When The Saints Go Over There

El Hijo del Santo VS Rey Misterio Jr - Promo Azteca (Tijuana) 2/21/1997

JJZ: The timing of this match is what drew me to it. Rey is white hot in America while Santo is still at the top of his game in Mexico. The fan cam quality was such a nice touch that you know I personally love. The last fall of this match is what made it for me. Spectacular selling by Rey and a ruthless hunt for the kill by Santo made for great theater. The final stretch had me yelling at my TV. Hope you enjoy it just as much baby cakes.

CJD: My first thought is "how the hell have I never heard of this match?" But I guess it did place in the Death Valley Driver Best of the 90s polls, which I used to reference like gospel. I think I actually had a copy printed out for certain promotions. But lucha would have been an area I neglected back then and maybe now I need to use the Wayback Machine to print some additional material to reference. This lived up to the huge dream match potential for me but reading reviews it seems the early stalling took this down a few pegs for many fans. I didn't mind it, it did have me chomping at the bit by the time they got going which suits a clash this big. Some of those transitions were utterly beautiful. It must have been nice for Rey to wrestle someone else so masterful at launching himself to the moon on a backbody drop for a change. Santo becomes our first MDTSOCWWKD double crown Champion, holding both our imaginary tag and singles version of the title, which is suiting since we recently renamed it partially after him. He's such a mythical almost outlaw figure in wrestling history, with the biggest boots to fill imaginable, and still blazed a trail so distinctly his own. I love watching him and I loved the way he matched up with Rey Rey here. Also listening in on a casual conversation between Konnan and Bob Barnett was beyond surreal. Awesome stuff.