Zenjo

I may as well post my ballot here then. Really enjoyable set. It's well worth checking out all the 80's sets posthumously if you haven't already done so. No pressure to rank everything, just enjoy the great matches. 1) El Hijo Del Santo vs Espanto Jr (4/10/88) 2) Arandu vs Guerrero Negro (Hair vs Hair) (?/88) 3) El Hijo Del Santo vs Negro Casas (Mask vs Hair) (7/18/87) 4) Sangre Chicana vs Ringo Mendoza (10/28/83) 5) El Dandy vs Emilio Charles Jr (12/1/89) 6) Espanto Jr vs El Hijo Del Santo (Mask vs Mask) (8/31/86) 7) Atlantis & El Satanico vs MS-1 & Tierra Viento y Fuego (Hair/Mask vs Hair/Mask) (9/22/89) 8) Gran Cochise vs El Satanico (9/14/84) 9) Pirata Morgan vs El Dandy (Hair vs Hair) (9/23/88) 10) Emilio Charles Jr vs El Dandy (Hair vs Hair) (7/28/89) 11) Mocho Cota vs Americo Rocca (1/27/84) 12) Americo Rocca vs El Talisman (3/29/85) 13) MS-1 vs Sangre Chicana (9/23/83) 14) Javier Cruz vs Hombre Bala (Hair vs Hair) (6/30/89) 15) Satoru Sayama & Gran Hamada vs Perro Aguayo & Baby Face (4/13/80) 16) Emilio Charles Jr, MS-1 & Tierra Viento y Fuego vs Atlantis, El Dandy & Mascara Sagrada (11/24/89) 17) Enrique Vera vs Dos Caras (2/26/84) 18) Rayo De Jalisco Jr vs Mascara Ano 2000 (8/15/86) 19) Espectro Jr, El Satanico & MS-1 vs Mocho Cota, Sangre Chicana & La Fiera (9/30/83) 20) Los Brazos vs Hombre Bala, Pirata Morgan & El Verdugo (Super Libre) (11/10/89) 21) Mocho Cota vs Americo Rocca (2/3/84) 22) Sangre Chicana vs Perro Aguayo (Hair vs Hair) (2/28/86) 23) Tony Salazar vs Herodes (3/2/84) 24) Mogur vs Mascara Ano 2000 (Mask vs Mask) (9/23/88) 25) Ringo Mendoza, Atlantis & Ultraman vs El Satanico, Masakre & MS-1 (9/86) 26) Perro Aguayo vs Sangre Chicana vs El Faraón vs Villano III (Elimination) (10/84) 27) El Canek vs Don Corleone (2/14/82) 28) Pirata Morgan, Hombre Bala & Verdugo vs Atlantis, Angel Azteca & Ringo Mendoza (3/88) 29) El Hijo del Santo & Black Shadow Jr vs Espanto Jr & Eskeletor (12/1/85) 30) Los Brazos vs Hombre Bala, Pirata Morgan & El Verdugo (10/27/89) 31) Atlantis vs Emilio Charles Jr (8/12/88) 32) Blue Panther, El Talisman & El Dandy vs Stuka, America Rocca & Chamaco Valaguez (11/86) 33) Javier Cruz vs El Dandy (Hair vs Hair) (10/26/84) 34) Lizmark, Mil Mascaras & Valente Fernandez vs Sangre Chicana, Angel Blanco & Angel Blanco Jr (12/1/85) 35) La Fiera vs Babyface (8/15/86) 36) Atlantis, El Hijo del Santo & Tony Salazar vs El Satanico, El Dandy & Espectro Jr (4/3/87) 37) Blue Demon, Blue Demon Jr & Ringo Mendoza vs Emilio Charles Jr, Pirata Morgan & El Satanico (11/25/88) 38) Blue Demon Jr, Super Astro & Mascara Sagrada vs El Supremo, Espectro Jr & Blue Panther (10/6/89) 39) Atlantis, Mascara Sagrada & Super Astro vs Hombre Bala, Pirata Morgan & Verdugo (9/89) 40) Lizmark vs El Satanico (4/84) 41) Atlantis, El Dandy & Popitekus vs Gran Markus Jr, Pirata Morgan & Ulises (5/26/89) 42) Atlantis vs El Satanico (?/84) 43) El Brazo & Brazo De Plata vs Hombre Bala & El Verdugo (Hair vs Hair) (11/17/89) 44) Kato Kung Lee vs Kung Fu (Mask vs Hair) (4/29/88) 45) Tony Salazar, Mogur & Alfonso Dantes vs Hombre Bala, El Talisman & Tony Bennetto vs El Satanico, MS-1 & Masakre vs Atlantis, Javier Llanes & Ringo Mendoza (4 Team Tournament) (4/10/87) 46) Blue Panther, Emilio Charles Jr & Hombre Bala vs Blue Demon, Javier Cruz & Mascara Sagrada (8/4/89) 47) Angel Azteca, Atlantis & Blue Demon Jr vs El Dandy, Super Muneco & El Texano (3/24/89) 48) Fuerza Guerrera vs El Hijo Del Santo vs All Star (Mask Match) (12/8/89) 49) Emilio Charles Jr, Fabuloso Blondy & Pirata Morgan vs El Dandy, Atlantis & El Faraón (7/21/89) 50) El Solitario vs Dr Wagner (Mask vs Mask) (12/1/85) 51) Americo Rocca, Ringo Mendoza & Tony Salazar vs Negro Navarro, El Signo & El Texano (Hair vs Hair) (9/19/86) 52) Super Astro, Atlantis & El Faraón vs Fuerza Guerrera, Blue Panther & Emilio Charles Jr (8/18/89) 53) Pirata Morgan, Baby Face & Cien Caras vs La Fiera, Lizmark & Rayo De Jalisco Jr (9/86) 54) Sangre Chicana vs El Satanico (5/26/89) 55) Centurion Negro vs Gran Hamada (2/14/82) 56) Raul Reyes Jr & Climax vs Mocho Cota & Loco Zavala (?/85) 57) El Satanico vs Shiro Koshinaka (Hair vs Hair) (7/30/84) 58) Atlantis vs El Faraón (3/22/85) 59) Jerry Estrada, Ary Romero & Rick Patterson vs Javier Cruz, Eddy Guerrero & El Dandy (10/6/89) 60) Gran Cochise, Villano III & Rayo De Jalisco Jr vs Fishman, Mocho Cota & Tony Bennetto (11/30/84) 61) Kung Fu vs Javier Cruz (3/88) 62) MS-1 & Maskare vs El Dandy & El Satanico (8/11/89) 63) Fuerza Guerrera & Rocky Star vs All Star & El Hijo Del Santo + Fuerza Guerrera vs Rocky Star (12/1/89) 64) Atlantis & Lizmark vs El Egipcio & El Faraón (2/17/84) 65) El Dandy, Magico & Super Astro vs Gran Cochise, Javier Cruz & Javier Rocca (11/11/87) 66) Americo Rocca, Javier Cruz & Chamaco Valaguez vs El Talisman, El Dandy & Guerrero Negro (3/13/87) 67) Atlantis & El Hijo del Santo vs Fuerza Guerrera & Lobo Rubio (11/25/83) 68) El Satanico vs Super