Monday, 18.17: By my reckoning, Wrestlemania actually finished 14 hours ago, which makes the use of the word 'live' in the title somewhat erroneous. To compensate, I'll be blogging not only on the wrestling I'm watching, but the life around me (small flat, wife watching awful celebrity ice skating TV, sausages cooking). A Wrestlemania/Life Blog, perhaps.
18.19: I press play on the legally obtained video on my computer. It's Wrestlemania. Wrestlemania! Wrestle! Mania! The Wrestlemania-ness of it all is overwhelming. The reception to Fantasia is underwhelming. Well done, universe. You remain in a perfect balance.
18.20: I hate patriotism. Not just the nauseating brand of US patriotism currently being shoved down my throat in this opening video. All patriotism. Hate it all. Except British patriotism.
18.24: Man, every year the introduction video gets more absurdily grandiose, yet still I get the chills. I don't know how they do it. Sausages are cooked.
18.25: I eat a sausage. It is good. My wife tells me to put the laptop down and concentrate on my dinner.
19.07: Let's try again. Tag title match first. Weeeellll....AWESOME....Big Show.
19.14: Rushed, but that was quite fun, especially (perhaps entirely) when Show was doing stuff. Pulling Miz out of the ring, throwing Truth into the post, bumping off the top, punching Morrison out.
19.18: Legacy triple threat next. One thing I like about this card is that there are a bunch of non-title feud matches. Most PPVs usually have one at most. Orton as babyface feels not right. Expecting the Breakdown 98 formula triple threat here.
19.26: I don't like fantasy booking, but it occurs this would have been better as a tag match, where Randy has to find a partner. And in my head, that partner would have been Dustin.
19.36: Predicable story aside, that was actually quite well done. Not much down time, some cool spots as Orton works out how to outsmart two opponents and there is apparently a lot of people that have been waiting a long time to cheer him. I'm glad he's still just doing his old character against heels, rather than turn face in some obvious, cliched way.
19.41: Money in the Bank. Not sure who I think is going to win this. What I do know is that Shelton Benjamin is the most athletically gifted Shelton Benjamin. I'm cheering on Christian.
19.54: I take a perverse amount of pleasure watching dumbass Kingston powerbombed headfirst into the ladder. Don't tell anyone how I live.
20.06: Kofi using the split ladders as stilts, hobbling across the ring, then slowly moving up the two is the most retardedly amusing thing I can remember in a WWE gimmick match.
20.14: Yeah, that was just a Money in the Bank match, and even by those standards, the spots weren't particularly crazy, and the finish was a little anticlimatic. This is a match that needs
20.29: I take a break to test my wife's new iPhone Shazam app. What an age. It got AFI, Phobia, and Akercocke ("Of Menstrual Blood and Semen? Gross"), but did not manage Sisters of Mercy. Or more correctly, it did not identify the right Sisters of Mercy. Ah, those similar bass-lines. Back to the show.
20.59: More distractions. How is Sheamus' first year unprecedented? WWE champion within the 12 months? That's been done. He's not even headlining Wrestlemania, placing him a rung behind Lesnar. He appears to be wrestling a black man. No, wait, that's Triple H.
21.05: Triple H and Sheamus are like night and day, except they wrestle the same minimal mobility weak brawling and resthold style. Triple H and Sheamus are like night and a particularly well-lit night.
21.16: Ugh. If there's an inverse relationship between match quality and how much Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler feel they need to talk afterwards about match quality, then I should note that Lawler says we just witnessed 'a classic'.
21.20: Hey, it's Wrestlemania 26. And I'm 26. I'd never really noticed before. I bet it's always been like that.
21.23: CM Punk is great.
21.25: I will say it again. CM Punk is great.
21.38: Punk vs. Rey was full of nice little moments, both guys laying into their kicks, Rey's moonsault DDT, several long complicated sequences that came off really smooth and all the setups to the 619. Far too short though to tell much of a story. Hopefully a precursor to a great rematch.
22.07: At some point in your life, you realise that you've just been watching one old man beat up an older man slowly for about twenty minutes, for no discernable reason. I guess the idea is that it was supposed to be cathartic to see a one-sided story of revenge, but it got tiring quickly. This didn't have the usual overbooking of a McMahon Wrestlemania match, partially because all the garbage stuff is probably not compatible with Bret's physical health. That said, if anything was crying out for distracting overbooking or people to fight as proxies for the two physically limited guys, it was this match.
22.18: Edge vs. Jericho. As the entrances happen, I check, and yes, I was 19 years old for Wrestlemania 19. When was the last time the Rumble winner actually main evented Wrestlemania, rather than just got a title shot? Answers on a postcard, not to be mailed.
22.42: As you would expect, this was a match with no body, because Edge can't work as a babyface. He can't really work as a heel, but at least his heel persona papers over the gaps. And this is the match you throw in all the gimmickry? - ref bumps, belt shots, multiple improbable kickouts. Even the post match fight used a gimmicked bump high spot, something he wouldn't need if Edge had credible looking offence. Basically, don't help out the old cripple whose at least earned the right for someone to cover for him, but do cover for the perfectly healthy guy who just can't put a match together. Jericho was fine here, he does his usual stuff and schtick (although a little downtuned). I actually liked the finisher theft stuff, for a change, given the build-up story of the spear being Jericho's constant come-uppance.
22.56: Divas take turns to do finishers. I can do maths, so I should be able to work out who wins. Mickie's DDT looked spectacular. Vickie pulls out the Malenko frogsplash. Points for getting that joke.
22.58: And they are actually going to main event with HBK and Taker.
23.02: This show needs to two great main events. By the way, I was seven during Wrestlemania 7. Curiouser and curiouser.
23.31: The wife has gone to sleep next to me, so I am typing less. Cena vs. Batista was no great surprise. It had the selling of a heavyweight clash, which I liked, and then the predicable counters of finishers which is fine, but not particularly exciting. Thought Cena's selling of the neck left a lot to be desired. On the other hand, I enjoyed Cena laughing his ass off with the pathetic-looking Cena haters.
Tuesday, 00.14: I will need to watch the main event again, but here are my initial thoughts. Firstly, this was clearly superior to last years effort. Last year's match has three sections. Ten minutes of meaningless mat stuff, the dives, the finisher stretch and selling. This might have been Taker's greatest performance, his selling both of the leg and of fatigue were incredible. The opening exchanges starting really energetically and felt meaningful - both going for weaknesses and fighting for positions. Possibly HBKs best performance since returning in 2002 as well, I can't really find fault with it. He's not the seller that Taker is, but his early stuff was really focused and believable, he was not afraid to bump all over and the moonsault spot was crazy. I'm glad they didn't repeat last year's dive section, opting instead to tease it and work in new spots. The final stretch became finishers and they probably stretched it out too long, but in the context I didn't really care. Main event of the biggest show of the year, leading to a retirement storyline permits you to stretch believability a little more than usual.
My major point about the match last year was that they more or less coasted on the vast resources given to the match - the buildup, the atmosphere, the time and the booking - and didn't create anything truly exceptional. I didn't feel that here. There was a strong sense of a real battle, a tremendous performance by Taker, and the feeling that the various elements came together as a gradual escalation than the preliminary section-dives-finishers layout of last year.
00.46: Time for sleep. Overall, a fairly middle of the road show, with just one excellent match. That said, I'll probably always watch Wrestlemania. I'll be there, watching Wrestlemania 80; God only knows how old I'll be then. Night.
Monday 29 March 2010
Sunday 28 March 2010
Michinoku Pro: August 24th 1993
Sasuke sings well (and my audio is out) or lip syncs really badly to open the show. Then, Wellington Wilkins debuts against Naohiro Hoshikawa in some form of time-limit multi-fall worked shoot match. This was a complete squash, and not really a fun one. Wilkins takes the match 8-0 or something similar. Next match is a trios, with TAKA, Terry Boy and Jiraiya against Shiryu, Leopardo Negro and Mercurio. This started with some typically enjoyable exchanges. TAKA and Leopardo started out with some pretty stiff strikes. I particularly liked when Jiraiya and Mercurio would matched up, where they started off with Mercurio easily overpowering Jiraiya, tossing him over the ropes and throwing him around,. Then Jiraiya demands Mercurio not tag out and match up again, before working some cool little guy overcomes bigger guy spots. Mercurio was really fun stooging for Jiraiya both times they matched up, the second time bumping all over the ring of a series of unlikely armdrags. This sort of starts to develop a heat section on TAKA, but that ends after he backflips off the turnbuckle and the finish is a little messy, with Terry Boy doing a rolling pin where he kept banging into the guys in the middle of the ring. Still, this was a nice little undercard match.
Jinsei Shinzaki has a handicap match designed to make Jinsei Shinzaki look all-powerful. The semi-main is SATO and Piloto Suicida vs. Super Boy and Gran Naniwa. SATO is Dick Togo and he is pretty spectacular in his stuff against Super Boy. They're two chunky guys doing some really cool speedy matwork exchanges and, second time they match up, SATO pulls out a couple of no-hands top rope moves. Then they do a nice series of dropkicks where Super Boy repeatedly ricochets off the ropes before taking a nutty backwards over the top rope bump. I got the impression that this was a match where Piloto was supposed to be the star, given all his posturing to the crowd, but by comparison, his actual work with Naniwa is a lot less impressive and basic. SATO's first exchange with Naniwa were much more exciting, a bunch of quick takedowns, and handstand into a headscissors and (because this is Dick Togo) just punches him in the face. Actually, this was quite a one-sided - the rudos had a few sections in control, but that mainly seemed to be filler. I am excited for all the future SATO/Togo.
The main event is a rematch for UWA Welterweight title between Sasuke and Super Delfin. This starts off a lot more technical and mat-based than the first match, and relies at lot less heavily on Delfin's rudo stuff. Delfin, as challenger rather than champion, is a lot more focused, postures less and is noticeably more aggressive. There's a lariat in the middle looks to hit really hard. Sasuke, I notice particularly in this match, is just an exceptional bumper - each little bump seems to be done in such a way to maximise how impactful moves look, even if it's just an armdrag or hiptoss. He has this great way of bumping off taking armdrags his arms and legs are spread wide so it looks completely really quick and reckless, and he goes over the top moreso that round to the side wherever possible, so to fall flatter on his back. A minute detail, but I appreciated it.
I mentioned in the first match how there was some odd structuring decisions, like how they'd go from picking up the pace to more feeling out matwork, which runs contrary to usual ideas about build. I'm not sure I dislike it per se, but it struck me as a little strange. There was a few similar things here, like how Sasuke's comebacks were often a submission hold or takedown, but overall that fit better because this was a very in-ring match, which led to a few nice moments of tussling for position on the submissions. These are two guys who just work well together - it's not a very deep match in terms of story or ideas, but all their interactions are just pleasingly well put together and it feels like they move naturally from one bit to the next. Shinzaki causes Sasuke to lose the title, and I am really looking forward to that match because while I permanently love Sasuke, I'm really into the 1993 Jinsei Shinzaki.
Jinsei Shinzaki has a handicap match designed to make Jinsei Shinzaki look all-powerful. The semi-main is SATO and Piloto Suicida vs. Super Boy and Gran Naniwa. SATO is Dick Togo and he is pretty spectacular in his stuff against Super Boy. They're two chunky guys doing some really cool speedy matwork exchanges and, second time they match up, SATO pulls out a couple of no-hands top rope moves. Then they do a nice series of dropkicks where Super Boy repeatedly ricochets off the ropes before taking a nutty backwards over the top rope bump. I got the impression that this was a match where Piloto was supposed to be the star, given all his posturing to the crowd, but by comparison, his actual work with Naniwa is a lot less impressive and basic. SATO's first exchange with Naniwa were much more exciting, a bunch of quick takedowns, and handstand into a headscissors and (because this is Dick Togo) just punches him in the face. Actually, this was quite a one-sided - the rudos had a few sections in control, but that mainly seemed to be filler. I am excited for all the future SATO/Togo.
The main event is a rematch for UWA Welterweight title between Sasuke and Super Delfin. This starts off a lot more technical and mat-based than the first match, and relies at lot less heavily on Delfin's rudo stuff. Delfin, as challenger rather than champion, is a lot more focused, postures less and is noticeably more aggressive. There's a lariat in the middle looks to hit really hard. Sasuke, I notice particularly in this match, is just an exceptional bumper - each little bump seems to be done in such a way to maximise how impactful moves look, even if it's just an armdrag or hiptoss. He has this great way of bumping off taking armdrags his arms and legs are spread wide so it looks completely really quick and reckless, and he goes over the top moreso that round to the side wherever possible, so to fall flatter on his back. A minute detail, but I appreciated it.
I mentioned in the first match how there was some odd structuring decisions, like how they'd go from picking up the pace to more feeling out matwork, which runs contrary to usual ideas about build. I'm not sure I dislike it per se, but it struck me as a little strange. There was a few similar things here, like how Sasuke's comebacks were often a submission hold or takedown, but overall that fit better because this was a very in-ring match, which led to a few nice moments of tussling for position on the submissions. These are two guys who just work well together - it's not a very deep match in terms of story or ideas, but all their interactions are just pleasingly well put together and it feels like they move naturally from one bit to the next. Shinzaki causes Sasuke to lose the title, and I am really looking forward to that match because while I permanently love Sasuke, I'm really into the 1993 Jinsei Shinzaki.
Tuesday 9 March 2010
Craig's Puro matches of the year 2009
The DVDVR poll is finished, here's my final top 20 for 2009:
1. Kenou vs. Fujita "Jr" Hayato, (M-Pro, September 5th)
2. Koji Kanemoto vs. Hayato "Jr" Fujita (New Japan, December 19th)
3. Daisuke Ikeda & Takeshi Ono vs Takahiro Ohba & Manabu Suruga (FUTEN, April 9th)
4. Yuko Miyamoto & Takeshi Sasaki vs Isami Kodaka & Mashashi Takeda, (Big Japan, March 26th)
5. Fujita "Jr" Hayato vs. The Great Sasuke (June 19th, M-Pro)
6. Alexander Otsuka vs. Yujiro Yamamoto (BattlArts, February 15th)
7. Kenou vs. Fujita "Jr" Hayato, (M-Pro, December 12th)
8. Super Tiger II vs Katsumi Usuda (Battlarts, August 30th)
9. Yoshihiro Takayama vs Satoshi Kojima (AJPW, September 26th)
10. Munenori Sawa vs Yujiro Yamamoto (Battlarts, August 30th)
11. Katsumi Usuda vs Yujiro Yamamoto (Battlarts, July 27th)
12. Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue vs. KENTA & Jun Akiyama (NOAH, October 3rd)
13. Fujita "Jr" Hayato vs. The Great Sasuke (November 8th, M-Pro)
14. KENTA vs. Jun Akiyama (NOAH, May 17th)
15. Alexander Otsuka vs. Akira Shoji (RJPW, September 11th)
16. Yuki Ishikawa vs Yuta Yoshikawa (Battlarts, August 30th)
17. Taiyo Kea & Minoru Suzuki vs. Suwama & Shuji Kondo, (All Japan, March 14th)
18. Shinsuke Nakamura & Hirooki Goto vs. Mitsuharu Misawa & Takashi Sugiura (NJPW January 4th)
19. Kota Ibushi vs Shuji Ishikawa (DDT, November 29th)
20. Yuki Ishikawa vs Tiger Shark (Battlarts, July 27th)
1. Kenou vs. Fujita "Jr" Hayato, (M-Pro, September 5th)
2. Koji Kanemoto vs. Hayato "Jr" Fujita (New Japan, December 19th)
3. Daisuke Ikeda & Takeshi Ono vs Takahiro Ohba & Manabu Suruga (FUTEN, April 9th)
4. Yuko Miyamoto & Takeshi Sasaki vs Isami Kodaka & Mashashi Takeda, (Big Japan, March 26th)
5. Fujita "Jr" Hayato vs. The Great Sasuke (June 19th, M-Pro)
6. Alexander Otsuka vs. Yujiro Yamamoto (BattlArts, February 15th)
7. Kenou vs. Fujita "Jr" Hayato, (M-Pro, December 12th)
8. Super Tiger II vs Katsumi Usuda (Battlarts, August 30th)
9. Yoshihiro Takayama vs Satoshi Kojima (AJPW, September 26th)
10. Munenori Sawa vs Yujiro Yamamoto (Battlarts, August 30th)
11. Katsumi Usuda vs Yujiro Yamamoto (Battlarts, July 27th)
12. Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue vs. KENTA & Jun Akiyama (NOAH, October 3rd)
13. Fujita "Jr" Hayato vs. The Great Sasuke (November 8th, M-Pro)
14. KENTA vs. Jun Akiyama (NOAH, May 17th)
15. Alexander Otsuka vs. Akira Shoji (RJPW, September 11th)
16. Yuki Ishikawa vs Yuta Yoshikawa (Battlarts, August 30th)
17. Taiyo Kea & Minoru Suzuki vs. Suwama & Shuji Kondo, (All Japan, March 14th)
18. Shinsuke Nakamura & Hirooki Goto vs. Mitsuharu Misawa & Takashi Sugiura (NJPW January 4th)
19. Kota Ibushi vs Shuji Ishikawa (DDT, November 29th)
20. Yuki Ishikawa vs Tiger Shark (Battlarts, July 27th)
Wednesday 3 March 2010
Craig's Top 100 wrestlers of 2009 - numbers 13 to 20
Number 21 to 100 here.
13. Todd Morton - I never got to see any of Todd Morton's matches against Bull Pain or Mitch Ryder, but I did see him matched up against Bill Dundee and Chase Stevens, which was enough to switch me on to his act. He is what modern wrestling should be about: not trying to invent a new style, but taking something timeless and making in contemporary. In Morton's case, he has the schtick and mannerisms of a old Southern heel, but with the hard bumping and speed of a junior heavyweight. I think you have to work hard to get the same schtick over with modern audiences more hip to the functioning of pro wrestling, and I don't think there's anyone in the US who will work as hard as Morton. Like all the greats of US wrestling, he gets so much mileage out of the smallest things.
14. Dr. Cerebro - As part of the trio with Black Terry and Cerebro Negro, Dr Cerebro has been in some of the best lucha matches of 2009. One of the reasons they are a great trio is that they can scale back or ramp up the degree of rudoism depending on their opponents (less vs. Oficiales, more vs. Zatura and Traumas), which gives them a wide range of roles within the promotion. I've been a big fan of his matwork in particular all year, his exchanges with Trauma II and one of the Piratas on par with that of his trio captain. He is a rock-solid hand as a brawler (check either of the two Dinastia Navarro revanchas from April) and as a bumper. I'm enjoyed his singles match with Juvi from June and I'm looking forward to 2010 Dr Cerebro flying solo more often.
15. Trauma II - There have been enough people who have already said that Trauma II is the most improved guy of the year. Plenty have pointed to his seeming need to be carried through mat sequences in the early Navarro/Terribles match, and how his abilities in this area have grown out of all proportion since that time. They point to his title match with Zatura as a truly modern lucha libre match, a blend of classic title match that works lots of other ideas (targetted limbwork, finisher stretch), as one of the most creative and satisfying matches of the year. All these things are true, and they get him this placing on my list.
16. Yoshihiro Takayama - 2009 was a year Takayama had a number of opportunities, after winning the Triple Crown, and he took them. Had possibly the only good Mutoh match of the year, where the selling of the leg gave a purpose to Mutoh's usual repetitive act. The title change with Kojima was a really good heavyweight match, probably his best match of the year, and the finish to the Suwama match was possibly the most unearthly violent thing I've seen in 2009 (review of both matches here). I'm someone who enjoys facials, and Takayama always brings great facials, as well the sort of simple yet violent moveset and match layout I prefer.
17. Great Sasuke - It's no secret to regular readers of this blog that I'm a fan of current Sasuke (my full Sasuke project match index is here). As far as 2009 goes, I recommend both his serious work (had great matches with Hayato "Jr" Fujita and a good one with TAKA) and his comedy work (his Sumo Hall match was a delightful bit of absurdist theatre). He was the best guy in an otherwise tedious tag match in Kensuke Office too. He still does impressive highspot, bumps like a guy half his age, is one of the best sellers in Japan, is highly creative and plays a great gullible mark in comedy matches. So there.
18. Arkangel De La Muerte - Arkangel usually works rudo captain in undercard trios with his Tuareg stable, which are where my favourite CMLL matches are found. Nearly on Virus' level as a rudo carrying someone through long mat sequences, he's also a great bumper and base for the bland flyers he's often paired with. The best Arkangel matches in 2009 are probably during the feud with the Angels trios, especially the one with Virus and Bronco from December.
19. Yujiro Yamamoto - I've rewatched a couple of BattlArts matches since I submitted this ballot, and think I may have underrated Yamamoto even at this position. A fantastic matworker, as shown in his matches with Otsuka and Usuda (both top 20 Japan matches for me), he's the only young BattlArts worker who look on the level with their older elites, especially when carry lesser guys on the mat. His match was Sawa was as stiff a contest as I saw anywhere else this year. He, like the best BattlArts guys, is a details wrestler, the intracies of a hold or the way he works into a dominant position are perhaps the most satisfying part of his matches. A future potential number one.
20. Valiente - As well as being a spectacular flyer (his no hands top rope quebrada is possibly the most breathtaking highspot in lucha, if not all of wrestling), Valiente has produced some of the best matwork falls in CMLL this year, and is more than up to the task of keeping up with Virus in both trios and their cool little lightning match in April. I have a bias towards rudos in rankings like this, because they do more of the things I care about in wrestling. Valiente is a technico is just as able as any rudo at holding a match together, especially as a captain, knowing when to hold off and when to let loose with something dazzling.
13. Todd Morton - I never got to see any of Todd Morton's matches against Bull Pain or Mitch Ryder, but I did see him matched up against Bill Dundee and Chase Stevens, which was enough to switch me on to his act. He is what modern wrestling should be about: not trying to invent a new style, but taking something timeless and making in contemporary. In Morton's case, he has the schtick and mannerisms of a old Southern heel, but with the hard bumping and speed of a junior heavyweight. I think you have to work hard to get the same schtick over with modern audiences more hip to the functioning of pro wrestling, and I don't think there's anyone in the US who will work as hard as Morton. Like all the greats of US wrestling, he gets so much mileage out of the smallest things.
