#250: El Hijo del Santo vs. El Dandy vs. Negro Casas, CMLL Super Viernes (12/6/1996).
This is a Three Way Mask vs. Hair Apuestas Match, but with a unique twist on the rules. Starting out, this will be a standard Three Way Elimination Match. When there is one man left standing, he leaves, and the two who were eliminated return for a one on one 2 Out of 3 Falls match. Whoever loses that part of the match is the loser of the match, and they will either lose their hair or their mask.
This is one of the more famous matches in Lucha Libre history, equaled only by the Atlantis/Villano III Apuestas Match four years later. Santo was in the midst of his first and only heel turn in his career, and in the process, he had earned the ire of Dandy and Casas. They challenged him to this three way match, with masks and hair potentially at stake for all involved. Santo, 43-0 in Apuestas Matches, took the challenge head on, as he was confident that he wouldn’t lose in any situation.
The match gets under way, with Dandy and Casas giving some double team action to Santo. Casas with a running boot to the back of the head, and Dandy with a headbutt to the nuts. Santo goes after Dandy first, and then after Casas, but they trap him in the turnbuckle. Dandy and Casas start throwing strikes, with Dandy forcing Casas to the outside. He turns back to Santo, as he gives him an irish whip into the turnbuckle.
Dandy with a DDT to Santo, and the masked wonder rolls to the floor. Casas goes right for Santo, but Santo catches him with punches to the back. Dandy slaps the shit out of Santo, and brings him back into the ring. Together, they hit a double suplex to Santo, and pin him together, and he’s gone already! I imagine they did that so that Santo is guaranteed to fight for his mask later in the match. So, now we have Dandy and Casas fighting it out. Casas peppers in some kicks to Santo for good measure first.
Casas with a chop to Dandy, and a hard kick to the face. Santo is at ringside still, throwing some harsh words towards Casas. Dandy with a chop to Casas, and Casas fires back with a kick to the chest. Snap mare by Casas, into a chin lock. Casas transitions next into an arm bar submission. Dandy reverses into something, but the camera cuts to Santo doing an interview, probably shitting on both guys. Casas hits a dropkick to Dandy’s leg, which causes quite the pain.
Big chop by Casas, who lands another dropkick to the leg. Casas whips Dandy to the ropes, and dropkicks his leg again. Casas locks in the Sharpshooter, and Dandy submits! Casas survives the first part of the match, and thus will keep his hair. Now Dandy and Santo must battle it out, Hair vs. Mask. Casas goes after Santo, though, and tries to remove his mask himself. In the ring, Dandy is selling the damage to his leg, and Santo is recovering at ringside. Negro Casas has left his mark on this one!
Santo is in the ring, and he kicks Dandy to the floor. The ringside official checks on Dandy’s leg, and it isn’t looking good for his locks of hair that look like early Dave Meltzer. Dandy enters the ring, and he and Santo quickly exchange hard strikes. Santo kicks his leg out from under him, and stomps on it in the bottom rope. He ties it up, and contorts it in all the wrong directions. Dandy attempts to stand again, and Santo kicks his leg out once again.
Big knee to the face by Santo, and another, and a kick to the chest. Dandy trips Santo, and unloads with punches to his head. Santo with one hell of a stiff strike to the head of Dandy, and a few slaps to the face. Santo traps the legs, and grabs the arms for the Surfboard Lock. Dandy submits, and Santo takes the first fall. The second fall begins soon after, and Santo is still in control. He kicks Dandy in the face repeatedly, showing no mercy.
Santo with some headbutts peppered in, until Dandy catches a kick and slaps Santo to the mat. Dandy chops Santo, and then hits an ugly looking clothesline. He follows with a leg drop and a standing headbutt, the latter of which misses. Santo continues his work of the leg, as he drops his knee on it. Santo goes to the top rope, and misses a headbutt. Dandy is so beaten up, however, that Santo is right back in control with a headlock.
