LIZMARK VS. La parka
AAA
mexican national light heavyweight
04/30/1993
Year: 1993
Type: Title Match Style
Other: Recommended
Synopsis:
The veteran Lizmark and the upstart La Parka wrestle the show stealing match at the inaugural TripleMania. 1993 AAA is a fascinating cross section of traditional lucha with the still-developing staples of AAA such as groundbreaking flying (good) and overbooked garbage matches (bad). This match is a perfect example of old meeting new and creating something truly excellent in the process.
The match is one fall, but builds from meaningful mat work to rope running to bigger bumps and near falls the way a CMLL title match from the same era might. The timing for this one was just right, as Lizmark was on the down slope of his career and La Parka was an emerging homegrown AAA star. They met at just the right times in their careers to produce a memorable match. Lizmark is smooth in every facet of his game. La Parka shows a technical proficiency that I sometimes forget he possessed and the deceptive agility that was his calling card for many years. They work snugly both on and off the mat. There are a lot of near falls here, but not an excessive amount both by future and contemporary standards. The match is hurt by the confusing false ending and re-start, but its not a deal breaker since the work that comes before it is so strong. Anyone that knows La Parka just from his WCW days or as a veteran should seek this out to see how awesome of a young wrestler he was. Lizmark delivers a must-see performance as well. He was quite possibly the best wrestler in Mexico in 1993 even as his career has already begun to wind down and this match is further proof of that.
Note on the newsletter recaps: Steve Sims version of the confusing finish would appear to be the correct one (as opposed to the Observer’s version) as it meshes better with what we can actually see happening in the video of the match.
Additional Reading:
Wrestling Observer Newsletter Recap (May 10, 1993)
Lizmark retained the Mexican Light heavyweight title in a strange finish over La Parca. La Parca, a heel, was the best worker on the show based on what I was told and was cheered like crazy and this was said to have been a great match. The match went about 20:00 when La Parca got the pin but just before the three count, Lizmark got his shoulder up. That was “supposed” to be the finish, a controversial one to give Lizmark something to complain about. Anyway, apparently they forgot to inform the commission what they were going to do, because the Box y Lucha commissioner saw Lizmark complain and made a fuss and ordered the match re-started because Lizmark had his shoulder up. Pena came out and what was agreed to was they would go another 15:00 and if Lizmark could win during that time period, he’d retain the title, but if he couldn’t, then Parca could keep the title. They went 15:00 so apparently Parca would get to keep the title but somehow via a referees decision, Lizmark was ruled the winner. The ending was every bit as confusing as it reads.
Lucha Libre Weekly (May 12, 1993)
Mexican National Light-Heavyweight Championship: Champion Lizmark senior, seconded by El Volador, retained his title somehow over challenger La Parca, seconded by “El Chacho” Herodes, who was otherwise not on this card. According to Weekly Gonh, Parca pinned Lizmark at the 16:40 mark, but the HEAD commissioner of the Distrito Federal Commission of Boxing and Wrestling, Juan Jose Torres LLanda, ordered the match restarted (because Lizmark had raised his shoulder just before the three count). A 15:00 time limit overtime was announced, where Lizmark had to win, and the Gong says Lizmark won via submission in 3:51, a report not found anywhere else, Box y Lucha and Super Luchas were utterly confused. The former tried to give a reason for Lizmark’s win but gave up while the latter just gave up. Super Luchas had a great picture of, after the match had been awarded to Lizmark, Volador’s reaction; the look of utter confusion on his face is priceless. clearly things did not go according to Hoyle. Most media I have read described this as the best match on the show.
Accolades:
