2005 Tapatia Awards

This is the second Tapatia awards, honoring the best in lucha libre in the past year (or somewhere around there.) This year, we recieved 13 ballots, more than a 300% increase from last year. Thanks all for particpating and reading.

There are 12 awards this year, and complete voting for each award is included. Submitted comments appear below each award, and you can respond to those, or the awards themselves, in the comment section of this post. Feel free to link to this post or repost it elsewhere.

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1) Best Wrestler
2004 Winner: LA Park
2005 Winner: Perro Aguayo Jr.

Name	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	Total
Perro Aguayo Jr.	7	2	2		1	112
Ultimo Guerrero	4	2	4	2		90
Mistico	1	4	2	2	2	64
Dr. Wagner Jr.		2	4	2	2	46
Hector Garza		1		3	4	25
Universo 2000		1			2	12
LA Park				2		6
Atlantis				1	1	5

Robert Bihari: This was basically split into two groups for me… the top 3 of Mistico/Perrito/Ultimo and the bottom 3 where 1 guy would eventually lose out between Garza/Universo/Bucanero. I eventually dropped Bucanero b/c I couldn’t justify putting him ahead of Garza or Universo as he didn’t have a large role throughout the year like they did and sadly he was often stuck in the shadow of Ultimo Guerrero. 2006 may be his breakout year with his turn being teased constantly. I put Garza over Universo simply b/c of the effect Garza has on everyone else around him. He elevates all his opponents and makes them look their best. While Universo works well with Perrito and Garza, he could not get a good match out of Halloween and was stuck feuding with Pierroth/Perro Aguayo early in the year which didn’t help his cause. As for the top 3… I originally had Mistico as my #1 without a doubt. It was the influx of new footage that actually brought him down as I wasn’t too happy with his work late in the year. Perrito was never going to be #1 for me so he was either a #2 or #3. I was not a big supporter of his match vs Universo early in the year like many others seemed to be. Once I knew Mistico wasn’t going to be #1 any more and Perrito had no chance, the choice was pretty obvious. Like I said when nominating Ultimo… it’s hard to come up with anything negative about him. He’s a machine. He goes out and does his job, he can work with anyone on the roster and most impotantly he’s the glue that holds CMLL together.

Ryan Faulconer: It comes down to Mistico, Perrito and Ultimo Guerrero for me and it really depends on the time of day where I rank one above the other. Mistico was in almost all the prominent singles matches and really was the most exciting wrestler of 2005. Ultimo Guerrero was often the rudo in those great Mistico performances. Perrito was really amazing in the charisma department and all his matches had a great intensity to them. I went with Perrito at number one because I can’t imagine the year without him. Mistico is number two and Ultimo Guerrero is number three. Dr. Wagner Jr. wound up fourth and he really had a Stone Cold-like presence in 2005. Universo got fifth.

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2) Best Match
2004 Winner: 2004.09.03 Averno vs Zumbido
2005 Winner: 2005.02.25 Mistico vs Ultimo Guerrero

