This is an IVP Videos compilation I've had for a while. As with all previous lucha reviews, I apologise for my ignorance about the genre in the following reviews...
Great Sasuke & El Matematico vs Rudy Reyna &
Cassandro
Really dug the rudo team of exoticos here, especially
Cassandro. Loved his vicious slaps to the chest of Sasuke when downed with a
groin stretcher. Cassandro and Sasuke really pair up well in this one, both
seem to complement each other well. Cassandro seems happy to bump big for all
Sasuke’s offence, and they pair up well on the mat. Liked the dynamic of
Matematico outsmarting the exoticos, until Reyna kisses him on the lips to
confuse him. Technicos win the first fall with a Sasuke moonsault press on
Reyna, which forces a change of tactics. In the second fall, the rudos are sneakier,
using a double-teaming tactic of distracting and blindsiding, which works
wonders for them. It allows them to isolate Matematico with a top rope
legdrop/sideslam combo. Final fall sees the rudos continue to dominate, with a
great German suplex by Cassandro to Sasuke, before both technicos are pinned
and the exoticos win the bout. Dug this.
Los Espantos (Espanto IV & Espanto V) vs Los Estrellas
Blancas (Estrella Blanca I & Estrella Blanca II)
Fun little bout here, with Los Estrellas Blancas clowning Los
Espantos for most of the match, easily reversing their moves, evading any
onrushing Espanto and causing Los Espantos to stooge around, before the Blancas
win the first fall with a sunset flip. It takes a distraction from the referee
for Los Espantos to take over, and their double-teaming is really fluid to
behold. They lock in a swank double-team sub to take the fall. In the third fall,
the teams split, with one pair battling inside the ring, and the other on the
outside. Loved one Espanto doing an exaggerated sneaky walk to get in the ring
and break up a sub, before the Espantos win the decisive fall by reversing a
sunset flip. Good stuff.
Scorpio & Scorpio Jr vs Celestial & Transformer
This was a real blast, a nice pairing of dastardly rudos and
really fun technicos. Scorpio Snr is an impressively ugly man, and I dug him
protesting hairpulls every time he was taken over, as well as Jr just cheapshotting
opponents from behind. They control the first fall with sneaky tactics,
double-teams and cheap blows. Every time one of the technicos gets in the ring,
they get worn down by the same cheap tactics, before a legdrop from Snr and a
senton from Jr give them the first fall. This continues into the second fall,
before a missed dropkick from Jr takes out his father, and the technicos take
control. Loved Transformer’s spinning headscissors, and Celestial impressed with
his fluidity and speed, working a nice sequence against both rudos at once. A
seated senton and a sunset flip give them the equalising fall. The bulk of the
final fall sees the rudos taking advantage of Transformer’s ill-advised scarf,
taking it in turns to choke him with it. Everything swiftly breaks down, and
the technicos win with a victory roll and an abdominal stretch. Really fun
match here, really dug it.
Dr Wagner Jr & Espanto Jr vs Celestial & Coloso
This starts off with some nice mat exchanges between Espanto
and Celestial, but the rudo team – and Wagner in particular – ensure this doesn’t
remain a friendly contest. Coloso stupidly falls for a handshake and hug from
Wagner (brilliantly assisted by Espanto Jr coming in the ring and gesturing, as
if to say “Don’t worry, you CAN trust him”) and gets blindsided. The rudos use
all manner of distractions and cheapshots to retain control, and soon pin both
technicos for the first fall. They control the ring so easily that Wagner is
confident enough to walk Coloso to the corner to tag in Celestial, knowing the
referees won’t see it and won’t allow the tag. The technicos do finally
comeback, and I loved the image of Celestial stalking Wagner outside the ring,
who still find time to angrily gesture at the crowd. The technicos even things
up with a count out, with Celestial getting backdropped outside by his partner
at a great height onto Espanto Jr. Looked amazing. Things are pretty close in
the final fall, and I dug Celestial stopping a pinfall by calmly grabbing the
refs hand and, when Wagner looks up, slapping him in the face. Wagner has had a
few close calls when attacking below the belt in the match, and him dropping
Celestial bollocks first on the top rope in the final straw, earning a DQ. This
was really fun, and they took advantage of having some time to give each fall
plenty of time to breath.
Bull Pain, Zandokan & The Killer vs El Texano, Silver
King & Enrique Vera
One of the nice things about wrestling is discovering
someone you’ve never heard of, but appears to be awesome. Based off this one
match, Zandokan falls into that category for me. Looking swank as fuck in black
trousers and a nice shirt, hair slicked back in a ponytail, he looks like a
drug cartel kingpin from an awesome 80’s straight-to-video action film. He does
lots of things here that I dig, including getting fed up with Texano’s cutesy
handshake avoidance and giving him a vicious headbutt in the clinch. I also
loved him faking getting kicked in the groin by Vera in an attempt to win the final
fall by DQ, plus he takes the biggest bump of the match by going over the top
rope to the floor. Pain also looks good, dishing out a few headbutts to the arm
of Silver King when in control. With the match poised at one fall apiece, The
Killer proves himself to have quite the inaccurate name by running to the back
from Vera, leaving his partners to eat the fall and give the match to the
technicos. Fun stuff.
Fishman, The Killer & Tigre Canadiense vs Transformer,
Gran Hamada & Silver King
Bit of a sprint this one, clocking in at just over ten
minutes, but it’s pretty good. There’s a terrific opening section between Tigre
and Silver King, just so quick and fluid, with both guys missing stuff with
aplomb. Transformer fancies his luck against all 3 rudos at once, and manages
to outsmart them all. Hamada wins the first fall with a rana on the Killer. Silver
King hitting an RKO on Fishman is a bit of a surprise in the second fall. The
rudos plan here seems to be to take out Hamada, crotching him on the ring post,
then Silver King, thus leaving them able to isolate Transformer, which occurs
pretty easily for the three. Final fall, and we get a good chunk of brawling
all round the venue. The technicos seem in control, until a 3-way bulldog is
reverse, sending all three crashing into each other and all three are pinned
for the rudo victory.
Babe Face, Negro Casas & Dr Wagner Jr vs El Hijo Del
Santo, Gran Hamada & Solar
Heck of a way to finish the disk. Love the real rogue’s
gallery of rudos here. Opening section is Solar and Wagner working the mat,
trying to force the other’s shoulders down for a 3 count. Casas and Hamada also
matchup really well in their brief stint in the ring together. Casas has so
much presence. The technicos take the first fall, but the rudos rebound in the
second, isolating Santo and, via a double-team submission, forcing him to
submit. The deciding fall sees the rudos isolate Solar, coming SO close to
holding his shoulders down on a dogpile pin attempt. Solar fight back to allow
Santo in, and he’s a house of fire. First he hits Babe Face with a big rolling
senton, then hits a belly-to-belly on Casas for the victory. This was so fluid,
all six guys looked great.
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