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MS-1 vs. Sangre Chicana (9/23/83)


Phil Schneider

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Obviously probably the odds on favorite to be #1 for the set and a match I had seen and really liked before.  On this watch, this felt like one of the greatest matches of all time.  When I watched this a few years ago, I don't think I had the maturity and conflict in my real life to fully resonate to the match. Tons of people will talk about the components of the match but I will comment on the thing that makes this match one of the best.  The element of depth.  How far was each man williing to reach below to pull out a victory.  How far was MS-1 willing to sink in those first two falls to ensure victory.  Chicana's sell job is awesome throughout with a glazed look on his face.  In the past two years of my life, I have faced greater triumphs and depths.  There have been moments where you feel that same glazed over feeling.  Everything  becomes a blur and yet you soldier on because achieving the task at hand is worth it in the end.  chicana exemplified this.  Him raising his arms at the end of this match felt like a religious rebirth.  The ending didn't see them hug and congradulate each other.  As satisfied as Chciana was at the vicotry, his hatred for MS-1 didn't subside.  This match is a masterpiece.

A+ (*****)

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This match holds a number of conspicuous honors: the first all luchadore match with spanish commentary on the set, the main event of the 50th CMLL anniversary show and maybe the best wrestling match ever.  Just from the first minute this becomes some next level shit with MS1 ambushing Chicana on his way to the ring and an old granny at ringside begging MS1 off to at least let her help Chicana out of his vest.  Chicana starts bleeding right away and the MS1 beatdown is a beauty, featuring another ringside granny interceding to wipe off Chicana's bloody forehead for him.  Sangre Chicana's comeback is one of my favorite spots in wrestling: he simply ducks a punch by MS1 and rears off with a huge swing of his own and the crowd just erupts.  So simple but well timed, with such a reaction and Chicana's punch and those following are just beautiful.  Final fall is an outstanding war of attrition with every move feeling like it just kills.  The glazed-over out of it selling is a masterclass and Sangre hitting his forehead and banging his head against the apron to get himself back in his sorts is awesome.  High drama, great brawling, buckets of blood, amazing selling and some truly nutty dives and bumps.  Masterpiece is definitely the word.

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Lucha 1.7
MS-1 vs. Sangre Chicana (9/23/83)

First look at MS-1 here. Chicana is bloodied almost immediately after MS-1 suckers him before they even get into the ring. Fierce brawling now.  MS-1 is really intense. He weirdly reminds me a bit of Paul Orndorff at his absolute best the way he's laying in the kicks and stomps. There's a real desperation about the way he's working. Big splash from the top by MS-1 for the first fall.

Massive punch on Chicana's bloodied head. Knee to the face. He's just a bloody mess at this point. Turnbuckle. Head smash into the edge of the apron. Headbutt. A woman in the crowd smokes a cigerette. Chicana gets in his first offense for about 10 minutes and the crowd go apeshit. Big "Chicana" chant. He's still somewhat out of it and his face is a bloody mess. Second fall via count out? The moment when he starts the comeback is amazing, they built to it so well.

Third fall and where can this match go from here? MS-1 swings and misses. Chicana jabs him. MS-1 is now totally covered in blood himself. Big dive to the outside from him onto Chicana. Both men look half dead by this point. Dropkick by Chicana. Big dive by him now. Back in and Chicana is hanging from the top rope just to keep himself up. MS-1 looks like he's lost a pint of blood. The ring is just a total mess. Chicana barely gets across to cover for 2. Bodyslam by MS-1. Goes for the big splash from the top again but misses. Chicana covers again. 2 count! MS-1 covers. 2 count. Half a suplex from MS-1. Misses a somersault from the top now! Big submission hold from Chicana now. He's shaking his head. Submission? Yes. Chicana is so out of it he can barely stand up.

Pretty awesome match. Chicana's sell job throughout is pretty amazing. He's caught on the hop right out of the gate and never quite recovers. He's almost out of it from the start but somehow finds it from somewhere to fight on. MS-1 is just a sick, desparate man doing what it takes. This is sent over the top for me by the way it built to the moment of that comeback from Chicana.

Post-match MS-1 has to suffer the humilation of losing his Terry Taylor locks.

