Roy's Review: WWF No Way Out of Texas

February 15, 1998

Compaq Center, Houston, Texas

Match 1: The Headbangers (Mosh and Thrasher) defeated Marc Mero and Goldust w/Luna Vachon. Solid match but nothing great. Sable was sent to the back by Mero before the match started. Thrasher got his head busted open on the ring steps. Sable came back out near the end causing a distraction which allowed The Headbangers to switch places and get the win. Afterwards Sable and Luna got into a fight.
5.75/10

Match 2: Light Heavyweight Champion Taka Michinoku defeated Pantera to retain. Solid match but again nothing great. Sunny was special ring announcer for this one. Some good high spots. Brian Christopher was on commentary which made for some good one liners from him and Lawler. After the match Lawler and Christopher tried to attack Taka but he took them out with a cross body off the top.
6.25/10

Match 3: The Quebecers (Jacques and Pierre) defeated The Godwinns (Henry and Phineas). Awful. Jacques did have a sweet bald spot though.
2/10

Match 4: Bradshaw defeated NWA North American Champion Jeff Jarrett w/Jim Cornette by DQ. This was a decent match. Jarrett came to the ring with Barry Windham and The Rock N' Roll Express but they were sent to the back because they didn't have a "manager's license." Jarrett worked over Bradshaw's leg for most of the match. Near the end Cornette got involved and was bodyslammed for his trouble. This allowed Jarrett to get the tennis racket and hit Bradshaw causing the DQ. After the match Windham, Morton and Gibson came out and beat up Bradshaw until The Legion of Doom made the save.
6.5/10

Match 5: Ken Shamrock, Ahmed Johnson, Chainz, Skull and 8-Ball defeated The Nation of Domination (Faarooq, The Rock, Kama, Mark Henry and D'Lo Brown) in a War of Attrition Match. This was a surprisingly good match, mainly because the dumpy guys only had minimal ring time. D'Lo did the majority of the work for the Nation.
7/10

Match 6: Kane w/Paul Bearer defeated Vader. This seemed like it was the first real test for Kane. Vader did well considering how strong Kane was booked at the time. As for the match, it was kinda boring because it was just a bunch of moves. Kane won with a tombstone. After the match he hit Vader in the head with a huge wrench.
5.75/10

Match 7: Steve Austin, Cactus Jack, Chainsaw Charlie and Owen Hart defeated Triple H, Billy Gunn, Road Dogg and Savio Vega w/Chyna in a Non-Sanction Match. Savio was the mystery replacement for Shawn Michaels. What a letdown. This was a crazy brawl with tons of weapons and everyone taking a bunch of damage. After about 5-7 minutes it settled into a typical tag match, just with weapons. Funk took quite a beating as did Foley. Austin got the hot tag, cleaned house, then hit a stunner on Road Dogg for the win. After the match Chyna shoved Austin multiple times, then flipped him off. She received a stunner for her trouble. If you haven't seen this match before check it out. Its a good fun brawl.
8.25/10

There were a couple dumpy matches but overall a decent show.

Thanks for reading, please leave a comment, check out my other posts, and like my Facebook page.

Later Readers!

Lucha Mexico review

The other day I stumbled across a new documentary on Netflix called Lucha Mexico.  The Netflix synopsis was simple: The documentary captures the colorful spectacle of Lucha Libre, a form of Mexican pro wrestling performed by masked superheroes and villians.  SOLD!

The film was released in 2016 with a theatrical tour and is available on DVD.  It has a run time of 1 hour 43 minutes and although there is some English in the film it is primarily in Spanish, what do you expect its about pro wrestling in Mexico, so make sure you turn your subtitles on.

Shocker

The bulk of the movie follows luchador Shocker but also features "Strongman" Jon Anderson, Blue Demon Jr, El Hijo Del Perro Aguayo, Fabian El Gitano, Tony Salazar, Faby Apache, Sexy Star, Kemonito, Damian 666, Halloween, Julio Cesar Rivera, and Giant Bernard, no Matt Bloom the head trainer of the WWE Performance Center.  The primary promotion featured is CMLL, Consejo Mundial De Lucha Libre the oldest wrestling promotion founded in 1933.  Other promotions such as AAA, NWA Mexico, Perros Del Mal, and other independents are also featured.

This documentary is the first that I am aware that really shows the depth of Lucha Libre with Shocker headlining shows for CMLL in the world famous Arena Mexico to tent shows at farmers markets in the rain.  We also get an abridged history of Lucha Libre with wrestlers talking about their fathers and older wrestlers talking about their time in the ring.  We get a peak at the CMLL training center at Arena Mexico.

The time frame of this movie is never specified however based on the matches and contents of the movie it was filmed over a five year period from Fall 2009 until Spring 2015.

Some incidents in the film that show the timeline are:

Fabian El Gitano was murdered in his home from blunt trauma to the head on March 18, 2011

Doctor X was murdered October 11, 2011

Hector Garza

Hector Garza passed away on May 26, 2013 from lung cancer.  At the time of his death he was the Mexican National Heavyweight Champion, the Mexico City Boxing and Wrestling Commission deemed the title inactive.  As of November 25, 2016 it remains inactive.  

