Tag: The Crash recap

Recapped: 12/25-26/2017

Back on the handhelds for this one; Konnan’s Patreon never posted November’s Tijuana show, and he’s secretly gone by the time the December one happens. It’s great that there are kind people recording this show themselves for no or little money, but it is frustrating to go back to rough camera angles; you’ll probably get tired of me saying some variation “this match would probably be better if I could see all of it.” The bigger issue is MegaKakashi only recorded about half the card. Other people posted highlights, but reviewing off highlights is fruitless. The four matches I’m watching are the only ones I could find in full. I’d very much like to watch Flamita/Laredo vs Flip/Sammy, but there doesn’t appear to be a full one available.

Matches: 

Keyra © vs Christi Jaynes vs Lacey Lane vs Baronessa [The Crash WOMEN]
(6:17, good, via MegaKakashi619)

Review: the women went full speed for six minutes and everyone was better off for it. Even Baronessa looked better than usual. Lacey Lane getting in the fancy springboard in the opening seconds got her over here. There is a problem where this feels a little bit too much like the men’s matches without strong personalities to get them over. Maybe it’s just the stacked up superplex. Everyone needs to stop doing the stacked up superplex. I liked the hard hitting aspect of the women’s matches, even as borderline unprofessional they sometime seemed to be, because it was different than everything else. This was a well put together highspot sprint, which is nice but not as different.

There is a long term problem here: every women’s match is either a mixed tag or a multiwomen to get more people involved, except Keyra’s winning them all and everyone else is just getting over as “people Keyra beats.” Maybe that’s enough, but it feels like she’s got to face people the fans see as threats if Keyra matches are going to be a draw. I’m both not sure if that’s possible, or who that would even be that this crowd would know? Maybe Taya, if she could/would work here? Maybe you could bring name US indie women, but are they big enough name to matter? Maybe she just grandstand challenges people in AAA or CMLL until one of them inevitably becomes available? There’s gotta be a next step here.

Hanson & Raymond Rowe vs Brian Cage & Shane Strickland and Mr. 450 & Willie Mack
(16:30, good, via MegaKakashi619)

What Happened: Mack & 450 have slight problems during the match, which leads to a feud between them later on.

Review: An action match others might like more than me. This match was really picking up steam nicely and then the Stunner series just struck me as to cut. It worked better the other few times I saw it. Crowd liked it, but it took me out of the moment. At times before, it just felt like a series of moves, some really nice moves, but it took a while to progress to the point where it felt like they were doing more than an exhibition, and then the most exhibition-y spot happened. They got it back a bit, with the crowd into the big Cage/Strickland and 450/Mack near falls, but it also had to serve the Mack/450 split up story. One thing I did think was cool is they did a couple spots where the guy taking the move is ‘supposed to’ land on their feet, messes up and lands on their knees, but then it turns out someone leaps off their back in the flow of action for a big move. It was a nice way to change expectations. On the other hand, they didn’t have the best of luck catching dives in this one.

Rey Mysterio 619 vs Rush vs Penta Zero M vs La Máscara for The Crash Heavyweight championship
(18:43, ok, via MegaKakashi619)

What Happened: There’s no actual belt. The story is the belt was done in time. The belt incorporates Rey Mysterio’s mask in its design, alongside photos of Eddie Guerrero and Perro Aguayo, so it also probably would’ve given away the result had it been shown.

After the match, a man in a Volador mask comes to the ring, and helps Rush & Mascara attack Mysterio & Penta. He unmasks as Voaldor Jr., shocking the crowd. Following a CMLL angle, Volador considers putting up Los Ingobernable salute to join them, but does not. The CMLL (and ex-CMLL) trio and Rey/Penta go back and forth on the mic. This is a big deal in the moment, and absolutely none of it has gone anywhere.

