Video link to the match over at Lucha Central : https://luchacentral.com/videos/video-cmll-54th-anniversary-mask-vs-mask-as-charro-vs-mogur/



Cagematch page for this match/event.

Who’s Who?

As Charro

I’m not going to lie and say I was super familiar with As Charro. Many lucha records pre 1980 are sorta just gone or incomplete. As Charro debuting in 1964 meaning he has many years in the business that are hard to talk about without thumbing through classic Lucha Libre Magazines.

As Charro passed away recently on April 28th at the age of 68. I have to give a big thanks to Lucha Central for writing a nice piece remembering him and also uploading this match. I watched the match and wasn’t sure when I started if I would include it in this series, but then As Charro was so impressive I felt like he had to be included. The video quality isn’t the greatest, but it’s more than passable so here we are! He had an iconic look and a high flying style. He seems to be playing the rudo here, but I’m not sure if that’s what he normally played.

I can’t go into too much detail on his career as I just don’t really have the information. Lucha wiki has his Luchas de apuestas record at this time as 7-0-0 including a tag match with fellow unique looking luchador Gallo Tapado. This match helped put him in the history books as EMLL Anniversary Main Events are something that everyone remembers and As Charro is now on that list for the rest of time.

Mogur

Mogur is a little luckier when it came to timing of his career and records. Debuting in 1980 his career is more remembered, I’m sure things have been lost for him too, but you can find records on lots of his matches. His career was mostly confined to EMLL/CMLL working with them for another 20 years after this with 2007 being his last year working heavily with CMLL. His last match there being a hair vs hair match with Leono. At the time of this match Mogur was fairly new on the scene having actually taken the Mogur name in 1984 before that being known as both Olímpico Flores and Terremoto. As this new name Mogur he had never won a betting match so it was a very much sink or swim situation for him here taking on the much more established name/mask As Charro who had been around for 15 years instead of the 3 years Mogur has been around. So a very well seasoned rudo vs an up and coming tecnico.



How is the match?



Great, I thought this match was a great showcase for As Charro. I think people tend to turn it up for masks vs mask matches even if they are on an indie show and aren’t being films. So for a big EMLL Anniversary Main Event people are trying as hard as they can and normally that means a great match like it did here. I may not rate this match as highly as the last two days, but I still think it’s a great contest. Particularly for As Charro, I actually think looking at the match Mogur comes off as not very impressive. While I feel like As Charro pulled out tricks that if used that well today would make someone a star.

I don’t think the ending did any favors for Mogur. I just don’t think As Charro is big enough for the spot they did, nor do I think it’s a particularly exciting 3rd fall for the contest. Would have felt much more at home in the 1st/2nd fall spot. How Mogur got the 2nd fall is how he should have won the contest or the Cavernaria which they tease toward the end. I just think the falling on a guy from a bearhug is a lame way to end your main event mask match even in 1987. A year later after winning Luis Mariscal’s hair and both Quasar and Unicornio’s masks in 3 separate matches EMLL 55th Anniversary came around and Mogur would again be in the main event. This time losing his hair to Mascara Ano 2000. The two men being the same age currently 60.

I don’t know if there is a better match to watch when remembering As Charro as this match. Which is kinda common of his era of luchadors. Lots of their earlier work being hard to find so the best match to watch of them is their unmasking later in their career like Dr. Wagner the day before. As Charro really carries this match though, ironically enough as a match meant to put over Mogur… he actually isn’t that impressive in it. I don’t want to throw too much shade his way as it takes two to Tango and As Charro can only look as impressive as he does here with a partner who knows how to catch and when to be where. Watch this match and pour one out for As Charro, a legend we recently lost.