Paul Chain and Violet Theatre

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVC0dJnz-ho

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSBE-KdI_AE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxmSjijpQAA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5Maluflb50

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDLBLvx-fRQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibWVPQmiEO0


Since I posted Black Hole just now I would be remiss to not post some links to the god of Italian doom metal PAUL CHAIN. He was in the band Death SS (meaning In Death of Steve Sylvester, who was the singer) back in the late '70s and eventually quit to go solo, taking several members, after he cut his eye out in a Satanic ritual (!). After that he reportedly went Jehovah's Witness (!!!) but continued to make the darkest and weirdest doom metal of all time, singing in his own self-created phonetic language when other members weren't singing for him. The earliest stuff here is thee darkest and creepiest and very, very foreign... not just to Americans but probably anyone who hasn't experienced the grave itself. Later on he did a lot of LSD-drenched improv guitar stuff, some noise, some organ material and some great doom/stoner rock with members of Cathedral. Check this out first and see what you think. Like the Black Hole there are moments of sheer '80s metal (especially "Electroshock" where he actually gets thrashy) but the great deal of it is grim as hell. "I remember a black mass..."

- Curt

Black Hole - Land of Mystery

http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=tlkPxq1BZaE

Found this album again on a tape after not hearing it for a couple years. Some obscure Italian doom metal from '85 with droning organs, weird changes that are somewhere between Trouble and a prog band, and a general old metal vibe that matches up with greats from the same country like the incredible Paul Chain (and early Death SS, natch) and the only slightly less incredible Dark Quarterer. Best enjoyed with a full bowl, darkened lights, and an open window. Or just in your car with shades on looking at an awesomely overcast skyline.

- Curt

A few more things

If some of that comes off as incoherent with me referencing other people, the whole thing was written for and on the Death Valley Driver Review message board, so take in mind. I am not insane and writing about people who don't exist. I swear...

http://www.deathvalleydriver.com

More to come: show reviews, film reviews, rants and raves, etc. Hope you dig it!

- Curt

LUCHA SET DISC 10

El Brazo, Brazo Del Oro y Brazo Del Plata vs. Hombre Bala, Pirata Morgan y El Verdugo (10/27/89)

Yep, this is pretty workrate-y, and it drags in spots (especially at the start of tercera caida) but it's a very entertaining introduction to los Brazos. A young, spry Super Porky is just the best. His charisma is so natural -- no one expects him to do the things he does -- and he uses it to a tee. The spot with him falling on all three Bucaneros, covering them up for a pin during an elaborate three-man submission, the monkey flips... it's amazing. Not like anyone else here was a slouch either. The first dive was probably the best and craziest and sadly wasn't topped. There was also a part where two of the guys did I believe a monkey flip spot and then did it IN REVERSE. That said this is what it is, a technical spotfest that feels like it falls in the dead middle of the pack. I would have liked to see at least a little hate to build to the next matches between these guys.

El Brazo, Brazo Del Oro y Brazo Del Plata vs. Hombre Bala, Pirata Morgan y El Verdugo (Super Libre) (11/10/89)

I dig the feeling of the tide turning in the second fall because los Bucaneros got clowned through the whole first. And what a clowning it was! They open with Porky splatting Morgan in the corner and I said out loud to myself "just end the fall now". He proceeds to die several more times, they repeat the Plata deadfall splash from the last match, Verdugo channels Johnny Valentine falling face first on the mat and all three of them scuttle like roaches to escape further abuse. Tremendous. After he falls to the fat of Porky again (with the great image of them dragging him off to the corner) they decide to bring the pain. Bala's all "you fucked with my brother" and he whoops the piss out of Porky. That is some stiff shit for lucha. Then they isolate Brazo and he's bleeding like a stuck pig. We get a repeat of all of the Brazos spots from the last match but Bucaneros add in their own that we didn't see yet to balance it out. Ending is kind of weak but goddamn, what a match this was.

Pirata Morgan vs. Brazo De Oro (11/17/89)

I wasn't too hyped to see this when I read it was a clean title match, I wanted hate and blood, guess that comes next match. Still it's perfectly fine stuff. Pirata's subtle cheating and more than that his selling are the best. Things get suspenseful in the final fall with both guys having damaged legs, which doesn't stop Oro from busting out a huge plancha that has him sliding down Morgan's torso like a slip'n'slide. Emilio Charles is a good second and earns his stripes by eating a Morgan tope (and having the funny Marlboro logo towel). Oro keeps hurting his knee with ill-advised offensive moves and finally Morgan locks in a Cobra Clutch, slowly falls back with it and twists which looks nasty enough for the chokeout win. I would have preferred him going back to the legs but it looked like a legit finisher. Not sure where this fits into the big title fights picture right now but it was solid.

El Brazo y Brazo De Plata vs. Hombre Bala, El Verdugo (Hair vs. Hair) (11/17/89)

Let's see if this is what I've been waiting for. I'm already psyched because los Brazos are wearing the Japanese headbands and Porky doesn't even raise his hand when he's announced, he just stares ahead stoically, ready for the fight. Of course the rudos jump immediately for the beatdown. It isn't long before the red red krovvy starts flowing and Hombre Bala is spitting it in the air like his brother. When Brazo first blades there is this awesome shot of him puffing his cheeks out and the blood dripping onto his arm which is even better than the spitting. It looks so dramatic. He gets back on offense while Verdugo takes a tumble into the seats and Brazos take it with two splashes and a cool senton assist from Brazo onto Porky's own back. Tercera is high speed fun with everyone just bringing it, including five huge dives (Porky apron splash vs. Bala rolling senton is the question of which is best). Brazo finally steps it up to win with a pair of rollups and one guy literally jumps out of his seat at the three-count. He weeps and crosses himself while Porky raises dollar bills to the sky in celebration. Fuck, you can just end the set now, that would be such a great note to go out on. Then Porky brings presumably his daughter into the ring and raises her up while the rudos get shaved, to make it even better. This will go irrationally high for me.

Emilio Charles Jr., MS-1 y Tierra, Viento y Fuego vs. Atlantis, El Dandy y Mascara Sagrada (11/24/89)

I like the simple, hateful open of two guys piefacing each other, gradually leading up to pushing and then confrontation. TVF sells a Dandy punch like a spastic. In fact, everyone's selling each other's strikes like world-beaters. The part where Dandy sidesteps MS-1 to sucker punch Charles is just the best, it reminded me of Kawaka kicking Misawa off the apron. I also love Charles ducking two huge swings from Dandy only to bail and give up the fall. If I was his partners I'd be pissed, they just got beat in technical fashion and now this guy turns chickenshit. In fact they do seem pissed! Atlantis countering a backdrop into a hiptoss while him and MS run the ropes is just a thing of beauty. The yin to that yang, of course, is Dandy pissing blood out of his head while Charles beats the shit out of him. You know it's heated when Dandy is kicking back from the floor. Finally he gets one good lick in, the tide turns and he goes all "DIE CHARLES DIE". However, Charles gets in the wheelbarrow slam reversal and it's all over. This was one of the great feud-building tags on the set that feels like it might be better than the blowoff. Also, someone needs to count how many times these guys fall out through the bottom ropes, it's got to be over a dozen.

El Dandy vs. Emilio Charles Jr. (12/1/89)

Matwork at the start is fast and furious with the first fall having a good callback to the last match as Dandy loses to the same wheelbarrow slam thing. I'm getting behind the idea that these guys can beat the shit out of each other all they want, but for the belt they need to prove it as tecnicos. Short segunda and some clipping, then we get a long figure four spot with Dandy in agony. Ref has to break the hold and Charles looks like an angry Lou Ferrigno. Then he goes into the Scorpion to increase the pain. Dandy mashes some fans after a dive and this is just kind of rambling along. Am I crazy or does Dandy bust out a Tazmission here? They go back and forth some more until it looks like Dandy eats floor off a tope suicida. Finally Dandy wins with la Magistral, which is a good end for the kind of match they were bringing to the table. Still, it wasn't awesome or anything. The first fall cut a good pace but they couldn't get out of second gear for the rest, and it suffered from what I see as the lucha psychology of "try something, that doesn't work, just try something else".

Fuerza Guerrera y Rocky Star vs. All Star y El Hijo Del Santo + Fuerza Guerrera vs. Rocky Star (12/1/89)

Fuerza really threw me off with his mask, that is NOT the same and I've never seen him wear anything different. Maybe that's just me not seeing much of his work or this is a crazy one-off. I guess he's trying to color-coordinate with Rocky Star which is a bad idea. This is a bunch of tepid brawling which especially doesn't mean much when you know one of the two Stars is losing their mask and neither is very good. Rocky busts out a good tope which I guess is a mark in his book. Actually everyone minus Fuerza bust out a dive so at least they're trying, plus there is some mask ripping which I don't really care for without any blood. Wait, is Rocky bleeding? I can't tell. We get another sideboard posting and I am happy to see that happen one last time on the set. God, the crowd really doesn't give a shit about this match. Neither should you. I have the feeling that Rocky Star lost his mask because he had to pay off a gambling debt and Fuerza said "it's cool bro, I'll get the seamstress to make me a similar getup, maybe they'll even throw us some pesos". Then he turns into a complete dick and rips the mask off himself because the bookies told him to.

Pirata Morgan vs. Ken Timbs (12/8/89)

This is like someone spliced Pirata Morgan into a mid-late Global main event. Don't tell me Blondy doesn't fit right in with the likes of the Davis Brothers or Hollywood John Tatum. Morgan would have had a better match with Raven or even Buff Bagwell. I had more fun writing this than I did watching the match.

Fuerza Guerrera vs. El Hijo Del Santo vs. All Star (Mask Match) (12/8/89)

So the rules are, everyone has a coin toss, Santo and Fuerza win and All Star gets whoever survives their singles match. You already know who's going to lose as in the previous Relevos match on this disc so your mileage may vary. I don't see the heel Santo stuff, is there something I'm missing? I didn't really feel it even in his definitive heel turn against Casas later on either. We get a short fall where Santo falls to his own finisher and then get with the mask ripping and blood. Sadly the crowd can't very ignited for this and neither could I. Fuerza does his schtick but it's all for naught. Finally we get Santo coming back to face All Star (goddamn these are some weird rules) and apparently they are working this 2/3 falls as well. Santito submits to one of the few Tapatias on the set, which is nice to see. Then we get back to All Star biting and doing his shitty heel work. He will murder people flying into the crowd which is always nice. Damn, I guess the crowd really doesn't like Santo, this is strange. I think it's a Cena reaction, to coin a term. There is a really horrible spot where Santito barely runs into the turnbuckles and sells it and now I feel like the crowd turning on the match. Then, wow, we get a poor countout finish but el Hijo turns into a complete asshole kicking the shit out of All Star, trying to rile up the crowd, and acting like a fucker during the de-masking. That alone is worth watching even if the match itself isn't. That is a heel turn, you actually feel like the guy's real attitude is showing all of the sudden and he is just a prick. Good job ending the set on that.

