tm24's Lucha Libre Primer
Originally posted:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=41550700&postcount=101
Instead of trudging through Raw, you guys should instead watch this carefully curated selection of lucha libre presented by me, tm24, for all your viewing pleasure. Here you'll find the best lucha libre has to offer from its past, recent past and from now featuring the best of lucha libre
QUICK NOTES ABOUT LUCHA
-Matches are 2/3 falls
-In tag matches, both members must be pinned for a fall to be won. In trios, there's a captain who if pinned, counts as a fall. The other two can be pinned to win a fall also. Tags are also done elimanation style, so there's a lot of dual pins in lucha. Tags dont have to be tags, anytime a wrestler rolls out his partner can come in.
-El Martinete (a pildriver) is the most illegal move in pro wrestling and usually results in a wrestler being dead.
-Removing the mask entirely is a DQ. you will see a lot of ripping of the mask though
-Lucha matches generally are paced differently from WWE matches, usually to set up a sequence of spots such as the amazing dives
THE CLASSICS
Santo, Octagon & Rey Misterio Jr vs Blue Panther, Fuerza Guerrera & Psicosis
A great trios match to start the showcase off. The match tends to revolve around certain pairings and just clicks with everyone getting their moves in. One of the best trio matches of the 90s
Rey Misterio Jr vs Hijo Del Santo
A classic between a young flier and the legend. Great matwork and high flying allround by both men
Rey Misterio jr vs Juventud Guerrera 6/16/95
Hey, remember that ECW match? This is basically that, but better
Rey Misterio Jr vs Juventud Guerrera 4/21/95
Hey, remember that last match? This is basically that, but better. Considered the best of the Rey/Juvi matches. Seriously, i don't know what was in the water in Tijuana, but it somehow gave us 3 of the best high flying luchadores ever
El Hijo Del Santo vs Psicosis
The other great luchadore from Tijuana is Psicosis, and here he defends his belt against the icon in a great long match. Watch Psicosis do nutty dives galore while the master tries to slow the young gun down before responding with his own bombs in the air
Rey Misterio jr vs Psicosis
Fun fact, Rey and El Hijo del Santo basically dominate any and all great lucha match lists. This is probably one of the best matches of any of the cruisers and this has it all
El Dandy vs Negro Casas vs El Hijo del Santo Mask vs Hair vs Hair
Some background to this match. Hijo del Santo is the biggest babyface this side of his dad, who is still the biggest babyface in the world. So after leaving CMLL for AAA, Santo decides to rekindle his decade long feud with Negro Casas as a rudo since Casas was now a technico, The set-up was a trios match with Negro Casas, El Dandy and Héctor Garza as technicos against Felino, Scorpio, Jr. and Bestia Salvaje (The last two being Casas fomer partners) as the rudos. Felino is Casas' brother and when he came to the ring, he stopped and just watched as all hell broke lose. The fans were expecting Felino to help his brother but Felino took off his cape and mask, revealing himself to be El Hijo del Santo in disguise and then shit hit the fan. Riots broke out, fists were thrown in the crowd and kids cried. This is the aftermath of the turn and a total brawl follows.
Hijo Del Santo vs Negro Casas Mask vs Hair
After failing to get the result in the last match, the two winners from the last match go at it in a straight up brawl. No fancy lucha moves here, this is the culmination of decades of hate.
El Hijo Del Santo & Octagón VS. Eddie Guerrero & Love Machine Art Barr Double Mask vs Hair
Easily the most famous lucha match of all time. The feud was between Hijo Del Santo and Eddy, whose fathers teamed up as La Pareja Atómica (The Atomic pair). Eddy felt that Santo used his dad and Gory didn't get his due because of it which the feud is the basis of. Eddie wanted to restore his family's honor by taking Santo's mask This match became a tag match at the last minute due to Art Barr pleading to get on the show and the match is better cuz of it. Art Barr was the best heel in Mexico and is one of the biggest heat magnets ever. Truly a shame the man died 2 weeks after this. Seriously, just watch. Pure greatness.
