The Non-Fan Review // Mysterio vs. Guerrero from Halloween Havoc '97

So far, I've seen Hulk Hogan fight an actual giant; I've seen blood in the ring; I've seen Vince McMahon shaved, the unstoppable Undertaker, the women of wrestling - even Santa Claus had a go. But those are all heavyweights (well, maybe not the women). Now it's time to see what the lighter wrestlers are up to. They're athletic, they're keen, they want to show what they can do. How different can it be?

First, a chap in purple lycra emerges from a graveyard. Fireworks go off around him. This is Rey Mysterio Jr. He reminds me of a cartoon superhero I saw years ago, called the Phantom. On the other side, Eddie Guerrero appears, wearing shiny metal trousers and a smirk. He ain't popular. The trousers alone may be responsible for that.

The two wrestlers seem to be fighting over... a mask? Well, whatever. Makes as much sense as fighting over a belt (which I think is also at stake). Rey gives a spare mask to a boy in the audience. Couldn't he just give one to Eddie and save all the hassle?

So far, this is wrestling as it always has been - flashy and over the top. A good start!

The match begins. We have a few moments of trash talking before Eddie throws a punch. Rey ducks, clobbers him back and then all hell breaks loose. Rey Mysterio Jr seems to think he's Spiderman, leaping over his opponent, throwing backflips off the ropes and even reversing a throw in midair. When he does end up on his back, he sends Eddie flying with a well-timed push from both legs.

I'd like to see Hulk Hogan try to pull off these moves. He'd probably break a hip - and not the other guy's.

More gymnastics ensue as the two collide against the ropes. I'm not sure who tried that charge but they both go spinning over the top of the ropes and Eddie lands hard. Rey goes one better - while his opponent is getting up, he bounces off the far ropes, flips over the top of the near ones and attempts to land on top of him.

It seems his purple spider sense isn't working for him, as he misses his mark and Eddie slings him down onto the floor. A kick to keep him down, and then Eddie runs him around the ring and into the steel steps. Ouch! When will they put some padding on those?? Eddie isn't done - he chucks Rey back into the ring, then mounts the rope and somersaults onto his opponent. Rey jerks in pain as his back takes the brunt.

Well, that's what you get for showing off, kids.

Eddie showboats to the booing crowd while Rey staggers to his feet. Eddie punches him, slaps him down again. Pulling Rey back up to his feet, Eddie slings him into the far ropes, clearly having never watched another wrestling match - predictably enough, Rey reverses the throw and it's Eddie that bounces off the ropes... and into a flying kick.

Rey is back, and the Ghost Who Walks has summoned the power of ten tigers (seriously, go watch that cartoon). He doesn't just bounce off once set of ropes - no, he bounces off TWO - and then he gets creative again. Eddie responds to his reverse-flip-starjump by snatching him out of the air and slamming him on the mat. Rey writhes in pain, again.

Eddie stands back for a moment, but it's clear that the other man isn't giving up. Eddie picks Rey up by his neck, lifts him up in the middle of the ring and drops him back down. As Rey sits up, Eddie shoves him back down and lies on top of him. One! Two! Thr- nope, he's moving again. The referee calls Eddie off. Eddie is displeased.

Time for another round of abuse. Once again, Rey is helped up by the head. He's slung into the ropes, then grabbed on the way back and thrown back down. Another pin! One! Two! Rey kicks out, and the hold is broken.

Eddie argues with the referee. Rey struggles to hold onto his mask as Eddie tugs at it, wanting to claim his prize regardless, and the referee merely shouts louder. But it seems to work. Eddie gives up and returns to wrestling with what seems little more than a lifesize ragdoll. And what better way to pick up your opponent than by giving him a wedgie?

Pinned under one arm, in a standing position, Rey seems helpless. Eddie can't resist tugging at that mask again. But it won't work - this mask is part of the whole suit! We really don't want to see Rey stripped of his entire outfit, do we?

Half a minute goes by, and then Eddie grows bored. Time to do something else - like pick Rey up, hold him over his head, then slam him down onto his knee. Rey sprawls. Eddie pulls him back from the ropes, flips him over and sits on top of him. The referee counts, but Rey kicks out. Eddie sits back down on him. Rey kicks out. And a third time. And a fourth. The commentators have lost interest at this point as they start talking about other wrestlers.

It's now clear that, having been unable to do anything of note for several minutes and apparently half dead, Rey is going to make a comeback and win the match.

Eddie's fifth (sixth? I lost count) pin is a little more adventurous - he decides to push off with his feet and kick Rey in the chest. Maybe then he'll lie still? But Rey seems to know it's coming - he plants his feet in Eddie's chest and kicks him away. What happens next is hard to describe - Eddie pulls him up, Rey jumps onto the top rope, then he somersaults back down and takes Eddie with him. Both hit the mat, both winded.

The two men get back up, Rey immediately bouncing off the ropes and kicking Eddie in the face with both feet. Eddie rolls out of the ring. Rey doesn't even wait for Eddie to get back in - he's bouncing off the ropes, ready to carry out some more deft gymnastics and jump onto Eddie as he returns to the ring - but Eddie slips in too early, Rey lands on empty ropes, and Eddie kicks him out in return.

They never learn. Stop showing off!

Eddie follows him out. He picks Rey up, shoves him into the metal railings. Eddie throws him back into the ring. Rey crawls away as Eddie strides in for the kill, opting for a squatting hold with Rey's arms across his legs and his back arched in a rather uncomfortable angle. Rey screams, not for the first time. And Eddie's ripping at that mask again - dude, no! You'll ruin it!

Eddie squeezes with both arms, trying to pop Rey's head off, but the referee breaks them up. Eddie picks Rey up, wearing him like a backpack - this is apparently the "Gory Special", named after Eddie's father, Mr Gory. I'm not sure what the idea behind it is as it doesn't seem to be causing any harm - and then Rey suddenly flips off his back and throws Eddie over his head!

As Eddie gets up, the Ghost Who Walks aims a flying kick with both feet - and misses. Eddie's kick to the back of Rey's head doesn't miss.