DISC 10

1. El Brazo y Brazo De Plata vs. Hombre Bala, El Verdugo (Hair vs. Hair) (11/17/89)
2. Emilio Charles Jr., MS-1 y Tierra, Viento y Fuego vs. Atlantis, El Dandy y Mascara Sagrada, (11/24/89)
3. El Brazo, Brazo Del Oro y Brazo Del Plata vs. Hombre Bala, Pirata Morgan y El Verdugo (Super Libre) (11/10/89)
4. El Brazo, Brazo Del Oro y Brazo Del Plata vs. Hombre Bala, Pirata Morgan y El Verdugo (10/27/89)
5. Pirata Morgan vs. Brazo De Oro (11/17/89)
6. El Dandy vs. Emilio Charles Jr. (12/1/89)
7. Fuerza Guerrera vs. El Hijo Del Santo vs. All Star (Mask Match) (12/8/89)
8. Fuerza Guerrera y Rocky Star vs. All Star y El Hijo Del Santo + Fuerza Guerrera vs. Rocky Star (12/1/89)
9. Pirata Morgan vs. Ken Timbs (12/8/89)

Obviously the Brazos disc and they deliver in spades, with #1 being an easy top five pick for me. We also get more Dandy vs. Charles action and of course los Bucaneros acquit themselves expertly as the foils for los Brazos. Morgan/Timbs was the pits and will probably be next-to-last in my rankings and dead last for most. A lopsided disc but the treats are super sweet.

LUCHA SET DISC 9

Blue Panther, Emilio Charles Jr. y Hombre Bala vs. Blue Demon Jr., Javier Cruz y Hombre Sin Nombre (8/4/89)

Demon Jr./Panther isn't much to talk about. Charles/Nombre (apparently they just stick someone at random under the Mascara Sagrada hood and costume like WWE does Sin Cara nowadays) is pretty cool though with a mix of amateur and lucha grappling. Cruz flustering Bala to the point where he goes out in the crowd to bitch out the fans is neat as well. Despite the cool roll-up the first fall feels kind of standard and I agree that Cruz is clearly head and shoulders above anyone else with his speed and crispness, which is hard to say when you have a match with Blue Panther in it.

MS-1 y Masakre vs. El Dandy y El Satanico (8/11/89)

I really love that confusion spot in the first fall, it's almost like El Dandy is doing the 'skin the cat' but in-ring, weird yet effective. There are also some great teamwork spots including the totally ridiculous double-team submission. Segunda starts with some great teasing and jawing and Dandy jumping Masakre. He also completely faceplants on an attempted flying headbutt which had to hurt. MS-1's splash is cool as Dandy is halfway across the ring and it looks like he really had to dive low to reach him, coming in like a missile. Los Infernales are such a pair of cocksuckers here, Masakre yelling at the crowd, MS-1 kicking Satanico in the face. I had a bad feeling about the ending and then they pull something off that could only happen in lucha but would work anywhere, just brilliant. Could have done with a longer tercera with more violence but the way it wound up is so damn good.

Super Astro, Atlantis y El Faraón vs. Fuerza Guerrera, Blue Panther y Emilio Charles (8/18/89)

I know Super Astro is short but he looks like a mini compared to the other guys in this one. Opening matwork is just as good as you would expect from these two maestros. Astro does a gorgeous rolling legscissors into armbar that I had to rewind. Love how he goes straight after a cheating Charles, the largest guy in the match, who begs off running all the way down the aisle! Then they replay the spot with Atlantis flat SPRINTING across the ring after Panther. We get more Panther/Astro and una caida ends spectacularly. Astro completely clowns all three rudos in a funny spot. Faraon acquits himself well briefly and we get a short segunda capped with a Scorpion deathlock. My god, the bit where Fuerza gets punched and runs full on into the post... it's almost as good when he gets knocked off the apron earlier and does this ridiculous Broadway musical sell of it. We need way more of him on this set. Atlantis and Astro both dive; Astro's tope reversa with Panther flying into the crowd is indeed "espectacular" and Panther actually gets stretchered off of it, which is just insane. I feel like if anyone needed to know what a classic lucha trios match is like, they should be shown this. Strong, high ranking match.

Atlantis, Mascara Sagrada y Super Astro vs. Hombre Bala, Pirata Morgan y Verdugo (September 1989)

This match is "relevo cuadrangular" which I guess means trios. Did I ever mention I love los Bucaneros' Rockettes-esque triple kick? Because I do. There is some really choreographed-looking shit with Sagrada taking on all three rudos but it is super entertaining and ends in one of them flying into the other two outside of the ring. Super Astro looks much more natural at this task, screwing up the pirates and making them dizzy. Like the last match we get another great Atlantis triple backbreaker spot and this time he accidentally does it to Astro as well and Sagrada is all "what the fuck, man?!" We get three dives to finish and Astro absolutely blows his last one out of the water, slingshotting himself over the top into a full-on rolling senton to the floor that I can only compare to the one Rey Jr. did to Psicosis in their title match a couple years later (if I'm remembering that correctly). It looks suicidal. That was short but what a tecnico showcase, and the rudo miscommunication spots with them bumping all over and outside the ring were great. I agree with Graham in that this is more fun than a lot of longer matches on the set.

Atlantis y Satanico vs. MS-1 y Tierra Viento y Fuego (Hair/Mask vs. Hair/Mask) (9/22/89)

We haven't seen Tierra Viento y Fuego (Earth Wind and Fire -- you're a shining star, buddy) yet. You would think maybe a blue/green/red colored outfit judging from the name but he's all yellow with red flames down the side of the singlet. It doesn't look much better than the alternative. Total rudo beatdown and dominance for the first fall. Satanico is pretty scrappy trying to fight back but it doesn't add up to much in his favor. Finally the tecnicos regroup but Satanico is covered in blood and there's this great moment with him slumped in the corner, exhausted, where Atlantis tries to tend to him and he jerks back with this startled gut reaction like someone is still trying to get him. Then the ref has to raise his arm for him. That is selling, that is pro wrestling motherfucker. Tercera caida and it's Satanico's Revenge with him still weary but ready to fight. Seems we miss when both rudos get busted open but Tierra's mask is a pool of blood. I don't think I can really do this fall justice with a write-up. Fuego loses his mask and he is PISSED. MS-1 looks like he wants to cut somebody. I want to watch this again right now.

I said "screw it" and just watched the match again. Top five, easy.

El Dandy, Apolo Dantes y Eddy Guerrero vs. Emilio Charles Jr., Pirata Morgan y Ary Romero (9/29/89)

It's surreal seeing Eddy with no facial hair. I kept looking and looking but no dice. Some decent matwork to start, tecnicos have some good legwork on Charles (who has a great high-speed scramble to the corner on the mat) and Eddy even does a standing frog splash on his leg. It's kind of weird how the tecnicos are cutting off the ring, switching up and double teaming like rudos. There is some really nice armdrag madness to start segunda but then it kind of bogs down when the rudos take over. Romero's schtick is pretty fun. At one point he kicks Dandy in the shin which nobody would see again until Dude Love came around. We end with a big dive from Eddy and martinete on Dandy. This dragged way too much, maybe if it was more of a sprint it would've been better. Everything was solid enough but it just didn't click. Good seeing Eddy though, always.

Blue Demon Jr., Super Astro y Mascara Sagrada vs. El Supremo, Espectro Jr. y Blue Panther (10/6/89)

Espectro Jr. has me wondering what the top ten barefoot wrestlers of all time were. Weird, I know, but it came to mind. The only people I can come up with off the top of my head are Kevin Von Erich, Jimmy Snuka, the Wild Samoans, and Antonino Rocca. Anyway that's for another thread.

Blue Panther tries to work his magic with Sagrada but man, that's just not him and Astro. I don't know what else is. Astro/Supremo is a little better of a pairing but it's not the same. Astro clowning the rudos with his little dance doesn't make sense -- why don't they all just jump him at once right there? It got some heat from the absolutely dead crowd but them bringing the ass-beat would have even more. We get five seconds of Panther/Astro and the fall ends super weak. Segunda caida is completely listless with a horrible whiffed strike from Supremo that shows more air than Alaska. There's a bit more chaos to the third fall and we get a reiteration of the beautiful slingshot senton to the floor from Astro, but man, this was seriously lacking.

Jerry Estrada, Ary Romero y Rick Patterson vs. Javier Cruz, Eddy Guerrero y El Dandy (10/6/89)

I already watched this once (in a less than sober moment) and dug it so let's give it another try and see what's up.

Rick Patterson is the former Corporal Kirschner/Leatherface wearing the Mr. Pogo/Gladiator makeup. He's a stiff bastard (as anyone who read about him trying to murder someone in Japan in the first Foley book can attest to) and after Eddy lands on his head off a clothesline he gives him a little receipt with a botched looking back body drop/powerslam thing. Jerry isn't much better considering what shape he was probably in so I'd much rather be in with Ary. Segunda caida starts and this is just a total rudo beatdown. All three guys look vicious. Eddy takes the brunt of the beating and the ref just gives up the fall to the tecnicos after the three-man stomping. Now people are throwing drinks at the rudos and the schtick reaches maximum level. They really work in an FMW heel team kind of way, maybe it's Rick's makeup or the fact that they are a low-grade group of rudos with broad characters. Finally Dandy and Cruz man up and start fighting back including a huge assisted plancha... then Jerry wins abruptly and the match fizzles. Eddy was really great here and I don't know why the hate is so high for the rudos. This was perfectly acceptable and fun IMO.

All Star, El Dandy y El Texano vs. Espectro Jr., Jerry Estrada y Rocky Star (10/13/89)

Jerry hangs with Texano on the mat in the first fall and I tip my hat. Cool reversal into knucklelock dude. It still makes no sense for him to take a back bump off a push that wouldn't back up a ten year old. 1a. Caida ends in overly choreographed fashion, then we get this amazing horror film camera shot of Espectro Jr. in the crowd that would scare the shit out of any young kid. Immediately after Jerry breaks the fucking middle rope. Good job. At one point he takes out somebody standing at ringside when Dandy is chasing him and it looks like Espectro grabs onto the guy to try and pull him off/defend Jerry which is really weird. We end with Rocky demasking All Star during a pinfall and I had to rewind to realize what happened. Mercifully short, this was interesting as an oddball pick but nothing more. Nobody really needs an All Star/Rocky Star feud in their bucket list of unseen matches.

Chavo Guerrero, Cien Caras y Mascara Ano Dos Mil vs. Lizmark, El Satanico y Rayo De Jalisco Jr. (10/20/89)

The beginning of this is the dirt worst. It's soooooooooo slow for the entire first fall but finally the heels eat it (including Chavo sprinting all the way around the ring to evade capture). Everyone is laying in their strikes but by god is it boring. I'm at tercera caida now and I have had nothing else to say. They all brawl to the outside aside from Satanico and Chavo and I have no clue what Satanico is trying for a submission, he just loosely holds him and pats him on the belly a couple times before they start hitting each other again. Then they do a piss-poor rope running spot where they hit each other and I am ready to throw the remote. It finally ends and I was saying out loud to myself "when is this going to end" well before it does. My active #100 and probably the only match I have been not only disappointed but mad at on the set. It's Hermanos, Lizmark, a Guerrero, and fucking SATANICO, how do you stink it up this hard. So lackluster. I didn't expect much from Rayo, his schtick is fine in small doses, but jeez. Nobody was trying here.

