A Mysterious King: Rey Misterio Jr., Dean Malenko, Psicosis (WCW, 1996)

Hey yo Stud Muffins & Foxy Ladies,

Calling all Tufts Students, Superstar Sleeze needs your help! Our Sleeze Queen, the Gutter-Glam Goddess and MY Future Ex-Wife, Ke$ha is playing at Tufts University. The curmudgeons over at Tufts are restricting access to Tufts undergraduates only. BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! I am going on almost two years of withdrawal since the most spectacular live act in vivid color. So please help me see the greatest artist of our generation one more time!

Who do you want me to be so that you will sleep with me?

Speaking of revolutionary forces in the field of entertainment, has there been anybody as revolutionary and influential as Rey Misterio Jr. in the past two decades? He did not just break barriers for the Latino and smaller stature wrestler community he demolished them. He introduced lucha libre wrestling style and the traditions of lucha libre to a widescale American audience for the first time. Of course, his groundbreaking high-flying acrobatics took our breath away and have been imitated, but never quite duplicated. To be a pioneer of his magnitude, it is not enough just to be different and be good at your craft. You have to excel like few others in the history of your industry. A cool mask and some fancy moves will only take you so far as many luchadors or indy wrestlers will tell you. In order to be as influential and ground-breaking as Rey Misterio, you have to make people invest in you as a character. It is the richness of Rey Misterio's total understanding of professional wrestling that made him one of the greatest wrestlers in the history of this great industry. All of facets of Rey, I mentioned above, shaped pro wrestling into a totally different beast from pre-Rey to post-Rey, but it was something simple and a known commodity that allowed Rey to shine, break these barriers down and influence pro wrestling. It was his heart and the story of the underdog. Rey did not pioneer that. We have known that story since Biblical Times. Rey repackaged that story in the body of an undersized Mexican-American, who had no business being the absolute megastar he was in the United States of America based on previous history.  

World Championship Wrestling did not discover Rey Misterio obviously. He was a part of the infamous Tijuana circuit that produced the likes of Konnan and Psicosis. Eventually, he made his way to the upstart AAA promotion that was running counter to CMLL (oldest pro wrestling promotion in the world). His first American exposure was the When Worlds Collide PPV in 1994 where AAA presented a PPV on American PPV stations with English commentary. From there, he would travel to Japan and ECW wrestling showcase matches against his perpetual arch-nemesis, Psicosis. In June of 1996, the enigmatic Antonio Inoki held his World Wrestling Peace Festival in Los Angeles with American, Japanese and Mexican promotions participating. The match of the festival was the Rey Misterio Jr & Ultimo Dragon vs Psicosis & Heavy Metal tag team match. The match served as an showcase for Misterio's offensive talents and the story sold on WCW TV was the officials were impressed and booked him for the Great American Bash 1996 against Cruiserweight Champion Dean Malenko.

One contentious debate about the internet was WCW running contrary to the normal booking model of bringing Rey into your promotion. Standard practice was to pit him against rival Psicosis who as a big bumping heel could make Rey look like a million bucks. WCW being WCW never does anything the logical way instead put Rey against the dry Dean Malenko. While I agree with the critics that it was not the perfect match to WOW the fans and I do think they should have given Rey one or two big highspots early. The match was structured to demonstrate to the fans he was not all sizzle and no substance because he was able to show his heart. His verbal selling was on full display. Credit where credit is due Malenko worked an all-time great heat segment that had the fans totally invested in the underdog character even before they saw all his incredible moves. At the Bash at the Beach, Rey Misterio and Psicosis did their touring showcase match, which in my opinion is their best match outside of Mexico. Psicosis was an incredible talent that could go from a big bumping clown to the a sadistic prick at the drop of the hat. The Bash At The Beach showed both in top form. In the course of two months, Rey Misterio was a sensation and his victory over Dean Malenko the next night on Nitro to win the Cruiserweight Championship cemented that and resurrected the Cruiserweight division, which looked dead on arrival. Finally, Rey also was the best opponent in the career of Dean Malenko. Dean, who more often than not, was incredibly dry and mechanical was able to work incredible matches thanks to the selling and highspots of Rey Mysterio, which mixed perfectly with Dean Malenko's offensive stylings.

Rey Misterio's 1996 will go down as one of the all-time great years with incredible matches in ECW, WCW, WAR and AAA. As a fan, I am just glad I get to live in a world with Rey Misterio Jr.

Match Listing:

Rey Misterio Jr & Ultimo Dragon vs Psicosis & Heavy Metal 

 World Wrestling Peace Festival 1996

Really fun, crowd-pleasing exhibition of the technicos offense and the rudos bumping.

WCW Cruiserweight Champion Dean Malenko vs Rey Misterio Jr.

Great American Bash 1996 ****1/2

Classic heat segment with Malenko working the arm. Awesome Rey Verbal Selling. Great Finish Stretch.

Rey Misterio Jr. vs Psicosis – Bash At The Beach 1996 ****1/2

WOW! A perfect way to showcase the spots, but still within the framework of two archrivals struggling to win a match.

WCW World Cruiserweight Champion Dean Malenko vs Rey Misterio Jr. - WCW Nitro 7/8/96

Awesome shine! Weird finish. Great moment in Nitro history.

WCW Cruiserweight Champion Rey Misterio Jr. vs Dean Malenko 

WCW Halloween Havoc 1996 ****1/4

Awesome finish stretch. Malenko is hungry to win his title back and Mysterio thwarts with speed and daring.

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Rey Misterio Jr & Ultimo Dragon vs Psicosis & Heavy Metal 

 World Wrestling Peace Festival 1996

Wow, the rudos get even less in this than I remember. Don't get me wrong, this is an incredibly fun exhibition of the techinco's abilities and rudo's bumping and a total feel good match. When you are promoting Peace through wrestling I can't think of a better match as it features Rey and Dragon at their crowd pleasing best and Psicosis at his most selfless. Besides an early Psicosis guillotine, this was the Rey show with just breath-taking spot getting a bigger and bigger pop. Psicosis was a total pro taking all of Rey's ranas and insane dives. Dragon and Heavy Metal was perfect for what it was with Dragon showing off his kicks and quick movements. I loved Psicosis not being to catch Dragon in the corner with repeated strikes and then the crazy bump he took over the top turnbuckle. The dive train in this was awesome. You kinda miss Rey's somersault plancha, but then all of sudden you have a Psicosis crashing into your scene full force. I thought Dragon would go Asai, but he when with a somersault off the top so Rey could do a corkscrew Asai moonsault. To set that corkscrew Asai moonsault up, Psicosis takes my all time favorite bump the slide on your belly to the floor bump (usually a Rey Rey bump). Heavy Metal follows that up with another favorite bump of mine when technico kicks the rudo's feet from under him and he flies into the ropes/turnbuckles ass-first. A Tiger Suplex gives the technicos the victory to a big pop. One of those matches that will always bring you up when you're down, but without more offense from the heels it just feels like an exhibition. ***1/2

WCW Cruiserweight Champion Dean Malenko vs Rey Misterio Jr.

Great American Bash 1996 

This match simultaneously salvaged the fledging cruiserweight division and made it into a sensation over night. This match is the best exhibition of Malenko’s chain wrestling being entertaining and working well within the confines of the layout. Malenko knows he cannot let Rey create space between them or otherwise face the damage of Rey’s vaunted aerial attack. If he can ground Rey, he eliminates that threat. That is the crux of the match Rey trying to squirm away from Malenko and Malenko trying to wrangle Rey.

From the outset, Malenko is one who is able to strike first with a cool looking Greco-Roman knucklelock arm snapping-thingy. It looked sweet trust me. He works over that arm relentlessly and convincingly with a great variety of moves. It always feels like he is trying to gain a new advantage or add a different degree of pain to Rey’s arm to keep him off-balance. My favorite moment is a flying hammerlock into a kimura that just looks so fuckin sweet. The key in this control segment is that Rey still has hope spots. This was Rey’s debut and it was critical to have these hope spots especially when he did not get an opening shine or you run the risk of jobberizing him.

As the match progresses and Dean is still struggling to put Rey away, you come to see a recurring theme with Malenko he does show emotion. Dean is not more relatable wrestler or the best seller, but he is really good at selling frustration at the inability to put an opponent away. This combined with Rey’s resilience and sympathetic underdog selling creates a very powerful story for the audience that is rooting for the underdog in this debut match against the champion.

When Dean finally does lose control, Rey unleashes that arsenal of aerial maneuvers, which both wow the fans and does a good job displaying why Dean was working so hard to ground Rey. The finish is thrilling with Rey’s quick pinfall attempts and all his quick counters. However, he finally succumbs to a massive powerbomb by Dean, who puts his feet on the ropes for three. The finish is a satisfying climax to this cat and mouse game. Rey looks like a champ with hot finish and Dean is able to retain due to one big move.

Most of what I have read has been in favor of declaring this match a classic, but it feels that many feel the need to defend it against a vocal minority that believes Dean gobbled up Rey for too long. Now, if Dean just sat in an armbar for the entirety of his lengthy heat segment, I would agree. Dean was really active with a lot of gnarly submissions and high-impact blows into pinfalls. It truly felt like he was trying to win a match and I can appreciate that. I think where these critics have a point is that Dean should not have immediately entered into a heat segment. In their subsequent Nitro match in July, Rey has a really cool babyface shine to open it. In that match, it really sets up the idea of what Dean has to fear. If Dean can not ground him, Rey will have him going in circles and Dean really sells that frustration in that match well. In this match, you don’t really get the feeling that Dean has anything to worry about in the context of the match because Rey did not open with anything. The drama in the Great American Bash would have been greatly enhanced by allowing Rey to hit a couple big moves off the bat to demonstrate how he lethal he could be. Since I brought up the Nitro match, the big problem with that match is that Malenko’s heat segment really meanders and is not really as good as this one. The Great American Bash match is a better complete match.

In sum, I think if you tack the babyface shine segment from the Nitro match and splice it into the Great American Bash match you have a Match of the Year Candidate for 1996. As is, it is one of three best matches from 1996 in WCW (Mysterio/Psychosis), but just cant compete with the All Japan and othere matches of 1996. This heat segment definitively proves in my mind that Dean Malenko is not boring. Can he be boring? Yes and we will see that! But he definitely can be a fuckin fantastic offensive wrestler. I think Dean’s strong suit is as a heel. Malenko is one of the few American wrestlers to always be straddling the face/heel line. I think if the booking team just went full bore with Dean as a sadistic, ground-based heel he would have had more entertaining matches consistently. This match showed how effective he could be as a yin to Mysterio’s yang. Mysterio for his part continued his campaign to be best wrestler in North America. I agree that Mysterio should have worked the majority of the match from underneath. His selling endeared him to the fans, his hope spots were well-timed to keep the audience engaged, and the match was structured to give his aerial spots time to breathe and seem more important to the audience. In the Dragon match, he will not be so lucky. 

One thing I want to debunk is that at least initially the commentary team (sans the Brain) did a very good job trying to get over the cruiserweights. You could feel how excited Dusty was to watch them and how much he enjoyed their work. As time progressed, of course like with all things in the mid-card, the WCW commentary team would just ignore it and talk about the Hogan-related item of the night. ****1/2

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Rey Misterio Jr. vs Psicosis – Bash At The Beach 1996

Growing up, Psicosis was one of my favorite wrestlers just based on look alone. I would argue that he had even cooler costume than La Parka, but La Parka had the dance moves & chair so it was a close call. I was always disappointed that he was never featured at the same level of Rey Misterio or Juventud Guerrera. It turns out these childhood feelings have been validated by the fact that Psicosis is really fucking good. Both going back through the old footage and reading other people’s opinions that Psicosis is one of the best workers in the world in the mid-90s. Unfortunately, he was not able to sustain his greatness in the late 90s while his arch-nemesise, Rey Misterio Jr. really took off. Misterio and Psicosis have a history that dates back to Tijuana wrestling scene of the 90s. Psicosis was the clown, base and vicious heel to Rey Misterio’s undersized underdog with revolutionary high-flying. They were the perfect mix and they took their act on tour. From their home promotion of AAA (an upstart lucha libre promotion challenging CMLL think the American League or AFL), they travelled to Japan to wow the crowds there and then came to Philadelphia to the little promotion that could, ECW. In 1996, in an effort to further differentiate WCW from WWF, Eric Bischoff brought in a small army of luchadores to populate the fledging WCW cruiserweight division. So logically, the hottest match of 1995 was featured for the first time for a wide scale American audience when Rey Misterio and Psicosis locked up at Bash At The Beach 1996.