Name	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	Total
2005.02.25 Mistico vs Ultimo Guerrero	5	1		3	1	79
2005.05.13 Mistico vs Perro Aguayo Jr.	2	2	2	3	1	61
2005.06.10 Reyes Del Aires	1	2	2	1		41
2005.02.11 Mistico vs Averno	1	3			1	38
2005.01.30 Mistico vs Averno (Guadalajara)	1		2		1	24
2005.04.01 Atlantis & Blue Panther vs Averno & Mephisto	1		2		1	24
2005.02.12 Blue Demon Jr. & Rey Misterio Sr. vs Psicosis & Dr. Wagner Jr. (Luchamania Internacional)	1					12
2004.12.17 Perro Aguayo Jr. vs Universo 2000	1					12
2005.05.20 Dos Caras Jr. vs Ultimo Guerrero			1		3	11
2005.03.18 Cien Caras & Mascara Ano 2000 vs Perro Aguayo Sr. & Perro Aguayo Jr.		1				8
2005.08.19 Mistico & Hijo del Perro Aguayo & Dr. Wagner vs Atlantis & Ulitmo Guerrero & Universo 2000		1				8
2005.02.04 Dr. Wagner Jr. vs Shocker		1				8
2005.03.18 LA Park & Shocker vs Ultimo Guerrero & Rey Bucanero				2		6
2005.03.18 Shocker, Dr. Wagner Jr., Mistico vs Ultimo Guerrero, Hector Garza, Tarzan Boy			1			5
2005.03.11 Dr. Wagner Jr. & Mistico vs Ultimo Guerrero & Rey Bucanero			1			5
2005.04.15 Apolo Dantes, Mascara Ano 2000, Universo 2000 vs Perro Aguayo Jr., Hector Garza, Terrible				1		3
2005.04.15 Blue Demon Jr., Damian 666, Halloween vs Negro Casas, Heavy Metal, Felino				1		3
2005.09.23 Hijo Del Santo/Dr. Wagner Jr./Atlantis/Ultimo Dragon/Hijo De Lizmark/Negro Casas/Bronco/Universo 2000 vs. Hijo Del Perro Aguayo/Olimpico/Pierroth/Hiroshi Tanahashi/Shinsuke Nakamura/Tarzan Boy/Rey Bucanero/Averno [Leyenda de Plata torneo cibernetico]					1	2
2005.04.29 Universo 2000 & Negro Casas & Mistico vs Perro Aguayo Jr. & Hector Garza & Damian 666					1	2
2005.11.11 Mistico, Dr. Wagner Jr., La Mascara vs Averno, Mephisto, Rey Bucanero					1	2

Robert Bihari:
6th: Mistico vs El Averno – Arena Mexico, 2/11/05
7th: Shocker/Dr. Wagner Jr./Mistico vs Ultimo Guerrero/Hector Garza/Tarzan Boy – Arena Mexico, 3/18/05
8th: Dr. Wagner Jr./La Mascara/Mistico vs Rey Bucanero/El Averno/El Mephisto – Arena Mexico, 11/11/05
9th: Safari/Felino/Volador Jr. vs Dr. X/Hooligan/Nitro – Arena Mexico, 12/17/04
10th: Negro Casas/Heavy Metal/Felino vs Ultimo Guerrero/Rey Bucanero/Olimpico – Arena Mexico, 8/5/05

I cheated and picked 10 matches – SUE ME! This actually ended up being really harder than I thought. I figured there would be 3 or 4 singles matches to choose between(which I was right on) and only a couple of trios matches but then I actually read the awards information and realized I could vote for the Trios Titles Match in late 2004 which messed me up. I liked that match way too much to not put it on the list and it came at the expense of branching out and including an IWRG match since the above list is WAYYYYYYYYY too CMLL Arena Mexico centered for my liking. But that’s what happens when you are having a great year I guess.:) The #1 pick was a no-brainer as it is in my top 5 matches of all-time list. My only complaint or rather… not a complaint… it’s more just a disapointing realization… is that Mistico/Averno from 2/11/05 will get more votes just b/c more people have seen it. It was almost the same match as the one from Guadalajara except with more blown spots, more footage edited and a quieter crowd. It pains me to know the weaker match of the two will finish higher than the original/better match. My top 10 justifies my #1 and #2 for Wrestler of the Year as Mistico and Ultimo Guerrero are all over these best matches.

David Romero: I wasn’t been able to catch a lot of lucha this year but this match [Blue Demon Jr. & Rey Misterio Sr. vs. Psicosis and Dr. Wagner Jr.] was excellent. It had good wrestling and brawling, it was just brutal at times.