Jerry Estrada vs. Javier Cruz (Hair vs. Hair) (10/20/89)

This match won't figure into my ratings, it will be a "?" because Jerry is clearly too impaired to perform. Not that Jerry isn't there all the time, he is, but the moments where the somas and cheap whiskey drive this into the ground are too huge to ignore. Monarca tries to hold it together, and admirably Jerry does too because you can tell he knows he's fucked and is trying to, but I don't know where I could rate this. I don't even think the crowd knows how to, despite them throwing money.

EDIT: Fuck it, I'll be game with this. It'll go low but I refuse to give it a bump up the ratings because of the trainwreck aspect. I do things like Jerry does on a weekly basis, but I'm not going to give him points for such in a wrestling match.

DISC 9 RANKINGS:

1. Atlantis y Satanico vs. MS-1 y Tierra Viento y Fuego (Hair/Mask vs. Hair/Mask) (9/22/89)
2. Super Astro, Atlantis y El Faraón vs. Fuerza Guerrera, Blue Panther y Emilio Charles (8/18/89)
3. MS-1 y Maskare vs. El Dandy y El Satanico, (8/11/89)
4. Blue Panther, Emilio Charles Jr. y Hombre Bala vs. Blue Demon, Javier Cruz y Hombre Sin Nombre (8/4/89)
5. Atlantis, Mascara Sagrada y Super Astro vs. Hombre Bala, Pirata Morgan y Verdugo) (September 1989)
6. Jerry Estrada, Ary Romero y Rick Patterson vs. Javier Cruz, Eddy Guerrero y El Dandy (10/6/89)
7. El Dandy, Apolo Dantes y Eddy Guerrero vs. Emilio Charles Jr., Pirata Morgan y Ary Romero (9/29/89)
8. All Star, El Dandy y El Texano vs. Espectro Jr., Jerry Estrada y Rocky Star (10/13/89)
9. Blue Demon Jr., Super Astro y Mascara Sagrada vs. El Supremo, Espectro Jr. y Blue Panther (10/6/89)
10. Jerry Estrada vs. Javier Cruz (Hair vs. Hair) (10/20/89)
11. Chavo Guerrero, Cien Caras y Mascara Ano Dos Mil vs. Lizmark, El Satanico y Rayo De Jalisco Jr. (10/20/89)

You really can cut this disc in half quality-wise. Only #6, which so far got low marks from Tim and OJ, seemed like a bit of a stand-out to me from the second half. #11 is the dirt-worst and the less said about the infamous Estrada/Cruz match the better. Still the highs were super high, with that Relevos Suicidos being absolutely top shelf. #2 also came in higher for me than it seems like it might get rated.

LUCHA SET DISC 8

Pirata Morgan vs. El Dandy (Hair vs. Hair) (9/23/88)

God this is the third time I've watched this, and I'm (almost) as drunk as I was the first two. I have my bearings reviewing things despite my condition and I know I wouldn't watch something three times if I didn't enjoy it. I just don't think it might be as good as on paper... maybe a hangover from all the sick, grimy matches beforehand, blood-spitting or no. Let's see.

Sucking someone else's blood from their cut forehead and blowing it out in a spray into the air is maybe the most repulsive/admirable things I've ever seen in wrestling, and that covers a lot of ground. Hey CZW idiots, quit blowing spots and diving into glass, the real shit is right here... except there is probably a greater chance of hepatitis or HIV infection given the workers involved. Which is pretty bad considering this was Mexico in the '80s. Anyway! Ref irritates a bit switching between heel and face in his decisions taking heat off the workers but it's not horrible. Short first fall. Next one starts with Morgan straight pitching Dandy over the top rope outside which is so callous and dismissive. He continues that pulling up Dandy after pins. Finally Morgan submits immediately to the figure four after selling a diving headbutt like a gunshot, which is exactly how it should be. Now Morgan is SOAKED in blood for la revancha. Dandy kicks him and he yells out like his other eye hit the mat. The back-and-forth between these two is perfect, simple transitions and big selling, both men are amazing. Then the sudden comebacks come in and yeah... this will take you out of it. I can buy the final Magistral but if it went on any longer it'd feel like an ROH main event. Expectations are everything sometimes and I wanted this to be MS-1/Chicana, but it wasn't. It was like the pro-video, far less gritty version. Still, no real complaints.

Mogur vs. Mascara Ano 2000 (Mask vs. Mask) (9/23/88)

I've talked a lot of shit about mascara matches with no blood but this is the exception that proves the rule. What a fight. Both Mogur and Ano DOS MIL~! look like twins fighting each other with almost identical gear, and their fighting styles are similar too -- intensive selling, plus look for the big move and use it for the win. Mogur has the brutal Liger Bomb but MA2K has the Alabama Slams that will destroy you. Good short first two falls and we get a good stretch for the finish, which might just be the best in the set. Mogur jumps the gun on believing he beat Mascara with a sub and celebrates only to be absolutely MURDERED by back suplex. It's so final the ref de-masks him without letting him regain full consciousness and get his bearings, which is so incredibly humiliating. The slo-mo replay is the last nail in the coffin. I never thought I'd say this but you can take your gorefests and leave 'em at the door when there's this kind of work on hand. Man this was great. Crowd threw trash the entire time, so I don't know what they were thinking.

Blue Demon, Blue Demon Jr. y Ringo Mendoza vs. Emilio Charles Jr., Pirata Morgan y Satanico (11/25/88)

What a tremendously scummy trios combo the rudo team is. Might as well be another incarnation of los Infernales, which it kind of already is. This is a nostalgia match for an aging Blue Demon but with three super-workers plus a green, highspot-happy BD Jr. who probably blew off every move he knew in his first segment of the match. Mendoza is there to pick up the slack between the Demons getting beaten on and the rudos bumping all over the place. BD Sr. does throw some stiff strikes and is spry enough to acquit himself well for one of his final matches. Highly entertaining in its own way.

Super Halcon, Satanico y Masakre vs. El Texano, Lizmark y Rayo De Jalisco Jr. (3/17/89)

Halcon is new to the set and basically takes a Tarzan Goto approach yet he will back off and play chickenshit, which is a nice balance to him otherwise just plainly no-selling and beating the shit out of people. Him chopping Texano out of the ring in una caida is hilarious. Texano and Satanico end up facing off in a beautiful segment bookended by great brawling (and boxing) with a mean Cobra Clutch in the middle. Then they have another one shortly thereafter, fast as fuck with some great cackling and howling from Satanico. The two carry most of the match though the big storyline is Rayo and Halcon hating each other, which leads to some good brawling and mask-ripping. Lizmark sadly just shows up in brief bursts, one of which is him pretty much jumping Satanico which looks vicious. I think this probably ended up better than the apuestas match between the two captains.

EDIT: BY FAR.

Angel Azteca, Atlantis y Blue Demon Jr. vs. El Dandy, Super Muneco y El Texano (3/24/89)

Dandy did not have any good intentions behind that back suplex, no sir. And of course Demon Jr. just gets up right after it. I guess Dandy just thought "if this doesn't cripple him it'll teach him a lesson anyway" and went for it.

The crowd has X-Pac heat for Super Munico. It's like they want a straight maestros match and get him and Blue Demon Jr. involved instead. Still this has its high points: Texano is another dark horse of the set who can hang with anyone style-wise, even at such a young age. We also get more Atlantis than we got Lizmark last time (BOOOOOOO) but he's good in any amount anywhere by now. Probably finish low but still... TEXANO

Sangre Chicana vs. Satanico (5/26/89)

I refused to read anything but the first few lines or two from the previous reviews for this one. Don't think something this good on paper should be spoiled.

Mano a mano! This starts out really scrappy. Satanico is just grinding into Sangre and they keep splitting off until the crowd boos and Satanico points out there is ALREADY MONEY ON THE MAT, so it's time to give them what they paid for. A short headbutt from Sangre starts it off and now they're just beating on each other and grinding each other into the ropes. Satanico hits a punch/slap you can loudly hear over the crowd and Sangre takes those big turnbuckle bumps. Una caida ends with an armbar/side headlock on the mat? Weird. The receipt for that Satanico punch is even louder. He keeps egging on Sangre, going punch drunk, jumping him from behind and biting him. Tercera is the best as it breaks out in a full-on slugfest outside the ring and up the aisle, into the crowd with both guys whaling on each other and tripping over the seats. Finally the ref is fed up and counts them both out (empate?) and we have the setup for a probable hair match that nobody films. Goddammit.

Despite the slow pace this was a mean match. Satanico is so great demanding to be punched over and over and Sangre does not let up. Don't know where this stands but it's solid as hell.

Atlantis, El Dandy y Popitekus vs. Gran Markus Jr., Pirata Morgan y Ulises (5/26/89)

Popitekus is indeed one big bastard as I've heard. I was expecting someone masked and of a more Porky-esque stature, but he's built more like a brick shithouse instead. His name is also one of the most linguistically pleasing both spelled and spoken that I've yet to encounter in wrestling.

Despite that pseudo-Death Valley Driver the first fall ends pretty flat with flubs from both big men. After the enormous levels of hate on this set seeing something that is so "good clean fun" involving someone like Pirata Morgan is strange to the point of off-putting. Atlantis is flashy as usual but it doesn't really matter much. Right when you think tercera caida is going to pick up with some big dives it just ends and everyone has a love-fest. Going towards the bottom half for me.

Popitekus, Angel Azteca y Steve Nelson vs. Emilio Charles Jr., Gran Markus Jr. y Masakre (6/9/89)

I am shocked. I expected Steve Nelson (a big blonde juiced-up white kid) to have no place in the match and here he is trading holds with Emilio Charles Jr. on the mat and it actually looks good instead of a fish out of water, like I thought it might. He also admirably stacks up against Markus until Masakre kicks him in the teeth and, not soon after, the rudos finally decide to pounce. Their sudden decision to whoop some ass is pretty great. Masakre slaps the piss out of Nelson to emphasize him getting pinned and moments later Popi and then Azteca eat the boards. It's a fantastic little bit of sudden rudo dominance. Popitekus gets flash pins over Markus and Masakre to cement segunda caida which is killer, then gets a great control segment that would be your current Mark Henry tag part, but with high spots. Masakre is channeling his former teammate Satanico in his smugness and selling which is fantastic. Then we get a grand finish with some big moves and I am pleased. See, a little hate will add some heat to your boring random trios, you just got to let it in baby.

Javier Cruz vs. Hombre Bala (Hair vs. Hair) (6/30/89)

Given that this is a hair match I'm surprised at the seeming indifference of the crowd. First fall ends with a gorgeous missile dropkick and tope from Cruz, and I am psyched. It's one of those moments you are truly thankful for the slo-mo replay. Javier is selling all over the place for Hombre's gourd busters and suplexes until he's just dying on the floor. He still has some fight but a cheap shot to the kidneys puts him outside again. Unfortunately his comeback involves some really shitty kicks and a piss-poor bladejob by Bala. I think they realize where their bread is buttered by Javier getting back into tecnico mode and they have a great bit with some punter dodging Javier coming over the top into a backflip and tope by Bala. Both guys are bleeding now and Cruz eats a powerbomb off the top rope. If the crowd has seemed muted and weak the entire match it may be due to the audio because they come to the front for the cueballing of Bala and by god does he look like Jason from Friday the 13th 2 halfway into his cut. It doesn't help that the barber is missing a bunch of teeth either. Why anyone would want to leave before that is finished is beyond me.

