[2000-04-15-FWA] El Hijo del Santo vs Mike Quackenbush

[soup23]

This starts with an angle of Dan Moreland coming out and saying Quack isn't there. After DOn Montoya gets in a few Rock rip offs, here comes Quack to a big pop. He takes care of Moreland and Quack is back forgetting the retirement from the last show. This is when Quack is wearing special gear that he described on his podcast as being impossible to take off. This is announced as lucha style with no piledrivers and no low blows. Quack does a really good job in these maestro matches making stuff look competitive while still displaying the style and art of wrestling. They mix up holds and stuff is intricately worked with only a minor botch on a floatover. Montoya is good on commentary getting everything across. Santo shows respect for Quack by rallying the fans in the final moments. The 15 minutes really did fly by here. ***1/2

[Loss]

It’s funny when I see Santo interact with wrestlers outside his usual style how much he completely outclasses him. That was true in January with the Toryumon crew, and that’s true once again with Quackenbush. He carries him to an excellent match. Quackenbush was where he needed to be when he needed to be there, but Santo is just on another level, and I feel weird stating the obvious in that regard. They mostly stayed on the mat instead of trying to Americanize this too much (other than the 15-minute time limit), which I appreciated. ***3/4

[Migs]

I really dug this - very nicely told the young guy v. legend story, even better than Youth v. Regal on the same day, which tells it well too.

[Tim Evans]

I remember hearing so much about this match back in the day but I've never seen it. It mostly lives up to the hype. Santo is Santo and really holds it together. Good mat work and that dive looked nice. Quack was mostly with him with some botches including a botched dive to the oustide. That finish was awful tho. I get why neither was losing but it was still cheap. Not as cheap as the Vince Mcmahon rip off to begin the match.

[cheapshot]

Thought I'd check this match out to see how well Quack could hang with Santo. Well, Santo completely carried him, that's no disrespect to Quack, but he was really off on a few things, and some of his strikes looked really weak. However, he was fairly green at this point still. It was cool to see Santo in this setting. Match didn't drag and held my attention. **1/2

[Robert S]

The match itself was entertaining, but yes, Quack was completely outclassed here. Santo goes mostly through his routine, though I am a bit surprised he took the spinning sitdown powerbomb, not the kind of move I would expect him to take on a random indy date against a random indy worker. And I liked Montoya on commentary as well quite a lot.

[Moonsault Marvin]

Santo looked great as usual, but Quackenbush had problems keeping up and isn't compelling enough at selling to get the holds across. The oddness of Santo appearing in this setting made it interesting. I wonder how much money he got for travelling to Pennsylvania for an indy match. Fun match.

[Seabs]

Unless you're a big fan of Santo or just really want to see the novelty of Santo working a small Indy show I can't see much that you'd enjoy about this. Santo looked good but Quack didn't. Obligatory fuck Quack. The pre match stuff was really cringey. The authority guy coming out to No Chance In Hell was one of the cringiest low rent things I've ever seen on an Indy show and the bar is set really low for that. That botched dive by Quack looked brutal. Time limit finish was awful. Not so much in practice but definitely in that it came before the match even got going. After 30 or even 20 minutes of a match that was reaching its crescendo it'd make sense but this came after the opening stanza was done and just as the middle section was getting under way. Made me wonder if it was an audible because Quack was really hurt off that dive. That was my first instinct anyway because he really did nothing after hey got back in the ring. If I went to the show to see a Santo match then I'd be really let down if I only got the first 15 minutes of a 20-30 minute Santo match.

[Edwin]

Eek... This was underwhelming. I like Quack, but he was totally outclassed here which is to be expected, but he did really bad here and (I hate to state the obvious) was carried by Santito. I thought the commentary, the botched dive and the horrible unexpected 15:00 time limit were really bad.

 

This maybe the worse performance in Quack's career and he really killed this match.

[TravJ1979]

This match is a clear example of a world class guy vs. a guy who thinks he can do all the stuff the world class guy does. Too many screw-ups by Quack to give this any high praise. Santo is an all-time great.

