LA Park & Rush Can Not Be Contained
Arena Mexico is no stranger to blood. Much has been spilled in the hallowed halls of the home of lucha libre. Through the venue’s long and stories history, it’s hosted the likes of Sangre Chicana vs. MS-1, El Satanico vs. El Dandy, even Atlantis vs. Villano III—all matches made all the more iconic by the bloody images that have come from them. Unfortunately, with time, CMLL and Arena Mexico have turned away from this particular aspect of pro wrestling. I couldn’t tell you for sure why, but as CMLL and the venue itself became more of a tourist attraction, the in-ring style turned away from overt violence, brawling, and blood. Perhaps an inevitable side effect of Arena Mexico being pushed towards wealthy vacationers looking to spend some time watching the colorful luchadors in town.
In 2016, CMLL is well into this stage of its history. Generally speaking, their shows are targeted towards families and foreigners—easy to digest, bright wrestling that’s accessible to basically anybody coming in from out of the blue. At this time though, they have a working relationship with the Lucha Libre Elite promotion. On top of allowing for talent from CMLL to appear on LLE’s shows, and vice versa, the agreement between the two allowed for LLE to utilize CMLL’s venues, including Arena Mexico.
On July 14th, 2016, LLE would hold a show at Arena Mexico main evented by LA Park taking on Rush. LA Park and Rush truly couldn’t give a fuck about your tourists and rules.
The actual official “match” portion of this match doesn’t last long. That’s not a problem though because these two refuse to waste any time. Rush meets LA Park on the ramp and the action begins immediately, it’s rough and it’s rowdy and it just spills out into the arena instantly. By the time they’re in the crowd, there’s this brief moment of silence that threatens to derail the match’s momentum. Rush has controlled the entire match at this point and LA Park finally created some distance by tossing Rush through one of the doorways into the bowels of the arena.
Something like that might be a point where a match’s initial momentum starts to dissipate. But then Rush like a fucking maniac charges out back out into the arena, hoofing a footlocker above his head, and chucks it full force at LA Park’s face. Few things in wrestling can elicit such joy as a pissed off dude throwing a solid piece of weaponry full force at their opponent. It’s such an ecstatic bit of violence, that one can’t help but start cackling in response.
“Yes,” say the sickos of the world. “Yes.”
A match like this, as heated and rough as it already is, would have been great with the one blow from the footlocker. But this is a night for celebration and indulgence so we get more. When LA Park is finally able to make a comeback against Rush’s onslaught, he swings a chair (of the non-folding variety, mind you) right at Rush’s skull. Hell, he even gets some vengeance with the footlocker. The latter of those spots draws the disqualification from a referee in a finish infuriating enough to draw the ire of both the crowd and the wrestlers. Not only do the fans in Arena Mexico start pelting the ring with garbage, Rush himself looks visibly dismissive and frustrated with the call to end the match.
The match ends here, but only then does it truly begin.
By the time the bell rings to mark the official end of LA Park vs. Rush, both men have very clearly bladed to get the blood flowing. And yes, bladed is important here, you see them both on film reaching for their foreheads, working to get the wounds opened up. It’s important to my appreciation of this match that I read this actions as intentional, because that’s the goddamn point. These two men choose to bleed.
What follows after the bell rings is transcendent.
Rush and LA Park keep fighting. With trash littering the ring, an arena of people going wild around them, these two crazy bastards keep on going. Like the consummate, easy-to-work-with professionals that these two are known to be (heh), they save the best for last. It’s this stretch of action after the bell where they pull out their most stunning in-ring work which include some truly beautiful topes from both men. Between the big dives, there’s the big chops and punches, the strutting and flexing in the ring. It’s a match positively crackling with energy, it’s a jolt of adrenaline for everyone lucky enough to be in its proximity.
There’s a small moment in the middle of this riotous encore that stands out to me. At one point, both men are soaking in the frenzy of the crowd. They’re egging the crowd on, Rush very explicitly gestures to his hair to tease the potential of an apuesta—an implicit offer that lucha fans have clung to even seven years later. Rush grabs a mic, on the verge of starting a promo. More trashtalk perhaps to rile up the crowd, maybe even a verbal challenge for that apuesta match.
Instead, he drops the mic and just keeps fighting. Fuck yeah, man. Words can’t capture the violent spirit of professional wrestling. It can not be pinned down, try as any of us try.
Both Colette and I have used the word “transcendent” to describe this match, and that’s because it defies limitations. The art of professional wrestling is a beautiful thing, but it’s encounters like this that seem to justify the medium’s borders by explicitly breaking through them. This match wouldn’t be half as wonderful without all the things we know about pro wrestling. We know that it’s a construct, that there’s people behind the scenes pulling the strings, that the simulation of violence onscreen is subject to guidelines and parameters set where we can’t see.
Rush and LA Park couldn’t give a single fuck about your parameters. In going beyond what is expected—even what is allowed—they create something truly special. This single moment when it feels like anything is possible. As with all the finest pro wrestling in the world, they do it because they tap into reality. In this case, violently brushing past the booker’s authority and the venue’s rules to just have a goddamn fight.
Is there a level of hatred displayed by Rush and LA Park for each other? Of course, one doesn’t just enact violence like this casually. But as a whole, there’s something else that comes to the fore for me here. Even with the blood and the mask ripping and the weapons, hatred and spite don’t leave the strongest impression of this match for me. Instead, I think about both men standing on the rampway of Arena Mexico, having just beaten the holy hell out of each other, posing for the fans as they’re pelted with money out of appreciation.
That’s love, my guys. That’s love.
IS IT BETTER THAN 6/3/94? Misawa vs. Kawada is one of the great championship bouts, escalating its way through a traditional pace up to its explosive finish. Rush vs. LA Park in Arena Mexico is a rebuke of limitation, an act of rebellion, an irritant and a catalyst all at once. It’s a point for the luchadores on this one.
Rating: ****1/2