Dandy tries to fight out of the corner, as he’s busted open now from all the headbutts that Santo has given him. A big soccer kick to the face by Santo, as Dandy is a bloody mess. Santo brings him to the ropes, and kicks his face again. Santo is relentless, as he repeatedly kicks Dandy in the head. Dandy, by the way, is bleeding all over the place. Snap mare by Santo, and more strikes to the head. Dandy shoves him away, and catches a kick. He forces Santo backwards, and hits a DDT. He’s biting at Santo’s head, trying to rip the mask apart!
Santo’s mask is covered in Dandy’s blood. He pulls back on Dandy’s hair, and digs his knees into the spine. Dandy escapes, and avoids a diving forearm by Santo. He slaps the shit out of him, and hits an enziguri. Crazy sequence leads to Dandy catching Santo in a Crucifix pin for the win to take the second fall. We are all tied up. The winner of the last fall joins Casas in winning the match, while the loser will either leave without hair, or their mask.
The third fall starts, and a bloody Dandy is chasing Santo around ringside. Santo runs into the Arena Mexico crowd, and Dandy isn’t afraid to follow! They brawl among the fans, before getting back to ringside. Dandy avoids a punch, and Santo ends up punching the ring post! Dandy gives an interview while trying to rip Santo’s mask off. What the fuck was that? I literally laughed. Back in the ring, Dandy is kicking Santo’s head against the bottom turnbuckle.
Santo grabs Dandy into a Torture Rack set up from his knees, and Dandy is able to escape. Santo with a knee to the head, and Dandy with a chop to the face. Santo’s mask is no longer silver – it’s crimson. Dandy with a middle rope suplex crushes Santo, who rolls to the floor for a breather. He gets back on the apron, and Dandy is right there to kick him. He rushes Santo, who sends him flying over the top rope to the floor with a back body drop. Santo immediately follows up with a Tope that sends Dandy into the front row!
They both return to the ring to avoid being counted out, and Dandy quickly clotheslines Santo back to the floor. Santo avoids a Crossbody attempt by Dandy, and Dandy lands on his knees. Santo sends Dandy to the ring post head first. He then connects with a nasty closed fist punch to the head. Santo returns to the ring, and so does Dandy, only for Santo to dropkick him off the apron back to the floor. In the ring, Santo grabs at the hair and locks in a Camel Clutch submission. Dandy is an absolute bloody mess.
Dandy is able to scramble to the ropes to break the hold, and Santo looks for a quick pin in response. Dandy kicks out. Santo goes to the top rope, and hits a diving headbutt to a standing Dandy. Santo covers, and Dandy gets his foot on the bottom rope. Hurricanrana by Santo gets another nearfall, and Dandy looks like he’s ready for more! Dandy looks for a piledriver, but Santo counters into a small package for two. Dandy goes right into the Figure Four Leglock submission. Santo crawls and is able to get to the ropes to break the hold.
Dandy with a scoop slam, and he goes to the middle rope. He connects with a leg drop, but Santo kicks out. Dandy is back on the middle rope, but Santo catches him with an electric chair suplex, and then he goes right into the Camel Clutch. He pulls back on the hair for added leverage. Dandy can’t fight it any longer, and he submits. Santo is able to keep his mask, and joins Casas in winning this unique match. Dandy must now have his head shaved.
What a weird match. On one hand, I thought it was pretty good, though not on the legendary status that other people have given it, in my opinion. The Santo/Dandy portion of the match was a bloodbath, and a brutal back and forth battle, as both men fought tooth and nail to keep their honor. I just think the way this match was structured was odd. I honestly don’t think I like the idea of an Elimination Match, then a battle of the losers going at it.
I get that it makes sense for the story being told, and I did enjoy how Santo got eliminated, as the two men who were gunning for him to lose his mask made sure that he would have to fight for it. I didn’t care for the final elimination, as I don’t think they built up enough steam to make it matter. Negro Casas’ part in this match is irrelevant, as far as I’m concerned. When it’s down to Santo and Dandy, it does pick up, but I almost wonder if going for a 2 Out of 3 Falls singles match right out the gate would’ve been a smarter move than the shenanigans they started out with.
Overall, I wouldn’t call it a classic, but that’s mostly because of the weird stipulation. It is pretty good overall, and it gets great when it’s just Santo and Dandy. I think the Four Way Apuestas Match from CMLL’s Anniversary Show in 2024 works much better than this, though.