14. Dr. Cerebro - As part of the trio with Black Terry and Cerebro Negro, Dr Cerebro has been in some of the best lucha matches of 2009. One of the reasons they are a great trio is that they can scale back or ramp up the degree of rudoism depending on their opponents (less vs. Oficiales, more vs. Zatura and Traumas), which gives them a wide range of roles within the promotion. I've been a big fan of his matwork in particular all year, his exchanges with Trauma II and one of the Piratas on par with that of his trio captain. He is a rock-solid hand as a brawler (check either of the two Dinastia Navarro revanchas from April) and as a bumper. I'm enjoyed his singles match with Juvi from June and I'm looking forward to 2010 Dr Cerebro flying solo more often.
15. Trauma II - There have been enough people who have already said that Trauma II is the most improved guy of the year. Plenty have pointed to his seeming need to be carried through mat sequences in the early Navarro/Terribles match, and how his abilities in this area have grown out of all proportion since that time. They point to his title match with Zatura as a truly modern lucha libre match, a blend of classic title match that works lots of other ideas (targetted limbwork, finisher stretch), as one of the most creative and satisfying matches of the year. All these things are true, and they get him this placing on my list.
16. Yoshihiro Takayama - 2009 was a year Takayama had a number of opportunities, after winning the Triple Crown, and he took them. Had possibly the only good Mutoh match of the year, where the selling of the leg gave a purpose to Mutoh's usual repetitive act. The title change with Kojima was a really good heavyweight match, probably his best match of the year, and the finish to the Suwama match was possibly the most unearthly violent thing I've seen in 2009 (review of both matches here). I'm someone who enjoys facials, and Takayama always brings great facials, as well the sort of simple yet violent moveset and match layout I prefer.
17. Great Sasuke - It's no secret to regular readers of this blog that I'm a fan of current Sasuke (my full Sasuke project match index is here). As far as 2009 goes, I recommend both his serious work (had great matches with Hayato "Jr" Fujita and a good one with TAKA) and his comedy work (his Sumo Hall match was a delightful bit of absurdist theatre). He was the best guy in an otherwise tedious tag match in Kensuke Office too. He still does impressive highspot, bumps like a guy half his age, is one of the best sellers in Japan, is highly creative and plays a great gullible mark in comedy matches. So there.
18. Arkangel De La Muerte - Arkangel usually works rudo captain in undercard trios with his Tuareg stable, which are where my favourite CMLL matches are found. Nearly on Virus' level as a rudo carrying someone through long mat sequences, he's also a great bumper and base for the bland flyers he's often paired with. The best Arkangel matches in 2009 are probably during the feud with the Angels trios, especially the one with Virus and Bronco from December.
19. Yujiro Yamamoto - I've rewatched a couple of BattlArts matches since I submitted this ballot, and think I may have underrated Yamamoto even at this position. A fantastic matworker, as shown in his matches with Otsuka and Usuda (both top 20 Japan matches for me), he's the only young BattlArts worker who look on the level with their older elites, especially when carry lesser guys on the mat. His match was Sawa was as stiff a contest as I saw anywhere else this year. He, like the best BattlArts guys, is a details wrestler, the intracies of a hold or the way he works into a dominant position are perhaps the most satisfying part of his matches. A future potential number one.
20. Valiente - As well as being a spectacular flyer (his no hands top rope quebrada is possibly the most breathtaking highspot in lucha, if not all of wrestling), Valiente has produced some of the best matwork falls in CMLL this year, and is more than up to the task of keeping up with Virus in both trios and their cool little lightning match in April. I have a bias towards rudos in rankings like this, because they do more of the things I care about in wrestling. Valiente is a technico is just as able as any rudo at holding a match together, especially as a captain, knowing when to hold off and when to let loose with something dazzling.
Monday 1 March 2010
Lucha Libre Mexicana in Brussels: A Day
Ah, Brussels. To me, the very name conjures up an image of the people of Brussels going about their lives and their work in the city where they work and live. Of course, whatever else you may think, there is one thing we can all agree on - Brussels is not in Oxford. Yet, that is where I found myself on Sunday morning, nine hours before the Cirque Royal hosted the second of two Todo X El Todo shows which I had a ticket for.
I set off at half five of the morn, first by car (Suzuki Swift, my flat to the bus stop), then by bus (Oxford Espress, bus stop to Baker Street) then by underground train (underground train, Baker Street to London St Pancras). I have never travelled on the Eurostar before, and it was an enjoyable experience. Recent air journeys has conditioned me to associate checking in and passport control with invasive personal searches and ludicrous restrictions on hand luggage contents, so it was refreshing to meet the bored eyes of an attendent who couldn't care less if I went through the scanner laden with metal coins and have packed in my bag a bottle of (non-clear) Apple Tango. Ha! The fools. They won't be so care-free when I work out how to make an explosive device out of metal coins and (non-clear) Apple Tango. I concede that the prototypes have been failures, mainly looking like damp metal coins.
I watched some of disc three of the New Japan set on the train (Killer Khan vs. Andre is a really great match, Bret Hart vs. Tiger Mask is a really bad match) and listened to Immortal's 'Pure Holocaust' on the iPod, then arrived at Brussels Midi at 12.30pm, Belgian time, and took the metro to Madou, the final leg of the journey. It was at this point I stepped outside for the first time since Baker Street. The first thing you notice about Brussels is how cold and wet it is during a freak storm which killed fifty people in France that day. I walked towards Grand Place for a quick ham and cheese omlette, chips and a Tongerlo Dubbel (brune, if you're asking), Belgian beer being a secondary reason for making a day trip to Brussels. Back to the theatre for 2.30pm, collected tickets, took seats.
