Black Terry Christmas and Cerebro New Year

IWRG 2015/12/20

Cabelleras vs. Cabelleras: Black Terry & Dr. Cerebro vs. Eterno & Apolo Estrada Jr.

Good match, but man, it could’ve been so much better. Obviously the finish was not clean because lucha libre reasons, but that’s not the only negative, because Eterno and Apolo were so fucking bad here, they had to be carried by the veterans and it was a painful ride for me as a viewer. Terry was tremendous, though, but you already knew that, as he once again displayed his amazing brawling abilities, Cerebro had a big match tercera, but all of that was barely enough, because Eterno and Apolo were so sloppy, too slow, tired etc. it felt like watching backyard amateurs. Terry and Cerebro were really into it, they wanted to fight fiercely, but Eterno and Apolo couldn’t meet them half way. They almost ruined all three falls, especially the brawling portions from the first two, but fortunately the booking was strong enough to hide their weaknesses with few neat shortcuts and tricks, and the aforementioned Terry & Cerebro carryjob managed to save things. But at the end of the day, the match was good, and I don’t want to complain too much, let’s rather focus on nice things, such as Terry wrestling like a rabid fucking bulldog and Cerebro busting out his very best in tercera.

***1/4

Well, Hey There! Are You IWRG? Long Time No See!

IWRG 2015/10/18

LA Park, Trauma I, Trauma II vs. Dr. Wagner Jr., Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr., Golden Magic

Massive disappointment, nothing even close to an out-of-control Arena Naucalpan mayhem I was secretly expecting. It was the worst possible version of Park vs. Wagner, with all the posing, shenanigans, annoying stalling and screwy finish. Wagner was the worst here with all the unnecessary posing and crap like that. Such a real life douche, but you gotta give him credit for being a smart worker who knows how to get and stay over with the crowds with minimal fucking efforts. Even when Park and Wagner actually wrestled, it was painfully average, with lots of sloppiness and low-bump shortcuts. Wagner’s son was useless here. Terrible wrestler. The Traumas and Golden Magic were the saving graces of the match, they did some cool and fancy shit and made sure the match stays somewhat coherent. I also liked some brawling portions but those were rare, unfortunately. Such a meh match.

**1/4

Dat Chico!

IWRG 2009/11/05

Cabellera vs. Cabellera: Chico Che vs. Gringo Loco

I miss watching Chico Che working violent matches, dude brings it every damn time, but it seems he’s disappeared lately, working some low-end indies and shit. Doesn’t work with IWRG anymore, I don’t know why. I wish all these new feds would book him. Anyway, this match is another proof of his immense talents, just a stiff and straight-forward brawl with Chico unleashing some serious punishment on Gringo Loco during his comeback period. He kicked him right across the face few times, full fucking contact. Both guys bled, and obviously the legendary bucket was used. But Chico also bumped well, including that SICK powerbomb to the floor. They built the finish on controversy because referee no-called a piledriver on Chico, which was hit or miss, but it didn’t ruin the mood. Generally speaking, this is great little apuesta war and another gem in Chico Che’s impeccable collection of violence.

****

Nasty Lucha

IWRG 199???

Misioneros de la Muerte (Signo, Texano, Negro Navarro) vs. Villanos (III, IV, V)

So, I have no idea what’s the date for the match, all I know is it has to be from the late 90s due to V3 still having his mask on. This is a classic. Great primera with some tight clinic on the mat, it ended properly, in a classic lucha fashion, but then in segunda all the hell broke loose as Misioneros got sick of llaves and turned the match into a violent dogfight. Poor Villanos got their asses kicked pretty hard, as Misioneros were ripping off their masks, making them bleed like pigs, shoving them into ring posts head first, Texano was stabbing them with his fork… Madness! Best thing is, the rudos took their time and the whole sequence was just uncomfortable to watch, it was some heavy shit. Obviously it made the Villanos’ comeback in tercera super sweet, it was their time to dish out some good old scuffle punishment. Excellent, nasty brawl, totally recommended.

****1/2

Guapos/Villanos

IWRG 2000/5/11

SUPER LIBRE: Super Guapos (Shocker, Scorpio Jr., Bestia Salvaje) vs. Villanos (III, IV, V)

This was 15 minutes of good old school lucha sangrienta awesomeness, two surly rudo trios going into a grueling battle filled with violence and tension. The Guapos worked as the “true” rudos here, dominating the primera and good chunk of segunda before an amazing Villanos comeback where they got super pissed off and just beat the shit out of Super Guapos for the whole tercera before the screwjob finish. Needless to say, there was blood, Scorpio was covered in red. When it comes to the body of work, there was nothing fancy about it, just heavy punches, biting, mask ripping, kicks, etc. Basically, a Villanos match, hehe. I especially adored the V4/Scorpio tussles, those were gnarly as hell. Excellent match.

****1/4

Eterno/Chicano (Hair Match)

IWRG 2015/2/1

Cabellera vs. Cabellera: Eterno vs. Chicano

Good hair match, but it doesn’t touch their slugfest from 1/11, this one just wasn’t as wild or good. It was kind of too by-the-numbers for my liking. One thing that was good here, though, was the fall finishes. Shame this wasn’t a MOTYC classic as the rivalry promised to be, but still it’s very watchable.

***1/2