There was a slight edit in this around halfway, but based on how much of Virus' face paint had been worn off before the edit and how much after, I don't think we really miss anything. Which is good, because it would be annoying otherwise, because what we got was a wonderful 10 minutes. Hechicero is slimmer and NIPPIER in 2016 than he is today and the first five minutes was just a beautiful mat clinic between him and one of the true GOATs of lucha grappling. The camera was practically inside the ring so we were right there with the action, seeing how they manipulate joints and shift their body to create openings, maneuver the other guy into positions that might allow them to seize advantages two steps down the line. You can also hear everything and Hechicero was a growling shit-talking freak while Virus went about business like the seasoned pro he is. There was an amazing moment where Hechicero turned a crucifix pin into a Texas cloverleaf and fuck knows how he did it. They linked up in a knucklelock and ran through an extended sequence of rolls and tumbles and pins and attempted monkey flips and neither guy let go of the other's hand once. It was the very best sort of pro wrestling and I'll say that about half a dozen sorts of pro wrestling but I genuinely think this is my wrestling ideal. Nothing else mesmerises me the way lucha matwork does. I wish it lasted another 10 minutes but, much like the Hechicero of 2026, the Hechicero of 2016 had a chip on his shoulder and a propensity to turn a sporting contest into a fist fight. He pulled the straps down and opened himself up for an exchange of chops, so Virus obliged, took his shirt off and laid one on Hechicero's chest. Hechicero about caved the wee fella's chest in so Virus immediately threw that nonsense out the window and kicked him in the knee instead. There's a reason the most well-adjusted among us would call Virus one of the 30 greatest wrestlers to have ever lived. It also meant they got back to the grappling, not the same as the opening as this was more interspersed with movement, strikes and rope-running, but it was awesome all the same and I dug the escalation. Hechicero crushes Virus with a shoulder block and leans down to ask him if he's okay ("que pasa, hermano?"), then shouts "puta madre!" as Virus uses his WILES and nearly sends him flying over the ropes. Hechicero ends up draped over the top rope and Virus just cracks him with a flying leg lariat that slingshots him back into the ring. Hechicero's spinning hammerlock backbreaker is a great spot and in the end veteran smarts or caginess won't save you from getting swung around and dropped spine-first across someone's knee. I fucking loved this.
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