Ryan Faulconer: The Reyes del Aire cibernetico was so much fun that I almost feel guilty give it the number one overall spot. The awesome relevos increibles from August 20 is just as good and probably a more important match than the all tecnico torneo. Mistico vs Averno from Guadalajara started out the year strong and remains the best singles match a year later. There were probably ten worthy trios matches that could have made the list so I put another singles match, Perrito vs Mistico, fourth. To make things a little complicated I gave the Leyenda de Plata cibernetico fifth even though I didn’t rank it as one of the top three non-singles matches. It contained all the major feuds throughout with various rudo/tecnico, rudo/rudo and tecnico/tecnico rivalries showcased. It was actually hard for me not to rate it higher.

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3) Best Singles Match
2005 Winner: 2005.02.25 Mistico vs Ultimo Guerrero

Name	1st	2nd	3rd	Total
2005.02.25 Mistico vs Ultimo Guerrero	4	2	4	34
2005.05.13 Mistico vs Perro Aguayo Jr.	3	4	2	31
2005.02.11 Mistico vs Averno	1	3	2	18
2005.01.30 Mistico vs Averno (Guadalajara)	2	1	1	15
2004.12.17 Perro Aguayo Jr. vs Universo 2000	1			5
2005.05.20 Dos Caras Jr. vs Ultimo Guerrero			2	4
2005.02.04 Dr. Wagner Jr. vs Shocker		1		3

Robert Bihari:
4th: Mistico vs El Averno – Arena Mexico, 2/11/05
5th: Dr. Wagner Jr. vs Shocker – Arena Mexico, 2/4/05

Ryan Faulconer: Mistico/Averno from Gualdalajara was really the money Mistico match that everyone should have checked out this year. It got neglected by many due to its lack of availability online. That’s really unfortunate since it really was much better than the more widely scene rematch and the 2/25 Ultimo Guerrero/Mistico match, both of which were available online, and neither of which was as good as the Guadalajara match. Mistico/Perrito was my second pick for singles MOTY and it could have gone first. The Mistico/Averno match from Arena Mexico placed third but in 2004 it probably could have challenged for the first two spots.

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4) Best Non-Singles Match
2005 Winner: 2005.06.10 Reyes de Aires

Name	1st	2nd	3rd
2005.06.10 Reyes Del Aires	4	3		29
2005.04.01 Atlantis & Blue Panther vs Averno & Mephisto	3	1		18
2005.03.11 Dr. Wagner Jr. & Mistico vs Ultimo Guerrero & Rey Bucanero	1		2	9
2005.03.18 LA Park & Shocker vs Ultimo Guerrero & Rey Bucanero		2	1	8
2005.04.15 Blue Demon Jr., Damian 666, Halloween vs Negro Casas, Heavy Metal, Felino	1			5
2005.04.29 Universo 2000 & Negro Casas & Mistico vs Perro Aguayo Jr. & Hector Garza & Damian 666 & Rey Bucanero	1			5
2005.03.18 Cien Caras & Mascara Ano 2000 vs Perro Aguayo Sr. & Perro Aguayo Jr.	1			5
2005.03.18 Shocker, Dr. Wagner Jr., Mistico vs Ultimo Guerrero, Hector Garza, Tarzan Boy		1	1	5
2005.02.12 Blue Demon Jr. & Rey Misterio Sr. vs Psicosis & Dr. Wagner Jr. (Luchamania Internacional)	1			5
2005.08.19 Mistico & Hijo del Perro Aguayo & Dr. Wagner vs Atlantis & Ulitmo Guerrero & Universo 2000		1		3
2005.03.20 Mistico, Hijo del Perro Aguayo vs Ultimo Guerrero, Rey Bucanero (Gimansio Nuevo Leon)		1		3
2005.06.21 Stuka Jr., Tigre Blanco, Tigre Metalico vs Hooligan, Super Comando, Koreano		1		3
2005.03.11 Dr. Wagner & Mistico vs Ultimo Guerrero & Rey Bucanero		1		3
2005.08.06 Negro Casas, Heavy Metal, Felino vs Ultimo Guerrero, Rey Bucanero, Olimpico			1	2
2005.12.18 Atlantis, Ultimo Guerrero, Olimpico vs Mistico Negro Casas, Ultimo Dragon			1	2
2005.06.17 Máscara Mágica vs Damián 666 vs Mistico vs Héctor Garza vs Heavy Metal vs Negro Casas vs Halloween vs Universo 2000 vs el Hijo del Perro Aguayo [cage of death]			1	2
2005.04.15 Apolo Dantes, Mascara Ano 2000, Universo 2000 vs Perro Aguayo Jr., Hector Garza, Terrible			1	2
2005.12.16 Hijo del Santo, Negro Casas vs Averno, Mephisto			1	2
2004.09.17 Hector Garza & Perro Aguayo Jr. & Terrible vs Negro Casas & Santo Shocker			1	2
2005.02.18 Hector Garza, Tarzan Boy, Terrible vs Shocker, Dr. Wagner Jr., Dos Caras Jr.			1	2

