[1994-03-12-AAA] Rey Misterio Jr & Heavy Metal & Winners vs Fuerza Guerrera & Jerry Estrada & Espectro Jr

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

This was a really strong match. Even the pairings that I didn't expect to be all that good, like Estrada/Metal and Winners/Espectro, work really well. Of course, Rey and Fuerza are working at lightspeed compared to everyone else, and they are *so* good that they force everyone to elevate their game even more. People who complain about short first falls in lucha libre should watch this match. The action is great, but it starts feeling pointless after a while because it takes forever before anyone seems all that concerned with winning and even longer to secure a pin. Rey looks phenomenal. This is probably his first chronological truly standout performance on a yearbook. Bottom line -- Rey and Fuerza brought it and everyone else followed their lead to deliver good performances, but the match didn't really build drama. It was just exchange after exchange and started seeming like it was going sideways until the last 6 minutes or so.

[jdw]

I don't even remember much about this match. Standard "solid" lucha trios match can blur together unless they have something that is the hook to make it stand out.

 

John

[Exposer]

Rey Mysterio was tremendous in 1994 too. It was really amazing to see the differences in each pairing and when Rey-Fuerza got in it was very clear who the best guys were in this. The first fall is considerably long for lucha and mainly consists of the techinos getting the better of the rudos. Espectro and Estrada take a couple of standard rudo bumps but as always they're insane bumps. They switch the pairings up a bit towards the end of the fall and Rey is in there with Estrada. Estrada catches Rey on a moonsault and powerslams him for the pin. Fuerza and Espectro get rid of the others and the rudos win the first fall. The second fall is essentially lucha brawling in and around the ring with the rudos winning the battle. The highlights were Rey get viciously slammed on the concrete and a bloody Heavy Metal getting body pressed into the front row of chairs by Espectro. Every now and then the technicos would battle back with some nice hope spots but to no avail. The rudos win this in two straight falls. I liked this a good bit and this is a perfect example of how long Rey has been performing on a high level.

[soup23]

Really fun lucha 6 man, I knew Rey was good early on so seeing his performance was not surprising however I was really impressed with both Winners and Heavy Metal as I had been lukewarm on them before but thought they were real good here. The throwing of Heavy Metal into the 4th row was crazy and I liked how the first fall built to the finish. Really fun 25 minutes.

[PeteF3]

This was really, really good, and a real departure to the standard trios layout, as the technicos are basically mauled for the last 2/3 of the bout. I liked Metal too. Actually I liked everyone except Estrada, who didn't add much. This match really highlights the contrast in the bumping of him and Espectro. Both take some big bumps, but Espectro is broad, theatrical, and spectacular while Estrada seems like he's bumping to impress the boys and not the fans--he takes the Buddy Rose back-bump to the floor and smacks his head on the concrete, something only a few fans in the arena would ever see. If the technicos had had a more spirited comeback or even scored some eliminations of their own in the second fall, this would be in the running for MOTY.

[Zenjo]

This didn't look all that promising on paper. The Estrada vs Metal exchanges were unimpressive, mainly due to the bigger addict of the two. Fuerza vs Rey Rey balanced them out. The surprise was how well Winners performed. He's a guy I normally can't stand. Espectro was also bringing the goods in opposition, making him wrestle rather than dance. A lengthy and action packed primera. For the second the rudos owned the tecnicos 2-0. A rare outcome. The type of midcard bout that fulfilled its role on the card perfectly. Warm up the crowd for the feature matches without wearing them out.