Cicloncito Ramirez & Ultimo Dragoncito vs. Damianc, Lucha Match of the Week #1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D05InQNgYX4 (first match in)

Cicloncito Ramirez & Ultimo Dragoncito vs. Damiancito El Guerrero & Pierrothito - CMLL 4/5/97

I figured since most of you have gone through the great lucha checklist from a few years ago, I would try to post something that maybe isn’t as well remembered but still really good. This is pretty much as perfectly balanced a match as you could get with this ensemble. The opening matwork section gets plenty of time to make it engaging and the high flying stuff is doled out in cool little bursts rather than overextending itself the entire match. Virus and Pierrothito put on a couple of awesome performances with all their nasty cut-offs and athletic moves. It’s amazing how well they’ve aged, even considering their smaller frames. The tecnicos were both pretty good too, but I could’ve done without Dragoncito’s weird botch in the first caida and the little bit of awkwardness in the matwork. But whatever sloppiness there is in this match, it’s easily offset by the amount of funky shit that only these little guys can deliver. Fun match.

I was loving Damiencito (Virus) take downs. He is a guy who knows a bunch of different ways to chuck a guy hard to the mat, it was like watching a tiny Karo Parayisian. First fall was definitly the highlight as all four guys got a chance to really stretch out and work the mat, and it was fast and violent. Also that Orihara moonsault by Dragoncito in the third fall was nuts. That is a little target you are landing on. Cool discovery, great start to the project.

The tecnicos both moved very gracefully, and with a rudo team this good that's all they really need to bring to the table. They also brought some nifty escapes on the mat, especially Cicloncito. But the rudos were totally awesome, able to move as well as the tecnicos but using it differently. Cowardly on defense, vicious on offense, the way a heel is supposed to be. The few big spots are fairly memorable, especially the moonsault Phil mentioned. Hector, is the botch you're referring to where Dragoncito tries to grab Guerrero's leg to roll him over but loses his grasp? I liked the way he moved on from that and didn't try to just repeat it. Sometimes in grappling you lose hold of something and grab something else.

I've got something picked out for next week. I've never really seen it talked up, so we'll see if it's new to some of you guys. Should be a good discussion either way.

I was talking about the quebrada where Dragoncito spikes himself on his head and reacts like nothing happened.

This was fun. Opening pairing of Dragoncito and Pierrothito was nice, but the Virus and Cicloncito absolutely took it up with loads of neat takedowns. The series of Virus takedowns with the leg grapevine is the sort of effortless leverage stuff that I like. Thought the caida had a nice build - there was a back-and-forth as the technicos couldn't quite take control in the way they normally would in the fall, leading to several really neat little exchanges. Dragoncito's botched quebrada was amusing - he went up, he arched back, he completely fails to rotate. Everything else feels pretty solid, up to that top rope moonsault at the end, which was loony. It was shot in such a way that it looked like Dragoncito was going to dive into the ring , then suddenly he's flying off backwards (thankfully managing to actually complete the move this time), which was quite a visual.

I'm not entirely sure if this is a MOTYC since '97 was an absolutely amazing year, but I have no problem calling it a great match. Loved the matwork. A lot of it was silky smooth, but there was enough scrappiness/struggle to make it feel competitive. A number of spots were quite intricate and unique. Dummies who label all lucha matwork as a time killing exhibition should watch this as it's blatantly obvious here the workers are trying to finish whenever they find an opening. For example, around the four minute mark, Pierrothito went for a roll-up which resulted in a nearfall. The set up as well as the psychology behind the move is no different to a guy like Tamura going for an armbar. Rudo control section was done really well. There's this awesome little moment where Pierrothito viciously yanks Ultimo by the mask preventing him from making the tag. Neat finishing run, too.

In the near future, I'd like to create a '97 WKO100 forum. I could see guys like Virus and Pierrothito making the top 10. Plus I'm sure it'd be fun to read people bitching about Ultimo Dragoncito being ranked well ahead of Ultimo Dragon.

Fun match but I've seen better CMLL mini's matches. Pierrothcito and Damiencito were great leading the tecnicos with the mat work. Cicloncito on offense wasn't that great but he was good with Virus in control. The moonsalt by Dragoncito was nuts. He got good air with that.

Great find. I think that exhibition criticisms of lucha matwork are sometimes valid but that's certainly not the case here. The execution of holds definitely had a "pain first, impress opponent second" feel to it and the counter escapes made the exchanges seem uncooperative. There was also some really slick athletic sequences, usually involving Dragoncito. I liked the roughness on display too, like Virus/Damiancito throwing/slamming guys hard onto the mat and the hair and mask pulling by Ramirez and Pierrothito repsectively. It gave a subtle heatedness to the match. Rudo control was great with the meaty strikes and foiled comebacks. To repeat what others said, Dragoncito's moonsault was crazy and an awesome way to cap the match off. Totally agree with what Craig said regarding the camera angle. I was left surprised when he veered off in the opposite direction to what I expected and was further stunned when I registered what the fuck he just did.

This is a good idea. The '92 and '93 fora are a really great resource.

I really liked pretty much everything about this. It's not going to stand out as a MOTYC, but 1997 is pretty nuts; January alone has Misawa/Kobashi, Han/Tamura and the Cicloncito/Damiancito singles. Still, I could go back and watch this any time and feel like I've watched something really good. I definitely agree with the first fall being the best. Seems like in the openings of every minis match from the 90s I watch there's a good two things I've never seen in any other match; Pierrothito had this pretty wicked looking armdrag thingy which he bridged backwards after. Fall 1 didn't have the rudos acting as rudoish as the other falls, but who's going to complain about that when Damiancito rules the mat like he does? Ending to the fall was nuts; Dragoncito lands pretty much on his head on that whateversault. Fall 2 was really rudoish. Pierrothito looked to be the REAL dick of the team and then Damiancito follows suit and decides instead of mat work he'll just start killing Dragoncito too. I liked how Cicloncito was tagged in only for them to knock him out so when Dragoncito gets back he has no one to help him. Final fall was good with rudos still getting some time to work over Dragoncito before Cicloncito makes the save after some failed attempts. Cicloncito didn't exactly get a "hot tag" in, but it looked like the matches version of a hot tag was his strikes getting him back on top. Finish was insane, yeah. Looked like Dragoncito might dive on pierrothito before moonsualting outside onto Damiancito. Really nutso spot.

I really dug this; if this kind of match was happening week to week on any televised wrestling program I'd never miss it.

I fucking loved the rudos here. I watched this a couple years ago and thought Pierrothito stood out as being the best guy in the match, and I'm not even sure I'd change my mind on that, but as great as he was as a little bruiser, his partner wasn't afraid to act like a vicious little motherfucker as well. The way he'd keep wrenching Ramirez down to the mat by his arm looked real nasty, and there's an amazing bit in the second caida where he sort of feigns to lock up before headbutting him right in the cheekbone. Damiancito/Cicloncito is pretty much always an awesome match-up. Their title match is probably my pick for the best match of all time, their exchanges in the October trios ruled, and everything they did together in this was great as well -- their first mat section in the primera was pretty spectacular. Pierrothito flubbing on a somersault entrance in the primera basically getting the ball rolling on the rudos ditching the niceties and trying to break skulls was such a cool part of this, too. And yeah, mini Ultimo's moonsault at the end was crazy good; looked like he smashed Damiancito into the ground like a garden peg.

I'm all for a 1997 forum to go with the other two as well, btw.