Paid Members Big Benny HG Posted June 23, 2017 Paid Members Share Posted June 23, 2017 Last night was (non-spoiler, in case they do the same show again in London): Lucha Britannia Championship 4-way Diablesa Rosa vs. Lagarta de Plata vs. El Nordico Fuego vs. Muneca del Trapa Extreme Tiger vs. Laredo Kid (Interval, after only 35 minutes!) Cassandro & Cassius vs. El Hijo Del Fishman & Pure Britannico 2/3 Falls main event: El Hijo Del Santo & Santo Jr. vs. Silver King & El Bandido 70s/80s lucha star Mano Negra was the referee for all but the opener (which was reff'ed by Lucha Britannia's Gary Vanderhorne). Really great fun show - the audience was more one that had come for a night out rather than your typical BritWres show crowd, and was rowdy, vocal, enthusiastic and responsive to just about everything. Great production, staging, lighting and sound, though the ring announcer's (same theatrical bloke who was the MC for the Lucha Libre London shows at the Roundhouse years back) mic was a bit muffled at points. The ring was UKW's massive, professional-looking 20x20 effort with a super-clean Lucha Libre World logo canvas on. They were selling Mexican food and snacks downstairs, and the wrestlers were around the bar during interval and after for photos and selling merch (including action figures!). It was more of an exhibition of lucha libre & the masked Mexican wrestlers than a usual indie pro wrestling show, but in being that it was something different to the norm and well worth going out of your way to see. One of my favourite shows to be at of the year so far. As an aside, the Albert Hall venue in Manchester was really great for wrestling and would think it would be the kind of place other promotions would be interested in. I can only assume that it's either always booked out for gigs and bands at weekends, or it is prohibitively expensive to run, since it's a great space right in the middle of the city centre. EDIT: just looked up Albert Hall hire costs. It's £10,000. Maybe your BritWres groups aren't going to be using it after all... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members SBD Posted June 23, 2017 Paid Members Share Posted June 23, 2017 5 minutes ago, Big Benny HG said: As an aside, the Albert Hall venue in Manchester was really great for wrestling and would think it would be the kind of place other promotions would be interested in. I can only assume that it's either always booked out for gigs and bands at weekends, or it is prohibitively expensive to run, since it's a great space right in the middle of the city centre. I thought the same its a great venue once you get your head around the one way system Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vamp Posted June 23, 2017 Author Share Posted June 23, 2017 I'm sure there were minis advertised at one stage? I'd much rather have them than Will Ospreay. They'd have had a 6.5 star match. Feels like it's missing it's special attraction match. Last year has the luchadoras and the year before had the Cholitas. They were great. That's eight luchadores then. The two stars, Silver King and Santo, have been before as has Santo Jr. Extreme Tiger and Laredo Kid are fresh exciting names and I'm still excited for a fun night on saturday but definitely would be up for a fresher line up next time. Maybe they'll be able to pull off Psychosis next time (I presume he isn't flying over because of his injury) and that'll help a bit. LA Park, Negro Navarro's and Black Terry are the dream names for me. Maybe they don't fancy the journey. There's such an incredible range of names on the Mexican Indy scene that haven't been over yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westlondonmist Posted June 23, 2017 Share Posted June 23, 2017 If you get LA Park in you could bring over El Hiho De LA Park also as a father son tag team, however there are plenty of other guys to bring over. I always do believe having legends is an important thing on top of new guys. Seeing La Parka live a couple of years ago was awesome, but seeing LA Park would be better. I enjoy watching the minis doing a spot fest. I must say that masks are important for me, but I understand not being for others, as I just love masked wrestlers in general. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members SBD Posted June 23, 2017 Paid Members Share Posted June 23, 2017 1 hour ago, Vamp said: I'm sure there were minis advertised I remember seeing Octagoncito advertised on one of the first posters and someone said they had seen Mascarita Dorada Vs Octagoncito I think Psicosis was on the original poster on another it was Psicosis ll Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snitsky's back acne Posted June 23, 2017 Share Posted June 23, 2017 3 hours ago, Vamp said: . Maybe they'll be able to pull off Psychosis Surely that's for after the show!? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philjax Posted June 27, 2017 Share Posted June 27, 2017 Not much happened on LU last week but really liked the Melissa/Fenix interactions (there's not enough of this in wrestling these days) and obviously Marty 'The Moth' is great fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members LaGoosh Posted June 29, 2017 Paid Members Share Posted June 29, 2017 This weeks was a bit more energetic with 4 really fun and (most importantly for any wrestling show, take note WWE) varied matches. Mil Muertes absolutely hammering his way to the second round was a joy and I'm looking forward to a crazy Crane/Muertes match in the next few weeks. Next week: Son of Madness...which could be either great or fucking terrible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.Showtime Posted June 30, 2017 Share Posted June 30, 2017 We almost got a Mil Muertes v Luchasaurus match in the next round there, dammit. I was looking forward to Killshot's return, liked all his matches so far. And it's amazing how they're building up Mundo v Mysterio, it's still a while away yet and I have little interest in the match at all but jeepers they're trying their hardest to make me care. Also, I want more Joey Ryan storyline, that's really been toned down lately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members BigJag Posted July 1, 2017 Paid Members Share Posted July 1, 2017 How big a part of Mexican culture is Lucha Libre? I've noticed that many Mexican restaurants use the masks and images of wrestlers to decorate their eateries. Wrestling in western culture tends to be of niche interest. Occasionally having periods of massive popularity. With Lucha though. It's almost as if it's a part of daily life. How has that come about? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members BomberPat Posted July 3, 2017 Paid Members Share Posted July 3, 2017 On 01/07/2017 at 7:04 AM, BigJag said: How big a part of Mexican culture is Lucha Libre? I've noticed that many Mexican restaurants use the masks and images of wrestlers to decorate their eateries. Wrestling in western culture tends to be of niche interest. Occasionally having periods of massive popularity. With Lucha though. It's almost as if it's a part of daily life. How has that come about? It's not the cultural behemoth that it's sometimes presented as when being sold outside of Mexico, but it's as big a part of culture as any niche sport, really - it's not as popular as baseball or soccer. As for how it's become so popular, and maintained it, it's gone through boom and bust periods like anywhere else, but I think what keeps it going is that it's never lost sight of the core working class audience. I have a friend who works in Mexico City, and apparently when she first moved there she was told, "if you want to understand Mexico, you have to watch lucha", having never watched any wrestling before in her life, and she now goes to Arena Mexico at least once a month. While CMLL and AAA will still hold the big flashy US-style PPV events and supercards, the vast majority of lucha is cheap, affordable entertainment - from the big companies, and even moreso from tiny indies. If it's not a TV taping, you can get into a Lucha show even somewhere like Arena Mexico for a couple of quid, so it's managed to maintain its position as family and working class entertainment by remaining affordable, in contrast to bigger money sports like football. On the family entertainment side of things, that's aided by the longevity of many luchadores' careers, by the masks, by the tradition of handing down gimmicks, and of the strong familial tradition within lucha. A grandfather can take his grandson to see El Hijo del Santo, and tell stories about when he saw El Santo, and so on. There's a conscious effort to build that connection across generations. As for why lucha imagery gets used so often - it's just easily recognisable, as well as being bright and vibrant. There's also the suggestion that the lucha mask ties into historical and cultural significance of the mask in Mexican culture, rooted in Aztec tradition; this is actually complete bollocks, but it's a myth that Lucha Libre has cultivated very successfully, and adds to the power of the lucha mask as a symbol of Mexican culture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members BigJag Posted July 5, 2017 Paid Members Share Posted July 5, 2017 Thanks for that. That lady going from having never watched wrestling to being a regular at Arena Mexico. Shows that there is something really fascinating about Lucha. I remember it blowing up back in the days of Nitro, for a western audience. However I've never found it to be something I must watch. I enjoy reading about the goings on in LU. Probably due to the passionate fans of the product on this board. I've only ever watched series one however. That was only because I had a killer toothache and couldn't sleep. I'll have to try again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members BomberPat Posted July 6, 2017 Paid Members Share Posted July 6, 2017 I think Lucha potentially appeals to, or can win over, non-wrestling fans a lot more, partly because it's bright and vibrant and exciting, but also because - outside of old-timers in Mexico - it's very open about being a show, so you break down the "it's all fake, though, isn't it?" attitude immediately, and first-time viewers are likely to go in with a whole different set of expectations. The atmosphere in Arena Mexico must be amazing, too. That said, I still can find it difficult to watch sometimes; the different rules and psychology behind a match can be hard to follow, and I find the commentary on most Lucha shows to be far more intrusive and distracting than watching a Japanese show. Something like Lucha Underground, while not being "real" Lucha, is a godsend for allowing those of who like the style and the specific wrestlers to watch it in a more palatable format. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.Showtime Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 The end of this week's Lucha Underground - ouch ouch ouch! I could barely watch. Marty the Moth is an incredible bastard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAREBEAR LUVVA Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 Felt like the last couple of episodes of Lucha Underground have been a bit on the flat side, but it was well and truly back on form this week. Mil Muertes vs Paul London was probably Mil's best match in ages, and Marty The Moth vs Fenix is well worth seeing. The ending just made it even better. Can't remember the last time I was that gripped by the ending of a wrestling show. "Captivating" might be the best word for it. Really super stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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