This review was commissioned by Julian Ortiz over on my Ko-fi account.
Fun as hell.
As an undercard showcase of various aspects of lucha libre (each team featuring a luchador, luchadora, mini, and an exotico), it probably doesn’t get much better than this. This maintains a fabulous pace, always cruising by thanks to the benefit of having so many moving parts and lucha tag rules meaning people can just come in and out without much pause. What we sacrifice from a traditional tag in lengthy heat segments, we are compensated with a breathless, breezy pace that never lets up but, more importantly, never wears out its welcome either.
There’s also a great novelty to the different kinds of luchadores interacting here, and the reactions those get from the crowd. The obvious star of the show would be Mascarita Sagrada. His smaller frame allows him to do some truly dazzling things here, not just moving with the speed of a bullet but just launching himself out to the floor from the top without fear. His spectacular offense wins over the Japanese crowd in a heartbeat, but he’s then able to translate that into real sympathy later on. To that end, Gran Apache puts in the best performance from the rudo team, with his emphasis on stiff strikes and straight punches making him a brutish villain for our heroes to overcome. Just listen to the boos when Apache punches Cynthia Moreno or when he flattens Sagrada with a big boot. There’s real indignation from that crowd that anyone would dare be so crass against Sagrada.
Those are the two standouts, performance-wise, but everyone is good in this. Abismo Negro plays a great base for Sagrada and the others, while also maintaining a gruff enough attitude through his mask to retain some rudo heelishness about him. Cynthia Moreno and Faby Apache bring some great offense to keep the pace running, and Pimpi and Polvo seem so deeply confident and comfortable in their exoticos routine.
¡Viva la lucha libre!
Rating: ***3/4
