Graham Crackers

Maybe he has Karis La Momia on his other arm.

I found most of the WCCW 80s set to be kind of disappointing but I fucking loved the 1989 stuff with Embry. I'm going to try to watch that match he had against Invader I from Puerto Rico soon.

I've never seen a picture of Pepe from before he became a referee. It's crazy how much Felino looks like him unmasked.

Not the easiest fancam footage to watch and that's probably why it didn't make the set. And the Brazos vs Bucaneros stuff is fucking awesome.

It's La Cavernaria, named after Cavernario Galindo.

I haven't watches this in a couple of years but I remember this being my favorite Headhunters match.

I've been giving some matches from this set a second viewing over the last week in order to put together better rankings and as you'd expect some matches have grown in esteem and some have fallen. Here are some that are moving up my ballot: Sangre Chicana vs Perro Aguayo - This was already a top 10 match but it felt a bit more special the second time. Infernales vs Faraon & Fiera - third time watching this and while the VQ is an issue this is just too brutal for me to ignore. This is looking like a top 20 and possibly a top 15 match for me. 8/18/89 trios - Fuck, this is such a fun trios match and it's satisfying in every way. This could even sneak into my top 10 (which is half trios matches at the moment).

Mysterion isn't really a wrestler, he's a manager. Actually, promoting wrestling is new for him because he's more known for his activity in the burlesque and sideshow communities. I've met him several times and he seems like an okay guy but I never thought I'd have any interest in his wrestling shows so I've never bothered to check them out.

Three flannel shirts (from three different people), City Lights Criterion Collection, and a Super 8 projector.

RIP Yusef Lateef

It is so tragic that we don't have more UWA footage. Between this and OJ's history thread I find myself agonizing over more lost matches every day. If it makes you feel any better, we do have the main event of this show:

Some pics from El Toreo in 1979.

Here are some highlights from El Toreo de Cuatro Caminos' 1985 Anniversary show. Blue Panther vs El Cobarde on the left, Super Astro vs Satanico on the top right, and El Signo vs Villano III on the bottom right. The main event was Canek & Dos Caras vs Stan Hansen and Babe Face.

Just like the relevos suicidas match I had seen this one a few years ago. I didn't like that one but I thought this one was great at the time. On second viewing I still really like it but it definitely has some dull stretches. I wouldn't say the first fall Fuerza vs Santo stuff was bad but it didn't live up to what I remember it being like. The 1984 Santo vs Fuerza trios match on this set is probably a better match between the two of them. All Star really brings it as this thing goes on and makes you believe that he really wants to keep that mask. He has a few nice throws peppered in with the brawling. The crowd tuning on Santo and the way he reacts are the things I remember best and they definitely hold up. It's not nearly as good as the triangle hair match with Casas and Dandy from 1996 but there are similar vibes between how Santo worked rudo then and in this match. This is probably a top half match but there are just so many amazing matches on this set that I don't really know how high it'll end up going.

I'm not sure if Timbs is horrible or not. I mean, he didn't stand out to me in any way in his other appearance on the set. He was just the sixth guy in a trios match where he wasn't the focus. Here he is in a singles match where he is the focus but it's a lucha title match which was obviously outside of his comfort zone. I have to give Pirata Morgan a lot of credit. He worked really hard to try and lead Timbs on the mat. The real problem is: who decided these guys needed to work a title match this long? This is one of the longer singles matches on this set and it is obviously a one man show. There were other shorter title matches on this set. Why couldn't this be the same length as those? As it stands this ends up being the most boring match on the set and a pretty good number 100 pick.

I saw this for the first time a few years ago without knowing what the stipulation really was and I didn't like it at the time. Once I learned about what a Relevos Suicidas match was I became a bit of a mark for the stipulation. Watching it now I definitely like it more. It's still not an amazing match but the work is solid, Fuerza and Santo are great, and there's a cool atmosphere surrounding the stipulation. Fuerza being so fucked up that he can barely make it back into the ring when the singles match starts is a nice touch. The seeds have also been planted for the triangle match that's coming up.

So this was a bit of a disappointment coming after all of their other matches against each other. This is a title match but it's not an epic along the lines of other famous Dandy title matches or even the best title matches on this set. Instead this was more like a combination of lucha and juniors style wrestling. That worked better here than it did in matches like Perro Aguayo vs Villano III but matches like Morgan vs Dandy and Charles vs Atlantis combined aspects of juniors style wrestling with visceral violence or graceful flying that made them more memorable than this one. It was still a good match but I would have preferred to see more matwork and less moves/nearfalls.

What made this inferior to the other Dandy vs Charles trios match was that the parts without Dandy and Charles weren't as good. Still, more Dandy vs Charles is a good thing. I am loving this feud and I am psyched for one last match between them, even if a title match probably won't involve them trying to kill each other like they do here.

Again, these matches are really fucking fun. This is probably the least of the Brazos matches on this set but it's still a super fun brawl with a great finish. I like that El Brazo, who was the weak link in the Super Libre, is forced to fight on his own and prove his worth here. It was nice to see Verdugo get more of the spotlight here than he has in any of trios matches as well. He and Porky doing the sitout counter to the sunset flip at the same was a cool spot and a great near elimination. This is really an Hobre Bala and Super Porky showcase though and both of them really tear it up.

Great title match though it wasn't the usual lucha title match either. Morgan and his second Emilio Charles Jr. were a bit less subtle about their heeling than I'm used to in this environment. That wasn't bad though and any rudisimo from Pirata Morgan is going to be fun. He would throw an elbow any time the ref's back was turned or bite Brazo de Oro to try and escape a hold. Still, most of his cheating was through trickery which is what I expect in a title match. I especially liked the spot tim pointed out where Morgan patted Brazo de Oro on the back during a boston crab to make him think the ref was breaking the hold. This wasn't the fastest or most graceful matwork but both men fought for everything and in some ways it was more brutal looking than a lot of lucha matwork. It helped how great both were at selling throughout the match and in particular how Brazo de Oro sold the injured knee as the match went on. Not only did it factor into a number of transitions in the last fall but you could also see him position the injured leg away from Morgan when he was in control which was a really cool detail.

This was fucking awesome and is a contender for best trios match on the set. I know I've said that before and it's going to be hard ranking all of these great trios matches but I can't imagine this one not holding up on a second viewing. I love the way this goes from Brazos comedy with Bucaneros stooging to brutal fight. I've said it before but in addition to being a great bumper Morgan is one of the stiffest brawlers on this set. I loved his selling of Plata's onslaught in the first fall, especially when his teammates had to drag his lifeless carcass back to their corner. Hombre Bala wasn't one to be fucked with either. He really unleashed hell on Super Porky. I loved the story of El Brazo becoming the weak link after being busted open which forces Oro and Plata to fight for their lives and the finish brought that full circle. I really like in a match like this when they tie up every loose end for the finish. El Brazo gets taken out by a missed dive by Porky leaving Brazo de Oro to defend himself against a pack of wolves. Awesome awesome pro wrestling.

Early 90s Brazos matches are one of my favorite things in wrestling so I was excited to see more 80s footage of one of my favorite teams. Over the course of this set Los Bucaneros have become one of my favorite trios units so my hype level going into four straight Brazos vs Bucaneros matches is pretty much maxed out. This was a great trios match albeit not at the level of the top trios matches on this set (I'm sure I will still rank it way higher than it deserves). This is a high workrate trios match and that's an environment Los Bucaneros excel in. Everybody matches up really nicely though Morgan/Oro, Bala/Plata, and Bala/Oro were my favorite combinations. I marked out like crazy for Porky countering the monkey flip, not only because he is fat, but because it's one of the most graceful monkey flip counters I've ever seen. Porky countering the sunset flip will always be awesome. Now I'm really excited to see that Morgan vs Oro match.