Eddie follows up with a complicated move that doesn't seem to do anything, picking Rey up and dropping him again in a staggered descent while he drops to one knee. Rey looks finished anyway; Eddie rolls him onto his side and tries to pull his arm off, one knee planted in Rey's back and one leg tucked behind his other arm. This carries on for another remarkably long time.

Rey, unable to perform his trademark gymnastics, returns to his trademark screaming.

Eddie seems to grow bored and lets him go. Rey rolls away, but Eddie soon pulls him back to his feet. Another complex move takes place - Eddie throws Rey into the ropes, then drops to the floor as Rey runs over the top of him, then slams into him as he bounces off the opposite ropes. Another pin takes place, but Rey kicks out straight away - probably because those hideous trousers ended up right in his face. Those things could get a reaction out of a corpse.

The referee separates them. Eddie pulls Rey up by the mask, whacks his head into the corner of the ropes, then slaps him in the chops for good measure. Rey falls to his knees. Eddie lands another punch, but Rey blocks the next and lands one of his own. The two slap each other a few more times and then suddenly Eddie's in the corner and Rey is elbowing him repeatedly in the face. I'll say this for Phantom Rey - he goes down quickly but he comes back just as quickly.

Slap! Eddie is reeling. Rey grabs his arm and throws him towards the centre of the ring, but Eddie reverses it and Rey gets a kick in the keks for his trouble. Eddie then runs him towards the far corner and Rey tries to pull a somersault off at the worst possible time - he ends up hanging from the corner by his feet, arms twitching like a crazed spider. Eddie wastes no time kicking him in the chest while he's vulnerable.

The commentators seem to think that Rey is trapped and cannot get out of this position (by, for example, lifting his feet off the top rope). Eddie grins, a smirk so wide the top of his head is in danger of falling off. He walks to the far corner. If he had a moustache he could twirl, he would be twirling it like crazy right now. He runs to the corner, feet ready to deliver a fatal kick to Rey's helpless body.

Rey pulls his upper body away from the mat, and Eddie slides into the corner post. The only fatalities are the contents of his trousers. Hey, bloodstains could only improve them.

Eddie staggers painfully out of the ring. Rey unhooks himself (trapped, indeed!) and climbs onto the top rope, ready to leap - and he does! More like a flying fox than a tiger (or a purple spider, come to that). He collides with Eddie, and Eddie collides with the railings that keep the audience away. Both stagger upright, but Rey is first to recover and throws a backhanded punch to Eddie's face.

Eddie is thrown gracelessly back into the ring, and Rey follows. Rey picks him up and throws him into the ropes. Which, predictably enough, leads to a reversal! Eddie switches roles, sending Rey flying into the ropes instead, and grabbing him on the return. Rey goes up, Eddie throws him down, and then... double reversal! Rey flips in midair, lands on his feet and leaps crotch first into Eddie's face. He somersaults end over end, landing with Eddie underneath him. Pinned! The referee counts - 1! 2! And Eddie kicks free.

Rey turns to find Eddie running towards him. A mighty arm slams the purple spider phantom back onto the mat. While Rey gets his breath back, Eddie and the referee have a brief discussion. I have no idea what about, but one hopes it might be fashion tips. Those trousers are giving me a headache.

Rey seems dazed now. Eddie throws him into the ropes, bouncing him off and towards the far ones, but suddenly Rey is awake again. He jumps onto the ropes, using them as a springboard to somersault over Eddie's head and land behind him. This is followed by another complicated string of movements - Rey leaps for Eddie, Eddie dodges, Rey grabs the ropes, Eddie grabs his legs and spins him around, Rey grabs the ropes again, Eddie gets flipped over the ropes and out of the ring. This whole sequence takes about five seconds at most.

Rey goes for another unwise attempt to bounce off the far ropes and leap onto his opponent. This time it actually works - the two men go spinning into the railings, Eddie taking a bash to the head while the Amazing Spider-Phantom has a slightly softer landing. It takes a moment for both men to get back to their feet, and it's Rey half walking, half dragging Eddie back into the ring. Eddie gets to his feet while Rey climbs the ropes.

Sigh. More trick shots. This one is apparently called a corkscrew. Rey spins backwards into the other guy and they both go sprawling. But when Rey goes for a pin, Eddie comes back to his senses. The hold is broken. They both seem to take a moment to catch their breath. Sorry, guys, you'll both have to keep going a little longer!

Rey almost gently helps Eddie back up. Then he's picking the man up, and chucking him back down. I don't know whether he has the strength left for any more fancy moves. Or maybe he does - he climbs the ropes, then flips backward onto Eddie - who raises his legs at a pivotal moment and sends Rey sprawling. Eddie responds to these showy gymnastics by picking him up, sitting him on his shoulders and slamming him down onto the mat. There's another one of Eddie's weird pins, this time with his head between Rey's legs (any attempt to describe it further will only sound weird, so you'll just have to see for yourself). But Rey kicks out, and Eddie is shoved away.

We're coming to the end now, and it looks like Eddie and his terrible trousers are going home with a new mask after all. Eddie picks Rey up like a rag doll, then runs into the corner post with him. Rey cries out on impact. As Eddie walks to the far corner, ready for another charge, Rey can only stagger slowly and painfully to his feet. Eddie charges in, screaming, but Rey is more alert than he looks - he drops down and sends Eddie flying over him, head first into the post. Ouch.

Eddie seems surprisingly intact, but is still unable to resist when Rey leaps backwards with the back of his fist in Eddie's face. Quite why Rey feels the need to fall over as well I don't know. Rey is up and raring to go again - an astonishing recovery - and he's going to try something stupid, signally to the referee and crowd with some arcane finger twiddling. As Eddie rises to his knees, the Amazing Spider-Phantom makes an agile leap onto the top ropes.