Review: This is a match that feels like it doesn’t really get started until ten minutes into the bell time (17:42 total), and that’s just a one minute Penta/Rey faceoff. That’s after the two sections of crowd brawling, none of which the camera could keep up with. These guys milk a rabid crowd but it definitely loses something not being there in the moment and becomes tedious to watch and settling down for about nine good minutes of action. It is worth going thru to the post match to hear the shocked reaction of the crowd when the man under the Volador Jr. mask turns out to actually be Volador Jr.

Bestia 666 vs Jack Evans , hair vs hair
(20:57, MegaKakashi619, great)

Review: [great] The big blowoff match is built around big spots, and they do a good job of teasing them out enough to make the moment they happen more meaningful The impact afterwards always there, but it does cumulatively add to the drama. The last big spot they want falls apart – literally, the light tube table they had planned falls apart when Jack’s placed on it – but I think it actually works to the matches’ advantage. They adapt pretty quick to go to valagueza back and forth and the crowd believes the match could end at any point after the last prop is broken. The other big spots come off well, and the bigger disappointment is more that the crowd isn’t that into until those few spots. Still, this felt like a worth big hair match. (This video is hurt by not following the action early on, and not being able to later on, but it’s still pretty good overall.)

Recapped: 12/19/2017

All matches were taped in Auditorio de Tijuana. This, like the last show, is one hard camera and no switching. This is the last Tijuana show available on Konnan’s Patreon. The November one never made it up there, and the December one was when they were splitting.

Matches:

Black Boy & Black Danger vs Dave Crist & Jack Crist © for the IMPACT Tag Team Championship
(5:18, good, via Patreon)

Review: This was a decent action opener with a few flaws. There were a few cool spots, though the first one wasn’t helped to by the lights being down and blocking out the dive. Black Danger attacking Black Boy midway thru the match only makes sense if you know they’re usually opponents, but then it doesn’t explain why they’re teaming to begin with. It feels strange that martinetes are no longer Dqs without some big story, but these all feel like nitpicks. The teams generally work better against each other than you’d guess and they keep up a fast pace during this quick opener.

 

Christi Jaynes & Keyra vs Baronessa & Diosa Quetzal
(7:01, good, via Patreon)

Review: the revolving door of The Crash luchadoras ended up with Mexicali’s Baronessa getting a shot. She didn’t screw up moves like that one Elite match, but seemed lost at times, didn’t really do much, and kicked out of the finish when that was the last thing she should’ve been doing. Diosa Quetzal did better, but also looked on a different page at times, and it came off like she was not much liked. Keyra and Jaynes looked like the better team and did more cool flips. The match overall was enjoyable when everyone knew what they were supposed to be doing, they tried to do interesting stuff, and it ended at the right time. Border line grade to the positive, just because it was interesting and the women who don’t like each other seem like they hit each other the hardest.

Trevor Lee © vs Último Ninja [IMPACT X]
(6:00, good, via Patreon)

What Happened: This is originally supposed to be a three way match with Daga, but Trevor Lee demands it to be two singles matches so they can’t double team against him. Trevor Lee asks them to decide between themselves which one will face him. Daga & Último Ninja agree they’re not playing by Trevor Lee’s rules, and they’ll both face him. Último Ninja will go first.

(Also, at this point, Daga’s not allowed to appear on Impact TV, and in theory, splitting it into two matches allows one of them to air.)

Review: Ninja & Trevor Lee felt like a more one sided CMLL lighting match than usual. Último Ninja got in impressive looking moves, then just got caught and rolled up at the end. Trevor Lee did a lot less than I would’ve expecting knowing this was a match being filmed for his show, but maybe the right amount knowing he’d have to do a second round match. This is about as borderline as the women’s match; there were good moments here, but you could just do just as well without it.

Trevor Lee © vs Daga [IMPACT X]
(8:31, good, via Patreon)

What Happened: Trevor Lee fouls Daga, which is a DQ. Dqs are usually title changes and the ring announcer start to say that, but gets cut off. Referee ends up fouling Trevor Lee instead, which gets a pop. The ring announcers then says Trevor Lee is the champion, and everyone’s confused. They send in a official to confirm it, but not to explain it. Daga demands a rematch. Konnan comes out to confirm that and that the Garza/Daga match will happen when Garza is healthy and Bestia/Jack will take place on the Anniversary show.