It would be so easy for Misterio and Psicosis to just hit a myriad of mind-numbing highspots to astonish and amaze a virgin audience, but what makes these two among the all-time greats is how they transition and build to those highspots for maximum sensory impact. For that reason, this match holds up as one of the best matches in the history of WCW and one of the best PPV openers in any company of all time. Psicosis is consummate heel in this match. He knows when to let Rey shine and when to get vicious to put that heat on Rey. It is a great selfless performance that makes Rey look one of the biggest stars of the world, but in doing so elevates himself and the match. It was surprising to me that first highspot went to Psicosis with a gorgeous suicide dive over the top rope. Unlike all the wussy dives through the ropes recently, this one really wipes Rey out. Psicosis is just great laying down a wicked beating on Rey. Rey is so great at verbal selling as Psicosis whips, chops and slams him. Psicosis nails him with a top rope guillotine leg drop. There is a definite sense of Psicosis attacking the neck and looking to take the wind out of the high-flying Misterio, which is a great strategy against the quick Rey Rey. Psicosis takes his first crazy, hellacious bump, which is a monkey flip on the apron that propels him into the post. WOW! Misterio hits a rana off the apron and then a springboard hurricanrana spikes Psicosis only gets two. The match never feels like an exhibition even the objective of the match is to showcase these crazy spots. The competitors still care about the win and loss. Psicosis does a great job selling his knee after a Rey dropkicks his knee. Trying to chop down the bigger man is not a bad strategy for Rey especially after getting his ass kicked for a good chunk there. Psicosis quashes the Misterio comeback with a droptoehold and locks on a nasty headscissors. I loved Rey’s screams. One of the best worked headscissors I have ever seen and a perfect use of it: a heel who needs to stop the bleeding and sap the energy from a babyface. Good stuff.  Psicosis is targeting the neck again as he sends him flying into the top rope. Rey powders to catch his breath, but Psicosis is right on him dropping him neck first on the railing. Then he hits a senton from the top rope to the floor. WOW! Psicosis’ offense is breath-taking and violent, perfect. Back in the ring, Psicosis applies a camel clutch and fishhooks him. Psicosis is just fucking killing it. Misterio is like Woah, woah I am pretty fucking good too so he busts out a cartwheel into a hurricanarana and a mind-blowing top rope hurricanarana onto Psicosis that was standing on the apron. Holy shit, I think all these spots would still blow the majority of WWE’s current audience’s mind in 2015. Psicosis takes one of my favorite bumps when he gets dropkicked in the back of the head, he slides belly first onto the floor. Misterio hits a twisting corkscrew Asai Moonsault and everybody loses their shit. You can tell how much Tenay loved calling that while Dusty and Bobby were just like What the Fuck. I think while Bobby would vacillate between not giving a shit and putting over the crusierweights, The Dream seemed to be really entertained by them and in his own way put them over at every chance. Psicosis is able to catch Rey with a powerbomb and it actually looks really good. Psicosis is looking for Splash Mountain and Rey hits a crazy rana to win the match. WOW!

I have seen this match a couple times before and I am always blown away by how good it is. Matches that revolve around showcasing spots usually don’t age that well, but this match was as character-driven as it was spot-driven. Not to mention, these spots were crazy awesome and hold up totally. To me a heel is selfless, big bumping and vicious. Psicosis just had that in spades. He took two crazy bumps and hit some amazing highspots. He was always vicious with how he attacked Misterio. Misterio is just an all time great. His verbal selling was off the charts and he was great as a ragdoll for Psicosis to throw around, but when it came to blow people’s minds. He never failed. That finish run is just one incredible highspot after the other all with the purpose of winning the match. Definitely a contender for best WCW match of 90s and a testament to the greatness of the Rey Misterio/Psicosis series. ****1/2

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WCW World Cruiserweight Champion Dean Malenko vs Rey Misterio Jr. - WCW Nitro 7/8/96

I have said it before and I will say it again if you put this shine on the Great American Bash match and you have an all-time classic. This shine is perfect for whetting the fan's appetites for how exciting Rey can be. It makes them invest more in the heat segment because they want to see the grand finale. From a strictly kayfabe perspective, it establishes what Malenko has to worry about. If he can't control him, Misterio is going to dictate the pace with armdrags, ranas and dropkicks and keep him off balance. Once Malenko grabs a a hold of him with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker he does not let go. He alternates between controlling holds (surfboard, camel clutch) to regain his energy & sap Rey's and nasty throws like the butterfly powerbomb and hanging him out to dry on the ropes. Once again, when Rey can create space he is deadly as he snaps off a rana to the floor and hits an Asai Moonsault, now granted this was not the smoothest exchange, but it was the right idea. I hated Dean picking Rey up towards the end when he had him after super gutbuster and again after another suplex. Did not fit Dean's characters and there was no storyline motivation. Rey winning with an out of nowhere hurricanarana was an awesome way to kick off the most important Nitro in history coming after the Hogan heel turn. It pops the crowd and gives them something feel good after Hogan just turned heel. Plus, Rey totally deserved it. The blown spots and Malenko pulling Rey up hurts this from being one of the all time great Nitro cruiserweight matches, but still very entertaining. ***1/2

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WCW Cruiserweight Champion Rey Misterio Jr. vs Dean Malenko 

WCW Halloween Havoc 1996

They are afforded to have an extended version of their Nitro sprint and they do not disappoint with an unheralded classic. They utilized the extra time wisely to have Rey sell more convincingly and really milk it before his spectacular comeback. Malenko worked a similar heat segment to the Nitro match vacillating between holds and high impact blows and throws. Where the time really came in handy was in the beginning and end. Before the match, Malenko was pissed that he came in with a two match losing streak to the champion and wanted his belt back. So in order to get into his head, he stole Rey's mask to get into his head. Right at the beginning, the usually reserved Malenko wasted no time jumpstarting the match with blows and throws. He even looked to hook up the Texas Cloverleaf early. Rey desperately escaped and seemed a bit overwhelmed. However, once he was able to create some space and use his quickness to keep Malenko off balance he had Malenko looking like a fool tripping on his face. Rey punctuates this great shine segment with a somersault plancha and regains the stolen mask. I love little victories inside a match. I also loved that Rey Rey had to earn that shine over an early Malenko onslaught. Probably, my favorite part of the match to be honest. Malenko catches Rey on a rana attempt and slams him. He works a solid heat segment making sure to pepper in highspots to keep the crowd involved while he worked holds to keep Rey grounded. The heat segment at Great American Bash was world class and it is hard to compare, but this is a step down. There either needed to be more direction or more Rey hope spots to take this to the next level. I thought the Great American Bash match also featured more Rey verbal selling. I really did like the instances of Rey crawling away from Malenko to the apron gets attacked and then tries to crawl to the other side. There was great Rey selling, but I don't think it was as showcased. They both head to the top and they simultaneously punch each off the top, which I was not a fan of that spot, but the finish run we get is just excellent. Rey hits a tremendous springbaord somersault plancha in the ring that Malenko takes beautifully and is a contender for best Rey spot of the year in a year loaded with them. After struggle between both to negotiate a pinfall, Misterio gets a two and follows up on Malenko with a corkscrew Asai Moonsault well there is another one for the highlight reel. Misterio gets the exact hurricanarana that won him the title, but Malenko kicks out. Tony exclaims that he had never seen someone kick out of that predicament. Ruh Roh! Undeterred, Misterio looks to hit the springboard version and rallies the crowd, but Malenko has a different idea with a POWERBOMB! That should have been the finish. Live by the sword, die by the sword is a favorite finish genre of mine so I am biased. Malenko is looking for his Super Gutbuster, but Misterio looks to counter with top rope Frankensteiner, but we end up with a SUPER GUTWRENCH POWERBOMB!

