Last week I was all excited about getting to review the second leg of the IWRG Rey del Ring tournament…and then the stream died TWICE during the show, leaving the show impossible to review and me furious because the stream cut out a second time as the love of my life, Ludark Shaitan, was making her entrance. Needless to say my revenge on IWRG and Mas Lucha will come when you least expect it. Alas it won’t be today; that’s because Mas Lucha and IWRG are going to give it the old college try yet again at streaming a show (the Rey del Ring semi-final as it were) and I’m going to once again try to review it. And not just any review; this is going to be an IWRG Running Diary! Either I’m documenting a full show or I’m documenting the IWRG/Mas Lucha stream pulling an Uwe Boll and failing again. Are you excited? YOU SHOULD BE! Now grab a Pepsi quick because this Running Diary is beginning…now.
4:54: We are coming to you LIVE from the Palace of Cultitude. The Playstation is running, YouTube is up and there’s NO SIGN OF AN IWRG SHOW ON EITHER THE MAS LUCHA CHANNEL OR THE IWRG CHANNEL! I feel like this is an appropriate gif to use right now.
4:59: Mas Lucha has posted the stream and the show is five minutes away! We are now officially in the Pink Floyd “Waiting for the Worms” mode, minus the fascism of course.
5:03: WAITING (heavy metal riff) WAITING (another heavy metal riff) WAITING (yet another heavy metal riff) WAITING (Gilmour does cool shit on the guitar).
5:04: STREAM IS UP! IT’S LUCHA TIME UNTIL THE STREAM CRAPS OUT AGAIN DADDAY!
5:06: Shadow Boy and Rey Halcon Jr. are kicking this off. Halcon is wearing a mask and Shadow Boy is…not wearing a mask. Gonna be difficult to tell these two apart I think. I’m expecting some cool high spots and a lot of sloppiness in this one.
5:09: These two tiny dudes are starting us off with mat work. What is this a CMLL opener or something? YOU CAN’T MAT WRESTLE IN HERE THIS IS NAUCALPAN!
5:10: I take that back; these two are actually doing some solid submissions. Of course they then did the thing where they have a lock on each other, stand on their heads and poorly slap each other so perhaps I’ll change my mind shortly. Am I the only one who hates that latter spot? Well besides Shibata; if he saw that he’d have punted Halcon and Shadow Boy all the way to Estadio Beisbol de Monterrey.
5:12: In the words of Vulcan from Flash Gordon, we have our first…
It was courtesy of Halcon, who did a nice tornillo to the floor.
5:14: Shadow Boy just did a suicide dive into an arm drag spot that developed so slowly that Zack Snyder is going to add it to the Snyder Cut.
5:17: The air horns ring out from 30% capacity Arena Naucalpan and Halcon and Shadow Boy trade near falls…until Halcon catches Shadow Boy in a wheelbarrow and DROPS SHADOW BOY ONTO HIS DOME! This was like a Joker Driver/One Winged Angel hybrid, especially the latter considering this got Halcon the quick victory. There were in fact some iffy moments and Shadow Boy did nothing for me, but Rey Halcon Jr. looks promising and that finish was the best thing I’ve seen all day. And I have a Brandi Lauren photo as my desktop background.
5:21: The ring has been sanitized, Rey Halcon Jr. has been interviewed (with the sound cutting in and out) and here comes our next match; Puma de Oro vs. Toxin. Last week Puma de Oro beat Toxin’s long time frenemy Fly Star, only no one saw it because, in case you forgot, the stream went the way of David Benioff and D.B. Weise after Game of Thrones. Can Toxin avenge Fly Star? Will Puma de Oro go up 2-0 on Los Kriminal Boys. WILL THE STREAM HOLD UP?!
5:22: Looks like Puma got the jobber entrance. A good sign for Toxin’s chances if you ask me.
5:23: I don’t know if Toxin is going to read this but on the off chance he does; great mask dude. Top tier quality. All the more reason you got this in the bag.
5:26: You can tell the difference between these two, Halcon and Shadow Boy; Puma and Toxin are doing their own mat stuff to start and it’s way better than what we got in the opening match. And that wasn’t bad stuff; guys like Toxin are just that much better.
5:27: Puma de Oro with a Brillo Dorada. Pour one out for the late Mascara Dorada sports fans. Puma then follows it up with a really good 450 Splash for two near falls.
5:28: We interrupt the Toxin-Puma slap fest to inform you that Sylvester Stallone is not only considering a Rocky IV directors cut, but he says he’ll cut Paulie’s sex robot from it. WHAT?! Sly…dude…that’s like the best part of the movie! You don’t see Ridley Scott cutting Roy Batty out of his 9,001 Blade Runner cuts do you?!
