Let's talk about the random smaller feds, good matches, wrestlers to watch ect.

I could probably write a book on how much I enjoyed ACM last year but I"ll try to keep it brief and up to this year.

ACM: January was kind of a down month. The Time slot for the ACM is different almost every week. Some shows last 30 minutes while some last a hour. You usually get from 1-3 matches a tv show depending on the length. My favorite matches so far have been

1. Simbolo vs Angel Dorado Jr. 1/19
2 Diluvio Negro 1 y II, Silver Star vs Antifaz Del Norte, Charles Lucero y Sergio Romo Jr. 1/24
3. Difunto 1/II, Hijo Del Cien Caras y Zumbido vs Estrella Dorada, Monje Negro, Raiden, Voltje 1/10

Simbolo/Dorado is mostly worked in a CMLL style but it was awesome. Might have to watch it again but top 5 MOTYC so far. The two tag matches are not great but good fun matches. It's nice to see guys like Antifaz and Zumbido working better than they were in the main promotions. Zumbido had a series of fun matches late last year. Lucero, Difuntos and Silver Star are also local guys that I really like. Silver Star has been in a bloody turf feud with Hator that seems to be winding up soon. AAA comes back to ACM next month.

Silver Cats 1+2 v. Tortuguillo/Super Panda AULL 1/29/10

Really fun match everyone should check out. Super Panda is a blast, agile fat dude who is pretty good on the mat and is wearing a fucking giant Panda head. The moment were he rolled around the ring on a fake had me laughing out loud. Tortuguillo is really good too, and I loved the rudos ripping off his shell and him putting it back on like the Lawler strap drop.

Yeah I loved that match as well Phil. What company was that from? It might even scratch the bottom of my top ten for the year so far.

1. Simbolo vs Angel Dorado Jr. 1/19
2 Diluvio Negro 1 y II, Silver Star vs Antifaz Del Norte, Charles Lucero y Sergio Romo Jr. 1/24
3. Difunto 1/II, Hijo Del Cien Caras y Zumbido vs Estrella Dorada, Monje Negro, Raiden, Voltje 1/10

Are those matches online? If so, please post the links.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfWgcb7drOg

Part 1 of the 1st match. I don't think the other two are online yet.

Simbolo vs Angel Dorado Jr. 1/19

This was a good match but I thought Volador v. Mistico was a considerably better match the same ilk. Having said that the dives in this match were really spectacular and I thought it was structured about as well as a match like this can be when it involves plastic garbage can shots and strange referee centric stretch run.

Random 12 man tag- 2/12?

BTJr. just put this up. It is from some place named Arena San Juan, which is an awesome looking lucha arena with multiple levels of creaky looking bleachers, it looks like the kind of place an underground martial arts tourney would be held in a 70's Kung Fu movie. Don't recognize any of these guys, the technico team has an exotico, a random Brazo (Cibernetico? Platino?), and a bunch of guys in tasseled masks who do armdrags. Rudo team is full of barrel chested dudes with stiff chops who yell things at the crowd. Fun match, the exotico spots were done well, as were the Brazo spots, the brawling was pretty stiff and the shtick was classic and executed well. Nothing stood out particularly, but I imagine this type of match is happening in dozens of tiny arenas all throughout Mexico every day, and it is fun to see.

Looks like it this match

Caricia, Mohicano, Nino de Ebano, Super Brazo, Super Tarin v. Colombino, M-1, Miserable, Ricky Ricon, Tony Cirio

Still don't know who was who. Cubsfan also said that they might be moving arenas, which is a shame because that arena was spectacular

So apparently Black Terry Jr. is recording every show in Mexico

Sangre Chicana/Black Terry/Negro Navarro v. Olimpico/Solar/Rocky Santana AULL 2/13

This was really great, Chicana/Terry/Navarro is the most badass rudo trios team you can imagine. The Solar v. Navarro stuff is completely awesome, their standing exchanges were as fast as I have ever seen them, and they seem to have dropped the submission/release stuff and are back to doing crazy reversals. Chicana was great here too, cheap shotting people with spectacular left hooks and being a total dick. IWRG really needs to bring him in as a regular

Phil is a hundred percent correct on the Sangre Chicana/Black Terry/Negro Navarro v. Olimpico/Solar/Rocky Santana AULL 2/13 match. Chicana's cheapshotting prickishness adds an extra element to this team. His taunts, eye-gouging, punching, et. motif is so simple and yet it's almost unimaginable that anyone else could pull it off as well. I love him offering to shake Olimpico's hand after having already executed multiple cheap shots during the match. The Navarro and Solar exchanges here are their best exchanges so far this year as the grappling looks extra aggressive and the build to the bigger submissions and spots is very well done. Terry is probably the least of the rudos in this but he's hardly bad and Santana is not the best pairing for - well - anyone. Still his opening run in the second caida is pretty fucking awesome and his punching exchange with Solar on the floor is pretty great. This is not the best trios match I've seen this year but Navarro/Terry/Chicana is pretty easily the best rudo pairing.