This was short but very good, it had some parts that I can see people left cold on and it has its weaknesses, but the glory of the caida endings is not to be dismissed.

Watching this a second time and I think I'm underselling it. This is fuckin' amazing. There is a bunch of cool postings and count-out spots, and the selling is off the chain. Bala also has weird reddish hair dye like any number of middle-aged Latino women to emphasize his perm. The silver bullet on the back of his gear just adds to the sartorial splendor. I love how he pins Cruz with his leg at one point because he's so exhausted. They hand Javier fucking cash at the end and I don't blame them. Might be #1 or #2 on this disc.

Emilio Charles, Fabuloso Blondy y Pirata Morgan vs. El Dandy, Atlantis & El Faraón (7/21/89)

We open up and Emilio Charles Jr. just starts beating the piss out of people, audibly. Blondy does a dual-handed throat chop and I did the Tenzan Mongolian Chop hiss out loud like the drunken fool I am. You can tell he is really not in his element as he basically pins himself in una caida -- at least there is some decent begging off to go with his ineptitude and horrible makeup. Meanwhile, Atlantis makes everything he does look effortless and you wonder how. Eventually the rudos take over and Charles looks to take Dandy's scalp home with him. Pirata ends it with a fantastic Rey Jr.-esque splash. The big story here is Emilio vs. Dandy and eventually the former is drizzling blood down his chest. They get upstaged by Atlantis busting out a quebrada which is a first for the set. Emilio and Dandy trade a bunch of falls until Dandy finally gets blasted with el martinete to pick up the win. Blondy was visibly out of his league but otherwise this was a nice setup for the apuestas match to follow, with some nice highspots and matwork to keep it flowing.

Emilio Charles vs. El Dandy (Hair v. Hair) (7/28/89)

Charles comes into this sporting a fro that isn't quite Mocho Cota level but is still pretty rockin'. When you beat out El Dandy's hair in a hair match then you're doing pretty good for yourself. It's funny seeing all the Alabama Slams on this set since Cody Rhodes just brought that one out of mothballs. Dandy sells so good (including a Johnny Valentine face flop) and his punches are just vicious. Charles will just not let up on him after the huge splash that ends una caida: full-contact stomping his head, biting him, fishhooking him. Of course this is Dandy we're with so in moments he's drizzling blood all over himself. He comes back with some sick baseboard postings where Charles get blasted and is just hanging there kind of convulsing. Then we get the Majistral of all Majistrals, El Dandino, to end segunda caida. There's a great moment where Dandy gets posted and flies toward the camera, which then gets a good closeup of his bloodstained white trunks. By this point both guys are just throwing everything they can at each other, Dandy misses huge on a diving headbutt, hits a German, misses a senton, both guys dive bigtime. Finally they're just duking it out until Dandy kicks Charles right in the back of the head and hits a CRAZY no-hands tope completely clearing the top rope. They start duking again but the ref abruptly stops everything and says "you both lose!" I thought it was lame until I saw the replay with him clearly counting them out from the time Dandy hits the floor. A fan actually tries to pull him to the floor to avoid the cueballing.

Damn this was good. All three falls end huge and they literally pull out all the stops on each other. I didn't really notice any rudo ref stuff either. Going high, this one.

1. Mogur vs. Mascara Ano 2000 (Mask vs. Mask) (9/23/88)
2. Javier Cruz vs. Hombre Bala (Hair vs. Hair) (6/30/89)
3. Sangre Chicana vs. Satanico (5/26/89)
4. Emilio Charles vs. El Dandy (Hair v. Hair) (7/28/89)
5. Pirata Morgan vs. El Dandy (Hair vs. Hair) (9/23/88)
6. Super Halcon, Satanico y Masakre vs. El Texano, Lizmark y Rayo De Jalisco Jr. (3/17/89)
7. Popitekus, Angel Azteca y Steve Nelson vs. Emilio Charles Jr., Gran Markus Jr. y Masakre (6/9/89)
8. Emilio Charles, Fabuloso Blondy y Pirata Morgan vs. El Dandy, Atlantis & El Faraón (7/21/89)
9. Blue Demon, Blue Demon Jr. y Ringo Mendoza vs. Emilio Charles Jr., Pirata Morgan y Satanico (11/25/88)
10. Angel Azteca, Atlantis y Blue Demon Jr. vs. El Dandy, Super Muneco y El Texano (3/24/89)
11. Atlantis, El Dandy y Popitekus vs. Gran Markus Jr., Pirata Morgan y Ulises (5/26/89)

This disc is just plain loaded. I mean Pirata Morgan spitting blood mist is NUMBER FIVE, come on. More cool discoveries here with Texano, Popitekus, Hombre Bala and Masakre stepping it up a notch, and again another dark-horse match to come out on top of the pack. I get the feeling I am greatly underestimating Satanico/Chicana and that might bite me in the ass later.

LUCHA SET DISC 7

Cien Caras vs. Siglo XX (4/10/87)

I was completely unimpressed by this one. Cien Caras appears to be pinning himself at multiple points and the VQ is so bad you can't even enjoy the blood, which is one of the only reasons to enjoy the match. I don't blame the crowd for throwing trash at all. There is one cool point where Siglo XX applies the "rocking horse" submission (I don't know what else to call it) a second time but otherwise, not much to see here aside from some crappy brawling.

El Hijo del Santo vs. Negro Casas (Mask vs. Hair) (7/18/87)

El Hijo del Santo shows up in a sick red car and gets carried to the ring on people's shoulders... that might just be the best wrestling entrance I've ever seen. Holy shit. Casas is already in the ring and is, well, Casas. He wins the first fall with la Magistral and SOAKS UP THE HATE. Just looking at him you want to slap him so bad. Another thing to note: within a huge ring with very big and very loose ropes, these guys adjust perfectly for their style. I'm having to pause this as the most brutal Tapatia ever wins the fall and I am losing my shit watching this match.

*cut to the finish* I just watched that twice now. Sorry I can't give more play-by-play, the damn thing is just too fantastic. It may be one of the top matches I've ever seen. Wondering if this will be #1.

Third time I watched it now. This is The Negro Casas Show. Every little thing he does is perfect. Towards the end they get a little no-selly, jumping right up after big moves but you buy it because this one is for all the marbles. Casas is the good guy whos pride is on the line and forced into the role of super dick in order to win, and Santo is trying to hold onto his mask for the sake of his family and his honor. After the vicious camel clutch Casas raises his opponent's hand and openly weeps as his locks get buzzed. You just don't get much better than this, folks. It's one of the matches I could watch on an endless cycle, like Andre/Hansen. I'm not sure if it's legit better than MS-1/Sangre Chicana but it's gonna be a fight.

Mogur vs. As Charro (Mask vs. Mask) (9/18/87)

Charro has this awesome mask with a spade on the face and in the pre-match interview also has his kid wearing one too as he is interviewed in dead seriousness by Dr. Morales... then as soon as the match starts he's kicking the shit out of Mogur before he can even get his jacket off and we definitely know he's not a tecnico. Tim is 100% correct about the first fall, if you are gonna blast through and end it quick you might as well do it like that. No replays this time as it jumps right back to the action. Mogur is selling his ass off during his comeback while whooping the piss out of Charro and we get another short fall. Charro does this hilarious deadfall off a posting that is like something you would see in a silent film. Then he does a dive and you think these guys are totally spent until we get a fake-out and a Mogur dive right in front of an incredulous grandfather. Then there's ANOTHER plancha and these two are done. We get a crappy foule-fake faceoff and a flash pin and the crowd loses it and crowds the ring. Really awesome for such a short match despite the bunk finish and lack of demasking.

Blue Panther/Sergio El Hermosa v. Super Astro/Solar (10/17/87)

I took a break for a little while from the set (busy with other things: work, my band, endless driving, being a drunken lout) but I'm back to it now. I reviewed a bit of this before the stop and here's what I wrote:

"If you don't lose it for the first caida in this one then I don't know what to say. Two maestros go head-to-head and smoke any Eddy/Malenko match that those two were stealing from. Then we get a beautiful bit from Sergio el Hermoso and Super Astro with Sergio chewing gum and having his mouth busted and I am all in on this match."

After that I paused the DVD and never came back to it, so went back and started fresh. Overall this was one of the most purely enjoyable matches on the set, and though in general I HATE HATE HATE rudo ref interference this came off more like he was a dunce. Yeah, tercera caida wasn't near the first two, mostly due to that. But it wasn't the deal-breaker I expected it to be. Solar's backbreakers are an artform in and of themselves in this one. The open is just as good as I thought it was, maybe better. It is a crying shame we don't get any more Solar or especially any more Solar vs. Blue Panther on the set. It's almost Thanksgiving, so be thankful a gem like this is on the set, heel ref or no heel ref.

El Dandy, Magico y Super Astro vs. Gran Cochise, Javier Cruz y Americo Rocca (11/11/87)

I guess Dandy just lost a hair match and I'll be damned, he does look like Yamazaki up there, same red pants, skinhead, everything. I think the star design on the pants might even be the same. Everything is pretty "hail fellow, well met" and first fall ends with a great string of highspots -- missed in-ring dive, missile dropkick over la Tapatia, victory roll. Dandy and Javier start out segunda caida in grand fashion, are cool with each other, but Dandy calls him out second time around and the heat starts to build between the two. Magico seems passable but he badly fucks up his pinfall and Rocca basically falls down and says "pin me". Really glaring 'sore thumb' kind of performance amongst all these set godheads in the same ring. Then they replay it in slo-mo... jeez. At the end he completely botches a Space Flying Tiger Drop and you have to feel for him because you know they gave him so much shit for it backstage. Not enough to ruin the match though, really cool to see an all-tecnico trios and the work is really fast and furious. Dandy even hits a 1987 Shining Wizard!

Yeah, lots of moves namedropped here... it's that kind of match.

Arandu vs. Guerrero Negro (Hair vs. Hair) (1988)

Arandu's blown-out hair looks like you could reach in there and pull out anything: rubbers, a flask, probably a vial of coke. His valet (first of the set) has a great ass and is so '80s looking you'd swear she stepped out of a Winger video or something. The crowd is on fire and these two have a particular talent at doing the bottom-rope spill to the outside that is all over these matches. Short and heated first two falls; the valet gets up and stands on Guerrero Negro in celebration after the second adding insult to injury. Arandu takes a huge bump into the seats after bloodying Negro and has to fight his way back to ringside! Negro has to grab some old girl by the hair through the ropes and yank her away from him. Amazing. There's a painful-looking foule to end after a missed moonsault and ref bump and the crowd STORMS THE RING AT 'THREE' and starts pitching trash. I mean there are people in the ring right at the count. This is so unruly it's absurd. There is, no joke, a serious near-riot situation and after the barber gets a clip they immediately smuggle Arandu out (probably in the trunk of a car) while the crowd is busy doing a Public Enemy-in-ECW-style ring invasion. I haven't seen any Sting vs. Rick Rude matches from the early '90s but I imagine they look a lot like this, minus the complete spectacle the crowd brings to it. Don't know why that's the first thing that pops into my mind, maybe it's the airbrushed spandex and Negro's uberface performance.