Astro (10/26/84) 69) Sangre Chicana vs Villano III (12/7/84) 70) Babyface, Cien Caras & Mascara Ano 2000 vs Lizmark, Rayo De Jalisco & La Fiera (9/86) 71) Mogur vs As Charro (Mask vs Mask) (9/18/87) 72) All Star, El Dandy & El Texano vs Espectro Jr, Jerry Estrada & Rocky Star (10/13/89) 73) Americo Rocca, Cacharro Mendoza & Kung Fu vs El Talisman, El Dandy & Guerrero Negro (9/86) 74) Kevin von Erich, Mascara Ano 2000 & Halcon Ortiz vs Coloso Colosetti, Pirata Morgan & Herodes (9/23/83) 75) El Dandy, Apolo Dantes & Eddy Guerrero vs Emilio Charles Jr, Pirata Morgan & Ary Romero (9/29/89) 76) Atlantis, Ringo Mendoza & Tony Salazar vs El Satanico, MS-1 & Espectro Jr (9/28/84) 77) Pirata Morgan vs Brazo De Oro (11/17/89) 78) El Satanico, MS-1 & Masakre vs Rayo de Jalisco Jr, La Fiera & Tony Salazar (3/20/87) 79) Blue Panther & Sergio El Hermosa vs Super Astro & Solar (10/17/87) 80) El Faraón, Herodes & Mocho Cota vs Lizmark, Ringo Mendoza & Tony Salazar (2/24/84) 81) Lizmark, Alfonso Dantes & Tony Salazar vs El Signo, El Texano & Negro Navarro (8/15/86) 82) Villano III vs Perro Aguayo (10/7/84) 83) Rayo de Jalisco Jr, Atlantis & Alfonso Dantes vs MS-1, El Satanico & El Dandy (3/27/87) 84) Javier Cruz, Impacto & Solar II vs El Dandy, Franco Colombo & Panico (10/84) 85) Jerry Estrada, Pirata Morgan & Hombre Bala vs Atlantis, Alfonso Dantes & Rayo De Jalisco Jr (2/87) 86) Jerry Estrada vs Ultraman (3/2/84) 87) Tatsumi Fujinami vs El Canek (6/12/83) 88) Cien Caras vs Siglo XX (4/10/87) 89) Sangre Chicana vs MS-1 (Hair vs Hair) (9/21/84) 90) Super Halcon, Satanico & Masakre vs El Texano, Atlantis & Rayo De Jalisco Jr (3/17/89) 91) Lizmark, La Fiera & Kung Fu vs Pirata Morgan, Hombre Bala & Jerry Estrada (2/27/87) 92) Solar, Ultraman & Super Astro vs Sergio El Hermoso, Bello Greco & Rudy Reyna (2/26/84) 93) Jerry Estrada vs Javier Cruz (Hair vs Hair) (10/20/89) 94) Popitekus, Angel Azteca & Steve Nelson vs Emilio Charles Jr, Gran Markus Jr & Masakre (6/9/89) 95) Chavo Guerrero, Cien Caras & Mascara Ano 2000 vs Lizmark, El Satanico & Rayo De Jalisco Jr (10/20/89) 96) El Satanico & Espectro Jr vs El Faraón & La Fiera (8/12/84) 97) Pirata Morgan vs Ken Timbs (12/8/89) 98) El Hijo del Santo, Ringo Mendoza & Chamaco Valaguez vs Jerry Estrada, Fuerza Guerrera & El Talisman (3/9/84) 99) La Fiera, El Faraón & El Egipico vs MS-1, El Satanico & Pirata Morgan (3/29/85) 100) Andre the Giant & Cien Caras vs Alfonso Dantes, Herodes & Sangre Chicana (?/81)

