The Return of Angel Estrada

Tough and slippery Angel Estrada, 6'1", 150#, stormed UCW-Wrestling in the winter of 2009-2010--in a match against Joker that was a standout among many memorable UCW contests--and then vanished without a trace.  Now, I'm happy to report, he's back, versus a newcomer, The White Rozta, a more powerfully built guy who wrestles in a blue singlet and earguards (no stats posted on this man yet).

The venue for the match is not the tarp-covered cube we fans have grown accustomed to.  My guess is that this contest was fought at the company's new offices in Maryland.  It looks like, for this match, UCW traded the dingy warehouse chic of the Milwaukee matches for suburban "lite"--a spare room in a McMansion in a gated community in Anytown, North America.  The space is bright and bare, its only furnishings are the wall-to-wall blue mats.  The camera pulls in tight on the action, thrusting us viewers into the fray and on top of the fighters, an improvement on early UCW matches, when the cameraman seldom ventured onto the mat.

The setup--collegiate gear, white walls, new mats, a fresh face--suggests a more "white bread" fight.  Indeed, fans expecting the dirty ball-twisting, gut-punching antics of UCW's classic bouts may be disappointed to find out that straight, submission-style wrestling is the order of the day here.  But the action is not exactly squeaky clean.  The competition is intense and aggressive.  If UCW's directive has been to show the world that young skinny guys go the distance in a fight, Estrada's performance here continues in that vein.  I was impressed with this guy a year ago--and I'm still up for more of him on the mats, especially up against the likes of Klown and Axel.