THE MOSS COVERED THREE HANDLED FAMILY CREDENZA
ARTICLE #17
DECEMBER 10, 2001
Misterio vs Psicosis: Greatest Lucha Libre Feud Ever?
Rey Misterio Jr. and Psicosis revolutionized the lucha libre product in the mid-1990s, setting new standards for incredible bump-taking and breathtaking, graceful high-flying. While some of their most memorable battles took place in their home country of Mexico, they also tore it up on several occasions in Japan and the United States. This compilation takes a look at six of their best singles matches against each other.
9/16/95 ECW Gangstas Paradise
Misterio armdragged Psicosis out of the ring early. Psicosis got the better of Misterio early with a hammerlock. Misterio fought back with a great snapmare. Misterio did another armdrag ending a great lucha exchange between the two. Psicosis elbowed Misterio and powerslammed him. He threw Misterio into the air and dropped him front first. Psicosis dropped Misterio upside down in the corner and slammed Misterio neck-first on the top rope. Psicosis dropkicked Misterio and legdropped him. He chopped Misterio in the corner and gave him a flying corner splash of sorts. Psicosis missed a second corner splash and Misterio gave him a great springboard huracanrana for a near fall. Misterio gave Psicosis another huracanrana and a tilt-a-whirl headscissors. Psicosis and Misterio exchanged chops on the apron. Psicosis kicked Misterio but Misterio then kicked him head first into the ringpost and Psicosis crashed onto the floor. Misterio scored with a couple chops but missed a corner splash. Psicosis hit a top rope legdrop for a near fall and gained another near fall with a powerbomb. Psicosis spin kicked Misterio out of the ring and went for a tope suicida but Misterio hit him with a chair to the head in a great spot. Psicosis dropkicked Misterio in the legs twice. Psicosis hit his great top rope corkscrew senton for a near fall. Psicosis missed a corner splash and took a crazy bump over the top rope to the floor. Misterio hit a great springboard plancha onto Psicosis in the crowd. Misterio hit a running top rope huracanrana and pinned Psicosis at 10:19. An excellent match and intro of these two to ECW and American wrestling fans. ****1/4
9/22/95 AAA WWA Middleweight Title/Best of 3 Falls Psicosis (c) w/Juventud Guerrera vs Rey Misterio Jr. w/Mascara Sagrada
Misterio scored first with an armdrag and Psicosis slid clear out of the ring. Psicosis applied a hammerlock but Misterio countered with a snapmare. Misterio gave Psicosis another armdrag to end a series of offense and counters from both men. Psicosis caught Misterio off guard and applied an armbar, and Psicosis rolled with an armbar a couple times. Misterio fought back and rolled up Psicosis. Misterio turned the rollup into a submission hold but Psicosis escaped and applied a surfboard of sorts. Misterio won a fast lucha exchange with an armdrag on Psicosis and quickly applied a submission hold trapping Psicosis�s arm and legs. Psicosis fought back and worked on Misterio�s left shoulder. Psicosis went for a locomotion German suplex but on the third suplex attempt Misterio countered with a rollup for a near fall. Misterio attempted a moonsault but slipped on the ropes. Psicosis missed a spin kick in the corner and Misterio locked him in some crazy rolling submission hold to win the first fall at 8:02. Misterio dropkicked Psicosis in the legs to start the second fall and applied a hold that focused on Psicosis�s arms and legs. Psicosis somehow turned the hold into a figure 4 leglock. Psicosis applied a submission with his knees working on Misterio�s back and gained a near fall. Psicosis legdropped Misterio. Misterio went for a Misteriorana but Psicosis dropped him backwards. Psicosis moonsaulted Misterio and made him submit at 3:45 to win the second fall. Misterio scored with a tilt a whirl headscissors early in the third fall. Misterio came off the top rope with a spinning huracanrana and Psicosis slid out of the ring. Misterio missed a corner splash but Psicosis then missed one and took an insane bump over the top rope to the floor. Misterio hit a great springboard somersault plancha on Psicosis in the aisle. Misterio countered a powerbomb with a sunset flip for a near fall. Misterio gave Psicosis a mule kick but Psicosis monkeyflipped him over the top rope to the floor. Psicosis cleared the top rope with the best tope suicida I�ve ever