Review: This was the better of the two matches, though maybe one long singles match would’ve been the best. Lee looked more impressive, and that got the crowd to care more as Daga kept kicking out of big moves. Daga himself didn’t look great when he was on offense – an unusually weak tope early stuck out – but the crowd was behind him strong enough that it made the match interesting. The finish was weak, and it was strange that the ref got the revenge foul.

Arkángel Divino, Laredo Kid, Máscarita Dorada vs Demus 3:16, Steve Pain, Último Maldito
(7:14, great, via Patreon)

Review: This only went seven minutes and in some ways was the greatest hits of the usual guys, but everything went spectacularly. Steve Pain was a great addition, feeling as much as Laredo Kid’s natural opponent as the other rivalries (though I guess they would’ve worked a lot in AIW), and working well with the others. Arkangel & Maldito sometimes come off as one hit wonder but their one hit is a really catchy. Dorada & Demus stumbled a little bit at the end but the rest made up for it. This could’ve easily gone a lot longer but they had a good run while they went.

Jack Evans, M-ximo, Willie Mack vs Bestia 666, Black Taurus (Indie), Mr. 450
(13:33, good, via Patreon)

Review: This was good in the usual style but didn’t leave me much to talk about. I was glad not to get the full dancing sequence, some of the dives were really good, and I’m unsure if the lady who’s always out with the Rebelion Amarilla actually has a name because she’s got so little to do during these matches. It felt like Jack/Bestia was a little more downplayed than usual until their sequence of counters at the end, and that most of the crowd wanted Bestia to win than Jack. That seems right for Tijuana.

The King vs Flamita for the The Crash Cruiserweight championship
(17:04, great, via Patreon)

Review: Fenix & Flamita was an incredible match in ways, with them going at a fast speed early on and pulling off some impossible counters. Some of the stuff they pulled off late, like Flamita’s DDT and Fenix jumping backwards into a double stomp, were crazy in both how impossible they seemed to pull off and how much trust the people involved needed to have to take it. Fenix’s also really made that handspring cutter look great, pulling Flamita down with him. The back and forth near the end was great – but maybe to me, and not as much the level crowd. This felt like a match that would’ve gotten over huge in any indie arena and did with some of the fans, but the crowd wasn’t nearly as into it as me and made it not fee like the absolute top tier of a match for me. There’s also a portion after Fenix gets sent into the crowd where action slows down for a bit – maybe he was shaken up? This is still a match worth good out of your way to see but I’m not sure it would make the top of 2017 matches.

Brian Cage, Penta 0M, Rey Mysterio 619 vs La Máscara, Pierroth, Rush
(15:00, good, via Patreon)

Fans definitely did care about the main event, even though it was also as definitely not on the same level as the match that preceded it. It was good a times, with Rush notable working a lot harder here than he has in CMLL for most of the year, and Cage being used in the match nicely. The real highlight of this match was Pierroth’s total disinterest in trying to catch Brian Cage on a dive. Luckily the other two were there, but it was like Pierroth got in the spot just to watch Cage fly. Los Ingobernables matches make me have my guard up, because I’m so used to bad finishes, but this one ends better than most. It may just go on a bit too long, as the rudos really don’t seem to come all that close to winning but just force the finishing sequence to repeat a few times. This was perfectly fine as a main event.

Recapped: 12/11/2017

These matches are (almost) all shot on a single hard cam. It takes the operator a while to realize they should be zooming out and panning on dives, but I like it the best of all the different forms of video we’ve gotten so far.

Matches: 

Jonathan, Kamik-C, Sombra De Plata vs Mirage, Skalibur, Viento
(9:38, great, via Patreon)

What Happened:

• Skalibur is in dark blue.

• Viento is in black and white.

