Sangre Chicana

[Grimmas]

Discuss here.

[elliott]

This is someone I'm dying to learn more about. I thought he was one of the handful of best guys on the Lucha set. Great brawler, maybe the best seller I've ever seen, and his matches always felt really special. Really stood out even in the 6 man tags he was in. But there's not 2 dozen of his matches on the set. What should I seek out post 1990?

[ohtani's jacket]

His work post 1990 is not well documented because he wasn't a worker that people traditionally thought of as great. Your best bet is taking a look at his CMLL run from 1989 to 1996. He has a fun feud with Perro Aguayo in 1992 though it's not on the level of their 80s work.

 

When I was doing the lucha history lessons, it was amazing how big Chicana was in the early 80s. He was everywhere -- Arena Mexico, El Toreo, Monterrey -- feuding with everyone more often than not in rudo vs. rudo feuds. If we had some of that stuff, I think he'd come across as the best lucha act ever, but unfortunately it wasn't taped.

[tim]

Chicana is gonna be one of the big cases on how much stock you put into a guy who has relatively little footage but often looks like a total all time great. Personally, I lean toward peak over longevitiy, how good you were at your best over consistency, how good the footage is over how much of it there is. Chicana on the 80s set was out of control great. Some of the best punches in wrestling, awesome seller, super charismatic and really knew how to milk big moments. And somehow, just about the best I've ever seen at taking a beating. I think I could watch Sangre Chicana get his ass kicked around Arena Mexico all day. I could never leave him out of a top 50.

[elliott]

I absolutely love the Perro hair match from 86 so I will definitely check out the 92 feud. Sangre really stood out for me because he always carried himself like a major deal and the crowd treated him as such. His interactions with Andre in that 6man were terrific. And I love Mil Mascaras chasing Sangre around the ring in that trios match. Obviously the MS-1 match is one of the best ever. I loved the singles against Villano III and Satanico. Oh the 4way elimination match with Perro, Villano III and Faraon was great too. The lack of footage for 80s lucha is such a bummer and makes ranking them so difficult. If you're someone that just values peak performances and epic match feel, someone like Chicana could be ranked really high. I really love the guy and will dive into the 89-96 CMLL run during the course of this project.

[soup23]

Could someone confirm if this is the 92 match?

[ohtani's jacket]

Yeah, that's it. Eduardo also uploaded one of the trios that people were high on in the yearbook.

[Graham Crackers]

I gushed about Jerry Lawler in his thread but in his best moments Sangre Chicana out Kings the King. I feel like Lawler goes higher because there is just so much Jerry Lawler out there for us to enjoy but peak vs peak I'll take Sangre Chicana.

[Timbo Slice]

Need to see more of him but can't see him not making a top 100 like this.

[cubbymark]

I watched the famous cabellera contra cabellera match with MS-1 tonight and good lord. Chicana takes an absolute beating before the first fall even starts up until his comeback in the second. His left hands were as awesome and as crisp as any punch Jerry Lawler has ever thrown. He busts out a few topes in the match as well, so he could also fly if he had to.

 

The way both men sell the exhaustion of beating the living shit out of each other in the 3rd fall is masterful. Chicana's submission to end it looks absolutely painful. Besides all that, Chicana post-match takes things to another level I don't think I've seen in a hair match as even though he's the winner, he's got to get a few more licks in and make sure MS-1 gets his hair cut like a man.

 

I need to see more.

[JazeUSA]

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

The GREATEST Lucha match I've ever saw & my overall #1 for now on the 80's Lucha set, fuckin amazing!

PLZ provide me more matches to watch for this guy

[elliott]

So I found this match that I've never seen anyone talk about ever and its fucking Sangre Chicana vs Satanico in a title match from 9/24/83 (so the day after Chicana had the best match ever) filmed with a ringside camera with incredible video and audio quality. Has anyone seen this before?

 

 

 

[Phil Schneider]

Reviewed it on Segunda Caida back in March, here are my thoughts

 

I have a flight in the morning. I was about to go to bed when this bombshell drops on my youtube feed. If the date on this is correct this is not only the earliest Satanico match we have on tape, this is Sangre the day after taking MS1's hair in maybe the greatest wrestling match of all time, working a dramatic lucha title match. This isn't a TV match, it is filmed like a close up HH, possibly by an infant Black Terry Jr., we get some great close ups of the struggle in each hold, and when Satanico torches Chicana with a tope into a light poll, we get a close up at the glazed and bloody face of Chicana, it actually looks like his eye is swollen shut. The third fall was pretty dramatic with Chicana surviving several submissions before coming back and getting a revenge tope. Finish was a double pin, and a bit of a cop out, to what had the feel of a budding classic. We do get a couple of minutes of post match brawling which were as great as you might expect. Maybe a step below an absolute classic, but a hell of a late night treat.

[Boss Rock]

What are his best matches that aren't against MS-1, Perro, or Satanico? His punching and selling alone will most likely be enough and I understand there's a lack of footage, but would really like to see more.

