EDITOR’S NOTE: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of Lucha Central and Masked Republic.
By El Cultico
There’s many benefits of having nothing to do on a Sunday afternoon. The biggest one right now though; being home to watch IWRG’s Sunday show, Funcion Domingos. So far, my only viewing of Funcion Domingos has been the same way my father watches Tracker; on demand, days after the fact, leaving me with only Thursday Night Wrestling to review. But not today; this day we write! And it’s a good thing to0 because this show plays right into what happened on Thursday. HIT THE MUSIC!
Last time, ON IWRG FUNCION DOMINGOS, Lunatik Extreme became the latest luchador to defect from IWRG and side with Chessman, Hell Boy, and their mysterious masked allies. Unfortunately for Lunatik, he got a little too much help in his match against Aguila Roja, leading to Roja retaining the IWRG Intercontinental Lightweight Championship by disqualification. Meanwhile, in the main event, Chessman and Hell Boy met their match against Pro Wrestling NOAH’s Jack Morris, who picked up the victory for him, Rey Horus, and Chicano, while earning himself an IWRG Mexico Championship shot against Hell Boy in the process. But all that may being playing second fiddle to the IWRG Tryout series, which this past Thursday nailed down the field for today’s show, where the winner of the Tryouts will be crowned. Which youngster will emerge victorious? Can Jack Morris overcome Hell Boy and his newfound friends to win IWRG Mexico gold? Will those damn masked men ever reveal themselves? Find out, TODAY!
IWRG is just getting right to the Tryout matches today instead of doing another surprise opener. And they’re doing so with some changes to the judges panel. El Veneno remains for reasons I don’t really understand, while Rossy Moreno has been replaced by Heddi Karaoui, DMT Azul has been replaced by El Pantera (!!!) and Chessman has been replaced by no one, because you can’t really replace Chessman I suppose (especially when he’s in sunglasses at night mode). So yeah; three person judge panel today. I’m giving it a 30% chance that Veneno and Karaoui end up not paying attention during one of the matches so they can discuss how bad Veneno was in the match they had weeks ago.
Aztec Fly defeated El Hijo de Carta Brava after pinning Brava with a Tornado DDT. If nothing else, you have to respect Aztec Fly trying to bring back the Tornado DDT as a finisher; somewhere, Fuego del Sol and Chavo Guerrero Jr. are wiping tears of joy from their eyes over this. The judges appeared to like that too, as Aztec Fly got all three votes to move on, while Brava only got two (El Veneno was a no), so we’ll see Aztec Fly again later. Whether that’s a good thing or not I’m not sure, as this match, which got a lot of time, wasn’t all that exciting. To their credit, both Aztec Fly and Brava looked better than they did the other day; after being too loose with some moves, Aztec Fly seemed to tighten up his suplexes and slams, while Brava did a good job selling his leg throughout. In between that though, it was all very basic, right down to both guys doing two topes back to back. On the one hand, these are younglings working here, so I’d expect things to be basic normally…except I watched several other guys on Thursday go full Fury Road. When they’re doing that and then you have Aztec Fly and Brava doing this, it’s going to be lacking. ** ½
Falcon Fire defeated Madness after pinning Madness with a Top Rope Splash. The judges voted for both men to move on, which you, dear reader, should take as a spoiler for my thoughts on this match. I knew immediately this was going to be better than the opener for two reasons. First, Diosa Quetzal was actually here for this show, and anything with the GOAT Diosa Quetzal is automatically better. Second, Falcon Fire and Madness were among the most impressive guys on the Thursday show (and that was with Madness fighting a total nothing mind you), so there was reason to believe this would be good. Turns out I was wrong about the good part; IT WAS GREAT!