I sent in a ballot last year which clearly hasn't been counted...

I've not read this since it was released. As I remember the whole point of all the reveals was that Polly thought she was the only female in the regiment. It turns out that only one person in the regiment was actually male instead. No wonder they were so rubbish! This is one of my favourite Prattchet stories, along with the one where he dedicated a good portion of the book to explaining how unfunny clowns are.

Like a poor womans Dump Matsumoto, without the schoolgirls. It's hard to find much female Lucha before 98 that doesn't feature Martha. Perhaps the lack of hidden gems isn't entirely co-incidental?

Do you have any interest in Lucha? There seems to be a growing interest in it amongst Puro fans, with lots more matches online than there were a few years ago.

#55 Ultimate Warriors vs Heenan's Family is one of my all time favourites. So many golden Bobby Heenan moments from the intro's to the post-match. I have read comments from other people before who loved it as much as I did, so I'm not that crazy.

This is the 4th 80's set I've completed, although only the 2nd that I get to vote on. Judging by the lack of discussion it will probably have the smallest voter turnout so far. That would be a shame as it's one of the better sets. There are some matches I'll hopefully get around to rewatching before deadline time. Here are my current top 15 in chronological order: Satoru Sayama & Gran Hamada vs Perro Aguayo & Baby Face (4/13/80) MS-1 vs Sangre Chicana (Hair vs Hair) (9/23/83) Sangre Chicana vs Ringo Mendoza (10/28/83) Mocho Cota vs Americo Rocca (1/27/84) Gran Cochise vs El Satanico (9/14/84) Americo Rocca vs El Talisman (3/29/85) Espanto Jr vs El Hijo Del Santo (Mask vs Mask) (8/31/86) El Hijo Del Santo vs Negro Casas (Mask vs Hair) (7/18/87) Arandu vs Guerrero Negro (Hair vs Hair) (?/88) El Hijo Del Santo vs Espanto Jr (4/10/88) Pirata Morgan vs El Dandy (Hair vs Hair) (9/23/88) Javier Cruz vs Hombre Bala (Hair vs Hair) (6/30/89) Emilio Charles Jr vs El Dandy (Hair vs Hair) (7/28/89) Atlantis & El Satanico vs MS-1 & Tierra Viento y Fuego (Hair/Mask vs Hair/Mask) (9/22/89) El Dandy vs Emilio Charles Jr (12/1/89) So I may have a slight preference towards Luchas de apuestas and title matches.

Disc 10 Rankings: 1. El Dandy vs. Emilio Charles Jr. (12/1/89) 2. Emilio Charles Jr., MS-1 y Tierra, Viento y Fuego vs. Atlantis, El Dandy y Mascara Sagrada, (11/24/89) 3. El Brazo, Brazo Del Oro y Brazo Del Plata vs. Hombre Bala, Pirata Morgan y El Verdugo (11/10/89) 4. El Brazo, Brazo Del Oro y Brazo Del Plata vs. Hombre Bala, Pirata Morgan y El Verdugo (10/27/89) 5. El Brazo y Brazo De Plata vs. Hombre Bala, El Verdugo (11/17/89) 6. Fuerza Guerrera vs. El Hijo Del Santo vs. All Star (12/8/89) 7. Fuerza Guerrera y Rocky Star vs. All Star y El Hijo Del Santo + Fuerza Guerrera vs. Rocky Star (12/1/89) 8. Pirata Morgan vs. Brazo De Oro (11/17/89) 9. Pirata Morgan vs. Ken Timbs (12/8/89) That completes the set with a good final disc, particularly Dandy vs Charles. I thought that the quality level through the discs was more even than the other 80's sets I've seen. Certainly it was an enjoyable set to watch, so thanks once again to everyone responsible for putting it together.

Wargames 92 Before the match Vince Russo comes out and announces that all WCW titles are vacated. The winning team will get every single title in WCW to split between them. The losing team will all be FIRED! When the bell rings Austin cuts a SHOOT promo, saying that his team haven’t been booked to win so he ain’t gonna wrestle tonight son. Windham stands in the ring by himself for 5 minutes. Rude is about to enter when Madusa grabs the mic and tells him that she’s PREGNANT with his child! Rude tells her to go and get an abortion. Steamboat gets in the ring and just stands around with Windham for 2 minutes whilst Rude slaps Madusa around on the outside. Arn enters the ring and SWERVE! He’s changed sides and high fives Windham and Steamboat. Rude gives Madusa the Rude Awakening. Dustin enters the ring and stands around with Windham, Steamboat and Arn. Paul E begs Rude not to hit Madusa in the stomach with a chair. Zbyszko falls to the ground outside the ring clutching his chest. The commentators scream that he’s having a HEART ATTACK! EMT’s carry him away on a stretcher. Sting enters the ring and stands there with Windham, Steamboat, Arn and Dustin. The arena goes dark and the voice of the Black Scorpion taunts the Stinger. When the lights come back on all 5 men in the ring have bladed and are layed out. Bobby Eaton tries to restrain Rude who has ripped off most of the unconscious Madusa’s clothes and is about to rape her. Paul E is now talking loudly into his phone conducting a business deal. Before Koloff can enter the match Russo comes out again and announces that the rules have changed. All the titles are brought out atop POLES and whoever grabs them first gets to keep the title. Anyone in the ENTIRE ARENA can grab them including ALL OF YOU FANS! A riot follows as fans jump over the barricades and start fighting each other to get the belts. The announcers scream that at WCW events the fans are the champions. End of show.