The shine of the Nitro match with the heat segment of the GAB match and the finish of this match and at the very least you have a contender for the greatest match in WCW history. This is just a tremendous series and this match features some of the most exciting moments in WCW Crusierweight history. Rey was just awesome in the beginning, his selling was great in the heat segment, but not as highlighted as before and the finish stretch was paced perfectly with escalation between spots. Malenko worked a strong heat segment that did a go a bit long without action towards the end, but more than made up for it by telling the great story of a man obsessed with the winning championship. He had Rey scouted. He kicked out of the rana that cost him the title and he crushed Rey on the springboard rana. Then when it came down to the end and it was anyone's ball game on the top rope, Malenko showed that he wanted it just that much more. ****1/4

The Juice Runs NITRO: Juventud Guerrera, Billy Kidman (WCW Cruiserweights 1998)

Hey yo Stud Muffins & Foxy Ladies,

Sing Hallelujah!  For the great weather has returned to God's Country, the Boston Metro Area and the smiles will be wider, the eyes bigger and the juice will flow down her leg like never before! 

THE JUICE IS LOOSE!

Speaking of the Juice, hot damn, but Juventud Guerrera was badass pro wrestler in WCW with some really tremendous high end offense. If Rey was the underdog that could sell his ass of and Psicosis was the big bumping clown, then Juventud was the stiff striking, bomb-throwing badass of the WCW luchadores. I have not watched any of his high end AAA work from the 90s, but it is definitely something I will be looking to check out sooner rather than later. In WCW, while his offense was superb was he was rarely put in positions to have really great matches. For instance, Rey Mysterio and Juvy never even had a PPV match. It really is such a shame because their Thunder match in 1998 was such a great TV match. Think about this, Rey Mysterio was just weeks away from going on the shelf for six months for a knee injury and even with that huge brace on his knee, they still managed to put together one of the best Thunder matches in history (not much competition, for the record DDP vs Benoit from May 1999 is my choice for best Thunder match). One of Juventud's most high profile matches happened shortly after as he faced the heat-seeking Chris Jericho at SuperBrawl VIII in a title vs mask match. Juventud became the first luchador to lose his mask in WCW, which did add to Jericho's heat quite a bit before Jericho really hit that next level in the Malenko feud. However, the match, which I saw a couple years ago is really nothing that special, which is really the lone issue with Jericho's amazing cruiserweight title reign in 1998. 

The Jericho title reign in 1998 is probably one of the most fondly remembered late 90s WCW characters for good reason. As a child, I hated that whiny, spoiled brat. In fact, the first time I ever swore was to declare that Jericho sucks and my mom was none too happy about that! The Jericho heel promos whether as a sore loser, attacking Malenko's family or as conspiracy victim are among the best work of his career and some of the best promos in wrestling history. What was missing from this time period were the great matches. Jericho just was never able to have that true classic needed to make this run one of the all-time best. While Malenko was his main adversary, Malenko never did get his final victory instead it was the man Jericho first wronged, the Youth Warrior. Juventud Guerrera that got the last laugh. Before Rey got the Giant Killer run, Juvy did a similar angle against the Flock's Big Man, the former YET-EH! Juvy was able to survive his dry humping tactics to win the match and as Juvy continued his feud against the Flock, he won the Cruiserweight Championship from Chris Jericho at Road Wild 1998 (a show my family purchased, I do not know why!).

Thus we enter the main meat of this blog, the unheralded but very fun Juvytud vs Kidman cruiserweight championship feud. Saturn had freed the the Flock from Raven's control at Fall Brawl 1998 with Kidman playing a crucial role in doing so. Following that hot angle, Kidman was super over and WCW capitalized on this with some rare good booking promptly putting him over Juvy for the title the next night on Nitro. That's how you keep someone hot. They would continue their feud over the course of the next weeks with Disco Inferno intervening at times. They had their best match on an episode of Nitro in November where Juventud's high-end offense was on full display and Billy Kidman exhibited his excellent counterwrestling ability. I was really impressed with Kidman in this run. He was laying in his offense and had no trouble keeping up with Juventud. I thought he timed his counters perfectly and he felt like he really had an answer for everything Juvy was throwing at him. The finish run is one of the best I have seen in late 90s WCW and really should be checked out. 

At the World War III match, Juventud had just joined Eddie Guerrero's LWO and seemed to be getting used to his newfound heeldom or was just having an off night. I thought Kidman more than picked up the slack with some really snug offense, great selling and some big bumps. Check that one out for Kidman's performance, might be the best of his career. However, Rey Mysterio was not a fan of Eddy's LWO tactics and came out to cost Juvy the match. This led to a triple threat match between the three for the cruiserweights at WCW's biggest show of the year, Starrcade. Normally, I hate multi-man matches, but they did a really great job in this match to include all three men at all times. That means creative spots for the three of them plus they utilized third man to constantly save that afforded a means to protect finishers, but still build drama. I really liked the finish a lot with Rey trying to break up a pin, but in fact allowing Kidman to win the match, reverse Eddy's interference and he could not doing anything about due to his knee. After the match, Eddy just cuts an absolutely scathing promo and calls Kidman out. Yes, please to more cruiserweight goodness. Eddy had a rough 1998 after amazing heel run in late 1997 working as the overzealous uncle of Chavo Guerrero Jr. In the LWO, it looked like Eddie was finding his stride all over again, before a horrible car accident almost cost him his life. Here at Starrcade 1998, Eddie showed why he is one of the greatest of all time mixing in awesome offense with incredible heeling. God, what I would give to have one heel that was half as good as Eddie at heeling. Then to top it, he wrestled half of the match in one workman's boot and a sock. Now he is just showing off. It was a great underdog match from Kidman with some fun extracurriculars from Juvy and Rey Rey. Would have loved to see what these guys could do with a fresh Kidman at the next PPV. 