Rey leaps into Eddie's waiting arms. Rey hits the mat, Eddie apparently wondering what the hell just happened. Oh well. Eddie decides to do something stupid himself. (The commentary suggests this is going to be a "frog splash" or something like that - is Rey about to croak?) Eddie climbs the ropes, and LEAPS across half the ring. Rey simply rolls out of the way.

Eddie recovers fairly well, rolling on impact and soon back on his feet, but Rey is already charging for him. But his attack - apparently an attempt to suffocate Eddie with his underwear in a flying leap - goes awry AGAIN. Eddie pushes him up and over his head, and Rey lands astride that corner post by his delicates.

Before he has chance to recover, Eddie is climbing up behind him for a hug. Or maybe not. Rey throws his elbow back to dislodge the unwelcome advances of his opponent - no means no, Eddie - and a few punches eventually do dislodge him. Eddie changes his approach, sitting back to back with the Mysterious One and lifting him up, up, up... it's time for a throw! The two men tumble to the mat, but it's Rey on top when they land. One mighty leg hold and a three second count later, the bell rings - it's over!

Rey "The Phantom" Mysterio has, incredibly, managed to win the title. The referee hands him the customary belt. And then WHAM! Eddie's back, and he's MAD. He grabs Rey's mask again, still tugging as the two men spiral back into the middle of the ring, and Rey is flung out, still clutching his new belt. Eddie stands in the ring and gets booed; Rey, however, has what he came for and strides purposefully (but quickly) for the exit. I don't really blame him.

Summary: This is what happens when wrestlers see "The Matrix" - they start leaping about the place and pulling off somersaults. And, like most of these showy tricks, they usually go wrong. If you want to win a wrestling match, it seems the best tactic is to be boring.

It also looks like the winner of most of these bouts is the one with more fashion sense, though that usually isn't saying much.

----

I also had the opportunity to watch Nick's match, the 2016 NJPW bout between Will "Captain Britain" Ospreay (flashy and ridiculous) and Ricochet (tattooed bad boy in beard and not quite enough leather - he looked less naked when he took the leathers off and stood in his red undies).

Rey Mysterio Jr loves his gymnastics, while Steady Eddie seemed to prefer a more traditional wrestling style. Here we have two Reys at once - they leap over each other, spinning in cartwheels and somersaults, more an elaborate dance than a wrestling match. It's fast, it's flashy, it's a much more complex arrangement than Rey and Eddie, and I got the sense that the two men were performing together more than fighting each other.

It's a thrilling watch, but it's also bristling with humour. There's overacting aplenty. There's actual SWEARING (you'd never get language like Will's on WWE). There's even spitting! But the funniest moment for me was when both men struck each other with a roundhouse kick to the head at the same time - and both hit the mat at the same time straight after.

But maybe there's more going on between these two than we know. At the end, as they squared up and shook hands, I wasn't sure whether they were going to come to blows one last time or kiss...

Next up for Andrew // Jimmy Havoc & Clint Margera vs. Rickey Shane Page & Drew Parker in DEATHHOUSE from Fight Club: Pro Project Mayhem VI - Night One.

Release Date - 20th March 2018

Written by Andrew Williams // @ADW_Author

TV Review: Lucha Underground #3.06 - Pentagon Dark v Rey Mysterio Jr v Chavo Guerrero Jr.

The 12th October 2016 episode of Lucha Underground, featured a main event including Pentagon Dark (Pentagon Jr.), Rey Mysterio Jr and Chavo Guerrero Jr. battling in a triple threat that had a lot of history behind it. In an action package hour, Dr. Wagner Jr, Jack Evans, Son of Havoc (Matt Cross), Gift of the Gods Champion Sexy Star and Famous B were all involved, but was that action any good?

The night's main event with Pentagon Dark, Rey Mysterio Jr. and Chavo Guerrero Jr. tangling in a triple threat was enjoyable contest, that featured some nice interactions between all three men in different combinations. The bout was paced well, with Guerrero being used to simmer the action down, whilst the flashier Mysterio and more physical Dark picked things up. The spots involved all three were done well, usually coming as a nice jolt following a string of singles action, like Guerrero sliding into the ring to drop toe hold Dark into a chair wedged in the corner during a Dark and Mysterio section and Mysterio leaping over the top rope with a body scissors that top both he and Guerrero to the outside whilst Guerrero fought Dark. The finish saw Guerrero trip Mysterio on the top rope, Guerrero take a superkick off the apron from Dark, with Dark pulling Mysterio in Fear Factor (Package Piledriver) to earn the win. Guerrero and Mysterio's issues deepened post-match as Guerrero attacked Mysterio with a chair, hanging him in a tree of woe and hammering on his knee, in a scene reminscent of their 2007 "I Quit" match in WWE. 

This episode's semi-main was Sexy Star retaining the Gift of the Gods Championship over Jack Evans in a violent clash, that ended with a series of interference from the Worldwide Underground (Johnny Mundo (John Morrison) & PJ Black (Justin Gabriel)) and Trios Champions Aero Star, Drago & Fenix. I thought Evans did some wonderful work in this match as he came across like an absolute dick, whenever he was in control. He was frustrating to watch, but in a good way as it meant whenever Star began to turn the tables it was even more satisfying to watch. This was helped by the viciousness that Star brought to her offence, with a particularly memorable moment being the multiple rope-aided bronco busters in the corner. The match would end devolving into a series of fun run-ins, with Mundo & Black giving Evans a wonderful near fall and Aero Star & Drago eventually running them off. I would've liked to have seen Star and Evans get to have one last exchange before the finish and feel that that could have elevated the match further, but Fenix distracting the ref and Evans, as Star hit her opponent low with a kendo stick and hits a spinning Fisherman's suplex for the win, will probably open up more option going forward.

The opening match saw Dr. Wagner Jr & Famous B (seconded by Brenda) defeat Mascarita Sagrada and Son of Havoc in varied encounter, that had plenty of fun. I felt like the bout started and finished strongly with the Havoc and Sagrada face-shine getting over the odd-couple vibe with their entrance on a bike and side-car getting a great reaction. The finish with Havoc getting pushed off the top rope by Wagner, before Sagrada took the Doctor Driver and Famous B pinned the mini with his stethoscope was also well worked. Unfortunately the contests mid-section didn't do a whole lot for me and I began to lose interest in the match a few minutes in. There wasn't particularly anything wrong with what was going on, I just didn't find it particularly interesting either.

