There is nothing quite like going to see a wrestling show live. Anybody can have a good time at a wrestling show whether you are a big fan or just a casual spectator.
The aura of hospitality with families and friends alike coming together to watch men and women beat the crap out of each other while drinking beer and eating chips, churros and pizza as the older drunk fans yell profanity at the wrestlers and occasionally even get involved in the fights truly is a unique experience.
And last Saturday’s show by The Crash in Tijuana was no exception.
Of course the opening match would be composed of young prospects stepping into the ring officially for the first couple of times, doing their routine acrobatics and holds in tag team matches against their coaches or other young wrestlers. Names like Torito Negro, Audaz, Buffalo Ayala and Astrolux will sound like complete unknowns right now but will be in the top spots a few years from now.
Then it was turn for the women, in this case the current Crash Women’s Champion, American independent superstar Tessa Blanchard taking on a veteran of lucha libre Princesa Sugehit. A somewhat slow but good match between the two. They did a great job of Tessa playing the foreign heel while Sugehit rallied in the home crowd’s support and battered Tessa on the outside of the ring where the fans could give her stuff to throw at her (like beer, food and chairs) and even hold Tessa for her to hit. The match ended with Sugehit locking in a modified headlock in the middle of the ring making the champion give up and storm out of the ring quickly, meanwhile Sugehit took advantage grabbing a microphone and confidently calling her out for a title shot in front of her crowd.
After a brief intermission showing the matches that where to come, it was the turn of CMLL star Hechicero to make his first appearance for The Crash against a regular of the promotion and Lucha Underground star Daga.
This match stole the night, as simple as that. It started as a battle of technical holds and submissions by the two, turned into a test of might with a brutal exchange of chops, then escalated into an all-out war with both men bringing out their hardest hits and moves, the crowd loving it and cheering louder and louder with every false finish until finally Hechicero locked in a modified Bow and Arrow submission and made Daga tap. Afterwards the crowd clapped for what seemed an eternity while throwing coins at the ring (it’s their form of showing how good of a match it was and the wrestlers keep all money that is thrown). Both Hechicero and Daga paid their respects to each other and ended their clash with a firm handshake and bow.
The next match was a tag team match between local sensation Rey Horus and CMLL top prospect Soberano Jr. taking on former Dragon Gate stars CIMA and T-Hawk. This was a textbook foreigner vs. local match, with the crowd booing every movement for the Japanese team while cheering for all the actions of the Mexican team. When the Japanese couldn’t win over the crowd with their dancing and apparent interest in pleasing them they resorted to dirty tactics to take out the Mexican duo.
All spots where performed perfectly (as expected from two Japanese masters of the ring) and Rey Horus and Soberano both proved why they are the next big thing in their promotions, with hard hitting chops, dominating kicks and picture perfect dives. The match ended with CIMA hitting a brutal top rope Meteora on Rey Horus for the three count and the win for his team. After the match the crowd really enjoyed and finally cheered for the Japanese wrestlers when they spent a couple of moments dancing and having fun with the beautiful ring girls, all while laughing and putting huge smiles on the faces of the fans that booed him so badly just minutes before.
The semifinal match featured the first appearance of CMLL brothers and the hottest youngest stars of said promotion, Cuatrero, Sanson and Forastero (La Nueva Generación Dinamita) against the most popular stable in The Crash, the hometown heroes and hometown bad guys all in one, Bestia 666, Mecha Wolf 450 and Fatu (La Rebelion Amarilla) with their buddy and leader Garza Jr. serving as the special referee. This match showcased just how good of a heel Garza Jr. is, even as the special referee he was the star of the match and proved even further why he is one of the biggest bad guys in all of Mexico, not just The Crash. Slow counts against the CMLL brothers, fast ones for his friends, tripping over and getting in the way of all three opponents of La Rebelion Amarilla it all ended when Mecha Wolf tried to get a cheap shot on Sanson with a chair only for Garza Jr. to stop him finally acting as an honest referee, but then showing it was all just an act and hitting Sanson right in the nuts for Mecha Wolf to hit a Tornado DDT on him for the world’s fastest three count by Garza and the crowd’s largest cheer of the night for their hometown anti-heroes.
It was time for the main event at last and even before it started there was already a shocker.
Lucha sensation Fenix could not attend the show, leaving his brother Penta el Zero Miedo (or Pentagon Jr./Pentagon Dark) to face the team of CMLL mega stars Volador Jr. and Caristico by himself. However before the start of the match a surprising face came out to aid Pentagon in his fight, it was Daga! And while at first it seemed like they could have a chance at taking out the CMLL team, it all went sour when Daga failed to get involved in the match, only doing so to immediately tag out or let himself be pinned. It all ended when Daga gave the biggest cheap shot of the night and hit Pentagon with a chair just as he was going for the pin after his Fear Factor finisher, allowing Volador Jr. to recover and hit a pair of massive super kicks for the victory. But it wasn’t over yet, Daga then took of Pentagon’s mask and tore it apart which incited Volador Jr. to also betray his partner Caristico, unmasking him and beating him up to a chorus of boos from the crowd. Daga then claimed that Pentagon and his no-show brother Fenix where only clowns and not real wrestlers like he and Volador Jr. He promised to expose them and all of the frauds fan by taking them both out in the future.
That was the end of the show, a final round of applause and cheer for all of the show and a brief message letting us know that The Crash would return to Tijuana in just two weeks for another show.
A personal highlight was a brief but beautiful moment where a kid wanted a hug from Rey Horus after his loss to CIMA, and after giving said hug to the fan the father of the kid offered a large amount of money for his mask, to which Rey Horus refused and after covering his head with a spare shirt he took off his mask and put it on the kid, leaving him the biggest smile he could have asked for and a round of applause and cheers from his hometown people.
