that the rudos kept interrupting. Really liked how Tauro Jr. Swept Casas to the mat from an armbar attempt. The technicos got their shine in a second segment doing rope running exchanges and tricking the rudos. The match kind of fizzled after that with a not very good rudo beatdown (Canelo uncharacteristically botching some things) and a 3rd fall that took a bit to get going before some admittedly nice oddly coordinated multimant sequences. Not the best opening match.

Remo Banda & Mogur & Chamaco Valaguez vs. Fuerza Guerrera & Hijo de Gladiador & Comando Ruso

Similiar to the first match. This had a better first fall, as all the technicos looked really good. Really liked Chamaco Valaguez for his energy and crazy finishing hold. Enjoyed Banda getting trolled by Comando Ruso and repaying him by clocking him with a big forearm while he was standing on the apron. Rudos were a bit more vicious than in the previous match, but nothing outstanding. Banda threw some nice punch combos, but the technicos got snuffed in the 3rd fall without much addo. Really would‘ve been a pretty good match if they didn‘t go so awfully long, and poor Remo just can‘t seem to get into a match where he gets to look as good as he seems to be.

Espectro Jr/Herodes/Emilio Charles Jr vs Ringo Mendoza/Kung Fu/Popitekus

This was like how you want every random trios to be. You had Mendoza and Charles doing some classy lucha exchanges, Espectro Jr. Bumping for Popitekus beastly size in fun ways, and Kung Fu and Herodes doing some entertaining comedy built around martial arts bullshit and Herodes being a bumbling fool. They mix up the pairings in the second fall and we get some more good exchanges. I really would have liked to see more of Herodes punching and headbutting Popitekus during the rudo beatdown. 3Rd fall was short and had some more fun stuff including a star spot, plus a surprising ending with Herodes busting out a big dive and the rudos winning. Fun trios.

Brazo & Brazo de Oro & Brazo de Plata vs. Ulises & Gran Markus Jr. & Pierroth Jr.

First fall had some wonderful stumpy legged highflying from the Brazos. Brazo de Platas light footedness was especially impressive, he threw a really nice dropkick, leapfrog, big silla off the top… the rudos quickly took over in the second fall and bloodied their opponents, which was unexpected. Gran Markus Jr. Goes from a bumbling big idiot to a goon punching people hard in their cut and getting blood all over himself really well. It seemed Brazo was knocked out or something as his Brazos had to stage their comeback without him, but the rudos soon took back over and ended the match. Feels kinda weird to run this as a main event as it basically turned into a squash and was merely a set up for further matches between these teams.

 

The Library

EMLL in 1990 #2 - 1/12/1990

Watch

Aguilita Solitaria & La Aranita & Mascarita Sagrada vs. Espectrito & Pequeno Goliath & Piratita Morgan

Minis get to stretch out for 3 long falls and do their thing and the result is accordingly good. Lots of fun matwork and armdrags ensue. Pequeno Goliath carries himself with some amazing swagger. The standout was obviously Mascarita Sagrada who just does amazing stuff. Lots of complex sequences built around whacky armdrag variations. I liked how the rudos would continue with their tactics throughout the 3^rd fall, building to another great technico comeback. They tease a big Espectrito/Mascarita showdown which is the hottest matchup here but end the match a little prematurely. Still, nothing to complain when you get 20+ minutes of quality lucha.

Mogur vs. Pierroth Jr.