Best of the Rest 

• Rey Mysterio Jr. & Chavo Guerrero Jr. came to blows in Dario Cueto's office, which lead to Cueto adding them to the main event with Pentagon Dark - Chavo Guerrero Jr. brutally assaulted Dragon Azteca Jr. with a steel chair in the locker room, with Rey Mysterio Jr. discovering DAJ following the incident

Finally... 

ATPW Scale Rating - 5.25/10 

Show in a Sentence - A fun hour, with two good matches, that open opportunities for bigger bouts to come. 

Strongest Moment - Pentagon Dark v Rey Mysterio Jr. v Chavo Guerrero Jr. 

Weakest Moment - Dr Wagner Jr & Famous B v Mascarita Sagrada & Son of Havoc

Words - James Marston

Opinion: Lucha Underground Season Dos or It's the End de la Mundo and I feel Multa

So I'd like to start by just saying thank you for making my last article looking at WCPW one of the highest viewed articles of all time on ATPW. I'd also like to confirm that I will be checking in again with WCPW from time-to-time. I won't be doing weekly coverage because unlike our beloved James Marston (or indeed, Lucha Underground favourite, Cage) I am not a machine. Still, I hope you enjoyed that article and this one as you're reading it already. 

No one was ever the first person to do anything. Ken Shamrock wrestled in the Hart Dungeon, Stone Cold ambushed and attacked Booker T in a supermarket, the Four Horsemen drove off to a car park and beat up Dusty Rhodes, sometimes wrestling goes off-reservation. Recently, I don't think anyone reading this doesn't know that TNA became witness to The Final Deletion and just last week, The New Day went to The Wyatt's compound. Both of these segments pay dividends not just to previous segments but also to cult cinema in a way that could easily fill another article but really this is my long way of saying that TNA and WWE fans must recognise that in terms of modern wrestling television, only one company is using behind-the-scenes cinematic to the fullest extent of the art-form and that is Lucha Underground.

Lucha Underground, for those who aren't initiated, is basically what would have happened had Tyler Durden and Sebastian had set up Fight Club in the basement of The Titty Twister (The bar from From Dusk Till Dawn for the uninitiated). It is a piece of art that in a move that probably made Jim Cornette throw up with disgust but made Max Landis do the same with excitement, it is a horror movie, a thriller, an undercover cop drama, a buddy comedy, a time travel sci-fi movie, an underdog story, the tale of a demonic possession and so much more. In fact, the only thing it isn't, is a wrestling show. Also there's a man who dresses as a dragon who might actually be a dragon, it's not clear. It's probably easier to explain it if you just read Lily's piece from earlier this year about LU as an introduction. Basically it's mad but it's fucking tops and over the last three weeks, it's had four hours of premium content that when put together make up LU's Wrestlemania, the insanity that has been Ultima Lucha Dos.

So I'm going to leave a little warning here, this next section will feature a lot of spoilers for Ultima Lucha Dos so if you want to avoid them but still have a read, just scroll down to the video of Johnny Mundo and Angelico doing some nice flipdeedoos and when it's done, we can discuss the season as a whole.

I think the most important question going into Ultima Lucha Dos was could they top season one? They found an ingenious way to answer it - by repeating the same opening match of Ultima Lucha Uno but doing it even better. When a show opens with one of Dario's 'Unique Opportunities' being promised to the winner of a small tournament between The (Willie) Mack and (Brian) Cage, (El) Texano (Jr.) and Son of Havoc, you know you're off to a good start. All four of these guys are incredibly over in the Temple: Son of Havoc (Matt Cross) for his incredible athleticism, The Mack for his mix of lucha libre and Stone Cold Stunners, Cage for his pre-preemptive firing by the WWE for possible wellness policy violations (and frequent looking like he might murder people) and El Texano for his use of a bullwhip. So the tournament consisted of two Falls Count Anywhere matches and a Bar Room Brawl which is like a Good Housekeeping Match but instead of Chyna slamming Jeff Jarrett's face into a bowl of eggs, El Texano gets put through a bar table; bottles and all. 

This first hour of UL:D was quite insanely overbooked. So the Mack and Cage are about to have a standard match when Dario turns it into a Falls count anywhere which the Mack wins via roll-up, then Son of Havoc and El Texano have the aforementioned Bar room Brawl which Son of Havoc won, then there was a final between Havoc and Mack which was also FCA rules, Havoc won, the crowd went mental, Dario came out and offered Havoc two briefcases, one with $250,000 and the other with a contract for a main event match at Ultima Lucha: Tres, Havoc takes the second option but in order to win this briefcase, he has to face off against another opponent who if he wins gets the money, out comes The Famous B and the Beautiful Brenda with their new client, no sadly it's not Mascarita Dorada but the lucha legend Dr. Wagner Jr., who bests Havoc with the Doctor-driver to take home the briefcase. You get all that.

There is no way to really explain how the storyline of night one was meant to track, it did seem a bit like a few weeks before Dos, they realised that four of their most important people didn't have a match so they just threw some stuff at a wall, waited for it to stick and then hoped that the sheer talent in the ring would cover the cracks. Somehow, it does with the opening encounter between Mack and Cage showing their fantastic chemistry, these two are truly the Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn of LU. Son of Havoc can just somersault everywhere and make me happy but top marks to Matt Striker (words I didn't think I'd say) for really selling the story of Havoc as a plucky underdog and hero to the bullied persevering against the odds. The Doctor Wagner twist only really worked because he's already a name so when he entered the temple, the place lost their minds (and because damn he looks good for fifty). It also helped build on what we already knew which is Dario is a dickhead who knows how to make the fans hate him.