[GSR]

El Hijo del Santo is introduced first and there is a bit of uncertainty over who will face him, with the FWA officials hoping that Mike Quackenbush will call off his retirement. Santo is followed by Don Montoya, although he’s not dressed for wrestling. Apparently he was scheduled to have the match, but due to injury he’s unable to wrestle. As Montoya is explaining the situation to the fans he’s interrupted by the president of the FWA, Daniel G. Moreland, doing the lowest of low rent Vince McMahon rip offs, complete with “No Chance In Hell” walk out music. This guy is the pits! He calls Mike Quackenbush a “quitter”, stripping him of the FWA title, and a “coward” because he’s not here to face Santo tonight. Montoya has got a surprise for him though. He says how he called up Reckless Youth down in Memphis, they’ve been on the phone to ‘Lightning’ Mike Quackenbush, and “to hit Mike’s music!” Quack sprints to the ring, drops Moreland with a jumping DDT and he’s carried out of there to the back.

 

This is billed as a ‘Lucha style’ match and they start things off just by trading arm drags. Santo with a gorgeous bow & arrow submission hold. He then busts out another hold that I’ve never seen before (although it looks painful!), which the commentators describe as an almost combination Texas cloverleaf/Walls of Jericho. EHDS escapes the side headlock and they battle over the top wristlock, highlighted by a lovely Santo bridge. Headscissors take down, although again done differently than usual, with Santo crossing his feet around Quack’s head, doing a head stand himself, spinning and thus taking Quack down to the mat. Chinese torture rack submissions as these new holds keep coming. Satellite headscissors by Santo, but it looks like Quack loses his footing and botches basing him. He immediately takes to the floor where EHDS levels him with a trademark tope. Some crappy chops by Quack and they struggle on a simple roll up spot, something that again appears to have been his fault. As Quack looks to be a bit more aggressive, he connects with a somersault senton after a snap mare. Santo avoids the springboard twisting senton off the middle and Quack then starts waving his finger at him, even though he missed on his move. Absolutely no idea! He grapevines the legs in an Indian deathlock, Santo feeds him his arms, but Quack doesn’t grab them so he has to pull them back in, which looks worse than if he’d just left them out there. Top rope rana for a two count, followed by a springboard splash for another near fall. At this point the commentator makes mention that should Quack get a pin on Santo it will be comparable to Billy Kidman pinning Hulk Hogan on Nitro. Diving headbutt off the top is missed and Santo with a surfboard that he transitions into a pin attempt of his own. Boston crab as Santo starts to work on his opponent’s back. Super smooth huracanrana for a two count. EHDS goes for it again but this time Quack counters with a spinning powerbomb. A dropkick sends Santo to the outside, however Quack comes up badly short on his tope, crashing with a thud to the concrete floor. Santo helps him back into the ring and then backs off giving him a bit of time to recover from that spill. Suplex, Santo with the lateral press, but at the count of two the bell rings to signify the fifteen minute time limit has expired and the match is a draw. EHDS straps the FWA title around Quack’s waist (so much for him being stripped of the belt) and challenges him to a rematch with no time limit. That’s accepted (no idea if it ever took place) and Quack says that his vacation is over and he’s here to stay. Some retirement that was!

 

The pre-match stuff was atrocious and they should’ve just scrapped all the nonsense with the Vinnie Mac rip off and just had Quack say something like wrestling Santo was too good an opportunity to pass on so he’s back. I’m not a Lucha guy so was unsure how I would find this. The opening portion felt very much like an exhibition with Santo demonstrating an array of various different holds, it was nothing like a contest at all. It did develop, slightly, although I couldn’t get that exhibition feeling out of my head. I don’t know if he was nervous because he was in there with a hero of his, but this maybe the worst I’ve ever seen from Quack; he messed up the headscissors, there was that roll up, his strikes looked weak, he left Santo hanging on the Indian deathlock and to cap it all off, crashing and burning on the tope. In a way, not one he’d want to watch again. I agree with the comments that the fifteen minutes flew by, but there is some ego involved if Quack wasn’t prepared to put Santo over. Despite my feelings about this looking like an exhibition, I enjoyed watching Santo do his stuff running through his elaborate holds and submissions, just a shame he was in there with someone who had such an off night.