While late 1998, did not feature the classics of 1996 and 1997, Juventud Guerrera and Kidman showed promise to be the new standard-bearers of the division and that could have delighted fans into next year, but it was not be. By May, WCW was fucked up by administration and booking standpoint that it was hard for anybody to get over or have a great match. It was not just WCW in disarray as Juvy was a known heavy partier and his personal demons pretty much ruined the rest of his career, a career showed all the promise to be Rey Mysterio's equal in USA or Mexico. But for us fans, we will always have his 1998 run to remember the hard-chopping, brainbuster-dropping Juventud Guerrera. 

SING HALLELUJAH!

WCW Crusierweight Champion Juventud Guerrera vs Rey Mysterio Jr - WCW Thunder 1/15/98

Juventud Guerrera, had just beaten Ultimo Dragon for the title, who had just beaten Eddie Guerrero for the title. It was hard to have a long reign with the Crusierweight Championship. Rewatching these crusierweight matches, I forgot how awesome Juventud was. I was always a big fan of Psychosis, La Parka, and Rey Mysterio, but my memories of Juventud were that he was good, but just not one of my favorites. He was been a total offensive dynamo. Rey Mysterio has great offense, but his bread and butter is his selling, just like Psychosis' is his bumping. Juventud may have the best offense from an asskicking perspective. Once he got control with a crazy catapult over the top rope (incredible Rey bump on a legitimately hurt knee), it did not look he was ever going to let up with chops, brainbuster, springboard legdrop and an incredible top rope suicide dive. Even when Rey gets a desperation monkey flip to send him into the post. He jumps keeps coming like the Creature from the Black Lagoon. I love that lucha spot where you get kicked in the back of the leg as your running and you run ass first into the top rope. I loved the heat strike exchange between the two. Damn, I forgot how hard the luchadores hit. Rey makes his comeback, which is sort-lived from a Juvy powerbomb. Juvy looks to polish him off with 450 Splash, but Rey moves and nabs the title on a hurricanrana. This match was perfect for what it needed to be. Rey was alreadye established as a star and in order to make Juventud still look a big shot, Juventud gets to kick ass for the majority of the match. Rey is able to sell and make Juvy look great. Then when it comes time to get the booking right for Jericho Rey makes a quick comeback to win. You get the Rey/Jericho match you want for Souled Out and Juventud still looks strong for a future title defense. ***1/2

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WCW Cruiserweright Champion Juventud Guerrera vs Kidman - WCW Nitro 9/14/98

Gotta commend the WCW booking team on this one, exactly how you build on a hot babyface turn. They parlay the heat of Kidman's face turn and give him a run with the cruiserweight title and it gets a lot of fanfare. The match itself is a good match, but to me this one is more about the evolution of the Kidman character from misguided junkie to cleaned-up babyface making the most of his second chance. The crowd responded in turn by cheering him throughout and popping huge for his victory. It was a little weird that Kidman took most of the offense when he really did not have enough offense to carry a match at this point and plus as a sympathetic, underdog character you think getting some heat on him would make sense. I really liked Juvy's offense in other matches and would have him to get a couple more memorable spots in. Overall, it was paced as an even back and forth bout with Kidman in charge for the most of it and did not really kick in until Kidman reversed some Juvy's aerial moves into some sick suplexes. The reverse suplex out of the Juvy Driver was a great nearfall. I thought the finish was good shit, but did not really much else to support it. Still a great victory for Kidman and strong booking by WCW. They mentioned Juvy had a match with Silver King the night before at Fall Brawl and that piqued my interest. Is it any good?  

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WCW Crusierweight Champion Billy Kidman vs Juventud Guerrera - WCW Nitro 11/16/98

Billy Kidman, intelligent counterwrestler, was not the style I was expecting, but it definitely well-received by me. Almost at every turn, Kidman had an answer for Juvy's high-octane and aggressive offense. His ability to transition defense into offense was a really neat stylistic touch. Early on, he was able to take Juvy's movement transfer into a spinebuster then later dropkicking him off the apron leading to him hitting a plancha. What made this match even more special was Juvy really taking the time to sell all of Kidman's big moves and his own. You really got a sense of how high-risk these moves were when Juvy was selling his ass after a hard springboard legdrop. That was the story of the match, Juvy was dictating the pace of the match, but he was going to live and die by his moves. If he landed them, he was in the driver's seat, but Kidman's patience and counterwrestling ability like the facebuster out of the powerbomb or wheelbarrow suplex to avoid the bulldog was stymieing Juvy Juice. Before I get to the finish, I really liked Juvy playing to the crowd with the chops and the ten count punches in the corner. It really feels like Juvy has matured as an American wrestler. Juventud finally nails his big move the Juvy Driver, BUT he pulls back to hard on the cover and Kidman slips out. Again, Juventud's overzealousness costs him. He looks frustrated but tries to follow up with a top rope Frankensteiner. Kidman hits a low blow (WOW was not expecting that) and hit a slam off the top. 1-2-NO! Woah! I totally bit on that false finish. Kidman looks to seal the deal with a Shooting Star Press, but Juvy blocks and hits the 450 for the win. I really liked the story of Kidman's counterwrestling versus Juventud's high-risk offense. Kidman stooping to a low blow was a cool touch. I wish that Juvy did not just pop out to knock Kidman off his perch, but that's a small quibble. **** 

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WCW Cruiserweight Champion Juventud Guerrera vs Billy Kidman - WCW World War III '98