Torneo Cibernetico - 4/18/97
The torneo CIbernatico! Luchadores galore! This is basically 40 minutes of amazing lucha. A cibernetico works in that there's a large amount of wrestlers on each side, and they take turns cycling as tags happen either naturally or by leaving the ring. Featuring basically every great heavyweight of lucha of the 90s. Tons of matchwork, flying and just crazy spots. COnsidered by many to be the best lucha match of the 90s
THE RECENT PAST!
Mistico vs Averno 1/30/05
Mistico! Before he was Sin Cara, he was Mistico, the brightest star mexico had seen in years. Here, he starts his rivalry with Averno that would span 10 matches. Watch him as he grows to be the legend of Mexico
Mistico vs Ultimo Guerrero
On the heels of his amazing match with Averno, Mistico takes on the leader of Los Guerreros, Ultimo Guerrero in another classic
Mistico Vs Black Warrior Mask vs Mask
Once tag team champs until an inadvertent collision from Mistico caused Black Warrior to be pinned , Mistico and Black Warrior's feud started over a belt until it escalated into this Mascara contra Mascara match. One of the best matches of 2006
Mistico vs Averno 1/5/07
After taking the mask of Black Warrior, Mistico returns to his greatest rival in another classic match with Averno
Mistico vs Dr Wagner Jr
yeah, Mistico was involved in a lot of great matches. Though his opponents were pretty good themselves. Here he takes on Dr Wagner Jr in of the best matches of 2007
Mistico vs Averno Fantasticamania 2011
The last Mistico vs Averno match takes place in Japan and its just as good as every match
RECENT
La Sombra vs Volador Jr
Two of the best high fliers in Mexico go at it
Averno vs La Mascara Mask vs Mask
Averno once again has issues with a great high flier. This time is escalates into a Mask vs Mask match
Averno vs La Sombra
What started the current hottest feud in Mexico. Averno for like the 5th time has issues with other high fliers
Another La Sombra vs Averno match
Probably the best match of 2012. Just great high flying all around. Averno really is the best rudo on the planet right now
Máscara Dorada vs Mephisto
La Máscara vs Volador Jr.
Guerrero Maya Jr. vs Virus
More high flying action!
And bonus minis matches!
Mascarita Dorada vs. Pierrothito
WHERE TO WATCH AND FOLLOW
Pequeno Reyes del Aires 2012
A cibernetico involving minis!
Theres two great uploaders on youtube. WarriorsX2000 uploads the weekly shows from CMLL, AAA and IWRG. The Cubsfan runs not only one of the best lucha sites, but also uploads a lot of the same material but seperates them into the matches. And then there's my channel, which is gonna be full of stuff
http://www.youtube.com/user/WarriorsX2000
http://www.youtube.com/user/thecubsfan
http://www.youtube.com/user/tm24
As for sites, my 2 favs are
http://www.luchaworld.com/ and the aforementioned TheCubsFan blog at
http://www.thecubsfan.com/cmll/
Bootaaay's Puroresu Primer
Puroresu, puro or prowres, is a catch-all term to describe Japanese pro-wrestling, which was brought to Japanese shores by American soldiers following WW2. But, it wasn't until a Korean-born sumo wrestler, Rikidozan, rose to popularity with the 'Japanese Pro-Wrestling Alliance' that puroresu really took off. A huge star of the 50's and early 60's, Rikidozan shaped the world of professional wrestling in Japan, and his matches against big, bad American heels would electrify the crowd and set the template Japanese wrestling still uses today. Rikidozan was stabbed and killed by the Yakuza in 1963, and the JWA folded just a year later. From the ashes rose two new promotions, headed by the two star students of Rikidozan; Shohei 'Giant' Baba and Antonio Inoki. Baba's 'All Japan Pro-Wrestling' continued in the style of the JWA, which became known as the 'Kings Road' style. The good guys faced off against the imposing, intimidating American heels in hard-hitting, technically sound wrestling matches that rarely had a decisive winner. Antonio Inoki's 'New Japan Pro-Wrestling' also used the JWA's teamplate, but Inoki counted the legendary Karl Gotch among his trainers, and with Inoki's more technical, realistic style that led from Gotch's training came a desire to 'legitimize' pro-wrestling. But for all the karate competitions, and faux-MMA matches Inoki indulged in, New Japan's most successful periods came from when they concentrated on just being great wrestling promotion.
Throughout the 80's and 90's, puroresu was booming. As both New Japan and All Japan did great business putting on wild and action-packed pro-wrestling matches, this caused a rift in New Japan. Like Inoki, Akira Maeda and Satoru Sayama (the original Tiger Mask) had a desire to promote more realistic, 'legitimate' wrestling, so the two left New Japan to form the UWF and create a style of wrestling known as shootstyle that helped pave the way for MMA. For the meanwhile, however, Inoki was happy to keep New Japan on track as a wrestling promotion, with the rise of stars such as Great Muta, Hiroshi Hase, Shinya Hashimoto and Masahiro Chono pushing the company to new heights, while wrestlers such as Naoki Sano & Jushin Liger helped innovate the Jr. Heavyweight style of wrestling that has been so influential in the past two decades. Feuds with the UWF and later the UWFi proved to be big business for New Japan, as Inoki pitted his wrestlers against the shootstyle fighters. Ultimately, bad management would cause the UWF to fail, while wrestling in Japan prospered. Over at All Japan, with some deft long-term booking from Giant Baba and excellent talent such as Jumbo Tsuruta, Stan Hansen & Steve Williams, a host of new stars were created, legendary wrestlers such as Mitsuharu Misawa, Kenta Kobashi, Genichiro Tenryu and Toshiaki Kawada, wrestlers who would define the Japanese 'strong style' of uncompromising, hard-hitting wrestling in the '90s that has been as equally influential to the world of wrestling at-large as its high-flying, Jr. Heavyweight counterpart.
The late 90's saw a down-turn in fortunes for both promotions. With the death of Giant Baba, All Japan was thrown into turmoil. While wrestlers such as Toshiaki Kawada and Kensuke Sasaki (who had jumped ship from New Japan) stayed, many more left, following Mitsuharu Misawa to his new Pro-Wrestling NOAH promotion. Over at New Japan, Inoki was having another stab at trying to 'legitimize' wrestling, mixing puroresu with MMA and shootstyle. A lot of fans and wrestlers became disatisfied with the booking, and as debt spiraled Inoki was forced to sell up. Keiji Mutoh (Great Muta), meanwhile, left New Japan and purchased All Japan from Mrs. Baba. Today, both promotions are emerging from what has been a difficult decade for pro-wrestling and are looking much stronger. New Japan is reclaiming some of the former popularity that made them the biggest promotion in Japan during the 90's, simply through compelling booking, excellent wrestling and a host of top talent. All Japan, after meandering for quite some while, has over the past 3 years began to show itself as a great product once more. Attendences are up, and there's a lot to look forward to in All Japan's future. For Pro-Wrestling NOAH, the future looks somewhat more bleak. After the tragic death of Mitsuharu Misawa, the promotion has been rocked by scandal and dwindling attendences. It seems obvious, to all but those who run the promotion, that the heart of NOAH's problems lie with consistantly questionable booking and an inabillity to create new stars.
Meanwhile, beyond the world of the 'Big 3', there has never been a greater wealth of excellent Japanese indie wrestling than in the past decade or two. Promotions such as Dragon Gate, DDT, ZERO1, Big Japan, Michinoku Pro, Kaientai Dojo, Osaka Pro, OZ Academy, REINA, JWP, etc, offer a wide and diverse mix of wrestling styles, and more than ever before there is something for everyone to love in Japanese wrestling.