On 1/5 we got a couple very good trios matches, and one week later we get the singles matches we want to see most coming out of each. Booking can be so easy. And this was a great little match between two overlooked workers. We start in great simplistic fashion with both guys really cranking a side headlock and a waistlock each. The whole match they did a great job working around simple moves. Pierroth Jr. works over Mogurs shoulder using repeated armdrags, really whipping him into the mat and Mogur wincing. Later Mogur gets some nice revenge by locking in ultra tight headscissors, he has a brutal looking armwringer too that drives Pierroths shoulder into the mat. They do some more swanky lucha moves aswell such as a cool sequence where they move from a pin attempt into tombstone reversals, and Pierroth has a few cool submissions including a sweet crucifix lock. There is some cheating – after all Pierroth Jr. had reduced Mogur to a bloody pulp the week before – and he hits one of the sneakier low blows you'll see here - but they deliver a great sheninangless 3^rd fall. Pierroth Jr. destroying Mogur by picking him up and ramming him into the posts repeatedly ruled. Mogur builds a nice comeback out of that and we get a classic lucha third fall with crazy dives, desperation selling for an attempted surfboard etc. I bit on the nearfall for the crucixion hold and I really liked how they would take short breathers to how how spent they were. Finish was a simple move and worked. Not the most epic lucha title match, no top rope moves or big bumps, but they made everything they did count and built a great match. Classy stuff, maybe a hidden gem (does it count as hidden if it was on OJ's blog?).

 Angel Azteca vs. Emilio Charles, Jr.

Good title match as you'd expect from two of mexicos most reliable workmen. However the match was a little short and it lacked the selling that the previous Pierroth/Mogur match had. On the other hand it was more spectacular with big dives and both guys taking huge bumps for maximum drama. I would've liked to see more matwork.

The Library

EMLL in 1990 #1 - 1/5/1990

El Supremo & Hijo de Gladiador & Herodes vs. Ciclon Ramirez & Pantera II & Aguila Solitaria

Well this was just a classic lucha romp with that rudo/technico dynamics. Tons of highly entertaining technicos one upping the clumsy bad guys sequences. The rudo trio is pretty dedicated – Hijo de Gladiador takes a front flip bump when he misses a punch, and Herodes is just gleeful about his own evilness, while El Supremo has a very different presence. I liked how the rudo beatdown started with Supremo basically having enough and clocking Pantera with a stiff elbow. Of the technicos I'd say I liked Pantera II the best who has such beautiful armdrags and his trademark rope running spot altough everyone did something cool. The 3^rd fall had some really amusing chase spots. I was surprised how easily the rudos won this one. 

Angel Azteca & Super Astro & Kung Fu & Emilio Charles Jr. & Jaque Mate & Espectro Jr.

Long, quality lucha that told a story. Early on Emilio Charles Jr. gets the better of Azteca during a wrestling exchange. Of course Angel takes great offense to this and immediately goes after Emilio. Azteca going out of his way to ram into Emilio with a huge forearm while in the middle of a rope running exchange with Espectro was straight out of the AJPW playbook. Of course Emilio Jr. makes him pay dearly later when he slaps the hell out of him during the beatdown. That along may have been the highlight of the match along with Aztecas bumping, including flying with his back into the edge of the ring apron. Of course Super Astro and Kung Fu also do lots of fun wrestling. Astro is such a trip to watch with the insane height on all flying moves, while Kung Fu manages to not suck doing his faux martial arts stuff and hitting weird/cool kicks, punches and leg trips. We also get the awesome and devastating tope to the floor from Super Astro aswell as Emilio Charles Jr. not falling for The Star.

El Dandy & Mogur & Popitekus vs. Pierroth Jr. & MS-1 & Ulises

Quality main event. There are some rudo interference shenanigans early on, but we get a long 1^st fall with everyone wrestling. You know it's gonna be good when El Dandy is in his Kazuo Yamazaki tights and UWF kickpads. I especially liked the Dandy/MS-1 matchup. MS-1 is a trickier grappler than he looks like and they play up the size difference. Popitekus is an awesome big tubby luchador and also way brave as he bumps bigger and more often than a guy his size should. Pierroth Jr. deciding to work over Mogur with stiff kicks to the spine was quite unexpected and things took a harsh turn when Mogur decided to fight fire with fire and also rip his mask. Pierroth cracks him open and we got ourselves a heated third fall with a bloody and beaten Mogur trying to stand up to him. At one point El Dandy was hitting these fast enzuigiris and spin wheel kicks before Mogur clocked Pierroth Jr. with a desperation lariat for a big nearfall and it's like this is NJPW now or something. Cool finish which reminds the fans every move is important. I think the match didn't even have a dive so reminder that lucha can be cutting edge and economic too.

 THE LIBRARY