Kung Fu v. Javier Cruz (3/88)

Kung Fu comes to the ring with a $5 balaclava covering his mask for some reason and cheap shots Javier with the chuks which is funny and effective. The balaclava would probably get huge heat these days considering all the narcos and federales appropriating said fashion statement. We get another weird submission here, kind of a reverse full nelson done with the legs in a bridge (?!). After that Kung Fu does a camera-snapping motion to someone as he stands on Javier. Then he does it two more times and the second time it looks like he steps on his crotch. There are some pretty good bulldogs in this and I dig Kung Fu smashing Javier's head into the mat which, if the stories are true, is about as hard as concrete. Take that in mind when Cruz misses a toprope dive or Kung Fu gets powerbombed right near the apron.

This was more fun than good. There's blood but it's not an apuestas which is strange but spices things up, making it feel like something's at stake when it isn't. Perfectly competent but lower rank match.

Pirata Morgan, Hombre Bala y Verdugo vs. Atlantis, Angel Azteca y Ringo Mendoza (3/88)

Bucaneros waste no time and ditch their plastic swords for the beatdown in a hurry. Crowd is super hot for the tecnico comeback. There's some really sloppy rudo miscommunication with one horrible spot where one of the pirates gets dumped by his bros on the floor. The part where all three are selling fake foules from Ringo's kicks is humorous though. The refs finally make them quit smarming like vultures on the tecnicos for the final fall, we get two big dives, and then... a foule that gets cut? Who knows. Overall I don't think this was anything special. Yeah Atlantis is always breathtakingly smooth (him spinning like a top in the air before hitting an armdrag was siiiiiiiiiick) but he wasn't enough to make this more than middle of the road to me.

El Hijo Del Santo vs. Espanto Jr. (4/10/88)

Man the kids love Santo. There's for the first time some intro music, with a spiffy '70s sounding theme playing that has a neat guitar solo. I wonder if it was from one of his pop's films. If anyone knows what that is please let us know if there's a Youtube of it floating around.

We go straight to the mat with some back-and-forth but mostly Santo dominance. He busts out the Fujiwara headscissors spin twice which I dig. This really looks to be a showcase for him as a worker. Espanto might be the champ but he's just getting eaten for dinner tonight. Finally he comes back with some clotheslines, but the crowd boo him and the ref acts like he punched him instead! Tercera caida and Santo is spazzing on the mat from an injured arm. Lucha limb work, surprise surprise! Of course it doesn't really matter cause this is the Son of the Saint we're talking about here. Espanto does a dive then does the Chris Hamrick bump followed by a massive Santo plancha that is truly impressive considering the size and height of the ring. Espanto CHEATS TO WIN and we have cops storm the ring to keep people out. There are so many wagging fingers on the apron it's ridiculous.

Super solid match and like I said a total Santito showcase. Espanto was more than game but the man in the silver mask could wrestle Khali and get a good match out of him. Maybe. Anything on this set that has a little kid jumping straight up in the air for a nearfall so far is top-shelf.

Kato Kung Lee vs. Kung Fu (Mask vs. Hair) (4/29/88)

Watch the footage of Black Man that was posted in the lucha thoughts thread, he looks really good. I would have put that as an extra on the set personally.

The ref starts out confiscating a ton of hidden shit on Kung Fu which is pretty funny considering this is an apuestas. Reminds me of the similar bit with Eddie Gilbert in Global. Some really goofy work here with particularly pathetic kicks from Kung Fu. Towards the end of segunda caida both guys look visibly winded even though they haven't done shit. Kung Fu actually does hit a good headkick and Kato a nice Ryder kick through the ropes at last. Plancha and countout to finish. The work in this one was really poor but the match does have its own kind of charm. Kato at least sold really well the whole time. Bottom ten more than likely.

Atlantis vs. Emilio Charles Jr. (8/12/88)

It has been great watching Atlantis grow into his character and I've never seen Charles before. Opening matwork is a treat and the aforementioned flubbed kip-up from Charles gets a good reaction. Atlantis sells these spinebusters like a champ, writhing in agony on the mat. Charles uses these to slow the pace and he's just methodically beating on Atlantis, who counters by rope-running to pick up the pace and get the jump on his opponent. Now it's Charles' turn to sell like death on the mat. We go into about two dozen pinfalls and both guys are acting drained from the effort. This doesn't stop them both from diving (Charles does the Cactus Jack Crack Smash off the apron). Tremendous reversal-into-submission finish here. These guys seemed so evenly matched the entire time and I love how the wear of the match got to them down the stretch. Really enjoyable and I look forward to more Charles for sure.

DISC 7 RANKINGS

1. El Hijo del Santo vs. Negro Casas (Mask vs. Hair) (7/18/87)
2. Arandu vs. Guerrero Negro (Hair vs. Hair) (1988)
3. Blue Panther/Sergio El Hermosa v. Super Astro/Solar (10/17/87)
4. Mogur vs. As Charro (Mask vs. Mask) (9/18/87)
5. El Hijo Del Santo vs. Espanto Jr. (4/10/88)
6. Atlantis vs. Emilio Charles Jr. (8/12/88)
7. El Dandy, Magico y Super Astro vs. Gran Cochise, Javier Cruz y Americo Rocca (11/11/87)
8. Pirata Morgan, Hombre Bala y Verdugo vs. Atlantis, Angel Azteca y Ringo Mendoza (3/88)
9. Kung Fu v. Javier Cruz (3/88)
10. Kato Kung Lee vs. Kung Fu (Mask vs. Hair) (4/29/88)
11. Cien Caras vs. Siglo XX (4/10/87)

Yeah, speaking of disparate feelings about matches. I really need to go back and watch Cien/Siglo again cause it can't be below #10, but based on my review I'm sticking it there. When a Santito showcase is the fifth match down you know you're standing in some tall cotton.

LUCHA SET DISC 6

Babyface, Cien Caras y Mascara Ano 2000 vs. Lizmark, Rayo De Jalisco y La Fiera (September 1986)

Fiera's arm selling is really strong in this. Caras gets points from me for leaping over the top rope onto Rayo to assist in the Corona sideboard posting. Not only is Fiera selling when the ref tries to raise his arm great, Rayo immediately goes over and gives the ref shit for doing it! It's the little things that make a match great. Babyface and los Hermanos are such a good trios rudo team, they're just ruthless beating the crap out of Rayo and it looks like this one is gonna be another bucket of blood. Sure enough, we get some nasty closeups of him pouring the red red krovvy out of his ripped mask. Then Lizmark takes this crazy bump through the middle ropes and all the tecnicos are hurting. Fiera rallies and Baby blades right in the middle of the ring which usually I would hate, but I actually had to go back and rewatch to catch it -- good job dude. Rayo then comes in to get his revenge on ANO DOS MIL! and the crowd loses it. This is made even better by Rayo just falling into the turnbuckles after doing so like it took all his energy. Great finish with the rudos being down two but Babyface taps the captain to win the match, which is a new one for the set. People start throwing trash in the ring and Rayo wants a mask match.

I forgot to mention, Babyface does the most hilarious sell of a punch from Fiera here, skidding on his back back and forth on the mat really fast. This might end up cracking top ten but if not, certainly top twenty. I'd watch these six go again in a minute.

Americo Rocca, Ringo Mendoza y Tony Salazar vs. Negro Navarro, El Signo y El Texano (Hair vs. Hair) (9/19/86)

I don't know whether Rocca submitting to that insane double leg lock where he's hanging upside down is the most ridiculous or just plain best submission of the set, then los Misionarios try and top it with Ringo. Dr. Cerebro would shed a tear or maybe just start furiously writing in his notebook watching this. It is workrate-y, especially for a hair match, but from what I've read los Misionarios were known for that style back in the day. The end has an ridiculously fast tope and then Ringo wins with the most insane Gory Special reversal-into-submission ever. I don't think the clipping hurt this that bad (it's certainly not as random or jarring as other matches we've seen) and not every match can be a gorefest, even a hair match, so this was neat. Certainly didn't disappoint like the last and only other Misionarios match on the set.

Blue Panther, El Talisman y El Dandy vs. Stuka, America Rocca y Chamaco Valaguez (11/86)

We've got some supreme perms and ring jackets on Chamago and Rocca here. It's like a young Misawa and Kobashi in the ring!

I've never seen Stuka Sr. in the ring before (his son is really good from what I've watched). Pretty lanky like Cien or Rayo for a luchador. He and Blue Panther immediately take it to the mat. It's not as smooth as I expected, at least initially; Dandy and Rocca take the prize in the series of faceoffs with their speedy exchanges. There's a pretty fun end to una caida with the crowd laughing at Talisman's ignorance and all the tecnicos getting a nice pinfall. Second fall is real short with a mean looking fishhook sub on Chamago. Another angry granny! Rudos decide to use Rocca's perm to their advantage and drag him around by it. The last fall is clipped but we get the replay. Middle of the pack here.

Jerry Estrada, Pirata Morgan y Hombre Bala vs. Atlantis, Alfonso Dantes y Rayo De Jalisco Jr. (Feb 1987)

Damn, los Bucaneros look identical. I guess Jerry's the one with the fringe on his boots. We get some nice high-flying and triple teams from them (the triple kick is especially cool) for the first fall. Then the next one is nothing but elaborate tecnico spots and it's great; Atlantis is particularly flashy and busts out I believe the first moonsault of the set. Los Bucaneros are great bases for the tecnicos and throw in a massive amount of rudo miscommunication for tercera caida. Then they decide to top the triple kick with a triple dropkick off the ropes, I thought I was watching Kaientai-DX for a minute. I'm confused at the end too as afterwards they just knock Rayo out to ringside and get announced the winners. Still, this was another solid trios.

Lizmark, La Fiera y Kung Fu vs. Pirata Morgan, Hombre Bala y Jerry Estrada (2/27/87)

Better VQ and closer shots of los Bucaneros this time, which still doesn't help me out much. I guess the shortest guy with red headband is Morgan.

Kung Fu does his thing including a kick to the shin which is pretty comical. I have no idea how una caida ended on a single pinfall, especially when I thought it was Estrada getting pinned. Later on he throws his patch, which along with the boot tassles gives him away. Lots of flashy stuff from the tecnicos in this one. We get a nice series of rolling sentons from los Bucaneros to take out Lizmark, then they start on Fiera's leg. I must've missed the end to segunda caida because all of the sudden this is over. Pretty uninteresting overall and the first match that feels like filler on the set, though the work was good.