• Mirage is in green and black

• Sombra de Plata is in silver-grey and white

• Kamik-C (listed as K-Mikc here, pronounced “kamikaze”) is in black, blue and yellow shorts.

• Jonathan is the only unmasked wrestler.

Review: Just pure opening match insanity that holds together a lot better than the no-name opener on the last show. It doesn’t hold together close to perfectly by any means – it’s pretty clear they blew the finish dangerously and quickly have to come up something else to cover, and there’s a dive late that goes equally as horrendously. It’s pretty solid all considering thru the first two third, and while pulling off some really impressive looking stuff. Kamik-C, who looks about 16 but is somehow actually 23, impressed with his flying and his ability to just get utterly destroyed. He and Skalibur stood out the most. Jonathan was generally better here than he had in his other matches, and Viento had some impressive power moments. Crowd was really into the late stages for an opener and would’ve gone nuts if they just could’ve held it together.

this looked extra dangeorus

 

Desi Derata & Dezmond Xavier vs Keyra & Laredo Kid  
(12:20, ok, via MegaKakashi619)

What Happened: I think I got the Patreon one, only somehow I ended up with a fish-eyed ringside cam from someone who is also shooting photos (and you can hear each digital click.) I watched it that way, was distracted by the video, and then watched the MegaKaKashi619 version and was still a bit distracted. This is Desi Derat’s debut and only match in the group. Both the men pin both the women at the same time, which seems like it should be a draw. It is not, they just go to one more fall.

Review: A clunky match which didn’t really come together The two teams didn’t seem to be on the same page at time, and the foreigner team itself looked like two people who hadn’t teamed much, which was probably the case. My assumption on any one and done outsider is they just didn’t do well enough to get brought back. Derata had a strange moment or two, didn’t do enough where I felt a need to see her again, but her issues problems seemed more mental than physical and I always figure those can be fixed. The finish seemed to suggest they had more plans for Xavier, but he hasn’t been back. He looked more impressive elsewhere.

Último Ninja vs Eli Everfly vs Homicide
(5:47, good, via Patreon)

Review: The triangle match was mildly confusing as a three way match – Último Ninja and Homicide mostly just threw each other out of the ring they could have a turn tossing around Eli Everfly. Ultimo Ninja versus Eli could’ve been pretty cool (Eli got more offense there), Homicide destroyed Eli pretty impressive, and it ended up being sort of a two man squash match. Still entertaining, everything looked painful.

Bestia 666 vs Jack Evans in a super libre match
(14:31, ok, via Patreon)

What Happened: There’s a board with light tubes on it in the corner even before the match starts. Garza and Demus second their men, and they kick off fighting before the actual match does. Pierroth runs into attack Jack and Damian about 12 minutes in, I guess with the idea Jack was about to win but it didn’t feel he was that close. They try to send Jack into the light tube board, but Jack eventually reverses a superbomb into a super huracanrana to send Bestia thru.

Review: I liked this match better the mixed tag, but it was all over the place. I’ve never seen Jack miss his dive like he did here, and he just didn’t seem on target tonight. The interference got over live – everyone just want to see Garza get hurt – but took away from the match watching it on tape. (And it looked silly for Pierroth and Garza to mostly stand here and do nothing while Bestia was fighting for his life on the top rope.). They raised the stakes enough where you’d believe the hair match was coming but all the additional stuff actually seemed to take away from personal intensity of the moment. They did a better job with that after the main event.

Ortiz & Santana vs Dave Crist & Jake Crist and Arkángel Divino & Black Boy and Hijo de Pirata Morgan & Último Maldito for the Impact Tag Team Championship
(12:06, great, via Patreon)

What Happened: Dave (dark hair) & Jake (blond) are OVE. Ortiz (afro) and Santana (short hair) are LAX.