Sangre Chicana/Black Terry/Negro Navarro vs Solar I/Rocky Santana/Olimpico, AULL 2/13/10

If the legendary Sangre Chicana makes tape a few more times this year, he'll definitely make my top 20. Chicana walking up to Solar and punching him in the fucking face is your mark out moment of the year. Solar vs Navarro was just a great sprint and I don't recall seeing any "I lock you in a submission hold and then release you" stuff. Really good match.

Black Terry/Shu el Guerrero vs. Negro Navarro/El Signo, ??? 2/14/10

Amazing venue. Shu and Navarro always work well together. Shu's a powerhouse, but can also go on the mat, while Navarro needs to rely on technique. I didn't expect much from Signo, he's an old, out of shape guy who had a couple of mediocre performances last here, however, he was really fun in this match. He could go on the mat and was just an animal when it was time to brawl. Those headbutts on Black Terry were insane. We also got a few seconds of Terry vs Navarro, which is always cool.

Black Terry/Shu el Guerrero vs. Negro Navarro/El Signo, 2/14/10

I loved the arena, outdoors with graffiti covered walls it looked like something out of the Warriors. Navarro v. Shu is a classic matchup we haven't seen as much of, and it was pretty great. Terry and Signo had some really nasty brawling too, and that cut on the side of Terry's head was sick looking. Terry v. Navarro was great but kind of a tease.

Black Terry/Shu el Guerrero vs. Negro Navarro/El Signo - ?? 2/14/10

This was a lot of fun. Signo is actually really awesome in this just talking shit left and right, non-stop, from bell-to-bell. He's constantly antagonizing Terry and screaming at the ref from the apron and it's pretty fucking great. Terry is fucking awesome in this taking a brutal asskicking from Signo and Navarro and still looking really good when it was time to reel off his spots. Navarro feigning the low blow spot was pretty great and he looked good as usual they I didn't like his matwork segment with Shu as much as others did.

Black Terry/Shu el Guerrero vs. Negro Navarro/El Signo, 2/14/10

You guys weren't kidding about this place. I've been collecting Super Luchas magazine for quite a while now and every issue has images from venues just like this one. There's usually some really seedy looking locals who will blade themselves in front of crowds of 40 people. If only Black Terry Jr. could tape that stuff for us.

I love this match up. I remember these teams met last year at the Festival de Mascaras and their match there was great. This may not have been that good but featured a much better performance from El Signo. In last year's match Signo spent most of the match punching at an open wound on Terry's head and really, that's all that I need. Here the beat down is much more serious and only seems sicker with the intimacy of the handheld footage. Terry gets a nasty cut and is bleeding just like the seedy locals I mentioned earlier. That's not a bad thing. Navarro vs Shu was as satisfying as you'd imagine. What is there to complain about?

Black Terry/Shu el Guerrero vs. Negro Navarro/El Signo, 2/14/10

I really loved the whole feel of this match and where it took place added a lot to it. The brief moments of brawling we get with Navarro and Terry are really cool stuff, and I hope we get more stuff like this soon. The best thing about all these BTJr. HH's are that it is really capturing what live lucha libre feels like. There are a lot of little moments like catcalls from the fans that the workers react to or very funny shit talking from Navarro, Terry, or Signo that would never come across on a TV version of this. Signo did a lot of good work here, those headbutts Mike mentioned were really incredible. Really liked the Shu vs Navarro work, and Black Terry continues his excellent 2010. This was so charming and fun.

Turbo v. Black Thunder PDM 2/8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2tdG_bamU8

Fun match, kind of a poor mans ECW Rey v. Psicosis. Turbo breaks out three or four crazy looking spots and hits them perfectly. There is a tope con hilo armdrag which is just bonkers. The stuff in between the spots wasn't much, and there was more dead time then a crazy spotfest like this should have, but this was neat cotton candy lucha

Eh that was okay. The big spots were fun, but the nearfall segment was TNA-like and the pacing sucked.

