Friday, June 11, 2010

DVDVR Top 20 Lucha Matches of the 90's - #10-8

10) Silver King vs. Apolo Dantes (EMLL 6/23/95 - Heavyweight Title) - 6
9) Psicosis/Juventud Guerrera vs. El Volador/El Mexicano (AAA 1/12/96 - Parejas Title) - 4
8) Octagon/Santo/Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Fuerza Guerrera/Psicosis/ Blue Panther (AAA 3/16/95) - 7

Dantes' was great, doing these fantastic, real twisted maniacal facials, looking as diabolical as Jeremey Irons did as Profion in Dungeons & Dragons (2000). I didn't like the finish, though, a clothesline countered into a Northern Lights suplex felt flatter than Eliza Dushku's acting in Dollhouse (Two pop culture references in one match review? You know it!). Next match failed at flattering me, it ranged from stagey and somewhat sloppy, to lighthearted laissez-faire. I think the committee that compiled this list of top matches would likely plead the "Twinkee defense" like Dan White did after murdering Harvey Milk, i.e. that over-consumption of junk food forced them to make a poor decision. While the match wasn't entirely without merit, it'd maybe belong in a top 250 list but it's decidedly not the 9th best match of all of lucha for an entire decade.

I loved the six-man tag, so many great performers, Santo looking the weakest of the pack with his odd way of doing back bumps where he leans backwards like a kid testing the limits of a chair in study hall, probably in effort of softening the bumps to his aging, ailing body. It had the best third caida of anything on the set thus far, great flying action, and some real awesome heeling and double-teams on Mysterio by the rudos.

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