Juvytud is LWO 4 life and gives a very uneven performance. I have really liked what I have seen so far from Juvy, but he is missing that classic and I was hoping this may be it, but between the botches and the boring stalling, it was not to be. On the other hand, Kidman gave the best performance I have ever seen from him. He was so crisp on offense and everything was hit with intensity. You could feel him fighting hard to regain the Cruiserweight Championship. I loved the opening strike exchange between Kidman's forearms and Juvy's chops. It felt like they were fighting through each other. Juvy throws a mean chop and you get plenty of them in this match. However, now that he is a heel, he does a lot of stalling and it is just not good stalling. Kidman, being an expert counterwrestler, was able to cut Juvy off with moves like the BK Bomb, the whip into the corner with a follow up lariat with great velocity and fabulous, snug dropkick to catch Juvy off the top. Juventud finally consolidates an advantage with a slightly botched rana off the apron not exactly the easiest move. I liked the Brainbuster, but then he hits the chinlock. Juvy has two awesome short dropkicks to keep Kidman at bay. Kidman does a really nice job modulating his selling. Juventud is not able to pull of the difficult double jump dropkick between the rings. Kidman for his money hits a nice cross body from one ring to the other and takes a wicked bump from one ring to the ring's ropes. They do a great reversal exchange between Juvy Driver and the Reverse Suplex. Juventud's nearfall is a hurricanarana, but when he can't negotiate the pinfall, it is back to stalling. He tries to powerbomb Kidman and Kidman follows that up with an excellent wheelbarrow suplex. Instead of Kidman getting the clean win, Rey blocks Kidman from taking a top rope Frankensteiner so Kidman hits the Shooting Star Press to regain the title. the Rey interference furthers the Rey/LWO issue and Kidman still got a big pop for his victory. Kidman crushed it on this night, but Juvy was still getting used to being a pure American heel and was having a bit of an off night. The Nitro match is their best match in my opinion, but definitely check this out for a strong Kidman performance. ***1/2 

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WCW Cruiserweight Champion Billy Kidman vs Juventud Guerrera vs Rey Mysterio 

WCW Starrcade 1998

But does he love the Juice back?

Juventud Guerrera LOVES Dave Penzer. How do I know this? On his way to the ring, he points to Dave and exclaims "I LOVE YOU!". I have many wants in this world, add partying with Juvy Juice to them. I really liked this triple threat when I almost always hate them, but they definitely went past their expiration point. The heat was just rapidly dissipating towards the end. They could have been gassed. Rey was wearing a huge brace and years of partying may have caught up to Juvytud. I was little worried for the next match with Kidman since he looked fatigued here, but who am I to doubt Kidman? For a little background, Juvy is LWO 4 Life, Kidman is a gringo with their belt and Rey is begrudgingly in the LWO, but undermines Uncle Eddy at every turn. 

Rey Rey & Kidman foreshadowing their team that would last until the end of WCW team up to take it to The Juice. Juvy is such a funny stooge. Rey hits the nastiest Bronco Buster ever on Juvy. However, when he accidentally forearms Kidman it is on. Juvy is in the background egging them on so they deck him again. Awesome! My favorite spot was probably Rey on Kidman's shoulders ducking a Juvy top rope crossbody and then Kidmamn slamming Rey on Juvy with Rey getting a two count before Kidman yanks him off. JUVY CHOPS WOOOOOOO!!! This match needed more badass Juvy offense. Juventud hits a monster springboard splash to the outside. Two things really separate this from a normal triple threat. First is that everything is organic and sensible.  All three men are almost always involved and there are a ton of saves and rhythm breaks. I loved how everyone was going for covers and they using the third man to make all these saves. It stayed true to the spirit of pro wrestling. There are no elaborate spots, it is just people trying to execute their own shit, but then a third man comes and fucks it up. The other is that there is actually a progression of selling by all three men rather than weird I sell for a stretch then I am fine, rinse, lather, repeat.

Tony has this badass line, "In essence every man is wrestling a handicap match." I have never thought about a triple threat match like that, but it is so true. I miss Tony! Mike Tenay, on the other hand, is such a putz as he totally falls for Bobby's "Bill is here" joke with an exasperated "BILL WHO?" I had a good laugh. 

The finish has all the makings of a hot one, but just felt flat the way it was executed. Everyone gets a chance to shine Rey (Top Rope Asai Moonsault, Springboard Rana), Juvy (Juvy Driver) and Kidman (Shooting Star Press to the outside). Eddy wanders down to ringside to ensure a Juvy win and flips the cradle position. Rey dropkicks Juvy, but instead of breaking it up Kidman ends up on top and Rey just does not have strength for another save. Eddy's reaction at ringside is priceless with a great NNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I really the liked the finish and this was a very fun match that is a departure from the usual triple threat bullshit. ****

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WCW Cruiserweight Champion Billy Kidman vs Eddy Guerrero - WCW Starrcade 1998

Eddy cuts a scathing promo berating Juventud and Rey for their loss to a "sissy boy" and that they are morons. Eddy says when you want something done you have to do it yourself and challenges Kidman. However, when Kidman is ready to accept challenge right there and then, Eddy begs off and Kidman calls him a sissy. Eddy was so fucking awesome! "Eddy sucks!" fills the arena. Juventud is in Eddy's leather jacket and is still totally LWO 4 Life, Love it! STOP THE PRESSES! EDDY POWERBOMBED KIDMAN! They work a killer heat segment with Kidman peppering in hope spots and Eddy just bringing the violence (chops) and dickishness (ab stretch with some help from Juvy, but Rey breaks it up twice). Eddy shoves Rey, but then shoves Juvy too, great dynamic. Juvy still holds Kidman for Eddy to punch now that is sickening unwavering loyalty. Kidman starts to really mount a comeback, which leads to an awkward exchange in the corner eventually Eddy gets his workman's boot (steel-toed of course) and wallops Kidman. Eddy tries to put his boot back on and thinks better of it and chucks it at Rey. Eddy then wrestles quarter of the match in one boot and a sock, so badass! Eddy dropkicks the knee in a sock! On a bridging toehold, Rey bops Juvy on the top of the head with the boot and then hits Eddy. Too funny. I notice towards the end of this there is no heat, but I can't figure out why. Eddy has been stellar. The finish much like the last one features some great symmetry between Juvy and Rey crotching their respective enemies. Shooting Star Press and Kidman pulls the improbable task of beating the three best cruiserweights in two straight matches on the same night, quite the feather in the cap. Kidman was fine in his role of selling and hope spots, but this was the Eddy show and we were just on the ride. He was spectacular in this. ***3/4 

A Most Violent Poem: Eddy Guerrero, Rey Mysterio (WCW Cruiserweight 1997)

Hey yo Stud Muffins & Foxy Ladies,

Hope all the members of the Sleeze Synod had a Happy Easter. Here is the most excellent hymn to celebrate the Paschal Mystery

NOW That is an Easter Bunny!

WCW Cruiserweight Champion Ultimo Dragon vs Dean Malenko  

WCW Clash of the Champions XXXIV

Malenko will you come up from your leg bar and let the fans love you? You gotta let the fans love you before they fall asleep.

