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).