Robert Bihari:
4th: Dr. Wagner Jr./La Mascara/Mistico vs Rey Bucanero/El Averno/El Mephisto – Arena Mexico, 11/11/05
5th: Safari/Felino/Volador Jr. vs Dr. X/Hooligan/Nitro – Arena Mexico, 12/17/04
(6th): Negro Casas/Heavy Metal/Felino vs Ultimo Guerrero/Rey Bucanero/Olimpico – Arena Mexico, 8/5/05

I’d also like to make some notable mentions since I am one of the lucky few that gets to see Lucha Libre from tons of places instead of just the CMLL TV shows which heavily dominated this year.

AAA:
Barrio Boys vs Black Family vs Kumbia Kids vs Gran Apache/Aliens/Espantaparo I – El Toreo De Naucalpan, 12/5/04

IWRG:
Avisman I vs Dr. Cerebro (Hair vs Hair) – Arena Naucalpan, 5/12/05
Los Villanos III/IV/V vs Black Tiger/Pantera/Pentagon Black (IWRG IC Trios Titles) – Arena Naucalpan, 6/2/05
Star Boy/Marco Rivera vs Dr. Cerebro/Cerebro Negro (Relevos Suicidas) + Star Boy vs Marco Rivera (Hair vs Hair) – Arena Naucalpan, 8/4/05
Rey Del Ring – Arena Naucalpan, 11/17/05

Gimnasio Nuevo Leon:
La Parka/Safari/Tigre Universitario vs Ultimo Guerrero/Black Tiger/Tarzan Boy – Gimnasio Nuevo Leon, 12/19/04
Mistico/Perro Aguayo Jr. vs Ultimo Guerrero/Rey Bucanero – Gimnasio Nuevo Leon, 3/6/05

Guadalajara:
Blue Panther/Satanico vs El Averno/El Mephisto (CMLL Tag Titles) – Arena Coliseo De Guadalajara, 6/19/05
La Parka/Bronco vs Mascara Ano 2000/Universo 200 – Arena Coliseo De Guadalajara, 7/31/05
Dr. Wagner Jr./Misterioso II vs Atlantis/Ultimo Guerrero – Arena Coliseo De Guadalajara, 10/2/05
Mascara Ano 2000/Universo 2000 vs Hector Garza/Tarzan Boy – Arena Coliseo De Guadalajara, 10/23/05

Ryan Faulconer: Reyes del Aire was the best non-singles match of 2005 but I still feel guilty voting for it for some reason. The 8/20 relevos increibles match got second while an excellent trios match from 3/18 got third.

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5) Best Tecnico
2004 Winner: LA Park
2005 Winner: Mistico

Name	1st	2nd	3rd
Mistico	8	4		52
Dr. Wagner Jr.	4	5	1	37
El Hijo del Santo			4	8
LA Park		2	1	8
Negro Casas			2	4
Dos Caras Jr.			2	4
LA Park		1		3
Brazo de Plata			1	2
Maximo			1	2

Robert Bihari: For those who think Mistico is overrated and didn’t vote for him in the Best Wrestler category, I’d figure they would most certainly have to vote for him as Best Tecnico. I mean, if his wrestling ability isn’t what makes him so great to the fans, what else could it be? The crowd LOVES this guy and he was a huge reason Arena Mexico kept drawing insane crowds. Parka and Wagner are easy #2 and #3 picks with Parka edging Wagner out b/c EVERYWHERE I’ve seen Parka(not just Arena Mexico), the crowd loves him and he knows exactly what to do to get a reaction out of them. Wagner is definitely the most over guy at Arena Mexico but other than Arena Mexico he really isn’t over huge anywhere else and even plays heel in Monterrey sometimes.

