Colette and Joseph Discuss El Hijo Del Santo vs. La Parka
Joseph and Colette chat about one of Santito’s best matches, as well as his legacy, following his 2025 retirement.
Hello, hello, hello, and welcome to the last BIG EGG MASTERLIST post of 2025. Regular activity on the blog will resume in January, giving me time to close out my overly ambitious project of writing 31 brand new essays this month. That project, in case you forgot, is part of the 2025 BIG EGG MEMBERSHIP DRIVE, in which we’re attempting to get this blog to the promised land of 100 paying subscribers. We’re currently at 85. Can we get 15 new paying subscribers before 1/31? Can I write 24 essays before the ball drops? The answer to both questions, I think, is yes.
With that reminder out of the way, let’s talk about Santito and L.A. Park. Two of the best to ever do it, in an unreal bloodbath — what’s not to love? If you’re Joseph, the answer to that question is “the sometimes perfunctory nature of the third fall of a lucha libre match.” If you’re me, it’s “that fucking finish.” Despite these misgivings, both of us had a hell of a time. How far does this match climb the BIG EGG MASTERLIST? Before we tackle that, indulge us a little as we talk about Santito’s recent retirement.
UP NEXT: This January, BIG EGG declares its independence with INDIE MONTH. This is one of my favorite four match slates we’ve ever done, kicking things off with Sabu vs. The Lightning Kid from 1993, laying down the foundations of the super indie boom with Kevin Steen vs. Super Dragon and Eddie Kingston vs. Chris Hero, and wrapping with a 2010 encounter between Jon Moxley and Jimmy Jacobs. I’ve seen Sabu/Waltman, and it’s quietly a favorite match of mine — the rest is new to me, and I’m stoked to finally get so many of my favorite wrestlers on the board for the first time.
Now let’s get to updating the actual board!
Colette Arrand
Joseph Montecillo
It is something of an under-reported event in the wider wrestling sphere, but on the same day that John Cena hung his boots up, El Hijo del Santo did the same as well. Footage of that will be releasing soon, but it's crazy to think of how (relatively) lowkey a legend such as him wrapped up his career. What are your overall impressions of Santito, given the matches we've covered so far and whatever else you might have seen of him recreationally?
Joseph Montecillo
Colette Arrand
There’s got to be an argument for him as the greatest second generation wrestler of all time, right? Like, I know there are some good candidates out there for that distinction, but Santito isn’t just the son of anyone — lesser second and third generation wrestlers have collapsed under the pressure of carrying on the legacy of forerunners whose impact on wrestling and culture at large was nowhere near as seismic as El Santo, and Santito not only did that, he built something distinct from what his father accomplished. Other than an article I read about how the retirement tour was a misfire I have no idea how the past year has treated him, but I’d go so far as to say that he was the better of the two wrestlers who retired on Saturday, and I think pretty highly of Cena. What about you?
Colette Arrand