Night two was all about two matches: the seven way elimination gift of the gods title match and a death match between King Cuerno (El Hijo del Fantasma) and Mil Muertes (AAA's El Mesias). The gift of the gods match was the first big coronation of Sexy Star but that doesn't mean that others weren't given a chance to shine with Killshot (Shane Strickland) and the debuting Nightclaw (Dragon Gate's Flamita) looking particularly impressive (Nightclaw pulling off a moonsault from the audience balcony was insanely good). No one seems to be particularly hurried in providing any kind of stakes to whatever the story is with Kobra Moon and Daga but it was more to get him out of the way so the story could really just focus on Killshot, Sexy Star, The Mariposa (Cheerleader Melissa) and Marty 'The Moth' Mcf... Martinez. (Tristan Gallo) Marty Martinez has really settled into his lower midcard heel role and managed to actually generate some near falls where for a moment I thought Sexy might not win. But of course she did because the audience love her too much for it not to happen. It's a relief to see though that while they played up Sexy Star the first LU female champion, there was no disbelief about her win. El Sinestro de la Muerte (El Mariachi Loco) was also in this match.

King Cuerno and Mil Muertes tried to murder each other. That is what happened next. Two of the stiffest guys in Boyle Heights just kept hitting each other really hard until King Cuerno tried to put Katrina through a table. This was a match that was deserving of the entire season that has built up to it with Cuerno playing defacto Technico against the larger Muertes, taking out his anger over Katrina screwing him out of his title shot against Muertes to protect her boy. If this match had one problem, it's that is told a very similar story to the match we'll get to between Matanza and Pentagon jr but also for a Death Match, it never felt quite as potent as watching Murder pope Vampiro and Pentagon try and hit each other with as many filament bulbs as possible last year. That said it did have some lovely sequences including of course Cuerno's now trademark Arrow from the Depths of Hell looking like he turned into an actual arrow for a second shooting Muertes and the finish to the match with Muertes hitting a deadly looking Tombstone before Cuerno was carried off on a stretcher was gruesome, visceral and high operatic in the way that the best of LU often is.

So for the final night we had a stacked card with Drago, Aerostar and Fenix taking on The Worldwide Underground (Jack Evans, Johnny Mundo (John Morrison) and PJ Black (Justin Gabriel), who has somehow morphed into X-Pac's more handsome younger brother) for the trios titles, El Dragon Azteca (Rey Horus) taking on Black Lotus (Angela), Pentagon [Jr.] Dark vs Monster Matanza Cueto (Jeff Cobb) for the LU title, Taya [Valkyrie] vs Ivelisse and finally the dream match of Rey Mysterio Jr. vs Prince Puma (NJPW's Ricochet). Of these matches only one really disappointed and that was Dragon Azteca vs Black Lotus as the match provided no real closure or furtherance of their arc, Black Lotus looked quite visibly nervous in her match and it didn't help that Dragon Azteca is hardly  veteran enough to guide her through the match up. It felt like both of them were just running the ropes till Pentagon could invade, break all the arms and call out Matanza to have the match there and then. Luckily, they had one hell of a match, only hurt by having a faint anticlimax. Pentagon, instead of playing the smaller guy in trouble, went for the technical expert schooling the newcomer as he battered Matanza around the ring. It was interesting to see the David and Goliath narrative reversed, it would be like watching Neville dominate Brock Lesnar physically but with more armbars. Matanza (who is sure to be a highlight of this year's BOLA) has quickly proven a valuable assett to the company capable of big, stiff strikes, giant suplexes and standing shooting star presses and Pentagon Jr. has frequently shown he could possibly be the best all-rounder that Mexico has. It's a shame then that the match had to end with a distraction involving Vampiro, Dario and a cousin of Mick Foley's beloved Barbie leading to Pentagon nearly breaking Dario's arm till Matanza hits him with the bat, hits his Reverse Spin-scoop Powerslam finisher for a clean-ish pin. The in-ring finish to the show with Pentagon superkicking Matt Striker before dragging Vampiro to the ring for some good old fashioned barbed wire induced facial stigmata was appropriately gruesome a way to continue this storyline and I wouldn't  be surprised if by this time next year, Pengtagon Jr, sorry, Pentagon Dark has had a lovely, brutal title reign of his own.

Taya and Ivelisse had a lovely little encounter with Matt Striker once again putting over that Ivelisse has an MMA background and Taya trained with Lance Storm to the point where I hope Wade Barrett joins season four just to hear Matt Striker never shut up about his bareknuckle boxing past and he NEVER SHOULD! It was nice to see an encounter between two women on LU that ended after interference from a third woman, Catrina without any involvement of Johnny Mundo, Son of Havoc or Mil Muertes. This was the women's division beginning to truly come into their own and prove that they can not just hold their own with the men but actually do better without them with Ivelisse's MMA background (did you know she has an MMA background?) coming into play with some particularly stiff kicks and smooth transitions into holds. It's also worth noting her spiky trousers make her kicks look even more effective because part of me chooses to believe it's like she has tacks strapped to her legs. That said, another match ending in distraction finish? I thought we went through this with WCPW, you need at least some solid wins or else it doesn't really feel like a satisfying ending to the season.

The Trios title match was exactly what you'd expect it would be, it was six high flyers, flying high. It wasn't as psychologically impressive as some of the other matches on the card but for pure spotfestery, it possibly outdid the GotG match. I love the way that without anyone noticing, The Worldwide Underground have somehow become an even better nWo parody than The Bullet Club with their exaggerated heel antics and playing air guitar on the title belts (including a little shredding sound effect suggesting that they are actually able to play the guitar on the belts?!?). This match had the most effective bits of screwery of the night as the referee took a bump allowing for the champs to take their belt and deliver a triple belt shot to Fenix. The match would eventually end when Angelico would return, presumably because one member of the team of him, Havoc and Ivelisse has to be on crutches at any time, in order to provide enough of a distraction for the technicos to get a win and Fenix to become the first LU Triple Crown Champion. Now I was always going to love this match because Mundo is one of my top ten favourites on the current scene but even with the talent involved, there was a feeling that they weren't given enough time to really do what they wanted to do. If they had moved Dragon Azteca vs Black Lotus or Taya vs Ivelisse to another night of UL:D, they might have been given more time to breathe and string together the different spots more satisfyingly. I also still can't fully understand the full love that Drago gets as yes, I've noticed he's a dragon but he just looks sloppy. I know, he can pull off a moonsault but this is Lucha Underground, I think the only person who couldn't pull off a moonsault was Ezekiel Jackson and they killed his character off. Overall a fun encounter with some strong heel work but maybe just slightly less than the sum of its parts.