Ryan Faulconer: Mistico was the best tecnico of 2005 and he really seemed to get the majority of the fans’ appreciation live as well. He really played the prototypical tecnico underdog so that puts him above the others. Dr. Wagner Jr. still looks funny on a Best Tecnico list but he playes the Konnan/Rock/Hogan “big brother” role so well. Negro Casas had a great year but he didn’t seem nearly as popular as the other two so he gets a distant third.

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5) Best Rudo
2004 Winner: Hector Garza
2005 Winner: Perro Aguayo Jr.

Name	1st	2nd	3rd
Perro Aguayo Jr.	9		1	47
Ultimo Guerrero	2	6	2	32
Hector Garza	1	3	4	22
Atlantis		1	1	5
Super Parka		1		3
Dr. Wagner Jr.		1		3
Chessman			1	2
Tarzan Boy			1	2
Halloween			1	2
Vampiro			1	2

Robert Bihari: Finally, I got to vote for a non-CMLL guy!!! Congrats to Super Parka for breaking the streak! Ever since the first CMLL TV episode of 2005 I’ve been impressed with Garza as a rudo. He’ll probably lose out to Perrito but I can’t justify putting Perrito up top b/c he gets cheered way too much for a rudo. He also does a couple of spots that are very tecnico-ish and are done only to get the crowd to cheer for him. A good rudo doesn’t do that. A good rudo goes and hides behind the ladies in the front row to avoid a beating much like Garza does often. Super Parka is another guy, much like Garza, who doesn’t care if the rudo section cheers him or not. He just goes out there and beats the shit out of all the tecnicos with a pissed off look on his face. He’s been the highlight of almost every Gimnasio Nuevo Leon show he has been on.

Ryan Faulconer: Perrito was the top rudo and I love to hate the guy. Ultimo Guerrero was the prototypical rudo to Mistico’s prototypical tecnico so he gets second. Its really a toss up between the two but Perrito, who seemed to get more popular as the year went along, still seemed more despised at any given time by the fans. Hector Garza is a nice combination of the two so he gets third.

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7) Best Female
2005 Winner: Marcela

Name	1st	2nd	3rd
Marcela	3	2		21
Amapola	2	2	1	18
Dark Angel	2	1	2	17
Lady Apache	2			10
Tiffany		1	3	9
Princesa Sujei		2	1	8
Fabi Apache	1			5
India Sioux			2	4
La Nazi		1		3

Robert Bihari: Dark Angel was my #4, I swear!;) India Sioux only made the list b/c of the recent TV stuff I saw. Otherwise it would have been Amapola and Marcela with Pimpinela third. Amapola is clearly the best luchadora in Mexico right now. She’s to the current womens division what La Diabolica was to it back in the early 90’s. Marcela is way ahead of everyone else much like Amapola b/c she has spent so much time in Japan and did not have to work with most of the Mexican women who are just awful. India Sioux came on strong late in the year and I look forward to seeing more of her in 2006. I also gotta say I had really low expectations when CMLL started using the women but they’ve gotten REALLY good and I now look forward to every time they make TV unless it’s at the expense of an undercard match.:)

Ryan Faulconer: Best female was Marcela followed by Amapola but they are in a class by themselves as far as luchadoras go. Dark Angel gets third.

