It’s been a while since we’ve done this – here’s a look at some truly random matches pulled from YouTube!
Mil Mascaras vs. Samuray del Sol (PWS Five Year Anniversay; June 1, 2012 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKqR_z15efg)
Del Sol is better known these days as WWE’s resident “lucha thing” Kalisto, and judging by the run-time, this is going to be a quick match!
Mil Mascaras was 69 at the time of this match, and his reputation was pretty much preceding him. Don’t expect many stars, is all I’m saying!
They start with a Greco-Roman knuckle lock, but Mascaras takes the hands to the mat for a stamp, before Mascaras ties up del Sol in a surfboard stretch. It takes Mil two attempts to hiptoss del Sol, and we get a long set-up for a series of swivelling headscissor takedowns.
Samuray returns to the ring as he’s caught in a headlock takedown, and then with a hiptoss… and my God, del Sol is bumping around Mil. Mascaras saunters into the corner for something resembling a clothesline, then he goes back to the knuckle-lock as he forces del Sol down and barely gets a slam down.
From there, del Sol’s briefly caught in a stump puller double armbar, then back to an armbar and some armdrags for once. An Octopus is put on for a few seconds as del Sol bumps from that, and we’re back to the armbar that turns into a throw across the ring.
This is real bad, guys.
Samuray fires up his “lucha” poses, as he goes back into another knuckle lock, as del Sol struggles to overpower a man more than 40 years his elder, before del Sol’s whipped into the ropes. Mascaras hits a shoulder tackle that’s supposed to pass for a flying body press, and that’s enough for the win. Well, that’s five minutes I’m not getting back… Mascaras gave del Sol NOTHING here, which made the hype of “Lucha’s best ever vs. Lucha’s best now” look incredibly dumb. Sorry Samuray, this isn’t on you… -***
Tracy Smothers vs. The Barbarian (WCW, Saturday Night; January 19, 2000; aired January 29, 2000)
This was Smothers’ last match for WCW, coming seven and a half years on from his last appearance (in a tag match on Worldwide, losing to Nikolai Volkoff and Sting). Since then, he’d been around the indies, and had some level of fame as Freddie Joe Floyd in the WWF.
Similarly, this’d be one of the Barbarian’s final televised outings in WCW, and we start with a tie-up, as Smothers is shoved into the corner. Another tie-up takes him to the corner for some shots from the Barbarian, who then whips him across… but Smothers gets the feet up and comes back with a dropkick. A flying forearm drops Barbarian for a near-fall, but an O’Connor roll is easily blocked from the big guy.
Another roll-up from Smothers gets a two-count, before they tease hiptosses, which ends with some headbutts and a capture suplex by Barbarian. A side slam gets Barbarian a near-fall, and a jump cut leads to a Smothers comeback as he’s laying into Barbarian in the corner with forearms, before a series of standing heel kicks knock him down.
Smothers goes up top for a frog splash elbow drop, but Barbarian kicks out at two. Sadly, Smothers’ rope-running leads to a big boot, and that’s all. A glorified TV squash match, but decent for what it was. **
Jack Gallagher vs. Tyler Bate (Great Bear Promotions, March 26, 2016 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddnG42s7mSg)
This is more like it! For some reason the hard camera is zoomed out too much, as the commentators joke that “this is a tag team waiting to happen”. And it may well do on a NXT house show soon!
Jack and Tyler start with some Doink-esque mirror moves, before a knuckle-lock gives way to a test of strength that Gallagher turns into a grounded hammerlock. Gallagher rolls back into a cover, but Bate’s too close to the ropes as both men stand back up. They take their turns to pose on the turnbuckles, as Bate does a headstand on the top turnbuckles, and we’re back to the wrestling, as Gallagher grabs Bate’s foot and rolls him to the mat.