Review: An all action match, with the local guys obviously being fired up to go against US guys in something that would end up on their TV, and the outsider teams fitting in well. The teams are obviously hanging out more with their usual opponents than going against each other – Arkangel & Maldito do their spots precisely to make an impact for Impact – but it doesn’t feel like they’re avoiding each other. Jake seemed to stand out in the all action style of the tag match, and LAX looked like the best two guys at being a team here. I would’ve expected the feud between the Impact teams to come thru stronger, and this was one of those matches where it didn’t feel lit was close to ending until it just did, but it was still enjoyable.

Carlito & Daga vs La Máscara & Pierroth and Garza Jr. & M-ximo
(13:36, ok, via Patreon)

What Happened: The story of the prematch is Los Ingobernable Máximo is unclear wh he’s teaming with Garza, and Garza rather hang out with the attractive lady he’s brought to the match. They start fighting it as a 4-2, then they turn on Garza, then Máximo immediately refuses to do the kiss spot on Garza, saving him. Mascara and Pierroth slap Máximo around, and it turns into a normal 3 way tag from there.

About 13 minutes in, Damian walks out and attacks Pierroth due to an arguments they had earlier. Pierroth grab Damian long enough to set up for Maximo kiss, but Damian moves out of the way and Pierroth gets it instead. Daga gets the win.

La Mascara & Pierroth attack Máximo after the match, kicking him out of the group. Damian & Daga eventually makes the save, but Garza helps the rudos take them all out.

Review:  the three way tag turned out better than I expected, especially with the goofiness about the teams. The match is really just a long set up to flip Máximo back to being on the técnico side. The action picked up once they identified who was on each side, but it never really gelled like a strong performance from anyone in particular. Garza selling big for Pierroth’s shots during the match at least made them seem like they’re something. Post match stretched a long time.

Oráculo vs Black Danger in a mask vs mask match
(13:38, great, via Patreon)

What Happened:

A recap video precedes the match. Jack & Bestia re seconds and fight during the match.

Garza gives Black Danger a Yellow Rebelion shirt to join the group after winning, which the crowd cheers loudly (even though they’re sort of the heel faction)

Oraculo was announces himself as Jose Rios, a wrestler for 10 years. This appears to have been his final match in The Crash. Bestia and Jack fight after the match and have to be pulled apart.

Review: Oraculo/Black Danger got the big spot at the end and made the most of it. There was really good action thru this whole match, and they build strongly towards the finish. The 450 kickout was really big. Danger lost Oraculo on the moonsault to the floor, which was unfortunate, but he’s in the right place for the finish and it comes off perfectly. There’s minimal interference by the seconds; this is the kind of “just let the two guys go at” apuesta match that we rarely get outside of CMLL. The one eye opening thing is I really didn’t get the sense of the difference in sizes between these two guys watching handhelds, and Danger looks so much bigger than Oraculo from the hard camera in this mach. The post match was done well, building on the win to make Black danger seem like a bigger star and this as a big moment in his career, not just a one off deal.

Recapped: 12/01/2017

I have no idea what’s going to go on with The Crash shows and Konnan’s Patreon going forward, but maybe you know by the time this was posted.

(I also started to watch the Mexicali match from the night before posted on Patreon, but bailed when I wasn’t getting much from it. It might have gotten to Good, but it’s nothing you had to see.)

Matches: 

Búfalo Ayala, Fantastik, Viento vs Alastor, Mirage, Súper Caló Jr.
(10:05, good, via MegaKakashi619)

What Happened:

These are mostly Tijuana people (with the exception of Super Calo), and people who are new to me. As best I can tell, they’re not introduced in order of team and many of them are wearing similar colors, so it’s hard to identify them. This is the order they come out.

• Fantastik is mostly in black, with white and red on the side of his pants.

• Alastor is in blue and white

• Viento is in white and black.

• Bufalo Ayala is purple and black

• Mirage is in white and black

• Super Calo Jr. has the Calo mask/glasses in black

Review: A shaky match. These are lower level Tijuana guys than normally used for these shows, and they looked it. They might have been having trouble with the ropes (as they were being fixed as the match was happening), but there were some stuff that was just simple whiffs. There’s some flashy spots, because it is a Crash show, but you can skip this one. It’s tough for to stand out when so many of them are wearing gear that doesn’t sound out. The rudos here do the invisible football spot, and I don’t think you can really do that in a world where Rush is doing that (even if he’s not part of this promotion yet.)