The fans at the Mecca in Milwaukee wanted desperately to cheer for Dean Malenko to kick some ass. Literally, every Malenko highspot gets a pop and they go wild for the finish. However, Malenko and Dragon seem committed to reversing the psychology much to the chagrin of the fans. Malenko vs Dragon is my least favorite cruiserweight/junior heavyweight match up of the 90s. Building an entire match around Ultimo Dragon selling the leg is a risky proposition and as expected he does not sell in the long run.  Which makes the fact that Malenko won't work a hot sprint, fist-throwing sprint all the more frustrating. Instead, they settle for the worst indulgences of 90s NJPW Junior match meaning first 75% is perfunctory submission, limb psychology before kicking into high gear. The perfunctory submission was actually very well sold and Malenko worked over the knee really well, but I knew Dragon would be up hitting Asai Moonsaults and landing on his knees without pain so it was just a waste. It was doubly so because this was a crowd begging to cheer for Malenko. They popped for a kneecrusher for Christ Sake! Anytime, Malenko did anything besides a hold they were ready to cheer. You know what they did not want a Dragon comeback, but that was the only possible option after Malenko basically took a heat segment. I really enjoy Dragon's offense, but it is so frustrating because Malenko did such a  stellar job working over the leg. Dragon's opponents should only work the arm. The finish run built to the climax of Malenko decking Sonny Onoo and applying Cloverleaf pretty well and the crowd popped huge for it. Deano Machino was over despite himself. Maybe he was playing hard to get? ***

WCW Cruiserweight Champion Syxx w/Kevin Nash vs Rey Mysterio - WCW Nitro 4/21/97

After a prolific breakout year in America in 1996, Rey Mysterio had a bit of a sophomore slump. Yes, he would have the best WCW match of the late 90s in 1997, but there was a wide chasm between the Halloween Havoc classic and his next best match. That is what happens when you feud with Prince Iaukea and basically given shit in the summer. I did not think the Dragon match at Spring Stampede was all that special so I would hold this up as my second favorite Rey match of 1997. As for Syxx, depending on how the Eddy ladder match goes, I have this only behind the tremendous Slamboree Six-Man for his tenure in WCW. It is so disappointing they were given such a short time, but they sure packed in a lot of action. Syxx was great at feeding Rey so fun spots early to get the crowd invested. His transition was great using Rey's speed against him by tossing him up and throwing him down. After being in the land of the giants in WWF, it must have been so cool for Syxx to finally be the bigger man in a match. You kinda forget that Syxx is a normal size human when he is always wrestling these behemoths. Syxx kicked some serious ass, but also kept it heel with the Bronco Buster (never liked that as a face move) and the cheating on the ab stretch. Rey crawling away from Big Sexy was a great visual. Rey's comeback off Syxx's missed Bronco Buster was great, but left you wanting so much more, a beautiful rana followed by maybe his best somersault plancha ever. Just when Rey Rey looked poised to win, Nash came in quick as a cat to stick him with the Jacknife. I actually liked Nash's involvement as it made the Cruiserweight Title mean even more with the elite of the New World Order taking the time to be at ringside and ensure his buddy's victory. It would have been better if it set up for a kickass rematch on PPV. Imagine Flair/Rey vs Nash/Syxx on Nitro to build to it. WOW! I have said it before and I'll say it again, if only I could have been booker of WCW in 1996-97 what a talent pool! Awesome TV match! ***1/2

WCW Cruiserweight Champion Chris Jericho vs Ultimo Dragon 

WCW Bash At The Beach 1997

Jericho certainly had a penchant for biting off more than he could chew in this time period. The dropkick while on the top rope could have been disastrous and the Super-Rana on Gedo was. Jericho was trying to make a name for himself and I respect that. Hell, WCW was putting him in a position to succeed his WAR buddies and people like Eddie Guerrero. I liked this match warts and all. There are a lot of warts in the form of blown spots, but this dripped with effort and was very competitive something that has been missing from previous Dragon matches. I really felt the competitive rivalry in the form of the chippiness of some of the back elbows and the kicks. The opening babyface mirror matwork spots were fun until they got to the passe dropkick each other spot, which got them no applause. Good on on you Florida, don't encourage that bullshit. I was always a mark for the Dragon headstand in the corner and I liked it as the transition here. A lot of the work revolves around them knowing each other well so you get a lot of them going the extra mile to sucker their opponent in or using a dropkick as a counter. Dragon's kicks look great and he seems much more invested in winning this match than showing off. Jericho is here to win and make a statement and his double powerbomb is the perfect move to accomplish both goals. A great familiarity spot is Dragon does his usual floatover in the corner and Jericho keeps running to hit a quebrada off the turnbuckles. Jericho knew what was coming and leveraged it for the upper hand. They struggle on the top rope and Dragon bails before Jericho dropkicks him. I think that was pretty wise by Dragon and Tony & The Brain agree. Jericho follows that up by wiping him out with a springboard shouldertackle to the floor. Jericho was vanilla as fuck as a character, but he was trying his damnedest to get over with his in-ring work. It does get a little too move tradey down the stretch as everyone starts hitting dropkicks to counter and Dusty points out all these counters are great, but you got to get to the pay windah. I agree there is competitive and then there is is just oversaturation and the counters become inconsequential. The spot that really sticks out is when Jericho goes for the springboard shoudlerblock again and Drago side-steps him that was one helluva bump to set up the Asai Moonsault. Loved, loved Jericho doing a Lionsault when Dragon setting up a dropdown-run the ropes-tackle spot. That was the little shit that throws you off and makes me pop. Lionsault does not get it done. Jericho wriggles free of the Tiger Suplex and Dragon Sleeper. Dragon snaps off a quick hurricanarana, but his own momentum takes him over and Jericho scores the victory. There were too many cool, unique spots to not call this less than very good and it all worked in the context of two familiar, competitive rivals. Tighten up the match and connect with all the spots and this would have been a classic. As is, it is a very good unheralded WCW babyface vs babyface cruiserweight match. ***3/4

WCW Cruiserweight Champion Chris Jericho vs Eddie Guerrero - Fall Brawl 1997

WOW! I have seen this match before a bunch of times since I have it on DVD and always thought it was good, but today it really clicked with me. Eddie was just on fire during this heel run. He was doing all the right things. He was a sniveling coward, a funny stooge and a sadistic muthafucka at all the right times. Jericho during this bland Lionheart babyface run is not too fondly remembered, but when he was kicking ass he came off as a badass. I loved his chops and late in the game he kept up with Eddie spot for spot. His top wristlock really needs to be tightened up especially when Jarrett later on the show works a way better one. I miss top and double wristlocks in wrestling.

