AULL Lightweight Tournament First Round/Semi-Final Thoughts:
Now THIS was something I was looking forward to and it totally came through! This tournament reminded me a lot of the CMLL Welterweight Title tournament from 1996 mostly b/c that was when I began watching Lucha Libre and still didn't know any of the guys... much like the guys in this tournament. So back in '96, that tournament was great b/c I got to see lots of new guys at once and they all got the time to show off their offense and have credible 5+ minute matches. Poor new lucha fans who are only used to seeing recent CMLL tournaments which are just 1-2 minute matches with a dive and a finisher being mandatory. If you go over the 2 mnutes, they edit your match to 30 seconds as punishment ala the Copa Jr. Finals.:)
First up I gotta praise the great old-school feel to the tournament as they had a giant board with the brackets in the back of the arena(visible on TV) and they brought out all 8 guys to "randomly" draw their opponents. I am a HUGE mark for stuff like that. After all was said and done, it was time for the tournament...
Round 1:
Super Nova vs Psicopata: This is indeed the new Super Nova that has began appearing on CMLL undercards lately. Psicopata might be farmilar to a few Chikara fans as he was on the Best of Mike Quackenbush DVD in an eight man tag from Mexico in this very arena. His gimmick may be farmilar to WWF fans as he has his own "Head" at ringside that gives him advice throughout the match. Match started on the mat with both guys looking good going through various exchange. Nova took to the air a few minutes in with a nice running somersault plancha! Psicopata used a nice armdrag to send Nova outside and nailed a slingshot tornillo! Psicopata then got a bunch of nearfalls with moves off the top rope. Nova finally managed to fight back and the two traded submission attempts. Finally Nova grabbed Psicopata and hit a fireman's carry slam for the win! Solid showing by both guys. I want to see more Psicopata for sure!
Tortuguillo Ninja III vs Sadico: Yes! Ninja Turtle gimmick is back!:D Sadico is a local young rudo that is often praised on the Box y Lucha forums so I was looking forward to seeing him here. They also started slow and had some nice exchanges. Karateka sped things up and looked alright but seemed nervous which is to be expected since this building used to draw 80 people on a good day and with the new television show, the crowds now look to be 200-400 fans. It was definitely jam packed for this tournament as Mistico was main eventing. Anyways, Sadico took some good bumps and ended up taking a plancha from the Ninja Turtle who slipped as he was climbing the ropes which led to the crowd laughing at him. Sadico showed off his impressive offense including a spot I really liked where he hiptossed his opponent onto the top turnbuckle and then nailed a running tree of woe dropkick! They seemed to mess something up at the end so after some talking, Sadico just picked up the poor Ninja Turtle and dumped him RIGHT ON HIS HEAD with a Sadi-Krusher(nice, huh?). Crowd was 100% pro Sadico.
Gato Karateka vs Krimen: Gato Karateka is not a Ninja Turtle. In fact, I don't know what he was. Just some dude in a weird orange outfit. Krimen is in Sadico's stable(which also includes Locky) so they look alike but Krimen is definitely older. Rough start with Karateka looking a little lost on the mat but Krimen calmed him down and then bumped around for some armdrags before taking a tope suicida. Krimen looked good dominating Karateka for a while and then gave him his comeback which looked awkward. Once again Krimen just allowed himself to be sent outside and he ate another tope suicida. Krimen seemed to have enough of Karateka and nailed an AWESOME inverted power bomb, then a wicked suplex variation and locked on an IN-FUCKING-CREDIBLE submission move that I have never seen before to get the win. MUST - SEE - MORE - KRIMEN!
Terry 2000 vs Digital: Terry 2000 is the son of local star Terry Boleanos Jr. so he is HUGE over with the audience. He has an ugly Fugaz-style bodysuit and looks to be 16 years old... MAYBE. For having such a cool name, Digital really just looks like your average Mogur-esque luchador. Both guys looked good early on. I nearly lost it when Digital used a ropeflip armdrag right into a Skayde Special! Terry 2000 kicked out but held on and turned it into a backslide somehow! I ALREADY LOVE THIS MATCH! Unforunately Digital then went on offense and you can't do that unless you actually have moves to use much like Sadico showed us earlier on. So after some awkward moments of Digital not knowing what moves to use, Terry 2000 fought back and countered a spinning backbreaker into an armbar for the win! Nice finish.