A*

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I watched this twice so far, on different days. That mat has to have the greatest possibility of Hep C infection ever. This is really just a perfectly told match where 90% of it is selling, punches and blood and really has the KISS factor in full effect (Keep It Simple, Stupid). Helpful grannies send it over the top. If you don't like this one give the set to someone who might.

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It's hard to think about what to say about a match like this. Both it's layout and the offense in this match are so simple but the performances of these wrestlers and the atmosphere that surround them are so captivating. This feels like one of those definitive wrestling matches that seem so universal that I imagine you could show it to most anyone and they'd enjoy it (except possibly Matt D). Sangre Chicana is an all time great and seeing more of him is something I'm really looking forward to about this set. In a way I look at him like I look at Stan Hansen in that every time I see him what he does just feels "real." His selling almost makes me believe he's really been beaten within an inch of his life. Every one of those big left hands looks so desperate. I love the way he punches at his head to get himself fired up. MS-1 delivers such a good beating and just seems so slimy. The finish is perfect and the way their hatred extends into the post match stuff feels so natural. I saw this once before and really liked it but this really clicked for me this time. If this isn't number 1 it'll be really fucking close to it.

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Remember when we used to have a thread called "This is Pro Wrestling MOTHERFUCKERS"?  We should've just posted a youtube of this and closed it.  

 

I love that there's not really a "wrestling hold" used until the third fall.  It's just a fight up until then.  The crowd reaction when Chicana finally breaks out his big left in the second fall is great.  Nice job making that mean something. 

 

I love that the third fall just comes down to each guy trying to survive.  They've spent the first two beating the hell out of each other, now someone's gotta get put away.  

 

Yep.  This is number one for sure.  There's going to have to be something really special to top this.

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I'm not familiar enough with 80s Lucha to declare this #1 without seeing the other 93 matches first, but this is going to be way up there. The 2/3 falls format finally works for me with this match. The post match really seals the deal, with MS-1 displaying a bit of integrity and having his head shaved while on his knees with hands behind his back.

 

I don't speak hardly a word of Spanish, but did the announcers mention something about cigarette-smoking lady being Sangre Chicana's madre?

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The thing that sets wrestling apart from other forms of sport/entertainment is the immediate payoff you feel when the heel gets what is coming to him. In sports, Belichick wins Super Bowls and is never fully made to suffer for his sins, and Brady gets to go home and fuck his supermodel wife on his mountain of cash. No matter how many times Eli bests them, the Patriots will never really get what is coming to them. You can feel good for a minute, but then you are hit with the reality that it is just 1 game and they'll be back next season to break passing records and marriages. But wrestling can provide that immediate sense of comeuppance, if not outright justice. Magnum made Tully out to be a bitch for the world to see, and every time he steps in the ring you know Tully will back down if forced to. When MS-1 jumps Chicana before the bell and old ladies are weeping for MS-1 to lay off, we have set the stage for who needs to fall, and how he needs to fall. The entire third fall I kept thinking to myself that MS-1 has to submit, as a 3-count would be so anti-climactic. It was the best possible end to the best possible match and is up in my top 5 all-time matches.

 

I honestly had to stop writing my review because I was beginning to compare this match to classic movies and literature, and that is just ridiculous! All I really want to say is that this is as good as pro wrestling gets, and if there is a match on this set that is better than this I can't wait to see it.

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This is just great. It's so simply worked that, by rights, anyone should be able to do it, but this is the hair/mask match that we have on tape because they simply do it better than anyone else I've/we've seen. 

 

One thing that irks me to no end with modern "epic" matches is the patchiness of the selling. Their body language is awful. Sure, they'll sell the shit out of the match between moves, but when they're called upon to hit a move, you wouldn't know how beaten up they've been. Chicana here does, what? Two dives, throws some punches, and the submission that wins it. When he wins the second fall he can't stand up to have his hand raised. Even when he makes a cover after MS1 misses a move, he's still out of it, and MS1 can cover him and get a near fall out of that. Even with the massive blood loss that, at least visually, evens up the toll to some extent, it's MS1 who's doing the running around and climbing the ropes in the third fall. There's no super hero comeback here: Chicana is always holding on in, never really in control, never really close to winning, until he does. They do the three-act structure whilst, really, the match is just one long ass curve from Chicana busted open before he's even out of his ring jacket to getting his hand raised. Even after the match, sure, he's celebrating, he gives MS1 a few shots, and he's finally back to his feet, but the toll of the match is still there.

Best match ever? Probably not. Best match on this set? We'll see when it's done. But it's hard to imagine this type of match ever being done better than it is right here. 

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If this match doesn't finish #1, I'll be amazed. This is spectacular. My favourite thing is the selling after all the near falls by MS1. MS1 is frustrated in a "What is it going to take?" fashion. Sangre is frustrated he is in the condition to put himself in a position to be pinned. Even with the faces completely obscured by the blood, the expressions are unmistakable. 

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Caballera contra Caballera: Sangre Chicana vs. MS-1 (9/23/83)

 

This match is what professional wrestling is all about and pretty much a stone cold lock to be #1 on this set. One of the greatest matches of the decade.

 

+1

 

Not even sure what I could add that others have said. Brilliant war between two veterans. I could watch this match every day and not get tired of it.

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Everything I love about wrestling...

 

- Blood soaked war

- Old ladies looking clueless in the front row

- Chicana's punches are Top 5 of all time

- MS1's hair turning black throughout the match

- A bloody handprint on MS1's abdomen

- MS1 crawling over frantically in a desparate attempt to get a pin only to come up short

- The sickest use of the apron ever as a weapon

- One of the greatest momentum shifts ever leading to the big stretch run

- Kickass post-match

 

 

#1

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I watched this match a few years ago and thought it was one of the best matches of the 80s. My second viewing hasn’t changed that opinion. I think what really makes this match such a masterpiece is the selling. Chicana’s selling was so brilliant in this. He set the tone for the entire match with his performance early on. MS-1 brought the humiliation and cockiness to make this even better. The moment where Chicana gets that first punch, then a second one, followed by the wild dive is one of the great moments in wrestling that’s hard to forget. The crowd was so behind him chanting his name and that moment was such a great payoff as the turning point in the match. Payback spots are really important to me in matches like these and there were a couple that really stood out and put the match into another level. The first was Chicana busting MS-1 open on the turnbuckle just like MS-1 had done to him at the start of the match. It was a total reversal of fortune and was brilliantly done. The other payback spot is when MS-1 misses his top rope splash in the third fall. He won the first fall with it so it’s a logical point to reference that later in the match and have it backfire on MS-1. The back and forth desperation dives were something else too and the selling was off the charts from both guys at this point. I also think it’s important to note that Chicana withstands everything MS-1 has to offer in that third fall. Both guys selling of fatigue and angst were tremendous during all of that. The finish is incredible. Chicana is finally able to take full control after MS-1 goes to the well one too many times and forces him to submit with that sick ass hold. This is a classic for sure. The storytelling, pacing, selling, structure, violence, and desperation are all superb. The fun post-match is the icing on the cake.

This is top of the line work here. Five stars. It’s an A* or 120 with a perfect score and easily the best match on this set so far by a massive margin. 

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Insane match. The feeling of revolting violence that these two create is impossible to match. The whole surrounding is just tremendous, grubby video quality, filthy white mat, old ladies scurrying to clean the wounds of the babyface... the announcer almost makes it feel like watching a documentary. The action at the start of the match feels more like a 1 on 1 beatdown in some alleyway than a wrestling match, even when they use wrestling moves. MS-1 sucker punches Chicana then stomps on his head, rams his skull into stuff picks him up to punch him more etc. What makes the simple stuff so great is the selling. Every hit is a crucial blow. Chicana's comeback simply ducking a punch and hitting a hook of his own as the crowd explodes really emphasizes that. After a while both guys start bleeding and it becomes not only a battle against your opponent but also against yourself. Chicana's selling is truely great as he's struggling to just stay on his feet, hitting himself so he wouldn't pass out, and he keeps falling over not because he's slipping but because his power is draining. The closeup of their faces are brutal. They're just covered in thick blood obscuring most of their facial features making them look disfigured. Sangre Chicana's face while having his hand raised alone is a pro wrestling image for the ages. The highspots later in the match are out of this world. MS-1 looks so stubborn willing himself into fighting while Chicana can barely stand let alone try to control the match. When he misses a dive it feels like he's not just selling pain but also frustration. When Chicana gets the final submission, he can't seem to get the win until he wills himself to get up and increase the pressure. After that he doesn't just release the submission he throws MS-1 off of him. Well, maybe I should stop writing about this now. This is fucking great.

