[1999-11-04-IWRG] Fuerza Guerrera vs Mike Segura

[KB8]

Pretty decent single fall apuestas match, though I wonder if Segura hadn't nearly ripped Fuerza's mask clean off it might've been better. Fuerza had to keep adjusting it and hide his face when he took a moderately-sized bump, so we never got to see the blood truly flow. At times it felt like he was being more reserved than usual as well, intent as he was on keeping his face covered. It did not stop him from kicking and punching Segura in the balls several times. He seemed to get more creative with the foul each time as well, going from a straight kick to the Fuerza Punt to sneakily punching Segura low as he pushed out of a pin attempt. By the end he just grabbed a handful of wedding tackle and squeezed. Segura was fine. His stuff mostly looked good and I liked him ramming Fuerza's head into a freezer with enough force that it looked like he was trying to stuff him inside without opening the lid first. The big tope looked great as well. Some might nitpick on Fuerza being back to his feet first, but Segura cleared the barricade and might've dislocated a finger or two on the landing, so it's hard to argue he didn't take the brunt of the damage. That's the beauty of the tope, I guess. Sometimes the gamble isn't worth it.

[cad]

Have you ever wished for an alternate universe in which Vince McMahon decides that this Triple H shit just doesn't cut it and turns instead to Fuerza Guerrera to carry the federation into the new millennium as his top heel? Okay, maybe not, that's pretty specific, but this was like Fuerza auditioning for a WWF spot with the crowd brawling, interference, low blows, ref shenanigans, use of props, blood...it was even a onefall match, none of that outdated NWA crap.

Segura nullified Fuerza's early beatdown pretty quickly, and soon Fuerza had to yank his mask down just to keep it over his face while reeling around the ring. He was in serious trouble early. His forehead was bleeding and he was taking some big shots, and when he was able to regain some semblance of control over things Segura started claiming he was fouled. The old trick! Fuerza hadn't even done anything, but the crowd was calling for the DQ just because of who he was. Even Segura's second got into the act with a cheapshot. You know that Fuerza's going to put up a fight when it comes to his mask, though. He and his second tried this complex interference spot that bamboozled the ref but didn't fool Segura. Maybe he missed the spot, but regardless it added to the idea that this wasn't Fuerza's night and instead he had to break the scorpion on his own.

As the match went on you got to see just what it took to win the mask of Fuerza Guerrera. He started breaking up pinfalls with low blows (hey, if Segura's going to accuse him anyway, he might as well give him the real thing). He busted Segura open and worked him over on the outside just like Segura had done to him. He crushed Segura with a massive senton off the top. Okay, no, he actually missed when he tried that. Even so, the whole thing seemed to wear on Segura, who faded a bit down the stretch. Fuerza stumbling over to the ropes after big moves was almost certainly intentional, but some of Segura's sloppiness might have been legitimate slipups. Either way it was clear that his hot run from the first five minutes was long in the past.

The finish could have been more dramatic, but I liked Fuerza holding down Segura by his hair during the winning threecount. Hey Mike, at least that's not a problem you'll have in your next match. I liked how this went from Fuerza having everything working against him early on to willing his way back into the match. It gave the appearance of a guy who really should have lost but simply refused to give up his mask like that, and ended up surviving thanks to his experience, resourcefulness, and grittiness. This was the assend of a relevos suicidas that didn't make the Youtube video, but just from what's there this is my favorite thing I've seen from 1999 Mexico.