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Post by elliott on Dec 3, 2017 17:32:00 GMT -5
El Hijo del Santo vs Negro Casas (WWA – 5/17/91)
Superb mat work based match. Maybe the most underrated classic match ever. It got some praise in the yearbook thread at PWO, but I had never heard anyone even mention it before. Even when talking about Santo vs Casas you would hear about the 87 and 97 singles matches and any number of multi-man matches. This is the equivalent of no one ever mentioning Flair vs Steamboat Chi-Town Rumble when talking about the great Flair vs Steamboat matches. This is an absolute classic. Will almost certainly be in my top 20.
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Post by Cap on Dec 3, 2017 21:50:03 GMT -5
Second
This one is just so unique and compelling to me. I am pretty sure Elliott turned me onto this one not long ago and I fell in love right off. To me, this added a grappling dynamic that others don't have. This feels like there are elements of WOS and/or shoot that you don't often see in classic lucha grappling. There was just some creativity and pushing of the form going on here that I think made this match stand out, even among their countless encounters (many of which will wind up discussed in this project). I also love the finish of this match. They get a lot of intensity and urgency out of their grappling.
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Post by El Mckell on Jan 12, 2018 15:46:37 GMT -5
Thirded, move it to the nominees folder
I don't really get what you guys are seeing here, I didn't find the matwork in this very compelling at all. The crowd being very hot is a plus to my enjoyment of it. The highlights to me are: the beautifully executed monkey flip/arm drag/near falls sequence in the first fall, Santo's first dive, Casas falling out of the ring while running the ropes.
Had my ultimate I don't get this moment in the first fall after a Casas control segment Santo escapes a hold, they both do a little stare down for a couple seconds, Negro gets the go-behind but Santo escapes by grabbing one of Casas' legs and taking him down, THE CROWD GOES NUTS. I don't understand.
**3/4
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Post by fxnj on Jan 13, 2018 21:12:27 GMT -5
I'm not really seeing anything particularly avant-garde here. The matwork actually seems like pretty basic pro-style stuff to me. Main theme seems to be Casas having a rough time getting out of Santo's headscissors. Main strength of this match is in how they struggle over holds. I vastly prefer them struggling over basic holds over the style over substance approach that seems to dominate these lucha matwork matches. Anyway, they do a nice job of building Casas's growing desperation as it becomes apparent Santo has his number in the first fall and for some of the second. First he goes for some shooty submissions and, when that doesn't work, he goes full-on heel. Santo's comeback was cool and the flashy stuff was worked in well. Really dug the fight for the camel clutch towards the end. This feels like the lucha version of a 70's AJPW match where the first half is slow matwork, but then one guy loses and they start doing more stuff. A great match, but at 35 minutes it felt a bit long for how they worked it. Would go around ****
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Post by Cap on Mar 6, 2019 8:26:38 GMT -5
From my rewatch project on 3/6/2019 El Hijo del Santo vs Negro Casas (UWA World Heavyweight Title – 5/17/1991) Current Rank: 11 Trending: Down This is a tough one. I don’t see a free-fall for it, but on this watch I didn’t see it as my clear cut favorite from these two as I once did. Right now it is ranked significantly higher than their ‘97 clash and that might be a point I make myself consider more carefully before the ballot Regardless, I still think this is a top half of the list match, and will probably finish comfortably on right side of 50, but when I look at some of the matches around it, I can’t help but see this one falling out of the top 15. Even still, this is top notch stuff and a match that is well worth everyone’s time. Read more: gweproject.freeforums.net/thread/657/caps-watching-project-reports?page=2#ixzz5hOjRFPYc |
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Post by jetlag on Apr 28, 2019 10:20:22 GMT -5
Pretty much a shootstyle lucha title match. They would mostly struggle over basic holds and really squeeze their headscissors, toeholds etc. I love the nice crowd ovations for basic moves like a single leg takedown in the 1st fall. The pacing was like an UWF main event with lots of struggling, grinding holds, and the occasional explosion with a slick move. Casas doesn't play nice at all and would repeatedly brutalize Santito with stomps, dropkicks, kicking in the ropes etc. Not to mention that knee to the balls. The repeated headscissor spots are GREAT and they build to that classic beautiful sequence. Casas is really entertaining to watch at coming up with various escapes and holds on the spot but Hijo del Santo is the better technician, so Casas ends up forced to bail to the floor again and again, which eventually comes back to bite him when Santito connects a dropkick and wipes him out with a huge dive. Anytime Santo attempts the Camel Clutch or Surfboard Hold Casas would fight desperately to escape, which culminates in one of the most natural inventive spots I've ever seen when they do a rolling Tapatia. There is some rope running, but they keep going back to the mat and emphasize the importance of the mat stuff. When Casas foolishly tries to ground Santito again he ends up almost getting tapped with the Camel Clutch, he even hits a deadlift german suplex in the middle of a mat exchange. I loved the tenacious sleeper attempts in the 3rd fall altough the finish itself left me slightly underwhelmed. Wonderful match regardless.
