Gringo Loco’s show started with Johnny Caballero (John Morrison, if you haven’t been keeping up) squaring off against Jack Cartwheel. Morrison was in the mood to clown around and Cartwheel was happy to oblige — early antics included Jack, well, cartwheeling around the ring, and Morrison challenging him to a water gun duel. Fair game, but I was excited to see what Cartwheel could do with a seasoned veteran of a similar ilk. 

They did eventually get down to business, and both were as flashy in the air as you’d hope, but most exchanges were clunky and the match didn’t do either guy many favors. I’m not sure whether to attribute it to weird chemistry, a long weekend, or maybe a participant or two not giving a shit — and the perception of giving a shit can really go a long way! Which reminds me: presentation wasn’t a strong suit in the early going. I thought Lenny Leonard was handling English commentary by himself until Emil Jay’s mic became audible before the second match. 

To the credit of all involved, everything seemed to turn around going into the second match, a meeting between Tony Deppen and Psicosis. Audio issues allowed the commentary desk to get to work laying out Psicosis’ history and the significance of his being on the show. We expect this sort of thing from Leonard, but Emil Jay had a solid and reined-in performance, aided by his palpable enthusiasm for lucha libre. Sam Laterna’s energetic ring announcing in Spanish was a great touch as well. 

If you were wondering, this was, in fact, the original Psicosis you saw on Monday Nitro in the 90’s. He grabbed the mic and cut an aggressive promo to get things started, and Deppen was game to carry the load from there. Psicosis is still fairly mobile and had his moments, including snagging a neat Hanging Dragon Sleeper in the corner, but Deppen was on fire. He stayed in near-constant motion, launching himself into multiple dives and selling his ass off, until he scored a Shining Wizard for the pin. 

The customary six-man scramble featured Aeroboy, Golden Dragon, Chris Carter, Drago Kid, Octagon Jr., and Shane Mercer. It was your standard scramble fair and was our first real dose of the frenetic pace you’d hope for from this show. Octagon Jr. and Golden Dragon were the standouts until the match closed with some feats of idiotic strength from Mercer. I was holding my breath during the top-rope backflip slam on two opponents at once that ended the match. 

In my preview for this show, I called Pagano vs. Sadika in a Lucha Extrema bout my “main event”. I think I can almost say it delivered. Sadika is an unfinished product with a super-high pain threshold, which is part of the thrill of watching her go. There was some clunkiness, sure, but both she and Pagano did a good job of filling the gaps by clobbering each other fearlessly. 

Sadika welcoming Pagano’s chops for the match’s duration was just as gasp-inducing as her suplex from the apron to a ladder on the floor. In fact, the only dull moment was when, inexplicably, it took Pagano like three or four minutes of digging around underneath the ring to FIND that ladder. I wouldn’t tell just anyone to go seek this match out, but if the names involved intrigued you (and if so, congratulations, you’re cool) then it won’t let you down. 

We’re at the point where I get legitimately excited for a big GCW multi-man lucha tag match. Since highly touted classic at 2019’s 2 Cups Stuffed, it’s a match format that has consistently stolen the show at high-profile Game Changer events, from Spring Break to this year’s Hammerstein debut. This edition featured the team of ASF, Laredo Kid, and Rey Horus taking on Abismo Negro Jr., Demonic Flamita, and our host, Gringo Loco. It’s no mistake that they stacked all the show’s most breath-taking talent into this match. Established names like Laredo Kid and Flamita would be hard-pressed to let you down if they tried. 

Game Changer continued to put the young ASF under the spotlight in his homestate of Texas. The high point of the match came after a series of creative triple-team maneuvers from Gringo-led rudo squad (you could tell they were rudos because Flamita brought the “Demonic” gear back out, duh). In the midst of the heel beatdown, ASF was launched way-high off the middle rope by Abismo and Flamita, but twisted in mid-air to land perfectly in a headscissors on Gringo Loco. It was a truly impressive spot that set up a fiery ASF comeback that had, by far, the loudest crowd response to that point. 

I’ve already gushed about Gringo Loco in multiple mediums over the past week, so I’ll spare you this time. Late in the match though, Lenny Leonard asked, “Has there been anyone more slept on than Gringo Loco in the last few years?” It’s great to see him get his due this year, with bookings in AAA, this show bearing his name, and this match — another notable performance under his belt. Moments later, he got the win with his top rope Base Bomb on ASF. 

AR Fox and Ninja Mack were next. There was a layer of added intrigue here — Fox has only wrestled a handful of times in the past few years and Mack is getting ready to spend some time in Japan for Pro Wrestling NOAH. Both are sharp high-flyers of course, and Fox has not been short on effort in his limited appearances, but this match never seemed to spark. Maybe it was its placement on the card following that fantastic tag match, or maybe it was the unfair expectations of two total lunatics meeting for the first time. Either way, it was a display of aerial maneuvers (which, to be clear, I’m always a fan of) that never totally gelled into a compelling match. 

Finally, Psycho Clown and Dr. Wagner Jr. met in the main event, a rematch of their historic TripleMania XXV main event. Honestly, they got as close as you could to really evoking a big-fight feel on a show like this. Entrances were completely eaten up by a red-hot and lucha-friendly Texas crowd. Leonard recounted both men’s rich histories in Apuestas matches (this was not one, to be clear) leading up to the record-breaking viewership of their own Mask vs. Mask match in 2017. 

As for the match itself? Well, mixed bag. The spectacle sustained them through the early going until they were able to hit their stride when all of the plunder got introduced. What the 56-year-old Wagner lacks in mobility he’s maintained in charisma and Psycho Clown is a singular entity. Both men put in main event-level effort and the match was super engaging up until the finish. Wagner abruptly low-blowed Psycho and tore off his mask, all legal under Lucha Extrema rules, before rolling him up for the pin. 

The post-match was, if nothing else, endearing. Wagner, on his second attempt at finding an English translator, found someone to interpret for him in total pro-wrestling-promo-voice. He then challenged Psycho Clown to a Mask vs. Hair match. This is the second time he’s made this challenge in a GCW ring (I covered that in the preview, if you’re wondering). Much like last time, I’m fairly confident Game Changer isn’t interested in footing the bill for a Psycho vs. Wagner Hair vs. Mask match. So, if anyone tries to tell you that Gringo Loco ’s The Wrld on LUCHA wasn’t a “real” lucha libre show, just show them the clip of everyone going into business for themselves after the main event. 

What Should I Watch from Gringo Loco ‘s Wrld on Lucha? 

Before we wrap, for anyone still trying to catch up on Wrestlemania Weekend, here’s your cherrypicking guide for Gringo Loco ‘s Wrld on Lucha. 

If you’re looking for great matches: The six-man tag.
If you’re a sucker for spectacle: Wagner vs. Psycho Clown
And lastly, if you’re nasty: Sadika vs. Pagano