5:29: As I was ranting about Rocky IV, The Robot Cut, Toxin went on a TEAR. Great arm drag variations in the ring and on the floor, a tremendous hurricanrana spot where he seemed to spin 500 times and an Asai Moonsault to the floor that was so breath taking the late Mascara Dorada came back to life and died again knowing he’ll never do something that cool again. Easily the best minute and a half of any of these IWRG shows.
5:31: All due respect to Puma, who is giving it everything he has here to keep up, but this is the Toxin show. His strikes look awesome, his high flying has been spectacular; he’s singlehandedly elevating this match into the very good territory. All the more reason AAA may want to lock this dude down when Dorian finally gets Six Flags to open the parking lots up.
5:32: Puma with a great Crucifix Destroyer and then a very shaky Michinoku Driver that nearly crushes Toxin’s skull. Naturally Toxin kicks out anyway and Puma has to be sweating. What else does he have? THE STREAK IS IN JEOPARDY!
5:34: Toxin with a SPRINGBOARD BACKCRACKER!
5:35: WE’RE STILL GOING! Toxin catches a Super Puma Rana attempt, only to then get caught with the scariest top rope hurricanrana you’ve ever seen. How no one died here is beyond me. Toxin kicks out of that, proceeds to plant Puma face first into the match after another springboard, and then hits…some sort of End of Heartache/Santa Maria/Last Shot hybrid to get the ring. Incredible work from Toxin and an admirable supporting turn from Puma help make this the best lucha libre match I’ve seen since AAA Lucha Fighter.
5:37: Just realized that poor Puma has fallen to 1-1 against Los Kriminal Boys. You know what that means; time to find a partner and get a TAG TEAM MATCH GOIN PLAYA!
5:39: TOXIN ATTACKING PUMA AFTER THE MATCH! RUDO TURN! RUDO TURN! THE FEUD CONTINUES! WHY AM I SCREAMING?!
5:40: More breaking news into the control room; it appears Chris Jericho saw something Jack Evans tweeted about being the best and is now telling “Jackie Boy” to watch himself. Come on Chris; just like Kenny Omega, we all know you’re too scared to give a shot to WICKED JACK! He’s too good for you.
5:42: UH OH! Some warning just appeared on the screen while Puma de Oro was being interviewed. I knew the stream was going to well. AND RIGHT ON CUE IT STARTS TO BUFFER AS TOXIN ATTACKS PUMA BACKSTAGE!
5:43: Stream quickly comes back…and then leaves again. Dragon Bane vs. Yoshioka is next and I’m getting the feeling we’re not going to see it and I! JUST! CAN’T! ANYMORE! WITH! THIS! SHIT!
5:48: Five minutes and I’m still staring the loading circle and a Naucalpan patron wearing his mask. In the words of Fred Durst (may I never quote him again), everything sucks. Or was it everybody sucks? Who cares; Fred Durst said it and that means we can change it to whatever.
5:49: WE’RE BACK! AND WE HAVEN’T MISSED THE MATCH! Somehow it all works out for IWRG as Yoshioka is only now making his entrance while Dragon Bane is already in the ring. Miracles do happen apparently…now if only one could happen in this match.
5:50: Yoshioka looks a whole lot like SHO (aka CMLL’s Raijin) from Roppongi 3K. On the one hand, that’ll bode well for Yoshioka back in Japan because SHO is awesome. On the other hand, he never did anything in Mexico as Raijin really so…I don’t know what my point was. That he may not be as good here? Whatever; the match is starting.
5:53: Yoshioka wins a test of strength, the IWRG stream wins over some buffering and IWRG ROLLS ON! Sorry; turned into Michael Cole there for a minute.
5:54: This match just got great in a hurry with an ultra stiff striking sequence, some great athleticism and then Yoshioka pulling off an Okada style dropkick before nailing yet another…
5:55: I’m pretty sure Yoshioka just straight up decked Dragon Bane in the face. It’s like Zack Kassian vs. Matthew Tkachuk all over again.
5:57: Action has slowed down surprisingly. Dragon Bane must be getting ready for his comeback of at least three dives and four Canadian Destroyers.
5:58: Or he was just waiting to do a handspring into a flip out of the corner. This was a taunt mind you, not a dive. He then hits a sit out Powerbomb for a nearfall, sends Yoshioka to the floor and then proceeds to do the old Triton double jump moonsault INTO THE SEATS! Snug kicks to the chest follow.
6:01: We get a New Japan “forearm exchange” sequence, followed by the first iffy sequence of a match where Yoshioka couldn’t quite hit a Yoshintonic/Canadian Destroyer/whatever he was going for out of a powerbomb. More chaos follows; Yoshioka gets a Death Valley Driver for a near fall and both guys then take turns just wrecking each other with Brainbusters and other high impact moves.
6:02: BEAUTIFUL Shooting Star Press from Dragon Bane but Yoshioka kicks out, gets up and WRECKS Bane with an awesome Snap German Suplex. Yoshioka then nails a great Frog Splash for a near fall of his own.
6:04: Yoshioka unfortunately botches a victory roll attempt off Bane’s shoulders, forcing them to redo the spot. Yoshioka goes for another, Bane nearly loses him again for another botch but regains himself and plants Yoshioka with a Joker Driver that Yoshioka SOMEHOW kicks out of. Bane says enough, hits a standing Poison Rana and pulls out the win. One or two moments could’ve been smoother but on the whole this match was fantastic. Dragon Bane was on his best behavior and Yoshioka looked every bit as good as Shun Skywalker has. AND NO CANADIAN DESTROYERS EITHER; gotta get that Rob Viper seal of approval. I’d put it ahead of the Toxin match, but it was tight.
6:08: They’re sanitizing the ring before we get to Demonio Infernal and Fresero Jr. vs. Los Traumas, which seems like a great time to remind you that GORDON’S ALIVE and Brian Blessed is very happy.
6:10: I can hear the NHL on NBC music playing in Arena Naucalpan, which can only mean one thing; IWRG is watching Colorado vs. Dallas. Seems like a good time for me to shout out my Avs friend Ewan and say, from the bottom of my heart…go Stars. You deserve that for betraying Vancouver Canucks Ewan! KIRK MCLEAN LOOKS DOWN ON YOU WITH SHAME!
6:13: Fresero Jr. IS A BIG BOY!
6:15: We’re off and Fresero and Demonio are already trying to tear off Trauma I and Trauma II’s masks. Hey if I was a luchador without a mask against luchadores with masks, I’d be tearing at those things too. What are they gonna do; tear my mask? Jokes on them cause I DON’T HAVE ONE! Stop talking Cult.
6:19: There was 4 minutes of not a whole lot happening until Demonio just broke a cane over…I think Trauma I? It’s hard to tell given Trauma I and Trauma II are a) brothers and b) wear the same exact outfit. Alas this short burst of excitement brings us right back to where we before; not much.
6:20: Trauma’s finally start some brawling, take control and send things to the outside, where the Mas Lucha announcer hands Trauma I or II a chair so he can hit Demonio with it. Why do that Mas Lucha; now you’ve given Demonio and Fresero all the momentum to go “THERE’S A CONSPIRACY MAGGLE! BLACK HELICOPTERS EVERYWHERE!” Holy shit; why did I just bring up Michael Cole again? Am I losing it? Who am I kidding; I lost it long ago.
6:23: This match is LUMBERING! And it’s turning into an EVIL match because we just had a ref bump, one of the Traumas getting unmasked and Fresero getting fouled, leading to a double pin. We’re now down to a Trauma I-Demonio singles match that will hopefully be more lively than the slog I’ve been watching.
6:26: I believe Demonio just submitted Trauma. Okay. There’s some challenges being issued now and I don’t really care because Star Trek: The Motion Picture was more exciting than this match. There were flashes of good brawling and the final minutes of one on one between Trauma I and Demonio were okay, but overall this felt like two teams that just didn’t mix. You could say they went together like lamb and tuna fish. Wait that’s not right. Dammit, now this is turning into a Talladega Nights scene.
6:34: Just finished promoting this bad boy a final time as they continue to sanitize the ring in preparation for our main event; Hijo del Canis Lupus vs. Shun Skywalker. This is the Rey del Ring semi-final sport fans, with the winner moving on next week to face Demonio Infernal for the Rey del Ring title. I’d be excited for that, but I just watched Demonio Infernal have a mediocre tag match so I’m more or less making the same face I made the first time I heard Sam’s Town.
6:36: Sanitizing is done…still no entrances. Can we move it along IWRG?! I’ve a homemade macaroni and cheese with chicken dinner, Final Fantasy X and a four way match featuring Iron Kid, Latigo and Arez waiting for me. And who knows; I may try to fit in the GCW Two Stuffed Cups lucha tag match…you know, IF SOMEONE WOULD GET MOVING WITH THEIR OWN SHOW!
6:38: NHL music is playing in Arena Naucalpan again. Fun fact; it’s still the first period and Dallas is winning 3-0. SUCK IT TURNCOAT FANS WHO SHALL NOT BE NAMED! The announcer is finally in the ring and the entrances are beginning. It’s about damn time.
6:40: For some reason I got into a disagreement with my friend Mazza over Triple H. I’m pretty sure I lost it; like Triple H I took it very seriously, but couldn’t find anything to help me out and just moved on.
6:42: WE’RE OFF!
6:46: Four minutes in and we’re now just reaching the “let’s chop the shit out of each other phase.” Definitely better than the mat work phase, I will say that.
6:47: BUSINESS HAS PICKED UP! Lupus hits a great Wheelbarrow hurricanrana and then does the Super Calo dive to the floor, impressive given that a) the Super Calo dive is awesome and b) Lupus is at least 220 lbs. Taking that from him has to suck.
