Random AULL Matches:
AULL is the banner name Hector Guzman uses to run shows out of Arena Lopez Mateos. They've been doing Wednesday and Sunday shows for the longest times and have a steady crew of regular workers who are mostly young and trained by Rocky Santana. Non-hardcore lucha fans or people who aren't even lucha fans may recognize the arena from the Best of Mike Quackenbush DVD as both his matches from Mexico took place in this building. Recently AULL got a weekly 2 hour TV slot on a small cable channel which is hard to pick up for most people even in Mexico. They fixed up the building so it looks REALLY NICE with a great big screen near the entrance way and a huge AULL logo where the wrestlers enter from.
Los Tortuguillos Ninjas I/II/III vs Los Tortugas Mutantes I/II/III - 8/2/06: I like to call this the true battle for turtle supremacy! What we have here are the three good Turtles who practice ninja as Splinter instructed them too and battle for all the kids in the world. Their opponents are the MUTATED Turtles who have given up on the ninja lifestyle after suffering a horrible accident where... well... they were mutated! There is a purple one, a blue one and an orange one. What about Raphael?!?!?!?! It's hard to distinguish these guys apart sometimes as you try to focus on the fact the good turtles are mostly green and the evil ones are mostly black but the shells they wear are quite confusing when you can only see them from the back. As with most AULL matches, it's a very old school feel early on so we get matwork from both teams. The first thing that sticks out is the purple mutated turtle is fucking FAT. Not obese but definitely pudgy to the point it's noticeable. It's odd b/c sometimes he'll look slow and sad... but then out of nowhere he'll take a great bump and pop right up like a great fat man worker. Miguel Angelo has a rough time with blue mutated turtle during one exchange but they cover nicely. Finish has all three good turtles using submissions on the mutated turtles. Second fall has some fun exchanges to start off before the rudos take over and hit some triple team moves. Lucha by numbers? Nope! Good turtles fight back and after a little bit we wind up with dual tope suicidas from one good turtle and one mutated turtle! This leaves purple fat mutated turtle with Miguel Angelo! Our hero goes for a Victory Roll but purple fat mutated turtle walks towards the ropes, steps on the bottom rope and falls backwards! GENIUS! Weird submission! Rudos even it up!!! Seriously... GENIUS finish. Stuff like that really wins me over b/c it shows the wrestlers are thinking. Such a simple thing but yet it means so much more than if he had just dropped the tecnico down. Third fall has some nearfalls and then a triple team spot from the good turtles... only they mess things up and the mutated turtles take advantage! A few double team moves later and the mutated turtles win clean! Evil triumphs over good! Really good match. Of course you have to overlook the silly gimmick and just appreciate the work... so since this isn't AAA I'm sure everyone will have no problem doing that.;) I need more matches with these teams.
Robin Maravilla/Super Nova/Terry 2000 vs Ira/Negro Navarro/Sadico - 8/2/06: Robin Maravilla is a Robin Hood type gimmick. Super Nova and Terry 2000 have already been explained. Same for Ira and Sadico. Negro Navarro though... he is a just a machine. He is also seemingly using AULL TV to get himself into contention for wrestler of the year. Match starts with Terry 2000 and Sadico on the mat. They do a fine job. Next up is poor Robin Maravilla against Negro Navarro. How'd you like to be in Maravilla's shoes here? They work back and forth stuff with each guy trying to one-up the other with pretty armdrags and eventually submissions holds. It's absofuckinglutely insane! I give 100% credit to Maravilla who hung in there with Navarro quite well and didn't look completely out of place as I expected. Navarro even gave him a nice ovation at the end of the sequence. Brilliant stuff. Nova and Ira are next and they change the pace of the match by both doing moonsaults onto their own heads. I'm serious... it was quite weird. Maravilla and Sadico are next and Maravilla uses a fireman's carry lungblower to take Sadico down and then Ira accidentally asissts Nova into a splash on his own partner. Maravilla then uses a weird backbreaker move to pin Ira as Terry 2000 makes Navarro submit. Second fall opens with a FANTASTIC Maravilla/Navarro fast exchange. Yes... the old man can also bump around the ring and work fast exchanges! Maravilla uses a great 6-1-9 into an armdrag to send Navarro outside. Terry 2000 and Sadico are next and they go fucking crazy with some insane flying spots. In particular Terry 2000 nailed a backwards twisting spinning armdrag off the top rope and a corkscrew armdrag. The rudos take over soon after and Navarro puts Maravilla away with THE MOST INSANE SUBMISSION I HAVE EVER SEEN IN MY LIFE! I need to grab a screen cap for the Wiki but I wouldn't know what the hell to call it to be quite honest. Ira splashes Nova and then Sadico hiptosses Terry 2000 into a tree of woe, then kills him dead with a dropkick. Awesome fall. Third fall has some rudo brawling which leads into some nearfalls and near submissions. Once again Navarro busts out another crazy submission on poor Super Nova who looked like he was in way too much pain. Robin Maravilla continues to impress by saving Nova and then putting a crazy submission on Navarro! WHO IS THIS GUY?!?!?!? Nova sends Ira outside and decks him with a running somersault plancha! I thought it was finish time but the match kept going and it looked like Terry 2000/Sadico were gonna finish it off but as he is whipped into the ropes - Terry 2000 launches himself with a bullet tope suicida on Ira!!! Maravilla and Sadico finish things off with the tecnico winning by using a spinning sidewalk slam move. Crowd gives the match a huge ovation. I do too. Easy MOTYC for me.
Angel Azteca and Solar I vs Arkangel and Negro Navarro - 8/9/06: Joined in progress which is a shame b/c I heard this went long and was really good. What I got to see was Azteca and Arkangel doing an okay exchange, ending with an Azteca tope suicida. Then it was time for Solar and Navarro to exchange submissions. Now don't get me wrong... I love both these guys so I'm not bashing them. I love all kinds of wrestling and try to keep a general positive outlook when watching things so I will never go into a match ready to bash guys no matter how hard they try or what they do. But of course there are certain people out there who hate blindly. Those type of people are quick to dismiss most high flying matches b/c they say it's too much "your move, my move". I can understand that criticism and I guess matches like that aren't for them. But what are Solar/Navarro matches? Or the infamous Dandy/Navarro IWRG match? It's the same thing only without headdrops. It's "your move, my move" using submissions. When Kaz and Kondo take turns dumping each other on their head for a few minutes - it's crappy wrestling. When Solar and Navarro trade submissions for minutes it's beautiful wrestling. I don't get it. Once again, I have no problem with this since I can appreciate any type of wrestling without being overly anal. Just trying to point out an obvious double standard here. But back to the match... it was basically as I described... Solar and Navarro taking turns putting submissions on each other. Fun to watch for sure. Arkangel eventually ended up back inside with Azteca and pinned him clean. A little later Solar made Arkangel submit to La Solarina. Once again Solar and Navarro trade pinfalls and submissions. Navarro thought he had it won with a cool submission move that got turned into a pin attempt but the ref counted both guys shoulders down and ruled a draw. Fans threw money into the ring afterwards. Navarro looked brilliant once again. Solar also looked amazing but he's only wrestling a part-time schedule so I won't be so quick to say we need to see more of him. Sometimes less is more.
Dr. Wagner Jr. vs La Parka - 8/9/06: Eh... not too much to write about here. A longer version of their Arena Mexico match with more brawling and the same referee screwiness at the end. Nothing to get excited about unless you are a HUGE mark for either guy and have the patience to sit through lots of stalling.