seen him hit. Misterio fought back with a springboard missile dropkick that sent Psicosis to ringside. Misterio hit an amazing, high superquebrada on Psicosis. He gave Psicosis a springboard huracanrana for a near fall back in the ring. Psicosis powerbombed Misterio but Misterio countered a second powerbomb with a great huracanrana for a near fall. Psicosis knocked Misterio out of the ring with a spin kick. Juventud held Misterio and Psicosis hit a great corkscrew plancha, but Misterio moved and Psicosis crashed onto Juventud. Misterio knocked Psicosis into the aisle with one of the most graceful springboard planchas you will ever see. Psicosis charged at Misterio in the corner but Misterio moved and Psicosis crashed shoulder first into the ringpost. Misterio hit a tornado DDT and locked Psicosis�s arms back for the submission win at 7:47 to win the third fall, match and title. The first two falls were simply �good� with solid mat wrestling. The third fall was one of the most exhilarating displays of daredevil athleticism in wrestling history and worth 4 stars on its own standing. A tremendous match overall. ****1/4
10/7/95 ECW Arena Best of 3 Falls match
In terms of spots this was as breathtaking as you would expect from these two. Overall, it was similar in quality to their 12/13/95 match but with a few more violent spots thrown in. The action started hot as Misterio knocked Psicosis to the floor and gave him a cross bodyblock from the apron into the front row. Misterio then hit a running tope over the top rope. Back in the ring Misterio gave Psicosis a huracanrana and pinned him to win the first fall in a quick 1:20. Misterio was unbelievable in the second fall, giving Psicosis a spinning huracanrana and then another off the apron to the floor. Psicosis assumed the advantage and gave Misterio a powerbomb for a near fall. Psicosis took the fight outside the ring briefly. Misterio regained the advantage and gave Psicosis a huracanrana. Psicosis tombstoned Misterio and pinned him to win the second fall in 5:12. Psicosis gave Misterio a powerbomb onto a table at ringside early in the third fall. He threw Misterio into the first row and gave him his over the top rope tope suicida for a pop. Psicosis missed a corner splash and flew out of the ring. Misterio then hit him with a springboard somersault plancha. Misterio hit Psicosis twice in the head with a chair. He gave Psicosis a top rope huracanrana for a near fall. Misterio did a tilt-a-whirl headscissors and then gave Psicosis a somersault plancha from the second rope inside the ring. Psicosis whipped Misterio into the ringside barricade twice and gave him a top rope senton through a table on the arena floor. Back in the ring Psicosis powerbombed Misterio and laid a chair on top of him. He then gave Misterio a corkscrew senton off the top rope and pinned him to win the third fall in 5:37 and the match. Tons of incredible spots as both men were in their prime at the time of the match. ****1/2
11/18/95 ECW November To Remember Mexican Death Match
Psicosis charged Misterio at the bell but Misterio moved. Misterio gave Psicosis a huracanrana, Psicosis missed a dropkick, and Misterio hit a huracanrana for the first pin just 30 seconds into the match. Psicosis got up at the count of 5. Misterio gave Psicosis a huracanrana over the top rope to the floor in a crazy spot. Misterio attempted a springboard move off the barricade but slipped and hurt his knee. Psicosis hit Misterio with a chair and a top rope dropkick. Psicosis moonsaulted Misterio for the pin at 2:26, and Misterio barely answered the ten count. Psicosis dropkicked Misterio in the corner and dropped him stomach first on the top turnbuckle. He continued to dominate Misterio and powerbombed him for another pin, but Misterio again barely answered the ten count. Psicosis corner splashed Misterio and twice dumped him upside down in the opposite corner. Psicosis hit a top rope corkscrew senton for another pin at 5:28, and Misterio again barely answered the ten count. Psicosis hit a pair of dropkicks in the corner and DDTd Misterio on a chair. He placed a chair on Misterio�s back and moonsaulted him for a pin at 6:52, but Misterio answered the count again. Psicosis dropkicked Misterio in the knees. He placed a chair on Misterio�s knees and attempted a moonsault but Misterio raised his knees and Psicosis crashed onto the chair. Misterio hit Psicosis