Super Calo Jr. v. Maiden
Metal Boy/Impalixx v. Skrash and Chris Stone

2/19/10

These are the best two matches of the random show BTJ taped a couple of days back. Neither are going to blow you away but I thought they were both fun matches for under ten minute, one fall, Lucha bouts. Calo Jr. looked good in the singles bout and Impalixx had a really fun dive in the tag match. Both sorta reminded me of what an X-Division match would look like it if didn't toally suck.

Simply amazing. I can see how a lot of what they did went over the heads of most but it was just perfection watching these two work together. So many simple things like Turbo kicking Thunder away before armdragging him to set up the rana of the year instead of them just doing the obvious whip into the ropes spot. Also loved the Atlantida dropping Turbo onto Thunder's knees. Totally went against the grain of what Turbo usually does from that position. And of course Turbo getting revenge for what Thunder did to him in the mixed tag by kicking the fuck out of Thunder when he tried to charge him in the corner. FIGHT BACK LITTLE MAN! Thunder dropkicking the fuck out of Turbo looked better than anything the Traumas have done all year. His roll-up was also clearly the second greatest spot of the year (after Turbo's earlier corkscrew rana). The dives were all insane but probably my least favorite part of the match. The nearfalls were great and played off what they did in the Skayde/Black Spirit tag. My only complaint would be the rana to counter the top-rope power bomb was set up all wrong and everyone knew what was about to go down. Thunder will learn in the rematch and put Turbo away rather than getting cocky. No need to search for something that isn't there just to be different or the 'first' like with some of the pimped IWRG undercards tags - this was a perfectly put together match with amazing execution by two guys who hate each other. It would be a crime to not enjoy this match on some level.

Turbo v. Black Thunder PDM 2/8

If it wasn't for a few breathtaking highspots, this would have been pretty bad. Matwork transitions were terrible and there was way too much dead air. Average.

Santo/L.A. Park v. Perro Aguayo Jr./Blue Demon Jr. PDM 1/31
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKQZvTTZXxk

Santo is still Santo, he broke out his spinning headscissors and crazy tope and looked great. Everyone here worked really hard, Perro and Parka took nutty bumps, and Demon Jr. even hit a tope. Still this was AAA style brawling for the most part, and that isn't really my thing. It felt like a main event though, and Aguayo and Santo really do work well against each other

Misterioso Jr. , Pancho Tequila, Rey Hechicero vs Neurosis, Raiden, Sergio Romo Jr. 2/21

Misterioso Jr. is a fake version of the CMLL one. This would have been a good match without Tequila and Neurosis. Both guys are fat and not the good kind like the Brazos or Super Panda. Neurosis is a dead ringer for a smaller Mexican Big show. The rest of the guys were actually pretty good. I'm a big fan of Rey Hechicero whenever he makes tv and Misterioso is a decent luchador with some nice mat work and good dives. Kinda reminds me of Angel Azteca Jr. a little bit. As for the match, it was OK but too much Tequila and Neurosis for my liking.

Traumas v. Ultimo Guerrero/Rey Buccanero Toryuman 2/27

Funny that Guerrero and Buccanaro were once considered the best tag team in the world, and they are total smoked by the Traumas. They didn't look as good as Samot Jr. and Maldito. I want to watch all Traumas though, and UG and Buccanaro did look good hitting their big offense.

Traumas vs Guerrero/Bucanero

Fun to watch matches like these with wrestlers that will likely never meet again for many years to come. The Guerrero/Trauma matwork was really fun and I could actually hear Trauma crying during Ultimo's submission to end the first part. ONE ARM! Wasn't much to the match afterwards since it was a one fall tournament match so they had to get going and move along for the next set of teams. Guerrero's big moves annoy the fuck out of me since his opponent has to do all the work to get in position for them. Same deal with Bucanero's finisher. Why would anyone ever try to roll Bucanero up like that? YOU KNOW WHAT HE'S GOING TO DO TO YOU!

I would have liked this a lot more if it was five minutes shorter. Really just too much meandering and stand still pacing, which is a shame because when they were working I thought everyone looked good.

While I might agree with you if you said Traumas were working harder, I don't think you can realistically say they "smoked" Ultimo & Buccanero.