Disc 9 Rankings: 1. Atlantis y Satanico vs. MS-1 y Tierra Viento y Fuego (Hair/Mask vs. Hair/Mask) (9/22/89) 2. Atlantis, Mascara Sagrada y Super Astro vs. Hombre Bala, Pirata Morgan y Verdugo) (September 1989) 3. Blue Demon Jr., Super Astro y Mascara Sagrada vs. El Supremo, Espectro Jr. y Blue Panther (10/6/89) 4. Blue Panther, Emilio Charles Jr. y Hombre Bala vs. Blue Demon, Javier Cruz y Hombre Sin Nombre (8/4/89) 5. Super Astro, Atlantis y El Faraón vs. Fuerza Guerrera, Blue Panther y Emilio Charles (8/18/89) 6. Jerry Estrada, Ary Romero y Rick Patterson vs. Javier Cruz, Eddy Guerrero y El Dandy (10/6/89) 7. MS-1 y Maskare vs. El Dandy y El Satanico, (8/11/89) 8. All Star, El Dandy y El Texano vs. Espectro Jr., Jerry Estrada y Rocky Star (10/13/89) 9. El Dandy, Apolo Dantes y Eddy Guerrero vs. Emilio Charles Jr., Pirata Morgan y Ary Romero (9/29/89) 10. Jerry Estrada vs. Javier Cruz (Hair vs. Hair) (10/20/89) 11. Chavo Guerrero, Cien Caras y Mascara Ano Dos Mil vs. Lizmark, El Satanico y Rayo De Jalisco Jr. (10/20/89) Earth, wind and fire are no match for water. The Hair/Mask match was the best on this disc by a long way.

Disc 8 Rankings 1. Pirata Morgan vs. El Dandy (Hair vs. Hair) (9/23/88) 2. Emilio Charles vs. El Dandy (Hair v. Hair) (7/28/89) 3. Javier Cruz vs. Hombre Bala (Hair vs. Hair) (6/30/89) 4. Mogur vs. Mascara Ano 2000 (Mask vs. Mask) (9/23/88) 5. Blue Demon, Blue Demon Jr. y Ringo Mendoza vs. Emilio Charles Jr., Pirata Morgan y Satanico (11/25/88) 6. Atlantis, El Dandy y Popitekus vs. Gran Markus Jr., Pirata Morgan y Ulises (5/26/89) 7. Angel Azteca, Atlantis y Blue Demon Jr. vs. El Dandy, Super Muneco y El Texano (3/24/89) 8. Emilio Charles, Fabuloso Blondy y Pirata Morgan vs. El Dandy, Atlantis & El Faraón (7/21/89) 9. Sangre Chicana vs. Satanico (5/26/89) 10. Super Halcon, Satanico y Masakre vs. El Texano, Lizmark y Rayo De Jalisco Jr. (3/17/89) 11. Popitekus, Angel Azteca y Steve Nelson vs. Emilio Charles Jr., Gran Markus Jr. y Masakre (6/9/89) Okay, so I may be partial to a splattering of blood and a short haircut. Throw in El Dandy for good measure.

What's weird about that?

Disc 7 Rankings 1. El Hijo Del Santo vs. Espanto Jr. (4/10/88) 2. Arandu vs. Guerrero Negro (Hair vs. Hair) (1988) 3. El Hijo del Santo vs. Negro Casas (Mask vs. Hair) (7/18/87) 4. Pirata Morgan, Hombre Bala y Verdugo vs. Atlantis, Angel Azteca y Ringo Mendoza (3/88) 5. Atlantis vs. Emilio Charles Jr. (8/12/88) 6. Kato Kung Lee vs. Kung Fu (Mask vs. Hair) (4/29/88) 7. Kung Fu v. Javier Cruz (3/88) 8. El Dandy, Magico y Super Astro vs. Gran Cochise, Javier Cruz y Americo Rocca (11/11/87) 9. Mogur vs. As Charro (Mask vs. Mask) (9/18/87) 10. Blue Panther/Sergio El Hermosa v. Super Astro/Solar (10/17/87) 11. Cien Caras vs. Siglo XX (4/10/87) What an incredible disc this was. Even the bottom matches had some things to enjoy. But it's mainly about the top 3, which were all MOTYC in my book. I knew beforehand one of them was great and hoped that another one of them would be also. The other was between two guys I was totally unfamiliar with. So that was stunning, and discovering lost classics is always a thrill. The late 80's took the AJ and NJ sets to a whole new level, and I think the same is going to happen here with lucha.

Disc 6 Rankings: 1. Blue Panther, El Talisman y El Dandy vs. Stuka, America Rocca y Chamaco Valaguez (11/86) 2. Atlantis, El Hijo del Santo y Tony Salazar vs. El Satanico, El Dandy y Espectro Jr. (4/3/87) 3. Tony Salazar, Mogur y Alfonso Dantes vs. Hombre Bala, Talisman y Tony Bennetto vs. Satanico, MS-1 y Masakre (4/10/87) 4. Americo Rocca, Ringo Mendoza y Tony Salazar vs. Negro Navarro, El Signo y El Texano (Hair vs. Hair) (9/19/86) 5. Americo Rocca, Javier Cruz y Chamaco Valaguez vs. Talisman, El Dandy y Guerrero Negro (3/13/87) 6. Babyface, Cien Caras y Mascara Ano 2000 vs. Lizmark, Rayo De Jalisco y La Fiera (September 1986) 7. El Satanico, MS-1 y Masakre vs. Rayo de Jalisco Jr., La Fiera y Tony Salazar (3/20/87) 8. Rayo de Jalisco Jr., Atlantis y Alfonso Dantes vs. MS-1, El Satanico y El Dandy (3/27/87) 9. Jerry Estrada, Pirata Morgan y Hombre Bala vs. Atlantis, Alfonso Dantes y Rayo De Jalisco Jr. (Feb 1987) 10. Lizmark, La Fiera y Kung Fu vs. Pirata Morgan, Hombre Bala y Jerry Estrada (2/27/87) The Trios disc. It was all between watchable and good level. Nothing is going to rank in the upper echelons. Generally 6 mans were the standard format and the feature matches were singles for masks, hair or titles.

Disc 5 Rankings: 1. Espanto Jr. vs El Hijo Del Santo (Mask vs. Mask) (8/31/86) 2. Rayo De Jalisco Jr. vs. Mascara Ano 2000 (8/15/86) 3. Sangre Chicana vs. Perro Aguayo (Hair vs. Hair) (2/28/86) 4. Ringo Mendoza, Atlantis y Ultraman vs. Satanico, Masakre y MS-1, (September 1986) 5. La Fiera vs. Babyface (8/15/86) 6. El Solitario vs. Dr. Wagner (Mask vs. Mask) (12/1/85) 7. Pirata Morgan, BabyFace y Cien Caras vs. La Fiera, Lizmark y Rayo De Jalisco Jr. (September 1986) 8. Americo Rocca, Cacharro Mendoza y Kung Fu vs. El Talisman, El Dandy y Guerrero Negro (September 1986) 9. Lizmark, Alfonso Dantes y Tony Salazar vs. El Signo, El Texano y Negro Navarro (8/15/86) At the halfway mark the thing that has stood out to me most of all is how much blood there used to be in Lucha. For better or worse it hasn't been quite what I expected so far. Most of what I've watched before has been from the early-mid 90's where there's more high flying and less brawling. The latter discs in the set should be moving closer to the style I'm used to. It's certainly interesting to see how things evolved over time.

Disc 4 Rankings: 1. Americo Rocca vs. El Talisman (3/29/85) 2. El Hijo del Santo y Black Shadow Jr. vs. Espanto Jr. y Eskeletor (12/1/85) 3. Javier Cruz vs. El Dandy (10/26/84) 4. Lizmark, Mil Mascaras & Valente Fernandez vs. Sangre Chicana, Angel Blanco & Angel Blanco Jr. (12/1/85) 5. Raul Reyes Jr. y Climax vs. Mocho Cota y Loco Zavala (1985) 6. Atlantis vs. El Faraón (3/22/85) 7. Gran Cochise, Villano III y Rayo De Jalisco Jr. vs. Fishman, Mocho Cota y Tony Bennetto (11/30/84) 8. Sangre Chicana vs. Villano III (12/7/84) 9. La Fiera, El Faraón y El Egipico vs. MS-1, Satanico y Pirata Morgan (3/29/85) Should be some big standard deviations for Mookie to calculate.

Disc 3 Rankings: 1) Gran Cochise vs El Satanico (9/14/84) 2) Perro Aguayo vs Sangre Chicana vs El Faraón vs Villano III (Elimination) (10/84) 3) El Satanico vs Shiro Koshinaka (Hair vs Hair) (7/30/84) 4) El Satanico vs Super Astro (10/26/84) 5) Atlantis, Ringo Mendoza & Tony Salazar vs El Satanico, MS-1 & Espectro Jr (9/28/84) 6) Villano III vs Perro Aguayo (10/7/84) 7) Javier Cruz, Impacto & Solar II vs El Dandy, Franco Colombo & Panico (10/84) 8) Sangre Chicana vs MS-1 (Hair vs Hair) (9/21/84) 9) El Satanico & Espectro Jr vs El Faraón & La Fiera (8/12/84) Only three months since I finished disc 2. I'm guessing there'll be no need to rush this. The Cochise vs Satanico match was an easy #1 for this disc. Satan seems to be everywhere you look in 1984, not that I'm complaining.

Disc 2 Rankings: 1. Mocho Cota vs. Americo Rocca (1/27/84) 2. Enrique Vera vs. Dos Caras (2/26/84) 3. Mocho Cota vs. Americo Rocca (2/3/84) 4. Tony Salazar vs. Herodes (3/2/84) 5. Lizmark vs. El Satanico (April 1984) 6 Atlantis vs. El Satanico (1984) 7. Atlantis y Lizmark vs. El Egipcio y El Faraon (2/17/84) 8. El Faraon, Herodes, y Mocho Cota vs. Lizmark, Ringo Mendoza, y Tony Salazar (2/24/84) 9. Jerry Estrada vs. Ultraman (3/2/84) 10. Solar, Ultraman, y Super Astro vs. Sergio El Hermoso, Bello Greco, y Rudy Reyna (2/26/84) 11. Hijo del Santo, Ringo Mendoza y Chamaco Valaguez vs. Jerry Estrada, Fuerza Guerrera y Talisman (3/9/84) I was particularly fond of the top 4 on this disc. Three strong title matches and a wonderfully old fasioned brawl. Mocho Cota is flavour of the month and rightly so. Did he even have another singles bout that made tape? I was going to mention how bad the finishes generally were but then I remembered what decade I'm watching. So I'll just say that the finishes on this disc were 80's.

This grabbed me quickly and was my favourite match of the first disc, even if I'm the only one. After about a minute of caution both guys thought 'sod this, let's go'. It had a great pace to it but was never spotty. They also flawlessly fitted in submissions despite never slowing down much and losing the tempo. Such a lovely flow to the work with plenty of variety. Both men were clearly experts of their craft. With two technicos they kept it clean and there was no brawling. Which isn't to say anyone was holding back or being Mr. Nice Guy. The stretch was particulaly exciting with some mark out near falls. I was also thinking that one of the submissions could end it. There's often such a difference in how quickly the wrestlers submit the first time compared with the second. That's all down to smart strategy in the 2/3 falls format. Yes you may be able to hang on and eventually escape the submission, but it's not worth getting injured for. Therefore it's better to give up one fall so you can enter the next in better condition and stand a better chance in the long term. This is something that also becomes an interesting metagame factor in tournaments such as the G1 Climax. In the end they went to a cheesy double pin, which wasn't that that bad as both deserved to have their hand raised. Over the space of two matches Chicana showed such great versatility. One a brutal street fight, the other a clean title bout. Not only that but he had pop star popularity with the fans, who mobbed him afterwards in wild scenes.