Astro Boy and Robin Maravilla vs Dr. Karonte and Dr. Karonte Jr. - 8/16/06: Interesting match here as you have three young guys and then Dr. Karonte who looks extremely old. It showed as he couldn't keep up at certain points but he was trying hard so I appreciate that. Astro Boy and Dr. Karonte Jr. are VERY green. They also definitely own a VCR and have seen a few ROH tapes. First fall goes to the tecnicos via an Astro Boy lungblower on Karonte Jr. and Maravilla making Karonte submit. Second fall has a nice Astro Boy segment ending with a headscissors on the outside. Rudos take the fall via Karonte Jr. giving Astro a Spanish Fly off the second turnbuckle... *AND THEN* a Canadian Destroyer. Yes, b/c it takes BOTH those moves to win a fall. Third fall has some back and forth saves on pinfalls and submissions. They seem to setup a spot where Astro Boy dives onto Karonte but someone was out of position and by the time they get to the actual dive, Astro Boy loses his balance up top, falls into the ring, then tries to make up for it with a pescado but slips and lands awkwardly on the apron -> then on Dr. Karonte who hurts his ankle. MESSY. Maravilla uses his spinning slam finisher to win the match for his team. Solid effort and about what you'd expect from guys at this level.
Astro Boy and Super Nova vs Dr. Karonte Jr. and Valiente - 8/30/06: Oh fucking YES! IT'S VALIENTE. Are you in awe? You should be. Along with Hooligan, Jeque and Super Comando... they form the cream of the crop CMLL under/mid-carders. He's usually a tecnico but is obviously so much more advanced that he can switch to rudo with no problems. First fall has him leading Super Nova through some intricate matwork. They give way to the brothers who get to do all the stuff they've been practicing for years. Nova is back in and does some cool flips. Valiente finally catches him and nails the VALIENTE DRIVER! (http://www.luchawiki.com/index.php?title=Valiente_Driver) Nobody kicks out of that. Karonte Jr. puts Astro Boy away with a Spanish Fly off the second turnbuckle. Second fall is more rudo domination although no crazy moves from Karonte Jr. as I expected. Tecnicos make their comeback as Nova counters a monkey flip into a diving tope! Nice! Astro Boy does a tope suicida on Valiente who takes a manly bump over the guardrail! Nova finishes Karonte Jr. off with a neat submission hold. Third fall has a nice segment between Nova and Valiente which ends with a cool move. Valiente slides outside the ring and Nova does the Flair flip onto the apron. Valiente chops him in the back and pulls him down into a torture rack... but Nova counters with a flipping armdrag!!! W-O-W! Astro Boy and Karonte Jr. work a nice exchange as well ending with a springboard 360 twisting armdrag from the tecnico. Nova ends up taking Valiente out with a great running somersault plancha. Astro Boy then pins Karonte Jr. with a Canadian Destroyer. I don't get that at all. That was Karonte's move a few weeks ago. Why is Astro Boy using it now? Oh right... b/c YOU NEED THAT MOVE IN EVERY MATCH! Minus the stupid finish, this was a pretty good match. Nova and especially Valiente had outstanding performances which shows why they are working CMLL shows and Astro Boy/Dr. Karonte Jr. are happy to just be on AULL TV.
Overall... very happy with the AULL I've seen. Has the old school feel and with a guaranteed 2 hour time slot. And by 2 hours it means at least 1:40 of wrestling. It's not CMLL TV 2 hours which means at least 50 minutes of commercials. Today I was watching CMLL TV and the first hour of the show had an 11 minute match and a repeat Momentos Estelares. IN 1 HOUR!
I could be jumping the gun by proclaiming AULL as promotion of the year but you have to understand once in a while when a new promotion pops up, real lucha fans tend to go nuts and get into it big time before tiring out. It happened with IWRG, it happened with Monterrey, it happened with Guadalajara and it's going to happen with AULL. The one advantage AULL has over the other groups/territories listed is they use a revolving door of talent. Rarely will you see even half the guys one week that you saw the previous week. It could fix the eventual issue of the TV getting stale. They also have ties with CMLL which works out well when you get to see guys like Valiente, Artillero, Super Comando and Sangre Azteca who don't get much CMLL exposure. Time will tell as to whether AULL continues to be crazy awesome as it is so far or if it becomes another IWRG with a predictable format and repetitive roster that stops appreciating having a TV time slot.
More AULL soon!
