80s' Lucha, Vol.3 (Ratings Only)

Vol.1

Vol.2

TripleMania

AAA TripleMania XXIII

(2015/08/09)

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

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.

***

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

Happy Festivities!

CMLL 2000/3/17

Mascara vs. Mascara: Villano III vs. Atlantis

So much ink has been spent on writing about this masterpiece, it really feels futile for me now to try and come up with something even remotely fresh and cool to treat the match with. Simply put, it’s one of the greatest matches ever, not just in Mexico, it’s also one of the biggest matches that ever happened in lucha libre, the hype and anticipation were unbelievable and the match totally delivered. This show was also CMLL’s first ever pay-per-view, so this match was historic from many different angles, here we have two grand superstars wagering their iconic masks, both guys have their own respective armies of rabid and loyal fans, this is one of those bigger-than-life situations where rudo/tecnico institute seems unnecessary and counter effective because these two are cheered/booed no matter what. The drama is insanely high-end and as fabulous as anything you’ll see from your favorite pro-graps. Fucking epic shit. They use grueling and simple old school submission moves that have the crowd going bonkers, less is more indeed, they deserve especial props for an innovative bladejob that came from a vicious dive. It looked nasty, they bled a lot but still managed to continue the match in hellish rhythm. And HOLY SHIT at the finish and crowd reaction, it still gives me chills to this day. The post-match stuff is one of those emotional lucha rollercoasters of warm feelings, excellent stuff.

The timeless classic.

*****

Violent Lucha Is Good For Your Health

IWRG 2009/8/27

Villano III & Scorpio Jr. vs. Sangre Chicana & Head Hunter I

Hate, hate and more hate, this is a good old lucha sangrienta with four mean old fucks trying to desecrate each other. Villano and Chicana, Scorpio and Head Hunter, that’s the layout here, and let me tell you something, the latter pairing turned out to be just as great as the former. HH is basically a disgusting bladder radiating the menacing Abdullah the Butcher vibe, sure he’s old and slow, but he’s also thirsty for blood and quick enough to throw a vicious punch or two, or to pound in a fork in your head. That image is going to stay with me for awhile, mos def. The Villano/Chicana thing was, well, you fucking know it – hide your children, everyone, because these two malefactors are about to bring some mayhem.

****1/2

IWRG 2009/9/3

Villano III vs. Sangre Chicana

One week later, here we are, this was simply a crazy bloody brawl, a throwback to the old school lucha slugfests from the 70s and 80s where the wrestlers made the most out of the simplest stuff. Less is more indeed. Chicana ambushes Villano in a good old rudo fashion and proceeds to dominate the primera relentlessly, even using a grater on Villano’s alien-from-Star-Trek carved forehead. I know Chicana’s most famous matches have him working a phenomenal FIP sessions and selling his opponent’s offense like a very violent death, but here he mauled the motherfucking Villano III and it was pretty damn glorious. The crowd hates Chicana and he hates them back. Obviously VIII returned the “favor” in the segunda by making a big comeback terrorizing SC back, although this time it was more back-and-forth between the surly crazy fucks. Blood and punches, alls I’m sayin. After the match Villano challenged SC to a hair match, but unfortunately it never happened, for whatever reasons, fucking shame right there.

****3/4