From the toe-hold, Bate rolls free and applies one himself, but Gallagher spins out to escape as the crowd applauds. He then goes to the mat in a crab-like move to confuse the 19-year-old, and we go to a leg stretcher with an armbar thrown in as well as the pair see-saw to apply pressure, before Gallagher rolls out and nonchalantly ties Bate up.
Bate tries to mount a comeback with a hammerlock, but Gallagher gets free and throws Bate to the mat with a wristlock, which is maintained before Bate is taken into the ropes. The wristlock is reapplied as Gallagher takes Bate down into a hammerlock, which he bridges over from as Bate is kept grounded.
Somehow Bate applies one of his own at the same time as the pair go back-to-back into the ropes, before a brief period of pressure ends with Bate taking a backslide for a near-fall. Tyler gets nasty from there with an elbow and a rake of the eyes as he tries to grind down Gallagher with a side headlock, throwing in right hands when the referee was unsighted.
Gallagher escapes the headlock by walking on his hands, before a dropkick and some uppercuts rock Bate, who snaps back violently with each shot. A duck-under from Gallagher gives way to a quick series of back-and-forth pinning attempts, as the rolling sunset flip gives a plethora of one-counts… and a lot of dizziness! After the final kick-out, Gallagher catches Bate with a La Magistral, and that’s enough for the win! A fun, technical match, but for me it was way too short once you stripped aside the one-upmanship stuff. ***¼
Clutch Adams vs. “Cauliflower” Chase Brown (ROH/Future of Honor)
This was posted on January 13, 2017 – and we start with some brief promos beforehand to explain who these guys are. Clutch calls himself the hidden gem of professional wrestling, whilst Chase Brown gets his nickname from holding a cauliflower, apparently on the instructions of Terry Funk. Hmmm…
This looks to be a trainee show that made it onto YouTube in clipped form, so the crowd is a bunch of wrestlers in their gear and ROH t-shirts. We start with Adams charging into Brown in the corner, and without his headband, Brown sadly looks like a 90s WWF job guy, with dyed hair but a natural beard… Brown leaps over Adams and connects with a monkey flip, then a hiptoss, before a second monkey flip sees Adams land on his face before rolling to the outside.
The game of cat and mouse ends with Adams beating down Brown back inside the ring, before he takes Cauliflower into the corner for some chops. Brown replies in kind, but he’s sent onto the apron, before Adams eventually drops him with a stunner against the top turnbuckle as Cauliflower was apparently trying to suplex him to the floor.
Adams throws Brown into the wall, then stomps back on him back in the ring as a boot gets Adams a near-fall. Brown’s dropped with a back elbow from Adams for another two-count, before a snap suplex gets Adams another near-fall. Some forearms and chops help Brown send Adams into the corner, but he’s whipped into the opposite corner as Adams eventually catches Brown with a rope-hung lungblower for a two-count.
Adams tries for another lungblower off the top rope, but Brown holds on and tries something aerial… but he has to shove off another attack from Adams before landing a shotgun missile dropkick. That looked to have tweaked Brown’s neck some, but Adams misses a shoulder charge in the corner and is left open for a bridging Saito suplex as Cauliflower gets a two-count.
Brown deadlifts Adams in a Fisherman’s suplex for a near-fall, before he goes for a Kimura, which he somehow escapes and punches Brown. A back suplex from Brown’s countered, then met with a rolling elbow, before a wild spinning powerbomb leads to Adams giving Brown a bucklebomb – with Chase’s landing going awry as he hit the ringpost on the way out of the ring.
Yeah… maybe that spot should be ditched?
Back inside the ring, Brown eats a Flatliner then a superkick for a near-fall, as Adams decides to go up top, landing a 450 Splash that looked more like a 450 headbutt… but that’s no matter as Brown apparently catches in in a Kimura on impact for the flash submission. A decent trainee match, but I’m not sold on having these guys training being exposed in this way – especially from a promotion that really has little designs on using them outside of YouTube filler. **½
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