AULL is the banner name Hector Guzman uses to run shows out of Arena Lopez Mateos. They've been doing Wednesday and Sunday shows for the longest times and have a steady crew of regular workers who are mostly young and trained by Rocky Santana. Non-hardcore lucha fans or people who aren't even lucha fans may recognize the arena from the Best of Mike Quackenbush DVD as both his matches from Mexico took place in this building. Recently AULL got a weekly 2 hour TV slot on a small cable channel which is hard to pick up for most people even in Mexico. They fixed up the building so it looks REALLY NICE with a great big screen near the entrance way and a huge AULL logo where the wrestlers enter from.
Los Tortuguillos Ninjas I/II/III vs Los Tortugas Mutantes I/II/III - 8/2/06: I like to call this the true battle for turtle supremacy! What we have here are the three good Turtles who practice ninja as Splinter instructed them too and battle for all the kids in the world. Their opponents are the MUTATED Turtles who have given up on the ninja lifestyle after suffering a horrible accident where... well... they were mutated! There is a purple one, a blue one and an orange one. What about Raphael?!?!?!?! It's hard to distinguish these guys apart sometimes as you try to focus on the fact the good turtles are mostly green and the evil ones are mostly black but the shells they wear are quite confusing when you can only see them from the back. As with most AULL matches, it's a very old school feel early on so we get matwork from both teams. The first thing that sticks out is the purple mutated turtle is fucking FAT. Not obese but definitely pudgy to the point it's noticeable. It's odd b/c sometimes he'll look slow and sad... but then out of nowhere he'll take a great bump and pop right up like a great fat man worker. Miguel Angelo has a rough time with blue mutated turtle during one exchange but they cover nicely. Finish has all three good turtles using submissions on the mutated turtles. Second fall has some fun exchanges to start off before the rudos take over and hit some triple team moves. Lucha by numbers? Nope! Good turtles fight back and after a little bit we wind up with dual tope suicidas from one good turtle and one mutated turtle! This leaves purple fat mutated turtle with Miguel Angelo! Our hero goes for a Victory Roll but purple fat mutated turtle walks towards the ropes, steps on the bottom rope and falls backwards! GENIUS! Weird submission! Rudos even it up!!! Seriously... GENIUS finish. Stuff like that really wins me over b/c it shows the wrestlers are thinking. Such a simple thing but yet it means so much more than if he had just dropped the tecnico down. Third fall has some nearfalls and then a triple team spot from the good turtles... only they mess things up and the mutated turtles take advantage! A few double team moves later and the mutated turtles win clean! Evil triumphs over good! Really good match. Of course you have to overlook the silly gimmick and just appreciate the work... so since this isn't AAA I'm sure everyone will have no problem doing that.;) I need more matches with these teams.
Robin Maravilla/Super Nova/Terry 2000 vs Ira/Negro Navarro/Sadico - 8/2/06: Robin Maravilla is a Robin Hood type gimmick. Super Nova and Terry 2000 have already been explained. Same for Ira and Sadico. Negro Navarro though... he is a just a machine. He is also seemingly using AULL TV to get himself into contention for wrestler of the year. Match starts with Terry 2000 and Sadico on the mat. They do a fine job. Next up is poor Robin Maravilla against Negro Navarro. How'd you like to be in Maravilla's shoes here? They work back and forth stuff with each guy trying to one-up the other with pretty armdrags and eventually submissions holds. It's absofuckinglutely insane! I give 100% credit to Maravilla who hung in there with Navarro quite well and didn't look completely out of place as I expected. Navarro even gave him a nice ovation at the end of the sequence. Brilliant stuff. Nova and Ira are next and they change the pace of the match by both doing moonsaults onto their own heads. I'm serious... it was quite weird. Maravilla and Sadico are next