Sangre Chicana vs. Shocker
December 10, 2005
AAA
Hair vs. Hair
** 3/4
For two falls at least, this was an above average mid-2000’s AAA singles match that didn’t rely on a lot of bells and whistles to get there, which is a rare sight indeed.
Even at the ripe old age of 55, Sangre Chicana still looked like he could work a quality hair match in his sleep. Chicana is the tecnico and spends most of the initial fall selling after Shocker jumps him the way to the ring. Chicana was always a great seller. His long hair flips all over the place as he stumbles and takes well positioned back bumps for Shocker’s offense. Chicana wastes no time in blading and has a thick coat of blood on his forehead before they even get through the first fall. When on offense, Chicana throws the same old mean punch that made him one of the all-time great hair match workers. He doesn’t do a whole lot on offense in this match but Chicana often did not do a lot on offense. He didn’t nead to. His offense wasn’t all that different from the offense he used a dozen years earlier against La Fiera, save for the crowd interaction. The combo of punches and abdominal stretch related submissions are more than enough to get him through this match.
For his part, Shocker works hard and holds his own. He throws a good punch as well. More importantly, he bumps big for Chicana when Chicana is fighting back. He takes a huge bump into the seats in the second fall that sets up a prolonged run of offense for the veteran. Shocker bleeds as well. The double dose of blood made the match – or at least the first couple of falls – have the feel of a throwback hair match.
Falls one and two ended with some wonkiness but logical wonkiness at least. Shocker controls the first fall and locks his bloody opponent in an STF. Chicana gives and Tirantes awards the fall to Shocker . . . only Shocker does not want to let go of the hold. Tirantes warns him but Shocker is out to do some bodily harm and ignores the warnings. Tirantes eventually pulls him off and awards the fall to Chicana. The finish to the second fall is a repeat with the roles reversed. Chicana does a half crab variation with Shocker’s leg pulled over his head. Shocker gives right away and Tirates emphatically waives the fall off. Chicana doesn’t let go. Enough time elapses where Tirantes should call for the DQ but he doesn’t, so Chicana drops the hold thinking that will prompt Tirantes to raise Shocker’s hand. He doesn’t, so Chicana locks the hold back on and only then does Tirantes break it up and award the fall to Shocker. It was a little mess up but nothing major. The finishes went a long way in establishing that both guys were out to damage and if they won in the process, so be it.
With a solid third fall, this would have been a solidly above average if not an outright good hair match. First Tirantes slow counts a Chicana pin attempt, which is odd because until that point he called the match right down the middle as the finishes of the first two falls demonstrated. A few minutes into the decisive fall, Tirantes is bumped. Chicana stays on offense but without an official he can’ do anything with the advantage. Zumbido and Alan Stone run in with Shocker locked in a stretch. They beat up Chicana, Shocker covers, and Tirantes recovers in time to count Chicana down. I am not a stickler on interference but this match didn’t need it. The finishes to the first couple of falls were creative and worked. The match ends in the exact opposite manner with a completely uncreative and tired finish that simply wasn’t needed. Chicana lost his hair a whole lot later in his career and wasn’t a guy you needed to protect at this point. You could come up with a hundred finishes better than the one they presented. Something as simple as Chicana taping out in a submission, Shocker holding on for a second or two, and then letting go just before getting in trouble for it would have worked far better. Or if they wanted to protect Chicana, he could have refused to release another hold and lose the third fall that way. The actual finish was about the least creative finish they could have come up with in this situation.
The third fall drags things down a bit but overall this is still an average hair match give or take. The brawling is there, the blood is there, and the hatred is there. That is enough to cover for the fact that there is nothing superlative about match and the third fall is rather weak.
