DylanWaco Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 I have kind of talked myself into rating Virus higher through the course of this thread, though I still sort of see this as a coin flip. If you go March to March it does play to Virus advantage because that tosses out the best Rush singles match from 2013 and adds another great Virus singles performance from this year (the Titan match Matt posted above, though I think the title match with Guerrero Maya Jr. from last year is better). Having said that I do want to say some things about Rush. While Rush is not as a versatile as Virus, he's sort of the master of a style that I feel like he partially crafted. I talked earlier in this tournament about how I sort of see Terrible and Rush as having crafted their characters and personas along side each other and I definitely feel that is true, but I also feel like it's a slightly different take on lucha, or at least the matches that he see in modern CMLL. Rush obviously is super charismatic, but he's a guy who is hated as a technico, and plays that up which is different than anyone I can remember and not really comparable to anyone in modern wrestling (Cena is not at all the same thing). He has some dynamic highspots to be sure, but he's really a guy who makes it on his strengths as a cocky, douchebag, who backs things up with vicious brawling. You are just as likely to see a crazy headbutt, or big punch, or huge kick be the definitive highspot in a Rush match, as you are to see it be a dive, and while that is not unheard of in lucha, it definitely feels different for this era and makes Rush stand out. Another thing about Rush is that while he primarily works sprints, he is a rare case of a guy where I don't feel short changed watching him in that setting. With other wrestlers - even ones really good at working fast paced matches - I always feel like I am being cheated out of a potentially more epic match. Rush has such an energetic and frantic way of delivering and taking offense (as well as projecting), that to me it almost feels like less is more. That's not to say I don't want to see him get 35 minutes for a hair match with Casas, but I also don't feel like I'm getting less than the best in these furious trios performances. In some ways Virus v. Rush could be analogous to Ishii v. Okada or Tanahashi or even Nakamura, in the sense that Virus is a guy who has to and does make the best out of much more limited opportunities, while still basically being a utility player, while Rush and the big three from NJPW are higher up the cards and thus have more emphasis on their matches and feuds over the course of a year. There are other ways in which that analogy doesn't work, but it's something I felt like mentioning so fuck it there it is. Anyhow, I'm still not sure I'm going to vote here as it really feels wrong to me. But March to March I think I see Virus as a better candidate. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hector Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 If Rush could pass a WWE piss test then I'm next in line to be king of England. I like Rush, I was one of the first guys to sing his praises on WKO, but he ain't no Virus. It's as simple as that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thecubsfan Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 Rush has done great things with Casas and Terrible, but his match with Shocker in November might've been his best effort. Shocker is pretty much shot at this point, but Rush still manages to beat a good match out of him. In the interest of equal time, the Blue Panther/Virus 10 minute time limit match from May (How did they never go back to this?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GojiColin Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 So if this ends in a tie they both go on to the next round right? right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MORELOCK Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 Yeah, I'm not seeing closed-minded blanket dismissal of lucha in the voting and comments. Not really sure where that came from. It wasn't directed at anyone in particular... just some general comments made on this board over the last few weeks. Matt - I understand what you are saying but the frustration will always be there. I mean we have talked about the greatest of Fuerza Guerrera for fucking 20 years, yet I do a WOTD on him and he gets 3 fucking replies. It's not like Fuerza is going to show up in a March Madness and folks will be all "Well I guess I need to watch this now" (And same exact thing happened to Damien 666 - though Fuerza is a 1000 times more amazing) I feel I should clarify that I was joking when I made the Austin remark - and add that I always check out the WOTD threads, though I don't typically have much to contribute to the conversation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AND THE BEAT GOES ON! Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 Expand my lucha horizons - I notice a few of you making a point of saying 'title matches', is there a distinct formula for them? Or is it just that they're three falls? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NintendoLogic Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 All lucha matches are 2/3 falls (traditionally, anyway). The Cliffs Notes version is that title matches are almost always mat-based technical wrestling matches, as opposed to hair/mask matches, which tend to be brawls. One of the lucha superfans can go into greater detail, but that's the gist of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goodear Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 The thing I look about Rush is that it always looks like he is trying to hurt the guy he is in there with. Sometimes, the lucha style leads itself to being flashy for the sake of being flashy with dives all over the place and wacky graps. But Old Rush, he just punches you in the mouth and drop kicks you as hard as possible and presents as a guy who isn't there to be impressive, he just is impressive. I have compared him to Kerry Von Erich before and he really hits that cord with me as a bigger guy who doesn't back down when it comes to throwing faux fisties. Virus while I will admit is a hell of a technician, doesn't seem to build heat segments they way I prefer. Like to me, it should be a struggle for one of the flippier guys to get off the ground with him and I don't get the feeling that it is. There just isn't enough struggle to the matwork like you would see from the British style, which is how I likes it. Question: I'm not holding this against Virus cause whatever, but how is the guy a rudo? Two matches posted here both end with him shaking hands afterwards? IS that a byproduct of the title match style? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaedmc Posted March 11, 2014 Author Share Posted March 11, 2014 Man I just watched that Virus/Maya Jr. match and I'm in love. That match was fun as hell. Not sure how I'm going to vote. I'm reserving my vote for tomorrow morning in case we're deadlocked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AND THE BEAT GOES ON! Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 I thought rudos brawled, tecnicos were... technical and the psychology is based around who sets the pace of the match. Are there cases where a rudo has shit all over a title match and started ripping masks and shit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaedmc Posted March 11, 2014 Author Share Posted March 11, 2014 VIRUS 26-24 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts