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[2000-01-01-CMLL] Tarzan Boy vs Rey Bucanero


Loss

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Bucanero ambushed Tarzan as he was being interviewed at the entrance before the match. The contrast between the two is pretty obvious right away. Tarzan Boy is a good looking guy who is all smiles. A young girl in the crowd holds up a sign made out of pink posterboard, cut in the shape of a heart, professing her love for the guy. (I think she wanted him that way, if you know what I mean.) He's facing Rey Bucanero, a demonic figure wearing face paint accompanied by longtime hellraiser El Satanico as a corner man. This had all the makings of a classic. I wouldn't quite put it at that level because of a few shifts in momentum that seem more perfunctory than earned, but I do think there's lots to love about this. They did a great job building heat on Bucanero and really making me want to see Tarzan Boy mount a strong comeback. Satanico was so awesome at ringside sneaking in slaps to the face when he could and otherwise antagonizing before eating his lunch near the end. This is also a good antidote to those that can't get past the way lucha matches are structured because of the falls. Here, they don't even break between them and they are just there to facilitate shifts in control, so they aren't terribly important. What was more important was the overall arc: Rey endlessly worked over Tarzan's cut, which set Tarzan up to do the same before they started going for pins near the end, so you get heat, revenge and payoff, with double juice to boot. The blood, the contrast in personae, the drama and Satanico's ringside antics come together to make this pretty great. ****

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I may be a mark for pirates but I really want Rey Bucanero to be great in rewatching this stuff. In where my fandom was around the time of his peak, I was looking for more flash and high flying style and would have neglected him. I have appreciated his 2016 work but readily understand that he is getting by on almost exclusively charisma these days. Here he ambushed Tarzan Boy right from the start and TB is bleeding 30 seconds in. The first caida is classic apuestas lucha brawling template of the rudo dominating fully. Satanico is an amazing second at ringside getting cheapshots in and salivating as Bucanero kicks and rakes at Tarzan Boy. Satanico looks like a patron watching a chef prepare his favorite meal that he is about to dig in on. The second fall has Tarzan Boy winning with a roll up and gaining the advantage but he still hasn't shown much fire on made his big comeback. That comes in between the falls as he slams Bucanero on the chair face first and Bucanero is a bloody mess. His selling here from the lost of blood was really excellent staggering around the ring and unable to fully gain his equilibrium back. Tarzan Boy makes some critical mistakes in the third fall by playing to the crowd too much and being too flashy but Bucanero returns the favor by relying on Satanico once too often. Satanico gets wiped out from the legs of Bucanero and TB follows up with a beautiful dive. He puts Bucanero away for a triumphant victory with himself gaining some toughness. TB has the Chapulin Colorado symbol on his tights. Does anyone know the significance or tie in? This really got me excited about the future of CMLL as the first part of 2000 seemed to be all about Villano III and Atlantis working towards their classic match. This showed there was another great feud simmering within the promotion. ****

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This match was shockingly good. I completely forgot how good Rey Buccanero was, thanks to years of watching him broken down. I also forgot that Tarzan was a great flyer at the time.

 

Although this just followed the traditional lucha framework, it felt unique. First it was a short match, that never felt rushed. Whether that was the workers credit or the double juice, it all felt very natural. Second, the sneak attack by Buccanero during Tarzan Boy's interview felt different to me. Maybe I need to watch more 2000's lucha. Third, Satanico added so much to this match and almost deserves as much credit as the two workers. Everything he did added to the match and he never felt to be over shadowing as well.

 

The double juice really worked, the Buccanero beat down was really good, and I was a big fan of Tarzan Boy's comeback. The third fall had some really great nearfalls that actually had me.

 

Rating: ****

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  • 3 weeks later...

Desperately need wrestling to watch, so for the time being I'm giving pimped joshi and lucha a shot for PWO2K.

 

I've seen Bucanero before, sporadically, but I'm pretty sure this is the first time I've watched Tarzan Boy. Big fan of Boy bleeding a minute into the match. Great bit of juice. I really liked the first fall. Bucanero's offense looked good and Boy bumped like a would expect a pretty boy lucha lad to do. No matter how much lucha I watch, and no matter how much I read about lucha, I will continuously struggle to get past most matches being 2/3 falls and the silliness of the first 2 falls. I've accepted it as something that happens, but it still annoys me. The banana peel second fall made me roll my eyes. Third fall felt clunky, but the double juice helped me look past it. HUGE fan of the submission tease that Tarzan Boy punched his way out of. That had me fooled. I thought that would've been the finish.

 

At the very least, this was fun and it made me want to at least try more lucha. I really liked Tarzan Boy. I have a feeling this is the most enjoyable I'll ever find Bucanero. ***1/2

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So this was pretty great. I was completely engaged during the match and makes me want to go on a CMLL 2000 binge. Rey Buccanero matches were always ones I looked out for when I first starting watching late-night CMLL. Would have no problem anyone giving this 4 stars or above.

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This is so unlike anything i'm used to watching in CMLL since they are so anti blood these days. Tarzan boy got shit on a lot as a tecnico around this time. so much so that he had to turn heel. I'm not the biggest fan of singles Bucanero but he can go when motivated. This was a good brawl. Bucanero was just relentless in the first fall going after the cut and Satanico was a good second at ringside. Second fall went nuts with Bucanero hitting a gusher and Tarzan getting his heat back. Finish is classic rudo lucha so I'm used to it. Looking forward to seeing more of this feud as I remember it being really good.

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Damn this was a good match. Very happy that Tarzan Boy actually uses the song of the same name by Baltimora as his theme. Tarzan Boy bleeding before the bell ever rings is a good way to start a match with a heart throb babyface. I loved the structure to this match with Tarzan Boy getting pretty much no offense in the first fall after getting jumped in the aisle by Rey Bucanero, Tarzan Boy trying to mount a comeback in the 2nd fall but getting screwed by Satanico's cheating and just taking more of a beating before managing to get a small package to win the 2nd fall. Then he kicks Bucanero's ass during the break between falls and things get evened up leading to a pretty even 3rd fall with some good near falls. I really liked this a lot.

 

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I loved this. 2 out of my top 3 matches from last year were Canis Lupus / Trauma and Rush/La Parka, so it's safe to say I love me a lucha brawl with lots of crazy antics and blood. While this was nowhere the transcendent level of those two matches, I was hooked for the entirety of the 15 minutes and didn't fidget, check my phone or get distracted once. For someone of my level of concentration (largely a result of anxiety problems), that's really saying something, especially as most of my exposure to Bucanero has been from more modern stuff and I've seen very little of Tarzan Boy.

I loved the desperation of the submission in the third fall being escaped from by a simple, slightly angled back smack in the face... it perfectly suited the whole vibe of the match.

One thing I was curious of was it the cuts to Satanico on the outside and his gloved hand...was the glove meant to be loaded? I speak zero Spanish so couldn't pick up what the commentators were saying about it either.

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This was loads of fun. Great rudo vs technico match with Bucanero being the ultimate rudo here. Sneak attack to start, outside help, biting, low blows, ropes for leverage, and jaw jacking with the crowd.

 

I can only assume that is Bucanero's grandmother clapping for him in the first row after the first fall. Who else would cheer for this dastardly rudo?

 

The in-ring action was great. I echo the love for the sneaky submission attempt from Bucanero when Tarzan Boy takes a moment to soak in the love from the crowd. Fantastic match, with my only complaint being that Bucanero's shoulder was off the mat for the entire pinfall at the end of this match.

 

****

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This exceeded the expectations I had going in despite everyone in here really enjoying it. Great bloody, hateful match with a very clear rudo and tecnico dynamic that's easy to get in to and I thought Satanico was excellent as Bucanero's second. This was the first I've seen of Tarzan Boy and I'm definitely hooked on seeing more of him because he was awesome here.

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That was a great, bloody brawl that had everything I love about wrestling -- dastardly villains, old ladies in the crowd losing their shit, chaotic and barely controlled violence. My plan was to finish this match then go to bed, but it got me all amped up and now I'll probably watch another hour of footage before crashing.