Semi-Finals:
Super Nova vs Sadico: Holy crap, I've been waiting for this match since... well... since both their matches ended and I knew they'd be facing each other! Fast start with Nova doing a handspring backflip, then ducked a clothesline by doing a cool drop down into a kip-up and armdragging Sadico outside. He then went for a dive but Sadico slid back into the ring. Nova landed on the apron and punched Sadico, then went up top for a plancha... AND GOT DROPKICKED BRUTALLY! Sadico got a few nearfalls but then missed a somersault off the top. Nova nailed a flying splash and got two. He got another few nearfalls. Then he tried to whip Sadico into the turnbuckles but Sadico kept resisting so Nova had to keep kicking him till he had enough leverage. Sadico reversed though and Nova tried to leap over Sadico who caught him on his shoulders, move his leg out of the way... AND NAILED THE SADICO CRADLE DRIVER! YOU KNOW IT'S OVER! Huge pop for the finishing move and the fact Sadico advanced. This was probably my favorite match of the tournament even though it was the shortest(double the length of CMLL tournament matches though). Everything made sense and the match was laid out brilliantly. Finish was sick and that's exactly how you want to end a match.
Terry 2000 vs Krimen: Joined with Krimen making his entrance when out of nowhere Terry 2000 comes FLYING AT HIM with a bullet tope suicida!!! Krimen looked to take a bad fall into the entrance steps and clutched his back in pain but he continued the match. Terry 2000 to show off more of his armdrags and headscissors until Krimen took over but he kept selling his back injury. He used a cool corner dropkick and pumphandle slam but only got two counts. Terry 2000 fought back and used a wicked corkscrew armdrag, backflipped onto his feet and dropkick Krimen outside. He teased a big dive but then nailed Krimen with a frankensteiner off the apron taking the rudo into the crowd! Terry 2000 got back inside to recover as Krimen grabbed his back and tried to get up but was having troubles. Just as he was about to get over the guardrail... TERRY 2000 COMES OUT OF NOWHERE WITH A RUNNING PLANCHA OVER THE RINGPOST *OVER A FAN* AND INTO THE CROWD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HOLY FUCKING SHIT!!! Venum Black/Oro Jr. in Promo Azteca level!!! Crowd went absolutely insane and began chanting 'Terry, Terry, Terry!' He hopped the guardrail and rolled into the ring while obviously Krimen was done for so he got counted out.
This sets up Terry 2000 vs Sadico which is being taped on Wednesday with the winner getting the AULL Lightweight Title which looks pretty.
*GREAT TOURNAMENT*! All the wrestlers looked great, the crowd was into everything and the announcers treated the guys like real stars instead of spending the match talking about the main events coming up. I went in with high expectations and the entire tournament surpassed them!
As a bonus treat for those who read my reviews, here are links to where you can download the tournament for yourself:
Round 1: http://www.sendspace.com/file/dsdwrt
Semi-Finals: http://www.sendspace.com/file/littxq
Now THIS was something I was looking forward to and it totally came through! This tournament reminded me a lot of the CMLL Welterweight Title tournament from 1996 mostly b/c that was when I began watching Lucha Libre and still didn't know any of the guys... much like the guys in this tournament. So back in '96, that tournament was great b/c I got to see lots of new guys at once and they all got the time to show off their offense and have credible 5+ minute matches. Poor new lucha fans who are only used to seeing recent CMLL tournaments which are just 1-2 minute matches with a dive and a finisher being mandatory. If you go over the 2 mnutes, they edit your match to 30 seconds as punishment ala the Copa Jr. Finals.:)
First up I gotta praise the great old-school feel to the tournament as they had a giant board with the brackets in the back of the arena(visible on TV) and they brought out all 8 guys to "randomly" draw their opponents. I am a HUGE mark for stuff like that. After all was said and done, it was time for the tournament...
Round 1:
Super Nova vs Psicopata: This is indeed the new Super Nova that has began appearing on CMLL undercards lately. Psicopata might be farmilar to a few Chikara fans as he was on the Best of Mike Quackenbush DVD in an eight man tag from Mexico in this very arena. His gimmick may be farmilar to WWF fans as he has his own "Head" at ringside that gives him advice throughout the match. Match started on the mat with both guys looking good going through various exchange. Nova took to the air a few minutes in with a nice running somersault plancha! Psicopata used a nice armdrag to send Nova outside and nailed a slingshot tornillo! Psicopata then got a bunch of nearfalls with moves off the top rope. Nova finally managed to fight back and the two traded submission attempts. Finally Nova grabbed Psicopata and hit a fireman's carry slam for the win! Solid showing by both guys. I want to see more Psicopata for sure!
Tortuguillo Ninja III vs Sadico: Yes! Ninja Turtle gimmick is back!:D Sadico is a local young rudo that is often praised on the Box y Lucha forums so I was looking forward to seeing him here. They also started slow and had some nice exchanges. Karateka sped things up and looked alright but seemed nervous which is to be expected since this building used to draw 80 people on a good day and with the new television show, the crowds now look to be 200-400 fans. It was definitely jam packed for this tournament as Mistico was main eventing. Anyways, Sadico took some good bumps and ended up taking a plancha from the Ninja Turtle who slipped as he was climbing the ropes which led to the crowd laughing at him. Sadico showed off his impressive offense including a spot I really liked where he hiptossed his opponent onto the top turnbuckle and then nailed a running tree of woe dropkick! They seemed to mess something up at the end so after some talking, Sadico just picked up the poor Ninja Turtle and dumped him RIGHT ON HIS HEAD with a Sadi-Krusher(nice, huh?). Crowd was 100% pro Sadico.
