Photos by Jeremy York
From Jeremy “The Impact” York:
The rabid fans of Mucha Lucha ATL showed up and the superstars of MLA showed out! So much talent on each card at Espacio Discotheque, every match was more loaded than the one before it!
Match 1: Nawfside Heroes (Shoota Gabe & Jose Manuel), Hakeem Young, Teri Yaki, King Garuda, OXP, Mr. Sexy (melee match): A Free-For-All pitting each against the other (including the Nawfside Heroes), this one stated with Nawfside Heroes being chased into the crowd where they disappear out the front entrance. Then it was each remaining competitor getting offense in on one another until the ring cleared except for Yaki and OXP. Teri grabs a wristlock, then leg scissors on OXP. Mr. Sexy knocks OXP down as well, followed by a big slam for a two count. Hakeem in the ring now as he throws Mr. Sexy in the corner. A back splash and knee ride later garners a two count on Mr. Sexy. King Garuda tries to roll up Young, but it's countered into a crazy-gripped exploder suplex. Jose and Gabe (Nawfside Heroes) coming storming back to the ring from the other side of the arena from which they disappeared to break up the pin! OXP executes a double kick on Gabe and Jose then follows up with some lightning quick spin kicks, but the Heroes would not let it keep them down. They sprang up for some spectacular double team alternating offense that only Heroes on the Nawfside can pull off to the delight of the crowd! Action spills to the floor. Tope Suicida by OXP, then King Garuda follows with one of his own. Mr. Sexy gets shouldered by Gabe. Yaki leaps from the top rope onto Gabe for a hurricanrana that sends them both flailing into the rest of the participants! Mr. Sexy then suplexes Teri Yaki to the outside onto everyone else! The crowd was roaring with approval. Back in the ring, Jose and Gabe use a running bulldog/double knee attack combo to drop Teri Yaki. Hakeem Young with a siedo suplex and runs to the corner to jump splash on King Garuda and OXP. Young gets a DDT from Yaki who drags Young further inside the ring. As he goes for the pin, Mr. Sexy sends him flying to the floor, then jumps on Hakeem to steal the win!
Winner: Mr. Sexy via pinfall
Match 2: La Sangre Controversial (Labrava Escobar, Salazar de la Muerta, Romeo Quevado w/ Jorge Yuca Olivo) V. Cosmos, Taxi Man & Siomara: The men start off with a chop fest where Romeo chops Taxi who chops Muerta who chops Cosmos who chops Romeo. Romeo and Muerta get dumped to the outside. Taxi power throws Cosmos onto them both. The women rush into the ring to battle. Siomara gets the advantage on Labrava, dropping her seated in the corner. Siomara smashes her with running knees to the face and a splash in the corner for 1 count from Richie the referee. Romeo slams Cosmos then takes a run towards the outside for a Tope Suicida onto Taxi Man! Labrava and Siomara trade strikes on the outside. Muerta shoulder tackles Cosmos, but Taxi Man storms in to drop Muerta before running the ropes and jumping on his for a spectacular warrior splash. All six superstars battle in the ring then the Taxi Man, Cosmos and Siomara place each foe on a different corner. A supersplex to each and La Sangre rolls to the outside seeking relief from the onslaught. Not much break for them though as Comos performs a picture perfect moonsault to the outside! Taxi Man does a rolling senton. Siomara and Labrava are back scratching and clawing to get their teams back in charge of the action. Labrava back suplexes Siomara for a two count. Romeo slams Cosmos with a thunderous powerbomb, yet misses a second rope moonsault. Once to his feet, Taxi Man slams him. Muerta knocks Taxi down with a running attack, Cosmos downs Muerta for the slowest two count. Romeo and Muerta recover and go for the win that is broken up by a flying Cosmos. Siomara tries to pin Labrava a couple times, each not quite getting the three count. Labrava with the side slam for another two count. Siomara grabs Labrava in a Razor’s Edge and get the victory!
Winners: Siomara, Cosmos & Taxi Man via pinfall
After the match La Annexion and Ricardo crash the party to assault all three competitors before offering each a spot in the power faction. Each say “no” in a different way and are tossed to the floor in response.