6:48: Hell of a chair throw by Lupus.
6:49: The one thing you can tell about these matches with Yoshioka and Skywalker is that both Dragon Bane and Lupus are willing to work strong style and, more importantly, both seem to love it. We just had another strong style esq exchange between Lupus and Skywalker, with Lupus delivering an absolute monster of a slap towards the end. Skywalker then fought back, only for Lupus to slap him so hard that Skywalker goes down like the Avalanche in the first period.
6:52: Skywalker finally gets some offense and dropkicks Lupus to the floor. He then kicks him off the apron, hits the ropes, JUMPS TO THE THIRD ROPE, somehow keeps his balance and HOLY SHIT! SPRINGBOARD CROSSBODY INTO THE SEATS!
6:54: Skywalker is checked on by the doctors (he did land face first it looked like) but it is alright. So is Lupus, who I personally thought took the worst of that spectacular move. They’re back at it after Skywalker connects with another pump kick, followed by a springboard dropkick back into the ring.
6:55: You’re not going to believe this, but Shun Skywalker is really friggin good at this shit.
6:56: Lupus was definitely watching his brother’s match earlier because he just outdid Yoshioka’s snap German with an even better snap German Suplex. Near fall. Air horns are blaring in Arena Naucalpan!
6:57: Ah the old “you lariat me, then I lariat you, then we lariat each other and sell for a minute.” Classic spot.
6:58: In a shocking twist, Lupus and Skywalker shake hands before the match is over, having already earned each other’s respect! You don’t see that every day. They then proceed to slap and elbow each other into oblivion, followed by Skywalker nailing yet another great pump kick before Lupus turns into Tomohiro Ishii and lariats Skywalker off the face of the earth for another near fall. This is what the kids call GREAT stuff.
6:59: LUPUS HEADBUTTS SKYWALKER IN THE CHIN! I was certain that was it, Skywalker somehow flips out of a Dragon Suplex to hit a Poison Rana for a near fall. He quickly follows with a standing moonsault knee strike, but instead of a cover goes to the top. UH OH!
7:00: Lupus catches him and hits an Avalanche Spanish Fly BUT SKYWALKER KICKS OUT AGAIN! I’m trying to picture Demonio Infernal watching this right now and going “I’m going to have to do this shit?!”
7:01: Lupus crashes and burns on a Swanton Bomb attempt, followed by Skywalker crashing and burning a moonsault attempt. BOTH LUCHADORES ARE DOWN!
7:02: Lupus trips up Skywalker and tries to get on the Scorpion Cross Lock he submitted Trauma I with last week. He can’t do it, so he settles into a Camel Clutch but Skywalker doesn’t surrender. Lupus then hits a Small Package Suplex/Fisherman Buster but Skywalker kicks out again! He’s really living up to that name huh?
7:04: MORE SLAPS! Lupus then goes for a dangerous looking powerbomb but Skywalker gets out of it with a rana, hits a reverse Alabama Slam and TWO STRAIGHT STANDING MOONSAULT KNEES! He goes up, hits a beautiful moonsault and SHUN SKYWALKER IS GOING TO THE REY DEL RING FINALS! PARTY TIME AT CASA DE CULT!
7:06: Demonio Infernal is in the ring to cut a promo but who cares; THIS MATCH WAS AWESOME! Easily the best I’ve ever seen of Hijo del Canis Lupus, who like his brother was on his best behavior and seemed to drive in working a lucharesu hybrid. And Shun Skywalker is the real deal. You already knew that if you had seen him work at all, but this was, to this point, his magna opus in Mexico. Great mix of high flying, fighting spirit and just overall lucha libre intangibles. It’ll be a tougher task for him next week against Demonio, but this match showed he can definitely get the job done. I loved this. One of my favorite matches in Mexico this year; there aren’t many due to COVID obviously, but that still does mean something.
7:09: And the stream dies again during Lupus’ promo! Well at least all the important stuff was over.
And that concludes the IWRG Running Diary sports fans. The good news is, aside from a few hiccups, the stream held up! The better news is that this was one hell of a show. Sure the opener was hit or miss and the tag match wasn’t my thing at all, but Toxin vs. Puma de Oro was a lot of fun, Dragon Bane vs. Yoshioka was borderline great and the main event was awesome. This was without a doubt a strong comeback for IWRG after last week’s debacle and if they can work out the kinks for next week there’s no reason to expect they won’t deliver again. And with that, we’re done! Thanks for following along everyone. I’ll be back sometime this week with the next edition of the Lucha Bag. TILL THEN!
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RELATED NOTE: IWRG Rey del Ring at Arena Naucalpan Day 2 Results (08/23/2020)
IWRG Rey del Ring at Arena Naucalpan Day 2 Results (08/23/2020)
