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It was with great interest that I read of the impending visit of some of Mexico’s biggest Lucha Libre stars to these shores. My thought process went thusly:

a) I’d love to go to that.

Then, several minutes later:

b) I live in London. I could go to that.

And so, reluctant girlfriend in tow, I did. And the experience was middling at best.

First the positives: the atmosphere was top-notch, the MC endlessly amusing and I got to see such Lucha Libre (literally ‘free wrestling’) luminaries as Blue Demon Jr., El Hijo Del Santo, Silver King and Mascarita Sagrada. The negatives? Perhaps my expectations were too high, but the wrestlers didn’t seem overly motivated. I was expecting them to be flying around the ring in a style reminiscent of WCW’s luchadors of the mid-1990’s, but the match-ups were very slow and deliberate (with the exception of the third fall of the third match, which had all sorts of flippy-floppy fun). It was also a bit sad that, amongst all the marquis names, the only really accomplished looking wrestler was the exotico (transvestite - a great Lucha Libre tradition) luchador Cassandro. As this was the fourth show in two days there is, perhaps, some excuse. But with a 2/3rds full venue, perhaps a performance could have been dropped to preserve the integrity of each card. Oh, and another gripe - the bikini clad ring-girl should have been (to put in kindly) kept as far away from a swimsuit as possible. I’m 10% gayer just for having my eyeballs subjected to her.

I’ve read articles by people in the past who have said they just don’t get Lucha Libre, and I can understand that. The incongrous mid-match pantomime-esque comedy, the random blasting out of Mariachi music and the highly ritualistic nature of Lucha Libre does not make it as accessible for your average WWE-weaned fan, as, say Jonny Storm vs. Robbie Dynamite at Croydon Fairfield Halls (a damn good little match, I may just add). The fact that all but one of the Luchadors competed under masks hindered rather than helped proceedings, in my opinion, as the lack of facial expressions did not allow the luchadors to convey their personality.  

Fósforo Número Uno - Mascarita Sagrada & Octagoncito vs. Pentagoncito Black & Bracito Da Plata

Lukewarm mini’s match played mostly for comedy. The Rudos (bad guys) eventually won the third fall with a DQ after Bracito Da Plata (I think) persuaded the referee that Octagoncito had pulled his mask off (grounds for an automatic disqualification in Lucha Libre). I was looking forward to seeing Mascarita Sagrada in particular (who has been lauded as one of the best wrestlers in the world, regardless of size) but we didn’t see much of him.

Fósforo Número Dos - Solar vs. Negro Navarro

Tedious ‘technical’ match, presumably designed to show off the submissions and reversals that characterises Lucha Libre. After ten minutes of rolling round on the mat, this ended in a lame double-pin.

Fósforo Número Tres - Silver King & Cien Caras Jr. vs. Huracan Ramirez & Incognito

A nothing match before the intermission. Silver King had starred in Nacho Libre alongside Jack Black, and was also a WCW alumnus, so I was expecting big things from him. Unfortunately, the match appeared to be curtailed by an injury to one of the Rudos (I think, Ramirez) and there was an abrupt ending and lots of confusing shouting in Spanish where they appeared to be booking a singles match between Silver King and the surviving Rudo to compensate. Eventually, they all just walked to the back after a brief pull-apart brawl. This may have been a genuine injury, or a storyline to set up one of the Sunday shows. Whatever, the whole affair seemed awkward.

Fósforo Número Cuatro - Magno & El Hijo Del Solitario vs. Black Fish & Cassandro

The technicos (good guys) took this bout, in the best match on the card. The antics of Cassandro made this, with his (her?) camp version of the Undertaker’s Old School ropewalk being a particular highlight. The third and final fall was a blur of high-flying moves and suicide dives - this was what I was expecting from Lucha. Unfortunately, it was squeezed into a five minute segment of a three hour show.

Fósforo Número Cinco - Blue Demon Jr. vs. El Hijo Del Santo

El Hijo Del Santo (literally ‘The Son of the Saint’) is a mega-star in Mexico - his late father, El Santo, was even more popular and his son has carried on the tradition. Blue Demon Jr., who’s career has not reached the heights of his own father (predictably known as ‘Blue Demon’) has also forged a decent reputation for himself so, again, I was expecting big things from this match. I was disappointed, as a lacklustre five minute match ended abruptly. I think there were timing issues, as the scary looking boss lady who had been patrolling the outside of the ring had been tapping her watch impatiently, as the 10:45 curfew approached.

So, a mixed evening, and very disappointing considering the rave reviews other performances had received. However, the three hours flew past, and I was delighted to have seen some legends of Mexican wrestling, even if they did appear to be performing at half-speed.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 8th, 2008 at 12:14 pm and is filed under Wrestling. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.