WWL High Voltage Live 8/18/18

WWL High Voltage ticket

WWL High Voltage Live (8/18/18)

Matches:

1. Puro Macho (PMS Rose & PMS Montes) v. Untraditionals

Puro Macho won after a Spinebuster + Diving Elbow combination. This was a quick, but fun match to start the night. Untraditionals seem to have a high ceiling and I wouldn’t be surprised if at some point during the next year they become a high profile tag-team in Puerto Rico. (* 1/2 stars out of 4)

2. “Puro Macho” Khriz “The Chosen” Díaz v. Excellent Martel

Khriz Díaz wins what was essentially a squash match, although Martel got in some offense. It seems they’re running a lack of confidence angle with Martel. (1/2 star out of 4)

3. For the WWL Cruiserweight Title: “The White Shadow” Mark Davidson (c) vs. Pupe Jackson

Mark Davidson won and retained the title with a variation on the Rings of Saturn. This was a very entertaining match, the crowd was really into Pupe Jackson, which made Davidson’s job to get despised by the crowd that much easier. Fun match to really kick off the previously announced card. (*** out of 4)

4. Allison vs. Roxxy

This turned out to be an angle, as Allison came out to say she had an order from her doctor that stipulated she couldn’t wrestle that night due to injuries; but she had a replacement.

4. Roxxy vs. Vassago

Making what I believe is his debut with WWL (if he was in WWL before excuse me), Vassago came in and attacked Roxxy from behind. The former friends in 100% Lucha had a pretty interesting intergender match, with Vassago dominating much of it, due to story reasons (Vassago was a replacement, Roxxy didn’t have time to prepare and Vassago attacked her from behind, also Allison helped Vassago, so in essence was a 2 on 1 match). Vassago wins after hitting his finisher, which I didn’t see because the guy in front of me stood up and I’m not the tallest guy around (lol). (* 1/2 out of 4)

5. “Puro Macho” Electro vs. Noel Rodríguez

This was a match created in a segment after the first match by WWL’s co-owner, Richard Rondon. To be honest I wasn’t familiar with Electro; but after this match I have to say I’m a fan. Noel Rodríguez still has it and proved his previous match with PMS Rose was just a thing where Rose and himself didn’t really clicked in the ring. Noel won after a School Boy type pin. After the bell rang the rest of Puro Macho attacked Noel and they appear to be running an injury angle here. (** out of 4)

6. For the WWL America’s Title: “The Executioner” JC Navarro (c) vs. Mr. Big

In my roundabout I said this was the perfect opportunity for JC Navarro to prove that he could hang with a bigger opponent and he did just that. It was a fun match while it lasted, because the match ended in a no contest after what appeared to be a legit injury to Big. (More on that in a bit). For what it was, it was a fun match that had fans jeering Navarro. (* ½ out of 4)

7. Triple Threat TLC Match for the WWL Tag-Team Titles: Los Primos Meléndez (c) v. The Third Generation/Holy Fashion v. West Side Mafia

WOW! What else can I say about this match. Sure, there were some mishaps thanks to production botches (on which I will write more in a bit). But outside of those mishaps, the action itself was top notch. All three teams delivered on what I expected and more. The crowd was on their feet for most of the match and I haven’t felt that rush from a match in Puerto Rico in a long while. I already knew Holy Fashion were good, after tonight I’m certain they’re the next to break out. Los Primos Meléndez are really, really good and West Side Mafia are arguably the most over team in the whole Island. With these three teams WWL’s tag-team division is secure; add Puro Macho and the Untraditionals to the mix and you have a pretty robust tag-team scene; something you don’t see too often here. West Side Mafia win after retrieving the belts and becoming two time champions. (**** out of 4)

8. Main Event: “Puro Macho” Manny Ferno vs. “El León” Apolo

This match was going to have a tough time following the TLC match no matter what they did. Yet, somehow, Manny Ferno managed to get the crowd’s attention back to this match with his heel antics and Apolo delivered what the fans were waiting to see from him, his brute power. The match ended in DQ after the interference of the rest of Puro Macho. (** out of 4)

Segments:

Through the night there were a series of segments, no doubt done to pad up the weekly show that they’ll make splitting matches from this night.

1. After the first match Puro Macho came out and their leader, Manny Ferno, talked about Savio Vega and the WWL v. IWA angle they’ve been running He was interrupted by Richard Rondon who talked about the papers that acknowledge Ferno as WWL’s president. Ferno threatened Rondon with an attack but Rondon was quickly surrounded by Tabú, Morgan, Noel Rodríguez and Apolo. Richard says that as far as he’s concerned Manny is no longer the president and that Electro must face Noel tonight.

2. Before the TLC Match, former WWC Universal Champion and former WWL performer, BJ appeared from the entrance. He announced he is back in WWL and that he’s glad WWL no longer have old people hogging up the roster spots. He said he came here because WWL has competition and challenges Mecha Wolf 450 for the WWL World Heavyweight Championship. (BJ’s valet almost killed herself due to her high heels and the ring being a bit unstable)

Other noteworthy things:

1. El Nazareno came to help West Side Mafia at one point during the TLC match and then celebrated with his buddies. Angel Fashion stayed after the match to congratulate Los Primos Meléndez in what was a nice gesture from him and the crowd gave them a standing ovation.

2. After Puro Macho attacked Apolo and he fended them off; Manny Ferno took the mic to say they were still going to attack Apolo. When they entered the ring, Mr. Big’s music hit and he came out with a chair and limping. Once inside the ring, Puro Macho retreated as Big and Apolo challenged them off. Once Apolo turned his back to Big, he attacked Apolo with a chair and the rest of Puro Macho continued their attack to end the show.

3. Puro Macho is GREAT. Everything in their presentation is top notch, I don’t know why they don’t get the attention I feel they deserve from US indies, as I feel they are really close to being on that next level. Especially JC Navarro, Manny Ferno and Khriz Díaz. Electro has everything to lead the next generation alongside Justin Dynamite from CWA. Also, Puro Macho’s entrance theme is stuck in my head, I need that song.

Constructive Criticism:

1. My experience was a great one, to be honest, I haven’t felt that rush watching a local wrestling show since I was a kid (then again this was my first live local wrestling show since I was a kid, so maybe the atmosphere helped). I have no gripes with either the fans or the wrestlers but…

2. The production crew had some things wrong and it almost costed the wrestlers in terms of serious injury. Apparently the ropes were a bit slippery and it almost made Electro and Noel Rodríguez fall off of them, luckily they didn’t and the match continued as planned. Then in the TLC match, the titles weren’t hanged high enough and they have a really big ladder, this was at first a joke amongst the crowd, as with a small jump either Angel Fashion or Mike Mendoza could’ve retrieved the titles; yet the really scary thing happened once Morgan and Mendoza were fighting on top of the really big ladder. Mendoza and Morgan had a table set up and they seemed to have planned a spot where Mendoza would jump and hit Morgan with a double foot stop driving him thru the table; but due to the cable where the titles were hanged being so low, Mendoza almost hung himself on the cable. This was a really nasty looking spot and one that had most of the fans worried. Fortunately Mendoza seemed to be fine as he finished the match and then came out for the closing segment to try to help Apolo.

3. There are two cameras, one hard camera and one rotating one. The rotating one should do that, rotate, because otherwise the talking segments have the wrestlers almost always giving their backs to the crowd, which kind of defeats the purpose, you want that interaction with the crowd. You want the crowd to feel involved for the product to look nice and tight for the cameras. I feel this should be said in order to improve the product, as I feel they have everything else, just need those small details.

4. Mark Davidson has everything as I said, he has the looks and charisma to pull it off and be a star in wrestling. But it wasn’t just me who compared him to Neville, I heard those same comments from a couple of fans around me and being compared to another wrestler based on your in ring abilities isn’t a bad thing; the fact they were comparing him due to his aesthetic is what I feel is not so good, as it makes him seem like a copy, and being a copy is not a necessarily good thing in wrestling.

Overall Thoughts:

1. WWL proved that you don’t need past their prime wrestlers to garner attention and deliver an enjoyable show for the fans. If they continue on this route, I expect them to keep growing to the point they might become the biggest brand of wrestling in the Island.

2. Obviously this show will be divided and backstage segments will be added in order to create the weekly High Voltage show, of which I will also make reviews off, due to the backstage segments probably adding some flavor to the matches.

3. WWL’s next live show will be on September 1^st, so WWL has basically a somewhat bi-weekly schedule, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing; it gives them some separation from other shows taking place and could possibly bring a new era where talents are available for other promotions (doubtful, but probable).

4. I’m officially a fan of Puro Macho.

Pictures of the three teams in the TLC, not the best pictures, I'm not a photographer and I was a bit far away from the entrance.

Angel Fashion and Mike Mendoza (CKCW tag-team Champions)

West Side Mafia (Tabú [masked in the pic] and Morgan)

Los Primos Meléndez (Victor, facing the camera, and Alex)

For better pictures of this and other local events follow luchalibre_boricua and contralonatv on Instagram.