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8) Best Promotion
2004 Winner: CMLL
2005 Winner: CMLL (Mexico City)

Name	1st	2nd	3rd
CMLL Mexico City	11			55
AAA		4	4	20
CMLL Guadalajara		5	2	19
Gimnasio Nuevo Leon			2	4
Lucha Va Voom		1		3
Mora Tijuana			1	2
IWRG			1	2

Robert Bihari: Dividing it up arena by arena really didn’t change the final outcome. It should be CMLL #1 and AAA #2 in the final results unless there is more blind hatred towards AAA than I thought. The only debate here was the #3 spot. IWRG is often way too dull and relies on the same formula every week. Gimnasio Nuevo Leon seems to be the most exciting arena out there that we get to actually get to see and verify that the action is great. While Arena Neza has the best lineups in the world twice a week, there are very few people that actually verify if the matches live up to the hype so it’d be impossible to list them here though I hope Henrik tries!:D

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9) Best Rivalary
2004 Winner: El Hijo del Santo vs Perro Aguayo Jr.
2005 Winner: Mistico vs Ultimo Guerrero

Name	1st	2nd	3rd
Mistico vs Ultimo Guerrero	5	5		40
Capos vs Perros del Mal	3	2	2	25
Perro Aguayo Jr. vs Mistico	2			10
Atlantis vs Dr. Wagner Jr.	1		2	9
Hermanos Casas vs Perros del Mal (and Famila de Tijuana)		1	2	7
Mistico vs Averno		1	1	5
GdI/GdA vs Dr. Wagner Jr.		1		3
GdI/GdA vs Perros del Mal		1		3
Barrio Boys vs Black Family			1	2
Capos vs Pierroth			1	2
Dos Caras Jr. vs Ultimo Guerrero			1	2
Nicho vs Psicosis vs Histeria			1	2

Robert Bihari: This was tough. Most people will probably vote for the Perros Del Mal vs Guerreros but I only count that feud as starting on the 10/1/05 TV show and can the best rivalry of the year really only go on for 2 months? I was tempted to group the Guerreros and Capos together vs Los Perros Del Mal but that would have been unfair. So I just put Perros Del Mal vs Guerreros as my #2 since it has been great so far but as far as I’ve gotten with the TV, it is just in its’ begining stages. The Mistico/Ultimo saga started on the second Arena Mexico show of the year and just kept going through 2005 with the occasional break for Mistico to feud with Perrito and Atlantis. They carried the TV until March, re-ignited the feud late July and were back at each other late in the year. They even seem to be starting off 2006 continuing the feud with a singles match coming up at Arena Coliseo which should make Guerreros Del Ring. #3 was a tough choice but I went with the Barrio Boys/Black Family since they are the eternal AAA rivalry that will never die. The teams always have good matches against each other and the feud always seems to be moving forward unlike a lot of AAA feuds. Hard to vote on stuff from IWRG b/c their feuds tend to start and end within one month. Even harder to vote for something from Guadalajara since their programs are usually 2-3 weeks in legnth.

Ryan Faulconer: There were some really great brawls in 2005 and most took place within the Los Capos feud with PdM. Mistico vs Ultimo Guerrero was a great rivalry that served as the glue for many of the better trios matches in 2005. Ultimo really hated that little guy and he beat Mistico all over Arena Mexico all year to prove it. I really enjoyed the all-too-brief Casas Family/PdM feud so it gets third.

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10) Best Legend
2004 Winner: El Hijo Del Santo
2005 Winner: LA Park

Name	1st	2nd	3rd
LA Park	3	1	3	24
Universo 2000	3	1	1	20
Dr. Wagner Jr.	2	2	1	18
el Hijo del Santo	1	3	2	18
Negro Casas	1	2	2	15
Atlantis	1	1	1	10
Rey Misterio Sr.	1			5
Blue Panther		1		3
Satanico			1	2

Robert Bihari: I couldn’t justify myself voting for either Olimpico, Pantera, Wagner, Parka, Safari or Felino even though they qualified. They just don’t fit the term of “legends” as I see it. I can’t pop in a mid-80’s tape and see any of those guys. I can however watch the guys I listed and then still see them working hard throughout the year of 2005. Universo especially deserves extra mention for breaking out of the shadows of his brothers and becoming the dominant Dinamita. Mascara Ano 2000 had a really strong last quarter of the year and hopefully he can carry it into 2006. Negro Navarro is always great when he makes appearences on IWRG TV or on rare Monterrey shows.

