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Post by elliott on Dec 3, 2017 17:27:33 GMT -5
El Hijo del Santo vs Negro Casas (“Mask vs Hair” – WWA – 7/18/1987)
Classic match from the best rivalry in wrestling history. This isn’t as violently bloody as you’d expect from an 80s apuestas match. There is more beauty in this with these two freak athletes at their athletic peak. Some of the most beautiful spots you’ll ever see. Casas already looks like one of the best guys in the world in this match. Top 20 contender.
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Post by Cap on Dec 3, 2017 22:02:28 GMT -5
Seconded
Yeah, this one comes in behind the 91 and 97 matches for me. This one is more dynamic and athletic for sure. They are spry in this match. I think it lacks some of the intensity and urgency that I often look for in apuestas matches (and matches in general), but it makes up for it by being quite unique and just jump off the screen dynamic (I know I have used that word twice, but I can't come up with a better one right now at least for this initial nomination).
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Post by jr on Jan 4, 2018 18:49:56 GMT -5
I think this is a top 5 lucha match of the 80s, and probably isn't even close to the quality of their best singles matches. One of the strengths of their feud is how every big match felt different; not like an escalation, but an evolution. This has some truly striking visuals and could easily be a top 25 match for me.
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Post by mrjmml on Apr 9, 2023 9:12:18 GMT -5
MOTY for me. The beginning of the greatest rivalry ever. Worse than the 1997 match but still one of the greatest lucha matches of the decade.
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Post by KB8 on Jun 20, 2023 16:05:57 GMT -5
The first in a series of very good wrestling matches between two guys made to wrestle each other. As mentioned this was less about the blood and mask ripping and forehead biting. Everything was still worked with an intensity befitting the stakes though, a sense of urgency from the beginning that never really dropped. Casas was at his smug best, celebrating a dropkick like he'd just won the fall and then celebrating ACTUALLY winning the fall like he'd won the World Cup. He threw some of the best punches of his career in this and his right hand was a cannon that always got him out of trouble. He was absolutely winging those shots and in general it looked like he was trying to put Santo in the ground. At one point he, from inside the ring, ran Santo across the apron and rammed him into the post with such force that Casas almost flew out the ring himself. It's little stuff like that that put him in the GOAT conversation. Some of his bumps off of dropkicks or knee lifts were great, just flinging himself across the ring but managing to not make it look like 1989 Mr Perfect. The tercera is as heated as you'd want and even in a match worked mostly clean you aren't the least bit surprised that Casas will try and rip off Santo's mask at the eye holes. Whether it was planned or he just slipped and they ran with it not sure, but Casas leaping to the top rope to hit a dive only to fall off was amazing and very Negro Casas. I'm pretty sure he did it against Ultimo Dragon once as well, that ego of his driving him to show that he's every bit as athletic or capable of the spectacular as his opponent. Loved the fight over the camel clutch at the end. I think this just misses out, but it's probably in that 100-150 range and either way it's a killer match.
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Post by mrjmml on Aug 23, 2023 5:16:42 GMT -5
Many people consider the rivalry between El Hijo del Santo and Negro Casas to be the greatest rivalry in wrestling history, I personally think that this rivalry deserves such treatment and this match is one of the reasons why, their matches throughout the 1990’s may have been better but it doesn’t mean this match is bad it just speaks volumes about the overall quality of their matches together, many people consider Negro Casas the greatest of all time and they certainly have good reasons to believe that, he’s the son of the legendary Pepe Casas, I think it’s fair to say that he surpassed his father’s legacy, Negro Casas is one of those names that always gets brought up when discussing lucha, he has been wrestling since 1979 as I said in the previous match I had the pleasure to review, so he’s the veteran in this match but he isn’t the favourite because he’s facing off against the son of the legendary Santo and his mask is sacred, many mexican wrestling fans believe that Negro’s hair has been undervalued because of the amount of times he’s lost it, the first time he lost it was in this match after a grueling battle that lasted around 25 minutes, I really like this match, it isn’t what you expect when you think of an 80’s apuesta, this match is strictly technical, it couldn’t be more different to the last apuesta I reviewed Sangre Chicana vs Perro Aguayo, this match resembles more the style of a title bout instead of a Mask vs Hair match and that’s okay, not every apuesta has to be a wild brawl to be interesting and this rivalry as a whole is the prime example of that there aren’t any heel tactics either it’s as clean as an apuesta can get.
The first fall was comfortably dominated by Negro Casas but the last two were all Santito’s, the third fall is full of nearfalls, there are a lot of instances where Negro Casas kicks out of certain match-ending moves but the camel clutch was too much for Negro to handle, Santito kept his mask and Negro was shaved bald.
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