Brazo de Plata & Headhunters A & B v Gran Markus Jr., Cien Caras & Steele (CMLL, 5/22/98)
You knew you were in for something special before this even officially started. The Headhunters are full blown tecnicos here and come out hugging children and high-fiving parents, then Brazo de Plato comes out at a rapid waddle and bum rushes the EVEN PORTLIER Gran Markus Jr. as the Loony Tunes theme song plays. You'd maybe think the match could only go downhill from there, but then you'd be dead fucking wrong because this was an awesome seedy brawl built around a couple fatboys bleeding like pigs. The first caida lasts about a minute and a half before the rudos literally kick Porky into submission. Or the refs DQ them for excessive cruelty, I'm not really sure. Either way Porky gets thrown into the ring post and bleeds, so Markus Jr. punches him in the cut and hungrily laps up his blood like a disgusting wee ghoul. Porky making his comeback was of course phenomenal, as it tends to be. I'll never tire of Super Porky losing his marbles in fit of rage and it looked like he was trying to kick Markus Jr. to death. He was also measuring his punches before landing potato shots right to the cheek bone and digging his thumbs into the cut forehead like he was trying to peel a particularly stubborn tangerine. The Headhunters were a blast in this as well, throwing their ample weight around and splatting guys with beefy clotheslines, one of them crushing Cien Caras with his entire body weight, the other doing an awesome fatboy plancha off the ring apron. Steele is Val Venis in a dodgy Shredder mask made of cut up cereal boxes and he was a pretty fun rudo stooge. He had a couple impressive power spots, like picking up a Headhunter and ramming him into the post, and he had a nice brawling section with that same Headhunter where he tried to cut a mid-match promo only to get his face smashed into a table. The finish is deflating as we finally get to the mano a mano section with Porky and Markus Jr. on level footing, but the ref' sold the almighty hell out of that splash and if the apuestas lives up to the lead in then you can accept the trade off.
El Hijo del Santo, Blue Panther & Black Warrior v Tony Rivera, Mr. Niebla & Mr. Aguila (CMLL, 5/22/98)
Totally different yet equally awesome trios. This was just a breeze, and if it wasn't particularly standout for CMLL in 1998 then that says more about the kind of TV they were producing that year. This didn't necessarily have a central pairing to it -- it didn't appear to be setting up a title/apuestas match or even furthering any existing programmes, there were no A/B/C roles or match-ups, but it did have the obvious hook of the young studs up against the legends. It was a workrate trios at heart, but even if they never got especially niggly there was definitely an element of the old guard wanting to put the kids in their place. Niebla looked like a real superstar here and his pairing with Panther was top drawer. You'd suspect part of looking so good against Panther is because you're in there with Panther in the first place, but he looked crazy graceful all the way through and his matwork was really slick. Either he improved markedly at the latter in those eight months since the Wagner title match, or he was always capable and Wager decided to work that New Japan hybrid anyway. Aguila also had a few big moments and his corkscrew moonsault was perfection. Santo busting out the corner tope will always rule and I loved Niebla taking it straight in the face as the dude front row had to scramble out of dodge so fast his shirt got left behind. I want to check out more Niebla from '98. Late career Niebla can be a drag and I don't remember early career Niebla being anything exciting. Maybe this was right in the sweet spot?
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