Jonathan & Keyra vs Chik Tormenta & Último Maldito
(9:39, ok, via MegaKakashi619)

Review: Último Maldito versus Keyra was the best fight of the mixed tag, and even then they had parts the crowd wasn’t all that interested in. Chik Tormenta didn’t do many big spots here, and that seems to be what they’re looking for. Jonathan did a little better, but his timing seemed off in the comeback.

Drastik Boy vs Flamita vs Arkángel Divino vs Black Boy
(9:58, good, via MegaKakashi619)

Review: A big move fight all the way thru. There was obvious more comfort in the Flamita/Draztick and Black Boy/Arkangel exchanges than the cross ones. Arkangel still looked awesome in moments, but there were others where they just didn’t have the best timing. That just feels like a thing of not working together much. Draztick didn’t look that far behind Flamita, though Flamita’s shove of Draztick Boy to set up the Flama Fly on Black Boy was my favorite moment of the match. It broke the rhythm of just two guys fighting in while two guys sit out and felt more like I’d wish these four ways would work. This match comes thru alright on the handheld but obviously would be a better deal professionally shot.

Último Ninja, Willie Mack, Xtreme Tiger vs Black Taurus (Indie), Hijo de Pirata Morgan, Rey Escorpión (Indie)
(15:23, good, via Patreon)

What Happened: Black Taurus walks out in a Yellow Rebelion shirt and mask, which is the first time I think anyone knew he was meant to be in the group.

Review: [good] This one got better as it went along. The early rudo beatdown wasn’t all that interesting and felt like it went for a while, but the brawl as the técnicos. Ninja and Rey Escorpión are great again each other, and Ninja seems more alive in this match than many of his others, they were the best matchup. Taurus took up most of the screen on his flying moves, which is always cool.

Daga, Jack Evans, Oráculo vs Bestia 666, Black Danger, Garza Jr.
(13:34, ok, via Patreon)

What Happened: Garza offers Black Danger a chance to join the Rebelion tonight.

Review: [ok] The rudo beatdown in the semimain goes on way too long. It’s over ten minutes long with the right going one way, but at no point does it seem like anything’s going to come of it. This also becomes the second match in a row where someone takes a piledriver, is put on a piledriver, and then gets beaten up on it, which a spot that’s already done way too often to be taken seriously. (That match too had a long rudo stretch to start the match that didn’t mean anything.) The crowd does cheer loud at the técnico comeback, but probably just as loud as if it had been six minutes of rudo destruction, or if the técnicos had broken up the unending rudo stretch with a half minute of comeback before being cut off. Those last few minutes redeemed it a bit, but this felt like a chore to watch.

Penta Zero M vs La Máscara in a super libre match
(19:33, ok, via Patreon)

Extreme matches usually don’t do a lot for me and this one just seemed like it not a lot until all the interference near the end. Starting with light tubes, doing table spots, doing ladder spots, and then going to just doing moves was an odd progression. It made more sense when they revealed the table Escorpión was making on the outside, but it didn’t feel like they were progressing to bigger spots. They were just doing more stuff until it was time to finish up. Light tube to campana doesn’t work. Mascara winning primarily due to the help of his friends is fine, but the false finishes seemed too much.

Recapped: 10/16/2017

All matches taped from Auditorio de Tijuana on 07/14/2017.

Starting with this group, I’m watching The Crash matches via Konnan’s Patreon. These matches are single cam handheld versions. They’re inside the guardrail and so can follow the action a lot better when it moves it around, but it’s not what you’d expect from a normal promotion. The later ones are from are closer to pro shot and easily worth the $5/month fee, these handhelds are more arguable. I was really tired of looking at the back of people’s heads so this worked for me.

The Santo/Daga vs Garza/Maximo video did not seem to work, so that one I watched elsewhere. You probably don’t need to make that effort.