The Cirque Royal was a really nice venue, seating down to floor level all the way around the ring, then a huge ring of balcony seats going up a long way. According to Santo, the Saturday show was a sell-out. This was not, however, but most of the lower seats were full. The crowd was a mixture, plenty of masked children in Rey Mysterio t-shirts with parents, some older rowdy teens and then plenty of couples both young and old who had gone out for the Sunday to watch some lucha libre. There was no-one there who looked liked they be chanting at a wXw show, for example.
The show started about twenty minutes late, which is practically early by most lucha shows standard. There were two annoucers, one in French and the other in Flemish due to the biligual status of Belgium's capital. I was waiting for Terry Wogan to summarise it in English (a niche joke, at best). They were probably doing the standard "lucha for non-lucha fans" spiel about lucha being about good vs. evil, technicos vs. rudos and then, out of nowhere they are both saying "Black Terry", and I shot out of my mental happy place where I retreat every time foreign languages are spoken around me. Black Terry is my favourite luchadore in the world, I was thinking only last week how I may never see him live as he doesn't seem to be one of the guys who does Santo's European tours. And there he is, first guy out. In a referee's top. Mother of fuck. Who flies Black Terry out to Belgium just to referee? I will tell you now: it was not a Jesus who loves me.
Anyway, we are five paragraphs in, so let's talk about the wrestling. The opening match was the minis title match, with Octagoncito against Mascarita Dorado (who, unless I've forgotten what he normally wears, was dressed as a mini el Hijo del Santo. A Santitocito, if you will). I thought this worked well as an introduction to the style, which is a good idea on a show promoted as much to art fans as to die-hard lucha fans. They started simple, with the rowdy teens ironically cheering every takedown and moved on to some arm drags and other lucha rope running stuff. They seemed to be having some problem with the ropes, which were too loose. Also, Dorada ended up botching a springboard moosault after slipping off the top rope. Octagon drew boos by pelting Dorada in the chest a bunch of times, and it was nice to be amongst people who aren't desensitised to that. Slaps to the chest, as we shall see, were a great way of getting heel heat on this show. I think I was hoping for something more spectacular though, Dorado seemed quite restrained. This wasn't, for example, the exhibition that Dorada vs. Pequeno Damien 666 was from last year, but then Octagoncito is nowhere near the base that Damien is.
Next up was Solar vs. Negro Navarro. They were wrestling an una caida match, so we got a sixteen minute matwork masterclass, as they worked through some of their extensive repetoire. They build up from simple takedowns to longer counter wrestling sequences and more unlikely submission and while I'm aware this may be a minority interest - it did not strike me that many people around the arena were watching this thinking to themselves, "here's the WKO100 third best wrestler of 2009" - I found it mesmerising. I think I may have been sat agog because I had the sense that the little Mysterio-shirted kid next to me was looking at me as if to say, "Whats so great about this? Where's the 619?". "Screw you, little kid", I said back inside my brain, "and watch these two guys take each other down in 619 different ways". Yes, I'm quite the quick thinker when I have time to write down an imaginary conversation nearly a day later.
I guess, objectively, it was about standard for them, but there were a couple of thing I found from seeing the live version. Firstly, they never stop talking. It's either meaningless noise or Spanish (the happy place again beckons), but it really adds to the competitive one-upmanship. Secondly, one of the reasons they work so well together is the way they split to roles. Solar is constantly interacting with the crowd, posing, encouraging them to cheer, whilst Navarro is nearly stoic, occasionally nodding his head when he knows he's been bested or sniffing in derision. Standing there, he looks like the toughest human being on the planet, it is an aura that almost can not be quantified, and only live performances do it justice. After about fifteen minutes of matwork, Navarro slaps Solar in the chest and the audience really react, whilst he slowly turns his head around to look at the most vocal with a slight smile and menace in his eyes. Just a tremendous performance.
After an interval of thirty minutes, they introduce a title match between Angel Blanco and Hurracan Ramirez Jr. This wasn't particularly good, and was the time during the show when my brain really went, "you booked this over a Black Terry match? He's standing right there, and he would have made Ramirez look amazing". Angel Blanco did some decent bumping, but this mainly struck me as not having many ideas, and the ones they did have weren't really well executed. They even did two near identical tope spots.
The main event was Cassandro and El Hijo del Santo vs. Magno and el Hijo del Solitario. Right up front - this was the most fun I have ever had watching a wrestling match ever. Before I start wheeling out superlatives, this was a best of three fall match with a classic formula: technico fall, rudo fall, comeback technico fall. Cassandro comes out and I will say (as a tribute to Eric), he was wearing a fabulous two piece robe radiating the same brilliant blue as the heavens from where he descended. This is what he was wearing the night before. He had unreal hair both days, looked truly beautiful and felt a confusion I had not felt since my corporal beatings in the headmasters office during my boarding days at Repton. I have seen two recent Cassandro matches previously, yet from those and (mostly) from this, I have no problem calling him the most spectacular wrestler, anywhere, in the world.