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MS-1 vs. Sangre Chicana (9/23/83)***** 

 

it will take a LOT from the remaining 9 disc of the set to have something top this for me, this is the first lucha match I've ever given 5 stars too & IMO it's an odds on favorite for #1 overall on the set, great great stuff here, unbelievable A++++! 

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There's not much that can be said about this match that hasn't already been said. From what I gather this probably would be the odds on favorite to be voted the consensus #1 Lucha match of all time (at least from what exists on tape) and most certainly of the 80's. And from what I've seen that would be 100% correct. Quite possibly the greatest bloody brawl of all time. Certainly one of the top 5-10 matches I've ever seen and without a doubt the #1 Lucha match I've ever seen. I suppose that could change by the end of the set, but I REALLY doubt it.

 

A+ or *****

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  • 2 weeks later...

I haven't had much of a chance to see a ton of the set so far. Life's just been really busy. I've done basically one write up and then moved on to watch a few more matches with the listening party. That said, I've seen this match three times now, the first when I was wondering if I wanted to get the set or not in a pretty choppy, cut-filled, dark version on youtube, the second when some of the reviews started to come in and the third with the Wrestling Party podcast. Most of the matches on the set I've only been through once, with the Party so I haven't been able to do my usual absurd write ups.

 

I don't even know if I have to with this match. You people are nuts. You're tasteless vampires who wouldn't know a good, meaningful narrative if it bit you...

 

No, I'm shitting you. The first time I saw this match I could barely figure out which guy was which, missed the second fall, and didn't understand why they kept cutting to an old woman. I still thought it was violent and striking. What I didn't realize was that:

 

Major things:

1. It has one of the best heat segments I've ever seen.

2. It has one of the best moments of transition I've ever seen.

3. It has some of the best late-match selling I've ever seen.

 

When I say "one of" or "some of", I can't really think of any examples off the top of my head I'd absolutely consider better. 

 

Other things that aren't quite as pressing but still matter:

1. It has some of the best punches I've ever seen and so meaningfully placed. It also has some of the best, meanest stomps, the crazy ring apron usage, and at least one killer knee. There's also that really great butterfly suplex into a submission.

2. The transition means so much because of the heat segment and the heat segment means even more because of the fact it's done in front of Chicana's family. The selling at the end, in turn, makes everything that comes before it more meaningful.

3. I love the parallel structure of the missed top rope splash at the end.

4. There are three great dives, one being the most insane frigging bump.

5. The blood is really visceral, sure, and the stretch muffler at the end is really nasty. 

6. MS-1 is such a cocky bastard during the first fall, from even before the ambush. Chicana is super aggressive on the floor right after the second fall. 

 

I think Phil said this was one of the best matches of the 80s and Kris said it was of the best of all time. I'll agree that it was one of the best matches I've seen from the 80s. It's this minimalist masterpiece with brilliant execution. I'd be glad if it's NOT my #1 because that would mean there's something else even better and that would be a god damn treat. It might also be a minor miracle. Also, I am honestly sorry I can't be a contrarian bastard on this match, since I'm sure that'd be more fun for everyone.

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Well, this is quite the bloodbath. Straight off the bat MS-1 is a great smarmy prick and I want to wrestling marry him. Tonnes of emotion and tonnes of blood flowing, and these guys do more with just a handful of moves than most wrestlers can do with dozens. It's a shame we don't get a really good camera angle on any of the dives. I love that as soon as Chicano finally gets on offence he goes straight to the well with a dive, like he knows he has to hit something big just to stand a chance of staying in the match. It's a real hail Mary move. Some of the punches are a bit suspect, and I would have liked to see Chicana transition to offfence after MS-1 misses the splash in the third fall, but these are minor quibbles. Great match.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Fantastic match, with the best comeback by Chicana of all time. He got his ass kicked from the opening clips of the match and into the second fall and then BOOM! He punches out MS-1, then keeps on with the punches and hits a tope to win the second fall.

 

This is my first time watching this match and I watched it twice. It is an all-time great match. It reminded me of this year's L.A. Park vs Dr. Wagner Jr match that I loved and do not think is as good as this but I wonder if there was at all an attempt at homage on their part.

 

Both Chicana and MS-1 were great to me and as much as I love watching masked luchadores, this set so far shows that the unmasked luchadores have just as much legacy as well.

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