Perro Aguayo Jr died during a match March 20, 2015


Matches:

There are a lot of matches and clips featured in the film, but these are the ones that I could pinpoint down.  Also they are in order by date and not by appearance in the film.

November 15, 2009 
AAA Wrestling in Mexico City La Sala de Armas De La Magdalena Mixhuca in Mexico City
Sexy Star, Billy Boy, Povlo de Estrellas defeated Faby Apache, Aero Star, & May Flowers

Faby Apache

May 23, 2010
CMLL Domingos De Coliseo Arena Coliseo de Mexico City, Mexico City, Mexico
2 out of 3 falls match
Fabain El Gitano, Leono, & Pegasso defeated Los Guerreros Tuareg: Dr. X, Nitro, & Loco Max

2 out of 3 falls match
Shocker, Maximo Sexy, & Strong Man defeated Ultimo Guerrero, Taichi, & Rey Bucanero by DQ

May 25, 2010
CMLL Martes Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico
2 out of 3 falls match
Fabian El Gitano, Leono, & Angel Azteca Jr. defeated Bronco, Durango Kid, & Inquisidor

May 28, 2010
CMLL Super Viernes Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico
2 out of 3 falls match
Shocker, Strong Man, and Giant Bernard defeated Damian El Terrible, El Texano Jr. & Hector Garza in two straight falls at 10:56

June 6, 2010
CMLL Arena Puebla in Heroica Puebla de Zaragoza, Puebla, Mexico
Giant Bernard, Mascara Ano 2000 & Universo 2000 defeated Brazo de Plata, El Rayo de Jalisco Jr. & Strong Man

July 18, 2010
CMLL Infierno En El Ring 2010 PPV Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico
12 Man Mask vs. Mask Steel Cage
Angel De Oro defeated Angel Azteca Jr., Angel de Plata, Diamante, Dr. X, Histeria, Holligan, Monsther, Puma King, Sensei, Tiger Kid and Fabian El Gitano
Fabian El Gitano was eliminated last and therefore lost his mask during this match

Fabian El Gitano just before removing his mask

July 23, 2010
NWA Mexico El Centro Banamex, Mexico City, Mexico
Blue Demon Jr defeated PWR Heavyweight Champion: Oliver John to win the championship

July 25, 2010
Perros Del Mal El Centro Banamex, Mexico City, Mexico
Hardcore Triple Threat
Damian 666 defeated Supreme & X-Fly

2 out of 3 falls match
El Hijo del Santo, LA Par-K & Marco Corleone defeated Halloween, Lizmark Jr, & El Hijo del Perro Aguayo

December 19, 2010
CMLL Domingos De Coliseo Arena Coliseo de Mexico City, Mexico City, Mexico
2 out of 3 falls match
Shocker, Blue Panther, & La Mascara defeated Atlantic, Rey Bucanero, & Ultimo Guerrero two falls to one - this is the match where shocker injured his knee

July 24, 2011
Perros Del Mal El Centro Banamex, Mexico City, Mexico
Six Man Tag Team Match
Blue Demon Jr, Cassandro, & LA Par-K vs. Damian 666, Halloween, & El Hijo del Perro Aguayo ended in a no contest

June 16, 2012
AAA La Plaza De Toros El Pinal, Teziutlan, Puebla, Mexico
Extreme Match
Joe Lider defeats Psicosis

Six Man Tag Team Match
La Sociedad: Dark Dragon, Halloween, & Pete Powers defeated Daga, Extreme Tiger, & Juventud Guerrera

Tag Team Match
El Consejo: El Texano Jr. & Mascara Ano 2000 Jr. defeated Dr. Wagner & Silver Cain

Six Man Tag Team Match
La Sociedad: Chessman, Hector Garza, & El Hijo del Perro Aguayo defeated Cibernetico, Electroshock, & El Zorro

August 24, 2013
World of Unpredicatable Wrestling, Queens, New York
Shocker & Azteca defeated Rey Bucanero & Mystic Aztec

September 13, 2013
CMLL 80th Aniversario Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico
several match clips were shown

March 20, 2015
The Crash Auditorio Municipal Fausto Gutierrex Moreno, Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico
Extreme Tiger & Rey Mysterio Jr defeated Manik & El Hijo del Perro Aguayo
This is the match where Perro Aguayo Jr tragically died

There are a bunch of matches that I recognized luchadores in that I couldn't find when and where they took place.

I really enjoyed this documentary, I have watched it twice.  I'd like to see them do another one focusing other luchadores and  luchadoras as they have barely scratched the surface of the rich history of Lucha Libre.

Arena Mexico is only place I someday dream to go and watch an event.  I doubt it will ever happen but to see realy lucha libre in Mexico would amazing.

Thanks for reading, please leave a comment, check out my other posts and like the facebook page!

Later Readers

Signed Trading Cards: Santino Marella & Buff Bagwell

Santino Marella debuted in the WWE has a fan challenge to Umaga winning the Intercontinental Championship while the WWE was in Italy, even though Marella is Canadian.

Marcus Alexander Bagwell was a perennial WCW wrestler starting as a babyface upon his debut forming three successful tag teams with The Patriot, Too Cold Scorpio, and Scotty Riggs before turning heel as Buff Bagwell.

Thanks for reading, please leave a comment, check out my blogs other posts, and like my facebook page

Later Readers!