I love the reaction he got, which was identical to the first time I saw him in the London show. I didn't understand the tradition of exoticos in lucha libre, assumed he'd do an entertaining gay or drag queen act with a load of schtick. What nobody expected is the extent of his athletic gifts. His first armdrag and flip up are met with a collective "Wha?". From then on he continued to amaze a crowd that was already won over. His execution is perfect. His workrate is tireless - he'll go from one takedown, to a quick hip shake at the crowd then run straight into the next sequence. He drops in comedy spots before doing something else. I loved his rope running bit where he prances over Solitario. I got the impression from the short video on Belgian TV that on the first night Santo, maybe the luchadore with the all-time most beautiful opening fall work, did a lot more of his spots in the first caida. In this match he took a back seat and allowed Cassandro a complete showcase. They also both seemed to be having a great time, Cassandro was smiling almost constantly between bits, which could only add to the enjoyment.
Santo is someone I love watching so much that providing I see him once in a year, for long enough to go, "yeah, he's still El Hijo del motherfucking Santo", he'll appear in my list of the best wrestlers alive. I also really enjoyed the rudos. El Hijo del Solitario was hugely entertaining, from the moment he camply ran to the ring lip-syncing to AC/DC's 'You Shook Me All Night Long', thrusting himself into the turnbuckle. He ran up into the crowd at the start to shout at a teen, followed by Santo who walloped him in the middle of the people. Both rudos bumped all over and did everything they needed to do in a match all about the technicos. They both also had some really stiff strikes, I remember Cassandro taking an audibly nasty right hand from Magno to the side of the head, and Santo ends up sprawled across the front row while Solitario chopped him right in the chest. In fact, the rudos were so aggressive in the second fall that they had the old lady (and many others) next to me covering her eyes after a series of strikes, then a senton, then a double team assisted front lungblower.
The deciding fall finished with stereo topes (the ring rocking as our technicos hit the ropes at the same time), Santo's like a dart and Cassandro's with a little giro. Our seats were above to exit right in front of the ring, so the dives came towards and then under us. The visual of seeing Santo and Cassandro dive out of the ring and then right out of sight was amazing. The whole theatre, young children and elderly couples alike, cheered and laughed and clapped in awe and it was just a fantastic moment.
After the show I followed a similar route to the one I took there, only in reverse. I forwent stopping around afterwards for photos to make sure I made my train, only realising when I got there how much time I would have had to spare. In keeping with a theme I listened to Immortal's 'Sons of Northern Darkness' and watched a couple more New Japan matches, but mostly half-slept. I got home at half ten, British time, and then did the other half of the sleep. A good day.
I set off at half five of the morn, first by car (Suzuki Swift, my flat to the bus stop), then by bus (Oxford Espress, bus stop to Baker Street) then by underground train (underground train, Baker Street to London St Pancras). I have never travelled on the Eurostar before, and it was an enjoyable experience. Recent air journeys has conditioned me to associate checking in and passport control with invasive personal searches and ludicrous restrictions on hand luggage contents, so it was refreshing to meet the bored eyes of an attendent who couldn't care less if I went through the scanner laden with metal coins and have packed in my bag a bottle of (non-clear) Apple Tango. Ha! The fools. They won't be so care-free when I work out how to make an explosive device out of metal coins and (non-clear) Apple Tango. I concede that the prototypes have been failures, mainly looking like damp metal coins.
I watched some of disc three of the New Japan set on the train (Killer Khan vs. Andre is a really great match, Bret Hart vs. Tiger Mask is a really bad match) and listened to Immortal's 'Pure Holocaust' on the iPod, then arrived at Brussels Midi at 12.30pm, Belgian time, and took the metro to Madou, the final leg of the journey. It was at this point I stepped outside for the first time since Baker Street. The first thing you notice about Brussels is how cold and wet it is during a freak storm which killed fifty people in France that day. I walked towards Grand Place for a quick ham and cheese omlette, chips and a Tongerlo Dubbel (brune, if you're asking), Belgian beer being a secondary reason for making a day trip to Brussels. Back to the theatre for 2.30pm, collected tickets, took seats.
The Cirque Royal was a really nice venue, seating down to floor level all the way around the ring, then a huge ring of balcony seats going up a long way. According to Santo, the Saturday show was a sell-out. This was not, however, but most of the lower seats were full. The crowd was a mixture, plenty of masked children in Rey Mysterio t-shirts with parents, some older rowdy teens and then plenty of couples both young and old who had gone out for the Sunday to watch some lucha libre. There was no-one there who looked liked they be chanting at a wXw show, for example.
The show started about twenty minutes late, which is practically early by most lucha shows standard. There were two annoucers, one in French and the other in Flemish due to the biligual status of Belgium's capital. I was waiting for Terry Wogan to summarise it in English (a niche joke, at best). They were probably doing the standard "lucha for non-lucha fans" spiel about lucha being about good vs. evil, technicos vs. rudos and then, out of nowhere they are both saying "Black Terry", and I shot out of my mental happy place where I retreat every time foreign languages are spoken around me. Black Terry is my favourite luchadore in the world, I was thinking only last week how I may never see him live as he doesn't seem to be one of the guys who does Santo's European tours. And there he is, first guy out. In a referee's top. Mother of fuck. Who flies Black Terry out to Belgium just to referee? I will tell you now: it was not a Jesus who loves me.
Anyway, we are five paragraphs in, so let's talk about the wrestling. The opening match was the minis title match, with Octagoncito against Mascarita Dorado (who, unless I've forgotten what he normally wears, was dressed as a mini el Hijo del Santo. A Santitocito, if you will). I thought this worked well as an introduction to the style, which is a good idea on a show promoted as much to art fans as to die-hard lucha fans. They started simple, with the rowdy teens ironically cheering every takedown and moved on to some arm drags and other lucha rope running stuff. They seemed to be having some problem with the ropes, which were too loose. Also, Dorada ended up botching a springboard moosault after slipping off the top rope. Octagon drew boos by pelting Dorada in the chest a bunch of times, and it was nice to be amongst people who aren't desensitised to that. Slaps to the chest, as we shall see, were a great way of getting heel heat on this show. I think I was hoping for something more spectacular though, Dorado seemed quite restrained. This wasn't, for example, the exhibition that Dorada vs. Pequeno Damien 666 was from last year, but then Octagoncito is nowhere near the base that Damien is.
