Joseph and Colette Discuss Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Juventud Guerrera

How close does one of the greatest to ever do it get to the Hunter Dimension?

As a proper introduction to this week’s match would burn through what Joseph and I had to talk about, just gonna highlight a couple of things before we jump right in. First, Joseph had Kevin Ku on his Twitch stream the other day, and you can watch the replay on his YouTube channel! Second, I just released a new zine! It’s called FLASH PIN, and it’s a collection of wrestling photographs ranging from 1962 to 2004. It’s $5 plus shipping — grab one!

Next Up: Next week, we cover what many would call the pinnacle of one of lucha libre's all time great rivalries. In a feud that spans promotions and decades, one match that has often stood out is the hair vs. mask apuesta between Negro Casas and El Hijo del Santo from 1997!

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Colette Arrand
I almost feel like I should apologize! I pitched this kind of knowing that you and I would be a little farther apart on this than usual, but didn't anticipate the degree. To explain a bit, I wanted to watch a Rey/Juvi match, especially as we were choosing matches the same day I was getting pissy about a new, dumb round of Rey discourse. There were better options and I knew it, but I shut the match off right after the Heat Wave '95 chairshot and when what followed that up two weeks later was Rey absolutely eating shit trying to leap onto the cage, I fell in love. In my brain this is closer to *** & 1/2 but you have to understand how rarely I find wrestling capable of making me squeal in surprise or delight, and there was a lot of both in my reaction to that spot. Rey and Juvi and Damian were legit brave to scale the cage together after that. A totally different dimension to a rivalry that is, in its way, a really instructive one for me, given that both were television mainstays when I was a kid.

Rey Misterio Jr. and Juventud Guerrera Go to the Extreme

Joseph Montecillo
I think this match might be the germ of a lifelong rivalry with AAA. To be honest, I didn't expect to dislike this match quite as much as I did! I've heard great stuff about Rey and Juvi, and obviously I think Rey's just flat out one of the greatest wrestlers of all time. Friends who have been going through 90s lucha enjoy their rivalry in other places, but oh my god, I really did not care for this at all.

The Failure of Rey Misterio Jr vs. Juventud Guerrera