and Maravilla uses a fireman's carry lungblower to take Sadico down and then Ira accidentally asissts Nova into a splash on his own partner. Maravilla then uses a weird backbreaker move to pin Ira as Terry 2000 makes Navarro submit. Second fall opens with a FANTASTIC Maravilla/Navarro fast exchange. Yes... the old man can also bump around the ring and work fast exchanges! Maravilla uses a great 6-1-9 into an armdrag to send Navarro outside. Terry 2000 and Sadico are next and they go fucking crazy with some insane flying spots. In particular Terry 2000 nailed a backwards twisting spinning armdrag off the top rope and a corkscrew armdrag. The rudos take over soon after and Navarro puts Maravilla away with THE MOST INSANE SUBMISSION I HAVE EVER SEEN IN MY LIFE! I need to grab a screen cap for the Wiki but I wouldn't know what the hell to call it to be quite honest. Ira splashes Nova and then Sadico hiptosses Terry 2000 into a tree of woe, then kills him dead with a dropkick. Awesome fall. Third fall has some rudo brawling which leads into some nearfalls and near submissions. Once again Navarro busts out another crazy submission on poor Super Nova who looked like he was in way too much pain. Robin Maravilla continues to impress by saving Nova and then putting a crazy submission on Navarro! WHO IS THIS GUY?!?!?!? Nova sends Ira outside and decks him with a running somersault plancha! I thought it was finish time but the match kept going and it looked like Terry 2000/Sadico were gonna finish it off but as he is whipped into the ropes - Terry 2000 launches himself with a bullet tope suicida on Ira!!! Maravilla and Sadico finish things off with the tecnico winning by using a spinning sidewalk slam move. Crowd gives the match a huge ovation. I do too. Easy MOTYC for me.
Angel Azteca and Solar I vs Arkangel and Negro Navarro - 8/9/06: Joined in progress which is a shame b/c I heard this went long and was really good. What I got to see was Azteca and Arkangel doing an okay exchange, ending with an Azteca tope suicida. Then it was time for Solar and Navarro to exchange submissions. Now don't get me wrong... I love both these guys so I'm not bashing them. I love all kinds of wrestling and try to keep a general positive outlook when watching things so I will never go into a match ready to bash guys no matter how hard they try or what they do. But of course there are certain people out there who hate blindly. Those type of people are quick to dismiss most high flying matches b/c they say it's too much "your move, my move". I can understand that criticism and I guess matches like that aren't for them. But what are Solar/Navarro matches? Or the infamous Dandy/Navarro IWRG match? It's the same thing only without headdrops. It's "your move, my move" using submissions. When Kaz and Kondo take turns dumping each other on their head for a few minutes - it's crappy wrestling. When Solar and Navarro trade submissions for minutes it's beautiful wrestling. I don't get it. Once again, I have no problem with this since I can appreciate any type of wrestling without being overly anal. Just trying to point out an obvious double standard here. But back to the match... it was basically as I described... Solar and Navarro taking turns putting submissions on each other. Fun to watch for sure. Arkangel eventually ended up back inside with Azteca and pinned him clean. A little later Solar made Arkangel submit to La Solarina. Once again Solar and Navarro trade pinfalls and submissions. Navarro thought he had it won with a cool submission move that got turned into a pin attempt but the ref counted both guys shoulders down and ruled a draw. Fans threw money into the ring afterwards. Navarro looked brilliant once again. Solar also looked amazing but he's only wrestling a part-time schedule so I won't be so quick to say we need to see more of him. Sometimes less is more.
Dr. Wagner Jr. vs La Parka - 8/9/06: Eh... not too much to write about here. A longer version of their Arena Mexico match with more brawling and the same referee screwiness at the end. Nothing to get excited about unless you are a HUGE mark for either guy and have the patience to sit through lots of stalling.