Winner: Nikki Blackheart via pinfall
Match 4: Riviero Rivas, James Tapia, Demus V. Samuel Olmo, Emporador Azteca, Mascarita Sagrada—Tapia and Azteca start for their squads. Tapia wins the battle with a mean shoulder tackle then a jumping knee to the chin. They trade trips and pin attempts, each garnering a two count. Rivas and Olmo enter the match to square off with go behind waistlocks, countered by wristlocks before Olmo takes control with a spin out counter of Rivas wristlock. Hurricanrana by Olmo then a clothesline but the splash misses allowing Rivas to take over. Rivas uses his chops and a dropkick to ground the quicker Olmo, but allows him to tag Mascarita. In response, Demus enters the ring. Big crossbody from Mascarita then multiple highly athletic arm drags. Demus recovers to hoist Mascarita high above his head as all four other battle outside. As he nears the guardrail, he chucks his opponent into the third row of fans! Back inside, Demus and crew stomp Mascarita, however a splash misses and Mascarita uses a head-scissors to open a chance for a tag. He finds that tag to Azteca who storms the ring like a house on fire! Olmo joins him for a double slam and tandem dropkicks. Rivas and Tapia recover and use a double hip toss catch into a powerbomb on Olmo. They get a two count. As the action heats up more, it’s Olmo with a running handstand bouncing off the ropes for a double cutter on Tapia and Rivas followed by a double assisted dropkick. As they roll to the outside, Olmo joins them via a Tope Suicida leaving Mascarita and Demus in the ring. Mascarita pulls off a multi-spin tilt-a-whirl head-scissors accompanied by a Tope Hurricanrana! Azteca and Rivas trade devastating forearms. Azteca spin kick on Rivas, but Rivas leaps over the ropes onto Azteca after he rolled out of the ring. Olmo does a flip attack on all competitors. Tapia does a massive splash to the floor. Mascarita and Demus find their way back in with Mascarita getting the upper hand with another tilt-a-whirl into a arm drag throw for the victory!
Winners: Mascarita Sagruda, Emporador Azteca & Samuel Olmo via pinfall
Match 5: Yabo the Clown & Ruffo the Clown (Brothers of Funstruction) V. Sanson NGD & Forastero Dinamita—Ruffo and NGD to start, Ruffo with his favorite balloon in hand. Shoulder blocks from Ruffo then Big Top jabs. NGD and Dinamita jump on Ruffo, but not before he tags his brother Yabo. Yabo reaches in his bag for his friend Jack (in the Box)! He and Jack get the advantage and send NGD into the double stomp of Ruffo. The clowns perform a carousel of leaping elbow drops. Back to his feet NGD clotheslines both Ruffo and Yabo. All four fight outside for a bit. Dinamita slings Yabo into the guardrail then throws his back inside the ring. Yabo is double teamed by NGD and Dinamita including a barrage of kicks in the corner. They double stomp Ruffo for trying to help his brother. They team up for a spine buster on Ruffo. As they attempt the pin on Ruffo, the clowns rubber chicken breaks up the pin (with a little help from Yabo). The clowns choke their foes with their boots in the corner. Ruffo splashes both in the corner. One falls on his back and the other falls head first into his partners coconuts. Yabo hangs Dinamita in a tree of woe then Ruffo juggles a bit before chucking the round projectiles at Dinamita. Yabo leaps from the top rope onto a prone Dinamita with a double stomp for a near fall. NGD and Dinamita find their bearings and catch the Brothers of Funstruction with a tandem cannonball where Dinamita flung NGD with his feet onto their opponents. They get the three count and the win.
Winners: Sanson NGD & Forestero Dinamita via pinfall
Match 6: Main Event—La Annexion (Angel Fashion and Mike Mendoza w/ Ricardo) V. El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr, LA Park—Ricardo was named referee by Angel. LA Park says he could not care any less who the official is, he is here to LA Park and Mendoza start, with each using rollups early to try to end it quickly. Angel and Wagner enter the ring. They trade slams then Wagner uses a snap German suplex on Angel. LA Park and Mendoza fight outside the ring. Back inside, Angel tries a quick pin on Wagner for a speedy two count from Ricardo. Angel and Wagner battle to the ringside area. Ricardo and Mendoza whip LA Park with his own weight belt, then do the same to Wagner. Angel joins the attack and they monster chop Park. Referee Richie runs down to equalize Ricardo in the match. LA Park and Mendoza fight all around the arena. Wagner and Angel follow suit. LA Park throws a full (and dreadful smelling) trash can at Mendoza who finds his way over the barrier back towards the ring (while being covered in debris and trash). Wagner chokes Angel with a broom then breaks the handle over his back. Now it’s time for La Annexion to get whipped by Park’s belt! Then Ricardo gets a turn while also getting an adult beverage first poured down the back of his pants THEN the entire can shoved in there as well. Park with the rolling wheel kick for a two count (with Richie as acting official). Mendoza jumps from the apron to inside the ring to deliver a crushing DDT to Park for a two and a half count. Park DDT’s Mendoza and climbs to the top rope for a splash. Shining wizard from Wagner gets a near fall. Wagner gets in the 10 mounted punches in the corner on Angel then they trade forearm smashes. They both go for a clothesline and drop each other in the middle of the ring. Park and Mendoza are back in. Park executes a spinning STO. Angel and Wagner are back on their feet. James Tapia and Riviero Rivas rush to the ring with Ricardo and kendo sticks. After some bantering, Park and Wagner roll up La Annexion for the 1-2-3! After the bell the heels wore out the kendo sticks on the backs of Park, Richie and Wagner until they battled back and returned the favor. This sent La Annexion scurrying to the back.
Winners: LA Park & El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr (w/ Richie) via pinfall
Takeaways:
-Usually having 7 individuals in a match is messy and hard to follow. Not the case with the opener. Plus, having an established (Top) team in Nawfside adds a whole new element to the match as all 7 superstars got a chance to shine and showcase their arsenal.
-The crowd was quite loud during the mixed trios match and for good reason. No matter if the men or women were being featured, each brought their best to the match with La Sangre working as the better team while Cosmos and Taxi Man wrestle like they’ve teamed for years as well (this was the 2nd time ever they teamed up). Plus, Labrava and Siomara deserve a 1 on 1 match in the near future.
-Nikki Blackheart has power and agility for days. She overcame the double team attacks of Joy and Dayami plus even got some great shots in on La Annexion who crashed her celebration. Corinne Joy may also be an actress, musician and a few other things, but like OXP, she can still wrestle on a really good level. Dayami brings a relaxed urgency to matches that makes her performances must watch. Great matching of all three for a stellar match.
-As good as Rivas, Tapia, Olmo and Azteca are it was Demus and Mascarita who stole the show for this match. Such crazy chemistry they have to make it all look to amazing and effortless all at once.
-NGD and Dinamita had a good showing, however Yabo and Ruffo are quite possibly the most over talents on a MLA card. Atlanta and the Lucha community love these guys to an almost obsessive level. What does the future hold in store for everybody’s favorite clown brothers? Hopefully a top spot on any card.
-La Annexion (with Ricardo the promoter) are the major heel faction and get the most heat of anyone. We’re talking anything from ice to popcorn to trays of water get thrown on them any time they are near the ring. A few fans want to take a run at them. Just masterful to get people so riled up so quickly.
-LA Park and El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr did not disappoint at all. Wagner Jr wrestled Ethan Page 24 hours earlier for NXT Halloween Havoc and tore the house down THEN traveled here for this match and delivered like it was another WWE top event. For Park’s size he moves like someone half that size. Both were incredible and presented to the crowd what real Lucha is all about.
-MLA has shows coming up in Greenville, South Carolina and Tampa, Florida in November. Plus I have it on good authority there will more than likely be another Atlanta/Norcross show before year’s end (best guest is after Christmas). Ricardo puts together these unbelievable shows with some of the best Lucha talent around. If you have not witnessed a Mucha Lucha ATL show, do yourself a favor and see one live in person. You will not leave disappointed.