Links;
http://www.puroresufan.com
http://dramaticddt.wordpress.com
http://www.puroresucentral.com
http://sleazaresu.blogspot.co.uk
http://www.purolove.com
http://www.dailymotion.com/Jahmale_Hepburn
http://www.dailymotion.com/SenorLARIATO
http://www.youtube.com/user/AJP610
http://www.youtube.com/user/CLASSiC1PW
http://www.youtube.com/user/KingsRoadJapan
http://www.youtube.com/user/MiscPuro
http://www.youtube.com/user/MuttonAndTheHam
http://www.youtube.com/user/NJPW
http://www.youtube.com/user/purofunclub
http://www.youtube.com/user/StrongStyleJapan
Matches;
- 5 of the best puro matches of the past;
Stan Hansen vs Kenta Kobashi - (AJPW 08/15/93)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlpgULnBmnE
Stan Hansen had epitomised the hard-hitting style of All Japan for over a decade at this point, while Kenta Kobashi was the brightest young star on the All Japan roster, looking for that one big breakout match that would solidify him as a top talent. This was his match, as he tries desperately to overcome the wild and crazy, half-blind Stan Hansen and avoid the deadly dangerous Western Lariat.
Naoki Sano (c) vs Jushin 'Thunder' Liger - (NJPW 01/31/90)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNOEDxv7aqQ
Although the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title had seen some great wrestling from the likes of Hiroshi Hase and Owen Hart during its first four years of existence, the year-long feud between Jushin 'Thunder' Liger and Naoki Sano from '89 to '90 would set the standard for Jr. Heavyweight wrestling going forward, culminating in one of the greatest singles matches of either men's careers.
Mitsuharu Misawa (c) vs Toshiaki Kawada - (AJPW 03/06/94)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p34JujfVKkw
Former friends and tag partners, the legendary Mitsuaru Misawa and Toshiaki Kawada waged war on one another for 13 long years. The animosity began when Kawada, shorter in stature than his tag partner, became envious of Misawa's rise to the top of All Japan, beating his mentor Giant Baba and claiming Triple Crown gold. Kawada had to fight for everything he had earned, and that's the story of their rivalry. Misawa on top, Kawada fighting for respect, fighting for recognition and fighting for the gold. Everyone has their opinion on which of their meetings is the best, but for me it has to be their 1994 encounter in front of a rabid Budokan Hall crowd.
Shinya Hashimoto (c) vs Keiji Mutoh - (NJPW 05/03/95)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6oAFYZ-M3Q
After the young Shinya Hashimoto ended The Great Muta's 400 day title reign in 1993, here Keiji Mutoh challenges the much larger, tougher and more well-rounded Hashimoto 367 days into his second reign. This one's a bit of a slow burner and often overlooked because of it, but they tell a great story throughout of Mutoh as the underdog, being very cautious and never underestimating the champion, who does his best to dominate Mutoh physically. As the match progresses, the crowd get really into it as they begin to belive a title change could be iminent, which spurs both guys on into a great finishing stretch.
Akira Hokuto vs Shinobu Kandori - (AJW 04/02/93)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6w1byzpTuiw
Hokuto in her prime is one of the damnedest wrestlers you'll ever see. The ace of AJW, she was the complete package, and throughout the early 90's as AJW held shows in partnership with their joshi rivals, the big interpromotional matches became a sure-fire highlight of the year. None moreso than Hokuto vs Kandori, who was the owner of LLPW and regarded as one of the toughest competitors in joshi wrestling. With a legitimate martial arts training background, Kandori brings a sense of believeability to the match, with her stiff, submission-based offence, while Hokuto plays off her perfectly, takes the fight straight to Kandori and is bloodied and brutalised as the match breaks down into a wild brawl.
- 5 of the best puro matches of 2012;
Kazuchika Okada (c) vs Hiroshi Tanahashi - (NJPW 06/16/12)
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xt4qzu
After many dismal years in TNA, Kazuchika Okada returned to New Japan with a new swagger about him, challenging Hiroshi Tanahashi who had just broken Yuji Nagata's record for number of IWGP Heavyweight Title defences. Many were nonplussed by Okada being thrust immediately into the spotlight, even more when Okada defeated Tanahashi for the belt in a huge upset to kick-start 2012. But when people finally saw the match, they realised...holy shit, Okada is really good. Shockingly so. Since then he's been involved in another two match of the year contenders, against Naito and Goto, plus a third right here as the top star of New Japan, Hiroshi Tanahashi, faces off against the Rainmaker, Kazuchika Okada, to reclaim his IWGP Heavyweight Title.
