WRESTLER OF THE DAY: CEREBRO NEGRO

[RIPPA]

So why, you may ask, am I doing a luchadore that none of you fuckers care about today.

 

Today is May 4.

 

Cerebro Negro was Guerra C-3. STAR WARS DAY BITCHES!!!

 

Just for the record

1) I have no idea who Galaxia R2 was

2) This is not the original Cerebro Negro

 

 

[DEAN]

I just wanted to post a 43 minute lucha match.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbBsmyW_fbs

[odessasteps]

Wasn't there a japanese version of that match with a c3po and r2d2 wrestling?

[Pete]

Wasn't there a japanese version of that match with a c3po and r2d2 wrestling?

 

Probably Roboto C3 and Roboto R2. They worked AJPW in 1979.

[Phil Schneider]

Cerebro Negro has been in some stone cold classics. 

 

Black Terry v Cerbero Negro  11/22/07 EPIC

Tremendous match which is a better finish away from being the MOTY for 2007, and is the best Black Terry singles match I have seen. This is a violent hair match which is one of the best things in professional wrestling. This truly felt like a war, there were multiple moments where both guys forgot about lucha and just wailed away at each other with blows. Terry unloads one of the better overhand slaps I can remember, but Cerebro Negro is right there firing back with everything he had, especially landing some nasty coconut headbutts. There is a great moment where the camera pans to a little kid in the audience who is simultaneously horrified and engrossed by the carnage. Both of the first two falls ended on great counters Cerebro Negro counters a shoulder block with a beautiful Pain Game DDT, and Terry just demolishes Cerebro with a backcracker counter to a back tope. It's IWRG I am pretty desensitized to backcrackers but I nearly jumped out of my seat. I also loved Terry tearing apart Negro's pants to get at his knee, it had an almost cinematic quality of desperation, it felt like the end of a Peckinpaugh film. Finish was kind of bullshit, with Fantasma De La Opera running in and chair shotting both guys, total buzzkill to something that was building to one of the great lucha libre apuesta matches of all time.

 

 

Black Terry/Dr. Cerebro/Cerebro Negro v. Trauma I/II/Negro Navarro IWRG 3/28/09-EPIC

 

PAS: IWRG ran this series twice in Arena Xochmilco before running it twice in Naculpan. This was the feud of the year in wrestling, four great matches between six great wrestlers. We get a long opening mat section between Terry and Trauma II which was really spectacular stuff. One of the problems with IWRG matwork is that is often worked too even, here Terry is clearly superior, II is able to get some reversals using speed, but Terry is the veteran tooling him. There is this great moment where Trauma II tries to lift Terry and can't execute it because his arm has been shredded. Navarro comes in and does a similar job on Cerebro Negro and it really has the feel of the Maestros punishing the lesser members in an attempt to show the other guy up. I would have liked that to lead to a battle of matwork, but instead those two brawl it out, and goddamn is it spectacular. There is a punch exchange between the two on the floor which rivals your best Todd Morton v. Mitch Ryder exchanges. I really loved the finish too, with Terry stealing the fall, after Trauma II had Dr. Cerebro beat. Perfect example of the crafty rudo always being one step ahead.

TKG: I wrote a lot about the Xochmilco match in my review of the Naucalpan one. And I pretty much stand by what I wrote before. The Naucalpan one was built on mismatches with Terry matching up with Trauma I (weakest matworker in Dinastia Navarro) and Navarro working Cerebro Negro (weakest mat worker in Terribles Cerebros). The Xochimilco match is far evener with the two maestros matched up opposite the two stronger non-maestro members of the opposite team. You still get a sense of it mot being even, but it’s not as stark as in the Naucalapn match, and it doesn’t affect the match flow as much. The Trauma II v Terry match up is really neat as you have Trauma selling the arm to the point where he needs to release a hold, and Terry doing the same with the leg. Terry’s leg sell is a really neat realistic working through a pain sell. This match isn’t as good a match overall compared to the Naucalpan one but you still want to see it just for the Terry v Navarro street fight section.

 

Black Terry/Cerebro Negro/Dr. Cerebro v. Negro Navarro/Trauma I/Trauma II IWRG 4/16/09-EPIC

PAS: This is the first match in the Naculpan run of this feud (the Arena Xochimilico series is here

and

) and is worked as a technical battle of one upsmanship. You have two veteran maestros each bringing in their young charges to determine superiority. The structure of the match was a little unusual especially in the first fall, as guys would lock in a submission and would release it, just to show they could get their opponent. This is the best I have seen Trauma 1 look, he was always the Solar 2 to his Trauma 2's Solar 1, but his mat section with Black Terry was the best of the three long opening mat sections. It had more countering then the others, and Trauma I also gets the first fall with an awesome spinning leg lock. Navarro surprisingly looked stronger in the third fall which was exchanges and brawling, then he did in the first two matwork falls. I loved his handshake takedown, but the Terry v. Navarro on the mat was a little underwhelming. However the Terry v. Navarro brawling was great especially his infighting, a sick headbutt and punch countering. The Cerebros also looked great. I think this was the best of three matches between these teams, but I still think their classic encounter hasn't happened yet. They are working each other twice next week, lets hope our youtube peeps hook us up.

TKG: Trauma 1 is still the Solar II of the Traumas as that was all Black Terry. One of the big differences between the stronger mat guys and the weaker ones in this match is the way the stronger ones will wrench the lesser opponent into the submission. Trauma I and Cerebro Negro are guys who will move one leg here and another leg here and an arm here and “look a cool looking submission”. Terry, Trauma II, Navarro and Dr Cerebro will take their opponent down directly into a sub. Their subs all feel like they’re set up by dragon screw moves as they just absolutely wrench a guy to the mat and wrench them into a tight sub. These aren’t so much cool looking subs as they are absolutely nasty ways to put those subs on. I think my favorites were the sub Terry set up in the first fall that’s set up by kicking the inner thigh and then steeping on the hand; and the application of Dr Cerebro’s sub on Trauma I in the second fall which was amazing, as I’ve always liked his goofy submission but I don’t remember any other time where it looked this much like he was applied with this much force and torque. The one point where Trauma I actually sneaks a sub in, it’s the only time any of his stuff has any torque behind it.

The neat thing about getting to watch this match workshoped around is how different the Naucalpan version of the technical match is from the Xochimilco version. In that match they hid Trauma I by having him not have a mat section at all in the first fall. Instead he worked a Coco Verde v Xibalva fast exchanges section. Here he gets walked through the mat stuff with Black Terry. Both matches have the exact same finishing sequence to set up the rematch. But everything before that is completely different. The Xochimilco match starts with both maestros matching up and working pretty even sections with the stronger junior member of the opposite team. Terry and Navarro worked as Mantell v Lawler, two tough guys who can go toe to toe on the mat and standing. They worked a long Trauma II face in peril getting double and triple teamed until Navarro came in upset about the liberties taken with his son and was attacking folks like Bruno after someone got his Italian up. The Naucalpan match is worked nothing like that. The Naucalpan match is worked with no sense of their being any parity in the matchups. Both teams are trying to set up the match up to take advantage of the other team’s weak side. First fall has the two strongest junior members (Dr and II) match up in a long really cool even section, while each maestro gets to work against the weaker member of the opposite team. They play this up and there is no real attempt to hide that Truama I and Cerebro Negro are outmatched. The Terry/Trauma I, Navarro/Cerebro Negro is not the only mismatch that they play up. Terry isn’t working Dutch in the Naucalpan match he’s working almost Gino. There is nothing Mantell v Lawlerish about the Terry v Navarro matchups. Instead they’re really worked like Tully v Hashimoto. Navarro is an absolute beast and Terry is a guy in over his head but a dangerous shitkicker when given the opportunity. First fall is Black Terry toying with Trauma I, Dr Cerebro working even with Trauma II, and Navarro toying with Cerebro Negro until he decides to submit him. Black Terry comes in to even it out and ends up underestimating Trauma I and gets caught in a submission. The playing up of the mismatch makes this feel like a big deal. Second fall has Navarro toying with Terry, Dr Cerebro avenging Terry by subbing Trauma I, and then Navarro underestimating Terry and getting caught in a sub. Third fall is the stand up section and the cheat to win finish. Pretty great match up and completely different than the Xochimilco one. As the announcer says “Si usted, si usted quiere a la lucha…Aqui, aqui esta la lucha” I like the lucha.