Luckily the last match of the night was basically perfection. El Rey vs The Prince, the king of Lucha vs one half of the current 'it' pairing of the indie scene (along with Mr. Super Juniors Will Ospreay). Much like the Ospreay-Ricochet encounter, this match could be accused of occasionally not quite selling moves to their full extent but that just served the story. Mysterio played the role of the elder statesman trying to prove he could still hang tight and Puma worked as the cocky upstart trying to prove he could beat a legend. Here's a thing I've been trying to say since my first article for the website (which you can still find if you go through the tag for my name at the bottom of the page), if a match is good enough, it doesn't need to matter who wins. When we get such fast action that it's hard to even comment on it while it's happening, it puts both competitors on an even playing field. Even if in a storyline term, it confirms that Mysterio truly is El Rey, it doesn't make Puma look any worse in losing because they put on one hell of a match. Even with my warning that this segment would contain spoilers, I don't want to talk about some of the great moments in this match because it's easier to just say watch it. It's the best Rey's looked in years as well as being something of a torch passing especially in the ending sequence which can only be referred to as 'the 619 meets the 323'. Once again to mention the stellar job that Striker and Vampiro did on this match, Striker making reference to Puma setting up Rey for a 630 Senton as an 'I'm sorry, I love you' moment shouldn't have worked and probably wouldn't without Vampiro's big kid enthusiasm but much like a lot of things with LU, it takes something ridiculous and overly-smarky and makes it work through sheer love for the craft. If rumours are to be believed and after the next season of LU, Ricochet will be headed to Conneticut, then hopefully they look at this match and see quite how special a talent he is, able to subtly rudo it up as the fans are supporting Rey while still being impressive enough to keep the audience chanting his name on side, anyone who says his matches lack psychology is probably just someone who thinks psychology means constant chains and rest holds. This is high-flying, wrestling and storytelling at its finest.

Now weren't those nice flipdeedoos? It's worth mentioning here that LU isn't, for my money, a wrestling show, it's not NJPW, it doesn't pretend to be a sport. What LU is, is the purest expression of that whole 'sports entertainment' term. Yes it's very clearly not 'real' but who cares when you can watch Jack Evans and PJ Black have a nunchuck match with a dragon and a spaceman. They are creating a season of a television show. Every individual match, as near classic as some of them can debatably be, are all in service of the greater plotline. Every storyline is given a reasonably chartable through-line where you can see the seeds planted in episode one and though they pay off in smaller ways, it is all linked together by Ultima Lucha Dos. But even more importantly, it didn't just wrap up plots but left some dangling questions for next season. Sure I'm not going to be on tenterhooks waiting to find out if Killshot ever fully gets revenge for the thievery of his dogtags but certainly the subtle mirroring of the last shots of season one suggest a creative team fully aware of the impact of every little move they make.  There is some impressive continuity at play. Watch the way that even though he's playing De facto 'technico' against Matanza, Melissa Santos still refuses to excitedly announce Petagon Jr. after the time he tried to break her arm in Season One.

The most fascinating aspect about Season Two is that possibly better than anywhere else I've seen, they've managed to craft compelling Rudo v Rudo singles matches. There is often considered an issue with having two rudos face off because if they're doing their job, the crowd should boo them but how do you keep them interested if they shouldn't root for either competitor? The answer it turns out was simple - who cares, just watch these two guys punch the bejeezus out of each other. Because that's what wrestling is meant to be. Every time the hardcore 'we loved the Attitude Era' attack dogs of the internet come out to attack LU or the New Day or The Young Bucks, there is one simple reminder to them that I feel it is now my place to join in with giving them: you were a child then, this is entertaining to some of us as adults, imagine how you would feel watching this as a child. I know that as much as I love LU, imagine how much 13 year old Joe would have loved this. The sheer brilliance of LU is that not everything about it works but despite the almost ridiculous amount of high concept fuckery that happens, it feels exactly like something happening in a warehouse in the middle of LA. It pulses with the energy of a group of people at the peak of their powers making something that pays tribute to its past and its influences but also seems to be entirely guided by the thought 'what if we did something really fucking dumb but really fucking cool?'

But it works. Where 'The Wyatt Compound Fracture' as I believe it's being called, failed because of its sincere attempts to make a low-budget horror sequence being constantly hampered by an overly choppy editing style that made the entire thing competent but partially incomprehensible and The Final Deletion, I still can't tell if it's the Room of Pro-Wrestling or The obnoxious Room parody of Pro-Wrestling. What LU does so well is to weave in the backstage elements but also, in a nice touch that differentiates it from other products, it is played as if Matt Striker and Vampiro have no idea what's going on backstage when they're in the arena. It makes those segments feel more special because they are a secret between us, the TV audience and the programme. Also in terms of production values, whoever had the idea to always put an over the shoulder crane shot for any time Son of Havoc or Prince Puma go top rope, they deserve all the raises. It's a somewhat flashy aesthetic they've created but it is also a rare genuine article of something that is nothing like else in the same market, it's very rare that you can find a wrestling product that anyone compliments the cinematography for. The last moments of the strobing lights over the slowly raising grin of Cueto were so artfully constructed it may as well have been guest direction from David Lynch and that's something no other wrestling promotions can claim. No one else is doing this,  Mexico isn't doing this, CMLL isn't doing this, Even AAA doesn't do this, in fact especially AAA for anyone who tried to power through the godawful stream of Triplemania this year. Plus to my knowledge, AAA doesn't have Joey Ryan (The King of Dong Style himself) as an Undercover Cop and all things need that, even if they just don't know it yet.

Written content: Jozef Raczka 
Media Content: James Marston & Jozef Raczka 

AAA TripleMania XXIII iPPV Review

This is the first time we've covered an AAA show on ATPW, in fact it's the very first time that we've covered Mexican wrestling at all, as we continue to branch out in the content that we offer to you. The show featured Rey Mysterio Jr. battling Myzteziz in the main event, with the bout being billed as a "Dream Match", whilst Pentagon, Jr., Brian Cage, Angelico , El Hijo del Fantasma, Cibernetico and more featured on the card. But was it any good?

Stupidly, I had the opening of the show on with Spanish commentary, so I sat pretty confused through the opening five minutes or so, however there was a nice Mission Impossible themed opening video package.

One Fall Revelos Atomicos de Locura Match

Dinastia, Drago, Goya Kong & Pimpinella Escarlata 

vs.

Daga, Mamba, Mini Psycho Clown & Sexy Star

This match featured a good cross-section of what AAA has to offer, with a member of each side representing the four singles division within the company, Male, Female, Mini-Estrella and Exotico. As an opening match this worked alright from a home viewing perspective, with the action keeping a fast-pace throughout, whilst providing some good contrasts in the collisions between the performers of different divisions. The crowd lapped up the comedy from characters like Pimpinella Escarlata, and although it wasn't really my cup of tea, it's clear that the live audience were big fans of Pimpinella's antics throughout the match.

Sexy Star was one of the stand out's of the bout for me, alongside fellow Lucha Underground competitor Drago, with both providing some of the best action in the contest, with no one else really threatening to break out of the pack. Out of that pack, Goya Kong especially looked sluggish and seemed to be holding back the match from really lifting the pace, although her cannon ball off the apron, during a series of high-flying dives, was impressive. The finish saw Pimpinella manage to get a submission out of Sexy Star, seemingly coming out of nowhere, which left the match feeling a little flat at the end.

Winners - Dinastia, Drago, Goya Kong & Pimpinella Escarlata 

Referee Pepe "Tropi" Casas was honoured, with Matt Striker informing us of his legendary status and that he would be refereeing his last match tonight (In fact the bout had two referees, for reasons). There was also a video package on Los Villanous before their match.

One Fall Six Man Tag Team Match

Los Villanos' Villano III, Villano IV & Villano V

vs.

Los Pyscho Circus

This match was marred with technical issues, both audio and visual, that certainly affected the match from where I was watching it. It's hard to concentrate when there's a constant buzzing, and only Matt Striker's commentary can be heard (including the face-palm inducing line "There's no leg slapping here") in a match that needed Hugo Savinivich to really get over the history of the two families involved in the bout. The visual issues meant that the match was very choppy and therefore difficult to follow. 

From what I did see the match seemed like a little bit of train wreck. Even if I had been completely up to date on Los Villanos and the history they had in the industry, I don't think I would have been into the sluggish action that the trio provided. Having three guys in the ring over fifty years old was always going to create this kind of action. Perhaps the bout could have been saved by having a decent story to follow, but that never really occurred, beyond both trios ripping one of the others masks. The finish was very confusing as Psycho Clown refused to pin Villano III, supposedly out of respect, but Psycho Clown ended up getting pinned by Villano IV after a low blow, like what? 

Winners - Los Villanos' Villano III, Villano IV & Villano V

A celebration of Villano III's career followed, with this PPV beginning to build a theme of honouring the past, more than looking to the future. The funky cage was lowered, complete with billboards around the side, in preparation for what Striker described as the "Aerial Assault" match, whether that is the actual name I have no idea.

Three Way Trios Aerial Assault Match for AAA World Trios Championships.

Los Hell Brothers (C)

vs.

El Hijo del Fantasma, El Texano, Jr. & Pentagon, Jr.

vs.

Angelico, Jack Evans & Fenix

The gimmick was essentially a combination of a steel cage match and TNA's Ultimate X, with the World Trios titles being suspended on a beam across the top of the cage. A big ol' clusterfuck of a match. The spots in this one were big, Fenix's moonsault of the top of the cage, Angelico jumping to the middle beam of one edge of the cage and some big bumps through a tables, here and there. I imagine the match looked much better inside the arena, as the camera work was shoddy throughout, making it difficult to feel like you were catching everything that was going on and making some of the spots look not quite as impressive as they could have. 

Personally, I think having three teams, or nine different wrestlers in the match, hurt the contest, as there was just too many bodies standing around inside the cage, especially at the start of the match. Six performers would have been enough to keep the spot count high, whilst keeping people busy from start to finish. In a comparison to WWE's Money in the Bank concept this match lacked a slickness and the spots seemed to be more for the sake of it, rather than in an attempt to get hold of the title belts. Almost certainly the best match of the show so far, but still didn't deliver on the promise of an intriguing gimmick and the talents involved in the match. 

Winners and still AAA World Trios Champions - Los Hell Brothers

Plenty of replays followed, alongside the celebrating Los Hell Brothers, who managed to retain their titles. We got some good shots of fans dicking about for a bit, which was slightly better than the wide shot of the arena that was the usual go to between matches, with the commentary randomly switching to Spanish for a little while.

One Fall Tag Team Match

Blue Demon, Jr & La Parka

vs.

El Mesias & Electroshock

The highlight of this match for me was realising that Electroshock looked like a gimp Giant Gonzales, in his ridiculous get-up. Things felt rather short here, in what was a basic tag team encounter, set up to celebrate the career of Blue Demon, Jr, as the theme of the PPV continued. There was nothing that stood out as particularly good or bad, but for the biggest PPV of the year, I was expecting a little bit more here than a basic tag team match. The finish saw Demon, Jr. able to get Gimpy Giant Gonzales to tap out with his El Pulpo submission, which made for a decent send off for the former NWA World Heavyweight Champion. 

Winners - Blue Demon, Jr. & La Parka

An emotional celebration followed and it was clear that Blue Demon, Jr. meant a lot to everyone involved in the show.