Matches:

Arkángel Divino, Black Boy, Último Panda beat Eli Everfly, Famous B, Último Maldito
(14:13, Arkangel Divino 450 splash Eli Everfly, good, via Patreon)

Oráculo & Serpentico beat Black Danger & Jonathan
(7:58, DQ for Black Danger unmasking Oraculo, ok, via Patreon)

Rey Horus & The King beat Hanson & Raymond Rowe and Sami Callihan & Shane Strickland
(20:32, The King Mexican Destroyer Raymond Rowe, good, via Patreon)

Jack Evans beat Bestia 666 in a super libre match
(13:51, Jack Evans backslide, good via Patreon)

Garza Jr. & M-ximo beat Daga & Santo Jr.
(17:34, DQ when Garza faked a foul, below average, via MegaKakashi619)

Penta Zero M beat La Máscara, Jeff Cobb, Marty Scurll
(11:58, Pentagon package piledriver Marty Scurll, good, via Patreon)

What happened:

Danger & Oraculo talked up their mask match after Black Danger unmasked Oraculo. Garza messed with Daga a bit. Jack and Bestia continued towards their mask match, but there weren’t much in the way of angles on this one.

Thoughts:

The main event was more of an all star match than one with a lot of seriousness. Everyone did their own taunt, and then later someone else’s taunt. That sort of thing. They did well enough in what they did but no one felt at the top of their game. The crowd liked the novelty of seeing Scurll and he gave them enough for his signature spots that I think they were satisfied. Penta needing a foul after a long ref bump was weird, and he came off more rudo-ish than normal.

Nieto del Santo isn’t any good. Maybe he’ll get there some day, but he doesn’t appear close in the semifinal. There’s a lot of stalling and fooling around here, and it comes off as if they knew they had to get around the handicap of having someone not ready for this position. Maybe it was nerves, because he looked better in his previous match in TJ, and here he was messing up stuff in embarrassing fashion. The crowd turns on him halfway thru. The other three tried, but it wasn’t working – Daga messed up his own submission on his first try, and the referee died for about a minute and a half before getting up and calling the DQ. Go out of your way not to see this one.

The super libre match took advantage of the stipulation to do something different with the weapons and the interference. It came off as a serious personal rivalary, even with the interference. Oraculo’s overshot dive looked like it really sucked for him. The finishing reversals were a nice touch.

I liked the three way tag, but I’m guessing not as much as others. The first half seemed off with me, lacking impact at points. Strickland & Horus had an early exchange that seemed more like a dance than a fight, War Machine would set up for a hard hitting move that wouldn’t end up that hard, it just kind of seemed like a b-night. It got better and they did so much that it was hard to deny it, and the crowd obviously liked it enough to toss money in. Fenix & Horus had some good work together and Strickland looked good. It was not my favorite match even as I knew it was a good one.

The 2v2 segunda didn’t really work. The start was hot, but the two teams didn’t have great chemistry with each other. Jonathan especially didn’t mesh well with the Florida team, with some bumpy looking action. The action itself didn’t particularly work for the match. I couldn’t remember which guy was feuding with Black Danger until the finish, because they didn’t really push the 1v1 rivalry during the match. It was a lot of everyone doing stuff.

The opener was a lot of Último Maldito & Arkangel Divino doing their usual bits with the other four around them. Último Panda obviously stood out. The comedy was good, and it’s nice to have something slightly different on this shows (which often feel like six attempts at the same style of match with different levels of success), but it did feel like it went a long time without anyone else getting involved. It definitely worked as an opening match bit and the crowd got into him as a character more than anyone else. Eli was the other new guy here, who’s done well elsewhere but didn’t totally stick out here. I think he does better later on.