Suwama vs Daisuke Sekimoto - (AJPW 02/01/12)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndq_kn3sFGU
Daisuke Sekimoto, one of the most physically dominating wrestlers in Japan, had dominated the All Japan tag division for much of 2011 and 2012. Trained at the Big Japan dojo, and a veteran of multiple death-matches early on in his career, Sekimoto strayed from the traditional BJW style to develop the Strong Big Japan style, a very physical, hard-hitting style that proved a perfect counter point to BJW's usual blood and mayhem. Meanwhile, Suwama is somewhat the ace of All Japan, and although unable to dethrone Sekimoto & his partner from the tag titles, here in singles competition he looks to teach a lesson to the arrogant Big Japan invader.
Jun Akiyama (c) vs Keiji Mutoh - (AJPW 03/20/12)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcncdUNngOY
Jun Akiyama's road towards the All Japan Triple Crown championship was a long and winding one. After Mitsuhara Misawa's defection from AJPW to form Pro-Wrestling NOAH, Akiyama and many other AJPW stars followed, and it looked like Akiyama would never attain the gold he had at one time seemed destined for. However, that destiny was at last realised when he made his return to All Japan competition in late 2011, defeated Suwama and ending his 420 day reign, 19 years after Akiyama had first made his All Japan debut. But it was different now. Akiyama was an outsider, and next to Kenta Kobashi, the biggest veteran star of NOAH. So on the biggest show of All Japan's year, it fell to their veteran star, the legendary Keiji Mutoh, to try and reclaim the Triple Crown for All Japan. Despite both men showing their age, Mutoh moreso than Akiyama, the resulting match was a real treat from two of the best in the business.
El Generico vs Kota Ibushi - (DDT 05/04/12)
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xqp6c1
Kota Ibushi, the current IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion & KO-D Openweight Champion, is one of the most highly regarded Jr. Heavyweights in Japan, and when he returned from injury earlier this year, his home promotion DDT needed someone of suitabe stature for him to face off against. Enter El Generico. If Ibushi has an equal stateside, in terms of popularity, consistancy, execution and crispness, it's El Generico, and the two absolutely tear it up in this exciting, fast-paced match.
Kenny Omega (c) vs Shigehiro Irie - (DDT 04/02/12)
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xq0bgx
Shigehiro Irie has been wrestling for just 4 years now, and is definitely starting to impress with his athleticism, toughness and selling. Here he faces his biggest test yet, in what turns out to be the best match of his young career, challenging the more experienced Kenny Omega for the AJPW Jr. Heavyweight Title.
- 5 reasons why DDT is AWESOME;
Campsite Pro-Wrestling
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQOkMzCveg0 - (DDT 07/09/08)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrzM6DM_3As - (DDT 06/09/09)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAg_wIDRnG8 - (DDT 11/14/10)
Of all the wild and crazy action that takes place in DDT, there's nothing quite as epic as the yearly Campsite Pro-Wrestling match where DDT wrestlers descend on a campsite in the woods to battle it out for around an hour or so, making use of the environment and a whole host of improvised weaponry, plus, fireworks! Awesome fun.
Anywhere Matches
As DDT continue to prove, matches don't necesarrily have to take place inside a ring, but can travel to a wide variety of locales such as
bookstores,
amusement parks &
apartment complexes.
YOSHIHIKO
An inflatable love doll that wrestles better than most FCW trainees.
Kota Ibushi vs YOSHIHIKO - (DDT 10/11/09)
The Golden Lovers
Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi, collectively known as 'The Golden Lovers', are not only the top team in DDT, but proving themselves to be one of the top teams in the world. Here, they challenge Apollo 55 for the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Titles in one of the best matches of 2010;
Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi (c) vs Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi - (NJPW 10/11/10)
The Extreme Title
This prestigious belt has been held by everyone and everything in DDT at one point, and can provide some great wrestling or farcical comedy, depending on who holds the belt. Watch here as a Ladder attempts to defend the title;
Ladder (c) vs Mikami vs Fukuda vs Matsuno vs Sano vs Honda vs Sawada - (DDT 04/01/07)
