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.