Angel Azteca vs. El Dandy

[4.0] "Yeah, this one isn't really my cup of tea. I can get why it has its fans but 40 mins of mat based grappling just isn't for me."

[10.0] "This was fantastic. Super methodical match where both guys clearly know their shit and fight for each hold. Just 30 ish minutes of beautiful pure technical wrestling and i wish it was longer. *****"

[9.0] "What a fantastic match this is, a true masterpiece, the festival of limb work, I loved it. Dandy and Azteca targeted every possible part of each other's body, this was a chess game, I've read someone saying that the first strike here came with 26-minutes into the match, and I didn't even noticed it, that's how involving this was, definitely one of the best technical matches of all time, which isn't even my favorite style, but this was fantastic, an immortal bout, the stuff they did here was brilliant, the adjective that I saw being more used to this match is 'beautiful', and I agree, I think it's truly a beautiful match, an art form, I could watch the mat work all day, everything was incredibly smooth, loved the transitions and the reversals. This was kinda different from the traditional lucha matches, it was longer, every fall had its own story, and even the first two falls, that are usually not very long or elaborate, were incredibly well worked, like every fall was a different match, but we still had the climax, with a suicide dive, top rope moves and a lot of nearfalls, that closed incredibly well and in dramatic fashion the match. I caught myself thinking three or four times during the match 'damn, this is so good' - {****1/2}"

[9.0] "This was an amazing match. The majority of this match was some great mat work with counters and some absolutely brutal submissions, and the last few minutes was some good fast paced back and forth action."

[5.0] "Cards on the table, I don't particularly like lucha libre that much. These guys have really good ground wrestling fundamentals but it feels like that's all I'm seeing in this match: two guys just working through a bunch of fundamentals. The match doesn't pick up until the third fall. It reminds me a lot of Inoki vs Fujinami where they spent a bunch of time trading submissions just for no one to sell anything. The whole thing is just really lacking any kind of psychology or direction in my opinion. Its like I'm watching 2 guys practice for an actual match for ~35 minutes."

[6.0] "Great match for fans of matwork but for me the pace was sluggish and the match missed those few moments that engage the crowd and kick the match into another gear. Pace picked up a bit for the final fall but the journey there is a little too long for that final stretch to really grab me."

[6.0] "Okay, now we are improving. I thought I was on an anti-90s lucha train until I encountered this matchphenomenal matwork and a pace that didn't feel sluggish. The only thing that I felt was missing was more psychology. Fantastic wrestling for sure, but I was looking for some crowdwork to spice it up a bit."

[7.0] "I'm usually not a fan of old lucha matches, but this match happened to 'click' with me. It wasn't the 5-star classic I've seen lucha fans equate it to, but it was very good. It was a pretty slow match, but with a lot of care and emotion clearly thrown in. I've briefly heard El Dandy mentioned before as perhaps one of the most underrated wrestlers in history, and while I wouldn't go as far as to even include him in that conversation myself, I can understand why others think that, because he gave a very impressive performance here. Dandy did his best to make every grapple exchange with Azteca look genuine because he would constantly try brush off Azteca's strikes and attempted escapes, instead of just allowing them to happen so the grappling could 'evolve', as is the case in a lot of grappling-based wrestling matches. Dandy also did an awesome job selling. He showcased clear anguish and annoyance without ever going into melodrama, which is a tough line to toe. His performance, especially when being dominated by Azteca, was quite compelling. The holds applied from both wrestlers were quite impressive too. They weren't the usual half-hearted holds I've previously seen in old lucha matches; the wrestlers appeared to be striving for the realistic look. Maybe it's my ignorance of common lucha matches speaking, but the offence on display was very creative. I saw a bunch of holds and other such moves that I had never seen before, and even if the pace was never fast enough to be exciting on its own, the strong chemistry between both men made up for it. Azteca had been incrementally working over Dandy's leg, and Dandy's selling, while sadly inconsistent, was very good whenever he brought it out. The leglock sequences were also Azteca's best moments, especially since he was aided by Dandy's strong selling. The competition for the final fall was much more energetic with lots of great near falls. Nice la magistral cradle pin from Dandy to finally get the win. ***1/2"

[8.0] "I gave this match **** stars out of five. The first two falls were really starting to wear me down, it was mostly chain wrestling, but the third fall really revved it up and they started to pick the pace up. Really good lucha match, that I felt went a little too long."

[10.0] "If you're a fan of competitive mat work, this match is a must see. Angel Azteca & El Dandy absolutely tortured each other with those sick submissions, and by the end you get some more fast paced action as well. Fantastic match. ****1/2"

[10.0] "What a stupendous match. The matwork is brilliant throughout, much of it is gradual but it's all very smart and lively enough to keep the viewer engaged. It kicks up tremendously in the 3rd fall, where Azteca's knee work starts to come into play, and there is a fantastic bump to the outside by Dandy follow by him getting driven into the second row by an awesome dive. Just an awesome match, loved it."

[10.0] "The first fall is great - the action isn't fast and furious, but both guys show lots of unique moves, counters and submission holds. In the second fall both guys seem to target mainly the legs of the opponent - both guys sell rather well (although sometimes inconsistent); I loved the surprising ending of the fall (with AA legs too weak to kick out! ). The third fall is excellent - it incorporates the story of the other falls, but is also the most dramatic. Incredible "smart" match by both performers."