[elliott]

Its a bit like asking what Misawa's best matches are excluding ones against Kobashi, Kawada & Taue or Bret's best matches excluding Owen, Austin & British Bulldog. That said:

vs Ringo Mendoza 10/28/83

vs Villano III 12/7./84

vs Perro vs Villano III vs Faraon Elimination Match 10/84

The two matches from 1984 both finished in the top 25 of the Lucha 80s set and while the Mendoza match "only" finished 57th, the Lucha set was ridiculously loaded with high end matches. Its an excellent title match that is more beautiful lucha than gritty grimy lucha like the 83 Satanico match. I would also recommend the following matches:

Sangre Chicana & Herodes & Alfonso Dantes vs Andre the Giant & Cien Caras  (1981)

Lizmark, Mil Mascaras & Valente Fernandez vs. Sangre Chicana, Angel Blanco & Angel Blanco Jr. (12/1/85)

Sangre Chicana & Cien Caras & Mascara Ano 2000 vs. Konnan el Barbaro &  Perro Aguayo & El Rayo de Jalisco Jr. (CMLL 3/1/92)

I haven't watched those 3 in a while but I remember really liking them specifically for Chicana's performance. 

[Boss Rock]

Thankee.

[elliott]

Absolutely! Its a good mix because it shows some versatility compared to just more epic fights. He's working comedy spots against Andre, slick exchanges against Ringo, spectacle driven legends match with Mascaras underneath the Solitario vs Dr Wagner mask match. The Elimination match does boil down to him vs Perro as I recall, but its an awesome match as I recall and worth revisiting if its been a while. 

[Cap]

24 minutes ago, Cien Caras said:

I’m not sure of the date but it’s from the mid 80s, there is a match vs Perro that felt like a religious experience, where I came away from it thinking this is the greatest match I have ever seen. Having consumed every piece of 80s lucha I can find, Sangre Chicana is another one of those greatest of all time, clear number one contenders, whatever match he’s in he stands out and I can watch him brawl and throw punches all day.

2/28/86?

That is an all timer in my book.

 

Chicana is a guy who could be #1 in my mind if we had more from his prime. Even still, his case is pretty strong. I'd be shocked if he wasn't on my list.   I'm not even being hyperbolic, I don't think I have ever seen a better move/spot in all of wrestling than his haymaker left, especially as it signals his comeback.  It is always so well timed and executed. 

[Reel]

1 hour ago, Cap said:

2/28/86?

That is an all timer in my book.

better than the MS-1 match

[Cap]

I still prefer the MS-1 match I think, but it is really close, honestly.

[elliott]

I believe OJ found out that Chicana once said the Aguayo match was the highlight of his career. 

[Cap]

It might be the greatest single line in his GWE resume. It feels like he shoulders more of the load in that one.

[elliott]

Folks should check out the Sangre Chicana vs El Satanico 9/24/83 match. It is a title match with lots of gritty submissions and dramatic facial expressions. That it comes literally a day after the MS-1 match is remarkable. 

Hahahaha I said this in the last project. lolol. LInk still works. 

[The Man in Blak]

I had him just outside of the Top 25 on the last ballot but, in retrospect, I think he might have been my favorite discovery from my 2016 explorations. I was gunshy about ranking him under other luchadors because I couldn't find as many of his matches as other top candidates -- I want to spend my 2026 journey putting that excuse deep into the ground.

[GlassS0Ldier]

When people make the argument of peaks over longevity for a wrestler's career, my first question typically is "do this wrestler's peaks illustrate the type of wrestler they are?" or "do this wrestler's available matches have a clear franchise/theme?". While I can understand being hesitant to rank someone with a lesser volume of matches to evaluate, the available Sangre Chicana matches all show a particular flavor of brawling that next to none, lucha or otherwise, have matched.

His aggression and selling, whether as a techico or rudo, are so distinctly his own that he feels like an Auteur wrestler. I remember in a GME thread someone mentioning that the Satanico match from '89 felt like a movie fight scene. The sort of vulgar and feral approach to Chicana's beatdowns, followed by the imminent danger and tension when he plays defense only moments later gives the match a greater sense of weight and consequence you'd expect from the climax of an action flick, but with an organic, un-Hollywood overproduced tone and environment. They even managed to make the unresolved finish not feel too flat as a result.

This on-a-dime switch between Chicana's tense, urgent attempts to evade his opponent and his primal, cathartic offensive surges are the basis for so many of his best matches, even multi-man or trios tags like the Los Infernales tag from 9/30/83 or even the less popular 12/1/85 trios. Despite sharing the spotlight with sometimes five other men, his presence alone sets a precedent for the type of match it'll be, bringing out the most carnal side in his opponents. Funnily enough, Satanico is one of the few other guys in Lucha I've seen who can similarly whip others into shape solely by being in a match, and that's great company to be around.

Now this is just making me want to see a John Woo or Wilson Yip style Sangre Chicana action flick. Or like, Robert Rodriguez even, fuck it.