A first look at Santo and Atlantis in the early stages of their careers. You could see the potential in them as both were skilled natural athletes and already proficient at executing the moves. The difficulty here lay in the duration with 25m of action. What they did would've been fine in a shorter timeframe, but it ended up becoming repetitive and really dragging in parts. The opening face shine period went on for an age. At this stage the level of match they were aiming for was beyond the wrestlers capabilities. Which is not to say that they should've been less abmitious. My main thought afterwards was what a fantastic way to develop the skills of young wrestlers. Matches like this one help accelerate the process. Give them lots of ringtime and responsibility. If they're good enough then over time they'll learn how to put all the pieces together. Working 3m of ringtime each night in a protected trios enviroment isn't going to teach anywhere near as much.

Looking at the listings beforehand this was the one match on the set I was dreading so I decided to get it over with. I would recommend that you don't leave it until #99 either. I'd seen Fabuloso Blondy on the 1990 Yearbook and he tilted the hell out of me. A talentless worker with an annoying heel shtick. As great as Morgan was he was faced with an impossible task here. Having a lengthy traditional title match against an opponant who couldn't work the style and had a 1 out of 10 moveset. Given my expectations I can't say I was disappointed. It was slow, basic and really boring, like watching paint dry. It's always galling seeing such anti-meritocratic booking but other than that it wasn't worse than poor level. Will rank somewhere in the 90's.

Disc 1 Rankings: 1. Sangre Chicana vs. Ringo Mendoza (10/28/83) 2. MS-1 vs. Sangre Chicana (9/23/83) 3. Satoru Sayama y Gran Hamada vs. Perro Aguayo y Baby Face (4/13/80) 4. Espectro Jr., Satanico y MS-1 vs. Mocho Cota, Sangre Chicana y La Fiera (9/30/83) 5. El Canek vs. Don Corleone (2/14/82) 6. Centurion Negro vs. Gran Hamada (2/14/82) 7. Atlantis y El Hijo del Santo vs. Fuerza Guerrera y Lobo Rubio (11/25/83) 8. Kevin von Erich, Mascara Ano 2000 y Halcon Ortiz v. Coloso Colosetti, Pirata Morgan y Herodes (9/23/83) 9. Tatsumi Fujinami vs. El Canek (6/12/83) 10. Andre the Giant & Cien Caras vs. Alfonso Dantes, Herodes y Sangre Chicana (1981) A really enjoyable first disc that covered the first 4 years of the decade. It's sad how little footage is available from the era when you see the quality of the top wrestlers. There would've been many fine matches that will never be enjoyed by future generations of fans. Contrast that with the thousands of hours of crap that wrestling companies across the world churn out these days.

The Espectro character and all his spinoffs are so cool. The mask would evolve over time. MS1/2 Normally I dislike tornado trios but this was no normal match. Early on it was like a mugging as Los Infernales jumped their rivals and never let up. The beating went on just the right length of time so that it didn't drag and the comeback was also really satisfying. Cota bled like a trooper after Satan bit his forehead. A real dogfight with nothing pretty and plenty of hatred. With the intensity level it didn't need long. The only downside was that nothing was settled on this day. It was a chapter in an ongoing story.

A decent feature match on what was clearly a major show celebrating the UWA's 7th anniversary. The main event was the bizarre combination of Abby & Aguayo vs Inoki & Fujinami. thecubsfan really is an incredible site that I'm just discovering. The emphasis was on matwork, which was more captivating than the previous bout. They did some interesting sequences and reversals. Lou Thesz was ref again. He did a decent job for a special guest but it always distracts from the wrestlers. At times the match lost focus and the offensive flow didn't always feel right. Canek was doing too much damage in the segunda after being a fall up. He went from unloading powerful offence to completely laying off when he had him set up for the kill. So there were ups and downs before coming together well enough at the end. Nothing spectacular, but I found it satisfying overall.

A watchable midcard trios. It passed the time and fulfilled it's function. Incorporating an outsider who is unfamiliar with the style is always a challenge. Unlike in the US or Japan I think it might be easier for the foreigner to work a singles match rather than a 6 man. As a viewer I find myself concentrating on wrestling mechanics rather than enjoying the action like usual. You can see the wrestlers having to think all the time. Von Erich wasn't that bad considering, and the rivalry between the teams escalated as it progressed. It's essential to make some notes on a set like this because matches like this don't live long in the memory.