By Eric Howard
Two nights…two lucha programs…two countries…
After really enjoying a night of XLUM lucha in Tijuana the night before, I headed to Southwest High School to check out the Lucha Libre Inernacional show on Saturday night.I will apologize, I tried to catch as many names of the workers as I could, but some did slip by me. I will report as much as I can…remember…Yo soy un gringo…and didn’t understand every bit of what was being said.
Also, I was taking notes while watching the show, but they became a casualty of the main event and were lost….so, I am doing this from memory. I know what you are saying…the show was Saturday night, how could you forget already? Well, if you saw me party in college, you would understand why my brain is not such a great resource.
Ok…here we go…on to the show…
…
…
…
The show started a half hour late(not bad for an indy show). The more Indy shows I attend, the more I get used to it. Most of the crowd of 200-300 were in their seats at the advertised time. I guess my point is, if the poster says a certain time, the show should start at that time…
The first match-Two guys dressed like Bulls or Indians or Buffalos (rudos) vs. I’m sorry, I can’t remember, but Neon may have been one of them .
After the long wait to start the show, it would have been really nice for the technicos to come out and really pop the crowd and get the place up and going, but they didn’t. The heels…err…rudos did all they could to get the crowd going, but the match came off as flat to the crowd.
After splitting the first two falls, the techincos get the win with little response from the crowd…
They had decent sound system (at the time…continue to read report) and it would have been nice for Konnan or another of the big name wrestlers to come out and cut a promo of sort to wake up the crowd a bit. I’m not sure that is a lucha thing to do…but, the people in the crowd I’m sure are/were viewers of WWE and WCW. Also, if you have a nice public address system…use it!
Second match-Rocketeer & Unnamed luchador vs. Unnamed luchador (maybe Extassis?) and Silver Star (technicos)
Silver Star and his partner were pretty impressive. I really enjoyed the athleticism that Extassis showed. He was flying and bouncing around the ring…I really wished I remembered his name, he is somebody you should keep an eye on. The technicos get the win in the third fall.
There was an intermission…they had a couple of girls dancing in the ring. I dug the blonde girls spiked hair. These girls worked hard too…If some of the undercard wrestlers put in the effort these girls did, the matches may have been a little more exciting and more over with the crowd.
Semi-The Patriot, Mr. Tempest & unnamed maskless luchador vs. Mortiz, Ragin Dawg & TJ Boy
I’m not real knowledgeable on the whole So-Cal indy scene. I read some stuff on the site and go to shows in San Diego…so, take what I say with that in consideration. I was excited to see Jesse Hernandez at ringside with Ragin Dawg.
I don’t know Jesse as a trainer, promoter or anything else. I remember going to shows as kid and seeing him as a referee…and it was good to see an old face again…
The two teams split the first two falls…in each of the first two, Mr. Tempest accidently hit his partner, the Patriot. I know you see where this is going…
In the third fall, it happened again and the Patriot made the turn, taking Mr. Tempest’s mask and helped the rudos get the win.. The Patriot and the rudos left the ring with the win and a mascara also.
As the rudos were leaving the ringside area, El Patriot grabbed the mic and started running down Mexico and tried to get a USA chant going…we were in San Diego, but the crowd was well behind the Mexican superstar.
What I didn’t understand was that two of the Patriot’s partners were from Mexico…one was called TJ Boy for crying out loud…why would he want to start a USA chant? But, the crowd ate it up and really for the first time were into the show big time…which was great heading into a big finish.
All of the Patriot’s talk quickly came to an end when all the main eventers came running out of the locker room to shut the Patriot up and get the main event going…it was a nice touch to start the main event this way.
Main Event-Konnan, Nicho el Millionario & Black Venum vs. Blue Panther, Depredador & Rey Misterio Sr.
These guys were going to make sure the crowd was not flat for their match…they came out brawling through the crowd right away. Blue Panther tore into anybody he could grab. All six battled through the stands…I hung in as long as I could, but I had to scatter away after a while. Chairs were flying, bodies were being flung into the bleachers and you could hear a loud THUD from a trash can smashing against someone’s head.
The brawling settled down after a few minutes and the match finally entered the ring. Again, the first two falls were split. It is amazing how that happens…the next time I see somebody take two straight falls, will be the first time.
Third fall saw Rey get a stapler and attempt to staple one of the technicos, but he missed on got a piece of the referee’s head. The ref juiced…
With the wild finish, I’m not sure who took the deciding fall…I believe it was Konnan and the tecnicos…but, don’t hold me to that. The match was action packed and wild, so it really didn’t matter who won at that point.
After the match, promos were being cut…one semester of Spanish is just not cutting it…I did understand Konnan making passionate remarks about how he respected many of the stars of the past, like Per Aguyo (sp?) and even his opponent, the legendary Blue Panther…but not Rey Misterio. Rey was given the mic and was about to refute the statements made by Konnan, but…what?
But…what?
But…what?
I’m sorry…but…what?
You couldn’t hear that? Neither could I…the mic went out!
I really wouldn’t have understood what he would have said anyway…so the mic not working really didn’t bother me much. I don’t think the rest of the crowd cared much either. The slow start to the show and the wild ending has taken a lot out of them.
I had not seen a Lucha Internacional show before, but despite the slow start, the momentum picked up and the show ended on a very high note. The “name” wrestlers that main evented the card, didn’t just mail it in…they made a terrific effort to send the crowd away, wanting to see another show.
Uncensored Extras…
I was able to speak to Konnan for a couple of minutes after the show, he was very friendly and spent plenty of time signing autographs and taking pictures…I really love that about the luchadors. We talked about a Rock-n-Wrestling show he did in San Diego at a Navy base many years ago…he said he was “VERY green” back then. He also asked about my opinion on the show that just ended as well.
Eric Howard
