Magic

CMLL 1996/10/18

Cabellera vs. Cabellera: Bestia Salvaje vs. Negro Casas

Oh my fucking GOD, what a brawl! I can’t believe I’ve never seen this one before, because the match is so goddamn fabulous. It was only 13 minutes long, but sweet Jesus on a spit, it was very nasty and ultra vicious, just a pure asskicking scuffle that eats little babies for breakfast! First we got 10 minutes of Bestia being a super wild and aggressive predator beating the living shit out of Casas, I’m talking some truly violent and surgically precise punches, slaps, knees, dumps, etc. One of the very best workovers right fucking there, you’ll rarely see something like that out of lucha. Then we got 3+ minutes that consisted of Casas making his valiant comeback, laying some rough smackdown on his own, Bestia regaining control, both dudes going back-and-forth while making an insanely dramatic climax with few wonderful nearfalls and the perfect finish. Yes, all that in just 3 minutes and change, shit man, that’s how fucking amazing these guys were, pure magic. I mark for malicious tussles that look like something straight outta dusty Tijuana bars, man oh man, if I were doing a GOAT list right now, this match would crack the Top 10, I swear. One can’t be better at pro-wrestling than what I just watched here.

*****

Classic AAA

AAA 1996/10/6

LUCHA EN JAULA: Pierroth Jr., Killer, Halcon Dorado Jr. vs. Mascara Sagrada Jr., Blue Demon Jr., La Parka

Fun cage match brawl, basically as good as it could get with the “escape” stipulation and some of the names involved. But hey, it was entertaining enough and kept short, with a minimalistic structure and layout. Parka was brutal in his comeback punishment, he went full throttle on the rudos with chairshots and caneshots. Totally watchable tussle.

***

Nakano/Tenryu

WAR 1996/5/26

Tatsuo Nakano vs. Genichiro Tenryu

Fantastic five minute match and such a pleasure watching Tenryu in a shoot style environment. Nakano is a proven standout of his genre and Tenryu takes him very seriously, charges at him right away with fast palm strikes, but Nakano is too fast and strikes mercilessly, and before you know it – Tenryu’s on the floor. The chubby Nakano is very tough and danger level is now very high for Tenryu as he gets suplexed, armbared and kicked around silly. But then he decides he’s had enough of it and just blasts Nakano with hard slaps and palm strikes, and then with the game ending half crab. Boom! That’s it. Glorious little gem right there.

****

Muta/Tenryu (Battle of the Dicks)

WAR 1996/10/11

Great Muta vs. Genichiro Tenryu

Tenryu throws the ceremonial flowers at Muta and makes it clear this is going to be his grumpiest edition yet. And it really needs to be, because Muta is a different kind of foe, totally dangerous, violent and unpredictable. What a magnificent and spectacular dance of death this match was! Muta stalls for awhile before tricking and busting Tenryu wide open with a broken beer bottle glass, Tenryu’s face is soaked in his own blood but his face also says “man, this is gonna hurt you more than me, Muta, just wait and see”. Shit man, Muta was causing havoc right, left and centre, he was a true demon of mayhem here with all the maliciousness, zero-fucks-given cheating and brutal displays of violence. You got the unsettling sense of Tenryu facing something completely unknown to him and WAR, a new and frightening kind of monster. Owning Tenryu on his own turf is a remarkable achievement, so you can imagine Muta’s incredible efforts. Sick fuck 101. Tenryu’s eventual comeback was epic, stiff punches were thrown back-and-forth, weapons were used, the entire thing was just one violent spectacle. Finishing stretch was such a sweet little candy, it was relatively short yet so fucking dramatic, watching these two soldiers trying to outdick each other was beautiful.

*****