Next up was Solar vs. Negro Navarro. They were wrestling an una caida match, so we got a sixteen minute matwork masterclass, as they worked through some of their extensive repetoire. They build up from simple takedowns to longer counter wrestling sequences and more unlikely submission and while I'm aware this may be a minority interest - it did not strike me that many people around the arena were watching this thinking to themselves, "here's the WKO100 third best wrestler of 2009" - I found it mesmerising. I think I may have been sat agog because I had the sense that the little Mysterio-shirted kid next to me was looking at me as if to say, "Whats so great about this? Where's the 619?". "Screw you, little kid", I said back inside my brain, "and watch these two guys take each other down in 619 different ways". Yes, I'm quite the quick thinker when I have time to write down an imaginary conversation nearly a day later.
I guess, objectively, it was about standard for them, but there were a couple of thing I found from seeing the live version. Firstly, they never stop talking. It's either meaningless noise or Spanish (the happy place again beckons), but it really adds to the competitive one-upmanship. Secondly, one of the reasons they work so well together is the way they split to roles. Solar is constantly interacting with the crowd, posing, encouraging them to cheer, whilst Navarro is nearly stoic, occasionally nodding his head when he knows he's been bested or sniffing in derision. Standing there, he looks like the toughest human being on the planet, it is an aura that almost can not be quantified, and only live performances do it justice. After about fifteen minutes of matwork, Navarro slaps Solar in the chest and the audience really react, whilst he slowly turns his head around to look at the most vocal with a slight smile and menace in his eyes. Just a tremendous performance.
After an interval of thirty minutes, they introduce a title match between Angel Blanco and Hurracan Ramirez Jr. This wasn't particularly good, and was the time during the show when my brain really went, "you booked this over a Black Terry match? He's standing right there, and he would have made Ramirez look amazing". Angel Blanco did some decent bumping, but this mainly struck me as not having many ideas, and the ones they did have weren't really well executed. They even did two near identical tope spots.
The main event was Cassandro and El Hijo del Santo vs. Magno and el Hijo del Solitario. Right up front - this was the most fun I have ever had watching a wrestling match ever. Before I start wheeling out superlatives, this was a best of three fall match with a classic formula: technico fall, rudo fall, comeback technico fall. Cassandro comes out and I will say (as a tribute to Eric), he was wearing a fabulous two piece robe radiating the same brilliant blue as the heavens from where he descended. This is what he was wearing the night before. He had unreal hair both days, looked truly beautiful and felt a confusion I had not felt since my corporal beatings in the headmasters office during my boarding days at Repton. I have seen two recent Cassandro matches previously, yet from those and (mostly) from this, I have no problem calling him the most spectacular wrestler, anywhere, in the world.
I love the reaction he got, which was identical to the first time I saw him in the London show. I didn't understand the tradition of exoticos in lucha libre, assumed he'd do an entertaining gay or drag queen act with a load of schtick. What nobody expected is the extent of his athletic gifts. His first armdrag and flip up are met with a collective "Wha?". From then on he continued to amaze a crowd that was already won over. His execution is perfect. His workrate is tireless - he'll go from one takedown, to a quick hip shake at the crowd then run straight into the next sequence. He drops in comedy spots before doing something else. I loved his rope running bit where he prances over Solitario. I got the impression from the short video on Belgian TV that on the first night Santo, maybe the luchadore with the all-time most beautiful opening fall work, did a lot more of his spots in the first caida. In this match he took a back seat and allowed Cassandro a complete showcase. They also both seemed to be having a great time, Cassandro was smiling almost constantly between bits, which could only add to the enjoyment.
Santo is someone I love watching so much that providing I see him once in a year, for long enough to go, "yeah, he's still El Hijo del motherfucking Santo", he'll appear in my list of the best wrestlers alive. I also really enjoyed the rudos. El Hijo del Solitario was hugely entertaining, from the moment he camply ran to the ring lip-syncing to AC/DC's 'You Shook Me All Night Long', thrusting himself into the turnbuckle. He ran up into the crowd at the start to shout at a teen, followed by Santo who walloped him in the middle of the people. Both rudos bumped all over and did everything they needed to do in a match all about the technicos. They both also had some really stiff strikes, I remember Cassandro taking an audibly nasty right hand from Magno to the side of the head, and Santo ends up sprawled across the front row while Solitario chopped him right in the chest. In fact, the rudos were so aggressive in the second fall that they had the old lady (and many others) next to me covering her eyes after a series of strikes, then a senton, then a double team assisted front lungblower.
The deciding fall finished with stereo topes (the ring rocking as our technicos hit the ropes at the same time), Santo's like a dart and Cassandro's with a little giro. Our seats were above to exit right in front of the ring, so the dives came towards and then under us. The visual of seeing Santo and Cassandro dive out of the ring and then right out of sight was amazing. The whole theatre, young children and elderly couples alike, cheered and laughed and clapped in awe and it was just a fantastic moment.
After the show I followed a similar route to the one I took there, only in reverse. I forwent stopping around afterwards for photos to make sure I made my train, only realising when I got there how much time I would have had to spare. In keeping with a theme I listened to Immortal's 'Sons of Northern Darkness' and watched a couple more New Japan matches, but mostly half-slept. I got home at half ten, British time, and then did the other half of the sleep. A good day.
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