Santo v Casas (part 2)

El Hijo del Santo, Bestia Salvaje & Scorpio Jr. v Negro Casas, El Dandy & Hector Garza (CMLL, 11/22/96)

This was even better than I remembered. It's the match where Santo turns rudo in Arena Mexico, and if you're looking for a reason why Santo would go over to the dark side, you can assume it's because he's finally had enough of Negro Casas' shit after all these years. He can't take it in his stride anymore. And to make matters worse, Casas is one of the GOOD guys now? After everything he's done, not just to Santo but to every other tecnico in the company at one point or another? If that's how THIS world works then El Hijo del Santo will carve a new one, and Negro Casas will have no place in it. The original line-up had Felino as part of the rudo unit, but it's Santo who appears after the match has started. He initially comes out wearing a cape with the hood up, then he jumps in the ring, rips it off and goes total badgershit on Casas. At that point people realise what's happening and there's almost a sense of shock, mostly from the crowd but also from Dandy and Hector Garza. This is the son of El Santo? Siding with a pair of bastards like Bestia Salvaje and Scorpio Jr? It's damn near incomprehensible. There's even a shot of someone in the crowd having to be escorted by police back to his seat! Santo was unbelievable here and not just in how he would go after Casas. He was a madman and obviously that part was amazing, but there were some awesome little intricacies in his performance as well. His singular focus was mauling Negro Casas. He didn't even acknowledge Dandy or Garza, who both tried to talk some sense into him at various points. Bestia and Scorpio were attacking anything that moved, but Santo only had claws for Casas. In fact he barely even acknowledged his own partners, who tried a couple times to integrate him into some crowd taunting. Bestia and Scorpio would double team Dandy, Santo wasn't interested. They'd double team Garza, Santo wasn't interested. But when they double team Casas? Call it a triple team because Santo was all in on that. He didn't change his whole approach to wrestling just because he was flying with a different murder of crows. He was still El Hijo del Santo, it's just that his hatred of Casas had pushed him past the brink, and past the brink waited Bestia Salvaje and Scorpio Jr. Dandy and Garza kind of standing around doing nothing at points while the rudos brutalise Casas might look silly in isolation, but when you look at the bigger picture it's like...why would either of them feel compelled to come to his aid, especially against Santo? Dandy and Casas have had beef for years and were even at each other's throat a few months earlier. That built to the third fall when Dandy finally made his choice. Fly with the crows you get shot with the crows, and if these were the crows Santo wanted to fly with then so be it. The first Santo/Dandy exchange was amazing and then of course Santo makes his own choice and everyone's fair game after that. If the enemy of your enemy is your friend then what does that make the friend of your enemy? Casas stumbling around losing blood and trying to fight back was incredible. He leaves for treatment after the first fall and when he comes roaring back looking for vengeance people are going mental. That his adrenaline only gets him as far as another whipping leaves plenty on the table for the rematch, though if that wasn't enough then the rudos holding him up to the camera like a trophy kill probably sealed it.