2018 watch later catch up, part 14 of ∞

Aramis bomb

Aramis, Dr. Cerebro, Xtreme Tiger vs Hechicero, Imposible, Último Gladiador
(IWRG @ Arena Naucalpan on 08/16, 15:43, good, +LuchaTVIWRG tv)

A really good brawl that adapted back into a straight trios match better than most. They kept the emotion high even as people were suddenly waiting for tags. It’s nice to see Último Gladiador still exists, though his kilt is too shinny for me nowadays. Imposible and Aramis have a solid exchange that makes one hope IWRG’s random match generator puts them together at some point. Messy finish leads to nothing, but that’s the way it goes.

not many Imposible matches this year so I haven’t overused this spot

Penta 0M & Rey Fénix vs Mistico II & Rush
(Klandestino @ Arena Lopez Mateos on 08/19, 16:26, good, +LuchaTV)

Another match with a heated crowd making for a better live atmosphere than it came across to me on video. The brawling works well to get them to care while being harder to follow on a screen. Fenix & Penta look easily superior to Rush & Místico for most of the match, with the Munoz brothers just not as adept or practiced a team. This match is mostly four people in, and it was inescapable that two of them were much more used to working together than others. This was good as a novelty but didn’t reach the heights these guys have done in other setups. The dumb finish is not unexpected and suitably over the top.

talk about how they’re not much of a team, undercut it by posting a GIF of them working as a team

Trauma I & Trauma II vs El Bandido & Flamita
(PALL/AMLL @ Arena Azteca, Torreón, Coahuila on 09/23, 15:56, good, Tribuna cuadrilateroTV)

What Happened: Video is occasionally clipped. This is a three fall match, though there are no real breaks between the falls.

Recap: Bandido coming back to Torreon for a big match after his big US breakout drew a packed building. It was good in an exhibition sort of way. It doesn’t really take advantage of Bandido being the returning star, with the Traumas more working their normal spots and Mexablood fitting themselves around the margins. There are some good moments here but you can see much better matches from that team, and the finish is inexplicable for a match that’s not coming back. Probably a bigger match live in a packed building than on video many months later.

Bandido tornillo

Eterno vs Aramis
(RO @ Coliseo Coacalco on 09/23, 10:12, good, HECTOR GODFREY TV)

A nice Aramis exhibition where maybe Eterno doesn’t take enough of the match for himself. The first time I watched it, it felt like the match was all Aramis once he came back from an early attack. It comes thru as more competitive on the rewatch, with Eterno putting off Aramis a few times if never being able to mount a series of attacks after he’s put down. Aramis’ flashy offense generally looks good, save one or two headscissors that don’t grab much of the head, but it still feels off a bit.

four rotations

Aramis & Dragón Bane vs Demonio Infernal & Freelance in a relevos suicidas match
(IWRG @ Arena Naucalpan on 10/07, 8:59, great, +LuchaTV)

Demonio Infernal vs Freelance, mask vs hair
(IWRG @ Arena Naucalpan on 10/07,
9:38, good, +LuchaTV)

This plays out like one long match but is two different matches for record keeping. The first match/half is superior, with all four looking sharp while going a thousand kilometers an hour. The flyers are as expect, but late addition to this feud Demonio Infenral fits in well. He’s really not that big but played a power guy well against this trio of smaller guys. Aramis & Dragon Bane fighting as teammates is goofy, but they do sell the idea that they hate each other so much that they can’t stop fighting. They have great moments while they’re in, just in point with their crazy offense, and they make their feud seem like the big thing going forward.

Which is a problem for the second half, because the fans aren’t really buying the microwaved rivalry between Demonio & Freelance. The lack of a reaction to the result (with +LuchaTV doing slow pans of people looking a lot disinterested) doesn’t help. They also spend a lot of the last few minutes around the ring, setting up some violent moments and one spectacular dive, but not giving the match much time to build in the ring. It is still pretty good, just not as strong as what came before it.

Dragon Bane tornillo
Demonio powerslam
Freelance balances into a dive

Angelikal & Hijo Del Vikingo vs Chicano & Villano III Jr.
(AAA/Bandolera @ Gimnasio Olímpico Juan de la Barrera on 10/21, 18:02, great, Bandolera 1410am)

What Happened: The match doesn’t get started until 6 minutes into the video.

Review: If all AAA crowd were as loud as this free (?) ticket sponsor deal, AAA would be the hottest promotion in the world. They were into the match before it got started, and they stayed into it the técnicos flashy offense. Vikingo and Angelikal didn’t go completely crazy, but they did go tornillos and shooting press level of crazy. Angelikal doing handspring runs with tornillos is probably not really necessary while still being really impressive. AAA wrestlers appear to be having a contest over who can take a cutter in the way that most looks like it’ll cause a broken neck. Hijo del Villano III shows both charisma and skill here, as well as a cool tope con giro. Chicano is not as good as Hijo del Villano III but he breaks out the Rayo de Jalisco headbutts for no reason so he’s definitely not bad. There’s no real depth to this match but none is needed. If you’ve liked Vikingo & Angelikal as a trio, you’ll like this.

double tecnico dive
head remained attached
Mexico has a surprising amount of good spinning powerbombs

One thought to “2018 watch later catch up, part 14 of ∞”

  1. I can tell you that the match with the mexabloods vs traumas was so much fun live and added so much to the match, also that the semifinal match was also super good so the crowd did get tired after that match (terrores negros vs antrax jr, dulce gardenia and angel azteca jr)

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