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Post by club on Jul 18, 2022 2:49:40 GMT -5
I found this so compelling. The struggle over the holds whilst still being able to work in some next level tricksy stuff was so great. Cap mentioned WoS and that comparison feels apt. The style meshed really well with the story of Casas being awesome but still not being a match for Santo and having to slowly rudo things up in order to stay competitive. This is probably my favourite match from either guy.
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Post by Cap on Jul 18, 2022 7:21:08 GMT -5
I need to rewatch this soon. It started insanely high on my list and then dropped all the way off.
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Post by elliott on Jul 18, 2022 20:06:20 GMT -5
Same, but its really because I first wathced it, was blown away, watched it like 5x and then haven't watched it since lolololol
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Post by club on Jul 19, 2022 8:12:26 GMT -5
Can anyone point to more lucha with this kind of hard fought matwork? Loved this and Santo vs Espanto Jr in 88. Doesn't have to be Santo or Casas matches.
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Post by silverwidow on Jul 19, 2022 8:28:58 GMT -5
Can anyone point to more lucha with this kind of hard fought matwork? Loved this and Santo vs Espanto Jr in 88. Doesn't have to be Santo or Casas matches. You would probably like Mocho Cota vs. Americo Rocca (EMLL, 1/27/84). Check it out. |
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Post by club on Jul 19, 2022 14:52:47 GMT -5
Gracias
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Post by mrjmml on Mar 31, 2024 19:43:35 GMT -5
El Hijo del Santo vs Negro Casas (WWA - 5/17/1991)
The second chapter of the greatest rivalry in the history of lucha completely delivered, a fantastic mat-based bout capable of holding any lucha fan to their sit for the entirety of their runtime even though it’s an apuesta involving the son of one of the most protected characters (if not the most) in the history of lucha. I know that’s a big compliment but this match absolutely deserves it for everything that these two were capable to achieve in that ring, the hold to hold action was always engaging and genuinely fun to watch it’s a match that more than lived up to expectations. Negro Casas has always been a favourite among the fans of the style (me included) for his ability to make matches like this one work in a way that most luchadores can’t. I’ve already reviewed two matches involving him here, the first apuesta between him and Santito and a tag team match in the same year (1987) but it’s obvious that he has grown as a wrestler since then and he had become a force to be reckoned with during that time. Santito also improved as a wrestler in that time span making this matchup pretty even (ignoring the history of his mask) so this match played out as expected with both men having their respective moments to shine however history repeated itself once again and ‘‘El enmascarado de plata’’ retained his mask after a memorable showing everyone should at least take a look at. The match itself is absolutely worth your time but I must tell you that this apuesta is different to many others I’ve covered this one is mostly technical so you won’t see chairshot or blood like you’d in those.
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