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11) Most Improved
2004 Winner: Olimpico
2005 Winner: Maximo

Name	1st	2nd	3rd
Maximo	8	1	2	47
Dos Caras Jr.	2	3		19
Mr. Aguila	1	1		8
Misterioso II		2		6
Heavy Metal			2	4
Tigre Metalico			2	4
Amapola		1		3
Halloween		1		3
Mistico		1		3
Volador Jr.		1		3
Atlantis			1	2
Chessman			1	2
Terrible			1	2
Olimpico			1	2

Robert Bihari: Maximo’s award to lose? Well then I guess he lost it in my mind.:P I didn’t see enough of 2004 Maximo or Brazo De Platino Jr. to compare him to the 2005 Maximo we all know and love. So I couldn’t justify putting him as my #1 or #2. Instead I went with Mr. Aguila who picked up his game in the summer for AAA and started to work circles around everyone… which… granted it’s AAA and that isn’t hard, but you could see him putting more effort into his matches maybe possibly thinking he would love to jump back to CMLL and knew he had to be at his best. His work thus far in CMLL has been just spectacular and he often gives Mistico a run for best flyer on the night. I thought Halloween also had a really impressive year and showed he can easily fit in with the best workers on the roster. If anyone remembers him from WCW or some Tijuana handhelds in 2001/2002, you’d have to agree with me that this is NOT the same guy. He puts lots more pride into his work now and isn’t all about taking the big bumps and that’s it.

Ryan Faulconer: Maximo was a revelation in 2005 and became one of my favourite guys in CMLL to watch after he got rolling with his new gimmick. Dos Caras Jr. improved as well but he got a little overexposed after two big singles matches.

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12) Best Underrated
2004 Winner: Olimpico
2005 Winner: Hooligan and Volador Jr. (tie)

Name	1st	2nd	3rd
Hooligan	1	3	1	16
Volador Jr.	2	2		16
Sangre Azteca	2		2	14
Virus	1	2	1	13
Terrible	1	1	1	10
Rey Bucanero	1		1	7
Stuka Jr.			3	6
Ricky Marvin	1			5
Tigre Blanco	1			5
Alan Stone	1			5
Pegasso		1		3
Super Parka		1		3
Chessman		1		3
Cerebro Negro			1	2
Mr. Mexico			1	2

Robert Bihari: I nominate that next year we split this category up into two sections: Most Underrated Mid-Carder and Most Underrated Under Carder. We can use the roster pages as our guides for who fits into which category. It’s virtually IMPOSSIBLE to rank the top 3 in CMLL alone b/c the roster is so huge and more importantly – so talented – that you could easily pick out 12-14 guys who could win this category. It shows the true depth of the promotion as most feds who run their awards independantly come up with MAYBE 3 guys who are underrated and I just happened to watch a trios match where 3 of the guys just in that match alone could have won this awards(Dr. X, Nitro and Valiente). I also suggest we get to vote 3 AAA guys seperately b/c AAA has a bunch of talented guys who while they are great, they just aren’t on the level of the CMLL guys but they deserve mention. But back to my top 3… there really isn’t much to explain. Everyone knows how much I love Hooligan but what put Volador Jr. over him was the recent Monterrey stuff I saw where Volador Jr. plays rudo perfectly. I don’t think Hooligan would be able to pull off being a tecnico.:) I actually had a friend tell me something funny the other day. He said: “I think Volador Jr. isn’t getting a push because he is just too good”. It’s actually quite true when you think about it. His high flying can rival Mistico’s at times and that’s the last thing CMLL wants. Also, he’s probably an overall better wrestler than Mistico so CMLL needs to keep Volador Jr. as much out of the limelight as possible. Hooligan is just stuck in a position where everyone knows he SHOULD move up but after years of keeping guys down, he is stuck in a long pecking order which includes Olimpico, Sangre Azteca and Dr. X. It’s gonna be hard for him to breakout in 2006 unless a new faction is formed and spots free up in the Guerreros main stable. I would really like to see him move up for Coliseo segundas to semi-main events much like the position Volador Jr. is currently in. As for Stuka Jr., he is one the best newcomers I’ve seen come along in a while. He’s still quite spotty but he hits everything perfectly and is a carbon copy of what his dad used to be. The future will be bright for him even though 2006 may not be his year. I’m wondering if Leono will get any votes here as Leono is tenitively scheduled to be the next guy from the undercards to get a push, possibly even winning the Gran Alternativa this year. But everyone knows how CMLL booking changes day-by-day. Another guy that right now is way too young to get a push but will be a big star in the distant future is Bam Bam. He is SUPER OVER at Arena Coliseo and I’m pretty sure down the road he will be moved up to work with the reguar sized guys, much the same way Virus and Vaquero were.

