Eddie Guerrerro vs. Rey Mysterio Jr.

[Your Paragon of Virtue 0]

Why is this match great? I don't understand the little things I guess. While I thoroughly enjoyed it, I have to say that I don't understand why some hype it as much as they do. It told a great story, in Rey trying to best Eddie, and whenever he'd get close, and build up a run, he would get bested as Eddie would counter. The ending obviously complements this.

 

But is that enough for it to get all the hype it does? What more than this does it have? I'm not trying to be an ass or anything, I honestly want to know why so many people consider this to be so amazing. I want to know the reasoning behind it. I'm not a wrestling junkie, so I can't really break things down, but I'm interested in what the knowledgable folk here have to say.

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

Springboard Moonsault DDT

Tope Con Hilo Hurricanrana

 

Insane degree of difficulty there, highly technical and athletic stuff. It's the equivalent of a quadruple axel, 9 seconds in the 100 metre, a 500 foot drive, etc. You just don't see shit like that every day. Crisp, stiff, intense, near flawless work done by both guys. Combine that with their natural charisma in opposite of each other, and the story of the match, and how the crowd was into it... it's difficult to find fault in this match.

[Hawk 34 0]

Rudo is correct, it's not just about the degree of difficulty in the moves executed but factor in that it all worked together. It wasn't insane moves done in a sequence for the sake of doing insane sequences. It built to the finish that the story was working towards and has since been the template for the current generation of high flyers to follow.

[Just John 0]

To me, this match combined everything good about wrestling into an explosive 13 minutes of greatness. As a huge proponent of this match (it's my favorite match ever, and one of only two I give *****), I'll try to give you some insight from supporter's perspective on each of the elements.

 

Storytelling - The story and character portrayals were done to perfection. Rey was fighting to defend his mask and honor against a sleazy, yet very focused Eddie Guerrero. Rey had pinned Eddie in a couple of non-title situations prior to this match, which plays right into the story. It would seem going in that Rey had the advantage or had Eddie's number, but as the match got underway the tables seemed to turn. Mike Tenay mentions during the match that "it's difficult to defeat someone the caliber of Eddie three straight times" and it became apparent that Eddie did his homework and scouted Rey's offense, as he had a counter for almost everything. Eddie played the dick heel to perfection as he would wear Rey down then try to rip the mask off. Eddie appears to have Rey scouted to the finest detail, but showing his greatness, Rey adapts throughout the match and pulls out some never-before-seen offense. The finish plays right off the rest of the story as Eddie counters Rey's springboard huricanrana finisher, and Rey reacts out of desperation to counter Eddie's top-rope splash mountain attempt. Rey also works the never-say-die face role to perfection, which leads to Eddie getting frustrated, and ultimately to his undoing.

 

Psychology - The psych isn't the main focus of the match, but it does provide some important framework that keeps it together. By constantly working over Rey's back, it gives Eddie's methodical offense some focus and makes the submissions more effective. It also helps that any time Eddie counters one of Rey's move, it's with a back-impact move. The back work also makes the top rope splash mountain attempt seem like a logical move. Sure, on its own the move would be devastating, but Eddie never uses the move so it would seem a bit out of place. However, with the combination of the back work and Rey's never-say-die attitude, it makes sense to use back-impact move that would be big enough to end the match.

 

Pacing - One of the most underrated aspects of this match is the pacing, and more importantly the change in pace throughout the match. It's a classic case of each guy trying to impose his will on the other. The phrase "wrestle at his own pace" gets thrown around a lot by announcers, but often inapporopriately or with little meaning. Here is a case where you could actually see each guy trying to wrestle "his pace." Whenever Rey was on offense, the pace was fast with Rey going for quick, high-impact, strikes or aerial moves. When Eddie was on offense, he would slow the pace down with high-impact slams or submissions. Whenever one guy would counter the other, the pace would change almost instantaneously. It's truly a thing of beauty, and just makes it that much more "real."

 

Moves - Of course, the main thing that catches your eye when first watching the match is the incredibly cool spots these guys hit. On top of that, every move hit in the match is done about as well as it could possibly be. From simple things like a powerbomb to the awe-inspiring moves like the backflip DDT and Springboard Dragon-rana to the floor. What makes them really special, though, is how they all make sense and flow with the match. Rey's big spots are timed very well and show desperation, as well as smart, spontaneous adaptation. There's also never a slow or awkward transition, as the moves flow together very nicely.

 

Putting it all together - I've known for a long time that I love this match, but it took a while to actually express why. I think it boils down to this match is very stylized, yet realistic at the same time. Sure, the spots like the backflip DDT aren't realistic on their own, but the way Eddie and Rey timed the spots, controlled the pace, and made every move mean something made the match seem very believeable in the context of pro wrestling. The emotion and story also helps quite a bit. I think this match combines the best aspects of spot wrestling, mat wrestling, and emotional storytelling while avoiding the pitfalls of all of them (doesn't seem to be a thrown-together spotfest, doesn't get too boring with the mat work, and doesn't sacrifice logical wrestling for the sake of a story). Just a truly brilliantly worked match from every angle in my book.

[JST 0]

Awesome review. I'm gonna pop in my Eddie DVD just to watch that again.

[Lil' Bitch 0]

^ I'm so glad WWE finally sucked it up and allowed to have Rey's "March of Death" theme kept intact on the DVD.

[Just John 0]

That theme was originally used for Zodiac.