Gato Karateka vs Krimen: Gato Karateka is not a Ninja Turtle. In fact, I don't know what he was. Just some dude in a weird orange outfit. Krimen is in Sadico's stable(which also includes Locky) so they look alike but Krimen is definitely older. Rough start with Karateka looking a little lost on the mat but Krimen calmed him down and then bumped around for some armdrags before taking a tope suicida. Krimen looked good dominating Karateka for a while and then gave him his comeback which looked awkward. Once again Krimen just allowed himself to be sent outside and he ate another tope suicida. Krimen seemed to have enough of Karateka and nailed an AWESOME inverted power bomb, then a wicked suplex variation and locked on an IN-FUCKING-CREDIBLE submission move that I have never seen before to get the win. MUST - SEE - MORE - KRIMEN!
Terry 2000 vs Digital: Terry 2000 is the son of local star Terry Boleanos Jr. so he is HUGE over with the audience. He has an ugly Fugaz-style bodysuit and looks to be 16 years old... MAYBE. For having such a cool name, Digital really just looks like your average Mogur-esque luchador. Both guys looked good early on. I nearly lost it when Digital used a ropeflip armdrag right into a Skayde Special! Terry 2000 kicked out but held on and turned it into a backslide somehow! I ALREADY LOVE THIS MATCH! Unforunately Digital then went on offense and you can't do that unless you actually have moves to use much like Sadico showed us earlier on. So after some awkward moments of Digital not knowing what moves to use, Terry 2000 fought back and countered a spinning backbreaker into an armbar for the win! Nice finish.
Semi-Finals:
Super Nova vs Sadico: Holy crap, I've been waiting for this match since... well... since both their matches ended and I knew they'd be facing each other! Fast start with Nova doing a handspring backflip, then ducked a clothesline by doing a cool drop down into a kip-up and armdragging Sadico outside. He then went for a dive but Sadico slid back into the ring. Nova landed on the apron and punched Sadico, then went up top for a plancha... AND GOT DROPKICKED BRUTALLY! Sadico got a few nearfalls but then missed a somersault off the top. Nova nailed a flying splash and got two. He got another few nearfalls. Then he tried to whip Sadico into the turnbuckles but Sadico kept resisting so Nova had to keep kicking him till he had enough leverage. Sadico reversed though and Nova tried to leap over Sadico who caught him on his shoulders, move his leg out of the way... AND NAILED THE SADICO CRADLE DRIVER! YOU KNOW IT'S OVER! Huge pop for the finishing move and the fact Sadico advanced. This was probably my favorite match of the tournament even though it was the shortest(double the length of CMLL tournament matches though). Everything made sense and the match was laid out brilliantly. Finish was sick and that's exactly how you want to end a match.
Terry 2000 vs Krimen: Joined with Krimen making his entrance when out of nowhere Terry 2000 comes FLYING AT HIM with a bullet tope suicida!!! Krimen looked to take a bad fall into the entrance steps and clutched his back in pain but he continued the match. Terry 2000 to show off more of his armdrags and headscissors until Krimen took over but he kept selling his back injury. He used a cool corner dropkick and pumphandle slam but only got two counts. Terry 2000 fought back and used a wicked corkscrew armdrag, backflipped onto his feet and dropkick Krimen outside. He teased a big dive but then nailed Krimen with a frankensteiner off the apron taking the rudo into the crowd! Terry 2000 got back inside to recover as Krimen grabbed his back and tried to get up but was having troubles. Just as he was about to get over the guardrail... TERRY 2000 COMES OUT OF NOWHERE WITH A RUNNING PLANCHA OVER THE RINGPOST *OVER A FAN* AND INTO THE CROWD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HOLY FUCKING SHIT!!! Venum Black/Oro Jr. in Promo Azteca level!!! Crowd went absolutely insane and began chanting 'Terry, Terry, Terry!' He hopped the guardrail and rolled into the ring while obviously Krimen was done for so he got counted out.
This sets up Terry 2000 vs Sadico which is being taped on Wednesday with the winner getting the AULL Lightweight Title which looks pretty.
*GREAT TOURNAMENT*! All the wrestlers looked great, the crowd was into everything and the announcers treated the guys like real stars instead of spending the match talking about the main events coming up. I went in with high expectations and the entire tournament surpassed them!
As a bonus treat for those who read my reviews, here are links to where you can download the tournament for yourself:
Round 1: http://www.sendspace.com/file/dsdwrt
Semi-Finals: http://www.sendspace.com/file/littxq
posted by Rob at 9:01 PM
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