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Yeah, this was really good. It's easy to praise (rightly) Bucanero for being a super fun lunatic, with the forehead biting, cheapshots and so on, but I really liked TB's selling in the primera. He was staggering around like he barely knew where he was, and his bumping had a bit of a ragdoll feel to it. With Satanico being who he is on the outside there was always the sense TB was up against it, even if he could manage to come back from the first caida beatdown. Satanico going apeshit post-match might've been my highlight of the whole thing, which speaks to how great Satanico is even when playing cornerman. I'm pretty hyped for the CMLL stuff in 2000 and this didn't disappoint.

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This was a lot of fun. The "blink and you'll miss it" approach to early falls is one thing I really don't care for, so it was great to see the first fall here feature a sustained heel beatdown on Tarzan Boy with blood, antics from Satanico on the outside and a satisfying, non-flash finish. Not so much on the second fall, where after continuing the heat for a bit Tarzan Boy grabs a small package counter that felt very contrived and poorly executed to even thing sup.

 

The blood seemed to come out of nowhere for both men, but natural or otherwise I'm not one to complain about double juice in an isolated brawl and it worked well here, as Bucanero in particular bled a lot. I also really dug his face paint. The Satanico interference is paid off in a final fall that features some nice bombs even if the path there was a little awkward. But again, blood and violence can overcome a lot. Felt like a hot finish for the crowd invested in the promotion.

 

***1/2

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Tarzan Boy impressed me here, had a good look and played off his character well and got the sympathetic babyface heat but the star of this show was Rey Bucanero. That Gory Dominator special that he pulled off on the first fall was impressive and he displayed a good heel charisma. Overall this is almost everything I'd want in a lucha brawl, outside antics, blood, a good story wrapped up in a nice package. ***3/4

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It's going to be hard for me to dislike a match worked within these story confines. Bucanero jumps Tarzan Boy and just beats on him without Tarzan really getting any hope for the first fall. TB uses a fluky kind of reversal to steal the second fall and put himself back into the mix -- not strong on his feet but now a glimmer to make a fiery comeback. And then the tercera which completes his comeback in bloody fashion. It's an easy narrative to follow and one that is hard not to enjoy on a basic level.

 

I thought both guys sold blood loss well with wooziness, wounded animal selling, etc. There were some momentum stopping moments in the tercera but many have already pointed out that the inherent drama and bloody spectacle of the match helps to sand down those rough moments a good bit. I would certainly call this a very good match.

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It says a lot about a match when you can go in with no background and immediately sense the grudge. Bucanero worked over Tarzan for the first two falls with The Boy being great at working underneath and bleeding. The match turned on a dime after TB won the second fall with a small package. Bucanero then showed his aptitude for bleeding and selling. The two went back and forth for the final fall and TB hit a great tope con giro. A great lucha brawl. Satanico was a champ at ringside

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This was an effective mano a mano bout. Mano a manos usually have a glass ceiling on how good they can be but this had a bit of meat to it. The double juice helped. Blood is so rare in CMLL these days that it was a surprise to see Bucanero bleed so much. There were a couple of gaffes on the bigger action stuff, like the blatant calling of the flash pin in the segunda caida and Tarzan Boy overshooting his dive, but it was a decent Coliseo bout, and Satanico beating Tarzan Boy down after the bout warmed the cockles of my Satanico-loving heart.

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Holy crap, that was fast. Day 1 into the decade and there's an awesome match I probably might've never otherwise watched. Felt like pure good against pure evil with no shades of grey in between. First fall was tremendously fun set-up and I adored Tarzan Boy laying on the ground while trying to lay kicks in, just taking any chance he could reasonably get. Loved how the next two falls played out. If I didn't know any better I'd guess Tarzan Boy would be the #1 guy in the company just based off of this. Satanico manages to be one of the best parts of a match without even being a competitor in it. I probably would have called this ****3/4 had I watched it in 2010.

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  • 1 month later...

This was a great match. First half sees Tarzan Boy being beaten bloody by Bucanero. At the end of the second fall Tarzan Boy counters with a ddt to take the second fall. Third fall sees both wrestlers bloody and brawling trying to get the pin. I really enjoyed this. First time for me to see CMLL in 2000. Tastes like more, LOL!

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  • GSR changed the title to [2000-01-01-CMLL] Tarzan Boy vs Rey Bucanero

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