Random Lucha

 

Skayde & Torero vs. Colt & Aspid, Promo Azteca 2/28/1997

Opening matwork between Skayde and Colt was like the lucha equivalent of a high end U-Style match up. Really beautiful but also competitive stuff. Notable how good a random indy luchador like Colt was in 1997. Toreros sections were supposed to add some spice to the match, and his wrestling was fun too. He kept taking his boot off to hit the rudos with, while lizardman Aspid played the fool. The hold he won the first fall with was really cool. The match kept being played like that, Torero doing shtick and Skayde working high end workrate exchanges. Their team work was really cool and something you don‘t see a lot from technico teams. Good stuff and just the first 3 minutes of this are must watch.

 

El Dandy & Hector Garza & Shocker vs. Shu El Guerrero & Felino & Kahoz, CMLL 9/8/1995

CMLL once again throws 6 guys into a match and you get something really good. Shu vs. El Dandy is such a cool match up, and they really stretch out and do a lot together here. They start with a lengthy mat section which was so cool, Dandy allowed to Shu to look beastly, with Shu hitting aggressive takedowns and locking in cool holds on him. Dandy tried to pick at the best by attacking his arms and legs, building to a really nice arm lift spot. Felino/Garza was also so good, man I love Felino as he will just grapple and throw the fuck out of a guy. Garza was this athletic young stud but Felino pretty much overwhelmed him and it was intense stuff. The next good match up in this was Shocker/Kahoz, who apparently had a feud going. Shocker forearmed Kahoz hard as he was standing on the aprom which is totally enough to get me into the match up. Later we get Kahoz working quite mean, hitting some snug clotheslines and kick and even tearing Shockers mask violently. I really liked how Dandy and Garza had to use double teams to use the first fall (earning them some boos since that‘s rudo stuff). The rudo beatdown transitions into everyone working frantic 1 vs. 1 exchanges was also really good and the technicos still being at a disadvantage was a nice touch, as the rudos were quite ruthless hitting gnarly powerbombs on that unforgiving mexican ring mat.. Dandy hit this great desperation tope over the 3rd rope and his partner tried to pull out a win but failed. Sometimes technicos can‘t succeed and this case the rudos were just a bit too vicious.

2002 MOTY List Update #10

 Negro Navarro & Shu El Guerrero vs. Solar & Skayde (AULL 11/1/2002)

Nothing better than a lucha match that starts with about 17 minutes of straight matwork that the crowd eats up. This is one of the earlier Navarro/Solar matchups and what they did here was pretty different from what they would do later, altough it was all great. This is also one of the better Skayde showings I've seen as him rolling with Shu is much more interesting than him rolling with one of his skinny trainees. Shu is just so physical, he does this thing where he goes on all fours or tailor seat and dares the other guy to move him. So Skayde puts a nasty toehold on him before going for a rolling stretch. Really really neat stuff that feels competitive. The later portions that had Shu throwing dropkicks and flying clothesines were also pretty great. Shu also hits a really great senton really squishing Skayde underneath, and locks in a nasty arm triangle with the arm trapped. Then Skayde would torture him further by putting all kinds of leglocks on him. The submissions and pins also work as near falls. Finish is between Solar and Navarro and suitably good. This is really a borderline classic, 20+ of high quality technical lucha at it's finest.

Bas Rutten vs. Osamu Nishimura (NJPW 10/14/2002)

One of the more unique matches in wrestling history, it's a kickpadded uncooperative modern day shooter vs. A classy early 70s technician. Rutten was great at pro wrestling no doubt about it, his selling of Nishimuras holds was great (did a better job there than most trained pro wrestlers) and he was basically threatening to KO Nish every single round. Rutten not holding back at all is a big part of why the match worked. Nishimura ruled as usual believably locking Rutten into his old school carny holds or dishing out the european uppercuts. I think this may have been better without the rounds but it had typical european build closer to a german style match (Nishimura spent a lot of time in germany and austria) than british as it had that simmering animosity. Nishimura slowly getting destroyed but getting in Ruttens head was really cool. By the last round they completely ditched the striking and just stubbornly went for the tap out.

Jushin Liger & Minoru Tanaka vs. Tsuyoshi Kikuchi & Yoshinob Kanemaru (NOAH 4/7/2002)

NOAH vs. NJ part two. Everyone is on fire! Liger is a no selling douche! Kikuchi is a mad old bugger who will take a chunk out of you without blinking! Clever nutshot spots! Mask ripping! Submissions are important! This match did a great job milking and amplifying the heat of the feud. Lean and strong pace with an emphasis on masks ripped open and nasty elbows from mount, this is the direction japanese wrestling should've kept going. Watch the backstage footage too! 

Shinya Hashimoto & Naoya Ogawa vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Scott Norton (NJPW 5/2/2002)

This is one of those feel good matches you can just back and enjoy every second of it. Basically Hashimoto & Ogawa waltz in and just destroy everything in their path. STOs, nasty kicks and chops and various cool combination moves abound. Norton & Tenzan don‘t stand much of a chance but they try. You get a great little Norton performance as he sells all the nasty chops and kicks he takes to his shoulder in a big way. There is an art to selling in such a way that everyone can emphatize with you even when you‘re a giant muscled up dude like Norton and he had it down. Tenzan also doesn‘t suck! 

 

2002 MOTY MASTER LIST