Astro Boy and Robin Maravilla vs Dr. Karonte and Dr. Karonte Jr. - 8/16/06: Interesting match here as you have three young guys and then Dr. Karonte who looks extremely old. It showed as he couldn't keep up at certain points but he was trying hard so I appreciate that. Astro Boy and Dr. Karonte Jr. are VERY green. They also definitely own a VCR and have seen a few ROH tapes. First fall goes to the tecnicos via an Astro Boy lungblower on Karonte Jr. and Maravilla making Karonte submit. Second fall has a nice Astro Boy segment ending with a headscissors on the outside. Rudos take the fall via Karonte Jr. giving Astro a Spanish Fly off the second turnbuckle... *AND THEN* a Canadian Destroyer. Yes, b/c it takes BOTH those moves to win a fall. Third fall has some back and forth saves on pinfalls and submissions. They seem to setup a spot where Astro Boy dives onto Karonte but someone was out of position and by the time they get to the actual dive, Astro Boy loses his balance up top, falls into the ring, then tries to make up for it with a pescado but slips and lands awkwardly on the apron -> then on Dr. Karonte who hurts his ankle. MESSY. Maravilla uses his spinning slam finisher to win the match for his team. Solid effort and about what you'd expect from guys at this level.
Astro Boy and Super Nova vs Dr. Karonte Jr. and Valiente - 8/30/06: Oh fucking YES! IT'S VALIENTE. Are you in awe? You should be. Along with Hooligan, Jeque and Super Comando... they form the cream of the crop CMLL under/mid-carders. He's usually a tecnico but is obviously so much more advanced that he can switch to rudo with no problems. First fall has him leading Super Nova through some intricate matwork. They give way to the brothers who get to do all the stuff they've been practicing for years. Nova is back in and does some cool flips. Valiente finally catches him and nails the VALIENTE DRIVER! (http://www.luchawiki.com/index.php?title=Valiente_Driver) Nobody kicks out of that. Karonte Jr. puts Astro Boy away with a Spanish Fly off the second turnbuckle. Second fall is more rudo domination although no crazy moves from Karonte Jr. as I expected. Tecnicos make their comeback as Nova counters a monkey flip into a diving tope! Nice! Astro Boy does a tope suicida on Valiente who takes a manly bump over the guardrail! Nova finishes Karonte Jr. off with a neat submission hold. Third fall has a nice segment between Nova and Valiente which ends with a cool move. Valiente slides outside the ring and Nova does the Flair flip onto the apron. Valiente chops him in the back and pulls him down into a torture rack... but Nova counters with a flipping armdrag!!! W-O-W! Astro Boy and Karonte Jr. work a nice exchange as well ending with a springboard 360 twisting armdrag from the tecnico. Nova ends up taking Valiente out with a great running somersault plancha. Astro Boy then pins Karonte Jr. with a Canadian Destroyer. I don't get that at all. That was Karonte's move a few weeks ago. Why is Astro Boy using it now? Oh right... b/c YOU NEED THAT MOVE IN EVERY MATCH! Minus the stupid finish, this was a pretty good match. Nova and especially Valiente had outstanding performances which shows why they are working CMLL shows and Astro Boy/Dr. Karonte Jr. are happy to just be on AULL TV.
Overall... very happy with the AULL I've seen. Has the old school feel and with a guaranteed 2 hour time slot. And by 2 hours it means at least 1:40 of wrestling. It's not CMLL TV 2 hours which means at least 50 minutes of commercials. Today I was watching CMLL TV and the first hour of the show had an 11 minute match and a repeat Momentos Estelares. IN 1 HOUR!
I could be jumping the gun by proclaiming AULL as promotion of the year but you have to understand once in a while when a new promotion pops up, real lucha fans tend to go nuts and get into it big time before tiring out. It happened with IWRG, it happened with Monterrey, it happened with Guadalajara and it's going to happen with AULL. The one advantage AULL has over the other groups/territories listed is they use a revolving door of talent. Rarely will you see even half the guys one week that you saw the previous week. It could fix the eventual issue of the TV getting stale. They also have ties with CMLL which works out well when you get to see guys like Valiente, Artillero, Super Comando and Sangre Azteca who don't get much CMLL exposure. Time will tell as to whether AULL continues to be crazy awesome as it is so far or if it becomes another IWRG with a predictable format and repetitive roster that stops appreciating having a TV time slot.
More AULL soon!
posted by Rob at 2:17 AM
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