 

Black Terry/Cerebro Negro/ Dr. Cerebro v. Negro Navarro/Trauma I/Trauma II IWRG 4/23-EPIC

PAS: We get yet another really fun match up between these two teams. This started with a matwork fall, but really kicked into gear when they got to the brawling. Dr. Cerebro was running around throwing bombs, he has a great looking right hand and was drilling people with it, this is the best he has looked in any of their matchups. I also loved the spot where Trauma 1 superkicks Black Terry and they do the KO spot. It was a fine superkick, but man was Terry's selling off the chain. I wasn't sure whether he was legitimately stunned. What made this match though, was the fact we finally got to see Navarro and Terry really square off, and it was as glorious as you would expect. Navarro is so fierce when he gets fired up, when he sinks in the choke it like Fedor on your back. 

TKG: On the 4/16 show I compared Navarro to Hashimoto, but you watch this match and that feels like an understatement. I can’t think of a more menacing bad ass babyface performance to compare to Navarro here. Not face Brody or Missing Link, there is nothing “crazy” or gimmicky about Navarro’s performance. Navarro is a beast and we finally get to see him fully unload and destroy motherfuckers. . Terry is pretty great here coming off even more like desperate Tully outmatched. He comes across even more outmatched, even more desperate and as a result more dangerous. Cerebro Negro and Trauma 1 also have a lot more to offer in a standing match than a technical one. I think there was some timing problem during the dives as anyone who has seen the Megas v Dr Cerebro series knows that no one eats a tope better than Dr Cerebro, instead the dives were just there. I’m a little less sold on the Naucalpan revancha than some other folks. We don’t get the full Xochimilco revancha match but I preferred that one. Structurally I think all the non Navarro/Terry brawling in Xochimilco came off tighter, and I preferred the whole fake foul set up. Still getting to see Navarro unleash at full force was awesome but this didn’t leave me with the high that I had after the first Naucalpan match.

 

Black Terry/Dr. Cerebro/Cerebro Negro v. Trauma I/Trauma II/Ultraman Jr. IWRG 10/29/09-EPIC

TKG: This starts with Dr Cerebro and Ultraman Jr doing technical exchanges built around trading nasty arm wringer variations. Then Black Terry matches up with Trauma I and Cerebro Negro matches up with Trauma II doing exchanges of submissions. Trauma puts on a submission that hurts the opponent can’t escape but won’t tap to, and then opponent slaps on submission that works the same body part. This whole thing is really made by both Terry and Cerebro Negro’s selling. Second fall is the fast exchange fall and these are superfast Gods Must Be Crazy stop motion animation fast exchanges. Black Terry and Ultraman Jr look to blow a bunch of things but they keep going and the awkwardness gives a real violent feel to the fast exchange section as they look to be forcing each other into stuff. That’s the sense you get throughout this fall as it’s super stiff and super fast. Things may be moving so fast that these guys can’t perform as smoothly as you normally see in most “quick exchange” caidas. Third fall also has some rough moments but these guys are professionals and know how to make that add to the feel of an actual fight. Like Tina Turner these guys can do nothing nice and easy, they’re all about the nice and rough.

PAS: Dinastia De La Muerte v. Terrible Cerebros was the feud of the year in IWRG in 2009, this was that match up with Ultraman Jr. replacing Negro Navarro. That is a huge step down it talent, as Ultraman Jr. is slightly above average and Navarro was the best wrestler in the world in 2009. It kind of works in this match though, as Navarro's absence forces the Traumas to step up huge and really become the focus of the match. The opening mat sections were long and awesome, that kind of machismo mat wrestling, where guys show their skill by tying up and then releasing their opponent can be overdone in IWRG, but it is really great here. Everyone sells pain and frustration tremendously, and you really buy this as a test of machismo, no one is going to tap and they are all desperate to prove the more skilled luchadore. Tom was right about the ragged awesomeness of the second and third falls, it gets faster and more violent and more reckless and it feels like it is going to spiral completely out of control. I have no problem with a low blow finish, but this felt like it should have built to a total explosion, and the finish deflated it a bit. Still a tremendous match, right up there with the best matches of 2009.

[Curt McGirt]

 

Wasn't there a japanese version of that match with a c3po and r2d2 wrestling?

 

Probably Roboto C3 and Roboto R2. They worked AJPW in 1979.

 

 

And the C3PO one was probably the guy who got his ass kicked in Mexico by Harley Race. But who knows, that gimmick could have been done a thousand times that we don't know about.

[Ryan]

On a particular random note, he lost the Cerebro Negro mask to MASADA of Tokyo Gurentai fame. No, not the more famous CZW/Texas/BJW one with a straight off NXT SHOOT~! name of Brigham Doane.

 

Phil's Trio of Terror: