Angel Azteca Jr., Angel de Oro (c), Tony Rivera vs Euforia (c), Nosferatu, Vangelis (part 2) – a perfectly fine match. Now that I’m not watching this show automatically each week, I forget that Tony Rivera exists.
La Mascara (c), Maximo, Mictlan vs Black Warrior (c), Heavy Metal, Hijo del Lizmark – nothing to see here. Vangelis was better than many in this match. Mictlan is getting worse. Black Warrior is a different guy when Poder Mexica is not around.
First off I want to say that the below statement is a very biased one simply because I know everyone I am talking about on a personal level.
Forgetting about Tony Rivera is a damn shame! He is a great worker. My opinion is that he has what it takes to be a top guy in Mexico. There is just one thing that is stopping him from breaking out and that is the gimmick of TONY RIVERA! He is boring he always has been. I remember in 2001 I was in a random locker room with Silver King when Rivera walked by and Silver smiled and remarked “Hey look its Silver King.”
I know that the CMLL front office is filled with douche bags and they will never think out of the box so what I am preaching is only going to the choir. I feel that if Rivera was given a new gimmick or if he went somewhere like AAA (after taking a time machine to the Pena era) and was given something new he would strive. Look at Gato Eveready or what ever his name is. I love the guy. Ask me who he was before and I couldn’t even pick him outta a line up.
Another good example is Alan Stone. He was nothing in CMLL and then he went to AAA where he was given the ball and he shined. If it wasn’t for Pena passing he’d still be a top guy. Alan Stone wasn’t entertaining. Now he is nothing but!
But now that I think about it if CMLL did give him something new it’d probably suck ala Bronco. Panico and Columbo are idiots!
Ok I’m done….
This was a fine rant.
@Jake: The great thing about Gato Eveready, Billy Boy and to a lesser extent Decnnis, is that everyone who raves about them now (outside of Rob) hated them when they were the Barrio Boys. Even I couldn’t stand the Barrio Boy gimmick, but I always enjoyed their matches with La Secta. However, you’d always find people shitting on them all the time online no matter what they did. So what does Pena do, he splits them. Puts Billy Boy in a hot storyline, which was previously done with Oscar Sevilla just about 1-2 years prior and the guy shows he’s a pretty entertaining character and good promo to boot.
Took him a little longer to get Alan and Decnnis going and now look at Alan. As Gato Eveready most people find him enjoyable to watch and even the wacky Pimpi-Gato storyline get a better mixed review from fans. Decnnis has done well with the Metrosexuales gimmick, but sadly I think that it started off strong and really fell apart a bit when Scorpio Jr. and Zumbido quit AAA. They really had a good thing going right after that Horsemen-style beatdown on Porky.
The problem with Tony Rivera in CMLL now is that even back a few years ago, he was at least pushed as one of the main guys in Arena Coliseo, so at the very least you felt that he was the local star. Now, he’s just one of the guys and as cubsfan made reference in his comment, you do tend to forget he’s around.
I think CMLL and a lot of folks who defend their product use the “traditional” and “older crowd” excuses as crutches and as a way to never go with anything “outside the box” when it comes to creating stars, matches, and even when it comes to their business model (a top promotion that still kind of uses a smaller lucha libre promotion philosophy of getting their name brand out there).
@thecubsfan: “Vangelis was better than many in this match.”
That is grammatically incorrrect. I believe what you meant was:
‘Vangelis is better than anyone in this match.’
@Alfredo: I appreciate the recognition that I saw talent in the Barrios before anyone else did! If only the Kumbia Kids would have turned out better I would be considered a genius.
@Jake: ‘Panico and Columbo are idiots!’ is the greatest ending to any rant I’ve ever read. Truer words have never been typed.
If I were booking those Sunday Coliseo shows I’d have Rivera and Vangelis heading to a hair match by now. Cowboys vs Nazis. Just like when we were kids. Right?