Seriously, if the opening match was Nickelback, this match was The Tragically Hip. The only two negatives I have is that Falcon didn’t quite rotate for a Madness Standing Spanish Fly late in the match, and the finish, Falcon’s Top Rope Splash, was a little tame compared to everything. That’s because everything else was so damn good. Whereas the first match lacked oomph, this had all the oomph, including in the opening sequence when the two traded counters, submissions, and pin attempts. That was the foundation that gave way to a match that featured an incredible springboard Tornillo by Falcon, Madness catching a Falcon tope suicide and turning it into a Snap Suplex, some great striking, and Madness being folded like a chair on a Falcon Dragon Suplex, much like he folded Boca Negra with a German Suplex on Thursday. Honestly, I was the happiest for Madness; Falcon was awesome Thursday as well, but his opponent (El Actor) held up his share to make that match of the night. Madness made his match with Boca Negra watchable on his own, so for him to get the chance with someone good and deliver the same level of performance (while not doing as much high flying as he did the other night) was super cool. A terrific match, and a well earned spot in the finals for both luchadors, who have arguably been the MVPs to this point. ****
Gasparin Jr defeated Carinoso Jr. after pinning Carinoso Jr. with an Avalanche Spanish Fly that Gasparin somehow managed to save as he was slipping off the top. We were prevented from a second straight match where the judges voted for both luchadors thanks to Karaoui voting against Carinoso. Heart of stone that Heddi Karaoui! I would say this fell just short of great but it was still pretty damn good. Like Falcon Fire vs. Madness, this was well paced from the start, though Gasparin and Carinoso just went right into it instead of doing counters and submissions. The result was Carinoso toning down his exotico elements, which was unfortunate, but also showing off a bit more ability than he did the other night; in an age where lucha libre is lacking exoticos, one hopes Carinoso can catch on. Still, Gasparin was likely the right winner. Much like he did against Mufasa, Gasaprin didn’t hold back when it came to the hard hitting, once again performing a double stomp that had me fearing for Carinoso’s health. Throw in a few more high flying elements (how about that Tope Con Hilo through the ropes?!) and it really does seem Gasparin may be the most complete luchador in the Tryouts. Now if he can just keep his footing on those Avalanche Spanish Fly’s! *** ¾
Dezzendiente defeated Voltrex after submitting Voltrex with La Cavernaria. This was a great finish, as Voltrex dodged a corner strike from Dezzendiente and though he was rolling out of danger, unaware that Dezzendiente was rolling himself into position behind him to hit a Backcracker and turn it into La Cavernaria. In an unexpected twist, Voltrex got all three votes from the judges while Dezzendiente only got two (Pantera shot him down), which I think means Voltrex moves on and Dezzendiente hits the showers. Have to admit this shocked me, not only because Dezzendiente won, but because Voltrex’s name sounds so much like the Pokemon Vulpix that I was expecting the judges to penalize him on principle. Plus, he doesn’t even look like Vulpix; Vulpix is red and Voltrex was wearing green!
See? No resemblance whatsoever!
Pokemon talk aside, this was another really good match, even before the great finish. Years of watching CMLL tournament matches where one luchador uses every move available to them clued me in that Dezzendiente was winning because Voltrex was, to quote the youths, emptying the clip throughout this match. I believe he did at least five dives, the most impressive being a triangle style dive to the floor that he turned into an armdrag; dives that double as armdrags are always the best, aren’t they? It was a very impressive performance (even if it did make the result predictable) and Dezzendiente did a great job basing for everything Voltrex did. The more I think about it, the more I think Dezzendiente kind of got a raw deal; he was terrific on Thursday, and the only reason he didn’t have the same spectacular performance on offense here was because he was doing all the basing. And I could be here all day talking up how creative and great that finishing sequence was. Very good stuff, but also a shame, cause it sure felt like Dezzendiente was one of the best guys in this, and now he’s gone. *** ½
El Hijo del Alebrije & Jessy Ventura defeated Big Mike & Big Ovett Jr. after Alebrije pinned Ovett with a Split Legged Moonsault and Ventura pinned Mike with a Corner Dropkick. This match included the funniest moment of the show; Mike and Ovett taking five years to make their entrance. I don’t know if this was a nod to This Is Spinal Tap or a “Marcus Brody gets lost in his own museum” moment, and I am certain it wasn’t by design, but either way it made me laugh, so points to that. Other than that, this was the exact kind of solid tag match you’d expect from these four. There was plenty of comedy, including Alebrije getting into the exotico spirit and giving Ovett a kiss, Mike refusing to take his shirt off to get whipped (what is the point of being a member of Los Strippers Big if you won’t take your shirt off?!), and Jessy Ventura turned up to a solid 8 on the 1 out of 10 scale. There was also a double dive sequence and some nice stuff in between. This didn’t reinvent the wheel and the finishing sequence could’ve looked a little better, but this was exactly what it should’ve been with the Tryout matches and Morris vs. Hell Boy taking precedent. ***
Aztec Fly defeated Falcon Fire after pinning Falcon with a Super Hurricanrana. This was the second straight Falcon Fire match where both luchadors got three thumbs from the judges, and it was the second straight Falcon Fire match where it was completely deserved. I don’t want to diminish Aztec Fly here because this was easily his best performance in the Tryouts so far, with him finally putting it altogether in terms of flying around, looking smooth, and hitting his moves with confidence. But it’s no coincidence this happened with Falcon, who has been Sam Darnold in the NFC Championship game good in this competition. And this may have been his best work, as he gave us the first crowd dive of the night (the Super Calo dive no less), nearly killed himself on a wild Tornillo, and became the first luchador to solve the riddle of Aztec Fly’s Tornado DDT by bridging out of it, El Clon/Arez style. Perhaps its too soon to say this dude is special, but yeah, this dude is special. And if you needed more proof of that, here’s his third straight four star plus match of this Tryout competition. ****
Madness defeated Voltrex and Gasparin Jr. after pinning Voltrex with a Frog Splash. Heddi Karaoui voted no on Gasparin Jr., El Veneno voted no on Voltrex, and all three voted in favor of Madness, so Madness goes on, and Voltrex and Gasparin hit the bricks, as Joe Lanza would say. Between the drama of the match and the drama of the judges making their choices, this can best be described by Major Clipton from The Bridge on the River Kwai saying Madness’ name in a very dramatic way.