Americo Rocca, Javier Cruz y Chamaco Valaguez vs. Talisman, El Dandy y Guerrero Negro (3/13/87)

Great, now all the tecnicos are wearing the same gear. I'm starting to feel how folks did about the New Japan set with all the black trunks. At least then you could get a better look at people. If you look close their names are on the front of their tights though (totally not helpful in a high-speed lucha match).

Immediate end to the first fall. These guys are really cooking with gas, moving fast as hell. Rudos slow it down for some beatings to win the second after Dandy's Dick Togo Senton. He hits a pretty fresh tope after that too. Then we get UN TERRIBLE FOULE (TM tim./Morales) and I'm wishing there was more footage to replace something like this on the set. Man, it's not incompetent by any means, it's just short and inconsequential. Starting to get burnt on the trios and ready for the variety of the next disc.

El Satanico, MS-1 y Masakre vs. Rayo de Jalisco Jr., La Fiera y Tony Salazar (3/20/87)

I can tell from the start this is gonna be better with the whole crowd chanting what sounds like "PERROS" at los Infernales while they laugh in pride and mockery. They even sign like two autographs, amazingly! Tony Salazar does some of the most ridiculous selling of turnbuckle bumps, running all the way across the ring and falling on his face. We're back to Fiera selling the leg again and get a bizarre triple sub to end him, before torturing him on the ropes in exquisitely evil fashion. I have no idea how Rayo gets his hair sticking out his mask and is bit so viciously with no juice. No idea how segunda caida ends; I'm guessing count-out. Tercera is fast and furious and Fiera gives the international "fuck you" high-sign before an enziguri, hell yeah! Then suddenly Infernales win. That could have used blood from Rayo and a couple more minutes (and dives) at the end. Still, better than the last two.

Rayo de Jalisco Jr., Atlantis y Alfonso Dantes vs. MS-1, El Satanico y El Dandy (3/27/87)

We get an intro by Enrique Llanes with Gory Guerrero and a bunch of other old-timers and it warms my heart. Satanico later gets introduced as "el rudo el numero uno en Mexico". Awesome.

It's funny how smaller El Dandy looks to his partners and opponents. He still fights over his head. Pretty standard (and boring) rudo domination caida until MS-1 gets vampiric on Dantes' hand which is hilarious. We cut to a full-on tecnico rally and SHIT IS ON. Dantes tries off his boxing skills then Atlantis and Dandy have an exchange where Dandy bumps all over before hitting a hellish (for lucha) chop before eating the floor. This is how you do a great tecnico fall, with them cleaning house in revenge with a bunch of perfectly timed big moves. We get a 30 second final fall with some really great finishers to send the crowd home happy and I understand why this was done, but I could have done with this going broadway with a better opening caida. Still, a standout on this disc.

Atlantis, El Hijo del Santo y Tony Salazar vs. El Satanico, El Dandy y Espectro Jr. (4/3/87)

Oh yeah baby, you want dat matwork, we got dat matwork. I don't care if it gets a little exhibition-y with the Dandy/Atlantis part, this shit rules. It's good to see Espectro Jr. again even if his mask in close-up is total nightmare fuel. They get to rope-running a bit with a gorgeous Santo segment and then we get a cool end with Santo busting out his rolling senton and Atlantis getting the Atlantida. Unfortunately the rudo takeover is pretty listless. It starts to pick up when Tony and Satanico go at it and Tony hits the best bulldog EVER. No joke, I had to replay it a couple times. Then he does it again! We end with a couple awesome dives and a gorgeous tope en reversa for the tecnicos to take it in two straight falls. Short and sweet.

Tony Salazar, Mogur y Alfonso Dantes vs. Hombre Bala, Talisman y Tony Bennetto vs. Satanico, MS-1 y Masakre (4/10/87)

This starts off all chippy with people taking potshots at each other while the announcer's still reading the rules. Not even the rudos are getting along as los Infernales seem to have it out for Hombre Bala. I'll break this down by match.

Salazar/Mogur/Dantes vs. Bala/Talisman/Bennetto:

Never seen Mogur before. He almost runs off the suitably scummy-looking Tony Bennetto, then later works a fun little segment with Talisman and Bala. Lots of rudo miscommunication in this one. Talisman actually gives up without a fight and powders to end the match.

Satanico/MS-1/Masakre vs. Mendoza/Atlantis/Llanes:

God, everyone hates los Infernales. They're such a great rudo team, gesturing, talking shit, making faces, lying to the ref. I like how La Estrella is broken up and turns right into MS-1 and Masakre wishboning Llanes.

Salazar/Mogur/Dantes vs. Satanico/MS-1/Masakre:

We open with Infernales already beating on Dantes. He kind of plays the Super Porky role of fat(granted, not Super Porky fat), hapless tecnico that gets beat up and sells a lot but has great comebacks. MS-1 and Masakre get pinned leaving a begging Satanico to the wolves. Infernales win segunda caida with a nutty multi-man submission and finally we get a three-way pin/sub finish that the crowd is not happy about. Afterwards Dantes is still pissed and bests Satanico in a boxing match before tossing him into the seats.

This could have been a really great and chaotic match if they played it like a cibernetico and had elimination rules. The havoc hinted at in the pre-match was a cocktease. Still worth watching for Infernales being themselves: completely shitheaded rudos.

DISC 6 RANKINGS

1. Babyface, Cien Caras y Mascara Ano 2000 vs. Lizmark, Rayo De Jalisco y La Fiera (September 1986)
2. Atlantis, El Hijo del Santo y Tony Salazar vs. El Satanico, El Dandy y Espectro Jr. (4/3/87)
3. Rayo de Jalisco Jr., Atlantis y Alfonso Dantes vs. MS-1, El Satanico y El Dandy (3/27/87)
4. Tony Salazar, Mogur y Alfonso Dantes vs. Hombre Bala, Talisman y Tony Bennetto vs. Satanico, MS-1 y Masakre (4/10/87)
5. Americo Rocca, Ringo Mendoza y Tony Salazar vs. Negro Navarro, El Signo y El Texano (Hair vs. Hair) (9/19/86)
6. El Satanico, MS-1 y Masakre vs. Rayo de Jalisco Jr., La Fiera y Tony Salazar (3/20/87)
7. Blue Panther, El Talisman y El Dandy vs. Stuka, America Rocca y Chamaco Valaguez (11/86)
8. Jerry Estrada, Pirata Morgan y Hombre Bala vs. Atlantis, Alfonso Dantes y Rayo De Jalisco Jr. (Feb 1987)
9. Americo Rocca, Javier Cruz y Chamaco Valaguez vs. Talisman, El Dandy y Guerrero Negro (3/13/87)
10. Lizmark, La Fiera y Kung Fu vs. Pirata Morgan, Hombre Bala y Jerry Estrada (2/27/87)

What a hard disc to rate. Since it's all trios the matches can get confused in your head; luckily I'm keeping all my reviews in a separate file. #1 is stellar, 2-5 could duke it out pretty hard, 6 and 7 are solid but lower, 9 and 10 are just okay. This is full of great wrestling but it wears on you after awhile; luckily some of the matches are pretty short (and surprisingly #2 which is really short is really good).

LUCHA SET DISC 5

El Solitario vs. Dr. Wagner (Mask vs. Mask) (12/1/85)

All the little kids rushing up to touch Solitario and Lizmark, with Solitario wearing this huge black feather thingy strapped around his shoulders, is cool. There's a lot of clipping but it doesn't disguise the work. These guys work fast and snug and it looks great. Ref takes a big bump right before the end of the first fall but he makes the pin anyway -- there's a mask on the line, no time to be hurt! Wagner snaps, ripping Solitario's mask then posting him and chairing him and it's psychotic. Damn clipping; we miss a posting and a dive. This should be a whole lot higher than it'll end up. Also the first unmasking I've ever seen where the guy isn't a scarred up, ugly old guy!

Sangre Chicana vs. Perro Aguayo (Hair vs. Hair) (2/28/86)

Another great entrance as Perro's wearing his giant sombrero. Crowd heat is already molten. Perro jumps Chicana before he can even get in the ring and these guys are just duking it out. The ref is desperately trying to get some order but they continue to throw haymakers at each other. Perro posts Chicana and beats him with a box, then wraps his fist in a towel and punches him more. Then he actually rips off the Corona baseboards to use as a weapon! Holy shit. Finally Perro flies into the post and out of the ring and Chicana gets some payback. Great suspense with a faked foule and a missed senton before Chicana hits his 1000 MPH tope. Then they trade nearfalls for an hour and after the final rollup, I shit you not, the ENTIRE ARENA floods to ringside. No cueballing shown, and this was a little long in the tooth, but what a match.

Lizmark, Alfonso Dantes y Tony Salazar vs. El Signo, El Texano y Negro Navarro (8/15/86)

Well, I guess I know where Dick Togo got the idea for the skull mask he takes off before his matches now. Opening beatdown is kind of listless but los Misionarios pull off a cool triple-team submission, and then after the one-foot cover Tony Salazar protests on the apron and gets slapped right in his goddamn face. That's how you do it rudo style, folks. This looks to be more comedy-oriented with Dantes' run of atomic drops and the second-fall end with a four-way wishbone spot that Lizmark ranas into the middle of. Screwjob ending is horrible. Overall this is rather poor for the set and is gonna rank pretty low. The "brawl" at the end doesn't even have any real heat to it as they put up their dukes and dance around each other. I expected a whole lot more from one of the only two Misionarios matches on the set. One of the few saving graces is Lizmark, his work is flashy yet graceful, everything you want out of a luchador.

Rayo De Jalisco Jr. vs. Mascara Ano 2000 (8/15/86)

First off I have to say, having never seen either of these guys, I love their masks. Ano's is beautiful with the tusk-like designs coming out of the cheeks, and Rayo's is awesome in its simplicity, so understated. I wonder how these guys fared in the mask tournament on the old board...

Work is fine if a bit middle-of-the-road. Rayo is one lanky bastard for a luchador. He sells every bump into the turnbuckles like it's killing him. So much for the first two falls, that was quick. After some weak opening offense from Rayo we get two topes and a plancha where he nukes his knee on the floor landing, looks like it hurt a lot. There's some controversy over the martinete as the finish but the ref and the commish seem fine with it so we call it a match. Fair and short, probably low-middle in the rankings.

La Fiera vs. Babyface (8/15/86)

That has to be the first pinfall off a fistdrop I've ever seen. Nice. Baby Face blades in abdomen-covering fashion after the always great Corona sideboard posting. Announcer keeps talking about La Fiera as a master of tae-kwon-do or something, probably because he kicks a lot. The ref having to peel apart the two men from the octopus hold that ends segunda caida underlines the hate these two have for each other. We get a brief clip and Fiera is already bleeding. He has a great response to someone putting you in a hammerlock: just punch 'em in the kidneys! There's an even better moment where Baby Face picks up Fiera's feet as he's hanging through the ropes and just dumps him on his head. So many cheap shots in this one. Fiera bouncing off the floor is a sight. Nice little "revancha" finish and there goes Baby's mop. I didn't even know this was a hair match! They keep talking shit to each other and Fiera even kicks Baby as he's getting shaved. Great match, nice methodical pace where every shot felt like it was meant to hurt, good armwork from Baby Face too.