Recapped: 09/09/2017

All matches were taped at Auditorio de Tijuana on June 2, 2017

Matches: 

Arkángel Divino © vs Látigo [The Crash JUNIOR]
(9:28, good, via MegaKakashi619)

Felt like a CMLL lightning match of a few years ago, with a bunch of dives and some in ring action to space them out. (Usually didn’t have a C4 on the floor.) Latigo did a good job of working with Arkangel up until the finish, where the headscissors did not work at all. At least they kept the armbar on a while to make it look like that was the point. Arkangel doesn’t stick out as much without the super move he can only do with Último Maldito, but he did have a few other impressive spots and this was steadier than most singles matches they’d put out there for an opener.

Oráculo vs Black Danger vs Jonathan vs Black Boy vs Último Maldito
(6:57, good, via MegaKakashi619)

Usual Crash multman, where it has moments of looking really looking state of the art and moments where everything looks is missing. This time, it was the first few moments where everything seemed like it was clicking and things broke down a bit as they tired out. It didn’t go as long as other ones of these might, but they did mange to fit some good highlights. It’s hard to totally keep track of who is who given he video quality, but Jonathan is easy to ID because he’s the one with no mask and he did well, and I think it was Black Danger had a cool dive.

Flamita © vs Rey Horus [The Crash CRUISER]
(13:03, good, via MegaKakashi619)

Flamita & Rey Horus worked the right match for the occasion. It’s rare to see rudo Flamita, but he did a great job with it and the crowd wanted to root for Horuz in this match when he finally made his comeback. They meshed pretty well together on their big moves. Thirteen minutes for a midcard singles match on The Crash show is an appropriate amount of time, but here it felt like way too soon. This was a borderline grade for me; they were getting to a great match but seemed cut short before they got there.

Jack Evans & Zorro vs Bestia 666 & Hijo de Pirata Morgan
(9:00, good, via  MegaKakashi619)

There was nothing extraordinary in this one, but it still was a solid indie lucha libre tag match. Bestia had a few misses and Pirata was probably not supposed to land really hard on his shoulder, but most things seem like they went like they planned. Bestia and Jack have good chemistry, though the crowd might not be behind who they want them to behind. Zorro seems a lot more interesting when you go months without seeing him: the cane shot flurry stands out as really good when you’re not numb to seeing it every other week. His dive was a surprise too.

Penta Zero M & The King vs Black Terry & Skayde
(15:02, great, via MegaKakashi619)

What Happened: Máximo & La Mascara debut after the match to attack Penta and Fenix.

There were four men in the semifinal, all did pretty well, but Black Terry really shined. He took absurd amount of hard shots for a person of any age, and made his survival more convincing every moment. GIFs don’t really capture how hard those slaps and chops look, and he fought back harder. Fenix & Penta were obviously into working with the legends and gave them a lot, but Skayde & Terry felt like they belonged in there. The pace didn’t need to slow down to accommodate them, Fenix and Penta didn’t reduce what they did or tone done how they did it. The only thing was missing would’ve been a home crowd to root them on longer. (Terry/Penta in a singles match in Naucalpan would have crazy reactions.) It seemed like people were confused going into the finish and Terry might have been part of it, but it didn’t really matter much to me because his tough guy performance the rest of the match was so astounding to watch. The Mascara/Maximo bit was obviously the priority here but it was too bad it denied the a moment to give those guys an ovation before sending them off. This match had some flaws but is definitely worth a watch.

Daga, Garza Jr., Rey Mysterio 619 vs Damián 666, Mr. Águila, Nicho el Millionario
(13:49, good, via MegaKakashi619)
What Happened: Máximo, La Mascara and a masked X-Fly attack after the match, but X-Fly turns on Mascara and Máximo as do the rudos. After a standoff with the invaders, everyone ends up in the ring to honor Nicho for his final show before going in for surgery.

Review: The main event was more a legends tribute match than an interesting match on it’s own, a chance to do a little bit of Rey Mysterio/Nicho now because who knows where Rey will be by the time Nicho’s back in the ring. It was a slow paced match because Nicho’s not the only guy on his side not moving well, and it was mostly worthwhile for the nostalgia. Rey looked like the best guy in the match.