Big Eddie Sucks chant early and Eddie hits the stall to milk it by covering his heel. On the first armdrag, Eddie claims his hair was pulled. Eddie makes all of Jericho matwork really fun. Eddie takes his first big bump when he goes flying into the top rope to set up the Lionsault. It is all Jericho early who looks like a runaway freight train. Eddie out of desperation on the apron snaps Jericho's neck across the top rope. Eddie goes to town on Jericho's back with a ton of cool surfboards even breaking out the Gory Special. Jericho reverses into his own and drops Eddie on his face. Jericho follows up with some weak clothesline. I like how Tony calls them as such because Jericho has taken a beating that's how you call what you are selling but give a good kayfabe justification. Jericho consolidates his advantage when he crotches Eddie on the top rope and sends him for the ride. That spot never gets old! Perfect timing for Jericho's springboard dropkick. In the gnarly spot, I always remember Jericho looks to powerbomb Eddie off the apron, but drops back with it hotshotting him. Eddie falls off the apron onto Jericho. It was a desperation play by Jericho to level the playing field, but not without cost to himself. They just start throwing bombs with reckless abandon and it is super fun. Everything is hitting so crisply. Jericho's release German sent Eddie flying halfway across the ring. Again, Tony covering for the kickout saying Jericho had to crawl so far cost him the pinfall.  Jericho hits his double powerbomb spot and places Eddie on the top rope for the superplex. Eddie counters mid-move (Yes, it does look like Eddie took a Brainbuster) by reversing his weight. This leaves Jericho prone for the Frogsplash.

I really liked how this match built perfectly to the finish. You had Jericho dominate early, but get caught by a nefarious Eddie tactic. Eddie worked a tremendous heat segment with a wicked sneer. Then it just came down to a crazy wild finish of bombs with each going for the win. It made the Cruiserweight title feel really important. I loved the finish with Jericho looking to pull the trigger on a superplex, which could win him the match, but on this occasion he pays the price for this high risk move and Eddie capitalizes. Great stuff! ****1/4

WCW Cruiserweight Champion Eddy Guerrero vs Rey Mysterio - WCW Halloween Havoc 1997 Title Vs Mask

When people talk about matches that you need to see before you die, this is near the top of the list. In fact, I think even non-wrestling fans could appreciate the athleticism and execution on display from these two high caliber wrestlers. From a pure execution standpoint, you will be hard-pressed to find a better match. It was two of the greatest wrestlers ever at their absolute peak just both having the night of their lives and coming together to make violent, yet graceful art. Rey was absolutely poetry in motion. Not one single flub in a performance that featured some of the most complicated moves you will ever see while not coming off as a forced spot. The springboard DDT counter and the somersault plancha into the hurricanrana are just mind-blowing. Then you have to remember, he had to do this having just taken a shit kicking from Eddy. Eddy was just at his violent best. Everything was just so crisp and nasty. His chops and strikes reverberated around the building. His backbreakers and whips into the steel were violent. His holds stretched Rey to his breaking point. Ripping at the mask, he was just adding insult to injury. The mask was attached to the bodysuit because of a previous incident where Eddy ripped off Rey's mask, which caused a Rey loss.  The Las Vegas crowd was with them in lockstep. "Eddie Sucks!" filled the ring during every brutal hold on Rey's back. They bit on Rey's nearfalls desperately hoping he would win the title and keep the mask. Eddy never let the match get out of hand. For every breath-taking Rey counter, he literally had a breath-taking counter which would evacuate the air from Rey's lungs (wicked double leg whip or back suplex) or knock him senseless (violent dropkick to the back of the head and HOLY SHIT powerbomb). Rey, though he screamed in agony, never quit. At first his fancy footwork was his downfall because Eddy anticipated his movements and could counter at will, but slowly he was connecting with more and more. Finally as he pulled himself from the Tree of Woe and Eddy slid into post, Rey took control and the crowd was cheering him on with each incredible move, the hurricanrana out of the tilt-a-whirl backbreaker is one of the best false finishes of all time. Eddie still would get his when he turned a springboard hurricanarana into a backbreaker. Eddy was poised to win with a frogsplash, but Rey moved and Eddy rolled through. Eddy looked to polish him off with Splash Mountain and just when it looked like Rey ran out of escapes he pulled out his best the hurricanarana out of Splash Mountain. You know until I watched it this time with a critical eye, it was the first time I noticed with was sub-15 minutes. They pack so much action in there that feels like a 20 minute match, but it is still so well-paced that you never feel like it is tiring. It does feel slightly abbreviated and they never really get a chance to milk any one spot, minor quibble. Eddie is just the meanest man in this match. He may have the best sneer in wrestling history and to think he may also have the most charismatic smile makes me miss him all that much more.  Rey is the ultimate underdog. That is it, he is the best underdog ever. You know how much the mask means to him and here is Eddy ripping it at and just being a total prick. They just could not fire a bad shot in this match. ****3/4

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Rey Misterio Jr & Juventud Guerrera vs La Parka & Psicosis - Nitro 12/15/97

Gotta love Larry Z marking the fuck out for the 450 Splash, which is a personal favorite move of mine. These guys went balls to the wall for this match and never let up. They win the crowd and the announcers over. Psicosis and La Parka were such great heels. it is a shame they never got pushed as a tag team. La Parka telling a fan to suck it was awesome. La Parka and Psicosis went off early with Psicosis hitting a nasty Guillotine Legdrop and La Parka with a wicked powerbomb. Rare misfire in a great match was when Juvy was shot into his own corner during the FIP. Once Rey gets in, they go all out to impress everyone. The stereo somersault planchas were awesome. I love when La Parka and Psicosis are shown up like when they kick La Parka leg out causing him to dropkick Psicosis. Juvy throws Rey into a hurricarna onto La Parka. WOW! Psicosis pulls Rey out. La Parka with a wicked chop, but Rey pays them back by tripping up La Parka. Juvy counters a top rope slam in mid-air and Tony loses his fucking mind. La Parka gets caught dancing one too many times and damn Rey's huricanrana game was off the charts as he nails him with a springboard hurricanrana to the floor on La Parka. 450 SPLASH! WOW! If only all spotfests were this good! ***3/4