Espanto Jr. vs El Hijo Del Santo (Mask vs. Mask) (8/31/86)

This opens with Santito just getting ragdolled by Espanto Jr., who does the very Japanese thing of throwing his opponent back into the ring so he can beat on him more. The little kids coming up and comforting Santito after the first fall was just adorable. Espanto beats on him some more and rips his mask, but then he comes back and despite the truly horrendous audio you can hear the crowd erupt. Man I love the camerawork on this, right up in your face. Espanto does the through-the-ropes Psicosis bump skidding to a stop on his knees. That hurts to watch. Then Santito hits a tope and senton for the second pinfall. We get a great posting shot with Santo flying straight at the camera which Espanto turns to his advantage, chairing him and biting the cut. Awesome Lucha Thing #184: Spitting your opponent's blood in the air after you bite him. Then it's Espanto's turn. He busts out a tope that sees him vanish below the apron from the camera angle, they cut to the two and Espanto is just covered in gore. Both guys are just wore out at this point but Santo still busts out a plancha that the VQ buries. Of course Santito wins with the camel clutch and we get the unmasking of Espanto Jr., noble in defeat.

I don't care about the VQ, the clipping, the pauses. This is in the top five of the set easily. Maybe #2 or #3 actually.

Ringo Mendoza, Atlantis y Ultraman vs. Satanico, Masakre y MS-1, (September 1986)

Oh man this starts with a Dr. Morales interview segment with Satanico talking shit (complete with evil laughter) and Mendoza wearing a blue headband that has "RINGO" on it in sparkly silver. We get a kind of slow open, though Ringo puts Satanico in a toehold that has him doing a head stand. MS-1 shoos off Ringo in favor of Atlantis and it's so arrogant. Atlantis finally looks like he's getting ahold of himself in the ring. No shitty playing to the crowd, just high flying, hard and dirty matwork and punking the rudos. He even does the dick move of stomping on MS-1's hand while he's sitting on the mat! No love lost here, obviously. Rudo victory in segunda caida is great, with MS-1 throwing Atlantis onto his face from a powerbomb position (something I've never seen before), a Masakre powerslam and Satanico busting out the Scorpion Deathlock. Tercera caida, Ringo and Satanico just start pasting each other. Ultraman has a nice rally but eventually the rudos decide they're gonna take Atlantis' mask no matter what and triple-team him in true bully fashion. After they take the final fall Pirata Morgan hits the ring to beat the shit out of Satanico! Cien Caras and Baby Face try to keep the peace but Morgan isn't having it. By the time this is over we have the setup for both a trios and a hair match.

Los Infernales are so damn good. Lucha might have a rep for not being stiff but this is not a match that shows it.

Pirata Morgan, BabyFace y Cien Caras vs. La Fiera, Lizmark y Rayo De Jalisco Jr. (September 1986)

In the words of AC/DC, "if you want blood, you've got it." Baby Face is hellbent to take out La Fiera and Fiera ends up juicing like a trooper. We even get a closeup of his blood on Baby Face's leg in the second fall. The tecnico rally is fun, and Fiera managing to sell being so beat up he's almost out on his feet yet still fighting fire with fire (pardon the pun) is really good. Him leaping out of the ring to spin-kick Baby right in his Face is the shit. Pirata saves Baby from his bloodening and gets pitched flat out of the ring by Rayo for his troubles, followed up by a big plancha. Then it just kind of ends. Flat finale to a pretty good match. This has to be a glitch in the timeline; Fiera has to get his revenge on Baby Face afterwards.

Americo Rocca, Cacharro Mendoza y Kung Fu vs. El Talisman, El Dandy y Guerrero Negro (September 1986)

This is nice after the last couple of bloodfeasts, a trios comedy match to open the window and get some fresh air, so to speak. We open with Kung Fu exhibiting his nunchaku skills to scare the rudos and the rudo ref as well. There's a funny cultural disconnect in having a guy named Kung Fu dressed like a ninja wielding nunchucks. Dr. Morales mentions Tito Santana and other "lucha Norteamericano" and I wonder what they're talking about. Talisman and Cachorro have a nice little matchup then El Dandy and Rocca come in and the pace picks up, ending in all the rudos getting thrown out of the ring with the final toss due to endless rollup being hilarious. After the first fall Rocca comes in and just smokes Negro with among other things a reverse armdrag and what I can only describe as an "armscissors". We get a rudo beatdown and an unseen foule to keep this from going full-on comedy, then finish up with stereo dives and a revancha foule to cap things off. This doesn't quite reach the heights of, say, the exoticos match on the New Japan set but it's great physical comedy and in small doses I love the hell out of it.

DISC 5 RANKINGS

1. Espanto Jr. vs El Hijo Del Santo (Mask vs. Mask) (8/31/86)
2. La Fiera vs. Babyface (8/15/86)
3. Sangre Chicana vs. Perro Aguayo (Hair vs. Hair) (2/28/86)
4. Ringo Mendoza, Atlantis y Ultraman vs. Satanico, Masakre y MS-1, (September 1986)
5. Pirata Morgan, BabyFace y Cien Caras vs. La Fiera, Lizmark y Rayo De Jalisco Jr. (September 1986)
6. Americo Rocca, Cacharro Mendoza y Kung Fu vs. El Talisman, El Dandy y Guerrero Negro (September 1986)
7,El Solitario vs. Dr. Wagner (Mask vs. Mask) (12/1/85)
8,Rayo De Jalisco Jr. vs. Mascara Ano 2000 (8/15/86)
9. Lizmark, Alfonso Dantes y Tony Salazar vs. El Signo, El Texano y Negro Navarro (8/15/86)

Super, super disc all around. Top 3 are in the top ten, 4 and 5 are in the top twenty easily. So fucking good, if you don't have this set you need it.

LUCHA SET DISC 4

Javier Cruz vs. El Dandy (10/26/84)

Pretty random, back-and-forth beginning until the awesome spinning neck submission thing that Javier busts out, that really looks like something that would jack somebody up bad even though it is completely absurd. Cesaro could totally steal that today and it'd get over. We get the dawn of CMLL filming style as taco feasting is more interesting to the cameramen than the action (this would evolve to them paying more attention to cute girls in the crowd, luckily). Dandy beats up on Javier all caida until the half-Gory sub with hair pull. Tercera caida begins to wear on me, they just trade pins and submissions despite a brief bit of good brawling. The finish is unique and deserved as this could have been so much more than it was, so fuck it -- cueball both of 'em! El barbero does a serious Full Metal Jacket job on Javi before the tecnicos force Dandy back into the ring to face the same. He must have had a job either in the prison system or the military because dude surprises me with his speed and efficiency at cutting hair. I guess that says a lot about this match, as I'm more impressed by that than the work involved. Again, a hair match without blood. Sensing a pattern here.

Gran Cochise, Villano III y Rayo De Jalisco Jr. vs. Fishman, Mocho Cota y Tony Bennetto (11/30/84)

Mocho Cota immediately gets another mark in my cool book by his hair making me say "you got to be shitting me". Rudos dominate early but the tecnicos come back and there's a funny little bit with Rayo dancing and faking out Benetto. They win the fall and Cota wants nothing to do with Villano and Gran Cochise who scare him out of the ring. He's truly great here, cheap-shotting people, bumping huge into the ring post, ducking down to apron level and racing around the ring to attack the other team on the sly. Fishman hits a huge splash to end segunda caida. Cota talks shit to an old lady at ringside just to amplify his rudo grandeur. He's so great that you totally accept Cochise biting his head open as a face move. This appears to set up a Cota/Cochise hair match that I greatly regret is not on the set. Cota shows so much ass in this and you want to see him served up on a platter.

Sangre Chicana vs. Villano III (12/7/84)

If it wasn't for the clipping in the third fall this would probably be the match of the set, at least so far. This has a gritty, sleazy vibe that makes you think of Mean Streets or Last House on the Left. It's well-filmed but the shitty quality of the video makes it feel so trashy. Sangre is pouring blood within minutes of the first fall. Eventually he comes up with the simple comeback we already saw in the two MS-1 matches. This time however his tope is out of this world and I had to replay it. Villano III pops a vein out of nowhere and we have less than a full match. Sad, sad, sad.

Raul Reyes Jr. y Climax vs. Mocho Cota y Loco Zavala (1985)

Climax's white shirt, jeans and braces totally fit the Cock Sparrer tunes on the menu. First fall has the speed increasing exponentially until rudo miscommunication ends it. Cota powdering with his hands behind his back afterwards is tremendous. He stooges so good in this. Pretty ephemeral tag, but Mocho Cota brings the greatness.

Atlantis vs. El Faraón (3/22/85)

Seeing this after a match taken off of Youtube, probably filmed by Japanese guys yet having local play-by-play, is completely surreal. It's like changing prescriptions on your glasses, all of the sudden you have incredibly vivid clarity. Atlantis still seems kinda green here with his overselling. El Dandy is Faraon's second and looks incredibly skinny. This one has very little flow and is pretty underwhelming. A couple good dives and Atlantis wins with a very 'after the thought' feeling rollup. I can see these two having a better match a couple years down the road (and involving some blood), but this ain't it.

La Fiera, El Faraón y El Egipico vs. MS-1, Satanico y Pirata Morgan (3/29/85)

This was hurt a bit by me not being able to distinguish between the tecnico team members, but it was still awesome. Infernales Mark II rule. Fiera (I guess) attempts suicide in Hector Garza fashion off the top rope. The ending sequence almost falls apart but they save it at the last moment. "Una lucha apocalyptico" indeed, this was wild.

Americo Rocca vs. El Talisman (3/29/85)

Talisman's neon green and purple gear is about five years ahead of its time. Robert Williams who painted the first Guns N' Roses cover (before censorship) said that was the most off-setting color clash ever but to me it just brings back memories of the early '90s when I was a kid, and I love it. Actually the more I watch it looks like yellow and purple. I've got a bit of color-blindness and the video is only for this set fantastic so I'll pretend.

Una caida is pretty nondescript. There's a nice submission to end the second that I've never seen. It sounds like Dr. Morales calls it a Gory Especial but that is clearly not it. The dive sequence with both men getting in at the nick of time due to the fast-counting ref is nice. Rocca finally puts on some kind of fucked-up sub and the crowd explodes. Even in a match that seems so inconsequential, the response to it is fantastic and seeing Rocca wearing the belt that actually has "TALISMAN" engraved in silver on it is awesome. Perfectly fine match but not gonna finish high.

El Hijo del Santo & Black Shadow Jr. vs. Espanto Jr. & Eskeletor (12/1/85)

I just lost it for the Eskelator costume. Holy FUCK is that great. All he needs is muscles and a staff with a ram's skull on it and he'd be all good. Or he'd just be Antichristo. He further sells the gimmick like a total wimp, just like Skeletor.

Don't really mind the clipping much as Espanto and Santito are super fluid and gel perfectly, taking it to the mat amateur-style for a second and then just bringing it. Three nut shots unseen by the ref is a bit much. Eventually things go completely sideways and the tecnicos lose due to a ref bump, but Black Shadow Jr. pastes him anyway and raises Santito's hand. Then he dropkicks Eskeletor off the apron and I lost it again. Then he kicks the piss out of him AGAIN! Everyone's scrotum ends up getting punished, Santito leaves on someone's shoulders and I am a very happy man. Dunno whether it's the post-side camerawork, insanity, or my childhood love for He-Man, but this is one I absolutely love.