This match gives me the opportunity to bring up something that I haven’t mentioned yet about these Tryouts. Going into this competition, I expected, at minimum, twenty Canadian Destroyers to happen. I mean come on; it’s IWRG, it’s young up and comers all trying to make a name for themselves; this is where Canadian Destroyers are born to thrive. And yet, this match became the first match of the competition to feature any Canadian Destroyer (all three luchadors did one back to back to back), which a) worked because it hadn’t been done already and b) goes to show you how well booked and how well put together this competition and these matches have been. Well done to everyone involved and good Grodd, there’s now going to be a Destroyer per match from here on in, isn’t there?
The rare back to back Bridge on the River Kwai gifs!
In any event, I was a bit stunned that we got a three-way match here, another first in this competition, and I was admittedly skeptical over how it would go given how overdone three-way matches are these days. Fortunately, this one was a hit, in part because Madness, Voltrex, and Gasparin avoided the trap of two guys wrestling while one stayed on the floor. All three were involved throughout and all three were out of their minds, with Gasparin in particular having a great double dive sequence towards the start. This was one where I honestly would’ve liked all three to get the nod from the judges, both based on this match and past performances, but I get you probably have thin the herd a bit. Even still, this was as good a three-way match as you’re going to get given the circumstances here. Great stuff. **** ¼
Aztec Fly, Falcon Fire and Madness wrestled to a draw after the time limit expired. This left the decision of who won the IWRG Tryouts in the judges hands, and ultimately they chose Falcon Fire as the winner of the IWRG Tryouts! Because he was under the tutelage of Diosa Quetzal, this also makes Diosa a winner, and thus I am also a winner, and thus we are all winners! Praise be. Now, with all that said…this was kind of an underwhelming end to it all. I was expecting we would get a winner to this match, and instead after about seven minutes the time limit expired, and the next thing you know, Karaoui, Pantera, and Veneno are deciding it. Some of this is probably on me for not realizing this scenario could play out, but it still couldn’t feel like an anti-climax. On top of that, this match was going well between these three; there were some three way tropes it was falling into, but overall the work was good (especially from Falcon Fire and Madness) and it probably would’ve only gotten better from there. At least they did get the winner right though. Madness would’ve been deserving too, but I think the review of this and the last show tells you that Falcon Fire was clearly the best guy of this bunch, and the most deserving to get the trophy, the 50,000 pesos, and the IWRG contract. On that front, IWRG got it correct. I just wish we had gotten more of a match and a more definitive finish than we did. ** ½
Hell Boy defeated Jack Morris to retain the IWRG Mexico Championship in his 18th defense. The finish came when Hell Boy pinned Morris after hitting the One Winged Angel, a finishing sequence many are surely hoping repeats between Kenny Omega and MJF at AEW Dynasty. Having watched these two wrestle well against each other on last Sunday’s show, I was confident these two could deliver…if IWRG could resist having Chessman, Lunatik Extreme, or any of the mask guys coming out to interfere, something that derailed Lunatik’s match with Aguila Roja last week. So what happened? The unbelievable; IWRG resisted the easy way out and just let these two wrestle!
The result? A terrific main event that felt like a World Championship (or at least IWRG Mexico Championship) match. I had obviously heard of Morris before this short IWRG run thanks to his time in NOAH, but given these two IWRG shows and an appearance with The Crash last week are the only three lucha shows he’s worked in Mexico, I think it was fair to be skeptical about what he could do in this environment. That is till I looked Morris up on Cagematch and saw that all his best matches are against Hijo del Dr. Wagner, Alpha Wolf, and Dragon Bane. All luchadors! Turns out those weren’t aberrations, and Morris was even more impressive here than he was last week; he’s got great athleticism, a ton of fire, his timing is great, and for a guy with limited Mexico experience, it felt like he had been working in this country for eons. I can definitely see why many are high on him.
Even still, Hell Boy was the story, as he usually is. The IWRG top star continues to take to this heel role exceptionally well, and he did a (pardon the pun) hell of a job bumping for Morris, and putting together an offensive game that had some flash, but not too much. And this was no small situation either. Sure, Morris may not be a massive international star, but he is a well known commodity in a respectable promotion, enough so that you could make a strong argument that this match was not just Hell Boy’s biggest title defense, but the biggest match of his career. I don’t think anyone could suggest that he didn’t deliver. Great match, great main event. **** ¼
This was one hell of a show, wasn’t it? Often I do find myself to be an easier grader than others, and I’m sure that was the case here as well. But hey, it’s my opinion and my review, and I thought this show, despite being on the long side, was an absolute blast. The IWRG Tryout competition wound up being terrific for IWRG, putting a bunch of young, talented, and motivated luchadors out there to strut their stuff. Sure, the conclusion was a bit lackluster, but the ride down was a ton of fun, the right guy won, and I got introduced to a bunch of young luchadors who I’ll hopefully get to see perform for years to come. And then we got a great main event afterwards from the promotion’s biggest star and a really talented outsider in Morris. This was easily the best show I’ve seen from IWRG since I started doing these reviews, and I’m going to be extra pouty this Thursday when that show is inevitably not as good as this. Or maybe extra happy when it’s just as good? Who knows? Who cares, I’m having fun!
