Tradition

 This will be a little different then my usual posts. I am going to be talking about my view on wrestling as a medium and also my personal views on things like the history and tradition in professional wrestling. The ideas of how the art form evolves as the decades pass and the newer generation continues to push the boundaries of what is physically possible. To preface I am not saying what once was is better, what I am aiming to say is that some things got lost during the continued innovation that has been, overall, truly great. Some of the things lost were intentional, some were not, nonetheless it was. I am going to choose two matches from a few weekends ago that can show how great a young wrestler desperately clinging to the traditions of the past can be. Xelhua is the focus of this post, and the two matches couldn't be in any more different locations. One was in the main event on a Friday night in Arena Mexico, the cathedral of Lucha Libre, the other was in Terrazza Elma for an anniversary show of a long time luchadora in Princesa Sugehit.

The focus of this post will be about his staunch position of Lucha traditionalism, working Llave in a way that is more and more reserved for the old timers and the edges of Lucha. CMLL is more and more built around the tourist pleasing high flying, and the less said about WWE AAA the better on this matter. Xelhua is pulling out spots that were commonly used by people like Mil Mascaras 40 years ago but now are seen less and less, working the traditional 2/3 falls structure, building upon each fall. It hearkens back to an era of old, with fewer and fewer wrestlers left who keep it alive. Mostly older wrestlers who continue to give father time the double deuce, think Solar, Negro Navarro, Blue Panther, Avisman, and Virus amongst others keeping the old ways alive. Amongst the younger generation in CMLL, Xelhua and Guerrero Maya Jr, are the two who come to mind. As of late, the style is seen more consistently outside the confines of Arena Mexico or Coliseo and more in places like Lucha Memes or IWRG. Now this isn't to say that CMLL isn't phenomenal and doing incredible business at the moment, because they absolutely are, however, the trend towards a modern, sleek, highly athletic style, meant to pop the tourists who often populate their crowds is apparent.

Xelhua believes in the tradition of Lucha Libre, of what it once was. Technical marvels awing the crowd into silence in disbelief, the dives working off the mat to raise the stakes as each subsequent fall happens, building to the crescendo that is the third fall. The build is what sells everything in these matches, working off previous interactions to create new magic. Spots made new again as they are brought back to life, the complex pins and submissions drawing the crowd in as it seems to bring ever close.

Now let's talk about the first match of the weekend for the young Xelhua in the main event of Arena Mexico fighting Atlantis Jr. for the World Historic Light Heavyweight title. Xelhua was voted on by the fans to face Atlantis here, an honor for the 21 year old luchador. Challenging someone CMLL has earmarked as a top guy for the present and future. It's an interesting dichotomy of positioning between how the crowd views these guys and how the company views them. Atlantis Jr. is absolutely someone the company has firm plans to make, maybe not the top guy, but a main player near the top of the card. Whilst Xelhua is positioned much lower on the card, though it seems like the company may eventually move him up (he is still exceptionally early into his career.) Subsections of the crowd do not like Atlantis due to an old grudge with his father and thinking he is over-pushed, whilst those same fans are very much fans of Xelhua. This match has many cool spots (the torneo headstand head scissors take over is a particular fave.) However, I want to talk about how the match built, from the mat then to the air. The beginning was where Xelhua had the advantage. Grappling was where Atlantis was fighting to survive. As the match continued to build both wrestlers upped the ante, Atlantis hits a big cross body from the ramp to the ring and eventually Atlantida for the win. A very good match and continued to show that the expectation of Xelhua is for him to be a star by showing the tradition of wrestling utter reverence.

The match I really want to dive deeper into is the tag match between Xelhua Virus vs Erick Ortiz Charles Lucero. Ortiz is one of the best indie wrestlers going today whilst Virus and Lucero are both old timers who deserve their flowers and are worth watching at any moment. Lucero has spent most of his career since the end of the UWA in smaller promotions which has led to him flying under the radar. This match was llave at its purest. It's wrestling bliss, all truth to be told. Four men who can more than hold their own in this style, age be damned. The way they position themselves is the stuff of dreams and an art form in and of itself. Keeping their opponent away from the ropes as they hunted a pin or a submission early. This match often felt like a showcase of wrestling as it was when the two veterans were young men, helping the two of a new generation continue the tradition of llave. Now that isn't to say either Ortiz or Xelhua aren't incredible in their own right, they are. The theme of this post is tradition, and how Xelhua in particular continues it and it is no more clear than when he wrestles against Lucero. Lucero is beyond defying age by this point but he continues to wrestle as he always has and it's a true joy to see. It's almost pure muscle memory by the time this match happens, but what a memory it is. I find myself nostalgic for an era I never witnessed live watching this match, especially the Virus Lucero sections. I just genuinely love the style of wrestling on display in this match.

One last bit on tradition and how it affects the future. Tradition is the building blocks upon what wrestling is built upon whether that is the Irish whip to the lock up, all of the staples of wrestling are traditions and every time I see an older match, or one with older talent, they pull something off that I wish made it into the average wrestling lexicon and it is a shame when these things get lost to time. Innovation is very important, however, not at the cost of the traditions of pro wrestling. By sticking to tradition Xelhua is almost innovating what once was common and is now lost, bringing it back for a new generation. I hope more of his peers follow suit as he moves farther and farther up the ranks of CMLL.