Solar vs. Black Terry
January 31, 2016
Toryumon Mexico
Domo del Plan Sexenal (Mexico City)
** ¾
This was originally advertised as Black Terry versus Blue Panther which is undeniably the more interesting match on paper. Panther was a no-show, however, and as far as last minute substitutions go Solar is not a bad one. My first inclination was that this is an oft-repeated pairing but that is not really true. This might have been the first singles match between these since a November 2013 Chilanga Mask card and almost definitely the first one available on video since then. Black Terry/Solar is not quite Black Terry/Blue Panther in terms of uniqueness of the match up but it is not Solar/Negro Navarro level of overdone either.
The match itself played out similarly. The early exchanges were far less mundane and uniformed as the Navarro/Solar exchanges have become. Black Terry brings a level of athleticism to his mat work that present day Navarro – and quite frankly, present day Blue Panther – cannot match. Panther is a different style of wrestler than Solar so the early match stuff would have had a different vibe for sure, but I am not convinced it would have been much better. I suppose it is somewhat boring – or at least not unexpected – for a Terry/Solar match review to praise the early hold exchanges but that portion of the match was certainly the highlight. Terry and Solar worked quick and interesting submissions and counters, in a way that did not feel robotic or boilerplate.
The match got away from them a little in the middle. They attempted to transition after the opening stuff by getting into a heated argument on the outside but nobody was buying it as a big deal. This part of the match – in stark contrast to the opening minutes – did feel like standard fare and was below average. The two argued and then did some weak brawling, lowlighted by Solar going into the railing in a particularly careful manner. There was an ultra-brief flurry of strikes on the outside that was neat but it was too brief to mean much. Once back in the ring, they somewhat quickly went to the double pin finish.
This was not a classic maestro match but still worth a watch. The opening minutes are a lot of fun and the match flies by. Solar and Terry seemingly do not have it in them to take a night off but if they were so inclined, you could certainly imagine a scenario where they have a match much worse than this one. On the flip side, it is easy to imagine them having a better match in 2016 if the middle portion outside the ring was reconfigured but that’s a small complaint. I’ll take a slightly above average 10 minute match worked in this style almost every time out.
