Month in Review: July Recommendations & Thoughts

AAA

I found a great source for 2009 lucha libre and have been digging into that for a bit. I've been watching AAA since there's less available than CMLL and thus an easier project to devote time to. Also the energy & vibe is much more American style wrestling so it's a super easy thing to watch. It reminds me of ECW in a way with many of the story lines and segments intertwining. In general, I've liked the matches with Nicholas elements Millonario who most know as Psicosis. The dude still has it! He and Joe Lider do all kinds of hardcore spots like ECW/FMW never died. I've been digging the mini's too with Octagoncito being a standout amongst standouts. Super Fly is a guy that is impressive as well in terms of high flying average sized luchadores. AAA seems to focus on their heavyweights and although many don't do a lot for me from an in ring perspective, Mesias (Ricky Banderas) is really over with the crowds, he's got a great look & actually wrestles very well. His main event matches are engaging and entertaining. I'm invested! For Puro fans, Alex Koslov & Rocky Romero are mainstays &  even KENTA has a handful of very good matches in '09 AAA.

El Mesías vs. Chessman (03/15/09): Heavyweight title, cage match. Six sides of steel (AAA is using the TNA ring still), chairs, light tubes & tables inside, barb wire canopy, pin fall or submission wins it. In terms of sports entertainment, death match-as-spectacle, this was a classic. The video package preceding the match gives you enough to know that this is intense & extreme (like "hard-core" extreme). It shows the Foreign Legion's involvement in trying to take over AAA (Konnan & his hired army). So on and so forth. So, what we get here is a payoff. If you're watching the shows then, they have the crowd eating out of their hands. For me, that's good and well but this is 2026 & I'm looking at a long run time for a AAA match so, they have to deliver the in ring goods. I think they did that. Again it felt like a WWE Attitude era PPV title match - outside interference, blood, big spots, goofy cage climbing logic/fatigue but it all works given the stakes and the setting. I LOVED This... absolutely appeals to myself as a wrestling fan at 14 - Nitro, Raw/Warzone & ECW Hardcore TV 😁 If you dug that stuff then, I think this era of AAA would appeal to you.

Aero Star & Fabi Apache vs. Oriental & Cinthia Moreno (03/20/09): Holy cow! This was a great all action match. Aero & Fabi vs the sibling duo of Oriental & Cinthia is excellent. They were laying into each other and going for all kinds of big stuff. Definitely recommend this one - gotta keep an eye on these matches going forward! Excellent post match where maybe Aero asks Fabi out but Ex-husband Billy Boy puts an end to that. Again, did I mention this reminds me of ECW/WCW/WWF of the late 90's?

AJW

Manami Toyota, Mariko Yoshida & Takako Inoue vs Cynthia Moreno, Esther Moreno & Mika Takahashi (06/18/91 - 7/21 TV): A dizzying display of speed & technique. Everyone was on fire. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED especially for ladies lucha libre or joshi fans. 14 minutes or so. Near Classic.

Classic UK wrestling

Mark Rocco vs Sammy Lee (Sayama) (04/04/81): This is an amazing match. I think since Sayama is being showcased here, he is more spectacular than most of his Tiger Mask matches. Rocco is an excellent foil here by letting Sayama shine, working/selling his maneuvers brilliantly and being a shit head, thus giving the match meaning. It's under 13 minutes and I LOVED IT. Definitely recommend this one! I'd actually highly recommend it if you're a fan of either guy.

CMLL

Blue Panther vs Ultimo Dragon (01/31/92): Stumbled upon this while looking for other matches. This is really good stuff that definitely would appeal to puro or U.S. style wrestling watchers. I find that Ultimo Dragon does a good job adapting to each style and is probably the proto international hybrid style worker. This has big moves, big dives and moves along at a good pace. It's stuff that any modern viewer should be down with. A recommendation for any lucha novice like myself. More seasoned lucha fans or old school fans might be interested but I feel it doesn't have enough essential lucha libre qualities to grab their interest.

La Máscara vs. Felino (07/03/09): Lighting match, 1 fall. This is 6 minutes of pure action! It's essentially a WCW Cruiserweight or TNA X Division match on TV. Just one awesome move, counter move or sequence after another. I like that it's not at a breakneck pace so you're able to actually absorb what you're watching. Easy recommendation for lucha novices.

Mascarita Dorada vs. Pequeño Warrior (07/17/09): The CMLL ring babes seemed particularly frisky dancing to Sean Paul and they had one that had a cyber punk look who showed her tongue ring! This was all pretty crazy to start. And then Peq. Warrior Running Razors Edge buckle bombed Mascarita! Later M.D. did a diving rana on Peq. Warrior and swung him straight into the front row!  This was all pretty pretty damn wild 😄 Dorada. M.D. is a little person but Peq. Warrior is an average sized man. In fact he's a muscular guy just not as jacked as Black Warrior (his analog). So this in a way is a David and Goliath match. That's a great dynamic for any wrestling bout. LOVED this from start to finish!

NJPW

Solitario Vs Tatsumi Fujinami (1981): Another outstanding match from these two. Technically oriented but a bit more fisticuffs than I recall from their '79 bout. Additionally the pace is slower perhaps to match Fujinami's rank as a heavyweight. Therefore a small step down from that 1979 match (in comparison) but on it's own merits, this is great and RECOMMENDED. 13 minutes. See both if you can! 

Tiger Mask & Kengo Kimura vs Dynamite Kid & Bret Hart (07/16/82): This was very exciting. It had great moves but they also kept it simple. Dynamite and Bret were great rough neck heels while still showing they were technically adept. I think this should be included in the list of Tiger vs Dynamite matches to see plus its another excellent Bret in Japan match. So a must see for any Hitman Hart fans. This is a great all action tag match. Easy recommendation!

Jushin Liger vs Black Tiger (Rocco) (07/12/89): Where has this match been!? 😃 I loved this.  Heated junior wrestling, B.T Rocco choking Liger with his towel. Simple yet big moves & counter moves. Some reason NJ skips round #3 on the tape (yup there's rounds...which actually works well here) but no matter. 15 minutes or so of near classic junior wrestling. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for fans of the style or Liger.

Ring of Honor

I've been watching ROH 2010 on and off the past few months. It's really good stuff. I think believed some myth that after Bryan & Nigel left, the company wasn't any good. That's not true. The booking is definitely different with the HDNet TV episodes (those started in 2009 which I watched a year or two ago). 2010 is highlighted by the Kings of Wrestling (Claudio & Hero) versus the Briscoe Brothers as well as Steen versus El Generico (with Corino & Colt Cabana as partners respectively). I'm a Davey Richards fans and they give him plenty of opportunities to have excellent matches. The man delivers. I do not understand the hate he gets, even in 2026. I think this is some internet group think bullshit. Davey is a best bout machine in 2009-2010. Plus he has a ton of personality even if it is "the jock." Hello people, wrestling is a jock profession... Or at least before everyone could go to a wrestling camp. I digress. Keep an eye out for 2010 recommendations in a little bit.