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Mascara Contra Mascara: Atlantis vs. Villano III 3/17/00 Arena Mexico, D.F. (20,000 sellout) From EMLL PPV |
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An old school scientific match. It was at least a good match on it's own, but the unbelievable crowd heat and emotion more than the wrestling itself was what made it riveting. They knew they would get a big reaction, so they based the match on giving the fans spots to react to. It wasn't all that spectacular, but it was very dramatic because there were so many times when one of the combatants was this close to losing his legendary mask. The match being one fall really helped add to the drama because there were no second chances. The fans didn't want it to end because, in spite of Villano normally being a rudo, they liked both guys and didn't want to see them deprived of their crown jewel. It was a simple match for the most part, but that's EMLL, the solid old style. They used the blade and selling to give it the look, and tons of near finishes to make it exciting. Even though it wasn't highly complex or exceptionally glamorous, what they did more than got the job done. In a way, it seemed like it was glamorous because everything that looked like a finisher got a big pop above the regular continuous buzz that sustained for more than 30 minutes. They'd also chant the name of the guy that looked like they were in trouble even if it wasn't the guy they were rooting for. Atlantis went nuts at the announcement that heel referee Baby Richard was going to handle the match. He pleaded his case to the commissioner, and got Richard removed. Villano hugged Richard before he left and they did double high fives before Atlantis opened the ropes so Baby could hit the road. One of the reasons the match worked so well was that Villano didn't wrestle rudo style at all. Villano was so over that they were going to cheer for him anyway, so it didn't make sense to "try to make him the heel." He's spent a lot of time as a technico, so he's more than capable of doing that style and we didn't need any fouls or outside interference to taint the match. The match started pretty slow. Villano ripped Atlantis' mask about 4 minutes in and knocked him to the floor so he could do his tope suicida. Atlantis did a big blade job from the tope, which was different. It was really weird seeing someone blade after a dive, but it's not out of the ordinary to get a cut when you crack heads with somebody. They had a doctor check the cut, but, of course, he decided that Atlantis could continue. At 8:10, Atlantis suplexed Villano back into the ring, but Villano turned it into a small package for a near fall and a big pop. This started a 10 minute sequence of one near finish after another, with Villano being the one that was coming close over and over. The sequence started off basic and worked it's way up to the better and more interesting moves, but the idea that the match could end at any time was much more important than the moves themselves. Mainly they used a lot of submissions, some of which were looked cool and some didn't, but they did do some different things and certainly played up the deadliness of the submissions so the fans would believe in them. To some extent I don't think the fans expected the match to end in most cases, but the match was so good and they were so into it that they were going to make noise anyway. Villano was a little sloppy in his execution of a few of the submissions, but he did get them right before it became a problem. Atlantis was a bloody mess, so even though he still had the mask on, his pained expressions made for fairly powerful visuals. Villano bled as well, but it pretty much blended into his pink mask. Atlantis finally turned the tide with his huracanrana. He dropkicked Villano to the floor and did his plancha. Both men lied on the mat outside the ring with their arms spread out, looking like they were about dead. When the finally got back into the ring, Atlantis tried for the pin, but it had been so long that Villano was able to kick out. Atlantis tried a lariat, but Villano avoided and went into an octopus with a hammerlock. Atlantis escaped the submission by throwing Villano off him, and nearly pinned him in a submission where he bowed Villano's knee and held his arms. Atlantis avoided a back body drop and went into a Gori inversiva (like a Gori especial, but Atlantis held both of Villano's legs together in front of his chest), but Villano did a sit up and twisted into a sunset flip. The finish looked to be Villano running at Atlantis, but Atlantis putting him in his version off the torture rack. For some inexplicable reason, Atlantis let Villano go. Villano hit him with a lariat to the back of the neck, but he was too damaged to stay on the offensive. Atlantis then dropkicked Villano in the back and did his torture rack where he drops to his knees for the win. The fans went totally nuts for the finish, all standing and cheering. Some fans were even crying. It seemed like most of the fans never sat down after the finish, they just stood until the post match was over and then left. It was really an unbelievable atmosphere in this day and age. Initially their cheers were for the victor Atlantis, but they changed to Villano when he started talking. During Villano's interview his legendary father Rey Mendoza unlaced his mask, eventually unmasking him as Arturo Mendoza. This meant Arturo was the first of the five sons of Rey that wrestle as Los Villanos to lose his mask. This was an excellent match overall, but only the heat and drama were
great. In a different setting it would have been seen as a boring match
because it had a lot of fake submissions and didn't have a lot of 21st
century high spots and risks, but all that matters is that in this setting
everything they did worked like a charm. 25:05
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