As for my AAA picks:
1) Pegasso
2) Incognito
3) Billy Boy

What? No Chessman??? Why of course not. He’s not underrated any more as everyone who watches AAA regularly both outside of Mexico and in Mexico itself knows how amazing he is and how he is worlds ahead of everyone in AAA. The only people who doubt this are the people who still support hating AAA for no reason.:) Their loss. Pegasso makes TV maybe twice a year but every time I see him it’s more and more obvious how much Pena is missing the boat on this guy. He should have been made into El Angel and Sevilla should have stayed just as El Novillero. Incognito showed up for a short time in AAA before going back home to Juarez but he made a huge splash. I always thought he was only getting praised as being good b/c people were pissed he had to lose his name to Mistico but this guy is really really REALLY talented. I’m sad he and Chessman never got to meet in the same ring on some of those Arena Coliseo De Monterrey shows. The great thing about Incognito is unlike a lot of the other AAA underrated guys, he isn’t a skinny flyer. He’s definitely a flyer but he’s got a great physique on him and he’d easily be a credible addition to any AAA main event feud. Billy Boy is one of the Barrio Boys so I doubt many people could pick him out of a group shot but there is a reason he is working with Apache these days… he’s talented enough to do so. Apache’s been working with him for 5 years now and it has paid off.

Ryan Faulconer: Despite getting more tv time than he probably has in his entire career Tigre Blanco still deseves more for his consistent, if not stellar performances in the mid-to-lower third of the card. What’s a tiger gotta do to get some respect? Stuka Jr. and Hooligan should be on tv more too.

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Other Comments:

Robert Bihari: Couple of suggestions for new categories for next year:

Best Mini – I know the negative here would be that none of the CMLL guys can qualify since they never make TV anywhere but it would surely balance things out as this years awards are going to give off the impression there is only one company running in Mexico. Lots of people including Konnan have said the best thing in AAA is the mini’s so it’s time to give them their recognition.

Best Flyer – High flying is a huge part of Lucha Libre and deserves to have its own category. All the lucha magazines even make special mention of this category.

Spot of the Year – I’ve always been a big fan of this award since I saw it was a category in the WON awards. Gives a chance for some of the Momentos guys to get some recognition.:)

Most Underrated Undercarder/Midcarder/AAA wrestler – As suggested above.

Best Stable: Los Guerreros Del Infierno, Los Perros Del Mal, Los Guerreros De La Atlantida, La Secta, The Black Family, Los Barrio Boys, Los Capos… Lucha is all about stables these days and next year should definitely have a category like this.

Best Show: This would be where people get to vote on the top 3 overall cards to take place all year. Of course you can only judge by what airs but with CMLL having two TV shows, a category like this will have many candidates next year to go with the AAA shows which now air in full on a weekly basis.