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.
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.
posted by Rob at 2:37 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home