Lizmark, Mil Mascaras & Valente Fernandez vs. Sangre Chicana, Angel Blanco & Angel Blanco Jr. (12/1/85)

Another chaotic one-shot from the ringpost position. Blanco Jr.(I think? he's the one with the mask right?) and Fernandez have a super fast exchange for a minute and it is just fantastic. Sangre trying to skin the cat over and over again to get rid of Mil is equally great. Clipping and VQ are murdering this one but then you see Fernandez's mule kick and boxing and are won over again. Granny decides to do a Sangre bullfighting dance... what the fuck?!

DISC 4 RANKINGS

1. La Fiera, El Faraón y El Egipico vs. MS-1, Satanico y Pirata Morgan (3/29/85)
2. El Hijo del Santo & Black Shadow Jr. vs. Espanto Jr. & Eskeletor (12/1/85)
3. Gran Cochise, Villano III y Rayo De Jalisco Jr. vs. Fishman, Mocho Cota y Tony Bennetto (11/30/84)
4. Sangre Chicana vs. Villano III (12/7/84)
5. Lizmark, Mil Mascaras & Valente Fernandez vs. Sangre Chicana, Angel Blanco & Angel Blanco Jr. (12/1/85)
6. Javier Cruz vs. El Dandy (Hair vs. Hair) (10/26/84)
7. Raul Reyes Jr. & Climax vs. Mocho Cota & Loco Zavala (Sonora 1985) (Youtube)
8. Americo Rocca vs. El Talisman (3/29/85)
9. Atlantis vs. El Faraón (3/22/85)

This ends up super hurt by the clipping and Angel Blanco exposing his face in plain view if I am not incorrect toward the end, but it's still great. Some of the clipped/fucked up matches on this set are way better than the kind of staid title matches that are aired in full with perfect filming and I am greatly disappointed.

LUCHA SET DISC 3

Satanico vs. Shiro Koshinaka (7/30/84)

Watched this again. Satanico is always great but FIRED UP (TM Tommy Rich) Koshinaka is something to see. In the New Japan set he's mediocre (not as bad as Takada... woof) but here he's feeling it and plays to the crowd perfectly. The nut shot to me is clearly a fake-out on Satanico's part and quite the ingenious little finish in how he pulled it off. Fun fun match but I have no idea where it'll rank right now.

El Satanico y Espectro Jr. v. El Faraón y La Fiera (8/12/84)

The clipping hurt this way more than the VQ (which was still irritating as hell, don't get me wrong). La Fiera's jacket and huge hangtime bump to the outside gives this some legs but it really feels like half a match.

After rewatching this I really think I should rework my rankings for this disc. It ended up at the bottom and fuuuuuuuuuck that. There's nothing half-a-match about this, it is just a huge asswhooping that Satanico and Espectro take. Fiera is a total dick using his awesome studded jacket to mutilate Satanico to the tune of a DQ. Then Espectro almost gets murdered on a front piledriver/screwdriver/whatever. They get their comeback, with Fiera doing that huge hangtime dive where he holds on the ropes until the very last second, but it's to no avail. Satanico falls to another hurty finisher as he gets picked up in slam position and dumped face-first on the other dude's knee. Fiera proves he is suicidal again by completely wiping out on the floor but Espectro gets hit by Faraon's tope and gets counted out. Faraon is in the ring over Fiera PUMPING HIS CHEST LIKE HE'S DYING. Yeah I think this is moving way, way up.

Gran Cochise vs. Satanico (9/14/84)

I can't help but think this was a legitimate face turn for Satanico. All it took was for Cochise to use the attempt at the Fuerza handshake to jump Satanico from behind and the crowd was with it, like they collectively said "you just don't pull that kind of shit in a lucha title match". Everybody surrounds the ring at the end and some random dude even tries to lift Satanico on his shoulders which he wasn't having. Maybe I missed it cause I was kind of half watching, but did anyone throw money? This is one I'm gonna have to come back to.

Yeah, totally reworking my rankings for this disc now. This is one for the ages. Satanico is so good he can pull off a face turn in a title match. The exhaustion selling toward the end of this is superb. The open with matwork-into-rope running is par for the course but it adds to the psychology of both guys being blown up by tercera caida. We get a lot of even-steven faceoffs that became overdone after the '90s juniors popularized them but they work within the context of the match. Just a really amazing piece of tapestry these guys wove here, I'm gonna have to rewatch everything on the disc now to see where it stands in comparison. The fact that crazy workrate matches like Chicana/MS-1 parte dos and Villano/Perro are gonna go low on this one is insane.

Sangre Chicana vs. MS-1 (9/21/84)

I'm shocked that this was a hair match, and a really nasty feud to boot, and had no blood. Chicana sells like a motherfucker through the whole thing, and the part where MS-1 gave him a neckbreaker that looked like it legit twisted his neck and messed him up, and he sells like a spastic was great. His "Richardson punch" followed up by the dive that the slow-mo replay shows MS-1 launching himself horizontally three rows back and being counted out is a finish I can accept because the execution was so good. Sangre powders and MS-1 gets cueballed. These two matches are so totally different despite the identical stipulations. It's damn good but no way is it touching the first one.

Villano III vs. Perro Aguayo (10/7/84)

And we get more Japanese footage! This is in UWA and I wish we had more of their stuff. Is there any backstory to this match? I'd listen to the continuing podcasts but my net time for the month would be ate up in a day.

Crowd is hugely pro-Villano. His mask and Perro's boots just scream pro wrestling. They open with a very tense struggle that results in a couple standoffs before Villano busts out the dropkicks and senton but Perro quickly takes back control. Of course Perro has his own Senton of Crushing Doom and he busts it out, then the DOUBLE STOMP of Crushing Doom ends the first fall. They trade bombs (including a DDT) and submissions back and forth for segunda caida then the totally hurty-looking Villano Special wins it. Perro's hurt but recovers enough to fuck up another double stomp and the crowd heat is off the chain. You really can see the roots of ROH/US Indie style as both guys are just trading huge moves and elaborate pins/subs at random, with a ton of nearfalls. Both guys basically pin themselves and it's shitty. Luckily Perro decides to stomp the shit out of Villano afterwards, Villano takes off the belt (which is a great version of the strap-drop) and is ready to fight before him and Fishman jump him. Who is the Japanese dude in the red track suit that gets involved?

Holy shit the crowd storms the ring to celebrate and kids start to play-fight. This was a nice change of pace from the brawls and technical title matches so far and will probably go high on the set.

Satanico vs. Super Astro (10/26/84)

Satanico bellies up to Astro and acts like a bully, then he goes for the Fuerza handshake while referencing he's got the belt (and obviously the champ is a nice guy). He doesn't jump Astro and acts like, "was that so hard?" Then he goes ahead and jumps Astro anyway. Fantastic.

Pretty methodical beatdown on Astro before he recovers for a burst of speed to end the fall. Satanico beats him down again and goes for the mask, including dragging him across the ring by it, which was cool. Super Astro is pissed and decides to brawl resulting in both guys bleeding, then we get the great "punching on your knees" spot which is made greater by Astro's headbutts.

I can see people complaining about the pacing but I thought it worked. Super Astro has the talent to both beat the rudo at his own game with the brawling and then win with his superior technical abilities. This is another feather in Satanico's cap, he's such a bastard here.

Javier Cruz, Impacto y Solar II vs. El Dandy, Franco Colombo y Panico (10/84)

Yeah, this has to be clipped to the second fall. There's some great miscommunication spots with Panico and Columbo (one of whom, I believe Panico, looks like a bit like Herodes with the chops and bulk. Actually upon close-up he kind of looks like Brodus Clay!) Man, Dandy looks young here, and those two sentons of his are just vicious with the airtime he gets and the impact. You can put that second one up against a perfect Macho elbow. While Dandy and Cruz beat on each other there's a huge explosion like pyro went off and a woman screams which is really weird. The two just blast the shit out of each other with awesome punches. Impacto saves and just whales on people. Last bit is super fast-paced with big dropkicks and pinfalls. The story of the young rudo and young tecnico fighting it out backed by two grisled vets is great and the speed of this one is really high.

Perro Aguayo vs. Sangre Chicana vs. El Faraón vs. Villano III (10/84)

I'm just gonna say first off that the spot of someone getting hung under the bottom rope and having their head blasted into the apparently wooden Corona baseboards of the ring is one of the coolest little things I've seen in this set so far.

Thank you to Tim and Graham for pointing out the rules to this one but if you pay attention it's pretty simple. Definitely adds to the overall chaos. Having the two first singles matches end up being rudo/rudo and tecnico/tecnico (I think? Villano does mug Sangre later) works great because when you get thrown out it turns into a lumberjack match with people of the opposite style beating on you. Faraon looks like he blows up and the rudo match ends quick. The tecnicos are too pissed at their rivals at first to get in the ring together but Chicana finally says "fuck it" and starts brawling. After Perro interferes Chicana hits a 1000 MPH tope suicida out of nowhere and we got Perro and Sangre.

The THWACK of Sangre's head against the apron as he gets posted is quick noticeable. About the end, all I can say is "turnabout is fair play", and the fans surrounding and throwing money in the ring proves it.

Despite what it looks like on paper this really runs quick. I'm starting to run out of positive adjectives to describe these matches.

Atlantis, Ringo Mendoza y Tony Salazar vs. El Satanico, MS-1 y Espectro Jr. (9/28/84)

Los Infernales are all wearing green and black gear, I guess to match Espectro Jr.'s atrocious/nightmare-inducing mask. Satanico begs off Atlantis costing his team una caida. Segunda is over in a flash. Dig Satanico sliding on his knees to backdrop Tony. This is pretty standard trios fare; I expected there to be more hate considering both MS-1 and Tony were sans most of their caballera. End came out of nowhere. Yeah, this is going low.

Disc #3 rankings:

1. Satanico vs. Super Astro (10/26/84)
2. Perro Aguayo vs. Sangre Chicana vs. El Faraón vs. Villano III (Elimination Match) (10/84)
3. Javier Cruz, Impacto y Solar II vs. El Dandy, Franco Colombo y Panico (10/84)
4. Gran Cochise vs. Satanico (9/14/84)
5. Satanico vs. Shiro Koshinaka (Hair vs. Hair) (7/30/84)
6. Villano III vs. Perro Aguayo (10/7/84)
7. Sangre Chicana vs. MS-1 (Hair vs. Hair) (9/21/84)
8. Atlantis, Ringo Mendoza y Tony Salazar vs. El Satanico, MS-1 y Espectro Jr. (9/28/84)
9. El Satanico y Espectro Jr. v. El Faraón y La Fiera (8/12/84)

I skipped around on the first two discs but I'm gonna pick it up and order #3 since I reviewed all the matches. Still kind of floating on where to put Cochise/Satanico because I watched it in two halves on different days.