with a chair and clotheslined him from the second rope to the apron. Misterio hit a flying bodypress off the apron, sending both men over the barricade and into the crowd. Misterio hit a great superquebrada onto Psicosis in the front row, after which they brawled throughout the crowd. Misterio hit Psicosis with a chair as they returned to ringside. Misterio continued to dominate Psicosis as they fought all the way to the stage area. Misterio scored with more chairshots. Misterio went up to a balcony-like area and jumped off with a spinning huracanrana on Psicosis on the stage 6-8 feet below for a pin at 11:03. This time, Psicosis didn�t answer the count and Misterio won at 11:43. The high number of falls kinda hurt the match a bit, but still an amazing effort with several spots they didn�t do in their first two ECW matches. ****1/4
12/13/95 WAR Super J Cup 2nd Stage Special Match
This was an incredible spotfest. Although the psychology was somewhat lacking, most moves had a logical timing to them and almost everything was well-executed. In the first couple minutes they did some of their simpler in-ring sequences. However, the breathtaking moves quickly followed. Psicosis chipped in with his suicide dive over the top rope. He also took a great bump when he ran across the apron, Misterio lifted him into the air with his feet, and Psicosis crashed head-first on the ringpost. Most of all, this became the Rey Misterio Jr. show. He chipped in a superquebrada off the top rope and the most breathtaking springboard somersault plancha you will ever see. However, Misterio truly brought the house down when he nailed Psicosis, who was on the arena floor, with a TOP ROPE SPINNING HURACANRANA! If Misterio had slipped or Psicosis not properly caught him, Misterio would have had a broken neck and fractured skull. Psicosis attempted a splash mountain, but Misterio countered it with a huracanrana for a near fall. Misterio attempted a top rope huracanrana, but Psicosis blocked it. Misterio delivered on the second attempt and hit another huracanrana, this one the standard version, for the pin at 9:35. I can't imagine a match of this length being any greater. ****1/2 (***** in terms of spots)
7/7/96 Bash At The Beach PPV
These two put on another masterpiece and Misterio in particular had another incredible highlight reel of moves. Fans were quiet at first but were much louder by the end of the match out of amazement over these two. Misterio armdragged Psicosis out of the ring at the start. The two then traded the advantage with a smooth exchange of mat wrestling. The highspots began as Psicosis spin kicked Misterio out of the ring. Psicosis then cleared the top rope with his amazing tope suicida on Misterio. Psicosis gave Misterio a top rope legdrop for an early near fall. Psicosis nailed Misterio with a lariat and gained a near fall. Psicosis continued his dominance of Misterio until Misterio catapulted him head-first onto the ringpost. Misterio then gave Psicosis a spinning huracanrana off the apron to the floor. Misterio nailed a springboard huracanrana back in the ring for a heated near fall. Misterio then briefly worked on Psicosis's knee. Misterio dropkicked Psicosis in the corner and gained a near fall. Psicosis fought back and threw Misterio stomach-first onto the top rope. Psicosis gave Misterio an inverted DDT and dropped him throat-first on the ringside barricade. He then gave Misterio a senton off the top rope to the arena floor in a completely insane move. Psicosis gave Misterio an enzuguiri for a near fall and then applied a camel clutch. Misterio fought back and gave Psicosis a huracanrana. Misterio then dropkicked Psicosis off the second rope and gave him a top rope spinning huracanrana off the apron to the floor. Misterio gained a near fall with a slingshot moonsault. Misterio knocked Psicosis out of the ring with a top rope missile dropkick. Misterio then gave Psicosis another corkscrew quebrada, nearly killing himself in the process. Misterio went for a springboard huracanrana but Psicosis countered with a powerbomb for a near fall. Psicosis then went for a splash mountain off the second rope but Misterio turned it into a top rope huracanrana and scored the pin at 15:21. Amazing collection of spots with reasonably logical pacing and great execution. ****1/2
NEXT ISSUE: WWF Ironman Matches: A Comparison
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