Damiancito El Guerrero v Mascarita Magica (CMLL, 2/27/96) - EPIC
I don't want to compare this to Damiancito/Cicloncito from the following year. That one is such a special and damn near singular match that I suppose it's hard not to, especially when there's a relative paucity of minis stuff to begin with. Comparisons come easier in that respect. But I don't want to compare them, because that's kind of boring. All I'll say is that the Cicloncito match is a top 30 match of all time for me and this one wasn't a million miles off it. I thought it was terrific, obviously. Mascarita Magica doesn't really get talked about as an all-time great mini the same way Damiancito, Espectrito, Cicloncito Ramirez, etc. do, but he could be every bit as spectacular as the latter if we're talking classic tecnicos. The primera was a brilliant matwork fall and the first real example of Mat Wizard Virus that I've seen. Even if he maybe wasn't quite as mindblowing as he'd become, quite as assured as the stocky technician that was having some of the best matches in the world nearly two decades later, he was already doing things here that the majority of other wrestlers would fall on their face attempting. His zip on armdrag bumps is first class as well and he takes one here where he goes flying under the bottom rope and basically dropkicks a hot dog vendor's basket to smithereens. The tercera had a real classic title match feel and the drama built and built as they went. There was one absolutely amazing bit where Damiancito did what I can really only describe as a spin-a-roonie, used his legs to hook Magic by the neck and flip him over into a victory roll cradle, which produced one of the best 2.999 counts I've ever seen in lucha. Cap it off with a fucking doozy of a Mascarita Magica tope and you're onto a winner. This was very great.
Damiancito in the blue trim! Black and red will always be the iconic colour combo for Damiancito, but a switch up now and then never hurt. Like Hogan wearing all white in the Garden from time to time. This was criminally short, although it was through no real fault of the wrestlers themselves. It looked like it was rolling towards something quality, then the ref' clearly fucked up a count in the segunda, before Dragoncito had even made his comeback, and counted 3 off a fairly routine slam about four minutes in. Stupid. So we basically get one fall and that one fall was really good stuff. Not nearly as spectacular or breathtaking as a certain match we won't compare it to, but then what really is? Even still, Damiancito was doing some amazing things, like using his legs to wrap up Dragoncito's arm in a hammerlock while applying a half crab/Indian deathlock, then rolling out of that and quickly shifting into a different armbar, this time with his hands. The handspring backflip victory roll thing to finish the primera was just a beautiful and absurd bit of work.
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