Hector Garza and El Hijo del Perro Aguayo became the 10th and 11th inductees into the AAA Hall of Fame. An emotional experience for the live crowd and the families of the inductees, due to both having passed away in recent years, with Aguayo's death being particularly recent. Unfortunately, Hugo Savinivich's commentary was missing for the initial induction meaning that most of the speech was lost on me, however, he returned for the second induction, adding to the moment and really helping me to understand the significance of the duo and their group, Perros del Mal, in Mexican wrestling.

One Fall Lucha de Apuestas Hair vs. Hair Match

Alberto el Patron 

with Fenix

vs.

Brian Cage 

with El Hijo del Fantasma

One of two main event calibre matches on the show, this was the first match to genuinely deliver on the show. The Mexico vs. USA storyline is a simple one, but one that is particularly relevant at the moment, with Brian Cage capitalising on this by wearing a "Trump 2016" t-shirt. Because of this, the crowd seemed into everything the two men did in the ring, lifting the action and adding a certain level of importance to it, with the Hair vs. Hair gimmick also adding some weight to the bout, despite El Patron's AAA World Heavyweight Championship not being on the line.

This was an enjoyably, brutal clash between the two, that told a good story and was easy to get involved in, despite the potentially alienating Mexico vs. USA element. El Patron getting busted open early doors provided some strong visuals, with Lucha Underground regular Cage dominated the early goings with the use of a folding chair and baking tray. The deck being stacked against the former WWE Champion throughout the bout after Cage and El Hijo del Fantasma had taken out Fenix on the ramp and the referee had been revealed to be in Cage's pocket, put El Patron in an underdog role that he seemed to revel in. His comeback, following a missed double jump moonsault from Cage, was heated with plenty of spot-on strikes, before he was able to pick up the victory via submission with a Cross Armbreaker. A special shoutout to the Bret's rope powerbomb through a table by Cage that worked a great near fall.

Winner - Alberto el Patron

Following the bout, TAFKA Alberto Del Rio cut a blistering promo, well it sounded blistering anyway, I don't speak Spanish. Personally, I could have done without Cage attempting to attack El Patron after having his head shaved, as with Cage already tapping out in the match, having El Patron quickly get the upper hand with a powerbomb seemed a bit superfluous. Unless perhaps Cage is done with the company.

One Fall Match

Rey Mysterio, Jr.

vs.

Myzteziz

The match that seemed teased to happen at two separate WrestleMania's headlined the show, with Matt Striker taking great glee in pointing that out. The entrances of both men made the match feel very special indeed, with Myzteziz dropping down from the ceiling with the Mission Impossible theme (The upcoming spin-off film was sponsoring the show, with Simon Pegg making an appearance on the screen before the match), in a truly spectacular entrance. This gave the match a bit of glits and glamour, contributing to it's "big match feel", as AAA continued to provide some astounding visuals.

This was certainly the match of the night for me, with the pair creating a sprawling match that took in a variety of different styles. This kept the match interesting and played to the strengths of the two workers, who may have struggled to keep up a balls to wall bout, in the style that they are perhaps best known for. The opening section focused on a more brawling style with Mysterio busting Myzteziz open early with a head-scissors onto the ringpost, before TAFKA Sin Cara hit a powerbomb on the announce table and both tumbled through a table on a clunky suplex spot. Before the middle of the bout turned into both men attempting to get the pinfall with a series of different pinfall combinations, with the slower count used in Mexico playing into this section well.

With the pair running through a series of nice back and forth counters, the conclusion of the bout focused around Mysterio Jr's 619 and Myzteziz's La Mistica. Both men attempted each others' signature moves, with Myzteziz getting a good near fall off a 619 and Frog Splash combination, before Mysterio was able to make Myzteziz tap out with the second time that The Ultimate Underdog was able to utilise La Mistica. An enjoyable close to a bout that picked up it's pace heading into the final stretch of the match. Whilst the holds weren't always as slick as one would hope for in the biggest match of the year for AAA, there was still plenty to enjoy here, with the pair able to put together a match that they wouldn't have been able to if it had been booked for on a WWE show.

Winner - Rey Mysterio, Jr.

Things got interesting post-match with Averno, Joe Litre and Pentagon, Jr. heading to the ring to attack Myzteziz, with Joe Litre carrying a staple gun, because he's extreme according to Hugo Savinivich. Of course, eventually Mysterio, Jr. made the save with the pair hitting a double 619 to clear the ring of their foes. This all seemed good and well until BOTCH CARA returned and Myteziz screwed up a suicide dive onto Averno, with Mysterio having to cover for him. A slightly messy conclusion to the show, but at least it seemed to vaguely make some kind of sense.

But, that wasn't the conclusion. Myzteziz spitting in Mysterio's face and cutting a promo challenging the former WWE Champion to a Mask vs. Mask bout further down the line was, with Myzteziz seemingly siding with Perros del Mal and Konnan. I couldn't get my head around why Myzteziz seemed to be teaming with the people who had just tried to attack him with a staple gun. The mask vs. mask bout is intriguing, but having the show end with our hero, Rey Mysterio, Jr. getting the shit kicked out of him in the ring was a sour finish to the show.

Finally...

ATPW Scale Rating - 5.03

The show picked up with the two main events that both delivered on expectations, perhaps even above with the Mysterio vs. Myzteziz bout, however the earlier matches didn't do much for me at all, and weren't helped out by the audio and visual issues, as well as some shoddy production. The three way trios cage bout was the highlight of the undercard, for the sheer silliness of the gimmick and some good spots.

The show had a strong focus on the past of the company, with many legends being honoured, which felt like it watered down the Hall of Fame ceremony part of the show. It would have been nice to see the company focus on some new faces, with Brian Cage the only name that seemed to be getting a big push up the card for his semi-main with Alberto el Patron. 

For my first proper look at AAA there was perhaps just enough to make me want to check out the companies next PPV in September, but they're going to have provide a little more on that effort to keep me interested in the company for the long run.