I thought it was a good little ten minute match that was good for what it was, which was one of the best teams in the world a few years back, going out there and having a nice little match with two up-and-comers. Based on the way things went, you could totally tell Ultimo wanted to go out there and see what the Traumas could do, while Rey wasn't going to do anything crazy in front of that small crowd.

The Brazos vs. Angelico/Fantasma Jr. match from that show was pretty good too.

Black Jaguar v. Latin Brother -mascara contra mascara 2/28/10

A lot of current masks are lost in these big cage matches which inherently kind of stink. So I am happy to see an old fashioned bloody mask v. mask match, and also love these random tiny arena HH. The brawling in this was a lot better then the actual wrestling, but two bloody guys punching each other in their cuts will always be worth seeing.

Cassandro/El Hijo del Santo vs. El Hijo del Solitario/Magno, Todo X El Todo, Brussels, 28th February

Unless by some miracle this turns up on a tape somewhere, you may just have to take my word for it. Massively fun match with a classic formula. Santo took a backseat and let Cassandro take centre-stage, and he was spectacular, his execution is perfect, his workrate tireless. He goes from a dazzling sequence to a playful hip shake to the crowd right into a comedy exotico spot with barely a pause. Rudos were solid bumpers, Solitario in particular was a heat-magnet, and they brought a surprising stiffness in the second caida. I am excited about the possibility of several Cassandro matches making the rounds this year, he'd be in my top ten if I could justify it with several performances.

I put a full write-up of the trip on my blog.

Calling it an arena is quite generous of you. Coliseo Coacalco is more like a ring set up under a giant tarp in a parking lot behind what may or may not still be a flea market. With the loose ropes and unsafe ringside area you can clearly understand why it isn't my favorite place for Lucha Libre.:)

That mask match was cool.

Lucha Libre Brussells 2/27

Cassandro v. Magno

This was a Cassandro showcase with Magno being a fine along for the ride rudo. Outside of one botched springboard (I blame the horrible ropes) Cassandro was on fire, hitting all of his big spots, and some I hadn't seen before (the finish was an awesome half roll up/half DDT thing). With at least a couple more guaranteed matches on tape still to come, I could see Cassandro making a run at my top 10 for 2010.

Solar v. Negro Navarro

This was their touring match, and was as fun as it always is. They seemed to be working faster then they do in Mexico, and these are a pair of guys who can work really fast. For guys that work constantly against each other, they always break out something new, here there was an awesome reversal of a reverse armbar into a leg stretch. The rolling keylock finish by Solar was pretty sweet too.

Lucha Libre Brussells 2/27

El Hijo Del Santo/Hurricane Ramirez v. El Hijo Del Solatario/Angel Blanco Jr.

Santo is pretty much always worth watching, but this was a subpar match. Too much Ramirez who is pretty dull. I enjoyed Solitarios shtick, but Angel Blanco wasn't much. Santo does his stuff, his stuff is awesome, but really there was nothing else going on. Kind of insane to watch Black Terry ref this, it reminded me of sitting in the audience of Starcade 97 with Fit Finlay, Juventud Guerrerra, Steven Regal, El Dandy and Psicosis and watching Eric Bishoff wrestling Larry Zybyzko

^Yeah, forgettable stuff and the clipping was a little irritating.

Cassandro/Lil Chicken v. Mini Kissing Bandit/Hector Garza Lucha Va-Voom 2/12/10

Total blast of a match, Garza and Cassandro have their shitck down so well, it is great to watch them interact. Crazy dive train too, but this was watching some great performers perform.

Pirata Morgan & Sergio Romo Jr. vs Diluvio Negro I & Silver Star 3/2/2010 Arena Coliseo Monterrey

OK match but not great. Lots of Rudo ref antics and problems between Pirata and Sergio. Pirata is really starting to show his age.

Judas El Traitor/Angelico/El Magnifico v. Fuerza Guerrera/Sangre Chicana/Dr. Cerebro 2/28

That is a really great rudo trio although their weren't any real standout performances. I liked all the parts of this that didn't have Angelico in it, and really enjoyed Cerebro here. Fuerza was doing a bunch of shtick and he is really great at shtick. I really don't understand why Angelico would be teaming with Judas El Traitor, no way you can trust that dude.

Who was the guy doing the Bret Hart gimmick to Angelico's Shawn Michaels?

The one thing I got from that match is El Magnifico would make a great Mexican Bret Hart Clone. He has the look down, even the hair. Otherwise it was a fun match in what looks like a Flea Market ring. I love these outdoor shows as it really ads to the experience.