Lucha Libre Month???? Probly.

Sangre Chicana v Ringo Mendoza (10/28/83)

And now for a totally different look at Sangre Chicana. Pretty sure this is the first time I've seen him in a title match setting (and the second time where he isn't bleeding and brawling all over the shop like a fucked up lunatic, after the Andre tag earlier on the disc). As a match I didn't think it was a real slam dunk - although it was really good - but there's still plenty of Chicana-isms present. Just about everything the guy does feels like a big deal, sort of like how Hashimoto makes even a stare down feel momentous. They do a bit where they both keep hold of an armdrag and end up on the floor, still with their arms hooked, and you get the sense that if Chicana were to fling a punch then and there things would deteriorate into a hurricane of blood and piss and vinegar real quick. Not that that would be a bad thing, of course. He's such a great seller, the way he kind of walks the line between overstated and just right to perfection. Mendoza's dive fake-out in the primera was really awesome. He run the ropes and Chicana expects the tope, so he hits the deck right away. Mendoza stops short and lies flat on the mat, then when Chicana jumps up on the apron (after he looks around and can't see Mendoza) he gets knocked back down with a dropkick, and that's followed up by a plancha. Ringo's struggle to reverse Chicana's stretch plum (or whatever) into a torture rack down the stretch was really fucking cool. Made the whole thing feel like a real gruelling contest. Could've done with a few more minutes at the end, but folks throwing money in the ring and the kids jumping in there with Chicana post-match is an awesome bit of 80s Mexican wrestling that went a ways to making up for it.


El Hijo del Santo & Atlantis v Fuerza Guerrera & Lobo Rubio (11/25/83)

Well this is a Fuerza match, so you know that even if it was total garbage I'd still find something about it that tickled me. It was not total garbage, however. It was way the fuck in the other direction. Fuerza hasn't really honed his douchebaggery into the razor sharp sword of shitheaded perfection quite yet, but he will still try and handshake his way out of a situation. Then of course he'll cheapshot you and I'll love it to death. He throws a few incredible punches in this, right under Santo's chin. This is mostly a technico showcase though, and it fucking ruled the earth. First caida is just loaded with awesome exchanges. The rudos are pretty much the perfect counterpoint to what Santo and Atlantis are doing, hurling themselves around, catching and flying into everything, etc. I think this is the first time I've seen Lobo Rubio, but he was great in this. I mean, in order for the technicos' stuff to look as good as it did, you need a good base, and Rubio was a GREAT base. Is there a more graceful wrestler in history than Santito? He has fourteen million headscissor variations, and there was one in the the first caida that might have been the most gorgeous headscissor I've ever seen. Then he rolls out these amazing armdrags that might've been the greatest armdrags of all time. All of Atlantis' stuff looked spectacular as well, and shit, maybe HE'S the most graceful wrestler in history. Fuerza and Rubio going all "fuck it" and taking the match down a darker path in the segunda is exactly what I wanted. Rubio chucking Santo out the ring down the stretch like he was taking a throw-in was fucking outrageous, and I'm surprised Santo's ACLs didn't snap like rubber bands then and there. The stereo dives at the end were as huge as you want them to be, too. Atlantis' tope suicida was exactly what you'd expect out of a move with "suicide" in its name. Total blast of a tag match.